Chapter 9: Encounter in Central City
"Dammit!" Vile slammed his fist into one of the walls of the transfer room.
"Are you alright?" Nana was more than a little timid as she entered the side room. The renegade was angry, and she knew that wasn't the best of times to be around him. Vile's visor revealed her reflection to her as he turned to face her.
"Of course! But we're right back where we started. That whole trip to South City was pointless!" His voice was raised to a full-blown shout by that point. He was annoyed at being played for a fool by those mercenaries.
"Calm down. We might not know a lot about them, but at least we have a name for whoever's trying to stop us from finding out more about your past, and Chief R's death," the operator backed away and returned to her console in the other room of the apartment.
Vile narrowed his eyes as he followed her, still stewing over the trap they'd sprung. "The short one, Frostbite, mentioned you might know more about who they are. Do you?"
Nana nodded as she brought up a few data entries on the mercenaries from the Giga City archives. Her monitor was covered in a number of poor quality photos of Reploids. Only Onslaught was easily picked out among the silhouettes on one of the pictures, mainly due to his size and weaponry. "I don't know much because not a whole lot is known about them in general. What I do know is that they're a team of elite Reploid mercenaries. There are four of them in all, and they've been involved in many recent conflicts in the more remote and chaotic regions of the world. Their presence has often been cited as being enough to turn the tides of a battle in their employer's favor. How much of that is them up-selling themselves and how much is truth, no clue."
Vile walked up to her console and leaned forward, one hand gripping the back of Nana's chair as he did so. "I'm guessing they ask for ridiculous fees? It's weird I never heard of 'em. I was in the merc business for a while."
"Very steep. They have cultivated a reputation of always finishing their jobs successfully. It's safe to assume their current employer has a lot of resources at their disposal to be able to afford them," the pink-haired operator brushed aside her white bang as she looked up at the hunched-over Vile.
"What else can you tell me?"
"Not much. I have lists of known operations they have been involved in, but nothing is really related to what we're doing. At least not at first glance. All four members – even Onslaught – seem quite adept at covering their tracks so finding out more beyond their names and vague rumors is exceedingly difficult.
"I doubt they'd be stupid enough to take a common bait for mercs: the promise of lucrative work. They're too professional. They've probably stopped taking tickets altogether to focus on this job," Vile straightened his back again and crossed his arms over his chest.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that. The Revenants usually work alone, but they still prefer to leave administration to someone else. Only a few days ago, someone with alleged ties to them was captured by Maverick Hunters. They've been looking into the mercenaries because their names have been mentioned several times in connection to Maverick activity."
"Mercenaries are generally labeled Mavericks anyway, by default," Vile interjected as the tip of his right boot started tapping the metal floor.
"Beyond that, they're wanted criminals in quite a few countries across the globe, so many parties stand to gain with their arrest," Nana tapped a few virtual keys to bring up the news reports that she'd been looking into while Vile had been fighting, and during his transfer back to Giga City. One of the main advantages Reploids fit for operating duties had was their immense ability to multi-task efficiently. More often than not, they combine analyzing readings from the operative in the field, researching information they are gathering in real-time and keeping an eye on the bigger picture of an operation with nearly no loss in efficiency.
"A Reploid by the name of Jantis was arrested earlier today by a Maverick Hunter unit from East company outside his home in East City. He was quickly transferred via armored convoy to the Central City's Detention Facility for questioning..." Vile had leaned over to read the first two lines of the article aloud, but stood up straight after reading all he needed to. "I think we should pay this 'Jantis' a visit."
"I agree. I'll start doing some research into the facility's layout and security detail. It's obviously not going to be easy getting in and out," already, Nana's fingers began typing away, though she was almost instantly interrupted by the purple Reploid beside her.
"Waste of time. I know the place. I wasn't the kind of Hunter who followed the rulebook," the renegade snorted as he seemed amused by memories of temporary incarceration for disciplinary reasons. "Central City's jail's understaffed and has a fraction of the inmates it used to. The Hunters don't have the numbers necessary to just up his security detail and they'll think the facility's baseline is enough," he looked down to her and spoke with no small amount of amusement in his voice.
"It ain't when I'm the one trying to break in."
"Alright. If you're sure," it didn't surprise Nana in the slightest that he knew most of the Hunters' primary detention facilities inside and out. "I suggest we use the cover of night. It'll be hard enough to get in as it is, without broad daylight making sure you stand out as much as possible."
"Fine, but I'm not waiting too long. I've got questions that need answers. I'll recharge and repair in the meantime," it continued to annoy the former Hunter that he was still restricted in his choice of weapons. While most of his systems had been fully repaired by Gaudile, he lacked the ammunition to actually use the weaponry. What few physical ammo he had had left for his once-broken armaments had been spent on his opponents in South City, leaving him dry save for anything energy-based. But, if anyone was able to make due with even the minimum to make themselves lethal, it was Vile.
The hexagonal facility was just like he remembered it. Vile had spent a lot of his time as a Hunter incarcerated among the criminals and Mavericks. Central City's detention center was one of the ones he'd seen the inside of more often than most others. Many times, he'd been charged with misconduct, complete disregard of the rules, the law and his superiors' orders. He always got the job done, racking up a near record ratio of solved to unsolved cases, but there was rarely enough left of the Maverick to fill an ashtray. Because he was so effective during one of the periods where Maverick incidents were at an all-time high, more pragmatic higher-ups of the organization decided he was worth the risk.
However, when he pushed his luck too far and was brought in for the alleged, deliberate deaths of innocents just to get to his prey, even they realized he was more trouble than he was worth.
The structure towered over the buildings surrounding it and was protected by several turret emplacements installed atop encircling spires. The cold steel reflected the street lights of several Central City highways that ran along it. High, electrified fences served as an additional obstacle to make sure incarcerated criminals had nowhere to run. Each corner of the hexagonal bunker extended upwards into a high, defensive tower, outfitted with more turrets, sensors, searchlights and Reploid guards. As the pair had established earlier though, a number of defense systems were inactive, and the guard compliment was light at best. Several sections of the facility had been completely de-powered as there were no inmates with which to fill those cells.
Vile's crimson eyes flashed slightly and narrowed as he glanced from one tower to the next. He had broken out of there once before, though he had gotten the assistance of Sigma. The mad, former commander of the Maverick Hunters had just started his rebellion and sought to recruit him. Thinking back to those days in particular... it never sat well with the renegade. Not because he felt regret over his actions, but rather that those actions had been in the service of someone else. Before he could ponder it more, he reminded himself why he was there. He had a job to do. He could reflect later.
This time around, he needed to break in unnoticed, and then get back out in one piece. And all of that by his lonesome. While others would be intimidated by that task, Vile couldn't help but grin as he turned that dread into a beat of excitement. Already, this entire situation he found himself in was proving far more exciting than his short-lived mercenary days ever had. If push came to shove and he was forced to defend himself, those guards would at least prove a bit of a challenge.
"I'm at the target area. Ya got that security grid deactivated yet?" Vile questioned from his crouched position. He had used his jet boots on a low setting to silently fly up onto one of the metal beams connecting two columns supporting a nearby highway.
"Almost. The grid's extremely well secured from outside, unauthorized access and has a lot of backup systems. I can't shut any of those down, nor can I leave the grid down for too long without the prison's own operators suspecting something other than a brief glitch. You'll have a very small window to get in. Think you'll cross the distance in time?" the young operator was still tapping away at the virtual keys as she spoke with her unlikely partner.
"You just worry about taking it down. Leave the flying to me," Vile rose up and rolled his shoulders twice to 'loosen up', before leaning forward. He took a single step, so that he was ready to dash off the beam at a moment's notice.
"If you say so, Vile. Deactivating the grid on three. One... Two... Three!" Nana exclaimed as she pressed a final key on her console. Instantly, a fluctuation in the power feed to the southern side of the facility would turn off the various sensors, searchlights and automated defenses that would have otherwise detected anyone stepping a foot onto the prison grounds.
Vile immediately diverted as much energy as his boots could handle to their dash function. The resulting flare was rather bright, but the confusion caused by the temporary black-out left the few guards on the southern end of the facility less than observant. The boost was strong enough to propel Vile up into the air on a ballistic arc that would hopefully have him drop down close to the structure itself. It was a risky maneuver, but than, when did the renegade do anything safely?
With a loud thud, Vile landed near the outer wall of the facility. He had used the occasional flare of his jet boots to slow his descent close to the ground, but the impact was still strong enough to have him roll a number of times before skidding to a halt. There were a few tense seconds between the grid coming back online and Vile releasing a slight sigh of relief. No alarms started blaring, no Hunters were running up to him with their weapons drawn. Nothing.
Still, he was in the open, so instead of standing around for much longer, he ran for an entrance that would lead into a storage room. The entrance was guarded, but by only a single Hunter, who was too busy looking up at the lights and towers to notice the purple Reploid running right for him. The combat Reploid closed the distance in an instant and slammed the guard's head into the wall behind him. He unceremoniously chucked the body behind a pile of crates after taking whatever credentials and keycards could be found on him.
"I'm at the side entrance. You said there was some kind of procedure to unlock it?"
"Yes, I've brought up the data already. Enter the code '448795', then slide the card you found twice. Once down, once up," Nana minimized the window on her monitor that had the instructions she'd drafted for herself typed out so she could focus on the sensory feed from the former Hunter again. "It's vital you follow those steps exactly, or you'll set off a warning alarm and a patrol will be sent to investigate if it's not turned off first. And it would take me too long to do so from here."
Vile proceeded as she explained and soon slipped into the detention center, in time for the confusion to die down. Nana had been monitoring what little chatter she could hack into remotely and as far as she could tell, their plan had worked. The power failure had been chalked up to a glitch and they'd likely just send a technician down into the basement, whose time would subsequently be wasted on a painstaking process of elimination to figure out what had happened.
Vile looked to his left and right as he examined the store room. He was in luck; the entire room was abandoned, and served as a basic, emergency armory for the guards. Most of their heavy gear would be located deeper into the facility, and more heavily protected, but that didn't stop Vile from turning giddy at the prospect of what he could find. A quick scan of the metal crates lining one wall of the room revealed that some contained solid rounds he could use to load the rotary machine guns installed in his forearms, whose barrels completely circled the limb.
He'd been dry on ammo for months now and while the machine guns were nowhere near as powerful as the Front Runner, they provided a quick, easy and suppressive method of attack. Further back were a few longer crates that contained miniature rockets that were used to subdue the larger Mavericks that were occasionally held captive there, should the need arise. They weren't ideal, but his shoulder-mounted rocket pack did support that particular type, and Vile was not going to be turning down explosives any time soon.
"Vile? What's the hold-up? Everything okay?" Nana had not heard from him for several minutes and inexperienced concern was evident in her voice.
"Just stocking up on some goodies," the response came paired with a broad grin and soft chuckle. The ammo readings on the HUD inside his helmet climbed up to their maxima for the first time in what seemed like forever to him. It made him feel... complete, and like a kid with a new toy, he couldn't wait to try it all out.
"I can't believe we're robbing a prison armory now..." Nana's palm held her forehead as she shook her head slightly.
"Just tell me where to find this 'Jantis' guy and keep your comments to yourself."
"Block 3D. Head down the hall and take the elevator up four floors. It's quickest if you go east from the room you're in," she ignored the former Hunter's rude, additional request. Someone had to at least try and keep him in line. The more heat was on them, the harder this was going to be.
Vile opened the automatic door out of the storage room and looked down the hall to check if the coast was clear before moving. Heading right, he walked through the monotone, metal hallways until he came to the lift door at the end of a corridor. To his left, on the other side of a glass window, he could see the large hall where prisoners of detention block D could stretch their legs a little. It had tables and some recreational devices scattered across the ground floor. There were several floors of balconies as well, each of which lead to rows of cells rooms. Luckily, the renegade's target was in a protected, isolated cell. Jantis was too valuable a captive to leave out there, where he could possibly be killed for knowing too much about the wrong kind of people. So, Vile wouldn't be visible to anyone walking the other floors or looking out a window in the same way he was.
The hall was empty right now, as the prisoners had all been locked up for the night. Security seemed lax as well, on top of the facility being understaffed to begin with. He pressed the elevator button and pushed his back up against the wall to the side of the lift to make sure he was out of sight of anyone that might be inside. Fortunately, the lift was empty, allowing him to walk in and press the button for the fourth floor. He crossed his arms and proceeded to wait. He didn't like the idea of taking the elevator, but it was quicker. He just hoped there was no patrol on the other side of the door when it arrived.
The lift came to a halt and the doors slid open with a soft hiss. The hallway before him was poorly lit and to the left and right of it were isolation cells. Each cell was surrounded by solid steel walls. The only supposed means of entry was by opening a thick door made of a see-through material and secured further by horizontal laser bars.
However, there wasn't a single Hunter in sight. Vile had expected to see hints of activity. Maybe a guard on patrol, or someone doing the rounds of the other floors. Were those cells all empty? He hadn't been able to check and couldn't anymore from where he was standing. The lights were dimmed, the cameras were... missing, and the only active, occupied cell was in the far back. That was the one Jantis supposedly occupied.
"Something wrong?" Nana had detected that the renegade had been standing outside the lift for several moments, unmoving.
"No..." Vile's voice was an uncharactertistic whisper as he cautiously proceeded. After passing half a dozen cells, he reached Jantis' and made sure to keep his shoulder cannon ready. It seemed unnecessary, however, as the prisoner lay – unarmed – on his bunk bed, calmly reading a book.
Upon seeing movement from the corner of his eyes, Jantis looked over, probably expecting a guard. However, he sat up in a startle, fear evident on his face at the realization a stranger was outside his cell. "Wh-Who are you?! You're not a guard!" his voice was raised as his arms covered his face in both fear and reflex. "Please don't kill me, I don't know anything and I haven't said anything!"
"Relax, drama queen. I ain't a hitman sent to shut you up," Vile deactivated the Front Runner. The weapon reset to its semi-vertical angle and stopped humming.
"But, you're not a Hunter either, right? What do you want from me?" The scrawny Reploid looked the part of someone who did paperwork rather than fight. He was thin, poorly armored and colored in shades of black and orange. The undershirt of his body was a common black, while his hair was dirty and unruly. The strands seemed to have dulled to an unattractive shade of grey. Blue eyes were filled with fear, though to a lesser extent than they had been before.
"Information. About the Revenants. In exchange..." Vile reached up and tapped the side of one of the laser emitters of the cell. "I might be willing to break you out of here," The emitters lined the door frame all around. Touching the slightly pulsating, purple beams would result in a violent shock of varying intensity. That intensity depended on how hard they were struck and what they had been set to by the facility's security personnel.
"The Revenants? Give up. A lot of people have tried to catch them, and they've all failed," Jantis swung his legs and sat on the edge of the bunk bed. "Plenty of those Reploids looked like they'd be a bigger challenge for them than you. It's best for everyone – including myself – that you just leave the secrets in the dark and go home."
"Can't do that. I got a lot riding on this, and I won't be stopped by a bunch of arrogant mercs."
Jantis looked up at Vile's t-shaped visor and uttered a long sigh before rising to his feet. Vile almost immediately noticed a change in his behavior. The prisoner seemed more confident, and his voice had become deeper and even familiar when he spoke up next.
"Trust me. Its better for you if you back out now," Jantis took a few steps towards the bars.
"Not a chance," Vile took an instinctive step back himself, before finally realizing what was going on. The Hunter back in the West City archives had sounded much like Jantis did. Did he disguise himself somehow?! No sooner had the renegade realized something was very wrong when half of Jantis' arm morphed into an ebony-plated limb, which held a buster pistol. The door into the cell opened and only by virtue of his quick reaction time, was Vile able to dodge the energy shot that passed through the laser bars.
"Nana, he's a fake!" He exclaimed, so that he was sure his operator knew what was transpiring.
"I'm detecting an energy spike! That shot set off an alarm!" Nana looked over the information on the facility that she was still feeding to her terminal. "But... that entire prison block has been sealed off, the Hunters themselves won't be able to get in for some time!"
"Good! I ain't leaving until I rip that shapeshifting goon's head off!" Vile spat angrily as he rose up from his crouched position to face his opponent.
The black armored Reploid had shifted back to his own body completely by that point. Spectrum drew his two, yellow sabers and easily slashed apart the energy emitters, removing the laser bars that were keeping him locked in that cell. He walked out into the corridor and narrowed his eyes at Vile.
"I can't say I'm disappointed that you decided to press on. This gives me a chance at payback for that cheap shot," Spectrum proceeded to tap his chest with the blunt end of one of his saber's handles.
"Heh. I figured it was you; the Hunter sergeant I shot back in West City? You've got a Copy Chip installed, don't ya?" Vile grinned behind his helmet. "What can I say? All's fair in love and war. Besides, I think we're even on the cheap tricks level, ya shifting heap of garbage."
"My name is Spectrum," the black and green-trimmed Reploid decided not to waste anymore time on words. He flourished his sabers to add force to his declaration and dashed for Vile.
The purple Reploid knew he was at a serious disadvantage in that tight corridor, as he didn't have the room he needed to properly dodge those blades. Spectrum was in melee range in an instant and slashed for one of Vile's arms, hoping to sever it cleanly. The blade hummed as it cut the air and missed. Instead, it slashed along the floor, leaving a glowing, red-hot mark where it had hit. Vile arched back to dodge the follow-up strike aimed for his neck and took the chance to use his rotary guns on his arms.
The renegade activated his boots and dashed backwards, away from the lethal swordsman. A hailstorm of bullets erupted from Vile's arms. Each individual round didn't pack too much of a punch, but continuous hits from Vile's 'spray and pray' approach to ranged combat would wear anyone down. Not a single bullet made it past Spectrum's defenses, however, as the ebony Reploid flurried his sabers rapidly in front of him. The energy sabers acted like a shield, incinerating the small projectiles in mid-flight.
As he kept up his improvised barrier, the black Reploid continued to approach Vile, step-by-step. He seemed aware that he had all the time in the world and Vile was running out of corridor to back into. Vile turned up the heat, though, as the Front Runner activated again. A single discharge sent a ball of energy flying at Spectrum, adding some punch to the renegade's barrage. That orb met the same fate as the solid projectiles before it the moment it collided with Spectrum's blades. The impact was clearly more powerful, but nothing that the swordsman couldn't handle.
Vile then felt a solid door against his back and realized he had backed away as far as he could. Spectrum closed in fast the instant there was a brief lull in the renegade's firing. Dash boots allowed the mercenary to rush through the rest of the corridor and both his blades lashed out at the former Hunter in sequence. Vile was able to dodge the first three of those initial strikes, with the door behind him being slashed to pieces in the process. However, he groaned in pain as his side was kicked hard by Spectrum's right boot, an attack he had not seen coming due to being entirely distracted by the more lethal sword strikes.
While Vile was no master of hand-to-hand combat, he was an unpolished but persistent brawler. His fighting style was never pretty, but backed by an indomitable will and an endless font of aggression, few could recover as quickly as he, and proceed to take advantage of a setback. And that was precisely what Vile did when he wrapped an arm around the limb quickly. He pulled his other arm back as much as he could and swung a fist at Spectrum's face.
The hard impact of metal-on-metal resounded through the corridor and left the black Reploid slightly dizzy. The hold on his leg tightened while he attempted to keep his balance on one foot. He noticed too late that Vile had grabbed hold of it with his other arm, which allowed him to violently toss him into the wall to their right.
That attack didn't leave Spectrum dazed for long, as his dash boots pushed him away from the dented wall and towards his opponent. He immediately attacked with a few more precise slashes that were barely avoided by Vile, with the last one even hitting its target by drawing a deep cut along Vile's chest.
The injury glowed and sizzled but had only damaged armor. Still, it put Vile on the defensive again, while also just opening up his guard long enough for the Revenant to super-charge his sabers. The yellow energy flared violently and when Spectrum brought them both down onto the steel floor, a shockwave erupted.
The wave of golden energy collided with Vile, sweeping him off his feet. The explosive knockback sent the renegade through the wall behind him and out into the large hall he had seen before. Given he had been on the fourth floor, it was quite a ways down. One of the iron tables buckled under his weight as he painfully crashed right on top of it. Before he had the time to gather himself and get up, Spectrum had already landed over him, forcing Vile to grab hold of his opponent's wrists to avoid being sliced in half by the descending blades.
"You're good... A worth foe. It's almost a shame you have to die," Spectrum's voice was slightly strained from the deadlock the two maintained, though it retained its cold apathy.
"There's no such thing as a 'worthy foe'. There's just me, and scrap metal like you!" Vile did not share the Revenant's warrior code at all, or any code for that matter. Vile then managed to maneuver his right leg so that he could apply pressure to Spectrum's chest with his boot. Once he felt confident enough and before Spectrum could realize what he was planning, he activated the jet function of that boot. The thrust was more than enough to violently shove the black-framed mercenary off of him. Almost immediately after, he opened fire with the Front Runner, sending a single shot right into Spectrum's chest armor and further pushing him away.
The renegade had enough time now to scramble to his knees and take to the air, from where he continued his barrage. Bullets, energy blasts and the occasional mini-rocket all came down at the mercenary. The saber wielder didn't let up, however, and as soon as he had recovered, he began dashing and jumping rapidly. He used the tables, chairs and even the walls in the large hall in an attempt to stay one step ahead of the airborne Reploid. After a successful set of evasive maneuvers, the Revenant managed to kick up a wall and take a single leap at his opponent in an attempt to slash him to ribbons.
Vile remained in the air, though, despite one of those attacks connecting and cutting deep into his shoulder. A kick to the side of his helmet followed immediately after, which sent him down to the ground. Fortunately, he was able to recover before hitting the floor, instead rolling with the impact and getting back up on his feet as quickly as he could muster.
Spectrum, on the other hand, landed swiftly and continued the assault, his sabers flurrying like a yellow hurricane. Vile continued to rely on his environment and firepower to give him an edge. He planted his right foot against one of the tables and shoved it with a loud grunt at his opponent with considerable force. The piece of furniture was swiftly cut apart before it could hit, though, but it had proven to be enough of a distraction for the former Hunter's reckless charge to go unnoticed.
"I'm gonna to enjoy tearing you to pieces!" Vile's shout echoed through the hall. His right hand glowed with a purple light while his dash boots were set to overdrive. The renegade collided with Spectrum, pushing right past the swordsman's defenses and slamming his palm into his abdomen. With a savage roar, the purple Reploid hurled his opponent up into the air and away from him. It didn't take him long at all to get a lock on his falling enemy, allowing him to fire an accurate volley of shots from his shoulder cannon.
'Blast! He doesn't seem to care about the risks he takes. He's fighting like a lunatic!' Spectrum cursed inwardly, as he had not expected that move at all from a Reploid known for being a mid- to long-range combatant. Before the shots hit their intended target, Spectrum managed to vanish in several well-timed dashes, only to come to a halt on the other side of the room, behind Vile.
"We're running out of time. So why don't we finish this?" His suggestion was reinforced by his grip on his blades tightening. The yellow energy streams seemed to intensify, becoming akin to jets of flame.
"He's right, Vile, I'm picking up Hunter readings coming your way. At least one has made it into the cell block," Nana had managed to stay calm despite all the chaos. Their operation had once again devolved into complete anarchy and it was playing havoc with every sensibility she had as an operator. She wanted to pull Vile out of there, but she didn't know how violently he would react to that.
"Then stop talking and keep fighting!" Vile ignored his operator entirely, her words barely registering in the battle haze he was experiencing. Par for the course for any operator that had ever had the misfortune of trying to advise him.
Neither Reploid could unleash their chosen attack, however, as a familiar voice interrupted them.
"You two aren't finishing anything! You're under arrest for trespassing, destruction of Maverick Hunter property and in your case, Vile, essentially every crime a Reploid could possibly be accused of. Lay down your arms and come quietly," the young voice had a cocky tone and came from the latest addition to the A-class Maverick Hunters: Axl. The black and red Reploid was young, but he had prowess and talent surpassing his years. In a very short span of time, he had been thrust into some of the greatest crises the Hunters had ever faced, and come out the other end alive. A cross-shaped scar was prominent on his face, while light brown, unruly hair erupted from the back of his helmet. He had two highly customized buster pistols trained on the trespassers; one on each.
"The boy. Shouldn't you be getting your diaper changed by X or Zero? Get lost, before I add you to my kill count," Vile was not in the mood for more interruptions.
"Not if I can help it, Vile," yet another familiar face joined the fray as Spectrum was forced to bring both his blades up to block a slash from a single, green saber: the Z-Saber. It belonged to none other than the bright red and golden SA-Class Hunter: Zero. After having his initial attack deflected, he jumped back and landed a few feet away from the mercenary. His very long, blonde and bushy ponytail trailed behind the motion.
"Axl and Zero? What are they doing there?" Nana's question was rhetorical, though her fingers instantly began tapping away at her keyboard in an attempt to find out more.
"Central Command figured Jantis was going to attract some interest, so instead of risking the lives of a lot of Hunters and guards, they decided to send in the cavalry," Axl's proclamation provided Nana with the answer she sought, even though her transmission had gone unheard.
"An all-out brawl isn't exactly the stealthiest way to sneak into a high security facility. But. It's not like I expected something complicated from a Maverick brute like you," Zero's insult was coupled with the narrowing of his eyes as he glared hatefully at one of his greatest enemies.
Spectrum hummed softly. "This is a little more than originally bargained for..." the mercenary activated his dash boots in the hopes of retreating for now. Zero easily intercepted him, however, and forced him to defend himself against several vicious, precise slashes from the Z-Saber. Spectrum grunted as he blocked the strikes. Each time his yellow sabers connected with Zero's green weapon, a bright spark would spawn at the point of impact.
"You're good. This might be interesting after all," Zero tried to push the ebony Reploid back to free his sword as they had gotten locked in a standoff.
"Outta the way, boy!" Vile's threat was given some more punch once he activated his boots and dashed for Axl. The renegade knew he could not ignore the Hunters and they likely had reinforcements on their way. So, it was in his best interests to dispatch the weakest link as quickly as possible, before hopefully doing the same to Zero. Odds of doing that and still being able to question Spectrum were slim to none, but it was the only remotely viable option he believed he had available.
The young Reploid grinned cockily and took flight, knowing Vile would chase him up into the air. He opened fire with both his handguns, aiming his shots for Vile's boots in an attempt to ground the dangerous Maverick. However, Vile could bump up his speed another notch and did so to dodge the incoming fire. He continued to head straight for the flying Hunter.
The Front Runner fired several energy shots which served only as a diversion while its owner closed the distance. Axl was forced to focus on avoiding those blasts and noticed his enemy's approach too late. Before he knew it, his throat was gripped shut tightly by Vile's palm. He tried to react by firing at point blank range, but was preempted by his opponent. A few powerful punches to his face left the Hunter dazed. In that state, he was thrown back down to the floor below, while two rockets were fired down at him in the hopes it would finish the job quickly.
The subsequent explosion whipped up dust and debris, hiding whatever remained of the young Hunter from Vile's sight.
'Too easy,' Vile pondered to himself, though he wasn't foolish enough to pursue Axl blindly. Instead, he arrogantly crossed his arms and waited for the dust to clear.
Once it became obvious to the Hunter that Vile wasn't going to take the bait, he dashed out of the screen of dust and headed for the northern face of the hall. He easily scaled the wall by kicking off its surface and flying the rest of the way to get closer to his prey.
"I haven't forgotten what you did to those Reploids on the Orbital Elevator, Vile! You have to pay for your crimes!"
"And you think you have what it takes to bring me in, huh? You're like an arrogant, louder and smaller X. Didn't think I'd ever meet someone that annoyed me more," Vile's mocking words were joined by cruel laughter as he didn't even uncross his arms, despite Axl's approach with handguns drawn.
"You're going to wish you took me seriously, Maverick," Axl opened fire, boosting to his right as he did so as to circle around the purple Reploid.
Vile retaliated by flying higher, and returned fire with the vulcans installed in his arms. The spray of bullets chased Axl as the young Hunter picked up speed. He only ever slowed down to fire the occasional, distracting and interrupting shot from his buster pistols. Vile's response was unchanging. He continued to return fire and ascend further, following Axl's circular flight pattern as best he could. However, he failed to notice in time that he had been cornered against the ceiling, limiting his freedom of movement.
Axl saw his chance and proceeded to flip roll in mid-air to bring his boots level with a nearby wall. Using that surface, he was able to kick and boost off in Vile's direction. The extra momentum ferried him not into Vile, but right past him. Before the Maverick could turn around, Axl opened fire and pelted Vile's back with a storm of buster pistol shots.
The knockback of each hit forced Vile against the wall in front of him, but those energy pellets were fortunately not too damaging by themselves. The moment he recovered at least somewhat, he reminded himself that he was being outdone by an upstart, which fueled the anger that in turn allowed him to shrug off far more pain than Axl was causing. He reached down for his right knee, which dispensed one of the few fragmentation grenades he had left. With the explosive tightly in hand, he proceeded to rotate his shoulder cannon 180 degrees backwards so that it faced his opponent once again.
The young Hunter gasped in total surprise. "I didn't know it could do that!" He only narrowly avoided the incoming blast, which would have caused some serious damage.
"You should keep your eyes peeled at all times! Don't they teach you that in kindergarten?" Vile continued to gleefully mock the more inexperienced Hunter and threw the explosive he had prepped at a distracted Axl. The large explosion and resulting shrapnel damaged Axl enough to knock out one of his boots, which sent him crashing into a table below.
"Axl!" Zero cried out for his comrade, as he had caught sight of their fight from the corner of his eyes. However, he was far too preoccupied with Spectrum. The mercenary had proven skillful enough a sword-wielder to provide Zero with a challenge. The red Reploid ducked under a slash aimed for his neck and spotted several strands of his blond hair drop to the floor from the narrow miss. He retaliated by striking at Spectrum's waist.
Both swordsmen continued to match one another slash-for-slash. The yellow and green energy trails from their respective attacks, as well as the red and black hazes of their rapidly moving bodies, made for an almost beautiful sight to behold. As long as one forgot that theirs was a matter of life and death.
Spectrum back-flipped over the width of one of the long, recreational tables in the hall, and placed his booted leg against its side. With a groan, he pushed the piece of furniture away hard, hoping to compromise the balance of his enemy who had taken to standing atop it. Zero simply leapt off before force was even applied to the table. He then effortlessly slashed two chairs apart that the mercenary threw at him next.
Spectrum did not stop his barrage of attacks, as he brought his sabers together in a cross-pattern, as if he was getting ready to block one of Zero's attacks. However, as soon as he had taken a few moments to charge the weapons, he tore them apart from one another in a scissor-like, horizontal strike. The result was three waves being fired right at Zero.
The experienced Hunter had expected some form of ranged attack, though, and was able to react with time to spare. He dashed very low, his body almost completely parallel to the ground. The waves past overhead harmlessly, with the crimson Hunter barely losing any speed in the process.
A precise attack aimed at Spectrum's waist marked the first hit in their duel. The ebony Reploid grunted as he took a step back, his left arm lowering to hold his injured side where a deep gash now crackled with electricity from the direct hit. Zero offered him no chance to recover, though his next attack was met with a skillful parry. The melee was broken up the moment the black Reploid kicked upward powerfully, the heel of his boot connecting sharply with Zero's jaw and forcing him back.
"I didn't come here to brawl with Hunters," Spectrum deactivated one of his sabers and returned it to the safety of his backpack.
"Should'a thought of that before breaking in here and killing a prisoner," Zero had already regained his balance and was poised to strike again. The Hunter could only assume Spectrum had done away with Jantis already, as his cell had been empty upon earlier inspection.
"He was a dead man the moment he got caught. He knew the risks," the mercenary narrowed his eyes slightly as he seemed to realize something. "I've wasted far too much time here. I look forward to continuing this some other time, Hunter."
"Where do you think you'r-" Zero was unable to finish his sentence as the shape shifting Reploid threw a stun grenade on the floor between them. The bright explosion and disrupting, electrical shockwave that ensued, played havoc with Zero's internal circuitry and vision sensors, emulating the effects the traditional version of the explosive would have on humans.
Spectrum wasted no time in using the distraction to make his escape. The same explosion had forced Vile to cover his eyes and instruct his self-repair systems to fix the damage to his sensors as quickly as possible. The renegade knew Spectrum was going to get away if given half a chance.
It was to no avail, as Spectrum jumped up to the ceiling of the massive hall effortlessly and sliced through the panels. He quickly vanished through the corridors of an upper level, leaving no trace of himself by the time the effects of his grenade dissipated.
Vile turned his attention back to Axl, who was struggling to get up from the debris of the steel table his fall had crushed. Both his handguns had slipped from his grasp, though one had fallen close to him. Before he could reach the weapon, he cried out in pain. One of Vile's boots came down on his chest hard. The renegade applied a lot more pressure than was needed to just keep the young Hunter down and from scooting over enough to get his fingertips to reach that pistol.
"Vile! What are you doing?! Stop it! You... You need to get out of there, now! Spectrum got away, this is pointless!" Nana's voice was filled with concern. Her associate may yet kill one of her dearest friends and she couldn't bear to see it. She was trying to come up with any excuse to get the violent Maverick to stand down, but why would he listen to her now?
"You're just like the rest. Weak. You Maverick Hunters should know – more than anyone else – that anyone who gets in my way, I deal with. Permanently," the Front Runner was gripped and angled down at Axl's head.
"Vile! Stand down! There's more Hunters coming in! Do you want the extra heat of killing an A-Class Hunter making our lives even more difficult?!" Any excuse would do, but nothing was getting through to him. He was just ignoring her, prompting her to slam her fists onto her console as tears filled her eyes. She could see the look of fear on Axl's face as he stared up at Vile. There was nothing she could do.
"You ain't the first Hunter I kill. And you won't be the last."
Axl closed his eyes, awaiting what appeared to be inevitable. Zero was still trying to stave off the effects of the grenade and was desperately trying to figure out where Vile was. He winced when the sound of a fired shot came, though he did not feel anything. He opened his eyes to catch Vile clutching the hand that had been gripping his shoulder cannon.
"That's enough, Vile. Stand down now. You've had your fun at the expense of others, yet again. Come quietly and it won't have to end like it has before," the voice came from the other side of the hall, where large, double doors had opened. A full unit of elite Maverick Hunters had entered the room, accompanied by a blue Reploid Vile knew all too well.
"X!" Axl's exclamation came with a broad smile.
"X..." Vile's utterance, however, contained only hatred.
"Do as he says, Vile. Even though it would make me more than happy to cut you down, orders are still to bring Mavericks in alive, if possible," Zero had recovered and – with his blade humming ominously – he approached Vile cautiously.
"Vile, you need to listen to me. You have got to get out of there. Don't try to fight them all," Nana didn't try to voice the inevitable outcome of Vile's destruction simply because she knew hearing it would set off his stubborn arrogance and only encourage him to try and prove her wrong. So far, she'd come to understand how much of a child he could be when it came to his ego.
'If it had just been Zero, I might have stood a chance. At least of injuring him enough to get out. But...' Vile realized the odds were beyond against him. A whole Hunter unit, armed to the teeth, with a very angry swordsman and a charged X-Buster aimed for his head. There was no real cover in the room, and his back had been heavily damaged by Axl's earlier barrage. That, in turn, compromised his stability when flying. The only thing that was missing was a collective jam of all his weapons, so he could truly claim his had the worst luck.
"Duck!" he had no idea why, but the instant he heard that order through his communication link with Nana, he jumped forward and pressed his chest to the floor.
Alarms began sounding across the compound and the lights dimmed to a dark red. The change in lighting and the deafening sound of the sirens – which only activated during the most extreme of emergencies – resulted in confusion sweeping through the room. None of the Hunters noticed the defense systems of the hall activating. Panels all across the ceiling, and just above doorways, opened up. Sentry turrets slid out of the openings. Other panels on the floor opened up to spew forth small, spider-like Mechaniloids that began to swarm the Reploids present in the room.
"Quick, you have to get out of there while they're distracted. I hacked into the security systems, but they'll override me in a matter of seconds."
"What?" Vile was as confused as the Hunters around him. She hadn't run this plan by him! He hated it when operators showed initiative, they always messed up his groove! Of course, that groove would have gotten him killed.
The turrets began firing bolts of paralyzing electricity at the Hunters; bolts that were normally used to restrain prisoners when a situation got out of hand. The Mechaniloids similarly applied non-lethal force, as it was clear that Nana was only trying to buy Vile time. She refused to resort to murder to help Vile escape a situation of his own making.
The renegade cast his eyes upwards, hoping to locate whatever section of the ceiling Spectrum had used to escape previously. He was beyond pleased to find the hole rather quickly and immediately took to the air as fast as his boots could ferry him. Only by virtue of the plethora of targets was Vile able to dodge the turrets, which had stopped discriminating between friend and foe so that they would fire at the Maverick Hunters too.
Spectrum had left a trail of sliced panels in his wake, as the dangerous Reploid had quite literally cut himself a path through the upper levels of the facility before finally breaking through a steel-barred window. He followed the mercenary's example and burst through the window, still flying as fast as he could. But, the damage to his back was still wreaking havoc with his balance.
"You need to get clear of the prison's perimeter before I can attempt to transfer you back. The base has a jamming field in place to stop any unauthorized transferring in or out. Hurry!" Nana continued to input commands, prepping the transfer room behind her for one incoming Reploid. Her teeth bit away at her lower lip as a red light flashed in the corner of her eyes. Her little trick had held out longer than she had thought it would, but now the automated systems were back under Hunter control and everything, including the defenses outside, had but a single target: Vile. To make matters worse, her hacking had been beyond brute force, allowing the Hunters to start tracking her location. If she didn't sever all connections and scrub remnants of her presence, they were going to find her.
Hunters stationed outside the structure were warned of the Maverick and opened fire the moment he came into range. Buster shots and electric bolts were all intended on short-circuiting his systems, which would force him to land and be taken into custody. Only by virtue of all the ongoing confusion and the fanciest flying maneuvers of his life did Vile prevent himself from being shot out of the air.
It seemed to take forever for him to cross the same threshold he had just barely an hour ago. But, the pillars of the neighboring highway approached quickly. He would be able to shake most projectiles by taking cover behind the concrete and steel of the massive construction. However, given he was so close to the end of the perimeter, it seemed the Hunters received authorization to use lethal force, and explosives were instantly trained on the renegade. He was shaken hard when a surface-to-air missile exploded right beside him, causing him to lose control. Twisting and turning violently in mid-air, he began a nose dive straight for the ground.
"Not like this! So damn close!" Vile roared as he tried to stabilize his descent, to no avail. This time, his boots refused to reactivate, and this crash was not going to end in him just dusting himself off and walking away.
However, the massive impact never came. Or rather, it had become a light thump of his behind dropping on a glass-like surface. Asphalt had been inches away, as well as certain death, but all he heard now was the gentle hum of a transfer pad deactivating. He lowered his arms and his eyes flashed back to life. He rose to his feet, unsure of what had happened.
The door into the room slid open and his pink-haired operator stepped through the opening. "Are you alright?"
"I think so... What happened?"
"I saw you weren't going to make it, so the moment you got out of their jamming range, I transferred you," Nana took out a small scanning device and let it remotely diagnose Vile's body. A positive bleep from the machine meant he checked out in general.
"You mean you transferred me while I was moving at that speed?! You could'a killed me!" Vile rose to his feet as he shouted angrily. "I could be standing here with an arm in place of my head and a garbage can instead of legs!"
Nana glared back at him. "I am well aware of the risk, but had I done nothing, an arm in place of your head would have been the least of your worries. There wouldn't have been enough left of you to turn into a toaster," she proceeded to smirk slightly. "You should be happy! You're the first ever Reploid to survive a transfer at high velocity. And I'm the first operator to pull it off." Pride filled her voice.
Vile tried to formulate a retort, but for the first time in a long time, he didn't seem to know what to say. "Y-you're insane."
"That's rich, coming from you," the operator turned on her heels and headed back into her apartment.
"If you ever try anything like that again, I'll-"
"You'll what?" Nana looked at him from over her shoulder.
Vile gritted his teeth underneath his helmet. "Gah! Never mind," the renegade pushed past her to head into the maintenance room to start checking out the damage done to his body.
Nana huffed as she sat down in her chair and pouted for a while, before realizing there were questions that still needed answering. "You weren't able to learn anything from the prisoner, were you? Or from Spectrum?"
"No. Nothing. It was all a setup. Again," Vile had to raise his voice a little to be audible from the other room.
"Someone really doesn't want us investigating this. What are they hiding that they'd hire a unit like the Revenants, and risk complete exposure by acting so boldly in a Maverick Hunter controlled prison?" A long sigh crossed her lips as she slumped in her chair a little. She was starting to wonder if they'd ever find answers.
"Ties with the Hunters are almost undeniable now. Only someone involved with them would be able to just block off a whole block of that prison like that. There were no guards. No prisoners. And Spectrum knew exactly what measures to take to be able to sit and wait there patiently for me to arrive," Vile muttered in frustration.
"Hm..."
They were all fresh out of leads, and the longer she stuck with Vile, the more danger she seemed to get in. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him. He could turn on her at any time, or even just lose his mind and go berserk. Just as he had told Axl, he'd killed Hunters before, and he'd do so again. Why wouldn't he add an operator to that list? They were going to need a breakthrough soon, or their fragile partnership wasn't going to last nor end well.