Chapter 13 - Deadly Reactivation

Alpha gasped loudly, stepping away from the two pods, his eyes widened to the size of dish saucers once more. Bread Man blinked slightly, confused for a moment and then ignited his beam saber, sliding into his battle ready stance, the blade gliding across the metal flooring.

'Something isn't right here.. They should have come out of the pods.. And their eyes shouldn't be that color..'

Mr. Death's singular eye had switched on, without his doing. He felt as if his body wasn't his own, and that he were just staring out through eyes, or eye in this case, that didn't belong to him. He felt foreign in his own body. He hoped Franco didn't feel the same way. His body moved on its on as the paneling evaporated around the pod, he had stepped down off the pod. The two Reploids that had activated them were staring at them, in ways which frightened him of himself.

'Poor Mr. Death..'

'What the..'

'I love that surprised tone of yours. Give me more of it.'

'Who the hell are you? And what are you doing in MY body?"

'Ha.. Haha.. Hahahaha! Bwuahaha! YOUR body? No! It's MY body now, Mr. Death! You have NO control over anything you do anymore. And to prove it.. Death to these idiotic Hunters.'

'Don't do it! NO!'

The voice was right.. He had no control over anything. With surprising speed, Mr. Death's

buster had formed in his right hand. The Hunter in front of him had his beam sword out and ready. The buster aimed and let rip a single shot. He took the Reploid straight in the chest, smoke billowing from the explosion from the collision.

Franco watched helplessly as his brother; Mr. Death, tried to kill one of the Hunters that had re-activated him. And he was just as helpless inside of his own mind as Mr. Death was.

'Who the hell do you think you are!'

'I'm.. How can I put this easily.. I'm that part of you that always tells you to do the wrong thing, while the good side tells you to be good and righteous and all that nonsense.'

'You're my conscience?'

'In a manner of speaking.. Now shut up while I kill the other one.'

'NO DAMMIT!'

Franco fought it, and fought it hard. Each step was a struggle for the 'person' controlling his body. And when the hand reached for the saber, the battle was truly waged, with Franco winning over his 'evil side.' The hand fell to his side and Franco's body shut down again, toppling over in front of the shorter Reploid.

'Damn you Franco..'

'Hehe.. To hell with you!'

The single shot from Mr. Death's buster took Bread Man by surprise, hitting him square in the chest. His chest armor split and cracked from the blast, and it sent him flying backward through the warehouse wall, his body crumpling up against the gravel earth. Alpha shot through the hole after him, activating his beam saber, holding it toward the Maverick Mr. Death.

"Mr. Death! You're a Hunter! Stop trying to kill us!"

'I hope you're okay Bread.. I don't want to have to carry you back after killing a fellow Hunter, Maverick or not.. And Franco is passed out, or something..'

"Stop where you are, dammit!" Alpha swung his saber for MD's side, but he didn't stop, and the blade cut into his side, sparks and coolant spraying from the wound. But onward he strode.

'AHHHH!'

'Haha.. I left the pain receptors connected to you, so you could feel the pain.'

'Ugh.. Ah.. Ow.. Why are you doing this to me?'

'Poor Mr. Death.. Refuses to go down like his name..'

'I will not die by you!'

Bread Man had never felt so much pain before in his life, and it wasn't going away. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, coolant trickling down the front of his chest. He wiped the blood from his lips, shaking his head a little. He got to his feet, holding his chest, his hand blocking up the hole. He blinked slightly as he watched Alpha's saber cut into Mr. Death's side, but the Hunter continued to walk toward him, as if Alpha and his attacks meant nothing to him and never would.

"Alpha!"

Alpha turned and ripped the saber free from Mr. Death's side, who stopped, a visor sliding down over his already covered face, nothing able to be seen through it. Bread Man stared silently at this, trying to remember what it meant. His eyes glanced away from MD, and to Franco who was getting to his feet very slowly. The distinct red glow missing from his eyes this time. Bread Man turned his gaze back in time to feel a piercing pain shooting through his entire body, and then feel nothing.

'Oh.. No..'

'You see Mr. Death.. Look what you've done.. You killed a Hunter. You're now on the top of the list of wanted Mavericks.'

'Screw.. You..'

'What was that, Maverick?'

'SCREW YOU!'

And so began the mind battle, and so it ended a few seconds later. Mr. Death was a very calm person, but when he was angered, nothing would stand in his way, not even a 'evil' presence in his mind. He had to put a stop to this evil part of him, and he had to do it fast. He dispatched, what he thought, was a virus from his mind, purging his system with a quick reboot.

Alpha stood over the downed Bread Man, tears welling up in his eyes. He blinked them back, swallowing heavily. "Oh Bread Man.." He fell to his knees next to his partner, nothing mattered to him anymore. Both Mr. Death and Franco could double-team him right now and he wouldn't stop them. His long-time partner and friend, Bread Man, was gone. A fist-sized hole went through his entire torso, coolant leaked from the hole and on to the earth. Alpha closed his eyes and lifted Bread Man up, tossing him over his shoulder.

Mr. Death was finally back online, and this time, he was able to control his own functions. Franco walked up next to him, watching the spectacle of Alpha and Bread Man. The red-haired Reploid turned toward the calm Mr. Death, staring at him silently. After a few moments, he spoke, "What the HELL was that?"

"I'm guessing we were infected after deactivation. I'm not quite sure though."

".. I was talking about you putting a hole in Bread Man!"

"I wasn't in control of myself, there was.. Something.. Something inside of my mind, controlling me."

"I had the same thing, but it said it was the 'evil side' of my conscience."

"You have an good side?" Franco smirked at him, despite the grave situation, "Apparently so."

"We better go help that Hunter.. He doesn't look big enough to carry him."

Franco nodded and ran after Alpha, Mr. Death following quickly behind him. Alpha's eyes were so blurry from the tears trickling down his cheeks, he didn't know if they had come to help him, or to kill him. And right now, all he cared about was getting Bread Man back to 32 to see if he could be repaired. He knew 32 was built by Bread Man and would be capable of doing such repairs, but he didn't know if he would ever make it there in time.

'It hurts.. So bad.. This feeling.. Like I'm being torn.. Apart.. My chest hurts.. My power is running low.. But I can't shut down.. Alpha is still stuck with the two Mavericks.. One Maverick now.. Franco is.. Ugh! It hurts.. Must tell Alpha..'

"Al.. Alph.. Alpha.."

"Bread Man?" Alpha almost dropped his friend from his sudden talking, "Hurr.. Hurry.. To.. 32.. New.. Ar.. Arm.. Armo.." Alpha never heard the rest of it, as Bread Man's eyes dimmed out and his body went completely limp over his shoulder.

"No.. No.. Nonononono! NO! DAMMIT!"

Alpha fell to his knees, the pain from losing a friend almost too much to bear for him. Bread Man had always been there to get him out of a jam, and the last thing Bread Man had to tell him was something to do with an 'arm' or something of the sort. Alpha couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want to carry the weight of his friend all the way back, but he couldn't leave him there.

'I was never strong like you, Bread Man.. I was never good enough to be a Hunter.'

Franco and Mr. Death watched the entire spectacle as Bread Man muttered something into Alpha's ear, and apparently never finished his sentence, because his mouth was still open from the last word that never got out. Franco walked over to Alpha and crouched down beside him, he waited for Alpha to finally notice him before speaking, "I'm sorry about what happened.. But this is no time to cry."

"What would you know? You helped kill him! AND HE! HE KILLED HIM!"

Alpha was too his feet quicker than anyone had ever expected. He didn't even bother to ignite his saber, or morph his hand into the buster. He leaped over the crouched Franco and swung his fist for Mr. Death's face, "BAKAPUNCH!" The fist slammed hard into the forehead section of MD's helmet, a crunching sound heard as it bent underneath the pressure.

Mr. Death was forced down into the gravel and then launched backward across the ground. Franco leaped to his feet and grabbed Alpha by the shoulders, holding him back, restraining his arms behind his back, making sure he couldn't morph his hand into a buster, or grab his saber.

Mr. Death pushed himself to his feet, coughing loudly. He reached his hand up and inspected the damage of his helmet, watching Franco struggle to keep Alpha from getting away from him. He shook his head and got to his feet, "I know it's no consolation! But I wasn't in control! I would NEVER have attacked a fellow Hunter! Ever! Something was inside of me, keeping my mind from controlling my body. I was ready to be set free and fight Mavericks! Not fight Maverick Hunters!"

Alpha stopped struggling a little quicker than Franco had expected and almost ripped Alpha's arms right out of their shoulders. He let go of Alpha's arms and stepped back slightly, keeping close enough to still be able to grab the enraged Hunter, if he tried anything. Alpha closed his eyes and breathed heavily, shaking his entire body.

"Franco.. Grab Bread Man. We have to get back to the base. Mr. Death.. You stay away from me." Franco nodded and hefted Bread Man's limp form up on to his shoulders, while Mr. Death walked behind Franco, "Yes'ir."

The three headed back to the base, their stride slower than normal, so they didn't lose Franco half way through the journey from his extra weight. Alpha had to stay calm and coordinated.

'Be like Bread Man, Alpha.. Be like Bread Man.. Calm and strong..'