Mega Man Cross
Chapter 18
"The Third Dragon"
By MEGAMANX411

As the group made their way to the next island, X still laid in bed. He stared at the ceiling, just thinking about what he had done back in the volcano. When he ran the scenario back through his mind, he thought about some things that didn't concern him before. Namely, what Alia had thought about his actions.

X understood that she didn't want for him to be in danger either..but he knew that he just had to help her in that situation. He would've done it again. He thought that maybe Alia could've gotten herself out of the way in time...but that would've warranted too great a risk in X's opinion. X just chuckled and shook his head.

"Heh..didn't do anything wrong and I still can't stop thinking about it," he muttered, rubbing his head.

X sat up, stretching himself out. Thanks to Alia's immediate care, he was feeling a lot better. He then rubbed his shoulders and stared off into the distance. Just then, another figure walked into the room. She took another step closer, and the light revealed to X that it was Alia.

"Feeling better?" asked Alia.

"Yeah. Thanks to you," X replied.

"Just promise me you won't do anything that boneheaded again," Alia teased, a smile appearing on her face.

X didn't say anything in return, he just smiled back and rubbed the back of his head in embarassment. He stood up, and walked past Alia.

"I haven't forgotten the promise," muttered X as he walked past her.

Alia nodded her head in agreement, and just followed X back. Soon, they reached the next island...which meant that there was another fight ahead of them. They all disembarked the boat, and got onto the island. This island was particularlyplain, featuring almost nothing save for grass.

There were a few trees spread throughout the area, but for the most part, it was open. There was a rather strong wind, but not much else to distinguish the area. The island itself wasn't even that big. It could easily be traversed in a mere few hours. That, of course, made finding the dragon a whole lot easier.

It stood proudly on the plains. This dragon was far sleeker than the previous ones. It's body was still rather big, but thinner in comparison to the other dragons. It's body had a thin layer of silvery armor, and it had a very aerodynamic appearace. It was clearly built for high velocity speed during flight.

X looked back at the rest of the group, and carefully examined everyone.

"You guys ready for this?" he asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Zero replied, nodding his head.

Alia, Norris, and Kid alsonodded their heads in agreement. Korcha remained on the boat this time, for safety issues. X didn't want him to be caught in the crossfire. X turned his head back to the dragon, and it now had its gaze affixed on the group. Its dim red eyes were focused intently on X, and X returned the favor with his own determined gaze.

"We have more important business. We have to change our fate. We won't let you stand in our way!" X shouted, charging his X-Buster.

The dragon replied to X's challenge by throwing its head back in a massive roar. The dragon then lifted itself up with its mighty wings, and began to float in the air.

"You're not going anywhere!" Zero shouted, running at the dragon.

Zero ran at the dragon and vaulted himself upwards in an attempt to get on top of it. Unfortunatley, the massive reploid proved too agile and flew away just in time. Zero landed back on the ground with a loud thud. He angrily beat the ground with his fist and spouted a few curses.

"It's up to you guys!" Zero shouted. "Shoot it down so I can hit it!"

"I'm on it!" Norris shouted, aiming his pistol.

Norris closed one eye and cocked his head to get a better aim with his pistol. He lined it up with the dragon's forehead, but was trying to steady his pistol for a perfect shot.

"Almost there..." Norris muttered, keeping his gun steady.

All of the sudden, the dragon opened his mouth and shot a few energy balls down at the ground. As the shots smashed into the ground, huge amounts of debris were lifted up, and a smokescreen apperaed.

"Watch out!" X shouted, dashing away.

Zero quickly dashed over, picked up both Kid and Alia, and got them aside. He looked back up at the dragon with angered eyes and then looked back at Kid and Alia.

"You guys alright?" he asked.

"Yeah..but where's X?" Alia asked, looking around.

Amidst the smokesceen, X stood tall. He shot a look back at Zero and the others. But there was something was different about X...he was now fitted in his golden armor! His armor plating now had a thin gold layer over it, and he was virtually overflowing with power. (Author's note: The golden armor is from Mega Man X3, and yes, X can change his armors at any time as shown by the introductory cutscene from the Saturn/PS1version of Mega Man X3).

"Norris!" X shouted. "You have a clear shot?"

"Yeah..I can hit it.." Norris replied.

"Then go for it!" X shouted.

Norris fired from his pistol and hit the dragon right in the direct middle of the forehead. The dragon stopped for a moment and that's when X seized his opportunity. He vaulted himself up with an air dash and latched himself onto the dragon's head. He then rammed his buster into the back of the dragon's head, charged his weapon, and let loose a charged blast.

The dragon's head was sent flying forwards and was detached from the body entirely. The dragon's body crashed into the ground with a huge crash, and X was riding it down. When the dragon smashed into the ground, X leaped off.

X looked back at the ruin he caused and rubbed his head in mild embarassment.

"Guess I overdid it..heh.." he muttered.

"X..that was amazing!" Zero shouted, patting him on the back. "Just three more to go, and we'll be ready to take down Sigma."

"Yeah..we're not that far from our goal now," Alia added, taking the data chip from the dragon.