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The Dream Machine Chapter 15: Unwavering Decision “D-Doyle?” X managed to ask hoarsely when he recognized the green Hunter pulling him free from the steel beams. Zero was occupied momentarily by Weaver, and did not notice Doyle teleporting into the compound. Doyle worked quickly, cutting off the beam and grabbing X in one swift motion. X started to yell out, but, instead, blacked out from the pain of Doyle aggravating his injury. ------------------------ “Now get in there and stay there!” Dr. Sky walked reluctantly into her new cell, this one fresh without a window of any kind, as the Maverick guard ordered. “You’re charming.” She sarcastically said. “Bite me.” The door slammed. She was alone again. It’s been a long day. She moved over and sat down at the back of the room. Nap time… The back wall of the cell disappeared as soon as she leaned against it. Oh crud… She grabbed for the edges of the wall, quickly lost her grip and started to plummet down. Before she could turn around to see what she was falling toward, she already hit it. The ice cold water was a shock to her system. She kicked her way back to the surface and gasped. Looking back up, she realized that the underground waterway wore down the wall the cell was built against. She made her way to the edge of the waterway and climbed back to dry land. Activating the suit’s drying feature, she instantly started to feel better. At least she knew she wasn’t going to freeze to death from hypothermia. Something caught her eye at the corner of the cave. With her breath held, she headed towards what looked like a hologram pod… one of Dr. Lights hologram pods! Please tell me this is a new one. She couldn’t be sure, since she wasn’t completely sure where she was located. As she approached, a blue light shone down from the top of the pod, and something started to form within. It took several seconds for Dr. Light’s image to complete its form. “Dr. Light?” She asked timidly. The other scientist looked with slightly wide eyes at her. “Yes, that’s me.” He looked closer at her. “Who are you?” “I’m Dr. Sky. Uh… you don’t know me, but I’ve been trying to find one of your pods for a couple of days now. I need you find out a couple of things from you, about X.” “X?” Said Dr. Light, who suddenly sounded more concerned. “Is something wrong with him?” “So, you didn’t tell him you would help him eliminate all Reploids?” Dr. Light’s jaw dropped slightly, and Sky proceeded to explain about the machine, X’s memory, “Dr. Light’s” conversation with X, and what X told Zero about killing every Reploid. Light shook his head when Sky finished. “I most certainly didn’t tell him any of that…although my imposter was correct about X’s memory.” The older scientist sighed. “I did block his access to that.” “The blue light I saw when I found Zero at the crash site… that was you?” “Most likely. I was afraid of what he was becoming… but I never imagined he would take such extreme measures.” “He’s probably just being tricked by Dr. Wily. If you could just talk to him, maybe he’ll stop.” “I can’t just beam a projection of myself out whenever I want. It’s complicated.” “Well, not a more dire situation than now.” She said desperately. “You did it last time, can’t you just try?” The scientist shook his head. “You can bring him back here.” Light suggested. “As long as this pod hasn’t given an upgrade it can be reactivated again.” “Uh…” She rolled her eyes, but didn’t want to insult the scientist (or even his hologram) by pointing out the obvious too bluntly. “He did try to kill me, so it could be… difficult getting him to follow me here.” “Do you have some kind of device I could record a message on? I could ask him myself.” “No… the stupid Mavericks took my pack... WAIT!” She unlatched the necklace around her neck and presented a small locket. “Can you send data infrared? Good. You can record a short message on this for X. It’s a mini hologram projector.” She opened it to show Dr. Light. “What’re you going to say?” ------------------------- “Ugh.” X groaned as he came to. His chest still burned with pain. Upon inspection, he saw that the damage from the steel beam was very poorly repaired. Blood-stained bandages covered his chest, and a couple of wires had been reconnected, but from what he felt like, X could tell this was a botched up repair job. X tried to get up from the chair, but he only managed to stand up briefly before a wave of nausea sent him back down. The slight commotion alerted Doyle, who stood nearby. The green Reploid flashed a smug smile at X. “I thought your mission was to kill all Reploids.” Doyle raised an eyebrow. “How come you decided to save Zero?” X turned away from Doyle’s gaze and started at something else. “Fine, don’t answer. Your little mission doesn’t concern me anyway. Now that Zero’s onto the 13th Unit’s true mission, you’re going to be the ace up my sleeve.” The green Reploid walked towards the exit and opened the door. “Don’t try to get up to go anywhere, X, I didn’t exactly finish repairing you, so moving too much will only do yourself harm.” Doyle winked at X before closing the door behind him. ------------------------ Dr. Sky watched from around the corner as Doyle left the laboratory. Did I hear him correctly? Did he say X? After leaving Dr. Light’s hologram pod, she decided to head back to the Maverick base for her helmet, or a different environment suit, since she would need it when she got aboveground. As she was sneaking through the base, though, she happened to stumble upon part of Doyle’s conversation. She waited a minute for Doyle to clear from the hallway. Checking the coast is clear, she moved stealthily to the door Doyle just closed and pressed her ear against it. Someone was moving inside, but she couldn’t make out what else. She debated for a moment whether or not this was a trap, but finally decided if she hung out in the hall for too long, she was bound to get caught. The door was, surprisingly, not locked. She quietly slipped inside the lab and saw that X was indeed inside, but in very bad shape. X was slumped over the chair he was sitting in; one hand gripped some bloody bandages covering his chest armor. The Hunter looked up and froze. His face went snow white and he stared unblinkingly at the scientist as she approached. “What happened to you?” She asked as she looked at the bandages. When he did not answer, she waved a hand in front of his face. His hand shot up and grabbed hers, surprising her a little, but he continued to be the one who looked more shocked. “How…” X held onto her hand, hoping to find that it was just air he was holding onto. “Could I be alive?” She pulled her hand back. “It’s a long story. But you need to listen to me. You’re being tricked by Dr. Wily! Light’s not the one who talked to you in the machine. Come with me to see Dr. Light. I found a pod nearby. He’ll explain everything to you.” She unlatched the locket from her heck again and handed it to X. “He wanted you to see this.” He reached for the locket, recognizing it to be the kind that contained small messages and holograms, and opened it. A small blue hologram appeared from the inside. It was Dr. Light. “X,” The hologram spoke amidst some static, “you know I would never condone mass killings.” Light shook his head. “Dr. Sky told me about what’s happening. I need to see you immediately. There is much to explain to you. You must go with her.” The hologram stopped moving. “Okay, now that that’s clear,” Dr. Sky started to gather some nearby tools “let me fix you up a little so you can move, and then we’ll go see Dr. Light before Doyle comes back.” “No.” Dr. Sky stopped in her tracks and looked incredulously at X. “What do you mean no?” She dropped the tools onto a nearby desk and crouched to look X at eye-level. “Don’t you understand? Wily’s tricking you. You have to go see Dr. Light. He can help you.” “I know about Wily.” X placed a hand on her shoulder. “But that doesn’t change my decision one bit.” Fan Fiction - Top |
