Mega Man Cross
Chapter 10
"Mount Pyre"
By MEGAMANX411
X sighed as he saw Harle once again disappear. That's happened far too often. Especially considering that she not only tried to harm him, but Alia this time. There was no way X would ever stand for something like that.
"Well..looks like we haven't seen the last of her.." X muttered.
Meanwhile, Alia and Kid were both a litle startled by what Harle had said to them. They could've passed if off as common jealousy or the like, but something told them that there was something deeper to their words. Kid, being a thief and a vulgar little kid, was a bit accustomed to such insults. Alia, however, was not. She had been in this world for barely any time at all and she was already getting wrapped up in this whole mess.
Maybe coming along in the first place got her tangled up. Who knows? Even Alia, often considered the brightest at Maverick Hunter HQ, was having trouble figuring things out here. In time, everything would be revealed...but that in essence was the very problem. Waiting for the answers to be revealed was often an advantage for the enemy.
"Alia? You ok?" X asked.
Alia shook her head to free herself from her train of thought, and then gave X an innocent look.
"Yeah, I'm alright," she replied.
Slowly, an old reploid emerged from the ruined house, and appeared outside before the group. He had rather rusty and decrepit white armor, and no helmet. He didn't have hair, and wore glasses. If it were not for the armor, he could easily pass off for an elderly man. He also had deep green eyes..which gave X and company a rather worried gaze.
"Are you..with Lynx?" he asked.
"No, not at all. Honestly, we're not too sure of what he's up to, or even what his plans are.." X replied.
"Ah..I see. I knew there was something different about you. You seem trustworthy enough," the old reploid answered.
Kid was becoming rather impatient, and decided to figure out once and for all if this was the person they were looking for.
"Are ya the retired Acacia Dragoon?" Kid asked.
"Yes, I used to be an Acacia Dragoon. My name's Radius. Is there something you need of me?" he asked.
"Well..maybe first you can tell us why Lynx burned your home to the ground," Zero asked.
Radius sighed and lowered his head.
"Lynx may seem to be working in cooperation with the Acacia Dragoons and General Viper, but he is really the one pulling all the strings. He knew that I might be threat to him because of some information I hold, so that's probably why he tried to get rid of me," Radius answered.
"I see...what sort of information would that be?" X asked.
"The location of Fort Dragonia, and how to get in. You see, Lynx had joined the Acacia Dragoons rather recently, and he got in mainly because he told General Viper about a sacred treasure called the "Frozen Flame." This treasure is said to grant any wish and bestow incredible power. I'm betting that General Viper is planning on using the Frozen Flame so he can conquer the other nations to build his supposed utopia. But Lynx most definitely has other plans," Radius explained.
"Did you hear of his plans?" Alia asked.
"I do not know exactly what he is plotting, but I believe he does intend to make war with all the nations. At least I would assume so based on what I heard from him," Radius answered.
"So ya heard his plans eh? Fair enough...I want to track 'im down anyway, so tell me where he is!" Kid shouted.
"Lynx is supposedly at Fort Dragonia right now..but there is no way to reach them unless you are an Acacia Dragoon," Radius explained.
"Well, I don't think we can become Dragoons..so howcha do we reach them?" Korcha asked.
"In order to get to Fort Dragonia, you'll have to go to the top of Mount Pyre, an active volcano. This area has such intense heat that not even reploids can go through there easily. In order to do so, you'll need a special enhancement chip known as the Water Dragon's Blessing," Radius explained.
"Do you know where we can get these chips? And how do we get into Mount Pyre?" Alia asked.
"Luckily, I still have mine. Before Lynx tried to burn my place to the ground, that nasty little minion of his tried to raid my place. I , however, hid out in the basement. I managed to keep ahold of these chips. All Acacia Dragoons have them, it's how they can get in and out of Fort Dragonia. Here, take these data chips..and here's some map data. But tell me, do you plan on stopping Lynx?" Radius asked.
X turned his head to the rest of his group. He had come rather far in this quest, and he knew there was more to see. He wasn't too sure if he wanted to get his friends involved in the matter, but he didn't feel like he could quit now. Lynx was evil...there was no doubt in his mind about that, but the thing is, the evil he exhumed was still somewhat familiar. There was no way X could just forget about it and let him go.
He could've done the same thing about Sigma...he didn't. Instead, X fought Sigma with all his might. He couldn't simply let this go on. If Lynx intended to do something to manipulate the power that this item possessed, X had to go on. First, X accepted the items the old reploid offered to him, and then he gave him a very serious look.
"We'll go," X replied bluntly.
Alia gave X a worried look, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"X..are you sure about this?" Alia asked.
X nodded slowly and kept his resolve firm. He hated to fight..he especially disliked having to resort to violence. But he wasn't about to let this happen..and if his dreams meant anything, then Lynx was planning something catastrophic. X then felt Kid's hand on his other shoulder. He slowly turned around to face her.
"Ya sure about this..ya could go home..y'know?" Kid muttered.
X shook his head and then bent down so he was about eye level with Kid. He looked her straight in the eye, smiled, and patted her head.
"No..I'm staying for a little while longer. At least until I figure out what's going on..." X replied.
X then looked over to see Zero in deep thought. He looked like he was being troubled by something, but it was difficult to tell what it was. Normally when Zero was worried, it was something very bad.
"Zero? You doing alright?" X asked.
Zero immediately jerked himself out of his train of thought and returned his gaze to X. It still seemed like he wasn't fully out of his thoughts, however.
"Yeah..just thinking about something," Zero replied.
"What is it?" X asked.
"Just something..that I've been feeling. Not sure what it is, but it's familiar. Anyway..we'll probably come into contact with it sooner or later...at least I think," Zero answered.
"Well..we won't gain much just by standing here. Let's get going," Alia replied.
"I wish you all the best of luck," Radius answered.
The group turned to go back to their boat. But before X got in, he turned back and looked at Radius.
"Thank you Radius. You've been great help," X shouted.
The old reploid smirked and waved back, not uttering anything else. The group got into their boat, and then departed for the volcano basedon the information received in the data chips given to them by the old reploid. It was a good thing Alia was constructing a map in her personal database, largely because that was making this foreign world a bit more recognizable.
Soon, they came to the volcano..it wasn't incredibly large, but still very big by most standards. The heat being emitted by it was very great indeed, and most normal reploids would have been literally melting by now. Luckily for X, that old man had given them some enhancement chips to withstand the heat (that of course, didn't make things comfortable, just survivable).
"Man..it's an oven in here.." Zero muttered.
"Yeah..those Dragoons really don't want any unwanted guests," Alia added.
"Well..given the fact that this heat is separating us from the fort, do you think there are any guards here?" X asked.
"I don't know..this alone keeps most people away, but I suppose if someone did manage to steal those chips...eh, either way we'll find out sooner or later," Zero replied.
That last comment Zero made wasn't exactly reassuring for the whole group. They did reason that since it was so difficult to get there in the first place, maybe security wouldn't be heavy. However, knowing how special this place must be, then maybe it is. After all, if a legendary treasure is said to be there, then chances are they're gonna protect it.
The group trudged on, taking special care not to accidentally get damaged from the extremely hot vents or the volcanic materials. Even though they were very tough reploids, that could still be quite painful. Soon, they saw the exit of the volcano.
"Whew..finally..the end of this place," Alia muttered, wiping her forehead.
"Yeah, it's the end. For you guys," a figure answered.
X and Zero instinctively readied themselves for battle. X stood with his X-Buster ready to fire, while Zero kept a firm grip on his saber. All of the sudden, three familiar figures came back down. Karsh, Zoah, and Marcy..the Acacia Dragoons.
"You!" Zero shouted.
Karsh merely cracked his knuckles and gave X and company a superior smirk. He then swung his axe around a bit to prove he meant business.
"Nice to see you guys again. But I'm afraid I can't let you get through here," Karsh added.
"You're going down!" Zoah shouted.
"X! I hate you so much! And I hate your friends too!" Marcy added.
Karsh chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Heh..what can I say, the girl doesn't like you very much X. You may have gotten lucky back when it was all of you against us individually, but I'm confident we'll have better chances this time around," Karsh added.
The medium-sized blue-haired reploid walked a bit closer to X, holding his energy axe out in front of him. His build was comparable to Zero's...it was obvious that he definitely was an accomplished fighter by the looks of it. Behind him trudged Zoah, the truly massive humanoid reploid. He was such a huge figure..but by the looks of it, he may lack in the department of tactics.
After that came Marcy..such a deceptive reploid. So seemingly small, harmless, and innocent, but actually, a vicious fighter with a severe temper. Of course, she is still just a child..perhaps her irrational behavior could prove to be her downfall, or at least that's what X had hoped. After all, if this was going to be a battle with all of them, it might take some extra planning.
X knew that Karsh would be difficult to take down. He probably learned his lesson from the last time they fought..he didn't suspect Karsh to be that thick or arrogant. Zoah may be somehwat easy largely because he isn't completely aware of certain tactics X could employ..but then again, Zoah did compensate with immense physical strength, and futhermore, Karsh might be able to give him a heads-up.
Then there's Marcy. Her restrictive attacks might prove to be quite annoying considering the others could attack while she simply held X and company in place. That would be a definite bother to overcome.
"So you plan on going to Fort Dragonia, hm?" Karsh asked.
"Karsh, I don't wish to fight you. All we want is to stop Lynx," X replied.
"Sir Lynx is a friend of General Viper's. If you have a problem with him, you have one with me," Karsh answered.
"But you don't understand! Lynx isn't really a friend at all, he's manipulating Viper!" X shouted.
"Meh. Like I should believe you. The fact is, you cannot pass here," Marcy answered. "Now let's get to fighting!"
"Wait!" X shouted.
However, X's protest fell on deaf ears and the battle began. Karsh began to rush at X with a mad attack from his axe. However, X wasn't going to let himself be killed, so he brought up his buster to counter. Before he could do so, Marcy threw her strings around him, and constricted his arms. X's arms were then tied to his sides, so he couldn't bring up his buster!
"Time to die X!" Karsh shouted.
"I don't think so!" Alia replied.
Before Karsh could bring his axe down on X's head, Alia shot a blast from her own buster arm and hit Karsh square in the chest. He got knocked back quite a bit, but quickly regained his composure. Meanwhile, Zoah came charging in, and threatened to knock everyone down. Zero quickly stood out in front with his saber ready to try and block him.
Kid was beside Zero with her daggers in hand, while Korcha was beside Alia. Korcha didn't really have any formidable weapons, so he tried to stay out of the fight. Alia bent down and whispered into his ear.
"Korcha..I need you to untie X. I'll make a distraction," Alia whispered.
"Youcha..sure about this?" Korcha asked.
"Yes, I am, just go!" Alia replied.
Korcha slowly walked behind Alia, and tried to get to X amidst the battle. Zero and Kid were having a heck of a time trying their best to not be crushed by Zoah's weight. The huge reploid kept on coming no matter what they dished out, and even their team attacks proved to be somewhat difficult to unleash.
Meanwhile, Karsh was striking at X, who was also having a difficult time dodging. X was a bit tied-up to say the least, so he couldn't exactly fight back as well as he wanted to. And finally, Marcy was going against Alia. Both of which were actually skilled in fighting, but not really recognized for it. Marcy proved to be a bit too nimble for Alia to hit her, but Alia's attacks made sure that Marcy couldn't counter and turn the tides.
However, Marcy did mange to keep a hold of the strings she was using to bind X. That was exactly what Alia was trying to remedy. When Karsh saw that Korcha was trying to sever the string, he rushed after him and tried to hit him with his axe. X quickly saved him by ramming himself into Karsh. However, Zoah then bodyslammed X and sent him flying the other way.
Before Zoah could celebrate that attack, Zero leaped on his back and tried to bring his saber down on his head. However, Marcy stopped him by getting ahold of his hands..and worse, making him drop his saber to the ground. Alia quickly dashed over to try and give it back to Zero, but Karsh grabbed a hold of her.
It was then that X burst out of his bonds, and clearly enraged that Karsh was trying to hurt Alia. He was definitely not to going to stand for that.
"Get away from her you, creep!!" X shouted.
X slammed his shoulder into Karsh, and then followed it up with a charged buster blast at close range, knocking Karsh clear into the wall. The powerful reploid slammed against the hard volcanic wall and then fell to the ground, struggling to get back up. Amidst the confusion, Zoah grabbed Kid, and then started swining her around.
"Put her down!" Zero shouted, picking his saber back up.
"Gladly!" Zoah replied.
Zoah then hurled Kid back at Zero. However, Zero was ready and managed to grab Kid and set her down. He then rushed back at Zoah with his saber flying.
"Oh no you don't!" Marcy shouted.
"No YOU don't!" Kid answered.
Before Marcy could use her strings to restrict Zero, Kid came down and dropkicked her, knocking her back quite a bit. Marcy struggled back to her feet and then got back into her fighting position.
"Oooh..that hurt..I'm gonna make you pay for that one!" Marcy shouted.
"Bring it on ya loser!" Kid replied.
All of the sudden, Karsh's axe came flying in, and threatened to cleave Kid in two. However, Alia rushed in and knocked Kid out of harm's way.
"Are you alright Kid?" Alia asked.
"Yes..I am..but.." Kid muttered, clearly dumbfounded that the person she antagonized saved her.
Meanwhile, Zero was in a stalemate with Zoah. Zoah slammed his fists against the ground to try and get Zero to lose his imbalance, but the red hunter leaped into the air to gain the upper hand. He then came back down with an aerial attack. However, Zoah grabbed Zero before his attack could lead to anything potentially harmful to him, and then started to apply his crushing grip.
X then blasted Zoah in the back to try and get Zoah to drop his friend, but Karsh kicked X in the side and knocked the wind out of him. However, Alia proved to be helpful here by also blasting Zoah, forcing him to drop Zero. When Zoah was stunned, Zero stabbed him in the side.
Zoah bent over and clutched his wound, trying to get back into the battle. He rushed back at Zero in a mad frenzy.
"I've had enough of you!" Zero shouted.
Zero grabbed ahold of Zoah, bent backwards, and then kicked him back the other direction straight at Marcy. The gigantic reploid landed on top of Marcy, really restricting her movement with his crushing weight. All that left was Karsh.
"Grr....we may have lost for now. But we'll be back later," Karsh spat.
X clutched his side and was heaving breaths. But despite the pain he felt, he raised his buster and aimed it at Karsh.
"If you try to harm my friends, I will fight you until I have taken my last breath," X replied.
"Meh..tough words, nothing more," Karsh mocked.
Karsh, Marcy, and Zoah then teleported out of the room, obviously heading back for matenaince. They were very badly damaged from the fight..something that X didn't wish for, but had to do. X turned back to the group.
"Is everyone alright?" he asked.
Zero placed a hand on his shouler and did some stretches, but nodded his head in confirmation. Kid also nodded, so did Korcha (who participated in very little of the fighting), and Alia.
"Alia..look..thank ya for savin' me.." Kid muttered.
"Kid, it's not like I dislike you or anything, and I'm not trying to compete with you. I just hope we can be friends," Alia replied, smiling.
Kid responded with a smile of her own, and nodded back.
"Yeah..well, let's git going. Lynx is just ahead," Kid replied.
"Yeah. This is it. Lynx, we're coming for you," X muttered.
