=?iso-8859-1?B?ZG90Y2hhbg==?=
26th November 2003, 03:00 AM
Further notes on my idea so far at
http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=dotchan&keyword=Megaman/Rockman&filter=all
And helpfully labled by the 'fic title
Disclaimer: Megaman Battle Network and related characters are copyright by Capcom. I'm just borrowing them for my own nefarious ends.
---
RockmanX.exe
an experiment by Dot
---
"Good morning, professor, or perhaps I should say good afternoon."
Dr. Gregory Cain washed down his daily dose of aspirin with the rest of his coffee and glared at X.exe, who grinned back at him from the main screen. "Very funny, X. Where's Sophia?"
"She went out to the webcafe hours ago. She left you breakfast in the fridge, though. Would you like me to have Auto heat it up and bring it here?"
"That'd be nice, thanks." Dr. Cain pulled a chair up to the computer and opened the infrared panel. He had to keep himself from looking away as the linkup threatened to make his headache even worse than it already was. It took him a few moments to re-orient himself as the virtual world blinked into existence around him.
X stood waiting expectantly, the project files already open around him. "This time, I'm going to make you take a break at least once every hour," he said teasingly.
Dr. Cain groaned. "Not you too, X. I get enough of Sophia's nagging as it is."
"And obviously she doesn't do a particularly good job of it if you're still doing marathon coding sessions like you did yesterday. I hope you haven't been around programs so long that you've forgotten you still need sleep."
Dr. Cain raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win. But only because I know you'll never let me hear the end of it."
X's expression softened. "This is really important to you, isn't it?"
Dr. Cain nodded. "He's like a son to me, X." he ran a hand over the code. "This is the least I can do for him."
***
"What are you doing?"
Completely startled, Sophia pulled back and found herself staring into her "patient's" blood red eyes. "You...you can talk!" she stammered, almost putting her hand through his chest again.
"Of course I can talk," he snapped, looking annoyed. "I'm light years beyond those primitive Navis that can only say their names over and over again."
Sophia blinked. "You're a Navi? But you look so real!"
He eyed her dismissively, poking a finger at her shoulder. "Says Miss Hologram."
"Oh, that." She scratched her chin thoughtfully. "I think it's because Persona can't handle objects that don't have the protocol kernel."
He frowned. "Mind speaking English?"
"Oh, sorry about the technobabble. Basically, your code isn't compatible with mine, so we can't interact."
"Whatever. Just keep your 'code' to yourself." His eyes shifted to look at something behind her, and scowled. "Move."
Sophia blinked. "What?"
Instead of replying, the Navi jumped to his feet. Sophia yelped as his data collided with hers, displacing it as easily as one might a cloud of smoke. The Navi continued, charging at whatever had caught his attention earlier. By the time Sophia managed to reorient herself, the Navi and his unknown assailant had already exchanged several blows and was now chasing each other across the area, fighting at speeds too quick for Sophia to follow.
'What in the world is going on?' Sophia wondered as she found the signal blocked when she attempted to call for help. She tried to catch sight of the two combatants, to no avail. She backed up, away from the general direction of the battle, continuing to look for an exit or a way to contact anyone.
And then, just as soon as it began, it ended, with the Navi standing triumphant, albeit a bit unsteadily. The other one was not so lucky, disappearing in a spray of data.
"Che, losers," the Navi muttered, clenching and unclenching his fist until Sophia could hear his knuckles pop.
Sophia couldn't help but stare at the Navi's injuries. Try as she might, she couldn't convince herself that it was anything but blood that seeped from his body. "Are you...going to be all right?"
"Do I look alright to you?" The sword disappeared back into his arm cannon. "Whatever. I'm getting out of here before it gets swarmed with more losers that want to prove themselves."
"Wait!" Sophia called as the Navi turned to leave. "Our house isn't networked--my Dad's paranoid like that--so nobody would find you if I put you on my computer." She scratched her chin, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. "Plus, I'd like to think of myself as a halfway decent programmer, so maybe I could, you know, patch you up a bit."
He cast a single backwards glance her way, arching an eyebrow in amusement. "Are you propositioning me?"
Sophia felt her face flush. "How can I? I don't even know your name yet."
This time he turned to face her, smirking. "Zero.exe, but just call me Zero. And what about you, cutie?"
"Sophia," she barely managed to get out, even redder than before. "Sophia Cain."
***
To Sophia's relief, she no longer remained ghostly to Zero once she brought him into her hard drive. She conjured a comfortable sofa for him to relax on--an operating table would have just been entirely too odd--and then busied herself with closing his wounds as her helper Mettools began scanning him for any serious damage.
"Amazing," Sophia breathed as she got a closer look at his code. A lesser Navi could not have survived the level of corruption Zero's files sectors showed. Jagged scars were visible in the places where he used bits of his defeated opponents to form a makeshift patches. As she continued to examine him, Sophia could not help but marvel at Zero's abilities and sheer will to survive. 'So the stories weren't just exaggerations, after all.'
Sophia cursed inwardly as she heard the sound of a message window popping up and X stepped through a door he had generated for himself. She had forgotten about him entirely. "Hey, Sophia! You're back early. I thought you would just stay online until after the Developers' meeting." He turned a quizzical eye on Zero, then back to Sophia and grinned. "Well, well, this is interesting. And just as I thought you'd be a spinster forever, you bring back such a cute-looking guy."
Sophia blushed again. "This isn't what it looks like!"
X smirked. "Sure it isn't. Don't worry, I won't tell Dr. Cain." He turned his gaze to Zero and contemplated him for a moment. "Have we...met before?"
"I doubt it," Zero answered coldly. "No Navi I've met has ever walked away to tell the tale."
X raised an eyebrow at this, but he didn't lose his cheerful demeanor. "Well, there's a first time for everything." He approached Zero, extending a hand. "I'm X. Nice to meet you."
Zero glanced at X's hand, but didn't take it. "Zero. The feeling isn't mutual."
X backed away, arms up in a concilliatory gesture. "Fine, I can take a hint." He refocused his attention back to Sophia. "I'll call you before you have to attend that meeting, okay?"
By now, Sophia managed to compose herself. "Actually, give me a yell about an hour and a half earlier, so I can make dinner."
X tilted his head at her. "You know, for a geek, you sure like to cook a lot."
"For a Navi, you sure like to think with your butt a lot," Zero interjected.
Sophia bit back a giggle as X actually managed to look somewhat embarassed at that remark. "Okay, okay, I'm going already," he muttered, exiting the area.
"That wasn't very nice," she chided Zero lightly, despite being somewhat grateful that she didn't have to endure any more of X's teasing.
Zero shrugged. "I'm not nice."
"I'll say you aren't," Sophia replied as she read the reports the Mets were giving back to her. Despite his battered form, his core kernels had remaind surprisingly intact, although there seemed to be some indication that some traumatic blow had been dealt to them a long time ago. The only remains of this injury were a few lines that didn't quite yet mesh with the rest of the core, but that was nothing compared to his other scars.
"So, 'doc'," Zero began, with only a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice this time. "What's the prognosis?"
Sophia coughed lightly to keep herself from chuckling. "You're out of any immediate danger, but it'll be a while before your most recent injuries are healed." She did another quick scan of him to confirm this. "Plus, you've accumulated quite a bit of junk code that'll take a while to clear out of your system."
Zero shrugged again. "I'll live. Besides, I've inconvenienced you enough."
"Oh, it was no problem."
Before the conversation could continue much further, X barged back in, looking panicked. "Sophia! SOPHIA! Dr. Cain has--" he gasped, his obvious distress making him incoherent. "Dr. Cain--"
Sophia winced as she pried X's hands from her arms. "Calm down and talk slowly so I can understand you."
X took in several large gulps of air before he continued. "We were in the lab, working on the Project as usual, when Dr. Cain suddenly collapsed and dropped offline! I think," and here he drew in another shaky breath. "I think he's having a heart attack."
Sophia felt her own heart leap into her throat, but steeled her nerve. Someone had to be the calm, rational one, and X obviously wasn't. "Call an ambulance. Get Auto to monitor his vital signs and plug him in so you can log into his bioware. Then see if you can stabilize him from there. I'll catch up in a minute."
X nodded wordlessly, rushing back out of the room.
"I suppose this is a bad time to ask for a lift back to the 'net," Zero wondered out loud, getting to his feet.
Sophia whistled for Eddie.exe, who quickly appeared and hopped onto her shoulder. "Actually, I'm going to accompany my father to the hospital, and I can upload you from there." She reached behind her ear and disabled her firewall, hoping that her CPU was large enough to handle Zero. "But I'd have to temporarily install you onto my bioware to do that, because PETs would interfere with the other electronic equipment."
"As long as I don't have to be in the same space as _that_ guy." Zero thumbed in the direction X had disappeared to, "I don't care if I have to go in a cage."
"Good." She opened the portal, extending her hand to him. "Get in, then."
They touched.
***
Sigma.exe's lip curled into a sneer as he stabbed his saber into the Reploid. Weak. They were all weak. But then, what did he expect from an imperfect copy?
A sudden burst of data in the distance caught his attention. A phone call to a hospital in a city...no, he corrected himself. _That_ city.
More data. A name. Cain, Gregory, Ph. D in Computer Engineering.
Now, Sigma smirked.
"Told you you couldn't hide forever," he murmured, kicking aside the remains of the defeated Reploid. He quickly found the shortest route to the hospital where the dispatched ambulance was returning to.
It was time for a reunion.
***
Watching X pace helped Sophia focus on something other than all the things that could go wrong while her father was on the operating table. She also took the time to mail the Developer's group, telling them of what happened, and apologizing for not being able to attend the meeting. They would understand, of course, but it was still best to tell them herself of all the details instead of letting them linger in idle speculation. Soon, they replied with a slew of condolences for both her and Dr. Cain. Some even sent their Navis to the hospital to send a much more personal message.
Soon, the chatroom was filled with Navis who were either consoling Sophia or trying to get X's autograph. Even some of the hospital's idle Navi dropped by to say a few ords. Sophia let the background noise wash over her, keeping her face a stoic mask.
"Attention, attention," a computerized voice announced, both in the real and virtual worlds, giving Sophia an odd sense of vertigo. "Will security please report to the firewall as soon as possible. Thank you."
It was only when the request was repeated a third time that Sophia realized its meaning. "Sigma," she whispered, her legs giving away beneath her.
X was the first to hear her, and immediately his expression turned grim. "Jack me in. Those Navi won't stand a chance against Sigma."
A chorus of "me too!" sprang up as the other Navi volunteered their services.
Sophia forced herself to stand firm, fighting back the tears that threatened to blur her vision. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
***
Sigma regarded the cloaked figure that blocked his path. "So, you must be Zero, the so-called infamous Navi Killer."
Zero kept his saber near his side, but met Sigma's gaze full on. "And you must be Sigma, the equally infamous so-called Maverick Hunter."
"Touche," Sigma clicked his tongue. "In your case, however, I highly doubt that such a reputation is deserved."
Zero raised an eyebrow. "Care to test that?"
"Another day, perhaps. Now, I've got a bone to pick with Dr. Cain, and I'm not about to let anyone stop me." With one brisk swing of his own saber he decapitated a fallen Navi. "So unless you want to end up like these guards, I suggest you move."
Zero scoffed lightly. "Are you kidding? I eat Navis like these for breakfast."
"That so?" Sigma darted behind Zero, intending to skewer the lavender Navi in the back. He had to hold back a grin as Zero blocked easily and countered with a flurry of blows. At long last, he had found a worthy opponent! Unlike that pansy, X, Zero definitely wouldn't think twice about destroying his opponent, and he certainly had a very good chance to if Sigma didn't take him seriously.
Sigma pulled back beyond the firewall, drawing Zero with him. He didn't want anyone to interrupt his fun, not even the rapildly appoaching brigade of cannon fodder. And the "good" doctor wouldn't be out of surgery for at least another few hours anyway.
The reunion could wait.
***
X felt mildly ill as he surveyed the carnage before him. The Navi here were all injured beyond repair, and except for one guard whose head had been cleaved from his shoulders, Sigma had left the rest barely alive so that they would spend their last moments in agony.
"I don't care what Dr. Cain has said." X clenched his fists. "Sigma must be stopped. Now."
The others echoed his sentiments as they cautiously moved forward into the field of massacre. The debate on Sigma had often seesawed back and forth, with a majority of both humans and Navis supporting Dr. Cain's position. At present, however, it was safe to say that none present had any hope of Sigma ever being "made right" again. X long ago gave up on such a naive thought, but he held back for Dr. Cain's sake.
'Not any more,' X thought, charging his Buster. He couldn't sense Sigma's presence yet, but he was certain that Dr. Cain's first Reploid was not far from the firewall. After Sigma's first attempt on his creator's life, Dr. Cain had subsequently taken his house off the network, refusing to venture outside unless he absolutely had to.
Before X could ponder on the irony of the situation, he heard Armored_Armadillo.exe call him. "X! come here, quick."
X hurried as fast as he could, stepping gingerly between the bodies on his way to the edge of the firewall where Armored Armadillo was standing. "What's up, 'Double A'?"
"Take a look over there." Armored Armadillo pointed into the distance. "I can't make it out very well due to the interference, but I think I see Sigma fighting some Navi, _and they look evenly matched_."
For a brief moment, X almost asked Armored Armadillo if he were kidding, but thought better of it. He concentrated, focusing on the area indicated, thanking Sophia absently as she uploaded a chip to help increase the magnification factor of his sensors. He quickly recognized Sigma; X never forgot a fighting pattern, and Sigma's was brutally effective. Unlike before, though, it didn't seem to work too well on his opponent.
X felt his jaw almost unhinge as realization hit him. "Zero?!?"
Armored Armadillo seemed just as surprised. "You know him?"
X shook his head, still not quite believing his eyes. "I just met him. Sophia came across him on the 'net and brought him home for some reason. I even teased her about it." He peered at Zero again. "I thought he disappeared as soon as Sophia uploaded him right after she got to the emergency room. What's he doing back here?"
"He must have heard that Sigma was attacking. There's no way he would pass up on a fight like that. Zero's obliterated every Navi that's come his way so far, and even if most of them were reckless idiots out to make a name for themselves, that sill says a lot about how good he is. Practically everybody has heard of him."
"Well, I'm not everybody. But I guess I really do need to get out more. I had no idea Sophia was associating with a Navi like that." But Sophia must have at least known _something_, and that was what made X angry. 'I thought she was reckless before, but this...'
"I thought he was some sort of urban legend!" Sophia protested defensively, as if reading his mind. "I didn't even really start believing that he could have done all those things until I began checking his code!"
X was about to retort when Armored Armadillo gasped. "Oh my God! What the hell is _that_?!?"
An unmistakable sense of foreboding hit X as an immense energy buildup appeared behind Sigma. "Everybody pull out, NOW!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. He turned to Armored Armadillo. "Lend me your Rolling Shield chip."
The Navi in question stared at him. "X, you aren't--"
"The firewall won't be able to repair the damage Sigma's done to it in time. This is the only way the hospital's systems won't get totally fried." X thrust an open palm forward. "Hurry!"
"Oh, all right." Grumbling a bit, Armored Armadillo reached into his shell and pulled out a small, glowing object. "Take it. But if you die, I'm never speaking to you again."
X forced a smile. "Thanks, I think." He steeled his nerve as he waited for the chip to load, then took a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing!"
He stepped into the inferno.
***
"What's the matter, Zero?" Sigma taunted as Vanguard's mouth opened wider and wider. "Does the sight of my pet frighten you that much?"
Zero stood his ground, reading his own attack. "If it makes you feel better to think so, then sure." He fired a shot directly at Sigma's face.
Instinctively, Sigma raised his hands to block. When he lowered them again, Zero had changed to his right blaster and launched a shield with is curved interior facing Sigma.
Sigma sneered. Obviously the fright had indeed gotten to Zero, and in his panick he summoned his pathetic defenses backwards. "I hope you don't think that piece of junk will save you."
Zero leapt into the air. "As a matter of fact, yes."
Sigma let out a curse as he realized what Zero was doing. He fired wildly at Zero, who dodged effortlessly and bounced off the tip of his shield. Sigma broke into a run as Vanguard pivoted its head to realign its shot, only to be skewered on the roof of its mouth by Zero's sword.
***
X tested his limbs slowly, wincing as burning pain shot through them. Behind him, the firewall flickered, its self-repairing already functions kicking in. As long as it didn't suffer another major blow, it would stand. 'That was way too close. If Zero hadn't diverted the shot, I would have been toast for sure.'
He tried scanning the area, but his sensors were still swimming with information overload. At least he didn't seem to sustain any major damage from a potentially suicidal move; everything just hurt like hell.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
X couldn't help but gape. If it weren't for the bright blue gem in Sigma's forhead, X would not have recognized Dr. Cain's former Reploid. Gone was the long, silver hair (mostly a joke on Sophia's part) and the youthful face that had been a distant echo of his own. Instead, Sigma was now completely bald, and long, red scars ran across his cheeks as if he had raked across them with claws. "What happened to you?"
"I became superior, that's what." Sigma pointed his saber at X. "It's too bad you didn't die when Vanguard overloaded, because now I'll have to take you apart piece by piece."
"I don't think so."
Even taken by surprise, Sigma managed to parry the attack that came from behind him, jumping back to avoid being further pummeled. X once again found himself staring as Zero stood before him, holding what looked like length of rusted piping.
Sigma didn't look too pleased himself. "You--you took Vanguard's explosion full on and didn't die?!?"
Zero wiggled his right blaster. "I rode out the wave on that 'piece of junk' and grabbed onto a piece of the ceiling after it died down so I wouldn't go splat against the floor. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything about my guns shorting out, so I had to improvise." He gave the pipe a few swings. "I'll admit this doesn't look pretty, but it'll still do it's work."
X, still at a loss for words, said the first thing that came to his mind, namely, the blatantly obvious. "Zero! You're all right!"
Zero continued to face Sigma, although X suddenly had the feeling that he would be in for a bashing if that were not the case. "If I weren't, I would hardly be here trying to save your burnt bottom, would I?"
"I'd worry a more about my own welfare first if I were you!" Sigma shouted, charging at Zero.
***
Zero gritted his teath as Sigma's saber sliced a gash across his chest. 'Damn. Guess I'm more damaged than I thought. I should have been able to dodge that.' A wave of annoyance came over him as X put a hand on his shoulder. "What? I'm not dead yet."
Except X's attention wasn't really on Zero at all. "It doesn't have to end this way, Sigma."
Sigma scowled. "Not another one of your speeches, X. Either stand aside while I give Dr. Cain what's coming to him, or join your friend Zero in the big network in the sky."
"He's not my friend," Zero and X replied simultaneously, causing both of them to blink at each other.
"Whatever. I wouldn't care even if you were secretly dating each other." Sigma raised his saber. "You only have two choices, X: move or die."
"Funny, I was going to say the exact same thing to you," X answered, his demeanor turning grim.
---
Here's where I'm stuck, because I think I might have wrote myself into a corner.
*ponders a non Deus Ex Machina way of letting Sigma get out of the ensuing fight alive*
--"Dot"
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And helpfully labled by the 'fic title
Disclaimer: Megaman Battle Network and related characters are copyright by Capcom. I'm just borrowing them for my own nefarious ends.
---
RockmanX.exe
an experiment by Dot
---
"Good morning, professor, or perhaps I should say good afternoon."
Dr. Gregory Cain washed down his daily dose of aspirin with the rest of his coffee and glared at X.exe, who grinned back at him from the main screen. "Very funny, X. Where's Sophia?"
"She went out to the webcafe hours ago. She left you breakfast in the fridge, though. Would you like me to have Auto heat it up and bring it here?"
"That'd be nice, thanks." Dr. Cain pulled a chair up to the computer and opened the infrared panel. He had to keep himself from looking away as the linkup threatened to make his headache even worse than it already was. It took him a few moments to re-orient himself as the virtual world blinked into existence around him.
X stood waiting expectantly, the project files already open around him. "This time, I'm going to make you take a break at least once every hour," he said teasingly.
Dr. Cain groaned. "Not you too, X. I get enough of Sophia's nagging as it is."
"And obviously she doesn't do a particularly good job of it if you're still doing marathon coding sessions like you did yesterday. I hope you haven't been around programs so long that you've forgotten you still need sleep."
Dr. Cain raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win. But only because I know you'll never let me hear the end of it."
X's expression softened. "This is really important to you, isn't it?"
Dr. Cain nodded. "He's like a son to me, X." he ran a hand over the code. "This is the least I can do for him."
***
"What are you doing?"
Completely startled, Sophia pulled back and found herself staring into her "patient's" blood red eyes. "You...you can talk!" she stammered, almost putting her hand through his chest again.
"Of course I can talk," he snapped, looking annoyed. "I'm light years beyond those primitive Navis that can only say their names over and over again."
Sophia blinked. "You're a Navi? But you look so real!"
He eyed her dismissively, poking a finger at her shoulder. "Says Miss Hologram."
"Oh, that." She scratched her chin thoughtfully. "I think it's because Persona can't handle objects that don't have the protocol kernel."
He frowned. "Mind speaking English?"
"Oh, sorry about the technobabble. Basically, your code isn't compatible with mine, so we can't interact."
"Whatever. Just keep your 'code' to yourself." His eyes shifted to look at something behind her, and scowled. "Move."
Sophia blinked. "What?"
Instead of replying, the Navi jumped to his feet. Sophia yelped as his data collided with hers, displacing it as easily as one might a cloud of smoke. The Navi continued, charging at whatever had caught his attention earlier. By the time Sophia managed to reorient herself, the Navi and his unknown assailant had already exchanged several blows and was now chasing each other across the area, fighting at speeds too quick for Sophia to follow.
'What in the world is going on?' Sophia wondered as she found the signal blocked when she attempted to call for help. She tried to catch sight of the two combatants, to no avail. She backed up, away from the general direction of the battle, continuing to look for an exit or a way to contact anyone.
And then, just as soon as it began, it ended, with the Navi standing triumphant, albeit a bit unsteadily. The other one was not so lucky, disappearing in a spray of data.
"Che, losers," the Navi muttered, clenching and unclenching his fist until Sophia could hear his knuckles pop.
Sophia couldn't help but stare at the Navi's injuries. Try as she might, she couldn't convince herself that it was anything but blood that seeped from his body. "Are you...going to be all right?"
"Do I look alright to you?" The sword disappeared back into his arm cannon. "Whatever. I'm getting out of here before it gets swarmed with more losers that want to prove themselves."
"Wait!" Sophia called as the Navi turned to leave. "Our house isn't networked--my Dad's paranoid like that--so nobody would find you if I put you on my computer." She scratched her chin, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. "Plus, I'd like to think of myself as a halfway decent programmer, so maybe I could, you know, patch you up a bit."
He cast a single backwards glance her way, arching an eyebrow in amusement. "Are you propositioning me?"
Sophia felt her face flush. "How can I? I don't even know your name yet."
This time he turned to face her, smirking. "Zero.exe, but just call me Zero. And what about you, cutie?"
"Sophia," she barely managed to get out, even redder than before. "Sophia Cain."
***
To Sophia's relief, she no longer remained ghostly to Zero once she brought him into her hard drive. She conjured a comfortable sofa for him to relax on--an operating table would have just been entirely too odd--and then busied herself with closing his wounds as her helper Mettools began scanning him for any serious damage.
"Amazing," Sophia breathed as she got a closer look at his code. A lesser Navi could not have survived the level of corruption Zero's files sectors showed. Jagged scars were visible in the places where he used bits of his defeated opponents to form a makeshift patches. As she continued to examine him, Sophia could not help but marvel at Zero's abilities and sheer will to survive. 'So the stories weren't just exaggerations, after all.'
Sophia cursed inwardly as she heard the sound of a message window popping up and X stepped through a door he had generated for himself. She had forgotten about him entirely. "Hey, Sophia! You're back early. I thought you would just stay online until after the Developers' meeting." He turned a quizzical eye on Zero, then back to Sophia and grinned. "Well, well, this is interesting. And just as I thought you'd be a spinster forever, you bring back such a cute-looking guy."
Sophia blushed again. "This isn't what it looks like!"
X smirked. "Sure it isn't. Don't worry, I won't tell Dr. Cain." He turned his gaze to Zero and contemplated him for a moment. "Have we...met before?"
"I doubt it," Zero answered coldly. "No Navi I've met has ever walked away to tell the tale."
X raised an eyebrow at this, but he didn't lose his cheerful demeanor. "Well, there's a first time for everything." He approached Zero, extending a hand. "I'm X. Nice to meet you."
Zero glanced at X's hand, but didn't take it. "Zero. The feeling isn't mutual."
X backed away, arms up in a concilliatory gesture. "Fine, I can take a hint." He refocused his attention back to Sophia. "I'll call you before you have to attend that meeting, okay?"
By now, Sophia managed to compose herself. "Actually, give me a yell about an hour and a half earlier, so I can make dinner."
X tilted his head at her. "You know, for a geek, you sure like to cook a lot."
"For a Navi, you sure like to think with your butt a lot," Zero interjected.
Sophia bit back a giggle as X actually managed to look somewhat embarassed at that remark. "Okay, okay, I'm going already," he muttered, exiting the area.
"That wasn't very nice," she chided Zero lightly, despite being somewhat grateful that she didn't have to endure any more of X's teasing.
Zero shrugged. "I'm not nice."
"I'll say you aren't," Sophia replied as she read the reports the Mets were giving back to her. Despite his battered form, his core kernels had remaind surprisingly intact, although there seemed to be some indication that some traumatic blow had been dealt to them a long time ago. The only remains of this injury were a few lines that didn't quite yet mesh with the rest of the core, but that was nothing compared to his other scars.
"So, 'doc'," Zero began, with only a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice this time. "What's the prognosis?"
Sophia coughed lightly to keep herself from chuckling. "You're out of any immediate danger, but it'll be a while before your most recent injuries are healed." She did another quick scan of him to confirm this. "Plus, you've accumulated quite a bit of junk code that'll take a while to clear out of your system."
Zero shrugged again. "I'll live. Besides, I've inconvenienced you enough."
"Oh, it was no problem."
Before the conversation could continue much further, X barged back in, looking panicked. "Sophia! SOPHIA! Dr. Cain has--" he gasped, his obvious distress making him incoherent. "Dr. Cain--"
Sophia winced as she pried X's hands from her arms. "Calm down and talk slowly so I can understand you."
X took in several large gulps of air before he continued. "We were in the lab, working on the Project as usual, when Dr. Cain suddenly collapsed and dropped offline! I think," and here he drew in another shaky breath. "I think he's having a heart attack."
Sophia felt her own heart leap into her throat, but steeled her nerve. Someone had to be the calm, rational one, and X obviously wasn't. "Call an ambulance. Get Auto to monitor his vital signs and plug him in so you can log into his bioware. Then see if you can stabilize him from there. I'll catch up in a minute."
X nodded wordlessly, rushing back out of the room.
"I suppose this is a bad time to ask for a lift back to the 'net," Zero wondered out loud, getting to his feet.
Sophia whistled for Eddie.exe, who quickly appeared and hopped onto her shoulder. "Actually, I'm going to accompany my father to the hospital, and I can upload you from there." She reached behind her ear and disabled her firewall, hoping that her CPU was large enough to handle Zero. "But I'd have to temporarily install you onto my bioware to do that, because PETs would interfere with the other electronic equipment."
"As long as I don't have to be in the same space as _that_ guy." Zero thumbed in the direction X had disappeared to, "I don't care if I have to go in a cage."
"Good." She opened the portal, extending her hand to him. "Get in, then."
They touched.
***
Sigma.exe's lip curled into a sneer as he stabbed his saber into the Reploid. Weak. They were all weak. But then, what did he expect from an imperfect copy?
A sudden burst of data in the distance caught his attention. A phone call to a hospital in a city...no, he corrected himself. _That_ city.
More data. A name. Cain, Gregory, Ph. D in Computer Engineering.
Now, Sigma smirked.
"Told you you couldn't hide forever," he murmured, kicking aside the remains of the defeated Reploid. He quickly found the shortest route to the hospital where the dispatched ambulance was returning to.
It was time for a reunion.
***
Watching X pace helped Sophia focus on something other than all the things that could go wrong while her father was on the operating table. She also took the time to mail the Developer's group, telling them of what happened, and apologizing for not being able to attend the meeting. They would understand, of course, but it was still best to tell them herself of all the details instead of letting them linger in idle speculation. Soon, they replied with a slew of condolences for both her and Dr. Cain. Some even sent their Navis to the hospital to send a much more personal message.
Soon, the chatroom was filled with Navis who were either consoling Sophia or trying to get X's autograph. Even some of the hospital's idle Navi dropped by to say a few ords. Sophia let the background noise wash over her, keeping her face a stoic mask.
"Attention, attention," a computerized voice announced, both in the real and virtual worlds, giving Sophia an odd sense of vertigo. "Will security please report to the firewall as soon as possible. Thank you."
It was only when the request was repeated a third time that Sophia realized its meaning. "Sigma," she whispered, her legs giving away beneath her.
X was the first to hear her, and immediately his expression turned grim. "Jack me in. Those Navi won't stand a chance against Sigma."
A chorus of "me too!" sprang up as the other Navi volunteered their services.
Sophia forced herself to stand firm, fighting back the tears that threatened to blur her vision. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
***
Sigma regarded the cloaked figure that blocked his path. "So, you must be Zero, the so-called infamous Navi Killer."
Zero kept his saber near his side, but met Sigma's gaze full on. "And you must be Sigma, the equally infamous so-called Maverick Hunter."
"Touche," Sigma clicked his tongue. "In your case, however, I highly doubt that such a reputation is deserved."
Zero raised an eyebrow. "Care to test that?"
"Another day, perhaps. Now, I've got a bone to pick with Dr. Cain, and I'm not about to let anyone stop me." With one brisk swing of his own saber he decapitated a fallen Navi. "So unless you want to end up like these guards, I suggest you move."
Zero scoffed lightly. "Are you kidding? I eat Navis like these for breakfast."
"That so?" Sigma darted behind Zero, intending to skewer the lavender Navi in the back. He had to hold back a grin as Zero blocked easily and countered with a flurry of blows. At long last, he had found a worthy opponent! Unlike that pansy, X, Zero definitely wouldn't think twice about destroying his opponent, and he certainly had a very good chance to if Sigma didn't take him seriously.
Sigma pulled back beyond the firewall, drawing Zero with him. He didn't want anyone to interrupt his fun, not even the rapildly appoaching brigade of cannon fodder. And the "good" doctor wouldn't be out of surgery for at least another few hours anyway.
The reunion could wait.
***
X felt mildly ill as he surveyed the carnage before him. The Navi here were all injured beyond repair, and except for one guard whose head had been cleaved from his shoulders, Sigma had left the rest barely alive so that they would spend their last moments in agony.
"I don't care what Dr. Cain has said." X clenched his fists. "Sigma must be stopped. Now."
The others echoed his sentiments as they cautiously moved forward into the field of massacre. The debate on Sigma had often seesawed back and forth, with a majority of both humans and Navis supporting Dr. Cain's position. At present, however, it was safe to say that none present had any hope of Sigma ever being "made right" again. X long ago gave up on such a naive thought, but he held back for Dr. Cain's sake.
'Not any more,' X thought, charging his Buster. He couldn't sense Sigma's presence yet, but he was certain that Dr. Cain's first Reploid was not far from the firewall. After Sigma's first attempt on his creator's life, Dr. Cain had subsequently taken his house off the network, refusing to venture outside unless he absolutely had to.
Before X could ponder on the irony of the situation, he heard Armored_Armadillo.exe call him. "X! come here, quick."
X hurried as fast as he could, stepping gingerly between the bodies on his way to the edge of the firewall where Armored Armadillo was standing. "What's up, 'Double A'?"
"Take a look over there." Armored Armadillo pointed into the distance. "I can't make it out very well due to the interference, but I think I see Sigma fighting some Navi, _and they look evenly matched_."
For a brief moment, X almost asked Armored Armadillo if he were kidding, but thought better of it. He concentrated, focusing on the area indicated, thanking Sophia absently as she uploaded a chip to help increase the magnification factor of his sensors. He quickly recognized Sigma; X never forgot a fighting pattern, and Sigma's was brutally effective. Unlike before, though, it didn't seem to work too well on his opponent.
X felt his jaw almost unhinge as realization hit him. "Zero?!?"
Armored Armadillo seemed just as surprised. "You know him?"
X shook his head, still not quite believing his eyes. "I just met him. Sophia came across him on the 'net and brought him home for some reason. I even teased her about it." He peered at Zero again. "I thought he disappeared as soon as Sophia uploaded him right after she got to the emergency room. What's he doing back here?"
"He must have heard that Sigma was attacking. There's no way he would pass up on a fight like that. Zero's obliterated every Navi that's come his way so far, and even if most of them were reckless idiots out to make a name for themselves, that sill says a lot about how good he is. Practically everybody has heard of him."
"Well, I'm not everybody. But I guess I really do need to get out more. I had no idea Sophia was associating with a Navi like that." But Sophia must have at least known _something_, and that was what made X angry. 'I thought she was reckless before, but this...'
"I thought he was some sort of urban legend!" Sophia protested defensively, as if reading his mind. "I didn't even really start believing that he could have done all those things until I began checking his code!"
X was about to retort when Armored Armadillo gasped. "Oh my God! What the hell is _that_?!?"
An unmistakable sense of foreboding hit X as an immense energy buildup appeared behind Sigma. "Everybody pull out, NOW!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. He turned to Armored Armadillo. "Lend me your Rolling Shield chip."
The Navi in question stared at him. "X, you aren't--"
"The firewall won't be able to repair the damage Sigma's done to it in time. This is the only way the hospital's systems won't get totally fried." X thrust an open palm forward. "Hurry!"
"Oh, all right." Grumbling a bit, Armored Armadillo reached into his shell and pulled out a small, glowing object. "Take it. But if you die, I'm never speaking to you again."
X forced a smile. "Thanks, I think." He steeled his nerve as he waited for the chip to load, then took a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing!"
He stepped into the inferno.
***
"What's the matter, Zero?" Sigma taunted as Vanguard's mouth opened wider and wider. "Does the sight of my pet frighten you that much?"
Zero stood his ground, reading his own attack. "If it makes you feel better to think so, then sure." He fired a shot directly at Sigma's face.
Instinctively, Sigma raised his hands to block. When he lowered them again, Zero had changed to his right blaster and launched a shield with is curved interior facing Sigma.
Sigma sneered. Obviously the fright had indeed gotten to Zero, and in his panick he summoned his pathetic defenses backwards. "I hope you don't think that piece of junk will save you."
Zero leapt into the air. "As a matter of fact, yes."
Sigma let out a curse as he realized what Zero was doing. He fired wildly at Zero, who dodged effortlessly and bounced off the tip of his shield. Sigma broke into a run as Vanguard pivoted its head to realign its shot, only to be skewered on the roof of its mouth by Zero's sword.
***
X tested his limbs slowly, wincing as burning pain shot through them. Behind him, the firewall flickered, its self-repairing already functions kicking in. As long as it didn't suffer another major blow, it would stand. 'That was way too close. If Zero hadn't diverted the shot, I would have been toast for sure.'
He tried scanning the area, but his sensors were still swimming with information overload. At least he didn't seem to sustain any major damage from a potentially suicidal move; everything just hurt like hell.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
X couldn't help but gape. If it weren't for the bright blue gem in Sigma's forhead, X would not have recognized Dr. Cain's former Reploid. Gone was the long, silver hair (mostly a joke on Sophia's part) and the youthful face that had been a distant echo of his own. Instead, Sigma was now completely bald, and long, red scars ran across his cheeks as if he had raked across them with claws. "What happened to you?"
"I became superior, that's what." Sigma pointed his saber at X. "It's too bad you didn't die when Vanguard overloaded, because now I'll have to take you apart piece by piece."
"I don't think so."
Even taken by surprise, Sigma managed to parry the attack that came from behind him, jumping back to avoid being further pummeled. X once again found himself staring as Zero stood before him, holding what looked like length of rusted piping.
Sigma didn't look too pleased himself. "You--you took Vanguard's explosion full on and didn't die?!?"
Zero wiggled his right blaster. "I rode out the wave on that 'piece of junk' and grabbed onto a piece of the ceiling after it died down so I wouldn't go splat against the floor. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything about my guns shorting out, so I had to improvise." He gave the pipe a few swings. "I'll admit this doesn't look pretty, but it'll still do it's work."
X, still at a loss for words, said the first thing that came to his mind, namely, the blatantly obvious. "Zero! You're all right!"
Zero continued to face Sigma, although X suddenly had the feeling that he would be in for a bashing if that were not the case. "If I weren't, I would hardly be here trying to save your burnt bottom, would I?"
"I'd worry a more about my own welfare first if I were you!" Sigma shouted, charging at Zero.
***
Zero gritted his teath as Sigma's saber sliced a gash across his chest. 'Damn. Guess I'm more damaged than I thought. I should have been able to dodge that.' A wave of annoyance came over him as X put a hand on his shoulder. "What? I'm not dead yet."
Except X's attention wasn't really on Zero at all. "It doesn't have to end this way, Sigma."
Sigma scowled. "Not another one of your speeches, X. Either stand aside while I give Dr. Cain what's coming to him, or join your friend Zero in the big network in the sky."
"He's not my friend," Zero and X replied simultaneously, causing both of them to blink at each other.
"Whatever. I wouldn't care even if you were secretly dating each other." Sigma raised his saber. "You only have two choices, X: move or die."
"Funny, I was going to say the exact same thing to you," X answered, his demeanor turning grim.
---
Here's where I'm stuck, because I think I might have wrote myself into a corner.
*ponders a non Deus Ex Machina way of letting Sigma get out of the ensuing fight alive*
--"Dot"
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