"Well...maybe later, something important's come up and to be honest, my head still kind of hurts from getting hacked earlier..." you say.

For a moment you were surprised about the sheer terror vibes coming from the soldiers and the 'ho crap...WRONG thing to say' vibes, then you looked at Berkana and it all dawned on you...Aw crap.

Three...two...one...

WHAT?! SOMEBODY HACKED YOU?!" Berkana screamed, outrage vibes gushing from her like light and heat from a sun. As well as her data reading 'Whoever that SONOVABITCH that messed with my baby is, their DEAD!'

You quickly explain everything that had happened, starting with getting out of that capsule when Sigma had been after Iris (making it sound as if she'd activated you since you didn't want Berkana knowing about you actually being human and everything after that, omitting the parts about Iris wanting to keep you as her pet, as well as the mason jar and bird cage) meeting with X and Zero, how Iris had stood up for you, the training at the Hunters base, the attack, Iris being abducted, the messages you had seen, those silhouettes and that headless bot in the tuxedo.

"So...the one who did this used the same Maverick Hunters who revolted during the Day of Sigma...while they were still damaged and essencally zombies for how much they had retained their programing, and hacked you to make it so you..." She cut herself off and seemed to wrestle with her own fury again. You and the soldiers all inched away from her, feeling that giving Berkana some space was the only sane option as she struggled with the idea of someone messing with you like that.

"Yeah, Iris did keep her brother from finding out about me and even saw to it that X and Zero didn't scap me. I owe her so I need to make sure she's safe before I pay Rufus a visit." you say.

Berkana looked shocked and she frowned. From her data you could tell that Berkana wasn't at all pleased that the Colonel's sister was in harm's way...she did protect you after all, so Berkana felt she owed Iris for keeping you safe. She glared at the soldiers "Well? What are you standing around here for?! We have a rescue to organize! I want Iris back a millennium ago!"

"Yes ma'am!" they said in unison, saluting and dashed of to whatever base they had come from and left you with the black mage herself. Sighing and muttering about stupid grunts, Berkana turned to you and looked aplogetic then she lunged and wrapped her arms around you. You were shocked to see tears running down her face.

"My baby...my poor, poor baby...you had such a hard time without mommey. You must have been so scared without me and so much happened to you so fast, yet you did so well on your own! Mommy's sorry. Don't worry, I'll see to it your friend is brought back safe and sound, just leave it all to me!" Berkana cooed, hugging you and fawning.

Geeze...No offense to your "mother" but this side of Berkana was creeping you out...then again, you had only seen her villaness side from in Mega Man Xtreme 2. Her having a motherly side was new to you. She used her psychic abilities and picked you up and moved in the same direction as the soldiers had earlier, you being towed behind her and hovering in the air as if by some invisable harness, Berkana saying something about a present for 'Sin Gaze'...that is, you...that needed a feild test anyway. Huh...light in the gloom, much?

As she got to the military base, se set you down and you followed her to a lab where a fully compleated, deactivated Cyber-elf sat on a workbench. Seeing which one it was made you gawk. The Dark Cyber-elf from the video game series Mega Man Zero? What was that thing doing here? You knew it was created from the Maverick Virus data in Zero's body, as a "Sigma Antibody Program" capable of counteracting the Maverick Virus and Sigma's DNA, but its development was already finished?

Ugh...just what the HELL had your presence done to the timeline of the series?!

Berkana looked at the Dark Elf and clapped and it came to life and hovered around you. "I believe you two will make a more that sufficent team to help rescue Iris while we set about helping however we can. Now if you'll excuse me...I need to have a word with Colonel...my dear Sin, you can't shock Rufus silly and scar him for life if that blob of tin dose anything to him. You understand of course, Mother'll be right back." she said, then turned and left.

Oh? So the Dark Elf was going to function like Navi from the Legend of Zelda series for you huh? Well, alright. Better than nothing you guess. And given what this particular elf could do, that was a good thing.

[Hello!]

You jump, then turn to look at the Dark Elf, it spoke to you? You look at it as several metal cables shot from the Dark Elf and attached to you and you felt something in your CPU then the cables withdrew back into the Dark Elf.

[Hmm...you're interesting Erjohn. And now I've got a lock on the signal that the headless weirdo that hacked you uses so we can go save that Iris friend of yours!]

You stare, so the Dark Elf had scanned you to learn everything about you. Well, as long as the Cyber-elf kept quiet about what you hadn't told Berkana, you supposed that no harm was done. But back to the matter at hand, Iris' rescue.

You nod, "You've got the signal, but let me guess...it's coming from a bunch of diffrent locations, right?" you said, putting your helmet back on.

[Well...yes and no. The main signal's cloaked and I can't pinpoit that, but the signal that's doing the cloaking I can track and we can follow that so we can stop the cloak and then go find Iris!]

You grin and shake your head in spite of yourself...as if you didn't see THAT coming! Well, looked like you were living a Mega Man X game now.

"So where's the signal coming from?" you asked the Dark Elf. In responce the cyber-elf formed a hologram of the world and several spots glowed, namely Gimialla Mine, Abel City, Dopple Town, The Hanging Gardens, Yggdrasil, Ragnarok, and Giga City.

The last one in particualr was what made you made you frown, however. One of Dr Willy's old bases? Well, that seemed a good place to start, yet...why did you have a bad feeling about that one?

[So which do we head to first?] the Dark Elf asked you.