Megaman X: Elysium Rising

Mission 5: Destroy Maverick Headquarters

Chapter 29: Check...

BGM: Disturbed – Down with the Sickness

By Genoscythe

X bolted through the storage chamber, passing through a wide door and into a hallway lined with windows. He could feel Sigma nearby; the synthetic hairs standing on the back of his neck were testament enough to that. However, he didn't know how close he was until he heard the voice.

"How are things above?" The guttural voice belonging to Sigma filtered in through one of the windows to X's left. He ran to the portal and looked through. Another storage room, like the one he had just departed, was visible inside. In the middle of it stood three forms, one large, one unnaturally thin, and one with a long cannon on its back.

"I dunno. I was helping Claw pack for the trip," an unknown voice said, strong and youthful. "I do know that some hunters broke into the rear hangar. She was with them."

"Who?"

"The Egyptian girl. Diamond's sister."

"You're afraid of a girl?"

"...she was wearing Osiris's armor."

"I see. Well, if you really want, you can help gather our forces. We leave for Doppler Airport in an hour, no matter how prepared we are." The form with the cannon suddenly doubled over. "...Havoc?" X gasped. During the First and Second Maverick Uprisings, the commander of the 8th Armored Division had been a tank-like reploid named Havoc. He had disappeared near the end of the second uprising. Is it possible...? Is he still alive?

"DAMN IT, GET OUT!" The reploid screamed suddenly, and X held no more doubts. That was Havoc's voice. He was still alive. "THIS IS MY BODY!" Silence ensued as the thickly-armored reploid thrashed on his knees. Suddenly, the violent motions ceased.

"Forgive me," Havoc gasped. His voice had somehow changed; it came out more cold and calculating. "He is becoming...difficult."

"Then you will have to go with Tempest," Sigma said. "I won't let him take control when you're behind my back."

"...of course," Havoc replied with a measure of difficulty.

"Let's go, psycho." The tall, slender form known as Tempest jerked a hand toward the nearby door, and Havoc swayed to his feet. "What about you?"

Sigma's form sagged a bit. "I need to settle things with Megaman X. He's nearby."

"Suit yourself. I'm gonna go stay alive. See ya later," Tempest said nonchalantly, his form seeming to float toward the nearby door. Havoc stepped shakily after him. After both were out of sight, Sigma turned around and began lumbering toward the opposite door. X knew what he had to do. He ran along the windowed corridor until he passed into the next room. He leapt through the nearest window, landed on a box, and rolled off into the center of the storage room. At any moment, Sigma would be walking casually through the door before him...

---

At first, he was a silhouette backed by a halo of light. Then, as he moved forward and into the monochrome haze of the storage chamber, X could make out his features for the first time. The first thing that came to his attention were the massive arms. Sigma's arms were each as thick around as his body, and almost as tall. They extended up past his head in razor-sharp points, bypassing elbows completely and merely attached to the body halfway by normal arms. The most prominent feature of Sigma's new appendages were the three claws dangling from each. They scraped the floor as he strode calmly forward. His yellow body armor had been thickened, but not nearly to the degree of his arms. Resting on his head like a crown, a triple-pronged helmet rose into the air like demonic horns.

X clenched his fists. "I only need to know one thing. How do you know about Elysium?"

Sigma laughed his madman's laugh. "I thought we were beyond words, my friend."

"Stop changing the subject. I promise I'll kill you when we're done talking."

"Yes, yes, I know. Fine. I was first told of the promised land in a dream, by a strange man named Juno." They're using dreams on him, too... X thought. "He showed me a way to return the planet to what it once was. You know, don't you?"

"The Carbon Reinitialization Program," he answered.

"Correct! The cause of all your problems, and the solution to all of mine. They need my help to bring the Master into submission."

"...you know where it is?"

"Of course. We'll be on our way within the hour," Sigma said with a crooked smile, seeming to know why he had asked. Damn! Am I the only one who doesn't know! X thought bitterly. "Now, if you don't mind..." Sigma raked one long claw against a metal crate. "I'd like to be on my way." Suddenly, his hand plunged into the crate and swung it forward with blinding speed. The projectile caught X with his hands out, and he flipped over it using the wall climbing program as leverage. He landed on top of the crate as it crashed into a stack of boxes. He barely had time to dodge as Sigma flew at him, smashing one huge arm into the boxes and scattering them across the storage room. Something X failed to notice at first were the boosters lining Sigma's back and legs.

He was outweighed, outclassed, and outmaneuvered. This wasn't the pushover he had destroyed in the past. X swore an oath he had learned from Zero, but now it merely seemed like a waste of breath. Sigma was upon him again, slamming his fist into the ground as X rolled away. However, he had anticipated the move this time, and made a horizontal swipe with his other arm that caught X in the chest. The Maverick Hunter skidded across the floor on a bed of sparks and scraped metal. He got up shakily; his chest plate digging into him. It was dented inward, and flecks of dull gray dotted his armor where paint had been scraped off.

That was only one hit! X groaned as he clutched his chest. Sigma walked calmly through the rows of boxes, that patented wicked grin stretched across his face. "This is pitiful, X. What would humanity think of you now?" He said deviously, his stride painfully slow. Sigma was biding his time, because he knew that X knew that he was unstoppable.

"For someone who claims to be Earth's savior, you seem to enjoy other people's fear way too much."

Sigma's gait slowed even more. "Of course. Fear is the most interesting emotion in the spectrum, by far. It's one of the two unnecessary emotions that the humans gave to us, along with love. However, unlike love, fear can motivate the human body to do incredible things. What about us reploids? Nothing. Fear is simply a distraction. Our bodies are mechanical, they don't react to the need for self-preservation that the human body does. That's not to say we don't try, oh no. Our systems become saturated with fuel, much like a human's adrenaline rush. We either think more acutely, or more hastily. But all of these things pale in comparison to what a human can do when presented with a life-or-death situation."

"Are you done...yet?" X grunted painfully.

"No, but I'd imagine this isn't very interesting for someone with your narrow vision." Sigma flexed one of his claws. "Ready?" When X failed to answer, he flew forward with murder in his eyes. X dropped to the ground as his charged shot finished loading. Sigma flew over him, and X raised his buster against Sigma's chest. A thunderous crack echoed throughout the room and Sigma was sent flying backward, trailing smoke and energy residue. His massive form collided with a stack of boxes, which sank and collapsed under his weight.

X grinned when he heard Sigma groan from across the room. However, the groan slowly transformed into a pitying laugh. The maverick leader pulled himself out of the collapsed boxes, looking no worse for wear than he had at the beginning of the battle.

"That was it? That was the best you could do?"

Diamond Edge stood for a moment, drinking in the ecstasy of her victory. She had defeated the deadliest Maverick Hunter in existence without even garnering a scratch. The naked woman laughed quietly to herself as she stepped over Zero's body and picked up her discarded dress. As she slipped it back on, she wondered what it was that made her feel so alive. It wasn't the feeling of sensuality; that had gotten boring ages ago. No, it was the domination that came from said sensuality. He had been utterly in her control, and the mere thought of it thrilled her. Her body proved to be a far more effective weapon than any of the blades she could produce, and that little bit of irony sent a shiver across her luminescent skin.

Without looking back, Diamond Edge grabbed hold of the doorframe and spun out into the storage room. She was low on time; she had to get to the transport. So absorbed was she that Diamond Edge didn't notice the crimson form slowly push itself to its feet in the room she had just vacated.

Marx rolled, firing blindly into inky darkness. It was just his luck that he would be chased into a dead end. He fired again, and though the shots were wide, the flashes of light jumping from his muzzle illuminated the enemy. It was a standard-issue reploid, a Class 3 like himself, and it was wielding a large beam saber. What is it with mavericks and beam sabers? He mused as his shoulder cannons launched into action, blowing the maverick several feet down the corridor. Marx turned about to take in his surroundings, switching on night vision as he did so.

Immediately, he realized that he was standing on a large cargo elevator. With a shrug to nobody in particular, Marx pressed the down button, and the elevator lurched. His mechanical heart raced for a moment, but the moment passed as the elevator steadied itself and began its slow descent. An agonizing time later, he found himself standing before a large room full of boxes. He slowly stepped off the elevator, scanning for any signs of activity. Marx was both relieved and disappointed to find that the room was empty.

This didn't last long, for then a pair of doors to the right slid open and a reploid stepped out. At this same instant, the elevator behind him started to crawl upward once more. Marx decided too late that he desperately wanted to go with it. He recognized this reploid as Tempest, judging from Nephtis's tale (and he was a pretty unmistakable reploid). Also, judging from Nephtis's tale, Marx was doomed. Tempest took notice of him just as he was attempting to grab the edge of the retreating elevator, and he froze.

"Megaman X?" Tempest called out uncertainly, his strong, youthful voice belying the hideous body it came from. "No...your armor's too dark..." In spite of it all, Marx wanted to laugh. Megaman X? I wish! "You got a name?"

"Marx," he said, his teeth ground together half out of fear and half out of annoyance.

"Marx!" Tempest boomed, striding confidently toward him. He tensed, but tried his best to hide it. "You look like you'll die nicely."

"So do you," Marx countered, the anger in his voice surprising even himself. Deep down, his hatred for this creature that ruined Nephtis's life overrode all the considerable cowardice in his system. Tempest froze for a split second, then burst into an echoing laugh.

"Well, well, well..." Tempest's tone was mocking as he resumed his intimidating walk across the room. "I never thought I'd hear that from a faceless Class 3." Faceless? Who the hell does he think I am?

"You're makin' a mistake," Marx said venomously, to the further shock of his subconscious. He wasn't simply talking back anymore, he was provoking a fight! On this train of thought, Marx realized that he never would have done something like that before he had fallen for Nephtis.

"Oh?" Tempest said between chuckles. He had now crossed half the distance between them. "What mistake do you think I'm making? I'm curious."

"There's something you don't know about me."

"Do tell."

Marx raised his old pistol dramatically and said, "I'm in love." As stupid as the words undoubtedly sounded, the method of delivery stopped Tempest in his tracks, hesitating for the briefest of moments. Marx's tone meant business, and he seemed filled with an air of confidence that Tempest was unaccustomed to dealing with. Nevertheless, this was just a Class 3 Replitech model. It would be easy.

Without sparing another moment, Tempest rocketed forward, and as expected, Marx fired. Therefore, Tempest's jump was angled slightly to the left. He hit a box, and sprung off of it, flying toward Marx at double speed. He raised his handgun in defense, and Tempest's katar blow plowed through the sleek pistol. However, the blade stopped before it reached Marx's head. With a contemptuous smirk, Tempest savagely flung his wrist to the right and the skewered handgun went flying out of Marx's grip. Following the momentum of the move, he whirled around completely and slashed clean through Marx's arm with his left katar.

With agrowl of pain, Marx kicked at his assailant. Tempest dodged gracefully to the side and leapt forward again, landing on Marx's chest and delivering a blow to his side. Gritting his teeth, Marx pulled out his shotgun with the only arm he had left. Tempest was long gone before he could even pull the trigger, but that was Marx's general plan. None of his major components had been destroyed yet (and he was starting to get used to losing limbs), but now his only chance lay with the elevator. To his dismay, it was still on the upper level; though he could hear it making its sluggish way down even now. It was close.

He tried to scramble to his feet, but Tempest had landed on his back and made all attempts moot. With terrifying force, his clawed hand descended on Marx's head and pulled him upward, bending his back and making his wound scream with pain. "Look at where love's brought you now," with this, he shoved Marx's head into the ground and stepped off his back.

"...What..." Marx muttered, trying to get to his feet.

"What? Why haven't I killed you yet?"

"...yeah," he groaned, sliding back down onto his chest.

"After we've made such progress? I'm offended. It's much more fun to let you live in sorrow and pain than to end it all now. What's the point?"

"Is that...is that why you let Nephtis live?" Marx growled, forcing himself to his feet again. If he had been facing his direction, he would have seen Tempest blink in surprise.

"Whoah. So you're the lucky man," he said, a mixture of shock and admiration coloring his voice. "No wonder you were so crazy about fighting me. And to answer your question, no. Although I would've. No, I wasn't allowed to have my way with her. But I'm sure this is old news to you, right?" Tempest goaded. With great difficulty, Marx rose to his feet. He heard Tempest gasp, and he allowed a grin to infect his face. However, he soon found that Tempest was gasping at something completely different.

"DOWN!" A harsh female voice rang out, and Marx instinctively ducked. Not a moment later, a blue streak flashed across the air above him and collided into Tempest's right arm. The appendage shattered; the force of the blow taking apart some of his right side as well. He flipped backward behind some boxes as Marx looked up at his savior, who had just arrived on the elevator. Sitting atop the most beautiful ride armor he'd ever seen was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Her normally golden-hued face was now flushed crimson with rage. Marx was disappointed that she merely glanced over him before turning her attention back to her prey. Nephtis's passenger, however, looked grief-stricken when she saw him bleeding on the floor.

The blonde-haired woman leapt nimbly off the bronze Ride Armor and pulled him behind a crate as Nephtis let loose a salvo of missiles. She looked hurriedly over his chest wound and the remnants of his arm. "Oh god..." she murmured under her breath. "How much energy do you have left?"

"It's not as bad as it looks," Marx assured her, though the pain that had taken over his nervous sensors said otherwise.

"I can patch this up, but that's the best I can do," she reached into an emergency medpack that was standard on non-combat reploids, pulling out a roll of sealing tape. Gingerly, she pressed the silver tape against his side wound, and it gradually turned transparent to confirm that it sealed properly. She slowly, carefully reached out a hand and stroked his cheek. "You'll be fine. I'll make sure of it," she whispered, and Marx thought she was overreacting more than a little. However, the gentleness and air of kindness about her dispelled any negative thoughts he had; a stark contrast to the kind of treatment he was used to from women. As if to accentuate this point, Nephtis skidded ahead with all guns blazing, roaring above the wail of gunfire.

"...you're Alia, aren't you?" He spoke softly, remembering his first glimpse of her at the dock party.

"And you're Marx," she responded kindly. "You tried to help us out of the rubble when HQ was destroyed, remember?"

"Remember? You thought I forgot?" He said, and she giggled in reply.

"I hoped not." Alia's next words were drowned out by an explosion, and something landed hard on top of their crate. It was Nephtis, standing ready with her staff balanced on her shoulder. With a wince, Marx watched as a piece of the bronze Ride Armor crash into the ground next to them.

"That was it?" Tempest's mocking voice filled the room once more. "That was the best you could do?"

X crouched low under a pile of boxes, tensed and waiting for the inevitable. Sigma was scouring the room for him, as his stealth-oriented armor had allowed him to escape momentarily. However, after witnessing his new terrible power, he didn't think he would last long. He was right.

His cover exploded in a shower of metal and odd trinkets, and Sigma stood over him triumphantly. "Finally. Let's end this little cat-and-mouse game, eh?" He said, grinning. Before he could even raise an arm, something glowing and green flashed past his face. Sigma's head snapped to the right, where Zero stood clutching his chest. The P Killer's gauntlet was pointed at the infamous maverick leader.

"Maybe it's time you shut up and fight," Zero said, a bit of his reckless attitude coming through despite his grievous wound. "Always gotta act like you know everything, don't you, Sigma?" As opposed to being worried (as one normally would when facing the world's two most dangerous reploids simultaneously), Sigma's grin spread.

"This is hardly fair, Zero."

"Of all people, you've got no right to talk about fair. You think picking a fight with the humans is fair? You think mass-murdering civilians is fair?"

"Enough," Sigma cut him off. A strange sliding sound filled the air, followed by a click. Sigma's massive right arm seemed to expand for a moment, then crash loudly to the floor. Where there was once a huge, clawed arm, there was now a perfectly normal arm. The maverick leader flexed it for a moment, then raised it in the air and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the door on the floor below them slid open, and two bloody-eyed shadows emerged. The pair of mavericks leapt up to their floor, and both drew pistols.

"Now the teams are more even," Sigma said, seeming to restrain a cackle with great difficulty. He grabbed the discarded gauntlet on the floor and locked it back onto his arm, expecting the two mavericks behind him to attack. However, as X and Zero soon found out, these weren't mavericks. Their disguises shimmered and dissipated into nothing, and now Axl and Selene stood at Sigma's back with their pistols trained on him. Zero shot Axl a severe look, which Axl pretended to ignore.

"Hands up, Sigma!" He said courageously. "You've got nowhere to run now!" Finally, Sigma's resolve was shaking.

"Four against one? X, Zero, I'm ashamed of you."

"Five," a cold voice said plainly, and Endymion melted into existence behind Axl and Selene.

"Really, this is beneath you..."

Marx was now faced with one of the more difficult decisions that he could remember. On one hand, he desperately wanted to help his girlfriend fight the nasty bug-monster. On the other hand, he was afraid that, knowing his aim, he would be more of a danger to her than Tempest. Both reploids were entwined in a furious melee, but it was obvious that Tempest was made for killing and Nephtis was not. He was constantly gaining ground, striking repeatedly against the gilded neosteel staff that Nephtis spun haphazardly in defense. All her counterattacks met with thin air.

That bastard's an arm short and he's still winning... Marx realized grudgingly. With a start, he realized that he was holding his gun out, and his finger was trembling over the trigger. One well-placed shot and it would all be over. Unfortunately, Marx wasn't known for well-placed shots. Next to him, Alia was peeking her head over the top of their makeshift barricade, occasionally cheering softly when Nephtis gained any ground.

"My brother's life..." Nephtis began, swinging her staff in a surprisingly vicious arc and batting away Tempest's katar. "...was taken for no reason. You killed him just because you felt like it!" Her pretty face was twisted into a snarl, and plunged her staff through Tempest's side. The monstrous reploid took three steps forward, clutching the weapon's shaft and pulling himself closer to her. Her eyes widened considerably; she clearly wasn't expecting this. Marx decided to make his move, as Tempest wasn't going anywhere very fast. He flicked his rifle into semi-automatic and took careful aim.

Mere seconds before Marx was able to pull the trigger, Tempest planted his feet on Nephtis's chest and pushed off, back-flipping and wrenching the staff from her hands. Marx's shot grazed her cheek and sent tiny orbs of blood plummeting to the floor. Alia made sure to thwack him across the head, whispering "You're not helping!"

"You're close," Tempest began, crouching down and pulling the staff out of his side. "But not quite. There was a method to my madness, but I'm afraid I can't explain it now, or ever."

"Too bad. You're telling me now."

"Besides the fact that I was told not to, I think it's fun to know something you don't. I can see how frustrated you are in those adorable eyes of yours. Which, I see, you've changed. Weren't they red the last time we met?"

"Shut up!"

"They were even more beautiful then. You think Interpol won't find you just because you can fool their retinal scanners?"

Nephtis was crouched into a fighting position, ready for anything. "Just get on with it, you bastard..."

"Sticks and stones, baby." With that, Tempest hurled the staff at Nephtis. She caught it at a run, holding it ready as she charged at the insect-like reploid. He jumped back, but she grabbed his leg and threw him to the ground. She was on top of him in an instant, the energy blade hovering over his head.

"Listen, and listen carefully. Every time you fail to answer me, I'll cut off a limb. You've got three chances. Now...where is my sister?"

"What, torture now?" Moments later, he screamed. His only remaining arm was severed.

"Two more tries."

"Really, this is beneath you..."

All five Maverick Hunters attacked simultaneously, but every one of their attacks met with thin air. Sigma had rocketed back over the edge of the catwalk, landing on the floor below. Not even daring a word of mockery, Sigma dashed through a doorway and was gone. Both X and Zero were almost on their knees from their earlier wounds, and neither made a move to give pursuit.

"Shit..." Zero hissed. "If it weren't for that bitch, I'd have..."

"Don't worry about it," X murmured, looking now at the three newcomers. "You all did great."

"You sound a little too happy."

"That's because I know where Sigma's going."

"...she's on the transport to Elysium," Tempest said icily. "The transport that'll be leaving any moment. Which reminds me..." The bug-like reploid suddenly kicked out one leg, sending Nephtis tumbling across the floor. Tempest got to his feet and ran for the exit, yelling back, "I've got a bus to catch!" He was gone before she made it to her feet.

For several long moments, Nephtis stared in silence at the door that had locked behind him. Then, slowly, she sank to her knees and screamed out a curse that reverberated throughout the room. Marx was at her side in an instant, gripping her shoulder with his remaining arm. At his touch, she looked up as if she had seen him for the first time. Then, he was wrapped in a crushing hug that brought a fresh wave of pain from his recently-bandaged wounds.

"What would you do without me?" She asked softly.

"That's...my line..." Marx choked out. She loosed her arms around his neck a bit, and she noticed that his right arm had been cleaved off.

"He did this?"

"You know anybody else with a knife fetish?"

"Actually, I do..." Nephtis murmured, and Marx raised an eyebrow. She shook her head. "You're okay?"

"Never better."

"Good. I've gotta help Alia find X..." Nephtis trailed off as she looked around. Alia was nowhere to be seen. "Oh well. She can take care of herself. Ready to go?"

"What about the battle?"

"If you feel like going back up there, be my guest." At this, Marx was silent. In another instant, they were gone.

Mission 5 status: Failed

Maverick Leader: Escaped

Main Objective: Failed

Secondary Objective: Failed

End of chapter 29

AN: Sorry it took so long just to get out a mediocre chapter, but I need to get this one out of the way so I can start on the good stuff.