A/N: This is the last one. The last chapter, with all the grand speeches and whatnot. I will go back and fix the formatting in previous chapters, but for now: WHEW.
The echoes of gunfire and yelling dwindled as the hound led X through the corridors. Another flock of bats crossed their path, yet they stood down, parting like branches in a jungle to allow X through. Their unblinking red eyes stared at him, but X kept his focus forward.
After rounding several corners, the creature came to a shattered window, one of many cut in intervals along the right wall. The emergency lamp on the opposite wall cast a harsh light, and shards of glass glittered among a weave of criss-crossing shadows. The Velguarder approached the opening and, in fluid motion, leaped from the window and landed on the lawn below. It continued on without breaking stride.
X stopped at the window and looked down. He hesitated, but as he watched wolf continue on, he found his resolve and jumped from the edge. He landed hard, kneeling to absorb the shock. Unhurt, he broke into a run to catch up.
The creature led him through the Maverick Hunter headquarters grand lawn. The twinkling lights of the city once stretched to the horizon, but the black expanse X saw instead showed the entirety of Abel city to be without power. The distant but persistent sounds of sirens and gunfire drew X's thoughts to those who were frightened, fighting, and dying in the pitch black all around him. X ached with resolve to end this conflict.
The lawn terminated at a raised knoll, crowned with a raised, brick overlook. At the top of the stairs X noticed a cloaked figure. The Velguarder leaped, coming to rest on its haunches next to the figure.
"X," the figure said. "Come look."
"I'm fine right here, Maverick," X replied.
Sigma scoffed. "Then let me describe it for you. Imagine an endless stream of humans in their cars, fleeing for their lives on twelve lanes of highway. It fills me with pride to see such chaos is because of me." Sigma turned to face X. "I'm glad you agreed to come. I want to give you one final chance. Join my side, X. It's only fitting that you would be a part of our revolution."
"I don't see a revolution. All I see is the petty tantrum of a Maverick, whose ego is so fragile that he would destroy everything he once helped to create," X replied.
"This isn't about me, X. This is about who has the right to rule the planet."
X clenched his fists. "You're delusional, Sigma! The only thing you've accomplished is pointless death and destruction. You could have worked things out, but instead you broke the trust between Reploids and humanity!"
"There's never been any 'trust' between humans and Reploids. Can't you see? This is no longer about my retirement, X, but that incident has made me realize something that soon you, too, will learn. The humans did not ask me to retire because I am somehow ineffective and obsolete. No one actually believes that! No, they sought to reign me in because they are afraid, X. My successes prove that Reploids are superior to humanity in every way. Reploids are faster, stronger, more adaptable, and they aren't at the mercy of irrational, impulsive, and short-term thinking like humans are. The humans know they cannot take away my power. Only I - we - can choose to surrender it!"
"No one wanted a war, Sigma. Humanity wanted peace with Reploids, yet they saw what power did to you. The way you treated me, the way you treated Zero, and everyone else who had been loyal to you? You could not hide how your supreme command went to your head. The humans were right to ask you to step down!"
"You say that now, B Class. But don't believe for a moment that one day the humans won't also clip your wings minute they believe your power is too great."
"And I would gladly give it up. No one should have too much power."
Sigma huffed, waving him off. "Silence! I won't listen to your pathetic apology on behalf of a weak race with an even weaker resolve." Sigma gestured behind him. "Look as they flee! Their era is over. It ended the day they dug you out of the ground! You know this, yet you choose to die with them?"
Sigma's words hit X like a blow to the chest. Sigma continued, "Whether you accept it or not, Reploids are the next evolution from humanity, the next dominant race, and it matters not whether we were conceived in a womb or in a lab. The sun now rises on Reploids, and that in a few generations, no one will feel the slightest regret over what I've achieved this day!"
As Sigma spoke, clouds in the distance reddened, and the black sky on the horizon took on the tinge of dawn. X shook his head vigorously, then said, "No, Mavericks are a evolutionary dead end. History will see you as a fool, not a savior."
"I suppose you believe you are that savior?" Sigma said, scoffing.
X looked down at the ground. "I don't know about that. I don't have your physical strength, your quickness, nor your processing specs after all. But I do know that I will do everything I can to stop you."
Sigma laughed. "Oh dear me, whatever shall I do?"
X continued, "You speak of others' feelings as if you understand them, but you are incapable of understanding. You pretend to know, but I know you are a fraud. You may have the desire to change the world, but you've abandoned your compassion. Without compassion, it will never harden into conviction! That is why I will bring you down! You think no one will feel regret for your actions? I promise you, the only ones who will know regret are Mavericks like you!"
"Big words. Very well. Your refusal is clear, and you've insulted me. Why don't you try that regret on for size, first?"
Sigma lifted his arm out from under the cloak. He raised it in one swift motion.
First he heard it. The sound of explosions ripped across the landscape, followed by hot air rushing over him. X sprinted to the edge of the overlook. There he confirmed for himself an unfolding scene of the Central Highway crumbling apart. Cars smashed on top of one another as they fell over the split edges, and more unlucky souls were crushed as whole sections of the road fell to pieces.
The horror of the scene continued, with a wave explosions continuing outward from the highway into the city. Fire and debri burst from innumerable sites, as though they were bubbling up beneath the concrete. The wave swept over the landscape for miles.
X retracted his buster hand. He turned and pointed it squarely at Sigma's face. Shaking, X said, "Those are innocent lives! They weren't even fighting back! I swear I will make you pay!"
"What a lovely look in your eyes. I hope this display incentivized you. But you're not ready. Not yet." Sigma shook his head. "You can satisfy your thirst for vengeance after you've proven yourself worthy to me. Here!" Sigma gestured toward the Velguarder. The beast lifted its chin, exposing a capsule clasped around its neck. "Take it. That contains data of the locations of where I have stationed my most loyal officers. If you can defeat them all, I will reveal to you the location of my fortress. That is where we will test whose conviction is stronger."
With care, X reached out with his left hand and snapped off the capsule. He glanced at the capsule in his hand and said, "I'm not surprised you'd betray your own officers, too."
"Betrayed? No, X. They know you are coming, and they are all very eager to test their skill against you. And now, so am I. Try not to disappoint me."
X closed his fist around the capsule. He then thrust his buster arm at Sigma saying, "No! I won't play your games! We settle this here!"
His thoughts were interrupted by a roar of whirring turbines. A voice came through over a loudspeaker. "Stand back, X!"
Bewildered, both X and Sigma glanced around, trying to pinpoint the source. The roar grew closer, drowning out the crashing and screaming from the highway. Harsh gusts cut across the lawn. A hoverjet then rose up into view, heavily armed with twin guns and a row of missiles under each wing. The craft came perilously close to the edge of the platform. It stopped to hover directly across from them, guns aimed at Sigma.
"I should never have built you," the voice continued. "I should have known you weren't ready."
X blanched. "Dr. Cain!" X shouted over the noise of the engines. X retreated from the platform and onto the grass. He then turned and looked up toward Sigma. Sigma had not moved except to turn and face down the jet drifting in the wind only a few meters away.
"Ah, doctor," Sigma greeted. "That looks like an expensive toy you have there. You humans and your grandstanding. You have so much more bark than bite."
"You were precious to me, Sigma. Once you were proud to stand with humanity, and I in turn was proud to consider you as a son. But I failed you the moment I approved your construction. My miscalculations have brought misfortune to so many innocents. To X! But by destroying you, I will make this right!" Dr. Cain said.
Sigma scowled. "You doddering, duplicitous old codger! You always offered more attention and care to X than you ever did to me. Don't you dare pretend that you were anything more to me than a useful idiot!"
"Be gone!" Dr. Cain said. A torrent of slugs and energy rounds poured from the aircraft's guns. The assault arced across and pulverized the brick and stone of the platform into fine dust. Larger pieces fell away and plunged down hundreds of feet to the streets below. The Velguarder leaped away, escaping unharmed. As the barrage struck Sigma, the image of him flickered. The image disappeared when a smaller explosion came from its center. Bits and pieces of bat wings and red glass were strewn across the lawn.
"A projection," X said aloud.
"Damn it!" Dr. Cain said.
"Doctor, we have to help those stuck on the highway!" X shouted.
"I'm broadcasting the emergency on every frequency available."
"There may not be any help around. You have to take me down there!"
A pause came. Dr. Cain then said, "We'll assess the situation together. Hop on."
The jet descended. X pocketed the data capsule in his hand, then stepped with care onto the broken overlook, still spewing dust from its ruined edge. With a short hop, X landed on the aircraft. It jostled under the added weight, but stabilized as X found his footing and grabbed onto the plating. The aircraft then took off, racing for the Central Highway.
"X! I'm picking up enemy aircraft. Heads up!" Dr. Cain said.
X glanced around. Behind them, he saw trouble coming.
"Dr. Cain! Bladers headed our way!"
"Roger!" The aircraft slowed, pausing over a clear section of the highway. "I'm picking up enemies along the road, too!"
"Get out of here, then," X said. "I will secure the highway!"
"Are you certain you can?" Dr. Cain said. "You should wait for backup. Let me locate Zero!"
"No! I need to go, now!"
X looked at the distance to the pavement below, but felt no fear. He jumped from the aircraft. He landed hard, but registered no pain. He straightened and took in the devastation. Countless eddies of smoke and dust wafted up into the sky. Cars - some crumpled, some turned around - obscured the way forward. Their occupants stared at X from the windows with a mixture of terror and awe.
"Help us!" X heard.
"I will! Just stay in your vehicles!" X shouted to them.
"X! Be careful!" Dr. Cain called. "Incoming!"
The first wave of bee bladers descended. They unloaded reinforcements along the stricken road: deer balls, gun volts, and throngs of crushers. X sprinted and vaulted over cars, charging his buster as he did so. He heard the hoverjet's engines roar again, and the aircraft darted forward, leaving him to face the hordes.
"I'll cover you!" Dr. Cain said as the craft looped around. Its guns spooled, then let loose a withering assault on a bee blader, shredding it in seconds. A missile fired next, and sought out the next victim. It met with a second blader and annihilated it.
The bladers, however, moved to counterattack. One unleashed its cargo of crushers, and the swarm raced for the hoverjet at suicide speeds. The jet rolled and dodged them - except for one. A crusher slammed into an engine on its wing, which ingested myriad fragments. The engine produced a sharp whine, and sparks cascaded out the back. The engine sputtered, then shut down.
The commotion stopped X in his tracks. He watched smoke pour from aircraft saying, "Oh, no! Doctor!"
The jet wobbled and corrected its level, but no longer performed bursts of speed. It circled around again, but the maneuver made it vulnerable to a barrage of energy shots from the oncoming blader. The shots blew off pieces of the jet's hull along its top
The stricken jet made another pass over X. "X! She's going down! Don't worry about me!" called from the speaker. X watched the jet continue on. He paled as the jet wobbled again, then exploded from one of its wings. The rest of the craft spun out of control and collided with the ground some distance along the highway.
"No!" X screamed, seeing a burst of fire, then smoke marking where the jet crashed. More bee bladers came to rest along the road and unload their minions.
X never imagined himself here. The surrealism of it filled his thoughts. Could the lifeless, pale green eyes of Zero have predicted this for him? Would he still be at the center of this apocalypse if Sigma had left Zero to his demise at Camelback?
"Zero, where are you?" X said to himself. He shook his head, then steeled himself. The past was gone. He felt no need for regret. All of his trials and pain prepared him for the only way forward. His doubts fell away, and with a charged shot, the last hope for the world fired into the army of Mavericks.
Aaaaand that's all she wrote! I hope I could entertain!
If you liked this fic, I will be adding to the 'Post' series, though perhaps not at quite the same pace as this one.
Keep the fandom alive!
(also, I know Zero's eyes are originally blue, but I went with MHX green for this fic. Because!)