Summary: Partings are such sweet sorrow. Reunions can be ruthless!
Author's Note: I started this one shortly after finishing chapter 6. You know, it just dawned on me that I've yet to assign pairings to this particular fic! My fault, really. Alright, here goes- Alia and X, Iris and Zero. That's it, so far. Anything else would be fan-made characters, after all, and I'm not about to bring in Layer or Palette yet. Are you expecting Ayumi and Arik? It's most likely gonna happen, I think. I know many people don't like fanmade characters getting with main characters from the series all that much, after all. Oh yes, and I'm giving you all fair warning now- this is probably the 'fluffy' chapter of the series, I think.
If you're a reader just starting out on this chapter, please go back to chapter one and read from there! I don't want to keep readers in the dark (well, not forever) when it comes to already introduced characters. Really, there's only two fanmade characters so far, with only one or two others who might 'seem' to be fanmade, but actually aren't. I'll even provide a little information on the series so far, right now: Axl isn't here. This series takes place both during and after MMX3, and I'm heading towards X4 after this chapter. Axl, since he joins up in X7, probably won't be making an appearance yet. X5 was originally the series finalle, but you know how companies like to milk what can be considered their flagship series'. Axl was created afterwards, in X7, so chances are that I'll add him- eventually. Just don't expect him anytime soon, even if I do bring him in.
I've noticed that the changes in my original versions of the last few chapters have been unfortunate: I no longer have any 'spacers', as I call them, after I upload them to It's unfortunate, and now I've gotta find some other way to get things spaced out. Which I can't stand, because I've been using these spacers for years now.
Major changes in storyline: Nothing major, really, but here's a small rundown.
a) Douglas, Iris, Alia, and Magma Dragoon are older than one might expect, though they never entered the spotlight until their respective games when they did make an appearance. Therefore, I've added them into this fic, though it begins during the events of MMX3.
b) Zero, until after the events of MMX3, has been receiving microfracture repairs since his resurrection. This would explain the fact in X3 that if he technically 'dies' (runs out of energy), he would be out of commission. In MMX4, this problem has obviously been fixed.
c) Most maverick hunters are humanoid in build, but many use armors that make them look like animals (like hawks, weasels, etc). However, some like Web Spider and Magma Dragoon, are full-blown animal-type reploids. There just aren't too many of 'em like that.
d) If you're wondering about Signas, he has hasn't been built yet. In this storyline, he was created for the purpose of taking over for Dr. Cain after he died, sometime after the events of X4 and before X5 takes place.
Disclaimer: If you're too lazy to look at my Bio for this, Capcom, you're too lazy to sue me for a few dimes. Though, I'd appreciate it if Capcom looked up my 'Terra' series based off of MML. Maybe they'd finally have some ideas on how to make MML3 if they did (or at least start it off)? I wish!
Landing?
"We are now landing at Tokyo International Airport. Please keep your seatbelts on as we begin our descent, and do not unbuckle until we have come to a complete stop." the young, attractive voice of an automatic vocal system sounded out to the passengers. The turbulence had finally made itself known as the plane began to descend slowly towards the airport far below. It was something that I knew that I never could fully enjoy- the flight on an airplane was very comfortable, save for two parts in particular. Ascending was something I can deal with. It was using the tiny bathrooms and the descending part that I couldn't stand in the slightest. Fortunately, I'd never have to worry about the bathroom part again, thanks to my reploid body.
I pulled up that message that I'd been sent, and shook my head slowly as I read through it once more. It might've been Ayumi, I conceded after a few more moments of thought. But if it was, she must be a maverick! No one, from anything I've ever heard, managed to survive the virus or even delete it entirely from their systems. Save for cyborgs, of course. The reploid mind, once it was found to be unneeded, is purged from a cyborg's system in order to hand over complete control once full synchronization had been reached. According to my internal diagnostics, it would only take another few days before Roy would be wiped out. Maybe only a few hours. Until then, a cyborg is vulnerable to the maverick virus. With a sigh, I set aside the message and shook my head slowly.
There was a jolt beneath me, and I shivered as I realized that we had made it to the ground already. I smiled a little, glad to have left my old life now. There was nothing left for me in America except for my extended family, who hadn't even sent a message my way. With my parents gone, I guess they thought I was dead as well. Or maybe they didn't care to begin with, I thought, and the smile faded from my face slowly. Oh well. My Dad's family never really cared for my parents and myself, having gone off to live in Doppler Town with a large population of Reploids. They were really bad when it came to dealing with anyone different, and they never had cared much for my mother as a result. For example, she'd had her hair color genetically modified to be a different color than humans normally had.
I smiled a little, my left hand rising to slide my fingers through the darker green colored hair that I had, cut relatively short to my head. It sure made me stand out in school- most of the time, only the Reploid students had such unusually colored hair, to help differentiate themselves from the humans in class. And society in general, no less. Of course, I have green hair, thanks to that little genetic modification that mom had undergone. We soon began to taxi into the airport, where we'd be disembarking, and I couldn't help but to wonder just how I'd get to the HQ. I had been told that I'd be picked up there, but no one had ever bothered to tell me by who, or give me a picture or anything of the person who would be attempting to find me there.
I stayed seated while the other passengers began to stand and head into the aisle way. I knew better- I could wait. I unbuckled myself and smiled a little, relaxing as the others began a slow yet steady stream towards the exit of the plane. It would take a while for the others to get off the plane, but since I was by myself and had no particular place to be quickly other than at the HQ, I knew I had time to spare. With a whistle of a little tune, I grinned before closing my eyes. No need to be completely depressed, after all. Not at this time!
Airport Lobby
"Alia, do you really think it was a good idea to go ahead and do this? I mean... I don't think his last memories of me were all that, ah... well, good." Ayumi commented, as they waited in the lobby outside of the gate. The two were just standing against a glass railing, watching as the door that lead out to the connecting tunnel from the airplane opened and the first people walked out from it. Ayumi was watching intently, trying to find her best friend among the crowd, but no sign of him yet.
"Relax, Ayumi. We'll see him before he sees us. But..." the pink-armored reploid trailed off, glancing over to her friend. "Are you sure you want to join the hunters too? I mean, we recreated your body to higher specifications than your original was. You'd probably do well, but are you sure that you'd like to be a hunter?" Alia asked her. There was a look of concern that Ayumi noticed on her face, and then the brunette smiled slowly before answering with a nod.
It took a moment before Ayumi gathered enough nerve to actually say anything to her. "Alia. Arik is my only friend, has been my friend for over half a year. Everyone else we knew were killed by Gravity Beetle's attack. His parents, our friends, the entire school we'd gone to." she told the younger Reploid, who simply nodded slowly in response. "I saved him from the train crash, even if the only part of him that was not horribly damaged and crushed had been his mind. I figure that I owe him, though I don't know why I'm thinking that."
Alia nodded slightly, once more, and then set her hand on the brunette's shoulder. There was a transfer of information, and Alia grinned slowly. "Hey... you don't need to tell me everything, ya know. Tell ya what, Ayumi." she started, and she winked at the girl before giving her a thumbs-up. I gotta stop hanging out around Douglas, she thought, even as she put together her next words. "I'll set you up with him in the same testing unit, okay? We'll get you both started around headquarters, and see where you guy's fit in, all right?"
Ayumi smiled at that, and nodded in return. Sounds perfect, she thought, even as she looked away from the blonde that was resting beside her against the railing. She smiled still, watching as the humans got off the plane. Her friend... how would he react to seeing her? I don't even want to think he'd be afraid of me! That thought took the smile off of her face, and she closed her eyes as she leaned there with Alia. But... what if he does react like that? "I... still don't know." Ayumi said, quietly. She couldn't tell if her friend could hear that, even as she opened her eyes to look to the floor.
"Hm... is that him?" Alia asked, still watching the opening as the trickle of humanity that had flooded from the door lessened. It wasn't all that unusual that someone might wait until the end, simply because getting out to begin with, unless sitting in an aisle seat, it was difficult to get out of a plane any earlier than you otherwise would be able to. She had seen a picture of the boy in question, one that had been sent to her along with the documentation that she'd received, but since Ayumi was here and actually knew what the guy looked like, there was no need to access the file. Not yet, at least.
Ayumi glance up sharply, her eyes looking towards the arrivals. "Where?" she asked quietly, though quickly. Alia smiled slightly and shook her head almost imperceptibly. The girl obviously liked the guy too much, she thought to herself. Reploids and humans being intrigued by one another wasn't an unusual thing, but full-out love was rather difficult to find between them, because of how most humans tended to view reploids, despite the fact that they were practically the same in every way other than construction. Reploids were man-made. Humans are constructs as well, according to their gods, but certainly not in the same way. But that is a mess best left alone, she thought as she smiled wryly.
On the Plane
I got off the plane after almost ten minutes of waiting for most of the others to leave. With a sigh, I found myself in the aisle as I pulled my duffel bag out from the overhead compartment. I grinned slightly, remembering how I once had trouble getting luggage out from it and into it, not so long ago. Yet another thing to be grateful about: the extra few inches of height that my new body afforded me. I chuckled as I slung the bag over my shoulder and headed on towards the exit.
I really can't believe it... Japan! It was pretty humid, I thought, as I looked out the windows that lined the tunnel that stretched from the lobby I was walking towards now to the airplane that I just got out of. Dark and wet, unsurprisingly. I checked the weather reports earlier, while on the plane, and it had been raining like crazy. Probably the reason for the turbulence, I thought, as we descended from the high altitudes that we had been flying at. With a shrug, I shifted the practically non-existent weight that was upon my back- yet another thing to be glad for, really. I walked from out of the tunnel, one of the last to emerge, and I wandered off to the side to a vacant area that had just been created by a departing family of people.
They looked like tourists, I thought, and I smiled a little. I wish I could take some time and do some sightseeing as well. I remember hearing that the Light Labs facility had been found, and restored into a museum after Dr. Cain had found Mega Man X. I'd love to take a tour of that place, as well as look around New Tokyo in general! With a sigh, I looked about the place slowly, and found myself where there was quite a number of Reploid energy signatures. In fact, the largest number I'd ever had the chance to discover ever since having the sensors installed. It made sense, really, since this was the country where Reploids were first created.
Looking around, I found a pair of reploids over by a glass railing- one seemed like a newer model, but the other... Wait, that one looked awfully similar to Ayumi! A first generation reploid alongside a possible seventh or eighth generation model... seventh, was according to my readings. I shrugged slightly, looking away as I frowned a little bit. I suppose first generation models are more common around here than anywhere else, I thought. I couldn't help but to think about Ayumi again, and sighed a little. I winced as a sudden buzzer sound flared in my mind, and I groaned a little as I raised a hand up to hold my head. Damn, that's loud! A new message, I saw, and I opened it up as I closed my eyes.
What in the HELL! It was a message sent by the same person as before, and it had been set up as a prank of some sort to set off that annoying buzzer. The message, sent by that same person- a prank name? No... I opened my eyes as I looked back towards the two reploids at the glass railing, and I blinked in surprise as the first generation reploid waved at me. I gritted my teeth as I shook my head slowly before I headed over towards them. If this is going to be something I'd have to deal with, some sort of prank from someone at the MHHQ who knew about my friendship with a reploid gone maverick, I'll be on the first flight back to America tomorrow!
With a shrug, I walked towards the two. I glanced to the barely shorter reploid with blonde hair, and then to the brunette. It was an uncanny resemblance, even for first generation reploids, I considered, and then I blinked. Wait a sec... She's not a first generation reploid, I realized, as I noticed a few design differences that would be rather imperceptible to anyone who hadn't spent too much time around that generation of reploid. I bowed to the two slightly, unsure of the customs that the maverick hunters followed, but the blonde just waved that off easily enough. "Relax, we're just here to pick you up, not to stand at attention. That's tomorrow, ya know." she commented, a grin on her face as she looked to the brunette, and then to me again. "I'm Alia." It was just my luck, I thought, as I realized that she was speaking in American English.
I nodded to Alia, and smiled slightly. At least, she didn't seem to be the one who was sending me the prank messages. The brunette was looking my way, and I looked to her, locking eyes for a moment. We were like that for a few seconds before I stepped back slowly, my balancers all of a sudden going out of complete and total control as I felt myself about to fall. With a groan, I stepped back with my right foot, propping myself up quickly so that I wouldn't actually fall as I felt the surprise in my head finally register through the shock that I felt.
The reploid in front of me nodded slightly, and as if to read my thoughts, sent me another message. An affirmative, and the blonde looked between us as she sensed the wireless communication link between the two of us. Alia smirked slightly and shook her head slowly. "I figured this would happen. Come on, you two. I can tell you've got a lot to talk about. And I'll be able to fill you both in on the details, if necessary. Okay?" she said, tugging on Ayumi's right arm before reaching for my left arm to drag us on out from the terminal. I, still in the state of shock that I was in, numbly followed by using quick and heavy steps after the blonde and brunette reploids. The only word that I had left in my shattered mind was simple. How?
Escaping the plane
It took almost 20 minutes to wade through the mass of humanity and reploids that were all around in the airport. But eventually they made it out to the parking structure, and into the car that had been borrowed from the hunter's vehicle bay. During that entire time, I eventually came to grips with the fact that Ayumi was, in fact, sitting beside me. And the explanation that was given while Alia drove was nonetheless strange to my ears. My eyes were closed as my mind attempted to take in the facts. Let's see: Ayumi wasn't completely taken over by the virus. Her mind was saved before being completely corrupted. Her body had been corrupted first, and as such, had required replacements. Her entire body had been replaced!
I shivered a little- the story seemed awfully familiar, somehow. Like mine, I realized, and I watched Ayumi for a moment after it had become quiet. She was watching me, had been watching me, to see how I would take the news. Was this really her? There was almost no way to tell, really. She seemed a bit different, physically, and I had to find out that it was her, and not some prank. "Ayumi... if it's really you, then what's.." and I didn't get any further, as she smiled slowly and answered the question I was about to ask her anyway.
"Science, right? Don't worry a bit about it Arik, I'll make sure you get caught up." she said, word for word the same words she had used to tell me that she'd help me with science if I helped her with English. I blushed and then smiled as I reached towards her with a shaking hand, fingertips lightly brushing against the sleeve of her shirt as I tried to realize, once and for all, if this was the friend who had saved me once before. My fingertips pressed more fully, feeling the syntheflesh more easily now beneath the sleve that was on her arm, and she just seemed to smile softly as she allowed me to do that. The contact brought up my internal scanners, and they relayed to my mind what I had figured out as well, providing double the evidence.
It is Ayumi! I stared at her, the shock still in place but beginning to fade as I watched the reploid beside me, wide-eyed. She leaned over suddenly and grabbed me up in a hug, embracing me while I just basically sat there, trying to come to terms with the fact that she was alive, and here, right now. I hadn't expected this in the least, mostly because I thought she had been scrapped. I opened my eyes after a moment and leaned back, away from her, and she caught on quickly as she released me from her grasp and smiled to me. "I thought... I really thought you were dead, Ayumi." I managed to whisper, and she shook her head, seeming a lot more like her old self now than she had been a moment ago as she grinned.
"Nope. Nearly was, but then Alia and Douglas managed to save me. Dr. Cain, too." she replied, and I blinked as she mentioned the name of not only our driver (who was by now blushing a little and attempting to protest her involvement like that), but the name of the man who had originally found Mega Man X. She saw the look on my face and giggled a little bit before shaking her head slowly. "Yeah... I'm sure you've noticed by now that I look a lot more human than I did before, right? Dr. Cain and Douglas managed to manufacture these new parts themselves, and even footed the bill somewhat."
I nodded, shock still in my system, though it didn't take long for it to filter out from me as I smiled slowly. "Really? And you've met Dr. Cain, too? Next, you'll tell me that you've met Commander Mega Man X, right?" I asked, sarcasm in my voice as I assumed she was just trying to get a fast one by me. Nothing doing, I thought, even as I watched her head move up and down slowly as she nodded in response to my sarcastic question. My little smile evaporated into a look of awe- she had met X?
"Yes, he was there when we reactivated her. Just in case, you know, we were wrong about having purged the virus from her matrices. Turns out we were right, and you should've seen the look on your friend's face when we activated her systems for the first time." Alia informed me from the driver's seat, and I chuckled softly as I could just picture the scene in my head. I glanced to Alia, and then back to Ayumi as she squirmed in the seat of the car slowly, and I laughed.
"Oh, come on Ayumi." I told her, patting her shoulder reassuringly as I attempted to stay caught up with the current events. She smacked my hand with a small smile, which I withdrew quickly from her immediate range with a shocked look on my face. That look lasted all of a few seconds before I grinned, and we both laughed a little bit. "Well, she was there when my new body was activated for the first time. Wish I'd known that you were still alive. I was beating myself up 'cause I thought you were gone, you know. Why didn't you e-mail me?"
Ayumi blinked and then shook her head slowly. "Your e-mail server was located in Doppler Town, Arik. That e-mail address of yours is long gone now." she informed me, and I winced slightly. Well, that explains why the site was down for maintenance, I thought, and I shrugged slowly. "Besides, I know your communications port number, so I could get ahold of you directly." she reminded me now, and I smiled sheepishly as I remembered the messages that she had obviously sent me during the plane ride and when she got my attention in the terminal.
"Oh, and that reminds me... never buzz me like that again!" I told her, faking anger in my voice and face as I saw her blink and scoot back again. Then she seemed to remember, and I saw a meek smile appear on her face before she nodded slowly at my words. I chuckled softly, and then shook my head at my friend. "That was a very loud buzz. Remember, I'm still integrating with my systems, okay? I've got no Roy left, so I've gotta figure out how to change the volume on that myself. So until I figure it out, don't buzz me."
"Oh, your tutorial system has purged already? If we give you a few days, I suppose that's long enough to figure out just where you'll fit in, now won't it?" Alia called back, a smile on the blonde's face. "Both of you, that is. Welcome home." she said, and turned off of the freeway to pull onto a long, long drive. There was a large building in the distance. Several of them, in fact. They were huge, and according to sign, it was 10 miles until they arrived at their destination. The windshield wipers went by along the windshield occasionally as the rain lessened, and Arik smiled a little as he looked at a place he had once only seen pictures of before.
"Maverick Hunter Headquarters. Of course, I don't usually take the land route, but until your systems are upgraded, there's just no getting around it. Founded back when Dr. Cain first learned that reploids were going maverick. Original leader of the hunters was, of course, Sigma, and then Zero took over. Now, Dr. Cain is in charge of the Maverick Hunters, as well as being our political liason with the rest of the world as we take down the mavericks where and when we can, along with the Repliforce." Alia informed the two of them. "The buildings to the north are the R&D facilities, as well as extensions of Cain Labs. To the west, furthest from us, are the dormitories. To the south are the training facilities, where you'll both be spending most of your days after this until we've decided what to do with ya. Closest to us would be the recreational facilities and the portions of our complex that are open to the public. Of course, very few people care to get too close to us. I dunno, maybe it's the burning ozone?" she asked, and I grinned slightly.
Burning ozone... a tell-tale sign of a buster having been fired. Then, I realized something, and looked to Ayumi, who simply nodded slightly. Damned reploid mind of hers, I thought, even as I figured it out. She was joining up as well? At least now I knew someone here, I figured, and smiled in return before looking back to Alia. "How are we going to go about the testing and such?" I asked the blonde reploid, who chuckled a little bit before giving a little shrug in response.
"Now, now. I'm not authorized to give out that kind of information. But we're not the military, so you don't have to worry about doing push-ups and stuff like that. That much, I can tell you. Besides, we need to upgrade your hardware first. Armor plating, strengthening your shell beneath the syntheflesh. It'll take a day or two at most in order to fully outfit your body to be able to cope with what the mavericks will be able to throw against ya. Ayumi's fine- all we had available when recreating her was military-grade hardware, after all." Alia said, and I nodded slightly. I had a few ideas of what could be done, and I smiled a little bit.
"I've got a bit of experience with some systems engineering and repair, Alia. I'm not saying that I want to be a technician," and I trailed off for a moment as I remembered my parents. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked to Ayumi as she squeezed my shoulder softly. She knew, quite well, what I was talking about. "But, if possible, I'd like to try something that might be a little unusual when it comes to armament. I know, I'm probably not going to have access to attempting anything, but I've had some ideas in mind for a while now that I would at least like to run by someone." I finished, smiling a little bit. Of course, I doubted that as a new recruit, I'd have the opportunity to come up with my own weapons and whatnot.
"Well, I can at least let you talk to Douglas, I guess. The techs here are the ones who approve of weapon changes from the standard busters, after all. Since you are a cyborg, I don't see a problem with that. A buster would only drain your power generator too quickly to restore all systems energy, after all, unless it was a powered-down buster." was the reply, as the buildings got larger. Almost there, I thought to myself, and I couldn't help but continue to smile as I watched some flying reploids over the buildings as they stood guard over the complex.
I felt a small pulse in my mind, and I closed my eyes as I allowed the transmission to arrive. I smiled a little as I saw Ayumi form in my mind quickly, much faster than the one time that we had talked like this before, when my body had first been activated. "Arik... I hope you don't mind that I'll be joining you as a maverick hunter." she said, and I shook my head in reply. "Good. I want to be around people I know, and since you're here, there's no real reason to head back to Doppler Town, is there?" she asked. I nodded slightly at her words.
"That's very true, Ayumi. That's why I'm here, too. Especially now. My family didn't even check up on me, so I guess they think that I'm dead or something. At least I've still got a friend here though, right?" I asked in reply, and she faded from sight quickly. It took only a moment before I felt an arm around my waist to draw me close, and my eyes opened as I felt her other arm move about me to embrace me once more. She was pretty warm, I noticed- warmer than I had ever felt her to be before. Must be the upgrades, I considered, as I smiled softly and hugged her in return.
"Well now, you two. You may want to not do that in public like this." came Alia's voice, and both cyborg and reploid began to blush as they immediately let go of one another before taking their seatbelts off as she pulled them into the vehicle bay. The shutters behind them quickly closed, and Alia gave a little giggle as she stepped out of the car. "Just kidding, guys. But really, lay off the intimacies until you get a room." she said, and I rolled my eyes as Ayumi sat there, stunned and blushing at the same time.
"Ayumi! Come on, time to get out of the car!" I exclaimed, even as I turned to get out of the vehicle. I took one deep breath, and nearly coughed as what Alia had said came to mind- burnt ozone. I knew my filters would adjust to this unfortunate turn of events, and I breathed lightly as I looked back to Ayumi as I grabbed the duffel bag again, slinging it over my shoulder. She was getting out of the car now, slowly, and she stretched as she closed the door behind her. I closed my door as well, and looked to Alia to see where she would be leading us to now.
"Come on, you two. There are some people here who would like to have a word with each of you." Alia said, and led us down the bay corridor towards the building that I had seen this vehicle bay attached to. There was a whirring of machines behind us, and I turned in time to see that the car had disappeared underneath a pair of shutters that were closing into place above where I had seen the top portion of the car move into beneath them. I looked to Ayumi at that information, and she looked back to me and shrugged. She looked, for all the world, as confused as I was right now, as we followed the blonde reploid down to the corridor that led deeper into the base.
Conference Center
In the somewhat large room that Alia had led the two of us, I sat down in the reinforced chair while we were instructed to wait. Obviously, there was someone needing to speak with us, but whoever it was was certainly late. There was a rhythmic, almost metallic 'tapping' sound easily audible upon the cold, uncarpeted floor of the room as we waited, and after being glared at by Alia, I smiled sheepishly and forced myself to stop doing that. "Sorry... old habit." I informed her, and chuckled nervously as I glanced to Ayumi. She seemed to be doing fine, but I still couldn't get over what had happened.
Hadn't I... attacked her? Hadn't she been deactivated or killed even, after Lifesaver saved me? I looked away slowly and back towards the large screen embedded in the wall. This didn't seem to be the time for some sort of sarcastic humor, though the thought of saying something about a big screen TV did come to mind easily enough. I couldn't help the small smile that managed to escape onto my face, but as I remembered Ayumi being right next to me, the smile didn't last long at all. I closed my eyes to think about it, but then I heard a door open. My sensors picked up somewhat heavy footsteps along with the heat signature of a human before the reploid.
The odd pair made me answer by opening my eyes and glancing over to them. And there, I saw a pair of people that only people in the few countries that denied technology wouldn't possibly know. I heard a small gasp from beside me, and I could tell that Ayumi had also noticed the pair who had entered the room. Alia was saluting the two, and the reploid that came in behind the human replied with the same before smiling a little, almost as if the salute was some sort of joke. The first was an elderly man, obviously getting on in years. His characteristic beard and cane told me also of who he was, but most importantly was the fact of where we were. Dr. Cain, obviously. Originally a paleo-botanist... or something like that. The records from several years ago were a bit sketchy, especially ever since he discovered the person behind him.
Dr. Cain was being followed by a blue armored reploid, and out of habit I swallowed nervously. How exactly does one meet the original reploid, the one from whom all others owed their existence? And the one whom I owed my remaining humanity to as well, thanks to the advances in technology that had been brought about by the creation of reploids. I was now about 90 percent reploid, as far as I knew from what I'd been told by Lifesaver. They walked over to the table, in front of us yet on the other side, before they sat down. Alia shut the door behind them, locking it from the sound that I could pick up from that direction.
That was unusual, I thought, even as Dr. Cain cleared his throat to get my attention. I looked back to him, and was surprised to see him watching the two of us carefully. "I think I should mention that what is said here, in private, should remain this way." he told us as he spoke in American English, and I simply nodded in reply. No worries there, I thought, as I imagined that Ayumi did the same. Strangely, his voice had no actual accent, and he did look like he was from America to begin with. Perhaps he's American, and just began to live here after finding X, I considered, even as Dr. Cain smiled grimly, and then nodded himself. "I want to let you both know that this boy here could be in for a rough time with the Maverick Hunters. It is not too late to leave if you want to, but you will need to be made aware of several important things, Arik." the old man said, and I couldn't help but to blink in surprise. He knew my name?
He seemed to pick up on that, and a soft chuckle escaped the old human. "Yes, I know your name. Remember, I run the Maverick Hunters somewhat, and I have access to many of their files. Besides, my memory isn't that far gone yet, young man." he said, and I couldn't help but to smile at his candor. "Arik, you're not going to be the first cyborg that we've had here, but you are the most reploid of the few who have come to the Maverick Hunters. Most of your body, from the report we've gathered on your construction, was forced to be converted into a reploid's body. Because of this, you will be much better suited to our organization than most of the others were, but there is another reason why I am speaking to you like this."
After a short pause and the pouring of water into a glass, he took a small sip before continuing. "Arik, the fact is that the Global Council has been trying to infiltrate our organization with their own spies. Ever since they took over the need for the world's military defense forces, they've desperately been trying to learn how we can be as good as we are here. Despite the latest infiltration, that is, our response times and ability to defeat the maverick have been three times better than what the military can boast. Not even the Repliforce, our comrades, have records that are as good or even close to them." The old man smiled wryly at these facts. "Now, though we are proud of our record, we cannot have anyone from the outside attempting to gather data about us. Our organization is barely able to keep from being absorbed by the Global Council's military, thanks mostly to the reputation of our Maverick Hunters. Namely, X and Zero."
"The only true black spot on our record is Sigma, of course. But the main concern is this: Because of your ability to blend in with the maverick Hunters, Arik, thanks to how much of your body had to be replaced, you will undoubtedly be contacted by the Global Council. They will attempt to get you to spy for them, I believe, and they will use whatever information that they can get their hands on to force us to either disband or join them." The old man seemed to know how best to let information sink in to those who were listening, for he took a long drink from his glass of water to allow the situation to become apparent to those who were sitting across from him. After a sigh and a deep breath, he continued once more.
"I am not about to tell you what to do, Arik. But I simply wanted to warn you about what will very likely happen in a short amount of time. I would certainly prefer that you do not simply give them what they want, of course, but I shall leave what happens to you. If we become absorbed by the military, I'll find out who to blame in due course, but I believe I can trust you to make a decision yourself." the old man grinned slightly, the uplifting of his mustache and beard giving him a rather unusual look on his face.
"Oh... and I suppose I've yet to introduce us, haven't I? I bet you've figured it out by now, but this is Mega Man X beside me, and I'm Dr. Cain. You both obviously know Alia by the door, I'm sure. X here was present for Ayumi's re-activation here, as I was as well." he said, and a giggle escaped Alia as she stood by the door. X just grinned and shook his head slowly, and the two reactions surprised both myself and Dr. Cain, it seemed. "What? I was there, remember?" he insisted, to which Alia began laughing at and X just sighed softly.
"Come on, you were asleep half the time after the connections had been made, doctor. You remember that, don't you?" the blue reploid replied, to which I glanced to Ayumi and saw her grinning. I looked back to Dr. Cain, and shook my head slowly. Was it possible that he was incorrect... or, wait. I could see the grin on X's face, which made me think that maybe...
"Jeez! I know I was awake this time! I was the one who asked Alia to turn all the connections on. I know I remember that!" he exclaimed, and X began to laugh loudly in reply. The good doctor just sighed in response as he realized what was going on. Of course, the small smile that was on Cain's face made me think it was a good thing that X was having a good time... or something like that, anyway. "Dammit, can't you two please let me remember things the right way? As if Zero wasn't bad enough, I've gotta worry about you, too, huh? I knew that having Zero around you would be a bad influence, X."
At this time, there was another sound of laughter that I could easily recognize. It was Ayumi, and I couldn't help but to smile finally as I shook my head slowly. "Doctor Cain... all joking aside, I do understand what you're talking about, and I can tell ya right now that I never did like what the GC has been doing lately. All those tax hikes, ya know." I told him, and it took a second for the little joke to make the old man grin in response. It was true, though it was only a very minor thing that had happened in response to everything else that the GC had instigated. Attempting to create their own divisions to deal with the Mavericks had caused all sorts of rises in taxes as a result of paying for everything.
"Heh... I see. Well, that's good, my boy." he said, and I nodded to him in response. The sound of two laughing reploids, and a giggling one beside me made me shake my head slowly as I smiled. The laughter is almost infectious, I thought, as I managed to keep myself from actually laughing. It wasn't too hard- I hadn't been in the mood to laugh all that much as of late, after all. "Oh, and I suppose X shall have to tell you about the testing that you'll be forced to endure tomorrow and possibly the next day." Cain commented, and I shrugged slightly. That seemed to snap X out of his little reverie, though, and he turned to actually look both myself and Ayumi before speaking up finally.
"That's right... tomorrow you'll be going through quite a few tests. The first one will be to see how well you can do with certain weapons. Old style rifles, rotary cannons, even an energy weapon if we can get your frame's overhaul done in time. There're all sorts of testing to be done on the weapons field, of course. After that, we'll see how you can handle incoming data transmissions, sensor grids, and see how you can do when it comes to a mock fight against a maerick general." the original reploid informed me, and I nodded slowly.
"We'll also test your ability to run diagnostics on parts and such. We've heard that your parents were technicians, so we'd at least like to see how you would do in such a position, if you wouldn't mind." he said, and then the look on X's face softened a bit. "However, we can pass that test if you choose that you do not wish to become a technician, alright?" he offered, and I thought about it for a moment. Working with reploids to repair reploids was what my parents did in Doppler Town. How they had figured that out, I didn't know, but I could guess. Perhaps someone knew of my parents...? Probably they figured out from asking Ayumi questions. I looked to Ayumi, and she nodded slowly- a shade of red was on her cheeks as she did that, and that in itself answered my question.
I looked back to X and shook my head slowly. "I don't mind. I'd rather not be a technician, but I don't mind being tested for that position." I said carefully- I wasn't sure if I was to call him 'Commander,' or just simply 'X.' He nodded, however, and shrugged slightly before continuing to tell me about the different tests that I and Ayumi would be put through.
"You'll be shut down tonight, and your frame strengthened to match that strength which is available to cyborgs through the newest process provided by Cain Labs. By the time you wake in the morning, you'll be a bit stronger than you were... We'll also have to start working on some sort of plans for armor for you as well, no matter where you end up." X commented, and I nodded once more as I sighed softly. I hate being shut down! But I knew that it was required, in order to integrate any new systems or parts into my body.
"That's fine, I guess. If it needs done, it needs done. I just hope whoever's in charge remembers the life support systems need to be powered." I replied, sighing softly in response. It was pretty obvious to the others in the room that I was trying to be upbeat about this, even though I couldn't really bring myself to actually be that way. It was just something I wasn't really sure about, being so close to death. I'd been there once before, and being on an external power supply was just like being on some sorts of life support beyond the normal that I had to put up with now. I wouldn't even be able to converse with Roy, who had been deleted only a few hours ago. Integration had been completed, and so with that system purged from me, I was now completely independant of any sort of over-riding reploid mind. Not even the virus could be reconfigured to infiltrate a cyborg mind, after all.
"Don't worry. Douglas will be in charge. Despite being a new model, he seems to know just how to do what he does without as much experience as our older techs. He'll be overseen by other specialists, too. You'll be in good hands. I doubt we'll be needing a whole lot to worry about right now, so it's not like they'll be doing a rush job or anything." Cain spoke up, as X blinked, and then stood up. "Somthing wrong, X?" Cain asked, watching as the blue-armored reploid nodded to him before stepping away.
"Yes, I've just been called to deal with a disturbance in Hong Kong. Something about four mavericks going around blasting everything in sight. I should be back soon." X said, and he looked to both Ayumi and myself before smiling a little. "It was good to meet you both. Perhaps we'll be able to meet again sometime." he said, and then he vanished in a blue stream of light that headed towards the ceiling. I watched the entire process- it was the first time that I'd seen a reploid or anything actually teleport away, so I was awestruck by the sight for a few seconds.
"Hm... Well, we'd better get you to the repair facility to get everything ready, Arik. You're gonna have a long day tomorrow." Dr. Cain said after a moment, and I looked to him as I tried to repress the fear I felt in the back of my mind. I nodded slowly, and stood up after the old man did. He stretched out a hand from his side, the one that he didn't use with his cane to help provide support to keep him standing and walking upright. I grasped his hand gently, being very careful with the one who created the reploid race as I shook his hand for a few seconds before we mutually withdrew our hands again.
"It was nice to meet you, Dr. Cain. It's been an honor." I said to him, and the old man laughed aloud for the first time. I was taken aback by his response, and I shrugged slowly as he shook his head. Both of his hands clutched the cane that was held before him now, and then his right hand separated to be moved to his side while the left clutched the top of the cane while he began to walk from around the table towards the door, the bottom tip of the cane tapping along the floor.
"Now, now, don't say that. You'll be here a while longer at least, and I think I can spare time away from the GC lapdogs to check in on you once or twice. At the very least to make sure that Zero hasn't attempted to test you in anything..." he laughed as he said that, and I couldn't help but to grin. The one-time leader of the maverick hunters... why in the hell would he bother with someone like me, eh? I couldn't help but to shake my head at Dr. Cain's words, and he just laughed harder. I looked over to Alia or a second, and she just shrugged as she shook her head. So she didn't know what was so funny, either, obviously.
"Don't worry about it unless he does attempt to give you a test tomorrow. I'm fairly certain he has the day off, so you should be fine, really." Dr. Cain said, as he started towards the door. "Alia, please guide Arik here to Douglas' team, okay? I think I'm late for a meeting with the GC. Again." he commented, and with a grin the balding old man walked out from the now unlocked door and down the hall. Alia nodded as she watched the old human head down the corridor, towards the elevator that would take him to a different conference room that was set up for the transmission meetings that he often had with the people who always seemed to attempt to pull the Maverick Hunters into the military.
Alia looked back to us as we stood there... and before she could say anything, I had to stretch slowly. I hadn't the chance earlier, they knew, and the jetlag was getting to me. Maybe a full shutdown wouldn't be so bad, I mused, since I was so tired now. "Alright you two. Ayumi, you know where your room is, so Arik, just come and follow me to the workbay. By tomorrow, you should be able to compete with most of the reploids here... well, except maybe our unit leaders and a few others, anyway." she said, and I shrugged slightly. I somehow doubted that I'd excel in a certain few positions, like that test regarding data transmissions and such.
"Alright, Alia. Arik, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Ayumi said to me, and I looked back to her before I nodded in agreement. She smiled and then walked out of the room before Alia and I actually walked out as well, and I followed Alia down a different corridor than the one Ayumi walked along. This floor seemed to be rather deserted, I thought, as I was led to an elevator and soon we were off to the workshop that this 'Douglas' seemed to be in charge of. My mind wandered to the turn of events that had come up today- I'd met Dr. Cain and Mega Man X. I'd always thought that X was extremely busy, but he seemed to still be a good person even after saving the world three times in a row.
"What's wrong, Arik? You seem to have a lot on your mind... care to talk about it?" Alia asked, and I blinked as I stopped staring at the wall to turn and look at her. I shook my head slowly, my eyesight focusing slowly before I sighed. "Well, if you do want to talk about it sometime, be sure to get hold of Ayumi. I'm usually pretty busy around here, but I'm sure you'll be more comfortable speaking with her than with someone like myself." she commented, and I smiled weakly at her humor. True, I thought. But that doesn't mean I can talk to her about everything.
"I guess so... I don't like being shut down, Alia. It feels like I might die if I am. I've already been close to there once, after all." I told her, voicing the fear that I didn't want to admit but knew I should anyway. If I should die before I wake, I thought to myself wryly. Would god take the soul of one so changed from the human norm? It was an unusual thought, one I hadn't entertained before, but I just shook my head slowly. "I'm certain that it is possible. I know it's unlikely, though, but I still don't want to be fully shut down. I've been disaccociated with my body before, and look where I am now!" I told her, and chuckled softly at that.
Alia gave me a small smile and shook her head slowly. "We have state of the art facilities for humans, reploids, and cyborgs, Arik. You shouldn't worry so much, because we are the forefront of technology here, thanks to Dr. Cain. There's no way that you would die on our watch, my friend. We hunters don't let each other die." she told me, and I nodded slowly, somewhat reassured by her words. I was hardly a hunter yet, I wanted to say, but knew that that wouldn't make a difference. We arrived on the ground floor, and I hefted the mostly forgotten duffel bag that was held beneath my arm as the elevator door slid open.
We stepped out, and I found myself looking to a familiar hawk-like reploid. The reploid's armor looked familiar, at least, and I nodded politely to the reploid as Alia led me down the hallway. The reploid nodded to me in return, and we passed by one another without any sort of incident at all. Though I couldn't know it, she was watching me as she waited for the elevator doors to close, and then was out of my sensor range, which was already limited by the way that the grounds were designed.
"We'll have to go off to the buildings that are to the north, since R&D is where our workbays are located. I certainly hope that you'll be able to upgraded enough to actually teleport, I'd hate to be someone who can't teleport at all. Walking is definitely not my style... at least, not such long distances." she commented, and I chuckled softly. She'd never make it as a human then, I told myself, as a smile at last spread on my face. While humans did drive vehicles and tended to make things easier for themselves, many did enjoy exercise still, even these days.
"Well, I suppose if I can be teleported to places, that'll allow me to actually have a better chance of placement in certain areas here, won't it?" I asked, and she nodded in reply as her short blonde hair swayed with the breeze as we found ourselves outside. I looked around, and found that all over the place, there were all sorts of reploids. A giant dragon reploid was outside, probably going over diagnostics or something while a unit or two were on the training grounds, practicing their melee skills with beam sabers and such.
"That's very true. If you choose to work as a hunter rather than a repairman or anything like that and you can't teleport, you'll probably wind up being a guard on a base or something." she replied, and I shrugged a little. A guard on a base... certainly the less likely of the two possibilities as a hunter, to be attacked by mavericks. Active hunters and Semi-active hunters, I classified them, and being a guard would firmly plant me into the latter of the two types of Maverick Hunters. I blinked as my sensors registered some sort of plasmic fire being launched, and I looked back to the training site as I saw some humanoid dragon-like reploid blast what looked like a fireball towards his opponent.
"Isn't that supposed to be simple melee training, not some sort of projectile practice?" I asked, and my sensors picked up Alia as she came to stand beside me to see who it was... and then she shook her head as I looked at her while waiting for her reply. Surprisingly, she seemed to recognize the reploid who had produced the fireball, and who was now helping the person he had struck with it back up to his or her feet.
"Yeah. But for Magma Dragoon there, he thinks that they're the same, basically. He likes to play some ancient arcade game called Street Fighter when he has time off, and I think that game has affected his processors. If you ever practice with him, watch out for that." she said, with almost a hint of disgust in her voice that I could barely discern. I nodded slowly, remembering that game from a very long time ago... hadn't I played it once, back when I was about 6 or 7? But then, as I followed after Alia, I realized that there really weren't many reploids nearly that old. Maybe X was, I told myself, but the others are all younger than him.
We continued on, walking further north and past the outskirts of the R&D labs. Some reploids were riding in Ride Armor, and some were scooting alongs slowly in Land Chasers as well, obviously out on patrols. I couldn't wait to try piloting any of those, I thought to myself, and I smiled a little as I looked back to watch Alia ahead of me so I wouldn't get lost. I'd yet to be given a map yet or anything... hopefully, they'd give me one in the morning, I thought. I didn't want to get lost at all, and come morning, eating in the cafeteria would probably come in useful because I was, after all, stuck with a power generator for providing all my energy requirements.
"Alright, here we are." Alia proclaimed, and she turned as she motioned for me go on ahead. She seemed to be forcing herself to smile, and I did the same thing as I walked into the repair bay. The slid open as I walked to it, and when I walked into the shop, it slid shut. Then, I felt blackness overtake me, and I couldn't see, hear, or feel anything anymore. Anything, that is, save for when my face hit the floor of the workshop, and then I didn't fel anything after that.
Author's Note: Hmm... slower than usual, wasn't it? But still, I have to admit, I didn't expect to put quite this much conversation into the fic. A meeting of several main characters at once can do that, I guess (and I have to admit, I don't usually have so many different main characters at once in a single scene, either). The next chapter will deal more with the tests that they'll be taking. And yes, I think Zero may make an appearance again. Again, reviews are welcome, as are flames (though I haven't received a flame for this fic yet... hehe). Suggestions are also accepted, but not through reviews. E-mail the suggestions to me, or through IM on yahoo if you're lucky enough to catch me online sometime. Good luck with that last, though. Over 10,000 words this time! lol
Review Responses:
Chaos Emerald Guardian- Thanks for the review. I'm glad you're enjoying the fic.
Solarious- Yeah, I know Reploid Anatomy 101. I mentioned that I took information from that series and another one back in Chapter 5. Menolly5600 is a very good author and manages to capture the technology possible by the series very well. As for the vague resemblance... Well, that's because we're two different authors. Thanks for reviewing.
Cor Strike FX- Thanks for reviewing. I do realize that the viewpoints change- I warned everyone back in chapters 1 and 5 about it. I've had a problem with switching back and forth at times without realizing it, and this is my attempt to fix the problem in a way that would be beneficial to the story itself.
Zaisha- I do agree about the Reploid spyware being a scary idea, but most likely, very possible if someone can do enough research into it.
Jazzerman- No stroke, fortunately.
Delta X- Yes, the poor cyborg got really freaked out. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to determine the time of the year, nor have I decided on a time of the year. Mostly because by this time, they have some sort of weather control grid in place over some of the cities on the planet. Because Doppler Town would have had one as well (being very advanced, after all), it would take a while for natural weather patterns to reassert themselves overhead. That's my excuse, anyway.
Youshou Leviathan- Thanks for reviewing again!
Hotshot45- Yes, I know about the Shinku Hadoken (I think I spelled it right). It's a 'hyper' move, and uses the attack bar that rises with the use of attacks from the character, as well as from hits that land on the character from the opponent. Pretty powerful stuff there, but let's remember that Blizzard Buffalo had a fairly similar move to that in X3. X didn't get that particular attack, unless you include the laser weapon from Izzy Glow in X5. And actually, I don't know a whole lot about the Street Fighter series- it's the Mega Man series in general that I know a lot more about!
J- Um... never seen the movie, actually, though I hear it's good. Oh well.
I am somewhat disappointed in this chapter, because I feel that I was unable to capture the true essence of shock value for Arik when he finally met with Ayumi. I've never had to provide a thorough feeling of depth for that particular emotion before, so I rather doubt that I managed to capture it at all this once.
I am actually rather surprised at how much I've been putting into this fic, despite working on a Fire Emblem 7 fic, as well as a surprising fic based off of the Monster Rancher games. I never thought I'd go back to that genre, but I have a feeling that it is actually possible to fully connect the worlds of Monster Rancher 1, 2 and 4 together. If any of you readers play those games, please read the fic when I do have the first chapter finished and posted- I can definitely use any feedback on the games that I can get. Sorry about how late this fic has been in getting posted, I kinda lost my ability to write anything dealing with Mega Man for a while there. Oh well.