5: Light in the Dark
X carefully took in his surroundings as he was warped into Izzy Glow's lab. The lab itself was well concealed, being hidden within an old castle in the European countryside. X knew he had to be careful in his approach. While Izzy was a genius inventor and expert with lasers, he'd gone into seclusion because he refused to allow his inventions to be made into weapons. If X did too much damage going in, Izzy would be less likely to trust him with the laser device they needed.
"X?" Alia called worriedly through the comms as he began his approach. "Are you sure you can handle Izzy? Rumor has it he can be incredibly stubborn..."
"So can I, Alia," X replied readily. "And if all else fails, I can threaten to put Octavia on the line to guilt trip him."
"You think he's heard about that?" Alia asked, stifling her chuckles.
"Her conversation with Colonel after Sky Lagoon went viral on the new network," X indicated, smirking. "Pretty sure he'll know about it if he knows anything about the world outside his lab." Coming to a raised bridge, he knocked it over with his buster so he could cross.
"Alright," Alia allowed. "Just be careful. I don't want to have to tell Tavi her Daddy was careless..."
X moved carefully into the castle, doing his best to avoid the mechanaloids that blocked the path. The Armored Mettools - more mobile versions of old robots found in ruins, though built without Mettool alloy as the formula for producing it had been lost - were easy enough to evade, but the flying shield bots proved more difficult to get around. Moving carefully, X made his way through the red carpeted halls.
At one point, as he approached a wide spike pit he needed to cross on the tops of platforms with spikes on their bottom, Alia contacted him again. "Careful X! I'm detecting a large Viral concentration in that pit!"
"I see it," X replied as he made his way around the purple cloud with Sigma's face. A few shots showed that the application of the Hikari Antibody to his weapons' program had the desired effect, as enough shots caused the cloud to disperse before it could reach him. "Virus Buster program is...somewhat effective," he responded. "Viral Cloud dispersed."
"That's good news," Alia replied. "So far, no one else has encountered any Viral Clouds...so maybe we're moving fast enough."
"Hopefully," X agreed, moving in further. After making his way past a few crusher platforms, he broke his way through a door to a large spiral stairway leading up the inside of a tower. As he made his way up, several mechanaloids and Viral Clouds blocked the path, forcing X to blast his way through. Halfway up, he was blocked by a unique security system. Four cables hung from the level above. Three energy cannons dropped down along three cables, armed with high-powered lasers that would hit X no matter where he managed to hide. Of the three cannons, one was black and two were bright purple. On instinct, X blasted the black one, finding it vulnerable to damage. As the black cannon lined up with him wherever he waited, he repeated this process until the system shut down, opening the path to a teleporter.
On the other side of the teleporter, X found himself near the top of the castle. He carefully made his way through the halls, evading mechanaloid and automated defenses as he could. At one point, however, he detoured upward, blasting his way past a mounted plasma cannon to a hidden chamber containing a Light capsule.
The Light hologram revealed itself. "Your timing is impeccable, X," it explained. "At this very moment, three of your companions are accessing the capsules containing the other three parts of the Falcon Armor. When you all return to base, you will be able to utilize it for the rest of the mission."
"Hopefully, there won't be a 'rest of the mission' once the Enigma is fired," X replied fervently.
Light nodded, accepting the sentiment. "This capsule contains the arm part of the program. It will enhance the charge shot of your standard weapon, as well as decrease the energy used for your sub weapons. However, you will not be able to charge your sub-weapons, since this armor focuses on maneuverability."
"Seems like a fair trade," X admitted, stepping into the capsule. Once the program was downloaded, he stepped out.
"A moment, X," the hologram called out. "There's...something else I want to give you."
"Oh?" X asked worriedly. "Is...is it something else like the Hadouken or Shoryuken?"
"Not quite," the hologram replied. "This was...an upgrade Mega Man - your predecessor - acquired after reaching an...emotional enlightenment of sorts. I believe you're ready for it as well. However, he had some difficulty using it...and I believe you might as well, if used as he did. Instead, I am adding it to the Piano Adapter. Before now, the Piano Armor automatically fired fully charged shots of your regular buster or sub-weapons, as long as you had the energy for the latter. This upgrade, however, is activated by charging your standard buster while merged with Piano."
"Wait..." X began worriedly. "You mean it's a way of making the Piano Buster...even more powerful?"
"That's correct," Light replied. "As such, I would recommend only using it when there is no other option but to kill your opponent. Given this...I leave it up to you whether or not to download this program into the Piano Adapter." The hologram vanished.
X stared at the capsule for a time, and then stepped back in. After all, X justified to himself as he downloaded the program, that's no different from the Hadoken or Shoryuken. Only if I have to kill... Even with that justification, it was unnerving that the new functionality for the Piano Adapter only revealed itself in his systems as a Skull symbol.
With the new programs downloaded, X continued forward along the main path. After making his way past the remaining security systems, he climbed to the top of the tallest tower, and entered Izzy Glow's lab. He could see Izzy Glow working away beneath a massive energy core and laser systems. He looked up as X entered. "Ah...X...I have be-been expecting you..."
"Doctor..." X began worriedly. "You're...infected..."
"I'm well awa-aware," Izzy stammered, fluttering his wings as he approached X. His body type was that of a large, humanoid, crimson lightning bug. "However, I've managed to hold it at bay by seg-segmenting my mind, quarantining the infected pa-part. It will hopefully last long enough." He held out a device he was holding. "Sigma knew you were working on the En-Enigma. He wanted me to destroy this device. I have up-upgraded it. With luck, it will be en-enough."
"Come back with me to headquarters!" X offered eagerly. "We can put you in stasis until we have a working anti-virus-"
"N-no," Izzy responded firmly. "This virus...it is not like before. It does...not turn me into a mindless monster. It corrupts...it twists my mind...it will turn my entire intellect to the destruction of everything around me, betraying everything I stand for. If I am put in stasis, I will become fully infected...and then I will be out and destroying. I will give you this Laser Device, and the file on all my research...if you promise to destroy me and my lab."
X stared thoughtfully at Izzy for a time, and finally nodded. "Alright, Izzy Glow," he replied, summoning Piano. "Set those over there, and move back in front of the power core."
Sighing in relief, Izzy set the laser device and data drive to the side. He then flew back in front of the core. "I...do not know how long I will be able to con-contain the infection..." he warned.
At a mental command, Piano merged with X, putting him in the empowered armor. "It won't take long," he replied as he began charging, shifting into a wide legged stance to brace his entire body as he leveled one buster towards Izzy Glow.
When the buster finished charging, it started changing, taking on the shape of a large dragon skull. The mouth of the skull opened, and a massive white beam erupted, consuming both Izzy Glow and the power core. The fur on X's back spread wide, catching a great deal of air as the recoil forced him to slide back several feet on the ground.
As the entire lab began to explode, X grabbed the laser device and the data drive, beaming straight back to base.
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Skull Blaster acquired.
I think I would normally be more excited about that, except the end of this chapter was a slight downer.
Amazing chapter though. Keep it up!
Even more impressive than when megaman used it
Did X just goes Sans on Izzy as a mercy kill to end the infection? Hardcore and impressive if so.
You're very creative with those Power Ups.
7089360
Gaster blaster Unlocked, May go have mercy on those that deserve it.
I think X used his new blaster as a way to guarantee the doctors last request was followed.
7089559 Yep. Still halfway sad though.
That... was sad. Very sad.
Good job. You made me feel something.
Another enjoyable( but sad) chapter. Well done.
I read Izzy's lines in Digimon Izzy's voice....
It's nice to see Mega Man still had a recoil problem, even if it's reduce compared to the original.
7089711
Well, Piano X is a lot heavier than Mega Man, and has claws on his boots for better grip, not to mention his floof creates a great deal more air resistance.
7089723 so, he can only handle it by become a pink fluffy bot.
.... I just imagined Flufflepuff using the skull cannon.
7089731
Not pink. Red and white. And that's why it's part of the Piano armor.
7089572 All these Mavericks deserve Taps.
7089781 done:
[youtube=F8MlRGvri-c]
Oho?... Do tell.
A part of me wants to believe it's a part of that one alt!script I did once, but the other part of me KNOWS what it's going to be.
Awe, guess there's not going to be an X the Undying in this series... or the other one, for that matter.
all i knows is... seeing what comes next... he can't afford not to care anymore.
That being said... you, uh, really like having scenarios where a reploid's gone to far and death is the only option, huh? That's all right, it's just a thing that people have to live with and stuff. Good luck with the next chapter.
7090038
You're the one who wanted more tension in this story. Where a virus that drives someone crazy is involved, there are only three settings.
They can be saved.
They're too far gone to be saved, but still holding onto sanity long enough to save others and die with dignity.
And they're berserk maniacs.
Which is most dramatic?
7090082 Um... are you still steamed about that one thing? Because I don't really have a problem with it, I was just mentioning it while carrying on the joke.
No problems here, just mentioning words. See ya.
*Salutes Izzy Glow* Now that is a noble reploid. He did his best to help and provided everything he could. Anyone who says a reploid doesn't have a soul never met this guy. Aside from Squid Addler all these 'mavericks' have tugged at my heartstrings and I would have loved to see them interacting with the main cast in a peaceful setting.
7089781 No, some like Squid Addler were only concerned about themselves and would have let the world burn. But Izzy, Grizzly, and McWhalen were truly noble souls and are probably in Reploid Heaven now. Or at the very least I can see their spirits appearing to help X and Zero later on.
7089870 *slowly salutes*
7089781 these were Reploids, not Mavericks.
except squid addler. he was a dick.
7091178 Right, they hadn't gone maverick yet. My bad.
RIP, Izzy.
Instead of the Gaster Blaster, I thought of one of the many versions of Starforce Megaman's Omega-Xis head.
Similar to the Leo for instance. (Pegasus/Leo/Dragon)
megamanstarforce90.webs.com/photos/Megaman/PegasusLeoandDracostarforceforms.png
7093061 The Pegasus one is so cool.
7107992 Funny story, it was the only version available when I got it. Even funnier was that it before or after (give or take) the time I became a Brony. After these years, I'm thinking it was... strange destiny or something.
I mean, MMSF: Pegasus, I decide to challenge my masculinity and somehow became a Brony, my granda ma places horse pictures and figurines all over my room without knowing I was a Brony, etc.
Fun Fact: If you have a DS or DSlite with any GameBoy Mega Man Battle Network inside while you have the first Mega Man Starforce game, Mega Man.EXE will meet Geo Stellar's Mega Man by accident, but will give Geo a buster mode. That mode has the strength being weak, but the speed is much faster than any Battle Network buster.
7108086 I actually played it at one point.
*salutes*
Really a gaster blaster?
BE THE DRAGON!
You know... I never really thought of it before today... but have you ever thought of just why the gaster blasters are just the HEADS of a monster? It makes me think they either needed nothing else of the monster... or it was the only part they could control... and that makes me wonder: how powerful was the original monster?
7442656 Or, perhaps, the Gaster Blasters are part of the skeletons, too.
And if something so powerful is merely another expression of them, how powerful are they really?
7692637 have you read a moon in the dark? its by the same author as this and puts his touch on it.
also, skull blaster is back. lets hope skull man comes back too
izzy glow, he stuck to his morals even while a virus ravaged his very mind, trully his heart was as big as his mind...