Return of Metal
Chapter 3
"Take Your Fate"
By MEGAMANX411

The plan was perfect. It was absolutely perfect. Metal was so shocked that he didn't see it before. It was as plain as day, he should have seen it sooner. But as soon as he joined up with that other person, he realized the ulimate plan. Ultimate was definitely the most appropriate term for this sort of scheme. When Metal thought about it, it was pure genius. Back when he was in Dr. Wily's lab, a phase that Metal could barely remember, the main thing that came to mind was his hatred for Zero. However, he also knew one other thing, but this fact he could almost feel as if it were a part of him.

Metal was in fact, a copy of sorts. His design was pirated from Mega Man X, the legendary creation of Dr. Light. How did Dr. Wily get ahold of the schematics? That fact was unsure, even to Metal. He merely assumed that he stole them or duplicated them somehow, by having one of his cronies examine Dr. Light's work. The main thing was that Metal wasn't a pure copy. His design, although similar in almost every respect, was altered a bit to suit Dr. Wily's nature. The maker, so to speak, put his own feelings and thoughts into his creation. Dr. Light's creation, Mega Man X, was a symbol of peace and justice. X symbolized all of the goodness and light. His emotions seemed to reflect that.

Metal, on the other hand, due to Dr. Wily's cruelty and negligence, was left broken and alone. His bitterness and hatred was a product of that. Regardless of that though, they both stemmed from the same fundamental design points. In that sense, Metal and X could almost be considered brothers, or perhaps even twins. Based on their previous encounter, X discovered that he could almost sense and feel Metal's presence. He could see what Metal was thinking. It was almost like just experience another extension of himself, like that information was already stored within him.

In that respect, Metal could almsot be considered an extension of X. That would be the most fair statement, as much as Metal would hate to admit it. He despised admitted the fact that he was a copy. But that simply didn't matter now. No, in fact, it was essential to his plan. With the information he recived from his informant, Metal should be able to gain new powers. He would literally become unstoppable, and this time, he would be able to overtake X, Zero, and Axl. All he required was the proper window. And that opportunity just presented itself.

Metal gazed into the Maverick Hunter HQ. Due to some strange effect that his so-called "partner" caused, Metal noticed that everything was pitch black. It wasn't even that late, but still, everything was shrouded in a veil of darkness. What was more unsettling though, was the fact that sensors were also blind. Many scanners and locating devices had somehow been jammed. It wasn't any usual sort of interference either. This gave everyone at Maverick Hunter HQ a terrible feeling. Waves of panic began to overtake many of the trainees, and even the more experienced Hunters were a little surprised.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash. A wall had literally been blown apart, and the deafeaning roar of the explosion knocked lots of things over. However, no one came through it. Everyone's attention was instantly attracted to the site of the ruckus, but there was nothing. Even if it was pitch black, no one would be able to get through that room undeteceted. There were people all over it, crowding the entire room. Unless it was a bodiless entity with no mass, it would have definitely brushed up agianst someone. But there was nothing.

That's when X suddenly got a horrible feeling. He suddenly kenw what was going on, however, he no longer could stop it. He took far to look into it, and he simply knew that the person was going to get away. Still though, he had to race down there. He had to at least get an understanding of why he was being bombarding with this fear. He knew where to go. The Equipment Room section of the R&D Lab. It was a room X spent quite a bit of time in, moreso than Zero or Axl at least. As soon as he got down there, the lights came back on. The sensors from both the base and of all the Reploids inside starting functioning again. That's when he saw it.

He saw a blur of black. A figure raced with incredible speed out of the base, passing X without so much as a glance. But what frightened X was the terrible look in that figure's demonic eyes. It was familiar in a sense, but that's what made it so much more unsettling. The person he had seen must have undergone some chaotic change to cause this. X then turned his head, his blue helmet reflecting the light that now hung in the room. What he saw made his mouth gape open. With what was lost, the person was stole it would have a serious edge.

It shouldn't have been a big deal. No one else would have been able to use those things anyway. No one else could have. But X knew otherwise. This time around, there was a very valid reason to have fear. He had to formulate a plan. As soon as that person was ready, destruction and chaos would follow soon afterward.