Mega Man Zero: For Endless Fight

by Captain L

Chapter 3: Draconian Commander

Wavebreaker sat in a large tank of water, still clutching her wound fiercely. The water would heal the cut, but it would take time, keeping her out of commission and unable to fight. And she had a superior she had to deal with. “Master Twilight, I apologize for my failure. I was not expecting my opponent to be as strong as he was.”

Twilight sat in her ornamental throne, at the head of the room. The large windows behind her were cracked and the curtains torn, yet there was somehow still very little light entering, only enough to see. Twilight was bent forward, her hoof on her chin with her eyes closed as she was lost in thought. “But are you sure that this stallion you saw was Zero?”

“I didn't make the connection at first, but it could have only been him. Even without considering the looks, he had that fire in his attacks that would only come from a master swordsman, with the skills to match. He bested me far too quickly for someone of my position. It was incredible.”

“Well well well, sounds like a certain seapony's got a crush on her enemy.”

Twilight didn't bother to look, but Wavebreaker did, and she saw one of her comrades hiding in the shadows, the famous purple and green dragon. About as tall as Twilight, his body was thin and long, but muscular. Wavebreaker grumbled, “Yeah, well, I don't particularly care what you think, Spike.”

Spike shrugged, and walked into whatever light the throne room had, and knelt before his princess. “Pardon me princess, but how much faith can you put into what Wavebreaker says? No offense, but think back; you remember that Zero died, don't you? How would he possibly return, let alone why? There's no reason, that's why! Aren't there far more important matters for us to attend to than looking at some rumor about a stallion who's been dead for a hundred years?”

Twilight held her hoof up to be imposing, and her eyes opened. Dark purple smoke, darker than her coat, poured out of the sides of her eyes and the pupils glowed bright green. “Hold your tongue, Spike! You have no right to speak up to your princess out of turn! You will also not disrespect the judgment of another Guardian! Very well, if you doubt her words, you will be the one sent to inspect her post. Depart soon, and do not disappoint me!”

Even with the berating he had received, Spike smiled. Reaching behind his back, he pulled a hilt off his belt. Pulling the ignition, it emitted a blade much like Zero's, close enough to make Wavebreaker flinch, but purple. “You will not regret your choice, Princess Twilight.”

---

“The door to the base is open, Zero. I don't know what kind of things you're going to find in there, so watch your back.”

“Alright Posey, I plan to investigate as much as I can. I'll contact you when I find something interesting.” Zero entered the hidden base and climbed the ladder, the only means of continuing. He carefully peeked over the top in case there would be any more enemies waiting for him. But he was only met with empty hallways. At least there was light here, so he could see what he needed to.

“You're not one of them, right? What are you doing here?”

Zero turned to the source of the voice, and found a stallion behind bars. He had a red coat and a brown mane, clad in a green uniform and goggles over his eyes. Zero approached the cell door. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

“We're members of the Resistance, but Twilight's shadow soldiers captured us and imprisoned us here. They all left a few minutes ago, and I was about to try a breakout. Did Posey send you here?”

“Yeah, she sent me here to investigate what this base was. So it's a prison, then? How many of you are in here?”

“There's eight of us trapped here, but it isn't a prison specifically. I heard Wavebreaker talking about it, one of the rooms here has a database computer, she said something about important information on it. If you're going to unlock the cell, you'll need to find whatever guard has the key, which could be hard if you can't find the guards at all, so...” He was interrupted by Zero’s saber igniting and slashing at the door lock. The bars swung open, as Zero put the sword back on his hilt.

“A-amazing…but that sword...it can’t be…C-could you really be the Zero?”

“That’s what I’m told. I’m just here to investigate this place, and I’m getting back to that. Can you rescue the rest of your squad?”

“Leave it to me, Mr. Zero! You take care of that master computer, shut down their operations! Colbor’s taking care of his team!” He saluted and ran off into the empty hallway.

Zero watched him take off, and briefly considered following him to make sure he freed his team safely, but decided against it. “I need to focus on my own mission, see what’s on that computer.” He ran in the other direction, and was met with a large door, which wouldn't open no matter what force Zero used on it.

He would have kept attacking the door, but he saw a panel on the right side at face height, with a screen asking for a password. This would normally indicate that Zero needed to find and “coerce” a guard into inputting it for him. He punched the screen instead, causing sparks to fly from the shattered glass, and the door pulled open. He walked through the open doorway into the supercomputer's room.

While the computer was taking up a sizable portion of the room, the screen connected to it was small, the size of a piece of paper. Zero approached the screen and looked at what it was displaying. “A data file on ‘Breezie Wars’? What the hell are they looking at, what does this have on me?” He searched the database for “Zero”, and found a result, which he opened the file for.

“Zero, we just got a transmission from Colbor, and he said that you’re looking at Twilight’s database? Are you in?”

“Yeah Posey, I was about to look at the file they have on me. I need this mystery about myself solved, understand?

Posey was silent for a few seconds before she responded. “A-alright, do what you have to do. But can you do something for us? If you open a communication channel between that computer and ours, we can transfer the data for Resistance use. Can I put Cerevau on to direct you?”

“Okay Zero, Posey told me what I’m helping you out here with. Open a terminal on the computer and enter this…”

Zero listened to Cerveau’s very detailed instructions and followed them exactly. He had just finished typing exactly what he was told, and had only just confirmed the command when a purple blade ignited over his neck from outside his range of vision. He didn’t turn to look, only stood still to listen.

“Maybe you should have just stayed dead, Zero, you just keep getting into trouble. Master Twilight has taken interest in you, you've been proving yourself since your return. Such a shame that someone with as much potential and history such as yourself is fighting against us. That's why I was sent here, to cut off a loose end.” The saber was pulled away, to bring it closer to its wielder.

Zero quickly took the opportunity to jump, igniting his sword in the air, landing away from his attacker. Given a clear view, he looked over who had entered the room. He was a purple and green dragon, a limber and fit 6 feet tall, holding two purple blades just like Zero's. His eyes were piercing, his sharp teeth bared for the fight.

Zero growled, “Another one of Twilight's goons, huh? Your seapony friend had the same sense of self-importance, and she lost a harsh fight. Do you think you'll fare better, dragon?”

“You will not compare my abilities to Wavebreaker! I have been by Twilight's side since hatching, I am her highest-ranking officer, and you shall not underestimate me. I am Spike the Dragon, and my Harpuia Blades will slice you apart! I'll send you back to the afterlife you belong in!” He spun his swords and entered his battle stance.

Zero stood still, opting to stay back and observe his opponent instead of rushing into a fight. If the dragon was Twilight's highest Guardian, he would be a skilled combatant, and his dual blades gave him an edge.

Time passed, neither moving to set off the other. It was quiet, more serene than expected for a match between two skilled swordsmen. Spike's eyes narrowed, and he pulled his swords back. “Are you trying to freak me out?! Do something, react, acknowledge that I'm here!”

Zero was a little shocked at the outburst. “What's your problem? Does Twilight's top commander require reassurance that he's needed at all?”

“SHUT UP! I'll rip you apart, tear your legs from the rest of your body, pull your heart from your chest!” Spike gripped his swords' hilts tighter, hard enough that it looked like they would snap from the pressure. He charged forward, screaming a battle cry as his feet quickly tapped across the ground.

Zero jumped back, surprised at how quickly Spike had gotten fired up. Still in motion, he held his saber before him, perpendicular to Spike's two blades, blocking them both. However, the force of the strike pushed him back, his two hind legs sliding across the floor as he resisted the attack. They clashed against the force of the opposing sword, both fighters strong enough that they wouldn't be pushed away or beaten.

Zero wasn't stupid, he could tell when a struggle was pointless, and he wasn't going to waste his energy on a fruitless attack. Instead, he stopped resisting with his saber and leaned back, letting Spike's force carry him forward. He stumbled, his dual swords just missing slicing Zero's torso open. With an opening, he pulled back and swung his hind leg, sharply kicking Spike in the side of the head and knocking him into the wall. While he was recovering, Zero taunted Spike, “You know, Wavebreaker taught me that little trick. I thought Twilight's number one commander would know how to counter his subordinates.”

Spike was on one knee now, really mad at Zero. He slammed his fist onto the metal floor, creating a large and noticeable dent. “You're dead, Zero!”

He was losing his nerve, something Zero could take advantage of. Back on his feet, he charged with one of his hands on top of the other, holding both Harpuia Blades in the same grip held out away from him. He wanted a joust, that's what Zero would give him. While the dragon was bearing down upon him, Zero held his saber out as well, unwavering. It was only when Spike was just about to impale him that he dodged, one foot to his side.

The two combatants were standing side to side, back to back, their swords held in front of them. Zero's eyes were narrowed and stern, while Spike was panting and breathing very heavily, but he wasn't going to let his exhaustion force him to bow out of the fight. “You're...you're a worthy opponent, Zero. I can see how you bested Wavebreaker, but I won't let you get the better of me!”

Zero smirked. “I think you've already lost this. Look at your side.”

Spike was feeling a sting on his side, but he was ignoring it to focus on the fight. With attention brought to it, he couldn't help but look. There it was, a gap on his torso, smoke emanating from the pierced flesh and veins. It wasn't bleeding due to the nature of the weapon that caused the injury, nor was it already fatal, but it was deep enough that it must have punctured something vital, and leaving it untreated would surely result in death.

With no other option, Spike was forced to retreat. “This isn't over, Zero! Twilight's master plan will still come to fruition, and the Resistance scum will all pay for their disobedience!”

“Data transfer complete. The files are encrypted, so it'll take time to decipher them, but we'll get them soon. Colbor's team is confirmed sage, preparing to bring you back.”

“A piece of advice, dragon. If you're sent to stop someone from stealing your data, you should probably do something about stopping it instead of letting it run while you get into a fight.” With that, Zero teleported out, leaving Spike loudly growling alone, more at anger than pain.