City of Blood and Flames

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The human soldiers fighting alongside the machines known as Mavericks were Barking orders as the provided suppressing fire. The city was under attack and they had lost a large number of soldiers and Machines. The Resistance that had infiltrated the borders was too powerful for them to continue out in the open. They needed to get to an area that had more cover. As though the city being under that powerful a siege wasn't bad enough, the army that had drastically reduced their numbers was only one person. The only word they could use to describe him was Demon.

A blue garbed demon with brown hair. One lone Reploid against an army, and rained the very essence of Hell upon them. The Reploid continued shooting at the Mavericks and their loyalists without pause, despite how many times he was hit. The Reploid in question was the last of the Hunters. The warrior called Rock, and he was under the influence of the Chaos Command Protocol. Several Maverick Swordsmen charged at the warrior, who shouldered his rifles and drew a pair of Z-sabers.

In one swift motion, he sliced through the enemies that had attempted to cut him down and continued his path towards the city where Bass was hiding. Rock didn't care how much damage he took, how many machines he had to terminate... and after what happened to everyone he cared about, how many humans he had to send to their graves. The mavericks knew that they didn't stand a chance, as well that if this one assailant continued to rain destruction on their numbers, could cause the humans to rekindle their will that they could win the war that had already killed so many of their resistance allies.

One of the Maverick Generals stepped in Rock's path, saying, “This is as far as you go, Hunter.” He was built with a sleek design meant for speed and stealth. He drew his energy blade and stated, “I'm the General for this city, and I'll deal with you myself! ” Rock looked at him unimpressed. The enemy made a quick strike and his face took on an evil grin. The grin quickly faded into shock as he noticed his attack never landed. Instead his sword arm landed several feet behind his intended target.

In a cold voice, Rock hissed, “You talk too much!” He moved his body in a clockwise rotation and slashed at the Maverick, slicing him in two. The Maverick forces resumed fire on the warrior and he smiled. “One at a time or all at once, There's no difference. I'm going to destroy you!!!” He snapped his arm forward as the crystal that was handed from one fallen ally to the next radiated in the back of his neck. His arm changed into a cannon and he smiled, “Say Hello to my old friend, Buster!”

His arm shot powerful bursts of energy that had been amplified by his chaotic manifestation and had a resulting effect similar to a small artillery barrage. The Mavericks that were attacking were now engulfed in a massive fiery blaze. His hand returned and he grabbed his rifles. Preparing them to fire, he yelled evilly, “Take a look at this city, Bass!!! Take a really good look, because once I'm done with your toys and puppets, I'm coming for you!!!”

The human defects on top of a building started launching anti-armor shells from shoulder mounted launchers at the possessed Reploid. They hit their target, devastating the area. One of the soldiers yelled, “Did we get him?” One of them asked after the ten round assault. A chilling voice came from behind him, saying, “You tell me.” He turned and saw Rock standing there. In one powerful blow, he sent the soldier flying off the roof and down twenty stories to his death.

A figure in a brown cloak stood a distance away and said in a raspy voice, “Dammit, you idiot. You can't possibly mean to tell me that the Legendary Reploid is too weak to fight off chaos command.” The figure, shaking his head, muttered, “Looks like I have to knock some sense into you after all.”

A second scratchy voice, younger than the first, replied, “And how do you plan to do that?” the first figure held up a frayed arm and looked at it for a moment. “Well, we can always “borrow” some parts off the Mavericks he destroyed. These current loans won't do me any good.” The younger cloaked figure looked at the silver skeletal arm with sense of contemplation. “What are the odds that we give up our lives in this war and be stuck copying this stupid ability?”

The older male kept silent. “Always the silent treatment, huh, Z?” the youth mused. “Cut the chatter, kid,” the elder muttered. “We have to act fast. Let's get what we need from those reinforcements headed to the city.” The younger of the two smiled and said, “Sounds like fun.” He drew a pair of pistols and said, “Let's rock.” After a moment of the pair looking at each other, the one called Z removed the smirk of the teen's face with a swat to the head. “Don't you start with that too.”

Back in the city, Rock had left a devastating trail of scrap parts and bloody corpses as he continued his rampage through the city. With every enemy he faced, he ended up getting more and more psychotic. His body had taken a severe critical amount of damage, and he was only getting stronger. It was beginning to look like the defender of the humans was now going to be their executioner. The soldiers threw their weapons to the ground. They had no reinforcements, and the Maverick units had been completely wiped out. However, this new Rock was not looking like he was about to show any mercy.

He raised his arm and pointed it at the unarmed soldiers and prepared to fire. “Any last words?” Ha cackled maniacally. “I'm more than willing to let you beg for your lives!” After a far too brief pause, he sneered, “Ah, who am I kidding? Goodbye!” With that, he fired a powerful blast at the terrified humans. A massive explosion rocked the area... but it was the area where Rock stood that was demolished. When the smoke cleared, The enraged warrior looked at the soldiers and snapped, “Okay! Who's the Bastard who did that?!?”

The scratchy voice of the one called Z said coldly, “That would be me, Rock. You've stepped out of line.” The warrior looked at the cloaked figure and said, “Hey, what's with the getup? Halloween isn't for another couple of months.” The teen's voice said from behind him, “With a face like yours, I'm surprised it isn't everyday!” Rock looked at the skeletal head of of the one who shot the insult. In a rather awkward tone, the Psychotic Reploid muttered, “Yeah... That's really the pot calling the kettle...”

The younger of the two gave him a lopsided look that brought a look of realization to the Reploid's face. “Axel?” He turned to Z and shouted, “Zero? You're alive?” Before they could answer, he went back into the chaotic state. “I see. That Bastard Bass made Maverick Copies of my dead teammates! He wants to confuse me then finish me off while my guard's down! It's not going to work!!! I guarantee that...” His rambling was cut abruptly short as a powerful electrical current shot through his body. Slumping to the ground, Axel stood there with a high voltage cable in his hand.

Zero muttered, “That was a little excessive, don't you think?” Shrugging, the teen replied, “His psychobabble was getting on my nerves. Anyways, We'd better get him back to camp before his systems reboot. These guy's won't stop us.” The soldiers slowly reached for their weapons and the teen finished, “That is, unless they want to take there chances with blue boy waking up here.” One of the soldiers looked at them and said, “There's reinforcements coming to the city. If you promise to get that psycho out of here, We'll help you go around them. Personally, I'd rather take my chances with the replacement general than him.”

Zero nodded. “Then it's agreed. And Axel?” The teen looked at him and asked, “What?”

"Just to remind you that taking out the leader is three thousand points. Electrical cable another five hundred as style.” As he turned to the direction of the base, he chirped, “Well, at least Rock has the lead for once.” Zero stood there for a moment then shrugged. “Good point,” he mused as he followed, carrying the unconscious teammate on his back.