05-26-2017, 10:17 PM
Quote:Takes place outside of the current encounter. Word limit will be applied in the next post within the fight proper.
A brief sense of vertigo overcame the android's center of gravity as he passed through the portal. Although X managed to avoid falling over, he nonetheless lamented his lack of gyro stabilizers. Another feature worth adding to the growing list that the Mega Man found himself deprived of.
Upright and focused, X performed a visual scan over the immediate area. The obelisk he had been traveling towards had turned out to be a portal of some kind, no doubt leading to one of the many worlds that comprised the Omniverse. Thankfully, if the mottled picture beyond the shimmering gate hadn't given any indication, the arch itself built from weathered bark and choking vines gave an accurate expectation.
Above all that, however, X found himself surprised at how genuine all this life appeared to be. The plants grew without restriction or bidding, and the sounds of animals chirping and skittering about pervaded the atmosphere. Even the air and sky held little trace of anything but the natural ecosystem of a pure planet. X had not seen many true, live jungles in his time, but this place could not be anything else but the prime example of one.
To think, however, that there lived here something dark and cunning- an invasive species, as it were. That is why X was here: to dispose of that evil force. But first, he needed that device that the doctor had been talking about...
Seeing nothing humanoid so far, X decided to take his chances and start walking. The forest had carved itself a natural footpath, in the form of beaten earth with the occasional root or brush. If Regal's message proved true, then surely the aide would stumble upon the new Liberator in due time. For the sake of ease, however, X made slower strides with his clomping boots, trying to stay within the realm of "easily found" for the moment.
The only issue with that is if something else found the android, while he remained so weak.
As the thought came into his head, X's hand morphed away to be replaced with the muzzle of his X-Buster. No trouble had come yet, but it would be amiss of the Mega Man to walk into a potential danger unprepared. This too came with the reminder that he could not see danger coming without his improved vision. He could hardly hear his own servos over the fine ambient noise of the forest, however pleasing it was to the receptors.
So the android plodded along, X-Buster aloft at the ready, carefully stepping over dips and roots in the beaten dirt path. The going was slow, yet steady, and he promised himself that he would more more deftly when he had that Liberator Aide.
Soon enough, he came along a split in the path. One side curved off further into the twisting woodlands. The other seemed to move on in a relatively straight-forward road, and pointing it out was a basic wooden sign that read: "City of Ambrosia, Haven to all Unusual".
How curious- and yet, there seemed something oddly innocent about it. X studied the sign for a short while, before hearing something odd that droned out all the other chirps and rustles of the area. It sounded like a sharp droning, almost like some sort of insect- no, the tone was too choppy for that. Maybe some sort of motor...?
The puzzle solved itself quickly, as the sight of something barreling down the path became all too apparent. X's cameras zeroed in as best as they could afford, and determined the shape of a human riding a vehicle. Some stark white single-person machine, both it and the rider's own larger coat stained with waves of dust and grime. The machine seemed just like those old-fashioned electric scooters from the former times before X's awakening- it would explain why the motor sounded so fuzzy and grating.
In expectation, X lowered his Buster, and in turn the incoming ride began to slow down. The droning electric engine petered out to a low droll as the bouncing wheels rolled out to a near stop. This must be the assistant Dr. Regal was talking about, the android decided, watching how the lab-coated figure steered the scooter aside the road near where X stood. The man spared one more glance at something strapped to his wrist before hopping off the bike.
"You're the new Liberator I was informed about, right?" The human said, adjusting the bulky chrome biker's helmet on his head.
Mega Man X nodded in affirmation, stepping forward and holding out his free hand. "I believe so. You can call me X," the android introduced himself, solid but warm.
"Perfect." Without skipping a beat, the lab assistant pulled off the glove from his left hand and moved to dress the metallic left hand offered to him. Very curious at this gesture, X pulled away briefly as the device fastened itself, molding around the shape of the Mega Man's open hand to fit him comfortably. He overturned the gauntlet to examine it, and as his eyes locked onto the wrist-mounted readout, it suddenly lit up.
"That, my friend, is your Liberator Aide," The assistant announced, as the device's energy patterns began to coalesce around the humanoid machine's form. X began to fiddle with the invention, which prompted the human to explain, "It has shielding and healing functions, a built-in radar for tracking both Nebula and fellow Liberators, and a lot of installing Battle Chips, should you ever find any." Though his advice didn't seem to be regarded by the robot, Regal's aid thought it polite to explain anyway- that is, until the Mega Man's eyes began to light up with that same readout of the Aide itself.
"Of course," the human quickly added, "You may be experienced with this kind of device already."
X looked up as his eye-cameras took focus, the connected readout of the Liberator Aide shrinking to a corner of his receptors. "Well, not this sort of device exactly. You say Dr. Regal invented this?"
The assistant's expression beamed, taking a bit of pride for the appreciation. "That he did. He's had experience with Nebula before, in case you didn't know," he rattled out, taking a certain pride in his association with the inventor. "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you look an awful lot like the Navis he frequently works with."
X raised an eyebow, a common expression of curiosity or confusion. "What are Navis?"
"They're uh, well-" The intern stumbled over the words for a moment. "They're like digital programs, but in a physical sort of form. The simple ones are basic machines, while the complex ones are more humanoid, like yourself." The android nodded once again, quickly understanding the idea. The assistant took it as an indication that the concept needed no further explanation.
"Well, if you don't mind, I need to get going," he quickly dismissed himself, stepping back to the scooter and mounting it. "I gotta go keep lookout on the Gate, and you've gotta go help take down Nebula. That one guy's all by himself out there!" Without a further word, the assistant kick-started his ride again, quickly bumping back up the trail where X came from.
X found his emotion replaced with concern again at those parting words. As the droning engine started fading away, the android diverted his attention to the radar of the Aide. A glowing yellow blip was showing up on one of the far edges, along with several red blips. That could only mean one thing.
If there was any time to move quick, it would be now.