Megaman X2: Eternal War

Chapter 23: A War for the Ages

By Genoscythe

sniff this is it folks. The last disclaimer ever...for this story =P (I wonder if this even counts as a disclaimer? I'm really not disclaiming anything. Oh well, technical mambo always makes my head hurt)

" Hmph. It's your choice, but I won't come along with you,"

" I never asked you. Rot here if you wish. I hear the Hunters getting closer by the second,"

" I still can't believe he would go back on his word..."

" He allies himself with the humans. What can you expect?"

" He will defeat you again,"

" What makes you so sure of that?"

" He is too powerful. Do you remember how he killed Violen?"

" That's part of the reason why I'm going after him again,"

" Petty revenge? I thought you were above that, Agile,"

" Nothing about revenge is petty, Serges. You had better leave before the Hunters disable the IT systems,"

" And go where?" Agile was silent. They stood in the midst of a massive loading bay. Mavericks scurried about, loading things into crates and preparing to leave while their brethren held back the Maverick Hunters in the base. They did not know where they were leaving to, but they were preparing in case a plan was formed.

" Either way, Megaman X will die. I'm leaving now," Serges made no reply. Suddenly, Agile disappeared in a brilliant flash of light. The base began to rock, and the old maverick moved to the large battle tank in the back of the hangar. If the Maverick Hunters wanted to retire them, they would not do so without casualties of their own...

Sigma wore a new thick yellow combat armor equipped with three long blades attached to each wrist. Now, he scratched these claws together, generating tongues of lightning that began to flick instantaneously into the air. He lunged at X, swiping his claws in a cross formation, leaving behind trails of electricity. X had lunged to the side, charging up his arm cannon, but Sigma was incredibly fast. He was already in front of him again, and this time the long claws raked across his chest and sent pins-and-needles through his body. He fired a shot, but the energy bolt flew through empty air, as Sigma was now gone.

X felt a strong grip on his head, and he was lifted into the air.

" Not putting up much of a fight, are you X?"

" Go to hell," X spat. Sigma grunted and flung the white hunter against the wall. The neocrete cracked and dust formed a huge cloud above X's head as he lay against the wall. A hand reached through the cloud and grabbed him by the waist. That hand flung him into the center of the room, and he sprawled on the floor.

Sigma lunged at him, but he fired a charged shot into the air where he predicted he would appear. Sure enough, the ball of energy collided with Sigma's chest and he staggered back. X jumped to his feet to find Sigma laughing.

" This body is far superior to the one Father made for me. Your strength hasn't increased much. Can you keep up?" The maverick leader's clawed fist flew at X, but he ducked and made a grab for his arm, intending to throw him. He was stopped by an overwhelming surge of electricity that connected to him when he touched Sigma's arm. He had no choice but to fall backward, for he couldn't stand. One of Sigma's claw arms retracted. He grabbed X and pulled him up to his own height. Then, he jumped into the wall, smashing X between his shoulder and the neocrete surface. Grabbing him by the head, he threw him into the opposite wall and jumped after him, once again crushing X.

X was then thrown to the ground, and Sigma fell on top, laying down a thunderous punch with the weight of gravity behind it. The maverick leader stepped back. X felt broken internally and externally. He heard a voice inside his head, but he ignored it until now. It said, Giga Crush power at 94%. Initiate before reaching 115% or meltdown will occur.

" I can't believe you're still moving, X," Sigma said as X attempted to stand. Suddenly, the maverick rushed at X, kicking him into the wall and bringing both claws to bear. Three long metal blades sliced through X's armor and skin, tearing apart his insides until they cut through his back. Impaled on Sigma's right claw, X's vision began to blur. The only thing that seemed real to him was the constant warning. Giga Crush power at 113...114%. Initiate now before reaching meltdown. Initiate now before...

" Initiate...Giga Crush program..." X whispered. Sigma's gaze became quizzical, then angry for being interrupted in his moment of glory. Giga Crush attack activated. Armor program terminating...

X saw, through blurred eyes, a light brighter than the sun itself, he heard Sigma scream, felt the claws inside of him twist, then disintegrate. Before long, he couldn't even see Sigma due to the light. He still heard the screams, and he also heard explosions and creaking metal. He was vaguely aware that the building was falling apart around him.

Sigma was in the warm hands of victory. His enemy was skewered on his claws, and victory for the Purifier army was at hand. He had dreamt of this moment at least a thousand times, but he never thought it would be so glorious! Megaman X's blood ran freely down his arm and stained his armor red. The look on X's face, however, changed from one of horror to one of determination. What could X possibly have left up his sleeve? Sigma thought.

Then, his opponent began to mutter something. Sigma narrowed his eyes. Then, his claws began to feel a bit warm; not from the blood of his adversary, but from an inner heat. Then, X began to faintly glow. Sigma looked curiously at this change, but curiosity turned to terror as the glow exploded into a brilliant, searing wave of pain. Sigma felt his arm being torn apart molecule by molecule, until it completely disappeared. He screamed as his armor blew away like hot butter in a gale. He saw the building's walls explode outward, and for a moment he glimpsed the outside before the rest of the building began to fall down on top of them.

He could no longer see X; he was at the epicenter of the pain and heat, where it was blindingly bright. As if the searing pain of the energy wave wasn't enough, pieces of the ceiling began to fall on him. Normally, debris wouldn't even dent his armor, but his armor was now blasted apart and his metal skeleton was laid bare. While he was being blown away by the intense energy, a massive chunk of the Central Computer landed on him, totally and completely destroying his weakened skeletal frame.

Sigma died instantly under the weight of the computer piece. Still, the Giga Crush attack lasted for another thirty seconds as the building crumbled and fell apart.

When X awoke from his daze, he was sitting in the middle of a burnt-out husk of a building. Immediately, his hands flew to where he had been stabbed, but he felt no trace of the wound. He was surprised to find, however, that his armor was the normal azure color. Somehow during the Giga Crush, his armor data must have been used to fuel the attack. He looked about to be sure if he knew where he was.

Surely enough, there were large pieces of what looked like the Central Computer's processing column scattered about on the burnt floor. He guessed he was on a massive pile of debris, since the floor was so unstable and it began to slope downward near the walls. He looked over the ruined walls themselves to get a look at the scenery. What looked like the top half of Central Control lay like a destroyed monument on the fields of ash outside what was left of the building. X grabbed a hold of the lip of the wall in front of him and hoisted himself up on it. It looked like he was only on the third story; he must have fallen several levels to get there.

Despite having nearly been killed, X felt completely refreshed. He jumped from the wall, landing fairly easily on the ash-covered ground. A third-story jump was nothing for a reploid built to withstand harsh impacts like that. He stood and looked up at the burnt-out ground floors. The mere thought that X had done so much destruction brought a shiver down his spine. As he looked, debris was still falling from the sky. One of the bits of debris was moving faster than the others, and seemed to be growing larger by the second.

X's eyes widened. He jumped out of the way as Agile plummeted to the ground where he was just standing. The maverick had buried his sword where X should have been, so he just left it there as he stood up. His armor was badly scratched and charred, and his left arm looked ready to fall off. He glared daggers at X.

" You!" He seethed. " I should have beaten you minutes ago! No, you had to blow up and ruin everything for me!" X looked skeptically at him.

" You expect me to just let you kill me!?"

" I expected to use my new armor to crush you, but now everything's ruined! My armor is totaled, your white armor is gone, and now I have to fight you with only 25% power!"

" Poor baby. You still want to fight me even though Sigma is dead?" X leered at him. " Or are you going to run away again?"

" There's nowhere to run to!" Agile spat. " Quick! End my misery!" He pulled the sword out of the ground and lunged, swiping at X. X dodged the weak slash and grabbed Agile's left arm and pulled, easily separating it from its socket. Agile wailed in pain, and turned around. X held onto the maverick's arm, and when Agile struck again, he used it to parry his blows.

The maverick roared. He charged again, this time X knocked the sword out of his hands. With one fluid motion, he brought his buster up to Agile's face and fired a shot he had been charging while they talked. It blasted Agile back into the ash-covered debris, but in an instant he got up again. There was nothing left of his face but a gruesome skull-like metal frame; the rest had been blown away by his charged shot.

" Hm...not so powerful now that your armor is gone, are you?" Agile's voice now sounded tinny and raspy. His metal jaw did not match the words he spoke.

" I'm powerful enough to destroy you," X said, charging up energy into his buster. Agile leapt at him. When he was arm's length away, X grabbed the maverick by the neck and held his buster up to his chest. Agile let out a low growl before X fired and his chest caved in. The purple maverick crumpled to the ground, and something like a monstrous howl emanated from its voice box. Then, what was left of Agile exploded, but it was nothing like the explosion that had just consumed the Central Control, and X was relatively unharmed.

He teleported back to Hunter HQ immediately to get an update on the situation.

The hangar doors exploded outward, metal curling outward like a blooming flower. A crimson hunter ran into the room, tearing through mavericks with a bright green beam saber. Other hunters followed him, raining all manner of weapons down on the fleeing mavericks. Serges scrambled up the sides of the tall battle tank and climbed into the small cockpit. He brought the weapon to life and began to aim its multiple turrets at the intruding Maverick Hunters. He pressed his hand down on the fire button and didn't stop as giant plasma blasts burnt through the hunters' numbers.

All the while, the wondered why Megaman X had gone back on their deal. I fulfilled my end of the bargain! I even gave them Zero's parts! I thought Megaman X was an honorable reploid, but I must be mistaken. The crimson hunter Serges recognized as Zero ran through the center of the hangar, firing his buster and swinging his beam saber in tandem. Could it be all Zero's doing? No...if X were half the reploid I'd heard of, he would have stopped Zero. Serges noticed a long-range commlink built into the battle tank, and he decided that if he were to die, he should at least know why.

" X! Thank God you're alive! We felt a quake; what happened?" X appeared back in the command center of Hunter HQ. Dr. Cain immediately walked up to him and began assaulting him with questions. However, they were interrupted suddenly.

" Dr. Cain! I'm getting a communication,"

" Who is it?"

"...someone named Serges, sir," Serges! X completely forgot about the maverick he had struck a deal with. Now, that maverick was under attack by the very thing he promised wouldn't happen. A lump began to catch in X's throat.

"...connect it," He said softly. The operator pressed some buttons, and Serges's face appeared, looking worn and frightened.

Megaman X! You liar! You promised I would be safe from you Maverick Hunters! Every head in the command center turned to X, standing in the center of it all.

" I...I didn't think that..."

I heard you were an honorable reploid, X! X looked about frantically. Then, he looked to Dr. Cain.

" Call them off," He said.

" What!?"

" Tell the Maverick Hunters there to stop attacking,"

" X...I can't. It's too late, they've already begun fighting,"

" Well they can stop fighting, can't they?!" X yelled. " We can reach a truce or something, can't we? Is it really so hard to give peace a chance?"

"...if you can talk Zero into it," X nodded and set his comm frequency. Suddenly, the main screen turned to static. On the frequency, X heard a large explosion and a scream of pain. He heard the battle rage on in the background.

X? This is Zero, what do ya need?

" Zero...what just happened?"

Zero ran at the large battle tank firing at the Maverick Hunters, intent on its destruction. Ignoring the other mavericks around him, he focused solely on the battle tank. Hunters were getting mowed down by it, and he wanted to stem the flow of casualties as best he could. Besides, he wanted to test the limits of his new beam saber.

He ran and slashed at the base of the tank, cutting through it in one clean swipe. The tank toppled over and the upper portion landed on an energy tank, causing the tank to explode. The resulting explosion disintegrated the tank, but he thought he heard a weak scream from the dying blue flames. He noticed that his commlink was on. X was trying to contact him.

" X? This is Zero, what do ya need?"

Zero...what just happened?

" I'm just taking care of the last maverick opposition at their base. There was a battle tank taking down our hunters, so I destroyed it,"

That's what happened just now?

" Yeah...hey X, you sound kinda spooked,"

Do you know who was piloting that battle tank?

" No, does it really matter?"

Yes, it does...never mind, Zero. Hurry up and end this war

" I'm working' on it," Zero replied. X shut off the commlink. The crimson hunter sighed and continued to cut down mavericks.

Hours later, the victorious Maverick Hunter group returned from the Maverick HQ. The entire island was sunk thanks to the 6th division. As happy as X was that his friend was back, his conscience was still nagging him at the back of his mind, nagging him about Serges. You could've prevented this. You could've saved his life. That's what you want to do, right? Stop the killing?

He found both Zero and Drake chatting among the group of recently-teleported hunters, and he joined their group. Zero began to show off his new equipment to them. His shoulder armor had been thickened and his entire body strengthened. He also now carried a beam saber on his back; an addition the X Hunters had made, hoping to use it against their prey.

X leaned back during their conversation and felt something warm and shapely pressing against his back. A pair of slender arms wrapped around his waist and weakly hugged him. Just from the shape of the body behind him, he could tell who it was. " Calliope," He whispered behind his back.

" The doctor said I can move again. He said to be careful not to stress my new joints though; I guess my systems are still integrating with my new frame,"

" We did it," He said, turning around and fully detaching himself from the other conversation. " The war is over, and we can stop killing now,"

" Are you so sure, X?" A voice came from behind him. He craned his neck back to see the others staring at the two embraced Maverick Hunters. " You've gotta remember, we killed Sigma once already. He could easily appear again. And just because we've crushed the mavericks' means of opposition doesn't mean there won't be more. This is an eternal war, X. Are you gonna fight it with us or not?" The voice belonged to Zero. X looked back to Calliope, at her deep blue eyes. He couldn't imagine killing another reploid at this moment. He let go of Calliope and turned to face Zero.

" I'm not a killer like you, Zero. This isn't my war,"

" A killer, huh? How many reploids have you killed, X? You've killed tons more mavericks than I have,"

" And I regret every one of them!" X said loudly. Zero looked down at the floor.

" You've changed on me, X. You know as well as I do that none of us here are killers. We're warriors, plain and simple. The mavericks are the killers," X's eyes softened.

" You're right, Zero. Hell, you're always right," The azure hunter scratched his head and shifted his weight. " Look everyone, I've been thinking about something for a long time," He waited until he had everyone's attention before continuing. " I'm going to quit the Maverick Hunters," Every single one of the hunters around him gasped, their eyes wide. " If I'm not a killer, then I'm not a warrior either. Ever since...the incident with Violen the X Hunter, I've been questioning my actions. My thoughts are becoming too confusing to sort out, and living on a battlefield has only made it worse,"

" X...you can't..." Zero said softly.

" I never said this is permanent. It might be, but for now this is only a temporary reprieve,"

" You're the number one reason I haven't split outta here yet!" Drake protested. " You ARE the Maverick Hunters!"

" Look, I just don't wanna flip out and start killing people!" X yelled. " For all I know, I may have the Maverick Virus!" If his friends were surprised before, now they were astonished. X turned around. " Could you all stop making this harder on me? I just need to find a peaceful place to stay for awhile," They were all silent. He laid his hand on Calliope's shoulder, and she stepped aside. He began tunneling through the crowd of hunters to the elevator. He punched in the number of the 17th Division's floor, and when he arrived, he immediately set off to his room.

After entering and closing the door, he began packing all his belongings in the carrying packs he had borrowed before things had gone to hell in the morning. It didn't take long for him to pack all he needed; he was very short on personal belongings. He left the wooden dresser that Dr. Cain had given him in case the old doctor might need it. As he opened the door, however, a figure stood before him. It was Calliope.

" Please don't make this harder for me..." He began, but she cut him off.

" I'm not trying to change your decision. What you want to do with your life is your own choice, but I want to be a part of what you're going to do. Will you give me that privilege?" X chuckled.

" I never said none of you would ever see me again, Cal. This isn't that serious," She smiled.

" That's good to hear. Where are you going, by the way?" She inquired innocently. X cast her a sly smirk.

" Would you like to see for yourself?"

" I would love to,"

" Then come on," X picked up his carrying packs and they went to the elevator. As soon as X pressed the button, though, a shortline commlink message came through to him. He could hear Dr. Cain's frantic voice on the other side of the link.

X! There are government agents here demanding to take you into custody!

" What!?" X said incredulously into the commlink.

They say they are following up on an earlier investigation that took place before the mavericks attacked the city. You don't think this is about the Violen incident, do you?

" That must be what they're doing. They're following up on those murder accusations,"

Anyway, you find some place to hide. I'll tell them that you've discharged from the service

"...Dr. Cain, I am discharging from the service," X realized he should have mentioned it sooner, but the day's events had swept him away into chaos before he could.

WHAT!?!?! The reply could not have sounded more astonished.

" I know I should have explained sooner, but there isn't time for that if the agents are already here. I'll call you in a few hours, okay?"

X...you aren't serious, are you?

" Like I said, I'll call you and tell you the full story. Just keep those agents occupied," There was no reply from the other side of the link. As they had talked, X and Calliope stepped into the elevator and by the time the conversation was over, the two reploids were putting X's belongings onto a jeep. When everything was loaded on, they both jumped into the seats. X powered up the engine and they were out in the wasteland in moments. X clued Calliope in on what was happening back at HQ. She looked incredulously at X the entire time.

" I can't believe the government would double-cross Dr. Cain like that. Maverick Hunter affairs are supposed to be controlled by him, right?"

" Right. I'll bet they made up some half-assed excuse as to why they want me taken," Calliope sighed and laid her head back against the seat, letting the wind from the open roof whip her hair about. They traveled on for about an hour or two when the female reploid noticed something different about the landscape. Here and there, patches of...green were scattered amongst the browns of the dirt.

Soon, the green began to close in on them until they were immersed in it. The ground was covered in grass, and soon enough, they were driving between rows of tall trees, unhampered by technological devices. The road they were on was an ancient concrete one with only two lanes and yellow stripes separating them. At the sides of the road, small animals would occasionally scurry along with the jeep before they gave up and scrambled back into the brush.

At the end of the long winding road they were on, there was a small wooden house. By their standards, it looked incredibly ancient, even older than the street. X beamed at Calliope. She just stared at him in disbelief. " This is that forest you told me about so long ago..."

" Yeah," X said. " We also found this abandoned house on our recon, but I didn't tell you about it so I could surprise you,"

" So...this is where you're going to be living?"

" Yep. This place already makes me feel more relaxed,"

"...does it have..."

" Furniture? Yeah, it's also got a heater, electricity, and a wireless phone,"

" So this place isn't as old as it looks?"

" Definitely. Or somebody made it more livable," Calliope sighed and laid back in the seat of the jeep.

" Well, it looks perfect for you," She said. He nodded. They got out of the vehicle and began to take X's belongings into the house. Opening the wooden door softly, they could see better into the cozy living room. A couch, coffee table, and antique television were all aligned in the middle, with empty shelves lining the walls and an open kitchen. A door into the other room, the bedroom, was open. All of X's items were stacked on the couch, and Calliope made a quick sweep of the small house, making sure everything was in order.

They walked back outside, and Calliope whirled about to face X, brown hair streaking down her face. " I have to go back to HQ. I'm still a Maverick Hunter,"

" I know," X said softly. " Come back soon, okay?"

" The same to you," He swept her to him and they embraced in a passionate kiss. After moments that stretched to eternity, their lips parted, but Calliope stayed in his arms.

" I love you," X whispered to her.

" Come back soon, Rock. I can't live too long without you,"

" Don't worry," He chuckled. " You think this is any easier on me?" He took her by the hand and led her to the jeep. Opening the door, she stepped inside and he let go of her hand. She smiled and put her hand on the ignition panel. The panel read her dataprint, and the machine jolted to life. She bent down and gave him one last kiss.

" I'll see you soon," She said.

" See you then," X replied, letting go of the door and standing back. The jeep lurched into motion, rolling slowly down the path. Calliope looked back and waved at X before the jeep sped up and she disappeared around a corner. X looked up into the sky. Clouds were shifting among a sea of blue, and for once X could see the sun. He couldn't remember the last time the sun felt so good.

End

A/N: Don't forget about this story yet! There's a meaty epilogue on the way, so check back soon. Please review since this is the last real chapter, let me know how I did overall/any other comments you might have. If you think the ending sucks, then I apologize in advance. If you think the entire story sucks, then same thing. If you think everything sucks...then you've probably got issues. See y'all later (and don't forget about the epilogue!)