MegaMan NT Warrior (Rockman) Fan Fiction ❯ Past, Present and Future ❯ Upgrades and Sacrifices ( Chapter 11 )

Author's Notes: Some of the chapters are novelizations of some of the games. This is because when I first wrote this story years ago, my audience had only played one or two of the games. However I do change the dialog as well as other things. =) Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Upgrades and Sacrifices

X still felt like a weakling, even though he had been fighting for a while. It's been about eight months since he first met Zero, and ever since then they had been close friends. Two months ago the alarm went off. He can still remember it now. He remembered himself and Zero running into Dr. Cain's office. He remembered Dr. Cain telling them of this Maverick named 'Sigma' who, with eight powerful mavericks and Vile, is trying to rekindle the war between humans and reploids. And he remembered Dr. Cain's voice when he said that Sigma was succeeding. One thing X also remembered was noticing how strangely Dr. Cain would look at Zero, as if he knew something about Zero that X didn't. However there was no time to think about it, despite his temperature regulating systems he was freezing. It was the artic, and he was looking for Chill Penguin. How was Zero able to dash so quickly, while he ran like a slug? Suddenly, he lost his footing, fell onto his back and skidding for a good few feet, and slammed into something sticking up from the ground.

"What the..?" X slowly got up, looking at the 'something'. It was too buried in snow to recognize it. So X kneeled and began digging with his hands. It was a capsule, a large, blue capsule. It was damaged, but still intact.

This looks like the capsule that I was found in...it was said that the explosion that destroyed my father...and his lab.... Destroyed everything but my capsule...I guess it didn't destroy this capsule, but it's awfully far from where I was found, at least five miles that must have been one hell of a bomb.. X closed his eyes tightly. Why can't I remember anything...?

With some trouble, he managed to push the capsule into a standing position. Suddenly, for apparently no reason, he felt warmer. He saw a ghost-like form appear in the capsule. X's eyes widened and he staggered back, losing his footing and falling onto the cold, icy floor. The ghost extended one hand, gripping X's arm gently but tightly, and pulled the stunned reploid back onto his feet.

"I am Dr. Light...your father." The ghost said quietly.

"D...dad?" X gasped in shock. Dr. Light raised his hand to silence him.

"I am sorry I was not here to greet you when you woke up." Dr. Light said gently. "I knew that I wouldn't live long enough to see you, my son. But I managed to build you upgrades. They are here in this capsule, step inside, X. And remember...no matter where you are, I'll always be with you.." the ghost faded away.

"W-Wait! Dad!! Don't go yet!!!" X shouted at the capsule. "I have so many questions that need to be answered! Dr Light?? Dad?!!" X felt his eyes sting. He took a deep breath. Getting upset won't bring Dr. Light back... With no better ideas, he quietly and cautiously stepped into the capsule. Suddenly, there was a beam of light that engulfed him, he felt very light headed, and almost as if he fell asleep. After a moment, the light dimmed, then eventually died away. He felt much stronger, lighter, and quicker. He stepped out of the capsule. He heard a whirl sound come from behind him. He spun around quickly to find that the capsule had disappeared! X blinked, unsure if everything he had said and done was not just his imagination going berserk. At least...he was unsure until he looked down at his beautiful white armor...

"Wow..." X murmured, then looked up at the sky. "Thank you Dr. Light.... Father.." With that, X turned and dashed towards Chill Penguin's quarters...

It's been about a week since X received his new armor. He had grown accustomed to the new abilities and now used them like second nature. With the help of the new armor, he had become quite powerful. Upon finishing off Launch Octopus, the last living maverick boss and copying his weapon, he arrived at the castle. There he saw Zero, who was looking up at it. Zero had a creepy, shadowed expression on his face.

"I will go in and distract them while you sneak in." Zero finally said. X nodded obediently. Zero dashed in, and after waiting for 2 minutes, X dashed in. A lot of stuff was already destroyed, but there were some mavericks left. Fortunately, the mavericks were weak, and he got rid of them quick and easily. None of them had expected to see the former rookie. After destroying them, X dashed down a long hall and saw a ladder. He leapt onto the ladder and climbed up quickly yet carefully. Then when he reached the top, he was in a small room. At the opposite side of the room, he saw Vile standing there. He regarded X coldly before walking through the only door in the room. Before X could do anything, a beam of light shined down as Zero teleported to their location.

"Stand back X," Zero said, full of confidence. "I'll handle this!"

"Wait, Zero, it's dangerous!" X cried out, but his cries fell on deaf ears. Zero may be strong, but he had a bad habit of being too cocky, at times overestimating his powers. Zero dashed in through the door. X could hear blasts being exchanged, and it worried him greatly.... Especially when the blasts abruptly stopped, and Zero didn't exit the door. Crossing his fingers, hoping for his friend to be safe, he dashed through the door.

Zero was sitting in a cage, his pride wounded more then his body. Vile was in his mech armor, laughing maniacally.

"Let Zero go!" X yelled.

"X! What are you doing? Get out of here, now!" Zero ordered, X did not move.

"And who do you think will stop me? You?" Vile laughed again. X leapt into the air, firing at Vile with multiple semi-charged blasts. To X's surprise, the blasts bounced right off of Vile's protective Mech Armor. Vile laughed yet again and charged X, smashing him with the back of his hand and sending the maverick hunter sailing back and into a wall. The young reploid slid down, pain wracking his body. Slowly he climbed onto his feet. Vile fired that same beam that had trapped him only a few months earlier. He tried to dodge, but it was no use. It caught him in its web and held him tight.

"You were a fool to come back for more punishment, Mega Man X." Vile hissed as he slowly approached his adversary. "And now it's time we finished this.."

Suddenly, enraged with the thought of losing his best friend, Zero bursted out of the cage and leapt onto the mech's back.

"It's not over, yet!" Zero clung to the back of the mech with one hand, and put his arm cannon right up to it's back with the other. He charged the shot to full power, and let it fly. The beam went into the mech's back, and connected with the motherboard! A huge explosion started to erupt, and Zero's body was caught in the explosion.

"Zero!" X cried, finally breaking out of the net. The bright light from the explosion filled the room til X had to shield his eyes. All he could see was Zero's limp form flying back and crashing onto the floor.... Vile was thrown onto the floor from the blast, but was not injured. He got back up. Zero didn't.

"You will pay, Vile! I swear it! You will PAY!" X shrieked as he attacked his enemy with the force of three. Vile backed away, lowered his shoulder cannon and fired. X jumped over the blast and changed his cannon to launch octopus. "Eat this.." He sent out 5 missiles. Vile ran from them, but they followed. He ran over to the wall and pressed his back against it, and fired at the missiles from his shoulder cannon, but only one was destroyed. Right before impact, he moved out of the way, 2 of the 4 missiles left hit the wall, but the other 2 turned in time to hit him. The small explosion threw Vile a good few feet and he landed on the floor very ungracefully. Vile rolled onto his feet and fired a charged blast from his shoulder cannon, striking X in the chest.

X staggered back, clutching his chest. He growled and fired five more missiles simultaneously. As Vile ran to the wall, X switched his cannon back to regular, and charged his beam to the max. Vile pressed his back onto the wall, then right before impact, jumped over the missiles, which did not have enough time to turn, and blew a hole into the wall. Yet that was exactly what X wanted him to do. While Vile was still in the air, X fired a supercharged plasma shot into his breastplate, causing a great explosion. Vile, a bloody heap, crashed heavily onto the floor.

Vile fingered his shoulder cannon weakly, his vision starting to die out..

"You...haven't seen...the last of us....Mega Man X..." Vile said hoarsely, before exploding. The mini-explosion forced X to stagger back, while shielding his eyes. When the fireworks ended, there was only one thing on the blue hunter's mind. Zero

X ran to the opposite side of the room, where the crumpled form of his best friend lay. He was on his back, a steady stream of crimson robot 'blood' coming from the side of his mouth. His eyes were glossed over. X knelt by his side.

"X..." Zero whispered.

"I'm here..." X replied.

"I was...wrong...about you, X...." Zero said softly.

"What do you mean..?" X asked gently.

"I...was.... Wrong when.... I said...you'd be...as strong as me..." Zero coughed.

"How so..?" X replied.

"You turned out.... Much...stronger..." Zero whispered, a smile playing his lips. "...Maybe...you'll even.... Be able...to beat Sigma..."

"You talk as if you won't be there to defeat Sigma with me..." X whispered, tears blurring his vision. He wanted so badly for his friend to pull through. He wanted this to be a dream, a nightmare he can awaken from. "You can't die on me..."

"Too...late for that.... Knock...Sigma.... Around a.... few times.... For me...ok ...X...?" Zero murmured, his head then rolled to the side, eyes closed

"Zero..?" X called, gently giving his friend a shake. "Zero...?! ..Zero!!!" X cried. "Wake up! Zero!" X shook him a little harder, but knowing that no response will come. X gently let go of him, lowering his head, then slowly stood. He could feel rage fueling him, and he raised his head, eyes flashing.

"You'll pay for this Sigma....you'll pay dearly for this!"

End of Part 11