X1

The two Hunters splashed down into the water just outside the Subterranean Base.

"Okay X, keep any eye out for anything weird and take down any Mavericks that stand in our way."

X looked over at the red clad Hunter curiously.

"What, not gonna scout ahead or search for any secret areas?"

"I think we should hit this one together. It's apparent that this won't be our last mission so working together could be to our benefit."

X couldn't stop from grinning as he began charging up his X-Buster.

"You got it, pal."

"Hey hey, easy on the informalities. We're still Hunters, rookie."

The two didn't walk two steps before an old friend of Zero's, the frog-like Maverick, began gliding across the water towards them.

"Lemme get this one, X! Hyyah!"

A quick Z-Saber slice and the Maverick was decommissioned. Up ahead was another Maverick spouting its offspring out its back from two long pipes. Zero started charging towards it, but X grabbed Zero by the chest and held him fast.

"No. Not this one. We don't have to fight it. I've been through this already. Let's take the hit and keep on moving."

Zero broke free of X and unsheathed his Saber anyway. As his blade drew closer to the mother Maverick Zero felt a harsh tingle in his back. He looked back and saw X's Buster arm smoking.

"You...you SHOT me?"

"I won't let you kill a mother. Let's just keep moving!"

Zero dashed over to X and grabbed him by the throat, raising him high in the air.

"Listen! I make the calls around here! This Maverick is posing a threat to our mission and I won't have some pro-life sympathizer put our future in jeopardy! As I am the superior ranking officer, I say we must retire this Maverick, mother or not."

X writhed and squirmed, breaking free of Zero's grip.

"We far exceed the necessary power to defeat her. That doesn't mean we should. If there is an alternative to fighting, for the greater good, we should take it! At least give this one request of mine a listen, Zero! For God's sakes, she can't even move!"

Zero took in a few breaths as he let the small burn on his back steam off.

"...Fine. But if you're gonna make another request, try doing so without shooting me."

X brought back that smile he couldn't wipe away.

"Agreed."

The two Hunters leaped over the Maverick as far as they could before they were electrified by the surface of the enemy and rolled down its frame past the offspring and the threat.

"Now that wasn't so bad was it? Few scrapes at best."

Zero wiped the dirt and muck from his waterlogged arms.

"Yeah easy for you to say, Mr. Body Armor. Thank goodness I'm built to last."

They began walking again when another frog Maverick and mother Maverick stood in their wake. X looked at Zero with a face of sympathy and compassion.

"Rrrgh...alright one more time. But I my circuits can keep this up for only so long!"

Zero took the frog Maverick by the arm and smashed it into the ground sending parts flying everywhere.

"There. NOW let's go."

They ran shoulders-first into the Maverick, temporarily shutting down her manufacturing of offspring Mavericks and giving them a window of opportunity. They leaped across the Maverick, successfully making it to the other side unscathed.

"See? Sometimes the best course of action-"

"Yeah yeah. Well great for her. My good deed for the day, let's say."

As they continued getting closer to the Base, they came upon a bed of spikes.

"Alley-oop!"

Zero gave X a hand for him to step upon, giving him the needed lift to cross the gap. Zero dash-jumped across, keeping pace with X who was already a bit further up. X planted a few rounds of pellets into a frog Maverick's exoskeleton, vaporizing it from the inside. Then they came upon a large body of water.

"Ah finally we're here. The Subterranean Base. Come on, we got a job to do!"

They jumped down far into the Base and were instantly greeted with seahorse Mavericks, cleverly waiting below the surface.

"Augh! Mud clouds! Where the hell are you?"

Zero flailed his Z-Saber left and right, only managing to hit one seahorse and sending it crashing into the wall behind them. X hit two other seahorses that surprised him from below with a charged shot that fired through both simultaneously. Finally the mud cloud began to clear.

"*cough cough* Lucky shot, X. Glad I brought you along this time."

X smiled and put his Buster arm behind his head.

"Heh, no sweat! All in a day's work for a Hunter!"

Further up were several more curious-looking patches of mud on the watery floor of the Subterranean Base.

"I think those are pods for these seahorse creatures to shoot from. Zero, I say we just leap across to avoid any further confrontation."

Zero scanned the area. He leaned back a bit and looked over at X.

"Hmm. Good idea. Let's do it!"

With increased jumping ability and buoyancy, the Hunters jumped enormous jumps, clearing several of the traps laid out for them. A few beds of spikes came and went as they began to descend to a very barren area.

"Hmm, why's it so quiet here? Zero, you see anything up ahead?"

Before Zero could answer, the floor below them rumbled and a gigantic fish-like Maverick sprouted up before them. It had a grill for a mouth with a whirling fan inside. It had search lights on its head and rocket blasters on its sides. And two eyes that looked like they meant business.

"Crap! Alright! X, you take out the search light while I dismantle the missiles and rocket blasters!"

X began charging his X-Buster, all the while avoiding the search light. He rolled along the floor and jumped to scurry away from any contact with the light. Zero leapt forward, slicing one side of the fish Maverick and taking out several missiles. Then the fan began whirling violently in the opposite direction.

"Aww shit! It's trying to suck us in! Quick, X! Dash! Keep dashing!"

The two Hunters dashed away from the fan as best they could, but they also didn't count on the new set of missiles from the rocket blasters. Each Hunter was hit hard with a missile on the back, projecting them forward and luckily away from the fish Maverick.

"Owch! Ungh that hurt! Well, Mr. Fish, I think it's time you went back to the sushi parlor!"

X's now fully-charged shot was sent screaming at the search light, taking out the light and the fixture that held it in. Release of the missiles was temporarily disabled.

"Yeah, way to go X! Now it's my turn!"

Zero brought his Saber back towards the side of the Maverick, but this time he sliced off the entire side of it. With precious circuits exposed, he drove his Saber clear into the central nervous processor, shutting down the electronic brain...but reactivating the fan and sending into high speed.

"Zero! What the hell did you do??"

X was being pushed away quickly towards a bed of spikes they thought they were safe from.

"I don't know! It just...started up again!"

"Well do something about it or you'll be going on alone!"

Zero jumped to the front of the fish Maverick, grappling the side of the grill with his free hand so he wouldn't be blown off like X.

"Zero, hurry!"

X scraped at the floor, useless to find a grip as the ground was rocky here. He was just about to meet his end from a bevy of spikes when he suddenly noticed he'd stopped. He looked up from the ground and saw a content Zero with his Z-Saber stuck in the blade of the fan.

"Whew...thanks."

Zero smiled but looked back at the fan.

"Don't be happy just yet, I can't keep this in the blade for much longer. Run on past and I'll let go."

"But what about you?"

Zero gave him another quick smile.

"Don't worry, I got it."

X dashed past and turned around to see Zero thrust the Saber back out and somersault away, sending the fan into a blinding fast whirlwind and exploding within seconds.

"Told you I got it."

Further on they went into the heart of the underwater base. Ahead they saw a series of bubble-shaped robot fish.

"Careful, X. I've seen these before. They're meant to sift out polluted water and recycle it into clean water."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad, actually."

Zero lowered his eyes.

"They also happen to have stomachs big enough to hold a Reploid. And I doubt these are the friendly kind of fish we'd prefer."

They began their tricky walk around the fish, dodging their inhaling mouths and potential permanent tombs.

"Man, even fish can go Maverick. First seahorses, then giant fishes, now bubbles."

"X, stop your talking and-LOOK OUT!"

Zero pushed X out of the way of an oncoming bubble fish but didn't think to look out for himself.

"Zeroooo!"

The fish swallowed him whole, leaving no trace of the hapless Hunter.

"No, dammit! I won't let you die!"

X began charging his X-Buster and aimed it square at the fish, when from inside he heard a buzz sound, then a shining thin light burst from the fish, then sliding down its frame and sending the mischievous foe down to the bottom of the Base.

"Zero! You're alive!?"

"Sorry, but I wasn't gonna let you have all the glory of putting Launch Octopus out of his misery!"

With a look of relief on his face, X walked over to Zero who was just touching back down on soil.

"Let's get the rest of these bubble fish before they become a problem, X."

They fired shot after shot and blade after blade of destruction, destroying each bubble fish faster than the last.

"Whew, great, wonderful. That had better be the most of our problems..."

X had spoken too soon. The ground around them cleared, revealing a small bed of spikes to their front and back. Sure enough, the ground began to rumble and another giant fish Maverick sprung up ahead of them.

"Great! I suppose we'll handle this like last time?"

Zero spun around to face X.

"No, we need a new plan! You remove the grill and put the fan out of commission then-X duck!"

Zero and X hit the floor, nearly being tackled by a set of missiles that buzzed past them. Zero quickly rose to his feet and started making his way onto the fish itself.

"Then what, Zero?"

Zero turned back and yelled, barely audible over the fan.

"Just do it! I'll do the rest!"

X dug his hands into the platform and made small indentations. Just enough for him to make headway into the fan's deadly pushing winds.

"That...fan...better...not...change...its...direction..."

X clasped onto the frame of the grill and pulled it off with ease. Inches away from the potentially fatal spinning fan, X began pelting away at it with pellets. But all they did was bounce off in all directions.

"X! Stop that fan already!"

Zero was busy catching missiles and shoving them into the heat exhausts along the perimeter of the fish's sides. Without the fan off, heat could still escape, making Zero's plan useless.

"I'm trying, Zero, but my shots bounce off!"

"Then get creative!"

X looked around for a solution, using all his strength just to stay on top of the fish against the harsh winds. He then looked up at the searchlight. Taking half a second to move, X held the grill frame hard with both hands and swept his feet up to grab hold of the light. Using all the force his Dash boots would allow, he snapped the light off and swung back down, letting go of the light and sending it into the blade.

"Yes! Alright Zero, let's get the hell outta here!"

With the blade stopped, X jumped off the fish Maverick and ran away, Zero in hot pursuit. They looked back at a cataclysmic explosion of Maverick parts and missile remnants flying off in all directions. Zero patted X on the back for good measure.

"Teamwork. Not so bad after all."

Not too far off, the team could hear warbling sounds and see sets of small whirlwinds flowing from the floor of the Subterranean Base.

"Those things don't look dangerous, but let's keep our wits about us for now, 'kay X?"

Zero went on ahead as X followed closely behind. They crossed a few whirlwinds with little effort and stopped for a moment, just underneath a gun ship.

"X, I think we should take out that gun ship. It'll crash down through this spiked area giving us an easier route!"

X frowned and looked on ahead.

"Yes, but who knows what's down past this area, Zero. I don't think I want to put innocent lives at risk, whether they're there or not. I'm willing to take the risk of jumping across without putting extra manpower into the destruction of one small ship."

Zero put his hand to his chin and thought hard. He looked up at the ship, back down at the spikes, the over at X.

"*sigh* You know you're really starting to piss me off. Let's go."

Zero jumped on ahead over the spikes. His curt attitude brought a genuine smile to X's face as he too leaped over the spikes, never touching one in the process. They continued on their journey to Launch Octopus' lair when they arrived at a large gap between two big posts.

"Nothing of interest here I guess. Let's keep moving."

The ground began to shake once again, but it was different than that of the fish Maverick that caused them so much trouble twice already.

"Oh God, not again..."

The digging noise grew louder and louder until they were both thrust high into the air from the emergence of a water snake-shaped Maverick. Spikes adorned its head, a giant crystal burst from between its eyes and more spikes were riddled around its sensitive tail.

"Okay X, get up! You go for the crystal, I'll go for the tail!"

The water snake Maverick circled around, aiming straight for X. He charged his X-Buster to full capacity while Zero was waiting for his moment to jump. Zero finally jumped onto the back of the beast, sending it off-balance and into a gyrating frenzy. X fired off his giant blast of blue energy but the gyrating moved it just out of range of the blast, nearly connecting with Zero's head.

"Dammit X, what are you trying to do, kill me?"

"Well give me some warning next time you decide to ride bareback on this thing!"

Once again X began powering up his Buster. Zero slowly climbed over each segmented section of the Maverick's snake-shaped body edging closer to the tail. The Maverick shook violently, trying to snap Zero off its body. Zero held fast and remained immobile. Seeing the the Maverick was distracted X, fully charged, leaped high into the air and fired a blue flaming round into the center of the crystal. The beast wailed and flailed around as smoke escaped from its mouth. Zero could barely hold on as he made it to the tail.

"Thanks X. Just what I need, a bumpy ride!"

Zero took one swipe of his Z-Saber to the tail, cutting it off and starting a chain reaction of explosions that ultimately defeated the Maverick and putting the two exhausted Hunters at ease.

"Another *cough* victory *wheeze* for the great *huff* Hunters."

X's sarcastic comment didn't ring with Zero. He just stood there regaining his composure.

"This isn't the end, X. We still have a mission to do. If you're well enough, we gotta keep moving. I think we're almost there."

The two leapt over the other big post and saw another array of bubble fish.

"Okay just past these fish I can see Launch Octopus' hideout. Let's grind these fish! You with me, X?"

X raised his X-Buster high in the air.

"You got it!"

They jumped and used their weapons against each bubble fish before it could even open its wide mouth. With two Hunters in tow, this missions seemed as though it was all in the bag.

"Ah here we go. Security doors. I dread walking through these every time."

Zero shook his head in agreement.

"Yeah I know what you mean. Even as Hunters, these guys still showed much intimidation. I respect them for that. It's a shame we have to do away with them."

They walked through the second security door and saw Launch Octopus waiting patiently for them.

"There you are. Oh what's this? Two for the price of one? And I didn't even know it was my birthday!"

Zero pointed his Z-Saber directly at Launch Octopus.

"I don't have time for games, Launch! Now you gonna make this easy or hard? 'Cause to be honest, I much prefer hard."

"Such kind words from a despicable human sympathizer. My Maverick brothers and I were hoping you'd listen to reason and join our cause against humanity."

X stepped in front of Zero, furrowing his brow.

"Listen to yourself! 'Against humanity.' I thought causes were things we fight FOR, not against. The only thing you fight for is the greed of Sigma and his power-hungry ideals!"

X charged his X-Buster in anticipation of the inevitable fight. Zero's Saber was already in attack mode, waiting to slice into Maverick skin.

"Good God it's been a long time since I've seen you, Launch. I didn't realize Mavericks now came in 'Ugly'! Ha ha ha ha!"

Launch Octopus' eyes glowed hot red with anger.

"Why you...!!"

Launch jumped into the air, sending four homing missiles towards the two Hunters.

"Quick, X! Shoot 'em before they connect!"

Zero sliced the two missiles heading his way as X belted the two missiles aimed at him with a half-charged Buster shot. Launch Octopus began twirling around sending the water into a violent whirlwind.

"Careful! We'll get sucked in if we don't get away somehow!"

Zero's words fell upon deaf ears as X was sucked into the vortex of water. Zero dashed away contiuously to avoid a collision with their enemy.

"Ha ha, you fell for it, X! I can't believe it! I will now destroy you and any chance you have of changing the world we Mavericks were meant to create!"

X quickly switched over his X-Buster's chip technology to that of the Rolling Shield.

"Sorry, it's you who fell for it."

X shot a Rolling Shield burst up to Launch Octopus, bowling him over and quickly putting an end to the giant whirlwind. Launch Octopus got up slowly, readying his missiles again.

"What...but how?"

X fired another few rounds of Rolling Shield into Launch Octopus, crippling him into the corner of his base.

"I know your weakness, Launch. The Rolling Shield. I did a little extra research and found these data chips to be quite handy in the future! As you obviously can't move, I'll tell you that I'll be retrieving yours as well."

Zero came back over to X, only then just becoming aware of what transpired.

"Damn X, seems like those things are finally coming in handy!"

Launch Octopus scowled at the two Hunters. He sent out more homing missiles as his only means of attack.

"Pitiful, Launch. Really. X, show him how it's done."

X fired one round of Rolling Shield, incapacitating all four missiles at the same time.

"No...no how dare you! I'll kill you! I'll kill the both of you! You'll never beat Sigma! Never!!"

X and Zero both stood directly in front of Launch Octopus. The last thing he saw was the butt of X's Buster and the tail end of Zero's blade.