Maverick Hunter X: Next-Level Insurrection Chapter 7: Factory of Sparkness, a mega man fanfic

Maverick Hunter X – Next-Level Insurrection

Chapter 7: Factory of Sparkness

(A/N: Yo,, what's up! I'm back with another chapter. Now we are doing SPark Mandrill's stage. Like I said, while I will do the bosses in the preferred boss order, that will not mean those weaknesses will carry over. This will be for the sake of drama and because, in this lore, X's forms are attributed to a particular fighting style. You will see as this story goes on. 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!

MAY 2, 2053

15:55 – MAVERICK HUNTER HQ

X had just returned from Alaska to relax for about an hour. While the fight didn't take a lot out of him, his core temperature levels were below freezing and vital systems had been iced completely. Cinnamon gave him some heat injections and hot packs to ease himself while also melting the ice that seeped in during the fight. After a half-hour rest, he seemed all fine and ready to return to the field.

The navigators—Iris and Nana—were a little shaken, however. The way they heard and witnessed X destroy Chill Penguin was more than a little distressing. The icy Maverick was burnt to a crisp and exploded in two good shots. Iris was especially mortified and had trouble looking at X. He was almost like a completely different Reploid when he came back. Nana, in turn, was also concerned. She was worried the Hunter she liked most was dead, replaced with a potential Maverick that could come in to destroy anything. Or worse, anyone…

"Everything alright, Nana?" she heard a voice ask from behind. Nana turned to see X looking replenished and ready to go again. But he did show a sliver of concern of Nana gazing off, lost in her train of thought.

"Oh! It… it's nothing X." she fibbed. She didn't want X to be so worried about her, nor did she want to know she could be afraid of him one day. "Just daydreaming is all."

"It doesn't look like nothing to me."

"I appreciate the concern, X, but I can assure you I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm also fine. A little frosty, but I'll manage the day."

"That's good to know. Moving around in an extensive manner should get you all heated up."

"Agreed. Now next…." X looked at the map. He already dealt with Chill Penguin, but there was still seven more Mavericks left to take care of. He needed to choose who his next target would be. Perhaps someone slow, to contrast the quickness he just beat….?

"Spark Mandrill will be good for now." He said. "He's slow and sturdy, but a strong enough foe. Even if his mind isn't all there."

"Just don't underestimate him just because he's dumb." Said Nana. "So stay on your toes."

"Right, I'm heading out."

"Hold it, X!" shouted a voice. X turned to see Alia running in the control room with a navy-blue belt on her shoulders. "I have something you might find handy. I call it the Subtank Buckle."

"Thanks." Said X. "What's it do?"

"Turn around and stand still. I'll put it on you.

X turned around and stood as still as could be. Alia approached him from behind and was ready to install the belt. She could easily just click the buckle onto his waist, but she realized Nana was in the room. She, like many Hunters, knew about her crush on X, and would take any opportunity to tease her about it or flirt with big blue. This was no exception.

Alia began rubbing up and down his hips a bit, getting a feel of him. X didn't react to anything, he just assumed she was taking measurements. Nana, however, flinched at what she was doing. She wasn't naïve to Alia's intents. She squinted more when she saw Alia squeezing his hips. This time, X reacted, flinching a little and blushing. He didn't question this, but was wondering what she was really doing. The pink researched upped the Nana torture up a bit by pressing her body onto X's back and running her hands over his chest plates.

X was now blushing like a schoolgirl in a romantic comedy anime. "Uh, Alia… is… this really necessary?"

"I have to make sure your body specifications are correct to the measurements I had." She fibbed. "Besides, we need your body in tip top shape…"

Alia looked over to Nana. The navigator attempted to contain her composure, but Alia's antics were getting the best of her. She could see Nana was fuming mad, gritting her teeth, narrowing her eyes, clenching her fists… she looked like she was about to pound Alia into oblivion at a moment's notice. Alia chuckled. She fell right into the researcher's trap. Realizing Nana was being tortured enough, she quickly snapped the belt around X's waist.

"Alright, there we go!" she said. Nana only slightly calmed down. Her eyes were closed, but she was still frowning and her fists didn't unclench. X took a sigh of relief, the whole ordeal was extremely embarrassing and awkward. He looked over to Nana and noticed her tense expression. "Is something wrong, Nana?" he asked.

"No." Nana whispered in a rough tone. X was unconvinced, but left it alone for now. X looked over the buckle, which had six slots, three on each side, and four of them looked like they would hold cans of something.

"I don't feel that different, Alia." He said.

"Well that's because you don't have these yet." Said Alia, holding four blue canteens with an 'E' in the middle of them. "These are my real latest invention. I call them Subtanks."

"So what exactly do they do?"

"The Subtanks contain liquid positricity and other nutrients, which will automatically refill your health and power. But each one cannot be refilled until after a mission is completed and you return to base, so use them wisely."

Alia put the Subtanks onto the sides of his new buckle. They were all locked in and X was fully ready this time. "Well we'll see how this goes. I'm off now!"

X instantly teleported out to confront Mandrill, Alia exasperated that he didn't thank her. Of course, X probably would have saved the thanks until after he sees if they work, but she still would have appreciated the support. She turned over to Nana, who was glaring a hole right at the director.

"You have some nerve… messing with X like that…!" she said.

"I wasn't." Alia responded calmly. "I was messing with you at X's expense. Though I'm not sure why you care what I do with him since you are so keen on professionalism."

"X has enough on his plate as is without you pulling a Layer on him!"

"You sure enjoy dodging the difficult questions, Nana. Or do you not want to answer them?"

"I'll answer once Sigma's beaten! Now please leave, Iris and I need to focus on our work." Nana began to calm down and get to her desk.

"Very well." Alia sighed. "But X may not be the same when I'm done with him… so I suggest you put some moves on, or I do it for them."

Nana twitched in irritation, and just snapped. "GET. OUT!"

Alia quickly left, a smug smile on her face for successfully trolling the chief navigator. Iris was a bit intimidated by her partner's sudden change in tone and behaviors, but she understood why. Alia was pushing all of Nana's buttons, so she burst. The two shook off that little endeavor and got right to work.

11:08 – ELEKTAKO. POWER PLANT – CLEVELAND, OH

X teleported into the plant and found it a mess. The lights were flickering a bit and electricity was running along the ground. In addition, he could see various bodies on the floor, belonging to the plant's workers and security. The Mavericks here were already wreaking more havoc than Penguin's squads already. This was going to be difficult.

The Blue Hunter rushed in and saw Repliforce units engaging the enemy Gunvolts and Maverick units. The Mavs were easily taking advantage of the electric floors and sending more electric waves out, and even walking on it with shock absorbers.

"Damn! These guys were prepared for this!" said one soldier.

"We barely have the right training and equipment for this situation!" said another. "How are we getting out of this?!"

"Leave it to me!" X shouted, dash jumping into action and punching a Gunvolt hard enough to smash it to bits. A Hoganmer—A Maverick with a shield and mace—swung his chain around, but X caught it and swung him around, crashing him into an electrical outlet, causing the Maverick to explode in an electrical fire. X then turned to a couple of the Mavericks allies and hit half-charged buster shots at them, blasting them, before turning to Repliforce. "You guys okay?"

"We're fine." Said one soldier. "Thank you, X!"

"Commander Dinorex may not be soon. Or the entire URO!" said his partner.

"Why? What's happened?" asked X.

"Spark Mandrill is overloading the electrical grids and computer systems. He's going to cause a mass blackout that could take out the power of over half of North America!"

"He can really do that?! But that will cause mass panic, people could lose their homes… most could even lose their lives without power!"

"We know Spark Mandrill isn't exactly smart, X, but I doubt he'd care even if he was." Said Nana. "You gotta hurry and stop him before people get hurt!"

"Without hesitation!" said X. "Nana, tell Cinnamon to wait for any calls. We may need her to heal up any wounded workers or soldiers!"

"I'm already here, X!" said Cinnamon at the base. "Just holler if you need me!"

"Will do! I gotta hurry!" X said as he rushed off. He knew he had little time to stop Mandrill from blacking out nearly the entire country.

Iris pulled up Mandrill's file and read it out. "Spark Mandrill. S-Class Hunter from the Urban Support Squad. He is specialized in power generation and control, as well as physical tough jobs. His electrical abilities are meant for close-ranged combat and is one of the strongest on the Hunters organization. However, his IQ is ranked as 'borderline' and does not think rationally… or at all, it would appear."

"He really doesn't." said X. He recalled one time where Mandrill was fighting a Maverick in Brighton and caused more damage to the town than the Maverick because he forgot he was fighting in a densely populated area. "Honestly, this plot sounds like he could only do with Sigma holding his hand throughout."

"Sigma must want the humans at a vulnerable state, without much food, power, or ways to communicate." added Nana. "That includes military operations and support. The URO would be totally dark and nigh incapable of defending themselves. That cannot happen. Speaking of which, X, you're coming in on a dark room. Follow my guidance and you'll make it through."

"Don't worry, Nana. I trust you."

Nana felt her face go a bit red as she nodded. As X began to enter the dark room, she began barking directions at him. X followed every one of her words. "Hang a left. Jump. Dashjump. Fire forward. Go right. Forward. Charge your shot and fire. Jump left. Now dash, fire, and you'll be out!"

X followed all her directions and navigations to the letter and was soon back in the light. It was a relief to him and felt happy and pleased to have listened to Nana. "Thanks again, Nana." He said. "That could have been worse if you weren't navigating me."

"Awww, shut up X!" said Nana, blushing. "I'm just doing my job as a Navigator."

"And doing it very well." X dashed down and into a room. He saw a big red Mechaniloid with a slime bubble covering itself, and small limbs attaching itself to the ceiling. X knew he was going to need extra fire power for this one.

'FIRE FORM'

X changed it up to his Fire Form and unleashed buster shots at the machine, only doing some damage to it. The machine sprayed its goo around the room which X managed to dodge. It then began bouncing around, nearly hitting him, spraying more slime. X tried dashing away, but one piece ended up on him. He was stuck. He couldn't move his legs one bit.

"X, that's an anti-neutronic substance. A low temperature blast from your X-Buster should cause it to freeze over and make escape easy." Suggested Nana.

"So…ugh! Change up to Ice Form, huh?" X struggled still.

"No, she meant put your feet in the freezer for ten minutes." Said Iris, sarcastically. "Yes, change up to Ice Form!"

X rolled his eyes and hurriedly opened his hub to change up; the ThunderSLimer machine was drawing nearer.

'ICE FORM'

X's Ice Form was a lighter shade of blue, with some white tints. The patterns were akin to snow and armorings had shades of cold-weather clothing and snowflakes. The Blue Bomber quickly used Shotgun Ice on the slime, quickly freezing it over. As the ThunderSlimer nearly pummeled X, he smashed the ice with his fists then rolled out of the way. He quickly used charged shots at the thing which did minimal damage. All seemed hopeless… that was until the ceiling smashed and a fiery Reploid dropped down, sinching its wrist claws deep in and firebreathing it to oblivion. X looked on in astonishment and a tad bit of envy, he recognized the Reploid as another Repliforce commander.

The bot was a red Tyrannosaurus Rex based Reploid, with flame patterns on his arms and legs, normal hands but catcher claws on his wrists, and flames across his back and tail. He was a few feet taller than X; his name was Burn Dinorex and he was commander of the Special Forces Unit. He normally kept to himself and only respected the best and strongest of his troops, though allegedly wasn't a bad bot. Or so the rumors say, anyway.

Dinorex dusted his hands off a bit and looked over to X. He wasn't entirely dismissive of X's presence, but wasn't entirely approving of it either. "You Hunters shouldn't be here. I got this place locked down." He said.

"Well that's too bad. Because I am here and I'm not leaving until Mandrills defeated!" said X.

"Apparently so… Alrighty then, your funeral. I don't need ya, but I won't stop ya. In fact, I could probably use the help. Particularly with cutting the power to this place."

"Isn't that Mandrill's goal from the start? That would only be helping him!"

"Not entirely. His intent is to overload the power here, so that it shuts down the grids and power across the nation. But if we can shut down the generator powering the plant, or at least tune it off, we can diverge his attention and catch him off guard. Or the unlikely scenario he actually thinks he succeeded and I can trample him."

"In fairness, he actually is that dumb to think that… Nana, what do you think?"

"It sounds dangerous, X." she said. "If we don't do this right, we may not just shut the power off across the US, but potentially the entire URO. But… if we take out the generator to the building and cut off access to the main power grid, Mandrill won't be in control. However, he could still just as easily turn it back on…."

"Yes, but like Dinorex said, we could at least slow him down or distract him before he can hurt anyone else…. Alright, Dinorex. I'll do it."

"Thought you would, Hunter." Said the Commander. "I'll deal with the mainline and keep that apeface occupied in the meantime!"

X nodded and shook Dinorex's hand. The Azure Hunter quickly dashed off, to his new goal. The main generator powered the facility and the main power grid. He knew Mandrill's goal was to overload it and create a mass blackout, but he could potentially halt it by shutting it down. But first, he needed to find the generator.

"The generator is in the room directly below you." Advised Nana. "But it's a long journey down there. You will need to break through several layers of solid steel, many security lasers, and over a dozen turret drones before you reach the generator room."

"If I took the long way, yes." Said X. "But I have a better idea…"

X quickly charged up his buster and pointed it down to the ground. Once it fully charged, he fired off a massive charged shot, creating a major hole in the floor and allowing him to jump down and into the generator room below, bypassing all the security he would have faced. Nana just shrugged at seeing his logic play out. "Or that works too."

X looked around the room. He could see the massive generator. Now he just needed to find the means to turn it off. He had to think about this rationally. His first option would be to destroy it, but the way his power has been growing is scary. If he used too much, he could damage it beyond repair, and he didn't want to make this situation worse than it already was. So he could scratch that off. He also considered asking Nana for help, but he wanted to figure this out on his own. Not that he didn't appreciate her help, nor her pretty face and curvaceous body….

Wait, what the hell was he thinking? Why was he thinking this? These were thoughts only for Mavericks. He couldn't think that of his navigator! Not at this crucial moment especially. X immediately shook his head at his sudden perverse thoughts and got back on task. He decided to try freezing the generator. X changed up to Ice Form and shot up a few well-placed Shotgun Ice blasts at the generator, eventually freezing it over. After a few minutes, the lights and power in the facility was completely turned off. This would keep Mandrill busy for sure now.

"X to HQ. The generator's completely frozen over." He said. "Power's been shut down and power grid access cut off. No electrical overload or blackout."

"Good job, X!" said Nana. "But we're not out of the woods yet. Mandrill will notice and try to turn the power back on."

"Then I'll have to take him out before he can. How's Dinorex doing?"

Just as he asked that, he could hear massive explosions from the levels above him and inhumane screams. There was little doubt where those noises came from. "Guess that answers that question."

Without another word, X dashed out the room and followed the trail of fire and shrapnel scattered across. Most of the Mavericks here looked to have been completely destroyed, leaving nothing but scrap iron on the floors. Repliforce troops had occupied the floors and tended to their wounded. This just left Dinorex with Mandrill. X heard some loud noises and explosives beyond a large door. He didn't like the sound of that, blasting the door open with a charged shot and hurried in.

When X ran through the door, he saw Dinorex was badly hurt and face first on the ground. Mandrill didn't seem to be in the best condition either, but he still looked better than Dinorex did right now. Mandrill gave the Repliforce commander a jumping punch to the gut as he lay flat. He was going to make an example out of the Jurassic Reploid. Anyone that interfered with his business would suffer…

FLASHBACK

Spark Mandrill's strength was without equal. In spite of his small intelligence—or lack thereof—his power more than made up for. His electric punches and brute strength was invaluable, and he made excessively good use of it. It became a real asset in the days following the Sky Lagoon incident. Giant Mavericks were spreading across London, and his Volt Punches and strength to take them down.

One specific Mechaniloid was tearing through the streets of Sheffield; many Hunters were out of commission from it already, but he wasn't letting up. Swinging his mighty fists at the machine's head, he was able to hit dents in it. Those dents turned to cracks; cracks turned to fractures; the fractures turned into an explosion that blasted a chunk of the highway they were on. It was a spectacle to behold, for several wrong reasons.

Sigma jumped down from a building he was spectating from. He was impressed, but only to a point. He caused a lot of property damage and the locals were not going to be happy. However, he will still see this as a victory on the grounds that the threat had been neutralized. He spoke to Mandrill. "Very good work, Mandrill. Though you may have overdone it a bit…"

"I think I did just about enough, Commander." Said Mandrill. "Had to use my full power in order to stop that thing."

"Yes, but you ended up causing more damage to the city than I would have preferred. The humans are going to throw more shade at us than they are already…"

"I don't really follow, Commander Sigma."

"The human government, I have learned, does not believe in equality for all races as they preach. They only believe in themselves. Us Reploids, we are merely mechanical slaves meant to carry out the work of humanity and its own problems. This is how these Maverick attacks start; the humans point fingers at a single source to take the fall instead of searching for causes and solutions. What you just did could turn us to Mavericks."

"Oh…. Oops."

"Do not feel too bad. It was a mistake, you overused your power. But now, you will be deemed Maverick… but I will not arrest you, nor will I destroy you. Rather…. I will break away from the humans influence. To ensure justice and equality among all, we must stop them by any means necessary. And I want you to help me…"

Spark Mandrill looked at his commander with a bit of confusion. He didn't quite understand everything he was saying, it almost felt too hard to swallow. But he didn't wish to chance being labelled Maverick, and he trusted Sigma to the bitter end. He would never lie to his own Hunters, it wasn't like him. Without hesitation, he shook his hand. "I'm in, sir. I'll do anything to stop these humans that do this!"

Sigma smirked at his gullibility. "That's what I like to hear, Spark Mandrill…"

END FLASHBACK

"Take your hands off of him, you damn dirty ape!" X shouted as he rushed to face Mandrill. He quickly checked up on Dinorex. He was looking extremely worse for ware, the scars and damage was intense even for him. He needed to be tended to. "Cinnamon, this is X! We're gonna need you! Burn Dinorex is badly hurt, and is gonna need medical attention!"

"I have your coordinates, X. I'm on my way!" shouted Cinnamon.

"No…dammit…!" grunted Dinorex, trying to stand up. "I can… still fight…."

"You're way too hurt like this, Dinorex. You can't go on." Said X. "I'll take it from here. I stopped Mandrill's plot already, now I'll stop him." Dinorex sighed as he heard Cinnamon teleport behind him. He could see he wasn't going to win this argument with X, and he was in little condition to keep fighting. So he didn't, he just allowed himself to be checked on. "X… give him hell!"

X nodded. "Will do!" he said as he turned to the former Maverick Hunter. Mandrill didn't seem to look too tense against X, in fact he didn't seem bothered or aware that X just foiled his plans. The Blue Hunter wasn't that big a priority to him; X was sure to correct that mistake. "Mandrill, you're even dumber than I thought if you think siding with Sigma's your best option!"

"I just want what everyone wants: justice and equality for everybody." Said Mandrill. "That isn't dumb, now is it X?"

"No, it's wrong! You're only hurting more people! Taking out the power to half the nation will only cause more harm than good, more injustice than justice! When the world depends on energy and power so much, you're taking that away from them and leaving them to die. Did you even consider thinking of the consequences? Or all the lives you would sacrifice?!"

"You know I don't like thinking, X. But Lord Sigma would never lie to us. You know that better than anyone else. Some human sacrifices won't be so bad."

X was just about to explode in fury. A few deaths aren't so bad? Did Sigma poison his mind that badly, or was he always this dumb? He looked over his shoulder to see Cinnamon using a sparkler to fix the damage that Dinorex sustained. He could tell the repairs were going to be a little while. He needed to stall Mandrill for a while. The Blue Bomber looked back to Mandrill and angrily changed to Ice Form. "I don't know why I'm arguing at this point! Your time has come, Spark Mandrill!"

"You won't get very far, X…" said Mandrill. X's sensors began to glow and analyze his opponent. Mandrill began throwing a massive punch. Before it could connect, X hit a Shotgun Ice. It hit him dead center and froze him over. Mere seconds later, Mandrill effortlessly broke out of it. He barely felt a thing. "Brrrr… That tickled a little. But now it's my turn to—"

Before he could finish, X fired off another Shotgun Ice, freezing him again. It had as little effect as it did the first time, Mandrill breaking out easily. The ape Maverick chuckled, but X gave him little time to reprieve. He still needed to stall him… thus he gave another Shotgun Ice.

And then another.

And another.

And…. You get the idea.

All as he did this, Mandrill got more and more angry. More annoyed at how he was being taken for a joke, screaming to stop every time he was frozen.

"Stop that-!" he screamed before being frozen again. "I mean it! […] Getting—Very—Annoyed—Right now! – WILL! […] YOU! […] JUST […] CUT! […] THAT! […] OUT!"

X kept going as he spoke. Dinorex was near complete in the near 20 minutes X went on for, and even he chuckled at how much of a bitch Mandrill was looking. Even the girls at Hunter HQ couldn't stop laughing at X's tactics. X knew it was doing minimal damage, but he had to keep him busy until Dinorex was fully repaired. Plus doing this was kind of funny.

Mandrill broke out of the last one and was beyond angry. "STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT FOR GOD'S SAKE! I AM NOT GONNA BE MADE A FOOL OF BY A B-CLASS HUNTER TRAITOR! NOW STAY STILL WHILE I BEAT YOUR ASS!"

X was ready to fire it off again, but Mandrill dashed into X and hit him extremely hard. Hard enough that he flew through the wall and left a small crater. Mandrill flew an electric ball at him. Normally, X's sensors would have scanned it but he only barely saw it until it hit him dead square in the face. Now X was taking massive hits. His best option was a BlizzStorm attack.

He unleashed a blizzard across that seemed to impede Mandrill's sight and mobility for the time being. X took this moment to use one of the Subtanks that Alia made. He drank it down and immediately felt a major surge of energy. His energy and some of his wounds were fully healed, all charged up and feeling rejuvenated. X decided to try some ice-based Buster shots. To his shock, Mandrill simply tanked the hits and closed his fists, ready to strike. His optical systems barely had time to analyze and scan this motion before X was hit just as hard with an electric-based punch.

"Not so funny anymore, now is it X?" asked Mandrill. He put more pain onto X with a double-fist pound and then threw him aside. This was nowhere near the brutality of Vile, but it was not a fun time for the Blue Bomber. His attempts to slow down the dumb Maverick only made him angrier. Now he needed to think better. He couldn't just go in guns ablazing and expect to win against Mandrill. He needed to do what he did with Penguin and outsmart the big guy. But how when Mandrill was giving him little room?

Speaking of which, Spark Mandrill threw down an electric punch to the ground. X's scanners focused on it as the electricity dispersed in six different directions across the floor and walls. X jumpdashed over the electric lines, his feet connecting with Mandrill's face in what was not intentional, but X would gladly take the hits. This was when he had an idea. He hated to use the same form for two straight Mavericks, but he was running low on options. X changed to Fire Form and unleashed Fire-based Buster shots that did considerably more damage than he thought.

X ran along the walls to outspeed Mandrill, as the Maverick unleashed another electric ground pound. The Blue Bomber jumped off and hit a Blaze Kick to the face, burning his forehead. Mandrill held his head in pain, which gave X a good opportunity to hit a spinning Blaze Kick to the back. The power pack on Mandrill's back caught on fire for a small bit, increasing the pain. It also ticked him off a bit more.

"YOU ARE REALLY PISSIN' ME OFF!" shouted the big oaf. Mandrill started to charge up an electric attack. That was when he felt a hole through his chestplate. Dinorex, now nearly fully recovered, had carved his catcher claws right through the Maverick. "Then how bout… we heat this up…?" Dinorex said, pulling his claws out and kneeling on one leg. This gave X the perfect opening. He unleashed a fully-charged Buster shot and Mandrill was finally toast, with little pieces remaining of him. X collapsed, his energy running low as he took another Subtank.

"DOWNLOAD COMPLETE. ELECTRIC FORM UNLOCKED. VOLT PUNCH AND SPARK POUND OBTAINED."

Returning to his normal form, X found that even with two Subtanks, he still wasn't feeling 100%. The fight took more out of him than he would have liked. He was struggling to even get up. X looked to Dinorex. While he seemed to have fully recovered, fatigue was showing in, though the Jurassic Repliforce commander refused to admit it. "You're welcome." Said Dinorex, grinning.

"Funny, I was gonna… say the same to you…" X smiled back. "The generator is down… but only for… a while. Power should be restored soon. Now… for the next Maverick…"

"Oh no you don't!" said Cinnamon. "You're in little condition to be fighting any more today. The one thing you are gonna be doing is returning to base and resting."

"No, I'm fine… if I waste time resting—"

"Then you will have the energy to stop Sigma. Your energy may have replenished, X, but that doesn't mean that you aren't feeling fatigued or exhausted. Keep fighting in the state you're in and you'll be dead by dinner time."

"X, can you hear me? Do you copy?" asked Nana. X was surprised to hear her voice after going radio silent during the fight. "I read you, Nana." He said. "Oh good. I'm sorry we couldn't help during the fight. Somehow, our radios went out. Sigma must have jammed our radio signals somehow to prevent us from helping you."

"He's getting desperate." Said X. "Well I stopped Mandrill and he's finished. But I'm glad you're alright."

X gave Cinnamon's opinion a second thought. Sigma was now getting more and more smart, more willing to keep X and the others at bay. He started to wonder if being on the front lines all day was the best option. What if the Mavericks did more damage to the base indirectly than he thought? His friends could be in more danger than he realized. He wasn't taking that chance. Cinnamon was right. He needed to get back and rest up.

"The Subtanks System worked well, but I'm still a little off." He said. "I'm heading back to rest up for the day."

"Roger that. Don't push yourself too hard." Said Nana. X saluted Dinorex and teleported out. The Dino Reploid saluted back. This surprised Cinnamon a bit. She was told that Dinorex rarely showed respect to anyone, only those he considers his equal… and very few have that distinction. The fact X was now in that few spoke volumes.

MAY 3, 2053

5:43 – SKY NEEDLE – SEATTLE, WA, USA

Zero was on the lookout with Magna Centipede, one of his closest allies. The Hunter was magenta in color and had four arms & a longer stinger tail. Centipede rarely opened up or worked with others, Zero being one of the few Reploids he could call a friend. The two right now were scouting for any leads to where Sigma's base was located. Many of their leads had gone cold or were interrupted by something else. They needed to stay vigilant.

After what seemed like hours of searching, they discovered one. A Naval weapons ship, occupied by Sigma's forces. The vessel was carrying explosives and state of the art weaponry. Heading it was another Hunter traitor, a short red & blue crab Reploid named Bubble Crab. He was always an avaricious one that everyone hated. Centipede glared down as he analyzed the situation.

"Zero, looks like they're loading up the ship." He said. "Heavy ammunition,

including a Type-A 2300 Calibur Plasma Cannon." Zero overlooked the process several feet before them. Being on Seattle's highest tower gave them good benefit to see what was happening from a good distance. "That's top of the line weapons as well." Zero noted. "That and the X25 Scrapmaker as well. I'm not even sure I wanna know how Sigma got his hands on those…"

"I believe it's time we make our move." Suggested Centipede. "Sneak on board and find out where they're headed." Zero silently nodded. This could be their best lead to finding Sigma's base of operations. They got ready to step into action… but they wouldn't make it off the tower. An explosion hit, causing the structural base to collapse. Zero and Centipede quickly jumped off and near the bay before the entire thing collapsed.

"Yeah, that ain't happening!" said a voice. It was one they recognized and hoped they wouldn't hear again. It was Vile, his shoulder cannon smoking a bit. He had taken out the tower and was delaying them. "Vile. I never expected to see you being Sigma's lapdog. Do you want some bacon bits as well?" asked Centipede, coldly.

"Keep laughing all you want, Centipede." Said Vile. "But you won't be laughing once you're neck-deep in scrap! I'm only following Sigma out of convenience, but once I get what I need…" Vile didn't finish his own sentence. He instead unleashed three grenades at the pair, which they barely dodged. Magna Centipede threw five energy shurikens at the Maverick. Vile just tanked four of them and grabbed the fifth, then shoved it right into the chest of a charging Zero.

Zero screamed in pain. It should not have hurt so much, but Vile twisted the edges to increase the hurt tenfold. Centipede appeared behind Vile to strike, but Vile grabbed his arm and threw him right at Zero. Adding insult to injury, he threw two grenades at the pair and laughed manically. "Sleep tight, boys!"

Everything went dark for the pair afterwards. An explosion knocked them out; they were lucky to be alive after the endeavor. They awoke about five hours later. As they overlooked their surroundings, they found massive damage done to the docks, and many human resources departments tending to the wounded and attempting to repair the Sky Needle, the very heart of the Emerald City. But there was no sign of Vile, nor the Maverick-occupied ship. Their trail was cold yet again.

"Dammit! Another dead end!" cursed Zero. "Every time we get close to Sigma, he always slips away!"

"It's unfortunate, Zero, but its clear he wants to prolong us for as long as he can." Said Centipede. "If we can't find his base, this world may be done for. Perhaps we can find a different way of approaching…"

"Or… we could find someone that would know. I think I know a few people that may be able to help." Zero smiled. Centipede had a bad feeling about this, but they didn't have much options. Sigma needed to be stopped soon, or humanity was finished. The two were in agreement. They knew one of the first ones they could 'ask'.

TO BE CONTINUED….

(A/N: Well there you have it. I am not too fond of this particular chapter, but I hope you all liked it. I wanted to use Japan as the site for Zero & Centipede's scene, but Zeke preferred we stay in the URO occupied areas of USA, Europe, and Oceania. Thus I went for the next best thing in Seattle. Also, for the X5 boss names, I will use the North American names of almost all of them. Mattrex/Burn Dinorex will be among the exceptions, but I will definately keep Duff McWhalen. Anyway, please R&R and I will see you next time! Ciao!)