(AN: I don't own Mega Man. I don't own my house, my car, my life. Most of you don't, either. But I figured, as long as we were on the subject...do you know how much money you're paying in interest, only to have what you fought for taken by the bank?! Well, anyhoo...)

Chapter 12: The Streets Erupt

The Maintenance Bay of the Maverick Hunter Headquarters was abuzz with activity. The 14th unit was running to their assigned stations, Slate hot on their heels. A row of purple capsules lined the far wall, where Douglas quickly typed into a wall screen. "Finally, my X-Mech suits get some REAL action!" he yelled, grinning ear-to-ear.

Slate only groaned, standing before his troops. "If I see ANY of you smiling about this mission, I'll leave you here with Douglas, is that clear?!"

The Hunters snapped to attention. "Sir, yes, sir!"

Slate nodded, looking over the men and women standing before him. "Now...this is your first combat situation. Unlike the sims, if you tank this, we're not picking you up off the sidewalk. This is the real world, and in the real world, if you forget what I've drilled into your heads, you're junk metal, IS THAT CLEAR?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"14th Unit, sui-"

Before he could finish his order, a warp interrupted him. Suddenly, Night was standing in front of him, arms crossed with a stern expression on his face.

"I'm going with you, Slate. What do I do?"

Slate nodded, slapping Night on the back. "About time you got serious, kid. Why the change of heart?"

"I don't like fighting innocents, but I finally found out who's guilty. Now, which one of those capsules is mine?" Slate pointed to a spare at the end of the line.

"And hurry up! 14th Unit...and company, suit up!"

As one, the Hunters stepped back into their capsules. Douglas pressed a button and they began to glow. The troops were surrounded by waves of violet energy as the capsules went to work, creating an almost blinding flash of light. When it was finished, they all stood nearly a head taller, their armor plated with purple metal. Their hands had been replaced by large metal claws, and as they stepped down, a loud crash rang through the Bay. The Neo-Chimera X-Mechs were ready for battle.

Night watched this with growing concern. His own capsule had flickered, then died. He looked around his capsule for some sort of switch, but nothing presented itself. "Damn it, Douglas, what did you..." His voice trailed off as the purple light returned, then shifted to a bright green. The capsule suddenly closed, a green visor rising the base. Before the confused eyes of the Hunters, the capsule's outer shell began to darken, becoming pitch black as the green light pulsed behind the visor. After a moment of awed silence, the machine suddenly died, the visor slowly dropping back into the machine. Everyone stared in surprise at what they saw.

Night's Armor had nearly doubled in size, raising his height by half. On each arm, a trio of plasma blades extended for more than a meter. Thrusters adorned his back and shoulders, softly humming as they activated. He stepped down, more determined than ever.

"Looks like the kid's got a new toy...showoff," Slate said, then slammed his fist into the garage control. "Dragons, let's move!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" They cried, dashing onto the streets. Night watched them go, then sighed.

"Should we give them a head start, or go save their lives now?"

Slate finally cracked a grin, pulling down the face of his helmet. "Let's make some scrap metal."

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"Okay, give me a display of Neo Tokyo, centered on the attack zone." Alia said, running for her chair. Almost before she hit the leather, she was typing into her console, bringing up wire-frame holograms of the 14th Unit. 50 miniature soldiers in combat armor adorned her personal screen, moving in sync with their real counterparts. "Well?!" she screamed.

The tech at the main screen scratched at his head, a blank expression on his face. "Uhh...hold on. Er, is this button or-"

"Oh, bloody hell! Move over, wank!" Seemingly out of nowhere, Serrael appeared next to the main terminal, knocking the Tech aside. She punched a few keys, humming to herself as she worked. "Got it! Cocky blokes...they're coming straight down Main Street...hundreds of basic humanoid robot units, some with busters, some with blades, and one big Mav..." The screen came to life, displaying a scale map of the local streets. Main Street made a straight line through the city, passing along the HQ's street entrance. Red blips covered a large part of the area, slowly making it's way south.

"Got it. The 14th is moving out...Finally, someone who can do their damned job!" Alia muttered, glaring at the Techs and operators who had stopped what they were doing to gawk. They seemed to get the message, pouncing to action, adding their data to the swiftly changing display. At the southern end, rows of green blips made their way onto the screen, heading north. Behind them, a darker green and a purple icon followed. While the dark green blip joined the unit, the purple one rushed forward, leading the charge. "Wait a minute, is that-"

The sudden exclamation brought Serrael's eyes up from her terminal. Her expression went from confusion to shock in a flash. "Night! What in blazes does he think he's-"

"Crazy son a...Someone get me a goddamned feed to his comm!"

A Tech chimed in, "Negative, Boss! We've got interference on every channel! Our boys are going in blind as it is!"

Alia slumped lower into her chair. "Dammit...that kid better not die on me." After a brief sigh, she pulled herself up, the fire back in her eyes. "Hey, accent girl! Get to work on that damned interference!"

Serrael bristled, then got to it, though her humming turned noticeably darker. "Rude wench..."

On the screen, the red and green blips met, and the entire red mass focused on the new threat, the largest enemy icon watching from behind the ranks. The troops met, and Alia watched as one of her wire-frames flew backward, then turned red. "It's up to them, now..."

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The maverick charged forward. Over three meters of pure strength made its way towards the Hunters, an axe of plasma energy raised above his head. His robots charged ahead of him, firing as they moved, shields at the ready. The two forces closed, then met as the battle begun.

A cocky Hunter charged straight for the maverick, claws charged for a rush attack. "Take this, you monster!" he cried, thrusting forward with a dash burst. The maverick paused, a wide grin on his face. The Hunter attacked, his claw surrounded by plasma, screaming as he went. The maverick laughed, then brought down his axe. The Hunter's armor exploded in a flash of light, his emergency warp barely activating in time to miss a second strike. He watched the battle around him unfold, arms crossed. Suddenly, his voice boomed across the field. "Hunters! Bring me Night or I will kill everyone in this city, starting with all of you!"

From the midst of the battle, Night heard his demand. The Hunters were being pushed back by the sheer numbers of robots, the battle spreading out into buildings and spreading to other streets. Slate had disappeared in the first wave and the comms seemed to be jammed, leaving the field in chaos. Night himself stood with a few Hunters, slashing their way through the ranks to regroup. His blades were in constant motion, tearing through the enemies as if they were nothing, but still more came. As the leader's cry reached him, Night swore under his breath. "Big surprise..."

The Hunter closest to him dashed forward, slamming a claw into a Joe, breaking its shield and the bot itself in a single strike. "Go kick his ass, Night! The Dragons got this covered, right guys?!"

The voices nearby echoed, "Hell...yeah! We be Dragons!"

With a smirk, Night nodded, putting his thrusters into a full burst. He cut a beeline through the wall of enemies, hacking his way towards the towering shape waiting just beyond the carnage. "Maybe I can end this before it gets out of hand..."

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"'Allie! We just lost another one!" Serrael's fingers flew across the board, going over the combat data in her mind. "We're cutting them down, but they're like weeds!"

Alia sighed, checking the roster on her screen. "Hmm...he's all right, and joining up with the defense team. Damn it, and we've already lost five NCs! Any progress on the jam?"

"Nope! This is...it's way beyond anything I've cracked. The codes keep changing...it's almost as if." Serrael barely suppressed a gasp, but swiftly shook her head. "...never mind what, but it's hard!"

"Damn it! All I can do is sit here and wait..." Alia mumbled.

Serrael frowned, watching the red wave on screen push further south. A purple icon broke through the line, stopping before the largest red dot. "You and me both, Allie...you and me both."

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The two reploids met, pausing to examine each other. Night had never seen a reploid so tall. Green armor plates covered his frame, looking as if they were bolted on. The maverick stared down at his opponent, then spoke in a strangely calm voice. "I am...Terrus. Surrender your life now and this ends."

Night remained still as the maverick rose his axe high. "Killing me won't end this, Brand! Call off the bots!"

The axe wavered, its owner's expression darkening. "You...how do you know my name?!"

"Nadia told me. She's at Headquarter with Rena. Both unharmed."

Terrus slowly lowered his weapon, a frown of confusion on his face. Shaking his head, he lifted it again, fury in his eyes. "But...that can't be true! He said you killed them! He said-"

Night lifted his hands, cutting off his blades. "Master lied. I don't want to fight you, Brand. We both know that's not the answer! Call off the robots. We can discuss this!"

Terrus sighed, then nodded. The blades of his axe faded, then extinguished, and he stabbed the haft into the ground. As if on cue, the entire robot force stopped what it was doing, pausing in mid-strike. "I...somehow I trust you. Say what you will."

Night stepped forward, arms raised. Even unarmed, the maverick was intimidating, his forearm almost half Night's size. "Look... Probably, I like humans less than you do, but Master's insanity isn't the way to solve this! Nadia told me you were devoted to your God. Do you believe that he would condone genocide, whatever the reason?"

Terrus frowned, deep in thought. "You are right...My God, what did he do to us...What-" A shiver ran through his body, and he reared up to his full height.

"Brand, what's-"

"No!!! I...I can't..." Terrus grabbed at his head, groaning in pain. Sparks began to rise from his armor. His body tensed as he fell to his knees. "It's...GET OUT OF HERE!!!" His eyes flashed purple, flickering and dying, the flames slowly growing stronger. Night felt himself stepping back, watching in horror as the glowing flames engulfed him. A scream rang out through the city, shocking those nearby, bringing everything to a halt. The flames receded, seeming to seem into Terrus's armor. Silently, he rose.

"Brand, are you-"

"GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" The cry roused the robot army from its stasis, catching the Hunters off guard. Terrus ripped his axe from the ground and raised the haft over his head once again. Twin blades of purple fire came to life, then slammed down, sending Night flying backward into the crowd. His armor flashed green, then returned to its normal state. Another scream of primal rage followed, as Terrus charged. Still in shock, the Hunters began to give ground.

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"Alia, they've started fighting again...Night! He's been hit!" Serrael watched, frozen, as the screen became a swarm of red, green lights blinking out several at a time.

"Oh, dammit...half of the unit's out of commission! Get me my damn comms!" Alia looked at her screen. Many of the wireframes had gone completely red, and many others showed signs of damage. At this rate, they would be overwhelmed

"Got it, finally! Opening a channel!" A corner of the screen came to life, showing a very aggravated Slate.

"I'm busy, Alia! Hell just broke loose down here!" Slate looked up, then cut his comm.

"That stupid son of a bitch!!!" Alia then proceeded to swear under her breath in a variety of languages. "Hey, you! Any sign of the damned GDC?" she yelled.

"I can hear you!...And no, they're on their own." Serrael leaned back in his chair. Her arms fell to her side as she looked up. "All we can do is watch."

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Slate was surrounded. He had been forced into what used to be a hotel lobby. The hail of fire had removed any sort of resemblance to its former self, as the room became a battlefield. Slate twirled his Dragon Tail, deflecting a blast from a nearby bot. Leaping over its head, he turned in midair, slicing through its head with one of the Tail's ends. The explosion caught him in the back, knocking him to his knees. Another pair, wielding plasma blades rushed him. He dashed between them, the ends of his Tail extending to cut through their midsections. Another wave of shrapnel sent him flying.

"Damn things must have explosives in them...," he muttered. Pulling himself up, he found himself staring at a pair of white boots, slightly too large to be human. His gaze rose to look into the eyes of a reploid with a grin glued to his face. Slate swore under his breath, then found his temper rising. "Damn it, help me up! There's a war outside if you haven't noticed!"

The reploid laughed, pulling Slate to his feet. "Oh, I noticed." Slate grunted, heading for the exit. "But you should be more worried about the war in here..."

Slate turned, his Dragon Tail at the ready. "And who the hell are..." He blinked, lifting the visor of his helmet. A smile formed on his face, and he motioned for the exit. "About damn time you got here! We got a hell of a fight out-"

The last thing Slate saw was two arms turning to busters, then everything went dark.

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Night was running for his life. The axe flew at him again and again, cleaving through anything in its way. Each time it struck the ground, a wave of burning concrete flew at him, burning his armor. He felt his energy fading by the repeated punishment as he fought desperately to avoid the ever-striking axe. He'd learned that, while too weak to lift the huge reploid, Terrus's wings added a deadly speed and power to his strikes. Ducking under an overhand swing, Night slashed with his Dual Blades, then passed through Terrus' legs. A howl of pain and another attack soon followed, sending another hail of molten rock into his back. I'm already down to half power...One real hit with that thing and I'm dead...What am I gonna do?!

"Brand! Snap out of it! Fight the Virus!" Night screamed, dashing backwards, the blade slashing through the space where his head would have been. Terrus only screamed again, the purple flames glowing brighter in his eyes. Night kept going backwards until a wall stopped him. He barely managed to step aside as the axe sliced a new window into the building. As Night dashed out of the way, gaining distance with a second burst. "I've got no choice! Take this!!!"

The purple status bar came into his vision, then quickly drained by a quarter. The vents appeared, then covered him in a shield of flames, hurtling him towards the startled Terrus, who managed to slam his axe into the ground and bring his arms up before they collided.

The ground gave way behind Terrus as he slid backward, putting of his strength into resisting the force of the Fire Strike. His wings flared, straining against the force. Night pressed forward, forcing more power into his attack. The bar slowly dropped as they squared off. Through the flames, Night could see the heat crack and warp his target's armor, but a grim smile was on the possessed reploid's face. Night felt his probe energy drop to half, then a quarter...

Terrus's grin grew wider as he felt the pressure slacken. With a cry of victory, he pulled back and swung an arm at the burning Hunter. Night flew backward, landing in a heap. Cackling, Terrus pulled his axe out of the ground, then slowly marched towards his victim.

I'm screwed, Night thought. The purple bar had bottomed out, rising far too slowly for comfort, and the green one that showed his life had begun to flash red. Down to 25%...what now? Isn't this when I get a new toy or something? As if on cue, the green letters came to life before his eyes.

ACTIVATE CYCLONE SYS.?

WARNING - OTHER ABILITIES WILL NOT FUNCTION WHILE IN AGILE MODE...

As if they'd help anyway. Do it! The gold vents closed, then disappeared. He watched in terror as Terrus came closer, laughing at the top of his lungs.

"The hell kind of power is that?!" he yelled. He stood, raising his arms in a hopeless defense. "I hope you know you're going to hell with me, you damn armor!!!" Terrus stopped, staring down at Night, the fire blazing in his eyes.

The axe rose, then fell. "No!" Night tried to turn on his blades, and found himself flying off to the side, spinning like a top. A second burst brought him to a halt. He looked down, watching as wider vents rose from his gauntlets, facing the opposite direction as his blades. "Okay...that's more like it!"

Terrus charged forward, enraged at the loss of his prey. The axe moved in a blur, but Night was faster, flipping with a dash burst over the swing, and with a second burst, over Terrus's head. Firing the boosters in his arms, he spun again, facing his opponent's back, dashing away as soon as he hit the ground. "Great! Now, now give me an attack!" he yelled, glaring down at his armor. Answering him again, the text replied:

CYCLONE SYS. ACTIVATED. AUXILIARY THRUSTERS AND BLADE SPIN ONLINE.

Nights blades came back to life as Terrus closed the gap between them, axe swinging wildly through the air. He spun to the side, blades outstretched, cutting through Terrus's damaged armor with a series of strikes, slicing through the thrusters on his back.. Terrus charged onward, stumbling fin pain but forced onward by his failing wings. Night stopped spinning in time to see Terrus stop, both of them breathing heavily. The axe fell from the maverick's hands as he looked down, seeing the purple blood flowing from his wound. He turned, staring in blind fury at Night. He ran forward, intent on pummeling Night to death, screaming in fury. At the last moment, Night launched himself upwards, spinning as he went. Slash after slash cut into Terrus, bringing him to his knees. With a yell, Night landed feet-first onto the giant's head.

He landed, ready to attack again. Terrus stared blankly at him, the purple glow of the Virus flickering, then disappearing. "God...God forgive me." He fell, locked in stasis.

With a sigh, Night sat on his back, shaking his head as they warped to the Brig.

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On the screen, a large green icon winked out. "Slate..." Alia grumbled. "His vitals are fine, ignore it!" The techs shrugged, then got back to work.

The large red icon, bearing the stylized A of the Angel Corps winked out. The purple mark soon followed, disappearing from the map.

"Night!" Alia and Serrael cried in unison. They were both at their terminals in a flash, typing away. Both sighed, and fell back into their seats.

"He's okay," they said, then looked up at the screen.

They had assumed that the robots would stop when their leader was taken down. On the contrary, they seemed to become enraged, swarming around Hunters, sending the battle into total confusion. Things seemed worse than ever, with only ten Hunters left, after 26 had escaped and another 14 were unaccounted for. when suddenly red blips started disappearing. A wide circle on the west side of the street winked out, then a line cut through the middle of the field, clearing out robots and Hunters alike. In shock, those in the Command Center watched as the lights went out one by one, until the street was silent.

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(What the hell...Well, I won't make excuses. I literally couldn't make myself write for a bit. Procrastination's not just a weakness, it's a disease. Don't let it take you, too! I started this damn story about 10 times...Ah, well.

Random Guy: Well, hurry up next time, you little punk! I was waiting to read this!

Yeah, yeah. I'll spare his life this time...nah, maybe next time.)