Author's Note: Sorry I took this long to update "Variable X". I'd like to say I've been out on everything from sailing to college applications, but I've also been writing for "Star-Crossed Love" then, so I don't have any excuses. All I can say is I hope this chapter makes up for it.
At long last, I have incorporated other future Mavericks into the story! Look out for them in this and following chapters!
Sigma City, 1km from palace entrance
The twilight sky in front of Sigma Palace was lit up by dozens of teleporting Hunters. Within seconds, almost a hundred of them were assembled, and dropships soon delivered their hardware while military aircraft kept the palace's UCAV drones busy to keep the ground clear.
Despite the airborne carnage, Zero remained unfazed. "Let's split up. Hunters, come with me: we'll create a diversion so X can sneak inside and undermine their defenses."
"You heard him! Follow Zero and create as much noise as possible. I'll try to sabotage their defenses from the inside."
The palace was ringed by a spike-lined pit to isolate it from the small city Sigma had built to house his army, and the plasma bridge connecting the two had been powered off when the anti-teleport field had been breached. All that remained was a passageway of hovering platforms, occupied by Turn Cannons and surrounded by several Jamminger patrols.
X wasn't concerned about that; his weaponry could easily take down the defenses. More worrying was the massive army standing between the Hunters and the edge of the ditch. Though almost all the Hunters were in Ride Armors, tanks, or speeder bikes, the sheer number of Sigma's minions largely negated the quality advantage. To make matters worse, enemy Ride Armor contingents were being deployed to the area, though with so little room to maneuver without trampling their allies, whoever was coordinating base defense had made the wise decision to hold back.
X switched to Chameleon Sting and hoped it would last long enough for him to break through the ranks of Sigma's army. If it didn't, he'd be scrap...X quickly forced the pessimistic thoughts from his head and focused on plotting a way through the rushing mass of metal.
"Tank Company C, watch your left!" Zero shouted into his comm as a Mole Borer burst out of a hidden tunnel and charged. The tanks scattered before the rampaging machine and began pounding it with their main guns. One lucky shot struck the Mole Borer's cockpit and penetrated the thick armor, killing the pilot. An opportunistic Hunter scrambled inside and fired up the machine again as its cockpit began to repair itself.
Zero silently thanked Dr. Cain for building the Mole Borers with an enclosed cockpit and viewscreens rather than a windshield as the newly-commandered vehicle turned and pounded a surprised Met company to scrap. A Ride Armor moved to intercept, but Zero threw his saber like a boomerang and the Reploid pilot was decapitated. Another blessing to count: his saber could penetrate Ride Armor shields.
The ground suddenly shook as a downed fighter plane crashed into an entrenched position, flattening several Axe Maxes and a Mega Tortoise. Immediately two Hunters in Ride Armors were on the scene and clearing out the remaining defenders.
"Just one more entrenchment, then the LZ is clear," reported a lieutenant. Zero acknowledged and tossed him a small canister.
"The air war's starting to turn in our favor. We should have CAS planes inbound. Use this when they arrive." The lieutenant nodded and ran back to his speeder bike. Zero jumped on his own and followed, holding another airstrike marker in his free hand. A heavy thud issued from the dugout as they approached it, and seconds later an artillery shell had vaporized the lieutenant and his vehicle. Zero veered to avoid the explosion and shrapnel before tossing his marker into the dugout, firing at the defenders with his Z-Buster to divert their attention.
By the time one of the artillery crew noticed the smoke beacon, the air force had already sealed their fate with a missile strike. Zero threw a quick salute at the jet as it passed and ordered Web Spider and his team to secure the dugout.
"LZ secure! Begin landing troops!" called another Hunter. Zero smiled. Now with the numbers of the human military on their side, Sigma had no chance of winning. It was only a matter of how many he took down with him.
X had quickly discovered trying to ascend the platforms was nothing short of a fool's errand. But he had also found out that a charged Rolling Shield was excellent at keeping the Jammingers off his back.
Now it was time to do something crazy. X dashed off the platform and clung to the far side of the trench. It had been angled to prevent people from climbing it, but the designer hadn't figured in X's abilities to wall-dash and change directions in midair. Soon, X was at the foot of the massive gates of the outer wall.
"Whoa, what...!" a surprised guard was quickly put down and X set to work rigging the gate with several breaching charges he'd been given. When that was done, he activated the plasma bridge and retreated to let the charges work their magic.
The massive gates were blown off their hinges by the shaped bombs, and a company of Ride Armors waiting in the courtyard beyond was promptly crushed by the wreckage. X dashed back towards the fight in the city to help the Hunters break through, trying to keep out the thought that he'd just killed hundreds of Reploids. Suddenly, he heard the sound of metallic wings above him and smiled.
Storm Eagle landed in front of him. "It's time we tip our hand to the dear commander, X." As he spoke, Boomer Kuwanger teleported to his side and Sting Chameleon materialized at the far end of the bridge. "We've got the battle in the city handled; you focus on getting inside and stopping Sigma!"
X nodded and appraised Zero and the human generals of the update and stepped over the gates. He cursed as he saw Spark Mandrill being chased by several dozen miscellaneous enemies. Dashing to help his friend, X raised his arm and charged another Rolling Shield. As the shield enveloped him, he became a hurtling ball of destruction as the minions shattered from the brute force of being hit.
"Thanks, X. I'm going to help out down there; take care of yourself."
X smiled and nodded at his newest friend and ally. However, the parting was cut short when a company of Ride Armors began fanning out around the area as a first line of defense. X could also see a large number of EMP weaponry being mounted to positions on the far side of the courtyard.
"Zero, looks like you guys are in for a tough one once you get to the fortress. They're bringing out enough EMP short out Abel City. I'm going around."
"Never mind that, get back down here!" Zero replied as he dragged a deactivated Magna Centipede behind cover. "They got the jump on us! The city's crawling with hidden turrets and artillery guns! See if you can take them out from behind, but I'd be careful; a lot of long range guns from the palace are also trained on us!"
"Don't worry, I'm on my way, Zero." As X turned to comply, there was the clang of metal on metal directly behind him. "Going somewhere, X?" Vile sneered.
The two stood at a silent impasse for a few seconds. Then, a new voice came from below them.
"Why don't you and your goons pick on someone your own size, Vile?" growled Magma Dragoon as he landed and folded his wings. Dozens of other Hunters emerged from under the palace, unclipping their grappling hooks from the wall as they did. X silently thanked Zero for recommending the creation of the 14th unit to Sigma some months ago.
"Pah!" scoffed Vile. "What, Captain Hothead here thinks he can save the day? I'll just kick all of your asses!"
Dragoon reared his head back and his body glowed. "Bring it on! One S-ranked Hunter to another!"
"Uh, Zero, can you spare me for a moment? Dragoon just took on Vile."
"No! I'm sorry, X, but we can't! The human military's pulled their troops back until we can get rid of those cannons! The more casualties we take, the higher the chance this assault will stall!" Zero took a moment to calm himself as he gave up on Magna Centipede. "Look, I know you're worried, but Dragoon's one of the best we have, even among S-rankers."
X continued to look on worriedly until he was sure Dragoon had it before reluctantly activating Chameleon Sting and retreating down the plasma bridge. Behind him, he heard one of the Hunters yell, "Yeah, Dragoon! Show this bastard who he's messing with!" X heard a roar behind him a short time later as Dragoon spewed dozens of flaming napalm bombs into the sky. The fiery projectiles rained down seconds later, destroying turrets, Mavericks, and anything else unfortunate enough to be in the way.
"Well, I guess he has got it covered," X mused. "Zero, looks like Dragoon's last attack took out the artillery guns."
"Noted. Still, can you get down here?"
"Sure. On my way. How'd Storm Eagle and the others make out?"
"Not too bad, actually. They're fine since the defenses are programmed to leave them alone even though they're destroying them."
"Go figure. I'll be down in a sec."
A half hour later
X had just finished clearing the city defenses with Homing Torpedoes when an army began to march down the bridge from the palace.
"Wait...that means they must've...terminated Dragoon and his unit..." X said in horror.
"They're probably hiding for now," Zero assured him, refusing to consider any other possibility. "We'll hold them here; now that the humans are landing their troops we have the manpower we need. Just get inside and secure the courtyard!" Zero ducked as Blast Hornet buzzed him and his stinger caught on the former's already-messy hair. "Agh!"
"Sorry Zero, I know you don't like others messing with your ponytail."
"Which is exactly why you do it," grumbled the red robot, but Blast Hornet had already moved on to rain Parasitic Bombs on the approaching horde.
"Shouldn't that result in disciplinary action or something? You know he's not the type to learn a lesson verbally."
"Bah, I'm not Sigma. It's fine by me to have some fun now and then so long as it doesn't affect your ability to be serious."
"Since when did you turn into a benevolent Reploid?"
"X, drop it. Get around them and inside the fortress. Storm Eagle and the others already retreated inside."
X gave his partner a quizzical look before departing to carry out his orders. As he reached the trench in front of the fortress he realized the platforms were gone.
"Psst, X!" A nearby voice whispered. X looked around briefly but couldn't see anyone. A few shuffling noises later and Web Spider made himself more clearly seen in the night. "I can get you past here. Give me a second." He cast his hands out and a carpet of electric webbing weaved itself as it left his body, glowing a faint blue with residual voltage but safe to walk on. Soon it reached across the chasm to a small entrance just below the main gates. X tested the webbing and found it surprisingly solid and stable.
"Thanks, Web Spider. I owe you one." X began to crawl across the webbing, slowly so as to avoid attracting attention. When he reached the main gates he looked behind him and realized the battle was going poorly. The Mole Borer that had been commandeered earlier had smashed dozens of minions aside, but it was a burning wreck now that the palace's defense turrets were working again. The humans had once again bravely taken up the task of guarding the landing zone once they had found out about that, leaving the Maverick Hunters stranded again.
X scaled the fortress wall and dropped a charged Fire Wave, melting many of the smaller minions but doing next to nothing against the groups of Ride Armors. The hulking mechs tromped on without a break in pace, joining the chaos at the base of the bridge. Air strikes and artillery bombardments by the human military continued, but the Ride Armors lived up to their name.
An electric net encircled three of the walkers and dropped them into the spike-lined trench where they exploded, but Web Spider was immediately beset by a horde. X wrenched his gaze away from the destruction below and ducked behind a wrecked Ride Armor in the palace courtyard to charge his Chameleon Sting.
Zero cursed as his saber sparked and fizzled out. The damn thing was out of power again. Sigma didn't need to worry about such failure of his weapon as his body could charge it, but Zero wasn't built with such a provision; the saber was in fact Sigma's spare weapon.
He reached for a spare power pack only to find that he'd used his last one. He sighed and switched to his buster. He'd have to scrounge up a power pack for his saber elsewhere.
He blew apart one Ride Armor with a charged shot to its chest, and took out another by knocking its torso off. He was doing great, but one Hunter could only do so much. Around him, Hunters bled and died despite his best efforts to save them while Sigma's forces continued their relentless advance. Zero's free hand curled around his last airstrike marker as he unclipped it. Now was as good a time as ever...
"Maverick Hunters, air support reporting. Be advised that we have received permission to deploy nuclear weapons."
"No need to violate the Geneva Convention on account of internal violence," Zero replied. Amidst cries of outrage, he continued, "We use nukes to put these guys down, and we'll just look weak. Maverick Hunters, military, government, all of us. The loss of face might lead to far more destruction than Sigma and Mavericks have caused with the world so eager to claim Reploid tech for themselves. We can't take that chance."
"I'm afraid you'll have to make do without us then, Hunters. Those of us on red alert are the only ones with ordnance."
"Roger - agh!" Zero stumbled in his run from cover as an artillery shell landed near him. The unsecured airstrike beacon went flying, releasing its telltale smoke as it went. Zero looked behind him and saw the Ride Armors had taken the shell easily. Looking back to the marker, now on the ground only feet from him and the plume of smoke now large enough to be noticed, Zero raised his buster and fired, blasting the canister apart.
Thankfully, none of the bomber pilots had noticed the incident and they were all returning to base to rearm with conventional weapons. That was small comfort to the red robot as he ducked and rolled under Ride Armor fists. He had to maneuver so often that there wasn't a chance to use his Z-buster.
The game of attrition continued until one Ride Armor punched another, leading to a three-way battle between the angered pilots. Zero staggered away, exhausted and low on power. Reluctantly, he signaled a retreat. The enemy greatly outmatched them, their air support was gone, and their ranks were heavily depleted. The assault was a failure.
"X, I called a retreat. Pull out...Can you hear me, X? Acknowledge. X? X?" Zero cursed. "A Maverick Hunter's job is never done..."
The screech of missiles gave Zero enough time to roll behind the toppled ruins of a skyscraper before half of the city was covered in searing plasma. He looked up to see formations of strange-looking aircraft arcing into the sky, leaving contrails behind as they ascended.
Zero looked around and noticed transports were dropping off squadrons of Reploid soldiers, as well as a few animal Mavericks. He was approached by a tall Reploid with military uniform-themed armor.
"Are you Zero? I apologize for our late response." Zero had to take a moment to process his rapid speech.
"Who are you?"
"I suppose you could call me the leader of this group that is so busy saving your hides."
"Don't forget, pal, I'm in charge here."
"Except you are a commander, equivalent to a major in the ranks of the Repliforce, and I'm a colonel. I outrank you, therefore I am in charge here. Besides," he gestured to the Reploid soldiers behind him "most of the soldiers still fighting are ours, and our weaponry was designed by Dr. Cain himself for anti-Reploid operations."
"Since when did Dr. Cain make a official Reploid military?" Zero's eyes narrowed in suspicion and he raised his buster.
The colonel chuckled and drew a beam sword, the blade casting an eerie red glow over them both. Zero immediately made a noise of envy that went unnoticed. "I daresay fighting me would be a waste of time, but to answer your question, he had been planning one ever since Sigma went rogue. We're not close to complete yet; we've only a land army that's a quarter of its intended size, but it looks like you'll take our assistance regardless."
"Fair enough, colonel," Zero grumbled as he climbed over the toppled building. "If you'll excuse me, I've got some business to take care of..."
"I think you'll do your friend better service if you go in with these." The colonel tossed a power pack and an E-Tank to Zero. "I don't know how well the pack will work with your weapon, but I know a melee fighter when I see one. Far be it from me to keep my allies from fighting their hardest."
Zero thanked him, took the E-Tank, and raced up the plasma bridge, slashing, shooting, and weaving his way through Sigma's army until he reached the palace gate and stopped. Around him lay the ruins of Magma Dragoon and the entire 14th unit.
"What happened?" he whispered.
"He was on us...like flies on meat..." groaned a soldier. "Nothing we had...could harm him..."
"Zero, take...care, he's a lot stronger than we thought..." Dragoon warned. "But...you'll have to kill him...to get to Sigma...he went that way..."
Zero nodded. "You've done your part and fought brilliantly, all of you." He called for a medevac for Dragoon and his men before proceeding the way the dragon had directed him.
Defensive Rampart 3b, Sigma Palace
X tore a Gun Volt apart with his Spiral Crush and climbed the rungs of the ladder behind it. "Finally a way that goes in the general direction of the production facilities..."
As he climbed the next ladder Vile fell from a shaft on the opposite side of the room.
"Come down here, you coward!" he screamed upwards at his assailant. "I'm going to strangle you with your own fucking ponytail!"
X stepped forward, charging his buster. "Fat chance."
Vile repeatedly blasted the ceiling above X his cannon, causing the wall to collapse "X, look out!" Zero jumped down, slashing the debris apart with his saber, and pushed his friend back as Vile scrambled through the door behind him and the debris blocked X's path. Zero dashed through the doors after Vile and found him scrambling into a Ride Armor.
"Ha ha ha! Welcome to your demise, Zero! This one's immune to that little popgun of yours!"
"Then let's see how it likes this!" Zero drew his saber as Vile charged, but just before he brought the blade down on the Ride Armor's fist the energy blade fizzled out. The blasted things really needed a power meter.
"Dammit, not now!" Zero pleaded, but it did no good. Cursing, he threw the now-useless saber at the Ride Armor and drew his buster, hoping to buy X enough time for them both to find a way to take Vile down.
After a few carefully-aimed charged shots, X managed to break the wall of debris. As he did he heard Zero scream and the crackling of Vile's electric prison. X dashed through the first door and blew the second apart with his buster in his haste.
His rush was stopped by the sight of Zero in his plight of weeks prior.
"X, do what I tell you or he's history!"
"Don't...listen to him, X! Go ahead and blast him!"
"Dream on, Zero! If this armor's invulnerable to your buster, it's more than a match for his ancient weapons! Prepare to be terminated, X!" He dropped Zero unceremoniously in front of him and trampled in as he charged at X, the Ride Armor's spiked feet leaving holes all over the former's body.
X scaled the wall to avoid Vile, hoping to land in the cockpit and drag him out, but the shock of the machine hitting the wall knocked him off and delivered him into Vile's uppercut. As X fell back down for a second time Vile hit him again, sending him across the room until he skidded to a stop in front of Zero's shattered body.
X heard the trampling sound of the Ride Armor and turned to face it, but to his surprise Vile was not manning it. Before he could react Vile grabbed him from behind and sliced both of his forearms off with Metal Crescents. He caught one and stabbed it into X's helmet while the latter tried to block the thrust with the stumps of his arms. Vile simultaneously ignited his flamethrowers, causing X to writhe and scream in pain as his armor and insides were slowly melted. X desperately tried to switch to Storm Tornado to extinguish the flames before remembering that he'd lost all his weapon data with his buster. He was defenseless.
The two struggled for a few more moments before X's fragile brace against Vile's arm gave out and the boomerang plunged deep into his helmet. Vile stepped back and began to charge up a Fatboy as X collapsed.
"End of the line, X. It's been fun playing with you, and I'll admit you have grown stronger. But you're still no match for me."
Both of them looked up as an explosion shook the room.
"Enjoy this...while you can...Vile...! Soon...the military...will put you down..."
"Hah! You think I give a damn about fighting Sigma's war? I've had one and only one purpose, X, and once that purpose is fulfilled, I'll gladly be retired if it means you die before me, and negotiation won't save you now, or ever!" Vile cocked his cannon.
"You just don't get it, do you? It doesn't matter how outmatched we are, we just have to win!" Zero suddenly broke free and tackled Vile from behind.
"Whoa!" Vile lurched backwards and his shot went into the ceiling, causing rubble to bury them both. At the same time, the Ride Armor dashed towards the carnage, forcing X to dive out of the way.
Inside the rubble pile, Vile gasped as a small light on his chest began to blink red. Sigma had been playing with him all along. Well, if he was going to die, he wasn't going to go quietly.
The Ride Armor quickly shifted the pile of debris aside and attacked Zero, though the red robot dodged it and fired his charged buster at Vile. To his surprise the latter dove straight for him, catching the shot to the face. Vile's body reeled back from the impact, but his momentum carried him far enough for him to tackle Zero before his body exploded in a blinding explosion.
X had been forlornly fumbling with a repair kit with no luck when he heard the blast. He whirled around and ran straight for Zero.
"No! Zero!" As he ran to him, the bottom dropped out of his stomach. The damage looked severe, almost irreparable...X cradled Zero's shattered body as best as he could in his arms. "Hang in there, buddy, I'll call for a medevac. I have a repair kit..."
"No, X...there's no time..." Zero flinched as a surge of electricity coursed through his body. "...I've got...only minutes to live...and...Vile damaged my memory backup..."
"Dammit, Zero, we've been through things tougher than this! Remember the time we double-dated and you were terrified? You survived that, I'm not losing you to some suicidal maniac!"
Zero cracked a smile that soon faded. "X...your buster's damaged...take mine...and remember what I taught you..." He detached his right forearm and offered it to X with his other hand.
"Stop speaking like that, Zero! I won't lose you! I refuse to lose you!"
"X...you're power is greater than any other's...but even you can't save me now. Please...go on...and remember me...agh...X...take my IC chip when I die...and maybe I'll return...someday..."
"I will if it comes to that, Zero. But you can't just give up now!"
"Sigma...still needs to be stopped...go now...and stop him...Maverick Hunter X...you're...Earth's...only...hope..." With that, Zero's body went slack and his head fell back.
"Zero...?" X whispered quietly, tears falling onto his friend's face. Of course, there was no answer. X opened Zero's chest and slowly removed his IC chip.
Other Hunters had now entered the room, and as one they collectively bowed their heads to pay their respects to their fallen leader. But they all remained silent.
"Zero..." X held his friend a little tighter and shed a few more tears. "A noble warrior, inspiration for us all, and my lifelong friend." He paused before continuing. "You were the ultimate symbol of hope for our kind, the beam of light that we rallied to in this time of darkness. But...even though the brightest of stars can fall, the light you cast will never fade. You will live in our hearts and in our memories, and those that follow us, for eternity."
X gently set down Zero's body and stood, raising his arm in salute as the others did the same. "In paces requiescat, Zero. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten."
He turned slowly to those assembled before him and spoke. "Help me with this repair kit, and get a medevac for Zero's body. We'll have a proper retirement ceremony back at Hunter Base."
With the help of another Hunter, Zero's right forearm was soon attached to X and the latter's other arm repaired. "I will never forget you, Zero. So long as I wield this buster against my foes, I carry you into battle with me. You will forever be my companion, in war, and hopefully, in peace when that day comes."
Two medics entered and gently lifted Zero's body onto a stretcher. A repaired Magna Centipede, along with Blast Hornet and Web Spider, appeared in the entryway, parting respectfully with their heads bowed as his body was carried out. X followed and almost dropped down a hole where the path he'd taken to that fateful room once was. The Hunters had completely demolished it to make the palace courtyard their new forward base to besiege the inner walls of the palace.
Across the courtyard, Hunters snapped to reverent attention as Zero was carried to the waiting medevac transport at the base of the bridge to Sigma City.
The moment was shattered when a hidden door burst open near Wheel Gator, Flame Stag, and Overdrive Ostrich and another animal Maverick stepped out. X charged back into battle, but Wire Sponge had already latched onto two of them with his appendages. Flame Stag and Wheel Gator both bucked violently as they were infected with the Sigma Virus. By the time X fired at Wire Sponge, it was too late to stop their corruption and both of the former Hunters withdrew into the depths of the palace before X could stop them.
While X was distracted and Overdrive Ostrich fled Wire Sponge, Morph Moth dove from the ramparts and bit the unsuspecting Magna Centipede. Just as with Flame Stag and Wheel Gator, Magna Centipede jerked and spasmed wildly as the Sigma Virus corrupted his system. Once infected, he clung to his former assailant and the two flew back up the ramparts and into the fortress interior.
The fleeing Overdrive Ostrich was suddenly caught by a falling blob of gel that quickly transformed into a crystal prison. With his target immobilized Crystal Snail advanced at his leisure and dragged his victim inside the palace to complete the infection process.
The whole capture had gone too fast for anyone to do anything, leaving everyone in the courtyard paralyzed with uncertainty.
"Sir?" one of them asked X.
"We still have a job to do, and a war to finish. Move out!" X waved his arm forward and lead the charge against the inner defensive wall.
"I'll make Sigma pay..."
Throne Room, Sigma Palace
"Violen, you know your task. Go forth and accomplish it."
"Yes, Sigma." Violen grunted and lumbered out of the room, knocking aside some of the Mavericks attempting to enter.
"Hey, watch it buddy!" Wheel Gator snarled, but Violen quickly shut him up by extending his mace.
"Hmph!" scoffed Serges in disapproval. "He couldn't sneak through a riot undetected."
"You forget, Serges, the power of Mega Man X. The reconstruction is too important to be jeopardized by the loss of only one of you, should he succeed. Though both of you are designed with his defeat in mind, there is no telling what other surprises he may have in store."
"Bah, the memento of Light shall be crushed beneath your heel with the body I have built you, Sigma! He will not live to hinder the reconstruction, and if he will, Zero shall crush him as he was designed to once we complete him!"
Sigma studied Serges with mild interest. "You should know nothing of X or Zero. And yet...you seem to know everything about them both."
Serges left Sigma's question hanging and addressed the eight Mavericks in front of him. "Crystal Snail! Magna Centipede! You will come with me once Violen has returned with our new...accomplice. The rest of you shall return to our base, immediately. We cannot afford to attract attention."
Repliforce forward base
Agile watched solemnly as Zero's body was taken to the medevac from the command center. Though he hadn't gotten to know the red robot in person his legend far preceded his presence.
The hatch to the room was suddenly battered down.
"You. You're coming with me." Agile drew his beam rapier only to be met with a morning star the size of his body. A single blow sent him flying hard enough into the wall to knock him out. Violen grabbed him and was about to teleport away when he saw the medevac with Zero's body depart.
"Masters, the transport has departed but I have custody of the target. Shall I pursue?"
"No, Violen, you've done your part. Return to our base."
"Affirmative. Return imminent."
Author's note: Bet you didn't see that twist coming, did you?
I wrote in the capture of the Mega Man X2 Mavericks because four of them were originally part of the Maverick Hunters and I found it unbelievable that they would coincidentally leave the Hunters the way Squid Adler did.
And yes, in this universe, Wolf Sigma was built by Serges. I just didn't think it was possible that Sigma could build such a form for himself.
Zero stole the spotlight in this chapter, I know. It's the last time he shows up in this fic, though, so I figured I should give him this one.
I apologize for taking 4 months to update this story and prioritizing my StarCraft fic. Rest assured, I haven't forgotten "Variable X".