#beyond 21xx

[themmnetwork]

I'm wary of sharing my art here, however bad the part I actually contributed may be, due to the whole AI scraping thing going on. But if you want to read the newest #LegendsOfTheHalcyonEra, which is the last part of "Revelations" titled "Departure," you can find it at the following links:

The Mega Man Network (with cover art)

Archive Of Our Own

And if you can do some stuff to help beat Algorithm Man, like using some of his known weaknesses such as liking, sharing, what have you, I'd appreciate it.

[thisisnalkan]

Fuck Andolont and it's Thothian bitch ass. Scandinavia died in the Mudflood and your sorry ass still kept larping it up until 2057. You ran their empire into the ground in only a century and then you shat yourself because you couldn't handle the minorities you conquered because you had no friends. This is why you don't conquer anyone with even a smidgen of Nogri population. You aren't going to fucking survive with 80 billion fucking ethnic groups in you. You're the reason Olanorhukuh united and they were literally the Balkans imported to an island with natives already living on it. How do you be so fucking aggressive that you make the Balkan stop fighting each other and form a functioning state. You can't even keep your islands filled with frozen tundra under control. The Nuprru are kicking your ass with alien weaponry they found under the ice. You're going to be cut in half again. You're going to be an eighth of the empire you once were. Fuck Andolont, you're a shitty ass country. Mundaberria is way fucking cooler than you.

[whumpster-fire]

Apropos of nothing I just remembered that Ender's Game exists, and aside from Orson Scott Card being a homophobic piece of shit, it just occurred to me how fucking stupid the writing of the zero g laser tag plot is. Because if I'm remembering this right this takes place at a military academy for the best and brightest of all humanity, the smartest kids around. This school has been running for decades, and Ender shows up and introduces the massive innovations of:

"Direction conventions are arbitrary in zero g" and

"The suits we wear paralyze body parts that got shot but shooting those same body parts again does nothing so let's position our legs in front of us and use them as impenetrable armor."

And the plot is like "Good Job Ender. This concept was beyond hundreds of the smartest kids of our generation. Only you, the Chosen One who was carefully bred by top eugenicists to be the smartest human who ever lived, could have figured this super genius feat of outside the box thinking out. You are the Specialest Little Boy Ever". Come on, I'm reasonably certain if you took like a hundred not even particularly intelligent kids but just random 8-10 year olds and gave them a zero g laser tag arena they would have figured this out within like a week.

Even giving Card credit for writing this shit in the 80s and probably not really understanding video games or how widespread they'd become, and how a better way to get a recruitment pool who understood zero-g combat would be to literally just have the military develop a "Battle Of Earth: 21XX" video game with semi-realistic space combat and release it to the public, I have to wonder: has this man literally never been in a pillow fight before? Do Mormons just emerge fully formed from pods in Salt Lake City with their white shirts and ties, and not experience "childhood" as humans know it? Like, using a body part that's already "out" to block attacks because what are they gonna do, hit it again? Is the kind of bullshit strategy that literally every kid on the planet is going to try.

[stalkedbytrains]

Masterlist of Works

Eldritch Tech Support: The Algorithm of Chaos

A series of tumblr prompts turned into a novella. Aeth and Lyta work as Tech Support Technicians. They have a lot to do at their work, they've got to solve wifi problems for deep sea gods, they've got to help the Underearth Spider God Aspect with their broken keyboard, and get this small god out of the computer of a small child. But something has happened, there's this new app Swwarm that is everywhere. And it's origins may not be of this world. Originally written here, this version is for sale for pay what you wish and features two new stories not publicly posted: Ghostchains starring terrible person Ji, and The Horrifying Reality of Being Known an epilogue for Aeth and Lyta.

Third person, finished, fantasy/sci-fi

False Idols

My second book and the good one. Lucienne Prophet watched the Chosen One die. Now there is no one left to stop the apocalypse. But she will not sit back and wait for death, she will try to stop the God of Darkness no matter what stands in her way.She’ll have to recruit some people abandoned by the Empire of Light to help her stop the end of the world. A blood mage with a centuries long vendetta, some spies with questionable methods, and a woman made of fire.Will the war finally consume Lucienne? Will the gods of Light and Dark finally destroy each other and the world in their long war? It's for sale on Amazon.

Third person, published, fantasy, dark fantasy

Dead Letters, Missing Wife

A cosmic fiction story told via dead letters left behind by your best friend that you had as a kid and married as what you thought was a joke, until the official certificate came in the mail. You're married, legally, to your best friend that you haven't seen in years, and no one seems to remember.

Second person, on going, cosmic fiction, romance

Beneath the Electric Sky

In the year 21XX the world has changed. The singularity came 23 years ago, and since then nothing has been the same. Operative Synthia [Last Name Redacted] is part of the beyond top secret Collection, a prison for the dangerous technology like her. She is going to have to go to the endless electromagnetic storm and steal a piece of long sealed technology without the electric sky killing her or anyone else getting to it first.

Third person, on going, novel length, sci-fi

A Child of Ravens

Ravens are seen as harbingers, death bringers, curses, and black magic. So what happens when a child marked by ravens comes to town? What happens when that child makes a friend?

Third person, on going (3 of 5 parts done), fantasy fiction

Assassin's Monthly

Assassin's Monthly is the premiere magazine for assassins. We feature articles about up-and-comers and the best of the best. Don't forget to check the rankings to see where you place among the Top 500 assassins in the world! Or maybe you're not as lucky and you'll find yourself on the bottom of the list!

Third person, loose universe, fiction, lighthearted

[mmx-code-crimpphire]

MMX Code: Crimpphire World Building Part 1 - Mega City

I'm finally able to put myself aside and post these world building locations for the surroundings of the characters of Code: Crimpphire!! It'll be quite a lot and there's going to be a lot of parts to this, so buckle up!!

NEW CHAPTER ON AO3

First I definitely want to address the HQ building for the Maverick Hunters!! Yes, there are multiple locations of headquarters in the country of Glockthain (yes that's what I'm calling it), the main HQ being in Abel City. Which I think I'll cover in Part 2. Not to mention it's a new location and that's when the multiple locations actually come into play (this is after Sigma's initial rebellion began and after Abel City's been nuked with missiles).

It also has a separate building holding the Mavericks in captivity, that being the Brimstone Maverick Holding Center (it's named based off the street it's on, most names will be like this in certain locations). It also holds the Landing Pad, which the Hunters collectively named the "Sky Light", cuz it does have a glass dome for a ceiling and you can see the sky from there. Even X and Zero star gaze there in the time they formed their bond within their friendship and eventually romantic relationship.

Of course it houses Chronos Institute, which has Quint working there for the Time Skimmer. Near that and next to MHHQ in the city is the Rose Petal Memorial Gardens. It houses many flowers and venders for reploids and humans alike who can purchase flowers while visiting their loved one's graves. It includes a mausoleum, and it's a pretty big area.

It's also near Heart Park, near the heart of Mega City, and beyond south is the Falcon Isle Grove, the resident forest there. There are other cities that hold and preserve Forest wildlife, and X made that more apparent to keep it that way, since 21XX does harbor new and futuristic ideas and it leaves the world to deprive it of its flora and fauna. Xev won't stand for that, of course.

He does try to convince the government to preserve more of the wildlife still left within their time period, which they definitely agree to, since they feel they have been neglecting their natural wildlife in their wake. It's one of the things they begrudgingly agree with X on. Which I think I'll touch upon sometime soon on its post.

Heart Park is definitely a place where events have been held since 20XX. Mega City has lived longer than Abel City, so it does have a history. If anyone's interested, I might make a post about it~. Point is, though, it's a place Xev loves to go to and the Cherry Blossom festival is one he'd love to go to with Zero one day. Which they eventually do with their close circle of friends, being the Command Mission crew.

Now I get to talk about Chronos Institute. I did nab a few things from the Archie Comics, since they did make the most sense to me, not to mention Blues' characterization is based off that but is a little less mysterious and has a slightly different character for what I wanna go for in this AU. But yeah, Chronos. Definitely a place for research and many projects that take place. Including the Time Skimmer and the Delta Nano Project.

Then we have the infamous Mega City Robot & Technology Research University, where Dr Light, Dr Wily and even Dr Marie Lovelace all studied and developed their tech to move to new heights and eventually work in Chronos or develop their own companies to build for the future. Don't worry, I'll make a post about Marie whenever I can.

Other locations include:

”Mega City Scarlet Bay Penitentiary”, a jail facility specifically for Humans

”Mega City Knowledge Library”, located SouthWest of the main city 

”Cozy Collectables”, a new antique store Xev loves going to and sometimes took Zero whenever he wanted the company. Zero eventually went with him more often after getting together, as you can tell~

”Tell Another Tale”, a bookstore Xev also loves going to, but Zero grows to love since his first trip with Xev. Maybe I can also make a post about which stories and books they like, who knows~

”The Writing Gryphon”, a news press building. It was created for the Hero AU where Zero has the scenario of being Superman and Xev being his Lois Lane, but I decided to add it to the main AU, since it does need at least a news press for the city, right~?

”The Flux”, a bar located near the main center hub of the city

And last but not least, The “Lunaris” Sub Urban Area. Located West of the city. There are other locations that can be found within it. Such as:

”Mountain Oak Conservatory”, a small prep school having grades K-12

”Oblivion Low Security Prison”, a rejuvenation center for redeeming Mavericks. It was the first one ever made, and ever since X4, Xev pushed and PUSHED the government for one, and they stood their ground until Dr Cain had to get involved, like in many other instances where the government was stubborn

”Ravenwood Community College”, that's pretty self explanatory, except for the fact it's a VERY small college

”Spectrum Library”, smaller building library dedicated to the area for others to go to, since Knowledge Library is pretty far from where the Sub Urban area is located.

Mega City is pretty big, but it's not as big as Abel City, but it's still big, and definitely the main focus of the main story of Code: Crimpphire. I will cover all the areas as I stated previously before, but I'm excited to give info on those locations as I have here~.

[jolikmc-thoughts]

I got a formal reply from the creator of the game, recently. I guess he had comment notifications on, or something; I had deleted the original comment, but he still got it.

Basically, he insulted and laughed at me because I didn't play beyond the tutorial before casting judgment. Well… maybe if the tutorial had been more engaging, as I said in both versions of my comment, I would have given it more of a chance.

Here's my follow-up to his dickery, for anyone interested: (And yes, I know this is petty bickering on both our parts. I don't care.)

My critique has nothing to do with the fact that several other fan games have been passed over. Maybe it's the developers' faults? I can't expect Protodude and Reploid 21XX to be aware of every single fan game out there. But still, people do occasionally comment on the other games in, here in the comments.

That aside, your game is boring. Or rather, I find the tutorial of your game to be boring. There is absolutely nothing to engage the player. It's literally just "click this, also here's some fun info" with no sign of any kind of storyline. Now, you can argue that some older games don't have their storylines presented in-game in any meaningful way… but, this is an RPG. Well, actually, no; it's a battle simulator, right now. Yeah, there are some "RPG elements" like the shop that opens before Chapter 2 and the ability to swap around equipment and skills, but that hardly makes it an RPG as, as far as I can tell, the only role you're playing is that of a glorified Pokémon Trainer in the form of Dr. Thomas Light.

You can sit there and tell me your game is good and interesting until you're blue in the face. However, telling me that "it gets better the more you play" definitely is not going to change my opinion. It didn't hook me in the tutorial despite the fact you give players Roll right out of the gate (she's my favorite character, if you don't know), so I'm not going to play it. I could tell you all the other things I don't like about your game, such as the interface and the inability to properly resize the game window, but the fact that this "RPG's" opening story is severely lacking from an in-game perspective ("Oh, and this 'original' 'character' exists in corrupt cyberspace – beat him up for no reason.") is enough to turn me away from this battle simulator for keeps.

Also, I apologize for the overly harsh wording of my original review / analysis. I assure you, I didn't remove that comment to "save face" or something; I removed that comment because, as we both pointed out, it was a little too critical. But, you know, just because I was an ass doesn't mean you need to be. d;

Thank you for your time, J

Also? The fact that you made PokéBox, a "Pokémon Box Simulator" which looks pretty much the same as your Mega Man fan game, doesn't really help your case, Mr. Marceau. Just saying.

You're telling me it took then 15 years to make a prototype? Not even Duke Nukem Forever can compare to that amount of "Development Hell". Cheesy Creezy…

Much harsh criticism to follow.

So. The game. I played through the first chapter. I got Roll. (Spoilers, I guess?) I'm not impressed… It's just Pokémon, but with Mega Man characters– actually, no. Pokémon has stuff for the player to do and a storyline for the player to get invested in. This is just the battle sequences of Rockman Xover, basically. Click, wait, repeat, win or lose, move on.

I can definitely see why this is still a "prototype". It's very nice that you have this shiny engine, dedicated website and server, and even leaderboards (how has someone gotten almost one billion "Battle Points" playing it like this?!) and social features. But really? Fifteen years? My dude… I've done arguably better in a week using RPG Maker 2000 – which, granted, I didn't have to make an engine for, but still. This is pretty featureless, boring, and repetitive. Even something as simple as an "auto-play" button would significantly make this better, in my opinion.

Yes, there seems to be some semblance of storyline here, but I'll be damned if I know what it is as I haven't seen any dialogues other than the Battle Start and Enemies Defeated ones. And yes, I'm sure the more I play, the more I unlock as far as features and things. I'm sure the game even told me this, but I was zoned out within the first minute and just clicked through things since there was no reason to read anything. It just feels like a very basic, very sterile mobile game – and not even a very good one. I'd argue that Rockman Xover had more going on than this currently does. But again… I didn't play beyond what's considered the "tutorial", so take my feedback with a grain of salt, I guess.

This gets a thank you, no from me. Good luck. Take care. 'Bye-'bye.

Also a little puzzled why something like this gets a news article when other, more derivative, but more feature-rich fan games keep getting passed over.

[interact-if]

Thank you to everyone who participated in Interact-if's first ever game jam!

Here are our winners!

The Hanging Heart by Raindev

The hungering tree stands tall on the hill beyond the village. it is a beautiful but dangerous, almost malicious thing. it rises high, trunk white as snow, leaves a mix of gold and crimson. no one dares to approach it, not anymore - too many lost their minds to its vicious pull, but none can resist casting a quick glance, admiring its vibrancy against the dead sky or even coveting the shimmering heart hanging from its lower branches. you most of all. in a world where people wear their glimmering hearts, sources of power and magic, in bracelets and in chains around their necks, you have none. your chest is empty like theirs, but you have no heart to call your our own. you don’t know - or don’t remember - why, which isn’t surprising; the last years are foggy for many, since the war of the angels ended and the world, shattered and hurting, started healing. for a heartless being like you, nothing is as tempting as the hanging heart on the branches of the hungering tree. but claiming it as your own might be even more dangerous than you thought. something watches from amidst the tree’s leaves and some villagers might know more than they let on - about you, about the tree, and about the war that ravaged the world. you might get more than you bargained for.

Mousetrap by Albie tied second place overall

You're one of the many overworked interns working at Whimsey World. When it was announced that Imogen, a category three hurricane, would soon hit Orlando, Florida, your employers asked for volunteers to remain in the parks during the storm, promising triple pay for at least 24 hours. You and your friend seized the opportunity. After all, Whimsey wouldn't ask its cast members to stay behind if it was potentially dangerous.

That's what you assumed before you were knocked unconscious. Before you woke up in a costume chained to your friend and three strangers. Before Dickey the Rat informed you and your "team" that you get $250,000 for each person you kill. Before the neurotoxins pumping through the park's air system began to loosen your grip on reality. Before nightmares and the real world bled into a horrifying, broken fantasy you can't wake up from.

If you survive the storm (and the things lurking within it), you'll win riches beyond your wildest dreams. But how far are you willing to go? How committed are you to pleasing your guests and satisfying your spectators? The Show will go on. It will always go on. But what role will you play in it?

Reclamation by Groggydog tied second place overall

Corporate Space, the Year 21XX.

You awaken from a month of cryosleep to discover that a missing research vessel has suddenly surfaced in the deep. There are no signs of life. You are now tasked with investigating the nature of the ship’s disappearance and the fate of its crew.

Can you do it before time runs out?

In Auctorem Credimus by Franzinyte

Feeling purposeless and unfulfilled after your story has ended, you stumble upon an organization dealing with the same problem as you: the Custodians of Authorial Narrative Foundation (CANon). With nothing else to do but hope for your story's sequel or (hopefully not horrible) movie adaptation to come, the main character of your story (and canonical love interest) invites you to join the foundation and work as a biblio-anthropologist, traveling through various story worlds without the need to stay in-character.

So when your dream finally came true a few years later and people in your neighborhood start forgetting about you, you immediately grab your plot armor and prepare to defeat the villains once again. You've done it before, and you'll make sure they'll never do it again. At least, that's how sequels are supposed to go, right?

But when the main character and the villains turn out to be missing, you decide to take on the mantle of 'main character', join the CANon Timeline Anomaly Removal Department Intervention Squad (TARDIS), and write the sequel to your own story yourself.

Chloe is Home by KhairikaSinani

A flatmate group chat unknowingly welcomes an uninvited guest into their midst.

This was our first big venture into game jam competition and we really appreciate the community's support of us and our authors and their creations.

Check out all our other contestants for the ranked jam here [link]!

And please check out the submissions for our non-ranked jam!

I'm the Echo When you Call by PDRRook

Rougi by LapinLunaire-Games

Better Off by Oscar Arcane

Red Herring RPG by CompanionWolf

Thank you everyone! <3

[fantomcomics]

What’s Out This Week? 10/12

Anything can happen on Hal-lo-ween It’s better than a vi-de-o Gremlins going to mess up every cas-sette From Lon-don to I-da-ho

Chilling Adventures Of Salem one-shot -  Cullen Bunn & Dan Schoening

Salem the Cat has always been known as Sabrina's familiar, but what happens when Sabrina's not around to protect him (or, as is more the case, when he doesn't have to protect her)? This special one-shot explores a different side of Salem's life, one in which he acts as an anti-hero enacting vigilante justice on those who hurt others like him... animals, in a horror story that's equal parts Pet Sematary and Hereditary.

Black & White: Tough Love At The Office GN Vol 1 -  Sal Jiang

Sparks (and fists) fly in this violent yuri love story. Shirakawa Junko is an upstanding employee of a high-level bank. Her colleagues all respectfully admire her... except for Kuroda Kayo, a colleague who's transferred to her department. Shirakawa is supposed to train Kuroda, and it does not go well. These women have a bizarre love-hate relationship that results in either violent office attacks or angry lesbian sex. When a sinister conspiracy seems to be afoot at their bank, can these two stop having bruised hate-sex on piles of documents and work together to investigate? This provocative LGBT+ drama is ready to rumble.

Approach #1 (of 5) -  Jeremy Haun, Jason A. Hurley & Jesus Hervas 

When airport employees Mac and Abigail find themselves snowed in after a blizzard, they witness a terrible plane crash. After pulling a survivor from the wreckage, they realize a terrifying truth: this plane has been missing for 27 years!

The nightmare has only just begun though, as the people trapped in the airport soon find themselves confronted by what this plane actually brought back.... For those with a fear of flying... it's not the sky that deserves dread, but what lies beyond it...

DanDaDan GN Vol 1 -  Yukinobu Tatsu

Momo Ayase strikes up an unusual friendship with her school's UFO fanatic, whom she nicknames "Okarun" because he has a name that is not to be said aloud. While Momo strongly believes in spirits, she thinks aliens are nothing but nonsense. Her new friend, however, thinks quite the opposite. To settle matters, the two set out to prove each other wrong-Momo to a UFO hotspot and Okarun to a haunted tunnel! What unfolds next is a beautiful story of young love...and oddly horny aliens and spirits?

Sensory: Life On The Spectrum GN -  Bex Ollerton

From artist and curator Bex Ollerton comes an anthology featuring comics from thirty autistic creators about their experiences of living in a world that doesn't always understand or accept them. Sensory: Life on the Spectrum contains illustrated explorations of everything from life pre-diagnosis to tips on how to explain autism to someone who doesn't have it, to suggestions for how to soothe yourself when you're feeling overstimulated. This book depicts these varied experiences with the kind of insight that only those who have lived them can have.

She Love To Cook, & She Loves To Eat GN Vol 1 -  Sakaomi Yuzaki

Cooking is how Nomoto de-stresses, but one day, she finds herself making way more than she can eat by herself. And so, she invites her neighbor Kasuga, who also lives alone. What will come out of this impromptu dinner invitation...?

Samurai 2.0 #1 (of 4) - Marcello Bondi & Mauro Gulma

The year is 21XX.  World War III has devastated the planet.  A foreigner arrives in the city of Neo-Tokyo. His name is Ketsuo, and he is the last remaining graffiti samurai, intent on clashing with the Emperor, who has prohibited any artform and persecutes anyone who dares to create.  In the year 2022, a series from Action Lab arrives at Antarctic Press, where we dare to create!

Legacy Of Violence #1 -  Cullen Bunn & Andrea Mutti

A Legacy of Violence, by masters of horror Cullen Bunn and Andrea Mutti, with letters by Rus Wooton, follows Dr. Nick Shaw; an honest doctor just trying to help people. But one day, when a patient gets out of control, Nick suddenly begins recalling past memories he had kept hidden away. That's when he decides to join Doctors Without Borders and heads straight for Central America. But his past still comes calling. With a serial killer on the loose in the small town of Disante, Honduras, Nick's flashbacks begin to intensify-and become clearer. Was Nick meant to go to Honduras? Is this all part of the killer's plan? Find out what Nick has been repressing all these years and why.

Hyperventilation GN - Bboung Bbang Kkyu

Myongi and Sunho haven't seen each other since they were 18 years old. Now 27, they run into one another at a high school reunion, and the romantic feelings they had for one another come rushing to the surface. But are they the same people now that they were back then?

Hitomi #1 (of 5) -  H.S. Tak, Isabella Mazzanti & Valentina Napolitano

In Feudal Era Japan, a drifter with no prospects begins training in secret under Yasuke, a once-famous, displaced, disgraced warrior, as she struggles to find her place in a society entrenched in discrimination and violence.

Combining the historical sweep and elegance of Kurosawa with the visceral action of Tarantino, this saga follows the trials and tribulations of a young female warrior who travels the countryside unendingly as she works to gain the rank of Samurai-a title no man, monster, or myth can give to her, but one that she will have to take for herself.

Slumber TP Vol 1 -  Tyler Burton Smith, Vanessa Cardinali, Simon Robins & Becky Cloonan

We all have nightmares. What if you could pay somebody to enter your dreams and shoot that nightmare in the goddamn face? That's where Stetson comes in. She's a nightmare hunter. A dream detective. She enters her clients' dreams through a door, investigates their dreamscapes, and kills their nightmares. But Stetson's past comes back to haunt her as she tracks down a nightmare serial killer responsible for the mysterious death of her daughter.

SHWD GN Vol 1 -  sono.N

A slick and action-packed yuri tale about two special agent women fighting supernatural horrors! The year is 20XX. Tough but idealistic Koga has just joined the Tokyo branch of SHWD, the Special Hazardous Waste Disposal unit responsible for eradicating mysterious biological weapons that were left behind after the great war. Her mentor is Sawada, a woman with a powerful psyche who complements Koga's physical prowess. Something is sizzling between the two of them, and it's more than just a shared mission. Together, these two badass women must team up to confront horrors beyond their wildest nightmares.

The Sword Of Hyperborea HC -  Mike Mignola, Rob Williams & Laurence Campbell

From the ancient warrior Gall Dennar, to Sir Edward Grey, to the B.P.R.D.'s Agent Howards, the iconic Hyperborean sword from the world of Hellboy has landed in many influential hands. And this has been no accident. Trace the sword's path through the adventures and encounters that finally brought it to Ragna Rok, at the end of the world, and witness the sword's journey through history.

Whatcha scooping up this week, Fantomites? 

[dsn-001]

22

Send me a number 1-500 and my muse will anonymously talk about yours

“...I loved you a lot.”

There’s a smile on Moon’s face, but it does not reach her eyes.

“I think a lot about the days we would celebrate the Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival together.”

“I can’t help but think it was rather pointless now. You said the fighting would end, you said I just had to be kind and forgive. You programmed me to be the guide to my siblings, the beacon bringing them back home. ‘Someone like that must be beyond the hate and fighting’.”

“I don’t think you realized what you were doing.”

She points to her arm.

“I lost this in 202X to a Wilybot. I never told you about it.”

To her crest.

“This was torn off my head two months later.”

To her leg.

“Five years after that.”

To her stomach.

“I was impaled after you died.”

A tear slips down her face.

“Is this what compassion means? Is this kindness? Why did I have to deal with this alone? You let Nova be as angry as he wanted. Why did I have to be the one to give and give and give until I had nothing left for myself?”

“It’s 21XX now, and you’re long gone. Everyone is. There’s no more Robot Masters anymore. I’m the only one who was that remains, and yet the wars still continue.”

“I’m alone.”

“Even now, I can’t hate you for what you’ve done. I-I know you didn’t mean it, you didn’t know. How could you have, when I had no choice but to forgive you over and over and over without a single word?”

“I wish you’d let me hate you.”

[mlembug]

Mandatory mention because it relates to my nickname: PESEL is immune to the Y2K problem (a.k.a. the "millennium bug") because extra years beyond 2000 are encoded in the month digits ("21" is January, but 20xx, "41" is January, but 21xx, "61" is January, but 22xx, except for "81" which encodes 18xx), but it is very much vulnerable to the Y2300 problem.

Because of the gender marker change which resulted in PESEL (national id) change, as far as medical records are concerned, I'm unvaccinated, despite having 3 covid vaccine doses.

Had to set up an appointment with my family doctor and she made a referral for a vaccine and in the meantime no vaccines are available anymore :/

[themmnetwork]

Here we go...

This idea has been a good 20+ years in the making, but various events meant I never got to execute it. Now, following the debut of the concept in #LegendsOfTheHalcyonEra 50, I'm finally putting it out there.

More to come soon...

[foreverlastingpeace]

How would Rock fare in 21XX do you think?

To start with, that bizarre sense of Dragon Ball power level nonsense you’ll find here and there is hardly what could be called accurate, such “lel even a normal reploid’s a bajillion stronger than classic” or some nonsense. It’s been demonstrated that civilian reploids are caught unawares like anyone else when mechaniloids go Maverick, so a even Classic Robot Master would be beyond civilian models. The kind of display the Worlds Unite comic showed had the right of it.

Of course, the Maverick Hunters and combat reploids in general are rightly entirely different beasts altogether. Going off of simple logistics, X when he first started out should’ve been comparable to Rock at his best, before factoring in any additional modifications, as Dr. Light would never let either of them be at anything less than the best he could make the “Mega Man” model be. So, Rock could definitely hack it as a B-Class Hunter, I’d say. Of course, also remember X’s hesitation was what kept him in B-Class, something Rock lacks, so it’s possible he and Rock by extension could qualify for A, though not SA. Zero’s entrance made that divide pretty clear.

Then you factor those other modifications, primarily the Super Adapter and the Double Gear System. With those enhancements in place, I can see Rock being able to manage the eight Mavericks of his own accord, and even taking out Vile with some extreme difficulty. 

Sigma, however, is a rough call. Canonically, X only surpassed him after awakening to his first echelon of power, so I’d have to say this is where Rock gets walled out.

In conclusion, he’s got what it takes to endure the Maverick uprisings, but when it comes to the big, bald bastard himself, he’s gonna have to leave that to X and company. 

[star-force-archive]

21XX - Seeing X’s

“We have no idea what his pattern in yet, so let’s spread to far ground and tempt him with laying fire!”

Zero gave the command as Subaru and Axl ran off from him, going around the room’s walls, laying fire from their respective weapons. Another X merely stood, only flinching when Subaru’s X buster hits made contact. Another X reached his buster out, letting out one shot of his own, aimed for Zero.

The hunter acted quickly, grabbing his Z-Saber and slicing the blast in two. Another X focused in on Axl, his color scheme changing to a pink as he fired off a blue orb, rolling until it made contact with the rookie.

“Was that the Rolling Shield?! Ryuusei, do you know when and how Another’s come into existence?!” Zero shouted, dashing into the fray as Another X fired another shield.

“Uhh, not exactly, this only my second encounter with one. My best guess is before a critical turning point in that Rockman’s life and it could be someone connected to them? Don’t know for sure yet.” Subaru answered, dash jumping over another the shield, leaving way for Zero to cut it in half. “Why, do you have a theory?”

Zero nodded, dashing closer to Subaru as he stood by his side. “The rolling shield was a weapon from X’s first real mission. I need this foe to switch to another weapon to be sure though... Wait, do you have any ice attacks?”

Subaru nodded, pulling out a Jet Ski card. “Perfect! When I say so, use that on the enemy.” Subaru ran off to the other side of the room, Another X changing focus to him, he let out another Rolling Shield. “NOW!” Subaru took a running jump, bounding over the shield and swiping his card.

Surrounded by snowflakes, he dashed straight for Another X, hitting him with a full force tackle. The enemy staggering back a bit, changed colors once more to a red orange, before releasing a stream of fire at Subaru. Narrowly dodging the attack, Subaru rolled towards Zero, the hunter using his saber to deflect the blast. “Fire Wave, as I hoped these are X’s first set of weapons, which means this form of X is weaker than he is now.”

“What do you mean?” Subaru asked, looking at the hunter. Zero merely smirked as he rolled away, a large stream of purple energy firing out from behind the two.

“He means, this thing stand no chance against us.” Looking behind him, Subaru looked to see X up and fighting, Buster pointed square at the foe. He got down close to Subaru, giving him a smile. “Thanks for your help back there. This thing infected me with it before I made it back to base. Guess it was just a delayed tracking device. I think it’s time we repayed the favor to this thing!” Subaru nodded, getting up from his roll to stand alongside X. The two pointed their twin X Busters as they looked at Sigma.

“Wave Battle...”

“Mission Start!”

X dashed in first, letting out a few shots, Another X switching back to it’s original blue to match the fire rates. As the blasts hit each other, Subaru dashed in at last, letting a fully charged shot hit Another X. Raising both of his busters, Subaru proceeded to lay blast upon blast on the foe, X following in suit.

Eventually stopping, Another X tanked the shots from the two, beginning to charge a shot of his own. “Kid!” Zero shouted, throwing his Z Saber towards Subaru. Catching it with his free hand, Another X let out a full attack, a full barrage of charge shots erupting out. Using the weapon, Subaru cut through the attacks with ease, earning a counter card. “X! Let’s finish this!” The Hunter nodded, jumping over Another X and landing next to Subaru.

‘TIME BIG BANG! X! ARMOR BURST!’

Aiming his buster high, a whole fleet of different armors began to surround X, all of them taking aim at Another X. Subaru and X aiming their weapons in turn, they all began to charge. As the weapons hit their peak, Subaru and X’s eyes shone blue for a brief moment. “FIRE!” The two shouted at the same time, letting all of the forces fire blasts at once. Another X attempted hitting the beams, but to no avail, as the corrupted form began to disintegrate in the blast.

As the armor’s disappeared, Subaru deactivating his, the boy ran to who the Another was, taking note of their large size. The three hunters however began charging their weapons again. Just as Subaru managed to reach the being though...

“YOINK!” A voice erupted from a time portal, snatching the unknown reploid, this time a clear symbol visible on it’s hands. A large clock.

Subaru snapped his fingers as he watched the enemy leave. Turning he saw the hunters with their weapons still pointed at where the foe once was. “Uh, what are you doing?”

“You’re greatest enemy?! Seriously?!” Subaru shouted, the Hunters base already being cleaned up from the battle. X nodded, looking at his friends behind him assisting with the clean.

“Though considering this is a time based mess, I imagine it was probably a younger version of him. Speaking of which, I can’t thank you enough for helping us. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been stuck like that.” X reached his hand out, Subaru taking it in kind.

“Just doing my civil duty sir. I wish I could stay to try and help, but I have to return to my own timeline now. It’s been an honor to meet you, Rockman X.”

“As you, Ryuusei No Rockman.”

Giving a salute, Subaru hopped into a newly formed time portal,X returning the salute in kind. Axl and Zero walked up to X, the blue bomber of 21XX handing Zero his saber back for Subaru. “You think we’ll ever see him again?” Axl asked, looking at the now closing portal. X nodded, looking up to the night sky, seeing the Pleiades constellation.

“Yes. Our new bond connects us, even beyond time and space.”

As Rockman rode through the time portal, he smiled as he looked at the new Helmet on his watch device, scratch that this thing needed a name. Suabru pondered, it has to do with armors and time right? So he thought how about...

“Armor Hand. Hands on a clock, armor on the wrist. I’ll use that. As for you... Keep up the fight, Irregular Hunter X.”

[gametimes-game]

Mega Man Zero / ZX Legacy Collection Dashes to PS4

Mega Man Zero / ZX Legacy Collection Dashes to PS4

Six games across two series megamerge into one giant collection! Taking legendary Reploids into the far future alongside a new generation of heroes looking to carve out their own story, Mega Man Zero / ZX Legacy Collection brings the intense action of all four Mega Man Zero games and both Mega Man ZX games to PlayStation 4 on January 21, 2020.

Way Beyond 21XX

If you’re familiar with Mega Man X,…

[minxmillson]

Mega Man X x Reader (kinda)

Not really a pairing but I don't know what to call it. This was a recurring dream that I had and I needed to write it down. Hope you like it!

Words: 1703 Warnings: mentions blood

You were walking through some streets, not knowing where you are, how you got here or even what time it was. In your mind there was only one thought, “I have to go home, they're probably worried about me”. But where exactly was your home? Nothing looked familiar. The last thing you remembered was a lazy Saturday sometime in 20xx, in your warm living room. You were watching TV with part of your family, cuddled up in your favorite blanked. Some laughter could be heard, it came from the room next door. Bass was probably talking again about how he is the best at everything.

Voices brought you back to reality, someone was talking to you. “Ma'am? Can you hear me? Humans are not allowed here.” You looked up at the person, only to realize that it wasn't a human and that he wasn't alone. Another one, who looked very similar to him, was standing right behind him. In fact, they looked identical except for the color of their armor. The one in front of you had a dark blue/white color pattern, while the other one had a light gray/white pattern. You were able to tell that they where some kind of robots. Both of them had a concerned look on their face. The dark blue one came a little closer and put his hand on your shoulder. This time he spoke a little louder to make sure you could hear him, “Ma'am. You need to talk to me. Do you know where you are?”

Looking into his robotic eyes, still in confusion about this whole situation, you only whispered, “I need to go home.” Your throat felt very dry, speaking was difficult at the moment. Both of them now looked even more concerned than before. The dark blue robot took his hand from your shoulder, but kept eye contact. He spoke, “We need to leave this area first, it's dangerous here for humans. There is no need to worry, we bring you to a hospital and they will take care of you.”

You looked down and narrowed your eyes, annoyed by what he said. Going into a hospital won't bring you home. Still whispering, you asked, “What am I suppose to do there?” Apparently your answer didn't make much sense to them, because now they just looked confused. Putting both of his hands on each of your shoulders, the blue one pointed out, “You're bleeding.”

You gazed slowly down to your body, realizing that he was right. Various cuts that you didn't even noticed covered your skin, one deeper than the other, but nothing hurt. Where did those came from? They were still bleeding, so whatever happened, wasn't that long ago. While examining your body you also saw that you were still wearing your pyjama, the same one that you wore in your last clear memory. It was weird. Blood was everywhere, how didn't you seen it, were you so focused to find a way home? You turned your head slightly around, looking at the street that you walked along and became aware of that somewhat visible blood track trailed behind you. It had to be yours.

Turning your eyes back to the robots in front of you, all that came out of your mouth was a soft “Ohh.” The blue one let go of your body and turned around to his comrade, ordering him to inform the HQ about the situation and what they were doing next. There was a female voice, it was only slightly to hear, so you couldn't make out any words said by her.

It felt like they were talking for ages, maybe they did or you really lost your feeling for time. Your body began to feel very heavy out of nowhere, the words began to fade into some not understandable mumbling and your vision became cloudy. You tried to say something, but your voice didn't allowed it, insted you tried reaching out for the shape in front of you. Someone was yelling, thats all you heard before everything went black.

Slowly you regained your consciousness, but you kept your eyes closed. A pleasantly warmth was surrounding you, it kinda felt like home. You tried to listen for some sounds, but there were no footsteps, no voices, nothing, everything was completely silent, that was wrong. It was never silent at home, there was always someone talking, laughing or breaking things. You decided to open your eyes to look around, however there was a bright light stopping you from doing so.

It took some time for your eyes to adjust to the light. As soon as you were able to properly see again, you noticed that you were in a small room, blue walls, slightly lighter blue floor, nothing too strange. You sat up from the bed you were laying on while still examining the room. There was a small table on your right side, your pajama was laying on it. Looking down to your body you saw that you were now wearing a simple white shirt and white shorts. Someone changed your clothes and, judging by the bandages, took care of your wounds too. Were you in a hospital? You had to be. That's what those two robots said afterall. Taking another look through the room you also noticed that there was no clock. For how long have you been in this room?

Just as you were trying to figure out what to do now, somewhat heavy footsteps could be heard in the distance. Your eyes were now fixed on the white door as the footsteps became louder. The door opened slowly and someone carefully peeked inside. A big, friendly smile spread across his face as you looked at him, questioningly . He opened the door a little more to enter the room. Now you were able to see that it was another robot, they all looked so alike. This one had dark blue/light blue colored armor.

“Hey, good that you're finally awake. I've been worried that you may not wake up since you lost so much blood. I hope you feel a little better now, we treated your wounds as good as we could.” While talking he closed the door and pushed a chair, that stood in the left corner of the room, next to the bed and sat down on it. There was some silence, it seemed like he waited for you to say something, but you just kept looking at him, without saying a word.

He gave you another smile and continued, “I should've introduce myself first, huh?”, “My name is X, normally I'm a Maverick Hunter, but today I take care of you since there is not much going on at the moment.” In any other situation you would've told him that he has a weird name and you would've asked what a Maverick Hunter is, but right now there were more important questions. Your voice was back which allowed you to speak in a normal tone. “How long have I've been here?”, was your first question. X thought about it for a moment and answered, “It's been three days now since they brought you here.”

Shock spread across your face, three days was way to long, everyone was probably already searching for you. While struggling to stay calm you tried to create a plan in your head on how to get home fast. The first step to go home was to figure out where you are now. So, you asked, “Where am I?” Still smiling, X replied, “You're at the Maverick Hunter HQ in Abel City. The plan was to bring you into a hospital, but when you fainted the two Reploids, that you met earlier, got scared that you might not survive till they reached it. So they brought you here since the HQ was closer and we also have some medical resources for humans.”

None of these information were helpful to you, it was frustrating. You didn't even bother to hide it. X seemed to know that he wouldn't get any response from you, so he continued to talk, a little quieter this time,“You know what, maybe you need a little fresh air. There is a small park outside the door were we can sit and perhaps also talk because I don't even know your name. I also got informed earlier that you were searching for your home, I might be able to help with that. Sounds good?” Looking at his face again, you gave him a small smile and said, “Okay, sounds good.”

Pushing the blanket away that was covering your lower half, you tried to get on your feet, but it wasn't as easy as you thought. Your legs were trembling and it was hard to stay upright. Luckly X noticed your struggle, he immediately got to your side and offered you his hand, which you gladly took. You two left the small room together and entered a long hallway. The floor and walls of this hallway were the same as the ones in the room, but there was nothing beyond that. All in all it looked pretty empty.

The two of you walked a few meters in silence, the trembling of your legs stopped, so you were now able to walk on your own. You came along some big windows and decided to move away from your path to take a look outside. Immediately you saw hundreds of high buildings and streets that were very close to each other. The structure of the city and its buildings looked extremely out of place, in fact, almost everything seemed to look a little out of place, in compromise to what you known, even these robots. They were looking way more human now. Suddenly a question pop up in your head, that appeared somewhat ridiculous.

You turned around, facing X and, with a small sign of fear in your voice, you asked, “What year do we have?” Slightly baffled about the sudden question, he answered, “It's the first of May 21xx” Facing the window again, you overlooked the city for one more time, while confusion and disbelief filled your mind.

[skytranslates]

Mega Man X: The Novel Chapter 1

Aaaaaallllright, it’s been a while, but the first chapter is finally done!! Many thanks to my translator @melonjaywalk and my editors moidang, Lambency and tjerrian! If you’d like to follow the group’s progress on the novel, check out this Google Doc! Without further ado, here’s Chapter 1: Day of Sigma!

P・1・2・3・4・5・6・7・8・9・10・11・12・13・A

“Heh heh heh… Why X-- aren’t you a pitiful sight?”

The Ride Armor pinned me down, fingers groaning as it tightened its grip on me. Against the ground, I couldn't see my opponent at all, but I didn't need to: I already knew him well.

“Grck.... Vile! Have you really gone Maverick!?”

“Obviously. There’s fewer strings attached -- it’s way better. Why don’t you become a Maverick too?”

“Don’t screw with me!”

He was being facetious, trying to see if I'd give myself away as a Maverick on top of suggesting it would be better that way.

“Why… Why are you people doing this!?”

I wonder, do these sound like the words of a former Maverick Hunter?

My name is X.

I’m a B-Class Maverick Hunter in the 17th Elite Unit. Regardless of my rank, it has… become my duty to fight countless enemies. In the wake of countless tragedies, the Maverick Wars had begun….

A few hours ago:

I was with Zero--my mentor, friend, and a Special A-Class Maverick Hunter--when we received a report of a Maverick incident. Dispatch sent us to a military facility in the southern part of the city to investigate.

“Sure is quiet for an incident…”

“No signs of damage, either... Maybe they were mistaken.”

There wasn’t a single trace of Mavericks, humans, Reploids, or even Mechaniloids, so we concluded that it was likely a false report, and tried to contact Hunter HQ.

“...Huh? That’s weird. I’m not getting any response from HQ.”  Zero tried several channels but encountered static each time.

My luck was no better.

“I can’t seem to, either.”

Strange. The common and dedicated lines weren’t working?

“...Do you think something’s happened at HQ? Or maybe someone’s jamming the signal nearby.”

“The former’s unlikely… so it must be the latter. X, let’s try to find better reception. Not much more we can do here.”

“Understood. Let’s hurry, Zero.”

We swept through the area once more to confirm the situation, leaving the matter of our original target, the military facility, for later. We took the highway leading back to the city on our Ride Chasers--high-powered air bikes--but came to a stop upon noticing a disquieting pattern.

“...Huh? Zero, something’s wrong… It’s dark out, but I don’t see a single vehicle anywhere.”

It was July 4th, 21XX, just past 20:00. On a weekend, there weren’t as many cars around, but for there not to be a single one? To add to that, even the typical Mechaniloids that ran around the clock were nowhere to be found.

“...Looks like something might’ve gone down while we were away, after all.”

When Zero and I headed out, everything was normal: plenty of vehicles and Mechaniloids around and running. Now? The emptiness was utterly bizarre.

“It feels like all the activity from earlier just up and vanished…” No matter how far and wide we looked, we couldn’t find anything at all. It was like a ghost town. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this… Zero, let’s keep going!”

This city of ours… What was going on?

As our sense of unease grew, Zero and I plunged deeper into the city.

"What... What’s going on!?"

"It's like a warzone... Hey, hang in there! What happened!?"

We'd been on the highway for about an hour, but when we finally arrived, the place was demolished, the Mechaniloids were out of control… And amidst the ruins, we found a young, injured Reploid.

The sheer amount of damage he’d sustained burned itself deeply into my memory.

"This was...caused by a buster...?"

The same kind of weapon I carried caused these injuries: a buster cannon, meant for combat.  

You could expect to see damage like this on the body of a Maverick who'd been taken down by a Hunter. But this Reploid was no Maverick; he was a civilian.

"Mmgrck... A... Maverick... Hunter...?"

The young Reploid wouldn't survive his injuries; he’d taken a fatal shot to head. There was nothing I could do.

I wondered if he already knew.

With the last of his strength, he ejected a single memory chip from a slot in the side of his head; Zero palmed it without a word.

"Sig... Sigma..."

"Sigma?  Did something happen to the Commander?"

"..."

The young Reploid's systems went into terminal shutdown, leaving our questions unanswered. He appeared to be sleeping, but he was gone.

"What the hell happened here in the last few hours..." Zero muttered under his breath as he laid the Reploid back on the ground, one hand still balled around the chip.

No matter how much we wished otherwise, there was nothing we could do for him now. But he'd given us a potential clue; one that we wouldn’t waste.

"Zero, let's head back to HQ. I'm starting to worry."

“You’re right. Let's check this chip first, though. We need intel."

Zero inserted the chip into the Ride Chaser's onboard monitor before he'd even finished talking.

With a whirr from the reader, footage from the chip began its playback.

I couldn’t even begin to grasp what we saw.

"...If this is real, then this isn't just some random incident. This is big."

I couldn't respond; the words just wouldn't come out.

I had no idea how to react--not after being shown something like this.

“This is worse than anything we could’ve prepared for. We might be machines, but this is like a nightmare.”

It truly was a nightmare--a recording that left you wishing you could just wake up and leave it behind.

It was to be expected: as a Maverick Hunter, you were bound to witness tragedy. What had transpired here, though, went far beyond anything I’d ever encountered before. There was no doubt Mavericks existed, not anymore.

It’d never crossed my mind that a day could come where I’d go Maverick, too. Not even once. But this was why we took it upon ourselves to be Maverick Hunters, to protect humans and Reploids who lived peacefully from the threat of mayhem and violence.

In a sense, it was a way to convince ourselves. You tell yourself that, as a Maverick Hunter, you’ll never become a Maverick. The reality was that year after year, the number of Mavericks kept rising. In spite of that, the Hunters continued to work together to fight for and protect humans and civilian Reploids from harm.

In this way, we maintained peace.

And yet, the memory chip entrusted to us contained footage of Maverick Hunters slaughtering civilian Reploids.

“There’s no way… I won’t stand for this!”

I rushed down the highway towards Maverick Hunter HQ; an attack en route left our Ride Chasers destroyed. In light of the message--that Reploid’s last moments--we had to get back to HQ no matter what.

“I’m going to check the vicinity while I try to find another route. You keep following the highway, X.”

With that said, Zero took off, abandoning the overpass for the city proper. Nothing bad could possibly happen to someone like Zero, so I did as told, following the highway towards HQ.

“I can’t believe that Commander Sigma would go Maverick… I just can’t!”

That chip contained evidence of Commander Sigma’s insurrection against humanity itself, and Hunters who pledged themselves to his cause followed him down that path. The rebellion extended past this city alone; its banners threatened to smother the whole world. This was a statement, declaring all humans and any Reploids who defied their rule would be crushed.

“There must be a mistake here, somewhere… There has to be.”

I muttered it to myself like a wish, fighting off Mechaniloids and Reploids blocking my path. Why must my fellow Reploids become Maverick? Why must we fight against each other?

None of my former comrades could offer an answer.

“Why… Why are you doing this….”

How many Reploids and Mechaniloids have I destroyed by now...

The remains of my fallen comrades filled my scope as more enemies advanced upon me. I aimed my buster, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread. Inhale… Exhale… Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself against my apprehensions. Body too tense, I didn’t have a second to relax when--

“Huh. Didn’t expect you to come back here alone.”

Before I could even react to the voice that boomed out behind me, an enormous figure engulfed my vision and slammed me hard into the ground.

“What’s the matter, X? Can’t even land a single hit on my Ride Armor?”

“Damnit! Fine, then. How about this!”

I unleashed all the energy in my buster on Vile. But he easily neutralized my attack with his own assault.

“No… No way!”

That shot took everything I had. That charge shot, my special technique and most powerful attack, had no effect on him whatsoever.

No, I shouldn’t think like that. Even if my attacks don’t work, I couldn’t afford to throw in the towel now!

“If I can’t take you out with just one hit, then I’ll keep firing until I beat you!”

When Vile had suddenly appeared, he trapped me with his Ride Armor. In order to escape, I targeted the road around me, firing off buster shots to break it up and loosen the grip on me enough to get free. From there, I immediately counterattacked, but he simply repelled all of my shots. Deciding that close combat put me at a disadvantage, I kept some distance from Vile and launched a constant barrage of charged shots. I knew that the continuous overuse of my buster would damage it with every shot, but I had no other option.

“This is it Vile. Either you get destroyed or my arm goes down trying!”

“My my… You sure are acting like some kinda brat pitching a fit, X. It’s about time I shut you up for good.”

Vile kept deflecting and even dodging my attacks. He slowly closed the distance between us, his voice just as cavalier as ever. If he drew just another step closer, I’d be in a position to get captured in his massive Ride Armor’s arms again. Suddenly, my entire body seized up, as if something constricted it tightly. I couldn’t move.

“Hyaaugh! W--What is this!?”

Glancing about, I saw what appeared to be a rope generated by some sort of electrical shock wrapped around my body. Only then did I notice the numerous metal discs on the ground surrounding where I’d been caught.

“Is this… An electromagnetic capture device!?”

Something like this was typically used against rampaging criminals, or for Mavericks who proved to be too difficult to handle. Only Maverick Hunters were allowed the use of such devices, but Vile had once been a Maverick Hunter himself. He must have taken it from storage at Hunter HQ at the time of the coup d’etat.

“You were so focused on me the whole time, you neglected your surroundings. A rookie mistake like that is how you got caught in a such a simple trap.”

If only I’d been paying attention, I would have noticed that Vile set this trap right under my nose. I struggled to break free, but as expected from a trap intended for Mavericks, I accomplished nothing. I stood no chance against a tool even Mavericks had trouble getting out of.

“You really are just a B-Class after all… What would Sigma want with a wimpy weakling like you anyway?”

I still couldn’t move, and found myself once again in the Ride Armor’s grasp. My joints began to creak as its grip tightened.

“You’ve only got one life, X. You should’ve been more careful with it..”

While he taunted me, that grip tightened further. The trap had already been enough, and the Ride Armor pushed it into overkill territory. After all I had heard and seen about Commander Sigma’s uprising, the weight of the reality finally started sinking in... The reality that Maverick Hunters had become the very things they hunted…

“I mean, I could tell you how fun it is to kill people, but I’m not sure you’d be convinced. Oh well, time to die, X.”

This is bad, this is bad, this is really bad. If things kept up like this, I’d be done for. I’ll die without achieving a thing! Caught in a force without mercy, my joints could only shriek, and my vision began to blur. I could hear it. I could feel it throughout my entire body. The sound of metal crunching echoed throughout my mind. The sound of metal being broken…

-- D E A T H --

When that word came to me--

“Do anything more to my friend, and I’ll blast your head clean off your shoulders, Vile.”

In a flash of red, what I saw was--

“Tch… So you finally caught up, you blond bastard.”

A Reploid with golden hair fluttering in the wind like a banner of hope as he aimed his buster. Zero.  

“The situation is… If I must be frank, pretty bad…”

“What’s pretty bad is the fact that you can call this disaster ‘pretty bad’...”

“Honestly, I still can’t believe it...”

After I stumbled into that encounter with Vile, Zero rushed in to save me once he realized what was happening. I lost consciousness soon after, but when I came to, I found myself at the “Special Machine Research Facility” underneath Maverick Hunter HQ. Vile had the advantage, but instead he boarded an airship that suddenly appeared, vanishing without doing anything more.

While I underwent repairs from the damage done by Vile’s assault, we discussed the next plan of action and what objectives we Maverick Hunters should take. Speaking of, it’s been a while since I’ve been here, hasn’t it?

“If this insurrection is truly happening, then the Hunters’ foundation will crumble.”

“I don’t want to believe it myself, but… as a scientist, I cannot deny what my eyes have seen. I must accept it. But something on this scale has never crossed my mind before…”

This came from the elderly scientist who personally tended to my repairs. With a mournful expression, he meticulously went about mending my parts. It was likely no one else in the entire world could mend a Reploid faster.

“This must be hitting you hard, Dr. Cain.”

Dr. Cain.

The man known as the world’s greatest scientist, and the one who laid the foundation for Reploid design. His work was so great, it’s been said that there isn’t a single person alive who doesn’t know him. Commander “Sigma”, the one leading the insurrection, was said to be his greatest masterpiece.

Commander Sigma had set a shining example in his day-to-day leadership of the Maverick Hunters. As a Reploid, I had the utmost respect for him, so I still couldn’t believe he’d gone Maverick…

No. I just didn’t want to believe it. Because if I did, something inside me would shatter. But, saying that, I just couldn’t leave it alone.

The truth was, I’d fought with Vile, and seen with my very own eyes countless civilian Reploids slaughtered by those who’d gone Maverick. And Commander Sigma--no, Sigma, declared war against the world.

I’d seen the footage too. There was no doubt: Sigma had gone Maverick.

“Exterminating all humans to create a world just for Reploids… It’s delusional.”

I bit my lip at Zero’s words. If it became a world of only Reploids, what would be left?

“Certainly, you Reploids have strength and tenacity that surpass that of humans… but because of that, we must live in harmony. No life is worth more or less than another. That was what I always wanted to convey… but there’s no doubt that Sigma would reject that.”

The man before me was probably the one suffering the most in this situation. He was the father of Reploid technology, and it was his greatest masterpiece that just declared war on society. Now, he would be subject to the harsh criticism of society.

“I don’t know what kind of world Sigma’s picturing in his mind,” Zero said evenly, leaning against the wall nearby with his arms folded, “but if he’s gone Maverick, then we have to take him down. That’s our job as Maverick Hunters, X.”

Always calm and unwaveringly decisive. That was Zero for you.

“I know, Zero… Our power is meant to protect. If someone threatens the peace of the world, even if it’s Commander--no. Even if it’s Sigma, I’ll fight.”

I clenched my barely functioning left hand, confirming the power that was there. This power I’d been given to fight with… it was meant to protect. It was not something to be aimed at people. And right now… I should use this power for the troubled, elderly man next to us.

“As long as you understand.”

As if he felt the determination in my heart, Zero left those parting words and exited the room.

That’s right. Now was not the time to be lost. Even now, Sigma’s band of Mavericks were threatening peace. Having to fight my friends and fellow Reploids will be painful, but there are things in this world that I must protect.

“Because I’m a Maverick Hunter,” I said, as if I needed to hear those words once more for myself.