Chapter 2: Dusty Dune Devil, Overdrive Ostrich

There was quite a bit of silence within the Maverick Hunter HQ not long after X returned from his mission. The death of Persius hit most of the hunters hard, especially with the Green Biker Unit, who paid their respects to their leader by driving his remains to the junkyard themselves. X was called to the top of the headquarters by Signas, an effort that took him quite a while considering he was still feeling conflicted about everything that had just happened.

Zero's remains being picked up by the X-Hunters, Persius' death, the threat presented by the generals of the Mavericks, it all really bothered X. As he walked through the halls of the HQ, he thought to himself "It should've ended with Sigma…But everything seems a lot worse now. So many innocent Reploids and humans are dying, and we can't save them all. But the X-Hunters have Zero's parts…If I could just get them back, then perhaps…"

X shook his head, saying to himself "No…I don't think anyone could put him back together again here, especially since Dr. Cain died six months ago. Still though, I should probably get Zero's parts back before they are used for the X-Hunters vile purposes." X then raises his right hand up and lays it against a data scanner next to a sliding green door, and a voice remarks as the door slides open "Maverick Hunter Confirmed…Welcome, X."

Going through the door, X finds himself in the central command room, a bright circular location with windows surrounding the room and giving everyone inside a good look at the currently peaceful city outside. Lined up in front of computers around the room were dozens of male and female Reploid navigators, all of whom guided the Maverick Hunters on their missions no matter where in the world they were. At the very center of the room stood Signas, who was looking at a holographic projection of the planet with dots and lines marking key locations of Maverick activity around the world.

Once X was close enough he asked quietly "You needed me, Officer Signas?" Signas, with arms folded behind his back, said in an subdued but apologetic tone to X "…I would first like to offer the deepest of apologies for my inability to stop the higher-ups from putting Persius in as your partner. Had I known the X-Hunters would've been there, I never would've let him go out into the field with you, especially knowing how you were handling Zero's own demise…"

"Officer Signas…You don't need to apologize. I do feel bad about Persius' death, but now the X-Hunters have exposed themselves and we have a chance to make sure no other Reploids fall victim to their vile schemes." X states confidently while tightly clenching his right fist in anger towards the X-Hunters. Signas hears the crunch of metal from X's fist and turns around, telling him with a little smile on his face "You're absolutely right X, and that's why I called you here."

Signas steps once to the left and then raises his arm up to touch one of the dots on the glove, the area where he pressed glowing green before the glove transitions into a holographic representation of a small island filled with multiple facilities. Connected to each facility was a mugshot of the eight Mavericks, and Signas explained while standing sideways and putting his arm behind his back again "Thanks to what the three X-Hunters leaders have said along with some of our present intel we were able to locate the exact island they mentioned."

X walked up to the island map and looked it over, inquiring as his eyes focused on the mugshots of the eight Mavericks "Did you confirm all of their presences?" "Yes. Everyone you saw is on the island…However, we are having a more difficult time locating the laboratories of the three X-Hunter leaders. I imagine they are hidden somewhere within the separate facilities." Signas answered, expressing some concern at the lack of information on the most important of the X-Hunters.

"I'll do my best to find them, but…" X hung his head down a bit, and Signas knew right away what was bothering him and said "You're wondering what the point of grabbing Zero's parts is when we can't reassemble them, aren't you?" X flinched for a moment and lifted his head up, stating to Signas with some insistence "I-It's nothing to do with reassembling Zero. I mean if we could we should, but I'm just really more concerned about preventing them from using Zero for vile purposes."

Signas raises a hand to his chin and states "Funny you should bring that up though…I was actually speaking with someone about that before you got here. Doctor, would you please tell X what you told me?" Signas steps aside and lets the ground open up where he stood in a circular manner, and a technological blue platform with an overabundance of wires rises up and locks into place in the floor. A bright white light glows in the center of the platform, and from it appears a barely solidified hologram of Dr. Cain using a cane as support even though he had no physical body.

X was a bit surprised to see Dr. Cain in this context, leading to him remarking while holding his arms out "D-Dr. Cain? What's going on here? I thought you died when Sigma attacked Abel City…" "I am definitely dead, X…However, my consciousness was transferred to this capsule before it was too late." Dr. Cain explained happily, and after suppressing his surprise X stated to himself "…A capsule? That sounds familiar…"

"Anyways, I'm sorry I hadn't revealed myself to you sooner X, but there was never really a good chance before now. Now then, in regards to your concerns about Zero…I am happy to inform you that there is a great possibility of bringing him back to life." Dr. Cain said, and X's eyes widen in surprise before he mentions "But Dr. Cain, how can that be?" Dr. Cain then explained to X "Worry about your mission for now. I am going to find someone very crucial to help us out, and then I will provide more answers later. Just know that Zero will be in good hands once you get all of his parts back. Good luck X, the Reploids and Humans are counting on you."

Dr. Cain then suddenly cut out, his capsule sinking back into the ground and leaving Signas to explain "I wish you two had more time for idle chat, but he is right in saying you need to worry about the mission. We have no idea how long it'll take for the X-Hunters to make a move." "Knowing that there's a possibility of bringing Zero back is all I needed to hear right now anyways. So I'm guessing my mission has already been approved by the Commander?" X inquired with a focused look in his eyes.

Signas nodded his head, telling X afterwards "It is considered a top priority that you stop the X-Hunters. I think it's only fair that I tell you now that I will barely be involved in this mission from here on out. The Commander is out dealing with political affairs for all of us, and he's left me in charge temporarily…And with Persius' death, I have to assign a new leader to the Green Biker Unit once they are back at the base. There is a lot of other affairs, but as a Maverick Hunter it is my duty to uphold the order here, even if I'm not out on the battlefield like you, X."

"Thank you Officer Signas. But who will be my navigator then?" X inquired, and Signas said "I'm glad you asked. As I said, everything has already been sorted out. I shall introduce you to your new navigator before I go." Signas then turned to the right and walked over to a Reploid sitting down on the third chair from the right of the entrance. As X followed behind him, Signas laid a hand down on the back of the hovering chair and said "Alia, I would like to introduce you to your new partner."

After Signas lets go of the chair the person sitting in it turns around halfway and is revealed to be a female Reploid with pink and white armor, some compacted blonde hair, blue eyes, and a transceiver on her head. As the Reploid laid a hand against the left side of her transceiver she said with a pleasant smile on her face while extending a hand out towards X "So you're X. It's nice to meet you in person. I'll help you out to the best of my ability." X and Alia shake hands briefly, with X commenting "I haven't seen you around here before."

"I'm a new recruit to the Maverick Hunters, that's probably why, but Officer Signas updated me on everything I need to know about you and your mission today." Alia spoke quickly and with a clear focus on her duty, made especially evident when after they introduce themselves Alia turns around to focus on her computer screen and keyboard. She rapidly types away at it, mentioning to X right away "As such, I have already compiled all possible information on the eight Mavericks you'll be dealing with. Whenever you need to know something, just contact me, I'll always be available to reach."

"Glad to have you on board Alia." X said happily, and with his job done Signas folded his arms behind himself and states "I get the feeling you'll make a great team, but even so I feel it's my duty to wish you luck in your mission, X." Saying all that he needed to, Signas headed out of the room via the entrance, leaving X to continue speaking with Alia. X postured himself upright and turned back to look at the map of the island before he commented "Eight Mavericks to deal with…But first…"

X focused on the mugshot of the gator-like Maverick that killed Persius with a slightly bitter glare, thinking that he should go after that one first before Alia commented to him "You'll be going after Overdrive Ostrich first, X." X turned to Alia and pondered in a curious tone "Overdrive Ostrich? Why him?" Alia quickly explained while typing some commands on her keyboard to make the computer screen pop up a zoomed up version of a missile base hidden within the island's desert "Overdrive Ostrich is holed up inside of a missile base, and there's currently signs of a missile being prepped for launch near the silo. We can't risk the possibility of you being at another location when they decide to fire the missile, so it's best to send you in now to take out the missile AND Overdrive Ostrich before they can pressure us."

"…Makes sense. Anything I should know about this Maverick before I go in?" X inquired while looking over the missile base, and Alia said with a stern focus on the computer screen "I'll brief you on him once you get there. I've already setup the coordinates in the teleporter, so all you have to do is go into it to reach the missile base." X said honestly "That's impressive. Even the most trained navigators have trouble with some of our technology."

Alia didn't respond to that, being so focused on her work that it's even possible she didn't hear X speak to her, though it could be insinuated as well that she ignored it when X quietly mentioned "…Never mind, I'll go focus on the mission" and Alia replied with "That's what we're supposed to be doing, X." X hesitantly nodded his head and then ran for the door determined to begin his mission, and after a brief trip down the hallway he entered a door to the left to find himself in a room filled with teleporters. X immediately jumps into the middle one and positions himself upright so he could be enveloped by a few rings of light and be sent to the missile base where Overdrive Ostrich was.

In an instant, X finds himself dropped down near the entrance of the missile base via a beam of blue light. He starts off on a broken metal road hovering high above the endless dunes, complete with street lights and tire tracks that suggested there was activity here before Overdrive Ostrich took the place over. The air was arid, but X's armor adjusted to the increased temperature quickly and made only his vision wavy as he looked on ahead. Getting a good luck at the missile base, X noticed that the silo was still a good distance away, with him barely able to see it beyond the main building.

With the enemy haven't caught an eye of him yet, X laid a hand against the side of his helmet to connect his frequency to the Maverick Hunter HQ. The grains of sand that flew his way didn't disrupt his connection, and Alia spoke to X in about three seconds after he connected "Thirty seconds to deploy, not bad X. I'm able to keep an eye on your movements through the cameras lined up around the base, and I'll be able to warn you if anything dangerous is up ahead…Otherwise though, contact me only when you need to know something."

"What do you have on Overdrive Ostrich, Alia?" X immediately asked, and after Alia was heard typing for a few seconds she replied with "Overdrive Ostrich was a former Maverick Hunter in the 7th Airborne Unit. He was very adept at flying until an accident cost him his metallic feathers and he was forced to retire. After that, Sigma sought him out and recruited him to his side because of his ground speed. He's very good at attacking from a distance too, so pay attention to your surroundings."

"The 7th Airborne Unit? That's the same one Storm Eagle was under…" X commented on in surprise, remembering his old friend fondly despite the fact that he turned Maverick. "The two were probably recruited at the same time…Overdrive Ostrich looked up to Storm Eagle, so it only makes sense that he'd join the X-Hunters to get back at you for defeating his hero, especially since he already has a grudge against the Maverick Hunters for retiring him." Alia explained, and with a pause X calmly said "If he truly looked up to Storm Eagle, then he wouldn't be doing this. He's gone full Maverick, and must be stopped."

"Glad you have your priorities straight, X. Good luck." Alia said before signing off, and with X summoning forth his arm cannon he grabs onto the barrel and advances down the road to the missile base. He's met with his first opposition in the form of a one-wheeled Reploid with a slight armored shell protecting it. After vaulting over a raised girder X points his arm cannon down where the Reploid was going and fires a charged shot to take it out while blasting a hole through the weakened road. X takes note of that and quickly plants himself on the ground near the edge of the hole before he dropped in.

"Structure's been corroded…The X-Hunters must have been occupying this area for a while." X thought to himself before he ran around the hole and continued down to the road until he was inside the missile base's garage, whose walls were made up of tons of purple metal girders and a few chambers for the trucks and cars that used to come in here. One of the sliding doors was blasted through long before X had gotten there, and the culprit was a green and yellow scorpion Reploid with circular orbs as it's tail and pincers acting as conduits for it's blasters.

The scorpion turned to looked at X and sparks moved between both pincers as it prepared to fire it's blasters. X leaped over the scorpion's shots and went for the tail, ducking down to avoid the attack from it before he turns his arm cannon back to normal and grabs onto it with both hands as he goes to the ground. Placing one foot atop the back of the tail, X quickly pulls on it with all of his strength until he rips it out from the rest of the body. After tossing the tail away X turns around and fires a couple shots inside of the Reploid to hit it's core unit and making it explode.

X then turned around after lifting an arm up to block the mechanical debris that flies his way, and he finds himself dealing with a dead end of rocks preventing him from continuing through the base. With a quick scan of the room though X noticed a ladder in front of him that would allow him to go deeper into the facility. Carefully climbing down the ladder while looking to the left, X sees another ladder at the floor below him and knew where to go next. But before he moved on to the next ladder he looked to the right and saw an open garage harboring a few Ride Bikes.

"So the Reploids that ran this place used Ride Bikes for travel…It would explain the highway right outside their base." X comments quietly to not alert the enemies of his presence, and he then goes down a few more ladders while running into more of those one-wheeled Reploids. Once at the bottom of the garage though, X runs into another obstacle in the form of a spiked floor blocking the way to the ramp that leads to the outdoors. There were no walls for him to jump off, and the spikes were just spread out enough that he wouldn't be able to jump over.

X put on a serious expression and then paused to think about his situation, realizing after not very long that the solution to his problem was discovered just moments ago. Turning to the garage doors on the left, X runs over to one and grabs onto the bottom of it, pulling up as hard as he could so he could get inside. He immediately leaps onto the closest Ride Bike and revs the engine, pulling it out of the garage and making a sharp veer towards the spikes. With the Ride Bike's levitation, X is able to move over the bed of spikes and advance up the ramp, using the Ride Bike's blaster to take out a couple enemy Reploids until he speeds right outside the garage and ends up on the desert's cliffs.

Not long after this, X sees a very tall metal girder blocking his way, and a gap past it leading to the other side of the cliffs. With quick thinking, X knew the blasters on the Ride Bike wouldn't break apart the girder, leading to him firing at the top of the girder to push it downward and make it act as a ramp that allows him to fly right over the gap to the other side. Once he made it over, Alia contacted him with a crucial warning "Careful X! Something up ahead is whipping up a sandstorm!"

X lifts his head up a bit in surprise as he sees a gigantic tornado of sand whirling around far ahead, and he reacts to the incoming sandstorm by using his mind to make his helmet drop a red visor in front of his eyes while a grid-like mouth piece comes in from the sides. This protects him against the sands and allows him to keep going unimpeded. The sand-filled cliffs were filled with girders and metal elevated platforms, and X had to bob and weave the Ride Bike through most of them while keeping the vehicle's balance steady.

X is then distracted momentarily when he hears some more Ride Bikes coming his way from the sides. X looks left then right and sees two silver Mavericks with a single green eye and a rocket launcher on their backs riding Ride Bikes his way. As both Mavericks fire rockets into the air, X takes one quick look at the area in front of him so he'd know where he's going before he quickly turns around and rapid-fires some shots at the Maverick directly behind him.

After getting a few hits on the Maverick's body X looks up and sees the rockets explode, sending down a rain of miniature rockets towards X. One explosion would greatly damage the Ride Bike and make it flip over depending on where it lands, so X was more concerned about pointing his arm cannon up and firing away at the rocks instead of dealing with the Mavericks. After he blew up the rockets with his shots, X looked back ahead to see what was going to be in his way next. There was a downhill slope coming up ahead, and it was leading to the large machine that was generating the sandstorm.

It would be a long way down until X would reach the whirling blades kicking up the sand, and he knew it would be pointless to try and take the machine down from here. But the Mavericks had plans for X, as they quickly reappeared to ram X's Ride Bike from both sides. They pressed against the Ride Bike as hard as they could to keep him pinned to where he was at, and they were planning to drag him down into the grinder. Seeing as X needed the Ride Bike to advance through the desert still, he knew he would have to act fast to get the Mavericks off of him.

With movement limited, X applied the brakes to his Ride Bike and had one finger close to the jump trigger. He then looked to the right and with a grunt kicked his foot out to push the Maverick away for a moment, allowing X to pull back and leap up to get out of the Mavericks' grip. The two Mavericks then crash together and go flying towards the sandstorm's origin, both them and their Ride Bikes being grinded apart into metal shrapnel within seconds. X then landed his Ride Bike back on the slope with a little sliding around, and he ducks to avoid some of the shrapnel that flies his way.

Surprisingly, the sandstorm didn't stop even with all the metal that went into the blades, but it didn't matter as X just kicked up the boosters on his Ride Bike and made the leap over the whirlwind, pulling up on his ride to make it level with the ramp going up. After that he met no resistance as he climbed up and made it to the main missile base, whose entrance he blew open by lifting his arm cannon and firing a charged shot into the very center of the door.

Once inside the missile base X kept on his Ride Bike so he'd be able to dispense any opposition faster, though he also had to be more careful as he was traversing narrow corridors with dim lighting and pipes that carried explosion fluid through the building. Alarms went off to alert the enemy of X's presence, but as X leaped over a gap in the floor and made crashed through a glass window into the main hub of the missile facility he fired away at the flashing red lights with his Ride Bike to shut them off and disable the loud noise blaring through the facility.

X then got rid of his mouthpiece and visor and brought the Ride Bike down atop a scorpion Reploid, crushing it down and allowing him to move forward before it exploded. He used his cannons to blast through five more scorpions while carefully swerving his vehicle from left to right in a swift arc. But as he does this, he happens to notice a cracked wall past a staircase that he'd end up flying into due to the Ride Bike's current speed. Without enough time to slow down, X widens his eyes for a moment and makes the brave leap right off of the Ride Bike and flips backwards through the air.

The Ride Bike crashes into the cracked wall and makes a loud enough explosion to alert more enemies to X's presence, but he quickly cocks his arm cannon and spins around while firing shots that allow him to deal with the wheeled Reploids in a few seconds. He then stops his rotation by slamming the lip of his arm cannon against the ground while kneeling forward, putting him face-to-face with the explosion from his Ride Bike.

As he lifts his head up he sees that the wall had been blown up entirely, but behind it surprisingly was a small passage dug into the sandy rocks. X didn't really care much about the passage until he saw something at the end of it, something that was very familiar to him. X picked himself up and ran to the edge of the floor, leaping forward and just barely landing on the edge of the tunnel. Alia suddenly chimed in and said "X, the missile silo is below you. This tunnel leads to a dead end, turn around."

"Hold on Alia…There's something important here I have to check out." X said quietly but firmly as he holds a hand against the side of the rounded tunnel and brushed away the cobwebs that had built up inside with the other. After a short walk, X was in a secluded cavern with a large, rounded white and blue pod nearby. As X said "I've seen this type of capsule before…" the pod suddenly activated, the top of it unlocking with a clockwise spin before it rose up and created a holographic cylinder that projected the image of a person for X to see.

It was an old man with a bushy white beard, a stainless lab coat, and a very fatherly appearance to him. X gasped for a moment before saying to the holograph "It's you again…" "Hello X. If you have found this capsule, then I imagine you have been forced into conflict once more. I am quite sorry to hear that if that's the case…" The hologram's subdued voice says with empathy towards X, and as X steadies himself upright he looks at the hologram and whispered "Thomas Light…That's right…That's your name…"

"I know you have probably suffered some great losses in this war between humans and Reploids…But I urge you to stay strong, to continue to trust in them both. But I understand that you cannot persuade everyone to see things peacefully, and for that reason I have prepared another four capsules for you to collect armor upgrades from." Light said, his voice echoing with every word he spoke. X was a bit puzzled by Light's choice of words, but didn't get to say anything as Alia suddenly contacted X and asked "Who is this guy? He's using the same capsule technology as Dr. Cain is…"

"Actually Alia…I think it's the other way around." X pointed out, and Alia said afterwards "This doesn't make sense though…I've never heard of a Thomas Light before in any of our history records, and yet the level of this technology is incredible. I wonder how long it's been here for? And how does this person know you, X…" Alia's intrigue was very clear, but X could only say to her as he looked at the hologram of Light "…I don't know. He gave me some armor back during Sigma's rebellion, but I swear I saw him before then."

"Whenever you're ready X, step inside the capsule and you'll receive the first of four Second Armor parts, the Air Dash Boots. With it, you will be able to propel forward in mid-air at the very height of a jump. If any of your armor parts get damaged, then take comfort in the fact that I will be able to transmit the specs to your new partner so she can help repair them." Light suddenly said, the reference to Alia making X flinch in surprise. But Light's visage disappeared from the capsule's frame before he could question him on that. Alia herself was a little unhinged from this as she murmured "H-How does he know me?"

"I get the feeling that wasn't just a recording…" X commented on before he stepped forth into the cylinder of energy. His body was covered by a downpour of blue data streams, all of which went to work upgrading his legs as Light said it would. When the process was done, X now was equipped with white metallic boots with red pointed kneecaps and orange glass on top of his feet. The capsule then sealed up as he got out of it while Alia commented "Incredible, I've noticed an instant increase in your defense. At least 14.5% in the feet, 18% in the legs…Whoever this Thomas Light person is, he was a genius even for OUR time."

"It seems that way. Anyways, sorry about the detour Alia, I'm returning to the mission now." X said while sprinting out of the tunnel and leaping down to a deeper part of the missile base. "No problem. You're almost there anyhow, but I hope the alarms going off doesn't make them-" As Alia says that and X lands on the ground, an earthquake trembles through the facility as the sounds of a very big rocket engine flaring up echoed into the building.

X immediately began running for the door at the end of the hallway, tearing through the last scorpion Reploid with a charged shot before pushing his way through the sliding iron barred door. He made it into the missile silo right as the main, six-story tall silver missile was getting ready to be fired off. "No! X, get on that missile and shut it down before it reaches maximum velocity!" Alia exclaimed urgently, with X already sprinting towards the missile while preparing both of his hands to grab onto it, him exclaiming "On it!" with all of his focus as the missile fired off from the ground.

It pushed higher into the air, going slow at first until the flames of the rockets pressed against the ground enough to rapidly increase it's speed. X knew he'd have no choice but to leap out from the edge of the platform and barely brush against the plume of smoke coming from the missile so he could attach to the nearby wall and jump up rapidly to catch up with the missile. With the help of the Air Dash Boots, X was able to make each jump and climb up just in time to grab onto the top of the missile's rockets with his right hand.

The missile made it out of the silo and rapidly rose through the air as X fought hard against it's velocity and climbed up to the top of the missile. The sky was coming into focus past the clouds quickly, meaning X didn't have long before the missile would change trajectory. He stood before one of the panels and quickly ripped it off, thinking of what happened to Abel City as Alia advised him on how to stop the missile, leading to X reaching into the processor and pulling out it's pulsating core unit with a single tug. The electricity sprung out from the broke wires like a frenzied net, but X only suffered a few lashes from the electricity as he quickly leaped right off the side of the missile without fear.

He dived down towards the open desert plains far away from the missile silo, and as X used his new boots to propel himself faster downward the missile blew up behind him, the sound of it not reaching X for a few seconds due to how fast he was falling. The missile's parts are flung out across the sky and sent hurtling down in burning fragments towards various parts of the desert, with a lot of them following X. As he closed in on the ground, X flipped himself around, crushed the core of the missile, and then summoned forth his arm cannon to send out a charged shot so it'd work against the momentum he had built up and prevent his impact from greatly recoiling through his body.

Once X is on the ground, he finds himself atop the sandstone and metal roof of the missile base, and he looks to both the left and right to watch as the debris from the missile crashes down deep into the sandy dunes. Letting out a sigh of relief but keeping a cautious enough eye out for debris that might head his way, X says "I managed to stop the missile, Alia. But there's still no sign of Overdrive Ostrich." "I wouldn't worry too much about that X. I'm detecting a Maverick signal close by…In fact, it's coming from the left of you, and it's coming in fast!" Alia said immediately.

"Huh?" X remarked quietly before turning his head and seeing a shadowy blur moving across the dunes, the person weaving through the debris of the missile before it clearly turned it's head to look at X and suddenly leaped a couple miles through the air to reach the area X was standing it. When it landed the Maverick had it's back turned to X, but most of it's design could clearly be seen even from there.

He was a very tall Maverick comprised mostly of purple metal with two sleek legs that comprised half the height of his body, with curved feet similar to those you'd find on birds. His upper body was large and rounded, with a back filled with torn looking blue metal spikes to signify where his wings used to be, and his yellow shoulders connected to his yellow five-fingered hands and gauntlets, each one having a sharp purple blade sticking out from the elbow. His long metal neck stuck out from a hole near the front of his body, and his mouth was shaped like a duck's beak while his eyes were permanently slanted down. He had a very clear Sigma symbol on his forehead too.

The Maverick glanced over his right shoulder and smirked with his beak's teeth, then turned around with a single leap and looked X straight in the eyes. With a serious expression, X said to the Maverick "So you're Overdrive Ostrich. What do you think you're doing here?!" Overdrive Ostrich lifted his head up high and opened it's beak, telling X in a slightly gargled voice "What does it look like? I was enjoying a missile launch when some rude Maverick Hunter came and interrupted my fun!"

"There's nothing fun about what you're doing! You were going to harm hundreds of Reploids and humans!" X exclaimed in disbelief. With a scoff, Overdrive Ostrich said "So what? Not like you Maverick Hunters are any better." "Excuse me?" X inquired in a rather disbelieving manner before Overdrive Ostrich folded his arms together and said "Remember Storm Eagle? How you killed him mercilessly just because he joined Sigma?"

"Are you actually using that to justify your actions? Storm Eagle died with honor, he had no choice but to become a Maverick." X says while gritting his teeth slightly, but Overdrive Ostrich just pulled his arms away and said with a scowl "You want to talk about not having a choice? I was a hero as well in the Maverick Hunters, I sacrificed my own wings to stop a Maverick aerial raid, but was I decorated as a hero when I returned? No! The Maverick Hunters got rid of me like I was a pile of scrap simply because I lost my wings! So naturally, when Sigma saw strength in my ability to run and didn't care that I couldn't fly, it only made sense to accept his offer because I had nowhere else to go!"

"You're still wanting to kill innocents!" X exclaimed, and Overdrive Ostrich responded by telling him "Wrong! All I want is to avenge my hero by destroying the Maverick Hunter who beat him! And then I will destroy the Maverick Hunter HQ as payback for them abandoning me! We wouldn't be having this conversation if you Maverick Hunters did more to help your fellow Reploids!" "…I'm sorry you were forced to retire, Overdrive Ostrich…But this isn't the answer! Going Maverick just puts innocent Reploids and humans in the line of fire and stretches our forces to the point that it's difficult to help!" X replies.

"Shut up! It's too late to show sympathy to me now! Get ready, this is for Storm Eagle!" Overdrive Ostrich proclaimed before leaning forward and thrusting a fist out as though ready to charge, but it turned out to simply be a quick pose before he stood upright and truly began the battle. Overdrive Ostrich starts off by leaping back as X goes for some quick shots to his body, and while spreading his limbs out Overdrive Ostrich fired off four curved blades from his body that all went flying towards X. X steps back a couple feet while firing up at the blades, but his shots prove ineffectual at dealing with the attacks at a basic level. Falling back a little further, X has to feel as one of the blades sliced an inch into the side of his right boots, digging a bit into the circuitry in the process.

He then tried to peg Overdrive Ostrich down with his arm cannon while he Maverick was landing on the ground, but his shots miss as the Maverick ducks down and then goes into a very swift charge towards X. Overdrive Ostrich was faster than X could react to, so even though he tried leaping to the right he only got to swerving his body in that direction before Overdrive Ostrich rammed head-first into him and carried him a few feet forward suspended in midair before trying to use his elbow blades to cut into X's chest.

X grabbed onto Overdrive Ostrich's forehead with his left hand and pushed down on it while grunting, but the Maverick wouldn't budge an inch. With this in mind, X forced Overdrive Ostrich to let go of him by holding his arm cannon against the Maverick's head and charging up energy in the barrel. This made Overdrive Ostrich push X right off with a thrust of his head forward before he could attack with his elbow blade. As X was launched back, he fired off a charged shot that hit the Maverick right in the chest, destroying the two green lights attached to it and slightly denting his golden collar.

"He's pretty durable…This must be the X-Hunters' doing." X thought to himself as he slide a couple inches on the sandy ground upon landing and held his arm cannon to the side ready to charge up another attack. But before X could fire the attack Overdrive Ostrich smirked and suddenly sprinted off to the right, going deeper into the desert and putting himself far out of the range of X's blaster. X tried to pay close attention to Overdrive Ostrich as the Maverick ran a large circle around him in the desert for ten seconds, but all of a sudden he vanished from sight.

Remembering how Overdrive Ostrich entered the battlefield, X was wise to look up and see the Maverick descending right at him with his right foot down for a mighty kick. At the speed Overdrive Ostrich was going, he'd be able to crack X's helmet at the very least, so X rolled backwards and put himself in a half-kneeling position five feet from where the Maverick was going to land with his arm cannon raised to fire another shot.

But Overdrive Ostrich hit the ground so fast and hard that he kicked up a huge plume of sand that prevented X from seeing him. X had to thus go for a blind shot through the sand while closing his eyes. The charged shot burned bright within the sand and blew some of it away, but Overdrive Ostrich just swerved his neck to the left to dodge it and then swing his right arm out to send two blades at X. Upon opening his eyes X sees the two blades come his way and immediately pulls his body back to avoid them slicing through his face.

Overdrive Ostrich then tried running at X for another attack, but all this time X had kept his concentration up and was able to fire off a charged shot while lifting both of his arms up that hit the Maverick right in his right arm as it was held out ready to stab X with the elbow blade. The arms did not seem to have the same durability as the main body, seeing as how that charged shot destroyed the gauntlet surrounding Overdrive Ostrich's hand along with the blade on his elbow.

The Maverick was surprised by this, but nevertheless waited for X to lift his head up so he could continue to use his right hand and punch X square in the side of the head and send him flying to the right through the air a bit. X rolls across the sand a few feet after he lands, left laying stomach down once he was done while some sand also found itself stuck to his armor. X lifted himself up quickly as Overdrive Ostrich swerved and ran towards him.

Overdrive Ostrich threw out a few blades ahead of himself to keep X on his toes, but instead of X dodging back he runs forward and leaps through the center of all the blades, putting himself on the ground and lifting his arm cannon up so it's jammed right into Overdrive Ostrich's dented chest as the Maverick rammed into him. During the time he dodged all of the blades X had fully charged his arm cannon, the barrel glowing bright red as Overdrive Ostrich looks down with a surprised look in his eyes. The whir of built up energy is the last thing the Maverick hears before X slants his eyes and fires a charged shot point blank through Overdrive Ostrich's chest.

X quickly stands up and moves off to the side, letting Overdrive Ostrich's body fall forward until it landed against the sands, most of it filling up the hole in his chest as the Maverick's lifeless head is turned to the side with it's mouth agape in shock over it's demise. X looked down at Overdrive Ostrich's body and said "You could've been a hero like Storm Eagle…" He then kneeled down and laid his right hand atop the Maverick's head, the jewel on his helmet glowing as streams of data transfer from the Maverick to X through rings.

When the data transfer is complete, X stands up and finds his body suddenly changing to a dark purple color similar to Overdrive Ostrich's armor. X turns back to normal almost immediately, but not before catching Alia's eye as she asks "What did you just do with Overdrive Ostrich's body?" X lays a hand on the side of his helmet and remarks as he turns around "It's just some power I have…It allows me to take the main ability of a Maverick I defeat."

"That's odd, that wasn't recorded in your history, X. I'm looking forward to see what this power of yours is capable of. But for now you should come back and get a quick repair. You've accomplished your mission here, X, good job." Once Alia had finished speaking, X nodded his head and said "Yeah, you did a good job as well Alia. Alright, I'll send out the signal so you can teleport me back to base." He then tapped a few buttons on his arm cannon, and it wasn't long before he was carried away by a pulse of light back to the Maverick Hunter HQ…

Next Time: Wrath of the Weatherman