It had already been three days since Chosen 04 and the newly-dubbed Chosen 05 –AKA Neal and Pandora- left the Grand Nuage in order to hopefully divide the enemy's forces by shifting their presence elsewhere, should they attempt to mount another attack. In that short time, everyone there had been able to get back onto their regular sleeping schedule, the immediate dangers having passed.
As for the official statement made by Inner Peace's mayor, the only thing he could say to the situation was that five mavericks had started rampaging in the middle of the city. Since there was no evidence pointing to Legion involvement, or Neal's existence, and because of the lack of public awareness of the Mega Men and the Game of Destiny, they had gotten off mostly Scott-free. However, it would be a while before Neal could go back there openly, since if someone recognized his face from that day and they were able to link him to that incident, that issue may be opened back up for investigation. After all, it only takes one person in a crowd creaming to cause mass panic and/or hysteria.
Oh what ftimid creatures these humans be.
Anyway, during that time, Prairie had begun doing what her sister had done so long ago, and began scanning the world, remote locations in general, for the probable location of enemy bases, since back then, the enemy mechaniloids seemed to favor more remote locations, like the depths of a forest, the bottom of the ocean, the middle of a desert, or the polar ice caps.
As of the third morning, she had detected increased activity at the south pole, close to the center of Antarctica. Since whatever Guardian troops stationed there were rotated out bianually, and the small base they had been able to covertly establish was only occupied for a couple weeks every three months, she wasn't able to get any real intel, and thus, would need to send someone, or to be specific, two someones, to the potential enemy base.
Hopefully without altering Legion too much in the process.
"Hmmmm…" Prairie said to herself as she examined the different maps of Antarctica, the information layered so she could clear it out of the way when she needed to look at a specific point. "Things sure have changed in the past hundred years."
And changed they had. While in the 2000s Antarctica was merely a large continent on the "bottom of the world", surrounded by freezing oceans, icebergs, and the temperature range which rarely rose above 14.6 degrees Celsius (58.3 degrees F) in its warmest periods, its then-recorded low at -89.6 degrees Celsius (-129 F). Average calculated wind speeds were measured at 67 kph, and combined with the temperatures, hypothermia and death could set in within minutes unless those there were very prepared.
As it was now, the amount of icebergs around Antarctica had increased greatly, nearly double what it originally was. The temperature had also dropped by five degrees at its highest and lowest, the wind speed increasing to an even 70 kph. The wildlife however, was thriving moreso then in the 2000s, due to the fact that so few people ever went there any more, their movements being restricted to whatever shoreline could be navigated through the icy waters and few wide berths between icebergs.
However, if the scans she had received were anything to go by, the temperature of Antarctica seemed to actually be dropping even further. Now, even though the wildlife had been able to adapt to the decreased temperatures, that was only because the change was very gradual over every few decades. If the simulations she'd run were correct, then the temperature decrease would drop too low for the wildlife to be able to adapt to it fast enough, and the iceberg concentration would thicken considerably. If left unchecked, the potential for the ice to spread to the southern continent of Australia, regardless of its year-round warm temperatures, was a very real threat.
The only conclusions she could figure out were; A) The decrease in temperature and increase in wind speed was a natural phenomena, and couldn't be changed that easily; Or B) Whoever was pulling Legion's strings had something to do with it, the probability of an Ice-based maverick being stationed within some sort of base very high as well.
Given the fact that all the "natural disasters" that nearly befell Area Zero were caused by synthetic means, with one of the Einherjar Eight Warriors guarding the controls or core to each device, the likelihood of the prior –given her experiences- was more unlikely the one might need to think.
"Operators, have you been able to determine any remotely-safe routes to Antarctica's heart?" Prairie asked.
"We've only been able to determine a single feasible route to the continent's interior," Gardenia stated. "The only other route has been judged too dangerous."
"From meteorological data, we've been able to determine that moving to the continent's interior by air would be nearly impossible, even for a ship like the Grand Nuage," Tulip continued.
"Because the wind moves in neither a consistent, nor predictable pattern, accompanied by the risk of the engines freezing over while en route, the only route available is by land, but that route is still dangerous due to wind speed and temperatures," Marguerite finished. "I am afraid we may not be able to get anyone into the field to confirm whether or not the enemy has established a base. The natural barriers are simply too great for conventional means."
Prairie put a hand to her chin in thought as she looked the holographic map over. When she scanned the coast, something caught her eye. "There, by the northwestern shore. What's that?"
Tulip looked at the map to where Prairie was pointing. "It appears to be a fissure, the average width six meters in most areas. In other words, a gap of around twenty feet at the most. Why?"
"That's how we'll get in," Prairie answered as she highlighted the fissure, which stretched from the northwestern shore to a third of the way from Antarctica's center. "There's an air pocket a few miles inland, and it'll be our best shot of getting anyone there."
"But commander, any safe underwater craft would be too large to navigate past the ice fields, and because the temperature is below zero year-round, any diving team sent would freeze to death within minutes," Gardenia stated.
"Don't worry about that. If I didn't know the two of them could get to their destination, I wouldn't even consider sending them in," Prairie replied, thankful to find a solution to the problem at hand.
"But who could you mean?" Marguerite asked.
"A pair of Mega Men who can adapt to nearly any situation," Prairie answered. "Prep any available communication channels for a completely untraced transmission. If the enemy is tracing public lines, then we can't take any chances."
In the shade of a large boulder in the middle of the Outlands, Neal and Pandora sat eating a simple lunch while they looked over the World Map they were provided with. Various points of data were shown, to help indicate where they should go next, such as enemy movements, the "tightness" of mechaniloid patrols, and other such factors like known aggression levels, stores for buying much-needed supplies, and any available Guardian units. The locations of established towns and outposts included on the map as well.
"Where do you suppose we should go next?" Pandora asked as she munched on her sandwich.
"Well… The nearest city is to the northeast," Neal answered. "It isn't necessarily a walled city, so we can leave at any time without worry about road blocks, but it's still a good idea to keep our guard up. We should try and maintain a low profile. Especially since there aren't any Guardian units on the map until we hit Europe."
Pandora nodded in recognition, but instantly clung to Neal's arm as the sound of synthetic growling echoed from the distance. The two of them looked out and saw a half-dozen mechanical wolves with single optical receptors. They had beaten-up grey armor, and looked the mechaniloid's equivalent to rabid dogs.*
"Neal! What are those things?" Pandora cried as she pointed at them.
"Must be rogue mechaniloids," Neal said as he walked toward them, much to Pandora's surprise since he had yet to megamerge. "Usually mechaniloids obey those who either built them or turned them on, but sometimes a few are able to break out of their master's control. Their intelligence is sub-standard at best, but they're still able to plan with each other to an extent, making them very dangerous, regardless of which make they are."
"But are you really going to fight them as you are?" Pandora asked as he continued to walk over to them in his human state, hoping that Neal wasn't letting the whole Mega Man thing get to his head.
"Don't worry about me," Neal said as the six Garm were almost on top of them. "Besides. I've always wanted to take part in a shootout," he said as he parted his coat, revealing a pair of Buster-Pistols once concealed beneath shoulder holsters..
The Buster-Pistols themselves were a simple dark grey, almost purple shade, with brown leather-gripped handles, visible red-cylindered energy chambers, silver bolts offsetting the sides above the handle, and white armor with two black stripes on both sides and a purple crosshairs on the ends of the barrels.*
For a moment Pandora was filled with awe at the dramatic unveiling of the twin weapons, but soon realized that she may need to megamerge with Model M in order to become the Mega Man of Hope, how she now calls it since her new life is the living personification of hope.
Cue Mega Man Zero 2 Soundtrack – Departure
As Neal facedthe six Garm, he reached up at his collar and removed his trench coat in a dramatic fashion before tossing it over his right shoulder to Pandora. He then decked out his pistols and twirled them on his fingers before pointing them at the first Garm that lunged at him, leaping into the air above him in an attempt to catch him from above.
As he was about to lunge at Neal from above, Neal raised both pistols at their intended target and pulled the triggers.
Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu!*
Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu!
The Garm was swiftly gunned out of the sky and fell to the ground in a broken heap at his feet as it fell short, several holes punched through its armor before the remains of its internal mechanisms blew up.
The next two Garm charged at him from both sides, but Neal crossed his right arm in front of him, his left arm behind, and fired at both of their faces. His intention wasn't for accuracy, but he'd seen it in an action film and just had to try it once in his lifetime, all circumstances considered.
Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu!
The majority of the shots missed, but not all of them needed to hit since one or two shots hit the Garm's optical receptors, permanently blinding them as they began to stumble around blindly. They were gunned down a moment later.
Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu!
Neal quickly turned away from the last two Garm before heading to the other side of the rock from before, pulling Pandora with him as the mechaniloids followed after them.
They quickly ran to the back of the rock formation, but to their confusion, there was nothing there they could detect.
Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu!
Suddenly, the most aged Garm –obviously the leader- was gunned down out of nowhere. The remaining Garm looked around in calculating panic, but managed to look up before it met the fate of its fallen brothers.
Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu! Chu!
From a ledge on the rock formation, Neal twirled his twin pistols on his fingers before blowing the imaginary smoke from the barrels and placing them back under his shoulder holsters and put on his trench coat. "Man, I didn't even have to megamerge that time," he said happily as he looked at the smoldering remains of the Garm. "Guess this is what it feels like to be in the firing end for once," he added remembering the times he'd been shot at, and how good it felt to be the shooter instead of the shootee.
Pandora simply clung to his leg in fear, having felt completely defenseless without her Biometal to protect her. Such was the fate of those bound to Model W for so long like she. A moment later, Neal looked down and took notice.
"Hey, don't worry Pandora," he said as he kneeled down and looked Pandora in the eyes. "As long as I'm around, I won't let anything hurt you. I made that promise, and I'm going to keep that promise."
"*sniff* Thank you, Neal," Pandora nodded then wrapped her arms around him in gratitude, still shaking a little from before.
Neal was a little bit awkward with the current situation after a few minutes, but eventually returned the hug. "Uh… You're welcome."
Pandora continued to shake for a minute after the Garm had been gunned down, making Neal increasingly uncomfortable in the process. Whether it was by the sun beating down on him in his black trench coat or the girl who he didn't really know his feelings for hugging him for so long was up to debate.
"Um. Pandora. Can you let me go?" Neal asked scratching his cheek. "We kinda need to get going."
Pandora immediately realized what she was doing and jumped off of him as though she couldn't do it fast enough. "Oh. Right. Sorry," she apologized, a tinge of pink on her cheeks.
"Uh, it's fine, don't worry about it," Neal said as he walked over towards the bike.
"Oh, by the way Neal, could you tell me again where you got those?" Pandora asked, looking the twin weapons over curiously. "You never told me you kept other weapons on you. Aside from Model E I mean."
Neal took a breath as to when he remembered getting those. "Well until today I didn't really. However that changed yesterday..." he said as he looked across the Outlands.
FLASHBACK START
Cue Mega Man ZXA Soundtrack - Den of Hunters
After Neal had gone to the repair shop on the Grand Nuage and talked to Vent, Neal decided that before he left, he needed to thank Ashe and Grey for keeping him under control when they first met. Understandably, it wasn't in the best circumstances, and he wanted to make sure what he did didn't leave a foul taste in their mouths. In a sense.
He walked through the Hunters' Camp after arriving from the Transerver, and after asking a few Hunters around the camp for directions, he finally came to a large steel container repurposed to be a home for one, or two people, at the back of the grounds.
"Hello?" Neal asked as he knocked on the door. "Ashe. Grey. Is this the right place?"
"Who is it?" a female voice on the other side asked, obviously Ashe's.
"It's me, Neal," he answered. "Can I come in. I'm about to head out, and I wanted to thank you in person."
The door opened, and the silver-haired Hunter stepped out. As soon as she did, she looked him over, especially the right side of his face, since she hadn't seen it until now.
"Well at least the right side of your face isn't disfigured or anything," Ashe said shrugging her shoulders, since from what she's read in books or seen on TV, guys who usually wore masks on one side of their face or all of it tended to be disfigured in one way or another. "So, are you gonna come in, or are you going to just stand there all day?" she asked impatiently.
Neal sighed as he walked into the large metal crate. She may be cute, but she's different then Prairie, Pandora and Aile. Wait why'd I just say that? Oh, right. Adolesence.
As soon as he entered, he was greeted by the sight of a semi-well-kept home. The table to the side of the room had a few plates on it, there was a somewhat-ratty couch in the center of the room, facing a TV with a makeshift antennae on it. In the back was a pair of cots with some blankets and pillows scattered, and in one corner was a work table with various tools scattered around. In what looked like the kitchen, a grey-haired reploid kid was doing the dishes while wearing an apron in a somewhat degrading manner.
"It's not much, but its home," Ashe said proudly as she settled herself onto the couch. "Just don't go on a killing spree and destroy everything or anything," she added, leveling a glare at him.
"I'll uh, keep that in mind," Neal said as he stepped over the scattered tools in the makeshift house.
As Neal walked forward, his foot suddenly got caught on something heavy, causing him to nearly trip over. When he looked at what he had tripped on, he saw that it was a small crate filled with blasters of various size and type, and laying on the top was a red, white, and purple-colored W-shaped Biometal with light blue optics and a bolt above its "face".
"Hey, watch where you're walkin'!" the Biometal spoke as it floated up at his face. "You nearly knocked me and my bed over!"
"Oh, you must be Model A," Neal said as he plucked the mouthy Biometal out of the air, ignoring it's ranting about him 'watching his fingers'. "I'd heard about a 'chatty little thing', but didn't think much of it until now."
"You've got that right! Now put me down!" Model A ordered.
"If you insist," Neal responded by letting go, the mouthy Biometal clattering against the floor due to the abruptness of being dropped.
"Well you didn't have to be so abrupt about it," Model A groaned as he settled himself back into his bed.
"I'm guessing the kid in the kitchen is Grey," Neal asked.
Grey turned around upon being addressed. When he saw Neal, he suddenly panicked and brought out his blaster.
"Yah!" Neal cried as Grey fired a shot at him, quickly ducking under the table before grabbing Model A again after plucking him out of his bed once again.
"What're you doin' with Model A?" Ashe demanded.
"Yeah! What she said!"
"A potential projectile weapon, and if necessary, a shield," Neal answered with a tatful look on his face.
"Hey! I ain't some softball you can throw through people's windows!" Model A whined as he tried to free himself from the dark-haired boy's grip. "Now put me down!"
"Just as soon as Grey puts down that gun," Neal said as he peered around the far side of the couch.
"S-Sorry," Grey apologized as he put his weapon back at his side. "When I saw you, I sort of overreacted."
"And why exactly did you overreact?" Neal asked.
"Well…" Grey started.
Flashback-within-a-Flashback Start
Right as Grey was about to get up from the ground where he was kneeling, a white-clawed hand suddenly burst out of the ground in front of him and took him by the throat.
"Oh boy," he muttered as a pair of murderous eyes shot out of the ground in front of him. "YAH!" he cried as he was lifted into the air, then slammed back into the ground face-first. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"
For the next minute or so, as Berserk Neal slammed Grey's face into the ground, he continued push himself out of the street despite the other's efforts to pry him off. Since any attacks used could hurt grey as well, they had to do it the old fashioned way.
Thankfully, or at least not for Grey, Berserk Neal was completely preoccupied with beating the living daylights out of him to take notice.
Flashback-within-a-Flashback End
"I still get flashbacks," Grey muttered, a visible chill going up his spine.
"Yeah… Sorry about that," Neal apologized. When he looked back down, he saw something in Model A's "bed" that caught his eye.
"Hey what're you doing?" Model A demanded as Neal picked him up again before chucking him onto the couch. After picking through the box, he finally found what had caught his eye. "These look like perfectly good blasters. Why don't you use these?" he asked, holding up two identical blasters.
"Oh, I could never get them to work the way I wanted them to," Ashe replied. "Shame too. I thought they'd make good weapons. Of course, that's what happens when you pick up weapons from the salvage pile. Even when they look decent."
"If I can make them work better, can I have them?" Neal asked hopefully, intrigued and excited by the challenge he'd just issued.
"Sure, I guess," Ashe said shrugging her shoulders. "But just for the record, no one at camp has been able to make them work since they were found. What makes you think you can pull it off?"
"I studied Blaster Mechanics for a year," Neal said as he took the two pistols and set them down on the table after clearing a space. He then took a screwdriver and removed the bolts on one of the sides, before delicately removing the outer casing after taking off the white armoring over the end of the barrel.
"Yeah, it's complicated, I know," Ashe said as she looked at the various circuits and mechanics of the blasters.
Neal looked the circuits paths over until he reached for a soldering tool and a wire cutter. He then moved one wire and connected the end to a separate circuit, soldering it into place. He then looked over the white armor and took a prier and began to mess with the recoil mechanism.
Ashe and Grey then spent the better part of an hour watching as Neal continued to work on the twin blasters, occasionally digging through the drawers for parts or salvaging them from other blasters as he split the casing in half, in a state of awe, though more from the latter than the prior. Some parts he placed inside the guns and began integrating them into their internal mechanisms, but others that were simply too worn out or not compatible he threw in the trash can.
At the end of the hour or so, Neal reapplied the outer casings and reattached the white armor. A sigh escaped his lips as he wiped some sweat from his forehead, this being one of the most mentally trying experiences he'd had in a while as he wiped the crease off his hands and shook his clothing free of metal shavings.
Ashe just blinked a few times before speaking up. "What did you just do in the last hour?"
"Yeah, it looked like you just took different pieces out of the guns and stuck them into the blasters," Grey said from by the sink. "How will doing all that make it work."
"Oh that's easy. Well, not really, but you know what I mean," Neal said as he held the twin pistols in his hands. "I noticed that the gun wasn't rapid-fire enabled, so I linked the firing mechanism to the energy chamber through a condensed loop-circuit. I also shortened the wiring between the battery and firing chamber, changing the time between the time the trigger is pulled to the plasma bullets being fired from .5 seconds so .20 seconds. I also noticed the recoil wasn't strong enough to handle rapid-fire capabilities without sacrificing accuracy, so I balanced out the core weight and replaced the triggers to help keep my aim in alignment. For the recoil itself I polished and re-coated the cylinder cartridge bores, then tightened the cylinder receiver spring after honing the latch to stop it from jerking back too much upon firing. I also swapped out the battery chamber for a more recent model of smaller size and greater capacity, that way the blasters would could work longer between cooling periods for the recharge, and increasing the damage of the bullets to some degree as well. The firing rate should be between .5 to .75 shots a second fired if my math is correct," he said holding a piece of scratch paper that had a random jumble of mathematical calculations on it that appeared to be math of some sort.*
Ashe and Grey just stared dumbfounded at the blasters Neal held in his hands. Guessing from what he'd explained, he'd not only enabled rapid-fire, but also increased the power, accuracy, and cut the recoil in half with the various upgrades he'd performed.
"Hey by the way, would you happen to have some shoulder holsters for these?" Neal asked as he looked around the room. "If I carry them in my pockets, I'm afraid I'll either not be able to get to them when I really need to, or I may end up shooting myself in the foot."
Ashe just shook her head as she went to her closet. "Over here. I think I have a few holsters lying around."
She didn't like the fact that the kid had just scammed her out of a pair of perfectly good Blaster Pistols, but in retrospect, she did say if he could make them work he could have them.
"Hey, while you're at it, you think you could look at my pistol?" she asked as she unlatcher her weapon from the back of her belt.
FLASHBACK END
"I had gotten my Blaster Permit a while ago, but never got around to getting the blasters themselves," Neal said with an embarrased sigh. "You either need to be in the military, police force, or the Hunters Guild in order to get blasters at most places anyway, so this works out just fine for me."
"Ah, I see," Pandora nodded as she hopped behind him onto the motorcycle. "So where are we going now?"
Neal looked into the satchel he had placed in the sidecar and saw that it was nearly empty. "We've been on the road for about three days now, and our food supplies are almost gone. We'll have to stop by the next town or outpost before we go any further."
With that being said, Neal pulled the throttle back, the Zero-01 shooting off into the distance.
Meanwhile, back at the Hunter Camp, Ashe was lying on the couch polishing her pistol while some music from the radio played. At the moment, Grey was sleeping on the cot, snoring lightly as all the chores for the day had been done.*
A few minutes later, a whirring sound came from her shelf. When she looked up, she saw the Comm. Link Prairie had given her vibrating against the shelf, inching closer to the edge of the shelf by the second.
When it fell over, Ashe caught it in her hand and looked it over. "Where was the 'On' button on this thing again?" she asked herself as she fumbled around with the device for a few seconds before finding it, attaching it to the side of her head as the communication came through. "Hello?"
While Ashe continued to chat over the Comm. Link, Grey rolled over on the cot, just about to get to sleep when he suddenly felt his entire world being yanked out from under him.
"Up and at 'em sleepyhead!" Ashe ordered after yanking the cot right out from beneath him, "We've got a new mission."
"Ashe…" Grey moaned as he lifted himself from the floor. "If you've got a mission, why don't you just go yourself. I can just stay here and watch over the house."
"Don't think you can just pulla 'Luigi'* one me," Ashe stated as she plucked Model A out of his box and got her blaster ready. "The mission pays double if we both go, and we need the cash."
"But why exactly do I have to go?" Grey asked. "Maybe I just don't feel like it."
"Hey, don't forget, you're living under my roof, and using my Biometal, so until both change, you're coming with me," Ashe argued. "Now get your gear and come with me. We have just enough time to get briefed on our mission before we have to leave."
"Ugh… yes ma'am," Grey grumbled as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes.
NOTICE: From now on the * (asterisk) will be used to connect pieces of the story to the Author's Notes at the bottom of the page, since a reader was kind enough to point out that the "Author's Note:" tabs in the middle of the chapters kinda interrupted the flow of the story. At least this way that won't be an issue any more.
It's similar in a way to how footnotes are used in some documents and stories. I seem to remember that one story was structured around footnotes, with dialogue actually being exchanged that way in a third-person perspective.
I hope that this is a better solution to the problem, then what I'd been doing before. Anyway, here are the Author's Notes if you're interested in those at all.
Author's Notes:
* The mechaniloids that tried to attack Neal and Pandora were the Garm mechaniloids from Mega Man Zero 1, except with grey paint as opposed to the usual green.
* The blasters Neal uses are the same as Axl's twin blasters he normally uses.
* The onomatopoeia "Chu" is simply how I think the sound of the bullets coming out of the buster/pistols in the Mega Man Zero/ZX/Advent series sound.
* The lengthy explanation for how Neal fixed & modded the Buster Pistols is based on a similar topic from the game, Red Steel II for the Nintento Wii.
* Once Ashe rescued Grey, she held it over his head, and now he does at least 2/3 of the chores since he's living under her roof.
* My definition of "a Luigi" is when one person goes on an adventure/to do a chore, and the brother/sibling just stays at home and watches the house. For those of you who've played Paper Mario or the like, you don't need a footnote to know this.