Hello all! For a 'translation' of any slang used in this chapter (just in case you're not all fluent in 'Australian'), please see the end-slate. Also, for anyone having a hard time envisioning the pseudoroids I write about in this fic, please search up my profile on (under the same user name as on here) and look up the 'robots' section of my gallery. If any reploids are not featured there that you'd like me to see, just drop me a line!
After a long and winding chase through crowds and market-goers, the three Gem Gang women had him cornered. Sapphire was gazing at him worriedly, her hands held together submissively. Ruby was much less subdued than her blue-clad companion, the fiery fashionista all about the explode if it weren't for her crossed arms subconsciously holding her back. Opal, her hands on her hips and her shoulders tense, held no such reservations
"You have a lot of explaining to do, mister!" she snarled, her black top in disarray.
"Why did you try and sneak off like that? Members of the Gem Gang must observe the buddy system!" Ruby lectured, wagging her finger about. Sapphire followed her lead, offering her input.
"It can be dangerous to go off by yourself..." she said softly, avoiding direct eye contact. Omega, trying to keep his temper in check, crossed his arms and snorted.
"I'm perfectly fine taking care of myself. There's nothing for me to be afraid of, I can assure you. So quit harassing me!" he growled. "And since when was I suddenly a member of your gang? I don't remember signing up!"
Ruby looked offended. "When did you sign up? When did you sign up!? You became a member of our group as soon as you started living with us!"
"That's the rule!" Opal and Sapphire chimed, synchronized.
"What!? I never heard about that rule!" Omega replied, his temper rising dangerously. If it kept that way, Omega was sure he'd end up obliterating the whole camp, innocent civilians or not. He sighed heavily, trying to calm himself down. The last thing he needed was a fight with innumerable battle-ready Hunters on his hands.
"Oi! What's up with you?" Opal asked, snorting.
"I'll tell you what's up," he snapped, "I've never been one for being social, and now you're demanding I join your group! Excuse me, but maybe there was a reason Amethyst found me in the desert?"
The girls took a step back, their previously charged mood fading. "I never thought of it that way..." Ruby thought aloud, taken aback.
"No, maybe that's because you didn't think at all! You know what? I'm going. I'm outta here." he began charging past the girls, but Sapphire held one of his arms with both of hers.
"Please, don't go! We were only just getting to know you... at least come back by tomorrow...?" her sad eyes were wide, almost hopeful.
Omega let out another sigh. Damn this new world and his not knowing anything about it. "Fine, I'll be back. Look, I just have to think things out, alright?" Sapphire let go of his arm, letting him go without any more fuss. As he did, Opal turned to her comrades.
"I didn't really think about that, honestly... guess this whole group thing is a bit too big of a change for him too soon," she said sadly. The other females nodded in agreement.
"Perhaps Diamond... might want to hear of this," Sapphire suggested.
"Probably. Let's go report to him." With that, the trio left.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Omega felt sick. Not because he actually was, but because of the fact that he was forced to stoop down so low, forced to ally himself with a collection of people he'd only just met. A group of people that didn't know not to hassle him, not like the last fighters he'd been forced to work with."Dammit, why am I being such a coward?" he complained bitterly. He was the God of Destruction, why was he pretending to care? He should be out there, causing chaos and his namesake, destruction, but no, here he was, playing silly games with that pathetic Gem Gang! Why he didn't just ditch the lot of them was beyond him. Why didn't he just forget the lies and rip apart anything in his path, why didn't he go straight to whoever ran this stinking society and show them who's boss, why couldn't he remind these stupid Hunters of who he was, why...!
Why... because he had no idea what this society was capable of, he reminded himself bitterly. His logical side, oh-so-neglected before his fight with Zero, was kicking in. How he hated it, but after his loss, he wasn't about to let it go ignored again. Why didn't he ditch the Gem Gang? Because he needed somewhere to go after his fights, somewhere to settle down and recover unnoticed. Why didn't he rip apart anything in his path? Because that would cause too much attention to be drawn to him. And who knew what sort of security the ones who ran this society would have. If he went showing or telling everyone who he was, the Red Demon would have a price on his head instantly. A bloody huge one too, if anyone believed him. The do-gooders would want him dead, the scientists would want to examine him, and the power-hungry maniacs...
Omega shuddered. They'd do exactly what Weil did, try and control him. Use him for their owns gains like the bastards they were. And once his use was up, he'd be discarded, abandoned, just like Weil had done, leaving him to rot like a broken tool. A pre-programmed loyalty to someone and actually liking that someone were two very different things, after all. He was not going to let that happen again!
Which meant that he was stuck with the gang. Omega began quivering with fury. Was there no better way? This thinking was getting him nowhere! He wasn't built to think, goddammit, he was made to act, to massacre! But what could he do! Omega started gazing around angrily, hoping for something to occupy his mind by shredding it to shred to pieces. His wanderings while he'd been thinking had brought him out into the main drag of the camp, not far from the entrance to the market. He scanned the going-ons of the hunters, almost desperate to find something to occupy himself before his temper exploded and he slaughtered everyone in sight.
A random hunter seemed to notice his rage. "Whoa buddy, what the heck happened to you?"
"Unless you can help me find something I can legally kill, you weakling, then I suggest you buzz the fuck off!" he roared.
The hunter jumped back, some of the other hunters behind him leaping in fright too. The one that had addressed him seemed to be in shock, while another with their head together pointed quickly to his right. "Go that way, there's a job board with bounties that'll-!"
Omega dashed off as fast as he could, ignoring the rest of what the hunter had to say in favour of finding some unfortunate raider or whatever else he could use for target practice. Sprinting along faster than any normal person could ever hope to imagine, he rocketed past crowds of hunters and other camp inhabitants, bowling over his fair share. At last he arrived at a building with a large crowd in front of it. Some sort of commotion was going on.
"That's it! If you fellas can't respect my superior strength, then crikey, you'll feel it!"
An orange reploid with animalian features much different than those around him, bounced out from the center of the crowd. "I've been playing nice with you, but now that I'm riled up, I'll show you! I'm tired of being everyone's cobber!" he had a strong accent, likely originating from some prank by a programmer or a long-forgotten continent. Omega's curiosity got the better of his anger, watering it down enough that he could begin to think clearly.
"What's going on here?" Omega commanded, his voice cutting through the crowd. The reploid turned to him, swinging a tail burning at the tip. He was covered with red and yellow shapes accenting a thick armor of orange plates. The plates went from his neck down to the tip of his tail, his arms and powerful legs also orange to fit his fiery theme. His three fingers looked more like gun barrels. The kangaroo shaped mutos scoffed, looking down at Omega.
"Ooh, lookit this Figjam, thinks he's better than me! Look, you dratted ankle biter, I'm one boomer who won't be taken lightly!" He reached down to his tail, grasping the burning end of it. "Let's see how you like one of my blaze bombs!" The reploid tore off the end, revealing that it was actually a removable orb-like bomb. He threw it heartily at Omega. Omega, however, was ready. He grabbed the explosive in midair, tossing it back at the repliod. It blew up in its owners face, causing the mutos to be thrown back several paces. The kangaroo recovered, his yellow ears twitching as he turned and grinned at Omega.
"Wasn't expecting that... Crikey, you and me could really have a good blue!"
Omega cocked his head, confused. "What do you mean, blue? Look, your accent and your slang is really starting to annoy me, so shut up or fight!"
The reploid laughed. "That's what a blue is, a fight! I've just resigned as a hunter, so technically, I'm a maverick! And besides, even if you don't want to have a go, I've threatened to set up a bomb in hunter's camp. And it'll be a lot bigger than that blaze bomb, that's for sure!"
Omega grinned, "So I guess that means it's safe for me to kill you, huh? Good, I was looking for someone to vent my anger on!" He took up a battle pose, all too willing to thrash this orange punk. But the kangaroo reploid merely turned away from him, smirking over his shoulder.
"Great, cause I'm feeling as mad as a cut snake too! It's settled, we meet in the badlands over there in an hour!" He pointed ahead of himself before began bounding off, heading towards somewhere far beyond the edge of the camp.
"Don't disappoint me!" His bounds increased in size, allowing him to cover territory quickly. Omega was just about to follow when one of the group of hunters stopped him.
"Don't you realize what you've just done?" she yelled, her petite frame doing little to betray the uppity snit she'd gotten herself into.
"Gotten a chance to have a good brawl, is what!" the Devil Reploid snapped.
"A brawl with a former elite hunter! Wallaburn isn't to be taken lightly! He's a psuedoroid capable of powerful gunfire and explosives! You... I've never seen you before! And I know a lot of people around this camp, including all of the strong ones, just so you know. Which means that there's no way some no-name like you can take him on yourself!" she continued, almost like she was instructing him. Omega was really starting to lose his cool.
"Don't you dare tell me what I can and can't do!" he roared. She was left stunned as he gave chase to the kangaroo, leaving the other hunters in the dust.
Omega's feet pounded the wasteland, clouds of dust rising up after every step. The afternoon sun beat down mercilessly as he ran, revealing a harsh, desolated landscape barren of all forms of life. Omega liked it, its familiar forbidding atmosphere reminding him of the good old times, of destroying anything he wanted without a care in the world. Times where the devastation of Eurasia weren't a distant memory. Times that, if he played his cards right, could return.
As the afternoon slowly passed, Omega's foul mood dissipated as he eagerly awaited the brawl ahead. If that Wallaburn was so elite, then this would surely be a good fight! He pawed at his sword, always ready at his side.
"Crikey mate! You actually showed up!"Omega snapped out of his thoughts just in time to spot Wallaburn hopping beside him. "You've gotta be built like a brick shit house! You almost outran me! Almost," he smiled, "now, we missed our introductions, didn't we, mate? I'm Wallaburn, the kangaroid. And you are?"
"I know your name, Wallaburn, someone back at the camp told me." Omega replied, impatient, "And my name is none of your business, so let's quit the niceties and fight!" He grabbed the handle of his sword and drew it, still running, creating a zephyr of violet light in front of him.
Wallaburn cracked his tail, stopping in his tracks, "I was just tryin' ta be polite a'fore I killed you, mate. Very well then, let's fight!" He snagged a blaze bomb from the tip of his tail, tossing it at Omega.
Omega skidded to a halt, looking back to see where Wallaburn was. The bomb hit him in the chest, blowing up as it did so. He was sent flying but quickly recovered, landing deftly on his feet.
"Damn it, that's another shirt ruined!" Omega growled. Wallaburn seemed surprised that Omega still stood.
"Crikey, you're still up! But that hit you dead center!" he gaped. He slanted his eyes, any trace of his jovial attitude gone. "Looks like you're stronger than I thought! Take this!" He placed his arm forward, putting his fingers in a triangle. Flames blasted out and Omega jumped back. As an after thought, he threw the paper bag with his clothes in it (he'd somehow kept it with him) to the side, resulting in a strange look from the kangaroid.
"To keep them safe," he explained. Wallaburn snarled.
"Are you even taking me seriously?" He made to use another flamethrower, but was stopped by Omega slashing at him with his sword. A deep gouge appeared in his arm as blood splattered from the wound.
"Yes, I am. That's why I threw my clothes to the side. I'll likely need to change after this." he stated simply. Wallaburn's ears stood straight upright as he grimaced.
"Why you-! You-! How'd you do that? My armor is duratanium! You shouldn't be able to do that so easily!"
Omega didn't answer. Instead, he jumped back, then leaped forward, gaining momentum and slashing Wallaburn across the chest. Wallaburn fell back, his tail supporting his weight. He balanced quickly on the appendage, kicking out ferociously at Omega with both feet. His claws gouged six small scratches in Omega's gut as he was launched back, landing heavily on the ground. Both combatants got to their feet. Wallaburn clutched his bleeding chest as Omega put a hand on his stomach, feeling the holes left behind by the kangaroid's feet. Fortunately his strong skin had survived most of the attack, the small holes of little concern to the durable reploid. He looked over at Wallaburn, noticing that the mutos's damage was worse. The gash was bleeding heavily, the kangaroo focusing too much on taking deep breaths and resulting in his attention being diverted. Omega took the small break in the fight as an opportunity to reroute some of his energy towards healing his wounds. Wallaburn was doing the same.
"I've really come a gutser this time, haven't I?" Wallaburn coughed. He grabbed two blaze bombs from his tail, one in each hand. A pair of jets on the front of his ankles began glowing. "Looks like I've gotta take you seriously! Here I go, HEAT LAUNCH!" The jets on his ankles blasted out flames, causing Wallaburn to burst forward in a super-powered jump. He brought the bombs in front of him right as he hit Omega, causing an explosion even as the startled Red Demon instinctively struck out at the pseudoroid headed his way. Wallaburn's attack faded as they both tumbled to the ground, charred and damaged. Omega did some rolls before he stopped, surprised by the attack. His first wounds had healed only to be replaced by numerous burns and bruises. He got up, aching, glancing around for Wallaburn. He was off to the side, struggling to get up.
"Heh... overdid that one..." the kangaroid grimaced. His chest wound was mostly seared, preventing further blood loss except for where Omega's counter-attack had struck. The kangaroid looked over at Omega, who was preparing one of his own attacks. The Devil Reploid slashed at the ground, sending an electric shock wave towards Wallaburn. The kangaroid was brutally electrified as the wave hit, causing many of his systems to overload. Despite Omega sending more shock waves his way the kangaroo managed to get to his feet, attempting one last flamethrower. It was futile. Omega's sword slashed at his chest, fully reopening the first wound and slicing him in two.
Wallaburn giggled as the fatal wound spilling circulatory fluids. "Hehehee... You really gobsmacked me there, mate... Guess I get to cark it today, huh?" He was paralyzed, unable to move. His head and upper torso slid away from the rest of his body, gravity tearing apart the line that was Omega's killing blow. Light seeped out from the opening, signaling that the damaged circuits were overheating.
"But don't you worry, I'm sure we'll meet again!" The light became blinding, forcing Omega to brace against it as Wallaburn exploded. Heat blasted out and hit the blonde, blowing him back a pace. When it was over, Omega looked at the spot where Wallaburn had been. Nothing remained of him except the echo of his final words... and a small, glowing blob of something floating towards Omega.
Omega was perplexed. What the heck was it? It looked like data! But what kind of data? As it continued floating towards him, Omega's curiosity rose. He decided to reach out his hand. His fingers lightly brushed the data when it was close enough.. Everything flashed a brilliant white.
"Program W31L-Obd1 overrided. DNA information acquired. EX skill "Heat Launch" obtained" droned his CPU. Omega clutched his head as information rained down through his systems, blocking all other thoughts in a painful haze. "What the hell is going on? What's an EX Skill? ARAAAAAH!" he screamed, the data forcing its way painfully through his mind. He soon got his answers.
"Data file 1551: EX Skills A. Ex skills are abilities gained from the defeating an enemy and acquiring their data. Data file 1552: Ex Skills B. Obtained EX Skills allow for new combat techniques to be used. Data file 1552: Ex Skill..." The list went on and on as Omega dropped to his knees, "hearing" every different data file unlock. He groaned each time one of them did. Finally, after what seemed like hours of files racing through his head, they quieted down. He opened his eyes, blinking. The pain was gone, and he felt strange.
"Alright, that's it, I'm getting to the bottom of this." He muttered, shifting into a more comfortable sitting position. He crossed his arms, closed his eyes once more, and scanned through his CPU to try and find the files again. It was easy, whatever he wanted access to came to him as simply as a memory.
He read the files, over and over again, until he came to a conclusion. He could learn something called "EX Skills" when he beat an enemy and collected their "data", and these "skills" allowed him to use new attacks like what his enemy had used. Not only that, he apparently already had several of these skills, and he'd just learned a new one. But why hadn't he known about this earlier? He could have become so much stronger!
He reread the first piece of data he'd seen, "Program W31L-Obd1 overrided". What did that mean? W31L... Weil... so that madman had something to do with this! But Obd1? What could that imply? It seemed almost like it was some abbreviated word with a number added. Good thing reploids like him could use their CPUs to look at their vocabulary like a dictionary. Omega searched through all the words he knew, narrowing them down until he was left with one likely candidate.
Obedience, he realized with a shock. That's what it was all about. Those EX Skills would have made him stronger alright, and Weil knew it. Back then, Omega knew that if he'd known himself, he might have "accidentally" killed some of his training partners to get their skills. And Weil probably thought that Omega would get too strong for him to control! Not only had Weil forcibly programmed Omega to be loyal, the red reploid thought, he added programming to keep me weak enough to use! Use like a puppet!
Omega clawed the ground, rage building. Damn that Weil! What else did that maniac do to him? He stood up, his blood coloured eyes glowing dangerously. Now he knew who his true enemy had been. Even more than Zero (although barely), he now hated Weil. Weil, the evil lord, the bastard that forced him to work like a slave. Omega turned to the skies, bellowing his fury to the heavens in a long, gutteral roar.
The howl faded, no one heard. He collapsed to the ground, exhausted from his battle and the release of his pent up rage. He slowly raised himself off of the dusty ground, looking around for his parcel of clothes. Omega got up, walking slowly over to it before picking it up. He started back towards the camp, emotionless. Numb and tired, Omega simply walked, not noticing anything else but his own fatigue and the emptiness in in both him and his surroundings.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Model Z snapped to attention. Aile looked at him, confused.
"I thought I heard something... and felt something. Like that thing on the ship! A pulse of energy, or negative emotion even!" he told her, concerned. Aile looked over at a hunter sitting down not far from them, who had just plugged in a lamp.
"Uh, yeah, pulse of... energy. Hey, it's starting to get late, perhaps we should head back to Legion?" she said hurriedly, grabbing the biometal and jogging towards the door."
"But-!"
"But nothing, we'll figure it out in the morning. I think we're all getting tired and need to have a rest. Now help me find Grey!" she said, letting Model Z go. Model Z stuttered, trying to find a retort, but gave up.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"What do you mean, you let him go!" Diamond yelled, his face etched with concern. The girl, the same one that had sent Omega off in the first place, cringed at his display.
"He shouted at me to not tell him what he could and couldn't do! It's not my fault! I warned him that he was weak, but no, he just kept on going!" she complained. She was the same who'd lectured Omega earlier.
"Dang it, he'd better be okay, or else I'll... I'll...!" Opal threatened, raising her fists in front of the woman in a successful effort to scare her.
"That's nothing compared-"
"-To what we'll do!" started the twins. They too were showing signs of barely restrained anger, puffing out their cheeks and waving their arms.
Sapphire shook her head sadly, "I told him that it would be dangerous... I'm sorry he didn't listen..." she added quietly, her eyes brimming with tears.
"It's not your fault, Sapphire." Diamond told her. Emerald went over, patting her back reassuringly. Diamond turned to Amethyst. "Hey, think you could go scout things out? Bring Ruby with you, we have no idea how things turned out."
"Not well for the rude one, that's for sure," muttered the girl. Opal heard and delivered a punishing blow to her, causing her to double over.
"No way! He's a lot stronger than you take him for, a fighter to the end! He'll come back, just you wait!"
"You won't have to wait long." Amethyst said. He pointed towards the desert and the figure emerging from its depths. The gang was elated, but just as they were about to run out to him Emerald grunted sternly. They looked at him. He shook his head.
"What, something wrong?" asked Ruby. Emerald looked back at Omega, and the others did the same.
"He looks different, somehow..." Amethyst noticed. Omega walked into the camp, oblivious to anything else around him. He passed the group about ten feet away, ignoring them and heading towards the hangars.
"At least he seems healthy enough... Maybe he still needs some time on his own?" Ruby wondered. The looks in the eyes of her friends agreed.
"Then who'll get the bounty?" they looked behind them. The clerk from the job board was trotting up from inside a nearby building, holding up a slip.
"Bounty? You meant that guy that he followed had a bounty on his head?" Diamond asked. The clerk nodded, bringing out a sizeable amount of cash.
"Yup, he sure did! And judging by my radar, your buddy's the only one that left that conflict alive... So, do you guys know how to get it to him?" Diamond jumped forward, snatching the money.
"Actually, we're his best friends! And we've lent him some clothes that've gotten wrecked, so he kinda owes us. I don't think he'll mind if we take the money for him, do you?"
The clerk laughed. "No, I suppose not. Very well, I'll see you later, perhaps!" He went back towards his store, rustling through the many pockets on his work apron.
"Okay gang, let's head home." Diamond commanded. He headed back towards the apartment complexes, his group following soon after.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Grey was out on his own in Hunter's camp, exploring a large hangar and looking for any clue as to who owned the mysterious aircraft inside. The sleek and imposing ship was fascinating to him; he'd never seen anything like it before! It looked remarkably draconian, majestically sitting in the hangar by itself with little else surrounding it but a few random, scattered belongings that gave no clue about its owner. He knew he probably shouldn't have, but when the shape-shifting Mega Man seen it he couldn't help but weasel his was into into the hangar to get a better look. Hey, it's not like Model A told him not to!
"It isn't our fault they left the window open! Practically inviting us in!" the biometal had said, floating in through the narrow opening and unlocking the door for Grey before he had any say in the matter. Not that he'd minded, the moment he saw the ship he wanted to know where the owner had gotten it from. But despite all his searching, nothing had popped up except a battered, empty wallet and a few droplets of dried blood.
"Weird..." Grey murmured to himself. He went back to the ship for the umpteenth time, delicately touching its hull. "Who owns you, I wonder?" he asked it. It, of course, yielded no answers.
The door to the hangar clattered, Grey moving just in time as it opened up. He hid under the ship as someone stepped into the metallic space. A person stepped forwards from the door, going over to the wallet Grey inspected earlier.
"That's funny, I don't remember putting that there..." he said, his voice tired and worn. Suddenly the figure stiffened, as if..."
"What the heck are you?" he demanded. Grey peeked out from under the ship just enough to see Model A floating in front of the stranger!
"Model A, get back here!" He yelled, scrambling from under the ship to rescue his biometal. He grasped Model A firmly in his hands, looking warily at the blonde man standing nearby. The stranger crossed his arms, and looked surprisingly dangerous despite the apparent fatigue in his eyes. Something about him, Grey noticed, seemed halfway between being angry at the world, and halfway completely disgusted and done with it. The nasty blemishes across his body, the burns and cuts, did not help this impression.
"What the hell are you doing in my hangar, kid? I thought I locked the door!" he interrogated angrily.
"You forgot the window... Model A got in through there and opened the door. I'm sorry, but when I saw your ship I couldn't help but come in and look..." he apologized, scuffling his feet.
The man sighed, rubbing his temple. "Great, another fucking problem... Look kid, I'm feeling tired right now... so just go away, alright? And don't come back, or you'll regret it," he threatened, an exhausted edge hiding a very real, if offhand threat. Grey took the hint, dashing off with Model A clutched to his chest.
The moment the young Mega Man left the hangar the door slammed shut behind him. He looked around for something else to do, his youthful curiosity only piqued. He walked out a few steps from the hangar, hoping for more adventure. What he got was a very cross Aile running towards him from the end of the street, waving her arms.
"Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you! Disappearing like that without telling anyone! Try not to run off next time, alright? " she scolded. She hugged him at the same time she told him off before grabbing his hand and leading him away from the hangar.
"Are we going somewhere mom?"
"Yes, we are, " she replied, "it's getting late and we're going back to Legion to get some rest. I haven't heard back yet from Vent yet, so I don't know how the ship's doing. I talked to Legion and they were alright with it, just in case you were wondering."
"Okay, thanks mom..." he said. They walked for a while, enjoying the sights. Then Grey piped up, "Hey mom, I heard a funny word today. Do you know what it means?"
"Maybe. What's the word?"
"Fuck, I think."
Aile blushed a deep crimson as they continued down the road.
In order of appearance:
date-butt/arse hole, ie "get off your fat date"
crikey-term used to express emotion, no real meaning
cobber-friend
Figjam-F*ck I'm good, just ask me (nickname for people who have a high opinion of themselves)
ankle biter-small child
boomer-large male kangaroo
blue-fight
as mad as a cut snake-very angry
mate-buddy, friend
built like a brick shit house-big strong bloke/person
come a gutser-make a bad mistake, have an accident
gobsmacked-surprised, astounded
cark it-to die, cease functioning