Chapter XVI – Plan B
A cautious Treble slowly approached the white robot in front of him. Something about the winged creature seemed familiar, and somewhat dangerous. This new support unit seemed oblivious to Treble's presence until he was almost a foot away. Suddenly, Nall spun around and hissed at Treble. The wolf jumped back and barked at Nall. Bass ran over to them.
"Quiet, Treble. He hasn't done anything to you," Bass said. Treble continued to growl. "I'm not asking you to become friends, just put up with him for a while."
Treble glanced up at Bass, walked away, then lay down and continued to growl. Bass walked over to Dragon, who was examining his beam sword. He looked up as Bass approached.
"You've read over that file I gave you," said Bass. It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes. Sigma seems to have gained quite a reputation in the relatively little time that Reploids have existed. And each time he fought against the humans, MegaMan X was there to stop him."
"And now it's up to his greatest rival to do the job for him."
"What do you mean? From what the file said, you haven't been around long enough to become his rival."
"Don't believe everything you read," Bass chuckled. "The only person alive who has been around longer than me is X. Though Zero comes in at a close third."
"As old as X . . ." reality suddenly dawned on Dragon as he pulled out his beam sword. "You're a Wily-Bot!" The stream of plasma that composed the blade was silver in color, and seemed to be in the shape of a knight's sword, rather that the usual round beam.
"Put that thing away," said Bass. "I work for neither Wily nor Light. They are both long dead. The only sides that exist now are those that want to save humanity, and those who want to destroy it."
Dragon studied Bass for a few seconds, then said, "That is the most melodramatic piece of bull I've heard in my entire life."
"Of course it is," retorted Bass. "It's the only piece of melodramatic bull you've heard. And you'll be hearing a lot more of it once you meet Sigma. Oh, shit."
"What is it?" asked Dragon, mildly concerned.
"I'm supposed to be flying solo on this mission. Now that you're here, it'll screw up the mission plan."
"Why don't I just come with you? I could probably hide among the Mavericks under the alias 'DragonMan', don't you think?"
"No, that wouldn't work. The suffix 'Man' has never been given to a Reploid. There was some controversy over it when custom Reploids started being produced for the Hunters."
"Why would they argue about a thing like that?"
"I don't know. Humans are just like that sometimes. Apparently, they thought that since Reploids were basically just mechanical humans, they should be made to emulate both genders. Almost all of the Hunters are animal shaped, and tend to have two names, like Armored Armadillo, or Crush Crawfish."
"I still look enough like a Dragon that I could get away with it."
"You look like a normal Hunter with a dragon shaped helmet. It doesn't count."
Dragon turned to look at the support units, who were now circling each other. "Nall," he called, and the white dragon took to the air and flew over to the two Reploids. This was perfect timing, as Treble had just tried to attack Nall. Nall hovered at eye level while Dragon stared at him. As if he could read Dragon's mind, Nall latched onto his back and the two began the all too familiar transformation process. After the glowing died down, Bass saw the results of his companion's metamorphosis.
Dragon had changed color, becoming the white and gold of his support unit. Nall's head was perched on Dragon's left shoulder, and his tail wound around Dragon's right leg. Dragon's helmet had retreated slightly into the chest plate, and the collar had risen so that it looked like an actual dragon's head. The beam sword was embedded in his right wrist, so that he could use it and the Buster on his left hand at the same time. Nall's wings were positioned in the middle of Dragon's back, and had enlarged so that they were as big as he was. The wings had seemed feathery on Nall, but enlarged, they were smoother with a feathered pattern.
Bass whistled in disbelief. "Okay, now you could pass as a Maverick."
"I thought that this might help. I take it that you undergo a similar transformation when you combine with your support unit?"
"Um, I suppose so. I don't turn into a wolf or anything, though."
"Since I'm already like this, we might as well leave now."
"Got it," Bass said, turning to Treble, who was sleeping peacefully as the water started to rise above his paws. "Treble!" The wolf shot up and started running towards Bass. When he was a few yards away, Bass completed the command. "Boost!"
Within a minute, the two Reploids were on their way.
A cautious Treble slowly approached the white robot in front of him. Something about the winged creature seemed familiar, and somewhat dangerous. This new support unit seemed oblivious to Treble's presence until he was almost a foot away. Suddenly, Nall spun around and hissed at Treble. The wolf jumped back and barked at Nall. Bass ran over to them.
"Quiet, Treble. He hasn't done anything to you," Bass said. Treble continued to growl. "I'm not asking you to become friends, just put up with him for a while."
Treble glanced up at Bass, walked away, then lay down and continued to growl. Bass walked over to Dragon, who was examining his beam sword. He looked up as Bass approached.
"You've read over that file I gave you," said Bass. It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes. Sigma seems to have gained quite a reputation in the relatively little time that Reploids have existed. And each time he fought against the humans, MegaMan X was there to stop him."
"And now it's up to his greatest rival to do the job for him."
"What do you mean? From what the file said, you haven't been around long enough to become his rival."
"Don't believe everything you read," Bass chuckled. "The only person alive who has been around longer than me is X. Though Zero comes in at a close third."
"As old as X . . ." reality suddenly dawned on Dragon as he pulled out his beam sword. "You're a Wily-Bot!" The stream of plasma that composed the blade was silver in color, and seemed to be in the shape of a knight's sword, rather that the usual round beam.
"Put that thing away," said Bass. "I work for neither Wily nor Light. They are both long dead. The only sides that exist now are those that want to save humanity, and those who want to destroy it."
Dragon studied Bass for a few seconds, then said, "That is the most melodramatic piece of bull I've heard in my entire life."
"Of course it is," retorted Bass. "It's the only piece of melodramatic bull you've heard. And you'll be hearing a lot more of it once you meet Sigma. Oh, shit."
"What is it?" asked Dragon, mildly concerned.
"I'm supposed to be flying solo on this mission. Now that you're here, it'll screw up the mission plan."
"Why don't I just come with you? I could probably hide among the Mavericks under the alias 'DragonMan', don't you think?"
"No, that wouldn't work. The suffix 'Man' has never been given to a Reploid. There was some controversy over it when custom Reploids started being produced for the Hunters."
"Why would they argue about a thing like that?"
"I don't know. Humans are just like that sometimes. Apparently, they thought that since Reploids were basically just mechanical humans, they should be made to emulate both genders. Almost all of the Hunters are animal shaped, and tend to have two names, like Armored Armadillo, or Crush Crawfish."
"I still look enough like a Dragon that I could get away with it."
"You look like a normal Hunter with a dragon shaped helmet. It doesn't count."
Dragon turned to look at the support units, who were now circling each other. "Nall," he called, and the white dragon took to the air and flew over to the two Reploids. This was perfect timing, as Treble had just tried to attack Nall. Nall hovered at eye level while Dragon stared at him. As if he could read Dragon's mind, Nall latched onto his back and the two began the all too familiar transformation process. After the glowing died down, Bass saw the results of his companion's metamorphosis.
Dragon had changed color, becoming the white and gold of his support unit. Nall's head was perched on Dragon's left shoulder, and his tail wound around Dragon's right leg. Dragon's helmet had retreated slightly into the chest plate, and the collar had risen so that it looked like an actual dragon's head. The beam sword was embedded in his right wrist, so that he could use it and the Buster on his left hand at the same time. Nall's wings were positioned in the middle of Dragon's back, and had enlarged so that they were as big as he was. The wings had seemed feathery on Nall, but enlarged, they were smoother with a feathered pattern.
Bass whistled in disbelief. "Okay, now you could pass as a Maverick."
"I thought that this might help. I take it that you undergo a similar transformation when you combine with your support unit?"
"Um, I suppose so. I don't turn into a wolf or anything, though."
"Since I'm already like this, we might as well leave now."
"Got it," Bass said, turning to Treble, who was sleeping peacefully as the water started to rise above his paws. "Treble!" The wolf shot up and started running towards Bass. When he was a few yards away, Bass completed the command. "Boost!"
Within a minute, the two Reploids were on their way.