Mega Man 1. The Rebirth of Peace

The Rebirth of Peace  
  
With the resounding explosions of the last of Dr Wily's relics, a new age was ushered in. The moments following the deaths of Black Talon and Sigma were ones to go down in the history books... Yet names and faces have a way of being etched in stone and old ways die hard... as the Earth still coupled to the nightmares that they had unleashed... For the nightmares that would soon follow would forever shake and tremble the fabric of everything the humans held dear.  
The government that had opposed its people started to crumble at the seems following the defeat of Black Talon. The acts amended to allow his reign were repealed and the facts surpressed by the government were unleashed... The new government that was ushered in took its seat in the city that was destroyed by Black Talon's forces, Arcadia. Atop the smoldering wreckage of the city, they built a new city, Neo-Arcadia. The Neo-Arcadian government brought peace and prosperity to all sections of the Earth. In honor of the duty that the Reploids had done, they made sure to sign the declaration for Reploids' Civil Rights. To thank the Maverick Hunters for their fine work, the government recommissioned the Maverick Hunter Headquarters as one of the most up-to-date centers for their protection and renamed it to Neo Hunter Headquarters. The Maverick virus, which died out with Sigma, had long been erased. Therefore, the Neo Hunters were hired to do the one task left, protect humanity from all the scum of the universe. It was hard work but several more Neo Hunter Headquarters were formed on the bordering space colonies and all across the Earth to take up the slack. All was as it should be, all was peaceful.  
X and Alia, after the last moments of the government, faded away from the sight of the people. Rumors had surfaced that they had gotten married not but 3 days later. This was yet to be proven... Zenith, who was one of the more influential candidates in this peace, left the Earth to go back to his precinct, where he was welcomed back with opened arms. In fact, due to his involvement in destroying the universe's most threatening individual, Zenith was promoted to a much higher rank in the Intergalactic Police Force and was commended by the legend himself, Duo, for his efforts... Zero took up residency with the Neo Hunters and followed Signas commands to the last. Zero, who had been seen a lot with Iris, took no time at all to go off and get married. For this moment and this moment only, X and Alia surfaced to be there... It was rumored that X was the best man and Alia was the maiden of honor although again nothing had been proven... Everything was going great for everyone in these times.... but everything must come to an end... sometime... 


	2. New Beginnings

New Beginnings  
  
High above most of the buildings, a group of shadowed Reploids gathered at the center of a statue paying homage to their fallen warrior, Dynamo. Although Dynamo was the black sheep of the group, he was still to looked as an equal. Together they stood around the fortress that was floating above the mountains... pondering their next move... For soon, the Neo Hunters and the Earth would be in the gravest danger of their lives... For soon, Dynamo would be given his revenge at the cost of millions of innocent lives...  
"How are the plans?" a large red and silver clad Reploid inquired, "Are they progressing?"  
"Yes they are," a Reploid resembling a scientist replied, "The government installation is less fortified than once believed..."  
"That's magnificent news, my warriors," a golden armored warrior laughed with glee, "Those Neo Hunters will pay for taking our brother's life... for soon all they love and hold dear will be gone! Those pathetic humans will pay for their part in this too! They will not live to see our utopia! They will not live to see tomorrow!"  
"Amen, brother," a fourth heavily armored individual shouted, "Our soldiers are in position and they will infiltrate the installation at a second's notice! They are awaiting the order to strike. Shall I give the order Lord?"  
"Yes, my faithful servant," cackled the golden warrior, "Go now and strike terror in those governmental buffoons! Make them know who the new masters of their fates are! The Assassins Guild is no one to mess with!"  
"Right, my Lord," the heavily armored individual bowed, "Strike now! Strike swift and without mercy! We must procure the item inside!"  
At the strike of midnight and with this order, four Reploids clad in black descended a single roof toward a guard tower. Tossing a few ninja star projectiles into the air, the guard tower dispersed in a wave of flames as the rest of the towers crumbled and fell soon thereafter... The Reploids crushed the remaining human soldiers in the area swiftly and before their blood pooled, they went for their mission objective... the underground pass... Breaking open the double blast doors with ease, the Reploids followed the stairs down to the basement of the complex... Quietly exiting the staircase, they caught eye of the only surveillance and protectors of the underground facility... Like the night, they scattered the remaining threat into the wind... The blood clung to the walls and slid down it as they scurried across the hollowed halls toward the room marked biological containment... Carefully opening these doors, the four Reploids loaded up several vials of a substance marked Epsilon into hermetically sealed containers and turned to leave.... Then again as quickly as they struck, before the fires had extinguished, they vanished in a puff of black smoke...  
As the dawn of a new day appeared over the horizon, several armed men made their way through the disaster. The fires and collamity had time to long since die down.... As they followed the stairs down to the biological containment area, they froze at the sight of what was missing from the lockup.... their samples of the Epsilon Factor... The most contagious Maverick substance on the Earth since the Sigma Virus... sealing the future to come... 


	3. Contingency Plan

Contingency Plan  
  
The sounds of the sirens were alive through the Neo Hunter Headquarters... Mumbling to himself incoherently, Zero rolled out of his bed and fled his quarters. Down the path he ran toward the main hall where it looked like a large contention of Reploids were gathering... Inside the main hall, there at was situated rows upon rows of chairs. Ahead of the Reploids was a large screen and a podium where Signas stood ready to make an announcement to the still slowly growing number of Neo Hunters in the hall. Sighing about the lack of people up at this hour, Signas looked to the crowd and began.  
"Welcome Hunters!" Signas called, "I have news that is of the most dire! The Epsilon Factor has been stolen from a government installation! If you read the debriefs from the Black Talon attacks, you'd realize that this isn't going to be fun. If one drop of the Epsilon Factor is released into the atmosphere, we have predicted that the entire Reploid population will be infected in seventy-two hours.... that is if weather conditions are in favor... But with my luck it'll be in favor... Just try to contain the situation as best as possible... we don't want an outbreak...." Signas feigned a cough as he whispered to himself "Oh hell! What am I saying? No outbreaks? That would be a miracle..."  
"What of the Matriarch Genus?" Zero questioned, "Would it be sufficient to cure those infected with it?"  
"Our stockpiles of the Matriarch Genus have depleted," Signas' voice sullied, "We have no way to counter the outbreak if it occurs... You must stop them before this happens! For humanity! For Reploidom! We've gotta save us all..."  
Sitting uneasily in his seat, Zero looked to Signas with the gravest look of concern... for Zero too understood the consequences of the theft... As the brief was ended, Zero stood up and turned to walk out the door... Before he could even exit the door, Signas called him back at which the greatest task ahead would be revealed...  
"Zero," Signas sighed, "When I was called about this mission, I could only think of two people whom I could ever ask to take it on... You and X.... Now I know this will be hard to realize but I need you to find X.... We need our best Hunters on this Zero... Please could you do this for me?"  
"It's no problem, Signas," Zero said as he turned, "I was just about to get him myself... He's had his time of comfort and relaxation..."  
"You know where he is?" Signas stood shocked.  
"Yes," Zero laughed, "He's been on a honeymoon of sorts with Alia this whole time. I swore to him that I wouldn't say anything since he did make it over for my wedding. I guess everything has to come to an end though. I must be going now Signas. Don't you worry! Everything will be fine!"  
"That's what I'm worried about," Signas shook his head, "Just be careful out there..."  
  
Almost across the world, X and Alia arose from their bed with the sweetest smiles on their faces. X looked passionately into Alia's eyes as he kissed her so tenderly and gripped his arms around her for a hug. It had been several months since they ever made a public appearance but they did not care. They had all they could ever want right here. They had a nice cozy place to stay, a beach outside and each other. If only this could last for only a more few moments, they kept thinking as they cradled each other... If only this moment could last was what they should have been thinking because as soon as they had each other in their arms, a visitor came in their midst... Rocking the house on the beach with plasma blasts, the warrior let them know he was there as his golden armor shimmered in the sunlight.  
"Come on out X," the golden warrior cackled, "I know you're in there!"  
"What the hell do you want?" X vexed.  
"You," the golden warrior yawned, "I want you to be part of this. I want you to become part of the Assassin's Guild! Your power will make this world ours!"  
"Why are the villains always such idiots?" X chuckled, "I told you once and I told you a billion times! I will never be part of your organization! Now stop bothering me!"  
"I thought I should give one of the most powerful beings on this Earth a chance," the golden warrior shrugged, "but if you insist.... I will leave you alone for now!"  
As quickly as the warrior emerged, the golden warrior disappeared and out came Alia rushing into X's arms.  
"Was it that man again?" Alia questioned with her eyes deepening in horror.  
"Yes," X muttered under his breath, "Xephyr cannot take no for an answer..."  
"Maybe we should call the Hunters about this?" Alia's smile turned to X who was frowning.  
"I'm not going there yet," X sighed, "I still have some business to take care of."  
"What business?" Alia's innocent eyes found X's as his eyes sorrowed.  
"It is dire that you do this as I say it," X's eyes shut as it was flooded with tears, " I heard the most dreadful news... The Assassin's Guild has stolen the Epsilon Factor... I have to stop them... It's my only option... Tell Zero that I'm sorry that I couldn't wait anymore... He should be coming here shortly..."  
"Ummm..." Alia's eyes widened, "Why don't you tell him yourself?"  
"Because..." X's eyes filled with glee as a smirk stretched across his face, "Er... He's standing right behind me isn't he?"  
"Uh... Yup!" Alia flung her arms around Zero's neck, "ZERO!!"  
"Hey there Alia!" Zero laughed, "X, we need to chat alone... I'm sorry Alia this is business..."  
"You talking about the theft of the Epsilon Factor?" Alia pondered.  
"Ok," Zero shook his head, "Nevermind... You can stay... You already know too much..."  
"We both know about the theft and who did it," X informed Zero, "The Assassin's Guild did it and that I'm sure of... They've been after me for the last four months to join them... It's ran by a stubborn Reploid named Xephyr. He's been coming back here trying to coerce me into it but I keep saying no."  
"That goes well with my intelligence X," Zero frowned, "Any ideas where he is?"  
"That was on the agenda but that was going to come later," X hesitated.  
"What were you going to do when I got here?" Zero wondered.  
"I was just about to leave here toward the scene where I was buried," X yawned, "There's some data there that I need to get..."  
"What's that?" Zero's look became more perplexed.  
"Your Father," X stammered, "His contingency plan had been activated due to the worldwide destruction of all of his labs... He always knew that his plans would be eventually foiled, Zero..."  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Zero's voice deepened, "My Father gave his life to protect the Earth against Black Talon! You above all know this!"  
"Not him," X's voice became stiffened, "Sigma is alive.... He's barely conscious... He's been tinkering with his consciousness since the explosion of the lab... He's been trying to reapply the virus to himself..."  
"Do you think he's the one who commissioned the Assassin's Guild?" Zero uttered.  
"No," X stated, "The Assassin's Guild is doing this of their own accord... Sigma doesn't have his virus to infect anyone to do his bidding nor does he have the cash to pay them to do this... Something tells me that their true intentions will be made clear soon..."  
"What about that contingency plan you've been telling me about?" Zero tried to change the subject.  
"Oh yeah..." X's cheery face was darkened, "Sigma has in his hands a piece of technology that was locked away inside of that specific fortress... Inside that place was the last remaining bit of the pure evil that crash landed into one of his islands... Dr Wily had it stored there in a hardened case which could resist external attacks... In essence, Dr Wily built a bomb of sorts to spread it into the atmosphere..."  
"You mean the evil concentrate from Ahriman?" Zero's face froze as the horror rushed through his body.  
"Yes," X shut his eyes as he fought back the tears, "The case broke somehow... even though I stopped the countdown of it... If Sigma figures out how to utilize it.... we're all in deep shit... Here's a worst case scenario... Sigma figures out how to trigger a new virus with it... a virus of pure evil.... One in which will penetrate the hearts of everyone... men.... women.... children... Reploid... No one would be safe..."  
"Oh Holy..." Zero's eyes filled with tears, "We must stop that monster! Come on X!"  
All this time, Alia stood there with her eyes fixed in one point as her hands began to tremble. Her entire body was stiffened from head to sternum as X touched her shaking hands.  
"What is it?" X asked looking deeply into Alia's eyes.  
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Alia stammered, "I have the feeling that Sigma and Xephyr won't be the last ones after us..."  
"Why's that?" Zero turned his head to look at Alia puzzled.  
"Up there..." Alia's voice trembled...  
Only at that moment were they to realize that they had all forgotten about the last place of concern... Elysium... They stood eyeing the sky as the sense of terror flooded every synapse in their bodies.... For soon... the new Lord would be awakened from the forgotten depths... of Elysium and change everything.... for the worst... 


	4. The Next Awakening

The Next Awakening  
  
The dust on Elysium cluttered the computers and all the once tinkering mechanical machines were long since gone. Everything onboard Elysium was as dead as Black Talon was... However amidst this eerie silence, a lone computer screen flickered to life... A series of files flashed upon the screen as they were read by a phantom inside... The screen froze on the screen as Project Janus was found in a hidden file... The day of reckoning had come and the sleeper had awakened.... A faint face appeared on the screen as a smile crept up on his face... Drifting inside of the computer system for a few moments, the shadow of his former self sought out the one thing that would make him complete, a replacement body... With Project Janus, the evil spirit could unleash his dreams and ambitions unto the world and no one would be able to defeat him... For soon, the reign of Sigma would be supreme...  
Stuck in a cyber world, Sigma drifted through several of the files as the target was found... Deep inside of Elysium, the form that Sigma had not yet been able to attain was awaiting a consciousness... Swiftly breaking through the barriers inside of his cyber prison, Sigma made his way through Elysium deep and found his target sleeping inside of a pod eagerly awaiting the download of a consciousness... Reconfiguring some of the key protocols inside of the computer, Sigma started to download onto the form in stasis... A few seconds went by and silence remained in the room... Then as quickly as Sigma downloaded his consciousness into this new shell... Green symbols flashed upon the pod as the initial dampening fields deactivated..... A jolt of electricity jumped across his body as his body moved and grasped his head in a light headed state.... At first, everything was a blur when Sigma opened his azure eyes and scanned the area... After a few more moments, he regained his sight and saw all the deactivated screens... He absolutely loved this grave setting... for his resurrection had come and now his reign will come to fruition... Looking down at his white fists, Sigma laughed at his new form and truly loved the irony of it all... for soon the Neo Hunters would have to hunt one of their own... Exiting the helpless ship, Sigma went hurdling toward the Earth in an escape pod and crashed near the Assassin's Guild's floating fortress...  
Deep inside of the fortress, Xephyr was talking with his brethren about their next strikes against the Neo Hunters... for the Epsilon Factor was theirs and all was ready for the second phase of their operation... The phase that would most assuredly leave the Neo Hunters on their knees... However, everything would have gone as planned had it not been the fact that X denied to join up again... Although, Xephyr had always planned on this and made arrangements to tie up this loose end... once and for all... For soon, X and Alia would be caught up in an inferno of the likes that no one would ever survive. The discussion that would follow Xephyr's revelations about X's and Alia's end brought up an echoing laughter that could be heard in every corridor of the fortress... This lighting up the dank halls of the fortress as the clanking of metal upon metal resounded through the corridors... The time had come for the newest entry into the fold to be revealed... As the footsteps continued to walk down the path toward the laughter, a smirk stretched across his face as he stepped inside of the confines from whenst came the mockery... The form etched himself as the only good person among them but there was something different about his soul... once pure had turned to tar black... The body drew himself into the room and laughed his evil cackle as the one known as Sigma had finally officially reentered the war...  
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Xephyr spat at the figure.  
"I'm here because I want to join this club of yours," Sigma spoke in a tone more of his own.  
"......" Xephyr's face deepened, "You're not who I thought you were... I thought for a moment you were someone else...."  
"I am that person... I am X," Sigma laughed, "And X is me... We both share this same body... His powers are my own and with it comes his and Zero's limitless potentials... You can call me Sigma but those who will tremble before my feet will call me Emperor!"  
"Sigma," Xephyr's voice deepened, "I remember you... You commissioned Dynamo for a time. Your great deeds in liberating the Earth from its oppressors are known to us. You are most welcomed here amongst us!"  
"Thank you," Sigma's voice filled with glee, "Now if you would. I have a request."  
"What would that be?" Xephyr pondered.  
"I offer you my services and my resources... if and only if... you take me to the coordinates Alpa Charle Grid 180," Sigma cackled.  
"There's nothing there!" Xephyr hesitated, "But since you're THE Sigma, I will honor your request. We have much work to be done when you come back... If our plans will come to pass, we will most definitely need that body of yours!"  
"I shall return soon and then we can begin to integrate the two!" Sigma inclined.  
"What are you talking about?" Xephyr jinxed.  
"I know you have the Epsilon Factor. My other half has an evil concentrate that I can be used to engineer a biological nightmare of the likes no one has ever known," Sigma paused, "Of course, it will only infect humans... Pathetic wastes of carbon! I'll purify this planet and bring true to the Reploid nation that has long been dreamt!"  
"Finally!" Xephyr's face lit up with a smile, "Results! You are most welcomed in our midst Sigma! I'll set you up with a room before you get back. We're brothers, you and I. We share the same dream. I wish you luck with your quest..."  
"Oh yes," Sigma's eyes lit up with glee, "Be sure to be ready in your medical lab... I won't be but a moment..."  
In a blur of bluish light, Sigma teleported to the area below and found the collapsed cave entrance... Powering up his arm cannon, Sigma unleashed a plasma blast that seared the rock... leaving a trail of liquid rock dripping from the hole.... As the liquid rock solidified around the hole, Sigma stooped his head into the hole and walked through it to the dilapidated lab... Amidst the stuttering form of Dr Wily, there was the broken form of Sigma hanging over a sphere...  
"I see you've done well to remain active," Sigma mocked.  
"You've come to finish me off, X?" the damaged Sigma coughed, "You will regret this.. I will haunt you 'til the day you die!"  
"Oh stop with the melodramatics!" Sigma shouted, "I remember myself having more backbone than this! Your pride is gone! You're useless as you are!"  
"Who the fuck are you to say this?" the damaged Sigma sputtered.  
"I offer you to mind merge with me if you don't believe a word of this," Sigma laughed, "When you connected with Elysium, you left some of your viral essence in the computers... Enough for me to exist. I am your clone in essence," Sigma's face turned to his once proud form, "I found this project amidst some of Black Talon's things... It seems there was an ulterior motive in reviving the Reploids he did... He had a secret project going on... Project Janus... He used the data from the revived warriors to make an exact replica of X... He had planned on replacing X with this copy... His moment to replace X came and past... Since his defeat this body has been waiting there... gathering dust... I thought it a bit ironic that their hero would be their greatest adversary! This is going to be great!"  
"Wh... W..." the damaged Sigma stammered.  
"Out with it!" Sigma hit the other on the back.  
"What do you want.. wi...v m...e?" the damaged Sigma forced out.  
"I want you to fuse with me," Sigma yawned, "With our combined might, we will crush this world like an ant hill... Those Assassin's Guild morons don't even realize it... What will come from their virus will be the end of EVERYTHING! They will destroy the humans and the Hunters.... leaving US to assume throne as the strongest beings alive! Rulers of the world!"  
"I like your plan," the damaged Sigma jinxed as he held out his hands, "but... I don't trust you though! You'll die if you've lied to me! I don't take well to traitors!"  
A pair of tentacles shot out of his hands and froze as they jolted around for a moment... They connected with Sigma's head as the data flowed back into the battered form...  
"You... s...s...speak th..e truthhh" the damaged Sigma coughed, "I am ready whenever you are... Let's crush this wwworld... Let us make them ttrembbble under the might of Ssssigmmma!"  
In a brilliant flash of light, both Sigmas fused into one... The new warrior stood in the doorway of the lab as he grabbed the orb and crashed through the roof of the cave... The rock crushed and parted under his strength as his body surged with new powers... Scanning the terrain, Sigma found that the fortress had touched down near the cave... and the fools inside would be almost ready for his return... Stretching out his new form, he checked out his blood red fists that flowed down to his black armor... From head to sternum, his entire armor had a medieval appearance with spikes going up his back to the top of his head and spikes on each shoulder... As these spikes shined in the sunlight... he made several fists to get better acquainted with this new form.... Balling up his fist, he punched the solid rock of the cave and watched the entire thing turn to rubble with a wicked grin... Laughing with glee at his newest power, he looked down at the center of his armor... For in the center of his chest was a deep red crystal with what looked like a soul trapped inside... Around which was an odd symbol of hatred and evil unlike anything that had yet been known... Jumping around in his new form, he left the area and headed back to the fortress with his prize.... The time of Emperor Sigma X had come... leaving hope dwindling fast for the future of all... 


	5. Elysium

Elysium  
  
The government headquarters in Neo-Arcadia was nothing short of breathtaking... Amidst its walls, a series of towers stood in the center of the fortress... colored in contrasting red and black... A sight that would have most assuredly stuck out from every corner of the surrounding terrain... Its black walls resounded everything with a motif of warning and concern... At which surrounded its walls were tall monolithic gates with foreboding and threatening guard towers.... Marching throughout the compound, there were not only armed Neo Hunters on guard but also automated plasma cannons that would most assuredly fry any intruder. The people who had created these confines had done a great job at fortifying their position and left no detail to wonder. They had in essence sealed themselves off from the world and alone they sat in these times of peace... ever ponderous of how long it would last and ever wondering about their next move...  
Inside of the fortress, there was just as much danger as there was outside. Amidst the dozens of Neo Hunters and automated defenses, there were areas that led to booby trapped corridors... Beyond all this and down one of the halls to the left, two men stood talking about recent developments and how it may effect their plans...  
"Project Zeta is as scheduled, Chancellor," a man garbed in black robes with a red sash tied around his waist spoke up, "It will take quite some time before it will be up though. We have foreseen that with the technology stolen from Black Talon that we can only prolong the life of one person with it..."  
"It will have to be as such then, Brutus," the Chancellor sighed, "How are the rebuilding of the facilities going?"  
"They are going as fast as humanly possible," Brutus bowed, "It's hard to work with some of the technology... The integration of the hardware is going to take some time. Time is one thing we don't have now... with the Epsilon gone missing and all..."  
"Do the Hunters suspect anything?" the Chancellor's face twisted with horror, "We must prevent them from knowing of our plans..."  
"Don't worry! They are out of the loop," Brutus went on, "They have been sent on the mission of retrieving the Epsilon in fact... Everything is going according to plan and soon it will be dispersed into the public! The Reploids won't be able to combat against it! They have yet to realize that the stock piles that we do have are not what they need! That reminds me, how are the supplementation's of the Matriarch Subgenus going?"  
"They are going without delay and they are being integrated into the technology to wipe out the traces of Sigma's influences," the Chancellor frowned noticing the floating fortress in the distance, "It seems like the Assassin's Guild has found our other project also... They are most bothersome! I want that Ziggurat back! Send some of those Hunters in to retrieve it!"  
"Won't that spark another war?" Brutus' voice shot up, "We don't even know if it was them who took the Epsilon! This move of aggression won't go unchallenged! They will strike against the Hunters!"  
"Exactly," the Chancellor's face lit up with a grin, "If we get them to wipe each other out, we won't have any problems with Zeta base. It will take time for it to be operational. I understand that! I also understand that I won't be alive to see it! I just want it up for our salvation! For the future of humanity!"  
"The war between humans and Reploids will continue then?" Brutus muttered under his breath, "There will be casualties on both sides if we allow it to happen..."  
"The war will continue even if I have to make it happen! Don't worry about them... Let's just think of ourselves for the moment," the Chancellor spoke up with a wicked grin on his face, "Let those ingrates who allowed us power to worry about that! They've had their chance to change things! I say let this world be cleansed of all these idiots!"  
"Excuse me for a second," Brutus nodded politely.  
Brutus turned around as he held up a communications device to his ear. On the other end, there was a Reploid talking about the progress of updating the technology to be taken up to Zeta base... On the other end, the Reploid was trying to direct the others on their tasks and keep them going while talking on the communications line... As he stood there balancing the device in one hand and directing with the other, Brutus began to get impatient with him... and almost went off on him for wasting his time...  
"Sorry sire," the Reploid apologized, "The problems with some of the technology have been resolved. Our best scientists have determined that the last of Sigma's influences have been wiped from the primary computer core and the reinstallation of a basic system is going as scheduled. I must break this off for I am needed..."  
The communications line that had hummed to life with the echoes of hard work died down and Brutus turned back toward the Chancellor.  
"Well the preparations are going as planned and the transportation of the materials should be much easier than integrating technology," Brutus hesitated, "There would only be one problem... We don't have any teleporter buffers aboard the Zeta base... This will stall our plans for some time..."  
"I have that loose end tied, Brutus," the Chancellor replied with a smile, "The teleporter generators and buffers are all up and going! I had that done first thing! You were too wrapped up in helping with them updating things to realize it!"  
"You're not the Chancellor and the brains of the operation for nothing eh sir?" Brutus laughed, "Thank you for your help. We wouldn't be half as far as we are now without you."  
"You're very much welcome," the Chancellor hummed, "And please Brutus for the last time call me Rubeus! You've known me for ten years!"  
"Right Rubeus!" Brutus chuckled walking over to the table, "I remember doubting that this would've worked but now I have my confidence restored!" Brutus opened up the bottle of champagne sitting on the table and poured two glasses, "To the fall of Reploidom in the universe and the re-initialization of Earth through Elysium!" Together Rubeus and Brutus toasted their toasts and sealed the fates of everyone for years following... 


	6. Reemergence

Re-Emergence  
  
With the orb of evil concentrate tucked neatly underneath his arm, Sigma walked into the Ziggurat turning heads with his newest change. The Reploids of the Assassin's Guild could hardly understand nor fathom the newest abilities that he had been granted... In fact, Xephyr almost shot at him as he made his way through the halls. At the last second, however, Xephyr realized what he was doing and stopped himself before doing something stupid... Leaving Sigma alone on his trek to the medical lab, Xephyr turned his attention to some other matters that were needed on the bridge of the floating fortress... Finding his way to the lab, Sigma quickly started his work, but his thoughts kept racing around keeping him from fully focusing on his work... As everything played and replayed inside of his head, Sigma knew above all else how things would go from here on in... For everything was going according to his plans thus far and nothing, it would seem, would get into his way.  
Clearing his mind of these thoughts, Sigma shook it off and focused on what he was doing in the lab... Taking a small sample of his own virus, the evil concentrate and the Epsilon Factor, Sigma inspected each of them underneath a microscope at which he made a few notes and continued to work...  
"Ahhhh... so it seems that the Epsilon Factor is quite like my own virus... Wonder what the government was thinking when they made this," Sigma mumbled to himself, "Well now... Here's the problem why their Epsilon didn't work... The key protein functions here don't match to the..."  
"How the hell?" the scientific Reploid muttered.  
"Oh... hello," Sigma delighted, "You're wondering how I know about science? Well... I'm a man of the world... I learn whatever I can so that I may use it to my advantage..."  
"Right..." the scientist sputtered.  
"And you are?" Sigma prodded, "I didn't know I would have help..."  
"I'm Typhus," the scientist bowed, "And I take it you're Sigma... I do have to admit that I'm surprised as to your form... May I inquire as to how you got it?"  
"Actually," Sigma yawned, "I got it via a simple twist of fate... Let's just say, a dead man insured I would get this..."  
"Alright..." Typhus shook his head, "How far along are you with the integration?"  
"Very close," Sigma smiled, "To tell the honest truth, I've never done this much work myself... I always had henchmen do it... Found out the hard way where that winds up! Er right... As I was saying the key proteins of the Epsilon have an error in their codons... No doubt because it was manufactured by man... I swear they pass their imperfections onto whatever they touch..."  
"That's why the accident happened then?" Typhus questioned.  
  
"Sure are full of questions," Sigma sighed, "Yes... It was this that caused the Maverick behavior of the Reploid subjects. Their own DNA coded it into their systems and once the error was read... There was a problem and it started to manipulate cells in an unwanted manner... causing the first outbreak of the Epsilon..."  
"Uhhh..." Typhus blinked, "We're machines... We don't have DNA... Do we?"  
"And you call yourself a scientist," Sigma laughed, "We're not robots persay... We're generations beyond that... We're past android life... Reploids are a new life form... almost capable of being considered human... and I said ALMOST. We're not human and that makes us perfect.... If it were up to those human clowns, we'd all be dead... They hate perfection... because they can never attain it...."  
"Right... I'm just not that well versed in that side of the spectrum," Typhus rationalized, "I'm a scientist of other trades... not robotics... er genetics... WHATEVER... I specialize in viral and biological warfare! Not only that but also advanced weapons designs and quantum physics... Now then... What do you specialize in Mr Know-It-All?"  
"I can tell I'm going to like you," Sigma grinned, "I'm a Jack of all trades... I dabble in anything that can turn the tides in my favor... I'm well versed in just about every facet of science there is... And if you ever want to talk about quantum physics, I'm your Reploid."  
"I'll keep that in mind," Typhus shook his head, "How long do you think it will take you to combine the viruses?"  
"When I fix the errors in the Epsilon," Sigma thought a moment, "I'd say I'd be done in less than ten hours. I work fast when I know what I'm doing. Now are you through with interrupting me?"  
"Yes," Typhus cackled, "As you were Sigma... I need to report back to Xephyr about the time scheduling of things."  
With this, Typhus walked off leaving Sigma to work on the integration of the viruses... Sigma turned back to his work in progress and laughed about his double cross that was soon to come...  
  
Walking through the hole in the cave, X and Zero went into the dilapidated laboratory to see if they could find the orb containing the evil concentrate. Looking for what seemed like hours, they turned up nothing.... In fact, they could not even find the damaged Sigma that was supposed to be there... Kicking the stuttering form of Dr Wily, Zero and X mumbled obscenities about their lack of clues and their lack of the orb... for they had just missed Sigma and his alter ego... Teleporting away from the scene, X and Zero went to look for answers at the site where X was found... In a blur of white and crimson light, X and Zero found themselves in a sectioned off dig site that was long abandoned... Scanning the area, X placed his hand onto what seemed like a rock wall at which glowed red... A scanning device went over his hand and highlighted his finger prints at which green seals were revealed... With a hiss and a whirl of air, the stone door opened to show its mysteries to all...  
"What the hell is this place X?" Zero looked about at the various equipment strewn on the floor.  
"This is Dr Light's legacy," X smiled a faint smile, "This was an old bomb shelter that has long since become unearthed due to time... I'm starting to remember the bulk of what my Father hid away... I understand why he hid most of this stuff from me... Er right... What we were here for... I best get her..."  
Turning away from Zero, X walked toward a wall at which was a glistening field surrounding a capsule... Touching a few of the buttons on the panel next to it, X deactivated the dampening fields around the capsule and touched the green seals...  
"Time for her to wake up," X patted the capsule, "I forgot... Let me introduce you to Dr Cossack's entry into the fold of Reploids... This is Ciel... She was supposed to be hidden away for another hundred years but... I suppose we do need her..."  
"Who is this Ciel?" Zero looked at X questioningly.  
"Ciel's... well... a scientist..." X shrugged, "Her specialties range from bioterrorism to weapon's designs... She's been here for quite some time... hidden away from Black Talon's sensors..."  
"Who is this Dr Cossack and what happened to him?" Zero looked at X even more intently.  
"Dr Cossack was one of the foremost geniuses of the Earth. Along with Dr Wily and Dr Light, they each had visions of taking robotics to the next step! In an attempt to use this, Dr Wily kidnapped his daughter and sparked another Wily War... Dr Cossack was cleared of all charges, after his daughter was returned, and Dr Light and him started a partnership that lasted for years... However, in the final years of Dr Light's life, Dr Cossack was able to hide away from the attacks of Black Talon and finished designing this..." X sighed, "The three creations from the three greatest minds of the world... Each working together to combat this new ultimate evil to come... It's almost poetic..."  
"What are we waiting for then X?" Zero pried, "I want to meet her! Open that capsule before I hurt you!"  
"Right right..." X chuckled, "This should do it..."  
The lighting of the room started to sputter as a hiss of air was let out... The pod depressurized as it opened and revealed the gem inside... The blonde haired girl who laid in the capsule looked so peaceful in it as a sudden jolt of electricity arched across her body... Pulling her arms up and over her head, stretching and yawning, Ciel opened her sapphire eyes to see X and Zero...  
"Ahhhh," Ciel stretched, "Hmmmm... From your designs, I take it you are a Dr Light and a Dr Wily model... What happened since I've been asleep? Has the Black Talon War ended?"  
"Yes it has," X's face sullened, "The year is 2261... You've been asleep for the better part of two hundred years... We lost the first Black Talon War but won the last one... Sadly to say that your creator isn't here to see your reactivation..."  
"Oh please," the computer hummed, with a Russian accent, "I might not be here in body but I'm here in spirit."  
The computer screen activated in a flash of color and rained a form in front of the stunned faces of X and Zero. The Russian man was not that old but had a smile of welcome marked on his face.  
"Welcome Dr Wily and Dr Light models," Dr Cossack grinned, "I've been waiting for you to come after Ciel... I trust you have to combat the Sigmus Virus that is plaguing the world?"  
"Sigmus Virus?" Zero's confused look turned even more so.  
"It's the classification that our scientists gave it," Dr Cossack laughed, "It didn't effect our machinery which was interesting... We tried our best to purge it from the systems of the robots and the machines infected... Guess we didn't do such a good job. This is the reason why you've awakened Ciel, yes?"  
"Kinda," X confessed, "It's worse than you realize... The Sigmus Virus as you call it is the Sigma Virus in our time period... It infected the machines that were of our advanced design... Me and Zero's design took into account the virus which gave us remarkable attributes... The "clones" so to speak, or Reploids as they have been named, didn't take into account this... The Sigma Virus fed upon this and used it to find its physical embodiment... which is now reborn..."  
"Right," Dr Cossack looked grimily at X, "Please continue."  
"Sigma, as we call him now in his physical form," X frowned, "has recently stolen the last fraction of the evil concentrate that Dr Wily had stored in his lab. What he's trying to do is merge the evil concentrate, his virus and a substance called the Epsilon Factor... The Epsilon Factor led to uncharted Maverick behavior that caused the deaths of thousands of scientists and the destruction of their lab... It was something created to control the Reploids... Something done by the government..."  
"Well then," Dr Cossack shook his head, "Sounds like you have quite a bit of problems upon you young man. If they succeed in combining these substances, I fear the worst for everyone on Earth. Ciel, you must go with these young men and find a way to stop this from happening... It is time for my creation's re-emergence into this after your work with the Sigmus Virus... Are the last traces of it out of your system?"  
"Yes Daddy," Ciel smiled sweetly, "I would love to help these two! However, they haven't introduced themselves to us yet... which is kinda rude."  
"Sorry," X chortled, "I am known as Mega Man X and this is my faithful companion Zero."  
"X!" Zero's confused look was replaced by a look of scorn, "Faithful companion? Are you trying to fit me into that side kick role?"  
"Nope," X forced out trying not to laugh, "Most people call me, X."  
"X and Zero," Dr Cossack bowed, "Welcome to my secret lab. You can come here and work on the anti-virus if you need. This equipment may be out of date to your standards but it may just give you enough to work with to find a cure in time... However... I'm afraid I forgot to mention something..."  
X, Zero and Ciel all looked at Dr Cossack for he had just warmed up about what he knew about the "Sigmus Virus"... For what was to come would be the revelation that would shatter everything that both flesh and mechanics once knew.... for the worst.... 


	7. The New Maverick War

The New Maverick War  
  
The heroes stood in front of the computer representation of Dr Cossack and alone they stood baring the weight of the world. X started pacing around nervously about the revelations that would come.... while Zero stood with his arms crossed looking at the ground awaiting the final news. Dr Cossack looked around slowly and nodded to Ciel as she looked at her Father silently nodding... Scrambling to a file cabinet, Ciel pulled out a computer disc and inserted it into the main computer system. A moment of silence drifted into the lab as all attention turned back to Dr Cossack... Dr Cossack's young bearded face darkened as his expression shifted under the weight of the news... Swallowing hard and looking swiftly right to left, one last time, he took a deep breath and began.  
"I know this has been the longest few moments of your life," Dr Cossack fixed his black rimmed glasses and continued, "but this is important for you to understand. Listen closely because no matter how many times you say that the Sigmus Virus will not infect your systems... it will overwhelm you and change you... The Hellspawn armor, that X unlocked during the battle with Black Talon, and the Nightshade armor, that Zero unlocked during the Sigma Wars, are the true natures of the virus. The Sigmus Virus feeds off of the darkest desires and most evil intentions of its host. In essence, strong emotions, like hate, feed the Virus for the worst and can alter everything forever more," Dr Cossack shook his head and continued, "It took Ciel the better part of a hundred years to rid the last traces of its influences from her system. Be ready for it because the influences are already taking over..."  
"No they're not," Zero chimed, "I feel fine! I couldn't feel better if I was assembled yesterday!"  
"Zero," Dr Cossack's face further sullied, "That armor is your infected form... The only reason why it is red instead of black... is because you control it... or so you believe... Your true form has not been awakened yet Zero... You are your Father's legacy and I hate to say this but you don't have long before it consumes you Zero... X's body still has quite some time before it succumbs to it... I wish I had better news for you guys but it gets worse... Turn your attention to the screen in front of you." The screen came to life as a flash of images appeared before the heroes. A microscopically enhanced image of a series of viral particles shown on the screen. "What you see here is the Sigmus Virus magnified one hundred times. This was Ciel's systems at one time and she was a terrible mess to work with. Now please... X and Zero allow me a sample of your blood?"  
"No problem Doc," X smiled and turned to Zero, who held out a hand. A few tentacles shot out of a port in the ceiling and prodded both Zero's and X's hands. A series of digits and data surged through Dr Cossack's mind as he looked at the two standing ever so impatiently in front of him.  
"Oh my..." Dr Cossack gasped, "It was far worse than I expected... Zero and X have more viral particles than Ciel ever did and she handled the virus first hand... From what I have seen right here, you both should be succumbing to the virus' dark nature! It's remarkable how both of you can even remain sane at this level..."  
"How bad is it?" Zero asked.  
"Well..." Dr Cossack shifted onto his left foot and tapped his forehead with his index finger, "Ciel had three hundred particles in her system... whereas both of you have three hundred thousand particles in your systems... It's simply remarkable... Er... Right... Just one word of warning before I leave you to your work... you must control your emotions... They are your worst enemy at this level of contamination..."  
  
Deep inside of the security room, Typhus eyed Sigma up in a monitor eagerly awaiting the moment when Sigma would betray their trust. Staring blankly into the screen, a smile stretched across Typhus' face as he thought of the glory he would get if he showed how Sigma was a traitor. Aiming with his index finger and thumb extended, Typhus made a gun gesture towards Sigma as he sighed and followed the long corridors to his quarters, where he fell asleep... While Typhus slept, Sigma continued to work on the integration of the three viruses... Something that would have gone quicker if only Sigma had the proper equipment to deal with. The technology that he had to use was far outdated compared to that he had used when he was making mischief for the Hunters. Further tinkering with the machines, Sigma magnified the viruses under a microscope and added a nanomachine to the culture. Using the nanomachine to extract the base RNA segments from each of the specimens, he cut them down to their bare bones and started to design a fourth virus to sustain the other three. Grinning at his own brilliance, Sigma wiped the sweat off of his brow and took a break from his work. Despite his setbacks, he was way ahead of his schedule. He had thought it would take ten hours to integrate the three but by the time Typhus had gone to sleep, six hours had elapsed. Looking up from his thoughts, he caught the glimpse of something gold in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to meet up with Xephyr looking in on him.  
"How're things going Sigma?" Xephyr inquired.  
"Better than I had hoped," Sigma yawned, "I found a way around them not wanting to combine... I'm designing a base virus to alter them all so that they'd work together. I'm so brilliant sometimes. It's amazing how much work I can do in such little time."  
"Will this work?" Xephyr looked at the computer screen full of genetic sequences, "Are you perfectly sure that this won't infect Reploids? It's vital for the operation that Reploids are immune..."  
"This will work," Sigma cackled, "The computer is working on the base virus right now and should be done pretty soon. You shouldn't worry about anything. The virus will only go after humans. I promise you that you have nothing more to worry about. The end of all wars and the rise of Reploidom is soon at hand."  
"That sounds great!" Xephyr lightened up, "Why not go to sleep? You're way ahead of schedule, even Reploids of your caliber need rest."  
"Right," Sigma nodded as he stood up, "Where's my room at?"  
"I'll show you," Xephyr smiled cheerfully, "After you." Together Sigma and Xephyr walked the corridors toward Sigma's quarters. Coming to a cross roads, Sigma left Xephyr to his duties and entered his quarters, where he went to sleep dreaming sweet dreams of conquest.  
  
Around the same time, Signas had called a huge meeting within the Neo Hunters Headquarters. Everyone, from as far as Russia, gathered around a podium at which sat a large screen fixed to the wall. A large clad Reploid came up to the podium and nodded to the crowd ,whom hushed, as Signas took his place and fixed his papers onto the podium. Swiftly looking around the room a couple times to make sure everyone who needed to be there was there, Signas cleared his voice and started the meeting.  
"Welcome one and all," Signas gestured, "On your screens in front of you, you should see the Ziggurat. The Ziggurat was a secret experimental flying fortress that was built after the Black Talon Wars. It used alien technology and our own united to show the ingenious of man and Reploid. It was stolen by a group of Reploids called the Assassins Guild. It has also come to our attention that they have in their possession the Epsilon Factor. If that substance gets into the air, Reploidom will be doomed. We are going to stop them here and now! We are going to assail their fortress and take the Epsilon back before it is unleashed. This is an open declaration of war against the Assassins Guild," Signas shut his eyes thinking of the horrors that would soon come and continued, "I want cooperation from everyone here. I have assurances that everyone around the world is backing us... so let's do this with the most extreme precision. We don't want any incidents nor do we want the Epsilon released. Good luck out in the field and may we all be forgiven for the destruction caused if it ever gets out..."  
The uproar of chatter from Signas' declaration of war on the Assassins Guild filled the room. As Signas shut his eyes, he could only think of the slaughter that would soon come, for peace had been won but the price to maintain it would be too high for anyone to pay... The new Maverick War had been started and forever silenced the fate of millions.... 


	8. Tides of Corruption

Tides of Corruption  
  
Long after everything had quieted down onboard the Ziggurat, Sigma awoke from his chamber and went through everything noteworthy. On this look around, he found several interesting places that were hidden from the Assassins Guild. Several chambers that were hidden behind false walls, that led to secret compartments at which there was no security or no possible way for them to find him.  
Moving quickly, Sigma teleported into the old dilapidated lab of Dr Wily and took parts from there to reengineer a new lab. Working flawlessly, he put together a lab in no time... Finishing it up and then eyeing up his work, Sigma smiled at how ingenious he was for putting together such a spectacularly updated work area along with an alternate power source to power it all. Concealing his lab was easy for it was hidden from prying eyes and to further hide it he installed a series of protocols that would hide energy signals. Sigma walked away from his secret cove and pushed the button to shut the area off. Lucky for him to do such because as soon as the wall silently clicked into place, Typhus crept through the area where Sigma was.  
"Good morning Typhus," Sigma yawned cheerfully, "You have a nice sleep?"  
"Listen Sigma," Typhus growled, "Maybe you can fool Xephyr and them about all this but you don't fool me one bit. Now stop with the charades and let's get down to business. You and I both know you want to eradicate the Hunters so it's beneficial for you to join us. When this is done, you're going to back stab us like you've done to many other Reploids!"  
"I knew there was a reason why I liked you," Sigma grinned evilly, "See here's where I interject with my own morsel. I know about your own agenda Typhus. You're only in this until Xephyr rids the world of the human race and then you're going to start a rebellion against him! You shouldn't bite the hand that fed you all these years! You never know what it'll get you."  
"You'll pay for that comment Sigma!" Typhus shot a disgusted glance at Sigma, "You don't have any underlings to take the hits for you now so don't be shocked when you wake up in limbo one morning. I will be watching you for the slightest inkling of deceit and then I will have you!"  
"Keep dreaming young one," Sigma cackled as he walked off, "Oh by the way, you have something on your nose... you ass kisser."  
"I'll pay you back for your comments and more Sigma," Typhus hummed as he went toward his own lab, "You'll get your come-upins soon enough! Sigma won't even be a bug when I overthrow everything. Well... for now I will just contend with this small sample I stole," Typhus toned down his voice as he entered his lab, now with a vial in his hand, "Let's just see what my viral scan will say about this sample of your Sigma virus." Typhus started work with dissecting the virus... After a few moments, he finally came to the conclusion that he had hoped... "Ahhhh! Now this is very interesting! It's everything that I had hoped and prayed for. I won't have to wait as long for Sigma to finally die out! It's all a matter of time now!"  
  
Around the same time elsewhere, a small flash of light highlighted the hills of a small town as it illuminated things for miles. A bright object streaked across the skies and landed in a remote area away from everyone... Crashing into solid ground, the object did not make so much as a sound as it slid to a stop... Smoke still emanating from the trail it blazed into the ground, a capsule laid smoldering unscathed from reentry... A loud hiss resounded as it depressurized and released its contents. A familiar looking hero stepped out of the capsule and shut his eyes to find X. A moment later, he sighed knowing that X was safe and in a blur of azure light he vanished with his capsule. By the time anyone knew what had happened, the trail and everything had been wiped clean leaving only small wisps of smoke behind him...  
After wiping another trail clean, he then moved on to more pressing matters. Quickly gathering himself after hiding his capsule, Zenith rushed off to find X and Zero. The journey was not half as long as he had thought for in a blink of an eye he found himself outside of their base... Clunking the door open of the secret compartment, Zenith stood panting in front of X and Zero, who were talking with Ciel about Sigma's escapades.  
"X..." Zenith gasped trying to get his breath, "I have... I have the most grave of news!"  
"Ummm," Ciel looked at Zenith, "Welcome Dr Light model!"  
"Who's this young lady X?" Zenith bowed and kissed her hand.  
"She's Ciel," X shook his head, "Dr Cossack's her creator. I guess it's a stretch but she's almost our sister," X hesitated for a moment and then quickly regained himself, "What the hell is wrong this time?"  
"I think it best for all three of you to sit down," Zenith's expression deepened.  
"I think it would be proper for you to introduce yourself first," Ciel responded bluntly turning her nose into the air in disgust, "It's rude to burst in unannounced and demand things!"  
  
"I'm Zenith," Zenith forced out in a hurry, "Better? Now SIT!"  
All four of them sat down in the lab and began to chit chat. The impending silence in the room foretold the topic of concern because no one could have ever guessed what was revealed next. There were only two people who needed to be filled in on what was going on, Ciel and Dr Cossack. Yet that was not needed as much as they had thought... for both Ciel and Dr Cossack knew of his terror...  
"Black Talon?" Ciel was taken a step back, "He's back? I thought he was defeated..."  
"Well," Zenith sighed, "I thought so too and so did most of my precinct but it seems like he has cheated death somehow... That is if we can call what happened to him cheating death... From the news I've been receiving, Black Talon's on the point of death but he's slowly making progress... He's drawing his forces out from hiding and it's been said that he's coming back to erase everything short of a few minute particles of Earth."  
"It would seem that you have your work cut out for you," Dr Cossack muttered, "Black Talon was a formidable foe for anyone to take on. It won't be a simple task taking him on now... Will it?"  
"With everything else that's going on," X uttered as he threw his arms into the air in disgust, "It seems about my luck for him to be here amidst all this. An unstoppable supervirus, Sigma, the Assassins Guild and now Black Talon... Oye... I tell ya it just keeps getting better!"  
"With your optimism, you could almost take over Signas' job," Zero joked trying to get a laugh. Everyone's face turned to meet up with Zero as no one laughed. Stammering a bit, Zero quickly continued, "This sorta stuff is normal if you had stayed with the Hunters X. We get this stuff all the time! It's just another field day for us. Just keep calm and things will be fine!"  
  
Coming out of hiding, Alia found herself at the Neo Hunter Headquarters where she took up her old residence and started to dispatch again. They were very short of help on dispatch because most of the people were out on the field trying to find the Ziggurat... With the first declaration of war for nearing a century, the Hunters found themselves unprepared for the thought of such a thing. Yet no matter how hard things would get or how hard things would seem, everyone within the Hunter base would stick together and reason it all out. There was only one person who seemed to be at the brink of insanity from this declaration, Signas. Signas was already wound tightly before anything had happened but with open war, he found himself questioning why he had to keep fighting such unfathomable odds. Douglas and Lifesavor were both too preoccupied to even care about the declaration. Lifesavor had his check lists and medical prep for oncoming wounded when it was needed, while Douglas kept designing weapons and methods to shorten the war to the best of his abilities. All in all, things within the Neo Hunter Headquarters could not get anymore hectic even if a meteor threatened to level everything...  
Looking up onto her computer screen, Alia's hands started to shake under the stress and pressure of this line of work. Alia shook off her doubts and cast aside her mixed emotions as she tuned out of everything. She tucked the picture of X into a corner of her desk and looked through the monitors to help the Hunters with their mission. Rubbing her eyes and sticking the ear piece in her ear, Alia officially had reentered the fold and had given everyone new hopes... This was all due to the fact that gossip had flooded the entire base. Seeing how Alia had just reenlisted her help into the war, they rationalized that X had also joined the ranks even though they could not get any denials or anything from Signas. Even now in these times, the people looked to X to save them from danger. X was their savior every time and now was even more so...  
Suddenly amidst all the preparations, sirens blared through the installation. Hunters that remained on staff at the headquarters were quickly assigned on duty as a special message was delivered through the PA system. Amidst the flashing red lights and earsplitting sirens, Signas stood alone with a solemn look on his face and shut his eyes as he made his announcement to everyone...  
"Hunters away from the base... return immediately! We're under attack! The Assassins Guild is actively engaging all our forces and are, as of right now, trying to get access to the base! I repeat! We're under attack! Return to base immediately Hunters!"  
Signas opened his eyes as he turned off his communication line and he stepped aside. No one would notice the tear sliding down his face as he realized that everything had been lost... There was no one who could save them now...  
  
Aboard the Ziggurat, Xephyr's face lit up with delight about the fire storms he had ignited and continued to line up his contingents on the battlefield. Coordinating his attack, Xephyr thought of all the good he would create with taking out the Neo Hunters, the only line of defense for the government. Turning to his general, Xephyr started to talk about the changes that were soon to come...  
"Ahhh," Xephyr laughed, "I love the smell of charred Reploids! That is if we can call those traitors Reploids! They sold out their race by helping those pathetic humans! They'll pay!"  
"Indeed they will Lord Xephyr," a large heavily clad Reploid bowed, "Everything is going according to plan. Once the Hunters are crushed, Sigma will unleash his virus to wipe out the human race. We will be victorious all in a matter of time!"  
"Yes we will," Xephyr nodded happily, "How are things going on the lines Nemesis?"  
"They are sending in more Hunters to the slaughter and they will never see our final strike," Nemesis inserted, "The Hunters will be too preoccupied with the attack to realize that the Ziggurat has any weapons. Once we are in range of the base, we will fire the main cannon and incinerate all of it!"  
"Very good!" Xephyr was delighted at hearing this and went off to work with some other things. Nemesis teleported down to his legions and continued to coordinate the attack on the base. Everything was coming down to the last detail as all of the things that the Assassins Guild had prepared for came to fruition... Just down the hall, away from the decisive actions of its leaders, Sigma was running into some problems that would most assuredly slow down his progress. It would seem that the fourth virus would not adhere to the others to bind them together. Instead, it would just sit there and not do anything. Through his observations, Sigma tracked the cause down to his own virus and with the equipment at his disposal, he started to rectify the problems with his own virus. Eyeing it all up in his microscope, Sigma gasped at his latest findings and slammed his fists into the table.  
"DAMN YOU TO HELL!" Sigma cursed, "That wretched Black Talon has worked his will into me again! That blasted Sigma Protocol has corrupted my virus and is rewriting it. Damned abomination... It would seem that it has mutated and taken on a life of its own! I'll just have to rework the programming of the virus Black Talon had done to correct the problem. There's no way around it. The deadline is fast approaching and I must keep up my end for everything depends on this virus... A virus that will spell the end of everything... For now my masterpiece, I will allow you to rest and await the proper time to awaken the true power of it... then everyone will suffer under the wrath of Sigma!" 


	9. X's Agenda

X's Agenda  
  
On the forward battle lines, Nemesis stood next to a group of cloaked warriors, who resembled Ninjas. There was only one of the group that would acknowledge him while the others bowed on one knee. The lone warrior appeared to be very close to Nemesis and as she unveiled herself from underneath the hood, Nemesis finally acknowledged her.  
"I'm glad you took that damned hood off," Nemesis shook his head trying not to laugh, "how are things on the battle front Oracle?"  
"Things are progressing as foreseen," Oracle nodded, "We are pushing the remaining Hunters into the base so we can incinerate them all with one blast."  
"Very good," Nemesis' face lit up, "You aren't my first in command for nothing! Once the Hunters are pushed back into the base, have all your forces fall back."  
"As you command," Oracle hymned as her and her warriors vanished. A moment later, Oracle and her minions appeared before the legions engaging the Hunters. Blasts and battle cries resounded over the area as Reploids breathed their last here... Yet she continued to direct the forces in the hopes of forcing them in a corner...  
Across the lines and on the Hunter side, they were mounting their last attack as they were being pushed back into the headquarters. The losses were too great on the Hunters side as everything started to slow down... Everyone turned to look at their commanding officer as everything depended on this last call....  
"FALL BACK! RETREAT" a Reploid clad in black and red called out, "We must fall back to the headquarters. There is no other way!"  
The impending stampede of Hunters rushed the lines as they retreated to the headquarters. The whirling noises of plasma blasts whizzed past their heads as it filled the voids left by the retreating Hunters... One by one, they fell back to the base and further sealed their fates. Time continued to slow down as the sounds of feet resounded over everything...  
Shutting the door as soon as the last Reploid entered, Douglas' face lit up with joy as he got to test one of his gadgets. With a loud click, the doors and exits snapped shut and the base began to lower into the ground as a large series of blast doors closed behind it. With a loud click, the base hit bottom and the defense shield activated.... The Neo Hunter Headquarters was now sealed off from the battle and all contact from the outside world... Damning all those souls that were locked inside of this tomb forever more...  
  
Not too far from the battlefield, the Ziggurat was making ready its firing position over the blast shield. On the bridge, Xephyr smiled at how everything was coming together and watched as the Ziggurat eclipsed the smoldering craters below. Slinking forward across the field, the Ziggurat made slow progress towards its prey, but it did not matter how fast it was for their fates were already sealed...  
"Yes... Yes," Xephyr clasped his hands together in impeding victory, "Just a little more... Gotta be sure there aren't any survivors of this... Hit them with everything we have! Full power! It's time to retire this traitorous scum! To hell with you... ALL!!"  
A small stream of energy powered up underneath the Ziggurat as it froze in position over the base. A loud hum radiated over the battlefield as a small stream of energy rained down onto the shield. A few moments went by as a series of small explosions were heard as a tower of energy engulfed the shield and carved a hole into it. A couple more minutes passed as a pulsating sound was heard underneath the Ziggurat as the full power of the titan was unleashed. Parting everything in its path, the blast ripped through the defense shield... The resulting explosion emitted from this blast engulfed everything for a ten mile radius. Even more time passed as an energy dome encompassed the area at which left the Ziggurat unscathed... As the dome of energy swirled under its own weight, it dissipated and left a pile of dust where the base was.... Everything had been lost... The future forever more darkened by these acts...  
After the kill shot was unleashed, the Ziggurat slowly left the area as black smoke trailed into the sky. Coming to the call of Alia, X, Zero and Zenith rushed to the grizzly scene where nothing remained of the once proud structure. Climbing down where the base used to stand, they sifted through the rubble as their hopes dropped and gave into despair... When all hope seemed to have faded, they picked up a life sign, a very faint one, and proceeded to find it. Underneath several control consoles at which the torn and singed picture of X remained, there laid Alia underneath a pool of her own blood... Looking up to X, Alia held out a hand as she placed it upon his face and coughed up a bit of blood onto the ground as she forced herself to talk...  
"X..." Alia smiled faintly, "I'm glad you are here... The Assassins Guild did this... Their Ziggurat conceals a cannon of unfathomable power... They tore through our shield as if it was nothing."  
"Save your breath Alia," X's face saddened as a stream of tears streaked down his face, "We can still save you... Just hang in there..."  
"X..." Alia reached over and held his hand, "X... Don't worry... I'm too far gone... Just leave m..."  
Before she could even finish her sentence, Alia's hand went limp as X rose his hands into the air letting out his tears... His body trembled over hers as he held her in his arms... His tears streaking down his face and hitting hers... Zero and Zenith's eyes also filled with tears about the loss of such a heroine... The hurt and the heartache from everyone there seemed to be getting the better of all of them... A moment passed and Zero stepped forth putting a hand on his shoulder...  
"X," Zero forced out, "Come on... There's nothing else we can do... We have to search out for more survivors... We can resurrect Alia... I promise..."  
"Alright Zero," X choked as he got onto his feet and laid her body in a corner, "I'll be back for you, my love..."  
"X! ZERO!" Zenith called back, "We have another life sign!"  
"Where is it?" X dried his eyes.  
"You won't believe where..." Zenith shook his head, "Ten meters down."  
"You mean Signas' quarters?" Zero's face lit up, "Maybe there's hope afterall!"  
Taking up their blasters, all three of them carved a hole into the ground and jumped down towards the collapsed section where Signas was... Standing right over the section where his room was, the three heroes started to cart debris from the area where they found the room in complete disarray... Their eyes adjusted to the absence of light as they went around the room.... A blood smeared hand print laid on his desk as they found Signas' body crumpled next to the desk... A moment went by as he opened his eyes and spoke with a squeaky metallic hum.  
"X," Signas forced a smile, "We tried to hold out without you... They were too much... I didn't even get to see anything of this world... All I've ever seen is pain and torment... never any of this Earth's beauty..."  
"It's ok, sir," Zero and Zenith yammered in unison.  
"Save your energy Signas," X sighed, "We'll get you out of here... Just hang on!"  
X and Zero helped Signas to his feet as a tremor rocked the base... Signas' room started to cave in as Signas shoved all three of them out of the room. Rock and debris buried the room as visibility was totally lost... As the dust slowly vanished, the room was totally gone... buried with tons of rubble, rock, and stone....  
"SIGNAS!!!!" X called out with his hand outreached.  
"He's gone X," Zenith looked sullied, "There's no more need to be in this tomb... Let's get out of here... That was the last signature here... Everyone else is gone..."  
"IRIS!" X shot out, "Where's Iris? Was she here?"  
"No," Zero chimed, "Iris is safe. I hid her really well!"  
"At least there will be two Hunters to live through the day," Zenith sighed.  
"You mean three?" Zero corrected.  
"No," Zenith uttered, "Two... X isn't a Hunter anymore... He resigned his position at this place. Let's get out of here... Don't know when it'll collapse..."  
Jumping through the hole in the floor that they had made, the heroic threesome backtracked to where Alia's body laid... and left the area carrying her lifeless corpse away from the scene... X's teeth were gritted together as they walked through the dust that was once a lush forest... His fists clenched as tears continued to stream down his face and black demonic wings started to uncoil from his back... X's body started to twitch as Hellspawn X regained control of his body... Dropping Alia onto the ground, X leapt into the air and went flying towards the Ziggurat...  
"X!!" Zero and Zenith yelled out, "STOP!!!"  
"Well now this is just great," Zenith jinxed, "Now we have him to deal with... I thought we had him under control..."  
"I understand what he's going through but," Zero rationalized, "the line he will cross in that armor is just insane... That Hellspawn armor is his infected form... Each time it takes control, X loses more of himself.... I just hope we can get him back this time... From what Dr. Cossack says, we both have so many Sigma Virus particles that we should be Mavericks."  
"You mean after you told me I shouldn't worry... I have to worry about the Sigma Virus too!?" Zenith sounded infuriated.  
"I didn't think there was any worries at the time, but now I'm having doubts about it all..." Zero looked down and continued, "Afterall, we're all original models... We don't know how long it will take before the virus succumbs our systems... The best we can do is make good with the time that we have left..."  
  
Deep within the Ziggurat, Sigma lurked inside of the lab trying to understand what was wrong with his virus... Sitting there a few moments, he went through it all and came to the conclusion that he would not be able to fix it without extra help... Getting up and looking around, Sigma teleported with the samples of each virus down to his secret lab... Engaging his own computer systems, Sigma started to work with everything again... Dissecting the Sigma Virus with his own equipment, he found the problem almost immediately. Code by code, Sigma fixed the virus so that it would properly bind with the other three... Everything was going extremely well despite the setbacks and with Sigma's new equipment, he rectified this problem almost immediately. Taking his newly purified virus, Sigma took up the remaining three and added them to his own at which the substance grew black.... The now black substance was suspended in a skull form with an eerie glow emanating from it... Massively reproducing the toxin, Sigma made enough virus to coat the Earth three times over and kept two of the batches for himself... Teleporting it into the lab, Sigma's face lit up with a nefarious grin as Typhus walked in and was instantly knocked back by the sight...  
"Tell Xephyr I was able to get this in less time than I thought," Sigma bowed, "I am done here and without a doubt the Hunters are done for?"  
"Yes they are," Typhus eyed up Sigma, who was standing close to him, awaiting his deceit, "Xephyr would like to see you anyway. He wants to talk to you in private."  
"That's no problem," Sigma yawned as he injected a substance into Typhus' neck, "You people are too wound up in honor and virtue to see the stuff that happens behind your backs... For that, you have been given a dose of the Epsilon. You will help with my war against my archrivals, X and Zero!"  
"Now if only that would work on me," Typhus smiled, "I had some Matriarch Genus transferred up here."  
"News flash!" Sigma cackled evilly, "The Matriarch Genus is done for! They no longer have any stock piles of the substance. What they gave you was probably something else designed by the government for Reploid testing. You fools haven't realized anything yet but you will... You will join me in ruining this world Typhus and soon your whole clan will be my pawns!"  
"I would die before that," Typhus hesitated as his eyes emptied of all emotion, "I... I serve my lord and master Sigma... What do you beseech of me?"  
"Start giving people this new Epsilon," Sigma laughed, "I will control them one way or another. Either by my sheer will or by brain washing them! Now go my mind slave and distribute it to all the denizens of the Assassins Guild!"  
"Yes my liege," Typhus spoke in monotone and vanished.  
"Ahhh," Sigma's face twisted with delight, "I love the sound of deceit in the morning... Now there's not a single stopper left to hold me back... Soon the Assassins Guild will be mine to control! Then I will unleash the Mother Virus onto the world and wipe the pathetic slate clean so that my race alone can rule! We are the only race worthy of ruling this rock! We will be victorious!"  
Shaking his head clean, Sigma left the area and presented Xephyr with the container of the Mother Virus. While Sigma was off doing this, Typhus, Sigma's mind servant, went off dispensing the newly updated Epsilon Factor to the crew of the Ziggurat. Without the Hunters to stand in his way, there was nothing left to resist him nor cause any problems in his plans... Meanwhile, Xephyr looked happily at his Mother Virus and took Sigma aside to congratulate him.  
"For a moment there," Xephyr gossiped, "I thought you wouldn't get it done within the time frame but now looking at how much you've done... I say nice job! You've done the Assassins Guild a favor and we are forever indebted to you. Whatever it is you wish I shall grant it to you once we erase humanity from the planet."  
"I do have one request," Sigma plastered a fake smile on his face to hide his intentions, "I request that you give me a contingent of your warriors so that I may start to build my utopia."  
"All in good time," Xephyr added, "My hands are tied at the moment. I have way too many things going on to stop them and heed your demands. I will meet them and that's a promise."  
"Oh... Good," Sigma cut in, "I forgot to say something else. You should have listened to Typhus. He's been right about me from the start." Sigma's grin stretched across his face as a secondary compartment opened in the container of Mother Virus leaking out the updated Epsilon. The cloud flooded the chamber and overwhelmed everything inside of the Ziggurat. This left Sigma with a new army of warriors, who would do anything for their new Lord and Master... Something he had missed for a long time...  
Then if by some random miracle or just sheer dumb luck, the sirens blared and the sensors picked up an object flying straight for them, it was Hellspawn X. Sigma's face lit up with even more glee about an even more powerful foe coming for him. This was his day as he readied preparations to infect X with the Epsilon. Sigma just loved how everything he had dreamt of was coming to fruition but there was one thing that he had not counted on... A resistance cell was growing with the remaining uninfected legions of the Assassins Guild and the two last uninfected commanding officers, Nemesis and Oracle.... For Oracle, using her powers of foresight, had seen Sigma's treachery and saved her love from the fires of damnation under Sigma's rule. For this, Nemesis was eternally grateful and they both showed it in their eyes of how many they looked out for one another and cared... None of this was known to Sigma, who thought the crew was under the influence of the Epsilon, and this proved to be their one greatest achievement so far...  
Standing on the observatory deck of the Ziggurat, Sigma awaited the moment when X would make his grand entrance. With sword pulled and rested on his shoulder, Sigma stood with his eyes closed and his back turned to the door... A darkness crept into the ship as Hellspawn X drew himself from the darkest regions of Hell... The shadow of his former self stood staring coldly at Sigma awaiting a moment of weakness so he could strike....  
"Welcome," Sigma grimaced, "You are welcomed here Hellspawn. I know we can be best of friends if we tried."  
"Why don't I just smash your face against the wall to save myself from your deceit Sigma?" Hellspawn X jostled, "You are a pathetic excuse for Reploid flotsome! You will die first! Then Xephyr!"  
"Ahhh," Sigma seemed pleased, "Well there's a problem with your plan. You never guessed that I would be ready for you!"  
The doors shut to the observatory as the holographic image of Sigma vanished. A series of flaps unveiled a cloud of Epsilon vapors as it filled the room... Coughing under its nature, Hellspawn X froze and lowered his head as if he was giving up... Touching the opposite wall, the communication line connected with Sigma. X's voice was hollowed and more obedient.... Sigma had won the day....  
"All hail Lord Sigma," Hellspawn X droned, "Death to all the Reploid traitors.... Cleanse the world of all the human race.... We are the one true race to inherit the world...."  
"Yes," Sigma muttered, "Indeed it is and now the world will become a much better place to live!" 


	10. Global Catastrophe

Global Catastrophe  
  
The sun rose, as it always had, from the dusts that was once the Neo Hunters Headquarters. A light wind blew in where everything once stood as the charred remains of the inhabitants started to settle... A once lush area was turned into a complete desert in mere seconds... As the smoldering fires that were once alive in the base died down, there was only one thing that could be recognized, a charred picture of X.... The smell of charred flesh filled the air as all hopes were lost for the Hunters... and all of Reploidom...  
Tending to Alia, Zero and Zenith left her body with Iris, whose eyes instantly filled with tears. Not saying a single word, the two heroes left the area and went off to track down the Ziggurat, where X was most likely at. Dashing off into the sun, Zero and Zenith rushed off to find the place that killed thousands of Hunters. The most severest looks of concentration were marred on both of their faces as they passed everything by... past ground zero of the Ziggurat blast... past the desert that enshrouded the area... past the ruins of Delta City and into Mount Herok... They found nothing but the void of any clues and an addition of more questions to their already growing weary minds.  
Yet unknown to either of them, the Ziggurat was roaring across the ocean and across solid land to a screeching halt some thousand miles away from them. Freezing in air, the floating land mass stood still as Sigma readied to do his final strike. Taking massive amounts of the Mother Virus down to his lab, he connected the container to an aerosolizer at which he was ready to make his ultimatum to the world. Hacking the planet, Sigma turned himself onto all the televisions across the world. The people of Earth helplessly tried to tune him out to no avail as his eerie grin drove nails down their spines. As his face twisted with delight, the familiar face of X gave them a terrifying message...  
"To the pathetic human race," Sigma began, "Too long have you wasted Reploidom away to the brink of extinction! Too long have your wanton disregard of our freedoms gone unnoticed! NO LONGER! With a flick of this button, your whole race will be wiped from this world! The slate will be wiped clean so that our perfect race can rise to supremacy! When that sun rises the next day, it will bring with it a new dawn for Reploids and give us supremacy over this world forever! With this, we will rule the world!"  
Deep within the Ziggurat itself, X stood with Typhus and Xephyr readying to slaughter the remaining humans after the virus was sprung. Their lifeless eyes showed not a hue of sentient thought... Their blank looks were marked on their faces as they stood resolute ready to wipe the world clean... Something inside of X was crying out in agony as his lifeless eyes flashed with azure... Before anyone knew it, X was in a corner away from the other two with his hands on his head feeling the most intense feeling of pain. His eyes shone completely blue as his Hellspawn armor started to fade...  
"What the hell is going on?" X thought, "I must fight this..."  
"You must listen to Sigma," a louder voice called.  
"I must not do anything I don't want to do," X thought again, "I've got to protect the sanctity of life here on earth... I must not... FAIL!"  
"You don't hold sway over this body anymore, X," Hellspawn mocked, "I DO! You caused the death of Alia! It was all your fault! You let it happen because you're too weak!!"  
"NO!" X stammered, "I couldn't stop it!"  
"You could have but you didn't!" Hellspawn shouted, "And now you're my puppet! Much like you were with the government!"  
"WHAT!?!" X vexed.  
"Ahhhh!" Hellspawn delighted, "It seems like you have some repressed memories! Let me refresh your memory! You and the Epsilon..."  
"Huh?" X hesitated, "Epsilon? I knew about Project Epsilon?"  
"You're a mess X!" Hellspawn yawned, "Look you helped in Project Epsilon. You were told that it was designed to make a Sigma Anti-Virus to protect Reploids from the Sigma Virus. While in actuality, the government used you! They knew what a liability you were so they led you on until the Epsilon Factor was unleashed! You were the only survivor of the accident! Innocent humans and Reploids alike gave their lives for their savior! Their HERO! When their hero could not even fight himself out of a paper bag! You're so weak it sickens me!"  
"I didn't give up... I didn't..." X stuttered, "I must fight to save their brethren... Must not stop.... Must save humanity..."  
"Give it a rest X!" Hellspawn jinxed, "You CAN'T fight because I have control over your body! I like the way Sigma's going with this whole human obliteration thing! I'll just act the part of one of his mind slaves for a bit... I love how he's easily fooled!"  
"You may have control over my body," X chided, "but I have control over my mind! You can't bully me here! You'll pay for your crimes!"  
"PLEASE!" Hellspawn laughed, "I've been here since you first encountered Sigma! I've been growing stronger and stronger! You won't be rid of me! I'm part of you! If I die, I'm taking you with me!"  
"Not if I lock you away inside of my mind," X smiled, "I'll sacrifice a portion of my memories to wipe you out of existence Hellspawn! It's over! You've LOST!"  
"Nice try," Hellspawn added, "I know your entire mind inside and out! There's no way in hell you'll ever do something that drastic! You'll lose all memory of your last moments with old lover girl Alia! You'll lose every year before that up to the Black Talon War! You'll lose all the knowledge Dr Light unlocked! I don't think you have the cajones to do it big man!"  
"It's a lot of memories to sacrifice," X sighed, "but I'm willing to lose them to be rid of you! Say goodbye Hellspawn! I'm retaking my body with force!"  
"Damn yo..." Hellspawn shuddered as ice started to walk up his body, "I'll h...a..unt... you to.... th...e da..y yo..u... d..i..eeee..."  
"Haunt me," X shook his head, "Taunt me. Do whatever you want! You will never see the light of day again! Now begone with you! You'll love the part of my mind I'm locking you in! There's nothing there but you!"  
A twitch radiated across X's body as his armor glowed with golden light. His eyes transfixed onto the back of Typhus' head as he blinked and got to his feet again. Walking up to Typhus and Xephyr, X acted the part of a mind controlled servant of Sigma.  
"I'm sorry you two," X said sullied, "but I can't allow you to function while Sigma still has the Mother Virus." X walked behind them and put his hand deep inside of his armor. He drew out two devices and placed them onto the back of their heads. "Activate Neurotransducers... Sorry again for doing this... When you awake, you'll prolly have no memory of this... or so I would hope."  
X drug the two disabled Reploids off to a corner and hid them from view. Running through the Ziggurat, X caught Sigma right at the final moment where he was pulling the trigger.... Everything slowed as X powered up his blaster and fired toward Sigma... No matter what he would have done, there was no stopping him... By the time the energy discharged, Sigma had pressed the trigger and the mist like substance filled the air flooding the jet stream... All was indeed lost.... A single tear seemed to have pressed through X's eyes as his heart lowered and everything darkened for all time...  
"Nice try X," Sigma quipped, "Knew your stubbornness was too powerful for the updated Epsilon... Interesting creation you are but no matter! YOU LOSE! The human race is over!"  
Looking up into the sky, Zero and Zenith saw a massive cloud of greyish white floating over the lands and water coating everything in its path... They too knew that they had failed and watched helplessly, like most of the world, as it blanketed the land.... People all across the world stood in awe as the mist covered everything... Across the Earth, it gave the blue orb a greyish white appearance as it further darkened the fortunes of all...  
Cringing under the smell of the virus, humans across the world started to cough and gag at which their eyes and bodies radiated with red energy... Had someone not been exposed by the mist, the people would have contaminated them for everything that they had touched became infected... The Mother Virus had been unleashed and the reign of Sigma was found to be supreme... 


	11. Burdens of War

Burdens of War  
  
Deep within the confines of X's mind, Hellspawn's face twisted with a grin as he easily shattered the ice around him. Looking around the locked portion of X's mind, Hellspawn overcame the barriers almost without trying and went off to go searching through Dr Light's unlocked knowledge.  
"Nice try X," Hellspawn grinned, "I do have to admit, you played exactly into my hands! You're going to be so busy with Sigma that you won't realize I'm free!"  
An echoing laughter filled everything there as Hellspawn vanished from view. Instantly teleported to a new region, he sat down and shut his eyes as he was connected with X's mind. Knowing that he should not overtake his body, Hellspawn sat watching what X saw as the data from Dr Light surged through his mind. He knew that what was soon to come would most assuredly be the best trick in all history... even topping Sigma's tricks...  
X fell to his knees as Sigma's smile stretched out into a toothy grin. Sigma looked down on X's trembling body and let out a laugh. Sigma, too, knew that there was nothing left for him to do... As he stood there watching X's misery with delight, a pool of tears were collecting on the ground as X lost hope for the people below. Sigma feigned tears of his own and then spoke up amidst it all.  
"Greetings X!" Sigma laughed, "You like my newest form? I do have to admit if it wasn't for my creator, I wouldn't have this chance to do you in once and for all. This is going to be great! People dying off from my Mother Virus and then the martyred X hung up in view for everyone! A perfect reminder of how no one should question me!"  
"You monster... You will pay..." X spoke up from amidst his tears, "I will damn you back to the depths from whenst you came! One way or another! You may have my build and everything but there are two things Black Talon cannot imitate! My determination and my willingness to sacrifice my own life for the greater good!"  
"What are you saying X?" Sigma cackled with delight, "Are you that willing to be a martyr for those people below? They used you so many times! You above everyone else shouldn't give a flying rat's ass about those pathetic scum below! That impure race will die off to allow our race to flourish!"  
"You... You helped to take the lives of innocent people," X called as the golden hue returned into his eyes, "You helped in the destruction of the Neo Hunter Headquarters! So many Hunters died needlessly..."  
"Give it a rest X," Sigma responded, "They deserved it. They stood in the way of greatness and they got burnt! You couldn't stop them from doing it! What makes you think you can do anything now!?"  
"You killed Signas..." X's eyes turned gold as he continued, "You killed Douglas... You killed Lifesavor... You killed thousands of Hunters from across the world... You even killed my wife Alia...."  
"Again," Sigma cut in, "I don't care. Just names and faces to adorn some plaque decades from now..."  
"You killed my one and only love," X spoke under gritted teeth as he walked forwards, "You took away Alia and now I'm going to take something of yours! Your life!"  
"Oh please X," Sigma hesitated, "You couldn't kill me back in Dr Wily's lab and what makes you think you can now?"  
"THIS!" X chimed as he had stalled just enough to power up a blast of energy. X fired it directly into the control panel of the Ziggurat.  
"What have you done?" Sigma winced, "You fool! You'll kill us all!"  
"Why should I care?" X shrugged, "If I kill you, the Sigma Wars will finally be over with! Then the last bit of the Sigma Virus will go down with me! I can't risk the world with Hellspawn inside of me!"  
"You suicidal fool!" Sigma gasped, "Zero also contains the virus! You haven't accomplished anything!"  
"Wrong!" X's face brightened up with a smile, "His systems will be wiped clean after I'm gone! The task has already been agreed upon!"  
With a thundering boom, the Ziggurat cut through the air and streaked across the sky. The eerie sound of the mammoth fortress whirled through the air as the Sigma's horrified look petrified on his face. X shut his eyes tight as the final seconds came and went... With a resounding explosion of metal and dust, the Ziggurat hit solid ground spitting up debris in its wake... The Ziggurat had fallen and with that the war had taken a turn for the worse....  
At this exact instant all across the world, men, women and children, with odd red glows about them, ransacked everything that was rebuilt. Coughing as they went, they could feel themselves weakening every second. Reploids stood before them trying to stop them but there was no hope... As they fought with the humans, they too became infected with the Mother Virus... Joining the besieging humans, Reploidom and humanity wrecked entire cities with ease and continued to wipe everything out of existence... The nature of the virus had reared its head and its evil influences took hold as neither human nor Reploid were immune... The clock had been set as the second hand ticked to the beat of genocide on both sides... leaving the Earth a blank slate forever... 


	12. It Begins

It Begins  
  
Following the impact, X found himself laying amidst a field of flowers lit up with a bright yellow sun... An echoing voice filled the breeze as X heard his name being called. Stretching into the sun, X turned to see Alia, with her arms spread open, running towards him... Tears started to well in X's eyes as a smile awoke across his face... Running full speed towards Alia, X flung his arms around Alia and whirled her into the air. X kissed her tenderly on the lips as he continued to hug her... All his fighting was worth this moment as he laughed and fell into the bed of flowers with Alia.  
"X?" Alia smiled, "What are you doing?"  
"I finally can move on," X sighed, "I'm so tired of fighting Alia. I can now just move on to my next life with you..."  
"Sorry to burst your bubble," Alia sullied, "It's not your time yet."  
"Damn it..." X shouted and punched the ground, "Why can't I just die? I'm so tired... I just want to rest for awhile..."  
"I know hun," Alia muttered as she leaned down and kissed X's forehead, "You have one more task to do before you can rest. Once it's done, I will be waiting for you here."  
"What happens from here Alia?" X uttered as he stood up hiding the fact that he was blushing slightly.  
"A warning," Alia saddened, "Hellspawn will eventually take total control over your body. You must not allow him control over anything. You must get control over your emotions and your power. You can and will defeat him. It will just take time..."  
"Alia..." X spoke up as his eyes welled with tears again.  
"It's alright X," Alia forced out, "When the time comes, you will know what to do. Everything depends on what you do now. Humanity and Reploidom are counting on you... If you should fail, both races will become extinct... Fight on my love... This is my farewell... Remember that this is just temporary.... I will be back for you..."  
"Til we meet again..." X cut in as everything rushed forth, "This is it... This is my final battle... After this... I can finally rest..."  
Awakening under a pile of rubble and debris, X forced himself up... Scanning the area, X could find the crater but not a single sign of Sigma or any of the Assassins Guild. X shut his eyes tightly as he understood his mission and his task.... Dusting himself off, X vanished in a whiz of white light... to find Zero and Zenith.  
  
In the fortress of Neo Arcadia, the leaders sat unharmed by the Mother Virus. Knowing that such an attack was inevitable, they had their base sealed off from the outside world and had an alternate air supply installed... Staring around the room, Brutus and Rubeus looked at their monitors and laughed at what had happened to the people around the globe...  
"I do say," Rubeus cackled, "This Mother Virus is an interesting one! It would seem that it lives off of the evil within the person so much so that it drains the very life force from them. This virus is ingenious! I have to thank Sigma for taking care of those flies outside... Only he would have the knowledge to make such a monstrosity!"  
"Alas," Brutus sighed, "We don't have a cure for this bug. It looks like we're stuck watching the death of both Reploid and mankind. Oh well... As long as Elysium is functional, there shouldn't be any worries about what happens to these peasants!"  
"Indeed," Rubeus nodded, "Do we have the purified DNA samples ready for cloning procedures?"  
  
"Would I let you down?" Brutus snickered, "The samples are onboard Elsyium and ready for the operation when it commences in about one hundred years. Have you chosen who the person will be to caretake the ship?"  
"Of course," Rubeus delighted, "Your son will watch over everything onboard. I chose him because he had the genetic disposition that I need. Everything will be coded to his DNA alone."  
"That's great news Rubeus! His life will be extended indefinitely with Elysium! I can't thank you enough for choosing him!" Brutus gasped in awe, "Is there anything more I can do for you to say my thanks?"  
"You can't do anything more than you have, my friend. Just keep being at my side that'll be more than enough!" Rubeus bowed.  
"Where do we go from here?" Brutus pondered.  
"I have heard word that our puppet destroyed the Ziggurat and survived somehow. Our pawn will be reentering the war soon enough and bring with him the defeat of that bothersome fly, Sigma, and the ever annoying Assassins Guild. Once this has been done, the future will be paved for our purification of mankind! Us humans need to be cleansed of our genetic impurities and with Elysium it won't be too far from fruition." Rubeus jaunted, "My friend what we do from here on in is exactly nothing. Everything has been given to us! Just sit back and watch the show unfold! No one can stop the Virus now... and once X destroys Sigma and the Assassins Guild, we destroy him!"  
"Sir?" Brutus spoke up, "We have a problem... It would seem that Sigma X has found his way here... He has made his way through all our defenses and is now trying to force his way inside the structure... Great... Now the Assassins Guild are attacking the other side of the base and crushing what remains of our forces... We're going to need to do something quick! What do we do now Rubeus?"  
"WE!? No no no... It's time for ME to make MY exit," Rubeus grinned, "Try and hold them off for me... Would you my dear friend?"  
  
"WHAT!" Brutus stepped forward, "I'm not going to do that! I'm going with you! You have my son! I want to see him..."  
"That's where I have to interject with my will, old friend," Rubeus jinxed, "It wasn't a request. It was an order! You have to obey me!" Rubeus grinned as he shot Brutus with a drugged dart. Brutus fell over with a thud as his eyes went translucent. "My reserves of the altered Epsilon are still stocked for such emergencies... Now go and sacrifice your life for me slave!"  
"Yes my lord," Brutus hymned obediently, "Stop Sigma X at all costs... Stall the Assassins Guild... Must succeed for my master..."  
Everything went dark as all light was replaced with hopelessness... Brutus set up traps and did whatever he could to stop Sigma and inevitably he was the first human life to be lost in the war against evil... However... this was not the last for the battle was over and the war was far from ending... As the smoke trailed into the air from the attack on Neo Arcadia, Zero and Zenith gasped as they too realized that everything was damned from the get go... 


	13. X vs X

X vs X  
  
Continuing his attack on the fortress, Sigma found himself at the throne room of the monolithic building. An eerie grin crept up on Sigma's face as it froze on a golden throne. He could see it then that he would rule the world from here and make his rule total. Taking up his throne, Sigma looked down at all who had opposed him and laughed as he knew what true power of this magnitude was like... Everything had fallen to Sigma... The lives of billions of humans and Reploids, the rule of the world from atop a throne, and the untimely sacrifice of X. In fact, he loved how X foolishly sacrificed himself for the cause of extinguishing Sigma's spark. Little was Sigma to know that X had not perished in that accident and he was making his way to him... like a bat out of hell. Nor was he to know that the remaining forces of Nemesis and Oracle were assimilating uninfected Reploids to their cause to take out Sigma X... The whole world teetered on the brink of war after a long peace... that was tarnished and broken before the first year...  
Shaking himself free from the debris of the Ziggurat, Nemesis stood amongst the Ziggurat crew and Oracle with her ninjas... They stood looking out over the ocean for the maelstrom that was soon to come... As the winds blew across the land, they made their plans final and their attack on the Neo Arcadia complex conclusive. Oracle with her ninja minions leapt up from their perch and bowed before Nemesis.  
"Nemesis," Oracle prodded, "I have seen our victory but there is a problem... X is alive and he will defeat us along with Sigma..."  
"Let him," Nemesis smiled, "I've found that nothing ever defined me in this life better than the battles I've fought. There's nothing more to this life than my battles. I will die on the battlefield as I have lived my life!"  
"But.." Oracle's eyes misted, "Nemesis... This is suicide! Sure we have allied many uninfected to our cause but we still have to deal with Xephyr and Typhus! They will be difficult to contend with! I think we may need to rethink..."  
"Enough," Nemesis boomed, "We will attack at dawn! We will win and then X will retire us... It's how you've foreseen it... We can finally rest thereafter my love..."  
"Oh.. Nemesis..." Oracle smiled faintly, "We will not die like the rest of our cause! Just have faith..."  
"Faith..." Nemesis muttered as he looked out over the sinking sun. The rest of the Reploids stood awkwardly pacing around awaiting the time for their strike... This one misjudgment condemned their fates for this time and all time...  
  
Following the wisps of smoke, Zero and Zenith found themselves at what remained of the front gates of Neo Arcadia. Fires still raged and they glowed against the hardened facility lightening its stern facade. Slamming his fist into a nearby wall, Zero cursed at how powerless he was to stop this slaughter... Zenith looked down and shook his head as he placed a hand on Zero's shoulder.  
"Don't worry," Zenith sighed, "Those lives were not lost in vain. They will be remembered in the peace that will follow after our victory."  
"That's right," X chimed in, "Besides I still have to get my hands on that son of a bitch. He still has to answer to me! It's one thing stealing Black Talon's face but stealing my form... I'm going to rip that face off!"  
"Hellspawn?" Zero stepped back, "or is this mild X?"  
"Very funny," X feigned laughter, "Come on faithful sidekick... We have to mop the floor with these guys!"  
"Ok I admit that I was out of line with my mild X comment... but I'm no sidekick!" Zero shouted, "Take it back X!"  
"One for one Zero," Zenith added laughing slightly.  
"Indeed," X snickered, "Enough joking though... We have to get inside of this place and stop Sigma! He has to have the cure to this!"  
"Cure?" Sigma grinned, "What cure? I don't have a cure! There is a natural immunity for original models such as ourselves! That's how I programmed the virus!"  
"Show yourself you coward!" Zero jinxed.  
"Alas," Sigma delighted, "You have to come to my throne room! You will find me there! Til then have fun with the presents I arranged!"  
"We don't have time for this shit!" Zero jostled, "I say we blow a hole straight to that accursed throne room and take out our frustrations on Sigma!"  
"Why Zero..." Zenith responded, "I thought I'd never agree with you more! Let's go X!"  
"We still don't know what traps Sigma set," X cut in, "If we do that reckless act, there will probably be drastic consequences. We may not want to do it but we must play this game... Let's get going though... We must stop this lunatic at all costs!"  
Sitting in his throne room as the self-appointed ruler of the Earth, Sigma kicked his feet up on a footstool as he ordered Xephyr and Typhus to do his bidding. Laughing at the devious deeds he had just caused, Sigma marveled at his own brilliance as his minions went off to their tasks. The lord of this dominion sighed as he became bored with his domain and yearned to challenge a worthy adversary... Shaking it off quickly, Sigma tuned out from this reality and watched what was going on across the world via satellite. Cackling at the wicked intentions that the people and Reploids were acting upon, Sigma watched with glee at the chaos from afar and finally realized what he would do with his time before his guests of honor would arrive. If only Sigma would realize what he had just caused... for deep inside of X the war continued to control his body...  
"Interesting," Hellspawn gleed, "so Dr Light did plan on my arrival... This is interesting indeed... The contingency plan has been activated by his partner, Dr Cossack... That twit X hasn't realized what's going on! When he defeats that pathetic Sigma, Dr Cossack will instigate the final procedures for X's doom! Well... In that case, I can't let it happen! Time for me to make my presence known!"  
Walking with his friends, X stopped for a moment and as he dropped his guard... Hellspawn started his take over of X's body... Doubling over in pain, X's eyes glossed over as Hellspawn finally took over and X was won over to the dark side... Locked away inside of his own mind, X struggled to break free from Hellspawn's evil... to no avail...  
"Let me go Hellspawn!" X shouted trying to break free from his bonds, "You have no power in my mind!"  
"Give it a rest X!" Hellspawn laughed, "Dr Light betrayed you! After Ciel was activated his own contingency plan was activated! You have no knowledge of it but I do! Dr Light was wise to the mischief of Black Talon and knew of the Sigma Virus! Ciel has started with the containment of this virus. You'll be shut down and then wiped clean... Both of the virus and your every memory!"  
"WHAT!?" X stammered, "Dr Light wouldn't do that! He's done a lot to stop these things from happening!"  
"Nonsense!" Hellspawn rationalized, "You have yet to realize that you've been used! Dr Light used you to get rid of Black Talon and then he's going to wipe every memory from you! Come to grips with it X! There's no denying the darker side of your creator! Why else would he allow you to become a warrior? He had darker wishes for you to do than even you yourself can understand!"  
"He couldn't..." X shook as the bonds around him consumed him, "Could he?" X's doubts flushed through his mind as Hellspawn locked X away within his own thoughts... further darkening the horizon of life in this future and lighting the way for evil to rule forever... 


	14. Sigma's Defeat

Sigma's Defeat  
  
Sitting frozen inside of his own mind, X drifted through the thoughts of everything that had happened this far... The picture of Alia froze inside of his head as the tears welled in the corners of his eyes... His thoughts turned to Zenith, Zero and Ciel, whom he had failed, and it further locked his fate for everything he had worked for had been lost... This dampening his spirits, X's mind strayed between nothingness and the eternal abyss of hopelessness as it began to consume him...  
Inside of his entombment, X had all the time to realize everything that he had done wrong and all the moments he had missed to take out evil before it did its worst... Somewhere between this daze and eternity, X found the answer to all the riddles and every question... Locked away within a fragment of his memories, there laid the last message of his creator... telling him of the moments to come.  
"X," Dr Light began, "When you get this, I will be long gone from your life... but not forgotten. Once you destroy the Sigma Virus, you must allow Dr Cossack to cleanse your systems. I'm afraid that your infected form may take total control one day. And in the case that he take control, X, I installed a series of power limiters to slow him down but his power is still quite substantial. You must retake control over your body so that the cleansing procedure can take place!  
"Listen, I have something else on my conscience.... My son, I wanted to believe that I would accept your will to fight but I cannot... I wanted you to have a life unlike your ancestor, Megaman. I wanted you to live peacefully until the end of your days... Despite these wishes and doubts, someone has to fight because humanity is still unwilling to fight such battles. Show humanity the error of their ways and shatter these darkest days! I will be awaiting you on the other side when you pass on. I want to hear everything about your life. Farewell and make me proud."  
"Father..." X mumbled incoherently.  
Frozen in his containment, X could only see the picture of his father replaying through his head and a new hope started to rise. As the seconds burned into infinity, X started to glow with new power and a golden hue took over everything in the vicinity. When the light vanished, X appeared totally free from his confinement and sat amidst the blurrying memories with tears in his eyes... The battle had turned in favor of X this time but not totally... for Hellspawn still had control over his body... Sitting down and sifting through the unlocked memories of Dr Light, X sought refuge from everything and tried to bide his time for his moment to strike...  
  
As Hellspawn got reacquainted with his form, Zero and Zenith backed away from the monstrosity... Dashing away from his former comrades, Hellspawn went through the Neo Arcadia complex setting whatever he could ablaze... Somewhere between the moments of pyromania, Typhus got Hellspawn's attention and barred his entry into the next corridor... Grinning ear to ear, Hellspawn pulled a darkened saber from his sheath and turned to meet Typhus' hollowed out eyes... Shutting his eyes as he saw his moment, Typhus grinned a toothy grin as he took a powdered substance out from a capsule sitting next to him... Spraying it into Hellspawn's face, Typhus walked away toting the capsule behind him, his evil cackles echoing through the corridors... Following the dust's contact, Hellspawn doubled over as a red glow overtook him and he snickered nefariously as he went on a crazed rampage through the complex... The worst had happened... Hellspawn and X were both infected with the Mother Virus... further proving Sigma's false claim about immunity...  
Further diving into the memories of his beloved father, X got comfort from every word and act that he had recorded here. Sitting here in his mind, X could feel the strength that was draining from him start to return... As he started to repair, he could sense another presence near him and turned to meet the face of his darker side, Hellspawn.  
"Ahhhh so you've got your ass kicked too?" X smiled, "I was wondering when Sigma would use his trump card and draw you out into the open. You're such a fool Hellspawn."  
"Oh shut up," Hellspawn barked as he whimpered in a corner, like a child who did not get his way, "I never get to have my fun before some bad ass villain kills it! All I wanted was discord and chaos, is that too much to ask for?"  
"Yes it is," X sighed, "Best to make the best of the situation and get along for the moment. I have a feeling we're going to be stuck here for some time."  
"You just sit here," Hellspawn retorted coldly, "I'm going to find a way out of here!"  
"Whatever makes you happy," X replied with a grin.  
"You know what... I really hate you X," Hellspawn gritted his teeth, "Nothing would make me happier than to wipe that ugly grin from your face!"  
"If you are so tired of it, come on over here and wipe it off of my face!" X grinned confidently.  
"You asked for it!" Hellspawn shouted as he dashed forward towards X with his saber pulled.  
"Here we go..." X mumbled as he shut his eyes.  
Angling their wings toward each other and with their respective swords drawn, Hellspawn and X engaged in an aerial sword fight of mammoth proportions. Slashing their swords, they parted the air under their weight and caused thunder to echo across the voids of X's mind... With a exploding clash, the swords met and flung a whirlwind of energy cascading around them in a swirling sphere of combating energies... On one end, there was the good energy and the other evil... Both energies battling for the right to survive out the day...  
Gritting his teeth, X met Hellspawn's eyes as his met his... Their fists clenched their swords and together they dueled at their maximum... Seeing his moment to strike, X angled his angel wings at Hellspawn and sent a whirlwind at him knocking him off balance... Seizing his sword and hurtling it through the air, X went for the shot to change the world. Hellspawn seeing the moment of weakness spun around and stabbed X with his sword. As the blood hit the ground, X caught himself and sped around to meet Hellspawn ready to proclaim his victory.  
"You've always been the weaker side," Hellspawn gloated, "I've always had to take over to make up for your weaknesses! All those chances you had to wipe out evil! I had to do it all! I had to do all your dirty work and now I want my breathing space! Once I'm done, the only thing that will remain is the memory that you were once the greatest hero this pathetic rock knew of!"  
"Hellspawn," X breathed calmly, "In the darkest of night and in the holiest of light, my faith will shine through and break through whatever evil has to offer. If you are the best that evil can offer, you will suffer the wrath of my blade and taste the silence of the shadows!"  
"You should really take care of your wounds X! You'll bleed to death if this keeps up!" Hellspawn gleed.  
"You forget something! Whose mind are you stuck in? MINE!" X beamed.  
"Your power dwindles here! You haven't the energy to maintain your consciousness here! What makes you think you can beat me?"  
"THIS!" X sounded as he shoved the sword into the ground. Folding his hands over the sword, a star of energy radiated from X's sword and light pushed forth from the cracks in the ground... As the light jumped forth from the ground, X looked up to his demonic half and shook his head sorrowfully. "This is the end Hellspawn. With this last bit of energy, you're gone! DARKNESS CONTAINMENT!"  
In a brilliant flash of white light, Hellspawn screamed in agony as he was sealed in a crystalline prison. Hellspawn's confinement crashed to the ground with his astonished look still petrified on his face. Claiming victory for himself, X forced a smile onto his face as he crashed to the ground with a thud... As he laid still, the blood pooled underneath his frozen body and his hand still clenched to his sword... The moments drew on as X did not move an inch... X had given his own life to seal Hellspawn away... However, this deed was not his to do... for he was needed elsewhere...  
Outside of his mind, X dashed through the Neo Arcadia complex totally destroying anything in his path... The Mother Virus had pushed itself inside of X and drastically changed him for the worst. Not a segment of the original X, that protected the world, remained... Every portion that protected and nurtured the Earth was sealed within his mind... As the fires were ignited, the glowing red form of X maniacally demolished all remnants of the government that once resided there... Everything that stood for the Neo Arcadian government was wiped off of the Earth in a blaze of brilliant flame... forever darkening the fortunes of all...  
  
As the sun peaked over the burning complex, Nemesis and Oracle strode up through the terrain up to the gates of Neo Arcadia. Behind them stood an army of rallied Reploids that would put a dent in Sigma's forces. The uninfected numbers dwindled but somehow Nemesis and Oracle found them before they fell to darkness. Invading Neo Arcadia, the forces engaged the resistance that had gathered outside of the complex... For upon Zero's, Zenith's and X's entrance, Sigma had the base fortified with the other half of the Assassins Guild forces with Xephyr as their commanding officer... In the consuming fire fight that would follow, the sounds of gunfire and cries of pain echoed through Neo Arcadia with the fires within the complex highlighting both sides' faces... Using their forces to their limit, Nemesis and Oracle stalled just enough to use their trump card... Getting within close proximity of the other side, Nemesis wheeled a large capsule into view and whipped it through the air... Xephyr's lifeless eyes took notice of this feat and all attention turned toward Nemesis... The battle then shifted onto taking Nemesis down... Each shot searing his body, Nemesis gritted his teeth and blasted the capsule as it came within contact with the other side... The capsule exploded and sprayed everyone with a substance... Electricity flowed through their bodies as they all lost consciousness... The battle was over and they had won... In the moments to follow, Xephyr and his crew reawaken to Nemesis smiling while he looked over each of them... While Oracle was tending the wounded, Xephyr went around the battle lines with saddened eyes looking at his own brethren being used as pawns...  
"Sigma..." Xephyr uttered, "This act of aggression won't go unresolved! Men once you have all been tended to and once we can get mobilized. We storm the Neo Arcadian fortress! I have an appointment to keep with the dictator of the place. He's going to pay for his betrayal!" "Glad to have you back, Sir," Nemesis bowed, "The cure to the Epsilon was something that cost many lives but it was well worth it to get you back on our side..."  
"Nemesis, you have stayed with me in the thick and thin! You shouldn't be bowing to me. I should be bowing to you. Without you and your guidance, I would have lost my life many years ago," Xephyr rationalized as he got down on one knee, "You are a true friend. I couldn't ask for anything more than what you've done for me thus far. Nemesis, my friend, when we challenge Sigma forthright, I want you at my side. With our swords drawn, we will make that rat fink bastard pay for ever crossing the Assassins Guild! It's our time to strike and this so called reign of Sigma will be put down!"  
"What say you Oracle?" Nemesis asked.  
"Something's different now..." Oracle chimed sullied, "I'm afraid the future just got much more dim for Reploids... After this last attack on Neo Arcadia, our kind will be hunted like animals and we will be on the brink of extinction... X! He's switched sides... He's infected... All our hopes are gone now... This seals the fates of everyone on this world for he was the only one that could stop Sigma and the Mother Virus..."  
As the news seeped into their minds, Nemesis and Xephyr readied for the calm before the hellstorm... for what would come would be the trial of fire that they have been training for since day one... The hopes and future of everything was forever tarnished for Reploidom but there was another that held the keys to their fortunes... For all this time, one of the puppets had played his part well to get within the ranks of Sigma... In fact, Typhus stood within arm's distance of changing everything and soon his time would come to put Sigma's ill fated reign to an end... 


	15. Nightmares Realized

Nightmares Realized  
  
Having bought his time well, the leader of the Neo Arcadian government, Rubeus, found himself aboard Elysium overseeing the reconstruction of the ship. Its master was long gone but the technology was vast and needed to be put to a use. Rubeus, who shared some of Sigma's extreme views, wanted to purify the human race with Elysium's resources. All his ideals had accumulated for this moment as he met with the lead redesigner, Elpizo. The young Reploid, who stood before him, yearned for power and wanted nothing more than to destroy X. Rubeus found him on the streets and took him in. With the promise of power, Rubeus trained him in all the arts of science, technology and chaos. Elpizo ate up everything Rubeus told him and blindly did everything that he was ordered to do. All the long years of doing what Rubeus wanted had brought him to this moment when Rubeus greeted him and got his status report. For shortly, all of the preparations would be tested and the systems turned on to see the progress... Little were they to know that there would be a minor setback today...  
"The scheduled activation of systems is as scheduled?" Rubeus inquired.  
"Yes it is," Elpizo yawned, "We've stayed up for days prepping for this moment sir. You will see only a fraction of Elysium's true power but it'll all be worth it. When this station finally becomes activated, all will tremble before the might of Neo Arcadia!"  
"Very good my son," Rubeus smiled, "My quarters?"  
"We have prepped a room for you," Elpizo bowed, "If you follow me, I will show you to it. I tried to make the room as comfortable as I possible, but then again this is space... we don't have a lot to work with... And don't worry about missing the demonstration for I will send someone there to awake you when it's time."  
"Right," Rubeus nodded, "After you?"  
Elpizo and Rubeus walked down the dimly lit halls toward a room that left no detail to ponder. It was lavishly decorated with every comfort that could ever be thought of. If Rubeus did not know better, he would swear that he had just gotten the President's suite at his favorite hotel. Pushing aside these thoughts and sitting down on his bed, Rubeus swiftly fell asleep where he dreamt of his total domination of all...  
After showing Rubeus his way to his quarters, Elpizo quickly got back to work on getting things prepped... Sweeping the systems for problems, Elpizo tried to pinpoint power fluctuations through the station but was interrupted by some of his maintenance team. Angered at this interruption, Elpizo turned to the six Reploids standing before him...  
"Make this quick," Elpizo grumbled, "I don't have the time to waste on idol chit chat..."  
"Sir?" one of the two foreman spoke up, "We found something of interest that you may want to know of."  
"Oh really?" Elpizo perked up, "This had better be good because I was doing something very important here!"  
"This way sir," the second foreman chimed in. Together the group followed a long hallway at which everyone stopped... Looking at a wall, the six Reploids smiled at Elpizo's bewilderment. Taking their moment, one of the foremen stepped forward and readied to open the secret compartment. Tapping a brick, the wall vanished to reveal a treasure of mammoth proportions... Black Talon's fleet...  
"We believe this to be the fleet of robotic ships that attacked the Redemption," the first foreman interjected the long silence, "It would prove to be of great importance to add to our already growing number of alien weaponry..."  
"This is great!" Elpizo cut in, "We have more alien technology than we could ever do with and now we get these gifts! This is most wonderful! You guys can take the rest of the day off! I'm proud of you!"  
"Right," the two foremen of the team barked, "Turn in for the day men! Go off and have fun. I expect you to be back here in the morning. You may leave."  
"What the hell?!" Elpizo gasped, "It can't be..."  
"Oh shi..." the two foremen yapped in unison as two large plasma shots took them out.  
"No one will reactivate this place," the mysterious Reploid proclaimed, "It will rot and decay like its master will!  
"Pity... That maintenance team should've never found this place... Ah well... I will spare only your life... Elpizo. Not because I'm showing you mercy but someone has to spread the news... I'm back and looking to condemn this place... once and for all..."  
"But we had a deal!" Elpizo shot back, "You wouldn't seize control over the station until we ran the systems check!"  
"Plans change," the mysterious Reploid responded quickly, "Now go! I have issues to take up with that asshole Rubeus! He'll pay for what he did!"  
"You must stop!" Elpizo begged, "Rubeus is the one key influence that stops civil war on Earth! Without him, everyone will turn on each other and then..."  
"Indeed," the mysterious Reploid laughed, "There will be chaos and mayhem... Everything will be thrown into bedlam and help us to realize the dream of all Reploids, our own world!"  
"I never heard you talk like this before," Elpizo stepped backwards, "Wait... It can't be..."  
"You're right..." the mysterious Reploid snickered, "I didn't have the backbone to say it before but NOW... I do... Thanks to something I found amidst some rubble... It changed my life and granted me powers unknown to ANYONE! Now begone from my presence!"  
The Reploid stood in a doorway highlighted by the starlight and smiled knowing everything had come down to this. Tossing a chip with a symbol on it in midair, Zero cackled menacingly into the night as he realized his plan... Holding Sigma's DNA soul in one hand and with the other the fate of the world, Zero walked off toward Rubeus without a care in the world...  
  
Meanwhile back on Earth, the infected form of X continued to rampage through the Neo Arcadian fortress setting everything ablaze... It would seem that nothing would stop it from its nightmarish rampage... but then again, an unexpected turn of events would soon unfold... While his body went on a rampage, X was trapped inside of his mind running through everything that had happened thus far... The moment froze in his memory of how he was unable to stop Sigma from unleashing his virus onto the world... He had limitless potential and all the power to stop him but he could not... Now everything was damned and he had no way of stopping the virus or Sigma for that matter... As his hopes drained from his body, a small pinpoint of light started to focus inside of all the darkness... Maybe there was still hope...  
"Alia," X mumbled in a dreamlike state, "I must continue to see my wife... I can't give up yet... No... It can't end like this... I WON'T ALLOW IT!"  
Raising his arms into the air, he focused all of his energy inside of himself... Clenching his fists amidst his fury, X released his energy in a wave of raw untainted emotions that rocked the chasm of his mind... Alia's smiling face flashed through his head as it all snapped forth... Like a mirror, the hold of the Mother Virus was shattered...  
Outside of his mind, the viral infected X fell over with a thud as his eyes went blank... Golden light engulfed the room at which the form of X stood highlighted against the flames and embers... Gritting his teeth and balling his fists, he resumed control over his body and took back his will to fight... in order to send Sigma to his grave at last...  
Zero and Zenith, who were standing outside of the burning citadel, stood upright as they sensed that their friend was finally free from Sigma's control... As they finally pressed forward into Neo Arcadia, they were stopped by the likes of the Assassins Guild... Assuming their attack stances, Zero and Zenith readied to let them have it...  
"I was getting tired of being out of the fight," Zenith folded his hand onto his sword.  
"I'll take the ones on the right and you the left," Zero grasped his blade.  
"Wait! Too much blood has been spilt recently," Xephyr hymned, "We are not your enemy here! We came here because we have seen the errors in our ways... Too blinded we were about our pride to notice the evil Sigma spreads... The few of us that are not infected with Sigma's virus have come here to put an end to his wicked deeds..."  
"His deeds are not the only that need to be stopped," Zenith added.  
"Which other deeds are there?" Xephyr questioned.  
"Neo Arcadia is going to launch an attack on Reploidom after this battle," Zero fumbled, "They won't stop til our race is on the brink of extinction..."  
"We know," Oracle sullied, "That's why we're starting a Resistance to stop this evil and all evils from terrorizing this world."  
"From foe to friend," Zenith laughed, "Interesting concept... I'll take it into consideration when we are battling Sigma. Let's draw him out and we'll go from there..."  
"Change of plans," Oracle smiled through shut eyes, "X will take care of our problem up there. He's freed himself of the virus and is now going after Sigma. I wonder why Typhus wanted to infect him like that anyway... Nemesis ordered him not to do it..."  
"Wait a moment," Zero grumbled, "What are you? Some fortune teller?"  
"They don't call me Oracle for nothing, Crimson Fury," Oracle giggled, "I have foretold many things and have seen your end along with the ends of several others. Of this I'm sure, we will only survive to see the prolonging of our race by creating this Resistance against Neo Arcadia. Let us now join together and find our comrade Typhus. With him, we can do much good for the races of man and machine."  
"Don't worry about finding me," Typhus barked, "I'm right here..."  
"Finally! You have some major explaining, my friend! We have questions, you have answers," Xephyr prodded, "Now tell us... Why did you spread the Mother Virus?"  
"Because I was tired of taking orders from a decrepit old timer living in his own world," Typhus grinned, "I'm glad you're free of the Mother Virus cuz I want you to remember this betrayal! And since you brought me Zenith and Zero also... Oh! And I'd like to thank you for stalling until I got here! I can now infect you all at once!"  
"I don't think so," Nemesis yawned, "You might be the one that helped spread it, but you don't know how it works like I do. In fact, the anti- virus is still in the air! You can't infect us... so much for your betrayal! Time to do what I should have done ages ago, retire your sorry ass!"  
Drawing his sword, Nemesis dispatched Typhus to the ground with a quick swipe. Swiping the blade clean onto the ground, he swiftly placed it back into its sheath... Nemesis grinned and shook his head at the remains of his one time friend. Stepping aside, he turned to meet the rest of the group and together they tried to decide on their next course of action... However, before the blood curdled on the ground, a series of tendrils shot out from Typhus' body and reformed his broken body... Standing there laughing evilly, Typhus looked at everyone's mystified faces...  
"Sigma showed me the truth to your lies, Xephyr," Typhus cackled, "He gave me power unlike this world has ever known and with it I will banish your kind from this world!"  
"Look Typhus," Zero shook his head, "He stole that technology from Black Talon... You're nothing but another pawn in his army of lackeys! Now step aside or else I will remove you from this life!"  
"Zero," Typhus vexed, "You outdated copy! Once the true demon unleashes his judgment on this world, you will be singing a different tune. He is a plague and will forever leave your mangled bodies on this battlefield!"  
"I'm not a copy," Zero jinxed, "I'm all original! ...What's the deal with everyone copying me anyway? Is it the cool thing to do?"  
"You pathetic fool," Typhus delighted, "Let me instill in you the truth that comes from the Sigma Virus! Black Talon didn't just leave the virus here! He secretly installed it into Zero! He was the instigator of the viral outbreak! That's why Sigma became infected! Not because he sought a face that would strike fear into his foes! It was a chance coincidence that he wound up with Black Talon's face!"  
"Truth? Since when is this truth? I swear that bad guys like to run their mouths... but this is just too damned much! Are we through with the talking? I want to fight!" Zenith muttered.  
"Almost," Typhus input, "Copy Zero... You are almost the demon your father intended... It's too bad that you're such a fossil and by far outclassed... I would have loved to see you go against the true nightmare! Oh well... Soon you will be a scrap heap, that you should be! With Elysium's might, us, Mavericks, will be avenged! And you all will be damned!  
Each of the team eyed up Typhus with their weapons ready to be drawn... Time passed and not a single person moved from where they stood... Before any of them knew it, the hour that they should dread passed and brought with it the dimming hopes of all... For as the sun stretched over head, a silhouetted beacon of light lit up the sky as it streaked downwards toward the Neo Arcadian fortress.... Parting clouds as it struck, the light burnt a reminder of who ruled the world as it shot down and vaporized an area around the citadel... A few more moments passed as several more streaks of light hit around the Assassins Guild and the two heroes... Out of no where, a series of attack crafts materialized and revealed themselves... Hovering over the ground, thousands of space crafts eyed up the few uninfected Reploids... ready to kill...  
Elysium's might had been unleashed proving the truth and weight of Typhus' words... The nightmares of the people had been realized and forever tarnished the future to come... A new evil had been unleashed and with it, it would spell the ultimate doom of all hope... or could something happen to change the outlook of the future? 


	16. History in The Making

History in The Making  
  
Drifting in the void of space, Rubeus had escaped death once again as he headed back to Earth... Inside of an escape pod, he was on course to one of his many hideouts across the world... Like every politician, from every age, Rubeus had secretly constructed structures to protect himself from his enemies... He was just a few moments from another safe getaway as he reentered the Earth's atmosphere... Yet no matter how clean his getaway was, he had lost a great deal to make it to this point... Mumbling to himself, Rubeus was on the brink of insanity about all that he had lost, but being the smooth talker he was, he reasoned out everything before he landed...  
"Ahhhh," Rubeus sighed, "Omega has returned... The puppeteer has made himself known... Sigma... Typhus... It all makes sense... Omega helped Sigma to find X's body so that he can lead X to Sigma... Nothing like getting your eggs in one basket... When he unleashes the might of Elysium on my capital, not a single cinder block will remain..."  
A single tear caressed Rubeus' cheek as it slid down and hit the seat next to him... He had worked so hard to construct the Neo Arcadian citadel... Now it was to be reduced to a pile of rubble... As Rubeus lamented the death of his home, things were going to get worse on the other side of the pale blue orb...  
  
Dodging the infernos of the burning fortress, X flew through the citadel... All that passed through his mind... All that he wanted.... was to find Sigma and end his life... He did not have to search long for Sigma was eagerly anticipating his coming...  
Amidst the intensifying flames, X stumbled upon Sigma in his throne room... Gleaming in the highlights of the various fires, Sigma's throne shined gold with the differing hues of yellow and red picked up by the dancing flames... Adjusting to the light, X's stern look deepened as his eyes focused on Sigma's grinning face...  
"I've gone through hell to get here Sigma," X forced through his gritted teeth, "You will pay for your crimes here and NOW!"  
"Now now X," Sigma smirked, "Remain calm! I'd hate to keep you on the edge of your seat... I've been meaning to let you in on something... That person you've come to know as Zero isn't really Zero at all! After he diverted Eurasia from hitting the Earth, his body was lost and he built himself a spare one out of scrap... The real body was sealed away..."  
"Enough already," X shouted, "I don't want to hear anymore of your lies!"  
"Trust me," Sigma laughed, "You do want to hear more... Omega has seized control over his body! It's ingenious! It really is! I wasn't the only viral weapon Black Talon left! Here you people thought he was a Maverick when he fought me... Alas... That was Omega... The Omega Virus... The final incarnation of ultimate evil! Much more than I could ever be..."  
"If I were to believe you, where is this thing now?" X barked.  
"I don't know," Sigma shrugged, "Last time I heard, he was on this big mission... Something involving Black Talon's legacy..."  
"ELYSIUM!" X jumped and turned to leave...  
"You're going no where," Sigma grinned, "I made sure you would be here! You're my guest of honor afterall! You don't realize the pact I made! I had to practically sell my soul to the devil for this moment..."  
"You had help!" X's temper rose, "All this time... You've been toying with everyone's lives just so you can see my inner demon!"  
"Right," Sigma nodded cheerfully, "It was a great thing to see afterall... I bring out the best in people! Hellspawn being your best side!"  
"It can't be, though," X fumbled, "Why would you make a pact with Omega?"  
"It was hard enough to get this body," Sigma folded his arms and made a few fists, "Omega made it possible for me to gain it... He helped me design the virus, he helped me vaporize the Neo Hunter HQ... How else would I have known where it was? You guys keep moving the bloody place! He even helped me back in the Black Talon War... How else would I have known where one of Dr Wily's labs was? Hell he was built by him... Well... Omega was a gift from Black Talon but still..."  
"Wait a minute," X stopped Sigma, "You've let yourself become a puppet so that you can battle me?"  
"No, X... Not at all," Sigma gleed, "You see my brother, Omega, and I have always had a distaste for Black Talon... Alas... our "master"... "father"... is completely ignorant! He has no other vision than to vaporize and enslave worlds... I want much more than that! I want evil to finally vaporize all good... I want my evil to reign supreme and with my iron fist, I will crunch every last ounce of goodness out of this pathetic universe!"  
"You're mad Sigma," X shook his head, "You've been around Ahriman's negative energy too long! That evil energy has infected your mind..."  
"It's done much more than that," Sigma delighted, "It's transformed me... Whereas I was totally about eliminating humanity during our skirmishes, now I want to eradicate all forces of light and allow my darkness to cover and blanket EVERYTHING! I am part of Ahriman's evil concentrate! I am part Sigma and Omega! I am the BEGINNING and the END... of your pathetic universe!"  
Sigma's eyes glowed with new radiant energy as he floated above his throne, surrounded by a black aura.... His body convulsing and twitching as the dark energy pulsed over his body, Sigma twisted into a darkened form with a scythe... His skeletal face distorted under his own dark energy as he laughed at X...  
"This is Hellspawn's true form! The death bringer! And I thought I had a fixation with the grim reaper but your other side is truly wicked!" Sigma boomed, "Hellspawn is truly a demon worthy of the history books! His power will be legendary long after I throw your dust into the wind!"  
"You won't win Sigma," X smirked, "My trusty sword will remind you of all your evils... It's time for justice to be brought... Just so you won't be lonely... I promise that you will have company!"  
"Trusty sword?" Sigma laughed, "The extension of your hopes... It's ridiculous that you alone defeated Black Talon and almost defeated myself... with that rusty blade..."  
"It's the extension of myself," X corrected, "As long as I draw breath... This sword will do my bidding! There's no way to stop it... I will be victorious! Here and now!"  
"Give me a break," Sigma winced, "You dispense justice without thinking of what you're doing! You kill your own kind for a better purpose. I dispense justice without thinking of what I'm doing against mankind! You've been fighting for so long that you've been blinded by the truth! You've become just like me! I threw all those Mavericks your way to bring you down this path! Look at yourself now... The seasoned assassin! I made you! And only I can destroy you!"  
"Wrong," X jinxed, "You might have made those Mavericks go after me but the problem with your scenario is that I had no choice over what I did. I had every choice to save those poor Reploids but they were blinded by your virus and needed to be dealt with."  
"Don't you see?" Sigma delighted, "You'll retire me just like you did with all those before me! All that blood on your hands, it makes you worse than me! You're on par with the nightmare that is Omega! It really pleases me to tell you these things! I'm so very proud of your progress, my apprentice! Now it's time to kill the teacher, make this a good fight!"  
"No... I won't... I'm not fighting you Sigma," X insisted as he turned away from Sigma, "I have bigger fish to fry! I'll catch you later! Trust me I will be back for you..."  
As Sigma lunged toward X with his scythe, X vanished in blur of white light to meet up with Zero and the Reploids fighting outside. The sounds of the fight echoed everywhere and not a single Reploid was standing around... Everyone was encompassed in the battle... Drawing his sword, X drove it into a flyer and split it down the side... Flipping off of the crashing ship, X met up with Zenith and Zero below...  
"We need to make a quick get away," X hesitated, "I don't see how I didn't hear this going on inside the citadel!"  
"It's soundproofed X," Zero joked, "It comes with the fact that every corridor was reinforced concrete! You'd think that this thought would cross your mind..."  
"Gee... Thanks, Zero.." X shot Zero a dirty look while trying to hide his laughter.  
Shots echoed everywhere as Reploids fought their best here... No matter where you would look, everyone was involved in the battle... Outgunned and Outnumbered, the Reploids tried their best to stop the forces as they dodged blasts and fired... It looked so hopeless... Not many of them could make a single scratch on the ships but they kept up with it... even if it meant their last breath...  
Among the three heroes, X was slashing enemies to bits with his sword and managing to destroy a great deal of them... While X was doing his part, Zero and Zenith had another idea about how to deal with them... Stepping around the flurry of attacks, Zenith and Zero looked at each other and nodded. Jumping into midair, Zero landed on Zenith's shoulders... Seizing their moment, Zero and Zenith saw the moment in which they should attack... Kicking off of the ground, Zenith flew toward one of the crafts as Zero double jumped onto it.... Gaining his balance on the machine, Zero grabbed hold of it and rode it around until it came to a stop...  
"It's time to see what one of these things can do," Zero mumbled as he ripped a control panel free, "Hmmm... What does this red wire do..."  
When Zero touched the red wire to another, a plasma rocket was fired from its under wing towards the ground. Locking onto the first thing it could register, X and Zenith watched it home into one of its own ships. With a resounding explosion, the ship was vaporized in a rain of metal and parts... As the explosion and parts radiated out, a concussion wave followed around the exploded ship that crushed other ships in close proximity... In a shower of metallic pieces, Zero looked at the carnage with an odd grin of delight....  
"Ooooo!" Zero clasped his hands, "I like... Er... Ok... I wonder how good I am with flying one of these suckers!"  
Tinkering with a series of crystals, Zero got control over the ship, rather easily, and flew the craft around the area... As he continued to mess with the controls, a series of alarms triggered and the flyer went crazy... Flying toward one of its own ships, the craft collided with it and exploded in an array of light and fire...  
"I hope they saved the warranty for that one!" Zero mocked, "I think that was defective! I hope they can get their money back on that tin can!"  
"Are you through Zero?" Zenith rose his voice, "We do need your help here! Enough playing with these things!"  
"Right," Zero grumbled disappointed, "Time to join the recycling team! Here I come!"  
"These things aren't as easy as I thought they were," X shot as one unfolded a new wing after he had cut one off, "I've got an idea... I think I have enough energy to do it..."  
Golden light encompassed the battlefield as X transformed into his Unity form... Angling his wings toward the crafts, X launched himself into the sky... Remembering all his hopes and dreams, X shut his eyes as light filled his sword and solidified around the air... As the light gathered, the sword grew out four times its normal blade length... A few more seconds later, the glowing sword of pure energy condensed into a blinding white light that emitted across the battlefield... Reopening his eyes and tightening his hold on his sword, X grinned at the remaining forces and readied to attack... Whipping the sword around in the air, X dashed toward the remaining ships and made quick work of them.... Before the parts could even hit the ground, X set foot on the solid earth with a brilliant white hue glowing over him... As it evaporated, the white glow left X in his normal blue armor... Falling to one knee, X's forehead became damp with sweat as he breathed heavily... His face was left without much color and worried the onlookers.... of the fate of X...  
"Are you going to be OK X?" Zenith pondered.  
"Yeah," X breathed, "I'll be just fine..."  
"Are you sure?" Zero uttered, "You look terrible!"  
"It doesn't matter... We have a problem," X sighed, "Zero, your original body has been found and it's under control of another virus Black Talon left behind."  
"Not another virus," Zero threw up his hands, "I swear that if I hear anything else about a new virus... I'm going to... Er... Nevermind... Continue X."  
"Like I was saying," X chuckled, "Omega has your body and is now trying to awaken something inside of Elysium. Knowing Black Talon, we have a hell of a lot of presents up there..."  
"What are we waiting for!?" Zenith grinned, "This'll be fun!"  
"No," X took Zenith aside, "We need you here to watch Sigma. He's totally mad. There's no telling what he'll do. Besides... this is personal... Omega has some things to answer for!"  
Zenith nodded at X as he turned to go help the Assassins Guild... Seeing how everything was fine here, X and Zero sheathed their weapons and readied to depart... Teleporting away from the scene, X and Zero found themselves to a totally renewed Elysium... Since the upgrading of the systems, all the computers were alive with new energy and everything was tinkering with new life... Rushing through the newly remodeled Elysium, X and Zero somehow found their way through the ship to find Omega in order to put an end to his evil... However, there would be one person who would beg to differ about their plans... Barring their entry into the last corridor, a lone person stood with her hair uprising into the air... The strange purple glow surrounded her as she opened her reddened eyes and focused on the two heroes...  
"IRIS!" Zero grasped her hands, "What are you doing here?"  
"Omega has shown me the light of my ways," Iris answered, "I'm just like him... An original soul in an all original body... I'm sorry Copy Zero... You... I cannot love... You're way too weak of a person! I'll end your life here and now!"  
"Iris..." Zero's eyes welled with tears, "..."  
"Stop this Iris," X fumbled, "You must not give in to Omega's lies! You're much stronger than that!"  
"It's time," Iris hesitated, "I will make you pay for what you did to Alia!"  
A dark purple aura surrounded Iris as she transformed into a ghoul- like form... Her demonic hair drifted into the air, like tentacles, and her red empty eyes glowed as she laughed wildly at the two standing before her... Her translucent face twitched under the weight of the dark energy of her aura as she floated toward them...  
One Reploid stood between them and the fate of the world below... One Reploid stood before them that could forever change the balance of evil... Two Reploids stood before her as the weight of the world rested upon their shoulders... The final moments of the ill fated reign were drawing near as this new foe threatened all... for only time would tell if humanity was worthy enough to inherit the Earth... 


	17. Ultimate Sacrifice

Ultimate Sacrifice  
  
As the dawn of the next day began, the footsteps of doom drew ever closer to imprinting their final judgment on humanity and Reploidom... The icy cold breath of the Grim Reaper seemed to be thick in the air as both humanity and Reploidom teetered on the balance of life and death... Their moments were fading fast as their time was soon to come... While everyone was stuck on how to protect the Earth, everyone forgot about its inhabitants....... The virus did not forget and now the infected were on the brink of becoming extinct... For now... their pleas of release would not be answered... For at this moment in time, they drew their diminishing breaths as they remained locked inside of their own bodies... Their time was soon at hand.. The heroes still had no clue as to how long they had... for soon it would be too late... No cure... No hope... No one around to lament anyone else's passing.... forever...  
Across the globe and amidst broken glass and chaos, Reploid and mankind tried to muster up enough energy to continue... Men... Women... Children... Reploid... All of them... had sweat pouring down their foreheads and blood smears in the corner of their mouths and eyes... Their breaths ever deepening as their moments were drawing near their end... While they fought to stay alive, the virus was soon to stop draining their life force and finish them off... Nothing could be done for that hour, for any such hope, was soon to pass... However... what these hosts did not know was that this energy was going to be put to a good use... by someone else...  
  
The tinkering of machines and the sounds of voices carried through the hollowed halls of Elysium... The voices echoed throughout every corridor as X and Zero tried to talk sense into Iris... Crazed and mutated by the Omega Virus, Iris thought that her boyfriend and best friend were both her enemies... of which needed to be dealt with... Dark purple energy floated up around Iris as she smirked at her adversaries...  
"Ready yourself," Iris cackled, "The good Iris you once knew is gone! Trust me... This will be an enjoyable fight... or am I wrong Zero? You killed me and my brother once... You should know if this is indeed an enjoyable fight! Let's get it over with! Send me off to see my brother, you foul demons."  
"Iris," X rationalized, "Please stop this... We won't fight you... You'd have to kill us!"  
"Then," Iris laughed wildly, "I will twist your forms and scatter your bits into the wind! There will be no resurrecting you after I'm done!"  
"Iris," Zero muttered under his tears, "I love you! I will die for you! Don't do this! You mean the world to me... Without you, I couldn't carry on..."  
"Oh, Copy Zero," Iris jinxed, "How could you love me? I'm just a carbon copy of the original Iris! You know... You're just as bad as Gate! Both of you! You resurrected me to do your bidding! You didn't care what you did or how you did it... you wanted to replace something you lost! Iris is gone! You don't even realize it!"  
"Iris," Zero cried, "Our souls are in these copied shells but it's what's inside of them that counts... Though this is just a copied shell, my heart still remains as it was in my original form... and it's hurting seeing you like this... The pain that I fought off when I lost you... It all faded when I brought you back... Won't you think about this?! If you throw away your life by letting Omega to control you, you will be just like everything you tried to stop with the Repliforce coup.... I won't fight you Iris... I'm taking the initiative here... I'm through with fighting my friends... Stop this now while there is still hope..."  
"Hope!?" Iris delighted wickedly, "There IS no hope! You fools don't realize what's going on around you! I was NEVER your friend! I just played the part to get information for my master, my one TRUE love! How could anyone stomach being your friend? I couldn't even stomach being within your grasp... Your eyes froze me to the bone and your kisses killed me... I hated every moment of your friendship and your love! No one could ever love you! Hell, most people distance themselves from you out of fear! They don't know what to make of you, a Hunter or a Maverick! Look at X... the look on his face... What I say is true! That look says it all!"  
"No, Iris," X shook his head, "People don't distance themselves from Zero. He's the greatest friend I could have ever had. He's stuck with me in the thick and thin... I can't remember anyone else that could possibly personify the title "best friend". Now stop this Iris! You're spouting insane gibberish... Do you even realize what you're saying?"  
"It's almost time," Iris sputtered, "Let's make this quick... My love is awaiting your remains!"  
Firing a dark purple blast toward her friends, Iris disappeared in a mist of purple energy. Quickly dodging the blast, the duo watched as it dissolved even before it hit anything... Quickly trying to find Iris before she could do them harm, X and Zero went on the defensive trying to guard against her attacks and take the first move... However, this was all a feigned attempt for she would take first blood... Reappearing behind Zero, she drew an energy sword from thin air and slashed him down the backside trying to pierce his energy cell... His cries of agony called out throughout the halls... as he hit the floor... Lifting up his hand at Iris, Zero's blood started to run freely from the wound... Laughing wicked delight, Iris teleported behind X and jammed her energy sword into his chest plate... as everything started to slow down in Zero's eyes... He could only watch as his best friend fell to the ground and watch a blood pool fix underneath his frozen face...  
"X..." Zero winced, "No... Iris... What have you done?"  
"I killed your best friend," Iris feigned crying, "What are you going to do now? Send me to the recycling heap? Retire me? Go ahead! I've been dying every second with your poisoned arms around me!"  
"Iris..." Zero stuttered as his eyes fluttered with more tears, "You can't do this! I won't fight you... You can't make me fight you... I just won't"  
With the blood dripping from his open wound and his tears streaking down his face, Zero fell to the ground trying to shut out everything happening around him... Rolling up in a ball, he placed his hands on his helmet muttering things to himself about how he could not kill his one true love even after she killed his best friend... Thinking back to all the good times, the torrential downpour of emotions flushed through his eyes of all the moments he shared with them both... Rocking back and forth, he tried to block out the blurred pictures of happiness from his memory... No matter what he would do, the memories just kept forcing their way through... Moment after moment of love and joy transfixed onto the smiling face of Iris as Zero's tears deepened furthermore... Every bit of emotion he tried to hide ripped its way to the surface as the squirming mess of Zero twitched and twisted under the amassing pool of tears... Watching this whole moment, Iris could only watch as a single tear stretched down her cheek and fell silently to the ground...  
"Awww," Iris mocked, "What's wrong Zero? Did I touch a soft spot? The one you loved is gone! I'm no more than a wicked abomination that you and X created! Another pawn for that dead and decaying Maverick Hunter Base!"  
"No... No... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Zero shouted out, "It won't.... It can't.... I won't allow it! My love can't be taken from me... She means everything to me... X won't die... He just can't...."  
"Zero..." X muttered placing a shaking hand on his shoulder, "It's alright... Take this... Use it against her... Don't use it to kill her but to bind her... We'll fix her up after we get rid of Sigma..."  
"X..." Zero stammered holding back his tears, "Your sword... I can't use it... I don't have the power... I'm worthless... I can't do anything..."  
"Wrong," X smiled, "When we fused as one, we shared the powers of the crystals... which can only mean..."  
"I'm part of them now," Zero had an epiphany.  
"Yes..." X hesitated as he rested his head onto the floor, "Now just do this... Raise it into the air and jam it into the floor... Focus your hopes into the sword and yell "DARKNESS CONTAINMENT!" It should hold her for awhile... til then we can get rid of Omega..."  
"I don't think so, X," Iris giggled maliciously as she shot the sword out of his hand.  
Aiming his blaster, X focused his light powers into it and fired a blinding white light at Iris... Reeling in agony, Iris fell to the ground temporarily blinded by the attack... Saving his sobs for later, Zero picked himself up and readied for his chance... Seeing his one moment, Zero jump dashed toward the sword jammed into the floor and grasped it... Feeling the power course through his veins, Zero rose it into the air and slashed it a couple times to get the feel of it... Golden light poured forth from the sword as Zero focused all his hopes and dreams into the blade... Placing his hands onto the sword, he jammed the sword into the floor as white light emanated around the cracks...  
"I hope this will hold her," Zero whispered as he rose his voice to yell, "DARKNESS CONTAINMENT!" A series of white tendrils shot out from around the sword and slinked toward Iris... Wrapping around her, the tendrils solidified into an intense binding light that froze her within an immense crystal... Touching the crystal, Zero looked at Iris' face as his tears subsided... He had done it... He had stopped Iris without killing her... Looking at Iris' face one last time, Zero turned his back and helped X to his feet.  
"I thought I lost you," Zero grinned as he hid wiping his eyes clean, "Guess Iris isn't as bad as I thought."  
"Oh... She is as bad as she was saying," X shrugged, "She got my main power but didn't get my back up. She just barely missed my heart by a mere centimeter... Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner but it was a rough time trying to let those repair functions take up the slack... Without the elements, I'm kinda helpless... Reminds me of the last time I was a guest up here... Although I was in worse shape then... Are you going to be ok now?"  
"Yeah, I'm alright," Zero tried to tease, "I was only getting my ass kicked over here AND there. You know how it is with me! They always seem to mop the floor with me. Oh yeah... Here's your sword back... It doesn't look like it will hold her for long... I think we're going to have to hurry this up!"  
"Couldn't agree with you more," X said as he sheathed his sword, "Time to meet this "original" Zero and put him back where he belongs, six feet under."  
Looking back at Iris one last time, X and Zero smiled at the stunned look on her face and ran off toward Omega... Following the tunnels, they rushed through the varying lights and computer systems as they found their target... In a room overlooking the Earth, the demonic form of Omega turned to meet the heroes' faces... The lights of the tinkering computers highlighted the demon's face as his long flowing blonde hair sparkled with the shine of a beam saber in his other hand.  
"Ahhhh... So we meet at last," Omega grimaced placing his sword into its sheath, "Copy Zero, I believe I've made your acquaintance before. But... so... this is the legendary X. Forgive me. Your skills precede you. I was half expecting someone taller and more macho looking."  
"Enough," Zero forced out trying to hold X back, "How did you get here? Who released you?"  
"Simple enough," Omega laughed, "Typhus is a double agent of sorts. He's been not only working the Assassins Guild but he's been working for the Neo Arcadian government. On a dig sanctioned by the Neo Arcadian government, he found my capsule and released me. Of course, the Assassins Guild knew nothing about what he was doing... That was a given... Anyway... After I was released, I repaid him with his powers now. In fact, the only reason why Sigma and him never hit it off was because of my influence. I always liked a little chaos here and there... I also got him to play the part of the mind-controlled servant in order to keep tabs on my brother. Sigma sure is an eye sore. I now know why Black Talon installed me inside your systems Zero."  
"Why Iris," X hesitated, "Why corrupt her?"  
"Start with the woman you love," Omega began, "and take away everything you'd ever have and love. It's my way of making you suffer. I don't know how the hell you broke my control. I don't even know how the hell you got that copy body to reject my virus. You will pay dearly for it! Do you really think that my destroying the Neo Hunter HQ was payment enough? Ohhhh no it wasn't!!! The real price you ask? Everyone you loved... starting with Iris! First I will crush her and then X... then I will crush the very Earth you so love!"  
"I don't think so! I won't let you kill anyone," Zero barked clenching his fists, "I will protect them myself even if I have to take you to the depths of Hell with me! You will answer for everything you've done or I'll be damned trying!"  
"I wouldn't make any sudden movements," Omega ordered with a creepy grin, "I can destroy all the life on that planet below with a touch of this button. Black Talon's legacy is right here, the Proteon bomb. A bomb so powerful that it will not only wipe out all life down to the microscopic level but it will also vaporize artificial life. It's truly ingenious..."  
"THAT'S OVERKILL!" X shouted trying to control his anger, "The people... on Earth are infected with the Mother Virus already! You can't..."  
"Ahhh," Omega cut in with a smirk, "but what about the other life on the planet? There are the uninfected, plants, bugs, cute lil bunnies... Do I really have to continue? The life below us is just sickening! It infects everything with its putrid smell and spreads over every terrain like a virus! I'm doing the Earth a favor! I'll cleanse that planet clean with the bomb and raise my own army of machines here that will live with the Earth. Once I'm done here, I'll bring my Father's legacy to fruition, the ruination of the Universe at the might of Black Talon!"  
"There's one thing I can say," Zero jostled, "You're more faithful to your creator than Sigma!"  
"Shut it copy," Omega jinxed, "I won't take your rude comments. Now stand there and be a good lil boy. Your love Iris will be coming to the party soon... and since you didn't kill her, you get the pleasure of watching her GET killed!"  
"BASTARD!" X fumbled, "I've seen the hellish infernos of the darkest chasms of hell and I've been there and survived! I've survived the torments of oppression from your kind too damned long! I will not allow your evil to pollute this world! You will answer for your crimes here and now!"  
"X... NO!" Zero tried to hold him back again, "The bomb!"  
"He won't be alive long enough to trigger the bomb," X smiled as a charge of energy transfixed inside of his blaster, "He's going to regret ever reawakening!" Shooting the control panel, X laughed at Omega's stunned face. "See?" X blew his blaster off, "He can't drop the bomb now. I just fried the terminal! All he can do now is kill us... like that's even a possibility anyway..."  
Not too far from this scene, a rumbling rocked the ship as a giant explosion rattled everyone off their feet... Managing themselves back on their feet, they could only guess as to what was going on... For down the halls, the one whom they were awaiting had just released herself from her prison...  
As Shards of crystal pinged off of the walls, Iris stood smoldering against her dark energy cloud... Her evil face twitched with wicked merriment as she stretched out and kicked the few pieces of crystal in her away to the side.... Looking around for her targets, she could not seem to find them anywhere. Cursing silently, Iris left the area of her confinement and leapt forward as she vanished in a glaze of purple... Mists of purple randomly trailing behind her, Iris found the group awaiting her in no time... Reappearing before them, she took her place beside Omega....  
"The guest of honor has arrived," Omega yammered, "Welcome Iris. Your so-called friends are trying to kill me. What do you have to say about that?"  
"You'd have to go through me first," Iris blocked way to Omega, "I can't allow you to harm my love. We will rule the world below from here... and together we will crush the universe!"  
"Well," Omega interrupted as he quickly took out his sword, "I'm afraid that there's a change of plans. I'm one that really can't really share power so... you must... DIE!" Omega rose his sword into the air and jammed his blade into Iris' chest plate... A ghoulish moan haunted everyone's hearing as Iris fell to the ground.... Her dark energy fading fast, she reverted to her original form as blood started to gush from her wound. Omega grimaced as he sheathed his weapon, "Oh... What have I done? I've killed your one true love! What are you going to do now? Bring down Elysium? Kill me? Please! I'm a virus. I can infect other forms! You'd only be killing this shell!"  
"Iris..." X and Zero stammered in unison.  
"Awwwww," Omega mocked, "What's wrong? Tongue tied? Well... I'll help! I really do hate losing so let's set the timer for.... Hmmm... It'll take you three minutes to get in an area where your teleporters can get you out... and we're four minutes from an escape pod... It's decided... The Proteon bomb will go off in two minutes and thirty seconds! Once it goes off, it'll wipe out all the work the Neo Arcadian government has done... and us along with it!"  
"I know something you don't Omega," X frowned trying to hide his smile, "This room will be the last one you see!"  
"What are you talking about?" Zero whispered as he looked at X and saw what he saw, "Ohhhhhhh... This is the room with the stasis pod!"  
"Shhh," X hushed Zero, "When I say now, you go right and I'll get him on the left."  
"My right or your right," Zero joked as X shot him a disgusted look, "I got you. Ready!"  
"NOW!" X shouted as he rushed at Omega.  
In a flurry of fistocuffs, X and Zero pummeled Omega across the room. Dancing across the room, Omega was almost blowing their kicks and punches aside... Almost to the brink of laughter after their failed attack, Omega countered their last few moves with a kick and stood shaking his head at them. Flexing his wrists a bit, he tried to fight back his laughter for he had expected far more from such legendary fighters...  
Falling to the ground, X and Zero found themselves being laughed at and becoming the butt of Omega's joke. Yet he did not realize that he himself was the butt of a joke... A much more sinister joke was going to be played on him...  
"Remember Sigma?" X pondered as he got back up, "Well... This is the room where he acquired his new body... Remember it now? It wasn't this well lit before was it? And your standing within a kick's range of the stasis pod!"  
"No..." Omega vexed as he tried to find a way out.  
"It was nice to meet my other half but," Zero smirked at X, who nodded, "This is where we say goodbye for now."  
Running towards Omega, X and Zero delivered a double kick that knocked him into the opened capsule. With a hiss, the pod pressurized and started to do a systems check... While everything started to rush forth, Omega tried to break free from its grasp for he was not going to go down without a fight... Trying to get rid of the clamps holding him down, the pod linked his mind to the onboard computer system... Before he knew it, the pod had him subdued and forced its way on him... His systems going into stasis lock, Omega could do nothing more than sit there as everything faded to black... Blinking his eyes a few last times, Omega fell into a deep, deep sleep of which he would not awake from for a century...  
"Well," X smiled, "That was easy... I say we get rid of this nuisance one and for all... HEY! Let's make him just another piece of space junk up here... It would be appropriate and I don't think anyone would find him in that rubbish!"  
"Ummm," Zero frowned, "It's a great plan... but... I think we don't have time... From what I gather, the bomb will go off in one minute... At least... that's what the timer reads..."  
"WHAT!" X jumped back, "All that work to get vaporized... Geez... This just isn't my day!"  
"Ze...ro," Iris coughed with a scratchy metallc voice, "Z...Zero... I have some things to answer for... You must listen... Omega came to me a week ago and introduced himself as the REAL Zero... I didn't know what the hell to believe but he knew things that no other knew... I believed him and his lies... When I allowed him into my heart... I felt as if I betrayed you... After this... I thought it would be better for me to just vanish from your life... Then guilt overtook me again.... It was all my fault that the Neo Hunters Base was destroyed... I gave him the coordinates.... I didn't know wut wazzz happenin... I... waz... led to believe.... that a secret Neo Arcadian complex was staged there.... A place where they kept every Reploid DNA soul... on f.... file..."  
"Try to hold on, hun... Please... just save your energy, Iris," Zero clasped her hands, "We can get you out of here..."  
"No... You can't..." Iris forced out, "I must answer for my crimes... You were right... I'm just as blind as the Repliforce was... I don't know if I can atone for all the lives that were lost... but I have to do something... Just save yourselves... I'll stop the bomb from going off..."  
"IRIS!" X and Zero lunged at her.  
"Don't do this," Zero cried out frantically, "There must be another way! Don't do this please!? I need you... You're my other half... You make me complete... Please..." Zero fell to his knees as a storm of tears streamed down his face... On his hands and knees, pleading with Iris, Zero tried to make her stay but it was all for naught... Iris had made up her mind... and it was to be as such... for it was meant to be...  
"Goodbye," Iris grunted as she started to fade away, "I'll always love you Zero... And I'll be awaiting you on the other side..."  
A hue of dark purple energy radiated through the room as Iris vanished... Reappearing across the rooms in a streak of purple energy, Iris made her way through Elysium toward the Proteon bomb... Her thoughts focused on saving her husband and her best friend from the same fate... as she found herself at the doorstep of the device... Dark purple energy faded to white as tears streaked down her face... Her life flashed behind her eyes as she used her powers to envelop the bomb.... All her happiest moments forced their way through as a single tear flushed through her eyes...  
"Goodbye Zero," Iris muttered, "I leave the fate of the world to you... Prove Omega wrong... Save the world..." Muttering her last words, Iris prepared herself for her last moments... As the bomb went off, she shielded everyone and everything she loved from the blast... Vanishing amidst the glaze of white light, Iris left this realm of existence... She had made the ultimate sacrifice for love... However, she was not the last one to pass from this realm... for soon there was to be another... 


	18. Zero's Disappearance

Zero's Disappearance  
  
As the clock continued to strike against the heroes, there was something else afoot back on the ground. Just as X and Zero had met up with Omega, Sigma made his move against those who remained on the Earth. Letting out a hellish cry of tortured agony, Sigma's form twisted with anger as it sped through a wall... Raining the Reploids below with shards of metal and concrete, Sigma floated above them all... his face marred with extreme delight...  
"No.... X...." Sigma muttered, "This is magnificent! None of you piss ants can come close to my powers now! You've all met your match! Assassins Guild! Come to me! ATTACK!"  
"I don't think so Sigma," Xephyr grinned, "We've got quite a lot to answer for and this time we're not siding with you! I can't believe that I allowed your kind into my ranks! Your crimes will be atoned for with your passing... My crimes will continue to haunt this world! This is my gift to humanity and my brothers! You won't live out today!"  
"Interesting development," Sigma laughed, "I thought there was no cure for my plague.... Oracle must have had something to do with this! No matter... You still have no hopes in spreading it before this world is cleansed!"  
"It cost many lives to create it," Oracle hummed, "It was worth the lives sacrificed to see our brothers, human AND Reploid, returned to us... Your evil reign is over Sigma! We stand here today to end what should have ended long ago... your life!"  
"I don't think so," Typhus grimaced, "You've all been played as fools! Omega is the true demon that will rule this rock!"  
"Ahhhh," Sigma smiled, "Look at this... It's the snake in the grass himself! I knew I'd like you Typhus! You're about as underhanded and deceitful as myself! Omega picked well for his spy! Yes I know.... I mean come on... My brother thinks he can outsmart someone like me? Preposterous!"  
"What you don't know is that your dear brother entrusted me with a present for you," Typhus cackled, "This is the last remnant of the Sigma Protocol downloaded from Elysium! Ahhh... but unlike before I beefed it up! You won't be walking away this time!"  
"You've got to be joking!" Sigma howled out in laughter, "I'm beyond your attempts at an anti-virus! I'm evil incarnate! I'm the one who will correct your own viral infection! Omega's influences have clouded your mind too long! I'm going to work to correct that!"  
"I don't think so," Typhus mocked as he pulled a long blade from his sheath, "This blade was crafted for the purpose of your demise! It is a sword unlike anything this world has known! With this... I'll recreate everything in Omega's image!"  
"Crazed abomination," Sigma hissed drawing his scythe, "It's time for you to meet your maker!"  
Sigma's eyes deepened as a glow of red overtook them... A storm of evil energy cascaded around him as he floated over the ground... Looking down at Typhus, Sigma's eyes glowed brilliantly with dark energy... as he swiped his scythe around in the air... In a blur of movements that seemed to melt away, Sigma started his attack on Typhus and made quick work of his demise... All Typhus could do was stand there and watch it all as his blood started to come to the surface.... for soon his blood was not the only that would be spilt...  
Shutting his eyes amidst the slashes and cuts on his body, Typhus could feel the pain flood his systems but bared it all as he held the sword in his shaking hand... His blood oozing freely onto the ground, Typhus waited to strike and seal Sigma's fate... He could see Sigma's face as he smiled at how Typhus' very energy dropped with each blow... He could see Sigma slash his body and..... he could see his opening to strike... Jamming his blade into thin air, Typhus opened his eyes to see Sigma's stuttering form before him...  
"This is it Sigma," Typhus gleed, "You're through! My master has won!"  
"Th... Thi... Think again," Sigma stuttered, "X and Zero have beat him... You've lost..."  
"Your virus has been corrupted beyond any salvation this time Sigma!" Typhus jinxed, "It doesn't matter if Omega has been defeated or not! You will die here today!"  
"Not before you," Sigma smiled as his hand faded, "If I go down, I'm taking you with me!" Stretching his hand into Typhus' chest, Sigma pulled out a wisp of energy from Typhus' body... As Sigma's eyes glowed with dark energy, his aura deepened as the energy merged with his own... On the receiving end, Typhus did not fair too well against this attack... Reeling and squirming, Typhus' body transformed into a ghostlike form that howled and distorted as light poured forth... The columns of light solidified into a rain of sparks that shot out against the sky... His eyes wildly shifted around and transfixed on Sigma... As his last moments drew out, he silently cursed Sigma as his breaths started to get shallower... The light intensified as Typhus shut his eyes and readied for his impending doom... Exploding in a bright array of light, Typhus was no more... another death to add to Sigma's kill list... which seemed to be extending at this very moment...  
"Your soul is mine now Typhus! Welcome to your new eternity.... back stabber..." Drawing the sword from his back, Sigma flung it into the ground where it shattered... Stumbling around, Sigma fell onto a knee... A series of light beams started shooting out of Sigma's body as he started to fade away... Stretching his distorted arms over his head, Sigma let out a cry that sent a dark aura around him that easily overtook the light energy...  
"I will not be defeated by such a meek attempt! Is there no one else who wants to join him?" Sigma jostled with a grin, "Come now! No one wants to play hero?"  
"Bite your tongue!" Zenith stepped forward, "We gathered here today to put an end to your wicked deeds! You can take our lives but it won't stop the inevitable! You will die Sigma! This is the end of the road for you! Your time has run out and it's time for the final curtain pull!"  
"Please," Sigma rolled his eyes, "Enough with the melodrama! I swear... Are you the drama queen of the X family? I knew X was the stick in the mud but... geez... cut it out will you?"  
"Mock this foul demon," Nemesis rushed toward Sigma with his sword drawn, "You've killed countless people for your view of perfection! You've killed your own friends! You've killed your own minions! I won't allow your hands to be stained with anymore blood!"  
"If it isn't the legendary Nemesis," Sigma chuckled, "I've heard you've never been beaten with sword weapons.... Wonder if that's the truth..."  
"NEMESIS!" Oracle jumped at him but was knocked back.  
Spinning his scythe around, Sigma shattered Nemesis' sword with a single blow and drop kicked him to the ground... Looking down at his unworthy adversary, Sigma turned his scythe down onto Nemesis... However, before the final blow could be made, Zenith rushed forth and knocked back his scythe as everyone, who stood around, ganged up on Sigma...  
"Pathetic," Sigma chided as he floated above them, "If you wanted to throw away your lives so much, I'd be more than willing to oblige... all you had to do was ask! I have a much better purpose for your energy anyway!"  
Swirling his scythe around, Sigma slashed his foes with a long swipe which they easily dodged... As they recuperated, Sigma gathered himself for an attack that would leave his enemies on their knees... Gathering his dark energy deep inside of him, Sigma unleashed a souped up version of the Mother Virus onto the uninfected Reploids... As they came into contact with it, they all fell over as their eyes glowed with red energy... A smirk crept up on Sigma's face as he lifted himself up over the clouds.... His eyes radiating with the most potent dark energy, Sigma called forth all the energy lost from the inhabitants of the Earth... As it surrounded him, he could feel himself gaining powers unlike anything he had felt before... While the hopes of Earth dwindled, Sigma floated in midair allowing the power to course through his veins... From his skyward view, he sucked the life force out of the planet as everything seemed to get bleak for the poor defenseless blue orb.... As the darkness of eternity stepped ever closer to damn them all, the two heroes were no where to be seen.... no where to save anyone... leaving the Earth to its grim fate...  
  
Back in Elysium, X and Zero were trying to let the anguish of losing their own pass from their hearts... Crying softly, Zero's tears pooled underneath his curled body... Every once and awhile, he would cry out Iris and twitch at the thought of her loss... Whimpering amidst his tears, Zero could barely function anymore with the tragedy... He had lost the only one that had meant the world to him... He had lost all hope for the future... As the downpour of tears continued, he had no clue what was going on below him...  
As Zero dealt with the loss of his beloved, X stared out the window overlooking the planet below... Alone he stood there sobbing lightly... and tried to let it sink into his head that she was truly gone... As he stood there looking below, the tears streaked down his face as the sadness seemed to consume him... Holding back his tears for a moment, X could have almost swore he saw the Earth get darker... Watching intently onto the planet below, he watched with horror as the entire orb seemed to grow dark and devoid of any light... Swallowing hard and forcing back his tears again, X bolted into action and ran to Zero's side to get his friend up on his feet... There was not a second to lose for the time had come to return and defeat Sigma's evil... once and for all...  
"Zero!" X breathed with panic, "We have to get to Earth... Sigma's done something terrible!"  
"Iris," Zero stammered amidst his tears, "I don't have any point on living anymore... She was my only reason to carry on... Now it's all over... I don't have anyone now..."  
"Damn it Zero," X shouted, "We have to get going NOW! I know the pain is too close to you but we have to get moving! The Earth is in danger and I fear that everyone below has been defeated..."  
"My beloved," Zero whispered, "I'll be with you soon... It's my time to do my part to save the world..."  
"We have to get to the Ea... Wait a moment... We have to get rid of Omega before anything else," X pointed to the capsule behind them, "then we can get to Earth... It's imperative that no one finds this capsule... There's a debris field not too far from here... That's the perfect place... We have to hurry... You've got to remember whatever happens from here on in... we must carry on and we must defeat Sigma at all costs..."  
"Iris," Zero forced out as he touched the window, "Goodbye for now my love..."  
Dragging the capsule out toward an escape pod, X and Zero made their way through Elysium... Reprogramming the escape pod to jettison its fuel, they launched Omega into a satellite debris field... to never be found again... to be forgotten within the realm of time... Looking one last time at Elysium, X and Zero teleported out of the ship and back down to the Earth. Before they had teleported though, X swore that he was being watched... but shrugged is off as his teleportation unit activated... What they did now know was that they were being watched in the hallway... Gritting his teeth and slamming his fist into a wall, Elpizo cursed X as he shut his eyes remembering the friend he had just lost...  
"You'll pay X," Elpizo stuttered, "One of these days... I'll have my vengeance on you... You'll wish to forget the day you met Omega after I'm done with you..."  
  
Feeling solid soil underneath their feet, X and Zero looked unto the face of Sigma which was distorting madly under the weight of the energy he was absorbing... Looking swiftly around, they saw that the uninfected's energy was being contributed as well.... Cursing under his breath, X's eyes filled with tears as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists together... They too had joined the ranks of the dying... Slamming his fist onto the ground, X readied to meet up with the demon known as Sigma... Drawing his sword and nodding to his friend Zero, X and Zero tried to anticipate Sigma's next strike... as they readied to merge their powers in one....  
"It's time," X nodded to Zero, "Let's awaken Omega X! We'll be able to fix him then!"  
"I'm ready, bro," Zero smirked, "Let's together put an end to this baffoon!"  
"UNITY ACTIVATE!" X mumbled as his body glowed with golden energy... His armor turned into its Unity form as Zero's body glowed with crimson energy...  
"X!" Sigma shouted, "You will not create Omega X here! I have siphoned off all the ambient energy from this rock! There's nothing left to use to start the transformation!"  
"I don't think you can understand what's going on Siggy," X taunted, "We don't need just any energy! We have plenty!"  
"Siggy eh?" Sigma laughed, "I say I have something else to say about your wanting to combine powers again!"  
In a jolt of fast movement, Sigma stormed down to the ground, at which it shook under the extreme energy he was holding... Making a fist, Sigma grinned as he saw the look on X's face... Jamming his faded hand into X's chest, Sigma tried to pull a wisp of energy from within him...  
"Give me your soul!" Sigma yammered, "You can't resist me! You won't!"  
"I.... I w.. I will resist!" X gasped, "You can't take what's not yours!"  
"It's impossible!" Sigma hesitated, "Give it to me now!"  
Grinning at his annoying Sigma, X quickly regained himself and drop kicked Sigma across the ground... With sword in his hand, X rushed toward Sigma ready to change the world... Vanishing from view, Sigma appeared behind X at which he drew his scythe and tried to finish him.... However before anything could happen, Zero shot in and slammed Sigma across his face with a closed fist... Laughing at Zero's try, Sigma disappeared again and found himself behind both X and Zero... Slashing his scythe forward, Sigma caught nothing but an after image as X and Zero were behind HIM.... Launching their attack, X fired a blast from his blaster and Zero rushed at Sigma as the blast made its way toward him.... Shaking his head, Sigma caught Zero and flung him at X which sent them both tumbling to the ground... Catching the blast in the palm of his hand, Sigma flung it back at X and Zero who fled the area before it could get them... If only they were a little quicker for as they dodged, Sigma tapped them on their shoulders and knocked them back to the ground...  
"You made a nice effort to combat against me," Sigma mocked, "but I'm afraid I have to end this now... I have a lot of things to destroy and so little time!"  
"You won't win!" X hesitated, "I won't allow it... Your evil ends here tonight!"  
"Right... One shall stand and the other shall fall!" Sigma grinned, "I just love how this'll make my grand ascension look! Taking out my unworthiest adversary with his planet! Wonderful! Just simply wonderful!"  
"You wish!" X mumbled, "My tried and true blade... will guide my hand and make its final strike a remembering one!"  
"I correct myself," Sigma fumbled with a hand over his face hiding his laughter, "Zenith's not the drama queen I thought he was... It's a tie... Give me a break will you?"  
"This is for my wife... her best friend and all of my friends I lost," X jinxed, "You'll lose this time and there'll be no coming back!"  
"Time will only tell..." Sigma smirked, "Although from what I've seen... Evil will continue to reign on this world.... so you cannot truly kill me!"  
Spinning his blade around in the air, X went on the attack and tried to vanquish his foe... Wanting to make this fight draw out a bit longer, Sigma let X think he was gaining the upper hand... One slash after another, Sigma feigned like he was getting hurt when in actuality he was deflecting every hit with ease... Laughing at X, Sigma took X's sword from him and flung it into the ground next to Zero.... Pummeling X to his knees, Sigma mocked X's tries of defeating him...  
"Nice try X," Sigma grimaced, "This is the end.... Your time has drawn near and the Grim Reaper is here to take you down to Hell!"  
"I refuse to give up!" X yelled, "You can beat me within an inch of my life but I will continue to stand and oppose you!"  
"X..." Zero called as he tossed him his sword, "I don't know how you keep doing it but I'm not able to keep up with you... I'll stand on the sidelines on this fight!"  
"Thank you Zero," X hesitated, "You're a true friend... This is it!"  
In a bright flash of light, X disappeared from everyone's view as time totally froze... Floating before him, several orbs of light flashed around him as he tried to figure out where he was... Standing in a large room that was pitch black, X looked unto the multicolored orbs of light before him... at which they started communicating....  
"Welcome..." one of them stuttered, "Welcome X... We've been expecting you... Now is the time for our ascension... Use our powers well to vanquish Sigma... We will stand with you..."  
"What's going on," X looked around, "What are you?"  
"We are the cyber elves," another spoke up, "We were once great champions but we have faded to this form.... To pay back our debts, we have come back here now to give back the lives that you've given us..."  
"Give the Earth back its light," the first one hummed, "This is for our brothers... This is for the betrayal and pain we've all endured... It's time now X... Take up your sword and use our power to finally put an end to him..."  
Fading away in another flash of light, X found himself staring in thin air at what was just floating before him... Zero stood staring at X with a perplexed look on his face trying to understand what X was looking at... Regaining his senses and blinking a few times, X grasped his blade firmly and ran toward Sigma...  
"Sigma!" X shouted, "This is the end! With the power of this earth and its fallen warriors, I VANQUISH YOU!"  
The faces of Alia, Iris, Signas, Douglas, Lifesavor and all of the fallen Hunters seemed to be fading behind X as he ran when all of a sudden several orbs of light transfixed on Sigma's position... Arching his back in agony, Sigma tried to break free from the circle of cyber elves binding his powers... A bright white orb came into contact with X's sword as it glowed brilliantly with energy... Sending a slash through the air that halved everything in its path, X stood back as time returned to normal.... The cyber elves were dancing madly around Sigma's distorted body as he trembled and fell...  
"In the name of all those you have killed," X stammered, "Your last life has been taken... Go where you belong foul demon... STRAIGHT TO HELL!"  
"Nooo," Sigma cried, his face warping against the light of the elves, "My evil influences will reign supreme... I will not be defeate...d..."  
The elf that had empowered X's sword floated up over Sigma as energy seemed to sparkle over him... A voice could be heard coming from the energy... a female voice... telling Sigma one last goodbye before the coup de grace...  
"Sigma," she vexed, "Your evil will never tarnish this world ever again... The ones you have killed in your war against humanity have come back here today to see your defeat! Together they have bound your influences and defeated you! Together we are strong and together we will forever watch this world! Your purgatory is over! Now you go to Hell!"  
The cyber elves rotated Sigma's distorting corpse into the air as he wildly tried to break free... In a brilliant flash of sparks and light, Sigma exploded in a vast array of colors as the cyber elves drug a wisp of energy down underneath the ground... The screams of torture and anguish echoed across the landscape as Sigma was no more... The cyber elves had all vanished with Sigma's soul... However, there was yet one more elf that still remained where the others were... It hovered over Zero for a bit as time froze once more... and her voice called to him...  
"Zero..." she began, "I'll always be watching you... Your wife has never left your side... I will be awaiting you when your last task is done... What you saw here today was not only your friends but also Hunters destroyed from years before... I am still Iris but I have transcended this realm of existence... My selfless act allowed me to be at your side once more... for now... I am the Mother Elf... Goodbye my love... I will always... love... you..."  
Twirling over Zero's head as time returned to normal, a sparkling energy rained down over him as all the sadness inside of him melted away... The Mother Elf zoomed off over the horizon as X and Zero stood bewildered at what had just happened... As the sun rose overhead, light returned across the world and it would seem that everything was at peace... However, there was now something else wrong... The Reploids and humans that were infected with the Mother Virus were not moving... For in fact, their life forces were nearly depleted as X's eyes filled with more tears... He had lost after all... The people of the Earth were gone and now he could not do anything about it... Running every worst case scenario through his head, X could not grasp what he could do to stop it... He had failed afterall... The people of Earth had died... Their sparks extinguished before their prime... to never take another breath once more... As the consequences of his actions flushed through his mind, X stood there trying to understand the ramifications of what he had done... Falling to his knees, the tears poured out over the ground as X found himself powerless to save anyone...  
"All this power," X stammered amidst his tears, "I have limitless potential... yet I still cannot save the ones I love... I have all this power and it means nothing! All I want is to grant these people a new life but I can't do it..."  
"X," Zero soothed as he touched X on the shoulder, "There still may be hope... The anti-virus has to be around here somewhere..."  
"We don't need an anti-virus..." X hymned, "We need a miracle and the savior of this world time and time again will make such... I can't give up... This is my gift to all of you... This is for you Alia... and all the people who gave their lives to see this moment... "  
"What are you talking about?" Zero stammered, "Wait.... You're not going to do what I think you're going to do... Are you?"  
"You've been the best friend anyone could have asked for Zero," X sullied with a smile, "Goodbye... It's time to do the right thing..."  
"No, X," Zero tried to stop X, "Don't leave me too..."  
Stepping forward, X's body glowed with a mixture of white and golden light as it started to encompass everything in the area... A series of golden and white flames started to come off of X's armor as his wings started to flail... With his sword still clenched in his hand, X shut his eyes as a single tear slid down his cheek... He could see Alia's face calling for him in the distance as in a brilliant glaze of golden and white light X exploded.... Radiating the most potent golden white light across the landscape, it rushed forward covering every inch of the Earth... at which it enchanted every infected life form with a brilliant gold white hue... The seconds ticked by as the hues intensified and glowed across everything... Every Reploid, man, woman, and child gasped with new life as X's arms seemed to be stretching across the globe... purifying them all from Sigma's evil influence... As the light faded, everyone stood looking in the horizon knowing that their savior had saved them one more time... Little did they know it would be his last...  
Back at the battlefield, the light had died down as X's lifeless corpse fell to the ground... The sword that was fixed in his hand fell to the ground and shattered... Several feathers fell next to the sword as stillness crossed everything... Rushing to X's side, Zero tried to wake up his best friend to no avail... His friend was lost to him... self- sacrificed to save the world from its grim fate... The tears forced their way to the surface as Zero twitched with sadness about having just lost not only Iris but also his best friend, X... Slamming his fist into the ground, Zero cursed silently about him not being able to save anyone...  
"X..." Zero whispered through muffled tears, "Why did you have to leave me? I'm so alone now... I don't have any reason to continue on living... Why did you have to die X? Why?"  
"Zero..." Zenith muttered, "X gave his life to save the people he fought to protect for so long... We cannot forsake the gift he granted us all..."  
"Let no man misuse his name," Nemesis stepped forward and bowed his head, "Here where he fell... Let this place be known as hollowed ground... Right here where this hero, whom personified the hearts and minds of this Earth... Let us erect a statue in his honor... Bring me his sword... No man should be denied such a honorable death... May you rest in peace X... You will surely be missed..."  
"Here we stand," Xephyr started with a frown, "the day after Armageddon... and on this ground... we breath new life... The honorable man who gave his life to give us a fighting chance will always be remembered... Let no man take for granted this life that he has granted us... Zero... I think it's best you say some words..."  
"X," Zero fumbled, "The best friend I ever had... Even though I was created by Dr Light's rival, we set aside those family squabbles to be the best to each other... I will never forget him... He has changed everyone's lives so many times before... I just hope we can live up to the lives that he gave us..."  
Grabbing the shards of the sword and taking X, they all walked off toward Dr Cossack's laboratory... Opening the large doors of the lab, Ciel instantly lunged forward and helped them get X to the operating table... A form of Dr Cossack fixed on the screen as his face frowned sadly at X's loss...  
"He's gone," Ciel saddened, "The best I can do is seal his body away in hopes that some day we can revive him... His body will be in stasis lock for as long as that takes.... There is also something else I must talk to you about... but I must insist that we be alone Zero..."  
"It's alright," Xephyr bowed, "We have work of our own... The retribution of the Neo Arcadian government will be swift... Let's get going and find our other members... We have to prepare the Resistance for its counter strike..."  
The group of Reploids left leaving Zero, Ciel and Dr Cossack behind... Typing onto her computer, Ciel looked up at Zero... Trying to hide her sadness, she looked deeply into Zero's eyes... and began...  
"Father," Ciel yawned, "I think I'll tell him... Anyway... Our extensive work on the cure for the Mother Virus had produced results... Luck be it that Oracle and Nemesis found us and helped us in time to figure it out... That virus is at bay and now we have another to worry about... Your viral infection Zero... I'm afraid we need to put you in suspended animation until the virus can be removed... We cannot allow another Sigma to be born..."  
"I understand..." Zero stammered, "I don't have any reason to stay here do I? My wife, Iris, and X have both been killed..."  
"I'll teleport you to your home," Dr Cossack cut in, "I'm sorry it has to be this way... but we cannot stress how important this is... The Sigmus Virus has to die with Sigma..."  
In a whiz of light, Zero and Ciel were transported into a room with a capsule in it... Checking the systems one last time, Ciel helped Zero into it and allowed the systems to take over from there... Closing his eyes and wishing to forget everything, Zero fell into a deep sleep that he would not awaken from for a century... In his pod, he kept thinking about everyone he had lost to get this far... and there he slept with his nightmares haunting his dreams... Shaking her head, Ciel felt sorry for Zero and all that he had lost.... She wished him a good sleep and contacted her father again... Being told her next move, she returned home without a second's notice.... Teleporting back into the lab, Dr Cossack smiled at Ciel and told her that it was her turn...  
"My daughter," Dr Cossack smiled, "Now that everything has been done... You need to get some rest... This capsule will allow you to sleep away the infection in your system... Good night... I am proud of you, my dear..."  
"I'll see you when I awake," Ciel nodded, "Good night Father... I love you..."  
Ciel smiled sweetly at her father and nodded as she got up into the capsule... With a hiss, the capsule sealed Ciel inside where she would remain... As Dr Cossack's computer systems were shutting down, he teleported X's capsule deep within a secluded cave and went into a state of slumber... Everything had been done... The Ill-fated reign was over... The friends that were lost burned and faded in glory.... The cyber elves remained and had come to usher in a new age... An age of dampening hopes of this world.... An age where Neo Arcadia damned Reploids to a fate worse than death... For soon, another war would start where the last one had ended... 


End file.

Mega Man, Adventure, Drama