This title screen only pumps me up more and more.
A handful of reploids standing behind pillars of fire, some red silhouettes towering over them, and a giant one surveying it all...That last one looks more like a close-up of someone rather than a full figure. They have their head cocked sideways, and it looks like their arms are up. Pretty eerie...
My blood can't help but get itself pumping, anyway!
I press enter and a curved window cuts diagonally beside all the figures, dark blue in color with a black gradient. It pushes everyone to the left to make way for some options:
"NEW GAME
CONTINUE
FÏR LOGS
OPTIONS
CLOSE GAME"
In the upper right section of the "FÏR LOGS" option, there's a red, slanted box with a white exclamation mark floating over the "S". What could that be? While I want to figure out why my game isn't like other copies of "Mega Man X DiVE Offline"-geez, what a mouthful-the mystery can ultimately wait. I go ahead and select the option, curious as to what it could hold.
Curtains go down and cover everything behind it, then it stops there for a while. They both pull themselves back to show me a cut off stage with a projector on top. Behind that is a white sheet hanging from a girder-like device, one that has two boxes that read "Story" and "FÏR Logs" on the left and right respectively. Right now the "Story" box is highlighted, where there's a box with a still of APK holding that book. A bunch of other black boxes with question marks in them show up around it. I'm not here for that, I wanna see what's up with that log! Luckily, the same thing shows up when I highlight the other option, but with a different thumbnail.
Selecting it shows a reploid running from the left with a ladder in their hands. They have blue and red armor and the "FÏR" logo on their right shoulder pad. The poor thing presses every button on the projector before a certain combination makes the square I selected zoom in.
With a dramatic thump, the "cinema" goes dark so that the focus can go on the projector screen.
After that, I see three reploid silhouettes standing together in a dimly lit room. Traces of their outline are the only thing visible thanks to a faint, red glow coming from behind them.
"Another Maverick taken down. Only one more to weed out, and our plans can come into fruition." A jagged, dragon-like reploid says, looking straight ahead and leaning against the wall. He strokes his chin slowly while tilting his head down. "However, what I find strange is the backgrounds of our targets. I have noticed that they have consisted of-"
"Hey, watch it, hot head." Another reploid cuts him off. His shoulders and head look rounder than the other reploid's, yet it still has this jaggedness to it. "Noticing stuff like that is only gonna get you on the boss' bad side, and I don't want that to cramp up my style. I gotta look good for them, after all..." He continues, gesturing to himself while winking.
"How stupid can you be? Shouldn't you focus on the whole 'preservation' thing the boss went on about? You're always trying to get in their pants..." This time, a reploid with arguably the roundest head responded to him. A long tube is attached to one of his shoulders, one that holds a line of what looks like bullets. Is that who I think it is...?
Cut to the second roundest reploid in the room with two hard to see spikes near the top of their head. "Oh, that? They're probably doing it casually. If they saw how hard I can outclass their partner, then I'm sure they'll change their mind!" He announces while stroking his chin, but he's trying to make it look...sensual? Pal, I can hardly see you right now. You're not slick.
This makes the dragon reploid lower his eyes. "If you consider an affair like that casual, then how do you explain the Matter Digitizer?" He looks up to the ceiling, and the view goes behind him to reveal the generator that was in Sky Lagoon, the source of the glow. Hints of green shine around these thick mechanical wires, each of them connecting to this machine. Save for some "um"-ing and awkward stuttering, nobody says anything to make way for some digital typing noises.
"Aww, what's wrong, lover boy? Cat got your tongue?" Roundest head taunts. The scene goes from this "Matter Digitizer" to Roundest hunching over something beside the dragon. "Please, we don't need a lot for us to know you're below him." He says. Upon closer inspection, there's a red screen facing Roundest that says "DIGITIZATION AT 95%". There's a round, stubby silhouette below it, and the only other trait it has are these hollow eyes.
"Don't feel so bad, slushie. I'll get you a nice therapy pet to help you cope!" Roundest announces when he punches in some input on the keypad, making the ground start to shake a little. Second-Roundest and the dragon go over to him and glance at his screen.
"Are you sure you wish to rush this process?" The dragon asks.
"Yeah, if you're gonna do that, then maybe you should let us maintain the Digitizer?" Second-Roundest adds. Roundest doesn't look back from the screen and continues to stare at it.
"Shut it...I've waited too long for this hunk of junk to work, and I'm just about done!" Roundest yells as he slams the desk. Second-Roundest gets back but the dragon stays put. "You call it 'rushing the process'? Hah! I call it putting the runt in first class!" Roundest announces. He chuckles devilishly as he paces a lap around the room. Neither reploid chooses to say anything, though the dragon decides to observe him carefully.
"Setting the coordinates there better be worth it. It doesn't look like much work, nor does our little target. I could destroy both in a matter of seconds! Makes me look forward to getting my hands on him...this so-called 'strongest warrior in the gala-"
Suddenly, a door opened beside them, letting in a pillar of light behind a black armored reploid. They have white, mop-like hair down to their shoulders. and their helmet reminds me of a hammerhead shark. "Hey, fellas! I got you all that E-Coffee you wa-aaAAAHH!" He shouts with a brief smile on his face. For a moment, he's holding a metal tray that has four coffee cups in them, until he loses his balance. As he falls head first onto the floor, the cups that were in his tray fly into the air.
Each of the cups sail across the room in slow motion, past nearly every single reploid. Roundest tries to knock one out of the way, but the other three already make it onto the keypad.
When the brown fluid spills all over the machine, it let off several sparks and lashes of thunder near the floors and panels. Now that the room is being lit up thanks to its flickering lights, I can make out who's in it; Magma Dragoon and Vile. I don't recognize the other two, despite the improved vision. Second-Roundest turns out to have chunks of ice for certain parts of his body. I can see a red core with two smaller ones between his ice block shoulders, and his "eyebrows" kinda reminds me of the helmet parts from X's armor sets.
Everyone watches helplessly as the computer screen shows an ugly mess of neon lines, with black squares spreading around them. Only one part of the screen is visible, and that's the text where it shows the digitization process. Don't get too excited, the tremors from before are only getting stronger, making the letters blur. What I can make out is "FATAL ERROR...BACKUP...NOW SEN..." on the screen.
It's like we're all surprised that it manages to say something.
Though what's more surprising is a loud rumbling noise, vaguely similar to an explosion, catches everyone's attention towards the Digitizer. Everyone hits the floor when the tremors come to a sudden halt. At the same time, the machine's red light goes out and makes my screen pitch black. This goes on for roughly...five point seven two three seconds before I see white cutouts of everyone's eyes; some worried, some pissed, but all floaty.
"God damn it, Dynamo, now you've done it! We could've ruled the world if it wasn't for your stupid coffee!" Vile yells. His "eyes" are just a white "T" that tower over another pair angrily. What I assume are Dynamo's eyes cower below his.
"H-Hey! Cool it now! I only did what you guys told me! It's not like I caused that earthquake, did I!?" Dynamo says, attempting to size up Vile.
"You could've knocked before turning it into a problem! I swear, it's like all you ever do is get in the way!"
"I wasn't even trying this time around! Really, I wanted us to celebrate once that boring Digitizer was done cookin'."
"Let me remind you of something, moocher: We're doing it to maintain this world the boss made for us and their little toys, or else they'll blow our cores out! Not for some silly party!"
The pair under Vile went silent for a moment. "...Not even a little toast? I mean...We go clubbing every weekend-" Vile's eyes went blood red before Dynamo could make his point, and began to chase Dynamo around the void. Both the bull and fighter zoom past a duo of white triangles scanning the darkness. Another conjoined pair of ovals floats beside them, doing the same at a quicker pace.
"Look Dragoon, I know we haven't been on the best terms, but I think we should hurry and find a fuse box. How is anyone supposed to look at me like this...?" He whines. Magma Dragoon sighs and looks to the right.
"It does not seem like we have a choice...Let us be on our way." Magma Dragoon's eyes stopped, then floated to where he was looking. Those conjoined eyes follow him past the right side of my screen.
Vile continues his pursuit against Dynamo across the darkness when the two leave. Little by little, their eyes fade into the darkness as their yelling grows quiet.
My screen goes back to the makeshift theatre I saw earlier.
Pretty cool that I can do this, but I don't see myself going to this option all that much.
Back to the title screen I go.
