//------------------------------// // 2: Crystal Crimes // Story: Melody of the Future // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// As X and Octavia beamed into the Crystal Mine, X held up his hand to stop Octavia from charging in. "We'll need to be extra careful here," he pointed out. "The crystals in this mine are a rich source of energy. A badly aimed shot could trigger an explosion...or a chain reaction explosion. Also, the energy fields will interfere with some systems." "Sounds like I shouldn't call Classic, then," Octavia murmured. "Hopefully we'll be able to get out of here quickly..." She glanced around nervously. "This place gives me the creeps..." "Then stay close to me," X instructed. "Let's go." As they moved into the mine, they came across a few bat mechanaloids, which were easily dealt with. Not long after, they found a Ride Armor with spiked fists. "Whew," X gasped in relief. "Kinetic force shouldn't trigger any explosions." He hopped into the armor, Octavia sitting in his lap. Octavia blinked as Varia's sensors pointed something out. "I'll be right back!" Climbing upward, she slid down a pit to a small platform before a large gap. She could see the Heart Tank off in the distance, much too far to reach normally. Charging both her busters, she switched to Speed Burner. Leaping into the air, she triggered an air dash, then released the charged Speed Burners one after the other, giving her the equivalent of a triple boosted air dash, letting her clear the pit completely to collect the Heart Tank. Thankfully, a floating platform carried her back across the pit, allowing her to climb back up to rejoin X. In addition to the gauntlets of the Ride Armor being spiked, they could be charged up for a dashing punch to smash through obstacles. It also had a limited use jet pack on its back. With the exception of when the crystal formations blocking the path were out of position - unlike X and Octavia, the Ride Armor couldn't attack at an angle - it could carry them through nearly anything. When they came across a badly positioned crystal, either X or Octavia would hop out to investigate a means to clear the path. Eventually, they were forced to abandon the Ride Armor because it couldn't go up high enough to clear a wall. At the top of the wall was a mechanaloid inside a crystal shell, blocking their path. It attacked with a remotely controlled drone which shot at them with a projectile that ricocheted off the walls. Though intimidating, it did not take long to break through the crystal casing to destroy the core. After that, they had to race down a slope ahead of a crystal formation that broke away and was sliding after them. Escaping it, they followed another signal down into another pit. After passing several crystal based obstacles, they came across another Light Capsule. Oddly, rather than immediately open, the capsule scanned them both first. When it opened, the Light hologram looked...perturbed. "It seems you have the armor upgrade...but it was downloaded without proper capsule activation. Who brought it to you?" "We were told it was a reploid named Prometheus," X replied, noticing a widening of the hologram's eyes. "Do you know this reploid?" The hologram stroked its chin. "Have you encountered him before?" "He gave me these!" Octavia piped up, sliding her new visor down over her eyes. The hologram looked close at the visor as the capsule scanned it. "Tell me...did this Reploid have an ancient looking but sturdy shield carried on his back?" "That's what Lifesaver said!" Octavia confirmed. "And a scarf and a dark visor like this one!" The visor slid back into her helmet. The hologram crossed its arms, looking miffed. "Well, isn't that just like him. He could have at least said hi..." "You know this Reploid?" X asked, surprised. "How?" "You and Zero aren't the only 'Reploids' who aren't actually Reploids, X," the hologram replied. "This Prometheus is another one...and a friend. Though given how long its been, I wouldn't be surprised if he's a little crotchety at this point." X's eyes widened. "He's from your time? And still functional after all this time?" "I'll let him tell his story when he wants to," the hologram stated firmly. "In the meantime, this helmet will give you enhanced radar capacity, to see objects and paths that were previously hidden to you, though it will use some energy to activate. Speaking of, the modifications to Rush are nearly complete. I should be able to deliver him to you soon." X found himself smiling goofily at the idea of getting a robot dog for a pet. As the hologram vanished, the pair stepped into the capsule for the upgrade. Returning to the main path, the pair continued onward to find Crystal Snail, the mysterious Maverick that had run amok at that location. Crystal Snail himself dropped in, his shell spinning around before landing on the ground right side up. Crystal Snail then stood up. "Greetings," he stated calmly. "I am Snail Man. I will destroy you." Octavia blinked. "...Snail Man? I thought your name was Crystal Snail?" "Negative. I am Snail Man. This is the designation I was given by my maker." X frowned. "What are you doing here?" "I am here to fulfill my part of Project Animus - in relation to Project Revelation - by engaging in battle with you." Octavia frowned. "You mean...you sowed chaos in the energy crystal mine just to fight us?" "Negative. I did that because it was fun." X ground his teeth. "How did you do that spinning thing?" he asked curiously. "I am magnetically connected to my shell. The delicate magnetic fields can be manipulated to-" Crystal Snail paused as he saw X and Octavia each switch to their Magnet Mine subweapon. "Oh...this is going to be so not fun." X and Octavia proceeded to use Magnet Mine to bounce Crystal Snail and his shell around the room in a strange game of pinball. As X and Octavia returned to the base, CiCi raced up to them. "The X Hunters are holding Santa Claus hostage!" she proclaimed dramatically. X stared at her for a time as Octavia giggled. He then turned to Alia. "Can you explain what she means by that?" he asked as CiCi raced off to deliver her confusing message to someone else. "The X Hunters base is located at the North Pole," Alia explained. "Also, they somehow managed to steal Zero and his parts." "What?" Octavia demanded angrily. "They kidnapped Uncle Zero?" "Zero is Santa Claus!" CiCi shouted out. As Octavia's eyes widened in amazement, X turned back to the teleporter. "Get us there immediately, Alia!" he ordered. "Yes sir!"