(The celebration continues in the mystical land of Zanarkand. Oceans of confetti are still streaming into the air, cheers are still piercing the air, and millions of people are letting themselves go wild. Smiles are being poured from hearts like waterfalls. In a small office, however, is the secretive, mysterious Vin, one of Jak2's stars…..)

Vin: Hey out there. Can anyone hear me? Good. I think I'd like to take this time to apologize on behalf of the author. Someone named Uzu-Chan pointed out that she made a mistake, saying that our heroes were in the middle of Gungaroo's hideout when they were actually inside of Boarski's! I'm very, very sorry!

Wakka of Final Fantasy 10: Who's up for Blitzball!

Millions of people: (cheer)

Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: She would also like to apologize for the confusion she may have caused about Mega Man's history. The story Zero gave to Axl is not the true of story of either Mega Man or Mega Man X-she made it all up. We apologize for the frustration it may have caused. Thank you.

Fox McCloud of Star Fox Assault: YEEEEEEAAAAHHHHH! WHO'S UP FOR DDR!

Rikku of Final Fantasy X-2: I'm SOOOOO in!

Slippy Toad: Count me in!

Seriously, I cannot tell anyone about how happy I am to know that Khilai's Axl has a friend now. The characters in my little bits are still celebrating that fact. I know this is coming to an end, but I hope all of you will be back for my next adventure! Khilai, if anything happens to Zero, you'll have to suffer the consequences….

Paine of Final Fantasy X-2: What? (puts away guns) I won't do anything. I swear.

Zero: Yeah…I won't either……(looks like a vicious black panther)

Uzu-Chan, please don't trouble yourself! Thank you for letting me know that you're still alive, but if you're busy, you're busy! Take your time! Just glad to know everything's okay.

Hugo from Suikoden 3: I guess we only have one Axl to worry about now-

Dante: The one in Uzu-Chan's story, right?

Rovin: (cautiously steps in)

Jak from Jak3: Hey there. You're just in time. Say hello to my little friend. (aims humongous machine gun at him) You've been given the 'Most Hated Character' award. Isn't that great? 'Bye! (waves)

The world of the Maverick Hunters was a calm, serene world of rich, lucid sunlight…..it was a world where nothing could be disturbed or destroyed….a world where nothing could be torn apart…..or held back. Nighttime had fallen upon the entire base, but the sunlight of rhapsody was still present inside of everyone's heart-all of them felt as if they were bathing in a river of creamy silk because of the smiles on their faces…and because of the smiles in their eyes. The nightmare that had literally killed so much was now a distant memory……

And it was because of a single Reploid.

Miracles could happen-all of them knew that now. That fact was secured deep within their hearts and minds……all of them knew that anything could happen…….if hope was nearby. Nothing was impossible….the word 'impossible' didn't even exist anymore….

And it was all because of a single Reploid.

11:45.

General Signas was resting inside of his dormitory, which had been unkempt during the nightmare but was now completely clean. The general's eyes were glued to the screen of his computer……and his fingers were swiftly working on the keyboard. His mind was at ease, however-working on reports came as second nature to him. He had the ability to close his eyes and work on them-he was perfectly used to conducting research and finishing off reports that were presented to him about the outside world. Soft, peaceful music was playing inside of his dormitory, and tiny fireflies were making themselves comfortable…..creating beautiful rays of light that brought great pleasure to the general's heart. There was a small smile on his face…..

A smile of miraculous happiness.

Axl's smile entered his mind the way a soft wind flew across the mountains. Gentle laughter drifted from his lips, and his smile became even warmer. Recent events filled his mind shortly after the young one's smile vanished………and because of those memories, his heart became filled with joy. A single Reploid had restored the light of something very precious…..he had actually saved very many lives. Zero was a phenomenally strong Maverick Hunter…..and a very important friend.

He couldn't imagine living without Zero.

One pebble…..has the power….to change everything.

"We owe you our lives, little one."

The dormitory of the Crimson Flame was a simple yet striking place of incredible, tranquil dreams. It was a wondrous realm of crystal blue starlight…….it was as if his room was floating out in the middle of space. Small crystallized stars of blue fire created a lot of mystical light…..and the atmosphere was unlike any other. Calm, peaceful….the peace of the dormitory defied all description. The young Black Tiger was unable to think of anything to say for a moment….since the room looked like a wonderland of stars. After a few moments of silence, however, he spoke to his dear friend happily, wearing a very bright smile.

"Hey! This place is beyond cool. It isn't anything like my old dorm. Pretty awesome, Zero!"

Before the nightmare occurred, Zero would have rather died than speak of trivial matters, like the decorations of his room, for example…..but having his life saved changed everything. The Crimson Flame smiled at the excited young Reploid, who was like a puppy entering a new home. "Yeah, I don't really believe in fancy, glossy decorations." he said to his dear friend warmly, his eyes shimmering with an indescribable light. "Alia told me that I throw more stuff in here, but I do things my way. My dorm, my rules."

Axl sat on the floor and gazed out of the window……his eyes glued to the crystal blue stars floating in the midnight sky. "I like it the way it is. It's pretty neat." he said, leaving not a speck of doubt anywhere. The young one looked just like a small puppy staring out of the window…..

He was beyond adorable.

With a soft, warm chuckle, the Crimson Flame sat down on his bed and removed his laptop from his dresser. Preparing for an hour of work, he opened it up and eyed the happy young Reploid, wearing a smile on his own face.

"Hey Axl?"

Axl's eyes fell on him, shining with a light he had never seen before…..and it was a beautiful, warm kind of light…….

"Yeah?"

"When you become a Maverick Hunter, you're going to have to deal with a lot of work. You know, reports, research…..things like that."

The answer he received was completely unexpected.

"I'll be able to handle it. No sweat. I can take anything."

"Well, you just didn't strike me as the type that would enjoy working on reports, that's all."

The young one placed a hand behind his head and laughed. Alia would have died if she had been able to see him.

"Heh heh. I did a lot of work back in the day. Anything's fine with me!"

Golden silence fell into the room, drenching the two of them like a soft, creamy blanket of sunlight. Axl's eyes went right back out to the eternal ocean of starlight…..and Zero's eyes were on the monitor of his laptop…..the only noise that could be heard was the sound of Zero's fingers gently touching the keys of the keyboard….

The Crimson Flame was working on several reports for the General, that was true….but his mind was on his friend, who had been through so much pain. He knew that Axl was strong enough to take care of himself, and he was perfectly fine because he was surrounded by friends that loved him…..but losing a loved one was hard. He had been forced to deal with the pain of losing a loved one himself-two loved ones. He knew Axl was all right….but he cared for the young Reploid so much…..

And saying 'goodbye' to someone you loved was never easy.

"Zero?"

"Yeah?"

Axl's voice became sad. "I'm really sorry about Iris. I really am. I wish I could have done something."

"What?" Zero almost rose from his place. "You……you weren't even…….!"

The shock that consumed the Maverick Hunter was too great to control. The widened eyes of the Crimson Flame fell right on the puppy-like eyes of Axl….filled with disbelief and affection.

He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"I know. I just wish I could have done something to save her. You lost someone that obviously meant a lot to you. Since you mean a lot to me, I just wish I could do something about what happened. I really am sorry."

"You're making it seem as if you were THERE the whole time with us! Don't give yourself unnecessary pain, Axl! You had nothing to do with anything that occurred back then! Be reasonable!"

The eyes of the young one told Zero that he was willing to let everything go, but with a bit of reluctance. The gentle, vibrant gemstones of heavenly light went right back to the ocean of stars…….and the heart of the young one fell under immense regret. Zero could NOT believe that Axl was miserable over what had happened between him and Iris-it was as if the young one was blaming himself for what had happened.

It just didn't make any sense!

The volume of the Maverick Hunter's voice increased a little, and anger lit up his eyes. Axl had been through so much pain, and here he was blaming himself for something that happened an eternity ago..!

"I now know why X became so upset with you a little while back. Your tendency to take on the troubles of others without even thinking of yourself is a little IRRITATING, to say the least."

But that tendency was what made Axl's heart so pure.

"He told you about that?"

Zero's voice became softer. "Yeah. Right before we left to rescue you from Hyenard's clutches, he told me everything. You two went through a lot together. I'd like to thank you for taking care of him, Axl. I'm glad the two of you became good friends."

"I am too. Hey."

"Yes?"

The adorable eyes of the Maverick Hunter gazed into Zero's for a short while….shimmering with the warmth of innocence and love. The eyes of the young Reploid were like the eyes of the tiniest lion cub-incredibly gentle, beautiful and filled with shyness. The Crimson Flame tried to figure out what was on the young one's mind, but then, a few moments later, the face of his young friend fell a thousand miles. A heart-rending frown bloomed on his face-he looked like someone that had just been tricked into throwing away everything he owned. "What is it?" Zero asked him, his voice filled with compassion.

"I don't know. I just…….I don't know how to thank you guys."

The smile of an irritated yet loving mother crashed right onto the Hunter's face. Axl was just too sweet for words-it was as if he had just said 'I love you'. The ethereal light of a shy child was still within his eyes….he looked like someone that had just been given a brand-new chance at life. The look on his face almost brought Zero to tears……

"Axl…..what are we going to do with you? You don't have to thank us for anything. We owe you our lives. I owe you my life. You owe us nothing."

"Skip the whole 'I owe you my life' thing. You almost lost your life-I don't want you to throw it away on me anytime soon."

"Okay, so what if I throw it away ten years from now?"

The tone of the young Reploid was firm. He had given Zero no joke.

"You know what I mean. I'm glad I make you happy, by the way. It's nice to know…that I remind of you the times you spent with your girl."

For the very first time in his life….Zero was speechless. He tried to think of something to say, but nothing could be said. The world of vocabulary failed him. There wasn't anything to say-words were meaningless, worthless. Thoughts were worthless. The very light of the young one's heart put everything to shame….but at the same time, the world was put at peace because of Axl's kindness. Everything that was real became a part of fantasy-reality lost all of its meaning because of the young one's heart. The look on his face, the sound of his voice…..his young friend was no ordinary Reploid. He…..it was as if he had descended from the heavens for some reason…..

Ten minutes of warm silence passed. Zero gave up on trying to think of a response and went right back to work….but his mind was still on the young Reploid, who was gazing out at the night sky. Everything was warm, calm and peaceful…..the way it should always be…..the warmth that filled the dormitory was destroyed all levels of comprehension….

Minutes felt like warm years. Time slowly passed by like gentle winds of Summer….but it held no meaning for the Crimson Flame. He broke the eternally warm silence by speaking to his young friend, wearing the warmest smile in his eyes.

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing much. I was just thinking of the days Red and I shared together. We had a lot of fun just staring out at sunsets and things like that. He would always tell me about his research….and then, later, he would teach me a lot of cool things, y'know."

"Do you miss him?"

"You know…..I used to. A lot. But now…."

A small smile lit up Axl's face.

"See…it's strange……but whenever I think of the old times….the times I spent with Red……my heart doesn't hurt anymore. It's not like I don't care or anything. I do miss him….it's just……I don't feel any pain. The pain's gone…and that's why I think I'm ready to say good-bye, you know? I'm able to say good-bye to my past….because of what I have gained for my future. I have you two-I'm not alone. So I'm not afraid of anything anymore. I have what I need."

Silence gently made its way into the dormitory like a soft, glimmering wind of crystallized dewdrops. Zero was unable to come up with a response-his eyes, which were gentle gemstones of true devotion, stayed on the young Reploid……Axl, on the other hand, was confused by the silence. The young one tilted his head, the way a confused puppy would, and spoke to his friend worriedly.

"Is that weird?"

Zero's voice was soft and calm…..like the voice of the ocean on a quiet sunny day…..but anyone with half a brain could tell that the Crimson Flame was struck silly by admiration. "No." he said to his friend kindly, his eyes sparkling like the stars in the morning sky. "That didn't sound weird at all. I'm glad you told me that."

Axl beamed at him with every ounce of affection within his heart. "I am too. Thanks for listening to me."

Peaceful silence returned to the dorm. The crystal blue stars became golden balls of empyrean light…..and they created small rivers of sunlight. An ethereal golden orb of light began to make its descent from sleep a few minutes later….but it wasn't the sun. The arrival of the mystical orb brought about the arrival of young birds-flocks of birds that had learned how to fly during the previous day soared through the endless ocean, meeting the beautiful orb.

It was all a part of a miracle.

"It's……isn't that….."

"Yes. It's the Orb of Pallas. It's the equivalent to Haley's Comet-the orb is not something you can see everyday. It emerges from sleep every three thousand years. It's only visible for a short amount of time, but it can be seen all over the world. Pretty amazing, isn't it?"

"I wonder if X sees it."

"I know he's watching all of this. He's still awake, just like we are. The thoughts on his mind are preventing him from falling asleep."

"And you know all of this how?"

"We've been friends for an eternity, so I know him pretty well. When you spend a lot of time around someone that's close to you, your heart unites with that heart of that person."

"Zero…..do you think……"

Zero laughed at him warmly, his eyes gazing out at the beauteous, surreal ocean. It was hard to believe in the word 'reality' anymore. Nothing seemed real. "Of course I do." he told the young one, smiling.

He had never smiled so much before in his life.

"You're a part of our family now. Of course we'll learn how to read you too, so don't be jealous."

Axl laughed at those words. "I'm not. I just wanted to know if I could become really close to you guys….that's all. What do you think will happen after we take down Sigma?"

"He'll retreat to his precious chambers and come up with another plan. In other words, nothing big will happen. He'll come back, I'm sure of it. I know him well. The next time he comes back, though….will be the last time we'll ever see him."

"So…..you think…….after we take him down again…..it'll all be over?"

"Yes. Don't ask me how I know. I just know. I'm listening to my heart on this, and I've never been wrong yet."

A second later, the Maverick Hunter did something he thought he would never do.

He began to laugh.

The laughter was completely unexpected……and completely indescribable. Zero had laughed before, yes-but the laughter had been either sarcastic or bitter, and it had been directed at enemies. But now….he was really laughing. It was like watching the sun rise over a horizon that had spent an eternity in darkness……..the laughter was like newborn music…..

"Hahahahahahaha-you've turned me into a big softie, Axl! Hahahahahahahahahahaha!"

The young one playfully frowned at his dear friend, who was about to fall off of his bed because of the laughter he was engulfed in, but then a small smile broke out on his face. Gentle laughter began to leave his mouth, but then it soon turned into waves of laughter. The two friends weren't able to do anything but laugh for several minutes…..but the laughter was like notes of song being played on a harp-melodious, golden and serene. Reploids that passed by Zero's room were shocked to hear the Maverick Hunter laughing-many of them thought that Zero had even gone insane. The Hunter had never laughed happily before in his life……

The dormitory of Mega Man X was just a couple of dorms away from Zero's-it wasn't too far. His dorm was not silent, but it was filled serenity-the Maverick Hunter had peaceful music playing on his sound system. He enjoyed listening to music whenever he wanted to relax, and it certainly was the perfect time to unwind. The song he had chosen matched the miracle outside-the soft voice of the female singer met the magical, deep beauty of the stars…..and the Orb of Pallas seemed to be smiling because of the melody. X was on his bed, arms behind his head….and a smile on his face. He wasn't near his two friends, but he had a pretty good idea about what they were doing at the moment-the bond he had with the two of them was tighter than tight. His laptop wasn't on…there weren't any documents on the floor, or on his dresser.

Everything was perfectly quiet.

Ten minutes of laughter passed by, then the laughter slowly began to drift away. Both of them began to wipe the mist of tears from their eyes, beaming with the light of pure, pristine affection. The stars of the golden ocean continued to watch over them as they sat on the floor together, lost within the depths of true, glorious happiness….

Once again, Zero was the one responsible for breaking the silence.

"I feel like an idiot. I've never laughed before in my life. You really have turned things upside down, Axl."

The young one stared at him for a moment, and then fell out on the floor, as if his body had been consumed by exhaustion in a flat second. "You've never laughed before?" he asked his friend, sounding like someone that found out a weird, bizarre secret. "Jeez, sounds like you've had a pretty rough life."

"It's almost one-thirty. We'd better get some shut-eye, or else we won't be able to perform tomorrow."

"Perform? We're not a part of a circus, you know."

"Say something like that again and I'll toss you outside."

The young one yawned, bearing a great resemblance to the tiniest, sleepiest puppy.

Alia would have died if she had seen him.

"Zero?"

"Yeah?"

Axl rubbed at his eyes. "Thanks."

"For what?"

The answer he received brought tears to his eyes.

"For wanting to be my friend."

Silence struck the Maverick Hunter in the form of a tremendous thunderbolt. The eyes of his young friend were gazing into his, filled with the immortal light of true innocence….and with the eternal, legendary light of love. For once in his life, Zero was unable to come up with any words to say, or even any words to think. Nothing could describe the feelings soaring through his soul…..it was as if the young Reploid had some sort of healing aura surrounding his heart. Words were still as meaningless as pennies-that fact frustrated the Maverick Hunter….but a part of him knew something.

A part of him knew that words weren't needed.

There were times in life that could not be described with words, or even with pictures.

There were times that could not be described by anything.

They spoke for themselves….in an inexplicable yet deep, profound way.

This was one of those times.

Zero closed his eyes, allowing himself to sink into the wondrous magic that was unfolding right outside of his window. The sky had become black again, but the beauty of a new miracle was blooming-the stars were now a bright topaz blue, and they were emitting silvery rays of warm light. The stars were sacred, precious jewels of melodies….melodies that were even more precious than time.

Millions of diamond blue stars were soaring through the heavens peacefully, emitting a gentle aura of silence for the world to hear. The light of dawn was about to rise over the Maverick Hunter base, but the calm black oceans of starlight were still awake, and they were shining with every ounce of strength they had. The stars seemed to be smiling down upon everyone…..the light of their hearts proved that fact. The heavens seemed to be smiling down on the entire world….

A miracle like this had never been seen before.

The world had been sleeping for such a long time.

3:00.

Mega Man X rose from the peaceful slumber he had been in with a gentle yawn. He opened his eyes, stretched out his arms and scanned his surroundings with a smile of appreciation on his face. His music was still playing in the background the way a soft wind would caress a new morning….and small fireflies were still resting in the warm atmosphere. For a few minutes his mind focused on many thoughts…thoughts of what had happened between him and his friends…..but after those thoughts, a thunderbolt of disbelief pierced his heart. Was the nightmare actually gone, or was Zero still locked within the clutches of sleep?

Reality no longer existed.

"X! Captain X!"

With a tiny bit of reluctance, the kind Maverick Hunter answered the Reploid's call on his communicator. "What is it, Sapphire?" he asked the young male Reploid worker, who was wearing a bright, sunny smile.

"Navigator Alia just informed us of Vanishing Gungaroo's latest activity, sir. He's destroying our underground weapons factory with the desire to rebuild it as his own empire, sir. He must be taken care of as soon as possible."

A playful, soft sigh left X's mouth. The workload of a Maverick Hunter was infinite. He couldn't even enjoy the morning, but oh well. Work was work, and more work and more work and-

"Thank you, Sapphire. I'll rouse my two friends, and we'll deal with the situation."

He rose from his bed, the second his friend Sapphire vanished from his communicator's screen. Another small yawn left his lips, and then he turned off his sound system….and left….

Completely unaware of what he was about to find.

He came upon Zero's room in more than two minutes. As soon as he reached the main control panel, which was on the side of his door, he pressed a red button and spoke into the intercom of the panel, still wearing a very warm smile. He knew his friend well-he didn't really see Zero as the slumber party type….even though he had asked Axl to become his new roommate. Axl was pretty energetic, but the Crimson Flame was a stick in the mud, especially compared to puppy-like Axl……

I hope they had fun in there.

"Zero! Zero? Are you awake in there?"

No answer.

"Hmm. Axl? Can you hear me?"

The only thing that answered him was silence.

"Hmmm."

X punched in an identification code on the panel, letting the system of his dormitory know that he wanted to enter his friend's room. The mechanical sliding door removed itself from his path………

And allowed him to see the most precious sight.

His mouth dropped….his eyes widened…..and his heart almost stopped.

"Oh…..my……."

It was unbelievable.

The sight that met his eyes….was a sight he would never, EVER forget.

Axl was in the arms of the Maverick Hunter, smiling…..both of them were sleeping soundly, lost in infinite, peaceful dreams. The young Reploid was in his friend's arms, looking a small, content lion cub sleeping under the care of his mother……the usually stoic, curt Maverick Hunter bore the sweet appearance of a loving parent-protective, affectionate and gentle. There was no smile on his face, but one could easily tell that his heart was at peace.

The mother wolf was caring for the baby tiger.

Or in this case, the FATHER wolf was caring for the baby tiger.

The shock on X's face was quickly replaced by a huge smile….a smile that became so huge that it caused his face to hurt. His eyes lit up with tears…..tears of joy that resembled the stars floating outside. He looked like a young child cradling the cutest animal….or someone watching an extremely emotional movie. What he was seeing was just too cute for words.

"Awwwwwww. Alia would just keel over and die if she saw this."

I really don't want to wake them up. I should just go to Gungaroo's by myself.

Wish I had a camera.

Camera…..

Mischief rushed right into the eyes of the Maverick Hunter. He had a camera. It was right in his room! They weren't going to wake up within the next couple of minutes, were they? He had time to run and get it!

A huge grin of mischief replaced the small mischievous smile that bloomed on his face a moment later. Leaving the door to Zero's dorm open, he darted out of the dorm and rushed right back to his, grinning like a child that was about to take a peek at the latest batch of Christmas presents. He entered his own dorm room, picked up his camera, and ran right back out, stifling waves of laughter that wanted to escape-

"What's he doing?" a Reploid worker asked his friend as they watched the normally calm Hunter dart into Zero's room. His companion shrugged.

"I have no idea. X usually isn't into games."

"Looks like he was carrying a camera or something. You know, Captain Zero was acting pretty weird last night-he was actually laughing at something."

"He's probably just really happy, that's all. He almost died. It's time to get over our old ways and stick in the new ways, you know."

X held up the camera and aimed it at the two, unable to restrain the excitement flowing with him. It was as if he had discovered a brand-new civilization-he thought Zero would have died rather than cradle a friend in his arms, but there he was, right in front of him, holding the young Reploid named Axl.

The sight was just too precious to lose.

Laughing like a child sneaking into Santa's sack, X pressed the magical button, and-

SNAP!

"YES!"

"What in the hell do you think you're doing!"

"Wow! You're up! That was fast!"

The Crimson Flame rubbed at his eyes, quietly fuming with anger-he had just been awakened by the flash of the camera. "You know, I would appreciate it if you found another way to say 'good morning'."

The grin on X's face was humongous. He put the camera behind his back, completely forgetting about its ability to develop pictures in an instant-the picture he had taken fell to the floor. "I wanted to take a picture!" he said, sounding like someone that had just won a two-month long cruise. "You guys were SOOOOOOOOO cute!"

"For your information, this isn't a zoo."

"I know but you two were just too precious! Awwwwww! You were the father lion nursing the baby wolf cub!"

"You know what? You're just as bad as Alia now."

"Hey……"

X's eyes widened in happiness. "Axl! Good morning!"

The young Reploid opened his eyes, looking someone waking up in a new home for the very first time. His gentle eyes fell onto the face of Zero, who was obviously annoyed by something….and then his beautiful gemstones fell on the wide grin of X. The sound of his voice was just too cute for words.

"X….what are you doing?"

"Take a look at THIS piece of gold!"

With an immeasurable amount of pride, the Maverick Hunter held up the picture he had taken as if it were a part of a new planet. Axl took it from his hand, stared at it for a second, and smiled.

"Awwww! Zero!"

The look on Zero's face was priceless. He looked like he wanted to shove poison down both of their throats.

"Why didn't you sleep in your bed, pal?"

Zero closed his eyes with a heavy sigh-the Maverick Hunter had such a big ego, and he wasn't about to say why he had decided to hold the young one in his sleep. The reason would have been too hard to describe anyway.

The concept of description was a fake concept.

The smile on Axl's face was a bright one, radiant with gratitude….and of course…

Devotion.

"Jeez….you didn't have to….wait, did I bore you to death or something?"

"NO. I FELL ASLEEP ON MY OWN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I DECIDED TO FALL ASLEEP THAT WAY. END OF STORY."

"Is somebody not having a good morning?"

"X, if you don't stuff it, I'll take my Saber and-"

"You can't kill me. I'm your friend!"

"Well then, let me have that picture."

"WHY! Does someone ELSE like it?"

Silence.

"It's okay, Zero! It's cute! You KNOW IT IS-OW!"

"I'm leaving." the Crimson Flame said, sheathing his Saber (which he had just used to bonk X on the head). With the aura of perfection about him, he silently walked out of his dormitory and left behind his two friends. Still wearing the biggest grin of all time, X nudged Axl in the chest-

"It's okay. He knows it's cute. HE JUST DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH HIS OWN INSECURITIES, THAT'S ALL!"

"If you don't cut it out he'll probably beat you down, X."

"Who cares? I like torturing him! He knows it's cute. He may act like a boulder in the mud, but he's really a big ol'KITTY CAT!"

Waiting for Zero to rush back into the room and kill X, Axl sat still for a moment and focused on the sounds around him, playfully pretending to be uneasy, then he shook his head, rose from his place and silently walked out of the room….holding back laughter. X followed him a few moments later….

After he placed the picture on Zero's table.

Hi! There are only a few chapters left-wow. I wonder how I'll feel when all of this is over. Thank you everyone, for always being with me! I'm thinking about writing a Mega Man Battle Network fic right along with the X8 fic-what do you think about that?

If there are any newbies are out that want to stop by and comment on this, here's a little something to think about-THIS IS NO SHOUNEN FIC. I don't even know if that's the correct term, but our heroes ARE NOT in love with each other. Please understand this. This is about friendship, not about pink flowers and chocolate hearts. I hope my message reaches everyone clearly. I hope I can actually change someone's life or something with my work. I'm obviously reaching someone, though (looks at review amount). When this first started, I only had about two reviews.

Now I have a huge family of fans!

By the way, just in case any of you have heard of Final Fantasy 9, X was listening to 'Melodies of Life' in his room. That's the song I listened to while writing this chapter-well, the Silent Mix, anyway, from the Plus soundtrack. That song is the theme for this story. Here are the lyrics to the song.

Alone for a while I've been searching through the dark

For traces of the love you left inside my lonely heart

To weave by picking up the pieces that remain

Melodies of lifelove's lost refrain

Our paths they did cross, though I cannot say just why

We met, we laughed, we held on fast, and then we said goodbye

And who'll hear the echoes of stories never told?

Let them ring out loud till they unfold

In my dearest memories, I see you reaching out to me

Though you're gone, I still believe that you can call out my name

A voice from the past, joining yours and mine

Adding up the layers of harmony

And so it goes, on and on

Melodies of life,

To the sky beyond the flying birdsforever and beyond

So far and away, see the bird as it flies by

Gliding through the shadows of the clouds up in the sky

I've laid my memories and dreams upon those wings

Leave them now and see what tomorrow brings

In your dearest memories, do you remember loving me?

Was it fate that brought us close and now leaves me behind?

If I should leave this lonely world behind

Your voice will still remember our melody

Now I know we'll carry on

Melodies of life

Come circle round and grow deep in our hearts

Performed by Emiko Shiratori