Memories of the Past Chapter Two

A Mega Man X Fan-Fiction

By Hoenn Master

When Lionheart next awoke, the just barely rising sun was shining through the canopy of the escape ship, as well as the humming of the engine, the sudden light of the sun, and the knowledge that he was in the air flying immediately reminded him of where he was, and what had happened. Soon, his systems assaulted him with the data files which had been processed during the course of his sleep cycle. He ignored them for the moment, however, to study several entirely new sights to him. Firstly, the strange sleeping man in front of him, the light noises he was making being defined as snoring by his internal dictionary; then the ocean, which stretched out in all directions like a massive blue blanket. Finally, he turned his attention to the clouds, as well as the many indicators on the control panel in front of the human.

Of course, his subroutines told him not to touch anything he wasn't familiar with, as pressing the wrong thing was more than likely going to result in death. Furthermore, Lionheart had little to no interest in actually interacting with his surroundings at the moment, anyway; he supposed that he should be more curious, and the temptation was indeed great to awaken the apparent scientist in front of him to bombard him with questions, but he refrained. His morality systems were shouting harsh reminders to use something called 'common sense' when interacting with the world to keep them in the forefront of his mind. Lionheart assumed that meant act with caution and discretion; though the definition of those words was in his internal dictionary, their meaning was something of a mystery to him.

Nevertheless, it wasn't very long before the cramped dimensions of the craft became obvious; Lionheart's legs, while his combat systems touted them as an advantage in melee, were clearly not meant for such a cramped space. Regardless, the young Reploid soldiered on; awakening the human in front of him, while a tempting premise, was something Lionheart wasn't sure he wanted to do. After all, humans tended to take longer to take in their surroundings and awaken than Reploids did, if his internal systems were giving him correct analysis of general human sleeping habits, and if he panicked, things might get ugly quite quickly. Nevertheless, the fact remained that the pressure on his armor coverings restricted his movement and caused his legs to be skewed in such a way that it was most definitely uncomfortable.

Thankfully, it was only a few more minutes before the rising sun shone with enough strength to interrupt the human's sleep, as well as illuminate a strip of land on the horizon, which was quickly growing larger. The human yawned and blinked his eyes before shaking his head and looking around at the flight controls and promptly cursed.

"Tch, of course the emergency coordinates would be for San Francisco; it couldn't have been Pearl Harbor, or some more sane location. Just what I need; the Western Maverick Hunters on my case…"

Lionheart deemed this was a suitable time to interrupt the human researcher before him, and did so. "Excuse me, sir; where are we, and why are we escaping from the laboratories?"

The researcher jumped slightly; he had apparently forgotten that he had a newly built Reploid sitting just behind him. The man coughed, but responded. "Ah. You're a new-built, so you wouldn't know. You were an experimental Reploid built by Doctor Alexander Iscariot. I don't know anything more than that, really; I just went into his private workrooms to see if I could get anything of value."

"Did you succeed?"

"That depends on your definition of 'success'; Doctor Iscariot was an austere man, apparently. All he had in there was you," at that, he devolved into another series of grumbled curses of the doctor's lack of helpfulness even until the very end.

"Then I assume you are going to the authorities to report the violence in the laboratories?"

"Yeah, I'll have to; can't go running around with an illegal roid on my tail, and the media hyenas will be all over the destruction like moths to a flame."

Lionheart blinked at that, one word standing out as a bad thing in his internal dictionaries. "I am an illegal Reploid?"

"Why do you think you were built in an isolated lab by one doctor, rather than on a conveyor belt? It's not that you're illegal, but private Reploids usually turn Maverick and get killed anyway, so the governments of the world thought that establishing a blanket policy that treats private Reploids as probable Maverick cases would be easier than investigating each one individually. Don't go blabbing you're a privately made model, and you'll probably be fine. Unless Iscariot decided to 'sign his work', then you're up the creek, and I'm not coming to save your bacon."

"I see. Then I also assume we will be parting ways once we've landed in San Francisco?"

"Bingo, kid; at least you're smarter than most new-builts. I'm dropping you off as a recruit for the Maverick Hunters; those busters you have aren't standard, and they'd look suspicious anywhere else," the man shivered slightly. "Can't leave any bread crumbs behind, can I?"

Lionheart looked puzzled, but nodded. "I assume my combat abilities are high enough to warrant the classification of 'war machine', rather than, 'average Reploid', then?"

"Looks like you got the picture, kid."

By this time, the land mass was apparent, as was the size of the city. It was much larger than Lionheart had imagined, but it wasn't long before a gruff voice broke out over the communications channel of the escape ship.

"This is San Francisco International Airport. Unidentified vessel, you have one minute to state your business before you are reported."

The man cursed again and fumbled around until he found the transmitter. "This is an escape vessel from Largano Laboratories. Mavericks destroyed the facility. There's one Reploid with me who wasn't destroyed, as well. I think we're the only survivors."

After a brief silence, the craft began to slow down, and the voice was heard again. "Copy escape craft; we are patching you through to Maverick Hunter H.Q. Get clearance from them and land at their airbase."

The man sighed in relief. "Roger."

After another brief pause, the escape ship slowed down even more, and started banking into a wide turn, circling over an absolutely massive complex; large antiaircraft arrays and rows of fighter mechaniloids and manned aircraft were clearly visible. Suddenly, there was a brief crackle, and a woman's voice carried over the communications system.

"This is the Western Maverick Hunter Headquarters. Unidentified vessel, you are reportedly all that is left from Largano Laboratories. Is this correct?"

The researcher immediately responded. "Yes. Mavericks attacked our facility and one combat Reploid and myself managed to escape. The combat Reploid is a new-built, and wishes to enlist, now that his original purpose is rendered moot."

There was a brief pause, then, "We are sending you coordinates to one of our landing pads. Please land and present yourselves to the units who will be awaiting you."

The man pumped his fist and grinned. "Of course. Thank you."

The communication then ended, and within ten minutes, Lionheart, along with the man he'd escaped his original home with, were being escorted into the headquarters of the Western Maverick Hunters. Almost as soon as they entered the building, Lionheart began to draw curious stares; for what reason, he couldn't imagine, but judging by the mixture of fear and awe, it more than likely wasn't something good. Regardless, he was soon separated from his companion and sent through a checkpoint, where he began to realize the extent of his non-standard design. The units operating the equipment to disengage his combat systems took much longer than even they thought they would, causing a fair rise in emotions on their end. However, it was eventually accomplished with minimal hair loss on either side, and Lionheart was lead into a plain room with a single wooden table and two metal chairs; one on each side.

"Sit down and await the interrogator; he will be in shortly."

Lionheart nodded and took the chair facing a wall-length mirror, supposing that it was one-way glass, if his situational analysis systems were functioning properly. It was less than a minute before a female Reploid with chestnut hair tied into a bun entered the room. She looked at Lionheart intensely for a moment before pulling out the second chair for herself and sitting down.

Lionheart look quizzically at the woman before leaning forward onto the table. He looked her straight into the eye, a trait his systems told him was both polite and indicative of honesty. "Greetings; while it makes no difference, I am curious as to why I was told a male would be questioning me, and then you arrive, miss. Unless you will not be questioning me?"

The woman looked slightly taken aback at Lionheart's observation, clearly not expecting such an astute question from a Reploid so young, if what the researcher from the Largano Laboratories was true. "As you said, it doesn't matter. Our other interrogator is currently working on something else, and I was asked to step in. Now, no more questions out of you for now. I'll do the asking."

Lionheart nodded in understanding, but didn't speak further.

With a sigh to compose herself, the woman immediately began asking various questions; it mostly remained as standard fare, at least, as far as his information banks informed him. What he had seen, what he had done, and various other questions. In his opinion, the forceful way in which the woman was looming over him at times, and the heated tone in which she spoke were entirely unneeded; he was complying, was he not? Nevertheless, as her tone never became more heated or hostile, Lionheart assumed that this was likely her natural method of questioning, and was not, in fact, due to any resistance on his part.

Regardless, it was nearly an hour and a half before the session ended, the questions ceased, and Lionheart was permitted to breathe freely again. He was mentally and physically drained; not only had he never been awake so long before in his life, but the stress of the situation and the torrent of questions was more than his still developing systems were capable of fully handling. However, shutting down in that moment wasn't an option; chiefly amongst the reasons was that he lacked any sort of secure feeling in doing so. He was in unfamiliar territory, and after the semi-hostile interrogation, he had no intention of shutting down where people who had little interest in his personal safety could easily access him without his knowledge, especially considering his weapons systems were still on lockdown.

With strength he hardly knew he possessed, he postponed the recommendation from his system to shutdown and process the information, instead standing up from his chair. After all, he had yet to apply for the Maverick Hunters and get his systems restored to full functionality. "Excuse me; I have a few questions."

The interrogator raised an eyebrow and stood as well. "What is the question?"

"Would it be possible for me to join the Maverick Hunters? Now that I have no maker and no home to return to, and as I am very much a newly built combat Reploid without a purpose, the Maverick Hunters seem to be the only suitable option for a Reploid of my specifications."

The female Reploid nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm. Well, from what your new dossier will state, you have an excellent chance of being accepted, provided you can furnish a skill or ability which could serve a useful purpose to the Maverick Hunters."

Lionheart smiled gratefully. "Thank you. I will be sure to apply as soon as possible."

The interrogator simply offered a very small smile in return and nodded. "See that you do; you have potential, kid. Wait in here until you're escorted out."

With that, she departed, leaving the young Reploid in a state of slight confusion; his systems inundating him with alerts and notifications clouding his mental vision with their clamorous alert pings. With a sigh and the beginnings of what his mental dictionaries called a 'headache' began to set in. He took off his helmet and set it on the table facing him, and began to rub his temples in an attempt to alleviate the pain as he waited for his promised release.

Thankfully, it was only a few minutes before two burly Reploids stepped into the room in front of a young reploid man in a laboratory coat. He was decidedly a standard science model male Reploid, Lionheart decided, but he was a welcome sight all the same.

"I have your dossier, Mister Lionheart. I'll need a sample of your D.N.A, as well as your confirmation that you've seen it and accepted it. Please note that any corrections you wish to make will be verified during your medical examination should you ever arouse the interest of the Maverick Hunters again."

"Thank you; I'd like to look it over first, if you please," Lionheart requested in a polite tone, holding out a hand for the document. Strangely, though, the science Reploid blinked, looking slightly shocked, and promptly handed over the document.

Lionheart, confused by the sudden look of surprise on the scientist's face, could only assume something else had the Reploid on edge. He quickly looked around the room, but only he and the three other people were in the vicinity. With that observation taken care of, he simply dismissed the incident as most likely a personal problem on behalf of the scientist, and examined the data pad in his hands.

The dossier read:

Chosen Name: Lionheart

Occupation: None. Possible Maverick Hunter recruit

Combat Type: Ranged- mid to short range combatant. Though additional [DATA REDACTED; LEVEL FOUR (4) SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED]

Personality: Subject is compliant, obedient, and highly intelligent. Seemingly has extensive vocabulary of English, though other languages remain untested. Further study warranted.

Physical Characteristics: Has a strong resemblance to Class-'S' Maverick Hunter Zero; possibly a design inspiration.

Height: In Imperial Units, subject is six feet, three inches. In Metric Units, unit is one hundred ninety point five centimeters.

Age: Unknown, though subject claims to have been built within the last five years; estimates are sometime in the year 2205.

Hair color: Dark sandy blonde. Short and in a cut similar to military styles.

Eye color: Blue

Sex: Male; further examination for anatomical correctness required.

Description: Subject is, for a newly built reploid, incredibly alert, observant, and intelligent. He is clearly a war machine, if his direct, obedient, and analytical approach is anything to judge by. Subject has high potential as a combat support unit, and possibly as second in command of a small unit. Subject is, by all initial estimations, ready for combat testing and examination for initiation as a Maverick Hunter. Subject has incredibly powerful [DATA REDACTED; LEVEL FOUR (4) SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED]

End of document.

Lionheart blinked after reading his dossier; it was, for obvious reasons, a short document, and most of the information was taken directly from his internal statistics; clearly deactivating his weapons wasn't the only thing the engineers did while they were in his weapon subroutines. Regardless, there was very little to say about the document. After all, he knew as much about himself as the paperwork did at this point, though the security clearance being required to read the fullness of the dossier both intrigued and disturbed him. Nevertheless, he doubted that the data was something I didn't already know, though if what the human he'd come with to get here was to be believed, then he might just be much more of a 'war machine' than he'd expected. There seemed to be a curious gap in his internal systems in advanced Reploid behavior, though the norms were plainly there. Regardless, the only information the document refused to reveal were his combat capabilities. By implication, that meant that his exact abilities were either incredibly powerful, incredibly dangerous, or both. Still, the scientist was rocking on the balls of his feet, and he even cleared his throat lightly. Lionheart's systems informed him that the man would need a response soon. So, he nodded and slid the data pad in the scientist's direction, pleased that he didn't outwardly react this time.

"I see no incorrect information in this document. Thank you for allowing me to read it."

The scientist nodded. "Of course. Now, onto the reason I am here. You have expressed interest in joining the Maverick Hunters, correct?"

Lionheart nodded, though he was very much confused at the security clearance requirement to see the fullness of his dossier. The change in subject was sudden and jarring, causing the young Reploid to think that questioning it much further wasn't something to be done at the current time. "Indeed, sir. I am a combat Reploid without a purpose as of the events of yesterday."

"And you are certain of this?"

"I am."

"Well, then, as all accounts of your conduct and capability are in order, I will put in a recommendation for you to join the next set of recruits to be trained in Maverick Hunting. Until then, we would like you to please report to the medical wings to be given a full physical examination, as well as another screening for contaminants and the like. Then, you will report to the quartermaster to be assigned a room in the male quarters. He will explain further when you speak with him."

Lionheart nodded again. "Very well; thank you."

The scientist nodded in response. "The guards will escort you. Please follow them."

"Of course," Lionheart said as he stood, grabbing his helmet and placing it back on his head as he did so. "Lead the way, and I shall follow."

The scientist nodded as the trio passed by him, and remained standing in the same position until he was certain all three of them were out of sight before leaving the room and crossing the hallway to a communications channel. After giving a cursory glance in either direction, and dialed two numbers and waited. After three rings, the screen flared to life, showing the austere face of Lifesaver on the other end.

"What do you require?"

"I'm sending you a D.N.A. sample from a Reploid that came in today; his dossier already has level four clearance on his combat capabilities, and I want you to process that sample as quickly as you can. I have a feeling Commanders Zero and Signas will want to hear about this."

A.N.:

You wouldn't believe the amount of writer's block I get sometimes. Regardless, here is the second chapter, wherein Lionheart begins his journey into the Maverick Hunters. Not much else to say, really. Now, to any readers out there; please, I implore you, if you see an error, or are confused about something, or simply want to tell me I'm a moron and that I need to fix this story, I want to know. I can't improve without knowing what I need to work on, and your input is both needed, and valued.

Signed: Hoenn Master, forever a patriot.