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Mega Man X13:
In Search of Lost Time

Chapter 4: "Maverick"

"What kind of casualties are we looking at?" asked The Doctor.

"Exel, Talon, Neko, and MXB2 were killed," said Jakesten. "Everyone else except Andante was injured, and Drune is ... missing."

"Missing?" asked Doctor de Capo.

"When she warped away, she took Drune with her," said Andante.

"Blast," said Edward. "He was one of our best."

"Hmm," said the Doctor. "I suppose we have no choice but to count him as dead, given the capabilities of One Alpha. Now, Andante, how did you defeat the Maverick?"

Andante shrugged. "I have no idea. I just ... did it. I think it may have been some sort of instinct programmed into me ..."

All three of them turned to Edward. "What!?" said the computer. "Oh come on, how would I know!?"

"Because you've been monitoring her brain for the past one hundred forty-seven years," said the Doctor pointedly.

Edward sighed. (It is at this point worth noting that, being a computer, he didn't have anything even remotely resembling lungs, and so the term "sigh" is used to indicate he played the sound of his voiceprint exhaling in the manner described as "sigh") "All right. It was an instinct programmed into Andante specifically for the purpose of defeating that one Maverick."

"Who built her?" asked Jakesten. "Either of them."

"I believe that One Alpha was built by a commonly-known mad scientist, named Dr. Albert Wily," said Edward, ignoring the electric surprise that this answer generated. "He was much more secretive about One, but he was simultaneously in the process of building a male Reploid known as Zero Omega."

"So that's what that was about," said Jakesten.

"Yes," said Edward. "As for Andante, she was built by a Dr. Stephen Halvorsen. No more I will tell you until the right time."

"Would you care to define this 'right time' for us?" asked the Doctor.

"Certainly. The right time is when One leaves us no other choice. Now if you'll excuse me," and he switched off.

"I hate it when he does that," muttered Jakesten.

"I'm almost tempted to have a data sifter go through that impertinent laptop," said the Doctor, tapping a key on his computer in response to a comm chime. "Yes? -- Gaius, you know better than to try to contact us directly!!"

The black Reploid flinched on the monitor. "I'm afraid I have been infected by the Maverick Virus and transmitted it on to Drune," he said.

"What!?" exclaimed all three.

"I was careless with my transciever, and I recieved a relatively minor virus in my electronic mail system," said Gaius. "It sent a copy of itself to Drune before I could remove it, and the Maverick Virus also sent itself."

"When was this?" asked the Doctor.

"Yesterday. Early afternoon. I am almost at the end of the first phase."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear this," said the Doctor, resignedly. "Can you ..." He paused. "Can you end your own existence to prevent the spread?"

"No," said Gaius. "Even during the second phase, the Third Law is still too strong." He winced again.

"What are these 'phases?'" muttered Andante to Jakesten.

"They're phases of your condition as the Maverick Virus attacks the Three Laws," he said. "In the first phase, it attacks the Second Law, and you get lapses in judgement. In the second phase, it attacks the Third Law, and you get big headaches. In the third phase ..." He gave a grim smile.

"You must warn Drune about this," said Gaius.

"Drune's dead," said the Doctor.

"Ah," said Gaius. He bowed his head. "Perhaps it is for the best. I hope ... If you should encounter me ... Please don't hesitate to destroy me." He cancelled the connection.

Andante was chilled. She knew of the dangers of exposure to the Maverick Virus, but had never really comprehended what it was like when someone one knew succombed. Most Reploids knew that Mavericks were evil and could never have any virtues save those that stood out against their genocidal nature. And yet here was someone whom Drune had known personally, and who was warning them that he had now become infected.

There was a moment of silence.

"This is starting to get worse," said the Doctor.

But he didn't really know how much worse.

* * * * *

One Alpha stood looking into the cell occupied by the green Reploid known as Drune. He was collapsed on the floor, clutching his head. Unconsciously, One flexed her replacement arm, knowing how near she had gome to death at the hands of this Maverick Hunter. Things were different now.

"Hello, One," said Vortex Falcon, entering.

One glanced in the avian Reploid's direction, still not used to this kind of courtesy, or for that matter any courtesy at all. Up until now, her habit was killing people, not talking to them (except with taunts). "Hello, Falcon," she said.

Falcon glanced at Drune. "We found something new out," he said. "It seems he was infected with the Maverick Virus before you got him."

"Oh," said One, not sure to respond. The concept of alliance was new to her. "Does that mean he'll be ... one of us?"

"Yes," said Falcon. "It'll take another day. And once he lets us get near him to perform repairs, he'll be a formidable ally." He gazed at the prone green form. "For now, though, he's in the Second Phase. We'll show him that human we caught and see how he likes it."

One smiled. The concept of destroying humans was familiar enough to her. "Is there really a chance that he won't act on these new instincts?"

"Of course not," said Falcon. "But speculation is fun."

One added "speculation" to the growing number of things considered "fun." The first thing she had added after "destruction" and "victory" was "recharging in a capsule designed for Reploids instead of drawing energy from a power cable." "I wonder if he'll be nervous that I have a grudge?"

"Do you?" asked Falcon.

"Not really," said One. "It was that other Reploid ... the one who cut my arm off ..."

Falcon blinked. "I thought this guy cut your arm off."

"No," said One. "It was soneone else. Someone with a machinesaber." A silence descended for a moment. "I just ... I want to kill her. Of course, I want to kill everyone."

"That joke," said Falcon critically, "has been around for longer than you've existed."

One grimaced. "I'm a bit behind the times," she said.

"I know," said Falcon, "but ... Excuse me. The boss is calling, and it sounds like he's got interesting news ..."

* * * * *

Andante was turning off the holovid in her room when Jakesten arrived.

"Well, I did a search," he said when she let him in.

"What did you find?" asked Andante.

"The only reference to any Stephen Halvorsen a hundred and fifty years ago was a scientist. The exact details of the place were classified, and I didn't want to push my luck, but he worked, and most likely died ..." He brought up a map up on the monitor. "Around here."

Andante looked. "That was around where the Zero capsule was discovered," she said.

"Yeah," said Jakesten. "Kinda gives us an idea of why you were made to kill 'that particular Reploid'."

"Now hold on a minute," said Andante. "The timing's all wrong. The first Sigma uprising was discovered almost two years before I was put in the capsule, and Zero was a key player there. And anyway, how would he want to go after One if it was Zero?"

"Hmm," said Jakesten. "Okay, let's try a different theory: One showed up there, too, but in the dark some of them couldn't see that her armor was blue instead of red ... But then how did she ..."

"I think we're going to need to wait for whatever 'the right time' is," said Andante. "But maybe I'll do some searching of my own. Did you check for any descendants?"

"You know," said Jakesten, turning to leave, "that really didn't cross my mind. Oh, go ahead, maybe you'll find something I didn't."

Andante watched him go, unsure of how to respond. He hadn't seemed offended, but his choice of words ... She had the personality that would be equivalent to an almost fully grown human being, but she had very little experience since, in terms of having been active, she wasn't even a month old. She activated the computer and wondered about life, but decided something as mystifying and confusing as all that wasn't worth examining.

* * * * *

Drune sat up in the cell. The headaches were receding now, and he felt that if something decided to walk in and converse with him, he was theoretically capable of doing so, even if he didn't feel like it. He went over his system status, and decided that, besides the headaches, he really needed to get repairs before he overloaded himself. There were a few dents from the battle with that Maverick, and his Flex-Armor had lost its glossy sheen.

The oddest feeling of all was one of resentment. He wasn't sure why; when he tried to attatch it to various thoughts, he felt that there was no connection. Not even that he'd been warped all the way to who knew where and dumped in the cell by --

He grimaced at the thought of the Maverick "boss," and abruptly he made the connection: his resentment was toward humans. He couldn't find any reason much, he just resented them. Resented their puny weakness, their smarmy self-assuredness, their ludicrous success, their RAS -- Ah, that was it. The fact that they were hunting him and his friends down just because they were Reploids and might go Maverick any moment. He resented it.

He realized he must have gotten the Maverick Virus somewhere. Oddly, he didn't mind much, inasmuch as the most basic components of his mind -- the Three Laws -- had been tampered with and the first two completely rewired.

His thoughts were interrupted by a new arrival in the detention area.

"Gaius!" he exclaimed. "So you got it, too!"

The black Reploid turned to him. "Hello, Drune," he said. "If you're referring to the Maverick Virus, I actually got it before you did."

"Cool," said Drune. "Um ... can I get repaired?"

Gaius shrugged. "That is beyond my authority for now, but we will definitely repair you if you kill an RAS officer."

"I've been wanting to," he said, standing up.

"I will be your guard," said Gaius, leading him out of the cell. "We know for certain that you've been infected with the Virus, but we just want to be sure you won't turn on us."

"Hey," said Drune. "You know I won't turn against you, and if this is your side ..."

"That is what I expected," said Gaius. "Here we are."

They were in front of a cell containing a lone human male in an RAS Military uniform. "Him?" asked Drune.

"That is the one we want you to destroy," said Gaius.

Drune grinned and powered up his arm cannon.

* * * * *

The blue Reploid sat with his eyes closed, letting the memories wash over him.

Where Andante had been placed in a capsule for a hundred and fifty years and had been active for a relatively small time, this Reploid had been placed in a capsule for a relatively small time ... and had been active for a century and a half.

Mega Man X slumped at the desk, not from physical fatigue, but from a world weariness that had been on his shoulders for the past few decades. He had battled Sigma more than twelve times, and for what? Peace? The battle continued endlessly, and all his oldest friends were gone. The friends he'd had at the beginning who had died in Sigma's first insurrection ... Dr. Cain had died of old age a few decades after the fourth attack ... Signas had been captured and infected -- and destroyed by X's own hands -- during the ninth battle ... Alia had died in the destruction of the first attempted interstellar voyage ... And Zero ...

A sigh escaped him. Zero had been lost not once, not twice, but three times now. First, he had sacrificed himself to defeat Vile. Second, Sigma had almost managed to destroy him the fifth time -- The Maverick Hunters had thought he had succeeded. And now, he was placed in a capsule for a century or more to restore an energy imbalance that threatened to destroy him.

X's one consolation was that in a little less than twenty-five years, Zero would be reactivated. Of course, given the current run of luck, Zero would probably explode due to some unforseen problem before then. The red Reploid's proud boast that there was no force in the Universe that could stop him seemed somewhat hollow now.

But something new was troubling him. It was an odd feeling, but he had managed to pinpoint it: he found that he no longer was bound to the First Law. It finally hit him when he discovered that he had ordered the execution of a cell of rebels ... consisting of humans.

A robot or Reploid must not harm a human being, nor through inaction allow a human to come to harm ... Was he going Maverick? He didn't have the Maverick Virus, but it wasn't really necessary to the process; before Zero had been discovered by Sigma, many Reploids were going Maverick without the Virus just fine, which was why Zero had been discovered in the first place, when Garma's unit from the Maverick Hunters uncovered that capsule whilst searching that area for a reported blue Maverick ...

And from there, of course, the memories came forth. He had a lot of those, and very few of them were pleasant. But then one memory stuck out, and he found himself almost reliving it ...

* * * * *

The two shuttles descended from the Final Weapon as it was consumed by atomic fires. X looked back at the explosion, wondering what Zero was thinking about. Probably Iris; X knew that there was a possibility that she might be rebuilt and repaired ... if not for the fact that her body was destroyed with the space station.

But something else was troubling him now. They knew now what the Maverick Virus was, and that Sigma had somehow bonded with it, becoming veritably immortal. They knew now that even if they became immune to going Maverick by force of will, they could still go Maverick if they became infected with the Virus.

He opened up a comm link with the other shuttle. "Zero, are you there?" he asked.

"What is it, X?" came the red Reploid's voice. He sounded deadened, confirming X's earlier suspicions.

"You know about the Virus now," said X. "And even if I had testing for thirty years ..."

"I think I know where your going with that," said Zero, "and I'm not sure I like where it's going. What do you want?"

X steeled himself; it was the hardest thing he would ever say. "If I ever go Maverick, I want you to destroy me."

If anything, he got Zero's attention. "What!? X, that's --"

"Promise me," said X. "I don't think I can live with what I might become. Please."

There was a pause at the other end. "...All right, X. I promise." There was a bitter chuckle. "After all, that's my job, isn't it?"

"Yeah," said X, almost feeling better. But he was still troubled ...

* * * * *

But he was still troubled. It hadn't taken the Maverick Virus. It hadn't even taken a real justifiable dislike for the way a human or a group was behaving. It had just taken a hundred and fifty years. For all intents and purposes, he could go completely berserk and start wiping out people right and left. And there was nothing he could do about it.

The comm at his desk beeped. X jumped, then composed himself as best he could. "What is it?" he asked.

"Sir, there's a team of Mavericks attacking Neo-Tokyo!" said the voice. "Who are we going to send?"

X suddenly felt better. A Maverick attack was something he could handle. "Me," he said with a slight smile.

* * * * *

One, Gaius, and Drune were having the time of their lives. Drune was turning out to be even more formidable as an ally than as an opponent. (Of course, the upgrades the other Mavericks had given him were probably a help.) Gaius was obviously proud of being "master of finesse." And One was not only reveling in the destruction, it was now her job. And she liked it.

A beam of blue light suddenly shot down from the sky, and hit the ground out of their sight. The figure it coalesced into snapped his fingers, and was instantly surrounded by a formidable array of armor and weaponry.

"I have never had a better time in my life," said Gaius, annihilating a car with his beamsaber. "Uh-oh."

"Gaius?" said Drune, turning just in time to see the black Reploid thrown straight at him. "Oh, sh..."

One paused in her disassembly of a store front. She turned around and saw the ludicrously beweaponed Reploid.

"One based off my Shadow armor," he muttered, "and the other off my old Ultimate ..." He saw One and froze in shock.

"So ..." One gazed at him. "You are Mega Man X."

"What ..." The look on his face seemed incongruous with his clear physical power.

She gave him a warm, chilling smile. She knew just what to say to scare him further. "I was built," she said, "to destroy you." Raising her new arm cannon, she fired a blast of energy at the Reploid.

Mega Man X just stood there gawking as the blast hit him and ... had very little effect. shook his head to clear it. "Nova Strike!" he shouted. Two jets extended from his shoulders and he blasted towards One, encased in an envelope of plasma.

She jumped straight up and landed behind him. Raising her arms at him, she shouted, "Hadouken!" A blast of energy erupted from her hands.

"What!?" exclaimed X, who only just managed to evade her attack in time.

She was right next to him. "Senretsuyaku!" she called, and pummeled him with a series of powerful kicks.

X was wearing the latest version of his Ultimate Armor, which sported a bit more gold plating than the first four. Still, even with that much defense, he actually felt the attack damage his system. He collapsed on the ground. "Who are you??" he exclaimed.

"I," she said, with a laugh. "am One Alpha, the Doctor's penultimate creation!" She noted that Drune and Gaius were back on their feet. "You needn't worry -- yet. I'm sure that our leader would much rather you at least saw who he was."

X coughed. "Who's your leader?" he asked.

This time, her smile was downright evil. "Who do you think?" she asked, and then laughed and teleported away.

Gaius and Drune exchanged a glance, shrugged, ruined the moment, and also warped away.

Mega Man X looked around at the destruction; he wouldn't be able to help the city's recovery. But now he knew that he was looking at yet another Maverick Uprising.