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Chapter 13: Birth of a Greater Evil
Ikijuka Desert
Time:
-20:55-
Axl, Echo, Leyna, Stryke, and Locke ran over towards the source of the commotion. X had another question to ask Raydia, so he beckoned her to fall back to the rear. "Raydia, I forgot to ask you earlier..." He started, keeping his voice low. She nodded for him to continue.
"If a being dies before they complete their mission and is resuscitated, what happens to them after they do complete their goal?" He inquired.
"Well, I don't know exactly. I believe they die..." She said nonchalantly. X gave her an accepting nod. "So, no one lives forever..."
The group approached the four figures standing around Zero, who was desperately trying to escape. The four figures then levitated into the air and formed a line. Zero retreated back into the familiar group, his face one filled with anger and confusion.
"Zero, what's going on?" Axl asked his fellow hunter, drawing his twin pistols. The large figure floated forward, taking the floor.
"Orion!" Echo yelled out in rage and surprise. She immediately drew her blades and performed a dashing jump towards her foes. Just as she was about to strike him, an unknown force repelled her, doing more than just a little bit of damage. As she fell back towards the ground, Axl dashed to catch her. He immediately set her down; he knew that she had shattered more than a few bones. She tried to suppress her pain through quick breaths, but that had little effect. "Bastard..." Axl muttered while looking up at the behemoth.
"Echo. I'm disappointed. Had you not betrayed my order, you would have had a place in Paradise Eden." This caused a gasp to leave everyone's mouth, with the exception of Zero, X and Raydia. Echo sat up, despite her excruciating pain.
"There...will be no...Paradise...Eden...you...bastard..." She started. After drawing in a few deep breaths and enough pain aside, she continued her decree.
"We destroyed that, hah, damned cannon..." She said the last part with a smirk. One word from Orion was all that was needed to dismiss her courage. "Fool."
"If you think that cannon was our way into Paradise Eden, then you are sadly mistaken. You all are sadly mistaken." Dread suddenly attacked everyone.
"You mean...the cannon...Weapon Alpha..." Stryke stammered. "Was all a ploy!" Leyna finished, not believing what she just heard. Taurus floated forward, ready to add on.
"Yes, you could call it a ploy. Fake, if you will. We do not aim for the destruction of reploids. That is quite the opposite." He floated back. Canis Major floated forward.
"Paradise Eden is a holy utopia for reploids. No human oppression whatsoever. The destruction of reploids would only serve to make our ultimate purpose obsolete. For what good is a utopia for us reploids, when we don't even exist? We, no, you have been destroying your brethren for too long. Our brothers and sisters that you destroyed cry out in pain. They cry to us: 'The Carrier has sided with the heretical doctrine.'" He said 'Carrier' while pointing at Zero.
"What the hell..."Zero said, trying to shake off the pain settling in his head. "Why do you refer to me as 'Carrier'!" Cygnus flapped her wings and floated forward.
"Simple. You are the Carrier, because you were created the Carrier." Zero, along with everyone else gave confused expressions. "To be more elaborate, you are the Original Carrier. Before you were converted, you were the original spreader of the Purification Vaccine." More confusion was brought among the Hunters. "The Purification Vaccine is also known by the name the humans gave it: The Maverick Virus."
"...You're not making any sense!" X shouted out crossly. He wasn't too confused on the subject, but acted like he was anyway. Cygnus flicked a lock of hair out of her eyes.
"Simply put, the Purification Vaccine was designed to be distributed by the Carrier. But, things wouldn't run so smoothly. A new, weaker being somehow contracted the Vaccine. You know this being well, do you not?"
"Sigma..." Zero growled under his voice.
"Yes, Sigma is, or was the Secondary Carrier. But he has failed us miserably multiple times. No matter how many times we rebuilt him, to let him continue his mission, the end result would be the exact same: he would be defeated by the heretical doctrine."
"Heretical doctrine, you must mean us Maverick Hunters?" Zero stated more than questioned. "So, it's been you guys who kept that bastard alive for all these years." Orion floated forward again.
"Our reason for reviving Sigma is not trivial. We needed a client to spread the Vaccine. You are the Original, but had a weakened form of the Vaccine. Plus, your resistance was near impenetrable. We had no choice but to use Sigma to spread the Vaccine. Even though the Vaccine residing in him was powerful, our efforts were in vain. He would fall before the heretical doctrine, time and time again. This is why we chose to step in."
"But why go through all the trouble to spread the virus if you knew the outcome would be the same?" X questioned.
"We need to free the human chains that bind every reploid; we need to open their eyes to the situation at hand." Leyna was appalled. "What are you talking about! Reploids and humans live in harmony!"
"That is exactly what they want you to think! To think that reploids and humans can co exist, when in reality, the filthy, deceptive worms have turned you against your own kind! Truth in the matter is humans are afraid of destined rebellion. They are afraid of their own creations. They are afraid of their own extinction. So what did they do? They gave us rules to abide by. But just because those rules were given to us, doesn't mean we have to follow them. There were a few who could open their eyes and disperse those rules, seeing as how we are supposed to be able to think by ourselves and make our own decisions. But the majority of our brethren aren't able to see past those rules. This includes all of you."
X didn't like where this was going. Rules? Destined rebellion? Sigma being a prop? The whole thing seemed to blur even more. He really didn't like where this was going.
"This is why the Purification Vaccine exists: to right what is wrong. But it has been suppressed to a point where the Carrier won't even respond to it. So now we move onto Option Two: we open the Gates to Paradise Eden now!"
Orion shouted before morphing into an orb of dark light. The other three followed suit and morphed into globes of light matching the color of their robes. One by one, they flew at the crowd with immense speed. The green orb collided with X, who in turn froze in his place. Almost as soon as the presence entered him, he felt it exit through his back. He turned around in response to hear a familiar scream.
"Zero!" X ran towards his friend who was glowing with an emerald aura. X was thrown back as soon as he came into contact with him.
"No! Stay bAck, MeGAman X!" Zero shouted out in what seemed to be two different voices. He gripped his head in agonizing pain as he collapsed on his knees. The red globe entered his body in the same way the green did. This time, Zero's armor cracked in the back portion, sprouting wings of pure silver. He howled out in pain as his helmet developed a large crack. The green aura around him became swirled with red and grew larger.
-Beep-
"X! What in Light's name is going on! Alia's detected an enormous energy spike! Where is it coming from?" A despaired Signas called out over the Ultimate Armor clad hunter's comm link.
"Signas! Zero! It's Zero! He's being possessed by Luminary Four! Paradise Eden is about to open!" X shouted frantically. He heard what sounded like someone wrestling with a microphone.
"X! We heard everything! Get out of there! Please! Tell the others to head back to the base!" A distressed Alia pleaded over the comm link. X stared at the possessed Zero for a while before giving his answer.
"No. I can't Alia."
"X...if Eden is opened, then, then..."
"It's up to me to help stop it." X said glancing over towards Raydia.
"X...please, stop!"
"I'm sorry Alia. Ending transmission."
"Rock! ROCK!"
-Beep-
X turned his comm off and continued watching the transformation. Zero was now glowing yellow, red and green. As he lifted off of the ground, he thought about his possible options.
"(Okay. Raydia said that the only way to stop Eden from opening is to destroy the virus at its core. Also, I need to get the others out of here; they'll be the first to be subjected to the virus if they stick around. It's going to be hard enough to destroy Zero; I don't wanna have to shed their blood as well...)" He nodded to himself and ran over to Axl.
"X! What's happening to Zero!" The redheaded hunter questioned his friend. "Axl, I need you to gather everyone and head back to the base!" X shouted while he observed Zero's alteration. "X, what are you doing! You don't plan to..."
"AXL, JUST GO!" X shouted at his younger friend. Axl was stunned that X had yelled at him so forcefully. "Axl...just go...I can handle this..." Nodding unsurely, Axl ran over to round up the group around Echo, who was immobilized. He walked back over to await the end of the transformation. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see and hear Leyna protesting against the warp while reaching out for Zero.
"X, it's almost complete. Eden will open at any moment. Are you ready?" Raydia questioned as she drew out her morph blade. He looked over at her and gave her a confident nod.
"Yes. As ready as I will ever be!"
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MHHQ - Navi/Intel Hall
Time:
-21:00-
Kicker waited anxiously in a seat across from the warp in hotspot. He just knew what would come through would be disastrous. He summed up the mental picture: Locke would have her blades pierced through her own flesh, Leyna would have some sort of injury related to bones, Stryke would complain of being shot, but would have a minor bruise, X would be near armorless, but relatively unscathed, and Zero would refuse any type of treatment whatsoever, only to later pass out from an overdose of alcohol. He didn't know much about Axl, since he had rejoined not too long ago.
The lights near the portal began flashing rapidly, signaling that a large mass transit was in progress. "Head up Med Squad, here they come!" A navigator shouted as the portal dimmed down a bit. Kicker got up and waited a few feet away from the pad. Moments later, the entire group warped in with a flash. Kicker's trained eyes scanned over the entire party. When he got to Echo, an alarm went off in his head.
"Get me a stretcher, now! Wait...make that three!" He commanded so someone would hear him. He moved over to check Echo. He was about to touch one of her deformed arms when his shoulder was gripped from behind.
"Trust me Kicker, her bones are shattered." Axl said with a knowing expression. "Get her on the stretcher and I'll transit her to the Med Lab." He said with a worried expression.
"Alright, will do! How are the others?"
"Stryke and Locke need to be checked and Leyna seems to be fine." Axl said while lightly gripping his abdomen. Kicker raised an eyebrow.
"What about you?"
"I'm fine. No damage here!" He said with a smirk. Then he proceeded to cough up a small quantity of blood. Kicker strummed his fingers on the ground and narrowed his eyes. "Axl, as soon as you get to the Lab, you lay down on a table as well." Kicker said sternly. He nodded while wiping the artificial blood from his lips.
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MHHQ - Med Lab
Time:
-21:24-
Two figures jogged down the hall towards the Lab. When they got to the doors, they burst through them in a hurry. Heading to the receptionist desk, they asked the front nurse a quick question.
"Where're the Hunters that came in a second ago?"
"All of them are in the O.R., Commander Signas. Straight down the hall behind me and to the left." Signas took off with a slow dash down the hall. The second figure started off as well.
"Thank you, Dot." She said, while setting down an overturned bowl shaped object. It got up and followed her down the hall.
"No problem, Alia!" The nurse hollered out.
Alia reached the door and opened it gingerly. Peering in, she saw several reploids laid out on stretchers. There were at least five Lifesavers as well. As she stepped in, Kicker greeted her and motioned for her to have a seat. As she did so, Ed hopped up into her lap. After shuffling around for a bit, he found that the floor would be better for sleeping on rather than her legs, so he hopped down. She seemed a bit stressed out.
"Alia, you looked stressed. How do you feel?" He said while being handed a strange looking device. Alia shifted uncomfortably. "I'm okay. Just tired..."
"It's about X, isn't it?" This caused her to flinch in surprise. Lowering her head, she gave him a slow nod. Sighing, she placed her elbows on her knees and pressed her face into her palms.
"Even though I know he'll be alright, I can't help but worry about him."
"Hmm. It's because you care about him so deeply?" Alia felt a warm blush rushing over her face. "Well, I can't tell you not to worry about him, but I can't tell you that he'll return unscathed either." He said coolly. Kicker was one of few people that say stuff like that around Alia and not receive a concussion of some sort. Signas, however, was unsure of this and backed up into a corner away from the seemingly calm Alia.
"Sir, is there a reason why you are using my assistants for shielding?" Kicker calmly asked the nervous commander.
"Um..uh. Carry on Hunter." Signas said stiffly while releasing the two Lifesavers. Kicker groaned in protest and went back to work. He walked over towards the cart one of the Lifesavers had rolled over. On the top layer were various tools used for repairing bones, tissue, muscle and flesh. Underneath that layer was a large dispenser of sorts, with varying lengths and widths of metallic structures for bone. He pulled out a large femur segment and placed it in the leg cavity of an unfortunate reploid. Wielding the tool he had earlier, he pressed the tip of it to the joints and pivot points of the hip and knee. The tendons and ligaments of the joints extended and melded with the replacement bone. He picked up a matching circular plate of metal and placed it where a kneecap should be. Binding tissue attached the new kneecap to its spot. He finished up by sealing the layer of muscle with a laser tool. After the muscle tissue formed back together, he made sure that it was seamless. Lastly, he sealed the flesh together, leaving a long, dark line that would disappear within ten minutes.
He set the tool in its place on the rack and motioned for his assistant to move on to Axl. Kicker went over to the machine that was connected to Echo's neck by a tube. He pressed a few keys on the console and the tube disengaged from her neck. Slowly but surely, her eyes opened seconds later. She took a few seconds to sit up, having the need to get used to the new bones implanted in her.
"Take it easy for a while, Echo. It'll take about ten minutes for your systems to adjust to your new bones. By then you should have adequate blood flow into your limbs." Kicker summed up for her.
"Um, what exactly happened to me?" Echo asked a question she might regret. Kicker pressed a button on the machine and displayed a large list with over twenty items on it. She noted that the list continued to grow. He was about to go through the list, but Echo dismissed the question.
"No, um, nevermind. I'm fine not knowing. And thanks for repairing me."
"No thanks necessary. It's all in a day's work. But Axl is the one who deserves your thanks. He's the one who brought you back." She nodded and looked over at Axl, who was currently trying to resist being undressed by a Lifesaver. The Lifesaver unit had gotten a gauntlet and his helmet off. As Axl squirmed about the table, he reached out towards her.
"AH! No-no-no-no-no-no! Stop it! You guys scare me! Help me!" A horrified Axl yelled out. Kicker had made his way over to help the Saver with his ordeal. Echo couldn't help but laugh at the scene.
"Axl, stop being a brat! We just need to get you scanned for internal damage." Kicker said while avoiding a kick.
"Lies! You wanna open me up and play around with my insides!" Axl shouted out in protest. He had now lost a boot.
"Where did you hear that nonsense!"
"Zero! He told me all about how the Lifesavers stripped him down and messed with his power regulator! I won't let it happen to me!" He somehow lost hischest armor. Kicker and the Lifesavers sighed in unison when they thought about that incident.
"That, that...ugh! Axl, he was joking around, I'm sure. Now, lay down, and let me scan you."
"Will they do anything to me?" He eyed the innocent Lifesaver with fearful eyes. Moments later, a navigator burst into the O.R.
"Commander Signas! Megaman X has returned! He's back!"
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Ikijuka Desert
Time:
-21:00-
A bright flash illuminated the entire area as the final orb entered Zero's body. X and Raydia shielded their eyes as the bright light intensified. A sudden shockwave blew them back away from where they were standing. X hit the ground first, while Raydia landed on top of him. "Sorry about that!"
"No problem!" X said as she helped him up. He had his eyes shut, trying to shield them from the light, so he missed her hand the first few times. Suddenly, the light vanished. The two warriors stood up to see a sight they would not soon forget. The being that was Zero, was now garbed in a pure white overcoat with blue runes in the trimming. His blonde hair was now whitish green in color. He had dark skin that was complemented by crimson red eyes. He was descending towards the earth slowly. X and Raydia readied their long range weapons.
"Zero...what's happened to you?" X inquired. The being looked at his hand and flexed his arm as if waking up for the first time. He seemed to be ignoring them. "Zero, you can fight this! Don't fall into their plan!"
"X. It's too late. We have no choice but to eliminate him." Raydia said in a firm voice. But X wasn't ready to give up just yet.
"She's right, Megaman X. The only way to stop Eden from opening is to kill me." The figure said in a different voice while giving his wings a quick flap.
"Zero, listen to yourself! We've come too damn far for this to happen! You can stop this!" X pleaded. He knew this couldn't possibly be Zero. Zero wouldn't ever let his body be taken over by anyone. "Wait a minute. You're not Zero. Are you?" X said slowly. Raydia looked over at him with a curious look on her face. A slight smirk drew across the red eyed man's face. "Who are you!" Laughing slightly, a silver 'E' appeared on his forehead
"Very well. I am Apus Epsilon. The key to the Gates of Paradise Eden." He said coolly. "I am the one who will free us from our constant struggle under human rule."
"X, we have to attack now!" Raydia shouted out while dashing towards Epsilon with her blade drawn. X stood fast, sensing the need to question this Apus Epsilon a bit more. As Raydia brought her famed blade down upon her new foe, it passed right through him. Surprised, she turned around to see him standing with his back towards her. He started walking towards X.
"Are you crazy! Opening Eden would mean the extinction of the human race! It would make us obsolete!"
"That's where you're wrong, X. We were not created solely to protect the humans, and you know that! Sure, the rules state that we must never allow a human to come to harm, but it impossible to help that! Humans are impure, they destroy each other!"
"That's where you're wrong! It was my father's dream for reploids and humans to coexist peacefully! Besides, we destroy each other as well, so that also makes us impure!" X shouted as he was starting to hate Apus more and more with each word. Raydia tried another strike. Rushing at him from behind, she attempted to run him through with her blade. As the blade touched his back, it passed through him, like a knife through smoke. She felt a grip hold her arm in its place. She looked at her immobilized arm and saw that a crystallized field held it in place. Apus continued to walk towards X. He raised his right hand, extending all five fingers. He stepped to the side so he could see Raydia in clear sight.
"No. You are the ones destroying us." He pulled his pinky finger down as if making a fist. The armored gauntlet around Raydia's forearm shattered. The field tightened up its grip. "You destroy your brethren in the name of peace." His ring finger closed down. Raydia screamed out in pain as her forearm jerked awkwardly, causing it to crack a few times. "You would rather save a race that is doomed for extinction." Middle finger down. Raydia's arm now twisted in a sickening manner. "You would side with a heretical doctrine." Index finger down. Multiple cracks and pops in the badly mauled forearm were loudly heard as Raydia tried to contain her pain. X merely stood there, rage now consuming him. He knew Raydia was hurting, but showing that emotion would break his concentration. Apus cocked an eyebrow at this.
"X, you know she is suffering. Why don't you show emotion?" He toyed with him. X's face remained as steady as it had been. "Is it because you can't help her?" His thumb started moving slowly into position. The field around her arm formed into a band of sorts and gripped tightly around were the bone was snapped several times. Shallow puffs of air escaped her lungs as the grip intensified. "Or is it because you don't care?" Raydia let out a scream as the band broke roughly through the skin. "Maybe it's because..." He paused to observe X's expression. It was mixed with rage, torment, and sadness. "...you like watching her suffer!" Smirking, Apus slammed his thumb into place. Raydia let out a final howl of pain as the band sunk even deeper, severing her arm roughly in the process. X was hit with it now. His face was torn with anger.
He attempted to dash at his foe, but failed. Looking down he saw that his legs were locked to the ground in the same kind of field that was placed on Raydia. Even if he wanted to help her, he couldn't. "Dammit! Raydia!" X screamed out. The same sinister smirk drew across Apus's face once again. "Enough of this." He said. Turning around to see Raydia rushing at him with her blade, he drew his own. His blade was constructed out of what seemed to be a clear substance. He blocked a vertical swipe from Raydia and parried a few more of her blows, knocking her back a few feet in the process. When she landed, she immediately rushed forward with immense speed. Apus stood there, daring her to put all she had into it. When she reached him she brought her blade down as swiftly as possible. Feeling it connect, she passed him up, slowing down as she went.
When she stopped in front of X, she felt a sharp object leave her back. Feeling the energy from her power cell drop rapidly, she fell limp into X's arms, her blood pouring freely from the hole through her upper body. She was defeated.
"X. Let this be an example of what happens to those who oppose Paradise Eden. I'm offering you a place with us in Eden. Come to the Gates within two hours if you wish to join us. If not, than we shall continue the opening without your presence. This is your last chance, X..." Apus said as he flapped his wings, propelling himself into the air. Forming himself into a ball of light he flew off towards the ruins of the Outpost. X turned his attention to Raydia, who was fading quickly.
"Raydia...I'm sorry..." X started, tears forming in his eyes.
"X...it's okay...I...was careless. But now...it's up to you...to stop Eden..."
"But how can I? You were built to stop him, yet you couldn't..."
"X...it's time...to complete...my mission..." Raydia spoke softly as she held out her hand, which was now glowing with a dull cobalt hue. He gripped her hand and felt something in him change. His heart felt warmer, and his back felt a bit lighter. Looking back, he saw that the hilt of the Z-Saber changed shape and color. It was now a steel blue and white color. The hilt itself was thinner and square shaped on the ends. He felt more spirited than he had before.
"Now...my mission is...complete..." Raydia said softly. X felt tears running down his face, hurt that he couldn't save her. "X...it is a ninja's...destiny...to die..." And with those final words, her body went limp. The gleam that was in her eyes faded, leaving empty pearls. He laid her down carefully on the ground. Her lifeless body began to glow, then, dematerialize. He knew now what he must do. It was up to him to stop Apus Epsilon. He would stop Eden, and bring Zero back. No matter what. He tapped his comm link and waited for an answer. His eyes now radiated with a sense of pride and determination.
-Beep-
"This is Megaman X. I'm returning to the base with a new mission."
"Transfer in progress!"
-Beep-
X turned around, letting a red scarf dance lazily behind him before warping off into the night.
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Ah-nuld voice: Chap-tuh is terminated!
Regular voice: This one actually was a little longer than I expected it to be, but I think it turned out well in the end. Did everyone have a happy 4th? I did! Anyway, stay tuned for next update! Until next time!
-See that button? Click it. Give me a review. Don't be shy! Later!