Mega Man X: The Novel --Day of 𝝨--

[skybuns]

CHARACTER INTRO	PROLOGUE	DAY OF 𝝨	CHILL PENGUIN	SPARK MANDRILL
DR. CAIN	LAUNCH OCTOPUS	STING CHAMELEON	STORM EAGLE & ARMORED ARMADILLO	FLAME MAMMOTH
BOOMER KUWANGER	VILE	SIGMA	MEGA MAN	EPILOGUE

“Heh heh heh… Why X-- aren’t you a pitiful sight?”

The Ride Armor pins me down, fingers groaning as its grip tightens on me. Against the ground, I can't see my opponent at all, but I don't need to: I already know him well.

“Grck.... Vile! Have you really gone Maverick!?”

“Obviously. There’s fewer strings attached -- it’s way better. Why don’t you become a Maverick too?”

“Don’t screw with me!”

He’s being facetious, trying to see if I'll give myself away as a Maverick on top of suggesting it would be better that way.

“Why… Why are you people doing this!?”

I wonder, do these sound like the words of a former Maverick Hunter?


My name is X.

I’m a B-Class Maverick Hunter in the 17th Elite Unit. Regardless of my rank, it has… become my duty to fight countless enemies. In the wake of countless tragedies, the Maverick Wars have begun...

----------------

A few hours ago:

I’m with Zero--my mentor, friend, and a Special A-Class Maverick Hunter--when we receive a report of a Maverick incident. Dispatch sends us to a military facility in the southern part of the city to investigate.

“Sure is quiet for an incident…”

“No signs of damage, either... Maybe they were mistaken.”

Without a single trace of Mavericks, humans, Reploids, or even Mechaniloids, we conclude that it was likely a false report, and try to contact Hunter HQ.

“...Huh? That’s weird. I’m not getting any response from HQ.” Zero tries several channels but encounters static each time.

My luck’s no better.

“I can’t seem to, either.”

Strange. The common and dedicated lines not working?

“...Do you think something’s happened at HQ? Or maybe someone’s jamming the signal nearby.”

“The former’s unlikely… so it must be the latter. X, let’s try to find better reception. Not much more we can do here.”

“Understood. Let’s hurry, Zero.”

We sweep the area once more to confirm the situation, leaving the matter of our original target, the military facility, for later. Taking the highway leading back to the city on our Ride Chasers--high-powered air bikes--we come to a stop upon noticing a disquieting pattern.

“...Huh? Zero, something’s wrong… It’s dark out, but I don’t see a single vehicle anywhere.”

It’s July 4th, 21XX, just past 20:00. On a weekend, there usually aren’t as many cars around, but for there not to be a single one? To add to that, even the typical Mechaniloids that run around the clock are nowhere to be found.

“...Looks like something might’ve gone down while we were away, after all.”

When Zero and I headed out, everything was normal: plenty of vehicles and Mechaniloids around and running. Now? The emptiness is utterly bizarre.

“It feels like all the activity from earlier just up and vanished…” No matter how far and wide we look, we can’t find anything at all. It’s like a ghost town. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this… Zero, let’s keep going!”

This city of ours… What is going on?

As our sense of unease grows, Zero and I plunge deeper into the city.

----------------

"What... What’s going on!?"

"It's like a warzone... Hey, hang in there! What happened!?"

We've been on the highway for about an hour, but when we finally arrive, the place is demolished, the Mechaniloids are out of control… And amidst the ruins, we find a young, injured Reploid.

The sheer amount of damage he’d sustained burns itself deeply into my memory.

"This was...caused by a buster...?"

The same kind of weapon I carry caused these injuries: a buster cannon, meant for combat.
You could expect to see damage like this on the body of a Maverick who'd been taken down by a Hunter. But this Reploid’s no Maverick; he’s a civilian.

"Mmgrck... A... Maverick... Hunter...?"

The young Reploid won't survive his injuries; he’d taken a fatal shot to head. There’s nothing I can do.

I wonder if he already knows.

With the last of his strength, he ejects a single memory chip from a slot in the side of his head; Zero palms it without a word.

"Sig... Sigma..."

"Sigma? Did something happen to the Commander?"

"..."

The young Reploid's systems enter terminal shutdown, leaving our questions unanswered. He appears to be sleeping, but he’s gone.

"What the hell happened here in the last few hours..." Zero mutters under his breath as he lays the Reploid back on the ground, one hand still balled around the chip.

No matter how much we wish otherwise, there’s nothing we can do for him now. But he's given us a potential clue; one that we will not waste.

"Zero, let's head back to HQ. I'm starting to worry."

“You’re right. Let's check this chip first, though. We need intel."

Zero inserts the chip into the Ride Chaser's onboard monitor before he's even finished talking.
With a whirr from the reader, footage from the chip begins its playback.

I can’t even begin to grasp what it shows.

"...If this is real, then this isn't just some random incident. This is big."

I can't respond; the words just won’t come out.



I have no idea how to react--not after being shown something like this.

“This is worse than anything we could’ve prepared for. We might be machines, but this is like a nightmare.”

It truly is a nightmare--a recording that leaves you wishing you could just wake up and leave it behind.

It’s to be expected: as a Maverick Hunter, you are bound to witness tragedy. What had transpired here, though, goes far beyond anything I’d ever encountered before. There’s no doubt Mavericks exist, not anymore.

It’s never crossed my mind that a day could come where I’d go Maverick, too. Not even once. But this is why we take it upon ourselves to be Maverick Hunters, to protect humans and Reploids who live peacefully from the threat of mayhem and violence.

In a sense, it’s a way to convince ourselves. You tell yourself that, as a Maverick Hunter, you’ll never become a Maverick. The reality is that year after year, the number of Mavericks keeps rising. In spite of that, the Hunters continue to work together to fight for and protect humans and civilian Reploids from harm.

In this way, we maintain peace.

And yet, the memory chip entrusted to us contains footage of Maverick Hunters slaughtering civilian Reploids.

----------------

“There’s no way… I won’t stand for this!”

I rush down the highway towards Maverick Hunter HQ; an attack en route left our Ride Chasers destroyed. In light of the message--that Reploid’s last moments--we have to get back to HQ no matter what.

“I’m going to check the vicinity while I try to find another route. You keep following the highway, X.”

With that said, Zero’s off, abandoning the overpass for the city proper. Nothing bad can possibly happen to someone like Zero, so I do as told, following the highway towards HQ.

“I can’t believe that Commander Sigma would go Maverick… I just can’t!”

That chip contains evidence of Commander Sigma’s insurrection against humanity itself, and Hunters who pledged themselves to his cause followed him down that path. The rebellion extends past this city alone; its banners threaten to smother the whole world. This is a statement, declaring all humans and any Reploids who defy their rule will be crushed.

“There must be a mistake here, somewhere… There has to be.”

I mutter it to myself like a wish, fighting off Mechaniloids and Reploids blocking my path. Why must my fellow Reploids become Maverick? Why must we fight against each other?

None of my former comrades can offer an answer.

“Why… Why are you doing this….”

How many Reploids and Mechaniloids have I destroyed by now...

The remains of my fallen comrades fill my scope as more enemies advance towards me. I aim my buster, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread. Inhale… Exhale… Taking a deep breath, I steel myself against my apprehensions. Body too tense, I don’t have a second to relax when--

“Huh. Didn’t expect you to come back here alone.”

Before I can even react to the voice that booms out behind me, an enormous figure engulfs my vision and slams me hard into the ground.

----------------

“What’s the matter, X? Can’t even land a single hit on my Ride Armor?”

“Damnit! Fine, then. How about this!”

I unleash all the energy in my buster on Vile, but he easily neutralizes my attack with his own assault.

“No… No way!”

That shot took everything I had. That charge shot, my special technique and most powerful attack, had no effect on him whatsoever.

No, I shouldn’t think like that. Even if my attacks don’t work, I couldn’t afford to throw in the towel now!

“If I can’t take you out with just one hit, then I’ll keep firing until I beat you!”

When Vile suddenly appeared, he trapped me with his Ride Armor. In order to escape, I target the road around me, firing off buster shots to break it up and create enough space to get free. From there, I immediately counterattack, but he simply repels all of my shots. Deciding that close combat puts me at a disadvantage, I keep some distance from Vile and launch a constant barrage of charged shots. I know that the continuous overuse of my buster will damage it with every shot, but I have no other option.

“This is it Vile. Either you get destroyed or my arm goes down trying!”

“My my… You sure are acting like some kinda brat pitching a fit, X. It’s about time I shut you up for good.”

Vile keeps deflecting and even dodging my attacks. He slowly closes the distance between us, his voice just as cavalier as ever. If he draws just another step closer, I’ll be in a position to get captured in his massive Ride Armor’s arms again. Suddenly, my entire body seizes up, as if something’s constricting it tightly. I can’t move!

“Hyaaugh! W--What is this!?”

Looking around, me, I see it: it’s like a net of electricity. Only then do I notice the numerous metal discs on the ground surrounding where I’ve been caught.

“Is this… An electromagnetic trap!?”

Something like this is typically used against rampaging criminals, or for Mavericks who prove to be too difficult to handle. Only Maverick Hunters are allowed the use of such devices, but Vile had once been a Maverick Hunter himself. He must have taken it from storage at Hunter HQ at the time of the coup d’etat.

“You were so focused on me the whole time, you neglected your surroundings. A rookie mistake like that is how you got caught in a such a simple trap.”

If only I’d been paying attention, I would have noticed that Vile set this trap right under my nose. I struggle to break free, but as expected from a trap intended for Mavericks, I accomplish nothing. I stand no chance against a tool even Mavericks had trouble getting out of.

“You really are just a B-Class after all… What would Sigma want with a wimpy weakling like you anyway?”

I still can’t move, and find myself once again in the Ride Armor’s grasp. My joints start to creak as its grip tightens.

“You’ve only got one life, X. You should’ve been more careful with it..”

While he taunts me, that grip tightens further. The trap is already enough, and the Ride Armor pushes it into overkill territory. After all I’ve heard and seen about Commander Sigma’s uprising, the weight of the reality finally starts sinking in... The reality that Maverick Hunters have become the very things they hunt…

“I mean, I could tell you how fun it is to kill people, but I’m not sure you’d be convinced. Oh well, time to die, X.”

This is bad, this is bad, this is really bad. If things keep up like this, I’m done for. I’ll die without achieving a thing! Caught in a force without mercy, my joints can only shriek, and my vision begins to blur. I can hear it. I can feel it throughout my entire body. The sound of metal crunching echoes throughout my mind. The sound of metal being broken…


-- D E A T H --


When that word comes to me--

“Do anything more to my friend, and I’ll blast your head clean off your shoulders, Vile.”

In a flash of red, I see--

“Tch… So you finally caught up, you blond bastard.”

A Reploid with golden hair fluttering in the wind like a banner of hope as he aims his buster. Zero.

----------------

“The situation is… If I must be frank, pretty bad…”

“What’s pretty bad is the fact that you can call this disaster ‘pretty bad’...”

“Honestly, I still can’t believe it...”

After I stumbled into that encounter with Vile, Zero rushed in to save me once he realized what was happening. I lost consciousness soon after, but when I came to, I found myself at the “Special Machine Research Facility” underneath Maverick Hunter HQ. Vile had the advantage, but instead he boarded an airship that suddenly appeared, vanishing without doing anything more.

While I undergo repairs from the damage done by Vile’s assault, we discuss the next plan of action and what objectives we Maverick Hunters should take. Speaking of, it’s been awhile since I’ve been here, hasn’t it?

“If this insurrection is truly happening, then the Hunters’ foundation will crumble.”

“I don’t want to believe it myself, but… as a scientist, I cannot deny what my eyes have seen. I must accept it. But something on this scale has never crossed my mind before…”

This comes from the elderly scientist who personally tends to my repairs. With a mournful expression, he works meticulously. It’s likely no one else in the entire world can mend a Reploid faster.

“This must be hitting you hard, Dr. Cain.”

Dr. Cain.

The man known as the world’s greatest scientist, and the one who laid the foundation for Reploid design. His work is so great, it’s been said that there isn’t a single person alive who doesn’t know him. Commander “Sigma”, the one leading the insurrection, is said to be his greatest masterpiece.

Commander Sigma had set a shining example in his day-to-day leadership of the Maverick Hunters. As a Reploid, I had the utmost respect for him, so I still can’t believe he’s gone Maverick…

No. I just don’t want to believe it. Because if I do, something inside me will shatter. But, saying that, I just can’t leave it alone.

The truth is, I’d fought with Vile and seen with my very own eyes the countless civilian Reploids slaughtered by those who’d gone Maverick. And Commander Sigma--no, Sigma, declared war against the world.

I’d seen the footage too. There is no doubt: Sigma’s gone Maverick.

“Exterminating all humans to create a world just for Reploids… It’s delusional.”

I bite my lip at Zero’s words. If it becomes a world of only Reploids, what would be left?

“Certainly, you Reploids have strength and tenacity that surpass that of humans… but because of that, we must live in harmony. No life is worth more or less than another. That was what I always wanted to convey… but there’s no doubt that Sigma would reject that.”

The man before me is probably the one suffering the most in this situation. He’s the father of Reploid technology, and it’s his greatest masterpiece that just declared war on society. Now, he’ll be subject to vicious criticism.

“I don’t know what kind of world Sigma’s picturing in his mind,” Zero says evenly, leaning against the wall nearby with his arms folded, “but if he’s gone Maverick, then we have to take him down. That’s our job as Maverick Hunters, X.”

Always calm and unwaveringly decisive. That’s Zero for you.

“I know, Zero… Our power is meant to protect. If someone threatens the peace of the world, even if it’s Commander--no. Even if it’s Sigma, I’ll fight.”

I clench my barely functioning left hand into a fist, confirming the power there. This power I’d been given to fight with… it was meant to protect. It’s not something to be aimed at people. And right now… I should use this power for the troubled, elderly man next to us.

“As long as you understand.”

As if he can feel the determination in my heart, Zero leaves with those parting words.

That’s right. Now isn’t the time to be lost. Even now, Sigma’s band of Mavericks are threatening peace. Having to fight my friends and fellow Reploids will be painful, but there are things in this world that I must protect.

“Because I’m a Maverick Hunter,” I say, as if needing to hear those words once more for myself.