CHAPTER THREE: THE BODY OF X, THE MIND OF Z
By SallyX
Neo was dumbfounded; he didn't know what to do. His new friend X was squirming on the ground in pain, but then Neo had a thought in his mind. What did X say? He thought, it was something about getting Cain. He thought a little more, and then it struck him. Dr. Cain! That doctor he was speaking of! But how would I reach him? Neo pondered.
Neo had one idea, and ran up to X. "X!? X!?" He screamed. "How can I reach Cain?" He was trying to get the answer from the pain stricken reploid. X's pain seemed to cease for a moment, and he turned to look at Neo.
"Just…press…that…button…there." He muttered, and then the pain and cries returned. Neo pushed the button on X's wrist band, and instantly a voice streamed though. It was Dr. Cain!
"Hello? Who is this? X?" Dr. Cain greeted. Neo spoke to Cain.
"Hello, Dr. Cain? This is Neo. You don't know who I am, but I am here with Mega Man X, and he is in great pain! He was attacked by a robot named…he was named…Plasma Frog! That was his name…Plasma Frog! Please Dr. Cain, come immediately, X needs your help!"
Cain nodded, and then asked one final question. "Where are you?" Neo looked at his surroundings.
"I'm not sure what it's called, but it seems to be a hill from which you can see the whole city." Cain knew where they were.
"We will be there as soon as we can." With that, Cain pressed a button, and the voice faded until it was gone. Neo stayed near Mega Man X until the wind picked up, and he saw another chopper in they sky. Neo knew this one was from the Maverick Hunters however, and he picked up X in his arms. Running toward the helicopter, and then loading him on when it landed. Neo sat in the front seat with Dr. Cain.
"You must be Neo." Cain greeted, sticking out his hand, and Neo shaking it. "Thank you for informing me of X's condition, but I have one question. Who exactly are you? Tell me a bit about yourself."
"Well," Neo began, "I'm actually from the past, and Mega Man was destroyed. I stumbled upon Dr. Light's laboratory, and he said it was my destiny to become the next Mega Man. Now I am known as Neo Mega Man, and I was supposed to stop Dr. Wily when I was mysteriously transported here."
Cain's face lit up with astonishment. "You know Dr. Light!?"
"Why yes, why is that bad?" Neo wondered. He wasn't even sure himself if Dr. Light was trustworthy.
"Of course that is not a bad thing! In fact it is amazing!" Cain exclaimed, pulling the lever to hoist the copter off of the ground. "Mega Man X was actually one of Dr. Light's creations before he died. I found X in Light's laboratory ruins, and reprogrammed him. I then created nine other robots for X to interact with. All of them turned Maverick; they were Chill Penguin, Launch Octopus, Spark Mandrill, Boomer Kuwanger, Flame Mammoth, Storm Eagle, Sting Chameleon and Armored Armadillo. They were lead by Sigma, and brought forth the first Maverick uprising. There are some Mavericks about the city as we speak, but I cannot say as of now if it is another one of Sigma's Maverick uprisings or not. I guess time will tell, won't it?" Cain grinned.
"There," Cain pointed, "there is the Maverick Hunter Headquarters, which is our destination. We will fix X right up, and he will be in a new mission tomorrow. You can stay with us until you find your way home if you like Neo."
Neo smiled. "I would love to stay with you and Mega Man X. It will be interesting to learn from my successor." The helicopter landed on the roof of the building, and a white reploid who must have been hiding in the back since Neo had not seen him, carried X out. Neo looked up at him, and he smiled.
"Names Live Savor, what's yours?" He grinned, while walking and holding X's body. Neo continued to look at him while he answered.
"My name is Neo, nice to meet you Live Savor." They entered the building through two large see-through glass doors.
"I am the medic around here. I make sure all the reploids are working correctly, and there are no viruses, jobs like that. What brings you here?" Live Savor asked Neo.
"Well," Neo began, "it's kind of a long story, but let's just say I am what Mega Man X is, only in the past. I was transported here somehow." Live Savor nodded.
"I see." He said, "Well it was lovely chatting with you, but I must bring X to the operating room. I shall have to talk to you later sometime. Goodbye Neo."
"Bye Life Savor." Neo waved as the doors shut to the operating room. A hand rested on Neo's shoulders, and Neo swirled around to see who it was. It turned out to be Dr. Cain. "Oh, it's just you Dr. Cain. You scared me!"
"Quite sorry Neo, it wasn't the intention at all. Let me introduce you to some of the Maverick Hunters here, alright?" Neo nodded, and they began walking. A door opened up to their right, and a red armored female robot emerged. "This is Alia; she is our mission director. She guides X and others in their missions, and make sure everything runs smoothly."
Alia stuck out her hand to shake Neo's. "Who is this?" Alia asked.
"My name is Neo, pleasure to meet you…Alia." Neo was a bit nervous, as a strange feeling had washed over him. A nervous sensation spread throughout his body when Alia shook his hand, and he didn't know what it was.
"Alright, we must be going. Have a good afternoon Alia." Cain instructed.
"Bye Alia." Neo waved. Alia looked back and waved to Neo, smiling. Neo felt very funny inside, as he had never felt before. What was it? Was it a virus? He wasn't sure, but next thing he knew they were facing a black armored reploid.
"This is Signas. He also helps out with the missions, but he doesn't direct them like Alia." Signas lowered his hand to shake Neo's. He had a very cheerful voice.
"How ya doin?" Signas greeted. Neo smiled at him, and then told Signas his name.
"Hello Signas, my name is Neo." Signas stopped shaking Neo's hand, and stood up straight again, as Signas was relatively tall. Signas then turned to Cain.
"What's my next assignment Cain? I finished the Maverick classifications on the four that are known. Would you like to see them?" Cain's face lit up.
"Of course I would, that sounds great! Come along Neo!" Cain exclaimed, and he followed Signas to the information room, with Neo following closely behind. Signas went up to a huge computer and tapped a few keys. The whole wall in front of them was made of huge screens, and a picture of a frog appeared.
"The first Maverick is known as Plasma Frog. X has already encountered him. He once lived underground all alone by himself. Something has turned him Maverick, and now he is very dangerous. He is able to use his tongue to poison his enemies." Signas pressed another button.
"The second Maverick is Cold Steg. He is of an ancient breed of Reploid, which they stopped designing awhile ago. He is a Stegosaurus, and his specialty as you guessed is ice powers. He is a very angry Reploid, so X should definitely be careful when fighting him." Click, another slide popped up.
"This Maverick is known as Shining Griffon. He was sworn to protect Sigma's airbase, but now Sigma is nowhere to be found. He still guards the airbase in hopes of his master returning. He is very loyal to Sigma, and will stop at nothing to destroy anyone that intrudes into the airbase." The last key is pressed, as the last and final slide pops up.
"Wave Vinemonster is the final known Maverick. He once worked with Sigma, and resided with his brother Reploid Axel the Red. When he heard news that Axel was destroyed, he fled to the jungle in fear of being destroyed. He has stayed there ever since. He is considered very dangerous however."
Signas turned back around to face Cain. "So there you go, there's the known Mavericks. There is rumor that there are still four unknown Mavericks wandering about."
"Very well done Signas, you did a good job! You know what? You go take a break! Go down to the café and get something to eat or something. You deserve it." Signas smiled.
"Thanks a lot Cain." And with that Signas walked out of the room. As soon as Signas walked out, Live Savor walked in.
"Cain! I have some news for you!" Live Savor could barely breathe; it seems he had been running to tell Cain the news. "We have fixed X, but some things have changed. First off, his brain is not the same. We had to change it. It is still the same body of X, but his brain is completely different. When you speak to him and get to know him, he will have different thoughts. The other change is his armor. It has been completely redesigned to armor no other Reploid has ever been armed with. Cain, he is no longer X. He is more advanced than X, and he himself has given himself a new name."
Cain's eyebrows lifted in astonishment. "What would that be?"
Live Savor gave Cain the name. "He wants to be known as Mega Man Z."
