Chapter 5: The Ruin Haunter
"Where is that THING!" Mimic yelled, knocking his fist against the keyboard in front of a huge monitor. "Quantum! Where are you!" His voice echoed around the room.
Mimic continued punching his fingers onto the buttons of the keyboards. He was so uneasy every time he looks at the monitor, always displaying errors that the black refractor can't be found. It's been days he stared at the monitor as he keeps his search inside close doors.
"Megaman Mimic…" Doors slide and came Quantum. "Looking for me?"
"What…What took you so long!" Mimic complained.
"Well, for your information, getting around this ruin is tedious enough." Quantum retaliates.
"Alright!" Mimic replied. "Anything…Any report or sightings"
"Well, the last one." Quantum sounded bored "Was for the fifty thousandth time…THE LAST SIGHTING WAS MADE BY TRACKER AND SHOCKER!!!"
"Why aren't they back yet!?" Mimic asked, returning to punch more buttons on his machine.
"I don't know, everything went blank."
"That's a lame one…" Mimic taunts, turning to Quantum. "WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG HERE!?" With that, he went back to the monitor again.
"Everything goes wrong for you…"
"Not this time." Mimic turns the monitor off. "Even Eden doesn't have a trace on where the refractor might be or what happen to those two."
"This is like a game of looking for the Easter egg."
"This is not any Easter egg." Mimic turns even more serious "Carnage is strong but the black refractor will make him weak or make him even stronger." Mimic started walking towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Quantum interrogates.
"Protocol." Mimic pushes a button, activating the door to slide open.
"Fine with me mister…" Quantum sigh "You need some patience there."
She turns the monitor on and punches some buttons. "This is Quantum Mimic." She stated. "Requesting backup files for Megaman Deadeye and Megaman Ion, pronto."
"SEARCHING FOR BACKUP FILES…" an OS voice came.
Quantum waited patiently with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. Until…
"ACCESS DENIED…"
"BACKUP FILES FOR FIRST-CLASS PURIFIER UNIT MEGAMAN DEADEYE AND FIRST-CLASS PURIFER UNIT MEGAMAN ION MISSING…"
"Retry." Quantum demands.
"RETRY SE-AR-CHH…" The OS voice suddenly faded, as so as the monitor until it turned black.
"Requesting energy from backup generator. Pronto!" Quantum asked.
"…" The computer made some last sounds of static before completely fading into silence.
Quantum sigh. The generator must have broke down. Maybe it was low on energy. Maybe that is also the reason why the files of both Deadeye and Ion could not be retrieve. But also, it is possible that the System must be corrupted. She went to the door, pushed the button, and exited the room.
"Maybe the generator needs repair." She said to herself. Strolling down the hallway, she heard some metal cracking. Quantum turned to the empty, seemingly, unending corridor.
"Is that you Mimic?" She asked coming closer to the dark. "Hello?"
Without a glance to spare, black hands covered her mouth and grabbed her really fast. She struggled to break free but the grip was too hard for her to handle. She couldn't even move her head to see whoever was choking her as her head was pressed tightly in between the hands of someone and something solid that she felt that she would get crushed.
She trashed ineffectually. She felt a sharp pain and trembled as sparks appeared. The tight press of her head gave her some blackouts and in no time she could felt that she was getting weaker. Her attacker must have been using a very powerful stunt gun. The electrical sparks sent to her to short circuited. Eventually, she lost all her strength and sight and her world around her shrouded in total darkness.
"X, there it is…" Zero pointed out to the tower over the sea.
"Thanks Zero." X turned to the window. "Roll…"
"I'm on it X." Roll steered the flutter closer to the ruin. And as soon as they arrived…
X stepped out first, followed by Zero. They both marched towards an opening of the shaft.
"Don't worry." X tries to cheer Roll as they entered the tower.
Inside, they found an elevator. It has only one red button on its control panel. The elevator was so near, they could see outside from it.
"Zero." X pressed the button. "Let's get ready."
"Roll, can you hear us?" Zero calls from his blue-tooth radio.
"Yes. Loud and clear." Roll replied
"How about me?" X asked from his radio.
"Same as Zero, X"
The elevator reached bottom. The ruin's wall and floors were made from green glossy metal. Unlike most other ruin, this one seems to be well maintained but also appears to be slightly damaged by recent battle or earthquake.
"X, check this one." Zero called out, crouching in front of pieces of metal.
"Is that?" X wondered what it is.
"It appears like fragments of a reaverbot." Zero said. "And look…" He pointed a red orb.
"Reaverbot eye?" X was surprised.
"This could worth a lot!" Zero concludes "It appears that whoever did this…"
"…Didn't blew up that reaverbot." X continues, picking up the piece of metal. "There is no sign of burns or melt spots on the metal. The metal was rather torn."
"Let's just find Carnage…" X threw the piece of metal back onto the floor and continued their way forward onto the hallway leading down.
A capsule opened and a faceless unit comes out of it. It was Megaman Mimic. The door slides open as he approaches it and leaves the room. In the hallway, for what it seems to be a hundred times he had passed by without an event. This time he sees something pink. He rushed to see it.
"Quantum…" Mimic held her. Her eyes were closed but she was intact top to bottom. Mimic picked her and here was a small box, no bigger than a shoebox, and it has a timer indicating '0:04'. It's a bomb!
Mimic lifted his sister by his arm. He was about to leave but some wind, not wind but feels like magnet, lifted Quantum. The force threw her back onto the bomb.
"QUANTUM!"
The bomb reached '0:00' and EXPLODE! Quantum was completely covered and vanished in the fire. Flames erupting and Mimic was blown to the other side of the hallway.
"NO…!" Mimic yelled, his back pressed against the wall.
Mimic could hardly get up from his burns. Who could have planted that bomb? Before he could recollect what had happened. A strange voice began pounding his mind, though it was completely unclear what it was saying.
"HOW DO YOU LIKE MY SURPRISE?" A familiar sound echoes
"You're…" Mimic gasped.
"YES, RELIVE YOUR NIGHTMARE."
"What have you done with her…!" Mimic yells.
"YOU KNOW…"
Mimic felt some flashing wind blew behind him, followed promptly by sharp metal to metal scratching, loud and sounded that it had moved across the corridors. He turned around to see but it hurts doing so. He touched his back, there were scratches all over and his cape was almost totally torn.
"Why you…" Mimic blaze out his light saber. "I'll…" a huge blowing, high-pressure wind blew and slammed him against the walls of the hallway.
Mimic fell onto the floor face first. He got up only to be slammed to the other wall. He got hit so hard that he got stuck. The winds return and pushed him into the ceiling and actually cracking it. Mimic budge and fell down and again some force came back which amplified the landing. The crash was so hard that the floor actually dented.
Mimic got up feeling his body in almost twisted shape. He was on his feet but couldn't stand upright, holding his in a frontal defensive post. He was facing two hallways, one was burning from the bomb earlier and the other was just pitch dark.
"A WORD…"
Mimic gasp, he couldn't hear properly. He could see three figures coming out from the fires of the left hallway. At the right was a white unit at the center was a green unit and the left was a female pink unit. Yes, they were Ion, Deadeye, and Quantum and they were not solid, rather they appear ghost-like.
"You left us…" the ghost of Ion howl.
"We are dead…" Deadeye gasps.
"You will be like us in no time…" Quantum stated.
Mimic stared in shock. This is not possible, they are…robots, purifier units shouldn't even have souls. But it's too real to deny.
"No! Get away…!" Mimic slashes his saber, trying to ward them off. The three phantoms continued to get closer and closer.
Mimic slowly took steps backward but was still the figures are faster approaching until they were within range of his light saber. Mimic continued thrusting and slashing his saber but it just pass harmlessly on the wraiths.
"Its no use…" Deadeye warns
"You can't stop us…" Quantum continues
"You will be resting with us." Ion stated.
The three ghosts' 'flash' started melting, showing their skeleton-like internal circuitry. This was way too weird, these must be all a mirage but it really there.
Mimic turned and ran into the other hallway. "No, you'll never take me…NEVER…!" He continued running aimlessly, not watching where he was going.
Mimic stumbled into a computer room. He hastily turned on the monitor and punching almost every button on the keyboard he could. The monitor wouldn't project anything.
"Com' on!" Mimic panted "Open…"
The monitor flashes and showed Carnage. "Greetings my betrayer…"
"You!" Mimic slashes his saber onto the keyboard. The buttons were flying off; the board was torn to pieces.
Mimic thrust, slash, doing anything he could to destroy the monitor as well. The screen burst, the glass was in pieces, littered all over the ground. The remains of the huge screen was its frame and a lot of smoke
"HA HA HA," A grim laughter echoed in the room
Mimic turned around the room to see where it could come from. The whole room was empty. No body, not even wraiths were in.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME…" It taunts.
The walls began projecting the face of Carnage smirking. Not one wall but every wall, ceiling and floor of the room are projecting it, like TVs. They weren't even supposed to project those, those infrastructure isn't even design to do such thing.
Mimic looked around and it was a nightmare. To make it worse, even the busted monitor is projecting Carnage it, even the keyboard, the speaker, even the wires around the machine is doing so.
"YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO GET AWAY…"
Mimic turned to the door where he had used to enter the room. The three ghosts, Ion, Deadeye and Quantum, entered the room without even opening the door.
"Give it up…" The ghosts ordered "You're not leaving this place alive…"
"EVEN IF YOU DO SO…" The projected faces of the smirking Carnage continues then laughed.
Mimic screamed in madness, leaving the room through the other door. The connecting hallway, every square inch of it, was projecting the laughing figure of Carnage. Mimic slash ineffectually against the walls and floors as he ran. But no matter how badly damaged it is, Carnage's face just wont leave.
Zero was walking ahead of X. X maintained a few paces behind waiting for Zero to say anything. Zero held his tiny, digital map. A cross was at the electronic screen, pointing forward.
"How far are is he, Zero?" X asked
"He's still some distance ahead." Zero replied, looking at his electronic device. "Strange, he seem to be staying ahead…"
"Let me see…" X took the device. "I see…" The device's arrow then pointed to the opposite direction.
"What? He's behind us…" Zero yelp and dashes behind X. A 'wall' then collapse in between, separating both X and Zero.
"Zero…" X yelled against the wall.
"X, hang in there." Zero replied, turning his light saber on. He was about to thrust the wall when suddenly another wall came down to reinforce it.
"What the…" Zero came in surprise and jumped back.
A third wall followed, covering the second wall. Zero took a step back when suddenly a forth wall slammed down, a fifth followed before the fourth could reach the floor.
"Oh, shoot!" Zero ran a sixth wall came down.
The seventh came down afterwards, and without a second to delay, it was succeeded by the eighth wall, the ninth, the tenth, eleven, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth. The sixteenth wall came much faster than the rest, followed by the seventeen, even faster than any before and the even faster eighteenth, and so. Every succeeding wall fell faster than its predecessor did. Finally, it came to an immediate halt when the fiftieth wall had closed in.
Zero rested a bit. He turned heard some slamming from the other side. Wait, more walls coming from the opposite side of the hallway are falling too. Zero leaned his back against the fiftieth wall.
He could only think that those walls could slam him flat in any moment when it stopped coming down a few meters from him.
"Whew…" Zero felt relief then a cranking sound was obviously audible. He looked up to see that the ceiling was closer than he expected. No, the ceiling was actually coming down, Zero realizes. In a minute or less, he would be just as flat as a piece of paper for sure.
The ceiling continued lowering. So close now that Zero had to crouch to gain space. It's over now; the falling ceiling is going down faster than his light saber would take to burn.
Just as things are about to look and end hopelessly flat, the floor swung open down. Zero slid down onto the shaft. Before he could hold himself to create the friction to stop, the slide came to an end. Zero fell out from the ceiling of a room. He managed to land on his feet.
"What is this place…" Zero could see the room was just a few square meters small. There is a door in front of him but its covered by some shining force field. The walls, ceiling and floor are covered by force field too. The ceiling must have closed back and reactivate its field when he entered.
Zero slashes his saber against the force field but it doesn't work. The force field seems too strong.
"Hello, Roll?" Zero called by his radio. "Come in Roll."
The radio only gave static there was no sign of roll responding within it. The force field must have blocked the transmission. Now, he's trapped in a room with no communications and no way out.
Zero, Zero!" X called out against the wall. Things are just futile. Yelling against the wall wouldn't do, he thought.
"Roll, Zero's gone…" X called out form his radio.
"What happened X?" Roll answered.
"A wall fell and separated us…" X replied. "Can you reached Zero, tell him to hang on…"
"I can't…" Roll replied. "His transmission signal is blanked."
"What!?" X was shocked "I'll find him."
"X, be careful…" Roll replied
"Gotcha." X left the area and went on.
X traveled further. The path and the hallway seem to go on only 'one end' and it zigzags all the way. Minutes pass and still no sign of doors or rooms. His tracking device showed that Carnage was at the end of the hallway again and he went on since it is impossible to go back now.
Finally the hallway ends with a door. X entered it; there was a bigger brighter hallway but he could not tell if this was longer than the one behind him.
X walked on and he could see that there was somebody leaning on the wall about two hundred feet or so away. It had black armor and cape.
"Well, X!" The figure called, vanishing from the distance and appearing just a few meters in front of X.
"Carnage!" X yelp. "Where is Zero?"
"Why are you here with your friend?" Carnage asked.
"I asked you first."
"But you have to answer my question first before I do." Carnage smirked. "Or you could never see him again."
"What did you do to him." X starts getting angry.
"Must I have to do everything!" Carnage grumbles. "You came here to ask a bigger reward."
"Just tell me where Zero is…" X demands
"Forget it." Carnage rejected X's demands "You didn't answer my question, I won't answer yours."
"I don't have time for any game here!" X growl.
"Neither do I." Carnage repeats. "And I don't want to help you too." With that, Carnage turned his back and started walking away. X was infuriated.
"Don't turn your back on ME!!" X turned Carnage by flipping his shoulder. "I came to a lot of trouble and you would just walk out!?"
"Well, if it's the friend of your you want." Carnage smirks. "Find him yourself…"
"What about Timmy, the girl you met with me." X reasons. "She lost her friend, her only family." X pointed his finger onto Carnage "And you're going to just replace it with a refractor!"
"There is nothing I can do about that." Carnage presents his excuse. "I don't have the power to revive a dead person…" Carnage raised his voice and gave X an angry stare eye-to-eye. "MUST I HAVE TO TELL YOU TWICE!!!"
"Of course," X counters, his face wrinkling in anger. "At least you should show some apology and sincerity for her lose." X gasp. "Like you just gave a bone to a dog in the street. She set you free and her friend paid for the consequence and…"
"I did not kill her friend." Carnage counters, getting even madder "This is not your line X…She should be the one complaining if she's not satisfied."
"Well, I am speaking in her behalf." X retaliates more. "She is a human being. She's not like you. Neither is her friend and father…you cannot replace life with treasure." X remarks. "Think about it, she set you free, she lost her friend and she even end up tormented by what she did. Even an entire island had to suffer." X pointed out. "And all you gave her is some batteries."
"What do you want me to do?" Carnage asked. "Look for a new life for her friend, crawl on my knees, cry on her shoes." Carnage smirked. "You're out of your mind!"
"You're a 'Swine' who doesn't know any sense of compassion!" X raises his voice. "That's who you are 'a dirty PIG!!!'"
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!!!" Carnage gave a fierce look onto X.
A gravitational force blew X directly from Carnage. X hit the wall hard enough that he blacked out for a second. As soon as he came to, Carnage was gone. But not for his 'track' X thought the device still tells his exact location.
X walked to the end of the hallway. It was pretty short compared to the previous one. There was a door, and besides X are two other hallways. X went in the door at the center.
"Carnage!" X called out, his voice amplified and echoed throughout the room. It would take a deaf person to be unable to notice his voice calling. The room was very large, large enough to swallow Kattlelox's downtown. There was a large generator at the end of the room.
"Carnage!" X called gain, holding and watching his tracing device. "I know that you're behind that generator."
"You got a problem there." Carnage complained, stepping out from his hiding "Or are you just asking for trouble."
"We haven't settled this yet…" X demands. "And you got the guts to ran away…!?"
"I'd say, you're asking for trouble." Carnage smirked. "It'll be my pleasure to reduce your irritation to scrapes for recycles."
"Yeah right, bring it on!" X taunted. "We'll see who will be the scraps you're talking about." X tossed the tracking device away and prepares his buster gun.
"Very well." Carnage smirked.
[Puff Daddy,"Come with me", Playing]
"You asked for it!" Carnage charged.
It happened too quickly. Carnage vanished from where he was, appeared right in front of X, grabbed him by his neck, took him a hundred feet to the air, missing the ceiling to only a few inches, and slammed him to the ground. The impact was hard enough to break the patch of the ground. X could feel his body ripped apart but was actually intact. The shock trembled like he was trapped in a bass drum, the size of a round table.
"Well, how is it for you…" Carnage taunted "Very painful, or sort of painful."
"Argh." X gasped. "I don't even need drop of anesthetics for that."
"If pain is what you want." Carnage growl. "I'll be glad to give you so much of it, not even all the drugs on this planet could ease the pain would you get."
Carnage charges again, kicking X sides and sent him flying high into the hundred-footer wall. The wall broke upon impact and X was stuck on it.
"You got a big mouth." Carnage taunts. "But you can't deliver bites."
X used his remaining strength, fired the biggest shots he could shoot from the buster gun. Carnage just 'slapped' the projectile away as soon as it was within reach. The other shootings missed partly because X was in bad shape.
"Don't tell me that's all you got?" Carnage leaped from the ground. He floated himself closer and quickly, preparing to knock X with his knuckles.
X leaped from his wedging place and thrust his 'arm blade' onto Carnage. The blade hit but unable to pierce Carnage's armor, Carnage doesn't even shot the slightest sign of pain at all. Carnage grabbed X by the back of the neck, shoved him in the air, and gave an upper cut from the belly up to the chin in midair.
His knuckles tore X's armor right at the chest. The force launched X to the ceiling. X ricochet at the ceiling, leaving a crack on it, fell back to the ground, and carved a crater of his figure.
"Here's to you…" Carnage fired an orange laser, large enough to swallow X.
X's buster gun is no match against it. He fired it to propel his way out of the incoming laser. The laser missed but the blast blew X away and gave his already battered armor additional burns.
"Well how about this!" Carnage dived, fist first.
X turned a bit, missing Carnage's knuckle. But X was blown away by the intense impact, X was again launched into the air for another fifty feet or so. He could barely keep his eyes open though out the battle and the room was pretty dusty from all those crashing. Carnage flew out of the mist, and caught X in midair by the neck.
"You want one hell of a pain." Carnage gripped X by the neck tighter. "You got it. This will be the time of your life!"
Carnage, tightening his grip on X even more, flew around the room at hypersonic speed. X couldn't move; the speed created so much air friction that his hands and legs were force to his sided and Carnage's hold is choking. X could actually feel his body heat up by the air friction.
Carnage continued circling the room; around and around, over and under, for like a thousand times or so and counting. Carnage give out his grudge to pushed X against the surface, regardless if it was the wall, the ceiling, or the floor. He just pushes the blue unit wherever there is something smooth and solid.
X's back was being pressed against the walls, ceiling and floors. It left behind some enormous scratches on the surface. X's back armor had nearly worn out from all those contacts.
"Here is the pain…the royal pain." Carnage turned the room one last time before diving to the ground, hitting X's head first onto the ground. The impact sent a shock that crumbled the entire room with it and partially demolished the large generator. A fog followed, engulfing the room.
Carnage stood in front of X, he was still intact but his armor was badly damage and his helmet nearly broke in half.
"And the finale…" Carnage shoots an orange laser from his palm to the ceiling. The pieces from above fell and covered X in rumbles.
"And that's where your story ends…" Carnage smirked as he exited the room by the other door. Leaving behind X under the rubble and a completely worn room.
[Puff Daddy,"Come with me." Ends]
"X, X, can you hear me." Roll called but there was no response but static. "X, please?"
"What happened?" Bass asked.
"We lost X too." Roll replied
"What are we going to do?" Blues asked.
"We better look for them" Roll replied.
"Down there!?" Bass yelp.
"Yes, it's the only way." Roll cried. "this is my fault."
"No I'm coming with you." Bass volunteers.
"Were all coming." Blues volunteers too.
"OK" Roll replied. They all went to the tower and entered the shaft. They left the flutter to land on there.
"Roll, come in, Roll." Zero called but only static came. "Argh! Darn it, this is ridiculous!" Zero kicked at the force field by the door. "Why can't you just turn off so…" The force field suddenly ceases until it was off.
"Well." Zero marched his way to the door and exits the room. As soon as he did so, the next room was pitch black.
"Somebody get some light." Zero complained then glowing red lights. "Huh?"
There were two, then four, then still more glowing lights. Each seems to be in pair. No those are not just lights, Zero thought; those are…Cerberus eyes!
Zero pulled out his light saber and simultaneously faint emergency lights around the room also turned on, providing just enough light to see but not clearly. There were twelve, no, twenty or even more Cerberus around.
The nearest Cerberus leaped as it charges but Zero easily deactivated it with a swing of his saber. Cutting the Cerberus half by its shoulder and collapse as it dies.
The other Cerberus charges, as so as Zero. He swung and thrust four of them then hopped high into the air, diving thrusting, and wedging his saber into the wolf-robot's spine. The reaverbot jerked and trembled, electricity parking and exploding a bit as it collapse and dies.
Two other Cerberus approached at opposing directions towards Zero. They breathe out fire as they got close but Zero vanished, and the Cerberus burned each other's faces instead.
Zero spin around from above like a razor wheel. His blade sliced though one attacking Cerberus, crouching as he land, turning and jabbing his saber to the other Cerberus' mouth. Both metallic wolves fell and exploded as they deactivate.
Despite the casualty, more Cerberus came. "Alright…" Zero smirked and leaped up in the air. "Here're to you!"
The entire room blackens followed by intersecting yellow lines numbering in thousands. More lines built up until the whole room got brighter than what it used to be.
Zero landed back on his feet, crouching. Every Cerberus was still from their previous posture. Zero sheaths his saber, folded his arms and the Cerberus, all of them, fell in pieces, apparently being sliced up.
"That was too easy, what's next?" Zero taunts. A door on the other side of the room opens.
"Can't be…" Roll was astounded.
"…A dead end." Bass continues.
"No, that not it." Blues called them.
"What did you got there?" Roll asked
"This…" Blues pointed out
"That's just a wall." Bass grumble.
"How about this…" Blues pressed something in the wall and it opened like a door. Inside is a very small room, barely two square meters, white and well lit.
"That's an elevator!" Roll pointed out as she entered. "Come on!"
"Which floor?" Blues asked as he entered.
"There is only one button." Bass pointed out.
"Here goes nothing…" Roll pressed the single red button besides the elevator's door. The elevator sent down, slowly, taking a minute then it stopped and its doors automatically opened.
Roll stepped out followed by Bass and Blues. They are in a hallway
"Dead end in this side." Blues informs them. They were on one end of the hallway.
"Its dead end here too…" Bass pointed out. The hallway was just twenty-five meters long and seven meters wide. Then the elevator slammed shut.
Blues rushed to the elevator but there was no button to call it or open it. "I think we are trap."
"Yeah right, we're trap!" Bass grumble "We're trapped like rats. And we'll all be dead rats in no time."
"Don't give up yet." Roll said. "There has got to be a way…" she tried pushing the wall.
"Whoa!" The wall flips, Roll taken along with it to a room or something in the other side.
"Roll!" Bass called out, hammering the wall that had dragged Roll.
"That's not gonna work." Blues pointed out.
"But we have to save her." Bass grumbled. "Who knows what's in with Roll." Bass fires his forte buster but fell short against the wall.
"We better look for another way." Blues suggested
"Yeah right." Bass aimlessly punches the wall. And besides them, the hallway's end, rise opens.
"Well, see." Blues quiver.
"Yeah right." Bass snapped.
"Bass, Blue!" Roll hammers her fist against the wall. She turned around and sees a door at the end of the room she was in. "Oh well." She proceeded anyway.
Roll entered a large room; the entire city hall could fit in. The room was dark and appears damp. Water must have leaked into the room and left behind dirt it carried. Strangely, the room is dry…Where could the water be? She thought.
"Get away from me, Get away from me!" A faceless unit with black armor shrieked while entering the room through the other opening, without a door.
"Mimic…" Roll gasp, a bit confused.
"Stay away from me…" Mimic demand, pointing his light saber towards Roll. "Stay away!"
"What's wrong?" Roll asked.
"Don't try to fool me Carnage." Mimic gasp. "I know that is you!"
"Hey, what are you talking about?" Roll sounded even more confused.
"Just stay away, your not taking me alive!" Mimic replied, still panicking and shivering as he pointed the tip of his saber.
"What are you so scared off?" Roll asked again.
"Don't try faking me." Mimic objects "I wanna get outta here!!!" Mimic lowered his saber and dashes off only to be caught by sliding doors. Every room's door just wouldn't open and every pathway out closed.
"We're trapped here, alright!" Roll pointed out "I can't believe that a man like you would be so scared like that…" She taunted.
"Are you trying to insult me." Mimic growl as he turned to Roll.
"If that's what you deserve…" Roll replied. "And I thought men would protect and fight for the ladies."
"What are you talking about…" Mimic snapped.
"I stumbled here too, you know." Roll said. "You're a man."
"You're not afraid of him…?" Mimic replied.
"Carnage…" Roll stated. "Nah!"
"What's with you…" Mimic grumble "Carnage is a monster, a cold blooded killer. He's like a deity of doom. The bearer of destruction."
"You're overacting." Roll taunts again. "I don't have any weapons but you do. Yet you're much more frightened than me."
"Why are you so confident?" Mimic asked.
"Same as you…" Roll stated "Why are you so scared?"
"I can't take him…" Mimic snorted. "He's coming for me, he wants his revenge!"
"Just tell me why he's like that?" Roll asked. "And tell me how you end up like this…"
"Very well…" Mimic sigh. "I'll tell you…"
X dug his way out of the pile of concrete and steel, despite his badly damaged body. His armor was torn, helmet cracked and his shoulders and legs dislocated. Even his shield is gone.
He activated his energy canteen, hoping that its content is enough to repair him. He barely had the energy to get it out.
"INITIALIZE…"
X could feel his damages starting to heal. His armor's tear began to seep as it shrinks and rebind.
"REPAIR COMPLETE!"
"SHIELDS RESTORE!"
"Carnage…" X gasp, feeling the life seeping back into his body. He had fought a lot of enemies before, some much stronger than he is. But, to his thought, none of them came close to Carnage.
"Roll, Zero!" X stood from his laying position and makes a break for the door. He couldn't hear any sound from his radio. X took it out of his ear and it broke into pieces.
"So, he's after you because you help sealed him…" Roll said as she sits on a platform besides Mimic.
"Yes…" Mimic replied. "Now do you understand why…"
"How about Kattlelox?" Roll asked
"I can't recover the Black Refractor," Mimic placed his palm onto his 'face'. "That thing is the only artifact that can safely get him back to prison. I was sworn to get it back…even if the bureaucrat district of Kattlelox had to be sacrifice."
'Are you going that far…" Roll grumbled. "Would you risk a hundred people just to apprehend him?…"
"Yes…" Mimic answered. "Carnage will destroy the System then…the human race will be in his hands. Better sacrifice one local district than to jeopardize Terra."
"Is he going to destroy the humans as well?" Roll asked
"I don't know…" Mimic sigh.
Just as things started to get quiet, a door explode, pieces flying all over.
"Look out!" Mimic grabbed Roll by her shoulder. Clutching Roll as he put himself in between the blown door and her. Covering her using his back to prevent the sharp projectile from reaching into her. He knew that humans could easily get hurt from explosions and the flying debris as well.
Just as the door was reduced, the blocking of every exit in the room began opening, except for the sliding doors.
"You alright." Mimic asked.
"Yes…!" Roll replied. "But what about…"
"Its OK." Mimic assures her "I do not easily get damaged…"
"Greetings! MIMIC!" A growling voice was heard from the smoking, worn door. A figure with black armor, black cape, and bluish hair came. "You're undertaker has arrived…"
[Puff Daddy,"Come with me." Playing]
"Carnage…!?" Mimic gasp while turning around.
"Interesting… a 'metal' with a 'carbon'…" Carnage sounded sadistic. "Well, allow me to break your bond apart!"
Mimic jumped and stood in front of Roll. He pulled out his light saber as he took defensive pose while facing Carnage.
"What'd ye know…" Carnage smirked. "has the coward turned into a king or is he just pretending to be brave?"
"Roll…" Mimic whispered. "Run!"
"But…" Roll hesitates.
"Roll…" Mimic whispered again. "You have nothing to do with this…I don't want you to get involved. Just save yourself…"
"I…" Roll sounded unwilling. "I can't…"
"Very well…" Carnage smirked. He raised his hand and immediately shoots a marble-size yellow ball towards Roll.
Mimic leaped to the air and, using his saber, batted the ball back to Carnage. The ball exploded with the force the same as what destroyed the door earlier. Carnage disappeared into the smoke and flame. Mimic spread his limbs in front of Roll, just as he did before, shielding as much pieces as possible.
"For the last time go…" Mimic called out.
Roll rushes as fast as she could to the door behind her. Just as she was nearing, she felt her body getting heavier and heavier she couldn't lift it anymore. "Can't move…" She gasps.
"Roll!" Mimic quivered.
"A little weight is all it take." Carnage hissed, stepping out of the flame.
"Let her go, she has nothing to do with this!" Mimic demand.
"Make me…" Carnage stated as he makes a devilish smile.
Mimic dash as he swings his saber. In just a flash, the standing, stiff Carnage vanished. He looked around the room but he was just gone.
Carnage suddenly appeared in front of Mimic as he tumbled and stuck his heels onto Mimic's chin, causing him to be blown to the distant wall of the large room. Mimic impact the wall and even cracked it as he falls into the ground, seemingly unconscious.
"Get outta here…" Carnage turned to Roll, grumbling. "I'll deal with you later!"
Roll felt her body's weight getting lighter. She quickly left the room via the door. She began feeling intense fear running through her.
Mimic got up and charges onto Carnage, facing away from him. Just as he was about to get close, Carnage vanished. Mimic felt a huge 'bam' at his back as he found himself off the ground and flying uncontrollably into the other wall. He got stuck on it, face first.
"You're too slow…" Carnage taunts.
Mimic levitated into the air but he appeared unconscious, Carnage must be lifting him through telekinetic powers.
Just when close enough, Mimic woke up, morphed his body into a weapon of destruction, every square inch of his body has a gun barrel. Simultaneously firing, the room was lit up with all sorts of lasers and luminous gun bullet. There are even missiles and Carnage again disappeared in the smoky scene as the disco of firing filled the room.
Mimic morphed back to his original form. The room was charred, like a monsoon of bombs had rained in. A dark hand burst its way out of the dark and Mimic was caught unaware. Mimic couldn't move away.
The smoke quickly settled; doesn't appear like it had calmed naturally. Mimic could see and feel that Carnage was getting a rather tight grip on his neck.
"You can't get rid of me with just that…" Carnage taunts.
Mimic thrust his saber, it was still off. He pressed it on as soon as it was in contact with Carnage. The bright light didn't appear. He retracted it and that's when it did. It appears, his light saber can't get through Carnage at all.
"Sabers are obsolete to be." Carnage taunts again, holding and crushing Mimic's fist and as well as the light saber with it. "Now you shall PAY…!!!"
Carnage let go of his grip on Mimic's neck as he tightens his grip on Mimic's hand and slammed him. Carnage didn't let go; instead he began twisting Mimic's arm. He then stomped at Mimic's shoulder after twisting, turning and nearly amputating Mimic's arm.
Mimic screamed in pain. Carnage got hold on Mimic's shoulder as he plunges a spear-hand strike on it. Carnage let go while Mimic tries to make a run for it.
Carnage caught one of Mimic's legs. He held one hard enough that it began deforming while stomping the other, crushing hit flat and pieces flying.
Mimic tried scratching his other able arm s he crawls his way. Carnage caught Mimic doing this in his first move. Still holding one leg and throwing Mimic to the wall behind him.
"I'm not through with you." Carnage pointing his index finger, firing an orange laser and hitting the shoulder that connects Mimic's able arm.
Mimic could feel his entire body getting limp. Cyborgs don't usually feel pain as much as humans do. But in this case, it would be impossible to ignore it yet Mimic could be able to shout it out. The excessive shock damaged his neuron system, blocking some pain. Carnage floated Mimic out of the wall.
"Argh…" Mimic gasped.
"This for the souvenir." Carnage reached for Mimic's 'face', removing it, and exposed the internal circuitry of his head.
The pain was too much, Mimic screamed as he could not hold back the amputation.
"And now for the grand finale…" Carnage hissed, he levitated Mimic higher. A shadow of both Mimic and Carnage was projected in the wall. Mimic's figure began deforming and slowly ripped into its pieces off.
[Puff Daddy,"Come with me." Ends]
A very loud scream was heard over part of the ruin, loud enough to be heard through the thick walls. The sound echoed around for a while.
"Alright blonde…" Carnage hissed. "I let you run…" He turned to a pathway that leads to the side of the room. "…But I won't let you get away."
Carnage turned away and disappeared right at where he was. The room was twisted, cracked and littered with Mimic's remains, small pieces of machines ranging from tiny microchips and transistors to chucks of armor.
Roll was running in another darker, narrower, smaller hallway. She felt exhausted as she reached for the door.
Her exhaustion forced her to pant and stop running as soon as she entered the room. She could sword that it was a long run she made, more like a marathon. Fear began running into her mind and sending chills down her spine. In the mist of her fatigue, she felt horribly lost. The ruin is like a maze, haunted by a monster, Carnage.
This room is also huge, just as bug as the other one where she had met Mimic. Platforms, not connected to each other and stood like short buildings, were standing by dozens.
"I should never come into this place." Roll said to herself. She could not even have the strength to run another meter.
Roll leaned her back against the closed door. Slowly, lowering her to sit as she clutched her legs and rest her face against her knees. "X, Zero, Bass, Blues…" She whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Where are you…?"
She couldn't tell if it was seconds or minutes had pass when she heard a door, on the other side of the room, slide open. She got onto her feet s she hid behind a platform.
"X!" She cheers as she sees him.
"Roll!" X greets back as they ran and hug each other.
"I was so worried about you!" Roll cried.
"What are you doing here?" X asked.
"I'm sorry." Roll confesses, resting against X's chest. "I was so worried that I lost you here."
X brushed down her hair. "It'll be alright…" He whispered as he stoked Roll's hair again. He suddenly got a hold of the back of her head, pushing it as he kisses her.
Roll resisted as she push him back forcefully but couldn't. X would never do something like this.
X let her go as Roll finally pushes herself back. "You're not X!" She grunted.
"Right!" He replied.
"Who are you?" She asked angrily.
He began morphing, getting bigger a bit. Pale blue hair appearing, red eyes shimmering and black armor and gray cape forming.
"Carnage!" She gasped, her angry tones turned to fear.
"Correct!" Carnage grunted.
"What do you want?" she asked nervously. "What have you done with Mimic."
"Everything!" Carnage hissed. "Every pain, every torture…just EVERYTHING THAT HURTS!"
Roll could not help but stare at his eyes. She felt afraid; running might intimidate Carnage to kill her painfully. But right now she is in a very serious situation that every move could spell and sent her to the edge. There is no telling what Carnage could do or what he has in mind for her and for everyone else still alive in the ruin afterwards.
"Let's have something ecstatic for a change." Carnage grinned, eyes narrowing.
Roll felt wave of fatigue running down her mind and muscles. She couldn't run or even think of what to do next. She felt that her legs couldn't even held her up any longer as she feel sleepy, she was beginning to lose her balance. Carnage caught her the moment she was to fall.
Carnage crouched as he rested her back on his arm and her two legs against one of his. He stoked her hair and kissed her. Roll couldn't react; she doesn't even know what he is doing. As the kissing went on, Carnage slowly unbuttons Roll's red vest.
He shoved her vest off and gently massaged her left breast, though she still had her undershirt on. Carnage moved his lip down her neck as he moved his stoking hand down to her pants and slid it in the garters.
Carnage slowly lifts out his hand from the garments and began undoing her pants' button. Opening it and slowly yanking it down as soon as he did. He dragged it down with one hand, reaching her ankles. His hand moved back to her vest, taking one sleeve off.
Zero entered the cave-like opening behind and above him. He sees them.
Infuriated, Zero jumped to slash Carnage from the back but both Carnage and Roll vanished. Zero remained in a slashing position, crouched in the spot where they were.
"Well what a moron…" a taunting voice came.
Zero turned around and sees Carnage on top of a platform to his right. He was holding Roll, still out cold, on his arms.
"Would you actually kill her with me…" Carnage hissed.
"Carnage!" Zero grunted. "What have you done with HER…!!"
The devilish unit snickers as he adjusted his eye directly onto the blonde Zero. "Getting some pleasures." Carnage hissed, gently brushing his palm against her cheeks as he cautiously moved his lips towards her.
"DON'T TOUCH'ER!!!" Zero barks at the pervert.
Carnage paused. His confident mouth turned to scorn.
"That's quite rude…" Carnage complained, moving his face away from Roll.
"Come down here and fight like a man!" Zero protest, waiving his hand down.
[Puff Daddy,"Come with me." Playing]
"Very well." Carnage responds. He gently puts Roll down on the platform, took off his cape and placed it on top of her like a blanket.
Carnage jumps down the platform and stares at Zero face to face. The grin in Carnage's red eyes and the smirk on his devilish lips infuriated Zero even further.
Zero lunged as he charges. Carnage shoved aside, block and caught his wrist, kicks him in the belly, his legs across it, as he let go. The force of the kick sent Zero up into the ceiling, cracking it, as he ricochet back to earth.
"Just like everybody else…" Carnage grunted. "You're barks worse than your bite."
Zero got up, swings his sword but Carnage easily jumped back and evaded it. He charges again then Carnage retreated further by jumping backwards. Zero slashes his sword as soon as he got close enough then Carnage vanished. He felt his arm twist followed by a hard blow at the back. Zero hit the ground.
Zero gripped his hand only to find out that his light saber is missing. Hey, how could it get lost! He turned his head and saw that his saber on Carnage's hand.
"Did you know…" Carnage grunted, slashing the light saber on his sides. "If I can take your saber off you…I can't take your 'Roll' anytime I want."
"Don't bet on it!" Zero replied, unsheathing another light saber as goes for Carnage again.
Carnage so charges too then they both began striking each other's swords. Zero delivered as much slashes as he could but Carnage easily blocked each of them, with only one hand handling the saber. One hand! No, nobody can handle one hand on a saber on a serious battle. Zero was already holding his saber both hand or alternate hands while leaping, crouching, standing and hoping that one of his attacks could gash its way into Carnage.
Carnage leaped back, face with a smile. Zero stopped and panted. This guy is quite fast, being able to block them all easily. Worse, Zero noticed that his energy is down to 45%. No way, the battle has just started yet for Carnage.
"My turn…" Carnage whispered, but Zero could hear it. Carnage lunged and Zero tenses as his defensive reaction, hoping he could block the attack, or whatever it is.
Carnage flashed forward and Zero could barely see him coming. Just as Zero jerked, he fell on the ground and dropped his saber. Zero crouched and clutches his abdomen. Carnage had stuck Zero and left a huge, deep cut through his armor and into his gut.
"This is so disappointing…" Carnage complained, standing behind the curled Zero. 'Can't you even see your opponent coming!?"
Zero slowly stood up ignoring the cut in his gut. He reached for his saber, having difficulty standing. Holding the saber on one hand and the damage he incurred in the other.
"Give it up!" Carnage protest, sending waves of tormenting magnetism towards Zero. The blond reploid was lifted off the ground and sent crashing back a few feet. "I can kill you in your condition."
"Not so fast!" a voice came.
Carnage turned around, seeing a plasma ball from the dark come racing towards him. He put forward one hand and blocked it easily. Two figures came out from the dark.
"Blues, Bass…" Zero gasped.
"What do you know!" Carnage smirked, turning his eyeballs to Blues and Bass. "Two more companies."
Bass shot his own buster, sending strong acoustic waves of low frequency. Carnage leaped and landed in between Bass and Blues. Giving Bass an uppercut and Blues a back-kick and send them to crashed at opposing walls.
"Why you…" Blues grunted, shooting an orange plasma ball.
Carnage saw it coming, really slow for his standard. He scooped it, turning around and threw it back to Blues. Blues couldn't react to move away in his condition. Anyway, it was too late and the projectile came knocking his armor. Luckily, it only left a bruise in his armor.
"Blues!" Bass shoots in his own buster.
Still, Carnage notices it. He turned around and blew it back with a trust punch. The sound waves crashed back onto Bass and leaving his dizzy and scraping the walls round him.
"Let's get this over with…" Carnage grinned.
Blues jumped up and began shooting his buster gun towards Carnage, but he easily evaded. Carnage charges towards Blues while dodging his shootings easily. Carnage got close, punches blues at the cheek. The shock of the fist nearly gave Blues a blackout. Before blues could react, or even move a bit, Carnage had already kicked him in the groin, a blow on his ribs and on elsewhere and he couldn't tell where he had been struck for a moment. Heels against his against his shoulder, then a chop on the back of his neck, then a palm on his chest, almost causing him to cough his internal generator. Carnage gave blues a sweeping kick. Before he could fall to the ground, Carnage caught him, head under heels, as Blues was thrown away, hitting the wall so hard, it broke.
"Blues…!" Bass lunged towards Carnage.
Just as he thought he had grabbed him, Carnage vanished and appeared on Bass' back. Carnage gave him an elbow strike from behind. Bass way pushed off by the force then pulled back.
Carnage had caught Bass' buster and before Bass could fire it, Carnage had inserted one of his hands into the barrel. Immediately, electricity of several thousand volts stuck all over bass from his buster gun. He couldn't fire it.
"Electrically painful?" Carnage taunts. He let go of Bass but retain his other hand in the buster gun.
Carnage punches Bass' elbow that connects to the buster gun, causing it to break off. Carnage thrusts his head, hitting it against Bass'. It was a hard blow and Bass fell unto the ground motionless and smoking. Carnage felt no pain in his part, nor show a sign of dizziness.
"No…!" Zero lunged from the ground. He held no light saber handle but a light saber burst its way from his fist-form palm. It's the spiritual saber! Carnage turned around but Zero had already closed in and slashed.
Carnage jumped to aside to safety. Zero stood, panting again, and tightly gripping his two hands on his spiritual saber.
"Excellent…" Carnage smirked as he sees a white scratch across the chest of his armor. "But that would be all you could get."
"Meteor Force!" Carnage lunged to Zero. His three fingers in his right hand was glowing in a pale white swirling, glowing gas (or so what it looked like). Carnage struck his hand onto Zero. The contact caused a surge of blowing wind, almost igniting a monsoon. Zero was blown into the wall.
Zero's armor was scrapped off in the front. His helmet was badly damaged and almost in pieces like a crushed hard-boiled egg. His internal circuitry was almost totally exposed as so as his face, almost peeled off.
[Puff Daddy,"Come with me." Ends]
"Well, such a pity…" Carnage taunted then noticed something was on for him from behind.
Ann incoming white plasma came for him from behind as he turned around and blocked it, X-block style. He raised to see who did it.
"X!" Carnage grunted.
"Brother!" Blues called out.
"You're alive!" Zero gasped.
"Good timing…" Bass grunted, trying to stand from his burns.
Carnage brushed his nose with his thumb. "You got a lot of fans with you." He taunts.
X sees a blonde girl on the platform covered in a gray blanket. It's Roll! "What have your done with HER…!!!" he yells at Carnage.
"Just a little…" Carnage smirks. "Kissing and…Touching!"
"Why you!" X snarls, firing another blast at Carnage but he easily took the punch without even phasing.
"You can't avenge anyone from me with such a puny gun." Carnage taunts.
"We shall see…" X replies, turning to his friends. "Zero, Bass, Blues. Take Roll with you and leave this ruin. Take the door to the left and turn left again. You will find an elevator, ride on it and it would take you to the passage out of here."
"Got it…" Blues replied, jumps to the high platform and takes Roll on his arms. He redresses and button back what Carnage had stripped her from.
"A little help…" Zero begs.
"Sure!" Bass replied, supporting Zero on his shoulder.
"X, are you coming?" Blues asked.
"No, just get out." X replied.
"Um…OK." Blues replied as they all turned to the left door.
"We'll come back for ya." Bass said before leaving the room.
X watched as they safely left the room. Carnage smirked as he watch his beat down adversaries leave in miserable shape. Later only Carnage and X remained.
"Well now…" Carnage smiles. "Shall we be…"
X fired an even stronger buster unto Carnage. The impact blasted Carnage but still in one piece.
"That was still…" Carnage emerge from the smoke "…unpleasing, for me." He lunged for X, knocking him into the wall with his fist.
X managed to shoot white stuck in the wall. A beam of light streaking directly but stopped as it hit Carnage at the chest.
"What do you call this!?" Carnage announced, calmly.
"The shining laser." X replied, still shooting the beam. "You're toast!"
"I'd say that even this is a joke…" Carnage respond, shooting a tiny, yellow, glowing ball from his palm.
The ball blew X off from the wall and forced back to the ground. He could feel the entire place within him burning. Even his armor was melted.
"You got a long way to go…" Carnage taunts.
X fired his buster again towards Carnage. Carnage easily dodged it by angling his shoulder.
"You shouldn't start a battle you couldn't take…" Carnage smirked