A/N: Okay, this is crazy. I'm crazy. I not only have this chapter done...BUT POSSIBLY THE NEXT (and maybe final) CHAPTER! IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!
X materialized at the North Pole. Though late in the day, the arctic summer brought the sun high over the spires of the X-Hunter's fortress. Its green walls and violet towers grew out like tainted ice crystals from the snowy glaciers. As he stepped foot inside the fortess' chilly halls, the complexity of its inner workings daunted him. Computer wire and pipes branched out from every steel-plated wall. Electronic panels flickered and flashed, and valves hissed in measured intervals. He felt as though he had been swallowed up by a monstrous mechaniloid.
Alerted to his presence, security dogged him with sentries, and traps sprung on him at every turn. Worse, he faced the reconstructed bodies of the eight Maverick leaders he destroyed- revived, but stripped of all personality and reason. The X-Hunters cloned them only for X's destruction, a defilement that X worked to undo, one by one.
In the interim, he faced his first X-Hunter: Violen. X whittled him down until finally, Violen's thick armor cracked. A final shot overloaded his circuits. The great beast and his flail fell to the ground, silent forever.
He brought down Agile, who survived being crushed and burned, only to be transformed by his comrades into a floating abomination. He cried out for his master's vengeance as he split apart in flame.
Finally, he defeated Serges. Even though the X-Hunter defended himself behind a wall of cannons over a carpet of jagged spikes, X punched through the barrier and dealt him a fatal blow.
"Impossible! To be bested by a memento of Light? What of the prophecy?" Serges rambled as he writhed on his back, burns covering his body.
X approached him. Absent any emotion, he said, "Your master. Tell me where he is."
Serges cackled. He said, "He shall summon you. Your gift should be ready by now!" he spat. He then seized, his mouth hanging open as the last pulses of life coursed through him. X turned away, eager to find Zero, and perhaps destroy this 'master' together.
He did not travel far, for a light fixture switched on, coating him in a harsh white glow. He stopped, rapidly scanning the area for a trap. When nothing appeared, X shouted out to his surroundings. "Enough! I'm ready to face you!"
Then, a door nearby slid open. A light above it switched on, inviting him in. Steeling himself, X approached it and stepped through, his pace slow and guarded.
The door led to a short corridor. Housed in a dimly-lit shaft, an elevator platform awaited him at the end. He stepped onto it, and the lift whisked him down. After half a minute, it came to a stop and deposited him on another darkened corridor. Sconces along the walls switched on, and X followed them as they led him through the gray steel hallways. He passed through a peculiar room, where a large, glassy ball undulated with alternating colors. He wondered what evil purpose such a strange device served.
After several turns, the lights stopped at a final door. Its double-doors slid open, but revealed nothing but a silent, black void beyond.
X raised his buster, and moved into the room with guarded steps. "Show yourself," he said.
The doors hissed shut behind him, and the darkness dispersed as lights came on all at once. He blinked rapidly from the sudden burst of light, but soon his vision focused on two figures standing across from him. He paled when he recognized the tall, bald-headed figure of his former Commander, and his greatest enemy.
"Sigma!"
"Greetings, X. Surprised?"
X looked to the figure next to Sigma. A heavy weight fell in his stomach, and he recoiled. He saw Zero standing there, scowling at him, but his appearance startled X the most. A dark crimson hue shaded Zero's armor, and the blue crystal on his head now reflected a deep blood red. His blonde hair, however, still flowed the same as before.
"How?" X breathed, shuddering with dread.
Sigma laughed. "Your friend here wasn't the only one they pulled from the sea. No, friend isn't quite the word, is it? He has a small problem with you."
The scowl on Zero's face worsened, and X hesitated. "What have you done to him? Let him go!"
"Are you sure you want me to do that? You see, you let him die, and he's not happy at all about that. Besides, I know his secret. I've known it since our fight at Camelback. He's destined to serve me! Deep down he knows it, too."
Sigma's words made X pause. He reflected on the memories he experienced from Zero- the blood, the screams, the visions of his Maverick past, and the wild anger that infused them all. He looked at the imposing figure of Zero standing before him, his expression of pure hatred, and his faith wavered. The irony struck him hard, having been through so much to rebuild him. Now, a gut-wrenching notion came over him, that he made a grave error in reviving Zero. His chest ached with foreboding.
He reconsidered his fear, however, when it conflicted with the times Zero defended him. From Vile, to the first fall of Sigma. Then again with Serges. Zero's memories, too, contained more than just death and madness- they contained X's kindness. Zero associated those memories with much different emotions: relief. Gratitude. Repentance.
"No, Sigma," X said, shaking his head. "His destiny is no longer tied to his past. It doesn't matter what his creator intended. He wants to make his own choices, including who he gives his loyalty to."
"And I suppose you think you have his? Pah!" Sigma gestured toward X, saying, "Go, Zero! Show him what his naivety has wrought!"
Zero's eyes flickered red at the command. He assumed a battle stance, pulling the hilt of a saber from his back. He armed it, pointing it's tip toward X.
"Zero, don't do this. It's me!" X said.
Deaf to his pleas, Zero lunged at him and slashed with the saber, teeth bared with murderous intent. X side-stepped the arc of deadly light, but as Zero landed he fired his buster, forcing X to scramble for his life. In the confines of the room, he clumsily dashed over cables and pipes as Zero's shots tore them apart behind him. Zero followed up his withering assault with another slash, launching an arc-shaped projectile from the saber blade. X dove from the attack, feeling the heat singe his backside. Sigma howled with laughter.
As X rolled to his feet, he aimed his buster at Zero. "Stop! Please!" he said. Zero approached him like death, but X could not bring himself to shoot. "It's me! It's me!"
Zero reached out with his right hand. He grabbed X by his buster arm, raising the barrel and squeezing until its shell indented under his fingertips. X hissed in pain.
"It's useless to reason with him. He only follows my voice," Sigma said. "Kill him!"
X watched Zero reel back his sword arm. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the slash through his stomach.
Then, a buster charge sounded. X's eyes popped open, recognizing the sound, yet it seemed distant. Adding to his confusion, he heard Sigma shout, "That's impossible!"
The charge released, and the shot tore through Zero's sword arm. Another rang out, a slash of green energy slicing away Zero's right shoulder. The wounded Zero bellowed in rage, and X backed away as the right arm thudded to the ground. X looked at him, horrified, until he spun around to discover the source of his rescue.
X saw the double-doors blown open, with Zero standing between them. His bright red armor, blue crystal, and wry smile instantly revealed the truth of the situation. The 'Zero' Sigma unleashed was a mere fake, a shadow puppet of his true friend.
"Zero!" X called out, unable to restrain a smile.
Zero charged his buster again, aimed, and finished off his fake counterpart with a blast to the red crystal on his head. The blast knocked the fake onto his back, shards of red glass littering the ground around him. He convulsed, then slumped, deactivated.
"You should have studied those blueprints more closely, Sigma. There's only one Zero!"
"Goddamn you," Sigma snarled. "Come die at my hand, then!"
Sigma faded, teleporting away from the scene. The dull whir of gears sounded, and a trapdoor opened in the floor.
Zero lowered his buster. "Damn!"
"Zero!" X called, running to him.
Zero smiled, opening his arms. X leaped into them, wrapping Zero in a tight embrace. "You're alive!" X said, sighing.
"Ditto," Zero said, releasing him. "We'll have to save the pleasantries for later, though. We have work left to do."
X nodded, though his elation over Zero's presence still carried away some of his attention. He had questions, too. "But how did you get here?" X asked.
Zero shrugged. "I came to as I was being carried away. They stored me down here. I wasn't quite strong enough for battle then, so I pretended to be unconscious until I could escape. Wish you could have seen the panic once Sigma's henchmen realized I disappeared. Snatched this, too." He held out the hilt of a beam saber. "I think it belonged to one of them."
X looked down at the fake Zero. "They must have built him when they couldn't find you. They also stole your blueprints from our lab when they abducted you."
"Then we have to destroy Sigma, and his central computer. It's the only way to make sure no one can construct another one."
"But Zero," X started.
"I know. The blueprints will be lost, but we have to do it." He nodded toward the opening in the floor. "I'll go take care of the computer while you handle Sigma."
X sighed, then slumped. He then smiled, saying, "I'm the Commander here, but I'm still taking orders from you."
Zero chuckled. "Commander? Wow," he said, moving past X. "I can't wait to hear about everything else I've missed. I'll see you later!"
X kept smiling as Zero moved to the exit. "Be careful."
"You, too."
As X watched him leave, disbelief came over him. In a few swift moments, the the sorrow and pain he suffered released him. In their place, a renewed hope and determination took hold. Zero was restored- and now, so was he. His morale soared against the evil he faced down below, and he brimmed with an unconquerable spirit. Without any hesitation, he jumped down into the dark pit where the demonlike visage of Sigma awaited him.
A/N: So I vaguely thought about writing out fights between the X-Hunters, but ultimately decided against it. I thought it would slow things down without good reason. Better to keep things moving along and get on with the good stuff, I think.
I also tried to split the difference between the two outcomes with Zero. Some fighting with the fake Zero, THEN the rescue.
And hey! Sabers!