X Fractions

Fefnir: New Toys

"Don't get any ideas." Leviathan hissed to Fefnir before the foursome entered the Neo Arcadian armory.

"What ideas?" Fefnir snarled at his sister. "The one about throwing you back into the water, or the one where I grab whatever the hell I want and get out before anyone can stop me?"

Leviathan gave him a blank stare that was far from amused.

"What do you think?"

Fefnir gave Leviathan a sneer. "I like the idea of you drowning in six centimeters of water."

"I like the idea of you being buried under your own flame." Leviathan spat back. "But you know what I mean."

"Do I?" Fefnir grinned mischievously.

"Would you two knock it off?" Harpuia then hissed at them impatiently. "Every citizen in Neo Arcadia is going to watching this ceremony, which includes humans."

"Because humans are so scary." Fefnir mumbled sarcastically with an eye roll. "Let's all fear them while we're supposed to protect them."

"Could you SHUT UP!" Harpuia thundered. "We only have one shot at this ceremony, we only have several seconds each for the humans of Neo Arcadia to decide that we are worthy of protecting them, we only have one chance to prove that we can protect and serve Neo Arcadia the same way Mega Man X did before us."

"As far as they now, that copy that calls himself Mega Man X is the original..." Leviathan mumbled bitterly.

"Exactly." Phantom spoke up. The youngest of the four was standing in a corner as he let the other three have at it. "As Copy X takes on a more powerful leadership role, we are placed into a protector role. A funny way of hiding the fact that he is not the original, but the humans wouldn't know a difference unless there is a more severe case of security failures within the city. We are Neo Arcadia's fail safes, but... I believe you understand as well as I do that that is not how Mother purposed us."

Being reminded of this, the Guardians grew quiet.

"Do you... do you think that she'll be watching us during the ceremony?" Leviathan whispered with a small shudder.

"Weil has Mother chained in a tree protected by Mega Man X's corpse." Fefnir sneered.

"But she's connected to every telecommunication system in Neo Arcadia." Harpuia reminded them. "She'll see us, one way or another."

"How about Weil can kiss my a-"

"What are you four just standing around for?" a voice grumbled at them from behind. The Guardians whipped around to see Dr Weil and Copy X coming over. The good doc was dressed formally in a white suit with a red tie, Copy X was fully dressed in his armor that both mimicked and mocked the original Mega Man X's full armor.

"The ceremony is going to begin in five minutes and you four aren't even properly dressed in your full armors yet." Copy X snarled at them. "What are you doing just standing around when you were given more productive orders?"

"We were discussing our thoughts about the ceremony sir." Harpuia told the fake coolly. "We must have lost track of the time- we'll go immediately to finish dressing if that is what you wish."

"Please." Copy X coldly affirmed. Without another word, the Guardians moved out to get ready. Behind them, Dr Weil simply snarled before motioning for Copy X to move forward as well.

. . .

There were more humans attending the ceremony than Reploids Fefnir quickly realized with an ounce of bitterness. Not that it truly surprised him- the humans of Neo Arcadia had less faith in their shelter than a structure that was built on shifting sand. They were extremely clueless too, if their ignorance on the existence of Copy X wasn't just some falsehood they all agreed to years ago.

"Welcome citizens of Neo Arcadia!" Copy X called out, finally starting the actual ceremony. "Today we are here to witness the crowning of Neo Arcadia's new guardians; the guardians that will guide you into a greater peace than what you have ever imagined!"

The many humans and few Reploids that were attending the ceremony clapped and cheered. Copy X gave a smile at the crowd that secretly illustrated that he adored the attention and their devotions. Fefnir rolled his eyes in response. In doing so, he happened to catch a sight of Dr Weil who was purposely off from most views and was even more purposely silent. Was it not Dr Weil that helped bring about this new world as well? Why wasn't the old coot leading the ceremony too?

"Neo Arcadia!" Copy X then shouted to the crowd, "It is with great honor today that I present to you the Four Guardians of Neo Arcadia; XF#1 Sage Harpuia, XF#2 Fighting Fefnir, XF#3 Fairy Leviathan, and XF#4 Hidden Phantom!"

The citizens of Neo Arcadia once again went into an uproar of cheers and applause. The Four Guardians were a lot more humble than the faker, and demonstrated such by each giving a respective bow when their names were called. Leviathan and Harpuia even blushed a little; Leviathan's face was a bit darker though.

"The Four Guardians are to be stationed in different quadrants throughout Neo Arcadia," Copy X then continued after the crowd had calmed a bit. "Before they take up their new positions in these armies, they must first take up their new arms of combat."

"For Sage Harpuia, a weapon infused with the lifeline of a lost hero, I present the Sonic Blades- may you strike fear and justice into the enemies of the sky within the Rekku Army."

In saying this, Copy X handed Harpuia a pair of twin blades. Harpuia tested them out for a moment before making a crossing slash that impressed the crowd. Copy X then turned to Fefnir.

"For Fighting Fefnir, a weapon that would be deemed unstable in lesser hands, I present the twin busters Sodom and Gomorrah- may you shake new ground within the Jin'en Army."

Fefnir played with the weight of the mini cannons before pointing them to the sky and setting off a few testing shots. The kickback of the weapons was like a rush of euphoria that made Fefnir smile in an idiotic sort of way that he could not control. The fired shots hit each other in mid-air, releasing a fireworks sort of effect that made the crown gawk in fascination; to Fefnir though, this meant that there was much more power in these cannons that what would normally be allowed to him, and the thought made every ounce in his body tickle with an erotic glee.

"For Fairy Leviathan," Copy X continued, snapping Fefnir from his trance, "A weapon inspired by the long passed Robot Masters and their legacy, I present the Frost Javelin- may you terrorize and neutralize any threats below the water within the Meikai Army."

Leviathan started to twirl the javelin as if it were a baton, and she was in a marching band. She threw the weapon into the air, it twirled three times in the air, and she caught it before taking on a defensive pose. The crowd gave their response and once they were quiet again, Copy X continued on with the last of the Guardians.

"For Hidden Phantom, a weapon that can graze through enemies before they're even aware of their ill-fated blow, I present the Dark Cross- may you keep us safe in the darkest nights within the Zan-ei Army."

Like his other siblings, Phantom played with the weight of his new weapon for a moment before deciding to throw it with all his might at the audience. The audience let out a squeal of surprise as the Dark Cross flew above their heads and boomeranged back to Phantom on the stage. For a cruel, wistful moment, Fefnir had hoped that the weapon would just happen to graze across the top of someone's hair- making them now bald in one streak on their head and maybe a little hemorrhage just to freak some people out.

"Now, Neo Arcadia," Copy X once again called out, "As we draw a close to our ceremony, I would like to invite you all to eat and drink with us for nourishment in our bodies. For tonight, we shall sleep with security and comfort in knowing that Neo Arcadia's Four Guardians will watch over us all!"

The crowd cheered and hollered in agreement as the fake looked on upon them like a high king ruling of his demonized country. Fefnir didn't care of any of it, instead he looked down at his new toys, Sodom and Gomorrah. They were perfect at the moment; unbroken, unused, still with their true potentials hidden from him...

Neo Arcadia was going to sleep well tonight alright, because tomorrow they were going to regret giving the most destructive of the Four Guardians the most powerful weapons the city had to offer.

It was going to be glorious.