Chapter 3: Flame Mammoth

The next morning, X and Zoey started searching for the next Maverick, while Zero went to look for Sigma's fortress. X and Zoey decided that they would start looking at an old and abandoned robot factory, where X had picked up some strange signals of some kind.

Once they entered the factory, the first thing that they notice was the heat. They walked a little farther and came to a ledge. Below them was a stream of lava. Ahead of them was a conveyor belt, and robotic parts were being dropped onto it from tubes on the ceiling. The conveyor belt dumped the parts into the lava below.

"Let me guess," Zoey said, "This is an old robot factory?"

"Yeah," X answered her, "But I can't believe that it's still in use… it's supposed to be abandoned."

"Then someone or something is definitely here."

"Let's go."

Zoey nodded. "But first," she said, "I'm going to transform. Just in case."

X watched as she held out her pendant and shouted her transformation phrase. After a flash of pink light, and she was wearing her tutu like dress again, and upon her face was that courageous look found only in the greatest warriors. X didn't know why, but he felt…. Strange. He couldn't help but smile.

'She looks beautiful in that outfit.' X thought, surprising himself. Why had he thought that?

"X? Are we ready?" Zoey asked.

"Uh, yeah, let's go." X answered, deciding to try and ignore this strangeness within him. Maybe it would go away.

"So, MegaMan X has arrived." Flame Mammoth noted, watching and looking at what seemed to be a large television screen. The security cameras had spotted both X and Zoey.

"But who is that girl with him? Oh well, I'll just destroy her too. It shouldn't be that hard- she looks weak. And just look at her clothes! She has no armor on at all! What a ridiculous excuse of a Maverick Hunter! I'm sure even Sigma would find humor in this."

Sigma turned to look at the large screen that showed the image of Flame Mammoth.

"What is it?" Sigma asked, "Why are you contacting me?"

"Sigma," Flame Mammoth answered, "I thought that you might want to know that MegaMan X has come."

"Then destroy him."

"Of course, of course, but I thought that you might also want to know about what seems to be a new Hunter."

"What? A new Hunter, eh?"

"Yes, a girl. Look at what the security cameras caught."

The screen immediately changed from an image of Flame Mammoth to the video, and Sigma watched as the girl that was there did something that made her clothing change. She said something to X, X responded, and the two of them continued to move through the factory.

Flame Mammoth reappeared on the screen.

"That pathetic girl is a Maverick Hunter?" Sigma asked, a little annoyed that Flame Mammoth had wasted his time by showing him this. "She can't be. She obviously doesn't have what it takes to have made the cut to be a Hunter. There must be some other reason that she's tagging along with X. And why does she have the ability to change her clothing? What is the purpose of that? Yes, there is obviously some other reason. Don't bother me again, Flame Mammoth, unless it is something important."

"Yes sir."

The screen shut off.

After jumping from one conveyor belt to another, X and Zoey continued until they came to an area with more ledges to jump across before pressing on, X noticed that a part of the ceiling looked different. Instead of straight, gray, smooth concrete, it was made of blocks. They were purplish in color, and were made of a different kind of substance.

"It's so hot..." Zoey said, and then pointed under the ledges up ahead, "Look, there's more lava down there."

X looked away from the strange area of the ceiling and saw that there was another river of lava, this one moving a bit faster than the last.

"The quicker we move, the sooner we'll be out of here. Come on, let's keep going, unless, do you need a rest?"

"No, no, I'm fine. Let's go."

So, together, they leapt for the next ledge. But when they landed, lava burst from the river below, barely missing them. It melted through a part of the ledge in a matter of seconds, and X and Zoey hurriedly jumped to the next. But it happened again, and again, and again. Eventually, they made it onto a more solid ground.

"That was fun," Mew Zoey commented sarcastically.

"Yeah, fun." X said in the same sarcastic tone.

They moved on until they came to more conveyor belts. Again, there was lava below, and tubes above. But there wasn't anything coming out of these tubes at the moment.

X jumped onto the first conveyor belt. Zoey was about to follow, but she saw that a machine above X was about to drop.

"Move!" She shouted at him, and he did so just in time, barely escaping being flattened by the machine.

He jumped back over to her, and stared at the machine, which had gone back up to the ceiling.

"That was close." Mew Zoey said, "You okay?"

"Yeah. I just wasn't expecting that..." X answered.

At that moment, an old robot part fell from the tube, and moved along the conveyor belt until it was directly under the machine. The machine dropped, and the part was flattened.

"That could've been me." X noted, "Thank you."

Mew Zoey looked over at him and said, "What did you expect? We're partners, we look out for each other, right? No- we're more than partners, we're friends."

X smiled. "Yeah," he said, "We're friends.

" Now then, shall we continue?"

"Let's go!" X answered enthusiastically.

They jumped across the conveyor belts, carefully timing themselves as they passed the crushing machines.

"They're getting close," Flame Mammoth told himself, "They'll be here any moment. It's almost playtime."

X and Zoey had made it to an area of the factory where there were several pipes. They walked across them, and came to a door. A door that was identical to the one that X had gone through before the battle with Chill Penguin. The two of them went through without hesitation, and came to a hallway. On the other end of the hall was another door. They walked through this one as well, ready for whatever awaited them on the other side.

The floor in this room was just a conveyor belt, and it carried them forward into the room. Waiting at the other side was an enormous robotic mammoth, with a look on his face that told he was ready for battle.

The conveyor belt stopped when they reached him.

"So X, you're brining little girls into this dangerous war now, are you?" He laughed. He then turned to Mew Zoey. "Listen girlie, it would be wise of you to stay out of all of this. But then again, you won't ever be leaving this room alive anyway!" He laughed again.

"Be quiet!" Mew Zoey ordered, who do you think you are?"

"I am Flame Mammoth. A Maverick."

X pointed his X Buster at Flame Mammoth and said, "We can destroy you here and now, but we would rather you surrender and accompany us to HQ. Power down or face us."

"You have got to be kidding me, X," Flame Mammoth said, "Why would I do that?"

"I suspected you'd refuse. Alright then, are you ready, Zoey?"

Mew Zoey nodded, and her Rose Bell appeared in her hand.

"Ooh, a bell." Flame Mammoth mocked, "I'm in trouble now." He laughed again. "You won't even be able to touch me with that."

Zoey began to rush at him with her Rose Bell ready, but the conveyor belt turned on and moved both she and X backward.

But this didn't stop X. He immediately began firing his buster gun at Flame Mammoth, who fell over. He got right back up, however, and from his trunk came a trumpeting cry, and the conveyor belt changed direction. The two were now heading for Flame Mammoth, and even if they tried to run the other way, it would get them nowhere.

Flame Mammoth jumped into the air, and looked as though he was going to crush them both. But X grabbed Zoey by the arm and began running in the same direction as the conveyor belt. Flame Mammoth went right over them.

"I'm sorry about grabbing you like that." X apologized, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, not at all. Let's continue the fight." Mew Zoey said, tightening her grasp on her Rose Bell.

"Look," X whispered, "This conveyor belt is obviously giving Flame Mammoth an advantage, so this won't be easy."

"It may be able to help him," Zoey whispered back, "But that doesn't mean that it can't help us too. We need to just work with it."

"Alright, let's do it then."

Flame Mammoth cried out again, and the conveyor belt changed direction once more.

"Stay on this side of him, I have an idea." X said. Mew Zoey nodded, and X dashed between Flame Mammoth's legs and kick-jumped off of the wall. While he was in the air, he fired a charged up blast at Flame Mammoth.

Flame Mammoth turned around to face him, and Mew Zoey saw her opportunity. She couldn't use her Rose Bell's powers, because she might hit X along with Flame Mammoth. So this time, she would have to use her own strength.

She rushed up behind him and repeatedly kicked him in his back with her foot with full force. However, it didn't have much of an effect.

Flame Mammoth turned around and from his trunk came a stream of fire that Zoey was only lucky to dodge.

"Zoey, you okay?" X asked worriedly.

"I'm fine! Stop worrying about me, I'm distracting you!"

"Hm, you care for her, don't you, X?" Flame Mammoth asked, grabbing Mew Zoey with his trunk and lifting her above his head. Mew Zoey had dropped her Rose Bell in surprise.

"Let me go!" She screamed.

Completely ignoring her, Flame Mammoth laughed and said to X, "She is a lot lighter than I had expected her to be... X, she isn't a Reploid at all, is she? I was curious about her lack of armor, but now I see. She is a human. A small, weak, and fragile human!" He smiled evilly as his grasp tightened around Zoey.

"Stop it!" She cried, "I can't... I can't breathe...!"

"STOP!" X commanded, "Let her go NOW!"

His grip loosened, and Mew Zoey gasped for air.

"X, are you forgetting why we Mavericks are in this war? We want to rid this world of all humans. This girl should be no exception." Once again he tightened his grasp. In a moment, he loosened, and then tightened again, Zoey crying out in pain, for after every time he loosened, he would squeeze her tighter than he had before.

X knew what he was doing. He was making her suffer. X wasn't going to stand for it. He charged up his blaster and aimed it at Flame Mammoth's stomach. He dropped Zoey in surprise, and Mew Zoey grabbed her Rose Bell and went to stand next to X.

"Thank you," She said, still panting.

X nodded and smiled.

"X, may I take care of him?"

"Yes."

"Rose Bell, full power!"

She struck Flame Mammoth with the exact same attack that she had used to destroy Chill Penguin. Flame Mammoth roared in pain and that was the last of his voice that they heard. X walked over to a piece of what used to be Flame Mammoth and copied his technique of fire. Now, his X Buster was also a flamethrower.

"Are you alright?" X asked Zoey, who was now sitting on the ground, taking deep breaths.

"Yeah, I think so. Any tighter and he would've killed me..." She answered, "X, thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome. I couldn't let Flame Mammoth kill our newest Maverick Hunter, now could I?"

Mew Zoey looked up at him, a little surprised.

"Yes," X answered her silent question, "You are one of us. You're a Maverick Hunter. A part of the team."

Mew Zoey smiled.

"Let's get back to HQ." X suggested, holding out his hand. Mew Zoey took it and the teleported away.

To Be Continued.

Next time: X and Zoey confront Storm Eagle and Zoey convinced Storm Eagle to the side of good.