Harry: And here we go again! And yes, D. D., dis takes place afta MZ3.
WB: Yup, uh, B. E. Dawn, I warned you.
Harry: -reads PRIVATE's review- Yes, SIR! -Salutes-
WB: The mock salute isn't necessary. Uh, L. Wily, did I say MZ3? -double checks- whoops, typo. And I didn't know about the Pantheons, but I'll note it.
Harry: Plus X is kind of tied up right now…
WB: We haven't gotten to that yet! Thanks for blowing it! -Glares-
Harry: Uh… -nervous swallow- Somebody start da fic before I get pulverized!
Begin Chapter!
"AALLOOUUTTEE!"
"No, NO!" Ciel stared at the mound of wreckage that used to be the armory in growing horror. "NO!"
The scientist rushed over to the collapsed structure as the dust slowly settled; maybe she could still dig Allouette out in time. Of maybe the girl had sheltered herself beneath something to escape…
Ciel kept clutching at any straw of hope, even though she knew the cold reality of the truth in the back of her mind.
"Ms. CIEL!"
The scientist jumped as Merge's tiny voice split the air. In a split second the Cyber Elf had appeared beside her, coughing slightly at the dust in the area.
"Ms. Ciel alright?" Merge inquired.
"I am…" The scientist nodded, desperately trying to keep the tears out of her eyes and her voice. "But… Merge! You're just what we need! Quick, try and find Allouette or Zero, they're somewhere in there."
"Oh…" Merge stared at the mass of debris before him. Then he set his eyes in determination. "Merge find them! Merge try as hard as Merge can!"
The Elf shut his eyes and began to concentrate furiously.
Dande slowly moved over to join the two, he didn't know what to say, so he said nothing.
They remained there silently, waiting on Merge to save the day and locate their friends.
But after a while, the Cyber Elf opened up his eyes in bewilderment.
"Merge… Merge sorry..." The Elf stumbled over the words, "But Merge can't find Zero or Allouette… anywhere."
Ciel's head dropped as the tears of sorrow finally escaped. There was only one reason why Merge wouldn't be able to sense them.
They were dead.
One Hour Later.
With a burst of light, Cerveau, Dande, Merge, and a very quiet Ciel materialized by the Resistance's mineshaft, to the joy of the other refuges.
The Reploids had already prepared a convoy of vehicles to begin their escape into the desert where they would regroup and rebuild; they were just waiting on Ciel to begin the journey.
After some last minute preparations, Ciel took her place beside Cerveau in the lead truck, and the convoy began its trip into the desert.
Cerveau and Merge kept quiet out of respect as they proceeded.
And Ciel didn't speak at all, she just continued to grieve silently, desperately wishing that there was something she could have done to alter the events of the past few hours.
But there was nothing she could have done.
Ciel felt as if a very real part of herself had died. Her adopted, Reploid daughter was gone.
Gone forever…
"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Lion VI shouted as he hefted his mace.
"Yeah X, I'm tracking you as we speak, so just give up." Serges examined the device in his hand as he moved through the ancient ruins of the jungle.
"If you two would shut up." Vile GA snapped as he held his saber at the ready. "We might just find him."
Segres nodded and examined his scanner more closely; he was picking up strong readings from somewhere nearby…
Abruptly, the gray robot stopped and waved his scanner around in front of him.
A smile crept over his face as Segres realized just where X was hiding.
The robot motioned towards a nearby stone wall a few yards away, causing Lion VI to smile grimly.
Lion VI ripped his mace off of his back and gave it a small toss, getting used to its weight. Then he hurled it through the air, straight towards the wall.
With a resounding crash, the sphere ripped the stone barrier to pieces, and revealing the Cyber Elf form of X, who had been hiding inside of the wall.
"Get him!"
Vile GA was already in motion, his purple Beam Saber slicing through the air towards his prey.
X was ready, however, and was already hovering away, just barely avoiding the sharp blade, and then he retaliated by driving his fist into the robot's chest.
Vile shrieked as X's Cyber Elf form damage the sensitive wiring of his mechanical body.
"Got him!" Lion VI appeared behind his prey with his mace upraised.
X shot a look over his shoulder, from his position over the sword-carrying robot, at the mace-packing robot.
Lion VI dropped his weapon, down onto X.
Or where the Elf should have been.
X slipped away from the sphere, leaving it to smash into Vile GA, which was still trying to recover from the Cyber Elf's attack.
"Oops." Lion shuddered as he realized his mistake.
The next second he was flying backward as X ghosted through him, damaging the robot's interior circuitry.
"Come back here!" Segres shouted for his damaged companions as their prey took the sky and began to fly away. "X! We'll get you!"
The Cyber Elf didn't reply, but continued onward intent on escaping.
He never succeeded.
A yellow bolt of electrical power exploded out of the sky and raced down towards X.
He didn't stand a chance.
The lightning raced through X's systems, quickly and effectively knocking him senseless. Without his consciousness, X's Cyber Elf form quietly plummeted to the hard, unyielding ground below.
The three X Hunters stared in shock at the events which had just unfolded.
"Disappointing." Harpuia floated down out of the sky, daggers drawn and arms folded. "You three are pathetic."
"Master Harpuia!" The three X Hunters dropped to their knees. "You're here!"
"Yes, doing your work." The Thunder Guardian muttered, "I don't have time to listen to you pathetic excuses, I must proceed onward to the Resistance Base. See if you three can take him in without bungling that job."
"Yes, Master Harpuia." Vile GA snatched up the unconscious X. "Master Wiel will be pleased."
Ciel, you must eat something." Cerveau held out a plate of stew, that one of his friends had put together, to the blond scientist.
"No, thank you, I'm just not hungry now." Ciel didn't even look at the Reploid as she continued to stare off into the night.
Cerveau didn't rely immediately, ever since the caravan had stopped for the night, Ciel had just sat there staring off into the distance. The Reploid knew that she was still mourning for Allouette, but he was also getting concerned about her behavior.
"I've been thinking." The Reploid researcher sat down next to his comrade. "Harpuia and Neo Arcadia seem pretty convinced that we were going to attempt a coup, and the Mavericks that appeared several days ago didn't help matters any. I think someone's framing us."
Cerveau waited for a response.
None came.
Finally, the Reploid admitted defeat; there was nothing more he could do.
"I suppose that I'll see you tomorrow." The Reploid stood, retrieved the plate, and slowly walked away.
Ciel didn't reply, she just cried.
"How is she?" Fefnir stormed into the Recovery Ward, causing every Human and Reploid to jump at his entrance.
"Fefnir, Sir, uh, this isn't really a good time-"
The fire Guardian silenced the physician with a wave of his hand.
"Answer the question."
The head physician sighed in defeat, and launched into his explanation.
"Leviathan's systems and frames have been repaired, as well as any damage done to her DNA core, however she is still in a Reploidic coma. The problem is that Armored Armadillo's rockets contained a Reploidic poison, the poison is currently infecting her energy systems, and canceling all attempts to restart her."
"So flush out the energy systems!"
"We've tried," The physician hastily continued, "but the poison stays behind and infects the new current. We're not sure if there is a cure…"
Fefnir couldn't believe his ears.
Hate blazed in the Fire Guardian's eyes as his fists clenched.
"Mark my words, Fairy," Fefnir cast a glance at his unconscious partner, "I've already destroyed that meddling Zero, and it will not be long before I reap vengeance on that Ciel for reactivating the trouble maker!"
End Chapter!
