MegaMan NT Warrior (Rockman) Fan Fiction ❯ Between Friends ❯ Episode Nine ( Chapter 9 )

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Between Friends
By Simon Woodington
Previously: On the promise of friendship, Tron flees from betrayal and sight in her
newly completed body while Yale and Ruth agree to hide with Blues from Forte...
Episode Nine
"All the time wasted, cycling down to the nanoseconds," Vigor complained, lowering
his violet buster cannon at a wooden crate and firing a yellow-blue shot. It passed through
the target harmlessly.
"You're making too much noise, Vigor," stated a cool voice sarcastically under a
white helmet. "For someone with as much resolve as you. Forte needs no commander."
Vigor fired again, a red-hued burst that vaporized the crate and half of its supporter.
"What? He's insane."
"And we follow him," he chuckled. "Though it's not him that worries me."
"Who are you anyway? What do you know about Forte?" snarled the pantheroid
robot, charging his next shot. He spun and laid sight on the newcomer. "What makes you
think you can brush off his elite soldiers?"
The shot discharged, but never found its home.
"Axl," replied the robot with no measure of expression, lowering a silver-yellow
handgun.
"You c-canceled my shot!"
Axl shook his head.
"Tsk tsk, big cat," he said, un-holstering a second weapon and raising it. "I could have
canceled you, too. Next time set your weapon to inorganic dephasing."
With that said, he fired once on each hand, and two crates plumed into particles.
"Why don't I just sit tight, then, Mr. Axl," Vigor suggested amiably.
"Sounds like a plan," Axl smirked.
"You don't impress me," Violen hissed from the shadows. "You're just a hot-shot,
fresh from the factory. Nothing more. You don't act like Forte's enforcer, either. What's
your directive?"

---

"My business, that's what. I suppose it matters to you if I reduce your head to metal
fibers," Axl rumbled ominously, a curse in his words and manner. "While you're trained
on me at one-hundred and fifteen-point two degrees. Who's the coward, chum? Tell me
that."
"Improbable! Your triangulation is near perfect!"
"It is perfect. Fear is power, but only in the right hands," Axl replied, replacing his
weapons to their hip holsters.
"Arrogance is an invitation to death.. Several years ago that 'ancient' Hunter
obliterated my brothers, when Zero was mere parts!" Violen warned. "How will yo defeat
him now?"
"Because he'll have no choice."
-
That's it, isn't it. This is about conviction, she realized. The valley she had chosen
provided a natural shield against any peering electronics, and the narrow pool of
multicolored metallic water barely inches from her feet provided a form of comfort.
"Mama," piped a young female voice. Tron smiled, the solicitude of their
surroundings temporarily escaping her notice.
"Yes Ronne," glancing adoringly at the small robot.
"You're hurt," she said, little voice chiming and she climbed into Tron's lap.
"What makes you say that?"
"You look like you're in pain," she answered matter-of-factly, winding blue arms
around her mother's neck.
"It'll pass. How are you, angel?"
"Ah..." she considered this, looking skyward with green eyes. "I miss Auntie Roll!"
"I miss her too, but you know, she's never met you," warned Tron. "You must
remember always to be polite."
"Not like you, Mama?"
Taken aback slightly, Tron opted nonetheless for honesty:
"I was defending you from them. They don't know the truth yet. If you must fight to
protect someone you love, do not hesitate."

---

"Yes Mama," she beamed. "If you say so. What about Uncle X?"
Disregarding the irony of the title, Tron hefted onto her left hip as she stood, striding
around the pool with a clear smile upon her face.
"Ah, Uncle X and Uncle Zero will be overjoyed, I am sure, to learn of their niece!"
"Oh, they are so strong, aren't they!"
"They are. They will protect us."
"Are we in trouble, Mama?" she asked, worry darkening her round features. Tron was
a moment before speaking.
"We are in danger, Ronne. Uncle Forte is not well, so he wants to infect us with a
virus," she relayed delicately. "We have no barriers with us. I may not be strong enough
to protect us from him, but I will try."
"A wise choice. Wait, no... crap!" cursed a confused baritone. Tron adopted a wary
glare, setting her defense systems to standby. The seven foot slender bodied Reploid
observed the part with interest. "Oh I see. This is?"
"Who are you?" Tron demanded, eyes flicking to the double-bladed axe type weapon
attached to his right arm.
"Mama..." Ronne pined.
"Vigor..." he droned. "You created this?"
"Mama!" Ronne's voice ascended fearfully.
"Don't fear. I won't damage you," Vigor intoned with a wry smile.
"Don't lie. What is your true intention? You will regret combat, Maverick," Tron
snarled, stepping in front of Ronne protectively.
"Maverick! I am wounded!" he cried melodramatically. "I am a mere assassin! No
honor, no pride, no... yep, that's it. I'm here to fight. I guess Forte's grown a wee bit
impatient with the mother of his own daughter."
"His own! A portion of code does not make him a part of her life!" Tron growled,
warming up her buster, which replaced her left forearm and hand. The business end of the
red cannon found Vigor in its sight.
"Whatever."

---

Vigor crouched, his sleek figure glowing with a sallow hue, and swept his arm in a
sharp motion in Tron's direction, who unleashed her second level charge, unsure of its
effectiveness. A scathing ruby cloud ballooned over the tainted water, knocking Trone
and Ronne back while Vigor still roosted on his rock.
In the time it took the milky expulsion of heat and energy to dissipate, Vigor had
closed the gap to Tron's prone side, motionless and charred from the discharge. He
paused, eyes searching for Ronne instead of collecting his prize.
"Just like a kid to run off..." he groaned, hunkering down and preparing another
charge. "Ronne... oh Roonne! Where aaare you?"
The low moan of wind and twittering noises of insects became audible to him, even
the distant howl of a lonesome wolf. He paced around the tree where Tron lay, confident
she could not survive another Vigor Slash, and froze. Orienting his audio receivers, he
picked up the tail end of a buster charge and the faint rush of air. Diving forward, a ball of
caramel heat swarmed his chest and threw him to the grassy earth.
"Ah ... ow!" he whispered. "Nicked my core barrier. She's good."
Leaves rustled, and Ronne departed the darkness of shadows to appear over Vigor
with the air of youthful aggression.
"Do not hesitate..." she sighed, lowering her buster to Vigor's head. "My Mama
said..."
Schwam!
-
Zero, it seemed, could not harness his emotions, dashing twenty feet to Roll's side and
surrounding her with his large arms. X stood agape, the weight of this words upon him.
"I feel her," he whispered. "A trace beyond measure, and when I do, the pain ceases to
control my being."
Zero and Roll parted. X turned his face aside, shamed.
"I did not mean to intrude," he said, trying to throw up a barrier between his feelings
and reality. "I had no right to stare. I am sorry."
"X, please, look at me," Roll pleaded, her tone gentle and honest. "You are my
brother. Do not be ashamed by your involvement in my life."
"That is not the matter!" he burst suddenly. Rolls eyes shut, pained.
"What can you say to him, Roll? It is a boolean condition: He will accept us in this

---

way, or he will not."
X's eyes seemed to tremble, his jaw sagging.
"You sound... consummated!"
"I cannot deceive you by delaying the transmittal of these events. It occurred while
you were asleep..."
"Please Roll, let me," Zero insisted, sitting on an empty oil canister beside X. "when
Roll was awakened from her chamber, I knew that something had been missing from my
code. Seeing her activated it. I do not doubt any longer that Doctor Albert Wily was my
creator. I have had confirmation from him, a few days ago. He has given me a parting
message that concludes many mysteries concerning the origin of the Reploids.
"The Doctor was too old to complete me when his rival began work on you. Time, as
it does with humans, caught up with him, and he was dying of lung cancer. Nonetheless,
he was confident that Forte's successor would be your undoing, but I was not. As always,
had made a contingency plan, so he seeded my body with the Maverick Virus, Sigma.
"Fortunately I was immune to the virus, which left me and became our nemesis.
Sigma was more than a virus, X. He was aware, like we are. Complete. What led to his
ultimate deletion was greed and fear."
"Fear?" X prompted after an ominous silence.
"That he could never be whole."
"Zero, I don't understand," Roll said sweetly, almost patronizing. "Please explain."
Zero nodded.
"Doctor Wily had hoped that Sigma would replace him, and continue the fight.
Instead of programming Sigma this way, he raised him. Sigma had the same shell
protocols that drive us. It was not until he believed in his superiority that he turned on us
and spread himself to other Reploids.
"Dr. Cain was a brilliant man, but he did not have a complete grasp of our systems. In
creating the first Reploid Masters, he neglected a primary protocol: Self preservation. I
have chosen on many occasions not to sacrifice myself for the sake of others."
Roll blinked, dumbfounded and a little shocked.
"'Many occasions'?" she squeaked.
X nodded firmly.

---

"Many. He's one of those kind," he chuckled.
"Oh my. Should we start making scions now, or wait until there's another war?"
"What?" Zero asked, flustered. "What are you saying? What do you mean?"
"Nevermind, tiger, just keep explaining to X," she giggled, patting his buster-arm
soothingly.
"Uh... tiger?" he blushed, slinging a look her way.
"Yes, right. Tiger. It's this flowing mane of yours. Your pick. 'Tiger' or 'Flame Boy'."
"Oh, I see. Do I get to call you something?" he asked softly.
"If you haven't thought of something by now I wouldn't recommend it," she answered
plainly. "Why don't you continue? X is dying of embarrassment."
X shifted uncomfortably, but relaxed as Zero returned to his story.
"In the time that you and I slept, an Era passed. Prior to the Digger Era, all robots
were ordered dismantled and deactivated. Shortlived peace became an economic peak not
known for centuries, when the Ancients Tunnels were discovered. Rock was rebuilt, and
Roll joined forces with him to become Diggers.
"The Era swelled and ebbed in just a century, and the key players disappeared once
again. Roll and the Bonnes formed an alliance and enshrouded themselves in a jungle of
technological wonders..."
"What does this have to do with..."
"I will explain, please be patient."
Roll shrugged.
"As I said, Roll and the Bonnes formed a team, researching forbidden Digging sites
and unearthing treasures of innumerable value. Yet Roll had begun to show signs of
fatigue..."

---