RPG Maverick Hunters: Replimasters

[Yoda]

[I]Omega sat down as Marth started to pilot the APC back to the base. Omega sat down next to Warlock, and stared blankly at the floor. For several minutes everyone was silent.... the death of Flash had greatly affected all of them, no-one moreso than Omega... ever since he was activated, he had almost looked to Flash as an older brother. Suddenly something changed inside Omega.

Omega:..... I'm done.........

Everyone, even Proteus, looked as Omega confusingly.

Drake: Your........ done? Done what exactly?

Omega: I'm done looking for that damned dog. He has controlled my life since I can remember........ and Flash always had to look out for me. He sacrificed his life........... for his friends, I understand that now. From now on my friends will be my main priority. As acting squad commander, I will not let Flash down... I promise you all.

Omega stood up, and gripped hold of the wing type thing's on his head. He struggled as he pulled them forward, ripping them from his head. He threw them from the APC. Everyone was now looking at Omega strangely........ he didn't look himself anymore, it seemed as if he'd been born again.

Warlock:............ You look [B]really[/B] strange like that.....

Omega looked up, feeling the place where his blue wings had once been.

Craig: Guess I'll need a new look when we get back.......[/I]

[Warlock]

[I]His voice chips creating a sighing, Warlock got up onto his feet, walking past the others and over to a rack in the middle of the APC... He grabbed a hoverbike, his, and began walking to the back of the APC again... [/I]

Max: "Sir, what are you doing?"

Warlock: "Going to get some fresh air. Tell everyone I'll just be riding along."

[I]Reaching the end of the APC, Warlock punched in a buttons on one of the many consoles, and the back door began to slide up and out... Ignoring the questions been thrown at him from the others, he placed the hoverbike on the steel floor, and turned on the replusor-lifts... With a low whine, the hover-bike started to float up from the ground, and Warlock shot out from the back of the APC... Spinning the bike around in a 180 degree turn, Warlock keyed more power to the engine so it caught up with the gaint APC as it continued to glide above the ground... Pulling up alone side it, Warlock put the speed down a notch so he would stay with the APC, and took the time to think and honour his friend's memory...[/I]

[Dragonballzman]

Max: ...Are the missions always like this...?

Demos: Whacha mean?

Max: You know...Someone gets severely injured or even...Killed?

Marth: Yeah...It's not easy being a Maverick Hunter...

Max: ...What happens if someone goes Maverick themselves? Like one of us?

Nova: Well, we end up having to go and get the maverick. It's not often that someone can deprogram the virus, but the maverick CAN pass the virus onto someone else. Although most of the time we end up having to kill them.

Max: ...

[James]

[i]Proteus sat still. He was watching the plasma screen infront of him, silently glowing and utterly motionless.

He held his hand infront of his face and examined it. Its metallic surface was slightly darker, due to dust and dirt from his encounter in the forest. He gently blew the dust away.

His skin was metallic and as he looked more closely, he could see the tiny plastic veins snaking through almost microscopic canals in the surface. The lense in his eyes tightened electronically, allowing him to zoom in a little closer.

He saw tiny bursts of pure blue light flashing through the plastic veins, in two second intervals.

It amazed him; that he was alive. The meaning of life was something that he had always considered, ever since his first activation several days prior. Human seemed to hold life with such precious regard. And yet, life was so fragile...so easily destroyed.

Only an hour ago, Flash had been standing there beside him. He'd seen the expressions on Flash's face...he'd seen Flash's movements and heard his speech.

And now he wasn't there. He was nowhere. He was no more. Never again.

Do robots go to heaven?

Proteus was feeling things he'd never felt before. His entire body felt heavier than it really was, yet his weight hadn't changed. He couldn't move...he couldn't speak...he didn't know how to express these feelings.

Proteus looked up. There was a large window infront of him. He watched Warlock silently hovering next to the APC outside. And as he looked up further, he could see a flock of white gulls flying overhead.

The entire world seemed slower now. Everything seemed to be more precise...more meaningful.

Proteus' view was blurred momentarily. At first he thought it was a technical malfunction. But upon a mental double-take, he realized that it was just a tear.[/i]

[Flash]

[I]Signas slammed his fist against the desk... The impact left a dent in the metal, covered with a fake wood to make it seem authentic... It wasn't real. But Flash was... Signas was torn between fury, sadness, and guilt, and wasn't sure what to do... He'd never lost a member of the Hunters before, certainly not like this...[/I]

[b]Signas:[/b] Dammit! This is all my fault!

[I]Signas sat down in his chair, and held his head in his hands... Flash was the oldest and most experienced one there... And now, he was gone. 'I should have sent X and Zero...' He thought to himself. 'I should have sent more back-up... I'm such a fool!'

Signas stood up. His mind was racing, he couldn't focus on anything... He blamed himself for the entire incident. At that moment, Zero walked into Signas' office. His armour gleamed, and his blonde hair was tied back in a neat ponytail as always.. He looked emotionless, which was generally a sign of remorse for Zero. Signas glanced over at him...[/I]

[B]Zero:[/B] I'm... Sorry, Sir.. I should've...

[B]Signas:[/B] No, it's not your fault, Zero... I'm to blame. I shouldn't have underestimated those damned Replimasters the way I did...

[B]Zero:[/B] Commander, there's no way you could've known. We've never encountered an enemy like this before.

[B]Signas:[/B] Bah, all the more reason for me to have taken caution...

[I]The door to Signas' office slid open once more. X runs in, looking worried...[/I]

[B]X:[/B] Commander Signas! There's a report of another Replimaster on the rampage!

[B]Signas:[/B] Dear god... How many?!

[B]X:[/B] Only one, Sir. They say it's massive, and is attacking using massive explosive weapons, and fireballs!

[B]Signas:[/B] Any additional info?

[B]X:[/B] I think it's called 'Napalm', Sir.

[B]Signas:[/B] Dammit... We're low on men and low on Morale... But we have to do this. Zero, you'll take the place of Flash. Get a bike and rendevouz with the squad. X, you stay here. If anything happens to HQ, you and I will most likely have to take it out [I]alone.[/I] Plus, I need someone on Comm.

[B]X:[/B] Yes, Sir.

[I]Zero quickly salutes Signas, before spinning around, and sprinting out of the room... He runs around the central hub of the HQ, and enters the garage... After running down a few corrdioors, he reaches the hover bikes, and jumps on one... It starts up automatically, and he prepares to catch the rest of the squad... Although he didn't appear it, Zero was shattered... Flash was dead... He wasn't sure whether or not Flash actually cared about him, because he certainly never showed it... But Zero knew that no matter what Flash thought of him, he still felt heart broken... Flash was gone now, and it was up to Zero to take his place...[/I]

[James]

[i]Proteus stood up and walked down the short hallway inside the APC.

He pushed a button on the wall, and the large entrance door silently slid upwards and folded itself over the roof of the vessel.

Proteus sat on the floor with his legs dangling over the edge.

He looked at Warlock, who looked back.[/i]

[b]Proteus:[/b] Why did it have to happen?

[b]Warlock:[/b] Things like that just happen, kid...

[b]Proteus:[/b] I don't understand.

[b]Warlock:[/b] You're only new to the world, Proteus. I don't expect you to understand yet.

[b]Proteus:[/b] But why did he do that? Doesn't he know how we feel?

[b]Warlock:[/b] He did it because he wanted to save us, Proteus. That's what Flash is about...what he did didn't surprise anyone here. We all knew what kinda guy he was.

[b]Proteus:[/b] "knew"..."was"...talking in the past tense...I'm still not used to it.

[b]Warlock:[/b] Give it time, Proteus. Give it time.

[Dragonballzman]

[I]After a few hours, the sound of a hover bike was heard behind the APV...Curious, Max looked out of the window to see a robot which looked almost exactly like him, but had long blonde hair and his armour was red, not blue...[/I]

Max: Hey...Guys...Can anyone tell me who this guy is? H-He looks almost exactly like me!

[I]Demos walked over to the window and had a look[/I]

Demos: Oh, that's Zero. He's a pretty old and experienced one. He even has his own game. Kids are playing it all the time these days...

Max: ...Whoa. O_O;;

[I]Zero swerved the bike in towards the APV, and signaled for them to open the door. They did, and he jumpd in, and so did Warlock.[/I]

Zero: ...I take it you all know about what happened...

All: ...Yeah...

Zero: ...[I]Come on Zero...Be strong...Try and put Flash's death behind you...[/I]

[I]Zero took a deep breath, and told the hunters about the crazy maverick, Napalm, on the rampage.[/I]

Zero: So anyway, we need to stop him...Hopefully, I'll make a good replacement for Flash...

[Warlock]

[I]Zero glanced at all the other Hunters, his gaze finally resting on Warlock... Warlock's fists were clenched, and though his face remained emotionless, Zero knew that behind it he was feeling anger... Bowing his head for a second, he began to walk to the front of APC to help guide it... Meanwhile, Proteus walked up to Warlock, noticing his clenched fists...[/I]

Proteus: "What's wrong?"

Warlock: "That r-... Zero doesn't exactly have a nice history with me and Flash... Not nice at all..."

Proteus: "What did he do?"

Warlock: "He... he... I don't think you're ready to hear about it yet. It actually involves you in a sort of way... But let me just say that he and Light-Bots were [i]never[/i] meant to be friends."

[I]Sighing, Warlock grabbed his hover-bike, placing it in a rack by the door, and began to shine his buster...[/I]

[Dragonballzman]

[I]Max continued to stare at Zero...There was definately something strange about him...And not the fact that he looked just like him. It was more of...A feeling. A feeling that Zero held the key to who built him...

He then walked to the front of the APV and stood next to Zero.[/I]

Max: Zero...Who made you?

Zero: ...

Max: I take it you're not really that pleased to know...

[I]Zero nodded his head.[/I]

Zero: I've been told about my creator...He'd done some pretty evil things in his time.

Max: ...Just tell me.

Zero: Why? Why are you so interested?

Max: ...Either your visual circuits are messing up, or you're just an idiot. Has it not occurred to you that we look the same?

Zero: ...Dr. Wily

Max: ...Can you give me any more details?

Zero: He looks like Albert Einstein.

Max: ...[I]Searching memory banks...Search Name: DR.WILY Any other info: LOOKS LIKE EINSTEIN...Searching...1 match! Open.[/I]

[I]Suddenly, in a flash of light, Max saw a picture of an old geezer who looked definately crazy. A text file suddenly opened up;

Greetings Z3R0 Project Prototype, MODEL: M4X. I am your creator, Dr.Wily. You are the first Version of the Z project, a special project, ind i stolle hte planz frm Doc. Lite! Argh, stupid Forte. Like I was saying: A special project, in which I plan to make the perfect warrior who cannot be defeated! I WAS going to have you as the finished version, but it seemed I had overloaded your mind with too many weapon data, and every so often, your weapon whips would overheat, making you go crazy until the fans cool them down. Therefore I made a new robot, MODEL: Z3R0. He is supposedly as strong as you, but the fact that you have more weaponary could tilt that fact a little. But I cannot take the chance that you will rebel, with so much battle techniques, so you will be sealed in this pod for exactly 50 years. By then I will be dead, and my new creation will be wreaking havok on the planet. Hopefully you will join him and you will both kill together.

Signing off, Dr.Wily.[/I]

Max: ...

Zero: What did you find?

Max: ...I'm your original version.

Zero: *Gulp* I uh...Don't think you should let Warlock know that.

Max: Er, ok.

[James]

[i]Proteus sat there still, looking out over the hills in the distance.

He wasn't particularly interested in Zero's arrival. At this point, he was still trying to understand the feelings he was having after Flash's death.

One thing he knew for certain; he didn't want it to happen again. Proteus knew that one of his feelings was definitely guilt. He felt guilty for letting Flash die. He thought it was his fault.

Proteus was forced to grow up quickly, thanks to Flash's passing. The forest battle had left everyone feeling introspective for the last few hours, and Proteus knew what he must do; he must become more powerful...more powerful than the Replimasters.

He stood up and made his way into the weapons bay of the APC. Inside, he saw various computer monitors with incomprehensible digital readouts and diagrams.

Proteus walked over to a computer terminal which was blank. He typed on the keys for a moment, bringing up a large blue schematic. The schematic contained a highly complex (and highly experimental) design.

The design in question was essentially one of Dr. Light's most important energy-based projects. It was called the "R-600" project. The "R" stood for "Regenerative" and the "600" stood for "600 kilowatts".

The R-600 project was basically a blueprint for a new form of robot energy source. The source was similar to the current particle accelerator technologies used in current robots, but with a twist; it was able to generate almost limitless power.

The problem with this technology in the past, was that subjects were often overloaded with energy - their bodies were too fragile to contain such power.

Proteus was different. As his operations manual had already pointed out, Proteus was capable of downloading varying weapons programs into his limbs, giving them the ability to simultaneously morph into different shapes, thus giving him almost limitless weapon capabilities.

The only problem with this system (as Proteus discovered) was that it required a continual datastream with some sort of outside computer that contained the weapon files. When he was in the forest, Proteus noticed that his data communication was cut and thus, he was unable to download the appropriate weapons programs.

This new energy accelerator would allow Proteus to form near-immeasurable amounts of energy in his modifiable buster cannon, meaning that a replimaster would be no problem.

The only problem was, Proteus didn't know how to acquire the R-600 Cell. Dr. Light had never revealed its location, for fear of it falling into the wrong hands.

Proteus looked over the diagram carefully. He felt certain that he would be able to perform the modification itself, but he had absolutely no idea where to find the R-600 Cell...[/i]

[Yoda]

[I]Omega took off his helmet, revealing his brown scruffy hair. He tossed the helmet out of the APC without another thought, and rested his head back against the wall of the APC. His thoughts immediately turned to Flash.... how Flash had always inspired him, and always managed to boost his moral, no matter how low he felt.

Omega decided he would get a new body..... although still based on the Bass design, he would make a fresh suit, as a symbol for a new start. However, for that he neded to return to HQ, but Zero's appearence suggested they weren't going back to base before taking on the Maverick known as Napalm.

Well, whatever happened, Omega knew he would get it done eventually, so he got out his Titan sabre, and started fixing it..... the handle had been badly damaged during the battle with Elec.[/I]

[Dragonballzman]

[I]Max turned round, and noticed Omega fixing his Titan Sabre, and decided he had better take a damage report. His health meter was on 34%. The battle with Flame had taken alot out of him, espaecially since the only knew the one battle style that Dr. Wily had taught him. Sure, back then it would defeat someone like MegaMan, but here, in 21XX, it was cast as a weak program.

Max sighed, sat down and took out his Beam Sabre. Energy Levels were at 10%. That was enough for one more slash, then it would run out. He then morphed his left hand into his buster. Plasma Bolt Energy Levels were only at 22%. He had to make every shot count.

He also noticed that his right shoulder was jamming alot. It just have happened in the battle with Flame...

Flashback:

"While Flame had been babbling, Max and Drake had charged up their turbo-acceleration units in their feet and slammed their bodies into Flame, paralysing (sp?) him!"

He must have tackled Flame in a bad position and dented one of the joints in his shoulder. Max's face turned from emotionless to a frown, as he remembered that his arm which he used his Beam Sabre in was his right arm. If he couldn't get his arm to work when fighting Napalm, he would be done for. Things weren't looking too good for Max right now...[/I]

[Warlock]

[I]Warlock was now seated by the sensor consoles, his CPU connected with the sensors of the APC... Currently, he was scanning all news broadcasts and stations to try and find the exact location of "Napalm", and what damage it was causing... After a few minutes of listening to the few news stations there were, Warlock grimly detatched himself from the sensor station, and walked over to Max...[/I]

[b]Warlock:[/b] "I just listened to all the news stations, trying to get what information I could about Napalm... Seems he's on the outskirts of the city in which the H.Q. is located. Reploids and humans alike are fleeing, and everyone who's tried to stop it has been completely destroyed... We've got our work cut out for us."

[b]Max:[/b] "Things aren't good for me either. My power levels are down, and my right shoulder's damaged..."

[b]Warlock:[/b] "Well, when we ingage Napalm, make sure you don't fire blindy. Only shoot when you've got a clear shot."

[b]Max:[/b] "Will do, sir."

[i]Nodding, Warlock turned towards the front of the APC, and began to walk up to where Zero was standing...[/i]

[b]Warlock:[/b] "...How much longer?"

[i]Surprised, Zero spun around, coming face to face with Warlock's cold stare...[/i]

[b]Zero:[/b] "About an hour... We better get ready."

[i]Nodding, Warlock began to turn, but Zero placed his arm on Warlock's shoulder, making sure he couldn't leave...[/i]

[b]Zero:[/b] "Please Warlock, just put our differences aside for the time being. I know how much pain I've caused for you in the past..."

[b]Warlock:[/b] "You have NO idea how much pain you've caused for me!"

[b]Zero:[/b] "Warlock, that was the past me. The evil me. I changed the moment I had my memory erased by Dr. Cain... And after been told of what I did by Dr. Cain, who got the info from you and Flash, I really want to make things right for you and Flash..."

[b]Warlock:[/b] "...You destroyed my home, my friends, my creator, everything I ever had! I don't care if you've changed, but you're still the same Wily-Bot I saw blow up Dr. Light's lab, and battle me and Protoman... I'll never forgive, never!"

[b]Zero:[/b] "Listen, if I help try and find Protoman, or whatever is left of him, will you atleast call a truce?"

[i] Warlock bowed his head, and without saying anything to Zero, walked away...[/I]

[Flash]

[I]The hour passed quickly... It was not long before the Squad reached The city... It was the same city as the Hunters HQ was in, but it was on the other side, in the outskirts... A long way away from base. The squad got ready to deploy... Zero walks over to the window, and looks out... He sees massive explosions coming from the east. Napalm must be there, he thinks to himself...

The APC swoops down, hovering just above the surface of a main street... The area is burnt, and some parts are still on fire... It's clear to see that Napalm has caused a lot of destruction... [/I]

[B]Zero:[/B] [I]Dammit... Who's behind this?! Who would cause such unearthly destruction?[/I]

[I]The APC slowed down, and finally came to a stop... The hatch at the back opened, and the squad walked out, led by Zero... The Red Reploid's long blonde hair danced about in the wind, as he looked up at the massive Maverick... Napalm stood there, at least 20 feet tall... He was facing away from them, reaping destruction across the city with multiple flame jets, and missile launchers... Zero gritted his teeth, and prepared to fight... Drawing his Z-Sabre, he yelled the command to attack, and everyone followed... They spriting towards Napalm, all ready to fight... Zero reached him first, leaping skyward, Sabre drawn... He brought both hands back behind his head, and then swept them foward, slashing his sword into Napalm...[/I]

[Warlock]

[I] And to Zero's astonishment, the sabre hardly did any damage to Napalm's body... "Dammit, he must have some extremely powerful armour!"... Zero landed on his feet, and then quickly jumped to the side as a fireball crashed at his feet...[/I]

[I]Meanwhile, Warlock had found his way onto a neighbouring elevated highway to the giant 'Napalm', and was rushing along, Cossack Saber drawn... Jumping over a large piece of wreckage, Warlock was surprised to see several small, red reploids, all with small propellers above their heads, keeping them afloat... He suddenly felt a memory rush through his brain... These reploids looked strangely like one of Dr Wily's old mini-robots... Dismissing the thought for the time being, Warlock slashed at the small red reploids, destroying them in a burst of metal and wires... Warlock continued sprinting along the highway...[/I]

[Flash]

[i]Warlock armed his buster, and aimed at Napalm... He had a good snipe shot from his current location, and he didn't want to miss the oppurtunity... His buster, 'Hellspawn', began to charge, glowing a blood red colour... It was now that Napalm chose to notice Warlock. Warlock flinched, as Napalm aimed with both massive Flame cannons, and fired a huge bolt of fire... Warlock cancelled the attack, and transferred the charge into his Dash boosters, avoiding the attack just in time... He was knocked over by the force of the explosion, but wasn't damaged seriously... He looked back at his position, to see a massive chunk of road blown from the highway, and a raging inferno... But there was something else... A dark figure stood there, wearing a tatty cloak (similar to Forte.EXE's)... Warlock wasn't sure who it was, the fire, smoke, and dark sky all clouded his visual sensors... On top of all that, it was if the figure carried a veil of darkness around him... He spoke in a very metallic and emotionless voice...[/i]

[b]Dark figure:[/b] Conventional weapons can't hurt Napalm.

[b]Warlock:[/b] Who.. Who are you?

[b]Dark figure:[/b] I'm an... old friend of Doctor Light.

[b]Warlock:[/b] But... Why are you here?

[b]Dark figure:[/b] Take this.

[i]The Dark figure focuses, and something materialises in his hand... Warlock can't make it out, but catches it anyway... It's a small power cell... Or at least something resembling one, anyway. By his guess, Warlock would say it was a standard cell for a Type-9 buster... But he was wrong.[/i]

[b]Dark figure:[/b] Install that into your Hellspawn buster. It will vastly improve it.

[b]Warlock:[/b] Will it... Allow me to defeat Napalm?

[b]Dark figure:[/b] Yes. All you have to do is shoot him in the chest with that weapon, and he'll be defeated..

[b]Warlock:[/b] Thank you... But tell me, who are you, and how do you know so much about..

[i]But when Warlock lifted his head, the figure in the cloak was gone... He stood up, and checked around him... No-one... His buster shone.. It had all been real, all right. But who was the mysterious cloaked figure? Warlock thought to himself for a while, and then looked at the dark sky...[/i]

[b]Warlock:[/b] ...Protoman?

[Warlock]

[I]Warlock was knocked out of his train of thought as he heard the pained yell of a robot, and he quickly ran over to the edge of the highway... Only to see Zero, gripped in a giant hand which seemed to have sprouted from inside Napalm... He almost thought of letting Zero be crushed by the giant hand, avenging his friend's and creator's death... Warlock watched on as Zero continued to be crushed, and slowly shook his head... He glanced down at his buster, and began to power it up...[/I]

[I] Omega jumped up at the massive fist holding Zero, and slashed at it with his Titan Sabre... He growled slightly in frustration as the the sabre merely scratched the paintwork of the fist, not even damaging it... But in his fustration, he failed to notice the Napalm point of his it's giant Flame cannons at him... As his feet landed on the damaged asphalt below, he heard the large roar from above... Turning his head up, he noticed the giant fireball coming at him, and closed his eyes... [/I]

[B]Proteus:[/B] "Get down!"

[I] Omega quickly got onto his belly, and watched as Proteus appeared in front of him, one of his arms now morphed into a large titanium shield... The fireball crashed into the shield, and Proteus was pushed back by the tremendous force of the fireball... And just as Proteus felt his arm about to melt, the fireball erupted, sending both him and Omega flying...[/I]

[I] Zero meanwhile, was struggling to get out of the giant fist, slashing his sword in a futile attempt to destroy the fist... He heard a small cracking sound, and realised his torso was beginning to fracture... [/I]

[B]Warlock:[/B] "HEY YOU! DROP HIM AND FIGHT SOMEONE MORE ON YOUR LEVEL!!!"

[I] The head of Napalm swivelled around, it's sensors taking in Warlock's size, shape, weapons, all it could... Giving Zero one last deadly squeeze, it dropped him, letting Zero fall to the ground... It began to rumble, and with a terrifying speed rushed at Warlock... [/I]

[B]Max:[/B] "Warlock, get out of it's way!"

[I] And Max's remark Warlock merely smiled, bringing out his buster and pointing it at Napalm... It was now glowing, a bright red light radiating from core and spreading outwards... And just as he was about to fire at Napalm's exposed chest, he felt himself been grabbed by the fist, and watched in despair as the charged up buster shot went wide, flying up into the night sky, and exploding with a bright flash high in the air like fireworks... Warlock heard a loud crack, and realised Napalm had begun to crack his hard body armour... Realising his buster arm was free, Warlock began to charge it up again, the chest now so close a baby couldn't miss it... Now, all it was for Warlock was a race against the clock... Either he charged up his buster to full and fired, or Napalm crushed him, destroying all hope... A few seconds later he heard another crack, this time a larger one, and noticed his legs were no longer responding... Blinking, Warlock aimed for the middle of Napalm's chest, and waited a few more tenseful seconds for his buster to fully charge... But he wasn't the only one to notice that he had charged his buster... The giant Flame Cannons turning around to point at him, Warlock released the energy that had gathered up in his buster, but not before Napalm had fired both Flame Cannons at it's own fist... Warlock watched wide eyed as the fireballs raced at him, and Napalm also seemed to notice the powerful blast of energy racing at his chest... The mass of energy hit first, crumbling Napalm's chest in a blink of an eye... A second later, the fireball hit Warlock, disentergrating the fist, and throwing the now heavily damaged Warlock at Napalm... And with that, Napalm exploded... The rest, who had gathered the damaged Zero, were all huddled behind a large peice of rubble from one of the destroyed buildings as the giant explosion rocked the entire area... After the shockwave died down, the entire group got up, and looked at where Napalm had been... Everything there was now a towering inferno, rubble from the highway, buildings and Napalm itself pounding down from the sky... And it was then that the others realised the chances of Warlock surviving the explosion from ground zero...[/I]

-----------------------------------
...Someone...Get...Me...Some...Coffee...*collapses*

[Flash]

[B]Nova:[/B] Warlock!

[I]Nova ran foward, ignoring the flames, and into the smokey crater... Even using enhanced Infra-red imaging, it's hard for Nova to see in the thick smoke... Proteus notices this, and speaks to Nova over a comm. link..[/I]

[B]Proteus:[/B] [I]Nova, you should connect to the HQ Database and download a Wind-based weapon. [/I]

[B]Nova:[/B] [I]Good idea, Proteus.[/I]

[I]Nova quickly connects to the Hunter HQ Weapons Database, and downloads a 'Storm Tornado' weapon into his buster... He uses it at once, unleashing a massive tornado around him. The tornado quickly sucks up all smoke, leaving the crater visable... Nova spots Warlock, and runs up to him... Warlock looks bad. His shades are broken, one of his arms is missing, and his lower torso has been ripped off completely. He's in a bad way, and is teetering on the edge of shutdown.. He looks up at Nova, and grins...[/I]

[B]Warlock:[/B] Heh... Looks like I got 'em...

[B]Nova:[/B] Warlock! How... How did you survive that blast?

[B]Warlock:[/B] Oh... I've been through worse, heh heh...

[I]A few sparks flew from the open wound around Warlock's waist.. Broken cables and infrastructure lay strewn around him... Nova looks at Warlock's Hellspawn buster... It's different... Nova presses a button on it, and it opens up, revealing the Power cell Warlock recieved earlier...[/I]

[B]Nova:[/B] That power cell... I knew your buster was different somehow! It wasn't that powerful before, was it?

[B]Warlock:[/B] No... I recieved this only a few minutes ago...

[B]Nova:[/B] From who?

[B]Warlock:[/B] I don't know for sure... But I think it was... Protoman...

[James]

[i]Proteus examined his right arm -- the one which he'd used to deflect Napalm's fireball. It was slightly charred and burnt.[/i]

[b]Proteus:[/b] Ugh...I need to go back to HQ and have the titanium on my skin regenerated. I can see some of my internal wiring...

[b]Warlock:[/b] Good idea, Proteus.

[b]Proteus:[/b] But it's okay...I can live with it for now. I was awoken a little prematurely I think, as I don't yet have my regeneration program installed.

[b]Warlock:[/b] Not to worry, Proteus. We can arrange for you to get it.

[b]Proteus:[/b] Thanks. Okay so...what next?

[size=1]OOC: Oops! ..fixed! :)[/size]

[Flash]

I hope you meant Slash rather than Flash back there, James.. ^_^;;

[Warlock]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Final_Flash [/i]
[B]I hope you meant Slash rather than Flash back there, James.. ^_^;; [/B][/QUOTE]

Heh heh. Same here...
--------------------------

[I]As Nova brought the APC over to ground zero, Warlock lay there, his eyes searching the ground around him for something...[/I]

[B]Warlock:[/B] "C'mon, where is it?"

[I] Warlock brought his arm around behind him, searching the ground... And then, at last, his hands came upon the item he was searching for... He grabbed it, and held it by his body... His Cossack Saber...[/I]

[B]Warlock:[/B] "For a minute there I thought that guy had won a major victory..."

[I] A few seconds later, the APC pulled up next to him, and Proteus and Max stepped out, both grabbing him and taking him into the APC... They took him to the front, and strapped him to one of the seats there... With a lurch, the APC took off once again into the air, finally going back to the H.Q... And as the APC went only, Warlock glanced out the window at the early night sky... The day had been full of victories, and full of disasters... Closing his eyes as the APC continued on his way, Warlock just hoped tomorrow would be different...[/I]

[Chaos]

YAY! I'm BACK! WHOOOOOOO!!!!!!

But ehhhhhhhhhhhh...................Why didn't ANYONE include me in anything?? I mean, jeez, now I don't have any way to pop back into existance.........-.-;;;;;;;;;

[Warlock]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by SuperSayian [/i]
[B]YAY! I'm BACK! WHOOOOOOO!!!!!!

But ehhhhhhhhhhhh...................Why didn't ANYONE include me in anything?? I mean, jeez, now I don't have any way to pop back into existance.........-.-;;;;;;;;; [/B][/QUOTE]

...You [i]were[/i] included. Just not that much. And you're already with us, so no need for you to 'pop' back into existence. Now, could somebody [i]please[/i] post.

[Flash]

Yah, what Warlock said. We're all just heading back to base now... No problem fitting yourself in again Neil, it'll be like you never left. Or something.
-------

[B]Zero:[/B] I don't get it. I wish Warlock would just accept the fact that what I did was in no way my fault... I was designed like that, for christs sake! Look at Flash--He was designed and built for the sole purpose of evi--

[B]Demos:[/B] You'd better not be slagging Flash off.

[B]Zero:[/B] God dammit! Why is everyone so attached to Flash?! He killed himself! That was his cowardly choice.

[I]Before Zero could react, Demos had slammed him into the wall of the APC, and was holding with his forearm across the neck... Demos glared coldy at Zero, who couldn't move at all..[/I]

[B]Demos:[/B] Flash sacrificed himself so the likes of us... You included... Would survive. He was a great leader. Not a coward.

[I]Demos sharply pulled his arm away from Zero, who dropped back onto his feet... He had been slightly raised off them by Demos. Zero went quiet... He didn't want to anger anyone else, and didn't want to make himself anymore unpopular than he already seemed to be with some of the squad...[/I]

[B]Proteus:[/B] It seems a few people here don't like Zero all that much...

[B]Nova:[/B] *sigh* ...He's a good fighter... But he doesn't know what he's saying sometimes... And that could get him into a whole heap of trouble one day..

[Chaos]

Ah, why thank you Flash. You recognised the fact that Demos is as volitale as I am..^_^;;
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
[i]The APC arrived back at Mavrick Hunters HQ, grinding down to a halt in the Garage, Demos the first off. He used his boost jets to speed off, each one of his turns and dodges perfect. Zero was last off, still a tad shaken up from his encounter with the Fierce Bot.

Warlock looked questioningly towards where Demos has sped off, but went on his way.

Deep inside the base, a figure sat within an energy field, wires connected to underlying ports under gleaming, crimson armor. This Hunter looked strikingly familier to Zero, but his hair was not the same color; it was a dark, dark grey. His suit was darker, and he was a tad taller. Dignostics ran from the wires into super computors, scientists buzzing from one of the machines to another.

Demos walked in, severly pissed. He caught the attention of one of the Techies, speaking lowly.[/i]

Demos: "Is he ready?"

Tech.: "No... He's still in reanimation."

Demos: "Damn! How much longer?"

Tech.: "Only about ten more hours. But I must ask... Why the sudden concern?"

Demos: ".........Fl-...........Flash was killed earlier..."

Tech.: "Oh......... Oh.......... I'm sorry, Demos... He was like a brother to you, wasn't he?"

Demos: "Yes.......... My true brother to an extent..."

Tech.: "Well, I'm very sorry... But Chaos here will be up and at 'em in less than ten hours at this rate. But, I thought Zero was with the Squad?"

Demos: "Just because he and I are related, it doesn't mean I endorse him."

Tech2: "SIR! HE'S WAKING UP!!"

Demos and Tech.: "WHAT?! NOW?!"

[i]At that exact second, the Wily bot known as Chaos opened his eyes, both hands forming into busters. This robot aimed his busters around the room, eyes a-blaze with confusion. The last thing he remembered was seeing his brother, Bass, running off to do battle, and then he awoke, in this room of strangers.

Demos stepped forward, smiling deviously.[/i]

Demos: "Well, it's good to meet you, little brother...*Insert Radittz-like smirk here*"