Mega Man Cross
Chapter 13
"Breaking Out"
By MEGAMANX411
As the group began to walk towards the exit, everyone else became aware of Harle's presence in the group. She had stayed back beforehand so she wasn't seen, but now her presence was rather evident. X was able to tolerate her to a degree, but some of the other members weren't as forgiving. Kid gave Harle a rather nasty glare and made a gesture that would imply she had some ill will towards her.
"You try anythin' funny..." Kid muttered.
Harle merely kept her typical nonchalant attitude and returned Kid's sentiment with an arrogant smirk. X did note that Harle was a difficult person to get to, almost any insults or harsh intentions just seemed to bounce off of her.
"Oh la la, you are a feisty one, no?" Harle replied, obviously mocking Kid.
Kid just snorted and turned her back to Harle, continuing on her way. Alia and Korcha didn't pay any mind to Harle and kept moving. Zero just kept his eye on her, making sure he was ready to defend himself just in case. Before they could get any further though, an alarm sounded off. Bright red lights began to flash and a rather annoying siren was blaring.
"What the hell is going on!" Zero shouted.
X covered his ears and was unable to hear Zero. The new body he was in had rather sensitive hearing, and that was not something X was accustomed to.
"What?" X shouted.
"What could've set off the alarm?" Alia asked.
"I don't know...wait!" Zero replied.
Zero turned his head to catch sight of three figures running into the building. It was Karsh, Zoah, and Marcy, three of the Acacia Dragoons. They caught sight of the others too, but they were mostly preoccupied with the sight of Lynx.
"It's them!" Zero added.
"Whocha?" Korcha asked.
"The Dragoons. They must be here to get Riddel!" Zero replied.
Karsh spat with disgust and walked towards the group. He clearly was really angry, and he held his axe firmly in his hands. Zoah and Marcy were right behind him, and they seemed to share in his anger quite a bit.
"There you are Lynx!" Karsh shouted.
X immediately knew what was going to happen. Karsh, Zoah, and Marcy must have found Viper, and somehow managed to save him. If that were true, then Viper probably told them that he was backstabbed by Lynx..and if that was the case, then X knew he was in deep trouble. He thought he might be able to convince them otherwise..it was worth a shot, at least.
"Hold on, you misunderstand! I'm not Lynx!" X shouted.
Karsh narrowed his eyes in frustration and then pointed his axe at X. He clearly intended to kill him, and wouldn't back down. X knew that Karsh wouldn't listen to reason on this matter, as much at it pained him to accept that.
"Karsh..please, I don't want to fight you," X whispered.
Karsh snorted, raised his axe high, and yelled out a battle cry.
"Charge!"
Karsh and Zoah rushed at X in a mad panic. Karsh ran at full speed with his axe ready to slice X in two, while Zoah was preparing an old-fashioned body-slam. Meanwhile, Marcy used her strings to hold X in place. Things did not bode well for X.
"Oh no you don't!" Alia shouted, raising her own buster.
Alia quickly focused her energy and unleashed a charge shot, which managed to slow down Zoah a bit. Meanwhile, Zero jumped in front of X to fend of Karsh's attack. Doing that proved to be rather difficult thanks to his immense rage. Karsh's axe was lowered his axe more and more towards Zero's face, but the red hunter managed to keep the attack at bay for the time being.
Kid, amidst that confusion, was cutting X free of his bonds. She knew that in Lynx's body, he may not be able to fight as well as he used to. He didn't know how to manipulate any of Lynx's tricks. Alia stood in front of X to defend him with her own buster, which proved to be quite vital in keeping Zoah away. Each time he charged, she blasted him. Although it only made him stumble a bit, it was better than nothing.
"Alia..are you sure you can keep that up? Maybe you should let Zero and Kid handle this," X muttered.
Alia turned back and gave X a rather annoyed look.
"X, you're always saving me. The least you can do is let me return the favor. I'm not as helpless as you think," Alia replied, returning her attention to the fight.
Perhaps it was because of her recent surge of aggression or determination, but Alia's charge process became more powerful. To a rather vast degree, and almost comparable to X if not the same.
"I won't let you hurt X!" Alia shouted, firing her buster.
The blast caught Zoah square in the chest and knocked him clear into the wall. His body slowly slumped down, and he fell to the floor, gasping. Marcy, meanwhile, was trying to manipulate the fight with her strings by binding Kid and X. Karsh and Zero were still in a lock, so to speak. Neither weapon gave way.
"You bastards killed the General!" Karsh spat.
"We didn't do anything you idiot, it was Lynx!" Zero replied.
"That's why I'm going to kill him, if you just let me!" Karsh answered.
"That ISN'T Lynx! That's X!" Zero shouted.
"I don't believe you," Karsh replied bluntly.
Karsh stared harshly at Zero, clearly not wanting to give way in the matter. The crimson hunter returned the sentiment with equal determination. The two other Dragoons joined Karsh and stood behind him, sharing in his resolve.
"We're going to kill Lynx," Karsh announced.
Zero spat, and then readied his saber. If these fools were going to hurt his friend, they would have to go through him first. Zero wasn't one to take things lying down.
"If you clowns try it, I'll stop you," Zero replied.
Karsh then lunged at Zero with his axe, but the hunter managed to deflect the attack with a flick of his saber. He nimbly sidestepped to get around Karsh, and then bashed him over the back of the head. Zoah tried to grab Zero, but the hunter displayed very impressive evasive maneuvers, and managed to avoid being caught. Marcy then tried her hand at subduing Zero, but this time, he managed to slice the strings before they could even grab ahold of him.
"You won't hurt my friend," Zero announced.
Karsh got back to his feet, and cracked his neck and knuckles. He wasn't done yet. Zoah and Marcy weren't exactly finished either. Karsh smirked at Zero, and raised his axe. Zero slowly brought up his saber to block the attack, but that wasn't Karsh's intent. With amazing strength, he hurled the axe straight at X.
"No!" Alia shouted.
Alia raised her buster and shot theaxe down before it could hit X. She then stood in front of him, and steadied her buster arm just like the way X did.
"I won't let you touch him. Not while I'm around," Alia announced.
Zero looked back at gave Alia a smirk and a thumbs up, but then brought his atention back to Karsh and the others.
"You guys really can't figure this out, huh?" Zero mocked.
"What was that?" Karsh asked.
"If you guys think this is Lynx, why would we be protecting him? We wanted to get Lynx, that's why we went to Fort Dragonia in the first place. So haven't you thought that it may be possible we're telling the truth!" Alia shouted.
Karsh's eyes widened as he realized that there was the possibility this wasn't Lynx. He looked back at his Dragoons, and then took a hard look at Lynx. Something about him was far different than before. He didn't get the usual feeling that he got when he looked at Lynx...no, he wasn't Lynx. Something was different. He looked like Lynx, but only really at first. If you looked hard enough, there was a glimmer of something there, something that definitely wasn't like Lynx. It was kindness.
"That's not him," Karsh muttered. "Come on Dragoons, let's get going. We have to get Riddel out of here."
X placed a hand on Karsh's shoulder, perhaps against his better judgement.
"If you want to keep her somewhere safe, a retired Dragoon by the name of Radius might be able to help you. He lives on the island just northwest of Termina," X offered.
Karsh turned around and give X a funny look.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked.
X shrugged his shoulders.
"Because I don't think you're evil," he replied.
Karsh merely shook his head and turned his back to X, going back to his business. The other Dragoons followed him without saying anything. Karsh went on to Riddel's room to rescue her, while X and company waited for him near the entrance to try and give him safe passage.
"Take Riddel somewhere safe, and tell Viper not to worry, we'll handle Lynx," said Zero.
Karsh merely nodded in reply, with Riddel in his arms, and ran off. None of Porre soldiers at the manor followed after him because X waited by the door and told them that it was a false alarm. When all was said and done, the group headed out to meet Norris at the docks.
"What took you guys so long?" Norris asked.
"We had to take care of some other business first," Zero replied. "Let's get going."
Kid then noticed something. There was something missing from their group.
"Oi! Where'd Harle get off to?" Kid asked.
X turned around to see if there was any sign of her, but didn't see any. She must have slipped out during the fight, but for what reason? X thought that maybe she was going to meet up with Lynx or something, that would be the most logical answer.
"Well, it doesn't change where we're going. Come on, to the Dead Sea!" X announced.
