Hello, everyone. We have finally made it to the home stretch. Here, our heroes will finally battle the evil Sigma. I hope everyone's enjoying themselves!
I've been searching for good Suikoden 4 fics, but nobody's really made any….sheesh. I don't care about Suikoden 3-where are the Suikoden 4 masterpieces? Was Suikoden 3 really such a big deal? And to all of you that think Suikoden 4 sucks-I don't know if you're Final Fantasy fanatics or what, but listen up. It may be short, but Suikoden 4 is as charming as a baby blue bird. I actually care about the story, and its characters.
Oh well. Sorry about the rant. It's just that I've heard so many crappy things about such a wonderful game, and everyone's all into the Final Fantasy gig. Nobuo Uematsu's music is out of this world-that's the only good thing about Final Fantasy, really.
Here I go. Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for being here for me. NOTE: Before we begin, I would like to warn everyone that many things were created from my own imagination. X's Falcon Armor gives him an attack that doesn't really exist, and Sigma is not his true self-he actually bears a resemblance to Xenosaga's 'Albedo'. The resemblance was not created intentionally. The final battle is not what it is in the game-you can't even use all three Reploid heroes in the game, all at the same time. If anyone is expecting to read an exact copy of the X7 script, forget it. It's a fanfic. Look at the name of this sight and chill out.
Wow. The Mega Man category is growing every day.
Black clouds streamed into the sky at an alarming rate. Cold, deadly winds continued to brush the earth, screaming with an uncontrollable amount of glee….but at the same time, they were howling with everlasting pain. The thunder that had ravaged the planet just a short while ago had become silent, and the skies were no longer being lit with streaks of lightning, but the atmosphere was still a blood chilling, horrifying one. The winds were howling, but silence was abundant at the same time….it was as if silence was trying to challenge the power of the winds. Breathing was almost impossible, but the three Reploids found a way to keep up their strength. They were no longer at Sigma's homebase-they had arrived at the homebase of the Red Alert Syndicate, which was no longer in existence. This fact bothered Axl, and he tried his hardest to keep the sadness within himself, especially since he had made that speech about 'keeping the spirit of Red Alert alive', but restraining his emotions had become difficult. Before he had been perfectly skilled at keeping everything to himself, but now was not the time to hide within cocoons.
So much had happened between him and his friends. And just a few days ago, he was lost within the Red Alert base, trying to figure out how he was going to protect Red from Sigma's charms. A part of him felt as if Red's death was his fault, since he possessed the desire to rescue him from Sigma's clutches, but the guilt was not strong enough to consume his entire soul. The other half of his heart knew that Red had wanted to move into a different direction…..it knew that Red had wanted him to move off on his own. His heart also knew that it was time….time for him to begin a new life……
With memories of the past.
The eyes of Zero, the phenomenal Crimson Flame, were glowing like the eyes of a watchful, patient lion. His golden yellow hair was streaming in the cold winds, shimmering with a light that challenged the darkness defiantly. His armor wasn't any different-it too was shimmering with a beauteous light that shattered through all barriers. The eyes of Mega Man X were filled with their usual qualities-the warmth and compassion of a mother, and the courage of a true soldier. Axl knew his friend was worried about him, and he wanted to tell him that everything was perfectly fine…but he also knew that X wouldn't accept any lies. The Maverick Hunter knew all about his ability to hide his own emotions-that was how they were thrown into a fit of awkward silence a long while ago. The Black Tiger decided to toss aside the lies for once and sighed heavily, gazing into the lifeless, frosty skies above him……a moment later, Zero looked his way, his face glowing in the darkness with worry and tension…
"Are you okay?"
The Black Tiger smiled at him and gave himself a minute to think of a response. At first, he believed that the words 'yeah, I am' would have been a lie, since he was still a little upset about what had happened to Red, but…..every passing second brought him tears of relief. He was all right-he knew that. He had friends with him, friends that cared for him, wanted to be there for him…..
"Yeah. No problem on this end. I'm ready whenever you guys are."
"Like I said before-I've been ready." X said grimly, gazing out at the base in front of them, his gentle eyes shining with hope……and tension. He prepared his X Buster for battle, causing Axl to think of a soldier that was about to rush off to his last battle. "Let's go in and get this over with. ALL of us have been through a lot, thanks to Sigma, so let's go."
Axl was not yet ready. He looked into his dutiful friend's face urgently, thinking of the mistake they had made before. "Are we SURE he's in there?" he asked the blue Maverick Hunter. "I mean, we thought we were feeling his energy, but it turned out to be Red."
"That was because Sigma shared some of his energy with him. Red gave off the same energy levels because Sigma poured some of his power into his soul. That was why he gave off Sigma's stench." Zero explained bitterly, playing with his Saber. His awesome weapon was a blade of fatal lightning within his hands, but he was toying with it the way a bored child would toy with a ball. The Maverick Hunter always had a knack for looking like the Grim Reaper in times of battle. "I bet he can't wait to see me. I've got a lot to thank him for."
"Axl?"
The young Reploid looked at the apprehensive Mega Man X, smiling.
"Yeah, what's on your mind?"
"Are you sure you're ready? Once we go in, there's no turning back."
"Of course I am. What are you, nuts? Let's get in there!"
Standing strong against the furious waves of darkness, the three soldiers rushed into the base and began to search for their enemy, the one that had given them excruciatingly heavy burdens within such a short amount of time. All of them were ready to deal with the evil Reploid for different reasons, but they were all together because of the same goal, and because of the same dream. They were silent-the only sounds reaching their ears were the sounds of their own rapid footsteps. Even though all of them had different reasons for being angry with Sigma, all of their faces shared the same exact emotions-bravery, devotion and defiance. Axl's eyes were like bright beams of solid gold, Zero's eyes were the dangerous, brutal eyes of a falcon, and X's eyes were the stars of a dedicated, loyal soldier….but all of them were brought together by the same path.
Minutes passed by like seconds, but time had no meaning to any of them. None of them were afraid of what the future was about to bring-all of them had been through Hell. All of them had experienced fear, pain, loss of hope, sadness…….and it was time to face the road ahead of them. A flash of beautiful, ethereal light went off in the Black Tiger's eyes after ten minutes soared by them, and this thought drifted off with that light-
We're ready.
Twenty minutes passed.
All of them brought their searching to a halt when they arrived in the largest room of the Red Alert Syndicate base. Once again, Zero was the first one to pick up the immense energy levels of Sigma's heart-this time, it had to be him. With the aura of a protective father within his powerful, deadly eyes, he scanned his surroundings carefully, waiting for Sigma to emerge….the other two were right behind him, also waiting for him to emerge……but with different emotions on their faces. Axl looked like a child that was waiting for a clown to make its appearance on stage-X looked like he was waiting for someone he was very pissed off at to come out of hiding. Silence passed through them for several minutes, then it was forced to leave, thanks to Zero.
"Dammit, I really wish he would stop playing around."
"It seems like you know him well." Axl said to his dear friend, surprising him with his chosen tone of voice. "Does he ALWAYS joke around?"
"Yep. ALWAYS."
A second later, Axl realized that X was examining something several feet away from him. "What are you looking at, pal?" the young one asked him, and the Hunter looked back at him, his eyes filled with warm compassion. "I'm looking at what seems to be the roster the Red Alert Syndicate used for their missions." he answered, hoping that he wouldn't stir up any sorrowful emotions in his young friend. "This is evidently the Main Room of the base, where you must have performed your most important duties."
"Correct." For some reason, Axl sounded a little irritated-or was he just reluctant? "This is where Splash Wafly, Wind Crowrang and Red put together our missions, and then the mission objectives were shared with the remaining Red Alert members. Come on already-I told you I'm fine. Don't worry. I said I was ready, and I meant that. Sheesh."
The young one looked a little angry, but X knew that the anger was truly devotion and appreciation. With a smile, the Maverick Hunter looked at him and nodded, regretting his decision to bring up the roster he had found on the wall. Axl's attention was now on Zero, who was ready and willing to bring Sigma down without the slightest bit of hesitation.
"The energy levels I'm picking up are pretty strong, but….once again….I don't hear or see anything. What about you?"
The Crimson Flame looked like a birdwatcher-he was obviously trying to focus on something he had picked up. "Silence yourself and listen, Axl." he said to the young one firmly, his eyes focused on the black ceiling. The Black Tiger obeyed the order willingly, and placed his eyes in the same direction. He could only pick up silence for several minutes, but then…..faint laughter began to steam into his ears. His eyes widened at the sound of the laughter-it bore a great resemblance to the laughter of a clown. X began to notice it as well-
Sigma was in the room all right.
Zero closed his eyes, folded his arms, and spoke, sounding like an impatient mother.
"Come on out Sigma, we know you're here."
"Awww. You ruined my friend, dearest pet. Boohoo."
Axl's face took on a very comical frown. "'Dearest pet'? Is he serious?"
"I'm afraid so." X answered him, without a smile. The Maverick Hunter looked dead serious.
A moment later, Sigma finally fell from the ceiling and landed in the manner of a spider, his face glowing with sickening glee. A smile was on his face, but it was the smile of a demonic werewolf, and his eyes were a bright shade of green. Normally, red eyes were horrifying to look at, but Sigma's eyes took the trophy. The Reploid wasn't any different from a gigantic monster-enormous, blood-thirsty, and savage. His voice, as usual, was the voice of a jolly clown, but the demonic thirst for blood was all over his face.
"Welcome, welcome, all of you. So glad you're here."
He spread his arms wide, wanting an embrace. "Zero! My dear old friend! I'm SOOO glad you're still here! Having fun with your friends, I bet?"
The look on Zero's face would have caused the devil to shiver.
Axl could only stare at him in awe. The Crimson Flame was ready to kill.
"I'm so glad everything's all right now. You must have had such a hard time. So sorry for all of the pain you went through, my precious pet."
X eyed his dearest friend worriedly.
It was like waiting for someone to deactivate a bomb.
"Why, don't you want to give me a hug? After all, I am your sweet friend, am I not?"
Zero didn't say a word.
"Oh well. I'll just have to wait. We'll be together soon, I know we will. You'll become the one you were MEANT to be, and we'll start our new lives together."
Axl didn't want to take his eyes off his friend. The bomb was about two seconds away from exploding.
Sigma turned to X, still wanting an embrace. "X! How good it is to see you! You're probably happy to have Zero with you. You should enjoy your friendship while it lasts-he isn't going to be with you much longer."
Now X looked like he wanted to create massive annihilation.
"How ironic. He was created to kill you, but the two of you are the best of friends!"
X's voice had enough power to cause an earthquake. And his eyes were hotter than the flames of the sun.
"You MONSTER! Zero is no WEAPON! Unlike YOU, he has a both a pure heart AND a pure soul!"
Zero continued to stay silent. His silence was causing Axl to feel uneasy.
The smile on Sigma's face vanished, but his voice didn't change at all. His eyes transformed into stones of cold, blood red power-
"You're too soft, X. Wily created him for destruction, nothing else. Poor soul. I'll shatter all of your sweet ideas soon. You'll thank me for shedding light onto the truth later."
X's eyes became way too dangerous to look at. Looking at them wouldn't have been any different from stepping onto daggers.
Sigma turned on Axl, bearing the physical appearance of a demonic vampire. His eyes smiled at the Black Tiger, but they were filled with a degree of evil that surpassed the boundaries of comprehension….Axl had never seen such a high amount of evil before….and he never thought he would…..
"Little Axl! We finally get to meet, face to face! What a joyous occasion this is! So sorry about Red, by the way. Looks like he wasn't SMART enough to see that I was just playing with him. Poor thing, he lost his way."
Sigma was able to get strike the fuses of X and Zero, but he was unable to get under the Black Tiger's skin. The eyes of the young Reploid bore into his, shining with a deadly amount of defiance-
"Sorry, buddy, but you're not going to get to me, so you should just quit right now. Nice try, though."
"Well well well, aren't YOU the cute one? Pretty adorable! I'm impressed!"
"Great! I bet you'll love to meet my really cute and adorable pals here!"
Axl unsheathed his guns and smiled at Sigma proudly. "Aren't they just swell?" the young one asked him, beaming. The event that occurred next was completely unexpected.
"OF COURSE THEY ARE! NOW, ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU HOW CUTE AND ADORABLE I AM!"
A tremendous tidal wave of bright yellow light pierced the eyes of three Reploids, and a devilish cry of ecstasy was emitted from Sigma's soul. The Reploid shot into the air and hovered within the bright rays of light he had created, bearing the resemblance of the greatest, darkest vampire. His eyes were a demonic shade of red, his black cape was streaming in the wind behind him, and he emitted the aura of evil……once again, the ground beneath them began to rise into the sky at an alarming rate…..
"BEHOLD, MY WONDROUS POWER! FALL BENEATH ME AND SEE HOW WONDERFUL I CAN BE!"
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"
Brandishing his Z-Saber, the phenomenal Crimson Flame made his first attack against his life-long enemy, soaring through the rays of yellow light the way a valiant horse stood against the tides of cruelty. He leapt into the air and slashed out at his enemy with incredible force, but the Maverick dodged the attack and sent a massive wave of energy out at Mega Man X. The Maverick Hunter challenged the wave of energy by emitting his own from his X-Buster, and the two waves went into a deadlock-X pushed and pushed against Sigma's wave, and Sigma battled against his, laughing the way a sadistic child would laugh while tormenting an animal-
"YES, YES! THIS IS SO SWEET! KEEP IT UP-I'M GETTING EXCITED!"
With every ounce of strength in his soul, the legendary Maverick Hunter pushed and pushed his wave of light out at the evil, laughing Maverick…..and was defeated. Sigma succeeded in pushing his wave of energy out at his opponent, and his wave pushed the Reploid back dynamically. He was almost forced into the wall, but Zero rescued him before he could become buried beneath waves of rubble. Axl, the remaining member of the Red Alert Syndicate, came up behind Sigma with the phenomenal speed and grace of a bird, but his attack was instantly detected-the Black Tiger was forcefully sent right into the ground by the powerful Maverick. The eyes of the Maverick Hunters rushed over to the young Reploid, filled with great anxiety…..Zero called out to his dear friend-
"Axl!"
Ignoring his friend's call, the young one got right back up and attempted to deliver another attack on his enemy. He altered the current mode of his guns, bearing a mischievous smile on his face, and then he fired several rounds into the laughing Reploid. Sigma was able to dodge most of his enemy's attacks, but the last beams of energy made contact with him successfully. Unfortunately for Axl, the light of his own laser balls and the light of Sigma's aura caused him to become blind, and when the light of his own attacks disappeared, Sigma appeared right in front of him-
"Hello."
A sharp gasp literally ripped itself from the young one's throat. A second later, he found himself in the ground, gritting his teeth from pain…his head was on fire…..
"Damn it………"
A cry of vengeance tore itself from X's heart and pierced the air with awesome strength. The dauntless Maverick Hunter wrapped himself up in ethereal, iridescent beams of light...and his cry lingered within the air. The light flowing from his heart spread throughout the room….and it caused the smile on Sigma's face to become even bigger. The incredible, miraculous display lasted for about a minute, then the Maverick Hunter revealed himself. He was no longer wearing his usual suit of armor…..he was now wearing the-
"Falcon Armor." Zero whispered to himself, wearing a warm smile of affection. Sigma was also smiling, but for very different reasons.
"NOW THINGS ARE STARTING TO WARM UP! THANK YOU!"
Like a cat determined to catch a frightened mouse, Sigma leapt out at X, but the Maverick Hunter was ready. With an amazing amount of speed, X leapt out of the line of fire and delivered several attacks with his Buster, but none of them struck the Maverick. After those attacks were sent out, both of them went into hand-to-hand combat…but several more rounds from Axl's guns struck the Maverick a minute later. Sigma viciously whirled around on Axl, who was having a great amount of trouble breathing due to pain, and fired several more beams of energy out at the young one. Realizing that the young Reploid had not yet recovered from Sigma's last attack, Zero swept him out of harm's way in an instant, glanced at him fearfully and went right back to the battle. X shot into the air and sent out a tumultuous wave of energy at his enemy, but that attack was also unsuccessful-the evil Maverick appeared at his side two seconds after the wave had been sent out-
"Why hello there. It's nice up here, isn't it?"
Another gasp tore itself from X's throat with an excruciating amount of force. Sigma sent him right into to the wall with immeasurable strength, laughing………but his laughter was cut short by Zero's Saber. Zero had successfully delivered another uppercut-the Saber had made its way into the side of his life-long enemy's chest. The Crimson Flame winked at his 'friend' merrily, removed his Saber and landed on the ground triumphantly, smiling at his dear friend Axl. X removed himself out of the hole in the wall and looked at his two friends urgently….Zero snickered at the Maverick-
"Well well well, looks like I'm the cutest one here."
A second later, the Crimson Flame was locked within a deadly embrace-Sigma's arms were wrapped around his body in a very tight grip. The sadistic killer licked the cheek of his enemy happily-
"Ah. Such a sweet taste."
Axl's voice came to him two seconds later.
"GET YOUR FILTHY MITTS OFF MY PAL, BASTARD!"
With a stunning amount of power, the young one fired out at his enemy successfully-since Sigma's attention was all on Zero, he was unable to detect the oncoming attacks. The Maverick delivered a savage, deadly punch to the Crimson Flame's stomach, causing him to fall to the ground, and went right out at the young Reploid-
X knew that both of his friends were in grave danger. He closed his eyes, and tried to calm the rapid beating of his heart…..but his heart had a mind of its own. It was frightened…..fearful….it was completely aware of what was going on...distant memories rose from slumber and into the surface of the present……
"My son……protect the ones you love…….stand strong…..never stray away from your destiny……"
I remember you well, Father.
X's eyes snapped right open.
He took an extremely deep breath…..raised both of his arms……
"Power of thunder, rise from beneath my soul……hearken to me now, shatter this evil before me! HAAAAAAAAA!"
X's cry shattered every window in the base. A massive stream of energy was emitted from his hands, which had been balled into fists several seconds before. The energy was directed right at Sigma………but it was reflected……….
Right at Axl.
X's eyes widened, and became beautiful, solid pools of both ethereal devotion and fear. Another gasp tore itself from his mouth, but this one was the most painful one yet. Sigma had the ability to throw his enemy's attacks right back at them, or in a different direction.
X's attack was thrown right at Axl.
"Oh no…………"
The Maverick Hunter was paralyzed.
"No……oh no………"
Zero's eyes were no different. The Crimson Flame rushed right over to the body of his young friend worriedly, his face shimmering with sadness-
"Axl! Axl!"
X's cry split through the air…..bearing a great resemblance to the cry of dying wolf.
"Axl!"
Sigma fired several enormous waves of energy out at the Crimson Flame, who was holding the half-conscious Axl in his arms. Zero successfully shielded the young one, but took the full brunt of Sigma's attack. Sigma turned on the horrified Mega Man X, grinning-
"Good job X-looks like your friend's down for the count."
"No……no……."
X fell to the ground and pounded in it frustration….tears falling from his eyes…..
"No……….this can't be……..THAT ATTACK WAS MEANT FOR YOU, DAMMIT!"
Emotions were rising high within the hearts of the two Maverick Hunters.
X fired out another attack from his X-Buster, and Zero came up behind the evil Maverick with his Saber, releasing a cry of wrath from his soul. Sigma's attention went straight to Zero, since he knew that the Crimson Flame was a lot more powerful than X was. Right then and there, X realized that Zero's attacks were the only ones Sigma couldn't throw off in different directions, since the Crimson Flame didn't use energy blasts as weapons…
Zero went into a duel against his old 'friend', and it was a miraculous, awesome duel. His Saber clashed against Sigma's own blade……his eyes were filled with the silent song of death…..Sigma's eyes were like the eyes of happy, delighted vampire……
"ISN'T THIS FUN? I'M ENJOYING THIS GAME, I REALLY AM!"
Zero sent out an attack that forced the Maverick to draw away from him instantly. Sigma's face was drenched in shock for a moment, but then, his sickening smile returned. The eyes of the Maverick Hunter were glued on him, shining with the deadly light of great power…….
"This is what I call a party! We should do this more often, don't you think?"
What happened next could not have been detected.
The sadistic Maverick sent out an immeasurable amount of bright red energy at Mega Man X…..his eyes glowing with the light of pure evil……..
"I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M HAVING SO MUCH FUN! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"
The attack went on for about a minute, which felt like an eternity……and then the Maverick brought it to a halt. But the results he received surprised him….and they also surprised X.
"Hmmm? What's this?"
X's eyes were solid, eternal pools of emerald green sorrow…..pristine tears were streaming from them like raindrops……and he was shivering from both shock and pain….he watched his young friend Axl slowly fall to the cold, hard floor….
"No……….no…….."
Zero's eyes were also filled with infinite shock. The Crimson Flame gasped and rushed over to his young friend's body, realizing that the young one had protected X from Sigma's attack. Frantically, Zero tried to awaken him-
"Axl! Axl! Wake up! Come on! It's me, Zero! Wake up!"
"Oh God…..nooooo……nooooooo…..this can't be…….no……"
Sigma folded his arms and smiled silently, his face shining with pleasure. X rushed over to both of his friends, feeling excruciatingly sick with fear-
"Zero……."
Zero's attention was on the Black Tiger. His eyes, which were normally strong, powerful beams of fire….were filled with immeasurable amounts of tension and sadness……devotion and fear…….his voice was soft and urgent, but at the same time, it was firm…….
"Axl. Come on. Wake up. I KNOW you're still there. Please."
Nothing.
I'm going to do what you did for me.
"Wake up."
Wake up.
Please…..wake up.
I know you're still there.
I know you aren't gone.
Wake up.
