"I am the willow tree; lo me, and do not look in fear. The one you seek does not dwell within the realms of this Earth, but within your very soul. If one's soul is searched, one will discover life's true meaning and beauty, and will forever be saved from the anguish, pain and sorrow one would feel regularly. It will keep you secure for the rest of your days, even if it feels like it isn't there..."
"Alright, buddy," interrupted Glacier Dragoon. "That's quite enough jabbering for one evening."
Icarus sighed, pocketing his scrap of writing paper. "What is it? There something wrong with my poetry?"
"No, not necessarily," he reasoned. "It's just that if you keep at this writing thing, I might end up murdering you and the rest of the people in this building, including myself. I've had to listen to it for the past two hours already."
"Sheesh, so touchy," Icarus teased. "Alright, smart-ass, you got something better for us to do? If so, I'd like to hear it."
"How about suicide?" Glacier moaned. He and Icarus had been hired by Cain to take care of a rather important and daunting task - standing (or sitting) guard in front of a large, steel-coated capsule. That capsule contained Vile, who had been isolated within it only a few hours ago. The room he was kept in was a small medical room somewhat close to the ward, but not close enough to be easily noticable. The doors were heavily locked, thoroughly preventing anybody from entering the room without proper verification. Every high-ranking official was given a keycard to enter the room in case of sudden emergency.
The room itself was actually rather closed-in, with no real lighting besides the faint glow emitting from the capsule itself. The room also was without any kind of central heating, thus making the room much colder than it should've been. Though the two had been phased by the chilly air a bit when they had first begun their duty, the room temperature had become more standard now, since they had already gone through a full two hours of their guardship service. The problem now, however, was that they had absolutely nothing to do for the rest of the night. As much as Icarus would try, he still couldn't find something to occupy them both and manage to keep both of their sanity intact.
"I could play my harmonica," he suggested weakly, holding up the tattered horizontal instrument. "I've learned a few more songs before we came here... you want me to play them for you?"
"Dear Lord, no!" Glacier almost shouted. "I can't stand it when you play that thing. Sounds like a train running over a hog..."
Icarus grimaced. "Alright, then. How about I sing a song?"
"No."
"Or try to rip out my own eyes."
"No..."
"Or we can try and see who can count to three the quickest!"
"For the last time, no," Glacier moaned, bearing a tone of voice that he didn't take up very often. He was entertaining the thought of unleashing his sharp-as-hell claws and digging them into his partner's neck, but he ruled against the action. Icarus could be a total ass sometimes, but Glacier knew he had to learn to deal with it.
The reploid in question huffed a bit, letting some of the cool air leave his body. "Fine, fine. You've taxed me, Glaish. I'll never understand you dragon reploid types... you never seem to want to do anything fun."
Glacier raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'dragon reploid types?' I wouldn't say that you and I are very much different, Icarus. The only thing we really don't share in common is our body structure..."
"Ghaaaa..." Icarus scoffed. "We differ quite a bit, my friend, and it's not just the fact that you don't have a gold thingy plated on your forehead like me." He rubbed his brow a little bit, feeling the lump that had been with him eternally. "But I don't really feel like going into it right now, since I'm a damned lazy bastardo."
"Indeed," Glacier agreed. "Right now, though, all I want to know is who the prick was that decided to shove us into this job. Remember what Cain told us before? That stuff about 'choosing us for the sake of enhancing our skills further, as was suggested by an anonymous subordinate'? I'm still thinking about that..."
His dull-grey Hunter comrade nodded. "I was kinda wondering about that myself. Though, considering the circumstances... I have something of an idea of who it was. Still a little tentative, though..."
This caught the Dragoon's attention. "Wha... you do? Who do you think it is?"
Icarus smirked. "Not tellin', compadre," he said with a chuckle. "Not like it's really important... most likely to be completely wrong, actually. But maybe, in due time, you'll see what I'm hinting at."
Of all things Glacier loathed about his friend's character, the thing he loathed the most was his uncanny ability to hide something from him. Icarus always loved expressing something that was on his mind, but when he had a secret, you could be sure that he'd keep it inside straight to the grave (well... if reploids had graves, per se). Knowing this well, Glacier decided wisely to not continue asking Icarus what was on his mind - he would never be able to worm it out of him. He chose to change the subject a bit.
"And another thing," Glacier began again. "I heard Cain saying something about a third recruit helping us out with this whole guard thing about an hour into our duty. So where the hell is this guy, anyway?"
"Beats me," Icarus commented. "I don't think Cain really told us who he was - actually, as a whole, he really didn't clarify why we're doing this job. And Cain usually doesn't do that. Strange..."
Before the two watchmen could ponder this any longer, a small beeping noise emitting from the entrance door caught their immediate attention. This little beep could only signal one thing - someone had inserted their keycard, and the door was opening up.
"A visitor, eh?" Icarus said with interest. "Wonder if it's the new recruit."
"Hopefully," was all Glacier felt like saying. As the door opened, the two could only see a duo of silhouettes - one a large, bulky figure, seemingly next to a must shorter, smaller and slender one. Though, when the two came in the limelight, the guards were horrified to see who they would be spending their time with.
"Wa...Wiedl?"
"That's right, elites!" the overzealous giant said in his usual mocking tone, slamming the steel door behind him. He stood beside the closed door of the room, bearing a huge, stupid teethy grin, which had become all too commonplace in the lives of the Hunters. He also seemed to be very jubilant about something, and carried a small leather bag in his left hand. Next to him was a boney, dark-haired young male with a hunched back and something of a frown planted on his face. It wasn't very hard to tell that he really didn't want to be there.
Glacier just sat in motionless shock, paralyzed by the sight. "Wiedl... what're you doing here?"
The massive reploid chuckled. "Oh, just personal business, mind you. It was actually good 'ol Dr. Cain that sent me up here, just to make sure things are going well enough for you two... you guys don't think this job is too tough for ya, do you?"
Icarus shrugged. "No... not really."
"That's what I want to hear," he responded wryly. "Can't have recruits doing highly important jobs who aren't fit for them. Then the entire place'll crumble to the ground in a matter of seconds, and there's no way we would want that to happen... no siree bob..."
"Alright, Wiedl, that's all very, very nice," Glacier voiced with distinct uninterest. "But we still have quite a bit of work to do around here, so how about you just make our lives easier by cutting to the chase? I can tell that you didn't just march on up here to 'check up' on us."
Wiedl sighed a bit before continuing on. "Well... yes, there is more I'd like to say. You two, I'd like you to each meet Mr. Chase Simmons," he announced, placing a large (and seemingly unwelcome) hand on the shoulder of the hunched-over human next to him. "He's a recruit from the 14th Grapple Combat Unit... you know, those guys who're best at sockin' people rather than shooting or stabbin' them. Anyways, Dr. Cain told me that he's gunna be the third guard in this assignment, working alongside the two of you. Wave hello to the nice Hunters, Simmons!"
The meager human looked up at the towering reploid with a look of confusion. "Wa... wave to them? Why do I need to do that...?"
"Aww, ferget it..." Wiedl voiced with frustration. "Just come on in. I promise ya they won't bite or anything. Here, let's take a seat right over here..."
The timid young human male did as Wiedl advised him to and took a seat on a small chair near Glacier and Icarus. As he sat down, he gave a wary look to both Glacier and Icarus, as if expressing feelings of distinct mistrust. Then, as if attempting to block out the others, he pulled out a small book and began reading intently.
Icarus pondered this for a moment. "Hey, Wiedl," he called. "You said this kid comes from the 14th combat unit, right?"
The ex-general nodded. "Indeed. Why do you ask?"
"Eh... nothing. Just found it interesting," he replied with a tone of suspicion. Glacier figured that this was a clue of that whim Icarus had been talking about earlier; the Dragoon wanted badly to question him about it, but he was smart enough to restrain himself, as it wouldn't cause his ally to let on any further. Icarus was like that.
Wiedl, who had promptly taken a seat on the cold, tiled floor, looked at the three with a beaming face. "Hey, elites," he said, using a phrase he enjoyed throwing around, "I've got some good news. Dr. Cain has finally appointed me to a rank!"
Glacier's eyes widened with fear. "A... rank?" he asked shakily. "You mean you've attained some kind of militarial superiority now?"
"Yep!" Wiedl announced with glee. "Cain's letting me help him out with some battle strategies and such. Of course, there'll be plenty of other Hunters helping him out with the exact same thing... and I'm not exactly sure how much say I'll have in his plans. But that's alright! At least I have some kind of worthwile occupation now. Seems like Cain is finally starting to trust me with more important jobs! This could be the beginning of a new era!"
"Oh, a wonderful new era, indeed," Glacier said with a hint of sarcasm. He then directed his glance over to the young Chase, who was still reading his mini book. "You got anything to say, buddy?"
Simmons didn't really look up. "No. I'm fine, thanks..." He began flipping through the pages a little more rapidly than before, as to create the illusion of being completely busy with his reading. Glacier figured it wasn't worth making the situation any worse; the young man obviously wasn't fond of their company.
That was Glacier, though. "C'mon, son!" boomed an unyielding Wiedl. "No need to be shy, now! There something wrong with ya? You should be a little more sociable! Wouldn't hurt!..."
"Wieeedl..." Icarus interrupted, while Chase looked up with a threatening glare. "I really don't think he wants to talk. Let 'em alone for now."
"Oh... well..." he muttered, pausing for a moment; it seemed as if he was going to cut out the offensive. "Anyways, how long have you two been doing your guardwork, anyways? I'd like to see how much the two of you can truly endure. Important to know, always."
Glacier, sighing a bit, answered. "A little over two hours."
Wiedl rubbed his chin. "Hmm... not bad, guys," he replied. "Though we've still got some time left. But don't worry! I'll be sure to keep you company."
Icarus and Glacier exchanged frightened looks. "Uhh... Wiedl?" Icarus asked cautiously. "What exactly do you mean, 'keeping us company'? Only Glacier, Chase and I are doing the guarding..."
"Oh, indeed," Wiedl admitted. "But I don't think Dr. Cain would really mind it if I stuck around for a little while. Might be some good exercise for me... I haven't been able to do work like this since the first Maverick War!"
Glacier nodded warily. "That so."
"Yep!" he obliviously agreed. Then, with a look as if somebody had just poked his side, he reached over to his left and grabbed hold of the small leather baggie that he had brought in with him before. "I got a little treat for us," he said as he reached inside of it. After a bit of scrambling, he managed to pull out three small candies, circular and only a little bigger than a human fingernail. They each were hued dark blue, and were thickened from the sides. He earnestly opened the palm of his hand and showed them to Glacier and Icarus.
Icarus eyed the objects with suspicion. "What in the hell-diddly-el are those?"
"Pep candies!" Wiedl announced with pride. "Got 'em from the medical equipment area during cleanup, and I thought of you guys immediately. They're like regular pep pills, only designed for reploids only, and with a nice hint of blueberry flavor. C'mon, give it a try!"
The two had to think about this. It was never really an intellegent thing to shove an unknown substance or food down your esophagus if handed to you by anybody untrustworthy, let alone a nutzo like Wiedl. But, then again, this apparently came from the medical ward, and really wouldn't be too dangerous. Right...?
Icarus, being eons more risk-taking than his friend was, made a swift grab for one of the candies and placed it in his mouth almost immediately. "Heeeey... not bad!" he said after a few seconds of chewing. "Give it a try. Taste's pretty good."
Though Glacier was never one to trust Wiedl, hereluctantly took one of the pills and ate them in a similar manner. He soon discovered that Icarus knew what he was talking about; though its taste was a little on the strong side, it was quite a good one, and lasted in his mouth for a pretty long while after swallowing. "Yeah... not bad," he chimed.
"Thought so!" boomed Wiedl, who had already finished swallowing his piece. "Now that'll keep you up for a good long while, let me tell you..." He then turned to a dormant Chase. "Sorry, kid, but I couldn't find anything for you to have. You could try one of these pills if you like, but I don't doubt that it might have some nasty side effects..."
"Naw, that's fine," Simmons responded with a bit of cheek. "I don't want to inject my body with that poisonus stuff, thanks..."
"Erm... alright, then," Wiedl replied, feeling a little outspoken. He then turned back to the seated Hunter duo. "Well, it's gunna be a long night!" he began again, with the same limitless energy. "We'll need something to pass the time. I've got some great stories about when I was fighting in the Vietnam War..."
Icarus blinked. "Reploids didn't exist back in the Vietnam days."
Wiedl shrugged. "Whatever. They're all the same to me."
Night. Darkness enveloping the entire world, creating an appropriate atmosphere for those who yearn for the comfort of their homes, whether it be some small, dank apartment building or a city street corner with a small area of reserve waiting for them. Wherever it happened, it was a time for a world to get some good rest after devoting about 16 hours of its life to doing work.
However, the darkness of night provided housing for other elements as well. Nocturnal animals making about their nightly hunts and searchings. Insomniacs, incapable of sleep, walking the streets as if morning had already come hours ago. Teenagers, youthful and powerful, some staying away from the shackles of their homes and keeping solace in the authority the night gives them. Loners, wandering the city streets without a friend or family member staying by their side, wandering the darker parts of the city, looking for an answer...
And, of course, there was the occasional mercenary or two.
Looking down at that very same world was Dynamo, dressed in his usual battle attire, seemingly ready for almost anything. He wasn't exactly in a situation where it was appropriate to be goofing around; standing at the tippy-top of the base to his apparent "enemies", the Maverick Hunter Headquarters. There was certainly a mission at hand - a damned important one, too, as it would generally decide the ultimate fate of the Mavericks and the rest of the world as they knew it. But Dynamo wasn't thinking along those lines; to him, all he was really doing was busting down a door, pulling a helmetted hippy the hell out of there and running off to give it back to Agile and his Merry Men so that they could shove some screwdrivers in his head and send him out to blow numerous amounts of shit up. Not that he really had any difinitive opinion on the matter - he liked his new saber way too much, and had been farting around with it ever since he got it.
The mercenary checked his watch. 2:00 AM... perfect. When Agile had briefed him about the mission, he remembered hearing him say that the best time for a covert operation in the Hunter HQ was at this time, since it seemed that no one would be wandering the halls at this hour, and some minor tests performed by former Mavericks have proved that security becomes much weaker at this point. It was time to get things done, and Dynamo knew as much.
Leaping off the perch that had served him during his solitary vigil for the past few hours, he landed somewhat gracefully in front of a slanted window that resided near another perch on the HQ's left side. Peering in, he noticed that the room was placed in a smaller part of the medical ward, near a small and seemingly unenterable door, with very dim lighting as to serve as some kind of camaflauge. Staying on the safe side, he briefly took a look around the room, checking for any signs of life whatsoever. Luckily for him, there were none. Excellent.
Keeping totally quiet, he pulled out his lightsaber and ignited only one edge, causing the pinkish pulsating blade to emerge from its cocoon. He then began to carefully carve into the window, which he soon discovered was surprisingly thick - extra layers for extra security, he figured. After carving a practically perfect circle through it, he pulled out the extra piece of glass and placed it on side perch, where nobody would be able to notice it. Before jumping in, though, he made note of the security camera to his left - that could cause him some problems, he figured. With his usual cautiousness, he pulled out the small arm cannon adapter he had used when opening the doors to Sigma's office not too long ago and fitted it on his right arm cannon. As accurately as possible, he aimed for the small wires that kept the camera functional and emitted an extremely concentrated laserbeam from his arm, damaging the wires and shutting down the machine. Dynamo figured that this was the best way of going about things; the beam was strong enough to dismantle the wires and prevent the camera from working properly, but not strong enough to knock the machine off of it's resting spot and cause it to fall to the ground and create too much noise.
After finally taking care of the camera, he did his usual leap to the ground in the most graceful way he could muster, as to not create anything that would wake the others up. To his right, he could see something of a long hallway, lined with identical doors all the way down, a Red Cross adorning each of them. This was definitely the medical ward; but would it seem logical for Vile to be stored in a place like this? The area did seem more secluded from the rest of the base than usual... and Dynamo was getting an interesting feeling about the door to his right, which seemed almost totally sealed up.
Then, Dynamo saw something he had totally missed when he had first peered into the room - in a small area to his right, next to the sealed door, sat a black-haired young woman wearing a large white-colored lab jacket that draped her entire body. As it seemed, she was hunched over and completely asleep - Dynamo had gotten lucky this time through.
Suddenly, the mercenary got an idea. Being as cautious as possible, he walked over to the sleeping woman and attempted to pull of the lab coat. He had just about gotten it all the way of when -
"Wh... zuh?" the girl moaned in a bit of confusion - she was still awake. Thinking fast, the mercenary rapidly pulled out a small bit of anesthetic and rubbed it against her mouth, causing her to gradually fall into a deep, deep sleep. "Pieeece 'o cake," he muttered happily to himself as he draped himself over with the large lab coat, concealing his true identity almost completely. The perfect crime.
"Hmm... now for the door..." he muttered to himself again as he took a stance in front of the sealed door. "Seems to be locked, though there must be some way of getting inside..." He then noticed a small slot in the middle right of the door, which seemed to serve as some kind of cardkey adaptor. Searching around on his labcoat, Dynamo came out lucky and managed to find a small keycard in his chest pocket; he figured that the slumbering scientist he had downed held some kind of authority in the ranks of the Hunter medics. Hoping for luck to be on his side again, the white-haired mercenary inserted the card into the slot. Amazingly, a small 'beep' was sounded, and the door automatically opened the slightest bit.
This was it - if this room was indeed the place where Vile was being stored, then he could mark this as one of the easiest missions he'd ever been assigned to carry out. Keeping his lightsaber battle-ready, he swung open the door in earnest to face any of the guards that would be stationed there. However, upon finally looking in the room, he was greeted with an entirely different spectacle; sure, there were guards, but they were sprawled on the ground, motionless, and making loud grunting noises, their eyes tightly closed. One was a mid-sized reploid dragon with blue armor and a large snout, another one with a humanoid frame and much thinner, and the last one ever so big with orange-yellow armor. He'd never seen any of them before, though he was quite surprised that Dr. Cain hadn't just played it safe and hired X and Zero to take care of the job. That is, if this was indeed the right room.
Dynamo took a first look around the small room, noting immediately the large capsule in the middle of the room, which obviously contained something of medical importance - whether or not it contained Vile was beyond him. Before he could continue on, however, he happened to notice a young, scrawny-looking human Hunter that was approaching him. Not that it worried him or anything - he didn't look like much of a fight.
"Uhh... I guess you're from the medical ward, eh?" the young human voiced weakly, giving the reploid a suspicious stare.
Dynamo nodded, keeping his stature. "Indeed. I was sent here by Dr. Cain to take care of some medical... uh, work," he lied. "I'm just not sure of exactly where I'm going, y'see, since I'm kind of new to this building. Tell me, is that the capsule where that reploid Vile is being kept for the time being?"
The Hunter, looking back at the capsule, nodded. "Yeah, that's the capsule. Why do you ask?"
Yes! He'd found it so easily... "Oh... nothing. Just business..." he muttered in response. "Oh, and by the way... I hope you enjoy your sleep."
"...sleep? Wha-"
Before he could say anything more, Dynamo balled his right hand into a fist and gave the young human a good strong sockin' to the forehead, destroying every last bit of consciousness he had left in him almost instantly. He fell limply to the ground, unconscious and motionless, his eyes still wide open in complete shock. Piece 'o cake, just as he thought.
Now, the time of business had arrived. Standing before the large steel-coated capsule, Dynamo had two options at hand; the conventional, sly way that would allow him to make off with Vile and do so without setting off the alarm, which would take quite a bit of time and thinking. Or, there was the quick, brutal way, in which Dynamo would bust Vile out without caring about the alarmm, and make off with him before the Hunters knew what hit them.
Two words entered Dynamo's mind that immediately made the decision for him - Screw it.
Using all of the force he had, the white-armored mercenary unsheathed his double-edged lightsaber and thrusted it into the steel capsule, breaking its fine structure. Immediately, as he had thought, the mighty alarm sounded...
"ALERT... ALERT... POTENTIAL BREAK-IN IN ROOM 71109... MAVERICK HUNTERS, PLEASE REPORT TO ROOM 71109... POSSIBLE INTRUDER ALERT..."
Tee hee... this should be fun...
"What the diddly-hell is that?" muttered a half-asleep X, looking up from the mattress that served as his nightly resting space. The room was turning a pale red, with a loud, booming voice sounding from the loudspeakers -
"ATTENTION, ALL MAVERICK HUNTERS... INTRUDER ALERT... POTENTIAL BREAK-IN IN ROOM 71109... PLEASE CHECK-IN..."
"Oh, friggin' wonderful..." he said to himself in a frustrated tone of voice. Taking no chances, he ran out the door as quickly as he could to make it to the medical ward in time.
This was it - Dynamo had done it.
Nestled in his right arm was the dormant body of a newly revived Vile, broken straight out of the capsule where he was originally kept in isolation. There wasn't much of a chance that he'd be waking up anytime soon, since the machine had apparently placed him in a complete state of dormancy.
At this point, Dynamo knew he had to get out of the building, and fast. Using his uncanny ability to think quickly during times of extreme pressure, he bursted through the security door and headed straight for the large window which he had entered through previously. With utmost most grace and cautiousness, the mercenary proceeded to leap of of the ledge in front of the window, hurtling towards the ground below. Of course, Dynamo didn't really intend on ending his life by having a head on collision with the pavement, no no no... he was fully prepared for the worst. Using the wrist-com planted on his left wrist, he managed to teleport away from the area, Vile in tow, barely escaping a fate against the earth below him.
Agile and the others would certainly be getting a little treat. Mission accomplished.
"Oh, ye gods," exclaimed a disgruntled Dr. James Cain, staring at the horrific spectacle laid before him in the darkness of room 71109. The capsule that had previously held Vile in isolation had been completely bursted open, with a large hole carved right in front of it, obviously cut by a weapon of extreme power. All traces of the Boba Fett lookalike were nowhere to be found. Below the capsule lay the now-awakening bodies of Glacier Dragoon, Icarus, Wiedl, and Chase Simmons, having previously been conked out by some unknown force.
X sat beside a struggling Glacier Dragoon, who now had most of his upper body off of the ground, and was trying desperately to sit up. "Gha... I don't know what happened," the dragon reploid said to his comrade. "All I can remember was staying up until at least one-thirty, and then everything's just blurred up after that. I'm not sure what knocked me out..."
"Well, it sure as hell was somethin'," X stated in a convincing tone. "You guys seem pretty damned out of it, I can tell ya that. You sure you weren't just really tired from some kind of exercise, or took something beforehand, or something along those lines?"
Icarus, who was now sitting up next to Glacier, thought back. "Actually, I think we did take something," he recalled. "Wiedl... Wiedl brought us something from the medical ward. 'Pep candies', he said they were. Supposed to keep us up during the night..."
Cain, having heard Icarus's words, turned towards Wiedl. "Oh, no... Wiedl, you should've consulted me before taking those pills," he warned. "They were still under testing. Apparently, there had been numerous complaints that the pills had the exact opposite of the effect they were advertised to do - that is, they place you in an extremely deep kind of sleep. That's what caused the three of you to fall unconscious before Vile was abducted..."
Wiedl chose not to say anything; rather, he just lay in place, wallowing in his own self-embarrassment.
Zero looked down at the ground, a look of extreme upsetness planted on his face. "Friggin' wonderful," he muttered. "Does this mean that we're totally screwed over now?"
Cain sighed. "Well, though the future does seem a little bleak, the situation isn't completely hopeless," he said with distinct worry. "What we know for sure now, though, is that somebody out there is very aware of Vile's power, and his determined to make it their own. I have very little doubts about who has committed this capture, but we still need to take some time to reorganize and form some sort of strategy. If we can't... well, then the ball's in their court, I guess."