//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Hot Shot! X-Buster! // Story: Mega Man X: Paradise Lost // by Captain L //------------------------------// Chapter 10: Hot Shot! X-Buster! X was ready for a fight. Everything the Changelings had done, every injustice from the last 30 years, it was all about to be repaid in full. The war had torn apart so many ponies, either through murder or betrayal. X wouldn’t let their tyranny stand for another day, and he was determined to make sure the queen died. Watching your best friend die is enough to send any pony into a rage like that. He marched, determined, through the hallways of the Crystal Empire’s castle. Now that the Changeling army was no longer occupied fighting Vile, they had entered the castle, and were obstructing X’s path. Not in the mood to deal with them, he never stopped moving, pushing or shooting the Changelings away. He didn’t have the time or energy to waste on the bugs. His helmet radar was continuously pointing him in the direction of the Crystal Heart. The guide brought X to a large set of doors, hinting at an important room beyond them. Sure enough, as he forced the doors open and walked through, he entered the throne room. And sitting on the throne was the Crystal Empire’s princess, Cadence. Cadence turned to X, and her eyes flashed green. “You…you must be that Maverick Hunter that I’ve heard so much about. I suppose you’re here to fight me?” X had realized, through observation and history records of the Royal Wedding Attack, who he was really talking to. “That’s me, Mega Stallion X. Queen Chrysalis, for everything you’ve done, invasion, murder, abduction, and starting a war, it is my job to fix what’s broken and kill you!” Chrysalis chuckled. “Well now, when did you Maverick Hunters get so bold? You’re all the same, no matter how you project yourselves: wimps, trying to fight what they don’t like. Ponies not under my rule are too weak, they don’t deserve to live at all!” X felt like he had been insulted personally. “You’re wrong. There was a Maverick Hunter that was brave, strong, and fought because he knew it would be the right thing to do. His name was Zero, and because of this war, he’s gone!” Chrysalis, still in Cadence’s form, looked surprised. “So, this war finally took Zero? He always was different from the rest. It’s incredible that he managed to hold off the inevitability of death until now. Speaking of assured death, what happened to my little traitor?” X realized that he had lost track of Axl shortly after they arrived, and hadn’t heard anything since then. Not willing to show weakness, he replied, “He’s out there, fighting through your army. He’s far stronger than you give him credit for, and he did right by betraying you.” The queen didn’t like to be reminded of anything willingly leaving her command, and she certainly wouldn’t accept the notion that they’re better off that way. “You’ve been a problem for too long, Maverick Hunter! It’s time you learned the truth of life.” She lifted up her horn, and released a flash of green light, which at first didn’t do anything. But a few seconds later, a spot on the ceiling began to crack, and collapsed. The chunks of crystal fell to the floor in front of Chrysalis, along with a blur of blue. Once it had stopped moving, X was able to clearly see what had fallen. It was a pony. A blue unicorn stallion, to be more precise. One wearing a set of matching blue armor and helmet. It looked almost exactly the same as X, but a little smaller, more simplistic armor design, and eyes nothing more than black voids. X was surprised and confused by what he was looking at, until he realized who he was dealing with. “I’m not going to fall for your Changeling tricks, Chrysalis.” “This is no trick. What you’re looking at is the original Mega Stallion. He was a hero back in his own time, and he fought back against our forces a long time ago. But, as you need to learn, resistance is futile. He was persuaded to join our side, and he’s been our loyal secret weapon. Isn’t that right, you little blue bomber?” The original looked up, and spoke in a highly robotic voice, while still maintaining a tone eerily similar to X’s. “Affirmative, master.” Chrysalis rubbed his head with her hoof. “There’s my good little loyal robot. Now, destroy this fake!” He complied, charging up his horn. X wasn’t sure what he should do. If she’s telling the truth, he’s like my older brother! I shouldn’t fight him! Before X came to a decision, and before Mega Stallion’s charge finished, the door burst open, and in rushed a red stallion, with long blond hair and a green saber. He didn’t stop running, and leapt into Mega Stallion, slashing him with the saber. Upon landing once again, he looked back at X, who was in absolute shock. X reached out, still skeptical. “Zero?” Zero simply looked at X with sadness, and tossed his saber to him. “Here. He’d probably want you to have it. Besides, you’ll need it more than I will.” Zero was consumed by green flame, and once he was visible again, he was another blue stallion, with sunglasses and a yellow scarf. “You take on the queen, X! This robot’s mine!” Chrysalis hissed. “Traitor! You’re worthless, drone! You don’t deserve to be a part of this fight!” Axl sighed. “You’re right. I lived my entire life under your rule. Once I defected, I realized something. That I was worthless, empty, hollow. Changelings may not get cutie marks, but we all still have destinies that you denied. And by helping defeat you, I’m going to discover mine!” Chrysalis growled, and ran off in the direction of the Crystal Heart. X pursued, Zero’s saber in his mouth, before Axl called out. “Don’t show any mercy, X. She’s crazy and needs to go down.” X nodded and continued the pursuit, while Axl and Mega Stallion started their fight. Chrysalis was fast. Her body, while not very durable, was light, and wing propulsion certainly helped. X was dashing to keep up, as they both entered a room with a very long staircase heading down. Chrysalis, having wings, took the fast route and jumped down the center. X followed, slowly gaining by not having wings to slow down his descent. At the bottom was a door, which Chrysalis ran through once she had safely landed, X close on her tail. The room was small and empty, save for the pedestal in the center, the Crystal Heart balanced perfectly atop it. The queen raced to the other side of the pedestal, keeping eye contact with X. “I was hoping for more of a challenge in taking this. But, I suppose the magic protecting it died along with its bearer.” She laughed, clearly pleased with that detail. X was eyeing the Crystal Heart, when he realized that he didn’t really know what sort of importance it carried anymore. And with that, he had a simple plan to keep it away from the Changelings. He fired a shot at it, intending to destroy it, but the plasma bounced off and hit the wall next to X. Chrysalis laughed again. “Really now, Maverick Hunter? You think that a magical artifact like this could just be destroyed? Think!” X, not wanting to deal with this for longer than necessary, decided on the next best option. He fired again, this time aiming off center, straight at the queen’s head. She brought up a green shield as her disguise faded away. “If you’re just going to be stubborn and take the fight, then I accept! I didn’t become queen for no reason!” X wanted to start the fight then, until Chrysalis grabbed the Crystal Heart with her magic, prompting X to do the same. They both pulled on the artifact, neither having any advantage over the other. X had his superior robot strength, but Chrysalis had power. As they both put their all into the tug of war, X realized the simple win. He stopped fighting, letting Chrysalis stumble backwards from the sudden force. With an opening presenting itself, X fired Boarski’s Moving Wheel, cutting through the floor, pedestal, and would have done the same to Chrysalis had she not regained her balance and moved. Chrysalis, getting mad, began firing a stream of magic. X countered by rapidly firing his buster, the two attacks colliding in a show of strength. Neither was gaining ground, but neither was giving up. Axl rolled out of the way of a plasma shot, charring the floor where he was standing just a moment ago. Mega Stallion had certainly earned his place in history as Equestria’s greatest fighter. He never relented, never left himself open, and knew how to use everything he had. Meanwhile, all Axl had in his current form was a similar buster, as well as a shield. He could switch forms, but he liked using whatever body seemed appropriate. And Mega Stallion’s brother just seemed right for the situation. Another charged shot was fired at Axl, who blocked it with his shield, coming out from behind it with a charged shot of his own. It seemed like it would hit the unmoving Mega Stallion, but he brought up a jewel shield effortlessly, reflecting the shot back. Mega Stallion laughed, one of the worst sounds Axl had ever heard. “You died before brother, there’s no reason to think you’ll survive this time!” “Then the queen really did destroy you. I know about your history, Mega Stallion. You were a hero, who selflessly risked yourself for the good of Equestria. But now you’re just a mindless drone, blindly following orders and fighting for the wrong side! And if you won’t change like I did, then there’s only one fate you deserve!” Axl held up his hoof with the buster, and felt immense amounts of energy collecting in it. It was dangerous, but it was his best chance. “Big Bang Blast!” A large, fiery burst flew from the buster, too large to dodge at such close range, barreling towards Mega Stallion. Disillusioned with power, he brought up the Jewel Satellite. The blast hit the shield, not breaking through, but still pressing against the defense at a constant rate, threatening to make short work of the shield. He summoned a Leaf Shield and Plant Barrier to help, but only succeeded in slowing the force down. Due to the pressure it put on Mega Stallion’s body, all he could do was fire at the blast, which only made it stronger. But he wouldn’t give up, and kept fighting as long as the shields held up. It was inevitable, though. His defense broke, and he went down. Big Bang Blast and robot connected, and the result was an explosion large enough to shake the castle. Axl hid behind his own shield, protecting him somewhat from the force and heat. Once the smoke had cleared, there was nothing left of what was once the great Equestrian hero. Axl didn’t care, Mega Stallion had died long ago, once he gave up on fighting for justice. He believed that X was worthy of carrying his legacy, because he had what all heroes needed: a soul. Speaking of soul, Axl could feel his chest growing hot as he grew weaker. This was the drawback to using a Big Bang Blast. Being a Changeling that could fully transform into another being, instead of just illusions, gave him all their abilities, but also their weaknesses. The unstable solar core that had been the downfall of the real Blues was now also threatening to take Axl. Thankfully, he could negate the threat just by switching forms, but he was too weak from the battle to consciously perform the change. His body turned back to his real Changeling form as he fell unconscious. A large shockwave was enough to give X an opening. He leapt in with his saber, only for it to be shot out of the way with Chrysalis’ magic. Any swing with his saber was countered with magic from her, and both were faltering. Considering the relatively short time they had been fighting, as well as the small size of their arena, it was incredible how hard the battle had been. Scorch marks covered every surface of the room, as did cuts from blades of different sorts. The fight was fierce, and all the while, the Crystal Heart had been juggled between the two of them. Both were close to falling, and neither had been better at any point. X, now with a clear goal, was starting to think more logically, while Chrysalis was falling under rage and her own determination. But having nothing but anger as a driving force can net a victory, as Chrysalis put all her strength into a single swing of her front hooves, knocking X aside and making him lose his grip on the saber. Before he could get back up, the queen used her magic to pick the saber up and activate it. She stabbed it forward, through X’s chest. X was still, a look of shock on his face, his only sounds quiet breaths and chokes. Chrysalis, more surprised that she had won, was silent. Her face broke into a smile, growing larger, and she let out a loud laugh. “It’s over, Maverick Hunter. You gave it your all, but you need to realize that justice is a dead concept. Law no longer exists, nothing is absolute but my word alone. And with the power of this Crystal Heart, that will be the eternal truth.” X couldn’t do anything but watch as Chrysalis slowly grabbed the Crystal Heart with her magic and brought it towards her. She placed it in her hooves as her wings floated her upwards, and she held the artifact above her. “Crystal Heart, give me strength!” They were both expecting a flash of light, a surge of energy, some indicator of success. But it never came. Chrysalis looked confused, and tried it again. Once again, no result. She made a feral roar, overtaken by pure animal instincts. “Why isn’t this working?!” X choked out an answer. “Because…because it’s…pure love…You…aren’t worthy…of it.” He used his magic and grasped the saber’s hilt, pulling it from his body and holding it out to the queen. “And it’s time you learned there’s no place for creatures like you in this world.” Chrysalis felt defeated. She had failed, and now considered her life worthless. But she would never let the Maverick Hunters have the victory. “I’ll bring this whole castle down around you if I have to! You won’t win!” Her horn flashed again, and the castle began to shake and crumble. X understood his cue. “It’s time to go.” He climbed out of the pit as fast as his body would let him, which considering the gaping wound through his chest, wasn’t very quick. He limped out the top of the stairway, into the throne room. Without stopping, he grabbed the still-unconscious Axl and slung him over his back. Parts of the ceiling were falling down, threatening to crush the Maverick Hunters. Everything was falling, and X was losing hope of making it out as he started losing sense over his body. Is this it? Is this death? Everything turned white as he lost all feeling of being whole. It was all over now.