MEGA MAN X: ISLAND OF AWAKENING
By Erico
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: WHERE SHADOWS LURK
Cristoph was livid. Perhaps that was an understatement, but it fit. He pounded his fist on the long table, staring up at the commander of the GDC hovership that had sent a team back into the Central Computer base.
"Would you mind repeating that for me, Lieutenant??" Cristoph hissed, his eyes burning into the screen. The commander, unafraid of the imposing GDC Senator looked straight back at him.
"We've lost contact with our initial team. It appears by what little data we've been able to get…the heart of Cornus Island has fallen back into Maverick hands."
"Goddamnit…" Cristoph growled. He shut the comm off and slammed his fist on the table again.
Currently, he was the only member of the Cornus Island Task Force special council left…everyone else had gone home on hearing Mega Man X had left for the Central Computer facility.
Now it seemed their initial jubilation had been wrongly founded. Pretty much everyone was going to celebrate the coming New Year, with the misconception that the Maverick threat, the final vestiges from Sigma's rule, were coming to an end.
Cristoph turned and stared out through the glass window of the room, based in GDC Headquarters in Switzerland, the longstanding home of neutralism.
There was a light snow that fell outside…a dusting that carried the laughter and joy and hope of the people.
Cristoph's face often fell into a mask of rage, of anger and discord. Other times, he could be as friendly as your grandfather. It was the Politician's master weapon, that ability to change faces.
But now he had a very exact aura about him.
Resigned, he tucked his arms behind his back and looked out the window, feeling himself being drawn to that cold void outside the transparent pane.
The door to the room knocked, then a GDC messenger stuck his head inside the door.
"Sir??" Cristoph did not bother turning around.
"Yes?" He asked quietly.
"The Maverick Hunters alerted us that Mega Man X was on his way to the Maverick base at the North Pole a while back."
"And?" Queried Emilius Cristoph, wondering with slight irritation when the messenger would get to the point.
"The Fortress has just been destroyed. Our satellite reconnaissance shows a complete obliteration."
"Self-caused?"
"Either that or Mega Man X caused a massive overload." Offered the messenger. "And there's more now."
For once, Cristoph didn't reply. He merely waited.
"We also detected a pair of warp signatures leaving Ice Fortress…one long before it blew, and one only seconds before."
"And?"
"They were both headed for the Central Computer base." The messenger finally reported with slight hesitation. "The last one has been identified by the satellite's scanners as that of Mega Man X…he has a very distinct warp signal."
"Very well. You are dismissed." Cristoph replied, painstakingly slow.
The door shut…And once again, Cristoph stood alone.
So…It appears that a Maverick managed to escape the Fortress before X could destroy it…and it is that same Maverick that no doubt caused the destruction of the infiltration team. And as I stand here…X is, if not already there, on his way to end this.
"You had better win, X." Cristoph finally muttered darkly. He looked out his window…To the quiet solitude beyond death, beyond life…to nothingness.
"For the sake of your race…
You had better win."
The passageways of the Central Computer base were just as they had been only hours before, in design, length and form.
What was new to the décor turned X's stomach, something that would have made him hurl, was he capable of such an action.
The remains of humans streaked the floor, their blood and flesh strewn in every direction.
Don't become frightened by the ravages of war…become hardened by it.
"You're going to pay for this, Sigma…"
Aside from the Barrier Attackers and the sensor sweeps X still remembered how to avoid, there was no opposition standing in X's way.
In a cruel sense, it was almost like Sigma was beckoning him in. It had to be a trap, but X didn't care. If Sigma was alive…then he had Zero.
And X was going to get his friend back at any cost.
And finally, X cleared the gauntlet and entered the first dividing chamber.
It took a few moments for his eyes to become accustomed to the dim light, which slowly increased as it registered his presence.
X was graced to stare at a sneer he had thought dead months ago…
His body tensed up as he glowered at his old foe, now different in design with yellow and green colored armor.
"SIGMA." The reploid who could very well be considered the son of James Cain sneered even wider as X acknowledged him. "I don't know how you survived, but you're dead."
"Oh, I don't think so…" Sigma chuckled. He looked up at X. "In a sense, it could be said…I can never die." X glared at Sigma.
"And why is that?"
"Because you are still alive as well." Sigma stepped back and dimmed the lights a little, and from the other side of the room, a new figure appeared through the exiting doorway.
"But I'll tell you something, X…I did bring you here for a reason. I shall kill you if I must, but somewhere within my spirit I have a powerful inkling it will not come to that."
"What kind of sick joke are you spewing, Maverick?!" X growled. Sigma chuckled.
"No joke, friend…Yes, we were that at one time…friends…but now that we've taken opposite sides of the struggle, it seems we'll be torn apart." Sigma sighed dramatically. "Such is the case with friendships, I suppose. How was it put in that play about the Scopes Monkey Trial? Oh yes…"Perhaps it is you who have changed…by standing still.""
X backed up a step, charging his Buster.
"This ends now, Sigma." X howled. He raised his left arm and fired a massive blue ball of plasma energy.
But it was met in midair by a second blast from the other side of the room…the two shots cancelled each other out as they burned their energies into nothingness.
Sigma's low laugh began to permeate the room.
"Oh, I'm afraid it's not going to be so simple." The second figure, until now almost unnoticeable, stepped in front of Sigma and stood tall, its right arm shifted into a Buster that still singed with the acrid smell of ozone.
The lights in the room powered up from their dimmed state. The second figure fell into focus.
Every inch of him was completely the same as X remembered him…
The staunch stance…
The clenched fist…
The firm jaw…
And the long blond braid of hair that lay behind his helmeted head.
And everywhere the color of red…
Oh God no, oh pleaseGodNO…
"Look who I found wandering around, Mega Man!!" Sigma laughed darkly. "My friend here has a small problem…It seems that you let him die, and he's not too happy about that! Now I think it is time he repays the favor!!"
Zero…Undeniably Zero took a slow step forth, almost as if he was hesitating for the attack.
Sigma's laugh grew more and more subdued, until finally he lifted his arm and pointed at the bewildered Mega Man X, Buster drawn, but not prepared for combat.
"Kill him." Sigma uttered.
In a flash of light, Sigma vanished from the room.
Finally, it was just Zero and Mega Man X.
I've found him…but God, why this?!
"Zero…" X began, his voice slightly panicked, "Zero, can you hear me?!"
His only response was a cold, calculating smile of death and the flash of plasma.
There was no sign of recognition in Zero's eyes as both his arms lifted up and fired, one after the other.
Don't freeze up, MOVE IT!!!
X barely managed to scale his wall before Zero's supershots slammed into the wall below him, dissipating on the door and melting it shut.
But there was a third burst as well…X remembered Hazil talking about the advancement somewhat. Zero's arm went up behind his back, pulling out a yellow bladed beam saber. The beam came to life, and unwilling to remain still, flew off in the same fashion that the supershots had. It was a blast X barely avoided, but it was sobering.
The Zero I know is gone…Sigma…Sigma's somehow TURNED ZERO MAVERICK…
His heart fell as he stared on at his friend, roaring below in rage as his target fled from his field of fire.
There was nothing left of Zero now…nothing but a shell.
Damn Sigma…
DAMN SIGMA TO HELL!!!
"So be it." X said in a choked voice. His Busters began to charge with plasma energy, one arm not shifted into a Buster yet as he clung to the wall.
If Zero is Maverick…
Then he is my enemy. Forgive me, Zero…But as I live, I cannot allow you to bring ruin to the world. Like all Mavericks, you too must be stopped.
Zero charged over from his corner, jumping high into the air with power X did not think possible. He quickly Air-Dashed off the wall, just in time to avoid Zero's uppercut. What he was not expecting was Zero to turn around and bring his fist into the ground, popping up chunks of sharp metal from the shockwave. Wincing a bit as a shard slashed across his left arm, X righted himself about and faced Zero, and unloaded both Busters.
The double shot's fury was intense, slamming the Crimson Maverick into the wall with savage fury. But even though it was intense, Zero moved on, as if he didn't even register pain or danger.
Righting himself up, Zero fired again. X was still recovering from his own shots, and the first blast caught him off guard, sending him sprawling to the ground and sparing him from the fury of the next supershot and saber arc.
"DAMNIT, WHAT THE HELL DID SIGMA DO TO YOU?!" X screamed, rolling away as Zero charged at him and avoided a second dose of the powerful shrapnel downblast by Zero's fist shockwave.
Zero moved as if possessed…
As if something was controlling him, so that the pain, the frustration he might feel as a combat unit would not impune on his battle performance.
And if something WAS controlling him…
Headshots, X. Headshots...Tie the bastard up and start wailing on him like an Irishman at the prizefight.
X switched over to his Silk Shot, realizing the charge he'd been building up had carried over. His Buster drew in the tiny shrapnel shards Zero had created and forged them together on the end of his weapon.
"Try this on for size…" X growled, jumping the first supershot and Air-Dashing over the next two blasts.
When he landed, he released his shot. And just like he'd hoped, Zero was in no position to avoid.
The mass of wires and garbage clung to Zero, wrapping about him tightly with angry fury. A simple uncharged Silk Shot might not have held, but the larger one did…
Unable to break free of his bonds, the Crimson Maverick began to scream and writhe furiously. X kicked him to the ground and leaned on top of him…
"GIVE ZERO BACK!!!"
Just what are you trying to do, X…
Destroy a Maverick…or save a friend…
Through his angry tears, X began to slam punch after punch into Zero's face. Ignoring the warning as his fingers began to receive minor cuts and abrasions from the assault, he pressed on, pounding away with every erg of his enraged strength.
"DAMNIT, GIVE ZERO BACK!!!"
You can't save a Maverick…
But Zero WASN'T Maverick…A part of X still believed that, and it was that part that he listened to. He just hoped that this strategy would work…
If there was some sort of control mechanism inside Zero's mind…the direct damage caused would hopefully short it out enough…
He hoped…
But even the strongest bonds can fail…
Enraged and screaming at the top of his lungs, the Maverick Zero snapped his arms out with a power X had not anticipated, snapping the bonds into useless scrap once more.
X's own scream became choked off as Zero's left hand went up to his throat and squeezd. His vision began to dim after a few seconds, and the warning began to flash in the corner of his eye.
Reploids didn't breathe air…but their bloodstreams carried precious energy nonetheless to their minds. With Zero's hand in a deathgrip about his neck, that bloodstream was cut off…
Zero was, for lack of a better term, choking the life out of X.
Holding his prisoner high, Zero continued, ignoring the useless struggling X put up.
For some odd reason, it never occurred to X to simply ready a Buster and fire a shot point blank at Zero…The Crimson Maverick was expecting that.
Finally, Zero threw X across the room, letting the armored warrior slam into the wall and leave a horrendous dent before slumping to the ground, his recovery slow.
The Crimson Maverick began to walk towards X, a malignant grin plastered across his face.
But halfway across the room…Zero began to slow down…
As X righted himself and realized his vision was beginning to return, he stared up at Zero as his pace was reduced to a crawl.
Somewhat surprised, the Maverick Zero lifted his right arm up and tried to fire at X while he was down.
For some odd reason, his left arm promptly slammed the arm down, blowing the plasma blast uselessly into the ground.
His face now registering shock, the Maverick Zero reached his right arm up for his saber, shifting it back into a normal hand.
But once again, his left hand sprang into action, hurling itself across Zero's chest and clutching to the right hand's wrist for dear life.
Grunting in dismay, the Maverick Zero completely ignored X now…
All of his focus was now in his hands, his warring hands…
X clambered to his feet and charged both Busters, shakily wondering what the Hell was going on.
The Maverick Zero screamed…
"NO!!!" Came the defiant cry.
X was taken aback…
And then it hit him.
My God…Zero's battling himself…he's battling the control mechanism for his body...
Zero's…
Waking up…
"COME ON, ZERO!!!" X urged, his strong voice echoing across the room. "You can do it…You gotta do it!!!"
The response was an unintelligible scream and Zero hurling himself against the wall.
"Fight it, Zero!!! Fight it like you told me to fight!!!"
Another scream…this time, Zero's left arm shifted into a Buster and blew his body back five feet with a powerful shot.
In the end, X could only watch in blind stupor as Zero fought.
The end came at last…Both arms shifted into Busters, and both arms pointed towards each other.
The subsequent explosion of plasma energy was both deafening and blinding…
X finally lowered his arms from his eyes a few seconds later, and blinking from the slight retinal burnout, he looked on.
"Zero…" He whispered.
The crumpled form of Zero lay on the floor, standing on one knee with an arm laid on it for support. Every inch of Zero looked damaged by the fight…loose sparks flew in every direction.
X edged closer towards the red and white colored reploid, still uneasy.
"Zero??" He whispered again, this time as a question.
The head came slowly up…
The face was weary and torn, battered by the battle.
But the eyes spoke volumes.
They blinked for a moment as they focused in on X…
The glint of intelligence shining once more in them.
"X…" Came the croaking reply. "Mega Man…X…"
The Blue Bomber of 21XX broke out into a wide grin.
"Zero!! Zero, can you remember me?!"
Zero tried to get up for a moment, but promptly dropped back down to his knees.
"Let me…get my bearings here…" Zero wheezed, a faint smile crossing his face. "It's not every day…an old reploid like me's brought back from the dead."
The two friends sat there for a few long moments…neither speaking, until Zero finally broke the silence.
"I'm sorry I caused you that much damage." X examined the scrapes and bruises on his arm and neck.
"I'll be all right…" Zero's face turned serious.
"That's good…because we still have to destroy all the Mavericks, including Sigma." Zero got to his feet unsteadily and stared at the floor.
"Sigma used an override program on me…allowed him to shut off my sentience protocols and turn me into a mindless killer." Zero winced as he rubbed his head. "I guess all that bitch slapping of yours did the trick…shorted out my mind enough it loosened the controls and allowed me a chance to take back my mind and body."
"The program's…"
"Deleted." Came Zero's firm answer. "But I remember another tidbit about it…" He walked towards the center of the room. "About where Sigma is." He raised his left fist, then screaming, jammed it into the floor.
This time, the explosion was far more focused, and Zero managed to blow a hole in the floor.
A gaping black void lay below. Zero staggered back up to his feet and motioned to X.
"Sigma's down that hole…His program had information about his final location." Zero shrugged. "It's up to you to stop him, X…" He looked forlornly at his own battle damaged body. "I'm in no shape to take him on." X nodded, his face also serious.
"I get it…Time for the reunion later, end the threat now." Zero nodded as well.
"If we don't put a stop to Sigma and what little resistance is in this Fortress, we'll all be in for it. I'll take out the main computer and whatever's along the way, just to make sure there won't be any data for Sigma to use against us later." X shook his head.
"The GDC's gonna have a field day…Cristoph's gonna blow a gasket."
"Cristoph who??" Zero asked, obviously puzzled. X shook his head.
"I'll tell you later." Zero clucked his tongue.
"I'll hold you to that, Hunter." The inflection in Zero's final word was strong.
A hidden thought of understanding ran between the two friends in that room…
You're strong, X. Strong enough to stop Sigma and make the world safe again.
I'm the Hunter you always thought I could be…
Zero rubbed his hands together.
"Now get going." He ordered firmly. "Before Sigma has a chance to escape."
X needed no further compulsion. As Zero blew out the other exit towards the main computer of the base…
X dropped down the newly created hole and into the black abyss.
It seemed to go on forever…X's internal altimeter calculated by his velocity and time he was going down at least a half of a mile.
But he finally landed, with enough of an impact his high powered shock buffers wobbled from the strain and he fell on his butt.
Stumbling back to his feet, X blinked as the lights began to come on.
He looked up, just in time to see the hole above become closed off as a ceiling slid into place.
In a far corner of the room, embedded into the wall, stood a very large processor core…
And standing at the other end of the room was a grimfaced Sigma, growling in frustration.
"No one in the GDC is aware of this chamber…it was a specialized project designed by Magna Centipede as a final resort. Unfortunately, he never had the chance to utilize it. I did, though…" The Maverick grinned. "This will serve as your grave…entombed in the very heart of Cornus Island as the base above explodes and buries you alive." X ignored the pangs of fear that tried to run through him. He cocked himself into a defensive stance and began to charge up his Busters.
"Try me, you monster."
"You are merely a bothersome insect, Mega Man X!" Sigma rasped. "It is about time that I crush you beneath my heel!" Sigma too readied himself into a stance…
His wrists sprouted long metallic claws, and he grinned at X.
"Now we'll see whose gravesite this is."
Sigma moved at a speed X didn't think was possible for the Maverick…
Never assume, X.
Wincing as Sigma slashed at him, X somehow managed to scamper up the closest wall and avoid serious damage.
"Wicked set of claws there, Sigma." X snarled. Sigma grinned from ear to ear as he vanished out of sight.
He reappeared just above X, piledriving him into the floor with both claws stabbed out. Puncturing the armor of X's shoulder blades, Sigma roared in intensity.
X screamed in pain and frustration, drawing in his arms and unleashing a G-Crush wave. Sigma grunted as the plasma storm threw him against the wall and ravaged at his systems.
X groggily got back up to his feet, noting grimly that the first serious exchange of blows had been delivered.
Substantial damage to shoulder joints. Decrease in arm mobility.
"Great." X wheezed, noting how much more sluggish his arms moved through the dull pain.
Sigma got back up to his feet as well, every inch of his body scathed by the G-Crush, his armor dwindled down to almost nothing. Staring through the jagged scars across his eyes, Sigma growled at X.
"Nice trick."
"Same to you." X retorted. Sigma sneered again.
"Things are different now than they were last time, X."
"Yeah, you've turned to using Maverick Hunters to do your bidding instead of that stupid dog of yours."
"Velguarder was a noble beast, X." Sigma glowered. "You will regret damaging his name."
"Just like you'll regret ever having started the Maverick Uprisings." X spat back. "Just like you'll regret all the innocent lives you've killed."
Sigma didn't reply back, and X knew why.
Words only carried so far. Now, the bloodshed would answer their battle for supremacy.
Sigma began to shimmer with a yellow light, then drew his claws back just long enough to hurl out a blast of electrical energy in a powerful wave. Caught off guard, X received the blow at its full power and was thrown back against the wall.
"The last time we fought, it was I who lay at the mercy of ravaging electricity." Sigma cackled. "The times have changed, X."
X lifted both Busters and nodded somberly, pushing past the pain and firing a pair of blasts. Still in preparation for launching another shot, Sigma was struck with as much power as he'd given to his foe.
"And yet you're far, far weaker." X spat out. Sigma got back up to his feet and X laughed. "The last time we fought, my plasma barely put a dent in you. Now, your body's torn apart easier than ever."
Sigma grinned back at X, malevolent as ever even through his own wounds.
"True…but what I lack in defense I more than make up for in ATTACK." Sigma drew his arms into a cross and surrounded himself with a field of electrical energy balls.
Charging up his Busters, X eyed the bursts cautiously. Sigma chuckled.
"And unlike you, X, mine are homing." X found himself dodging about as the balls of light trailed him as he danced across the room to avoid them. Thankfully, they weren't repeat homers, and only had one suicide shot to nail him.
Sigma charged towards X, both claws extended out to rip him to shreds. X narrowed his eyes and kicked his Dash thrusters on. As Sigma roared towards X, the Blue Bomber of 21XX readied himself into an almost crouching pose and dashed on.
Stunned, Sigma found his target had eluded him. X righted himself as he passed through Sigma's legs and fired again, this time having only built up a Level 4 charge…one arm at full purple power.
But it was strong enough to jar Sigma forwards into a stumble.
X's eyes were calm as his armor shifted into green again and he fired off a Spin Wheel. It danced on the floor for a few moments, then zipped off towards the stumbling Sigma.
The Maverick screamed in pain and leapt to his feet as the high tempered sawblade began to eat through his armor. Watching grimly, X switched back to his normal Buster and drained a Sub-Tank, landing at full health.
Sigma continued to scream as the Spin Wheel charged up his back.
"I guess I'll put you out of your misery then." X said tersely.
Surrounding his fist with the strange light, X screamed as he caught Sigma full on with the Dragon Punch. Both him and the Maverick at the end of his fist soared up into the air, and then the energy wave dispersed into Sigma's body.
X fell back to the ground and dashed out of the way as Sigma's overloading body began to self-destruct. He covered his eyes from the blinding explosion, then lowered his sluggish arms and winced at the message.
Arm mobility further deteriorated. Sure enough, they felt like lead.
X stared at the empty room, littered only with what little components of Sigma had escaped the small fireball.
Silence…
X shook his head.
"Sigma, you should have stayed dead."
He turned back around and prepared to activate his Warp Generator.
There came the audible click of a speaker system being turned on…
And then a low laugh that froze X to the floor.
"Foool…" Sigma rasped. "Did you think that that was the end of me??" Sigma's laugh grew stronger.
X turned back around in fright…
And found himself staring at a large, wire frame head of Sigma staring down at him, laughing to no end.
"Oh my god…" X wheezed in shock.
"It ends here, Mega Man X!!!" Sigma screamed in jubilation. "You don't have a ghost of a chance!!"
The wire frame ghost vision of Sigma began to move towards X…
And the Blue Bomber of 21XX was frozen to the floor in fright.
One of the things Zero wished he'd been given during his reconstruction was a Sub-Tank.
"Because by God, I need one right about now…" He growled as his mind flashed him another warning message.
That battle between himself and Sigma's damnable control program had been intense…even though he'd ended up deleting the sonofabitch, it had done more than its fair share of damage.
Zero blasted away another Barrier Attacker with his Triple Shot and trudged on through the corridors.
The klaxons were wailing on to no end, all the bases' defense mechanisms homed in on the Crimson Hunter in their attempt to stop him from blasting the main computer to bits…literally speaking. And X was down in that hidey hole, fighting with Sigma.
Again.
"I tell you, that boy's grown a lot since Sigma blew his way out of the MHHQ." Zero muttered softly.
Grown a lot indeed…He was running on rage the last time he took down a Maverick base. He was running on rage when he pulled the same stunt this go-around. His anger gave him far more power than he could ever think possible.
But what puzzled Zero, as he dashed away from a Drop Block and blew its crystal weapons beacon into scrap with a quick Double Shot, was who would have come out on top had Zero not regained control. The thought chilled him, and somehow excited him at the same time.
"A fight between me and X…No holds barred, no second chances, no mercy calls."
Who would win…The Man in Blue or the Rogue in Red??
Such thoughts did little to help him focus on his mission, Zero chastised himself as another Drop Block landed a lucky shot.
"BACK OFF!!" He screamed, blowing it into shreds. Strangely enough, the Drop Block's weapons beacon remained intact.
Zero froze as an Installer Unit rounded the corner and began to lift its arm cannon. Zero recognized the design from his data uplink about Maverick controlled units…
The Installer was a heavily armored 'Mech. Its laser didn't do much damage to experienced warriors, but the stomp attack it utilized was devastating.
Zero's eyes flitted down to the weapons beacon at his feet in the remains of the Drop Block. A slight twinge of an idea began to dance about in his head, and he curled his mouth into a smile.
Quickly, he pulled up the device and jammed it into his Buster. Quickly, he sent in a charge into the device, a massive surge.
Danger. There is a possibility of overload.
"Nooo, REALLY?!" The Crimson Hunter muttered under his breath. The Installer Unit leapt up into the air, preparing to come crashing down on the wounded Hunter.
"Nice try." Zero grumbled, tossing the flashing weapons beacon up towards the Installer and dashing free of its path.
The beacon wedged itself firmly into the Installer's chest armor, and when the defensive drone landed back to earth with Zero a fair distance away, it exploded.
The explosion was focused, ripping a gaping hole through the Installer's entire chest, but doing little else.
Satisfied, Zero plodded on.
Critical damage received. Recommend shutting down secondary systems.
"Like walking and shooting? Screw THAT." Zero snapped at his systems.
A little later on, a Barrier Attacker left him a rather large amount of internal operations energy. Zero drained it, satisfied to see his systems were shutting up for a change about his damage.
And finally, Zero came across the very center of the large Central Computer Complex. The thirty foot high data core stared down at him, diagnostic lights flashing menacingly.
Not surprisingly, Zero found it infected to no end by the Maverick's efforts. Corrupted, defiled, it was set to detonate the entire BASE if anyone besides a Maverick tried to gain access.
"Well, isn't that just terrific." Zero sighed, lifting his right arm behind his back and firing a shot.
The approaching Barrier Attacker disintegrated instantly, and Zero returned his full focus to the device. He stared at it for the longest time, almost not believing the extent that the Mavericks were this ruthless and anal about security.
But he knew better, and in the end, he resigned himself to charging up more energy into his weapons systems.
"So lemme see here…try to gain access and save the system from Maverick control, and risk blowing me and X and the entire base to kingdom come…" He flipped his Busters up and stared menacingly at the core, "…Or how about I do what I do best, blow a bunch of shit up, and just not let those damned airheads at the GDC frack it up later and kill themselves?"
The core blinked its diagnostic lights at Zero in response.
The Crimson Hunter put on his best rakish grin and clucked his tongue.
"And I'll choose Door Number TWO." He fired both blasts, then reached up and launched a saber wave at the core as well.
The shots were placed so that the core would be struck equidistantly. They burned clean through the core, which was never designed for heavy abuse. However, a few diagnostic lights still blinked green at Zero.
"Aaw, shaddap!" He growled at the remaining shreds of the core, firing off an unstoppable volley of plasma bullets that scrapped it to slag.
Satisfied with the result, Zero set his Warp Generator to activate him the Hell out of dodge. But he didn't ask for the MHHQ's location…
He chose a section of sandy beach on Cornus Island.
The least he could do now was wait for his friend to make it back alive.
X dashed as fast as he could away from Sigma's ghost head and its overwhelming heat beam. Luckily for X, Sigma's attack destroyed the pair of Triceratanks he'd somehow created out of nothingness moments before.
"YOU ARE MINE, X!!!" Sigma hissed as the beam came scathingly close to the Hunter before it shut off. The head bobbed down and slammed into X, jarring his frightened and weakened frame into the wall with monstrous force.
"It's not possible…" X wheezed, disbelieving in the first place Sigma had survived the night of June 19th, and disbelieving in the second that his ghost was now following him about. He fired off a Level Three charged blast, his face falling as it bounced off uselessly. Sigma's cackle grew louder.
"YOU FOOL X!!! NOTHING CAN HARM ME!!!" X moved out of the way just as the head crashed into the wall where he was.
X turned about in dismay and looked back where Sigma was freeing himself from his last attack.
The perceptive Hunter saw something that didn't add up…
Sigma's head was loosing itself from the dent in the wall it had made…
But the dent wasn't shaped like a head.
"What the…?!" X barked in dismay. Sigma growled.
"Nice dodge, but it ends here." X's mind raced for answers as Sigma took up a position and readied his heat beam again.
The blistering wave came closer and closer to X, who finally climbed up the wall and Air-Dashed over the immediate threat. But his mind thought…
Why the Hell doesn't that dent look like Sigma's head??
X had tried almost everything in his secondary weapons inventory, the only untried tricks left in his book being the Strike Chain and G-Crush, which hadn't fully recharged yet. And somehow, Sigma managed to remain unharmed by them all…
But X was going to take a gamble, a gamble he hoped was worth it.
Draining a second Sub-Tank, he brought himself back to full health.
Sigma was still recovering from his last heat beam attack, and was an inviting target, just hanging up in the air.
X let his instincts take over and unleashed another flaming Dragon Punch, embedding his fist into a direct uppercut on Sigma's cleft chin. Sigma screamed in rage as the shot hit home…
And then his wire frame head began to flash crazily, distorting and shifting and flickering…
Flickering long enough for X, at his proximity to watch in awe as the head vanished for a mere millisecond and was replaced by something within…
Stunned, X fell to the floor as his attack was completed. If he had blinked, he could have missed it…
Ockham's Razor: The simplest solution is usually the right one.
"You're no friggin' ghost!" X snapped angrily. "You're just a weapons device hidden in a holographic illusion!!" Sigma's head was now fully intact, only now having turned a putrid yellow color instead of its green.
I can't believe I almost fell for that trick…
He was trying to play on my fears…The Bastard…
"Sigma, you're as cold and calculating as ever." X continued, clenching his fist up. "You pull a trick from Wily's book and modify it against me…"
"It was a good idea." Sigma growled back. "That human Wily made a holographic attack module that fired powerful bursts of plasma, recharged by similar energy attacks, and then tried to scare Mega Man by altering its look to that of an alien lifeform. And admit it, X…You're haunted by me."
"No longer." X growled, lifting his Buster and unleashing a Level Four shot of plasma. Finally, Sigma's weakened cloak field allowed it to penetrate through, and the weapons carrier inside suffered another hit. "But there's always a weakness, you know that? In Wily's case, it was a dousing of Bubble Lead that short-circuited his final defense measure."
"Mine has no weaknesses." Sigma chuckled. X grinned and lifted his Buster again.
"Yeah…it's also got no defenses." Another plasma shot tore through the field and into the heart of the device.
Sigma's head shuddered under the blows.
"You were right about one thing, Sigma." X growled, narrowing his eyes as the head vanished and reappeared just behind him. He dashed out of the way of its slam attack and unleashed another burst of plasma, this one deflected. "This is a gravesite…YOURS."
The G-Crush was useless now, the Dragon Punch…Sigma'd be expecting that.
X's coloration switched over to a light purple along with his white, and Sigma's head warped out again.
"Come on, you…" X muttered.
This time, it reappeared on TOP of X…slamming him down into the floor with a horrific grinding sound and refusing to stop.
Gasping, X struggled to get free…To no avail.
"YOURS, FOOL." Sigma rasped. "I've tasted death at your hands…now it is your turn to feel it at mine." His eyes beginning to blur, X pinpointed the source of Sigma's voice, lifted his left arm up…and fired.
An elongated coil chain with a hook head sprang out and flung itself into the core of Sigma's wire frame head, latching onto the very heart of the weapons carrier.
The Strike Chain unleashed its overloading wrath into the heart of the beast…Sigma screamed and tried to escape, but X clambered up to his feet, keeping his weapon buried in Sigma's skull and pouring more juice into his weapon, draining it slowly, but knowing critical damage was being done.
Sigma's head continued to change colors…until it finally was a dark, dark blood red…
And then everything just froze…
X's Strike Chain was blown out from the inside of Sigma's head by a forceful explosion…
The weapons carrier inside had gone haywire.
"NOOO!!!" Sigma screamed, trying to regain control of his fritzed final weapon. All to no avail…scrapped beyond an ability to even shut it down, the weapons carrier began spinning and careening about the room in a wild course…
It finally slammed into the computer core with a horrendous explosion, tearing a gasping hole into the nexus and causing the entire room to begin to shake and collapse.
As if in one final moment of defiance Sigma restored the Wire Frame head above X, shaking itself back and forth in a obstinate no.
But X knew it was too late for the Maverick.
"Mega Man X, I have lost to you again…Each defeat only makes me stronger and servers to bring you to your ultimate doom!!"
"Shallow words for a dead man." X growled back callously. "I hope you enjoy being buried alive…if you even are alive, you sick freak."
"Kiss my ass, human lover." Sigma retorted. "But, something is not right…I don't quite understand…why did Zero…" X blinked, realizing Sigma's voice patterns were beginning to break up as the explosions grew worse and worse.
"He is…the last of the Doctor's creations…" And then the room shuddered with a tremor far worse than any before.
"AAAAAARRRRRGGGHH!!!!"
Tempering his anger down, and realizing that at long last it was all over, Mega Man X readied his Warp Generator. But he turned back to the devastated and self-destructing computer core in the room where Sigma's Wire Frame Head had appeared in its final moments.
"Sigma…" X breathed calmly. "Go to Hell."
And then he was little more than a beam of light, leaving the deep room of Cornus Island's interior and Sigma and the final battle all behind him…
And at long last, free into the night sky of the Pacific…
Free…
And all those who had died at the Maverick's hands had been avenged.