CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Dystopia
Barren, desolate, desert-like sands stretched as far as the eye could see. There were no obvious signs of life anywhere, and even the morning sun beat down hard on them. A harsh desert wind blew from the west, kicking sand into his face as it howled past. The heat was oppressive, the air was stale, and everything was dead. Truly, Rock felt as though he had fallen into a nightmare.
There was a grunt nearby. Rock looked up to see Bass pulling himself up to his feet. "I'm still not used to that," he said, brushing off dirt from his shoulders. His red eyes darkened when he caught sight of his surroundings, but he said nothing.
"This… is the future?" Proto Man's voice came from behind Rock, and he turned to see his brother scowling, arms folded. "Desolate and unforgiving. Where have I seen this before?"
"Now's not the time for that kind of joke," Bass muttered.
"The date on the time machine says 22XX," Rock said, looking down at the small device's blinking display screen. "We're right where we're supposed to be."
"…I guess… we didn't help the world's situation much," came X's voice, full of weariness. The blue Hunter looked rather shocked, and though he was trying to keep a straight face, Rock could tell seeing this future pained him deeply.
Zero walked up to his friend and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't get so discouraged yet. We don't even know where we are. Maybe we just landed in a really bad area."
"Maybe…" X trailed off, obviously not very comforted by the thought. Zero gave a shrug and surveyed the landscape with Rock.
"Well, wherever we are… it kinda looks like the middle of nowhere," he said.
"Yeah," Rock agreed.
"Hey… I think I see something over there." Bass pointed off to the east. There was a medium-sized hill, steep, but definitely climbable. The ebony robot clambered up the incline, and then looked into the distance. "Um, guys," he started. "You're going to have to see this for yourselves."
"What is it?" Zero asked, hiking up beside him. He took one step back once he could see over the hill. "Damn! That city's huge!"
"City?" X asked, perking up. He dashed up the hill and looked down. "Wow… Rock, Blues, you have to see this." They both approached, and saw what had stunned the others.
Below was a massive metropolis, bigger than even the city in 21XX. Lights from tall skyscrapers illuminated the skyline. Buildings spread across the landscape like a blanket; it looked like it stretched for dozens of miles, and most structures were tens, even hundreds of stories tall. Some of the tallest buildings had large domes on the top of them, and when filled with light, they looked like tiny ecosystems sitting atop the man-made city. The streets were filled with cars, and the skies were peppered with hovercraft, presumably both civilian and commercial. A cloud of smog drifted over the city, making it look far darker than the daytime around them.
"Whoa," Rock said, shading his eyes and staring at the city. "That place is enormous!"
"I guess we should head for it." Blues shrugged. "There doesn't seem to be anywhere else we can go."
"Yeah, I think you're right," X said, starting down the hill. "Though we should be careful. We don't know what we're dealing with out here."
------
The city was even bigger up close than it had looked from a distance. There was a large wall surrounding the perimeter, so at first they found it difficult to get inside. Rock briefly wondered why such a large city would need walls when there didn't appear to be anything else nearby. Eventually, the five wandering time travelers stumbled across a small hole in the barrier near the ground. They slipped under it carefully and found themselves in a darkened alleyway.
The tiny alley smelled horrible. Garbage piled up against the walls, and Rock saw several large rats picking through the debris. One of them looked up at him and gave off a loud hiss before it skittered away, deeper into the pile of decaying filth.
"Well, garbage still smells bad in this era." Bass grasped his nostrils with his hand before he shut down his olfactory sensors. "I guess some things never change."
"What were you expecting? Freshly baked cinnamon rolls?" Blues retorted, walking toward the end of the alleyway. "I'm going to go take a look around."
"I'll go with you," Rock said. He followed his older brother carefully out of the alley. He could hear the sounds of the shifting garbage behind him, which indicated the others were coming as well.
"Wow," said X, as they stepped into the street. Buildings loomed around them, the sky almost lost amid their concrete and steel. "This place is even bigger than the city in our time… taller, more spread out…"
"And more polluted," Bass griped, glancing at the litter in the gutters, and then up at the distant, smoggy sky. "I'll bet all the shiny new technology they have here is all at the cost of the environment."
"I didn't know you cared about the environment, Bass," Rock replied, a look of surprise flashing through his eyes.
"I don't," Bass stated flatly. "I was making an observation, not a pledge of loyalty to tree huggers."
Rock merely rolled his eyes in return.
X looked up the street, which fortunately appeared to be empty. "Let's move further inward. But let's try not to look too suspicious." He removed his helmet and brushed his hair back with his hand.
"Yeah, we won't look suspicious at all," Bass snapped. "Half our group would stand out at a circus, let alone walking down the street."
"Don't be snide," Blues returned sharply. "It won't get us out of here any faster."
They headed down the road and turned right onto another street, heading for the city core. As they moved deeper the roads became cleaner and the streets were busy, filled with flying hovercraft and bustling with activity. Humans scurried along the sidewalks, slipping into stores and carrying shopping baskets. Most people paid no mind to the group, though a few did turn to stare at Bass and his silly looking helmet, along with Zero's long hair. X still had his helmet off, and was carrying it idly beside him. Rock had followed suit in removing his helmet, though Blues chose to keep his on.
"Wow, look at those reploids." Zero discretely pointed to a small group on the other side of the street. They wore vests that reached most of the way down their torsos, and their bodies were covered by dark jumpsuits. Their gloves and boots were all unusually long, but weren't as wide as the boots X or Zero wore. The Reploids were also built very slightly, far more lithe and skinny than the average reploid of 21XX. "Man, they're dressed weird. Who decided on wearing getups like that? I'd hardly call it good fashion sense."
"The irony in that statement is sickening," Bass grumbled, glaring at Zero.
"What?"
"Forget it." Bass waved a hand in Zero's direction, brushing off the reploid's indignant query.
"Are you implying that my armor is gaudy?"
"You said it, not me," Bass returned.
"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt your extremely important conversation," Blues said, pointing off to another direction. "But, I think you may be interested in seeing what looks like the city police force."
Off in the direction Blues had indicated was a group of about six reploid-like robots. They were clad in cobalt blue vests over a lighter jumpsuit, with long blue boots on their legs. Each had a large and rather unpleasant looking buster gun on its left arm. They wore blue helmets with trim that matched the jumpsuits, but the most notable thing about these soldiers was their faces — or really, the lack thereof. In place of it there was only a single, glowing, blood-red mechanical eye.
They marched three abreast down the street in perfect formation, more like machines than reploids. Anyone in their path quickly stepped aside and allowed them to pass unhindered. They continued marching for a block, and disappeared around a corner up ahead.
"Those things..." Bass muttered, looking puzzled, red eyes dancing back and forth between the distant corner and X.
"They looked an awful lot like you, X," Rock said, finishing Bass's sentence.
X said nothing, but made a noise that sounded agitated and uncomfortable. Rock could tell that the blue Hunter had noticed the similarity as well, and it looked like it had instantly given him cause for concern.
"Maybe," Zero said, stepping alongside X. "It's probably only a coincidence, right?"
"I'd imagine so," Bass answered.
"Though… something I find that's unsettling..." X began, causing everyone in the group to look directly at him. "Is how many humans we've seen and how few reploids we've run into. Doesn't that strike you as odd? I mean, I think I've seen between five or ten humans for every reploid I've seen so far. There don't seem to be nearly as many reploids as there are in our time."
"Maybe we're just not in the right part of the city, X," said Zero, shrugging and trying to sound positive. "I mean, this place is gigantic. I'm sure there are tons of reploids around elsewhere. Why wouldn't there be?"
"Unless things aren't as they seem on the surface…" Blues said quietly to himself.
"What was that, brother?" Rock asked, looking over to him.
"Nothing, don't worry about it," came his reply, as he tightened the knot on his scarf.
"Well, why don't we just keep looking around the city a bit more?" Zero put his hands to his hips confidently and began walking forward. "I'm sure Sigma and Wily would be hiding here rather than out in the wastelands anyway. How bad could this place be, anyway?"
"Never, ever ask that question!" Bass snapped, walking toward him. "If anything bad happens now, it's on your blonde head." He pointed to Zero's hair, and then made a throat slitting gesture with his index finger.
"Jeez, cool your circuits. We'll be fine." Zero continued forward, and Rock quickened his pace to keep up. Bass walked alongside the red Hunter but kept his distance from Rock. Blues and X kept a few paces behind, but were easily in sight of the other two.
"I don't like it here," Bass stated flatly, as they passed the group of reploids, watching them curiously as they passed. "Something's off. I can feel it. Hate to say it, but I think X might be on to something."
"But what is it, then?" Rock asked.
"How should I know, rockhead?" Bass snapped. "You've been here as long as I have."
"Well, keep your cool for now, both of you." Zero glanced quickly between the two of them. "It'll be less conspicuous if you go with the flow. There's a reason why I'm laid back, you know."
"Okay, I think we can do that." Rock smiled.
"Good, glad to hear it. Now, let's go find us a Maverick and a crazy old coot." Zero cocked his head to indicate that they should turn at the next intersection. He turned the corner first and was quickly followed by Bass and Rock. However, Zero's rather hasty turn around the corner put him right in the path of another patrol of the blue machines they had encountered earlier.
Zero clumsily rammed right into one of them, stumbling backwards. Bass grabbed him before he fell and helped steady him. The machine he had run into was not as lucky, tumbling to the ground, but picking itself back up quickly. However, seeing their comrade fall, the other soldiers raised their weapons and pointed them at the three time-travelers. Rock quickly slipped his helmet back on, fearing that there might be trouble.
"Oh, man. I'm sorry about that," Zero said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
The lead unit, whom Zero had unfortunately collided with, raised his weapon at him and spoke in a mechanical, almost grating voice. "Present identification!"
"Whoa!" Zero exclaimed, taking a step back. "Hey, we're just passing through."
"Present identification," the machine ground again.
"Uh, I'm… Rock," Rock said, walking forward a couple steps. The machines responded by turning to point their weapons at him.
"Provide identification cards immediately!"
By this point, Blues and X had turned around the corner, but had not drawn the attention of the guards. "What's going on here?" Blues asked, his eyes dancing between his brother and the guards' weapons.
"Prepare for identification scan," the lead unit said. A loud click followed by a whirr filled the air and the lead robot's eye turned from red to a bright green as it began to look over the newcomers, starting with Rock. Next, it turned its head to Bass, who was standing in his usual irritated pose, arms folded, his brow furrowed into a frown. Next, the lead turned to Zero, and began his scan.
The red Reploid smiled broadly. "See, nothing to worry ab—" He was cut off by a loud click, and a terse buzzer. "What?" he asked, his voice suddenly turning serious.
The patrol guards spun toward Zero, their weapons clicking as they disabled the safeties. "Target signature confirmed! Maverick Zero detected! All units, open fire!"
"Whoa!" Zero exclaimed. Without thinking, he drew his beam saber and cut off the lead robot's weapon with a single, precise stroke.
Bass reacted next. He quickly put three plasma shots into the head of another battle robot, liquefying it into titanium slime. Rock opened fire on the lead machine, who was now noticing it had no buster. Even without being charged, Rock's weapon penetrated the armor on the unit and caused it to explode, taking out another nearby drone.
The remaining three patrol droids opened fire at Zero, but he simply dodged to the right, avoiding most of the incoming plasma bullets. The remaining ones he swept aside with his Z-Saber.
Rock turned as he heard the hum of X's charging weapon, and jumped out of the way just in time for X to unleash a fully charged blast to annihilate the last three clustered units.
"What the hell was that?" Zero said, deactivating his saber.
"Maverick Zero?" X demanded, putting his helmet back on his head. He adjusted it quickly and then continued. "Zero, if you go crazy on me, I swear I'm going to…"
"Not now, you two!" Blues shushed them, motioning with his hand. "Listen! There are more of them coming!"
"Yeah, lots more," Bass said bluntly, pointing down the road. About two dozen more of the blue robots were rounding the corner a block away and heading straight for them.
"Ooh, that's no good." Zero said. "I suggest retreat. Who here agrees?"
"Retreat? Why?" Bass snapped, charging his weapon and gritting his teeth. "We can take them, no problem!"
Zero pointed to the side. "That's why, Bass."
Bass reluctantly looked toward where he was pointing, trying not to take his eyes off the incoming blue swarm for very long. There was a group of humans in the shadows of the skyscrapers watching them fearfully, and several reploids backing away slowly. Many more humans looked out from the nearby buildings, glaring at them, studying them from afar as though they were on the other side of a one-way window.
"…There's a lot of people around here," Bass said, taking a little bit of the edge from his voice. "That's what you're talking about, isn't it?"
"We don't want them caught in the crossfire," X returned, with a nod. "Zero's right. We should just get moving while we have the chance."
"Right. Come on, let's go!" Blues motioned for them to follow as he spun around, dashing back the way they came. The others followed quickly, with the blue security robots close on their heels, firing wildly at them as they ran.
"What are they doing? Why are they shooting at us like this?" X demanded, looking back over his shoulder. "There are civilians everywhere! This is crazy!"
"I don't get it… aren't they the security guards? Aren't they supposed to be looking out for the common good and safety?" Rock asked, rounding a corner with the rest of the team. "I mean, if they think we're Mavericks, that's one thing, but wouldn't they try not to open fire unless they had to?"
"That's our policy in our time, Rock!" X said.
"Guess times and people change, don't they, X?" Bass snapped, pumping his arms harder and lengthening his stride.
"Would you three quit the commentary and keep moving?" Proto Man called to them, his face hardened in a severe expression. "We can talk about this after we lose whatever those things are!"
"How about we go hide in one of those junky old buildings we passed when we came in?" Zero said, looking further down the road for anything that might meet his rather vague description. "That should buy us some time."
They passed down block after block of streets, each getting filthier and grimier as they grew closer to the walls of the huge city. Rock looked over his shoulder, and saw a tell-tale wave of blue rustling in the shadows. "Guys, there are more of them following us than ever!" he called forward to his friends as the patrol guards moved out from the side streets and began surging towards them, still in neat formation.
"Hey! We're not near any civilians! Can we please kick their butts now?" Bass demanded, forming his buster while continuing to run.
"There's too many of them chasing us to safely hide." Blues slowed, and then spun around. "We don't have a choice. If we want to lose them, we're going to have to wipe these ones out!"
"Now you're talking, old man!" Bass whipped around and flipped his weapon to full automatic. Laying into the trigger, Bass poured shots over the street. The plasma cut through the front line of drones, disabling or damaging most in one shot. Then, various charged shots from the other four began interspersing with Bass's, taking out lines of the machines at once. Return fire from the guards was weak and inaccurate, splashing on the walls around them.
"At least they aren't very sturdy," X commented, as his shot sliced through one drone to melt the processor of another following behind.
"Yeah, but there's still a lot of them," Zero replied, deflecting a plasma bolt off his saber. Not wanting to charge in and get caught in a swarm of enemies, he was forced to the defensive.
"Hey! I've got an idea!" Mega Man shouted, as even more units approached from around the corner. "Bass, hold your fire for a sec when I give you the signal!"
"And why would I want to do that?"
"Just trust me, okay? You'll like it." Rock's armor quickly changed from blue to red and orange, and he began gathering energy for a charged shot. After a couple of moments, Rock raised his buster. "Bass! Hold your fire!" The ebony robot did as told, and then Mega Man released his own attack.
A stream of fire shot from his arm cannon, screaming forward into the chest of one of the robots. On impact, the shot exploded into a raging firestorm that spread almost instantaneously between the units. The ones that survived the initial blast began to burn, their weapons melting away. In a few seconds, the small army that had been chasing them was completely wiped out by Mega Man's fully charged blast of Atomic Fire. The firestorm quickly abated, leaving behind the twisted, charred remains of the drones.
Smoke curled from the barrel of the Mega Buster, and Rock shook his arm rapidly, wincing. Atomic Fire was powerful, but the fully charged blast had overheated the Mega Buster.
"Rock? Are you okay?" X asked, watching as Rock continued to wildly flail his arm.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Rock said, smiling. "I think when Father improved the power output on my buster, he didn't anticipate me using a fully charged fire-based weapon. It's overloaded the cooling units a little, but it's already getting better." His armor faded back to his normal blue color, and the smoke from his weapon began to thin. "There we go. Good as new. I just gotta make sure I don't do that very often."
"With any luck, you won't. Come on, let's go find a place to lay low for awhile." Zero motioned for them to follow as he continued running down the street. They passed several worn-down buildings, until Zero stopped at an old warehouse. There was a metal side door that was askew, and the red reploid peered inside.
It was fairly dark, and the building smelled damp. However, there was enough light to reveal dozens of old, rusty metal cargo containers lying around. Some were stacked atop each other, while others lay carelessly strewn about the dusty floor. But regardless of that, there were plenty of dark areas inside, and plenty of space. The containers formed a labyrinth of sorts within the warehouse.
"Guys, I think we found a safe haven." Zero stepped inside carefully, and searched for any movement. Seeing nothing, he moved in further. "Yeah, this will do nicely. Come on in!"
Rock slowly followed Zero in, with the others behind him. A sense of unease crawled up through his circuits, but he tried to shut it out. This place was creepy. Water dripped from an old pipe above, landing in a muddy pool. Rock watched another drop fall, the ripples in the rust-colored puddle dispersing quickly.
X and Bass moved in next, exploring various nooks around the cargo containers. Many of them were mangled and useless, but a few looked like they could be used for hiding places if the need arose. Proto Man came in last, and with a brush of his hand on Rock's shoulder, beckoned him to continue moving.
Zero and the others stopped in a clearing between four cargo containers. The boxes were laid out in a rectangular fashion, with areas to enter in from the two corners, and a clearing in the middle. There were a few small wooden crates lying in the clearing, which quickly served as chairs for part of the team. There were only four boxes, and X gave his up to Blues.
"So, this is what this place is like, huh?" Bass asked. "Wonderful neighborhood, especially if you like running from the authorities." His tone was biting, but it wasn't directed toward anyone in the group for once.
"Well… I'm not sure where we should even begin our search now," X replied, pulling off his helmet off after Bass finished speaking. He put it on the ground and then gently sat on it. "But… with whatever those things are chasing us, our movement's just been restricted. Any ideas how we can get past this?"
"Not really," Zero returned, spinning the handle of his Z-Saber in his hand idly. "Those guards are persistent. We probably would get tracked down in a matter of moments if we went anywhere populated."
"This place sucks," Bass added. "Since when do the authorities go off on a drop of a hat like that?"
"More importantly," Blues cut in. "Just who is this Zero they called a Maverick? And on what grounds did he become one?"
"I hope Zero didn't get infected with the Virus," Rock said worriedly.
"One way or another though, we still don't know why things are happening the way they are," X said, his eyes pointed to the ceiling. "If only we knew what to do about those guard drones."
"Yeah, what if they find us here?" Rock asked.
"We fight our way out, of course," Zero answered, giving his wrist a flick as he spun the saber hilt again. "But I doubt they'll find us here for now. I think we have this whole building to ourselves."
"Don't be so sure about that," Blues said softly, his visor pointed in the direction of an open side compartment of one of the storage containers that acted as the eastern wall of the clearing. The inside of the container was pitch dark. "I'm quite sure we have company."
"You don't think…" X started, but didn't finish.
"I do," Bass armed his buster and pointed it at the compartment. "And I'll blast it now, if I have to."
"No, there's no sense resorting to violence." Blues rose from his box and smoothed out his scarf. "You there! In the container! I see you! Come on out. We won't hurt you!" No response. "You don't trust us, huh? Don't blame you. But I know you're in there; just come out. You've nothing to fear from us."
There was silence for another moment. Then tentatively, a female reploid emerged from the darkness. She looked around twenty-three in human years, with pretty but nondescript features, light brown hair, and matching eyes. She wore clothes similar to the reploids they had seen outside. Her jumpsuit was black, and she wore blue pants and a lavender vest.
Close behind her was another reploid, a slightly older looking male. His hair was deep blue, with blue eyes that darted between the strangers cautiously. He wore a dark gray vest with cobalt pants and a black jumpsuit. Both looked tired and ragged, their clothing aged and dirty as though they had been in the warehouse for a very long time. They looked with guarded suspicion at their unwanted guests.
The male finally spoke. "...Who are you?"
"Reploids who've found themselves waist deep in trouble," Bass replied, surprisingly coolly. "What about you?" There was no response to his question, and he frowned slightly.
"We seem to have ticked off those stupid blue robots," Zero stated, slipping his Z-Saber back into its place on his back. "They chased us all the way out here."
"You're Mavericks?" the woman asked, a slight flicker of fear crossing her face. The man looked similarly troubled.
"Mavericks? Hardly!" Rock piped up, in what he hoped was a reassuring voice. "It was just a misunderstanding… we accidentally knocked into one of the patrol guards and they decided to attack us."
The two reploids turned to look at each other, then back at Rock. "So you were falsely accused of being Mavericks?" the man asked.
"Yeah, looks that way," Blues said, walking over to one of the rusty containers and leaning up against it. "What about you two? What are you doing in an unpleasant place like this?"
Another glance was exchanged between them, and the man gave a slight nod to the woman. "We're… on the run too," he said.
"For what?" X asked, blinking. "You don't look particularly dangerous."
The woman laughed slightly, but still sounded nervous. "...We were falsely branded as Mavericks, just like you. The Pantheons are willing to target whatever and whoever gets in their way."
Pantheons, Rock thought. That must be what those pushy machines are called... He glanced over at X. The blue Hunter was frowning, arms folded over his knees, watching the two reploids intently.
"So, do you two have names?" Bass asked.
"My name is Simone," the woman replied. She put a hand on the man's shoulder. "This is my husband, Jean-Luc."
"Nice to meet you," X smiled. "...If I may be so bold, may I ask why you were branded Maverick?"
She paused a moment, looking to the floor. "Because we chose to stand up for our rights."
"What do you mean?" Rock asked. "What's wrong with your rights?" This statement earned a powerful glare from both of them, then an expression of great confusion. "...What? What'd I say?"
"You… how could you not know?" Simone asked, startled. "You're a reploid too! You should know as well as us the injustices we suffer at the hands of Dr. Weil."
"Um, well... I um..." Rock fumbled for a decent alibi. "I just had my memory wiped a couple of days ago. I… I don't remember anything about this place."
"That's what happened to all of us," Zero said, running with the story. "I can't even remember who built me and why."
"How did you know your memories were wiped?" Jean-Luc asked, looking at Rock.
"The ones who did it taunted us about it," Bass said smoothly, folding his arms. His face turned sour, and he looked away. "And then they dumped us onto the street. We decided to stick together to be safe, but... it hasn't worked out very well."
"That sounds like something Weil's agents would do." Simone sighed and walked closer to them. She sat down on the cold concrete floor, and Jean-Luc sat next to her and took her hand. Both reploids now looked much more sympathetic than afraid, meeting strangers who were seemingly worse off than even they were. "I'm sorry to hear that… I don't know if your fate is worse than death or not."
"Well, I guess we're a little late to try to stop Weil's pet Maverick Hunters from hunting you down," Jean-Luc said, his tone regretful. "But at least you are still alive."
"Maverick Hunters?" X asked, trying to mask the surprise of hearing his organization being referred to in such a manner by such kind-sounding reploids. "And who is Weil? You've mentioned him a couple of times."
"He's the dictator of this city," Simone answered. "He took over not too long ago, but he's already spreading his influence quickly and violently. He rules over all of Neo Arcadia with an iron fist. He's a horrible man."
"He's revoked any semblance of rights from reploids," Jean-Luc added. "We have no freedom of speech, no freedom of movement, no freedom of choice in anything. We're essentially slaves to his operations." He shrugged. "There's even a rumor floating around that he's considering outlawing names for us and making us go only by our operating numbers. We can do nothing, except work and die."
The time-travelers looked at one another, horrified at this turn of events. X in particular looked stunned, and Zero reached out and placed a steadying hand on his friend's shoulder.
Blues glanced at his brothers, then turned to the couple again. "How did this happen? Why haven't other humans stepped up to challenge this?" he asked quietly. "Surely there are some who believe in reploid equality, right?"
"Everyone in the city is afraid of Weil," said Simone, shrugging. "And, well, reploid rights weren't anything to speak of even before Dr. Weil took control from the Maverick Hunters."
"Wait, the Maverick Hunters were the governing force in Neo Arcadia?" X asked, puzzled.
"Yes," Jean-Luc answered, grimly. "The humans here feared a violent Maverick rebellion so much that they let the Maverick Hunters, led by the war hero Mega Man X, rule the city."
Zero's eyes immediately shot over to X. He could tell X was reeling from this news. His exterior appeared relatively calm, but his widened eyes betrayed him. The other three appeared similarly alarmed, but wisely, none spoke.
"Mega Man X?" X asked softly, his eyes latching on to the two reploids.
Simone's fingers trailed in the dust, drawing intricate patterns of people and places long gone. "They say he was once a great champion of Reploid rights," she said, sketching an image in the dirt — a faceless reploid, in a helmet with a jewel. "But after the Elf Wars, Mega Man X changed… When he was given total control of Neo Arcadian arms and armies, he clamped down viciously. He suddenly ordered that all reploids' property rights be revoked, and ordered all reploids not serving in the Maverick Hunters to be absolutely subservient of humans. Any reploid who questioned this order was immediately silenced by retirement."
"Even then, the humans weren't satisfied," Jean-Luc said. "They wanted Mega Man X to remove our rights of freedom of speech and expression. They also wanted to demonize us by refusing to let us marry because we aren't actually 'alive.' X granted these wishes without a second's hesitation."
"That's… horrible," X said, looking down at the ground. "How… how could he do something like that? To his own people?"
"I don't know," said Simone, shrugging. "X also revoked the right of due process for reploids. Any reploid who does anything remotely out of line is branded a Maverick and either terminated or reprogrammed immediately. Those Pantheon guard units were a symbol of X's hold over us. They were made in his image to remind us all of him. They show no mercy to anyone or anything."
"Surely someone must've resisted this change," Blues stated, looking them both over carefully from behind his visor. "You've already said you're here because you stood up for your rights. There must be others."
"What exactly did you do?" Zero asked.
"Well... as you know, we are absolutely subservient to the humans… so we are forced to work where they say so," Jean-Luc said, looking Zero in the eye. "I was once an employee in an electronics plant in western Neo Arcadia. Simone here worked in the same factory. We worked together for a very long time; that's where we met, and that's where we fell in love."
"We scarcely got to see each other outside work," Simone said, nodding, "though there were times we managed to sneak out and meet each other in secret. We were always on guard, afraid the Pantheons would find us. But we were lucky; we were never caught."
"Then one day while at work," Jean-Luc continued, "I received a notice that I would be transferred to the northeastern Neo Arcadian arms plant, where they manufacture Pantheons and the Maverick Hunter's feared Golem units. That arms plant in particular has a notorious reputation. Countless reploid workers die there because of horrible safety conditions. But there are even worse rumors about that place. Sometimes, a Golem is activated before its safety protocols are programmed in and it rampages through the factory, killing any reploid in its way. Typically, they are deactivated by the Maverick Hunters stationed there, but not before they watch the workers get ripped limb from limb."
"He came to me with the news," Simone said. "I was devastated. He was the only person who really cared about me… and I loved him. I couldn't sit aside as he was sent to his death." She visibly held his hand tighter. "We did the only thing we could do. We ran away. We deserted our jobs and fled. We've eluded capture since, hiding wherever we can. Those Pantheons still continue to hunt us to this day."
"How long ago did this happen?" Blues asked.
"It's been… about three and a half weeks, I think." Jean-Luc answered. "But… I can honestly say… that the decision to run was the best I've ever made." A smile tugged at his lips slightly. "Though we live in fear, it's no different than before. At least now, no one can tell Simone and I that we're not married." He raised his left hand, revealing an old steel nut on his ring finger. Rock noticed Simone had a matching one. "Out here, we're free, even if we live in complete destitution. And that's enough for me."
"So because you were already on the run anyway, you decided to say you were married, huh?" Bass asked. "Good for you."
X still looked stunned by the state of this era and the couple's story. Rock wasn't feeling much different himself. He had thought 21XX was a horrible time period, but it was nothing in comparison to the terror that presided over this age. And he could only imagine what X was feeling, knowing that not only had his efforts to help the planet been completely undone, but that he had been part of the cause...
No, Rock told himself firmly. X would never do something like that. There has to be an explanation. We just have to find it.
"Did you run into any others who fled like you?" Blues asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.
"Yes, now and then we've met with other escaped reploids," Jean-Luc replied. "But… many of them have been caught by Pantheons and died. It's only a matter of time until we're found out here. But we don't care. Death together is better than life as a slave."
"Now you're talking!" Bass said. "That's the way more reploids need to start thinking if they want their rights back."
"You have a lot of spirit, you know. It's amazing you're still alive." Simone laughed lightly. "But… there is hope for reploids, I think."
"What do you mean?" Rock asked, looking up.
"There's an organized reploid resistance movement outside of Neo Arcadia," Jean-Luc answered. "They continually perform guerilla operations against the Maverick Hunters and now against Dr. Weil and his forces. They're fighting as hard as they can to change things. And believe it or not, the Resistance is being led by a human."
"Yes, I believe her name was Dr. Ciel," Simone added. "I don't know if that information is true or not… it's only what we've heard through rumor and Neo Arcadian propaganda."
"Though we do have the Resistance to blame for the recent clampdown," Jean-Luc said. "It's rumored that a reploid with a glowing blade slew Mega Man X. That's how Weil came to power. X named Weil his second in command, and when X died at the hands of this mystery reploid, Weil took over and began his reign of terror."
"Weil's worse than X could ever hope to be," Simone continued after Jean-Luc finished. "Weil not only targets reploids with the harshest legislation, he's beginning to put the humans in a bind as well. He's slowly taking their rights one by one… but humans are too concerned with their own safety to notice."
"They'll begin to, eventually," Blues said, leaning back against the wall.
"Hey, um…" X finally broke his silence. "You mentioned a war earlier. What was it?"
"The Elf Wars?" Simone asked. X nodded. "That was a major turning point in history. …I guess considering you don't have any memory of anything, you don't remember what a Cyber Elf is, do you?"
"No, could you tell us?" X replied.
"A Cyber Elf is a strange little thing," said Simone, sketching a small fairy-like creature in the dirt, beside the drawing of X. "It's like a computer program given physical form. They're not that much different than reploids in some regards; many of them have minds of their own and can think and talk. I used one of them in the plant to help me work more efficiently. It would help me identify faulty electronics. Basically, those little programs assist reploids. I guess they're not unlike mythical fairies."
"They sound very useful."
"Oh, they are," said Jean-Luc. "Perhaps too useful, really… that's why the Elf Wars started. Cyber Elves were new technology, and the Mavericks wanted them too. I'm not too sure on the specifics in that war aside from how it started and what came out of it, though. Things just… became very bad, very quickly. The Mavericks were very powerful, and the Cyber Elves only made them stronger. The Maverick Hunters were completely overwhelmed. The only reason why humanity won that war was because of Mega Man X and another reploid hero named Zero…"
Zero tried not to react, glancing over at X. His friend continued watching Jean-Luc. "What happened then?" he asked.
"When the war finally ended… ninety percent of all reploids in the world were dead. And it killed more than just reploids. Most of the planet was turned into wasteland, and is still uninhabitable. As for the humans… about sixty percent of the world's population died."
"Sixty percent? And ninety percent?" Rock exclaimed. The others made similar noises of shock and disbelief.
"That's when times for reploids shifted," said Jean-Luc. "They say that before... reploids were almost on the same status as humans. They could own property, control their own lives... but the fighting changed everything." He shook his head. "The war caused a catastrophic energy crisis. Energy Crystals, which we use for power, have become increasingly scarce. The reploids and the Elf Wars, which they had supposedly caused, were blamed for the crisis. That's when our persecution really began. Energy Crystals are essential for a reploid's prolonged survival, and we use up quantities of them sufficient enough to be noticeable. The public needed a scapegoat. We were it."
"But what about X and Zero?" Rock asked. "If they'd fought for reploids, surely they wouldn't allow humans to just blame them like that..."
"Unfortunately, after the Elf Wars ended, both X and Zero disappeared for quite some time," said Jean-Luc. "X reappeared eventually and was given control of the Maverick Hunters. Zero, on the other hand… he's never reappeared."
Zero exchanged a glance with Bass, and then one with X. He returned his view to the two refugee reploids as Jean-Luc continued to speak.
"X's return brought on everything we told you before... and what is worse, when he began these oppressive new laws, he had any resisters brought to prison camps for… retirement. This ensured he remained in power..."
"Retirement," Zero scoffed. "It's just a pretty word for murder."
"And the humans continue to let this happen?" Bass demanded. "Why? Are they stupid, or what?"
"I don't know, my friend." Jean-Luc said, quietly. "But that's why things are the way they are here… I'm sorry you had to learn it like this, but it's better you know than to wander around without a clue."
"I can't believe it…" X said, despairingly. "How is this possible?"
"It's… disheartening, to say the very least," Simone sighed. "And with Weil's grip on Neo Arcadia tightening every day, things are only going to get worse. Our only hope for a better future rests in the hands of the Resistance…"
"But that's only if they can defeat Weil. And then we hope the former Guardians of X don't ever come back," Jean-Luc said flatly.
"Guardians of X?" X asked, looking up.
"They were once X's right-hand reploids, and his protectors," Jean-Luc replied. "There were four of them, and they were each generals in the Maverick Hunters. I don't know too much about them, except they had their own specialties in combat… but their names escape me. All I know is that when Weil entered power, he dismissed them from service. They've disappeared since then. It's hard to say where they ended up."
Simone shrugged. "Most likely they were 'retired.' Good riddance, I say. They followed X's orders without question every time. They were probably as twisted as he was."
"I see," said X quietly. "Is there anything else you can tell us about Neo Arcadia?"
"Plenty," said Jean-Luc, "but you know enough of the basics now to know how this place works. If you're a reploid, you're basically not welcome."
"We gathered." Zero shifted uncomfortably, then rose. He paced slowly back and forth across the clearing, his blonde hair swaying with each step.
"Your hair is really pretty, you know," Simone noted, smiling. "I wish mine looked that nice. Or Jean-Luc's, better yet." Her husband made an indignant noise and then laughed.
"Thanks," Zero said, returning her smile. "I guess I used to pride myself on my hair."
"Well, what do we do now?" Bass asked. "Do you think those Pantheons have moved on?"
"Not likely. But I'll go have a look. There're some windows over on the wall nearby." Zero smiled, and walked out of the clearing, his metallic footsteps very audible on the cold concrete floor.
"Even if they have moved on, where do we go next, anyway?" Bass questioned.
"Wherever we can, I guess," Rock replied. "But what about you two? What will you do?"
"Us? We'll stay here," Simone calmly answered. "This… is our home. For now, at least. We're safe here, and this is the closest thing we can have to actually owning property or having a true place for ourselves, so we'll just stick it out. I hope all of you stay safe. It's nice to see other Reploids that are kind and are willing to stand up for themselves."
"Guys… we have a problem!" Zero came dashing back in with his thrusters. "Pantheons. They've surrounded the whole place and they're heading for the entrance."
"What? They found us here?" Rock exclaimed.
Simone looked at her husband fearfully, and he gave her a weak smile in return. "Well… we had a good run, Simone. I don't have any regrets." Jean-Luc hugged her tightly.
"Don't be so sure it's over yet." Bass got up from his box and put his hands on his hips, and turned to Zero. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"You bet," Zero reached for his Z-Saber and spun the handle in his hand again. "You with us, Rock, Blues?"
"You know it!" Rock replied, happily. "We can do it!"
"Guess I better go to keep you kids out of trouble," Blues replied with one of his wry smiles.
"You're going to fight them?" Simone asked, startled.
"Of course," Zero replied, grinning. "And we're going to win. You two hang tight and don't worry about anything." He looked over to X. "You ready?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a second. You guys go ahead," X replied. Blues gave a quick nod and ushered Rock and Bass out of the clearing. Zero sent a quick but solemn look to X, and then turned for the exit.
"Aren't you going to go help your friends?" Jean-Luc asked.
"Of course," X replied. "I… I just have something to say first."
Simone smiled lightly. "Well, go ahead."
X stood, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "After… everything you've been through, you've still held on. My hopes go with you that you'll continue to survive. I don't know if we'll ever see you again, but never give up to them." He picked up his helmet and turning away from them.
"Well… thank you. We'll try our best," said Simone, as she and Jean-Luc stood as well. "...By the way… you may not remember your 'real' name, but… what do they call you?"
The blue Hunter paused. Wordlessly, he put his helmet on his head. The red crystal shone brightly in the darkness. "They call me… X." He turned around, and gave a quick smile. The two Reploids' eyes widened in shock. "Leave those Pantheons to us. Your secret is safe, so don't you worry. Good luck to you both!" X then quickly turned and dashed away, leaving a pair of completely stunned Reploids in his wake.
------
Outside, the others were already deep in battle with a large group of Pantheons.
"I'm not the droid you're looking for!" Zero exclaimed, cutting a pair of drones in half with his Z-Saber.
"I can't believe you just said that!" Bass shouted at him, blasting a nearby robot with a charged shot.
"Hey, I fight with a freakin' beam saber. I'm allowed to make jokes now and then."
"Shut up, Zero," Bass replied.
"We've gotta get out of here!" Rock shouted. "How many more of these things are there?"
"A lot," Blues stated bluntly, pointing to the incoming reinforcements. "They must really want you dead, Zero."
"Well, with all the other people after my head, they can get in line." Zero snorted, slicing more Pantheons apart with a light swing of his arm. "Where the heck is X, anyway?"
"Right here!" X shouted, dashing in while firing a charged blast.
"About time, X! And you always call me late to the battle," Zero joked, bringing his saber around to a defensive position. "Now, let's clear out the rest of these chumps!"
A new wave of Pantheons flooded toward them, arm cannons pointed in their direction, ready to fire. They closed to within buster range, and the party trained their weapons on them.
"They never give up, do they?" Bass demanded.
"I just wish they would stand down!" X shouted over the charging hums of his friends' weapons.
Then a ripple went through the Pantheons. Rock watched, startled, as the drones suddenly broke off their attack, their weapons arms dropping to their sides. The startled time-travelers halted their assault as well as one drone stepped forward from the throng, its red eye switching to green. It paused, then suddenly snapped to attention. The other Pantheons immediately did the same.
"What the hell?" Bass said, watching the Pantheons swiftly drop their guard.
"Did they... listen to me?" X asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I get it!" Rock exclaimed. "Remember what Simone and Jean-Luc told us? X was the leader of the Maverick Hunters! These things are probably programmed to follow his orders!"
"Heh, if this time period wasn't so screwed up, that'd be convenient," Blues mused.
"What are your orders, Master X?" said the lead Pantheon, giving a stiff salute.
"Take your men and return to base immediately," X said, not missing a beat. "That's an order, soldier. Move out!"
"Sir? Our orders are to terminate the Maverick Zero on sight. Do you not wish us to proceed with our mission?"
"Don't you know how to listen?" X demanded. "Get back to base and leave this Maverick to me!"
"Sir, yes sir!" The Pantheon soldier saluted once more, and then spun back to his comrades. They followed suit immediately and began marching en masse back toward the center of Neo Arcadia.
After they left earshot and line of sight, X turned to his friends and gave a shrug. "Who knew it would end up being so easy?"
"We don't know how much longer that's going to work though," Blues said. "You're supposed to be dead. I'm amazed it worked at all." He converted his buster back into his hand and then adjusted his scarf. "Well, let's not waste a gift. I think we should leave the city for now until we have a better plan."
"Well, if Sigma and Wily are here, they're probably somewhere in Neo Arcadia. What good would hiding outside the city do us?" Bass asked, for once actually not sounding sour.
"First, the Maverick Hunters are looking for us," said Blues, folding his arms. "Or rather, Zero here. Second, when those Pantheons report that they saw Mega Man X, I'd rather not be anywhere near the manhunt they start. They might not find us immediately in such a large city, but with the casualties we inflicted today, they're going to be out for blood before long. The wastelands are more remote and I'm sure we can find a place to lay low for awhile. They might not think to look for us out there, and I'd prefer to go undetected for as long as possible." He looked away from the center of the city, turning to his youngest brother. "Sound good, X?"
The blue Hunter nodded. "Yeah. And I'd rather not draw any more attention to this area, not with Simone and Jean-Luc still here…"
"Good, then it's settled." Zero smiled. "We'll head out to the sands and wait there!"
"Well, come on, let's go before they decide to come back!" Rock started moving towards the outskirts of town, the others following quickly behind.
------
They had hiked a good distance from the city. The sun was quickly dipping below the horizon; night would fall very soon. The desolate wasteland's winds howled like earlier, though now they were picking up a nasty chill. However, the supposed peace Blues had hoped for was in vain. Not long into their trek the Pantheons had caught up and followed. Every step of the way they were hounded by jetpack drones, and now dropships full of Pantheon troopers were chasing them down. The group was eventually pinned near an old set of ruins, with enemies coming in from all sides. By now, it was all but dark.
"Hey X! Why don't you tell our new friends to get lost?" Bass demanded, taking cover behind an ancient, battered stone wall.
"I'd love to, Bass, but I can't exactly order them around from here!" X shouted back over the sounds of plasma bullets whizzing past.
"Well, you'd better do something fast, or that army's going to make scrap metal out of all of us, kid!" Zero shouted back at him. "Unless we decide to break through, that is!"
"Fine, fine, I'll try talking to them!" X crawled toward one of the lower walls where he spotted the lead Pantheon was.
"X! Be careful! What if they shoot at you?" Rock called over.
"Then we'll shoot back at them, rockhead!" Bass called back. "X, go ahead, we'll give you covering fire if you need it!"
Taking a deep breath, X prepared his voice to shout louder than he ever had before.
"Troops! Hold your fire!"
The whizzing plasma shots stopped briefly, and X stood up from cover and approached the troops slowly and deliberately. X put a stern frown on his face as he drew closer, and then when he was within arms' reach of the commanding unit, he folded his arms and glared at him. "Just what do you think you're doing, soldier?"
"Following Dr. Weil's order to terminate the Maverick Zero, sir!"
"Soldier, are you aware of what you've been doing?"
"Sir?"
"You've been attacking your commanding officer! What the bloody hell were you thinking? I told the battalion in the city to leave this Maverick to me!"
"But Master X, what are you doing out here?"
"This is why you're a grunt! If we fight in Neo Arcadia, we directly put the humans in danger! That is not the Maverick Hunter way. I will kill this Maverick out here, where no one else will get hurt."
"Yes sir, Master X!"
"Round up your men and take them back to headquarters! I don't want to see any of them again until I return! Is that clear?"
"Sir, yes sir!" The Pantheon spun around. "All units, begin the extraction immediately!"
X continued to stand with a contemptuous look on his face as he watched each of the Pantheon units pile into their dropships and move out. It was at a slow pace, but eventually, only a single group of troops remained, including the commanding Pantheon.
"Sir, the last troops are withdrawing. Do you have any more orders?"
"No. Just don't come back. I will handle Zero personally. He will not escape this time."
Suddenly, a new voice sounded from over a nearby sand dune. "Oh, really?"
"What?" X said. Before he could catch glimpse of the voice's owner, the commanding Pantheon exploded violently. Jumping backwards as shards of super-heated metal fell around him, he spun around, searching for the cause of the explosion. The few remaining Pantheon soldiers turned as well, and took aim at something nearby. This time, X did manage to see what exactly was attacking. It dashed forward at the Pantheons in a red and green blur, and in a matter of seconds reduced them to scrap.
The mysterious assailant then turned to X. Clad in a blue jumpsuit with bright crimson boots, gloves, and vest, he held an oddly shaped beam saber in his right hand, and a buster pistol in his left. His helmet carried two very recognizable spikes at the top. His long, blonde hair flowed in the desert wind. The Reploid's cobalt eyes focused on the blue Hunter, a deadly gaze that was all too familiar. X's vocal systems nearly malfunctioned as he choked out a single word.
"…Zero?"