Heavy Metal!
Chapter 7
"Destined Battle"
By MEGAMANX411
Metal stared at Zero with hostile eyes. He had waited so long for this moment, when he would finally be able to consider himself on the same level as Zero. Zero was the reason Metal wanted to become stronger in the first place. After he had killed Zero, no other hunter would dare touch him, and he could finally live his days peacefully with Goth. The Maverick Hunters would no doubt be scared witless without Zero, or at least that's what Metal had always assumed.
Although Metal's visions of his past were fragmented, he did remember seeing Zero in his early days. Zero was a terrifying fighter, and Metal wanted to surpass that. If he became even more of a frightening demon than Zero, then he might have the pleasure of seeing that demon squirm beneath him.
"What is it you want with me?" Zero asked.
"You don't remember me, do you?" Metal replied, shaking his head.
"No, I don't. So cut the crap and tell me what's going on," Zero answered bluntly.
Metal angrily grittted his teeth. He had spent his whole life dedicating himself to his promise to Goth, and his promise to himself to surpass Zero. And Zero had forgotten about him so easily. Metal was supposed to be Dr. Wily's masterpiece, but Zero was the one who got all of his attention.
"Zero, you are Dr. Wily's masterpiece. But I don't care what that old man thought, because I'm better than you, and I'm going to prove it to you," Metal hissed, clenching his fist.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Zero asked.
"The man who made you also made me you dumbass. But instead of finishing me, he concentrated all of his efforts on you. I was left broken and alone, and you think I managed to get a good life? I was labeled Maverick just because I stood up to some pricks who were beating the living shit out of an innocent reploid girl. I've been on the run my whole life, and it all comes back to you. After I kill you, it'll prove that I'm the better one, and I can finally return to keep my promise!" Metal shouted.
"What promise are you talking about? And if you haven't noticed, you're the one who's gone around terrorizing citizens. Yeah, that's right, I read a report on you. You're a small fry. You just barely qualify for my attention, just because you killed some bounty hunter and messed with some low-ranking Maverick Hunters. I don't know who you are, but if you think you're justified in killing people just so you can prove to me you're stronger than I am, then that just makes you look weak," Zero replied harshly.
"Die!" Metal screamed, running at Zero.
Metal angrily drove his fist forward, which slammed into Zero's shoulder. The spikes chipped off a small portion of his armor. Zero wrapped himself around and kicked Metal in the back, knocking him forward. Zero then tried to follow up on his attack by bringing his beam saber down, trying to slice Metal in half.
The dark reploid quickly rolled out of the way, and then kicked the saber out of Zero's hands when he tried to bring it down. The glowing blade of the weapon then retracted as it clanged against the floor, once again enveloping the room in darkness. Metal then grabbed Zero's head and slammed it against the wall. Zero shook Metal off, then tried to find his saber.
Before Zero could track his saber down, Metal punched Zero straight in the face. The spikes on his knuckles caused his face to bleed, and the crimson hunter let out a curse as he grabbed Metal's hand. He then pulled him forward and drove his knee into Metal's abdomen. Metal grunted as he felt the force of Zero's knee drive into him, then he tried to headbutt Zero.
The crimson hunter stopped Metal, and then threw him against the ground hard. The fanged, sadistic reploid quickly spun himself around on the ground and tripped Zero, taking him down to the ground with him. Metal then quickly grabbed Zero's arm, and placed his foot against Zero's chest. He tried to apply enough pressure to rip the hunter's arm off, but Zero broke Metal's grip and smacked him in the face in retaliation.
Zero then dove to the spot where his saber landed, grabbed it, and turned it back on. As the small area around Zero was illuminated by the glow of his saber, Metal disappeared into the shadows. Zero scanned across the room to see where Metal was, but his presence was being completely concealed. All of the sudden, Metal dropped down from the ceiling, landing on Zero's shoulders. As Zero laid on the ground, Metal then angrily grabbed Zero's head and tried to rip it off.
"Let go of Zero!" Axl shouted, running into the room along with X.
Axl fired a blast from his energy pistol, and the bullet hit Metal square in his right eye. His special right eye which gave him several abilities had been shot out, and the flesh around it was now slightly charred. Metal stumbled back and clutched his eye, angrily cursing.
"Fuck!" he screamed, clutching his eye.
Zero then got back to his feet, spat up a little blood, and shot a look back at X and Axl. The two other hunters quickly came to Zero's aid, and helped steady him.
"What are you two doing here? This is my fight!" Zero shouted.
"We've come to help Zero. This guy is dangerous," X replied.
Metal angrily stared his three opponents down. Fighting Zero was hard enough, but having to deal with his two friends as well was going to be next to impossible for him. He had to return to Goth, he couldn't die here. He had to fulfill his promise and return to her, but his ability to escape was cut short because his eye was shot out. His best chance at escape was destroyed.
Damn...I have to beat them. There's no way I can escape now because of that fag with the pistols. I can't hold anything back. I have to go all out in this fight if I want to get back to her, Metal thought.
"Megadeath!" Metal screamed.
Metal quickly dashed inbetween X, Zero, and Axl, and slammed his fist on the ground. A massive surge of energy transfered from his chest to his arms and into the ground. There was a huge surge of power, and the room seemed to be quaking because Metal had struck the ground with such fury. The ground quaked and rumbled, and all of the sudden, giant bolts of energy shot upward. The three hunters frantically tried to avoid being struck, but the blasts were incredibly powerful and huge.
Metal was heaving breaths now. That attack took a lot out of him, but he thought it should work. It was one of his strongest, and he rarely ever used it. After the blasts subsided, Metal scanned to see if there were any remains of the hunters. Much to his dismay, he saw that all three of the hunters were still alive and well.
"Damn it! Metal Militia!" Metal shouted.
Metal's body began to glow blue, and he was scanning and copying his own reploid DNA. He then imparted some of his energy to a special component of his body that turned copy data into a feasible physical object with actual force and mass. A clone, not a hologram, although it wasn't as strong as the original. Two copies of Metal now stood beside the original.
"What the hell is this?" Axl shouted.
"Be on your guard!" X shouted, raising his buster.
Metal and his two clones rushed after X, Zero, and Axl, trying to engage them in close range fighting. The real Metal was trying to go toe to toe with Zero, while his clones went after X and Axl. Metal tried to ram his fist into Zero's chest, but the red hunter caught the blow and flipped Metal over, slamming him against the ground. Zero tried to stab down on Metal, but he rolled back in time.
The first copy of Metal tried to jumpkick X, but the blue hunter ducked in time. The copy slammed against the wall, but he quickly rebounded and hurled himself back the other way. X was caught off guard, and the copy hit him in the back of the head, knocking him forward. The copy tried to come down on X with a hard stomp, but X quickly brought up his buster and shot the copy square in the chest, sending him flying back to the wall.
Meanwhile, Axl was trying to shoot the other copy with his pistols. However, the Metal copy proved to be fast enough to dodge the bullets, and was gracefully dodging while approaching the young hunter. The Metal copy then quickly ran up to Axl and gave him a hard dropkick straight to the chest. The young hunter hit the ground, but he grabbed himself before he fell and jumped back up and shot the copy in the shoulder.
At that same instant, Metal grabbed Zero by the shoulder, spun him around, and punched him in the face yet again. The red hunter tried to stab Metal, but the dark reploid avoided the attack by grabbing Zero's arm and pulling him forward. As Zero struggled against Metal's grip, Metal just brought his face closer to Zero's ear.
"Here's a tip Zero. Don't fuck with Metal," Metal hissed, bringing his elbow down on Zero's arm.
Zero let out a painful cry and clutched his arm. He then took control of his saber with his other arm and gave Metal a harsh look. At that time, the first copy of Metal was trying to barrel down on X, but the blue hunter grabbed him and threw him towards Zero, who gracefully spun around and chopped him in two. However, Axl was having more trouble trying to get the copy off of him.
Axl tried to shoot him before he could do anything, but the copy slammed Axl's hands, making him drop his pistols. He then did a round house kick, hitting Axl square in the face, knocking him backwards. Axl angrily pressed forward, trying to tackle the clone, but the real Metal stepped and kicked Axl in the back, knocking him over the Metal clone. Axl hit the ground with a loud thud, and both the clone and Metal stomped on him hard, knocking him out.
"Get off of him!" X shouted, raising his buster.
X let out a buster blast, which struck the Metal copy in the side, knocking it into the wall and obliterating it. Metal looked back angrily at X and Zero. His odds were better now than they were before, but things still looked bleak to him. He had to take care of one of them now.
Metal let out a loud scream, and his body was once again covered in darkness. All of the blackness of the night seemed to be concentrated around his body, and a dark mist began to fill the room. All that was visible was the silver hair of Metal, which now cascaded down his back. His fangs and blades grew longer again, and he once again resumed the form of Death Metal.
Metal was so overcome with pure rage and fury that he took a much darker solution than he originally wanted. He was now more determined than ever to kill Zero, no matter what it cost him. And if Zero was dead, that would leave a lot of pressure of Goth, making paradise easier for her to attain. She might be able to get away from the low level hunters. Metal knew she was stronger than she looked, she could protect herself to a degree...but she wasn't strong enough to defeat Zero. That was something Metal would have to do for her.
He was willing to protect her to the end. He would kill himself and Zero if that was what it took to fulfill his promise to her. And it would also fulfill his promise to himself. He would show that dead son of a bitch Dr. Wily that his creations mean nothing. Metal would send Zero to the grave and follow him soon after so he'd have the satisfaction of seeing Wily's face in the afterlife.
"This will take a lot out of me, but I'm going to kill you Zero, even if it takes my life! I'll prove I'm better than you, and I'll give her a better chance at living!" Metal screamed.
