Me: Welcome back all.
Iris: (runs over and hugs Sypher) Thank you for the last chapter!
Me: O_O' Ummm... No problem. Glad you had fun with Zero.
Iris: I did. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me.
Me: Never that. You're one of the main reasons I'm writing this. Capcom never gave you a fair run, so I'm fixing that mistake.
Iris: (blushes) Aw, thank you. (Hugs Sypher again)
Me: ''O_O'' Disclaimer, please? ~Before Zero kills me...~
Iris: Of course. SypherZero in no way attempts to claim ownership of MMX nor any of the related characters, places or items that may appear. Those rights belong to Capcom. All OC's and the story itself, however, belong to him. Now, off we go!
Chapter 15- Breaking Midnight
The Armada drop-ships cruised silently through the night skies, their Stealth-Tech making them invisible as they approached Neon City. It had been ages since the Nihilists had attacked the metropolis and most of the troops were overly excited for the mission, all ready to strike a blow at the Imperium's 'hub of Peace.' Standing by the open bay door watching the dark terrain zip by was Vagrant, cigarette between his sinister upturned lips. 'Its been TOO long since I was allowed to have this kind of fun.' One of his troops had been giving him a quizzical look most of the flight as the scarred Reploid had puffed his way through several smokes. Unable to contain his curiosity, he finally spoke up.
"Hey, Cap'n. Why the hell do you smoke? It's not like you get the same feeling Humans get from it. We're kinda designed to filter that crap out."
"Always have, Corporal. Call it a 'character trait'. Helps me think while there's nothing to destroy." Vagrant responded with a smile, his gravelly voice sounding of someone who'd smoked their throat raw over many years.
The Corporal chuckled at his commanding officer and with a nod went back to checking the status of his gear. As far as Vagrant knew, he WAS one of the only Reploids who indulged in the deadly habit, but, as his trooper pointed out, it didn't have the same effects on him. It truly was a method to kill his boredom, and he indulged in it full force. The comm unit next to the bay door buzzed and Vagrant flicked the nearly spent butt out of the opening before hitting the answer button. The pilot's voice came through the speaker clearly over the sounds of engine hum and rushing wind.
"We're on final approach, sir. 2 miles out from the city's limit. Beta, Delta and Phi teams all report in the green and prepped for drop."
"Excellent captain. Relay message: Alpha is in the green and ready to fly on mark."
"Copy that. Relaying message to group now. Drop in 60 seconds. Give 'em Hell, sir!"
"I intend to. Vagrant out." He turned to his troops and shouted. "ALRIGHT BOYS, 55 SECONDS TO DROP! MAKE SURE THE COMMANDER'S IDENTITY IS UPLOADED AND KEEP HER OUT OF HARMS WAY! YOU HARM HER, YOU WON'T MAKE IT HOME! OUR MISSION IS CLEAR: CAUSE CHAOS, DRAW OUT THE IMPS, KILL WHAT WE CAN AND PULL THE FUCK OUT! KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR THE ZERO! THATS RIGHT THE LOST MAVERICK HUNTER FINALLY CAME BACK, AND THE COMMANDER WANTS HIM ALIVE! EVERYTHING ELSE GETS SENT TO HELL!"
The troops roared their approval as the jump timer clicked away. As it reached '0' and the red light above the door switched to green Vagrant launched out of the drop-ship and plummeted toward the glowing city lights. He never looked back, he knew his people were competent and capable. He'd hand picked each one, all soldiers he'd served with at some point in time. They knew his methods, his strategies, his personality and all shared his reasoning. This would be a night for the history books going down in infamy as the first night of the end for the Imperium.
Speeding down, head first, through the darkened skies like a small rocket, Vagrant watched the lights of the Kamisurai Tower approach at break neck speeds. Flipping himself and kicking his Boosters in to slow slow his descent he impacted with the stone face of the skyscraper and began grinding his way down its side, sliding dozens of stories in a matter of seconds. As he neared the bottom levels he leapt off the building and somersaulted through the air in a grand display before crashing boots down in a small crater and scattering pedestrians in fear. He smiled devilishly into the crowd, scanning for Null and not finding her, before whipping his auto-rifle off his back and opening fire into the helpless civilians.
Verdant light shredded into the crowd dropping bodies, Human and Reploid alike, in a bloody massacre. Vagrant howled in laughter as he emptied his power cell and quickly reloaded, sweeping his rifle in an indiscriminate arc with a spray of hot light. All around him was a scene of carnage as Alpha Squad landed and began to charge into the crowd with Lightguns, Busters and Melee weapons, further adding to the increasing body count. 'No real fun if they aren't fighting back...' Vagrant thought as he scanned the war scene looking for NCPD officers to lay waste to. The Neon City PD were just lower class Imperium fighters, but they'd provide more challenge than murdering civilians and Vagrant preferred a body that fought back. His search was short as he located a group of 4 officers attempting to assist the fleeing civilians.
With a lightning fast Booster-Dash, Vagrant crossed the distance and unleashed a right hook into the first of his targets easily breaking the cops' jaw, sending him tumbling and rendering him unconscious. He followed up with a back thrust kick that took the next officer in the guts and off his feet to collide with his allies. They fell into a tangle of bodies from the attack, disoriented from the force of the blow, and unable to free themselves. Vagrant pulled a rod from his back that instantly extended into a staff sized length and sprouted a war-hammer head at one end, and with a massive swing smashed down on the NCPD officers. The result was shattered armor, a gory, oozing mess where once had been living beings and a contemptuous sneer from the hammer wielding Maverick. Collapsing the hammer back into its rod formation and replacing it onto his back, Vagrant found one of the Lightguns from the felled cops, a magnum powered version, and added it to his current arsenal thinking to himself its owner no longer needed it. As Vagrant checked the weapons' power level his comm buzzed and he quickly responded.
"Go for Vagrant."
"Sir, Phi Squad has encountered heavy Imperium resistance in the Drakai District. They've established a blockade and we've lost 3. Assistance is required."
"On my way. Keep low and engage targets of opportunity until I arrive."
"Acknowledged."
Vagrant checked the city map on his wrist display. Drakai District was only a handful of blocks from his position and, as the map displayed his units current whereabouts, he calculated the best route to approach the Imperium forces from behind. He Boosted away on a zig-zagging course through the city, randomly swiping down NCPD and non-combatants along the way, until he arrived at his designated ambush position. The blockade consisted of at least 20 Imperium fighters, 'Not enough to cause too much harm.' he thought as he unholstered the pistol and rifle, took a breath and popped out from behind the wall he would use as cover guns blazing. His ambush had the desired effect as the first few shots dropped their targets with murderous accuracy and threw the rest into disarray looking for the unseen attackers. Dual-wielding the guns Vagrant caused chaos to the enemy line as they fell by twos, and sometimes threes, to his flanking assault. The pistol was spent quickly and he discarded it, focusing on more precise shots from the rifle. Before the power cell was empty, it was over.
Reloading and slinging the long-gun over his shoulder, Vagrant lit a cigarette and walked over to inspect the carnage. He was greeted with a salute by Sergeant Stanz, one of his long time regulars.
"Perfect timing, sir. As usual."
"I love when they don't expect it, Stanz. Who'd we lose?"
"Duo, Waller and Claymore. They fought hard, sir, but the snipers with those Imps did their jobs."
Vagrant grunted and exhaled a small cloud of smoke. He's fought alongside Duo and Claymore during The Five. Their loss, although not tragic, wouldn't go unnoticed. Waller had joined his attack group during several Imperium raids over the last few years and had proven to be an asset in a tight situations. 'Fucking Imperium... Why won't you just die already?' Vagrant finished his smoke and flicked its fiery end into the pile of Imperium corpses before turning back to Stanz.
"Take Phi and link up with Delta. Assume the Delta designator and take command of the squad. Tell Bryor to comm me if he's got a problem with it. I not happy about our loss, Stanz, but you know the old adage omelets and eggs. I think we've broken enough for the day, how 'bout you?"
Stanz nodded and, with a quick salute, ran off to relay the new orders. Vagrant lit another cigarette and opened up his map again. The rest of his people were accounted for, all scattered about their drop zones wreaking havoc as per their orders. But Vagrant was looking for a specific ID beacon which he located near Alundara Boulevard. Alpha Squad, also known as Vagrant's Wolves, was operating in that area and he knew it was best to return to the 'Pack' and remind them of the pre-jump briefing, as most would've 'forgotten' as soon as the blood-letting had begun. Standing over the corpse pile, Vagrant bent down and doused his smoke on the face of one of the fallen before leaping over the makeshift barricade. Saluting Phi Squad and heading off towards Alundara, Vagrant entertained himself on the way as he did before: randomly striking down any unfortunate soul in his path.
Null, disguised as Lily, was pressed against a wall beside a dumpster avoiding Vagrant's wolf pack. She'd forgotten how visceral and violent he and his men could be and wondered how she'd thought this was a viable plan. Most of his people were exactly like him: borderline psychotic if not fully so and she was beginning to think that the last two weeks of careful planning could easily go up in smoke via a misplaced shot or nonchalant disregard of orders. Although capable of fending off a random psycho, she was more concerned with their 'pack mentality' and the fact that she'd have to deal with four or five of them at once should they witness her defending herself. She shook her head and cleared away the thoughts of a nasty and violent death and touched the side of the glasses she'd donned as part of her disguise which activated a built-in HUD in the lenses. She switched it over to Map Mode.
The positions of the Armada forces were instantly displayed around the city, purple dots moving chaotically throughout the streets. A silver dot represented her current position, which was trapped between 2 four unit groups of purple with several dots closing in. She then located Vagrant's ID moving quickly towards this area, a mild relief coming over her. 'He may be insane,' she thought, 'But as long as I give him something to kill, he's loyal.' she smiled, 'And who doesn't want a pet Wolf to devour their enemies?' Checking her map once more, she noticed two of the purple dots had entered the alley she was hiding in and were slowly approaching conversing with one another.
"My HUD is glitching. I keep getting a beacon that's disappearing." said one of them.
"Me too. Maybe it's the Commander." responded the other.
"Commander..." the first voice scoffed, "Only 'commander' I have is the Cap'n. I don't take orders from office-bound shadow."
"I'd watch it if I were you, Karr. If she's down here, you're history."
"Screw that, Delsis. When's the last time YOU saw Null do anything but hand out orders and hide in her office? Since we captured Lacadian, she hasn't seen a DAY of combat. Maybe if she got off her ass once in a while, the Imperium would be wiped out and we could call it a wrap for this war."
Null' ire boiled. How DARE some lowly grunt say such thing about her. Her hand tightened around the hilt of the Hard-Light dagger she'd crafted for herself as she prepared to leap out and remove the bile-spewing head of Karr. A sudden comm chime, however, stopped everything for the moment. Vagrant's voice followed the alert.
"Karr, Delsis, regroup with the Pack. We're moving out of this area."
"Sir, investigating a strange beacon signature." Karr replied.
"Negative. That signature is appearing all over the city, usually followed by Imperium Hard-Light traps. Ignore and regroup." Vagrants voice had take on an edge that demanded immediate obedience.
"Acknowledged, sir. Returning to group." Karr said as he and Delsis turned to make their way out of the alley.
"You have a death wish tonight, Karr? Talking trash about the Commander AND not obeying Vagrants' order? I'm not getting killed 'cause you're stupid."
"Stow it, Delsis! I wanted to check the situation, the Cap'n enlightened me. Since when did you become such a whelp?"
"I'm cautious. You heard the Cap before we jumped: Zero's back."
"Zero-schmero. I have no fear of some thousand year old out-mode Reploid..."
The rest of their conversation passed out of Null's range and she relaxed against the wall. Her fury, however, was still burning bright. Was this the common opinion of her throughout the ranks? Had she, somewhere along the course of this long war, lost the respect of her people? A more sobering thought was: did she ever truly have it in the first place? She shook away the thoughts, not allowing herself to be mired in self doubt and pity. She was the Commander of the Nihilists, and the opinions of grunts didn't matter. She found herself thinking about the conversations she'd had with Lacadian over the past two weeks and the opinions the scientist had shared with 'Lily' about Null, looking for clues of dissension.
"You know, I don't blame Null anymore that she deserves." Lacadian had said. "She was created to be what she is. And part of her creation involved never losing. Her Perfection Complex isn't one of natural creation, but one of Pure Programming."
"I don't think I understand, Doctor."
"Null could've ended this war a hundred times over by just dropping Void Bombs on every Imperium-controlled area. But that would destroy the world itself. She has no desire for that level of destruction, as she would lose. She wishes to 'fix' the world of Human error. But she wants Humanity, in some form, there to watch her do it."
"But doesn't the Void Drops on Russia and the U.S. prove she doesn't care about who dies? Countless innocent lives were lost in those attacks."
Lacadian had shook her head at that.
"Not at all. It just proved that she's willing to show excessive force when she deems it necessary. And I'm almost certain that her 'Creator' gave the order to drop those bombs, not Null. I've had the 'privilege' of many talks with her, and have noticed the change in demeanor when we speak about those events. Her people Fear her, Lily, because they know she will destroy them should they question her but they aren't as loyal as she believes. Under the proper circumstance, almost any of them would thrust a knife in her back to take over and wipe EVERYTHING out."
Null had dismissed Lacadians' statement at the time, thinking the prisoner was just conjecturing with an ally. After hearing Karr's vehement words, however, she was beginning to believe Lacadian was more correct in the assessment then she would've liked. 'Perhaps this mission will change opinions.' she thought, but something in the back of her mind told her there was nothing she could do but wipe out all dissension in the ranks and start anew. 'If that's the case, then so be it. Omega and I will rectify the mistakes of the past and renew the Armada.'
Null watched her map as Vagrant and the Wolfpack joined up and headed out. She shifted through several areas before finding the beacon she truly wanted to run into, Zero's. After their encounters with the Red Death, Null had Kay and Brav's data complied into a separate program designed to isolate Zero's specific energy signature. It was only 15 minutes into the raid on Neon City, so there was still a chance he wasn't in combat yet. She needed to locate him and be the one to inform him of this as the first step in gaining his trust. There was a second signature with him which Null assumed could only be Iris Callister, Zero's heart and truest weakness. Null sneered to herself thinking of the weak Reploid sharing a life with the sleeping God of Destruction. 'I'll replace you soon enough.'
The map indicated Zero was near Gradian Avenue, almost two miles away. She quickly leapt off the nearby wall and kick-jumped her way to the rooftops, soaring from building to building and crossing the distance in a matter of moments.
Using the Zoom function of her glasses, Null scanned the streets looking for Zero. She found him relatively quickly, his long blonde hair a dead giveaway. Speeding to the edge of her perch, Null leapt off the 8-story building to the ground below and dashed around the corner she knew him to be coming from, putting herself on a collision course to barrel into the pair. She purposefully was looking back over her shoulder, as if making sure nothing was following her, before slamming into Zero with enough force to have knocked them both to the ground. She was shocked, however, when her body was caught in a graceful yet powerful grip and spun around to be placed back on her feet facing Zero's Emerald eyes.
"You should be more careful..." he started but Null quickly back pedaled and let a little fear creep onto her features.
"Nihilists are attacking the city! You need to get out of here!" she said with a more than ample amount of urgency in her voice. She smiled internally, 'I forgot how good it is to manipulate the unwitting.'
Zero and Iris' expressions went wide as they exchanged a quick glance between them.
"Where?" Zero asked with seriousness.
"Everywhere. If we don't run now, they'll catch us!"
"Don't worry about us, we can handle ourselves. You keep going and get somewhere safe. Contact Imperium Command if you can and let them know the situation."
Null let her eyes go wide.
"What?! You're gonna fight them?! Are you crazy? There's dozens of them. How are you two planning on fighting them?"
Zero tossed her a smile, one born of centuries of combat knowledge and just a bit of sinister intent.
"Haven't met a Maverick I couldn't scrap. Get outta here, we've got this."
"Who are you?" Null asked with surprise and awe.
"The Last Maverick Hunter." Zero replied as he and Iris were engulfed in energy as their armors beamed onto them and they dashed away into the battle. As the pair disappeared around the corner, Null found that the false awe she'd displayed had become a bit more real, which she was slightly troubled by. 'He truly is the greatest of warriors...'
Shaking away the odd feeling that had suddenly sprung up, Null kick-jumped her way back to the rooftops to follow The End as he laid waste to her forces, a smug satisfaction filling her. 'A shadow behind a desk...'she thought. 'Let's see how you all like how this 'shadow' deals with the disloyal.'
Zero and Iris walked arm in arm through the night, continuing their conversation from dinner. Things had been, for lack of a better word, magical. Even through the lights they could see the stars and after so many years in stasis they found themselves mesmerized. Iris leaned in and kissed Zero's cheek, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked.
"This was amazing, Zero, thank you."
"Don't thank me. We needed this. It's good to escape the conflict. Too much jades the personality."
"You're right. Let's go see a show. I saw some flyers by the restaurant. It starts in an hour."
"Sounds good to me."
As they walked, Zero wondered if things at the HQ were doing well, but figured since no one had called all was well. Suddenly, a girl came dashing down the street looking over her shoulder and slammed into Zero almost toppling him, but a quick sidestep and a surprisingly graceful pirouette saved them from a nasty spill. Zero immediately noticed the panic and fear in the young woman's violet eyes.
"You should be more careful..." He started, but she just began backing away quickly, the fearful look deepening.
"Nihilists are attacking the city! You need to get out of here!" she all but shouted.
Zero looked to Iris, their expressions filled with shock. 'Of course...' Zero thought, 'I'm not allowed to enjoy a night out.' He quickly looked back to the female Reploid and asked "Where?", his tone the icy seriousness he usually displayed.
"Everywhere. If we don't run, they'll catch us!" The frightened girl said.
"Don't worry about us. We can handle ourselves. You keep going and get somewhere safe. Contact Imperium Command if you can and let them know the situation."
Zero saw the young woman's eyes go wide with shock.
"What?! You're gonna fight them?! Are you crazy? There's dozens of them. How are you TWO planning on fighting them?"
Zero gave her his predator's grin.
"Haven't met a Maverick I couldn't scrap. Get outta here, we've got this."
"Who are you?" she asked with a fair amount of awe in her voice.
Zero's grin deepened as he glanced to Iris, who face was set with determination.
"The Last Maverick Hunter."
He and Iris were engulfed in crimson and lavender energy, respectively, and soon encased in their armor. Giving one last look to the shocked female Reploid, the pair dashed around the corner towards the fray. It wasn't long before Roto's voice came in over the comm.
"HQ to Hunters Z & I. SITREP(Situation Report). "
"This is Hunter I. Armada forces reported within Neon City. Responding now. Situation still unknown, will update after Contact."
"Copy that. Good luck you two." Cordelia's voice soon followed Roto's.
"Be advised: we're having difficulties with mid-range scanning. There's most likely a jamming device causing the issue. Hate to ask, but can you separate to double your coverage area? The sooner it's down, the better our support."
"We're on it, HQ. Zero out."
Iris had the city map pulled up in her HUD before Zero had ended the communication, almost instantly noticing two 4-block areas heavily mired by static. She transferred the data to Zero's HUD.
"Looks about right, doesn't it?" Iris said with a glimmer of dull sarcasm.
Zero nodded. The possible jammers were three miles from their current position and approximately five miles apart from each other. Although insufficient by themselves to cause a jam-out of the city, their locations, which Iris had determined to be near Kamisurai and ArabaSau Towers, would amplify their coverage area significantly as the skyscrapers would act as antennae to increase the interference umbrella.
"I'll take Kamisurai." Zero said. "As it's closer to the center of the city, the larger part of the attack force is most likely there. Keep in contact. If it gets hectic, retreat and regroup. Don't do anything stupid."
"Same goes for you. Don't push yourself." Iris leaned over and planted a kiss on Zero's cheek. "Be safe."
Zero gave her an 'I'm always safe' grin and the pair Booster-Dashed away. Zero hated the idea of Iris going off on her own, but also knew that she was more than capable of defending herself. 'Between what I taught her and what she remembers from Colonel, she'll be fine... I hope...' Casting the thoughts from his mind, Zero focused on the task at hand and in moments reached his destination, his heart sinking at the sight before him.
Bodies lay strewn through the streets, both innocent and combatant alike. Storefronts were shattered and in flames, including the small shop he and Iris had been in just hours before. The air was thick with smoke and the cries of the injured, or their loved ones sobbing over the fallen. All around him was a scene of insurmountable carnage that triggered a rage inside Zero he'd only known when faced with Sigma's atrocities, and with that rage came the frosty determination to make those responsible pay, painfully, for their crimes. Comming HQ he informed them of the current situation, telling them medical teams were required immediately and to use the position of his call as the coordinates.
Switching his HUD to a specialized energy scanning mode, Zero sought out the jamming device. He walked through the street, stopping occasionally to help victims, as he searched the area for specific variations that denoted signal disruption. Zero's scanner soon locked on to what he was looking for on the 33rd floor of the skyscraper. 'Of course...' he thought, 'Couldn't be easy. Never is.' He reached up towards his helmet to active his comm, readying to inform Iris that he's located his target, when an immense wave of danger flooded through him. Reacting on instinct seconds before his HUD flashed with warning, Zero rolled to the side narrowly avoiding the Buster shot aimed at his back. Coming out of the roll and back on to his feet, Zero faced off against three Armada soldiers: two melee and a gunner.
"Wow, Leland, nice miss." said one of the melee fighters as he readied his short sword Beam weapons.
"Piss off, Jara! It won't happen again." spouted Leland, the gunner.
"This one isn't Imperium regular, Jara. Check out that armor. Look like she just pulled it out of a museum." said the other melee fighter who was sporting a Beam spear.
"Do you Armada grunts always talk so much?" Zero said in his icy combat tone bringing shocked looks to all their faces.
"Whoa! You're a GUY?" said the spearman.
Zero growled, once again despising Wily for creating him with such long hair. 'Everyone thinks I'm Female...'
"Shattered your hopes of a date with that one, eh Byn?" Jara snickered at the spearman.
Zero tired of listening to their banter and leapt forward, saber blazing. Jara met him first, twin blades flashing as they collided. Zero launched several flurries into the defensive stance of Jara before back flipping away from Byn's spear thrust and landing in time to deflect a blast from Leland. The trio stood shocked at the quick display of swordsmanship Zero displayed and soon found themselves on the defensive once more as he charged back in. Byn came first this time with an intricate series of flourishes all which ended with heavy attacks that Zero easily parried away and allowed him to move into quick physical counter-attacks that drove the pole arm wielder back. Jara attempted to aid his companion with quick dual blade flurries, but found himself unable to penetrate Zero solid defense and was soon disarmed, literally, as one of Zero's counters removed one of his arms just above the elbow and sent him howling to the ground. A swift kick to the side of his head knocked him out cold. Leland attempted to provide cover fire for his downed squad mate but soon found himself standing alone as Zero's blade flashed a deep purple as it intercepted his Buster shot and sent it directly into Byn, tossing the Reploid away into a wall with a smoking hole in his chest.
Zero gazed at the gunner, his face a mask of deadly determination.
"You CAN surrender." Zero said, but the look on his face suggested he'd prefer the gunner fight back. Leland roared a battle cry and started loosing shots at the Red Death. Zero simply leapt into the air and sidearm tossed his Saber like a discus into the Mavericks' chest, watching the look of shock on his face as he was impaled by the beam weapon. Slowly, Zero walked over and pulled the weapon away from its victim sheathing it on his shoulder and activating his comm.
"Hunter Z to HQ. I've located one of the jammers. Kamisurai Tower, 33rd floor. Heading in."
"Be careful, Z." Cordelia's voice came back. "Armada forces may be stationed there to defend it."
Zero scoffed. "Not too worried about Regulars, HQ. All their advanced tech doesn't make up for lack of skill. Contact Iris and update her on my situation. I'll SITREP once finished. Z out."
Zero dashed into the tower finding the lobby in disarray and made his way towards the elevator. Pressing the button yielded no response, as Zero expected and with an irritated grunt he made his way to the stairs. Although the climb was a workout, Zero was glad it was uneventful. He exited on to the 33rd floor and his HUD immediately locked on to the jammers energy signal, as well as several more Armada troopers. Pressing to the nearest wall, Zero quietly moved to the corner and peeked around finding his target surrounded by four troops. Arming his Z-Buster and charging it to max, Zero popped out and fired a cyan energy bolt down the hall into the device which resulted in a good sized explosion. The Armada troops, caught by surprise, were tossed violently from the blast two of them, Zero noticed, thrown out clear out windows.
The resolution in Zero's HUD cleared some from the destruction of the device and he walked towards the wreckage, hand close to his saber just in case of resistance. Upon inspection of the blast radius, however, his hand moved to active his comm as the two troops that hadn't been thrown to their deaths were in no shape to fight.
"Zero to HQ. Device destroyed. Encountered minimal resistance. Gave out a couple of flying lessons."
Zero heard Roto laugh raucously at his quip before Cordelia chided him and replied.
"Excellent. We've gotten a partial view of the city back. Iris reported slightly heavier reenforcement at her position but managed to infiltrate the tower. Perhaps you should go assist."
"On it HQ, Zero out."
Before Zero could form another thought he was blindsided by a massive shoulder charge that sent him plummeting out of the same window as the troopers he's dealt with moments before. Tumbling downward uncontrollably just out of reach of the buildings side, Zero's mind raced for a solution quickly coming to one as the ground began to speed toward him. Shifting his momentum to right his tumble, Zero kicked his Boosters in and, just barely getting a grip on the tower, began to slide down safely. Near the bottom he Boost-kicked off the wall and flipped to the ground looking up to see his attacker grinding his way down. 'Alright, asshole. Let's see how you deal with a fair fight.' Drawing his Saber, Zero squared himself and prepared for the coming fight.
_[
Iris dispatched the last of the small group of Armada soldiers outside ArabaSau Tower, a quick slash that drove deep into his chest plate and caught the artificial heart enough to destroy it. Deactivating her Light-Buckler and Saber, she commed in to HQ.
"Hunter I to HQ. I'm at the location of the jamming device. Looks to be on the 38th floor of the ArabaSau skyscraper. Encountered mild defenses outside the location, can you update me on possible defenses inside?"
"Sorry, Hunter I." Cordelia responded, "We're still mostly blind here. But, Zero has checked in with much the same news. He's infiltrating Kamisurai now and should have the device down momentarily. Will most likely be able to give you a clearer view of enemy positioning afterwards. Recommend proceeding with caution, but keep yourself out of sight. Avoid confrontation as you're most definitely outnumbered and without support as of now."
"Understood HQ. Proceeding into location with extreme caution."
Iris moved quickly, staying behind cover where available, as she made into the lobby of the tower. She cringed slightly at the sheer amount of destruction caused by the Armada, having difficulty wrapping her brain around the motives of the Maverick army. She tried the elevators to no avail and sighed as she made her way to the stairwell, thinking at least the climb would help her stay in shape. She passed several bodies during her assent, the dead Reploids faces' burning into her memory and fueling her resolve to get the murderous band out of the city. Reaching the 38th floor Iris checked her HUD readout, hoping that the jammer wouldn't effect her scans too much. She was rewarded with a flickering layout of the floor, at least six combatants guarding the device and a straight hallway leading to them outside the stairwell door. 'This is when a Buster arm would be handy...' she thought as she formulated a plan.
To her right was a power box that controlled the lights on the floor. Cutting it off would drop darkness and provide much needed cover for her to make an approach, however, she would be left to rely on her HUD's IR/DV mode which may be affected by the jammer. She could also leap into the corridor and rush her opposition, hoping to catch them unaware enough to take them down before too much of a fight. She rejected that notion outright, realizing that, although she was more than competent she didn't have Zero's skill in a frontal assault like that. Activating her Buckler and Saber, Iris slashed the power box and the lights instantly died. Quickly she switched her HUD to IR/DV, adjusting the filter so the blazing Beam Saber and Shield would blind her, and slipped out on to the floor.
As expected, her targets had moved away from the device and were searching the floor. This was good for Iris, as separated enemies were easily defeated enemies. The first two were felled before they knew they were under attack, as Iris dashed forward and drove her blade into the back of one and spun as she pulled it out to slash the second deep in his mid-section dropping them almost silently. She stalked the third around a cubicle, almost getting the drop on him but was caught at the last second as he turned with a shout of 'Hey!'. Upper-cutting him with her Buckler she loosed three quick cuts that dropped him into a sparking pile but brought her to the attention of his three remaining comrades who immediately opened fire with their Light-Guns. Iris dove around the cubicle to evade the shots and continued moving the small wall until she came to the open row between the desk boxes and dashed forward into two of the remaining three and toppled them to the floor. She drove her blade down into the 'guts' of the closest of them and used her Buckler to smash the helmeted face of the second, both downed from their wounds. As she moved to scan for the last, a piercing heat shot through her shield arm at the shoulder and she lurched forward almost slamming face first into the wall. Quickly rolling to the side, Iris got her Buckler up fast enough to deflect the next few shot before returning to her feet and squaring off with the last of the guards. He continued to fire round after round at her, but the Hard-Light shield just absorbed or deflected the shots as Iris closed the distance between them until she lashed out with a slice that cut through the barrel of the gun, rendering it useless. Undeterred, the Armada soldier produced a Saber and continued his attack against Iris who deftly blocked and parried each blow. Evading a heavy downward chop from the trooper Iris countered with a backhand blow from her Buckler, disorienting her target, and finished him off with a thrust so fast the afterimage of her blade burned in the air for several seconds.
Dispatching the final solider, Iris walked over to the jamming device and sunk her Saber deep into it power core. There was a sputtering whine from the machine's innards followed by a small, spark filled bust as the device died. Suddenly her map cleared giving her a full, unobstructed view of her surroundings and, as she switched it over to City View, a clear map of the nearby blocks. Her comm chimed a moment later.
"HQ to Hunter I. Good job, we have visual on the city again. Looks like you and Zero dropped those jammers. Updating your map with current enemy positions around the city. Looks like Zero is engaged with the Lead Maverick of this attack. Immediate support required as his armor integrity is taking somewhat of a beating. Energy levels still on point."
"Copy that HQ. Location marked and moving to support."
Iris hit the stairs at a dash, leaping down the landings and reaching the lobby in under a minute. As she left the building, an overwhelming sense of warning washed over her and she leapt up in time to see a light purple spear of Hard-Light occupy the space she'd just vacated. Tracking the path of the projectile, she saw a Reploid in silver and white armor accented in gold. The ghostly violet eyes of her attacker stared coldly in her direction, a small yet evil grin coming to her lips.
"So... You're Iris Callister. How is it that someone such as YOU came to be the consort of a God?"
"Who are you?" Iris asked as she readied her weapons. The Reploid woman laughed at the display.
"I, my dear, am Null. Commander of the Nihilist Armada. And soon to be YOUR replacement beside 'The End'. Someone as weak and feeble as you doesn't deserve to be in the presence of the great Omega. That honor belongs to a Perfect Being, a Goddess. And I am that being."
Null knife-edged her hands and twin Hard-Light blades formed over them as she gazed at Iris, a look of pure malice in her crystalline violet eyes. Iris gritted her teeth and rushed forward in a flurry of attacks aimed at Null's chest and head. The petite Reploid easily parried each attack, however, and delivered a series of graceful counter kicks ending with a powerful spin kick that sent Iris tumbling away. This wasn't enough to stop her and Iris was quickly back on her feet and attacking once more, doubling her efforts and pushing Null back into a defensive. They traded blows, counters and parries in a furious dance, neither finding a disabling or killing blow throughout. Iris finally got the better of the Armada Commander and locked her blades against her Blade and Buckler, pushing hard in an attempt to split the smaller Reploid in two. To Iris' surprise, Null smiled a very predatory grin as the two pushed to gain the advantage and spun with whirlwind force, not just splitting the two apart but shattering Iris' Buckler gauntlet disabling the shield.
Iris' HUD flashed furiously with damage indicators and she could hear Cordelia over the comm inquiring on her status, but she toned it out just like Zero taught her and gripped her Saber with both hands. Null chuckled, a cold and sinister sound, and looked at Iris like a hungry animal ready to kill.
"You are brave, Lady of Flowers. But bravery is just another form of foolishness."
Null flashed forward so fast it was almost unseen and attempted to drive her blade through Iris' heart. Iris expected this and, with a quick twist and mighty two handed slash, cut deep into Null's armor and slammed her into the ground with teeth rattling force. She followed it up immediately with a Booster-assisted stomp to Null's back that further drove her into the floor with a grunt of pain as it pushed Iris up into a backflip that separated the pair. Iris landed as Null returned to her feet, her armor now sporting a large gash and burn marks from the attacks. The Maverick leader glared with murderous intent at the Hunter, causing Iris to tighten her grip on the Saber. The attack came before Iris could react.
Null dashed forward then vanished as Iris moved to block, appearing behind her instead and drove one of her blades deep into Iris' shoulder. She howled in agony as the Hard-Light weapon burned through armor and into her endoskeleton, threatening to remove her arm completely and drop her into the black of unconsciousness. It was right before that point that Null removed the blade from Iris' shoulder, grabbed a handful of her hair and placed the other blade to her throat. She then whispered evilly.
"That was fun, but you can die alone. I want to see Zero's face as I bleed you. Watch the horror and despair as he looses control and frees Omega from the shackles that have bound him for so long. Come along and let's watch the rebirth of a God."
Zero leapt away from another massive hammer strike and dashed in on his opponent to score several quick hits against his think armor. Vagrant, as he'd identified himself, grunted with each hit then shoulder checked Zero to create distance and landed a glancing blow with his hammer that sent the crimson Reploid sliding across the concrete but not dropping him. Zero dashed forward again as his blade changed from Emerald beam energy to orange-red flames as he leapt into an uppercut slash that crushed Vagrant's defense and left him awash in fire. More distracting than damaging, the rising fire attack provide Zero with the aerial space needed to launch his deadly Hyouretsuzan diving attack. Gripping the saber emission side down, Zero activated the attack and a jaggedly sharp blade of ice sprung forth as he dropped, furrowing yet another gash into Vagrant's armor and leaving smaller shards stuck in as the blade shattered against its target. Vagrant growled and, as Zero moved to create space, snagged the red Reploids' hair and proceeded to rag-doll him into any nearby obstruction before flinging him outright through a wall.
Zero's HUD was flashing with damage updates and armor integrity warnings that he immediately silenced. He glanced at his Energy readout and Primary Systems scan, both of which were still above 80%, and pulled himself out of the crumbled wall on top of him deciding not to worry until either of those things dropped below 65%. 'Self-repair will handle the sub-system damages and armor issues. If I can floor this guy in the next few strikes, none of the damage will matter.' He once again faced Vagrant and assumed his battle stance, drawing a grin from the Maverick.
"I gotta hand it to you, Zero: for a thousand-year-old war machine you've got more bite than most newer combat models. Those Elemental strikes were one helluva surprise. But, the games end here. Time to put you down."
Vagrant raised his hammer high and smashed it into the ground causing a burst of yellow energy to tear across the ground toward Zero. The crimson Hunter dodged sideways to avoid the attack but was caught by the wake of the ground wave and tumbled hard, his HUD flashing once more to indicate he was now at 72%. Getting back to his feet, his comm opened up with Samuel on the other end.
"Zero, you've sustained near critical damages to a number of systems. You need to retreat immediately. We've lost track of Iris as well, but not before her damage readouts went into the red. You're new objective is to locate Iris and return to the base."
"What do you mean 'Lost track'? Where's her locator beacon?" Zero growled as he watched for Vagrant's next attack.
"It was near ArabaSau several minutes ago. She checked in after destroying the jamming device and we had her until she stepped outside the tower. After than, it disappeared and her systems began to take damage. She may be in serious trouble and need your assistance. The Imperium has entered the city an is taking care of the situation. Colonel Gainis is en route to your location with reinforcements. ETA two minutes. Vagrant will stay put long enough for the Colonel to fend him off. You, however, can't afford to go 'Omega' again. The consequences would be devastating to say the least."
"Doctor, I can't just leave this maniac here..." Zero began to protest but was cut off by Samuel.
"Zero, you're in much worse shape then we thought. If you don't retreat now, you may never be able to again."
Before Zero could form another thought his radar picked out a familiar beacon approaching from behind Vagrant. Although it kept disappearing, Zero knew it was Iris' and he looked past the one-eyed psycho to find her. What he saw almost pitched him into a frenzy: Iris being held at blade point by a petite silver armored female Reploid.
"IRIS!"
"Stand down, Zero. Or I open her throat before you can think to approach." stated Iris' captor. Vagrant looked back and a surprised grin came to his face.
"Commander, what a pleasant turn of events. Come to watch me turn this relic into vending machine parts?"
"To the contrary, Major. I intend to take Zero into custody. I'm sure he'll be compliant, else I finish the job he started so long ago."
"LET HER GO NOW OR I'LL...!" Zero roared but was cut off by the Commander.
"You'll what? Unleash the monster trapped inside you? Please do Zero. I beg you to. Let the God of Destruction loose. After all, it IS your true nature. Why continue to deny that fact? You've been lying to yourself for so long, you actually believe that you're the 'good guy'. You say you fight for 'Peace' yet I know better. I've seen what you're capable of: the destruction and devastation. I see the look in your eyes as you battle. You CRAVE the Death of your enemies. Relish in their pain and suffering. Come to us, Zero. Sit beside ME and lay waste to those too weak to exist. Together, you and I can make this world into the utopia that X always believed in. A world of true Peace."
Zero trembled in fury, yet was helpless to do anything. Sheathing his Saber, Zero bowed his head in defeat as Vagrant and Null laughed. For the first time since facing the Colonel all those years ago at the Space Docks, Zero felt completely powerless. Slowly, he walked toward the Armada Elites and did the only thing he could do to save the one he loved: he knelt down in subjugation. He could feel Iris' eyes on him, begging him to rise and drive his blade through her and Null in one vicious motion. He could feel Null's eyes as well, full of a mad lust for power she thought Zero could grant her. But he didn't move, he just stated at the floor as all his strength drained away and spoke without conviction.
"Now release her. I'll go with you. But if you break your word, you won't live much longer than her."
"Your Saber. Hand it to the Major and I'll release her. Try ANYTHING and I'll bathe you I'm her blood."
"ZERO, NO!" Iris cried out but Null yanked her hair with enough force to drop her to her knees as well and pressed the Hard-Light blade gently to her neck. Without looking up, Zero removed the Saber from its shoulder mounted holster and rolled it to Vagrant's feet. The Maverick quickly smashed it into sparking bits with his armored foot, a chuckle coming from him as he did. Seconds later Iris was shoved face down beside Zero and Vagrant took hold of his chest plate and lifted him from his kneeling position. Null stepped into Zero view, a sad smile on her face, and spoke softly.
"It won't be as bad as you think. You're a God amongst Mortals, Zero. I will show you the truth of this. I will be the Goddess you truly deserve. Two beings of Perfection to oversee a world in need. In time, you will love me as I have always loved you."
Null reached up to gently touch Zero's face, causing him to turn away and gaze at Iris. His eyes were filled with a deep sadness that screamed out to her 'I'm sorry', but that sadness turned to blinding fury as Null spoke again.
"I have what I want. Major, kill her for me. I've dirtied my hands enough for one night."
"NO!" Zero shouted but was slammed with such force by Vagrant he was temporarily immobilized. As his vision cleared Zero could see his flickering HUD warnings of near critical damage and Vagrant raising his hammer high preparing to drop the crushing blow upon Iris' prone form. Prepared to activate the 'Omega Protocol', Zero was startled as a barrage of green energy blasts rained down on the two Armada warriors from above, driving them into defensive positions an away from himself and Iris. Looking up he saw an assault cruiser in Imperium colors hovering over their position, rappel lines streaming from the sides and troops armed with Light-Guns sliding down and firing the whole way further pushing the Armada Elites away.
As they touched down, the Imperium soldiers formed a defensive screen around Iris and Zero much to the chagrin of Null and Vagrant who'd been forced to take refuge down an alley to avoid taking fire. The last Imperium unit to the ground was none other than Colonel Gainis, a large repeater rifle slung across his shoulder. He looked down at Zero and Iris, offering them a hand getting back to their feet then a small smile.
"Sorry for the wait, Commander. We were running blind for a while and couldn't lock down your position. Along with the clean up action throughout the city, speed wasn't our strong suit tonight. Do you require transport back to your base?"
Iris, now supporting a very busted up Zero, shook her head.
"Thank you, Colonel, but I can beam us back to HQ. Your resources are required here at the moment. Best not to diminish them in any way in case the Armada reinforces their people."
Gainis nodded and graced the pair with the slightest of smiles before ordering his troops to give chase. Iris and Zero glanced at each other as the colonel and his men departed, sharing a thought: although built differently, Gainis truly DID seem to be much like Colonel. With a heavy sigh, Zero gently pressed his head against Iris' as fatigue and injury finally caught up to him. Iris chuckled and kissed his forehead.
"It was a fun night while it lasted. Let's do it again sometime. Minus the Maverick attack, that is."
Zero couldn't help but laugh, even though it hurt to do so.
"Agreed. Now, let's get the hell outta before I fall apart." Zero reached up to his helmet, activating his comm. "Zero to HQ, mission accomplished. Two beaming home."
Cordelia acknowledged and the pair were soon aglow in purple-red energy as they teleported away.
A/N: Sorry this one took so long, but work and family took precedence for a few days. Hopefully it's as enjoyable to read as it was to write. Work on the next chapter has already started and hopefully it too will be up this week. As usual, please R&R. Your feedback, good, bad or otherwise, is greatly appreciated and goes a long way towards making this a better story. Until the next chapter!