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Chapter Text

21XX…

Dr. Cain looked over the dig site. It was shaping up to be a bit of a bust. Nothing but a few pieces of machinery so far. He was sure that something in these old labs were important, but unfortunately it seems like none of it survived the sands of time.

“Doctor Cain! We think we’ve found something!” One of his assistants called out.

The old archeologist looked over to one of his men who called out to him.

“What is it?” Dr. Cain asked as he approached, using his cane to hold himself up.

“I don’t know. It’s some kind of glass tube. We haven’t fully excavated it yet, but it’s not like anything else we’ve found at the site.”

Dr. Cain stroked his beard in thought.

“Well, we can’t know what it is until we fully excavate it.”

He followed his worker to the part of the dig to help as best as he could.

It took many hours of practically back breaking labor, but they finally managed to get it out of the rubble and sand. When they got it out they discovered that it was a pod of some kind.

Dr. Cain looked into the glass and saw what looked like a person. He wondered if the pod was some kind of life preserver, but as he looked closer he realized that the armor the person was ‘wearing’ was actually a part of his body. So it was a robot. excellent! If its memory banks were undamaged it might have unparalleled knowledge on the time of its construction!

Dr. Cain examined the pod for a control console of some kind and found one, pushing a button, a small monitor and keyboard popped out of the pod. The screen came to life with a warning message.

WARNING!

“X” is the first of a new generation of robots which contains an innovative new feature: The ability to think, feel, and make their own decisions. However, this ability could prove dangerous. If “X” were to break the first law of robotics, “a robot must never harm a human being,” the results would be disastrous and I fear that no force on earth could stop him.

Approximately 30 years will be required before we can safely confirm his reliability. Unfortunately I will not live to see that day, nor do I have anyone in this realm to continue my work. Therefore I have decided to seal him within this capsule, which will test his internal systems until his reliability has been confirmed. Please do not disturb the capsule until that time.

“X” possesses great risks as well as great possibilities. I can only hope for the best.

September 18, 20XX

1. Light.

Dr. Cain was absolutely baffled by this revelation. A robot that could think for itself? That could be game changing. This pod had been buried for almost one hundred years, Dr. Cain saw no harm in opening it.

And not to mention it was apparently a creation of Dr. Thomas Light…the Father of Advanced Robotics himself! Any information that could be gleaned from this discovery would be absolutely invaluable!

A smaller message then displayed on the screen.

“The fate of the world is in your hands. Do you wish to awaken Dr. Light’s last legacy?”

Along with it, a simple YES or NO selection… That was when the weight of this decision truly came crashing down on Dr. Cain…

Dr. Cain weighed the risks and benefits in his mind, standing there thinking for what felt like hours, when it was really just a few minutes.

“I was expecting a complex security system…but no…the only security in place…is my own conscience…” Dr. Cain muttered to himself.

His mind heavy with the legacy he held, he pressed the yes button. With a hiss, the pod opened.

The glass retracted to let steam escape. As the steam faded, the blue and cyan armored robot was revealed. It sat there motionless for a few seconds before his eyelids fluttered open to reveal green eyes.

Dr. Cain and his assistant stood there with bated breath as the robot sat up with a startle and looked around in confusion.

“What the…where am I?” The robot, X, muttered.

“You are in an archaeological dig site. You have been asleep for a very long time.” Dr. Cain said as he approached the disoriented robot.

“I… what am I supposed to do?” X asked as he looked down at his hands, unclear as to his purpose…

X’s confusion made some sense to Dr. Cain. Dr. Light had built him without a directive…

“Whatever you want. But I would like to discuss your past, if you feel up to it.” Dr. Cain said in a calm voice.

“I…don’t know much…But….I think….there’s someone I need to take care of…” X said as he gathered his bearings.

“I’m sorry, but it’s likely they have already perished. It has been almost a hundred years since Dr. Light sealed you away.” Dr. Cain said in a sympathetic tone.

X looked down in deep contemplation when a female archeologist came rushing over to Dr. Cain.

“Dr. Cain! Dr. Cain! We found something extraordinary!” The woman said.

Dr. Cain, his assistant, and X looked over at the female archaeologist.

“What is it, Joy?” Dr. Cain asked in intrigue.

“Another Pod!” Joy answered.

Dr. Cain and his assistant’s eyes widened. X immediately got to his feet.

“Where is it?!” He asked, driven to know.

“Follow me.” The Archaeologist said.

Everyone followed her to another part of the dig site where the other pod had been unearthed. It was exactly just like the pod that X had been stored in.

Dr. Cain and X both approached the pod and looked inside.

A female robot was inside this pod. When doctor Cain touched this one

a similar small console popped out of it, displaying technical details of the robot within before a similar warning message was displayed…but there were many differences than with the one on X’s capsule…suggesting something else…

WARNING:

“Azura” is the second of a new generation of robots which contains an innovative new feature. The ability to think, feel, and make their own decisions, in addition to other features resulting from the research of my colleague, and her creator, Dr. Luz Noceda, in the field of arcane energy manipulation. However, these abilities could be very dangerous. If “Azura” were to break the first rule of robotics, “a robot must never harm a human being,” the results would be disastrous and I fear that no force on Earth could stop her.

Approximately 30 years will be required before we can safely confirm her reliability. Unfortunately I will not live to see that day, nor do I have anyone to carry on my work in this realm, along with the untimely passing of Dr. Noceda herself. Therefore, I have decided to seal her in this capsule which will test her internal systems until her reliability has been confirmed. Please do not disturb the capsule until that time.

“Azura” possesses great risks as well as great possibilities. I can only hope for the best. And I wish that things could’ve gone differently… Curse you, Albert…

September 18, 20XX.

T. Light.

The screen then displayed:

Do you wish to awaken the last legacy of Luz Noceda?

YES or NO…

Dr. Cain, having already steeled himself when he activated X, immediately pressed YES.

Like before, the capsule opened with a hiss and a blast of steam, fully revealing the female android within. Unlike X, her skin tone was slightly darker, and her armor was white and varying shades of purple, and the crystal on the center of her helmet was a sea-foam green, rather than red.

Her eyes fluttered open to reveal them to be amber gold in color.

She sat up slowly and looked at X and the others with curiosity and confusion. Azura: Wh-Where am I? Who are you guys? The female robot asked, slightly nervous.

X stared at Azura and something clicked in his mind. “You’re her…the one I’m supposed to look after!” X exclaimed in realization.

“What? Seriously. Who are you?” Azura asked, surprised by X’s sudden outburst.

“My name is X. And I guess your name is Azura?” X said as he offered the female robot a hand to help her get to her feet.

“I…yes…I remember that…My name is Azura.” Azura said as she accepted X’s hand.

Dr. Cain was ecstatic.

“Wonderful! Such incredible findings will progress the field of robotics by centuries. And maybe others as well.”

The dig then resumed, with X and Azura offering to provide assistance which was greatly appreciated by Dr. Cain and his team.

Sadly, the dig didn’t yield anything more as grand as X and Azura.

“Damn it. I was really hoping to find some more stuff about ourselves.” Azura said in disappointment as she sat down on a crate, with X sitting next to her.

“Yeah.” X said with a gloomy sigh,

“Hey, is something wrong X.” Azura asked the blue robot.

“It’s just… Why were we made? What is our purpose?” X responded.

Dr. Cain inserted himself into their conversation, walking over with a smile.

“To revolutionize the world! It is a shame that we weren’t able to find anything else, but you two are incredible finds!”

X thought it over and smiled slightly.

“Make the world better. I kind of like that.”

Azura looked at X with a conflicted look. (I’m not explaining this in the chapter, because I want let the readers try and understand, but my intention is that she notices that what Dr. Cain said, and what X said, were two different things, and that while she’s happy X seems to be figuring himself out, she’s worried about what Dr. Cain is willing to do and how X seemed to only hear what he wanted to.)

Dr. Cain led them to a parked, futuristic car. X and Azura got in.

“Where are we going, Doctor?” Azura asked as she took her seat.

“Able City.” Dr. Cain replied.

X and Azura glanced at each other before Dr. Cain drove off with them.

To be Continued…

Chapter Text

Timeskip…

As Dr. Cain had predicted, the discovery of X and Azura did help speed along the field of advanced robotics in many ways. From studying X and Azura’s systems, both internal and external, they had managed to create an almost perfect android replica. A “Reploid” if you would. Although not an exact one-to-one copy to X or Azura in terms of appearance and personality, the first Reploid had the same basic human-like body.

However, questions still lingered around Azura and her creator, Dr. Luz Noceda. According to the history archives she had first been a mere intern at Light Labs during the year of 200X, assisting with the creation of the very first Robot Masters, before going back to university and getting her doctorate at the age of 23 at some point before 20XX. She was responsible for the creation of the V.W.S. utilized by the original Mega Man in his crusades against the maniacal Dr. Wily…But a good portion of the history archives were lost during The End Times. A catastrophic event which was believed to have been the final contingency plan of Dr. Albert Wily in the event of his own demise before he could accomplish his goal of world domination…But none could say for sure…

Dr. Cain and his team tried to find anything related to the “Arcane Energy Manipulation” research of Dr. Noceda, as mentioned by Dr. Light’s warning, but came up empty handed as Dr. Noceda probably never published her research before the End Times, or she did and all of the data was lost in the catastrophe…

Needless to say this had been a downer to Azura, as she was really hoping to learn more about her past…and her mother’s past by extension…

But on a more positive note, Reploids had begun being mass produced by the thousands, along with new models of industrial and military grade Mechaniloids which helped the world bounce back by a great deal. Able City was now a thriving, neon-lit metropolis, where Humans and Reploids lived side by side in relative peace…However…

Some Reploids and Mechaniloids occasionally went rogue and attacked Humans and fellow Reploids as well, sometimes of their own volition, or because of innate flaws in their systems. These rogue Reploids and Mechaniloids were officially dubbed “Mavericks” by the government. Dr. Cain, seeing the chaos the Mavericks were causing, formed an organization to combat them, the “Maverick Hunters.” In recent years, the development of combat model Reploids had begun. These Reploids were modeled after animals and possessed special weapon abilities. Many of these combat Reploids enlisted with the Maverick Hunters to help put an end to the chaos.

Dr. Cain himself had developed a special combat Reploid to lead the Maverick Hunters. A rather tall and robust Reploid he named “Sigma.” Sigma held a great value for protecting his fellow Reploids from the Mavericks and was the ideal leader for the Maverick Hunters. Even X and Azura enlisted with the Maverick Hunters. They had all the necessary basics for it, as each of them possessed at least a buster arm cannon. However, X and Azura’s performance in the field…they oftentimes hesitated to pull the trigger when it mattered, with Azura freezing up sometimes.

Because of this it was unlikely they would ever rank up from being B-Class Maverick Hunters…

Deep in a forgotten laboratory, a lone stasis capsule sat in the dark. Inside it, a lone occupant with red armor. A nearby monitor lit up, displaying specs for the android within, but heavily distorted by static. The computer systems were old, barely even functioning. The pod’s occupant suddenly snapped his green eyes open and he began manically pounding away at the glass which held him in, it started to crack. With a feral and insane scream, the red robot broke free from his confinement, jumping out of his pod and landing on his feet, a psychotic grin on his face as he surveyed his surroundings, his long gold ponytail flowing behind him.

His internal HUD was blaring error and warning messages.

ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!

STASIS LOCK FAILURE>

WARNING: OMEGA PROTOCOL ENGAGED>

OBJECTIVE: LOCATE NEAREST POPULATION CENTER>

ATTEMPTING TO ENGAGE PACIFICATION PROTOCOL W>

A white capital W suddenly appeared in the blue triangle crystal on the red robot’s helmet when he tried to take a step forward. He suddenly grabbed his head and started screaming in agony. He then dropped to his knees and started punching the metal floor until his knuckles started to leak red oil. However, the W on his helmet started to flicker out before disappearing completely. The pain in his systems fading, the red robot snarled as he stumbled to his feet.

ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!

PACIFICATION PROTOCOL W UNABLE TO PROPERLY ENGAGE>

WILL ATTEMPT TO RECTIFY>

The red robot then left the dark laboratory with only one thing on his mind…Destruction…

To be Continued…

Chapter Text

X and Azura were walking through Able City’s Central Park, both in civilian mode, apparently they could both disengage their armor if they didn’t need it. X’s civilian outfit consisted of a pair of white cargo pants, a pair of black shoes, and a cyan T-shirt under a blue hoodie, and he had brown spiky hair. Azura’s civilian outfit consisted of a white and grayish-purple dress, although for some reason she kept her boots from her armor, and her hair was a lovely shade of green. X and Azura had grown to be like brother and sister to each other, X was the protective older brother.

They were currently off duty today and decided to take the day to relax. To say being a Maverick Hunter was chaotic would be an understatement. It was good to take a break every once and a while…

Meanwhile in Able City’s industrial district, a humanoid security officer Reploid was doing his rounds at a factory he was stationed at. His com-link came to life with the voice of his supervisor.

“Mike, what’s the status of your area?”

“All clear, sir.” Mike replied.

Suddenly he heard a crackling noise from the darkness of a corner.

“Hold on. I hear something. Going to investigate.” MIke said into his com before he readied his buster arm cannon, setting it to stun.

His eyes darted around for the source of the sound, looking down his eyes widened and he gasped in horror at the sight that lay before him. A bunch of mutilated Reploids, torn limb from limb and red oil splattered all about.

“O-Oh God! Wh-What kind of sick fuck-” Mike cut himself off as he backed up and bumped into someone.

Slowly turning around he came face to face with the culprit of the carnage that he had witnessed. A certain red robot with a long yellow ponytail, grinning down at him psychotically, chuckling darkly, insanely, which sent a shudder of fear throughout Mike’s systems.

The last thing Mike ever did on this earth, was let out a scream of terror as the murderous robot literally punched a hole through his chest, ripping out his power core and crushing it with his hand, red oil leaking and electricity sparking. The red robot’s chuckling then evolved into downright maniacal cackling.

Reports of a psychotic and bloodthirsty red Maverick soon reached the Maverick Hunters and a unit was sent to try to detain him…Emphasis on TRY, as every single one of them was torn limb from limb, much to the horror of Commander Sigma when he went to inspect the scene himself. The Red Maverick was still on the loose, and who knew where he would strike next…

Azura and X had been walking through what was typically a quiet neighborhood in Able City until a crowd of frightened Humans and Reploids rushed past them, much to their confusion.

“What the-What’s going on?” Azura exclaimed in confusion.

X’s eyes widened as he pointed at something.

“Uh, I think THAT is what is…”

Azura turned and her eyes widened in horror as she saw an unknown red armored Reploid with long yellow hair mercilessly beating a civilian Reploid to a bloody-oily pulp with a feral grin on his face, laughing psychotically. The sight was sickening to the siblings but they then jumped in, engaging their armor and priming their busters. They then rushed toward the red Maverick and aimed their busters at him.

“Freeze, Maverick! Step away from that man and surrender peacefully, and we promise you will be treated respectfully!” X shouted, narrowing his eyes.

The insane Reploid stopped his assault mid punch, turning his head slowly, creepily grinning at X and Azura. His internal HUD immediately identified them.

ANALYSIS: UNITS IDENTIFIED AS DLN-X and NMN-AZ.

The red Maverick dropped his victim and stood up, staring at X and Azura in a manner which made the two of them feel a little anxious. Next thing they knew the red Maverick dashed toward them at incredible speed, jumping above them and landing on his feet behind them and sweep kicking their feet out from under them before kicking them a good few feet away. X and Azura skid across the pavement and groaned, getting to their feet and glaring at the Maverick, only…he wasn’t there. Looking around, Azura saw a glimpse of his ponytail as he dashed around the corner of a building.

“He’s getting away! X, we need to call Commander Sigma, and get this guy here to a repair center, stat!” Azura said as she inspected the poor unfortunate Reploid whom the red Maverick had been brutally assaulting.

“You’re right.” X said as he activated his communicator, dialing in to Hunter HQ.

It wasn’t long before Commander Sigma and a squadron of Maverick Hunters arrived on the scene, along with an emergency vehicle to take the poor assaulted Reploid to a nearby repair center.

“X, Azura. What happened here?” The tall Reploid commander asked the two of them.

“A crazy Maverick in red armor attacked this guy, nearly beating him half to death if we didn’t step in. He ran off in that direction. We would’ve followed him, but we felt it best to make sure his victim got help.” X said as he watched the ambulance fly off.

“I see. You said this Maverick had RED armor?” Sigma asked.

“With a long golden yellow ponytail.” Azura added.

“Then it’s him…The one who wiped out Gamma’s unit.” Sigma muttered with deep thought.

“Commander, what do we do now?” X asked.

Sigma then began walking off.

“I’ll take care of the Maverick myself.” Sigma said with determination, which left Azura and X shocked.

“All by yourself, Commander?!” Azura exclaimed.

“Yes. There’s no need for any more good Reploids to be sacrificed.” Sigma said, turning back to glance at X and Azura before continuing to walk off.

Hours later the red Maverick had been tracked to an abandoned warehouse facility and Sigma entered the dark warehouse to find the very Reploid he had been hunting. The red Maverick perked up upon hearing someone enter his current hideout, glancing behind him to see Sigma, he let out a feral scream of rage as he rushed towards him, ready to punch a hole in his chest, but Sigma smirked and dashed out of the way, reappearing behind the red Maverick and roundhouse kicking him the back, sending him flying.

The red Maverick snarled in frustration and rushed at Sigma, throwing punch, after punch, after punch, but Sigma kept backstepping and dodging each of his swings. Sigma then went on the offensive himself, delivering a roundhouse kick which the Maverick tried to block, but Sigma’s strength won out and sent the Maverick flying with a scream of frustration. Sigma then rushed the red Maverick and grabbed him by the arm and threw him upward, embedding his head in the ceiling.

Sigma smirked, thinking he had won, but then, the red Maverick revealed himself to still be functioning grinning psychotically down at Sigma. The red Maverick then dropped down to the floor, landing in a dynamic pose. Sigma then pulled out and ignited his beam saber, the green blade sparking to life as he glared at the Maverick.

He then rushed towards the Maverick, swinging his saber to try to slice him, but the Maverick dodged each and every single swing of his beam saber. Then, to Sigma’s shock, the Maverick disarmed him…quite literally in fact. It happened so fast he couldn’t even know what happened. His arm was just severed and on the ground. The Maverick then picked it up and started beating him up with his own severed arm, cackling madly as he did so.

Sigma…for the first time in his life, was afraid. This Maverick was unlike anything he had ever fought. He honestly thought he would die here. His synthetic flesh was peeled away to reveal his internal workings, his armor was dented, and he was trying to crawl away. However the red Maverick had other plans, pinning him down and strangling him while chuckling madly. But then…suddenly, the Maverick stopped and backed up, grabbing the sides of his head and screaming in agony.

PACIFICATION PROTOCOL W: ENGAGED>

Sigma took his chance and charged toward the screaming psychopath, punching him right in the head and shattering the blue triangle crystal on his helmet, seemingly disabling him.

Sigma then limped out of the warehouse, telling his men to get him and the Maverick medical attention ASAP, and to call Dr. Cain. Sigma wanted that red Maverick studied top to bottom.

However…Little did Sigma know, the minute he disabled the Maverick, something else…entered him…

WARNING: PRIMARY VIRUS HOST DISABLED>

ATTEMPTING TO REBOOT PRIMARY VIRUS HOST>

ERROR: TOO MUCH EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO REBOOT>

VIRUS PRESERVATION PROTOCOL: ENGAGED>

SEEKING NEW HOST>

NEW VIRUS HOST LOCATED>

BEGINNING VIRAL INTEGRATION>

Hours later, at Maverick Hunter HQ, the red robot, now fully repaired, groggily woke up. He attempted to rub his head but found that he was restrained.

“What the hell?” He muttered in confusion.

“Well, you certainly seem much more talkative than when we last met.” A female voice said.

The red robot looked around and saw the source of the voice, Azura, sitting in a chair next to X. The red robot was confused.

“Uh, do I know you two?”

“You seriously don’t remember us?” X asked.

When the two of them heard that Commander Sigma had brought the red Maverick in, since they were sort of involved in the case they were allowed to interact with him. The red robot shook his head.

“Nope. My processor is drawing a blank…Come to think about it, it’s drawing up a lot of blanks.”

X and Azura shared a glance. After the red Maverick had been repaired, Dr. Cain had done a scan of his positronic brain and found it to be completely blank of any memories.

“Where am I?” The red Reploid asked.

“You’re in the medical bay of Maverick Hunter HQ.” X answered.

The red Reploid raised an eyebrow.

“Maverick Hunters? Sounds like a Death Metal band name.”

Azura let out a snicker at that but quickly composed herself. Dr. Cain had also looked into tracking down this Reploid’s creator, but found nothing in regards to that. Not even design specs. He had to analyze every component of the red Reploid, and came to discover that his construction actually more closely resembled that of X and Azura…

“Do you have a name?” X asked as he undid the red robot’s restraints.

He didn’t seem to be any threat right now. The red robot shook his head.

“Nope. Can’t even remember that.”

Azura furrowed her eyebrows.

“No memory. No past. No name. Zero. Zilch. Nada.” Azura muttered.

Azura then perked up as she got an idea.

“Well, since you don’t have a name, I have one for you. Zero.”

The red robot thought that name over.

“Zero…I like it! Yeah, from now on, just call me “Zero.” He said with a smile.

To be Continued…

Chapter Text

Timeskip…

After a period of probation and being closely monitored by X and Azura, it was determined that Zero was no threat whatsoever and was even allowed to enlist with the Maverick Hunters, quickly becoming an A-Class Hunter. He had also become great friends with X and Azura, you’d see the three of them do just about everything together. They were like a family, the three of them…

Right now, Azura and X were inside a Bee-Jet in flight above Able City. Recently Maverick crime has steadily been going up, and a giant construction Mechaniloid was going berserk in an abandoned building in the west district of Able City. Commander Sigma was already on the scene, along with Zero and another Maverick Hunter, Chill Penguin, a short stack of a Reploid modeled after a Penguin. Soon X and Azura were arriving at their drop point, as indicated by the automated computer voice inside their jet.

“X, Axura, do you copy? Fire at will, once the target is in range.” Commander Sigma said through their com-links.

“Roger that, Commander Sigma.” Azura said with a smile.

They soon arrived at their drop point and a hatch on the jet opened, the wind whooshing in X and Azura’s faces. The two of them then leaned out of the jet and began free falling towards their target. Down on the ground, Zero saw the two siblings free falling towards the berserk Mechaniloid, priming their busters and charging their shots. Once they were close enough they unleashed their blasts, knocking the Mechaniloid down just as it looked up. X and Azura then used regular blasts to propel themselves to a wall which they slid down to the ground safely. Sigma smiled at seeing things seemingly going well.

“Chill Penguin Company, commence operation!” Sigma ordered.

“Roger! I’ll secure the area!” Chill Penguin saluted before rushing in with his men.

However the Mechaniloid emerged from the rubble, not dented in the slightest.

“What?! The thing’s hardly damaged!” Chill Penguin exclaimed in shock.

The Mechaniloid then raised one of its spider-like legs and crushed one of Chill Penguin’s subordinates as they tried to get some distance between them and the Mechaniloid.

“Stop that thing!” Chill Penguin shouted to his men in his typically shrill voice as he and them rushed in to try to detain the rogue Mechaniloid.

Commander Sigma narrowed his eyes and activated his com-link.

“Zero, do you have a fix on the Mechaniloid’s main generator?”

Zero and his squad had stepped in to help Chill Penguin and his men, but the Mechaniloid still proved to be very difficult. Its main power generator was located directly underneath it’s thorax, and blocked by a large mechanical arm. The Mechaniloid extended this arm, trying to grab Zero, but the red Maverick Hunter jumped to safety.

“No good! This thing is too fast, I can't get close enough!” Zero replied.

His eyes widened when the Mechaniloid grabbed one of his men and threw him at Chill Penguin’s, knocking them down like bowling pins. Chill Penguin stepped in, firing two blasts of his Shotgun Ice at the Mechaniloid’s legs, encasing them in ice and seemingly securing it to the ground. The Mechaniloid struggled to move forward, stuck in place. Zero and Chill Penguin’s men then used what looked like rocket launches to fire stick restraining cables, encasing the Mechaniloid and trying to tie it down.

However the ice restraining its legs started to crack, and its own strength proved to be a little difficult for the other hunters to hold down.

“Commander, that this is way more powerful than we thought, we’re going in to back them up!” Azura said through her com-link as she and X ran over to the scene.

The construction Mechaniloid then activated its lasers, firing them and releasing it from the cables. Commander Sigma had to jump out of the way to avoid them. The lasers destroyed part of the street though and harmed a few hunters. Sigma continued to watch the action from a higher vantage point. The Mechaniloid fully freed itself from the cables and the ice, launching its mechanical arm at Chill Penguin and his men, grabbing one of them.

The helpless Maverick Hunter called out for help in the almost crushing grasp of the Mechaniloid. X and Azura then arrived on the scene, firing at the Mechaniloid, but only hitting its legs, their busters not doing much damage to them at all. Zero then jumped in, charging his own buster.

“I won’t let you push my friends around like that!” Zero shouted as he blasted one of the Mechaniloids front legs at point blank range, taking a decent chunk out of it and making it start to limp in place.

Azura and X now had an opportunity to shoot the main generator. However, the Mechaniloid’s limping kept bobbing the mechanical arm holding their helpless comrade up and down, making them hesitate despite Chill Penguin’s insistence to take the shot. Azura and X froze up completely, worried that their buster shots would harm their fellow Maverick Hunter.

However, Commander Sigma suddenly came in, slashing his beam saber and slicing the Mechaniloid’s main generator in half, simultaneously freeing the captured Maverick Hunter, but as the cost of severing the poor Reploid’s right arm clean off. With the main generator destroyed, the Mechaniloid shut down and dropped to the ground. Commander Sigma deactivated his saber and holstered it on his hip and walked away from the deactivated Mechaniloid. Azura, X, and everyone else were silent in shock and awe at how fast Sigma had taken the Maverick Mechaniloid down, and freed their comrade in one go.

Soon the relief party came and cleanup of the scene began. X and Azura walked in deep contemplation when Chill Penguin walked up behind them.

“X, Azura!”

The two siblings turned around to face the penguin Reploid.

“Why didn’t either of you shoot? Do you have any idea how many casualties there would’ve been if the Commander hadn’t stepped in when he did?” Chill Penguin asked.

“Chill Penguin, I…I just couldn’t…” Azura said in shame.

Chill Penguin’s gaze softened at Azura.

“You got a big heart, Azura. I don’t blame you…It’s just-”

Azura cut him off.

“No. You’re right. We hesitated.”

Then, the voice of their wounded comrade spoke up. X and Azura turned to see him being lifted up on a stretcher by two medical Reploids.

“X, Azura. It’s my fault I let that Mechaniloid grab me. I’m just glad the Commander was able to get me out of that mess.” The wounded Maverick Hunter said with a chuckle as he was taken into an ambulance.

That gave X and Azura something to think about. Looking over, X saw Commander Sigma speaking with a Maverick Hunter before turning around and walking toward them. Chill Penguin walked off as Sigma approached.

“X, Azura.” Sigma said in a calm yet scolding tone.

“Yes, Commander Sigma, sir?” The siblings said in respect for their commanding officer.

“Your aiming capabilities are no different from my own or any other combat model Reploid. Either one of you could’ve easily hit the generator.” Sigma said, looking between the two of them.

Azura hung her head. Sigma then continued.

“You are aware that there was only a small probability that our compatriot would’ve been hit by the blast. Correct?”

X tried to speak up.

“Commander, we-” But Sigma cut him off.

“Listen well, X, Azura. There are times when we Maverick Hunters cannot afford to hesitate in pulling the trigger. We must become both sword and shield to those who cannot defend themselves. That is our sworn duty. NEVER forget that.” Sigma said.

“Yes, Commander Sigma, sir.” X and Azura affirmed before Sigma walked off.

“Commence retreat once casualties have been assessed.” Sigma said to the other Maverick Hunters who saluted in response.

Zero then walked over to X and Azura.

“Hey. How are you two holding up?” He asked in concern.

“I…I don’t know, Zero…” Azura said in deep thought.

“Hey, come on. Let’s get back to base.” Zero said, trying to cheer his friends up, putting his hands on their shoulders.

The two smiled and nodded in agreement. Later they arrived back at Maverick Hunter headquarters where the place was bustling with navigators, hunters, Reploids of all shapes and sizes. This morning’s incident was just the most recent case this month of giant Mechaniloids going Maverick.

“Maverick. What can even cause someone to go Maverick anyway?” X muttered as he overheard some hunters talking about the matter.

Zero shrugged.

“Program errors, short circuits in the positronic brain, etc. The very thing that gives us Reploids our advanced processing power might just also be our greatest weakness.”

Even though X, Zero, and Azura technically weren’t Reploids, and were actually advanced robots, legally they were considered Reploids. Then, the whole room became silent aside from muttering as the sound of footsteps echoed through the room. Turning around to see what rendered everyone silent, Azura, X, and Zero saw the sight of a predominantly purple Reploid who vaguely resembled a Mandalorian restrained in handcuffs and being escorted by two Maverick Hunters. The trio knew this Reploid all too well, especially Azura…

“Vile. Looks like he must’ve caused a ruckus again.” Zero said as they watched the Reploid being escorted.

Azura furrowed her eyebrows as she watched Vile, the purple Reploid subtly glancing at her. Vile was a former S-Rank Maverick Hunter…and Azura’s first crush. But he was kicked out of the Maverick Hunters after he started to become overly violent. Nowadays he was a borderline Maverick himself…

“I’m afraid for every kind and sensitive hunter like you two out there, X, Azura, there always seems to be a borderline Maverick rabble rouser like Vile out there.” Zero said as they watched Vile escorted out of the room.

Meanwhile, Sigma was with Dr. Cain in the scientist’s personal quarters on the base. Dr. Cain was frailer than before, having now attained the age of 196. Breakthroughs in medical technology had allowed him to extend his lifespan, but he still required a cane to move around. Dr. Cain sat at a table, eating lunch as Sigma stood silent.

“There’s been a lot of action lately.” Dr. Cain said as he cut a piece of baked potato for himself.

“Yes. Maverick crime has been steadily on the rise. Even giant Mechaniloids have begun to run amok.” Sigma replied, his arms crossed behind his back.

Dr. Cain set his utensils down.

“And how are X and Azura doing?” Dr. Cain asked.

“As far as their abilities on the battlefield are concerned, they show tremendous progress. However, they tend to hesitate when the moment calls for decisive action.” Sigma answered.

Dr. Cain closed his eyes, giving them a moment to rest as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“They worry too much. Of course, that is one of their greatest features, and one of the sources of their great potential…Sigma. You don’t have that problem at all.” Dr. Cain said as he opened his eyes.

“When I found those robots, sealed away so long ago, I used their design concepts to give birth to you Reploids. Reploids have the ability to think and feel and act on their own accord. Just like human beings. But the only ones who seem to worry so much are X and Azura. That is the source of their potential, and Azura supposedly has features that neither my team, nor herself have been unable to ascertain the nature or function of…”

Sigma furrowed his brow. Especially at all of Azura’s unknown functions.

“Their worrying shows potential? It’s not a weakness?”

Dr. Cain chuckled softly.

“Well I suppose it might be, under certain circumstances. But in this case it could be the beginning of a new connection between robots and humans.”

Dr. Cain’s tone then grew serious.

“Of course, we don’t know if that potential will be a wellspring of hope, or usher in an era of utter chaos…”

Dr. Cain covered his mouth as he coughed.

“I’ve extended my life as much as possible so as to watch it all play out, but it seems I won’t be around much longer…” Dr. Cain said after he got his coughing under control.

Sigma narrowed his eyes in deep thought…

Later in the day, Zero was running through a holographic training simulation of the day’s earlier events, an exact one to one replication of the incident with the rogue construction Mechaniloid. Zero locked on with his buster, aiming to hit the main generator, but his shot hit the captured Maverick Hunter instead. The training room’s automated AI voice then announced the training sequence ended. Zero sighed and a holographic panel manifested itself in front of him, showing his progress in the simulation. 95%

“Aw man. I missed the other 5%” Zero griped to himself.

Another Maverick Hunter, a Reploid based off of an eagle, entered the room.

“95% That’s very good, Zero.” Storm Eagle said with a genuine smile.

Zero turned around to face the eagle-based Maverick Hunter with surprise.

“Storm Eagle? I thought you were supposed to be patrolling the missile base?”

Storm Eagle had previously been assigned to guard a missile base.

“With the automated defense system now in place the higher-ups trimmed down my tour of duty. Starting today I’m a regular Maverick Hunter again.” Storm Eagle answered.

“Anyway, we’ve been summoned to a hearing about the out of control Mechaniloid from this morning. Let’s go, Zero.” Storm Eagle added.

Later in one of the meeting rooms, X, Zero, Azura, along with Chill Penguin and most of the other Maverick Hunters who had been involved in the incident with the Mechaniloid were present, along with Storm Eagle. Alia, a female Reploid who was one of the navigators, was the one giving the meeting.

“We know that a large Mechaniloid stationed in a dismantled building went berserk, but it appears it was being controlled by an unknown party.” Alia announced.

This caused muttering to break out amongst the assembled Maverick Hunters.

“So there was no one inside? It was being controlled remotely?” X asked.

Alila nodded.

“That’s right.”

“Hold on, what about the Mechaniloid security program?” Zero chimed in.

“A system that complicated really shouldn’t be that easy to hack!” Chill Penguin added his own two cents in.

“There is a chance that the perpetrator has somehow managed to completely crack our security codes.” Alia proposed.

Storm Eagle then chimed in.

“Well then where was it being controlled from?”

Alia pressed a button on her gauntlet and a projected map showed up.

“The signal has been camouflaged by being routed through a series of satellites, but the origin has been tracked to here. Able City, Sector 16 East.” Alia said as the map zoomed into the place where the signal came from.

“You gotta be kidding! That’s so close!” Zero exclaimed.

Azura then spoke up.

“Has Commander Sigma been informed of this?”

Alia turned her attention to the female hunter.

“We’ve contacted him. X, Azura, and Zero’s teams are to be dispatched at once following a briefing. Those are his orders.”

“Roger.” The trio nodded in acknowledgement of the order.

Later at night the trio and their teams arrived at the location where the signal had come from, a rather sketchy-looking neighborhood. Cars were abandoned with windshields smashed open, windows boarded up, spray painted graffiti, broken and flickering neon signs, the works.

Zero peered around the corner of an alleyway, X and Azura following him. The whole neighborhood was quieter than a grave. Azura soon spotted the building where the signal had been coming from, a large building with lights on inside. The three of them were scouting ahead for their teams.

“It’s too quiet here.” X muttered.

“Wanna check it out?” Zero asked the siblings who nodded in the response.

The group then wall-jumped the side of a building before making their way over toward the target location. Soon they entered the building and when they got to the room where the signal was coming from, to their horror they found a whole cluster of dead Reploids, limbs sliced off, clean holes in their bodies, electricity sparking from their wounds. They soon called in their teams to clean up the area and clean up the dead Reploids, and scan the computer servers for any of the hacker’s data.

Sadly however their tech guys didn’t find anything.

“No dice. I’m afraid whatever data was here is long gone by now.” One of the techie Reploids said, shaking his head.

“That’s quite a feat.” Zero muttered.

Commander Sigma soon came onto the scene.

“Status report.” He said.

X and Azura walked over and saluted before relaying info to him.

“Sir. It looks like it was an inside job. They were done in shortly after the Mechaniloid went berserk.” Azura said.

Sigma nodded in acknowledgement before turning to Zero as he came over.

“What do you make of it, Zero?”

“Well, no matter who did it, it seems fairly obvious that they have incredible combat skills. Every single blow was directed to a weak point.” Zero replied.

Sigma just nodded again, gazing slightly at X and Azura before turning to leave. Once outside he spoke to Storm Eagle and Chill Penguin, the two Maverick Hunters turning to their respective units.

“The scoundrel who caused all of this has taken his hacking data and fled, he is now a fugitive! Storm Eagle Company, begin sweeping the area!” Storm Eagle ordered and his soldiers saluted before moving out, with him spreading his wings and taking to the air.

“The Chill Penguin Company will search other sectors!” Chill Penguin squaked as he and his unit moved out.

Sigma subtly smirked. Everything was falling into place…

The next day, Maverick Hunter HQ was bombarded with reports of berserk Mechaniloids causing chaos throughout Able City. Meanwhile in a dark holding cell, Vile sat restrained when suddenly the door to his cell opened, revealing Sigma to be the one who opened it.

Vile scoffed.

“Come to reprimand me in person, have you?”

What happened next, Vile didn’t expect. Sigma raised his beam saber and ignited it, swinging it at him, Vile prepared to taste the bite of the plasma blade, but Sigma had actually, and intentionally, cut him loose of his restraints, surprising him. Sigma then deactivated and holstered his saber.

“I need your help, to defeat X and Azura.” Sigma said.

Vile was surprised by this.

“Defeat X and Azura?” He asked in confusion.

Sigma nodded.

“Yes. To ensure our future and speed along our evolution.”

Vile stared at Sigma for a second before chuckling.

“What on earth are you talking about? What did those worrywarts hunters possibly do for us?” Vile said as he stood up from his cot.

Sigma’s resolve did not break.

“Their worrying shows potential, and Azura has several unknown-untapped functions and capabilities. Those are precisely the qualities that will prove beneficial to our cause. They alone possess the ability to think more deeply than the rest of us. They feel. Normal Reploids are no match for their hearts, but they are unaware of their incredible power…” Sigma continued.

“So, to take advantage of their power, you’re planning to go Maverick?” Vile surmised.

“Precisely.” Sigma answered.

“And you want ME to help you.” Vile added.

Sigma nodded.

“That’s why I’ve come here.”

Vile scoffed.

“You’re insane.”

Sigma sneered, growling slightly, but controlled himself.

“I won’t force you. This isn’t something most Reploids could do. I need someone who can go Maverick of their own accord.” Sigma said as he walked out of the cell, leaving the door open for a stunned Vile.

Meanwhile, X, Azura, and Zero were driving down the highway on ride chasers. The road was covered in rubble as a result of the recent uprising in Maverick attacks.

“I can’t believe it’s gotten this bad. All of these berserk Mechaniloids, why do I have a feeling they’re just here to distract us?” Zero said with suspicion in his voice.

“You think whoever’s behind this has a different motive in mind?” X asked Zero.

“And if so, what?” Azura added.

Zero thought on that for a second before the communication systems on their ride chasers activated and Alia showed up on the small circular screen.

“X, Zero, Azura, we have an emergency. The Ex-Maverick Hunter, Vile, has just escaped from his cell.”

“What?!” X and Azura exclaimed in shock.

“Report to the scene, immediately.” Alia said.

“Roger that.”

The three of them immediately skidded to a halt before turning around and putting the pedal to the metal to make it back to headquarters. As the three of them got back to base and made their way to the detention center, Alia attempted to contact Commander Sigma, but had no luck raising him on her communicator.

When the trio arrived at the detention center they found the halls littered with the sliced apart bodies of their fellow Maverick Hunters. Zero knelt down to inspect the body of one of the dead Reploids, grimacing.

“There’s no way this could be Vile’s work. He doesn’t have this kind of attack capability. All the blows were directed at weak spots. Whatever Reploid is responsible for this, they must have great analytical and combat skills.” Zero mused as he stepped up.

He then got a sense of deja vu as he recalled the crime scene last night, having observed the same signs as he saw now on these poor unfortunate hunters.

“So, you think whoever is responsible made the Mechaniloids go berserk as a cover so they could spring Vile?” X asked.

Zero didn’t have much time to think on that as the three of them heard Alia chimed in on their coms.

“X, Zero, Azura. We’ve managed to trace the hacker’s location. The berserk Mechaniloids are being controlled from the missile base. I’ve tried to contact all personnel, but the signal is being disrupted. I haven’t been able to get through to Commander Sigma for a few minutes either.”

The trio then shared a glance.

“I got a bad feeling about this.” Zero muttered before the three of them set off to get to the missile base on their ride chasers.

Eventually they made it to the missile base, just on the outskirts of Able City. Entering the building Zero spotted someone in the control room and they made their way there, busters primed and ready for a fight. Entering the room they saw…

“Commander Sigma!” X called out.

Sigma turned around to address the three.

“X, Zero, Azura. It looks like the enemy was using the security system here to control the Mechaniloids.” Sigma said, gesturing to a monitor.

The trio lowered their busters and approached the console.

“That must be how they managed to camouflage their location.” Zero mused.

“They knew it would take a while to trace.” X added.

The three of them then began interfacing with the console.

“Commander Sigma. Headquarters told us they had trouble contacting you.” Zero said as he typed away at the console.

As the three of them were occupied, Sigma began to unholster his beam saber, slowly approaching them.

“Ah, yes. I had to deactivate my transmitter to maintain cover. But none of that matters now…” Sigma trailed off as he lunged at Zero, prepared to stab him, but Zero turned around just in time to catch and redirect Sigma’s arm so that he didn’t get hit by the blade, now holding it in a lock.

X and Azura jumped back in surprise.

“Commander Sigma, Zero!” X called out in shock.

Azura and X didn’t know what was happening right now.

Sigma grinned at Zero.

“Tell me, how did you figure out it was me?”

Zero glared at the traitorous Commander.

“The perpetrator was so skilled, not many Reploids have specs that high. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together. That’s why I was ready for your attack just now.”

Sigma smirked.

“I applaud your detective skills, Zero, but it is X and Azura who deserve my admiration. Their innocence and untapped potential is what makes them special, you see. They are incredible Reploid specimens, wouldn’t you agree?” Sigma said as he picked Zero up by the head and holding his beam saber’s blade close to the red Reploid’s neck.

“Commander Sigma, what are you doing?! Let him go, please!” Azura pleaded as she raised and X raised their busters at Sigma.

Sigma smirked.

“Now’s your chance, you two. Fire. If you really want to stop me, you’ll have to shoot, destroying Zero in the process.”

X and Azura started to tremble and Sigma grew more confident.

“What’s the matter? Shoot.” Sigma taunted.

The two however couldn’t bring themselves to fire. Seeing this, Sigma began to chuckle.

“Yes! You can’t do it, can you X, Azura?” Sigma taunted before he tossed Zero in the air and slashed him across the abdomen, making Zero scream out and electricity sparked from the wound as he fell to the floor inactive.

“ZERO!!!” Azura and X shouted in concern.

Then, suddenly, Azura found herself pinned under Sigma’s foot, and X held aloft by the bald Maverick. Sigma had a smug look on his face.

“As I’ve already told you both, there are times when we can’t hesitate to pull the trigger, neither of you could do it! You both missed your last chance to stop me!” Sigma said as he deactivated his saber, holstering it and then picking up a detonator from his belt, pressing it and making an alarm blare out through the facility as the missiles were primed and the massive bulkhead doors for them opened.

X and Azura struggled to free themselves, but Sigma proved too strong. Seeing the missiles rising up to firing position, X and Azura’s eyes widened in shock.

“We are but one button away from launching every missile stored in this facility. They’re aimed at our own city. What’ll it be, X, Azura? Will you sacrifice the city? Or will one of you shoot me? Perhaps it’s time you laid down your arms.” Sigma smirked.

X aimed his buster at Sigma’s head, but his arm was shaking…He…He couldn’t bring himself to shoot…Azura herself wasn’t even able to raise her buster from her position…Azura watched in stunned silence as X’s arm dropped to his side and his buster literally detached from his body, reverting back to his hand as it rolled across the floor.

Sigma then began laughing evilly before throwing X to the side. X struggled to get onto his knees, in his eyes Azura saw a look of utter defeat. She had never seen her brother so…so broken before…

“Why? Why are you doing this?” X pleaded to Sigma.

“For our future, X. I believe it’s time we put Reploid potential to the ultimate test.” Sigma answered.

Azura then saw X starting to get to his feet, glaring at Sigma which slightly eased her as he hadn’t entirely given up.

“You set this up from the start? Made the Mechaniloids go berserk. Caused the deaths and suffering of countless innocents?” X demanded.

“There are many others on my side. You see, evolution requires sacrifice…” Sigma trailed off as, to X and Azura’s horror, he pressed the button on the detonator.

“NOOOOOOOOO!!!” The siblings shouted in despair as the missiles took off. Their trajectory, Able City…

X rushed forward but stopped when he found himself impaled through the abdomen by Sigma’s beam saber.

“X!!!” Azura shouted in despair.

Sigma glared at X.

“You invited all of this upon yourself, X. Limitless potential, and limitless danger BOTH lie in you and your sister. Is this the end? Hardly. It is merely the beginning. The beginning of my new world!” Sigma declared as he pulled his saber out of X and deactivated it..

Artificial tears began to stream down Azura’s cheeks as she saw X frozen in place. Then, she felt something rise up inside her. A maelstrom of emotions, anger, sadness, swirled up in her systems and her eyes started to glow with an ethereal purple and yellow energy which then started to swirl around her before it violently knocked Sigma back.

Sigma watched in stunned disbelief at the sight before him as Azura stood up, staring at him with her glowing eyes and the mysterious energy continuing to swirl around her. She seemed to be in a trance of sorts. But soon the energy swirl died down and her eyes stopped glowing. She soon slumped to the floor unconscious.

Meanwhile, inside X’s mind…as X was rebooting…deep sealed memories unlocked and played through his head…Memories of before he was sealed away…

X had only been a torso with only one arm at the time when he first came online, opening his eyes to the sound of an elderly male voice.

“X. X…” The voice said.

X looked over and spotted a chubby, elderly man with white hair and a big fluffy beard looming over him. The man gave off an aura of kindness and positivity.

“Who…are you?” X asked.

The man smiled, the wisdom of his years sparkling in his eyes.

“It is I, Thomas Light. I created you, X.” The man said with a warm, fatherly tone.

X stared at him dumbfounded.

“X…You called me…X.”

Dr. Light nodded.

“Yes, it’s a variable. It represents limitless potential. You see, you are a new type of robot who can think for himself.”

Due to being incomplete, X slipped back into unconsciousness. The next time he awoke, he had been completed, with Dr. Light attaching his buster arm. His eyes were puffy and red, as if he had been crying for a while, and his movements were weak. The state of his creator deeply concerned X.

“Doctor? Is something wrong? You look sad, and tired…” X said in concern.

Dr. Light smiled softly at X, wiping a tear from his eyes.

“You truly are just like us humans, X…That’s why I fear that mankind may not be quite ready to accept you. We have not yet matured as a species. They may very well view your limitless evolutionary potential as something to be feared. The name “X” also carries connotations of danger…” Dr. Light trailed off with a violent cough as he looked over to the side, where a second pod identical to the one X was laying in was closed up.

“I’m sorry, X, I *cough cough* I didn’t have enough time to see you come into the world. *Cough cough* And there is no one left on Earth to continue my work…But you shall not emerge onto the world alone…I’ve given you the power to think, to feel, to grow and evolve as you fight, as my colleague did her precious daughter…But, it is too soon for that power to be unleashed.” Dr. Light said, glancing back at X.

“Doctor. I’ll use this power to fight for justice, to fight for hope!” X declared with determination.

Dr. Light smiled warmly.

“Of course you will, my son…My LAST son…I believe it to be so…I want you to use that conscience of yours *cough cough* to fight for the people of the future…They will need someone like you to guide them…SHE will need someone like you to guide her…” Dr. Light trailed off as he glanced at the second capsule one final time before activating the stasis program for X.

“Farewell, X…You and Azura, are the world’s one true hope…” Dr. Light said as the capsule closed up.

X’s internal systems had repaired themselves enough and the red crystal on his helmet glowed and his hand charged with green energy, roaring in determination and charging towards Sigma.

“SIGMA!!!” X shouted as he jumped on top of the surprised Maverick, grabbing his face with his glowing hand and scratching purple burns onto the synthetic flesh on his face, giving him scars over his eyes.

Sigma reeled back, grabbing his face in pain. Thankfully his optics had not been damaged by the attack. Sigma activated his beam saber and glared at X, ready for a fight. But X appeared to have used all of his available energy into that attack, freezing up as smoke emerged from the hole in his abdomen.

Sigma waited for a second before deactivating his saber and holstering it, cackling madly before leaving the missile base.

Soon Zero stirred, his internal repair systems having fixed him enough to regain consciousness.

“Sigma…” Zero growled angrily, but that anger was soon replaced with concern when he saw the state of X and Azura.

“X, AZURA!!!” Zero shouted as he forced himself to his feet, rushing over to help his friends.

Later, Sigma stood atop a building in Able City adorned with a large billowing cape and spikes now on his boots and gauntlets. Laughing evilly as he surveyed the destruction caused by the missiles he had launched. He knew X and Azura would be alright, in fact he was counting on it.

“Come and get me, X, Azura. The time has come to test your metal against me! This fight will decide the fate of ALL Reploids! The BATTLE may be over, but the WAR has just begun! Wahahahaha! Wahahahahahahaha!”

To be Continued…

Chapter Text

Hours later, Azura and X both woke up with a startle in the infirmary of Maverick Hunter HQ. Zero, who was fully repaired and leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, breathed a sigh of relief that his friends were back.

“You both gave us all quite a scare.” Zero said.

“Sigma.” Azura groaned as she got to her feet.

“He’s officially gone Maverick, and he’s not the only one. A good amount of Maverick Hunters have rallied to his cause.” Zero said as he helped X get to his feet.

“He has to be stopped!” X declared.

“I wholeheartedly agree, my boy.” Said Dr. Cain as he entered the room.

“Dr. Cain, you’re alright!” Azura rejoiced.

“Yes, thankfully I managed to get to a bomb shelter just before the missiles hit.” The elderly scientist replied.

Zero chimed in.

“With Sigma having gone rogue, the Doc here is taking over as leader of the Maverick Hunters.”

“Only temporarily until such time as an adequate replacement can be found. But yes, I am. And as current acting leader of the Maverick Hunters, I have a mission for the three of you. Stop Sigma and his renegade Mavericks.” Dr. Cain said.

“Yes sir, Dr. Cain.” Zero said with a salute.

X and Azura on the other hand were a little reluctant, but saluted as well.

“We accept, Dr. Cain.” The siblings said.

“Good. Now, you three need to get downtown as Sigma’s forces have begun assaulting the main highway. Hundreds of innocent Humans and Reploids could be hurt.” Dr. Cain said as he led all three of them out of the infirmary and to the main hub, which was crawling with navigators directing what little remaining Maverick Hunters there were to try to fight back Sigma’s rebellion.

“Roger that, Dr. Cain. We’ll go ahead.” X and Azura said.

“Alia, set coordinates for the main highway.” Dr. Cain said, turning to the female navigator.

Alia nodded and began typing away at her console.

“Coordinates set. Prepare to teleport.” Alia said.

“Good luck, guys. I’ll catch up with you two soon.” Zero said.

X and Azura nodded before they teleported away. They soon arrived on the main highway, it was utter chaos as Humans and Reploids fled for their lives from Maverick Mechaniloids such as Crushers, Spikeys, and Gun Volts. X and Azura primed their busters and rushed into action, running forward with a drive. Solar bullets flew through the air as the siblings made their way across the highway, destroying fleets of Crushers, Gun Volts stationed on the road, and any Spikeys which rolled towards them.

As they progressed the road became more destroyed and unstable, with major gaps which they jumped over with ease. They had to get past a few Bee Bladers which dropped Ball De Vuoxs, which were essentially just orbs with long legs. They also had to make it past swarms of Jamingers and Bomb Beens.

The two then laid eyes upon the source of the assault, a massive warship in the sky. The two gave pursuit but then from the warship dropped Mavericks driving cars with guns mounted on the hood. This didn’t slow either of them down however as they soon retaliated and opened fire back at the Road Attackers, destroying them.

Then, the flying warship then stopped in place, and to Azura and X’s shock, from the ship dropped down Vile, now re-equipped with his shoulder cannon, and in command of a large Ride Armor.

“Vile! You’ve thrown in your lot with Sigma too?!” X shouted, raising his buster at the former Maverick Hunter.

Vile chuckled.

“Join Sigma? Hardly, X! I’m doing this because I hate you! BOTH OF YOU!” Vile shouted in rage.

Azura felt fury build up inside her and she roared in anger, rushing forward at Vile and jumping up to try and fire a point-blank charged shot right in his face, but Vile caught her with his Ride Armor and threw her back at X, knocking the both of them down. Azura got up and glared back at Vile. The two of them had a bit of a history together. Back when Vile was still a Maverick Hunter, he and Azura actually went out together, but after he started to become more aggressive, he also became more controlling and abusive of Azura. In fact a particularly violent incident was what got him dismissed from the Maverick Hunters when his abuse of Azura came to light. It had taken a while for X and Zero to help Azura recover from the trauma. X got to his feet to see Azura engaging with Vile, blasting at his Ride Armor with rapid normal shots and the occasional charged shot, but nothing she did could pierce the Ride Armor’s tough shell.

Vile sped forward with his Ride Armor’s dash ability and punched Azura square in the face, knocking her into the side of a car and denting it and sending glass flying. Vile stomped over and raised his fist, preparing to strike a blow, but X intervened and fired at the back of Vile’s Ride Armor, diverting the ex-Maverick Hunter’s attention to him.

“You just don’t know when to quit, do you X?” Vile sneered before he charged at X.

X rushed forward, firing his buster at Vile, but like Azura’s, his buster shots did next to nothing against his Ride Armor. X attempted to jump over Vile and shoot him from behind, but the cockpit/torso of Vile’s Ride Armor spun around in time to grab X by the leg and slam him into the road, making a crater. Azura’s scream of rage filled the air as she pulled herself from the wrecked car and rushed at Vile, charging her buster, but a sudden shot from Vile’s shoulder cannon paralyzed her.

Vile chuckled darkly.

“Sit there like a good girl, babe, and watch as I extinguish your brother’s life.” Vile said as he picked up the helpless X with his Ride Armor and held him high, tightening his grip and making X groan in pain.

“Pathetic, X. And Sigma says you and Azura will change the world. You both are just worthless pieces of scrap metal! Did either of you think you could actually beat me?!” Vile continued.

Azura attempted to fight through the paralysis, but then the sound of a buster charging filled the air as a blue charged buster shot hit the arm of Vile’s Ride Armor which held X, severing the arm and freeing X in the process.

“What the?!” Vile exclaimed.

Zero then rushed over, standing in front of X to guard him from Vile.

“Zero!” Azura shouted in relief.

Vile snarled angrily, glancing back at Azura for a second before turning back to Zero and X.

“This isn’t over! Do you hear me?!” Vile shouted before the warship came back and Vile jumped into it before taking off before Zero could fire his buster again.

The paralysis had worn off by now and Azura got to her feet, glaring at the ship as it took off. She then controlled herself and rushed over to help her brother.

“X, are you alright?” Azura asked in concern as she helped X to his feet.

“I-I’m fine…I guess I’m not strong enough.” X sighed.

Zero then chimed in.

“X, you shouldn’t expect to defeat Vile. He was designed to be a war machine. If what Dr. Cain has been saying is true, then you two haven’t reached your full potential yet. You both may even become as powerful as me one day.”

X and Azura shared a glance before nodding to Zero.

“Now, you two should get back to base for repairs. I’ll continue scouting ahead to try to locate Sigma and the other rogue Maverick Hunters.” Zero said before he started to walk off.

“Zero, wait!” X called out.

Zero stopped and turned around to face the siblings.

“Thanks…for saving us. And take care of yourself, you hear?” Azura said with a smile.

Zero smiled and nodded in confirmation before dashing off and out of sight. X and Azura then returned to Maverick Hunter base and were taken to the infirmary for repairs. Thankfully they had only sustained minor damage from their fight with Vile. Once their repairs were done they walked to the main hub where Dr. Cain was speaking with some of the navigators.

“X, Azura, glad to see you in good shape! We just heard back from Zero.” Dr. Cain said as he turned around to the two siblings.

“What’s the word, Doc?” Azura asked.

“Well I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is that Zero has managed to get a lead on locating where Sigma is hiding…The bad news however, is that several areas of the world are under attack by former Maverick Hunters.” Dr. Cain replied.

X and Azura shared a glance. Zero had mention that several Maverick Hunters had defected to Sigma’s side before they had set out on their highway mission.

“Dr. Cain. Who among the Maverick Hunters have joined Sigma’s rebellion?” Azura asked.

Dr. Cain sighed and pushed a button on his cane, bringing up a monitor displaying 8 specific Reploids who were all too familiar to the duo.

“As far as we can tell, 8 high ranking Maverick Hunters and their legions have defected to Sigma and his cause. A few others have gone missing as well but the main concern are the ones we know about. Chill Penguin, Storm Eagle, Sting Chameleon, Spark Mandrill, Flame Mammoth, Launch Octopus, Boomerang Kuwanger, and Armored Armadillo.”

Azura gasped in horror when she saw the identified Mavericks on screen, and X’s eyes widened. She knew them. ALL of them. They were her friends, well, sort of in some cases. They couldn’t have defected. They just couldn’t have… She had to reach them, she had to try to understand why they would join Sigma, and hopefully…Maybe…just maybe…she and X could convince them to come back to the side of the Maverick Hunters…

To be Continued…

Chapter Text

The two of them had decided to go after Chill Penguin first, as he was one of the closest to Azura. He was apparently in the South Pole, where Sigma had tasked him with taking over an arctic facility of some kind. The two siblings teleported outside, the snow crunched under their boots as they walked towards the station.

“I just don’t understand. Why would Chill and the others join Sigma?” Azura muttered.

X sighed.

“I don’t know, Azura. But we have to try to convince him to come back with us, and the others too if possible…If not…” X trailed off, not liking the alternative.

Azura and X didn’t like the idea of destroying their former comrades, but they would fight ONLY if they had no other choice…

They didn’t have much time for thought however as they had to duck to avoid a metal tree trunk with spikes on it flying at them. The two hit the snow and glanced up to see a lumberjack Mechaniloid standing guard, with an auto refilling mechanical tree next to it.

“What’s an Axe Max doing here in the South Pole?!” Azura exclaimed as she and X rushed forward, blasting and destroying the Axe Max.

“Must’ve been one of Chill Penguin’s troops.” Reasoned X.

The two soon found themselves confronted by a few Ray Bits, small bunny-like Mechaniloids which could fire lasers from their ears. They also encountered more Axe Maxes and one or two Bomb Beens as they made their way towards the cave entrance of the facility where they were confronted by Batton Bones, small bat-like Mechaniloids meant for surveillance and security. They weren’t very durable per say, easily destroyed. They also confronted a few Spikeys as they made their way through the cold caverns of the station.

As they made their way up…The siblings found something quite unexpected…A pod of some sort…

When the two approached, the pod suddenly displayed the hologram of an all too familiar man in a lab coat. Dr. Thomas Light. X’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Father…You’re alive?!” X exclaimed.

The hologram of Thomas Light smiled softly, and almost sadly.

“Unfortunately, my son, I am quite dead, and have been for a long time.” Dr. Light said as he stroked his holographic beard.

“Then how are you here now?” X questioned.

Dr. Light chuckled before shoving his hands into the pockets of his lab coat.

“Before my physical body gave out, I uploaded my consciousness to a computer network.”

Dr. Light then glanced over to Azura.

“Azura. It warms my digital heart to see that you are intact as well. And that you are by X’s side.” Dr. Light said with a smile.

Azura was stunned and silent. Eventually she found her voice.

“Dr. Light, what is the deal with this pod?” Azura asked.

“Ah, yes. X, I gave you, as Luz also gave to Azura, the ability to think and choose your own path in life. And I had hoped that the world would let you both choose a peaceful one. But now it seems the two of you are destined to fight. And because I, and Luz, thought that the world might need new champions, I have created and dispersed capsules like this one, which, should you find them, contain upgrades that could help the both of you boost your powers beyond anything the world has ever seen.” Dr. Light answered.

Azura’s eyes widened when she heard Dr. Light mentions the name of her mother. Dr. Light saw the look in Azura’s eyes and spoke up.

“I take it you have questions regarding your mother?” Dr. Light asked.

Azura nodded eagerly.

“Yes! What was she like? Why did she build me? What is this “Arcane Energy Manipulation” research she did, and what does that have to do with me?” Azura asked.

A million questions were running through her processor at a million miles per hour. Dr. Light’s hologram sighed.

“Luz was…a very special woman. She was exceptionally intelligent… She came to work as my intern just after she graduated from Mega City university, where she proceeded to assist me and my…former partner and ex-friend, Albert Wily…in giving life to the first generation of Robot Masters…She stood alongside me and one of X’s oldest siblings, Rock, in stopping Albert’s mad ambitions.” Dr. Light said with fondness as he remembered the Afro Dominican woman.

Azura and X listened intently. Azura drank up every word that Dr. Light said.

“Not only was Luz exceptionally intelligent, but she was also exceptionally kind and had an aura of positivity and hope. She, like myself, believed in a peaceful future. A world where not only man and machine existed in peace, side by side, but also…a world where the lines between Science and Magic were blurred to the point of non-existence…Hence you, Azura.” Dr. Light said, gesturing to Azura.

“Magic?” Azura and X whispered in disbelief.

In such an age of advanced science and medicine, the concept of magic was almost completely forgotten…

Seen as only a relic of a bygone era of ignorance.

Dr. Light’s hologram nodded.

“Yes, magic. Your mother, at the young age of 14, made one of the biggest unspoken discoveries in the history of mankind.”

After a dramatic pause, Light spoke again.

“Magic…Real, genuine, magic.”

X and Azura were silent as they took this in. Dr. Light then continued.

“Luz discovered a world, another universe, another realm, entirely unlike our own, where magic is commonplace and learned how to harness it herself as a human.“

A small pixelated tear formed at the edge of Light’s eye and he wiped it away.

“She even fell in love with and married a denizen of this realm, Amity Blight. A witch…It was one of the best days ever, their wedding…” Dr. Light said with sad fondness.

Dr. Light then recomposed himself.

“Had Luz still been around…she would’ve undoubtedly activated you, and raised you as her own daughter…and she would’ve carried on my work, taking care of X as well. Sadly…her life ended well before her time…and regrettably I did not have the technology at the time to preserve her consciousness like my own…” Dr. Light said mournfully.

Dr. Light cleared his throat.

“But…I do have a message for you from her…”

Azura perked up. A message from her mother?

“Can…Can I see it?” Azura asked.

Dr. Light nodded. His hologram then flickered out and was replaced by a hologram of an Afro Dominican woman of 39 years old with fluffy and curly hair, eyes covered by glasses. She wore a lab coat, a polo shirt, long pants, and shoes. And on her lab coat’s lapel she wore a pin that looked like a skull with horns, and around her neck she wore a pendant which looked like an eye with a slit pupil. This was the hologram of the late Dr. Luz Noceda…

“Mother…” Azura breathed out.

The message soon began playing.

“Hola, Azura. It’s me, one of your mothers, Luz. I know you must have a lot of questions and, sadly it’s looking like I might not be around long enough to tell you these things in person. But the first thing I want you to know that I love you…So, so very much…I’ve poured my blood, sweat, tears, and many sleepless nights studying X’s blueprints, and reviewing my own research to create you, Mija…You and X are the first of something truly amazing, something that will change the world, on both Earth and the Demon Realm…You, my precious little witch, have been gifted with my own experimental technology. The first blend between science and magic. An artificial bile sac. Now I realize this might be confusing, you’re probably saying to yourself “Mom, what the hell is a bile sac and what does it have to do with magic?” Well, luckily for you I made this tutorial program for you to download which will explain all about it.”

There was some muffled speaking in the background of the recording and the hologram of Luz turned around.

“I’ll be upstairs in a minute, Sweet Potato!” Luz called out before turning back to the camera she most likely used to record this message.

“Unfortunately however, this tutorial program was too complex to be inserted into one pod, so I had to split it up into multiple segments. Encoded in this segment is an introduction to basic glyph magic, and special a upgrade for you. An ability I’ve playfully dubbed the “Flash Dash.” Step into the pod, Azura, to download the tutorial segment and upgrade.” Luz continued.

Luz’s hologram then disappeared and Azura stepped forth and entered the pod.

Once she stepped inside she suddenly felt a surge of data enter her processor and in a flash of light her leg armor segments changed and became more streamlined. Looking down at the changes to her feet in astonishment, Azura stepped out of the pod, data rushed into her mind as to how her new upgrade worked…Teleportation…she could now teleport. In a flash of golden light, Azura disappeared and reappeared behind X to his surprise. In her mind she also saw a unique symbol….The symbol of the Light Glyph…the very first glyph her mother ever discovered…

Luz’s hologram then reappeared.

“Sorry for being gone for a minute, had to talk with Amity, your second mom, about something important. Anyway, as I was saying, your new upgrade, the Flash Dash, is a version of teleportation based off of the form of teleportation utilized by one of my friends, Hunter. You can now not only teleport around, but you can also attain a great burst of speed thanks to special boosters in your feet. This tutorial segment also contains information on the Light Glyph, one of the first glyphs I ever discovered and mastered. The other starter segments will contain data on the other three basic glyphs. I had hoped that Amity and I would get to teach you magic ourselves, but sadly if you’re watching this it means that that will be impossible for either of us to do...” Luz said sadly, looking downward.

The recording soon ended and Dr. Light’s hologram reappeared.

“X, now you enter the capsule. While sadly you are incompatible with the upgrades Luz designed for Azura, I did take the liberty of making some for you. Enter the capsule to receive a dash upgrade which, similar to Azura’s Flash Dash, will allow you to increase your speed.” Dr. Light said as he stroked his beard.

X nodded and entered the capsule. The Dash upgrade was soon uploaded to his systems and his legs became adorned in white armor with gold trims to it.

X then exited the capsule and Light’s hologram reappeared.

“Sadly, we must part for now, as you two still have a mission to accomplish. Use your new abilities well, and I will see you at the next capsule. I’ve taken the liberty of installing a tracking software into the both of you which will allow you to locate them easily, as they give off a unique energy signature. Good luck, X, Azura. The world is in your hands.” Dr. Light said before his hologram disappeared and the capsule suddenly teleported away.

Azura and X immediately put their new gifts to use, quickly making their way through the rest of the caverns, leaving waste to Jamingers and Flammingles, which were long-necked bird Mechaniloids which could launch a buzzsaw blade from their heads. They soon left the caverns and came outside to ascend the cliffs, battling Tombots, dragonfly-like Mechaniloids, and had to dodge giant, super dense snowballs hurled at them by Snow Shooters.

Eventually they made it to the base where, entering the door they came into a chamber. The door then slammed and locked behind them. Priming their busters the siblings watched as, from the darkness, Chill Penguin slid in front of them on his belly before getting up and glaring at them.

“X! So you came-Azura?! What are you doing here?!” Chill Penguin exclaimed, taken aback by Azura’s presence.

Azura lowered her buster and frowned slightly.

“Chill Penguin, is it true that you’ve joined Sigma and his rebellion?”

“Azura, I…” Chill Penguin trailed off, unable to find his voice.

He was prepared to fight X to the death if necessary…but not Azura…out of all the people he’s met in his life, she was one of the only ones who didn’t pick on him for his short size and penguin mold. He couldn’t fight her, he just couldn’t! Chill Penguin clenched his fists and stomped his foot, squawking in frustration.

“You just wouldn’t get it! You have no idea what it’s like getting picked on because of the way you were designed! Every day it was always, “Mommy, look at the funny penguin!” or “How about you go eat a fish, Beak-Face!” The constant mockery, the humiliation! I was sick of it!” Chill Penguin ranted, gritting his beak as artificial tears built up in the corners of his eyes.

X and Azura gained a look of sympathy and X lowered his buster.

“Chill…Why didn’t you tell me?” Azura asked softly as she slowly approached the former Maverick Hunter.

“I didn’t wanna bother you with my problems…” Chill Penguin said as he closed his eyes and lowered his head.

“Sigma told me when I was at a pretty low point that, if I joined his rebellion, he’d see to it that I was well respected in the new world we would create…No longer mocked, or teased, or made fun of!” Chill Penguin continued as tears started to stream down his face, freezing immediately as they hit the floor.

Azura suddenly pulled Chill Penguin into a warm hug.

“Chill. I’m so sorry you’ve been picked on…It’s not too late…Please, come back to HQ with us, back to the Maverick Hunters, and help us put a stop to this madness…” Azura pleaded with the penguin Reploid.

Chill Penguin weighed his options. He then made up his mind.

“Alright…I surrender…Take me in. I’ll serve whatever sentence given for my treachery. For betraying not only the Hunters…but betraying you…my friend.” Chill Penguin said, hanging his head in shame and presenting his arms for handcuffs.

“There’s no need for handcuffs as long as you come quietly, Chill Penguin.” X said as he walked over and put his hand on the penguin Reploid’s shoulder.

Azura stood up and activated her communicator, contacting Maverick Hunter HQ.

“Azura to HQ. Chill Penguin has surrendered, we’re bringing him in now.” Azura said.

“We read you loud and clear, Azura. Prepare for teleportation.” Alia replied.

“Understood.” Azura nodded.

Soon the 3 of them teleported into Maverick Hunter HQ and escorted Chill Penguin to the detention center without any fuss from the Maverick. Once they got to his cell, Chill Penguin spoke up.

“X, Azura. I know words can’t fix what’s been done, but I want you to know I’m sorry.” Chill Penguin said genuinely.

“It’s alright, Chill.” Azura said softly.

Chill Penguin then presented an arm.

“If it helps, I’m willing to offer you my Shotgun Ice ability to help fight against the others.”

Azura and X shared a glance. They were both equipped with a Variable Weapons System, which would allow them to copy the weapon data of others.

“Thank you, Chill Penguin. I’m sure it will come in handy.” X said as he and Azura touched Chill Penguin’s arm, copying his weapon data.

In a flash their armor became pale yellow and light blue, having copied the Shotgun Ice. Chill Penguin then entered his cell which was then closed and locked. X and Azura then left, heading back to the control room to continue the mission…

To be Continued…

Chapter Text

They had decided to confront Storm Eagle next. He was apparently leading an assault on Able City’s airport with the recently stolen warship, the Death Rogumer. Their orders were simple. Repel the Maverick forces as much as possible, board the Rogumer, and confront Storm Eagle.

X and Azura had to do a lot of platforming, which was thankfully made easier with their newly acquired abilities, ascending to greater heights via elevator platforms, while also contending with flying Mechaniloids which tried to grab at them. The whole place was swarming with turrets, Gun Volts, Ball De Vouxs, and Mets. Originally made in the year 200X, the Mets proved to still be very useful machines in the modern day.

Azura’s internal HUD then got a notification.

“X, it looks like one of the capsules Dr. Light was talking about is nearby.” Azura said as X finished destroying a Gun Volt.

“I see the signal too. Let’s go find it.” X replied.

The two of them eventually found it, having to blast away containers of flammable material in order to find it though. Thankfully it didn’t set the place on fire. The two of them then spotted the Light Capsule and dashed towards it. The hologram of Dr. Light showed up in it.

“Good to see that the tracking software I installed is working properly.” Dr. Light said as he stroked his holographic beard.

“What do you got for us this time, dad?” X asked.

“For you, X, I have a helmet upgrade which will allow you to shatter any breakable surfaces. As for Azura…I’ll leave that up for the recording from Luz to explain.” Dr. Light answered as his hologram disappeared.

X took the initiative and stepped into the pod, the helmet upgrade downloaded to his systems. In a flash of light his helmet transformed, gaining white and gold aspects to it. As soon as X stepped out of the capsule, a hologram of Luz appeared, her message playing.

“Hello, again, Azura. This capsule contains an upgrade for you which will allow you to better focus your own magic, simultaneously allowing you to sense arcane energy, while also looking aesthetically pleasing. This pod also contains a segment of the starter tutorial on the Plant Glyph. Enter the capsule to receive the upgrade and tutorial segment.” Luz’s hologram said with a smile at the camera.

Another voice then sounded from the recording.

“Luz, what are you doing down here?” The voice of Amity Blight asked, walking over in range of the camera and a hologram of her appearing in the pod.

X and Azura’s eyes widened at seeing her ears. X then glanced between Luz and Amity’s hologram and Azura…she was definitely their daughter/creation. She had Amity’s eyes, and a mix of her mother’s skin tones. Luz had obviously designed Azura’s appearance with familial resemblance in mind.

“Oh, just recording a message for Azura since…you know…” Luz trailed off, turning  around to face Amity.

Amity furrowed her brow.

“Luz, we’ll be alright, if worst comes to worst, we’ll just evacuate to Boiling Isles with the others.” Amity said, trying to reassure her wife.

X and Azura watched the scene intently. Luz sighed.

“I know…But if anything happens…I just…I wanna be sure she has something to let her get to know us…” Luz said as she tenderly cupped Amity’s face before pecking her on the lips.

Amity leaned her forehead against Luz’s.

“I understand, Mi Batata…”

Amity then turned to the camera.

“Azura, if you’re watching this, your Mamí and I love you so much. You’re not even active yet at the time of this recording but we still love you.” Amity said before she turned off the camera, ending the recording.

X and Azura were silent for a second before turning to each other

“So…Those are your moms.” X said, not sure what to say.

Azura nodded.

“Yeah. I wanna learn more about them, how they met, fell in love…I just wish they were here in person to tell me themselves…” Azura said, looking a little down.

X put a comforting hand on Azura’s shoulder.

“Hey, chin up, Azura. From what we’ve seen, we know they felt the same way. We don’t know what happened to them, but we’ll find out together. I promise.” X said with a smile, which Azura returned.

“Thanks, X…You’re a good brother…even though we’re more like cousins…” Azura said with a giggle before she entered the capsule.

The download was immediate and in a flash of light, Azura’s helmet was gone, replaced entirely with a white witch hat, allowing her hair to be visible.. X blinked in confusion at the sudden change.

“That’s a…uh…a choice…Not gonna lie, it actually looks good on you, Azura.” X said as Azura exited the capsule, which teleported away.

Azura’s internal HUD displayed the Plant Glyph; she immediately archived it with the Light Glyph, saving the designs in her memory.

“Mamí must’ve really been leaning into the Witch theme when designing my upgrades.” Azura mused.

Luz had gone about giving Azura an innate bilingualism, allowing her to both speak English and Spanish fluently.

“Yeah. Anyway, we have a mission to resume.” X said.

“Right.” Nodded Azura.

The two then proceeded to board the Death Rogumer. The ship itself was rather long. The two heard the familiar flapping of mechanical wings and looked up to see Storm Eagle descending towards them. Landing on the ship, Storm Eagle looked at his former comrades with a stoic expression.

“Storm Eagle! Why did you join Sigma?!” Azura demanded.

“Azura…why did you come?” Storm Eagle asked, hesitant to answer.

“Answer her question, Storm Eagle!” X shouted, raising his buster.

“Please, Storm Eagle, I know you. You’re not the type of Reploid who would do anything like this.” Azura pleaded.

Storm Eagle closed his eyes.

“When this all started, I tried to stop Sigma myself…But…he defeated me…He said to me if I wanted to live, to join his side…I…I was a coward…” Storm Eagle hung his head.

Azura’s gaze softened, Storm Eagle was a very honorable Reploid, an S rank Maverick Hunter. There had to be a way to use his honor to sway him back to their side…She had convinced Chill Penguin to surrender, surely the same could work for Storm Eagle…right?

“Storm, please, I don’t want to have to fight you. Just surrender peacefully and come back to Hunter HQ with us.” Azura asked.

Storm Eagle shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Azura. I value our friendship, but my loyalty is to Sigma now. To go back on my allegiance to him would be to besmirch my honor…” Storm Eagle said stoically.

X and Azura’s brows furrowed. X’s eyes then widened as he got a plan.

“Well then how about this, Storm Eagle. I know Sigma’s probably ordered you to fight anyone who interferes with your objective here, but let’s turn this into a duel.” X suggested.

Azura quickly caught onto what her brother was planning.

“A duel? Very well. Name the stakes.” Storm Eagle replied.

His honor demanded that if he was challenged to a duel then he must accept.

“The two of us against you. If we win, you have to surrender peacefully and return to HQ with us, once more pledging your allegiance to the Maverick Hunters. Since you were an S rank Hunter and we’re only B class, a two on one seems only fair.” Azura said with a smirk, priming her buster.

Storm Eagle smirked and chuckled softly as he came to the realization that this was Azura’s way of getting him out of his servitude to Sigma, for which he was grateful.

“Very well. I accept. Have at you!” Storm Eagle declared as his wings unfurled and he took to the air, flapping his metal wings.

Once he attained a high enough altitude he then tried to divebomb X and Azura, but the two narrowly dodged and returned fire with their busters. Storm Eagle dodged a few shots but was hit by one of Azura’s charged shots. He landed on the ship and aimed his arm cannon at the siblings. From his arm cannon shot a powerful tornado which almost would’ve blown the two off of the ship if they hadn’t used their dash abilities to fight against the strong winds. Storm Eagle then took to the air again, going in for another divebomb. This time however, Azura was ready for him. When he got close enough Azura used her flash dash to teleport onto his back, switching her weapon to Shotgun Ice and strategically freezing his wings shut.

“What the, when could you-” Storm Eagle was cut off when he was blasted in the chest by a charged shot from X’s buster, sending him crashing onto the ship.

His armor was dented and a few sparks of electricity came from his wounds, but Storm Eagle was still in fighting shape. With his wings frozen shut he couldn’t fly, but he still had his Storm Tornado. Raising his arm cannon he attempted to fire a Storm Tornado at X and Azura, but Azura suddenly flash dashed behind him and shot him in the back, knocking him forward.

Storm Eagle attempted to pick himself up, but X and Azura suddenly entered his field of vision, their busters pointed at his face, both with a charged shot at the ready.

“Do you yield?” X asked.

A small smile graced Storm Eagle’s beak.

“I yield.”

X and Azura disengaged their busters and helped Storm Eagle to his feet.

“X, you get the Rogumer to land, I’ll take Storm Eagle back to base for repairs.” Azura said.

X gave her a thumbs up before entering the warship via a hatch. Azura then activated her communicator.

“Hunter base, this is Azura. Storm Eagle has surrendered but requires medical attention.” Azura said.

“Affirmative, Azura. Medical team is now on standby.” Alia replied.

Storm Eagle and Azura then teleported away back to Hunter HQ, where they were immediately met by a team of medical Reploids who, along with Azura, escorted Storm Eagle to the infirmary. It wasn’t long before X came back to base himself. He entered the infirmary to see Azura speaking with the newly repaired Storm Eagle.

“I’m sure you’ll be allowed to enlist as a Maverick Hunter again soon. You didn’t really do that much damage to the airport.” Azura said.

“Well, still, I’m sorry for the trouble I put you and X through. Although I don’t think most of the other high ranking Hunters who sided with Sigma will be as easy to talk down or convince to come back as me or Chill Penguin, so here, have my Storm Tornado ability.” Storm Eagle said as he offered his arm to Azura and X who walked over.

Both of them touched his arm to copy his weapon data. With Storm Tornado now downloaded, Azura and X’s armor became variations of a sort of grayish purple color. So far that was two of the former Hunters back on their side. But only time would tell if they could get through to the others…

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

Azura and X had decided to go after Spark Mandrill next. The former Maverick Hunter had reportedly taken over a major electrical power plant. As soon as the two teleported in, Azura’s mouth hung agape as she saw the place was an utter wreck, with what looked like bits of the Death Rogumer scattered around.

“What the hell happened here?! Are those parts of the Rogumer?! X, care to explain?!” Azura snapped at her brother who winced and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s not my fault, Azura. I tried to take over the ship and land it safely, but I encountered heavy resistance from the crew and the pilot had us set on a collision course. By the time I managed to defeat the pilot Mechaniloid, it was already too late. I had to teleport out before I became scrap metal.” X replied.

Azura groaned and facepalmed before taking a calming breath.

“It’s fine. You did what you could. Let’s just go get Spark Mandrill before the big lug hurts others around him, or himself.”

Spark Mandrill was not really the brightest bulb, despite his Electric Spark attack, having caveman-like intelligence and a tendency to follow whoever was stronger than him. Azura had grown close to the big guy after warming up to him. He was clearly only following Sigma’s orders because Sigma was stronger than him and he probably didn’t know any better that what he was doing was Maverick.

The two of them made their way through the power plant and, thanks to the Rogumer crashing into the place, the lights went out at intervals, obscuring everything in pitch blackness, thus making navigation only a little more difficult. They encountered familiar enemies like Gun Volts and Flamingles, but also found new enemies such as Mega Tortoises, a Thunder Slimer, some Rush Roaders, Turn Cannons, and Hotarions, firefly-like robots who fly at their targets at incredible speeds.

Eventually the two of them arrived at the main generator room where the door slammed shut behind them. The lights in the room then went out and the two of them primed their busters. Neon lights then lit up overhead and the lights turned on to reveal Spark Mandrill hanging above them from the cables on the ceiling like vines. Spark Mandrill roared and dropped to the ground on his feet, beating his chest.

“X and Azura come here, just like Sigma say! Spark Mandrill will defeat you!” Spark Mandrill grunted.

“Spark Mandrill, Sigma has gone Maverick! You don’t have to listen to him!” X shouted to the primate Reploid.

“No! Sigma explain to Spark Mandrill that X and Azura are ones who gone Maverick! Spark Mandrill will defeat you! Spark Mandrill save Azura and X from themselves!” Spark Mandrill growled, electricity sparking from his fists.

‘Oh the poor, dense guy.’ Azura thought to herself with a sigh.

“Azura, it doesn’t look like we can talk him down. We’re gonna have to bring him in by force.” X said to her.

Spark Mandrill beat his chest, roaring before lunging toward X and Azura to punch them. X and Azura jumped out of the way to avoid the punch but Spark Mandrill’s punch, charged by electricity, sent it across the ground and zapping the siblings. The two of them groaned in pain, thankfully they weren’t damaged much.

Azura teleported behind Spark Mandrill and unleashed a flurry of buster shots, making Spark Mandrill grunt in pain as he felt it against his armor. X then jumped in, equipping himself with Storm Tornado and unleashing an attack against Spark Mandrill, but the baboon Reploid stood his ground and crossed his arms in an X formation, blocking the attack effortlessly.

“Ha ha! Wind do nothing to Spark Mandrill!” Spark Mandrill laughed before he rushed at X to punch him.

The punch connected and sent X flying into a wall. Azura then switched to Shotgun Ice and fired at Spark Mandrill, freezing him solid and encasing his entire body in ice. Azura sighed, thinking the fight was over, but Spark Mandrill then broke free from his icy prison, roaring in frustration.

“Spark Mandrill hate cold!”

X recovered, switching to Shotgun Ice himself. X and Azura then proceeded to continue using Shotgun Ice for the rest of the fight, wearing Spark Mandrill down until he could barely move.

“Spark Mandrill…need new…strategy…” Spark Mandrill grunted before he fell backward, unconscious and covered in ice.

Azura and X lowered their busters, deactivating Shotgun Ice.

“Is he…?” Azura asked, not wanting the worst to have come of this.

X walked over and knelt down, putting his hand on the inactive Reploid. X then scanned him while also copying his weapon data, obtaining the Electric Spark

“No, just powered down. X to Hunter HQ, Spark Mandrill is down. Move him to the detention center after getting him medical attention.” X said through his communicator as Azura came over to also download the Electric Spark.

The three of them then teleported back to HQ and Spark Mandrill was carted to the infirmary to get repairs before being moved to a detention cell, with Azura and X receiving repairs as well.

Azura sighed as she saw the unconscious Spark Mandrill in his cell handcuffed.

“It’s not his fault he’s not really smart.” Azura muttered before walking down the hall.

“Hey, Azura.” Chill Penguin called over from his cell.

Azura walked over and peered through the bars.

“Hey, Chill.”

“I see you and X managed to bring in the big lug.” Chill Penguin said, looking to the left wall of his cell.

His cell was adjacent to Spark Mandrill’s.

“Yeah. He was under the impression that X and I were the ones who were Mavericks. Sigma was taking advantage of his ignorance and loyalty.” Azura said with a thoughtful look.

“Oh boy. Someone’s gonna have a hell of a time explaining that to the big guy.” Chill Penguin said.

Spark Mandrill wasn’t really the best at grasping new concepts.

“Yeah. Anyway, did you need something?” Azura asked.

Chill Penguin shook his head.

“No. But I think I have an idea as to who you and X should go after first.”

Azura perked up at that.

“Who?”

“Flame Mammoth. Sigma had him take over a recycling plant so as to process raw materials for the construction of new troops for Sigma’s Maverick army. If you and X go there, you could put a big dent in Sigma’s plans.” Chill Penguin suggested.

Azura nodded and smiled at Chill Penguin.

“Thanks, Chill. I’ll see if your cooperation can get you pardoned.” Azura said as she walked out of the detention center.

Chill Penguin smiled and shook his head when she was gone.

“She’s too good for this world…Whoever built her…they built a good ‘bot.” Chill Penguin muttered before sitting back on the cot in his cell.

To be Continued…

Chapter Text

Azura walked into her quarters and closed the door behind her, leaning against it and sighing as she turned on the lights. Her room was pretty much what you’d expect from a typical teenage weeb. Walls with anime posters on it, a gaming rig, and bookshelves filled to the brim with manga. X and Dr. Cain were currently talking with Chill Penguin and Storm Eagle at the time in regards to them being released on parole and allowed to become Maverick Hunters again. Spark Mandrill…was still in his cell, trying to wrap his head around how Sigma had gone Maverick and lied to him.

As of now they were on a short break of sorts, having already stopped 3 of Sigma’s operations. This gave Azura an opportunity to finally review the two tutorial segments from her mother she downloaded.

Azura accessed her internal files and brought up the two tutorials on basic glyph usage she already downloaded. She then sat at her desk and transferred the file to her computer before bringing the first video up on the monitor and pressed play.

“Hola, Azura! Welcome to the first part of your tutorial, and your introduction to the wonderful usage of magic!” The recording of Luz said with a smile.

Luz then held up a piece of paper with the light glyph on it.

“Now, when it comes to using glyph magic, you merely have to draw the symbol and tap it to activate it. Sounds simple, right? Well, there’s actually more to it than that. Through testing I discovered that intent is key to what affect the glyph has when you activate it. One of the most basic things you can do with the Light glyph is create floating orbs of light. Observe.” Luz said as she activated the glyph.

“Now, that on its own can be useful when you need to light your way. But you can also use the Light glyph to create a flashbang if you imagine it doing so before you activate it.” Luz said as she put on a pair of sunglasses before holding up another light glyph and activating it, causing an intense flash of light.

After the light dissipated, Luz took off her sunglasses and put them to the side.

“Another thing that should be noted is that the larger you draw the glyph, the more powerful it will be. The same thing applies to Witches and their spell circles.” Luz said as she grabbed a notepad and drew a much bigger light glyph and tapped it, producing a much larger orb of light.

Azura watched the screen in awe.

“Now, while I did outfit you with the ability to cast your own innate magic with your artificial bile sac, your mother Amity and I agree that it is important for you to learn ALL forms of magic. Glyph magic seemed like the best place to start you off with.” Luz said as the recording ended.

Azura smiled sadly at her mother’s face on the screen.

“I promise, mami, I’ll learn ALL forms of magic…For you.”

Azura then reached over and pulled out some sticky notes and a pen. While print and physical paper was mostly dead, with the advancement of holographic writing technology, Azura had preferred to physically draw things. Not that she didn’t own a holo-pen of her own…in fact, that actually gave her an idea…but she would save it for later.

Azura then began drawing the light glyph on one of the sticky notes. As soon as she was done she tapped the glyph, and, just like in her mother’s recording, a glowing orb of light manifested itself, gently floating in the air. Azura’s eyes widened in awe and sparkled as she felt a sense of pride, finally, doing what she was meant to do. To break the barriers of science and magic…She immediately pulled up the tutorial on the plant glyph. This one was much longer, but in no time Azura understood how it worked. Unfortunately she couldn’t use it to its full potential in her quarters, seeing as that would destroy her room, but she did make a few flowers here and there.

Later…

The time came to head out to Flame Mammoth’s area. X and Azura walked to the control room where, surprisingly, they found Chill Penguin standing next to Dr. Cain.

“Chill Penguin? What are you doing here? Did your parole go through?” X asked.

Dr. Cain turned to X and Azura. Answering X's question.

“Chill Penguin has been pardoned from his crimes in exchange for the information he gave us. And he has offered his assistance with helping you bring in Flame Mammoth.”

Azura gained a smile and rushed over, picking up Chill Penguin in a massive hug.

“Thank goodness!”

“Ack! Azura. I’m happy too…but you’re crushing me.” Chill Penguin strained.

“Oh, right! Sorry!” Azura said sheepishly as she set the penguin Reploid down.

Later the three of them teleported into the factory that Flame Mammoth took over. Walking forward the group almost fell into a sea of molten metal.

“Oh right. This place IS a smelting plant.” Azura muttered.

Chill Penguin squawked.

“I can take care of that.”

Chill Penguin then blasted the molten metal with his Shotgun Ice attack, freezing it. X and Azura smiled.

“Perfect! Thanks, Chill Penguin.” X said.

“I’m a little confused, though. I thought you were vulnerable to extreme heat?” Azura said as she scratched the side of her head.

“Only against things like Flame Mammoth’s Fire Wave attack. Molten metal is no problem.” Chill Penguin replied as the group made their way forward through the factory.

They encountered a few enemies, having to make their way across conveyor belts moving partially destroyed mechaniloids, some of which barely still functioned and tried to attack them one last time. Chill Penguin kept freezing any pits of molten metal they came across.

X’s tracking systems then picked up the energy signature of another Light Capsule. The signal was coming from above. Looking above him, X spotted a segment of the ceiling that was structurally weak. X, getting a start with his dash ability, jumped up and bashed his head through the ceiling, making his way through the ceiling, much to Chill Penguin’s shock.

Azura, having picked up the signal as well, followed her brother.

“We’ll be back in a second, Chill. Wait for us.” Azura said before she flash dashed up to where X was.

Azura’s sudden teleportation also shocked Chill Penguin.

‘Since when could she do that?!’ Chill Penguin thought to himself in shock.

X and Azura had entered a hollow part of the ceiling where they found another capsule. Approaching it, the hologram of Dr. Light appeared in it.

“Hello again, X, Azura. X, enter this capsule to receive an upgrade to your X Buster. This will allow you to add an extra charge level, and allow you to charge your subweapons.” Dr. Light said before his hologram disappeared.

X then entered the capsule and downloaded the buster upgrade. In a flash of light his arms were adorned in white armor. X stepped out and engaged his buster, the top of it now had orange on it. He then aimed it at a wall and began building up a charged shot. Normally the energy particles indicating the build up of a charged shot stopped at blue, they passed that and turned pink. X then pulled the trigger and from his buster shot a stream of pink plasma particles in a rotating helix formation.

X and Azura’s eyes widened at this.

“Whoah…” They both said in unison.

A hologram of Luz Noceda then appeared.

“Hola, Azura! Enter this capsule to receive an upgrade to your Arc Buster. With this you’ll be able to add an extra charge level to your buster, infusing arcane energy into your buster shot to allow for a slightly more powerful attack, while simultaneously allowing you to charge any of your subweapons. This pod also contains the tutorial segment for the Fire Glyph. Step in to download both.” The hologram of Luz said before she disappeared.

Azura then entered and downloaded both the upgrade and the tutorial program segment. The design of the Fire Glyph downloading into her processor. In a flash of light, Azura’s arm gauntlets became covered in white and gold armor. Azura then shifted her hand into her buster and aimed it at the wall, building up a charged shot. Her charge particles suddenly turned a mix of black, yellow, and purple. Azura opened fire and from her buster shot a stream of arcane energy charged plasma bolts in a helix formation similar to X’s pink stream.

The hologram of Luz then returned.

“Unfortunately however, this attack expends your arcane energy cells greatly, so use it sparingly. Unlike X’s upgraded solar reactor power core, I fitted you with a self-sustaining Arcane Energy Cell. Your power cells are capable of building back up the expended energy, but it takes time, 15 minutes at the most if my calculations are correct…Azura…I never wanted you to have to fight, but I also know that the world might need a new warrior of peace. Rock…X’s older brother, fought for us all…now it’s your turn Mija…I love you…” The recording of Luz said with a sad smile before her hologram disappeared.

X’s eyes widened at the mention of his older brother, Rock…The ORIGINAL Mega Man…

Dr. Light’s hologram then reapered.

“Father, what happened to my older brother? What happened to Rock?” X asked.

Dr. Light sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets, a sad look on his face.

“X…Your brother…He gave his life…to save everyone…We…We never found his body…”

X’s heart broke at this.

“I wish…I  wish I knew him…”

Azura put a hand on X’s shoulder to console her brother. Dr. Light smiled softly.

“Rock would’ve loved to have known YOU as well, X…” Dr. Light said before his hologram disappeared and the pod teleported away.

X and Azura stood there silent for a while. X then turned around and started walking toward the hole.

“Let’s go. We have a mission to complete.” X said.

Azura nodded in agreement and the two of them dropped down to where Chill Penguin was waiting for them.

“Took you two long enough! Let’s go!” Chill Penguin said as the three of them rushed forward.

Chill Penguin continued to freeze any molten metal they came across while X and Azura blasted away at any enemies in their path. Eventually they made it to the entrance of Flame Mammoth’s chamber. Azura and X then had Chill Penguin teleport back to Maverick Hunter HQ, as he was at a disadvantage when it came to the fiery elephant Reploid.

The two of them then entered the chamber where Flame Mammoth was waiting for them. The entire floor was a massive conveyor belt.

“X, Azura! Lord Sigma demands that I crush you!” Flame Mammoth shouted confidently.

Azura and X leveled their busters at the Maverick.

“Flame Mammoth! Why did you join Sigma?!” Azura demanded.

Flame Mammoth chuckled.

“Why did I join? POWER! That’s why! Sigma gave me a chance to finally unleash my full fiery power! All these years of holding back, now I can let loose!” Flame Mammoth shouted as he jumped upward before slamming down onto the conveyor belt, making X and Azura lose balance and fall on their asses.

Azura looked up in time to see Flame Mammoth hurl himself towards them. Eyes wide, Azura grabbed X and she teleported them out of Flame Mammoth’s path. She then helped her brother to his feet while switching her weapon to Storm Tornado.

“If that’s why you joined, Flame Mammoth, then you’re no better than Sigma!” Azura shouted, tears in her eyes.

Flame Mammoth was momentarily shocked by the teleportation before turning around to glare at the siblings. He then let out a trumpet and fired globs of oil at them from his trunk. Thankfully they dodged this, but Flame Mammoth then followed this up by shooting a small fireball from his arm cannon which ignited the oil, causing a large burst of fire which partially scorched the two of them.

Flame Mammoth chuckled and jumped at them to try to crush them again, but…X, having also switch to Storm Tornado, charged his shot all the way to the pink level, and, firing the attack, unleashed a powerful tornado at a vertical angle, knocking Flame Mammoth back and making him hit the wall, making a massive dent in it.

“Ugh…what the hell was that?” Flame Mammoth groaned as he pulled himself up, only to be met in the face with a flashbang from Azura using a pre-drawn Light glyph directly in his face.

“AHHHH!!! MY OPTICS!!!” Flame Mammoth shouted as he was blinded from the attack, covering his face.

X was astonished by this, however he snapped out of it when Flame Mammoth suddenly started stomping around like a raging bull and firing flames left and right. With his vision gone he couldn’t see where either of them were…

“WHERE ARE YOU?! I’LL BURN YOU TO ASHES!” Flame Mammoth roared.

Azura barely dodged some of his flames. He had to be taken down…now… X and Azura both charged up a Storm Tornado attack and unleashed it upon Flame Mammoth at the same time. The powerful gusts of wind tore the elephant Reploid to pieces in an explosion of blue energy. Flame Mammoth’s destroyed body parts lay on the floor…

Azura slowly approached the disembodied head of Flame Mammoth, tears streaming down her face. She knelt down in front of the head of her former friend and started sobbing.

“I’m sorry, Flame Mammoth…Y-You left us no choice…Why…Why did it have to be this way?!” Azura sobbed.

X came over and knelt down next to his sister, pulling her into a hug as he stroked her hair to soothe her. The two sat there for a while as Azura continued to sob until her artificial tear ducts ran dry. They then contacted Hunter Base to inform them of Flame Mammoth’s defeat after copying his weapon data, obtaining his Fire Wave attack. The siblings then teleported back to base…their minds racing…

To be Continued…

Chapter Text

We open on X and Azura teleporting into the mines where Armored Armadillo was held up in. Apparently Sigma was having him mine raw materials to produce more troops for his army. It had taken the combined effort of X, Chill Penguin, Storm Eagle, AND Spark Mandrill, who finally managed to get it through his thick metal skull that Sigma had lied to him, to get Azura to come out of her quarters. The four of them consoled her regarding Flame Mammoth’s demise and when she was feeling better, the two of them set out to try to bring in Armored Armadillo.

The two siblings made their way through the mines, encountering Flamingles, Batton Bones…strangely enough they also encountered a Batton…the original version from 20XX…strange… The two had to destroy a large mining Mechaniloid. Eventually they exited the mines and came to a massive cliff where the Armadillo Reploid’s energy signature was coming from. Azura then picked up the signature of a Light Capsule, looking around she spotted it at the top of the cliff.

“X, there’s a capsule up there. Hold my hand, I’ll teleport us to it.” Azura said, offering her hand to her brother who nodded and held her hand.

The two of them then teleported in front of the capsule. Dr. Light’s hologram appeared, but this time instead of wearing his usual attire, he was wearing a karate gi.

“Uh…nice outfit, dad.” X snickered.

“X, this capsule contains a powerful new upgrade for you. The Hadouken. However, you appear to lack the armor upgrade necessary to handle its power. Please come back when you have found the capsule containing the armor upgrade. Although, Azura, I do believe your mother had something special for you, which I believe you will find most helpful.” Dr. Light said as his hologram disappeared and was replaced with Luz’s hologram.

Luz, in her message, was dressed in a purple witch outfit with a big hat, holding her Palisman staff.

“Hola, Azura. By now I’m certain that you’ve mastered all 4 basic elemental glyphs, and even if you haven’t, you’ll still find use for this. It’s a device I built based on the training wands from the Boiling Isles, incorporating hard-light hologram technology. This should allow you to draw glyphs in the air. That way you don’t have to constantly carry around pieces of paper. Word of advice, though, it’s best to still keep pre-drawn glyphs on you, especially if you find yourself in a tight spot. Diversity is often your best ally.” Luz’s hologram said with a smile before she disappeared.

In a flash of light, a white and purple wand with a blue crystal at the tip appeared floating suspended in the pod. Azura reached into the pod and grabbed the mechanical wand. It just felt…right…in her hand.

She then felt a surge of data rush into her processor, instantly letting her know how to use her new wand. Azura experimentally drew a light glyph in the air, the hologram light was yellow, corresponding to the glyph itself. Once she was done drawing the glyph it activated and produced an orb of light, making Azura smile.

“Wow. That’s actually pretty cool, Azura. But, you’d have to draw pretty quickly to use it effectively…is what I would say if I didn’t know any better.” X said with a smile.

Azura was not only a nerd, but she was also quite the artist, able to draw the most detailed of works in a matter of minutes. Drawing something as simple as these glyphs would be child’s play for her.

X would remember to come back to this pod later after getting the required upgrade. The two of them then made their way to Armored Armadillo’s chamber. The entire chamber was a cave. The two didn’t see the Armadillo Reploid anywhere in sight. Suddenly, the cavern started to shake and from the ceiling, a familiar armored ball crashed through and unfurled into the Maverick they were after.

“X, Azura. Sigma told me you would most likely come here.” Armored Armadillo said in a calm and collected tone.

“Armored Armadillo, why are you still following Sigma?! He’s gone Maverick!” X demanded, priming his buster.

“My loyalty is to my commanding officer. Orders are orders, and I will follow them no matter what.” Armored Armadillo said with certainty.

X and Azura had also been informed by Chill Penguin and Storm Eagle that Sting Chameleon only joined because he was pressured via use of a hostage…and that Armored Armadillo was the one holding said hostage under Sigma’s orders.

“Armadillo, release your hostage at once and surrender! If you surrender now, we promise you will be treated with respect!” Azura demanded.

Armored Armadillo scowled at Azura.

“I think now. Now, we fight!” Armored Armadillo declared as he rolled up into a ball and started rolling at them at incredible speed.

X and Azura jumped in opposite directions to avoid getting crushed by the armored ball, but then Armored Armadillo started ricocheting off the walls of the cave, making X and Azura have to stay on their toes to avoid getting hit by him. Armored Armadillo then landed and unrolled, a small hatch on his forehead opening to reveal a laser blaster and he shot at X and Azura. Azura flash dashed to avoid the blaster shots and retaliated with using her wand to draw a medium sized fire glyph and activated it, sending a burst of flames at Armored Armadillo.

The armored Reploid’s eyes widened in shock and he crossed his arms, blocking the fire. He could feel the heat against his armor but it did not penetrate it.

“You picked up some new tricks, I see.” He said as he proceeded to roll up into a ball again and charged at X who dashed to avoid getting crushed while switching his weapon to Electric Spark.

“That’s not all we’ve picked up, Armadillo!” X shouted as he shot a purple blast of electricity at Armored Armadillo as he unrolled.

The electrical attack made contact and Armored Armadillo spasmed as his armored plating fell off and they blew up, not destroying him but leaving him more vulnerable to attack.

Armored Armadillo shook himself and scowled at X before firing at him with his head laser. X dodged the blasts and Azura jumped in with a charged up Electric Spark attack, sending out a wave of purple electricity at Armored Armadillo. Electricity surged through his systems and he slumped to the ground before he blew up, his parts scattering around his chamber. X and Azura looked down at their former colleague’s remains with a solemn expression.

“I’m sorry it had to be this way, Armored Armadillo…” X muttered.

Azura and X then knelt down and touched one of his arms and copied his weapon data, obtaining his Rolling Shield attack.

Azura stood up with a sigh.

“Come on, I’m picking up the hostage’s energy signature right above us.”

“Yeah. Let’s go get them.” X said as he and Azure dashed towards a nearby wall and started to wall jump upwards to the hole Armored Armadillo had made when he entered the chamber.

When they got up there, Azura’s eyes widened in recognition at who she saw restrained.

“Gojia?!” Azura exclaimed

Gojia was a female Reploid with a mostly human design. She had caucasian skin and black hair which reached down to her shoulders and was spiky and wild. However she also possessed orange eyes with slit pupils. She also possessed a reptilian tail and spiky dorsal plates on her back. She was one of Azura’s best friends and had a rather tomboyish personality. Gojia was built by a Japanese scientist named Dr. Ishirō Serizawa. Her primary function was environmental conservation, but she also possessed combat functionality as well, her systems running off of nuclear radiation.

Gojia, who had been restrained with her hands in cuffs and a muzzle over her face, turned to face the siblings in her cell and eyes widened.

“Azura?! X?! Took you long enough! Get me out of here!”

“Hang on, give us a second.” X said as he and Azura rushed over to help the female Reploid, taking her out of her cell.

Azura blasted her restraints off and Gojia literally tore her muzzle off with her bare hands.

“Finally! Now where is that armadillo? I’m gonna tear him a new exhaust port!” Gojia snarled, revealing sharp fangs as her eyes flashed blue briefly.

Azura and X shared a glance.

“We kinda already beat you to the punch, Goji.” Azura said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

Gojia groaned at the fact she wouldn’t be able to beat up Armored Armadillo herself. She then took in Azura and X’s appearances.

“Whoah, nice upgrades. Where’d you score those?”

Azura smiled.

“It’s a long story, Gojia, I’ll tell you when we get back to base.”

X activated his com and informed the base about Armored Armadillo’s defeat and the rescue of the hostage. The three of them then teleported back to base.

To be Continued…

Chapter Text

Once they were back at base, Azura explained the whole situation to Gojia, about how Sigma had gone Maverick and, using a mix of hostages, and his control circuitry to manipulate the thought processes of Reploids, incited a rebellion against the human race. She also informed her of how her being taken as a hostage was meant to sway Sting Chameleon, who was a good friend of both Gojia and Azura, to Sigma’s side. Needless to say she was pissed…

“THAT BALD BASTARD!!! I’LL TEAR OUT HIS POWER CORE AND SHOVE IT DOWN HIS THROAT!!!” Gojia shouted as blue sparks of atomic flame sparked around the corners of her mouth, her eyes glowing with the same energy.

Azura sweatdropped, Gojia always had a bit of a short temper.

“Okay, Gojia, let’s not go on a rampage right now. Let’s just take a breather, okay?” Azura said nervously, trying to get the Reploid girl to calm down.

The last thing she, or anyone needed, was for Gojia to lose her temper.

“No, Azura! I’m not going to calm down! In fact, take me with you! I need to let loose some steam!” Gojia snapped, her tail swaying in agitation.

Azura rubbed the back of her neck.

“Uh, okay…I guess,” Azura said.

The last thing she wanted to do was argue with Gojia when she was like this.

“Good, where to now?” Gojia asked more calmly, crossing her arms as her eyes returned to their usual orange color.

“Well, X and I were planning on going after Launch Octopus next.” Azura answered as she and Gojia exited her quarters and walked to the control room where X was talking with Dr. Cain.

X turned to see his sister and Gojia walking towards them.

“Azura, ready to head out?” X asked.

Azura nodded.

“Yeah, and Gojia here is coming along.”

X’s brows furrowed in concern, but glancing at the look in Gojia’s eyes, he winced.

“Okay…Let’s get going then.”

The trio soon teleported to the Pacific Ocean where Launch Octopus had taken command of an underwater naval base and was bombarding the city. Gojia was in her element as her creator built her for swimming. Gojia, letting off steam, led the charge and blasted away at any enemies in her path with beams of atomic fire from her mouth.

X and Azura were VERY glad she was on their side. Eventually they made it to the base and found Launch Octopus’s chamber, entering.

“Launch Octopus! Surrender!” X proclaimed.

“Ah, X, Azura. Your arrival is untimely, and by untimely I mean completely timely!” Launch Octopus proclaimed in his posh tone.

“Cease your attack on the city, Launch Octopus! I know you! You’re an artist! You would never do this!” Azura pleaded.

Launch Octopus chuckled.

“An artist I am, Azura. Be it painting, sculpting…even warfare. I am a master of all arts. And the art of combat has recently shown great promise. I will always value the time we spent together when you were my protege in the arts. But sadly…all things must end eventually.” Launch Octopus said with a hint of regret in his voice.

Launch Octopus wasn’t JUST a Maverick Hunter. No. He was also a renowned artist. A while back, he had taken Azura under his teachings when she started showing incredible artistic talent.

“Launch…please…Don’t make us fight you. We’ve already lost Flame Mammoth and Armored Armadillo…I don’t want to have to kill you too…” Azura said with great sadness.

“Azura…you’ve always been my best student. Forgive me…” Launch Octopus said as he fired a barrage of small missiles from his shoulder pads, his Homing Torpedo attack seeking out its targets and hitting X, Azura, and Gojia.

The three groaned and Gojia snarled before swimming at Launch Octopus and trying to claw at him, but Launch Octopus then grappled the lizard-girl Reploid, siphoning energy from her but he groaned in pain.

Gojia smirked.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t suggest doing that, calamari face.” Gojia said as she sent Launch Octopus crashing into a nearby wall with a blast of her Atomic Breath.

Azura then flash dashed in front of Launch Octopus and unleashed a Rolling Shield attack right in his face, knocking him out.

X then walked over and tried to put Launch Octopus in cuffs, but he suddenly reactivated and fired a swarm of piranha mines from his tentacles which swam around before hitting his three opponents.

“My art shall never be repressed! The art of destruction will pave the way for the new world!” Launch Octopus proclaimed.

Azura narrowed her eyes and built up a FULLY charged shot, flash dashing to get in close before unleashing her mana-powered buster shot right in Launch Octopus’s face. Launch Octopus slammed into another wall, but got back up, swimming around the chamber, chuckling.

“You’ve gotten stronger, my former student. Quite strong indeed.”

X then jumped in and fired a blast of Electric Spark at Launch Octopus, but the cephalopod Reploid dodged and returned fire with his Homing Torpedo attack. X dashed to avoid the small torpedos. Gojia then swam up, her dorsal plates glowing in indication she was preparing another blast of Atomic Breath. However she didn’t get the chance to fire however when Launch Octopus sent a school of piranha mines at her.

Azura then took out her wand and drew a plant glyph, activating it and creating a mass of vines which quickly restrained Launch Octopus. X then jumped in and fired a blast of Rolling Shield. Launch Octopus then exploded and his parts scattered around the chamber, Azura crying as she picked up one of his tentacles and absorbing his weapon data, X soon doing the same…

To be Continued…

Chapter Text

Azura had spent the rest of the day in her room crying over having to kill her former art teacher, sculpting a small statue of him to honor him for the artist he was, and not the Maverick insurgent he became…

She just wondered how Launch Octopus’s brother, Volt Kraken, would take it…

He had taken it quite poorly, actually, deciding to leave the Maverick Hunters altogether because of it… The next day, X and Azura were dispatched again, this time going after Boomerang Kuwanger.

Azura knew Boomerang Kuwanger, or, “Boomer” as she called him, to be a rather logical individual, making tactical decisions. Why he of all people would join Sigma was what confused her…

The stag beetle Reploid had apparently taken over a communications tower from where he was directing an attack on the city. Azura and X’s orders were to ascend the tower and confront the former Maverick Hunter.

It had taken a while to ascend the tower, making their way past all of its defenses which consisted of a Mega Tortoise, automated laser turrets, and rotating turrets.

They entered Boomerang Kuwanger’s chamber where the ex Maverick Hunter stood waiting for them, hands folded behind his back in a professional manner.

“I was wondering when you two would arrive.” The stag beetle Reploid said calmly.

X and Azura primed their busters, aiming at the former hunter.

“Boomerang Kuwanger, call off your forces and surrender!” X demanded.

Boomerang Kuwanger shook his head.

“No. I don’t believe I will.”

“Boomer, please. Why did you join Sigma? Where is the logic in this?” Azura asked, buster still primed.

Boomer Kuwanger stroked one of his mandibles.

“Because I see the logic behind Sigma’s goals. If Reploids are to advance further, humanity must be extinguished. Look at human history…Humans are violent creatures who will go to war with each other over the most illogical things such as race, religion, etc. Eventually they will just wipe each other out. Why prolong the inevitable?”

X narrowed his eyes.

“Humanity may be flawed, Boomer Kuwanger, but there is so much more to them than that!”

“X is right! Human hands created us Reploids, without them we wouldn’t exist!” Azura chimed in.

Boomer Kuwanger grew tired of this conversation and hurled a flurry of Boomerang Cutters at X and Azura, the siblings barely dodging the attacks. Azura opened fire on Boomer Kuwanger, but the stag beetle Reploid phase dashed behind her and delivered a roundhouse kick, sending her flying forward before rocketing up with his back boosters and throwing another Boomerang Cutter at her.

Azura screamed out in pain as she felt the projectile stab into her abdomen.

“Azura!” X called out in worry.

Azura fell to the ground, wounded but still active. X rushed over to try to help, but Azura called out to him.

“X, behind you!”

X stopped and whipped around in time to dodge a Boomerang Cutter from Boomer Kuwanger. X tried to shoot him, but the former Maverick Hunter phase dashed to dodge.

“You can try all you want, X. But you will not stop me!” Boomer Kuwanger declared as he threw several more Boomerang Cutters at X, who barely managed to dodge.

He unleashed a charged Fire Wave attack, sending a progressive wave of fire at the insect Reploid, but he rocketed up in time to dodge, phase dashing behind X in preparation for an attack. Azura got up in time, tearing the Boomerang Cutter from her abdomen and Flash Dashing behind Boomer Kuwanger and blasting him with a point blank Homing Torpedo attack, sending him staggering forward.

“Gah! Not bad, but you just got lucky. The odds are not in your favor, Azura.”

Azura narrowed her eyes as she and X took aim.

“We’ll see about that, traitor.” Azura said before she and X unleashed a hail of Homing Torpedoes on Boomer Kuwanger.

Boomer Kuwanger tried to phase dash and rocket around in order to dodge, but the torpedoes were still able to track his movements. The last thing he ever saw was a torpedo fly at his face before everything went black as he exploded.

After the explosion died down, X and Azura walked over to Boomer Kuwanger’s remains, copying his weapon data. Azura then activated her com-link.

“Hunter Base, this is Azura. Boomer Kuwanger is down. I’ve sustained some minor damage.”

Alia’s voice then came through.

“Roger that, Azura. Prepare for teleportation.”

X and Azura then teleported away back to base, unaware of a small robotic bat with a skull face watching them…

Meanwhile, in an unknown location, a horned, winged figure sat in front of a security monitor, watching X and Azura’s fights so far. He stroked his beard with his left, three clawed hand…

“So, X, Azura. You’ve activated at last…” The figure muttered.

He then turned to a monitor showing Zero on his scouting mission. The figure’s eyes narrowed as he watched Zero.

“And Dr. Wily’s ultimate weapon is active too…”

In his youth, if he had learned of this, he wouldn’t have hesitated to retrieve X and Azura, and smash that red, yellow-haired menace to atoms…But he was older now, more wise…This matter required a different approach…

He tapped a button on his keyboard, a monitor came to life showing the face of a purple and yellow moth Reploid.

“Morph Moth, I have an assignment for you.” The figure said, leaning towards the glowing monitor to show his skull face.

The moth Reploid saluted.

“I live to serve you, Dr. Clawthorne.”

To be Continued…