CHAPTER 10

THE DEVIL HATH POWER...

"How far under the ground is Zero buried, X?" Sharon asked as the six travellers raced through the dark earthen tunnels. Their chests heaved and sweat poured from their brows; it was getting hotter by the second.

"We're almost there, miss Sharon," X replied. "His capsule's at the magma falls."

"Please!" Sharon snorted. "Nobody's ever called me that in my life! It's just Sharon, bud."

"Magma falls?" Darren asked.

"Yes," X replied. "It's a huge crevice where a sea of lava tumbles even deeper into the earth..."

"Umm..." Professor Smith gulped. "How, exactly, are we going to get over that?!"

X thought for a moment, then suddenly felt very stupid. "...I don't know," he admitted. "I could make the jump just fine, but..."

"Don't worry, X," Iris replied. "I have an idea! Leave it to me!"

"...All right," X answered. "...I haven't seen you since the Erasure Incident, Iris. How've you been?"

"It's a long story," Iris panted. "I'll tell you all about it later."

"It's getting hotter and hotter..." Snake Man wheezed. "I'm going to melt if it gets any worse!"

"Don't worry," X called back. "Once we reach the magma falls, it gets a lot cooler!"

"And when would that be?..." Darren gasped.

Suddenly, the party emerged from the tunnel and entered a humongous room. The walls stretched out for thousands of meters either way, and the ceiling went so high it was nearly invisible. The party stood on an outcropping overlooking a miraculous sight; an entire ocean of molten rock, stretching as far as the eye could see, and tumbling over a ledge on their right-hand side into a smokey, steaming abyss. The sulfuric stench was almost unbearable.

"It's amazing..." Darren gasped as he grabbed his nose. "...And yet, it's horrible at the same time."

Smith walked to the ledge and peered down at the rushing lava. "...What a drop..." he said. "I'd say it's about 100 meters down, tops.

"There's our destination," X said as he pointed to a stone outcropping on the other edge of the sea.

"...Zero?" Iris asked.

X smiled. "...Zero," he answered.

"Why the heck did he seal himself up down here?!" Sharon asked angrily. "Couldn't he use a freakin' cemetery, like normal people?!"

"At first, we kept his capsule at Maverick Hunter HQ," X replied. "But the Mavericks kept breaking in to get at it... We lost a lot of good hunters trying to protect it... Finally, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I brought it down here and put it in a place that only I could get to... Then I sealed myself here too, as part of the security system. It was the only way to ensure that the Mavericks would never get their hands on the virus."

"What a way to go," Darren grumbled. "Well, how do we get over there?"

"I could try swimming across," Sharon said. "...But that current looks nasty... I'd probably go over the edge and into God knows where..."

"I'll activate my Ultimate Armor and fly across the lava," X explained. He strained for a moment, but nothing happened. He tried again, and still nothing happened. "...I guess being in stasis for so long has deactivated my armor for good," he grumbled. "Damn..."

"No worries, X!" Iris said. "I told you I had an idea. All we need to use is something of Professor Smith's. Professor, you brought a travel kit with you, right?"

Smith pulled up his labcoat and took out a medium-sized box. "Right here, Iris," he said.

"Hey, why didn't you tell us you had that?" Darren asked.

"Well, nobody ever asked for it," Smith replied. "Besides, we always got lodgings, or teleported home. So, Iris, what do you need?"

"A tent," Iris answered.

"What?!" Sharon asked. "Have you flipped, Iris?! You can't carry a tent in that thing!"

"You can if it's vacuum-packed," Smith said as he opened the kit. There was a loud hiss, and then a slew of camping supplies spilled out onto the ground. Iris grabbed the cloth tent and looked it over. "Perfect," she said. "There's enough room for all of us."

"What're we going to do?" Snake Man asked.

"Just watch!" Iris said as she fumbled with the tent. She zipped closed one side of it, but left the other side wide open. "...All right, everyone grab onto the open side with both hands!" she declared.

Everybody grabbed onto the tent tightly. "Now, let's make sure we're all facing the other side..." she said as she turned towards the far ledge. "All right," she said. "Now, I'll just make sure my Double Cyclone weapon is set on the gentlest setting possible..."

"Um, Iris, what exactly are we about to do?..." Darren !" Iris commanded.

Without asking, everybody broke into a sprint and fell off the ledge. They plummeted downwards towards the rushing magma sea.

"THIS was your plan?!" Snake Man yelled.

"It's been nice knowing you guys!!!" Sharon cried.

"...NOW!!!" Iris yelled as she fired her Double Cyclone straight into the tent. With a powerful jolt, the tent sailed upwards, away from the hissing liquids below.

"...What?..." Darren asked. "...We're not fried?"

"Ah! I get it!" X exclaimed. "You're propelling us like a balloon! Great thinking, Iris!"

"Sharon taught me that weapons don't just have to be used for fighting," Iris answered. "Now hold on, I'm giving it some more air!"

"Is 'don't look down' the theme of this area?" Snake Man asked nervously.

Iris sailed the tent all the way to the far ledge, where it landed with a bump. Everybody sprawled out on the rocks and panted heavily.

"Land..." Snake Man wheezed. "Dear, sweet land!..."

"Iris, that was really ingenius of you," Darren huffed. "...But forgive me if I never, ever want to do that again."

"Don't worry," Iris answered. "I don't want to, either. So, X, where's Zero?"

"His capsule's in that direction," X said as he pointed off to the right. "Just don't fall back into the lava, OK?"

Everyone ran the way X pointed, and soon enough they came to a large, ovular, metal structure built firmly into the rock. The oval was solid metal, but a large, red Z was painted across its top.

"Zero!" Iris exclaimed as she looked over the capsule. "This has to be him!"

"Pretty funky," Sharon said as she rapped on the metal. "I wonder how much a coffin like this costs?"

"It looks like it's in good shape," Snake man muttered as he looked the pod over. "Let's get it out of here."

"This is great!" Darren exclaimed. "We found Zero! Now this is what I call a happy ending!"

Just then came a loud rumbling from the wall. "...What's that?!" Sharon snarled.

"...It's him," Smith answered. "He's coming. Ribosome..."

"Ribosome?..." Iris asked.

The wall shattered into gravel, and a large, drill-armed Reploid emerged. Behind it walked a grey-haired man in a business suit; his eyes flashed with greed and coldness as he looked over the group and took a long drag of his cigarette.

"...Iris Thorne," Doctor Ivan Ribosome said. "So, at last we meet."

"So, YOU'RE Ribosome!" Sharon snarled. "You've got a lotta nerve showing up, after everything you've done!!!"

Ribosome ignored Sharon and continued talking. "You've been very difficult to keep up with, my dear," he said as he paced around each member of the party. "I had to sink a lot of money into capturing you, you know. I had the finest Mavericks from the old days resurrected to complete the task. Regrettably, though, you destroyed every one of them... That's very bad for business."

"Why do you want Iris, anyway?" Darren asked. "She hasn't done anything to you!"

Ribosome stifled a chuckle. "The Reploid has something that I want," he said. "Something very important... But I shan't waste my breath on simpletons. Kindly surrender her, and Mega Man X and Zero as well; they're not as valuable, but I'm sure I can profit from them somehow..."

"Ribosome..." Smith growled. "You haven't changed a bit; you're just as greedy and pushy as ever."

"So, it's you..." Ribosome said as his eyes flashed. "I commend you for hiding from me for so long... But traitors must be dealt with."

"Hey," Sharon growled as everyone crowded around Iris and Smith. "If you want them, you'll have to get past us!"

Ribosome chuckled darkly. "No... No, I won't," he replied. "You'll understand soon enough. Meanwhile, though, I think it's time for Zero and I to be going..."

"What do you mean?" Iris asked.

"Zero isn't a threat to me," Ribosome said. "Now is the perfect time to take him. As for you, though... Hmm. It really doesn't matter what condition Iris is in when I finally have her..."

Ribosome walked over to his drilling Reploid and hit a few buttons on its side; its chest opened, Ribosome climbed in and it slammed shut. Two large jet boosters emerged from the back and the Reploid soared up into the air. Two huge grappling cables shot out of the Reploid's sides and yanked Zero's capsule clean out of the rock.

"Hey!!!" X yelled. "You can't do that! You don't know how dangerous it is!!!"

"Well, this concludes our meeting," Ribosome's voice boomed from the Reploid. "I would stay and discuss things further, but I have a luncheon to attend. If you need anything else, kindly ask my assistant. He should be along any moment now." The Reploid soared up to the rock ceiling, drilled a hole and vanished.

"Dammit!!!" Sharon yelled. "Just when we think we're done with this lousy adventure, THIS has to happen!!!"

"Zero..." Iris choked.

"Don't worry, Iris," Darren reassured his friend. "We'll get him back. Professor, you worked for Ribosome, right? Do you know where he would take Zero?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Smith said as he scratched his head. "CONSTRICT has a lot of branches... We should get back to the museum and start researching immediately!"

"Well, first things first..." Darren said as he looked around. "How do we get out of here?"

"Ribosome must have made a tunnel to get down here," X observed. "Let's follow it back to the surface."

"Good idea..." Iris said as she looked towards the tunnel.

"Hang on!" Snake Man said as he stuck his tongue out and listened. "I can hear something in there..."

"What?" Sharon asked. "What is it?"

Snake Man listened a moment longer. "...Footsteps..." he whispered. "...And they're coming this way..."

Everyone listened anxiously as the footsteps came into earshot. Somebody really WAS coming down the tunnel.

"(Who do you think it is?)" Darren whispered.

"(I dunno,)" Sharon said as she readied her gun. "(...But I'm not taking any chances!)"

"Those footsteps..." Iris said as she listened. "I've heard them before..."

Everyone watched the tunnel as the footsteps grew loud. Just then, a figure emerged from the darkness; he was tall and buff and wearing an old Repliforce uniform and cap. He looked around cautiously, like a panther stalking prey.

"My God..." X gasped. "It's... It's Colonel..."

"Colonel?..." Darren asked. "THE Colonel?..."

"B... Brother?..." Iris said aloud.

Colonel turned and looked at Iris, and his face lit up with joy. "...Iris," he said happily.

"Brother!!!" Iris cried happily as she ran to Colonel and threw her arms around him.

"Iris..." Colonel said as he returned the hug. "It's so good to see you..."

"I always hoped I'd see you again one day," Iris sighed. "This is wonderful... Now we just have to help Zero, and things will be perfect again..."

From a distance, everyone watched the spectacle.

"Isn't that nice..." Snake Man said. "I always love watching siblings..."

"Well, it looks like we might be gettin' another person to help us out!" Sharon chuckled. "Ain't that great, prof?... Prof?"

Professor Smith was eyeing Colonel suspiciously and scratching his chin. "I don't know..." he said. "This seems kind of fishy to me..."

"...And then Ribosome took Zero's capsule and flew away..." Iris finished as she still clutched Colonel tightly. "We have to save him!... You'll help us, won't you, Brother?..."

"Yeah, you're right..." Darren agreed with Smith. "Haven't we run into Colonel... somewhere... before...?" His eyes widened in horror as he realized what was going on. "Oh, no..."

"What?!" Sharon asked. "What is it?!"

"Of course I'll help you," Colonel said to Iris as he slowly reached down and drew a beam saber. "In fact... Why don't you leave it all up to me..."

"Iris, wait!!!" Darren yelled as he ran as fast as he could towards them, but stumbled and fell.

"...Darren?..." Iris asked as she turned around and looked at her fallen friend.

"Iris!!!" Darren cried as he looked up at her. "That's not Colonel!!!"

"What are you talking about, Darren? Of course it's my brother," Iris replied. "What's wrong?"

"...And you can take a nice, long nap!..." Colonel cackled as he raised the sword and flashed a murderous grin.

"IRIS!!!" Darren yelled as 'Colonel' plunged his sword into Iris's back. Iris screamed in agony and sank to her knees.

"Heh heh heh..." 'Colonel' chuckled as he stepped away. "My GOD, you're a sucker! How was that?! I should be on Broadway!"

"Urrrrgghhhh..." Iris groaned as she struggled to get up. "B... Brother?..."

"Iris, that isn't Colonel!" Darren said as he helped her stand. "Donnerstag gave us Colonel's control chip, remember?! This CAN'T be him!!!"

"You're pretty smart for a waterbag," 'Colonel' laughed as he pointed his sword at Darren. "This is perfect! Killin' humans is way more fun than killin' Reploids; they splatter a lot more!"

"Agh! I know who you are!!!" X yelled. "Vile!!!"

"Heh heh heh..." Vile laughed as he looked at X. "So, you're here too, X? Wonderful! Let's get this blood bath started! HA!!!" He quickly lifted his leg and kicked Darren back into his friends.

Iris just sat on her knees, staring up at Vile. "I... I don't understand..." Iris whispered. "...Why?..."

"Iris! Get out of there!!!" Snake Man yelled.

"What's wrong with Iris?!" Sharon asked. "Why isn't she moving?!"

"Shock," Smith growled. "If you just got betrayed by someone who looked like someone you loved, you'd be like that, too."

"Heh! Well, it looks like you want another helping!" Vile laughed as he looked down at Iris. "I'd be glad to oblige!!!" He took his sword and raised it for another blow.

"Iris!!!" Smith yelled. "Fight back!!!"

Iris looked up and saw the blade coming. In a flash, her Z-Saber blocked the slice and sparks flew everywhere.

"Heh!" Vile laughed. "So, you've got Zero's saber, huh?! Good! We'll have a nice sword fight before I take you apart! HA!!!"

Vile drove Iris back with a series of stabs and slashes. Iris, still partly in shock, could do nothing but block and deflect.

"Come on, Iris! You have to fight him!!!" Sharon yelled. "He's gonna kill you!!!"

"Yeah! Come on, girlie!" Vile sneered. "Let's see whatcha got!"

"N'gahh!" Iris grunted as she deflected one more swipe, then dove in to stab Vile's chest.

Suddenly, Iris stopped dead. "You would really attack me?" Colonel's voice asked her. Iris hesitated for a moment, then lowered her sword.

"Iris, no!!!" Darren yelled. "Don't let him get to you!!!"

Vile laughed again. "I do pretty good impressions, too!" He said. "Well, then! Time for some FUN!!!"

With one clean swipe, Iris's hand fell to the ground with a sick thump. Zero's Z-Saber rolled away and tumbled into the magma falls.

Iris flinched for a moment, then shrieked in pain and agony as she grasped at the gushing wound.

"Iris!!!" Darren cried. "No!!!"

"Heh heh heh..." Vile chuckled as he picked the severed hand up. With an eerie look on his face, he slowly licked at the blood on the end of it. "Mmmm..." he said. "Nice n' sweet... Just like you! HA!!!" He flicked the hand over the cliff's edge and resumed his fighting stance.

Iris choked and sobbed as she staggered backwards and fell to her knees again, immeasurable pain surging through her body like bolts of lighting.

"You rotten son of a!!!..." Sharon roared as she tried to jump a Vile, but Smith and Snake Man held her back. "I'll rip you apart!!!"

"I'd like to see you try, dollface," Vile laughed as he approached Iris and raised his sword again. "Now... I'll just finish you off in my favorite way: as painfully as possible!"

"Stop!!!" X yelled as he leaped in front of Iris and glared down Vile. "Vile! Your quarrel is with me! Leave Iris out of this!"

Vile laughed darkly. "Ah ha ha!!! You don't get it, do you, X?" he asked. "I don't care WHO I'm killin' as long as I AM killin'! Gettin' rid of you, though, will be a nice bonus!"

"I don't get it," Snake Man said. "Who's Vile, anyway?"

"Vile was one of Sigma's strongest enforcers in the old days," Smith replied. "He fiercely fought X and Zero several times. He was very resiliant, but eventually X was able to get the upper hand and destroy him. Of course, Vile did swear that he would never stop pursuing X, saying that he would haunt him until the day he died..."

"Woah," Snake Man said. "So, he's got a major grudge against X..."

"Hey, shut up over there!!!" Vile shouted. Suddenly, a huge cannon sprouted up from his shoulder and fired a plasma burst just above Iris's friends. They all yelped and covered their heads as rubble crashed down around them.

"...I don't remember Colonel being able to do that," X growled.

"This body's pretty good, but it needed a personal touch!" Vile cackled. "Now, get ready to bite it!!!"

Vile and X went bounding across the cliffside, Vile swinging his blade in decapitating arcs and X trying to slow him down with his plasma shots. They leaped over each other and off the walls as each struggled to gain an edge on the other.

All the while, Iris knelt on the ground, simply staring after them, her damaged limb bleeding profusely. A whirlwind of confused, conflicted emotions raced through her mind. "...Why..." she asked quietly. "...Why?..."

"What the heck is wrong with Iris?!" Sharon asked. "She's just... sitting there!!!"

"Iris was always rather fragile," Smith sighed. "The bout with someone disguised as Colonel has traumatized her. Why she's reacting so negatively, though, is beyond me..."

Darren looked over at the battling Reploids; Vile seemed to be as dangerous as ever, but X was panting heavily and slowing down. "If she doesn't step in soon, X is going to get mutilated," he gulped. "We have to help her!..."

"What can we do?" Sharon asked. "It's not like we can make her want to fight..."

"No..." Darren said. "...But we have to do something!"

Darren ran to Iris and knelt down beside her. "Iris... Are you OK?" he asked.

"Why..." Iris repeated. "Why is my brother doing this.... Tell me, Darren... Please..."

"Iris, that isn't your brother," Darren repeated. "We have Colonel's control chip back at the museum! Another Maverick called Vile is using Colonel's body to fight us... And to top it off, it's really affecting you..."

"Not... Not Colonel?..." Iris asked. "But... But he..."

"Iris, you're so out of it that you don't even feel this anymore!" Darren said as he held Iris's handless arm up with a wince. "Come on! You have to help X stop Vile!"

"I can't..." Iris said quietly. "I can't fight my own brother... I'd never do that..."

"Iris, please," Darren pleaded. "I know you don't like it; hell, even I don't like it. But if you don't jump in, Vile's going to tear us all to shreds!"

"No..." Iris whispered. "Colonel would never do that... He's a good man... Yes... He is..."

"Dammit, Iris!!!" Darren yelled as he grabbed Iris and shook her. "Am I even getting through to you?! If you don't help, Vile will kill us all... And Ribosome will still have Zero! Do you want that to happen?! Please, Iris, you've gotta-"

Darren's speech was interrupted as X slammed into the wall behind him and sank to the ground with wounds all over his body. Vile towered over them, smiling wickedly. "Well, that's the end of one nuisance..." he chuckled.

"No..." X grunted as he forced himself to stand up. "I won't give up!... You're not going to get away with this, Vile... You're totally disgracing Colonel's body by using it this way..."

"Disgrace?" Vile laughed. "Ha! X, you're talking as if I'm actually listening!" He drew his sword again and waved it about. "You know, this is so much fun, I think I'm gonna kill off each one of you reeeeally nastily! I know; I'll chop off all of your limbs before I take your heads off! How about that?!"

"I won't let you!..." X growled as he staggered towards Vile.

"...Shuddup!" Vile laughed as his shoulder cannon blew X back against the wall. He then turned to Darren and grinned. "...I think I know just who to start with!..." he said as he stomped over. "Time for some serious splatter!!!"

Darren gulped as Vile moved towards him with his sword raised, but he refused to leave Iris's side. Iris slowly looked between Darren and Vile. "Hurt..." she whispered. "My brother... wants to... hurt my friends?..."

Vile heard Iris's words and turned an evil eye on her. "Of course, my dear," he said in Colonel's voice. "You were a fool to make friends outside of the Repliforce, and for that, you must all be punished. Just to be kind, I'll save you for last." With that, he threw his head back and laughed psychotically.

"No..." Iris gasped as tears dribbled down her eyes, and her brow knitted. "Brother... I... I don't want you to... I don't want you to hurt my friends... Leave... leave them alone... Leave them alone, Brother..." She was shaking all over with rage and sorrow.

Darren looked down at Iris in surprise. "...Iris?..." he asked. "...Yes! You're almost back!... Just a little more, Iris! You're doing fine!..."

"Ha!" Vile laughed. "I'll kill all of you before she's ready to fight again! Now..."

"I don't think so!!!" Darren yelled as he threw himself at Vile; he grabbed Vile's leg and held on for dear life.

"What the-" Vile huffed as he stomped around. "You rotten pile of flesh! Get off, do you hear me?! GET OFF!!!"

"I think Darren's onto something," Snake Man said.

"What do you guys say?" Smith asked as he looked at his friends. Sharon and Snake Man nodded, and all three of them charged towards Vile with loud war whoops.

"...What's this?!" Vile yelled as Snake Man, Sharon and Professor Smith all leaped on him and started punching or kicking him as hard as they could. "Get off, you rotten little goons!!! Off!!!"

X slowly picked himself out of his impression in the rock wall and looked over at the spectacle. "Wow," he said as he staggered out and readied his X-Buster. "Iris sure has some brave friends..."

"OK, you're all finished!!!" Vile shouted as he activated his shoulder cannon and fired at close range. The explosion blew all four friends off of him, and they all crashed down on the battlefield. "You know what?!" Vile said as he cocked his head to one side in annoyance. "You guys just bought yourselves a really nasty way of going out! And you're all going together!!!"

"Not if I have a say!" X shouted as he shot Vile in the back with a powerful blast. Vile yelled in pain and sank to one knee.

"How... How did you do that?!" Vile snarled as he clawed at the smoking wound on his back.

"Hey, I know a thing or two about Reploid armor..." Smith chuckled as he sat up. "...And I cut yours off just in time!..."

"What?!" Vile asked as he looked down at his front chest plate. Sure enough, a compartment was wide open, and the wires inside were torn from their sockets. "GRRRRRR..." Vile roared. "DAMN YOU!!!" He raised his sword and charged at Professor Smith.

"Leave him alone."

Everyone looked over at Iris. She slowly stood up and targeted Vile with the I-Buster in her undamaged arm. "Leave my friends alone," she stated again.

"Iris! You're OK!!!" Darren cried.

"Ha! So your little friend can fight again!" Vile laughed. "Big deal! I just need to psyche her out again!"

"Did you hear me?!" Iris shouted. "I said leave my friends alone!!!"

"Heh heh heh..." Vile cackled as he put on his best Colonel voice. "Iris, dear, would you really hurt me?..." he crooned.

Iris stood fast, her gun still trained on Vile.

Vile shifted uncomfortably. "Come now, Iris, put it down," he said. "I know you would never shoot me."

Iris remained deathly silent.

Vile began to sweat; without his armor, Iris could easily put a hole in a vital system. "You wouldn't dare!" he growled, his voice beginning to slip. "You wouldn't dare strike me, your own BROTHER!!!"

Iris charged her I-Buster. "...You're not my brother any more," she replied quietly. With one swift movement, she blew Vile's shoulder cannon clean off.

"A-a-agh!!!" Vile gagged as he staggered backwards. "You miserable brat!!!" he yelled, totally casting the Colonel voice aside. "Ha! Go ahead and fire! If you destroy this body, you'll never get the chance to revive your brother! And I know you wouldn't do that! You don't have the guts!!! I don't know WHAT could possess you to destroy the person you hold so dear!!!"

Iris charged her I-Buster again. "You were going to hurt my friends..." she growled as angry tears rolled down her cheeks. "NOBODY hurts my friends!!!"

"What?! No! Wait! Stop!!!" Vile begged as his eyes widened in terror.

"Goodbye... Brother," Iris yelled as she fired again and again and again. Shot after shot tore through Vile until the body wasn't much more than a smoking scrap pile. With one final shot, Iris destroyed the body's head, and the mess teetered over and tumbled into the lava below.

There was a long, thick pause. Finally, Iris lowered her gun and stared down at the ground.

"Iris..." X said. "You... You saved us all..."

"Iris..." Darren said quietly as he walked over to her. "I... You..."

Iris looked at Darren, and her eyes filled up with tears again. Without another word, she collapsed to the ground, crying feverently and striking the earth with her fist.