Chapter 6 – The Great Repliforce War
As I mentioned in the preface, I will be making changes to the story. Well, this part is altered a lot compared to the original script. I had to give the Maverick Hunters a leader, as from what I've read, after Dr. Cain and before Signas, the supreme commander turned out to be quite obscure, which is very awkward as we have a full scale war here.
Another dilemma was Iris. In the game, her presence was pretty much a given as she suddenly appeared in the H.Q. Well, most of the time we only see X, Zero, Double and Iris in the H.Q., which is again, very awkward. So I made tweaks here and there, and hopefully it turned out for the better.
I apologize for my poor usage of military lingos, this is my first time writing a fan fic depicting an organized army. My past works are mostly solo battles, so this fan fic is quite challenging for me. I hope you enjoy it!
The declaration of independence from Repliforce had immediately caused an uproar to the public, they did not know who to trust anymore. This would ultimately evolved into a confrontation between two parties who were supposed to defend peace, how did it come to this?
Many had decided to evacuate the city, for they believed there was no one left to protect them, it was deemed a much better option to just leave and seek refuge elsewhere.
The late Dr. Cain created the Repliforce with the hope that more Reploids would aid the Maverick Hunters in their struggle against Mavericks. The latest large scale Maverick outbreak was caused by Dr. Doppler and his army of Mavericks, taking a huge toll on the Hunters' forces, as well as Dr. Cain's life.
Just as the Maverick Hunters were at their weakest, without a leader, the Repliforce took this opportunity to wage war against them.
"Who are you? No unauthorized personnel are allowed here!" One of the guards manning the entrance of the Maverick Hunters H.Q. yelled out as he and one of his fellow guards grabbed hold of the intruder.
"Let me go! I need to see Zero!" The intruder flailed as hard as she could to break free, but her in-built strength could not match the two guards.
"Iris?" Zero approached the entrance, just happened to pass by the hallway as he headed towards the grand hall. An emergency signal was blaring out during this moment, which threw the entire H.Q. to a state of heightened alertness. Surely an intrusion out of nowhere would be difficult to tolerate.
Yet it was Iris who turned out to be the gate-crasher, right now the supposed enemy for she was affiliated with the Repliforce.
"Zero!" Iris cried out as soon as she spotted Zero, still struggling with all her might to break her way through.
"Let her through!" The two guards immediately let go of Iris and watched helplessly as the female Reploid hopped away and hugged Zero tightly.
"Thank you, Zero!"
"What are you doing here, Iris? This is not a good time!"
"Please… don't fight against Repliforce! Don't fight against… my brother! This has to be some kind of mistake!" Iris released her grip onto Zero and looked into his attentive gaze.
Zero shook his head, "I too, hope that this is a mistake. But Repliforce is serious, as they had already begun their coup. Several cities had already been occupied." He replied sternly, his allegiance clear and he knew what his superiors would order him soon after he stepped into the grand hall.
"Zero… no…" Despair and hopelessness immediately befell onto Iris, for she had once provided a great deal of assistance to the Maverick Hunters to solve the Erasure incident some time ago. She was well liked by the other ranks of the Hunters, however, due to her origins, she remained a member of the Repliforce.
"You know what I would do, Iris, I would stop them, as a Maverick Hunter." Zero turned heels and continued his way to the grand hall. However, just after a few steps he halted, "actually, Iris, I am very glad to see you here."
Iris quickly beamed a smile, knowing Zero's intentions fully, as she rushed onward to join him into the hall.
"Iris!" Many called out to her as soon as she showed herself in the grand hall of Maverick Hunters H.Q. Some were very welcoming of her presence, yet some held it with disdain, deeming her an enemy and there was no place for her here.
Iris too, knew very well that entering the heart of the opposition would be dangerous, but unable to persuade her own brother, she was left with little choice but to turn to Zero, the other person she trusted the most, as well as being the more reasonable one.
"Zero…" a voice emanated from the top of the hall, it was Dr. Thoth, the acting supreme commander for the Maverick Hunters. He took the reins right after Dr. Cain had passed away, in which he was the assistant to the brilliant creator in overseeing the production of Reploids. He was never a popular figure among the Hunters, but as they were left without a leader, they did not have other candidates other than to let him hold the position.
"Dr. Thoth!" Zero quickly acknowledged his superior, saluting him.
"Why is a member of the Repliforce here, right in the heart of the H.Q.?" Dr. Thoth casted his hostile glare onto Iris, who squeaked a little and quickly hid herself behind the red Hunter.
"It was my decision as the commander of the zeroth unit, Iris will hereby act as the navigator for the Maverick Hunters Shinobi Unit." Zero reprimanded, leading to an uproar in the hall.
Dr. Thoth's brows furrowed, very displeased by his soldier making decisions on his own. However, he knew that Zero held great respect among the ranks, and his zeroth unit enjoyed a great deal of triumph due to its past glories and deeds. "Fine, as you wish." Dr. Thoth closed his eyes, before continuing, "However, realize this, should she turn out to be a spy for the Repliforce, the zeroth unit will be relieved of its duty, with immediate effect."
Iris took a small step back, fearing that her rash actions would eventually cause the disbandment of the Shinobi Unit, one of the most revered units among Reploids. She stole a glance at Zero, whose eyes remained fixated to Dr. Thoth's. "I am well aware of the consequences, I thank you for your permission."
His words were met with roars of disbelief from the other units, for he was opposing the supreme commander in some way.
"Will everything be alright?" Iris asked meekly, her arms squeezing tightly against her body, feeling totally uneasy.
"Don't worry, you will be safe here, with me." Zero reassured her. Iris grinned widely, sticking closer to Zero.
Dr. Thoth cleared his throat, finally moving on to his real purpose in assembling all his troops here into the hall. "Maverick Hunters! All of you should have already known that we have a war in our hands. The entire Repliforce had already been labelled as Mavericks, and it is our duty as Hunters to stop them. They have abandoned their obligation to serve their human masters, electing to threaten world peace to fulfill their selfish desires. Ergo, we have to be the ones to protect the city and its citizens."
His speech did not sound as commanding as the declaration previously held by the charismatic General and Colonel of the Repliforce. However, the Maverick Hunters knew very well that should the Repliforce not be stopped, it would only meant trouble.
The only human in the hall looked intently at his troops, their morale wasn't very high, but should be sufficient to win this war. After all, they had the numbers, the majority of the Reploids who did not turn Maverick were all here, serving the Hunters.
One of the navigator clones stepped up after Dr. Thoth ended his speech, "currently, the Repliforce had occupied several cities, as well as fortifying their base of operations by creating mass-destructive weapons. According to our calculations, taking down their weapons should be our top priority, as the predicted destructive power from these weapons prove to be of most hazardous to public safety. Followed by the defense of our territory, as well as protecting the H.Q."
"The two best units of the Maverick Hunters, the zeroth unit and the seventeenth unit, will dispatch and infiltrate their bases, destroying said weapons." The navigator continued, "Units two to eight are to reclaim the lost territories from the Repliforce. The remaining units are to standby at the H.Q., anticipating any attack that may target the H.Q."
"Roger!" The entire hall echoed.