AN: Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter, especially to those who reviewed/followed/favorited. I'm honestly over the moon with happiness at the responses I got. May this next chapter not let you down, and I promise there will be less of a wait between chapters from now on! Thank you all!

Reviews are always appreciated as well.

This is also dedicated to Paranoid Zephyr, for putting up with my whining over the FSOT and keeping me motivated to write more. (-b^_^)-b

words - unconscious thoughts (these are non-linear, almost stream of consciousness. Mostly to show X's mental state)

'words' - normal thoughts

-words- flashback

Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman, the quotes I used, or any other intellectual property I may have borrowed from others in this story.


"Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change."


Climbing the wall to the innermost area of Sigma's lair was the most taxing experience X had ever faced since his awakening by Doctor Cain. Physically, it was a simple enough feat. A fully-charged rolling shield surrounded his entire body, shimmering and incinerating the small insect-like mechanaloids scuttling out of the pipes.

If only Zero was here to see this. What a difference between the timid rookie who couldn't even make eye contact with the target he was aiming his buster at, to the proud hunter dashing to his inevitable demise without a single glance backwards.

You can't keep thinking like this X, or you'll remember those lifeless blue eyes, with nothing but static behind them. Remember how you could see the bare copper wiring where the coaxial cables in his abdomen had been shre-

Without even a hitch, X ended that thought process. His greatest adversary to date, the reploid responsible for this nightmare, was a few meters above him. Sigma was Doctor Cain's first creation, first reploid based off your design, almost like your child, and even now you're preparing to permanently fry his systems beyond repair.

'Don't dwell on the losses, X. Remember why you're fighting. Think of all the little things worth fighting for. '


"X," Doctor Cain had said soothingly over a cup of hot cocoa, "I won't lie to you. This world is a cruel, unforgiving place. Humanity is brilliant, but there have been a great many sins committed in the name of innovation. I worry that knowing these sins would break your 'heart.'"

"Why then?"

"Hm?"

"I-if it is as bad as you say it is…" X curled up on himself in despair, "why did you bother waking me up at all? Did you want me to suffer? Why couldn't you have let me sleep?"

The elderly man chuckled before reaching out tentatively to ruffle the androids hair. "Because, despite how terrible it may seem at times, life is also beautiful."

Green eyes blinked incredulously. "H-how so?"

A cheery red mug overflowing with mini marshmallows was pushed into the android's hands. Following the doctor's example, X lifted the mug and took a small sip.

"That's…really good." He took a larger sip before smiling brightly, complete with chocolate mustache.

"I thought you'd enjoy it." Doctor Cain made a vague pantomime of wiping his face, and was unsurprised when X blithely ignored his hint and continued drinking. He eventually grabbed a napkin and dabbed it off himself. As X wrinkled his nose at the sudden action, the doctor couldn't help but marvel at exactly how close Doctor Light came to creating a human being.

Doctor Cain had the fleeting desire to pinch X's cheek, as a parent might do to their child. Perhaps he was beginning to associate X with being the child he never had? Science always was a cruel mistress, demanding unwavering loyalty and devotion.

"Maybe…" he sighed after settling back in his seat, "I'm pontificating. I'll get off my soapbox now. Thank you for humoring me."

"Ah," X responded while giving a mournful look to the now empty mug in his hands. "You're welcome?"

"You don't even know what I'm apologizing for, do you?"

The slight flush creeping across X's face was enough of an answer. 'It really is incredible how human-like he is…'

"Never mind all that then. How about I make us some more hot chocolate, and once we're finished, we head outside for a short walk? Does that sound like a plan?"

X gave a small "meep" in response. He'd taken advantage of the doctor's momentary distraction to stick his fingers into his mug, trying to get the last chocolate-bloated marshmallow stuck to the very bottom. ("I wasn't being uncivilized; I was trying not to waste your food!" "You and I both know what is in those marshmallows, X, and it hardly qualifies them as food.").

"Isn't there supposed to be a storm later?"

"Even better! We'll go for our walk when the rain has just about stopped."

(X would later argue with complete sincerity, "but Doctor Cain, what if you were to slip in a puddle and break your hip? I don't know if I'd be able to carry you back to the lab!" "Oh, hush you. I'm not THAT old!")

Despite his initial misgivings about traipsing around in rain, seeing a rainbow for the first time was definitely worth it.


Over time, X had come to love many things about the world. The very same world that Sigma and his army of Mavericks now threatened to destroy.

'Seeing the first reploids introduced to society…'

Judging by the eerie green light seeping through the darkness, X had to guess that only about 100 meters separated him and his former commander.

'Meeting my creator for the first time…'

75 meters at most were left now. Rolling shield continued to destroy all insect mechanaloids on contact, not that the hunter even noticed anymore.

'Meeting another android, just like me…'

50 meters. The damp air began to crackle with energy and smell like ozone.

'Becoming his friend…'

25 meters.

'I wish he was here with me.'

"X."

An indescribable impulse raced through every single wire connecting every single part of X's body at the sound of that gravelly voice. It was just one letter, your name yet it set off such visceral reaction. "…"

With a dramatic flourish of his cape, Sigma turned from where he stood at the other side of the room to give X a superior smirk. "You've changed. Become stronger. That's good, X. I didn't want to face some rookie who would flinch away from the thought of striking down a former comrade. Oh, wait, you've already done just that. Several times over, in fact!"

"What you've done is unforgivable!" The normally composed X was fairly snarling, tears of frustration building at the corners of his eyes. Had he been flesh and blood, both palms would be bleeding from the force with which he clenched his fists.

The maverick leader feigned surprise before adopting a patronizing tone. "What exactly is it that I have done, X? I made our brethren see the errors of their ways. Reploids were never meant to serve humanity; they were meant to rule it. Has history taught you nothing? Survival of the fittest is the law of the land."

"Stop it!"

"You've grown, X. The B-rank hunter I knew would never have been able to strike down one ally, let alone an entire army. Yet, here you stand before me, having struck down teachers and superiors alike. Even your eyes are different now, harder." Sigma took a break from his monologue to place a giant palm on the head of the dog standing faithfully at his side. "You have the look of a real hunter, now. If only Zero could see you now."

Before Sigma could even consider giving another shit-eating grin, a shot of electricity crackled past his ears. Velgauder snapped at his heels, which was remedied with a swift smack to the back of the head. Once he had quieted back down, Sigma noticed he was staring down the barrel of his opponent's buster. "Oh, did I strike a nerve?"

"You've gone insane!" The smaller kept his buster pointed squarely between the purple scars on his opponent's face. Rational thought was near impossible at this point, yet X managed to keep his tenuous grasp on his emotions. One wrong step, and he would join the countless others who had been lost in this mad war and Zero, don't forget that he di- "This is all your fault!"

Sigma chose to blithely ignore X's attempts at derailing the conversation. "Actually, maybe it's beneficial that my good-for-nothing subordinate took your precious friend down. He was always so… protective of you. No one was ever allowed near you, not even other members of your unit. Didn't you ever wonder why he was your only friend?"

"This isn't about that! This is about bringing you to justice!"

"You're all alone this time; Zero won't be saving you ever again. Are you upset, X? Are you, dare I say it, worried?" Sigma's deep laughter echoed in the emptiness around the two. "Good. Doctor Cain used to wax poetically about your worrying, you know? Even as I, his own creation, stood before him, he continued to revere you as Doctor Light's greatest creation. MANKIND'S greatest creation!"

The reploid scoffed. "Named after the mathematical variable 'x' to stand for unlimited potential… Let's put that to the test today!"

'I don't want to fight, but I want this to end. If it means destroying him, then so be it.' Don't forget, you want revenge as well. You want him to suffer for all the pain he's caused everyone, caused you…

There was a brief silence in which X sank further into an offensive stance. All tension in his body seemed to evaporate as he leveled his former commander with a fiery gaze. "I'd tell you not to worry, that this would be over soon, but it would be a non-issue. This will end soon enough in my victory. Prepare yourself!"

Velgauder leaped in front of the charged shot that accompanied the end of X's speech. Slightly singed, he growled a bared his fangs in a distinctly feral way. Once it became apparent that the hunter was finished talking, the mechanaloid reared back and let loose a howl that echoed throughout the large room.

"If you want to fight me, you'll have to get through him first! Prove to me that you're a worthy opponent!"

In the ensuing battle, X did just that.


"Underneath anger is pain, your pain. It is natural to feel deserted and abandoned, but we live in a society that fears anger. Anger is strength and it can be an anchor, giving temporary structure to the nothingness of loss. At first grief feels like being lost at sea: no connection to anything. Then you get angry at someone, maybe a person who didn't attend the funeral, maybe a person who isn't around, maybe a person who is different now that your loved one has died. Suddenly you have a structure – - your anger toward them. The anger becomes a bridge over the open sea, a connection from you to them. It is something to hold onto; and a connection made from the strength of anger feels better than usually know more about suppressing anger than feeling it. The anger is just another indication of the intensity of your love."