CHAPTER 9
The truth of all things
"What are we going to do now?," Axl asked Signas. "The R.L.F. haven't left a single trace that we can use."
"I don't know," Signas said with all honesty.
"We have to find Zero first," said X.
"But Zero must be at the R.L.F.'s headquarters," said Axl.
"Which leaves us back to square one," said Ina.
The alarm suddenly rang.
"What is it?!," asked Signas.
"It's Nightwolf!," said Alia, very terrified. The memory of her torture was still very fresh. "He's back! He's in the briefing room!"
"How do they keep getting past our security?!," asked Signas in wonder. He turned to the other three. "Go and intercept him!"
"Yes sir!," they said, and ran to the briefing room.
"You people are pathetic," said Nightwolf, looking at all the surrounding Hunters with contempt. "Fire already!"
X and the others finally arrived.
"Finally, someone with some guts!," said Nightwolf.
"What do you want?," asked X.
"I only came as a messenger," said Nightwolf. "I've got information that will help us crush Marduk once and for all."
"Why should we believe you?," asked Axl furiously. He had seen what Nightwolf had done to Alia, and he really hated him for it.
"Because I want Marduk dead as much as you guys," said Nightwolf. "Besides, do you honestly believe you can touch me with even one of your pathetic bullets?"
"What was that?!," asked Axl furiously. X put his arm in front of him.
"Don't," said X.
"But X!," said Axl. "He tortured Alia! He killed a bunch of our friends! He even killed Douglas! How can you let him live after something like that?!"
"Killing him won't bring any of them back," said X.
"Maybe, but it'll sure make me feel better!," said Axl.
"But you'd be doing him a favor too," said X.
"What?," asked Axl.
"If you're finished, I'd like to get this mission over with," said Nightwolf.
"Alright," X said. "We'll listen."
"Good," Nightwolf said.
Nightwolf was led to a small conference room. There, in front of X, Axl, Ina, and Signas, he explained everything he had found out about Mackwell.
"The end of the world?," asked Ina.
"And Marduk is going to be that final trigger," Nightwolf said.
"But how does he plan to do that?," Ina asked Nightwolf.
Nightwolf chuckled. He pointed up. "He's planning on using our Orbital Bombardment Stations."
"What?!," X asked.
"Impossible!," said Signas. "The bombardment stations were still under Repleforce command, wasn't it? You confirmed it yourselves!"
"True," said Nightwolf. "But whoever sent us the information had a different story. It seemed that Repleforce had lost the battle, and the R.L.F. were able to disguise themselves as us. I'm sure that the attack on the other bases was meant as a distraction while they took over the O.B.S."
"Damn it," said Ina. "With those things, Marduk can destroy any city on Earth."
"No one would be able to escape," said X. "Total annihilation."
"We have to do something!," said Axl.
"I take it Repleforce already has a plan?," asked Signas.
Nightwolf nodded. "It requires the cooperation of the Maverick Hunters," he said. "It's a long shot, but it's all we have."
"Very well," Signas said. "Let's go to the briefing room."
Inside the briefing room, which was once again full to the brim with Hunters, Nightwolf laid out the plan. A holographic image suddenly appeared from the projector. It showed inner space in a grid-like map, with Earth clearly visible on one side, and a large colony orbiting it. Three, slightly smaller objects were circling the Earth; these were the bombardment stations.
"This the R.L.F.'s headquarters," said Nightwolf, pointing at the colony. "They had been using some sort of cloaking mechanism to remain hidden. However, ten minutes after we received the information, they dropped it."
"Who gave you that information?," asked Signas.
Nightwolf shrugged. "Beats me," he said. "Whoever gave the General the information must have been someone Marduk really trusted, to be able to access such channels of communication."
Signas nodded. "Continue."
"Okay," said Nightwolf. "Now, this colony's outer hull is strong enough to withstand nuclear attacks, and it's also backed up by this."
He snapped his fingers, and a fleet of starships suddenly appeared in front of the colony.
"My god," said Ina.
"They're not a small rebel group," said Nightwolf. "These bastards have an army of ships and personnel, both outside and inside the colony."
"But then how do we get in?," asked Axl. "We can't nuke them, and a frontal attack's obviously suicidal."
"We go here," said Nightwolf. The grid closed in on the colony and went under it. A small red targeting circle pointed at the location: between two large laser turrets.
"There?," asked Axl.
"It's the most vulnerable part of the entire colony," said Nightwolf. "A couple of shots and we can bust through with a small ship. We storm their HQ, wipe out all resistance, kill Marduk, and call it a day."
"But how do we get through the army?," asked X.
"You leave that to Repleforce," said Nightwolf.
"'What are you planning?," asked Signas.
"We're sending everything we've got at Marduk," said Nightwolf. "The armada will distract them just long enough for the rest of us to squeeze in."
"Sounds dangerous," said X.
"They're soldiers," said Nightwolf. "They were built for that. Besides…" he chuckled. "They'll do anything to help you."
"Huh?," X asked.
"So when do we attack?," Ina asked.
"As soon as you're ready," said Nighwolf. "I already have the ship, and the armada has already left Earth's orbit."
"You guys are fast!," said Axl.
"If you hadn't agreed, I'd have gone alone," said Nightwolf.
"Very well," said Signas. He turned to the others. "X, Ina, Axl, you three will go along with two squads. We must bring them down!"
"Right!," they said.
"Wait," Nightwolf said.
"What is it?," asked Signas.
"We can't forget Mackwell's research labs," said Nightwolf. "There wasn't much intel on them, but from what we got, it'd be too risky to ignore them."
"Hmm," said Signas.
"I'll go," said Axl.
"What?," asked X.
"I'll do it," said Axl. "X, Ina, you take care of Marduk."
"It's a dangerous mission," said Nightwolf. "Sure a rookie can handle it?"
Before Axl could respond, Signas stepped forth in his defense. "Axl has proven himself to be more than capable in handling his own missions." He turned to Axl. "Take three squads and destroy those laboratories. Be careful."
"Yes sir!," said Axl.
"Right then," Nightwolf said. "If everyone's done, I think we should get going."
X nodded. He put his right hand on Axl's left shoulder. "Be careful," he said.
Axl nodded, and even smiled. "And you make sure to find Zero," he said. "I can't wait to see his face when he finds out I was in charge of three squads."
X chuckled, and nodded. "Right," he said.
Axl left.
"Let's go," said X.
Nightwolf nodded, and the three of them left.
Signas looked back at the grid.
"So it all comes down to this," he said.
Colony 0-5
"Look at them," said Marduk to himself. He was still in the council room, looking out the glass window that showed Earth, wearing a commander's cape. Right now, he could see thousands and thousands of ships on either side.
"Just look at them," he repeated. He looked down at a reploid aide. "How goes the bombardment station?"
"It's still taking more time than we anticipated," said the female reploid. "They might not be operational for another hour."
"An hour, huh?," he asked. "You heard that, Strikewind?"
"I heard it," said Strikewind. He was inside the flagship Hyperion, glaring at the enemy fleet. "I'll do what I can."
"Thank you," said Marduk.
"Wow," said Ina as she looked out the ship's window. "Just look at them all."
"Yeah, it's a large fleet," said X.
"The cream of the Repleforce is here," said Nightwolf. "Get ready, it's almost operation time."
The two of them nodded. X looked back at his squads.
"Are you all ready?," he asked.
"Yes sir!," they said in unison.
"Let's do this," said Nightwolf determinedly , and sped up.
Colonel Beck saw the ship leave and understood.
"All ships, forward!," he ordered, and the entire fleet moved.
Strikewind kept his forces waiting. There was a tense silence as both fleets got nearer and nearer. Finally, the order came.
"All ships, fire!," shouted Beck.
"Fire!," shouted Strikewind.
In an instant, the once bleak darkness of space was lit up with explosions as ships were being destroyed everywhere. The smaller fighter ships had already begun their dog fights, adding to the chaos of the battle. Nightwolf piloted the ship throughout this chaos.
"Hang on!," he said as he flew right by a couple of enemy fighters. They turned and gave chase.
"They're after us!," said Ina.
"I noticed!," said Nightwolf.
The fighters fired, and Nightwolf had to do some fancy maneuvering to dodge the shots.
Suddenly the fighters exploded, and two Repleforce fighters flew by.
"Show-offs," said Nightwolf amused.
They finally got under the colony. The turrets began to fire ferociously.
"It's now or never!," said X.
Nightwolf fired twice between the turrets, blowing open a part of the plate. He rammed the ship inside. It was a success. They all exited the ship in one piece and dealt with the light resistance that had survived.
"There'll be a lot more of them," said Nightwolf.
"This looks like a brig," said Ina, looking at all the individual prison cells.
"We have to find Marduk," said X. "Let's go!"
They began to run. X suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?," asked Ina. X pointed in the cell.
There was a female, pink-haired reploid inside. She was sitting against the wall with her knees up to her chest. She was looking at them with surprise.
"X?," she asked. She stood up and walked towards them, standing behind the laser bars. "So you got my message?"
"It was you who sent that data?," X asked.
Lina nodded. "Yes," she said. She looked down. "I'm the traitor."
"But why?," X asked.
"Marduk isn't been himself," she said. "He's not thinking rationally. What he's doing now is wrong, and I'm sure Mackwell has something to do with it."
"It does," said X. "He has a lot to do with everything. He might even be the one who was really behind all this." He looked at the bars. "We have to get you out of here."
Nightwolf laughed. "How? In ribbons? You can't blast these, X. And we can't cut them. We'll have to find a way to deactivate them."
"I can do that," said Lina.
"You can?," asked X.
Bright pink laser wires suddenly came out of the end of Lina's fingers. She lashed at the walls and got the wires inside them. Her eyes suddenly shone with various kinds of data. The bars dissipated.
"If you could do that, why didn't you escape earlier?," asked Ina.
"I didn't want to hurt Marduk more," Lina said as she retracted her wires. "Not after what I've done."
"Hmm. Emotional reploids. Isn't that new?," said Nightwolf sarcastically.
"We have to hurry," said X. "We don't know how long Repleforce will be able to hold out." They continued.
"Master Marduk!," said a desperate soldier over an intercom. "Intruders inside the colony!"
"Interesting," said Marduk. He looked back out the window. "Sooner than I thought, but very well." He took out his claws in his right hand and lifted it in front of him. "Come, X," he said. "Show me what you can do."
Axl fired as he dashed up the hall, taking down two enemies.
Damn it, he thought. There's no end to them. They had been fighting off various R.L.F. reploids for the last ten minutes, and every time they shot one down, two more came to take their place.
He signaled his squad to follow him and continued. They went down a flight of stairs and encountered even heavier resistance. Axl cursed his luck until an idea occurred to him. He aimed and fired a copy shot. He took down one of the R.L.F. reploids.
"Damn Maverick Hunters!," said another. "Come get some!" He fired into the hall.
"Wait!," said a reploid. "Don't shoot!"
The reploids took a glance and realized it was one of them. He got to them and put his back against the wall.
"I was able to get a few of them," he said. "But there are tons more where they came from."
"Damn," said the other. He looked down at his fallen comrade and realized something alarming; he had the exact same scar in his cheek. "What the hell?"
They all turned and saw that instead of a comrade, it was Axl aiming at them with his guns.
"Sorry," he said.
"B-bastard!," said the betrayed reploid, and they desperately aimed at Axl, but it was too late…
Axl fired first.
"It's clear!," he said to the rest of his squads.
They came towards him.
"How are we?," Axl asked the sergeant.
"We've suffered minimal casualties, sir," said the sergeant. "We're ready to go."
Axl nodded, and entered the next room with his squads in tow.
This next room was a very large chamber with hundreds of capsules, neatly aligned to one another. It was dark, and Axl couldn't see what was inside those capsules.
"Look for a light switch," said Axl.
One of the squad members found it and flicked it. They all gasped in horror.
People, or grotesque versions of what might have once been people, where inside those capsules. They had all been fused with mechanical limbs. Some where in better shape than others, while the unfortunate many seemed to have been thrown a bucket of acid.
"What the hell were they doing here?," asked the sergeant.
"Damn that Mackwell," said Axl. He clenched his fists. "Set the charges!"
"Yes sir!," said the sergeant.
As the squads went about their work, Axl approached one of the capsules and looked into the face of one of the victims. Her face seemed to scream, her eyes shut in eternal agony.
"Poor woman," Axl said.
She suddenly opened her eyes, making Axl flinch. He pressed his back against another capsule, looking into her eyes in horror. He fell sitting on the floor.
"Sir, the charges are set!," said the sergeant. "Sir?"
"T-they're alive," said Axl, not believing what he was saying. "They're alive!"
"Who are?," asked the sergeant. Before Axl could respond, however, a powerful voice shattered the silence.
"Flame Claw!," he shouted. Suddenly three large claws made of fire cut down the sergeant.
"Sergeant!," said Axl, standing up. He looked at the attacker.
The attacker was a red reploid with a helmet shaped like a tiger's head. Instead of fingers, his hands had claws, and his feet were tiger paws. He was accompanied by a reploid of similar appearance, this one colored green.
"Who the hell are you?!," Axl asked.
His squads surrounded the two reploids as best they could. The capsules sort of got in the way.
"Look bro, they want to fight," said the red reploid.
"Well, then, let's not disappoint them, brother," said the green reploid. He lifted his hand, and a tornado suddenly surrounded them. Axl dashed back to avoid it, but his men weren't so fortunate. They were caught in the tornado. The red reploid's right fist suddenly caught fire. He jumped into the tornado and punched the ground. Suddenly the tornado lit up and burned the soldiers alive. Some capsules were destroyed too. The tornado stopped, letting them fall on the ground. Some shattered on contact. The brothers stood back to back and leered at Axl.
"I'm Tigerflame," said the red reploid.
"And I'm Tigerwind," said the green one.
Then they said in unison: "And together, we are the Firestorm Brothers!"
They charged Axl.
Back at the colony...
The group continued their steady advance, with Lina leading them. They encountered a group of R.L.F. soldiers. They ran for cover as the soldiers fired. They fired back. Lina watched the R.L.F. soldiers die and couldn't contain herself anymore.
"Stop it!," she shouted. "Please stop it!"
Her plea stunned everyone, and both sides stopped firing.
"Miss Lina?," asked a soldier.
"Please let us through," Lina begged. "Please, before Marduk does something terrible!"
"Lina," said X.
"Marduk isn't being himself," said Lina. "He's planning on killing millions of innocent people for ridiculous reasons!"
The soldiers looked at each other in doubt.
"Please!," she begged. "You all know what will happen when Marduk's finished destroying the cities! There won't be unity, only more hatred!"
"She's stealing your lines, X," Nightwolf whispered to him. Ina shushed him.
"Please," Lina said weakly. "Stop fighting. Just... stop." She looked so stricken she almost seemed capable of crying.
The soldiers remained quiet, not knowing what to do, until one of the officers said:
"Don't listen to her! She's a traitor and can't be trusted! Fire!"
They didn't move.
"What are you waiting for?," asked the officer. "Fire!"
"But what if she's right?," asked a soldier. "What if we'll only make things worse?"
His officer pulled out a gun and aimed at his face. "If you don't fire your weapon, I'll kill you myself."
The soldier was shocked, but he still didn't do anything.
"Have it your way," said the officer, and cocked back the hammer of his gun.
Just before he pulled the trigger, Nightwolf charged and sliced off his arm with his pole axe. The other soldiers aimed at him in alarm.
"Don't waste your lives now," he said. "Not when you were doing so well."
The reploid that had almost been executed hesitated for a moment then lowered his weapon. The others approached them.
"Thank you," Lina said shyly.
"Don't worry about it, Miss Lina," said the soldier. "We had noticed that Master Marduk had changed. We just didn't see how much till now." He looked at X. "So this is X in person, eh?" He smiled. "Strange, he looked taller in television."
Lina chuckled. "Right."
"So what do we do now?," asked the soldier. "You want us to come with you?"
"No," said Lina. "Leave the colony and go back to Earth. The R.L.F. doesn't exist anymore."
"Yeah," said the soldier, scratching the back of his head. "I was afraid of that. The Repleforce armada will definitely overpower us."
"Here," said Nightwolf, handing a small chip to the soldier. "Put this in your ship's mainframe. It'll allow you to pass through safely."
"Thanks," said the soldier. He and his men gave the group a military salute. "Take care, Miss Lina! You too, X! Make sure to knock some sense back into Master Marduk!" They left, including the officer.
X turned to his squads.
"You should leave too," he said.
"Sir?," asked the sergeant.
"We're already close, and you won't be a match for Marduk," said Ina. "We're better off by ourselves."
"You should probably leave with them," Nightwolf told her.
"Shut up," she retorted.
"Thanks for the help," X told the squads. They gave him a military salute.
"Take care, sir!," said the sergeant, and they also left.
"So it's just us, then," said Ina.
"They would have slowed us down," said Nightwolf.
"Lead the way, Lina," X said.
They continued.
Marduk was still staring at the battle outside when they entered the council room. It had been cleared, making it more spacious and proper for a battle.
"Marduk!," said X.
Marduk jumped off the catwalk and landed facing the group.
"It's good to see you again, X," he said. "Although admittedly much sooner than I had planned."
"Where's Mackwell?," X asked him.
"He's currently busy with research," answered Marduk. "He won't be with us."
"Marduk, we have to find Mackwell," said Lina. "He's the one behind all this."
"All this?," Marduk asked. He pointed out the window. "Is he also responsible for that?"
Lina flinched.
"I'm sorry, Lina," said Marduk. "But I can no longer trust you."
"Marduk," said Lina.
"That's just like you," said Ina. "You're always turning on those you should trust the most."
"Ina," said Marduk. "I haven't seen you for such a long time. How have you been?"
"The hell do you care?!," said Ina. "And by the way, I want you to have something!"
She reached in her left pocket and pulled out a pearl tied to a string. She tossed it at Marduk. He caught it and looked at it somberly.
"I see," he said. He looked at Ina, and it seemed he wanted to say something, but regressed. "No," he said. "Maybe it's better this way."
"Marduk," X said. "Don't you know what you're doing? Do you have any idea how many people are going to die if you use those bombardment stations?"
"Of course I am aware," said Marduk. "The bombardment stations were made to stop any threat that might come from space, no doubt thanks to Sigma. Each station has enough power to destroy asteroids two-miles wide. When aimed at Earth, they have the power to annihilate entire cities with one shot. Is that about right?"
"But why?," X asked. "Why do you want to destroy the Earth when you're always preaching about unity?"
"Unity must be achieved through any means," Marduk said. "In this case, the threat of extinction will unify the human and reploid species."
"But that's not true!," said Lina. "Doing that will only make humans hate reploids even more! Then unity will be impossible!"
"If that is the outcome, then maybe we deserve to die," said Marduk. "If hatred can really blind them so much, than the time of humans and reploids should end."
"What?!," Ina asked.
Marduk tossed away his cape and took out his claws. "Unity or death," he said. "That's all that awaits both species."
"Oh, cry me a river," said Nightwolf suddenly. To everyone's surprise, he had charged Marduk first. He swung his pole axe down. Marduk blocked him with his claws.
"Unity or death, you say?," Nightwolf asked. He laughed. "Pathetic, self-deluded freak. You can't see two feet through the crap you say."
"What?," Marduk asked.
"You know it's bull," said Nightwolf. "You know that in the end, humans will never completely unify with reploids." He pushed Marduk back, breaking the deadlock. "We're just too different."
He charged again. Marduk slashed at him, \but he got under the attack and landed a powerful uppercut under his chin, launching him towards the high ceiling. He pulled out his beam rifle and fired. Marduk recovered in mid-air and deflected the shots with his claws. He dropped on Nightwolf, who dashed aside to avoid his foot.
"Too different, are we?," asked Marduk. "That's a sad thought. Especially since, as you probably know, we were built in their image."
"Marduk!," said X. Marduk looked and saw a missile and a buster shot head straight for him. He dashed aside to dodge them. The missile exploded in mid-air before hitting the wall, and the force of the explosion actually made the buster shot change course and move towards Marduk.
"What?," Marduk asked. He put his arms in front of him to block the attack. The shot exploded on contact. Marduk tried to look through the smoke and realized that Nightwolf had charged again. He swung his poleaxe at Marduk's head. Marduk grabbed the weapon and pulled Nightwolf towards him. He cut through Nightwolf's stomach with his claws and punched him back.
"Nightwolf!," said X.
Nightwolf slowly stood up. His armor regenerated.
"What?," X asked.
"How peculiar," said Marduk.
"I'm a freak, aren't I?," asked Nightwolf. "Built from Vile's specs, given his memories and my own personality, and to top it all off, infected to the brim with nanodroids."
"Nanodroids?," asked X.
"Secret government experiments on self-repair reploids," said Nightwolf. "I was given the first functioning dose. I can heal virtually any wound in a matter of seconds."
"How interesting," said Marduk.
"Come on!," said Nightwolf, charging again. "This fight isn't over, not by a long shot!"
X and Ina fired again. Marduk dashed towards Nightwolf while dodging the attacks. He dodged Nightwolf's pole axe and grabbed his head. No matter how much Nightwolf struggled, he couldn't loosen himself from Marduk's iron grip.
"Self-repair, you say?," asked Marduk. "Well, let's see if we can't change that."
"Program Seal!"
Nightwolf let out a scream as he felt an invading force enter in his mind. Marduk threw him back towards the others. Nightwolf landed heavily in front of them.
"Are you okay?," asked X as he helped him up.
"That felt weird," said Nightwolf. He turned on Marduk. "What did you do to me?"
"Program Seal locks away a specific power that my enemies may have," said Marduk. "I took away your ability to regenerate for a while."
"How long?," asked Nightwolf.
"Long enough," said Marduk. He charged them. He swung his claws at Nightwolf, who was now taking the fight very seriously, and was moving like never before. Marduk kicked him on the head and sent him flying against the wall. He turned on X and slashed down. X moved towards him and got under his attack. He fired his buster at point-blank range in full power. The shot sent Marduk sliding back, although he was still on his feet. Ina fired another missile while he slid, and when he finally stopped got hit on the face. A large explosion rocked the council chamber.
"Did we get him?," asked Ina.
Marduk appeared from the smoke. His face plate now had a small crack, but nothing more than that.
Nightwolf stood up shakily.
"Impressive," said Marduk. "But not good enough." He took out his laser turrets. Just as he fired, pink wires wrapped themselves around his shoulders and pulled him back, making him fire at the ceiling. The building was made of some exceptionally strong material, because the blast didn't destroy the ceiling. Marduk looked back in alarm and found Ina in her fighting stance, her fists clenched to tighten the wires.
"L-Lina?," asked Marduk.
"I'm sorry," she said worriedly. Her face was still determined. "I can't let you do this. Please, Master Marduk, open your eyes. Can't you see this is all a mistake?"
Marduk stood up silently.
"Don't you see that it's over?," Lina asked. "Can't you see that the R.L.F. is gone? Are you really willing to drag everyone down with you?"
"You just don't see, do you?," Marduk asked.
"What?," Lina asked.
"You say that the R.L.F. is over," said Marduk. "I already knew that it was over. In fact, I always knew that we would eventually be destroyed."
Lina gasped.
"What does that mean?," Ina asked. "Are you trying to tell us you always planned on this?"
Marduk chuckled. "History has shown that when a great enemy appears, two peoples that would ordinarily kill each other would unify to defeat that common enemy."
"A common enemy?," asked Nightwolf in amazement, understanding immediately. "Holy crap."
"Are you saying…" said X, now looking at the ground, his fists clenched. "…that the R.L.F. was made… to die?!"
"Exactly," Marduk said. "The true purpose of the R.L.F. To be the sacrifice that will lead this world to its true unity!"
"Then all those people…" said X. Suddenly the female reploid that had killed herself came into mind. And Wreck. Violet. Swordsman. "…Died for nothing?"
"No, X!," said Marduk. "They all died for their freedom! They preferred to prove to the humans that they could take control of their own destiny, just like them! They preferred death rather than slavery!"
Ina was shaking with anger. "S-sick bastard!," she shouted. She charged, tossing her launcher aside and drawing out her beam saber. Her arm began to glow and her veins throb. Nightwolf followed her, and Lina attacked as well. The four of them were suddenly locked in close-combat, all fighting with everything they had.
X didn't move. For freedom?, he thought.
Marduk spread out his arms in front of him and knocked them back. Ina stood up first and swung her beam saber down. Marduk blocked it with his claws.
"I can't believe I once trusted you!," Ina said.
"You could always trust me," said Marduk.
"Shut it, you hypocrite!," said Ina. "How can anyone trust you when you're leading your own followers to their graves?!"
"How can you call me a hypocrite when you're helping reploids?!," asked Marduk, pushing her back. "Aren't you the one that said you hated all reploids?!"
"Not all of them," said Ina. She shook her head, thinking of X, who saved her life even when she betrayed him. "No," she said, now looking at Marduk fiercely. "Just reploids like you!" She charged again.
Marduk sidestepped her saber and was about to cut her down when pink wires stopped his arm and turned him around. Nightwolf rammed him with his shoulder and sent him sliding back. He jumped high into the air and dropped on Marduk with his pole axe. Marduk did a back roll and quickly stood up. Nightwolf landed in front of him on one knee, his pole axe stuck to the floor.
"And what about you?," asked Marduk. "Didn't you want to destroy X to escape Vile's shadow? By helping X, aren't you turning on your only chance to recover your identity?"
Nightwolf chuckled. "That would be true," he said, standing up. "If X hadn't taught me an important lesson."
"Oh?," Marduk asked.
"Losing to X taught me that I've been following Vile's shadow all along," Nightwolf said. "By obsessing over X, I was becoming like him rather than losing him. I know better now. What the hell do I care if Vile wanted X dead? I'm Nightwolf, first and foremost, and I'm not about to let some ghost from the past control my life. I'm going to kill X because I have my own reasons, not because Vile wanted to."
"An interesting choice," said Marduk.
"Ah, save it!," said Nightwolf. He charged again, swinging his pole axe across at Marduk's stomach. Marduk grabbed the metal rod and slashed at Nightwolf's arm, cutting it clean off. Nightwolf cursed out in pain and jumped back to avoid another slash from Marduk.
Pink wires now wrapped themselves around Marduk, tying up his arms against his body. He looked back and saw Lina.
"Please, Master Marduk," she said. "Think rationally!" Her voice was shaky. "Because if you don't, I'll have to increase the energy output of this wires. And you know what'll happen, don't you? I'll melt right through you."
"Lina," said Marduk. "You were the last person I'd expect to betray me, to betray us." He nodded towards the window. "You're responsible for that. You are responsible for increasing the death toll, and now you want to me to think rationally?" He shook his head. "I'm afraid you're the only one who's not thinking rationally, my dear Lina."
He swung his body around and was able to get loose from the wires. Lina was thrown straight at the others. There they stood: Ina, who had Nightwolf's remaining arm around her shoulder to help him stand, and Lina, who was now shakily staring at Marduk.
"What the hell is wrong with X?!," asked Nightwolf. "He's just standing there in a trance!"
"X," Ina said. Please hurry, she thought. Whatever it is that you're doing, please hurry.
Inside his mind, X fought over everything he had experienced, everything that he believed in contrasting with what he had always heard of.
"Are they really willing to go that far for their freedom?," X wondered. "Are they really willing to take their own lives, even when the truth is different from what they've heard?"
"That all depends on them, X," said a familiar warm voice. X gasped.
"Doctor Light?," he asked.
"X, you must see beyond Marduk's words," said Light. "Only then will you understand why."
"It's just that, is their freedom really wrong?," asked X. "Isn't it right to be able to choose what you want to do, how you want to lead your life?"
"Of course not," said Light. "This freedom is for all living beings, including reploids. However, it is wrong and sad to exploit this desire. Especially when one is unaware of it."
"W-what?," X asked. "What do you mean?"
"Think, X," said Light. "Think of what a person does when they choose to fight, think of what they truly choose to fight for."
"I…" X gasped. Lina's image suddenly appeared in his mind. A sudden, clear understanding came to mind. "So that's why…"
Light chuckled. "Now you are ready, X," he said. "This is my final gift to you. What you do now is up to you."
"I'm afraid it's time to end this battle," said Marduk, taking out his turrets.
"Shit," said Ina angrily.
"I never thought I'd die with a human," said Nightwolf.
"I didn't think I'd die with a reploid," said Ina. She gave him a wry smile. "It's amazing how life works, isn't it?"
"Right," said Nightwolf. "See you in hell, human."
Marduk fired. There was a large explosion. The smoke cleared, and Marduk flinched.
Ina opened an eye tentatively, and gasped. A reploid in a new, sleek white armor was standing in front of them. He had sharp shoulders that were pulled back. These were red, as were his feet. His helmet also had three sharp horns that looked pulled back. They were golden.
"What the hell?," asked Nightwolf.
"X?," asked Lina.
"What is this?," asked Marduk.
X took a step forward, a look so fierce in his eyes that Marduk flinched again.
"It can't be," said Marduk. "Ultimate Armor X?"
"Marduk, this fight ends now," said X. He fired. Marduk dodged desperately as the shot created a large explosion.
"He didn't even charge it!," said Marduk. He turned and found X dashing towards him. X jumped and kicked on the face, knocking off his face plate and sending him flying across the room and through the wall.
"Whoa," said Ina.
"So he got a little stronger," said Nightwolf. "Big deal. Nothing I can't handle."
Ina looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You're in denial, aren't you?," she asked him.
"Shut up," spat Nightwolf.
Suddenly cables shot out of his broken arm and reconnected with the rest of his body.
"Huh, I got it back," said Nightwolf, now getting off Ina.
"About time," she said. "That arm of yours is frigging heavy."
They suddenly heard Marduk's voice from amidst the smoke. "It's Light again, isn't it? Always interfering, always trying to make your life so much easier."
Marduk dashed from the smoke and attacked X. X dodged each attack with ease, and hit Marduk on the side of the face with his cannon arm. Marduk was sent rolling on the ground. He recovered quickly and flipped from the ground, getting back on his feet.
"You're blind, Marduk," X said. "You're blind and you don't even know it."
Marduk scowled. He took out his shoulder turrets. "Blind, am I?," he asked. "Then why don't you open my eyes for me?!" He fired.
"I plan to," X said.
He fired a charged shot; a long, concentrated beam of energy that collided with Marduk's attack and overpowered it. The explosion sent Marduk flying back against the wall, weakened.
"Go on," he told X weakly. "Finish it."
"No," X said.
"Of course," Nightwolf said, shaking his head. "Too nice."
"You said that you're followers fight for their freedom and nothing else, right?," X asked. "Well, I have to tell you that you're wrong."
"What do you mean I'm wrong?," Marduk asked. "Of course they're fighting for their freedom! It's all we have left!"
X shook his head. "When one can choose to fight, they fight for a purpose. It's true that freedom is a good purpose, but that's not what they are fighting for."
"Then what, pray tell?," asked Marduk. "If that's not what they're fighting for, then why are they fighting?!"
X scowled. "Are you really that blind?! Isn't it obvious?! They're fighting for you, Marduk!"
Marduk flinched.
"Can't you see?!," X asked. "When they chose to fight, they chose to fight for you, because they believe in you! They aren't fighting to die, but live in the united world that you promised them!" He pointed out the glass window at the battle. "You're blaming Lina for that?! It wasn't her fault, Marduk! You're the one that led them all to this very moment! Isn't that true?!"
"For me?," Marduk asked. "All… for me?"
"It's sad," said X. "It's really sad. They all love you, and you don't even know it. Right now they're dying by the hundreds for your sake, and you don't even recognize it."
A realization suddenly hit Marduk, something he hadn't counted on.
His men…
Wreck was always wild, but he never stopped advising Marduk on how to attack, and even when he did something out of line, he always told Marduk, even if it was after the fact.
And Violet… she could have chosen to stop fighting if she wanted to.
And Trax… he was always impulsive, but loyal to a fault.
Lina…
"Oh no," Marduk said, standing up. "What have I done?"
"Do you see now, Marduk?," X asked.
Marduk couldn't bare to look up. He was looking at his hands. "This wasn't it," said Marduk. "This wasn't how it was supposed to go."
"Things never go our way," said X. "I know."
"This is all very touching," said Nightwolf. "But there are still bombardment stations to stop!"
"That's right!," said Lina. "Marduk, cancel the sequence!"
Marduk looked truly tragic.
"Marduk?," she asked.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry."
"What?," Ina asked.
A screen suddenly lit up in the middle of the room, showing Mackwell's smiling face.
"Hey there, Marduk," Mackwell said.
"Oh no," said X.