Hi again, everyone! Nice to see everyone! Ladies and gentlemen, here is the next chapter of (drumroll) 'Strings of Fate'! Everyone, I'm really glad you're enjoying my story!! Now, I shall take the time to respond to some more of my reviews! (bows amidst the glimmer of confetti)

(continues to burn Red's body and laughs) Heh heh heh heh….BURN BABY BURN!!!! (the entire world cheers her on) Sorry, but the first two chapters of the Esteemed Khilai's story are REALLY disturbing….Red seriously needs to go and ()($&-sorry about that!! Heh heh…………….YES!!!! hahahahahahahahaha (evil, triumphant laughter)

Star Ninja: Hi! Thank you so much for your enthusiastic support! It's reviews like yours that make me continue this project. Yes, time is just as evil as Sigma….probably even more evil than Sigma….I had a BOAT load of free time before my college classes kicked in, but I'll try to update WHENEVER I can. Thank you so much! (hugs)

Prjct.War: Greetings, friend! Thankies so much for stopping by again! Yes, I think about the beginnings of this project all of the time….I look back on my first couple of chapters…and I remember the attitude I had back then too. I saw that I only had a couple of reviews……and I thought to myself, 'I'm only going to continue this if I get a lot of reviews'. Well, later on I thought-what the heck. I'll keep going with it, just because I love this story so much! And now I had a lot of really wonderful fans! I'm glad I didn't give up!! Btw, there was a cartoon with Axl in it?!?! X and Zero too?!?! When did this happen?!?!? I don't know anything……..(cries)

PRIVATE: Hiya! Unfortunately, I no longer have a load of free time on my hands-I'm a little bummed out by that, but I won't give up! I love this project too much to give up on it! No worries for anyone. It's okay if you don't have a lot of free time too. I understand-we 'no free time' people have to stick together, through thick and thin.

To The Revered Khilai: Thank you very much for gracing with your story. Seriously, I cannot thank you enough. I can't thank you enough for reviewing my story either. What an honor it is to have you as one of my fans. Thank you, very much. And I'm glad I did a good job on the action scene! I tried really hard on it-and I love working on Axl's parts! Heehee……..speaking of Axl…….(throws Red's ashes into the sea)….he no longer has to worry about anything. It's too bad about Red, though….so sad……(not)

--An emergency team rushed into the Infirmary, being swept up in the rage of tumultuous anguish. The eyes of the seven team members were immediately absorbed in the destruction that had occurred-

The crimson red flames were slowly working their evil magic.

The flames were the only sources of light…..

Unfortunately, they weren't very pretty sources of light-

Because they were also the sources of relentless chaos and annihilation.

The hearts of the emergency team unified with each other……

And they fell under the iron fist known as-

Fear.

Cold, merciless fear.

Each and everyone one of them became slaves, captives of fear-

And they were being laughed at by the very tyrant called "pain".

Only one team member was able to speak. The others were paralyzed by massive shock, and so he gathered up enough strength to speak for his group. He was a Reploid with short, sapphire blue hair, and light blue eyes. At the moment, his eyes were bright stars of infinite anxiety, and his voice…..

His voice made it clear to everyone that his heart was being stabbed by a countless amount of daggers.

"Young Axl! What happened here?!?! Who is responsible for this?!?!"

Axl had his arms wrapped around the lifeless body of Zero, one of the greatest Maverick Hunters of all time….and a very dear friend. The young tiger looked like a great wolf protecting a member of his tribe….

A wounded member of his tribe.

The facial expression of the Black Tiger completely crushed the hearts of the team, but it also caused a colossal amount of energy to shoot through their veins. The look on Axl's face told them that Zero needed help…

And he needed it badly.

"A member of Red Alert-Snipe Anteater-caused this." The young one said, barely able to breathe.

A part of him wanted to just break down because of the fiery chaos that surrounded him…

And having Zero's body in his arms didn't make things any easier…

But the optimism that always came so naturally to him remained within his soul.

The voice of the young tiger was bold, firm….and an awe-inspiring song of wondrous bravery. To the untrained eye, he looked just like any other energetic, hyperactive kid-

And he also sounded like just another hyperactive kid-

But to the ones that had at least half a brain could obviously see that Axl was more than just a small fry.

"Hey guys. Zero's gotta get help FAST. I mean, seriously. There's gotta be somethin' you can do around here. If he doesn't get help soon, he'll die."

That last word didn't leave behind a very good taste, but it had to be said.

The current situation called for words that left behind bad tastes.

The team immediately scrambled, not really wanting to waste time. Not even a second could be wasted-the look on Axl's face and his facial expression told them that if they wasted a second-

They would end up regretting it for the rest of their lives.

Six of them dashed throughout the Infirmary, and the remaining team member (who was evidently the captain) stayed behind to deliver orders. The workers performed their tasks swiftly-

They all knew that time wasn't an ally.

Axl held onto Zero, wondering about X's current location….wondering if the General was all right…..

Wondering…….

Wondering about everyone…..

But himself.

The orders of the team captain….the song of the flames…everything faded away into the background after several long minutes, which really felt like years. Axl's heart silently pounded upon the waterfalls of lethal tension…….with every passing second, the waterfalls became stronger…..the sound of rushing water filled the young's one heart…..and consumed his entire soul…….

He waited and waited with closed eyes…..he waited for someone to bring some sort of relief….some sort of light……

But the water seemed to be ever flowing.

Everything around him faded away. The sounds, the faces……the only thing on his mind……the only PERSON on his mind……was…..

Zero.

Two words repeated themselves in the young one's mind………

Wake up.

Wake up.

Wake up.

Three eternities went by. Axl's heart jolted painfully, but he ignored the reason for the sudden jolt.

Wake up.

Zero, wake up.

Before he could react, Zero was taken from the young Reploid's arms-the scene would have caused a passing stranger to think of a young cub being taken from a mother's shield. The eyes of the young tiger opened, and he looked up at the one that had taken Zero away-

But he received in response.

"All right, men! We're going to have to boot up the emergency systems!! Hurry! Let's get a move on-our Maverick Hunter isn't going wait all eternity!! Move move move move!! Emilio, Razor-see to the Infirmary workers! Care for them while the rest of us take care of Captain Zero!"

All Axl could do was sit.

Sit.

The young Reploid was completely frozen.

Even though Zero was no longer in his arms….he wouldn't stop repeating those words….

Wake up.

He truly was like a mother that had just been separated from her cub. The emotions, the facial expression…..they were one and the same. He looked deeply worried….

He looked like someone that was about to lose everything he had.

His heart was swiftly pounding….it was trying to escape from his chest……and the pounding was excruciating.

His eyes were beautiful solid pools of eternal devotion….but at the same time, they were filled with everyone's best friend-

Tension.

Wake up.

The workers rushed off into the shadows of the fire, determined to cleanse the Infirmary of death's odor…..determined to heal the ones they had been placed in charge of….

The team captain was at the front, carrying Zero and shouting out orders to his teammates.

Wake up.

A few minutes passed….

Before Zero opened his eyes….

And said one name.

"Axl."

Eternal pain wracked the body of the Maverick Hunter. Breathing was almost impossible…he couldn't see the faces of the workers…….he couldn't see the shadows of the flames…..he couldn't hear the voices of the workers….

But he could hear one voice.

And that one voice belonged to the one that had made a promise.

The voice was soft and gentle, like the waves of sunlight after the darkest storm….the voice comforted him, wrapped around his heart the way a mother's arms would wrap around the body of a child…….and it echoed in his mind……resembling the way a gentle ocean wave embraced the shore….

Don't worry. Everything's gonna be okay. You're gonna be fine. I promise.

Zero closed his eyes…..smiling. He knew the owner of the voice. It was the same voice that had told him to rise from the chambers of darkness.

It was the voice of the Black Tiger.—

The young one was left alone after no more than ten minutes. The emotions that had frozen him left, and they were replaced by determination-

It was the type of determination Megaman X had come to know so well.

His eyes shimmered like stars from the heavens, and a smile bloomed on his face. His heart resumed its normal beating……and courage began to flow through his veins like fire. A small laugh left his mouth……and he left the Infirmary.....

Ready to fulfill the promises he had made.

--Thank you very much everyone. I am really bummed out about not being able to update a lot anymore-whenever I think about not being able to work on this, I become sad. I don't want any of you to give up on me or on this story. I'll try to update WHENEVER I can, okay? I'll use any opportunity that presents itself. This story isn't going to end until it ends. I hope you guys like what I've done with Axl. Please take care everyone, and rest assured-the show isn't over 'till its over. Like always, feel free to send me anything that's on your minds. (bows, then sadly walks out into the rain, feeling extremely lonely)