X1

X teleported to the outside of the forever-tall Fortress Tower. He made his way inside and looked up. It was a very long way up, but X knew he had one mission only and that was to put a stop to Boomer Kuwanger's Mavericks en masse.

"Well, no time like the present to start climbing!"

As he ascended each ladder to another platform, he could hear a faint clinking coming from above. Was it machinery? Was it a slew of Mavericks waiting to ambush? Or was it just all in X's head? If there was one thing X's head knew, it was how to handle minor threats. His mind began to wander though as he thought of his partner in peril.

"Man, Zero looked pretty bad...but I know Dr. Cain'll fix him. Zero's too gristled to let a little thing like near-death get in the way of him fighting again!"

"Are you gonna stand there and narrate all day or am I gonna get some action in?"

The extra voice caught X off-guard and he stumbled slightly on the ladder. He looked over to his left and saw a red-eyed Maverick holding an immense green shield and a mace.

"Yeah you heard me! I wanna get my mace on! On YOU, that is!"

X smiled and shut his eyes. He snickered a little bit at the terrible pun this spunky little Maverick had delivered.

"What, you think I'm funny? You won't be laughing when this mace cuts your damn head off, loser!"

X climbed the rest of the way to the top of the ladder and inched closer to the edge of the platform, looking across the Tower to the other side where the not-so-friendly Maverick stood.

"Wrong move, punk! Take this!"

The peppy Maverick moved his shield aside and launched the mace with brute force towards X. He backed off and hugged the wall, all the while smiling his bright whites towards his foe. The mace barely made it across the gap when it returned to its owner's hand.

"Damn these mid-length maces! Alright I know you won't stand there all day so come have it some more!"

X began charging up a power shot with his X-Buster, knowing full well what to do to shut this pesky Maverick up. He leaned in as the predictable felon once again moved his shield aside. But before he could even begin to swing his spiked mace, X unleashed a fiery ball of blue across the gap, hitting the Maverick right between his two beaming red eyes.

"Arrrrgghgh! You bastard and your Buster! Fine, take the whole damn mace why don't ya!"

He threw the mace, chain and all, right at X's head. Luckily X was coming down from his jump, so the chain and mace glided past the top of his head and buried themselves in the wall. With no protection left and his shield still to his side, X leaped towards the other side of the gap and shot another powerful blue blast through the Maverick and left a burn mark on the wall.

"Heh, stupid rookies. Now I know why Zero was so apprehensive about me at first. Oh Zero..."

X stared at his Buster for another minute, hoping his teammate would recover quickly. So far X had no fears of this area as things seemed pretty light for the time being. Once again he began his trek up the very long Tower. Upon reaching another platform he noticed a curious glow coming from across the right side of the Tower. It was one of those wall-mounted security cannons that fired energy bursts to those in close proximity.

"No problem. A little fully-charged blast oughta do the trick nicely."

X was making things seem to easy as he happily put the cannon to rest forever with a surge of blue energy that flew across the gap. Another mace-bearing Maverick stood between X and the rest of the Tower, however.

"So...you think you can destory one of my Maverick brethren and get away with it? I don't think so!"

Even before the Maverick dished out his only one attack in is arsenal, X has leaped across the gap and just stood in front of his enemy. Taken aback by the sudden bravery X emitted, the red-eyed Maverick drew back in shock.

"Uhh umm...You won't get away with this!"

He fell to the ground and clutched his mace like a toy. X shook his head in shame.

"It's sad, really. Not fit to live amongst Reploids as a Maverick, and not fit to live amongst Mavericks as a coward."

He was about to climb another ladder directly above when out of the corner of his eye the scared Maverick's eyes glowed with red intensity and started swirling the mace from the ground in X's direction.

"One more move and I swear I will fire! I'm fully charged and ready! So put down your weapon!!"

The high-pitched pulsating sound of X's fully-charged X-Buster echoed through the tube-like Fortress. Every Maverick, above and below, knew the sheer power that came from the X-Buster in its fully powered up level. Unfortunately the cowardly Maverick was not as aware and began winding up the mace for one final attack.

"I told you..."

X fired his blast at point-blank range, vaporizing the Maverick and its mace in seconds. Within an instant, the entire Fortress was quiet. The only sound was the echoing high up of the cannon blast X had fired into the face of a cowardly Maverick.

"My God...This is terrible. I can't do this. No one should have this kind of power. Not even someone like me."

X knew he was becoming stronger as time went on, but kept on fighting anyway. He knew that in this world there was no peace without war. But it was something he would continue striving for, even if it meant the unfortunate loss of life. X decided this and put his Buster away as he began his ascent once again.

"Great...two wall cannons. Looks like I'll have to play chicken."

X saw both cannons powering each other up, ready for anyone that crossed their lines of fire. X watched as the cannons hovered and lowered, then timed his climb. He quickly scaled up the ladder just as the two cannons met eye to eye and fired shots, criss-crossing each other and barely passing under X's feet as they continued their journey into the center of the other cannon's frame. Both destroyed and no energy wasted. Just how X likes it.

"Ah, always good to keep things clean...well, clean enough."

At the first pathway X came to at the top of that ladder, he headed forward and came to a booby-trapped room of trip lasers and homing lasers. "Trip the lasers, you get lasered." That's how it was put back at Maverick Hunter HQ. X was glad that finally some of his almost meaningless training was being put to use. He easily dashed underneath one laser and timed his next jump so he'd land when the laser wasn't flashing, then jump to the next platform. All going well, until an unexpected visitor smashed into X from above.

"Ack! Helicopter Mavericks! Oh crap, wire trip!"

X's fumble from the sudden appearance of a Maverick caused him to fall onto a trip laser as it was beaming across the floor. Not one second later was X being zapped by several homing lasers at once.

"Auuugh, time to rush it!"

Fighting through the pain, X dashed through the rest of the trip lasered area, tripping every single trap along the way. Luckily his dashing and jumping moves only forced him to get hit once more. But the damage had been done. X's body was steaming from the burn marks left all over his body. But for some reason, X felt no worse than he did before his laser-tripping escapade.

"Hmm, could this new body armor REALLY be that good? Well, that Sting Chameleon kinda quelled that one..."

X had to keep that out of his mind. Dr. Cain couldn't wait around forever for that data chip, or possibly even a rejuvenated Boomer Kuwanger. X always hoped that a few words would help these Mavericks realize that the humans aren't as bad a people as they're being made out to be. But every time he tries, it falls upon deaf ears. Data chips could be the only solution to a problem caused by the bearers of the chips themselves.

"Okay. Enough self-doubt. Come on X, you're better than this."

He climbed another ladder and saw a behemoth Maverick turtle firing smaller Mavericks out its back.

"So, it's not enough to try and stop me yourself, you even put your CHILDREN in harm's way!"

The Maverick turtle just kept firing smaller Maverick shots towards him. They parachuted down slowly, making them all the harder to handle. X fired a few round of pellet shots into the red and orange Maverick. Its wide frame made for an easy but tough target.

"Geez, you can really take a beating!"

Eventually enough pellets made their way inside the Maverick's shell to crack it in half and destroy all the little Mavericks that had been produced inside.

"*sigh* Sorry guys...but your mother wouldn't listen to reason. I really am sorry..."

X looked at the dead Mavericks harbored inside the giant shell one last time and kicked his way off the wall to the next ladder.

"I guess to truly be a great Maverick Hunter you have to turn off your emotions. Maybe that's how Zero does it...just become dead inside and everything can be rationalized. Rrrgh, I'm sorry but that's too simple! Even Mavericks have feelings and emotions! They have dreams and aspirations too! It's too bad they're one-minded."

X climbed the ladder and found an empty area. He rested there for awhile, letting the burn marks on him come to rest from the extreme heat. As he made his way up to the next platform via yet another ladder, he saw yet another red and orange Maverick, once again spouting its offspring into the air to do more damage to him. He began aiming his X-Buster right at the face of the Maverick, but then though, "No. Not this time. I won't harm any Mavericks who bring along their children to be killed for a cause I don't support."

He tried to leap overtop the Maverick but was struck with one of the offspring on his leg, tumbling down to the corner near the next ladder. He rose to his feet quickly and made his way up the ladder, taking the hit to keep a mother alive. He encountered another one and did the same thing, only the next baby Maverick took out his non-Buster arm. Finally another one waited for him near the top of the area and fired more Mavericks into the air to try and prevent X from ever reaching his goal of Boomer Kuwanger. X paused and waited for a clearing in the fired-off rounds, then planted his boot onto the face of the mother Maverick and spring-boarded off the face to the next ladder.

"See ya later, mom!"

Satisfied with his sacrifices, X took another moment at the top to rest due to more minor injuries. Even though minor, they were beginning to pile up. X felt slightly sluggish but still determined.

"I don't care how much energy I lose. Boomer Kuwanger is being brought to justice!"

He made his way down to a moving platform. It was an elevator used by the humans to transport materials from one area of the Tower to the other. Now completely overrun with Mavericks, the elevator is merely an aesthetic tool. X, however, found it quite useful to get further into the Fortress Tower.

"Going up!"

He switched the lever causing the rickety platform to move upwards. As it began to move, he knew why this elevator was still in commission. Spikes. Deadly instant-kill spikes lined the bases of hovering platforms above X. One wrong move and he would become instant scrap metal. On top of that, more of those Helicopter Mavericks were swooping down to trip him up. He dashed to the left, barely avoiding a Maverick. The spikes sliced through the elevator, leaving giant holes in their wake. Above X the spikes came down even faster as the elevator began to pick up speed. A series of three tightly-placed platforms made for a tricky move, but thanks to the rustiness of the elevator, it came to a very slow and steady stop at the top of the long elevation. Not an extra scratch on X's head.

"Huh. That went well. If only EVERY Maverick attack could be this breezy!"

X spoke too soon though. He then realized he had to walk up the side of the next Tower area. Not an easy feet, even for a Hunter like X.

"*sigh* More ladders. First the Mavericks are predictable, now my surroundings are even repeating themselves!"

X made quick work of a few ladders coming to a much higher ladder, forcing him to kick off the outside wall. But before he could kick off, a secret compartment darted out from the side of the building, carrying with it a mounted laser cannon that shot X directly in the face. He fell to the ladder below, gripping with one arm.

"Agh! Caught off-guard! I'm starting to get sloppy. Dammit X, time to smarten up!"

He grabbed the ladder with his other hand and made it back up to the area with the protruding compartment. He charged up a power shot and patiently waited the return of the laser cannon. It fired off a round but couldn't even get a second off before X blew it to pieces.

"Nice. Now let's keep this up!"

He kicked off the wall and made it to the next level up via ladder. Another protruding laser cannon shot rounds above X, but not underneath a ladder. To his right stood the ladder and a tiny foe hung about on its rims.

"Hmm, now they're guarding my means of ascent! Mavericks are getting too damned smart."

He shot off a few pellets towards the ladder crawling Maverick and sent it to the ground far far below it. Leaping over to the ladder, he made it up to the next level narrowly dodging a small laser shot from the cannon below. Yet another protruding laser cannon awaited him. Yet another fully-charged X-Buster shot awaited the protruding laser cannon. He jumped from the very side of the fully extended platform up to the next surface and leaped to another ladder, firing a half-charged quick shot at the ladder-grabbing Maverick just in the nick of time.

"Gotta make it up there fast! No telling what Boomer's up to at this point!"

More ladders and ascending platforms stood before X and he climbed them furiously without even hesitation for the mounted laser cannons. On one such ladder he even grabbed the tiny Maverick sitting on a rim and tossed it down.

"I grow tired of all this! Why won't he show his face to me?"

He jumped on two more protruding platforms two more ladders, making one final leap to another ladder leading up to the inside of the next Tower. The laser cannons fired at absolutely nothing.

"Finally. If I see one more ladder I'm gonna tear it down!"

He went into the Tower and noticed a flurry of spinning helicopter blades on the bases of many hovering platforms, each mounted with spinning laser guns.

"Yeech, very cliche, Boomer. You'd almost swear he got this idea from some video game."

X powered up a charged shot and vaporized the gun from close range. Now a safe and secure moving platform, he jumped on top and began another ascent to the restricted area of the Fortress Tower. Leaping with great agility across massive gaps, X was climbing faster and higher than before. Having to deal with another ladder, he grumbled to himself and fired a fast flux of pellet shots into the body of another mounted laser gun. With a new platform to know and love, X jumped on top and used it as a means of getting up to the next area where more wall-mounted laser cannons awaited. X wouldn't even stop to power up his X-Buster by this point. He carried on through the firing rounds from the laser cannon and shot a cluster of pellets into its gun holster, sending it crackling down into the area below. He ignored the next hovering laser cannon and jumped to the next ladder.

"Oof, getting tired, need time to cool down..."

X squeezed his fists and knew there was no time to 'cool down.' Up the next ladder he climbed to a high ceilinged room loaded with three hovering laser cannons. He waited a few seconds while the cannons whirled around and fired into the ceiling, then made his move wall-kicking up the left side quickly and giving one last push of energy up the next ladder in one solid climb, just barely getting bopped on the boot by a pellet from the laser cannon near his foot. Panting wildly, X dropped to a knee and took time for himself and his circuits to calm down and realign themselves. He knew Boomer Kuwanger was close and meant business. Serious ninja business. At only half-capacity with energy, this fight would be X's most difficult. He kept telling himself he'd utilize every new power he's acquired to best Boomer Kuwanger in a fight of stealth. Then he entered the first security door.

"Come on X," he thought to himself, "now is the time to use all your skills to their best!"

He entered the second security door and dropped into an empty room. Nothing. There wasn't even a squeak or squabble from anything. Just a blank room. Until he heard a voice.

"Welcome, X. Are you ready to fight?"

X readied himself in battle posture.

"We don't have to fight, Boomer! There are better ways of resolving our problems!"

"Sadly the only course of action I'm willing to take involves much pain. You continually ridiculed my Fortress Tower, made jokes at the expense of my Maverick brothers, and even killed a childbearing Maverick. You think it's all fun and games, well these actions prove you have no heart or soul. As a Maverick, at least I have morals and ideals with realistic goals! The complete rule of the world by us true heirs, the Mavericks!"

X began quivering his fists.

"Your morals and ideals? You're the one with no heart to imagine that killing innocent humans is fair justice for your precious 'morals' and 'ideals'! You said you're ready to fight, so let's just do this. I've heard enough from you and your cold motives!"

From behind, X heard a SHUSH sound and saw two pointed spikes sticking out of the head of one Boomer Kuwanger, now slashing X's stomach with his very Boomerang Cutter. X fell to his back but quickly rose again as his new body armor was keeping in the pain.

"You forced me to use these, Boomer. I didn't want to, but I must."

X switched on his new data chip technology from his X-Buster and armed himself with the freezing Shotgun Ice. Boomer appeared again in front of X and he let off a round into his chest. It zoomed towards Boomer Kuwanger and...clinked off like a piece of tin foil.

"WHAT?! Dammit don't tell me!"

He switched to the whirling Storm Tornado and blew it across Boomer Kuwanger's body. All that happened was a mere few inches of movement. Not even a paint scratch.

"What the...Fine. Rolling Shield!"

He armed himself with Armored Armadillo's speciality and rolled it up Boomer Kuwanger's backside. Still bounced off and phased into nonexistence. Boomer Kuwanger rose his head in victory.

"You see X, I too am aware of the flaw in our data chips...I know what you possess and I know my weakness, a great asset to my strategy, don't you think?"

He disappeared again into the room somewhere, shielded from view.

"It's alright, Boomer. I may not have the upper hand, but I still know that I will defeat you."

"Strong words coming from someone with such limited resources!"

Another back attack caused X to have half his leg severed off. It trickled down in front of X's face as he then laid on the floor of the empty room holding his foot in pain.

"Ack, you may have the drop on me but I also have an X-Buster!"

He powered up his trusty Buster and waited for the perfect moment. It finally arrived as Boomer Kuwanger lurched over X's downed body. He shot Boomer Kuwanger right between the eyes, sending his Boomerang Cutter helmet toppling down and disintegrating into ash.

"No! My helmet! My source of power!!"

Fleeing about the room like a lost child, Boomer Kuwanger turned to X and ran straight at him, arms outstretched ready to strangle his opponent to death.

"Don't you know that the run n' gun method is so predictable?"

X fired a final fully-charged shot again between the eyes of Boomer Kuwanger, puncturing his outer armor and reaching his central processing unit in his head. He began twitching, disappearing and reappearing multiple times around the room before reappearing on the ceiling and shutting down. His body fell to the floor and clumped together like a pile of dry clay. X dragged himself over to the lifeless Boomer Kuwanger and retrieved the precious data chip.

"Huh...almost don't even need the things..."

Quite happy of his accomplishment, he grabbed the rest of his foot and hastily teleported back to Dr. Cain's lab, hoping Zero would meet him with open arms.