Mega Man Cross
Chapter 3
"Entering Viper Mansion"
By MEGAMANX411
X slowly stepped into the decaying forest. Although it had been called that, it appeared to be much more like a swamp than anything else. The trees were withered and distorted, and looked as though they had all had some demonic edge to them. There were pools of water everywhere, but the water was dark and murky, not fresh and clean. The grass and other plant life were all equally hideous.
"Nice forest.." Kid muttered.
For once, Zero and Kid found themselves in agreement. As Kid slowly walked forward with caution, taking the time to takea look at the deceased plantlife, Zero made sure to keep a close eye on her. There was no telling what hideous beasts lived in this sad excuse of a forest.
"Yeah..the name is a bit misleading.." Zero added, taking the time to survey the decaying area.
"Well, let's get going. We have to find Niki," X replied.
Zero shrugged. He knew that X was right, but why would someone want to come to this godforsaken place?
"Yeah..why the heck would he be here anyway?" Zero asked.
X shrugged in response, and then began to scan the immediate area. He didn't really know why anyone would want to come here, but he figured if he did, he must have had some form of reason. X wasn't a very judgemental person, so he wouldn't be too presumptuous.
"I'm not really sure, to be honest," X replied. "Maybe he's doing it for some form of artistic expression or to gain artistic inspiration?"
Zero rolled his eyes. For the sake of art was not really an answer he enjoyed hearing, but he had nothing better to do, and this Niki person apparently knew how to enter Viper Mansion.
"Eh, whatever the case, we have to find him. Let's keep going," Zero responded, keeping his hand tightly gripped on his saber.
X, Zero, and Kid walked deeper into the supposed forest, not too sure of where they were supposed to find this Niki.And they were still very cautious about the rumored entrance to Viper Mansion, as well as the Acacia Dragoons. As they delved deeper into the forest, they saw a reploid stumbling around.
He appeared rather lanky, with dark blue and black armor. He had long red hair, and had what seemed to be a guitar on his back.He stumbled around aimlessly, as if he was not walking around on his own power.
"That must be him.." X observed, pointing to who he assumed was Niki.
Zero's eyes widened as he saw the lanky figure. He was a bit odd, and certainly out of place. He had a pretty scrawny frame, but was about the same height as Zero. His long red hair couldn't begin to compare to Zero's blonde locks, but they were pretty massive nonethelss. Overall, he looked pretty similar.
"Yeah..he looks like he's had one too many," Zero replied.
Before they had a chance to assess the situation further, they saw a group of strange creatures ambush Niki. Each creature was pretty short in height, perhaps only three feet or so, but they had long claws and long sharp teeth. Each one snarled viciously, and threatened to devour the rock guitarist.
"We have to help him! Come on!" X shouted, running towards the inevitable skirmish.
Zero wasn't one to be left behind in a feet, so he quickly rushed after X. He almost forgot about Kid first, however, so he made sure to include her as well. She had proven to him she could fight, so he wasn't too worried about her.
"Come on Kid!" Zero shouted, grabbing Kid by the arm, and following after X.
"Oi! I'm comin', I'm comin', hold yer horses!" Kid shouted.
First, Niki pulled out his guitar, and adjusted some knobs on it. He then looked at one of the monsters, and dashed at it. The monster lunged back at him, but Niki leaped over him, bashed him over the head with his guitar, and then played a screeching high note on the instrument close to the monster's ears.
The four monsters screamed out in agony, and clutched their heads to try and prevent the sound from piercing their ears any more. X followed up on Niki's offensive by blasting another one of the monsters, not killing it, but wounding it. The creature fell backwards in pain, and clutched its burnt flesh. It opted not to fight anymore, and simply ran off.
Zero also took the opportunity to unleash his saber on another mosnter. He quickly flicked his wrist and slashes one monster across the eyes, not killing it, but blinding it. He then punted it hard, and sent it flying back into the swamp. Kid, on the other hand, made short work of the last monster by tackling it hard, then picking it up and throwing it off in the distance.
Zero looked on wide-eyed at Kid, and a sweat-drop appeared on his forehead. He had assumed she was tough for her apparent age and size, but man, that was a massive display of power if he had ever seen one.
"Wow...she's stronger than she looks.." he observed, putting his saber away.
X, in the meantime, went over by Niki. He made the assumption that this person was in fact Niki, but he wanted to make sure. After all, if it wasn't, then he'd be back to square one.
"Are you Niki?" X asked.
"Yes, I am.Thanks for rescuing me," Niki replied.
Both Niki and X breathed a sigh of relief, apparently both for different reasons.Niki almost fell victim toa pack of crazed beasts, whereas X had finally found the person who could give him the information he required.
"Ah, good..and it's no problem, besides, your friend wants you to come back to Termina," X answered.
Niki's eyes widened. He instantly knew who X was referring to.
"You mean Miki?" Niki asked.
X nodded back in confirmation. He had that little discussion out the way, but something still bothered him. Namely, why Niki was out here in the first place.
"Yeah. Why were you out here anyway?" X asked.
"I'm not too sure, to be honest. I just stumbled out here once when I didn't realize it, and I've come back several times. I've come out here sometimes to think, but recently, I've been drawn to this place," Niki replied.
X shrugged.The answer wasn't exactly what he was expecting, but he figured that it was of little consequence. But he then remembered the main reason for wanting to find Niki--trying to get into Viper Mansion.
"Well...we were wondering if you knew how to enter Viper Mansion. That was the other reason we wanted to find you," X answered.
Niki nodded, and then slung his guitar over his shoulder.He ran his hand through his hair as he talked.
"Yeah, actually. I came out here to find it myself. It's a little further down the swamp. I can guide you there if you'd like," Niki replied.
"Thanks Niki," X answered, smiling.
"It's no problem man, besides, you're the one who saved me. It's the least I can do," Niki replied.
Zero curiously eyed Niki, trying to see if he had some means of putting up a respectable fight, but it didn't seem like it.Niki himself was a rather scrawny looking person, so his bare fists alone wouldn't be too powerful.And the only thing he had on him was his instrument.
"If we're going to fight, just be careful, you don't seem to have any weapons by the looks of it," Zero warned.
"Actually, my guitar is more than an instrument," Niki replied.
X's eyes widened.He thought he just heard the implication that Niki's guitar was a weapon, but he couldn't quite comprehend the logic behind it.
"Come again?" X asked.
"I modified my instrument so I can produce ultra-high frequency sound-waves, and use it a weapon. It's a really killer guitar, y'know? Or I can just bash it over someone's head, either way," Niki replied.
Zero chuckled and shook his head. Using a guitar as a weapon was certainly something he'd never heard of before, and he was rather intrigued by the prospect of it.
"Heh..that's a new one. Lead the way," Zero replied.
Just then arather humongoushumanoid reploid appeared before them. His body had plain silver armor, but it appeared very bulky and gargantuan. His face was covered by his helmet (which had a little opening for his eyes), and he appeared to be almost 8 or 9 feet in height. He didn't have any obvious weapons on him, but his fists alone looked like they could be quite formidable.
"Hold it right there!" the figure boomed (Please note: In the games, this character speaks with all capital letters, but I decided that may become a nuisance).
X's eyes widened at the sight of this monolithic figure. He didn't think that getting into the secret entrance would require much brute force, hence the "secret entrance" title, but he did figure that some of the Acacia Dragoons may have planned on someone sneaking in through there.It's not like they didn't hear rumors either.
"Who are you?" X asked, steadying his buster.
The figure remained firm, and didn't budge at all.
"I am Zoah, one of the Acacia Dragoons. I am to take you into custody," Zoah shouted.
Zero narrowed his eyes at the threatening reploid before him. He looked tough, but he knew that he wasn't invincible. Zero himself was a tough customer, so he reasoned that he could take his chances with this guy. And besides, the numbers were in his favor.
"You can try," Zero replied, pulling out his saber.
Zoah charged forward, threatening to tackle the group with his large body. His weight alone would no doubt cause massive damage, so X and the rest opted to simply dodge instead of trying to stop him. X dashed around him and shot him in the back, causing Zoah to stumble foward a bit. Zoah wheeled himself around, and glared menacingly at X.
When he wasn't looking, Kid leaped on his back, and tried to bring her dagger down on his shoulder. However, Zoah grabbed her first, and held her out in front of him so she couldn't do much. When Zero saw this, he decided to intervene. After all, Zoah was practically three times Kid's size--the sheer prospect of things were anything but fair.
"Put her down!" Zero shouted.
When he heard Zero's command, Zoah turned himself around, and hurled Kid at him. Kid's little body didn't damage Zero too much, but it was still rather painful for both of them nonetheless. Zero was on the ground, with Kid on top of him.
"I told ya not to try anythin' funny!" Kid shouted, getting back up.
Zero rolled his eyes, and pushed her away. He then stood back up, and brushed himself off.
"Now's not the time!" Zero replied, rushing back at Zoah with his saber flying.
X was firing at Zoah again, but Zoah's massive momentum made him difficult to stop. So he charged X, and held him tight in his grip. However, before he had the chance to try anything else, Zero slashes him in the back. Zoah dropped X and tried to clutch his wound (of course, because of reach issues, his attempts were futile).
X dashed back around, and stood beside Kid, Zero, and Niki. Zoah was a rather big opponent, so they decided that they would need a plan to bring him down. Brute force alone wouldn't be able to stop this guy.
"You guys got a plan?" X whispered.
"Lure him into charging you again. I got a plan," Niki replied.
"Sure it'll work?" Zero asked.
"I don't like the look a' this..." Kid muttered.
"No time! He's coming back around!" X shouted.
Zoah, clearly angered by his wound, turned himself back around, and then charged again. This time, Niki stood in front, and put his guitar out in front of him. He adjusted some settings on it, and then struck a chord. The sound waves caused Zoah to stop dead in his tracks, and he then clutched his head and dropped to his knees. While he was down, X took the time to blast Zoah with a charged shot, knocking him over and out cold.
"Man..that guy was a real hassle," Niki muttered.
Niki slung his guitar over his shoulder, and let out a sigh. X then placed his hand on Niki's shoulder, and gave him an approving smile.
"Good plan on stopping him," X replied.
Niki shrugged, and gaveX a thumbs-up back.
"Yeah..who would've thought a little music would bring him down, eh?" Niki replied.
X slumped his shoulders and rolled his eyes. First it was Karsh, now it was Zoah. He seemed to be making enemies just by existing in the first place.
"Yeah..and it seems like I'm making enemies left and right wherever I go.." X muttered.
Zero, being rather preoccupied with the task at hand, thought it would be better to get back to business.
"Well, not much time for that, let's find that secret entrance," Zero responded.
Niki nodded back, and then pointed in the direction of the supposed secret entrance. However, seeing as they were just attacked by an Acacia Dragoon, it didn't seem to be so secret after all.
"Yeah, follow me, it's this way," Niki answered.
