Megaman X: Elysium Rising

Mission 5: Destroy Maverick Headquarters

Chapter 28: The Red Night

BGM: Van Halen – Source of Infection

By Genoscythe

Commence Operation

For the first time in recent memory, Nephtis felt helpless. She had her gear, her staff, and her Ride Armor. Yet, something kept her from seeking out Alia. Was it fear? Nephtis thought she had forgotten fear long ago. However, this cold tremor wracking her body couldn't be anything else.

"Shit," she growled, slamming a metal foot down on the floor. "This isn't like me." After what felt like ages, she turned for the elevator and made for it like a woman possessed. "Now or never, girl. Now or never..." The elevator flew up the building, and spat her out at the command center. As she expected, it was packed with navigators yelling out commands and relaying information. At the center of it all, Signas stood like a man in the midst of a storm. His eyes were closed against the constant hammering of voices, and his mouth was twisted in grim determination.

It wasn't hard for Nephtis to find the navigator she was looking for. She was the only one that wasn't barking out orders, and the only one with a blank screen in front of her. Nephtis stepped up behind Alia, and tapped her on the shoulder. Through all the chaos, nobody noticed her.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Nephtis whispered. Alia turned slowly to look at her, with cold, blank eyes.

"Why?" She responded softly. Without answering, Nephtis grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the elevator. In moments, they were standing in the lobby.

"Okay, I need to get to Maverick HQ," Nephtis said simply. "You've got a link to the IT network, right?"

"Yes, but..."

"But what? Don't tell me you're believing the same shit that X is, are you?"

"I don't understand."

"Just because we aren't combat reploids doesn't mean we can't fight. I dunno about you, but I don't wanna just sit on my hands and wait for my boyfriend to get slaughtered." Saying the word 'my' and 'boyfriend' in conjunction felt odd to Nephtis, partly because she never imagined that she would love again after the Tempest incident.

"We aren't useless just because we're not designed for warfare," Alia countered half-heartedly. "I still have a job to do."

"What job? Sit in front of your computer and pretend that Megaman X doesn't exist?" Nephtis said, and Alia couldn't find a reply. "Look, if you don't feel like talking to him, then you can still help him. You do wanna help him, don't you?" Alia looked around, as if someone had just said something incredibly embarrassing.

"Look...if it's alright with you, I'd better get back to my post," Alia said, turning around and slipping away toward the elevator. Nephtis ran ahead and stopped her.

"You didn't let me answer," she said, trying to swallow the anger creeping into her voice. "No, it's not alright with me. Whether you're gonna help X or not, at least help me."

"Why?"

"Why not? Is it really so hard to just zap me over to the battleground?"

"You don't understand. You're not allowed there in the first place. If anyone found out that I..." Alia was suddenly silenced when Nephtis put a firm hand on her shoulder.

"People like you drive me insane," she hissed. "You're so afraid of sticking your neck out, so worried about deviating from the norm that you'll lock yourself away from the world. You'll choke off your own emotions to keep yourself out of the spotlight. All you really want to do is fit in, so you throw away anything that might make you-"

"No! That's not it at all," Alia interrupted.

"...it's not?" Nephtis said, blinking in surprise.

"No. I made a huge mistake. I blew up at X when I should've comforted him. I threw his apology, an apology that he didn't need to make, back in his face. Now, I don't know how I feel about him."

"Oh. Sorry," Nephtis said meekly. "Well...if you're not sure how you feel about him, then come with me."

"Are you crazy? I don't know about you, but I'm a non-combat reploid. I don't even have a weapon."

"All non-combat reploids are built with buster interface technology. Here." Nephtis pulled one of the many things she held in her hand out and handed it to Alia. It was a simple buster, the color of her armor.

"You really planned for this, didn't you?" Alia said in bewilderment.

"I'm not going in there alone," Nephtis replied. "Also, I want to help you and X."

Alia gave her a confused look, but didn't question it. Instead, she turned the buster over in her hands. "I don't really know how to use it..." She said tentatively.

"Stop making excuses. Just tell me now: are you in, or out?"

"...alright, fine. I don't care."

"That's a bad habit," Nephtis said, pulling forth the other thing in her arm. "Take this little guy with you." The thing turned out to be a blue metool, reinforced with silver armor and sporting a large green D on its helmet.

"What's this?" Alia said pleasantly, grabbing the met and cuddling it in her arms.

"That's right. Hold me, baby!" The mechaniloid said suddenly, and Nephtis's eyes narrowed.

"Damn it, Marx..." She muttered under her breath. To Alia, she said, "This is Darius, our metool. You can use him as a shield, or you can use the beam cannon I installed. The key word is turkey sandwich." As soon as she said this, Darius let out an affirmative beep and a gray cylinder slid out of the side of the small metool. The cylinder opened up and a barrel that was at least twice as long as the met was wide slid out. Blue energy crackled along its fork-shaped barrel, and Nephtis cast a worried glance at Alia. "Bean dip! Bean dip!" She cried, and Darius gave another beep. As fast as the cannon had powered up, it shut down and slid back inside its head.

"Turkey sandwich? Bean dip?"

"I was hungry when I put in the key words..." Nephtis muttered. "Besides, what are the chances that someone would say that on accident?"

"Okay...This still doesn't seem like enough," Alia said. "The Mavericks have more than just a buster and a metool to fight with."

"I know," Nephtis said with a toothy grin. "That's where the new Ride Armor comes in."

"...you're kidding."

"Hey, I am a mechanic. Here, come with me." Nephtis guided her across the lobby, or started to. The front doors suddenly slid open and a woman in a fiery red dress and pinned-up blonde hair stumbled inside. She immediately caught sight of Nephtis and Alia, and tried to run to them as quickly as high heels would allow.

"Excuse me!" She called, waving a slender arm about over her head. "I need to go to the Maverick HQ! Can one of you teleport me?" Nephtis shot her a confused glance.

"And, ah...who are you?"

"...me?" The woman said, putting a hand to her breast and seeming genuinely clueless.

"What division?" The dark-eyed girl specified, wondering who would actually be surprised by a question like 'who are you'.

"Oh. 17th," she replied smoothly, dispelling some of Nephtis's doubts.

"Well, tonight's your lucky night." Nephtis shot a glance at Alia, silently asking for her approval. "We're on our way there now. You might as well stick with us."

"Actually, I would..." She stopped herself in mid-sentence. "Sure. Three hunters are better than one, right?" Her enthusiasm was snuffed out by the harsh glare from Nephtis and the far-off gaze of Alia, who probably wouldn't be paying attention if she were wearing a sombrero. "My name's Mystic."

"Nephtis," the golden-skinned woman said in reply. She elbowed Alia, but didn't get a response. "This is Alia," she said with a sigh.

"What? Oh, right," Alia said, looking about as if she had just woken up on Pluto.

"Glad you could join us..." Nephtis muttered. To Mystic, she said, "Get your combat armor, and meet us in the parking garage, bottom level."

"Oh, I don't need any," Mystic said, her head bobbing slightly. Nephtis looked her up and down, from the high heels up the flimsy dress to the immaculately - pinned hair. She opened her mouth to refuse her, but stopped. That was exactly the kind of thing X would say. And, one of Nephtis's few rules of thumb was to never judge a book by its cover. She had learned so the hard way.

"It's your funeral, not mine," she concluded, leading the way to the parking garage, and eventually the ride armor at the bottom floor. It was, just like Nephtis's combat suit, gaudy and stylish while retaining its usefulness. A bronze plate of armor covered the body, which extended out the back and formed a small pair of wings. Both of its shoulders were thick and ovoid. On one rested a long artillery cannon, and on the other a rack of missiles was attached via an extendable arm. Its legs were shaped roughly like a reploid's; wide and curved, with thick feet beneath the bronze shell. One arm was essentially an oversized rail gun, and the other ended with three wicked claws. All along the bronze plating, what looked like a feather pattern was etched within.

"Ladies..." Nephtis stepped forward and laid a hand on the Ride Armor's rail gun. "Meet the Monarch. I'll be piloting, unless either of you have more experience." Alia slowly raised a hand.

"I...studied a basic training program."

"Good enough. Get in." Nephtis watched as Alia climbed up one of the bulky arms and slid down into the cockpit. The dark-eyed girl looked to Mystic. "We'll be riding on the arms for now." Both she and Mystic grabbed hold of an arm and clutched it tightly. Nephtis then turned her attention back to Alia, who was familiarizing herself with the controls. "Now, if we could get this Girl Scout outing underway...?"

"Right," Alia said absent-mindedly. She tapped her helmet, and within one horribly long minute the ride armor and its three passengers were nothing more than fading particles of light.

---

Back at the mall riot, Marx had found out that he hated killing fellow reploids. Now, in the middle of a full-scale war, he found out that he hadn't changed much. A maverick broke through the line of 14th hunters, running straight at him with a beam saber drawn. Marx fired a round of buckshot at the reploid; his favorite mode of the assault rifle by and far. To his dismay, the maverick rolled out of the way easily and jumped into the air. Marx was prepared to shoot again, but the maverick was suddenly caught by a large missile. He looked back, and one of the 8th hunters waved to him from the cockpit of a Ballista Ride Armor.

"All hunters, prepare for another salvo!" Hammer, leader of the 8th Armored Division, called on the universal comm. channel. The line of Ballistae behind Marx all crouched into a firing position, their drum-like arms lowered and missile launchers primed. All hunters near the massive door of the Maverick HQ tried their best to move out of the way, but not all of them made it before a hail of ordinance blossomed into flame against the side of the squat building ahead. The heavy doors were crumpling like tin foil against the repeated onslaught of the hunters' firepower.

All around the T-shaped base, similar battles were being fought. Missiles flew, reploids burned, and the former industrial building's walls began to come apart at the seams. Everything was going perfectly as Megaman X watched from his vantage point on top of the base. On his internal monitors, the Maverick Hunter death toll was almost amusingly low. However, X knew there was nothing amusing about war. He wished that none of them had to die.

Zero, however, was having a ball. He chuckled every time a maverick went up in flames, and occasionally snatched at a fleeing enemy with his new weapon (and subsequently waited out X's reprimand). "Don't tell me you feel sorry for 'em," Zero said after one such reprimand.

"I'm just making sure you follow orders," X replied. "We can't draw attention to ourselves."

"And why the hell not?" Zero asked, wiping blood and energy fluid off of the P Killer. "I still don't get Signas's plan."

"Once the doors are blown and most of the mavericks are outside, we need to sneak in and take out Sigma before he can endanger the rest of the hunters."

"So? We can still help out down there."

"It'll be a lot harder to sneak into the base when you're waist-deep in mavericks. I agree with Signas on this one."

"Oh, come on. We'd kill 'em all before they knock the doors down."

"Be realistic, Zero." X said sharply. Suddenly, the crimson hunter began eyeing the ventilation grill that they had planned on entering through.

"I'd rather not," he said with his patented roguish grin, kicking through the grill and jumping down the shaft and into darkness. X stared into the black pit for a moment, debating whether or not he should follow. Deciding that someone had to be there to pull Zero's ass out of the fire, X activated the wall climbing program and crawled down into the base.

On yet another side of Maverick HQ, a trio of reploids sat behind the lines of Ride Armors, preparing for their own assault.

"I snagged some copy data when we got here. You?" Axl said, directing his question at Selene.

"My disguise is ready, yeah." She nodded, and looked at Endymion. The reploid was staring off into the distance, as another salvo of missiles were launched. She just assumed that he was prepared, as always. "Now or never, Axl..." Her voice wavering, she squeezed his hand and gave him a quick kiss. "That was for luck. When we get out, I'll have a better one waiting for you." He nodded, his grip on her hand tightening.

"Are we ready?" Endymion asked, a hint of annoyance coloring his otherwise monochrome voice. Selene looked at Axl once more, then replied.

"Yeah." She closed her eyes, and the thick armor surrounding her body shimmered. In no time, it was thin and purple, her hair was long and blonde, and her eyes glowed with the familiar maverick infection. Axl did the same, activating his copy chip and becoming an exact replica of a maverick that he had shot earlier. Endymion vanished, swallowed up by his surroundings.

"Everyone, remember to mark us on your IFF monitor," Axl said on the universal comm. channel. A series of affirmative grunts, some cries of pain, and a "Hi Axl!" from Malakai followed. The three reploids stepped forward, weaving between the row of green Ballistae and then a row of blue Vanguards. Just as the last salvo of missiles was rocketing toward the base, Axl and Selene stepped forth in their new disguises, with Endymion hovering close by.

The large doors were blown inward, crashing to the ground and skidding along the wide, dark corridor. Everything was deathly still for a moment, as all the mavericks outside had been wiped out and it appeared that no more wished to join them. Then, suddenly, a solid line of crimson eyes appeared, marching through the darkness. There were too many mavericks to count. Axl leaned over to Selene and whispered, "I think I need another good luck kiss."

Selene was fighting to keep the panic out of her voice. Fighting, and losing. "I think I do too."

Zero fell through darkness, and he landed in darkness. At least, for a moment. Then, the doors were blown apart, sending shards of thick metal flying at him and tongues of flame reaching toward him. He cursed and shredded a piece of debris with the P Killer as it zoomed for his head. He looked down the corridor to find that no mavericks were on their way, then looked back at the group of Maverick Hunters standing outside. He flung out his arms and opened the main comm. channel. "Way to go, guys," he said dryly. "You almost took my freakin' head off."

"Commander, you're not supposed to..." An exceedingly brave Maverick Hunter spoke up. However, Zero cut him off.

"Slight change of plan. X can deal with Sigma himself."

"What happened?" The same hunter asked.

"I got bored," Zero said truthfully, grinning even though he knew they couldn't see him. With a confidant twist, he turned around and looked down the corridor for any sign of the enemy. Fate, it seemed, decided to grant him his wish. However, as Zero had been expecting maybe five or ten mavericks, he found something nearing three hundred instead. All of them had their murderous stares fixed on the crimson hunter. At Zero's side, the P Killer hummed to life. "Bring it, bitches," he growled.

As Zero was facing down three hundred mavericks, Marx was running from three. His side of the base was faring badly, and mavericks were still rampant outside. He dodged another energy bullet, and fired his rifle over his shoulder. The other hunters had their hands tied by now; he was on his own for this one. A bullet impacted with his bulky leg armor, and he stumbled. This he managed to turn into a roll, which he used to get a shot off at the pursuing mavericks. Explosive tipped rounds burst open a head, and one of the mavericks dropped in a gout of blood and scrap metal.

Marx was on his feet again, albeit limping. Only one of the remaining mavericks had a long-range weapon. Lucky me, he thought bitterly as he fired behind him blindly. He was rewarded with a cry of pain, and he chanced a look back. The shooter's arm had been hit, but he was reaching for the dropped gun with his remaining hand. Marx decided it was time to stop being a wimp and face them. He skidded to a halt and whirled around, automatic rifle blazing. His shots drew a ragged line across the shooter's torso, and he crumpled to the ground. The one with the beam saber, however, had disappeared.

Remembering his first encounter with Axl, Marx looked up just in time to see the maverick flying at him with his saber arcing downward like a glowing fang. Marx rolled out of the way, switched to shotgun mode, and just before the maverick touched ground, he blew the reploid a good five feet away. Looking back at the three mavericks he had dispatched, Marx whistled. Pretty damn good, if I say so myself, he thought, the energy rush drowning out the feeling of guilt he harbored.

Back inside the base, Zero was ripping through mavericks like tissue. In one hand, his saber was swinging in wide arcs and keeping the enemy reploids at bay. In the other hand, the pinwheel of doom cut down anything that made it through his saber. All things considering, he should have been dead. However, the swarm of mavericks seemed to be ignoring him for the most part. They flooded the hallway around him, as if he were a rock jutting out of a waterfall.

Something landed next to him, and if it weren't for Zero's advanced sensory perception, he wouldn't have noticed it. He turned, ready to slash apart another maverick. What he found was Megaman X, his armor a deep purple. He raised his buster and fired, but instead of a normal buster shot, an invisible shockwave leapt out of the weapon and blew an entire row of mavericks back down the hall. Weapon data from that spider thing, Zero realized.

"I absolutely love that color on you," he said in his best homosexual imitation.

"That joke stopped being funny during the Doppler Rebellion," X grunted, thinking back to all the times he had been forced to use purple armor. He fired again, sweeping away reploids by the dozens. "We don't have time for this."

"Agreed," Zero nodded, and he ran forward, planting his foot on a maverick's head. He rocketed into the air, using his unique double jump and landing on the other side of the maverick force. He looked back, and saw X running along the wall. When he landed next to Zero, they found themselves at a T junction. On their left, a passage led deeper into the base. On the right, a door led to who-knows-where, and straight ahead they could see another battle being fought outside. Zero thought he saw Marx for a split second, but blue was a popular color for reploids so he couldn't be sure.

"So...I guess this means we go deeper down the rabbit hole?" He pointed down the passage to their left. X nodded, and they both fired their thrusters. In no time, the hallway became a dead end.

"That was...short lived," X commented, looking around them. Almost immediately, he realized that they were standing on an elevator. "Wait," he walked over to a control panel and hit the 'down' button. The floor jerked to life, and Zero looked about in confusion. The elevator crawled downward at an agonizing pace, and both hunters were becoming impatient.

"Just like old times, huh?" Zero said, his voice leaking boredom.

"Yeah, but this time it'll be different," X replied, clenching a fist. "I'm not gonna let Sigma keep running. It ends here and now."

"Funny how often we say that."

"I'm serious."

"Funny how often you say that."

The elevator crashed to a halt at the foot of a large storage chamber. The two Maverick Hunters walked forward. The dusky room was empty. At least, they thought it was. Out of the corner of Zero's eye, a dark shadow flitted off into a room to the left. "Hold on, X." Zero pointed to the room where he had seen the form. "Keep looking for Sigma. I've got this one." He ran down a ramp and across the crate-occupied floor. He paused for the briefest moment at the door. No sound came from inside. Zero kicked the door open and rushed inside, his P Killer and Z saber bathing the small room in an ethereal glow.

He was in a control room, probably for a crane or something. The room was empty, and there were no other doors.

"Ooh," a husky voice purred from behind. "It's you again." Zero felt warm, smooth hands wrap around the back of his neck and caress his cheeks. The voice and movements were almost mesmerizing, but Zero's combat instincts told him something was very wrong with this. He whipped around and knocked the slender, white hands away. In the glow of his saber, Zero could see the same pale woman from Maverick Hunter HQ, a vile grin on her elegant face.

"Not this time," Zero growled. "I'm not falling for it this time."

"You could have fooled me," she said, her voice as harmless as a poison arrow frog. Her hands reached up to her breasts. "Can you really destroy a piece of art like this?"

"Normally I wouldn't even think about it," he said, trying to keep her talking so he could look at her a bit longer. "But I make an exception for chicks with blades under their skin."

"Don't mind those," she said, her hands sliding down her sides and around her thighs. "I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"I'm sure..." Zero's eyes were having a field day. "Is that why you chopped up all those hunters?"

She clasped her hands together. "That was a long time ago."

"It was two weeks ago."

"Long enough. I want out of all this." She took a tentative step forward. Zero was astonished to find himself believing her, even while the common sense portion of his mind screamed "Bullshit!"

"Well, lady, if you're looking for a way out, you've come to the wrong guy," he said hesitantly. He really didn't want to hurt this woman. She took two more steps forward.

"My name's Diamond Edge, and I don't think you're a bad person, Zero. I know you'll help me," she purred as she brushed up against him. "I'll even reward you in advance." With this, her fingers slid up to her shoulders and teased the straps of her dress down to her elbows. Zero was helpless. She gently slipped her ice-colored dress down to the floor and cupped his face in her hands, directing his attention back up to her head. She leaned in and kissed him, mouth open and tongue probing. Zero's mind was essentially shut off.

The heated moment suddenly came crashing down as a sickening crunch emanated from Zero's chest. He broke off the kiss and looked down between her breasts at the silver blade protruding from her abdomen. It was firmly lodged in his. As the numb feeling subsided completely, the wave of pain hit him and he fell back.

Yeah, he had fallen for it this time. Diamond Edge laughed as his vision faded to black.

The night was red as Nephtis looked out across the ashen wasteland. Explosions bloomed all around the Maverick HQ, and cast their wicked glow into the sky. Overhead, an aerial command center eclipsed the moon, transferring the messages sent by HQ off to the distant battleground. "Alia?" Nephtis said tentatively. "Let's go."

"Roger," Alia replied as she hit the thrusters. The wings on the back of the Monarch flared to life, and they practically soared across the landscape.

"What's the plan?" Mystic yelled over the roar of the boosters.

"We don't really have one," Nephtis replied. "I'm looking for my boyfriend, Alia's looking for her soon-to-be boyfriend, and I figured you would just rejoin the 17th."

"I'd rather stick with you, if that's alright," she said, crying out as the Monarch's leg hit a rock.

"Doesn't matter to me." Alia cut out the thrusters, and they sank back to solid ground. Maverick HQ loomed directly in front of them, and it looked as if there was no fighting on this end. A wide hangar door stood before them, but it was thin and relatively small; barely big enough to fit two Ride Armors through. Alia lowered the shoulder cannon and aimed at the center of the door. The Monarch rocked back, and the door was punched open with a force that shook the ground.

Mystic gave Nephtis a 'are you crazy?' look as she hung from the edge of the machine's arm. Nephtis, her hair flailing about in the wind, replied with, "I guess it needs some tweaking."

"You've never tested this thing?" Mystic said, climbing back on top of the arm.

"Not exactly..." she said sheepishly. Silently, Alia began walking forward, knocking away what was left of the door and stepping inside the room. It was full of mavericks. A massive transport vehicle sat in the midst of the room that was obviously not meant to accommodate it, and mavericks were loading various pieces of equipment onto it. Immediately, both Nephtis and Mystic found who they were looking for. Tempest sat atop the vehicle, staring in surprise at the trio that had just busted down the door. At his side, Stealth Claw was crouched into a pouncing stance. However, he froze when he saw what was clinging to the unusual Ride Armor. Tempest did likewise, though his attention was directed at a different reploid.

Whether it was because she was wearing her brother's armor, or because he feared what kind of strength her anger might lend her, he turned around and leapt off of the transport, disappearing behind the hulking gray vehicle. Stealth Claw remained frozen, unsure of what to do. Alia, oblivious to her partners' revelations, opened fire on the mavericks in the room. The cannon fired the left, the missile launcher to the right. Within moments, all mavericks were dead or dying. Except Stealth Claw, who had activated his camouflage and clung to the ceiling for dear life.

Now, with all the other mavericks dead, he dropped to the floor and deactivated his cloaking shield. He looked at them sadly for a moment, then jerked forward. Alia had her hand on the trigger of the rail gun, but Mystic leapt at the cockpit and pulled her hand away. "Don't shoot!" She yelled, and Alia looked at her like she was mad. The prettier of the two blonde reploids slid down off the arm and walked up to Stealth Claw. Both Alia and Nephtis stiffened.

"This one wants to defect!" She cried, with Claw still convulsing on the ground. She wasn't sure why he was doing that, but she hoped it was just a hairball.

"Are you crazy?" Nephtis interjected. Mystic looked down at Claw and put a hand on his shoulder.

"He doesn't want to hurt anyone anymore. He just wants to live peacefully," she bent down and looked him in the eyes. "Don't you?" She whispered to him, with an underlying tone of 'just play along'. However, she jumped back in surprise. His eyes were glowing red. Oh no... she silently moaned. Not now. God, not now. His spasms subsided, and he looked up at the Maverick Hunters with hatred contorting his face.

"The virus!" Nephtis hissed, and Alia's hand flung to the rail gun's controls.

"No!" Mystic screamed as Alia pulled the trigger. Electricity crackled along the four-pronged barrel, and a slug shot out too fast for the eye to follow. It buried into the ground, leaving behind a blue trail. Stealth Claw was no longer there. He appeared in front of Alia, slamming his claws into the machine's chest plate. Sparks burst forth, but his blades failed to pierce the thick armor. Nephtis jabbed with her staff, but he caught the shaft between his claws and twisted, throwing her off the Ride Armor.

Alia had taken the momentary distraction to fire her buster. The energy bullet caught Stealth Claw in the head, and he fell off the armor. He stood and leapt again at Alia, but this time Mystic tackled him. "Go ahead! Get out of here!" She yelled as he struggled against her. She noticed with satisfaction that even when the virus was in control, he wasn't trying to attack her. Nephtis nodded, and she climbed back on the Ride Armor. Alia, however, wasn't buying it.

"He's a maverick! We can't just leave you here!" She cried. Just then, Stealth Claw broke her grasp and scrambled to his feet. Mystic sent a high-heeled kick to the back of his head, and he was knocked to the ground again.

"Hurry!"

"Alia," Nephtis began, making her way to the top of the armor so that she was perched over the navigator. "Have a little faith. If she says to leave," she slipped down into the cockpit next to Alia and took hold of the movement controls. "We'd better leave." The Ride Armor jerked forward, and began running across the room and toward the door that Tempest had presumably fled through. Mystic jumped on Stealth Claw when he tried to follow them, and she kept him pinned down.

"Snap out of it," she pleaded as he scraped at the ground. "Come on." He growled in reply. "Don't you growl at me, mister!" She slapped him across the face, and he seemed to subside a bit. "Stupid kitty," she moaned, squeezing him tighter. "You stupid, stupid kitty..."

"Mystic?" He said suddenly. She held her breath.

"...you're back?" She asked tentatively. He flipped around and wrapped an arm around her.

"I'm back," he reaffirmed. "See what I mean? The virus can't control me for long."

"Thank god for that," she said, nuzzling her head under his chin. Now came the hard part. "Love, I failed."

"How?"

"...I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm dating Megaman X instead of Zero."

"...why?" He said, afraid to ask.

"I don't know. I just saw him, and he looked so..." she trailed off when she saw the pained look on his feline face. "I've done something horrible," she murmured. "I failed the mission, I was unfaithful to you, and now I'm in love with a Maverick Hunter. All at once..." Tears sprung to her eyes. Stealth Claw let go of her.

"I guess it's for the best," he said bitterly as he got to his feet. "He can love you better than this body ever could."

"What? No!" Mystic got to her feet as well and rushed to his side. "Maybe he has looks, but you've got personality...err, cat-ality..." He made a motion like he was trying to pull something out of his chest.

"You're twisting the knife, babe." She giggled despite the situation.

"See what I mean? I love you. I may like X, but I love you. No matter what happens with the hunters, I'll still be with you in the end."

"I know..." Stealth Claw began, putting on a serious face once more. "But I was okay with this because I knew you didn't actually care about Zero. It just hurts that you went to X on your own."

"And I'm sorry. Really, I am. But now I'm stuck. Zero's mad at us, and I don't know if I can still get close to him. It's even worse now, since whenever I'll be with Zero X'll be nearby. I can't take on both of them."

Stealth Claw abruptly began to laugh. "It's simple. Dump X, and go with Zero. Or don't go with anybody. Just find out where Zero lives and kill him there."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"It'd save me a lotta emotional trauma, yeah."

"...ok. I'll figure something out," she concluded. "You stay safe. I won't let you die now after I made that beautiful apology and everything."

"Don't worry. I've got orders from Sigma to prep for our trip to Elysium."

"Our trip? You're going, too?"

"Either that, or die here," he said, his words punctuated by a distant explosion. "I dunno what's over there, but I promise I'll see you again."

"You'd better," she warned, standing on her toes and kissing his forehead. "I'll see you there." With that said, she activated the recall program in her head and disappeared in a flash of light.

End of Chapter 28

AN: 100 reviews! You're all awesome. In case you can't figure it out, the --- is where the BGM starts. it was originally three number signs, but this damn thing won't show those. Not much else to say, so I'll just get started on the next chapter.