Megaman X2: Eternal War

Chapter 4: It begins

By Genoscythe

Disc: You heard me right.

It was dark. That was all that X knew. His enemy was somewhere within that darkness. Only problem was, it was so dark, he might as well not have eyes. Even worse, his enemy was hanging from the ceiling, so he could not rely on footsteps. He shifted at the sound of movement. Suddenly, there were neon lights in front of him, like a bent Christmas tree. It barely illuminated a large apish figure. X was caught off guard, and Spark Mandrill gut punched him. He was sent flying, barely skimming the floor. While still moving, he planted his right hand on the floor and propelled himself feet-first into the air. He spun, flipped, and landed on his feet in a matter of several seconds (I pictured this move in my mind, and it just sounded too cool). He fired several shots from his arm cannon at the lights moments before they went out. The maverick howled, confirming the hit.

Spark Mandrill held out his fist, and a small spark appeared in his palm. He hurled it at X with deadly accuracy. He was caught and spasmed as the volts were sent through his system. The light lingered, and X could still see the maverick's face. He began to charge his buster and Mandrill charged. As its fist flew out, X fell under him and pressed his buster on its chest. " Game over," He muttered as he fired. Mandrill screamed and the blast passed through his body. Instead of exploding like any mechanical reploid, he burst into millions of tiny pixels. The once dark room became lit, and the room became white and sterile. X pulled off his helmet and wiped his forehead. It was the seventh maverick he fought today, and though they were easy, so many were wearing him out.

He walked out of the training room and back to his quarters. He put away his armor and took out his natural clothes. Then, he decided to head to the research division to research some of the new maverick locations. He told himself it was to better understand his environs when he was fighting mavericks, but what he really came there for was solitude. He was halfway through the file on the volcano when he saw her, checking out some disks at the front desk. He immediately got up and walked over to her as she headed to the exit. He waved to her and she waved back. " Hi! I didn't expect to see you here, Calliope." He said. She shrugged.

" Thought I should review some of those new places we're assigned to," She waved the disks in her hand.

" Do you need me to help you with that?" He asked dumbly.

" X, these disks weigh less than a pound each. I think I can carry these by myself thank you," She said, giggling. He slapped himself, repeatedly damning his clumsiness again. " It must be all of the stress. All I ever see you do is work. Don't you ever get out? Y'know, play a game, read a book, lay out in the sun, breathe," She said coyly. " Maybe you should eat every once in a while too. I hear that's all the rage with kids these days." They laughed at her comment.

" Maybe you're right. Maybe I have been working too much, and I need to take out some stress." He sighed. Then, surprisingly, a weird thought came into his mind. He poked Calliope in the ribs. Apparently, it shocked the hell out of her.

" What the hell was that for?" She asked him.

" I'm relieving some stress." He stated.

" You're insane. You have gone completely nuts." He poked her again. And again. " If you poke me one more time, I'm gonna take that finger, bend it like a boomerang and shove it where the sun don't shine!" She replied in mock anger. He ignored her and poked her again. " That's it!" She yelled and she poked him back.

" That was your best shot? I think I need to teach you the art of finger poking."

" There is no art. All you have to do is stick out your finger like so, and jab it in your ribs like so." She then jabbed him hard in his stomach. He let out a yelp and grabbed for her. She began running and he chased her down the corridor. Calliope dropped the disks she was laughing so hard. He chased her across the halls of the H.Q. until they reached the courtyard. It was located in the middle of the building, and it was like a vast garden where the hunters went to relax, train, or just enjoy themselves. They just reached the grass when he pushed off of the ground and grabbed her. She yelled in surprise as he tackled her, but by the time they hit the ground, she was laughing hysterically. He pinned her down to the ground so she couldn't get up.

" I win," He said.

" Not so fast Skippy," She said as she twisted around and caught him by surprise. She rolled over and was now on top of him. Calliope grinned broadly at him, then leaned her head down, her mouth was next to his ear. " I win," She whispered. They couldn't control it any longer. They both went into another fit of laughter. When they were done laughing, X propped himself up on a tree and took a deep breath of fresh air.

" I haven't had that much fun in ages, Calliope. Thanks for trying to cheer me up." X said to her, who was nestled up next to him.

" Hey, that's what I'm here for," She replied.

" You're pretty strong for a girl." He commented.

" I'm a hunter, aren't I? Maverick hunters have to keep in shape, no matter what sex they are." The word Maverick Hunter sparked something in the back of X's mind. He gasped.

" Crap! We're missing the briefing!" He exclaimed. He and Calliope got up and dashed off for the 17th's briefing room, not bothering to change into their uniform. Genoscythe was in the middle of forming the team to attack the desert when they burst into the room.

" Ah, so our two young hunters haven't been taken by mavericks after all." Genoscythe commented. Several hunters sniggered and X sweatdropped. He would never hear the end of this. " If you would take your seats, then maybe we could possibly get things going, hm? Never mind the fact that you aren't in uniform." There was another round of sniggering as they took their seats. Most of the hunters were gone, since they had been assigned to the energen mine and the desert. Next was the Central Computer. He began to call up Maverick Hunters one by one. "… Casein, Jett, Calliope, Maxel, and Lex. I also got special permission from special unit 0 to use one of their top technicians." It was then that X noticed a figure standing in the corner. His features were hidden, but X could tell that he had six arms and what appeared to be a very large tail. It cast him an icy glare, then turned its attention back to the briefing. " This is Magnas. He is the best technician in all of Neo Tokyo City." Genoscythe gestured towards the figure in the corner, and he stepped forth and stood next to the other hunters. He was, as X had guessed, a centipede reploid with a magenta color and large yellow eyes. He bowed and spoke.

" I am ready to take any risk to assure that the Central Computer is not harmed. Though I must add that I am not a very skilled fighter, and I will need backup."

"That's what these guys are for." Genoscythe gestured to the other hunters.

" Affirmative," Was Magnas's only reply. The hunters exited the room to prepare for the mission. X looked around the room. There were only two hunters left; himself and V.R.

" X, V.R., you two will be going to the Geothermal Energy Plant."

" What?" X exclaimed. " Only two hunters against an entire factory of mavericks? That's suicide!" He caught himself before he could continue with his outburst, seeing as how perfect today was going so far.

" It isn't suicide for you, X. You're the top hunter, next to me. The point of this is to teach our new friend how to react in the heat of battle. I'm sure that it would get too confusing with so many hunters. We need to ease him into his new job."

" But can't you just send one more? Why don't we postpone the mission and have me go along to the Central Computer?" X pleaded.

" No dice, X. You have your mission, and I expect you to carry it out." He sighed reluctantly and walked off to his quarters.

" Sir, we have isolated all of his systems. They have been fully re-integrated into the computer."

" Perfect. Run the scan." A diagnostic sheet scrolled down the holographic screen. Each section of the subject's body had maximum statistics and showed that they were fully repaired.

" Now all we need is the main chip. Speaking of which, how are our mavericks doing?"

" They are fine, sir. The hunters have not made a move yet, though they doubtlessly know we're there. The dino tank is almost prepped for launch. Maybe several more days and it will be ready. Velocity Raptor has already reached the greenhouse and he is awaiting further orders."

" Right. Tell him to hide his forces and kill any hunters that try to go through. We will make our presence known to the Maverick hunters soon enough."

End

A.N: Well, what do you think? R&R if you have any thoughts. Yes, I made up my own maverick, but only one. There will be action aplenty in the next chapter, so stay tuned, my viewers, and be amazed at my wonderful works of…stuff…