Search for a Soul
Chapter 6
"Choice"
By MEGAMANX411
Mega Man X was struggling against intense feelings of rage, like his body was merely a cage for some primal beast. He was completely infuriated that this Maverick not only captured some humans, but was holding Alia hostage as well. He simply couldn't believe it. He had failed to make sure that Alia was safe, and now she was in jeopardy. This was all his fault. He had to save her, he had to redeem himself. He had to make sure that no more blood was on his hands. Zero placed a hand on X's shoulder.
"Don't worry X, we'll resolve this problem. We just need to stay calm and focused," he explained.
X nodded. He instantly calmed down a little. Zero's words of confidence did help, but still, all of those feelings didn't go away. Still though, he thought it was better to act. He didn't want to have to fight, but he really needed to get down there and resolve the problem.
"Yeah, you're right Zero. Signas, where is the Maverick now?"X asked.
"This will only take a minute," Signas answered.
Signas took a look at their security system, and began scanning the area with the various cameras located throughout the facility. He accessed multitudes of information and what seemed to be light speed. Various images were being brought up instantaneously, as Signas continued his rigorous search through the building. To X though, the search couldn't be fast enough. It seemed like it was taking forever.
"I found him," Signas exclaimed, gesturing for X and Zero to take a look. "He's in the medical district. X, Zero, go down there immediately, and try to figure out what this guy wants," Signas commanded.
Zero and X both nodded in unison. There was no time to waste.
"Yes, sir."
X and Zero immediately took off, and ran quickly towards the medical district, the far east portion of Maverick Hunter HQ. They didn't want to create a lot of noise, so they made sure to stay silent. The run over there seemed to take an eternity for X. He didn't know wheter or not Alia was ok. When X and Zero finally reached the area, they saw that the Maverick had the hostages tied up, and he was holding a gun in each hand. One was pointed at a group of humans, the other was pointed at Alia.
As X got a closer look,he noticed that the Maverick was actually a bit more suited for battle than he originally assumed. His solid green armor was quite solid. It didn't appear to be on par with models that Maverick Hunters were issued, but it did seem tough enough. The energy pistols that the Maverick wielded weren't the top model either.They seemed to be a medium-weight class B energy pistols, by the looks of it.Each was a one-handed weapon, and they didn't have too much kick either. Still though,eachpacked some punch. At point-blank range,one was quite deadly.
"Put the weapons down," Zero commanded.
The Maverick merely smirked and shook his head. He was wearing a helmet that obscured most of his face, but Zero could still clearly make out that smile. There appeared to be a black visor covering his eyes, as well. The helmet he wore was quite bulky, and seemed to be an excellent model. It wasn't the default helmet that came with the armor, however, so he appeared a little mismatched. In fact, the helmet was actually a deep blue color, and its make was different as well.
"We don't want anyone getting hurt, we just want to resolve this problem peacefully," X added.
"Peacefully? Then tell me why you Maverick Hunters so eagerly accept the human's orders to kill us," the Maverick replied.
X didn't know what to say back. He had his reasons for being a Maverick Hunter, still, that sort of argument was hard for him to face. Truthfully, he was still struggling with some questions of his own. He tried to formulate a reasonable answer, to try to get this Maverick to let the hostages go peacefully. Zero, however, decided to do the talking first.
"Look, we have no intention of harming you. What is it that you want?" he asked.
"What do I want?" the Maverick asked.
X saw this as a window of opportunity. If they could give the Maverick what he wanted, it was possible that this entire matter could be solved right away, without harm. He wanted to make sure that everyone was ok, and out of harm's way.
"Yes, what? We'll try to work something out," X replied.
"You should know. I want vengeance. You've killed many of my friends in what you claim to be the line of duty, so I want to see you squirm," he spat.
X was almost paralyzed from fright. He knew what this meant. That was one request that he wished he had not heart. Why was it that everyone wanted vengeance so badly? Didn't he see that it wouldn't bring anyone back? A life doesn't equal a life, no matter whose it is. X was almost too frightened to shout back.
"Please..don't...do it,"X whispered.
"Either way, I can kill the reploid girl or the humans before you take me down. It's just a simple matter of which," the Maverick mocked.
X felt like he should be the one to be harmed. Alia didn't do anything wrong, it was not her place to be in harm's way. X was the Maverick Hunter. He was the one who "retired" Mavericks. X felt as though he had failed already. Alia was just a bargaining chip to this Maverick, and that fact pained X.
"Don't hurt them! If you hate me, then do something to me, not them!" X shouted.
A sadistic smirk rose on the Maverick's face. He was clearly enjoying this reversal of power. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't last two seconds against X. In a fair fight, X was better in every way. The only one on par with X really was Zero, and that fight was still debatable. So, the leverage is really what mattered here.
"This way is much more effective for torture, don't you agree?" the Maverick responded, smiling. "What'll it be, X? The reploid girl or the humans? It's time to choose. The humans have doubted and feared reploids for long enough. It's time to prove that we are just as good as they are...no, that we are the superior race!" the Maverick shouted.
X clenched his fist. He was disgusted at the Maverick's reasoning. Because he wanted to prove he was better, he involved people that had nothing to do with his squabbles? Alia had never harmed anyone. X knew that the preacher had said some terrible things, but he could never kill him. This Maverick wanted to prove that reploids are superior to humans? Well, if that's what he wanted, then we didn't he join the Reploid Rights Movement? It baffled X to no end.
"It's not your choice whether they live or die! They deserve to live, you don't have the right to take that away!" he replied.
The Maverick tightened his grip on his weapons. X tensed as he saw the Maverick's murderous intent flare. The weapon could go off at any second, and that would be that. Alia or the humans would be dead. If the Maverick really wanted to, he could've ended it. Instead, the tension kept on building. The air began to feel thick and heavy.
"Time's running out X. C hoose," he commanded.
X had no idea what to do. He could plead and plead with the Maverick, but if time ran out, everyone would die. And it would be all his fault. He couldn't simply let him kill them both, the logical choice would be to choose the side that saved more lives. But he couldn't simply let him kill Alia! X couldn't sacrifice her, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he did. It was then that he truly noticed who the humans were. It was the preacher and apparently his immediate family. That preacher said some awful things at X. He could choose to let that man "get what he deserved" so to speak. Several thoughts ran through X's mind. If he spared them, would they then forgive X, and call him a hero? But how long would that last? They may go back to calling him a coward soon after. But still, they were living beings, they deserved to live. X couldn't decide what to do.
"Please..don't.." he whispered.
The Maverick grinned. He was clearly enjoying it still. The tension grew tighter and tighter. The air began to feel so thick that no one could breath easy. X frantically looked side to side. He couldn't figure out what to do. So many decisions raced through his mind. It was too difficult, it was too much! Things were happening too fast. He couldn't kill, but he couldn't risk losing anyone.
"You have to choose,"the Maverickreplied.
X thought of raising his buster and firing, but he knew that if he did, the Maverick would simply kill the hostages beforehand. X dropped to his knees, and bowed before the Maverick. He did the only thing he thought he could do: beg. He would sooner discard his pride than let someone die. If that meant begging, he didn't care.
"Don't hurt them! Just let them go!" he pleaded.
The Maverick sneered at X's attempts. X was reputed to be one of the most powerful Maverick Hunters of all time. Now he was begging at the feet of a lowly, unheard of Maverick? That certainly wasa sight to see. X, Dr. Light's greatest creation, a robot with unlimited potential...reduced to nothing.
"What a sad thing you are, X. Just think what your life would be like if you lived freely," he mocked.
X beat his fist against the ground. His attempt was futile, and he knew it. Still, he had to try and get his words out. It felt like the only thing he could do was cry out helplessly.
"Don't hurt them, I'm begging you!" he screamed.
The Maverick shot at X, intentionally missing for the sake of simply scaring him.
"I find it rather humorous that it was this easy to bring you to your kness. X, the famous Maverick Hunter. What a pitiful joke you are. I see you for what you truly are, a broken weakling. A fool who believes in impossible ideals and shattered dreams," he mocked.
"Impossible..ideals..?" X whispered.
He gritted his teeth, and his eyes began tearing. How could someone mock something that he had fought so hard for? Something that was so pure? He couldn't understand. What he did know is that if he couldn't change the Maverick's mind, someone would die. X stood up. He slowly took a step toward the Maverick. He somehow felt strangely empowered.
"What are you doing!"the Maverick shouted, recoiling a bit.
"Please...you don't need to kill anyone," X replied, taking one step closer.
"Don't take another step, I'm warning you," the Maverick replied, tightening his grip on his guns.
"I don't think you are evil enough for such a thing. No one has the right to take the life of another," X answered, taking another step.
X looked as though he were in a daze. His eyes were faint, like he had almost snapped. X's pure ideal of peace somehow managed to take form within him. It was as if he was entirely driven by his goal to the point where it literally moved him.
"I'm warning you, stay back!" the Maverick screamed.
Just then, there wasa distinct slicing sound. No one else made a sound. Everything fell silent. In that instant, everything seemed to slow down. It only amplified the shock of the situation. Suddenly, a familiar voice reappeared.
"Good thing you don't pay attention," Zero mocked.
He stood behind the Maverick, Z-Saber in hand. The Maverick slowly looked down in disbelief to his wound. He was horrified. He was in power, but in that brief moment, it was taken away from him. He looked down to see his torso slowly slide off the lower half of his body, and his cybernetic innards spilled out onto the ground. The cut was so clean that it almost appeared as if there was no slice at all. X's eyes were wide from sheer shock. Zero only sighed.
"The hostages are safe..." he muttered, putting away his weapon.
X fell to his knees once again. A wave of anguish washed over him, and he buried his face in his hands. He wasn't able to prevent death. Even though Alia was safe, and the humans were safe...someone stil died. He had failed. Zero shot him a look.
"X, what's wrong?" he asked.
X looked up at Zero, and a defeated look washed over his face. He truly felt like a failure. Even though he did his best. Even though the hostages were safe. He simply couldn't live up to the ideal he imposed upon himself. He was almost angry that Zero killed the Maverick. He still wanted to save him.
"I failed...I couldn't save him...why did you have to kill him?" he shouted.
Zero grabbed X and held him tightly. How in the world could X possibly regret completing a mission? Zero didn't understand that. Alia was safe, the humans were safe, and they were both ok. The only one who got hurt was the Maverick, but he was a Maverick. And it was the Maverick Hunter's job to stop a Maverick, at any cost. That was his job.
"I've had enough of this!" he shouted. "If I hadn't stopped him, you could've died, or he would've killed one of the hostages. Do you want that on your conscious X? This was the best way," he added.
X lowered his head. Was the only solution killing? He couldn't believe that. He believed that everything could be resolved peacefully. It had to be true, it just had to be.
"You're wrong...I...I could've stopped him..." he muttered.
"X, Zero! Do you copy!" shouted a familiar voice.
Zero brought his finger up to the comlink on his helmet. He instantly recognized who it was.
"Yeah Signas, we're here. The Maverick has been retired. The hostages are safe," he replied.
"That's good news. Anyone injured?" Signas asked.
Zero looked back at X. He shook his head a little, and returned his attention back to the comlink.
"No, not physically," he replied.
"I see..." Signas replied. "Well, send the humans home, and Alia and I will give the security systems a thorough check to make sure this doesn't happen again."