X ran and ran until he lost his balance. He tumbled past a set of glass doors, spilling inside a foyer of the Maverick Hunter Headquarters tower. He skidded and fell to his knees. He thought little of it as his mind raced, reeling in disbelief. If Sigma corrupted Eagle, then who else fell under his sway? He pondered being at receiving end of such a monumental collection of resources and talent the Maverick Hunters represented. A counterattack was impossible- only survival mattered now.
A siren blared, startling X. Flashing red lights descended from nooks in the ceiling, and every view panel in the foyer displayed a WARNING - EMERGENCY message. His momentary fright turned to relief. The alarm meant that Zero succeeded in his task.
The image of Zero then replaced the WARNING - EMERGENCY message. X stood up, stepping slowly towards one of the viewscreens to watch as his comrade spoke:
"This message is to all Hunters. This is Zero, A Class. A Maverick attack is imminent. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. All Hunters are to evacuate headquarters immediately. Do not run, do not panic. Proceed to the nearest exit and await further instruc-"
X heard, then felt, a dull boom ripple through the hallway. The viewscreen flickered, and the red lights glowed brighter. A surge of electricity hummed through the walls. One by one, the screens and lights popped and exploded, throwing the foyer into darkness.
Another boom echoed. X raced outside and looked up at the dizzying height of the tower. He saw windows blown out, and reflections of light flickered off of tumbling glass shards. A wave of heat licked his face when another explosion burst from the upper floors. Then the tower fell completely into darkness, and every other light in the vicinity shut off in a general blackout.
"Zero!" X shouted. He tried to enter the foyer again. Drained of power, the doors remained closed. He tucked his fingers inside the seam and pulled, prying them apart until he could just squeeze through. Emergency lighting fixtures switched on, providing some guidance through the foyer and into the maze of hallways.
X rounded a corner. Down the hallway, he spotted a throng of Hunters stampeding in his direction.
"X?" one of the leading Hunters said. The crowd stopped. "You're going the wrong way!"
Another said, "X! What's happening? What should we do?"
X looked grim. He said, "Headquarters is under a Maverick attack."
The crowd gasped and murmured. Though Zero remained foremost in his mind, as he looked at the terrified faces of his peers, he knew Zero would have to hold out.
X continued, "I need to get everyone out of danger and far away from headquarters. Do you know where others might be on this floor?"
The Hunters looked at each other. "I don't know," one of them said.
They froze when they heard a scream echo off of the walls.
"Oh, no!" came from the crowd. Panic washed over them, and the Hunters in the back surged against the front.
X beckoned them forward and said to them, "Come on! Keep going and stick together!" The crowd shoved past X, causing him to wince as elbows and shoulders carelessly batted him around. Once free, however, he dashed down the hallway toward the source of the scream. He rounded another corner, and, in the darkness, saw multiple pairs of red lights hovering in front of a classroom. X recognized the fluttering wings of several mechaniloid bats.
"Hey!" X shouted. The noise drew their attention, and they swooped in toward X.
Surprised by their speed - but not off-guard - X retracted his hand and fired his buster. The shots demolished the bats with ease. Their pieces littered the floor, and they crunched under X's feet as he ran to the classroom. He approached the door and worked to release the manual locking mechanism. It clicked, and he pushed the door aside. In one of the opposite corners of the room, he found two Hunters, cowering in fear.
"Don't kill us!" one of them shouted. "Someone save us!"
"It's OK!" X said. "The way is clear at the moment, but you need to get out of here. Now!"
"X!" the Hunters said in disbelief. "Th-thank you!"
They darted past X. The overwhelming extent of his task hit him when he realized he had many more rooms - and floors - to check for survivors. He steeled himself as he left the classroom and carried on. He banged a fist on each door, pausing to listen for other trapped Hunters.
After time had passed - too much time, X thought - he cleared the first floor. He entered a stairwell - one of many throughout the building - but stopped short when a second crush of panicked Hunters spilled down the steps.
"Hurry up!" one of the Hunters shouted. Pushed from behind, a few tumbled down the last few steps and fell hard onto the floor. X rushed over to help them up.
X supported one of the Hunters up by their elbow. "Everyone, stay calm," X said.
"They're shooting people!" X heard someone answer.
The Hunter jerked his elbow from X's grasp and said, "Get out of our way!"
Before X could respond, the crowd rushed forward again and pinned X against the wall. As soon as they passed, X flew up the stairs to the second level. At the last few steps, he heard a terrible commotion coming from just outside the exit door. X gripped the handle and flung it open.
"No! No! Stop it!"
A flash of light made X flinch. A Hunter stumbled forward, then fell flat on his stomach, motionless. An eddy of smoke wafted from a deep shot to his back. Beyond him, another Hunter fell on her backside. She shrieked, "What's happening!"
X dove out from the doorway. He met with two hoganmers, each equipped with a pistol and a shield.
"Take the stairs and get out of here!" X said to the Hunter, waving her behind him.
"X? How can someone like you stand up to them?" she asked.
X answered, "I will, somehow!"
She said nothing more, finding her footing and dashing to the stairwell. Meanwhile, X took aim.
"Target acquired," one of the hoganmer said in its robotic voice. X glanced at the fallen Hunter beside him. A rage he never felt before grew in his chest. He charged his buster gun, feeling the energy stored there pulse at capacity. The hoganmers simultaneously fired their pistols at X.
"Damn you, Mavericks!" X shouted. He leaped to the side, dodging the pistol shots. He brought up his buster and released it. The charged shot tore off the head of one hoganmer. The robot's body wobbled, then fell forward on its shield and clattered against the polished metal floor.
Unfazed by its comrade's demise, the other hoganmer pulled its shield higher to cover its face. It pointed its pistol out from behind the barrier and fired blindly at X. With a battle cry, X charged his buster once more, dashing through the barrage of gunfire and leaping up and over the hoganmer. With vastly inferior reflexes, the robot blew to pieces when X landed behind it and released a charged shot into its back.
The commotion drew the attention of a gun volt further down the hall. X took notice as the hulking, bipedal launcher pivoted, turning towards X with heavy steps. It then hunched down and opened a pair of shutters on each shoulder. Out of the barrels came a salvo of rockets headed straight for X.
Charging his buster again, X ran headlong toward the gun volt. The rockets came but a few meters before X released the charge. The shot disintegrated the rockets in a fiery burst and continued on to strike the gun volt. White hot sparks rained from where the buster shot collided, causing the gun volt to stagger backward.
X cried out again, pelting the wounded machine with a rapid stream of energy bullets. The assault pushed the gun volt back until one bullet broke through its dense plating. The rupture spurted fire, and its legs gave way. The machine collapsed onto its back, and a fatal explosion ripped it to pieces. A wave of hot air blew against X, and he lifted his palm to protect his face.
Past the wreckage, X noticed another crowd of Hunters, all cowering from the violence. As their feet rested more slain Hunters.
"Hey!" X shouted to the crowd. "Come this way!"
"It's X!" one of the Hunters said. The crowd tiptoed over their fallen comrades and crept past the remains of the gun volt. As they passed X, each Hunter looked upon him with awe- and with fear. "I can't believe it," one of the Hunters said to another. "He's just a B Class."
X paid little attention as he waved them all past and corraled them toward the stairwell. "Hurry and get out of here as fast as you can," he said to them. When the door closed behind the group, X started off again down the hallway, jumping over the destroyed hoganmers and gun volt.
"Interesting. Very interesting," a voice echoed. "I wondered what foolish soul had been making such a mess."
"Who's there?" X said, coming to a halt.
"With a talent for battle such as yours, it's a shame you couldn't come to see our side of things," the voice replied.
"Show yourself!" X shouted.
"Over here!"
An unnerving hum came from behind X. He spun around, buster aimed straight ahead. His arm dropped, however, when he recognized the figure before him.
"Boomer Kuwanger, don't tell me," X said in despair. "How could you?"
"How? All I needed was a surge from the city's power plant and a few well-placed charges to utterly cripple the Hunters. I was worried that a dullard like Spark Mandrill would bungle it, but the timing couldn't have been more perfect. For my success, I will rule this very tower!" Kuwanger spread his arms wide.
"That's not what I meant, Kuwanger. Don't give in to madness!" X said.
Kuwanger crossed his arms. "I think you've mispronounced 'genius'. Granted, the two can be hard to distinguish. I'd argue it's a matter of perspective. Come, isn't it about time that you changed yours?"
"I want no part in Sigma's schemes!"
"Unfortunate. Sigma is a very generous Commander. In all my years as a researcher, I've never had an opportunity to apply the full extent of my genius, not even with the Maverick Hunters. Regulations this, funding that! The humans and their Reploid pets are short-sighted and inefficient. Joining Sigma is the only logical step for my career. He, too, can give you a promising future."
"If you've joined the likes of Sigma, then you're far from what I'd consider a genius, Kuwanger. Any Reploid with intelligence would know he doesn't care about their genius nor their career."
"Such rigid thinking means you'll never know your true potential, X." Kuwanger placed a finger to his ear, then glanced over X's shoulder. "Alas, your destruction will have to wait."
"What?" X said. He twisted to look behind his shoulder. He scanned the debri of the gun volt, puzzled. He turned back toward Kuwanger, but the Maverick had already disappeared.
He turned back around. He then spotted a pair of eyes emerging from between the scattered pieces or wreckage. Narrow and piercing, they belonged to an animal of some kind, skulking low as though stalking X. The machine then stepped through the smoke, revealing it's wolflike form. X turned fully to face the creature and raised his buster arm, for he recognized the build from Zero's placement test. Unlike in the testing chamber, however, this creature was no hologram. Nonetheless, its placid demeanor caused X to lower his buster arm as it slinked forward and came to rest on its haunches.
A voice came from the wolf, sounding through speakers. "Greetings, X. Allow me to acquaint you with my Velguarder, my most loyal friend in all the world. He's an excellent bloodhound."
"Sigma," X answered.
"I wish for you to meet me at the terrace overlooking the Central Highway. I have something very important to show you. Consider it my closing argument for my case against the status quo. Velguarder here will escort you."
X said, "Forget it, Sigma. I won't abandon the innocent lives still trapped here just to amuse a madman."
"Let me solve that problem for you. If you agree, then I will temporarily call off my troops to allow those so-called innocent lives to escape unharmed. Refuse, and I will make sure none your feeble comrades are left alive after tonight. I think the choice here is obvious."
"I'm supposed to trust your word?"
X heard chuckling crackle through the speaker. "Of course not," Sigma said. "But you have little alternative."
X growled, but protracted his buster hand. "Then we'll settle this now, Sigma."
A/N:
The cutting continues. I dropped the scene with X and Zero having a chat in the MH lobby. I like it better though, that X has no idea what happened up there (not sure if I do either TBH). All he knows is that stuff is going down the shitter fast.