//------------------------------// // CM: Catch a Bobcat by the Toe // Story: Melody of the Future // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// At X's instruction, Spider took point while X brought up the rear with Aile in between them, only moving forward to open security doors. Thankfully, it wasn't far before they found where Chief R was being held, guarded by a single Preon security guard. One exploding card thrown by Spider left a hole in its armor, leaving an easy killshot for X. "That him?" Spider asked Aile, gesturing to the prisoner once the guard Preon exploded. Chief R was of slim build, dressed in an orange jacket with red and blue insignias on the chest, with an orange and blue parrot mechanaloid on his shoulder. "It is good to see you well, Chief," Aile greeted him as he moved to the front. "Aile! I told you to stay safe!" Chief R chided firmly. "You have all the information regarding our scattered agents, and the information we've gathered on the hidden agendas of the government and the Rebellion Army! The last thing this city can afford is to have you fall into enemy hands!" "The last thing he could consider me is an enemy," Spider grumbled under his breath, not meeting anyone's eyes. "Chief R, I'm X," X introduced himself calmly. "Aile requested my assistance in rescuing you. Spider is a bounty hunter...and apparently an old associate of Aile's." Chief R's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait...that Spider?" he asked Aile. When Aile nodded, a wide grin spread on Chief R's face. "It seems you've brought us a pair of powerful allies, Aile. We just might be able to retake the Central Tower now...and from there move to secure the city for the safety of civilians." He straightened himself. "The others?" "I have already taken a census of all active beacons," Aile answered readily. "All within the Tower are safe and accounted for, for the moment." "What can you tell us about whoever's holding the place for the Rebellion Army?" X asked curiously. "His name's Wild Jango," Spider interrupted. "He's a bobcat based high performance FM Reploid-" "FM Reploid?" X asked in confusion. "A Reploid designed from the ground up to utilize Force Metal to the fullest extent," Chief R explained. "They actually have more in common with Terrans than older Reploids, or even New-Gen Reploids, as far as how their brains and bodies function." Spider nodded. "His primary abilities are his speed, powerful strikes, and lightning based attacks. His speed unfortunately leaves him vulnerable to overheating, making heat and flame based attacks exceptionally effective against him." "How did you acquire all this information?" Chief R asked in surprise. Spider shot Aile a smirk, which was returned. "Back when Aile and I were partners, we specialized in information retrieval. I can get a scan of a target's capabilities with a glance." "That should be quite useful," X observed gratefully. "For now, we should-" "So you refuse to work with the Rebellion Army, Rrrr?" Wild Jango spoke up from a nearby monitor, his spotted frame somewhat hidden in communication static. "I've told you," Chief R growled out angrily. "You could scrap my whole body, and even the smallest fragment would resist you!" Wild Jango snarled angrily. "Fine! But you are fools to resist us, as we bring the future of the Earth at hand! It's time for you all to be brought down to size! I'll bring this whole building down if I have to, including you traitor!" As the comms shut off, Chief R stared in disbelief. "No..." "X, Spider, you must both head to the monitor room as fast as possible!" Aile insisted quickly. "I will stay here with Chief R! I still have enough defensive equipment to hold a position." "Just don't go blowing yourself up," Spider insisted as the pair immediately dashed for the monitor room, higher up the tower. "I'll give you the route from here!" Chief R called out as they dashed away. As X and Spider dashed forward, security Preons of various designs blocked their passage on occasion, but they blasted past them as quickly as they could. With Chief R's guidance, they were able to fight their way through to the monitor room before the bomb could go off, allowing them to shut it off. "Now to find Jango!" X called out. "Which way, Chief?" "He's trying to escape via the heliport!" Aile informed them. "It's on the roof of the Tower!" "I know the way!" Spider insisted, leading the way up to the roof. As they arrived, Jango snarled in rage. "You cancelled the self destruct? Meddling Maverick and Bounty Hunters!" He spun to attack, blurring by faster than either X or Spider could react to slam into each of them from between, knocking them on their sides. "I'll teach you to cross me!" X growled as he got to his feet, Spider on the other side. "Not bad," he spat. "Bet you can't do it again." "I can do better!" Jango snarled as he leapt back, hurling homing discs of electricity at them both, only for Spider to barely get his shot barrier up in time to deflect them. "Somehow I doubt that," Spider taunted, standing between X and Jango. "Go on...gimme your best shot." Snarling in fury, Jango leapt into the air, spinning as he surrounded his body with electricity before lunging down in an attempt to smash Spider into the ground. As he breached the shot barrier, however, Spider flared with light and vanished as he activated his Trickstar mode, phasing out of sync with his surroundings so Jango passed right through him...only to be grabbed in the massive paw-hands of X Fury, who had transformed at the same time as Spider to conceal it. With that grip, he slammed Jango repeatedly into the ground before hurling him across the tarmac. "Face it, Jango!" X yelled out. "You don't stand a chance with us working together! Surrender, flee...or die!" Jango roared his defiance. "No soldier of Epsilon will back down from a simple two on one fight!" "How about three on one?" a calm, feminine voice spoke up from behind Jango. "What?" Jango shouted in shock as he spun. "Shoryuken!" Octavia shouted as she unleashed the lower power finishing blow, sending Jango back as he took the massive fire based damage, bits of his armor falling off as he got back to his feet. "Octavia!" X called out in relief. "You're alright!" "Of course I am," Octavia responded calmly. "Why wouldn't I be?" "But where's Axl?" "He got tired of me playing matchmaker with every female who flirted with him because he was famous, so we decided to look around separately for a while," Octavia explained simply. "By the way, Father, who's the suit that was actually paying attention enough to keep Jango from escaping?" "Wait...you're that Octavia?" Spider gulped nervously as he clutched the disabled Jango around his throat. "...please don't let Sensei make me eat the spaghetti..." "...you must be Spider," Octavia allowed flatly. "Dynamo's talked frequently about you." Spider whimpered softly.