Disclaimer: The Reality Benders own NOTHING!!!
It seemed like the base had been turned upside-down in shambles. Red lights were flashing everywhere, and every other second or so, the hallway would be rocked by an explosion.
"Where is everybody?" asked X.
"Must be at some other area," said Zero.
Dawn turned to them. "Do you have anything of extremely high technological value in this base?"
"Not that I know of," replied.
Dawn muttered, looking back up ahead. "Then my suspicions are confirmed."
When she ddin't say anything more, X and Zero looked at each other, and then turned back to the new Hunter. "What suspicions?" asked Zero.
"The Silver Pirates would not attack without no reason," replied Dawn. "If they attack with a motive to simply get them out of the way, they would simply blast the base from the outside. But if they enter, they will always be looking for something."
"What something would that be?" asked X.
"It will be either you, Zero, or me," she replied. "The Silver Pirates are always interested in very powerful warriors to either get out of the way or capture. Since they know little of you, they will sure to be after me." She sounded rather solemn. "I fear that my transfer here has put the base into jeopardy."
"No way," said Zero, shaking his head. "It's not you, Dawn. This is the inevitable. They will just to target us sooner or later to get us out of their way if they have an domination plans."
Dawn did not reply. As they entered the hall, absolute silence reigned. The three stopped. "Why is everything so quiet?" wondered X out loud.
"They're here," Dawn murmured. "This is a trap. We can't see them because they're cloaked. Later on, we must have to upgrade out visuals to be able to see them through the cloak."
"That is, if we survive," said Zero.
"If," agreed Dawn.
They walked on slowly. It was like walking through a pitch black tunnel and you're trying to sense if a vampire bat will swoop down any second.
"Listen…" Dawn whispered. "Their cloaks don't last for a long period of time. They will have to keep switching energy flows from one battery to another. Now when they do that, the cloack will flicker for only a second. You'll be able to sense that flicker, since the both of you are good."
"Right," nodded Zero.
Dawn's visor was not just for decoration. Symbols flashed around it and she scanned the room. She saw a flicker that the visor had targeted and instantly acted.
With a cry, she bandished her whip at the hiding Maverick and caught it by the neck with her beam whip. With a powerful tug, she ripped its head off. The Maverick hit the floor, and so did the head, now both visible.
"Hmm," said Dawn, approaching it. "The shadows. The ones in here are the shadows, the cloaked ones. The ones outside are visible, so I guess we just stumbled into the worst place in the base."
"That's good, then," said X. "Better the three of us get the worst ones than the other Hunters."
Zero nodded and said, "Let's keep moving."
As they did, Dawn said, "Maybe you superiors better go and see to your subordinates. They might be having a tough time. The Silver Pirates are after me anyway, and it would not be right to put the two of you in this mess as well."
"I'll ignore that," said Zero. "Since they're after you, then I really have to stay here. Besides, if you're forgetting, Dawn, you're also a subordinate of mine."
"What about you, Captain X?" Dawn asked.
"I'll stay," he said firmly. "I'm not about to let the Mavericks succeed in their mission."
Dawn looked like she was going to smile, but seemed to have resisted. "Thank you," was all she said. She looked and said, "Zero, behind you, ten o'clock."
Zero whirled around and instantly saw a brief flicker clear, and slashed down at it with his saber. The maverick split in half and hit the ground.
Dawn, who was looknig at Zero, missed a beat. She felt a powerful grip grab her by the neck and lift her in to the air. She gasped for air, kicking the empty air and struggled to pry her captor's hands off her neck.
"Dawn!" X exclaimed. He aimed his buster at the Maverick, but Dawn choked, "Captain, look out!"
X turned around to see a Maverick becoming visible, about to pounce on him. X jumped back the one foot that might've just saved him. A blast of energy came from the Maverick's mouth and the impact sent X into the wall. There was a slashing sound, and Zero had sliced the Maverick in half. "You all right, X?"
"Yeah," he said, then his eyes widened as he saw Mavericks becoming visible. "Zero, it's got Dawn!"
Dawn struggled to get free, and she felt the charging of energy behind her. I'm about to blasted! She saw Zero running up to her and she yelled, "No! Zero, get away!"
Zero stopped for a fraction of the second, and the Maverick blasted at Dawn, sending her flying, and crashing right into Zero, knocking the two hunters down.
Amazingly, Dawn did not have a hole in her chest. She looked rather battered, but all right. "Thank goodness I told Douglas to give me that armor strength upgrade." She looked at Zero, whom she had pinned down to shield him from the blast. "Are you all right, Zero?"
"What the heck are you worrying about me for?!" he demanded. "Get up 'cause here they come!"
Three Mavericks came swooping down at them, but two of them were suddenly blown away. They looked up at see X, who'd been behind the mavericks, his buster still pointed and smoking from the charged shot he'd released.
Zero and Dawn stood up and began running as a rainfall of shots and Mavericks came swooping down.
"We're surrounded!" X yelled, doing his best to blast the mavericks out of their patyh. Zero slashed through two and said, "We have to get out of here! This palce is a death trap!"
"Get down!" Dawn yelled. "Shockwave Blast!" Her whip gave a thunderous crack and a powerful blast of purple light went out in all directions for a radius of six feet around them. The Mavericks were blasted away for an instant.
"Captain X, Zero, hurry! Down the hall!" Dawn stood up and began running in another direction.
"Dawn, where are you going!" Zero yelled.
"I have to get to the leader of the shadows!" Dawn exclaimed. "There's always one! Now get away before it makes the hall explode! I'll look for it!"
"No! Dawn!" X cried. But they could not get through to her, because Mavericks were crowding in all directions.
Zero turned to X and said, "We have to rush our way through. Just keep blasting! Come on, move!"
The two of them rushed through the amvericks, blowing them away as they went, clearing their path. Sparks of purple energy were lighting the hallway before them, and it could only be dawn.
Dawn hit the wall with a resounding crash. Well, it seems like she'd found what she was looking for. "Uncloak yourself, coward!"
There was resounding laugh. A disfigured maverick revealed itself from cloaking, and it was bigger than the rest. "You must be Dawn." He blasted Dawn down before she could react.
Dawn's temper rose. She rushed at it, flinging large amounts of energy blasts. "How dare you all put the Hunters in jeopardy! At their own base! I won't let you, you hear me?!" She finished with a powerful crack of her whip and the maverick hit the wall.
The Maverick stuggled to her up and laughed hoarsely. "You think you're so tough, little girl, but you won't be very soon."
Dawn, heavily damaged on one side with all the fighting and her visor shattered, pulled herself up and grabbed the Maverick's neck. "What do you want? What do you want from the Hunters? Tell me right now or I'll send you to kingdome come!"
"Quite easy," he said with a hoarse cackle. "It's you, dear girl. And the red Hunter. You are what we are after."
Dawn gasped. She noticed too late a time bomb upon the Maverick's open chest. Before she could do anything, the Maverick exploded.
With a scream, Dawn flew backwards, and the world went black.
Zero ran and X ran through the halls as quick as they could, but they reached the scene just in time to see Dawn demand what the Mavericks want. They heard it saw that they objective was Dawn, and the 'red hunter', which was obviously Zero.
"Dawn!" Zero yelled, but it was too late as the Maverick suddenly exploded.
The hall burst into flames, and both Zero and X were knocked to the ground. They pushed themselves up from the ground. "What…happened?" X choked.
"The maverick exploded," Zero gasped.
They heard voices from the other side of the hall. "They're over here!"
"Finally!" X said. "Reinforcements."
"Where's Dawn?" Zero asked. They around to see nothing but burning debris. It seems like the reinforcements were taking care of the rest of the Mavericks.
"Look!" X gasped and pointed. Among a pile of burning embers, a battered and damaged figure of purple and white could be just seen. It was Dawn, and she was not moving.
The two Hunters ran to her. "Dawn!" Zero said, shaking her. "Dawn, wake up!"
"This isn't good," said X. "Come on, let's get her to a safe place."
Zero nodded. He picked up the unconscious Hunter and the two of them ran to safe ground.
It seemed like the base had been turned upside-down in shambles. Red lights were flashing everywhere, and every other second or so, the hallway would be rocked by an explosion.
"Where is everybody?" asked X.
"Must be at some other area," said Zero.
Dawn turned to them. "Do you have anything of extremely high technological value in this base?"
"Not that I know of," replied.
Dawn muttered, looking back up ahead. "Then my suspicions are confirmed."
When she ddin't say anything more, X and Zero looked at each other, and then turned back to the new Hunter. "What suspicions?" asked Zero.
"The Silver Pirates would not attack without no reason," replied Dawn. "If they attack with a motive to simply get them out of the way, they would simply blast the base from the outside. But if they enter, they will always be looking for something."
"What something would that be?" asked X.
"It will be either you, Zero, or me," she replied. "The Silver Pirates are always interested in very powerful warriors to either get out of the way or capture. Since they know little of you, they will sure to be after me." She sounded rather solemn. "I fear that my transfer here has put the base into jeopardy."
"No way," said Zero, shaking his head. "It's not you, Dawn. This is the inevitable. They will just to target us sooner or later to get us out of their way if they have an domination plans."
Dawn did not reply. As they entered the hall, absolute silence reigned. The three stopped. "Why is everything so quiet?" wondered X out loud.
"They're here," Dawn murmured. "This is a trap. We can't see them because they're cloaked. Later on, we must have to upgrade out visuals to be able to see them through the cloak."
"That is, if we survive," said Zero.
"If," agreed Dawn.
They walked on slowly. It was like walking through a pitch black tunnel and you're trying to sense if a vampire bat will swoop down any second.
"Listen…" Dawn whispered. "Their cloaks don't last for a long period of time. They will have to keep switching energy flows from one battery to another. Now when they do that, the cloack will flicker for only a second. You'll be able to sense that flicker, since the both of you are good."
"Right," nodded Zero.
Dawn's visor was not just for decoration. Symbols flashed around it and she scanned the room. She saw a flicker that the visor had targeted and instantly acted.
With a cry, she bandished her whip at the hiding Maverick and caught it by the neck with her beam whip. With a powerful tug, she ripped its head off. The Maverick hit the floor, and so did the head, now both visible.
"Hmm," said Dawn, approaching it. "The shadows. The ones in here are the shadows, the cloaked ones. The ones outside are visible, so I guess we just stumbled into the worst place in the base."
"That's good, then," said X. "Better the three of us get the worst ones than the other Hunters."
Zero nodded and said, "Let's keep moving."
As they did, Dawn said, "Maybe you superiors better go and see to your subordinates. They might be having a tough time. The Silver Pirates are after me anyway, and it would not be right to put the two of you in this mess as well."
"I'll ignore that," said Zero. "Since they're after you, then I really have to stay here. Besides, if you're forgetting, Dawn, you're also a subordinate of mine."
"What about you, Captain X?" Dawn asked.
"I'll stay," he said firmly. "I'm not about to let the Mavericks succeed in their mission."
Dawn looked like she was going to smile, but seemed to have resisted. "Thank you," was all she said. She looked and said, "Zero, behind you, ten o'clock."
Zero whirled around and instantly saw a brief flicker clear, and slashed down at it with his saber. The maverick split in half and hit the ground.
Dawn, who was looknig at Zero, missed a beat. She felt a powerful grip grab her by the neck and lift her in to the air. She gasped for air, kicking the empty air and struggled to pry her captor's hands off her neck.
"Dawn!" X exclaimed. He aimed his buster at the Maverick, but Dawn choked, "Captain, look out!"
X turned around to see a Maverick becoming visible, about to pounce on him. X jumped back the one foot that might've just saved him. A blast of energy came from the Maverick's mouth and the impact sent X into the wall. There was a slashing sound, and Zero had sliced the Maverick in half. "You all right, X?"
"Yeah," he said, then his eyes widened as he saw Mavericks becoming visible. "Zero, it's got Dawn!"
Dawn struggled to get free, and she felt the charging of energy behind her. I'm about to blasted! She saw Zero running up to her and she yelled, "No! Zero, get away!"
Zero stopped for a fraction of the second, and the Maverick blasted at Dawn, sending her flying, and crashing right into Zero, knocking the two hunters down.
Amazingly, Dawn did not have a hole in her chest. She looked rather battered, but all right. "Thank goodness I told Douglas to give me that armor strength upgrade." She looked at Zero, whom she had pinned down to shield him from the blast. "Are you all right, Zero?"
"What the heck are you worrying about me for?!" he demanded. "Get up 'cause here they come!"
Three Mavericks came swooping down at them, but two of them were suddenly blown away. They looked up at see X, who'd been behind the mavericks, his buster still pointed and smoking from the charged shot he'd released.
Zero and Dawn stood up and began running as a rainfall of shots and Mavericks came swooping down.
"We're surrounded!" X yelled, doing his best to blast the mavericks out of their patyh. Zero slashed through two and said, "We have to get out of here! This palce is a death trap!"
"Get down!" Dawn yelled. "Shockwave Blast!" Her whip gave a thunderous crack and a powerful blast of purple light went out in all directions for a radius of six feet around them. The Mavericks were blasted away for an instant.
"Captain X, Zero, hurry! Down the hall!" Dawn stood up and began running in another direction.
"Dawn, where are you going!" Zero yelled.
"I have to get to the leader of the shadows!" Dawn exclaimed. "There's always one! Now get away before it makes the hall explode! I'll look for it!"
"No! Dawn!" X cried. But they could not get through to her, because Mavericks were crowding in all directions.
Zero turned to X and said, "We have to rush our way through. Just keep blasting! Come on, move!"
The two of them rushed through the amvericks, blowing them away as they went, clearing their path. Sparks of purple energy were lighting the hallway before them, and it could only be dawn.
Dawn hit the wall with a resounding crash. Well, it seems like she'd found what she was looking for. "Uncloak yourself, coward!"
There was resounding laugh. A disfigured maverick revealed itself from cloaking, and it was bigger than the rest. "You must be Dawn." He blasted Dawn down before she could react.
Dawn's temper rose. She rushed at it, flinging large amounts of energy blasts. "How dare you all put the Hunters in jeopardy! At their own base! I won't let you, you hear me?!" She finished with a powerful crack of her whip and the maverick hit the wall.
The Maverick stuggled to her up and laughed hoarsely. "You think you're so tough, little girl, but you won't be very soon."
Dawn, heavily damaged on one side with all the fighting and her visor shattered, pulled herself up and grabbed the Maverick's neck. "What do you want? What do you want from the Hunters? Tell me right now or I'll send you to kingdome come!"
"Quite easy," he said with a hoarse cackle. "It's you, dear girl. And the red Hunter. You are what we are after."
Dawn gasped. She noticed too late a time bomb upon the Maverick's open chest. Before she could do anything, the Maverick exploded.
With a scream, Dawn flew backwards, and the world went black.
Zero ran and X ran through the halls as quick as they could, but they reached the scene just in time to see Dawn demand what the Mavericks want. They heard it saw that they objective was Dawn, and the 'red hunter', which was obviously Zero.
"Dawn!" Zero yelled, but it was too late as the Maverick suddenly exploded.
The hall burst into flames, and both Zero and X were knocked to the ground. They pushed themselves up from the ground. "What…happened?" X choked.
"The maverick exploded," Zero gasped.
They heard voices from the other side of the hall. "They're over here!"
"Finally!" X said. "Reinforcements."
"Where's Dawn?" Zero asked. They around to see nothing but burning debris. It seems like the reinforcements were taking care of the rest of the Mavericks.
"Look!" X gasped and pointed. Among a pile of burning embers, a battered and damaged figure of purple and white could be just seen. It was Dawn, and she was not moving.
The two Hunters ran to her. "Dawn!" Zero said, shaking her. "Dawn, wake up!"
"This isn't good," said X. "Come on, let's get her to a safe place."
Zero nodded. He picked up the unconscious Hunter and the two of them ran to safe ground.