I bet I shocked you all with the ending of my last chapter, huh? I'm not going to give away what happens in this chapter! You'll have to read it for yourselves!

Since I didn't have time to properly respond to my reviewers, I'm going to do it here:

Sleic: Thanks for the review! And we'll see if Axl survives or not in this chapter.

Gamma Sage: I'm glad you're enjoying my story! I know that the Model A is "supposedly" not Axl but…well you'll have to read this chapter!

Capt. Cheese: You'll see in this chapter whether or not Vent and Aile actually kill Axl. Thanks for being such a consistent reviewer!

Archaon: Chronoforce? Actually, that's not a bad idea. You'll get a glimpse of exactly why Vent and Aile want to destroy Axl in this chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs

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"X! X! Wake up!" X groaned a bit. He opened his eyes to find Aile, in ZX form, standing just outside his capsule.

"What's going on?" X asked, still feeling a bit sleepy. He didn't get back on duty for another few hours. What would be so urgent that Aile would need to wake him up?

"It's too much to explain right now! Axl is in big trouble! Vent went to wake the others up! We have to get moving before it's too late!" Aile's urgent tone plus the mention of Axl was enough to completely wake X up.

n/n/n/n/

"I don't get it, why would your doppelgangers be after Axl?" Zero asked, as the group made their way through the city. Giro was wearing a very thick cloak to cover his appearance, since Vent and Aile were using the Model Z. He didn't particularly want his cover that he had actually been Megamerged most of the time to be blown quite yet.

"We don't know," admitted Vent, "But what we do know is that they have possessed the ability to transform into us ever since they battled us."

"They're very dangerous," Aile added, "But the most important thing is that we get to Axl and pull him out of there before it's too late!"

"If you two don't mind me asking, why exactly did you need model ZX for this battle?"

Vent looked at Giro with hardened eyes, "Because we're going to need all the power we can get."

n/n/n/n/

Axl couldn't believe what was happening. He had come out here at Vent's request, only to be lead straight into a trap. The pair had cornered him in the alleyway. The worst part was there was no way out. He had attempted to turn into a flying reploid to get out, but Vent had brought him crashing down to earth with his Rising Fang attack. He had attempted to fight back, but they were more powerful than he had expected.

He currently lay, severely damaged on the ground. His auto-repair systems could barely handle it. If he made it out of this, he would be in the medical bay for at least a week. He could sense Vent hovering near him, preparing his saber for the final blow. Axl didn't even look up, he just shut his eyes and braced himself for the end.

It never came.

There was a sound of two sabers clashing together. Axl looked up and was suddenly confused and relived at the same time. What the hell is going on here!?

Standing before him was Aile, obviously having blocked Vent's saber with her own. What really confused him though, was that the Aile that had attacked him was standing just a few feet away! She had a confused look, as if trying to process what happened. Then out of nowhere, another Vent, also in ZX form, came down and attacked her! She managed to jump away in time and fire off a few shots from her buster, blowing him back a few feet.

Meanwhile, her carbon copy pushed Vent back with her saber and sliced at him while he fell back. Vent barely missed the saber coming down as he jumped back. It was obvious that he was also trying to figure out what was going on. It was supposed to be a simple mission, but these clones of him and Aile were now getting in the way. He didn't have much more time to think though, before they started attacking him and Aile again.

While Axl tried to process what was going on before as the battle unfolded before him, he heard a familiar voice call out to him,

"Axl!"

"X!?" Axl yelped in surprise as the blue hunter got down on one knee next to him.

"You alright?" X asked, even though it was blatantly obvious the Axl was far from "alright." X examined the young hunter. He had sustained a lot of damage. If they had arrived any later…well, all that mattered was that they had gotten here in time.

"X, I don't get it, what's going on? And how did you find me?"

"Vent and Aile, the real ones, led us here," said Zero as he also got down next to Axl, "Can you sit up?" He asked.

"Like this, no. You guys have NO idea how relieved I am to see you!" But now another thought was nagging at Axl's mind, "What do you mean by the 'real' Vent and Aile?"

"Those ones who attacked you are no more than mere posers!" Giro said, coming up from behind.

"WHAT!?" Aile cried out in shock, having overheard, "Those two that lead you here are the fak-ack!" A buster shot from her doppelganger barely grazed her.

"Keep your focus on the battle!" She yelled.

"…I think we have a problem," said Zero.

"Both of them claim to be the real ones, so how can we tell?" X asked.

Giro thought for a moment, as an idea formed. "Vent! Aile! Whichever ones are the real ones! Do you remember when and where your parents died?" He called out.

A lie-detector test! Classic. Axl thought to himself. By asking questions only the real ones would know the answer to, they could figure this apparent mess out.

One of the pairs, the ones that had helped them, stopped and gave a confused look. The ones who had attacked Axl, also stopped and looked down, albeit sadly.

"Our parents died ten years ago in relation to our time…" said Aile sadly.

"It happened at an amusement park…it was attacked by Mavericks…" Vent added, sadness in his tone showing as well. The apparently fake pair suddenly realized that their cover had just been blown.

Both Vent and Aile, the real ones, acted quickly. With a quick slash of their sabers, they sent a midair shockwave right in the direction of their posers. The shockwave blew them back, crashing them against a wall.

"Ow…that smarted…" a female voice came from the dust.

"I know that voice…" said Vent slowly in realization, "But why would you two be doing this!?"

"Why would you two be doing this? Attacking someone of another time!" A male voice spoke that time.

"We have our reasons," retorted Aile.

"Huh, well I certainly didn't see that attack coming. I suppose you have a reason for developing a technique like that?" The female voice asked.

"It's something that we were reserving in case we encountered those Biometal thieves again. Even then, we wouldn't use it lightly, considering what is does…." Vent said.

The dust finally began to clear, and the Hunters couldn't help gasping when they saw who was standing there.

One of them was a teenage girl with blue-gray hair. The other one was a boy, also a teenager. He had grey hair and two strange cords coming from his back.

Vent's eyes blazed slightly, "Grey…Ashe…we won't fight you two. But we came to this time on a mission. And it's one we intend to finish!"

"I know you want to protect everyone, but you're starting to get a bit out of bounds!" Ashe shot.

"Neither of you seem to get the consequences if you go through with this!" Grey added.

"Oh really? Just watch!" That was all Aile said before she became a red blur…and then…

There was the sound of two sabers clashing. Aile looked surprised. Zero had blocked her! She was trying to get at Axl and properly finish him.

"You think we're just going to sit here and watch?" Zero asked, his voice cold as he shoved Aile back.

"Why would you two be trying to do this!?" Giro demanded.

Vent winced slightly as Giro's outburst, "We're sorry Sempai. But we have to do this or there won't be a future!"

"Oh and you think we're going to just stand here!?" Ashe snapped.

"We'll fight if we have to!" Grey added as a black and white object floated in front of him and Ashe.

! A Biometal! Giro couldn't believe it. There was an eighth Biometal!?

Ashe and Grey grabbed the object and let out a simultaneous cry of "Megamerge!" Then there was a flash of light.

Grey and Ashe's Megamerged form once again reminded the hunters of Zero, except without the hair. The armor was red and navy-blue with what looked like the top of a screw in the helmet. Both of them were dual-wielding a pair of fairly large busters.

Vent made the first move. He dashed forward towards Ashe with his saber.

Thinking quickly, Ashe yelled out "A-Trans!" There was a flash of light. And then standing in Ashe's place was a green armored warrior with two short wingies protruding out of the helmet. There was a loud sound as Ashe used her new form to block Vent's saber with the pair that she now had.

Grey meanwhile, quickly went over to where X and the others were watching the unfolding battle. "You all right?" He asked Axl.

Axl glared at him, "What do you think?"

Grey sighed, "Here. Use this." He produced a blue container and set it down. Giro blinked,

"An E Tank?"

"A brought it to this time just in case." Grey explained.

"GREY! Just a little help here!!" Ashe's voice was different, an effect of the A-Trans. Vent and Aile had ganged up on her and she was vainly trying to parry both of the sabers that were coming at her hard and fast. She was lucky that this form had duel sabers.

"Yikes! Excuse me." Grey turned his attention from the group and to the battle.

There was a yell of "A-Trans!" followed by a roaring.

"What the-!? Eeek!" Aile didn't have any time to react as an ice dragon came at her full force and slammed her against a wall. Grey had changed into a blue armored warrior that had a long thruster a bit like a ponytail attached to the helmet. "Ow…" Aile winced slightly as she got up. Before she could make her next move, Grey had dashed forward and swiped at her with the halberd that he now wielded.

Ashe meanwhile was thinking furiously about what to do. They had to end this battle so that they could get some explanations out of Vent and Aile. As Vent slashed at her, she jumped in the air using her form's thrusters to gain more altitude. Hovering, she began to charge up her sabers.

Vent noticed her charging and knew what she was doing. "Not gonna happen!" He yelled as he used his Rising Fang attack to slash upward with his saber. At the same time, Ashe finished charging. The result was interesting. Ashe's charge attack summoned two cyclones, which Vent came into contact with as soon as he had knocked her out of the air with his Rising Fang. They both wound up crashing hard into the ground.

Grey finally figured out a way to end this battle but also mentally slapped himself for not thinking of it earlier. It was a bit risky but he and Ashe had grown experienced enough to not harm anyone except the intended targets. Blowing Aile back with another ice dragon, he quickly reverted back to his normal Megamerge form. "Take cover!" He yelled.

Ashe immediately understood and also reverted back to her normal Megamerge form. She ran over to where X and the other were. "What's going on?" Axl asked, looking a bit better thanks to the E Tank.

Ashe's eyes glimmered, "You'll see…"

"GIGA CRUSH!" Grey cried as he leapt in the air cloaked by a stange aura and soon shots were flying everywhere. Vent and Aile were completely taken by surprise by what was Grey and Ashe's ultimate attack. By the time the smoke cleared, there was no sign of either ZX pair.

"Are they…?" X started to say. Ashe shook her head,

"No, they're both a lot tougher than that. They have to be somewhere…Aha! Look on that roof!" X and the others looked where Ashe was pointing. Indeed, both Vent and Aile, still in ZX and looking a bit worse for wear, where up on a nearby rooftop.

"Y'know, you both can end this right now!" Aile snapped irritably, some of her temper starting to show through. Those two had not only ruined their plans but had also complicated things to an unprecedented level.

"No way! We won't give it up!" Grey's voice was firm.

"Why are you two doing this!?" X asked. Vent sighed,

"Because our time faces grave danger. It's the whole reason we came to this time. We didn't even expect Pandora and Prometheus to be here, much less Sempai," Vent looked X squarely in the eye, "Maybe you and Zero could-"

Zero cut him off, "Never! Axl is our friend! We won't turn on him like that!"

"Then I suppose…" Vent hesitated, and looked at Giro. Giro merely shook his head, out of disbelief and disappointment,

"I don't know what you're both thinking, but I'm not going along with it. You've both changed, but it's obvious that some of those changes weren't for the better," his voice grew soft; "I came here to prevent Pandora and Prometheus from severely altering this time. And that's exactly what you two are trying to do. I'm sorry." He added.

Both Vent and Aile looked shattered. "Then I suppose this is where we all go our separate ways," Vent finally managed to get out.

"The next time we meet, it will be as enemies, not allies. We WILL destroy Axl! The fate of our time depends on it!" Aile did her best to sound confident, but it was obvious that she was just as broken inside from Giro's short speech as Vent was. She and Vent turned to leave and then…

There was a flash of light.

"Model Z…?" Vent and Aile had been reverted back to their Model X form.

I'm sorry, said the Model Z as it hovered in the air, But you both know that the only reason I have stayed with you up until now is because Giro had asked me to lend you both my power shortly before his death. But now that he has returned, I'm afraid that I must remain with my chosen one.

Both of them looked a bit disappointed. This meant that they couldn't use Model ZX. "Well, I guess we have to let you go then," said Aile. The Model Z had originally been Giro's. It was only right that it returned to its proper owner.

OI! Model X! Tell me that you honestly aren't going to help those two! Axl blinked. That had definitely not been him thinking!

Giro also put on a puzzled look. That mental voice had not belonged to the Model X or the Model Z. It has to be those other two's Biometal. He thought to himself as the Model Z floated near him. At least he didn't have to worry about going back to base not Megamerged.

I am going to help them. The danger faced is real, and could potentially destroy everything, said Model X.

"And this is where we leave," said Vent as he and Aile turned and vanished into the darkness of the night.

"Those two are unbelievable!" Ashe finally spoke up as a flash of light reverted her and Grey to their normal forms.

"So you're the Model Z's Biomatch?" Grey asked Giro.

Giro blinked, "Biomatch?"

"Just another term for a Chosen One," explained Ashe.

"Just who the hell are you two?" Zero demanded.

"And why were Vent and Aile trying to destroy me?" Axl added.

"To answer you're first question, I'm Grey."

"And I'm Ashe." A black and white object came out and floated out in front of them, "And this is our partner, Model A."

"So that's your Biometal. It's nice to meet you," said Giro courteously.

Nice to meet you too! Huh, I didn't think that the Model Z had a Chosen One. It was always with Vent and Aile, said Model A.

"Remember, those two said that the Model Z was a memento from a friend…" Grey looked at Giro "I take it that you're that friend, right?"

Giro nodded, "Yes…I suppose…" He looked at the Model Z which floated a bit questioningly.

"Hey! What about our second question?!"

Ashe blinked, "Well actually, we aren't too sure about that. You see, those two are convinced that the Model A posses some kind of serious danger. But what-Axl is your name, right?-Has to do with it is beyond us."

"Um…" Axl suddenly looked nervous.

"What's up?" Zero asked.

"Well, you see I just heard this really weird voice in my head just a few minutes ago and well…" Axl shifted a bit uncomfortably.

The Model A hovered close to him, Can you hear me? It asked.

"Yeah I can but I have no idea why."

"That's really weird. Normally only Chosen Ones can hear the Biometals. And I know for a fact that Chosen Ones didn't exist before our time." Ashe commented.

"Actually I have a pretty good explanation for it," said Giro, "You see, when I came here I had a theory that the heroes the Biometals were based on would be able to hear their respective ones. This was confirmed when I later found out that Zero could hear the Model Z and even later learned that X could hear the Model X."

"I get it. So if Axl can hear the Model A that means…" Grey trailed off. There was a very dead silence. There were only the sounds of the nearby city.

"Excuse us for a moment," said Ashe, breaking the silence. She grabbed Grey's shoulder and took him off to one side. As they whispered to each other, X turned to Giro,

"What do you think this all means?" Giro simply shook his head.

"I have no idea. The fact that there is an eighth Biometal in itself was a shocker for me. And I already told you that I didn't recognize Axl when I first came here. Which means something happened at some point that prevented him from being recorded into history like you and Zero were."

Grey and Ashe finally finished their conversation and turned to the group, "After talking it over," Grey began, "Me and Ashe have decided that in order to get some solid answers, we need to come with you guys."

"How do we know that we can trust you!?" Zero snapped.

"While it's true we had to trick you guys, if we hadn't, Axl would have been murdered," said Ashe. She smirked, "Not very bad acting, eh?"

"Even so, we more trustworthy than those two who tried to kill your friend. We came here to find some answers and we don't plan a leaving until we do." Grey finished.

"What do you think, X?" Axl asked.

X sighed, "As much as I hate to admit it, those two are justified in deceiving us, although I didn't know that such a situation existed. For now, we might as well let them come back with us to HQ."

Giro nodded in agreement. He grabbed the Model Z and was soon Megamerged. Turning to Grey he advised, "I strongly recommend that you remain Megamered once we get to HQ. It'll be better that way."

Grey blinked, "Why's that?"

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This chapter marks the end of my first story arc, where I set most everything up, and marks the beginning of the second story arc, where I really get into the story. Grey and Ashe are obviously going to play prominent roles, and Vent and Aile's role in the story is far from over. There's going to be lots of action, some romantic hijinks, and much more.

Having already beaten Advent, I know that the Model A is "supposedly" not Axl. But I have a bit of a theory on that point. Besides, there are so many similarities between the Model A and Axl (just compare what they look like!), that there has to be some connection, right? (Or maybe I'm just desperate because Axl is my favorite MMX character). Either way, it certainly served as a good way to introduce Grey and Ashe into the story as well as serve as another subplot.

In the next chapter, with Vent and Aile's betrayal and the appearance of Grey and Ashe, things start to really heat up as Pandora and Prometheus reappear. Amidst it all, X, Zero and Axl aren't sure who to trust. Grey and Ashe had to deceive them right off the bat and the recent betrayal by Vent and Aile is fresh in their minds.

A sincere thanks to all my reviewers!

R&R!