Author's note: I started on "Grounded" and "Put on Ice" at about the same time, so I had this one about half done by the time I finished "Put on Ice". The chapters won't come so close together starting from now.

Death Rogumer, Abel City Airport

Storm Eagle watched from the Death Rogumer's bridge as a platoon of military tanks advanced onto the tarmac. A shame that the humans got themselves involved; his had been the only location besides Chill Penguin's where zero human casualties had occured during the Maverick takeover.

"They're firing!" the deck officer aboard the warship called. The tanks' shells exploded against the airship's shields, but the Death Rogumer's defenses held. Storm Eagle ordered the ship to ascend out of range. Storm Eagle noted that they had failed to bring a SAM battery with them. Maybe he could convince them it was a hopeless fight...

"Attempt to hail them." He would not have human blood on his hands if he could help it.

"Sir, you can't be serious! They're already firing and you want to negotiate?!"

"You heard me, officer. Hail them." To his surprise, the platoon commander responded. The face spelled bad news. He looked just like her, if she had been male.

"Well, well. I didn't expect the mighty Storm Eagle to be behind this."

"Neither did I expect you, lieutenant. Sigma has ways of surprising us all."

"So you don't deny you've gone Maverick?"

"I don't deny that I am working for Sigma."

"Then why are you doing this if you're not a Maverick?"

"That is a personal matter, lieutenant. If not for the fact that Sigma is eavesdropping on my every word I would tell you why."

"Pah! Listen to you! You sound like a Maverick in denial! Either way, it doesn't matter. You've attacked humans..."

"And I would remind you that nobody has been harmed."

"Regardless, you've taken territory by force. I have nothing more to say to you, Storm Eagle. I wish I could spare you, but we both have our orders. Goodbye, old friend."

Storm Eagle looked down for a few seconds before raising his head and giving the command to fire. While the tanks couldn't hope to hit the airship at its current altitude, Death Rogumer's weapons had no trouble reaching them. Guided rockets and precision-aimed laser fire rained down on the tanks, obliterating them where they stood. Storm Eagle ordered the gunners to cease fire as the last of the tanks exploded and the surviving personnel fled across the tarmac. He ignored the questioning looks of his crew and stared down at the burning tanks. He hoped Teal's brother had managed to escape...

Terminal 1001, Abel City Airport

X teleported onto the tarmac into the midst of a chaotic scene. A couple dozen uniformed people were running across the tarmac from the burning wreckage of what X presumed was their vehicles. He couldn't believe his old friend would do something like this.

His thoughts were quickly distracted by the arrival of several Sky Claws, who had been looting a nearby truck. X shot them down without hesitation. X could already see these drones were going to be a problem, as Storm Eagle had cut away any access to the roof, leaving X with only a rickety lift system to ascend. Silently, X thanked his friend for at least giving him a way up. It meant that Storm Eagle wasn't completely listening to Sigma (A/N: Yes, X is aware of Teal and her situation) despite his tenuous situation, something X had to give the avian Reploid credit for.

X suddenly noticed another Heart Tank lying atop the one of the jetways on the other side of the terminal. As he dash-jumped to reach the Heart Tank, he wondered who could have put it there in the first place. Maybe Sigma? After all, he wanted to see X's true potential. But why would he undermine his own rebellion by doing this? It definately couldn't be any of the Hunters or the eight Maverick generals; the former were too thinly spread for that, and some of the latter downright hated him. Once he had picked up and installed the tank, he realized that there were eight Heart Tank slots. His sense of history had told him that Dr. Light's rival, Dr. Wily, had always attacked with eight generals leading his armies. Clearly the number had significance for Dr. Light, which would make sense as to why there were eight. But how could the tanks be placed in their locations?

Control Tower, Abel City Airport

Storm Eagle watched his friend make his way to the top of the terminal building. A noise behind him made him turn around and he sighed in annoyance. The Death Rogumer's first officer had insisted upon placing a Gun Volt here. Storm Eagle sighed and dropped his subtank off inside the building, looking around to make sure nobody, including the Gun Volt, was watching. A single subtank was bestowed to the most valuable Hunters to give them extended endurance in battle, and it could be recharged by absorbing energy from the power cells of opponents. Storm Eagle had left his here in the hope that it would give X a better chance at doing what he could not: save Teal.

X arrived moments later, surprising the Gun Volt by firing at it from behind. The walker never had a chance to react. X noticed the subtank and his eyes widened with understanding. It was only bestowed to S-ranked Hunters, the best of the best. Storm Eagle must have left his here intentionally. X sighed again and stared at the Death Rogumer, wondering how many more times he would end up in Storm Eagle's debt.

Storm Eagle flew up to the Death Rogumer, but did not enter. He simply flapped his wings to keep him aloft, staring out over the vast expanses of the airport and the concrete jungle that was Abel City beyond. He could even see a vague outline of Sigma's fortress in the mountains to the north. For a minute, he simply stayed airborne, taking in the view and feeling the wind rush past him. During moments like this, he felt truly at peace. Able to forget any problems, no matter how pressing. Storm Eagle suddenly looked at the ground. If he just let himself fall...no, he thought. Sigma might keep Teal alive if he died in combat, but if he took the easy way out, she would be killed for sure. Storm Eagle resignedly landed on the exterior of the Death Rogumer to await his opponent. He felt the airship descend to the top of the airport's unfinished expansion and knew X must be close.

At the foot of the massive tower, X looked up as a shadow was cast over him. It seemed Storm Eagle wasn't going to back down.

Suddenly a stack of propane cylinders arranged as a wall caught his attention. There seemed to be no enemies guarding it. It seemed almost too perfect, even considering who was commanding the army here. Regardless, X went over to the stack. Realizing that he'd have to destroy the cylinders to move on, X switched to the weapon he'd copied from Chill Penguin, Shotgun Ice. X thought that the ice would crack the metal casing on the cylinders, and he was proven dead wrong.

Instead of freezing and cracking the cylinder, the Shotgun Ice projectile had fragmented upon hitting the barrel stack, scattering into five fragments and dissapating much of its power. X tried again. This time, there was a small crack. He fired two more Shotgun Ice projectiles before following up with charged shot for good measure. The barrels exploded in surprisingly small blasts. X proceeded down the passageway he had just opened up. A small drop lead him to another capsule. This time, there was no formal introduction from the doctor. X wondered if the capsules were somehow linked.

"This capsule contains an enhancement for your helmet, which will allow you to break some ceilings with a headbutt." the voice of Dr. Light explained. X waited for more, but when the hologram of his father faded X realized there was nothing more and stepped into the capsule. Another flash of light, and X's helmet was suddenly rimmed in white with golden reinforcements ringing the sides. X also noticed the soles and rims of his feet had recieved a similar alteration. The data downloaded with the parts informed him that he could also break said ceilings by wall-jumping, though X wasn't exactly sure how that worked. The data had also included a scanner that allowed him to pick up objects that could be destroyed in this manner. He looked up and the detector went haywire with responses. X decided to try his new ability out.

Though he was expecting pain when his head smashed into the ceiling, X felt almost nothing. He could feel the resistance of hitting the blocks and pieces falling on his helmet when they shattered, but the helmet absorbed the shocks of hitting the ceiling almost completely. Satisfied with his new upgrade, X ventured out of the room and proceeded to climb the unfinished tower. "What were they planning to build here that could be so tall?"

As he reached the top, X discovered a rather strange and grisly sight. His own head seemed to be grinning at him from further up. X tore his eyes away from the image and began blasting through a group of Mets and Sky Claws. Working his way up to where he'd seen the image of the head, X realized it was a repair kit. It could completely restore him if he came close to death without costing Hunter HQ any resources. "Must've been Vile's idea to make this thing in the shape of my head; even Sigma wouldn't be that sadistic."

X continued to ascend the half-built tower, dodging Mets and Sky Claws as he went. When he reached the top, he discovered the Death Rogumer was almost level with the floor, and the approach to the airship consisted of falling platforms guarded by flamethrower turrets. He also saw Storm Eagle waiting for him atop the airship. As he watched, the Reploid seemed to be in an argument with someone over his radio. Suddenly, a tornado shot from Storm Eagle's right hand and destroyed all the turrets guarding the approach to the airship. X shook himself out of his reverie as several Deerballs approached him. Dashing between their legs, he leapt from platform to platform before finally landing on the front of the Death Rogumer. But Storm Eagle didn't come down to fight him. X realized there was only one way forward, and that was to go inside the airship.

Storm Eagle sighed as he watched X enter the airship and heard the surprised cries of several officers followed by an exchange of buster fire. Of course the fools hadn't listened to his orders to back down. He watched as X rolled off the side of the airship. Storm Eagle realized what the blue bomber was up to, and his suspicions were confirmed when the X climbed into the troop bay elevator. Within a few seconds, the elevator had whisked him to the top of the ship where Storm Eagle was waiting.

"Hello, X. I see you managed to circumvent most of my airship's defenses. Well done; I always knew you were a warrior at heart."

"Storm Eagle...even a Reploid like you...?"

"X, we both know why I have to do this. I can't let her die..."

"Your love is blinding your sense of morality! What happened to the noble Reploid I used to look up to?" the pain in X's voice was palpable.

Storm Eagle, lost in his thoughts, didn't reply. When the latter had first joined the Hunters, he had taken him under his wing as X's mentor. Before the emotions caught up to him, before Teal...

"Answer me, Storm Eagle!"

"X...I...I must fight you. To the death. That's the only chance she has to live."

"I promise to help her, Storm Eagle, but my help won't mean anything unless there's still a lover for her to see! You believe I can do it; I see it in your eyes! Why else would you leave me your subtank? There's a chance Teal may live if you chose to fight to the death, but she'll spend the rest of her life knowing that you threw your life away! Can you bring something like that upon the one you love?"

"Don't lecture me, X! You know nothing of love!" Storm Eagle sounded angrier than X had ever heard him. X suddenly noticed the silver gleam of a ring on his only hand and it made sense to him. The Reploid turned away and his wings and shoulders suddenly slumped. "If I am to give Teal the best chance of surviving, I must fight you, X. She is not a Reploid. I would rather take the chance that Sigma would not rebuild me than risk seeing her executed. Let us see how well my training has prepared you!"

With that, Storm Eagle resumed a straight stance. Several fins extended themselves from his arm cannon and began to suck in air while the mechanisms inside focused them into a tight jet of wind. Storm Eagle raised his arm and released the tornado. The strong beam of wind almost pushed X off the side of the Death Rogumer, but he refused to fight back. He couldn't just kill his mentor...

But it was clear Storm Eagle had put his qualms behind him. As soon as X pulled himself back onto the top of the airship, he heard a screaming sound and Storm Eagle's talons ripped into his armor. His talons didn't penetrate, but the strike knocked X to the ground. Recovering, X raised his buster and fired into the sky at the rapidly receding black dot. The shots missed, and X impatiently waited for the Death Rogumer's ascent to bring him within buster range. Storm Eagle, however, was not so limited in range. X frantically wove back and forth across the roof of the airship as Storm Eagle launched volley after volley of razor feathers after him. One feather hit the reinforcement ring on the side of his helmet, but instead of piercing the helmet and killing X as Storm Eagle feared it would, it bounced off with a ping. X tried to ignore the resonating vibration as Storm Eagle landed and began to flap his wings. Through his hazy conciousness, he realized he was being pushed off the airship. Using his dash to counter the pushing force, X fired a charged shot at one of Storm Eagle's wings. The Reploid saw it coming from a mile away and lowered the wing so the shot sailed harmelssly past.

"If I can't shoot him while he's moving, I'll have to get him to stop," X thought. Switching to Shotgun Ice, he fired the projectile at Storm Eagle's wing joint. It worked better than he could have hoped for; with nowhere for the split pellets to go, they froze his right wing in place. Storm Eagle's eyes widened upon realizing his mobility was gone, and X began to fire on him with a hail of buster pellets. Storm Eagle dodged as best as he could, but many of the projectiles still struck his body and wings. His autorepair systems could fix the damage to his wings quickly, but the right one remained frozen. Storm Eagle angled himself to catch the next buster shot on his right wing joint, hoping to melt the ice. The impact caused damage to the sensitive wing joint, but at least they functioned again. He immediately took off, hurling an egg from his mouth as he climbed to keep X's buster away from him. X looked up after he'd dispatched the birds that had hatched from it, but Storm Eagle wasn't there. Storm Eagle streaked in from behind X, and, just before he was about to crash into him, flipped himself talons-over-head and folded his wings. The result was another deadly talon strike to the back; this time, the talons penetrated X's armor and sliced apart his internal systems. Storm Eagle immediately fired a tornado out of his arm cannon to blow X off the side. X managed to duck the tornado and replied with a charge shot, but Storm Eagle dodged it. The latter took to the air again, firing off his razor feathers to keep X busy. This time, X never stopped scanning the skies, sweeping his buster arm back and forth.

"Damn," thought Storm Eagle, "He's adapting to my fighting style." He suddenly dived as if he were coming from above, and X began to fire on him. Suddenly Storm Eagle folded his wings and plunged under the airship before coming up from behind X, leaving behind another egg to distract him. As he emerged on the opposite side, he raised his right arm and fired another tornado as he charged at X. But this time, the blue bomber was ready for him. Dash-jumping the tornado and Storm Eagle, he blasted the avian Reploid's back with a charge shot. Storm Eagle's sensitive wing joints were completely destroyed by the blast, and he clumsily crashed into the roof of his airship. He managed to recover, but he knew the odds were now in X's favor. In a desperate last move, he pointed his right arm straight up and fired before retreating to the edge of the roof.

"I'd say your training did prepare me, my old mentor." X's voice was calm, but tinged with pain as he advanced towards Storm Eagle with his buster trained.

"You forgot the first lesson I taught you, X. Never be complacent in combat."

The airship caught up to Storm Eagle's last tornado, and X had walked right into it. The vicious wind began to peel off X's shredded armor and rip at his exposed circuits. Once it had expired, the tornado uncermoniously dumped him right in front of Storm Eagle's talons.

"Well..." X's voice was dazed and filled with pain, both physical and emotional. "It...seems...you're still...the better warrior..."

"No...X...you might not feel it...but I see it in you..." his former mentor's voice was weak. He was more badly damaged than he had let on. Storm Eagle opened a panel on his arm cannon and removed a small chip. "It's my weapon data...Take it...you'll need it..."

"Storm Eagle...thank-"

Suddenly, Storm Eagle's eyes changed. The normally green pupils had been replaced by Sigma's emblem. He lashed out with his talons, cutting through both of X's feet. Reflexively, X shot Storm Eagle in the face with a charged shot. The impact flipped the Reploid over and off the edge, and he was now hanging on with his left hand. The shock freed him of the Sigma Virus's override, and his eyes returned to normal before X could notice the change. X ran to the edge and looked at his former mentor, horrified at his betrayal, but unwilling to let him die.

"X...promise me...Promise me that you'll save her!" Storm Eagle begged. X felt tears welling up in his eyes as he realized what Storm Eagle was about to do. Slowly, he nodded his head while grabbing Storm Eagle's hand with both of his own.

"I'll make it happen, Storm Eagle. You didn't fight in vain." X's conviction made Storm Eagle smile even as a tear fell onto the latter's helmet as X spoke.

"Your determination...drives you to heights beyond what...we Reploids...could ever dream of...Use it...Maverick Hunter X..." X's pride at being recognized by his old mentor quickly faded when he noticed Storm Eagle was also on the verge of tears. When X nodded his acknowledgement, Storm Eagle's sad smile broadened and he began to pry his fingers from X's hands.

"Then I will die the way I would most prefer to: for the protection of my dear Teal. Goodbye, my old friend." Without another word, Storm Eagle jerked his hand out of his friend's grasp.

"NO! Storm Eagle! STORM EAGLE!" X screamed, the tears now flowing freely. But there was nothing he could do except watch as his mentor and friend of many years fell through the clouds and disappeared.

Throne Room, Sigma Palace

Sigma watched the events unfold through one of the Death Rogumer's remaining functional cameras with interest. He could have cared less about Storm Eagle's death; though he was a good lieutenant Sigma hadn't forgotten that he had to blackmail him into joining his rebellion. He was more interested in X's reaction. He had known the avian Reploid had taken X in when the latter first signed up to be a Hunter but hadn't known their relationship was so close. Sigma watched as X remained frozen, staring at the place where Storm Eagle had fallen with tears running down his cheeks. Yes, he did feel much more deeply than any other Reploid. Now it was time to see what those feelings could do.

Sigma triggered the Death Rogumer's self-destruct. The airship was no use to him without a highly specialized and trained crew to man it; thanks to X, that crew was dead. When the first explosion rocked the ship, X stood up and performed the traditional Maverick Hunter salute as a final tribute. He stood with his fists clenched for a few more moments, then teleported out as the falling airship reached terminal velocity.

Not the physical reaction Sigma was hoping for, but he would see the results of X's anger soon enough. He turned around and looked at Teal, who had been bound, gagged, and forced to watch everything. Until that point, she had been crying silently for the entire duration of her lover's battle with one of her closest friends. Upon seeing the Reploid leader focus on her, she stopped crying and fixed him with a stare of hate.

"Not to fear, he isn't dead." Sigma's voice was softer than she could have imagined for such an evil-looking being. "We can bring him back..." he let his words hang in the air as he walked out of the throne room, Velguarder lapping at his heels. When the wolf passed her it attempted to bite her foot off, but Sigma immediately clubbed it across the head with one of his hands and dragged Velguarder away.

"Undo all her restraints but keep watch over her. Give her as much time as she needs before you return her to her cell," Sigma ordered to the guards standing outside.

Sigma walked to the palace's hangar bays. The twice-repaired Vile was loitering near the entrance. Upon his entering, every robot stopped and looked at him. He simply nodded and the androids returned to work. The Reploids, however, continued to look at him. He knew what they wanted to ask. He looked the assembled Reploids in the eye to show he understood their silent inquiry and nodded before exiting the hangar. As he had predicted, the implicit announcement of Storm Eagle's death was met with cries of disbelief and angry taunts towards X, but nothing deeper than that. "I know that he feels differently and uniquely; now I need to know why and how."

Prison, Sigma Palace

Though Storm Eagle wasn't with her, the guards treated Teal respectfully upon her return though they hadn't when she was escorted to the throne room. They must've already heard. The warden personally opened her cell door, and was careful to close it without slamming it. They had even left the slits on the door open to give her some light and against prison protocool. However, she had requested they close them and they had obeyed.

Only once the slits were closed did Teal begin to cry again. She didn't know whether to believe Sigma's words that they could bring her lover back or not: on one hand, she desperately wanted to see Storm Eagle again, but on the other, she was afraid of what might happen if he couldn't be brought completely back. The first aspects of Reploid personality to be damaged were always compassion and caring, so it wouldn't take much...Teal silenced her own pessimistic thoughts. If there was even a chance that Storm Eagle could be brought back, she would take it. Except if it meant obeying Sigma or fighting X.

X...he'd been one of her best friends since Storm Eagle had introduced them to each other, and now he had killed her lover. But Teal felt no anger towards him; she had seen how he'd tried to reason with Storm Eagle and the tears he'd shed for his mentor. She'd also seen Storm Eagle give him his subtank and entrust the rescue of his love to X. He was as much Sigma's victim as she was. And now, he was her only hope.

She just wished this revolution would end. The old parable was that the first casualty of war was morality. And so, her righteous, headstrong boyfriend had been among the first to perish, dying by falling from the sky he'd always felt so at home in, betrayed by the very element that gave him his power. It was as if fate was mocking her in every way possible. In that moment of reflection, rage boiled up inside her like never before, and Teal made a silent vow to see Sigma dead for this. But for the moment, all she could do was bang her fists on the wall and cry her eyes out for her lost love.

Author's note: So this chapter came out darker than I intially thought it would. I hope I gave Storm Eagle the battle he deserved, and Shotgun Ice enough time to showcase it. As always, please rate and review.

Also, yes, Teal's brother is alive and she knows it. That's why she isn't holding anything against Storm Eagle.

Rest in peace, Storm Eagle...