All non-Hunters began to run out of the exit, fortunately on the opposite side of the area. X saw Felsen and Albastru push Listina behind them, as the rest of the bank moved up protectively. Stormloop was crouched down in front of the two lead singers, growling threateningly.
"Why now?" X heard Felsen moan to Albastru. "Just ten more minutes. Why now?" the leader of the 17th Unit realized that they at least thought they knew the identity of this threat, and were afraid. That explained the armored van and escort.
They were being hunted.
"Seventeenth Unit!" X shouted. "Protect Radostan!" Instantly his unit obeyed, moving to block access to the band and escorting them from the area. They were half-way to the exit when...
"Ah, so sorry to crash the party." The smooth voice made X's skin crawl. A pair of Maverick-red eyes could be seen through the smoke of destruction. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Listina clutch at Felsen's hand. X motioned the Seventeenth to keep moving, as he approached, Blaster charged and at the ready.
"What are you doing here, Maverick?" X asked.
"Ah, Megaman X, last son of Dr. Light." The voice sounded amused. "Normally I'd take great delight in destroying you, but I have other prey in mind. Where are they hiding?"
"Who?" asked Zero in a rather smug tone, saber drawn and taking his place next to his buddy. They eyes moved to him, and smiled it seemed.
"Zero, dear Zero. Glad to see you up and active. I wasn't sure if you'd come out of your capsule, and I'm a little concerned that X is still standing in that event. But we can discuss that later, little brother."
"I ain't your damn brother, Maverick scum!" Now the eyes narrowed dangerously.
"As I said, later. Now, as I was previously saying, I'm searching for four Reploids. They're probably in disguise, but one is a red canine, one - a male - tends to wear a scarf around his neck, the second male tends to like blue, one is a female, and all are kin, siblings. Just turn them over to me, and no one gets hurt."
"Pretty big threat for one lone Maverick," Zero retorted. But he was forced to eat his words as dozens upon dozens of pair of red eyes appeared behind the speaker, and even more of his tainted Reploid followers teleported right into the room. How, X didn't know, nor did he really want to know.
"Ahem, this is your last chance. Hand them over, or Hunters are going to die."
"Now a chance in Hell," X growled before shouting, "Get 'em outta here!" and firing. Two things happened at once. All hell broke loose as Mavericks and Hunters began fighting. The second was as his shot went off, the mysterious Maverick actually dodged it and raced forward faster than X could blink. The next thing X knew, he felt a hand around his throat, lifting him clear off his feet, felt the business end of a Blaster jammed up against his stomach, and found himself face to face with someone he'd never seen before.
The Reploid's armor was black and purple, fairly basic really, but it was the face and helmet that caught they eye. Two large find swept back on the helmet, starting above the eyes and widening as they went down. A blue gem adorned the forehead part like a star, and broad, vertical, purple stripes marked his face, going from under his eyes to his jaw. His eyes gleamed like two rubies, shining with a mad light. He was strong too, despite his being slightly shorter than X. For all of the Hunter's squirming and pulling, he couldn't loosen the Maverick's choking grip on his neck.
"I tried to make things easy," he growled. "I gave you a enough chances. Now I'm going to make you hand them over to me."
"Ne-ver," X gagged out, trying to focus on breathing. He heard a Blaster charging up very close by, then yelped as a mild shot burned into his thigh.
"Well, you see, X, you don't have a choice." This time the Blaster was jammed into his chest, and again fired, still on low. X screamed. He couldn't help it. "I may not know what they look like now, but I know their personalities. And there it no way - " X grunted as it was shoved into his gut. " - that they'll let me - " He felt the heat build up for a fully charged shot as the Maverick finished gruesomely, "-kill you." The tip of the Blaster burned. An involuntarily whimper escaped X's lips, and he saw the Maverick's sadistic grin. He was enjoying torturing X, the bastard! The fiend shouted at the top of his lungs, "I am Maverick, the originator of the Maverick virus! I am the one who started it all, all for the glory of he who once was, against they who destroyed him! And now I will destroy the last of his legacy, for my Maker!" X heard Zero yelling, fighting to get to his friend, but he wouldn't get there in time... no one could, the rest of the Mavericks were making sure of that. X prepared himself to die...
"NO!" Felsen's shout, coupled with a blast landing scant centimeters from Maverick's feet, startled him into losing the charge completely without firing it. X twisted his head around as best he could to see Albastru and Felsen approaching with steps both determined and grim, Felsen pulling his left sleeve down.
He's got an arm Blaster? X wondered, clearly remembering them using handheld ones before.
"Stop right there, Bass or Maverick or whatever the hell you're calling yourself now," Albastru continued. "We're right here." X's mind was racing. Had Albastru just called Maverick... Bass?
Everyone knew that name. Bass was one of the Legendary robots who - along with all of X's predecessors - vanished mysteriously over fifty years ago by all accounts.
"I see you remember me," Bass sneered. "I'm touched."
"Let X go," Felsen ordered, and Stormloop growled. "We're the ones you want."
"How true. Gladly." Bass casually flung X to the side. He crashed into the ground hard, coughing and wrapping an arm around his burned midsection as he pulled himself to his knees. Zero was at his side in an instant.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I think so." X's eyes, as well as all other eyes there, Maverick or Hunter, were locked onto the drama unfolding.
"Glad you decided to stop running," Bass sneered.
"Lets finish this," Albastru replied calmly. "Lets finish what we started so long ago, Bass."
"Felsen! Albastru! Get out of here!" X shouted. Bass laughed loudly
"So that's what you've been calling yourselves this time around! Hahahaha! Points for cleverness!" He grinned manically. "But shame on you from keeping all of this from X."
"Leave X out of this!" Felsen yelled angrily. Zero helped X up during this exchange. Ra and the others joined their friends.
"And the Cossack children too! Isn't this just a family reunion," Bass laughed.
"Did he say Cossack?" Zero gasped, recognizing another famous name.
"Lets take this outside," Felsen coaxed. Bass just snorted at that.
"No. I think you should be fair to X. After all, he deserves to know the truth." Felsen sighed, giving Albastru a small nod, his expression grim.
"Then this ends here and now!" Bass fired a shot, which was dodged by another inhumanly high back flip. But mid-flip, X saw Felsen and Albastru do something odd. They pressed what appeared to be the buckles of their belts, and were covered in a white glow. It vanished as they landed, and no one could mistake their identity now.
Albastru and Felsen were the greatest of the Legendaries:
Mega Man and Break Man.