After returning to base to collect another Neutralizer, X and Octavia were ready to head straight out to the Power Plant to go after Volt Catfish. Before they could, however, Alia and CiCi both stopped them.
"Neon Tiger sent us some information to help us out," Alia spoke up.
"The first bit is the design for his tail blaster," CiCi explained. "I've already figured out a way to adapt it to Classic, since his tail's the same shape."
Growling happily, Classic headed off after CiCi for his upgrade. Octavia followed along behind, both out of curiosity and to make sure the upgrade wouldn't interfere with the Classic Adapter. Alia smiled at X. "He also sent us some information about Volt Catfish. Apparently, in addition to his electrical flow being disrupted by a spinning attack like a drill...he's a real Otaku."
"So...how does that help us?" X asked. "We make obscure anime references while fighting him in the hopes it snaps him out of it so we can give him the Neutralizer?"
"I suppose," Alia admitted. Turning away, she bit her lip before turning back to face him. "Be careful X, okay? You and Tavi need to come back in one piece."
X smiled softly back at her. "Don't worry," he promised. "We will."
"Less flirting more hunting!" Octavia spoke up as she walked under both of their legs, Classic behind her with a new blast emitter on his tail.
X rolled his eyes as Alia giggled. Turning, he joined his equine daughter on the teleporter to begin their mission.
Entering the Power Plant, Octavia glanced around. "While I understand the canisters of electricity against the walls," she admitted, "I do not understand why said walls are pink. An odd style choice."
"We aren't here to critique their interior decorating," X pointed out. "We're here to stop Volt Catfish."
"Alright...but salmon pink is-" Octavia froze, then brought her hoof to her face. "Oh..."
"What?" X asked in confusion.
"Volt Catfish. Salmon pink."
Chuckling, X led the way in. There was a new security system they hadn't faced before, a laser light that fired blasts of plasma as they passed through it. It was easily evaded by dashing through. A new wall crawling mechanaloid shot at them, and generated an electric shield around itself when damaged. Soon, they encountered a platform that descended down a tube lined with spikes.
X scratched his chin as he stared down. "I'm not sure I should go down..."
"Then I will," Octavia offered. "Spikes don't hurt me, and I can always merge with Classic to come back up." Seeing her father's frown, she raised her hoof. "If there's any danger I can't easily handle, I'll come right back, I promise." Without waiting for a response, Octavia hopped onto the platform with Classic, riding it as it descended.
"Be careful!" X called out worriedly.
"Don't worry," Octavia called through the communicator. "I'll keep in constant contact."
"Alright," X replied. "What do you see?"
"Hmm...it looks like a capsule of some sort down here," Octavia commented. "No enemies or security systems. Maybe it's a tele-" Octavia's signal cut out, and her beacon signal vanished.
"Octavia!" X called out desperately. "Octavia, can you hear me? OCTAVIA!"
As the teleport ended, Octavia glanced around. "Looks like it was a teleporter," she commented into the comms. "I'm in some sort of ruined factory. Any idea where I might be?" There was no response. "Father? Do you read? Dad? ...Daddy?" She tapped the communicator a few times, hoping to get it restarted. Realizing she couldn't contact anyone - and there was no teleporter back - she swallowed. "Great..." she murmured worriedly. "It was a trap and I walked right into it..."
Classic nuzzled her from the side, relaxing her somewhat. Deciding there wasn't anything else for it, she charged onward. There were quite a few Mechanaloids blocking the winding path, but between her overlapping charged shots and Classic's new blaster, they fell readily. Not long after, she had to climb up a long passageway above a broken elevator. Chunks of rock and other debris fell towards her from above, but she was able to blast them to bits shooting upward.
Not long after, she entered what she'd come to think of as a 'boss chamber'. To her surprise, Vile - now blue - dropped down in a grey Ride Armor she recognized as a Kangaroo unit, but recolored.
"He he-wait a minute, you're not X!" Vile snapped angrily.
"If you were specifically wanting to trap Father, you should have keyed the trap to only teleport him," she pointed out reasonably.
"It doesn't matter," Vile replied. "Your destruction will destroy X just as thoroughly, and much more satisfyingly. And I don't even have to finish you off. I just have to keep you busy for the few minutes until this factory explodes!"
"So there's a way out then?" she asked, merging with Classic. "Thanks for telling me. The Kangaroo doesn't jump too well, so I'll just fly over you and head for the exit. Ta-ta."
As she passed over Vile's head, he screamed in rage. "You won't escape me that easily!" he roared, leaping out of the Ride Armor to attack her. However, his leaping charge passed harmlessly between Octavia and Classic as they separated...and Octavia landed in the cockpit of the Ride Armor.
"That was easier than I thought it would be," she commented dryly as she slammed Vile into the wall with the spiked fists of the Ride Armor. As she punched him several times, not giving him a chance to recover, Classic blasted him with the Ray Splasher his tail gun was equipped with.
As Vile fell, he growled deep in his throat, his voice box erroring. "Don't think this is the end! I will haunt you all till the day...you...die..." On the last word, his voice trailed off as he exploded.
Abandoning the bulky Ride Armor, Octavia fused again with Classic to make her way out quickly. "Remind me to ask CiCi to make some Proton Packs," she told Classic, who growled in agreement.
Eventually, they reached another teleporter capsule, and dove in just as the factory was about to explode.
Octavia and Classic found themselves back in the Power Plant...only much of it was wrecked. Sighing, she activated her communicator. "Father..."
"Octavia!" X gasped out in relief, the sound of something rather large being dropped through a floor echoing in the background. "You're alright! Where have you been? What happened?"
"It was a one-way teleporter to an abandoned factory," Octavia explained as she started forward. "Vile set it up to trap you. Don't worry, he's dead, but CiCi needs to get started on some Ghostbusting equipment, since he claimed he was going to haunt us."
X laughed from the other side of the comms. "You don't really believe in ghosts, do you?" X asked.
"Asked the artificial man of the magical talking pony with the living space rock armor," Octavia replied in a droll tone.
"...touche. CiCi, get to work on those Proton Packs."
Laughter from the whole HQ greeted that exchange, though it did have a bit of a hysterical tinge to it. As Octavia continued, she whistled. "You really did a number on this place, didn't you?" she marveled.
"...I thought I'd lost you, Octavia," X whispered back. "I...went a little crazy..."
Octavia smiled softly. "I'm harder to lose than that, Dad," she reassured him. "So...find any upgrades while rampaging I need to download when I catch up?"
"Well, I found a Heart Tank," X replied. "Also, one of Light's capsules containing an armor upgrade. He didn't say anything, though. He took one look at the state I was in and just gave me the armor. In addition to reducing damage, it also generates an anti-damage field briefly after I take a hit. And I just found a Sub Tank."
"Wait up for me, then!" Octavia called out as she flew through the wrecked plant. Eventually, she caught up to X just in front of another 'boss door'. "You really wrecked the place, didn't you? You didn't leave anything for me to fight."
X chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head.
"I call fighting Volt Catfish!" she shouted as she dashed through the door.
"Hang on!" X called out, dashing after her.
As Volt Catfish descended from the ceiling, Octavia shot up with a fully charged Tornado Drill, the drill whirling on her hoof as she uppercut the fish shaped Reploid into the ceiling. "Mine is the drill that will pierce the heavens!" she shouted as she impacted.
"Just who do you think you are!" Volt Catfish suddenly shouted back.
Octavia blinked. "Umm..."
"What?" Volt Catfish demanded. "You reference without knowing what you reference? Unacceptable!"
Grabbing hold of Octavia and X, he sat them both down and forced them to watch the entirety of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Octavia didn't really get it, and used the time to attach a Neutralizer to Volt Catfish. X, however, appeared to be fully engaged. Rolling her eyes, Octavia curled up for a nap.