Since her run in with Vile, Gamma had come to realize she should perhaps take better care to listen when X warned her. She would have called him being right again annoying, but considering her predicament, she was going to pass on the thought. Not long after her waking, and his initial spewing of insults, Vile had dragged her out of the cell, ignoring her obviously frazzled mindset, and with no less amount of gloating than a clichéd criminal mastermind was expected to spout to boot. It would have set her off if she wasn't so preoccupied with looking around to assure herself this was not Hunter Base.
It was, however, beginning to get harder and harder to deny that fact, and she couldn't help but chew her lip, even more so when she noticed shapes moving in the darkness. Realizing what they were wasn't too difficult upon closer inspection; Mavericks. More of them than she would have thought were able to hide within the ruins. Like Vile, their armor was outdated, but most of them were in a state of disrepair, and in desperate need of maintenance. They seemed like ghosts, their movements slow and deliberate, and the few hissing voices that spoke rattling strangely. It didn't help the overall atmosphere of her capture, but it was their eyes that unsettled her badly, the 'irises' glossed over with scarlet that locked on her the moment she was hauled by.
"Quit squirming." Vile hissed as Gamma tried again to twist free of his grip, receiving a rough shake for her endeavors.
"Where the hell are you taking me, Vile?" She tried to put on a cold air as much as she could, glaring up at her captor, and raising her head defiantly. His cackle made her cringe, all of that bluster fading just a bit.
"You'll see, brainiac, and I do hope you'll enjoy it. I think you'll be a real hit with the others. May be just what they need…" Again she was pulled roughly, forcing her to walk faster. "Stop getting so ancy." Something in the way he spoke made all of this worse. It was moving too fast, she was hardly over seeing her home destroyed, and now she was being forced along through the blackened halls of its dilapidated remains. And by a sadistic psychopath, to add insult to injury, how wonderful. Her eyes clenched shut, trying desperately to block out the Mavericks hungrily staring, the memories, and the entire world.
This was no longer Hunter Headquarters. This wasn't home. This was a rat's nest and she had to escape from it. She may even apologize to X for running off. But she wasn't too sure of that. Not even the fear of death would really make her want to give X the opportunity of an 'I told you so'.
Still... I'd like to at least see him, maybe even those nosey Generals, before they do anything too horrible. Is that asking a lot?
She was venturing into panic-territory, so she hurriedly forced her brain to continue generating random questions, calculations. It did help for a time, but curiosity was a trait she was never quite able to shake off.
There was nothing left of the upper floors, she knew that, but the cavernous prison ward they now navigated was still partially intact. Gamma herself had memorized the layouts in the past, but necessity and 'Maverick ingenuity' had broken up paths and forked hallways that were once a single direction. The mildew infested, rusted walls seemed to stretch on forever, so much so that she was not prepared when her eyes were suddenly struck by a harsh light. She was half shoved, half stumbled into the room that housed the light, blinking rapidly to adjust her vision. It took some time, but when she could see, however, she immediately regretted being able to.
The chamber was not very large, having, of course, been a prison cell in bygone days, but unlike the rest of the aging facility, this room had been completely repaired and modified into Gamma could only call a lab. Computer monitors recording scrolling data lined the walls from floor to ceiling, corded wiring twisted round the rest of the available space, and strange machines whirred and beeped as the cords filed into them. These sites she took in quickly, even going as far as to mentally make note to try and hack these systems the split second she got the chance, but when she noticed what all of these machines were designed to maintain, everything seemed to come to a jerking halt.
There, sitting upright in a sort of throne of steel, and dormant like some grotesque statue, was what Gamma could only assume was once a Reploid.
The Reploid had been a giant in stature when it had been alive, she estimated roughly seven feet in height. Now, however, its body was torn, charred, shredded—destroyed. Whoever had gone to town on this behemoth had done a good job on making it completely unrecognizable—all except for a single, slashed piece of armor on its shoulder.
There, in faded green paint, sat the symbol 'Σ'. A whirlwind of questions burst in front of Gamma's eyes.
That really can't be him—X would have never had rested knowing he was alive—he's a pile of scrap, even if that is him he can't hurt anyone, he's far too damaged. Uncomfortably, some of Vile's words were beginning to sink in. She'd be a real hit, she'd be able to help them.
"You're trying to bring him back… you're trying to rebuild Sigma…" She whispered.
"Perceptive, as always, Gamma." The voice that replied to her was half giggle, half sneer. "My, with that sharp brain of yours, we may even be able to complete our project!" The Reploid that skulked back from behind the tarnished throne was another face Gamma had hoped and prayed was a dead one.
Theta, unfortunately, was not dead. The crazed scientist-type Reploid was alive and apparently well. If you could call psychotic 'well'. He giggled again as he approached the cyan Reploid, who had been forced to her knees by
Vile, her now frightened and wide gaze locked on the chip he twirled in his fingertips. She let her scanners rake over it quickly, and felt the cords that made up her 'muscles' tighten. A virus. It had to be.
"You see, we're missing a few key components to bring our Master's brain and body online. He cannot function in this world's new order... not without a little help."
"You're insane!" Gamma hissed, but it was quickly cut off by a yelp, Vile's hand yanking her hair enough to pull her head back. "There's no way... no way I'd help you! You're all supposed to be DEAD!"
"Well, a lot of things were supposed to be dead, dearie, but that's not always true. Hold her still. There's no telling who followed her if this is really the same Gamma." Another Maverick appeared to hold Gamma's arms tight in place, while Vile kept hold of her hair and arm. He obviously enjoyed how much she was struggling. This wasn't supposed to have happened. How did she get caught up in this so quickly? Why were they bringing Sigma back?
"We've sat too long in this hole," Theta snarled, his hand roughly seizing her helm. "And we'll no longer stand for it. And all because you've given us the perfect opportunity. I never thought anyone would be stupid enough to leave Neo Arcadia! And when I'm done purging your brain," He leaned in all too close to her face, the oily stench of his breath making her eyes sting. "I'm going to rip you to pieces and use you for scrap."
Whatever terror Gamma felt at the threat wasn't allowed to sit long. Before she could even shout a protest, Theta's thumb pressed harshly into the crystal at her forehead, yanking the port under it open. She screamed, dimly she heard it, and she knew she was thrashing, but it did little to stop the black-iridescent from it's course into her electronic brain.
All she remembered of the events that transpired next was pain. It was an excruciating, numbing, and agonizing pain that ripped through every recess of her frame. It tore into the very being of her, eating everything in its path like an acid. It wouldn't be long before it erased her entirely, and through the blaring red lines of warning text that scrolled over her text, she managed to have that one thought; she'd die here, wouldn't she?
She could see nothing now but the scarlet and black, wallowing in that pain and just hoping it would end quickly. So lost in it, she did not hear the shouting. Nor did she see the sudden burst of flame that engulfed the Maverick holding her arms. The flames rose impossibly consuming all in its path. She could faintly hear the hiss of something slicing through metal next, and an awful squealing that hurt her hearing receptors.
All of this she sensed and lost quickly, all except one single sensation; a pair of arms that wrapped about her securely, and something cold and cloth-like against her cheek. Whatever had grabbed her held her close, and it spoke softly, almost too much for her to hear. If she could have cried, even with the tremors that made her convulse, she would have.
"I've got you, Gamma. You're safe, I won't let you go."
Hey hey, we're 10 chapters in. Cool cool...
I hope you're all not getting too bored yet! ;3 Leave me your thoughts, Mimiru and I are always happy to answer questions without spoilers.
Stay tuned, I'm going to try to update these more regularly every few days!