Mega Man Cross
Chapter 12
"Separation"
By MEGAMANX411

X finally woke up after what seemed to be one of the longest rests he had ever taken. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up. That's when he remembered what happened. He looked back down at his hands to see if it was true...unfortunately, he was still in Lynx's body.

"Damn...what have I become?" X whispered.

X slowly got to his feet and looked around. He was pleased that at the least he could seem to talk now..back at Fort Dragonia, he somehow lost his voice when he was first placed in Lynx's body. But something else bugged him. This place was incredibly strange and surreal. It was almost like his home, but things seemed blurred and hazy. It was like he saw his world through different eyes. Just then, X heard a familair voice.

"You are tres late, non? Come on, Monsieur Lynx, let'z go. We don't have ze time to be dawdling here. We may truly get lost in time. I can't afford to lose you just yet," the voice announced.

X wheeled himself around to see the face of Harle. He knew she'd have something to do with this. He wanted to trust her too, which made things all the worse.

"Harle! I'm not Lynx, I'm X! And what do you mean lost in time?" X asked.

"You are no longer X. You are Monsieur Lynx. And vat I mean is that we are not in my world, our yours. We are inbetween," Harle replied, showing little emotion.

X was more angered by the fact that Harle kept calling him Lynx. X did not want to be associated with that murderous, bloodthirsty monster.

"But I'm X!" X shouted.

"Allons, regarde-toi! Just look at yourself. Who in zeir right mind iz going to believe you are X? C'est simple. If everybody, except for yourself, sayz zat you are Monsieur Lynx, zen, voila! You are Monsieur Lynx! It'z az simple az zat. Zat iz who you are! If you try and go against realite,it will surely crush you. Realite will kill you, and realite will continue to go on az if not'ing ever happened...from yesterday to today, and from today to tomorrow, realite marchez on, leaving your crushed body behind," Harle answered.

X clenched his fist and looked angrily back at Harle. He was getting tired of this. So she was saying that because others saw him as Lynx, that made him Lynx? That was ridiculous!

"Harle, enough is enough! I told you for the last time, I'm X!" X shouted.

Harle smiled and chuckled at X's reponse. She was clearly having fun with this, mostly at X's expense.

"Ooh la lah...so, you still insist zat you are X, oui? Regardless your memoire az zis X, you may be able to rewrite it if you use ze Dragon Tear. In realite, you diedyearz ago in ze odder world. How can you say for sure zis iz ze real you? Maybe for you it is evident, but...I wonder if you ever really were X? Furthermore, what waz zis X? A figure, a shape? A spirit? A soul? Where waz zis X?" Harle asked.

"Shut up Harle! I've had enough of this! Take me back right now!" X answered.

"Oh, you are so boring. Fine, I understand how you feel, let's head back," Harle answered.

"You're going to take me back?" X asked.

"But of course," Harle answered, taking X's hand.

X felt Harle tightly clutch his hand and lead him into a strange doorway. He then felt his body being slammed through the portal as if he were but an insignificant speck of dust being flicked across a seemingly infinite ocean of stars. After he finally regained full awareness, X saw that he was just outside of Termina.

X slowly walked into Termina, almost forgetting that he was in Lynx's body. It was a bit easy to forget that your appearance was completely different at times. X looked back to see that Harle was still following him.

"Why are you following me?" X asked.

"Oh la la, why not?" Harle replied.

X shook his head and thought it best not to press the matter further. He really didn't care for her company, but he didn't have the energy or will to argue with her at the moment. For one, he was someone else's body, and two, he was separated from his friends. But X didn't realize that there was something worse.

"There's soldiers everywhere..." X whispered, looking around.

Granted, X did come off as a bit suspcious no matter what he did, so he thought trying to blend would be a bit futile. There were soldiers everywhere, and they didn't appear to be Dragoons.

"You there! Aren't you Sir Lynx?" a soldier shouted.

"No, I'm-" X muttered.

"Oui, he iz Sir Lynx," Harle answered, cutting X off.

"I'm not Lynx, Harle," X whispered.

The soldier didn't seem to pay much attention to what X said and instead pointed in the direction of Viper Mansion.

"Sir Lynx, your presence is requested at the Viper estate. Please go there immediately," the solider ordered.

X shook his head and decided to remain quiet. If he protested that he was Lynx, he thought that he may end up being in big trouble. So he just concluded that he should go to Viper Mansion and see what was there..he might uncover some information or even run into one of his friends.

"Ah, it's good to see you here Sir Lynx. Currently, we have soldiers spread out to search Viper Mansion. You should report toCommander Norris, he is in charge here," the soldier commented.

X merely nodded and played along. He had no idea what was going on but he didn't want to cause any trouble. But what confused him is that these soldiers had a patch on their uniform saying they were from Porre. That must have meant that Lynx made a deal with them before hand, and that when Viper was gone, Porre soldiers invaded. But the problem was..X had no idea what Lynx had done previously.

X was then brought into the basement of the mansion, where he came up to a black-armored reploid. He had a fairly medium build, about the same size as X. He had dark black armor with some purple stripes on it, and his hair was short and blonde. Athis side he carried a rather large energy pistol weapon. But most importantly, X could see that he had a certain kindness to him that was apparent in his eys. That might make convincing him he was X easier. Meanwhile, Harle was standing behind X, not saying anything because she knew that X would get angry with her.

"Are you Sir Lynx?" Norris asked.

"No, I'm not. You misunderstand, I'm not really Lynx at all, my name is X," X replied, rushing his words a bit.

Norris narrowed his eys a bit, mostly from confusion, and put his paperwork he was holding down. He looked back at X and gave him a confused stare.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

Harle then tugged at X's arms, trying to get his attention.

"But mon Lynx! You are Lynx!" Harle protested.

"Enough Harle! I have to tell him the truth! Look, Mr. Norris, my name is Mega Man X. I'm not from here. While I was investigating Fort Dragonia, I came into contact with Lynx. He somehow took over my body, and forced me into his!" X shouted.

Norris' eyes winced from curisousity. He thought for a moment and gave X a good hard look.

"You don't seem like Lynx...you look a lot different than before," Norris commented.

"I'm not Lynx, I'm X. You have to believe me!" X replied.

Norris shrugged his shoulders. He was a trustworthy guy, and he generally respected people. He didn't believe them to be liars. And this person before him acted nothing like the Lynx he knew previously. This person had an aura of kindness about him, whereas the old Lynx had a feeling of malice.

"Alright, I'll trust you on this one...but honestly, can you give me any proof that you're not Lynx?" Norris asked.

"Well..I can't really prove it to you, but if we see my friends, they'll tell you," X answered.

"Hm..well, I suppose that's a good ananswer as any," Norris replied.

"So..is there anything you can tell me about Lynx, or what happened here?" X asked.

"Well, it was actually Sir Lynx who approached us about the existence of the Frozen Flame in El Nido. Being from the main continent, we had doubted its very existence, so I was sent to El Nidoas a spy. I had narrowed down the location to Viper Mansion, but it appeared as though General Viper and his men were in search of it as well. Eventually, I was called back to Porre, but it was then that I heard General Viper and his men had disappeared and that the manor had been destroyed as such. I heard only recently that there is good evidence the general and his men headed to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is an ocean located to the east, surrounded by coral. It used to be called the Sea of Eden, but even then, not many dared enter. We investigated the area, but to no avail. We could find no entrance. It is you, Sir Lynx, who wished to change this distorted world using the Frozen Flame," Norris announced.

X's eyes widened when he heard of Lynx's plan. He wanted to change the world? But the Frozen Flame was merely a force metal...what could he do with it? It must be meant for using it on something else.

"Ooh la lah! Such grand dreamz Monsieur Lynx!" Harle added.

X gave Harle a hard glare.

"Hush up," X muttered.

X then turned back to Norris.

"Well..we've got to get there, actually. That, and find my friends," X added.

"Are you actually planning to go to the Dead Sea? There is no way to get in there. We searched all over for an entrance, but to no avail. No one knows anything about it, either. But if you insist on going, then...may I join you, sir? I want to know. Iwant to know if the Frozen Flame really exists, and about everything else that has happened here," Norris answered.

"Alright, we can go together," X answered.

Norris then looked back at Harle and gave her a confused look.

"What about her?" he asked.

The situation clearly did not faze Harle one bit, because she kept her typical nonchalant and arrogant persona.

"Hm? Moi? But of course! I will follow zis Monsieur Lynx! Ze odder one iz no longuer Monsieur Lynx," Harle answered.

X turned back to Norris. He wanted to ask if there was any record of his friends being held prisoner.

"Norris? Are your soldiers holding anyone prisoner currently?" X asked.

"There are some. Why do you ask?" Norris replied.

"Well..I wanted to see if maybe my friends were among them. Also, Viper was at Fort Dragonia, I was wondering if he was ok," X asked.

"I'm not sure about Viper, but currently Miss Riddel is being held upstairs. As for you friends, you'd have to describe them for me,l " Norris muttered.

"Well, first there'sa reploid by the name of Zero. He hasred armor, and is a bit of a hot head. He also have very long blonde hair, and he carries an energy saber with him. Also, there's Alia. She's a very..ahem..cute reploid with blonde hair, and she's very kind and intelligent. Her hair is about shoulder length, and she also has deep blue eyes. She probably has some nagivation equipment with her and her armor ispink and red. There are also two reploids by the name of Kid and Korcha. Kid is a young reploid girl with a bit of an attitude, and she has red armor and blonde hair. She carries energy daggers with her. Korcha is another child reploid, but with red hair. Do you know any of them?" X asked.

"Hm...I'll check the records, hold on a moment," Norris answered.

Norris looked back at his paperwork and scanned through the pages. He stopped at the second to last page and put his finger down on a particular piece of information.

"Aha...here it is. We found a bunch of people fitting the description you gave at Fort Dragonia. They are being held in the medical quarters because of injuries," Norris answered.

X's eyes gleamed with excitement. He had found his friends! Finally, a stroke of luck!

"Alright, can I see them?" X asked.

"Well..alright, I'll take you to them," Norris replied.

Norris lead X to the medical quarters and unlocked the door. X walked inside, forgetting that he looked like Lynx. He expected his friends to return the favor with open arms, but instead, he saw mixed feelings of surprise and rage in their eyes. Especially by Zero and Kid.

"Guys! You're ok!" X shouted.

Kid grabbed her energy daggers which laid on a nearby desk and charged at X, not realizing that he was X. Zero joined her with his own saber, clearly not wanting to stop to think things out rationally.

"Lynx you dirty rotten..!" Kid screamed, lunging at X.

"Lynx! You killed my best friend you bastard!" Zero added.

X quickly tried to get away, doing his best to avoid the unexpected attack. Having an experienced hunter and a nimble thief after you with weapons in hand wasn't something X was prepared for.

"Kid, Zero, wait are you doing, it's me!" X shouted.

"Don't you lie to me! You..you..!" Kid screamed.

"You're not getting away this time!" Zero added, keeping a firm grip on his saber.

Alia's eyes widened as she saw this person who everyone assumed was Lynx act. He didn't seem like Lynx at all..not to Alia, anyway. She knew something was different.

"Wait you two!" Alia shouted.

Kid slowly dropped her daggers to the ground and she slowly sobbed. She thought that X was gone for good, thanks to what Lynx had done. Zero merely kept his gaze focused on X, who he assumed was Lynx. Above all else, Zero wanted to kill Lynx for vengeance at this point. Meanwhile, Korcha sat back clearly too stunned to reac.

Alia slowly walked past Kid to see X. She stopped when she got very close to him, and she looked deeply into his eyes.

"You're..not Lynx.." Alia whispered.

Kid wheeled herself around and gave Alia a harsh stare.

"What are you talkin' about! He is Lynx, and he killed X!" Kid screamed.

"No, you don't get it...he is X.." Alia whispered, clearly in awe.

"I'm sorry, everyone.." X muttered, handing his head low.

Alia immediately placed her hand on X's cheek and looked back into his eyes. She smiled softly as she looked at him, and saw that flicker of kindness in his eyes. Those eyes definitely belonged to X, not Lynx.

"It's you..isn't it?" Alia asked.

"Yes..it's me. I don't know how it happened, but this is what I am now.." X muttered.

Zero slowly put his saber away and walked up to X. He gave him a harsh stare, and then looked back at Alia. She seemed so certain he was X...but Zero couldn't be too cautious. He may appear hot-heated by many, but Zero still was smart.

"How can you be X?" Zero asked.

X looked back at Zero and extended his hand.

"Zero, you remember? As long as we share our bond, we'll remain friends. We'll always be together," X announced.

Zero's eyes widened with surprise. He slowly and reluctantly took X's hand. Even though the hand technically belonged to Lynx, Zero knew that the bond felt familiar.

"You..are X.." Zero muttered.

Kid was next. She slowly walked past Zero and Alia, and grabbed ahold of X. She had a grudge against Lynx for the longest time, so getting her trust was not that easy. X merely smiled, bent down, and patted her head.

"Kid..it's me. Trust me," X whispered.

Kid's eyes widened, and a single tear streamed down her cheek.

"X..it's really you," Kid muttered, looking down at the ground.

"I'm sorry to have worried you guys, but it's good to see that you are all well," X announced.

Zero then turned to see Norris. Granted, when he was taken into custody, he was unconcious, so he had no idea who brought him in.

"Who's this guy?" Zero asked.

"My name is Norris. I am the commanding officer here, and I am the one who placed you in the medical district for instensive care," Norris answered.

"Oh..thank you very much, Commander Norris," Alia replied.

"Well, once you all make your preparations, there is a boat at the Termina dock we can use to leave. I suspect you may want to sort some things out before we leave, so I will wait by the boat," Norris announced.

"Alright, we'll meet you there in a few. We have some things to discuss first," X answered.

The group watched as Norris opened the door and left, and made his way to the docks to await any further notice. X turned back to Kid and gave her a hard look.

"Kid..I want you to tell me why you hate Lynx so much," X commanded.

Kid gritted her teeth and hung her head low, clearly not wanting to bring up painful memories.

"Kid, things won't get any better if you don't tell me," X added.

Kid lightly sighed and a look of defeat washed over her.

"Alright..I'll tell you. Some time ago, my mom, Lucca, used to work with machines. She was an assistant to a man named Dr. Doppler, I think. Anyway, a reploid showed up one day and ordered Dr. Doppler to make a machine for him. My mom didn't wanna do it, so the reploid sent Lynx after us. He killed her, and burnt our place to the ground. I didn't have a family after that...so I joined up with a group of thieves called the Radical Dreamers. Their goal was the Frozen Flame, and we came into information saying that Lynx was supposedly after it. I wanted to get back at him, so I would steal it first. But Lynx killed the other members of the Radical Dreamers too...I hate him! And that's why I have to kill him!" Kid screamed.

"Kid..that's why..you want to hunt him down," X muttered.

"Yeah..now ya understand," Kid answered.

"You said that Lucca was your mom? And what about that reploid?" X asked.

"She was human, but she cared for me. She looked after me ever since I was little. As fer that reploid, I don't know who he was," Kid replied.

"What about that amulet?" X asked.

"What, you mean the one I gave you for good luck awhile back? I don't know, I've always had it," Kid answered.

X thought for a moment. That amulet had the power to activate an interdimensional portal. If that's true..then was it possible Kid wasn't from this world to begin with? Maybe she was originally part of some scheme, but she was sent over here. X shook his head, and thought it best to think more on it later.

"Well, let's get going. We have to get to the Dead Sea," X announced.