Megaman X: Final Prologue

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I would write something about how I don't own Megaman X and how Capcom owns him and his crew, but I forgot how to do that. :)

Chapter 8: The Unexpected

Arcadia- Inner City
Time: 10:32 A.M.
Date: 6-18-22XX

"X!" Leyna screamed out as the legendary hunter leapt from the craft without a second thought. She was about to lunge out after him, but the doors slammed shut. Vice, the only hunter besides the pilot who was still in his seat, snickered loudly. He didn't even try to conceal it.

"Nyah ha ha! Tell me, Mrs. Zero, what could you have done to help him out?" Vice asked through fits of laughter. Leyna didn't answer as she sat back down in her seat. "No answer, eh?" She ignored him as the pilot yelled out for the unit to get ready. "Guess not. Now that the high strung ancient commander abandoned ship, you don't have anyone to speak for you, right?" His comment was answered with a slap across the face. He snapped his head to where the source of the blow came. He expected to see an angered Locke at the dealing end, but instead saw shorter female staring at him with angry emerald eyes.

"You've got some nerve! Disgracing X behind his back! You're a Hunter, dammit!" Echo shouted as the craft touched ground.

"All right! Everyone bail out!" The pilot shouted as the doors on either side of the transport shot open. Vice loomed over the shorter reploid with nothing short of lightning in his eyes.

"Hmm. Black hair with silver dipped ends. You must be Echo. I heard that you used to run with the Mavericks decades ago." He said simply, aiming to vex her. She said nothing. "Just as I thought. I don't trust you."

"Regardless of that! You should show more respect to X and Zero. They've saved the Earth more times than--"

"Don't give me that bullshit, woman! Guys like that don't earn my respect. And when you don't have my respect, you don't have my trust. So I'll say this once, so even you idiots can understand: I don't like Zero, I don't like 'Colonel X', I don't like that little runt chameleon, I don't like you. I damn near don't like anyone." He said firm and coolly, his voice sending ice through her spine.

"...Then what the hell are you even doing here?" She said after regaining her composure.

"You don't need to know that, girl. What you do need to know is this," he said before grabbing his rifle from his seat.

"I am the Unit Commander. You will perform under my command. That means you listen, shut up, and stay the hell outta my way." He brushed past the girl and hopped off the transport. Echo stared at him and thought about killing him on the spot. A hand clapped down on her shoulder. She turned to face Leyna with angry eyes on the verge of tears.

"When we enter the city, follow me." The violet haired hunter said while slinging her rifle over her shoulder. Echo was slow to nod, trying to figure out what her friend had in mind.

- - -

Vice paced before the special unit while he did a mental head count. He grew bored when he reached 'Ten' so he skipped counting the rest.

"Okay! Listen up! Our mission today is to retrieve the stolen cyber elf. Since this is a search and recover mission, we will split up into two teams. I will be leading the main infiltration squad. Siege over there will lead the covering squad." He went on, repeating what everyone already knew. But he added something that got everyone's attention.

"Instead of using the pre-laid route, we'll be taking a more...direct approach." He said mysteriously.

"So, you're planning on deviating from the route?" Leyna spoke up. "You do realize that the pre-laid route ensures the quickest method of..."

"Not if we can bust down a few walls. But why are you worried about that? You're on the 'B Squad'." He cut her off with an annoyed expression. "My team," he pointed at the first two rows and moved his hand to the left, "follow me. The rest of you decide who's gonna cover us, and who's gonna defend each checkpoint." He finished up. "Ok, move out!"

The hunters split themselves up into their assigned groups. A technical hunter weakened the side of the wall with a laser, then moved away as Siege blew the wall to hell. They moved in, Vice's group in between a group of the other Hunters. Siege twitched uncomfortably.

"This plan is crap! There's way too many of us moving as a group." He whispered to everyone but Vice.

"That won't matter in a few moments." Leyna said as gunfire from the front started up. Siege fired his rifle at the enemy.

"What do you mean? You have a plan that won't get us killed?" He spoke in a normal voice, the battle cries and shouting and machine guns drowning his whisper.

"Somethin' like that." She said as she hopped on the wall and shot at the NT's at the opposite hallway.

"Front side clear!" A hunter in the front yelled out. A bullet ricocheted in the hallway behind them, causing the back half of the Hunters to turn and fire rapidly.

"We got heat from the backside!" A hunter shouted as more of Siege's unit returned fire.

"Vice! Take your unit and go! We'll handle these NT's!" Leyna shouted as she replaced her pistol secretly into its holster. Vice stared incredulously at her before commenting.

"Now that's a good girl!" He sneered before taking his unit further into the building. Once they were down the hall, she yelled for the rest of the Hunters to cease firing.

"Wait a tick...there's no return fire?" A hunter spoke loudly as he turned to regard Leyna.

"It was a distraction." She said bluntly as she snagged a laser cutter from the waist of a technical huntress and traced a large circle on the floor.

"Could you be a little more elaborate please? I mean, our frickin' lives are on the line!" He protested as he joined the rest of the group watching the violet haired huntress prepare the floor for an explosion.

"I fired the shot." She said after setting the final charge on the ground. She blew the first half, then grabbed the center of the piece to be excised. After the rest were blown, she lifted the circular piece of flooring up and set it to the side. Then, grabbing her knife she said, "I'll be back in a minute," before biting down on the handle and jumping into the dark room. After a tense moment of silence, she hopped back up the hole.

"Okay, here's the deal: I just hacked their network." She waited for a bit before continuing. "I'm gonna go get our commander back. Our real commander. I'll need some backup, but I'll go it alone if I have to." She said calmly, while wiping a thin trail of blood from her cheek with her thumb.

"I'm in!" Echo blurted out. Siege grunted in agreement and strode over beside her. Now it was up to everyone else.

"Are you NUTS?" An unimportant hunter howled out. "Straying away from the mission objective? That's deviating from orders!"

"We deviated when we entered this building." She snapped back. "Now you can either go protect Vice and walk into a trap, or follow me and get Zero back." She looked around for any takers. A handful of Hunters stepped around the hole and ran down the hall after Vice's group.

"Sorry, but we're in enough shit as it is." The insignificant hunter muttered as he ran past her. Leyna drew her knives as more Hunters ran past them.

"Echo, Siege. Let's go." And she hopped down the hole without a swaying emotion. Echo and Siege exchanged brief glances before following suit and jumping in.

- - -

When Echo landed on the ground in the dark room, the only things she could see were the glow from the monitor and the reflected light from the crystal orbs on the three Hunter's armor. She found a light switch, flipped it and responded to the scene around her.

"Whoa..." There were five NT's armed and armored to the teeth, dead on the floor. They had deep gashes in their necks with blood pouring out of them.

"Well, this explains how the blood got on your face." Siege regarded as the purple haired girl opened a locker and grabbed a few items from it. "So, where're our commander being held? Is he even in this building?"

"I hacked the mapping system file not too long ago. There's a large depot a few floors below us. This is what showed up on the camera." She explained and then activated the camera monitor. Echo and Siege stared at the screen as it showed a relatively empty lab-like area. And right in the middle of the screen was a tube with a blonde reploid suspended in it.

"That's our guy!" Echo said triumphantly as the door behind them shot open, revealing a guard with a radio in his hand. All three Hunters turned and froze. Upon seeing the three infiltrators, the reploid raised the radio up threateningly to his face. Leyna quickly stuck her knife between her teeth and drew two more smaller knives as she prepared to rush the reploid. As soon as she took a step, the guard fell limp as his helmet shattered and a trail of blood flew from a hole in his head. The Hunters glanced over and saw a few of their allies, one replacing his pistol in its holster.

"Following a stray is better than following a fool." He said as the five behind him nodded in agreement. A smile crept up on Leyna's face as she eyed the Hunters from the 0th Unit. "So, what's the plan of attack?"

- - -

Battlefield
Time: 10:53 A.M.

Scar shouted as he thrust his blade into an unlucky Hunter, silencing him forever. "(Dammit, X! You've destroyed the Golem too soon! Now it can't be helped...)" He thought as he ran to where the Golem was destroyed. He stopped when he saw a group approaching him. "14th Unit..." He stated aloud as they surrounded him. One of them made a sound that might pass for a gasp.

"Scar...why are you siding with that lunatic!" A tall Hunter clad in amber armor shouted. Scar turned his head to regard him.

"Leave this field at once. I do not wish to spill your blood." Scar said emotionlessly as he replaced the black katana in its sheath. The amber Hunter tensed at his words. "There aren't many more of the 14th left, are there? Don't make me exterminate your unit completely."

"You...bastard!" He shouted as he charged at Scar, intending to tackle him. When he touched the ninja reploid, he felt his arm shatter before he got a chance to grab at the traitor. Scar slammed the larger reploid on the ground, shaking the sandy terrain.

"HADOKEN!" A Huntress shouted as a wave of fire rushed at Scar, who jumped over the offensive flame. The hunter ended the wave abruptly and jumped up with him, her hand trailing with fire as she attempted to uppercut the quick reploid. Scar countered with a kick to her exposed stomach, causing her to vomit instantly as she plummeted into the sand where she stood.

"You should have run. You still can. This is your last chance..." He alluded once more. The Hunters of the 14th Grapple Unit shouted as they rushed the ebony clad reploid. Scar sighed as he drew his blade part-way and held up a hand sign in front of his face. "So be it...Valde puteus. Sileo in pacis." (Very well. May you rest in peace.)

Within the blink of an eye, the six surrounding Hunters fell limp. Scar landed on the ground a few feet away from where he was standing, and wiped the blood off his blade before placing it on his back. He turned to the two horrified survivors. They eyed him with terror as the fire wielding huntress held up a shaky and pained arm. She attempted to harness the fire in her gauntlet, but failed due to her overwhelming pain and fear.

"Please, get out of here. Don't make me kill another unit." Scar nearly pleaded as he turned to rush over to where the Golem exploded. The Huntress on the ground called out for the flame armored reploid to help him up. She knelt down gingerly and pulled him to his feet.

"What the hell? He...didn't kill us. Why..." He gasped out as he looked at his dead comrades. "Why didn't he finish what he started?" He questioned aloud as he looked on at the warrior.

"Scar...he's changed..." The flame specialist remarked as she fought back tears stinging her eyes. She looked over the bodies of her dead comrades. One of them moved.

"Yea he has! That bastard's gone soft. He only scratched me!" A dark haired reploid said as he rolled over, revealing a cut on his stomach.

"He still doesn't pull any punches though. I think he broke somethin'!" A Huntress with cat-like ears exclaimed as she saw up slowly, rubbing her thigh. Kiya, the unit commander, smiled as she watched her comrades rise one by one. She glanced over in the direction Scar was in and smiled. He suddenly stopped in the distance and was surrounded by another Hunter unit. They moved in on him the same way the 14th had, and met the same conclusion. Then she saw an odd looking reploid approach the downed squad.

"Is that...some kind of bug?" She asked, making everyone look toward the odd reploid. No sooner than she said that, the mosquito rammed into one of the Hunters on the ground, impaling him with a long needle-like thorn. She gasped as he moved from Hunter to Hunter, killing them all in the same way.

"He's killing them! We have to go help AGH!" A Hunter was cut off as a massive reploid tackled him to the ground. Kiya looked at the large canine as he sank his teeth into the Hunter's neck, killing him in a gruesome manner. Without missing a beat, he grabbed a smaller Hunter and tore him in half, sending a wave of blood over the sand.

"NO! STOP IT!" Kiya shouted as she lunged at the beast. He reached out and gripped her neck forcefully, lifting her off the ground. As the bruised up members of the 14th tried desperately to damage the canine, they each met their end in a brutal way. Some became headless, others were impaled repeatedly, a few had large chunks of them bitten away. Kiya look on helplessly as the overgrown Doberman pressed his foot into the already dead amber clad Hunter, crushing him into the sand. She winced as a stream of blood shot out and painted her face. She eyed the Doberman with shrunken pupils as he gave her a wicked, blood-stain grin.

"Who... ...are... ...you?" She choked out as he began squeezing her neck tighter.

"It's not my fault you have to die. I'm just cleanin' up after my 'Commander'." The bulky reploid bellowed in a low tone.

"B-but...cough ... ...Who are you?" She managed to ask once more, her fearful voice diminishing slowly.

"Not that it'll do you any good, but, I'm Inferno Surebrec: The eternal guardian." He said as he jerked his fist, causing the girl to squeal briefly before a loud sickening crack emanated from her neck. Her body went limp as her eyes lost color and her head hung lazily. He laid the dead Huntress on the ground gently and regarded her for a brief moment.

"Never is easy to kill a woman that can't fight back. But that's my job, so I can't complain." He muttered in his Aussie voice as he spotted another Hunter unit coming up on him. "Well then! Let's get the show on the road!"

- - -

MHHQ- Med Lab
Time: 10:52 A.M.

X stared at the blinding light that focused on his left arm. Or rather, what was left of his left arm. Kicker carefully placed the lower half of his severed limb on the operating table next to him and adjusted it in position.

"X, that looked like a hard fight, but there was never any doubt that you'd come out on top. Good job, Hunter." Signas said to the guilt-stricken reploid. X merely turned his head to regard his commander. Then uncomfortable silence filled the room. Kicker decided to end it.

"X. Must you always lose a limb at the start of every war?" Kicker asked in mock annoyance as he began attaching the bones back together. X didn't respond. "But I suppose you didn't really 'lose' this arm, since you brought it back with you."

"Please, Kicker. Not right now." X asked monotonically. "I technically shouldn't even be here. She threw her life away to save me. I didn't even know her. Not who she was, not what unit she belonged to. She shielded me from that explosion..." He went on, thinking back to what happened.

"Who?" Kicker asked nonchalantly as he began attaching the tiny mechanical veins and arteries.

"She was from the 1st. I don't know who she was per se, but I'd seen her with the 1st." Ixion spoke up. "X, you shouldn't beat yourself up over that. She was doing her job."

"Doing her job? What the hell are you saying! What does that mean!" X exploded in a sudden outburst of anger. Luckily, he was unable to move, or else Kicker would have a sharp object in his arm.

"Fighting a war. That was her job. That's all of our jobs. She's not the only one out there that sacrificed her own well being for another. You need to realize that X." Kicker said calmly as he finished up the surgery on X's arm. X sat up and eyed his arm, flexing the reattached appendage. He looked up at Kicker.

"I...I suppose you're right. She died while trying to protect someone. But that still doesn't make it right." X stated as he turned around. "So...that's why...I'm gonna end it all. I'm gonna stop this senseless violence. When this war is over...I'll...I'll build a utopia."

Upon hearing that, Signas, Kicker and Ixion all regarded him as if he had lost it completely.

"A place where both Reploids and Humans are able to coexist with one another. A world free of war." X continued.

"X..."

"Lemme go, dammit!" A shrill voice suddenly shouted from outside the door. A second later, said door flew open.

"Commander Signas! You're needed in the command wing!" A distressed Palette gasped out. Signas stood immediately.

"What's the situation?" He asked gruffly. Palette griped her headset and gasped loudly.

"The infiltration squad sent to Arcadia is on their way back to base. But..."

"But what!" X prodded. She cringed.

"...There're only seven survivors...the rest of the infiltration unit were wiped out..."

Silence filled the room as Signas dashed out of the O.R. at top speed, with the young navigator at his heels. X flexed his arm one last time before attaching his gauntlet and running after them. Ixion looked at Kicker for a while.

"Go ahead. I'm gonna need all the space I can get."

And with that, she took off as well.

To be continued...

Bwah ha ha! Fear my broken Latin! This chapter was easy to crank out. Not sure why. But anyway! Another bonus point for anyone that can figure out the familiar quote I stuck in here. I'll keep writing as long as you all keep...reviewing! Seriously, there's nothing like checking your email and finding a few review notices sitting there. OK! Tell me how I'm doin', what I should be doin', or, hell, give me a new idea for a story!

Till Next Time!