Hello. My name is Metal Man X. I write MMX Fanfics. This is a fan series appreciation blog, which features original stories based on MMX1-6. I also post music, pictures and other sources of inspiration.
This Project saw itās birth in the MMX9.com Community in 2011 and shifted to Tumblr in 2013 once that site went down. Ā It survived the roller-coaster ride of collaborators joining and leaving with varied levels of interest and personal drama until I found myself riding Solo once again in 2014. Ā This Blog was my 3rd and Final attempt at Revamping the Project in 2015 and not only did I catch up, but I saw it through to an absolute End.
I am so proud of myself for finishing what I started.
Iām going to miss X & Zero a lot.
Iāve enjoyed creating all of my OCs; whether gathered from background characters in any of the games or coming completely from my own head.
Actualizing the events of each game has been an absolute pleasure.
Itās made me understand and appreciate the lore way more, that's for sure.
And I love the games all the more for it.
Iām sure Iāll write more entries in the future, but this one is just meant to be a quick celebration for everything Iāve accomplished. Ā And to maybe explain why I bothered with all of this in the first place.
...Because itās Mega Man X! Ā Itās awesome!!!
No, but really... the quickest explanation is - MMX caught me by surprise as an 8 year old kid, when it came out. Ā Iād played most of the Megaman games growing up and had a high appreciation for the format, but this was something different. Ā This was special, brutal, dark and mature!
And with it, I matured more.
X2 wasnāt as well received for me. Ā We rented it, but I wasnāt good. Ā I never beat more than a few Mavericks. Ā My brother mightāve made it to the X-Hunter Fortress, but we certainly never beat it.
X3...? Ā Forget it. Ā We couldnāt beat 1 boss...
But in 1997, X4 dropped and I OWNED that shit. Ā Not literally, I rented it. Every weekend. Ā But I just kept at it with X & Zero and easily got to Sigma on the Save File within the first weekend of having it. Ā The rest of our times renting it, it was all about trying to beat it. Ā ...maybe I did it with Zero as a kid, but I canāt be sure.
Then... I just dropped off. Ā I was under a rock for X5 & X6.
The only way I knew about X7 was because my best friendās little brother had a copy of it in his basement. Ā But I never bothered with it.
Never knew about X8 when it was current...
But then, in 2006, the 1st MMX Collection came out! Ā And Holy Fuck was it a Reunion! Ā More like a Nostalgia-filled Revolution!!
And THIS was where I became a Fanatic. Ā From this point forward, I just couldnāt stop playing the games.
Replaying X1 was a pure Nostalgia Ride.
Beating X2 for the first time was wonderful. Ā I knew of the ending, but seeing it live was great.
Beating X3 for the first time was such an accomplishment.
X4 was another beautiful Nostalgia Ride. Ā Truly beating it with both X & Zero was fantastic.
I couldnāt wait to learn of X5 and X6, but... they were so disappointing.
X4, part 2 and 3 they were not.
I learned to get over it in future playthroughs. Ā I got used to the cast, and respected X5 for being the Grand Culmination of everything Inafune had set up.
I began to appreciate X6 for being a true Epilogue Tale, despite all itās rushed flaws in development and localization.
Getting a hold of good copies of the current PS2ā²s X7 & X8 were very difficult. Ā But I made it happen.
All I have to say is that I was so glad I didnāt play X7 in 2003, when I noticed it in my best friendās basement. Ā I wouldāve given up on the franchise altogether.
Instead... I took the awkward 3D phase in stride, knowing that hopefully X8 is a significant improvement. Ā Axl was alright.. Ā The story was... meeh. Ā But I did like that we were now thrust into the far future, after a long period of peace and rebuilding.
And X8, when I finally got a hold of that? Ā Beautiful. Ā Wonderous. Ā Worth it.
But FUCK is that Cliffhanger annoying.
...and That is exactly why I stopped at X6.
Despite the last 2 games being good in their own right, they donāt have a proper ending. Ā While the first 6 games, when playing them over and over and over again, the story just made more and more sense, connecting the dots.
I couldnāt stop thinking about it. Ā I couldnāt stop playing the games. Ā It was getting bad. Ā I was also watching a Hell of a lot of anime at the time.
Until one marked day in April of 2011, I asked the X9 Community if they would ever want to see an MMX Anime. Ā And if so, what would it be like?
This was a HOT topic. Ā So many people chimed in.
And before long, it inspired me to work on an Anime Episodic Format of the MMX Series.
Fuckin Herculian Task that was..! Ā But I loved it, every step of the way.
It helped me channel this obsession and fanaticism for the series. Ā It brought back my writing creativity that Iād been missing. Ā And it got me to calm down about the series over time.
Retelling is no easy task. Ā And Iām sure Iāve made some missteps along the way.
But I really loved working on this the whole time and dishing it out to you, week after week, month after month, year after year...
Lore-wise, I eventually knew that everything I had set up would end at X6.
Thereās the tiniest strand of Red being around to set up Red Alert in X7, but... he barely cameod in X4. Ā And again, X8 is a Cliffhanger.
To write an X9... would be a True Fanfic in every sense of the Word. Ā And not only has it been done hundreds of times before within the community, [probably better than I could] but... Iām just not interested in that part of the timeline as much.
Writing the Series out made me realize, my most favorite parts of the franchise are probably X1-X4. Ā Itās what I knew the best.
X5 had disappointing presentation, but otherwise the story was solid.
Realizing that most of my beloved OCās would die was pretty epic and insane in itās own right. Ā Putting my own spin on Dynamo was a lot of fun.
(I never really liked him. Ā Not gonna lie.)
X6 is a fucking Nightmare..! Ā Pun Intended, I suppose. Ā But, it was always my End Goal. Ā I really wanted to get to the Dystopian Landscape and write a broody, dark world thatās struggling to survive.
...only, once I got there... Ā I found it to be really... boring.
Iād hate to say it, but every time X had to lay down and recover, it got tougher and tougher to keep it fresh.
Especially since I didnāt want to get caught up in the filler of building up new OCās and potential Red Shirts.
I think I handled it well though.
Before long, the Original Spark ignited, and I had a set of new OCās with distinct personalities as a backing crew for X & Family.
And hereās the most poetic thing.
In the big picture, I was inspired by Berserk. Ā Guts & Griffith being the closest of friends, but clashing into a Hellish Rivalry wrought with betrayal.
I knew I wanted to tackle some sort of theme like that, and ultimately tell the story that... Friendship Prevails.
But like Berserk, not only did I portray that theme, but also the Berserk 2016/2017 theme of New Beginnings. Ā Without intending to ride on itās coattails, thereās definitely a parallel of X finding trust and love in new teammates while Guts did the same.
But enough of the comparisons...
I could go on and on, and Iām sure I will again from time to time.
But for now, Iām really proud to have brought this to you.
I hope youāve all enjoyed Any of the Seasons, let alone X6.
There will Not be a Season VII for the main reason stated above - it leads to a Cliffhanger. Ā But also, that game is just awful...!
Not to mention, with everything Iāve set up w/ the Guardians, itād be very hard to write them in or out.
Speaking of which... Ā there will Not be an MMZ Anime, so please. Donāt even think about it.
If the Epilogue isnāt telling enough, I start to get very shaky when we get into the far-flung in-between Lore of the MMX & MMZ series.
I just canāt do it guys. Ā I donāt get it.
Iām not invested enough.
I played through all the MMZ games, and theyāre cool. Ā They have my respect. Ā But certainly not the love that I have for the X Series.
Iād be churning out an awful product and itād be chorish at best.
Lore-wise, what happens next is really cool and intriguing though. I definitely enjoy hearing all about what happens inĀ āThe Gapā as I like to call it. Ā But at some point I get lost and I really canāt follow it.
A replay of the MMZ Series is probably due in the future.
Weāll see how long that lasts... lol.
White light trickles from Ultimate Xās newly enhanced aura while swells of black energy surround Absolute Zero. Ā They both stare each other down for a moment, unsure of what to do now.
X:
Soā¦ this is what we were always meant to becomeā¦
Floating above X, he flaps his wings and looks down at him.
ZERO:
Looks like itā¦
They both cautiously glare at each other, waiting to see who makes the next move.
X:
The only question that remains isā¦ do we do this now.. or laterā¦?
Zero narrows his eyes at X.
ZERO:
I donāt know, X.. I suppose thatās really up to youā¦
X grits his teeth and does not yield.
X:
I wonāt back down from Evil, Zero. Ā Not even to YOU. Ā
Zero lowers himself to the ground and simply smirks.
ZERO:
Hmph..
X:
ā¦You tried to teach me time and time again. Ā As much as it pains me to say itā¦ I guess this battle is Inevitable!
[INSERT TITLE CARD ā Farewell, Old Friend]
Zero walks up to X, who guards himself. Ā Then, he raises a hand, making him flinch.
ZERO:
ā¦Donāt be sillyā¦
Reverting into his Red Base Form, he simply smiles and shakes Xās hand.
Confused, X does the same, returning to his Blue Base Form.
The dawn begins to arrive as Zero teleports outside and waits for a moment. He admires the slowness of the sunrise and takes in the fresh air as the sky is slowly painted orange.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Uhh, Zero?? Ā Are you okayā¦???
ZERO:
Hehā¦. I am. Ā Donāt worry, Aliaā¦
X teleports in with the torso of Gate in his arms. He kneels down, cradling their fallen foe.
ZERO:
(finishing)
It's over.
X:
Yeah.
He looks over at X, slightly confused.
ZERO:
...What will you do with Gate? He's damaged beyond repair.
X:
I know. But he was Alia's colleague... I couldnāt leave him. I know what itās like to lose a fellow...
Zero gives him a tender look as his eyes lighten up. Eventually, he lets out a short laugh.
ZERO:
... I'm sorry for that. /Oh, here they come!
At the dash, Zero is /surprised at the sight of Signas, Alia, and Douglas who teleport in. Ā They arrive to join X and Zero in their victory.
ALIA:
Are you two okay?? Oh... itās Gateā¦
ZERO:
X brought him back. As an act of mercyā¦
He looks at the damage done to Gate and the Laboratory as a whole.
DOUGLAS:
This is awful! Whoa! What should we do?
X:
It's up to Alia. What do you think? Ā Is this too much?
She gives him a heartwarming smile as she finally allows herself to process Gateās death.
ALIA:
No. Thank you, X. I'll do my best.
X:
I'mā¦ not sure heāll recover...
ALIA:
... Why do you want to bring Gate back?
X:
Well, he was your colleague, right? I know itās an old story, but I figured we could give him a second chance.
ZERO:
(protesting)
You know thatās a bad idea, right?
X:
I don't want to lose any more Reploids. Ā His infection wasnāt his faultā¦
Zero looks away with guilt and annoyance.
ALIA:
I see. Thatās really sweet... Gate might not recover but... I believe he can sense your intentions. I'd like to thank you for him. Ā The real him would thrive in your Community.
X:
(nodding)
I know!
ZERO:
Itās too riskyā¦. You know that, X.
He glares and frowns at X.
X:
Whyā¦? Ā We got rid of Isoc, right? Ā Maybe he was tempting him.
ZERO:
(continuing)
You donāt know that! Besides, Reploid Revival is illegal and immoral. Ā Have you forgetten??? How do you think we got here in the first place? Ā None of Gateās Reploids shouldāve come back in the first place. Ā If you actually go through with this, then youāre no better than him.
Stunned, X looks at Zero, then narrows his eyes.
X:
ā¦If thereās any shred of life in him, then itās worth testing for repairs. Iād do the same for you!! Ā And how dare you insinuate anything else? I wouldnāt dream of trying it any other way!
ZERO:
Goodā¦. But so long as heās got my DNA, heās nothing but trouble.
ALIA:
Hmph. Ā And whatās that say about you, Zero? Ā Youāre not inspiring much confidence, right now.
ZERO:
(firm, accepting)
Like I saidā¦ Nothing but troubleā¦
They all give him an odd look until Douglas starts to let out a small smile.
DOUGLAS:
Okay, grumpyā¦
He cracks a joke, which causes them all to break out into a short bout of laughter.
Once the tension has been broken, their Commander clears the air and refocuses the Team.
SIGNAS:
Youāre all forgetting the Big Picture. Ā Our mission is not yet complete. We must rebuild the Earth together!
DOUGLAS:
Yes!! I'll fix anything! Now I can finally show off my mechanical skills!
ZERO:
(smiling)
Heheh. Alright, Douglas. Ā Itās your time to shine.
ALIA:
I'll try to develop a program resistant to corruption and all viruses. Ā Iāll keep at it until I finally get it right... Gate and I both longed for this, years ago.
X:
Yes. Ā This is great! Ā And Iāll gather the remaining Reploid Factions together, so we may begin Renegotiations with the Humans. Ā Let's all join forces and go forward!
GROUP:
YEAH!
SIGNAS:
We'll work to build a real Utopia! The world weāve always dreamed of, where the Human Race and Reploids can freely coexist!
X nods with a huge smile on his face.
X:
(teary-eyed, whispering)
Yeah..!
ALIA:
Come on, folks. Ā Letās head home.
With that, they all teleport away together as a trail of blue, red, pink, green and navy traipse through the sky.
All 5 teleport beams trail down from the fresh morning sky, outside of the base. Ā When they form, Alia walks over to X and grabs Gateās torso with a solemn look. Ā They share a melancholy kiss before she and Douglas walk inside. Signas stays back and gives them both a somber look.
SIGNAS:
Iām going to give you both a moment, because once you get inside, thereās going to be a whole other tone to manage.
ZERO:
So, you sawā¦?
SIGNAS:
The whole thing. Ā We all didā¦
ZERO:
I see. Ā Itās settled, then. Ā Iām turning myself in.
SIGNAS:
I know, sonā¦. I knowā¦
He puts his hand on Zeroās shoulder and gives it a firm squeeze. Ā
Zero abruptly goes in for a hug.
Completely surprised, Signas takes it in as he holds his rebellious soldier in his arms.
Zero buries his head in Signasā lapelled chest and breathes deep with regret.
SIGNAS:
(whispering)
Itās not your fault. Ā Iām very proud of how far youāve come.. Ā On behalf of Dr. Cain and all the Maverick Huntersā¦. Thank you for looking after X and taking care of us for all these years.
Zero quietly nods and holds his Commander tight. Ā When they let go, Zero looks at him and allows a smirk to creep up.
ZERO:
Ya know, out of all of them, you were my favorite, Boss. Ā I respected you, the most!
Signas salutes Zero and he returns the gesture.
When Signas leaves them and enters the base, Zero turns around to look at X.
ZERO:
Soā¦ After everything weāve been through, who knew it would all come down to thisā¦?
X:
Something tells me you did, for a whileā¦
ZERO:
Not this time, actually.. believe it or not.. Ā Hehā¦.
X:
Hmph..
X fakes a smirk.
ZERO:
ā¦Isoc did something to me in there and I donāt trust it one bit. Ā
X:
(concerned)
Okayā¦
ZERO:
Like I said before, you guys need to do a whole work-up of my DNA. We need to get to the bottom of this damn Curse of mine. Ā Itās what brought on the Maverick Virus, Sigmaās infection and of course, the Nightmare!!!
X:
Weāve been through this already, though. Ā None of that is completely your faultā¦
ZERO:
Doesnāt mean I can go scott free either. Ā Youāve gotta put me away and test me. Ā Get to the bottom of it, even if you have to take me apart, piece by piece, right down to the scraps! Ā You got that!??
X winces and turns his head, hurt.
X:
Noooā¦
ZERO:
You have to! Ā Itās the only way.
X:
No!!
ZERO:
Yes, X. Ā You know itās trueā¦. ā¦Earlier today you asked me why Sigma keeps coming back. Ā Iāll tell you why. Ā Iām ashamed it took this long to figure it out, but itās because of me.
X:
Hm?
ZERO:
Heās attracted to my inner-virus. Ā He keeps coming after it. Ā And just being around it gives him the motivation to grow and come back, again and again. Ā No matter how much we defeat him.
X:
So, this time when you said his Virus Levels were low, and you could feel thatā¦. Was that just a lie?
ZERO:
I wasnāt lying. Ā If it doesnāt throw you off that I can feel him directly, what should bother you is the fact that if I stick around ā you can rest assured, he will come back. Ā It may take months or even years at this point, but once we least expect it, heāll return againā¦
X looks at him, completely disturbed. Ā Then he looks at the ground, defeated.
ZERO:
Thatās why you gotta get rid of me. Ā And if you wonāt kill me, then this is the only way.
X:
We can Fix this!
ZERO:
You can tryā¦. But I think youāll just be wasting your time.
X:
No way!! Ā After everything youāve done for us, thereās no way Iām letting you go.
ZERO:
Iām telling you. Ā Get rid of my DNA! Ā Otherwise, Sigmaās as good as back. Ā You might as well say goodbye to that Utopia! Ā We didnāt even get to rebuild yet and youāre already jeopardizing your whole dream.
X:
What good is my Dream, if I canāt live in it with youā¦?
Zero looks at him with a touched smile and completely heart-warmed eyes. Ā Then he goes in for a hug.
ZERO:
X, you've become so much strongerā¦ Now I know you'll be fine on your own.
They break from their hug, while Zero keeps his hands placed on Xās shoulders.
ZERO:
Do you remember the days of the Rebellionā¦? Ā And that scared little boy I mentored, years back?
X:
(uneasy, embarrassed)
Hahaha.. yeeeah.
ZERO:
And then all of that garbage that the X-Hunters put you through?
X:
Yeah, what about it?
ZERO:
I donāt even recognize that kid anymore. Ā By the time I came back for your Cyber-Mission, I was already side-lined.
X:
What!? Ā Thatās not true.. Ā I needed you, Zero. Ā Every step of the way, I only pushed harder and got stronger, because I was with you.
Zero shakes his head.
ZERO:
No, man. Ā It was all you. Ā It was always that way. Ā During Dopplerās Reign, you were the one who was headstrong enough to conquer your own demons. Ā Not meā¦ Ā During the Repliforce War you were the one who saw through that stupid coup while I got caught up in the battle.
X:
Heeey, whatās all this about? Ā Are you trying to tell me weāll be better off without you? Ā I forgive you! Ā The rest will too!! Ā Once we get through these tests, itāll all work itself out. Youāll seeā¦
ZERO:
This isnāt about forgiveness, Xā¦ Ā Itās about me and what Iām truly capable ofā¦
X:
Huh?
ZERO:
ā¦That Demon form of mine. Ā Itās called Absolute Zero. Ā Isoc implanted it in me before I managed to squash his Erasure. Ā ā¦It was meant to take you outā¦
X:
But you fought against that, right? Ā You broke the programming??
ZERO:
Barelyā¦. I think heās in my head now, to be honest. Ā I really donāt know.
X:
(scared)
Huh??
ZERO:
Exactly! Thatās scary, Man!! I donāt know if itās my Mind or if itās my Body, X, but all I know is that I Donāt Trust Myselfā¦! Ā Thatās why we have to go through with this procedure. ā¦Do you understandā¦?
X:
I do, but-
ZERO:
But, Nothing! ā¦I almost destroyed this planetā¦ Ā Twice.
X shakes his head with wide eyes.
X:
That wasnāt you!! Ā The Earth Crisis was a result of Sigmaās wicked plan, and if it werenāt for youā¦
ZERO:
Youād be better offā¦
X:
What!? Ā Why are you saying that???
ZERO:
Because regardless of what you think of me, my systems accepted the Virus for a reasonā¦ Ā I was programmed toā¦ Ā I was enhanced and overpoweredā¦ Ā andā¦ Ā once I was Destroyed, Gate capitalized on it. Ā Somehow, he converted my Virus Energy into the Nightmare. Ā Which means that all of this happenedā¦ because of me.
X takes a deep breath.
X:
Thatāsā¦ a very indirect caseā¦ youāre making. You canāt put all of the blame on yourself. Ā Gate was a Mad Man.
ZERO:
And yet, You want to bring him back..!
X gives him a stumped, apologetic look.
ZERO:
He went mad, because of me! Ā Donāt you see that? Ā It all stems back to meā¦
X:
Then, we get rid of your DNA from his system.
ZERO:
And mine too! Ā Donāt forgetā¦ Iām responsible for what Sigma became. Ā And like an addict, he keeps coming back for more.
Xās head hurts as suddenly the memories rush in.
-FLASH-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā-
INT. SIGMA FORTRESS - Sigmaās Lair ā NIGHT
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā-
Sigmaās giant wolf head smashes into his throne, breaking it into pieces as the head lies horizontally and helplessly on the ground. The room explodes around the two and Sigmaās cracked face stares at X.
SIGMA:
Whyā¦ Why did you destroy my dream?! Our timeā¦ The Age of Reploidsā¦ itās comingā¦ Y-you waaaaitā¦ Agh!!
The wolf head begins to explode.
X:
Your dream is a nightmare, Sigma.
-Flash-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
INT. X-HUNTER BASE - Mother Computer Core Room - NIGHT
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Sigmaās wire-framed, computer-virus head shakes and shrinks inside the Mother Computer as the entire mainframe begins to explode.
SIGMA:
X, Iāve lost to you againā¦ but any degree of new power that you achieve can be matchedā¦ Each defeat only makes me stronger and will ultimately serve to bring you closer to your doom! If you think any of your victories have ever been worth anything ā theyāre not!
Zero narrows his eyes and smirks.
ZERO:
Shut up and die already.
More explosions come out of the Mother Computer.
SIGMA:
(struggling)
Why, Zeroā¦? You wereā¦ lastā¦ of.. The Docttttorāsā¦ creationzzā¦ Guaaaaaah!!
X charges up and blasts Sigma in the head with a Level 3 Charge Shot. He is shaken, as the last of his Ultimate Body is finally obliterated.
After the final explosion, an eerie metalized, tin voice echoes throughout the chamber.
SIGMA:
(o.s, hollow)
Nā¦ No. It canāt be! Ā I canāt even defeat you, with this magnificent body..?! Ā There seems to be only one choice nowā¦ Ā Iāll possess you!
X gasps.
-Flash-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
INT. FINAL WEAPON ā Engine Room ā NIGHT
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Zero watches in awe as Sigmaās cyborg body wildly explodes before them. The entire Engine Room continues to violently shake.
SIGMA:
ā¦Hee hee hee.
X & Zero:
Whatās so funny?
SIGMA:
This weapon is aimed straight at Earth alreadyā¦ No one can stop itā¦
ZERO:
No!
X:
Damn!
SIGMA:
Ha ha ha ha ha! Ā Good bye, X and Zero!
The final light from Cyborg Sigmaās inner core erupts as a bright flash of light surrounds the room.
-Flash-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
INT. FALLEN COLONY ā Sigmaās Lair ā DAY
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
A swarm of explosions emit across Sigmaās giant face, neck and body. His gigantic armored plating falls apart and parts of his skeleton can be seen as the explosions grow more and more.
SIGMA:
The three of us can die together!!! Ā
ZERO:
No.. Leave X out of this!
SIGMA:
Gha ha ha ha haā¦! Isnāt it painful to have to watch while others suffer? You can put up with your own painā¦ā¦but canāt bear to see each other harmed, especially Zero, right Xā¦?
X:
(weak, exhausted)
Kk.. DAMN YOU, SIGMA!!!!!
SIGMA:
(dying, taunting)
Iām taking Zero, the one most important to youā¦ to the underworld! Goodbye, Xā¦ Gha ha ha ha!
X and Zero widen their eyes as the whole room erupts into an explosion.
The blast knocks both of them away from each other.
-Flash-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā-
INT. INVADED LABORATORY ā Sigmaās Lair ā NIGHT
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā-
Ultimate X & Absolute Zero fall to the ground while the Sigmaās immense skull explodes amongst them, one last time.
SIGMA:
Gwaaaaaaaa! Ghaaaaaaa! Itās useless! IT IS USELESS! You know it is, boys! You canāt defeat me so easilyā¦ You know you canāt, Xā¦ Ā ZERROOOā¦
X gets up and looks at him, dead in the eyes.
X:
I have to work for the Reconstruction of the Worldā¦ I have no time to waste on youā¦ If you show up, Iāll defeat you.
SIGMA:
Bha ha ha ha ha! Donāt forget you said that. That gives me the motivation to come back again someday! I will! Iā¦ willā¦!!!
ZERO:
Ohh, Shut up. Just die already.
He forms a black buster in his hand and blasts the large skull with a spiral Z-Buster shot.
SIGMA:
Wooooaaaaaaa!!
With that, Sigmaās frail skull finally explodes and the whole screen turns white.
ZERO:
I am responsible for everythingā¦ Ā No matter how much, or how littleā¦ Ā I am the root cause of your pain, X.
X:
Iā¦ Ā Donāt want to believe that. Ā Youāre such a good person. Ā This is the real you. Ā You Fought for this!
ZERO:
ā¦Doesnāt matterā¦ Ā All of that, is still in me. Ā Somewhere. Ā And I canāt allow for this to ever happen again. Ā To anyone! Ā You understandā¦?
X:
(nodding, reluctant)
I doā¦
Zero takes a breath and pats his friend on the shoulder.
X returns the gesture. Ā The two look at the ground unable to face each other.
ZERO:
The peace will last for a while. But, there's something I need to do now... Ā So, I'll leave the hunting to you for the time beingā¦
X chokes up and sniffles as he leans his head on Zeroās shoulder.
Zero returns the gesture and presses his head against Xās cranium.
ZERO:
(choked up)
I donāt wanna go either.. Ā But I have to.. Ā Itās for the good of the World. Ā You hear me? Ā Itās for the good of Elysiumā¦
Xās eyes widen and he pulls away.
X:
ā¦How do you know that nameā¦?
ZERO:
Iāve heard the voices of your people, X. Ā They believe in you, and I really hope it comes into fruitionā¦ Ā
X:
But you donāt believe in that stuffā¦. You always said that Human Prejudice was inevitable.
ZERO:
Hey, donāt let me stop you! Iām not gonna be aroundā¦
X scowls at that sentiment.
ZERO:
(continuing, sincere)
ā¦Iād like to imagine a World one day, where there is no more War and Reploids are no longer subject to the Worldās prejudices. Ā Butā¦ we both know how I feel about that.
X:
I knowā¦ You never believed True Peace was attainable.
ZERO:
I think you can do it thoughā¦ Ā Without me around, I think things are gonna be a whoooole lot quieter. And youāre all gonna be better for it.
X shakes his head with a crumpled up face.
X:
I hate hearing you say that. Ā Is there any way, I can change your mind?
Zero shakes his head.
ZERO:
Nope. Ā My mind is made up. Ā With this new development, I want to be put underā¦ Ā Indefinitely. Ā Not to be released until every ounce of the Virus has been ripped from my systems. Ā Even if they have to strip me down to my bare bones and I come out completely different altogether.
X shakes his head, upset.
X:
Youāre basically asking for a slow death.
ZERO:
ā¦or a potential rebirthā¦
X tilts his head and softly smiles.
X:
Okay. Ā I like the sound of thatā¦
ZERO:
(smiling)
Itās settled then. Ā You are the Hero of this World, X. Ā You always were. Ā And Iām going to do whatever it takes to ensure that another Nightmare never happens again!
X
Iāll get the best scientists to monitor youā¦. Weāll come out of this, yet. Ā Youāll seeā¦. Even if it takes a while. Ā Weāre going to figure this out.
Zero smiles at his best friend, happy to see that he has finally come around to what must be done.
ZERO:
Yes! This is good. Ā In that case, it seems that our journey has just begun!
Zero is seen being escorted to his borrowed room. Ā Then the cuffs are unlocked by the Lifesavers.
ZERO:
Hey, what gives??
X:
Rest up, Zeroā¦. Itās bed time.
ZERO:
What the Hell are you doing? Ā I turned myself in! Ā I should be detained!!
LIFESAVER PRIME:
Ohh Relaxā¦. Itās been a long night. Ā Your testing will begin tomorrow. Ā
ZERO:
Even-still. Ā I should be on lock-up. Ā I canāt trust my powers anymore.
SIGNAS:
(smirking)
Weāll take our chances tonightā¦. We donāt have those facilities in place yet, but we'll work on it. Ā In the meantime, youāre just gonna have to make doā¦
ZERO:
Hmphā¦. Have it your way for now. Ā I guess Iāll be sticking around for a little bit longer.
X smirks and pats his best friend on the shoulder. Ā Zero smirks as well and gives him a hug.
SIGNAS:
(v.o, narrating)
Zero wanted to be placed in a Detention Center, but we didnāt have one to bring him to, yet.
X is seen debriefing the massive group of Maverick Hunters in the Lounge Area.
SIGNAS:
(v.o, narrating)
X brought everyone else up to speed and they took the news in stride. Ā Most were /relieved, some were /sad, plenty were /neutral, while /others felt a deep need for one last goodbye.
The entire B-Team is seen /celebrating at the news.
Frostbiteās Wolfpack /lower their heads and come together
The Elite Guard and all their cohorts share a blank /stoic look.
Leviathan /blinks and takes a deep breath. Ā Then, she excuses herself from the room.
When he opens the door, he finds that Leviathan is waiting for him, again.
ZERO:
Levy! W-what are you doing here???
LEVIATHAN:
ā¦is it true that youāre leaving us?
ZERO:
Yeah. Ā Iāve gotta go. I donāt belong here. Ā Iām a danger to you allā¦
She nods.
LEVIATHAN:
I agree. Ā I respect what youāre doing. Ā Itās admirable.
ZERO:
Hm?
She lets herself in.
LEVIATHAN:
Itās just a shame thoughā¦. ācuz I was getting used to you.
ZERO:
Hehā¦ Listen, itās been fun. Ā But Iām no good for anyone, here. Ā Not even, you.
LEVIATHAN:
I think youāve got a lot of good in youā¦. We just need to weed the bad stuff out.
He nods.
ZERO:
Heh, well, thatās the plan. Ā Itās not gonna be easy though. And nothing is guaranteedā¦ā¦. Soā¦ -what do you want, anyway?
He changes the subject, not wanting to think about his chosen fate.
LEVIATHAN:
Wellā¦ Since time is precious and life is fleeting and all of thatā¦. You know exactly what I want.
She gives him big eyes.
ZERO:
Not a good ideaā¦
LEVIATHAN:
Oh, come onā¦ Who knows if all we have is tonight, two weeks or even two months?? Ā I figuredā¦ we might as well make the most of this Goodbye. Ā However long it lastsā¦. Whaddya say?
She inches up to him and wraps her arms around his neck.
ZERO:
Wellā¦
Zero smirks as he looks at her with narrow eyes.
ZERO:
Ah, what the Hellā¦
He returns the gesture by embracing the small of her back, lowering his hands to her firm butt cheeks.
X is seen sitting with Harpuia, Douglas and Signas at a table in a newly built Planning Room on the top floor. Ā There is a World Map around them, where each of them are brainstorming new plans.
SIGNAS:
(v.o, narrating)
In the days and weeks that followed, X focused on expanding his Reploid outreach to the other Settlements around the World, just as he said he would. Soon, we would be ready to meet with the Human Settlements around the World and discuss our Future Plans.
On the board is a drawing of Hexagon with the giant heading āElysium?ā circled around it.
Also penned around it are the words, āWhere is Utopia?ā and āAlt. Sitesā
A grainy image of Douglas and a Team of Builders fixing up their town is shown.
Grainy images of Harpuia and the Elite Guard meeting with Reploids from Canada, Greenland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and South America are seen.
Grainy images of X and Signas meeting with Humans from the Underground Outposts around the World are seen.
SIGNAS:
(v.o, narrating)
Some liked our ideas. Ā Others didnāt go for it. Ā But either way, we were thankful for their time and attention. Ā Their feedback helped give us direction.
Alia is seen studying Zeroās levels with Lifesaver Prime, while another Lifesaver unit looks at Gateās torso and shakes his head at them.
She nods and takes his Torso off display. They carefully place a white sheet over his carcass.
SIGNAS:
(v.o, narrating)
At home, we had a few setbacksā¦. It was proving to become more and more difficult to understand Zeroās systems and how to properly remove the virus. Ā We werenāt even sure if it was possible.
We see Zeroās old and new sabers displayed upright on a vice as their energies merge with green electricity, in between.
X looks at the weapons with admiration and a soft smile.
Alia walks over to him and puts an arm around him.
X:
When Zeroās ready to get back out there, this is gonna be great.
ALIA:
(solemn)
Yeahā¦. If we can ever figure this out.
X:
We will, hunā¦. We have all the time in the Worldā¦
She looks at him with a stern, apologetic look.
ALIA:
You know we canāt keep going on like this.
X:
What do you mean?
ALIA:
We donāt have what he needs! Ā Weāre gonna have to find somewhere thatās better. Ā I think the time is coming, Xā¦. Weāre gonna have to follow through with his wishes and put him underā¦
X sighs.
X:
I knowā¦
ALIA:
I know itās hard to say goodbye, butā¦ this is what he wants. Ā And weāre doing so well, now.
X:
(sighing)
Youāre rightā¦. Our standing with the World is much better than I thought. Ā Weāre gonna have to move on to the next Phase soon.
ALIA:
Exactly. Ā Weāre not gonna be here forever eitherā¦. Maybe this is the perfect time.
X:
(nodding)
Yeahā¦. But either way, whatever happens next... Ā At least his new Saber will be ready for him.
ALIA:
Hopefully he wonāt need itā¦
X:
Ohhh yeah. Ā But, no matter how this shakes out. Ā I know heād appreciate this.
Zero walks into a Lab where an unknown Reploid scientist stands by a series of pods. Ā He hands him a tablet and allows the scientist to review it while he stands by with his fists clenched tight.
After a moment, the scientist nods with a small grimace.
MYSTERY SCIENTIST:
... I see. It'll take a while to get rid of this. Even with our latest technology, it's going to be hard to succeed... I'm not really sure if I can fix this completely...
Zero nods with content.
ZERO:
Don't worry. I must do this before it's too late.
He glances at the file again and gives Zero an odd look.
MYSTERY SCIENTIST:
ā¦But you haven't had any problems yet... You'll be fine as you are, won't you?
Zero refuses to say anything. Ā He simply takes a breath.
MYSTERY SCIENTIST:
It's none of my business, but what will we do in a crisis without you?
He smiles and smirks at that one.
ZERO:
Ha. I'm sorry, but don't worry... There's a Superior Maverick Hunter running the World, now. But I'm scared that I may become a disturbing presence if I stick around any longer...
The scientist sighs and nods.
MYSTERY SCIENTIST:
Very wellā¦
He opens a pod as the Red Hero of years past enters the capsule.
MYSTERY SCIENTIST:
... I agree. Well, you look readyā¦
ZERO:
Yeah... So, when will I wake up?
MYSTERY SCIENTIST:
If we donāt run into any problems... It should be around August 15th, 102 years from now.
Zeroās eyes widen as he nods and blinks.
ZERO:
... Right. Here's to a successful sleep.
MYSTERY SCIENTIST:
I'll do my best. Have a good sleep...
X stands at the Central Hub of his new Colony, draped in a more regal version of his black and blue armor. Ā Standing beside him are his 4 Guardians ā Harpuia, Leviathan, Fefnir and Phantom. Ā Alongside them are Alia, Signas and Douglas. Ā Behind them Iso, Batsu, Cody, Data, Kassy, Regina and Araki stand. Ā Among the remainder of the crowd are Frostbite, Dante, Moringa, Kazu, Jin, Marl, Tazack, Hatori, Zerdan and the rest of the Maverick Hunters who have proved their worth to the World when times were at their worst.
They all stand, unified by X as he looks upon the Humans and other Reploids who have joined their Community.
X:
Everyone! Ā A New Dawn has Arrived. Ā With the Launch of our new Commune, I am pleased to say that we Did It! Ā The Nightmare is Officially Over!!!
The Humans and Reploids around them all cheer and celebrate in earnest.
COMMUNITY:
YYEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
X:
But we still have a long way to go. Ā There are still Citizens who live in Arcadia and around the World, who choose to live in the Shadows and tarnish the name of our Reploid Bretherin. Ā Well, I say āLet āem!ā We are aware that not everyone will join us. Ā It is their right and freedom as People. Ā All we ask to those who choose to live among us, is to be excellent to each other ā Reploid and Human alike. Ā The Era of Mavericks is no more. Ā We have seen to that. Ā Therefore, there is no longer a need for the term, Maverick Hunters. Ā From now on, regardless of Race, Rank or Creed, we are all One People. Ā Together, we are all Neo-Arcadians!!
X:
This has been a dream for so long, itās still hard to believe that any of this is real. Ā But here we areā¦! Ā Welcome my friends ā one and all, to your New Home!!!
NEO-ARCADIANS:
YYEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
The crowd cheers and roars as Reploids and Humans walk arm and arm and hand in hand. Many hug and some even share a kiss.
A tear rolls down Xās cheek as he smiles and wipes it away.
Behind his Leader, Fefnir makes an odd face as he looks at Harpuia.
HARPUIA:
(rolling eyes)
Ughā¦ Itās the only way the Humans would agree to any of this. Ā Elysium sounded too different to them. Too much like a Fantasyā¦
FEFNIR:
Ahā¦. Well, thatās dumb.
LEVIATHAN:
Gotta give them what they want. Ā Itās a compromise. Ā Thatās the only way any of this works.. Ā Everyone has to be comfortable.
PHANTOM:
A Utopia by any name, is fine with me. Ā Weāve earned this.
X looks at them with a bright smile and places a trusting hand on their shoulders in a slight huddle.
X:
Thatās right. Ā This is our Legacy. Ā ā¦And the 4 of you are very Essential in upholding our good name, you know that?
They all obediently nod at their Leader.
X:
You are my Guardians ā My eyes and ears out there, to ensure that our people are safe. Ā And to maintain the World when I cannot. Ā Iāve put my Utmost Faith in your abilities. Ā One day, after Iām long gone you will be the next Mega Menā¦ and Womanā¦
He smiles at Levy, who blushes and smiles back.
X:
I have no doubt that you will be there to greet a certain old friend of oursā¦ To show him the way and guide him, if he is lostā¦. That ā is my new dream!
His 4 Guardians listen with wide eyes as they grow inspired and ever prouder to be in his presence. Ā They all bow to X as he walks away.
Alia walks over to X and speaks softly in his ear.
ALIA:
X, that was amazing!
X:
Thanks hun. Ā I just wish Zero could be around to see this...
She looks at him with bright eyes.
ALIA:
He willā¦. One day. Ā I just know itā¦
He smiles at her optimism. Ā She gives him a kiss.
We zoom past Alia, X and the surrounding group of former Maverick Hunters. Ā At the very top of their entrance way, Zeroās new merged Saber is displayed, facing downward. Ā The triangular blade is encased in a decorative crimson, marble stone. Ā Engraved on it are the words ā āDedicated to Zero. Ā A Man who sacrificed everything so that we may live. Ā Until we meet again, Old Friendā¦ ā Xā
The golden & blue corridors fade to gray and crimson as it becomes very clear that Sigma has taken over the operation. Ā As X and Zero run on in their blue and red base forms, X grits his teeth.
X:
SIIGGMMAAAAAA!!!!!
-flash-
An image appears of X running across the Central Highway 10 years ago. With gritted teeth, he shouted the same name under very different circumstances.
-flash-
ZERO:
I canāt believe heās backā¦
-flash-
An image of X and Zero running through the purple corridors of Berkanaās Lab from a few years ago appears. Sigma was a surprise entry then, too.
-Flash-
X narrows his eyes.
X:
Heās done this before. Time and time again! Ā When is it ever going to end?
At the dash we /cut to the title card: [THE NIGHTMARE ENDS]
X:
ā¦but How? Weāve been doing this for 10 years and he keeps coming back. Ā Whatās going to be different this time?
ZERO:
I can feel him. Ā His Virus levels are very low. Ā Minimal at best. Ā It wonāt be hard to keep him down this time.
X:
ā¦alright, but he keeps coming back. Ā Weāve still never figured out why.
Zero looks away as they keep running.
ZERO:
(v.o, thinking)
I think I haveā¦
X:
I know itās hard to take in, but if all weāre doing is Damage Control, then whatās the point?
Zero silently nods in agreement.
X:
We have to do better. Ā We have to Finally End it, somehow.
ZERO:
I know, manā¦ We willā¦. Once this is all over weāll take the time, do our research and rebuild towards a real future.
X:
Hmphā¦ Iāll believe it when I see it. Ā Thatās what we were doing before Gate rudely interrupted us.
ZERO:
Heh. Ā Well, it looks like we wonāt have to worry about him anymore. Ā You saw to that.
They continue to run through the corridors as X makes a solemn look.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. MMHQ BUNKER ā Control Area ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alia looks at her 7 monitors, which display all of the different Teams across the World, including X and Zeroās activity. From their window, Alia shares Xās solemn look, as she canāt help but overhear them talk. Ā She decides to focus on her vacant victors from the other windows, however. Ā With a press of the button, she com-links to the teams in Australia and India.
ALIA:
Harpuia, Leviathan. Nice job!
LEVIATHAN:
(filtered, startled)
Huh??
HARPUIA:
(filtered)
Thanks, Alia.
ALIA:
Iām going to send you where youāre needed most. Ā Harpuia Company, prepare for teleportation.
They can all be seen nodding and getting excited, while Harpuia makes a focused glare.
HARPUIA:
(filtered)
Where are we going?
ALIA:
Russia. Ā Hans & Hal need you.
HARPUIA:
Okay.
With that, she sends them away.
ALIA:
As for you, Levyā¦. Your Team is already quite large. Ā It might be best to split you up.
LEVIATHAN:
(nodding, filtered)
Thatās fine. Ā Just bring me to the water, man. Ā My girls will follow.
ALIA:
Alrighty, you got it. Ā The Inami Team will be sent to Hout Bay in Africa. Ā Batsu, Cody and Data need a lot of help.
LEVIATHAN:
(nodding)
Done.
With that, her group of 6 teleport away, leaving Iso, Araki, Hagi and Dalihi behind.
ARAKI:
(filtered)
Hey! Those are our guys!! Ā We should be the ones to go.
ISO:
(filtered)
Sheās probably got bigger plans for us, Araki.
Alia takes her hands off the comms.
ALIA:
Nowā¦ what to do with you 4ā¦
From Xās monitor, Alia canāt help but tune back in.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. INVADED LABORATORY ā Faded Corridors - NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X:
Ya know, Iām not too proud of it.. Ā Gate did horrible things, butā¦ it sounds like he didnāt have much of a choice.
ZERO:
What!?
X:
He stumbled upon your DNA at a point in his life when he was at his lowest. Ā If Iāve got Aliaās stories straight, it sounds like he was already so fueled by defeat and rage. Ā By the time, he gained your power, he saw the perfect opportunity to enact his Revenge.
ZERO:
Hmphā¦. Donāt get all soft and mopey on me now, X. Ā Itās just like he said, āThereās always a Choice.ā Ā Donāt forget that he unleashed Sigma on us!! Ā ā¦This wouldāve been over by now, if it werenāt for himā¦ He made his bed, X. Ā Now he has to sleep in it.
X lets out a sigh and nods, knowing that heās right.
After a short moment, they both /startle at the sound of a sudden com-link.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Well said, Zero.
X & ZERO:
(gasping)
Alia!
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Sorry, I didnāt mean to eavesdrop, but the jamming finally cleared and I wanted to fill you both in on whatās been going on.
X:
(nodding)
Yes! Ā Whatās the status of the New Guard?
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Heh. Ā Try the status of Everyone, bud.
X & ZERO:
Hm??
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. MHHQ BUNKER ā Control Area ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alia looks at her 7 monitors, analyzing all of the activity from the Teams she sent across the World.
ALIA:
(briefing)
Those Angel & Demon Mechaniloids that Gate initially sent out were too much for one team to handle.
X:
(filtered)
Oh noā¦ Really??
ALIA:
Yeah. Theyāre fine, but the Mechaniloids escaped and ended up dispersing all across the Globe.
ZERO:
(filtered)
What!?
X:
(filtered)
Oh, thatās right. I remember!
ALIA:
Every major continent has been hit hard, so we sent out the B-Team.
X:
(filtered)
Oh my God!! Ā Theyāre not ready. Ā Theyāll get killed!!
ALIA:
..Theyāre doing a lot better than you think, actually. Ā I was very careful with my Team Distributions and I paired them with the New Guard as best as possible.
X:
(filtered)
You split them up..?
ALIA:
Yeah, I had to. One of them is at each location.
X:
(filtered)
Ah, man! Ā Theyāre so much weaker when theyāre apart. Ā But I understand the circumstances.
ALIA:
There were also quite a few volunteers from the Settlement that joined our ranks. Ā So, I was able to pair them up with the others as well.
ZERO:
(filtered)
That still makes for 3 weaker teams.
ALIA:
I know. Ā It was a risk, but the situation is already getting better. Ā Currently Harpuia & Leviathanās teams have secured the areas of Australia and India. Ā Theyāre joining 2 other groups in Russia and Africa, now. Ā Weāre going to do a whole Combine & Conquer Strategy. Ā Itās gonna be great!
X blinks and nods.
X:
(filtered)
Thatās great. I trust you.
ZERO:
(filtered)
Now that comms are back, please keep us updated. I donāt want them to die out there.
ALIA:
Youāve got it Zero! Ā Alsoā¦ itās great to see you back in Red.
From a darkened, shadowy room, only glimpses of sparking wires can be seen from a 1st person point of view. Ā The sparks seem to be feeding him energy as Sigma gathers his strength.
SIGMA:
(v.o, thinking)
Soā¦ Iām back on the Physical Plain. Ā ā¦but this is too soonā¦. I need moreā¦. What is there..? Ā What were you planning, Gate? ..what can Iā¦ useā¦?
As he looks around, he figures out how to tap into the systemās database and pull up the schematics to Gateās latest Angel & Demon Mechaniloid designs.
SIGMA:
(v.o, thinking)
Ah. These will doā¦. Maybe I can keep them busyā¦ for just a little bit longerā¦
X and Zero run ahead to see the red and gray carpet ahead of them raise into more wall-like structures.
They both sigh and nod at each other as they know theyāre about to deal with whatever else Gate left for them.
With two jumps, they get above a raised groove and short wall. They hop back down and notice the ground cut up in blocks, leading towards a bottomless pit.
X:
Long way down..
ZERO:
Mhm.
They both dash-hop across the trap, unamused.
Once at the other side, they jump up towards a higher platform, which leads them towards a descending spiked trap below. The spikes are now draped in yellow, rather than their former blue color.
X:
Oh look.. More spikesā¦
X and Zero carefully make their way down two consecutive blocks with spikes on both sides until they spot a Demon and Angel Mechaniloid. Ā Both activate and growl at them once they are within range.
DEMON:
GRRROOOAAAAAWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!
ANGEL:
YYAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
X:
What the-!?
ZERO:
Holy Shit.
The two Mechaniloids escape their display brackets and go after our heroes.
X and Zero drop down to a safer portion of the room on the right.
They make it towards a platform from the top of a more open room. Ā Below, several platforms are scattered around the room.
X:
Oh Manā¦
ZERO:
Brace yourself, X!
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. CHENNAI, INDIA ā Prakasam Salai ā NIGHT
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Iso, Araki, Hagi and Dalihi stand around in the barren streets awaiting orders.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Okay, Gang. Ā Iām going to send the rest of you to Canada.
ISO:
Alright. Whatās going on over there?
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Fefnir and a few others are fending off a stubborn Angel.
ISO:
Nice, that sounds good.
HAGI:
Actually, uh.. My brother and I decided to stay here.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Hm?
HAGI:
This is our home. Ā We thank you for all your hospitality, but we were just visiting the states at the worst time, possible. Ā
DALIHI:
Now that weāre back we can look for our Family and rebuild. No disrespect, but for us the mission is over.
ALIA:
I understand. Thank you for your Service, boys.
ARAKI:
Good luck, guys. Ā Please call us if you need anything.
With that, Iso and Araki teleport away as Hagi and Dalihi make a thoughtful smile.
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. CAMBRIDGE BAY, CANADA ā Human Settlement: Angel Battle ā DAY
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Iso and Araki teleport in to the top of a damaged rooftop only to find Fefnir running and charging his flame blasters from the ashy streets below.
FEFNIR:
Come on, guyās! Give her all weāve got!!!
He is followed along the street by a revved up Tazack, Hatori and Zerdan whom they do not recognize in the slightest.
The group fire combined blasts of flame and ammunition, while the Angel retaliates with lasers and minigun shots of her own.
FEFNIR:
Aggghhhhā¦. Come onnnnā¦ COME OONNNN!!!!!!!
Powering through, Fefnir doesnāt relent as his armor quickly chips away.
From atop the roof at a slightly different angle, the two newcomers have the advantage of surprise on their side.
Iso and Araki nod and charge their busters to the fullest.
ISO & ARAKI:
sssssshhh/YA!
They both shoot off white and blue level-3 charge shots, which strike at the Angelās neck and back, catching it off guard.
ANGEL:
Hrrreeeeee!!???
FEFNIR:
NNNOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!
Fefnir, Tazack, Hatori and Zerdan each overcome the Angel Mechaniloid with a combined blast of Fire, bullets and missiles.
The Angel violently explodes, scattering itās parts all across town while they all celebrate.
Zero and X both shield themselves from their respective Mechaniloid attacks with a Guard Shell. Ā A Demon blows harsh fire at Zero while X is blocking the damage from an angelās mini-gun.
ZERO:
HmpH!
He high-jumps to the top of a platform, sticks to the ceiling upside down and performs Hydroga slashes, which not only put out the flames, but seem to affect the Demon greatly.
He drops down and carves his heavy Sigma Blade into the demonās chest, forcing it to bleed out.
DEMON:
GRAAAAUUUUUIII!!!!!!!!!
Zero kicks off of it and flips back, while X is seen transforming into his Blade Armor and then Charging the Guard Shell into 4 clam lids. Once set up, the four shell lids fire upon the beast as well.
The blasts cause heavy damage as the Angel is shifted left, right and spun around altogether.
X smirks as he charges up a buster.
X:
Whatās excellent, Alia?
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Hm? Oh! We just saved Canada. Ā And it looks likeā¦
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. NOVIKOVO RUSSIA ā Abandoned Fortress: Demon Battle ā DAY
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Harpuia flies in and carves his blades against the Demon with fervor as light arrows strike at itās sides.
DEMON:
Ggghhhiiaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!!
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Weāre about to save Russia as well.
Doragoh and Paralla nod as their companions fire their weapons.
Leino and Dajango fire their Rocket Launchers, while Inaria and Kikuturk shoot from their Grenade Launchers.
The Demon explodes all across the Castle gates while the downed Hal looks up at itās defeat with a wry smile.
DAJANGO:
Oh Kroike man, that was fantastic!
KIKUTURK:
Right, mate that was Bonza!!
HAL:
H-he-hehā¦ Thank you.. my friendsā¦
Hans looks down at Hal, with him still in his arms.
HANS:
Hal?? Ā You okay, man?
He closes his eyes, shakes his head and smiles.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Hans, fall back immediately and get him to a Med Car.
Hal shakes his head again.
HAL:
N-no.. itās too late. Leave me. Ā
HANS:
(protesting, shocked)
Hal!!
HAL:
ā¦we used to do our best work with Dr. Glow, hereā¦.
HANS:
Thatās right.
HAL:
I always thought weādā¦come back and.. w-w-workā¦ one day. You know I always loved thatā¦
Hans nods with a sad smile.
HANS:
I knowā¦
HAL:
Please..d-donāt let it be for nothingā¦.
HANS:
(sad)
I wonāt.
HAL:
M-m-maybe nowā¦ we can finally achieve that dream of Xās.
He holds his best friendās hand.
HAL:
Maybe now, we can have.. Elysium.
With that he shuts down, leaving the rest of the group suddenly feeling very empty.
He slams a fist into the ground, causing the Rekkoha Giga Attack to stream down from the ceiling across the Demon.
X:
Haaaaaagggggghhhhh!!!!!!!!!
X uses a charged Ray Arrow, causing the light to stream up from the ground and overtake the Angel.
Both Mechaniloids explode around them as they advance through the corridor.
ZERO:
(panting)
Damn it! Ā These things really are stubborn.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered, gasping)
Oh no!!!
X:
What is it, Alia?
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
ā¦we lost Halā¦. Hans is staying behind to make arrangements.
X narrows his eyes and clenches his fist. Ā Zero closes his eyes and shakes his head.
X:
Damn itā¦ Come on, Zero!! Ā Weāve got to Finish This!
They both run ahead as the corridor opens up. Ā They pass by another large Demon model, whose eyes glow purple for a moment.
DEMON:
Not so fast, boysā¦
They both stop in their tracks and turn around.
X:
That voice!
ZERO:
Sigma..?
SIGMA-DEMON:
Close. Ā This is just a body Iāve possessed, but that doesnāt mean we canāt have some fun before the Real Thing! Ā Heeheeheeheehee!!!!
ZERO:
Oh, God. I did not miss that laugh.
X:
Me neither.
Across the way, another Angel activates in between a swath of Nightmare Virus Drones that havenāt died off yet.
X:
Oh greatā¦
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. MHHQ BUNKER ā Control Area ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alia looks at their monitor, shocked.
ALIA:
Oh no. Just as things were getting better, it looks like the situation just got a whole lot worse.
She com-links to all of the windows.
ALIA:
Everybody! Sigma is in possession of the Mechaniloids. Ā I repeat, Sigma is in Full Posession. Ā Take extra Precautions!!
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA ā Hout Bay ā DAY
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
The newly possessed Angel Mechaniloid shrouds itself with a purple aura as itās purple eyes glow.
SIGMA-ANGEL:
Thatās right, folks. Ā Iām back and Iām going to take down every Civilization. Ā One, by One!
LEVIATHAN:
(charging up)
Go to Hell!
Floating in the water with her Inami teammates, they place their hands on her shoulders and back while Leviathan charges to her fullest. They collectively produce an ice dragon from her trident, which completely goes through the Angel Mechaniloid.
SIGMA-ANGEL:
Whaaa!?
LEVIATHAN:
Finish it, boys!!!
The dumbfounded Batsu, Cody and Data fire back at the scraps, while Kazu, Jin and Marl capitalize with their extra firepower.
Collectively the Angel Mechaniloid is destroyed, but they are still worried.
CODY:
Whoooooa, we did it!!!
DATA:
Yeah, but Sigmaās back.
Leviathan and her girls stylishly splash out of the water, landing directly in front of them. Ā They all get sprayed from the mist.
LEVIATHAN:
Not if we can help it. Ā Come on.. Ā Alia! Ā Where to?
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Umā¦ Brazil! Ā Fefnirās Team has already got Greenland covered.
He runs in, barreling flame shot after flame shot, but he just gets lasered down by the Demonās eyes.
TAZACK:
No!!!
The next wave run in with their rifles and fire upon the beast.
He simply whips his tail at them, however, knocking them all down hard.
Iso and Araki bravely charge up and fire their busters at the Demon as much as possible, but the blasts barely have any effect.
SIGMA-DEMON:
Heeheehee.You fools. Ā It will take much more than that to defeat me.
HARPUIA:
How about /THIS/!!!??/
From behind, Harpuia makes a /brave save, carving at the Demon /twice and then creating a /crossed-beam with his blades.
SIGMA-DEMON:
Grrrrraaaauuuuggghhhhhā¦ā¦ā¦
The Demon is severely weakened and brought to the ground.
Harpuia lands on the ground with a smirk, while his New Zealand Crew takes over with heavy artillery blasts.
Fefnir stares at the explosions with glee.
FEFNIR:
Now thatās what Iām talkinā aboutā¦
The possessed Demon holds itās head, reels and wavers in mid-air out of nowhere, when Zero barely touched him.
SIGMA-DEMON:
Ouuurrggghhh. Gggodddddā¦
Zero looks at the suffering avatar while defensive dragonfly missiles surround him.
ZERO:
Whatās the matter, Sigma?? Ā Itās kind of hard to focus when your mind is everywhere at once, huh??
With a couple of more blasts from his Z-Buster, the Yamato missiles fire as well. The combined array of shots completely take out the Demon with ease.
SIGMA-DEMON:
(exploding)
GGGAAAAIIII!!!!!!!!!!!
SIGMA-ANGEL:
You havenāt won yet, pests.
X:
Hmph. Whoās the pest!? Ā Youāre the one that wonāt Go Awaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!!!
X uses a charged Magma Blade, freezes in mid-air and summons an army of phoenix blasts, which all burn the Mechaniloid down to the ground. From there, he mach-dashes towards itās chest and strikes a final burning blow with the Z-Saber.
X catches his breath from the last attack as Zero passes him by. Ā He places a proud hand on his shoulder.
ZERO:
Come on, man. Ā Weāre not done yet.
X:
I knowā¦
Zero takes the lead as they take out a Giga Death. Ā They run on only to be stopped by a Monbando unit.
MONBANDO:
Stop right there, Maverick Hunters!! Ā My New Master is using everything he can to end you.
ZERO:
(smirking)
Okayā¦
Without hesitation he blasts him with a close-ranged Z-Buster shot that destroys him.
A small wave of Batton Bones fly after them, but X easily takes them out with level-1 shots. As they run on, they come across another Giga Death Mechaniloid, who tries to take them out with itās heavy missiles. Ā With some careful dodging, it is quelled by the Sigma Blade. Ā When they advance a little further, they encounter another Monbando.
He takes no risks and dishes out rapid fire with level-1 shots.
Monbando easily blocks it and grins at them.
MONBANDO-SIGMA:
EEHEEHEEEEE!!!!!!!! Ā Thereās no escape, X. Ā Iām taking over and thereās nothing you can do to /Stop me!
He /pounds a fist on the ground, which knocks X down.
Zero immediately takes him out with a Rakukojin anchor. Ā Then, he stands over X and helps him back up to his feet.
ZERO:
Donāt lose your cool yet, X. Remember that heās the desperate one, here. Ā We have the upper-hand.
X:
(nodding)
Youāre right. Ā Thanks, Zeroā¦
A stray Nightmare Virus watches as they pass by another Demon model. Ā Along the way, yet another Angel model also awaits them. Ā As X and Zero make their way across platforms above a bottomless pit, both creatures become possessed once again.
ZERO:
Oh, Come Ooonnn!!!!!!
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. MANOUS, BRAZIL ā Amazon Temples ā DAY
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Satton and Ryo shoot their lasers with rapid fire as fast as Phantom throws his infinite daggers at the Demon, but they are all shot down by two large eye beams.
SATTON, RYO & PHANTOM:
Aaaaggh!!!!
Reyher and Dungar run after the Demon with their axe and sword, only to get roasted by flames once again.
REYHER & DUNGAR:
Oogghhh!!!!!!
Suddenly, Leviathan teleports in.
LEVIATHAN:
/HEY!
She lands a kick across the demonās face and hops off with a flip while she charges her trident.
Meeka, Mayu and Sakura all carve their spears down the sides and back of the beast on their way to the ground.
SIGMA-DEMON:
GGGRRRRROOUUUGGHHH!!!!!!!!!
Annoyed, he lasers all three off them down, while Batsu, Cody and Data fire at him from a nearby pillar above the action.
SIGMA-DEMON:
Hm!!??
He looks up at them and lasers them down, only to be blasted on the other side by Kazu, Jin and Marl from an adjacent pillar.
SIGMA-DEMON:
Agghh!
He turns around, damaged and distracted.
From below, Phantom looks at Leviathan with a thankful smile.
PHANTOM:
And so we meet again.
She nods at him with a smirk.
LEVIATHAN:
Hey, bud. Ā Wanna try that thing we practiced?
PHANTOM:
(grinning)
Sure thing.
With a fully charged trident, she unleashes large, sharp snowflakes that come down on the beast. Ā Meanwhile, Phantom grabs her by the hips and uses a controlled-teleport to float the two of them up in the air above the creature. High above, Phantom throws his huge Shuriken at the beast, while Leviathan uses her trident to freeze it.
PHANTOM & LEVIATHAN:
Ice-Shuriken!!!
The large, sharp star shines in itās frozen state as it comes after the Demon, fast.
SIGMA-DEMON:
Huh???
It sinks right into his stomach, giving him a huge gash.
PHANTOM:
Go, Reyher!!
Reyher nods as he bravely high jumps and bashes his axe into the other side of his torso, forming another sizable carve.
REYHER:
(calling out)
Dungaaaar!!!!!
Dungar high-dives right into the middle and finishes the job, slicing his torso right off with his long-sword.
Batsu pulls in an excited fist.
BATSU:
Yes! Thatās awesome!!
He looks up at Phantom holding Leviathan in the air and putting a hand out to summon his Shuriken. As the weapon makes itās way back to them, they both place their feet on the sides and gracefully glide down together. Ā The sight is simply inspiring.
X and Zero are forced to face the Sigma-Possessed Mechaniloids again, all-the-while dealing with Nightmare Viruses, Batton Bones and Monbandos as they try to push through the tricky terrain.
ZERO:
Damn it, Sigma.. Ā When are you gonna get a clue?
He jumps and Sentsuizan slashes a beast hard onto a platform, while the room shakes.
ZERO:
Youāre never gonna beat us. /ht/ht/ht/ht/ht/ht!
He spins into numerous Ensuizan slashes, while grounded. Ā The water elements make the Demonās circuits sizzle.
A couple of platforms ahead, X is becoming bombarded by Nightmare Viruses and Batton Bones while an Angel is shooting from itās gatling gun-arm.
X:
/Aghā¦ /Yaaghh..!
He mach-dashes up, immediately knocking away the Nightmare Viruses and eliminating the Batton Bones.
Then, he charges his Metal Anchor.
X:
Storm Eagle, a little help?
With a wave of the hand, he creates an army of Storm Eagles to fly across the room and completely overtake the Angel Mechaniloid.
SIGMA-ANGEL:
NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
Zero carves a Metal Anchor blade into his Demon as well.
SIGMA-DEMON:
AAAIIIIGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Both explode around them as they continue their advance through the platforms. Ā They make it to one last platform, before a probe, which leads them to a gate. Ā The only thing in their way is one final Monbando unit.
MONBANDO-SIGMA:
That was a very clever move, X, but it looks like my plan worked!
He puts an arm out and shoots a missile at him. X bats it away with the Z-Saber and shoots rapid-fire at him.
MONBANDO-SIGMA:
Youāre both Weak, and Exhausted. Just like meā¦. Heeheheā¦
X:
Says you!
ZERO:
/Enoughā¦
With a Z-Buster blast, Zero kills the last Monbando.
ZERO:
Itās time to end this, once and for all.
They both watch the probe come toward them and grab hold of it from both sides. Then, they float over towards Sigmaās Gate.
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. NUUK, GREENLAND ā Nuussuaq Village ā DAY
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Harpuia and Fefnirās combined group of 18 stand around in awe of their hard work. Ā Fefnir looks around amidst his crowd of new friends and at last he finds her. Ā Kassy stands by Regina and Frostbite, scuffed up, but happy to see him.
KASSY:
(embarrassed, shy)
H-hey..
FEFNIR:
Hey there, Gorgeous.
KASSY:
(blushing)
Oh stop. I look like crap.
FEFNIR:
..ya look great to me..
She looks up at him with bright eyes.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Good news everyone!! Ā The last of the Mechaniloids have been destroyed!!!
Everyone around them cheers as Fefnir plants a big kiss on Kassyās lips.
Iso and Araki shake each otherās hands and pull in for a hug.
ISO:
Wow, man. We did it!!
ARAKI:
I know!!
Harpuiaās New Zealand Crew can be seen hugging and jumping for joy. Ā Frostbiteās wolves howl and nuzzle, while Regina and the rest of Fefnirās Group shake hands and pat each other on the back.
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. MANOUS, BRAZIL ā Amazon Temples ā DAY
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Phantom and Leviathanās group of 17 equally celebrate just as hard from the temple.
Leviathan and her girls from the Inami Temple all huddle into a group hug, while Phantomās Brazil Crew all thoughtfully shake each otherās hands.
Batsu, Cody and Data share a group hug, while Kazu, Jin and Marl thoughtfully cross the arms and place their hands at their hips, taking in the sight.
KAZU:
Well Iāll be damned.
JIN:
Looks like our job is done, here.
MARL:
Maybe now things can finally get back to normal.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
X and Zero are about to face Sigma. Ā Report back to Base at once. Ā We will track their progress from there!!
Bit by bit, a fascinating array of 17 teleport beams color the sky as they make their way home.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. MHHQ BUNKER ā Control Area ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the other window, 18 more teleport beams color the sky of Greenland as we pan out to see Alia smile.
She happily closes out all of the windows, except for one. Ā X and Zero now have her undivided attention as they walk through the Gateway.
ALIA:
Yes! Ā Go, boys. Ā We can beat this!!
-pan to the right-
All 36 Maverick Hunters arrive in between Signas and Douglasā posts.
SIGNAS:
Excellent Job Hunters!! Ā Head over to the Lounge and grab a well-deserved break!
With that everyone makes their way to their recently developed Lounge Area, while the New Guard stay behind.
Kassy holds Fefnirās hand and starts to walk with him, but he stands still.
KASSY:
Babe, are you coming?
Fefnir shakes his head.
FEFNIR:
Not yet. Ā Weāre gonna check this out from here, on the frontlines.
KASSY:
Hm?? Ā Why?
FEFNIR:
(shrugging)
Missionās not overā¦
She gives him a peculiar look and giggles.
KASSY:
What? Donāt be silly. Letās just relaxā¦
HARPUIA:
Thereās no time to relax. Ā This was our mission, first. And as such, we are to remain on standby until itās over.
PHANTOM:
It is our duty as members of Xās Elite Guard.
KASSY:
Ohā¦ I see.
LEVIATHAN:
Why donāt you run along, honey? Ā Fef will be with you soon.
KASSY:
ā¦rightā¦
She joins the crowd as Alia looks on.
ALIA:
(v.o, thinking)
Please.. get it right this time, guysā¦
She turns back to her monitor and notices that theyāve entered Sigmaās Lair.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. INVADED LABORATORY ā Sigmaās Lair - NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The gate closes behind X and Zero. Ā Two more irksome Angel and Demon models stand at both corners of the room, which makes them both twitch. Ā Then, a slow teleportation noise can be heard as Sigma barely manages to phase himself into his new body. Ā
Sigma physically appears in mid-air in a horizontal state, as if heās been sleeping. Ā Then, he helplessly falls to the ground, which shakes the whole room.
ZERO:
Huh?
X:
What the-?
Laying like a cadaver, Sigma struggles to pull himself up by his knees and back, until he suddenly shifts his entire body weight upright. Ā He stands before them, hunched over, like a Zombie and grins at them. It is clear that he is barely able to stand.
ZERO:
Sigma!
X:
You don't seem too completeā¦
SIGMA:
(coughing)
-Kaff-...Whu..whatever. Who cares?! Just leave!
ZERO:
No way. Not after everything weāve been throughā¦ Now you are mine!
Sigma holds onto his aching head.
SIGMA:
(frustrated)
I Said.. GET LOST!!!
X:
NO!! Weāve worked too hard to clean up your mess, last time. I'll completely delete you!
SIGMA:
(suffering)
Aghh..Silence...! I'll destroy you both... Even with this half-completed body!
Zero shakes his head and winces with a cringe.
ZERO:
This is pitifulā¦ Ā You can go ahead and take this one, Xā¦
Zero decides to sit down by the demon at the gate and folds his arms.
X puts his guard up, taking the threat very seriously.
The New Guard stand by Signasā monitor and comment.
FEFNIR:
Whoa, here we go!!
PHANTOM:
The moment is upon us at last.
HARPUIA:
Hmphā¦
LEVIATHAN:
Whatās wrong, Har??
HARPUIA:
I donāt like how cavalier Zeroās actingā¦.
LEVIATHAN:
(smirking, blushing)
I doā¦
She licks her lips, admiring his cockiness.
HARPUIA:
He should be taking this more seriously. Ā The fate of the whole World is on their hands.
LEVIATHAN:
X has got this. Ā He trusts that. Ā And I do, tooā¦
She smiles, admiring Xās movements on screen as well.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. INVADED LABORATORY ā Sigmaās Lair ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X uses a charged Blade Buster, which sinks directly into Sigmaās cloak covered chest. He follows up with enhanced red level-1 shots.
Although, affected by the shots, Sigma stubbornly walks on.
ZERO:
(advising)
Youāre gonna need something better.
X:
Right!
He switches to Yammarkās Option, setting three dragonflies around him. Ā Then, he proceeds to unleash green plasma shots from the missiles. This creates pock marks in Sigmaās cloaked armor.
SIGMA:
Hrgghā¦
He leans over to X, opens his mouth and spits out a yellow shot that scrapes across his chest.
X:
Agh!
With more effort, the Yamato missile shots knock Sigma down.
When knocked down, defensive blasts of purple fall upon X, while several green orbs float above Sigma. Ā Then they all come after X in a fury.
X:
Whoa!
He dashes away and kick-jumps at the gate by Zero to avoid them.
ZERO:
Come on. We can do better than that.
X narrows his eyes, pulls out the Z-Saber and turns orange.
X:
/Magma Blade!!!
He /unleashes the flamed saber at point blank range.
Sigma gets up and takes the hit as his cloak slowly burns, exposing a patches of his skeletal frame.
With a crazed grin, Sigma pulls up a powerful crescent wave of Plasma, similar to that of Gateās only this one is green.
X:
(shocked)
Ohhh..
He jumps back and waves the Magma Blade in the air. Ā The fireballs from the Saber clash against Sigmaās green wave and actually move it back.
X:
Huh?
ZERO:
Hahahaha. HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!
Xās gaze becomes softer and even sympathetic as he uses his X-Buster to keep the blast away with Level-1 shots.
ZERO:
This guy is so Weak, now! Ā He doesnāt even stand a Chance!! Ā Go get āem, X!!!
X nods with a smile, charges up and unleashes a wave of phoenixes after Sigma and his large crescent beam.
The blast fully explodes, before Sigma who grunts in annoyance. Ā Then the phoenixes take him down as well.
Once grounded, his defensive shots /come after X again. Ā Then he /pounds /his /fist on the ground, upset.
More prepared, X easily dodges the defensive attacks with stylish Mach-Dashes. Ā Then, he switches to Metal Anchor.
X:
Itās time to keep you down, Sigma.
Sigma rolls back up to his feet at a swifter pace. Ā He leans forward with an arm up, clearly annoyed.
SIGMA:
(furious)
Oh no..! Ā You think you have all the answers. Donāt you?
With everything he has, he generates large pink fireballs, the size of X. Ā They come after X at a swift motion and knock him back, /one by /one.
X:
/Ooof.. Ā /Aacckā¦
When a third one comes around, X narrowly mach-dashes at a 45 degree angle, then uses a Metal Anchor on Sigma, which immediately knocks him down.
SIGMA:
(hurt)
Ouughh!!!
ZERO:
YES. Thatās it, X!!
The defensive blasts, come after X again, who knows what to expect. Ā Once he again, he mach-dashes around the room to a safer distance, allowing the blasts to erupt against the walls.
SIGMA:
You think this is a Joke!? Ā Or some sort of Game!!? Ā This is my /LIFE!!!
He /pulls up another large green crescent wave and throws it at X. Ā All the while, spitting out his yellow shots and throwing his pink fireballs at X.
X narrows his eyes and focusses.
With level-1 shots, he keeps the large beam away, while the fireballs are harder to dodge. Ā X dashes under one and jumps past another as he uses a Metal anchor to /knock Sigma back down again.
SIGMA:
/Aaaarrggh!!!!
A pink blast /hits X as Sigmaās defensive shots generate once again.
X:
(harmed)
/OH! ā¦Your life.. has expiredā¦ a long time ago, Sigma.
He charges up and jumps, freezing himself in mid-air.
X:
Iām just here to secure that.
Sigma looks up at him from the ground with wide eyes.
SIGMA:
HMM!!??
X:
REST IN /PEEEEEAAAAAACCCCCCEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He /unleashes a wave of Metal Storm Eagles, which all rain down upon him at a sharp 45 degree angle.
His entire body erodes and explodes as the Storm Eagles destroy his entire frame.
Zero looks on from the Gate, still in a rested position.
ZERO:
(v.o, thinking)
How fittingā¦. The one who kicked off your Rebellion in the first place, all those years ago, ultimately ended up being the one to take you out for goodā¦. Thanks, Sutomu.
A faded, ghost-like image of Storm Eagle, smiles down at X and Zero before fading away once the attack is over.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. MHHQ BUNKER ā Lounge Area - NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-TEAM:
YEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
C-TEAMS:
YAAAAYYY!!!!! WHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
Iso, Batsu, Data, Cody, Araki, Kassy & Regina of the B-Team all celebrate along with their newer friends Kazu, Jin, Marl, Satton, Ryo, Reyher and Dungar from the C-Team.
Frostbite and his wolfpack all howl and smile as they look on at the monitor.
Inaria and the others from the New Zealand group give a satisfied nod to Tazack Hatori and Zerdan from Fefās team.
The Inami girls equally share their enthusiasm.
SAKURA:
Finallyā¦. Itās over.
From the large monitor in the room, X can be seen expressing his concern.
X:
(filtered, cautious)
Could I defeat him that quickly? I don't think so...
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. INVADED LABORATORY ā Sigmaās Lair ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suddenly the room darkens. X frowns as he runs over towards Zero. Ā Ā
An exploding sound occurs, which slightly shakes the room. Ā Ā Ā
ZERO:
Hm..? Ā I shouldāve knownā¦
He jerks himself up to his feet from the wall as another small explosion occurs. Ā
A much larger explosion erupts from the corner of the room, revealing Sigma in a monstrous, copper-colored skeletal body. Ā It takes up more than half of the room as it resembles that of his 2nd form from last time.
X:
SIGMA!!!!!!
ZERO:
Where are you? Show your face now!
The lights slowly turn back on, revealing the hideous wires that are holding him up. Ā Gone are the digital models of the angel and demon from both sides of the room as well as the cybernetic, crimson carpet. Ā Now it appears that the room has been stripped down to itās bare bones, exposing the metal floor and walls to be nothing more than a back-room warehouse.
SIGMA:
Bha ha ha ha! Not yet! THE BADDLE HAZ JUSD BEGUNN! DIE!! XXX! JUSDIE, ZERRRO!!
X:
What is he saying...? Though he is not fully conscious, he still remembers revenge...
ZERO:
His mind is gone. I won't allow you to rise again... This is the last act, Sigma!
He points the Sigma Blade at him, defiantly.
X:
Weāll put you out of your misery, Sigma! Just rest in peace!
X holds his buster and charges it while Sigmaās massive copper face simply grins at them.
SIGMA:
Hmph..
His green eyes flicker and the red gem on his forehead glows while Sigma generates 4 globs of slime in scattered directions. One falls to the ground near them, another sticks to the ceiling, while two more float in mid-air. Ā Three of the four globs form themselves into little Sigma heads. Ā The 4th one in the middle shapes itself into a sharp, spikey protrusion with a flat top that almost invites them to hop on.
The creatures spit out green plasma shots of their own at X and Zero, whom get hit at all sides.
ZERO:
Oh noā¦
He dashes to a corner, crouches and performs Ensuizan to slice up all the goblins in their way. Ā After several spins, only the platform remains.
X:
(nodding)
Good.
He turns towards Sigma with a charged Buster and fires at his head gem. Ā The blast deflects off of it, much to his surprise.
X:
What??
SIGMA:
Nice try!
From underneath X, Sigma creates a large green Beam Attack that shoots directly upward from the floor to the ceiling.
X:
/AAAAUUUGGGHHH!!!!!!
ZERO:
NOOO!!!!
He rushes after X through the beam, takes the brunt of the blast and cuts with a hard diagonal slash. Green sparks emit from the Sigma Blade as it is simply bounces away from his face. Ā The blade is knocked out of Zeroās hands while X falls to safety.
ZERO:
Whuh??
SIGMA:
Bha ha ha! KID!? ..IāLLSHOWYOUWHATATERRORISALLABOUT!
He opens his mouth to reveal a large cannon inside that is powered up. Then, he unleashes an intense /blast from his mouth, which knocks Zero all the way back to the far wall.
ZERO:
/WHOOOAAAAA!!!!!!!!! Ā (v.o, thinking) Aghā¦ the Blade is uselessā¦
X gets up with an irate look, charges up once again and returns the favor by diving into the blast.
X:
HUURRRGGGHHH/Yaaah!!!!
He /strikes with a charged Z-Saber, while his mouth is still open.
SIGMA:
(affected)
WHHHAAAAAA!!!!!!!
He closes his mouth and ceases the attack. Ā Then, he emits more Sigma Goblins around the room.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. MHHQ BUNKER ā Control Area ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Elite Guard react to the abrasive battle, at hand.
LEVIATHAN:
Oh my Godā¦
FEFNIR:
What the Hell is he doing!?
HARPUIA:
Theyāre being too careless.
Phantom watches in silence.
-pan to Aliaās console-
She can be seen com-linking to X.
ALIA:
Pleeease be careful, X. Ā Remember to use everything in your Arsenal.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. INVADED LABORATORY ā Sigmaās Lair ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Use something defensiveā¦
X:
(nodding)
Hmphā¦. I donāt have time for this!
He charges up, turns pink and surrounds himself with clam shells. Ā Using their defensive fire, he clears the area of the Goblins, while their leftover energen falls on top of the fallen Zero.
Zeroās eyes perk up as he sits up, feeling a slight boost to his system.
Sigma creates more slime-goblins around the room, while Zero decides to take the platform spike for a ride.
Zero crouches on the platformed goblin-spike with a peculiar look as he points his Z-Buster at him.
ZERO:
Zello?? Ā Thatās a new oneā¦
X continues to blast away the goblins around the room.
SIGMA:
YAAGGHH!!!!!
He creates a vertical ground beam, which misses Zero, but catches X. Ā
X:
Aughhā¦
While his mouth is open, Zero takes as many spiral shots as he can to the cannon. Ā He gets 4 shots in before the platform turns on him and punctures him in the chest with itās spike.
ZERO:
Ooofā¦
X:
Shit! Ā Thatās Enough!!!!
X mach-dashes over and unleashes his Wave Blade Giga Attack, which heavily carves against the cannon inside his mouth.
SIGMA:
HAAAAUUUURRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He tilts his head, affected, while X barely lands on his feet, feeling clearly winded.
Zero falls over to his side, bleeding on the ground.
X:
(whispering)
Oh noā¦
He runs over to Zero as Sigma laughs.
SIGMA:
HEEHEEHEEHEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He creates goblin after goblin, flooding the entire room, but X doesnāt care. Ā The only thing that matters now is Zeroās safety. Ā Otherwise this whole journey would have been for nothing.
As X makes it to Zero, suddenly his red partner flourishes with power and a glowing rainbow colored fist.
ZERO:
REKKOHAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He announces his Giga Attack as the Rending Light Rule rains down on all of the Sigma Goblins in the room.
They all drop significant portions of Energen, which give them both more of a second-wind.
X:
(refreshed)
Whoa, I canāt believe it! Ā I needed that.
ZERO:
(nodding, focused)
Go, X.
X nods back at him, turns around and transforms into his Shadow Armor.
He spits out a new heavy power ball, very reminiscent of High Maxās Death Ball, only this one is half the size of the room.
X:
/KAAUUGGGHHH!!!!!!!
X gets /caught up in the attack immediately. Ā He spins and loses his grip of the Z-Saber in the process. Ā Then, he lands on his chest. Ā Once again, he struggles to push himself up.
SIGMA:
ITāS /OVER!
He spits a Death Ball at X again. Ā From the ground, he gets bashed and rolled away.
SIGMA:
ITāS /OVER!!
He spits out another one, further damaging Xās Shadow Armor.
SIGMA:
ITāS /OVER!!!
A third Death Ball crashes into X and forces him into his Base Armor.
X:
/AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
OHHHH, eeeeX!!!!
ZERO:
THATāS ENOUGH!!!!!!
An extremely ticked off Zero picks his Z-Saber back up, reunited with the original blade, he once knew so well.
Sigma smirks at him.
SIGMA:
HMM????
ZERO:
Iād like to see you try that on me, Old Manā¦
His eyes widen in anger.
SIGMA:
YOOOOUUUUDIDTHISTOMEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He opens up his mouth cannon, while Zero simply jumps, slashes forward, then double-jumps into a spinning slash, which carves at his insides so many times the cannon cracks.
SIGMA:
DIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He fires back with a Cannon shot of his own that manages to knock Zero back into X. Ā
X:
Ouugffffā¦ā¦.
ZERO:
Ackkkgghhhā¦
The fallen, brusied and battered heroes look at each other, all-but-defeated.
Panting, X looks at his partner in the eyes, slightly scared at a thought.
X:
Zero..? If youāre holding anything backā¦ and I mean Anything! Ā Nowās the time to use it.
Zero gives him the same wide-eyed look, scared at the idea of fully unleashing his power.
ZERO:
ā¦Are you sureā¦? Ā ā¦You know what that might bringā¦
X just closes his eyes and quietly nods.
Zero winces in pain and looks at his best friend. Ā Possibly for the last time.
ZERO:
Iām sorry, X. Ā For what youāre about to witnessā¦
X narrows his eyes at him and yells.
X:
DO IT. BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!!!!
ZERO:
(enraged)
AAAAAAHhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
He turns around, sticks his hand in his chest and pulls out Xās Heart Tank, leaving it on the ground.
X:
Huh???
Once again, Zeroās armor becomes draped in black. Ā His green chest gems fuse into one red gem, while his underarmor fades into a prominent gray. Ā Large cybernetic bat wings sprout from his back, while his helmet also displays bat-like ears.
X:
(frightened)
What.. the Hellā¦?
Fully transformed into is Absolute Form, Zero floats up in mid-air and glares at Sigma, unafraid and unabashed.
SIGMA:
WHAAAAUUUGGHHH!!!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU????????
ZERO:
(smirking)
Iām your Worst Nightmare. Ā Now letās Go!!!!
He flies after Sigma with his sharp monster claws out.
SIGMA:
OHHH, NOOO WAAAAY!!!! Ā EAT THIS!
He spits out a giant Death Ball at Zero, who catches it and is stopped in his tracks.
SIGMA:
Haahaahaa. HAAHAAHAA!!!!!!
ZERO:
(struggling)
I wouldnāt be laughing, so soonā¦ Sig..Maā¦!
He inches toward Sigma with the Death Ball. Then we pan behind him to see X place the heart-tank into his own chest.
At once, X transforms into his Ultimate Form, only it is even further enhanced with the addition of the new Heart-Tank. Ā His Ultimate Armor is now mainly draped in White and Clear at the boots, with light touches of Black and Blue. Ā He feels more powerful than ever.
Without hesitation, he bashes into Zero and plummets them both into Sigmaās mouth cannon, which erupts immediately in a gigantic explosion.
X, ZERO & SIGMA:
GYYAAAAAAAIIIIIIIGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Titans fall to the ground while the Tyrant explodes amongst them, one last time.
SIGMA:
Gwaaaaaaaa! Ghaaaaaaa! It's useless! IT IS USELESS! You know it is, boys! You can't defeat me so easily... You know you can't, X... Ā ZERROOOā¦
X gets up and looks at him, dead in the eyes.
X:
I have to work for the Reconstruction of the World... I have no time to waste on you... If you show up, I'll defeat you.
SIGMA:
Bha ha ha ha ha! Don't forget you said that. That gives me the motivation to come back again someday! I will! I... will...!!!
ZERO:
Ohh, Shut up. Just die already.
He forms a black buster in his hand and blasts the large skull with a spiral Z-Buster shot.
SIGMA:
Wooooaaaaaaa!!
With that, Sigma's frail skull finally explodes and the whole screen turns white.
In the Lounge, the collective B & C Teams have mixed reactions.
ISO:
Oh my Godā¦
CODY:
Yeah!!!
DATA:
Hmmmā¦
FROSTBITE:
Iām confused.
REGINA:
Did we do it??
BATSU:
Looks like it. Ā Sigmaās gone!
ARAKI:
Yeah, but at what cost? Ā Look at what Zeroās become.
They all look on with frightened eyes.
KASSY:
This is Last Month, all over againā¦. Weāre right back where we were!!
Frostbite shakes his head.
FROSTBITE:
No. This is worseā¦
They all look at the screen, scared of what might come next.
X and Zero stare each other down on the screen with a shared look of contemptuous trepidation.
-Freeze frame. Grainy effect-
SIGNAS:
(v.o, narrating)
Sigma has been destroyed! But to what End? Ā The darkness within Zeroās Core has been brought out at Full Force and now he has become a Monster. Ā Was this Isocās plan all along?? Ā Hold Fast, Xā¦. This battle isnāt over yet.
From the pitch-black room, Xās white Blade Armor shines as he looks on at the enemy. Ā Gate simply smiles at X amidst the darkness.
GATE:
Most impressive. All of my Reploids have already been destroyed. I confess that I have nothing else to use...
X:
Gate! Surrender!! Or Iāll have to-
GATE:
Not now. I have one more experiment I'd like to perform.
X:
Stop! You are making a big mistake. ā¦but you already know that, don't you?
GATE:
Who cares anymore? I've always wanted to analyze you. Come on, X!
Gate throws off his lab coat to reveal a Golden battle armor reminiscent of Zeroās, but also similar to Xās former Hyper Armor. His shoulder pads clamp against the back of his lab coat to make for a flowing cape. Ā The sleeves burn off as he powers up.
X looks surprised at first, but then grits his teeth, unimpressed.
With a wave of the hand, Gate shifts the ground tiles to scatter into tricky platforms across the room, where a bottomless pit lay below.
X unwaveringly narrows his eyes and floats with a jump.
X:
Come onnn!
His turbines push him with a Mach-Dash as X tackles Gate to no avail.
A forcefield of purple Nightmare Energy immediately deflects X off of him, as he falls onto a platform.
X:
Huh?
GATE:
(smirking)
Youāre not gonna stop me that way!!
He forms a blue powerball and throws it at X.
X easily evades it with a mach dash to a farther platform across the way. Then, he retaliates with a Charge Shot of his own, but it simply pings off of his armor, not affecting him in the slightest.
X:
What the-? Ā (v.o) My Charge Shot doesnāt workā¦. Guess Iām gonna have to get crafty..!
He pulls in his hands, then thrusts them out at his sides as he shifts into green and forms Yammarkās Dragonfly missiles around himself.
X:
Prepare yourself, Gate!
GATE:
Oh, believe me. Ā Iāve been preparing myself for this for a long time!!
They loyally nod at their leader and high jump after Kassy and Regina in a crossed pattern. Ā Catching them with their mouths, they place both ladies on their backs before landing.
FROSTBITE:
I hope youāre alright, Ladiesā¦. With our combined efforts, we should stand a better chance now.
The girls look at each other and nod. Ā They get back up with a determined glare and pull up their weapons once again.
X unleashes powerful green shots from the Yamato missiles with determination. Ā He adds red shots from his enhanced buster, but everything deflects off of Gateās pristine Battle Armor.
Gate reaches him and grabs him by the neck, ramming him against the ceiling, then throwing him down into the pit below.
X gasps, freezes himself in mid-air and mach-dashes back toward a platform closer to the shutter.
X:
(v.o, thinking)
Damn it. Ā That didnāt workā¦
He charges up and shifts his armor into orange, deciding to pull out his big guns.
X:
Hmphā¦ MAGMA PHOENIXES!!!
Crossing his arms and thrusting them outward, X unleashes a wave of flaming phoenix fireballs after Gate, but they donāt disturb him in the slightest.
Gateās eyes glow red as he forms a red fireball of his own.
X jumps away from it from platform to platform as everything seems to slow down.
X:
Huuuuuh?
The fireball dissipates, as do the phoenixes and everything shifts into normal motion.
GATE:
Itās no use, X. Ā With Zeroās DNA, Iām stronger than you could ever imagine!!
X:
(charging up)
Thatās gonna be your /downfall!!
X shifts to dark blue and /unleashes a wave of Metal Storm Eagles after Gate.
GATE:
Hmph!!
He defies the borrowed attack by floating in the middle of the room and letting the metal birds crumple against his Nightmare Forcefield.
GATE:
ā¦And relying on the powers of my fallen friends is going to be yours.
Xās eyes widen as he guards himself.
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. CAMBRIDGE BAY, CANADA ā Human Settlement: Angel Battle ā DAY
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Fefnir blind shots at the Angel Mechaniloid chasing him until a powerful blast catches him and thrusts him against the gravelly dirt of a junkyard.
FEFNIR:
WHooooaaaa!!!!!!
He looks at his scuffed up dirty hands and clenches his fists. Ā Then he pounds them against the ground.
FEFNIR:
Aw, come on! Whatās it gonna take?
He gets back up and pants, when suddenly 3 people teleport into the area.
Out of nowhere the Angel is bombarded by heavy gunfire and forced to circle back into a defensive position. Ā Tazack, Hatori and Zerdan look over at their admirable comrade in arms with a smile.
TAZACK:
(smirking)
Need a hand?
Fefnir looks at them dumbfounded and slowly grows into a wry smile.
FEFNIR:
Oh shitā¦ Itās you guys!
HATORI:
Looks like itās our turn to help you out.
ZERDAN:
Letās kick this thingās ass!!!
Fefnir nods as he gets back up. He pulls both flame blasters up with a grin.
The others pull up their equally large rifles and focus on their target.
FEFNIR:
I donāt remember this guy, but I like his style! Ā Letās get āem!!!
Gate comes after X, but he mach-dashes up to a higher platform. Ā Gate chases him further out, but X dashes and jumps to subsequent platforms around him to avoid his advances.
When Gate throws an orange powerball at X, he releases the charge ā emitting 4 Guard Shells around the room, which fire upon Gate and the fireballs while protecting him.
GATE:
Hahahahahaha! Ā When will you ever learn, X?? Ā You canāt /igh!
The guard shell shots, split Gateās powerball in half, ricocheting the blast back onto himself. Ā Gate is /affected by his own attack.
GATE:
ā¦beat meā¦?
X smirks, finally knowing the secret.
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. NOVIKOVO RUSSIA ā Abandoned Fortress: Demon Battle ā DAY
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Meanwhile, Hans and Hal are being clawed and eaten alive by the Demon as they desperately try to fight back with blaster shots.
HANS:
AAAIIIGGGHH! GODDDD!!!!!
HAL:
I Hate this!! ..I h-Hate YOU!!!
He manages to get a focused level-2 shot in the neck of the beast, while two others teleport to the scene.
DORAGOH:
Oh my God!
PARALLA:
What the Hell!?
She pulls up her light-bow without hesitation and fires at the demon.
Doragoh loads his cross-bow and does the same.
Both heavy blasts knock at the Demonās head and cause it to falter back.
This allows Hans and Hal to back up, in pain while the newcomers run over to them.
DORAGOH:
Are you alright?
HANS:
Aghhā¦ No!
Doragoh helps him up, while Paralla brings Hal to his feet.
PARALLA:
Can you fight?
HAL:
..barelyā¦. Who are you two?
PARALLA:
Just some of Harpuiaās mates. Iām Paralla and thatās Doragoh.
HANS:
Ohā¦ well thanks for the help! Ā But why arenāt you with him??
They spot the Demon rising up from the last attack.
DORAGOH:
Hehā¦ Harpuia? Ā Heās doing just fine. Ā
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA ā Port Jackson ā NIGHT
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Harpuia dives after the downed Angel at a park nearby the sea. Ā It raises a hand, about to blast him, but he disarms it with a swift slash from his left saber.
DORAGOH:
(o.s, narrating)
He doesnāt need any of our help.
The Angel Mechaniloid screams at him, unleashing a mouth laser in the process.
HARPUIA:
Whoo!
He gracefully high jumps and glides back a safe distance away, when suddenly 4 of his friends teleport in.
HARPUIA:
Huh??
???????:
Oi mate.
He lays eyes on them in awe.
HARPUIA:
Dajango, Leino.. Inaria and Kikuturk! Ā
The group are suddenly blasted to the ground by the Angel, having been distracted.
GROUP:
Oghhā¦
Harpuia narrows his eyes at the Angel and rushes after it.
HARPUIA:
Damn it. Theyāll only get in the way!!
As he makes his way to the Angel, suddenly a large wave of firepower passes him by and destroys the Mechaniloid for him with an impressive explosion.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. MHHQ BUNKER ā Control Area ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alia immediately celebrates upon witnessing the victory from 1 of her 7 screens.
ALIA:
(excited, reacting)
YES! Weāre doing it!!
From the screen, Harpuia can be seen stopping short and turning around to look at his friends. He is awestruck.
INARIA:
(filtered)
ā¦You were saying? Ā
Harpuiaās eyes widen. Ā
HARPUIA:
(filtered)
I stand correctedā¦. Sorry..
LEINO:
(filtered)
Weāre here to help you.
KIKUTURK:
(filtered)
Oi, get off your bloody High Horse.
DAJANGO:
(filtered)
Thatās enough of that, mates. Other folks need us. Ā Letās join back with the others and finish the job.
He nods as he listens to them.
HARPUIA:
(filtered)
Thanks, guys. Letās do this!!
Alia smiles at this and plots their next move on the map.
-We zoom in on one of her screens that is jammed with a feed of purple noise-
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. GATEāS LABORATORY ā Isocās Chamber - NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-We zoom out of the static bonds holding Zeroās body in captivity-
Zero stubbornly looks at Isoc.
ZERO:
I wonāt do it!
ISOC:
Hmph.. Ā How disappointing. Ā I figured youād say that. Ā Tell me, Zero. Ā Do you value your life at all?
ZERO:
ā¦No. Not anymoreā¦
ISOC:
Oh?
ZERO:
If you are who I think you are.. then I donāt want any part of it. Ā You hear me!? Ā Your stupid Prophecy means NOTHING TO ME!!!!!
Isoc winces, feeling hurt.
ISOC:
Well then.. Ā I guess you wonāt mind if I do /THIS!
He forms another purple aura around his hand, like a blade and /stabs Zero in the chest.
ZERO:
AAAAAAAAIIIIIIGGGHHHHUUuuuguuughhhhhā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦.. W-what Are You DOOIIIIIINNNGGG!!!!!!!!???????????
ISOC:
Iām going to show you what you really are, Boy. Ā You are NOTHING Without Me!!!!!!
He pulls his hand out from Zeroās Chest Cavity. Ā In it is Xās Heart Tank, beating soundly.
Gate fires a powerball at X, who willingly jumps into it. Ā He cuts at it with a charged saber, splitting it in 6 segments. Ā Three portions fall back onto him, while the other three bump into Gate, affecting him some more.
X & GATE:
Aghhā¦
Annoyed, Gate hovers over with a kick, but X blocks it, grabs his leg and pushes him into a spin with his left arm.
GATE:
Huuh?
X makes the hand gestures of the Hadouken, without emiting any energy, knowing it would be wasted on him. Ā Still, the force of his hands push Gate back further into a platform that crashes against his back.
GATE:
Aaacck!!!
X makes a focused, intense glare and Mach Dashes into Gate, headbutting him directly in the face.
GATE:
Ouuuggghhh!
He immediately grabs X by the shoulders and flies him through 3 platforms that break upon impact.
X:
Agh,ugh,ouurgh!!
He mach-dashes below, while Gate follows up with a fireball.
X looks up and rapid fires his level 1 shots.
X:
Hmmm!
They barely break through the fireball, but manage to split the attack into both of them again. Struck at close-range, X falls while Gate is flung higher in the air.
X & GATE:
Awwgghhh!!!!
X pants as he lays on the short platform with his arms and legs hanging off all sides.
Gate looks down at him and wipes his scuffed up face, while spitting out some blood.
GATE:
Look at you.. This is pathetic. Ā How long do you think you can keep this up?
X slips a sub-tank into his chest, then gives him a lively glare.
He back-flips down to a platform further below, while looking up at his damaged foe.
Isoc looks at his creation, disappointed and disgusted.
ISOC:
Youāre Dead, Zero. Is this what you Want!!???
ZERO:
Ouurrghh.. AAuuuuuggghhhhhā¦.. n-n-nnnnnoooā¦. Not like.. thisā¦.
ISOC:
Ohhhhhhhhh, I seeeeeā¦. Ā So there is a little bit of pride left in you after allā¦ā¦..
ZERO:
Just.. end me now if youāre gonna do itā¦.
ISOC:
Oh no, little one. Ā This?? Ā This is just a lessonā¦. You and I both know you were meant for so much more.
ZERO:
..mmā¦ naaaah. The Real Me died a long time ago. Ā Ever since you brought me back the last time, Iāve been nothing but your puppet. Ā Youāve just been waiting for me to snap this whole time. Ā Like a stupid Dog!
ISOC:
Hmmmmā¦ even at the brink of death, you defy me. Ā I wanted to give you the choice and do this the easy way. Ā But I guess Iām going to have to do it the hard way.
Zeroās eyes widen as he is completely helpless to any of Isocās misdeeds.
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. CHENNAI, INDIA ā Prakasam Salai ā NIGHT
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Sharp Snowflakes and shards of icicles crash against the Demon, while Iso and Araki fire their blasters with everything theyāve got.
The Demon backs away while blowing firebreath at them.
LEVIATHAN:
Donāt let up! Ā We canāt let him take us down!!
They struggle to keep their ground, when suddenly 7 new faces teleport in, from behind the beast.
Leviathan recognizes 5 of them.
LEVIATHAN:
Huh?? ā¦Girls???
Natsue, Meeka, Akemi, Mayu and Sakura from Levyās Inami Temple have come to their aid. Ā From mid-air, they bravely attack with their staffs and spears.
NATSUE:
Hey Lev!
AKEMI:
Need a hand??
SAKURA:
We got this!!!
They all stab the Demon in the back, who growls in pain and shakes them off.
MEEKA & MAYU:
AAAAIIIIII!!!!!!!!!
From below, Hagi and Dalihi clench their teeth as they pull up their blasters.
HAGI:
Itās now or neverā¦
DALIHI:
Letās go!!!!
Iso and Araki run next to them and join them in a concentrated laser blast.
Leviathan narrows her eyes, concentrates on charging the tip of her Trident and shoots out a sharp ice boulder, which ends up breaking a hole through itās chest.
The entire group gasp as the Demon reels in defeat.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
YES! Thatās it!!
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA ā Hout Bay ā DAY
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Batsu, Cody and Data all take turns going after their Angel, with various jumps, dives and gun blasts, but each are knocked down and ignored as the Mechaniloid continues to demolish the surrounding houses around them.
BATSU:
Agh..
DATA:
Ughhā¦
CODY:
Noooo Damn it! Ā Weāre Failing this City!
Three more reploids, suddenly teleport in ā Kazu, Jin and Marl from the Laser Institute.
JIN:
Hey man, chin up.
Cody looks up at him, baffled.
CODY:
Hm??
The three of them hold up their laser cannons and fire at the Mechaniloid without warning.
KAZU:
We aināt done yet.
They each put their hands out and pull up the other Hunters from the ground.
MARL:
Cāmon. Letās get āem.
Batsu, Cody and Data nod with a slighter sense of optimism.
Isoc walks over to his table and grabs a box. Ā When he returns he opens it, before Zero who is lying face down on the ground.
ISOC:
Thisā¦ is your brother, High Max. Ā Remember him??
The purple-skull like Erasure of Evil Energy floats around and glares at Zero, while Isoc puts his arm out. With a glowing purple hand, he raises Zeroās ghost body, freezing him in place once again.
ZERO:
Wh-what are you doing??
ISOC:
Itās time to make you whole againā¦
Isoc places the Evil Energy Erasure of High Max into Zeroās body, which immediately causes his body to become opaque. Ā Then it shifts and contorts his black armor as he begins to transform.
ZERO:
NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Ā WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!!!!????? Ā I DONāT WANT THIS!!!!!!!!
ISOC:
Oh, Hush boyā¦ Itās not so baad.
Zeroās black armor sprouts demon wings out of his back, while the sides of his helmet become purple and bat-like.
ZERO:
OooUUURRGGgggghhhh. GGGGgoooooDDddDDā¦. I hHhhaTe this!!!! I HAATE YOOOUUU!!!!!!
Zero looks at his hands, which donāt even look humanoid anymore. Ā His fingers look scaled, with sharp claws. Ā His black armor features a lot more purple around the joints, while his underarmor shifts into a more prominent gray. Ā Overall, he is a black and gray armored beast with accents of purple draped around his armor. Ā The Purple Erasure of High Max harnesses itself inside his chest cavity as it forms a red protective orb around itself.
ZERO:
What have you done to me!!!????
ISOC:
(ecstatic, proud)
Iāve finally made you achieve perfection. Ā This isā¦ Absolute Zero. Ā My Boy! Youāve done it!!
ZERO:
You did this to me. Ā I didnāt do anything!!
ISOC:
This is who you truly are.. Inside. Ā This is what you were always capable of! Ā Now GO!! Ā Seize Your Destiny and Destroy X, once and for all!!!!!
-cut to-
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
EXT. MANOUS, BRAZIL ā Amazon Temples ā DAY
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
Phantom continues to get battered and tossed down the stairs as he tries to recover. Ā
PHANTOM:
(v.o, thinking)
Agh, man.. Ā What would X do??
His eyes twinkle with focus as he air-dashes.
PHANTOM:
(v.o, thinking)
Heād roll with it and make it work.
He grips on to his large shuriken in an attempt to glide away and regain some footing.
Then, four reploids teleport in. 2 are familiar to him.
PHANTOM:
Hm??
One reploid smashes an axe across the Demonās head in mid-air, scarring itās face.
DEMON:
BRROOAOAUAAAAGHGHGHHH
Phantom widens his eyes.
PHANTOM:
Reyher!
Another Reploid strikes at the Demonās leg with a sword, cutting it at the calf bearing.
PHANTOM:
Dungar!!
Ryo and Satton land in front of it and pull out their blasters.
As Phantom nears, he muses outloud.
PHANTOM:
ā¦but who are these twoā¦?
RYO:
Donāt worry. Youāre in good company.
SATTON:
Weāve been stuck in different parts of Brazil, it seems. Ā This Nightmare is Real and itās about time we Finish it!!!
The battle-damaged Phantom smiles as he receives some good help from the new and familiar faces.
The Creaturesque Zero in his Absolute Form looks on at Isoc, ripe with hatred.
ZERO:
NO!! I refuse to uphold Wilyās Legacy!
Amidst his bonds, Zero flaps his bat wings and begins to break Isocās own barrier.
ISOC:
What the..- Ā How!!??
ZERO:
You foolā¦. Your own Selfish Ambition blinded you. Ā You can fill me up with all the Evil Energy you wantā¦. Iām still gonna turn it right back against you.
ISOC:
(afraid)
Huuuuhhhh???
With more twists and bends, Zero is able to burst both arms, wings and his full torso free of the barrier bonds.
ZERO:
I donāt care about X or his silly Maverick Hunters at all. Ā Iām just helping him out because your Nightmare is a disgraceful use of my powers. Ā And it needs to be purged from this Earth.
ISOC:
Whuh? Waait!! Ā This is it! Ā This is exactly what I wanted. Ā What would you do better? Itās your turn.
Zero makes an evil smirk.
ZERO:
For startersā¦
His legs break free and he swiftly air-dashes right into Isoc. Zero claws him across the chest and sinks his claws in deep, making him bleed.
ISOC:
GGghhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaā¦ā¦.
ZERO:
Iād get rid of you, because youāre dead weight.
He reaches deep into his chest and pulls out Isocās Erasure.
ZERO:
Letās see how you like itā¦
ISOC:
Ghhhooooooooooā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦..
His lifeless body falls to the ground while Zero crushes the Erasure in his hand. Embers from his black erasure fall and fade around Zero. One seeps into his pores.
ZERO:
Thenā¦ Iād find a way to feel a little more like Me againā¦
He looks around and spots Xās Heart Tank on the ground.
ZERO:
There you are, buddyā¦
He dashes over and grabs it. Ā Then, he opens his red orb and places it inside.
ZERO:
(v.o, thinking)
Purify me, Xā¦. Ā I knowā¦ you can do itā¦!
Zero stands before Isoc in his Absolute Form and glares at him, feeling enraged. Ā But gradually with every breath, he feels a bit calmer. Ā Before long, his hands return back to their normal white-gloved state. Zero gasps in awe.
Then, he notices that his armor is becoming lighter as well.
Gate snickers as he looks at the fallen X. Ā He is damaged once again, even in his fancy Shadow Armor.
GATE:
Hehehehe. Thatās what you get.
X:
ā¦is it?
He swiftly high-jumps and sticks to the ceiling. Ā Hanging upside down he sits there and charges up.
GATE:
(shocked)
You!!!!
X:
ā¦Meā¦
Gate grits his teeth and forms another crescent slice, which X quickly evades.
GATE:
No!!!!
He darts after him and tries again, but X dash-jumps out of the way, while the platforms around them explode.
GATE:
NNNOOO!!!!
He floats over to X and does it again, but his arm feels heavy as he begins to sweat again.
X side-dashes and grips onto the bottom of a platform while the others explode.
X:
Whatās wrong?
GATE:
Iā¦. How are you doing this? Ā How do you know??
X:
I already told youā¦. Using Zeroās powers in the wrong way is going to work against you. Ā Youāre burning yourself out. Ā I can see it in your eyes.
GATE:
ā¦Shut Up!! Ā Donāt act like you suddenly care about me!!!!
He throws three fireballs at X in a rage. Ā This is what he was waiting for.
X flips over to him, and freezes in place as he sets off his Charged Crescent Saber.
GATE:
eeeeggghhh!!!!!
X:
Oh, trust me.. I donāt! Ā Iām gonna make you pay for every damn thing youāve done to me and my people.
He lands on the same platform as Gate, gets behind him and brings him to his feet. Ā Then he clutches him by the neck with his arm in a choke hold.
X:
Itās just a shame that I have to do it this wayā¦
Gateās eyes widen as he powers up, but he finds that the aura isnāt working.
GATE:
Aggghh!!! Ā What the Hell have you done to me!??
X:
NOTHING YOU HAVENāT DONE YOURSEEEEEELLLLFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!
In desperation, Gate forms fireballs at close-range with both hands.
Xās eyes twinkle as he lets go, kicks Gate in the back and slashes the blasts with the Z-Saber.
X:
Hoot/Hat/Hyaa!!!
In a stylish carve, he cuts both balls into six segments each. Ā All twelve of the parses bash into Gateās Armor and cause his body to rupture at every side.
Severely damaged and helpless, Gate lies on the floor as his body continues to short out. Ā He holds onto his chest and grits his teeth with a closed eye as he tries to look at X.
GATE:
Kugh. I lost even though I used Zero's DNA... No... Ugh... I should've... analyzed it more... Wa... was there a... fault in the program...? But... ack... this is not the end. I don't... ack... give up so easily... I prepared for this just in case.
X gives Gate a strange look while he grimaces upon him.
GATE:
Ha ha. I really... don't want to use this... I might be destroyed as well, but... I brought back the evil... Si... Sigma...
With a split screen, we see a close up of Sigmaās horrid face.
Syncing with everyoneās thoughts, he makes sure everyone can hear him.
SIGMA:
(o.s, v.o)
Oh please. I did not die. Nor did I need your help! Now get lost!
From out of nowhere, an energy blast appears from a Portal, where Sigmaās face can barely be seen.
Sigmaās powerful blast overtakes the fallen Gate.
GATE:
GhaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAA!!
His body completely shuts down, rendered obsolete.
He makes a tired gaze at X and grins.
SIGMA:
HA! N... now it's... just y... you, ha ha!
X looks completely spooked as he forms a buster.
SIGMA:
I'm waiting for you! Y... You're finished!
With that, the portal disappears and X is left to his thoughts.
X:
Shit! He's back!! But he hasn't been restored perfectly. I've gotta go now!
X runs out to a door on the other side of the room.
Zero stands in awe in his normal red state as he looks around in wonder.
ZERO:
Sigmaā¦ I knew he'd return. So, we meet again. Time to end this!
He is about to leave when he sees Isocās pathetic carcass on the ground again. Ā He looks back at him without remorse.
????:
(v.o, telepathic)
G... go, Zero! You're the strongest robot!
ZERO:
(startled)
Um? ...Did someone call me?
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Zero, what is it?
ZERO:
N-Nothing. I'll go after Sigma!
Just then, X bursts through the other door in the room, amazed to see Zero in his normal state.
X:
Zero!!!
X is more surprised to see the body of Isoc, lifeless on the floor, behind Zero.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
... X. Can you hear me? We just found out... That's Isoc's body. It just broke down. Is he dead? ...This is similar to the Erasure Incident...
ZERO:
Hmphā¦
They both look down at Isocās broken corpse.
X:
There's no reaction... What is this?
He is about to investigate, but stops himself and shakes his head.
X:
... No. We have to go! We must get Sigma!!Ā
Zero nods with a smile.
ZERO:
Letās go!! Ā Iām right behind ya!!!
They both run towards the door in their base forms.
-Freeze frame. Grainy Effect-
SIGNAS:
(v.o, narrating)
Just when we thought it was over, Sigma has returned! Ā I hope thereās reserves in those tanks, boys. Ā Because if not, we are in for a whole other World of Hurt.
But Iām so close!
Last year I declared that by 4/1/22, Iād probably be done w/ my longfic for good. Ā Thatās always a foolish endeavor, but Iām not disappointed. Ā The 3rd Arc is coming along nicely with only the big bads remaining and a pretty interesting B-Plot to boot, if I do say so myself.
In regards to that, however. Ā Before I get to the next installment, youāre gonna need a Roadmap. Ā [I really need to update my character sheets... ^.^;]
The easiest way to put it, is that in Chapter 21, there are 7 Teams, which become involved in an International Crisis of fending off Demon/Angel Mechaniloids, while X & Zero are busy.
Those teams consist of the familiar MMZ Cameos - the 4 Guardians, my semi-familiar OCs, which are now the B-Team, and some unfamiliar Reploid Rescues.
All are inter-spersed amongst each other to keep things interesting:
And there you have it! Ā When X & Zero arenāt on screen, weāre gonna see these 7 Teams kick some ass all across the World. Ā Letās make it interesting. Ā Iām looking forward to writing Ep. 22 soon.
High Max floats above Zero and stares him down with a look of pure hatred.
Zero gives the mysterious warrior a puzzled look.
ZERO:
(muttering)
Hm? Whatās his problem??
HIGH MAX:
Just die! Die, Original One!!
ZERO:
What the-? Whatās he saying? Anywayā¦ it's time to finish!
[INSERT TITLE CARD ā The Nightmare Brothers]
Zero reaches for the tainted Tau Blade on his back, which now bears a Sigma insignia.
He draws it out and studies the enemy.
HIGH MAX:
Hmphā¦ I've been expecting you, Nightmare scum! You have appeared at the wrong place and the wrong time!
Zero shakes his head and smirks.
ZERO:
Iām exactly where I want to be. Ā I see youā¦ Hiding in that big bodyā¦ Whatās your deal, Max?? Ā Are ya scared???
HIGH MAX:
How Dare you!??
ZERO:
What is your intention? Ā What do you want with me??
HIGH MAX:
You don't need to know! And it is you, who are trying to hide!
ZERO:
Hm? What are you talking about?
HIGH MAX:
Silence! I will delete you. Ā Itās time to end the Nightmare, once and for all.
ZERO:
...What do you think Iām doing here?
He lifts up the Sigma Blade and runs after High Max, who rushes after him from the air. Ā Blade and fist collide as a huge spark emits from between them.
When X passes through his shutter, he finds himself in a long narrow corridor. Ā As he walks through, he encounters a group of jet mechaniloids, which all dart past him in a V formation.
X:
Aghh..
He dash-hops past a small spike-trap and comes across a large Meta Wheel. Ā He narrows his eyes and expertly chops it down with the Golden Z-Saber.
He advances a few paces and is again trampled by a small wave of jet mechaniloids.
X:
rrghh..
Another wheel comes in his path and he chops it down with a masterful 4 swing combo.
When the next batch of jet mechaniloids bombard him, he is more ready for them. Ā He strikes his saber at the right time and receives energen from all of them.
X:
Ahhh.
He takes out a 3rd and even a 4th wheel before making it to the end of the hallway, where he finds nothing waiting for him.
X:
Hm? A Dead Endā¦??
Suddenly a Nightmare Portal appears before him.
X:
(smirking)
I seeā¦. Is that your End Game, then..?
He confidently dash-jumps into the Nightmare Portal.
High Max pulls up two square barriers around his body, which clash against Zeroās large Blade.
ZERO:
Huh?
His blade recoils, and Zero takes two steps back.
HIGH MAX:
You're not wanted here. Youāve disturbed our investigation for the last time!
ZERO:
Your investigation? Come on! Youāve been creating the Nightmare!!
He dashes underneath his barrier and strikes him hard with a Shoenzan fire-wall. Ā The flames destroy his frontal barrier and seemingly freeze High Max in place.
HIGH MAX:
(affected)
gghh..
Zeroās eyes widen. He grins and /takes advantage of the moment.
ZERO:
Hm? /Yah!!
With a heavy blade uppercut, he carves at High Maxās chest, leaving quite a mark on his near-pristine armor.
HIGH MAX:
(reacting)
Guuhhhā¦
He falls to the ground and quickly shakes it off.
HIGH MAX:
You are a nuisance. I'll delete you.
He confidently places his Saber face down on the tiled carpet and leans on the hilt.
ZERO:
(smirking)
Youāre certainly welcome to tryā¦
He pulls up a Z-Buster with his other hand and points it at High Max
Harpuia bravely takes on an Angel in the skies above the severely damaged Harbor.
As they plummet towards the water, he rushes after it three times with a slash from his right blade, then his left. Ā On the last slash he crosses both blades to make a fire-ball, which knocks it far down, into the broken city below.
Amongst a series of ancient temples near the Amazon Forest, Phantom has less luck in his strife against a Demon.
He dashes and jumps after the beast, while pulling out his large shuriken. Ā Before he can ride it, however the Demon rushes him with a hard /claw to the chest.
PHANTOM:
/Gaah.. /AAggghhh!!!!!
His back smashes against the side of the temple as he tumbles down a few stairs.
The Demon capitalizes on his pain while heās down with a blasts of fire breath at close range.
In a humble, residential area, Fefnir has his own struggles with an Angel. The Mechaniloid bombards him with heavy gun fire from one hand, while shooting deadly lasers with the other. Ā The blasts ricochet off of the rooftops of abandoned houses as the local patrons run in fear.
FEFNIR:
Oh man, I swear! These things donāt let up!!
He runs to the side of a house and takes cover by a dumpster. Ā From there, he finds his angle and points his cannon at the Angel. Ā Without time to charge up, he takes rapid-fire shots as much as possible. Ā The rooftop of a house behind the Mechaniloid is struck by his shot and begins to catch fire.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Fefnir! Be careful not to burn down the Town in the process!
FEFNIR:
Iāll try, but I donāt think I got much of a choice!! Ā Hey, didnāt you say reinforcements were coming? Whereās the help!??
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Working on it!
The Angel blasts Fefnirās cover away as the dumpster goes flying high into a junkyard behind him. Ā He is forced to flee elsewhere as he takes more shots at the beast.
As the sun sets in the heart of the exotic city, a bruised Leviathan gets knocked down into the street once again by a Demon.
LEVIATHAN:
Damn itā¦ Whatās it gonna take?
The townspeople run away, only to get injured or swatted away in the process from the Demonās swinging arms.
Suddenly, Iso and Araki teleport in, next to her. She looks at them as they both help her up.
LEVIATHAN:
Oh.. Hello!
ISO:
Hey Levy, has this guy been picking on you?
LEVIATHAN:
Oh, you know it. Ā You boys gonna punish him for me?
ARAKI:
(amused)
Hahah.. You bet!
The boys pull out their blasters, while Leviathan points her trident at the beast from the middle. Ā The three stand battle-ready as they adopt Xās determined gaze.
X phases into place, now feeling an eerily dense texture in the air.
He runs to the end of the hall, where an open pit invites him further down below towards a Monbando Mechaniloid.
MONBANDO:
Ahh, Xā¦. So youāve arrived.
X:
Shut it.
He cuts it down easily with his charged Golden Saber.
He runs further ahead, ascending up some stairs when he spots a 2nd Monbando.
MONBANDO:
(continuing)
As I was sayingā¦
X:
(irritated)
Yaaaaah!!!!
He shoots rapid shurikens at him, dashes and cuts him down.
Further up the stairs, a 3rd one stops X in his tracks.
MONBANDO:
(continuing)
It is very difficult to make it here.
He aims and fires a missile at X.
X dash-jumps over it, charges up and takes him out with a Super Slice.
Then, he runs further on.
He drops down into a maze-like descending vertical corridor where a 4th one awaits him.
MONBANDO:
(continuing)
You should be proud.
X:
(smirking, amused)
Oh.. I am!
He shoots fast shurikens again, then carves at him with swift blade work.
He drops down onto a bed of spikes ever-thankful for his Shadow Armor.
The Monbando ahead of him grins.
MONBANDO:
Oohohooo.. Youād better be careful, X. Ā You wouldnāt want to lose this late in the game.
X narrows his eyes and walks up the levels towards him. Ā He freely passes through another spike-trap as he inches closer.
MONBANDO:
Not when the stakes are so high!
X swings a charged Saber, which destroys him. Ā Then he walks ahead.
Zero blasts heavy charged spiral shots at High Max, who continues to retaliate with seed shots and large death balls. Explosions surround them as they dance around each other with dash-jumps and floating dodges.
HIGH MAX:
You offend me with your presence!
ZERO:
Youāre the offensive one!
He pulls up Yammarkās Option and bombards High Max with dragonfly blasts, which stun him. Ā Then he jumps onto him, allowing all 3 missiles to crash against him freely.
HIGH MAX:
BAAaaaAaaagggghhhh!!!!!!
He falls down, grounded, once again.
ZERO:
Take That!!
Not caring about his own self-harm, Zero stands over High Max and wipes the dust off of his dull, grayed out shoulders.
HIGH MAX:
ā¦You Nightmare scum! What made you come here?
He gets up and repositions himself, further away from Zero.
ZERO:
Your Dad invited me. So, I came here to eliminate you.
HIGH MAX:
No! It is you who will be eliminated!
ZERO:
Oh, Shut uuuuup!
Zero runs after him, jumps and performs a Sentsuizan slash, which shakes the room upon landing. Then, he spins into Ensuizan slashes from the ground at close range.
ZERO:
-huthuthuthuthuthuthut-
HIGH MAX:
GRRAAaaaaggghh!!!!
He reaches for Zero in a desperate upswing, but he simply high-jumps to the ceiling and performs Hydroga from above. Ā His blade creates Icicle fangs which rain down on High Max and scratch his armor to the point of denting it.
HIGH MAX:
Hrrghh.. Damn You!!
He flies up after Zero in retaliation, who simply drops down with his Metal Blade face-down. Ā
ZERO:
HUAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Performing the Rakukojin, he carves his blade directly into his foeās chest and brings him down to the ground. Ā A Metal Anchor is generated upon landing, which explodes in his chest at point blank range.
HIGH MAX:
Guah-haaaghhā¦-kaafffffā¦
He coughs, having been put down.
Zero stands above him and points his large metal blade right at his face.
ZERO:
Iād suggest you withdraw, while you still can!
HIGH MAX:(grunting)
..nngh..How d-dare youā¦!? Ā This is My House!!
Hans and Hal teleport to their old work-home from the late Dr. Izzy Glow. Ā Standing guard at the entrance of the Fortress, they are quickly frightened at the sight of a Demon, who is invading their territory.
HANS:
Oh man!
HAL:
What on Earth did we get ourselves into??
They pull up their blasters and shoot blindly, scared out of their wits.
The Demon rushes over to their position, and easily claws them down to the ground.
HANS & HAL:
Augggghh
-pan to-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. MHHQ BUNKER ā Control Area ā NIGHT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alia gasps as she tracks all of their progress from 7 windows. Ā She simultaneously tracks the progress of the separated New Guard as well as the B-Team and makes a nervous twitch. Ā
ALIA:(gasping)
Shit, they were right. This isnāt enough!
She runs away from her post, while Douglas and Signas look on, concerned.
DOUGLAS:
Hey! Where ya going? Ā Alia. Ā Alia!
He chases after her.
SIGNAS:
(v.o, thinking)
Xā¦ Zeroā¦. I really wish we had a visual on you right about now. -cut to-
X delves further into the troublesome portal. The corridor around him opens up as he makes it towards a ledge. Ā He takes note of the high ceiling above him and the ground far below. Amongst the span of a large pit before him, only pillars serve as his passage. Ā Then, he spots a rejuvenation platform.
X:
(v.o, thinking)
Oh noā¦
The platform cures any previous injuries, but once it disappears beneath his feet, Nightmare Rain pours on him and slowly chips away at his body.
Zero pulls up his large blade and rests it on his shoulder.
ZERO:
Hereās the thing. Ā I could end you now, but you were made out of my DNA. Ā So that technically makes us brothers.
HIGH MAX:
Hmphā¦
ZERO:
If you can give me one good reason to let you live, Iāll consider it.
He turns his back and walks away.
HIGH MAX:
How dare you make a Mockery out of me!? Ā I am the Mighty High Max, and my purpose is to rid this World of the Nightmare!!
He slowly gets up with a clenched fist.
Zero places his blade down and turns his head, still with his back to him.
ZERO:
(smirking)
Well, you havenāt really done a great job of that. Ā In fact, I don't think you are helpful at all. Ā Just Leave.
He turns to High Max and points to the shutter door, behind High Max.
HIGH MAX:
Hey! That's my line! You really think Iām going to give up just like that, you Nightmare scum!??
ZERO:
You keep calling me that, but the only scumbag who perpetuated this Nightmare, is youā¦
HIGH MAX:
Hmm???
ZERO: Ā
Just die! Ā Die, Copy!!
He dash-hops after the misinformed creation with his blade up. Ā A swing dents the armor, while High Max lands a punch to Zeroās chest.
High Max takes advantage of the moment and powers up a Death Ball, while shoving Zero against the wall.
ZERO:
Ouurgh!!!
He retaliates with a Shoenzan fire-wall.
HIGH MAX:
Aaaaggghhhh!!!!
He falters back a few steps.
ZERO:
If youāre anything like me, it means that you donāt like fireā¦
Zero dashes over and capitalizes with a Ryuenjin flaming blade uppercut.
HIGH MAX:
Ooouuurrrrggghhh!!!!
On his way down, Zero tilts the blade and shrouds it in flames, performing the Danchien Quake Blazer.
He carves it into his sternum as the chest piece cracks.
HIGH MAX:
Damn you! Ā Itās no use!!
In a desperate attempt to win, High Max rolls over and leaps to the center of the room. Ā From there, he hovers in a crouched position while summoning a Death Ball.
Once formed, he creates multiple Death Balls, which scatter all across the room.
Zeroās eyes widen.
ZERO:
Thatās how weāre playing it, huh?? Ā /FINE!!
Zero dodges the Death Balls and dashes around to get underneath High Max. Ā Then, he slams a glowing fist in the ground to pull down the rays of his Rekkoha Giga Attack.
They instantly clash with the Death Balls and cause a massive explosion throughout the room.
Spotting a core ahead, X transforms into his Blade Armor in an attempt to make this go faster.
Then, he dash-hops to the first core and takes it down with rapid X-buster shots.
A Monbando from a raised platform looks down at him and pounds his fist.
MONBANDO:
Whatās the matter, X? Ā Finally taking it seriously??
X narrows his eyes and shifts into green.
X:
Hrrrgh. I always take the Nightmare seriously!!
Three Yamato missiles surround X as he unleashes bullet-hell on the Mechaniloid.
The next one ahead of him receives a brunt of the punishment as well, before blocking.
MONBANDO:
Auugh-augh-auu..
X drops down to the next platform and charges up his X-buster, while waiting for Monbando to attack. Ā When he points to make a missile, X shoots a Blade Buster at him along with more Yamato shots. Ā The combined force takes him out.
Alia is seen talking to a crowd of Rescued Reploids, who are all gathered in a circle. Ā She puts her tablet away, having finished her debrief. Ā Douglas observes, closer to the steps.
ALIA:
So thatās the situation. Ā I know some of you just got here but believe me; I wouldnāt ask if we didnāt need everyoneās help. Ā I know this isnāt ideal, but if we all pitch in, we stand a far better chance at ending Gateās Madness once and for all.
Frostbite and 2 of his wolf companions step forward.
FROSTBITE:
Weāll volunteer to go to Greenland. Ā Itās about time that I got back in the Game.
Shocked, Aliaās eyes widen as she pulls out her tablet. Ā She taps on Greenland from her World Map, and places 3 pins on the screen, representing them.
2 more reploids step forward.
??????:
My name is Tazack and this is Hatori. Ā Fefnir saved our lives in North Carolina and weād like to return the favor.
ALIA:
Oh, thatās great! Ā Done.
She adds their pins to Canada.
Then, 4 reploids step forward.
??????:
We were all stuck in the Nightmare that was Brazil. Ā I remember Phantom. Ā Weād like to help him.
ALIA:
Excellent!
Then, 4 more reploids step up.
???????:
Harpuia saved our lives in New Zealand. Ā Did you say heās in Australia?
ALIA:
Yep.
???????:
Thatās not too far from home, mates. Ā Whaddya say?
AUSTRALIA VOLUNTEERS:
Yeah!!!!
ALIA:
(awestruck)
Oh wow, this is fantastic!!
5 of Levyās girls get up and walk over to Alia.
????:
Hey, Levyās in India, right? Ā We go where she goes. Ā Send us over there.
ALIA:
You got it!
????:
Wait! Ā Take us too.
2 more reploids rush over before they lose their chance.
ALIA:
Hm?
????:
My name is Hagi and this is my brother Dalihi. Ā India is our home and now weād like to protect it.
Aliaās eyes widen as she nods.
ALIA:
Of course!
6 more reploids from the crowd walk over to Alia.
????:
So, listen. We donāt have anything special in mind, but youāve trained us pretty well and weāre tired of sitting around. Ā Please send us wherever you need.
ALIA:
Oh my goodness! Ā This is way more than I expected. Ā Letās seeā¦
She looks down at her tablet, then assigns them accordingly, based on the needs of each continent.
ALIA:
Whatās your name?
??????:
Zerdan.
ALIA:
Okay, Zerdan, youāll be in Canada with Fefnir, Tazack and Hatori.
ZERDAN:
Nice.
ALIA:
You two will join Hans & Hal in Russia. Ā What are your names?
???????:
Doragoh.
???????:
Paralla.
ALIA:
Cool! Ā The rest of you will join Batsu, Data and Cody in Africa. Ā What are your names?
????:
Iām Kazu. Ā And these are my pals, Jin and Marl.
ALIA:
Awesome. Ā Oh Man, this is so great!! Ā Letās get you all equipped and send you out for battle.
C-TEAMS:
Alright!!!
Douglas smiles and marvels at all the groups of Volunteers.
Zero and High Max lay flat on the ground, parallel to one another, with their eyes closed. Ā After a moment, Zero spasms and takes a breath as he slowly sits up. Ā He opens his compartment belt and pulls out a Sub-tank. Ā Then, he inserts it into an opening from his breast plate. Ā With a jolt of energy, Zero is at 100% again. Ā He stands up and looks down at High Max.
ZERO:
High Maxā¦. Itās too bad, man. Ā You couldāve been greatā¦
From the frayed remnants of High Maxās frame, a large orb of purple energy resembling that of a skull peers out from his chest. Ā It looks like something of a hybrid between an Erasure and a Nightmare Soul as it leaves his dead body.
ZERO:
What the-? Ā What the Hell is that??
Just then, a Nightmare Portal appears and the Skull Erasure is suddenly pulled away.
ZERO:
Hey! Ā Wait. Ā Get back here!!
He dash-jumps into the Nightmare Portal and phases away.
X dash-hops up to a new position, while a flying V of jet-birds come after him. Ā He stands guard and waits for them to attack. Ā The Yamato missiles protect him as 4 blow up, leaving only one for him to shoot down.
He receives an energen capsule, which makes him feel better amongst the acid rain.Ā
Then, he points his buster at the 2nd core and shoots it down at a 45 degree angle.
Taking note of the precarious placement of the ceiling tile, between two platforms, he knows he will have to mach-dash to the next area.
He slides down, jumps at the last possible moment, freezes in place, just underneath the low-hanging ceiling and mach-dashes across towards the next platform.
Successfully making it to the other side, he kick-jumps up and exhales a short breath of relief.
X:
(v.o, thinking)
I hope youāre doing okay, Zero.
Zero runs through the corridor as a Mechaniloid above him gets crushed from a raised platform above him.
He grabs the energen capsule it leaves behind and then ducks for cover as a Meta Wheel rolls after him. Ā It is instantly crushed by the compressor ceiling. Ā Zero dashes ahead when it ascends.
Taking note of the grooves along the tiled carpet, he uses them for cover every time the compressor comes down. Ā This also serves as safety from the large Meta Wheels, which crunch against the compressor and explode.
Making it to a lower clearing, Zero takes out two more Meta Wheels while the ceiling is no longer a threat.
Seeing a high wall ahead, the compressor makes its way to the top of that wall. Ā Once there, he uses hydroga to cling to the ceiling and dash to the other side in style.
Free from the compressor, Zero feels better for the moment.
Two platforms ahead, a Monbando awaits X. who destroys the core next to him with rapid-fire.
MONBANDO:
This is it, X!
X:
I knowā¦
He charges up and destroys the Mechaniloid with a Blade Buster and rapid level-1 shots.
1 more platform ahead, X spots the last weather core and sees the protective barrier wear off from a weather controller above him.
X:
Yes!!
He rapid-fires at the device without hesitation. Ā The Acid Rain instantly stops and he kick-jumps up the wall towards it. Dash-hopping past the broken device, he drops down two small pillars, before encountering yet another Monbando. Ā Then, the Acid Rain starts up again.
Seeing the compressor rise up from a very low point on the ground, Zero rushes through as quickly as possible.
A Monbando unit stands by, completely in his way.
MONBANDO:
You Theere!!
He points at Zero and smashes his fist against the ground, creating a small wave of blue flame. Ā
ZERO:
Nope!
Zero simply dash-jumps over it and kicks him in the head as he leaps off of him to keep running.
MONBANDO:
Agh-Heey!!
He slips into a groove by a Meta Wheel and ducks as the Monbando gets crushed. Ā The Meta Wheel /explodes at close-range, but it is worth it.
ZERO:
(hurt)
/Ighā¦
Once the compressor comes up, he dash-hops into the next groove to play it safe. He waits for the compressor to come down completely again.
At his next opportunity, he makes it to a pit and hops over to a lower platform, where another Monbando awaits him.
MONBANDO:
You will regret coming here, Dark Warrior.
Zero forms a Z-Buster and takes him out with some spiral shots. Ā Then, the compressor comes down again. Ā He ducks, close to the ground. Then, once it rises, he runs towards another pit.
As the compressor comes back down, Zero dash-hops to the other side, but realizes that there is no place for cover.
ZERO:
(gasping)
Huuuh!
At the last moment, he dashes back to the pit, and performs a dangerous wall slide, while constantly kick-jumping and hitting his head against the ceiling of the compressor.
ZERO:
Ht-ht-aw.. Damn it!
The ceiling raises once again and Zero is able to kick-jump onto the platform properly this time.
Knowing there is little time, he quickly dashes and runs until he is finally clear from the 2nd Compressor.
On Xās side of things, he stares down another Monbando in his way amongst the pillars.
MONBANDO:
Are you ready for the Pain???
X charges up and shifts into purple.
X:
IāM READY TO END THIS!!!!
He jumps right in his face and unleashes a charged Ray Arrow at point blank range. Ā A wide-array of Vertical Rays shoot up from below as Monbando is completely eradicated.
Spotting 2 weather cores ahead ā one above, and one off-center, he decides to use another charged Ray Arrow to disintegrate them.
Then, he dash-hops to a low-hanging pillar from the ceiling, drops to the pit below, freezes in place and mach-dashes across to the next pillar. Ā Kick-jumping up from there, he makes it into the small opening of the pillar, blocked in by a low hanging one as well. Ā A final Monbando shoots a missile at X, which knocks him back a step.
X:
Aghhā¦
MONBANDO:
What vigor. Such angstā¦
Spotting another core below him, X switches to Meteor Rain and sets three globs down up and down below him to take it out.
Then, he charges up and sets the globs after him, amidst the already falling Acid Rain.
They cover Monbando, but donāt fully do the trick.
MONBANDO:
(hurt)
Aughhā¦ Gate lies just ahead.
X:
(smirking)
Good!
He shifts to Metal Anchor, charges up and unleashes a wave of Storm Eagles after him.
The metal avatars crash against him. crush the last core and obliterate the weather device above him.
Zero spots the compressor completely touching the ground, before coming back up.
He takes a deep breath.
ZERO:
(v.o, thinking)
Okayā¦
The moment he has an opening, he dashes as swiftly as possible. Ā He spots a short pit and uses that as his cover. Ā Carefully kick-jumping, his head hits the ceiling four times.
ZERO:
(v.o, thinking)
Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow!
The ceiling rises once again, and with it, his next opportunity. Ā He kick-jumps and dashes ahead towards another pit while jet-birds come after him.
ZERO:
Aw, man!!
He surrounds himself with Yamato missiles, just to be safe. The birds fly into his missiles and explode around him.
Kick-jumping up the small platform to advance, the terrain proves unfair as he must do so 5 more times.
Falling into a pattern, his adrenaline and momentum take over, while he kick-jumps the edges of each platform, awaiting the ceiling to come down, then back up.
The jet-birds come after him again when he is not ready. Ā They all strike at him, but he does not lose focus. Ā With only 2 more platforms in his way, he dash-jumps to the next spot and kick-jumps for cover. Ā Then at last, he is finally clear of the last death trap.
We cut to a diagonal split screen, where X and Zero are seen traversing through identical hallways.
In one corridor, Zero jumps and dashes across the jagged terrain.
In another narrow corridor, X is doing the same. Ā
Another flying-V of jet-birds come after them. Ā X pulls up the dragonflies to protect him, while Zero simply takes them down with his Sigma Blade. Ā
Another set come after them upon advancing, but again they stand ready. X fires upon them, while Zero slices them down. Ā Explosions surround both hallways. Ā They both receive damage and health at the same time from their respective enemies. Ā
As X moves on, a 3rd wave of jet-birds come after him. Heād get upset, but then he sees the goal ahead - a purple gateway shutter is waiting just a few feet away.
X:
Finally!
ZERO:
Alright!!
On Zeroās side of the screen, he notices the same thing.
They both plow through the last wave and make it to their respective Gateways at last.
-The split screen becomes vertical, as we trail behind both heroes.-
When they enter their respective shutters, both rooms dramatically black out.
Once inside, they both fall to the ground from above as their enemies reveal themselves.
ZERO:
Isoc!
X:
Gate!!
-zoom in on both of their faces-
Their foes share a wicked grin, while our Heroes glare at them in the darkness.
Both cubes of the mysterious Nightmare Creature shift to both corners of the room as X and Zero brace themselves. Ā They immediately come after the two in a fixed pattern, chasing them both over to the wall behind them.
X high jumps and dash-kicks off of the wall, while Zero gets scraped and knocked back in between both Nightmare blocks. Ā
ZERO:
Guaagh!!!
X:
Zero!!
ZERO:
Iām FINE!
He gets back up and quickly dashes towards the wall before the 2nd cube can reach him.
The two continuously kick-jump and dash from the walls in a square-like pattern until both Nightmare DNA Blocks suddenly stop.
BOTH:
Hm??
They both look at each other and nod.
Zero furiously strikes against the DNA walls with his Sigma Blade, while X points his Buster diagonally and fires a bunch of scattered shurikens at the DNA block above.
Their attacks ping and bounce off of the protective DNA coating, completely ineffective.
The drones from within slowly emit from inside their walls of Nightmare DNA and open up their eye slits once again. Ā They glare at the heroes in black with their crimson camera lenses.
GATE:
(o.s, loudspeaker, taunting)
I hope you like itā¦ We worked very hard on feeding her the DNA from your Precious Low-Level Reploids!!
X:
(shocked)
You sick, Bastard!!
GATE:
(o.s, loudspeaker)
Hehehehehe. Ā The more we fed her, the more she unleashed Nightmare Hallucinations. Aaaaaaall across the World.
ZERO:
Hurrrgh! Ā Youāll PAY for that!!!!!
GATE:
(o.s, loudspeaker)
Fufu.. maybeā¦ Weāll seeā¦. Ā Be careful with her, boys. Ā Sheās really Feisty!!!!!
The drone eyes strike at X and Zero with blue fire balls.
BOTH:
Aghh!
They both break into action. Zero focuses on the one on the ground, while X high jumps up, sticks to the wall and rapid-fires scattershots at the drone above.
With two large swings, Zero bashes the blade against the drone left and right. Ā Then he jumps after the drone, flips his blade down and carves it against the drone. Ā When the blade is planted in the ground it generates a Metal Anchor which severely damages the unit, before it retreats back inside itās DNA covering.
ZERO:
Oh shit.
Above, X charges up, dash-hops to the other retreating drone and carves a Super Blade strike against the machine. Ā
X lands by Zero, who smirks at him.
ZERO:
Hey man, this thing doesnāt like Metal Anchor.
Fefnir burns an Angel Mechaniloid down with a charged flame cannon, while Leviathan freezes a wounded Demon Mechaniloid with her ice trident. Ā Phantom capitalizes with a fly-by on his shuriken while he rains daggers down on the fallen Mechaniloids.
-pan further away from them-
Harpuia looks at the sky, concerned. He places a hand on his ear-piece.
HARPUIA:
Did you spot them, Alia?
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
No.. They were too fast. Ā My feed is too distorted.
HARPUIA:
Damn.
Suddenly an explosion erupts over by his cohorts.
-pan ahead of him-
When the Angel & Demon Mechaniloids explode, suddenly another surge of roars can be heard from below.
FEFNIR:
Wuh oh..
The three look at each other, as they begin to grow worried. Ā
PHANTOM:
How many of them are there??
LEVIATHAN:
Are we ever gonna get inside???
Suddenly four more creatures emerge from the pit. Ā 2 Angels & 2 Demons, with an even stronger frame than the last models.
PHANTOM:
Haaaaaaah!!!!!!!!
He runs after them with his giant shuriken in his hand. Leviathan and Fefnir follow his lead and charge after the creatures.
A Demon just unleashes fire-breath on them, while an Angel forms Gatling guns with her arms and fires upon them, until theyāre all grounded. Ā Then, they quickly fly away.
-pan back to Harpuia-
HARPUIA:
Oh no ya donāt!
He opens up his back panels and takes flight from the thrusters beneath his feet.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
What are you doing?
HARPUIA:
Finding out where theyāre going!!
ALIA:
(o.s filtered)
Oh! Ā Triangulating their position now. Ā Be careful!
HARPUIA:
I will.
He gets high in the sky, but decidedly stays a safe distance behind them.
The Nightmare Mother changes itās pattern, maneuvering the DNA Blocks in the opposite direction.
This throws X and Zero off as they make a mad dash for the far wall. Ā Then, they proceed to high-jump and kick-jump off the walls as fast as possible in order to stay free from harm. Ā After 4 cycles of movement, both blocks sandwich the two as their eyes pop out of the top of their DNA layers, this time.
One eye shoots electricity all across the room, while the other blasts a frightening wave of Nightmare Magma spheres.
X:
Oh!
ZERO:
I Got this one!!!
He pounds a fist into the ground and unleashes Rekkoha on them. Ā The Shining Light Ray Giga Attack doesnāt faze the drones in the slightest.
ZERO:
(stumped)
Whaat??
X:
MY TURN!!!
He bravely high-jumps, still in his Shadow Armor, and unleashes his latest Circling Halo Giga Attack on the drones. Ā With a wave of his Golden Saber, two Crescent Moon shaped plasma-slices circle outward and then into each other, carving at both of the drones in a stylish and very effective way.
ZERO:
(reacting)
Whooaaaaā¦.
X lands, panting.
ZERO:
Nice one, X.
He smiles and powers down to his Base Armor.
X:
No sweatā¦
Zero looks at him, concerned.
-pan to-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. GATEāS LABORATORY ā Analysis Room ā NIGHT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From their private work sites Gate, Isoc and High Max study the battle at hand.
ISOC:
Baahahahah. Ā That little blue pest is burning himself out, as we speak. Ā You see? Ā Nothing to worry about.
GATE:
Silence, Isoc. Ā This isnāt over yet. Ā You of all people should know not to underestimate him at this pointā¦
HIGH MAX:
Correct. Ā That Inferior Hunter should not have defeated me last time. Ā Iām more concerned about this one, howeverā¦
He points to Zero as he analyzes his movements on the screen.
ISOC:
Aaahahaha. Now Thatās a formidable foe, High Max. Ā But if we play our cards right, by the end of tonight, he will be no foe.
HIGH MAX:
Hmphā¦ I am not interested in your mind games.
He portentously walks away.
ISOC:
Whatās with him??
GATE:
Heās focused and probably a little nervous. Ā And you should be, too.
ISOC:
Oh, please. Ā When you get to be as old as I amā¦ Youāll find that nothing surprises you.
Chased once again in the initial direction, X and Zero run after the other wall, desperately dash-hopping and kicking off as the Nightmare Mother gets faster and faster.
After 2 cycles, a block nearly catches up with X, who flashes white and transforms into his Blade Armor. Then, he mach-dashes over to the far wall and continues his flee with Zero.
Once the blocks stop again, they are both above them. Ā The drones, peer out from their protective layers, looming over them. Ā Electricity and power balls surround them as they both high-jump towards the drones.
Zero pulls his blade up with a rising uppercut, while X mach-dashes up towards both the drone eyes.
X:
/STORM EAGLES!!!!!!
With his charged body, X summons an onslaught of Artificial Storm Eagle Avatars made of Metal, which all dive, thrash and crash against both eyes.
ZERO:
Whoooaaa!!!!!!! Ā How the Hell did you do that???
X:
Iāve been training tooā¦. Metal Anchor is a very powerful weapon. Ā Too powerful Iād say. Ā It is not to be used in the wrong hands.
ZERO:
(smirking)
Thatās the X, I remember. Ā Come on, Man. Letās worry about these things first.
From her World Map, she can spot the point markers for the 4 Mechaniloids moving unbelievably fast. Ā One appears to be headed for Australia, while another seems to be aiming for India. Ā The others are still in transit amongst the seas, but it can be deduced that they are headed to Africa & South America.
ALIA:
(calculating, worried)
Uhhh, how many Mechaniloids did you say there were?
HARPUIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Four, this time.
ALIA:
Uh huh. Ā And this data doesnāt account for the other threeā¦ /Hauh! Ā Gateās sending them to all Seven Continents!
She /gasps at her epiphany.
Harpuia stops dead in his tracks.
HARPUIA:
(o.s, filtered)
What!?
ALIA:
Iāll prepare the others. Ā We have an International Crisis on our hands!!
X and Zero anticipate every dash-hop ahead of time as the Nightmare Mother continues to chase them at a grueling speed. Once it stops, both blocks are aligned at the far wall, just as they were when this battle had started.
X:
Weāve got to end this!
ZERO:
Letās switch dance partners!!!
X:
(nodding)
Right.
With a determined Gaze, X dashes directly over to the eye drone ahead of him, pulls out the Z-Saber and cuts at it as fast as possible.
Zero double-jumps and easily carves his Sigma Blade against the drone above. Ā He unnaturally freezes in mid-air and performs the Ensuizan spinning slash.
ZERO:
Hut-hut-hut-hut-hut.
He spins through his cut until the drone finally explodes.
X looks up at this success, while the one before him is about to retreat.
Scowling, he grips his saber and focusses.
X:
(v.o, thinking)
What the Hell am I doing? Shadow Armor!!
He transforms back into his Shadow Armor, as the Z-Saber turns to gold. Ā His head gem glows red as his saber strikes become much more fluid. Ā Suddenly, his attacks combo with the same graceful ease as his counterpart, Zero.
X:
Hoot-hat-shyat-hat-Syaaa!!!!!
Suddenly the drone before him explodes and both DNA walls of the Nightmare Mother burst into flames. Ā Without a core nucleus, they DNA cells scatter and wildly explode around the whole room.
X and Zero look at each other, panting. Ā X powers down to his base armor for a breather.
PHANTOM:
Get out of the interference, you buffoon!
FEFNIR:
Oh!
They all dash and hop further away in sync as her message becomes more clear.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered, clearer)
Tha-fzz-it.. Ge-tt-ng better. Ā /There! Ā The Mechaniloids fled the scene! Harpuia tracked them down. We werenāt the target. Theyāre going after the 7 Major Continents!
They all /stop in place and listen to her.
LEVIATHAN:
What!!?
PHANTOM:
Oh, Godā¦
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Stop them in their tracks. Ā Reinforcements will join you as they can.
X and Zero suddenly become immersed in a large holographic display. Gateās private lab room appears before them, covering the horrific prototypes from the far wall. Ā They look on at the holographic image, feeling as if they are in the room with him, themselves.
GATE:Ā
Finally you made it... You're superior, as always X. Ā And /You.. You're truly great, Zero.
He /points to Zero and applauds.
ZERO:
(muttering)
Hrrghā¦ whatās with this guy..?
GATE:Ā
/Hey thereā¦ do you hear me?
He suddenly /presses a button from a remote.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Hm??
The audio jamming from the comms suddenly stop as Gate has allowed her momentary access.
GATE:Ā
Ah, there you areā¦ You always were on top, Alia.
-insert triangular split screen. Alia responds to Gate from her post on the left. Ā Gate leers at her from the right. X and Zero look on at Gate from the middle.-
ALIA:Ā
(blushing, flustered)Ā
WHat!? N-No.. Your talent was far beyond mine. I just diligently did as I was told. And you didn't. That was the only difference.
X:
No matter how capable you are, your skills are nothing if not used properly. Alia understood that, but you didn't.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. MHHQ BUNKER ā Control Area ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
We circle around Signas from his Control chair as he watches Gate on the monitor as well.
SIGNAS:Ā
First of all, a nation for only Reploids won't work. Both Reploids and humans are flawed. We can't survive without mutual aid. I believe you know that, best.
From the monitor, Gate gazes directly at the screen.
GATE:Ā
(filtered)Ā
Will humans rescue this damaged planetā¦? No. They take refuge underground and are helpless. Only the Reploids can do the work... Fu. But they're the ones that caused this disaster... aren't they, X? Ha ha ha ha.Ā Quite the tricky conundrum, isnāt it? Ā Setting out to Save a World that youāre Responsible for Destroying.
Gate gives X a firm glare, waiting for a reaction. He just takes a breath, though.
X:Ā
I'm all right, Signas.
ZERO:Ā
Enough. It's simple. Evil must be defeated. And thatās what weāre here to do.
GATE:Ā
Fufufu, Hahahaha! I'll admit that Reploids are flawed and some of us become Maverick. Hell, that's why I wasn't properly evaluated! But... I feel confident in my recent creations.
ALIA:Ā
(o.s, filtered)Ā
You mean those Horrible Angels & Demons youāve scattered all across the Globe!?
X & ZERO:
(reacting)
Huhh??
GATE:Ā
Hehehehehehe, they will raze this Earth and rid us of the low-reploids and humans once and for allā¦!
X:
Youāre MAD!!!
Gate grins and revels in the moment.
GATE:Ā
Oh... I'll tell you one more thing. I wanted to keep silent on this, but Iāll reveal a secret to you. I didn't get here on my ability alone... Hmmm...but I sure did get somethingā¦ A golden opportunity! Guess what I picked up.. It was a blessing!! At first, I thought it was just rubbish... But then I found that it was a piece of Zero.
He reveals the debris that changed his life forever, as his body becomes shrouded in a crimson aura.
ZERO:
Hm..?!
GATE:Ā
...It was a piece of your body, Zero. I obtained your DNA!
ZERO:Ā
What?! You used my DNA?!
GATE:Ā
(beaming)Ā
Your DNA was just fabulous. I felt as if I stepped inside the sanctuary. It was a piece of cake to create High Max and the Nightmare. I couldn't contain my excitement... I could now create the most perfect and strongest Reploids! But... it couldn't match the original after all. I could never analyze it completely.
X:
Don't you know? Sure, Zero's DNA has great power... But it decreases if used the wrong way.
Zero gives X a strange look, but then he immediately scowls at Gate.
ZERO:
How dare you!? Delete the Nightmare virus now! It's too dangerous! It will be your undoing!
GATE:Ā
Ha ha ha. How strange... You're usually so calm... Don't worry. Iāve done enough experiments with the low Reploids. And that yielded a virus from your DNA. What I should do now is... destroy the disgusting original!
Zero and X growl at him.
X:Ā
Hrrgh, Damn you! Ā Itās time to teach you a lesson, Gate! You used Zero to cause all those Reploids pain. All for your own ego! I won't forgive you!!
ZERO:Ā
I'll destroy your evil ambition!!!
GATE:
Good! I've been waiting to destroy you two! Come on... Hunters!!Ā
The hologram of his Lab disappears as suddenly their comms jam again.
They both look up at the ceiling as a corner opens up and grants them access further above.
Iso, Batsu, Data, Cody, Araki, Hans, Hal, Kassy and Regina arrive at Aliaās console.
ISO:
You called, Alia?
ALIA:
Yes. Ā It appears, the situation is worse than we thought.
ARAKI:
Whatās going on???
ALIA:
Gate has unleashedā¦ terrible creatures all across the World. Ā The New Guard couldnāt hold them. Ā There were too many of themā¦.
CODY:
HAH! Some Elite Team they areā¦
B-TEAM:
Shut up, Cody!
ALIA:
Lookā¦ We havenāt been great to this planet, but weāve tried our best to preserve it. Ā If we donāt go out thereā¦ weāll lose everything. Ā Harpuia was the first to notice it, so heās enroute to Australia. The others are in new locations as well, but itās not enough. Now I need you to do your part. Ā Between all of us, we should be able to cover the rest of the major continents.
They all gasp and look at each other in shock.
BATSU:
Continents!? Ā Weāre not nearly enough for that!!
Alia shakes her head.
ALIA:
Thereās no timeā¦ Iām sending you out in waves.
ARAKI:
Just what exactly are we up against?
She pulls up recent distorted footage of the New Guard battling the Angel & Demon Mechaniloids in question. Then, she freeze frames on the horrific beasts.
ALIA:
Weāre calling them Angels & Demons. Ā 7 of them in total. Ā Weāve roughly triangulated their trajectory to these specific locations ā /Australia, /India, /Africa and /South America. Ā From recent damage reports, weāve deduced that theyāre also in /Canada, /Greenland and now /Russia.
At the dash she /pulls up the World Map, which indicate the new mission markers.
Regina steps forward and bravely nods.
REGINA:
Where are we going?
ALIA:
Regina, you and Kassy will be sent to Greenland. Ā Fefnir is already stationed in Canada, so heāll join you after he quells the threat over there.
KASSY:
(blushing, pleased)
Oooh, okaaaay.
Alia smirks.
ALIA:
Hans & Hal, Iāll be sending you to your home-turf in Russia.
HANS & HAL:
(nodding, brave)
Right!
ALIA:
Iso and Araki, youāll be stationed in India and join Leviathan there. Ā Batsu, Data and Cody ā youāre in Africa.
ISO:
Alright.
DATA:
I like these odds.
ALIA:
Phantom is in South America and as I said, Harpuia is on his way to Australia as we speak.
Kassy politely raises her hand.
KASSY:
Um.. Ms. Alia? I donāt mean to complain, but these teams arenāt very balancedā¦
She nods in understanding.
ALIA:
I know youāve all done a fair bit of cross-training with the new rescues, so Iāll go down there and see who else is available.
KASSY:
Okay, butā¦ if weāre the B-Teamā¦ then theyāre the C-Team, or maybe even the D-Team.
She shakes her head.
ALIA:
We need to gather whoever we can. Ā We can do this! I have faith in all of you. Ā Youāve all learned so much in such a short amount of time. Thereās only Seven of them, and thereās 9 of us so far, not counting the New Guard. Ā If we can all manage to pair up or even triple up with the new recruits, I think weāll be in very good shape to take down these Mechaniloids.
DATA:
Thatās fair. I think we can figure this out.
ALIA:
Very good. Ā Douglas will provide you all with enhancements of your choosing to make it easier out there. Ā Now letās get out there and Give them Hell!!!!!!
The wires of the orange and blue tiled carpet brilliantly flash in shades of magenta and cyan as X and Zero make it inside the opening of the new room. Ā They look up across the vertical corridor to find a series of poles above them and strategically places spiked walls. Ā One long pole leads further above while two shorter poles stand on both sides.
X:
(sighing)
Oh great.
ZERO:
(muttering)
This is gonna be funā¦
They both take out their wire-hooks and look at each other.
ZERO:
After you.
X nods and leads the way, by jumping up to the middle long pole.
Zero clamps onto the shorter pole, goes as far as possible, then jumps onto the long pole, underneath Xās feet.
They both pass by a closer section of spikes on both sides as X jumps from the mid-pole to the next one on his right.
Just then, a Nightmare Cube forms and bashes into X.
X:
Yagh!
ZERO:
X!!
X shakes it off.
X:
What gives!? Ā I thought we got rid of these damn Hallucinations!!
X transforms into his Blade Armor and performs a Mach-dash to get to the next pole on his left.
GATE:
(o.s, loudspeaker)
Fufufufu. Haahhahaha!!! Ā You may have rid of the World of the Nightmare Motherās effects, but youāre still Mine to toy with. Aaahahahaha!!!!
ZERO:
Rrrgh. I canāt stand this guy!!!!!
He air-dashes to the next pole underneath X. As they ascend further up, a random sphere tries to bash into Zero, but he blasts it away with his Z-Buster.
X mach-dashes to the next pole above a dangerous bed of spikes, then he climbs further up. Ā Zero follows suit, while more random Nightmare debris comes after them.
On their way up, they both get bashed by a cube and a sphere, but at last they make it to the top of the room, past the vertical spikes.
X and Zero run on and spot a Giga Death Mechaniloid standing guard beyond a short open pit.
X charges a Blade Buster and fires. Ā Two random nightmare spheres form and catch the brunt of his blast, but Zero chimes in with a Metal Blade of his own.
He cuts away at the Mechaniloid at close range, allowing them to advance further.
When they make it to the other side, X spots an opening in the floor plan.
X:
Iāll go up. Ā You stay down.
ZERO:
Right!
Zero dodges missiles from the next Giga Death, and fires powerful Z-Buster blasts of his own, before dashing into it and carving his Sigma Blade against itās side. Ā It instantly explodes.
-pan up to X-
Upon Xās ascent he spots a Nightmare Virus and narrows his eyes. X kick-jumps to the floor above, while the Nightmare follows him.
X runs back, charges up, turns around, ducks and fires. Ā It immediately leaves behind a Nightmare Soul for him to grab.
He looks behind him on the raised tier and notices nothing in that direction, so he continues to plunge ahead.
X hops from the split segments of the top tier, while Zero advances below.
-pan down to Zero-
Zero runs ahead and gets tripped up by a ball of electricity.
ZERO:
Euah.. Ā Huh??
The electric ball seems to stop, revealing a tiny ground sniper that shoots at him.
ZERO:
/Ah. Ā Hmph..
Zero bats away random Nightmare debris, while X dodges the same from above upon the maze-like structures.
-pan back up to X-
He makes it to a long room where he finds himself surrounded by a clump of Nightmares. They are guarding a Life Bottle.
Xās eyes widen at the precious prize.
-pan below to Zero-
From a raised platform, Zero shifts his Metal Blade down and carves it directly into the last Giga Death in his path, creating a Metal Anchor in the process.
-pan directly above to X-
X:
WAVE BLADE!!!!!!
With a powerful swing of the Z-Saber, a long-range Giga Attack of Saber Slashes that resemble a sound wave extend throughout the remainder of the hallway. Ā The entire flock of Nightmare Drones are destroyed, leaving a plethora of souls in their wake.
X pants as he holds his chest, while walking over to the Life Bottle. Ā After grabbing and absorbing itās energy, he feels completely rejuvenated.
X:
(relieved)
Ahhh, much better!
He back-flips into the air and stylishly mach-dashes back towards the opening below.
Once there, he finds that Zero has moved on, into the next section of the room.
X catches up to Zero in the next corridor as the room opens up into a very large floor plan.
ZERO:
There you are.
X:
Holy shit, this is crazy!
Looking around, they both take in the depths of what lies ahead.
GATE:
(o.s, loudspeaker)
Iāve left plenty of toys to keep you occupied boysā¦ Enjoooooooy! Fu-hahahahah!!!!!
Above, spiked walls surround them, while floating probes lead them towards two Totems, which are guarding the top of the room.
They shake their heads at his words, while two Nightmare Virusā fire upon them closer towards the ground.
ZERO:
Iāll take care of these guys! Come on!!
Zero runs ahead and double-jumps, taking them both out with a nice spinning slash. Ā
With a more clear-view, X sees an opportunity.
X:
(nodding)
Hmmā¦
He carefully jumps and mach-dashes up to the probe above him.
Upon reaching it, he kick-jumps on top of it, but it is about to crush him against the ceiling.
X:
Ahh!!!
He mach-dashes off to safety and lands on the tier above, where the other top-totem awaits him.
X:
rrgh.. Iām getting it from both sides!
-pan below to Zero-
Zero rushes after the first ground-totem, only to get distracted by the rolling, electric ground snipers in his way.
ZERO:
Urrgh. /Aggh!
Zero quickly double-jumps into action and cuts away the one above him, then chops down the one on the ground, while a nearby ground-totem /shoots him in the back.
-pan back up to X-
Both totems fire upon him and X is forced to duck, while pulling up a Guard Shield.
Then, a Nightmare Virus appears and shoots at X constantly.
X:
Ahhh, damn it! I donāt have time for this!!
He charges his body and unleashes a super Guard Shell. Ā 4 Clam Shells surround him and fire upon the Totem before him in a crossed X fashion. These blasts make short work of the top and bottom Totem faces. Ā The middle totem barely has a chance to come out as X instinctively pulls up his Buster and shoots it down.
-pan below to Zero-
He double jumps and easily takes out the top two faces. Ā Upon landing, the bottom two faces turn around and he is able to three-hit-combo them to death while the middle face flies right into his large blade.
ZERO:
HAH!
Zero rushes ahead and takes out a Nightmare Virus, while the next totem fires arrows upon him.
ZERO:
Hmmph.. Ā Iād better use Yammarkās option.
He surrounds himself with protective dragonflies and lets them fire upon the totem from a distance, while he switches to Z-Buster for a moment.
-pan up to Xās position-
The Guard Shells relinquish into his body, as X shifts his armor into orange.
He mach-dashes towards the probe and uses the Magma Blade to create against the totem faces, given his precarious position. Ā The totem is completely blocking his entry and standing above a spiked wall.
His best option is to use long-range weapons.
-pan below to Zeroās position-
The totem explodes as the last Yamato missile collides with the bottom face along with Zeroās Blade. Ā From there, he dash-hops to a ladder, climbs up and makes his way to a probe from the top of the room. Ā In mid-air he slices down a Nightmare. Ā Then, he dash-hops to the platform before X.
-pan over to X-
In mid-air, he uses a charged Magma Blade to unleash a wave of burning phoenixes upon the remainder of the Totem. Ā It explodes in a blaze of fury, allowing him the clearance to finally advance.
ZERO:
(amazed)
Wow!!! Ā Nice job, X!!
X turns around and smiles at Zero, who was right behind him, now air-dashing to the probe.
Reunited, the two make it up the ladder together at the top left platform of the room, they both jump at the next ladder and climb up.
At the next floor up, they only find that more Totems are waiting for them.
ZERO:
God damn it, whatās with these things!!?
Zero takes the lead and rushes after the next one in their path. He air-dashes over a spiked pit, then at close range, he performs a Shoenzan fire-wall with his Sigma Blade. This easily takes out three of the faces. Ā The middle face rushes after Zero and knocks him down, but X capitalizes with a charged Blade Buster, then rapid-fires the top spinning head.
Once destroyed, X looks up and spots another probe, leading toward the roomās exit, however this time it leads towards a spiked ceiling.
X:
Iām gonna go up ahead, Zero.
ZERO:
(nodding)
You got it!
He dashes ahead and takes out a Nightmare Virus in the way. Ā Then he air-dashes past a spiked pit only to get stopped by another totem.
-pan back to X-
He mach-dashes up to a probe, which leads him right into the spiked ceiling.
X:
Ahhh!
He quickly rolls off and slides down the now descending probe. He carefully kick-jumps up a spot, then hops to a further probe, away from the goal. Ā Horizontally drifting in the wrong direction, he quickly ducks to avoid the lowered spikes in his way.
-pan below to Zeroās position-
Zero uses Ensuizan to quickly take out the bottom two faces with grounded-spinning slashes. The middle head flies directly into this attack as well and gets diced in the process. Ā The top two heads bombard him with shots, but he high-jumps with Hydroga. Latching onto the ceiling upside-down, he uses his stylish ice fangs to take them out. Ā
-pan up to X-
Resting on the probe, X still waits for a safe opening, but cannot find one.
X:
(v.o, thinking)
Damn. Ā This is too risky. Ā Iād better switch to Shadow Armor.
His body flashes black, as suddenly he is now draped in his more ninja-like outfit. Ā Remaining crouched, he no longer needs an opening and simply latches onto the next ascending probe.
As he nears the top ceiling, X flips to make his feet touch the spikes. Ā With no affect, he ceiling-dashes and flips back to an upright position. He freely lands on some more spikes before hopping off and officially touching down to the ground. Then, he wipes his brow.
X:
Phewā¦
Zero makes it through the same opening with a carefully timed air-dash and narrows his eyes at X.
ZERO:
Cheaterā¦
X:
Heeyā¦
They both smirk at each other and continue on.
-pan to-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. GATEāS LABORATORY ā Split Pathways - NIGHT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They both take a ladder up to a split hallway, where a shutter can be seen at both ends.
ZERO:
Looks like this is where our paths diverge, X. Ā Which way do you want to take?
X:
Iāll go right. Ā Good luck, man.
ZERO:
(nodding)
You tooā¦
The two bump fists and split off with dashes to their desired corridors.
-pan to Zero, who enters a shutter into a gateway-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. GATEāS LABORATORY ā Gateway 2 ā NIGHT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zero takes a breath and mutters to himself.
ZERO:
Whatās it gonna be this timeā¦?
He gets through the next shutter to find another more detailed Demon prototype displayed on the left side of the wall, while a Seraphim Angel Prototype is in chains on the right side.
He looks at the two prototypes with unease when suddenly an even worse, looming figure enters the room.
Caption: 1/7/20XX ā 1 week after the defeat of the Investigatorsā¦
X and Zero stand behind Alia as she pulls up data from the Nightmare Souls on her computer.
ALIA:
Hey guys, check it out! Ā Youāre not gonna believe this-
Suddenly their Main Monitor blips as they receive an unexpected Vid-link from Gate.
They all gasp at the site of him , while he just grins at them.
GATE:
Well done, Maverick Hunter, X. Splendid, Zero! Youāve both defeated my star creations...
X:
So youāre Gate!
ZERO:
What do you want??
GATE:
Yeees, yes. Iām the new leader of the Reploids. I aim for an ideal nation of Elite Reploids only. Therefore, Iāve been eliminating all low-form Reploids in order to achieve that. Hee hee hee.
X:
You!! Donāt you realize what you're doing? The Earth can't be fixed without Every Reploid working together!
GATE:
I know... Isnāt it great? I think it's a golden opportunity! Thanks to the Space Colony incident, a lot of Reploids were lost. Now I can easily control those remaining... It's the ideal time to build my world! I won't let anybody interfere. Finally, I can realize my "dream"! I will build the strongest nation!
ZERO:
Your ridiculous obsession is a waste of our time. An ideal world made from a virus? It won't last with a corrupt foundation!
ALIA:
Is this all just a grudgeā¦? Don't you realize what's going on? In the worst-case scenario, you might die as well.
GATE:
So be it... I can't forget what you did, Alia... You and that insipid Inner Circle!! They murdered my works instead of appreciating them, and you helped! It took me a long time to recover from that, but now it appears that it was all for naught. Once we resurfaced, now you Maverick Hunters have eliminated them as well!!
X:
You left us no other choice!!!
GATE:
There is ALWAYS a choice!!!! ā¦But you couldnāt leave well enough alone, could you?? Ā You always have to be in Control! Ā Well, no more. Ā
X:
Excuse me. Ā Your Investigators manipulated the masses with the Nightmare. Ā They werenāt trying to help anyone!!!
GATE:
ā¦They were such excellent Reploids... Why? /This Maverick Hunter can't be analyzed and may carry great risks... but you donāt dispose of himā¦
He /points to Zero from the vid-screen.
ZERO:
Hmphā¦
X:
Zero has proven himself enough!! Ā He is not the Nightmare and wouldnāt do half of what your āElite Reploidsā have done.
GATE:
Alright, well let me ask you this, then. Ā Even though you have Maverick Hunters and Low Reploids in that little Settlement... you still canāt manage to maintain peace, can you?
X:
No thanks to you!
GATE:
Noā¦ Iām not the problem. Ā Itās just nature. Ā Hate, Jealousy, Greed and Tyranny will always abound. Ā Even in the purest of Communities. Ā Believe me, Iāve seen it my whole life. Ā ā¦You may taut yourself as a Peacekeeping Organization, but really youāre all just a bunch of Hypocrites who want one thing ā Control.
They all look at each other, given pause.
X:
ā¦How DARE You!!??
GATE:
Don't accuse me of being corrupt when you use force too!
ALIA:
Stop quarreling! The Earth needs Us now, Gate. You should know better.
GATE:
What the Earth needsā¦ is me! This is my dream. I've been waiting for this... I won't let anybody get in the way. Which is why, X & Zero, I've decided to give you a special treat. Since you proved your worth and ability in defeating my investigators, I'm going to invite you both to my Laboratory. Fu fu fu. No more hiding. Itās time to settle this once and for all. I'm sure you'll come even if you know you'll die.
X:
(irritated)
You cocky little shitā¦
ZERO:
(dismissive)
Itās your Funeralā¦
GATE:
I'm looking forward to seeing... The mysterious heroes at my laboratory... Fu fu fu. Bwa ha ha ha ha!
After the roomās Main Monitor reverts to Aliaās original data files, X and Zero are left to process what just happened with Alia.
ALIA:
(shaken up)
Whatā¦the Hell, was that!?
ZERO:
Heās got a death-wish, thatās what.
X puts his hands on her shoulders and gives her arms a gentle, loving rub.
X:
Itās okay, Babe. Ā Weāll get himā¦.
She frowns as she looks at the screen.
ALIA:
Thatās exactly what Iām afraid ofā¦
X & ZERO:
Hm?
ALIA:
I justā¦ itās a long story. Ā Heās been through a lot. Ā And heās really changed. Ā Itās not that he doesnāt deserve it, itās justā¦. I have a really long, deep history with him. Ā So, itās kind of hard to process.
X frowns as he looks at her inquisitively.
ZERO:
Never mind that. Ā What was it that you wanted to show us?
ALIA:
Oh, wellā¦ Here. Ā Take a lookā¦
She zooms in on a Nightmare Soul from her screen.
ALIA:
I found out what the Nightmare is... Itās an artificial virus. It infects Reploids and rewrites their DNA and AI programs, immobilizing them. At worst, even their appearance changes. We don't know why exactly as our analysis is not yet complete... But it is very similar to the Mavericks. Ā This is why Lifesaver and I were worried last week.
ZERO:
Right...
X:
(regretful)
Yeah... It's almost the same.
She continues as she pulls up more data.
ALIA:
But the real threat of this Virus is what we call Nightmare Phenomena... An infected Reploid will become disorderly... by a certain code input into the system. It freely manipulates the Reploid, bending the host to itās will. The real purpose of the Nightmare is... not to ruin Reploids, but to control them... Ultimately, when the virus rewrites a system, the Reploid inside dies, never to be the same again.
ZERO:
Oh Godā¦. What have I done?
ALIA:
This wasnāt you, Zeroā¦. Gate made it this way.
ZERO:
That maniacal piece of shit.
She nods and frowns as she continues with her report.
ALIA:
A normal virus dies with its host, but in this case itās the reverse. The Nightmare is so strong that it survives after the Reploid dies. On the other hand, based on this fact, we don't need a special vaccine to destroy it. Since their energy output is so strong, they become autonomous reploids, themselves. Eradicating them all may be easier than erasing whatās left of the Sigma Virus...
X shakes his head at the horrid thought.
X:
ā¦Why is he doing this...!?
ZERO:
And what about Isoc? Is he really pulling the strings...?
She looks at them with regret and shakes her head.
ALIA:
To create such an advanced virus... Only he is capable of this... My old colleague, Gate... Those Investigators meant Everything to him... even Scaravich, who was remade to look different; but those Eight Reploids were his! They should have been in utilized differently!! Ā They were such able Reploids...
She loses herself in thought. Growing impatient, X narrows his eyes at her.
X:
...Youāre stalling. Why is Gate doing this?
She looks at him a little shocked and takes a breath.
ALIA:
When he and I worked for the Reploid Research Team... All of his Creations were superior. Their programing was too advanced to analyze. They made remarkable progress, but that started to become dangerous. Then some of them began to take needless risks. Gate's reputation started to falter, but he kept creating more advanced Reploids so that he would get recognition for his ability. Of course, it was against our bossā wishes. One day, she had enough. Deciding to make it look like an accident, she secretly plotted to dispose of his Reploids, one by one. It was our boss' orders. But I participated...
She looks away and sobs, ashamed.
X:
Hey, itās okay!
He tries to console her, but she pushes his arm away.
ALIA:
No itās not!!
ZERO:
Itās overā¦
X:
ā¦Were they really so dangerous?
ALIA:
(torn, guilty)
Ohhh, I donāt knowā¦ No, not really. But his programs were just too advanced. My boss threatened my entire career! There was too much that couldnāt be analyzed by us. Ā I loved him, but he was a danger to himself and my reputation was on the line. Ā I didnāt know what else to do!!! Ā So I just Listenedā¦!!!!
She breaks out into a crying fit as X immediately kneels and holds her. Ā Her muffled cries seep into Xās shoulder.
ZERO:
ā¦It was inevitable...
She pulls away and sniffles, slightly getting her bearings.
ALIA:
(calming down)
We could have taken steps to adjust the program. But it was just too advanced. There was nothing else I could doā¦
X stands upright and looks down at her.
X:
Is that all? ...It's the same as me.
ALIA:
Hm?
ZERO:
They couldn't be analyzed... just like us.
He puts a hand on Xās shoulder, who offers a contemplative smile.
ALIA:
I hesitate to say this... but he aimed to make his Reploids the strongest, to match your abilities. X and Zero... He wanted you.
They both look at her, surprised.
ALIA:
He believed that the ultimate Reploid could never be analyzed... so he strived. Until his program advanced to a point where he achieved that ā no one could analyze it! He was so much smarter than me... but I got ahead because I followed orders. Nobody gave him the proper recognition. Then, he grew isolated. Ā He eventually left sayingā¦ āI'll get revenge on all low Reploids who couldn't appreciate my ability!ā Building an ideal nation with High-end Reploids only... That became his ambition... The Nightmare is that very revenge on those who didn't appreciate him! It is the embodiment of his "hatred"!
ZERO:
Well, the time for dreaming is over! We're gonna crush that ambition, Gate!
ALIA:
Yes. We have to stop Gate's plan at once!
X:
I'll stop such an ambition. I won't accept any more sacrifices of my People! He must know the current situation. Mankind, Reploids and the Earth are in danger.
ZERO:
All right. Let's find Gate!
ALIA:
Yes. We must delete the Nightmare, once and for all!!
X, Zero and Alia walk into the Control Area. Signas and Douglas greet them as the new location marker hones in on Antarctica.
ALIA:
Commander Signas, have you heard???
SIGNAS:
(nodding)
Gate is behind everything! Stop his evil!!
ALIA:
(gasping)
Thatās it! We've located his secret laboratory!! Let's stop the Nightmares now!!
X:
Wait. Get my Team in here. Weāll need everything weāve got.
ZERO:
..Are you sure??
X nods.
X:
Theyāre ready.
Alia nods and punches in coordinates for an inner-teleport at her console.
A green, orange, blue and white beam suddenly peer in from the ceiling.
X:
/Harpuia, /Fefnir, /Leviathan & /Phantomā¦. My New Guardā¦
As they /form, he /acknowledges /each of /them.
X:
Are you ready to end this Nightmare??
They all look at each other, shocked and excited.
NEW GUARD:
YEAH!
Zero smiles at the teamās zest for battle. He slightly blushes at the sight of Levy, who gives him a wink.
X:
Good. Ā We have no way of knowing exactly whatās in store for us, so I want all hands on deck. Ā Alia, brief the B Team and prep them for Standby. Ā
ALIA:
Roger.
FEFNIR:
Aw, come on bossā¦. We can handle this ourselvesā¦
X shakes his head.
X:
Donāt be so sure yet, Fef. Weāve all had enough time to rest and regroup, which means so have they. And we definitely know what Gateās capable of.
HARPUIA:
Who is Gate, exactly?
X:
The brains behind this entire Nightmare Operationā¦
PHANTOM:
And donāt forget Isoc! Heāll be waiting for us as well.
LEVIATHAN:
That old punk duped all of us into working for the Investigators and nearly got us all killed!
ZERO:
(smirking)
Heāll get whatās coming to him. Donāt worryā¦
HARPUIA:
So whatās the plan?
X:
We go in together and split up as needed.
Harpuia narrows his eyes.
HARPUIA:
So weāre improvisingā¦
X:
Itās the best we can do for now. Ā Like I said, we wonāt really know what weāre in for, until we have eyes on the situation. Ā Thatās why Iām sending in the best of the best.
They all look at each other in awe and smile, knowing that their Leader has faith in them.
HARPUIA:
Fair enough.
ZERO:
Alriiiight, donāt let it go to your head, newbies. As long as you all stay out of my way, then weāll be okay.
PHANTOM:
Hmph!
LEVIATHAN:
Excuse you?
X:
(smirking)
Heh. Donāt mind him.Ā Thatās Zeroās weird way of saying āGood Luckā.
FEFNIR:
Try that, next time!!!
LEVIATHAN:
Yeah, Bro. Use your words!
X:
Hahahaha. Ā Letās go, Gangā¦
Suddenly the whole group teleports away in colorful streams of Navy Blue, Black, Green, Light Blue, Orange and White.
DOUGLAS:
I like these guys!
Signas nods and smiles at his cohort.
SIGNAS:
(v.o, thinking)
ā¦but can they act like a Team?
X, Zero and the New Guard teleport amongst the salvaged wreckage of the Colony, which Gate calls his Lab.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
The secret laboratory of Gate exists in a place like this? Let's move in!
MAVERICK HUNTERS:
Right!
All 6 of them charge in amongst the snowy plains. Ā X and Zero dash-hop over to a hill of machinery while the rest follow suit. Ā They jump and air-dash towards a higher piece of machinery, then pass by more heaps of broken wreckage. The 6 make their way uphill towards a lengthy, ominous pit.
Once they get to the edge, Alia barely manages to com-link to the group.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered, grainy)
Our ra-dar condition se-ems t- be ..vry badā¦fzzt I can't get a clear visua...fzzzzzzt Can you f-nd anything?
ZERO:
There's a large holeā¦ wide enough for a big oaf to fit through...
X:
Heh... It's like it's inviting us... I assume the laboratory is below this.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered, noisy)
Right... Thereās so mā¦ noise int..fer-nceā¦ Ā I think we'll- fzzzzzt transmiā¦fzzzzt -nce you fzzter...
X:
What!??
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered, loud static)
Just be careful, okay?
ZERO:
Don't worry.
Suddenly loud, demonic screeches can be heard from below.
FEFNIR:
What the Hell?
A giant, muscular demon mechaniloid with wired metal wings, suddenly peers out from the hole.
LEVIATHAN:
Whoooaaaa!!!
PHANTOM:
Ohhh!
It is followed by another robotic winged creature with a generic, oval-shaped head and no face.
ZERO:
What are these things!??
X:
We have to stop them!!
HARPUIA:
GO! Ā Weāll take care of them!!
X looks at the Green warrior, surprised.
X:
Are you sure?
2 more Cybernetic Demon Mechaniloids erupt from the large hole, as The New Guard breaks into action.
Fefnir dash-hops back and pulls out two large flame cannons.
FEFNIR:
Come Onnn! Ā
He shoots two fire-blasts at a Demon.
LEVIATHAN:
Looks like weāve got company!!!
She dash-jumps away and pulls out her ice-trident.
PHANTOM:
Godspeed, X.
He high jumps and glides away on a large shuriken and immediately throws his daggers at a Seraphim Mechaniloid.
Zero looks at his partner.
ZERO:
Letās go while the gettinās good, X!
He jumps into the large pit below.
X:
(nodding)
Alia! Keep an eye on the others for me. Ā I have to stop Gate and his evil.
ALIA:
(o.s, filtered)
Roger fzzt. Ā You ttt, b- cā¦ful d-wn th-fzzzzt!!
X frowns and shakes his head at the awful interference, before jumping down into the hole after his partner.
The two fall far down and land in a dark room.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. Ā GATEāS LABORATORY ā Dark Room Entrance ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X:
It's dark, but I can see some light... Can you see anything, Alia...?
ZERO:
I can vaguely see something.
X:
Alia, Alia? We've already lost the transmission... Weāre alone.
Zero narrows his eyes at his partner with a smirk.
ZERO:
Not yet, weāre notā¦
He puts out his fist for a friendly pound.
ZERO: Ā
Come on, X. Let's see what weāve got here.
The two walk amidst the darkness as they veer closer towards the light at the end of the room.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. GATEāS LABORATORY ā Planning Room ā NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gate and Isoc look at each other, while X and Zero appear on the monitor.
GATE:
(grinning)
Hehehehā¦. There they are. Ā All the traps are set and all of the Beasts will be unleashed.
ISOC:
Excellent. Iām looking forward to seeing how this unfolds.
GATE:
(nodding)
Youād better be right about the brothers. Ā Once they unite, Iām counting on them to turn this whole thing around.
ISOC:
Oh, donāt worry about that. Ā Regardless of the outcome, Iāll take care of him.
GATE:
Goodā¦
The two chuckle as they watch X and Zero come to a stand-still at their first trap.
The two are stopped at a high wall of spikes as they stand next to a proto-type model of one of the Demon Mechaniloids. Ā X looks at Zero and scratches his head.
X:
Hmā¦ High wall!
ZERO:
I know what to doā¦
He high-jumps with Hydroga and latches to the ceiling, hanging upside down. Ā From there, he dashes to get to the top of the tricky platform and takes out a nearby wolfoid.
X:
(gasping)
Good idea!
He transforms into his Shadow Armor and performs the same high-jump to latch upside down and dash to the top of the spike wall.
From there, Zero & X repeat the sequence together four more times as they take turns taking out the Wolfoids with their busters.
Once at the top of the room, they make their way to Gateās next trap.
The two stop short at a laser turret, which almost takes them down with a long beam. They back up and look ahead to see a series of laser turrets waiting for them.
X:
Weāve gotta be careful.
ZERO:
No such thing!
X:
Hm?
Zero bravely dashes into the slope and gets shot at by the next two lasers, before pulling up a guard shell to protect himself.
X takes advantage of the moment, by following and dodging around the already activated lasers.
Zero continues to jettison ahead, getting pummeled by more Lasers, and bashed by Batton Bone mechiloids, which carry missiles.
ZERO:
Agh!
X:
Oh no you donāt!
X makes short work of the Batton Bones they slide into with his shuriken buster.
Zero gets struck by a final laser before making it to the last icy platform. Ā Then, they are both able to dash onto the next strip of land ā a cybernetic blue and gold tile-carpet.
Zero stands upright before X, slightly smoking as he pats himself down and dusts himself off.
ZERO:
Looks like we made it.
X:
You put yourself in harmās way for no reason. Ā That was really foolish.
ZERO:
(shrugs)
You got out unscathedā¦ I think it was a pretty good idea.
X tilts his head, slightly annoyed, although flattered.
X:
You donāt have to keep protecting me, ya know.
ZERO:
I know. Ā Youāre a big boy now. Ā Come on.
Harpuia, Leviathan, Fefnir and Phantom all pursue their struggles against 2 Angel and 2 Demon Mechaniloids.
Harpuia flies high in the sky and cuts away at a large Demon with three stylish strikes, but gets clawed down immediately.
HARPUIA:
(grunting)
Guaah..
He retaliates with an X-shaped slice-blast, which catches it in the chest, knocking it back with a small explosion.
PHANTOM:
Nice one!
Phantom passes Harpuia by with a fantastic glide from his large shuriken, while throwing infinite daggers at the side of an Angel-type Mechaniloid. Ā The affected creature wavers downward, but catches Phantom with five thin finger lasers
PHANTOM:
Aughh.
He falls down towards the ground.
From below, Leviathan sees this.
LEVIATHAN:
Phantom!!!
She scowls her brow and uses her trident to freeze the Angelās legs. Ā With two waves of the trident, she creates large sharp snowflakes, which capture the Mechaniloidās wings and serve to bring it down.
Phantom flips to land on his feet, while he notices her impressive feat.
PHANTOM:
Thank you!
LEVIATHAN:
Of course!!
FEFNIR:
LOOK OUUT!!!
A demon bashes into her from the side as Fefnir chases it down with his raging fiery blasts.
LEVIATHAN:
-Kaaawā¦.
Fefnir charges his cannons, joins them together and creates a large combined Charge Shot, which blows up the entire beast.
FEFNIR:
AW YEEEAH!
As Fefnir celebrates his win, the group can hear more monstrous screams emitting from the Lab below.
X and Zero jump up to a nearby ladder. Ā After the two make their climb, two laser turrets go off in an X formation from both corners of the room. Ā As they look up, they spot batton bones and blast rasters attached to the walls. Ā
There is a split in the middle of the room, with two pathways up.
ZERO:
You go right, Iāll go left!
X:
Got it!!
-cut to a far away image of X and Zero taking on the mechaniloids in the room as the corner turrets blast an X in their path.-
X switches to Blade Armor and charges his Buster.
Zero pulls out a thick, metal blade and cuts down a Batton Bone immediately.
We see the two of them handle their respective mechaniloids from both sides of the wall in the split-room, while another set of laser turrets fire in an X formation.
Zero performs large ascending uppercuts with the metal blade, while X Mach-dashes upwards with Charged shots to the blast rasters. Ā A 3rd X laser formation strikes both of them before they get to the top.
Zero swings around the large blade that bears a Sigma logo.
ZERO:
This blade once belonged to Tau. Iāve been training with it to learn how to use Rakukojin. Ā
Zero runs on and strikes down a Wolfoid in their path. X follows.
X:
Whatās that??
The two drop down while X charges up and takes out a blast raster and Batton Bone in one shot.
ZERO:
Falling Steel. Tauās blade is the most capable of utilizing Metal Sharkās power. Ā Besides, I really didnāt like using a Saber given to me by Isoc.
The two stand before a Giga Death mechaniloid, where Zero displays an impressive 3-hit combo with the metal blade.
X:
Fair enough. Ā But this oneās been tainted by Sigma.
X moves ahead, takes out a Batton Bone, then blasts away the next Giga Death with a Charged Z-Saber strike.
ZERO:
So was Iā¦ Letās not forget.
A laser turret almost catches them both from above.
X:
No need to dig up old dirt.
X leads the way and clears the next corridor of Wolfoids with a Blade Buster.
ZERO:
Iām not. Iām just saying I can handle it. Ā Iām probably the only one that could. Ā So, Iāll take my chances.
X continues to clear the path of blast rasters and batton bones as turrets fire at them,
X:
Alriiiight. So long as you know what youāre doing.
Zero nods at him with a smirk.
ZERO:
Weāll keep each other in check. Whaddya say, Mr. Shadow-work?
Xās eyes widen at the thought.
X:
Hah. Toucheā¦
Zero smirks and dashes ahead, taking out the next Giga Death with his Sigma blade. Then, they both run on to a gate at the end of the hallway.
The two walk through and see three small platforms amongst the floor tiling before the next gate.
X:
Come on out, Gate! Ā
ZERO:
Isoc!!?
After a short moment, suddenly the room fills up with deadly fire, which rises up towards them.
ZERO:
Oh Shit!!
X:
(scared)
Haaaah!
The two quickly dash-hop and air-dash from both platforms to get to the next gate. Ā It opens up and closes just as the fire climbs up to a dangerous level.
GATE:
(o.s, loudspeaker)
I think not. Hehehehehe! Ā Do you like my latest Nightmare Hallucination? Ā It must be getting hot in there.
ZERO:
Shut up!
GATE:
Oooh, someone must be feeling the Buuurn. Ā Fufufufu! Sorry, I canāt help myself. Ā Welcome, X and Zero. Ā Donāt let the flames touch you..! Ā Otherwise youāll be burnt to a crisp. Ā And we wouldnāt want that, would we? Ā Hehehehehe!!
X:
Hmphā¦. I shouldāve known youād play games.
GATE:
(impish, playful)
Ohh, and I know you wonāt disappoint me. Now Go! Prove your worth to me!!
The two of them run on as fire fills the room again. Ā They are forced to high-jump, mach-dash and scale the walls as best as possible, before the scorching fire can reach them. A blast raster and wolfoid get in their way, but X handles the first and Zero takes out the latter with a Z-Buster.
They run on, taking out another blast raster and wolfoid in the process, while the fire climbs up to their feet.
BOTH:
AH!
They jump up, only to see the scorching sea of flame, sink down below them. Ā They see a ladder opening before them, leading downward, only itās hot to the touch.
ZERO:
Damn! Ā Heās toying with us, but itās the only way.
X:
Fuck this guyā¦
Zero leads the way, carefully as the ladder burns his hands. They both dash to the next short ladder and slowly trail the descending flames.
When they make it to the ground, they look at each other and nod.
X:
Quickly!!
Viewing the goal ahead, the two make a mad dash for a large icy ascending slope.
X and Zero make it to the icy slope, while X analyzes the long stretch of spike wall behind them. Ā He decides to be bold and mach-dash up to it.
ZERO:
(horrified)
What are you doing!?
X quickly transforms to his Shadow Armor and sticks to the spike wall with ease.
X:
Donāt worry. Iāve got a plan,
Zero narrows his eyes at X while he scales the icy slope with dash-hops.
ZERO:
Show offā¦
He makes it to a short ladder as the fire slowly climbs up towards him.
X dash-hops from his position over to another spiked wall, where he kick-jumps up to Zeroās new position.
Zero has scaled a short icy slope to meet with X, and now they do-so again together for the next ascending slope while the fire ominously follows their trail.
They both climb up another short ladder and spot a wolfoid in their path standing by on a platform.
When they dash to the platform, they take it down and spot another gateway ahead of them. Ā The fire below catches up, but not to a frightening degree.
They both dash-hop towards the gateway and enter.
-pan to-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INT. GATEāS LABORATORY ā Gateway 1 - NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Momentarily safe, the two prepare for what lies ahead.
X:
Good. Iām glad thatās over!
ZERO:
Yeah, but whatās next?
The heroes in black walk over to the next shutter as it opens up.
Once the Gateway shutter opens, X and Zero drop down into a very large room, where a Demon Prototype is displayed on oneĀ side the wall and a headless Angel Prototype is displayed on the other side.
Amongst the orange and blue tiled carpet, they look around the mechanical walls, anticipating their next foe.
Before long, two circular drones peer into the room from the ceiling above.
X:
Hm??
Slits open up at the top and the bottom from both drones, revealing a foreboding crimson eye underneath.
Electricity surrounds the two eye drones as a large heartbeat sound emits from them. Ā With each pump, layers of cellular DNA Data surround the drones. Ā Circular blobs of purple, orange and red circle around the drones until they lock themselves in place as a giant Square around each eye. This serves as a protective wall for the collective unit.
ZERO:
What the Hellā¦?
The two look at this mysterious being before them. Ā Two vertical blocks of gruesome Cell Data glare at them with their mechanical drone eyes.
They brace themselves for battle as the unit lunges after them.
