Megaman X: Elysium Rising
Chapter 13: Wipe Away the Tears
By Genoscythe
AN: Things get a little messy past this point. I'm in the process of rewriting the earlier chapters of Elysium Rising to bring their quality up to the standards set later in the story, and while this is going on, there's going to be some discrepancies in characters, plotlines, and so on. If you're wondering what happens to Malakai, or whether the visions of X and Zero's dead lovers will have any bearing on the story, you'll be disappointed until I finish editing the next part of the storyline. If you don't mind, then by all means, read on.
Marx sat back on a hefty chunk of rubble, watching as cars pulled up to the ruins. He watched as human families welcomed back their reploid friends and drove them back to the comfort of Neo Tokyo City. He watched as lone Maverick Hunters took vehicles from the relatively undamaged hangar bay, and eventually disappear into the horizon. He also watched as Nephtis stood, much like he was, staring at the ground and avoiding anyone's gaze. Despite her outburst earlier, he felt his heart twang at the sight of her so distraught, and he regretted not being by her side.
The blonde woman who had accompanied the hunter commander earlier waved off some of her friends, then walked back to the thin gathering of hunters that had not yet been taken away. That group thinned even more as time went on. Well, what now? Marx asked himself. I can't just stand here for the rest of my life...Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He strode over to Nephtis.
"Waiting for someone?" He called out. She shook her head slowly. "How much money do you have?"
"Not enough for an apartment," she replied, seeming to already know why he had asked the question.
"Well...why don't we rent an apartment together? Pool our money, and all that. I don't have enough either."
"Not if you were the-" She paused and looked down at the meager handful of credits resting on her palm. She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. She was silent for a long while, and Marx was about to turn his back when she said, "Okay, you win. I guess I don't have much choice, do I?"
"Hey, you could always pool with someone else if I make you that uncomfortable," he reminded her. She looked downcast.
"I don't know anyone else. You're the only person that's ever stuck with me for more time than you had to," she said. I can't imagine why Marx thought, but he came close to saying it out loud.
"You got a car?" He asked, and she replied with a shake of her head. He chuckled. "Don't suppose you have any spare change to buy us a ride?"
"One of the hunters might give us a free ride," Nephtis suggested. Marx nodded.
"I'll go ask around," he said, turning around and walking back to the gathering. On his way, he tripped over a piece of debris. Cursing, he lashed out at it with his foot, kicking the small piece of rubble into the air. However, as he kicked it, he heard a familiar warble emanate from beneath it. Cursing again, he ran forward and caught the rubble as it fell. He wiped off a layer of dust and ash, and his suspicions were confirmed. "Darius!" He exclaimed, and the piece of debris snapped to attention, shaking off loose bits of ash and dirt. Beneath what he had thought was rubble, Darius's saucer eyes reverently peered out at him. Laughing, Marx wiped off the majority of the ash from his robot companion's helmet and placed it on his head. Darius settled himself in Marx's dusty brown hair and retracted into his hat, not wanting to be bothered by any more noise and confusion.
Continuing his quest for transport into the city, Marx passed the blonde woman and the hunter commander.
"How did he get past the disturbance?" The commander asked the blonde.
"I don't know...but his frequency wasn't a standard one. Completely untraceable."
"Regardless, we owe him our lives. I just hope he doesn't plan on cashing in that debt anytime soon." The commander said. Blonde looked toward the ruins.
"We're in no shape to be handing out favors, sir," she agreed. Marx had stopped walking, becoming engrossed in his eavesdropping. Commander rested his head in his large hands.
"I never thought something like this could happen, Alia..." The Commander said in a voice soaked in confusion. Both had a faraway look on their faces, ones Marx recognized as those worn by all the other Maverick Hunters. Now, he was beginning to understand exactly what they were going through.
Even with Commander Genoscythe's reassurances, X was worried to death about Alia and the HQ personnel. His company had all split apart and taken their separate routes through the city, and now he walked along an inner city street with Zero, Axl, Selene and Endymion at his side. Selene appeared to be on the verge of tears, Axl trying desperately to comfort her. Zero wore his usual mask of apathy, and Endymion looked as emotionless as always. His eyes never moved from under the brim of his flared silver helmet, and throughout the entire trip never spoke a word. X glanced over at Selene, and wondered if all the personality had been put into her instead of her counterpart.
Suddenly, Zero ran forth and viciously kicked a stray can into the air, cursing after it as the small piece of tin soared down the street. "Damn it!" He yelled, his mask falling away. "We were right there! We could've done something!" He yelled at the can, which had only recently landed four blocks away. X held up a hand.
"Now you're starting to sound like me, Zero. Look, we did the best we could. Besides, I told you HQ's personnel are safe."
"And how the hell would you know!" Zero turned around, and X took a step back. The look in his friend's eyes was more than a little discomforting.
X stuttered. "It's...just my intuition acting up...Don't worry. We'll get back to HQ, we'll deal with this whole mess, and we'll strike back at the mavericks."
"How!"
"We can work out the details when we get there."
"We've got nothing left, X. Nothing but the equipment we've got right here. Tell me how we're gonna take on the mavericks with one beam saber and one buster!"
"What's gotten into you! All we've ever needed is one beam saber and one buster! You're not yourself, Zero," X had finally gotten through, and the fierce aura growing inside Zero began to fade into emptiness. He looked, as a man who forgot who he was, at his hands.
"What...what'd I do?" Zero asked slowly, and for the first time in his life X realized that Zero was truly scared.
"...you just kinda lost it for a second."
"Who'd I hurt?" X was surprised by Zero's question.
"Nobody's hurt, unless you wanna count that can you kicked."
Zero completely ignored X's joke. "Good," he said, but before X could even open his mouth, he added, "Don't ask." X nodded slowly, looking and feeling completely bewildered.
"If you haven't already found out, Maverick Hunter HQ is destroyed, and Zero is in the inner city right now. I suggest you make your move now," Pyre Mystic clutched the handheld comm. link tightly.
"...okay. Guess it's now or never. What happened to Stinger, Di?"
"I thought you'd gotten over calling me 'Di'."
"Come on, it's got a nice ring to it. Better than Diamond Edge, anyway," Mystic chided.
"...whatever. Stinger is dead, for good this time. Unlike me, he was foolish enough to charge into battle with second-rate spare parts."
"That's good. I don't want him going after you for leaving the battlefield."
"You don't need to worry about me. Just focus on Zero, and remember everything I've taught you."
"Get him into bed as soon as possible, and kill him in the same fashion. I remember," Mystic recited the instructions she had been given.
"I'd never normally ruin another girl's fun, but killing him is your top priority. Use whatever chance you have."
"Awwww..."
"Oh, and just last week you were dreading the thought of having to sleep with him."
"Well, I've started to warm up to the idea."
"Har har. Find him, while he's still in the city!" With that final remark, Diamond Edge cut the transmission and left Pyre standing alone in the market square. Tossing the comm. link into a disposal can, she hurried across the large, open expanse and down the street. In her tightly clenched hands, heat began to sift through her fingers. Why look for Zero when she could bring Zero to her?
"There it is again!" Axl called at the sound of an explosion in the distance.
"How the hell could there be another maverick attack? There can't be this many of them!" Zero growled.
"Hey, maybe it isn't the mavericks," Selene offered.
"Yeah, right," Zero snorted. He dashed forward, igniting his dash boosters and heading toward the sound of the explosions. In a moment, the rest followed him. A third explosion cut the silence in the air, and X knew they had to be getting close. Soon, X could smell the choking scent of fire, and he had to strain to keep up with Zero. The hunter was making double-time, probably because he was still uneasy from his earlier outburst.
The crimson hunter suddenly skidded around a corner, and as X followed him they came upon a long, barren street. Fire leapt out of anything that was flammable, and some buildings were missing large chunks of wall. The only living being on the street was a blonde girl, who was running toward them and calling for help. X looked around at the surrounding buildings, looking for any sign of a maverick attack. There appeared to be no rounds fired, and no sign of struggle. So, what was causing all this!
Suddenly, a massive chunk of neocrete slid loose off the top of a building, crashing directly on top of the reploid girl. Zero was moving in an instant, dashing at the piece of debris with his saber drawn. With one swipe, he cleaved the boulder in half horizontally. The top half slid off, and he hurled the other half down the street. In his fervor, Zero scooped the girl up in his arms and checked her over. When he was done, he looked to X.
"She's a reploid. She'll be fine, just got her processor shaken up too bad," The crimson hunter said, looking back at the girl in his arms. Her blonde hair was long and unbound, and small, barely visible freckles dotted her nose. She wore a skirt and button-up white shirt. X was beginning to think Zero wasn't checking her for injuries any more, so he cleared his throat to get his friend's attention. The blonde hunter's head snapped up, as if he had been caught doing something wrong. "We'd better keep her with us," he said.
"What! We've got enough trouble as it is," Axl remarked.
"Well, we can't just leave her here," Zero pointed out. "It's not safe yet," he turned to Endymion. "Search the area for mavs." In an instant, the silver Maverick Hunter faded into nothingness. The group waited, and soon enough Endymion re-appeared in roughly the same spot he had vacated.
"All clear. No sign of any maverick activity."
"There you go. It's safe now."
"I don't like this...check again, Endy."
"There's no need, Commander. I'm positive that no mavericks ever set foot near this street."
"Alright...we're taking her back with us."
"Zero...is this really a good idea?"
"Yeah, it is. And if you mention it again, I'll give you bigger things to worry about," Zero's tone ended the conversation, and the group continued on their course. After what felt like hours, Maverick Hunter HQ, or what was left of it, came into view. The hunters used what was left of their energy and dashed to the wreckage. As soon as they came upon the sad little gathering, X was tackled by Alia and locked in a death grip. Zero laid the girl on the ground and began searching for Signas, Selene and Axl collapsed to the ground, and Endymion stood motionless, as per usual.
When Alia was done crushing X with hugs, she helped him to his feet and began recounting everything that had happened since he had left the HQ. Of course, not before checking him over for injuries and asking how he felt in twenty different ways. X merely sighed and answered her repeated questions, as he did every time he came back from the battlefield. However, now it was his turn to ask questions as well.
"Are you positive that you're not hurt?" He asked Alia, not realizing how much he was starting to sound like her.
"Positive, X. Commander Genoscythe evacuated us long before the cannon fired," She replied.
"What about falling debris?" X pursued. He felt a tap on his shoulder.
"I've got a Newsflash for ya, X. She's fine," Axl whispered from behind him, then sat back down with the giggling Selene. X sighed.
"No casualties?" He asked.
"Well...we lost a few in the battle outside. Considering the scale of the attack though, we did really well," Alia replied.
"Have you seen Marx?"
"That mercenary? He's alive. I called him when we were trapped under the HQ's ruins."
"Good. I want to see if I can get him promoted to a 17th division hunter," X said. Alia laughed.
"You're gonna have to bring that up with Signas, but he's still mourning the loss of his T.V. I doubt he'll wanna talk to anyone right now."
"Mourning 'cause he can't watch his soaps?"
"Yeah," Alia chuckled. "You haven't mentioned our Commander's 'dirty little secret' to anyone, did you?"
"Not a soul. I can't imagine what would happen to his popularity if people knew he was addicted to soap operas," X said lightheartedly. However, he noticed a figure standing behind Alia that he hadn't before. He leaned to the left to get a look at what it was, and saw Zero with a massive, triumphant grin on his face. The crimson hunter whirled around and ran back in the other direction.
"Hey, Signas! You'll never guess what I just heard!" Zero called out, running to the tall hunter commander. X looked to Alia.
"Oh hell no..." They both murmured.
End of chapter 13