Chapter 6: Sacred Emotions
"Ni!"
"Ni ni ni ni ni!"
"Who are you!?"
"We are the Knights Who Saaaaaaaay 'Ni'!"
Buzzsaw was laughing out loud and rolling around on his recliner as he watched an old, old, REALLY old movie on the vidscreen in his large, REALLY messy room. Auroran Flash, sporting a neck brace, walked in just as the sound of a launched cow permeated the room.
(twong) "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
"Hey Buzz!", said Aurie, "What are you watching?"
Buzzsaw turned to Aurie and said, laughingly, "Oh this? This is called "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"! It is, like, the funniest movie I have ever seen! I mean, you could bust several guts laughing just from watching this 200-year old movie! Do you wanna watch it with me?"
Aurie smiled and said, "Sure!" She then sat down on the floor next to Buzzsaw's chair as they watched a scene showing, once again, the infamous "Knights Who Say Ni".
"We want................a SHRUBBERY!" (suspenseful music)
"GASP! A shrubbery?!", said Buzz sarcastically. He turned towards Aurie and said, "We don't know where to find good shrubberies these days! The Knights will do terrible things to us if we don't do one of two things to please them. Do you wanna know what they are, Aurie?"
Aurie gave a fake scaredy look and said, "Gee, Buzz. Whatever shall we do?!"
Buzzsaw continued ranting, saying, "If we don't have a shrubbery, then we must stick ten-inch logs up our butts and dance the Macarena while hopping on one foot!! If that dosen't please them, then we must cut off the hair of the world's greatest warrior, then sacrifice it to the BLUE-BUTTED BABOONS OF PHLEGM!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Aurie then broke out into hysterical fits of laughter and rolled around the floor, saying, "BLUE-BUTTED BABOONS OF.....HA HA HA HA!!! IT'S......TOO......F-F-FUNNY.........HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!" Buzzsaw also broke into fits of laughter, but Aurie stopped laughing when she felt a dull, aching pain in her neck.
Buzzsaw stopped laughing, turned off the vidscreen and said, "Whoa, sorry Aurie. I forgot about the pain in your neck. How do you feel?"
Aurie got up, touching her neck brace and said, "I'll be okay, Buzz. The pain's not bad. In fact, the doctor said I can take off the neck brace in an hour."
Buzzsaw then smiled warmly and said, "Ah! You truly are a Mega Goddess!" He then bowed before her and extended his hand. Aurie giggled and extended her hand just as Zero walked into the room.
"What's going on here?", said Zero. Buzzsaw immediately snapped back and said, "Oh, nothing! We were just talking about cutting off ALL your hair and sacrificing it to the Blue-Butted Baboons of Phlegm." Aurie snorted and laughed at that remark.
Zero rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Just don't cut MY hair or you WILL die!"
Buzzsaw then smirked and said, "So Zero. Do you wanna see me break two times my record at the training arena and settle our little bet?"
Zero turned around and said, "Not right now, Buzz. I've got a lot on my mind!" He then started to leave.
Buzz got Zero by the shoulder and added, "Aw, come on, Zero. It'll be fu..."
Zero then pushed Buzz off him and screamed, "I SAID NOT NOW!! RIGHT NOW I WANT TO BE ALONE!!" He then stormed out of his room and out of the barracks.
Buzzsaw and Aurie stood in the room in a dead silence, with surprised looks on their faces. Buzz then said, "What's with Zero? I was only kidding."
Aurie replied, in a concerned tone, "I don't know, Buzz. He's been acting really strange since he got back from Mocpac City. I think maybe he feels responsible for X getting hurt." She then added, "Speaking of which, I'm going to go visit X in the hospital. You wanna come?"
Buzzsaw grabbed some change on the dresser and said, "I'll be by in a little while. I'm going to stop and get something to eat first." With that, the two Reploids left the *messy!!* room and headed out of the barracks.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Moving towards the vending machine in the cafeteria, Buzzsaw was about to make his selection when he heard voices coming from around the corner.
"We have to tell him now, Proto."
"Now is probably not a good time, Roll."
It was Scorch and Royaltie. Or were they??? Buzzsaw hid behind a refrigeration unit and listened in on their little conversation.
"X is still recuperating in the hospital. We can't tell him everything now. Not with his condition."
Scorch insisted.
"But, Proto!", Royaltie said, "Vile nearly killed X last night, and now Dark Phantom has finally returned. It won't be long before he gets Zero to come back to the side of evil and join forces to destroy us all! If we don't tell Mega Man now, later will be TOO late! Please Proto! We have to have our brother back!"
Scorch stood there for a minute in dead silence, and thought about what Royaltie had said. With a serious look on his face, he replied, "Okay, Roll. We'll go and tell him now." Royaltie smiled and hugged Scorch. The red Reploid then added, "Get to Dr. Light's Lab and have everything ready. I'll go get X."
Royaltie nodded and the two Reploids then left the cafeteria, not noticing Buzzsaw standing in the shadows.
The green Reploid thought to himself. Dark Phantom? Proto? Roll? Dr. Light? BROTHER?!! What's going on here? And what's this about Zero once being evil? I should follow them! With that, Buzzsaw left the cafeteria and stealthily trailed behind Scorch and Royaltie.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
"Hi Meggy!", said Aurie as she walked into X's hospital room.
"Hi Aurie.", said X in a slightly weak tone. X laid there on the bed with only two tubes sticking into his stomach. The two tubes led to a Sub-Tank lying on the nearby table, and was in the process of recharging X. His dents and wounds were fixed up and he looked like a better Reploid than before.
"How do you feel.", said Aurie in a concerned tone.
X replied, "I'm feeling better. The doctors did a good job fixing me up and I'll be out as soon as I recharge. How's your neck, Aurie?"
Aurie took off the neck brace and smiled as she said, "Couldn't be better now that the hour's up!" She then frowned and said, "I'm sorry we couldn't be there to help you before, but Vile really knocked us out. Next time we'll teach Vile and his cronies a lesson he won't soon forget, right X?!"
X frowned and said, "No!"
Aurie wore a surprised look on her face and replied, "Wha? We can beat them, X! We're the toughest Maverick Hunters on the planet! We are unstoppable! We...."
X's face cringed in anger. He sat up and screamed, "NO NO NO! NO MORE WARS! NO MORE FIGHTING! I nearly got killed by Vile last night and I might have put ALL of you in jeopardy! My friends! NOTHING can be gained from these endless wars! I HAVE HAD IT! I DON'T CARE WHO WINS OR WHO DIES! I JUST DON'T WANT TO FIGHT ANYMORE!!!"
Aurie stood there in shock and disbelief. She couldn't believe X was saying this! She nervously said, "B-But Meggy, we-"
X interrupted her and screamed back, "STOP CALLING ME MEGGY!!! GET OUT OF HERE AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"
Aurie's eyes began to well up with tears and her lower lip quivered. She then buried her face in her hands and ran out of the room, crying loudly. X felt a great wave of regret washing over him as he laid back down on the bed. At that moment, Scorch walked in and shook his head in disappointment.
"Give up, X? Why?" Scorch inquired.
"What's the point in fighting if no one knows WHAT we're fighting for?!" X angrily said as he disconnected the Sub-Tank from his stomach. He got up and turned towards Scorch.
"SOMEONE knew that answer long ago," said Scorch, "and I believe you still lived up to that cause until now."
"Who IS this "someone" you're talking about?", X asked. He was suddenly again given a feeling of dejavu as he looked at Scorch and the room was silent for a minute. X then calmly added, "I know this is a stupid question Scorch, but, do I know you?"
"It isn't a stupid question, X." Scorch then motioned for X to follow him. He added, "Come with me. I have to show you something that might change your mind."
X held a questioning look on his face as he asked, "Where are we going Scorch?"
Scorch answered back, "Home."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Zero walked very far away from headquarters and was walking leisurely on the streets of Enlitia. The streets were bustling with people and cars, especially on the street Zero was on, where about 10 people were gathered around the local TV store. They watched a news report about the attack in Mocpac City that happened the previous night. The world leaders had decided to hold the Peace Conference to a secret and undisclosed location in order to prevent any future violence by the Mavericks.
But Zero wasn't listening to the news report. He was thinking about the meeting he had with Dark Phantom. Who is he? He thought. What does he know about my past? And what is this "secret weapon" he kept babbling about? His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a crashing noise in the alley he passed.
Zero walked into the alley, with Beam Sabre drawn, and yelled out, "Who's there!". He heard it again and whirled around to find a stray dog coming out of a garbage can. The dog ran out of the alley and into the sidewalk. Zero breathed a sigh of relief.
"I took you for a Reploid of stronger courage.", said a low, monotone voice. Zero heard it and turned around to find a familiar shadow forming into a dark, distinguished figure.
Dark Phantom.
Zero raised his Beam Sabre and yelled, "Phantom! Let's finish this right now!"
Phantom merely dimmed his red eyes as he stately said, "I didn't come here to fight you, Zero. I came here to help you."
Lowering his weapon, Zero said, "What do you mean "help" me?!"
Phantom continued, "I want to help you realize your true destiny, brother."
Zero wore a questioning look on his face, saying, "What destiny? MY destiny is with the Maverick Hunters......and my friends! And why do you keep calling me 'brother'?"
Phantom extended his hand towards Zero and said, "You must come with me if you want your questions to be answered."
Zero pushed Phantom's hand back and yelled, "NO! I want my questions to be answered right here, RIGHT NOW!!"
Seemingly unmoved by Zero's rude retort, Phantom stared hard at Zero and his eyes glowed brighter as he chanted in a rather unholy tone:
"Sleep! I need to sleep! I must close my eyes and sleep! Sleep! Sleep!"
Zero suddenly felt extremely tired and began to feel faint. He suddenly thought, "Phantom's casting a spell on me. I've got to get out of......here......before........."
It was too late. Phantom finished his chant and Zero fell to the pavement in a deep sleep. Phantom remarked to himself, "That was easy." He picked up Zero and said to him, "When you awaken, brother, you will at last return to my side and we will rule together! YOUR future is inevitable!"
With that, Dark Phantom had disappeared in a swirl of smoke and light with Zero still in his arms.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________