Chapter6 – Nanobot
Maverick Hunter H.Q. 11:24pm Jan. 17
The normal orderly fashion of the West Wing had broken down into chaos. The halls were abuzz with chatter as everyone quickly moved aside to make a clear path. A medical team consisting of three rescue personal and two duplicates of Life Savor wheeled a stretcher with a motionless blue figure down the corridor at a harrowing pace. Zero, General Signas and Alia followed hot on the heels of the team.
"Give me his stats!" bellowed Life Savor to one of his medical personnel.
"Pupils dilated and eyes are glazed, sir." The Medic reported in swift but articulate secession. "Temperature control system has gone into shock, his body is over heating, currently running a fever of 150.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Sir, at this projected rate, if his internal temperature continues to rise, his soft circuits will start to melt. Memory and Core OS will be affected."
This report brought a deep, tense frown to Life Savor's face, he knew very well that if the Core OS were damaged, X's personality data would suffer or even become corrupt. If they managed to heal his body, his behavior would permanently have a gap in it, something they could never repair. Turning his head to look at another Medic without a moment to spare, he began barking orders.
"You! I want this Reploid on a stabilizing energy I.V. as of two hours ago! Let's move it people!"
The Medic he had been glaring at gave a curt nod and disappeared down an adjoining passage way. Immediately Life Savor turned his attention back to the first Medic, who had been analyzing more data with a hand held scanner while the team rushed down the long corridors. The Reploid had short, silver, straight hair and wore the usual nondescript white medical uniform of the Med Unit, which bore a red cross on one shoulder. He had soft, caring orange eyes and a rounded build.
"How are his other operating systems, Cade?" Life Savor inquired in a calmer tone, a faint hint of worry building in his normally strictly-disciplined voice. Cade shook his head sadly, his mounting despair plainly evident.
"Energy filter is failing, no signs of respiratory system activity. His operating energy is at a critical low." Cade lowered his gaze. "He's going down hill fast, Sir." The Medic commented in a quite voice. Life Savor muttered something under his breath that was thankfully undistinguishable.
"Someone get me an energy booster!" he shouted to his recruits. An amber eyed human female with smooth, shoulder length, strawberry blonde hair reached into a small charcoal pouch she wore at her waist. She extracted a minute syringe filled with a serum of liquid energy that was nearly transparent, aside from a strange metallic-purple tinge, and handed it to Live Savor.
"What about his heart?" the doctor inquired as he made a thin incision in the light metal covering on the upper arm of the uniform and injected the booster into X's energy flow. The armor's recall had been disabled due to the lack of energy and the protective battle suit would have to be removed manually before the team could do anything for him.
Cade's head snapped up in a startled manner and he gave Life Savor a bewildered look. "This is X we're dealing with, remember? What about his heart!" the head surgeon snapped at Cade as he scowled at the Reploid's distracted behavior. Cade snapped out of his daze and went back to work.
"He has almost no pulse." The Reploid informed his chief after a few seconds. "His heart beat is irregular and so weak it could stop at any moment." Life Savor drew in a sharp, terse hiss, his eyes now flashing with a sudden anxiety as Cade's words sank in. Then a look of determination crossed his face, replacing the uncharacteristic appearance of unease in his features.
"Listen to me, all of you." He began, only continuing once he had the attention of the entire team. "We can't let that happen. X's heart is like your energy generators. We can't let it stop!"
The team wheeled the stretcher through the double doors to the Emergency Room, leaving their pursuers to wait in the corridor outside.
The hours that ticked by felt more like days. General Signas sat on a bench along one wall of the wide corridor, slouched over, his elbows resting on his legs and his hands folded in front of his mouth, fingers resting under his nose. He had his gaze fixed at the patterns of the floor, his robotic mind in a whirl of deep thought; he couldn't understand how X could have fallen so ill in such a short amount of time.
He was perfectly fine this morning. Now… All the General could do was exhale wearily.
Alia was perched on another bench along the same wall. Strands of molten gold hair had worked their way out of the roll she wore at the nap of her neck, streaming down to her shoulders like silky ribbons. Her hands fidgeted in her lap as her eyes roamed, searching for any sign of reassurance. She glanced over at the General, who only shook his head as if to say 'I'm sorry'.
As she continued her nervous observation, her gaze would occasionally fall to Zero. Even in her own state of confusion and grief, she couldn't help but feel that he was taking this the hardest, knowing that despite his calm outward-ness, he was aching fiercely inside. X and Zero had been inseparable ever since Zero had joined the Hunters all those years ago.
Alia would watch her blonde haired friend for a few minutes with worried, sympathetic eyes as he paced the tan and white tiled floor of the large hall. He would make a few passes across the surface with his hands behind his back; fingers locked, eyes desperate, then turn with a look of intense expectation toward the Medical Bay doors. After a brief moment, he would give a distraught sigh, drop his head and continue pacing. And the uneasy silence would once again descend.
This routine was continued for a short while longer, until the lull was abruptly broken by a frustrated cry from Zero when he could no longer stand the waiting.
"What could be taking them so long!" he wailed, stopping in mid-stride to turn toward Signas and Alia, sweeping his arms out to his sides dramatically in an unconscious attempt to display his anguish. Alia could hear every note of despair in his baritone voice.
Signas looked up from his meditations. "Zero," he said with all the confidence and reassurance he could muster, "I'm sure Life Savor is doing all he can for X. We just have to be patient."
Alia rose from where she had been seated and placed a tender hand on her crimson clad companion's shoulder, trying her best to reinforce the General's statement. Zero searched the fathoms of her cobalt eyes, then quickly turned his head aside, ineffective trying to hide the longing expression he knew she must have already seen. He wanted to believe…
"I know, General Signas." Zero responded after a moment in a strange, tight, quite voice, his face still averted. "But, it's so hard… waiting… not knowing… not being able to do anything." Alia's hand slipped from Zero's arm as he walked forcefully over to the wall and pounded his fist against it several times, causing the metallic surface to develop a shallow dent, trying to vent some of the frustration he felt. He finally came to a rest with his left arm high on the wall, his head pressed to his forearm and his right fist held weakly in the last place he had punched the hard surface.
"I just feel so useless!" he cried, his body heaving with a heavy sob.
As she watched him struggle with his emotions, some how Alia knew that, had Zero been human, those sobs would have been accompanied by tears. But she scolded herself for thinking such silly thoughts at a time like this; she knew X was the only Reploid that could actually cry, but Zero's grief just seemed so acute.
Zero turned his back to the wall, slowly sliding to the floor, where he pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in his arms. "I never wanted to feel this way again." he whispered in a voice so quite the others did not hear him. These feelings brought a painful memory back to haunt him. He found that the recollection caused the tightness in his chest to increase and his throat to go dry, making it even harder to breath.
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It had happened about six years ago, during the Maverick Wars. After the continued success with the Maverick Hunters, the human delegates of the government had established a second group of Hunters known as Repliforce.
Repliforce had started out as an adequate faction and one of its members, Iris, younger sister to Repliforce's second in command; Colonel, had become close friends with Zero. But it was not meant to last.
Before the end of Repliforce's first year in service, a Maverick riot broke out. When the force responded too late to the situation, the Maverick Hunters were dispatched to clean up the resulting mess. This event caused much tension to begin to build between the two peace keeping organizations. Then, just a few weeks later, Zero had been given an assignment to investigate the recent attack on a floating city sector known as the Sky Lagoon. When he arrived on the site, he found and rescued Iris from a giant dragon-like Mechanoloid; a non-living robot.
Sending Iris back to the Hunter Base, Zero continued his exploration of the sector, eventually meeting Magma Dragoon, one of Repliforce's Commanders, at the center of the city where the generator that kept the Sky Lagoon afloat was located. The area was in shambles and the generator had been damaged. Dragoon claimed that he did not know who the culprit was, but advised that Zero follow his lead and leave before he went down with the Lagoon. Having no other option, Zero fled the Sky Lagoon, arriving back on ground level to view the decimation of the city that the large floating 'island' had landed on.
Colonel arrived at the same location just shortly after Zero. With an air of distrust, Zero had questioned Colonel's reasons for his unit occupying a location they had not been dispatched to, pointing out that them being at the Sky Lagoon during its sabotage looked suspicious. Colonel had replied simply that they had come in search of his sister. After informing Colonel that Iris was in good hands, Zero had ordered the Reploid to disarm and return with him to the Hunter Base to straighten out the matter, but Colonel had refused, claiming that to drop his weapon would be a disgrace to his honor and the honor of Repliforce.
Because of the officer's actions, the humans labeled Repliforce as Mavericks and a threat to be terminated. Believing to have been unjustly accused, Repliforce declared war.
Zero had been ordered to deal with Colonel, and despite Iris' protests to both Zero and her brother to stop the fighting, neither would admit that they were in the wrong. This conflict eventually led to Colonel's demise.
Upon receiving word of her brother's death, Iris was so stricken by grief that she went insane, vowing to claim revenge against Zero in her brother's name. Iris borrowed a Ride Armor from Repliforce's artillery and assaulted Zero during one of his hunts for the remaining Repli leaders. Her attacks were so relentless, that Zero had had no choice but to defend himself. He had managed to destroy the Armor, but its explosion had caused irreparable damage to Iris' own body.
As she lay dieing in Zero's arms, Iris' mind had cleared and her sanity had returned. With the last of her energy, she had confessed the reasons she had so desired to be near him always; a deep love and bond had developed for the lone crimson Hunter. It was then that the emotions that had been hidden from even Zero him self had surfaced. To late had his love for her finally bloomed, leaving him with bitter-sweet anguish at the discovery. Iris had smiled at him one last time, then her eyes had wearily slide shut forever.
In that fateful hour, as despair threatened to crush his spirit, Zero came to a realization. X was the only real friend he had left, the only person that truly understood him and that he could truly trust. From that moment forward, Zero vowed that he would protect X by any means necessary.
But now, once again, there was nothing he could do. Zero was so afraid he would lose X, just as he had so long ago lost Iris…
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The sounds of metal scraping on the floor broke into Zero's thoughts, causing him to look up. Signas had risen from his place along the wall, and was headed toward Alia and Zero. As he continued down the passage past the two Hunters, the General gave Zero an understanding glance.
"Wait here." He instructed as he disappeared through the Med Bay doors. With a glance of startled puzzlement that matched Zero's, Alia took a seat on the floor next to him. Neither said a word, there was no way they knew how to express what they were feeling. Zero rested his head on his knees with a heavy sigh, he felt so tired and drained.
When Signas reentered the hallway, despite how he had felt before, Zero was instantly on his feet to approach the General.
For a moment the two Reploids just stood facing each other, till finally Zero built up his courage enough to speak the question waiting on the end of his tongue.
"How… is he?"
Signas closed his eyes and took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully. Finally he spoke up.
"They are still working on stabilizing his condition. Life Savor can't seem to determine what's afflicting him." Signas shook his head sadly; he was still trying to make sense of it all.
Zero's breath caught in his throat and his pupils shrank slightly when he heard this report. His head dropped crestfallenly.
Signas began to pace the hall, speaking his thoughts aloud to no one in particular.
"Life Savor said X had been briefly conscience, said he was delirious… mumbling something. All they could make out was Zero's name and something about Nanotech, Data Bank, Sigma, and file "M".
Zero's head snapped up abruptly. He no longer paid any attention to the General's dialogue, instead focusing on an idea that had struck him. After pondering for a brief moment, he suddenly interrupted Signas' reflections.
"…Alia!" Zero said quickly as he grabbed the blonde haired girl's arm in one hand. "Hadn't X had you look up something for him related to the City Data Bank? Do you still have those files!"
"Yes, well…"
"Good! Come with me!" Zero exclaimed as he dashed down the corridor, dragging the startled Alia along behind him.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see…?" General Signas trailed off, turning around to find the hall behind him empty. He stood where he was, befuddled as to where everyone had gone.
Zero sprinted down a long corridor with Alia right behind him. As they passed a darker side hall, Alia noticed a faint sound coming from somewhere in its expanse. Grabbing Zero by the hand to bring him to a halt, Alia moved quietly toward the sound. "Hold on a sec, Zero…" she called to him in a slightly distracted manner.
Zero was about to make a hot retort, but held his tongue, and against his desire to continue toward the archives, followed Alia into the hall.
As she approached the back of the hall, Alia could make out the faintest silhouette of a person. Sitting on the floor in a corner, her back to the wall and her knees pulled to her chest, head down, was a small Reploid girl. Crouching in front of the girl, Alia realized that the small robot was whimpering mutedly.
"What's wrong?" she asked in a gentle, soothing voice as she ran her fingers through the girl's soft bangs.
By this time, Zero had reached Alia's side, and kneeling on the floor next to her, his impatient expression melted when the girl looked up.
"Micha…?" he whispered in a curious tone. Micha looked from one to the other, her small childish face wrinkled with deep sorrow. She dropped her head back to her knees, and shook it a few times. "I…I heard about… what happened to… X." she choked out between tearless sobs. "Is…he…he… gonna' be…okay?" Alia was slightly taken aback, not sure how to answer.
The question brought a stinging sensation to Zero's heart. Leaning forward he wordlessly gathered the small surprised Reploid into his arms, pulling her head close to his chest, his blonde ponytail spilling over her shoulder and across her back. A short quivering sigh escape him, his eyes pinched tightly closed. It was all Alia could do to sit back and watch in stunned silence. After a moment, releasing Micha, who only sank back on her haunches in quiet shock, Zero slowly got to his feet and walked down the hall as if in a daze. Reaching the end of the passage, he looked back once without really seeing, then disappeared around the corner.
Alia managed to catch up to her red clad companion, huffing and puffing, just as the main archive system booted up. With Zero sitting before the computer's keyboard and Alia guiding him, the two Reploids began a frantic search.
Zero's fingers flew like the wind as he scanned over the saved data files and other related fragments he had found, searching for clues to retrace and eventually solve the mystery the now ill X had started. The clues they did manage to find only seemed to lead from one document to another.
After nearly half an hour of browsing file after numerous file, the team finally happened upon the Data Bank robbery report that X had originally accessed. Zero was about to brush the file aside as unhelpful, when Alia suddenly spoke up, musing mostly to herself. "I remember X having me look up further information on this topic. He'd seem particularly interested in it. Still strikes me as strange that a Mav would return anything it stole. And what would one want with medical files in the first place, of all things?"
Zero paused to think for a minute. "Yes, he'd had me inquire to you about that. What was the other thing he had wanted to know about? ...Nanotech I believe it was. In fact, just a few days later, we visited the NanoCorps. company. Something had definitely sparked his interest in the subject all of a sudden." Zero turned back to the computer, deciding that maybe he should give the report a little more thought.
Quickly skim reading the article, Zero finally came to the footer at the bottom.
"Hey! I think I found it! There's a reference to Nanotech right here! And the 'last accessed' date indicates that it is most likely that this is a report that X read as well. I think we're on the right track!" Alia leaned over his shoulder to get a closer look at the small panel that Zero was pointing to.
Sitting back in his chair and crossing one leg over the knee of the other, Zero placed the side of his hand across his mouth with his fingers curved toward his palm and his thumb resting vertically along his cheek.
The end of his thumb touched the base of one of the longest gashes below his left eye, which had been completely forgotten about with all that had happened. He wore a deep thoughtful frown that made the cut skin pull tighter, but he ignored the slight burning.
"A theft at the Data Bank… file 'M' stolen… but what would Nanotech have to do with all this? Something's still amiss."
Alia stepped away from the console and started pacing the room, thinking about the possibilities. It wasn't long before she returned to Zero's side.
"Why don't you run a keyword related search? Open up the search engine's master control system and then create a LAN with the rest of the archives by changing the settings from 'local' to 'full system access'.
Now close down the control panel and switch to 'isolated subject' and use Nanotechnology as one keyword and something else for the other. The system should now be able to pinpoint articles that contain the keywords or that have references to them."
Zero did as he was told, changing the search settings. "Remind me later to thank you for finishing top in your Programming School." He quipped as he was making the final adjustments.
"Alright, where do we begin?"
"Hmm… why not try 'nanotech' and 'data bank'." Alia instructed Zero. The Rad Raider typed in the keywords and punched enter. A list of five matches appeared on the screen in seconds. But after reading through them, Zero sighed with disappointment.
"They don't contain anything that helps. They all just talk about how the Data Bank provides local nanotech research facilities with information. We already know that."
"What about 'nanotech' and 'Mavericks'." Alia suggested. Zero entered the search.
"Nothing useful." He replied with a disgruntled shake of his head.
"'Nanotech' and 'robbery'?"
……….
"Zilch."
The team continued the search using keywords from the report for another ten minutes before taking a break, all of their work was coming up fruitless. In frustration, Zero rested his forehead in his hands. He wasn't about to give up, but was quickly becoming quite flustered. Alia was once again pacing the room, wracking her computer like mind for more word combinations that might produce results. Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks.
"We haven't tried 'Reploid Medical files' yet."
Zero didn't say anything, just nodded and input the words. The results that came up displayed one match. Zero quickly read through the article and as about to regard it as another failure when a few word caught his eye.
"Wait a sec. It mentions that company that X and I visited a few days ago. It appears that the Data Bank has been providing the corporation with medical information on their volunteers."
Alia and Zero exchanged a brief look. Zero rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder exactly what's in that file that Razor's 'boss' would want so bad…" he said in an undertone to himself.
"Alia…. Does the Hunter Base have access to those Medical files?" he inquired this time aloud to his female companion.
Alia gave Zero a quizzical glance. "Well, of course we do… Life Savor has to have access to those." Zero was barely listening; instead he was intent on bringing up the Medical archives main security page.
"Do you know the password?" the Rad Raider asked in a flat tone, catching Alia off guard.
"Uh-um… y-yes I do." she stammered, his bluntness had startled her. "B-but, Zero, I… We really shouldn't…"
Alia sucked in a sharp breath as Zero suddenly spun in his seat to face her.
"Alia, please…" Zero pleaded with her, the spark of a strange emotion flickering in his desperate eyes. Alia stared at him for a moment, then her resolve melted and she nodded in agreement.
The Medical file 'M' turned out to be a very extensive list of names with information about their owners attached to each in a separate file. The system was set up in alphabetical order, reading like a phone directory. Alia guessed it must have contained data on just about every single Reploid in existence whose name started with the letter 'M'.
Not really knowing what he expected or what he was looking for, Zero scrolled through the list of monikers. He was mildly surprised to find out that even a few Maverick names were listed. After reaching the 'Me' section, the search came to an abrupt pause.
There on the glowing screen, written in bold black lettering, was the name 'Mega Man X'.
"Why am I so surprised?" Zero mumbled aloud, growing slightly annoyed with himself. He looked to Alia as she stated what they had both been thinking.
"I guess we just got so used to calling him X that we forgot what his full name was." They both gave a small nervous chuckle.
Zero pivoted back to the computer and double clicked on X's name, the program prompting for a different password, which Alia quickly provided. The contents of the file followed the same format as all the others, with the exception of a small red script preceding the normal entry. The script contained a date and…
"This file was hacked into!" exclaimed Zero in an incredulous voice. "But wha…" he was about to say something else, but abruptly cut himself off as he stared into the distance, his eyes wide, his body rigid.
"Zero? Zero, are you alright!"
Zero did not hear as Alia desperately tried to get him to respond. His mind was in a whirl as he recalled an event he had previously overlooked.
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The Special Opps. Team had gathered in the Command Center to await X's victorious return from his battle with Sigma nearly a month ago. All eyes had turned toward the reception pad as X teleported into the room. Zero could remember how surprised they all were to discover that the Blue Bomber scarcely bore a mark. Normally X would finish a brawl with Sigma and need a fair share of medical treatment and time to recuperate afterwards. Recollection of how X reported his almost to easy win came to the Rad Raider.
During a break in the exchange between Commander and General, Douglas had inquired about a small gash on X's right wrist, the only wound anyone could detect.
X recounted how Sigma had had a large claw like weapon that he had swung out at one point during their fight. Slightly embarrassed to admit it, he told them all how he had grown a little cocky with the ease of the battle and misjudged the attack. The sharp blade had struck his arm, piercing through the gauntlet to skim the flesh underneath.
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Oh Mets! And like the fools that we were, we let the matter slide! Life Savor didn't even examine the wound! The mental keen flashed through Zero's mind as the truth dawned on him.
With a loud clang, Zero slammed his hands down upon the desk surface, bolting to a standing position. It was all Alia could do to dodge the chair as it tipped backwards due to its occupant's abrupt motion. Before the stunned female could put a question into words, Zero was racing across the room toward the door. Alia threw up her left hand, arm out stretched in front of her, fingers spread in a reaching gesture.
"Zero, where are you going?" she called out in an octave higher than her normal voice. But too late, he had already disappeared down the hall.
Zero sprinted through the Hunter Headquarters as fast as his feet would carry him. His boots droned out a hollow, rhythmatic pounding as they beat against the tiles of the corridors. At one point he skidded around a corner, and would have collided with the wall had it not been for his sharply horned reflexes. Continuing through the halls, he would often catch the attention of other Hunters who would turn to stare at him in question, those of higher rank realizing that to see a Commander tearing through the Base at top speed must mean that the reason was urgent.
Being oblivious to the watching eyes, only one thought had stuck in Zero's mind, the message he must deliver.
Zero came pounding into the large corridor that adjoined to the Med bay, huffing for breath but never slowing. The clatter caused General Signas to look up from where he was perched against the wall. Seeing the distressed Hunter's face, he instantly shoved away from where he was and began moving to intercept him.
"Zero….? Where were you? What's going on?"
Zero ran right past his superior without so much as a sideways glance, making his way to the large entry doors at the end of the hall, the Generals voice fading behind him.
Shoving open the double doors that lead to the Med bay, he darted his way down a short hall that lead to a second set of doors and a Medical Officer; his last obstacle.
Zero reached to open the entry way, but before he could even touch the metal surface, the Med Officer stepped into his path.
"I'm sorry, Commander, but you do not have clearance to pass beyond this point."
"To Hades with clearance!" Zero snapped as he pushed past the stunned officer and ducked through the shuttered doors that opened horizontally as he approached.
The Emergency Room was filled with a complex system of computer consoles and other equipment that served various functions. Despite all the devices arranged in the chamber, a fairly large area in the center of the room, where all the operations were preformed, remained clear of all obstructions. This space was now occupied by several Medics who darted purposefully around the room, and a small group who were still working furiously to save a life.
One of Life Savor's duplicates approached Zero, both surprise and irritation showing in his strong face. It was apparent that he had disapproved of Zero's presence as soon as he saw him.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded of the blonde haired Hunter. "It had better be a good reason." The Doctor wasn't generally mean, but he was a serious man and didn't tolerate trivial interruptions. It was also plain that he and Zero still weren't on the best of terms; they probably never would be. Therefore, Zero knew he would have to press the importance of his cause.
"Life Savor, stop running virus scans, you won't find any viral signatures. I have reason to believe that it may be something else."
His tolerance already wearing thin, Life Savor glared at Zero skeptically. "And do you have sufficient evidence that this theory is concrete?"
"Well no… but please Life Savor, hear me out. I know this might sound crazy… but I've got an urgent feeling inside that's telling me we're over looking some thing important."
"I don't have time for your gut feelings, Zero. Now I suggest that you remove yourself from the premises and allow me to continue my work." Life Savor replied bluntly, turning to walk away, a sign that he was dismissing the matter.
His short temper instantly flaring to life at the Doctor's un-considering attitude, his determination to be heard resolute, Zero blundered forward in his argument, giving it one more shot.
"You yourself and your team haven't been able to asses the problem!" he growled angrily, "What do we have to lose at this point!"
Life Savor paused mid-stride. He was briefly silent, then started moving again, his course altering slightly. "You'd better not be wasting my time." He stated flatly.
Surprised at first, but catching on quickly, Zero followed Life Savor to where a large terminal was mounted a short distance from the operation facilities. On one of the systems multiple screens a rough schematic and other vital data was displayed. The system was used to run viral scans and give reports on them. Life Savor deactivated the auto scan programs.
"Alright, if it's not viral, what do you propose I search for then?..."
"Umm… try scanning for foreign substances or materials."
Life Savor once again glanced at Zero skeptically, but humored the Hunter and entered the new command into the program. While they waited for the results, Zero had to fight with himself to keep his eyes from wandering to the scene beyond Life Savor, not wanting to watch the activities of the Medical team as they operated on his closest friend for fear of what he might see; his innards ached enough already.
His daze was broken by a sudden sharp curse from Life Savor.
"What the…?... What is this!"
Zero glanced back at the console, seeing that the scan had finished. A screen to the left of the main monitor reported to have detected large amounts of what it described as being an organic metal substance.
"Dam, it was all over in his structure, yet the normal scans didn't show a single trace of it!" Life Savor mumbled a string of curses under his breath as he vehemently adjusted the scanning mechanisms in hopes of being able to better ascertain the identity of the substance. Zero simply remained silent as the Doctor red over his new findings twice in disbelief as he continued to make adjustments.
"What's going on here? Now it's telling me that this organic metal consists of independent particles. This isn't making any sense!"
The tension Zero felt escalated as he watched Life Savor tinker with a visual image the scan had compiled. The Doctor typed in lines of command, changing focus and prospective of the image and read outs until a distinguishable shape abruptly appeared.
Life Savor sank back in his chair with a weariness Zero couldn't recall ever seeing before in the Doctor's normally stubborn stamina. The Chief Medic shook his head slowly as he confirmed his thoughts with the computer's data streams.
"Nanorobotics…? But how can that be possible, they're not even beyond the testing stage yet. How did this happen?"
Zero's mouth pulled into a thin line as he contemplated the only answer he could think of.
"Remember about four weeks ago," he began in an oddly detached voice, "X reported back to the Base and told us of his encounter with Sigma?
The wound on his wrist… only sign he'd been in a fight at all…" he paused to organize his thoughts.
"Life Savor, I think that the weapon Sigma used to inflict that wound must have somehow been imbued with the Nanobots. He fought a pathetic fight deliberately, knowing that all he had to do was land one minor blow and he would succeed. He had the whole thing planned out; he knew we wouldn't pay any attention to such a miniscule cut, and you yourself said that the Nanobots didn't show in any of the normal scans. That's why you couldn't find it in any of your routine checkups of X. It's been spreading this entire time, causing damage slowly so as not to reveal itself until it already had almost completely consumed his systems."
The realization of this sinisterly diabolical plot left them both in momentary silence as they exchanged glances.
Life Savor suddenly broke the lull. "But according to the computer's projected rate of Nanobot infiltrative growth, the end result should have been achieved about a week ago. So why didn't it show till now?"
"Was there anything that could have possibly interfered?"
"Hmm…" Life Savor pondered that thought. His eyes went wide as a notion struck him.
"Ah! When you and X returned from your leave, you told me what happened and requested that I place X in stasis slumber for the night. That could very possibly have delayed the Nanobot production and set it behind schedule."
Zero had to agree, everything was starting to make a startlingly scary sense.
Rising from his chair with renewed vigor, Life Savor placed his hands on the console top, took a deep breath and let it out in a quick snort, dispelling the last of his worry.
"Well." He said briskly. "With this new information we should be able to make some progress." He turned to leave and resume his work, but delayed a moment. Without even looking back, Life Savor spoke in an off hand manner. "Oh, don't mind what I said earlier about your evidence not being concrete."
Zero took that for an apology, or as close as he'd ever heard the stubborn old Reploid get to one.
"What I still don't understand is how Sigma got a hold of the means to create Nanobots." The Doctor said to himself as he walked away.
"I don't know," Zero whispered with a sudden flourish of hate at the mention of his nemesis, "but I'm going to find out…."
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Yeah, I finally finished Chapter 6! Turns into little chibi and does dance in circles I hope you all liked it so far and will stick with me for the rest of the four or so chapters to come. Hope to see you at the end of the next one!
Zero walks up behind her "You are planning to finish this, aren't you? I don't think X would appreciate being left as he is."
Turns around quickly to look at him "What are you doing here! Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for the next scene?"
"I've got time." Zero replies nonchalantly.
Turns back to audience "Sorry. I have to deal with something."
Pulls out large hammer, Zero's eyes get wide, she chases him off stage.
"What were you implying with that….? Are you saying I'm lazy!"