Brav: Well, that was interesting.

Me: Huh? What was?

Brav: The last chapter. Handled that well, in my opinion at least.

Me: Umm, ok... You feelin' alright? Usually you hand out shit, not complements.

Brav: (chuckles) Yeah, I kinda do. But, I give credit where it's due. And before you ask, yes I will.

Me: Ask what? Will what? What the hell are you talking about?!

Brav: SypherZero claims no ownership of any Capcom related characters or locations. This story and any OC's that appear, however, are his creations.

Me: Ya know, I coulda handled that without all this pomp.

Brav: True, but then no one would care about it. You're welcome.

Me: (sigh)

Chapter 21- Windstorms and Wildfires

Null crawled through the vent work toward Lacadian's cell disguised as Lily Thorne once again. She'd been incredibly busy with Cyrus for over a week since he'd rushed to her quarters in the middle of the night raving about Omega's return to the world, unchained once more. Null had almost struck out to find him that instant, but Cyrus had stopped her. "My faith in Him is unwavering, as you're aware. But even I wouldn't dash headlong into Hellfire, my lady.", he'd stated plainly and Null, although every sense was screaming the opposite, agreed with the cleric. 'It wouldn't do to have Omega burn me away before a proper meeting, would it?'

So, she bided her time. Holding council with Cyrus, and frequent trips to Lacadian, had helped give Null a greater insight into The Destroyer. Null understood Omega's Primal Nature, she too had an unquantifiable rage trigger that doused the world in shades of red and made logical thoughts impossible. This was one of the many things about Omega that Null found herself drawn to. 'How could one NOT be enticed by such a force?', she'd thought but knew better than to believe she herself could harness, or control, THAT kind of power.

But Cyrus was only a singular viewpoint on the matter, and Null figured if she was on a learning curve it was best to collect as much information as possible. She'd began by speaking with Kay, who begrudgingly recounted his encounter with Omega, attempting now to conceal his broken form under an enormous longcoat. Null understood the kind of power Omega unleashed, but to see the mental and emotional damage inflicted, on top of the physical, brought a deeper, and more frightening, understanding. She wished afterwards to broaden her knowledge on the enemy's thoughts, and so chose to seek out Lacadian's insights.

"Understanding HOW Omega operates doesn't improve the chances of disabling him, Lily. He doesn't respond to typical stimuli, such as pain, normally. Adversity to him stokes a fire that immolates any in its path."

Lacadian had informed her of many technical aspects concerning Omega, including the fact that he was, almost surprisingly, more than just an indestructible killing machine.

"According to all the data I've scoured through over the years, Omega's 'random' destruction isn't. He cripples the oppositions' ability to function against him systematically. Starting with communications and working down the list, even if he is acting on sub-conscience, he makes it impossible to act against him in any manner other than purely combative. Tactically controlling a situation BEFORE there's a situation shows he's thinking on a much greater combat scale than just to annihilate."

This knowledge was brand new to Null. As she has always seen it, Omega was an unstoppable and incalculable force that ravaged his way across the world, wreaking havoc in his wake. If he WAS of intelligent bearing then she MIGHT have a chance to influence, '...or appeal...', to him on some level. This meant she needed to devise several tactics to approach him without being deemed a threat, which in itself seemed to be one of those insurmountable tasks that Null lived to undertake.

Tracking Omega's Path of Destruction wasn't hard. As a matter of fact, it was the easiest of the tasks at hand for Null, as he left a blatant mark of his passing in fiery ruins. Although he wasn't at the farthest reaches, he wasn't actually close either. A week-plus long rampage had left over 20 military installations, both Imperium and Armada, in shambled chaos. He seemed to be taking a route that would encompass Neon City, Maverick Hunter HQ and the Nihilist Stronghold in a horseshoe-like pattern. Using the telemetry, and a bit of educated guessing, Null plotted Omega's projected course based on current data. She'd almost gasped aloud seeing the Ancient Greek letter that was Omega's namesake drawn out before her. A select group may know of his return, but it wasn't enough for him. Null had smiled internally. 'He's burning his name into the Earth, letting all know of his return.' Immediately from her revelation, Null had rushed off to confirm her theory with Lacadian.

As she reached for the vent cover the motion of the cell door opening caught her attention and paused her into stillness. As the figure stepped in and the exterior light fell away the features of Vagrant became increasingly clear. The cigarette clenched between his teeth would've removed any further doubt. He slowly strode forward and gazed into the bubbling pit under Lacadian's suspended cell. Tossing his finished butt into the pool, he turned his scarred visage to Lacadian.

"Good evening, Doctor. Fancy rack you got there."

"How did you find this room?" Lacadian asked calmly. Vagrant laughed.

"Null's Secret Chamber ain't so secret. Not why I'm here. Your sentence is up. 150 years is long enough, don't you think doc?" He unholstered the Lightgun at his hip and flipped a selector switch on the side. "Sure you've heard about Omega by now. Equally sure you know that means everything's getting ready to burn." He aimed at the electromagnetic hinge in the ceiling holding Lacadian's suspended cell stationary and turned a cruel bi-colored stare to the imprisoned Reploid scientist. "I think you've delayed Retirement enough."

A clang from above drew Vagrant's attention as he sidestepped away from a falling ventilation grate. Transfixed in his search he never saw it coming when Null vaulted down with a diving stomp that drove him hard into the chamber floor. Pouncing off of Vagrant's chest, Null somersaulted through the air away from him, drawing her twin Light Daggers as she landed. Vagrant collected himself from the floor, his face twisted into a sinister grin as he gazed viridian flames at the disguised Null.

"Well, what do we have here? Imperium Infiltrator? How'd you clear security?"

Vagrant's arm shot up and he unloaded a small barrage of shots towards Null, the smaller Reploid nimbly dodging or deflecting the energy rounds. Hitting the floor in a dash after a brilliant aerial corkscrew, Null closed the gap between herself and Vagrant rapidly but something about his wide open, unmoving stance gave her pause and she slid to a stop a second before the massive hammerhead smashed down into the space she would've occupied. Ghostly violets burned with intense Rage, directed at the 'war wolf' before her, causing Vagrant to smirk as he drew his hammer back and rested it casually on his shoulder.

"I'm impressed, Sneaker. You've done your homework. Most of the time, I create recycled cans of ooze with that." He flourished the hammer like a staff with an ease that further impressed upon Vagrant's daunting strength. "My promise: it won't happen twice."

Vagrant leapt forward with a huge horizontal swing, a blatant attempt to bash Null into the bubbling death trap under the hanging cell. Rolling under and back to her feet, Null barely got airborne enough to push off of the follow up diagonal swing and hit the floor in a skid that almost dumped her over the edge. Null's eyes ignited with a violet luminescence as she moved to intercept Vagrant's advance, a ghostly afterimage tailing her.

Getting closer than expected, quicker than expected, Null began to unload with a ferocious series of flurries that put her opponent into a hard defensive. Although he kept her from landing a blow, Null's augmented speed and power kept him from bringing his hammer to bare. In mid-combo, Vagrant attempted to snatch Null at extreme close range only to have her thrust an elbow strike into his bicep and open his ribs up to another powerful elbow. Three quick slashes against his armor staggered him back a step, allowing Null to power step into a spinning side kick that caught Vagrant full and almost folded him in half.

A thought dawned on Null in the respite: What was the next step here? At first, she'd leapt out to stop Vagrant from dunking Lacadian, more because she still had things to learn from the scientist rather than any sense of altruism. Secondly, Null wished to beat some respect into the unruly Reploid. At any point, she could active her comm beacon and silently identify herself to him, but that would mean discarding Lily's identity. 'It's been valuable, but maybe it's necessary.' Now that the Fury trigger was subsiding, she logically approached the scene.

Although more than capable of dismantling Vagrant right now, that would leave the Armada at a disadvantage it couldn't afford at this point. If she didn't attempt to finish him off, however, her cover would be blown irrevocably. She needed to disable him long enough to make an escape. Gears turned and pins fell into place as Null's mental process developed her next tactic and, as she moved forward, her internal chronometer had ticked away a second.

Closing the distance between herself and Vagrant, Null unloaded with a quick but powerful series of short punches that drove her opponent back. Purposefully, Null allowed one of her blows to swing slightly wide and Vagrant took full advantage, blocking the strike with a raised shoulder and delivering a vision pixelating haymaker. Throwing herself into the direction of the blows' force allowed Null to make a 'sloppy' recovery on shaky legs and create distance once more. Vagrant's lips twisted into a feral grin as he advanced, a predator stalking the kill, oblivious to the trap before him.

Vagrant Boosted towards Null as she sidestepped away from the pit, lifting the smaller Reploid from her feet with a devastating knee-lift and directly into line with the hammer swing already in motion. Null had been prepared for the rushing assault, however, drawing her legs to her chest as she lifted from the ground and unloading like a coiled snake with two boots to Vagrant's face. Using the momentum from the drop kick, Null back-flipped onto her feet in time to watch Vangrant's backward staggering before casting a quick look to Lacadian, who silently urged her with a head nod to escape into the vents.

Before Null could make her next move, her Eye-HUD blazed to life with a Shut-Down warning. Null swore under her breath at the failing Chameleon Cloak. A brilliant piece of technology for infiltration and espionage, the Cloak wasn't meant for extraneous physical stress nor protracted combat. Although their fight hadn't been long, or overly strenuous, Null's Overdrive hardware, which automatically kicks in during combat, overtaxed the sensitive and delicate spyware. 'Time to finish this...' she thought as she began her approach.

Light Daggers in hand, Null sprung as Vagrant fully recovered. Activating the beacon she'd used during the Neon mission, Null was rewarded with a look of surprise, followed by the slightest grin, from Vagrant as well as a long second of hesitation. Her Daggers found home, scoring gashes into armor as she blazed into him with strikes that drove him back, the impressive combo ending with a rising diagonal that once more floored the big man.

Null pounced as her quarry was downed, slamming an unlit Dagger hilt to Vagrant's sternum and twisting the pommel to release a Controlled Magnetic Concussion Pulse. The CMCP, a variant EMP weapon, not only shut down electrical systems but also magnetically locked servos and movement joints. A perfect disabling weapon for Reploids. The pulse hit Vagrant full and produced the desired effect, but Null's HUD was blaring 'Imminent Shut-Down' warnings and she needed to move quickly.

Reaching under his abdominal armor, Null tripped Vagrant's Emergency Beam Out. This also activated his Armor Defense System, which Null was aware of, causing a massive surge of electrical energy to go coursing through the armor. Null's internal design allowed her to not only absorb the current but ground it into the decking on the floor. However, she jerked and spasmed as though enduring electric shock before half-launching herself from the teleporting Vagrant, sliding to stop as her head dipped over the edge of the bubbling pool beneath Lacadian.

Slowly pulling herself back to her feet, slightly smoking from the electric feedback, Null cast a sad glance at Lacadian. Both knew this would be the last time that they'd meet. Null moved to the control panel near the door, playing as though she planned to release the scientist.

"Stop!" Lacadian shouted causing Null to look back. "You've got to escape now. In moments this whole installation will be searching for you. One wrong keystroke and the magnetic suspension system shuts down. Go. And... Thank you, Lily." Lacadian smiled sadly at Null just as piercing klaxon alarms began to sound followed by booming PA announcements of security breach. Null allowed panic to sidle into her actions as she looked from the panel, the vent and Lacadian before 'deciding' on 'escape'.

"I'm... I'm sorry Doctor...", Null said before dashing toward the wall and kick-jumping into the ventilation system. Quickly crawling to her entry point and disengaging the Cloak, Null checked her sensors to make sure the area was clear and dropped from the vents. Now it was time to seal 'Lily's' fate. Making her way to Lacadian's cell, Null glared molten violet fury at her captive. 'Appearances must be maintained.', she thought.

"You've had unscheduled visitors, Doctor. Names, now."

Lacadian merely shrugged in a nonchalant manner.

"Aside from that brute you call Vagrant, I've no idea what you're talking about. If that's all, I was reading."

"Vagrant's arrival in the Service Ward points to another party involved, Lacadian. Once more: Names." Null manipulated the magnetic field of the cell, dropping it to within inches of the bubbling liquid and glared at Lacadian. "I've no patience today, so you'd do well to not test me. I may just forget why I keep you around."

Lacadian gazed over her shoulder at Null with a look of smug satisfaction.

"Please Null. You've no intention of killing me, or you would've already. I'm the only relationship you've left, regardless if it's nothing more than distain."

Null found herself caught off guard by Lacadian's words, but felt a kernel of truth to the statement deep within. 'It's a lonely place, at the pinnacle. She's been my favored pass-time device for some time. Every court needs a source of entertainment.' Turing her gaze to Lacadian in full, Null smiled menacingly.

"In that, you may be correct. However, you HAVE long exceeded your usefulness. But as far as I've come to know, you don't just kill your pets when they've outlived purpose. You're a part of my family now, Lacadian. Defiance and all." Null's smile never faltered. "But, punishments are in order. If you won't willingly give up your cohort, I'll have to forcefully pull it from your head."

Lacadian's defiance eroded almost instantly as her shoulders slumped and a pained expression crossed her features. Null beamed internally, knowing how much Lacadian had suffered during 'interrogation' trying to keep her secrets. And Lacadian knew there were no extremes Null wouldn't go to in attempt to extract the information. Null watched as the scientist closed her eyes, tears rolling down her cheek, and strained to hear the quiet croak emerging from her.

"Lily... Her name was Lily."

Null smiled maliciously with a curt nod.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Null chuckled as she left Lacadian sobbing in her cell. A small twinge of unknown emotion resonated in Null as she made her way to the lifts, the alarms droning in the background creating an impenetrable vail of annoyance. 'Pity.' She concluded as the lift doors closed and she ascended to the Command Suite. 'She's broken in so many ways, and this charade may have just been the last she could endure. I pity her weakness.' The doors opened into a slightly mad bustle, and as Null stepped out eyes darted to her as she seized command.

"Kill those alarms. Whomever is here, they've been ousted by the general alarm. Continued use of the auditory signal isn't required."

Instantly, the droning alarm ceased. Null nodded then waved a hand at the main screen, an image of Lily Thorne suddenly dominating it.

"This is our target. Imperium Infiltrator from the Deep Six unit. Posed as a defector for the last 8 weeks, whilst transmitting Armada intelligence back to her command. She also gained access to highly secure areas of this compound without detection. I'll allow her presence here to go unpunished..." Null paused, to allow her words to sink in as well as for effect. When she continued, her voice was hard and cold with deadly inflection. "If she's delivered Alive to me. Security has been compromised. This is intolerable, and reprimand is in order."

Null spun on heel and made her way out of the command suite. Aside from the slight shuffle of chairs and mechanical noise from consoles, all was quiet as the doors opened at her approach. A grin threatened to cross her features as she crossed the threshold but she clamped it down and looked back at the fearful faces of her subordinates. She WAS a masterful manipulator, and everyone would be hunting for a ghost because of it. Wordlessly Null stepped away from the door and watched it seal terror inside and made her way to her chambers with an invigorated sense of Power and Purpose. Setbacks had occurred, but so had Opportunity and Null would capitalize. With the general confusion over Lily, she would be able to focus on bringing Omega into the fold at her side, or at the least sided with the Armada. 'Yes,' she thought in detached excitement, 'This War will finally end, and WE shall reign. As Evolution always meant us to.'

A/N: Again, it's been a while since I've posted anything. This was a little while in writing simply because I just couldn't find the time or the proper feel for the chapter. In the end, I thought this was pretty good. Hopefully all of you feel the same. As usual, R&R. No feedback is bad feedback. Thanks and see ya soon!