Mega Man Fan Fiction ❯ Warmachine ❯ Chapter 4: Escaping East City ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 4: Escaping East City

If the corridors hadn’t been color-coded to help find your way through the various sectors than Vile and Nana would of wandered the small labyrinth for god knows how long. Reaching the hall where Vile had defeated the team of hunters before, the two descended the stairs.
“Wait up!” Nana called out as she almost tripped over something. Looking down she gasped at the destroyed body of a Reploid and cried out as a buster shot flew right past her, hitting the wall.
“There they are! Orders are to shoot on sight! Open fire!”
“Damnit!” Vile cursed as several hunters blocked the exits of the hall on the upper floor. His eye quickly turned to look at another small panel that led into a maintenance shaft.
“In there! Quickly!” He called out, priming his shoulder cannon and opening fire on the Hunters. He didn’t have time to aim properly so the plasma shots were mostly intended to cover their escape. Nana kept her head low as she ran for the panel, waving her hand over the control mechanism to open it. The shaft was tight but she could easily fit in it. She wasn’t too sure about the renegade but with lethal energy fire passing overhead she didn’t wait to find out. Without a second thought she crawled in, not looking back.
Vile backed away further until he felt the wall up against his back. The Ex-Hunter fired one more blast at a pillar that supported a portion of the upper floor before quickly crawling into the shaft. He made sure the falling rubble blocked off the shaft before continuing.
“Keep going! We’re not safe yet!” Vile called out as he needed to make himself rather small to move on.

The maintenance shaft went on straight ahead for at least half the width of the entire floor and after pushing down a grid Nana found herself staring down one of the out of order elevator shafts. She tried to find some means of getting down but debris and the lift cabin blocked the lower floors.
“The way down is blocked.” She whispered as she heard Vile had reached her.
“Then we go up, I have a plan.” Vile replied.
Nana pondered his words briefly before finally agreeing as they had no other options either way. Carefully she turned around onto her back and gripped the outer edge of the shaft, gently pushing herself out of the shaft and reaching out for a ladder to her right. Gripping the first bar of the ladder she lifted herself onto it and began climbing as quickly as she could. Vile grunted as he did the same and followed suit.
“And keep your eyes in front of you!” Nana suddenly called out, looking down at the Renegade with reddened cheeks. The skintight, black bodysuit that covered her Reploid frame didn’t exactly leave much to the imagination when it came to her lower body.
“Pity my jet boots aren’t working.” Vile muttered as he’d normally clear the distance in an instant.

They were forced to climb up past two levels as the maintenance shafts and elevator doors had crumbled or were blocked off. When they finally reached the 5th floor, Vile was able to force open the door and slowly walked out into the hallway.
“Unless they’ve been able to keep track of us with sensors, we’ll be safe for a bit right now.” Vile commented as he moved to a cracked view screen. Most of the commands didn’t work anymore but he was able to bring up another map of the floor. Going over the blueprint he didn’t see a clear means of escape so his risky plan was all they had left.
“We need to find an office or something, at the northern side of the building, and quickly.” He added, turning to face Nana who was already breathing hard.
“What are we waiting for then?” she asked smugly, smiling slightly before following Vile down the orange color-coded hallway.

It didn’t take them long to reach the northern side of the facility as most of the corridors were clear of rubble on that floor but as they approached an open office room a buster shot flew past them.
“They’re relentless! This is just a condemned Archive Facility!” Vile cried out in frustration at being hunted like an animal… Just like old times.
“Quick, down here!” Nana called out as more hunters appeared, the entire team raining a barrage of buster fire down on them. Vile followed the white framed operator down a different hallway. Another hunter rounded a corner in front of them but had chosen poor timing as he was instantly floored by a powerful knock to his head from a passing Vile. The Reploid gripped his jaw in pain and tried to get up.
“They went through there, quick!” He groaned as his colleagues passed.

“Great… A dead-end… There’s nowhere to go!” Nana looked around left and right in despair, her fear only rising as he heard the Maverick Hunters approaching from down the hallway.
“In here.” Vile ordered as he gripped the edges of a weakened sliding door. Using his back and one leg as leverage he groaned as he forced the door to slide open half way, keeping it in place.
“Hurry!” He called out as Nana crawled into the abandoned office room. Narrowly avoiding being hit by another volley of energy fire, the green Reploid slid into the room next. The sliding door automatically slammed shut again but it wouldn’t keep the hunters out for long.
“Great, now we’re stuck in here, what now?” Nana asked as she walked over to the north wall of the office. The entire wall was one large window overlooking the remains of East City. The view would’ve been marvelous once.
“Out of the way!” Vile grunted loudly as he picked up a heavy desk, holding it overhead with both arms before violently sending it crashing through the reinforced glass window. Shards of glass spread outward and plummeted with the piece of furniture to the streets below. Behind them the Hunters had begun using energy sabers to slowly slice through the door, their commander shouting out that they had them cornered. Vile calmly walked up to the edge of the broken window, looking down on the city below and taking a deep breath.
“You’re not thinking of… But we’re on the fifth floor!” Nana protested, her hands reaching for her chest as she took a step back.
“No time to think, just trust me.” Vile stated before wrapping one arm around Nana’s slender waist, pulling her close and leaping out of the window as far as he could to make sure he didn’t hit the side of the building on the way down.
“Oh NOOOooooo!” Nana screamed as they dropped down, the ground rapidly closing in on them.

“I thought you said your jet boots didn’t work?!” She screamed, her arms squeezing the Ex-Hunter’s neck as she held on for her dear life.
In the meantime Vile had been kicking his boots together, cursing as they refused to activate despite all the energy he had diverted from secondary and weapons systems to them.
“Come on… Come ON… Activate!!” He yelled in frustration and despair as every sensor in his helmet was shooting off warning signals and danger messages as the ground closed in. But then, just before even his boots wouldn’t have made a difference anymore, they activated.
Nana screamed out at the sudden shock of the jets activating. Vile had no balance so he tilted his weight forward as much as he could, heading for the ground in a crash landing. Several feet over the pavement the boots gave out and Vile let Nana go immediately. He pushed her into a basin of water used to cool heated materials for construction. While the boots had slowed their descent considerably the impact was still hard and painful. Vile groaned in pain as he slammed into the ground, rolling and tumbling on for at least a dozen feet before sliding to a stop.

“Urgh… Never again…” Vile muttered as he managed to place both hands on the ground and slowly rise to his feet. A quick visual check of his body revealed no real damage so he turned around and ran, or more like stumbled, to the basin.
Nana spat out a spray of water when she rose up from the basin, her eyes narrowed to slits when she saw her hair clinging to her face.
“Thanks a lot, I’m all wet.” She muttered, pouting like a child.
“You’ll dry, we need to keep moving.” Vile commented when he helped her out of the water container.

“I thought I told you to surround the facility and block off all routes?!” A Maverick Hunter officer yelled in frustration from atop the facility. They’d finally broken through the office door only to find their prey jumping out and actually managing to land safely.
“There’ve been some hold ups getting everyone in place, sir!”
“Tell all units to converge on the suspects. At this rate they’ll be able to reach a transfer point!” The officer ordered before pushing the other hunter aside and angrily joining the rest of his team to get down again as quickly as possible.

They needed to find some means of transport and quickly or they’d be easy prey for the hunters and guards in the sector. As the pair made their way through several alleyways to avoid patrols, Vile suddenly motioned for Nana to stop. The renegade hunter walked over to the edge of the alley, looking around the corner to find two guards on Ride Chasers approaching. The hover bikes could travel at incredible speeds and a powerful energy weapon had been mounted on the front. Vile was always able to think on his feet and after a quick glance over the alley his eye rested on part of a broken down steel ladder that had been bolted against the face of a building. Placing his boot against the wall he quickly dislodged a steel bar from the ladder and stayed in hiding, waiting for the moment to strike. Just as the first biker closed in on the alley he jumped from cover, swinging the crude weapon wide and hard. The Reploid had no time to react and was knocked clean off the Ride Chaser after the bar connected sharply with his chest. The Ride Chaser moved on a bit before grinding to a halt. Vile could see the other Guard reaching for a sidearm kept in a holster attached to the side of the vehicle. Reacting quickly, the ex-hunter hurled the bar at the approaching biker, knocking the man from the vehicle, after which it collided with a nearby ruinous building. It was safe to assume the large explosion that followed would tip off the nearby authorities of their location.

Nana was clearly affected by the violence. She’d seen plenty of it during the events on Giga City. But pain, death and explosions… It wasn’t something you got used to, ever, though Vile seemed to cause all three without any remorse, of any kind. She found herself glaring at the Maverick, angrily. She really was looking at the monster who had killed so many during Sigma’s first uprising, and then again when Dr.Doppler caused a Maverick outbreak. And most recently he killed so many Reploids when kidnapping Lumine.

“Are you coming?” he asked as he had already mounted the remaining Ride Chaser, his hand patting the spot behind him.
“Y-yes, of course.” She replied, his words waking her from her thoughts. She nimbly mounted the back seat of the hovering bike, her arms wrapping around Vile’s waist as she’d heard how fast these things could go and he’d no doubt be burning the proverbial rubber.
“You do know how to use one of these, right?” She asked, remembering how he hadn’t bothered checking if his jet boots worked in advance before jumping out of a fifth story window.
“I remember… I think…” he replied, grinning beneath his helmet before putting the vehicle into overdrive and riding off onto the streets.

“We’re going to have to break through the blockades they’ve no doubt set up!” Vile commented, not needing Nana’s quick protests to realize it was a suicide plan.
“No wait, I have a better idea! I rented out a Transfer Module when I got here, we can use it to transfer to a safe place.” She exclaimed, raising her voice as high as it would go to make herself audible over the noise of the Ride Chaser and the commotion of security vehicles all around Sector A-7. The entire area had been plunged into chaos and the central square they were approaching was jammed by traffic and people trying to see what was going on.
“Safe? How do I know you’re not just going to turn me in wherever we end up? And transfers can be traced.”
“I made some minor modifications before hand, just in case things went wrong and I managed to survive long enough to reach the module. The signal’s untraceable.” She started, looking at the back of Vile’s head as she spoke. The renegade looked over his shoulder at her briefly, thinking about her offer.
“Please. I trusted you, remember? Now it’s your turn to trust me.” The pink-haired Reploid’s eyes softened at the realization that she did owe this Reploid her life, despite who or what he was.
Vile grumbled at the dilemma but finally nodded.
“Alright, where to?”
“Just keep following the main road, than head right at the square. Even if traffic is jammed, we can pass through easily on the Ride Chaser, right?” Nana theorized.
“Let’s hope so, but I’m not sticking to the main roads, once we reach the squares I’m heading through the alleyways and side streets or we’ll be easy prey for the armored vehicles they’ll have set up for the barricade.” Vile explained before speeding up further, dashing past a few confused pedestrians.

The authorities had indeed blocked off the north side of the square with a blockade of armored vehicles. Hunters and guards had taken their positions, awaiting the approach of the two. Most of the people didn’t know what was going on, the presence of the entire security force seemed a little over the top for two felons. However, they didn’t know Vile was one of them, and no one ever pulled any punches when he was involved, no matter what shape he was reportedly in.
One of the hunters narrowed his eyes as he finally spotted them through his binoculars. Lowering them he called out to his superior officer.
“They’re approaching from the main road!”
“Order the Armadillo’s to fire!!” The officer raised his arm and then lowered it again. Armadillo Heavy Attack Transports that had been positioned along the north side of the square had enough firepower to punch a hole in the large floating vessels like the ones Redips had used during his attack on Giga City. The large turrets atop the rectangular vehicles rotated and aimed for the approaching Ride Chaser. After charging briefly the turrets opened fire, each of its double barrels firing off several powerful orbs of crimson, crackling energy.

“Sit tight, this is going to get rough!” Vile wondered why they hadn’t moved the blockade closer to prevent them from using the smaller side streets. But he didn’t have the time to ponder more about it as he pulled out all the stops to avoid getting reduced to scrap metal by the incoming fire. Each orb that crashed into the street exploded violently, leaving a small crater in its wake. Nana buried her face in Vile’s back as every energy orb that impacted with the asphalt or the pavement whipped up a blanket of dust and gravel. The square was rapidly approaching and Vile spotted a small alley to his right from the corner of his eyes. He banked his body to the side, his weight helping the machine turn 90° to the right. Nana’s eyes widened as a crimson energy orb was heading straight for them but in the nick of time Vile sped up again. The bike darted into the alley and profited from the cover of the buildings to avoid being incinerated by the barrage of the blockade.

Vile was forced to take numerous tight turns, sparks flashing as the side of the vehicle scratched against the walls due to the momentum of the motion.
“We need to get to the riverside street, but it’s past the blockade.” Nana explained, pointing ahead as they continued to dart through the labyrinth of narrow streets. Vile quickly realized why they hadn’t been in much of a hurry to stop them from heading into the side streets when a large barricade appeared in front of them.
“We have to turn back!” Nana called out.
“No, they’ll be waiting for us.” He shot back. The barricade was a very high, electrified fence made from reinforced materials. It could even stop one of those armored vehicles in its tracks. But they’d put it up in a hurry, Vile could see the hinges where it had been bolted to the side of the buildings making up the alleyway. A few well placed shots and the fence would come tumbling down. He then remembered the hunter from before reaching for a sidearm and after glancing at the side of the Ride Chaser the renegade was pleased to find the same buster pistol safely attached to the vehicle. Vile reached for the holstered weapon and gripped it tightly as he took aim. A few direct hits was all it took to sever the bolted sections from the wall. Slowly the fence began to tilt forwards, breaking apart halfway through as that section was still securely fastened to the buildings. The barricade had been transformed into a makeshift ramp.

“Hang on!” Vile called out as Nana tightened her grip on his waist. Activating the bike’s overdrive again Vile drove right up the ramp, the vehicle shooting into the air the moment it got across the electrified fence.
Everything seemed to move in slow-motion as the Ride Chaser easily cleared the distance across the blockade, the Reploids below looking up, their jaws dropped at the unforeseen turn of events. The Ride Chaser however was headed straight for the face of a building. Vile quickly reached back and grabbed hold of Nana before pushing off the bike once they cleared the river below. The renegade landed safely, crouching once his boots hit the ground to soften the impact. Nana softened the blow by landing on her behind however with a loud ‘oomph’. The bike crashed into the face of the building, the explosion sending debris through the air.

“Never… Again!” Nana called out, stumbling to her feet and panting heavily.
“Where to now?” Vile asked, turning to look at her after straightening again.
“We’re almost there, it’s just down the street.” She replied, making her way to a small cabin near the river.
Once they got in Vile made sure the door was sealed tight while Nana hurried to a control panel beside the Transfer Module. The device was a large, disc-shaped platform with four pylons rising up from the back. It was and older type but it would do nicely. Transferring basically meant they would dematerialize completely, and rematerialize at the location of another module, or a location that was unprotected from outside access. It was a delicate and dangerous process, but Nana was an operator and had done this hundreds of times in the past.
“Alright, the coordinates are set. We’re ready to get out of here.” Nana commented, the module humming to life behind her. Vile slowly stepped onto the disc, still not trusting the situation much but with the authorities hot on their tails they had little choice in the matter. Nana quickly joined him on the platform after having set the timer and after 10 second the module activated. The pylons began crackling and glowing, the disc opening below their feet, a glass cover the only thing keeping them from falling into the blue, electric maelstrom beneath them. In the blink of an eye their bodies transformed into a pink and a dark green silhouette of pure energy before they vanished into thin air, a line of light darting into the sky.

After a few more seconds the control panel began bleeping. Crackles of electricity began to spark from the panel as it began overloading just like Nana had set it to. The explosion that followed completely destroyed the cabin and any trace of them.