-Aftermath-

Chapter Nine - "Game Over"

It somehow felt familiar to Snyde, as he let out a small moan that echoed throughout the area, to nowhere in particular. A large boulder was on top of him, on his back, and he had no idea what just happened, let alone on how he should get it off. Out of reaction, he attempted to lift himself up, but ended up falling back down, his head slightly banging on the little tiny rocks under him. He moaned again. Today just wasn't his day, and he could barely recall exactly what had happened. And so he laid there, for what seemed to be an eternity, not budging an inch.

Finally, he lifted his eyes, and spotted something. A girl. A human girl, no less, lying a few feet in front of him. Mumbling something unclear to even himself, he tugged at his limbs, trying to pry himself away from the heavy rock. It took some time, but eventually the boulder fell to the side, away from his body, and he was still intact. Climbing back to his feet, he took a few weary steps toward the girl, and lifted her up, in an attempt to see if she was all right.

"Hey, kid... you all right?" He spoke unclear, still not quite there. After a few minutes, he slightly shook her. Still, nothing happened. Shaking her again, this time harder, he yelled, "Hey, c'mon, open your eyes! Open them!" After shaking her some more, he stopped as he noticed for the first time that the child's body was lifeless, void of a soul. He nearly dropped her, as he slowly put her down and stood up, his eyes not leaving the small body.

Everything was coming back to him. Joining up with Flachion, infiltrating the Goldwall's Reploid factory, running into Jackle O'Riely... He recalled leaving Quisar back at the opera house, and having a some sake before waking up at the bartender's house. Then Radic the Jet appeared... Radic, that vile piece of trash, who had attempted to kill him, to earn some 'prize.' That prize was very costly, as it seemed, for it also took his own hand, followed by a huge blast. A blast which destroyed the entire town of Mejak! It was clear what had happened. There was no sense in trying to hide it. It was destroyed, maybe even the opera house. All of the humans were more than likely dead, with a few Reploid and Mechaniloids survivors. He was fortunate to have lived, but he didn't feel like it right then, right now. All he could do was stare at the senseless destruction of the town that it once was. There was no possible way it would be able to rebuild after this... There was just no way.

Snyde clenched his fist and watched it quiver. "It's... it's just..." He tried to find the words, but they were lost. He was absolutely speechless. "It's just... idiotic... Idiotic... and furthermore... and... and..." He growled, now angered. "Blasted Radic! This is all your fault! You will pay! Do you hear me! YOU WILL PAY!"

With nothing left to go for, he started to run, destination nowhere. He saw all of the destruction, on how there was hardly anything left. Apparently, he was getting closer, as the rubble soon began to clear, revealing nothing but sand, where he was certain civilization had once thrived upon. In the distance, he spotted him. The one who was responsible for all of this mess. He had landed, and appeared to be observing all of the destruction that he had caused.

"Radic! You're going to pay for all of this!" Snyde yelled, coming to a stop. He was very tired... but he wasn't going to give up. "All of those lives were taken thanks to you!"

"Heh heh heh... Snyde, how nice to see you again..." he muttered, right before taking off back into the sky, hovering slightly above his foe. He chuckled a bit more. "Don't you ever get tired of the whole 'heroic' thing?"

"Don't you ever get tired of being a fucking asshole!" he spat back, even angrier than before. "You killed all of those innocent people! All of them! That will not be forgiven!"

"Hah! I killed them all?" Radic laughed, folding his arms. "That's where you're wrong, pal. You killed them all! That's why I'm here, after all. If you weren't, this whole place wouldn't have changed!" He got a small growl, and tilted his head to the side. "In fact, I'd even dare to say that you killed them all purposely!"

"God damn it, shut up!" Snyde screamed, smashing his blade on the ground. "Just shut up! I'm tired of your damn mouth!"

"Confused? Angry? Upset?" he didn't let up his taunting. "Well then, why don't you just release it all upon this world? The humans aren't about to thank you for anything. They really don't care what the heck you do, until you go off and get them involved! Of course, you already know how that is, don't you, Snyde? You've already angered quite a few people... You should have just killed them when you had a chance!"

There was some slight stirring, as Snyde thought of what Radic had said. People were angered at what he had done? He should have just... killed them? He knew there was a term for Reploids doing that, but he wasn't quite certain. It seemed so... ancient. Could it still possibly exist, in this day and age? He continued to struggle with the term, until his eyes widened at the conclusion. "...Maverick?" He heard Radic laugh slightly. "No way! Maverick's ceased to exist years ago! I can't be one!"

"Fool! Mavericks will never die out!" Radic yelled. "As long as Reploids continue to fight against mankind, they will always be labeled as a Maverick... that, too, is a destiny that we cannot avoid! Even the most loyal, stuck-up Reploids will think about Rebellion at least once in their lives... and when they do... They become Maverick, and they will never be able to go back! Do you understand what I am saying? Snyde!"

"Bah... even if I am a Maverick... you are as well. But we still think differently. And while I may be one... I can still try my hardest to fight for good! Even if I have to take someone down, like you!" Snyde answered, unsure of how to put his words together.

"Hah! Couldn't agree more!" He nodded, enthusiastically. "The problem is with the humans. They are the disease of us Reploids, not viruses! Once you are out of the way, I plan to bring the entire world to a new, glorious age... With those pathetic humans out of the way! Not even Neo Arcadia will be able to stop me!"

It was on. Snyde had jumped high into the air, and swung his sword down, attempting to hit Radic. All Radic had to do was move out of the way, as he began firing an uncountable number of tornadoes, while flying away. Effectively dodging them all, Snyde cursed as he saw him, flying off toward some of the rubble left by the destruction of Mejak. For him, it was like he was hiding in the very filth that he had made, and it upset him even further, as he took off after him. He was going to find him, and then kill him, in the most brutally way possible.

Venturing to the rubble, he was saddened every time he found something that was either dead or destroyed. It was then he spotted the bartender, who had been so gracious enough to allow him to spend the night, propped up against a wall. Coming over to him, he put his hand over his face to close his eyes, and sighed sadly. "Maybe Radic was right. If I wasn't here, they wouldn't have died. The least I can do now, is just kill Radic..." No less than saying that had the wall exploded, the dead body sent flying, as Radic rammed himself in Snyde, causing him to crash into another wall, knocking him senseless.

"Yeah, that's right. Go ahead and kill me, Snyde. You won't prove a thing!" he roared with laughter, seeing the state he was in. "You're so pathetic, so cliché'd! 'I'll just go and kill the evildoer and then everything will be a-okay!' Hah! Only people who live in a dream world can actually go off and say things like that!"

All Snyde could do was peel himself off the wall, and fall to his knees, both mentally and physically drained. He just couldn't stand Radic's lectures anymore... He was hoping for a distraction of some sort. Anything to get him out of this never-ending nightmare, of where everyone appeared to die, no matter what happened. All he could do, was hope, as he looked up to watch his enemy point his weapon directly at him, and as he could have sworn he heard him say 'See you on the other side.'

"Snyde!" he heard a familiar voice call out from the distance. He looked up and saw it was Quisar, running, his clothes untidy for having to rush. "Watch out, sir! He's about to kill you!"

"Who the heck is this? A friend of yours? Is that even possible?" Radic joked to himself, as he saw the middle-aged man from afar. "And he's human, to boot! I don't know how he could have survived, but I have to say that it's very unfortunate for you both, Snyde." Lifting off into the air, he blasted toward the latest newcomer. "For now I'll demonstrate just what I plan to do with this world!"

Hurriedly, Snyde got back up, scared now for Quisar and his safety. Chasing after, he knew that with Radic's overall speed he would have no chance in making it on time. He only had one shot... but it was proven to be ineffective before, but he still had try. With a sudden halt, he reared his sword back, ready for a kill, as he tossed it a little ways before Radic. It wasn't preemptive, however, as he expected it, and slowed down, watching a flash of silver blaze past him. Almost getting thrown off balance, Radic found himself to stop and laugh.

"Again with the same old tricks, Snyde? You truly are a cliché! Hah hah hah!" He then jerked his head toward Quisar, who had backed himself up into a dead end. "Poor, little human. You are like a mere mouse to me, and soon, you shall be my dinner!"

Before he had a chance to take off, though, he felt a pain shoot through his leg, followed by an explosion. Flying out of control, he ended up crashing into the wall right next to Quisar, who promptly took off yet again, this time right behind Snyde, who had finally caught up to watch another of Radic's moments of humiliation.

"Quisar, I want you to get out of here," Snyde said flatly.

"B-but sir! What if he kills you!" Quisar blubbered, tears strolling down his face. "I wouldn't be able to live with the bear that I never properly thanked the one who saved my precious Gloria!"

"Hey don't worry about it... Besides, if it wasn't for you, I would have been dead now," Then, motioning him away, he continued, "Now go. You'll only get in my way. This is something that I need to do alone. If I were to die... I am at least going to take this guy with me..."

"I understand, sir..." There was a noise, and Quisar jumped. "Oh dear, oh my! He's coming to! Bye-bye, sir, please don't die on me!" And with that, he was gone in a flash.

It didn't take long before Radic had lifted himself up. From what he had figured out, the sword worked like a boomerang if no one caught it, and since he had been through the trick of catching it, he figured that dodging it would be even easier. It wasn't quite as simple, as it had plunged into his right leg, damaging the jet turbine right when he had used the thrusters, thus causing it to blow, which resulted in the sudden collision, head-first. He could had trouble seeing out of his visor because of his, as it had multiple cracks running through it now, making his near-perfect vision ruined, as all of the functions that had been included were ultimately disabled. The worst part was how he was at ground level with the enemy, something that he tried to avoid after losing his hand.

"Heh..." he chuckled sheepishly, as he flopped around to face an angry Snyde, who's sword was ready for a kill. "I guess the game is over now, isn't it, Snyde? It's all over, and you've won, while I've lost... You won't get any prize for it, though... And it won't change your destiny... Nothing will ever change.Both of us know it..."

"Why, why, WHY!" he screamed, his anger and confusion building. "Why did you have to do this! Why do you think like that!"

"So many questions, so little time..." He nearly gasped, still neck-deep in fatigue. "I told you that I was doing it for a prize... Money... All of that wonderful money... Who could refuse such an offer? Only a fool, I tell ya..." A cough broke his sentence. He was having trouble breathing. "As for why I have come to this conclusion... is that it's so true... Why do Reploids exist? What was the purpose of creating such powerful robots... that's all we are, after all. Just robots based off of some 'superior' robot... Reploids, my ass..."

At that moment, Snyde was reminded of a scene from earlier, in his past life. A Reploid, was lying down, in the middle of nowhere, covered in his own oil, running down his black, polished armor. He was saying something, something which he refused to remember, which caused him to leave. He wasn't exactly certain how it had happened, how those two ended up getting separated like that. Why it had to happen, as well. It was nonsense for him, just complete and utter nonsense...

Radic must have noticed him loosen up, as he coughed once again, and spoke even worse, "Does my condition sadden you, Snyde the Shadow? Does it? Or maybe it is reminding you of something from your past...? Not like it matters... I'm a dead Reploid..." He shuddered despite his own will. "It's a cruel world. You have to be hard to survive, and prove to it that you are superior to others... Sometimes you just have to get over it, though..."

There was some silence, as Snyde stared at the sight of Radic, who's appearance almost made him think that it caused his personality to change. Just when was he so... wise?

"...Answer me this. Just who were you working for? I need to know..."

"Hah, you really want to know?" he questioned.

"Yeah..."

Attempting to stand, but failing, Radic slid back down, defeated, the leg that was no longer there not helping. "I work for a group... called the Ai Jigoku... a groupcomposed withten other powerful mercenaries, all with different abilities... We have been revered as both a blessing, and an abomination upon everyone and everything alike..." He started to hack, but forced himself to stop. "We... were hired by a man... apparently you had done something to him in the past... and he is willing to do anything in his power to put an end to it... But even if you were to stop him... it wouldn't be the end... for there are others..."

"A name! I need a name! Radic!" Snyde said, impatient, knowing that he had little time. "Who hired the Maxim Blaizers!"

"Sorry, but even if I am on the verge of death... I refuse to disobey my orders... even if he was just some... human scum..." he coughed a bit more, and then finally stopped. He refused to budge. Not even an inch. Radic the Jet was officially dead, joining the rest of the souls that were lost in this battle, to a place that was impossible to reach by living hands.

Walking away was all Snyde could do, ashamed at what had happened. All of that pointless destruction, and no one would be receiving any sort of satisfaction. In the end, it all felt like it as a waste of time, energy... lives. He wondered how many could have possibly have survived. If they were living as far as Quisar, then yes, there would be some humans that may have survived. Reploids could take a bigger beating--he was prime example, for being right next to the source of it all. Still, he could only help but gaze upon the corpses of the dead, some that were torn open, intestines splattered everywhere, various amounts of fluids dripping from unknown places... And for what? Nothing, absolutely nothing. And the images of both the past and the present haunted his mind...

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"What are we doing here, Drake?" Snyde asked, trying to keep up with his friend. The two of them had walked into a seemingly deserted city, the effects of the Elf Wars apparent. People only stared as the two Reploids may their way down the street.

"We here to look for a job," Drake replied, stopping to look around for a bit. "Hm, this city seems pretty dead, if you'd ask me. It was probably a mistake to come here..."

"Uh... yeah..." Snyde rubbed the back of his head, thinking. "So... what kind of job did you have in mind?"

"Ah, nothing much. Something that would benefit us and our skills would sound appropriate, if you ask me," Drake crossed his arms and nodded. "We were designed to fight. Despite how nice our master was, both you and I know he created us for the soul intention of fighting the Elf Wars. We just got lucky, with the wars ending right before we were dragged onto the battle field. Master wasn't so fortunate, though..."

"Hm, it seemed strange, though, how he just died like that. Don't you agree?" Snyde pondered. "I mean, that one last renegade Reploid had killed him, out of desperation..."

"Don't worry too much about it. I highly doubt Master would want us to," he began to walk away without notice. "C'mon, Snyde. Let's get going."

In a split second Snyde was back to attempting to keep up. "Hey! Drake, wait!"

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That's all his purpose in life was... to fight. But how much blood must shed through it? It was strange for him. Fighting was all he had left... yet he despised it more than anything else. And he still ended up helping to kill thousands of innocent humans and Reploids. All of those casualties... All it did was force him to go back to the question that started it all: For what? The answer was as clear as day, though, that Radic had done it for the money, that someone had wanted him dead. With him gone, one of the Ai Jigoku, it would just force another, maybe even two or three, to go after him, and the same thing would happen. That wasn't the answer he was looking for.

If he managed to defeat the other eleven members of the Maxim Blaizers with the same consequences, in the end, no one would profit from it, in any way. Only losses would be inflicted, for people who lost loved ones, to the insurance agency... Oh yes, the insurance agency. They will absolutely love him for this one. He could hear it now, Tog telling him that he has to 'stop such nonsense,' or how 'it's going to force me to work overtime,' or his personal favorite, 'I fucking hate you, you know that?' It was true as to what Radic said. He had angered a lot of people, intentional or not.

Making his way from what he believed to be the direction of Quisar's house, he blinked in surprise as a group of Reploids jumped him, and then slapped some handcuffs on him. "You're under arrest!" Typical.

"I guess I deserve to be thrown away, huh? Well, go on and get it over with..." he started to laugh sadly, completely unhappy with his life.

As they began pushing and shoving him away, a voice peirced the air, yelling, "Stop right there!"

"Oh... Tog. You're here too?" Snyde noted briefly. "Guess you finally just got plain old tired of me destroying everything, and called the police on my sorry ass."

"No, no, no, you damn fool!" Tog smacked him across the face, scolding him. "What the Hell has gotten into, boy! I never called the police on you! Can you even see straight? These are just some punks who found some handcuffs!"

With a quick glance, Snyde realized that some little Reploids had been playing with him. Slightly embarrased for not even realizing that, he tore the cuffs off, the cheap material no match for his superior strength. He then looked Tog in the eye, who had promptly grabbed him by the wrist and began dragging him away from the young boys.

"You've got a lot of explainin' to do, Snyde," he said simply, walking toward a large amount of ambulances out in the distance. "I heard that the town of Mejak had been completely wiped out,by some Reploid. And now I find you here. Just what the heck did you do!"

"You want to know? Fine, I'll tell you," With that, he freed his arm from Tog's grip. "Some guy came after my life, and in the end everyone died. End of story."

"...Someone else did this?" Tog was stupified. Not getting an answer, he frowned. "Well then, where the heck is he? I need to see this guy for myself. Thanks that bastard I won't be able to get out of the office for weeks!"

There was some more silence, before Snyde gave out a sigh and simply said, "I killed him. So, I guess that I'm the one who will get the blame, right? After all, I'm the one who ALWAYS gets the blame. It can never be anyone else. Just me." He watched as Tog appeared to be slightly taken back by the comment.

"Whoa, now listen, it's not like I want to blame you all of the time... It's just that you're usually at the heart of all of it!" Tog accused, feeling insulted. "Speaking of which, we've gotten reports for what you've done to all of the destroyed Ride Chasers back at Tagechi's Rideserver, and Goldwall's factory down near Heltz! Don't you understand that you are the blame despite my feelings toward the topic!" All he got was a grumble or two. Snyde wasn't in a good mood, but he didn't care at this point. "I am just sick and tired of you always going around destroying everything in a ten mile radius! Snyde! I am going to make it my duty that you never get in trouble with the insurance agency again!"

"Wait, what?" Snyde was confused. "Are you telling me that you're going to become my personal stalker, and watch my every move?"

"I would do it myself. Oh, believe me... I would definitely do it myself," Tog snickered silently. "Unfortunately I am way too busy with this latest incident, so I'll have someone in my stead. Allow me to introduce him..."

Walking over the ambulances, Snyde watched as the bodies of people were carted away, and how the living ones were either severely injured, or were crying over the losses of loved ones, or other injured people. He could have sworn he spotted Quisar and Gloria far off as well, probably crying for some friends that they may have known. Tog, however, kept a straight face as he entered a large vehicle from the back. It was like an ambulence, except it floated, and Snyde found himself stumbling to get on; the after effects of the fighting had finally hit him like a ton of bricks. Upon entering, he noticed one Reploid was there, a huge smile spread across his face. Snyde recognized him immediately, and saw Tog had patted him on the back.

"...HIM!" Snyde pointed at Starfighter, who was going hysterical. "But... but... how? Why... when? You, but... what the Hell, I thought you were working at a pub in Vurious!"

"Oh, I guess I should explain! After you left, Mr. Tog had come to Vurious looking for you. When he told me that you got into quarrels with the insurance agency on a regular basis, I decided to quit and get a job there!" Starfighter was litterly glowing at this point, estatic that he was getting a chance to work with someone where his true skills would be needed. "Isn't that the best idea you've ever heard? Huh? Isn't it?"

"Tog... please tell me you aren't serious," Snyde's voice was trembling slightly. He noticed that Tog was also smiling brightly, which scared him even further.

"'Fraid I am, Snyde. The kid really has been lookin' forward to seeing you again, and I just couldn't say no," Tog widened his smile some more, his pearly white teeth gleeming almost as brightly as his head did. "If you ask me, I could say it was the best idea ever!"

"Best idea ever... yeah. Right," Snyde ignored Tog, but couldn't do the same for Starfighter, who continued to pester him with how great his idea was. Tightening his fist, it didn't take long before he bolted forward and grabbed the young kid by the neck, strangling him.

It was going to be a long night for the three. They all knew it.

To be continued...

Author's Notes: Well, well, now that I've actually got back into writing, the updates are going to be much more plentiful. Thank God for that. About this chapter, and I should just explain this, since it will come up later, and it may confuse some... Back in Chapter 8, Snyde hated Radic. At the beginning of Chapter 9, Snyde is, obviously, pissed, but when he finally defeats Radic he gets a sense of pity for the Reploid, and he wonders if he was truly as bad as he made himself out to be. Anyways, what will happen now? Will the Ai Jigoku defeat Snyde next time? And what of the Rebel Series attack on Heltz? It is all coming in good time... good time.

Speaking of which, Ai Jigoku, formerly known as the Maxim Blaizers (never did like the name much), is japanese for "Love Hell." So, I figured I would just point that out now. ;)