Chapter 9: "Through the Fire and Flame"
Crimson light shot down through the earthy cliffs. It splashed down, and poured out from Alia, crouched to one knee. Her blue eyes locked forward, bright and focused, as her hands pulled twin plasma pistols out of her storage unit in her back. "I'm coming Flame," she whispered, and then sprinted forward.
Heat plumed out of the tops of the cliffs from the geothermal processing much deeper below, and as she looked up, she saw beetle-like mechaniloids flying down, rotary blades already twirling on their elongated snouts.
Cleaners, she realized. Likely weaponized by Flame at this point. She leapt across a gap, and put one pistol away as she gripped the side of the cliff face. There were several points of the wall highlighted on her internal map, overlaid on her vision. These surfaces of the wall were all but fake, designed for easier blow out from inside for surprise defense positions.
With a few deft grip and swing maneuvers, then a backward flip by her hand, Alia put her back to one of these weak-spots, and watched one of the beetle-cleaners hover down and lock onto her position.
Some hot wind brushed her hair to one side as she watched the beetle come charging forward without a flinch of her stony expression. Just as the blade was reaching for her, she side-flipped, letting it hit the wall, and as it plowed through the rubble, she jumped back over the same location, dropping neatly down in the beetle's wake as it crashed through the armored hallway, blowing itself into pieces.
Alia skidded through the cloud of a debris on her knees, her pistols out and firing pin-point shots into the tri-barrel wall-crawler mechaniloids that were just starting to take target lock. She rose up at the end of the hall, and twist-flipped down the stairwell it reached, her pistols whipping out and firing thrice more. Three further tri-barrels were torn through on the various walls around the stairwell, falling apart as she landed neatly at the bottom.
Ducking through a bulkhead door, Alia eased to a stop. Heat was drastically more intense in the next chamber, and she saw the painful orange light of lava glowing from below beyond a catwalk system just ahead of her.
He'd defend this better… Alia's optics panned around quietly, and then focused on small boxes at the bases of the walls near the end of the small hall she was in, leading to the catwalk. There we go. Rigged to what, though?
Quietly rushing to one of them, she crouched at it, and started to open the wall just beside it with some tools quickly retrieved from her back. She sifted through wires and panels for a moment, and then her brow creased. Rigged to the emergency release system? Flood the entire processing facility with lava? That's… not his style.
"He's not the Reploid you remember, Alia."
That comment haunted her thoughts for a moment. Then she firmed, her jaw clenching. "I owe him too much to stop here." She adjusted her tools slightly. "I can't deactivate you without triggering the system anyway, but I can map the rest of your buddies." She downloaded some data from the internal network, and her overlay map gained a net of small lines following walls, pausing at similar little boxes all the way up through the facility.
With a little nod, she simply hopped over the air between the two boxes, and ran along the catwalk. There were small ladders and catwalks leading up, but she saw that most of them went through the rock, and had small pairs of boxes waiting where it would be impossible to avoid them.
Alia exhaled, putting her pistols away. "The hard way then."
She leapt free, and started to climbs the hot rocks within the chamber herself. If the wall jutted out too harshly, she leapt with a spin to the far side, and climbed further. There was focus and power in her gestures, her fingers catching grip in astonishingly hard to see holds.
After one of her cross-leaps, she found herself at the opening of a little alcove, shaded from the heat.
"When you're laying traps for the enemy, it can be very helpful to leave an apparent 'safe zone.' Somewhere you forgot to trap, perhaps, or simply something not worth trapping, they might think. These are the best opportunities to capture your foe," Flame Stag had taught them, pacing calmly before the view screen in class.
Alia smirked, and then leapt clear over the opening, continuing her climb. This time, as she moved higher, she saw gas-vents pushing volatile mist out into the central space. Her respirator didn't care about actual oxygen, so that wasn't a concern, but the gas would ignite all too easily.
Climbing and leaping past a few of them, she froze and looked up as she heard a strange, guttural blast from above.
A mechaniloid rather like a flying squirrel was hovering down, from side to side, and perching right above the vents. Its tail had a pilot-light, and it flipped it across the opening, turning the gas vent into a flamethrower.
Alia's brow creased. That's a suicidal mechanism. Even with safeties keeping it contained, you're gambling the entire facility every time one of those drones does that. This isn't… She silenced her memory before it could repeat X to her again.
One pistol snapped up, and dead-shot the mechaniloid, letting it drop down in pieces, pinging off parts of the walls far below.
Her climb continued. She blasted more mechaniloids apart at the vents, and had to flip-twist around one burning vent before she finally reached the top of that processing facility.
She knew, however, that was only half the job. She quickly rushed along the rocks at the top of that part of the facility, now inside the dead-zone of signal blockers that prevented teleporting straight down into it.
What waited beyond was a forest of stone pillars sticking up out of a pool of lava under a large awning of rock that was part of the facility's command center.
Alia crouched, and pulled a small device out. It resembled a radar dish, palm-sized, and she aimed it across the stone pillars. "Alright, my data was right. They're narrow, but they're solid at the base beneath the lava for now. My weight won't break them."
She put the device away along with both pistols. She needed her hands free.
With a sprint and leap, she sailed across to the first pillar, and swung around its side by her hands, flying off to the next like a sling-shot. She rolled up onto the top of that one, planted her boots on the far side, and shoved off to the next.
Flips, spins, gripping swings propelled her across the pool of lava. Hover platforms slowly meandered around above her, but she knew Flame's style enough to be sure they would be linked to his security system. They were too dangerous to bother using.
With a last side-flip twist, she landed on spread legs at the far side of the lava pool, looking up at the command structure of the facility. Flame Stag would be inside. She took a breath, pulled her pistols, and ran forward.
X was running out of the teleportation field that brought him back to Maverick Hunter headquarters. Signas moved to him, hand out, and X handed him a small container.
"Get him situated," X whispered sharply, and kept running through the door beyond.
Signas put the container away, and hurried out the same door, but took the opposite path.
Just a few moments later, Dr. Cain turned sharply as his lab door opening, X rushing up to him. "Why did you let her deploy?"
"There wasn't much 'letting,' X," Dr. Cain replied firmly. "She's rather like you when she gets her mind set on something. Sending someone in after her now would just compromise her mission."
X lunged forward, an arm snapping out to the side. "She doesn't understand what she's charging into, Dr. Cain! It's a trap! Let me deploy so I can back her up!"
"You think little of her talents," Dr. Cain chose to retort, eyes narrowing.
X's eyes flashed wide for a core-pulse, and then his face twisted into a dark glare. "I know damn well that she's one of our best! She believes she can do something that simply isn't going to work! She's going to get herself killed because she believes it so much, and can't let herself believe otherwise, or she wouldn't be who she is! Let me go save my friend's life before both of us have more blood on our hands!"
"Then why didn't YOU warn her!" Dr. Cain roared back, his frame shaking, his hand clenching his cane.
"I TRIED TO! In all the ways I could I…" his voice died off, X shaking as his eyes dropped down to the floor. Every time she'd trusted him, every time she'd given a supporting smile, or look of concern, it all twisted into his mind like knives in a vice. Anyone else would have grown deeply suspicious of him, assumed he was hiding dark secrets, or going Maverick, but she never had.
"Be honest with her, but just talk to her."
His own words, to Depthcharge, now stabbed into his core mercilessly.
If she knew the whole truth, if he'd just told her what was going on, regardless of the dangers of it, if he'd just… trusted her enough, she wouldn't be in danger right now.
Dr. Cain gripped his staff with both hands, head bowing. "…Go. I couldn't stop her either way, but I knew it was too dangerous."
X looked up, the two locking gazes for a moment. No words were given to the mutual apology, but they both saw it. "…Thank you."
X twisted, and jet-dashed out of the lab.
Alia crouched at the side of a sphere-lock door. A small panel was already loose, and her fingers were deftly sifting through wires and circuits, her expression set with focus. Her comm beeping made her freeze, her eyes widening for a core-pulse.
/Alia! This is X! I'm on-site now! Please, do not engage Flame Stag! Alia, do you read me?/
Her jaw clenched, and she kept working. "Sorry, X," she whispered.
/Alia, please! I know how important this is to you! I know it looks like I'm blocking you from something you have to do! I need you to trust me! Flame Stag is NOT the Reploid you know right now! You're charging into a trap!/
With a shove of one hand, the sphere-lock started whirring open. "I have to try."
She slipped inside. The door hissing and slamming shut again made her freeze, guns already in her hands. I overrode the control codes! She stared at the door over her shoulder. A completely redundant command system? The power requirements… of course, it's a power plant! Alia cursed herself, pressing a butt of one gun to her forehead instead of face-palming directly.
Sighing, she focused forward. "Too late to back out." She sprinted forward.
Flame Stag stood at a console that dwarfed him, a massive screen showing readouts and maps of both the island and his facility. His orange, white, and brown frame was tall and broad-shouldered, his faintly snouted face locked in a stern, focused expression as he worked. The room itself resembled a large magma tube, with metal grating and catwalks for the floors, pipes embedded in the walls, and the backlit of magma from deeper below across every shape and shadow.
His optics focused forward as he felt the shadow slip down from the entrance embedded surprisingly high up in the wall behind, to his left.
"Hm," he began. "I was expecting Megaman X!" he snapped around with a left back-hand gesture, but his arm rammed to a halt and unleashed a gout of fire across the chamber, blasting across the flooring beneath the entrance.
There was nothing there, and his optics tightened.
Alia shot in from his right, kicking his stretched arm down, colliding her right elbow with his own as he tried to counter, and used her remaining knee to ram him forward.
"I'll have to do," she retorted as she landed, tensed.
Flame shook his head faintly, and stood up, turning around to face her. "Better, Alia. I was worried you'd lost a few steps when I caught you in the entry-hall so easily."
Alia drew her hands behind her back, her eyes locked on his through her bangs. "I might've, but I'm more thrown by your tactics. Traps rigged to safety protocols? Melting chambers? And your lack of redundant systems down in the main feeding system would have earned you negative marks from yourself back in training."
Flame Stag smirked as his fists clenched. Fire burst out of his temples, flaring up into unmistakable effigies of antlers. "The old master/student routine, Alia? Pity. I was hoping this would be an interesting fight!"
Alia dove left as he ripped forward, a trail of fire in his wake. As she tumbled, she drew her twin pistols, and fired at him before she'd even finished recovering to her feet. Flame Stag snapped his arms up together, and then ripped them down to the side, rushes of flame pulling the plasma bolts down and away from his body harmlessly.
Seeing Alia still crouched, he surged forward, a fist rushing down at her head. Alia twisted as she rose up, curving just out of his path, heat from his burning wrist washing over her cheek as she gritted her teeth. Too violent, too fast. This isn't Flame…
Her right knee suddenly snapped up, ramming his arm up and off wildly. It unbalanced him enough, his optics widening, so that she could correct and step-kick into his midsection. The blow shook the room, and Flame Stag hurtled back, denting his own console.
Alia trained both pistols on him, arms elevated in a quasi-combat stance. "Talk to me, please! None of this is like you, Flame Stag! You believed in the Maverick Hunters, believed in protecting people, non-combatants, the innocent. You never would have bought into this mindless slaughter that started after Sigma. You're stronger than this!" Her eyes were watering from the intensity of her motions, her frame almost starting to tremble.
An optic ridge rose as he met her gaze. "You think very highly of your own perceptions, child."
She couldn't hide the pang that spiked through her system.
Flame Stag flickered, purling tendrils of fire in his wake. Alia didn't hesitate, however, she folded forward, already ducking his attempted back-hand swipe, and used it to snap herself into a forward flip, kicking him in the jaw as she swung her legs up, over, and down. Her guns aimed out to the sides, her optics locking to her left, tightening, and firing once.
Sneering, Flame Stag started to rush after her, watching the plasma bolt fly off to the left harmlessly. Alia was landing and twisting to face him again, but he saw the grim mask of her expression as their eyes met again.
Then the plasma bolt she'd fired ricocheted off one of the processing pipes, and sent itself straight into his flank. Flame Stag grunted, stumbling to the side, fire spilling out of his wrists and stuttering from his temples.
Alia had both blasters trained on him again, Flame looking up at her, down on one knee. His anger was obvious, but it was clear he was reconsidering her threat level.
"You're making rookie mistakes, Flame Stag," Alia managed through gritted teeth, constraining her growing pain. It was becoming more and more clear that X had been right. All the harsh words to him were starting to dig into her mind, all her hopes for Flame grinding deeper into despair. "Just think for a moment. Cycle your respirator, and think. None of this is you, Flame. None of it. Is there really nothing of you left?"
Flame Stag bowed his head, hiding his optics from her as he rasped a breath or two. It appeared the blast to his flank had damaged part of his respirator system. "You don't understand, Alia…"
Her eyes animated. Pain was in his voice, guilt. Alia eased faintly, moving closer a step. "Then explain it to me? Please? I want to help you, Flame, not kill you."
His head tilted up, his optics vibrant with pain. "You can't help me!"
Alia came close, starting to lower her guns, her expression gentle, sorrowful. "I can try, Flame. I'll do my best. I owe you that. Please, just don't give up!"
His optics fell sorrowful.
"…You're charging into a trap!" X shouted desperately as he dashed forward, ripping toward the geothermal facility after teleporting down.
As he leapt over a crag and dove into the same hole Alia had made, he growled in growing frustration. "Damn it, Alia! Not like this!"
He dove into a lower tunnel, and air-boosted himself further down its length. He landed sprinting, heaving himself through each step with core-pulsing intensity. He didn't even notice his boots rip through the sensor field Alia had so carefully bypassed down in the processing chamber.
X looked up the same tall climb Alia had taken, firming as his fists clenched.
Then he heard hydraulic rushes, and instantly looked back around himself. His optics flared as lava started to pour into the chamber around him, bubbling up violently below as well. "Now I'm the one being stupid!" he cursed himself, and started to boost and leap, kick-climbing ferociously up the rumbling vertical chamber. He was also activating his full sensors at last.
He got a sonic and geographic map of the area around him, revealing the flying mechaniloids igniting the vents higher up, and an opening in the cliff face opposite a nasty overhang. He saw a mechaniloid gate rigged to the opening, too.
X rushed up the wall opposite the opening, and did a back-flip twist, intending just to land on the edge near the opening, and continue his climb. The rising lava caused a shift in the wall, however, and a rock shot down at his head. X jerked back on instinct, just passing over the threshold of the secluded chamber Alia had noted as a trap.
The mechaniloid gate snapped up at full speed, flipping X deeper into the little chamber, sealing him in. His optics flared as he corrected himself, bracing. "Well I'm officially a moron," he whispered, quickly mapping details of the chamber's structure, trying to calculate which weapon would get him free of the gate without bringing more of the mountain and facility down on his head.
Flame Stag bowed his head again. "You can't fight it, Alia. It's too strong."
Alia eased closer, standing near him at this point. She smiled a little. "You won't be alone. We'll help you, Flame. All of us. Dr. Cain is desperate for a chance to bring a Maverick back without harm. Just trust me, please?"
A little light triggered on his console off to the side, and Flame Stag smiled faintly from his bowed head. "…Alright, Alia. I'll… try."
She almost sobbed with relief, and used her left hand to touch her comm. "X, it's okay, he-!?"
Alia cut herself off with a choked scream of pain as Flame Stag came ripping upward, swiping his burning right arm up, over, and through her right arm, blowing it apart just above the elbow. In that frozen, nightmarish moment, their eyes locked even as her body was twisting from the blow, and saw the dark haze in his optics, his fire starting to burn blue.
In that same instant, X's eyes flared, his eyes dilating as he heard her scream rip through his sensors. His fully activated senses could dismantle every aspect of her voice, every element of her scream of pain distributed and codified in agonizing detail.
Alia's mind caught up faster than either other Reploid could have imagined, however. Her own squad's deaths surged back up in her mind, watching their bodies fly apart like her own arm was flying apart in front of her.
Her shocked, pained scream transformed into a battle-mask and growl of exertion. She came whipping around with her good arm, ducking just under Flame's attempt to punch through her head with his blue-burning fist, and aimed backward, straight up into his chest with her left pistol, glaring at him over her shoulder.
Flame Stag had to rip his own head backward, just dodging the plasma bolt the surged from her shot. He flipped onto the wall, and rammed himself back toward her in a full-body dive. Alia drove herself with her legs as she kept twisting, throwing herself out from under him, flying out to his left. She aimed down her body and fired three times.
The shots were deadly precise. Stag's shoulder was pitched down, crashed him out of his dive. The second caught his boot, spinning him back toward the console. The third rammed into his chest, throwing him against the console again.
Alia tumbled into an instant recovery, and sprinted forward, her shattered arm swinging as if there was a limb to carry. "Emotional manipulation! Deception at a peace offering!" she roared at him. "The real Flame Stag would have melted you down for parts!" Her battle roar was louder than her blaster-bolts, her legs charging as she fired a flawless stream of fire right at his chest.
It was his full-powered flame-burst that saved him, Flame Stag ripping out to the side with flickering speed, trailing blaster bolts, and surging in at her from her right, taking advantage of her missing arm.
Alia saw him coming, and twist-back-flipped, ripping her boot straight up into his jaw with a deafening clang. She landed on her feet; he slammed flat on his back. Part of the metal pipe, torn open by her stream of fire in his wake, clattered down at his head, and he blinked down at the boot planted on his chest, her pistol trained on his forehead. This time, her eyes were hard and focused. "Stand down."
Flame Stag slowly raised his hands open and out, his optics watching hers warily.
In the sealed chamber, X's optics remained dilated and wide in the seconds following Alia's scream of pain. The air shimmering from heat wasn't making him pant for cooling. His mind was rushing with too many nightmares. Zero's death in front of him, the human woman bleeding to death in his arms during Sigma's first attacks, Gibdan, every Maverick he'd fought, watched 'die' only to bring them back as an ally. Alia's scream warped it all into horrible visions of her body torn open, core-power bleeding out, fluids streaming.
And he'd lied to her, hidden the truth. He'd driven her to this trap without properly warning her.
That dream flashed through his memory, looking up at her human face smiling… suddenly warped into a scream as fire and metal tore her apart in front of him.
X screamed. A feral, blood-curdling roar came out of the small Reploid's body. Any of his allies would have turned cold at the sound to come from him. His optics suddenly began to glow from their pupils, his body brimming with crimson light.
It had only been a few seconds, Alia and Flame Stag still in the throws of their battle after her arm was severed, but X couldn't sense her clearly after the scream.
His torso armor split open around his central power-gem, revealing thrumming coils of crimson power rippling out from his central systems.
The raw power started to bleed out of him lifted him off the ground, his hands clawing at his sides, his back arching as his scream aimed at the roof.
In one instant, the walls around him were erased, simply vanishing out to a radius of shattered metal, stone, and splashing lava. The void then burned, filled with thermobaric plasma that ripped out even more violently from a swirling cocoon around X himself.
The entire mountain trembled from the blast and shockwave. The core of the facility was gutted in a flash, and even as the lava started to gush and crash into the gap, X was flying up the ventilation shaft, his boots shattering stone with each ferocious leap, wrenching from side to side. A flying mechaniloid tried to land and attack him, but it was practically shattered by his boot pinning it to the wall.
Magma churned up in X's wake, racing him to the top of the processing release shaft. X shot out of the mouth at the top, flipping up, over, and slammed to a one-knee crouch for a core-pulse before the magma erupted behind him.
His eyes never looked back, they seethed forward, and he kicked into a full-powered boost rush toward the standing pillars in the lava pool beyond.
The pillars were already starting to unbalance and fall from the original explosion, but X crashed into the first one like a thunderbolt, letting it swing him around and throw him to the next as it came crashing down. Shatter, crash, boost, he propelled across the entire field, leaping free and using a floating platform as a stepping-stone mid-air before it could even consider betraying him to the lava below.
The shockwave startled Alia. Her gun never moved, but her eyes flared at the quake through the room. Flame Stag grimaced as well, glancing to his console for a core-pulse. "…The entire power relay system?" He was focused on the red-glowing map showing a substantial chunk of the lower part of the base simply erased from the grid view.
Alia followed his gaze, and saw the map herself. Her inside emptied, her face falling slack. "…X?" she breathed. Wasn't that where he…?
Pain made her shout and start to twist to her left, her remaining arm swinging wide from some horrendous impact. She was still trying to rebalance when something slammed into her stomach as she spun, and carried her with a groan all the way back to the console.
As she was slammed flat, her stump trying to stretch out a nonexistent arm to catch herself, she was able to see Flame Stag pinning her down with a chunk of pipe that had fallen down beside him. Fury etched across her face as she met his optics. She was already starting to rise up, her surviving hand pulling the gun to aim at him, starting to fire point-blank.
Flame Stag twirled the chunk of pipe with a spin of his burning arms, knocking her gun into the air, and then slammed the metal down across her waist and surviving forearm, driving it down into the console, head-butting her as a stall, and then flash-melted the ends into the console on either side of her with his wrists.
Alia groaned, but instantly recovered, growling at him. She quickly discovered she was held fast, however, and looked down. Her stump could flail around freely, but the arm was locked down tight with her waist. She tried to kick and shove with her legs, but her positioning was awful for any real leverage. Her boots kept sliding.
"I never should've given you a chance," she rasped at him, still ramming and shoving with all of her might to try and break loose. "I couldn't believe you'd fall. You had to be better than the rest after all you talked about, but no. I was just an idiot. X tried to warn me, and you just took my arm off for the lesson."
Flame Stag smirked at her, blue flame erupting off his temples and wrists once again. "Such a succinct summation, my dear. You always had a gift for cutting to the core of it. I'll reciprocate!" he shouted, raising his right fist with a clear intention to drive it down into her chest at full speed.
Alia was snapping a kick at his head when both she and the Maverick froze, their optics snapping up at the inhuman roar snarling from so high above them both.
"FLAME STAG!"
X was diving down from the top of the facility somehow, chunks of rock and metal raining down around him. His optics were wide and furious, his face contorted with the rage mutilating his voice.
Flame Stag's optics stayed wide, but he focused back on Alia that moment, and roared, trying to ram his fist down at her again.
X boosted down, ripping through the air with a shimmer of thrust and armor. Alia jerked her head to her left out of reflex as something was suddenly just over her.
Flame's arm was flying out to the side, his chest denting in. X was in the air before him, a leg driving the attacking arm out, the other ramming into the Maverick's chest. He was landing into the attack, and his thruster system ignited as he grimaced down into Flame's face. A small shockwave of force pulsed free before Flame Stag flew back, and cracked the far wall, denting an impression of his back into it.
X landed on the console like a beast, immediately lunging over Alia, who was staring up at him in a mixture of horror and awe. He wrenched the chunk of metal holding her down with a gurgle and grind of his motors. It held once, but he roared and ripped again, tearing it free with chunks of the console around Alia.
Flame Stag was just dashing forward to counter-attack when he took the entire bar and metal shards to his chest, flying back a second time from X's violent throw of the debris. The two's optics locked, Flame's alarmed, X's vicious… and watering.
Alia was able to clutch her wound stump at last, slipping down onto her feet quietly just before X leapt forward, landing ahead of her, braced for a battle.
Flame Stag tore the metal bar apart with streams of blue fire from his wrenching arms, and then stepped forward, narrowing his optics at X. "I heard you were a wannabe pacifist, Megaman X. You fight like a beast."
Alia glanced at X's back, empathy and concern growing out of her fear and shock.
X didn't speak, but his colors shifted to vague purple and gold highlights.
Flame Stag smirked, and then snapped his arms across each other. Massive waves of fire came burning out from his gestures, starting to broil over and rip forward as a wall of blue, glowing death.
Alia was instantly looking for a perch to leap to for protection, but her eyes caught motion, and she focused on X.
He whipped around, lashing one arm across the wave, firing out almost comical bursts of plasma bubbles, the other arm swinging up in a geyser of the same ridiculous weapon system.
Neither the Maverick nor Alia was laughing at the result, however. The flames blew apart as the bubbles collided with them, unleashing blast-waves of air and force that simply killed the fire instantly, erasing entire swaths of it like it was a gush of mist breaking on wind. Tongues of fire licked at the walls behind the two Hunters, but nothing got close to either of them.
X and Flame Stag started to charge for each other, one swiping waves of fire, the other slashing bursts of plasma bubbles. The unique collisions rippled like sizzling static. Through a final bursting collision, the two Reploids met.
X hammered Flame Stag's right punch down, and drove a punch straight into the Maverick's face. The two flew into a blurred, air-shuddering storm of punches, dodges, blocks, and rams with their upper bodies.
With a shout, X ripped upward, twisting so that his legs knocked Flame's punching arm aside. He kept twisting as he rose up, driving a knee up into Flame Stag's face with a roar of ferocity. As the knee collided with the Maverick's face, however, X ignited his thruster system. It twirled X into a vortex of armor and light, and drove Flame Stag flying by his head into the far wall with a shattering series of cracks through the rock and metal.
X landed with spread legs, one hand down to the ground, his face focused on Flame Stag with grim anger still smoldering.
Flame Stag actually coughed out some fire, and slowly picked himself up. "I-I… see how… you won the last war… X…"
"It wasn't a war, it was a massacre of innocent people. Reploids and human alike," X rushed out, his body shaking.
"A massacre that isn't over yet," Flame Stag replied with a slow sneer. Alia was cringing, ill from seeing and hearing such a thing from this Reploid's face.
X drew himself up, his fists clenching out of his busters. "No, Flame Stag. This is over. I watched Overdrive Ostrich fight it off. Alia believes in you like I've never seen, which means you're one of the best and brightest we've ever had."
Alia's face fell softly, watching X.
He went on, "Now you get over yourself, and you fight it, Flame Stag! You tore her arm off! You let hundreds of innocent people be slaughtered while you STOOD BY! You wouldn't STAND for this, Flame Stag! You would never have let ANYONE away with it! So don't you dare look me in the eyes and tell me you agree with this! We BOTH KNOW THAT'S A LIE!"
Flame Stag's optics twitched, but the haze never faded. "You can't fight it, X. You'll see that for yourself, soon enough. Especially fighting like this."
X's frame shook faintly. All this insanity, and Alia caught in the middle. Without truly turning, his head bowed, glancing toward her. Again, his words to Depthcharge stung his memory. He exhaled, and his buster formed on his left arm. "Flame Stag. Stand down, or I will put you down."
Flame Stag sneered faintly.
Alia frowned, and then called across, "Finish it, X. That thing isn't Flame Stag. Not anymore. I should've taken the shot. Twice."
X's eyes closed. He heard the frigid anger in her voice. He understood how much pain it was masking, how much it was being used to contain a storm of grief, guilt…
Flame Stag started to rip toward Alia, though he had no chance of reaching her, too damaged to fully accelerate already.
X's arm snapped up, and he called across, "See you soon," as he fired.
Alia only had a core-pulse to be confused by that phrase before Stag's head blew apart amidst a flash of plasma, and the body simply crashed forward.
Despite the roar of churning magma and the rumble of the weakened facility, it felt oddly quiet in the command chamber that moment. Everything was still in the fiery light. Alia slowly exhaled, still clutching her faintly sparking upper-arm. Her eyes closed, and she bowed her head for a moment.
X finally lowered his buster, his hand reverting, and he walked over to Flame Stag's body. His movement was mechanical, detached, his eyes distant. It wasn't until he knelt down, his hands over Flame's back, that he stopped, clenching his jaw. "…I'm sorry you have to see this."
Alia glanced up, concerned and confused. When X started to actually open up parts of Flame Stag's torso, she cringed, but then her frame slackened faintly. "…Of course. For Dr. Cain." The core components…
X shook his head slowly, pulling the chip and buffer out, carefully putting them away in his back. "Actually, no."
Alia blinked at him as he turned, rose up, and walked over to join her.
"I'm sorry for all the lies." His eyes lingered on her mutilated limb with harrowed guilt.
Alia shook her head. "This was my fault, X, not yours. You warned me exactly what would happen. I was just an idiot…"
"No, you weren't," X replied firmly, his eyes aimed at the floor between them. His fists clenched, and then he met her eyes. Even in such a painful moment, she was kind, concerned for him, seeing his pain before her own. "I'm not going to hide anything from you, Alia. Not again. I just need some time to settle a few issues. You also need repairs. Can I teleport lock us both?"
She was stunned silent for a moment, blinking again. "W-why… now?"
X offered a wan smile. "I realized how much of an idiot I have been. And my failure to show you trust nearly got you killed. My mishandling of this entire mess also got you hurt," he added with a gesture to her missing arm.
"How do you figure that?" she had to challenge, almost laughing.
"Your scream," X answered quietly, his face falling with empathetic pain. "You were contacting me when you had Flame Stag secured. If I hadn't been on-site, you wouldn't have wasted the focus to try. You had him beaten, and my interference cost you your arm."
Alia tilted her head, a bit bewildered. "Good grief, X, you really know how to take the blame for something you weren't even present for. It was my call. I make the rookie mistake and took my eyes off the target, broke focus. Twice," she added with a self-deprecating eye-roll. Then she shook her head. "Stop blaming yourself for this… Let's just get out of here, okay? I think you need time to calm down, too. You're making promises that might get awkward later," she chose to finish with a faint smirk.
X chose to join her humor, glad she could manage it in such an insane situation. His hand reached out, just rested on her undamaged shoulder. "Ready?"
She nodded, and light shimmered over both of them, yanking their shapes up into the air.
Alia's optics drifted open drowsily. Her internal chronometer was off for maintenance, so she had no idea how long she'd been out so far. Her systems still told her she was in need of repair. Lifting her head, she found herself in a resting cot in the repair wing of Maverick Hunter HQ. Her missing arm was a clean little cap of metal at the moment, keeping her internal systems protected as an interim stage before full repair.
What caught her attention instantly, however, was X sitting at her bedside. He smiled warmly.
"Feeling better?"
She offered a wan laugh. "Yes, actually. How long have I been down?"
"About two days, but don't worry. Things are quiet. Signas is heading up some missions for us, and we're gearing up to finish off this current Maverick outbreak. It's a good time to rest, and you earned it."
Alia laughed again, and let her head loll back. "Sweet of you to come check on me."
X blushed, glancing down, rubbing the back of his helmet. "Just worried, you know? A-anyway, I just wanted to let you know that when you're back on your feet… I'm going to explain things."
Her eyes locked on his again. Serious, she frowned a little. "X, you made it perfectly clear that there were things you just couldn't tell me. I… got stupid, because I was too close to this case."
X shook his head. "No, Alia. You believed in your friend, and that's exactly the part of you that I admire so much. I gave you nothing concrete, nothing that would really dissuade a caring person from taking action. …That's what I need to fix. I've been hiding things from you, and I finally realized it was for the wrong reasons." His eyes fell down. "The situation is delicate, so I had to prepare some things. They should all be ready by the time you're repaired."
"You're sure?" Alia checked gently. She couldn't deny how much of a relief it was. Truthfully, for his sake. It had been weighing him down too much, whatever it was. He'd been starting to crack. The berserk rage she'd seen on him during the fight with Flame Stag had proven that to her beyond a shadow of a doubt.
X nodded. "I am. You'll see why it's so delicate… for so many reasons, but… that's for later." He slapped his knees, and stood up with a little hiss of hydraulics. "Rest up, okay? That's an order, lieutenant," he finished with a smirk.
She giggled, and saluted with her left hand. "Aye, sir."
They shared casual waves, and he jogged out of the room. She was left smiling fondly, and let her eyes close again.
Dr. Cain read over a datapad with an intrigued frown, his eyebrows up. "Most impressive, especially for fresh recruits."
"Glad to serve, Dr. Cain," a new Reploid replied. His body was a dark crimson, sleek frame with dark orange fins and blades along his arms and knees. His helmet was smooth and came down over his face, leaving only humanoid lips and nose exposed.
"An honor, sir," another added. To the first's left, he had a fully mechanical face, masked by armor, with green optics, and short but sturdy frame of matte black armor. His forearms were boxy rather than smooth, with hydraulic pistons visible in crisscrossing patterns on either side. He appeared to have crushing clamps that could snap down over his hands.
The human man smiled, lowering the pad, his other hand resting securely on his cane. "Pyrostrike and Snapvice, right?" he asked, gesturing to the left, then right.
"Yes, sir," they chorused.
"You two will be joining some of other promising new Hunters. I think you might be aware of Spikesaw and Turbo?"
Pyrostrike nodded, replying, "Yes, sir. We understand they've already distinguished themselves on some containing missions on mechaniloid attacks on the island where all the unrest is focused right now."
"Quite right," Dr. Cain said, chuckling. "You really do keep up on things. Excellent. I see no reason not to approve your deployment, the pair of you. Do us proud, alright?"
They both saluted, Snapvice adding, "We hope to, sir!"
Dr. Cain dismissed them without issue afterward.
Once they were a few halls further away, Snapvice looked to his partner with idle humor in his optics. "Shall we head to that meeting then?"
Pyrostrike chuckled, and activated a private comm. /Signas, Pyrostrike here. Is it time for that… special meeting?/
/Indeed. Any problems with Dr. Cain?/
/Thankfully, no. There shouldn't be any roadblocks at this stage. We'll be deploying officially with Spikesaw and Turbo./
/Very good. …And are you sure you're alright with the meeting yourself? X discussed it with all of us, but especially with everything so fresh…/
Pyrostrike's lips pressed to a line first as he walked along with Snapvice. /I'm sure. Better to lance the boil now than let it fester. Besides, Deepfreeze likely is feeling the weight of it more./
/You know enough about him back then. He's too stoic to back down. …And I think he's been hoping for this chance./
Snapvice shared a faint smile with Pyrostrike. Both of them replied, /Understood./
"Good to see you on your feet, lieutenant," X called with warm humor.
Alia turned from Dex with a flashed smile of her own. She and Dex shared a quick, pleasant comment, and the other operator hurried off down the hall. "You, too, X. Though I figured you'd make some comment about my shiny new arm, hm?" she asked playfully posing and flexing her new, pristine limb.
"Well, you always looked strong to me," X decided to reply, blushing a little.
It let her blush softly to, and she laughed. "I added some practical considerations this time. Observe," she wryly aimed her hand across her front, at the wall. Her hands smoothly vanished into the wrist as ventilation ports opened on the back sides.
X's eyebrows were up. "You had them give you a fully active buster-cannon?"
Alia nodded. "That fight with Flame Stag made me realize how foolish it is to let someone kick away a weapon when you can just build it into your arm. Lost the arm in the fight anyway, so may as well get some benefit out of it, hm?" Her hand returned with a smooth hiss and click.
X gave a little pout at the morbid humor, but nodded. "I see the logic, yes. You ready?"
"For this mysterious appointment you've scheduled for me? Absolutely. I need to get the tension over with before my systems reboot on me." As X chuckled, she added, "By the way, have you seen Shimmer around today? He kinda vanished… even for him."
X was caught fractionally as they started down the hall together. "Actually, yes. You'll see."
She blinked. "…O-okay… I guess I'll just roll with it and follow your lead?"
"For now, if you don't mind, please. I'll make sure you get to ask all the questions you want very soon, don't worry."
Alia smirked. "Only because you're so cute."
She was rewarded with a violent blush as he coughed and tried to blow past the little joke.
Alia was growing both more confused and concerned as X drove her in a hovercar through the city. It had only been a few minutes since they left headquarters, and X had explained he needed to be cautious about talking yet. Awkward silence had prevailed thus far.
At last, X lifted a small device out from his back as he drove the simple vehicle. Alia glanced at it, and became grave. It looked like a small, glistening ball of metal, glass, and plastic, with a few LED lights glistening within.
"A signal envelope?" Alia muttered, looking at him sidelong.
X nodded, and activated the sphere. A little wave passed out from it, and then X tapped his comm. He seemed satisfied with something, and looked at her. "We can start talking openly now. I had to take special steps. We normally don't convene the full group like this."
"Full group?"
He tipped his head. "My secret team that I've been building up. You've met most of them, in fact. Signas, Airstrike, Overload, etc," he began, casually rolling his hand.
"This is… much more involved than I'd imagined." Thinking back, she raised an eyebrow. "They do all seem a little too experienced for new recruits, so at least that will stop haunting my processor."
"More than you realize," X conceded. "The real heart of this whole mess is that I know the truth about what causes a Reploid to go Maverick, and my team has been recruited as they've come to learn it, too."
Alia stared at him, only vaguely noting that the route they were taking was circuitous, dodging around turns and buildings, clearly trying to evade anyone following by chance. "Y-you know for sure?"
"Yes," he began again, fully serious, his expression stony. "It's a virus. A one-of-a-kind super-virus that is adaptive, intelligent, and hell-bent on two things. Killing humans and infecting me."
"Infecting you?"
"Because I'm its counterpart. Dr. Light made me… Dr. Wily made the virus. We're the two final creations of the greatest robot-designers of the last century," X explained with a meaningful look at her.
Alia sank back in her seat, her eyes almost dazed. "H-how… do you know all this?"
"The virus, at least so far, takes over the system buffer. I've been collecting the processors and buffers of every Maverick I've fought. First, to see if my theory was right, then it was to make sure the virus isn't changing tactics."
"You suspected it was an infection from the start?"
X nodded. "I think it might be a passive gift from Dr. Light though. I can see it in their optics. A haze. No one else seems to notice it, but I've had it verified one-hundred percent so far. I keep double-checking to be safe, but I tend to let it guide my initial reactions, and it hasn't failed yet."
I did see something in Flame Stag's eyes… Alia rubbed her forehead. "Those poor Reploids… all of them. Are they… conscious of it? Are they trapped?"
"Yes."
The pain of that truth settled for a moment of silence.
Alia swallowed as a motor habit with her emotional systems, and prompted, "W-why haven't you told Dr. Cain?"
X tipped a finger to her. "That is the exact heart of the issue. The reason for all the secrecy. I'm hiding as much from the virus as him, and for one reason. If we publically declare that the Maverick problem is a super-intelligent virus, one that can't practically be cured in any way thus far, and it can completely corrupt ANY Reploid… what do you think would result?"
Alia frowned, glancing out. She didn't really care anymore as she noticed the surroundings were in the poorer part of the city. "Panic," was her calm, simple answer.
"Exactly," X affirmed. "Dr. Cain already feels like this entire Maverick nightmare is his personal fault, that some flaw in his work has created a systemic bug that is getting people killed. He would never hide this fact from the human authorities around the globe. I'm not sure I could ask him to once he knew. I think he has his own theories, but I can't interfere with them like that. The virus itself is… magnificent in its construction. It's truly alive. I'll be happy to give you the data we've gathered so far. The very act of studying it causes it to react and adapt. I'm still trying to even theorize how to counter-act it at the source. For now… we remove it from the host."
Alia looked at him again. "How?"
"By removing the processor and system buffer, you successfully remove the Reploid's personality and core memories away from the virus itself. At least so far, as I said."
Her face went slack. "W-wait, you… you have them all alive somewhere?"
X started to smile faintly, glancing back at her. "Not just stored away, no. They're my team."
Alia froze mentally, only registering that they were finally coming to a stop because of the momentum change triggering her passive sensors.
X powered down the vehicle, and looked her in the eyes, not rushing her. He knew how deep that information would hit her.
"…Flame Stag?" she whispered.
"Has a new name, like the others, but he's waiting to meet you. For real this time." X gestured to the run down door in the back of an apparently abandoned building where they had stopped. The car was in a small alley on the edge of the bad side of the city.
Alia's eyes watered, then focused on the door he'd indicated. "A-all of them?"
"…Except for Vile and Zero, yes."
Their eyes locked again, Alia feeling the quiet pain in his voice at that admission.
"Was Vile not infected?" she asked carefully.
"I don't know," X admitted, his expression sorrowful still.
Alia's head tilted back. "…The fight. You told me about it. Zero died trying to stop him…"
"And I snapped," X finished quietly. "I killed Vile outright. I crossed the line."
Alia reached up, gripping his shoulder. Her head tilted down a little, softly catching his gaze afresh. "I think you've done pretty well so far, X. You've saved lives no one thought could be saved. Even more so than I already knew, now that you've told me this much."
It let him offer a little smile of thanks, and she smiled back.
"Now," she started gently, looking past him, "if this meeting is so special, and basically for my sake, let's say we stop making them wait, hm?"
X chuckled, tipping his head. They both got out of the car. X looked up first, pulling a small device out and activating a control on it. Alia watched as a thin screen rolled out from one side of the alley above them and touched to the other, then distorted softly. From their side, nothing seemed different, but looking down from above, they and their vehicle vanished.
"A gift from Shimmer. Formerly Sting Chameleon."
Alia gawked, then started to chuckle. "That makes so much more sense."
X couldn't help a little grin, and then they finally moved to the door. He opened it for her, and they proceeded into the dank little building.
He led Alia down into the basement, and through what appeared to be a sewer access. As soon as they were past that, however, they were standing in front of a heavily armored, hydraulic gate.
"I'd ask that you only use this particular entrance in emergencies. We try to keep the bunker as secret as possible, so the less exposure the better," X explained as he started to open it.
"Understood," Alia muttered, quickly stepping through with him, letting him seal it in their wake.
They walked down a short, dim hallway, and a normal powered door waited beyond. X led the way through again, and when this door opened, a large chamber was revealed, smaller antechambers around its edges, as well as hints of other entrance paths.
There was also a small army of Reploids scattered about, some lounging, others talking. Everything became still and quiet as Alia came into view, her optics widening as she saw the full crew. She and Signas shared a specific glance at first, though she adapted quickly. His involvement made much more sense as she thought about his quick rise to power and how he always seemed to have the right bit of information ready to help X.
Airstrike, Overload, Barrel, Inferno, Deepfreeze, Depthcharge, Quickman, Shimmer, and the new recruits Tripwire, Spikesaw, and Turbo. There were also two new faces she hadn't met herself yet, but recognized them from the recruitment data she'd checked over from the last week.
Signas actually came up to her first, X gesturing for the others to start coming closer for a proper introduction. The officer offered his hand. "Welcome to the hideout, Alia."
She shook his hand. "Thanks… C-can I ask who you were?"
He smirked faintly, and answered, "Sigma."
Alia froze still again, then her head tilted faintly. "Y-you were just another host?"
"Yes, though the virus has chosen to make me its chosen avatar, apparently. All the more reason for the change of name in my case," he finished with a grim laugh.
She had to share the humor, tipping her head to him. He was one of the legends of the current era, and she'd been working beside him without even realizing it. Signas moved aside casually, however, letting the others come forward.
"You're impressive, kid," Shimmer chose to start next, chuckling. "I think you almost had us figured out on your own."
Alia returned a smile. "Sting Chameleon, right?"
He let his body shimmer out of view in a soft wave, never fully disappearing. "Could I be anyone else?" Letting the humor fade, he added, "Sorry about that fight on the wall, by the way."
Alia blinked, and then blushed. "A virus is a virus, St… Shimmer. I'm just glad it worked out in the end, hm?"
A knowing smile came over Shimmer's face, and he just answered, "I see why he likes you."
Both Alia and X blushed, and were glad he simply stepped aside before more could come of it. Alia moved forward to make it easier to meet the others.
"Storm Eagle, ma'am," Airstrike began as they shook hands.
"That stunt with the cruiser makes more sense now," Alia had to point out.
Airstrike tried to give a humble shrug, and let his comrades step in as he shared a little laugh with her.
"Spark Mandrill," Overload confirmed.
"Armor Armadillo," Barrel.
"Launch Octopus," Depthcharge.
Quickman gave a flourishing bow, removing his cutter like a hat. "Boom Kuwanger, my lady."
Alia shook his hand, a bit more serious for him. "I'm glad you're here. I'm… very sorry for all that happened to you."
"And I'm very sorry for what I did to Dex. I've been making sure to look out for him since."
"I'd noticed," Alia answered quietly. Her smile returned. "Thank you."
He tipped his head, replaced his cutter, moved aside.
"Flame Mammoth," Inferno began as they shook hands.
"You… trained Flame Stag, right?" Alia had to confirm, a bit meek in this Reploid's presence.
Inferno smiled faintly. "I taught the kid a thing or two, yes. So did you."
Alia blushed a little, rubbing the back of her hair. "I'm not so sure about that."
Inferno just chuckled, and moved aside to let her continue.
Deepfreeze came up next, and he was decidedly serious. Alia did pause gently as she realized who he most likely was.
"…Chill Penguin?" she asked quietly. She took care not to let her instinctive anger or pain come through. Her squad's deaths were her fault, and he'd been infected. The Reploid in front of her was not the reason they died.
Deepfreeze actually went to one knee, nodding slowly. "I've been hoping for a chance to admit to your face that I was the one, Alia. I am deeply sorry for your loss." He looked up at her. "Though I have many things to make amends for, your team remains one of my main reasons for helping as I do now. I owe them."
Alia started to shake her head, and actually reached a hand down. "It's a virus, Deepfreeze. I made bad calls, and my people died for them. You don't owe them, or me, anything. However, I'm very glad to have your help."
He slowly took her hand, and let her pull him up to his feet. She reached up with the other hand to pat his shoulder, affirming what she said with a little nod. It was clear he was overwhelmed, and her eyes were watering, so he just nodded gently, and eased aside as she released his hand.
The first of the new faces came up. "Wiresponge," Tripwire began, offering his hand.
"I'd wondered about those chord-claws," Alia admitted wryly.
His optic smirked.
"Wheel Gator," Spikesaw introduced himself next.
"I'm glad you and X aren't angry after that beating you inflicted on each other," Alia had to remark, empathetically cringing.
He laughed. "He gives as good as he gets."
"And then some," Turbo cut in as Spikesaw started to step aside. "Overdrive Ostrich."
Alia shook his hand, acutely mindful of the entire desert base battle. "You… broke free?"
"Not enough. I'm not sure how I was able to manage what I did, either. Our data was inconclusive."
The serious tone was cut by Snapvice remarking, "I think he just thinks too fast for the virus to have kept up."
It let them all laugh a bit, and Alia offered her hand.
"Bubble Crab," he confirmed, giving her a firm shake, and then easing aside for the last Reploid present.
Alia eased to a stop, looking at the last Reploid, his sleek armor, surprisingly human lower-face. "…Y-you… go by Pyrostrike at the moment, right?"
He nodded, and eased a little closer. "…Alia, I'm very sorry. I… was terribly cruel to you, above and beyond the atrocities I stood by for." A little awkward, he gestured to her arm. "I'm glad you got a new one so fast."
"…Flame?" Alia finally prompted, tears dripping quietly from her eyes.
His lips pressed to a line, and he just nodded.
Alia eased forward, the other Reploids glancing away or aside because the emotional power in that moment. She lifted her arms, and then grappled onto Pyrostrike tightly. His arms managed to come up, holding her in return, his head bowed over her shoulder.
"I blew it, kid," he whispered. "You tried your damndest, and I just kept spitting in your face. I'm so sorry."
She shook her head, unable to speak yet, holding him tight. After a tense moment, she managed, "You're okay."
He nodded, patting her hair. "You did me proud, Alia. You're a better tracker and infiltrator than I ever was."
Alia started to laugh through her sorrow, the two finally easing apart, her hands lingering on his shoulders. "I thought you didn't praise your students?"
"You're not a student anymore, Alia," Pyrostrike answered, both sincere and serious.
The comment struck deep, her expression softening for the amazing admission he'd just offered to her. He considered them equals… if she wasn't the mentor now. "T-thank you," was all she could think to say, blushing from how simplistic the response had come out.
He half-smiled, patted her hands, and then nodded to the group for her. Collecting herself, Alia eased back, looking from X to each of them once more, and finally said, "So you're all trying to find a cure for the virus without revealing it, basically?"
X nodded. "That's about the sum of it, yes."
Signas added, "We each agreed with X's fear that, at the very least, 'improper' use of the knowledge about the virus would just cause a panic. Better that our old selves be remembered as monsters than all Reploids tarred with the same brush. And we each feel we have amends to make."
Serious nods of agreement were shared by the entire group.
Alia focused on X. "That's why you didn't want to tell me. You didn't want me to pick between this team and telling Dr. Cain the truth?"
"That's not the only reason, but it is true, yes," X answered cryptically. "There's more I'd like to tell you, but this was the most vital part," he explained with a gesture to the team. "My X-Hunters, which just gets confusing with Serges' crew out there now, are my secret weapon against the virus. It doesn't know the full extent of our network, and we're trying to keep it that way. If it's okay with you, I'd like to speak with you privately about a couple of things?"
Alia nodded, and then glanced out to the others. "Sorry for causing such a disruption. A big gathering like this must've been dangerous to set up."
Most of them shook their heads to the trouble. Signas then added, "We'll deploy back to our stations while you two talk. X, just let us know, alright?"
Alia blinked, watching X tip his head to Signas meaningfully. Then, X gestured for her to join him in one of the antechambers. The X-Hunters started to file out of the base in various directions, though Pyrostrike did give her a final wave, the two sharing a smile.
Once it was just the two of them, X gestured for Alia to sit in one of the chairs at the console in the antechamber he'd chosen. He took another himself, facing her.
Sitting, Alia asked, "What was that little comment from Signas about?"
"I had to warn the team that you might not agree with us. I didn't want to sentence them all to fleeing the Maverick Hunters if they disagreed, so I made sure each of them could choose to be seen here today. They all agreed. Signas was just confirming that if you're going to tell Dr. Cain, they want to know, so it's not a surprise."
It was a little bewildering to actually get a straight answer for once. Alia sank in her chair slightly, swallowing. "No wonder you've been so weighted down. That's… a horrible conversation to have to have."
X tipped his head, fully agreeing.
"…And all of this… just for me?"
X looked down, nodding, and let his hands play together as a nervous motor habit. "I've been realizing more and more that hiding it from you was a mistake. I've always trusted you, almost from the moment we met, but I thought telling you this would get you hurt or killed. I was starting to rethink that already, but… the events with Flame Stag made it too clear to ignore. Not telling you was going to get you killed much faster than telling you… and I do trust you, so it was time to put my money where my mouth was. I can't hide things from you and say I trust you at the same time."
Alia couldn't explain why her eyes were watering again. "X… I trust you, too. I believed you. You had really solid reasons for not telling me. Even before I knew all this, I trusted that fact. Flame Stag… I… couldn't accept what he'd… what the infection did to him. I got stupid. That wasn't your fault, X."
"Your faith in people, in me, in Flame, is part of what I… love about you," X forced the words out before they could stop. "I respect its power, and how much it drives you. What I gave you was never going to stop you from fighting for him. I knew that, and I still hid the truth. That lie nearly killed you."
Alia leaned over, touching his shoulder. When his eyes came up, she realized he was silently crying himself. "…X, I'm very glad you've told me all this, I'm honored by it, and your good opinion is something I… cherish. That doesn't mean you're the one to blame for my pain, or how badly I messed up my own mission. You have to let me take responsibility for my choices, X. If you don't, it means you don't actually respect me."
That last comment made his face falter, and he bowed his head again. "I-I know, I just… I… can't…"
"Can't what?" she prompted softly, trying to call his eyes back up.
His head lifted as he breathed out, "I can't hear you scream like that again."
Alia's expression fell with gentle concern, her hand squeezing his shoulder. "That's what triggered you… Oh, X… I'm… so sorry."
His head tilted, even through his sorrow he was incredulous at her apology. "Sorry? Your arm was torn off, Alia. Of course you screamed." He shrugged helplessly, "Anyone would have screamed."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry that I caused so much pain in you, X. You're one of the kindest and gentlest Reploids I know. I know how much fighting bothers you and hurts you. It's part of what I love about you," she turned the phrase back to him with a kind smile. "Seeing you fight like that, seeing that fury and pain in your optics… I knew how much pain you had to be in for that to come out of you."
Their gazes lingered for a moment, and he bowed his head again. He swallowed, recovering some control of his emotions, and replied, "No one understands me like you do. I'm grateful."
"No one else understood my need to give Flame Stag a chance, either, X. You… just you… really understood that."
X managed a wan smile for her, meeting her eyes again.
Her hand came down from his shoulder. It gently patted his cheek first, his eyes closing with appreciation for the contact, and then it lingered down in front of him, offering a shake.
"And to be clear… I'm in."
His hand gripped hers. "Welcome aboard." His voice was still soft from his overwhelming emotions.
She smiled, and helped him stand up. Then she hugged him. X returned the hug immediately, and she could feel his hands shaking on her shoulder and back.
"You're not alone," she whispered.
He squeezed tighter. "…Thank you."
Author's Note:
This is probably my favorite chapter in the Chronicles thus far. By length, it should be about two chapters, if not three, but I couldn't bear to separate it. It has a clear beginning, middle, end, and denouement all its own, and belonged together. It represents the 'conclusion' of the Alia/X sub-plot of Chronicle 2, as much as it could be considered concluded before the series itself ends.
Originally, Alia wasn't going to know the truth. The original draft of the Chronicle plot (the over-arcing plot for all five stories) didn't even have Alia entering the story until story four, and when she was added, it kept her in the dark until the tail end of story five. As the story developed itself, that simply wasn't a valid option anymore. It would undermine X and Alia's relationship at key points, and result in a fractured, disjointed relationship. X, thus far, really does trust Alia. Alia, thus far, understands his reasons. X had to tell her the truth, or it meant he didn't trust her.
Yes, this did inform the choices about dialogue for Depthcharge's sequence with Jessica earlier in the Chronicle.
More superficially, I'm very pleased with the geothermal plant sequence, and the various stages of the events. I wanted Alia to appear very competent and powerful, but still trip up because of her misunderstanding of the Maverick situation and also her instinctive concern for X. And she would only make such a mistake because of intense personal emotional on the line.
In-game, I always used the torso-armor G-Crusher to let X get the heart-tank in that alcove without dying. You can blow the G-Crusher immediately after recovering the tank and still race the lava out of the tube successfully. Since X in-story had made such a point of disliking the G-Crusher thermobaric explosion, I had to have a really good reason for that to happen in-story. As this whole sequence choreographed itself in my head, X's moment of rage that leads to the explosion came together in a way that delighted me. And, for the record, the 'red' in his optics is literally a mechanical issue from the G-Crusher activating. It just also works beautifully for visual representation of his rage in that moment, another reason I enjoy the poetry of the construction.
As a side-note, I realize G-Crusher likely was intended to be a gravity weapon (I assume 'Gravity Crusher' would be the proper name, if not 'Giga Crusher'), but the idea of a truly insane explosive force with vacuum properties to protect the core fit thermobaric explosions better than a raw gravity burst. It also adds the bit of hell-fire I wanted with this sequence in mind, so I opted to stick with explosive.
Alia's interactions with Deepfreeze and Pyrostrike remains a pair of high points to me personally. Since her ad-libbed introduction in Chronicle 1 turned out so amazingly for me, I had to offer some kind of pay-off here. Deepfreeze is one of my favorite X-Hunters (I'm fond of ice powers overall), and Alia is (obviously) one of my favorite Megaman characters anyway, so any excuse to have them interact is great for me. The poignant quasi-father-daughter reunion for Alia and Pyrostrike is similarly powerful, and I feel the dialogue is very strong myself. Really, I just like it, and enjoy reading it myself as much as I enjoyed writing it.
X's full disclosure to Alia toward the tail-end here and the resulting warm moment between them is deliberately vague on the 'romance' side of things. It's a powerful moment, but this scene could be interpreted several ways. Alia has been worried about X's loneliness and stress for a long time, and him revealing this to her, especially with the tense emotions it pulls out of both of them, provided an emotional context that demanded something beyond a hand-shake.
As an aside: Any kind of affection, physically speaking, between Reploids in my interpretation is specifically symbolic. It's a learned behavior tied to emotional programming that is part of their free will and agency. They've been taught, like human children, that these gestures/touches mean something important, and it's that reassurance of meaning that is what is really going on here. It's the same reason they cry, clear their throats, scratch the back of their heads, etc. It's purely communication and emotional conveyance rather than an extra meaning tied to an organic requirement as it would be for normal humans.
I hope the longer chapter was fun rather than laborious, and, again, thank you for all the support and comments, everyone. They are deeply appreciated. Don't worry, we obviously have plenty of story left to go. This chapter just marks a personal accomplishment for me, and had some special exceptions involved for it, thus the length and larger note at the end here.
Until next chapter!