//------------------------------// // 3: Eye of the Swarm // Story: Melody of the Future // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// When Octavia finally managed to drag X away from Volt Catfish's anime collection, she was ready to take a break and eat something, have a bath, and relax. Unfortunately, as soon as they returned to HQ, they were greeted by bad news. "I've been going over the scans of the Neutralized Reploid brains, and I've come to a terrifying discovery," CiCi explained. "The longer a Reploid is under the influence of the Neural Computer's signal, the more dominated by it their mind becomes...and the more the original persona decays. It varies depending on the strength of the Reploid mind and how close to the Computer they're based, but..." "But?" X prompted as she fell silent. "Given how close he's based and how long he's been in there, if we don't save Blast Hornet today, he will suffer total persona collapse." "Uncle Zero!" Octavia shouted out. "It's time to gamble! Stop flirting with Iris and get your butt in here!" There was a resounding crash followed by an adorable giggle from the distance, followed by Zero racing into the command center, pulling the last piece of his armor on as he ran. "I'm here! I'm here!" he called back, gasping for breath. X raised an eyebrow. "...why were you out of armor in Iris' quarters?" "Because Iris is a beast at poker," he replied simply. CiCi's tentacles twitched. "You were playing strip poker with the Repliforce liaison?" "It was her idea!" Zero countered defensively. Alia spat her coffee all over her console. "And Colonel had just written to ask how his 'sweet, innocent little sister' was doing in our care," she mumbled, cleaning her console off. "Let's go!" Octavia growled out. "We can talk while we're heading for Blast Hornet." "You know, he still owes me fifty bucks, whatever he says," Zero pointed out as they warped away. As the trio appeared in the old military base, its gray walls somewhat broken with circuitry visible within, Octavia spoke up. "Why does Blast Hornet owe you fifty bucks?" she asked. "Poker debt," he replied easily, dashing forward. "Good thing Iris wasn't playing that day, isn't it?" X teased as they blasted away at the mechanaloids blocking the path to the first elevator. "Shut up!" Zero snapped back as he smashed another mechanaloid with a swipe of his beam saber. Once at the top of the elevator, the trio dashed through a sequence of conveyor belts to a sealed chamber. Inside, a small bug shaped robot projected a wire-frame creature that resembled a multi-pointed star. "Piano, sic!" X called out. Teleporting in, Piano landed on the holo-projection, crushing it beneath him as he sat on its destroyed and dissolving remains. He then turned to the group, panting happily. Zero chuckled. "I thought you said 'Piano sic', not 'Piano sit." Blowing his friend a raspberry, X led the charge onward. Outside, the group made their way across several buildings, only to pause. "Say, Octavia," X asked, "didn't the radar say there was something directly below us?" "Yup," Octavia agreed, finding a cracked platform to blast apart. "It's probably down here." Finding a cracked wall, X broke it apart with his Tornado Fang before dropping downward. After blasting apart a stasis bot, he found the Neutral Ride Armor, the basic model the other units were modifications of. "Nice!" he shouted as he hopped in. "Now we can summon the Ride Armors at the various warp platforms!" "Useful," Zero and Octavia commented together. Continuing onward, a large carrier landed, and small mechanaloids began attempting to load it with supply crates. Deciding to do something about that, X used the Ride Armor to smash the crates, while Zero and Octavia destroyed the mechanaloids that carried them. Once the carrier left empty, Octavia followed the radar to collect another Heart Tank. Once Octavia had come back down from atop the building, the trio entered the building...only to be immediately confronted by an unknown Reploid. He was nearly double X's height, and somewhat large bodied and thick limbed. He was a mix of red, yellow, blue, and grey, with a large yellow and green arch connecting his shoulders over and behind his head. "Hello," he greeted calmly. "My name is Byte. You killed my partner. Prepare to die." "Aren't you supposed to say that with a Spanish accent?" Octavia asked calmly as the group prepared for battle. Ignoring that, Byte hurled a repulser disc at the wall behind them, where it stuck and prevented them from climbing it. He then promptly charged them. If he got close enough, he attempted to smash them with a whirling punch to knock them into the ceiling and opposite wall. X got caught once or twice before he got the timing of his air dash to evade it down. Zero and Octavia evaded in their own ways. "X, catch!" Zero called out, hurling something to him. When X caught it, he grinned. As Byte charged again, the trio dashed in to meet him, slashing through him with Beam Sabers - X and Zero wielding one, Octavia charging her B. Saber subweapon - from three sides at once. Byte fell apart, his core going critical. "How...how can such...ancient machines...have such power?" he demanded. As the explosions began, he relaxed. "The victory is yours...I...have failed..." Once Byte's explosion had passed, the trio continued onward, heading down a path of short conveyor belts and falling crates. Before too long, they reached the chamber where Blast Hornet awaited them, descending from above. He did not speak to them, but immediately began attacking, launching waves of robo-hornets to attack them and charging them with his sting. After a time of evading and trying to figure out how to snap him out of it without damaging him too much, Octavia got an idea. After closely avoiding a sting charge that was aimed at her, Octavia used her B. Saber to cut off Blast Hornet's wings, leaving him stuck in the ground. He growled at her. "Must you humiliate me so?" he demanded angrily. "Why not just finish me off?" Zero dashed up. "Not until I get the fifty you owe me," he stated jovially, holding his hand out. "What?" Blast Hornet demanded angrily. "Commander, it was you who owe me fifty! You're the one who was short on cash that match. I covered you fifty-" "After which I cleaned up," Zero pointed out reasonably as Octavia attached the Neutralizer to the back of Blast Hornet's head. "And you were short for the final payout by fifty-" "I covered you for $100!" Blast Hornet snapped. "I took that into account when calculating the final payouts," Zero snapped back. "Did not!" "Did too!" "Did not!" "Did too!" "Did not!" "Did too!" "Did not!" "Did too!" "Can we go home now?" Octavia pleaded. Chuckling, X warped out with Octavia, leaving Zero to debate with Blast Hornet who owed who money. "Did not!" "Did too!" "Did not!" "Did too!" "Did not!" "Did not!" "Did too!" "Then pay up!" Zero finished smugly. "Dammit!"