5: Hope and Despair
Not long after Octavia defeated Dynamo, the four hunters sent out returned with the tech needed to repair the Enigma, and the mechanics got right to work on upgrading it to its maximum capacity. As the work went on, Zero was looked over by Lifesaver, given he'd suffered a massive viral infection. "What's the report, Lifesaver?" Signas asked worriedly.
"Well...I've got good news and bad news," Lifesaver replied, his voice showing both concern and confusion.
"Give it to me straight, Doctor," Signas instructed. "I need to know what I can pass on to the others."
Lifesaver shrugged. "Well, the Hikari Antibody installed in Zero has been completely wiped out. The viral energy he absorbed overpowered it completely, giving all signs of a full infection."
"Then...Zero is..." Signas began.
"Stronger than before, but otherwise showing no Maverick tendencies," Lifesaver explained.
"What?" Signas demanded, confused.
"The viral energy's being automatically redirected through his systems to enhance functionality," Lifesaver explained. "Speed, strength, energy output...all have increased drastically from the viral energy. It's like his systems were originally designed to use it...although it only seems to be flowing through the systems that, like in X's build data, we can't fully analyze."
Signas frowned, stroking his chin. "That's...concerning. Has he shown any...behavioral differences? Anything we need to keep an eye on as far as Maverick behavior?"
"The only sign we've seen is that he refuses to be kept on bed rest, but that's nothing new," Lifesaver explained. "He's slightly - and I do mean slightly - more aggressive than normal, but he's recognizing it when it happens and consciously reigning it in."
Signas nodded, thinking about this for a time. "The sensible decision would be to keep Zero from further encounters with the Virus until we can fully understand this. However, given our present situation, not sending him out for a shuttle part if the Enigma fails would pose a greater risk than what we're presently seeing from him regarding his reaction to viral energy." He shifted to a firm stance. "Keep an eye on his status at all times. If he shows any further signs of Maverick behavior, we'll pull him from the mission. Until then...we need him too much to keep him off the lines. If the Enigma succeeds, we'll have all the time in the world to be careful. If not..."
"Let's hope we don't have to think about that, but I understand what you're saying," Lifesaver replied. "I'll take care of it."
Once the Enigma was fully operational, X took the controls. He carefully aimed the laser, knowing that despite the power, he only had one shot. Because of the power that needed to run through the Enigma, firing it risked damaging the cannon. And even if the cannon didn't damage itself, it would take a full 24 hours to fully charge for another shot, and they only had 14 until impact. Everything was riding on this.
Once he was locked on for an intercept course, he cleared his mind. "Target locked," he called out.
"Fire when ready, X," Signas ordered.
Calming his breathing, X focused everything he had into the single shot...and fired.
The energy erupted from the Enigma Cannon, lancing into space like a spear of light, driving through the atmosphere and into the Eurasia colony, striking dead on. The flash of light from the impact and shockwave released knocked out all sensors for a time.
"Alia!" X called out. "Did I get it?"
"I can confirm direct hit!" Alia called back. "...but it wasn't enough..."
"What?" X demanded desperately, stunned beyond belief. "What happened?"
"...from what I'm picking up, the Space Colony was surrounded by an energy field, similar to the Viral energy surrounding the planet," Alia explained. "It was dormant until fired upon, so we couldn't take it into account. It took the brunt of the blast, and is holding the colony together despite managing to shatter 87% of the colony. All we managed to do is change the orbit. It's still going to crash."
"Dammit!" X snapped, pounding his clenched fist against the control panel. "How much did we change the orbit? Did we gain enough time for the Enigma to recharge for another shot?"
"Running calculations..." Alia replied.
"What's the status on the Enigma?" Signas asked.
X checked the readouts. "...Izzy Glow's laser device worked better than anticipated," X called back. "No damage to the Enigma. I repeat, no damage to the Enigma Laser Cannon. Once it's fully charged, we can fire again. Starting the charging process-"
"Don't bother," Alia cut in. "Calculations are complete. We have...23 hours before colony impact, 18 before it's too close to use either Enigma or Shuttle to try and destroy it."
X closed his eyes, hanging his head. "I'm...I'm sorry everyone...I failed."
"No you didn't, Dad," Octavia cut in. "We had no way of knowing about that other energy source. We'll just have to figure out how to handle it from here. We'll need to fix up the shuttle instead."
Colonel once more took the lead of the meeting. "The plan is simple. The shuttle, once fully upgraded, will be flown into the colony to destroy it. In its fragmented state, the required explosive force is greatly diminished. However, the energy holding the colony together means that Auto Pilot is not an option. Someone will have to fly the shuttle into the colony, and attempt to eject just before impact, and ride the escape capsule back to the surface." He frowned. "Unfortunately, neither shuttle nor escape capsule can be upgraded to block the Viral Energy from infusing them during flight, meaning someone capable of defending themselves while flying the shuttle needs to be the pilot."
"So it has to be one of the four of us," X murmured softly, glancing at Zero, Colonel, and CiCi.
"And only one of us is a certified shuttle pilot," CiCi added, looking straight at Zero.
"I knew this was coming from the moment the shuttle plan was first suggested," Zero replied. "I'm ready."
"Very well," Colonel replied firmly, hiding his emotions as he took control of the military aspect of the mission. "There are four Reploids with the components we need, and we have no way of knowing what their status is at this point." He called up the first image. All they had was a green face with red hair, maybe. "First is Axle the Red. We have no information on him beyond the name. However, we know that he possesses an Orbiter Engine."
"I'll take him," CiCi replied instantly, her tentacles flexing.
Colonel blinked, surprised at CiCi's insistence, but decided not to press. "Very well. Next is Mattrex, a weapons storage guard." The image displayed a red and white reploid shaped like a T-Rex. "He has a Booster we'll need for the Shuttle. He was part of Repliforce, but he's since retired. We aren't sure what he's been up to since."
"I'll take him," X called out. "If he's gone Maverick, I'll be able to handle him. If he hasn't, I should be able to convince him to part with the Booster. I was successful negotiating with Izzy Glow."
Colonel nodded in understanding as the next Reploid image appeared, a white robotic bipedal pegasus. "The Skiver is protecting an Orbiter Wing at a Repliforce base. With luck, I'll be able to retrieve it from him without incident." He frowned. "However, we've been unable to communicate with the base...so I don't know his status." Shaking his head, he called up the last image. This one showed a purple bat based Reploid. "Dark Dizzy is a known Maverick, with suspected connections directly to Sigma. However, there should be a Fuel Tank somewhere in his base."
"Guess that one's mine," Zero grumbled. "How come I drew the short straw again?" While his words were bitter, his expression showed he was teasing.
"Good luck everyone," Octavia offered worriedly. She then turned towards the shuttle and sighed. Once again, she had to stay behind and watch as those she cared for most raced into danger and possible death. She found she was actually looking forward to when Dynamo attacked, if only for the distraction.
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Man, that was close, but no cigar. Time to go for the direct assault.
Axle the Red reminds me of Axl...
I hate the english names for the mavericks in was this X 5 or 6?
7111382 This is supposed to be 5
7111407 got it just never played any after x4
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
Another cool chapter. Though I would like to know how many more chapters until we encounter Vinyl?
Hmm... Hold on a second.
7111377
Well, he is a Reploid Rose... As far as shout outs go, that one was rather blatant.
7111382 X5. This was one of the infamous practices of naming bosses after musicians, like the Koopalings. Axl, Grizzly Slash, Izzy Glow, and Duff McWhalen could be references to Guns N' Roses.
7111516 I don't get why people complain. Sure, it's new to the English names, but Mega Man is Japan has always been musical references and puns.
7111607 People are just weird. I certainly have no problems with it.
7111418 I don't blame you. I've only played 1 and 7, myself
Huh... the cannon is capable of being used again.... I hope we get to see it in action again. Also, why don't they just do the same thing that Nerv did in Evangelion with the Positron Sniper Rifle and reroute all the power from non vital facilities in the city to the Enigma to help it recharge faster as a secondary back up to the shuttle???
7111752
...because they already are doing that with all available non-essential power just to fire it the first time, and now to recharge it at that rate.
7111752 I think too much power being used could overload the cannon or the recoil would be too much for the cannon's frame to handle and end up destroying it in the process.
7111382 7111516
At least in Megaman/Capcom's case, I think X5's case was a one-time thing. I've heard that it was a woman on the localization team who did it: she's not a G&R fan, but her then-boyfriend was, so she got them named that way to impress him (dunno what happened to them after that).
Original names: Crescent Grizzly, Tidal Makkoeen, Volt Kraken, Shining Hotarunicus/Firefly, Dark Necrobat, Spiral Pegacion/Pegasus, Burn Dinorex, Spike Rosered.
And speaking of hilarious names: GUESS WHO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO TATS MAKING FUN OF IN X8?!
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/717/870/361.png
7111916 Don't forget Akuseru in X7.
7111767 My bad, I thought they were using a dedicated power station or something related to some of the stuff they collected from the various infected reploids like the hydrogen from the oceans.
7112112
They're using that, too.
I've been wondering for a while if Zero as the original source of the virus that infected Sigma was ever going to come up again or have consequences.
7111975 Hm, not as sure if Axl is also meant to specifically be GnR's Axl. Doesn't work as well without any of the others.
I did find out who did it: Alyson Court. She's also the VA for Claire Redfield, and it was for her then-husband, but they since separated.
7111921 You mean Burn Rooster. I get that you are making a joke, but people who never played X8 wouldn't know that.
We're nearing the point where Axl shows up. The guy is awesome! From what I read he's more Mega Man than X... sort of. He adapts instead of copies, so Kirby is just as Mega Man.
I don't want Octavia and Dynamo to fight again...They're just too cute to fight!
One would think Willy would make a vaccine so ponies could not be infected.
7119465 its play fighting
Wouldn't it have made more sense to send the active, high-ranked Repliforce member to reason with the former Repliforce member? And if that wasn't an option, it seems fitting that Colonel finish a former brother-in-arms.
9075914
actually the skiver is an ACTIVE member of repelforce, and thus takes a bit of higher priority then the former member, as they can possible be reasoned with better by one of their superiors.
the enigma wasn't enough, but now they have more time to get the ship parts... makes me wish they had some pikmin to help em