Hope and Light
The winds steadily picked up blowing debris and ash across the landing site. A crater laid where the once stately pod stood as Black Talon walked amongst the remains of his craft and kicked a few of the larger pieces aside. His once glistening armor, as well as his once placid temper, was now tarnished from the explosion. Cursing in tongues that were not of this Earth, Black Talon's fury seemed to be limitless as he raged through the valley.
"I demand another drop ship immediately," Black Talon hissed on his communicator, "To hell with Earth. I will burn this wretched rock to smoldering ash. X's beloved humans will be another footnote in my conquest of this universe. He will rule the day that he ever angered me."
Storming back to his makeshift throne, he continued to curse and writhe as the forces above the Earth forged a new drop ship. It wasn't long now before his ultimate plans would come to fruition. Things were finally set in motion that were planned long before X's predecessor...
Not too far from the landing site, though, the remaining Elite gathered at another crater, which was once a raging forest fire. The explosions had long since died away and the smoke had cleared as they stood surveying the landscape. Vesta should have made quick work of X and his body should be here... somewhere, they thought to themselves. Yet no matter where they looked, they couldn't find a single fragment of X. Coming quickly to another clearing, the Elite found Vesta's head and exploded body.
Each of them took this differently but Ra seemed to have taken it personally. Slamming his fist into the ground, he started to lose his calm demeanor.
"He will pay for this! I want X found! I want him alive!" Ra's face twitched with a nightmarish grin, "When you find him, bring him here! He's going to answer for this! He's going to answer for it today!"
"Yes Sir," Anubis sounded, pleased with the development.
"We will make quick work of the Hunter," Geb bowed feigning piety.
A flash of light dissipated as the seven warriors vanished to find their foe.
X had done an infinitely stupid thing by defeating Vesta first... Truth be known, there was a relationship that brewed between Ra and Vesta. A certain chemistry that just clicked when they cleansed a planet. The way that they both lit up when they torched civilizations left the others clueless and afraid. Some would argue that what they shared could almost be explained as romantic. Now that she was gone, Ra's cool headed mannerisms took a more violent turn, mirroring Vesta's. As Ra envisioned a painful end for X, the hourglass seemed to have been turned toward the countdown until X's funeral...
A good distance away from this, our three heroes stood plotting their next move, unbeknownst of Ra's actions. X had finally started to adapt to the new powers coursing through his armor. The burning feeling he felt in his chest had subsided and he looked forward to his next series of tasks. They had seven more Elite to contend with. Even worse, they had an enraged Black Talon to deal with. Though, no matter how they tried to rationalize it, things were going from bad to worse quickly. They now had the power to defeat the Elite but it would do no good if Black Talon's forces turned their anger towards the inhabitants of Earth. Zero and X knew of this when they decided to fight. Despite their anguished thoughts, X and Zero knew that this was the only answer left.
"There's no course of action left here," Zenith pleaded looking at X, "If we continue this madness, it won't stop with just the destruction of this planet... You must rethink what you're doing! There's no way for us to win this fight."
"I thought I'd never say this," Zero added pushing Zenith aside to see X, "but... I agree with Zenith on this somewhat. I don't care how much you think you have changed. I know you can't stop all of them. They're too powerful... It's too much to handle alone! You need help. We might get in the way but we're here to assist you, bro."
"I...." X spoke through gritted teeth, "must." X trailed off as red light condensed around him. At the same moment, fire-like wisps of energy shot up around Zenith and Zero and streamed around them, "This is for your own good. I must do this alone... Too many of my good friends have gotten hurt or killed on my behalf. I will not lose anyone else. I'll bring this war to an end and make sure you have a world worth inheriting... Goodbye, my friends... Be sure to tell Alia that I love her..."
X turned to look at his friends again and half-smiled as the energy welled and condensed around them. A crackling fire coiled around Zenith and Zero as they stood surrounded. Standing side by side, Zero and Zenith looked around them as the wall concentrated into an orb that suspended them in midair. They could feel no heat emanating from the flames but could see it altering the atmosphere around them. As they floated in midair, they could see the field around them seem to vibrate. As the vibrations died off, everything melted away and they found themselves in Lifesaver's clinic some several miles underground. The last thing that they could see, before everything went dark, was X turning away from them and disappearing.
"X!" Zero and Zenith shouted as they fell against a series of pods in the clinic.
"You've opened my eyes, Zero. He is going to need some help. He's going to need a lot more help than us at this rate," Zenith sighed turning to Zero.
"That self-righteous son of a bitch," Zero howled, "Of course he'll need help! Who the hell does he think he is? Nothing can be saved through his sacrifice..."
"I know," Zenith cut in picking up the stasis pods that were knocked over, "He's drunk on his own power. How are we going to get out of this? It doesn't look like he's left us with much options as to what we can do next. This base is completely sealed off from the world now."
"We can do nothing but wait," Zero forced out and cursed silently, " I just hope that stupid bastard doesn't get killed before we figure a way out of this."
With Zero and Zenith safely inside of the HQ, X started to plan his next course of attack. In his mind, he rationalized that a frontal assault would be pointless because the remaining Elite would just be drawn into the battle. A seven to one battle wouldn't end well for him. He would have to draw them off one by one and go all out against them. It had to be all or nothing. Nothing else would work with these numbers.
No matter what he thought, his fighting instincts were overwhelming his logic and drawing him to attack the strongest of the group first. After these instincts kicked in, came the logic. With their defeat, Black Talon's powers would be cut down dramatically and this would leave a power struggle within the rest of the ranks. Yet with his limited powers, he lacked the necessary confidence needed to take it on. He knew that he couldn't control his new armor nearly as well as the remaining Elite. The key laid with the Legacy that was entrusted to him by Dr. Light. It wasn't going to be easy but he had to find out how to control it. That new found knowledge would turn the tides in this war and would also prove to be its main ignition point.
As the war continued to rage on outside, Zero and Zenith had their own sticky situation to get out of. As they managed to sneak past Signas and the rest of the Hunters, they tried to find a way out of the Headquarters. The teleportation tubes had been deactivated, which made teleporting from the base impossible. They hated to admit it but they were stuck. X had really done a number on them.
Sighing lightly and cursing once more, Zero turned a corner sharply to avoid being spotted. They had managed to make it all the way to the Maintenance Corps avoiding everyone on their way. It was difficult to find a way out of this predicament without any room to think. Zero and Zenith had to find a way out of this. If they were caught, they knew that the Hunters would unwittingly reveal their position to the enraged minions above. They couldn't chance the idea of having the last cell of Maverick Hunters wiped out. As they made sure it was clear, Zero turned to Zenith to give the all clear, only to find Douglas looking perplexed at them.
"Didn't we just send you two to save the world?" Douglas looked at them confused.
"Yeah, X had just taken out an Elite. In the aftermath of that battle, we had a disagreement about what our next move should be. X has it stuck in his mind to sacrifice himself for this planet. He encased Zenith and I in this weird barrier and sent us back here. I'm not sure how he did it but the bastard is going to get a whooping when I catch back up with him." Zero gleamed with a haunting expression.
"Interesting," Douglas scratched his chin and went on, "I didn't think it would be possible to teleport into this base without the tubes. He must've forced you to revert back to the clinic, like you would if you were critically wounded. After we nearly lost you and X during the last Sigma campaign some years back, we came up with a way to teleport you into the sickbay. Now we do it with all our special forces at your grade of clearance."
"That is quite perplexing. I have a similar function," Zenith growled, "I'm not sure who told him about this but we need to thank X properly for this."
"Amen," Zero smirked, "I like your style, bro. I'll loosen him up and you can rough him up a bit."
"Well, if it's true you were forced here," Douglas enlightened, "It'd be possible to send you back to where you were if we reversed.... It's brilliant! You guys go back to the clinic and I'll fix up a device to send you back."
"Uh," Zero stammered, "Will do. Let's go Zenith."
Checking for any visitors, Zero and Zenith vanished from view and danced between the crowds avoiding any contact with anyone. The race back to the sickbay was just as taxing as it was when they first started. They both were sweating heavily, exhausted from the ordeal, when they finally made it through the doors of the clinic. At about the same time, Douglas came running in behind them with an air of complete victory about him. Toting what looked like a pair of lightning rods attached to a generator, Douglas grinned and set them into place turning his machine onto its lowest setting.
"Ohhhh," Douglas joyed happily, "X didn't just transfer you here. He used superheated plasma to warp the space-time fabric. Most wondrous. I didn't know that X could do something that complicated. I'd hate to say it but I'm impressed."
"Right," Zenith blinked, "Is it possible to send us back?"
Douglas brightened up and smiled, "Well, technically, since he warped space-time, we should be able to connect the two points for a split second with this device. I've always wanted to test this thing out.. I designed it after reading up..."
"Yeah, yeah" Zero cut in, "Let's just get this over with."
"Alright," Douglas sullied, "I got a bit carried away for a moment there." Douglas grabbed and held the two rods out walking them around the room, changing the settings on his device at random intervals. He proceeded around the room slowly, paying close attention to the space around him. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to strike out as he made his rounds. After his third pass by the rejuvenation capsules, the rip was made visible. Douglas' annoyed glare lightened up and he stuck both poles into the floor near the distortion. Turning to face Zero and Zenith, he grimaced in accomplishment and went on, "All you have to do is stand between the two rods here and I'll generate a low wave quantum pulse. It should be enough to both fix the rift and send you back. Kill two birds with one stone."
"Will we feel any discomfort from this?" Zenith quirked a brow standing with Zero between the two rods..
Douglas' eyes widened as he looked at Zenith confused again, "I can't really say. I've never done this sort of thing with anything living before."
"Wait," Zero held his hands out, "You're telling us that you've never successfully tried this out before now..."
With a click and a feeling that they were pushed from a ten-story building, Zero and Zenith found themselves plunged through the portal. As they fell through the darkness of space-time, they could see the point that they had aimed for. It became more and more visible. The forest clearing drew nearer to them as their escape became guaranteed. Upon sending a foot forward through the tear, it widened enough to let the two easily pass through. Zero and Zenith blinked a couple times in disbelief and turned to see the anomaly subtly disappear amongst the rustling leaves.
"Well, I'll be damned. That bastard knew what he was doing," Zero smiled and chuckled.
Zenith checked his armor for chinks and laughed, "Wow, that Douglas really knows his stuff."
"Don't mind me, my friends. Allow me to welcome you back," Ra gleefully grinned drawing himself from behind the thicket, "I'm glad you're both here. It makes our job much more easy."
"Damn it!" Zero and Zenith groaned in unison.
"Well," Ra turned to look at the other Elite appearing around him, "Anubis? Why don't you take our guests for a walk."
"Yes, my liege, as you command so shall it be," Anubis smirked pushing them through another clearing, "You two will serve to be the bait to draw X out of hiding. How I'd love to send both of you to the next world right now... but we need to deal with X first... Black Talon has his own plans."
"I take it you found your friend," Zero smiled, looking for a moment of weakness, "This must be why you wish to get X now. He didn't pique your interest until he won against Vesta. Now, you're worried something's different."
"We're a force not to be trifled with, Hunter," Anubis kicked Zero forward, "Either get moving or your companion will find a couple corpses here. I personally don't care what Black Talon or Ra want. I take great offense that trash like you think you can take us on."
"You, who take great pride in destroying sentient life," Zenith grunted, "You compare us to trash? This is why you're going to lose."
"Enough talking," Anubis drew his sword and pushed it against Zenith's back, "We'll torch your world. We'll kill every human, Reploid, whatever gets in our way. Now unless you want this slaughter to start with you two, keep moving."
As they were marched along in the ever-deepening forest, Zero and Zenith could not believe the futility of their escape. As they looked about, they realized that the number of enemies had increased since they first started. No matter what opportunity came now, they knew that it wouldn't work to get away from their captors. Surprisingly enough, Anubis was adept at keeping everything in line and left no detail to ponder. Every angle was covered in the formation that Anubis created. It was pointless to try to escape now.
Getting to the end of their trip, Anubis kicked Zero and Zenith to the ground and bound them with energy rings. Assigning the others to hide, Anubis kept guard over our two heroes and awaited word from Ra. He knew it was only momentary before X was found. Time was finally on their side this time around.
Drawing himself deeply into the forest, away from Anubis and his minions, Ra saw his moment to finish things with X. With the capture of his friends, Ra knew very well that X would be easy prey. He could finally exact his revenge against the bastard who took her away. These thoughts drove Ra ever close to the brink of madness. The latent anger and rage, that he had often held back, had now forced its way to the surface. The desire for blood was overwhelming his reason as chilling laughter echoed through the forest.
As the resounding echoes drifted his way, X could not stop thinking about the danger he put his friends in when he took out Vesta. I have to finish this fight on my own. X kept trying to quell his conscience. This is the only way. He continued forward through the entangled life forcing his thoughts aside. However, something just didn't feel right. A nagging voice rung in his ears, Your friends are in danger. His eyes jolted open and his mind started racing once more. It can't be. They're safe. He shook his head and tried to calm his thoughts. You're wrong. You handed them over to the Elite. Panicked breathe forced its way from X's chest as he quickly started to run the opposite way. X backtracked to the point where he left his friends and looked for any signs of a struggle. As he stood there surveying the area, a murderous presence arched through X's body.
"Come on out," X shouted, "You can't hide yourself when your blood lust is so strong."
"Yes, I have found you," Ra muttered under his breathe, "Black Talon requested you alive but he never said anything about the state you had to be in."
"What are you saying?" X said as he blinked, "I can't hear you. Did the killing of Vesta cause you to lose your mind?"
A haunted smile stretched across Ra's face, "I haven't lost her. You're mistaken. She's fine... Yes, fine."
"You've fallen to the level of a Maverick, Elite," X smirked, "This ought to make retiring you easier."
"Yes, Vesta. I will let you have the final blow," Ra asserted as he grinned menacingly, "I enjoy your company too. Let's take care... Huh?" Ra started looking around confused. At the sight of the fire insignia, his eyes shot open and madness set into his features, "Vesta? I can't hear you anymore..."
Noting his mental status, X took a step back and drew his saber, ready to defend against Ra. Laughter started filling the void between them as Ra too drew his saber. Ra's blurred form vanished before X's eyes. Before he could defend, the saber glided through the air and was jammed into his chest plate. Ra reappeared kicking X to the ground and laid his foot on his neck. The maddened face of Ra looked feverish as he worked at trying to erase the fire insignia off of X's armor. Grinning once more and plunging the sword deeper, Ra carved into X's power supply and leaned into his foot starting to crush his throat. The error messages started to repeat in X's mind as his systems could no longer cope with the damage. Ra's almost stuttering form froze there as X's eyes grew dark. Broken and almost lifeless, X pushed Ra aside and crawled to a corner of the clearing... His systems malfunctioning and power almost gone, X laid motionless...
As he lay drifting between life and death, another more sinister voice seemed to force its way through X's head. You're so weak. I'll take care of this for you. A menacing look appeared on X's face as his eyes glazed completely over of all emotion. The brilliant green gem in his chest, once showing determination and kindness, was overtaken by a reddish hue. As the ground started to crack from the weight of his new powers, an intensely dark aura coated the area and distorted the very reality around him. Not the least wiser of his timing, Ra saw his moment to attack and tried to end X's life. He took up a tighter grip of his saber and aimed to claim X's head.
"You took Vesta's head," Ra started murmuring to himself, "I'll take yours."
X disappeared completely from Ra's view, "I don't think so." Slashing the blade clean of Ra's blood, X's newly grayed eyes scanned Ra, "Your movements are dull, Elite. That one slash is all it took to defeat you."
"It can't be.... Vesta..." Ra stuttered as he slowly drifted to the ground, "My repair features won't..."
"No, they won't," X smiled wickedly, "I severed the repair functions from that area. You will indeed die, pathetic creature."
"I..." Ra forced out temporarily regaining his sanity, "won't die this easily.... For Vesta's memory, I will defeat you, demon."
"Indeed, I am a demon," X cackled pointing his sword at Ra's neck, "You have my gratitude for awakening me. Allow me to express that by taking your head, much like I took Vesta's."
"This chill," Ra analyzed the situation and spoke up, "This dark feeling. You're definitely not the same person as before. I can't let my guard down." Ra brandished his saber and disappeared. Rushing toward each other with sabers drawn, X and Ra clashed, creating an energy wave that sent trees rocking. The sounds of fighting could easily be heard in the distance as X and Ra dueled. The bout drove back all the natural sounds in the forest and further altered the very flow of life in the forest. This above all else drew the remaining five Elite out of where they were and made them rush toward the scene...
"Your sword is very pointed now. No sense of regret or a fighting spirit," Ra said beginning to focus more, "Have all those years of viral contamination caught up with you, X? Your immunity wasn't guaranteed to you after all."
"Heh... Another useless speech," X retorted as he sent his blade into Ra's shoulder, "For someone that claims to be of a God's power, you lack the necessary stuff."
"It doesn't matter how much you cut me," Ra held his shoulder and chuckled, "You lost the moment you handed your body over to that virus inside of you. And for the matter of my power, you haven't seen what the God of the Sun can do."
Seeing his chance for victory, Ra took the initiative to change the tides more toward his favor. With a flash of light, X stood before Ra momentarily blinded. All Ra needed was a moment to do so as he swiftly moved against his foe. Using his chance to finish the fight, Ra slashed into X's armor once more aiming to pry the fire crystal out of his armor. Regaining himself, X jumped away from Ra's fury. As X felt the searing pain of the saber's blow, time came to an almost standstill. Closing his eyes, he stood enshrouded in darkness once more...
"This isn't what I wanted. You will lead this world to destruction. Give me back my body!"
"Not a chance," viral X vexed, "You don't have the power anymore to hold me back. Your conflicted circuit protected you this long. Your friend here destroyed it, allowing me to take control."
"This is still my body, my mind. You might hold sway over my emotions of hatred but.... you will never control my heart, my soul. By that power alone, I bind your tainted power. I no longer am in need of it or you."
"You will regret this," viral X coughed as his movements froze, "You can't bind me forever. When I'm free once more, I will take great pride in erasing everything you loved from this world."
As the moments seemed to tick forward once more, Ra's frozen blade withdrew from X's chest again. X's eyes refocused and the life returned to them. Motioning his hand quickly, X grasped Ra's sword and shattered the blade. Mending his wound with a touch of fire, X winced in pain and took a step back, completely drained from his internal struggle.
"Your presence has returned," Ra laughed and looked at his broken sword, "And here I thought I was going to have some fun for once. Your viral form is truly a breathtaking sight."
X faintly smiled and sheathed his sword, "You can call it providence that I was able to make it in time. I must have luck on my side today."
"On the other hand," Ra jinxed walking forward, "your luck is going to change."
"I don't think so. I know your every trick,." X replied shaking his head.
Ra threw his head back cackling, "Don't think you know my every move."
Before Ra could strike once more, X shut his eyes and allowed his other senses to fill the gaps left. Hearing the grass underneath Ra's feet, X jumped back and dodged his attacks move for move. Quickly jumping right to left, forward to backwards, X took aim and slashed removing Ra's right shoulder. Flicking his sword dry, X opened his eyes and saw Ra's perplexed visage. He knew he had to finish this fight and quickly. He had to move against the clock as Ra could... and would regenerate... No matter the consequences for his actions, X had to tap into the Legacy somehow and take this guy out.
Changing his fighting stance, X stood defensively looking at the moment closely. Standing there gathering his thoughts, X let down his guard but for a second when he heard it. As he quickly turned to defend, it was already too late. Ra had not only regrown a new shoulder and arm... but also grown an exact duplicate of himself.
"You look worried X," both Ras delighted, "No need to worry. As soon as we get Vesta's crystal, your end will be guaranteed. We promise not to make this short. We plan to draw this out as long as we can." A nefarious expression peaked across both faces as they rushed toward X. He stood there realizing how futile it was to fight against such an imposing force. Dropping his sword and readying to go out for one last stand, his mind became clear. Everything started to move slowly around him. Steadily streaming from around him, a power exuded from his body as he moved forward ready to counter his opponents. A radiant glow pulsed around him as the gem in the front of his chest read, Legacy Mode Red.
His systems surged with power as streaks of reddish light danced around Ra and his double. Whitish and blue flames sparked around as X appeared between them. Before either Ra could attack, he grabbed the cloned Ra's saber and flung him into the other. A calm and determined look marred itself across X's face as he concentrated. Drawing his hands together, a brilliant orb of fire gathered in his palms. Slowly, he aimed with deadly accuracy and delivered the supposed final blow.
As the power continued to condense around him, X's form started to glaze over with heat smoldering the environment around him. Both the original and the clone looked up to see a steady stream of flame starting to condense around X.
"Vesta..." Ra stuttered raising a hand towards the flames, "You came back for me..."
His eyes grew dark and Ra fell to the ground singed, barely conscious. Grasping his saber again, X sped towards them to finish them. I have to be quick about this... No room for failure.... He thought to himself. However, before the final blow, tiny fibers stretched across both of Ras' bodies and released a shockwave that knocked X backwards. Radiant light emitted from Ra as he revealed his true form. Smashing the barrier of light around him, he looked at X yearning for revenge.
His once golden Egyptian-style armor was replaced with platinum accented armor that seemed to vibrate against the atmosphere. As the massive foe radiated the area with white light once more, Ra took in a deep breathe and stepped forward to end the fighting once and for all.
"I never thought I would have to show this form to you," Ra laughed deeply, "You Hunters are a prideful bunch. You just don't know when to just die."
X's form started to degenerate into a blaze of shapes as he smiled, "You have gravely misinterpreted my power, Elite. This is why I forced you to reveal your true power. You don't have any clue as to the depths of my potential."
Grinding his teeth in anger, Ra pummeled X into the ground with his immense fists. As the light intensified around Ra, X knew that he had ran out of time. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the forms of the remaining Elite coming to watch his would-be demise. Closing his eyes, X waited for the moment... The crying face of Alia was frozen in his mind.. I can't let this happen to her again. His thoughts were frozen on Alia and how she would never recover from this. Retracing his every move, X knew that this was his moment. No matter what sort of hell I have to go through. X's mind became clearer and clearer as the gem brightly glowed. There is still a task that I must do. Green and red light started pouring forth from the gem. There is still hope. A new look formed across X's furrowed face. Confidence returned to him as he grabbed Ra's fist in midair.
"There's still hope," X grinned as his eyes flashed with the flames of courage, "I cannot allow you to continue this. You've pillaged and you've killed all for the might of your master. You did so without remorse or an ounce of pity. This is the..." X threw Ra into the air, "This is the end!"
Gliding through the air, Ra managed to land back on his feet as X stood resolute before him. The wounds he had received from Ra's fisticuffs burned away as the fire symbol seemed to resonate with activity.
"Now how about that," Ra chuckled, "You surely know how to take a beating until the end. You just don't know when to quit."
Laughing once more at X's second wind, Ra looked at X with a wide grin and tried to wipe the defiance off of X's face. This was Ra's final wrong move. An energy wave emitted from X to the likes that Ra never felt or seen before. His fist seemed to move slowly towards X. It almost froze in midair. Closing his eyes, X grabbed his fist and kicked up on his elbow shattering the armor and mechanics. Ra stumbled a couple times from the intensifying pain and stood for a moment focusing his powers for another attack. There was no point now... It was over...
White and blue flames trailed behind Ra as X plunged a smoldering fist into his chest. The heat still emanating from him, X stood triumphant as he clenched Ra's crystal and pulled it from his chest..
"I hope this last bout has shown you the light," X hymned to Ra, "May you find Vesta in the next world..." X studied Ra's astonished look and shut his eyes, shaking his head slightly. Drawing energy into his palms, X stepped into an attack that sent Ra's immense body crashing to the ground lifeless. Sighing lightly, X took one last look at Ra and shook his head again. Inserting the light crystal inside of his chest, X vanished in a whiz of brilliant light. As the body exploded, Ra's head was flung into the group of Elite watching with awe at what had just transpired... The remaining seven Elite had been taken down to six.
As the seconds ticked by, X could sense the danger that was brewing for Zenith and Zero. Even though his systems felt like they would fry from the sudden surge of power, he forced himself forward and focused on Zero and Zenith. In a glaze of white, X disappeared across the horizon to their aide. X could sense them now... He wasn't too far from where they were being kept. As he stepped within the forested area, Anubis stepped forward and smirked welcoming him to their meet and greet.
"We've been expecting you, X" Anubis laughed, "I'd hate to admit it but you impressed me. I can see why Black Talon is so interested in you. No doubt about the explosion. You just defeated Ra...."
"Let my friends go, Elite," X cut in, "I don't have any time for this."
"But, your friends were just entertaining my guests," Anubis quirked cackling, "My guests have been dying to meet you once more."
"I bet they have..." X took a step back noticing the positions around them.
Footsteps echoed through the clearing as X was once more surrounded. This couldn't be.... He was trapped.... He had to try anything to get out of this. His systems weren't accustomed to the overwhelming powers developing inside of him. Carefully retracing the moment in his mind, X made the biggest gamble this day... Drawing his sword, he stabbed the ground which shot streaks of light through the earth. An eruption of bright light surrounded the area as X dashed in to collect Zero and Zenith.
"Nice try but I don't think so, X," Anubis sidestepped into X's path and hesitated focusing his eyes, "You won't win with such a cheap trick... I take it that your systems are close to going into stasis lock from the internal damage done to you by Ra. Seems to me like you're wanting to make this quick...."
"Heh.... I wasn't planning on winning," X jostled with a grin and kicked Anubis aside, "There's more to this than winning. As for my systems, you'll find out firsthand how well they've adapted once I take care of a few things."
Lifting his sword into midair, X slashed a few shapes into the air that bound Anubis. Using Anubis' moment of disorientation, X walked up to the energy rings that bound his friends and shattered them.
"I won't take your life," X tilted his head towards Anubis, "I just want to humiliate you in front of your peers."
X disappeared with his friends as Anubis' crew fought to free their master. They had once more won a temporary victory against the Elite. Although, they had managed to get out of the hands of Anubis and his crew. Things were soon to heat up once more and take an interesting turn which was not foreseen. One that would soon spin this war spiraling uncontrollably to its climax...
On the cliff overlooking the forest, the three Hunters gathered once more to plot what was to come. Having just severely diminished Black Talon's fighting power, they could now worry about greater threats. The looming threat over the lives of humans was just too much to overlook anymore. They had to turn their attention towards securing the cities and protecting the innocent. No matter the cost, they would have to do whatever they could to free them from their captivity. X and Zero didn't have to agonize on this choice because they had to do this on a regular basis.
However, before any plan could be sprung, a series of metallic clanks echoed in the distance.
"We meet again X," Vile smirked looking at the group, "Well now... There's Zero and you must be Zenith. How charmed I am that you guys still function! Now it's time for us to go for a walk... Nice and slowly..."
"The mighty X caught and beaten by the likes of us," Lillith mocked as they surrounded them, "The Elite could not contend with you but we could. It's such a sad, sad sorry tale."
"We've got you now X," Dynamo jinxed, "There's no looking back now... You're in our hands now and we're going to take good care of you for we have a surprise... Hi-Max come here for a moment."
"Yes Dynamo," Hi-Max vexed coming out of the shadows, "What is it you need?"
"Hi-Max!" X gritted his teeth, "It wasn't enough you bastards cloned both my best friend and his girlfriend... You had to resurrect this abomination!"
"Now X," Dynamo frowned, "That's no way to talk to an old friend! Hi-Max would you escort these prisoners down to Black Talon?"
"Yes," Hi-Max looked at the three heroes standing before him, "Let's get going! You've got to come with me. You have no choice."
"You know what I say to that guys?" X uttered shaking his head at Hi-Max and the others.
"What's that?" Zero and Zenith whispered to X.
"Let's get those bastards," X shouted as he pulled his saber to and slashed it a few times in midair, "It might be uneven odds but it sure as hell beats six on three."
"Good idea," Zero chuckled, "I was getting bored with standing on the sidelines!"
"We finally get to fight? Zenith sounded off astonished, "Finally! I get to work out... Man I thought this would never happen...."
"You don't have the power or the guts to take out Black Talon's Guard," Vile grinned, "Things are different this time around, my old friend."
"You wanna bet old pal?" X sassed looking directly at Vile, "You're all ghosts of the past that should never be. This is the end of the line for all of you!"
As Zero, Zenith and X stood with their sabers drawn, they knew that this was a feigned attempt at defeating Black Talon's Guard but they had to try it.... They could not risk capture by Black Talon at all costs, especially not with the Elite out there. As the sweat of the heroes and villains hit the ground, they stood ready for the hell storm that was soon to come. For the battle that was soon to come would change everything. As Black Talon's face lit up with delight, he knew X was going to come through with his end. All that was needed was a few more critical elements removed from the equation, both the Elite and Guard.... The ultimate double cross was soon to come and at the cost of several lives.... In the end, this would spell the inevitable defeat of all forces of light and goodness... As the light fell from the sky, only time would tell what the Fate's would deem a worthy future...
