NotQuiteThereInc. brings to you
a ASCIIDigital Film:
FutureWars:The Android Solution
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A Metroid/MegaMan X Crossover
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Samus Aran and all related names and incidents copyright of Nintendo
MegaMan X and all related names and incidents copyright of Capcom
Kei and Yuri created by Tahachiko Haruka
Riza copyright of Paramount Studios
Dantooine copyright of Lucasarts Films
"Start Log, Samus Aran ID MET7467, 5/10, year 2007."
"Have just finished Zebes incident, for the last time.
Am looking forward to payment, off-time on Riza. I wonder..
Well, I won't be taking any more assignments for a while
unless I absolutely have to, I've got some downtime coming.
Gonna visit a few people, write some letters, get my non-
work life in gear. After Riza, I think I'll visit Earth,
it's pretty peaceful there. I wonder how Uncle is doing.
Well, I'll visit him for a bit, maybe, it's been a while."
"End log, Samus Aran ID MET7467, 5/10, Year 2007."
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"Start log, Samus Aran ID MET7467, 5/13, Year 2007."
"Riza was wonderful, as usual. Picked up a neat-
looking toy, some sort of mind-game. Will try it later,
am busy planning route to Earth, gonna hit Dantooine
and Nolandia on the way. Hear Nolandia was hit by
the Pair, though, so don't expect to stop there long.
I wonder how Kei 'n Yuri 're doin'? It's too bad
they're WWWA, they'd make great mercs. Flight plan
logged....now. Boss, I'll talk to ya right after
Nolandia."
"End log, Samus Aran ID MET7467, 5/13, Year 2007."
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"Start log, Samus Aran ID MET7467, 5/16, Year 2007."
">whistle< Damn did those two do a job on
Nolandia. Note: When their contract runs out,
you oughta snap them up. Of course...they'll only
be good for the relatively unsalvagable jobs. >snicker<
Those two're great people, but damn, when they do
a job.... anyway, gonna visit Earth, do some shopping,
you know, the whole Valley Girl(tm) thing. It'll be
good for me. I'm also gonna visit Uncle. Remember:
Snap those two up. I won't always be available, you know.
Flight plan logged.... now."
"End log, Samus Aran ID MET7467, 5/16, Year 2007."
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Samus was expecting a peaceful trip to Earth;
nonetheless, she brought along her suit, just in case,
you never knew what could happen. She almost hit the
malls first, but decided to visit her Uncle first, since
he hadn't seen her since she decided to join the Galaxy
Federal Police; in fact, she had never told him, just
always saying that 'she liked her work' in her vid-call
letters. She thought he would be pleased to find out
what she was doing, and so wore her armor with all the
decorations to visit him. She was in for quite a shock.
Samus looked over the peaceful estate, with a smile.
<Uncle certainly has done well for himself, that's for
certain.> She overflew, noting without alarm that none
of the security measures were activated, as was possible
because the systems recognized her ship as a friendly.
She selected a good spot, close to the house but unobtru-
sive, and made her way to the house. She lithely walked
up to the front door and knocked. "Hello? Uncle?"
When no one responded, she felt a bit uneasy, so
she moved around, to one of the side doors, and went
in from there. What she saw, however, was *not* her
Uncle's house. At least...it wasn't the country villa that
she remembered from her youth. She armed her beam
cannon and moved to enter the house.
What she found inside the house looked like a
swarm of dogs and little kids had arrived and wrecked
the place. Pieces of armor, a shattered weapon or
two, what looked like robot...skulls...more than one
eviscerated piece of machinery, and a few metallic
feathers. This was pretty much all she found until
she reached her uncle's study. She ripped off her
helmet and ran to his side, completely ignoring
everything inside the room but her uncle's body.
"Uncle!!!!" To her great shock and momentary
relief, her uncle's eyes opened. "S--s--Samus?
Child..what are you doing here?" Samus shushed
him, eyes filled with tears. "I'll get you to a hospital.."
Samus's uncle, the famous Dr. Light, shook his
head. "No...it won't matter, and there's *cough* something
I *hack* have to ask you to do..." Samus nodded, blinded
by tears. Dr. Light took a deep breath, coughed a few times,
and whispered, "Activate X....stop this madness.." He handed
her a optical-disk and smiled weakly at her, "Go on...I'll still
be here when you're ready.." Samus nodded, and grabbed
her helmet, following the instructions to the hidden lab.
[Some time later...]
Samus gasped. "Amazing..." She took a look at the
two tanks down in the secret lab. Both tanks were reminscent
of the power-sources of the Mother Brain in look, with bunches
of wiring and hardware attached in various places. Looking
closely at the bottom of the tanks, she noted the two name
plates:the one on the right:Zero. On the left:X. She looked
over the two androids.
Remembering her uncle's instructions, she set about activating
the machinery that would activate these two, his last legacy to the
world. As the slow awakening process began, she noticed something
odd, looking over both androids with a critical, proffesional eye.
Both androids had several armored slots in each right arm, just
above a strange-looking cannon. <Wonder what that's for... looks like
some sort of upgrade receiver.> She didn't have time to ponder this
further, though, because the awakening process had completed. Now all
that remained was to open each cylinder. She hesitated--this was it.
This would mark the end of all Dr. Light's work. Or rather, the
pinnacle, the very height of what he would achieve.
<Right then.. let's get goin'.. I have an uncle to avenge.>
Following Dr. Light's directions, she started up the computer,
and also the adjoining machinery that would be used to help 'wake up'
the two androids. Then, she sat back and waited.
-1,024Gb ready-
-Searching for startup executable.... found-
-Interface search.... found:keyboard.. vocal-
-Executing startup.exe-
-Searching for pulse-energy generator.... found-
-Searching for output port.... found-
-Testing software/hardware linkage.... done-
-What is your command?-
Samus approached the keyboard, and tapped in 'xzss', then hit
'execute'.
-Searching for xzss.... found-
-WARNING:Password required-
Samus typed in the password, 'ktanw', then hit 'execute' again.
-Password accepted-
-Beginning warmup of activation cycle equipment-
-Beginning warmup of holding cylinders:currently at 0 degrees F-
-10... 20.. 30.. 40.. 50.. 60.. 70.. 80.. 90..-
-Holding cylinders stabilized at 98.6 degrees F-
-Beginning activation process-
-Posi-optical brain:checking structure integrity...-
-Checking virtual integrity...-
-Posi-optical brain:integrity 100%, physical, virtual..-
The screen scrolled with this stuff, occasional 'blueprints' of
various mechanisms flashing onto the screen. After two hours, it was
done.
-Activation process 99% complete-
-WARNING:Full activation of requires vocal confirmation-
A small microphone slid out of the computer keyboard. She
picked it up and spoke: "Name:Samus Aran." The computer's screen
flashed -Identity Accepted. Please state clearance level-
"Clearance Level:GMM-ASA-GFD Alpha Eta Gamma."
-Clearance Level Accepted: Please give lockdown phrase-
"Lockdown phrase:Worry not about the past, but look to the
future."
-Lockdown phrase accepted, final activation process started-
There were a few whirrs, and clicks, then:
-Holding cylinders opening:full sentience achieved-
The twin cylinders hissed open, and the two androids inside
stepped forward. Samus swallowed, and smiled benignly. "Hi." The two
looked at her, eyes lighting up, and they scanned her. As one, they
spoke. "Hello, Aunt Samus."
She jumped back in surprise. "W-what?"
"You are our Aunt Samus, as Dr. Light is our father. If we have
been activated now, and by you, then something has happened, and
things are for the worse." The red one, Samus remembered the
nameplate reading:Zero, stepped forward. "So, let's go kick some ass.
What's the plan?"
Samus smiled. "Good. Let's get it together--we've got quite a
task ahead of us." They left the lab, and huddled in Samus' ship,
plotting well into the night...
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To be continued (we think)
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Author's Notes: Wow. I originally concieved this while shootin' the
breeze with John Peasley and Aaron Stolz. A few notes:
Samus Aran:The main hero(ine) in the Nintendo games Metroid, Metroid
II:Return of Samus, and Super Metroid. Her main deal is a battlesuit,
which is weak at first, but slowly becomes capable of a great many
things, including superjumps, a spin-attack, the ability to morph into
a ball and lay bombs, among other things. Her main weapon is her
armcannon, which fires blasts of energy. The cannon can be modified,
to fire a 'waveshot' which is fairly weak, but able to hit through
obstacles, a 'icebeam' which both freezes and damages enemies, a
'grappler' beam which can be used alternately as an attack, or as a
'swingline', and several other types of blasts. She can also fire
small, but very powerful missiles.
Kei and Yuri:C'mon, don't tell me you don't recognize the Dir--...
erm.. the Lovely Angels, that is. :)
Riza:One of many "pleasure planets" in the Star Trek universe. Riker
enjoys a trip to Riza, and is mindwashed by a neat little game which
he also takes aboard the Enterprise.
Nolandia:See "Dirty Pair:Affair on Nolandia".
Dantooine:Planet of the abandoned Rebel base in "Star Wars".
Mega Man X and Zero:The two main goodguys from Mega Man X.
Now, at first glance, this might appear to be a (rather poor) attempt
at a "Undocumented Features" or "Alternate Zone"-style 'fic.
In some ways, it is. Certainly the 'impurity' of the universe I'm
attempting to write in is very 'UF'-ish. However, I am *not* going to
write myself into this story. (Except maybe as random cannon fodder).
What's Going To Happen Next(if/when I get around to it):
Zero, X, and Samus start their campaign of revenge against the Evil
Dr. Wily and his robot henchmen.
After that? Who knows. Maybe the Metroids rise again... or the trio
stops one threat to Earth only to encounter new ones. Anything can
happen... @.@
-Takashima Ishido (or, Kevin Eav, if you must)
-geist@holly.colostate.edu