Disclaimer- I own nothing of Capcom's. Story & OC's are mine.
Chapter 19: Omega Level Threat
The crimson-black energy blur of Omega burned across the sky like a meteor, impacting the frozen surface of the Antarctic wastes with craterous force. The emergency beam-out during Transformation/Upgrade had created immense amounts of power, which only increased dramatically in transport. The resultant hole being the proof, measuring 30 feet wide and 10 deep. At its center stood Omega Zero, a crimson aura burning around him and casting a red glow in the crater.
A moment passed before the aura extinguished and Omega leapt from the hole, landing hard just beyond the edge of the impact site. Activating his scanners, he gazed out into the tundra and smiled darkly to himself. 'Credit, Hunters. As far as you could send me. Success on your parts, little use however...'. Seconds later his HUD lit up, coordinates streaming into Omega's vision, highlighting a path to the nearest coastline with a translucent black line.
Turning, he quickly began a vertical traversal of a frozen cliff, reaching the top in seconds. A vista of ice and snow stretched out as far as sights' limits, the landscape dotted with icy cliffs and crevasses along his route. His dark smile never faltered as he leapt from his perch and unloaded an O-Buster shot into a nearby wall, reducing the barrier to crystalline dust. Kicking his Booster in while airborne, Omega flew through the granulated remains of the wall to begin his journey in earnest.
A handful of hours passed before Omega reached the nearest coastline. Looking out over the thrashing waves he pondered his newest dilemma in mild annoyance. A system scan upon landing revealed his teleportation unit had been damaged beyond self-repair capability, a vital piece of equipment for escaping his exile. However, during his trek across the icy wastes, Omega had studied the extent of the Upgrade recently obtained and found a solution to his problem.
Along with weapons, armor and sensor upgrades to bring his systems into the new age, Omega stumbled upon a Booster augment. Closer inspection of the specifications showed him that the enhancement was more than capable of accelerating him to Mach-1 speeds almost instantly. Another dark smile had creased his lips as he silently paid respect to the Human responsible for further enhancing the greatest killing machine the World had ever seen.
Backing away from the water's edge, Omega activated the warm-up sequence for the Mach Booster and Boost-Dashed toward the edge. His HUD lit up green when the augment program was ready, smaller Booster nozzles rising from the calf section of his armor and igniting in conjunction with the Main Boosters, and he accelerated forward so rapidly he was gliding above the water's surface. Seconds ticked away as Omega blasted forward, a full faceplate dropping into place from the top of his helmet as he reached Mach speed to protect his face from the harsh physical effects of super sonic travel. A muffled 'BOOM!' reached his ears and that dark grin spread wide under the faceplate as he reveled in the notion of his power breaking yet one more barrier. Again, Omega felt the tiniest spark of admiration for the Human scientist and his unwavering resolve to enhance the Alpha Predator.
'Perhaps I'll thank the flesh sack personally...before I gut him.' Streams of calculation flew through Omega's view as his HUD displayed Estimated Travel Time and Power Consumption for the journey. He would make landfall in several hour at his current speed, but his Energy Cells would be on the verge of Shut Down upon arrival. 'No risk, no reward... I'll just have to be quick about locating a suitable recharge...'.
Deepest night had set in as Omega made landfall, pale moonlight casting a gentle luminescence on the landscape. Stars dotted the midnight blue skies like a million glittering diamonds, glinting and pulsating a silent symphony in the heavens. The Destroyer, however, noticed none of it. His HUD was alive with a different pulsing light- Low Power warnings. Calling up an area map, Omega searched for the nearest military installation, locating one several miles away. Shutting down the warnings, but keeping his remaining Energy level in sight, Omega rocketed away via his normal Boosters.
It took a handful of minutes to cross the distance, Omega stopping just outside the perimeter and activating his sensors. According to the data pouring into his HUD, this was a low priority Research outpost sporting a mostly civilian staff. He snorted with a scowl, 'Civilians have no place inside an installation of War. A hard lesson will be learned tonight...'. Switching his HUD into Passive Combat Mode, Omega immediately locked on to a pair of soldiers close to the main gates. Data pertaining to their armor and armaments filled his view but he ignored most of it as he strode forward, right hand converted into Buster form. As he approached the extreme edge of the base's perimeter, the two guards began to converge on him with weapons close but unready.
"Halt! Base access to civilians is restricted to the hours of 6am and 9pm. Please return tomorrow."
Omega's vision flashed bloody red at the order, his faceplate dropping as he Booster-Dashed and unloaded a Mid-Charge Buster round into the guard which incinerated him in a bright burst of purple-black light. His companion, dumbstruck by the speed of current events, was slow to open fire, allowing Omega to cross the distance between them unfettered. Lightgun rounds pelted harmlessly against the ultra durable armor of The Destroyer as he unsheathed his Saber and lunged forward to drive the Emerald bladed weapon through its target's chest. A visible surge of energy coursed from the soldier as Omega drained away his life to replenish himself and, in a single upward swipe, almost split his victim in two as he gazed at the green glowing blade in mild confusion.
A scan quickly revealed that the weapon wasn't the Z-Saber at all, only a stock Beam Blade. Growling, he returned the handle to its shoulder mounted resting place and activated another of the Upgrade's additions: a Weapons Tuning Matrix. The program was capable of 'fine-tuning' any weapon into a personalized instrument designed to suit Zero, or in this case Omega. A timer appeared in the corner of his HUD with a count down to the Saber's completion. Growling once more to himself, Omega activated a jamming/hacking program, also from the Upgrade, and downloaded all relevant data concerning his target as well as disabling long range communications. Raising his faceplace, Omega tapped into the communication system and broadcast his words over the PA.
"According to your data, there's a sturdy defense here. Odd for a mere Research facility. Pointless, in the end. Surrender now and I promise to make your deaths quick. Resist...and I'll drown in your blood. Decide."
Inside the base, klaxons blared as blue clad Imperium troops dashed about. The main screen was displaying the events from outside when the PA came to life with a voice demanding surrender and death. Standing on a slightly raised walkway above the rest was the Major in command, watching the screen with rapt attention. Almost quietly, a Private approached him from behind and held out a data tablet that the Major took absentmindedly before looking at it in earnest. Before he got through the first paragraph the Private began speaking.
"Identity still unknown, sir. But, prelim scans have pulled up some data. First, he's an Assault/Dueler Reploid, which means he's pretty old. As far as we've been able to find, they stopped crafting Duelers almost 400 years ago. Second, he's been heavily modified. Ultra-Dense Armor composition of Unknown Quantity. Proton-Grade Buster shots uncharged, Neutron-Grade when charged. Close-Quarters-Combat Masteries too numerous to list. And a plethora of Primary and Sub system upgrades, including scanners, infiltration protocol and a weapons tuning program to modify anything he picks up to his specifications. Never seen any thing like him before, sir."
"And you never will again, son.", grumbled the Major. "That there is the only Reploid of its kind. The Omega-class Destroyer. Never believed the stories, seems I should've..."
The Private paled noticeably and the Major didn't blame him. Omega was a horror story, a fairy tale told to children and around campfires meant to frighten. Never once had anyone nowadays thought such a being could have existed. But, as the screen plainly showed, he DID exist and was just as fearsome as any legend. Lowering his voice and hoping the Major didn't hear him, the Private exclaimed a quiet 'We're SO fucked...' before he looked back at his commanding officer and found his voice.
"Or-orders, sir?" he stammered. The Major never took his eyes from the main screen.
"Maximum Defense Protocol. Threat Level: Alpha. Scramble Hyperion fighters. Orders to Engage the target at will. Bring Centurion units online prepared to engage hostile forces. Prep Evac shuttles for immediate lift off. All civilian staff on board before anyone else. Our objective, people, is to hit the target fast and hard! If our best efforts only slow him down so those shuttles get away, I'll die happy! This is the threat we all trained to face one day. Today's that day! Stand strong and fight back the darkness that threatens to consume your worlds!"
The crew erupted in cheers and rushed about with renewed fervor. The Major smiled at their proficiency and turned to face the Private, who stood slack jawed before saluting and running off to pass around the orders. 'Let them fight back to the end thinking they can win...' he thought sadly, 'All we can do is brave the Storm with Valor and hope our efforts aren't in vane.'
After tense moments of silence, Omega began his advance on the base. He'd allowed more than enough time for them to accept his offer, and his brief skirmish with the guards had him ready to destroy. No more than steps into his quest, Omega found himself temporarily blinded as massive flood lights suddenly came to life. Adjusting the Light Filtration in his HUD, Omega's vision cleared to the sight of two heavy anti-vehicle gun emplacements aimed in his direction.
His scans revealed them to be the progeny of Cain Industries' Raptor Assault Cannons. He grinned as he pondered their capabilities, wondering if they shared their predecessors slow start-up and long cool-down. 'Let's test the technology, shall we?', he thought as the timer in the corner of his HUD reached '0' and he drew the O-Saber from it's shoulder sheath as he marched toward the main door. A voice unexpectedly boomed over the external PA, bringing Omega to a stop.
"Unidentified Reploid, you've openly assaulted Imperium Command soldiers and hacked into secure military channels. According to law, you are designated 'Hostile' and will be treated accordingly."
Omega couldn't help but grin to himself. "And who, exactly, addresses me? Major Whin? You would throw your people to the slaughter battling me instead of clean, quick deaths?"
"You're an Alpha Level Threat according to our scans. It's our duty to stop you here, before you can do serious harm." Major Whin's voice boomed with stoic conviction.
Omega laughed, a cold and evil cackle. "'Stop me'? You deluded fool, I shall bring Death to you all. May you suffer most for your idiocy."
As Omega's faceplate again dropped the Raptors opened fire, their heavy energy bolts drilling into the whirling wall of deep purple light that was the O-Saber. Although his defense was solid, a couple of shots slipped through Omega's maneuvers to strike hard against his armor, leaving brightened hotspots on impact and driving The End back with each hit. Omega jumped to the side throwing his body into a corkscrew, the dodge giving him the appearance of a runaway propeller, sending the next volley of shots back up the cannons barrels and quieting the heavy gun emplacements permanently.
His sensors came alive again as multiple lock-on warnings sounded and his HUD flared to flashing life. Readouts pinpointed over two dozen medium repeater turrets and micro-missile pods aimed in his direction, a massive assault that would reduce most opposition into molten slag. Unfortunately for them, Omega was no normal opposition. Readying his Saber once more Omega leapt into the air as the gun turrets opened up, deflecting and ricocheting shots on his way up. Several missiles streaked towards him but a well timed Buster round swallowed them in violet fire. Air-Dashing to avoid more incoming fire, Omega unloaded a spread of shots at the turrets crippling any that were caught in the return. Suddenly, the defensive fire from the base stopped and Omega heard the comm lines open with a 'POP' and 'CRACKLE'.
"Hyperion Lead to Command, we are primed and awaiting launch order. Confirm, over."
"Hyperion Lead, you are clear. Engage at will. Subdue or Terminate. Keep him busy till we get those Vac Shutts airborne."
"That's a copy, Command. Hyperion Flight, you heard 'em: Take him down."
Omega's fury was fitting to boil over. He quickly tapped into the comms.
"And what makes you think I'll let ANY of you escape here?! No quarter given this night...Death awaits you."
Taking to the air once more, Omega swung the O-Saber in a huge horizontal arc, unleashing a massive Hadangeki wave into the wall of artillery attached to the base. Every emplacement exploded simultaneously as the energy wave cut deep into the exterior armor of the installation, leaving a visible glowing gash. With the distractions taken care of, Omega turned his attention to the half squadron of fighter craft now in the air. He grinned behind the faceplate as he cycled his Buster to Quick Charge and locked onto the nearest of the group, waiting until the peak of Mid-Charge, then unloaded.
The Hyperions moved into a crisp evasive, however the fast-flying O-Buster shot caught up before all had come clear. Catching the tail end and fully engulfing the Tri-Fusion Engines of one of the fighters, the Hyperion went up in a brilliant orange-purple fireball. The pilot's final scream resonated over the comm frequency as the remaining Hyperions spread out along different vectors and began strafing runs against the much smaller target. Their efforts, although well devised and valiant, were all but useless against the immensely fast and nimble Omega. Before the fighters could pull away to start another run, two more were swallowed by a fully Charged O-Buster shot and reduced to molten shrapnel.
As the Hyperions finished their loop, Omega's HUD exploded with lock-on warnings as the crafts unloaded their heavy artillery. Time seemed to slow around Omega as thousands of possibilities ran through his head at once. In those seconds of eternity, Omega made his choice. Blasting forward on his Boosters towards the coming projectile onslaught, Omega leapt from missile to missile with incredible agility to grab onto the wing of a passing Hyperion. Hauling himself up and Mag-Locking behind the cockpit, Omega smashed his fist into the Plexi-Steel canopy, shattering it. Driving his blade through the pilot's back, killing him outright, Omega sent the fighter into a nosedive. Unlocking and flipping away, Omega's Saber easily spilt the doomed craft in two and sent its remains slamming explosively to the deck below as he descended with a feather-like quality to land soon after. Seconds later the comms came to life once more as the fighter craft force was now reduced to 1/3 of its potential.
"Hyperion Lead to Command, requesting permission to disengage target. We can't scratch him, sir."
"Hyperion Lead, permission granted. Come about into holding pattern R224. Vac Shutts are eight minutes to flight. Updated objective is to fly cover for retreating Evac. Acknowledge understanding of update, Hyperion Lead."
"Hyperion copies, Command. Moving to R224 and holding."
Omega was tempted to chime in with threats of pain and death, but the warnings from his sensors quickly cut that off. Turning his attention to the bases' main entrance he saw a large force of midnight-blue armor clad Reploids who looked tough enough to shrug off high-yield shelling. However, before he could test the theory, Omega found himself dodging away from a large burst of roiling plasma. Cycling his Buster to Spread-Fire, Omega launched a small barrage of Low powered rounds at his foes. Much to his surprise, both pleasant and not, a line of troops stepped forward and, bringing their forearms up to almost touch, encased the force in a cerulean energy shield that diffused the incoming particle shots with ease.
Charging to peak Mid power he fired again against the shield with the same result. Brandishing his Saber, Omega ran toward the shielded group only to have to dodge and deflect incoming bursts of cannon fire. Barely covering ground against the defensive screen Omega stilled, his gaze boring deep into his prey from underneath his faceplate. Massive whirring thuds sounded from the rear of the formation as the energy shield shut down and the soldiers parted as a Ride Armor encased Reploid stepped into the forefront.
"Hostile Reploid, under Imperium Command Martial Laws 442-3, 442-5 and 442-78 sub-section 6, you are charged with Crimes of War against recognized Imperium edicts/property/personnel. Disarm and Disengage weapons and prepare to be taken into custody. Any actions outside of disarmament will be prosecuted with extreme prejudice."
All the data that Omega's sensors had been collecting on the Gauntlet-Class Ride Armor vanished instantly as his HUD blared a blinding red. The monotone delivery from the Reploid had spurred something that drove Omega's fury off the chart.
"YOU DARE SEND AUTOMATONS TO BATTLE ME?!"
"We are NOT automations. Centurion Reploids were designed with emotional responses removed from strategic thought. We are Combat Distilled into its core elements."
As if to demonstrate, the Centurions launched a salvo at Omega. The Destroyer easily leapt away from the blast but was blindsided by a right hook from the Ride Armor and sent tumbling away. Omega recovered in the air, firing several Buster rounds as he did. The Gauntlet threw its arms up in defense and produced an energy wall similar in design to that of the Centurions protective dome, diffusing the shots. Two E-Mag Bolt launchers unfolded from the Armor's back and 'Whumped' out shots at Omega. Speed and Agility were on Omega's side, however, as he dodged around, under and over shot after shot to rapidly close the distance between Predator and Prey. As he reached slashing distance, Omega again found himself dodging and evading incoming plasma.
Wave after wave of shots rained in at Omega, his blade fending most of the assault off with the occasional shots scoring against armor. Pure rage spilled over as Omega slammed a violet glowing fist into the ground, a geysering pillar of similarity colored energy surrounding him and swallowing the incoming shots. His vision burned crimson as he blasted forward, removed one of the Ride Armor's arms in a single graceful slash and unloaded a powerful Buster round into its back, blasting Armor and Rider into hot slag. The rest of the Centurion force was engulfed by Omega's fury as he jumped, dodged, blasted and slashed his way through all of them. In less than a moment it was over, and standing coated in the gore of his enemies was Omega.
His vision cleared once more causing him to glance at the timer in the corner of his HUD. He'd wasted over 5 minutes dealing with the Centurions, leaving just under 3 to wipe it all out. Moving toward the heavy blast doors Omega came to a sudden halt as the comms crackled into life.
"Hyperion Flight to EV-1, prep for Hard-Burn. Tango's sensors just reinitiated. Turning to cover escape vector. Good luck."
Turning to the skies while rapidly swapping through scanning programs, Omega located the airborne shuttle flying away full bore. A calculation swiftly made told Omega the time that had been transmitted via the airwaves had been a diversion, much the same as the Centurions. His fury again threatened to boil over, however he checked it. Cycling his Buster to Overdrive Max, Omega locked onto the shuttle but didn't fire. He waited until his scans were complete so he could relish in the death toll, knowing how many fell in a single motion. As the tally completed he fired the massive fast moving burst of Neutrino energy, instantly noticing the simultaneous power drain and Buster overheat.
The Hyperions swooped in hard on an intercept course, hoping to sacrifice their ships to save the evac shuttle. Though valiant, their efforts went in vain once more as the fighter craft were enveloped and incinerated by the Buster Shot, which carried on unabated to catch the engine section of the shuttle with a brilliant explosive flare. Omega kept the shuttle in view as it careened downward toward the hilly terrain like a comet for as long as possible, relying on his scanners to track it to its final impact. The fiery burst of the shuttle dying against a hillside was accompanied seconds later by a Negative reading from his scanners, causing a nefarious grin to split the lips of The End beneath his faceplate.
Turning his attention once more to the base, Omega Mach Dashed toward the heavy blast door with a fist encased in roiling crimson energy, slamming hard into the barrier like a blur of red-black lightning. The immense force of the blow ripped the door free of its housings and sent it on a destructive cartwheel down the main corridor, tearing through walls and personnel alike. Stepping into the debris cloud, Omega quickly pulled up the base's schematics and located the hanger bay on the top level of the East Wing. He grunted in dissatisfaction after finding himself a small excursion from his target with little time before lift off.
Dashing through the halls at break neck speeds, Omega tore through the paltry defenders that were left like paper dolls. Ascending to the 2nd tier brought out heavier reinforcements, but even High Caliber Lightrifle rounds deflected off Omega's armor like water drops breaking on concrete. During one sortie, he threw the O-Saber at a group hidden behind cover and, by hand manipulation alone, caused the energy blade to curve itself into a scythe-like shape and boomerang into them, mowing them down like grain stalks.
As Omega reached the top level he had to throw himself into a series of wild aerial evasive moves as a torrent of weapons fire tried to wash him away. The deluge, however, proved to be nothing more than an irritant to The Destroyer at this juncture as he hacked, slashed, dodged and blasted his way through the 'insects' like an exterminator. When the attacks finally ceased, Omega slowly marched his way to the hanger bay and, as he had with the blast door earlier, unloaded an energy laden punch into the sealed barricade to send the bowed in door flying off its mountings. Striding through the opening, Omega was faced with the remaining, and largest of, the base's force.
His scanners calculated over 400 stood against him, as well as the two remaining evac shuttles. Leaping high over the group, Omega unloaded several Buster rounds into the hydraulic lift pushing one of the shuttles into launch position. The compromised machinery buckled, dumping its payload rolling back to the deck to collide none-too-gently with its companion also awaiting lift-off. The sickening screech of twisting metal sounded like the wailing cries of some ancient spectral monstrosity, freezing the blood and chilling the soul. From his position, Omega could see neither craft would be fit to fly for some time. Unfortunately, time wasn't something anyone here had left.
Suddenly Omega was aware of the shots being fired at him from the crowd below, Air-Dashing toward the shuttles to avoid the rainfall of attacks. Unloading a small barrage of Buster shots towards the shuttles in an attempt to corral the fleeing survivors, Omega was rewarded as several of his shots scored hits against the smoking engines of the toppled craft and ignited it in a spectacular explosion. Proximity, and bad luck, spelled doom for the remaining shuttle as it too was engulfed by the rolling fireball and exploded seconds later, wiping out a small chunk of the Imperium personnel on deck.
Omega felt the wave of Destruction wash over him and time stood still. Hovering above his quarry like a true predator would, allowing the sheer power of this moment to sink deeply into him, driving his feral instincts to kill. Time righted itself and the same crimson aura that had surrounded him in the Antarctic burst to life around him once more, swallowing the Lightgun rounds being fired at him. Drawing his Saber, once again a burning, blood-red greatsword, Omega sliced an 'X' in the air creating crossed Hadangeki waves. Firing a Charged Shot into the crossed waves caused them to blast apart into dozens of smaller, spinning cutter-like projectiles and rain down into the amassed crowd, wreaking havoc on the group in seconds.
As confusion gripped his opposition, Omega took advantage. Riding a crimson-black bolt of lightning back to the floor with extreme concussive force and a guttural roar, red filled Omega's vision as he slaughtered his way through the remaining soldiers with indescribable fury and mercilessness. In little more than a moment, almost all those who'd made a stand now lay still. The injured groaned or cried out for help and those that could run tried, but it wouldn't matter. Wrapping his fist in a twisting envelope of coursing red-purple energy and raising it high, Omega roared out once more before slamming his fist into the floor creating a whirling vortex of similarly colored energy that engulfed the entire base like wildfire. Instantly superheating metal on contact, as well as incinerating anything less, the bases' destruction was a cacophony of warping metal, shattering glass and the dying anguish of those unlucky enough to still draw breath.
The deep night sky was brightened by the burning base, the blistering red-oranges entwining with inky blue-black. The lone figure of Omega, highlighted by the blaze, strode away into the night, burning red eyes scanning the horizons for his next target. All Zero, 'And his precious Hunters...', had done to keep the Destroyer God encaged had finally failed. Casting a sidelong glance over his shoulder to gaze upon the first of a series of devastating new masterpieces one final time, Omega Boost-Dashed away followed only by his ghostly violet afterimage.
Kneeling atop the Weather Tower in nightly prayer, as was his usual, Cyrus' eyes snapped open. The normally aquamarine orbs had clouded to an opaque green and his body almost leapt, unconsciously, to its feet. Focusing sightlessly on unseeable distances, a smile slowly crept onto the acolyte's lips as a hushed whisper of 'He's Returned...' passed through them. Turning away his eyes returned to normal as he all but dashed from his place to seek out the only other being in the Armada that could understand, and appreciate, the magnitude of these new events.
"Salvation is at hand... Praise be to Omega."
A/N: Well, I know it's been a while since anything went up, my apologies. Life has a funny way of saying 'screw you, buddy.' Anyway, hope everyone enjoys this one, it was rewritten over a dozen times and deleted in it's final stages more than once. I wanted it to truly feel like an unstoppable force claiming victims unfettered. As usual, R&R. Any and all feedback welcome. From here, we slowly approach the end. Until next chapter folks!