Note: Hello all! Next update here! A little longer than 4k this time, but I think I can't extend past 6k without things seeming like they're just being stretched out.
While writing this, I've been going over World Unite starring Sonic and Mega Man in Archie, and while my friend isn't a fan, I find myself liking a lot of Ian Flynn's ideas, but comics just move too fast for me in terms of pacing. Still, I wish Archie had a conclusion like Megamix did.
With that said, thank you, and I hope you enjoy it!
Taking Steps
Something else.
Did he not realize that she had essentially been doing this task since this terrible war began?
Still, as Roll made her way to where the two humans were kept, she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps this sense of debilitating helplessness translated to them as well.
In a sense, perhaps she shouldn't be frustrated about her own situation given what they had gone through, Kenichi especially. From what she was aware, the boy hadn't interacted with anyone save for Chiyo, and that was, in itself, limited. It was almost as if the child had become a ghost.
Finally reaching the door, the blonde Reploid entered, finding the shape of a young boy unconscious in the small cot set up against the wall. Yet the one next to it was completely empty.
Elsewhere
The sun was beginning to set, the skies painted in a harmony of pinks and oranges with small spots of purple, the golden disk on the horizon shining and contrasting with the blues of his own armor. He knew that perhaps he should've been inside rather than out here, yet, to his own shame, X needed a moment to himself, even if it wasn't too far away.
Firefly's response to what occurred at the Zalts Mine still resonated with him, even if hours had passed since then. Truthfully, while, indeed, he was frustrated, he directed none of it toward the green Hunter. If anything, perhaps the small bit of physical contact was the answer he needed. And yet, still, he had his doubts.
"…no force on Earth…" X repeated, the warning attached to his capsule resurfacing once again.
If he were to do it, if he were to go the road everyone said he should, then did it mean…?
"What force on Earth?"
From behind, a figure approached, X turning and half-expecting Roll, or maybe even Trinity. Yet, instead, while his unknown company was female, the components of their makeup were anything but metal.
Every single part of her was organic.
200X
Well, another task complete. He could now add "kidnapper" to his ever-growing list of crimes, of which was done against a helpless and naive nine-year-old girl.
"The second that slips out, it's over." He mused under his breath, the LaLinde residence, as well as a member of the family itself, right in front of him. "She won't do it," he told himself. "She's made it clear she never wants to see you again."
And he honestly couldn't blame her.
Still, if there were another way, he would do it. If there was any other method he could receive what he was after, then that was all he needed. He wouldn't ask for anything more.
Because, after this, he planned on this being the last crime he committed for Albert Wily.
Present
His green optics caught sight of her dark brown eyes, the human stopping a few feet away from the blue Reploid, who had shifted to his standard full-bodied blue.
"What are you doing out here?" X questioned, not expecting the young woman, but genuinely curious as to what she was doing out here.
"Is there a restriction on my movement around here?" Chiyo inquired back with a shrug. "It wouldn't surprise me if Roll's the one who enforced it."
"Not that I'm aware of," X answered. "Although, maybe you shouldn't be out here," he suggested. "It's not safe for someone like you."
The Japanese girl raised a brow, yet appeared somewhat amused. "Someone like me?" she hummed. "Ah, I see."
"No, I meant that," X assured her, but ultimately paused. "Well…you're just…a lot…softer, than I am, so to speak," he explained, although he found it could've been better. At the moment, he was trying to be as least offensive as possible. "It's dangerous out here in the open for you."
His answer, to the Reploid's own surprise, seemed to baffle the human. "...I thought you were referring to my father," she answered. "But…yes, that's a major factor as well," she added. "I just assumed you'd immediately link me to the man that caused half of this."
"Why would I do that?" X asked.
"Why wouldn't you?" she remarked back. "It seems to be a commonly-held consensus among everyone else," she looked back to the entrance to the underground HQ, the building X stood atop a front for the true structure. "No one says anything, but I can see it. They think just because I'm human that I can't read them," she huffed, a small degree of venom in her voice. "I'm nothing more than a dumb animal."
"That's not true." X protested.
"Homo sapian, technically they're right," the human retorted. "But still, there's no point in lying about it," she said. "You can't deny that my father wasn't your favorite person either."
The blue Hunter bit his lip. "...no, he wasn't," X confessed. "However, he didn't deserve what happened to him."
Again, this answer seemed to perplex Chiyo. "...and why do you say that?" she inquired. "From one perspective, you could say he got exactly what he deserved."
"You don't believe that," X responded. "I won't lie, there probably are those that think so, but I'm not one of them."
Chiyo pondered her next words, remembering some details she had heard before. "That's right, you refused to blast Vile in the mine, right?" X was silent, the human taking this opportunity to continue. "And you tried to reason with Armadillo, even though he refused to divert from following Sigma's ideals," X was again quiet, yet only because he was rendered speechless. "Do you indeed to save Sigma too?" she questioned. "Do you believe he's merely a victim of this supposed virus that conspiracy theorists say is the root of Mavericks emerging at all?" she stopped her a moment, the memory still fresh in her mind, even if it was almost a week ago. "Or did he murder my father and your comrades in cold blood to better carve a path where he sits on the throne?"
"...that's what I'm uncertain of," X answered. "Despite all that's happened, I'm not sure whether Sigma is merely infected, or if his actions are indeed genuine."
"Maybe both?" Chiyo suggested. "If this virus supposedly clouds a Reploid's mind, then surely it would cause some alterations in general behavior. Almost like a form of rabies, in a sense."
X's eyes widened. "...so, you believe that there is no alternative. That, either way, he's damned."
"Why does it matter to you?" Chiyo questioned. "Is it not your duty as a Maverick Hunter to quite literally hunt down individuals that cause disasters such as this?"
X didn't answer.
Then, she spoke words that not only robbed him of speech, yet also dismantled everything he was trying to keep sealed up. "I knew there was a reason you never liked doing my father's tests, let alone anything related to combat," Chiyo said. "When you were first uncovered, I've heard several compare you to Rock Light himself, and it extended past your appearance," she informed him. "But, the truth is, you two are significantly different."
The blue Reploid didn't entirely understand where she was going with this. Or, perhaps, he did, yet he didn't expect to hear it from her of all beings. "What do you mean?" he nevertheless asked.
"You and Mega Man may have been made by the hands of the same man," she continued. "Yet the conditions regarding how you became Blue Bombers in a sense is the factor of choice," she then paused. "Or maybe," she admitted. "Neither of you had any from the beginning."
200X
"Come on! You said you'd come!"
That certainly wasn't her. Still, he didn't approach yet, still waiting for a chance to make himself known in a way that wouldn't cause too much of a stir.
Hopefully.
He listened as the conversation continued, the two voices, one familiar and one not, going back and forth.
"I said I would assist in cataloging your flower samples after I've accounted for the haul brought in from the volcanic part of the country," She answered, voice monotone and not exactly emotive. "And seeing as it's just arrived, I have to go and see if everything is in place."
"Aw, but that'll take forever!" The other voice complained, feminine and clearly more chipper than the other.
Had LaLinde constructed a sibling for her?
"It'll take as long as it will," the first voice responded. "Hence why I should get started."
"But we've got stuff all the way from the Mediterranean to Africa!" The other argued. "Have you seen these certain flowers from Greece? They're named after a Goddess!"
"Your field of expertise requires you to know of ancient mythology?"
"You'd be surprised, almost everything is named after something ancient humans used to believe in. But, still, it'll just take a minute!"
"Why would you want me to come? Plants and other biological life aren't in my qualifications for my function."
"You can still try it! We're supposed to be advanced, learning machines after all!"
"My duties lay with what lies in the ground. Yours lay with what grows on top of it," she paused, he in turn looking around the corner to see that she was momentarily distracted by an incoming bee flying close in between the two robots. "And what makes use of those specimens in terms of nourishment and pollination."
Tempo was currently situated in her Quake Woman form while the other android she conversed with was fashioned after a female bee or some other yellow, flying insect, her skin a lighter complexion than her assumed sister and bearing a somewhat Japanese appearance. She seemed amused by the presence of the bee, lifting her finger up and letting the insect perch on her white digit. "Humans are probably a little more jumpy around them, but these girls really aren't that bad."
"Then I bid you a good session to study them, but I have to get to work." Quake Woman responded.
"Aw, but why can't you just give this a try? I don't understand!" The insect-based robot complained.
"I was constructed for geological surveillance and other potential factors. I'm not sure how you don't understand that."
The insect huffed, folding her arms. "Fine! I'll just take my new buddy with me instead!" She stuck her tongue out and fluttered away. "Fitting you like dirt since you're such a stick in the mud."
Quake Woman didn't respond, only going to the truck containing the samples she was to document. Although, she couldn't help but find the other robot's words repeating in her mind.
"Looks like you're doing better compared to before."
She jumped, whirling her head around to see the machine in red and gray, a telltale scarf wrapped around his throat. She was rendered speechless at first, yet found her voice after a few moments. "Oh?" She questioned. "And why would you say that?"
Break Man turned to face her. "Because it's pretty obvious you're not happy to see me."
Present
X rose from his place against the edge of the building, facing the human directly. "What do you mean by that?" He questioned, growing, to his own surprise, a little defensive. "Are you saying that Dr. Light didn't care about his creations? That he only saw them as weapons?"
Chiyo shook her head. "No, not at all," she responded. "Far from it. If anything, I would imagine that Light was the type of person who wanted to use violence of any kind as a last resort," she clarified. "However," she continued. "It's been noted in history that Wily and his subsequent enemies always went for the most extreme measures possible."
X wasn't sure how to respond, yet ultimately couldn't deny that it was known that, his creator, despite his aversion to destruction and using his machines for weaponry, had created some of the most advanced and impressive fighting robots in history.
"Still, it is curious," Chiyo said. "Rock began life as an assistant bot while you had your buster installed into you presumably during your initial construction."
"...like I'm meant to use it?" X questioned.
Chiyo nodded, quiet for a short while before speaking again. "You wish to be without it entirely?"
The blue Reploid glanced down at his arm. "...it's a creation of him. Without it, it would be like missing a piece he gave me."
"But you don't like making use of it," X didn't answer. "It's merely an accessory, albeit a useful one."
"...essentially, yes."
The human bit her lip, averting her eyes for a moment. Perhaps she was overstepping her bounds, yet the days she had spent shut in the underground structure were far more isolating than initially suspected, even for one that wasn't as "good with people" as some others, as Fumiko would say.
…Fumiko…
"...How is he?"
X's question brought Chiyo from her thoughts, the short-haired girl vanishing from her mind, albeit her lingering presence was still quite strong. "Who?" she asked, although it didn't take long for her to deduce just who the Reploid was speaking of. "Oh," she paused. "Kenichi is…stable."
"Stable how?"
"He's sleeping mostly, but will eat when hungry enough," Chiyo answered. "Outside of that…not much."
It wasn't difficult to deduce why. "I'm sorry about his sister, your friend," X replied. "Fumiko, right?"
Chiyo nodded. "It's one that hits a little close," she confessed. "But I doubt she's the only one," she said. "There have to be more humans that didn't make it."
"Do you hate us for it?" X questioned. "Sigma was our leader after all. None of us suspected anything related to him until it was too late."
"Bear in mind, my father is just as culpable as he is," the human added. "Or do you still believe that your leader may still be the potential victim of a hypothetical virus?"
X was quiet at first for a short time. "...either way, it seems everyone's sentences have been given out, no matter the circumstances."
"You believe that those that defected are justified in committing atrocities like this?"
"Not at all," X responded. "But that's just it," he said. "Everyone sees one option being the solution, yet I don't think it would do anything."
Chiyo grew puzzled, not entirely sure of what X was getting at. True, while she didn't take him as a sympathizer for those who assisted in Fumiko's murder, he still seemed to be reluctant to take charge when necessary. Even before any Mavericks made themselves known, she had seen his reluctance to pull the trigger, the first tests with programmed mechaniloids proving that.
"Why?"
X turned away, looking upwards at the sky, watching the setting sun as it continued to dip further and further down over the horizon. "Because it's the very same thing that caused every problem that occurred during my creator's lifetime."
200X
Philippines
Her green eyes narrowed, concealing her face behind the notepad she held in her possession. Break Man lowered his head, not needing to reminisce much to figure out just why she'd be wary of him.
"I'm sorry," the Robot Master said. Not exactly a grand start, yet it was the truth. "You have a right to be mad. I know I wasn't…courteous last time I came here."
"Courteous is being generous," Quake Woman responded. "You punched a hole in the wall, you shattered a picture," she relayed. "If Dr. LaLinde hadn't been there, I can't help but wonder if my head would've eventually been added to the collateral damage."
"What?" Break Man whirled his head around to face her. "No, of course not! I wouldn't have ever-"
"Although none of that compares to how you helped BURN down your own creator's home."
"I-I didn't do that!" Break Man protested. "I mean, I was there, but-"
"Then what?" Quake Woman continued grilling him. "Have you come on behalf of Wily this time? Or yourself?" she inquired. "Better yet, what'll happen if I refuse to fulfill your request?"
"Nothing! Nothing will happen!" the other machine assured her. "I…I don't…I'm not here to hurt anyone! I-" he then held his head in his hands. "I'm sorry!" he cried out, clearly in despair. "I really am! I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I didn't want any of this to happen!"
The pigtailed Robot Master bit her lip, shocked by the sudden outburst, yet, unlike before, her reaction was not of fear. Hesitation and suspicion, yes, yet not fear.
"I just…I don't know where else to go!" Break Man continued. "You…you're the only one I've talked to about any of this!"
"I wouldn't consider it much of a talk," Quake Woman remarked, crossing her arms. "And the conclusion reached was that I'm unable to satisfy you with my own answers."
Silence fell in between them, the green and violet-armored android about to continue, more than a few words left in the processor that she wished to impart on her "guest", yet found her tongue unwilling to cooperate with her, the other machine getting up from his place atop a rock sample, head downcast.
"You're right, it was pointless to come here," he said, voice neither angry nor saddened. Rather, it was as if all life had been drained from him at that very moment. "It's hopeless," he muttered. "Everything about it is hopeless…"
He began to walk away, increasing the distance between himself and the pigtailed Robot Master, just about ready to teleport away, intending to never return. Just as she had requested he do before.
"...wait."
Was that…? No, it couldn't be. She wouldn't call him back. Not her.
Still, there was no one else it could've been.
Quake Woman bit her lip, wondering if she would regret what she was about to do. Still, at the same time, despite her caution, there were more than a few factors regarding Break Man's return that puzzled her. Mainly regarding his presence here at all.
"...what do you want?"
Break Man was unsure of what she meant. "I…I have no right to ask-"
"In a manner of speaking, no, you don't," she responded. "I remember telling you to leave myself," he didn't answer. "And yet, you're here. Not only after burning down Light Labs but also retrieving Mega Man from the remains of Wily's latest fortress."
Break Man appeared surprised. "How did you-"
"Roll told me," she answered. "Seeing Rock himself made it believable. However, that leaves me unsure of just what to think of you."
The red and grey machine averted her gaze for a moment. "I…take it that you still hate me."
Quake Woman was quiet, optics darting back and forth. Truth be told, she wasn't entirely sure of the answer herself. "...at the moment, that's irrelevant," she said. "You're here for something, you wouldn't have come otherwise."
Break Man didn't speak, only responding with a single nod.
"So, what's made you so desperate that you would turn to us?"
Present
"What problem?" Chiyo inquired, feeling a little bit of the evening chill creep into the air as the sky grew darker.
X glanced down. "The same that began when Dr. Light made Blues," he answered. "When robots began to become more commercially available," he continued. "When the recall was first instilled."
The dark-haired young woman drew closer, joining X at the edge of the building, a light breeze lightly toying with her locks. "Then what is that problem, and how would you solve it?"
The blue Reploid shut his optics, memories he had never witnessed, nor were they ever his, yet he could more than theorize as to what exactly might've occurred during the century before his awakening. "Blues ran from Dr. Light because he was afraid," X answered. "I've heard from Roll theories of a faulty nuclear core to merely not wishing to have his systems tampered with."
"Which is it?" Chiyo asked.
"All I know is what Roll told me, and even her memory is dicey at best," X replied. "But, either way, Blues' departure, even if he had no intention to hurt anyone, made everyone else afraid. Thus, the future of robots as a whole was put into question."
"How did you learn this?"
"Armadillo informed me of what occurred outside of Light and his family," X clarified. "Before Rock or Roll had been born, the United States Government hired two agents to look into reports regarding a 'peculiar boy' that was to be dealt with extreme caution. From what I was told, the assumption was that they were going to bring him back to Light to have his systems permanently altered, so he kept a low profile and moved constantly to keep out of their range of sight," X said. "Still, his tests proved to impress the financiers, as well as several high-ranking officials. Thus, robots were still set to be produced."
"Under tighter restrictions, I'd imagine." Chiyo deduced.
"Correct," X confirmed. "Anyway, Light and Wily had their…unfortunate separation, Rock and Roll were constructed, and Wily made his first bid for power by stealing away their fellow creations," he then sighed. "This, of course, led to Light and Rock retaliating on their own," he paused. "Although, perhaps you're right. He didn't have a choice then either."
200X
Philippines
"Oh, you sneak!"
A voice made itself known, the owner quite literally flying in between Break Man and Quake Woman. "You didn't tell me your boyfriend was coming over!"
The pigtailed Robot Master's eyes widened, face regrettably flushing. "N-No way!" she protested. "Absolutely not! I barely know him!"
"Ooooh, crush on a mystery man then?" the winged, insect-based android teased, flustering the other machine even more. "All right then, mystery man, just who are you?"
Break Man was unsure of how to respond. "Well…I'm…not too sure myself."
The bee sighed. "Oh great, another brooding broodster."
Noticing his evident confusion, Quake Woman decided to make introductions, although more or less because it seemed things had gone beyond her control now. "This is LMN-002, otherwise known as Vesper Woman."
"Pleased to meet you!" the insect woman did a small curtsey as if lifting a skirt.
"LMN?" Break Man questioned. "So, LaLinde made another robot?"
"Not exactly," the literal rock buster answered. "Before you-" she paused. "Well, before Dr. Wily set the Doc Robot on Light Labs, Dr. Light had an unfinished model named 'Honey Woman' that Dr. LaLinde took off his hands. According to her, some outside interaction would be beneficial for my…emotional development."
"Exactly!" Vesper Woman inserted, flying up to the more grounded LMN. "So, is it working? Are you feeling anything?"
Quake Woman narrowed her gaze. "Outside of general bafflement and confusion, as well as a slight hint of annoyance, no."
Vesper Woman's antenna lowered. "Wow, you two are perfect for each other."
"Wh-What?"
"Look," Break Man began. "I'm sorry for intruding on you like this. I know you told me to never come back, but you're right," he confessed. "I…am desperate."
Then, to both of their surprise, the robot removed his red helmet, a pair of dark shades still concealing his eyes, yet this was the most either of them had seen of his face.
"...you…" Quake Woman uttered, albeit rather impulsively, her reaction more out of shock. "You look…"
"You've got a bit of a bad-boy greaser look to you," Vesper Woman observed, Quake Woman in turn remaining silent. "Not bad."
What was she talking about? Either way, Blues pushed that all to the side, although he noticed Tempo still had her optics set on him.
"The truth is…I need something looked at," he said.
"Like what?" Quake Woman questioned.
"Just one thing," Blues answered. "Just one, and then I'll be gone," he told them. "Although, I'll admit," he sighed. "I'm not sure if I have much time left as it is."
Present
"Yes, all those incidents have been documented and known throughout the world," the Japanese human replied to her robotic companion, who had relayed what Armadillo had told him regarding the history of what had occurred before the time of Reploids. "Yet I don't entirely understand what Dr. Light's prototype running away has to do with the eventual extinction of his kind?"
"It's not so much that it's connected, but rather, it's part of an ongoing domino effect," X answered. "When Wily was involved, it was simplified for everyone, there was a bad guy and everything that happened was due to the will of man. One man, but still, the human element reigned supreme, for it was Wily's will."
"And Thomas' in a sense," Chiyo added. "Two former mer friends eternally at war with their children as their soldiers," she narrowed her eyes. "Whether Thomas liked it or not."
"...exactly," X agreed, harsh a truth as it was. "It went on like this for a while, Wily at the head of manipulating and scheming his way to power, using robots he had either built himself or snagged from someone else. It was always a human at the helm," he then paused. "...until The Worldwide Blackout."
The dark-haired human looked down. It wasn't too long ago that the humans of Abel City faced such a thing if the Power Plant hadn't been retaken. The generators would eventually run out, casting everyone in total darkness.
"And then, not long after, an incident regarding a supposed renegade robot named 'King' was known throughout the world, bringing machines and advanced AI into question even more than it already had," X relayed. "And then, not long after that happened, androids from space, called by the source of the blackout, came to Earth," he paused again. "...several robots perished in the retaliation against them. Some of them Light's own."
Chiyo was silent, musing over all of this. True, events regarding Mega Man's feats had been recorded in history, yet Rock Light himself was, for the most part, no one to her. Just some distant figure from a long-begotten era that would never return, the Earth has changed too much since then, in more than a physical sense as well. Still, before her now was a creation of a man spoken of in both reverence and scorn, a scientist hailed as both a brilliant genius and an idealistic fool. She wouldn't have believed it, having thought such feelings vanished long ago, yet X's presence served to remind her that, yes, indeed, all of it was real.
The last machine fully crafted from Thomas Light's hands was right before her.
"And then…then came what truly put the recall into motion." X continued.
"And what was that?" Chiyo questioned. She had an idea, rumors having swam around for ages, yet she wanted to hear it for herself.
X turned to face her, optics stricken with despondency and sadness. "...one of Wily's machines killed him."
200X
Philippines
Upon opening the door, Noelle LaLinde wasn't exactly expecting who would be in the company of her two creations. "Blues?!"
The brunette, shades-wearing robot lowered his head. "H-Hello, Dr. LaLinde," he greeted, although it seemed she shared the same opinion of him as her eldest did. "I'm…sorry for all the trouble I've caused you."
LaLinde crossed her arms. "Is that so?" she asked, raising her chin. "You know, you have a LOT to answer for, young man. Do you understand?"
"Y-Yes ma'am, I know," Blues answered. "I will, I promise," he assured her. "Just…I need this one favor."
Despite not entirely being convinced, the woman was nonetheless intrigued. "What kind of favor?"
"All right, everything stable, Tempo?"
The pigtailed Robot Master nodded in response to her creator's inquiry, Blues on his back upon an examination table, an overhead light shining above as LaLinde reached for his chest.
"All right, I'm just going to take a look," she assured Blues, who was clearly more than a little anxious. "It's not an operation, it's just an examination. So, relax. It'll make things pass by smoother."
While he knew this was the truth, it still didn't make it any easier to put into action, or lack thereof. Still, how he came to even know that his core was safe to glance at surprised him, he turned to Quake Woman. "So, you have a built-in Geiger counter?
"Of course," The Robot Master responded matter-of-factly. "Digging requires that you delve into unknown areas. You can find anything if you go down deep enough."
"Deep enough," Blues mused, looking down at his now open chest, LaLinde examining his spherical nuclear core, all the while trying to maintain a still position. After around half and hour, the examination was finally over, Dr. LaLinde removed her hand from the robot's chest cavity, closing the panel shielding the core. "...well?"
The dark-haired woman sighed. "Well, it's not as dire as initially believed," she answered. "But it still isn't exactly good."
Present
Chiyo stepped back. "One of Wily's machines killed him?" She asked aloud, feeling somewhat foolish, yet she honestly had to say it again in order to truly grasp it. "So, something DID happen," she mused under her breath. "Which one was it?"
X shook his head. "Armadillo said no one knew, yet there were theories," he answered. "Yet the one that ultimately took the fall was the one who was altered to stop Wily in the first place."
The young woman froze. "…Mega Man."
The blue Reploid nodded. "The two agents that had been tracking Blues…they then took to keeping tabs on Rock when he was upgraded. Whether they believed it or not, they still followed the orders of their superiors to take him in."
Chiyo's eyes grew large and her lips tightened. Grim as it was, she always wondered why, despite the accounts of the Blue Bomber being known by everyone, when she was born, there were no robots of his caliber. All that existed were faceless mechaniloids that were more or less functioning machines in that they served their programmed purpose, yet that was it.
While she didn't share in her father's drive to push the boundaries of both science and the law, Chiyo herself always felt somewhat cheated that she didn't get to experience living among such beings. True, while the argument could've been made that robots themselves possessed no true personality or sense of self, let alone a potential "soul", the young girl could have potentially been fooled into believing otherwise from simply watching old recordings of Light's creations. His machines appeared to be genuinely alive, and even if she looked at things from her father's view, so much time and effort had been put into advancing their systems to a degree such as that. Why throw it all away?
Now, things were beginning to make sense.
"And…what then?"
X lowered his head. "Armadillo didn't say," he confessed. "Although, he alluded to rumors that, somehow, he escaped, yet, even if so, he didn't last long," he answered. "His body was eventually found. It was as if everything inside him had just 'shut off' and never reactivated."
Chiyo said nothing at first, merely absorbing what she had been told. "...so, is that why Sigma started all of this?" she questioned. "Because he feared something similar would happen with the Reploids?" while she didn't articulate it, grim as it was, that line of thinking would certainly explain why Dr. Fujiwara was disposed of the way he was.
"Maybe," X said. "Armadillo certainly seemed to, though. And, if he does, then are there others?"
"If so? Then what?" Chiyo questioned. "They're still hurting people. Hurting your kind."
The blue Reploid nodded. "I can't deny that. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding it, Sigma's efforts and those of his men have to be stopped."
"Then why are you reluctant to pull the trigger if they have to be dealt with?" the human asked. "Do you feel as if you're in the same position as those who scrapped the robots?"
"Perhaps," X confessed. "But, that's not all."
"Then what is it?"
X was silent for a few moments. "I suppose it's incredibly selfish, but I felt no victory in defeating Penguin or Mandrill, let alone Armadillo. In fact, each time I use this buster, something comes to mind."
"Your creator?" Chiyo guessed.
"Yes," X answered. "Or rather," he lifted his arm up for view, hand slipping into the enlarged blue metal portion to be replaced with the cannon of a buster. "The warning he attached to the capsule containing me."
Note: Chiyo's purpose, as well as her role in the series, will be revealed next time, as well as what Ray B. found on that disk. Plus, some development on the end of everyone, as more info will be revealed.
We're inching closer and closer to Launch Octopus and one of my favorite characters!
Thank you so much for reading! Alert me of any errors I may have missed, and I hope you have enjoyed it!
