Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm back! If you didn't read the story description in a while, I've updated it to reflect that, yes, I will be adapting both Mega Man X and Mega Man X2 in this story.
In the meantime, enjoy! I hope it was worth the wait!
Courtyard, Sigma Palace
The gate to the inside of palace vanished in a cloud of smoke as the demolition charges went off. X raised his buster and called for a charge. As soldiers, human and Reploid alike, stormed the castle, X made to follow suit when he noticed someone standing behind him.
"Sir..."
"You don't have to fight, Squid Adler. I know that it's especially complicated for you."
"No, it's not that...I was wondering if we could have Octopardo brought back alive?"
"I can't. We don't have men to spare as guards, Adler, and besides, the government has branded him a Class 10 Maverick. He's to be brought back dead, no exceptions."
"But there has to be some cure for the Sigma Virus, doesn't there? I mean, it's just a computer program, isn't it?"
X sighed. "I don't know. I hope there is." He paused before continuing. "I'll see what I can do to help Launch Octopus' case. How are Dragoon and his men doing?"
"They're recovering. None of them are predicted to...well, you know what, from their injuries. Also, since they're doing well and HQ got its government garrison just now, I was wondering if I could accompany you, sir?"
Sometimes Adler struck X, worriedly so, as too naive to handle the power that the newer Reploids possessed. Hopefully his rude awakening to the stark truth of Maverick hunting would come later rather than sooner.
Throne Room, Sigma Palace
As soon as the gate into the palace itself had been breached, Sigma had been busy directing group after group of his minions against the swarm of Hunters and soldiers coming for his head. They took losses with each encounter, but they were, with few exceptions, not enough to stall the assault for long.
Alarms suddenly blared as several key rooms were breached. Fortunately, he'd held his best cards in reserve.
"Generals, wipe them out!"
Whereas moments before the situation had looked hopeless for him, now it was the exact opposite. Flame Mammoth, Launch Octopus, Chill Penguin, and Armored Armadillo, each backed up by a sizable army, had reversed the tide of battle within seconds and soon routed the humans. The human-based Hunters put up far more resistance, but their numbers were so few that it didn't matter much except when one of them tied up a general for a few moments. The animal-based ones wisely beat a tactical retreat, saving their power for later. And the Repliforce had shown discipline that didn't befit a gang of thugs, let alone an army. Already in disarray following Agile's abduction, they were now fleeing the palace in their ships, leaving their gear and wounded comrades behind.
With the enemy in retreat and his warning to the Hunters set in stone, Sigma turned his attention back to monitoring his four deserters through palace cameras. Sting Chameleon and Boomer Kuwanger were nowhere to be seen, but he saw Storm Eagle in discussion with a human commander and Spark Mandrill fighting a horde of lesser robots, without much trouble.
Let those fools think they controlled their destinies, and let that naive Dr. Cain think he'd actually managed to neutralize the Sigma Virus. True, the countermeasure greatly weakened Sigma's ability to control them directly from a distance even if they didn't resist (which they most certainly would), but they were still infected and would register as such on any scanner.
And it was only a matter of time before the virus mutated again to improve upon that weakness. Before he mutated again to become stronger and spread ever-more virulent strains of the virus across the globe. Before he returned, assuming he was ever defeated. Civilization was fighting a losing war; they just didn't know it yet.
In the meantime, though, there was no benefit to spoiling that impression. Sigma took another look at the monitors and knew the time was right.
His opponents could barely contain four Mavericks, albeit powerful ones. It was time to see what they would make of the horde of unstable psychopaths that served as both prisoners and prison guards. A single press of a switch and the deranged Reploids burst into the halls of the palace from hidden elevators. Another and the windows and open spaces sealed as the lights blinked out, sending the palace interior into darkness.
A shiver ran up Squid Adler's spine as crazed laughter echoed down the hall from seemingly all directions.
To his right, X switched his optics to night vision, cursing under his breath as he saw what approached. Almost a dozen maniacs were milling around at the end of the hallway, in an open area. What concerned him was that many of them were wearing knife gloves. As the name implied, they were built with razor-sharp steel claws embedded in each finger, and capable of incapacitating a Reploid with only a few swipes. X suspected that Sigma had corrupted Reploids solely for the purpose of using such lethal but short-ranged weapons.
X snapped his head around at a sound behind him. He realized Squid Adler was no longer next to him.
Indistinct shouting and a fresh round of crazed shrieks meant that he had bigger problems to worry about. X raised his buster and fired unhesitatingly at the first of the approaching maniacs. These Reploids were beyond hope, defective from their completion or warped irreparably by the Sigma Virus. The buster shot separated its victim's head from its body, but the next one in line grabbed the corpse and held it like a shield. X swore at the development and switched to Boomerang Cutter.
His first volley of three sliced off the head and limbs of a few more, but the maniacs were suicidally devoted to their newfound purpose of tearing him apart and simply shoved their comrades' corpses aside and continued their charge.
Now with almost no time left to take down over half a dozen of them, X began running backwards as fast as he could manage while charging his buster. He was alarmed for a minute when a single red shot the size of the hallway erupted from his buster before remembering he'd taken Zero's buster parts to replace his. Suicidal bloodlust was no match for searing plasma and the Reploids finally knew peace.
The way forward cleared, X started looking around for where Squid Adler had gone. The same scratching noise came from ahead. X couldn't see anything, but he charged a Chameleon Sting to be safe before proceeding.
He found himself in a tall room with spiderweb covering the walls. Several tall poles extended as far as he could see upward. A screech came from above him and X went invisible just before a large spider crashed down on the floor where he'd last been. Bospider retreated back up to the ceiling on one of the poles before X could counterattack, and dropped several smaller spider drones to the floor.
The drones immediately leaped towards X, hoping to pin him to the ground. X hastily swatted away them away, but they'd given an adequate distraction as he was a second too slow to dodge Bospider and ended up with his leg pinned. Thankfully the spider didn't seem to notice and it simply retreated back up to the ceiling again. He fired back at it, but its armor simply deflected his shots. The next time it came down, a large red eye in the center of its abdomen opened up and swept a sensor beam across the floor. X jumped it and fired back, causing Bospider to reel and screech.
"Now we're talking," he thought with satisfaction. Five more attempts to damage the monstrosity later though, X still couldn't see any visible signs of damage. It was time to switch tactics. X used a Boomerang Cutter to slash one of the poles apart, causing it and Bospider to topple to the ground with a crash, with most of the pole burying the upended spider. It managed to right itself just before X got within shooting range but without poles to web guide its crude optical system the machine was forced to use its scanner again.
X leaped on the spider and began firing shot after shot into its giant red eye. Bospider bucked more violently with each shot, attempting to throw him off. It finally succeeded after it reared too high and fell on its back, crushing X under its body.
As his boomerang returned to its rightful place atop his head, Boomer Kuwanger returned to his ceiling perch to seek out a new target. Seeing another maniac Reploid ahead, he raised his arm and released a single energy blade. The Reploid looked down to see it protruding from his chest before Kuwanger decapitated him with another.
A faint cry caught the attention of his finely-tuned audioreceptors. Not a sound Sigma's unstable goons would likely make. Kuwanger abandoned his idle ceiling perch and raced off to find the source.
As he drew closer he heard shrieks and buster fire, but also that voice again. He kicked the grate of a ventilation shaft out to see what he vaguely recognized as one of Sigma's fortress guardians dueling with X. But the call had come from above them.
He looked up to see Squid Adler bound to the ceiling with spiderweb. Without hesitating Kuwanger teleported close enough to jump and grab the webbing before slashing it apart. As he did another loud crash came from below and he saw Bospider flailing on the floor, trying to right itself.
But there was no sign of X.
"No!" Adler yelled and dove for the spider, Kuwanger sliding down the wall after him. Without hesitating, Adler pierced its thick armor with his tentacles and delivered the strongest electrical shock he could muster. Bospider jerked violently, and one of its legs wrapped around Adler. The two began struggling furiously as Boomer Kuwanger started pelting the former with energy cutters and strikes from his headpiece.
Neither of them seemed to be having any effect until Adler shocked the spider again. This time it lurched enough to right itself and launch more miniatures. The drones furiously began hacking away at Adler's tentacles before moving towards his body. Kuwanger shot them to pieces as he ran to X.
"X, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just a little banged up. Go help Adler, I'll join you in a sec."
"Doesn't look like there's a need..." Kuwanger's voice trailed off as a brilliant blue flash lit up the room and Bospider collapsed, smoke and the odor of fried circuits pouring from four holes in its abdominal eye.
"Hell of a job, Squid Adler."
"Just doing my best to protect you, sir. You're more important to this operation than me. We should get a move on."
"Speaking of which..." Kuwanger didn't need to continue for X to know what he was about to bring up.
"I'll handle it. I don't want either of you to intercede." Off Adler's confused look Kuwanger explained to him in aside while X went ahead to find a way to reactivate the lights.
Throne Room, Sigma Palace
Sigma was furious. Of all things he should've predicted Storm Eagle's treason, but he hadn't counted on the avian luring away half of his generals.
"You called, sir?"
"Yes. Bring Teal here. Force her to cooperate by any means necessary but I want her alive." The guard bowed and walked out.
While the guard was on his errand Sigma mentally rehearsed what he would say. It was more out of habit from his Maverick Hunter days than anything - one had to be careful when briefing the media - but it had never failed him.
As the guard returned Velguarder stirred from its resting place in the corner and came to its master's side. Sigma dismissed the guard and stood over Teal, who was on her knees.
"I suppose you remember the conditions under which you were to be spared?"
Not expecting the question, she looked up in confusion. Sigma gave her a minute to digest the meaning of his words before addressing the Maverick Hunters.
"Maverick Hunters, why do you resist? Why do you refuse to awaken to the true potential of our kind? I shall give you one chance: come forward and lay your arms before me, and you shall be honored with a place in the new order we will create together!"
He paused. "I now speak directly to you, X. You have continued to resist me, and highlight the potential all of our kind possess. I will transmit the coordinates and a path to my location within this fortress. Let us conclude this war the same way we started it: together, and alone! Our duel determines the fate of humanity!"
Another pause. "And now...to those too cowardly to admit their defection...I know who you are. I need not mention who you are for the world to know. You have nothing left should you return to the side of the humans. And now, you will lose what precious little you have if you return to me. Make peace with yourselves, for you have precious few hours left to live here, and even fewer options should you flee."
Sigma's eyes focused on Teal as he spoke. There was no response, but Sigma knew enough about her to predict that she would inwardly be making frantic pleas for X to hurry up.
30 minutes later
"Okay, Sigma's 'directions' say to keep heading downward, so I guess we'll take that vent down. I'll stay on point." X dropped down the vent, followed by Squid Adler, Boomer Kuwanger, Storm Eagle, Spark Mandrill, and Sting Chameleon.
Nothing eventful happened until they dropped down another vent that unceremoniously dumped them underwater, causing everyone but X and Squid Adler to short-circuit.
"Great," the former grumbled, as they dragged their unconscious comrades to a dry ledge.
"We'll keep going. There's got to be a set of controls to drain the basement. I can see pump intakes along the walls. Once that's done we can worry about them."
"You're the boss," Adler muttered. X couldn't help but notice that he'd become rather quiet since Sigma's announcement.
"Look, you don't have to come along - "
"And I've told you already, it's my duty as a Hunter to fight, as much as it is yours, X. This is not up for discussion; I am coming with you."
X could see that there was no point in pursuing the argument and motioned for Adler to follow him. A single Anglerge and some Gulpfers were all that Sigma had stationed in this room, and while X fired off Homing Torpedoes to dispatch the latter, Squid Adler went straight for the former, frying it with blasts of electricity.
With the opposition cleared, X knocked down the door now in front of them, revealing the pump controls and a rather lifeless Launch Octopus.
"Octopardo?" Adler asked tentatively. There was no response.
"Launch Octopus!" X called forcefully. This time, he slowly turned to face them, revealing a blank expression, and eyes with the Sigma logo for irises...
"I am Launch Octopus," he (it? His personality seemed nonexistent) droned. A pause, as if he was straining to hear what he was told to say. "I am under orders to deal with any intruders."
"This isn't funny, Octopardo! Cut it out!"
"Adler, he isn't joking with you. Sigma must have hard-wired a bypass to his IC chip or something after the incident with the Maverick Militia. All that's present here is a shell. You're friend is likely dead."
"No! I won't accept it! His personality's intact in there, it's just being overridden!" Adler propelled himself towards him and shook Launch Octopus with his tentacles, as if hoping to break the Sigma Virus' hold through brute force.
"Adler, as your commanding officer, I order you to stand back or I will blast you both!" X thundered. This wasn't the time for sentiments. Sigma clearly had a plan far beyond what they had envisioned and who knew how many lives it could cost if he and his companions couldn't reach him in time. They didn't have anyone else to spare from guarding the wounded and landing zones, so if they failed, it was as good as total defeat.
Adler gave no acknowledgement of the command, but his shaking slowed and he eventually let go, floating to the ceiling of the room, visibly upset. Launch Octopus, on the other hand, seemed rather undisturbed by the whole situation. An instant later, however, his eyes focused upon X and he spoke again.
"Intruder detected. The will of Master Sigma commands me to fight." Nothing less than X had expected. This was going to be a pushover.
X charged up Rolling Shield and soon he was encased in a protective cocoon of energy that shattered Launch Octopus' first wave of drones. X closed the distance to Launch Octopus with a dash and the impact of the shield against his pressure hull sent him flying backwards into the wall, while leaving a large crack in it.
"Reactions aren't what they used to be, huh?" X taunted, trying to see how much emotion was really left in that lifeless body.
Launch Octopus' only response was to begin rapid-firing torpedo salvos. X charged another Rolling Shield, but the barrier collapsed as the torpedoes struck it, to his dismay. No matter, the Spiral Crush would solve that.
To his surprise, the shot was no longer the stream of red charged shots that it had been, but a single, massive, wall of plasma that spanned nearly half of the room's height, with a vestige of a spherical shape. Launch Octopus' torpedoes were incinerated and his pressure hull shattered from the crushing blast.
X raised his buster and fired one more shot to finish his opponent, however, Squid Adler darted from his vantage point on the ceiling and covered Launch Octopus' shattered body with his own.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" X demanded.
"I...If you touch him, I'll...I'll hurt you!" Adler stammered. "You of all Reploids should understand the most how much friendship means to me!"
The snarl of anger slid off X's face, but his position didn't change. "I can't let you do that, Squid Adler. It would be regarded as treason to the government to aid a Maverick. It's a guaranteed visit to the base brig at the very least, and it's punishable by execution at its worst. For both the Reploid directly involved and anyone who doesn't stop him. I will still remove you by force if necessary."
"Then use it, goddammit! You know how subjective these laws are! And even if you let me go, you're the most powerful Reploid the humans have left, they wouldn't dare put you on trial!"
"I...I can't take that risk. I started the Maverick problem; I can't just sit by and let others take care of it."
"Do it, or I'll make you! Don't tell me you're another indecisive weakling, X!" there was a crazed edge to Squid Adler's voice now.
X flushed with anger, but still hesitated. Squid Adler suddenly seized his buster arm and plunged all of his tentacles into it while surging electricity through them. X screamed in pain and yanked his arm away, but still didn't shoot back.
Instead, he took advantage of Squid Adler moving off his friend to finish off Launch Octopus. Adler screamed in rage and X found himself pinned to the floor by a half dozen tentacles. He raised his buster for what he knew might be the last time and fired at the pump controls, causing the water to start draining just as Squid Adler discharged his internal dynamo's full load.
A yell that rose above the deep gurgling of draining water caught Storm Eagle's attention. When he reached the control room, he found X lying facedown and Launch Octopus' remains scattered across the floor. The former groaned and pushed himself onto all fours as Storm Eagle approached.
"Where's Squid Adler?"
"Gone." X sighed. "Don't blame him entirely though."
"Why not absolve him of all blame? You of all Reploids would understand."
"My systems disagree strongly with my sentiment."
Storm Eagle decided not to push any further as the remainder of their allies caught up. "Then we should get a move on."
The group pushed further into the castle, approaching a walkway spanning two sections. X noticed that the moon was about to set, bathing the vast ocean below with pure white light. X sat down by the largest window, hugging his knees.
How many times since the start of the rebellion had he wished he was just a civilian Reploid. One that could have friends without chronic fear of losing them, enjoy what was meaningful to him without constantly looking over his shoulder, and where he could make decisions without worrying about how much blood would be shed as a result.
As if reading his thoughts, Spark Mandrill approached. "We were all given the opportunity to define ourselves when we were given free will, X. But to be who we want to, we must fight now to shed our current images."
Storm Eagle came over too. "We can't allow ourselves to be retrained by our current situation. You of all of us cannot afford it, X. You were built with the ability to choose your own path, but your lineage has defined it thus far; the armor you're wearing is proof of that. All you can do is traverse the pipeline to its end and see what remains open to you from then on."
X chuckled wearily. "Since when were you guys shrinks, or assigned to me at that?"
"You told all of this to us, X. We're just helping you remember it." Boomer Kuwanger came over.
"And what told you I needed reminders? I'm fine," X muttered.
"There is no faster killer of conviction than responsibility. We've all been there before you, X. And nobody, human or Reploid, is immune to the effects of loss."
"Look, now isn't the time – "
"There is always time to ensure the well-being of your comrades, X. The strongest army is a motivated one."
"Guys, please – "
"X, there's no need to hide it. Some have tried and been driven to madness by it. Why do you think most Maverick Hunters are purpose-built and coded for their role? And besides, if you weren't around, who could step up in your place? The consequences of our actions are far too complicated for anyone to predict. You can't blame yourself for something you didn't see."
"If you guys are done with the heart-to-heart," squawked Sting Chameleon, "there's about a dozen goons in Ride Armors heading our way."
Spark Mandrill set down several recovered power cells, gesturing to X to use them, and Storm Eagle offered his hand. "C'mon, X. It's time to finish what we started. Just don't lose yourself in the process, or Sigma might just end up winning."
X took it with a small smile, before raising his buster and calling for a charge.
It took mere minutes to take apart the Rider Armor platoon, and X had managed to salvage one for himself (after, of course, offering it to his comrades), but the battle had caused the walkway to collapse under them, and somehow the ground underneath it was not nearly as solid as it looked. X's group was now trapped in the other major link between the segments of the fortress: a long cavern that stretched seemingly endlessly and with no light.
X took point in the Ride Armor while his systems put the recovered energy pellets to use repairing his body, but there was no need. The passage was seemingly deserted.
Suddenly the machine ground to a halt. X cursed his stupidity for not turning on the chassis-mounted headlights. They had run into the end of the passage.
"Dammit, we need to turn around."
"It looks like this wall isn't very thick. We can try blasting our way through," Storm Eagle suggested.
"What if you bring the cavern down on us?"
"It's a risk we'll have to take, Spark Mandrill. X will be okay regardless of what happens, he's in the Ride Armor." With that, Storm Eagle raised his buster and the tornado ripped into the fake wall, destroying it and the pillars it was hiding. The ceiling of the passage crackled ominously, but it held.
They had cleared two more fake walls out of the way before the ceiling finally gave way near the first pillar's location. The crash of falling rocks masked the roar and smashing of a Mole Borer, so the group had little prior warning before the revolving spike drum nearly pounded Spark Mandrill into the ground.
"Back, now!" X spread the Ride Armor's arms wide, but Boomer Kuwanger slipped under it. Before X could react, the former had teleported behind the Ride Armor and slashed it's fuel line. The machine sputtered to a halt, it's spiked drum slowing but still rotating ominously at maximum elevation.
X brought the Ride Armor forward to heave the machine out of the way, only for another Mole Borer facing the opposite direction to fall on top of it. The Ride Armor collapsed under the weight of the mining machine as X rolled desperately to avoid being crushed. The Mole Borer continued on it's way as though nothing had happened, banging and rattling down the passage and leaving clouds of dust in its wake.
"Let's follow it, guys, it probably knows the way forward." When nobody objected, X led on, tracking the Mole Borer by the heat of its engine.
The din subsided after a few moments, replaced by the faint crackle of flames. The Mole Borer had fallen onto a spike pit that had punctured the fuel tank. Storm Eagle came forward to extinguish the flames and blow as much of the dust covering the tunnel away as possible before the group crossed the spike pit using the burnt wreckage as a stepping stone.
A very dead-looking Armored Armadillo was waiting for them in the next room. Spark Mandrill blasted him against the back wall with a pulse before X could so much as raise his buster. The armor plates fell off and what was left of Armored Armadillo crashed into the back wall, where he remained limp and motionless. X motioned for everyone to keep moving, but as they moved past Armored Armadillo lashed out with one of his katanas, showing surprising speed for an empty shell. Storm Eagle kicked the sword away before the former could swing it again and in the next second a hail of weapon fire had shredded Armored Armadillo.
Throne Room
They would succeed in reaching him. Sigma was no fool; he knew that was all but certain.
But it was all part of the plan. He rose from his chair and pressed a button on the console in front of him. A door to a side passage opened and he forced Teal through before entering himself and sealing the passage behind Velguarder, who had followed him in. A short walk brought him to what had once been Death Rogumer's hanger, re-purposed into his personal hangar. Though it was similar to his throne room in that one wall was lined with screens and a console, it was also the incubator for the next step of his evolution. Serges had promised that his new body would be the most powerful in existence, possessing attacks that could level entire towns and a damage-control system that made it nearly unstoppable as it drew power straight from the fortress's reactor.
It would also, according to the braniac Reploid, accelerate the evolution of his programming and its offshoot, the Sigma Virus. Feeding on layer after layer of personality code and programming downloaded into his body, the virus would, with enough time, evolve into a living, constantly changing code that no antivirus program would ever be capable of inhibiting. It would be unstoppable. He would be unstoppable.
In one fell swoop, he would crush X and anyone and anything else humanity could raise against him and assure his ascension to heights of power no ruler had ever reached before. X had shown him the path to ultimate power, now he would show the world what Reploids were truly capable of. Wolf Sigma, as the Maverick leader had come to call his new form, could easily purge the fortress of all interlopers. And in 24 hours, when the fortress would arrive back over the coast near Abel City, Sigma would strike the human race down by cutting off the head.
All that stood between him and world conquest was the existence of five Reploids. And while he grew stronger, they grew ever weaker in their struggle to reach him.
The group had stumbled into a seemingly empty room decorated with an intricate mural. Until the floor had sprouted energy spikes almost under their feet and the mural had come to life. Boomer Kuwanger was attempting to cover Spark Mandrill, who had nearly lost an arm to one of Rangda Bangda's blue, sawblade-lined eyes in the opening attack, while the others dodged and weaved frantically amongst an onslaught of energy shots and suicidal eyeballs of various colors, close calls with the spike pit abounding.
"Sigma must have converted this from the gift he got from the Vietnamese government!" Storm Eagle shouted as his tornado batted away an eye.
"Never mind the history, how do we kill it?" X shouted from across the room as his Crush Buster flattened a green eye. "For all we know this thing can keep producing eyeballs, and we have little terrain to maneuver on - augh!" One of the blue eyes had taken advantage of X's distracted state to ram itself into his chest, the hardened steel teeth on the saws gouging deep cuts in his armor. X steeled himself and seized the eyeball with one hand and forced it away through a combination of kicking and pushing, trying not to stare at the sight of his hand and legs shredded to the underframe. Chameleon Sting rained down on the eyeball as it tried to regain its bearings, its caster crawling on the ceiling above.
The lasers not only blinded the navigational optics of the eye, but the third fried it from the inside, causing it to drop with a heavy clunk onto the ground. X switched to Chameleon Sting to help, and soon two green and a red eyeball had joined the blue one on the floor. Storm Eagle shot down another blue eye with razor feathers, and immediately one of the eye sockets exploded in a shower of sparks. Just as they thought they had figured out how to win, however, the walls rumbled and rushed towards each other, narrowing the standing room on either side of the spike pit to zero.
Author's Note: A heartfelt thank you to everyone who reviewed and read this story.
So as you can probably infer, the final encounter will be very different from what it is in X1 and Maverick Hunter X. I don't know when I'll have it up as I'm starting college four days from when this chapter was published, but rest assured, I haven't forgotten this story. Once the school year starts, I'll post an update about how often I estimate I can keep uploading chapters.
Thanks for your patience, readers, and be safe!
Edit: Oops, I made a continuity flub in the Bospider fight. Thank you to the anonymous reviewer who pointed that out!