Hunters HQ, R&D Wing

[endless_azure]

Well, this could've been worse I suppose.

There was no getting Gate out of his own little R&D domain these days; just about every other staff member had finally adjusted to the fact. X had beaten them to the punch years ago, of course ~

Poor bastard. I remember when he did this because it was convenient and vaguely amusing.

In you go ~ Gate

Comments

[_megaman_x]

"I was wondering if we had a name difference as well. I was, somewhat, named after my brother Rock. The public name he took on after his initial rebuild, at least. 'Megaman X' was in my design notes, though Father only referred to me as X in the message left in the pod. Some of my alternates are named after the variation of Rock's second name as well. They're Rockman X rather than Megaman X." X shrugged. "In all, name shifts seem to be one of the more superficial differences in realities."

X frowned as his alternate continued. The Daidalos Commission did not sound like a good thing. "Why would they have brought in Alia?"

X sighed. "Alia told me that when he left the Reploid Research Team he swore revenge on all low-end reploids that couldn't appreciate the high-end advances he was making in reploid tech. He designed the Nightmare Virus to take control of all reploids and he planned to use it to remake the world for highly advanced reploids only."

X reached up to scrub over his mouth for a moment before continuing. "The biggest reasons for having his children destroyed in 'accidents' were paranoia and jealous infighting in the scientific community. Gate's reploids were too advanced to be analyzed - like Zero and I. It should never have happened. It's likely his madness began with that, the virus he caught from Zero's DNA only made it worse and gave him initiative to act on it."

X sighed softly. "I suppose I'd have to, wouldn't I?" He shrugged a bit and then straightened up slightly to look his alternate in the eyes. "But yours is not the same person as mine was. If you've managed to save him from being driven into vengeful madness then you did far better with yours than I ever did with mine. He's lucky for that, at least."

[endless_azure]

"For me, it was always simply X; Rock became 'Rockman', but that name didn't carry over. Perhaps an indication of the degree of change?"

"Alia ..."

X took a final sip of coffee, and closed his eyes briefly.

"Alia was considered nearly as much of a threat by the Commission as Gate and many of their confederates; any reploid researcher delving too deeply into advanced technologies -- yes, like myself, yourself, and like Zero -- was monitored, and as it turned out dealt with. Most were dissuaded, some ... were not, in so many words."

"She was spared in the end only because the first closing of the net was upon those who worked with the living, and her interest lay in armour and auxiliary design. Gate was not so lucky -- his children were executed without mercy on trumped-up Maverick charges, and he was ... subdued, and brought in for 'trial' before meeting his own execution."

"... It's no coincidence that the Commission's strikes coincided with the orders to take down Repliforce with extreme prejudice."

He sighed, and continued.

"Gate survived because Alia went straight to Cain while the government was in an uproar, and between the two of them had him conveniently handed over to the Hunters to be 'dealt with'; he's been with us ever since, as have Alia and Signas. he's never been quite entirely stable since, especially since the Nightmare infection, but he's been no crazed creature bent on vengeance."

".. He'll likely be irrational at times; he can't help it, and will at least have the grace to regret his behaviour afterwards. He's under stress and by no means entirely 'normal', and Alia is really all he has left in his life. We lose her, we lose them both."

[_megaman_x]

X shrugged slightly and murmured, "Perhaps." He took another sip from his mug, holding the cup in both hands.

As his alternate continued with the explanation of the differences in their world's pre-Fourth Uprising, he stared into his mug, his fingers clenching around it. Zanzibar shifted to climb up and drape across X's shoulders, his eyes still whirling red-orange as the bronze wrapped his tail around X's throat.

Once his alternate finished, X carefully unclenched his fingers before speaking up. "At least tell me that Commission was taken apart since then?" He sighed softly and looked down at his mug again. "I think your Gate suffered more abuse than mine had. But at least he wasn't left alone to let the hurt fester and worsen."

X sighed and rubbed a hand over his mouth. "Thank you for telling me this. I can't say how he'll react to me. My being there won't be the most ordinary thing itself, after all. But I don't intend to blame him for what my Gate did." Unspoken was the fact that X also wouldn't have to feel awkward for being the alternate of the person who had killed this Gate previously. He might feel guilty over his own Gate's death while dealing with this one, but guilt over having killed someone was something he had to live with. He'd deal.

[endless_azure]

"Oh, it was -- torn to pieces along with the Federation Senate that allowed the atrocity in the first place. No fear of that, let me assure you."

"I don't know that I'd say more abuse; a different kind, perhaps."

X shook his head, and shrugged.

"I don't think he'll startle too badly; he's already slipped out to another world once or twice, the same that my youngest is currently sent to on a stealth-vacation, and I suspect he's been in the Nexus as well. So the notion won't be entirely unusual."

".. So, then; anything else you think we should pull to pieces, or should we hare off to make our respective plans?"

[_megaman_x]

"Good."

X nodded slightly. "You're probably right. It's rather pointless to compare one to the other to see which is worse." X shifted to set his cup on the table next to the thermoses. Zanzibar shifted his wings out of practiced habit to keep his balance as his perch moved.

"You have all four, then? Which is your youngest? And will any of them be around to double-take at me?" X straightened up after setting the cup down and tilted his head in curiosity. "I haven't really spoken much to most of the ones I have seen about, so I don't know much about them in general."

"As for plans, I think we need something a little easier than firelizard messenger for communications. Do you have a comm system able to send a signal across reality boundaries?"

[endless_azure]

"All four, yes."

X chuckled, starting to relax a little again.

"Harpuia is the youngest, and currently off-world. While I can't speak for Leviathan and Fafnir is currently space-side on a project, I can guarantee you that you'll encounter Phantom. Who is no doubt cursing me at this very moment for having escaped his clutches."

"And we do indeed have an inter-world system, newly integrated but working reliably, at least from this 'Reality Vanish'. I wouldn't have sent Harpuia off without one."

[_megaman_x]

"Hm. I haven't actually met a version of Phantom yet. I've heard of one who visited the Nexus, but I never met him. I suspect your other kids are going to be rather different from the versions of them I have met, though."

X nodded and then shifted to pull up his sleeve. On his wrist was a small device vaguely reminiscent of a wristwatch. X pressed the cover and a holographic display screen appeared above it. "I'll give you my PINpoint comm frequency. It's more reliable across larger dimension gaps than my standard comm is. I've only visited Reality Vanish a few times. So it'll be easier if your system can link up with my PINpoint rather than counting on me being in RV."

[endless_azure]

"Well, I did encounter an iteration of Levi who was -- certainly different. So it's a distinct possibility. Phantom's prowled about the Nexus a little himself, but he may not have approached you."

X nodded, and prepared to make note of the commcode in question.

"PINpoint, mm? Sounds like a useful little bit of gadgetry; would this be the same as the widget I've seen being used here in the Nexus?"

[_megaman_x]

X nodded. "I've met a few Harpuias, two Leviathans, and a Fefnir. All of them were different from each of their alternates. But..." X shrugged slightly. "Yours would be the first I know of who still have their father with them as their father."

X rattled off the code for the older X. "Maybe? They're free to anyone in the Nexus from a vending machine near that eyesore of a sign. It's an interdimensional teleportation and communications device. It uses different coordinates than the standard teleporters in my reality, though. I tend to record both sets when I'm hopping around the multiverse."

[endless_azure]

"Damn. I don't want to know what keeps blowing up the family."

He took note of the code, and offered the dimensional code to his other self in return.

"It can't hurt to share it ... and yes, I do believe I've seen those. I'll have to look into them, I think."

"So then, I think we're about ready for the time being ~?"

[_megaman_x]

X added his alternate's code to his PINpoint directory. Then he reached up to pet Zanzibar's head before glancing at his alternate and smiling wryly. "Just don't get yourself killed saving the world all by yourself, old man."

"I think so. Unless you've got any more questions for me?"

[endless_azure]

X started to laugh as he got up from the couch, eyes practically sparkling.

"Oh, I think these old bones can manage -- don't be blown up in the meantime, eh my lad?"

He shook his head, still chuckling.

"Oh, I could ask you questions about your life and your world til the heat-death of the universe, but it won't get work done and lives settled. I think I'll survive."

"Perhaps when this is over, we'll compare notes properly -- and be certain our opposite blondes get to snark at one another."

"Keep in touch; I'll keep you updated ~"

And X started off through the Nexus, to check on a thing or two before zipping home again.