Note: Ok, here it is! We're getting into some of the more exciting stuff that I've wanted to get to ever since I started this! Just a couple more, and then I'll take a brief hiatus, but I hope that I'm able to make you eager for more when it finally comes.

I've still got to get back to my Ruby-Spears series.

That said, some hints of character development are here, both for X and Roll, as I'm worried that I've been neglecting her.

That said, let's get started!

PS-Wave goodbye to some of these characters because it'll be the first and last time you're going to see them alive!

The Red Maverick

May 16th 21XX

Outside of Arcadia's Borders

"It's amazing how different it is out here." Roll remarked, the sun having long set over the dry land Dr. Cain had set up camp in. They both now stood, gazing up at the unpolluted, clear sky, the stars and colors quite a contrast to the black void above Arcadia. "And you go to places like this?"

"You sort of getting to go anywhere when you're on a dig," X told her. "Well, anywhere with fossils, that is."

"Or, in our case, an underground laboratory." both of them chuckled at this, thankful to be able to get out of the city. Albeit for entirely different reasons.

While Arcadia was a city-state in Japan and a short distance away from the capital of Tokyo, a majority of it was composed of artificial land that increased the size of the Chiba Prefecture, and in turn, the Kanto region of Honshu, the main island of all the islands that composed of the country. Thus, much of it was left rather barren and devoid of plant life. It puzzled both Reploids why Dr. Cain would even choose a site such as this to search for another coveted specimen of prehistoric significance, yet explained how this artificial land was formed. The area outside of Arcadia and Arcadia stood upon Earth formed by reclamation, which was the process of creating more land by way of using land dredging, which consisted of removing sediments and debris from a body of water and bringing it to the surface.

And with that came the possibility that samples of underwater plants might be located right outside the city. That was more than enough to encourage Dr. Cain to navigate there. True, there still was natural land and had previously been a part of the region, but it had significantly expanded since artificial islands became more prominent in 20XX. But as long as X and Roll were able to get out of the city's borders, they were satisfied.

Well, somewhat.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" X spoke up, Roll looking at her brother. "It's not that I have a problem with it or anything. I actually kind of like it that you're here-"

"Just say it, what is it?" Roll asked, wanting him to get to the point.

"Well, why did you want to come on one of Cain's digs anyway?" the blue Reploid answered and questioned at the same time. "Not to say that I don't want you here or anything. I guess it's just out of curiosity."

Roll was quiet for a moment, X wondering whether or not he should've just kept his mouth shut. "No, it's fine." Thankfully, she broke the silence, but her answer surprised him. "But I'll admit," she paused. "I'm kind of wondering that myself."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Well…I guess…it's sort of like this," Roll began. "Rock, or Mega Man, he had a new duty to take on, while mine was relatively unaffected," she explained. "I was still a helper-bot for Dr. Light, and I remained as such until…well, until now. There never was a time I stepped out of my designated function." she then quickly added, "Oh, not that I minded it at all! I'm quite grateful for the fact Dr. Light even gave me life!" she insisted. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

Roll went silent again, the entire area deathly quiet. Then, she spoke again. "Perhaps we should be getting back to the site. Dr. Cain's probably sent someone looking for us."

"X?! Roll!?"

"And here he comes now." instead of another digger, Dr. Cain himself had come out to fetch the two Reploids. The man was a bit winded from the distance he had to travel, but he was relatively good.

"Ah, there," Cain paused for a moment to take a breath. "There you two are," he said. "Sorry, but it's past curfew, kids."

X averted his gaze in embarrassment, his cheeks becoming flushed. "If I may be so bold, Doctor," Roll interjected. "There's only ONE kid present here." she grinned and gave X a wink.

If I'm a kid, then that makes you an old woman. So the blue Reploid thought, though he dare not say it.

Roll then noticed that the older human was still wheezing. "You're right; what are we doing out here? We forced you to come all this way, and here you are, barely able to catch your breath!" the blonde Reploid went over to Dr. Cain.

"What? No, no. I'm fine, Roll." Cain insisted.

"No, you're not! You're practically about to fall over!" she then immediately took the human by the hand and began leading him back to the dig site. "And being human, you can't afford to stay up this late. You'll never get up in time for work to start again. And maybe we should look into getting you an inhaler; you still sound pretty winded."

She trailed on and on as all three of them went back to camp. X sensed that Roll had seized this opportunity not to have to speak what was on her mind. He couldn't exactly blame her, considering that much was going on back in Arcadia. Given the success of Reploids, there was consideration about marketing Reploids worldwide, making them available in every part of the world. That would mean that organizations such as Maverick Hunters would have to be implemented in those areas as well. It sounded like a simple solution, yet it was anything but.

Increasing incidents of both Reploids and mechaniloids going "Maverick" had led to the decision to introduce Reploids elsewhere was put on halt. At least until it could be gotten under control, but with these ongoing incidents, more and more Reploids had either been constructed for or joined the Maverick Hunters to combat these threats further. The organization has boomed in members over the last few months. While Maverick attacks were still an ongoing problem, with Sigma at the head of it all, the human population of the city-state could breathe a little easier. It was a solution to deal with the problem but wasn't solving the problem itself. Even now, the programmer that had created what would be called the "Maverick Virus" has yet to be found, and there were even rumors that the creator might not even be a human!

That brought even more questions, but given where he was, there was nothing that X could do about it. True, he technically WAS a member of the Hunters, but he wasn't on full-time duty, let alone any duty. True, he had gotten his buster licensed so he could fire if need be, but for the most part, his main job was to guard Dr. Cain and the other humans present on the digging sites. Given what had occurred in July, it wasn't unheard of for some Hunters to be stationed near Reploid factories or in populated areas to put a stop to any disturbance before too much damage could be done. But until the source was found, it was unlikely to be fully stopped.

Again, X was offered the opportunity to "fully" become a Hunter, but he declined, quite pleased with his current position. Perhaps he was looking too much into it, but X couldn't help but feel that with everything that's happened, everyone around him had been twisting his arm to try and steer him in the direction of putting his weapon to work. Whether it was simply for the fact that he had it or how he just so happened to resemble the famous "Blue Bomber" of decades past, the blue Reploid found himself being pushed towards a role that he had little to no interest in. Besides, even if he was a robot, Mega Man himself exercised his ability of choice Dr. Light had given him. So why couldn't X do the same?

Only X would take being an assistant any day over using his buster.

Arcadia, the White City

Dr. Sho Fujiwara's Residence

She had difficulty sleeping, the Japanese girl tossing and turning in a white bed far larger than herself. Finally, she could take it no more. Chiyo rose from her resting place and sighed, cursing that despite her attempts to block them out, she couldn't stop the thoughts that had just come to her recently. She looked over at Patarche, who was still sound asleep on the left corner of her bed, the white dog sprawled out with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

You don't seem to be having any trouble. Chiyo mused, reaching over for her mobile gaming system. With the push of a button, a bright screen greeted her on the miniature device, momentarily blinding her, but her eyes eventually grew used to it. She began playing Rokko-Chan from where she left off, the titular blonde-haired blue robot (Oh gee, wonder where they got THAT idea, she thought) dressed in a rabbit suit smashing things with a giant hammer. At least, she attempted to, but she couldn't keep those thoughts from plaguing her again even as she went through the level.

Given that Roll had elected to go on a dig with Dr. Cain and X, Dr. Fujiwara asked whether or not he could borrow the Takenada's new maid Reploid that the family bought for Christmas. Specifically, a Mimi maid drone. Mrs. Takenada immediately agreed, saying that her husband needed some time away from the machine. Apparently, from what Fumiko had told her, Mr. Takenada was growing just a little too fond of the new Reploid.

Your dad is a weirdo, 'Miko. Chiyo chuckled to herself, though her humor was short-lived as Lightning Man killed her again. And I'm out of lives. Perfect. Whatever, she didn't feel like playing anymore anyway.

Chiyo had seen Mimi before; she very much appeared like the stereotypical image of a french maid, only her "outfit" was quite literally part of her body. Her hair was red and tied into a bun, her eyes green, and red freckles adorned her cheeks. She was made to look relatively innocent but appealing, and given how Fumiko's father reacted to her, her creators succeeded. Chiyo didn't mind Mimi, the Reploid doing as she was told and taking care of things around the house while Roll was gone. Yet, with Roll's absence, the Japanese girl found herself dwelling on the woman that had come before X's sister.

For as long as she could remember, Cecilia was always in Chiyo's life. Her mother had said she had known the woman since she was around her current age, yet the girl found that the housekeeper had to fill in the empty role Hinako left when she passed. Her father had retreated into his work, mostly leaving her alone with the woman. Cecilia was the only one she had before she met Fumiko, and it was through the woman that Chiyo even met the other girl. And while she liked Roll fine (she was neutral to Mimi), Chiyo knew that Cecilia wouldn't just up and "quit."

When Roll had first been brought to the house, Cecilia had left to visit her sick mother. At first, Chiyo assumed that Roll was just there to keep up with the cleaning while Cecilia was away, yet as time went on, Chiyo found out that she wasn't coming back. She had left due to "wanting to explore other opportunities," as her father claimed, yet his daughter suspected there was more to it. And given the amount of time between when Cecilia was out and when her father and Dr. Cain went to trial over X and Roll. Those that were part of Cain's crew that had initially dug X up were questioned, but all of them swore that they told no one anything.

And neither Fumiko nor Tatsuya said anything (the only thing Tatsuya cared about was getting more of Roll's cooking), so, did that mean…?

CRASH!

Chiyo jumped up out of bed, and Patarche was jolted awake, both girl and dog rushing towards her bedroom door. The white dog scratched at the white wood; Chiyo then knelt down and took Patarche in her arms. Or, at least she tried to. But, unfortunately, over the past few months, the once small puppy had tripled in size, as well as strength, so it was growing more difficult to keep him steady in her arms, her pink pajamas not providing her with any protection from his nails.

"Patarche, settle down!" Chiyo whispered, the dog's moving limbs growing still at long last. She was quiet, but as she heard more noise coming from downstairs, her previous suspicions had all but been confirmed. "Somebody's in the house."

She opened her bedroom door slightly to peek out and see if anyone was there and found the coast was clear. Though she had no intention of going out, she was not liking the idea of potentially getting caught, or even more, shot or gutted at all. So she pulled the door back closed, yet unknown to her; she hadn't closed it all the way. She went over to the phone sitting on the white dresser beside her bed and was about to call the authorities, but before she could press one number, she heard her dog push against the door. Before she could call out for him or order him to stop, Chiyo saw a white blur dash out of the room.

Chiyo ran out soon after, spotting Patarche running down the hallway and towards the stairs. She gave chase and tried to keep up, but the canine's four legs made him quicker than his bipedal owner. The dog went down the stairs in mere seconds while Chiyo had nearly tripped two or three times as she descended, trying to grab at her pet. Finally, Chiyo lost her foot and fell, though only short. The worst she suffered was some soreness, and Patarche finally stopped seeing her on the ground.

The white dog gave her cheek a tiny lick as if to try and "make it better," but then he directed his attention to the kitchen area. Patarche moved away from Chiyo again, the girl following behind, as he was far better at navigating through the dark than she. Patarche stopped at the doorway of that part of the house, the inside of the area devoid of light as there were no windows in the actual kitchen, the moonlight unable to enter and slightly light the way. Chiyo took a step forward, but Patarche blocked the way, the girl's eyes widening in shock upon seeing the dog's ears lower and tail rise, along with the hair on his back. A low, threatening growl came from Patarche, his eyes narrowed, and his muzzle wrinkled as he raised his lips to present his teeth.

The home invader was in the kitchen, but it was her dog's reaction that unnerved Chiyo the most. Not once in her life had the girl heard the mild-mannered, overly-excited, and completely harmless Patarche snarl at a pitch so deep. His smooth, usually happy features had twisted into one of aggression and anger at the figure that had dared to break in here, and even more, harm his human. Next, there was the sound of a door trying to be opened, the struggle to do so becoming more violent. Finally, with the sound of hinges being torn off the wall and the door itself being tossed to the side, Chiyo realized with horror that the home invader wasn't human.

She then heard items rustled and falling off the shelves, rummaged through. Finally, she heard cans and bottles hitting the door, glass breaking and only creating even more of a terrifying image in the human child's mind. Patarche was just about ready to jump forward and attack the intruder himself, but then she saw a shape begin to come forward out of the darkness. Chiyo grabbed her dog, and the figure stepped out, towering over the canine and human. Patarche continued to growl and snarl, but his owner didn't dare let him go.

There were so many questions Chiyo had running through her mind. Who was this Reploid? How did he get in the house? Why did he come into the house? What was he looking for? And perhaps, most of all, not that she had seen him, what would he do to her?

The Reploid took a step forward, Patarche going crazy and biting at the air to warn this intruder to keep away. The machine's intense eyes bore into her own, the girl feeling a scream forming from within her throat.

Suddenly, everyone's attention was on the front door, which sounded like it had just been opened.

Perhaps this was too much of a good thing.

Sho Fujiwara was exhausted, having spent the entire day with the council's scientists reviewing the blueprints of the new Reploids being constructed for the Maverick Hunters. True, the days had grown more prolonged, and he was getting home later and later, but if he had to be honest, this Maverick Virus was perhaps a blessing. The growing increase of Maverick incidents had allowed him and the other scientists to put X's battle data to good use truly. Reploids designed for combat specifically and other duties to contain and terminate any threats. No longer were they just relegated to being workers or personalized companions, the council, along with the rest of Arcadia, were accepting Reploids for what they were.

What they were meant to be all along.

Suddenly, a booming crashing sound echoed throughout the house, the sound of shattering glass alerting him that someone other than his daughter was inside. The security alarm blared out, filling the whole house with a loud, high-pitched buzzing. Fujiwara ran to the source of the noise and found Chiyo and Patarche standing by a broken window. There were numerous shards of glass at her feet and Patarche standing in front of her at full attention, barking furiously into the night.

The Next Day

Since its inception, the Maverick Hunters had significantly expanded over such a short time, growing from an elite team to over one hundred members. Though most of these Reploids were developed for the Hunters, others had decided to join of their own accord. As more and more members joined, the Hunters could now organize in more extensive and more effective teams. The Reploids constructed for the organization were top-tier and implemented with the most advanced combat skills and abilities. Even more, the council had approved for fitting the Hunters with bigger, better weapons to combat the Maverick threat. But unless they managed to catch the one responsible for developing and spreading the virus, all of their fancy new gear would mean nothing.

But now, it seemed things were beginning to look up.

The briefing room had expanded and was no longer located underneath the now far larger headquarters; several Reploids, including the few originally part of the Hunters, were fathered around a blue-haired Reploid with a shortcut. The central computer displayed a map of Arcadia and the cities and areas outside of its borders on the monitor. It showed a plethora of red dots situated all over the map.

"Last night, there was an occurrence where Dr. Fujiwara's residence was broken into." the blue-haired Reploid explained, pointing towards a red dot located where the Japanese scientist's home resided. The Reploid herself had blue forearms with violet ends and green gems centered on her wrists. Her chest area consisted of the same colors, though her bust was somewhat pronounced and white, a blue, circular extension was attached to her right audio unit, a band atop of her head holding it in place. "Luckily," she continued. "No one was injured, but the perpetrator escaped when Fujiwara had arrived." The numerous Hunters began discussing this event amongst themselves, pondering several reasons as to why and how it could've happened. "According to Fujiwara himself, he had set the entrance in the back to unlock at 24.0 hours so he could simply walk in without having to enter the code to unlock the door."

"Wait a minute, Blu" Firefly then spoke up. "He just up and LEAVES his door unlocked at night?"

"Only for around five minutes." the blue-haired Reploid, Blu, explained. "If he had not arrived, then the timer would go off, and the locking mechanism would reactivate. So it must've been during this short period that the Reploid of interest had come into the home."

Ai was silent, watching as the blue-haired Repoid spoke. Don't get too comfortable. You were shipped here just a few days ago. In comparison to her, Blu was a more advanced model that had recently been put out, and her presence here didn't sit well with the red and white Operator one bit.

"Dr. Fujiwara's daughter was also present at the scene, yet she was left completely untouched." Blu went on. "And from what the human authorities have told us, his daughter was able to describe the home invader." she then paused. True, this was what they had all been hoping for, but she couldn't help but suddenly feel on edge about what she was going to reveal. "And it matches the other witness testimonies of the suspect seen lurking around the production plants."

"What happened?" Sigma then asked. "You said that the home was broken into, yet was anything stolen?"

"No, nothing valuable to humans," Blu answered her Commander. "He took no valuables, and the only section of the house that has any sort of damage was the kitchen area, not including the window," she explained. "But a small space in the back in a storage area held a small number of energen crystals. All of them were taken, but aside from that, nothing."

Both veterans and new members, the Hunters were left entirely puzzled. This case was getting stranger and stranger.

"What gets me is why he didn't finish the job." Vile suddenly spoke up, everyone turning to face him. "If this guy has no qualms about infecting his kind with what is essentially a system-breaking program, then what was stopping him from silencing that kid?"

"Are you suggesting that Reploid should've killed her?" Firefly questioned, a little disturbed.

"I'm saying that would've been the expected course of action, especially seeing as that kid's word is what we're currently going off." the violet Hunter responded. "So far, she's the only to get a close-up view of him, and even more, live to tell about it." while there had been no reported casualties as of yet, the suspect was reported not to be afraid to get physical with anyone that had tried to confront him. But those assaulted were all Reploids; not one human was among them. "He might not have any respect for his fellow Reploids, but he at least knows the first of the Three Laws." he theorized. "Then again, he could've gone through with it, and Fujiwara's arrival forced him to retreat."

Again, talking broke out among everyone. "We have no time to dwell over possibilities and potential scenarios." Sigma then said, folding his arms. "This Reploid has to be found as soon as possible."

Before the Hunters began discussing those very things, a loud beeping was heard, the source of the noise from the main computer in the briefing room. Blu was about to move, but Ai cut in front of her and took the helm, checking into the communications lines they had for all the Hunters stationed around Arcadia.

"You've reached Hunter base. This is Ai," Ai answered, cupping a hand over her right audio receptor. "What's up?"

Suddenly, the image of a Reploid with a tall headpiece that resembled a blonde flattop, yellow shoulders, a blue chest plate and pelvis armor, yellow and blue boots. His face was peach-colored, but the way his facial features were so angularly shaped, it was clear that he was a machine and not a human. "Gamma here. What's up back, Ai." the Hunter greeted. "Here's what's up, Commander," Gamma said, addressing Sigma even if the two were miles apart. "We caught sight of our guy going outside of the city-state's borders, and we're currently on his trail."

Sigma immediately replied. "And what is your current location?" he asked.

"We've just gone past the borderline. I doubt he'd even try to go into Tokyo or another major city, but aside from the small amount of land outside, he has nowhere else to go."

"Good," Sigma answered. "Keep your unit on him, but make sure you're not seen," he ordered. "We'll keep in touch. Sigma out."

"Yes, sir!" with that, Gamma's link died, displaying the map of Arcadia on the monitor again.

Outside of Arcadia's Borders

When he had first seen the flowering petals, he had grown excited and increased the speed of brushing off the preserved, ancient rock. Yet as the dust was cleared off, Dr. Cain found himself disappointed yet again. "Another sea lily."

One would think that this would've been good news for a paleobotanist like himself, yet despite their name, sea lilies were not related to any lily, let alone any plant. They had more in common with a seastar or sea cucumber. And while sea lilies were known quite well for being preserved as fossils, they were far from an extinct species and still currently occupied the world's oceans. No, Cain was searching for samples of ancient seaweed or aquatic plants.

The first flora on Earth existed in the ocean, as the whole world was once water. He reflected, looking down at the fossilized sea lily. At least I can keep this one in my personal collection.

A short distance away, X and Roll had been sent to fetch some supplies from the storage tent, specifically the ingredients for coffee. "Humans are so addicted to this stuff," X noted, Roll grabbing a pack of sugar. "But if they say it tastes so bitter, why do that still try to drink it?"

"Humans are contradictory creatures, X." Roll sighed. "Even Dr. Light fell prey to the intoxicating effects of this drink."

Dr. Light himself relied on this stuff?! Then again, if this sort of beverage was still popular even today, then the human species must've had some sort of inherent craving for it. Preferences passed down through the generations? X couldn't say for sure. Genetics and DNA was an infinitely more complicated "program" than any AI.

Though Roll could tell that man's millennium-long history with the beverage didn't stay on her sibling's mind for long, a familiar hint of concern in his features. "What's wrong? And here I thought getting out of the city was one of the things you looked forward to."

Damn, she's psychic. She HAS to be! X thought. "That obvious?"

"Everything with you is obvious." Roll jested. "But, since we've arrived, you've been on edge. So, what's going on?"

The blue Reploid shrugged. "I know it's not exactly something we'll have to worry about out here," he said. "After all, security programs and anti-viruses have improved greatly since it began, but these Maverick reports..."

"Make you worried?" Roll asked. "You know that we have med-kits available that can sort out any bug in the CPU."

"No, it's not that. Well, all right, sort of." X admitted. "But it's got me thinking."

"About what?" Roll asked, but she grew concerned when she didn't receive an answer. "X?"

X was sorting out what to exactly say, knowing that his sister wouldn't let him out of her sight until he answered her. "Roll, when you were first activated, you said some things."

The blonde Reploid didn't quite understand where X was going with this. "What kind of things?"

"It was sort of just gibberish, I guess, because your memory files were still being processed," X explained. "But you said something about how someone was coming."

"Coming?" Roll asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah," X said. "You were scared out of your mind; we all thought something had gone wrong." he then asked, "Fujiwara said that it might take some time for your systems to adjust to your new body, but do you remember anything else?" he was about to add Anyone else? To his question, but kept that portion to himself.

Roll was quiet for a moment, thinking. "Truthfully," she began. "I can't say for sure. And by now, I would think that my systems are working as they're meant to. So, I don't know if I can answer your question because I can't recall anyone outside of what's in my memory bank." she then said, "Your memory bank still has some large portions of it missing still, right?"

"Yeah. It's still sort of piecing itself together."

"Then things will probably just work out with time. Don't stress over it."

X found that he had once again come up against another roadblock, keeping him from the information he wanted. But it wasn't Roll's fault, for he was perhaps putting much more thought into the issue than was necessary. Still, even if the details had just come to him recently. "One last thing," he said, knowing that the crew was probably getting impatient for their caffeine fix. "Do you remember anything, well, anyone who was red?"

Roll froze. "Red?" She then thought for a moment. "Red..." she repeated, finding that some hidden, buried piece of her CPU was making itself known. "Red..." she repeated again. "Red...and hair." she then said.

Hair? X was confused at first, yet then he found himself also remembering something from long ago. It wasn't clear in any way, but some elements managed to seep through the fog in that part of his mind. Hair. he thought. "Yeah. Long hair," he added. "Long and blonde. Even longer than yours."

Both Reploids went silent, green eyes looking into teal, neither entirely sure what to say next, let alone if they should. Did either of them want to be going further with this?

"I think we need to get back." Roll then spoke up. "Coffee doesn't brew itself, you know."

"Yeah, right." X agreed, both of them exiting the tent.

Though what they had discussed would be far from over.

Outside of Arcadia's Borders

8:00 PM

Twenty Hundred Hours

"Ray, Glenn, do you copy?"

Two Maverick Hunters had themselves concealed behind a large boulder, the land dry and barren. A Reploid with a pale face, pronounced white shoulders, and a yellow chest plate with brown forearms and yellow boots answered the call. "Loud and clear, Gamma, sir." Ray said.

"What's your current status?" Gamma questioned.

"So far, there's been no sign of him, but we did find an odd structure in Area 1345," Ray told his superior. "It appears to be an old laboratory of some kind, though how long it's been here, neither of us can say."

"Very well. Keep me posted. Even the slightest suspicion that our fugitive is in the area is to be reported. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Gamma, out." Ray's audio receptor went silent; the peaceful yet all-consuming silence only made the already tense situation even more discomforting.

"So," the Hunter partnered with Ray began. He was mainly red with blue, round shoulders, and a more cubic-shaped head than Ray. He had golden rims around his wrists and a white chest with green metal covering his abdomen. His ankles had golden rims on them, but his feet were pure white. "Do you think that this guy is the one behind the Maverick Virus?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Glenn, of course he is!" Ray replied. "Besides, we have no other leads as it is. And while no major incidents have taken place, more and more Reploids are going to be infected if something isn't done."

Glenn was quiet for a moment, pondering how to word what he wanted to say exactly. "Do you think that they're all infected?"

Ray was puzzled. "Who?"

"Those classified as Mavericks." Glenn clarified. "I mean, yes, I'm not denying the Virus exists, but do you think that all of the Reploids we've had to either contain or stop entirely had the same thing?"

"What else would they have?" Ray asked. "It's a computer program that messes up the CPU; otherwise, there'd be no reason for Mavericks to, well, go Maverick! No Reploid in their right mind would ever consider breaking one of the Three Laws. Especially the first."

Glenn looked at the ground, unsure. "So you don't think some of them went Maverick because they could?" he asked. "After all, we Reploids technically have what the humans call free will, so couldn't someone exercise that but do harm?"

Ray had nothing he could say back, for his partner's words now began to repeat in his mind. Was such a thing possible? True, Reploids were far more advanced than mechaniloids and the robots of long ago, but they still regarded the Three Laws. Every form of mechanical life did! Still, the more he thought about it, he found that he was running out of counterpoints to combat the issue. Could a Reploid do that? Could Glenn? Could he?

Could...anyone?

"Hey, look!" Glenn whispered.

Ray peered around the boulder and saw, to his surprise, a figure not too far away. He didn't notice either Ray or Glenn; thankfully, he walked into the lab and shut the door out of the two Hunters' sights.

"Gamma, sir! This is Glenn!" Glenn said, adjusting his audio receptor to contact his leader. "Suspect has just entered the lab!"

"When?" Gamma asked, not taking too long to respond.

"Just now," Glenn answered. "Although, I don't know how long he'll stay in there, let alone what he's doing here of all places."

"We can ask him that once he's in custody," Gamma said. "For now, stay put and alert us of any updates. I'll be there shortly. Gamma out."

The link died, leaving the two Reploids with only themselves to talk to. Though neither of them was precisely in the mood, Glenn's question was still at the forefront of Ray's mind. No, impossible. He thought, dismissing the notion of a Reploid going Maverick on their own. Right?

"Hey! It's Gamma!" Glenn suddenly said, Ray looking past the large boulder and saw his unit leader and the other Hunters accompanying him. Armed with their weapons, one of them pried open the door, and they entered through the open space, disappearing into the lab. "You think they'll be ok?"

"Sure, no problem!" Ray answered. "Gamma's one of the Commander's best men! That Maverick had better surrender if he knows what's good for him!"

Inside the Lab

"All right, spread out," Gamma ordered, his men going and looking around. "The second our target makes a move, don't hesitate. He's to be brought in alive, but he can survive without an arm or leg."

"Yes, sir!" Gamma's men responded.

Gamma observed his surroundings. The lab's interior was old and falling apart, the electricity once powering this place had shut down a long time ago. If there was any, much of the color was faded and dull, appearing dark or partially hidden behind a dense covering of grime and dirt. How long have you been here? the Hunter thought, wondering how this Reploid had managed to stay undetected for so long, let alone why he had decided to do all of this. For what reason would a Reploid infect his own kind with such a deadly program?

"Hey, look!" one of the Hunter whispered, Gamma and the rest being alerted that a door somewhere in the lab was being open. Or perhaps closed. Then, they saw a shape emerge from the thick shadows: the one they had been looking for.

"Freeze!" Gamma commanded, everyone pointing their weapons in the Maverick's direction. "Put your hands up, and get on the ground!" the unit leader commanded. "Comply, and no harm will come to you."

Even if he was still partially concealed by darkness, the Maverick looked at the group of armed Reploids surrounding him. Who were they and what were they doing here? Better yet, who did they think they were to break into his home?

He began to step forward, yet a blast from one of the Hunters' weapons forced him to jump to the side. "You idiot!" Gamma chided. Now, this criminal would run for sure!

But he did no such thing. Instead, he stood in place, eyes locked onto all those that were staring at him. Then, he rushed forward, the Hunter that had fired at him unable to get another shot in before he was attacked.

Dig Site

She was thankful that the digging crew was settling in and wrapping things up for the night because Roll couldn't focus on anything but what X had asked her before.

Red. The details Roll and X had told each other still continued to repeat themselves. Red, and blonde hair. Long blonde hair. Longer than hers, but tied up just as well. And with that, the images of Mega Man firing desperately at an incoming, red shape, blonde hair trailing behind them.

X's question had indeed activated and allowed her to peer more into the large amounts of corrupted data that lay in her memory bank. But, even if she was able to operate and function fine, she would at least like some of the bits and pieces of her old life to become clearer. X had told her what she had supposedly said when she was first activated, and now she found she could focus on little else. Between the last thing she could remember and being awakened a century later, the period was filled with empty space. And yet brief flashes of images could be found if she dug deep enough.

"Red and long, blonde hair." she said aloud, pondering those specific details. A robot with those features, Mega Man fighting tooth and nail against him, then there was a bright flash. That was all she could remember currently, but now that she had seen it, she found herself focused on delving further into her systems. She suspected that X had started doing the same long before her, the blue Reploid always seemingly hungry for any information he could get. Since Maverick incidents had been increasing, she wondered whether or not this had triggered something for him.

And in turn, his pondering had triggered something in her.

Whoever this long-haired robot was, he was dangerous. And while she doubted that a machine like that was still around, if he were, then the Maverick Hunters would surely take care of him. Then this whole fiasco would be over. Yet, she thought, illogical as it was, what if he somehow was still around? X had been sealed away from the world for a century, and she had been lying dead in the same lab, so perhaps it was possible that a similar machine could exist.

Of course, the question became whether or not she wanted to find out—both for the humans' sake and especially X's.

Hidden Laboratory

Gamma crawled across the floor, the entirety of his lower half gone and lying a few feet away from him, cables and cords torn and sparking with electricity that had nowhere to flow to. His panicked eyes looked around, all of his team not in much of a better state than he. They had all been slain. Now he was the only one left. The only remaining lamb for this Maverick to slaughter.

The Maverick stepped towards Gamma, the Hunter raising his hand to keep him back. "No..." he said with a wavering voice. "No..." he knew that repeating himself would do no good, it would not save his life, but as the Maverick drew closer, it was all he could do. His weapon was too far away, and it was impossible to reach it fast enough in the state he was in!

The Maverick drew closer.

"NOOOOO!"

Then the renegade Reploid pounced, hands around Gamma's neck as he was held down, screams echoing throughout the lab as the last member of the unit was rendered just as silent like the others.

Note: The two Hunters on watch outside the lab were named after two characters from a Capcom arcade game, Armored Warriors. And yes, they're the ones from X4. So yeah, we're working up to THAT moment. But things are going to go a little bit differently.

Thank you all for reading so far, and I hope to hear from you all next time! Also, alert me if there are any errors I might've missed!