Disclaimer: Blah blah blah. I don't own Megaman X.

Chapter 4: The Pain of Warfare pt. 2

Day 2
MHHQ, Mess Hall
Time:
-07.38-

X and Leyna stepped through the reinforced digisteel doors and let them close behind them. A fierce firefight was being exchanged between the Hunters and the Mavericks, the former faction hiding behind tables and food carts. The Mavericks on the other hand were flooding in from a large hole in the far wall of the mess hall.

"I'll go scout out their numbers." Leyna said as she activated her active camo and dashed ahead. X ran ahead and slid behind a table. His new armor from Douglass allowed him to move much swifter than before. It was reinforced with lightweight digisteel, making the armor both fifty percent lighter and stronger. His helmet had a retractable faceguard, which he though was a nice touch. He charged his arm cannon to fifty-five percent. Right on cue, Leyna's voice buzzed through his headset.

"Looks like you've been spotted X! Got a group of about five headin' your way." X spun around and stood up in one fluid motion. He quickly targeted the Mavericks approaching him and let loose the blast. He was surprised when the powerful plasma passed through the Mavericks with incredible speed. He was even more surprised when he saw a group of Hunters dash in front of the line of fire.

"Oh no! STOP!" X yelled. As if the energy sphere heard him, it simply phased out before it claimed the lucky Hunters. He dashed into the middle of the fray with confidence in his new equipment.

Leyna drew her pistols and set them to charge up concussive bolts. She ran up to an unlucky Maverick and placed an invisible pistol to the side of his head. The pain was quick as he slumped to the ground. She found another Maverick attempting to snipe a group of Hunters and threw a knife at him, impaling his arm. The evil reploid howled out in pain as he dropped the rifle, sending a shot into the leg of a Hunter. He turned about and saw Leyna as she flashed into view. She was about to bury a bullet into his head when a strong force knocked her down to the ground. The Maverick merely shuffled his feet, regaining his balance he morphed in his arm cannon and fired a volley at her from point blank.

"Hold on!" A voice said as Leyna was scooped up off the ground. X had dash rammed the injured Maverick moments before he could pull the trigger. As he set Leyna down, he eyed a group of injured Hunters scrambling for protection.

"Commander X!" One of the surviving hunters called out to his superior. X motioned for Leyna to get the injured to safety. Her internal threat detector screamed at her to dive, so she did. Time seemed to slow down as she caught a glimpse of the quick assassin. She had lavender armor over a black jumpsuit and wielded two blades with perpendicular grips. The agile Maverick frowned at her before bounding over a table. Leyna checked to make sure no one was hurt before she drew her pistols again. But to her dismay, the few remaining Mavericks were pulling back.

"What the hell? They're retreating?"

"There's one left! AHH! She's too fast!" A short Hunter screamed as the violent speed demon crippled him. She hoisted him in the air by his armor collar.

"Where's your commander?" She asked calmly and quickly. She felt someone close in behind her. She would have known that Megaman X was behind her even if he didn't have his buster trained at her head.

"I'm right here. Now let him go." X demanded. Echo dropped the young reploid with a thud, causing him to cry out in pain. She turned to face the taller, blue armored X.

"I don't want to fight you, X. You must pull your Hunters away from the lot if you want them to save them!" She informed him. X cocked an eyebrow, but kept his cannon pointed at her.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that your friends are in grave danger! Trust me!" X eyed the short woman. Just then, a bright flash illuminated the sky. The cafeteria was flooded with brilliant green light. Both reploids turned their heads as the light reached their eyes. Soon after it dissipated, X heard a terrifying message.

"Ugh, someone help! It's Locke! She's…she's…damn it!" Stryke's voice cut out after the short transmission. X felt his heart drop as the message played over and over again in his mind. He looked at the lavender Reploid and activated his faceguard. She grimaced and turned to dash down the hall. X felt nothing short of rage as emotion took control of his body. He jumped forward and activated the Ultimate Dash, hurtling his body toward the purple girl.

Echo stopped short of the massive blast doors and swore under her breath. Almost as soon as she stopped, she had to avoid a string of buster bolts. She rolled to safety, but not before taking a shot to the shoulder and chest. She unfurled herself and patted at the scorches on her armor. X deactivated his dash and performed a sliding kick from the momentum. Echo didn't have time to dodge this attack, so instead took the hit full on. She watched the room spin a few times before she hit the ground with a thud. She groaned as she was lifted off the ground.

"X, why are you wasting time!? I've told you to go help your friends!" Echo pleaded. X ignored her, his eyes wandering as a voice in his helmet explained Stryke's SOS in depth. He turned his head and snarled at the fearful girl.

"I just got a message that one of my lead Hunters went erratic and started killing other Hunters. What happened?" X narrowed his eyes as fire leaped from them.

"I'm sorry! I..I don't know…the effects…" Her vision started to blur as horrid memories ran through her mind. She fell to the ground on all fours as X aimed his buster at her and charged it to full. The cannon started to shake violently as more and more energy was drawn into it. The outer casing parted and slid back to vent off steam and excess pressure as it continued to charge. X growled as he thought about the situation. That's when he heard Echo scream for whoever was behind him to stop.

A lone Maverick was charging X with a knife in hand. In the blink of an eye, X spun around and fired the cannon. The thick laser tore through the rookie from Echo's squad with ease. All that was left of him was his mangled torso. He managed to look up at Echo and cough up some blood before the rest of it drained from his abdomen. X stood there with a foreboding feeling. Echo slowly stood up behind him. X turned his head to face the shaking Echo.

"He…was a rookie…" She murmured as she wielded her weapons. X gasped when he heard this.

"I…" X started but was lost for words when Echo looked up at him with wide, golden eyes. He could see the rage and agony seething from her.

"He was just a kid. His first mission!" Echo erupted as she threw caution to the wind and throttled the blue bomber.

Cliffs
Time:
-07:43-

Rayne remained prone as the 0th Unit combed through the area. She eyed the Hunters with a racing heart as they passed her up, one by one. Heavy footsteps stomped past her as she waited for the group to pass. It wasn't until she had snow kicked in her face several times before the last Hunter stopped and looked dead at her. He walked over to her and knelt down beside her.

"By this tree, right?" He whispered. After a moment, he reached out towards the cloaked sniper and picked up a small ring. He sighed with relief as he tossed the ring up and caught it before warping off with the rest of his squad. Rayne deactivated the cloak and armed herself with the odd rifle on her back. She thought about what she was about to do.

"Rayne. Do you see a target?" Scars voice broke her train of thought.

"Not yet. Had to avoid the search party. Wait…"

"What?"

"Are we doing the right thing?" She heard him sigh harshly.

"I don't know, and I don't care. But if we want to live to see tomorrow, you have to fire that rifle. NOW!" Scar deadpanned. Rayne flinched at the harshness of his tone, but took aim anyway. She saw two figures glide into view. She debated on the target for a bit before deciding. Then she closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. She stood and tapped her headset.

"Squad 13. Prototype Alpha has been launched. Pull back immediately." She spoke while masking a broken heart.

MHHQ, Southwestern Lot
Time:
-07:39-

Stryke pressed his back against a ruined hovercar. He muttered something about someone buying him a new one. He leaned out placed a few shots into three random Mavericks, dropping all of them. He popped over the hood and tore through a line of them before having to recharge. A storm of plasma bullets pelted his car as it started to smoke. He spun to the left and activated his dash skates, a nifty function similar to Locke's own footwear. He glided away from the vehicle before it went up in smoke, frowning as it did so. A bolt grazed his shoulder as he looked for more cover. He eyed Zero's auto, but decided against it. Instead, he dashed head first for a group of enemies with his rifle up. He yelled as the bullets bounced harmlessly off of the invisible field on the front of his rifle. He pulled a device from his belt and stuck it to a Maverick as he slid by, taking a few bullets as he did so. The armor Douglass gave him did a great job dispersing the plasma bolts. He spun around when he got to a safe distance and covered his ears as the group exploded.

"HA! That's for my car, bastards!" He screamed, pumping a fist in the air. Locke blazed past him on her own pair of rollerblades and dodged a pair of plasma bolts. She glanced at Stryke's feet and smirked.

"Copycat!" She teased before activating her blades. She kept one locked forward and had the other in rotation mode, acting as a shield. She gracefully glided around a dozen Mavericks, parrying and counterattacking them. She jumped and vaulted over a tall Maverick attempting to crush her with a warhammer. She extended her arms and let blades slice through his shoulders, sending a stream of blood spurting either way from his body. She landed in front of another group and dug her foot into the ground causing her to go into a spin. She held out her arms to the side and activated her blades in spin mode. She heard the zaps of the blades eating through their armor and the screams of agony as she cut through flesh and bone. She stopped her deadly buzzsaw attack and looked at the bloody pile of Mavericks that were either dead or dying.

"Not bad! That's a new record!" She glanced around and saw that most of the Hunters that were not injured were repelling the remaining enemies. She was about to run over to one of comrades when a bolt of energy passed through her heart. She gasped and slumped over as her systems shut down. Then, a bright green light illuminated the area, blinding everyone.

Stryke covered his eyes as he blindly fired on a heavy armored mechanoid, hoping to score a hit. He was rewarded when he heard the beast howl in pain. When he opened his eyes, a large hand shot out and grabbed him. He dropped his rifle in an attempt to escape, leaving him weaponless. He looked around frantically as the giant robot threatened to crush him. Nothing.

"Plan B then!" Locke yelled out before leaping up and severing the mechanoid's limb. It howled out in pain as it took a swing at the swift girl. It howled out again as it's second arm fell to the ground with a large thud, seeping it's lifeblood. Locke looked at the stumbling giant and pounced on it, digging her blades into it's armor as much as she could. Stryke stood up and reclaimed his rifle. He holstered it on his back and looked over at Locke.

Locke had broken through the thick chest plate of the Maverick and buried her blades into his robotic core, despite his horrific cries of agony. She activated the gauntlet motors and ripped whatever was on the inside to pulp, chuckling as she did so. By the time she finished gutting the mechanoid, her gray camo armor was teeming with dark red fluid. The lifeblood of the dead Maverick dripped from her hair in torrents. Stryke was disturbed by the sight. He knew Locke was a violent fighter, but this was beyond anything he had ever seen.

"Wow…um, Lieutenant Locke, are you okay?" A Hunter from the 14th worried. Quicker than lightning, Locke beheaded the poor girl. She watched with a large grin as her head bounced lightly on the ground and rolled a short distance. The crazed 14th commander then proceeded to chop the headless body in two with a vertical swing, showering the area with blood. Multiple screams erupted as Locke pounced on random nearby Hunters.

"No! Locke, STOP!" Stryke cried out as he rushed over to the girl. He felt the metal container on his back shift. He leaped in the air, closing his eyes as the Mobius jettisoned from him, causing his armor to form seams. His armor then slid back in multiple places and activated more plating from deep within. When he landed, Stryke's normal black armor had bulked up a bit and phased in more metal. Metallic shielding covered the places the jumpsuit was, making him look like a small mech. The Mobius also doubled his normal strength, but slowed him down just a small bit. He picked up a small piece of debris and chucked it at her, shifting her attention to him. She withdrew her blade from another Hunter and turned to face him. Her face was covered in the crimson liquid from those she had slain. Stryke swallowed hard at the sight. His best friend had become nothing short of a killing machine. He couldn't take her down, not lethally. She meant too much to him.

"Locke…no…" Stryke whispered as he activated one of his mini-rifling cannons on his arm. He slowly aimed it at her, his arm shaking the entire time. He looked into her twisted, incandescent green eyes with fear. She licked her lips free of blood, giving him a devilish grin while she did so. She started swaying toward him with murderous intent. Stryke was frozen in fear as she drew closer. Then she dashed at him full speed with her blades ready.

MHHQ, Main Entrance
Time:
-07:40-

"Tikan, come in." Zero spoke into his head set while running his saber through a Maverick.

"Yes, sir?"

"You guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. No sign of a sniper though." Tikan was the third best Hunter in the 0th Unit. Zero sighed silently to himself as he parried a blade from behind him. He spun around and sliced through the Maverick, bringing the total to twelve.

"Good. Keep your guard up; There's somethin' fishy about this attack, and I don't like seafood."

"Will do, Commander." Tikan responded before gasping. "Zero, you lost a ring a while ago, right?"

Zero thought about his question for a bit, rolling clear of a plasma burst. He drew his own Z-Buster and brought it across the face of the Maverick grunt. "Yeah, did you find it? I think it was near a natural tree."

"Alright, I'll find it."

"You're the best, man!" Zero chuckled before cutting the communication. A loud boom erupted as a giant tank blew a hole in the side of the building. Everyone scrambled as the large war machine hovered into the entrance. Zero grinned as he rushed forward, Z-Saber ready. The tank started charging its cannon, shining a brilliant blue, but Zero didn't slow down. The cannon fired straight in Zero's path. He activated the extend program in his saber and swung it forward with a mighty roar. The offensive plasma from the cannon did a complete 180 and took the shape of a giant blade. It passed through the tank, cackling as it did so. The machine then shone brightly before exploding. Zero replaced his saber and dusted his hands off before calling in to Alia.

"Alia, this is Zero. All hostiles in the Main Entrance area have been neutralized or repelled. We have about four injured Hunters, none of them critical. Mission accomplished." Zero said triumphantly. The Hunters in the area whooped and hollered over the victory.

"Good job, Zero. I'll send a med team to transport the injured." She paused. "Zero, heads up, you have multiple targets approaching the area!"

Zero spun around and caught the sight of two reploids dashing at top speed towards the entrance. Behind them was a group of about twenty Mavericks. He swore loudly as he readied his saber. His narrowed eyes tried to identify the leaders. Then it hit him.

"Scar…" Zero growled, unleashing his saber. The two commanders stopped short of the lone red demon. Echo held up a hand, signaling her unit to stop. Scar stepped forward, his face hidden behind a dark shadow mask.

"Echo…" The tall ninja reploid muttered.

"'Sup?" His shorter subordinate replied without taking her eyes off the crimson warrior.

"Take your squad to point bravo. Leave Zero to me, he's dangerous."

"No way! I'm not letting you face him alone." Echo replied.

"Echo, I won't say it again." Scar took an unusually fierce tone with her, causing her to be taken aback. She sighed.

"Fine, alright. Let's go bravo squad." Echo commanded as she eyed Scar before falling back. Scar crossed his arms and deactivated his mask. Anyone that wondered why his name was what it was would find out by looking at his bare face. Several scars of varying size were littered across his face, showing the signs of many reckless battles.

"Zero, fighting won't be necessary today." He spoke, his deep familiar voice causing Zero's blood to boil.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Would you believe me if I said that I'm not here by choice?" Scar questioned. He stood there with his arms folded, eying Zero a battle ready. "Trust me, Zero. I'm not the enemy this time." Zero spat at his words.

"Can it, bastard! I'll never forgive you." Zero snarled as he swung his saber.

Okay! Hooray for cliffhangers!

Till Next Time!