Maverick Hunter X – Next-Level Insurrection
Chapter 6: The Alaskan Oil Chill
(A/N: One month later, and I got a new chapter for you guys. In spite of low feedback, I still want to tell this story the way I feel it should be or how I envision. This is where we begin the eight bosses, and things are gonna get wild. Enjoy!)
DISCLAIMER: It is heavily advised that this story be read with awesome Mega Man music playing in the background. I do not own any Mega Man X related characters or themes. All characters from Mega Man, Mega Man X, Mega Man Zero, Mega Man ZX, and Mega Man Legends are all owned by Capcom. Please support the official release!
11:55 – MAVERICK HUNTER HQ
The rest of the morning for X was very rough. It was one training session after another, Nana surveying it and having trouble keeping up. But our hero wouldn't be deterred and continued training, many of which were elite level exercises. X felt if he wasn't good enough to be on Zero's level, he couldn't fight on Sigma's.
Just about 5 hours earlier, X was given one of the worst beatdowns of his life, compliments of Vile. In the midst of it, Repliforce Commander Storm Owl was killed trying to save the Maverick Hunter. X couldn't forgive himself for allowing any of this to happen, and so he trained the rest of the morning. But he felt no stronger than he did at the Central Highway. X was out of patience and time. He trained enough; now he needed to act.
X scurried out of the training room and went for the main control room, Nana following close behind him. She knew exactly what he was thinking and wanted to talk him out of it. X was intent on stopping Sigma no matter the cost, and it worried her. She knew the dangers of being a Maverick Hunter, she has been on the job since they were formed. But X was almost destroyed twice by Sigma's forces already, and Nana feared if her secret crush went again, X wouldn't survive this time.
But X wasn't departing just yet. He was recalling how ineffectual and downright uncaring most of Repliforce was to the civilian casualties. Slash Beast's actions were inexcusable and downright infuriating. He was not putting up with it, and immediately went to call for Repliforce.
Nana wasn't fast enough to stop him from punching into the control panel to contact the military. Iris had just finished reports on the casualties so far. They were reaching into 50,000 by this point. Surprisingly, Professor Rimmer's estate was totally intact. She was thankful Sigma had enough heart to not try to willingly kill her. When X finally got through, he expected the General or Colonel to pick up. What he got was Elpizo.
"For the last time, 'my lord', I need to keep up my—Oh. Forgive me." Said Elpizo. He almost got caught slipping. "I thought you were somebody else. You must be X, I don't think we've been formally introduced."
"We haven't, Lieutenant Elpizo." Said X. "But I prefer to skip the formalities and cut right to the chase. What do you guys have to say about Slash Beast and his platoon, after how little a care he had for the civilians caught in the crossfire?!"
"I was afraid of this lecture. X, we are still grieving the death of Storm Owl and this isn't the best time to answer. But in short, Repliforce is meant as a military operation first and foremost. Search and rescue operations are not part of the norm here as of right now."
"Really? Then how do you explain the fact that the Air Force seems to put civilian lives above all else in their operations?"
"There are some battalions better at rescue ops than others, X. You should be aware of this."
"That doesn't make this right at all! He almost killed a family back there, if I hadn't been there-!"
"Is this what this is about, X? That General Churchill isn't giving you his blessing or approval to assist?"
"This whole thing is my responsibility, Lieutenant. With all due respect, I cannot and will not stand idly by while innocent people die!"
"X, I saw the battle this morning. I can tell you that you aren't ready. You're not strong enough to take on Sigma's army, let alone Sigma himself."
"If you're so sure you can, why don't you fight him?!"
"We need to find him, of course. Your fellow Hunters are already fighting the forces and assisting us in many ways, but you X… I find it best for you to sit this out. You don't have the strength to or will to fight them as you are."
"Maybe you didn't here me, 'Lieutenant'! But I'm not waiting for people to get hurt and you guys to screw up again, I have to stop Sigma immediately! He's calling for an extermination of everyone and everything!"
Nana interjected, against her better judgment. "X, calm down! Zero's doing all he can to find Sigma and Nellia's leading the attack."
"And you think that's enough?" asked X. "You think they will be enough to stop him, or even his followers? They turned on us and I don't know why!"
"If you go down this kind of road, you could be playing into Sigma's hand. What if you get seriously hurt and Cinnamon won't be able to bring you back?"
"That's a risk I'm willing to take. I know the consequences, but I don't care!"
"I must advise against this sordid and wreckless act, X!" said Elpizo. "It would only lead to more disaster."
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU ADVISE TO!" X suddenly shouted. Elpizo barely flinched at X's sudden shift in tone, but Nana and Iris were completely taken aback. They never seen X this angry before.
X was fuming and caught a glance at Nana. He could see shock and fear in her, something he had never seen. This was a look he didn't like seeing. He took a deep breath and spoke again, more calmly.
"Look. I understand where you're all coming from. I really do. To be honest, I never wanted to fight at all. I strive to see my dream come true. My dream is for a peaceful world, where conflict and war are fiction. Where everyone can be happy. But as long as Mavericks like Sigma still exist and continue to do as they please, that dream will never come to pass. That's why I keep fighting on until that day comes. I'm not sitting back and letting this happen. My place is out there stopping the Mavericks and saving lives, and there is nothing and no one that will stop me!"
"X…" Nana whispered. She was touched by X's words and his vision.
Elpizo, meanwhile, looked completely stoic on the monitor. His intent was to deter X from the conflict, keep him away from his 'master' at all costs, knowing the kind of danger X could pose. But the Maverick Hunter could not be stopped, and he had a scarier thought. Perhaps X could not be manipulated. His dream sounded ludicrous to him, and totally unattainable, but that may be why he cannot be deceived. X has already deceived himself. With a heavy sigh, he conceded.
"I suppose you really won't be averted from your cause." Said Elpizo. "Alright, you win. Give me one moment."
Elpizo quickly punched in something on his keypad and soon enough, major data was sent to the Maverick Hunter HQ. Eight red dots appeared on the hub map of the Hunters Base major control.
"These are the location of the eight 'commanders' to Sigma's Army. The ones that attacked you at the missile base. If you wish to know more and gain strength, you can start here."
"There are Repliforce and Hunters near these locations as well." Iris added. "They can probably assist you when you get there."
"Before his turn, Sigma said a great deal of you X. He kept babbling about your incredible potential and power. I scoffed off what he said, but I am beginning to understand. For all our sakes, I hope he is correct. Good luck."
Without another word, Elpizo ended the communication. X smiled a bit, then turned his attention to the map. It looked like this would take a while. X debated who to select first, Elpizo being kind enough to show data of who was in the areas outlined.
"Quite the menagerie that Sigma gathered." Said Iris. "So X, who do you think is best to tackle first?"
X thought on this a bit. He needed to choose carefully. Someone too strong could prove to be ruinous if he's careless. Looking over the list, he made a quick reply.
"Chill Penguin's first." He said.
"He doesn't seem that threatening and you have Fire Form, so it is most logical to start with him." Said Iris. "We'll provide as much support as we can here."
"Okay. Thanks."
Iris smiled at X and saluted; for some reason, Nana felt a burst of jealousy hit her. She didn't think her and X would be an item, but the feelings of envy wouldn't go away. The Blue Bomber then teleported out and into his first objective. The pink haired navigator wasn't going to let Iris have all the glory here. She got onto her chair and prepared the navigational systems.
"Oooooohh, somebody's jealous…" Iris cooed.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Said Nana, stoically.
"I caught a glance of you, Nana. You looked a little annoyed when I was talking to X."
"Only because you were stalling him."
"So were you. Face it… you like him, don't you?"
Nana blushed like mad at this. She had hoped Iris wouldn't notice or know until told privately. Granted, the girls were the only ones at base at the moment, but she still felt like there was an audience here to witness this.
"It's just a… a small crush, Iris." She said.
"Not so small if you do pitiful at hiding it." Iris teased.
"We will have this conversation later. Right now, we need to help X."
Iris didn't bother pressing the issue any further. She knew that the focus had to be on X and destroying the Mavericks, and gladly took her position as a backup. No telling how much help he and the other Hunters would need.
4:10 – BRUDHOE BAY OIL FIELD – ALASKA, USA
The sun was just barely waking on a cold, snowy Alaskan morning. The US West Coast was just barely receiving word of a lot of what transpired over in England, as Sigma's purge was beginning to spread like wildfire. Chill Penguin and his forces were stationed at the URO's largest oil field, cutting resources off from civilization. X wasn't going to let this stand.
X teleported right by the field. Even at this time of year, the air was frigid and snow was plentiful. He could see several energy barricades that he could assume were not there before. The Blue Bomber dash-jumped well over them and into battle. He could see many of the fuels and oil were either in transit or under good guard. It was clear what the agenda was….
"You aren't wasting much time, X." said a voice over the comms.
"Nana?" X asked. "I thought you weren't going to help me after Central Highway?"
"I changed my mind, X. Your words… it inspired me. Again. So I'm going to help you in any way I can."
"Thank you, Nana. I appreciate it. Now what's the situation?"
"I'm pretty sure you can surmise it yourself. Penguin seems to be taking the fuel for himself and cutting it off from the humans."
"Not for long!" X shouted as he jumped down.
Penguin was front and center directing traffic until X noticed a Repliforce platoon from the other side. Leading it was a big walrus Reploid in white and cyan armor, with ice tusks and ice-colored spiked on his shoulders. He was Frost Walrus, commander of Repliforce's Arctic Polar Unit, and was not an approachable guy by any means. In fact, he was a lot like Vile: destructive, powerful, and didn't care about silly things or public safety.
"Come on, get this fuel loaded up!" Penguin shouted to his men. "Lord Sigma needs this stuff ASAP!"
"Too bad for him, it isn't going much!" shouted Frost Walrus as he and his troops made their entrance. Chill Penguin squaked in fear and ran near the oil tanks for cover. X rolled his eyes at this. He couldn't believe Penguin was so dumb to take cover behind a tank of fuel, the least safe thing to hide behind. Not only that, it was unlikely Repliforce was dumb to even fire at Penguin or his forces at an oil field.
"All troops, FIRE!"
He was sorely mistaken.
The Repliforce troops began their attack, firing off at the fuel lines and tankers. What resulted was the expected – massive explosions that dealt heavy losses to both sides. X would have been outraged for them doing this, but after this morning with Slash Beast, all he could do was groan and roll his eyes.
"Those fools are going to blow this place to oblivion!" shouted Nana.
"That may be the intent." Said Iris. "As long as the fuel is destroyed, Sigma won't be able to get his hands on it. Though it does seem like a waste of perfectly good fossil fuel, primitive as it may be."
"Very. But it looks like they're missing a spot!" said X. He could see Chill Penguin trying to sneak out with a couple of tanks of fuel. The Maverick Hunter was done waiting. Repliforce could handle Penguin's forces; but the traitor was his! X jumped down and dashed after him, but Walrus spotted him.
"Hey, jackass!" he shouted to X. "What do ya think you're doing here?"
"My job, Frosty." Said X. "I'm here to take down Chill Penguin!"
"Sorry kid, but that's our job right now! Now move along!"
"You do realize that technically speaking, I'm older than you, correct?"
"You know what else is older than you? That glacier over there!"
X turned to the glacier that Walrus was pointing at. "Actually, that looks more like a plate—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
X didn't even finish his sentence when he found himself punched hard several miles into said glacier/plateau, falling downwards by a large margin. Perhaps by miracle, though, he found himself intact and in the path of a nearby Reploid outpost. He could see several Mavericks in the distance as well, no doubt guarding Chill Penguin.
"I don't think he meant to do that any." Said Iris, calmly.
"Pretty sure he did." said X. "But at least I have a clue where Chill Penguin might be going. Better get moving!"
X started his work and dashed off, destroying several Ray Bits and Axers on the way. The latter were giving X a bit of trouble, because of their bocks they copped at him. The Blue Bomber had to dash jump over them and take out the Reploids. Iris, meanwhile, opened up Chill Penguin's file.
"Chill Penguin, B-Class Hunter from the Arctic Squad. He specializes in polar protection, climate control, and ice-based artillery. He was mostly stationed within the more wintery places of the world, particularly the South Pole—or what remains of it. The database theorizes that Penguin may have been tempted to the rebellion out of sheer boredom, and saw the Maverick Uprising as an escape from his otherwise dull objectives."
"That does sound like Penguin alright." Said X. "He was always a cranky hard case and didn't seem too into his work. But he didn't file any complaints that I remember, unsocial as he may be."
"What matters now is stopping him from leaving here with that fuel." Said Nana. "The world may still be making the transition to nuclear energy, but fossil fuels are still very much in use. X, don't let Penguin escape, no matter what!"
"Understood!" X quickly dashing off into the distance.
The Azure Hunter sprinted right past more of the lesser enemies, shooting plasma shots as he goes past. Scrap metal was all that remained when that was all done. It wasn't long before he found himself into a nearby building, where the fuel is loaded or stored. X knew he had to be careful, lest he risk blowing himself up.
"I still don't understand why Sigma needs fossil fuel." Admitted Iris. "With the advent of positricity and nuclear fuel, oil is basically obsolete to anyone in 2053."
"He probably doesn't have a whole lot to work with." Said X, casually blasting some Batton Bones in the dark. "Most of the up-to-date energy sources are exclusive to the URO and in restricted zones that not even Repliforce is allowed near, so Sigma's making the best with what he has. Besides, even the most obsolete energy sources can be extremely useful, if you know how. Sigma's smart and will find a way."
"Jammingers and Spiky's up ahead. Jump ahead with extreme caution." Said Nana. X nodded and jumped up the several levels of the building, attacking the enemies on his way. He was ready for the Jammingers and went to attack… only for them to dodge and smack right into him and laugh at him. X charged up and blasted them right on sight.
"I hate those things." Said X, dashing off and out the building.
X could see Chill Penguin in the distance, freezing over several Repliforce troops and sliding into a bunker. It was almost amusing to him how one former Hunter was outwitting and escaping an entire military unit. The Maverick Hunter ran headfirst into the snowy terrain, dashjumping across the slopes until he nearly reached his destination. There were several Snow Shooters blocking the path to the boss. These bots began rolling and throwing snowballs at X. They didn't seem too bad at first, but the snow around it gathered to begin forming much bigger balls.
'FIRE FORM'
X quickly changed to Fire Form and shot fiery buster shots at the projectiles, scorching the ground quickly and making the Snow Shooters shiver. The Blue Bomber fired a charged up Hadouken and blasted them all clean away in one shot. Nana couldn't help but be in blissful awe at X's power. She quickly shook off her thoughts and returned to work. X also returned to normal form.
"Chill Penguin is beyond that door, as is Frost Walrus." She said. "He's weak, but he's also very quick on the ice. Find a way to cut him down or prevent him from escaping."
"I got it." Said X. He rushed through the door and saw Frost Walrus in the 'arena' battling Chill Penguin. Walrus was going with strength over wits and it was showing; he was rushing and slamming his fists into any surface Penguin was in. Penguin wasn't even trying to dodge him, the Repliforce officer was just slow on the uptake.
"Hold still, squirt!" shouted Walrus, flailing at the Maverick.
"Who you calling squirt?!" shouted Penguin, sliding in between him. "Actually… you need to chill out!" Without another warning, he released a cold, icy breath onto him. Walrus found ice beginning to from his feet upwards. Walrus scoffed at this attempt, as he was made for arctic operations… only to realize he couldn't move or get himself free, eventually the ice went all the way until he was frozen completely, X watching in horror.
Chill Penguin, meanwhile, looked satisfied with his work, and joyed that he shut up someone mocking his stature. He could still remember taking on this role in Sigma's army…
FLASHBACK
It was yet another boring day in the arctic.
For Chill Penguin, being in such isolated cold weathers was good for him. He performed his duties admirably and perfectly, guarding posts in the North and South Poles, as well as any wintry weather. However, this didn't mean he was totally satisfied. In fact, many times he found himself to be incredibly bored. Very rarely would Maverick attacks happen or any kind of criminal activity. It often felt he was being left out for the sake of it, only occasionally being brought back to England for normal missions. It was simply frustrating for him.
"It's not like any bot in their right mind would even think of coming down here anyway!" Penguin rambled. "The damage from the antimatter warheads in World War 3 made the Arctic even colder, why am I wasting my time sliding around here? What's Commander Sigma's malfunction anyway?!"
"It's trusting the humans that gave us the orders to begin with, Chill Penguin." Said a voice behind him. Penguin jumped in surprise and horror that it was his Commander. Although he knew his boss was understanding and kind to his men, he couldn't help getting nervous around him.
"C-Commander Sigma, sir! I-I-I didn't mean—it wasn't to be disrespectful, uhh—" the Penguin Hunter was tripping over his words.
"Its fine, Chill Penguin." Said Sigma. "I can see you are unhappy with your position. But it isn't completely my call… even though I thought it was."
"Not sure I completely follow sir?"
"Don't you find it strange how you are almost always ordered to be stationed in the North or South Poles? Even during the winter, when the air gets colder worldwide?"
"I think annoying is the term I'd personally use."
"I can attest. But if you ask for my opinion, I believe you're kept here... because they are afraid."
"Afraid how, Commander?"
"You are extremely skilled and fast in snowy climate, and while less so in normal weather, you are still formidable and able to scope anything out, even suspicious activities. And your stature makes it easy to get to hard to enter passages. You could still pose a threat to anyone you come across."
"What exactly are you getting at?"
"I do not usually call upon you, because I thought that your abilities were best suited for the arctic poles. But I was wrong. The humans, I believe, were keeping you here deliberately, so you could not find sensitive information. To keep you in the dark of the Mavericks and the abuse towards our kind, that I've witnessed. Permit me to ask… when was the last time you were truly allowed to leave your post?"
Chill Penguin couldn't believe what his Commander was telling him. The humans were blatantly holding him back in the ends of the Earth? And were hiding something that Penguin didn't need to know about? This had to be a joke, he couldn't be serious. But on a moment's thought, it made sense to him. Penguin hasn't been allowed by his superiors to leave his arctic posts and hardly saw any action in months. His posts in the middle of nowhere are very suspect, and no one would try to come here unless they were desperate. Did Sigma have a point? Was he just a puppet all along?
"Chill Penguin, I believe the humans are using us for their own kicks, and abusing us to how they will." Said Sigma. "They must be stopped now."
"Commander, are you saying we go Maverick?" asked Penguin, incredulously.
"We may have no choice. But understand that if you join me… you may never have to come to this wasteland ever again."
Penguin's face immediately lit up. He hated being confined to the planet's poles with nothing to do. As morally questionable as this rebellion sounded, it was preferable to being unfairly treated and growing insane from boredom. Sigma extended his hand out to ask for a handshake. Penguin wasted no time after in grasping it.
"I'm in, Commander." He said.
"Thank you, Chill Penguin." Said Sigma. "I know you will not disappoint."
The fallen commander would smirk and go into detail of Penguin's duties in the Maverick Uprising…
END FLASHBACK
"I can't believe you would do something like this, Chill Penguin!" shouted X. "How could you ally yourself with Sigma?!"
"I don't expect you to understand, X!" said Penguin. "After all, we hardly get any chance to talk and you barely know me! While you and everyone else are off in the UFO having all the fun, I been stuck in the South Pole, twiddling my fingers and looking at the snow! It was driving me insane! I couldn't take the solitude and boredom!"
"So that gives you a reason to steal resources away from people that need them?!"
"These are really primitive fuels, X. The hell do you care?"
"They may be primitive, but they're still used by peoples that can't afford the more expensive fuel supplies! There may be some families in dire need of energy that you're taking away!"
"BAH! Those families are all humans anyway, they kept me in isolation! So maybe they'd like to see how it feels?"
"You know what, I'm done trying to reason with you! You're going down, Chill Penguin!"
"That's cute, X! But you'll be a little too frosty to beat me!"
As X's optical sensors began to analyze Penguin and download his moveset, he braced for an attack. He had a feeling that when an ice pun was made by a Maverick, a fury of attacks would follow. He was quickly proven right. Chill Penguin shot out some Ice shards from his beak at X, which his systems analyzed and downloaded. It was Penguin's signature attack: the Shotgun Ice.
X dodged the incoming projectiles and took cover in a nearby corner. He quickly came out of it and gave Penguin some semi-charged shots for his troubles. Peguin was able to slide out of dodge with relative ease, however, belly-sliding towards X, who dashjumped over him. The Blue Bomber knew he would have to be faster and smarter to beat this Maverick. He dashed right at Penguin for a kick, but Penguin jumped up and dropkicked him from behind, leaving X reeling into an ice wall.
X got up and started charging up his shots and sending them at the Maverick, but they all missed. X was trying to analyze a way to outsmart Chill Penguin while also keeping his eyes on the fight. Much easier said than done. Penguin jumped up onto a hook handing from the ceiling and without warning sent a furious blizzard wind at X. His sensors began to somehow analyze and download, though X didn't know how. He was trouble even seeing.
"X, the room temperature just dropped to -35 degrees Fahrenheit!" shouted Nana. "Your systems are beginning to freeze up. You need to hurry and take down Penguin, or you're finished!"
"I… am aware, Nana." Said X. He could feel himself getting colder as the mini-storm progressed. Though it stopped after a minute, the damage was done, and X could see the floor had frozen into solid ice that he could barely stand on. "Penguin's praying on my naivety, I need to think of something quick…"
"X, he has a pack of twin flammable coolant tanks on his back. Aim there and don't widen that gap between the both of you."
"Roger that!" X noticed Chill Penguin skating across the ice with ease, circling around X as if to mock him. His systems focused on the skates and analyzed it, while X paid no mind to Penguin's taunting.
"What's the matter, X?" Penguin laughed. "Got cold feet now? Too bad!" Penguin quickly shot more Shotgun Ice blasts at X, with the Azure Hunter slipping and sliding around the ice to escape. It only took X about a minute at most to get the hang of being on the ice and began skating around, dodging Penguin's attacks while also dishing out his own buster shots, remaining close.
"HOLD STILL, YOU LITTLE BLUE BASTARD!" screamed an impatient Penguin. He was getting annoyed.
"Well looks like the skate's on the other foot." Said X, confidently, as he changed into Fire Form. Penguin was shocked at X's transformation and metaphorically froze up seeing this new form. The Blue Bomber took the opportunity to skate-dash right at the Maverick and clothesline him down a few feet outwards.
As X punched Penguin several times while he was down, a new side of him was awakened. One of a fighter, a warrior; one that would not yield to anyone. The Navigators witnessed this and were both amazed and worried at the same time. Penguin eventually rolled out the way and jumped back on the hook to release another mini storm. He really liked that hook. X wall-jumped up and hit a jumping Blaze Kick at Chill Penguin's coolant tanks. The result was a spontaneous fire that burned up Chill Penguin.
The Maverick screamed in immense pain as he dropped down to the ground, feeling himself burn up badly. X wasn't going to take any chances. Putting his hands together, he released a powerful Hadouken attack. The fireball did more damage, and caused a grand explosion.
"NOOOOO! NOT THIS WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!" were the last words that X could hear Penguin scream before a small fiery explosion hit. When the dust cleared, only pieces of what once was Chill Penguin remained. While glad he was stopped, he was internally mortified of what he did and how he chose to end the Maverick. Iris herself was shaking seeing that, while Nana was only shocked. She knew it happened and had to happen, but was still surprised that's how it went.
"DOWNLOAD COMPLETE. ICE FORM UNLOCKED. SHOTGUN ICE, BLIZZSTORM, AND SLIDE SKATES OBTAINED."
X changed back to his normal form, and noticed that his menu had an extra form labelled "Ice", a new form for him to use. As he was preparing to leave, he saw Frost Walrus was finally breaking out and was furious. He seemed totally unaware that Chill Penguin was destroyed.
"ALRIGHT, YOU LITTLE PIPSQUEAK!" he shouted, furiously. "NOW YOU'RE GETTI—wait. What happened?"
"Chill Penguin's finished. I made sure of that. He and his Mavericks won't get any use of this energy."
"Hey! Didn't I tell you to stay out of this, pal!"
"You did, but I chose to ignore you."
"I had that little birdbrain right where I wanted him, and then you showed up to muck everything up!"
"For the record, I actually saved you and this mission by taking him out. Penguin was outsmarting you while you were flailing around like a protoform."
Walrus growled in anger. He was seething. How dare this insubordinate Hunter get in the way and steal his prey? It was infuriating to him. The only consolation was that Penguin and his operations were taken out. A Repliforce major ran in and saluted his commander.
"Commander Walrus, perimeter secured!" he said.
"Good work." Said Walrus. "What about the fuel supplies?"
"Our assault from earlier took out 93.7% of the fuel in the oil field. The Mavericks that escaped only took approximately 1.3% of the fuels. We have managed to compromise and retain 5% of the energy remaining."
"Alright. Notify the cleanup crews and prepare a defense perimeter for the field and local authorities, just in case Sigma tries to attack this place again."
"Yes sir!"
The major ran out to report, and Frost Walrus followed after, shoving X away with one hand. X just sighed and was ready to leave. Before he did, he took one last look at Chill Penguin's remains and gave a silent prayer. Then he looked up to the hook that Penguin hung onto.
'Huh. That is a nice hook.' He thought and teleported back to base.
SIGMA PALACE
Elpizo walked down a fancy but ominous corridor and into a control room. There stood his new 'master' Sigma. He had looked a bit different. In addition to the new scars made by Vile, he now had spikes on his wrists and boots, and was also sporting a red cape with metallic shoulder pads over it. Sigma turned to his new partner and smiled.
Elpizo bowed. "Lord Sigma, Chill Penguin's signal has stopped. I'm afraid that means he is dead."
"Yes. I am afraid so." Said Sigma, calmly. "It was X, correct?"
"Indeed. I tried to dissuade him, but it was as you said. He cannot be deterred from his directive."
"Elpizo, when I said 'you can definitely try to deter him', it was meant to be a joke."
"Oh. Forgive me, my lord. My sense of humor is... not up to par."
"No matter. X is beginning to fall right into where I want him. He doesn't even realize how far he is starting to fall."
"You believe he would actually join your side?"
"Not as is right now. But as my men continue their work, the angrier X will become. Once it boils over, his true strength will show… at the cost of his own humanity. He would become indistinguishable from normal Mavericks, unable to determine ally from enemy. From that point, he would have very little left to gain, and even less to lose. X is the future of our race, Elpizo… and I will be there to guide him to it."
Elpizo was having trouble processing and believing this. If he didn't know better, he would say that Sigma was gullible, dumb, or flat out insane. He wondered if X could even be manipulated. But he was going along with it for now. Elpizo looked at his leader and smirked. "I will hope you are correct in your assumption, my lord. I want to see this 'true power' you say X has."
"Believe me, Elpizo. You will not be disappointed."
Elpizo quietly bowed and dismissed himself. When he left the room, he just looked up in apathy. He didn't realize Sigma was so overconfident and borderline foolish. This may be a bit easier than he thought….
TO BE CONTINUED…
(A/N: Well that ends that! As you can tell, for this story, we are doing the Bosses in order of their weakness order. However, just to spice things up, I will preface that just because this is the game order weaknesses doesn't mean the weaknesses carry over here. You will see what I mean soon. But for now, please R&R and I will see you guys for when Spark Mandrill comes! Later!)