Megaman X2: Eternal War

Chapter 16: Memories

By Genoscythe

Disc: Disc: Disc: Disc: Disc: Disc: Disc: Disc: Disc: Disc:

AN: A huge thanks to all of my reviewers for checking out my story and taking the time to write something good. Your comments have been an inspiration to me, so that's why I cranked out this chapter so quickly. Just so you know, I'll probably put in about 4 or 5 more chapters before this story's over, but that won't be the end. I'm planning on at least making a Megaman X3 and maybe 4 or 5 before I'm done. But then again, the only way to be certain is to wait and see. I've been blabbering on enough, so now I'll let you read your story.

" Preparations are all set. Sentries have confirmed the underground tunnel is clear," A maverick soldier spoke to one of the sentries guarding the Dinosaur Tank. The raptor sentry just growled at the reploid. " Oh, I forgot. You're part of the ground force, aren't you? Poor fool, you'll never even see the inside of the vehicle you're protecting!" The maverick exclaimed. The raptor jabbed him with its spear in agitation.

" Hey, watch where you poke that thing, bastard!" The cocky reploid spat. " Be glad you have a job at all, instead of being one of your leader's playthings." It was common knowledge in the maverick occupied BOL that Velocity Raptor, the leader of their group, loved killing. The poor reploids that could not do a job efficiently were brought to his quarters where he personally slaughtered them.

Sickened by the prospect of being sent to his master, the sentry was quiet and let the maverick past. While most of the other crewmembers of the giant battlecraft had already gotten prepared and were at their stations, this particular reploid was late for duty. He swiftly headed to the locker room.

Opening his locker, he quickly put on his green jacket and pulled on his matching cap with the engraved Maverick symbol. However, as he was putting on his belt, he heard a slight sound, almost like a footstep. Nervously, he closed his locker and turned around, only to find himself staring into a pair of vicious-looking, blood red eyes. He tried to pull his gun, but his life was ended before he could even tell what he was trying to shoot.

Drake ran through the pouring rain, the blood on his armor cascading off his body. Thoughts raced through his head as he ran aimlessly through the city. Why did they turn on me? Did they not trust me? Did I do something wrong? I have to hide. Jawbreaker and Emilio might be looking for me. And what about Aria? What ever happened to him? His mind was a jumbled mess, and since he had lost all ties with anyone except the members of Emilio's group, he had nowhere to go and nobody to turn to. He headed for the only place familiar to him: the Techno Nights bar & club.

***

Drake awoke with a start, sweat dripping off his forehead. He was panting heavily, and he felt cold all over his body. He had just relived the worst experience in his life. The feeling of total despair that had enveloped him after he had been betrayed by his comrades and killed Raz, one of his former friends and greatly wounded Emilio and Jawbreaker. To this day, he still didn't know why they had tried to kill him.

Another thing he didn't know was the whereabouts of his only true friend in that gang: Aria. Drake had often wondered why Aria, who was a kind and valiant reploid, had even joined Emilio's mercenary group. He watched the never-ending darkness outside his medlab window envelop the barren land outside the Maverick Hunter Headquarters, curious thoughts weaving tales in his head. Two days after he had been rescued from a maverick base in Neo Tokyo City, he was still recovering from the wounds he had sustained from torture there. The Lifesaver units told him he was still experiencing minor muscle trauma from the drugs they gave him in that hellhole. He also still wore bandages from the many physical injuries he bore.

In the distance, a single street lamp lit the road leading to Neo Tokyo City. For a moment, Drake thought he saw a large shadow pass under it. However, it was too far away for him to tell what it was. It struck his mind that it could be a maverick assassin. He squinted out into the darkness once more, and this time he saw that it was coming closer. Without thinking, Drake grabbed a surgical knife from the table next to him and opened the window.

He landed quietly on the dying grass below the window. After waiting for his keen reploid eyes to adjust, he could clearly see the figure coming at him. Drake inhaled sharply, surprise written all over his face. It was Jawbreaker! The reploid went into a shoulder charge, and before he could respond at all, his former comrade slammed into him, sending him flying like a rag doll. Drake landed in the dust several yards away, groaning and clutching his stomach. Before he knew it, Jawbreaker was on top of him, grabbing the collar of his uniform and lifting him up.

" I said I would get my revenge, traitor." Jawbreaker snarled.

" Since when… was I the traitor?" Drake replied, trying to squirm out of his grasp.

" When you killed Raz and Emilio!" The giant cockroach spat.

" So… the ringleader kicked the bucket too, huh?" He said. " Shame I wasn't around for that," Jawbreaker grabbed Drake's neck with his free arm and squeezed it so tightly that it would have broken a human's neck instantly. Reploids, however, were built to withstand stresses such as this, and it only managed to cause Drake severe pain.

All of a sudden, Drake wasn't outside the Maverick Hunter HQ anymore; he was in the Techno Nights bar, sitting on one of the stools with about half a dozen shot glasses in front of him. The alcohol was rushing through his system as fast as his mechanical body was draining it out. He wasn't quite sure if he was trying to kill himself or not, because he knew it was impossible for reploids to die of alcohol poisoning. Still, he kept ordering glass after glass.

After what felt like hours, a reploid came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Drake tried to spin the stool around, but he ended up nearly falling off of it. He looked at the reploid in front of him, clad in red armor and sporting a long blonde ponytail.

" Hey, you alright?" The reploid asked Drake.

" Do I know you, miss?" He replied, slurring his words. The red reploid grimaced.

" Look, most reploids give up trying to kill themselves after a while, but you have gotta set some kind of record by now,"

" Wat, you mean thesse?" Drake waved his arm horizontally, knocking some of the shot glasses onto the floor. The bartender just shook his head and went to pick up the broken glass.

" I think you've had enough. I'd better get you outta here before you do any more damage," The crimson reploid grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him onto his shoulder. As the two reploids made their way out of the bar, a giant figure burst through the door. It was a giant cockroach-reploid, almost drenched in blood. His right eye was missing, and there were several bullet wounds in his skull. Also, a knife handle was protruding from his side, which was oozing blood.

Immediately, Jawbreaker recognized Drake, and shouted. " You!!! You…killed Raz! He was the only true friend I ever had!"

" S…spare me the… sob story, you freak," Drake muttered. He was starting to come out of his daze.

" You heartless bastard!!!" Jawbreaker lunged at the two reploids, but in a flash, the crimson reploid laid the goliath low with a straight punch.

" I don't care what this guy did, but you have no right to kill him. Got that?" The red savior spoke to the reeling Jawbreaker. " If he really did do something wrong, then let the law punish him and save your strength,"

" Can you…hear me Drake?"

" Loud and clear, loser,"

" Then mark my words… if you ever set foot into this bar again, I'll kill you!!!"

" Consider 'em marked, fatso,"

" Alright, 'Drake', we'd better get moving. Can ya walk?" The reploid asked him.

" Yeah,"

" Then come with me," The two reploids walked outside and Drake followed Mr. Red to a hoverbike parked on the side of the street.

" Hey, this is a Ride Chaser!" Drake exclaimed as he eyed the creamy white polished chassis, the dual shock-absorbing seats and the concealed pulse cannon under the hood. " It's a Maverick Hunter model," The crimson reploid straddled the front seat and pressed a button on the dashboard. A video screen flickered to life below the steering handles.

-Verify User Name-

" Zero," The reploid said.

-User (Zero) Verified. Checking Energy Signature…Matching Energy Signature Detected. Unlocking All Systems-

" Zero, huh?" It was more of a statement than a question.

" Yyyyyep. Hold on," Suddenly, the ride chaser flared to life and began floating gently in the air. In an instant, they were cruising through the city streets at incredible speed. They finally came to a stop in front of a mid-sized turquoise office building that was undergoing some major renovations. Several helicopters were pulling a massive attack cannon up to the top of the building, and scaffolding covered the walls, with reploids and humans alike working on various parts of the building. Most were adding anti-shell armor, and some were installing radar dishes, some were priming gun batteries. In front of the building there was a large metal sign that read: Maverick Hunter Headquarters

(Under Renovations)

Despite all the changes, the building was undeniably similar to…

" It… it's my father's old lab. This is where I grew up…" Drake said in a hushed voice. Suddenly, all the trauma of the night hit him like a wave. His vision blurred as he was experiencing a brain overload. He fell off the bike, but his systems shut down before he hit the ground.

Back in the present, it felt like no time had gone by at all, and Drake had to look around in bewilderment to make sure he wasn't still in some dream.

" Well?" Jawbreaker asked him. " Do ya have any last words?"

" Yeah," Drake replied. " I'm sorry I ever trusted you. I'm sorry I went with Emilio, but I'm not sorry I killed Raz or Emilio!"

" That's it! You die!" Jawbreaker's giant hand squeezed, but at the same time, Drake brought up the surgical knife, driving it into the giant's wrist and pulling it out again. Jawbreaker's hand pulled back and he released Drake, dropping him hard on the ground. The cockroach emitted a low growl as he clutched his bleeding arm. Having hit a major artery, blood was flowing at an incredible rate. " Damn you!!!" He screamed. Soon, his mechanical skeleton shut off the blood flowing into his arm. Therefore, without blood to stimulate the muscles, Jawbreaker jettisoned the skin and muscles on his left arm. It was a particularly nasty feature given to most combat reploids, in which they are able to release the skin and muscle from their body so they can freely move their metal skeleton.

Jawbreaker's muscles slid off his arm and plopped onto the ground with a sick squishy noise. All that was left was his thick robotic skeleton, which was slick with fluid from his arm. " Nasty, man." Drake said, almost gagging.

" I don't have anything to live for, anyway. After I kill you, I can finally put myself to rest."

" Good, 'cause you'll be doin' the world a favor,"

" Do you have any idea of what a hell I've been through? Every day after you killed them I wanted to join them, but the one thought that kept me alive was that I had to see to it that you were punished. It was even worse when you humiliated me in the bar. Now, you taunt me like this! I have to bury my friends' restless spirits once and for all,"

" Tell me this, Jawbreaker, do you know why the three of you tried to kill me that night?"

" Yeah, I do. Emilio told me you were ratting us out to the cops, so we decided to stage a fake museum heist with the idea of killing you while your back was turned,"

" What? I never told the cops about anything! I never even seen a cop, 'cept when I get caught driving dangerously," Drake told him.

" Don't lie about it, Drake."

" I'm not lying! Why don't you ask Aria? He watched me night and day to make sure I didn't do something stupid. If anyone would know what I was up to, it would be him."

" You're right… Anyway, I can't find him. He disappeared the night of the incident... Look, it doesn't matter! All that matters is that I set things right!" Suddenly, Jawbreaker charged. Drake instinctively held out his arms to stop him, but suddenly the behemoth just stopped moving. Drake looked down and saw the surgical knife, or rather the handle, protruding from Jawbreaker's stomach. When he held out his hands, he had accidentally skewered the juggernaut. The squirming reploid reached out to grab Drake, but his power was fading rapidly.

" No… I was so close…" Then, Jawbreaker collapsed to the ground, the knife still implanted into his chest. Slowly, his mechanical eye lost its red gleam, then died completely. Drake's face was ashen as he breathed deeply, looking down at the one he used to call 'friend'. Then, a wave of recognition washed over him. He clearly remembered the night of the incident.

***

" Go ahead, Drake,"

" Are you sure we wanna do this? I mean, stealing from a museum seems a little low," Drake replied to Emilio.

" You know how short we are on cash. Sometimes you just have to do what you can," Emilio said.

" Just open the freakin' door already!" Raz spat impatiently. Drake sighed and started cracking the password lock. He was almost done, and suddenly, he heard a gun cock. Without thinking, he put his foot on the door and pushed off, propelling himself into the air. Half a second later, hundreds of bullets ripped into the door where he had been. In midair, he pulled out his Multi-task Gun set to auto rifle mode and blindly fired in the direction of the first shots. Raz screamed as bullets tore into his arm and side.

Drake landed almost three meters from Emilio, who had his custom handgun aimed at his head. He dashed forward, pulling his combat knife out of its sheath at his side. Emilio fired a shot that grazed his shoulder armor, but it was too late. Drake swung the knife twice across Emilio's chest, and spurts of real blood washed over him. He then turned towards Raz again, who was trying to pick up his sub-machine gun.

By now Drake was in a blind rage. They tried to kill me! Why? The only answers that came to his head at the moment was to defend himself. He let loose a string of bullets that caught Raz in the chest, knocking him back against the wall. Drake switched modes on his gun, and the shotgun barrel locked into place. Raz was wounded badly, but he was still alive. Drake walked up to him with the shotgun aimed at his power core. Raz looked up in terror.

" Drake… this is all a mistake… just a misunderstanding…please let me live…This was all Emilio's idea…" Drake was about to ask Raz why they were trying to kill him, but when he began to beg for mercy, his rage doubled.

" What? You expect me to forgive you for trying to kill me? You're even trying to pin the blame on Emilio!" Drake lifted the shotgun. " You…" He cocked it. " …Make me sick!!!" He fired.

Seconds later, Drake was just standing there, panting heavily, covered in blood. Suddenly his mind clicked. Jawbreaker! He whirled around, scanning the dark alley. The only things he could see were Emilio, moaning and squirming on the ground, and an old dumpster. Then he looked into the sky, and saw a dark silhouette jump from the roof. It looked like it would land right on top of him. Drake rolled to the right, and Jawbreaker landed with a crushing thud on the concrete. He stood up and swerved his head to look at Drake. Then, he saw Emilio lying in a pool of blood, still moving, next to him. Then, he looked behind him and saw Raz. With a mighty roar, Jawbreaker charged the blood-drenched reploid. Drake fired several shots that hit the behemoth in the head, and he stumbled back. Vaguely, he realized it was starting to rain. Then, he noticed that he only had one shot left.

Drake flicked the mode switch to single shot mode, and took careful aim while Jawbreaker was stunned. The bullet would have gone right into his mechanical brain, but at the sound of the gun, he jerked his head so that the bullet pierced his right eye instead. Artificial blood sprayed onto the concrete, but Jawbreaker was still intent on crushing Drake.

Without ammo, Drake did the first thing that came to mind; he grabbed his combat knife and, while the monster was charging, thrust it into his side. It was just too much for the giant cockroach, and he slumped to the ground, seemingly unconscious. Without a second thought, Drake ran. He ran for all he was worth, into the endless night and pouring rain, alone with his sorrow. As he ran, he thought he saw a silhouette in front of the moonlight. The reploid known as Aria watched with dismay as Drake fled the scene and Emilio, the human, silently died.

***

The next thing Drake knew, he was back in the medlab. People were assaulting him with questions and trying to get him to wake up. Now, all he wanted to do was sleep.

End

AN: Well, that was a very Drakish chapter. I hope that clears up the past of this character well enough (Don't worry, you're not supposed to know who Aria is yet…actually I don't even know x_x. I haven't quite decided yet.) Well, that's pretty much all I have to say for this chapter, other than I think it turned out well. Ah well…Later!