Return of Metal
Chapter 10
"Sacrifice"
By MEGAMANX411

Zero, Axl, and X were now in their Hyper Modes. They all had huge power boosts, and even then, they still weren't utilizing their maximum output. X still wanted to just defeat Metal, not kill him. However, with each passing moment, that possibility grew even dimmer. The fight was becoming increasingly intense with every punch thrown, and it seemed as though the killing could not be avoided at all—Metal's Maverick-induced bloodlust was just too strong. The only other person who could snap him out of it still wasn't awake…it was almost like someone or something was purposely keeping her out cold so as to not interfere with Metal.

That's when it hit X. He had his golden opportunity. If he could only stall Metal until Goth woke up, then things could still work out. Maybe she could be the one to help bring some sense back into Metal. It was a long shot though…after all, there was no known cure for the Maverick Virus. X couldn't waste any time. And he wasn't sure if Zero was going to support the idea either. It was kind of hard to delegate when you were getting the crap kicked out of you. X turned to Zero.

"Zero, I have a plan…" X whispered.

Zero paid no attention. He kept his gaze focused solely on Metal. He wasn't about to lose. He was a Maverick Hunter and Metal was a Maverick. By the simplest definitions, that meant Zero had to kill Metal. It was part of his job. He wasn't about to let that slip either. This was a question of duty and pride. Even though their original plan was to not kill Metal, Zero was not going to let a Maverick this dangerous out.

"X, forget about it. We have to kill him. He's a Maverick. And we're Maverick Hunters," Zero replied coolly.

Metal didn't say a word back. The Hunters weren't sure of whether or not he had lost his mind, or if he was just so sure he would win that he felt he didn't need to speak. Metal remained there with a smile. His level of power was phenomenal. It was kind of strange to think that he was just Dr. Wily's "pet project," despite the fact that he had amassed all of this power. He easily ranked among the more powerful foes that the Hunters had faced. Still, he was under Sigma's influence—at least that's what it seemed like. Why else would he be Maverick?

X continued to think things through, but Zero decided to let his actions speak for him. Zero rushed forward, clenching his saber tightly in his hand. He prepared his stance, and ran at Metal with all of his might. Zero started things off with a downward slash, but Metal sidestepped to avoid the attack. Zero followed up with a sideways slice attack, but Metal once again dodged it. Axl tried to help his comrade by lending some support fire, and because of his invisibility, one would've thought that his shots would've been more difficult to track—but none of them could hit Metal.

Axl used both of his guns at rapid fire pace, and fired more shots than normal because of his increased power. Following that was Zero's saber technique, which was reputed to be the best among all who wielded a saber. Yet, Metal managed to avoid each blow. At least this time, it seemed as though Metal could only dodge. Zero thrust forward, Metal stepped to the side, Zero tried using his fist, but Metal dodged the attack just with slight movements. Zero kept on slicing, slashing, punching, kicking, and grabbing, but no hits were very effective. The only hits he landed were minimal and didn't do much damage.

Axl wasn't faring much better. His shots usually proved to miss or be ineffective. A couple managed to score some more damage, but nothing substantial. X, on the other hand, remained motionless. He was trying to think things through, but it almost looked like he was in a coma. He still wondered, how could they win?

"Goth could be the key to getting Metal to stop…but how do we wake her up? Her state of unconsciousness is definitely not natural; someone or something is causing her to remain that way. That means there must be something at work here. There has to be a way…!" X thought.

"X, look out!" Zero shouted.

"Huh?" X replied, looking up.

While X was taking his time to attack, Metal was working his way over to him. The whole time, he was dodging Axl's and Zero's attacks perfectly, managing to not only prevent being harmed, but also getting closer to his target. X looked up to see Metal rushing after him with his fist raised, but the attack surprised him so much that he barely had time for countermeasures. Luckily though, it seemed as though the Hyper Mode boosts proved to be valuable.

Before Metal's attack could land, Zero managed to get a successful hit on Metal. The dark reploid cringed from the attack, and his form was thrown off. At the same time, Axl managed to get some more effective shots in, and following that, X put his claws on Metal's chest, and let out a close-range buster blast. He didn't put all of his energy into it, but enough to cause some damage. Metal was sent flying backwards, going straight into the wall. He broke through the wall, and was covered up in the rubble.

"Now's our chance! Hit him with everything we've got!" Zero shouted.

Zero and Axl rushed after Metal as quickly as they could, but X instead went to Goth's side. Zero and Axl looked among the rubble to see any sign of Metal, while X was trying to wake Goth up.

"You see him?" Zero asked, scanning the area.

"No…he's concealing his power. Think he's going to run?" Axl asked in return.

Suddenly, a vicious laughter tore through the room. Axl's question was answered. X turned his head to look over towards his comrades. Zero was looking around the area, trying to prepare himself for the next attack. Axl followed suit, getting his guns ready. Much to their dismay, a huge explosion racked the room and debris was sent flying everywhere. One piece slammed Zero right in the chest, knocking him back a little. The Maverick Hunter shook it off without much of a care and stood ready. Axl avoided all of the pieces that came towards him, and X was out of the range.

Out of the debris came Metal, or at least, something that used to be Metal. The energy that was flowing around him and grown stronger and more evil, and coursed around the room like an encroaching shadow. It was like the very essence of darkness itself was Metal's power. His power had grown immensely, and it looked as though he engaged his own Hyper Mode to counter the Hunters. His armor was thicker, bulkier, darker, and spikier. The blades on his arms grew longer, sharper, and stronger.

His speed and defense increased just as much as his offensive power. His helmet also changed a little—it resembled X's, but was black and silver, with a dark blue jewel. Long silver hair flowed down the back of his helmet. On his back were six black, demonic, bat-like wings with spikes. Metal's buster arm grew in power immensely, and on his right shoulder rested a powerful energy cannon. He was truly in his ultimate form. Was this how Dr. Wily meant for him to be one day? Or was this what Metal made for himself? Either way, it spelt bad news for the Maverick Hunters.

Zero, not letting anything faze him, engaged his Absolute Zero form. His bat-like wings, claws, and immense power increase was nothing to be taken lightly. Still, one had to wonder if it was going to be enough to fight off this new Metal. He would need X's and Axl's support if he was going to win this battle. Zero shot a glance over to Axl, and then followed that up with a look over towards X. X wasn't sure of what to do.

"Damn! Goth was the only way I could stop this peacefully…but now that Metal's changed, I don't think Zero and Axl will be able to fight him off without my help. What do I do? I may have to fight him some more before this can be resolved. I'm sorry Goth, but he's given me no choice…" X thought.

X followed Zero's lead by engaging his own Ultimate Armor. His two arms became huge energy weapons, and his body became a massive engine of destruction. X stared Metal down. He didn't want to have to fight him, but it looked as though if he wanted to save his friends, he would have no choice. The three Maverick Hunters looked at Metal. They wouldn't have much time to call for backup, so they had to stop him by themselves. It was time to finish things.

Metal rushed after Axl first of all. Axl was shocked to discover that Metal could still locate him, and he did his best to avoid the attacks. However, Metal's arm blade caught Axl's arm, causing a bit of damage. Zero went after Metal right at that instant, trying to return the favor for earlier. Metal and Zero were going blow for blow, each exchanging punches and kicks. Metal tried using his shoulder cannon at short range, but Zero dodged the attack, and then tackled Metal with a dashing maneuver. X followed that up with a gigantic laser blast.

Metal nimbly rolled out of the wall, avoiding the attack. He then used his six wings to cover his body up, and then…disappeared. X, Zero, and Axl were looking around the room once again. This wasn't the first time Metal used that tactic, and it looked as though he was going to keep using it until the Hunters could find a way to break through it. Unfortunately for them, it didn't look like this was that time. Before X could wheel his body around, Metal used a powerful thrusting kick. Thanks to his increased armor, X didn't suffer as much damage as he would have normally, but it was still a strong attack.

Before Metal could follow up on that attack, Zero quickly caught him by the side and slashed at Metal with his claws. Metal whipped his wings to bat Zero away, but Axl caught him by surprise getting a couple of support fire shots in. Metal was caught off guard, and X took the opportunity to get another heavy shot in. Metal was knocked back a little, but his reinforced defense proved to be enough to hold against the attack. Zero wasn't going to stand for that though. He grabbed Metal by his wings, and started to swing him around the room.

Much to his dismay, Metal broke free, and started flying around with his demon wings. He grinned as he stared at the three Hunters. His body began to glow, and energy particles began to gather around his buster arm. Metal then changed his other hand into a buster cannon. Knowing what was going to come, X tried to fire upwards to knock Metal out of the sky. However, Metal vanished once again. This time, he appeared behind Axl, and he let loose his twin-buster attack. The massive blast sent Axl soaring, and when he landed, he was out cold. Proving that he was truly malicious, Metal went over as quickly as he could, continuing to pound on Axl with his fists.

Zero rushed toward Axl's body, trying to fend off Metal. The grim robot quickly abandoned his torturing, and brought his attention back to the remaining two Maverick Hunters. Zero, borrowing an idea from Metal, used one of his wings to swat Metal away. Following up on that, X rammed head-on into Metal, using his immense armor as a weapon. As Metal was sent backwards, Zero rushed behind him and kicked him in the back with a strong attack. Metal fell to the ground, but picked himself up shortly after. It seemed as though this fight could go on forever.

However, that wasn't part of Sigma's plan. He intended on sealing the deal, making Metal truly and fully hate the Maverick Hunters with every possible ounce of his being. He wanted Metal to erupt with so much anger that he would kill anyone, no matter who…to do that, he needed to remove one little obstacle. Even though he wasn't fit for battle at the moment, Sigma still was alive and was definitely calculating his moves. He was ready to execute his plan. Goth suddenly shot up. X looked over to her with wide eyes. Finally! He might be able to reason with Metal now!

"Goth, can you hear me? My name is Mega Man X. Look, we know of your relationship with Metal. Please, we need your help. Please, tell Metal to stop fighting. We'll give you whatever you need, we'll make sure no one else tries to go after you, you can live with us if you want, just make him stop!" X shouted, trying to use his chance while he could.

Goth paid no attention to him. It was like she was looking through him, almost. X tried to speak again, but words didn't come. He knew something was wrong. He looked back over at Zero. He continued to fight with Metal, exchanging punches and kicks at impossible speeds. Before X knew it, Goth had jumped into the fray. She stood right in front of Zero's incoming attacks.

"What the hell…!" Zero shouted, trying to stop himself mid stride.

Luckily, he managed to avoid hitting Goth, but just what in the world was going on? Zero didn't have time to think about that though, because Metal didn't cease his attacks at all. The renowned Maverick Hunter was caught by surprise, and with a quick flick of his arm blades, Metal sliced across Zero's chest. Zero tried to fend off the next attack, but Metal broke his guard, and kicked him in the chest. However, the next string of attacks would prove to be more damaging to Metal than anything else.

X rushed into battle, trying to prevent Goth from coming from harm. He rushed after her, trying to get her out of the way. She was just standing there in a daze, seemingly unaware of what was going on. But was she really unaware of things? After all, it looked like she jumped in front of every one of Zero's attacks. What was she trying to accomplish? As X was trying to save Goth, Zero rushed back at Metal with a diving punch. Goth got in the way. Zero pulled back, but Metal was rushing after him with his arm blades. X went in as quickly as he could to get Goth out of the way. However, he stumbled, and bumped into Goth.

X saw what was coming. Zero saw it too. He tried to reach for her, and was just about to grab her. But it was too late…