Chapter Eight
My mind was aglow with places I could try...nothing seemed to work,
though...Zero was sparring with one of the Hunter newbies...Drex, I believe...
Yes, Drex...that was it. It was so hard for me to muster the energy to think
back on details now...my only thoughts, the only pressing ones, were of Zero...and
how I must destroy him...
I tried another spot. Could I...would it work...?
No. A thousand pressure points to touch Zero's mind as my own...and none
of them alone could undertake that job. I tried another, the next in a countless
series of failures...
Sigma, you're getting weak, I said to myself. It never used to be this hard
for you to tap into a Reploid mind.
But this was no ordinary Reploid mind. This was Zero...and due to some
frightfully unfortunate turn of events, he was somehow immune to my viral
strain...curses.
I had tried many times in vain, to tell myself that I could eventually break
down the barrier between myself and Zero on my own, of my own will and
means...but that proved to be pointless. I finally admitted to myself that I could not
defeat the Hunter alone...
But that's why the bad guys get others to do the dirty work for them...
* * *
"Ha!" Drex shouted as he drew his saber across my forearm. "Point for me!"
I smiled. "Your only one so far," I said. "I've already got three."
"Yeah, well...you're a Maverick Hunter unit commander."
"And...what? You weren't an officer in the Continental Army?"
He stopped dead. Turning off the saber quickly, he growled: "How did you
know? What did you hear?"
I held up my hands. "Whoa there, Drex. I know plenty. I'm a senior officer.
I need to know about my soldiers. What I know is you were in the Army, had a
scuffle with a senior officer over a girl, put him in the hospital and ended up killing
him. That sound about right?"
He nodded. "The guy was an organic Maverick."
"Yeah, I read about the weird blue goo that came out of his head when you
sniped him," I said. "Ten to one this Wraith is the same virus that took over that
guy's body. What do you think?"
He was silent, but only for a moment. "I think there's little doubt there can
be any other virus," he said. "Sigma may be sophisticated, but it can't do stuff like
that."
"I agree," I said. "All signs point to Wraith. Now...how about this feud
between you and Hale over this Kristina girl, eh?"
He looked surprised for a moment, then took on a look of knowing. "My
interview on NewsWire...they have that in the archives?"
"Indeed they do," I said. "You were quite famous there for a while, Drex.
The Intranet had numerous entries on you."
"Hm...Well, I was always more protective of Kristina than Hale; more
committed, too. As I said in the interview, I had planned on marrying her and
settling down once the red tape concerning Wyllis had blown over."
"I'm sorry you never got to be that happy," I said. "But Drex, that's no
reason for you to pretend you've lost all emotional ties to anything."
He shot me a glare. "You're going against your word, sir. You said no
conversations about this."
"Just let me get this in to you, Drex. Fair?"
He waved his hand in an accepting motion. "Go ahead."
"Would Kristina have wanted to you to feign unhappiness like this?"
He sighed. "It's not for me to say, sir. Near the end of our relationship, we
began drifting so much...I couldn't tell anymore what she would have wanted."
"I doubt you would've wanted you to be this miserable. If you were created a
Reploid, there was some purpose for it. Maybe you just need to do a little soul-
searching and find out what it was."
"Alright, enough of the gushy crap," he barked. "You still wanna fight?"
"I think you've had enough for today," I said. "Head back to HQ and get
some rest and something to eat. I'll think of something we can do later. Be
expecting a call from me soon."
"Whatever," he said casually, disappearing into a streak of black light that
scarred the sky as he flew back home.
"That Drex..." I said as I watched him leave. "Never can tell with him."
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see its owner. Hale. "He's a good
kid, sir."
I nodded. "I know. Say...I hear you two were once friends. I know about
the thing with Kristina and Wyllis. Experience teach you anything about dealing
with Drex?"
"You just have to know how to talk to him."
"And how's that?" I asked with a smile.
"Carefully, sir, carefully."
We both laughed over that, then rounded up the newbies and headed back to
base.
* * *
I got a call fifteen minutes after I had laid down for a nap. "Zero, sir...it's
Chakra."
"Yeah...what is it, bud?" I asked. "Some new developments?"
"The Mavericks are moving, sir. Closer to the city, it seems; only a few of
them are doing any transport, though. The three that seem to be in charge of the
others are staying put."
"Which ones are those?"
"Shadow Chimera, Steele Drake, and Ash Phoenix, sir."
"Which Maverick is closest to the city?" I asked, hopping up and transferring
the conversation to my helmet's built-in radio as I left the room.
"It's the one called Portal Wasp, sir. He's trying to use up enough of his
energy to open a gravity well above the city."
"Stupid of him," I said aloud, then reprimanded myself. "This is a setup...a
trap..."
"But it's one we have to jump headfirst into, sir. There's no way we can
keep Wasp from opening that well if we don't act fast."
I sighed. "I'll round up a half-unit of newbies and meet you at the dropships.
Tell Skyler to be there. We need a fast driver. Keep tabs on Wasp's location. I'll
be there in two minutes."
Striding by the newby quarters, I shouted through the hall: "Wake up, guys!
Unit Zero to the hangar! We've got an emergency situation here!" I spoke into my
radio. "Dr. Cain, put Hunter Base status at Code Blue. We have Maverick activity
down in Jolozst. I'll take a group down to remedy that."
"A-OK, Zero," he replied. "Base at Code Blue. Good luck."
"Thank you, sir," I said. "All right, newbies, move your tails! We need to be
gone thirty seconds ago!"
I walked briskly into the hangar, finding a group of maybe fifteen newbies
there. Iris and Roll stood waiting as well, as did Chakra and Skyler. I saw Kyte,
Chrys, Hale, and Drex all among the newbies. Good. They'd made it. "All right,
guys. This is our group. Get to know each other; you'll be depending on each other
for awhile. We've got a Maverick on the loose in the city. Everyone load the
dropship and I'll give the info on the way there."
Obediently, they all moved fluidly and loaded the transports rather quickly.
Skyler started the engines and got us moving, and I addressed the group again: "All
right. The name of the Maverick we're looking for is Portal Wasp. I've heard he's
fast, but he's got a punch that could knock you out. He uses spacial manipulation
to warp the very air and atmosphere around you. He can create junk like miniature
black holes, gravity wells, and all kinds of other nasty stuff. He's a tough
customer."
Everyone seemed relatively quiet. I smiled. "And I want to thank all of you
for responding so quickly. This was your first emergency situation as Hunters, and
you guys did exactly what you were supposed to. You've all earned a great deal of
respect from me today. What say we kick a little Maverick tush?"
"Aye, sir," Skyler said form the cockpit.
"Whaddya say, guys?" I asked the group.
"Let's do it, sir!" Hale replied enthusiastically.
"Yeah!" the rest chimed in. Even Drex contributed to the cheer. That made
me happy.
"We're approaching Wasp's perimeter," I heard Chakra say from the front.
"Copy that," I said. "All right group...get your game faces on. It's almost
time."
Iris moved up behind me and wrapped her arms around me. I turned around
and hugged her back, smiling broadly. "It feels good to be in the fight again," she
said.
"It always does," I replied, touching her nose to mine. "Ready?"
She nodded. "Yes, and I know Roll's ready, right sis?"
Roll came over and beamed proudly. "Yeah, guys! Let's kick this pig!"
She did something then I hadn't been expecting: she hugged me.
"Whoa...you, the warrior through and through, still have the courage to hug me?" I
asked her.
"Pass it along to X for me when he comes back," she said.
"I doubt it will mean nearly the same thing," I quipped with a chuckle.
"Jerk," she said, smiling and smacking my helmet. "When we get back to
base, let me have a good tug at that hair of yours."
"Whatever," I said. "There's Wasp now. Out the main cockpit shield, port
side."
The Maverick was dark blue in color, with accents of purple along his legs
and arms. His wings beat heavily against the air as he hovered in place. His arms
were firmly outstretched toward the sky, radiating a type of gravity energy I'd
hardly ever seen before, and when I had, it had been experimental...but then, Sigma
wasn't afraid to use anything without testing it.
The gravity well Wasp had been generating above the city was about fifty
yards in diameter. I saw its effects demonstrated by the skyscrapers around: they
had all been twisted and bent into odd shapes, the frames still holding chunks of
stone, mortar, plastics, and other building materials. The girders themselves looked
as if they could give way at any minute...that's what I guessed Sigs had wanted.
I began giving orders. "All right, when we get out, Iris and Roll'll take five
or six of you with them and try to stabilize those buildings. There have to be
survivors still in there...try to find them first as best you can. Understood?"
"Understood, Zero," Iris said.
"I'll take another six of you, plus Chakra, and we'll start on getting rid of
Wasp. Clear?"
"Crystal, sir," Hale said.
"And Skyler...you keep two more with you in the ship and get to the ground.
You're going to have to set it down kind of far away from Portal Wasp, or else
you're going to lose control of your flight. When you get down, wait for further
orders. Got it?"
"Consider it got, sir," Skyler said.
"Alright...here we go..." I said, opening the side door. "Don't be afraid to
jump, guys...that's what dash attachments are for."
I hopped out as an example. Kyte, Hale, and Chrys followed me out. Drex
followed them, and eventually the others joined. I used my mid-air dash to stabilize
me before I hit the ground. The hydraulics in my legs barely squeaked as I landed,
pulling my saber from its scabbard on reflex and igniting it.
"Wasp, your wings are about to be clipped," I muttered. "I refuse to let
another outbreak of the virus affect the humans as well as us Reploids."
Drex popped up behind me. "I'm with your group, sir...just for your
information."
"Thank you Drex," I said. "Giving me fair warning."
"Indeed, sir...shall we?"
"I think we should. Let's."
I hopped up onto the side of the nearest building, gripped it, pushed off with
my feet, and repeated the action as I moved up the wall. I saw the others follow me
close behind. Kicking my way to the top of the structure, I took a stance atop the
roof. Dash-jumping quickly off the roof before the others could follow me, I sailed
directly at my target and struck--Portal Wasp.
I collided with Wasp in midair, my feet knocking him somewhat out of his
hover. I landed on a balcony about twenty feet below me, again using my midair
dash to stabilize myself. As I looked back at Wasp, I saw that my attack had been
enough to break his concentration, and the gravity well began to slowly dissipate.
Bingo, I thought. Hunters, one, Wasp, zero.
"Ah...Zero...we've been expecting you."
"I got that impression, Wasp. So where are your other buddies, or do we
have to find that for ourselves?"
"Sand Scarab and Glacial Snowcat should be somewhere around..." he said
ambiguously. "...For now, however, that's none of your concern."
"You are my concern right now. You do understand it's suicide to be one of
the eight guardian Mavericks, don't you? We've never lost to any one of them."
He shrugged. "First time for everything."
Raising a hand, he created a black circle in front of him, obviously a portal of
some kind...
And I felt his fist strike the back of my head. Twisting my head around, I
saw a replica of the hole he had created, his open hand now waving at me.
"Nice trick," I said. "Sigs really did put some thought into you, didn't he?"
"Who said anything about Sigma?" he asked, drawing his hand back and
closing the portal. "I certainly didn't."
"I know Sigma's behind Wraith, Wasp," I said. "Don't play dumb with me."
"Think what you like, Zero. You certainly have that right, at least for now."
"You're as impetuous as he is," I said. "His personality shows."
"Are you going to stand there and talk with me all day or fight?" he asked. "I
can get back to that gravity well, if you like..."
I rushed at him with my saber, dash-jumping off the roof and directly into his
path. I raised the saber to take one good slice, then brought it through its course as
he raised both his hands.
In a flash, I was flying towards nothingness. I could see buildings and the
like, of course...with a second thought, I took a look back. Wasp was...behind me?
He generated another portal, big enough for your entire body, Zero... I
thought. You can't just rush at this guy. You're gonna need some strategy on this
one...Kyte might not be the worst person for this job.
Either way, Wasp was in a mad flight toward me, his arms outstretched and
giving off violent bursts of energy. I have to figure out something now, I thought,
or we may all be toast before we see the rest of these Mavericks!
My mind was aglow with places I could try...nothing seemed to work,
though...Zero was sparring with one of the Hunter newbies...Drex, I believe...
Yes, Drex...that was it. It was so hard for me to muster the energy to think
back on details now...my only thoughts, the only pressing ones, were of Zero...and
how I must destroy him...
I tried another spot. Could I...would it work...?
No. A thousand pressure points to touch Zero's mind as my own...and none
of them alone could undertake that job. I tried another, the next in a countless
series of failures...
Sigma, you're getting weak, I said to myself. It never used to be this hard
for you to tap into a Reploid mind.
But this was no ordinary Reploid mind. This was Zero...and due to some
frightfully unfortunate turn of events, he was somehow immune to my viral
strain...curses.
I had tried many times in vain, to tell myself that I could eventually break
down the barrier between myself and Zero on my own, of my own will and
means...but that proved to be pointless. I finally admitted to myself that I could not
defeat the Hunter alone...
But that's why the bad guys get others to do the dirty work for them...
* * *
"Ha!" Drex shouted as he drew his saber across my forearm. "Point for me!"
I smiled. "Your only one so far," I said. "I've already got three."
"Yeah, well...you're a Maverick Hunter unit commander."
"And...what? You weren't an officer in the Continental Army?"
He stopped dead. Turning off the saber quickly, he growled: "How did you
know? What did you hear?"
I held up my hands. "Whoa there, Drex. I know plenty. I'm a senior officer.
I need to know about my soldiers. What I know is you were in the Army, had a
scuffle with a senior officer over a girl, put him in the hospital and ended up killing
him. That sound about right?"
He nodded. "The guy was an organic Maverick."
"Yeah, I read about the weird blue goo that came out of his head when you
sniped him," I said. "Ten to one this Wraith is the same virus that took over that
guy's body. What do you think?"
He was silent, but only for a moment. "I think there's little doubt there can
be any other virus," he said. "Sigma may be sophisticated, but it can't do stuff like
that."
"I agree," I said. "All signs point to Wraith. Now...how about this feud
between you and Hale over this Kristina girl, eh?"
He looked surprised for a moment, then took on a look of knowing. "My
interview on NewsWire...they have that in the archives?"
"Indeed they do," I said. "You were quite famous there for a while, Drex.
The Intranet had numerous entries on you."
"Hm...Well, I was always more protective of Kristina than Hale; more
committed, too. As I said in the interview, I had planned on marrying her and
settling down once the red tape concerning Wyllis had blown over."
"I'm sorry you never got to be that happy," I said. "But Drex, that's no
reason for you to pretend you've lost all emotional ties to anything."
He shot me a glare. "You're going against your word, sir. You said no
conversations about this."
"Just let me get this in to you, Drex. Fair?"
He waved his hand in an accepting motion. "Go ahead."
"Would Kristina have wanted to you to feign unhappiness like this?"
He sighed. "It's not for me to say, sir. Near the end of our relationship, we
began drifting so much...I couldn't tell anymore what she would have wanted."
"I doubt you would've wanted you to be this miserable. If you were created a
Reploid, there was some purpose for it. Maybe you just need to do a little soul-
searching and find out what it was."
"Alright, enough of the gushy crap," he barked. "You still wanna fight?"
"I think you've had enough for today," I said. "Head back to HQ and get
some rest and something to eat. I'll think of something we can do later. Be
expecting a call from me soon."
"Whatever," he said casually, disappearing into a streak of black light that
scarred the sky as he flew back home.
"That Drex..." I said as I watched him leave. "Never can tell with him."
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see its owner. Hale. "He's a good
kid, sir."
I nodded. "I know. Say...I hear you two were once friends. I know about
the thing with Kristina and Wyllis. Experience teach you anything about dealing
with Drex?"
"You just have to know how to talk to him."
"And how's that?" I asked with a smile.
"Carefully, sir, carefully."
We both laughed over that, then rounded up the newbies and headed back to
base.
* * *
I got a call fifteen minutes after I had laid down for a nap. "Zero, sir...it's
Chakra."
"Yeah...what is it, bud?" I asked. "Some new developments?"
"The Mavericks are moving, sir. Closer to the city, it seems; only a few of
them are doing any transport, though. The three that seem to be in charge of the
others are staying put."
"Which ones are those?"
"Shadow Chimera, Steele Drake, and Ash Phoenix, sir."
"Which Maverick is closest to the city?" I asked, hopping up and transferring
the conversation to my helmet's built-in radio as I left the room.
"It's the one called Portal Wasp, sir. He's trying to use up enough of his
energy to open a gravity well above the city."
"Stupid of him," I said aloud, then reprimanded myself. "This is a setup...a
trap..."
"But it's one we have to jump headfirst into, sir. There's no way we can
keep Wasp from opening that well if we don't act fast."
I sighed. "I'll round up a half-unit of newbies and meet you at the dropships.
Tell Skyler to be there. We need a fast driver. Keep tabs on Wasp's location. I'll
be there in two minutes."
Striding by the newby quarters, I shouted through the hall: "Wake up, guys!
Unit Zero to the hangar! We've got an emergency situation here!" I spoke into my
radio. "Dr. Cain, put Hunter Base status at Code Blue. We have Maverick activity
down in Jolozst. I'll take a group down to remedy that."
"A-OK, Zero," he replied. "Base at Code Blue. Good luck."
"Thank you, sir," I said. "All right, newbies, move your tails! We need to be
gone thirty seconds ago!"
I walked briskly into the hangar, finding a group of maybe fifteen newbies
there. Iris and Roll stood waiting as well, as did Chakra and Skyler. I saw Kyte,
Chrys, Hale, and Drex all among the newbies. Good. They'd made it. "All right,
guys. This is our group. Get to know each other; you'll be depending on each other
for awhile. We've got a Maverick on the loose in the city. Everyone load the
dropship and I'll give the info on the way there."
Obediently, they all moved fluidly and loaded the transports rather quickly.
Skyler started the engines and got us moving, and I addressed the group again: "All
right. The name of the Maverick we're looking for is Portal Wasp. I've heard he's
fast, but he's got a punch that could knock you out. He uses spacial manipulation
to warp the very air and atmosphere around you. He can create junk like miniature
black holes, gravity wells, and all kinds of other nasty stuff. He's a tough
customer."
Everyone seemed relatively quiet. I smiled. "And I want to thank all of you
for responding so quickly. This was your first emergency situation as Hunters, and
you guys did exactly what you were supposed to. You've all earned a great deal of
respect from me today. What say we kick a little Maverick tush?"
"Aye, sir," Skyler said form the cockpit.
"Whaddya say, guys?" I asked the group.
"Let's do it, sir!" Hale replied enthusiastically.
"Yeah!" the rest chimed in. Even Drex contributed to the cheer. That made
me happy.
"We're approaching Wasp's perimeter," I heard Chakra say from the front.
"Copy that," I said. "All right group...get your game faces on. It's almost
time."
Iris moved up behind me and wrapped her arms around me. I turned around
and hugged her back, smiling broadly. "It feels good to be in the fight again," she
said.
"It always does," I replied, touching her nose to mine. "Ready?"
She nodded. "Yes, and I know Roll's ready, right sis?"
Roll came over and beamed proudly. "Yeah, guys! Let's kick this pig!"
She did something then I hadn't been expecting: she hugged me.
"Whoa...you, the warrior through and through, still have the courage to hug me?" I
asked her.
"Pass it along to X for me when he comes back," she said.
"I doubt it will mean nearly the same thing," I quipped with a chuckle.
"Jerk," she said, smiling and smacking my helmet. "When we get back to
base, let me have a good tug at that hair of yours."
"Whatever," I said. "There's Wasp now. Out the main cockpit shield, port
side."
The Maverick was dark blue in color, with accents of purple along his legs
and arms. His wings beat heavily against the air as he hovered in place. His arms
were firmly outstretched toward the sky, radiating a type of gravity energy I'd
hardly ever seen before, and when I had, it had been experimental...but then, Sigma
wasn't afraid to use anything without testing it.
The gravity well Wasp had been generating above the city was about fifty
yards in diameter. I saw its effects demonstrated by the skyscrapers around: they
had all been twisted and bent into odd shapes, the frames still holding chunks of
stone, mortar, plastics, and other building materials. The girders themselves looked
as if they could give way at any minute...that's what I guessed Sigs had wanted.
I began giving orders. "All right, when we get out, Iris and Roll'll take five
or six of you with them and try to stabilize those buildings. There have to be
survivors still in there...try to find them first as best you can. Understood?"
"Understood, Zero," Iris said.
"I'll take another six of you, plus Chakra, and we'll start on getting rid of
Wasp. Clear?"
"Crystal, sir," Hale said.
"And Skyler...you keep two more with you in the ship and get to the ground.
You're going to have to set it down kind of far away from Portal Wasp, or else
you're going to lose control of your flight. When you get down, wait for further
orders. Got it?"
"Consider it got, sir," Skyler said.
"Alright...here we go..." I said, opening the side door. "Don't be afraid to
jump, guys...that's what dash attachments are for."
I hopped out as an example. Kyte, Hale, and Chrys followed me out. Drex
followed them, and eventually the others joined. I used my mid-air dash to stabilize
me before I hit the ground. The hydraulics in my legs barely squeaked as I landed,
pulling my saber from its scabbard on reflex and igniting it.
"Wasp, your wings are about to be clipped," I muttered. "I refuse to let
another outbreak of the virus affect the humans as well as us Reploids."
Drex popped up behind me. "I'm with your group, sir...just for your
information."
"Thank you Drex," I said. "Giving me fair warning."
"Indeed, sir...shall we?"
"I think we should. Let's."
I hopped up onto the side of the nearest building, gripped it, pushed off with
my feet, and repeated the action as I moved up the wall. I saw the others follow me
close behind. Kicking my way to the top of the structure, I took a stance atop the
roof. Dash-jumping quickly off the roof before the others could follow me, I sailed
directly at my target and struck--Portal Wasp.
I collided with Wasp in midair, my feet knocking him somewhat out of his
hover. I landed on a balcony about twenty feet below me, again using my midair
dash to stabilize myself. As I looked back at Wasp, I saw that my attack had been
enough to break his concentration, and the gravity well began to slowly dissipate.
Bingo, I thought. Hunters, one, Wasp, zero.
"Ah...Zero...we've been expecting you."
"I got that impression, Wasp. So where are your other buddies, or do we
have to find that for ourselves?"
"Sand Scarab and Glacial Snowcat should be somewhere around..." he said
ambiguously. "...For now, however, that's none of your concern."
"You are my concern right now. You do understand it's suicide to be one of
the eight guardian Mavericks, don't you? We've never lost to any one of them."
He shrugged. "First time for everything."
Raising a hand, he created a black circle in front of him, obviously a portal of
some kind...
And I felt his fist strike the back of my head. Twisting my head around, I
saw a replica of the hole he had created, his open hand now waving at me.
"Nice trick," I said. "Sigs really did put some thought into you, didn't he?"
"Who said anything about Sigma?" he asked, drawing his hand back and
closing the portal. "I certainly didn't."
"I know Sigma's behind Wraith, Wasp," I said. "Don't play dumb with me."
"Think what you like, Zero. You certainly have that right, at least for now."
"You're as impetuous as he is," I said. "His personality shows."
"Are you going to stand there and talk with me all day or fight?" he asked. "I
can get back to that gravity well, if you like..."
I rushed at him with my saber, dash-jumping off the roof and directly into his
path. I raised the saber to take one good slice, then brought it through its course as
he raised both his hands.
In a flash, I was flying towards nothingness. I could see buildings and the
like, of course...with a second thought, I took a look back. Wasp was...behind me?
He generated another portal, big enough for your entire body, Zero... I
thought. You can't just rush at this guy. You're gonna need some strategy on this
one...Kyte might not be the worst person for this job.
Either way, Wasp was in a mad flight toward me, his arms outstretched and
giving off violent bursts of energy. I have to figure out something now, I thought,
or we may all be toast before we see the rest of these Mavericks!
