Megaman X2: Eternal War

Chapter 18: Beginning of the end

By Genoscythe

Burger, fries, and a coke. Don't bother me, I'm disclaimering.

Drake stretched his muscles for the first time in two weeks. He never believed he could be so happy just by standing up and using his body. He yawned, and the first thought that popped into his head was to go bug Megaman X. After quickly putting on his uniform, he briskly walked out of the med room he had grown to call home. He strolled through the minor injuries ward to the exit of the medlab, feeling more energetic with every breath.

Soon, he was walking down the hallway toward the 17th division's sleeping quarters at a brisk pace. He was at X's room when VR caught up to him. " Hey!" He called jovially to the reploid.

" Greetings," VR replied. " We have a private mission briefing from Dr. Cain himself in three hours,"

" Great, well I was just about to wake up X. We can probably think of somethin' to do for three hours," At that, Drake turned around and opened the door without knocking, like he always did. Instantly, he spun around, wearing an expression between guilt and bashfulness.

" What is it?" VR asked.

Drake blushed. " We…might want to leave X alone for awhile, ya know?"

" Well, what about Calliope?" This made Drake blush even deeper.

" Look, why don't we just go and grab a burger at the café or somethin'? We don't need them!" He said with a laugh as he nervously scratched the back of his head. VR looked at him oddly.

" Do you have a virus?" VR asked suddenly.

" What?"

" Your face is completely red," VR replied. " Do you need an anti-virus?"

" Wha- uh, no. I'm fine. Let's just get going," Drake said, waving his hands in front of himself. As the two reploids walked back down the corridor, Drake breathed a sigh of relief to be out of that awkward situation. He definitely didn't want to disturb X and Calliope on this day.

***

X was greeted by Calliope, her arms draped across his chest, lying next to him in his bed. Her light brown hair was spread out beneath her form, and her head was resting on his chest. Then, memories of the night before came back to him, and memories of that eventful day. He quickly put them out of his head as Calliope began to awaken. She shifted slightly, then opened her eyes. Without saying a word, he slipped his arms around her. Then, she gave him a smile, which he returned.

" Welcome back," X said to her. Suddenly, she rolled on top of him.

" I could say the same for yourself," She replied. Then, she began another passionate kiss, this time harder, more urgent. In the middle of it, though, she broke away. There was silence for a moment, and X finally decided to say what was on his mind. Once again, Calliope beat him to it.

" Do you think… maybe we shouldn't be doing this? I mean, I guess it just feels weird to be getting so intimate after just getting together," X was taken by surprise. " It's not you, it's just…" Suddenly, he began laughing. " What?" She asked.

" It's just that… I was about to say the exact same thing," He said. At this, her face brightened considerably.

" Really?"

" Yeah. Weird coincidence, huh?" He said.

" Yeah…" She trailed off as she realized that she was only wearing her underwear. She blushed, which she soon realized was a stupid thing, after all they had been through. " Hey, I just remembered something," Calliope began. " How am I going to get back to my room in my underwear?" X realized this as well.

" I'll go get you some clothes," He offered. She flashed him a smile. As he pulled on a shirt and jeans and headed for the door, she called out. " Thanks, Rock," He just smiled and gave her the thumbs-up sign. Moments later, he returned with her favorite tank top and denim jacket, a fresh pair of underwear and shorts. He handed them to her and she smiled, then turned around and began changing. Soon, she was fully clothed, and as she walked toward the door, she tossed her hair back and said, " We've got a lot of work ahead of us, so we'd better get going," X turned to smile at her. She gave him a playful wink, then left his sleeping quarters. He just stood there for some time, contemplating what was progressing between them. " I love her," He whispered.

***

" Glad you could join us," Drake said, with slight sarcasm, as Calliope sat down at their favorite booth in the Maverick Hunters' café, built next to the lobby.

" The pleasure is all yours," Calliope retorted. She was holding a tray with a bowl of salad and an energy cola. Drake leered at the tray.

" How can you last the entire day just by eating one small salad and an energy cola?" He asked quizzically.

" That's for me to know and for you to hope that some day I'll tell you," She replied.

" Man, you're cruel," With that, Drake took a huge bite of his hamburger and chewed with his mouth wide open in protest.

" That's sick," She said. He chewed louder. " Stop it!" She said angrily.

" Stop me yourself," He said while chewing, so that the words came out as " Sop we ursolf," Angrily, Calliope slammed her heel on Drake's toes, and he immediately spat hamburger meat all over the table. VR shook his head in disgust.

" Wow, you two are already at each other's throats? That must be a new record!" X called out as he walked through the other tables to join them. Their usual booth was adjacent to the large window that provided most of the light for the café, and since it was the farthest table from the door, they were usually secluded. However, today a young Maverick Hunter couple were sitting several tables away, and they soon left in disgust at the antics of two of the 16th Maverick Hunter Division's most wild hunters.

" I have stopped trying to separate the two back when I first joined the service," VR said as X sat down. He wasn't feeling very hungry, so all he had was an energy drink in his hand. Drake and Calliope took a moment to regard X, then, in unison, they pointed at each other and said,

" He/She started it!" X just shrugged.

" I'd love to stay and listen to you guys argue, but I've got some business to take care of," He said.

" Business like what?" Drake asked, cocking an eyebrow.

" Last night, some hunters found Mobius hiding in the lookout tower and they want me to get him out," Drake continued to stare at him without moving.

" What?"

" You heard me,"

" What?!?" Drake said again. X sighed.

" I know it sounds odd, but they seem to think I can talk some sense into him," He explained.

" Can you?" VR asked.

" I dunno," X said with a grin. " But the best I can do is try,"

" Fine, do what you want," Drake grumbled, taking a huge bite out of his hamburger. X turned to go, but VR stopped him.

" Wait, I will assist you," He said.

" Are you sure? Mobius nearly killed two hunters,"

" That does not concern me,"

" Great, well let's get going then. I have to stop by the armory just in case," X said as they exited. Drake's gaze left them and slowly turned toward Calliope, who mirrored the gesture.

" Oh great, I'm stuck with you," They both said in unison.

" Look, I've got other things to do than be near you," Drake said bitterly. He swallowed the last of his hamburger and left. Calliope leaned back in her booth and looked out the window at the blazing sun. Dust clouds began to sweep across the barren land along the cliff. She sighed and an overwhelming sense of calm swept over her. Looking out the window and taking things slowly, she began to believe that everything would work out fine. After the war, everything would be put aright, and the world could go back to the way it once was. She told herself this repeatedly, and soon it was all she could think about. Yeah, everything would work out fine.

***

VR was troubled. He wasn't troubled particularly because he was about to negotiate with a mentally warped and extremely dangerous reploid, which is what one would expect. Instead, it was Megaman X's new armor that was bothering him. He couldn't exactly say what it was that set him off, but there was almost a sense of familiarity with it. He shook it off as he and X made their way up the stairs to the observation tower. When they reached the door to the main deck, X bade him to stop.

" I'll go first. I've known Mobius since the First Maverick War, so he's bound to listen to me," He said. " I hope…" He added under his breath.

" I will cover your position in case of need," VR replied. X nodded and entered the vast, circular tower. There were three levels, the main deck, the sub deck, and the lookout post. All were connected by ladders. X quickly scanned the immediate area and saw no sign of the slightly deranged reploid.

" Mobius?" X called out. No reply, just as he expected. He drew his buster out and began sweeping the area. In a flash, something big and black was on top of him, pinning him helplessly to the ground.

" So you intend to kill me?" The creature barked.

" Mobius?" X asked.

" Do you want to kill me!?" It asked again. Suddenly, a gunshot silenced everything. The large creature fell off of X, and he looked for the source of the shot. VR was running through the doorway, magnums in hand. Then, X looked at the creature VR had shot. It was unmistakably a large black bat with blood-red eyes.

" Mobius! What are you doing?" He yelled. The bat got up, trying to fan away the smoke coming from a bullet hole in his wing.

" Hiding, that's what!" Mobius spat. " And getting shot at, by the looks of it! You could have RUINED my wing!"

" I did not," VR replied cooly. " This gun is loaded with low-caliber rounds. Your actual flight performance should only be decreased by six percent," Mobius leered at the reploid.

" Where the HELL did you pick up a smart-ass like HIM?" He asked. X ignored the question.

" What happened to you? Where did you go after the maverick attack?" X asked.

" After…the battle? I don't know," Mobius said. " All I remember is that the power went out… and all of the patients hooked up to life support were… then, I remember sitting up in this tower, and I saw you come in. That's all I remember,"

" So, you mean you do not remember anything at all in the past month?" VR asked.

" My god… a whole month?"

" Pretty much," X said. " Honestly, I don't know how you could be in an unconscious frenzy for an entire month without anybody finding you until now,"

" I wish I knew, too," Mobius said quietly. " I guess it was just too much seeing so many of my patients die, just like…just like in the first war…" Angst was written across Mobius' eyes.

" It wasn't your fault that those people died, Mobius," X said soothingly.

" I know that. I promise I'll make it up to them," He said. " I realized that maybe I should just forget being a medic, since it seems I'm so good at combat," He flexed his claw as he said this. " Those mavericks will pay in blood!" X smiled.

" I'm glad to have you back on our team, Mobius,"

" It's good to be back, X." Mobius said with a chuckle. Then, X narrowed his eyes.

" Your voice hasn't fluctuated like usual. Not since we started talking to you,"

" Hey," Mobius said. " I think you're right! Maybe I just needed to go into a rage to cure my insanity,"

" Yeah," X said, relieved.

" I need to go talk to Cain about switching jobs," Mobius said as he ran out the door and down the stairs. Both X and VR stood in silence for a moment, and it was VR who finally spoke.

" You did not tell him about the people he killed in the medlab when he lost consciousness," He said.

" He doesn't need to know," X replied. " You know, that's the happiest I've ever seen him before,"

" It would appear so,"

" I always told him he should become a hunter. You can put rage to far better use on the battlefield than when performing a delicate operation,"

" Mobius would appear to have plenty of rage inside of him,"

" Yeah, that's why we need him,"

Later, after six PM, Megaman X was walking down the 17th Division's sleeping quarters when he saw an unusual sight. Mobius and Dr. Cain were walking down the hallway towards him, possibly arguing the bat's position. The odd thing was that Mobius was walking on the ceiling, and the withered old Dr. Cain had to crane his neck to look up at him.

" You have no formal training. I don't feel right sending anybody without experience into a battle, at least not without preparing them," Cain argued.

" Master, I've seen more horrors in the medlab than most hunters see on the battlefield! I can take care of myself," Mobius countered. They both silenced as X approached them. " X, can you back me up on this?" The bat-like reploid called to him.

" I'm sorry Mobius, but-" Cain began.

" Let him," X said simply. Cain whirled his head to face him.

" What?"

" Let him become a Maverick Hunter if he wants," X repeated. " If you force him to stay as a medic, he won't work as hard as if he were doing something he liked," Mobius grinned, his smile showing a large row of fangs.

" See?" He said sheepishly. Dr. Cain appeared deep in thought for a while, grumbling under his breath.

" I'll think about it," He said at last." You'll sleep-"

" In the armory," Mobius finished.

" Fine, then," Cain said, obviously disgruntled. " Megaman X, come with me. We have many things to discuss," X nodded out of reflex, even though his grandfather's tone worried him. Cain motioned for him to follow him to his office. Once they were inside, Dr. Cain sat down slowly in his chair behind the mammoth wooden desk. Cain settled into his seat and gazed at X, his old, weathered face seeming to grow older by the minute. Finally, he spoke.

" X, I have with me several orders from the head of Neo Tokyo city," Cain took out several papers from one of the many drawers of his desk. " One is asking for your release from the Maverick Hunter Defense Force," He paused and sighed. " The other is demanding that you attend a trial for killing several humans in a blind rage," Dr. Cain stared long and hard at X, trying to read the emotions on his grandson's face. " Whatever it is you did-"

" Dr. Cain, it wasn't-"

" I know," Cain's response surprised X. " I didn't believe for a second that you would lose control and start killing humans. It's not in your nature,"

" Actually, I did lose control…" He said softly. " But I didn't kill any humans. It was Violen, the X-Hunter. Calliope and I were off duty, and…" X was fighting to choke back several tears forming in his electronic eyes. " We were at the Cherry Blossom Plaza when Violen appeared. He attacked several people, and killed them. I lost control and… I blew him to pieces…"

" X…"

" Also, he told me that he wasn't a maverick. I don't know if he told the truth or not, but if he is…"

" X, there are two kinds of mavericks that we have encountered," Dr. Cain said. " There are the kind that seem to have been infected with a virus, and the kind that joined their cause willingly. The latter was very common throughout the first war, but since the end of the war and the near-eradication of the mavericks, there are very few of them left. It is possible that he is one of those willing to fight the humans," He continued. " In which case, he would be considered a maverick," X sighed in relief.

" It is true that I lost control, but I never killed any humans,"

" In any case, you don't have to worry,"

" What do you mean, Dr. Cain?"

" The Maverick Hunters operate completely independent of the central government. A decree was passed that Maverick Hunters could act autonomously of the Neo Tokyo central government, so technically, you cannot be tried in a Neo Tokyo government court," X cocked his head in curiosity.

" How can someone pass such a decree? Wouldn't Maverick Hunters take advantage of this situation and go berserk in the city?"

" For one thing, Maverick Hunters can still be disciplined by me. If the central government deals with affairs of state, I deal with Maverick Hunter problems. For another thing, to become a maverick hunter, you would certainly have to have a great sense of justice, and the training process is far too rigorous for a punk wanting to cause trouble to go through.,"

" So… you're saying that I don't have anything to worry about?"

" You still need to keep your guard up, X. The central government is not inexperienced at double-crossing me," X sat there, in Cain's wooden guest chair, pondering these events.

" Also, you have worries of a different kind," Dr. Cain said at last. " I have an assignment for you to take care of, one that may prove extremely dangerous," X came out of his reverie. " One of the last maverick strongholds on Neo Tokyo Island is the Central Control. I want you to select a small attack team of about four or five hunters and reclaim it. We already discovered what we get when we try to take that blasted place by force, so I think a smaller team of more experienced hunters could pull it off,"

" I have just the hunters in mind," X said slyly.

" Beware, X. Magnas is very dangerous, and we don't know what the mavericks are planning to do with the place yet," Cain added. " Tread cautiously,"

"You want us to WHAT?" Drake cried incredulously.

" I want you four to storm Central Control with me," X said calmly.

" You're kidding! Twenty-three hunters were slaughtered in that place! You must be losing it if you think I'm going along," Drake said angrily.

" Quiet down, you little weasel," Mobius grumbled as he punched Drake in the arm.

" So, who's with me?" X asked.

" There's no way you're leaving me behind!" Calliope said enthusiastically.

" I'm dying for the taste of maverick blood," Mobius growled.

" My skills may prove invaluable," VR said emotionlessly. All eyes turned on Drake. He looked around frantically for support, then finally shrugged.

" It's better to die together than to die alone, am I right?" He said with a grin.

" All right!" X yelled. " We leave in 4 hours. The building is extremely heavily defended, so we need to take ride chasers," He said in a very commander-like voice. " If any of you need to take care of any business, do it now,"

" Well, look who's the new commander," Drake remarked.

" You'd make a great commander for the 17th," Mobius put in. After Genoscythe's disappearance, the position of Commander was never filled. Cain just sent orders to the 17th directly.

" I'm just doing what I have to," X said shyly.

" Isn't that what all commanders do?" Calliope asked soothingly. X nodded, contemplating the idea. Slowly, Drake, Mobius, and VR left the room, leaving X and Calliope alone. It was dead silent in the 17th division's recreation lounge.

" More than half of our forces are fortifying the city, right?" X asked to break the silence.

" That's what I heard," Calliope said detachedly.

" You know this mission is going to be dangerous…" X said.

" How is that different from any other mission?" She asked.

" You know what I mean. I can see how terrified you are about this,"

" I'm not terrified. I mean, I saw a whole battle contingent get torn to pieces by the reploid we're about to try and retire. What's so scary about…that…" Suddenly, she broke into tears.

" Cal…"

" I can't sleep until that traitor is dead!" She growled. " My comrades will get repaid, all right…"

" Calliope!!!" X yelled abruptly. Everything in the room went dead silent. He lurched forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. " I know how badly you want to see this traitor brought to justice, but do you really think revenge will solve anything? I know, probably better than anyone in this building, what it's like to want revenge, and I know that getting it doesn't make you feel any better!"

" That may not be true for you, but what about me!?" Calliope yelled back. " I know how much you hate war and violence, but it's not the same for the rest of us hunters! Warrior's energy flows through me, and I know that I won't feel well until I get my revenge," She yelled with venom.

" Do you?" The simple question stunned Calliope. In truth, she didn't really know what would make her happy again.

"…no…" She said softly. She felt X's grip on her shoulders loosen. After a few moments, he let go and turned on his heels.

" As long as you know what you want, come along. Don't take this mission for the wrong reasons,"

" I already told you I would follow you anywhere, and I mean that," She said sincerely. X said nothing. He just turned around and gave her a reassuring smile, then left for his quarters to finish recharging.

End