//------------------------------//
// 7: All On The Line 
// Story: Melody of the Future 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	Sigma floated back with his gun held lightly in his hand.  "So you think you can handle me, is that it kid?" he taunted as he leveled the weapon and started firing.

Axl spun the scythe rapidly, generating an energy shield that deflected the shots.  "I am the leader of Red Alert, successor to Red himself, trained and raised by his hand into a warrior worthy to hold this weapon!"  Stopping the spin, he swung, turning the energy shield into a projectile discus, forcing Sigma to fade out of the way of the blast.  "I will see you destroyed for what you did to my men!"

"That makes this the end of the leadership challenge then, doesn't it?" Sigma laughed as he warped behind Axl, delivering a hard backhand to the back of his head to send him flying.  "I guess I'll just have to take that weapon off your cold dead-"  The image of Axl faded and vanished.  "What?"

Axl reappeared in front of Sigma, unleashing a flurry of blows with the spinning weapon against the Maverick Commander.  "Did you really think I spent so long with X, Zero, and Mom without picking up a few tricks?  The techniques may be old and outdated, but Varia still has them in her systems, and the old techniques use less energy, and can be combined."

"Soul Body and Chameleon Sting?" X gasped out in shock.

"Clever," Zero praised, staying back out of range of the spinning scythe.

Growling, Sigma faded back out of range.  "Clever, but I won't fall for the same trick twice-"  He let out a yelp as he tried to dodge out of range of the scythe thrown like a discus, only for it to split into several copies, many smashing into him before fading while the last boomeranged back to Axl's hands as the effect of the charged Boomer Cutter wore off.

"No, you'll fall for different ones!" Axl roared out as his body burst into flames before lunging forward in Speed Burner, the scythe spinning rapidly around him like a crazed electron around and a flaming proton.

Sigma desperately tried to evade, only to take a heavy blow that sheared off an entire shoulder pauldron.  Screaming in pain, he shot back down to the platform the battle took place around.  As he landed, he hefted his gun to his shoulders, supercharging it and firing off a massive blast straight at Axl.  Before everyone's eyes, it looked as though Axl had been incinerated.  "Hah!" Sigma shouted out in triumph.  "You are nothing to me!  X and Zero may have unlimited power, but you are-"

The beam petered out as Axl split the power cables feeding it from behind, having made use of Dark Hold to evade the blast and waited just long enough behind Sigma for him to have committed the majority of his energy to the attack.  "I'm part of their family," Axl said simply.  "And I have more tricks than you could possibly imagine."  Spinning, he broke Sigma's armor completely with a heavy blow of the scythe shaft.

Sigma staggered back, growling in rage.  "You think it's so easy to beat me?"  His eyes glowed brightly.  "And what of your friends?  Will you let them-"

"Don't bother," Axl interrupted as he once more transformed...into Sigma.  "I've already downloaded enough of your DNA Data to completely block the control signal you use to remotely manipulate my men.  And now that you've actually attempted to broadcast the signal, I've analyzed it enough I don't even have to be in your form to block it...or even be anywhere near them."  He reverted back to his own form.  "As a temporary measure, the control codes for that override are now keyed to my RDNA code.  It'll only work if I send the signal.  And I'm not about to take free will away from my men."

Sigma leapt to his feet, lunging for Axl only to be knocked away.  "You think this is the end?" he roared out angrily.

"I think so," Axl stated firmly, bringing his scythe down and out, ready to deliver a lethal blow.  "This time, you're done for...once and for all."

Sigma began to chuckle.  "You know, I thought it would be X and Zero who pushed me this far.  I even thought it might be that bloody pony.  But I never thought it would be a brat like you."  He staggered backward, watching carefully as Axl followed, maintaining the lethal distance.  He then stopped and grinned widely.  "But you aren't the only one aware of the strength of the past!"

A shot rang out.

"Axl, get down!" Octavia shouted out, dashing forward as fast as Varia's systems could manage to knock Axl to the side before the depleted uranium round could punch through his skull.

X and Zero immediately brought up their weapons towards the source, and both gasped out in shock.  "Vile!"

The armored former Hunter was once more revived and violent, his armor having changed from the purple it originally had been or the blue Doppler had colored it, now a bright green and yellow as his active camouflage deactivated.  "Hello boys and girls," he greeted teasingly.  "Miss me?"

"Who's that?" Axl asked curiously as Sigma leapt up to beside Vile.

"An annoying headache that should have stayed gone," Octavia growled out angrily.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but that'd give you too much knowledge of my new capabilities for next time," Vile teased maliciously.  "And don't doubt that there will be a next time.  You haven't seen the last of either of us."  Both Vile and Sigma vanished.

X, Zero, and Axl clenched their fists in rage.  Octavia pawed the ground angrily, snorting in fury.  But it was too late to stop them.

They'd won the battle...but the war had begun all over again.