X1

Upon teleportation, Zero immediately started dashing towards a series of elevating platforms.

"Wait! Zero, where are you going?"

Zero didn't even look back.

"Didn't you hear Dr. Cain explain? I'm gonna run ahead and scout out different locations to make sure we're not wandering into a mine field of airborne Mavericks. You run on along these platforms here up to the top of the Airport. Don't worry about me, I've been here many times before. Oh and keep a lookout for more capsules!"

X could barely hear him say 'capsule' as he dashed quickly up the side of the building set before him and out of sight.

"Alright Zero. Just don't go and get yourself killed."

X sighed one long breath and exhaled as he began his ascent up the precarious platforms. Above him he saw some Maverick activity already spreading. Airborne 'pincers' were sliding downwards trying to grapple X in their two arms and drop him off the high Airport to a quick death.

"Oh no you don't! Flying or not, you're still a Maverick!"

X charged his Buster only halfway and it was enough for the pitiful device. A thin green wave of energy blasted through the machine sending propeller parts and fuel down to the blue abyss. Impatiently waiting on the ever-rising platform, X looked down upon the world and thought to himself, "Someday you'll all be free of this Maverick tyranny. I'll finally be able to put down this X-Buster for good and redeem my sins I've put upon this world."

Upon completion of his contemplation, X saw a horizon arise from the top of the Airport's surface. At least he reached the top. He jumped from the platform onto the Airport near a rising column.

"*sigh* Is this what passes for a defense system here in this city?"

X grimaced as he powered up his X-Buster to take out the small firing cannon that inhabited the very top of the column. The cannon turned and fired upward in a false hope that it would take out any high-above intruders. The column plummeted down with the defeat of its only source of power and X dashed across to reach more Maverick activity.

"The Central Highway blue Mavericks. You guys just don't seem to learn, do you?"

X powered up his Buster one more time and held it as he dodged beneath two rockets that cut through the air faster than he had anticipated.

"You may have gotten me the first time we met," X blasted his massive blue energy charge through the gullet of the blue Maverick, "but this time I'M the one with the upper hand!"

Another blue Maverick readying its grounded electric charge stand in waiting a little further up ahead. X wasn't in the mood to waste another shot at the time. As he drew closer to the Maverick, he dashed past the electric wave and sideswiped the mechanic enemy with his fists. The Maverick fell violently to the floor and was forced to remain there.

"Curse this X-Buster! It's becoming far too convenient to just destroy anything giving me a hard time!"

Not too far ahead, Zero was scouting a particularly strange wall placed on the other side of a high white fence. It was giving off powerful energy readings, readings not normally found in walls.

"Hmm, interesting. These flammable canisters weren't here before. Plus they're *nngh* welded to the floor and roof! Well, hehe, not for long!"

A high-pitched slicing sound broke through the deafening silence. The canisters were hacked away quickly with Zero's Z-Saber and recycled to the almost bottomless pit below the Airport.

"Heh, 'flammable' my shiny ass. Now let's see..."

Zero began to feel cold as he entered a noticeably sealed-off area. A soft blue light emanated from beyond the darkness. In an instant the soft light became a powerful beam of blinding beauty as a giant capsule billowed from beneath the surface in front of Zero.

"Ah yes! Another capsule! Now where the hell's X when you want him? Just to be sure, better do a couple scans..."

He scanned the peculiar device several times with nothing remotely different from the last capsule X happened upon. Zero heard footsteps and lunged around to find a hapless Hunter in blue staring back at him.

"Zero! You found another capsule! I hope Dr. Light left messages in each of them. There's still so much more I could have learned from him."

Zero stepped away from the capsule and waved X on into the platform.

"Just get on with this. I hope this upgrade gives you the power of knowing when and when not to lament."

X was about to step onto the platform when a faded holographic image of Dr. Light once again showed itself inside the capsule.

"This capsule contains an enhancement for your helmet which will allow you to break some ceilings with a headbutt."

As quickly as he came, Dr. Light's image dissolved into obscurity.

"Wow, this guy really cut to the chase this time!"

X did not approve of Zero's blunt comment.

"Yes, but a helmet upgrade? This oughta come in handy if I'm headbutting things I guess."

Zero laughed at X's innocence and started walking back towards the high white fence.

"Haha, come on X. Let's get back to stopping Storm Eagle's assault. Hey, why not give your gear a new try on this low ceiling while we're here?"

X looked at his new helmet in his reflection on Zero's chest. The new white outlines actually made X nod in a fashionable approval.

"Hey look, you gonna eyeball me or are we gonna try out your head?"

With no hesitation, X leaped up and powered through several layers of near-indestructable ceiling material.

"Holy crap, that's one hard head you've got! And this time I'm not being metaphorical!"

As the two of them laughed in spite of themselves, they began climbing the tall white fence in pursuit of Storm Eagle and his cronies.

"Zero...how do you do it?"

Zero looked puzzled as he climbed higher and higher.

"Hmm? Do what?"

"Fight. I know I fight as well, but you just do it so effortlessly without even thinking of the sheer violence all this fighting causes. Violence begets violence."

Zero smirked and looked over at the rookie Hunter.

"X, perhaps someday after you've been in the weeds like I have that in a time of peril like this, the only thing that matters is the next mission. Yeah yeah, it's a very cold and military outlook on life, but as I've said before if you want peace, sometimes you have to fight for it. It's ugly, it's senseless, but it is what it is. You're a good fighter, X. I know you will understand. Now here we are. You head on this way and I'll scout some more for any fishy activity from those damned Mavericks. Don't worry, we'll get 'em."

Zero dashed off into the fray leaving X to his own devices and thoughts.

"I guess I just have to do what I do," he thought to himself. He began to dash, making up for lost time with the capsule. He dashed underneath a series of airborne Mavericks not unlike those he saw at the beginning of the Airport. One such Maverick ticked X's shoe but didn't manage to lift him up. Narrowly escaping that area, X continued on in search of Storm Eagle.

"Rrrgh, where are you? I hope I'm not walking in circles here."

X scanned the area and saw above him another giant platform he could rest upon. With a yell of "Alley oop!" he jumped onto the wall then kicked his way up to the top of the platform. He saw ahead of him more of those balled-up walking figures he'd seen on the Central Highway sometime ago.

"You guys again! Nothing I can do but take you down. You forced me to do this!"

A flood of pellets shot from X's arm, each one smacking into the orb of the machines. After several rounds of clanking metal, the machines shortcircuited and fell to the ground. With a shake of his head, X leaped over the pile of scrap and continued dashing his way further along the expanse of the Airport.

"Sure is long...wonder when I'll come upon the main threat of Mavericks? That Storm Eagle's always been a clever Hunter after all. Hey! More flybots!"

With ease, X dashed under the flying Mavericks, unwilling to destroy what he need not destroy. A series of floating platforms beckoned his will up ahead.

"Hmm, these look suspicious, but so does everything else around here for the time being. So looks like I'm going to have to jump..."

He jumped onto the first platform and then felt his knees begin to buckle.

"Shit! I'm falling!"

With barely enough time to jet upwards, he jumped high enough to grab the lip of the next platform with his hands only to feel it, too, starting to give way.

"Ah hell this is all I need!"

He scrambled up to the top and made a last-ditch effort to jump across the next several platforms in succession. After he'd finally opened his eyes, he was safe on the other side.

"Geez, Eagle's gonna be a cakewalk after that!"

"Did someone mention my name?"

X could hear his voice, but couldn't see him.

"I'll be waiting for you, X, in my humble abode..."

X clenched his fists, as he tends to do, and proceeded into the heart of the Airport's base tower. Two gun turrets were mindlessly launching missiles in his direction. X casually moved to one side and put the turrets out of their misery with a pre-charged fireball of blue flame to their main components. He then climbed down a ladder conveniently placed near the first security door. Wandering through, he knew he was about to face a very dear friend to him. Someone he'd had friendly talks to. Someone he'd even respected as an S-Class Hunter. Climbing down the second ladder, he saw the platform that would take him to Storm Eagle's main base. He even hesitated as to whether or not he really had to fight Storm Eagle or if he could just reason with him. By the time he'd come to his conclusion, he'd already been looking directly at Storm Eagle for a few moments.

"You're here. Good. I've been waiting for you and only you, X. You know why we're here and what we must do. So let's do it."

Storm Eagle's monotoned voice made him seem more robotic than he already was.

"Wait, Eagle! Just listen to reason! We don't have to fight! I know you've gone Maverick and side with Sigma, but it doesn't have to be that simple!"

Storm Eagle aimed his gun arm at X.

"But it is. I only wish for a world inhabited by us Reploids. There would be far more peace without the humans, X. You know I've always been for peace. Now I fight for an everlasting peace only us Reploids could possibly cherish."

X began to tremble with anger and his pupils grew two sizes smaller in deep focus.

"Fine. I know you won't listen to reason. You won't even give true peace a chance. All you now know is fighting, so fighting it must be. If it's my last resort-"

"Shut up and come get me."

Storm Eagle blasted a furious Storm Tornado wind from his gun arm and began flying to the skies. X was violently pushed backward, sliding nearer and nearer the lip of the base. Had he gotten any closer he would plummet to a death that would not come quick enough.

"Arrrrgggh, no! I won't fall to you, Storm! I'm working too hard to prevent your false hopes of a violent 'peace'! Have at it!"

X began charging his Buster when he couldn't even get a view of Storm Eagle. He'd disappeared. Until he heard a gust of whirling wind coming at him from above. A vicious Storm Eagle divebombed into X, sending him doubling over himself across the base floor. Battered but not down, he fired a fully-charged shot into one of Storm Eagle's expanded wings.

"Owch dammit my wing! You'll pay for that with your life and the lives of your friends!"

With his one good wing, Storm Eagle awkwardly rose up and spat out a mechanical egg, hatching four tinier replicas of himself that flew instinctively towards X. With a few fancy pellet shots they were all quickly put out of commision.

"Save it, Storm! I fight for the side of justice and you know yourself, as a fellow Hunter, that justice conquers all!"

X fired another fully-charged round into the other wing, sending Storm Eagle crashing into the floor of his own base.

"Little...do you know X...that your justice...is flawed!"

Storm Eagle sent out two more powerful Storm Tornado gusts of wind, colliding into X and nearly crushing him under the intense inertia of each other. X couldn't even see as his face was firmly planted in the floor of the base. Storm Eagle hobbled over to his enemy.

"You see now, X? Winged or not, I am still the superior fighter. All your hope and prayers in the world can't change the fact that us Mavericks are an inevitability. We're not some anomaly or defective Reploid like the media makes us out to be! We're the new breed! The natural evolution in Reploid technology! Our justice is far more pure than the ideals of the Hunters. I value justice in all ways, X. Good or bad, whatever you think, it's what I'M fighting for."

Storm Eagle backed away and powered up another Storm Tornado shot that would send X off the side of the Airport and into obscurity. Behind him, however, was someone else that had remained obscure up to this moment.

"What? Zero? NO!"

Zero took out his Z-Saber and brought it up to Storm Eagle's exposed neck.

"Now listen here, Storm. We've worked together for some time. We've talked, hung out, even fought each other in practice combat. But now you're threatening one of the lives of a great Hunter and I won't see that happen. Friend or not, I can't let you do this."

Zero then sheathed his Saber across Storm Eagle's neck, severing his main motor functions from the rest of his body. He fell to the floor and his life force drained from him in a moment's notice.

"A terrible waste to a good friend."

Zero walked over to X and picked up his beaten cohort. With the data chip in hand, the two of them left the Airport for Dr. Cain's lab. All that remained was the corpse of a good friend, and worse enemy.