MEGA MAN X:END OF A DREAM
By Erico
CHAPTER ELEVEN: A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM
Covered in a heavy coat X had found lying on the ground, X was fully covered. Now no one could tell he was a reploid, just a small kid in a big floppy coat. X preferred it that way; he hated recognition. When people discovered who he was, they would throng around him, trapping him in a circle of people. His usual escape was a warp, but if they got too close he wouldn't for he feared he might warp a part of them as well.
To further his disguise, he had sent back his helmet, letting his dark black hair wave freely in the cold wind. X shivered, for because he could feel he felt the cold. He could not be made uncomfortable, but it still affected him just the same. He stood in the back of a line, and at the front lay the huge doors that guarded the interior of Cossack's Citadel. The person in front of him turned around, his face in a smile.
"Hello, youngster. Did you come on the tour?" X thought for a moment, then gave an answer he thought would fit his appearance.
"No way, gramps! I'm here for the heck of it!" he put on a snotty grin, and his image was complete. The man frowned, then turned around, grumbling. X smiled. He had kept his identity hidden.
Just then, the doors creaked open, and a robot stepped out. Or more precisely, hopped out. His green coloring starkly contrasted that of the grayish castle walls.
"Hello there. I am Toad Man, a robot of Dr. Cossack's. Welcome to his castle. Would you like to take the tour?"" he asked. But X knew that it was all programmed. Toad Man was from another age, when robots only could go as far as their programming, when the human thought process and complete control was not within a robot's grasp. But maybe Mega Man came the closest…
X was jolted back to reality as the line moved ahead. He jogged to catch up and entered the eerie interior. When he had gone in, the fat robot Toad Man brushed some dust off himself, then pulled the doors shut.
Zero once again found himself in the rumble room, and the dank walls reeked of death. Zero estimated he had destroyed over twenty maverick leaders so far, which is quite an accomplishment. But even reploids, even the most bloodthirsty ones get tired of killing, and Zero was feeling his systems crying out for relief.
"No more…please, no more." Zero pleaded, but his pleas fell on deaf ears as a new foe was shoved into the room. It was dark in the interior, and Zero could not fully make out who it was. Had Sigma been jolted to a sense of bitterness by the destruction of Vile? Zero could only guess. Still, something had happened, when Zero felt himself slipping from his mind. He could fully remember every horrifying moment of his maverick fury, but there was nothing he could do to control it. It was like someone had stuck a remote control unit on him and sent in into a fury attack which he could not stop. Perhaps a word to describe what Zero felt taking over him was…darkness. Pure darkness, one which you cannot pierce with light. One in which you are left alone, just you and the endless, hopeless infinity. If there was an interpretation for hell, Zero's was that darkness.
"You will get more, my reploid friend." Sigma's voice was loud and humorless. Zero reached a conclusion. Yes, Sigma had been brought to his senses, and the crazy storm of insanity that had plagued him was gone. But Zero groaned, his thoughts turning from the inside of his mind to his surroundings. Another victim had been placed in front of him, and it was kill or be killed.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS???" Zero cried, pounding his fists against the hard walls. Fluid, a reploid's tears, came from the corners of his eyes and blurred his vision. Sigma looked on from above, a stone face his only emotional attachment. And behind him stood a simple maverick troop.
The troop was green, and his name was Wycost. At least, that is what he remembered. His past was a blur, and so was his current state. A mind when it is tainted by a Maverick's thoughts loses the calm thought processes of a normal reploid. But Wycost had enough sense to realize Sigma had only one goal in mind; to force Zero's transformation. He remembered what Sigma had said to him earlier, just before Zero's next robot had been brought in.
"Wycost, do you still have that Repliforce blank in storage?" Wycost had nodded solemnly. After his outburst in which Sigma had killed another maverick troop, Wycost had taken no chances of him suffering the same fate. Sigma had simply said then,
"Get it out and boot it up. After what just happened, I think I found his trigger." Wycost had given a salute, and then headed into the storage room, his black boots and jade helmet glinting in the darkness.
And now it was that same blank that stood before Zero.
A blank is the reconstructed body of a reploid or maverick, minus the control chip that gives a reploid its personality. When a blank is formed, it literally becomes nothing more than a normal, programmable robot. But they do have their advantages. You can make as many as you want, they are always loyal to their programming, and they hold the speed and powers of the actual model.
When the lights became brighter, Zero could make out more and more of the figure's shape. Blue and pink form, female construction, long brown hair…NO!
Zero gasped in disbelief. The figure that stood before him was none other than of his lost love, Iris. And this one had a deathmask, a blank stare with hollow eyes. No glint of personality, but in his weakened condition, Zero could not see that. All he saw was Iris.
"Well, get to it then. Zero, DESTROY IRIS!!!" Zero dropped to his knees and smashed his head against the wet stone floor. His helmet's crystal cracked from the blow, and he shot his hands into the air. His mouth slowly opened as his eyes shut, and a low noise, much akin to gurgling came out of it. Then it grew louder and louder, until one could fully see Zero was crying out, crying out all the tensions and emotions, the pent-up sorrow and torment he had suffered. The lonely cries filled the room, and spilled out into the halls, filling the facility with the noise. The cry mingled with Sigma's laughter, and to Wycost's view, he felt nothing but cruelty.
And the taste of it was sickening.
Hazil and Dr. Cain had been working for hours, reconfiguring the remnants of Airborne Albatross into Bastion's systems.
"Aww, come on. Aren't you guys done yet?" Bastion grumbled. He was lying on his stomach, a position no one like to take. Cain sighed, then replied,
"Yes, Bastion. Just one more connection and we're done." Hazil took out his welding torch and finished attaching the final piece.
"All right, Doctor Cain. That finishes it." He said, giving a slight smile as he rolled back and put his tools away. Cain grabbed Bastion's arm and lifted him up.
"Bastion, run an internal scan on your weapons and thrust systems." Bastion shut his eyes and did a self-diagnostic. But where he should see only a fuel gauge for basic boot thrusters, there was a second meter. And he had a weapons meter as well, listed as…Powerstorm?
Cain smiled as Bastion opened his eyes. "Well, what do you think?" Bastion shook his head.
"What are they?" Cain coughed and took on an official sounding tone.
"The extra thrust meter is for your permanent jetpack. Hazil and I managed to get the software and extra systems parts for it. When you jump, the wings will open. It will only take a simple thought by you to activate the thrusters. The fuel is Hydrogen-Oxygen based. You can refill it by just letting the outside air be your supply, or if you are in a bigger hurry, just fill up with a gallon of water. Your fusion reactor will provide the energy to disassemble the water into the necessary fuels. Your attack, Powerstorm as we called it, works along similar lines. When you use it, your wings will spread out an even greater distance and launch a barrage of shrapnel rounds. Think of it as you being a grenade without you blowing up, you'll get the idea. If you charge it, the projectiles will become charged plasma bolts, hence Powerstorm. That fills up along with your thruster systems. It seems Airborne Albatross had the both of his systems working in conjunction. We couldn't overcome that little problem." Bastion turned to a mirror and looked at his new gear. When the wings were fully outstretched, he looked like an angel clad in orange and light red…a dark angel. Bastion tested the wing's pneumatic flexing.
"No wonder he couldn't fire any more shots…if he had, he couldn't have kept himself in the air!" Bastion suddenly realized. Cain smugly handed him a data card.
"Now that you're set to go, there's a new assignment for you. It seems a maverick by the name of Megavolt Meerkat has taken over the New Tokyo Power Plant." Bastion frowned. The Tokyo Power Plant was one of the few left in the world that still ran on nuclear fission power, which had long since been proven obsolete by fusion. Still, fission gave materials for fusion, so there was no long-term storage of waste. That meant if he went in, he'd have to be careful of what he slashed at. One wrong slice and he could sever cooling hoses, destroy radiation shields, ruin safety precautions of every kind…if Megavolt and his people had not done so already.
"Obviously, just sending in a whole Unit would be useless. Seeing as Zero is still being held GOD KNOWS WHERE and X is off on his spirit walk; that leaves you in charge. So the question is; what will you do?" Cain asked. Bastion thought for a moment. All he knew, everything that he strived by to be a leader came from Zero's calm presence and X's missing words of wisdom. Then he reached a decision, one based not on what he had learned, but what he knew.
Bastion reached behind him and checked his beam saber. The new jetpack also had a neat hole at the top for it, and the handle stuck out just enough so he could reach it. He walked over to medical supplies and opened the metallic shelf door. He pulled out an energy shield and a Sub-Tank, activating both. Then he packed away several PTUs. The Sub-Tank would wait in his chest compartment, until such a time as he needed the operations energy. The energy shield would probably be of great benefit; Bastion could almost smell that the weapons he would face would be energy based.
"I'm going in alone. I'd ask for help, but my troops still need training, and a solo mission stands as a greater chance of success." Cain smiled. Even if Bastion was new, he learned fast, and his attitude was one Cain liked. It almost reminded him of Jim Dacker…
Cain snapped back to reality as Bastion threw him a salute. Cain motioned for him to leave, and Bastion warped out, his destination within mere miles.
"During the time of Mega Man, Dr. Cossack was a widely known robot expert. Not as quite as brilliant as Dr. Light, but then again he was younger than the elderly Light." X and the other tourists were being led down the halls of the Citadel by Bright Man, who used his bright bulb to light the way. Bright Man could have blinded them, but he was cautious to only produce as much light as a 100 Watt bulb. Anything more was dangerous, and X knew that Mega Man had had a tough go at it when he fought Bright Man, even with the Rain Flush. Just then, a tourist spoke up.
"Tell me Bright Man. Why did you and the rest of Dr. Cossack's robots challenge Mega Man?" Bright Man turned around and smiled. In a programmed response, he replied,
"Dr. Wily had captured Dr. Cossack's daughter, Kalinka. Dr. Cossack had no choice but to go along with the sinister scheme. Mega Man was challenged, but he managed to defeat us and came close to defeating Cossack himself. But just as Mega Man was about to deliver the final attack, another of Light's creations known as Protoman warped in, accompanied by the young child. Cossack instantly ceased his attack and Mega Man went on to defeat Wily once more. Since then, we have been working ceaselessly in the Citadel." The man smiled and raised his camera. Bright Man's smile widened as he raised his hands.
"A photograph? Delighted. Here, I'll even provide the flash." His bulb went off in a powerful burst of light, and the camera snapped. X blinked, but when he focused in, everyone else was rubbing their eyes.
"Umm, is something the matter?" Bright Man asked, his smile vanishing into concern. The people were rubbing their eyes constantly, and griping. X turned to him.
"You ruined thei..our night vision. Now our eyes must become reaccustomed to the darkness." But X knew he was accustomed to the sudden light change, and it frightened him to realize he had almost said their. He had almost blown his cover. Bright Man clapped his hands together.
"I am terribly sorry. Here, I believe this will help." His bulb became brighter and brighter, until the people could look up. The hallway was now well lit and everyone smiled again. "Is that better? Good. Now, if you will follow me you can come to our gift shop. We are running a special on mini-robot figurines. I highly suggest you pick up the one that has the bulb on the top of it's head." Everyone chuckled at the programmed egotistical phrase. X and the others walked down the hallway, to the end of the tour and to an unknown future.
Bastion had warped in, only to be hit with a powerful beam of electricity by a cannon that had recently been installed in the plant. As a matter of fact, Bastion could see two mavericks not too far away installing more. They saw him and panicked, pulling out their X-Busters for a fight.
"No,no. Put the weapons away, boys." Bastion said as he pulled out his beam saber and dashed towards them. Before they could squeeze off a single shot, Bastion had flown past them and sliced their cannons to ribbons. He turned to face the trembling pair.
"Listen up. I don't want to kill you." They looked at each other, and then back at Bastion. But Bastion's fist was in mid-swing, and he coldclocked the both of them in short time. He pulled out two PTUs and placed them on the stasis minded mavericks. Pushing the transfer button, he stepped back and watched as they warped out of the lair and back to the Maverick HHQ Detention Area. Bastion shook his head and checked the power on his energy shield.
"Great. That took off 10%." Bastion had chose to send them back for two reasons; they did not pose an immediate threat to him because they were disarmed, and two because X had taught him that life, even maverick life, is precious. "Ahh, X. Have I learned so much?" Bastion mused. He checked the bag of cannon parts the two had been carrying. Shuffling around the contents, he found what he was looking for. With a smile he took the operations energy pellet and stuck it in his chest compartment. His energy shield gained a full recharge, and then the hollow casing popped out lightly, where the frame would disintegrate into dust within hours. Energy capsules had been designed to be biodegradable when their charge was gone for years now.
"All right." Bastion pulled a map out of the bag and ruffled through it. Memorizing the layout, he set off on a jog. Megavolt Meerkat was guarding the main reactor, which meant a fight would have to be take carefully. While he went, he pulled out another PTU and set the destination coordinates for the Sun's orbit. If it got messy, he could send the reactor away where it would be harmless. Bastion chuckled. Yes, he was getting better at this.
Wycost was in his room thinking. Well, it wasn't exactly his room, he thought to himself. He shared it with three others, but right now none were present. His mind was jumbled with thoughts…and memories.
He seemed to recall something about his past before he was infected…what was that?
"Why can't I remember?" Wycost groaned, pounding his jade helmet with a tightened fist. The memories he sought were close by, but being hidden…hidden by the maverick virus. He got up from his bunk and paced around his room. "Focus, Wycost. Focus." But he couldn't. Zero's torment kept haunting him. How could Zero resist it? How could Zero continually resist the supreme power of the maverick virus? More importantly, why?
That isn't me talking, Wycost remembered. The maverick virus was trying to control his thoughts. Wycost grimaced. Ever since he'd been infected, the blasted maverick virus had been growing stronger and stronger within him. It was to the point it took control without him realizing it. It was always there, but when things got intense it would rear its head and establish itself with a very simple series of instructions:
Destroy.
Infect.
Survive.
Wycost grasped his arm and looked at himself in the mirror. His armor was black, and so were his boots. He had a strange chevron symbol for chest armor-wasn't that supposed to be green?
A jolt of pain suddenly racked his systems as the maverick virus moved in. But Wycost resisted it. He was remembering, and the virus saw that as a threat.
"No…No…NO…NO!!!" Wycost pounded himself in the chest, and his face became contorted in pain. The virus was speaking to him, trying to make him submit. Just relax, Wycost. I know what is best for you. "No you don't. I WANT to remember…Go away. GO AWAY!!!" Wycost's view suddenly shifted, and there he was in the nothingness, pure darkness. Then the images flashed past him. His past…was that Brooklyn? They came so quickly…he was part of the neighborhood watch…a sudden maverick attack…tried to fight…too strong…darkness…
The images ceased to be. There he was, in a field of white. He looked down at himself. No longer was he in full blazing black, but a multicolored green, with a chevron chest plate and an X-Buster attachment. A noise alerted him, and he looked up, his cannon following by instinct. There was a hideous black mass coming fast at him, and its thoughts were chilling and cold…empty.
"Don't fight me, Wycost. It is futile. Join me again and the pain will stop." But Wycost's vision, blurred by the tears of his memories, his friends destroyed and killed fighting saw only a figure, the figure responsible for everything he had come to hate. Everything that had happened was to blame because of this…the maverick virus.
"I don't care how much pain I endure." Wycost choked out. His cannon began to gain its charge as the plasma clustered around the main energy discharge port. He raised it up, the blinding yellow cloud of particles partially blinding him. But he still saw it. The maverick virus, a hideous array of tubes and metallic pieces, the assimilated bits of its victims now bonded with the sinister insides. "I don't care how long the fight goes on…if you take even ONE more life than you have…I CANNOT ALLOW THAT!!!" Wycost's X-Buster finished charging and he fired the blast. It was immense, and it seemed to feed on more than plasma. It seemed to turn greenish, as if it took power from himself, his purpose…his potential. The shot struck true, and the black mass disintegrated, screaming in agony as it did. And then Wycost was left alone in the light.
His eyes opened as they focused. He got up and gasped and looked around. He had not moved, for he was still in his room. So what was that he had just gone through…Wycost stopped and stared at the figure in the mirror. It was him, but his armor was green, a dark green, but a green nonetheless. He had destroyed the maverick virus, and now he was once again a free reploid. A smile crossed his face, a pure smile. Not one of hatred, or of a hard-won fight, or one of cruelty as you watch your victim die by your hands…a smile as gentle as a spring breeze, as soothing as chicken noodle soup when you are sick.
"I'm…free. I'm free." Wycost sobbed, a tear coming from his eye. He rubbed it out and examined it. "A tear…been so long since I have cried…" He burst out into sobs, but he covered his face with his arms, blocking the noise from escaping. When he felt better, he suddenly realized how much danger he was in. If Sigma or the others found him, he would be re-infected.
Wycost, a clean reploid once more, had to escape.
Bastion was making quick tracks, but it was tough going. He wondered how X had survived the original trip when Spark Mandrill was running this place back during the First Maverick Uprising. Around every turn, one of those giant Spark Skimmers would come whistling by and almost knock him into a recycling pit.
"Nasty buggers, those are." Bastion mused. He checked his power-80% remaining. Not too good, but then again he was almost done. He could see the sliding doors to the main reactor close by. But the Spark Skimmers with their glowing trails were being unmerciful. He hopped up another wall, only to be knocked back down by a Spark Skimmer. And he was too far away from the wall to make the leap. Bastion had one option left; his jetpack.
"Cain, if you did this wrong, I'll see you in hell!" Bastion cried out as he activated the thrusters. Instantly, his velocity shifted and he could feel his internal motors being bounced upwards as the powerful thrust sent him back up the way he came. "Hey, IT WORKED!" Bastion laughed. He landed on the ledge and deactivated the thruster, dropping lightly. But his praise was short lived, as every skimmer in the room was making tracks for his location. Bastion frowned. Perhaps the Whirling Slash…but they'd be in too close. Then the other enhancement popped in his mind. He spread his purple wings out farther, and crouched. And the Spark Skimmers approached. Bastion's face was covered in anger and his hands shook wildly.
"So you want me? COME AND GET IT, YOU CRAZY BOTS!!!" Bastion's scream of power and finished by a powerful explosion as his mighty wings fired off their weapon…the Powerstorm. The flying metal shrapnel, charge with plasma energy created an enormous storm, one in which the Spark Skimmers could not fly. They were sliced and segmented in every possible fashion, the flying shards cutting them to ribbons. And then they all crashed. Bastion got up and looked around. Nothing to be seen but an empty chamber and smoking piles of debris. Bastion smiled, but his smile vanished when he saw his meters.
"Great. 50% operating power, and 70% Powerstorm energy." Bastion set off to search through the rubble for any energy capsules his foes might have in their innards. Bastion allowed himself a smirk.
Even with all the energy losses, it was quite a show.
Wycost walked into the armaments room, looking around cautiously. No one was in it, and no one had seen him come in. But he had to move fast. Speed was his greatest enemy right now. He quickly walked over and picked up an X-Buster. After scanning it, he was satisfied to realize it was not infected. He stuck his arm in the hole and activated it. Instantly it clamped on and melded with his systems, until his hand emerged from the cannon's socket and the entire system had turned into the bulge that was recognized with X-Busters. Opening up another drawer, he pulled out an arm bracelet. It was designed to cover his other arm, giving him a symmetrical look. But he knew this one had the added benefit of being able to deflect plasma with its high density metals. A leftover from the time of Velguarder's body, this metal in the armbands was one of the most highly prized items in the maverick's inventory. It too was not infected. Wycost completed his loadout with two Sub-Tanks, which filled his chest compartment to its maximum. Wycost felt a sense of security, even if the odds were still stacked against him. But he had more than weapons to work with; he had revenge.
Revenge for his friends, killed and destroyed by the maverick forces. Wycost could fully recall it, those vivid, horrifying images. He had been called to action when the maverick general known as Nitro Narwhal was rampaging through the New York area. But him and his neighborhood watch area were too weak to handle them, and Wycost had been infected and enslaved.Enslaved.Yes, that was the right word. And for them, Wycost would fight.
"My friends…you won't have died in vain."Wycost muttered.
"Who are you talking to?" Wycost's voice was interrupted by a foreign one, and he wheeled around. It was a basic troop, unarmed but curious. "What are you doing here?" Wycost grumbled, trying to pass himself off as he remembered he had been like.
"I am running inventory on our stock of weapons." The maverick's eyes narrowed.
"I do the inventory." Wycost dropped the act and shifted. No longer was he going to hide, it was not possible. He could only fight. His face turned to stone as he raised his right hand and it shifted seamlessly into the X-Buster. The maverick gasped, and his mouth opened in surprise and fear.
"Fine then. Inventory this." Wycost calmly released his shot. He wished he didn't have to, but the guy was wising up and his escape was in danger. Of course, now it really was. Everyone had heard the powerful plasma shot, and even as the one maverick was slumping to the floor, a hole in his chest, Wycost could hear more on the way. He needed a diversion. His eyes scanned the room quickly, but they fell upon a crate of hand grenades. Wycost smiled and pulled one out of the box, making sure to spread the rest on the floor. He shot off the metal grate on the shaft above, then leaped into it. He clicked the activation button, then dropped the terrible bomb. Quickly he scuffled through the tunnels, and he could hear the other mavericks screaming as the explosion destroyed them. Klaxons were wailing furiously now, but Wycost continued until he reached the main chamber. The room was empty, and Wycost could see Sigma going down the tunnel to the armaments room. He dropped out of the shaft and made a dash for the exit tunnel. But it would take him through Zero's chamber.
When he burst through the door, Zero slumped against the exit made a strong impression on him.
"You have to move, pal! I'm getting out of here!" Zero looked up, weakened but still able to think. He looked at this crazed green reploid, but he couldn't tell just which side he was on. Wycost waited, then groaned and pulled out a Sub-Tank, tossing it to Zero.
"There you are. Now MOVE IT!" Zero rolled away from the door and stuck the Sub-Tank in his chest, instantly draining the energy and claiming full vitality. Wycost raised his X-Buster and fired off a powerful shot, destroying the door and opening his gateway to freedom. But Zero was already making a break for it. Wycost cursed at him, then made a break for it. But as he did, he could hear the voices getting louder behind him.
"Out this way! Isn't that where…ZERO!!!" Wycost didn't wait to hear any more, he just ran. And caught up to Zero. Both made furious strides through the sewers, but Wycost saw it was pretty clear Zero hadn't the foggiest notion where he was going.
"Hey you! You must be Zero." Zero turned his head back and looked at the green reploid again.
"And you would be who?" Wycost grunted as he hit another dash, moving in front of the fiery red Hunter.
"I'm Wycost." Zero was about to respond when he made a side dash and pushed Wycost to the wall. A barrage of powerful plasma bursts whistled through the air where they had just been standing.
"SHIT!" Zero cried. "They're coming!" Wycost smashed the wall in. An exit to the streets wasn't far.
"So, why exactly is Sigma going to all this trouble to make you fight again?" Wycost asked as Zero caught up with him. Zero's eyes narrowed as he tried to block the painful images that flooded his mind.
"He's trying to turn me into one of you." Wycost snapped back,
"I'M NOT A MAVERICK. I am a pure reploid." Zero blinked, then replied,
"So what were you doing there?" Wycost shouted in pain as a hit struck him in the back. His green armor became charred with the ferocity of the attack.
"I was a maverick, but somehow I managed to delete the virus." Zero shook his head in disbelief.
"NO ONE can delete the virus. It's too strong!" Wycost shrugged as he fired his X-Buster straight up towards the roof.
"Apparently I did. And you're welcome for the Sub-Tank, by the way." Zero grumbled. Thanks were never his thing. Both made great wall jumps up the new hole until the entered the street. But when they emerged, mavericks already had their guns trained on them. "Oh, great. SO FREAKIN' CLOSE!!!" Zero raised his hands, and Wycost willingly let his X-Buster shift back into his hand. But Zero turned to him and whispered,
"Stand close by me." Wycost blinked, then raised his own hands and moved next to Zero. Just then, Sigma popped out of the hole and struck a pose, his face contorted in rage.
"So, it seems we have been betrayed by one of our own. And you freed Zero as well, eh, Wycost?" Wycost spat at Sigma, then spoke loudly.
"I'll never work with you again. You'll have to scrap me first!" Sigma smiled.
"I thought you'd never ask. Troops, OPEN FIRE!!!" Wycost shut his eyes, preparing himself for his death, but it was not needed, for Zero's warp transfer managed to get a full scan, and both Zero and Wycost escaped their doom, warping to the Maverick HHQ. The maverick troops managed to successfully fire at each other before they went down, writhing and moaning from their wounds. Sigma became even more enraged, destroying three maverick troops before he dropped back into his hole.
"You can run, Zero. But I will always be with you. I can always reach you."
X was walking around the gift shop very slowly, pretending to look at everything. But he didn't need or want anything, besides what he came for. And it seemed this place was a bust. He pulled up his yellow bandanna and readjusted it, but he caught the eye of the woman who was running the checkout counter. But she wasn't staring at him; she was staring at the bandanna.
She stared for what seemed minutes, and then she moved her head up to look at X's face. He merely stared back, as he thought an egotistical 15 year old would do. But her stare was not one of horror, or a stare of disbelief. It was like she was remembering something…something from her past. X turned his head and walked over to the miniature robots, pretending to examine each enthusiastically. But his escape was short lived, for a gentle yet trembling hand grasped his shoulder. X turned around; it was the same woman.
If X had been human, he would have found her attractive. She was very pretty, despite her age, with thinning blonde hair, a nicely proportioned face, wearing a black woolen cap that gave her an air of mystery. She smiled and pointed to X's scarf.
"Where did you get that?" X pulled on it and clamped tightly to it.
"I got it from a friend of mine." The woman blinked, then reached out to feel it. "What's so special about it?" the woman looked up as her hand grasped the yellow cloth, and she shook her head, in a way that X could not tell if it was joy or sorrow.
"Nothing much, really. It just reminds me of someone I knew when I was a little girl." X blinked. A woman in her sixties could be quite a looker these days. X pushed on with his questions; if he was going to get anywhere, he had to be assertive.
"Oh really? Who?" the woman smiled again.
"If you want to know handsome, stay behind after the others leave and I'll tell you." She reached behind X and patted him on his tush. X thought she might realize the truth, but in her lustful state she smiled dreamily.
"Rock hard bottom. Ooh, I like that." X laughed lightly, trying to hide his embarassment. The woman walked back to the counters and finished ringing up the sales. Then she put a closed sign on the counter and activated Drill Man, who waited patiently in the corner. The red robot walked over and smiled to the tourists.
"We thank you for choosing to visit Dr. Cossacks' Citadel today. Now if you will follow me, we can get you back to your buses. And as an added bonus for you only, we will give each of you… a bumper sticker!!!" Drill Man enthusiastically held up a pile of plastic rectangles that said,
"I braved the Citadel!" X had to stifle a laugh. How could someone so brilliant die, only to leave behind a slow tourist industry behind him? But the tourists happily accepted and left, leaving X and the woman behind in the room. She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him.
"So, you want to know who saved me? I'll tell you in the morning." X realized he had to end this now.
"Ma'am, what's your name?" the woman giggled.
"Why, I'm Kalinka." X blinked. Could she be…
"And I…am Dr. Light's last creation." X stepped back and took off his overcoat, to reveal his true form to the woman. Kalinka gasped as she suddenly realized who stood before her.
"I am Mega Man X."
Bastion ducked, narrowly avoiding a powerful electric bolt that snaked across the room. He was facing Megavolt Meerkat, and the minute maverick was showing no signs of letting up. It was taking every escape maneuver Bastion knew to keep himself alive.
"Rar! Just stay put so I can HIT YA!!" the wily electrical rodent cried out. Bastion blocked his latest beam with a well-timed saber block. Then he dashed to the side and leaped off the wall. Megavolt Meerkat shrunk his body, preparing for a jump to smash Bastion in midair. Bastion flipped off the wall, doing a backflip. This was when Megavolt made his leap.
"Aha! Knew you'd do that, you crazy rat!" Bastion cried, pulling out his beam saber. He activated his jetpack and was boosted out of Megavolt's flight path. But as Bastion flew away, he made a vicious slice with his saber, cutting off Megavolt's tail. Bastion cursed. He had been aiming for the head. But Megavolt cried out in pain and dropped to the floor, writhing in agony. Bastion deactivated his thrusters and guarded himself from another possible attack, but it was not needed.
"You…you insolent whelp!" Megavolt sputtered, getting up. He made to leap at Bastion, but he slipped and lost his balance, skidding along the ground. Bastion blinked, then jumped out of the way, slashing at the slippery demon in the process. Megavolt continued along until he crashed into the opposite wall. Bastion suddenly realized what had happened, and he laughed wildly.
"You've lost your balance!" Megavolt got up and fumed. But Bastion knew his construction as a representation of a meerkat depended upon his mobile tail to balance himself. With it removed by Bastion's winning tactic, the maverick had only one attack left.
"I'll show you!! NO ONE CAN SURVIVE MY THUNDERSTORM!!!" Megavolt Meerkat raised his hands and began to charge an immense burst of electrical power. But Bastion knew how to handle the situation.
He crouched down, preparing to release Powerstorm into the fray. But he did not charge it, nor did he give the particle generators sufficient time to build up velocity to shrapnel. Instead, when it launched it was nothing more than a large cloud of metallic chunks and dust that floated through the air, wafting towards Megavolt Meerkat. But Bastion grimaced. If this didn't work, or the damage went beyond his enemy, the reactor and the city would be in danger. Just as a precaution, he pulled out his PTU he had set up earlier and grasped it in his free hand.
The small but wiry warrior cried out in rage as his hands released the powerful attack. But because Bastion had released the metallic cloud, it was that to which the attack was attracted to, not the Hunter. The electricity snaked through the cloud viciously, attacking Megavolt Meerkat in the process. His open wounds gave an inviting doorway for the powerful current, and soon Bastion cringed as the room filled with smoke, moved only by a large explosion that soon followed. Bastion ducked the flying chunks of debris and dashed over to the reactor wall. His hand ran over the surface, and he sighed in relief.
Not a scratch. Bastion turned to the remains of his foe and searched the mess. His face lit up as he picked up the most promising chunk; his tail. Automatic fans kicked into action, pulling the smoke from the room, and Bastion could see the area clearly. Charred marks were everywhere where Megavolt's attacks had crashed into. Bastion whistled, then investigated himself. Every part of him checked out…
Except his head. When he moved his hand towards his head, he did not feel the smooth layer of metal polymers, but instead…something soft and stringy. Bastion walked over to a mirror nearby and brushed aside the smoke. He laughed as he saw himself. His helmet's top had been blasted off, and beneath it lay a large layer of brown hair, wavy and hanging off to the sides. He pulled off the rest of his helmet and stared at it. It looked a lot like the stuff people wore in wrestling.
"Yech! I gotta change that." Bastion cringed. But still he thought, this wasn't a bad look for him. After making one last lookover of the area and removing the last of the maverick weapons, Bastion warped back to base.
When he arrived, things were pretty quiet at base. In fact, the only place Bastion saw action besides the rec room was the medical facility. Oh well, he needed to get tuned up.
But the sight that imposed itself on him when he entered the room was one beyond what he could have expected. There, Cain and Hazil were standing over a familiar figure, with blond hair and red armor.
"OH MY GOD!!! ZERO!!" Bastion cried. He ran over and looked at him. Zero was in stasis, and could not hear him. Cain grabbed him by the shoulder.
"He'll be all right. But this guy has been through hell and back. He's lucky he made it here in the first place!" Bastion gulped, brushing back his hair. Cain stared at it for a while, and shrugged. Reploids can do weird things sometimes.
"So, how did he escape?" Hazil pointed one of his many arms over at a figure who sat with his head in his arms, an X-Buster laying beside him on the cot. Bastion walked over and looked at him for a while.
"YOU saved Zero?" the figure looked up, his jade helmet contrasting with his dark green chevron armor plate.
"Yeah. So, what's it to ya?" Bastion slapped him across the back and wrapped him in a giant bearhug.
"I thank you, my friend! You have saved one of our best troops from certain death!" The figure pushed Bastion back, a look of horror on his face.
"Geez, what are you? Anyways, they weren't going to kill him, pal." The figure grabbed Bastion by his neck and pulled him down to eye level. "They were going to turn him into a maverick." The figure released Bastion and sighed.
"I'm Wycost, and I want to join you guys here." Bastion rubbed his neck and nodded.
"Pleased to meet you, Wycost. I am Bastion, commander of the 21st Maverick Hunter Unit. But I must tell you now, you must go through basic training before we decide your true capabilities." Wycost's nostrils flared and he looked at Bastion with cold eyes of disgust.
"BASIC TRAINING!! You want basic training…" Wycost reached to his other arm and pulled off his arm bracelet, throwing it into the air. With one fluid movement, he grabbed his X-Buster and activated it. Quickly, he squeezed off shot after shot, keeping the piece airborne until he lowered his cannon. The arm bracelet clattered to the floor, smoking from the severity of the attack. Wycost unhooked his X-Buster and crushed it in his hand. "THERE's your basic training, Bastion." Bastion could only stare in shock and amazement, but finally he made his left arm reach out to grasp Wycost's.
"Welcome aboard, Wycost. Anything we can do for you?" Wycost nodded his head.
"Yeah. I want my armor cleaned up, OK? Totally green, in differing shades. The schematics are in my long-term databanks if you need them." Wycost looked behind Bastion, to see Cain and Hazil quivering in fright. Wycost opened his eyes and put on his best innocent face, like one a kid would use if he knew he had gotten into the cookie jar, and there was chocolate stains all over his face. Raising his hands in a cry of surprise, he said,
"What?"