Chapter 2: "Imperfect Storm"

Dr. Cain's eyes were tight as they reflected the holographic display over the table in front of him, a hand stroking his long, frosty beard. Alia stood at the left side of the table from him, datapad in the crook of her arm, with Dex at her side. The faceplate-armored Reploid was entering data into the table's console. Opposite was Signas, already wearing officer markings in the few short months since Sigma's fall.

Their grim attention was pulled to the door of Maverick Hunter headquarters' command center, X walking through briskly. Parts of his armor were still scuffed and dented from his foray through the factory. "Please tell me we know something, and that I'm cleared for it?"

Signas' expression was unreadable beyond his optics following the legendary yet B-class Hunter. Alia tried to offer a gentle smile, but remained silent with Dex for the moment.

It allowed Dr. Cain to respond, his hand falling from his beard to rest on his cane's handle with the other. "Indeed, X. There's no reason to exclude the hero of the hour. Lieutenant Alia and her comrades were just starting their report."

X tipped his head, and stood opposite the doctor, hands on the edge of the table. Alia was struck by the sudden maturity etched through the Reploid's face, and the strangely heavy weight that seemed to press down on his relatively small frame. "Please continue?" he asked, optics on her.

Alia nodded, and raised her datapad. Dex started typing again. "The important parts are as follows: the factory's activity was normal until a data-access from long distance seventy-two hours ago. At first there was no cause for alarm, which is why we weren't called for the first forty-eight hours. That contact originated from a cybernetics facility from an island several hundred miles North, in the ocean, near the polar region."

The holotable, thanks to Dex, whirled across a hybrid satellite and topographical, 3D map, revealing the vaguely rectangular island, and its rather conspicuously green, hilly geography.

Signas spoke up at this point, his smooth voice utterly calm. "It was a hub of scientific research up to about five years ago. The entire island. A financial crash forced investment out, and it all but collapsed as a small country. Beyond some pockets of civilian population still living there, nothing has come out of that island since Sigma launched his attack."

X shared a meaningful gaze with Signas for a core-pulse, then looked to Alia again, "Not that it matters, but why isn't the place iced over?"

Alia actually gestured to Dr. Cain, who answered, "Weather-control experiments focused on terraforming inhospitable environments for greater civilian use. They proved difficult to mass-produce, so it was reduced to a quirk of the island. It actually has several distinct environmental zones otherwise impossible on an island of its size and location."

X tipped his head. "Do we have the cybernetics facility's location?"

Dex looked up finally. "Yes, sir. Here."

The map shifted, highlighting a portion of cityscape near the central region of the island.

Thunder rolled in the distance. X's head tilted faintly, only because it took particularly heavy thunder to really penetrate the armored walls of the fortress they called their base. Dismissing it quickly, he nodded to Dex. "Thanks. Dr. Cain? May I ask who we're sending?"

The only human present smirked faintly. "Containment first, X. I'm getting authorization from the human authorities to sever that facility's connection to the network entirely. Neutered, we can then send in a strike force to resolve the issue."

It was clear to everyone in the large room that X was consciously constraining his desire to challenge the point. "…Might I request being on that team then?"

"I'll consider it, X. You're certainly valuable for just that sort of mission. For now, however, this is best suited to Alia and her talented team."

X relaxed upright, nodding. He gave Alia a smile. He was about to say something when klaxons sounded, and red alerts flashed across the walls. Almost at the same time, the building trembled from a staccato assault of impacts all around its sides.

Nothing was said yet, because it wasn't needed. Alia and Dex were at consoles behind Dr. Cain like blurs, the scientist twisting around and marching up after them.

X and Signas ran out of the room. "The roof!" X suggested quickly.

Maverick Hunters were scrambling to battle stations, but it was clear no one knew exactly what was happening.

Alia's optics widened just as X and Signas burst out onto the roof of the building. Even Signas' normal composure lapsed into awe.

The sky was broiling with almost black clouds, sheet lightning streaming through it like waves in an ocean. Fracturing lattices of dancing light were pouring down, berating the city all around them. Claws of it were scraping and crashing into the massive Maverick Hunter base constantly. Disaster sirens were sounding across the city.

X's hand snapped to his audio receptor. "Alia! Talk to me!"

Alia touched her ear as well, "Massive storm system! It's over the entire city, and I've never seen patterns like this! I'm trying to get a scan put together that can make sense of this, possibly get a source!"

Dex added, "I'm confirming weather reports. This entire system just kicked up within the last hour. I'm networking to meteorological centers, and they're all lost. This isn't natural."

Dr. Cain's eyes sharpened harshly. "X… that question you asked…"

X's face fell serious as well. "Weather manipulation."

Alia had already been working furiously at her console. "…Yes, confirmed! The anomalous weather patterns and pressure currents track all the way back to the same island! It spanned half the planet in less than an hour!"

Signas glanced over his shoulder to X on the roof. "They didn't just perfect it, they weaponized it."

Then they froze again. Humans and Reploids hurrying on the streets below and throughout the buildings, even within headquarters where they could get a view of the outside, all halted, stunned by horror.

Tornadoes were swirling into life, churning through lightning, and starting to reach down like voracious worms.

X's colors flashed with purple highlights, energy starting to dance over his body. "Alia, Dex, I need a crash-course in meteorological systems. We need to break the storm, and it has to happen now!"

He was already dashing and leaping off the roof, blasting a charged tornado of his own from his buster.

As X's cyclone crashed into and tore apart one of the ones forming from the sky, Signas touched his comm. "Wait, Alia, Dr. Cain, we need that cybernetics facility shut down."

X grimaced. "…He's right. This is a distraction, but we can't ignore it. Someone get that facility cut off!" He fired another tornado as he leapt across another building, dashing for the next tornado. "And we need support out here. Any kind of wind, pressure, or electrical abilities!"

Privately, he added, /Airstrike, Overload! Mobilize anyone you can trust! We have to dissipate this storm system!/

Dex was scrambling his hands over his console. "X, sir, patching you into meteorological databases."

Dr. Cain was over at Alia's console as she started to hack into the network. The human had a comm device at his face.

"Yes, I know you have a disaster in progress! And if you don't give me the clearance I need, it's going to get unimaginably worse! Give us the authorization!"

Alia wasn't waiting, and Dr. Cain wasn't reprimanding her for it.

Maverick Hunters were mobilizing across the city. Ones with abilities that could, fired their unique weapons up, disrupting the electric charges, or ripping open wind currents, trying to break the storm system out of its building ferocity.

Airstrike ripped up through the clouds directly, narrowly slipping between charged masses of lightning, and then swirled around. He unleashed a mini-hurricane around himself, blowing a hole in the storm to the West of headquarters.

Overload was actually letting lightning hit his open hands, his body thrumming with power, before he sent it hurtling up in shimmering masses into the storm system. The cross-currents of power caused the most alien ripples in the clouds, forcing them to still for a core-pulse before they just shivered apart.

Others, like Shimmer and Deepfreeze were already rushing civilians to armored bunkers as lightning scattered down the streets.

X landed to a hard crouch on a building North of headquarters, looking back across the city. Signas had gone back down into the fortress to help with logistics.

For something this devastating to just be a distraction… what on earth is the virus trying to do now? We have no time. Months of waiting, and we have no time. X view fell down on the streets, watching civilians run in near-panic as human authorities and Reploids tried to help guide them to safety. So many lives put at stake for this insanity.

As he considered the gravity of the situation, his processor was working through the data Dex had routed to him. Dex had even cracked some files from the old records of the experiments from the island. The system was based primarily on manipulating energy currents to create fake high/low pressure wind surges. If calculated correctly, the surge could be guided… creating pin-point weather. The charge in the air was unnatural, too powerful and too caustic.

X touched his comm as he blasted another tornado apart. "We need a massive electric charge guided into the central matrix of the storm. I'm relaying coordinates across the Hunter network now." He started to dash and leap across the buildings back toward Maverick Hunter headquarters. His colors snapped, the purple highlights shifting to off-yellow, energy crackling out of his buster. As his body started to glow, he added, "Overload, Volt Catfish, anyone with electrical energy weapons, get to my location, or somewhere you can aim at me. I'm going to redirect that energy into the storm!"

Alia's hands stuttered on her console, but only for a core-pulse. He's going to try to control and direct that kind of energy through his body?

Signas comm'd in as a concerned Hunter, "X, sir, are you sure?"

X arced into a great leap onto headquarters once again, skidding to a halt. "Completely. Energy absorption and redirection is kinda my thing."

That he could chance a bit of humor helped ease the violent tension, and more than one Hunter was starting to smile with some confidence again.

Dr. Cain was trying to pay attention, but was focused on his task more so. "Finally! Thank you! You won't regret it." He cut off his device, and leaned down beside Alia. "We have full authorization. Code verification alpha-tango, zero-five-eight dash four."

Alia smiled faintly. "Just in time to keep me legal. Thanks, Dr. Cain."

Her index finger finished the last entry.

Rushing across the network, through the ocean, and over the island, the glistening computer facility shuddered from a lack of power. Its own generators kicked in soon, but its connection was severed.

Signas looked up from the holotable where he was helping direct teams of Hunters. "Excellent work, Alia. As always, of course."

She smiled over her shoulder at him, but then got up, and started to run out of the room. "Now give me a minute. I need to make sure X doesn't fry himself."

Dr. Cain and Signas blinked at each other, and then Signas twisted. His composure was broken as he awkwardly reached after, then started to chase Alia. "Wait! Lieutenant!"

"He doesn't need an operator now, he needs a friend!" she called back.

Dex only glanced over his shoulder as Signas chased Alia out. True enough, too. He's already put the data to use. Remarkable, X. From saving me from Boom Kuwanger, to learning how to disrupt a storm system in a few minutes. I wish I had that kind of clout.

Dr. Cain was left looking out grimly, focused on Alia's screen showing X on the roof, streams of electricity already flowing into the unique Reploid's tense body. You are certain, though, aren't you, X? I hope you're not tossing your life away like you were against Sigma at every turn. Don't you remember what that kind of brashness cost you?

Overload leapt up onto a neighboring rooftop, his forearms already crackling with power. "X!" he shouted up to the secret leader of their team.

X, all but an effigy of energy himself due to the surging power already engulfing his body from the other Reploids helping, turned and reached his buster toward Overload. The other Hunter rammed his arms up, unleashing a blasting torrent of power into X's waiting arm.

With six other Reploids feeding power into him, X floated off the roof of Maverick Hunter headquarters, and started to aim his buster up at the charged core of the storm. His view was overlaid with meteorological data, showing a storm of differently colored particles swirling into a spherical shape within the clouds.

Alia and Signas burst out onto the roof, Alia gaping at the sight.

X fired. Ring-waves of super-charged energy pulsed out in a concentric pulse just before a surge of energy followed. It was nearly the width of the building itself, rushing up and out, blasting clouds and lightning away, gutting the storm.

Alia looked on, the power and light glistening in her optics. "Absorbing and redirecting that much power into a storm to counteract its pressure system. He really is amazing…"

Signas glanced at her. "Not to run X down, as he's quite a remarkable Reploid, no doubt, but isn't this really more Dr. Light's skill paying off?"

Alia's gaze tightened, and a faint cringe marked her face. "…I suppose it is, but I don't think even with a body that could that I'd be so quick to throw myself into a power-conversion of that scale…"

Allowing himself a private smirk, Signas looked on himself, whispering, "True enough."

And it was working. The storm was already softening, smoothing out like an ocean made still by a perfectly placed splash. Dex watched the data on his screen as the charges neutralized, and the particles began to disperse evenly, naturally.

In just seconds, the sky was clearing, blue atmosphere blinking through wisps of synthetic clouds.

The Reploids helping X ended their channeling powers. Each of them collapsed in their own ways, Overload down on one knee, a hand to his chestplate as his core tried to recharge his weapon and life systems.

X's glowing frame faded, his boots touching the cement roof, and he finally stopped firing. His arms swung down at his sides heavily, his buster reverting to a hand. He watched the storm fully disperse, and started to turn around. His systems blared in protest, his motors whirring and clicking irately.

Alia watched him turn, concern growing every second. When X's eyes, haggard and almost glassy from deep exhaustion, met hers, she ran forward, hands out. Dr. Light's final creation started to collapse, Alia's white hands catching him, then wrapping around him as a support.

Signas was there the next instant, both of them easing X down onto his knees.

"I… think I overdid it… a bit," X breathed out.

"You think?" Alia offered, her almost joking tone belying her fear for his safety. "Let's get you to a repair chamber, X."

X grimaced, trying to raise one leg as his hands clenched over their shoulders. "I… need to get to… that island…"

"X, easy now," Alia continued, Signas holding steady with her. "You need repairs. You never recovered from the factory battle, and you just channeled a catastrophic surge of power through your systems. Dr. Light's genius not withstanding, you need the rest."

"But that island is in…"

Signas cut in, "X, she's right. Listen to her. We'll make sure you're included in the mission to the island."

Alia smiled at Signas for the help, and added, "I'll teleport you there myself, X. Please, let us get you to a repair chamber?"

X at last relented, his head hanging down as his body went limp. When he allowed himself, his body finally agreed with his friends, and knocked him out.

"Thanks," Alia muttered to Signas, starting to heft X up higher.

Signas rose with her. "No problem. He gets too stubborn sometimes. I'll carry him, ma'am."

Alia's hand touched Signas' chest, and their eyes locked. "Let me, please."

Signas raised an eyebrow, but eased back as Alia lifted X up into her arms, and started to carry him off the roof.

"I owe him one," she whispered seriously.

"That storm was suppose to cause enough damage to buy us weeks. They resolved it in an hour," Agile declared, rare anger tightening his narrow face.

Serges gave his comrade a dry stare, "He resolved it in an hour. No other Reploid could channel that kind of power, and so precisely. Cutting off our network access as swiftly as they did also means they didn't fall for the gamble in the first place."

Agile leaned over the holotable still showing the cityscape with the clear skies, "We need more time!"

Violen stomped closer, arms crossing over his barrel chest. "We still have our Mavericks."

Serges nodded, shutting the table down again. "Indeed. If they're worth their metal, X will be occupied quite well. If not… we may have to intervene directly."

Agile rose up to his full height again. "Which would be an unacceptable risk to the reunification."

"Agreed," Serge rejoined, aggravation rising in his voice. "So let's hope we chose our force wisely. Now get to work. We have to move the important machinery deeper. They only know about the upper level of the facility, not the core."

And the three dispersed.

"Hey, sleepy-head."

It was a beautiful voice, gentle and fond, like silk brushing over his ears. A warm hand was washing back through his hair as well, coaxing him awake in the most wonderful way.

X opened his glistening, human eyes, and found Alia looking down at him. No armor framed her beautiful face, or held back her golden hair. She was just smiling down at him, clothed in a soft red dress. "Hi," X responded softly, a human hand reaching up, and caressing her cheek.

Alia smiled happily, and tilted her cheek into his palm. They were on a bench, in a park somewhere, a tree softening the bright sun above them with its foliage. X's head was in her lap, one of her hands gently caressing his short, brown hair. They were both completely human.

"Dr. Light was looking for you," Alia explained, her voice still soft and happy.

X was a bit confused, part of his mind realizing that didn't make sense. "…How…?"

The beautiful vision smiled for him again. "It's okay, X. Wake up."

X snapped online, his body pitching forward inside the restoration module at headquarters. His respirator thrummed with deeper breath as his optics danced around, his mind trying to sort through the confusing, fantastical dream. At last, he calmed, and looked at his right hand. The gloved machinery whirred like a whisper as he closed it into a soft fist. …A dream… I didn't realize I was feeling it so intensely. I guess I've just been dodging the issue so much even my mental processor had to force me to see it.

Alia had always been a wonderful Reploid in his eyes. Despite the horrors surrounding their first meeting, she had always struck him with her strength and determination. And she was practically the smartest person he knew, Reploid or otherwise. It was after losing Zero, and all the secretive work with his team of reformed Mavericks that made X value her friendship more and more. She was really the only person he knew that was trying to reach out to him as a friend no matter the situation. It would have been easy to blame him for Zero's death, and he knew many Hunters did, but couldn't argue his success enough to really get nasty about it.

Yet, Alia never had. He could well believe the thought never crossed her mind with how completely kind she was to him. It was vital to him now, her good opinion, knowing she was alive, well, and a friend to him. If he lost her, too…

Images of the human woman dying in his arms flashed through his mind, making him cringe and look down to the side. Then Zero's face just before he made his own core go critical against Vile.

X's fist slammed against the side of the pod. I can't protect everyone. Even when they're right in front of me… Alia…

As his mind calmed a bit, really only a few seconds passing since he woke up, X realized he felt something with his processor. Something he'd not felt since the war against Sigma's armies. As the pod opened at last, and he stepped out, his brow creased more.

Capsules. More modification capsules from Dr. Light. He could feel them with his sensor systems, like dull radar pings. And these were clustered. It was hard to tell how many, because they were all North, far North.

Confused, X walked over to a console in the bulkhead of the medical chamber. He was alone for the moment, and so he opened the console's holo-display, and activated a map. He programmed it quickly to show the island from the briefing. His sense of the capsules intensified, as it had for the original four. He reached his hand out, 'feeling' the map as his sense automatically adapted to the map data.

Yes… four new capsules. All near or on this island. How on earth could Dr. Light have prepared THIS? His optics tightened at the area where the weather-control facility was located. None of them are near the facility though. Damn, the timing for locating these ones is going to be very tight. Once we're on that island, I can't return to the X-Hunter bunker easily. I hope I can afford to wait on picking these up, Dr. Light… and I hope they have enough information to answer some questions.

He closed the console, and as if by cue, his comm beeped. X touched his audio-sensor. "I'm active, what's up?"

Alia's voice pleasantly answered, "Glad to hear it. As promised, I've got your transport to the island prepped and ready, X. Feeling up for it?"

He smiled for several reason, and nodded physically as he replied, "Absolutely. Heading to the transport grid now. …And Alia?"

"…Yes?" her voice was still pleasant, just gently confused.

"…Thanks for making me repair."

She giggled gently. "No problem."

X let himself smile, though part of his heart ached from the dream he'd seen, and he ran out of the room as the comm clicked off.

Airstrike adjusted some controls at his command console on the bridge. It was one of the Hunters' defense carriers, a medium-sized fleet craft, which was to say it was 'only' four-hundred meters stem to stern. His success during the final battle against Sigma's forces led to Airstrike almost immediately being promoted to full-time captain of his own ship, and his crew were relieved by the posting. Though he was technically the least experienced captain in the Maverick Hunters' armada, his tactical and aerial combat expertise were second to none. The admiral of the fleet, Skiver, was already on record as saying he usually defaulted his tactics to Airstrike's recommendations.

At the moment, the ship was serving alone for the new mission. Dr. Cain walked up, his cane tapping gently on the flooring, and stood just back and to the Reploid's right.

"You certainly do run a tight ship, as the saying goes, Captain Airstrike."

The pale Reploid offered a smile over his shoulder. "Much appreciated, sir. Please pardon the lack of salute, I'm programming the correct take-off vector at this time."

"Absolutely, carry on, Airstrike. I assume X is underway?"

Alia was just walking up to join them. "Yes, sir. His teleportation field should touch down in moments, actually. …And thank you for letting him go. It means a lot to him."

Dr. Cain gave her a knowing smile. "I'll admit, I thought it might do some good to hold him back with the rest of the task-force we're deploying, but you were right. His prowess and previous record make him a natural choice for initial infiltration. Especially his success with keeping hostages alive."

Alia smiled, but she felt compelled to give a glance to Signas, who was operating at a console on the far right of the bridge. I had hoped to just appeal to Dr. Cain for X's sake, but Signas recommended the previous successes. I'm glad I listened.

"Any further progress on the situation with the island?" Dr. Cain continued.

Alia came closer, offering her datapad to him, which he accepted with one hand off his cane. "Yes, though limited. Something hit hard and fast all over the island's infrastructure. We can't get any communications going. That computer facility was all but the only link to the outside world or networks. Satellite imagery still shows plenty of civilians living normally, but most of them are far from the important installations across the island. Those are conspicuously quiet. Further, some kind of interference is preventing the proper detail in our satellite feeds. We can only get a birds-eye view, nothing deeper yet."

Dr. Cain nodded, and returned the pad to her. "So I see. Captain? What's our ETA on the island?"

Airstrike half-turned, the ship already starting to fly out over the city. "Just under a day. I trust X to hold the fort that long, at least."

They shared a bit of the wry humor, and Alia returned to her console near Signas as the ship accelerated North.

Author's Note: Chronicles 2 has thus far proven an interesting plot for me personally. Each idea gave me paths to follow, but each path made the story a bit more elaborate and involved. This new-to-story storm attack is one such example. Those with experience from the second game will likely see where I'm pushing the story with weather-control tech, but for the moment it's just a backdrop. The real charm here is Alia's true return to the plot.

I've always liked Alia, and found her dismissal from major events a bit jarring, like with most of the secondary characters. X 4 did a lot to improve secondary character interaction, but the earlier games could be easily confused as a lone Reploid in the entire world fighting evil monsters. Choosing to include Alia in Chronicle 1 logically pushed her into the story throughout the series as-planned.

I also wanted to give Signas some page time, as he received very little, being introduced so late into the end of Chronicle 1.

I hope the story is still entertaining thus far, and see you in two weeks! Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favs, everyone. They keep me going!