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Chapter Two: Bygones of Tonight, Part 1


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Abel city, Moon Eve Park, Adam Lane, fifty four minutes till midnight


It was a lively evening over the fairgrounds, boisterous laughter of rowdy children reverberates through the air, "come on sweetie, win me a prize" the sounds of lovers tenderly caressing each other, "hey mom, dad, this is the perfect spot for a picnic" families going out on outings during celebrations, all while the jamboree carnival tunes resonates throughout the fair.


"Welcome all! The annual Moon Eve parade will begin in an hour, please gather around Adam Lane to view all the wonder and a special surprise awaiting you."


Across the crowd stands a young woman with her raven hair in high ponytail holding the leash of her golden retriever, eyes vacant underneath the tinted spectacles she wore. With a cheerful smile on her face, she reaches out for her dog "C'mon Patrache, let's go see what this surprise is about, I hope it thumps last year's performance."


Patrache barked upon his mistress request as he happily lead the way, sprinting straight through the crowd, it caught his mistress off guard as he whisked her away to the trust of the displeased masses. Bumping person to person, she bewilderingly tried to request"Patrache slow down!". Unexpectedly she came to an instant halt, finding herself sitting on the bottom of the pavement. Patrache started barking mad at the man beneath her mistress.


"Hey watch where your going!" a frustrated voice of a man rang through her ears, a sound she's so used to hear. Patrache carried on with his barking at the unknown man.


"Patrache stop, I'm okay" she requested discreetly, to her surprise Patrache did stop, but rather he started to whimper... without noticing it her lungs started to heave while picking herself up.


A stoical sigh came out of his breath "here let me help," he reached out to grab her hand as he stood her up "that's some dog you got there."


A thought quickly came through her senses 'his touch so cold.. Could it be? A Reploid.. Angry at a human!' fear started to manifest in her mind, she couldn't control her trembling, shifting her weight on one foot she started backing away involuntarily. "I'm s-s-so-sorry for.. bumping -y-you, I'll becarefulnexttime".


Observing her gestures, he became utterly perplexed by her actions he cant help but blurt out "Wha- Ms? Are you alright? Did I scare you?" With her staring blankly at him, he came to see through her tinted spectacles, his mouth gapes at his mistake "wait no- its-not-sigh look I didn't mean to yell, I'm sorry if I was a bit too brash there". Trying to mitigate the young woman's panting along with her fidgeting, he came forward and gently grabbed her shoulders as he enclosed her in his embrace. 'he'd do this all the time, it usually works...' he thought to himself


Nevertheless, it did not stop her from panicking, in fact it only made it worse"Ahhhhhh! It's a maverick, I'm being assaulted by a maverick!Somebody heeeeeelp", she screamed as she tried to struggle and shake him off, he instinctively released her from his embrace. Upon seeing her mistress' distress, Patrache resumed her barking.


Downright confused, the stranger can't help but blurt out "ma.. maverick?", his eyes fleeting around saw that a crowd of people and reploids had stopped to look at them, astonished by this reploid and these woman's words.


"Maverick where!?" A fierce voice can be heard from a distance, dashing through the crowd.


The call signal in his left ear awoke his senses "Zero this is X, there seems to be a maverick attack at the west side of the park near Adam Lane, send back up to clear the crowd. I have feeling this must be Bass' doing."


"Errr.. X.. it's not-" Before he could finish, his receptors could pick up the sound of an arm cannon charging, along with a fervent yell"Get away from her! You Maverick... Z-Zero?" blinking rapidly, he recognized his friend, putting his arm cannon down, he stared doubtful at Zero and noticed a crying girl and a barking dog in front of him. Unsure what went on the scene before him, X asked"Zero what's going on?" and with that question, both hunters began to hear the murmurs of the crowd:


"Maverick hunters here? Why?"

"This can't be, not another tragedy"

"Let's get out of here before another drama occurs"

"Reploids are a curse to this world, damn that doctor"

"C'mon kids we're going home" "But mom, dad why?" " Just do what I say"

"It's always days like this isn't it?"


Even the reploids joined in:


"This isn't right were always the bad guys huh?"

"Not all reploids are mavericks, were not like them"

"No, not again, that means one of us could be a maverick"

"why can't we all get along?"

"Both hunters and humans are suspicious of us, they think we all believe in Sigma's ideals"


X bowed his head a bit and gazed down the ground. Despite their whispers both Zero and X could hear them loud and clear. The crowd dissipated on its own without instruction, some probably fled. Thus leaving both maverick hunters and the girl in complete solitude. Zero tried to lighten his thoughts as he looked around the shrinking crowd and saw X a bit devastated by their commentary 'these people seems to be avoiding us like a plague, well at least evacuation will be easier to handle.'


X looked back up with closed eyes and a smile on his face "I'm glad this is only a false alarm, at least nobody got hurt." Zero sunk his head a bit at his friend's words. X undoubtedly trying to mask away the shame and sorrow inside. Not knowing how to properly empathize, Zero rubbed the back of his neck and smoothly answered"Yeah, it's just a false alarm, but we still need to resume our search at least it'll be easier to evacuate people."


The girl still sobbing found and held Zero's hand, catching him by surprise as she looked up to him with tears swelling down her eyes,"is it true, are you maverick hunters?". Patrache hushed when her mistress ceased her cries.


-§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§-


Farther away from the dwindling crowd, remain a young man in leather leaning on a lamp post, his head slightly tilted forward in an attempt to cover his eyes, holding a half eaten bag of popcorn, he looked up as he zoomed his optic lenses at he maverick hunters, smiling wider he pops a handful of popcorn into his mouth "well I wasn't expecting that kind of a show, search all you want Zero you might just find me and when you do I'll be ready." and with those words he dropped his snack and clenched tightly on his stomach trying to prevent himself from laughing too much.


Static abruptly interfered with his mirth, steadying his posture, he grimaced at interruption as he hastily raised his hand up to his left ear in order to answer the call from his communicator "What is it doc!" not bothering to hide the anger in his tone. "Forte! What's with all the commotion? Did you do something foolish again! Of course you did?! Why did I even bother asking? What have I told you about he plan." Bass lowed his brows before gritting his teeth at the accusation. "How dare you assume it's always me-" before he could continue his rant, Dr. Wily cut him off not wanting to hear any of it "really something happened and it isn't your fault, like shooting me, driving like a maniac, getting the wrong supplies, and giving me wrong the medicine"


Bass suddenly roared "those two last parts were accidents, I didn't mean to almost kill you! Your favorite 'son' caused this pandemonium, not me." To Dr. Wily's dismay "Oh God, what did you do?"


-§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§-


Upon hearing another commotion the 3 companions promptly looked over the distance. "Now what is it?" Zero scowled as he looked over the horizon (near Adam Lane) where the noise was coming from. "It's probably some man with daddy issues, I've seen kids my age break before" the young woman whispered softly "C'mon let's just ignore it".


X surprised at her statement "Whoa, you can hear that far." The woman smiled and turned to where she heard the voice "When your blind, your other senses develop to compensate in what you lack, although it also comes with attentive practice." she held held fingers near her lips as she uttered a small laugh and said "that and I also have the latest implants"


The sudden announcement of the parade broadcast halted everyone movements. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, get ready for the surprise cause the annual moon eve parade will begin in thirty minutes."


As the broadcast ended, the woman who's still holding Zero's hand, nervously made a request with her cheeks red in embarrassment "Do you to mind, if the two of you accompany me to Adam Lane?" Zero still confused by how their mission is going through, decides to remain professional and pulled out his hand, disheartening the girl in the process "Sorry ma'am no can do, I apologies for causing you any discomfort, but there won't be a parade, me and X have amaverick to find, for your safety I suggest you follow the law enforcers and make your way home, or I could call them to pick you up which is possibly more convenient for you and your dog."


The girl remained silent staring blankly at them, with X feeling sorry for her, but Zero was right, there's a maverick on the lose and the people need them. She broke the silence as she gave them a gentle smile. "It's kinda rude you never asked for my name, but never mind, you two are maverick hunters. I shouldn't be wasting your time, but nevertheless please hear my tale, I'm pretty sure there are other hunters looking for that maverick. So if you may, can I take five minutes of your time?" her eyes began to water again.


Zero closed his eyelids half way not buying her little act, he gave her a blunt answer and said "no, talking to you is already wasting our time, I'll call the police to pick you up. "C'mon X" He grabbed X's shoulder only for him to remain motionless "uhm, X?" and there he saw it, X weeping, shocking Zero in disbelief 'X can cry?!'


X moved forward, with arms wide he embraced her, to her surprise and Zero. X whispered to her "I can feel you suffered a lot". Astonished by X's words she reciprocated his gentleness back to him, in an act of gratefulness she hugged him tightly, baffling Zero who was looking over the scene 'but.. I tried doing that..'


"What's your name?"


-§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§-


Bass was in a furious mental state, he panted in an attempt to calm himself down after his tirade with Dr. Wily. "No matter what we talk about, it always ends with that bastard" slamming his fist on the lamp post, causing it to plummet, not caring if the maverick hunters find him and ruin Dr. Wily's plan "What does he see in that bastard, I'm a lot more powerful than that girly man!"


"And you have your father to thank you for that, heheh"


Glancing behind his shoulder he caught the sight of Pierre, whose short bloated mechanical body coated in humorous colors, conflicts with the ghastly grin he put out for him. "How'd you find me? I'm completely human in this disguise." He sneered at him, his pupils glowed red.


"First of all, Ohh, scary I'm shaking" Pierre gave him a dark chuckle"I maybe a clown built to entertain, but it doesn't take rocket science for me to figure out who your talking about." he paused to rub his chin "second, your string of insults gave you away, Iknow this place from top to bottom, left and right, it doesn't take long for me to find a hot headed... 'man' like you." he folded his arms in confidence "Third haven't you heard of the saying: Don't bite the hand that feeds you?"


Completely annoyed Bass folded his arms as he scoffed at him "Tell me did you just come here to berate me, cause I'm in a really bad mood Pierre, I might not have control anymore."


"hehehehe"


losing his patience, he mumbled "whats so funny Pierre?"


"that"


His patience dwindling further until he lost his temper, Bass growled at him "What?"


"It's that attitude of yours Bass, I'm pretty sure that's what got you killed." Without warning Bass dashed at him, he lifted him from the neck as Pierre grunted "tell me Bass, what would this accomplish other than ruin the plan your father laid out for you." he spoke undauntedly.


Bass tightened his grip around his neck causing him to wail "I'll have you know that I have no intentions of helping my creator, both Sigma and Dr. Wily are bunch of insane individuals who would do anything to achieve their unattainable goals. I want no part of their nonsense, all I want is both Rock and Zero dead under my feet. Especially Zero."


"Really, then why hurt your poor father?Isn't he crucial to your goal?" Bass threw Pierre hard on the ground causing it to crack. "I admit that the doctor made me what I am today, but that's all. I don't need him to achieve me own ends." Pierre feebly lifted his head up, "Uhhh... Is that the only purpose you have in life? Face it you have a major flaw."


Bass turned to his back flicking his hand to dismiss him before walking away. "What flaw are you talking about? I faced a lot of hunters and mavericks alike and all of them went down like flies before my eyes." Pierre slowly picking himself up "That's the thing Bass, your anger, your pride, and envy, that's your weakness and strength at the same time. Your exploitable Bass, a tool for everyone's end."


Bass stopped at his feet as Pierre continued "I know I'm inferior to you Bass, and the rest of the maverick hunters. Despite me volunteering, do you think I don't know that my mission is basically suicide?" Bass turned back once more.


"what are you getting at?"


-End of Part One-





Note:

This whole chapter is based on the first MMX manga I read a long time ago. The girl doesn't have a name but her dog does: Patrache, and the maverick's original name is [/Pierrot not Pierre, I just changed his name because I feel like the name Pierrot is overused. One of the first scenes in the opening chapter was Zero being surprised about X's ability to cry, as well as Zero's inability to properly comprehend empathy... which kinda explains why he likes fighting. There are a few instances in the manga where X talks Zero out of extreme measures and voluntarily offers to pursue the dangers. Fortunately for X, Zero does listen which tells us that he's not a trigger happy soldier./]


I previously mentioned in the first chapter, that this fic will have aslow update. I think this'll be a long story, so I hope I can finish what I've started, it's mostly episodic like an anime or a cartoon. I've already finished the layout of the story, writing it on the other hand is something else. It goes to drafting, then numerous editing before I could present it. I might sound like an elitist here, but it's just in my nature to try to give the best of what I can do for now (show don't tell, that's what I'm having difficulty with).


Nonsense Blurbs:


I also mentioned, that I was inspired by the idea behind Puella Magi Madoka Magica (my that's a mouthful), although I don't agree with most of its theme, cynicism does not equal to reality, there must be a balance behind optimism and cynicism to achieve a higher form of meaning. I don't expect much from a 13 episode anime, so I feel like there's a lot of depth missing especially with such conceptual themes. Same with Megaman, I see the picture and the conflict, but where's the internal and external relationship, it misses a lot of key plot points. I don't blame it for being an action game but the inconsistency and omitted storylines are downright confusing, to the point it has a lot of wasted potential.


I remember playing this with my brother once, I urge him to win the game so I get to know what happens next. I guess you could say he's more action driven and I'm more story driven. I'm not that big of a fan, I'm writing this with two reasons in mind: because I remember it and partially because of a whim, I wanna practice writing so I think I'll write the first thing that pops up in my mind.


I haven't read much source material as I get more inspiration and info from it, so if I have time I'll research on it, thus slowing the story updates more. Well that's all I have to say. See you all next time.