A/N: Another boring day, another chapter. Thanks once again to Ryuujin for helping me write this. I'm really running out of things to say. ; Oh, and Hitomi in this chapter Scientist girl in the second chapter if you've forgotten.
Mightierdandasword: Do you hate Zero for some reason? o.o; Yes, he bawled when Iris first died, but you would too... He's had time to partially recover now. ; Besides, brooding leads to better writing then bawling. :P
mad-man: The tuning fork really long pointed weapon that looks like a tuning fork. :P It has other uses as well, which shall be discovered in this chapter.
Chapter 6: Saiko (The Best)
Deathsong stepped into the small room that housed the teleporter. A blonde Repliroid in pink clothing stood at a panel nearby, pressing buttons in rapid succession. She waved as the silver-haired man entered, but he still sensed her resentment of the fact it wasn't Zero standing before her. He sighed and shrugged it off, figuring he should probably get used to that reaction.
"Hello, Deathsong-san," she stated in an even voice. "My name is Alia. I'm here to navigate you through the area you'll be going to, alright?"
He nodded. "What exactly does this mission entail, Alia-chan?"
She winced at the overly familiar suffix he had used, but continued. "Well, we have word that a Maverick force is trying to build a new base in the jungle. You are to hunt down the leader of the building squad, Claw Jaguar. Please, only retire her if at all necessary - we have word that she is carrying a particularly virulent strain of the Sigma Virus, and it is quite possible her death would release it..."
Deathsong nodded. "Sounds good to me." He grinned as he stepped into the teleporter. This should be easy enough, he thought as his body began to dissolve into light. I mean, if hunting down basic Mavericks is all Zero has to do, I'm surprised I wasn't promoted earlier...
---
Sigma watched on one of his many hidden cameras as Deathsong began his trip through the jungle. He summoned one of the many Maverick commanders that stayed at his side at all times, and gestured at the screen showing the silver-haired man. "He could pose a threat, unless he is on our side," he stated in a harsh voice. "I want you to do all you can to infect him for me..."
The Maverick nodded and retreated into the shadows, leaving Sigma alone to contemplate his next commander...
---
Zero slowly walked back towards the Hunter base, his blonde hair falling into his face as the wind caught it. He was still silent and indrawn, but the urge for death had departed him. It's only temporary... he thought as he keyed in the code to open the doors of the base.
As he walked through the halls towards his new room, a cry of "Zero!" grabbed his attention. Dashing towards him were X and the young scientist Hitomi.
Zero blinked and waved as they skidded to a stop on the metal floors. "Hey, guys... why all the rush over me?" he asked.
X sighed and looked embarrassed. "We were worried because we couldn't find you anywhere... we were starting to worry you had been eaten or something."
Zero raised an eyebrow. "Well, for something to be able to eat me, it would have to be able to sneak into the base without setting off any alarms, find me without alerting other Hunters, and then somehow incapacitate an S rank hunter long enough to eat him. What's the real reason you're so worried?" he queried, in a tone of voice that indicated he already knew the real answer.
Hitomi sighed and stared at the floor. "Well, really... we were worried you had taken your temporary replacement too hard and shut yourself down or something..." she admitted in an embarrassed tone.
Zero nodded slowly, and Hitomi and X tensed even more. Then he grinned slightly. "It's alright, guys," he assured them. "It's only temporary, after all, and I could use a chance to rest... I'm sorry I was acting so awful before..."
"It's alright, Zero-kun," X said, grinning with relief that his friend wasn't too angry. "I understand that it must've been hard on you..."
"Right now, I really just want to relax for a while..." Zero stated calmly. "And don't worry, no more snapping at random Hunters for me." He grinned again, and the other two grinned back happily as he set off for his room...
---
Deathsong dodged another attack from the lithe cat-like Maverick, this one only missing by inches. "Is that the best you can do?" he taunted.
"Well, if all -you- can do is dodge, I think I have the upper hand," the Maverick responded, swiping and missing again. "Eventually you'll be too tired to dodge, and then I win."
"What if you get too tired to fight first?" Deathsong asked, dodging another blow.
"I doubt that will happen, but just in case, I think I'll finish things now," she responded, and swiped at the air near Deathsong. He was about to taunt her for missing that badly when the three waves of energy her claws had sent out struck him in the chest, knocking him into the half-built wall of the Maverick base and leaving three deep cuts in his armor.
Deathsong grunted and pushed himself to his feet using his staff. "And that was supposed to finish me?" he queried, a smirk growing across his face. "Let me show you a real finishing move." He reached forward and struck one of the pointed tongs of his staff with one finger. A note sounded quietly, much like that generated by a more normal tuning fork.
The jaguar-like Repliroid raised an eyebrow. "And that does... what?" she asked in a cold tone.
"You'll see," he responded, pointing the staff at her. The note somehow was still playing, and what's more, growing in volume. The pointed tines were vibrating slightly.
"Alright, fine, I'll wait, but if something doesn't happen soon, I'm going to be very dissapointed," she said, folding her arms over her chest. "Also, may I note that after this attack fails, you're dead?"
"Oh, it won't fail," the silver-haired man responded, but his voice was almost drowned out by the note the tuning fork was producing. However, his next words sounded clearly over the note. "Now listen to the rhapsody of oblivion..."
The note suddenly grew still louder, and some sort of nearly invisible cone of energy shot from the staff, knocking the girl into the wall with much more force than her attack had involved. Oil trickled out of the corner of her mouth as she struggled and failed to climb to her feet.
Deathsong stepped forward, his staff no longer producing that sound. "Sonic energy is an amazing thing, really," he stated calmly. "It's incredible how much damage mere sound can do..."
"Damn... you..." the Maverick muttered, once again trying to struggle to her feet.
"Don't try to get up - The vibrations have done way too much internal damage to your systems for that. Now, listen to me very carefully." He knelt before her so she could clearly see his eyes behind the black visor he wore. "I'm not supposed to kill you, because then I might be infected by the Maverick virus, blah blah blah. However, I don't like you very much. So, unless you have a really good reason for me not to kill you, I'm going to anyway. So, speak now, or forever rest in peace."
She smiled very faintly, eyes closed. "Firstly, you're mixing up ceremonies, but I figure that's deliberate," she mumbled. "Secondly, feel free... to kill me... Sigma... will still live on..."
Deathsong arched one eyebrow. "Ah, so Sigma-san has returned? Thank you for the news, but I'm afraid that now you die..."
He climbed to his feet and raised the staff, bringing it down quickly towards her chest...
---
"Master, he has gotten himself infected by Jaguar... Should I bring him here, or should we wait for the infection to fully take hold?" the Maverick commander asked his master.
Sigma thought for a moment, fingers pressed tightly together. Then he seemed to come to a decision and nodded. "I would like to go meet him myself, actually. He will be an excellent general, and I think it would be a good idea to meet him personally..."
The Maverick recoiled at the idea. "But master, your body is still weak, and he's not fully infected! What if you get injured in transport, or he's still Hunter enough to want to kill you, or-"
Sigma stopped him with an upraised hand. "This is my wish. So it shall be done."
The Maverick nodded unhappily and went off to fetch a good transport method...
---
Deathsong sighed as he felt the strange presence in his systems. "So, Alia-san was correct..." he said quietly. "It's unfortunate, but ah well..."
"So, you have detected the virus?" a harsh voice asked behind him.
Deathsong turned around to see the one he once hated and would now most likely serve standing behind him. "...Yes, Sigma-sama..." he stated quietly.
Sigma grinned broadly. His new body was simple and humanoid, but looked to be somehow incomplete, with parts not quite matching correctly and a rough feel to the whole creation. "That's good to hear," he stated. "Don't worry - you won't be one of my mindless servants. I feel your tactics and personality are just what we need, so we are merely... twisting them..."
Deathsong stared at the ground for a second, then looked up, a sick grin growing on his face. "That's unfortunate, Sigma-sama," he stated in a deeply evil voice.
Sigma raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
Rather than replying, Deathsong merely brought his staff around in a sweeping arc, catching Sigma directly in the chest with the pointed tines and, quite simply, impaling him. "Because I hate authority," he said quietly as the Maverick leader's body crumpled before him. "And I shall make a greater commander than you ever were."
---
Zero sat alone in his room, reading through a manga happily. I wonder if I should dye my hair silver? It looks pretty good on this "Blues.EXE" person... he thought as he flipped through the pages. Most of the worry had been banished from his mind after his meditation session in the woods, and he was now able to relax.
However, a knock came on his door, startling him out of his calm. "May I come in, Zero-sama? I have great news!" came Hitomi's voice.
"Yeah, sure," he said, wondering what the news was. He opened the door to reveal the young woman standing there, happiness shining in blue eyes.
"What's up, Hitomi-san?" he asked, brushing blonde hair away from his face.
"Sigma tried to come back again, but he was defeated! This is the shortest Sigma attack we've ever had! Now we don't have to worry about him for a while again!"
Zero blinked, trying to conceal his surprise. "That's great! Who was the Hunter who did it?" he asked, dreading that he already knew the answer.
Hitomi sighed and stared at the ground, confirming Zero's suspicions. "It... It was Deathsong-san, Zero-sama. He himself said it was just luck, but..."
Zero stared at the ground. "I understand," he said quietly. "I assume he'll remain commander of the Zero Unit?"
"N-no, Zero-sama! We're giving him his own unit and giving yours back, don't worry! We only have so many S Class hunters, and we're not going to demote one!"
Zero laughed bitterly and shook his head. "Yes, but his unit will be the one people call upon. He'll be the one people ask for help... The Zero Unit is obsolete, just like me." He laughed again. "To think, I was starting to finally think I was OK! Should have known better, I guess... Goodbye, Hitomi-san. I might see you around if they don't fire me.." The door slid closed between them again, leaving Hitomi to stare at the cold metal and worry...
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A/N: THe plot thickens! moohahaha... Also, the reference to Rockman.EXE is comepletley and utterly random, so ignore it. XD