"...and then he caught a glimpse of me, and I knew the cat had been let out of the bag. So, out of total instinct, I ran off like a little girl, with him chasing me from afar. He managed to plasma a bit of my shoulder, but it's nothing serious." Spike paused for a moment. "Well... that's what happened," he finalized.
Stingray appeared to be in total awe from this tale. "No way," he stated, without really registering his comrade's words. "There's no way you could've let that happen, buddy..."
"Do you think I would be as stupid as to lie to you about something this serious?" Spike reasoned. "I'm not lolly-gagging about this story, guys. That little pisser of a Hunter, X, caught sight of me staring at him. I had everything planned out perfectly, up until that little mishap." He cursed to himself silently, shaking a fist in the air. "It was all that damned bandana!" he yelled. "I swear to Bhudda, when I find the lackey who tied that infernal ninny of an accessory to my head, I'll send a vine straight into his crotch! That cheap no-good bastard..."
Jet still looked a bit shocked at Spike, in shock at the total physical drag he appeared to be in after his apparent run-in with the Hunters. He, Rosered, and Necrobat had currently been taking their time walking listlessly through the hot desert on their way back to their new homeland, Sigma's fortress; it was quite similar to the first time they had trekked down that very same desert only weeks ago, though it seemed much more stretching and intimidating than it had been previously. All three walked at a much slower pace, since their energy had been practically depleted due to their evacuation. They were now much more normal-appearing, since they had ditched their pathetic excuses for disguises a while back.
"I'm still in the dark a bit, Spike," Nercobat chimed in, not really acknowledging the unintentional pun in his words. "I mean, I understand that being recognized and chased after by MegaMan X himself is a perfectly understandable reason to get your legs pumping, but... well, what was the point of evacuating the city altogether? We could've just found a secluded place to hide out for a little while, and then could've made some sort of move..."
"...yeah, and let the news of our arrival sink in?" Spike finished for him. "I don't think so, my friend. Had we stayed in that godforsaken town for any longer, somebody would've found us out - then there'd be no way out, and we'd all be quite screwed, both us and all the Mavericks in general." He stuttered a bit. "That X was ravenous, believe me. You should've seen the look in his eyes... it's the look I imagine he gave Sigma when he beat his brains out during the later days of the first Maverick War. Jeeziz... for a little while back there, I thought the doors were closing in on me, and that I wasn't gunna make it out alive. Luckily, I managed to escape with only a little nip on me..." He glanced back at his shoulder, seeing the small scar that had surfaced on it not too long ago.
"Well, what does that mean, then?" Stingray questioned. "I mean, we had to evacuate town, and it's not likely we'll be heading back, right? So aren't we already screwed? If word gets out that Mavericks invaded town, they could start seeking us out, or something."
"No... not necessarily," Spike responded. "There isn't a scrap of concrete proof in all of Terensce that Mavericks, or any anti-Hunter factions for that matter, had barged into town. Our fortress is pretty damned secluded, too, so even if they did search, not much of a chance they'd find us out here. And, sure, we were driven out of town, but it doesn't mean that a counterstrike is out of the question, now, does it? Agile and the others will take it cleanly, I assure you. It won't be hard for us to come back, I reckon. We just need a new spy, that's all... one that'll sneak into the HQ and nab Vile. Simple as that."
Nerco scratched his head. "Err... well, why do we need a new spy to go back there? Why can't the three of us just go back and capture Vile by ourselves?"
Spike scoffed at his question. "Necro, do you have a brain?" he snapped in response. "If we march our asses back there, you know what'll happen? Somebody from those damned Hunters will recognize us on the spot, and then there'll be hell to pay, believe me. Listen, I'll just tell Agile what happened and then we'll slowly back out of the situation, so they can do whatever the hell they want without us being their little lapdogs again. Throw the ball into their court, y'know?"
Sting sighed. "I dunno. I still think that Agile's gunna be pretty damned pissed off when he hears about our screw up..." he said wearily.
"Oh, please," Spike commented. "Agile'll take it fine, believe me. He's nothing like Sigma, who went nutzo over every little screw-up the Mavericks made. It's not like it's the end of the world, you know..."
"You did WHAT?!" Agile bellowed at the Maverick trio before him.
Rosered stood back for a moment, a bit shocked at Agile's sudden reaction. Upon arriving back to the base, the three had informed their superior officer of everything they had experienced during their little 'exploration' of the city, and why they had been forced to ultimately retreat. Despite Spike's expectations, the Admiral in name only didn't exactly take his story with a cup of tea.
"Agile, calm down," Darrick coaxed from the back of the room. "It's not all that bad..."
"Oh, what the hell are you talking about?" Agile shouted at him in response. "Don't tell me to calm myself down, dagnabbit! How could I possibly calm myself down when I hear something THIS extreme?!"
"Sir, if you'd please just hear us out," Spike chimed in once again. "It's not like investingating Hunter Headquarters is an easy thing. There're guards, and cameras, and alarms..."
"Forget about those, you loony!" Agile shouted. "You messed up because of irresponsibility! You lost control of a little, stupidly tied bandana! That's just borderline ridiculous, if you ask me! How incompetent can one get, I ask you?" He turned away from the group, muttering some indecipherable jargon that sounded something like deranged curses. He then turned back to continue his ranting. "And of ALL the people who had to draw attention to, it just HAD to be the guy who KILLED Sigma THREE TIMES and is acclaimed as one of the most powerful reploids to walk the planet! For Chrissakes, man! What in the name of jahosophat were you THINKING?!"
"He was just sitting there, in the far corner of the room! I didn't see him there!" Spike exclaimed. "All I could see was Zero, Vile, and Cain. I didn't realize how close I was to X until I actually dropped the bandana (which I didn't even tie, anyway). Anybody could have easily made the same mistake!"
"There can't BE any mistakes during a vital operation like that! I don't even understand why you rushed on over there in the first place!" Agile boomed. Finally, he grew eerily silent, his face down to the floor. He sat down calmly, without even looking up, and waved a hand of silent dismissal. "You three... you may leave now, please," he ordered in something of an ashamed tone. "Go back to your quarters and rest, or something... we won't be needing you around here for now. Just... go. That's all I have left to say to you."
Sting and Jet, still in shock, each took this as something of an offense. Before they could rebuttal, however, Rosered gently placed a hand on each of their shoulders in silent protest. "C'mon, let's get going, guys," Spike told them calmly, turning towards the door. "We ain't wanted here no more... let's let them take care of things." He began to advance towards the exit, eventually leaving the office altogether, with a bewildered Sting and Necro immediately following him. Little did they realize that, despite his actions previously, that he wa happy that the group had been 'fired'... after all that searching, a rest was sounding pretty damned good to him at this point.
With the three gone, Agile buried his face in his hands in an obvious gesture of shame. "Wonderful... la-de-frickin'-da," he muttered. "We're screwed now, aren't we, Darrick? X found us out... I can't believe this..."
Darrick shrugged his thin shoulders, taking a stance next to his superior. "Well, I wouldn't go that far, sir. Who says that anybody's gunna believe everything X says, anyway? Besides, I think that those three Mavericks were a little misguided as well. Those costumes were a little underfunded, as I can remember, and the three weren't really qualified in the field of espionage, either."
Agile, though still a bit stressed, nodded his head in agreement. "Yes... true, true," he muttered in response. "By the way, did you happen to see Serges and Violen anywhere around here? I haven't seen a trace of them all morning."
The slender Maverick rubbed his chin in thought. "Err... I think they're still having breakfast, sir," he replied. "Speaking of that, do you wanna get some now? I don't think they'll be serving it for that much longer..."
Agile shook his head. "No, no... I'm in no mood to dump raw sewage into my systems at the time," he wearily muttered. "It feels almost like I'm stuck in a cage in a Reploid zoo somewheres, with a cruel and horrifically ugly human zookeeper. There's no way out, damn it all..."
"What about a new spy, sir?" he suggested. "There's no reason to be in this sudden slump and stop doing anything productive. Those other three weren't exactly the greatest spies we were looking for, I'll tell you that, but one of them did find Vile's general location, which was really a very important and vital step into ultimately turning Vile against the world again. What we really need right now, sir, is somebody in this building that we know who has some kind of experience and tactical knowledge of basic espionage, and who's really willing to do the job." He paused for a moment. "Unfortunately, at the time, I can't really think of anybody in the building like that... it's just a matter of finding that person out..."
Suddenly, Darrick's words hit Agile like a ton of bricks, giving him something of a psychotic but almost plausible notion. A soldier in the building... with a known experience of espionage, and powerful to boot... yes, he'd be perfect! He knew exactly who would be fit for the job... the only problem was...
"He'd never be willing to do it without something in return," Agile mumbled, voicing his thoughts a bit without realizing it. "But... if I can just do a little haggling with him, I might have something here..."
Darrick looked at his comrade with a little puzzlement. "Sir?" he asked. "Err... what exactly are you talking about?"
"What?" Agile sharply responded. "Oh, nothing really... I just, uhh..."
"You just what?" Darrick asked.
"Well, uhh..." he muttered, slowly rising from his seat. "I... I really need to get going, Darrick... there's something I REALLY need to take care of... RIGHT NOW. Stay here for a little while, I promise I won't be long. Trust me... and if you see Violen and Serges, give them my regards, please..." Without any further hesitation, the violet Maverick lunged for the door, bursting out with no apparent avail. All he left behind was an opened door and a very, very confused Darrick.
Jeez... Darrick thought. From the way he was acting, it almost seemed like he REALLY was in need of a bathroom or something. But I didn't know a reploid was capable of doing that...
"X, Zero... nice to see the both of you," Cain said in his normal, gentle tone, from his desk. "Why don't the two of you take a seat?"
The two Hunters silently nodded and each sat in the chairs set up it front of the desk. X sat to Cain's left, with Zero to his right. X still looked a bit shaken up from previous events.
"Now, then," Cain began. "I'd like to hear a little about the sudden conflict we ran into this morning involving an awkward thing X saw in the training gym. If you don't mind, X, could you tell us a bit about what exactly it was that happened?"
The azure Hunter nodded. "Yes, sir... it really isn't that complicated of a story, actually. I was sitting near the corner of the room, in a bit of a daze... let's say a half sleep. Anyways, out of the blue, I felt something hit my shoulder, which kinda brought me back to reality. It was a red bandana, and it seemed that it had fallen from the ceiling. I looked to the windows and saw a figure all dressed in black, looking at Vile and Zero in awe. When he realized I was watching him, however, he seemed to have gotten really spooked and sped off immediately. Thinking that something was really wrong, I went after him, but he managed to get away before I could catch him. I think I was able to wound him a bit from my plasma shots, though, since after one shot he began to stagger about awkwardly for a few moments before ultimately escaping. And that's about it, doc."
Cain pondered this for a moment. "X, this bandana you're talking about... would you happen to have it with you?"
"Yeah, I've got it," he quickly replied, pulling out the garment and handing it to the doctor. "It's a little roughed up because of my running and all, but that aside, it's still in pretty good condition."
Dr. Cain took the scarlet piece of matted cloth and examined it for a bit. He noticed that the bandana had no distiguishable markings or insignias printed on it, and also lacked any kind of grime or any kind of substance for that matter. It just seemed to be a regular, ordinary piece of red cloth, and nothing more. This came as a little awkward to Cain; he thought that it would at least have some sort of marking on it, at the very least.
"Hmm... doesn't seem very out-of-the-ordinary to me, X..." he muttered to the Hunter. "I don't think you can be so sure as to assume that this man was some kid of enemy, X. You know, some young hooligan could've just as easily snuck up there and have taken a peek through the windows for cheap thrills, and just dropped their bandana by mistake. You really have no real need to jump to conclusions like this so quickly..."
"Yeah, right," X voiced. "It's highly unlikely that some prepubescent little brat would somehow find a way to sneak on top of a building this large and then find their way off the thing in a matter of seconds. Only someone with experience and ability could've pulled off a crazy stunt like that. And believe me, they weren't looking in there just for fun, I'll tell ya that much. I could see that they were really intent on Vile for some reason, like he was their prime target. It was almost like that guy knew that my seeing him would cause a helluva storm, so he ran off. And by the way he was running, he seemed VERY unnerved by the whole situation. As far as I'm concerned, the only kind of spy that would be acting that way would be..."
"...a Maverick?" Cain finished for him.
"Yeah," X agreed. "I don't know how he got there, but that could've been an Irregie staring through that window. It would really explain a lot."
Cain nodded at that. 'Irregie' was a playful term the Hunters threw around once in a while, which was slang for a Maverick, due to their general reploid status as 'Irregulars'. "Well, we can't really know for sure, can we?" the doctor pointed out. "How about you, Zero? How much of this did you experience?"
Zero shrugged. "Not that much, sir," he replied. All I really saw was X spazzing out, with him running out of the gym like some deranged lunatic. I know that something is seriously wrong when X starts acting up like that, so I chased after him, and didn't catch up until he was already pretty far down the road. At first, I could've sworn that the outburst was a direct outcome of the lack of sleep he had last night, but by the way he was describing it on the way over here, it really seemed like he had seen something. And that bandana had to come from somewhere, I guess..."
The doctor had to agree with that logic. "Yes... I can assume as much as to say that there's a very good possibility that what X is saying is true," he said.
X glanced back to the doctor. "Err... well, doctor, what are we gonna do about it now? Should we search the city, or start interrogating people around the building, or what?"
Cain shook his head at this. "No, no... I don't think that's really necessary, X," he stated. "While we do have some proof that somebody was looking in on our activities, we can't just blindly assume that the certain somebody just so happened to be a Maverick... we'll never really be 100 percent clear on the matter, if you ask me..."
X seemed a little panicked. "But, doctor... we've gotta do something! I mean, if the Mavericks found out about it, they could just bust in here and take it from us easily! We need to prepare ourselves somehow..."
"Now now, X..." Cain assured. "I can certainly understand that, during high-tension times such as these, that one would easily be frightened by an unidentified figure watching their activities. I won't even deny the fact that I myself am a little concerned about this whole thing. But you also have to understand, X, that I can't just jump to something as big as a city-wide search for one shadowy figure. But I'll compromise with you, my friend. What we can do is prevent Vile from any kind of capture by sealing him in a completely isolated capsule during the evening. Also, we'll implement some security guards to keep watch over the thing by night, so that they can stop somebody before they can even touch the thing. Does that sound like a good idea to the both of you?"
Zero nodded nonchalantly. "S'all good with me."
X, still looking a bit afraid, nodded with him. "Yeah... I guess that'll work out..."
"Alright, then," Cain stated. "I'll get some security guards on the job as soon as possible, and they should be ready by tonight. If the two of you don't mind, I'd like you to help me out with Vile later tonight. I'll have my hands full with the capsule and everything, and you two would make great assets. Oh, the damnation of old age..."
Dynamo lay back on his "cushy" bed mattress in total silence, fumbling through the cavalcade of papers that had emassed the classified folder he had just ransacked from Sigma's quarters. No matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't understand a word on those pieces of paper - they all appeared to be in some kind of technical jargon that was well beyond his knowledge.
"Cata... phractictionary... extremitool... tockgloxination? What the hell is that?" he muttered to himself. "Why in the name of holy hell would Mercutio be interested in something as perplexing as this? I can't expect any human or reploid who could make this crap out. It's an injustice, if you ask me..."
Then began Dynamo's thoughts of Mercutio again. Since he had retrieved the file the previous afternoon, he had constantly been attempting to come in contact with his superior. But it was all in vain, as he was receiving absolutely no response. This befuddled the lowly mercenary to no end; where Mercutio would actually go was beyond him, as his commander never really traveled much unless he really needed to. But Dynamo wasn't all too worried about this - taking some time off and relaxing wasn't that bad of a deal in his mind...
Aww... jeez, this might be a mistake. What'll I do if he tells me off or something? Dammit, he'd better comply... as far as I can think, he's really the best chance we have of getting Vile back... oh, Lordy, why the hell do I always get jammed into situations like these?!
Agile debated with himself mentally, almost causing the misfortuned Maverick to have a migraine. He had just ran eagerly from his very own office to the soldier's main quarters, where Dynamo and others were stationed. Though he did manage to find Dynamo's own dorm, Room 406, he had been standing before it in complete dormancy for at least five minutes now, pondering whether or not it was worth taking a risk with the disobedient mercenary. At this point, Agile was really out of options - none of the higher officials like him were worth risking, and pretty much everybody else was underqualified. Though he was something of a newcomer, Dynamo was extremely experienced and strong, as was proven by his superior skills during training. Also, Agile remembered that, according to his report, he had something of an extensive experience of espionage and basic battle skills, though it never clarified what kind of espionage he did. But that didn't really matter at this point... he just needed a new spy, and fast.
But what if this didn't work out? Though Dynamo had potential, he was obviously quite arrogant and independent, which had shown greatly during his training sessions as well. Why would he be interested in doing a high-risk spy job for the sake of the Mavericks...?
He'll probably want something in return... Agile thought. If that's so, then I have something that he'd probably take to... though I would like to keep it. Oh well... here goes nuthin'.
Taking a deep breath, the violet X-Hunter rapped a fist on the door to signal his presence.
Dynamo heard it. A faint knocking at his door... somebody was there. Quicker than lightning, Dynamo collected all of the files he had laying around, placed them back in the folder, and shoved them back under his mattress where nobody could really see it. With total caution, he proceeded over to his front door and glanced through the peephole to see an extremely familiar and infamous figure on the other side.
It's that superprick of an X-Hunter, Agile... he thought with silent frustration. Just friggin' wonderful. Why is he bothering me now? What stupid thing did I do or not do this time...?
"Hold on a sec, I'll unlock the door," Dynamo muttered to him, undoing a latch that kept the entrance securely shut tight. He then opened the door to see his commanding officer in a bit of a daze, seemingly from doing some kind of unclear exercise.
Dynamo gave him a bit of an unwelcoming glare. "What're you doing here?" he sharply asked.
Agile took a small breath. "Well, Dynamo... I really need to talk to you for a minute or so. Would you mind me coming in?" he asked.
The mercenary kept the same glare on the X-Hunter, but now mixed the look with one of severe mistrust. "What exactly do you want to talk to me about?" he asked him again. He wouldn't succumb to Agile's request without putting up a fight first; it was his nature, afterall.
"Well... it involves something of an internal affair between us and the Hunters," Agile began. "We've recently discovered something rather... well, interesting. But I don't want to talk about it out here. You think I could come in for a bit? Others really can't hear about this... it's rather classified."
Now this caught Dynamo's attention. Classified, huh...?
"Err... alright, come on in," he invited reluctantly, stepping away from the door and back into the room. "You can pull up a chair from the side wall, I guess. Just make this quick, alright?"
"Oh, don't worry, I'll strive to be as efficient as possible, my friend," Agile assured, pulling up the chair in question and taking a seat next to where Dynamo had just taken a seat on the mattress. "Now, Dynamo, you know that our former comrade, the notorious Vile, was discovered and mistakably revived as a peace-loving loony almost a week ago, remember?"
He nodded, remembering specifically how totally uninterested he was during the whole reincarnation deal. "Yeah. So?"
Agile paused. "Well, it seems that we've kinda... well, we've found out where he is. Spike Rosered saw him doidiling around the Hunter's HQ this morning. Sadly, though, the braindead bloke ended up screwing things up pretty badly by dropping a piece of his disguise right onto the acclaimed Hunter, X, without evenpaying attention to it. Had he stayed there any longer, our cover would've been blown wide open, revealing to the Hunters exactly what we were trying to do with Vile. In laymans terms, he nearly screwed us."
Dynamo chuckled mentally. Figures.
"But enough about that," Agile began again. "Due to Rosered's little mishap, we won't be able to send him or the others back without them being noticed somehow. So what we need is somebody to complete an extremely important task for us... to sneak back into Hunter Headquarters and snatch Vile back for us somehow. But it can't just be any person... somebody experienced in espionage and combat, who would be efficient and tactical in that kind of situation, and who wouldn't be noticed easily..."
"Agile..." Dynamo interrupted. "Just cut to the chase, will you? I'm a busy man."
The X-Hunter cleared his throat. "Well, alright then... from what I know about you, Dynamo, you're actually quite fit and well-suited to complete this task for us. So how about it? Would you be willing to capture Vile for us?"
Dynamo couldn't help but snicker at this. Gha hah hah... pathetic loser.
"Yeah, I'd be perfectly willing to do the work... for a price, that is," he responded in a mid-chuckle. "So, Agile, you got anything in it for me?"
Agile cringed. Damn! I knew he would want something back...
"Alright then, Dynamo... I'll bargain with you," he stated, reaching for the mid-sized hilt of an old piece of weaponry that appeared to be something of a lightsaber. He handed it to the mercenary. "You do this little capture for us, and I'll let ya keep this."
Dynamo warily took the object from Agile's hand, observing it for a brief moment without actually activating it. "What exactly is this hunk of junk?"
Agile scoffed, feeling a bit offended by that remark. "That 'hunk of junk' you're holding now just so happens to be my rare special-edition beamsaber that I've been using since the beginning of my days as a Maverick. Sigma was always experimenting with new weapons, and had that one crafted specifically for my very own use. The thing is actually quite lightweight and easy to handle, and has a few added features that most sabers don't really have these days. It's actually double-edged, and has sort of a magnetic pull feature that allows it to automatically return directly to who originally threw it. I never really used those features, though, since I never could really handle them without causing some unwanted damage..." He paused for a moment in silent reminisence. "Anyway, combat isn't really my job around here anymore, so it really doesn't come as much use to me nowadays. So I'd like to pass it down to you if you can do this little task for me and the rest of the Mavericks. So... how about it...?"
Dynamo observed the hilt a bit more before speaking again. "You seem to speak highly of this crappy piece of tin..." he muttered, "so why don't we test the thing out, eh?"
Without hesitation, Dynamo fluently activated the double-edged lightblade and uncaringly flung it across the room, forcing Agile to duck and narrowly dodge the psychotic sword's path of destruction. The blade managed to successfully cut holes through a table or two, part of the wall, and a small portion of the neatly-carpeted flooring before gracefully returning to his hand. Dynamo then deactivated the little wonder and glanced at it with much more admirance than before.
"Heh... I just might begin to take a liking to this thing, guy," he responded to a frightened and fully shocked Agile. "I guess we have a deal, then. I'll be your little reploid catburgalar for one night, and I get this spiffy thing. A pretty reasonable offer, if you ask me."
Agile, still recovering from the shock, ambled back to his feet and smiled nervously. "Err... uh, yes, that's quite good. I think I'll be getting a move on now... yes, that's the safest thing for me to do. Meet me at the cafeteria during lunch today, we'll talk about things... okay, then..."
The mercenary chuckled. "That'd be a wise gesture, friend of friends. I might just keep practicing with this nice new saber of mine, and somebody could REALLY get hurt if they happened to get in it's way."
Agile gave a humorless laugh; it wasn't really that funny anymore. Humbled, he drearily walked out of Dynamo's quarters in bewilderment.
Well... during times of desperation, I guess you have to haggle with Satan a bit to get what you need... Agile thought.