While the Investigators were busy inside UNDINE, another particularly troublesome situation was brewing about a mile away. Too many things had happened in too short a time for anyone to be thinking clearly at the Hunter camp. Those who had gotten a hold of themselves had started to patrol the area, looking for Mavericks ready to launch another attack or tending to the many wounded. The airship had hit them hard, and now they waited impatiently for the order to return the favor.
Commander Zion would have liked nothing more than to give that order, but he had strong dissention in this area. Were it anyone else, Zion would have told the loopy sod to go fly a kite, but one could not say such things to Mega Man X and expect a favorable response.
"X, for the last friggin time," Zion said through clenched teeth. "All we're doing here is wasting valuable seconds."
"So stop arguing the point!" X retorted indignantly, gesturing again towards Seraph Castle. "You know it's a good idea."
"Yes, X," Zion replied, his patience withering fast. "It is a good idea, when you ignore the fact that there's an airship heading towards our home base."
The scene had drawn several observers, chief of whom were Delates, Tyclammel, and Cort of Unit 0. The situation was that Zion, acting predictably, wished nothing more than to return to Megacity 5 and shoot down Gallagher before it could open fire on the city. X, on the other hand, had decided shortly before Unit 8 set out that some of them should stay behind and take down Seraph Castle, a prospect Zion was not too thrilled about.
"Don't you get it, Zion?" X was saying. "They want us to turn back! That's the plan!"
"Yes, I suppose it is," Zion agreed. "And it was executed flawlessly…so flawlessly, in fact, that we have no choice but to follow their plan, because otherwise red winter is going to begin in that city and it will NOT be on MY conscience!"
X shook his head at Zion's outburst. "You're losing it, friend."
"No, X, YOU'RE losing it!" Zion stamped his foot in the snow. "The Mavericks most assuredly have troops on that airship. Once it reaches its destination those troops will pour into the city and then that ship will fire its nukes…or maybe it'll happen in reverse order. Whatever happens, we're going to need to be around to take down that ship, and the Mavericks it deposits. We're the Hunters, dammit! And when we're not there, what's that pussy Megacity Army gonna do? DIE, that's what!" He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before facing X once more. "Seraph Castle can wait. We can handle Megacity 5, and then come back and—"
"And what?" X asked coolly. "And storm an empty castle? They'll have evacuated by then."
"Then what do you want?!" Zion exploded again. He almost continued, but at that moment Commander Archer appeared behind him and cleared his throat, halting the debacle in its tracks.
"We've recovered from the initial confusion," Archer informed them. "We're ready to start back."
"Turn them around," Zion said before X could get a word out.
"Goddammit Zion!"
"X," Zion glared, "this army is turning around one way or another. If you're coming with us, fine. But you'd be a damn fool to stay here. Even if the castle is less defended than usual, it still IS defended. Don't make the mistake of thinking your legend will carry you through this…you need more than that to beat a whole force of Mavericks."
Now it was X's turn to glare. "My legend? What the hell is that supposed to mean? There's nothing legendary about me, Zion. I'm just good at what I do. I never rely on a 'legend' to scare my opponents. I let my fighting skills do that." He paused to let the hostility evaporate before going on. "And I'm not saying I want to tackle the castle alone, either."
"No," Zion agreed. "You want to take our best forces with you and invade. News flash, X: we NEED those elites, now more than ever. You especially."
"No you don't," X countered immediately. "I'm a duelist, not a general. That, Zion, is your job. I'm an infiltrator, not a berserker. That, Zion, is Zero's job, though you'll have to find a replacement for him, too."
At the mention of Zero's name Zion's face changed. "You think he's still in there?"
"If he is I'm damned well going to find out," X stated flatly. At this point Delates, Cort, and Tyclammel started getting more interested.
The conversation was again interrupted when several Raven jets quite unexpectedly screamed over their heads, heading back off in the direction of Megacity 5.
"Someone must have gotten through," Cort observed.
"Yeah," X agreed, his spirits uplifted. He looked back to Zion. "See? Taggart's flying back to join Tremont's team. They'll handle that airship. All I ask for is a very small team of soldiers to help me. I can sneak through security and assassinate key Maverick personnel, but destroying the castle will be another matter. Sigma always used to build his bases dependent on their foundations. Since Seraph Castle was built while Sigma was still alive, I think it's safe to say that this place will work the same way. I need a demolitions team to hit the foundation while I chase the big prizes."
"And what might those be?" Zion asked frostily.
"I don't know!" X shot back. "We don't know who's in that airship. Maybe the Maverick bosses are still sitting in that castle, laughing at us as we turn around and flee from them. In fact, I'm pretty sure they are!"
"If there's a chance Commander Zero is in there," Delates piped up, "then Unit 0 is in the fight." This earned him an annoyed look from Zion, but the Hunter general eventually sighed and threw up his hands as the Hunters behind him began their march back home.
"Who do you want, X?" Zion finally conceded.
Five minutes later everything was in order. X would lead a tiny infiltration party consisting of himself and several Unit 0 members: Delates, Tyclammel, Cort, Feldspar, and Lyon. Jasper would act as the commander for X's 17th back home, while the rest of Unit 0 went back with the 17th to manage their individual squads. Their departure, however, suffered another setback when a flaming messenger descended from the skies.
The first thing that the startled, harried, and nervous Hunters thought to do when they saw Blaze Heatnix touching down near their commanders was, acting in proper response to the sudden scenario of having a big burning phoenix approaching your superiors, to empty their weapons in an attempt to turn the golden bird to slag. Heatnix's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he threw himself into the snow as a multitude of blasts whizzed overhead.
"Stop!" X and Zion were both shouting, waving their arms frantically and standing between Heatnix and the attacks. The Hunters did stop, seeing their leaders taking charge of the situation, and Blaze Heatnix was free to stand, soaked with snow that had melted on contact with the curtain of heat that seemed to radiate from him at all times.
"The HELL is the matter with you people?!" Heatnix finally exploded after several seconds of bewildered panting. "That's the SECOND time you assholes tried to kill me tonight!"
"What do you mean?" X asked.
"And make it quick," the antsy Zion put in. "We've got places to go."
"Well excuse me, Captain Importance. I happen to have information that just MIGHT be of some use to you folks." Heatnix swelled at the revelation that he knew something the Hunters didn't know. He soon divulged the information, though. The Investigators had found a hidden entrance to Seraph Castle in UNDINE. Also, Unit 8 had contacted Hunter HQ, but the power seemed to be out. He noted the look of shock that had gripped the Reploids around him and he had to shake his head. "The base is still there, all right? But you'd best get your asses back there to make sure it stays that way, y'hear?"
"Roger that," Zion affirmed, with a look at X. The cerulean Hunter just blinked and turned to thank Heatnix, who soon after departed to meet up with his fellow Investigators and return to Megacity 5. Minutes later, after bidding farewell with Zion and his army, X and his small party set off in the direction of the UNDINE site. Not long into their journey they found themselves disturbed by a long, loud cry…
"AHOOOOOY THERE, WORTHY SIRS!"
The startled X lowered his buster after recognizing the voice that was trying hard to pierce through the wind. The rest of his party squinted to see through the snow and identify the party that was moving their way. It was a group of seven shivering Hunters, and one was holding a radio of some sort.
"PERMIT ME TO INQUIRE," their leader shouted over the roaring blizzard gale, "WHEREFORE A RIGHT AND RATIONAL SORT LIKE YOURSELF WOULD BE WALKING IN THIS PRODIGIOUS CHILL? MASTER X, I SURMISE?"
"CASTLE, YOU FRIGGIN WEIRDO!" X shouted back, trudging forward. "PLEASE TELL ME YOU ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING OTHER THAN SNOBBISH VERNACULAR?"
"Oh of course," Castle responded now that they were close enough to talk more normally, though they still had to speak up. "I learned from that scarab beetle character how to make a giant ass snowball. But aside from that, Stromm there made contact with Hunter Headquarters, and everything there's a mess. The power's out for some reason and they suspect a hacker."
"A hacker?" Delates asked, blinking. "How'd a hacker get into our network?"
"The Mavericks do have Cyber Peacock on their side," Cort pointed out.
"Yeah," Castle affirmed. "And all Peacock needed was a traitor on the inside. But that's been taken care of."
"Has it?" X asked.
"Yeah," Acrystos put in, her voice somewhat shaky from a night of creeping around in icy cold snow, "there was a battle of some sort near the computer room. There were several casualties reported, but they don't know any names yet. Everything's so frantic."
"Jesus," X observed. They were taking casualties inside their own base now!
"It gets better," Castle restarted. "Apparently they lost contact with both Alden Base and the Megacity Army, and rumors of a Maverick force in the city have been circulating."
"Oh, SHIT!" X and Delates both exclaimed at exactly the same time.
"You guessed it, sirs," Castle said with a mirthless grin. "They're boxing us in and preventing our escape, so we'll be a sitting duck for the Buzzbombs."
"Sweet Jesus," Tyclammel breathed. "I hope Zion gets back fast."
"Hey yeah," Castle blinked. "Why aren't you with him?" X explained hastily, and Castle nodded. "Well, then…seeing as we're already behind the pack…you want us to tag along?"
"No," X decided at once. He looked around at the surrounding environment, as if in deep thought. Then he nodded and looked back to Castle. "That is, I think I have a better idea for you folks. Is this place good for teleportation?"
"The radio worked, so I don't think there'll be a problem," the large Dantz opined.
"Don't forget about us humanfolk," Henry Wallace reminded them.
"Damn," X swore as he nodded. He'd forgotten that humans couldn't safely teleport. "Well, call up the Ravens on your radio. Get one or two of them back here to pick up Stromm, Everett and Wallace and fly back to Headquarters. After the jets leave, the rest of you just teleport back to the base. I have a gut feeling that we'll need some kind of fighting force to keep the base safe until the others arrive."
"And you guys are infiltrating the castle alone, then?" Acrystos said airily.
"What of it?" X asked, picking up on the insinuating tone.
"Look," she explained. "You're good at this infiltration stuff, X, but from the plan you described you'll be branching off on your own and leaving these guys to the demolition work. Now, Unit 0 is capable as hell, but Unit 8 is the group that specializes on infiltrations and stealth in particular."
"You're needed at the base," X insisted.
"I know," Acrystos agreed. "But not ALL of us." She addressed the others. "You're good, but most of your efforts will be put to use in setting your explosives. It wouldn't hurt to have someone watching your back. I'll go with you as a rear guard, or an advance scout. I'm sure you can testify how useful one of those would be, X."
X sighed, because he could indeed. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"It would be a wise move," Castle urged, though cautiously.
"See?" Acrystos rested her hands on her hips and presented X with a pose of utmost confidence. "I can take care of myself. I've got years of experience with this unit. And with others," she added, casually enough that you'd think nothing of it were you not privy to the information X was. This one was an Aegis troop, X knew. She was a veteran of Caligula's secret program, and like Castle and the others who doubled as regular Hunters and Aegis agents, she could indeed take care of herself and prove a fairly valuable asset.
"Fine then, it's your choice." X glanced back at the other five Hunters with him, noting no looks of resentment towards Acrystos's declarations. They knew she wasn't insulting their abilities, which was something X was infinitely grateful for. It was so nice to be working with the cream of the crop again, the kind that didn't let their egos get in the way of their work.
And so these two parties split. Peter Stromm contacted Jimmy Taggart, who reluctantly dispatched the two Ravens that were farthest behind to speed like hell back to the spot where Unit 8 was waiting. This never would have happened under these circumstances, but Taggart happened to like X's proposed plan. In truth he doubted whether his Ravens, even all together, could put up enough of a fight to down that big airship, and if they couldn't do the job…well, he did want there to be some kind of fighting force waiting at the HQ, and this pickup would be fairly speedy anyway. Besides, Alec Tremont and company were already back at the HQ, and recent reports indicated that they were lifting off again after refueling and rearming…something Taggart's team still needed to do, the commander thought ruefully.
X's party, on the other hand, continued the cold journey to the gaping hole in the ground that signified the UNDINE entrance. Along the way Delates caught up to X and asked a question that had been on his mind ever since Heatnix delivered his message.
"So, uh, bossman…what exactly is our plan?"
"Plan?" X turned and grinned. "The plan is to jump in that hole when we get there, find the door, and figure out what to do from there."
Delates blinked. "That's it? That's how you conquer all these fortresses? By making things up as you go?"
"Of course!" X replied with a laugh, something he hadn't done yet tonight. "This time, though, I've got you guys to take care of the trickiest part."
"What about the Maverick chieftains?" Delates had to ask. "Doesn't the thought of fighting them all alone ever make you nervous?"
"Of course," X admitted freely, trudging over a larger snow hill. "Thankfully, though, I have this one really cool asset…well, remember what Zion said about my 'legend'? Well, it don't mean much to me…but by some miracle I've managed to defeat whole scores of Maverick bosses in my day, and those Mavericks in there know it. That's why there is somewhat of a 'legacy' about me…the Mavericks start the fight already thinking in the back of their heads that there's no way they can beat me, which is entirely false."
"Mind games," Delates observed with a nod. "And here I thought you just ran in there and shot them all in the heads."
"Sometimes that works too," X agreed. "But there's more than one way to defeat a Maverick. Remember that, just in case you guys find some unexpected surprise down there. Truth be told, I have this feeling…and my feelings unfortunately tend to be correct. I feel that there's something the Mavericks haven't made public yet, and I don't have the damndest idea what it is. Still, something just feels…off."
"Doesn't it always?" Delates shrugged it off. "We'll find out soon enough. And even if they are hiding something, it shouldn't be anything the Hunter Elite can't handle."
____________________
Mavericks were bouncing up and down all around her, chattering with nervous excitement to others who, like themselves, had been left behind to guard the castle. Rather then sending their best troops to Megacity 5, or conversely saving their best troops to guard Seraph Castle, they had sent a fairly well mingled force to the city and kept a smaller but equally mingled bunch at home. This way there wouldn't be any one area left weaker than the other. The Mavericks inside Seraph Castle were still charged with energy from the Gallagher attack on the Hunter forces, and they were displaying it by making more noise than a schoolyard of hyperactive kindergartners. Teytha found them more than a little annoying.
The slender assassin wandered through the sparsely populated but still noisy corridors, having finished completion of a security measure Sigma had insisted on. The measure in question would have sent a number of chills down Hunter spines had any learned about it, but so far that had yet to happen. Even Zero still didn't know, and Sigma had more or less told him everything. Well, it only made sense, Teytha rationalized. If Zero managed to escape with knowledge of the "Spare", he wouldn't rest until it was demolished. Actually, the more Teytha thought about it the Spare didn't seem as much a security measure as it did a final weapon of sorts. It wouldn't help any of the fighters at Seraph Castle, but on a later date its curse would resonate throughout Megacity 5. It was a vengeance weapon, then, just like its brethren.
"Vengeance," she mused aloud, though quietly. "The Nazi Vengeance One Program…the V1 Buzzbombs." It was hard to believe that the Hunters hadn't made that connection yet; the name "Buzzbomb" was every bit as symbolic as it was literal. Greenback had even designed an engine program that emitted a noise that passed for a hornet's buzz. How would the Hunters react to THAT?
She didn't know, and, she realized as she rounded another corner, that left her with nothing else to dwell on for the moment. She actually had finished securing the Spare a good fifteen minutes ago, and had spent the intervening time just…wandering. It was odd that now, when there seemed like there should be so much to do, everything was taken care of. Such was the result of a carefully executed plan, but its downside was that Teytha hadn't the faintest idea what to do with herself. In past times, she'd handled this by withdrawing into herself and passing the time by thinking, and it was a habit she'd carried with her into the Maverick ranks.
Again there came to mind the whole theme of vengeance. They'd killed two hated human enemies for it. They were waging war against a powerful army to lure their true targets into the open…something Gredam was risking his life to accomplish. And all of it was for…vengeance? Well, there was the element of personal safety, too. Once all remnants of the Terrornova leaders were removed, then the displaced assassins could live without fear of discovery. Oftentimes Teytha had wondered if this was even necessary. It could be argued that in the grand scope of the world's problems, the issue of escaped pawns wouldn't matter at all to their former oppressors. However, further analysis led to the understanding that the Terrornova assassins were not just normal pawns. The secret they carried could unravel the Maverick Hunter army, and for that they would be hunted with extreme prejudice if they were ever identified. So, it was necessary to do all this after all. And that wasn't to say that Teytha didn't relish the thought of Komanov, Thornton, Kitao, and Virdelko getting their just desserts. In truth her general hatred for them was probably greater than any of her three other comrades, and she would shed no tears about their deaths. Two down, she often thought, and only two to go. And then, of course, there was Chartreuse, but Teytha tried not to think about him. She still had occasional nightmares in which Chartreuse's blade slashed her way in that fatal stroke from the fateful battle in the Chancellor District, a memory she sorely wished would have been nixed during her reconstruction.
There was another concept for her. She'd faced death once, and for her it was by far the worst of things. Some Reploids could just dash out and sacrifice themselves for a cause, but she had spent the majority of her life just clinging to her life, and it wasn't something she'd throw away for just anything. Was vengeance a good enough reason, then, to take the ultimate risk?
Before she had a chance to answer that crucial question, she quite suddenly snapped out of her zombified state and found herself staring at…a door. She blinked a few times, fully alert but wondering why she'd led herself here, of all places. She knew what was behind the door, and it was nothing she really wanted to deal with. She also wasn't much of a believer in fate or omens, but in this case she found herself compelled to open the door and enter. This she did, and only when inside did she fully realize that she didn't have the slightest explanation for her being here.
The room's lone occupant raised his head and peered at her from behind electrified bars, interested in the identity of the one who was disturbing his relative peace. The scarlet Maverick Hunter blinked a few times at the stationary figure before him before his eyes seemed to make a connection. "Miss Teytha, I suppose?"
She had to blink herself a few times, taken aback. "You're well informed."
"Better than when I came here," Zero replied in somewhat of a monotone. "It's kinda ironic. It's not every day that you learn more classified information straight from your enemy's mouth than from all your intelligence sources combined." He sat up and scrutinized the woman who Malevex had referred to several times, and who he'd seen briefly during the Blackstar 5041 mission. He found her rather unremarkable as a soldier, though her litheness of frame would make her quite the nimble one in combat.
Teytha found herself scrutinizing Zero in much the same manner. This big, red armored blonde man didn't much look like anything that would inspire instant terror in his foe's hearts. It was his reputation that did that, she knew, and it was his penchant for carrying grudges that had kept Malevex nervous for years after murdering Zero's friend Mea.
"You're one of them, then?" Zero asked, showing some interest. "Was it really as bad as I'm told it was?"
"As bad and worse," she replied frostily after a moment's pause.
Zero nodded slowly, accepting the truth of his opponents' backgrounds. "You're going to do it for vengeance, then?"
"Among other things," she said after another pause, wondering what she was still doing in the room. Half of her wanted to turn and leave, and avoid these questions that were bringing up memories she'd tried hard to forget. The other half, the stronger half, kept her feet riveted in place, and compelled her to learn more about this puzzling man that Sigma was so interested in, and Malevex was so wary of.
"Isn't it kind of unfair?" Zero asked after almost a full minute of silence. "All those people, just for revenge against a few assholes?"
At this a little laugh escaped her lips, despite herself. "You think you can talk to me about 'unfair'? What was unfair was your friend and others like her dying because of no crime other than existence. What was unfair was us suffering for no reason other than convenience!" She found herself getting very angry at what she thought was a foolish statement on his part. "What was unfair was being hunted like dogs and slaughtered en masse just because we were 'no longer needed'! Mavericks die because they rebel freely against government and lose. You died because you freely chose to give yourself up for a cause you believed in. Why did we die? For the hell of it! That's what's unfair, Hunter! If some collateral damage is caused making up for that, why should I care?"
"Because it makes you just like them?" Zero ventured, trying the old ruse for lack of anything better. "You're burning people with nuclear fire just because they happen to be in the way. You're killing them for the hell of it."
"No," she shook her head. "We're using advanced weapons…weapons that won't reach far enough to incur huge civilian casualties…which I can assure you Sigma doesn't care about. We're nothing like them. I've killed people, but because I had to and it served some purpose, and I've more than not regretted it. But I faced the Traitor's blade for no reason other than that he was bored and wanted someone to kill, and he happened to work for people who needed killing done." She stopped at that, amazed that she'd gone that far and opened that Pandora's box of foul memories. Zero evidently noted it, and he was quiet for a while before speaking again, fairly gently and with a tone of concern that even surprised himself.
"Who killed you…?"
Teytha recoiled, instantly on the defensive. What the hell right did this guy have to ask that…? A million ways to tell him to mind his own goddamned business surfaced in her mind, but something stopped her from voicing any of them. Maybe it had to do with the way Zero had asked the question. She couldn't form any answer in the contrary, though, and so just stood somewhat paralyzed until Zero spoke up again.
"The Traitor…Mortar and Malevex talked about him," Zero clarified. "I know who the other Terrornova leaders are. I just…I wanted to know the other one."
"They didn't tell you?" she finally managed, still trying to avoid saying the bastard's name.
"No," Zero sighed after a second. "I'm sorry," he added, again lacking the animosity she'd expected from him. "I shouldn't have—"
"Chartreuse," she said quietly, surprising herself. She hadn't repeated that name in years. None of them had. However it seemed that Zero was speaking to her as a Reploid and not as a Maverick…something no one outside their ranks had ever really done before. It made her more willing to talk, even though half her mind was screaming at her for it. "It was Chartreuse," she repeated, almost whispering, though Zero heard it well. "He worked as kind of a taskmaster for them, and then as a bloodhound when it was all over. We call him the Traitor because he helped the humans do those things to his race." She stopped, wondering at herself, and yet felt somehow…better about something.
Zero, for his part, was revolted and showed it. Somehow in all his puzzling over the Terrornova situation he had never made the connection that Chartreuse, Alan Kitao's longtime personal bodyguard, might have been involved with these horrors. Horrors? Yeah, that's what they were. Zero was more than ever finding himself siding morally with the Terrornova crew on their quest for revenge. However, while he sided with them as Reploids he didn't side with them as Mavericks—which had been Sigma's trap, he realized. Sigma had brought him to this castle to whittle away at his inhibitions while using the Terrornova group to make him sympathetic to the Maverick cause…but in effect what he'd done was increase Zero's resistance to it. In his opinion, Sigma was manipulating the Terrornova group to achieve his own means, corrupting what otherwise would have been a cause Zero could have supported. It was a fairly distorted way of looking at things, but for the moment it allowed Zero to hold civil conversation with someone who otherwise—and probably would soon be—his opponent, much as he'd done several times with Malevex already.
Chartreuse, though…Chartreuse! Jesus, he'd been right next to the man before, talked to him like a friend…hell, he even remembered one occasion when the Unit 0 and Chartreuse's Dragoons were drinking together at a bar! It was revolting to think that he was even remotely connected with the man who'd…yes, he realized, the man who'd really killed Mea, perhaps even more so than Kitao and Malevex. He raised his head to look at the woman who had been one of Chartreuse's many victims…and threw her a look that completely mirrored her feelings for the hated Traitor.
"Why not just kill him?" Zero asked next. "It's Chartreuse, Kitao, and Virdelko that you hate, right?"
"Wrong," she shook her head. "It's the entire Hunter army we hate. Even now they do the same things Terrornova did. They use Reploids, and when they grow too powerful they discard them! Just look at the Repliforce." She calmed down somewhat. "Anyway, even to target those individuals would require an attack on the Hunters. It's the only way to make them show themselves…and it was the only way to gain Sigma's support and backing."
"So you'll sacrifice a multitude of people for your revenge?"
Teytha took a deep breath, carefully choosing her words. "In the end, Hunter, what do morals or personal causes matter if you don't have anyone to share them with? The end of every conflict sees the opponents fighting to defend their friends, regardless of whatever mission or crusade they had originally fought for. So yes…to keep my companions alive, I'd sacrifice any number of armies. Innocent or otherwise," she added, somewhat coldly.
Zero was silent, absorbing the statement with regret. Inside this cage he was powerless to defeat these Mavericks, and all he had on his side was word of mouth. If he could convince just one of these Mavericks to stop the nuclear attacks, it would be as great a victory as beating them all in combat. However first Malevex and now Teytha had stated that their ultimate intention was to defend their allies by all means necessary, and Zero didn't believe anything could change that. So, this could only be resolved by fighting? Right, an inner voice reminded him. First you need to get out of the cage, genius.
During the silence Teytha found her innate conservativeness returning, and she began to question again why she was here with the Hunter. She threw him one last resolute glance and left the room. Strangely, as she walked she felt like a strange weight had been lifted off her chest. Perhaps up to now, she thought as she resumed her wandering, she had known her intentions but questioned their legitimacy. Now that she'd presented them to someone who hadn't been able to disprove them, she felt reassured about what they were all doing.
Her wandering took her outside into the cold air on a balcony catwalk overlooking the surrounding environment. There was still snow blowing, but the blizzard had either died out or was experiencing a weak moment. She could make out the bottom of the castle far below her, but nothing more than that. The wall of the catwalk rose well above her waist, and it was safe to rest her elbows on it. She closed her eyes and listened to the wind, letting it toss her raven hair freely. It relaxed her, and nowadays that was something to be appreciated.
Her eyes opened of their own accord and she stood, sensing another presence. She looked back through the opening that led out to the balcony and saw Malevex walking down the hall. He seemed to be in a trance similar to the one she'd just escaped from, which she didn't blame him for. Unlike the rest of them, he'd been operating without sleep or any other form of recharging for a long while. Since he was in charge of maintaining Seraph Castle's security, he had a lot of extra tasks to handle. Still, Mortar had been right when he'd said that Malevex wouldn't be worth a damn in a fight if he keeled over in the middle of it.
"Having fun yet?" she found herself saying. Her voice carried over the light wind and even penetrated the cloud of his haggardness. He stopped, blinked, and spent a few seconds looking for the person who'd just talked to him.
"It's quite a party," he replied when he found her. He stepped through the door to join her on the balcony. "Who knew taking over the world required so much red tape?"
"Taking over the world, are we?" she asked listlessly. "Seems pretty complicated."
"Yeah," he agreed, rubbing at his eyes. "I think I'll just stick to fragging the fat cats." Her reaction to that was a bit reserved. "Something wrong…?"
Teytha shook her head and looked back out at the snowfields. "It's nothing."
"Mm." He turned as well and looked out at the same snowfields, actually trying to scan for life forms moving in. After mentally reprimanding himself for his paranoia he returned to the matter at hand. "You know whenever you say that, it's because you have some parasitic leech hanging onto your soul."
"Eloquent as usual." She sighed and glanced at the night sky, which she knew would soon enough give way to dawn. "I had a conversation with Zero, is all."
"You did?" he asked, somewhat surprised. "Why'd you do that?"
"I'll tell you when I figure it out myself." She paused, unsure whether or not to go on, but just decided that if she could open up to a Maverick Hunter she could certainly open up to this man, her closest companion…it was something she'd been wanting to do anyway, she admitted. "I just didn't know if we were right."
"Uh oh." Malevex turned his head to look at her. "When did we ever worry about what was 'right'? Mostly we do things because it's necessary."
"But this is different," she insisted. "This is our own free will. If we can blame the humans for doing the wrong thing, when do we become responsible for doing the right thing?"
He was silent for a while, unable to come up with an immediate answer. "And what did you decide…?"
She looked right at him and smiled weakly. "Maybe we were justified in revenge. But we're involved in much more than that now. I guess, though, it all comes down to sticking with each other, like we've always done. That's why we all came here together…wasn't it?"
"More or less," he admitted with a sigh. "The revenge, the missions, they were just covers for us not being able to adapt to anything but fighting. But, really, what better is there to fight for? As far as I'm concerned, so long as you, Gredam, or Mortar are still in my sight I'll do anything it takes to defend you. Especially you."
"You still blame yourself for that…?" she asked faintly, recalling the Chancellor Battle yet again.
"I blame myself for a lot of things."
"Well stop it," she ordered gently, leaning against him and shivering at the suddenly increased cold. "You've been risking your life for me for too long."
"I can think of worse reasons to die," he stated, draping his arm around her shivering shoulder. The faintest of smiles crossed her face, and for a while they just stared at the snowfields enjoying each other's company. The blizzard wind kicked up a bit, but it wasn't so loud that they couldn't hear each other.
"What do you think it could have been like, if we weren't soldiers?" she asked finally.
"What could it have been like?" he repeated, smiling slowly. "'Could have'? Giving up already, are you? And so serious all the time. But in the blink of an eye…" While he was talking he lowered his arm and clasped his hand on her belly, tickling her gently.
"Hey!" She straightened up but he still held her firmly.
"What?" he asked with a grin. "Where's your sense of adventure?" he asked, ticking harder. What annoyance she had was tiny to begin with, and soon enough she was actually laughing, and fighting her way out of his "attack". She managed to turn herself around, but not much else. Finally he stopped, resting his hands on her waist, and she punched him lightly on the shoulder while catching her breath, the both of them still laughing.
"Jerk," she finally managed.
"You know," he opined, "you really have a nice laugh. You should use it more often."
"You're one to talk," she countered, though absorbing the suggestion. "Thanks," she added after a few seconds, hugging him. "I guess I needed that."
"Probably we both did," he replied, embracing her tightly. "We usually do." Seconds later neither was willing to let go, though for the first time they didn't allow themselves to care about that. Something stirred inside Malevex about being so close to her. It was no new feeling, though he'd always been reluctant to approach it. After all, given the circumstances of their pasts, their emotions had developed differently than with other Reploids. He'd never known if the bond he felt with her was simple friendship, camaraderie, or something more. Nowadays he was leaning more towards the last one. The easiest word for it was love…but could Reploids love? It seemed like a foolish label to apply to something he knew nothing about.
Dude, said a voice in his head. Who the hell CARES?
"Whoa, dude," he thought back, "you're right!" What did correctness matter? The whole concept of love had a positive connotation to it…and after living a life full of pain, why should he deny himself happiness any longer?
Teytha was thinking the same thing. "Listen…Malevex," she said in a whisper, though he still heard her loud and clear even through the wind. "This place…this place'll be a battleground soon, right?"
"Probably," he admitted. "They'll be back, today or more likely later on."
"…Don't do anything stupid…okay?"
He laughed softly. "Teytha…the whole thing could be considered stupid…fighting against all those Hunters."
"But you know what I mean," she whispered. "I…don't want to lose you."
"Hey…no worries. I promise I won't go on any suicide missions," he replied, smiling and looking down at the slightly shorter Reploid. She raised her head and smiled back. Then he went on, the words flowing out of their own accord. "Just…just make sure you watch your back too, all right? I…I love you too much to give you up now, Teytha. Not when we're so close to an actual future."
Her face flushed but her smile widened and she nearly crushed him with her hug. He tightened his embrace and because it seemed right he lowered his head and kissed her on the cheek. They maintained the embrace for a long while, both happier than they'd ever been. It was such a foreign feeling to them—warmth instead of the cold hate they'd lived with all their lives. Neither would have torn themselves from the moment for anything, even if Kitao, Virdelko, and Chartreuse themselves were lined up nearby waiting to be killed. Teytha, her head resting on Malevex's shoulder, blinked away the tears of happiness—tears she thought she'd never shed—from her eyes and a sudden laugh escaped her lips.
"It's a fine time to realize it," she said quietly, "but this…this is all I ever really needed. Not vengeance…I didn't need that at all."
"You're right," Malevex agreed wistfully. "What the hell was wrong with us, that we couldn't figure it out sooner?"
"How often have we been happy?" She had to laugh a little at the strangeness of the question.
He then had to laugh at the sad strangeness of the answer. His reunion with Gredam, Teytha's revival, and the rendezvous with Mortar came to mind, but other than those major events…no, there hadn't been any room in his life for casual joys of any sort. "Not often enough."
She didn't break the embrace but she pulled back enough that she could look him in the eye. "It's a much better purpose than vengeance…isn't it?"
"It is," he agreed with a smile, believing it. "It is." They looked at each other for a while, pledging themselves to this new, more appealing goal and future. Then any final reservations they had died pretty darn fast and they kissed each other, letting the action convey the emotions that words didn't do justice to.
Afterwards, they both became aware to their brief and mutual embarrassment that the blizzard had kicked back up with a vengeance and they were both getting covered in snow.
"Come on," Malevex said, looping his arm around her shoulder and starting back inside. "We're no good to anyone frozen."
"Is it cold?" Teytha asked with a little grin, walking with him. "I didn't notice a thing."
____________________
One floor up, a Reploid armored in maroon and gold watched the couple reenter the castle via a window looking out on the balcony below. A smile crept onto Mortar's wizened face, and the old Reploid turned away from the scene and started back down the hallway to his quarters. He'd been waiting for those two knuckleheads to hook up ever since he'd rejoined their posse. There'd always been a sort of father-daughter type relationship between Mortar and Teytha, even though their origins had nothing to do with each other, and the happiness obvious on her face was something he'd never seen before. It warmed his tired heart and, he decided, made this whole goddamned fiasco worthwhile.
Uplifted by what he'd witnessed, the Maverick moved with an extra spring in his step and more energy than he usually displayed. There was also more fight in him, because no longer did he have any reservations at all about the nature of their cause…because it wasn't about revenge anymore. That was something he'd hoped the others would realize, and they finally had. Once more it was back to how it should be: ensuring the safety of their comrades, and making a future worth living in.
So let the Hunters come, he decided as he entered his quarters, energized and ready for anything. Woe to anyone who crossed paths with Old Man Mortar.
