Author's Note: This chapter was supposed to revolve around Rock and his involvement in this fanfic, but I finally came up with a storyline that forced me to push his life story into the next book series. I'm sure most of you (If you care) are hoping for me to have actually told what Rock was doing in the 21XX era instead of leaving you in the shadows. So sorry, but it'll have to wait (Please don't flame me ;;;).
3 - Faulty Personalities
X walked along the city towards Robot Rescue, his helmet gone, revealing his black, short, slightly spiky hair. He never really became a volunteer there, feeling that repairing things wasn't his most interesting hobbies. He had heard about a strange virus that was driving reploids insane. Already, two of them had to be examined after going berserk and nearly killing an innocent bystander. Dr. Cain has also been worried about the reploids' behavior and he can't seem to figure out what's causing it.
His concentration was cut off when he heard a scream in the distance. Running towards the source, he saw a young, human woman thrown against the wall of a building, groaning. She had blood dribbling down her mouth, some coming out of the scraps she received from being dragged along the concrete sidewalk.
A reploid stood in front of her, his hands covered in blood. X saw that he was some kind of electrical reploid with the ability to shock anything he touches.
"P-Please...just go away...." the woman muttered as the reploid walked up to her, reaching his bloodied hands out towards her neck. X had seen enough.
"Stop it! What're you doing!?" he screamed. The reploid stopped and eyed him with glowing red eyes, something X has never seen before in a reploid.
"Don't interfere!" he screamed, sending electricity everywhere and scaring the humans that had crowded around the scene. X threw his hand over his face to shield himself from the surge and the brightness the reploid was giving off.
"But...you're endangering human civilization. I can't just walk on by and let this happen!" X said. But his explanation was falling to deaf ear. It was as if the reploid was no longer conscious.
"GO AWAY!!!" he screamed. He abandoned his previous target and charged towards X. He tried to run but the reploid was quick as lightning and grabs him by the throat, hauling him off the ground.
"P-Put me down!" X yelped, trying to wiggle loose. The reploid only screamed and increased his grip on X's throat, the nozzles lining his back shooting 10,000 volts of lightning everywhere. He began to panic, even though the grip wasn't choking him to death.
Without realizing it, X's left hand formed into a buster gun, aimed at the reploid's chest. Those who stuck around to see what was going on gasped as a huge blast came out of the reploid's upper back.
X's eyes widened when he saw what he did. His left hand slid out as the reploid stood there, trembling everywhere, fluids dribbling down the hole in his chest and back, some leaking out of his gaping mouth.
The reploid gagged quietly before letting out a ear-piercing scream, his whole body glowing. X and everyone around him panicked, the humans running for cover while X struggled to get loose before everything flashed, followed by the sounds of an explosion that reached ears 30 yards from the source.
'X.... X wake up!' came a faint voice.
X groaned and opened his eyes, seeing Fig, Gato, Skie and ProtoX hovering over him. He gasped and sat up realizing he was on the construction table in Lab 14 of Robot Rescue.
"W-What happened?" X muttered, rubbing his head, "Ugh...I feel like a truck ran over me."
"Sigma brought you here three hours ago," ProtoX said, "You were a mess. The front part of your body from the neck down had been blown off with some of your circuitry suffering minor damage. I'm surprised you could still function after that explosion!"
"S-Sigma?" X mumbled, bringing his legs to the side of the table. The double doors slid open, getting everyone's attention. X nearly jumped when he saw the size of the reploid that came in.
"Don't worry, were just as startled as you were," Gato said.
"This is one of my gramps' latest creations," Fig said, showing a hand in the giant reploid's direction, "This is Sigma. Gramps overworked himself to install all the latest circuits he designed. After the three 'maverick' episodes, the council decided to organize a group of fighting reploids called 'Hunters' to stop any renegade reploid that tries to cause anymore problems." Fig walked up to X, "He tried to get to the scene sooner, but by the time he got there, it was already too late."
"That...that woman," X said, "Is she okay?"
"Woman?"
Sigma looked down, "I'm afraid you were the only one who survived," he mumbled, "Everyone else got obliterated in the explosion."
X gritted his teeth and looked down. The others saw that his clenched fists were trembling. He didn't know how he was able to form a buster gun or why it was there in the first place. After hearing the destruction he helped cause, he was afraid to tell them, thinking that he'd either end up as one of the Hunters or have everyone think he was a maverick and probably destroyed. He didn't want to cause any more problems for those he loved.
"Commander Garma," one of the hunters said, "We have the maverick backed up in an old shack. What do you want us to do?"
"Hold him there," came a voice on the hunter's wrist communicator, "I have a score to settle with that son of a bitch for wiping out half my troops!"
Garma looked at the area of fluid covered sand, broken Maverick Hunters also littering the area. He couldn't believe the awesome power of this maverick. If he wasn't insane, he could've made an excellent addition to their troops.
He was about to leave when his communicator came back on.
"Commander!" the voice cried out, "The...the red maverick just retaliated! Three of our troops are dead! The rest of us are tracking him down right now!"
"Dammit!" Garma snarled. This maverick was slipperier than he had expected. He wasn't sure if he could handle it alone.
A foot slammed into the ground 10 inches from where Garma stood. The commander looked up to see the maverick they had been chasing stare at him with a look of madness in his eyes.
"You!" He snarled, glaring at the red, blonde haired maverick, "You will pay for tearing up my troops as if they were rag dolls!"
The maverick snickered, advancing towards the bitterly frightened hunter as he took a few steps back, then stopped.
"No! I will not be scared of a mere maverick! I must avenge my troops!" Garma lets out a shrilling battle cry as he charged the maverick, his 5ft long, 8inch wide beam saber held behind his head.
The red maverick just stood there, looking away from Garma, grinning with his arms crossed. This kind of reaction left him completely confused, but continued towards him, "What's the matter, Maverick? Why don't you fight back?"
Not waiting for an answer, Garma closed in on his opponent and brought his giant beam saber down only to hit nothing but sand. Shocked and confused, Garma looked around as the red maverick suddenly appeared behind him.
"Looking for someone?" came a dark, sinister voice. Garma whirls around only to feel the pointy end of the Maverick's knee fly into his mid- section, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying back several feet, releasing a cloud full of sand as he hit the ground and skitted the rest of the way.
Garma struggles to sit up with a deep puncture wound in his mid- section, blood drooling down the right side of his mouth, "D-Damn! That maverick is fast. No wonder my troops can't stop him." He wipes the blood from his mouth and gets up, snickering, "No matter. Even with you increased agility, you're still no match for me."
He brings the back of his beam saber towards his head as the glow became brighter, "I never wanted to use this, but you leave me no other choice. No one has ever survived the blast of my Crescent Boomerang."
With that said, Garma swung his beam saber across him, creating a magenta-colored projectile that sailed from him towards the maverick who once again stood in his place with his head turned from him and his arms crossed. This began to irritate him.
"Dammit, stop acting like you can outlast my Crescent Boomerang, because you can't!" Garma yelled. His eyes widened when the sound of a charging buster came to ear. The red maverick turns and looks at him, the grin widening before he spun around and fired a charged blast from his buster, slicing through the projectile, causing it sail through him harmlessly.
Garma just stood there, mouth hanging and eyes wide before the blast slammed into his mid-section and came out his back spine, the impact throwing him off his feet. Before he hit the ground, a white hand grabbed his face. Garma could barely see the evil grin coming from the maverick's face, a snicker coming to his hearing sensors.
"N-No...." he groaned, his vision slowly getting blurry from the pain of the blast, "This can't be happening.... Sigma.... Please save us...." After finishing his plea, he felt the grip on the maverick's hand tighten as sparks and fluid flew out of the spaces between his fingers, a muffled scream echoing throughout the whole desert.
"WHAT!? DESTROYED!?" Sigma yelled, "Garma is the second strongest hunter in the base. How could he have lost to that maverick?"
Out in the desert where the battle had ended tragically, two of Garma's reconnaissance troops stood over what was left of him, his body torn in three places and his face crushed and dented from the maverick's powerful grip, laying in a puddle of his own fluid.
"I'm sorry, Sigma," one of the reconnaissance troop said, "We only found Garma's remains by the maverick's feet. This maverick is stronger than we thought."
Sigma cursed under his breath, "Well...it seems that I must teach this pest the true meaning of the word 'pain'."
"There's something else, Sigma," another voice said, "There were two more reploids in the area."
"Two more?"
"Yeah. It was weird, when we got to where Garma had been destroyed, these two reploids showed up. One looks like some kind of scientist and the other looked like an old model wolf-droid. The kid was engulfed in some kind of blue flame that seemed to be reacting negatively to the red maverick, which drove him away."
Sigma's glowing blue eyes dimmed a bit in curiosity, "I don't trust that reploid's condition. Bring him to Hunter Base at once."
"W-We can't. He's already gone."
"Gone!?"
"Our apologies, Commander. We tried to offer our help, but his dog wouldn't let us near him and they both escaped through teleportation. He could still be in this desert somewhere...including the shack we found that red maverick in. Shall we track him down?"
"No. You locate that red maverick and keep an eye on him until I arrive. Once he's out of the way, then we can focus on finding that mysterious reploid." Before the troops could answer, Sigma throws the communicator to the floor and heads towards the door of the command center.
After much searching, Garma's remaining two troops caught sight of a red beam touching down into the old rusted shack he was originally found in before the other Maverick Hunters chased him out.
"What is our current situation?" came a voice. The two turned to see Sigma standing behind them with a grin on his face.
"Commander." One of them said.
"Where's the red maverick that wiped out Garma's unit?" Sigma asked. The two got up and saluted.
"I-inside...he's inside that door."
"You may leave now. I'd like to handle this personally."
"By yourself, commander?"
"I don't want to see anymore of my people being sacrificed." The two were forced to watch as their encouragement walked past them towards the shack.
Sigma grabbed the two inch gap of the sliding doors and pushed them open, letting some of the desert light into the inside of the shack. The sound of rust scrapping across the floor got the red maverick's attention as he turned to see what was causing it. The minute Sigma walked in, he saw the maverick whip around and charge at him, screaming and throwing his fist towards him.
The head Maverick Hunter just grinned and slid to the side, leaving an after image of himself as the maverick's fist flew past it and came to a stop, twirling around and sending his foot towards Sigma who dodges it, sending the foot into the wall and knocking a portion of it down, creating dust.
Sigma stops a foot from the blonde haired killer, a bit shocked when he saw him emerge from the dust. He lets a battle cry and charged for the maverick as he went from walking to running, once again throwing his fist in Sigma's general direction.
Again, Sigma dodges, grabbing the Maverick's arms and shoulder tossing him to the ground before flinging him to the ceiling headfirst. Sigma thought the maverick had given up by then, but instead, the maverick grabs a handle-shaped rod sticking out of the ceiling and pulls his head out, grinning as he ripped the rod out.
He drops from the roof, throwing the rod at Sigma who swings his arm upward to deflect the object, then charge towards the maverick as he fell towards him fist first. Sigma threw his own fist, both connecting as they tried to force one another to the ground. The two separated, landing on poles several feet off the ground.
Sigma reaches into his holster and pulls out his beam saber, bring it beside him. The maverick mimics Sigma by ripping a piece of rod off the pipeline next to him. The two got involved in a quick sword fight until Sigma's beam saber severed a portion of the maverick's pole, forcing him to drop it and charge Sigma who does the same.
Both passed each other with the sound of a severed machine echoing through out the main entrance. Sigma grunts in pain as his sword arm flies off his socket and hits the ground, dented and sparking. He turns around, grabbing the other half of his arm as fluid leaked onto the palm of his hand, seeing the maverick snicker sinisterly as he walked towards Sigma.
The next minute consisted of a bunch of pounding and ripping. The maverick throws Sigma on his skin-torn face, most of his body covered in dents and sliced armor. He lifts his head only to have it grabbed and yanked upwards as the maverick slammed his foot into his back, snickering louder with each pull until he reared his head back laughing insanely.
Suddenly, a "W" appeared on the maverick's head, forcing him to stop laughing, his pupils shrinking once again, a buzzing sound that only he could hear stabbing pain into his electrical brain. Sigma pushed himself to his hand and knees, breathing heavily as he watched the maverick stumble back, grabbing his head and screaming.
This gave Sigma a chance to retaliate, running towards the maverick and sending his other fist into the gem on the maverick's helmet, smashing it to pieces and throwing him to the ground, unconscious. Once the ordeal was over, Sigma drops to his knees, panting.
At the same time Sigma collapsed slightly two figures appeared in the shadows, the sound of their footsteps getting his attention as he turned to see who it was, his eyes widening at their appearance. One of the figures resembled a bluish, teenage reploid with shoulder-long, black, raven hair tied back in a green ribbon with a dark brown streak extending from the tip of his middle bangs to the tip end of his ponytail, wearing a white lab coat with gold trimmings on his collars and sleeves. His legs had white, diamond-shaped knee guards on the knee area and the area around his ankle was red with a point almost touching the bottom part of the knee guard with protrusions on both sides of his ankles. Next to him was a violet and grey wolf robot.
"A scientist and a dog...." Sigma muttered. He turned his attention back to the unconscious maverick laying by his feet, the "W" that appeared on his helmet had now vanished from the shattered gem, "Could he have been the one who stopped him?" Sigma turns his head back towards where the two reploids stood and blinked, realizing they were no longer there.
A figure hobbled out of the shack.
"Look! It's the Commander!" one of the hunters said. The second grinned.
"Wonderful," he said, "Now there's no one on earth who can stop...wha?" both noticed how banged up Sigma was as he emerged from the shack.
"Take that red maverick...to the repair center...and...and call Dr. Cain," Sigma grunted, "I wish to have that maverick studied."
"C-Commander, are you okay?" the first asked. Sigma pushed him to one side, barging past the two shocked hunters.
"Silence!" After walking two feet from the two, he stops and turns to them, "That reploid you mentioned...he's in the shack somewhere. I want him found and brought back to Hunter Base with the maverick."
"What for?" the first asked again. Sigma narrowed his eyes and turned to leave.
"That boy...may be the answer to all our answers...."
Dr. Cain scratched his beard as he studied the motionless, red maverick inside the scanning capsule in Cain Labs. A minute later, the double doors opened as Sigma walked in, fully repaired.
"Anything?" he asked. Dr. Cain took his hand off his chin and turned to Sigma.
"Well, there isn't much information on this maverick," he said, "Except that he appears to be just as powerful as you are. But I have been able to recharge what little energy was drained out of him, and I have replaced the crystal that you shattered during the fight. He should wake up soon."
As if on cue, the maverick groaned and opened his eyes. Dr. Cain pressed some buttons on the capsule, causing it to open, allowing the maverick to sit up, placing a hand on his head.
"W-What happened?" he muttered. Sigma just about blew his stack.
"What happened!?" Sigma snarled, shoving his face into the maverick's, "You killed a bunch of Maverick Hunters is what happened!"
The red maverick sank back into the capsule, cringing, "H-Hunters? What're you talking about?" Sigma's snarl grew louder. Dr. Cain placed his arm in front of him and pushed him back.
"Glaring at him isn't going to help, Sigma," he said, "I'll run another scan. Maybe we can get some information on his whereabouts."
Dr. Cain disappeared behind the computer connected to the capsule and reappears a second later with a head ring covered in light bulbs and wires connecting to the monitor of the computer, "Could you remove your helmet, please."
The maverick looked at him confused before placing his hands on the white protrusions of his helmet, pulling it off as his long bangs flew out, a third of the bangs in front of him almost reaching his chin, but hung out to give him some space to see. His helmet combed out his long ponytail, causing it to spill around the capsule.
Not paying attention to his particularly long hair, Dr. Cain proceeded to place the head ring onto the maverick's forehead, which responded by the lights circling around the ring. Dr. Cain looked at the monitor and frowned slightly.
"This doesn't make sense at all," he muttered. Sigma looked at him confused, "Every memory of his existence up until his reactivation in the stasis pod has been completely wiped."
"What!? But that means...!"
"That's right. You are now yelling at an innocent reploid that thinks he's been born."
"Hey, is someone going to tell me why I'm being treated like some kind of criminal?" the now innocent reploid asked. Sigma grits his teeth and grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Silence, you...!" Sigma was about to yell before Dr. Cain pushed him back.
"Manners, Sigma. He is new here, you know." Sigma stared at him before backing away. Dr. Cain smiled and looked at the reploid who had placed his hand on the shoulder Sigma grabbed, "I apologize. He's had a rough day." Sigma snorted and turned his back to him, his arms crossed, "I'm sure you'll regain your memories in time. Until then, we'll try and make sure you're treated like the rest of the reploids in this base."
"The rest of...the reploids?" the reploid asked as if he wasn't listening.
"We'll fill you in once you've fully recovered. In the meantime, you wouldn't happen to remember your name, would you? You're...capsule was too damaged to give us the smallest of details."
The reploid noticed a bit of lie on Dr. Cain's tongue, but decided it was best not to point that out. Instead, the reploid scratched his head, trying hard to think.
"Z...Zero." he muttered, seeming a bit unsure of what popped into his head.
The double doors to the lab slid open as the reconnaissance troops from Garma's unit ran in.
"Commander, Sigma!" one of them called out. They both came to a stop, seeing Zero moving to the edge of the capsule and froze on the spot.
Sigma noticed the shock in their eyes and stares at Zero, "Don't worry. He's...on our side now." Zero quirked an eyebrow in confusion. Sigma turns his attention back to the troops, "So where is he?"
"He?" Dr. Cain asked.
"We're sorry, Commander," the second troop said, bowing, "We've combed the place twice, but there was no sign of that reploid and his dog."
"Sigma...?" Dr. Cain asked, "Is there something going on that I should know about?"
Sigma turns his head towards Dr. Cain, almost forgetting he was there, "Oh.... There seems to be a particular reploid out there that is far different than any of the other reploids on this planet." He then lowered his voice so Zero wouldn't hear, "He also seems to have been responsible for stopping that 'maverick' with some kind of strange power."
Dr. Cain eyed Zero, to which he didn't notice, "This is serious. If a reploid that strong could take out Zero, think of what might happen if he were to be persuaded to the wrong side." He turned his eyes back to Sigma, "In theory, he could very well be more powerful than you."
Dr. Cain knew Sigma didn't like how he described the reploid's power through theory when he heard him muffle a growl. The troops saluted Sigma again.
"We'll head back to the command center and have our navigators pinpoint where that reploid is," One of them said.
"Don't bother," Sigma said, "I recognize the lab coat he wore. He must be one of those collogues from that scientific research center on the other side of Tokyo. I'll bring him here myself."
Before anyone could second-guess him, Sigma turned to the door and walked out. Dr. Cain sighed as he watched him go.
"Sigma...there's something wrong with him." Dr. Cain muttered, "I've never seem him act like this before...."
After a while, Dr. Cain shrugged Sigma's strange behavior off, thinking he was probably in a bad mood since he had found out that there were two reploids that would overpower him. He goes back to the construction table in his lab to study the blueprints that came from Dr. Light's lab. While they have aged a bit since ProtoX had recovered them, the prints were still clear enough to understand.
The blueprint in study was what looked like schematics for a robot dog. Dr. Cain scratched his chin, thinking of a household pet for Comp, but then noticed something that separated this design from a normal robotic dog.
The blueprint showed that the dog wasn't just a dog, but a transportation unit designed to look like a dog. Dr. Cain read deeper into this dog's schematics before coming to a conclusion. Half the Maverick Hunters had already assembled their own support units, but neither of them had the technology to design one that could turn into a rocket board at its own will. By creating a transportation unit, Hunters wouldn't have to keep using teleportation to go great distances.
"Um...excuse me," came a voice. Dr. Cain snapped his head up and turned around to see Zero standing near the doorway, holding his helmet beside his thigh.
"Oh, Zero," Dr. Cain said, sighing in relief, "I thought you were still resting from your ordeal. What seems to be the problem?"
Zero looked down, hesitant before looking back at Dr. Cain, "About what's been going on earlier...."
"Z-Zero. Don't worry about it. Sigma is due for a virus check up once he returns from his mission."
"It's just that...I don't know what I did that pissed him off, but I was wondering if there was some way I could make up for whatever it is that I did."
Dr. Cain walked up to Zero and placed his hand on his shoulders, "You don't have to make up for anything. I'm sure it was all a mis- understanding. Maybe if you rest a little more, then you wouldn't feel so depressed."
Zero stared at the floor a while before the double doors slid open. The two turned towards the doors to see Sigma walking in.
"You're back, Sigma," Dr. Cain said, taking his hands off Zero's shoulder and walking up to him, "I've been looking through some of the blueprints from Dr. Light's lab and I noticed a particular blueprint for a transporting K-9. I was wondering if you would like to...."
"You know Dr. Light?" came a sudden, child-like voice. Dr. Cain blinked as the raven-haired reploid ran out from behind Sigma and towards the table.
"Doctor...Light...?" Zero muttered, looking at the floor again while putting his hand on his head.
"Doesn't everyone?" Dr. Cain asked, raising an eyebrow, then looks at Sigma, "Um, could you enlighten me here?"
"This is the reploid I was suspicious about," Sigma said, "I wanted you to examine him before we decide whether or not he should be kept out in the open."
Dr. Cain walked around the table towards the reploid before a dog- like moan got his attention. He looks behind Sigma to see the violet and gray wolf looking up at him. Sigma turned his gaze to the dog.
"The kid insisted he come along. He doesn't seem to trust leaving the dorm without him." Sigma said with a bit of distaste in his voice.
Zero looked up at the group, curiously before walking towards them. Before he got to the table, the dog suddenly jumped out from behind Sigma and began barking viciously, forcing him to step back.
"Down, Treble!" the reploid said. Treble looks at him, whining, "He's not our...enemy." He added by giving Zero an expressionless stare that he didn't seem to like.
Again, Dr. Cain sighed with relief and turns his attention back to the lab coat wearing reploid, "Well, I don't see anything that identifies him as being dangerous. Perhaps a deeper examination will give us a clear answer."
Sigma cleared his throat loudly, getting everyone's attention. Dr. Cain noticed his head slightly turned towards Zero, seeming to give him a hint.
"Oh," Dr. Cain murmured, looking at Zero, "I'm sorry. Zero, could you wait outside a moment?"
Zero blinked in confusion before turning to leave, neither he or the raven-haired reploid took their eyes off each other until one of them was fully out of the lab.
Dr. Cain sat in front of the monitor connected to the scanning capsule with the reploid laying inside it, studying the schematics of his structure. After a while, his eyes widened as he gasped in surprise.
"What is it?" Sigma asked as he walked up behind Dr. Cain. The old, former archeologist shook his head and turned to Sigma.
"Well, the test confirms that he is of no danger," Dr. Cain began, "But when I checked his interior, I found something that I've never seen in a normal reploid." He points to something that looked like a glass case with a circular object floating in the middle of it.
"What on earth is that?" Sigma asked.
"I don't know. I tried running three different tests on it and not one of them came up with a conclusion."
Sigma narrowed his eyes, "If the tests can't confirm that strange object in his chest, why did you say he was of no danger? You know that looks alone can be deceiving."
Dr. Cain looked at the interior structure again, "I know. But one of the tests did claim that this object, while unidentifiable, is completely harmless. This must be his source of energy."
"That's not good enough," Sigma nearly yelled, slamming his fist on the plastic case surrounding the reploid and nearly scaring him, "Even if the tests did confirm him as harmless, I know there is something about him that would give the mavericks an advantage if they identify it before we do!"
"Sigma, calm down!" Dr. Cain said, hesitant, "I've tried everything I could but...." he was cut off by the sound of rapid beeping coming from the monitor. Both turned to see the circular object flashing slowly as the level reader went higher than it's last result.
"What's going on!?" Sigma demanded.
"I-I don't know," Dr. Cain wailed, "Whatever you did caused the readings on this object to shoot even higher than before." He looked at the scanning capsule and caught the reploid's hand shaking uncontrollably, which was something that even shocked the reploid himself.
Sigma finally calmed down and took his fist off the plastic case. Dr. Cain looked at the monitor again, seeing the numbers slowly go back down to its original count. He scratched his beard and heads towards the construction table.
"I wonder," he mutters. He returns with a piece of programming used to control reploids sealed behind a glass case and holds it over the reploid's chest. Again, the readings on the object in his chest began to slowly climb higher than it's original result. Dr. Cain looked at him again, seeing his hand tremble slightly, "Interesting."
"How is this going prove he's not dangerous?" Sigma asked, rather irritated.
Dr. Cain took the control chip away from the reploid as the readings on his chest went back to its original count, "This control chip was infected by a virus that may be one of the many results in reploids going maverick. It seems that this reploid has the ability to sense viral infections."
"What do you mean?"
"I may have found the answer to Zero's mysterious transformation from deadly maverick to innocent reploid. My theory is should a maverick's virus reaches its peak, its energy will activate this reploid's powers...maybe even destroy the virus at its source and return the maverick back to his or her old self."
Sigma's mouth hung open in shock as he turned and looked at the reploid, "You mean to say that this kid could be the answer to all our problems?"
"It might be," Dr. Cain pressed a button by the scanning capsule, causing the case to open, allowing the reploid to sit up, "He must be one of a kind to have a power like this. It is possible that by using the object in his chest, we could create a program that can override the maverick's control chips and cure their insanity."
Sigma shuts his mouth, staring at the reploid a while more, "Then we better get started before things get worse." He was about to reach for the reploid who reacted by leaning back only to have Dr. Cain place a hand in front of him.
"Hold on a minute, Sigma," Dr. Cain said, "Let's not jump to conclusions here. He may have the ability to sense and maybe even eliminate any virus that comes into contact with him. But because we don't have enough information on him, the only choice we have for a quick solution would be to open him up and extract the object dwelling inside of him. And I fear that without that object, he could die and would never be brought back."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"We will wait and see what happens. If we can do that, with luck, this reploid's inner powers may be able to spread just as quickly as the virus that's turning other reploids into mavericks. If that works, there would be no point in us interfering for the sake of sacrificing a life for many."
Dr. Cain's eyes widened at a sudden realization, "Speak of the devil! Since you were the first one that sparked the reploid's power, it could mean that you are in danger of going maverick soon!"
"That's nonsense!" Sigma snarled.
"This is serious, Sigma!" Dr. Cain snapped, "If we don't get you physically checked, we'll have an even bigger problem on our hands!"
Sigma's snarl grew louder, "There is nothing wrong with me! If a virus has infected me, I would have already shown signs of going maverick!" he then turns to leave.
"Sigma, it's for your own good! Please, you have to be examined, or the whole world is in danger!" Dr. Cain's plea came to deaf ear as Sigma had disappeared behind the double doors. He sighs and looks at the reploid, worried.
"Maybe he's right," the reploid said, "if it'll help restore all the other reploids that have already lost their sanity...."
"Don't even think about what Sigma wants," Dr. Cain said, placing his hands on the reploid's shoulders, "You have a life of your own. You should have known by now that you're more than a machine. Just like all the other reploids in this city, you, too, should choose your own purpose instead of relying on others to tell you your fate."
He took his hands off the reploid and goes over to the monitor, "There seems to be something else about you that seems familiar...but I don't want to tell Sigma, fearing he'd have another reason to keep you here. Maybe if I started...." he looks up to find both the reploid and Treble had mysteriously disappeared, "Hmm. I guess he already chose his path. Maybe if I looked at Dr. Light's blueprints for his design." He heads towards the bin where most of Dr. Light's blueprints were sitting in and blinked, "That's funny. Wasn't there another blueprint in this bin that needs deciphering?"
The city turned into a golden color as the sun began to set. The double doors to Hunter Base slid open as Treble was the first to walk out before his raven-haired, lab coat wearing companion a second later.
"You're hiding something from me," came a voice that stopped both the reploid and Treble, neither of them turning to see Zero leaning against the wall near the double doors of Hunter Base with his arms and legs crossed, "I've heard rumors from inside about how I was responsible for something I shouldn't be worried about. But when I saw you, I had a strange feeling you know more about me than what I have been hearing since I woke up."
The reploid's eyes turned towards Zero, "So what if I do? It isn't my place to say what can and can't be done. Especially for someone who once can't be trusted."
Zero tilts his head down a little and shuts his eyes, snorting as a grin appeared on his once expressionless face, "I don't know what it is about you, but something inside of me is making me hate you everytime I see you. What if YOU are the one who can't be trusted?"
The reploid narrowed his eyes, "Think what you want. You will eventually realize where your path is. And depending on whether you'll go by that path or choose the path you're currently on, I won't make any moves against you." He looks in front of him and attempts to leave.
"Not so fast, kid," Zero said, lifting his head and looking at the reploid who stopped after one step and turned his head towards him, "You're not really going to leave without telling me your name. I want to remember it should these lost memories tell me that you are the one who needs to be stopped."
The reploid frowns slightly and snorts, "The names Rock. And believe me, by the time you regain your lost memories, you won't be considering me as your enemy." With that said, he looks in front of him and continues onward with Treble following.
Zero lowers his head again and shuts his eyes, the grin never leaving his face, "We'll see about that...Rock...."
OOC: I originally didn't want Zero to meet his would/would not-be enemy this early in the chapter, but I figure that doing this would have been a lot more compelling than if I had just stuck to Dr. Cain just examining Rock for something suspicious and letting him go with the knowledge of where his subject came from.
Next Chapter: Sigma's behavior is soon suspected by most of his devoted troops when he refuses to send a Hunter out to stop amateur mavericks from scaring citizens half to death. But when a mysterious reploid by the name of "The Chimera" suddenly shows up and is held responsible for the piles of beat up mavericks, Sigma feels compelled to see just how skillful this anonymous reploid is.
But the Chimera's refusal to join the Maverick Hunters ended with him being a wanted vigilante. When Sigma finally goes maverick and leaves with half of Hunter Base in ruins, he meets up with the Chimera for a final show down where he suddenly realizes who he really is. What is the fate of the Chimera when Sigma threatens to reveal him to the public should he interfere with his plans for human destruction?
3 - Faulty Personalities
X walked along the city towards Robot Rescue, his helmet gone, revealing his black, short, slightly spiky hair. He never really became a volunteer there, feeling that repairing things wasn't his most interesting hobbies. He had heard about a strange virus that was driving reploids insane. Already, two of them had to be examined after going berserk and nearly killing an innocent bystander. Dr. Cain has also been worried about the reploids' behavior and he can't seem to figure out what's causing it.
His concentration was cut off when he heard a scream in the distance. Running towards the source, he saw a young, human woman thrown against the wall of a building, groaning. She had blood dribbling down her mouth, some coming out of the scraps she received from being dragged along the concrete sidewalk.
A reploid stood in front of her, his hands covered in blood. X saw that he was some kind of electrical reploid with the ability to shock anything he touches.
"P-Please...just go away...." the woman muttered as the reploid walked up to her, reaching his bloodied hands out towards her neck. X had seen enough.
"Stop it! What're you doing!?" he screamed. The reploid stopped and eyed him with glowing red eyes, something X has never seen before in a reploid.
"Don't interfere!" he screamed, sending electricity everywhere and scaring the humans that had crowded around the scene. X threw his hand over his face to shield himself from the surge and the brightness the reploid was giving off.
"But...you're endangering human civilization. I can't just walk on by and let this happen!" X said. But his explanation was falling to deaf ear. It was as if the reploid was no longer conscious.
"GO AWAY!!!" he screamed. He abandoned his previous target and charged towards X. He tried to run but the reploid was quick as lightning and grabs him by the throat, hauling him off the ground.
"P-Put me down!" X yelped, trying to wiggle loose. The reploid only screamed and increased his grip on X's throat, the nozzles lining his back shooting 10,000 volts of lightning everywhere. He began to panic, even though the grip wasn't choking him to death.
Without realizing it, X's left hand formed into a buster gun, aimed at the reploid's chest. Those who stuck around to see what was going on gasped as a huge blast came out of the reploid's upper back.
X's eyes widened when he saw what he did. His left hand slid out as the reploid stood there, trembling everywhere, fluids dribbling down the hole in his chest and back, some leaking out of his gaping mouth.
The reploid gagged quietly before letting out a ear-piercing scream, his whole body glowing. X and everyone around him panicked, the humans running for cover while X struggled to get loose before everything flashed, followed by the sounds of an explosion that reached ears 30 yards from the source.
'X.... X wake up!' came a faint voice.
X groaned and opened his eyes, seeing Fig, Gato, Skie and ProtoX hovering over him. He gasped and sat up realizing he was on the construction table in Lab 14 of Robot Rescue.
"W-What happened?" X muttered, rubbing his head, "Ugh...I feel like a truck ran over me."
"Sigma brought you here three hours ago," ProtoX said, "You were a mess. The front part of your body from the neck down had been blown off with some of your circuitry suffering minor damage. I'm surprised you could still function after that explosion!"
"S-Sigma?" X mumbled, bringing his legs to the side of the table. The double doors slid open, getting everyone's attention. X nearly jumped when he saw the size of the reploid that came in.
"Don't worry, were just as startled as you were," Gato said.
"This is one of my gramps' latest creations," Fig said, showing a hand in the giant reploid's direction, "This is Sigma. Gramps overworked himself to install all the latest circuits he designed. After the three 'maverick' episodes, the council decided to organize a group of fighting reploids called 'Hunters' to stop any renegade reploid that tries to cause anymore problems." Fig walked up to X, "He tried to get to the scene sooner, but by the time he got there, it was already too late."
"That...that woman," X said, "Is she okay?"
"Woman?"
Sigma looked down, "I'm afraid you were the only one who survived," he mumbled, "Everyone else got obliterated in the explosion."
X gritted his teeth and looked down. The others saw that his clenched fists were trembling. He didn't know how he was able to form a buster gun or why it was there in the first place. After hearing the destruction he helped cause, he was afraid to tell them, thinking that he'd either end up as one of the Hunters or have everyone think he was a maverick and probably destroyed. He didn't want to cause any more problems for those he loved.
"Commander Garma," one of the hunters said, "We have the maverick backed up in an old shack. What do you want us to do?"
"Hold him there," came a voice on the hunter's wrist communicator, "I have a score to settle with that son of a bitch for wiping out half my troops!"
Garma looked at the area of fluid covered sand, broken Maverick Hunters also littering the area. He couldn't believe the awesome power of this maverick. If he wasn't insane, he could've made an excellent addition to their troops.
He was about to leave when his communicator came back on.
"Commander!" the voice cried out, "The...the red maverick just retaliated! Three of our troops are dead! The rest of us are tracking him down right now!"
"Dammit!" Garma snarled. This maverick was slipperier than he had expected. He wasn't sure if he could handle it alone.
A foot slammed into the ground 10 inches from where Garma stood. The commander looked up to see the maverick they had been chasing stare at him with a look of madness in his eyes.
"You!" He snarled, glaring at the red, blonde haired maverick, "You will pay for tearing up my troops as if they were rag dolls!"
The maverick snickered, advancing towards the bitterly frightened hunter as he took a few steps back, then stopped.
"No! I will not be scared of a mere maverick! I must avenge my troops!" Garma lets out a shrilling battle cry as he charged the maverick, his 5ft long, 8inch wide beam saber held behind his head.
The red maverick just stood there, looking away from Garma, grinning with his arms crossed. This kind of reaction left him completely confused, but continued towards him, "What's the matter, Maverick? Why don't you fight back?"
Not waiting for an answer, Garma closed in on his opponent and brought his giant beam saber down only to hit nothing but sand. Shocked and confused, Garma looked around as the red maverick suddenly appeared behind him.
"Looking for someone?" came a dark, sinister voice. Garma whirls around only to feel the pointy end of the Maverick's knee fly into his mid- section, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying back several feet, releasing a cloud full of sand as he hit the ground and skitted the rest of the way.
Garma struggles to sit up with a deep puncture wound in his mid- section, blood drooling down the right side of his mouth, "D-Damn! That maverick is fast. No wonder my troops can't stop him." He wipes the blood from his mouth and gets up, snickering, "No matter. Even with you increased agility, you're still no match for me."
He brings the back of his beam saber towards his head as the glow became brighter, "I never wanted to use this, but you leave me no other choice. No one has ever survived the blast of my Crescent Boomerang."
With that said, Garma swung his beam saber across him, creating a magenta-colored projectile that sailed from him towards the maverick who once again stood in his place with his head turned from him and his arms crossed. This began to irritate him.
"Dammit, stop acting like you can outlast my Crescent Boomerang, because you can't!" Garma yelled. His eyes widened when the sound of a charging buster came to ear. The red maverick turns and looks at him, the grin widening before he spun around and fired a charged blast from his buster, slicing through the projectile, causing it sail through him harmlessly.
Garma just stood there, mouth hanging and eyes wide before the blast slammed into his mid-section and came out his back spine, the impact throwing him off his feet. Before he hit the ground, a white hand grabbed his face. Garma could barely see the evil grin coming from the maverick's face, a snicker coming to his hearing sensors.
"N-No...." he groaned, his vision slowly getting blurry from the pain of the blast, "This can't be happening.... Sigma.... Please save us...." After finishing his plea, he felt the grip on the maverick's hand tighten as sparks and fluid flew out of the spaces between his fingers, a muffled scream echoing throughout the whole desert.
"WHAT!? DESTROYED!?" Sigma yelled, "Garma is the second strongest hunter in the base. How could he have lost to that maverick?"
Out in the desert where the battle had ended tragically, two of Garma's reconnaissance troops stood over what was left of him, his body torn in three places and his face crushed and dented from the maverick's powerful grip, laying in a puddle of his own fluid.
"I'm sorry, Sigma," one of the reconnaissance troop said, "We only found Garma's remains by the maverick's feet. This maverick is stronger than we thought."
Sigma cursed under his breath, "Well...it seems that I must teach this pest the true meaning of the word 'pain'."
"There's something else, Sigma," another voice said, "There were two more reploids in the area."
"Two more?"
"Yeah. It was weird, when we got to where Garma had been destroyed, these two reploids showed up. One looks like some kind of scientist and the other looked like an old model wolf-droid. The kid was engulfed in some kind of blue flame that seemed to be reacting negatively to the red maverick, which drove him away."
Sigma's glowing blue eyes dimmed a bit in curiosity, "I don't trust that reploid's condition. Bring him to Hunter Base at once."
"W-We can't. He's already gone."
"Gone!?"
"Our apologies, Commander. We tried to offer our help, but his dog wouldn't let us near him and they both escaped through teleportation. He could still be in this desert somewhere...including the shack we found that red maverick in. Shall we track him down?"
"No. You locate that red maverick and keep an eye on him until I arrive. Once he's out of the way, then we can focus on finding that mysterious reploid." Before the troops could answer, Sigma throws the communicator to the floor and heads towards the door of the command center.
After much searching, Garma's remaining two troops caught sight of a red beam touching down into the old rusted shack he was originally found in before the other Maverick Hunters chased him out.
"What is our current situation?" came a voice. The two turned to see Sigma standing behind them with a grin on his face.
"Commander." One of them said.
"Where's the red maverick that wiped out Garma's unit?" Sigma asked. The two got up and saluted.
"I-inside...he's inside that door."
"You may leave now. I'd like to handle this personally."
"By yourself, commander?"
"I don't want to see anymore of my people being sacrificed." The two were forced to watch as their encouragement walked past them towards the shack.
Sigma grabbed the two inch gap of the sliding doors and pushed them open, letting some of the desert light into the inside of the shack. The sound of rust scrapping across the floor got the red maverick's attention as he turned to see what was causing it. The minute Sigma walked in, he saw the maverick whip around and charge at him, screaming and throwing his fist towards him.
The head Maverick Hunter just grinned and slid to the side, leaving an after image of himself as the maverick's fist flew past it and came to a stop, twirling around and sending his foot towards Sigma who dodges it, sending the foot into the wall and knocking a portion of it down, creating dust.
Sigma stops a foot from the blonde haired killer, a bit shocked when he saw him emerge from the dust. He lets a battle cry and charged for the maverick as he went from walking to running, once again throwing his fist in Sigma's general direction.
Again, Sigma dodges, grabbing the Maverick's arms and shoulder tossing him to the ground before flinging him to the ceiling headfirst. Sigma thought the maverick had given up by then, but instead, the maverick grabs a handle-shaped rod sticking out of the ceiling and pulls his head out, grinning as he ripped the rod out.
He drops from the roof, throwing the rod at Sigma who swings his arm upward to deflect the object, then charge towards the maverick as he fell towards him fist first. Sigma threw his own fist, both connecting as they tried to force one another to the ground. The two separated, landing on poles several feet off the ground.
Sigma reaches into his holster and pulls out his beam saber, bring it beside him. The maverick mimics Sigma by ripping a piece of rod off the pipeline next to him. The two got involved in a quick sword fight until Sigma's beam saber severed a portion of the maverick's pole, forcing him to drop it and charge Sigma who does the same.
Both passed each other with the sound of a severed machine echoing through out the main entrance. Sigma grunts in pain as his sword arm flies off his socket and hits the ground, dented and sparking. He turns around, grabbing the other half of his arm as fluid leaked onto the palm of his hand, seeing the maverick snicker sinisterly as he walked towards Sigma.
The next minute consisted of a bunch of pounding and ripping. The maverick throws Sigma on his skin-torn face, most of his body covered in dents and sliced armor. He lifts his head only to have it grabbed and yanked upwards as the maverick slammed his foot into his back, snickering louder with each pull until he reared his head back laughing insanely.
Suddenly, a "W" appeared on the maverick's head, forcing him to stop laughing, his pupils shrinking once again, a buzzing sound that only he could hear stabbing pain into his electrical brain. Sigma pushed himself to his hand and knees, breathing heavily as he watched the maverick stumble back, grabbing his head and screaming.
This gave Sigma a chance to retaliate, running towards the maverick and sending his other fist into the gem on the maverick's helmet, smashing it to pieces and throwing him to the ground, unconscious. Once the ordeal was over, Sigma drops to his knees, panting.
At the same time Sigma collapsed slightly two figures appeared in the shadows, the sound of their footsteps getting his attention as he turned to see who it was, his eyes widening at their appearance. One of the figures resembled a bluish, teenage reploid with shoulder-long, black, raven hair tied back in a green ribbon with a dark brown streak extending from the tip of his middle bangs to the tip end of his ponytail, wearing a white lab coat with gold trimmings on his collars and sleeves. His legs had white, diamond-shaped knee guards on the knee area and the area around his ankle was red with a point almost touching the bottom part of the knee guard with protrusions on both sides of his ankles. Next to him was a violet and grey wolf robot.
"A scientist and a dog...." Sigma muttered. He turned his attention back to the unconscious maverick laying by his feet, the "W" that appeared on his helmet had now vanished from the shattered gem, "Could he have been the one who stopped him?" Sigma turns his head back towards where the two reploids stood and blinked, realizing they were no longer there.
A figure hobbled out of the shack.
"Look! It's the Commander!" one of the hunters said. The second grinned.
"Wonderful," he said, "Now there's no one on earth who can stop...wha?" both noticed how banged up Sigma was as he emerged from the shack.
"Take that red maverick...to the repair center...and...and call Dr. Cain," Sigma grunted, "I wish to have that maverick studied."
"C-Commander, are you okay?" the first asked. Sigma pushed him to one side, barging past the two shocked hunters.
"Silence!" After walking two feet from the two, he stops and turns to them, "That reploid you mentioned...he's in the shack somewhere. I want him found and brought back to Hunter Base with the maverick."
"What for?" the first asked again. Sigma narrowed his eyes and turned to leave.
"That boy...may be the answer to all our answers...."
Dr. Cain scratched his beard as he studied the motionless, red maverick inside the scanning capsule in Cain Labs. A minute later, the double doors opened as Sigma walked in, fully repaired.
"Anything?" he asked. Dr. Cain took his hand off his chin and turned to Sigma.
"Well, there isn't much information on this maverick," he said, "Except that he appears to be just as powerful as you are. But I have been able to recharge what little energy was drained out of him, and I have replaced the crystal that you shattered during the fight. He should wake up soon."
As if on cue, the maverick groaned and opened his eyes. Dr. Cain pressed some buttons on the capsule, causing it to open, allowing the maverick to sit up, placing a hand on his head.
"W-What happened?" he muttered. Sigma just about blew his stack.
"What happened!?" Sigma snarled, shoving his face into the maverick's, "You killed a bunch of Maverick Hunters is what happened!"
The red maverick sank back into the capsule, cringing, "H-Hunters? What're you talking about?" Sigma's snarl grew louder. Dr. Cain placed his arm in front of him and pushed him back.
"Glaring at him isn't going to help, Sigma," he said, "I'll run another scan. Maybe we can get some information on his whereabouts."
Dr. Cain disappeared behind the computer connected to the capsule and reappears a second later with a head ring covered in light bulbs and wires connecting to the monitor of the computer, "Could you remove your helmet, please."
The maverick looked at him confused before placing his hands on the white protrusions of his helmet, pulling it off as his long bangs flew out, a third of the bangs in front of him almost reaching his chin, but hung out to give him some space to see. His helmet combed out his long ponytail, causing it to spill around the capsule.
Not paying attention to his particularly long hair, Dr. Cain proceeded to place the head ring onto the maverick's forehead, which responded by the lights circling around the ring. Dr. Cain looked at the monitor and frowned slightly.
"This doesn't make sense at all," he muttered. Sigma looked at him confused, "Every memory of his existence up until his reactivation in the stasis pod has been completely wiped."
"What!? But that means...!"
"That's right. You are now yelling at an innocent reploid that thinks he's been born."
"Hey, is someone going to tell me why I'm being treated like some kind of criminal?" the now innocent reploid asked. Sigma grits his teeth and grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Silence, you...!" Sigma was about to yell before Dr. Cain pushed him back.
"Manners, Sigma. He is new here, you know." Sigma stared at him before backing away. Dr. Cain smiled and looked at the reploid who had placed his hand on the shoulder Sigma grabbed, "I apologize. He's had a rough day." Sigma snorted and turned his back to him, his arms crossed, "I'm sure you'll regain your memories in time. Until then, we'll try and make sure you're treated like the rest of the reploids in this base."
"The rest of...the reploids?" the reploid asked as if he wasn't listening.
"We'll fill you in once you've fully recovered. In the meantime, you wouldn't happen to remember your name, would you? You're...capsule was too damaged to give us the smallest of details."
The reploid noticed a bit of lie on Dr. Cain's tongue, but decided it was best not to point that out. Instead, the reploid scratched his head, trying hard to think.
"Z...Zero." he muttered, seeming a bit unsure of what popped into his head.
The double doors to the lab slid open as the reconnaissance troops from Garma's unit ran in.
"Commander, Sigma!" one of them called out. They both came to a stop, seeing Zero moving to the edge of the capsule and froze on the spot.
Sigma noticed the shock in their eyes and stares at Zero, "Don't worry. He's...on our side now." Zero quirked an eyebrow in confusion. Sigma turns his attention back to the troops, "So where is he?"
"He?" Dr. Cain asked.
"We're sorry, Commander," the second troop said, bowing, "We've combed the place twice, but there was no sign of that reploid and his dog."
"Sigma...?" Dr. Cain asked, "Is there something going on that I should know about?"
Sigma turns his head towards Dr. Cain, almost forgetting he was there, "Oh.... There seems to be a particular reploid out there that is far different than any of the other reploids on this planet." He then lowered his voice so Zero wouldn't hear, "He also seems to have been responsible for stopping that 'maverick' with some kind of strange power."
Dr. Cain eyed Zero, to which he didn't notice, "This is serious. If a reploid that strong could take out Zero, think of what might happen if he were to be persuaded to the wrong side." He turned his eyes back to Sigma, "In theory, he could very well be more powerful than you."
Dr. Cain knew Sigma didn't like how he described the reploid's power through theory when he heard him muffle a growl. The troops saluted Sigma again.
"We'll head back to the command center and have our navigators pinpoint where that reploid is," One of them said.
"Don't bother," Sigma said, "I recognize the lab coat he wore. He must be one of those collogues from that scientific research center on the other side of Tokyo. I'll bring him here myself."
Before anyone could second-guess him, Sigma turned to the door and walked out. Dr. Cain sighed as he watched him go.
"Sigma...there's something wrong with him." Dr. Cain muttered, "I've never seem him act like this before...."
After a while, Dr. Cain shrugged Sigma's strange behavior off, thinking he was probably in a bad mood since he had found out that there were two reploids that would overpower him. He goes back to the construction table in his lab to study the blueprints that came from Dr. Light's lab. While they have aged a bit since ProtoX had recovered them, the prints were still clear enough to understand.
The blueprint in study was what looked like schematics for a robot dog. Dr. Cain scratched his chin, thinking of a household pet for Comp, but then noticed something that separated this design from a normal robotic dog.
The blueprint showed that the dog wasn't just a dog, but a transportation unit designed to look like a dog. Dr. Cain read deeper into this dog's schematics before coming to a conclusion. Half the Maverick Hunters had already assembled their own support units, but neither of them had the technology to design one that could turn into a rocket board at its own will. By creating a transportation unit, Hunters wouldn't have to keep using teleportation to go great distances.
"Um...excuse me," came a voice. Dr. Cain snapped his head up and turned around to see Zero standing near the doorway, holding his helmet beside his thigh.
"Oh, Zero," Dr. Cain said, sighing in relief, "I thought you were still resting from your ordeal. What seems to be the problem?"
Zero looked down, hesitant before looking back at Dr. Cain, "About what's been going on earlier...."
"Z-Zero. Don't worry about it. Sigma is due for a virus check up once he returns from his mission."
"It's just that...I don't know what I did that pissed him off, but I was wondering if there was some way I could make up for whatever it is that I did."
Dr. Cain walked up to Zero and placed his hand on his shoulders, "You don't have to make up for anything. I'm sure it was all a mis- understanding. Maybe if you rest a little more, then you wouldn't feel so depressed."
Zero stared at the floor a while before the double doors slid open. The two turned towards the doors to see Sigma walking in.
"You're back, Sigma," Dr. Cain said, taking his hands off Zero's shoulder and walking up to him, "I've been looking through some of the blueprints from Dr. Light's lab and I noticed a particular blueprint for a transporting K-9. I was wondering if you would like to...."
"You know Dr. Light?" came a sudden, child-like voice. Dr. Cain blinked as the raven-haired reploid ran out from behind Sigma and towards the table.
"Doctor...Light...?" Zero muttered, looking at the floor again while putting his hand on his head.
"Doesn't everyone?" Dr. Cain asked, raising an eyebrow, then looks at Sigma, "Um, could you enlighten me here?"
"This is the reploid I was suspicious about," Sigma said, "I wanted you to examine him before we decide whether or not he should be kept out in the open."
Dr. Cain walked around the table towards the reploid before a dog- like moan got his attention. He looks behind Sigma to see the violet and gray wolf looking up at him. Sigma turned his gaze to the dog.
"The kid insisted he come along. He doesn't seem to trust leaving the dorm without him." Sigma said with a bit of distaste in his voice.
Zero looked up at the group, curiously before walking towards them. Before he got to the table, the dog suddenly jumped out from behind Sigma and began barking viciously, forcing him to step back.
"Down, Treble!" the reploid said. Treble looks at him, whining, "He's not our...enemy." He added by giving Zero an expressionless stare that he didn't seem to like.
Again, Dr. Cain sighed with relief and turns his attention back to the lab coat wearing reploid, "Well, I don't see anything that identifies him as being dangerous. Perhaps a deeper examination will give us a clear answer."
Sigma cleared his throat loudly, getting everyone's attention. Dr. Cain noticed his head slightly turned towards Zero, seeming to give him a hint.
"Oh," Dr. Cain murmured, looking at Zero, "I'm sorry. Zero, could you wait outside a moment?"
Zero blinked in confusion before turning to leave, neither he or the raven-haired reploid took their eyes off each other until one of them was fully out of the lab.
Dr. Cain sat in front of the monitor connected to the scanning capsule with the reploid laying inside it, studying the schematics of his structure. After a while, his eyes widened as he gasped in surprise.
"What is it?" Sigma asked as he walked up behind Dr. Cain. The old, former archeologist shook his head and turned to Sigma.
"Well, the test confirms that he is of no danger," Dr. Cain began, "But when I checked his interior, I found something that I've never seen in a normal reploid." He points to something that looked like a glass case with a circular object floating in the middle of it.
"What on earth is that?" Sigma asked.
"I don't know. I tried running three different tests on it and not one of them came up with a conclusion."
Sigma narrowed his eyes, "If the tests can't confirm that strange object in his chest, why did you say he was of no danger? You know that looks alone can be deceiving."
Dr. Cain looked at the interior structure again, "I know. But one of the tests did claim that this object, while unidentifiable, is completely harmless. This must be his source of energy."
"That's not good enough," Sigma nearly yelled, slamming his fist on the plastic case surrounding the reploid and nearly scaring him, "Even if the tests did confirm him as harmless, I know there is something about him that would give the mavericks an advantage if they identify it before we do!"
"Sigma, calm down!" Dr. Cain said, hesitant, "I've tried everything I could but...." he was cut off by the sound of rapid beeping coming from the monitor. Both turned to see the circular object flashing slowly as the level reader went higher than it's last result.
"What's going on!?" Sigma demanded.
"I-I don't know," Dr. Cain wailed, "Whatever you did caused the readings on this object to shoot even higher than before." He looked at the scanning capsule and caught the reploid's hand shaking uncontrollably, which was something that even shocked the reploid himself.
Sigma finally calmed down and took his fist off the plastic case. Dr. Cain looked at the monitor again, seeing the numbers slowly go back down to its original count. He scratched his beard and heads towards the construction table.
"I wonder," he mutters. He returns with a piece of programming used to control reploids sealed behind a glass case and holds it over the reploid's chest. Again, the readings on the object in his chest began to slowly climb higher than it's original result. Dr. Cain looked at him again, seeing his hand tremble slightly, "Interesting."
"How is this going prove he's not dangerous?" Sigma asked, rather irritated.
Dr. Cain took the control chip away from the reploid as the readings on his chest went back to its original count, "This control chip was infected by a virus that may be one of the many results in reploids going maverick. It seems that this reploid has the ability to sense viral infections."
"What do you mean?"
"I may have found the answer to Zero's mysterious transformation from deadly maverick to innocent reploid. My theory is should a maverick's virus reaches its peak, its energy will activate this reploid's powers...maybe even destroy the virus at its source and return the maverick back to his or her old self."
Sigma's mouth hung open in shock as he turned and looked at the reploid, "You mean to say that this kid could be the answer to all our problems?"
"It might be," Dr. Cain pressed a button by the scanning capsule, causing the case to open, allowing the reploid to sit up, "He must be one of a kind to have a power like this. It is possible that by using the object in his chest, we could create a program that can override the maverick's control chips and cure their insanity."
Sigma shuts his mouth, staring at the reploid a while more, "Then we better get started before things get worse." He was about to reach for the reploid who reacted by leaning back only to have Dr. Cain place a hand in front of him.
"Hold on a minute, Sigma," Dr. Cain said, "Let's not jump to conclusions here. He may have the ability to sense and maybe even eliminate any virus that comes into contact with him. But because we don't have enough information on him, the only choice we have for a quick solution would be to open him up and extract the object dwelling inside of him. And I fear that without that object, he could die and would never be brought back."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"We will wait and see what happens. If we can do that, with luck, this reploid's inner powers may be able to spread just as quickly as the virus that's turning other reploids into mavericks. If that works, there would be no point in us interfering for the sake of sacrificing a life for many."
Dr. Cain's eyes widened at a sudden realization, "Speak of the devil! Since you were the first one that sparked the reploid's power, it could mean that you are in danger of going maverick soon!"
"That's nonsense!" Sigma snarled.
"This is serious, Sigma!" Dr. Cain snapped, "If we don't get you physically checked, we'll have an even bigger problem on our hands!"
Sigma's snarl grew louder, "There is nothing wrong with me! If a virus has infected me, I would have already shown signs of going maverick!" he then turns to leave.
"Sigma, it's for your own good! Please, you have to be examined, or the whole world is in danger!" Dr. Cain's plea came to deaf ear as Sigma had disappeared behind the double doors. He sighs and looks at the reploid, worried.
"Maybe he's right," the reploid said, "if it'll help restore all the other reploids that have already lost their sanity...."
"Don't even think about what Sigma wants," Dr. Cain said, placing his hands on the reploid's shoulders, "You have a life of your own. You should have known by now that you're more than a machine. Just like all the other reploids in this city, you, too, should choose your own purpose instead of relying on others to tell you your fate."
He took his hands off the reploid and goes over to the monitor, "There seems to be something else about you that seems familiar...but I don't want to tell Sigma, fearing he'd have another reason to keep you here. Maybe if I started...." he looks up to find both the reploid and Treble had mysteriously disappeared, "Hmm. I guess he already chose his path. Maybe if I looked at Dr. Light's blueprints for his design." He heads towards the bin where most of Dr. Light's blueprints were sitting in and blinked, "That's funny. Wasn't there another blueprint in this bin that needs deciphering?"
The city turned into a golden color as the sun began to set. The double doors to Hunter Base slid open as Treble was the first to walk out before his raven-haired, lab coat wearing companion a second later.
"You're hiding something from me," came a voice that stopped both the reploid and Treble, neither of them turning to see Zero leaning against the wall near the double doors of Hunter Base with his arms and legs crossed, "I've heard rumors from inside about how I was responsible for something I shouldn't be worried about. But when I saw you, I had a strange feeling you know more about me than what I have been hearing since I woke up."
The reploid's eyes turned towards Zero, "So what if I do? It isn't my place to say what can and can't be done. Especially for someone who once can't be trusted."
Zero tilts his head down a little and shuts his eyes, snorting as a grin appeared on his once expressionless face, "I don't know what it is about you, but something inside of me is making me hate you everytime I see you. What if YOU are the one who can't be trusted?"
The reploid narrowed his eyes, "Think what you want. You will eventually realize where your path is. And depending on whether you'll go by that path or choose the path you're currently on, I won't make any moves against you." He looks in front of him and attempts to leave.
"Not so fast, kid," Zero said, lifting his head and looking at the reploid who stopped after one step and turned his head towards him, "You're not really going to leave without telling me your name. I want to remember it should these lost memories tell me that you are the one who needs to be stopped."
The reploid frowns slightly and snorts, "The names Rock. And believe me, by the time you regain your lost memories, you won't be considering me as your enemy." With that said, he looks in front of him and continues onward with Treble following.
Zero lowers his head again and shuts his eyes, the grin never leaving his face, "We'll see about that...Rock...."
OOC: I originally didn't want Zero to meet his would/would not-be enemy this early in the chapter, but I figure that doing this would have been a lot more compelling than if I had just stuck to Dr. Cain just examining Rock for something suspicious and letting him go with the knowledge of where his subject came from.
Next Chapter: Sigma's behavior is soon suspected by most of his devoted troops when he refuses to send a Hunter out to stop amateur mavericks from scaring citizens half to death. But when a mysterious reploid by the name of "The Chimera" suddenly shows up and is held responsible for the piles of beat up mavericks, Sigma feels compelled to see just how skillful this anonymous reploid is.
But the Chimera's refusal to join the Maverick Hunters ended with him being a wanted vigilante. When Sigma finally goes maverick and leaves with half of Hunter Base in ruins, he meets up with the Chimera for a final show down where he suddenly realizes who he really is. What is the fate of the Chimera when Sigma threatens to reveal him to the public should he interfere with his plans for human destruction?