Author's note: With every Maverick general down, it's time for another acanon chapter!
Maverick Militia HQ, Abel City
"3...2...1...good luck guys!" X and Zero were instantly teleported from the array in Hunter Base to a ruined street in Abel City's once-bustling financial district, where the Maverick Militia had set up their last stand. They were operating alone, trying to infiltrate the defensive network ahead of the main Hunter invasion. The remaining forces would be flown in by helicopters and dropships once they had done their work.
The duo had been teleported behind an overturned truck that, unfortunately, happened to have a machine gun nest. Fortunately, the gunners weren't particularly alert and the dimming light brought on by dusk helped conceal them until it was too late.
"What the...!" the Mavericks' eyes widened as Zero cut them down with his saber. X began taking the machine gun apart while his friend looked around for any other enemies. Seeing none, X used a charged Chameleon Sting again and began to scout the defenses. The only space large enough to deploy the force the Hunters were fielding was in the remains of the mile-wide roundabout intersection. There had once been a business park there, but it had been struck by a missile when Sigma initially attacked and now the great convergence point of the city's asphalt arteries was nothing more than silent expanse.
That meant the militia had almost all their guns trained there. Though lacking in handheld armarments they had stolen a sizable force of self-propelled howitzers and gun tanks from the military at the cost of heavy casualties, and these vehicles had been dug into debris piles, turning said piles into makeshift artillery batteries. In addition the emplacements were protected by some of the most powerful energy shields in existence. But it would all be in vain.
X sighed at their foolishness as he continued to scout out the defensive perimeter of the roundabout. With all guns pointing in there wasn't anyone guarding the rear. Now he and Zero just had to get to the shield generators...
Suddenly, transports with Sigma's emblem began soaring overhead and delivering..."Oh no."
"You reading this?" Zero asked the watching Hunter commanders. "Things just got a lot harder..."
"Zero, they've brought detection equipment too..." X groaned. "So much for a stealth mission."
Right as X said it, a shuttle arrived soon after the last transport departed. X could only hope that their insider help would arrive soon or the Hunters were finished.
The Militia commander watched in satisfaction as the last of Sigma's arms transports delivered their cargo and withdrew. With over a hundred and fifty Ride Armors at his disposal and enough arms to equip his entire army, he could resume offensive operations. The defense network had been newly automated, and though it still required men to operate, the automation trimmed that number down severely, giving his forces a much larger fighting force.
And now, Sigma had sent seven of his generals to aid him. Things could only get better if he knew what the Hunters were up to. Zero was a crafty leader, and his defenses were too obvious for the Hunters to not have sent scouts to probe the area over the past few days. Another unsettling sign was that the military had stopped their airstrikes. Sure, he was making them pay severely for any attack attempt, but at about the same cost to his own army, and that fact wasn't lost on the top brass.
His thoughts were interrupted as Storm Eagle flew down from the shuttle. Odd. There was more than enough space to land it.
"Commander? Sigma would like to have a word with you before we begin." Storm Eagle opened a transmission.
"Hello, Sigma. Your donations were most generous. I believe we can have the military and Hunters routed by the end of the day."
"Do not be so confident, Commander." He had noticed that there were five generals around him now, and the sixth and seventh were making their way over. "Even now the Hunters are scouring your base, probing for weaknesses to exploit, and you are unaware."
"With your detection equipment that will be a problem of the past. Are the generals all you are sending here to help directly?"
"Careful now, Commander. I lent you all of the arms and hardware you are using. You will show respect. That being said..." all seven generals moved threateningly at that. "...You've betrayed us both."
"I'm afraid I don't understand, Sigma."
"I believe you do, Commander. You let it slip that you have the key to accessing my fortress to Armored Armadillo, who foolishly allowed the Hunters to access the information. They will now stop at nothing to attain that teleporter beacon. You have become a parasite to our cause. And what do you do with a parasite?" The generals suddenly brandished their weapons. "You kill it. Goodbye, Commander."
The words had only registered before Boomer Kuwanger decapitated him with his cutter and the others fired their weapons into the headless corpse. Militia members around them were reacting with alarm and grabbing their weapons, but Sigma now spoke to them.
"Come now, there is no need to fight amongst ourselves. Your commander is a traitor to the Reploid race, but I now step forward with an offer of amnesty for all who are willing to listen. Come fight on my behalf, and I will see to it that your past is forgiven. If you don't, that is my equipment you are using. I will have it back by force if necessary." Of course, very few of them listened to Sigma and the army began a disorganized rush.
The Maverick leader sighed audibly before ordering to his generals: "Very well. Kill them all. Spare those who surrender if possible."
X and Zero were huddled down, trying to figure out a plan, when a massive fireball blossomed over the Militia HQ. The sounds of screaming and screeching metal were quickly heard, along with the unmistakable sound of Storm Eagle's metallic flapping, Flame Mammoth's trumpeting, Chill Penguin's mini-blizzards, and Launch Octopus's torpedo (or were they missiles after all?) batteries.
"Looks like Sigma's crashing his own party." Zero grinned.
"If we weren't surrounded by enough hostiles to reduce us to silicon dust I'd risk it to see what's going on."
"What's that the humans, say, 'you only live once'?"
X grumbled at Zero's reasoning but followed. They were greeted by an odd sight. Seven of Sigma's generals were fighting with the support of only seven or eight Reploids against a horde of militia members in tanks, Ride Armors, speeder bikes, and on foot. However, they seemed to be more than holding their own; they had established a barricade behind what X presumed was the wreckage of their transport and were unleashing devastating firepower into the Militia ranks. X watched as three homing drones from Launch Octopus arced over the makeshift barricade and sliced through a tank, leaving a burning wreck in their wake without a check in speed before they suicided into a Ride Armor.
"Should we help them?" Zero clearly wasn't interested in spectating the battle.
"Define 'them.' I know several of the generals are on our side secretly but if we tip our hand to Sigma too early..."
"Why not work with them all to crush the Militia?"
"Who are you and what have you done with Zero?" X joked. This was completely unlike his friend, but if that could work... "I'll sneak around and try to talk to Storm Eagle alone. He's probably in charge, so..."
"Alright buddy, just give me the signal once you're good or need saving." X facepalmed but thanked Zero genuinely for his offer.
Storm Eagle snagged a Reploid out of a Ride Armor and tossed him into one of Launch Octopus's rocket spreads. One of the few loyalist pilots left quickly scrambled into the machine and began wreaking havoc. As he landed behind a stack of crates, someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"What is it? We're not moving up yet..." he grumbled irritatedly without looking back. It was bad enough that Spark Mandrill was occasionally questioning his decisions; good thing Armored Armadillo wasn't here. Despite his "warrior" bravado he was arrogant and wanted to be in control to the point of extreme annoyance to true authority.
"Hey Storm Eagle..." X whispered from behind him. The avian Reploid whirled around and saw his friend's Chameleon Sting cloak expire at just that moment.
"X!" Every single Reploid turned to look at him, though those engaged in combat promptly returned to it. Unfortunately the latter category included Boomer Kuwanger and Sting Chameleon, but not Launch Octopus (who was still miffed at X over their pre-battle conversation) or Flame Mammoth.
"What's this, Storm Eagle?" Flame Mammoth grunted. "Don't tell me you're seriously considering siding with him!"
"I said nothing of that sort, Flame Mammoth. However our objectives are in line with those of the Hunters at the moment, and I would advise you not to take X lightly. In addition to already having beaten you before reaching full power he now possesses all of our weaknesses...for once we may be in need of his willingness to make allies."
"Very well...I shall busy myself elsewhere." With a harumph Flame Mammoth reluctantly lumbered back to the front line and began spewing a slick of oil to trap enemy Ride Armors.
Launch Octopus made a noise of dissent but also returned to his duties, launching volley after volley of rockets and homing drones into the ranks of oncoming Militia. Storm Eagle breathed a sigh of relief. That had gone much smoother than he expected. "You were really pushing your luck, old friend."
"What's the point in life if you don't take risk?" X tried for a smile and failed, so he sighed and changed the subject. "Anyhow...I presume we won't be fighting alongside just you three?"
"For now. Sigma..." Storm Eagle looked around to make sure they weren't being eavesdropped on. "...Sigma wants us to prevent you from getting to the teleporter beacon. Us four generals are going to have to tip our hand now."
"Oh, great...wait, four?" X asked, confused.
"Spark Mandrill. Looks like you are quite the orator, X. He approached me and Cain after he was rebuilt."
"Well...just monitor the standard Hunter frequency right now in addition to yours. We'll work it out, but we can't make a move now." Zero suddenly poked his head above them.
"Are you two done? The generals are starting to get upset and distracted now that they know I'm here, and we're all screwed if that keeps up..." Zero immediately ducked back out of sight and back to presumably combat.
"Well, I suppose we had better..." Storm Eagle took off and flew back into the fray, and X smiled as he armed his buster and emerged from cover, his armor gleaming gold and blue in the evening sunlight.
Throne Room, Sigma Palace
Sigma laughed as he watched X and Zero enter the fray alongside his generals. What a very interesting turn of events indeed. Storm Eagle knew they could handle the entire army themselves, but either the avian Reploid was a more intelligent commander than Sigma had gauged or this was a betrayal in the making.
Regardless, he had safeguards against the latter; X and Zero had made it far enough for him to see all he wanted from them. Now it would soon be time to put them both down.
Behind him, Vile made a noise of disgust at the scene unfolding on the throne room monitor. Velguarder growled at the sign of disrespect but made no other move, and when Sigma didn't stop him the purple Reploid stalked out. It was time for his ultimate test. Fuck them all; now it would be his turn to have Sigma's undivided attention. And he would get it by killing anyone at that scene who got in his way.
Maverick Militia HQ, Abel City
"Watch those Ride Armors advancing on the left!" X shouted into his helmet radio as the mechs slogged through the massive curtain of weapons fire issuing from their position.
"I've got it!" Spark Mandrill raised his drill and slammed it into the ground, creating a small, directed earthquake at the walkers. Raising his other arm, he charged as powerful a blast of electricity as he could muster and hurled the sphere at the lead Ride Armor. The pilots were busy trying to keep their machines steady in the midst of the tremor when they were struck by the electric blast. The enormous overload shut the Ride Armors down, disabling their cockpit shields. No sooner had they flickered off than Launch Octopus's homing drones tore through the exposed cockpits, shredding the Reploid riders to scrap.
X winced as he watched them fall, though he had to admit it was efficient. To his right Flame Mammoth was sweeping his flamethrower in a broad arc, using the jet of flame to flush out and trap any inflitrating enemies. Zero was watching carefully, ready to deal with any revealed foes. Last time they had nearly had a section of the barricade rigged with explosives before they discovered the sappers, and the red robot would take no chances this time.
Launch Octopus was humming to himself as he continued to rain down his deadly arsenal on the advancing Militia. Sting Chameleon suddenly decloaked in front of him and began adding his own attacks to the barrage before several shoulder-mounted homing rockets forced him to move. Launch Octopus chuckled and intercepted the missiles with his own. "Why run when you could stop them?" Sting Chameleon said nothing but gave a silent nod of thanks before resuming his carefully-aimed bursts of laser fire.
Above him, Storm Eagle threw down razor feathers, eggs of different types, and tornadoes into the rushing mass of Reploids, causing confusion in the mob wherever they struck. Seeing a self-propelled howitzer being brought into position, he dove in and dropped a "bomber" egg. The explosive capsule latched onto the vehicle's armor and instantly its smart charge adjusted to divert its force into the armor. A massive explosion rose from the vehicle as a searing jet of plasma and fire fried the crew and detonated the ammunition, and Storm Eagle soared out of weapon range before any of the Militia could get a shot off.
He continued to bombard the Militia lines until a SAM battery gunner loosed one of his missiles. The Rolling Airframe Missile was designed to down military fighters with a single shot, and despite its size it was incredibly agile. If it caught Storm Eagle there would be no doubt as to what would happen. Storm Eagle desperately tried to intercept it with his own weapons, but the missile simply bulled through his tornado and wove around his other attacks. Even X's Spiral Crush and Hadouken couldn't do much more than scorch the metal casing, though the same couldn't be said for the missile battery itself. By now the rocket was out of weapon range and gaining distance on the rapidly-ascending Storm Eagle. Realizing flight was futile, Storm Eagle suddenly dived, hoping to fake out the missile. The rocket's AI had to spend the remainder of its first stage to keep up, but it merely jettisoned the spent motor assembly and continued to chase him with the second.
"Someone get this thing off me!" Storm Eagle weaved between buildings, but the missile kept up and continued to close the distance. Launch Octopus's drones slammed into it and managed to knock the missile off course, but the computer remained undamaged and soon re-acquired its target. Chill Penguin and Boomer Kuwanger tried to knock the rocket down too, but their attacks were easily dodged.
X looked around frantically for Spark Mandrill. Only his attacks could short out the missile, but where had he gone? X's heart suddenly sank as he saw that Mandrill was in combat with a cluster of Ride Armors that had breached the barricade, aided by Flame Mammoth and Zero, who had ventured nearby in their search.
"Wait! I copied his weapon..." X hated having to step up when so much was at stake for him. But there was nobody who could help his friend. Taking aim with Electric Spark, X fired off as many of the energy bolts as he could at the rocket.
And watched in disbelief and horror as the missile evaded his otherwise-flawless aiming and struck Storm Eagle. For a moment, time seemed to slow down, and all eyes on the battlefield turned as Storm Eagle's shattered body fell from the sky and behind several wrecked cars on X's side of the battlefield. Ignoring the battle, X ran to where he'd seen Storm Eagle fall. "No! Please don't let him be dead again!"
X scrambled over the wreckage and his heart sank. Storm Eagle lay lifeless, smoke pouring from a hole in his ruined body where the missile had shredded it. While it was a miracle he'd stayed largely intact after taking the hit, there was no way he could have survived it...
X uttered a wordless scream and ran to his friend's side. To his surprise and relief Storm Eagle was still functioning. "X...just see to it...that we prevail...I can return for repairs..." Flame Mammoth, who had just completed his sweep for cloaked enemies, hurried as best as he could over to Storm Eagle's side and managed to boost the latter's teleporter unit enough for Storm Eagle to return to Sigma Palace. X took a moment to regain his composure before returning to battle.
Zero breathed a sigh of relief that his friend had kept himself composed within rationality. They couldn't lose X now, as worthless as some of the generals saw him as...
A thudding heavier than the steps of the Militia Ride Armors suddenly reached his ears. Great. Vile was here, and given his nature he was probably just going to indiscriminately kill everyone. Zero's suspicions were confirmed seconds later when a Militia Ride Armor was impaled from behind by Vile's spiked fists and a howitzer was trampled. A speeder bike tried to get Vile's attention with its machine gun, only to be swatted aside. Countless foot soldiers either fled or were trampled and smashed by the unstoppable machine. The mech's path of destruction was unmistakably directed at the barricade; they would be next.
As much as he hated to do so, Zero had to give both the Ride Armor and its pilot credit as he watched Vile batter and trample everything in his path. The generals had already begun firing on the Ride Armor, but their attacks did almost nothing against its heavy plating. Not even X's Hadouken could do much more than stall the machine.
Vile dashed for the closest general once he was within several hundred yards of the barricade. The dash punch smashed through the ruins of the shuttle, and Boomer Kuwanger barely managed to teleport out of the way. His energy cutters disappated harmlessly against the Ride Armor, and his head-mounted boomerang clanged off the mech without leaving so much as a paint scratch.
"Someone take him down while I distract him! I don't have the firepower to deal with this thing!" Kuwanger rapidly teleported around Vile, trying to distract him, but it was only a matter of time before he got hit.
"Wait, why are we fighting Vile?" Spark Mandrill asked as he continued to short out Militia Ride Armors, not bothering to divert his attention yet.
"Something tells me killing us isn't something Sigma would do right now, and besides, he's stopping us from completing our mission; kill him!" No sooner had the words left Kuwanger's mouth than the Ride Armor sandwiched him between its spiked fists. Kuwanger didn't even process the bitter overload before he succumbed to his damage.
"Hahaha! And now it's time for the rest of you! Why don't we start with the ladies?" Vile immediately charged at Zero, who blasted the Ride Armor's arm with a charge shot and sliced through the weakened armor with his saber. Vile looked mildly surprised at losing one of his Ride Armor's arms, but the other fist struck Zero in the face and threw him into the fifth story of a nearby building, the ceiling of which promptly collapsed on him. Vile looked around for X, but the coward had disappeared under his cloak again.
Wasting no more time at seeing Zero's possible death, Spark Mandrill sent an electric pulse along the ground into the Ride Armor before following up with a dash, brandishing his drill. With the Ride Armor immobilized Vile had no choice but to jump out as Spark Mandrill plowed through the mech, his drill boring into the machinery through the hole that had once been an arm socket.
Though the Ride Armor was destroyed Vile was far from done. Spark Mandrill was encased in a massive iceball as Vile's Sea Dragon's Rage enveloped him. Six Metal Crescents soon had Sting Chameleon impaled against a wall, Flame Mammoth without a trunk, and Launch Octopus without tentacles, while a Fatboy shot had blown Chill Penguin's nitrogen tank apart, killing him again. Flame Mammoth bellowed in rage and charged Vile, but he sidestepped the towering Reploid easily and Flame Mammoth was unable to stop before trampling the near-immobile Launch Octopus. Flame Mammoth's charge came to a stop in a wall, which collapsed on top of him.
"Tsk, tsk, Vile, I used to have nothing but respect for you," Sting Chameleon mocked through his pain.
"You...plan to betray...Sigma, don't you...?" Launch Octopus groaned before Vile could reply.
"I'll tell you what I've told you before, you pitiful fool: I don't like working for others. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a score to settle with X."
X shook Zero's battered body, hoping for a response. Suddenly he noticed the sounds of fighting from below had stopped. Sigma's generals must have been disabled.
"Zero...come on buddy, don't die on me!"
The wall of debris hiding X was blown away, and Vile laughed mockingly as he saw X holding Zero. He never stopped in his stride and rammed his boot into X's helmet, stunning the latter enough to wrestle Zero's unconcious form into a chokehold with his autocannon aimed straight for his head.
X's vision refocused after a few seconds, but the sight was anything but welcome. This was not a sense of deja vu he wanted to relive.
"What's the matter, X? Haven't got the balls to shoot your boyfriend?"
X raised his buster, determined not to hesitate, but he felt his resolution dissolving when he saw Zero reawaken with a groan. To his credit, the red robot quickly realized the situation he was in despite his heavy damage.
"X...shoot him..."
"Dream on, Zero!" Vile sneered and pressed his autocannon barrel deeper into his chin. "X needs to grow a pair before he does that, and I don't intend to give him the chance! You have five seconds before you're both dead, X!" Vile cocked his cannon and it began to charge another Fatboy.
Suddenly Zero grabbed Vile's cannon with all of his waning strength and directed the shot down into the floor. The energy shot easily penetrated through the floors of the building, and the structure lurched dangerously. Vile temporarily lost his footing and let go of Zero, who immediately grabbed his leg for dear life.
"X! Shoot! Now!"
The X buster glowed green, then orange and then red, as Vile fought to unsuccessfully shake off Zero while trying to avoid falling debris. "Let go of me!"
Vile suddenly saw the buster's charge color change again to blue. He'd only X's supercharged shot used once, and it had knocked down and almost killed an otherwise-invulnerable mechanaloid...and that was before X had gotten his buster upgrade.
"Not a charged shot! Get off!" Vile tried one last time and managed to rip his leg free of Zero's grasp, kicking the red robot viciously as he did so. That was a fatal mistake. With a yell, X discharged every single joule of energy his reactor could muster in a shot bigger than its target. Vile only had time to scream as his armor disintigrated and his body was torn apart by the sheer force of the blast.
X sank to his hands and knees before falling to the floor, barely able to remain concious as his reactor tried to stabilize itself. Next to the hole Vile had blasted in the wall lay Zero's crumpled form.
"Z...Zero..." X managed to ask as his body slowly recovered. "Are...you okay...?" There was no answer. "Zero?" Suddenly, X's tiredness meant nothing to him and he scrambled over to his friend as best as his severely weakened systems would allow. "Zero! Zero! ZERO!"
"X, don't despair yet. There's still a chance he can be repaired." rasped a voice from the entrance. X whirled around and raised his buster, scrambling back when he realized it was Spark Mandrill. The general raised his hands. "I bear you no ill intention as of now. Let's get Zero out of here. Keep it quiet; anyone else who would sympathize with me is dead." Spark Mandrill gestured and X saw that the Hunters were arriving in force.
"Why...are you doing this...Spark Mandrill?"
"You genuinely convinced me that there is still a better way, X, and you and Dr. Cain freed me from the Sigma Virus. And since it no longer controls me, I thought I should repay you in kind." The Reploid leaped to a giant rubble heap nearby, carrying Zero's body. X followed, albiet more slowly.
At that moment several Bee Blader helicopters of Sigma's army stormed the area and began evacuating his forces. "I must go now, X." X nodded and silently thanked Spark Mandrill before reaching the location where the latter had set Zero's body down. The helicopters had special electromagnets to attract the remains of the disabled generals, and once they had them and Spark Mandrill they quickly withdrew though X had ordered the Hunters to stand down.
"What happened sir?" One of the squad leaders ran up to him.
"Things...got complicated really fast, and fell apart even faster. Help me carry Zero." X sighed with relief as a dropship was called over and Zero lifted into it. His friend would be safe now.
Author's Note: Kind of a lame way to leave off, but this chapter was way too long otherwise.