A/N: Oh well, that's it for this story... thanks to those of you who did review.
X couldn't believe it, he was frozen in fear as he stared upon the black nightmare, the demonic Maverick staring back at him, his dark evil face staring flaming daggers right through his very soul. X couldn't move, he couldn't breathe. He was so afraid, he didn't know what to do, it seemed as if his very life was flashing before his eyes and he was watching the scenes like a narrator watching a show…
He saw a random training session where he was in the room by himself, X gasped, he never realized before, he didn't notice Zero on the other side of the glass a bit higher up looking down on him, watching, and smiling. Sometimes I get the feeling, he's watching over me… Then the siren sounded and X looked up, snapped out of the session. He ran to the command center and to be dispatched.
'But where is Zero?'
'He's already out on the scene, but there are two Maverick signals, you'll be going to another location.' He was sent to the other site.
'Oh… alright.' …and other times I feel like I should go… They had only been together a short time, but right away X could tell Zero was the kind of guy that liked to follow his own rules and work alone, dispite Signas' order of them to partner. But X also got the feeling that when they were together, they both just clicked, in a way that neither of them could describe, it was so perfect it...
Another moment of his early years with Zero when they were fighting of a score of Mavericks, standing side by side watching the other's back, shooting and slashing anyone that dared to challenge them. And through it all, the rise and fall… the bodies in the streets… And soon they were all fallen, bodies everywhere. Nobody could defeat the great duo of justice. X turned to Zero, and Zero smiled at him giving him a thumbs up, X gave a big grin of joy back and laughed with happy relief.
The scene flashed to another moment, on the rooftop the day they first met… when you're gone we want you to know… Zero turned his back, X didn't understand what Zero was just trying to tell him. Watching the scene, X finally knew back then what Zero's eyes were saying.
"Carry on, we'll carry on…"
The next memory had X watching Zero sleep in bed after the second assault, he still had the impression of the Maverick Zero imprinted freshly in his mind. He was devastated, was Zero loosing his soul? And though you're dead and gone, believe me… X looked down on this scene and couldn't help but feel a little bit of pity.
"Your memory will carry on, carry on…We'll carry on."
X realized, in his heart he couldn't contain it… the anthem won't explain it… All of these memories, why could he see nothing but fighting, nothing but misery… if Zero were to die, if he were to be gone one day, would there be no happy memories to remember him by? This fear, this fear being shot through him by the demonic Maverick staring at him, was he creating this fear inside of him? He was confused, this sad feeling starting to stir up anger in his stomach, but...
X gasped, "Ah, wait a moment…!"
He forced a memory upon himself, Zero's words in which he said, "Fear, sorrow, anger, confusion… don't get frustrated, a Maverick will feed on these emotions and strike the angst back into your heart. Don't fall prey, it's the evil demons ways…"
"Of course, I see now!" X blinked in shock, snapped out of the daze trance. "Zero, your words help me, in the past I didn't understand." He charged up his buster and aimed at Vile. "But now, Zero, I do… Thank you!!" He shot the blast with all his might.
"Fool, like something like that could ever take me down." Vile jumped out of the day.
"Drat…" X growled and held his buster gun back, he was feeling frustrated now, he was so used to fighting with Zero, and now he was standing facing against him. After being partners and becoming such good friends overtime, it felt so un-natural. 'Still, I can't fight him… maybe I can help him snap out of it again. Maybe if I take out Vile… then…'
"Standing still will kill you, X." Vile sneered with a snicker and his two cannons fell down, one over each shoulder and clicked into place, he held onto them with both hands and leaned back to get a good aim at him. "I know Sigma would like Zero to kill you, but I would happily sully my own hands with your tainted blood!"
Zero snarled savagely and leaped in front of Vile standing between him and X, X gasped, "Whoa… huh, Zero…!"
Sigma chuckled, "Well Vile, it seems that Zero doesn't share your view and would disagree with his own."
Vile scoffed, "Feh, stuck of little twerp."
Sigma smirked proudly, "And now X, what will you do…?"
"Uh…" X blinked, he was trying not to be afraid or confused, but he really had no idea what to do here. He didn't want to fight him, he didn't want the base to call and send somebody else out to fight, he didn't want Zero to have to fight anybody. He wanted Zero to live! "I don't want you to have to fight… not anymore Zero."
"Huh, what's that…?" Vile growled, perking up.
"Whispering a final prayer before you offer yourself to the lions like a good sacrificial little lamb?" Sigma tilted his head in amusement.
"Hardly Sigma, you're the one I'm after!" X pointed. "And you're the one who's gonna pay. Die Sigma!" X roared and charged at him, readying his buster. Zero roared and flipped in the way, jumping before Sigma as to not let X get a good path. "Wah, Zero…!"
"Not so fast." He laughed in that demonic robotic tone of voice of his, wagging a taunting finger.
"No, but… you hate Sigma too." X was starting to shake.
"Eh…?" Zero lifted an eyebrow.
"He's our enemy!"
"He's your enemy!"
"Why listen to him?"
"Why listen to you!"
"Why listen to anybody!" X shouted and Zero was silent. "The Zero I knew, no, the real Zero in any form, Hunter or Maverick, he lived his life on his own accord and never took anything from anybody. Especially not orders." Zero lowered his eyes and leered at him.
"Don't be such a fool X." Vile chuckled. "There's no point in talking to him. That's not Zero, you don't know him."
"Yeah, well neither do you."
"Please…" Sigma rolled his eyes and then closed them.
"This is your worst nightmare, X." Zero opened his mouth to speak, his fangs wanting to crush X, "And we will send you reeling from decimated dreams."
X was a bit shocked at that but growled back, "Your misery and hate will kill us all!" Zero laughed but X continued, waving his arm to the side, "So paint it black and take it black, I'll shout it loud and clear!" Zero leered at him, his arms folded growling with impatience. "Do you fight it to the end? We hear the call… to carry on!"
"What?" Zero's eye twitched.
"We'll carry on!" X's leer lowered into a dark stare back. "Though you're dead and gone believe me, your memory will carry on… I'll carry on." Zero's body tensed, an angry growl starting to form in his throat. He wasn't dead yet, no, he WOULDN'T die. But X continued, not upset but determined as a tear formed in each eye, "And though you're broken and defeated, you're weary partner marches on."
"Partner…" That word struck to something in Zero's mind, he seemingly froze.
Sigma turned slowly to him, agitated, "What's wrong with you, Maverick…?"
"He is not a Maverick."
"Huh?" Sigma growled, turning to X.
X was roaring, teary eyed, "He's not a Maverick, and he's not a Hunter. He is Zero, JUST ZERO!" He shut his eyes as he cried out, tears falling down his cheeks.
"Touching, too bad none of us had our hearts touched by that little outburst." Sigma raised his weapon. "If Zero cannot fulfill his destiny, then I will have to kill you myself."
"Huh?" X gasped, he was shocked and once again couldn't move. This couldn't be, this wasn't his destiny... not his, and not Zero's. What was going on…?
"And on we carry through the fears…" The aura was flowing wildly.
"Huh…?" X and Sigma turned upon hearing Zero's quiet voice, the real Zero's voice. His face was down and his expression wasn't able to be seen. He slowly turned and walked in the direction of Vile's position, almost like he was marching automatically off on duty.
"What are you doing… HUH!" Vile gasped as Zero quickly pulled out his saber and slashed him in half. He froze and cried out, Zero turned back to Sigma and X as the bits of Vile's body exploded into a flaming fireball.
"Zero…?" They blinked, utterly confused. Sigma had his jaw dropped, he was shocked.
"The disappointed faces of your peers…" Zero finally lifted his face, revealed from out of the darkness, it was that of his own. The evil demon was gone, his aqua eyes shone with ferocity on the black demon's body.
"What!" Sigma roared, taken back.
"Take a look at me cause I could not care at all!" Zero roared and leapt up, charging like a wild animal… only this time, the wild animal had a conscious mind, and a pure heart.
"Impossible…!" Sigma was shocked, the body was still that of the black nightmare Maverick Zero, but in his eyes, you could see down to his heart and soul, and those were of the real true Zero, the hero Hunter, the demon was gone. It was as if Zero was running in slow motion to Sigma. "No!" He growled, snapped out of the stunned daze, and raised his own saber.
"Zero...!" X gasped as he came down onto Sigma, the sabers crashing in midair, the clash between good and evil. Sigma struggled against this Zero, his Maverick body was incredibly strong, as was his pure heart and soul, and together, his power had increased tremendously in the absence of the dead evil.
Zero bared his teeth as he growled, "Do or die, you'll never make me... Cause the world, will never take my heart. You can try, you'll never break me... Want it all, I'm gonna play this part."
"This can't be….!" Sigma cried as he was being blown back by the blast, his saber was falling back and getting weaker as Zero's beat along with his heart and growing stronger with each pulse, the saber glowing vibrantly in the light of Zero's true aura. "No way!"
"Zero…!" X had his jaw dropped in shock. Finally Sigma yelled as a ball of light power formed around them and exploded into an energy blast. "Ah!" X dove to take cover from the flying debris of the explosion.
'X… X, can you hear me?'
"This voice…" X groaned, it was calling to him in the darkness as he lay on his back in the dirt.
'Come on, wake up man…!'
"Huh…?" X slowly finally opened his eyes as the light of the real world spilt in blurrily. X froze as he started to come to, he was awake and yet he saw, the black nightmare…!?
"X!" The voice was loud as a hand slapped across his face.
"Ow, ah wow!" X sat up and held his cheek. He turned to Zero, "What the hell…!"
"Ah great, you're alive." Zero sighed with relieft, wearing his usual goofy grin.
"Ah, Zero…!" X gasped. "You're alive!" He hugged him.
Zero laughed and returned the friendly embrace, "Well duh, what else did you expect?"
X gasped and looked around frantically, "But wait, where's…" He stood up slowly, a bit confused at the empty terrain surrounding them. "Vile, Neon Tiger, Sigma…?"
Zero smirked, "That jerks scrapped."
"You killed him, all of them?" X turned back to his partner, wide eyed.
"What, why couldn't I?" Zero put his hands on his hips with a sly look. "Don't you remember?"
"It's just that, I mean I'm not shocked… it's a goal people and Reploids have been trying to achieve for years, and now… it just seems so surreal that it's finally happened."
"Look X…" Zero sat down on a rock. "You're my best friend, and I know we're partners… I'm sorry I went out on my own and defeated Sigma by myself. He's a mutual enemy, and… I was selfish. I didn't mean to hurt you, and I want to apologize."
"You don't have to mention it Zero, or apologize. Truth is, with the condition you were in, I would've been just as selfish and would've gone out on my own. I don't want to hurt you either."
"X, you're a good guy." Zero smiled.
"Hey, all that matters is that we defeated him, right? Now the world can be at peace once we cure all of the Reploids infected with the Maverick Virus."
"Yeah, that's great news too! I know the others will be overjoyed!"
"Come on, let's go back. Partner." X held out his hand with a warm smile.
"Yeah." Zero looked up at him and nodded, returning the expression with a kind smile of his own as he stood up and took his hand. "Partner."
That sunset, X and Zero stood on the same rooftop of the base where they had sat that night the day they first met. Zero was a few feet behind X, he looked over at him with a proud smile, 'We may have been enemies, but we are better in sync as friends.' Won't explain, or say I'm sorry… I'm not ashamed, I'm gonna show my scar. 'So maybe that's what Signas had in mind all along… X. You're the chair, for all the broken… even me. Maybe I was the one who you needed to help all along, by you, I was the one who needed to be saved.'
"You know X," Zero's voice finally rose up over the silence. "You've really grown up since we first began." He overlooked the beautifully colored sunset. "Ironic how we're ending where we first began eh? Almost, kinda nice…"
"Zero…"
"Huh?" Zero snapped out of his thoughts as X spoke up and turned towards him.
"Listen here, because it's only…I'm just a man, I'm not a hero." X looked almost a bit humbled and ashamed, like he needed to look away after doing something wrong. Zero lowered his brow a bit as X continued, "Just a boy, who's meant to sing this song. Just a man, I'm not a hero…"
"That's not true X."
"Well that's what I think."
Zero growled and raised his voice, "I don't care!"
"Huh…!" X gasped, snapped out by the sudden take in shock.
Zero hesitated but didn't apologize, X had told him to stop apologizing, and maybe this was something that X needed to hear. "It's just that, you are a hero."
"No I'm not. You destroyed Sigma."
"X, you dedicated your life to fighting Mavericks for justice and protect the innocent, you saved so many lives… you saved mine." Zero became quiet and X watched him intently. "If not for you, I could've killed you, and so many others. I know, you would never want to do that, but, if the only way to defeat Sigma, if I couldn't be saved, if the only answer was to end my life, I would kill myself without a second hesitation. Because I want to protect the ones I care for, not torment them or make them suffer." Zero paused and blinked at X. "And in my heart, I know you would do the same thing. I want you to live, just as you want the same for me... Well, maybe I can't explain it, but, if anyone in this world is a hero, X, you are."
"Zero…"
"It's not the news interviews, magazine articles, and cheap newspaper plugs that make you a hero. Its your actions, and the purity of your heart."
"Zero, I can't argue with you there, heh… but, there is one small little technicality in that thought of yours."
"Huh? And what's that?"
"I'm not a hero…" X smiled but that made Zero frown, but X looked over at him with the grin. "We both are."
Zero smiled back warmly at his friend as they sat on the ledge, "Yeah. You're right X."
X nodded, 'Come what may, no, no matter what... we will always be together. Partner.'
Zero looked up at the now night sky as the stars started to appear. 'Heroes… the Maverick Zero, a hero. Ha...' He closed his eyes, a bit amused at the fact, from looking back on his past. They looked at each other and smiled, then returned to look over the city skyline. X put an arm over Zero as he closed his eyes in his own thoughts, 'Who would've ever thought it…?' X would have, so did Signas and the others at hunter base. We all believed, Zero, and now… so do you, too.
Carry on, we'll carry on. Though you're dead and gone believe me, your memory will carry on, we'll carry on. And though you're broken and defeated, your best friend marches on.
Watching them from the fire escape on the other side of the building, Iris and Alia watched with soft happy expressions, both so proud of their Hunter friends. Iris turned and looked over her shoulder to see Alia staring warmly at X almost half in a daze. She giggled quietly and Alia snapped out of it and started to blush, turning away in shock at what had just happened. Iris wore a big grin, but there was now still some unfinished business left… as her best friend, she knew Alia secretly liked X, just like everyone else knew X liked her. Iris was determined to make them as happy as she and Zero were. Zero was a bit dense, but as soon as he knew about it, he would work hard on it too, because there was maybe nobody else in the world that wanted X to be happy more than him, his partner, and best friend.
We'll carry on. Do or die, you'll never make me. Well carry on. Cause the world, will never take my heart. We'll carry on. You can try, you'll never break me. We'll carry… we'll carry on…!
Zero jumped up and unsheathed his saber, standing in a rather arrogant pose, "Here we go, it's the start of another MegaMan X & Zero adventure!"
Sigma's body dissolved into thin air as X's voice spoke up, "We're now on the hunt to cure all of the last Reploids infected by the virus."
"And I'll destroy all of the Maverick's with my light saber!" Zero swung it strongly with confidence.
"So join us and all of our friends on this quest!" As X spoke, Axel, Alia, Iris and Rush appeared beside themfrom out of nowhere.
"Our journey has just begun, come along on our next story…"
X's voice popped in with Zero's at they finished the statement together, "MegaMan X & Zero!"
