Axl had no trouble leaping from the top of one train car to another. His large, dark blue boots made clean contact at each landing, whether it was on one of the rectangular shaped storage cars, or even the cylindrical fuel containers. He kept his balance easily and was able to keep up with the rest of the Red Alert team. The blur of the city speeding by was not the least bit disorienting to him, and he found this mission thrilling. He could see Red at the front, with his large pointed shoulders, also moving gracefully across the top of the train. Hyenard also seemed to manage. After the last jump, Red turned to face his team.
"Hyenard, you take out the security team. Axl, decouple the train cars and prepare them to be taken away." Red pointed one edge of his double sided scythe at them as he gave out orders.
"What do you mean 'take them out'? These guys aren't Mavericks." Axl didn't like where this was going. The reploids on security detail for the military train were innocent. His emotion circuits outputted an uneasy feeling.
"This is a necessary sacrifice." When Red spoke so assertively, he looked menacing with the large scar across his face. "We need these weapons to fight the Mavericks. The Hunters are too weak to wield them effectively."
Hyenard had taken off in the opposite direction while Red was still responding to Axl. He was making a point that he himself did not question orders. This left no time for any more discussion. Although the present situation didn't feel quite right, everything was happening too fast. Red took a brief pause to glare at Axl, but then began to follow in Hyenard's direction without waiting for any further response. Axl, caught off guard by the unfolding of events, was paralyzed by indecision, and could not bring himself to say anything else before he found himself alone on the train car. He walked down to the end of the car and dropped down to the ledge at the bottom end, in the gap between train cars.
Axl felt that attacking non-Mavericks was crossing some kind of line. However, he felt like he was already past the point of no return and needed to act quickly to complete the mission. He forcefully turned the mechanism that was coupling the cars together until it popped open and the train cars began drifting apart. With a leaping dash, he moved from the car attached to the engine that continued to drive forward, to the car attached to the rear that was slowing down. He then hopped up to grab the edge of the roof and pulled himself up.
Upon climbing onto the roof, Axl was startled to see the intimidating figure of the heavily armoured, red reploid Zero, who's golden hair fluttered wildly in the rushing air. For some reason, Axl's second encounter with Zero filled him with terror as opposed to the excitement of the first encounter. However, Axl quickly regained his composure and his arrogance soon took over. He could take Zero. You've got to beat the best to be the best.
Zero paused only briefly to give the young looking reploid a look of disgust. He then dashed right past Axl and leapt onto the forward train of cars. Axl was amazed by this jump since, by this time, the two sections of the train had drifted quite a distance apart. The way Zero had dismissed him left him with a feeling of shame. Axl decided to stick to the plan, stay focused on the task at hand, and let Red and Hyenard deal with Zero.
Meanwhile, Zero lunged forward as his dash boots propelled him towards the front of the train. He could see Red standing in the distance with his swept back, short blonde hair. This time, Red Alert had really gone too far, and Zero would not hesitate.
Red had noticed Zero approaching and turned to face him. Zero positioned his legs in front of himself and slid to a graceful stop just ahead of Red, in a battle ready stance.
"Maverick or not, you've crossed the line, and I'm taking you down, Red!" Zero was thrilled with the prospect of the fight that awaited him.
"Mavericks run amok in the streets." Red spoke casually, but loudly to be heard over the rushing air and rattling of the train. "Every day they grow more numerous, better organized, with more brazen plans. It's all because of you and your weakness. You're an enabler, Zero. I'm doing this world a favour by removing you from it."
Red's severely offensive insults only added to Zero's excitement. He could finally have his duel with Red. Zero was not programmed to fear destruction, only to gladly put himself on the line when he was needed.
Zero decided to make the first move. He dashed towards his opponent and lashed out with the neon green plasma sabre. Red hopped over top of this horizontal swing. Zero continued with a series of strikes. Manoeuvring his scythe about with both hands, Red was able to block the attacks. The smooth buzz of the plasma sabre ended with a harsh grinding sound against the resistant metal alloy of the scythe. Red then quickly responded with a big swipe at Zero, who bent backwards to lean underneath the attack. Red spun the scythe around and immediately attacked with the other side. This time, Zero managed to get in close and grab the shaft of the weapon. The two struggled for a moment to wrestle for control of the pole. One end was close enough to Zero's face that he could see the sharpness of the reinforced blade ending at the deadly tip. Zero tried to shove his adversary around but neither Red nor his scythe would budge. Finally, shoving his opponent backwards, Zero let go and the two separated as they took a couple of steps backwards to regain their balance. Trying to seize an advantage, Zero dashed towards Red. Then leaping over him while rolling forward in a front flip, Zero spun his sabre around, attacking Red on the downwards stroke. With both hands, Red held his scythe horizontally over his head to absorb the spinning plasma blade. The sabre impacted the shaft of the scythe with a high pitched ping. Upon landing, Zero immediately turned around and took a large overhead swing with his sabre as he took a big step forward. Red sidestepped this attack and kicked Zero, making contact on his shoulder. Zero was sent hurtling sideways, off the edge of the train's roof. Using his dash boots, he propelled himself towards the side of the train car. Zero attached himself to the wall of the train, just above the blur of tracks that were speeding by. He wall-kicked back up over the roof line, immediately attacking with his sabre. Red took a big step back, out of the way.
And so the two manoeuvred about one another, exchanging strikes, each one potentially fatal. The risks of falling from the speeding train added to the challenge. Only the sound of metal crashing on metal could be heard over the rushing air, as well as the relentless thrashing of the plasma blade. Zero was invigorated with the thrill of battle, but also determined and focused.
Red attacked again with the spinning scythe, striking with both ends, one after the other. Zero dashed one way, then the other, struggling to stay out of the path of this deadly weapon. Looking up after his last evasive manoeuvre, Zero saw Red had thrown the scythe directly at him. Zero scrambled backwards, once again falling over the edge of the train car. The scythe landed on the roof, embedding itself into the thick metal exterior. Red grabbed the shaft of his weapon and gave it a strong jerk to free it from the train's roof. He stood to face the edge, hoping to strike Zero as he attempted to come back onto the top of the train, to knock him clear of the train. However, this time Zero emerged from the opposite side of the train, landing a kick on Red's back, sending him crashing down on the train's rooftop.
Zero, standing over his fallen adversary, prepared to dispatch him. Red seemed to focus on something behind Zero. Then Zero felt a strong force behind him, accompanied by a rush of extreme heat, knocking him down to his hands and knees. His temperature control system struggled, and drained him of his energy. Bright orange fire obscured his vision. Hyenard stood behind him, emitting flames from the nozzles all around his exterior.
"Send the command to retreat." Red was slow to get up.
As the Red Alert duo leaped from the train, Zero was too low on energy to give chase.
Still on his knees, Zero activated his communicator to send a message back to HQ. "Iris, the targets have abandoned the front train section."
"Copy that Zero. The Hunters have secured the rear section." Iris's voice came in clearly over the communication channel.
"Did they catch any members of Red Alert?" Zero, being low on energy, struggled to get these words out. "There was one on the rear section."
"Negative," replied Iris. "They didn't encounter anyone from Red Alert."
Zero wondered how Axl could have gotten away from the train completely undetected. Managing to stand up, Zero looked off into the distance. There was already no sign of Red and Hyenard. Zero could only see the sights of the city, moving by. He took some satisfaction in having bested Red in combat, even though Hyenard got the drop on him. Zero and the Hunters managed to defend the train and all of the weapons it contained, but Zero was annoyed that Red Alert had escaped their grasp.