MEGA MAN X: ISLAND OF AWAKENING
By Erico
CHAPTER EIGHT: CAGING THE DRAGON
"Time to make the doughnuts." Cristoph mumbled absentmindedly as he came plodding through the doors of Washington D.C.'s GDC offices. The Christmas holiday had gone off without a hitch, and after shutting down the Maverick's ability to play Jack Frost with Cornus's Weather Control Systems on Christmas Eve…
No, the gray haired man thought to himself with a slight twinge of annoyance. After Mega Man X had shut down the Maverick's ability to play Jack Frost with…well, no need to complete the thought a second time. The simple fact was that the GDC, and indeed the very world was capitalizing on the 'new Blue Bomber' as the planet's savior. Which was…
"How to put it exactly??" Cristoph mumbled. Cristoph was lucky in one respect to many in the world. He did not have any personal familial relationships with people who had been affected by the horrors of robotic violence. Saved from those horrors back during the dark days of Wily's robot rebellions, and now even more so with the Maverick's plans for world conquest and the complete extermination of the human race, Cristoph was lucky.
That didn't mean he still resented the entire charade as much as the next robot racist. Probably more so.
"The times will change." Cristoph said absentmindedly as he flipped his plastic security pass at the scanner. The guard inside…reploid, Cristoph noticed with a small scowl, smiled at him and gave a meager wave before turning back to the hallway security cameras.
"I suppose we should try to change the times to work for our benefit."
"So what's the prognosis on Zero's torso and arms?" Cain queried to Hazil, leaning on a rather uncomfortable Medical Cot as the doctor stuck a very cold and sterilized probe in his ear. The gray haired reploid on tank treads squinted for a moment as he peered through the device and into James Cain's ear canal.
"Oh, they're fine. Better than they were, actually…" Hazil pulled the device free of Cain's head unceremoniously and reached for his next object of torture. "The microfusion tank and armor remains virtually unchanged. They did add a pair of shoulder applets, but aside from that…"
"Interesting." Cain mused. "So what about his arms? I doubt the Mavericks would have rebuilt Zero without adding in a few…adjustments."
"Well, they built in a big one." Hazil grunted, turning back with a small rubber mallet. He held up a free hand and wiggled it. "How many fingers am I holding up?" Cain began to mouth a reply.
"FiiiIIMINEYS!" Cain yelped as Hazil rapped him soundly on the kneecap. The reploid doctor allowed himself a small smirk.
"Your reflexes check out." He set the mallet back on his tool table and grunted, signalling to Cain his exam was done. Cain hopped down from his seat and hobbled back onto his walking stick.
"You were saying?" He asked, hoping Hazil would continue. The reploid chuckled for a moment.
"I was saying that someone in the Mavericks knows a lot about piecing reploids together again…and a lot about weapons systems. I assume you recall what did Zero in?"
"Double Buster overload."
"Never again." Hazil replied. Cain raised both eyebrows, even though the reploid had his back turned. "You heard right, doc. I did a hot scan myself of X's Christmas present. Apparently, Zero as well was given the ability to use both Busters simultaneously. Our little boy blue has once more been evenly matched. To top it all off, those twippy Mavericks gave Zero something better. See that yellow handled metallic rod sticking out of that gray pack on his back?"
"You could have said that in lesser words…" Cain mused. Hazil shook his head vigorously.
"Not a blessed chance. These Mavericks are GENIUS. They've given Zero a beam saber, yellow bladed. There's TWO improvements here. One, that grayish pack on his back is directly hooked to his main power. It draws in energy from the Crimson Hunter's microfusion Tank to always keep the beam saber fully charged. What they've managed to accomplish is to make beam sabers MENACING!!" Hazil shook his head. "Before, beam sabers could only be charged at stationary charge points, like a wall socket. This…this gives reploids the ability to carry them anywhere. Sigma was an unholy demon with that thing. If he'd had this recharge pack, there wouldn't have been a soul left to face him."
"I think I've heard enough." Said Cain with a blanched face. Hazil shook his head.
"Swallow more Mylanta, I haven't told you the second bit." Cain rolled his eyes.
"Did they give him the ability to blow mountains apart?"
"Close to it. How well versed in Buster design and mechanics are you?"
"All I know is that most reploids are built with a Buster of some power setting…most only strong enough to give a small shock, but reploids with military roles…"
"OK, OK, you can stop with the history lesson." Hazil clipped. "Needless to say, I've been in contact with some people I haven't forgotten about in my past life."
"Past life?"
"Before I set up my body chop shop here at MHHQ, Cain. Jeezus!"
"Fine, fine." Cain mouthed back. "So you've been talking with friends. So?"
"What the Mavericks have accomplished here is unlike anything before. What they've given Zero in effect…is a triple charge."
"A WHAT!?"
"Well, I'd call it 'Hypercharging' myself. But the basic principle works something like this. Zero's been wired so that he can shunt charged Buster power up into his power pack, and thusly the beam saber. They've given it more than the ability to slash about like some Luke Skywalker crone. No, this yellow tinted wonder can suck up that excess power and HURL IT OUT in a bleeding energy wave capable of slicing through most anything. Seriously, Cain. Hypercharging. The schematics for this are just so damn revolutionary…" Hazil tilted his head back and ran a hand through his silvery hair. "I swear, this is no ordinary Maverick capable of putting this together. This is the work of a MAD GENIUS. I'd like to shake the guy's hand…and them vaporize him." Cain snorted.
"Seems hardly appropriate. Why not just off him in the first place and be done with it?"
"Cain, if I went Maverick, would you have the heart to pull the trigger yourself?" Hazil asked with a quiet voice. Cain froze and turned to look at Hazil with a stunned expression. Hazil was looking at Cain plaintively, begging for an answer. Cain shivered.
"Let's not get into that." Hazil shrugged.
"Fair enough."
"So why not just off him in the first place?"
"Let's not get into that." Hazil snapped back. Cain looked at Hazil. The doctor had a half smile back. Cain's color returned and he smiled in relief.
"Point taken. So X went off again today?"
"Day after Christmas. Yep. One of those X-Hunters issued him a challenge, told X to meet him at the Cornus Geothermal plant."
"The one with the active volcano?!"
"One and the same. Ya know, I read somewhere that place produces all the power for the southern section of the island. For X, it's shooting 2 birds with one stone; slowing down the Maverick domination of the island, AND getting another shot at a section of Zero."
"The first one…Agile? Didn't he use something similar to this Hypercharging system you're describing?"
"Agile had no Busters, and no recharge pack. No, Agile didn't have Hypercharging. However, this next one might. The one thing I didn't manage to tell X…was to keep a lookout for that." Hazil shrugged and turned back to his display. "The best thing I did for him was fully charge that Sub-Tank of his." Cain laughed.
"That boy can take care of himself. We do what we can for him, but now that he's regaining Zero…" Cain shrugged. "Well, I've noticed his mood's improved drastically."
"Why not?" Hazil offered flippantly. "It's not every day one regains a dead friend."
"You're not running with your head on straight!" Violen snapped angrily. Serges stared down at his wristcomm and to the tiny picture of his ally in the regime. For once, Violen's mood had gone sour.
Which didn't happen…not without a very good reason.
Violen felt he had one.
"And just who are you to judge me?" Serges asked calmly, twisting his mustache with a gloved hand.
"Damnit, Serges…"
"Oh, quiet." Serges snapped. He turned his eerie robotic optic downwards and glared daggers. "Listen to me, and listen well. It was Agile who fought X first. Not one of us. The both of us know his head isn't screwed on the straightest. Therefore, there was a high possibility he'd lose."
"So what are you doing then?!" Violen asked tersely.
Serges pondered the question for a moment and maneuvered his spike lined hoverboard to the other end of the room. The room. It had been set up originally as a smaller reserve post to the main one a good distance off. Now that the Mavericks held presence there, its purpose was slightly altered.
This was Serges' ambush room.
"Serges?!" Violen repeated. The doctor Maverick rubbed his chin a bit.
"Why am I doing this?" He mused aloud. Finally, he turned back and stared into his viewscreen. "Perhaps I'm willing to risk my life to test X's abilities. Perhaps I'm wanting to take revenge for all the allies he's killed, and for the fact he almost destroyed Agile. Or perhaps I just don't care if I die or not. Take your pick."
"Crimineys, Serges…"
"Don't fret." Serges clucked. "My hoverboard's fully loaded with explosives, my Blitzkrieg Buster's fully functional, and to get to me, X has to run the gauntlet of lava, hot steam pipes and unfriendly worker 'bots. Just tell Agile to ignore the Cornus matter for now and finish his work on the Ice Fortress. I'll take care of it."
"But Serges…" Violen persisted. The gruffish stovepipe hat wearing Maverick growled.
"What now?" Violen bowed his head for a moment and lifted it back up, genuine concern shining in his eyes.
"What…what if he…"
"Wins?" Serges answered. Violen grew silent, awaiting an answer. Serges shrugged. "Well, I've got my mitts on Zero's head and golden mane of hair…that should be diversion enough for me to escape should it get that bad."
"Great. So in the end we'll forfeit Zero?!" Violen shot back. "He was dangerous enough BEFORE he died. Now that his body's been upgraded, how could we hope to stand out against him should the Maverick Hunters reclaim him all?!"
"I guess that we'll have to try not to lose to him then." Serges answered quietly. He shut off his comm transmission and sighed, looking up at the ceiling.
A nearby rotating door slid apart, and a tall figure walked in, twin flames spouting from his head where ears would be.
"What is it now?" Serges asked hoarsely. The Maverick snorted and pawed at the ground.
"Not like you to be this irrational…even for an irregular."
"Maverick." Serges said back. "Please Flame, if you're gonna refer to my state of allegiance, call me a Maverick. It's much more romanticized." Flame Stag smiled.
"I thought Mavericks weren't artists."
"We're artists of destruction. Besides, so what if I'm slightly irrational?"
"I've heard rumors that Mavericks become irrational just before they die."
"Oh?" Serges queried back amusedly. "Why should that concern you? Are you afraid to die?"
"Aren't you?!" Flame Stag replied in concern. Serges shook his head.
"No. I've never died before, why should I be scared of it? And besides…the technology exists now to bring dead reploids back to life. Zero should be evidence enough of that."
"Zero…" Flame Stag mused. He shook his head and started back to the door. He froze, then turned only a step away from the exit. "But tell me this, Serges. When Zero is truly resurrected, will he be Maverick…or Maverick Hunter?"
The door shut quietly behind the Maverick General, leaving Serges to his thoughts.
And his silence.
The Mavericks knew X was coming this time. That was nothing new.
What was new was that they had set up the time.
"At least they gave me Christmas off." X grumbled, holding still to scan his terrain. They'd sent him a set of coordinates, with explicit instructions not to deviate from them…
Lest a part of Zero be destroyed for X's insolence.
All in all, X had to admire this particular region of Cornus, despite the fact that the very island was born from a horrendous chain event that had triggered Fuji's eruption and buried Light's lab.
Unlike most of the island, the region about the Geothermal Volcanic Plant, or whatever the flaming Hell the Mavericks wanted to call it had been left untouched by artificial growth. No huge tropical foliage grew, and signs of habitation were few.
Aside from the thick metallic pipes pumping hot water and steam about the circular geothermal systems, the outside of the facility looked…
Well, like an undiscovered volcano. The ground was craggy, dry, barren, yet maintaining solidity because of its high rock content. Looking up, X saw he was standing on a high ledge of rock underneath a particularly menacing overhang. Shivering, he decided he'd had enough sightseeing.
No, the mission to defeat the Mavericks…And reclaim Zero…took precedence.
But which of those two is more important, X?
The Blue Bomber of 21XX froze midstep and shook his head in disbelief.
"Oh, cripes…not you again!"
Who were you expecting, the Good Humor Man? I don't exist to piss you off. I'm here to guide you.
"But what are you?!"
What do you think? The voice responded coyly.
"Frackit, I don't have time for this…"
Listen, X. I'll leave when you answer me one simple question: Which mission is more important?
"What…what do you mean?" X asked back uneasily. The voice harrumphed.
Simple. Which is of utmost importance? Saving Cornus…or saving Zero?
X thought on it, his feverish mind weighing the measures of it all. And he came to a startling conclusion.
"I…I don't…know…"
Well, at least you're honest with yourself. Think about it, X. I think you'll find that you'll have to deal with that question sooner than you think…
"Wait!!"
Sooner than you think…
And the voice left him. X took a moment to run a self diagnostic. Disappointingly, the results were all green.
It wasn't a glitch in his systems.
But no matter what caused the voice…
The implications were enough.
"Who's more important, X…" He asked himself quietly. "The mission…or the friend?"
Thankfully, a large armored drone came floating down from above, its thrusters pulsating with a gentle thrum. X recognized it immediately.
A Beetron, a transport drone with minimal vertical abilities but a powerful frontal thrust. And from the looks of it, this one had been modified with a spinning nose blade for devastating ramming attacks.
"Picture perfect Maverick design." X sighed. "Big, clunky, heavily armored, and stupid."
But dangerous.
At least the issue of task importance was pushed off until later.
"Flame, you reading this?" Serges snapped tersely. Flame grunted.
"Yeah…I never would have expected the GDC to stash a Sub-Tank there."
"That's just friggin' great. Now X has two blasted things capable of saving his ass. You're not making my job easy here!" Flame pawed at the cement floor of his control room and rolled his eyes.
Serges had his ambush room, which was medium sized. But Flame Stag's chamber was a wonder. Unlike most other Mavericks, his had more height than width, height that Flame Stag was capable of using to bound off the walls in a fiery ricochet. But at the current moment, he wasn't concerned with his room.
It was his life.
"I guess you'll have to be on the ball then. Besides, your hoverboard has an energy shield on it. If he starts pouring on the heat, block it. I don't have that luxury."
"You trying to make me feel better? I may be Maverick, but I'm still a doctor first and foremost!!"
"Then do what rational minds do. Try to psych him out." Flame snorted. "This is funny. Me, giving you advice?"
"Oh, shut up." Serges snapped finally, slamming his comm off. Flame paused for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his monitor.
The cameras indicated X was drawing close to the first lava trap, an upwards climb with lava trailing after him that would push the Hunter to his limits.
Flame had left his extra Heart Tank in that tunnel, just to tempt X. He'd also left a Barite Lastar…more commonly, a barrier bot. If X went for it, there was a high probability he'd die in the fiery magma rushing at his heels.
There was a certain edge of sick pleasure in Flame's smile as he saw a blur of blue finally move into range of the first camera.
X had arrived. The question was…
Would he make it out?
"Time to play the running man." Flame said calmly, punching in a button on a nearby wall. The entire Geothermal complex began to shake, its widespread buildings about the large volcano trembling by the forces Flame Stag was unleashing.
What had transpired was a brilliant effort. A shielded bomb had just been set off deep in the lava beneath the metallic grills X was walking on. Furthermore, Flame had disabled the energy shield holding that same lava back from immolating the vertical tunnel.
And X was right in its path.
"All right, X…START RUNNING!!"
X had found little opposition in his path. A few modified bipedal drones that shot out a triple burst of plasma was about all that crawled about the tunnels. And now, here he was, out of the narrow tunnels and seemingly in a tunnel that stretched upwards to the sky above. X frowned and looked closer. No, the surfaces were uneven. This wasn't a straight shaft, and it'd take some time to move about.
Suddenly, the ground started shaking, and X had to put more concentration into his feet to keep sturdy. Frowning, X began to charge plasma energy into his gauntlets. Something told him he'd be needing the power.
Finally, a swirling, roiling angry bubbling from below caught his attention. Swiveling his head, he saw just in time the flickering of an energy shield shutting off, and a wave of lava climbing up towards him. Even though not human, it seemed as though X paled.
No time for gawking, X. Unless you're ready to become the blue plate special, I suggest you MOVE!
For once, X agreed wholeheartedly with the aggravating voice in his head.
"Damn it all…Guess you're climbing this thing for real now, huh?!" He growled to himself.
With all the speed he could muster, X took off with a high powered leap at the wall, clenching his fists up. His gauntlets responded, snapping out the grappling claws he used for climbing and digging fiercely into the dirt of the chamber's walls.
Jump, dash, pull, reverse!
SHUT UP!!
Oh, I get it. No need to state the obvious.
Fear, rage, panic…
Every emotion X could think of bled into him, fueled his will to live. No tunnel would get the best of him…
Finally, he reached a small ledge and found himself staring at a Heart Tank, rotating with a slight glimmer of light about it. Without thinking, he rushed at it, slamming it into place in his chest compartment and shutting it almost as quickly.
Then he heard the slam of metal hitting dirt. Twisting about, he found the source.
A goddamned Barite Lastar…had trapped him in.
And the lava was rising.
"No you don't…" X growled, raising both arms up and forming them into Busters. "I WON'T DIE HERE!!"
The Barite Lastar exploded in a shower of sparks as two devastating supershots blew clean through and out the other side. With a powerful scream, X charged through the remains of his would be trap and once more bounded outwards from the tunnel.
Atop the exit to the vertical passage, the ground began to quake fiercely from the stress.
And two things shot out from the hole. A flash of blue, and a raging swell of reddish magma hot on its heels.
X flailed his arms in dismay as he landed ungracefully into the soft grass, the wind getting knocked out of him by the abuse. But as the lava flow erupted behind him, X knew it was better to have his bruises.
He'd managed to stay alive…
Pulling himself to his feet, X narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, those Mavericks are gonna pay for that."
"Agile, do you have a positive confirmation of that data I'm sending you?" Serges muttered growlishly. The purple armored reploid blinked his red eyes a few times before speaking.
"It seems to be about right."
"Christ, you're telling me he's that…"
"He's that crazy, he's that good, he's that powerful, take your pick." Agile replied drily. "Yes, these stats do measure up from the whuppin' I got from him two days ago. He is one powerful twit, no doubt about that. No matter how we'd like our estimates to be, we're just…" Agile threw up his hands in dismay. "Well, let's hope that you've got some devious tricks up your sleeve. Don't give X a moment of breathing room."
Serges blinked back at Agile. The usually grinning reploid hadn't smiled since he'd been reactivated. And Serges had a pretty good idea why. It was a bluish Maverick Hunter with a menacing Buster at the end of his arm. On the flipside, Agile hadn't jangled on his nerves as much and had begun to be very helpful instead of flaky. So perhaps Serges owed X a favor.
Of course, X was gunning for his head now. And all bets were off. Serges nodded to his comrade.
"How goes Ice Fortress?"
"The groundwork's laid. We're in the final stages now. Monitors, connections, arsenals, vending machines, that sort of thing."
"Any final dates you can think of?"
"First of the year. That was our planned date, and we'll make it." Serges nodded again.
"Keep it up then." A chime brought Serges to his senses. Frowning, he turned about and kept talking. "Agile…he's here." Agile's eyes dimmed out and he bowed his head for a moment. "I'm hearing a death knell somewhere in my mind. Let's hope it's his. Agile out. And Serges…"
"Yes?"
"Don't die on me." Serges gave a wan smile.
"I'm not done bossing you 'round yet." He clipped the comm signal off and turned about, powering up his hoverboard so it floated about a foot off the ground. Tucking his hands behind his back, he clenched his right hand into a fist and subconsciously warned his Blitzkrieg Buster to go to standby mode.
His hoverboard's shield was fully charged, and he had a good twenty mine bombs in the drop compartment. Tucking his cloak about himself, Serges slipped back into the shadows and waited.
At long last, the rotating doors opened…a figure came into the dimly lit chamber. The air about the Buster on his left arm was aglow with a purple light, barely lighting up his face, but still giving it shadows.
The Maverick Hunter who had just entered paused and looked about the small room for a few moments, then narrowed his vision down and glowered into the dark corner where Serges lay.
Without a moment's hesitation, he brought up his right hand and fired off a smaller burst of plasma, a greenish blur that streaked along. Serges widened his eyes for a moment before wisely choosing to scatter out of the shot's path and into the open light.
And the shot X had been holding back streaked out towards Serges. Somehow, the Maverick had known he would try that trick…his energy shield flared up only a moment before the shot struck and fizzled out of existence, its energy wasted on the high powered shield.
X lowered his arms. Serges lowered the shield.
"Well now." Serges said drily. "Where's the opening dialogue you're so famous for?" X stared at the Maverick blankly for a few moments, then spoke up again, his voice audible even over the whine of his Buster charging up again.
"I'm X. Who're you?" The Maverick's robotic eye twisted into focus as he smirked.
"You can call me doc Serges. You have me to thank for patching up Zero…I consider him to be my pet project of sorts." X narrowed his gaze.
"So…you were the one who salvaged Zero, eh?" Serges shook his head.
"No, that was my comrade Violen. Agile you've already met…I know this because I put him back together again. I merely patch reploids up…and revive them. Which I was in the process of doing in the week before Christmas…and then I go to discover much to my dismay that Zero and whoever programmed his warp generator back at the MHHQ is very devious indeed."
"Hazil." X corrected darkly. "We call him Hazil. In some ways, he's like you."
"Oh?" Serges queried back, a little surprised. "Why is that?"
"He's grumpy, has gray hair, and fixes up reploids. Many's the time he's saved my ass."
"Well X, shall I use a cheap boast?" Serges shot back. "I am Serges, and I cannot allow you to stop the reunification!!" X frowned.
"The what?" Serges halted midscream and rolled his eyes.
"It's my special name for sticking all of Zero back together and turning him against you, all right?"
"Oh."
"Can I continue?" Serges grumbled annoyedly. X gave a nod, purple light flickering about his body. "Anyhow…IT IS FOR THE GOOD OF ALL!!"
"So's this." X said tartly.
And the room erupted with the sound of unleashed plasma.
The first shot flew on, a menacing wave of power that by previous fight recordings, Serges knew all too well. He tutted and shook his head, stepping down on a switch by his feet.
Instantly, a wide bluish swath of light erupted around both him and the hoverboard, the glittering light offering a slight indication to its true purpose. Serges allowed himself a small smile as he calmly watched the shot approach him.
Finally it struck, the shield and attack hissing at each other until at last the shield won out. The Maverick grinned wider as he stared at X.
The Hunter offered him no satisfying look of stupefication.
"What, aren't you surprised?"
"Doesn't mean I need to look surprised. I've grown a lot since I took down Sigma."
"Indeed." Serges said drily. "You've become an even better killer than before."
"Everyone seems to tell me that. For the time being, fine. I'm a killer. But I'm here for Zero. I assume you brought along the bargaining chip?"
"Zero's head and hair. You betcha." Serges said calmly. "It's stored somewhere in this room, which I won't reveal to you until AFTER you beat me. If you can."
X blinked once, then charged at Serges with his boots spouting fire. The Maverick pulled out both arms and shook his head, then let his hands vanish into Busters.
Blitzkrieg Busters. Serges chucked himself into the air, his dash thrusters sending his body into a gyroscopic spin.
"Try this on for size!!" Serges screamed, pulling the trigger. He didn't know where he was aiming, he just knew that his hoverboard would remotely move to where he would land to catch him.
The room erupted as Serges' modified Busters spat out angry plasma bursts in every direction. For once, X was caught off guard by a Maverick's move. And Serges took a nanosecond to give himself a mental pat on the back as he heard the pained grunt of his foe.
Landing, he turned back around to watch X nurse a rather nasty plasma burn on his shoulder armor. It had distorted a bit by the blast's power, and Serges could tell that it wasn't painless either.
"Not so skippy now, are ya Sparks?" Serges said triumphantly. X looked up through partially glassy eyes.
"Your aim's off."
Serges bit his tongue. Agile was right. X HAD changed. He was no longer the simpering weakling who had gone with Zero on June 19th to take on Sigma.
He had a sickening feeling it wouldn't be him coming out of this the victor.
.
So at long last, you've finally found your true Hunter self.
I never asked for it.
Yet without it, you would be dead right now.
And with it, I'm no longer me.
Fine. Later on you can be you. Basically X, you need to have two states of mind: The civilian, and the Hunter.
And right now…
Now is the time to Hunt.
Dash jump. Turn. Fire before Serges had time to get his shield up from the latest Blitzkrieg.
Ever hear the phrase, leap, strike, and I will follow?
Vaguely.
You're doing fine, X. Just remember to keep focused, and you'll keep alive.
You're not helping me then.
So I'm off then. Until we meet again…
Serges gasped for air as his plasma scorched body screamed at him for power, for surcease to the madness.
"It can't be…" He wheezed. "How could Sigma have lived…through this…" And yet he had.
"You're beginning to falter, Serges." X said calmly. Serges was. Unlike X, he hadn't had the luxury of a full Sub-Tank to drain from. "I'm not as much of a coldblooded killer as you make me out to be. Give me Zero's head, and I'll be on my way."
"That's a stupid strategical error, X." Serges said, picking himself up and leaning on his hoverboard. Quickly, he punched a button that retracted the spikes. No sense in impaling himself. "If you don't kill me now, then you'll have to do it later."
"Later then." X replied with a growl. "I have enough to deal with now. I came for Zero's head and to take back the Geothermal base for Cornus."
"And you think I'm alone?" Serges said. "I'm not a Maverick General…I'm one of the Maverick elite. You'll still have to destroy one Maverick at the end of your plasma parade here today."
"Are you trying to pick my spirits up?" X said sarcastically. "No need to state the obvious. Now point out Zero and be off with you. I don't have time for speeches." Serges raised a weary hand and motioned towards the wall.
"Hidden safe…combination 319."
"Thanks. Now get the Hell out of dodge." Serges groaned.
He'd lost.
"You're only…delaying the inevitable…"
X paid no attention to his warped particles as they shot away from the hidden lair.
"Perhaps." Reaching into his chest compartment, he removed two small circular pads with flashing lights and a center button. He keyed in his comm and opened a channel as he set to work finding the hidden safe.
"MHHQ here." Came the gruff voice of Hazil.
"Doc, I'm alive. Serges won't be bothering us for a while."
"And Zero's…"
"Working on it right now. You sure these gadgets of yours will work?"
"Personal Transport Units, PTU's. Better damn well hope so. The research was funded mostly out of Cain's own pocket, and the GDC's got no claim on 'em. Which means seeing as I did most of the work on the circuitry miniaturization, it damn well better."
"You're repeating yourself."
"It's simple, X." Hazil said, not miffed in the slightest by the new Blue Bomber's response. "Just find a random pebble around where ya are and stick the first one on. Push the center button, and keep your comm open. Take Zero's head along with ya, and if you get a positive response from me, attach the second PTU to it and warp that thing back here."
"Sounds good in theory."
"Rules were meant to be broken." Hazil offered simply. X finally found the safe and punched in the combo. But it didn't work. X widened his eyes.
That no good sonofa…
Hello, Earth to X?! He's a Maverick. Of course he'll lie. But I don't suppose you've tried the obvious combo?
Which is?
Maverick Independence Day.
X gave himself a mental smack. Of course…
"Hold on Hazil, I'm cracking the safe." Quickly, X punched in a three digit number. 6-0-4. June 4th.
It was that day that Sigma and his Maverick followers broke free from the MHHQ in the Death Rogumer and began their rampage. It made perfect sense.
And the safe opened.
X picked up a nearby chunk of wall blown off during the fight and attached the first PTU, hitting the switch as Hazil had mentioned. It whined for a moment, then vanished in a blink of light.
"First package out."
Ten minutes later, as X was staring at an open pit of lava with unsturdy pedestals to get to the other side, and wondering how the devil he'd do it with one arm holding Zero's head, Hazil chirped back in.
"The rock's here. Looks like you weren't the only one shooting plasma." X allowed himself a small smile.
"Zero's Head is on its way."
Flame Stag pawed at the ground, running over the information in his head. Serges had given X the wrong code, yet all the same the Hunter had cracked it.
The Maverick's plan to deceive X and prevent his obtainment of the next part of Zero had failed. He punched in his comm and routed the signal back to Ice Fortress.
"Flame here. Any sign of Serges?" It was Violen who responded.
"Yes. He came back…not in the best of shape." Flame winced.
"Tee-rific. Will he live?"
"Undoubtedly." Violen growled. "But I've got one final ditch effort going on. I'll stop X."
"And how do you propose to lure him anywhere?" Flame Stag asked. "Christ, Violen! He's taken out some of our best Maverick Generals!!"
"He'll come of his own accord. I know exactly where he's headed for once. And I'll be waiting."
"Just what the hey are you…"
"Make me one promise here, Flame. Don't go out easy." Flame felt a pang of fear strike his chest.
"That's not reassuring."
"I'm a realist." Violen said calmly. He shut his comm off.
Back at the Ice Fortress, the hulking Maverick sighed and glared up at the ceiling.
"Sigma, you left us one Hell of a mess. Why didn't you kill X off when he was WEAK?!" No response came from the thrumming machinery. He shook his head and activated his Warp Generator.
"Oh, I know where X is headed. Initial Buster tests showed that a charged version of Flame Stag's weapon acts much as his fire charge. And with that, X holds the ability to find a gem too promising to pass up. That bleeding Heart Tank of Wheel Gator's."
Agile came up beside Violen from a passageway, then scratched at his head.
"I see we all have a death wish. Going out to take on X?"
"He won't be expecting me." Violen said calmly. "That's why I'll win. When he's finished with Flame Stag, he'll make tracks for the Dino Tank again." Agile frowned.
"Hey, the GDC hasn't been able to regain control of that thing, but even so, it's been programmed to attack incoming forces! And knowing X, he's set the shield to only allow his warp signature entry." Violen shrugged.
"All correct. But then, you haven't been in contact with Magnus much, have you?"
"Magna Centipede, the computer geek?"
"Genius. He likes to be called a genius."
"Anyhow, what's your point?"
"He's been keeping constant scans running of X's warp signature as it comes in and leaves Cornus." Agile widened his eyes.
"Ya mean…"
"We now have the capability to fake X's warp signature. For the time being, it will let us get into the Dino Tank. But eventually…imagine what we could accomplish by going straight to the MHHQ!!"
Agile whistled and shrugged his shoulders.
"By all means then." Violen gave a vigorous bob of his head, then scrutinized Agile.
"You've changed. You used to be brimming with energy."
"And then I nearly died." Agile offered weakly. "Go on. The battle is waiting."
Violen pulled out a small device from his chest compartment and placed it on his wrist, then punched a small button in the center. It was a reasonable facsimile to the PTU's that Hazil had played a large part in developing.
And as Violen vanished, the color of his particles changed to blue and white.
Like X's.
Back at the Geothermal plant, Flame Stag froze as he heard the unmistakable creak of the outside rotating door being opened.
"So he's here." The Maverick rasped. Quickly, he leapt up the high walls and bided his time.
It was he who would get in the first shot.
Not X.
Calmly, X opened the second rotating door and took a step forth.
The drop caught him off guard, to say the least. But like a nimble cat, he managed to land on his feet and keep his Busters charged.
"Now where are you?" X growled, tuning up his auditory sensors for any sign of the Maverick.
After running the gauntlet of lava pits, Morguns with igniting tails along a vertical shaft of leaking natural gas, and enough Beetrons to give Sigma fits, X was ready for almost anything.
Anything except the crushing blow that came from above, aided by the power of flaring red plasma burning about a fist. Every pain sensor throughout his body screamed at him from the newfound strain, and somehow the Hunter managed to keep his eyes from rolling back into their sockets. Yet all the same, the force slammed him into the overextended scaffolding that served as the floor along the horrendous shaft.
His auditory sensors picked up a powerful exhalation of air, followed again by a short pause, and then low laughter.
"You're supposed to be the best the Hunters have? They should have chosen better." Finally, most of the damage signals faded away as X reexamined himself.
That blow had been based mainly where his shoulder blades would be. The rest of the damage was minor, barely first degree plasma burns. Still, it hurt like Hell and had dropped his internal operations energy a good 14%.
He picked himself up to his feet and ignored the racking pain that shot through his spinal column.
There stood the triumphant Maverick in control of the Geothermal base on Cornus. He stood tall, yet from his lean appearance, he wasn't a bruiser. In some ways, he resembled X.
In other ways, like his red burnished armor and what seemed to be the head of some horse creature, not to mention the eerie pair of flames jutting from his head where ears would be, this Maverick was completely different from anything X had seen before. How those flame ears kept going…probably a minute matter replicator keeping a constant stream of some sort of gas going to the proper spouts.
"And who would you be?" X growled. The Maverick folded his arms and shrugged.
"Just another chalk mark on your killboard."
"Give me your damn name already." The Hunter snapped. "I've got way too many Mavericks giving me that speech." The Maverick paused for a moment, then sighed.
"Very well. The name's Flame Stag. Most just call me Flame. And I suppose if I wanted to, I could call you dad." The Maverick smiled darkly at that. "Heh…come to punish me for being a bad boy, daddy?"
Boy, this one's a smartass.
Oh, and you're not?!
Hey, I may be a smartass, but I'm not a Maverick smartass. This guy DESERVES killing.
"I assume you do fight?" X asked. "Or were you planning to talk my ears off all day?"
"A Maverick's primary duty is to destroy." Flame chided. "Perhaps that fact eluded you?"
"I obviously haven't learned it yet." X replied. The Maverick narrowed his eyes. The Hunter was becoming obscured by a sort of light locus around him. It was green…no…purple. He frowned.
"Well, I see you're raring to go. That Buster of yours probably has a full charge going."
"THOSE Busters." X corrected. Flame raised an eyebrow.
"Say what?" In response, X raised both arms. His hands faded away to reveal a pair of streamlined blue and white Busters, both targeted straight at the Maverick.
Flame Stag barely had enough speed to dodge the first. The second one, which X was more careful aiming, continued to fly on with purpose until it struck Flame Stag directly in his upper torso. The force of the shot carried him back into the wall and melted away a few rivulets of so ever important protection.
Stunned, the Maverick General got to his feet and glowered at X.
"That's not possible…" X merely gave a half smile and began to charge again.
The Maverick began to growl.
The growl became a scream.
And a few milliseconds later, Flame Stag hurled his right arm forward and unleashed a blast of directed plasma flames at X. The Hunter easily dodged the shot and unleashed his own. Flame Stag's followup left hook provided enough of a charge to cancel X's blast.
"Oh, this'll be fun…" Flame Stag mused drily. And at long last, the Maverick succumbed into rage.
The rationality left him. Only the flames of hatred controlled his movements now.
What was left of the Maverick's sentience hoped dearly it would be enough.
The Central Computer Complex. The hub of the powerful interconnected electronic network spanning all of Cornus.
Home now to the Maverick General, Magna Centipede.
"But I'm Magnus…" He thought painfully. He shook off the sobering thought and turned back to his monitors.
All in all, they'd had a hell of a ride. The Maverick attack, preplanned months before had stuck him as a janitor reploid in this Complex, supposedly as innocent as any on the island. There he'd done his duties, gritted his teeth and pushed back day after day the need to kill those disgusting humans who walked about the pristine hallways. His progress reports had stated he showed unusually high dedication to his job, and he'd gotten a raise for it.
"I suppose it never occurred to them I scrubbed the hell out of those walls because their stinking dead skin cells got grafted onto it." Magnus stated simply. But the mind of a Maverick was strong…for his mission, the Maverick Trio, Serges, Agile, and Violen had needed to pacify him somewhat. In that respect, he was much more different than any of the other generals. The need to destroy, the primary urges one felt as a Maverick were lessened in him…Indeed, Magnus, as he liked to call himself, was a sort of Maverick half-breed.
The eccentricities that had developed because of the pacification experiments were unnerving to the rest of the Mavericks. Aside from Serges, who had enough quirks in his mind already to grasp onto buttloads of his original attitudes and thoughts, Magnus was the one wild card who could continually outsmart the others in a game of Chess. Not to mention when push came to shove, his inclination was to run. Perhaps that was why Magnus had developed the warp boots…
He shook his head.
"Off track again, Magnus…Keep tabs on the island." Calmly, he watched the monitors. Originally, there had been eight green blips. Three of them had turned to red, indicating where X had struck, and won out against some of the strongest Maverick Generals yet. Comparatively, Magnus was weak to the heavy hitters like Wheel Gator and the still living Bubble Crab, his only true upside being the insane blazing speed by which he was able to move about a lair with a combination of his warp boots and inverted force fields.
And while most would think that Magnus had been sitting in the Central Computer's lair, biding his time and accomplishing nothing to help the regime, that thought was sorely wrong. Thanks to the EM shield Magnus had kept up around Cornus, he had been given the ability to scan anything warping in and out of Cornus airspace. And for six times past, that had been Mega Man X.
The signal was complex, as all warp signals were, scrambled and encoded so that positive identification could not be made.
At least, in theory. But Magnus had a rational mind in his head, one that had allowed him to take the warp signature data of X…
And emulate it. Thanks to his efforts, the Mavericks now had the ability with small external warp generators, to warp to and from places masked to look similar to X's own warp signature. Of primary importance was that they could go back to the Dino Tank…Although that did little good. X had locked most of the higher functions of the craft with a good deal of code, making the Dino Tank virtually useless. It was stuck, and no one could command its guns to act on any different target aside from the one the Hunter had assigned.
Still, Violen saw opportunity. Magnus had to smile at that. Violen wasn't the most intelligent Maverick, but when he saw opportunity, he by God took it. So the Dino Tank was useless to them as a weapon, or even a defensive measure against GDC forces. Fine. The Mavericks had been in worse odds, they'd manage.
But Violen's idea still held promise. The Heart Tank left there by the mainly muscle-minded Wheel Gator sat on a ledge guarded by a menacing wall of spikes. If X succeeded in overcoming Flame Stag and claiming his weapon, he would find, as the Maverick's initial Buster weapons copy tests showed, that when charged up, the copy version of Flame Stag's plasma fire weaponry would allow the user to shoot through the air as a blazing rocket.
Namely, that gave X the ability to reach the Heart Tank. And he would come, probably right after completing his business with Flame. And when he did…it was a simple matter for Violen to trigger the auto alert on the Dino Tank and prevent ANY warp-ins…or outs.
X would find his glimmering Heart Tank…and then being trapped in that metallic monstrosity, would have to make his way to Violen's hidden lair.
There, the duel would be fought. The final duel. It was the X-Hunter's final shot at things here on Cornus.
The speakers by the monitor bleeped a sad chord and the green blip on the Volcano base went a dark red. Magnus's smile faded. Only one thing could trigger that…the sensor monitoring Flame's vitals had been shut off…along with the rest of the Maverick.
X had won. Calmly, Magnus reached for his wristcomm.
"Magnus to Violen…he's on his way."
Let it be said about you, X. When opportunity knocks, you certainly don't let it stand out in the cold.
Point taken. Is that a compliment, or an observation?
A little of both.
The Dino Tank, the GDC's prize and joy inside of the gem known as Cornus, had thankfully been left untouched by Maverick hands. Of course, it should have. X programmed the juggernaut's computer to keep a low level shield up at all times, and allow warp entry and access only to his signature. And so, the effects of his initial rampage six days ago still fresh on the craft's interior, X had little problem weaving and retracing his way through the beast's belly. To where he knew he had to go.
And finally, after climbing up the ladder from the Dino Tank's scaffolding, he arrived. Smiling, he stared at the treasure for a moment before moving over to an upraised section of the floor. His armor shifted colors for a moment as he selected his new weapon, the Speed Burner until he was a burnished red and silver. His left Buster whined as the special weapon began to charge up energy, from green to yellow, and finally a blistering purple locus of light surrounding his body.
He took a huge dash jump towards his objective, gaining enough altitude to be just above the wall of spikes. It was gravity that would bring him to his doom.
Ordinarily, yes. But not today. Releasing the trigger, he allowed his Buster's charged up power to flare out synthesized plasma flames about his body, surrounding him with a fiery shield that sent him onwards in a second burst of speed…a modified air-dash.
The power gave out just as he cleared the menacing wall, and triumphant, X put the Heart Tank into his chest compartment.
"Easier than I thought." X said happily. "This new weapon does wonders, all right!"
He closed his eyes and brought his warp generator online, activating the procedure to take him back to the MHHQ after a long day of fighting.
System Error: Warp-out impossible at this time. X opened his eyes in stunned disbelief, reading the message in the corner of his eye.
"What the…"
"I am assuming you just tried to warp out, X." X froze in horror as he heard the voice, then swiveled about. "Oh, don't worry. It's nothing wrong with you, X. I merely put the Dino Tank on full alert."
Well, that certainly answers a few questions.
Like, how could you NOT see this coming?
And you did?
In a way. But then, ya hardly listen to me anyhow. Eventually X, you're gonna hafta use your own instincts. Leaning on me is like using a crutch with a good leg.
"Oh, I get it." X mouthed back to the speakers implanted throughout the metallic juggernaut. "You're a Maverick, and this is some sort of trap?"
"Yup." Said the Maverick. X winced. He'd heard this voice before.
"By any chance, are you that third voice on the message we got entailing Zero?"
"Yup." X shrugged. A Maverick of few words. "The name's Violen. Soon, you'll get to an elevator you've used before. Here's the trick. You gotta keep going up, instead of hopping off on the floor you used before. Can you manage that?"
"Better hope so." X said. "Otherwise, I won't be fighting you now, will I?"
"Exactly." Violen growled. "Get here quick." The speaker snapped off, indicating the comm circuit had been shut off. X narrowed his eyes and stared up at the ceiling for a moment.
Tell me, why can't you inform me of these things ahead of time?
You need to develop these senses on your own, X.
"Guess I should get going then." The Maverick Hunter finished wistfully. "I'm not getting' any younger."
The trip didn't take X nearly as long as he thought. True to his word, the Maverick's hidden lair was embedded deep in the bowels of the Dino Tank, farther up the elevator shaft.
What the Maverick had neglected to mention was that the entire span of the tunnel was spike lined, and that the roof was capable of instantaneous death as well. But no matter. X was small enough and fast enough now with the addition of his air-dash boots that making it out of tight spots wasn't a problem in the least.
He calmly brought his Busters to full charge and took a breath of air, then slipped inside the rotating door.
And there at the opposite end of the room stood a Maverick unlike any X had seen before. Standing, it would have dwarfed X immensely. As he stood now, slightly hunched over, the yellow and brown colored apelike Maverick was only six or seven inches taller than the Hunter. Yet his eyes glimmered with rage, and a ferocious set of teeth glittered in his mouth.
This was the Maverick called Violen.
"Afternoon, hot stuff." Violen said lowly. "I assume you're ready to die?"
"Ready to fight." X replied. He wasn't running on all engines, one of his Sub-Tanks was bone dry, but all the same…
"Talk is talk." The Maverick snapped. "X, I shall crush you like a tin can!!"
X wasted no time in releasing his first plasma fireball.
Yet something shot out from behind the Maverick, whistling with intense speed until it slammed into the ground in front of him with a shuddering crack. The plasma struck the object and was promptly scattered in every direction, making the shot useless.
X stood agape for a moment as he looked at the menacing object pick itself up and quiver slightly in the air. Then his frown reasserted itself.
"Lemme guess. You've got a plasma deflective mace on a chain for a tail." Violen gave a thumbs up and laughed darkly.
"Care to give up?"
"Consider this to be a game of Yahtzee. I've yet to roll my pair of sixes." X said, crouching lowly.
"Oh, this'll be fun…" Violen echoed. "I always did want to smash me a Maverick Hunter!!"
And the question rang in X's head, along with that infernal second voice.
Well, well now. A big, lumbering Maverick. Ordinarily, he'd seem slow, bulky…capable of taking a lot of punishment. Yet at the same time he has that tail.
Yup. And I'll bet it isn't exactly a lovetap if it hits.
For this one I'll offer my help.
Piss off. I'm doing this on my own. The voice chuckled softly.
That's my X. Just remember, that Sub-Tank's there for a reason.
The fight was intense, and the metallic walls of the Dino Tank had long ago all been torn to shreds by plasma thrown out from both of the fighters. X had his trusty Busters, yet Violen had shown a particular type of plasma blaster unknown to X. The trigger mechanism and barrel assembly didn't require a Buster, rather it seemed to X that the Maverick Violen merely pointed with his palm and several furious blasts of power came burning out towards X in a scatterburst.
But the plasma Violen threw out was little more than annoyance compared to that mace attached to his backside. It did more than merely get thrown out once, as Violen demonstrated his insane ability to have it bounce off ceilings, walls and floors in a frenetic ricochet that more often than not had the devastating potential to turn X into a grease spot.
"How ya like THAT?!" Violen laughed crazily, leaping high into the air and unleashing a spray of plasmafire towards X down below.
The Maverick Hunter was panting now. At best, he'd managed to melt some of that insane armor off of Violen, yet the Maverick had gotten in some good plasma bursts. Thankfully, he had yet to hit with that tail. Of course, maybe X had gotten stronger.
Violen came crashing down again, and X hit him full bore with both Busters at full charge. The Maverick roared as another microlayer of his protection burned away, and hastily threw his tail out towards X again.
The menacing mace's aim was true, but X was far speedier than the lumbering Violen, and backblasted away from the impact. The tail came up in its predictable ricochet, and X unleashed the smaller green streamer he'd been saving up. Lacking time to charge up another shot, he brought up his special weapons grid and chose the Spin Wheel, his blue and partially white armor shifting and fading into green and white. Calmly, he pulled his Buster's trigger and watched as out of thin air, a powerful sawblade came into existence and landed on the ground, tearing off at high speed until it struck Violen's foot and began to chew its way through.
The Maverick screamed again, yet this time from pain and not rage. Pulling his tail in as quick as he could, he hopped up into the air to unleash another wave of plasma. X switched back over to his normal Buster and began charging again.
"You're dead, X. DEAD!!"
Boy, that's a lousy taunt if I've heard one.
X, WATCH OUT!!!
X frowned and watched closer…far too late. Unlike in previous attempts, Violen hadn't froze in the air to fire at him. Instead, he was coming down full bore…intending to smash X to pieces underneath his bulk.
"Aaaw, CHRIST!!" Yelped the new Blue Bomber, quickly dashing out of the way. Making haste towards the other end of the room, X didn't see Violen land with his right arm extended out towards him and begin to fire.
Unlike before, the plasma spewed by Violen was accurate. X had frozen in the headlights…hadn't predicted the Maverick would change strategies…and was now in hot water.
He cried out as the hot plasma bored into his backside and easily ate away at the unprotected basic armor he had been bestowed with at birth. His pain sensors went berserk, and X collapsed onto the ground unaware of everything but the maddening sense of destruction that had occurred unto him.
But Violen had more planned…
X's cried intensified as the heavy spiked mace of Violen slammed full force into his wounded backside, puncturing through the armor and almost reaching his very vitals…his Microfusion Tank, his backbone, as vital for neural control over his body as it was in humans…and the blood vessels…
A warning signal began to flash in the corner of X's eye.
Armor breach. Chest cavity exposed. Recommend immediate medical attention and stasis.
Well, this is a fine mess you've gotten yourself into.
It hurts…God, it hurts…
You've done worse to others. Now stop the bellyaching, drain that Sub-Tank you've been saving, and get ready to take Violen down…HARD.
I can't…
"I can't…I can't…" X wheezed. "Pain…the pain…"
Violen laughed as he retracted his mace back to its stationary position and began to trudge towards his foe.
"I figured as much. The others thought strategy and fancy weapons could defeat you. Leave it to dumb old me to realize it'd take an incredible amount of armor and some serious physical weaponry to…" Violen's laughs sputtered out as he doubled over and coughed.
Coughed blood. Not like X could see it. But Violen realized what had occurred. He'd won by the narrowest of margins. One, maybe two more full powered plasma supershots by the little boy blue and he'd be in just as dire a condition as the other X-Hunters.
X clamped his eyes shut and put more power to his auditory sensors. He activated his backup circuits and commanded his body to drain a Sub-Tank, feeling instant relief as the energy was routed to the nanobots in his bloodstream that went about sealing his wounds. The damage to his armor they couldn't fix…but it took him out of critical and gave him a second wind. Quickly, he drew in his concentration and began to charge both arms up. He'd need this final blast…he knew Violen was close to defeat.
Violen finally reached X and dragged the Hunter up by his head, the Maverick's massive hand easily dwarfing X's helmet. Raggedly, Violen breathed through his nose as he looked at X.
"You're trouble, I'll admit that…you're just no match for me." X didn't say anything, didn't respond. He merely kept his low level Buster charge rate continuing, low so the Maverick would not hear a whine or see a flickering aura of purple about him. "Agile, he was just cocky. He had it coming. Serges…he was never built to fight intense." X fought the urge to grin at Violen's horrific language use. "But me…ME, X…It was ME who found Zero in pieces in Sigma's Flying Fortress…ME who took them back to Serges as a momento…ME who has now defeated YOU!!!" X popped his eyes open at that and glowered at him.
"Every time you open your mouth, you prove you're an idiot." Violen's eyes shot wide apart in surprise. Surprise too late…
X lifted his arms up and morphed them into Busters, then fired at point blank.
The final vestiges of Violen's incredible armor vanished in the plasma's fire, and the shot separated the two.
X landed on his feet, breathing heavily and holding his Buster at the ready. Violen skidded to a halt and did not move an inch.
"I won." X spat back. "Not you." Violen could not even offer a groan. Damaged beyond his ability to move, even speech was something he lacked.
X came closer to Violen and pointed his Buster at the Maverick's head.
"Zero's legs. NOW." Violen could not move his arms. Could not move his legs. Could not even groan from the intense pain.
Only his eyes moved. And they moved towards the nearby wall. X walked over and examined it.
This one was a natural compartment of the Dino Tank, unlike the hidden safe of the past two X-Hunters. Grimacing, X pulled what was left of the hatch away, trying to push back the despair as it fell off of its hinge with ease.
I sure hope you didn't blow his legs to slag in this fight.
I sure hope one day you'll shut up and never bother me again.
Gingerly, X reached inside…
And with trembling hands, removed a pair of perfect legs, dash boots attached.
He let out a long sigh.
At long last…
All of Zero was back in Hunter hands.
"Zero…we're gonna get you back." X vowed. "Hazil'll fix you up…don't worry…"
"X…" Groaned Violen at long last. The Maverick Hunter turned and glowered.
"What do you want?"
"Kill…me…" X widened his eyes at that.
Well, this is familiar. Does he sound a bit like Overdrive Ostrich?
Oh, come on! How can I be expected to honor a request like that?!
Well, you kill Mavericks when they DON'T ask for it…Look at it from his perspective. He isn't smart. All he had going for him was his pride and his physical ability. You've managed to overcome both. Even if he manages to limp back home, it will be in shame. He's failed. They may kill him, may exile him for his failure. Right now, death is the more favorable option to him.
Then let him live.
"No." X said quietly. "Violen, you set up this trap. It failed. Live with that defeat." Calmly, X walked out of the other side of the room through a second rotating door. The outside of the Dino Tank, and the airspace outside the full alert EM shield beckoned.
Violen lay there and blinked his eyes shut. For the first time in his life, he shed tears, water formed over his optics until it blurred his vision.
"Unification in Jeopardy…I'm a failure…Failure…" He whispered. Using what was left of his power, he reached into his now exposed chest compartment and pulled out his transporter. The Dino Tank would take another 30 minutes before it went off full alert for power conservation.
That was time X had given the Maverick to wallow in his shame.
And Violen vowed…
"I'll get you, X…" His voice was weak, but the determination was strong. Fatigued, his arm dropped back down to his side, transporter in hand.
"I'll get you…"
Cain and the MHHQ had heard about X's success in the Geothermal base quite a while ago, and expectantly they had waited for their Blue Bomber to return.
Hazil was making a very unexpected house call in the War Room, choosing to remain close to where first mention of their hero's return would come. Cain nervously fidgeted in his chair, the coffee mug full of brown liquid long since gone lukewarm and unattended. There were some newbies in the room, Cain noticed. He grimaced and checked himself. Correction, they were all 'newbies.' But they were learning, at least. They were taking their duties seriously, as they well should. Mankind's fate rested in their hands, and at the moment the very figurehead of the Hunters had yet to return.
All were nervous. It shouldn't have taken X this long to get back…Had he succeeded, only to be taken down?
Cain cleared his throat and motioned to a nearby attendant to take the cold coffee away. He rubbed at his eyes and tried to clear his mind. No, now was not the time to ponder such things.
A chirping signal from the nearby scanning station caused the tech to look up with hope in his eyes.
"It's X!!" He quickly turned back down and continued to read the data. "Hazil, Cain…" He turned to them with a look of worry on his face.
"He's in the Medical Bay…" Hazil's eyes darkened.
"Sod it." The doctor growled, taking off at high speed with his tread basin down an exit and through the hall that would lead him to his station.
Cain turned to the warp tech and snapped tersely, "You're in charge!!" Before hopping down and hobbling along at his much slower pace towards the Medical Bay.
When Cain got there, it seemed as though his namesake had come to wreak his own form of destruction. X was gasping, wheezing, struggling against Hazil's ministrations as the doctor tried furiously to put him into stasis.
"Get out of my HEAD!! GET OUT!!" Cain widened his eyes when X's struggles turned him over and revealed the extent of his damage.
Almost all of his back was ripped wide open, and purple blood was now long since dried.
But there was fresh blood as well…
"Oh my dear Lord…" Cain uttered.
"Hold still, damnit! I'm trying to save your life here!!" Hazil cursed at the Hunter.
Moaning, X clutched at his head and clenched his eyes shut.
"Go away, go away, go away…" Hazil finally noticed that the father of all reploids had entered the room. Grimacing, the doctor shook his head.
"I know, I know. He hasn't looked this banged up in a long time." Hazil grunted as X's howls grew louder and he struggled some more. Forcefully, the doctor pushed the Hunter back to the cot. "And it's not HELPING MATTERS HE'S GOING INSANE!!" He had to scream to make himself heard over the racket produced by Light's last creation.
Thankfully, X's strength ebbed and gave out, and the Hunter collapsed into involuntary stasis. Hazil let out a sigh of relief and pulled out his diagnostic scanner.
"Thought he'd never stop." Gingerly, Cain approached the table.
"How bad is it?"
"Well, the big gaping mess of crushed armor you see here was caused by something big, blunt, and powerful. Almost like someone took a sledgehammer to him…a twenty ton sledgehammer…" The doc shook his head. "But that doesn't account for all the damage. He's got substantial plasma wounds as well…and I think that happened after his beating. Needless to say, he's lucky he made it back THIS intact." Hazil paused to look at his forensic results and whistled appreciatively. "Damned lucky."
"Will he…"
"Make it? You betcha. There's a reason I've stayed here this long, doc." Hazil said with a twinkle in his eye. "These guys just can't live without me. Still, I am going to have a long talk with X when he wakes up. Something's going on inside that skull of his…and this scanner's only turning up green. Whatever it is, only he knows about it."
"You're saying he's going insane?" Cain said meekly. Hazil gave a slight heave of his shoulders.
"Well, he wasn't yelling at me, I can tell you that…But he was successful on all counts." Hazil motioned to a dimmed corner of the Medical Bay Cain hadn't noticed before.
The archaeologist trotted over a few steps before narrowing his vision.
He froze a moment later.
The darkness held many secrets…
But now it held all of Zero. In pieces, of course, but…
"He did it, Cain." Hazil said softly. "Against all odds, this little guy managed to win out and get back our best Hunter ever."
"You can rebuild him?"
"Hell, most of the work's already done FOR ME. I've just never reinitialized a reploid before…it's a field of medicine I didn't study in, reanimation…" Hazil ran a hand through his hair. "And results from people who HAVE shows that there's a very good chance the reanimated reploid loses some of their memories."
"I know, I know…" Cain said gingerly, rubbing at his temples. "It's something I never did understand from Light's schematics…Something about the reinitialization of a reploid's control chip after sustained deactivation causes it to dump small bits and pieces of the RAM cache."
"And nobody on Earth's ever figured it out?"
"Afraid not. There are people who get degrees in robotics far beyond my capacity…And even THEY can't stop it from happening. The control chip is delicate a component enough." Hazil shrugged.
"I'll try my best then. But for now, my primary concern is for the living." He motioned to the door. "No disrespect doc, but get out. Tell the troops their indomitable leader'll make it through just fine."
Cain nodded, but didn't smile.
"He's gone through Hell for us."
"Who do you mean by 'us', Cain?"
"Humans." The doctor offered meekly, hobbling towards the door. "And yet all the while, the race he seeks to protect continues to be biased against him and all his children, to the point of seeking their extermination. He's forever changed because of the horrors in his life…and he's barely two years old."
Cain walked out of the room, and the lights dimmed down some until Hazil was comfortable with the luminescence level. He smiled as he looked down on the fatigued and battered frame of X, then clucked his tongue and reached for his tools.
"He's a lot older than that, Cain. Old enough to be a savior."
"For everyone."