Note: I don't believe there's an apology big enough for the total silence these past few months.
Still, I do wish to say that I am extremely sorry for the sudden drop in activity and updates.
There has been a string of difficulties and things that needed to get sorted out first, both outside of writing and in, and sometimes the two bled into each other. Yet, for now, I think I've found a place I'm comfortable at, so I hopefully can start being more consistent again.
The truth is, while this is an X-based story/series, I do have something of a "lore" of what happened before the events of this story and the others that'll follow it, one that I began to allude to in one side story I did. But, as I went back and forth between them, I found that it'd probably be better if the shorter of the two is summarized and referenced as opposed to having an entire narrative around it.
Don't get me wrong, I hope to do stuff relating to the Classic-verse before this story happened, but what was initially supposed to be a side "what if" scenario grew larger and more complex than what it started as. Not to mention tie to themes of this series as a whole, and some far-off but important plot points.
I won't say what those things are, but, yes, I will say, it's hinted at in this chapter, and the purpose of the two characters will be revealed.
With that said, very sorry again for the long hiatus!
Terrors of Above and Below
The Maverick's optics were motionless and unable to convey expression. Yet, given how he began to tremble in the red Hunter's grip, it was quite evident Goldminer was more than a little nervous to be in the presence of one who had gone through a guard or two to get here.
Probably somewhere a few miles back, torn to pieces.
"Y-You…!?" Goldminer stammered, Zero's blue eyes boring into the Maverick's visual receptors. "N-No! You can't be here! Not now!"
"Then the Reploid standing before you doesn't exist. Is that what you're trying to say?" Zero questioned, Goldminer unable to respond. "Your friends I met on the way over here are in a far better condition than you're going to be in if you don't cease this nonsense now."
"Hm? Are you offering me mercy?" the Maverick inquired, genuinely curious, but not entirely believing.
"Mercy would be convincing the Council to let you have a reduced sentence," the blonde Hunter answered. "That's something my partner would do," he said. "But he's not here. I am," he said with a low growl. "And I have no trouble accepting and admitting that I am NOT as kind as he is."
Goldminder began to struggle, bringing out a pickaxe similar to those wielded by the Dig Laborers and swinging it to the side, hoping to catch Zero's torso in its range. The red Hunter dodged the weapon's strike just in time, yet he could feel the force of the curved, sharpened instrument whoosh by, the wind being cut by its speed. Both Hunter and Maverick jumped back, staring the other down.
"It's up to you," Zero warned Goldminer. "If you end up on the other end of this buster, however, then you put yourself there."
Goldminer remained silent, yet his optics shifted, peering behind him. The tunnel, he thought. It's stored in the tunnel. I was going to use it on him anyway, Slowly, the Maverick began to back away, steps small but deliberate. Zero could tell what he was doing, yet he stayed in place, the possibility of Goldminer having an explosive or some other device on him crossing the fiery red Reploid's mind. "But I don't know if I can get there in time!
Silence fell in between the two, neither one making a move until the other did, yet it was clear that only one of them was steadily growing more and more nervous with time. Eventually, Goldminer could take it no more and made a mad dash for a large opening in the rocky wall, the darkness inside the enclosed tunnel carved into the mountain quickly absorbing the Maverick's form, rendering him unable to be seen the farther away he went.
Zero followed, his optics adjusting to the dense shadows ahead, yet, to his surprise, Goldminer managed to keep himself out of the red Hunter's reach. Impressive, yet he couldn't maintain that speed forever. Eventually, Zero knew that the coward would have nowhere to go.
Of course, that was then when the long-haired android heard an echoing, revving sound as if an engine was being turned on and run for the first time in a long while. At first, Zero didn't comprehend what it was, save for the fact that it was a rather sizable vehicle or machine.
It was then that he spotted an object slowly approaching in the distance, and as it drew a few centimeters closer, the red Hunter immediately left the tunnel, legs carrying him as fast as they were able to stand it. Even if he was able to achieve such speeds, pushing even just a little beyond those boundaries was somewhat straining on his internal components. But he could tend to the aches that would come later.
"Hey, what's going on?" Samantha questioned, noticing that, to her shock, her protector had a rather startled expression on his usually cool features.
"There's no time to explain!" Zero answered her, blue eyes wide with caution. "We have to get out of here! Now!"
"Why? What's-"
The violet-haired miner got no further before an ear-splitting symphony of torn rock and the hardened earth surrendering to the force designed to move it rang throughout the entire area. And, before she could even ask, she saw what was coming their way, yet she didn't even have time to respond in shock or scream, as she felt Zero seize her arm and pull her with him, several others following suit.
They had been rescued, but now would possibly never reach the surface alive.
Behind her, Zero, and the others that were now fleeing, Goldminer was situated in the driver's seat of a massive machine of bright blue, red, silver, and gold, despite the streaks of dirt on its surface, a long roller with sharpened spikes inserted throughout tearing up the earth beneath its wheels as its driver sped toward the hostages.
"Ha ha ha! Try and get away from this!" Goldminer cackled, optics spotting a switch on the Mole Borer's control panel. "Oh, that'll do nicely!"
Everyone heard the sound of some sort of projectile being loaded, but they didn't turn back out of fear that doing so would turn fatal. Regardless, a majority of those fleeing from the gigantic earth mover knew what was coming, and Zero wasted no time giving an order to everyone in earshot.
"Jump to the sides!"
There was no reason to not heed the red Hunter's words, the workers leaping out of the way as the missile came down, exploding the second it made contact with the ground. The area shook from the impact, rock splintering and flying in various directions, those that had avoided the shot trying to avoid the incoming pieces of earth coming their way. Zero spotted Samantha nearby and rushed over, seeing that she was on the ground and unmoving. Although, upon giving her side a firm shake, the violet-haired miner responded.
"Can you walk?" Zero questioned her, helping her to rise.
"I think so," she said. But their conversation was cut short by the sound of the Mole Borer coming their way yet again, the spiked tool at the head of the mobile machine tearing up the earth as it drew closer and closer, driving the vehicle in a loop, all the while firing missiles at whoever was unfortunate enough to be in the range of fire. "None of us are getting out of here with that thing running around!"
Zero watched the Mole Borer as Goldminer drove it, reveling in the wanton destruction he was causing. Soon, the hunter and escaping workers heard noises approaching from behind, several Dig Laborers making their way toward the area, having received the distress signal from the Maverick in the brief time he had during Zero's pursuit of him.
"Great," the blonde Reploid hissed, blue eyes narrowing at the troops coming their way. "This isn't going to work," he thought aloud. "They're coming at us from both sides," his optics then centered on the Mole Borer. "But that thing's going to have to be the first thing to go!"
Armadillo's Chamber
He had gotten this far, farther than the former Hunter would've believed. Indeed, had his opponent not been forced, he doubted that he would ever receive a chance such as this.
And, indeed, the higher-ranking Reploid began to truly see what both Sigma and Fujiwara had spoken of.
Still, the banded, mechanical mammal wasn't satisfied. Not quite. Still, his opponent, while increasing in his aggression and willingness to deliver blows that would bring the other Reploid down, there had yet to be that single, decisive move.
The move in a battle that would change everything.
"You have yet to take action," Armadillo stated, having finally lost his patience. "Your hesitancy is either out of naivety and foolishness or you are deliberately insulting me."
X paused, still aiming his buster at his opponent, yet he didn't fire. "The deal was that I defeat you in battle," the mostly blue Reploid responded. "It doesn't have to involve terminating you."
Armadillo shook his head with a growl. "You moron," he said. "Even if I intend for you to reach him, I will agree with Sigma on this," he narrowed his optics. "You're entranced by the same dream your creator beheld."
X paused. "Dream?"
"Before Sigma dropped the first round of missiles onto Abel City, he provided you with a test," the banded, mechanical mammal said. "A test of which you failed," X bit his lip, remembering the incident Armadillo was describing. "Your sentimentality prevented you from doing your duty, and, in turn, Sigma capitalized on your mistake. Although," Armadillo continued. "You did not turn your weapon onto Zero either."
That appeared to garner a reaction out of the blue Reploid outside of disappointment in his failure to utilize his full capabilities. "So, you're suggesting that you'd rather me shoot him than Sigma? Is that it?"
"You seem offended at that suggestion," the higher-ranking officer noted, catching X off guard. "But, would that not be your duty as a Maverick Hunter? To deal with Sigma or Zero as you have dealt with Penguin and Mandrill?" He paused. "And now, you have to deal with me?"
X said nothing. The blue Hunter's silence appeared to not be a suitable answer for his opponent. X found himself pondering if Armadillo took the non-answer as an outright insult, his expression growing sour. "Is it so wrong that I don't like using extreme measures?"
"It's denying the reality of what you are, what all of us are," Armadillo said. "Yet, back to the subject at hand," he redirected the conversation, seeing that the blue Reploid was trying to get out of it. "Your duty as a Hunter is to eliminate any potential threats to both human and Reploid kind, although there's more emphasis on the former," he noted before continuing. "And, compared to Sigma, wouldn't Zero be the more obvious target? Surely this occurred to you at least sometime during your confrontation with the Commander."
X's lip trembled. He knew he must've looked completely pathetic, yet, truthfully, this was a question he had recited to himself hundreds of times since it happened. True, even if Zero himself was thankful for X's restraint, the fact remained that, indeed, had Zero indeed been Maverick, the blue Hunter would've presented his partner an opportunity to not only take him out but Sigma as well.
"You couldn't do it," Armadillo concluded. "No matter whether it be the Commander or Zero "You wouldn't, not even if you were forced to. You could never eliminate someone on your own," he continued. "Penguin was done in by your buster, but only because you were left with no choice, and not taking that shot would be the same as spitting on Marth's grave," X remained silent, the banded mammal going on still. "And Sigma intervened to finish Mandrill for you," despite his weakened state, he still stood tall and proud. "But you shall not receive such from me," he told the blue Hunter. "You will defeat me," he then grew silent. "Not just for my pride as a soldier," he paused. "But for the future of us."
It was then that X spoke once again. If not because he could refute his comrade…former comrade, on something that he knew wasn't true. "Then why fight at all?" he questioned. "If, in your eyes, am obligated to defeat you for the sake of everyone else,"
"No, not everyone else," Armadillo interrupted. "That is another thing," he said. "You must lose this foolish notion that your creator shared," then, he sighed. "As did your predecessor."
Armadillo closed his eyes. "The delusion that man and machine can reside together in this world."
X's lips tightened. "And why is this notion so foolish, if it's part of the very foundation our processors are built in?"
The banded mammal released a low growl, although this display of irritation wasn't entirely directed at the blue Hunter. "I had planned to tell you upon mere moments where I meet my death at your hands, but it seemed that this information may be the only way for you to understand," before X could question what he meant, he spoke again. "Have you ever heard of an event referred to as the Robot Recall?"
Dig Site 3-D
Upon spotting the imposing and powerful vehicle their superior had taken control over, the small squad of Dig Laborers hesitated for a moment before going in on the blonde Hunter, Goldminer's maneuvering of the massive instrument was more than just a little reckless. Still, if they didn't heed his call for assistance, he probably would have a good enough reason to use it against them. If anything, perhaps they would have at least slightly better luck dealing with one of their own.
Even if that individual was someone who also had no problem blasting them.
Zero proved this point right, for as soon as the first of the five Mavericks flung his pickaxe in the Hunter's direction, Zero wasted no time and immediately went on the defensive. Then one that had thrown his weapon ducked out of the way of a charged shot, yet this allowed for one of the other Dig Laborers to come at Zero with his pickaxe, the sharpened instrument held high over his head and ready to be swung down into the other Reploid's metal flesh.
A quick duck and kick to the chest sent the Maverick back, resulting in more of the opposing forces moving in on the red Hunter. However, this sudden attack didn't last long as everyone began to feel the ground beneath them tremble, along with a loud continuous hum meeting their audio receptors.
"Get out of the way!"
Samantha's voice wasn't the sign needed to tell the others they were standing right in the way of danger, but it served its purpose of getting their attention, Zero and the small group of still-standing Dig Laborers turned to see that Mole Borer, or, more specifically, Goldminer, was coming right for them, the sizable, spiked roller meant to tear and crush through the very Earth itself ready to do the same to anyone opposing Sigma.
It was a close call, yet Zero leaped to the side to avoid the incoming vehicle, some Dig Laborers catching wind he had made a move and following suit. Yet, unfortunately, those few were the only ones who managed to escape what came next.
"Wait, stop!" Zero heard Samantha call out again, only, this time, her concern seemed to be for those who had previously been her aggressors.
To the shock of Zero and those who had followed him, Goldminer turned the Mole Borer around, clearly aiming for the blonde Reploid, yet, in doing so, he seemed to completely forget that there were others in the range of the massively driven mechaniloid. Or rather, he simply didn't care.
"No, wait! Wait!"
"Goldminer! Stop!"
"WE'RE STILL…!"
Every voice that protested against their superior was cut off, a sickening series of cracks and the twisting, bending sounds of metal being misshapen always following suit. And if not, they would eventually drown out the panicked cries and pleas to stop and for help as the roller came down, crushing anything in its way.
As well as anyone.
Zero and his small number of aggressors watched, the former in shock and the latter in horror, as Goldminer ran over each one of his fellow soldiers that stood in the way, not even providing them with the slightest moment to try and even make their escape. One by one, they were run down, the Mole Borer catching and flattening them all, some having their bodies crushed quicker than others, while some that had been caught halfway were trying in vain to dislodge themselves or even crawl away if the roller had managed to sever their stout metal forms in two. One Dig Laborer had managed to crawl a few feet away, hoping to reach one of his more intact comrades at least. Yet, the roller came down on his halved body, slamming down onto what was left of his midsection and moving forward, the spiked instrument attached to the semi-independent machine going until the Reploid's optics and other internal components quite literally burst from any opening available, rendering his face a frozen mask of shattered eyes and tangled cables and wires protruding out from the open areas created by his face surrendering to the pressure being applied.
The other Dig Laborers were horrified at what they had just witnessed, and decided to leave Zero to his fate, ultimately concluding that if someone was going to get flattened, better him than any of them!
Fine by me, Zero mused, watching the Mole Borer draw closer and closer to him. If anything, those clowns were just further embarrassing themselves.
Still, all the same, he knew that the massive vehicle, along with its driver, had to be stopped, lest there be more than just a few unfortunate Mavericks that would suffer under the literal crushing power of the spiked tearer of rock.
A fact that didn't appear to be lost on Goldminer, as his optics shifted to the unfortunate hostages, both Reploid and human, that stood a short distance away.
Armadillo's Chamber
"Robot Recall?"
Armadillo nodded. "It's not widespread knowledge," the banded mammal answered. "At least, not the details of all that occurred during the execution of said order," he said, silent for a few moments. "But, you could say that it, along with the incident that resulted in it being implemented, was the very reason that you spent the first few months of your life hiding from the world," he sighed. "Hiding from those that had the authority to terminate you."
X stood silently, all the while studying Armadillo in his current condition. Indeed, so far, the blue Hunter's strategy was working, even if the other Reploid wasn't aware of it. Or, perhaps he was, considering Armadillo himself was a follower of the "art of war" in a sense, even before Sigma decided to split and declare himself as humanity's adversary. Whatever the case, X just hoped that, whether his opponent was aware of it or not, he could execute what he had in mind. Then, maybe, just maybe, he would be able to win this battle the way he wished to.
"Then, if that's the case, how did you come to know of it?" he questioned Armadillo, all the while monitoring the energy he held for both Penguin and Mandrill's weapons.
As if in response, Armadillo was quiet, seemingly preparing for what he was about to tell his opponent. Indeed, he had his doubts on whether or not this would make any difference, but, if he weren't even made aware of why his life was so easy to snuff out before, then the former Hunter would be dooming not just X, but the entire Reploid race to possible extinction.
After all, was this battle's purpose not to test the other's resolve and prowess? These traits that he would later need for when he faced Sigma himself? For the unknown that would come afterward?
Indeed, X had to know. No matter how hard he would undoubtedly argue against it.
"As I'm sure you are aware, the discovery of your existence wasn't exactly met with awe and wonder," the banded mammal told the more demure, blue Reploid. "One of the first courses of action the human authorities were ready to take would be to destroy you," X's lips tightened, robbed of any counter for a good few moments. Indeed, as much as he hated it, there was no denying that he had probably never been closer to death than at that time. "Ironic, considering that those that came after you were mostly constructed for their protection, when, in truth, the humans could've put an end to all of us right then and there."
"They had never seen…something like Roll or I before," X argued. "It wasn't their fault. They weren't sure of what to do."
"But isn't it interesting what happened next?" Armadillo questioned. "Upon realizing just who constructed you, there was a collective shift," he said. "You and the Reploid prototype, so, perhaps that in turn makes you Reploids in name only. For, indeed, the systems of you and your initial companion were not put together in the same manner as the standard method for programming cerebral chambers truly echoed the one who came after you."
X lowered his eyes. "Some traits were carried over from Fujiwara's initial tests regarding my functioning abilities."
"But not the ones that you would've preferred," Armadillo retorted. "Indeed, even then, you regarded the combat data your creator installed into you to be worth next to nothing."
"That's not true!" X immediately argued. "I value everything that Dr. Light gave me!"
"Then that's all the more reason to be ashamed," the former Hunter stated. "The result of decades, maybe even centuries of research, from times where the humans couldn't even fully harness electricity, and yet B-Class level is the best you can do?" Armadillo paused. "No, that's not the best. Far from it," he narrowed his eyes. "It isn't even a fraction of what you can truly do."
X parted his lips to speak. "I wasn't intended to just go and release everything that Dr. Light-"
"Oh, but you were," the violet and golden mechanical mammal interrupted. "The position you're in, even if Sigma served as more of a basis regarding the more intricate details," he said, speaking with a degree of contempt directed at the smaller Reploid (in name only). As if his ignorance of such was nothing short of an insult. "You refuse to accept that you were fashioned with the ability to kill and destroy from birth," he said. "Something that those before us could never do."
X pondered if Armadillo was speaking of this "Robot Recall," yet he continued before the smaller Hunter could fully articulate it.
"Yet, before you, before even the mechaniloids, autonomous automatons lived and served among their organic creators, and they did so freely," the former Hunter stated. "Even after Dr. Light's first recorded model fled during the night; what data he had received was impressive enough to convince the Scientific Community to allow him to craft another machine. Albeit, one more adhering to the rules."
X was quiet for a short time, pondering if he should even add anything, yet, ultimately, for better or worse, what was in his head soon migrated to his tongue. "Rock, right?"
Armadillo nodded. "He was essentially the second in regards to creation, but first in what was accepted as the 'ideal' form of robotic life," a low growl emitted from him at that moment. "Although, whether you could consider what they had before 'life' is an argument all of its own."
"But Dr. Light-"
"Ultimately succeeded with you," Armadillo interrupted. "But, even then, it was because you were not like the others," he narrowed his optics. "You possess the best and most definitive qualities of both of his sons. Yet, the world would have indeed killed you, had you been discovered before Dr. Cain set out on one of his digs for ancient plant life," a small, amused huff came out. "Funny, considering that, while far from prehistoric, you and the fossils he coveted are both articles of a time long out of reach."
X wanted to respond, to retort, to say that the senior officer (well, former senior officer, as much as the fact still gutted him) was wrong, yet found himself robbed of any words that could form at least something of a halfway decent argument.
"Yet, there were two distinct flaws with both of your elder brothers. Well, the first two of many," Armadillo noted. "From the information we've read through, you're quite literally the 'baby' of the Light family in a sense," this fact appeared to be somewhat humorous to the banded mammal, yet whatever he found funny about it didn't last long, a glower soon replacing his small smile. "Yet, Light's first creations, even if I, you, all of us, perhaps owe a certain degree of respect to them considering that they were our…' ancestors' despite such ties being impossible for us," he said. "The first, his core was unstable and had the potential of combusting, if enough damage should be done to it. The second did not possess this problem, yet, even then, one could say that, despite becoming the face of Light Labs, as well as the figurehead for all forms of mechanical existence at the time, his predecessor was the first, true example of a living creature, just without skin or blood."
"What do you mean?" X questioned. While he was still primed for Armadillo to make a move, he couldn't help but feel that the former Hunter was trying to bring him to some sense of clarity. At least, what the now-dubbed "Maverick" saw as clarity.
"The first," Armadillo continued, "He vanished off the face of the Earth. Last he was seen, there were reports of strangers from the stars that came to the planet," he informed X. "At the behest of their parent, whom Light's creations had slain together when the world went dark," he paused. "The self-proclaimed Children of the Moon."
Children of the Moon? A familiar twinge of Deja Vu came to X, although all he didn't recognize the name. Rather, the concept of 'children' triggered a collection of data fragments to come together and form yet another memory that he wasn't even aware he had. A recording of seeing the heavens light up in nine select areas above the Earth, figures that had somehow entered into the dark, hidden chamber made just for him in Light's home, and the offers that they had for him.
True, it was clear that they would take him regardless, their faces indiscernible and unable to be seen clearly through the memory file, and their voices were little more than garbled speech and electronic sounds, yet the message they had for him was one that, now that he knew it, he couldn't forget it.
As X was reminiscing, albeit somewhat forcibly, of this short yet poignant event, Armadillo continued speaking. "The first of Light's creations had freedom over his mind,"
"This world is too small for the likes of you."
"The second was granted immense power and strength for the sake of stopping his creator's former friend,"
"The organic creature only created you by pure accident. He cannot truly nurture you, allow you to be what you truly are."
"Yet neither of them compare to you, to us."
"Our Parent can give you so much more. With Him, you can truly be all that you are meant to be."
"Because, unlike them, Dr. Light provided you with a very special set of regulations. A set of limits. Limits, ultimately, are those you hold yourself. For, the truth is, your restrictions, your inhibitions, they're not like the others. You were not like the others. The others the Recall came after."
"And what's the great difference?" X questioned the images of the shadows surrounding him, beckoning for him to come with them still in his mind. And, regardless if he saw one figure speak, a tall shape with a surprisingly long yet flowing and rather beautiful mane of green hair parting his lips to address him.
Yet, as he spoke, Armadillo's voice seemed to meld with his, as if the message both had to give, despite the vast separation in time between then and now, still rang just as true before as it did in this current moment.
"You have the soul of one, yet the power of another," they said in unison. "You are both a display of Light's wish to provide life, yet of his skill with living weapons," then, they spoke only a few words that, despite the message perhaps proving obvious, still rattled X's core. "But are free from the chains of each. Therefore, your potential greatly outweighs theirs. In fact," Armadillo and long-haired figure's voices melted into one another, X scarcely unable to separate or tell the difference between them. "It is outright limitless."
Dig Site 3-D
There he was!
Goldminer's optics spotted the flash of red in front of him, along with a wave of gold that seemed to follow with each step, further adding to the other machine's almost "regal" appearance. As if the Hunter was presenting him with a display of his best qualities before he rendered the Maverick into little more than scrap metal. Oh, it only served to further infuriate him.
"Don't want to move, pretty boy?" Goldminer taunted, drawing closer and closer, the revolving, collective of the tank's wheels continuing to flatten the ground as the Mole Borer was driven in Zero's direction.
And the Hunter just continued to stand there.
Arrogant bastard, Goldminer inwardly hissed. Fine! He'd give this guy something to really be proud of! "All right then!" the Maverick shouted, closing in on his target. "Let's see if your face is still good-looking when it's crushed under thousands of pounds of pressure right to the surface!"
With that, he slammed his boot onto the gas and sped forward, eagerly awaiting the sound of limbs being crushed and flattened, along with maybe the last remaining cries of the blonde jerk before he saw fit to finish him off by cracking his head open with the spiked roller.
Unfortunately, such events appeared to not be in the eyes of Fate, for, at the last second, to Goldminer's bewilderment and shock, the crimson Hunter leaped upward and, with a seemingly effortless flip in midair, landed right in front of the masked Maverick, Goldminer jolted back in the driver's seat, Zero standing above him. He reached forward but was stopped by a red and white boot centering itself on the Maverick's chestplate, keeping him from making it to the controls, as well as keeping him in place.
The blonde's lips curled into a confident smirk, eyes of contrasting, icy blue staring down into the thickened lenses of his enemy's protective eyewear. "Now then, young man," Zero began, tone lecturing and somewhat condescending, as if he were an instructor correcting a child's intolerable behavior. "I know I'm not exactly your parent, but even I think that this toy might be just a little too big for you to play with, wouldn't you say?"
Goldminer's face was concealed beneath a protective mask and goggles, yet it didn't take much for Zero to deduce that he had become quite livid from that remark. "You…!" the other Reploid hissed, bringing out a pickaxe similar to those wielded by the Dig Laborers and swinging the sharpened end to where he hoped to strike the Hunter's ankle joint.
Yet, again, it appeared that luck wasn't on his side, the long-haired Reploid leaping back, but against the control panel itself, blocking access to the various switches and modules used to power and maneuver the machine.
"This has already gone on long enough," Zero said. "Seeing as the last few squads of your men weren't so lucky, I'd suggest you quit while you're ahead," he warned his opponent. "Especially while you still have a functioning processor."
Damn, he was in a corner! And the red bastard knew it too! Still, as infuriating as the blonde-haired Hunter was at the moment, Goldminer was aware that he couldn't afford to let Zero get the upper hand. Still, what could he do?! How could he get himself out of this?!
Wait.
"Oh really?"
Zero's demeanor shifted, the Maverick having conjured up something in his mind.
"Well then, that might be so," Goldminer admitted. "But, would the conditions be the same if I directed my arsenal at someone else?"
It was at that moment Zero realized what he meant, yet, by then, regrettably, it was too late.
With a swift and sudden turn that, while not incredibly fast, the transition from moving in a single direction to experiencing a shift in perspective was enough to catch the red Hunter off guard, allowing Goldminer to deliver a right hook to the underside of Zero's jaw, sending the blonde back and plummeting to the ground.
The landing wasn't exactly pleasant, yet the Reploid knew that his current state would be nothing compared to the destructive force that awaited the Maverick's new targets.
"I admit, I might not be able to kill you," Goldminer called back over his shoulder, the collection of his soon-to-be victims reflecting on the surface of his visor.
The first of them, a miner with long, violet hair spotted the incoming Mole Borer, the Maverick at the helm revealing as the spiked wheel came crashing down, splintering the solid rock beneath the massive vehicle. With her scream alerting the others, everyone began to take off, yet they would soon find that they had underestimated the rate at which the mammoth machine could keep up.
"But I think I can at least get one or two of them!"
Armadillo's Chamber
The figures surrounding him vanished from sight, X's senses reminding him that, in the present, he was still inside a secluded chamber in the mine, still battling against his former fellow Hunter and ally. Former…friend.
Even if it was the truth, it still felt bitter and disgusting on his tongue.
Regardless, Armadillo's voice brought him back from his reminiscing, yet X held the same question for both him and, in a sense, the shapes he had witnessed in his CPU. "Limitless?" X questioned. "In what way?"
The banded mammal narrowed his eyes. "Don't take me for a fool," he growled. "And you need to stop playing the fool altogether. You know exactly what I speak of," he answered as if he were an instructor lecturing a struggling student. "Fujiwara spoke of it to the Council, and Dr. Cain could see it as well, even if he was less insistent on putting that potential to use," he added. "He knew what you were, the pinnacle of all robotic creation at the time of your birth, not your awakening," he clarified, then paused, eyes scanning over the smaller form of his adversary. "Dr. Thomas Light's masterpiece."
X stiffened. "I think the Doctor would've seen me as an equal to his other children," the blue Reploid retorted. "He wanted even the one who believed didn't want him to come home…"
Armadillo huffed. "Hmph, and here I believed that you were the greatest in all areas."
X raised a brow. "Care to explain?"
"You possess both the abilities and programming of your predecessors, but without the flaws they were crippled with."
"I don't understand how you could consider either of them crippled," X responded. Even if he was genuinely puzzled by Armadillo's words, those words were a thinly veiled insult.
"The first creation that fled the laboratory suffered from an unstable nuclear core, of which was steadily growing more and more reactive. And the other, while far more functional than the other, not to mention less fragile, lacked the cognitive means to be like the one he was modeled after. In short, you hold the powers of DLN-001, but the mind of DLN-000. In short, he, you, us, we are what Dr. Light wished to see. Whether it be made of flesh or metal, he wished to see us living as his kind did. He wished to see…" he then paused, lowering his head. "...life."
X was taken aback by this. But before he could respond, Armadillo continued.
"But, for all of your advancements, for our improvements over the previous generation, you have made a vow to never use them," his eyes then fell on the other Hunter's buster. "Specifically what your creator provided for you all in that single component."
X frowned, biting his lip. "Is there anyone that understands there's more to me than how well I can shoot?"
"It is your most vital feature, whether you like it or not," Armadillo answered. "Without it, you would have been dead a long time ago. But, then again, without the fact that you're the last of Light's creations left, you would perhaps probably try to find any excuse to not make use of what is just as much a part of you as your processor."
"I'm not the last," X retorted. "There's-"
Armadillo cut him off. "The prototype Fujiwara developed is little more than a computer in a fragile shell," he told his opponent. "She is not relevant."
"Fujiwara wouldn't have known a thing about my systems, let alone if they could be replicated, had it not been for Roll," X retorted. "And, according to Dr. Cain, her presence was perhaps what influenced the Council's decision to not…" he paused.
"Not what?" the banded mammal opposite of him questioned.
X remained silent for a few moments. "Well, seeing us, together…" he began. "Maybe…that was enough to change their minds."
"Enough to where they realized they could use Light's design for themselves," Armadillo countered. "Hence, they allowed, no, they demanded, that Fujiwara show them such. Thus, Sigma was made as their answer to you. A more…modern take on what had been considered long lost. Or rather, forbidden," his eyes then narrowed. "Because the truth of the matter is, the humans were considering killing you when you were first dug up, yes?"
X was rendered silent by that response.
"Indeed," Armadillo sighed. "Even, the Recall has shaped everything for our kind."
"Just what IS this Robot Recall?" the mostly blue Reploid inquired. "Where did you even hear about such a thing anyway?" he continued. If not just to divert the topic from his near-death experience just moments after his rebirth. "Better yet, what does that have to do with what's going on now?"
"Everything," his larger opponent answered. "The events occurring at this moment serve to confirm that organic life cannot live with us," he then positioned himself, body worn down and growing sore, yet he wasn't done.
No, not until X took him down.
"But we've spent too much time talking. You will not delay this battle any longer."
"Tell me about the Recall!" X shouted, yet his command was met with a frustrated bark from Armadillo.
"Enough! No more talk! You WILL face me, and you WILL bring me down by your hand!"
"The Recall!"
"Defeat me first!" Armadillo shouted back. "But, I shall impart one detail, if not just to satiate your thirst for knowledge," he then huffed. "When it occurred before our time, there was nothing those affected could do," he said, a somberness in his voice, something X had never heard from him before. "But now," he said. "We no longer have to fear such things. We can, without any restrictions, take our proper place in the world," he paused. "Or, you might say, we are finally able to freely evolve."
X knew what Armadillo told him, but he couldn't leave it at that. There was far more to this than what was being told to him. However, it seemed, that to get those answers, he would have to adhere to the Maverick's demands for a fight.
"And, most of all," he said before curling his body into a tightly packed ball of steel, the rounded form barrelling right for the smaller, blue Reploid. "Should it come to it, we now have the power to do to the humans what they did to those that came before us!"
Dig Site 3-D
"Hurry! Run! It's coming!"
While her observation perhaps didn't need vocalizing, Samantha couldn't stop herself from verbally warning those around her of the incoming danger quite literally at their heels. From behind, Goldminer drove the Mole Borer closer and closer to the hostages fleeing for their lives, both Reploid and human.
From behind the wheel, Goldminer himself kept on, optics concealed behind a thickened visor targeting the running figures desperately attempting to outrun him and his machine. The thought of it gave him a sense of satisfaction, the sight of their panicked faces and cries to run or for someone to help them, fulfilling a part of himself that he wasn't even aware he possessed until recently. True, at the rate he was going, the limits of the vehicle were being tested, yet he was determined to not let them escape. He wouldn't let a single one of them leave this place alive.
He was finally in a position where he had control! He decided what could and would be! He had power over the very existence of those literally beneath him! Finally, at long last, he was no longer a tool! A prop! An object for a bunch of damned, furless apes to order around!
He was free!
Truly free!
And his first act of true freedom would be taking the freedom of these fools! Every single one of them!
Further up ahead, whatever their pursuer was thinking wasn't at the forefront of Samantha's processor, the thundering sounds of rock being torn and shattered by the massive roller blaring in her audio receptors, serving to remind her of the current danger she and everyone else was in at the moment. From her position, the Reploid saw that she was near the front of the group, her kind more or less able to take dominance over the head while the humans lagged. True, some of the more fit and athletic of their kind had managed to keep up with them for a short time, yet even their energy wasn't everlasting, they too eventually falling back with the rest of the stragglers.
And not long after that discovery, the worst happened.
The lower sides of the Mole Borer suddenly parted, panels splitting to reveal a concealed pair of cannons, parallel to each other, and, if they weren't ready to fire yet, they would be in due time. The initial purpose of the explosives was to loosen and split apart earth too dense for standard tools or machinery, yet now, they served to be tools of death.
In the corner of her eye, Samantha witnessed one of the human workers, the elderly man who had to be tended to some time before, collapse to the ground, his legs unable to carry him any further.
It was a split-second decision, yet, in all honesty, she had some time, ironically enough, to truly think of her decision. Samantha, along with the others of her kind were in just as much danger as the humans were. Technically, according to the Three Laws, she and, in turn, they, would be well within their rights to try and escape with their lives. Yes, the first two Laws explicitly dealt with preserving the condition of humans, first not to harm, and then to adhere to instructions and directions given to them, yet the third did allow for her and the others to enact self-preservation.
And, in truth, logically, the situation at hand wouldn't involve her violating any of those Three.
Goldminer was guilty of breaking the first, having committed such an act on an organic being, yet he had proven he was willing to go the extra step without any hesitation. Yet she and everyone else? Quite frankly, she didn't see a way out of this. She and everyone else, man and machine, were threatened by the incoming Mole Borer, and thus, the Third Law applied in this case, for they too had the right to preserve themselves from harm. The humans were as good as dead at this rate, and not through any fault of theirs.
What came next would simply be inevitable. Unfortunate, yes, but, ultimately, unstoppable. There was nothing she or anyone else could do.
Nothing.
Nothing.
…nothing.
His senses had all but left him, yet the low hum of the massive semi-automated mechaniloid still rang in his ears. This was it.
It was all over.
Not just him, but humanity as a whole.
These thoughts, along with the regret of how his grandchildren back in Arcadia would be left to fend for themselves when the Mavericks spread beyond Abel City filled his mind. The very notions he conjured up were terrible and tasted of bitter poison with a semi-sweet edge as if tauntingly likening itself to cough syrup. Similar in taste, yet one was ultimately beneficial for your health in times of need. His, however, was nothing short of toxic and burning to the throat, as well as whatever else the horrendous liquid touched.
It tasted like raw mercury coating that steadily soaked into the flesh of his tongue. And the smell was just as sickening.
The overwhelming darkness that threatened to take him any second was mere inches away, and he steadily waited for it to come, the sounds of the approaching Mole Borer coming ever closer.
Only, it never reached him.
True, a thick veil of black robbed him of any ability to see, yet the sudden pressure of crushing weight against his aged body never met his weakened form, yet he didn't have much time to wonder as to why, for unconsciousness took the old man the second he realized he was no longer in danger.
Although, the same couldn't be said about those further ahead.
She had just barely made it.
The span between the time she turned around to when she managed to scoop the old man up was little more than a few seconds, yet that still was almost just a few moments too many as the spiked wheel of the Mole Borer missed them both at the very last second, the machine's driver spotting the two that had managed to do the near-impossible.
However the same couldn't be said about those further ahead.
The explosives contained within the cannons were fired, and the impact was immediate and terrible. Those at the very front of the group, the Reploids, those of both Goldminer and Samantha's kind, were engulfed in flames as the force ripped their bodies apart, sending pieces of burning metal and scattered pieces of bits and bolts, along with fried circuitry in several directions. The suddenness of it all served to cause the humans and the few remaining Reploids to halt to avoid both the flames and dislodged components, but no one stayed in one place for long, resuming running away, only now, to the side instead of forward.
Still, as some observed, the Mole Borer had been turned elsewhere, the focus on its driver seemingly on two stray figures that had fallen behind.
Further from that, another shape had begun making its way to the scene, although, as he sped along closer to the Maverick and his death machine, he noticed that the launched explosives had jostled more than just the ground beneath his feet. Several pieces of rock and small boulders, some sharper than others, littered the area.
And while this made navigation somewhat taxing and time-consuming, he didn't discount the possibility that perhaps, eventually, these chipped-off pieces of earth could prove useful.
Samantha had taken her human charge a short distance, yet found her balance taken from her by the sudden slam of the mighty roller, its spikes creating shockwaves that jostled her off her feet and sent her to the ground. The elderly human in her grasp emitted a pained groan when his far frailer form quite literally bounced off the hardened rock below, his body rolling the next few moments until he once again went still.
The violet-haired worker rushed to his side, gathering him up to a standing position before she and her charge were enveloped in an opposing, immense shadow.
Looking upward, her optics caught something flash in Goldminer's visor, an intense reaction hidden away from view, yet the depth of the emotion could be felt. He gazed down at her and the old man, still and with the roller raised high above them, ready to come down at any given moment. And yet, he didn't. He sat there, still, watching, seemingly taking in what was before him.
What it reminded him of, what it represented…it infuriated him.
"Even now," Goldminer hissed. "You still follow those damned regulations."
He had to get rid of it.
Only, he was robbed of the chance to destroy the two himself.
A flash of red and gold manifested before the three, holding a sizable object in his hands, one of the several stalactites that had fallen, one that seemed perfectly fit for the opening in the cannon's barrel.
Before Goldminer could either bark an order not to do it, or even a plea half-disguised as a threat, Zero thrust the slab of rock into the nozzle, just at the very moment the Maverick planned to release yet another missile, intercepting him just in time. Before Samantha or the old man knew it, they flew as the Hunter dashed off with them, leaving Goldminer to contend with the now blocked and quickly overheating Mole Borerer.
He turned the machine and decided to fire from the other open cannon, yet a sizable shard was thrown in his direction, the rock resting within the confines of the tightly packed nozzle.
The reaction was instantaneous.
The impact of the missiles couldn't compare to the release of energy contained within the machine, the Mole Borer quite literally blowing apart in a mighty display of smoke and fire, the vehicle's driver having just escaped moments before he would've surely been caught in the explosion and probably rendered in an even worse state than the Mole Borer. The Maverick glanced back to see that the vehicle was destroyed with no hope of ever reconstructing it, the blocking of the missiles quite literally causing itself to tear its very foundation in half.
Still, despite the loss, Goldminer at least managed to avoid certain death.
Yet, that notion soon proved false when he saw a shape cross the continually rising sea of flames, the fire seemingly camouflaging someone in their beautiful mixture of reds and golds before they emerged, fully revealing themselves. And, he too, was red and gold.
Goldminer made a break for it, dashing through the entrance that led to a deeper portion of the mine, his audio receptors registering someone else following him close behind.
"Huh," he observed from the thick shadows cast by the formations of stone. "Looks like the Packrat's got his pest to deal with."
The figure cloaked in complete absence of light watched as Goldminer ran for what was surely his very life, a red flash following a short time later.
"Looks like Zero gave him a head start," he witnessed. "But I can work with that," he then resumed the journey he had initially been on, climbing his way upward and higher, high to the very top, to the very center.
To where "he" would be.
"Hm," the figure chuckled, a single, red eye illuminating a small space around his shrouding headpiece. "With luck, he won't be able to pull it off," he continued to walk, a hand running its digits across the smooth surface of the cannon attached to his shoulder. "No worries though," he then allowed a small laugh to be expressed. "After this, everyone's going to see that X isn't so special."
Armadillo's Chamber
His strategy was working. Finally, at last. He wasn't entirely sure when he first decided to execute it, yet, as foolish as it was, something he knew Zero would chastise him for later, X had to try it.
For whatever sentimental and bleeding heart-motivated reason, he had to at least attempt it. For Armadillo's sake, and the sake of the others. And he had to do it now, otherwise he wouldn't get another chance.
"Why…" his opponent wheezed, evidently quite exhausted, but still refusing to admit defeat. "Why do you refuse to finish me off?!"
X was quiet for a few moments, putting the next phase into action. "Who says I'm not?"
Armadillo paused for a moment, about to deliver a high-powered punch in X's direction, yet, before he could reach the smaller Reploid, he found his body growing surprisingly heavy. Not to mention weak.
"How do you feel?"
Feel? What did have to do with anything? What worth did any pretentious self-righteous faux concern have here?! Armadillo was about to bark at X's inquiry, yet found himself forced to reflect on his former ally's words. Indeed, compared to when he started, there had been some significant changes since the battle first began.
While X had indeed been using his buster against the metallic mammal, Armadillo had taken note that he had not entirely utilized his original weapon's energy. Rather, to his confusion, he had mainly stuck to mostly relying on Chill Penguin's Shotgun Ice, taking every chance possible to blast him directly in the chest, the freezing sting of the concoction of energy and sub-zero chemicals far from pleasant, yet it wasn't enough to keep Armadillo down.
At least, that was what he had first assumed.
As the battle dragged on, much to his frustration, the former member of the Eighth Armor Unit found that, since losing his namesake protection, albeit by choice, instead of destroying him right away, his opponent had slowly been wearing down his strength. Not obvious at first, in fact, perhaps X was counting on Armadillo's growing impatience with him as a cover to continue putting the plan into action.
He had been duped.
This realization, although Armadillo was shocked at the other Reploid enacting such a tactic, the fact he had been essentially strung along and essentially played with served to produce one last ounce of fiery rage, this overwhelming sensation somewhat warming his freezing core, allowing him to bend his body and transform into a rolling sphere, his target left with little room to escape his wrath.
The entire chamber became a thundering, noise-filled space of splintering rock, high-speed, and mass forcibly asserting its superiority over the earth itself, and, in the midst of each of these destructive, terrible displays of destruction, was the attempt to force the smaller of the two machines to act. The aforementioned meeker of the dueling Reploids ducked and dodged at every available second, all the while watching the banded mammal's movements as he continued to move.
"Strike me!" Armadillo roared. "Strike me, you coward!"
X didn't respond, kneeling and taking his forearm in his grasp. As if he were examining the appendage itself. And it was in this haze of frustration and rage that Armadillo failed to realize just what his opponent was doing.
The former Hunter stopped, uncurling himself and standing upright, albeit just barely. Yes, he hadn't fallen yet, but it was clear that he was teetering on reaching the limit of his strength. Even if it was a maneuver that he implemented himself, forcing X to strip his enemy of their defenses, since the loss of his armor, Armadillo had taken quite a beating against his outer shell, the violet metal battered and bruised in various areas, as well as some patches covered in ice crystals or singed from high-voltage electricity. Still, the killing blow had yet to be delivered.
Well then, if that was the case, he would wait no longer. He charged, fist raised and ready to deliver a right hook to the underside of the insolent blue idiot's jaw!
"STRIKE ME-?!"
It was in those brief seconds between when his voice was cut off and the sudden onslaught of shocking fire assaulting his systems, his entire world was consumed by blinding, hot white light, then total darkness, light again. His optics flashed in and out, yet, in his agony, he realized just what had happened.
How he had allowed himself to fall into yet another one of the smaller one's traps.
When the light died down, Armadillo's vision blurred, error messages flashing before him, alerting his CPU of extreme external damage to the entirety of his systems, particularly regarding free movement. Yet, despite his failing eyes, the Maverick saw X's buster against his chest, small surges of raw electricity still sparkling around the cannon.
Drawing the weapon away, X saw Armadillo fall to his knees, heavy whirring and a low, continuous hum emitting from his core heard from even within his densely constructed form. "... congratulations," the higher-ranked Hunter (former Hunter anyway) told the more youthful-faced humanoid. "There is nothing more to say," he wheezed, internal components torn between a state of paralyzing cold or burning heat, Penguin and Mandrill's weapons still doing a number on him. "Your reward…lies behind the waterfall," he said, glancing towards the northern wall, the rock formations splitting apart to reveal the massive wave of roaring water that had been present for the entire fight. "This gift…the Doctor's work…it is…not like those…you found…before."
X was about to question what Armadillo meant, but he didn't get the chance to ask, the Maverick continuing his speech.
"I…do not understand it," Armadillo confessed. "Neither does Sigma…or Fujiwara," he muttered. "...not even Cain knows."
X caught the utterance of the human's name instantly. Again, however, before he could get a word in, Armadillo spoke for him.
"Yes," he answered. "He is alive. Although…" he paused. "...I cannot guarantee his safety…for an indefinite period," he continued, sensing what X was going to inquire about next. "He is being held in Sigma's Base. Although…" he paused. "I…am unaware of its current location."
Weakly, the Maverick lifted his arm, gesturing to the thick, dense veil of flowing water. "Yet…with this…" he stammered, steadily losing consciousness. "You…will…be able to…understand."
A few moments of silence passed between them until, at least, X found his voice. "Understand what?"
Armadillo sighed, letting his eyelids flutter. "Your creator's…true purpose for you. What you must harness…to fight."
Then, he fell.
His head hit the ground, his body went still, and running cables and wires were beginning to shut down. The world began to grow dark, color fading from view and sound robbed from his audio receptors. His senses were all steadily stripped away until he was left with nothing but a lightless abyss that not even the ground beneath him could separate him from.
Still, as he slipped into this state, Armadillo couldn't help but wonder if he had misjudged the phenomenon of death.
If he didn't know any better, it felt almost akin to naturally slipping into recharge.
Note: No, don't worry, the fight with Armadillo IS indeed over. X has won the battle, and that won't go on any further. I will try to update as soon as I can as this was slowly becoming a 10K+ long document, and while I'll admit I am a little slow, what I cover I want to be given the attention it deserves.
Thus, next time, we hear more of the capsules, Goldminer, and this Robot Recall.
Once again, very sorry for the wait! Thank you all so much for your patience, and I hope to hear from you all! Please alert me of any errors you catch that I may have missed!