Chapter 7: Into the Frying Pan
Vile fully materialized after a purple stream of energy collided with the sandy ground of what used to be downtown South City. He immediately began scanning his surroundings, intent on not getting caught off-guard. While his sensors were processing, a communication device bleeped to life.
"Nana, come in. I've arrived," the com link to Nana's room in Giga City seemed stable enough as the young operator was quick to respond.
"This is Nana. You're coming in loud and clear. You should be in the downtown shopping district… Or what used to be that district."
"I'm not picking up any signs of life or activity at all. This place is so trashed even fugitives stay clear of it," Vile turned his attention forward, towards the center of the ruins. The scene of utter destruction presented to him managed to depress even the renegade somewhat. Though only somewhat.
"I took the liberty of quickly skimming over some old reports on South City. Some of them mentioned old and malfunctioning Mechaniloids roaming the streets. It shouldn't be anything you can't handle, though," the pink-haired operator straightened her posture a little nervously in her chair. She was still not used to the idea of having to aide Vile as his operator.
"Where am I going?" the former hunter primed his shoulder cannon in case some of those Mechaniloids decided to get in the way.
"Just keep going straight ahead. The main road you're on should lead directly to Bright's old house." Nana used the name of their suspect and silently hoped this would indeed be the cakewalk her violent partner seemed convinced it would be.
The entire city was dead, in more ways than one. The cold, desert wind blew eerily through the empty, ruined streets. Beyond that subtle breeze, there wasn't a single sound to be heard. Most buildings had collapsed and some were covered under a dune of sand. The main street had more holes and debris on it than asphalt and Vile had to take short detours numerous times as entire buildings had crumbled, blocking his route. Vile preferred to save up his jet boots for emergencies. As such, he wasn't about to use them just to hop over some wreckage.
It didn't take long for Vile to start wondering if he was truly alone in that city. He attributed it to paranoia, but the sound of bits of glass, brick or metal dropping to the ground from above would make anyone jumpy. More than likely, they had finally been wedged free by the persistent wind, but the thought remained. Every time he heard something behind him, the Reploid had to suppress the urge to turn around, hoping to be fast enough to counter an attack from an unseen assailant.
Eventually, the purple Reploid reached the center square of the metropolis. He had been to South City in the past, during a mission to hunt down a Maverick. He could still remember what the square had been like in its full, undevastated glory. A huge, circular opening in the busy cityscape, with its center occupied by a massive, marble fountain basin. Back then, it had been filled to the brim with clear, cool water and kept clean by purification devices installed along the base of the giant statue that had been erected in the middle of the basin. It had been shaped in the image of a young doctor Cain; the scientist who had based the original Reploids off of Mega Man X' template. He had also been the man who had designed numerous landmarks that had once made South City a tourist attraction.
The sight that day, however, was very different. The statue had broken off around the waist, with large chunks of marble missing from the center block. The water had dried up some time ago and instead the entire monument was covered in dirt, sand and some debris from the nearby colony crash. It was almost cruelly symbolic of the misery caused by Sigma. Machinations that had turned the former Hunter commander against his own creator... Vile watched the scene for a brief moment longer, before circling around it and heading on down the main street.
"The house should be coming up on your left right about now."
Vile took two more steps before a relatively intact home appeared around the corner of a barely upright structure.
"Two story house, flat roof, mostly metal plate?" Vile felt it was prudent to double-check, as he wasn't sure how much of a visual feed his operator was getting through their established link. After all, if the connection was too shoddy, sound was going to be prioritized over video and thus the only thing she would be receiving.
"Yes, that's the place. So it's still standing?" Nana's relief that things were going their way for the time being was palpable in her voice.
"More or less. Seems to be some damage to the second floor. Better not collapse while I'm up there," he confidently began making his way to the front door. The ordinarily automatic, sliding barrier was either malfunctioning, locked, or its power feed had been cut off. Either way, Vile had to force it open. Fortunately, it didn't offer a whole lot of resistance as the renegade made the door part enough for him to fit through it. He moved very cautiously. For all he knew, Bright – or anyone potentially toying with the two of them – had set various traps to surprise trespassers. It would be reasonable to assume some of those might still be active.
The house's interior was fairly intact, all things considered. The main corridor held doorways into the kitchen, the living room and the basement. The staircase up to the first floor looked a little shaky, with some of its steps having collapsed. Vile decided to check the ground floor first and began walking through the various rooms. The kitchen was messy and before the water had receded, it must've been inundated by numerous leaks from broken appliances. Several cabinets and decorative items had plummeted to the ground after having been shook loose by the intense impact that had happened nearby. The former Hunter hadn't expected to find anything in the kitchen, but he was going to do his job thoroughly. He would rather not have to go back to South City, if he could help it. Moving on, he found nothing but broken furniture and belongings in the other rooms of the ground floor.
Using his jet boots, Vile managed to avoid having to use the precarious staircase to get to the first floor. He had hoped not to make so much noise, but it was preferable to potentially falling through the steps and down into the basement.
The first floor wasn't much to look at. Most of the windows were shattered, the bedrooms had been ravaged, but there was one room that appeared to be relatively intact. It was a study of some kind, with several bookcases and a portable computer that rested on a wooden desk. The renegade found it odd that a Reploid had need of two bedrooms and a kitchen. Although perhaps Bright had been living with several humans? Some Reploids also never got around to redecorating a home that had previously belonged to a human.
"I've found a computer in his study. Analyze it for me," Vile had opened the communication line to Nana once again.
"Analyze it?"
Vile sighed softly as he hated wasting time on clarifications. "Check it for anything suspicious. Last thing I want is for the blasted thing to blow up in my face the first button I press," the renegade's aggravation and acute lack of patience were beyond obvious.
Nana couldn't help but stammer a bit at what would've been a stupid question coming from any seasoned operator. But, at the same time, she found herself fighting back remarks in her defense. She couldn't help that she'd never done this before! How was she supposed to know all the jargon Hunters used regularly?
Vile's hand reached for one of the books on the nearest shelf while he waited. He glanced over the cover and noticed it was the same topic as many of the other books kept on the dark brown wooden shelves. They were all works on research into the autonomy of Reploids; into how to further improve how Reploids experience pre-programmed emotion and their independent development of them.
"This is complicated stuff for a Reploid working clean-up," Vile whispered to himself as he flipped through a few pages. He quickly found the material was well above his understanding too.
"Did you say something?" Nana only received a mumbled 'no' in response. "Well, either way, according to my readings and scans, the computer is safe to use."
Vile didn't bother putting the book he had taken back where it belonged, instead just dropping it where he stood. Who was going to care? Certainly not the owner. He walked over to the desk and reached for the office chair that had fallen over in the devastation that had rocked the city. After propping it back up, he sat down in front of the portable device. Once he pressed the power button, he was pleased to find that the auxiliary power source it was hooked up to still had some juice left to give. How much, though, was anyone's guess, so he presumed speed was of the essence.
After about half an hour, Vile grumbled in frustration as the computer didn't contain any information they could use. There wasn't even anything that could tie the Reploid to the incident in Central City. Most of the reports Bright had sent over the course of his career were still backed up on the device. He seemed to have been rather neat and organized, so it was hard to believe he'd not have stored the report they were interested in like he had most others.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say he'd never been there to begin with. I think we're on a wild, fucking goose chase!" Vile growled slightly as he suppressed the urge to throw the computer at the nearest wall. "This doesn't answer our questions at all. Either he's hiding clues on purpose or he's got nothing to do with Central City. There's nothing on here indicating he'd left for an extended duration to Giga City. The bastard just stayed here, playing grab-ass with himself!" despite his complaints, Vile still started uploading some of the data to Nana, so she could take a look at it later.
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this, Vile. This is a dead-end. Activate your remote transfer signal as soon as you can so I can pull you out in an emergency," after a short wait, the operator muttered a brief: "This is odd..."
"What now?" the renegade was already getting up from the chair. No sooner was he on his feet when he heard something in the distance, through the window in the office. It wasn't just his usual paranoia again either, as he could have sworn it had been the distinctive sound of a large, high-power energy weapon activating, and arming.
"The files you're sending; they're corrupt! Th-They're just gibberish, fakes!" Nana's exclamation came just before her realization of what was going on. "Get out of there, Vile! It's a trap!" the pink-haired operator was instantly forced to disconnect their link as she figured they were trying to trace her whereabouts through the data transfer from the computer.
That very same moment, Vile's head jerked to the right to look out the broken window and he spotted a bright, dark blue flash of intense light from the rooftop of the building across the street from him. The purple Reploid wasn't going to sit around and wait to find out what exactly was taking a shot at him and immediately tilted the Front Runner at the ceiling. A single blast was enough to open up an escape route out of the shoddy structure. He flared his jet boots to propel himself up and through the roof. He barely made it out in time to avoid suffering the same fate as the entire building. A massive sphere of crackling energy collided with the study, reducing the house to rubble.
"Shit!" Vile cursed as he landed on the ground just in front of the ruined structure. The shockwave from the explosion almost pushed him over, and he was forced to sway back to avoid a large piece of debris from crashing down on top of him.
All around the renegade, strange silhouettes began approaching him. They were all vaguely humanoid, though translucent and would have been entirely invisible if not for the ripples in the space around them that seemed to occur whenever they moved. Vile was having a hard time keeping his eyes on them as they moved from cover to cover. They stuck to buildings and piles of debris, using the irregularity of those backdrops to further camouflage themselves.
"Vile! I'm reading numerous energy signatures all around you; Five in all!" Nana had reestablished the communication link after deleting the files that had already been sent, as well as reinforcing the security protocols. "They're hard to detect, I think they might be using some sort of jamming equipment."
"They're even harder to see. My guess is they've got stealth cores, but I've only ever heard of prototypes being this damn effective," Vile clenched his fists and activated the Front Runner. He was ready for battle, as it was highly unlikely these assassins had anything other than his destruction in mind.
The first of his opponents sprung from hiding the moment it had closed a sufficient distance to Vile and his back was turned. The rapid slash of its energy saber was preempted by the highly recognizable activation sound of the weapon, allowing Vile the opportunity roll away. The saber hit nothing but air, but the threat of the melee weapon had Vile putting some distance between himself and the invisible enemy. He remained crouched and aimed his shoulder cannon.
Whatever he was fighting, they were definitely Reploids, though they did not resemble any particular animal like some tended to. Its face was hidden behind a strange, skull-shaped mask and its frame was only lightly armored to allow it to remain highly maneuverable and fast. Its body was colored a dark green with an almost-black shade of brown for the details. An insignia that Vile couldn't recognize was displayed on both of its shoulder pads. He quickly noticed the device that allowed it to blend into its surroundings humming softly from inside its abdomen. That was definitely a stealth core, but it seemed as though the entire body of the Reploid had been adapted to accommodate the device.
Before Vile could fire a shot at the thing, it dashed aside, disappearing as its stealth mode reactivated.
"Dammit!"
The next one engaged now, this one striking Vile from behind as well. However, Vile reacted more quickly and reached around to grab hold of the wrist of the arm that held the lethal, orange saber. The weapon hummed ceaselessly as the two Reploids fought to gain an advantage in the deadlock through a contest of brute strength. The renegade hadn't expected his opponent's next move, however, as its back opened up to reveal two additional arms that rotated into place on the sides of its abdomen.
Still engaged with holding the stealthy Reploid's first set of wrists, Vile could do nothing as two fists collided sharply with his gut, forcing him to double over from the impact. The strange Reploid was completely silent as it reached back for a second blade with a free hand. Vile hadn't been debilitated nearly as much as the assassin had likely been hoping for, as it never had the chance to fully draw the second weapon. Vile angled his shoulder cannon just right to take a shot at point blank range. The resulting energy sphere hit the right side of the Reploid's body, severing two arms and obliterating a good portion of its chest.
The renegade straightened again and lifted the remains of the arm he had had maintained a firm grip on. His opponent stumbled back, desperately trying to maintain a semblance of balance. Vile glanced at the arm once before casting it aside; entirely uninterested in the spasms it was still producing.
"You're not a Reploid," Vile had realized they were far too unresponsive to outside stimuli – such as pain – that were simulated for a Reploid' own safety. Just like in humans, this simulated pain was a mechanism to help warn them of imminent, ongoing and pressing danger and harm. But Vile's opponents were totally lacking in that synthetic instinct. It hadn't even displayed a modicum of frustration at having lost two limbs. It simply continued to try and execute its orders.
'These are extremely high-grade Mechaniloids. Nothing more,' Vile growled as he dashed at the damaged robot, which gave him the speed he needed to get into close-range with it without giving it the chance to put up much of a response.
"Piece of junk!" The palm of the former Hunter's right hand gripped the Mechaniloid's head hard and, using the momentum of his earlier dash, he violently crushed it against at thick, concrete wall behind it. Vile flexed his fingers slightly as the headless drone collapsed into a lifeless heap. It felt good to be able to do that again. He had his speed and strength back. Had he still been the mess he'd been before Gaudile had fixed him up, he wouldn't have liked his chances in this fight. As much as it pained him to admit it, he owed Nana and her friend.
The other drones immediately adapted their strategy, as they began to creep out of hiding. Their stealth cores were still obscuring them, but the ripples were obvious enough for him to notice each of them preemptively sprouting their two additional arms. Their advanced AI had probably concluded Vile was too much of a threat to approach with caution and rushing him with every available unit and weapon drawn was the best course of action. They weren't wrong, but Vile welcomed the chance to prove they were simply inadequate.
"What's the matter? One saber not enough for any o' you cowards?" Vile didn't really expect an answer, not even to him motioning for them to come at him with the waving of an open palm. He was getting cocky, but than again, he had never been in a fight where his arrogance hadn't gotten out of hand. Fortunately, he was tough enough for overconfidence to not bite him in the rear-end. Usually.
The closest Mechaniloid engaged first, slashing horizontally with its primary arms before lunging with its secondary pair. The blades whirred dangerously as the strikes missed a retreating Vile. Armor helped somewhat against those energy weapons, but by and large, one wrong move and Vile would be in a world of hurt. The former Hunter took aim and fired three shots from his cannon, each aimed for his enemy's chest. The robot assassin rapidly dodged all three blasts by jumping aside. In mid-air, it used claws installed on its elbows and knees to attach itself to the wall of the ruinous building to Vile's left.
Two more Mechaniloids engaged the renegade, though he successfully dodged the flurry of slashes that ensued. The Maverick's mind was working overtime to think up a plan, but his foes were relentless with their attacks. The one crawling across the face of a building had gotten to a higher vantage point and was in the ideal position to leap at him. Finding no better solution for now, Vile decided to risk some injury in what could only be described as an all-out brawl.
The purple Reploid set his dash boots to overdrive and tackled the nearest Mechaniloid hard, forcing it to the ground. He kept it pinned beneath his legs and began pummeling it with several hard punches. One of the other Mechaniloids immediately made its move and approached him from behind. Vile's bent knee opened while he kept his original target pinned and temporarily indisposed. A spherical grenade shot out of a compartment in the joint, falling somewhere halfway between both opponents. Not missing a beat, the war machine quickly dashed away from the two drones, who were too slow to respond to the threat and were shred apart by the explosion of the fragmentation grenade.
'Two more down,' the renegade thought to himself. He was grinning as widely as he could. It had felt like ages since he'd last experienced a rush quite like that one. One wrong move and he would have blown himself up, or fallen victim to an intercepting energy saber. But no, his luck was holding and he was alive and well.
One more assassin revealed itself, joining the one that had jumped onto the face of another building in the hopes of flanking Vile. From there, it leaped down at him, while the first charged right for the renegade, blades drawn and ready. Vile opened fire with the Front Runner, trying to keep both of them at bay and forcing them to abort their offensive. The two Mechaniloids moved erratically, zigzagging and often using the sides of broken buildings to wall-kick over Vile's projectiles. The former Hunter refused to be outdone, and began watching their movements closely, waiting for the perfect time to fire a predictive shot. One of the two finally approached close enough for it to strike, but it was met with a rapidly reacting Vile, who blasted its stealth core in mid-dash. The device overloaded and caused the robot to explode.
The final remaining Mechaniloid got in close and personal while debris rained down. Its blades swiped and slashed rapidly, often aimed at vital parts or joints of Vile's body. The purple Reploid was glad Gaudile had repaired his locomotive systems to optimal functionality. Even though those drones were no Zero, they were still blindingly fast and precise. Unlike the aforementioned saber specialist, though, they lacked true mastery and never seemed to use feints or unconventional attacks to probe Vile's defenses.
When the assault let up for a split second, Vile was able to back away nimbly, leaving the Mechaniloid to stumble slightly from the momentum of one of its swings. With its guard down, Vile fired another shot from his shoulder cannon, sending the energy sphere crashing into that drone's exposed core. Just like the one before it, the device began malfunctioning, revealing just how unstable they were yet again. An explosion tore the assassin to pieces and seemingly left Vile by himself again. He knew better though, none of those drones could have fired the shot that had leveled Bright's home.
"Impressive, Maverick Hunter. Oh wait, nah. Is it fugitive? Maverick? Mercenary?" a deep booming voice laughed mockingly, the empty streets producing an echo that made it difficult to pinpoint the origin of the sound. "Ya dun even know yerself, do ya?"
"Come out! Ya gonna try and blow me up and not have the decency to show your ugly mug?!" Vile continued to look around him, even casting his eyes up at surrounding buildings to see if this particular enemy was still standing on a rooftop. However, he then spotted some movement behind him from his peripheral vision, causing the renegade to swing around.
About fifty feet away stood a giant Reploid, clad in a tattered cloak that hid most of his massive frame. The stranger began approaching Vile, his body language oozing confidence in an attempt to intimidate, though there was no immediate aggression behind the motions. Once he was barely half a foot away from Vile, he looked down at him. His lips twisted in a wide smirk as he continued mocking the former Hunter. Vile had to crane his neck back considerably to meet the other's gaze, but did not back down in the slightest.
"Welcome to yer funeral, little man. I'll try an' make this quick."
Vile grinned behind his helmet's visor, adrenaline still fueling him. "Bring it. Been itching for a decent fight."