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To Chapter [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Cyber Peacock watched as the other reploids fixed Sigma. Most of their force was wiped out in the last battle with the Maverick Hunters. Cyber Peacock shook his head in disgust. He never ceased to be amazed how quickly and easily Zero and X can take out their troops. An entire army of Mavericks couldn't stand up to either of them alone. Neither looked all that impressive, especially the little blue one. Cyber Peacock shuddered at the thought of X. Trying to forget recent regretable memories, he studied the stats on the large monitor screen. Repairs of the salvageable Mavericks were going well, and many were being created to replace the ones beyoned repair. If this continued at the current pace, then the Mavericks would again be in full force in less than a week. "How goes Master Sigma's repairs?" Cyber Peacock barked at one of the attendants. "Very well, Mister Peacock." The reploid replied. "His condition is stable, we've managed to save all of his memory files and command protocols. We're gathering together the parts to rebuild his damaged body." Peacock grunted in approval. "How long before we reactivate him?" Peacock asked. "A week, two weeks tops." "What?" Peacock stared down the attendant reploid, who cowared behind his clipboard. "Well, Mister Peacock, sir," The attendant reploid's voiced cracked several times, "Master Sigma was heavily damaged by a light saber. We were lucky to recover all his files. This is the best we can do." Cyber Peacock nodded in annoyance, and swore that the Hunters would pay for their doings. He didn't know how he would take care of them, since he's no match for either of them. Certainly when Sigma was back online, he would have a brillant plan for revenge. "But we can activate Master Sigma, he just won't have any motor functions yet. Do you want us to do it?" "No," Cyber Peacock replied, "Do YOU want to tell him that he's not completely fixed?" "Uh... no sir." "Good. Keep working on it." *********************************************************************** Zero tried to forget about the voice, and his alleged past. Since that disturbing time in the hallway, he hadn't heard Wily's voice again, and hte nightmares have ceased. "Maybe it's because I destroyed Sigma and proved that I am on the Maverick Hunter's side. Whatever it is, I'm just glad it's over." Zero allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. Zero watched as the other Hunters enjoyed themselves at the party. They were laughing, dancing and chatting away. Zero smiled. "Maybe now that I'm rid of those dreams, I can finally enjoy myself." Zero was hanging out at the window by himself. He usually didn't participate too much in these events. Actually, he usually don't participate at all at social events. Zero had few friends by choice. It was not about feeling superior, as many think about Zero's indifference towards most people. Zero was constantly lost in his own thoughts; he's just that way. "Hey, Zero." One of the reploids called from across the room. It was Amp, a rookie Maverick Hunter. Even though Amp wasn't on Zero's squad, he managed to become one of Zero's few friends. Zero still remembered Amp's first day on duty. Amp had gotten lost in the HQ building and asked Zero for directions. The funny part was that Amp mistakenly asked if Zero was a rookie too. Zero could still remember how Amp's face turned brighter than his armor when he found out who Zero really was. From then on, Zero found himself always being the mentor to Amp. Maybe just to prove that he isn't a rookie. "Hey, Zero! Over here!" Amp called again, this time waving his hands even more franticly in the air. "They want you to judge an arm wrestling match." "Sure," Zero got out of his seat and headed over. The other reploids cheered on as the two contestants got ready for the match. Zero called "go" and the crowd cheered even louder. One reploid started collecting credits for bets. The atmosphere was electric. Zero could see that X was right, the others did need to relax. But he was even more surprised that he felt a lot better, too. A little party was all that he really needed. Zero found himself joining in the cheer, and shouting to the top of his lungs when one of the reploids won the match. "Maybe those dreams just came because I was stressed out." Zero thought. "Maybe they were just hallucinations. Perhaps Dr. Wily never existed." ************************************************************************ X watched Zero shout and sing with the other Hunters. He had never seen Zero so cheerful. Zero was always serious about his job, and never allowed himself to have any fun in the process. At parties, Zero would make an appearance, and then simply sit by the window by himself. X often wondered what kind of baggage Zero was carrying by himself, as he seemed to have wall around him every moment of every day. X was Zero's closest friend, but he still knows very little about Zero. Seeing Zero surrounded by other reploids and enjoying the moment was a rare, but refreshing sight. "Great party isn't it Dr. Cain?" X asked. "Yes, indeed it is. After all, you've all earned it. Fighting off Repliforce and the Mavericks all at once was no easy task." "Speaking of which, did they ever find Sigma's body?" "When final Weapon blew up, everything inside it was turned into smithereens. There wasn't anything to recover." "So there's nothing to follow up on." "X, you were worried about Zero not having enough fun, and here you are talking about work in the middle of a party. Don't worry, as of now, everything is fine." Dr. Cain pushed X towards the singing crowd at the other side of the room. "Run along and have some fun!" X chuckled at the Doctor's gesture. "Of course, Dr. Cain. I'll try." ************************************************************************ "Everything is fine..." The young guard reploid mumbled. He stared up towards the lighted building of the Maverick Hunters HQ. "Everyone must be partying right now, and I'm stuck with the night shift of the archeological dig. Sheesh!" The young reploid sat down at one of the blocks. "So this was the very place that Dr. Light built his robots." The young guard thought. "I wonder why it was ever turned into ruins." The young guard has also heard that the great Mega Man X was found in the same place. "Heh, I wonder what else is burie-" The young reploid stopped in his tracks. He had definitely heard a sound. Drawing his weapon, he creeped around the site, trying to pin down the location of that sound. "There it is again!" This time, he heard it more clearly. It was a beeping sound. He gingerly took several more steps towards it. Then he saw that some of the rubble was shaking. "Something under there is moving..." He studied the blocks that were there. Too big for him to move, so he reached for his radio and called for assistance. Dr. Cain, Zero, X and some heavy equipment quickly arrived to the scene. The young guard informed Dr. Cain of how he discovered the disturbance, while the machinery moved the large blocks of rubble that covered the mysterious object. "What is it, Dr. Cain?" X asked as the machinery dug out a large cylinder. "I don't know..." the doctor said. "Yet." The three rushed over as the machine set down the large cylinder. It was covered with dirt. Dr. Cain used his hand to wipe away some dirt. The doctor's face filled with amazement as he realized what the cylinder is. "Now I know." Dr. Cain exclaimed. "X, this is the same type of pod I found you in!'' Zero and X quickly got over the shock and helped wipe away the dirt in the capsule. When they were finished, they stood and gawked at the contents of the pod. It was a young woman reploid, with blond hair and a gentle face. Sitting next to her was a red mechanical dog. "Who are they?" X asked. "Dr. Cain!" A reploid yelled. "We've discovered a second pod, also with a reploid inside." "Well, " Zero commented, "I'd say the party down here has just gotten a lot more interesting." ************************************************************************ Zero and X sat in the lounge as Dr. Cain tried to make sense of the two pods unearthed from the archeological site. He convinced the two archeological site. He convinced the two Maverick hunters that they should leave him to open the pods himself. Dr. Cain rushed Zero and X out into the hallway and quickly locked the door behind them. "X," Zero asked, "Do you remember anything before you were sealed in that pod?" "Not much." X replied. "Actaully, nothing at all. It wasn't until I ran into Dr. Light's hollogram that I found out I was sealed in the pod by Dr. Light a century ago." "So you really don't know who those three in the pods are?" X shook his head. "I wonder why I don't remember." X said. "Was I damaged? Why was I sealed in the pod? And are these new reploids my friends?" "X, don't worry about it." Zero reassured. "I'm sure Dr. Cain will dig up some answers." "Yeah," X got up and walked towards the window. It was dark outside, 11pm. Not too long ago they were enjoying themselves at a party, now this new mystery comes out of nowhere. "Zero?" X asked as he continued to stare at the stars. "Why am I scared?' "What do you mean?" X turned around and faced Zero. "I'm terrified!" X said loudly. He turned to look at the closed doors to Dr. Cain's lab. "Am I scared because I don't know about my past? Or because I'm afraid to find out about it?" X's question hit Zero hard. Suddenly Zero remembered that his past is also a mystery. Was he, too, afraid to find out about the past? About Dr.Wily? About his programming? "Zero?" X called. "Heh," Zero thought, "Nonsense. I'm not afraid of my past." Zero turned to look at X. "Looks like it's you who had one party too many X." Zero chided. "Stop babbling nonsense and sit down." "Yeah, I guess." X scratched behind his head, and chuckled. Just then, the door to Dr. Cain's lab opened. Both Maverick Hunter's attention snapped towards the Doctor; he stood with a grave look on his face. "I think you'd better come in." ************************************************************************ [HOME] |
