(This story contains dark and mature themes, including robotic gore, violence, swearing, nihilism, among others)
("Megaman X" belongs to Capcom)
For All of Dragonkind: The Day of Reckoning
Chapter 1: Hanger 13
It was sunny outside.
The Sun rose above the horizon, either burning into and heating up or simply reflecting upon the massive airbase. The place had both typical colors along with outlandish ones, either bright green and dark blue or purple, or just plain silvery. Even some of the aircrafts shared the bizarre and out of place color scheme, with yellows added into the mix this rather unique designs.
But the looks didn't exactly matter, as long as its functions were at their peak.
Afterall, one could look at these ships and dormant machines and know instantly who they belong to and what their purpose is.
For protecting the city against all and every threat known on Earth in this day and age.
If it failed, then the entirety of the populace was vulnerable to the air, which meant, well, anywhere.
As such, it needed to be heavily guarded and kept secret, or else possible enemies may take advantage to plot against not only this great city that was the origin of such expansion of Humanity and evolution in technology, but the world as well.
And one of the people in charge of protecting this place and the planet at all costs was walking into a rather vacant part of the base.
They were bipedal and resembled, well, a bird of some sorts.
With a yellow beak and their eyes on both sides of their head bordered by red and bordered again with yellow with a shape akin to a boomerang or bow, they wore a helmet of a shade of deep violet with a very finely shaped green gemstone in the middle of it in between and right above their eyes.
They wore armor of some sorts. It had the same dark purple color with what appeared to be vents on both sides of the chest. There was also an extension that appeared to be a thick triangle-shaped fin covered by blue on top that ended with the end of their torso, but with lined yellow making up the bottom, connecting with a red ring on their waist.
Afterall, as one of the sky, such things were required to ensure maximum performance and condition.
The shoulder pads were the same color but in a "V" shape, with the same divided yellow making up the inside, creating the armor they wore that completely covered the joint, which was round and white. Extending from the shoulders were black arms that ended in different limbs.
The left connected to a rounded gauntlet of the same dark lavender with the banana-colored pattern once again on the inside and towards their body. This led to a white hand that appeared to be gloved, although it's always been like that.
The right was a different story. It didn't end in something like a hand at all, but an air cannon. It definitely overshadowed the size of his other limb, starting in a purple cup before going a metallic, inorganic look in the shape of a cylinder, with red tubes lining the middle and dark green dots on the outer part angling inwards, leading to the inside, a core of the deepest emerald.
With black lower regions and upper legs, they had the same scarlet rings on where their knee joints would be. However, the rest of the leg led to the light blue extension like armor would have traditionally, leading to the same familiar violet shade on the rest of the foot except the beehive-like yellow shape on the heels and ankle. This ended in two long golden bird talons emerging from the front and one in the back, providing great traction.
And to top it all off, on their back was a pair of massive sword-like wings with a lighter shade of purple with the tips being blue. Folded, they were bent with a yellow bolt connecting the joint.
With their armored feet, they walked into a less guarded part base for patrol. While there were more guards around this place, like all people, they couldn't do everything at once.
And for who and what they were, they were perfectly capable of dealing with any intruders, for he was built to.
They had the reputation not only as a warrior, but as a leader, and to not withholding to the standards of the defenders they looked after and their creator meant that he may appear to be malfunctioning. And protecting the world regardless of if they survive or not was top priority above all.
As such, before commencing a rigorous search of the facility under the gaze of their optics, they raised their right arm, touching the cannon to the side of their helmet.
With such advancement of technology, there was no static to speak of in terms of interference, so they had no problems at all whatsoever for communication for the organization they worked for.
They heard a rather emotionless, but very calm feminine voice of a rather higher pitch on the other side for confirmation why they were calling to begin with.
This is mission control. Who is speaking and what is your report?
As a response, they looked to their right to scan the massive, close, and adjacent hanger and through the glass window as they spoke in a calm and collected deep masculine voice that exuded leadership and confidence.
"This is Eagle. I am finishing up patrols for the day in Section R-13 East, over."
They, no, he, waited a few moments for the one on the other side to speak.
It was but a moment before he heard that female voice once more.
Finish your search Eagle and return to base when you are done. Be careful.
"Alright then. Eagle out."
He returned to his gaze forwards to the left a bit to the massive and overly long airstrip for aircraft to land with inspections and to care for them, whether they needed fuel or repairs, however big or small the offensive vehicle or machine was.
Afterall, incidents of not only machines, but also mechanical beings going berserk have been happening quite a lot lately. It never hurt to be cautious and take extra measure to prevent such a thing.
It was completely bare as they had no vehicles that were active in the zone or were unused. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except…
A figure…
It was next to unnoticeable to the naked landing strip and actually stood out with their bright blue coloration with some whites and something else shiny that captured the attention of his optics.
He assumed that they were simply producing an error caught by his very complex mechanical brain, but the problem was that it wasn't immobile.
While it stood still, he found that it moved, suggesting that it was either a worker here or… something…
It did look… outlandish to say the least with the robotic being's optic sight. That shape and mix of colors with the faint shape of their outer appearance wasn't a mechanical employee here.
No, it wasn't…
If not, then what could it be?
Could it be…
The bird-like machine, with his right arm lowered, watched the figure walk out of his vision, obscured by the hanger in front of himself.
What…
What was this?
He sought to find out, for this place seemed rather quiet, and seeing one in the middle of empty space got his brain circuits working on possibilities and the semblance of ideas.
As one with the sky, he operated his two wings to open up, and, with a few flaps with his high-powered jets, he buffeted air to gain some height.
It was barely a few seconds before he was in the open air above, with a quiet glide once he got over some of the buildings in his way. His body was at a slightly downwards angle with his wings straight behind.
Well, this was bound to be interesting…
As one who haven't caught anything out of order the last large chunk of areas, this was going to be intriguing…
He drifted in the air until he flapped a bit, his body lining itself to the ground as his talons finally found purchase and refolded his wings.
He saw them, or he to be specific, at least in his outwards look.
It was…
It was a human!?
What was a human doing here?
Didn't they know that this base was off-limits to the general public? He knew nearly all who worked here and not one, not one, was a human of any kind!
And then there were their clothes…
They wore what appeared to be a bright blue sleeveless shirt with a long sleeve underneath, with white pants as well, all ending in black leather gloves and boots.
He also sported a dark blue cape that hung behind him while latching onto two silver pieces on the front of his shoulders. On his neck was a dark blue cross, a creature that he couldn't decipher made of silver, and a…golden locket perhaps?
However, the thing that caught his attention the most was his face. He had eyes that were such a bright blue, he could be mistaken as one back at HQ, and his hair was the shiniest gold his optics have ever seen.
Now that he thought about it, he didn't appear like he was different from some specific hunters back at home base, but it was the arrangement of the colors and the lack of complexity that would make him stand out.
Well, that and the breathing with human face and all.
In terms of what he was doing, well, he appeared to either be acting as a hooligan or was…observing, analyzing, getting every minute detail.
Everything about him was so… off.
He's seen no human, even those of an analytical mind, including his creator, with this type of study.
And, well, he was casually looking around, even twirling himself every so often for no explainable reason, and simply walking on like he was skipping out on a job.
And he didn't even notice him.
Or, well, so it seemed.
And when he swung around while looking at a hanger on the edge as he walked by it, his cape drifted a bit, he caught something that he didn't expect.
A… blaster?
The human was carrying a blaster?
It was of a bizarre manufacture and shape, and his memory databanks didn't have any such recollection of such a frame, but it was a blaster nevertheless attached to his right hip.
This human, with a weapon that wasn't of familiar origin, in a place he shouldn't be in with said weapon.
No, despite his fascination with the situation, it didn't change the fact of the matter that there was a trespasser here.
No.
No human should ever step foot in this place without authorization, and he knows for a fact that he should not be here.
As such, he opened his beak to call out to the human as he made his way towards him as the mysterious being was walking away from him, his boots not making really any sound at all and his cape swaying back and forth.
"Hey! This is a restricted area to the general populace. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Nothing.
No reaction to what he just said.
Nothing.
It was as if he didn't even know he was there or that he didn't exist.
He just kept on walking on and on.
The mechanical being was shocked with his beak wide open.
Completely and utterly shocked as his brain circuits tried to come up with a conclusion as to why.
Was he deaf?
No, that was fixed ages ago!
Was he…
Was he ignoring him?
What?
But why?
Didn't he know who he was?
He was the leader of an airborne battalion meant to preserve peace while being the master of the skies, and he was ignoring him?
It just didn't seem possible.
Then he heard them talk, not to him, but to himself, showcasing a young, but very mature and extremely inquisitive mind.
"Fascinating…the architecture and machines of this world are unlike anything I've encountered on my travels, especially here. I mean look at this place! It has greens and blues and yellows! As to why, well, I don't know just yet, I'll have to look into that. However, while the color scheme is…uh… unique to say the least, and it does seem to function perfectly well, it looks so… wrong and is definitely no help to being concealed by the night, what with the bright colors and all that. Oh, I assume this place has horrible air raids, yes…"
What!?
He was criticizing the colors while complimenting on the design?
Just… who was this human!?
"And the aircrafts! It appears that they resemble something similar to bugs…l-like beetles! Only, well, they don't appear to be very…how should you say... aesthetically pleasing, what with the horrible colors of the rest of the place. While their design and colors are bizarre as well, they appear to serve their purpose well. Even with the terrible look, they at least pop out and unlike anything I've ever seen before either. I would also wager you would be able to catch them even from mile away. Hmmmmm…"
And he did it with the aircrafts too!?
Well…to be fair, they did look like very old files of insect life, so he at least agreed on that and their efficiency, but… huh?
Just…what was happening?
Was he malfunctioning?
No, he couldn't be…
No, he had to stop this human from going any further despite how… intriguing he was.
He opened his beak again.
"Sir, this area is restricted.", he said with a sterner voice while facing the human, who went on like nothing happened at all.
He then darted his eyes to his left, always searching for something to jump at him. Afterall, this was a very unusual occurrence, so he had to assume the worst.
"I need you to lea-"
He stopped midsentence as the impossible happened.
He was gone.
As in where he once was, there was only empty space.
Nothing.
His mechanical mind started to be filled with confusion which turned into somewhat of a panic, darting his face around to catch a glimpse of him with his optics, silently asking himself if his brain circuits were struggling in remaining functional.
He looked and looked until…
He saw him.
He was on a raised warehouse that doubled as a place to repair anything mechanized on an entrance platform.
W-Wha…
His advanced CPU was struggling to comprehend any of this.
The robotic being really hoped he was in a simulation that was refusing to make anything remotely logical as opposed to actually be here and activated, because he thought he was becoming something similar to going insane.
Just…how did he end up there? In an instant?
Almost all of his comrades at HQ were nowhere near that speed. For a human, it was simply impossible.
Even if they had the swiftness, they didn't possess any way to actually get up there.
No, it was physically undoable.
Okay…
Despite the fact that he may very well require a bug check by the end of this, he still had a job to do.
Besides, he needed to figure out this… human…
Wow.
Even calling him that was a stretch at this point.
With another unfolding of his wings, his jets got into gear, and with a few heavy flaps, he continued the familiar movements to gain altitude, feeling the air on his external systems.
Before he knew it, he reached the entry platform, akin to a broken bridge, giving a few surface buffets to slow his descent, feeling the metal that was the entrance.
The opposite side had the same thing, which the human was slowly walking towards, albeit with many more careful observations in the place around him, what with the tools and mechanisms designed for such a thing. The only thing that allowed sunlight in was the blue tinted windows to the right and left, which made the whole place appear darker than it should have been.
As the bird-like sentry and fighter walked in with more intention, he was about to open his beak to detain the perpetrator until the human in front spoke up first.
While he would gladly interrupt him, he was enthralled by this person, and he did need material for a solid report…
"You know what? I think I'll take a lot of stuff from this place. Take it as… inspiration if you will. I mean, the bikes! Air…bikes? Hell if I know, but not only could they be great land and sea vehicles, but also, with the right modifications and enchantments, it could be one of the best things a man like myself could have so I don't have to walk everywhere! And I could use some… parts for my buggy, what with the noise and exhaust it makes, and…You know what? Those people in that one base gave me inspiration to maybe get… rocket boots? Yes, rocket boots! Yes…I mean, it could get me from one place to another in an instant and could blow anything to pieces with my foot! Yes, yes…"
What?
Inspiration?
While most of the things he said were not exactly available to the general populace, it didn't mean they never existed.
Was this human…
Never mind, he was simply impossible to decipher.
No, he needed to tell this human to get off his base. He shouldn't be here any longer than he should.
"Sir. You are on private property. I'll have to arrest you unless you leave."
Again, no response or any acknowledgement of him.
He just kept on going and even opened his mouth once more.
"Some parts of architecture just make no sense at all though. Like, why is there an entire wall in this whole place of just high-grade fuel canisters? Is it a design choice? Or…"
A sigh escaped him.
"Only God knows."
What, he…
Well, he himself was actually baffled by that as well.
He might get into contact with someone to look at that.
He was now on the other side of the raised structure and on the other entrance, where there was a standardized elevator. It was connected to the building at the bridge and went upwards to another facility above. The whole thing was open, with the upside down-shaped platform connected to an oval shaped rivet of chains that went up and down, another floor for one to stand on equidistant from the one closest to him. It went on constantly.
The elevator wasn't aesthetically pleasing at all, with its purpose of being a service to anyone needing it being satisfied, able to hold incredibly heavy weights despite the rather small size of it being able to occupy at most a small group of people.
The human, as if he knew where it was going to be, walked on, his right foot catching onto it before his left one joined it like was stepping from thin air. He just walked until he reached the middle of the elevator surface, waiting to reach a possible destination of the place above as he stood in front of the rivet that moved it up and around downwards.
He did something that he didn't expect at all.
He took his gloved hands onto the metal of the very thing that brought him up here and...
He pulled it down.
And, unexpectedly, it went up faster.
The eagle has never done that before, as it was a safety hazard to touch the rigid chain in the center. He was utterly flabbergasted that he not only casually went up the vital piece like it was a vine, one hand over the other, but he had the sheer strength to even possibly do such a thing at all.
It was as if the human was one for using time wisely, but not wasting it, which would explain the actions he took.
And he still didn't have a name yet.
The warrior shut his trap and gained a determined look.
Yes.
This human must be put to justice.
There was no way around it.
If he didn't comply, force may be needed.
He took the platform coming up when the other was on the opposite side. He didn't see the human until he walked onto the next platform of the higher building like it was a cloud he knew he could step on.
When his destination was reached, the man was quite far into the next facility, this time lit up by white lamps that hung from above. And the entrance ways on both ends of the rectangular structure.
The moment his optics spotted the next bridge, his talons moved and felt the cool metal underneath.
As he entered, he called out one last time to stop this human from getting into more trouble than he already was with his company.
"Sir! This is your last warning!"
Oh…
No reaction at all.
There must be something wrong about this person, so very wrong…
He was starting to gain a bit of irritation. All standard tactics for persuasion in this situation failed, and yet, he couldn't process as to why.
HQ will have a field day with this.
His long talons clicked and clacked on the floor as the human once again observed his surroundings, seeing incomplete projects or ones that were finished and needed to be shipped, both in the shadows, yet were somehow identified by him.
And, for the third time, he spoke even though there was nobody there.
"This world is so… intriguing. Its technology is unlike anything I've encountered on my travels, and so advanced, more so than I've ever seen! Like the artificially intelligent beings! I mean, Silver is highly intelligent in her own right, but these machines are something else! They appear to think and talk like actual people! Actual people! I mean, I don't exactly know why exactly some of them look like animals for… whatever reason, and thank God there are no dragons around here, but…why do some of them go violent if they are to not only be members of society, but workers as well? Is it some error in their manufacture? Or is it some problem with installing standardized antivirus software?"
An annoyed sigh came out.
"Probably fucking morons not looking into details. Always speeding things along for the sake of quantity over quality."
What?
Was…
The bird halted.
Before he was going to return to the city to be interrogated for going this deep in the base, he actually stopped to think of his words.
Was…
Was that a possible reason why some of his kind turned into Mavericks?
It was a simple explanation, but it was one that could easily slip one's mechanical brain of circuits and wires.
And to think, this human, this one human, actually came up with this?
He must be one with a high intellect and extraordinary analytical ability to create answers to questions with pieces of information around him.
In fact, now that he thought about it, he would make a great member of the Hunters.
Except for a few things.
For starters, he has a blaster, to which he would need a permit to use, which he possibly and even likely wouldn't have, and secondly, he was in a place that was not only dangerous, but private military property too.
And…
What was that slight hissing noise?
Nothing was being active here…
He pondered it until his mind discarded the subject.
It was probably interference like static or something.
Yes...
He needed to get looked at after this was over.
"Anyways, this place has been… enlightening…"
Silence as he walked on.
And as he swerved around once again believing he wasn't there like a ghost, the eagle-like being spotted something his optics caught on.
It was on his left hip attached to a belt on his waist like the blaster, which caught his attention immediately once his cape swayed just enough to see it.
It looked like a hilt to something, with the shape being connected to something else in his memory banks…ah! Files of age-old weaponry! It looked like…
Like…
No…
No…
It was…
I-It was…
His beak went wide open and his optics were dazed.
No! Impossible!
It looked like the hilt of a sword.
One wouldn't have a sword hilt by itself unless…
Unless…
…
…
…
Unless it was a saber.
A saber.
Like the one the Commander has.
No…
What…
What…
W-Why!?
How could a human out of all the endless possibilities have such a thing!? Humans weren't allowed to have such a thing!
Was…
Was this a sign of disrespect?
No, actually, he doubted it.
However, one thing was sure.
He, by all accounts, should never, ever, have such a thing on him, regardless of the circumstances.
No, this was it.
He's had enough. This human had to come with him for questioning. He had simply gone too far.
With a face with great confidence and determination, he walked swiftly to the man whose back was turned on him.
As he was closing on the blond, his white left hand went out to grab the intruder's right shoulder to ask on final time to submit and be restrained.
"Human. Enough. You're under-"
The second his hand made contact with the somehow hardened fabric of the shoulder, the human reacted faster than even a supercomputer could process. With his right hand, he grabbed the pistol on his right and turned around to push off the powerful arm with great strength that surprised the machine.
With his hand dislodged from the human, which now was grabbing nothing, he found his optics were down the barrel of it, the hissing coming from it, the alien frame pointing at him straight in the face despite his taller height. His beak fell to the floor in astonishment as his optics also caught something else much more noticeable.
His eyes…
His eyes…
They were glowing the brightest blue like the core of a star, with only his pupils being noticeable against the great void that looked like the inside of a sun.
They…
T-They looked like…
They looked like the Commander's but far more menacing, chilling, and one that did not request, but demanded respect and authority.
They were ones of a great power he didn't possess.
It was as if it was of fire of those who are scrapped see before they end up on the drawing floor, never to see the light of day ever again…
"BACK! THE FUCK! OFF!", he exploded onto him, his voice now deeper as if it belonged to what humans defined as a demon. With each phrase, he pointed the weapon more and more into the eagle's face, causing him to slink more and more backwards and into himself with each movement.
He was speechless.
Flabbergasted.
Lost.
After what felt like forever, much to the amazement of his circuitry, he finally pulled back the weapon as he himself remained in the shocked position. The human, as he held his blaster at an upwards angle with the droning sound still going on and eyes still glowing fiercely, he suddenly turned back around and twisted the pistol with his middle finger around and into the holster on his side in the span of a second before continuing on, as if nothing has just happened, the whizzing sound all but diminished from the firearm.
Wha…
What…
W-W-Wha…
His CPU, meant to calculate everything a human couldn't, was truly at a loss.
So much happened, with none of it making any sense at all, to the point that his systems might have deemed it a paradox of some sort as a possible conclusion.
He…
H-He…
H-He not only brandished an armed weapon against him, regardless of whether he did or didn't have the knowledge of his identity, but he also swore at him.
So many thoughts and ideas, with many running into dead ends.
He was one who cared little about others, or perhaps he was one who was of a higher power, more so than anyone on this planet could fathom, let alone realize.
Afterall, one wouldn't care to do such vulgar and threatening things if they knew they wouldn't face consequences.
He just went on and on.
Just…
What was that?
W-Was that…
Was that… fear?
Fear?
He's almost never felt fear, at least for himself, but…
That was one of the first times he had ever felt it.
It was… awful.
It was as if his own wires and circuits down to each sinew of metal were shaking underneath, trying to alert him that he needed to get away and fast.
But…
He was just so captivated and overly confident that the sudden move the human made on him was so fast that it softened the blow, but this is something that was simply impossible to explain to HQ, let alone the Commander. They would probably think he was crazy from malfunctioning and his optics not operating the way they should.
As his brain had each connection working overtime to scrounge up something of the logic behind this, he decided to call his home base and get someone here quickly before it was too late, placing his left hand on his helmet to begin a transmission, turning to his left to obscure the sight of him attempting to communicate to the female voice from before.
It wasn't until but a mere moment afterwards that he heard her once more.
Hello, this is mission control. Who is speaking and what is your report?
He could have cared less about the similarity to the first start of the message when he was close to finishing his patrol and simply didn't beat around the bush and plunged straight in.
"T-This is Eagle. Listen, I need…"
"…Huh?"
He turned and looked forward and saw that he had disappeared.
He dumbly looked back and forth to find any trace of him, but, no, he was just…not there.
His optics widened and let go of his helmet as he went into a gait as he ran to the other entrance, the other bridge, his talons clacking as he did and…
And…
Nothing.
It was all empty space here, with the only things visible from here were the closed hatches of the missile base nearby in the brown earth below.
There wasn't even anything underneath.
There was the possibility of something to the left or right, but it didn't matter.
No, it didn't matter if he could even catch up with him. He was not only elusive, but the metal that made up his entire body was still shaken by the core from the sudden encounter.
Questions without answers and answers with no questions.
Besides, he was already gone. He didn't know where the human was anymore.
Gone, just like that.
No…
Nothing made sense.
At all.
He was debating on completely forgetting about what just happened to make a more concise report without anyone thinking he needed to undergo extensive repairs to his mechanical mind.
Did it even need to be fixed?
Was there anything wrong with it at all?
However, he was brought back to reality when he heard a still empty, but slightly worried voice of the female of the other side.
Storm Eagle? Is there something wrong?
Moments of moments of complete and deathly silence.
Deathly?
That was a word he's barely ever used before.
As Storm Eagle heard the noise in his head, he slowly but surely conjured up at least some of his lost courage and raised his left hand to the side of his helm.
"Y-Yes. My patrol is about finished. I need…"
Quiet.
What would he say?
What was the most logical thing he could possibly ask for here?
He thought about it a bit and came up with something on the fly, his beak clicking with the metal material it was made from.
Yes! That would work! It would just come off as a simple result of observations! And besides, they did need something like that around here.
Especially for people like him.
He didn't know if it would amount to anything, but it was something, and something was better than nothing.
"I need you to send a quick message to the Commander."
He waited but a few seconds before he heard the response.
Alright then. What is your message?
He didn't know if she caught him stuttering or what, but he let that slide and hoped that she didn't.
And his message was more of a statement to himself rather than a formal letter.
"I really think we need a defense system around here and the missile base at some point…"