Rioni Riishu: Thanks for your loyalty. I'm pretty sure that the formatting errors are no thanks to I'll change the "Diablos in place of Lucifer" error ASAP.


Chapter 11: Hunter's Chance

- INNER SANCTUM, CRIMSON PALACE, 0859 HRS -

"Master, Glockopolis has been retaken," Kardina said as he knelt before Diablos.

"Well done. With these vital cities taken, we can start our conquest of the world," the giant Reploid said. As he did so, klaxons started blaring. "What is it now!" He said in anger. The main viewscreen turned on to reveal the forms of Lucifer, X, Zero and the elite Hunters. "X Light. Zero Wily. Some Hunters... And who is that person? My databanks do not have information on him..." Diablos pondered.

"Master! Now is not the time to think of the identity of strangers! We are in clear and present danger!" Kardina urged.
"Very true. There is something strange about the unknown, though..."

"Master, we must do something!" Kardina urged once more. This time, however, Diablos was paying full attention to the main screen and ignoring his words.

Kardina could only watch helplessly as the Hunter team came ever-closer to the inner sanctum. The camera showed them come to right outside the great double doors, and the wolf-helmeted Maverick could only watch as the doors slid open to reveal Zero leaning slightly over the keypad with Lucifer standing ready. As the double doors completely slid open, Lucifer dashed in as they started slowly closing in again. With a thud, the great sliding doors closed, leaving Lucifer in the inner sanctum with Kardina and Diablos.

"Who are you, daring to attack the master?" Kardina said as he drew his daggers. Although sounding haughty and confident, he was actually beside himself in fear at the audacity of the foe - Or was it the wealth of deadly spikes the adversary possessed that inspired this?

"Suffice to say that you can call me your devil," Lucifer retorted.

"Devil... Your name is Lucifer!" Kardina spat.

"Smart, little one... But can you take the truth?" He idly rubbed a finger over the scythe's surface, then settled into a classical Chinese taunt position, the right hand, which was holding the scythe, behind and to the right, while the open left hand was in front and gesturing towards himself.

With a roar, Kardina hurled himself at Lucifer.

Kardina leapt at Lucifer and attempted to stab the black-armoured Reploid with his daggers. In response, Lucifer backdashed slightly, then brought down the scythe to parry Kardina's blades.

Deciding to change tactics, Kardina drew back, sheathed his daggers, then drew his KZ-Busters. He swiftly fired a few bursts at Lucifer, attempting to make use of his inability to strike at longer ranges. To his surprise, Lucifer swung the scythe rapidly in a circular pattern and blocked the shots, then detached the sickle and hurled it at Kardina, who barely avoided decapitation by ducking. As Kardina opened his mouth to gather flames, Lucifer dashed forward and before the black Reploid could get away, he found the sickle at his throat. "Move an eyelid, and your head shall be mine," Lucifer hissed.
Kardina shot him a look of deadliest venom at this.

"Now disarm and sit quietly while I defeat your master," Lucifer instructed.

Spitting, Kardina shut his mouth, threw aside the KZ-Busters, then sat down tersely where Lucifer could see him. "Fool. You might have defeated me, but you will never defeat my master."

"Oh, we'll see," was the calm reply.

Striding up to in front of Diablos, Lucifer said, "Yin Reploid! It is time to meet your maker!"

Diablos looked him over and chuckled. "Very well, then. Another casualty in battle you shall become, imprudent fool."

"I have no intention of being another statistic, Diablos. Hit me with your best!"

Diablos chuckled at this. "So be it. Remember that you asked for it, though..." Raising both claws, Diablos focused, calling on the Yin Energy to project itself. There was a great vibration in the air as a great orb of Yin Energy gathered with the claws. "Last chance, fool..." Diablos warned as the high concentration of Yin Energy caused the air to rumble ominously.

"Bring it," was the somewhat-cocky reply.

Diablos said no more. Drawing the claws back briefly, he then launched them and the Yin Energy orb at Lucifer. There was a great explosion and lots of smoke was created. Was this the end of the Reploid scientist?

Apparently not. As the smoke cleared, it was evident that Lucifer was still standing, with a cocky grin on his face, no less, although panting rather heavily.

"What! How can this be!" Diablos shouted in shock.

"Heh," Lucifer laughed dryly. "As a researcher of Yin Energy, you would expect me not to be protected against it? You've pumped all your energy into that wasted shot, now you're mine!" Leaping at the giant Reploid, Lucifer berserkly began to slash away with his scythe, a wild look in his eyes. Diablos let out a deafening roar of rage, bringing up his claws to defend himself, all the while attempting to blast Lucifer with Yin energy. While the agile Lucifer was able to dodge many of Diablos' attacks, he was not able to pierce Diablos' powerful armour, only inflicting a few cuts in the armour here and there. However, it was apparent to Kardina that both were tiring considerably.

How can this be! He can actually match my master in combat! thought Kardina, as the two continued to trade blows.

Meanwhile, outside the huge doors, X, Zero and the other Hunters were still holding back the swarm of Yin Reploids.

"RRRRAAAAAAGH!" roared Zero, beheading enemy after enemy, his Z-sabre cutting through the Reploids' bodies like a hot knife through butter. So many Reploid heads, dismembered limbs, and lifeless corpses littered the floor around him that his immediate vicinity was better described as a "scrapyard". Meanwhile, X unleashed a powerful charged shot from his buster into the swarm once again, mowing down a line of enemies. He then hurled the charge in his other arm as it materialised into a reddish fireball with smaller blue shots circling it, plowing through the enemies, although not as effective as his earlier assault. He then pumped a nearby Yin Reploid full of plasma shots. As the hole-filled body collapsed to the floor, a more bulky security droid attempted to crush him in a bear hug from behind.

"Get... off..." growled X, charging the Speed Burner. As soon as the charge reached maximum capacity, X let it rip. Instantly, the Lightbot turned into a living fireball, completely burning off the arms of the Reploid who had so discourteously attacked him from behind and roasting a good amount of security robots as he barrelled forth. As soon as the effect of the charged weapon ended, X switched to yet another Maverick weapon; the Frost Shield. Firing it at the ground a distance away, X created a ring of sharp icicles around him to protect himself till he charged the weapon. Mindlessly, the Yin Reploids stumbled into the various icicles, impaling themselves on the sharp spikes.

"...Idiots," muttered X, as he released the charge. Cold air gathered round his buster, then froze up, creating a lance extending from the tip of his buster. The protective circle of frost shattered, but X was ready, stabbing anyone who dared to come close, and taking extra care to put a few extra holes in the now-armless Reploid from earlier. Soon he realised that the Hunters were slowly but surely being pushed back; within a few moments, even Zero had been pushed back to the immediate area around the large double doors.

X grit his teeth. He checked his systems; while he hadn't sustained severe injuries, and neither had Zero, their other comrades were visibly bleeding and exhausted. He himself was beginning to tire, and he'd exhausted almost all his special weapon ammo. As his lance of ice disintegrated, X swapped to the Aiming Laser, about the only weapon he had ammo left for.

Dammit, Lucifer... Hurry up! What are you doing!

Within the Inner Sanctum, Diablos had retreated to a safe distance from the scythe-wielding scientist and was now hurling lasers of Yin energy at him to prevent the spiked Reploid from approaching. However, it wasn't working very well; Lucifer appeared to be doing a dance of sorts on the spot, parrying blast after blast with his scythe, which seemed to glow everytime a shot glanced off the surface of the blade. The reflected blasts shot off in different directions. Some hit the roof, causing yet more debris to descend on the already rubble-filled floor; some hit the ground, creating smouldering craters; some hit the various screens and control panels around the room, causing them to spark and explode. Everywhere there was wreckage and destroyed machinery, as well as various depressions in the floor; and in the middle of it all, two figures were battling. Although Lucifer had long since ignored Kardina, being preoccupied with Diablos, Kardina could only sit there, taking in the sight with awe, and knowing there was no place for him in this fight.

"THIS... IS... ENOUGH!" Diablos finally roared, bringing both claws together as the crystals embedded in them shone fiercely. Thrusting them forward, he unleashed a huge beam of Yin energy, hoping to engulf the scientist.

"I quite agree!" shouted Lucifer, leaping into the air to dodge the assault. Holding his scythe with only his right hand, he ripped off his right shoulder plate, revealing it to be some sort of spiked, dome-shaped contraption with a handle on the flat side. The scientist depressed a button, causing the spiked dome to fly forward, revealing it to be connected to the handle by a thin beam of purple electricity. While the spikes were still not strong enough to completely pierce Diablos' armour, the tip of the longest spike managed to make a small hole, and that was enough. Instantly, a change came over Diablos; the beam of Yin energy ceased as Diablos tilted his head back and roared in agony as pain wracked his body. The Yin crystals in his claws shone more brightly than ever before, nearly blinding the Reploids.

"No!" yelled Kardina, intent on assisting his master. However, even as Kardina drew his KZ-Busters and began to squeeze the triggers, Lucifer drew his scythe across his chest, then flung the scythe out to his right. The flat of the blade struck Kardina's hands, forcing him to drop the weapons. The scythe then flew back to Lucifer, who easily caught it as he finally ceased using the strange contraption and drew it back towards him, replacing his right shoulder plate. Diablos was now clearly in no position to fight, rocking back and forth unsteadily.

"Admit defeat, Diablos!" Lucifer landed on the ground and twirled his scythe above his head. Charging forward, the black Reploid leaped, his scythe at the ready, with the tip pointing backwards. Holding it at about waist level to his right, Lucifer brought the blade across in a mighty diagonal sweep to his upper-left; Kardina could have sworn he'd seen the blade glow strangely at just the very instant when the slash was dealt. This time there could be seen a rather deep cut in the armour; while not enough to actually damage Diablos' internal systems, to the already exhausted Diablos it was a heavy blow. For a moment he stayed motionless; then the titan finally keeled over tumbling facefirst to the ground.

"Gah... How could... I lose... Impossible...!"

Lucifer twirled the scythe over his head again and slammed the pole of the scythe into the ground beside him in triumph. "Now, call back your forces and stop the security drones assailing the Hunter elites, or I shall land the final blow and continue on!"

There was an intense staring contest, eye to eye, before Diablos finally gave in. "You win..." Wearily raising a claw, it hovered over to a nearby panel that had amazingly come out unscathed, where it pressed a button, issuing the order to retreat. Without question, the Yin Reploids did so.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to uphold my side of the bargain," Lucifer said as he walked through the slowly-opening doors.

"Lucifer! You made it!" X said, breathing a sigh of relief as he brushed off some of the marks the security drones had left behind in their battle.

"Well done. Say, have you terminated Diablos?" Another Hunter asked.

"No... Though I did beat him to a pulp," Lucifer replied.

At this, Zero reddened with anger. "What! Why didn't you kill him?"

"Well, I did prove my superiority... And I made him recall his forces and the drones, you know."

"Why you- Fool! You should have-"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Zero. It's all but a victory, anyway."

"All but is not good enough! Bah, fine!" With this last word, Zero teleported out, followed by the rest of the Hunters.

Looking at the Hunters' retreating figures, Kardina asked, "Master? What do we do now?"

"We lost this battle... But there's still the war," Diablos commented wearily. "I must rest, now."

- TELEPORTER ROOM, MAVERICK HUNTER HEADQUARTERS, 0952 HRS -

As the Hunter strike team materialised within the room, the doors opened and Signas came in. "Well done. Now Diablos will-"

As he said so, Lucifer suddenly lurched forward and was barely caught in time by X. "Quick, get him to the medical bay and the Lifesavers!" The Lightbot ordered, and the other Hunters obeyed, carrying him away.

Worried, X said, "I don't like what that meant... I thought he achieved overwhelming victory against Diablos? He had no obvious damage!"

"Me neither..." Signas said. "We must hope for the best, however. Perhaps it is merely fatigue."

- MEDICAL BAY, MAVERICK HUNTER HEADQUARTERS, 0956 HRS -

"What? Are you certain?" Signas asked worriedly.

Lifesavor nodded. "It appears that he has sustained moderate internal injuries. He'll have to be out of action for at least a week, if he is to fully recover and not have future relapses."

X objected, "Isn't there a way to speed up his recoveries?"

Lifesavor turned his steely gaze upon X. "Whoever made Lucifer was no run-of-the-mill factory worker. While certainly uncomparable with Wily or Dr. Light, Lucifer's creator certainly had a unique style. It's proving a tad more difficult than usual to analyse and repair him. As a result... We have no choice, X. We're already doing our best."

"Okay," X said, downcast. "Still... In a week, Diablos will have recovered! His forces will surely continue their conquest! What are we to do, then?"

Signas replied, "What we always do, X... Fight, and pray." Still, that answer didn't reassure the general.

- GLOCKOPOLIS, NORWAY, 1005 HRS -

A figure, cloaked in a light-blue trenchcoat, walked into the great cavern that housed Glockopolis. Sniffing the air apprehensively, he said, more to the air than himself, "The Yin energy has a strong presence here. And it seems to originate from..." He lifted his right hand and pointed that hand's index finger in the general direction of the Crimson Palace. "There." With that, a light blue warp laser formed and the figure was gone.

- OUTER COMPOUND, CRIMSON PALACE, 1007 HRS -

The light blue warp laser made its reappearance on the extreme outskirts of the Crimson Palace. The trenchcoat-wearing Reploid solidified and hit the ground spread-eagled, slowly raising his head to look out for signs of Diablos' Yin Reploids. After satisfying himself that no one was watching, he slowly came to a sitting position. Flipping his trenchcoat inside out, he put it back on as the inner active camouflage material constantly adapted to any changes in the immediate surroundings. The Reploid now lay down and leopard-crawled his way up to a low wall, from which he observed the Yin Reploids guarding the back door into the Crimson Palace. As he attempted to gain a better resting position for his head, however, the hilt of his massive katana chipped at the stone flooring, making some noise. He cursed under his breath as one of the guards said, "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah, I think I did," his companion replied. "We'd better check-"

Before he could say further, however, the trenchcoated Reploid stood up abruptly. "An intruder!" The second guard said.

"Quickly, we must capture him!" the first said. As he ran towards the trenchcoated swordsman, his mate following closely behind, however, the intruder did something the guards completely didn't expect. The foe reached out his hands and swiftly crushed the neck of the first guard. Before the second guard could call for reinforcements, the intruder closed the gap between the two and gave him a mighty sucker punch.

As the guards fell, the intruder caught them both. Carefully placing the dead guards at their stations, the intruder fumbled in the guards' pockets a bit, then pulled out a keycard and inserted it into a slot, allowing him access into the Crimson Palace.

- GAOL, CRIMSON PALACE, 1013 HRS -

Shadowsong Accelerando Wily was getting bored with things inside his Yin Energy cell. Sure, Diablos had given him liquid nourishment through a little pipe of sorts, but he was still a prisoner, and he knew that. As he stared out the translucent purple Yin Energy into the faintly-lit room, he thought he heard a thump, a noise of things falling apart. Or was it his fertile imagination? He had, after all, been locked in here for heaven knows when. Perhaps he was hallucinating. Yes, it was a nice hallucination. His mind telling him there was rescue for him. Oh, what a nice dream-

And his dream of sorts was shattered when the only door into the room fell down to reveal a figure silhouetted in darkness. This figure purposefully strode over to the cell and paused before it. Then, a light appeared in his left hand, which he used to contact the Yin Energy with. After a short bout of concentration, during which the light slowly but surely overcame the purple energy, Accel was free. The figure caught him in his hands and put him down.

Looking up, Accel knew who his rescuer was. The enigmatic swordsman who had previously declared him a "Yin Reploid". "Heh, had a change of heart, did you?"

The figure bowed his head in shame. "I was wrong. You really have no traces of the Yin Energy in you. After all, there is honour amongst Yin Reploids. They do not imprison their comrades."

Nodding, Accel asked, "So, who are you?"

"My name..." The figure lifted his head up, allowing Accel to see himself in the mirrored lenses of the trenchcoat-wearing Reploid's shades. "...is Moonblade."


Mehehe! Please R+R!