X1

The two determined Maverick Hunters landed safely just outside Sigma's Fortress. X grabbed hold of his X-Buster and looked on at the final obstacle he must overcome. Zero looked over at X and stood tall in front of him.

"Let's split up. I'll go in first and then you can slip in while I keep the main defense force busy!"

X nodded his head in agreement, but his head remained in the upward position with a look of complete shock on his face. Zero turned around to see a medium-sized green-scaled Maverick with a large grin on its face.

"So, thinking of taking on the big man, eh? Gonna split up to better your chances, hmm? Not if THIS Chameleon's got anything to say about it!"

Zero brought out his Z-Saber and pointed its shimmering tip right at Sting Chameleon.

"Those are very strong words coming from such a weak coward!

"As I recall you two were the ones moments away from death! HA HA HA HA!"

X came over and stood beside his cohort Zero, now also fuming with anger.

"You were once such a good person, Sting. Now look at you, just a pawn in someone else's grand scheme. What ever happened to the hopeful Maverick Hunter with dreams of one day running Hunter Headquarters?"

Sting Chameleon frowned and scowled at the green-eyed Hunter.

"I see what you're doing, trying to connect with my 'inner Reploid', well you can shove it up your ass, X! And for your information, that 'hopeful Maverick Hunter' died a long time ago with the destruction of Maverick Hunter HQ and the rise of our new leader, SIGMA!"

Zero began to advance on Sting Chameleon with X following suit closely behind.

"C'mon X, let's finish off this sorry excuse for a Maverick."

X sighed and began to charge his X-Buster, forcing himself to kill another one of his own to save mankind. Each time was getting easier than the next, and X didn't like that. But unfortunately he doesn't have a choice. Sting Chameleon would continue causing havoc if set free. Free will no longer controlled him. He was just another chess piece in Sigma's game, and he was winning.

"You think I'm just gonna let you kill me? Oh that's rich! In fact, I think I'll laugh about it! YA HA HA HA HA HA!"

As Sting Chameleon's laugh echoed like nails on a chalkboard in the Hunters' ears, they saw several sharp spikes fire out from Sting's tail straight at them.

"X! Duck!"

The Hunters tucked and rolled underneath the spikes towards Sting, now only a few feet away. Zero grabbed Sting Chameleon by his neck and smiled smugly into the Chameleon's frightened face.

"Now now, Zero, isn't it against your policy to just kill a Maverick without good reason?"

Zero's eyes dimmed and he brought his face inches away from Sting's.

"Well you know what they say," Zero said as the blade of his Saber gleamed in Sting Chameleon's fearful eyes, "what the boss doesn't know won't hurt him."

Sting Chameleon's fear then quickly dissipated from his face and the big smile was back.

"Oh Zero, you're funny."

Sting's entire body disappeared from Zero's gaze and he was set free. The two Hunters could hear Sting hopping around, but it was so erratic they couldn't anticipate his moves and take a shot at him.

"Sting! Where are you? X, just take the shot!"

Zero's words were heard no sooner than when he saw X firing a flaming blue sphere of energy that flew off into space.

"Damn!"

X's frustration washed over his face, but was quickly drained when he felt something brush across his feet.

"Zero! It's Sting! Over there, get him!"

Zero leapt into the air with his Saber stabbing downward and plunged it into an invisible being, sparks and metallic shards flying out everywhere from the wound.

"Auuuuuggh! Zero, you bastard!"

X ran over and saw a re-materializing Sting Chameleon come into focus. He fidgeted on the ground, unable to move from his severe leg wound.

"So it's come to this, Sting Chameleon. How do you feel about your precious Maverick uprising now?"

Sting Chameleon looked over at X and once again showed his menacing smile.

"No matter what you do, no matter how hopeful you are or how much faith you put in Reploids you will NEVER EVER take down Sigma and his Maverick army! Graahhhh!"

Sting Chameleon tried to rise from the ground, aiming his spiky tail in X's direction. X charged up his X-Buster and aimed it directly at Sting Chameleon's face.

"Don't make me do it, Sting. I don't want to have to destroy you."

Zero grew hotter with anger.

"Just do it, X! He'll kill us both! Just do your job and let's keep moving!"

X's Buster arm was twitching with anticipation. He knew he had to do it, but he couldn't help feel that his former team mate still had something resembling his old self still inside him.

"X! Do it! I am your commanding officer and I order you to take the shot NOW!"

Sting Chameleon latched three spikes aiming right at X's face and began to rise when X fired. Clean through his head and onto his prehensile tail, killing him instantly. His corpse lay there, steaming with burn marks and melted metal firmly welded to the floor where he remained. X fell to a knee and closed his eyes at the fall of another comrade.

"It's okay, X. It's okay. He won't hurt us anymore."

X looked up at Zero with a mournful expression.

"Maybe not externally. But with every former Hunter being killed by our hands, we're almost doing the Mavericks a service. In many ways we're no better than them."

Zero picked X up to his feet and put an arm around him.

"Now look, I have fought thousands of these things. You've had your share of hard times with them too. Regardless of our similarities, we do what we do to protect lives, not conquer them. Know that, X. Buck up, we still have a long way to go. I know we can do this if we put our minds and hearts into it. I say we still split up as it will limit our chances of an ambush. Like I said, I'll move on ahead first and you can bypass the main defense systems. I know you can do this. You've proven to me you've got what it takes to be one hell of a Hunter. See you later, X. Good luck."

Zero dashed off into the night sky beyond the obstacles and out of X's view. X turned to the final defeated Hunter-turned-Maverick and took his data chip. Inserting it into his pumped-up X-Buster, he now had all the power he needed to put an end to Sigma. He hoped that would also end the Maverick threat altogether.

"Alright, Sigma. You've taught me so much, now it's time I teach you something about free will and tolerance!"

X began his trek to Sigma's Fortress when he came upon another Maverick-shooting enemy. Keeping his morals high, he quickly dashed around the large Maverick avoiding any confrontation. He did not want to sink to the low levels of hatred for his fellow Reploids as Sigma had begun to do with the humans. X knew he was nothing like Sigma...but a small part of him still felt a connection. He knew Sigma was borne of X's design, built to be the perfect Maverick Hunter. Since he has gone Maverick himself, he's been nothing but a burden on the entire world. X wouldn't let his values turn him into the same person, so he continued to dash past four more mother Mavericks to a rocky area leading up to Sigma's Fortress.

"Just a little further and I'm there. Come on Zero, do me good."

X's hopes were well-founded as the Maverick security in the following area seemed strangely light. Could Zero really have taken out that many Mavericks and still be alive? X could only hope, as he always did. He saw several helicopter-based floating platforms leading all the way up the side of the building and into the Fortress itself. X was no stranger to intricate platform-jumping so he began dash-jumping and wall-kicking up the tricky area. About halfway up a helicoptered Maverick swooped down from seemingly nowhere and bashed X on the head, sending him off the platform and to a possible early death.

"Nooooo! I must succeed!"

At the last second, he grasped onto a lone platform moving back and forth at the base of the pit and climbed aboard. He began charging his X-Buster.

"I am not gonna let a few scrappy Mavericks snuff me out! I've got to do this for the humans, for myself, for Dr. Cain, for Zero..."

X jumped and dashed up the difficult platforms once again, aiming hard and true at the single helicoptered Maverick and blasting it into nonexistence. Making the final jump onto the Fortress floor, X breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the oncoming hallway.

"*sigh* Finally. Now let's make some headway!"

X saw a hallway full of gun turrets, the same ones he'd easily defeated many times before.

"Wow, guess I was right. Sigma has either really let up or Zero is not letting me down!"

X armed himself with the Fire Wave weapon he received from Flame Mammoth and spewed fire not unlike a flamethrower at each turret. The guns had no chance and were rendered asunder within seconds of fiery contact.

"Wow, I should use these weapons more often, but only when need be."

X came to a drop in the hallway and took out one last gun turret on the floor before he looked up and saw an only too familiar face...the blue Maverick he'd first seen back at the Central Highway.

"I was wondering when I'd run into you. Of all the Mavericks I face you upset me in such a different way. So blind, so autonomous to destruction. You exist purely to cause damage and to kill without reason. At least you don't have a choice."

X began powering up his X-Buster.

"I can dismiss you all I want but you still came from my design. I only do this because if you don't kill me, you'd kill an innocent. I can't knowingly have that on my conscience. I'm sorry."

X fired and blew the Maverick to pieces before it even registered X within its view.

"Damn you, Sigma..."

Upon its destruction, X saw three more Mavericks up ahead in a tightly-squeezed area. A gun turret, a walking orb and another blue Maverick.

"Hmm maybe I should try another one of these weapons before they catch my scent...let's try this one."

X then armed himself with the Homing Missiles he got from Launch Octopus and immediately fired off three shots, one for each Maverick. They all connected, but left hardly a dent in their robotic shells.

"What? Well fine then, here's some more!"

X fired off 6 rounds, that'd make three total connections for each Maverick. Finally as they swerved and swiveled in the air, they made contact and destroyed all three threats simultaneously.

"I hate to see such destruction, but if it means getting one step closer to Sigma, it's for the best..."

X looked up and saw a ladder reaching high up. He climbed on and powered up his X-Buster again, just in case he met trouble at the top. As he climbed over the last rung, his concerns were well justified. He immediately unleashed a fireball of blue energy through a walking orb Maverick, sending parts and wires all across the tiny room. Breathing a sigh of relief, he climbed another ladder and reached the top. What he didn't expect was to see two walking orb Mavericks coming straight at him.

"Oh crap! Aagh!"

Caught off-guard, X jumped to the wall closest to him and wall-kicked over the two oncoming Mavericks. He somersaulted away from them and climbed up the next ladder before they had a chance to turn around. X stopped for a moment to catch his breath after such a quick and sudden ordeal.

"Whew...I'm still making rookie mistakes. Hopefully Zero's too far up ahead to realize what I got myself into. And here's hoping he's okay."

After a moment of reflection, X climbed the final ladder leading up to the Fortress' first security door. X knew it was one of many so he best prepared himself. He powered up his battle-worn X-Buster and made it up to the last area. He saw the security door but before he could move an inch, a purple Reploid wearing a helmet and a mounted shoulder cannon flew in from above. Just like back at the Central Highway, the curious being just stared at X as he stared back. Then another being teleported in from high above. A red beam of light re-materialized into X's red clad senior officer and friend, Zero.

"Stay back, X! I'll take him on!"

X had no time to object to Zero's hasty remarks as the two warriors raced off to the other side of the security door. The door shut in front of X and he was all alone again.

"Zero! Don't do it! You said yourself he's too powerful!"

X dashed into the next room and could hear a fierce battle going on beyond the next security door. As he kicked his way up a wall obscuring his view of the next door, he heard laser fire going back and forth, Ride Armor cannons being fired and the shrill screams of a Reploid.

"Zero! Nooooooo!"

The last sound X heard before bursting through the next door was a long hum, much like that of a force field or electric barrier. He came into view of the two fighters and gasped in horror. The diminutive enemy was once again piloting his devastating Ride Armor. Behind him was Zero, trapped in an electric cell chamber unable to move. The purple fiend laughed in spite of himself and began to speak.

"X, do what I tell you or he's history!"

Zero laid there on one knee but couldn't help himself.

"Don't listen to him X! Go ahead and blast him!!"

"Dream on Zero! X knows he can't defeat me! My armored carrier is more than a match for his ancient weapons!"

Furious at the sight X couldn't help but turn away from, he fired round after round of charged blasts and multiple pellet shots at the gigantic Ride Armor. But it did absolutely nothing. The horrible Reploid came at him with an enormous wind-up punch and sent X flying into the wall behind him. With all the energy X could muster he rose again and began switching his Buster Weapon. But in the process the towering robot fired another yellow energy blast that smacked X right where his punch earlier landed. X laid on the floor, completely paralyzed and unable to move. Once again he was bested by this near-invincible Reploid. The foul being placed himself in front of Zero and laughed a hearty laugh at the ease in which he defeated the top two Maverick Hunters. But suddenly, a crack appeared in the energy field surrounding Zero. Zero's eyes were closed and he was building massive amounts of energy within himself. His face was cringing, his body parts were shaking, the entire electric chamber shorting out from sheer energetic stress! With his newfound freedom and ludicrous amount of energy surging through him, he leaped onto the shoulders of the Ride Armor and began powering up even more.

"Maybe.....but I'm not through yet!"

The energy forcing its way through Zero was so great it couldn't stay within him any longer. It began shooting out in all directions. The stress on the Ride Armor was becoming too great. The pure energy rushed its way through the Armor's circuits, causing a massive overload and sending the machine into self-destruct mode. Combined with the outer hull damage being emitted from the energy bursts, the Ride Armor exploded in a beautiful cascade of energy waves and metallic confetti in all directions. Zero's body was thrust away, devoid of almost all energy and malfunctioning to near-termination. Yet the evil person inside the Armor rose from the floor unharmed. He jumped out in the nick of time, avoiding all contact with the energy bursts. X was in complete catatonic shock.

"What a worthless gesture! I can't be defeated so easily! So X, it's just you and me now!"

X had lost all hope. There was nothing he could do but wait for his helmeted foe to finish him off. But just then, X felt a tingle in his inner core. The tingle became a tickle, which became a flowing sensation and finished as a surge of intense bodily energy flowing through him! He rose to feet, breaking free of the yellow beam that paralyzed him. His armor quickly self-repaired and he was back at full strength! Wide-eyed and wondering, X couldn't think about how he'd come about this new power but knew he still had his enemy to finish off. Needless to say, his enemy was just as shocked.

"What the...!? Where did that energy come from??"

He readied himself in an attacking pose, ready to fight X at any cost.

"It really doesn't matter how much energy you absorb X. You are still far too weak! Prepare to be terminated!"

He quickly came at X, dashing at incredible speeds. X jumped over his foe, turned and fired several pellets into his purple armor. He did so little damage he knew he had to pull out a more effective weapon. He switched over to the Boomerang Cutter and began tossing razor sharp boomerangs at his enemy.

"What? You think a few cookie cutters will do me in? Nice try, X!! Such a pitiful attempt at defeating the great and powerful Vile!!"

Vile. That was his name. It would forever be programmed into X's memory banks from this day forward. Vile. A name X immediately couldn't stand. A name that made him shiver with doubt. The name of the Maverick he'd have to destroy.

"Whether they be cookie cutters or cookie sheets I will defeat you, Vile!"

X switched over to the Electric Spark shot and fired a few buzzing balls of electricity at Vile. X should've been paying attention to his own safety though as another yellow paralyzing shot scorched through X's circuitry, pounding him down onto the floor.

"AH HA HA! YOU FELL FOR IT! Here I come, X!!"

Vile leaped into the air and shot several electrical currents at the floor, electrifying the whole area and X along with it. The yellow paralyzing beam subsided in the electronic fray but not before X had been damaged. He rose quickly though as the shock only stopped him temporarily. He looked around and saw electric burn marks in the wall behind Vile.

"Oh what, those? Your stupid arm cannon tricks aren't going to put me down! Such a fool to think I'm vulnerable to your antique of a weapon!"

X quickly switched to the Rolling Shield in a last-ditch effort to find the right weapon for this mysterious Vile. His data wasn't listed in the weaknesses these weapons adhere to, so he's shooting in the dark.

"Fine, Vile. But this antique still has a few surprises!"

He fired a Rolling Shield shot square into Vile, pummeling him to the floor in a burst of fiery blaze.

"What? What's this? How dare you sully my frame, inferior robot!"

X fired shot after shot into his body, sending Vile sliding across the floor and into the corner of the room.

"You...you filthy pile of rubble! You stinking puddle of tar! You slimy little..."

"Enough talk, Vile. You put my senior officer and good friend into a life-threatening situation. You nearly destroyed the entire Central Highway. You have joined the Mavericks in some sick attempt at gaining power. Death is almost too good a release for you. But I'm afraid it's all you deserve. If I bring you into custody now, you would only cause more harm. There is no hope for you, I'm afraid."

Vile looked on at X with pure hatred and disgust.

"I'll be back, X. Trust me. I'll be back."

X charged his X-Buster and fired a fully-powered shot into Vile's helmet. All that remained was a lone wire protruding from his neck. His head and helmet lay beside him as his arms and legs twitched a final time.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe."

X quickly turned and ran to his downed partner, still reeling from the severe injuries he'd taken earlier in the fight.

"Zero...Zero talk to me! Please stay with me!"

Zero couldn't even open his eyes. A small trail of blood trickled from the side of his mouth.

"You are more powerful than you were before,"

X's eyes began to well up with tears as he clutched his friend even closer.

"but Sigma is more than he appears to be. You're going to need an edge."

Zero unlatched his Z-Buster and reached it out at X.

"Take my arm cannon and your attack power should increase."

X took the Z-Buster and placed it beside him. Zero gave him a very faint smile and patted his shoulder once.

"Good luck, X!"

His arm then fell from X's shoulder to the ground. The rest of him went limp and in an instant, Zero was no more.

"Zero! Zero please talk to me! Say something Zero! I can't do this alone, you know that!"

X buried his face into Zero's chest plate and cried mournful tears for the loss of what he would call his closest friend. All around him, X was losing the things he loved most: trusted companions, close friends, and even hope. The sorrow inside him built up and unleashed in a fury or sadness. X was alone and against insurmountable odds. But then he looked over at Zero's Buster he'd left for X. He picked it up and observed it.

"Zero wanted me to have this. A part of him in me. I know Zero wouldn't stand to see me cry at his expense, so dammit I have to press on! On through the pain, on through the sadness and beyond the grief! It's what Zero would have wanted...Zero, I'll miss you."

X unhooked his own X-Buster and placed it on the ground. He latched on his new Z-Buster and took another look at Zero. He laid there peacefully, still the half-smile on his face. To X that smile meant so much. It made him rest a little easier knowing Zero went out doing another mission. It's what he did best. X powered up the Z-Buster at maximum capacity and fired an insanely bright flow of pink and white energy, burrowing a large hole in the wall in front of him. He then cradled his old X-Buster in Zero's arm and watched as he decayed and faded away into nothingness. A great hero was lost, but another hero stayed strong for the both of them. X couldn't stay any longer and knew he had to press on. He kicked his way up a wall and saw a rather unpleasant next area in front of him. Red-eyed Mavericks with maces and laser-firing trip wires covered the entire area. X knew he couldn't possibly escape this area undamaged, so he looked into his arsenal of weaponry for any edge. His communicator emanating from Zero's Z-Buster started to fizzle and pop though.

"X...X ca-...hear m-..."

X tapped on the communicator, clearing up the signal.

"Dr. Cain? Dr. Cain, it's terrible! Zero's been-"

"Yes I know," sighed the depressed doctor. "But you have to keep moving. Zero hadn't been this far in before he was destroyed so things are much tougher. I see from my computer you upgraded your Buster to Zero's Z-Buster. X, listen to me. Combined with your data chips you can now power up each weapon individually like your X-Buster! You can now use the strongest tools those former Mavericks had in their arsenal!"

X grew wide-eyed and looked at his shiny new Z-Buster on his arm.

"Really...Zero was right. This is the edge I need in this Maverick-infested Fortress."

Dr. Cain's voice fizzled in and out for a short time.

"X, I think Sigma's trying to bl-...ignal. Just stay st-...eep fighting!"

The communicator went dead and X was alone again. He cracked his knuckles and decided to try out his newly discovered weapons.

"Now what can I use to best bypass this area? Hmm..."

He knew a fury of homing missiles would only bounce off the laser trip wires. A giant cyclone of Storm Tornado would only blow around the competition in an otherwise tightly-spaced area. But then he thought about Sting Chameleon.

"Of course! I'll render myself transparent and just dash through!"

He clicked in the Chameleon Sting and began charging. It was a different sensation than the pulsating energy he felt from his X-Buster or the regular Z-Buster. It was more a build-up of energy starting at his hands, head and feet and culminating at the center of his chest. When he was fully energized, he unleashed the power from his chest and a bright green glow rushed over his entire body. Within seconds he was transparent and invulnerable.

"Oh wow, what a rush! Speaking of rushing..."

X dashed through the wires and Mavericks, making good time jumping over walls and watching as lasers passed through him like they weren't even there at all. A strange sensation, to say the least! He then bounced along some coils in their futile attempt to send him crashing into more wires and lasers, but the Chameleon Sting weapon held up. Just as X saw the last maced Maverick in the area, the weapon began to wear off.

"Shit! These things are only temporary! Time to move, X!"

He dashed over a coil, sending him bouncing high up and down onto another coil which made him cross past the last Maverick in the nick of time. X phased back into full solid form and quickly climbed the ladder before the unknowing Maverick turned around. Another long climb upwards awaited X and he couldn't wait another second to bypass everything. Sigma's rule drew closer by the second and X was alone in his mission. He couldn't waste another second dealing with Sigma's cronies anymore.

"Now what weapon can I use to easily conquer this climb? Something shield-like, but destructive...now who was that?"

A mace-wiedling Maverick overheard X's little talk and began one of his own.

"Ey you! Don't you be tryin' any funny stuff, y'hear? Sigma's got it in for you and we're all gonna make you roll on outta here one way or another!"

X had it.

"Roll on outta here! Of course! Rolling Shield!"

He powered up his Z-Buster and equipped the Rolling Shield. As he fired off its new power, a glowing blue shield hummed around X, impervious to small weapons and enemies.

"This ought to do it. Now time to take you down, Mavericks!"

X climbed up the wall to his left and kicked off, barely missing the mace from the Maverick below. He continued kicking upwards along the other wall when he saw a laser wall cannon coming towards him and a helicopter Maverick swerving in his direction.

"Alright, God I hope this works..."

He leaped up and the Rolling Shield destroyed the laser cannon and the Maverick the moment they touched it. Satisfied, X kicked off to the other wall and climbed up some more, taking out another wall cannon along the way. Up ahead was more back-and-forth wall jumping and kicking as the Mavericks repeated themselves in stride. Maced Maverick, helicopter Maverick, wall cannon, repeat. X found this area rather mundane with his new Rolling Shield weapon still firmly burning strong. At last he finally reached the last ladder leading up to another security door.

"Another boss in this Fortress? I guess that's bound to happen. Sigma is one twisted Maverick."

X walked into the security door and dropped to the floor below him. Suddenly the colour was wiped from his face as though he was looking at a ghost.

"B...B...Boomer Kuwanger?"

The former ruler of the Fortress Tower stood in front of X as though not a day had passed since their last meeting.

"Greetings, X. I'm so glad we had the chance to talk again."

X grew angry and fierce with emotion.

"There's nothing to talk about! I don't know how you made it back here, but get out of my way so I can go face Sigma!"

Boomer Kuwanger laughed a little and re-materialized behind X, grabbing him by the throat.

"Oh no, X. It won't be that easy. In fact, it'll be impossible. I'm here to destroy you, and destroy you is what I will do. Ha ha ha, still so innocent, X. It seems some things never change."

X switched the Homing Torpedo and charged his Z-Buster to full capacity. Boomer Kuwanger let go in shock of X's new power. X fired a flurry of giant missiles at Boomer, destroying him in an instant.

"Then again, Boomer, some things do."

The blocked pathway leading to the next area fell down upon Boomer's destruction giving way for X to follow. Ahead of him he saw another tightly-packed area of Mavericks ranging from Mets to spikey wheels to more trip wires, much like the last one he'd faced.

"Seems that Chameleon Sting will come in quite handy quite often!"

He activated the Chameleon Sting camouflage and burst out across the hallway, passing right through some Mavericks along the way. He seared through laser beams and trip wires and soared through more helicopter Mavericks. The Mets wouldn't even open their lids as they had nothing to see. X came crashing into the next security door, unaware of the speed at which he was dashing.

"Ouch! Well I guess I deserve that. Anyway, time to take on the brains behind this first area..."

He walked into the following security door and came to a room with four columns and a maze of pipes in the background.

"Wait a minute, I can only think of one security bot that could inhabit such an area..."

Suddenly an enormous arachnid-shaped robot slid down and opened its big red eye in the center of its large frame. Wires began randomly connecting to other columns giving the eight-legged monstrosity a path towards X.

"...Bospider! I was right! It'll be satisfying taking out your mainframe..."

X, armed with the knowledge of specific weapon weakness, armed himself with the Shotgun Ice. He knew a few blasts from his Buster would put the spiderbot out of commission for good.

"Now it's just in the timing..."

X watched as Bospider followed a path of columns and wires down to the floor. It managed to move away from X and as it touched down, X fired off a shot of blazing ice towards its open eye.

"Take that!"

Unfortunately X fired too late and the eye closed before it reached Bospider. The shot bounced off and melted on the floor.

"Dammit! I missed! Next time, friend."

The spider raced back up the column and began falling again, this time right over top of X.

"Huh? Waaaah!"

X fell hard as several tons of metal crashed on top of him. A large, red beaming eye stared back at him.

"Big mistake, Bospider."

He fired off a Shotgun Ice blast directly into the eye, sending the mechanical creature back up into the columns and spiraling around from sensor malfunction. After it had readied itself, it spewed several mini-spiderbots downwards onto the floor. They scattered about and climbed over X, chewing on his body.

"Aaaaaagh get off me!"

X powered up his Z-Buster and blasted them all away in one shot. Wounded but not down, X rose again and armed his Shotgun Ice once more.

"No, I won't let a mindless security system be the death of me. Zero if you're listening, I'm doing this for you!"

X kicked his way up along the wall to where Bospider was resting. Caught off-guard, the spider opened its eye to see just what was intruding its space. By this time, X had grabbed ahold of one of its legs and torn it off. He climbed onto the face of the giant spider and lunged the leg into its beaming red eye. To finish it off, he twisted the leg just a little further into its CPU. Its other seven legs were flailing about as it began to shut down all systems. X dropped to the floor and looked up as it began to explode from the inside. It broke free of the columns and began to fall. X rolled out of the way and stayed on the ground as he the spider's red eye fade into a cold crimson shutdown.

"Finally...it's at rest. I'd better head back to Dr. Cain and...tell him everything. The weapons...Vile...Zero....."

X slowly rose to his feet and took one last moment to look back on what had happened over the past while. On one side he was glad he now had the power to take out such evil things as the Mavericks and Bospider. But the cost he felt was still too great. His best friend and partner was gone. He would never again hear his wonderful guidance on the battlefield. He would never again share his inner most secrets with him. And he would never again just get to talk to him. Someone who understood what he felt and who he could look to for an answer to any question. What X could do though was show Zero that he could become stronger and could put an end to the Maverick war. With this last encouraging thought, he teleported back to Dr. Cain's lab.