Mega Man X: The Mist Enigma
Chapter 24: Deus Ex Machina
As I healed myself, the Hunters were being manhandled by a void of emotion Gate. Whether it was Gate's signature energy balls, the red blade, or transforming his cape into swords, X and company were not faring too well. I gritted my teeth in half anger and half concern. Gate's attacks weren't the problem. They were all easily avoidable. The Mist was the real problem. It must have found its way deep into their systems, sapping all their strength.
In time, the Hunters couldn't even stand up. They were on their knees grunting and coughing. Gate was still blank. He had stopped his assault and floated over to Axl. Axl was on his stomach, wings damaged. Gate picked him up by the neck. Axl softly choked trying to raise his arm.
"The New-Generation prototype," Gate began. "The new breed of Reploid. Those who can become Mavericks by their own choice. Whose power rivals that of Sigma. And your level of power isn't even in the same ball park. Even with Lumine's abilities, you don't stand a chance. Maybe if you went Maverick, you could defeat me. But you would never dare do that, would you?"
Gate dropped Axl back onto the ground and walked over to Zero. His armor was nearly coming off, his green headlights smashed. Gate stomped on Zero's back, forcing him onto his face.
"You could probably beat me if you were still a Maverick. You were the original. The very first Maverick. 'The one who destroys Reploids.'"
Zero growled, "Don't you dare call me that you son of a bitch!"
Gate turned his head slightly. "Still have the energy to talk back, eh? All that Maverick strength must still be in you somewhere. Could you someday unleash it on the world again? Could you be stopped?"
X's helmet was ready to crumble away. "You're sick, Gate! Playing mind games with us when we're down. You're worse than a Maverick. You're insane!"
Gate kicked X onto his back. "Is it truly insane just to follow my master's orders? I'm a robot. That's what we were designed to do: obey. So don't get uppity with me X. Talk to the true mastermind. If you live to see him that is."
"We will. Once you're gone, we'll find your master and defeat him too!"
"Wanna bet? I'm sure Zero and Axl have some interesting things buzzing in their minds. What if they do decide to go Maverick? You would have to stop them. But could you find it in you to kill your comrades? Your friends?"
"You're a sick man, Gate! They'll never become Mavericks! Never!"
Gate kicked X in the chin. X skid a few feet across the floor, eyes white. Gate then turned to Dynamo. Dynamo's armor was completely smashed. His helmet was missing a half. A leg and an arm were gone. Gate grabbed Dynamo's face and lifted him up. Dynamo dangled lifelessly.
"You're the most pathetic of the bunch. You don't care about the fate of the world. You don't care who lives and who dies. You only care about your pay. Sounds like something a bad guy would be like, right? Then why are you siding with these good guys? To save your own behind, that's why. You believed that they would win, so you stuck with them so that you'd survive."
Mist engulfed Gate's arm and quickly spread to Dynamo's face. "I don't like any one of you. But I dislike you the most right now. You'll be the first to die."
A beam of green light came from the side of the room and pierced Gate's arm. He cried in pain as he dropped Dynamo onto the ground. He looked to see where the blast came from, as did I.
"What was that!?" we both shouted. The blast had come from a pink buster. "Alia!?" She began walking forward.
"I've seen enough. And I have the tool that can defeat you, Gate." She then blasted the green beam at each Hunter and me. All of us except Dynamo rose to our feet.
"Wow, I feel like a million bucks!" Axl smiled as he spread his wings.
Zero twisted his wrists. "Yeah, thanks a million."
X held his forehead. "Ditto. But how?"
"We at the base were able to reverse engineer the Mist and create an antivirus," Alia answered. "The Mist is in fact a series of nanomachines with the Nightmare integrated into their systems. So we made nanomachines that hunt down and destroy the Mist nanomachines. They also act as an immunization. You'll never be affected by the Mist again."
We all smiled and looked to each other. We jumped onto Alia and hugged her. "You're a lifesaver!" "We owe you big time!"
She blushed. "Oh, come on! It wasn't just me! Thank everyone at the base!"
A loud thud broke up our Kodak moment. Gate's forearm had fallen off. "Whoop-de-doo, Alia. You all made a counter to the Mist. Congratulations. But just because you can't be infected doesn't mean I can't still use it. I can still crush you all with brute force."
We let go of Alia. She stared Gate in the eye. "Then do it." The Hunters were a little confused, but I understood perfectly. She wanted to see if Gate could do it. Rather, she wanted to see if Gate's soul was still in there somewhere, buried by the Mist that was in control of his body.
Gate used the Mist to reconstruct his forearm. "Fine then, Alia! I'll gladly send you to hell!" He rocketed forward with fist out, aiming for Alia's face. The Hunters drew their weapons, but I held them back.
"Just watch. She knows what she's doing."
As Gate's fist was inches away from Alia's face, he froze in air. His eyes widened. "What in the?" He tried to thrust forward, but he remained suspended in air. "Why can't I..." he struggled.
Alia smiled. "Gate would never try to hurt me. He's still in there. He won't let you touch me."
Gate drew back and clutched his head. "No! You're lying! I am Gate! I am Gate!!!" He lowered his head. Mist gathered around him. "I am Gate! I'll prove it to you by destroying you all! I was only using twenty percent of the Mist before. Let's see what you think of me when I use all of the Mist in the world!"
Gate laughed maniacally as Mist continued to gather. Suddenly, the Mist stopped. Gate looked around. "What is this? Come to me, damn you!"
A voice bellowed from the distance. "You've done enough, Gate. Stop this nonsense now."
Gate looked scared. "B...but master."
We were all surprised. "Master!?"