Mega Man X: Paradise Lost

by Captain L

Epilogue: Paradise Found

Epilogue: Paradise Found

The last standing pieces of the castle collapsed to the ground. Dust and smoke were caught by the harsh arctic winds and blew across the Crystal Empire, already half-buried in snow. But it didn’t matter, the entire empire had been abandoned for decades.

The Changeling army was dying off, freezing in the cold weather, dropping into the snow, quickly being buried by nature. They could have flown off, gotten somewhere safe, but they stayed, unmoving, in the empire.

Watching events unfold, standing on a cliffside a mile away, were Maverick Hunters X and Axl. While the castle was crumbling around them, when they were sure of their imminent death, they had been teleported out by Hunter Base, and now watched over the destruction they had caused.

X was close to the ground, struggling with his wound sustained in the battle with Queen Chrysalis. Being a robot, it wouldn’t kill him, but he certainly noticed its presence. Axl wasn’t doing any better, still weak and unable to transform, shivering in the cold. Much longer in this weather, and he wouldn’t survive.

Without anywhere to go, they continued to watch over the Crystal Empire, when a flash of light occurred behind them. Neither looked at it, but they heard the hoofsteps in the snow, and a coat floated next to Axl. “Here, put this on. We don’t want you freezing.”

Axl looked, and saw Twilight holding the jacket with her magic, urging him to take it. He complied, wrapping it around his body, giving him warmth. “Thanks, Twilight. You’re willing to trust me now?”

“After everything that’s happened, I think you were right. You’re not like the rest of them, and you’re worth having around.”

X continued to look at the Changeling army, nothing more than black dots from their distance. “So, we’ve destroyed their queen, but wouldn’t that just make the army want revenge?”

“Don’t worry, X. Changelings operate on a hive mind, their actions controlled by the queen. Now that she’s gone, they can barely even think. They’ll do nothing but sit down there and freeze to death, like the bugs they are. The only ones safe from complete and sudden idiocy are the ones that the queen personally disconnected. The traitors.” Axl smiled.

Lightning Dust, who had teleported in with Twilight, walked up next to X. She didn’t say anything, showed no emotion, just watched the Crystal Empire’s ruins with him.

X looked at her. He knew what needed to be said, just not how to say it. But he knew she needed something, so he tried comfort. “I’m sorry. But he died honorably, to make this possible. We’re all going to miss him.”

Lightning Dust shook her head and quietly sighed. “The two of us…we didn’t know each other as well as we should have. He was always too busy with work for us to truly connect. So, I just need to know, what kind of a pony was he, really? You knew him better than I did.”

“He was exactly how you thought of him. He was brave, strong, honorable, and a friend.”

Twilight trotted next to X, and put her hoof over his shoulder. “It doesn’t matter how short your time with him was, this is more your loss than ours. He had been cold, separate, and disconnected from us. Then he met you, and he saw something we didn’t. I saw you as a name, a relic of the past. But Zero saw you as something different: an equal. He knew it didn’t matter who made you, what your purpose was, or what your family had accomplished. He saw past all that, saw your soul, and knew that you could do it.”

Twilight turned to the other Maverick Hunter. “Axl, I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. I was blinded by what you were, and couldn’t see who you were. I should have learned a long time ago that good can come from evil. But, how does it feel? Knowing that you’re the last of the Changelings?”

Axl stared out at the former Changeling army. “Down there, that’s everyone I ever knew. I grew up with them, I fought with them, and I served under them. But what’s important is, I always hated them.”

The four ponies laughed, and continued watching over the snowy landscape. They knew that they should go back to Hunter Base, but there was something about watching the mission success that was satisfying.

Twilight spoke up with the words that none of them wanted to hear. “But you do all know this isn’t the end, right? Equestria will always have evils, and there will always be Mavericks.”

X turned around to face them. “Then we just have to make sure that there are always Maverick Hunters to fight back. In the meantime, Equestria’s going to need a lot of help to get back to a normal life. And Twilight, we’re going to need a Princess.” He smiled and nudged her.

Twilight smiled back. “Then my first act as princess is to make the Maverick Hunters Equestria’s official task force and guard, with Mega Stallion X as their commander. Do you accept?”

X bowed before Twilight. “Princess, it would be my honor.” Lightning Dust and Axl cheered, hugging X.

In the middle of the affection, X looked at the former Crystal Empire. You had faith in me. I’ll make sure it wasn’t misplaced. Zero, I’ll make you proud. Watch, with their help, I’ll make this world a better place. A world you would be happy to live in.

----------3 years later----------

X stood before a row of Hunters, each wearing golden armor that has always designated those chosen to keep Equestria safe. The ponies (and one dragon) were ready for orders from their commander.

“Alright, we’ve got a potential Maverick in sector 1138. You’ve all been trained to deal with this, so I expect you to complete this mission successfully. We’ve been too used to living in peace.”

The Hunters and their commander ran out of the base, out to face the threat. X had sharpened in his time as commander, and had changed. He now wore a long red scarf that Axl insisted made him resemble one of Dr. Light’s old inventions. Zero’s saber was strapped to his belt as he entered the streets of Canterlot.

“I can face any enemy now. Any threat that rises, I will stop it. And I’ll always feel this way, as long as I have this saber. I’ll do it for you, Zero. We’ll be together forever. Like old times.”

Author's Note:

And the tale of X comes to an end. Which is probably for the best, this story was a little too dark and depressing. I'd hate to see what would happen if I made a Mega Man Zero crossover.
What's next for Mega Man crossovers? I've got an idea cooking, but it'll need time to reach quality. Until that point, I plan to continue the romantic (read: clop) story of Vinyl Scratch, and then it's a comedy with Lyra. After that, who knows? And if this whole Equestria Girls thing works out (or even if it doesn't), there might be a return of a certain Discord fic later on.

Well, the story's over now, so you can all go home, open up that other tab I know you've got. Thanks for making this my second most popular story.

And as a side note, I recently found out that there's a character tag for Noteworthy now (I don't care if that's your canon name, you'll always be Blues to me). That would have been nice to have back in September.

Comments

[Linkonpark100]

To be honest, I saw Mega Man X as a much more mature version of the original Mega Man when comparing to both series.

I think you should really add Mega Man Zero because I'd love to see some romance.