C. Cowboy: Sorry it took so long; I got distracted on some other things, but I'm back on here, and we're almost finished, one more chapter and a epilogue to go and we're done. But it's far from over after that. Endgame is coming.

Disclaimer: this chapter includes a portion of the song In The End by Linkin Park.

Chapter 7: It Doesn't Even Matter

His eyes flew open and with a gasp, he sat up. "Welcome back, Sigma," a voice called above.

Sigma stood up, shaky at first, but quickly recovered balance in his new body. He then looked over his powerful arms and body, "I thank you, Lord Wily," Sigma said as he bowed to his master.

"You must be ready, Sigma," Wily said, "Megaman X and the Maverick Hunters will be joining us soon."

Sigma looked slightly puzzled, then his fear that he tried to hide shone through as the memories of his most recent 'death' returned to him. "Sir, if I may be so bold, just letting X come here, no matter the power of the trap could be … a problem."

"Nonsense, X is emotionally crippled surely after the blow you've inflected on this … Alia …" Wily said confidently, "rage and sadness are both weaknesses we can exploit, plus my secret weapon will be more then enough to stop this fake."

"If you say so, sir …" Sigma said, turning to leave, 'The old fool is making a mistake; once X gets him out of the way, I'll step back in control, and this time not as a figurehead.'

"What's this all about, Zero?" Wolfwing asked as the bulk of the Maverick Hunters gathered at a stage.

"Looks like X is about to let us know," Zero said as Iris took his hand in a nervous grip. "Don't worry, I'm sure he isn't going to send us to attack head on, even X isn't that crazy."

"I don't know, Zero," Iris whimpered lightly, "He really doesn't look happy."

"If I can have your attention," X said into a microphone, "I am sure you are all reeling from the Mavericks' attack and our losing our own base of command. They expect us to weak; they expect us not able to fight back. Now is the time to prove them wrong. I know we've all lost friends and … loved ones," X said, his voice breaking a bit before regaining his composure, "and some of us have lost everything. We have pinpointed the Mavericks' chief command center, and I, for one, am not going sit around and wait for them to hurt and kill anyone else; I, for one, believe we can actually make a difference in this God forsaken world, and I, for one, am going to go over to that command center and put boot to ass for Alia, Signas, and everyone else who was hurt and or killed from this sucker punch. I understand if anyone doesn't want to go; this is a suicide mission, plain and simple, but for everyone who does want to go, we leave in one hour. Dismissed."

"Ok… never mind," Zero said with a glint of excitement in his eyes.

X made his way straight back to Alia's room, "Ally?" he asked, but sighed in a mix of relief and sadness as he pulled a chair up to the bedside. He was glad she was asleep; if she was awake, there was no way he could go do what he knew he had to. "Ally, chances are I won't be coming back," X said softly, "I also know your chances, so … at least we'll be together; wait for me if you go first, and I'll do the same."

X then bent over and gently placed a soft kiss on her unmoving lips, "See you soon, Alia. I love you," he then stood up and left her, making his way for the armory.

X walked into the armory and saw that while the other capsules were still wrecked, some how the Archangel capsule was completely restored. "I have no choice."

(It starts with one thing

I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
keep that in mind

I designed this rhyme
to explain in due time)

X began to slowly replace his outer armor with the Archangel set when Douglas ran in, "X are you out of your mind? Don't you remember what happened last time you used that?"

"Yes," was X's monotonic reply as he snapped on his leg pieces.

(All I know
Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away)

Douglas let out a sigh before walking up to him, "Let me help you with the body pieces."

As the armor snapped on, memories flooded X's mind.

(It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on but didn't even know
Wasted it all just to)

Memories of holding Alia's hand, kissing her, watching her eyes light up when she laughed, and smiling at him for no apparent reason. He would make them pay dearly.

"You sure about this X?" Douglas asked, latching on the first wing.

(Watch it go

I kept everything inside and even though I tried

It all fell apart

What it meant to me will eventually

Be a memory

Of a time when)

"No doubt," X said angrily, "Sigma's still alive; I can feel it. But I'm strangely happy for it, I want to make him and Wily pay for what he's done."

As Douglas continued to attach the angelic armor, X's mind lingered on Alia, and the month they had together, really together. He remembered a time when they were in the garden area inside the base. She was sitting at the base of a tree with a book in hand and X pretending to be napping, using her legs as pillows. Then to the late nightly stargazing sessions, where Alia would do all the stargazing while X only gazed at his own star, on to the times that Zero likened them to rabbits. Yes, he would make them pay with interest.

(I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
And lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter)

Douglas attached the final touches, "Be careful, X," he said sadly.

"I'll do my best," X said as he placed on the Archangel Armor's helmet.

(I put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
For all this
There's only one thing you should know)

X walked out of the armory, but stopped just outside Alia's room and looked through the glass. He slowly brought a hand to the glass and held it there looking down at his dying lady love. "Stay with her, Doug," X ordered.

"I won't leave her side," Douglas said nodding firmly, "Make those sons of bitches hurt."

(I put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
For all this
There's only one thing you should know)

X nodded at his friend before looking at Alia one last time, "I'll see you soon," he repeated as he walked down the hall, and out to the ship dock.

"Don't worry, Ally. I'll get them back," X said softly as he walked toward the prepped and ready battleships Rockman and Metropolis.

(I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
And lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter)

X waited for several minutes before sighing, "looks like even Zero isn't suicidal."

"HEY, SLOW ASS, WHAT'S THE DAMN HOLD UP?" a voice came from the Rockman's loudspeaker.

X shot into the ship and was taken aback by the number of Hunters in the ship; the Rockman was filled to the brim with battle ready Maverick Hunter ground troops, and a tablet with a roll from the Metropolis said it had the same number. "I think you're not the only one wanting to put boot to ass, X," Zero said, "And Iris, Naomi, and several other spotters have already set up channels to spot for the troopers."

"Ok then, according to these scans the Mavs are expecting a ground raid. Well then, let's give it to them ... and then some." X said, pointing toward a map.

"What?" Zero asked, scratching his head.

"Ok here's the plan…"


Outside the military base, a group of teens throwing tomatoes toward the buildings were yelling and calling the Hunters cowards and other choice names when a sonic boom rang out and the two battleships hit the sky at full speed with the Blue Angel in the lead.

The teens were all gripping each other in a group hug before relaxing and watching the direction the ships and Blue Bomber were heading in. "Looks like someone's about to get their ass kicked, and it ain't the hunters!" one of the boys shouted before they all started chanting 'MEGAMAN'.


Back inside the hospital wing, Douglas walked in to check on Alia, and noticed he wasn't alone, "Exactly what are YOU doing here?" He asked the old man giving his full attention to the girl on the bed and leaving his back to Douglas, and a young woman with long, blond hair tied behind her in a ponytail, and deep, blue eyes shining with contempt.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, nearly growling, "You know we were supposed to stay out of the way, Auto!"

"Funny, I recall when we got these bodies that they came with the little things called the ability to think, feel and MAKE OUR OWN DECISIONS. Or was that all lies too? And the name's Douglas, Roll, Auto died years ago." Douglas responded just as heated.

"I wish you would either save it, or take it outside, because I really need to concentrate here," The old man said, brushing his beard while looking at Alia's readings.

"I don't take orders from you anymore, Old Man," Douglas snapped hatefully, "Respect must be earned, and you lost it from me years ago when you decided to screw with X's head. How the hell could you have done this, THEN lie about for the pure purpose of making X think he's fighting of his own free will, you … you bastard! You are ten times worse than Wily ever was! At least he was an upfront manipulator, whereas you like to pull everyone's strings from the shadows, Blues, Rock, Bass, and now X; I just want to know if you even still have a heart?"

"At least pretend you respect him! He made you," Roll growled, "that has to count for something!"

"I said THAT'S ENOUGH!" the old man snapped, finally looking back, "Listen, I want to do what I can for this poor girl, so would you both please grow up, or go kill each other outside."

"Yeah, right, Light, you just want to find a way to use her to manipulate X even more," Douglas said, pointing his finger at the old scientist, "You only want to screw with X's head, and I'll be damned before I let you do that anymore!"

"I know … I know I've made some mistakes, but I want to try to make up for them," Light explained, sadness filling his eyes.

"If you want to make it up, go to him; all X wants is to know about his past, to know where he came from, to know more about his family. You can give that to him!" Douglas shot, "If you just go to him before it's too late, it might just save him from repeating history."

"No, there's another way to keep that from happening. And she's laying right here, slowly slipping away while we're arguing," Light said firmly, turning back and attaching a laptop to the monitors attached to Alia's neural net. "You see, I feel the past would just bring more pain to the boy; the least I can do is save his future," Light said, brushing a stray hair from Alia's face and letting out a faint sigh.

"I guess … that will do …" Douglas said, finally letting the hatred go, at least temporarily, then turning his attention to Alia as well, "Think you can save her, Doc?"

"I don't know yet, Au … Douglas," Light said, looking at Douglas and pulling up a chair, "Sit down, Roll," He ordered. The girl sat down as he plugged some wires into hidden sockets in the back of her head, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to use you to hold some things 'til I can repair her base programming." He said as he temporarily shut Roll down and began to upload Alia's base memory into Roll's CPU.

Light looked up and saw Douglas watching Roll worriedly; "This won't do anything to her will it?" he asked, trying to mask his worry.

"Don't worry, Roll will be fine. Can you go fetch me some coffee, please, and Auto …er … Douglas," Light said, looking toward Roll for a moment before turning toward Douglas, "She's missed you."

"I … uh … I'll … er … I'll … get that coffee," Douglas stammered, turning bright red before turning and walking quickly out of the room.

"Some things never will change," Light chuckled before turning back to the girls, "Alright, Ms. Alia, let's see what we can do for you tonight."


"You called, Lord Wily?" Sigma said with a smirk.

"Yes, Sigma, any word from the Hunters?" Wily asked, looking out his skylight.

Sigma opened his mouth to report when the building shook violently, "I think that would be them." Sigma said as a charged blast shattered the window between the command center and the observation deck.

"Sorry to crash the party," X said as he soared into the room, flapping his majestic wings and looking toward the nervous looking Sigma. "I see you pulled yourself back together, Sigma. Good, we can play some more."

"You were very foolish to come here, Megaman X," Wily said cockily, "We have several thousand Blackguard outside just waiting for your friends."

"Is that a fact, my not-so-good doctor?" X said with an emotionless expression. He then touched the side of his helmet and spoke so Wily and Sigma could hear, "Zero, beam the boys out and bring the ships in … fast."

"What?" Sigma asked as Wily back stepped worriedly.

X smiled wickedly, but Sigma and Wily gasped in shock as two gigantic battleships flew toward them, and then dove downward towards the sea of Blackguard, exploding in a flash of light and vaporizing the Mavericks where they stood.

Wily watched with terror in his eyes as beams of energy formed into a small army of Maverick Hunters, which now out numbered the surviving Blackguard. "It's over, Wily," X said firmly, "Surrender and you'll be shown mercy."

"Mercy?" Wily chuckled, "MERCY? You pieces of scrap metal will be the ones screaming for mercy! You think you've won, but it is NOT over yet, not by a long shot!" Wily then turned and dashed through a hidden door.

"Oh no you don't!" X shot as he opened his dash wings, preparing to pursue him.

"X," Sigma said casually, drawing his beamsaber and causing X to make an abrupt stop. "It's time," He said boldly, sounding almost like the Reploid X knew years ago, "Let's finish this."

X stepped to the side to look into Sigma's eyes. "You're right; it is time," X said, drawing his own saber.

"May the strongest Reploid win," Sigma said in a soft voice, "Father."

X nodded at the Reploid only Dr. Cain knew was actually built by X's own two hands, "Yes, may the strongest win … son."

To Be Continued …

Added disclaimer: I got the idea about X creating Sigma from Tuxedo Kamen's story Debriefing Period, check it out it's a good read!