Lumina

by Radiant Falcon

It began as a routine search through cyberspace in Abel City, 21XX. People thought things were staying the same. Nobody expected how different it would become. Two roads ended so suddenly, but one began anew, with a new path ahead. The worlds never knew what hit them. (Post-X8) (COMPLETE!)

1. Creation

Mega Man X, world renowned hero, progenitor to the Reploid race, and last creation of Dr. Light. Zero, SA-Class former commander of the Maverick Hunters, skilled beam swordsman and last creation of Dr. Wily. Axl, new generation reploid prototype, crack marksman with the energy pistols, and apparently he showed up from out of the blue one time; having no memory of his past. X likes to think he was created by Dr. Cain before the old man mysteriously vanished, and went radio silent ever since. As for when he was created… he never did ask him. Lumine's dark spaghetti noodle to the head gem desperation move at Sigma Palace on the Moon knocked him out for a few months, and in between then and now X, Zero and the Maverick Hunters talked to those in power that wanted him gone or at the very least his copy chip taken out. The Hunters convinced them that Axl was worth keeping on the force and more importantly alive, so the UEG relented, against their better judgment.

Took them a good bit to wake him up though; he was out for three whole months recovering, and by that time his armor was changed from a black and grey color scheme to white and light blue. The Lifesaver Units had no plausible explanation. Palette thought that it was a side-effect of Lumine -a new generation reploid and one with that exact same color scheme- hitting his head gem with that dark spaghetti noodle, and Axl's armor reacting to the sudden transfer of data, similar to how X's armor changes colors based on what Maverick subweapon he was using at the time. What the R&D team would do without Palette's genius in this field was beyond the Hunters' fathoming. Douglas, the Senior R&D Technician and formerly the only one in that department; went on record stating that he was very proud of that girl.

In between the three months removed from the end of what the media called the Jakob Uprising and the production halt of all copy chips, a lot of old Maverick Hunters retired from the group, not expecting any more incidents to occur. In fact, this had happened a lot in between incidents, with older reploids moving on so that newer reploids can take their place. Some Mavericks being former Maverick Hunters (good examples being Storm Eagle, Blast Hornet and Magma Dragoon) certainly didn't help matters. While it was true that X was one of those reploids on the 'inactive' roster too, this was during the Red Alert incident and even he realized it was bad timing, so a pep talk from his best friend Zero (which amounted to "you coming too, or what?" before each mission and X finally giving in to annoyance and saying "sure, why not?") pulled him back in, and he stayed in throughout the Jakob Incident with only one "why must reploids fight?" comment under his figurative belt; a new record according to Zero.

But peacetime for the Hunters was awfully busy nonetheless. Paperwork bore the brunt of it, training new recruits took up a few hours a day, and eliminating whatever was left of the prior rebellion was how it usually went. But now that Sigma was dead (and staying dead, for once) they didn't have much to do. While the Maverick Hunters were a generally autonomous service, there were a few supplementary outfits before. Repliforce was a big one, as was Axl's former group Red Alert (despite Red Alert being an illegal operation technically) Commander Signas even had a plan in mind before the Jakob Incident for a group known as Irregular Hunters, a sort of reserve group. Zero reminded him that supplementary forces never work, but X declared "third time's the charm?"

So the Irregular Hunter project was put on the backburner until this year's incident was sorted out. Then Sigma died, and Maverick incidents began to dwindle that the Irregular Hunter initiative was scrapped altogether. X could finally have peace, Zero can have an excuse to have a student to pass his skills to, Axl could finally wake up from his coma and start finally knowing peace. The Maverick Hunters weren't necessarily needed anymore. Sure, they had to pacify lesser incidents, but effectively the wars were over. One day, during a routine scan of cyberspace, though…

-=X=-

Cyberspace Abel City, in contrast to the real world Abel City, was not some bustling metropolis. It was quiet. Peaceful to an extent. It could be compared to a countryside, even though data was flowing throughout the world. one particular packet could hold data from a transmission akin to a phone call, another could be antivirus scanning, still others could be someone trying to sell something. All this data and no sound being made of it, too. Where there was sound, it was typically a battle being waged in a cyberspace arena or two avatars, meant specifically for network usage, chatting. Both X and Zero had been in Cyberspace before, even Axl had his share of the world inside the network. This time, however, it was Alia who arrived in the network via link cable. The Senior Tactical Communications and Navigations Officer, Alia had technically already had weapons access. Being in communications had taken its toll on her, but there was nothing she could do about it short of joining Sigma, which she felt was not an option. So by the end of Red Alert incident, she took up arms and decided join the patrol while X was inactive. The only reason why she came back to Navigation duty was because two new recruits had joined and she had to teach them all she knew; even at the cost of her sanity.

This time, X was behind the microphone. A change of pace from his usual duty, but he felt it was appropriate since Alia had a buster similar to his own, if not as versatile. It couldn't charge subweapons for instance. (In fact, the entire core navigation staff had weapons of their own; Alia had the buster; Layer, who now headed up Special Unit 0, had a rapier; and Palette -also of R&D- had a pistol akin to Axl's.) "This mission is easy enough. We just need someone to patrol Cyberspace for any unusual activity." X had spoke before the mission. "Normally, cyberspace blocks out communications, but thanks to Axl's surprising computer programming skills, we now have a codec meant for cyberspace comms. Make sure to turn it off before you leave, otherwise it may end up causing a serious headache. As Alia volunteered for the mission and she's never been in cyberspace before, I'll have to man the comms."

And so he did, guiding Alia through some of the more dangerous parts of cyberspace, until she reached a certain point, point Abel-97A to be exact. There was a large crystalline barrier blocking entry. Alia tapped the side of her headset, asking "That's odd. Is this firewall supposed to be here, X?"

"Negative."

"Is it a lesser virus?"

"I'm doing preliminary scans right now… there's no trace of any viral activity, but… it can't be. It really shouldn't be anyway."

"What do you mean, X?"

"the data signature on this firewall? It closely resembles that of Repliforce firewalls. I'll send Zero to assist with the investigation. Stand by."

Shortly thereafter, the android known as Zero had arrived at the point of interest. "Repliforce, huh? Now there's a name I haven't heard from in ages." The crimson swordsman remarked.

"Why you have not succumbed to PTSD about this topic yet I will never understand."

"You know, at this point, nothing surprises me anymore.

Zero switched his Z-Saber from its straight-edged mode to the curved-beam mode, a unique feature for his beam saber alone. A quick three slashes later, and the firewall dissipated into data. "Still the same kind of firewalls. I wonder what's behind door number -huh?"

Sure enough, a girl was sleeping inside a tube. This girl, though made entirely of data, had a form familiar to Zero: long brown hair, a red and blue dress over a white bodysuit and a red cap bearing the letter R. "This is Zero. I think we've found something. Someone, actually."

"Is that who I think it is, Zero? Because if the monitor isn't showing some kind of false image, that's Iris."

"Yeah, I know." Zero said with a sad tone. Back during the Repliforce Uprising, he was forced to kill Iris, the reploid he loved, due to his mission taking priority. He wasn't the same since, X had noticed. Obviously someone wanted the Hunters to find her. But who?

"This is Commander Signas. Zero, you are clear to approach the subject. Do not engage unless absolutely necessary."

"You're kidding, right? It could very well be a trap. Besides, reviving old reploids is prohibited."

"If you think of her as a hostage, then maybe the humans might look the other way. That's the girl you loved, Zero. Go get her."

Against his better judgment, Zero approached the tube his one-time lover was in. As he touched the container, a pre-recorded hologram appeared in front of him. This was a large man, wearing black and white armor, with a red beard-like plate covering his chin.

"Zero. If you are seeing this message, it means that Repliforce has fallen, possibly at the hands of you Maverick Hunters. I have no doubt that you will eventually defeat me in combat, but rather than try to fight destiny, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies. If I could change history, I would have. However, Iris had the foresight to leave a backup of her data behind. Evidently she had studied into prior Maverick Uprisings and chose to take the Sigma route of leaving a backup." The hologram continued "Though I have no doubt the humans would object, Iris truly believes in our ideals. However, I believe differently. I believe Iris is happiest when she is a Maverick Hunter, rather than a Repliforce Soldier. If given the chance, she could prove to be a valuable asset once again. The world has no place for Repliforce anymore. Let this be my last will and testament, for I will not be around to see it: Iris must belong with you."

The hologram closed down. "Zero… what are you going to do?" X asked over the comms codec. "Colonel, or at least his hologram, said that the world has no place for Repliforce. It really shouldn't have any place for Iris either. But as Axl once said, everyone needs a chance for redemption. I think that's enough reasoning for me."

Zero grasped the latches of the capsule, and pulled on them. The girl, who couldn't have looked any older than 14, woke up. "ugh… what year is it?"

"You alright, Iris?"

The girl, named Iris, immediately raised a hand and slapped Zero across the face. "That's for killing me, Zero."

"You know what, I deserve that."

"I don't even have a body anymore. It's stuck on Final Weapon, and for all I know it was raided for scrap metal. And you say you deserve that?"

Alia spoke up, finally, saying "How do you know your body is gone if your backup was in cyberspace this whole time?"

"I've seen things from here. I've seen Zero change almost overnight. He went from this happy-go-lucky blonde guy who I fell in love with; to this serious, no crap, just results reploid that I hated in Colonel. He doesn't even notice that Layer chick, who has a massive crush on him by the way, and he's broken more hearts than I care to name." She got up from her capsule by herself. "Zero, I am glad that you at least came all this way to see me. But the fact is, I was happy hiding in that capsule."

"Then why'd you get out of it?"

"I… wait, why am I on your network?"

Zero found the pre-recorded message the Colonel of the Repliforce left behind. "So you mean to tell me that my brother uploaded me to your servers before he died?"

"That seems to be the gist of it. Apparently it was his last order."

"Zero, you aren't exactly helping his case any. He shouldn't have got himself in this mess to begin with. If he had just swallowed his pride and cleared the whole thing up, none of this would have happened. We would still be alive, Repliforce wouldn't have been disgraced, and you wouldn't be the sad sack of potatoes you are today. As it stands, though… I suppose I can assist you guys, if only so that I can get the Zero I loved back. If he is still alive somewhere in there, that is."

"Is there a way you can with no body?"

"I'm a cyberspace AI now, Zero. You'd be surprised what I can do. I won't be able to materialize outside of Maverick Hunter HQ, reason being that I wouldn't want you guys to get in trouble with the UEG for resurrection. But I will help with traversing cyberspace as much as I can. If you want to build me a body, I won't object; it'll be your funeral as long as Sigma is around."

"Oh, we should've told you this the first time. Sigma's dead. I don't think he's coming back."

"but someone worse might reap what he sought to sow later. Just a hunch. And what do you mean he's not coming back?"

"I destroyed the virus during the Eurasia Incident, and his head was crushed at the end of the Jakob Incident."

"Well that's a change of pace for once. Why didn't you think to crush his head earlier?"

"honestly, I couldn't tell you. How do you know about Sigma, anyway; and how come you know so much for being, you know, dead?"

"Gonna be perfectly honest, Zero. I've been paying attention. Cyberspace and the real world are not as disconnected as you think, believe it or not, and one of the perks about being an AI who was stuck behind the curtain is that I get to watch events play out where I'm not involved. This is how I know you died after that space colony crash."

"Believe it or not, that wasn't the first time I died."

"Disregarding that comment, I also saw the Nightmare Incident, the Red Alert mishap, and the Jakob Project, but I was unable to do anything about any of them, and frankly I would've liked to keep it that way. But I guess since you let me out; I guess I have to help now."

"How do you know about Sigma, though?"

"Well he visited General once, warning us about the humans. I can't say he was wrong about them, especially after how it played out in our case, but we certainly didn't want to kill anyone. At least Colonel and General didn't." Iris sighed. "Look, Zero. I've seen where things have gone, and I have a feeling I know where it will go. I already promised to help, though. I'll be here when possible, but right now I need to go for a stroll. I've been locked up for something like four years, I definitely need the exercise."

-=X=-

Mega Man X, meanwhile, wasn't so much shocked when Zero and Alia returned from cyberspace without Iris as he was confused. Iris was Zero's love from at least since the Soul Erasure Incident. It technically was like him to break hearts, Layer could attest to that, but she did still train in the art of the sword and held a sort of professional relationship with Zero nonetheless. Iris though, she was a whole other boat in the fleet. When Zero ultimately killed her, he killed a part of himself too. Knowing that Iris was alive and more or less intact, and yet it didn't cause any sort of 'pick up where we left off' reactions, that was the real buzzkill. "Zero, did Iris break up with you or something?" he asked, half in jest. "Let's just say we're still working things out. She's been dead for like four years, and with no body, she can't interact with us in the real world without a holographic display. You know how the humans would react when they see someone technically classified as Maverick roaming the halls of the Maverick Hunter HQ. There would be hell to pay!"

"So you just left her behind?

"No, she's in our network. She's just taking it easy for now. Turns out when you're a computer program who lives in our network, you have access to our archives as well."

"Good, we don't have to get her caught up then."

"The only thing I want to know is… how did Colonel know that I was going to retire him? Weren't we both assigned to that case?"

"You did have a personal attachment to them. I'm surprised you weren't off that case."

"Maybe. Maybe I shouldn't have been assigned to it at all. That case ended badly for both of us."

"Well I know that Double wasn't helping much."

"Yeah, what happened to him anyway?"

"He was a spy for Sigma."

"That explains so much."

Double, X's operator during the Repliforce Incident, was a young hunter with a large body. However, it turned out that Double's name did not refer to "double XL" but rather "Double Agent", as he murdered the ride chaser unit in cold blood while both X and Zero were en route to Final Weapon, a now defunct space cannon. X should've ran the background check more thoroughly, he admitted, but the existence of the Jello Man persona was an anomaly at best.

"I trusted him about as far as I could've thrown him."

-=X=-

Meanwhile, in R&D, Palette was doing a diagnostic check on the former Red Alert hotshot Axl. After Lumine knocked him out cold, his armor changed from a black and grey color scheme to one closely resembling that of the Jakob Project director. This was to double check that Axl wasn't containing anything Viral. Lumine's cautionary words were "We new generation reploids can go Maverick at will!" and though this would inevitably mean that new generation reploids as a whole would be scrapped, Axl made it through scot-free, if only because he was in a coma for the past three months and no one kicks a man when he's down. "You're good!" she cheerfully exclaimed. "So wait. You mean to tell me that Sigma's finally dead?"

"he hasn't come back, if that's what you're asking."

"It's been like three months. I'm sure that something went up."

"Apart from lesser crimes and maybe a human getting killed on accident, we haven't heard much. From what Alia told me, we have a new recruit."

"In peacetime? When there's hardly a Maverick to worry about?"

"Would you rather have one new recruit and only one filed paperwork, or several and a headache? I know what I want."

The intercom came to life, with Commander Signas reporting "This is Commander Signas." He began "I am going to need all reploids currently cleared for active duty to report to the command center for debriefing."

Axl jumped up off the diagnostic table he was on. "Wait, does this mean I get to shoot things again?"

"Hold on, Axl; you're not out of the woods quite yet. We still need to get an official word on the matter from Douglas."

Douglas checked the screen, double checked it, and found nothing wrong, only that Axl had a different color scheme. He flashed a thumbs up to Palette. "He's fine, he just can't push himself too hard. The medical team worked round the clock to get that head gem fixed."

By that point, there was a distinct lack of an Axl-shaped reploid in the R&D Wing.

-=X=-

"What's the big deal, Signas? It's peacetime. We can't get an off day?"

Axl was confused slightly. He was expecting someone from Red Alert to show up unexpectedly, like Red himself, though admittedly he was in the same boat that Colonel and General were: a ringleader of an uprising that probably shouldn't have happened in the first place. X, meanwhile, looked like he was about to go through another "why must reploids keep fighting" monologue again. "I called you because Dynamo has seemed to resurface."

"Dynamo? Didn't he drop off the face of the earth after the Nightmare incident?"

"That's what we want to find out. Apparently he has reappeared and, while he's not causing any trouble so far, we still would like to investigate where he ran off to."

"Don't tell me that we actually have to fight this joker again."

"If it comes to that; then yes, X, you will have to fight him."

Axl piped up, "why can't I fight him? This Dynamo guy sounds like a decent challenge, plus I could actually shoot a guy after being under for like three months." X responded "All you really wanted to do was just shoot a Maverick? I mean, Dynamo was technically never considered a Maverick, he was a mercenary, but at the same time he was employed by Sigma once, but that's literally all you wanted to do?" X suddenly realized what he was saying. Axl commented "what happened to that 'wuss pacifist X' that we give you such a hard time about?"

Signas said "You aren't cleared yet for duty yet Axl. Someone forgot to file the papers."

Axl grumbled, but he was not surprised. If there was one failing of Pallette, it was her inability to file paperwork. "I'll get you back for this one, Pallette. All right, I'll stay behind then."

"Good man, Axl. You'll learn patience yet."

-=X=-

Axl walked back to the R&D wing, disappointed but not by much. What hurt was that, in a sense, he knew they were right. Three months ago, Axl's head gem was damaged. The one thing they taught Axl in Red Alert was as simple as "don't let your gem get cracked. Otherwise something bad will happen to the DNA. And we don't want that." At first, Axl shrugged it off, since his head gem didn't contain any DNA, and he certainly didn't realize what they were talking about at first. Then he was informed his entire body structure had changed. His armor, originally a black and grey scheme, looked a lot like Lumine's; white and light blue. "What even… happened? Was my gem really destroyed that badly?" he had asked Pallette. "fraid so, Axl."

"Damn. That must have hurt; I couldn't feel a thing."

Pallette was surprised. Most reploids were made to feel pain. "Ooh, did you meet the new recruit yet?"

"Was I… supposed to?"

"You were, if you were in the Hunter Base. She's the new intercom lady. I say that, she more or less is the intercom."

Axl raised an eyebrow. "you installed an AI, didn't you Pallette?"

Pallette shook her head. "It was Alia's idea, not mine. Remember she worked with programming before?"

X told him a little bit about Alia, how she met this cool Gate guy and how Gate went crazy with power. He also told him that Alia was Gate's girlfriend before joining the Hunters. "Is that why she was so good with cyberspace?"

"She was the one who constructed the system. it's not much, but it's her home now. For now, anyway; Zero's been hard at work trying to convince the UEG to get her a body."

"And who is this famous intercom lady that Zero likes so much?"

Pallette looked a little sheepish. She didn't want to tell Axl a damn thing, but that smile of his. It was hard to ignore. "Her name's Iris. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some paperwork to file. Later, Axl."

Axl looked dumbfounded.

-=X=-

Sure enough, Zero wasn't looking forward to meeting with the UEG. As previous commander of the Maverick Hunters, he had some difficulties dealing with some of them. Especially given his prior Maverick standing. "so you're saying that Colonel hid Iris's data away in a server protected by a Repliforce Firewall on your network?" a human said. another one said "we can't go into cyberspace to find out ourselves you know. That is why we had the commander at the time construct those modem ports."

"Even so, how do we know she won't be a threat in the future? Especially given her turbulent history with Zero, who may we remind you, was originally a Maverick?"

Zero could take that hit. "I know what I did was terrible. I ask that you grant her a second chance at life, like you did me."

There was murmurings on the other side of the line. "If we did, we would be no better than Sigma himself. You saw how he kept being revived. You were there to witness it firsthand."

Zero was quick to remind them "You do realize that the whole Repliforce fiasco was due to Sigma, right?"

"Yes, your filings were informative and thorough. We cannot allow you to construct a new body for her, it would go against our laws. However, she would be allowed to occupy an existing body."

"Like the Sigma Virus…"

"Actually, think of it like two souls sharing the same mind. We would allow you to hold on to her if not for your past deeds. You did kill her."

Zero closed his eyes. "and it haunts me to this day. Who do you have in mind?"

"the new generation prototype. We tend to think of it as his guardian angel, to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Axl… that kid's going to hold Iris for him. If she doesn't kill him first. Those two might not get along. "I'll tell him, but don't expect him to like it. Or her for that matter."

-=X=-

Zero relayed Axl the news the following day. Of course he met Iris, he thought, how could he have not met the AI? She was everywhere in the HQ, but only as a hologram. If her brother were still alive, he would probably kill him on the spot if he found out she was going to be living in someone else's body. Axl was filing paperwork to get him back in action, since Pallette didn't do it. "I don't know, man. I only just met her this morning. She seemed nice. What do you need me to do?" Zero told him. He nearly dropped all the paperwork. "you want me to absorb your ex's DNA soul?"

"No one else can. Legally she's dead. You're the only one left with that kind of ability. DNA souls in cyberspace are hard to come by. She will need someone to protect her. I sure as hell wasn't able to."

Axl noticed the sadness in Zero's voice. "Zero, I'd be glad to, but you'll have to get her permission first. She's your ex. She needs to know."

Zero had almost run out the door when he spotted X. "Zero, where were you yesterday? Your comms device was blocked."

"UEG. Iris is going to have to stay with Axl, since we can't build her another body."

"How's she going to take it? You know she'd rather be floating around in cyberspace. Besides, with Axl's recklessness and that head gem still needing a little bit of time to heal…"

Axl got the message. "X, I can take it. if Iris really wants to be here, I can just A-Trans into her, right?"

"She's not the same size as you, Axl. She's about… a foot shorter. Maybe two. How tall was she, Zero?"

Zero never asked for her measurements back then, and he wasn't about to ask now. "All I know is… if Colonel ever finds out about this, he's going to have our heads from beyond the grave. I'll log in and ask her."

After logging on to the Maverick Hunter servers, Zero located Iris. "did you find a home for me? I don't want to be in the intercom forever, you know."

"We found a body for you. It's not a new one, the government said we couldn't rebuild you. They did, however, request that you be placed in Axl's head."

Iris blinked. "the Red Alert kid? Wouldn't Ms. Pallette object to someone using her friend like that? Besides, I heard about what happened on the moon. I'm not sure if he's stable enough to handle a second mind." She looked at Axl from behind the screen. "let alone a female one. Why couldn't you do it?"

"I'm an older model. One of the oldest, according to X. Axl was the prototype for a whole new batch of reploids. He's the only one who still has a copy chip."

Iris said "I don't follow. Your copy chip, Axl… how does it work?"

Axl explained it as simplest as he could, since that's kinda how he did things. "basically, I can take the form of reploids who are the same size as I am. It did come in handy, but I can't say how it works without boring you with technical jargon. Even I can't understand half of it. it's all Greek to me."

Iris scoffed. "I can kinda see where you're coming from. But then again… I am shorter than you. By a foot and a half I'd say, plus I'm not even sure if the data will be compatible. But I'm willing to give it a shot, if only for Zero's sake so that he doesn't have to… you know… be so mopey all the time."

Axl warned her "I will have to capture you though." "Say what?"

X explained. "the only way for Axl to gain a DNA soul is to fire a special copy shot. He is a prototype, and so can't do that to everyone he sees, unlike the planned New Gens."

Zero nodded. He had seen this firsthand, during X's retirement. "Yeah. He tried to copy me once, but it didn't work. Then I chased him around with my saber. Good times." He turned to face the screen Iris was on. "if you don't want to go through with this, Iris…"

"nah it's fine. you won't have some kind of ceremony will you?"

X laughed. "no, don't be ridiculous, Iris. Axl's just going to shoot you. it's nothing big, and since you're an AI it won't hurt much. But you'd rather be in a different body walking around than cooped up here, yeah?"

"Actually I'd rather still be in that capsule. But since you asked…"

-=X=-

They agreed to do this that night, while everyone else was in the recharge pods. Axl's copy chip, known around the office as the Mimic Chip, could hold a bunch of DNA souls at once, even if transforming into one took up energy. The trouble was, Axl did actually have to shoot a target to get its soul. The problem was he only held a few copy bullets at a time, and he had to charge his pistols to get more. He hated having to do that. "Alright… nothing to this… I just need to shoot the intercom in the back, and then Zero's ex would be in me. Simple. Like it usually is."

"Skittish, Axl?"

Someone had caught him. "wah! Don't scare me like that Pally!" it was the blonde navigator assigned to him. Professionally they weren't dating. Individually most of the Maverick Hunters didn't even have a girlfriend. Pallette was usually the only one up this late anyway, but that was because she worked dual shifts as a navigator and R&D. "Axl. You're pointing a gun at the intercom. What's going on?"

Axl told her the truth. "Zero asked you to do WHAT?!"

"hey, the UEG allowed it, quiet down. You'll wake up some people."

"I know, but why the intercom in the back?"

"If you think of it like a prison, I'm just letting her out. According to Signas, that thing's been out of order since… what, Eurasia?"

"she's fine with it too, right?"

"yeah. Alia… knocked her out I guess? She said it would hurt less and give her more time to adjust."

"You know, I'm not comfortable with my boyfriend being a vessel for Zero's dead ex-girlfriend. what if she develops feelings for you instead?"

Axl never thought of that. "think of her like… my sister, I guess? don't worry about it, she's-" Pallette finished up her sentence "a diplomat to your guns blazing, yet scaredy-cat attitude?"

"Yeah! Wait…"

"Axl, if you think you can go through with this, take the shot. I'm not stopping you, I'm just on my way to the nav desk, then I'm getting some sleep. I've got a lot of work to do; training for the newbies starts in 0900, and as a nav I can't be late. See you tomorrow."

Pallette left the area. Axl never did go through official Maverick Hunter training, despite his ranking as Class SA. He thought guilty about that. He heard they were to go up against a simulation of Magma Dragoon, one of the fiercest 14th Unit fighters. X and Zero both often held him in high regard, despite his official standing as a Maverick. There was a reason why they kept a copy of his training data around. "Axl… don't you miss…!"

He took the shot.

-=X=-

Iris woke up. the person sitting immediately next to her was Zero. "How you feeling? Welcome back to the world of the living."

She looked at her hands. They were her hands alright, covered in the same guards that she wore during the Repliforce days. "I thought you couldn't get me a body, Zero… what changed?"

"nothing. You're in Axl's. the data transfer was a success. But…"

"but...? that doesn't sound good."

"Depends on if you want a scar or not. They were his."

"what do you mean, Zero?"

Zero pulled out a mirror. It helped get his hair in check. Iris looked in it. "oh my god. How did this happen to the poor kid? Is that the copy chip's doing? Why am I in my old Repliforce dress?"

"You had a spare dress in your locker. You left it here before you ran off to Final Weapon. Never did bring myself to donate it."

A thought occurred to her. "Iris! You're awake! Looking good, you've even got my scar!"

"what is going on, Axl? What did your copy chip do to me?" she communicated, somehow. "Why do I have your scar?"

"I guess we're compatible. We aren't the same size you know. My copy chip only works when I shoot a reploid that's the same size as I am."

"that makes sense, but… what happened to me? To us?"

"Well it's hard to explain. The UEG certainly didn't think this would happen. It's never happened before when I copied someone else. Now we're both linked, forever."

"what do you mean?"

"take a closer look!"

She looked in the mirror again. It certainly looked like she was in her body, but she had orange hair instead of brunette, and adorning her face was a deep x-shaped scar. She wasn't Iris or Axl. It looked like some kind of fusion between the two. "are you saying, we're FUSED together?"

Zero looked at her. "not necessarily. You two do share the same body. You can switch control at any time. But the catch is you'll always have Axl's identifying feature: his scar. The other catch is that the copy chip is fried."

"that seems like a small price to pay, but given your reaction…"

"also, the UEG wanted to see you. I'd like to accompany as moral support, but they wouldn't let me. Someone still doesn't trust me on the board. Pallette will drive you there. She's Axl's girl, and assigned Navigator. I told her to help you out."

"Poor Pally. She's not going to like this."

"What do you mean, Axl?"

"What, the fact that the Mimic Chip is scrap or the fact that you look like a female me? You could pass for my sister you know."

"but… I…"

"I know. I know. Zero spoke very highly of Colonel, and you don't want to let those memories go. I get that. Red was like an older bro to me too. he must have given me the chip, and now it's gone too."

"So what do we do then?"

"We need to wait and see. The UEG knows we're the same entity. Now we have to convince them to let us stay with the Hunters."

-=X=-

The drive to the UEG chapter went well, all things considered. Pallette freaked out, but she eventually got over it. 'my love life's never going to be the same, but I'll live.' She was quoted. 'you know it's highly likely you'll have to leave us. You'll be put in witness protection or something. Maybe you'll join the Hunters again, if they'll let you.'

Axl felt a little like screaming, but at the same time he knew what the humans were capable of. They were unpredictable at best, harsh at worst. "So… you are Iris or Axl?" the interview began.

"Both. There was a massive problem with the Mimic Chip, sir. Right now it's Iris inhabiting this body."

"Yes. We did have a witness in case the data transfer went wrong. You're lucky you both survived the process relatively… intact"

"Thank you sir."

A human woman, introducing herself as Kalinka, asked "Are you aware of your original serial number, Axl, if I may speak to him?"

Axl took over the body. "Sorry, I'm… still getting used to this new body. I don't know what my serial number is. Never figured it out."

"Are you aware that your serial number is X7-03?"

"No, ma'am. I was never made aware."

"This is true. Normally, we would punish those that wish to resurrect older model reploids, especially those that are considered Maverick. However, as you are no doubt aware, you are an entirely separate case."

"Ma'am?"

"You are an existing reploid who agreed to take Ms. Thorne for your own. Former Commander Zero is no doubt pleased. He was the Commander during the first Sigma incursion, as you are no doubt aware."

"That's what the reports say, ma'am." Axl, controlling the body, asked the burning question "Will I be able to stay with the Hunters? I mean, I know it's not likely. My navigator Pallette told me."

"We would have a problem, if both of you were not… involved with Hunter business in the first place. Commander Signas has told us much about the boy named Axl. So too did Captain X. GA-Class Hunter Zero has spoke very highly of Iris since she was his navigator during the Laguz Island incident. The incident the media called the Soul Erasure."

"You will of course be reinstated as a SA-Class Maverick Hunter. The UEG does not take Hunters' work for granted." Axl let a smile escape his lips "But there is a price to pay nonetheless. Axl; Iris; you two will be in a completely different unit, a separate department, if you will."

"You're putting us in Navigation, aren't you?"

"No. I would not want Axl's variable weapons system to go to waste. Especially when I designed them. I designed you both. Therefore, you two will answer directly to me, Kalinka Cossack."

There was a sudden shudder in Axl's body. All this time, he had never known his creator. He assumed that Iris was also a different person, having been identified as 'Ms. Thorne' "You seem troubled, Axl. Should I speak to your fairer side, then?"

"by-by all means." The control over the new body switched to Iris. "I don't understand. Axl is my brother, and not Colonel?"

"Colonel Thorne is indeed your brother; you were designed by my late husband. Axl was my creation. My son. Think of him like a long-lost younger brother."

The woman turned to her bodyguards. She motioned for them to leave. "What I am about to begin saying does not leave this room. You may tell authorized Hunters such Signas, X, and Zero, no one else. Not even Pallette must know. Do you understand?"

"She's R&D, she's bound to find out eventually."

"Yes I am aware. However, you two must not tell her. She must find out on her own." Kalinka began to speak. "I am Dr. Kalinka Cossack. I am over one hundred years old. I have been studying robotics all my life. When Dr. Cain found X, he reignited scientific improvement. But there was a dark age. Many of my friends, robots of both Dr. Light and Dr. Wily, either were destroyed or went into hiding. I have not seen any of them since September 20XX."

"my creator knows Dr. Light and Zero's dad?"

"Ms. Cossack holds a very high position in the UEG. Even I didn't know this when I was a Hunter."

"however, everyone's time eventually comes. I fear for the day when Death will finally claim me. Either due to Reploid incursions, sickness… old age."

Axl took control of the body. "what do you need us to do, Mom?"

"Axl, my son. My granddaughter, she has been targeted. I have moved her to the States under witness protection, however… someone must have found her."

"I bet it's the Mercenary Dynamo. Commander said something about him resurfacing."

"If that is the case, you must protect her at all costs. She is the last Cossack. The last link between your time and mine. You will be given passports. IDs. A new Serial Number, to help hide your identity. If you wish, you may refer to yourself as either Axl Cossack or Iris Thorne, depending on who controls the body, which you will have to name. you two share it, after all."

"So this body is ours?"

"It will have to be renamed, but yes. You must take care of it, for it is the only one of its kind. One with two DNA souls instead of one. May I speak with Iris?"

Iris took control once again. "Yes, mother?"

"I will say this once, and only once: this is your last life. Should you die, the UEG will not allow you to be revived again. This is a special case, but it is once in a lifetime. Not even I have that kind of power." Kalinka Cossack said sternly. Iris understood. "Very good, my children. Oh, and I have a surprise. Do you remember the battle of Memorial Hall? The events that transpired then?"

Iris, who was in control, nodded. That was the day everything fell apart for her. "We recovered something from the nearby Spaceport. You may find it… nostalgic."

Kalinka took the duo's hand. "come with me."

-=X=-

Zero stood on the Spaceport grounds. This was the place alright. The place when Zero lost his greatest rival and his lover shortly thereafter. The place where the Repliforce died. He turned around to see a familiar face. "Iris! Axl! You two are here!"

The duo reploid stood next to a younger woman, looking at most 35. She wasn't about to reveal her true age, but Zero knew. He never forgot anyone in the UEG. Nevertheless, he was startled. "Senator Cossack. I didn't know you were coming."

"Zero… we have something to tell you. Iris can take over, with Senator Cossack's permission."

Kalinka nodded. Control switched to Iris. Iris sighed. She didn't want to tell him this. "Senator Cossack… is our creator. Our mother. We have been tasked to protect her granddaughter. She reinstated us as an SA-class, but we got to thinking and we can't have that. It would be unfair to have Axl's rank when we are someone else, so… we're retiring from the Hunters."

"Iris. I understand. Things are very different now."

"This is also my 'last life'. If I die, I can't be revived. I want you to know that."

"I know. I died twice. I know how it feels, and it's not fun, Iris. I planned on sealing myself in a capsule for a hundred years to exterminate this damn virus inside me. X was adamant that I come back, but I plan to do it again, and soon."

"Yeah. I read up on the archives. I want to you know; that I love you and I forgive you. My brother was not in a good place. Perhaps he is in a better one now."

Iris fell into Zero's arms. Axl was inside the mind of the new reploid and could take it over, but he couldn't. he couldn't bring himself to do it. It would be awkward anyway. "Iris… when this mission of yours is over, come find me, okay? You too, Axl, I know you're hearing me in there."

Iris nodded. "I promise. I'll find you. And I'll wait for you if I can't."

The two embraced. "Axl, you take care of her. Don't do anything to harm this girl, otherwise I'll lop your head off myself."

"That's the Zero I know."

"Axl, Iris. On behalf of Commander Signas Cain, I accept your resignation. Thanks for being here. For all of us. I'll tell Pallette the bad news; she's gonna take it pretty damn hard, you know?"

The dual reploid gave a mock salute. Zero returned it. "at ease."

Iris and Axl, together linked, walked off into the sunset. Zero knew. He knew all along. "Senator Cossack, a moment please."

-=X=-

New-type Airport in Abel City was very busy this time of year. December 21XX was known for snow. As the mysterious reploid, codenamed 'Axis' was about to check her baggage, another reploid stopped her in the tracks "So you're departing, then?" the checkout concourse lady said. "Yeah," the girl said. "I hear that Giga City Airport isn't so bad this time of year."

"Well, I'm here to check your baggage and serial number. Can't be too careful, Mavericks could pop up at any time. Luckily we have the Hunters to protect us, just in case, right?"

"Sure do. You'll love those guys. Say hi to X and Zero for me, I'm a big fan of their work."

"Sure. May I get your name?"

"Lumina Cross. Serial number XA-18."

"One of the latest generation, huh? Well, my name's Roll. Wanted to be a Hunter for a long time."

"Roll, as in, Roll Light?"

The checkout concourse lady looked shocked. "Um…"

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I'm good at keeping secrets." The girl, Lumina Cross, had been keeping hers for a whole month.

"I'm sure you are. I noticed you have weapons. Two pistols and a beamsaber. You… are a Hunter?"

"I was. I recently resigned. They're still looking for a replacement."

"Well you can't carry them on the plane without a license."

"I know. They belonged to my teachers, passed down to me." Lumina wasn't wrong. "I've been carrying them for a while. I know the rules here. I have my license encoded… I'll give it to you."

"Yeah, it's airport policy." Roll took Lumina's hand. That's where the license data was. "hm… two rapid reload energy pistols, one R-9 Beam Saber, the same one the Repliforce Colonel used. A license for both. You're good, you needn't have worried. There hasn't been an attack on this airport in ten years, but we can't be too careful."

"Yeah. It'll stay that way."

"I hope so." There was a beep on the desk. "All clear, Ms. Cross. You're green to board."

"Thanks. I hope we meet again sometime, Roll."

"Me too, Lumina." She said as she watched the black haired girl leave. "Me too…"

As the reploid girl known as Lumina Cross boarded the plane, she realized that she spent her entire life in Abel City, never once leaving for another town. Air travel has got so much better since the days of old. "Axl, you there?" a feminine voice called out internally.

"yeah yeah. I'm not asleep or anything." a masculine voice responded, sounding a little teenagerish.

"has it been a whole month since we've been Lumina?"

"one month, to the day. Why?"

"I was hoping you would tell me a story on the flight. About how you and Zero met. Because you already know how we met."

"It's kinda funny actually. No one asked me that, not even Pallette."

"You miss that girl?"

"Still think about her. Never got the chance to say goodbye."

"Well don't look now, but there she is. And the rest of her friends too. I guess they're all here."

Sure enough, a young girl, pigtails, waved at her long lost friend. Two tall figures, one with blue hair and one with blonde, nodded at them. It looked like one was wearing a wedding ring. "Layer's engaged? to Zero? I've never seen them together! They look… legitimately happy together." Iris thought.A brown haired man with his blonde friend also looked at them. One waved. "Commander X and Senior Navigator Alia. That's a team I'll never forget." Axl concurred.

"Well, we do need to get on the plane."

"Can we cancel? Or at least reschedule?"

"They know we're Lumina Cross now. We can't cancel. There's no turning back for us."

"Aww… Iris…"

"No, Axl. The least you can do wave back."

So Lumina did, waving goodbye to her friends she had once known from a past life. There appeared to be tears in her eye. "We'll see them again. If not here, then the afterlife. Or cyberspace, whichever comes first."

"You think we should tell X about Roll? How his long lost sister is an airport concourse worker?"

"You know what? He doesn't need to know. Ignorance is bliss; you know?"

"Is that what mom taught us?"

"No… he did."

Lumina stared into the face of a tall reploid. He looked like a soldier, eyes stern like a mountain. His red beard, a metal plate over his chin, he wore proudly. One of his eyes was missing. "That's Colonel?"

"I guess so. You never met him before, have you?"

"Zero only told me so much."

"Good morning. I am Kyle Thorne, your captain and Hunter Escort." He surveyed the scene, and picked out the one person he knew. "Lumina Cross, yes?"

"Um…"

"You should be with your friends. We're not due for takeoff for another hour."

"Maverick attack?"

"No, the weather. It's well too dangerous to fly. We've been delayed. Go."

"Well I guess we're not going anywhere for another hour then."

"Should we…?"

"Axl, it's your lucky day."

-=X=-

"So wait, you two got engaged? Don't tell me, X is the best man!"

The six of them found a private spot in the food court. Despite reploids not needing to eat for energy, many did to keep up the appearances. "Actually, I haven't asked him yet. Thanks for the idea though, Lumina." Zero knew who Lumina really was, but he kept quiet. There was no need to tell, as far as he was concerned, Lumina was an old friend. "I think I might know a maid of honor." Lumina joked.

"Who, you? I can't ask you, people would think it's… weird." Zero responded. "And Pally said no. She had a date planned. She won't make it."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Who's the lucky one, Pallette?"

The pigtailed girl snapped to attention. "His name's Massimo. Steel Massimo. He's a local hero."

"Where is he now?"

"He's… elsewhere. He gets wrapped up in his work. Much like certain others I know…" she glared at X and Alia. "He takes after the best doesn't he, honey?"

"Xavier Light, you dork." Alia knocked him on the head.

"What?"

Lumina giggled. It wasn't every day that the legends themselves came to life like that. "Hey, X. there's a girl who might know who you are. Check in concourse, first sign on the left."

"Uh, who?"

"Roll Light. She's a big fan, always wanted to be a Hunter."

Alia confirmed seeing her in the halls. "She did look familiar. A little like myself, only younger. I'm surprised a child-frame works here. Should we report her?"

"We should have her take the exam. She'll make a fine Hunter."

"X! you're not helping!"

"and you two make a couple." Layer joked. "Lumina, if I may speak to you?"

"Sure! You're engaged to one of the most powerful hunters on the planet. Of course you can talk to me!"

"Layer…"

"It won't take long, Zachary Wily, please wait."

Zero pouted, but there was no reason to. Lumina was pulled aside. "Zachary Wily?"

"Alter-ego. Commander Signas said we each needed them."

"You're serious about Zero, aren't you?"

"Yes. We may have our differences, but there's no one I'd rather fight beside. From one woman to another, thank you."

"I should be thanking you. You're making Zero more like his old self. I can never do that."

"Lumina. That sounds so much like Lumine. The man who destroyed Sigma two years ago."

"It was Axl's idea. He thought… that Lumine was a worthy opponent. Even if it was a cheap shot and he's long dead, we owe our new life to him. So, Axl decided on 'Lumina?'"

"There was a war machine called Lumina during the uprising with Gate, too. Controlled by a waterflea named Infinity Mijinion. Any relation?"

"Nope, none that I can recall."

"Good. We will be in touch. If you need us for anything, you know who to call. And I don't care what Zero says. You can be my maid of honor, Iris."

Lumina looked shocked. "What? What did I say?"

"Well, you do know there's a male reploid in me right?"

"I don't care. He has a fairer side now." Layer smirked. "Zero's being impatient again. I best not keep him waiting."

The Shinobi Unit Leader strode away. "You're going to accept her offer aren't you?" Axl said internally.

"I… don't know… on one hand Zero's happier with her than he ever was with me."

"On the other hand, Senator Cossack…"

"She did say not to interfere with further Hunter business. Our boss is our mother you know."

"I say go for it. Lumina Cross, maid of honor to Zero and Layer Wily. I don't mind."

"What will you be doing then, Axl?"

"Keeping out of the body. I'm not the maid of honor. You are, Iris."

"What? You're just going leave me like that?"

"It's better than the alternative!"

Lumina walked up to Zero and Layer, who were indeed sharing a tender moment. "hey you two lovebirds." Lumina surprised both of them. "I've taken your offer into consideration with my other half. We'll be there for you guys. I'll be your maid of honor, Layer."

Zero just looked at his fiancée funny. "What, Zero? You're blushing."

"I'm not! Okay I am. Thank you, Lumina. We'll let you know when the wedding is. I hope you can make it, you're going to be a very busy girl."

"I just hope Senator Cossack understands. She's the boss."

"She's your creator isn't she?" Layer knew. "Um… I'm not at liberty to disclose that info?"

"I'll talk to her." X said. "we stick up for each other. We're a team. That's what Hunters do."

"Yeah but… Senator Cossack told me I wasn't supposed to be in your hair, X. or Zero's for that matter."

"Hell, I don't mind. I'll talk to her."

"Thank you, Commander X."

"I'm not Commander yet."

X smiled. He always had a nice smile. "Oh, I talked to that girl up on the concourse. Roll, right?"

"Yeah. What's up?"

"She's my sister. She recognized me on sight. Serial number and everything. Said her designation was DLN-002. I'm DLN-X."

"That's awesome! I'm glad you found her. That's one more thing I have to tell the Senator."

"What?"

"oh nothing. You go to your fam, X. you've earned this peace."

"Roger that, Lumina. You may not be a Hunter, but I'm still counting on you to keep the peace."

-=X=-

After saying goodbye to all her old friends; Lumina Cross made it to the plane. "Everything good to go here, Mr. Thorne?"

"Lumina Cross. You made it."

"I'll miss them. I'll miss them a lot."

"You sound like you know from experience. Are you ready for your next journey, sister?"

"Brother. Take me home."

The plane took off. It was going to be a long trip to Giga City. Most of the passengers brought something with them. All Lumina Cross needed was that photo, taken just minutes before. "Old Friends. That's a cute title, Iris."

"Hey… you never told me that story. The one you were going to tell me?"

"the one where Zero and I met? You didn't look it up on the archives?"

"I skimmed over it."

"that… doesn't really count. Alright I'll tell you. I'll tell you because you're my sister."

"I'll laugh. Because you're my brother."

Lumina Cross smiled. This trip won't be so long after all.

-=X=-

Arriving in Giga City wasn't the big deal. Iris and Axl, in the guise of Lumina Cross; kept telling stories about each other. They learned a lot from each other. They laughed, they cried. The issue wasn't arriving in Giga City. The issue was leaving it. "Any news to report?" Lumina's comm device went off. "Lumina Cross. I thought you were not to involve yourself. I heard rumors that you are to attend Zero and Layer's wedding. As the maid of honor no less!"

"Layer approached me first."

"You are aware of what this could mean, right?"

"It means, Senator, that I'm moving on. I don't need Zero or X anymore to protect me. I ran into Colonel on the flight. Did you put him there?"

"He seems to know who you are."

"he might have guessed."

"He might have. Very well. I will inform the UEG of your decision. Your friends do care about you. Immensely. You should always care about them."

"I plan to, Senator. Oh, X found his long lost sister, Roll. I thought you might want to know."

There seemed to be an ounce of joy to her heart. "I will keep her in mind. I cannot visit her in the airport, I am very busy. But do relay this message to her: Welcome back… and welcome home."

"Are you crying, mother?"

"tears of joy, dearest."

"I'll let you get back to your work then."

The comms link shut off.

"how are we supposed to find Kalinka's granddaughter in this city? Do we have a map?" Axl asked

"I didn't buy one on the way out… and we don't have an address."

"What did you mean you didn't buy a map, Iris?"

"I didn't see you paying. Besides, other things on our minds."

"you are… a pretty good diplomat, Iris."

"you are… a good shot, Axl."

A sudden wind dashed past them. Black armor, purple hair, grin the size of Zero's saber. That was Dynamo, the mercenary. Lumina took aim with one of her pistols. "that's Dynamo. He's wanted for various charges."

"what kind of charges, Axl?"

"oh you know, almost blowing up the world with Eurasia?"

"that's not a big deal, we recovered right?"

"stealing 6,000 Nightmare Souls?"

"what are those?"

"kidnapping?"

"ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome?"

"he was one of the reasons Zero died the second time?"

"He hid while he repaired himself. He's tougher than that."

"augh…"

Lumina scanned the streets. "Looks like he's headed towards Dr. Light Academy of Sciences."

"Well, it's a start."

"Of a new hunt right?"

Axl smiled in his mind. "of a new life. Ready, Iris?"

"Ready when you are, Axl!"

The girl named Lumina Cross chased after the mercenary, knowing that they were forever going to be linked.

-=X=-

Dynamo had survived many things. He survived scuffles with B-Class Hunter X and the GA Class Hunter Zero, he survived the fall of Eurasia, he managed to clear himself of the Nightmare Souls, and he had successfully infiltrated one of the top high schools in the world. All in the search for one human girl. A very cute high school girl, human, but still his target. He needed to kill her; which he was going to do. What he didn't expect was this other girl, a mysterious black-haired reploid in white armor carrying a beam saber and two energy pistols at her side, to be standing in his way. He had been easily and summarily defeated. "Not bad, stranger. The Hunters hire you?"

"I'm being paid. That's all I'm telling you."

"A mercenary like me, huh? You work for the Hunters, and you've been trained by the best they have to offer. I can tell. And you're hot."

Lumina balked. "I'm… sorry, what?"

"I've got to go. Keep training hard, and you'll surpass even them! Ja ne!"

The mercenary teleported out. "H-hey…! Come back here!" Lumina complained. "oooooh…" she stomped her foot on the ground. The mercenary got away. "we'll get him next time, Iris."

"He called us hot. I'm insulted!"

"Zero never called you that?"

"No, he called me beautiful."

"Well Pallette seemed to think I was hot. Didn't have the heart to tell her."

"We do still need to file the report for Senator Cossack. The merc got away, but her granddaughter is safe."

The human was scared, but at the same time relieved. She didn't really like reploids that much; her own father and mother were killed by a Reploid attack, and as a result she was sent into protection. "hey, are you okay? It's going to be fine." Lumina asked. "You're safe with me."

"What kind of reploid are you?"

"I'm a… jack of all trades. Combat, bodyguard, teacher, diplomat, companion, friend if you'll let me." Lumina said. "My name is Lumina Cross. I work for your grandmother, Miss, uh…"

"Ciel. Madeline Ciel. You know my grandmother? Is she okay, she's not pushing herself too hard is she?"

"She's… busy all the time. You know how the UEG is. The top brass are very particular about who they trust with info. Someone must have leaked your identity; and I think Senator Cossack is very worried, and since you're a target and someone knows you're here…"

"That's my babushka. Always worrying." Madeline Ciel nee Cossack gave her a smile. "I'll be fine. I have friends who can protect me. You scared away that Dynamo person? You were sent by my grandmother? I'll trust you. You know where my home is, right?"

"She didn't tell me."

"Well, I'll lead you there. School's out by now anyway, but my teacher'll be worried if I miss class again. Same with my friends. I can't leave them. Especially not my boyfriend Beckett. He's human."

"I know how it goes. I had friends I had to leave too. I'll tell you all about them, but you have to keep it a secret, promise?"

Ciel smiled. She'd been keeping hers for a whole month. "I promise."

"Right, so… where to begin…?"

"my parents always said start at the beginning. They were killed by a Maverick about a few years ago, I'd say. By the time the Hunters got there… it was too late. I live by myself now."

"That's sad. I had a few run-ins with Mavericks in the past, and Hunters."

"Tell me about it. On the way home."

Lumina Cross told her everything she knew about Mavericks, Hunters, and her relationships over the years. She didn't tell her about her dual personalities, but she figured Ciel would figure it out eventually, even if she wasn't a Cossack by blood. By that point, the XA generation reploids would be commonplace, and there would be new ones to top those. But there would only be one Iris Thorne, and one Axl Cossack. Ciel took all of this information in, and slept in her bed that night.

"Well, add another to the counter of people that know about us." The voice was Axl. "You did good, Iris. You're a great diplomat."

"Your combat skills are amazing, Axl. I'm surprised you only made it to SA."

"X was B-Class for the longest time, and I looked up to him. You think Dynamo's right? Would we ever surpass those two?"

"I don't think we have to. As Lumina, we're doing a great job. That's all we can ask." Iris looked at Ciel's sleeping form, a blue eye changing to brown, as if to let the world know there was someone else inside her. "She is cute, though. She has a boyfriend, and a steady life. I'd never forgive myself if we took her away from that. We need to call mother."

"She'll go ballistic! You know we're supposed to get her out of here!"

"Then we stay. We'll be her bodyguard. Eventually we'll take her to meet our friends. They'll love her."

"Iris… I don't like this. But I get what you're saying. She has a life of her own. Mom has to deal with it."

Lumina's other eye changed orange. "I agree. She's cute. Cuter than Pallette even."

"Don't let her hear you say that."

Both eyes closed. She too went to sleep.

-=X=-

The next day, Lumina Cross walked Madeline Ciel to school. There were rumors circulating about this new hero that saved their classmate from a maverick mercenary. "Sounds like I'm famous. I'd better keep my guard up." Lumina mentioned. "I didn't tell them a thing. Someone must have found out." Ciel mentioned. "About our secrets?"

"No about the mysterious white armored reploid who saved the class president! You're some kind of hero now!"

Lumina gulped. White Armor was the only thing that Axl kept after the data transfer. And Madeline Ciel was the class president. Things were going to be difficult. Someone was going to ask her to join the Hunters. There would be recruitment for sure. And Senator Cossack would not be pleased. She had appearances to keep up. "I'll… keep that in mind."

"Relax. If anything, you can pose as a student here. This is a co-ed school. Meant for humans and reploids."

"I… I'm not sure. What if they find out?"

"Then we'll tell them the truth."

Lumina frowned. This day would not be easy. As they walked into Dr. Light Academy of Sciences, preparing for the worst, Ciel led Lumina instead of her class to the principal's office. "Ms. Ciel! You have a new friend, it seems. Is this the bodyguard we were informed about?"

"Yes, Principal LaLinde. She saved me from a Maverick. She's my friend."

"I see. Go to class, she'll be with you after school."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Ciel left the area cheerfully. Lumina asked "Ciel seems happy to be here. Is she a good student?"

"She's a good kid. I noticed your eyes are two different colors. They're very unique amongst reploids."

Oh crap. The bichromatic eyes. "You look like you've seen a lot of action with the Hunters."

Oh shit. The scar. "What are you saying, Ms. LaLinde?" Lumina asked.

"Oh, nothing of importance. Only that I know that you saved our class president from danger. You are some kind of hero, but don't let it get to your head. Axl Cossack and Iris Thorne."

Lumina was shocked. Real names. "How… how do you know?"

"You needn't be surprised. The Senator told me you were coming. As for the Hunters, I was X's original operator, Aurora. Aurora LaLinde. I left during the third uprising. Now I lead this school, in the hopes that the lessons Dr. Light instilled in him can endure to the future. He would be proud of Mega Man X. I am proud of my students."

"So… you're not jealous of Alia, are you?"

"What, jealous? Me? Hah! You have had some history with them, between the two of you. No… I'm surprised that X would want to go out with anyone."

"Zero and Layer are engaged, do you know?"

"I had no idea. Zero seemed like the kind of person who liked brunettes, not blue."

Lumina's brown eye twitched. "But I digress. The Senate wouldn't be happy if I spilled the beans here, so to speak. So you are Lumina Cross. Madeline Ciel's reploid bodyguard, and a student at Thomas Light Academy of Sciences. I won't take no for an answer, and I expect you to do well. The next semester starts in a few months. It is too late in the semester for you to enroll now, so suddenly. So you will start then. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Aurora turned to the window. "I look forward to you being here. You are free to go, but do give my regards to X. here's his contact info. he is, after all, the last Light."

-=X=-

"We probably should've told her." Axl conversed.

"Why? No one should know about Roll and her cushy airport job. They'd fire her for sure! And then what would she do?"

"Lumina!" it was Ciel. "Principal LaLinde told me everything! You're going to be a student here next semester!"

"She was very…. Persuasive." Lumina agreed. Wait, everything? "What else did she tell you?"

"Don't worry, she didn't inform me of your split programming disorder."

Lumina raised an eyebrow. "programming… disorder?" that's the same kind of term used to describe Mavericks.

"There's two souls floating in your head. One's orange, one's pink. I can see them." Ciel said cheerfully. Then her face turned to sadness. "It's because of that ability that I've been targeted. I call them Cyber-elves…because they float around and look like elves to me. I know, it's a funny name."

Ciel can see DNA souls? That shouldn't be possible. DNA souls were invisible inside a reploid. Usually they take a crystal form outside. "No one believes me. My mother… she said I was special."

"You should tell the Hunters. They'd believe you."

"And risk losing all my friends? No thanks." Ciel replied. "I would like to meet one someday though. Especially X and Zero. They're big time heroes around here. They built the school. They don't serve as board of directors, but I guess that's what the UEG is for, right?"

"Right. I'll walk you home."

"Ooh, I have to introduce you to my friends! They'd love to meet you!"

Ciel dragged Lumina by the arm to meet her friends.

-=X=-

The Maverick Hunter base was busy. As busy as it used to be with Sigma around, in fact. X was in his office. Then the comms unit rang. "You've reached Commander X. Lumina? How'd you get my number?"

Lumina smiled and said "an old nav friend of yours gave it to me. She runs the Academy of Sciences. She says hi."

"Aurora gave it to you? She must like you a lot."

"She persuaded me to enroll. My charge, Madeline Ciel, also convinced me to be her bodyguard. She's a big fan of yours. Say hi Ciel!" "Hi, you're Mega Man X, aren't you?"

X laughed. That was usually how it went. "Signas was right." Lumina continued. "Dynamo was in the area."

"You don't have to face him, you know. You're not on the roster anymore."

"Yeah. I know. I'll let you guys handle Dynamo. I'll protect Ciel. That's what I'm here for."

"I'm glad you're settling in, you two."

Lumina smiled. "Oh, uh how's your sister? How's Roll?"

"We hired her, as a nav-in-training. The Senior Navigators are teaching her. She'll be a Hunter in no time. Between you and me though, she's a neat freak. I mean, I was told that already from the archives, but I didn't know by how much."

"I'm glad to hear that!"

"Yeah, it's pretty surreal. Having a sister I didn't know still existed and yet was in front of me the whole time."

"I know those feels, X."

"You sure do." X smiled. "I'm breaking contact now. Tell Principal Aurora I said hi too. Stay out of trouble, Lumina."

"Yes, dad, sheesh."

X broke contact. He was considered the progenitor of the reploid race, after all. They were in a way his descendants, but like humans, every single one of them was different. Lumina Cross was no exception, even if there were two of them. It was a big responsibility. He wondered what Dr. Light would think about that. He ran into a few of his capsules containing his AI. If Roll ever found one… she'd want to give him a hug, and fall into one accidentally. There was one in the back, but it held no armor data, just an AI. He contacted his sister. "Roll? I think there's someone you need to meet."

-=X=-

Lumina had been dragged by Ciel to the meeting place, so of course Ciel would've heard the whole story. "I still can't believe you know Mega Man X. That's crazy! And he has a sister, too? what's she like?"

"I only met her once, at the airport on the way here. She seemed nice, she was a child-frame, but seemed older than any reploid in production. You'd probably have a hard time seeing her cyber-elf."

"I'll bet. What was that about X being your dad?"

"You know that reploids are based on X's schematics. Some are modified, some aren't, we're all given a serial number and a unique DNA soul. In my case, I have two. The orange one's male and the pink one's female."

"How's that possible? You're classified as female. How can you have a male soul, too?"

Lumina stopped talking. There were some things humans shouldn't know. "well… I was designed that way." she said. Ciel didn't believe it. "Bullshit. If I have you for a bodyguard, especially one that used to work for X, I need to know everything about you."

Lumina sighed. It was time. Ciel probably wouldn't believe it either. "the two souls that live inside me are Axl Cossack and Iris Thorne. Axl is the male. He was a prototype for a new generation of reploids. Iris is the female. She was one half of the Perfect Soldier program. It was a little before your time. They're considered siblings."

"Is that why Grandma sent you? To keep an eye on me? I can see why, she's a bigwig in the UEG. She's the one who sent me away from mommy and daddy, after they were killed."

"That's not all. Both of them were involved with the Maverick Hunters. Axl was an SA Class Hunter and had the ability to copy reploids. Iris was a navigator, and liaison to the Repliforce program."

"I remember reading about that. Iris died, yeah? Zero must have been…"

"Zero was. But her brother backed her up in the Maverick Hunter database before he died. Axl was the only one of his kind, he played a huge part in defeating Sigma once and for all."

"I read that too. You two never met up until a few months ago, right?"

"Yeah. Both of their serial numbers are retired now. Iris's was retired years ago. Axl's was only retired last month."

"I'm so sorry, I know you can hear me in there. Axl, my brother and Iris, my sister. You two are something else. I'm glad you told me the truth." Ciel said. "That's what a bodyguard is for, right?"

"Now you know our secret. The Senator's going to be so mad."

"You were created by her right? By Grandma?"

Ciel knew. "I won't tell anyone. For all I know, you're Lumina Cross. My bodyguard and my friend. That's all I care to know. They don't need to know that Senator Cossack chose or created you. What I want to know is… why would you ever leave the Maverick Hunters? Why would you want to leave your friends?"

Lumina's face… it told Ciel all she needed to know. "I see. You don't want to be reminded of your past lives. That's hard to do. I'm so sorry."

The two embraced. "Well. This is awkward. I'm hugging a girl and a boy at the same time in an alleyway. There's probably hidden cameras all around watching our next move."

"Wouldn't put it past the Senator. She probably already knows by now."

"Still want to meet the rest of my friends? I'll tell them… you're Lumina Cross. A new reploid who's going to school with me next semester. They'll be surprised."

"I look forward to meeting them."

Lumina stepped out of the alleyway, with Ciel. There would have to be more explaining to do, eventually.

-=X=-

"X! Wake up!" Zero was in front of X's recharge pod. "the UEG asked for us. I told them you were asleep."

"What did they say?"

"They wanted a report on Lumina Cross's transition progress. I told them, she's no longer a Hunter."

"That's true. They did resign. Signas signed those papers himself."

"I also told a certain birdie that our new recruit is a Navigator in training. She seemed happy to know. She's making a stop at the base, before she heads to Giga City to... inspect her creation."

"I… forgot to tell you that. I got a call from Lumina. She saw Dynamo in the area. Apparently he was easily defeated, but ran off."

"Did she? I'll make a note of that to Signas."

"She's also attending… a high school. Thomas Light Academy of Sciences. She starts next semester."

Zero's face was hilariously busted. "You're kidding! That's the top school in Giga City!"

"No, I don't kid. It was Aurora's idea."

"Small world, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm sure Signas is expecting me."

"He is. Senator Cossack will be here any minute."

-=X=-

Kalinka Cossack was Russian in origin, but she studied robotics from a young age under her father, Mikhail Cossack. He was colleagues with Dr. Light. How she managed to survive to over one hundred years of age and not just not die but look no older than thirty five was a mystery to everyone. Some say that Kalinka found the fountain of youth. Others say she was locked in a capsule like X. Still others say that Kalinka was actually her mother. Only a few people know the truth, and all of them were dead. Well, almost all of them. She entered the Hunter base on a routine inspection. What she expected to find was a quiet, but messy base. She was not prepared for the cleanliness. But that blonde girl at the navigator's desk caught her totally off guard. "Ka-Kalinka-chan?"

"Dearest Friend Roll. It's so good to see you after all these years. A century it seems."

She ran from her desk to give her old friend a hug. "I missed you so much, Kalinka-chan! Where were you? When we heard Protoman died in your arms, we all hid ourselves. Rock-kun, he wasn't so lucky."

"Friend Roll…"

"You know you're not just here to catch up. Commander X-kun told me. You're here for inspection. You just had to see me first, though, didn't you?"

"Yes. I did. Can you show me to the Command Center, for old time's sake?"

"Kalinka… I'd love to!"

-=X=-

Kalinka and Roll made their way to the Command Center. "Greetings, Senator Cossack. I see you already met our newest recruit." Commander Signas said. The Senator smiled. "she and I go far far back. What's the status on Project Axis?"

"Lumina Cross is making new friends. She's attending high school now."

"Good. I'll have to visit her."

"She also ran into Dynamo. The mercenary we've been tracking? He ran off, but your granddaughter is safe."

Roll's eyes widened. "Granddaughter?"

"Yes. Are you that surprised, Dearest Roll?"

"I guess… I've got a lot to learn still. First I find out that reploids are based on X's design, then I find out my best friend has a granddaughter! That's so cool! I met Lumina in the airport! She referred me to the Hunters!"

Signas smiled "Then we owe her more than we think. We'll keep observing her."

"You don't need to do that, surely, Commander Signas. Lumina can take care of herself. I noticed she was a Hunter. She'll do fine."

"Dearest Roll… How did you know?"

"She had a license, and that look I see from Hunters who see a lot of battle these days. It's not hard to put two and two together! She was a Hunter."

"There's more to the story, Dearest. X will tell you more. I am busier than you'd think being Senator."

"Well then, I just have to ask my brother. I'll see you around!"

Roll left. Signas laughed. "Dearest Roll? How far back do you know her?"

"I'd say… for about 87 years. She was my best friend. She'll make a great Hunter."

-=X=-

After inspection, Roll met her long-time friend outside Hunter HQ. She was just about to meet her motorcade. "Do you really have to leave so soon?"

"I must. I have to check on my other children. Lumina Cross. X told you?"

"He did. Two souls in one. I can't believe father didn't figure that out before! That's how far we've got."

"There is a lot more to that, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. Roll, did I ever tell you I'm dying?"

"Humans always die. Dr. Light died before finishing X. Dr. Wily died before finishing Zero. Your father, Mikhail, died of a broken heart. Pretty soon, you'll be joining them. You'll say hi to Blues-kun up there for me, will you?"

"Dearest Roll. You always were the best, the most mature of the DLN-series. I can see why you were my best friend."

"Get going, Kalinka-chan! You've got some children of yours to meet, and I have a new job! Say hi to Lumina-chan for me!"

"Good luck in your new field. You'll make a fine Hunter."

"Sayonara, Kalinka-chan!"

Kalinka entered her car. "Dasdavandya, Roll…"

As she watched the old woman speed off to the airport, Roll realized that this would be one of the last times she would see her friend. She was very busy, and dying on top of that. A tear left her eye. "Roll…" she turned to see her boss Alia. "Alia!"

"You've turned out great. I'm here to tell you about your Navigator's Exam. You passed. Congratulations."

"I couldn't let my brother down. He'd be a mess if I did."

"Roll, are you going to miss the Senator? I know she was your old friend."

"Of course I am! When she dies, I'll be there for her. He'd want that."

"Who?"

"Protoman. DLN-000. You wouldn't have met him, his core was faulty and ran out of juice. He died in her arms."

"I want to know how you survived this long, Roll. It's been one hundred years since then."

"Honestly… I woke up a lab. The same lab they found Zero in, I'm told. My core was upgraded to use the same reploid core you guys do, but I'm still X's little sister. Even if I'm technically older than him. I managed to land a job at the Airport. There was no way to identify me, since I'm older than X. But one of the reploids took pity and took me in. His name was… Vava. He seemed distant, almost like he was a Maverick. I'm told he was one. Even if he was, I… owe my new life to him."

"that's funny. Vava was a Maverick under the alias Vile. He's in our prison system. He had some run-ins with us."

"So he did."

"He killed a lot of humans and reploids. He's dangerous. And yet he took pity on a robot girl he couldn't have known. I'll let your brother know."

"Please do. I would like to see his face. He never showed me his face."

-=X=-

Vile was a dangerous man. Former right-hand man to Sigma. "You have a visitor, Vile. It's Commander X."

"What's he doing here? Come to gloat?"

X walked into the room. "No, I come to thank you. With an offer."

Beneath his helmet, Vile blinked. "You serious? What for?"

"You found my little sister, Roll. I'm told you took pity on a robot girl half your size. That's… actually very Hunter-like of you. What's more, you got her a job at the Airport; that's how we found her."

"You found that girl?" Vile smiled. "She's a Hunter now isn't she?"

"Fraid so. She just passed certification for Nav. Vile. We can't allow you to roam free, you understand."

"Yeah, my sentence is final. I'm a dead man."

"Are you sure? The Hunters have requested a lighter sentence. She has friends in high places… and Sigma, your boss, has been dead for four months."

"Sigma was never my boss."

"Still. It would be worthwhile to accept a lighter sentence. Life is better than death."

"That's one thing I always hated about you, X. I'll take it. For her sake, not yours."

"Still taking pity?"

"Doesn't matter either way. I'll still never see you again, at least."

-=X=-

X left the prison with a signed note. The Maverick known as Vile would remain at that prison, alive. Zero would not be happy. Axl wouldn't know. Roll would. "Sometimes it's hard being Commander." He sighed. He put the signature into the records. "X-kun!" news travels fast. "I heard the news. And I heard what he is. You're keeping him alive?"

"Yeah. The UEG wouldn't be happy with me letting the famed criminal Vile get off with life sentence."

"I knew a criminal too. his name was Bass. He disappeared in to the blue, whenever I was around. Seems like he was scared of me."

"Maybe he had a crush on you?"

"Yeah I'm sure. He was usually with Wily. Helping, sometimes hindering his plans. But one time he came to our house… without Wily. His face was so sad. I'll never forget those words 'Doctor Wily is dead. I'll have to hide. People will think I did it.' I never saw him again."

"You'll find him, I'm sure. Lumina found you."

"I think the police caught up to him. I'm pretty sure he's deader than a doornail. There's no records of him anywhere, much like Wily. He and Light… they had a falling out before I was created. Light got all the fame. Wily got none of it. I'm surprised that you and Zero are best friends, honestly."

"There's a story to that."

"I'd like to hear it. I'm going to bed. Maybe he'll tell it to me as sort of a… bedtime story, someday?"

"You know what? He wouldn't mind that. Maybe you'll tell me about my predecessor too. I never knew him."

"You want to know about Rock?"

"Sure. It'd be a history lesson, from one who was there."

-=X=-

Roll told X a long story. He figured that Roll had some stories to share. The most interesting one to him had to do with Roboenza. All robots came down with it. He thought that it was the predecessor to the Maverick Virus, from what she described. By the time she finished, she was dead tired. X found a bed for her to sleep on. It wasn't a recharge pod, just a human bed Axl had. He often laid in it to clear his thoughts. "I wonder how you're doing, buddy… My sister and I are reunited, thanks in part to, ironically, Vile. And thanks in part to you and Iris. Taking the form of Lumina Cross. You're an angel to her. She's on your bed right now. Sleeping peacefully. She told me everything she knew about the past. Now it's up to you to protect the future Dr. Light and Wily worked so hard to achieve. Both of them." X said to himself, writing an email to the girl. "Who'd have thought it be all three of you to bring us together? I can only hope it stays that way."

"the Hunter Orientation Ceremony is tomorrow. Zero and Layer's wedding is in two weeks. I hope you can make it to both. Signed, Mega Man X; Commander of the Maverick Hunters." he hit send.

-=X=-

"hey Lumina! You've got mail! It's from… Mega Man X!" Ciel said excitedly. Lumina wasn't exactly used to how Ciel handled her email. "Let me see!" Lumina said, and read the email. "Wow… I thought Vile would've been dead years ago. Wait… Roll's a full-fledged Hunter? X wants me to be at her orientation?"

"She's that girl you met at the airport, isn't she?" then it hit her. "Zero and Layer? Getting married?"

"I didn't tell you I was the maid of honor, did I? Remember, I was his girlfriend back in the day."

"Iris was. And now Iris is half of you. You should totally do that!"

"the Orientation is tomorrow, but I don't know if I can make it. I was told not to get involved with Hunter affairs."

"Well you can teleport, still, right?"

Lumina looked at her chest. "It was taken out. I can't teleport. I'd need a trans-server now."

"Bummer. Wait, Principal LaLinde! She's a reploid, she can help you out!"

"And risk blowing my cover? I don't know…" Lumina said. "I'd have to take you with me, though. Bodyguard."

Ciel beamed. "Come on! We'll ask her!"

-=X=-

Principal Aurora LaLinde was very helpful, as Ciel predicted. The two were transported to Hunter HQ, in Abel City, for two and a half weeks. "This place. It brings up memories." Lumina said. "Some good, some bad." At the door was a reploid, familiar with the two. "Greetings. Commander X is expecting you, Lumina Cross. He wasn't expecting a friend, but I assume this is your charge?"

"This is Madeline Ciel. She's a friend alright. She's here under my protection."

"I'll let them know you're here. The Commander spoke very highly of you. He didn't tell us why you were coming, though, but I assume it is Official."

"We're here as guests for the Orientation. We have a friend who's passed certification."

"Ah, you must mean… Alia's young friend. She passed her own combat training."

"Alia's certified for combat, too?"

"She just took the test. She surprised us all."

A Blue-armored warrior opened the door. "Thank you, Mr. Gate. I'll take it from here." This was Mega Man X. "Yeah, Alia took the test. She's a good shot with the Buster."

Lumina gave him a hug. "yeesh, you may want to get off, Zero might get jealous." She released him. "How've you been, Lumina?"

"I've been transitioning well."

"I heard. I heard also you're attending high school. Axl never took the test, he technically was SA-Class based on what he could do in the field. This will be his first time going to school."

"Mr. X?"

X noticed the other girl. "You must be Ciel. Lumina told me about you. She's taking the bodyguard role well?"

"She's my friend. Of course she would! Besides, Principal LaLinde would have her head if she didn't."

"Yeah, Aurora's like that. I'll ask Roll if she knows a LaLinde, though. The name sounds familiar. Orientation is today. I assume that's what you're here for?"

"Yes!" both human and dual reploid replied. "Well, come with me."

-=X=-

"There was a time when I thought I could do everything alone. As the original, the one all of you are based on in some form, it's a huge responsibility. Some of you are old friends. Some of you are older than you think. Some of you changed specializations. Some of you are siblings. Some of you just want to be a hero in some way. But no matter what, no one can do anything alone. We are a team. You respect that and you remember it. From here on out, you are all Maverick Hunters. You will defend the world. And you will do it well. I have faith in all of you." X had announced during the commencement speech. There was applause. "When I call your name, please step up to the stage to receive your badge. Alia Cain!"

The girl X met during the Eurasia incident, had recently achieved fighter status. She took her badge. The list went down alphabetically, until it reached F. "Forte Wily!"

There was shock in one of the rows. Then, applause. The list continued to R. "Roll Light!"

The child frame robot saw her brother's rival, now to be her partner. "This is your Maverick Hunter Class of 213X! Make us all proud out there!"

A roar of applause.

-=X=-

"Bass, you made it alive! AND you're a Maverick Hunter!" Roll felt tears of joy. "I can't believe it!"

The black armored robot proudly declared, "Of course! I'm the strongest! You had better believe that." then he wondered. "your brother's Mega Man X? Best friends with Zero, huh?"

"He told me. Wily would be so pissed, now that his two best creations fight evil."

"Well, I was told a little something about justice on the way here. I thought you were at the airport, not a Navigator."

"Well, I took the test. It took a little prodding, from my friend, Lumina."

"Lumina? I'd like to meet her someday." Bass said aloud. "Then again… I've got you, don't I?"

"As your partner, I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

The two robots walked arm in arm out of the stadium. Zero didn't know the meaning of this. "X… your sister is latching on to the new guy. What's the meaning of this?"

X told him via comms. Zero was shocked. "He's my brother? For real? I thought he… Ah well. Want me to tell her she's off limits? No? They've known each other for years? Well. Alright. If you say so. Zero out."

-=X=-

Lumina Cross found herself back in R&D. She had a visit to make. "Ms. Cross! You aren't supposed to be here!" Douglas, who still worked Senior R&D Supervisor, had stopped her. Lumina asked, "Does Pallette McNamara still work in this division?"

"She transferred to another branch. Megalopolis. Same one Steel Massimo works with."

"Oh…"

"I'll get her contact info for you. You are a dear friend to her, she spoke about you nonstop before she left. I'm very proud of that girl."

"So am I, Douglas. She still owes me big time for forgetting to turn in those papers, though."

Lumina left the R&D area. Douglas thought he was seeing things. "Axl? No, it can't be. Axl's serial was retired. I'm going blind in my profession. Back to work then."

-=X=-

Lumina met up with the girl from the airport, talking to what she could only assume was her boyfriend. "Lumi-chan! I'm so happy you made it! This is Forte, my assigned partner, and a friend of mine from way back!"

"Lumina Cross, huh? Good to know someone cared enough about my girl to get her pushed in my direction again. We're happy for you. I heard Commander Zero's getting married in a week. That guy's nuts."

Lumina smiled. "Congrats, both of you. You two are cute. Maybe you two'll be next."

"Who knows, Lumi-chan? You're a good person. Maybe you'll catch the bouquet instead."

"Maybe. I don't have anyone though… not yet."

Forte looked at his friend's friend. "Cheer up, Lumina. You'll find someone. You'll find them where you least expect it. That's how love works."

"Bass-kun!" Roll looked at her partner, blushing.

"Have any of you seen Ciel?"

"She's in Commander Signas's office, talking to her grandmother."

"Alright, thanks Roll. Wait what?"

-=X=-

Lumina Cross was expecting Ciel to be with Signas. She didn't expect Kalinka Cossack to be there too. "Senator Cossack! I… I can explain!"

"You'll explain nothing, children. Ciel told me everything. What you have done is… very good for the world at large."

"What do you mean, grandma?"

"She's reunited several people with dear friends. She's done so much for my family, and she is not a Hunter. The UEG recognizes this."

Signas said "She's made peace with her past. And stepped forward into the future. It looks very bright for all of us. We'd be honored if you would join our ranks again."

"Sorry, I can't." Lumina shocked Signas, Ciel, and Kalinka. "Even if you made me Commander, I can't. I'd rather find my own path, and walk that down. I'd be a mercenary, but I'd rather be a bodyguard."

"What if there was a way you could be both? There was a plan. A plan for Reserve Hunters. We codenamed them the Irregular Hunters, prior to Sigma's downfall. I informed Senator Cossack of this. She's your creator and you answer to her. So, you'd be the first independent Hunter. You have the skills and the license to back it up. You'd also be the only one. She was very… adamant about it."

"I'll give it some thought after the wedding. Do you have a minister?"

"Yes. Me. There will have to be a human witness. It's policy. I'd ask Senator Cossack to do it, but she is very busy."

Lumina gave it some thought. Then "what about Ciel?"

"your charge? I can't ask her to do that, I don't have the authority."

Kalinka said "I do. Madeline Ciel is my granddaughter. As a Senator, I can send her to be my witness in my stead. She is very human, I can assure you."

Ciel smiled. "I will do that, Babushka. I'll be their witness. After that, I'm getting back to school. Lumina is attending next semester. She'll be my classmate, my bodyguard. My friend. My hero."

"That can be arranged, my dear. Make sure your relationship to the UEG remains a secret. We don't want it getting out again."

Signas said "Then it's settled. Lumina Cross, you are now freelance. You will have a liaison in mind, I'm sure."

"I don't know. Does Kyle Thorne still work in Abel City?"

"He flies planes in and out of Abel City. He's an Escort. He'll be… surprised, for sure. And proud of what his siblings became."

"Thank you Supreme Commander Signas."

"That's another thing I need to mention. I'm planning to retire. I'll need to name a clear successor. I was thinking X, he's been here since the beginning."

"I'm sure he'll be honored, sir."

"These old bones… they're getting older by the day. There will be a time when my serial number is retired. X5-00S. It will leave the system. Like Iris Thorne and Axl Cossack. And then… my DNA Soul will leave my body. It'll become a husk, ready for recycling."

Ciel shuddered, but said "I can see your soul. It's green. There's some black in it, too, but there's also a lot of white. Your cyber-elf… I can see them. I can see them all."

Signas wondered. His usually analytical mind raced. "Cyber-elves… can you see all the Reploids' cyber-elves?"

Ciel simply said "Yes. But I keep that ability to myself."

Lumina said "That's why she needs a bodyguard. Keep it out of the wrong hands."

"Good girl. Both of you are dismissed. We'll see you at the wedding."

-=X=-

The day finally arrived. All currently employed Hunters, including those still in training, were at the ceremony. Ciel was the witness, Signas was the minister. X was the best man, Roll the flower girl. Layer Omega and Zero Wily. Of course, the Wily name was tarnished from history, so Zero settled on using his wife's surname. "Dearly beloved. We are all here, to witness the holy matrimony of Zero and Layer Omega. They will be a team. A team like no other before them."

"Zero, do you take your beloved, in sickness and health 'till death do you part?"

The answer was simple and true. "I do."

Layer was next. She said "I do."

"Then by the power vested in me by the Maverick Hunters and the United Earth Government, I now pronounce you both man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

So there was. There was a roar of applause. Some tears were shed by the female hunters. Lumina shed no tears. She was happy for them both. "I never thought I'd see the day, when Zero gets married. To Layer of all people." Axl signified to his sibling. "Are you cryin', Iris? Or is that Lumina?"

"It's both, Axl. But they're tears of joy. Layer's going to be really happy. So's Zero. They'll make a fine couple, a fine team. A fine family. I just wish Kyle was here to see this."

"Colonel Kyle? He's in the front row. He's angry. But he's happy too. I can tell. He's got a big ol' smile. Pally's still at the other base, huh?"

"Actually, she's in the front row too. Douglas called her and she arrived just in time. Everyone's here."

-=X=-

Zero and Layer Omega went off in the former's ride chaser. The window had "just married" written on it. They knew, and they wanted the world to know it. "I had them take a week off. Honeymoon." X said to reporters, who wanted to know what will become of the newlyweds. "They'll be back before you know it."

"Quint, Chronos Magazine. Commander X, is it true your DLN sister Roll and the SWN series robot Bass are Maverick Hunters?"

"I'll say this much: I didn't help them in any way. They earned their spot."

"is it also true that Senator Cossack-" the reporter was rebuked with a sly "no comment."

"Plum from Megalopolis Gazette. What will become of Lumina Cross? The maid of honor?"

"That's something you'll have to ask her. Project Axis is still in development, that's all I can say. Any further questions?" X was scary good at the PR game.

-=X=-

Lumina looked back on the photo she took at the airport. Then, she looked at the photo taken with the Hunters at the base. Her friends. Supreme Commander Mega Man X had a good ring to it. Alia caught the bouquet at the reception. Bass was recorded as saying "oooooh, you're going to have to work double time now! Better not disappoint me! Or Roll for that matter!" Zero and Layer… wherever they went, they'd be together. At least until Zero seals himself in that capsule; he'll tell about Layer eventually. Ciel told her "they all have different Cyber-elves. Zero's is red, with dark purple. I guess a left over from the Maverick Virus. Colonel's is dark red, with gray. X's is pure blue. Alia's is gold. Pallette's is teal. Layer is purple with red. Your twin soul is orange and pink. Roll and Bass have red and white, and black and yellow respectively. They'll make great hunters, in time."

"They made a family together. I can't ask for anything more."

Lumina stepped onto the trans-server platform to head back to Giga City. She'd have her own challenges to face. Before she stepped on, she logged onto her old desk one last time. It would be occupied by Roll now. The password never changed, but she would do it eventually. There was a news site clipping on the browser, an obituary. "Dr. Kalinka Cossack, December 30, 20XX – January 2, 213X. The world mourns as Senator Kalinka was found dead today of natural causes at her home, at 121 years old. Grandmother, historian, senator, roboticist, friend. She will be missed by all of her co-workers at the United Earth Government, and her liaisons at the Maverick Hunters. The world will forever change with her passing. She is survived by three grandchildren: human student Madeline Ciel, Hunter Escort Kyle Thorne and reploid bodyguard Lumina Cross. She will miss them all." A tear left Lumina's eyes. This was a mere two days after the wedding. Roll understood. She provided the speech at the funeral, the picture in the obituary, and the quote in the paper. She'll miss her friend too. She never looked sadder than she did that day.

"I'll bet she died of happiness." Axl said. "This may have been her ultimate goal."

"Either way, she's at the pearly gates now. A better place. A happier place. More peaceful." Iris confirmed.

"What's it's like? Being 'dead'?"

"Serene, but honestly? I thought that staying dead was the best option, actually. Now, I guess I was wrong. I guess this is what it's like to come back to life. Sigma must have felt the same way, or he wouldn't have came back to life every time."

"Yeah, except he was Maverick. You were inspired by him when backed up your data, weren't you?" Axl asked. Iris confirmed that. "I knew it." Axl said. "But we're not a computer virus; those can multiply. We only got three lives to live. We spent one each between us. This is it. Our last life."

"Axl, that's deep…"

"That philosophy wasn't mine. I played a lot of old school video games back in Red Alert. Vintage stuff, from 199X. I was surprised they still worked. They used things called cartridges, can you believe that?" two eyes, orange and brown looked at the desk, once occupied by the then-love of Zero's life. It was red and blue, adorned with an R, with a star in the middle. "This was your desk, right?"

"Yeah, Pallette took it over I'm told. Zero never got around to tossing my stuff, he couldn't bring himself to part with them. Now Roll has it."

"You know what? Let me write something down for you."

"There's pen and paper to your right. You do know how those work, right?"

"Actually… I don't know what to say."

"Well then, we'll write together."

Lumina closed the window. She wrote down a note on the tablet to the right.

"This was my old nav's desk, Roll. It belonged to the hunter before her too. It's yours now. Take good care of X. Take good care of everyone. Your Friend, Axl Cossack. SA-Class Maverick Hunter, Serial number X7-03. retired." His signature was messy, but recognizable.

"My old Repliforce dress is in my locker. Passcode: General. Zero will know what both of those mean. Take it. It belongs to you now. Sincerely, Iris Thorne. formerly of Tactical Communications and Navigations, serial number X4-97B. retired." Her signature was elegant. Almost calligraphic.

"I'll come back to visit, someday. You hold down the fort while I'm gone. I'll miss you. -Lumina Cross, freelancer. Serial number, XA-18." The signature was a mixture of the two styles. A smiley face was drawn on it, as if to let her know that they'll be alright.

Her work done, she stepped onto the platform once again, inputting the coordinates for Thomas Light Academy of Sciences, Giga City. A light surrounded her and shuttled Lumina Cross back home.

-=X=-

the young girl from Moscow made it home. She saw two, three old men sharing a laugh. "Papa? Light? Wily?"

"Dearest Kalinka, you've finally made it. Welcome home."

"Ach, that's so sweet. It makes me sick, Mikhail. But you what? You deserve it."

"and you don't deserve it?"

"Nope! My eldest son got married. He changed his surname. his brother and Light's daughter finally found love. The Wily Wars are over. They just need to be forgotten."

"Albert, you know that's not true."

'Thomas, take the credit! This is your world, not mine."

Kalinka smiled. "Dr. Light is right. We all have legacies to taken care of. My grandchildren, and your creations."

Mikhail, the youngest, hugged his only daughter. "Grandchildren? I don't... you married someone else?"

"I lived for a long time. one hundred and twenty one years. Long enough to move on. You have four... make that now five... great-grandchildren. Madeline, Axl, Iris, Kyle, and Lumina. They're all great kids... You'll meet them eventually, Papa, Drs."

"I bet I will, dearest daughter."

"Oh, and Dr. Albert Wily?" she asked her mutual acquaintance, in her cheerful voice. "You can kidnap me anytime!" she smiled. "You were like a crazy uncle to me, but you're still part of the family. I don't mind."

"Albert, If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's taken a liking to you."

"Thomas! Mikhail, control your daughter!"

"She's grown up, Albert. I can't control her anymore." the young man shrugged. "She turned out to be a fine woman. A wise one. Wiser than perhaps all of us."

"Oh, very well..."

Drs. Light, Wily and two Cossacks. Reunited at last. But there was one missing. "Where's Blues? I want to see how he likes being... dead."

"Protoman left. He... left early. Something about fulfilling a last wish?"

"Some things will never change... Wait... My will! I forgot to write one! Augh... now I'm panicking!"

"Runs in the family, doesn't it, dearest daughter?"

"I'll have to kick his robotic can if he gets back."

"When he gets back. He'll want to see you. He loved you, Dearest Kalinka."

"Da. I loved him too, Papa."

So, Kalinka would wait for her true love to reappear. Her knight in red, gray and yellow. But this time, he made sure to return.

-=PROJECT AXIS=-