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I am starting to notice a pattern here. With so little action happening while we continue to march east, it would seem that the royal sisters have begun orchestrating my dreams to provide me with situations where I can sharpen my mind for the sake of the coming battles every other night or so. It is not like we have much time for drills outside of the late morning hours. Thus bringing me into yet another memorable lucid experience in the depths of my dreams last night.

When I drifted into sleep last night... Once again, the instant when I went from resting to dreaming evaded my notice. But when I started to develop some awareness, I noticed that I felt almost weightless. And yet I could tell that I was in motion. Dark clouds passed by me at a rapid rate. The sky above was dark while a gorgeous crescent moon hung itself in that dark blue canvas while countless stars twinkled gently. But then it occurred to me. Clouds? Flying by me? "Falling... Falling?!"

I was plummeting right out of the sky! I gasped for breath as I started to panic. Or I would have if I could. It took me a second to notice, but I could not even breathe! And yet...I was not suffocating? I could barely even notice the air blowing against my eyes. A sudden realization came over me. I managed to bring my hands into view. They were not bare. They were a familiar white while my forearms were coated in a sleek asymmetrical metal shell. I sudden laughed in relief as I came to understand what exactly was going on here. "Ooooooh, right! Project H. Yeah, I'm down for that tonight."

I was no stranger to assuming the role of the protagonist of my favorite comic book series. Nor would it be the first time I had done so in my dreams. I quickly got comfortable in the robotic shell my soul was now inhabiting. My eyes scanned below me as more and more clouds flew by me. Was I plummeting from the planet's stratosphere? I knew I was in no real danger since my body could easily break out of this fall by activating my flight thrusters on my backside, but what exactly was I supposed to be doing here tonight?

As I pondered this dilemma, I suddenly heard a rhythmic beeping sound somewhere inside my head. I willed my visor into closing over my eyes to bring up my entire sensor suite and HUD. I was receiving a transmission from.....someone, so I opened the call to establish a connection. "Um... Hello?"

"Salutations, Sir Hunter! We were not expecting you to take on this form tonight, but my sisters and I are not complaining." I heard the voice of Luna speak with a profound sense of excitement in her tone. I suppose she really is quite the big fan of the Project H series. "Reading the adventures of Hunter is one thing, but I am most excited to see how you perform in the flesh!"

"Ironic when you notice this body is entirely mechanical!" I spoke up with a chuckle in my voice. I then asked, "Are the rest of you there too?"

"Yes, we're already on the scene. And things are not looking stable down here." I heard the voice of Nightmare Moon reply. "It would seem that this Project H character has to deal with quite a colorful array of mechanical menaces. Nothing we can't handle, but shall we come to assist?"

I was tempted to have the three royal sisters fight alongside me. I could still vividly remember the last time they joined in the mayhem the last time I assumed that form in order to combat that maniacal Red Devil. And yet, I was curious. Perhaps I should take things naturally since it did not sound like there was a signature threat this time. "Um... Maybe not right away. I'll go it alone for now and see what this dream throws at me, all right?"

"All right then. We'll be here having fun on our own time. Might actually be enjoyable making scrap metal out of these things. Have fun!" I heard Celestia call back to me before the transmission ended. Now that I was on my own, I felt a smirk cross my lips. Nothing like rumbling with rogue robots in a consequence free scenario to let off some steam.

I spread my limbs wide as I went into a swan dive. The clouds finally began to clear now that I was getting a little closer to the ground. And spread out before me was indeed a futuristic metropolis under the cover of night. But all was not well. Faint trails of smoke rose from glowing flames. Bright shots of volatile energy were being fired off out in the streets here and there. The faint wailing of sirens were reaching my auditory sensors, even from that elevation. I instinctively armed the H-Buster on my right arm, my hand disappearing into my forearm as the mouth of the cannon formed. My eyes scanned the information being displayed on my HUD. I did not bother checking what abilities had been amassed into my Variable Weapon System reserves. I knew I could will whatever I could come up with just like last time.

With the wind blowing against me as I plummeted to the city below, I expected to have quite a lot of work ahead of me in mopping the floor with any manner of robotic enemies. But as I fell, I received a surprise. Something flew under me and out over the city. It seemed to be a type of hovercraft vehicle of sorts that would not be out of place in the world of Project H. But as it flew over the city in the night sky, I watched in curiosity. One by one, three figures fell from it.

My eyes opened wide. While much too far away for even my optic sensors to really focus on, I could make out some differences between the three figures. Specifically how they seemed to be going on the attack with whatever robotic menaces were on the ground below. The first began to fire off a rapid volley of orange energy projectiles straight down. The second seemed to generate a long glowing blade of bright green energy, no doubt a type of plasma sword similar in function to my own H-Saber. The third... I could see a small glowing light coming from it for a few seconds before it fired off a very large blast of blue energy down into the city. The contrast between their means of attack... "Could it be...?"

I barely had time to think about the fact that I was most likely not alone in this fight against these marauding machines. I had to break out of my fall and right myself before firing up the thrusters on the underside of my boots. I rapidly decelerated and only deactivated them once I was a few feet off the ground. I fell to the street with a clank and immediately had to jump to the side to avoid getting run down by a trio of wheeled machines. "Hey! Can I at least get a minute to see what's happening first?!"

The three roadsters quickly did some impressive drift turns to come back around to me. They were very low to the ground, almost like weaponized go-karts, that had reddish paint jobs with cylindrical cannons mounted on the middle of the chassis. The pilots seemed only vaguely humanoid with a single red optic sensor taking up most of the face. As they came rolling back my way, the cannons opened fire on me with bursts of small blue plasma projectiles.

I immediately threw up my left arm as I activated my shield projector, rushing to the side to avoid getting rammed while a few shots glanced off the bright blue barrier. I disengaged the H-Buster for a moment to restore my right hand and quickly drew the H-Saber from the holster on my thigh with its long fiery orange plasma blade emerging from the top. Two of the roadsters vroomed right past me, but I then lashed out with a low horizontal sweep with my blade. It slipped right under the cannon, cleaving it from the vehicle as well as taking off the head of the pilot. Now with nothing controlling it, the roadster when careening ahead at full speed and rammed right into one of the other two when it started to turn. There was a thunderous crash as bits of metal scattered every which way followed by an explosion ripping through one of them. With the two wrecks coming to a stop in a pile, I still had one more coming my way.

If that was not bad enough, I heard the deep buzz of rotors filling the air as well as detecting a rising gust swirling around me. I glanced skyward and saw something that instilled a powerful sense of nostalgia. A helicopter vehicle with a bold purple and orange paintjob while designed with a distinct bee motif. It then occurred to me. Those roadsters armed with cannons... They looked very familiar too. And they were not at all products of the Project H series.

I barely had time to contemplate these events. I returned the H-Saber to its holster as the hovering aerial vehicle began firing off a rapid stream of bullets from where the bee's proboscis would be located. And even then, that roadster was coming back around for another pass. As I saw it rolling my way with its cannon about to fire, a burst of inspiration hit me. "Ohohoho, now I got it!"

I quickly willed the Strike Chain function into my Variable Weapon System data banks, my body's hardened armor suddenly turning a familiar shade of purple. I armed the H-Buster and began to charge with light being generated from its mouth. With my arm cannon whirring with power, I activated my boot thrusters to send me zipping along the ground a short ways to get out of the bee aircraft's line of fire while also getting some distance between me and that lone roadster. But as it rolled past where I used to be standing, I turned and fired off a fully charged Strike Chain right at the wheeled menace.

A large grasping claw opened wide as it burst from the mouth of the H-Buster, a rapidly extending tendril attached to it as the claw chased its prey at high speed. The roadster did not get far before the claw clamped onto its backside right behind the pilot's seat. The roadster's wheels squealed as it was held in place while trying to slip free. With a powerful swing, I turned and swung the roadster through the air and right at the bee aircraft. The results were about as spectacular as I hoped. The roadster slammed into the bee's head cockpit so hard that it caved in with an explosion ripping through the underside. The rotor began to slow and sputter before the attack craft fell from the air and crashed clumsily into the ground. I patted the H-Buster with my left hand as the Strike Chain retracted back into it, very pleased with the results. "Nice. Who's next?"

My auditory sensors were quick to pick up a faint buzzing. And I quickly found why. A glance skyward revealed a swarm of large insect robots were approaching. They lacked limbs and had only one blue optic sensor on the head while their artificial wings flapped rapidly like those of an actual insect. With their abdomens lowered, they started dropping spherical objects that all burst into small explosions. They were trying to catch me in a bombing run!

"Oh no you don't!" I shouted while accessing my Variable Weapon System again. My armor flashed into a familiar hue of an almost olive shade of gray as I decided to not even bother trying to aim with this swarm. One by one, I fired off a steady stream of Homing Torpedoes and just let their automatic homing features chase down each bomber bug bot. Every torpedo exploded into each bomber and destroyed each with a flash of fire and scrap metal. But as the swarm fell from the sky, I yelped as I saw they were only a distraction for a much bigger bug. "Hey now! Almost forgot about you!"

Like a swarm hiding their queen, the mass of bombing bees had been leading a much larger insect robot that was well over twice my size. It came swooping in on twin propellers and tried to snatch me up with a pair of arms outfitted with very large tough spikes. I had to resort to my boot thrusters to dive out of the way in time as the bug bot rose back up into the air before turning to face me. It had a distinct mosquito design even if its bright green body was rather round and bulky, though the spiked wheel device on the end of its tail brought to mind a dragonfly. The wheel on its tail began to spin as it came in for a swooping stab and tail slap.

I fired off a few Homing Torpedoes as I did all I could to stay away from this persistent insect, being just as aggressively relentless as an actual mosquito. I did not even want to know what would happen if it caught me in its arms or what its snorkel mouth would do to me. When I found that the Homing Torpedoes were not whittling it down as fast as I would have liked, I swapped to the Strike Chain again for a more direct approach. After ducking and leaping around the street to give the H-Buster enough time to charge, I stood my ground and fired off the Strike Chain's large grasping clawed form.

My aim was true as the Strike Chain clamped onto the bug's rounded underside. But it reacted appropriately by firing up its propellers further to increase lift. I quickly found myself in a stalemate as I tried to keep myself from getting dragged into the air while also trying to get enough leverage to yank that thing right out of the sky and into the pavement. But as my eyes looked past it... I saw something coming. Large. Bright blue. Volatile. Did someone just shoot at it?!

"Uh oh..." I quickly forced the Strike Chain to release its grip and retract into my arm while I rushed to the edges of the street to find cover. And when I glanced back at the mosquito robot, it responded all too late to the incoming blue blast. That massive plasma burst exploded hard into the robot and all but blew it apart in a hail of scrap metal. It fell from the air in a mangled heap while I watched in awe. Had I whittled its structural integrity down just that much for that stray shot to finish it off?

I took shelter behind some debris and even a crashed vehicle of sorts as I watched and waited for whoever took that thing down to come over and examine the results of its intervention. I saw something fall from the rooftops the next city block over. And under the cover of night with only the streetlamps casting a glow on the now much quieter section of the street we were in, I could see a distinctly human form approaching. There were no other rogue machines to be seen, but the sound of chaos could still be faintly heard from elsewhere in the city.

Metallic footsteps echoed down the street. And I did all I could to stay out of sight for the moment. Was this new arrival friend or foe? Had it shot at the mosquito robot in an attempt to get to me? The clamor of battle ended as a new tension settled over the area. I tried to get a good look at this lone figure to allow my HUD to get a through scan of it without revealing myself.

The body language of this figure was familiar. The way it had its right arm outstretched and pointing in one direction before directing it elsewhere was exactly how I would aim the H-Buster when suspicious of my surroundings. The shape of the arm... There was no hand at the end. It was a type of cannon just like the H-Buster, but much more symmetrical with the other arm. The general shape of this humanoid figure was generally sleeker and more simplistic than my own. And it...looked so very familiar too. "There's no way... Is it him...?"

Whoever it was happened to be shrouded in mostly darkness with the streetlights lining the edges of the road being offline. But even in the dark, I could see shades of blue. Once the figure had walked past my hiding spot far enough while remaining near the center of the street, I began to step lightly as I emerged from my hiding spot. I quietly walked out to the middle of the street and stood there. Waiting. One by one, a few streetlights began to flicker before coming back on and casting their glow over the street. As the humanoid figure lifted its left arm towards its face as if to speak into it, I felt a chill flow through me. I recognized that form and blue armor immediately.

This figure bore a masculine body structure, yet was clearly fully robotic like that of Hunter himself. Even the general design of the body looked like it had been built from similar schematics that had been used to create Hunter. Smooth hardened titanium armor sporting a beautiful blue hue lined the feet and lower legs, forearms, pelvis, upper torso, and head while the thighs, lower torso, and biceps were coated by a durable yet flexible material to provide mobility while sporting a lighter blue color. Additional plating on the upper torso armor reached almost all the way around the lower half that was an almost cornflower color. And halfway up the back of the helmet was a flat rectangular crest that reached over the top and likely down towards the face. It was him. There was no one else it could be.

I froze. A storm of emotions flooded my senses. Awe. Perhaps excitement. And yet intense nervousness. I knew who this robotic warrior was. And as I stood there contemplating what to do, that blue machine warrior's body straightened and stiffened. As if he had suddenly noticed something he had overlooked before. Slowly, he turned to face me as his left arm lowered. And I saw them. Those focused yet kind green eyes set into an unmistakably human face. The plating around the edge of his helmet a lighter blue matching his softer components, an upside-down triangular red gemlike component with smooth rounded edges set into his forehead at the bottom of that light blue crest. As he stared at me, I quivered in anticipation. Of all people I would encounter in the depths of my dreams, it just had to be him. My hero. My idol. "Mega Man X..."

Our eyes met while no words were spoken. This blue machine hero still had the cannon on his right arm active, but did not raise his weapon. With a look of curiosity in his eyes, he spoke with a tone that was kinder than one might expect in a dangerous situation. "Who...are you? Where did you come from to have a body like that?"

I could not fault him for noticing some familiar traits in Hunter's design. Had I not known better, I too would have assumed that the Project H series is a direct homage to the series built around that hero before me. We were too similar... And yet, I could not find the will to speak. There are few fictional characters I have ever admired more than X. And now that I was standing before him, let alone hearing him speak to me, I was at a loss. What should I say? What could I do?

"Can't speak...?" X asked as his eyes began to narrow. I suspected that his optic sensors were trying to scan me however they could with whatever tech had been installed into them. But what he said next worried me. "What are these readings...? I can't...get any sort of confirmation..."

My eyes went wide. Was the nature of my presence in the realm of dreams preventing his sensors from comprehending what I was? How would his sensors discern how things work in the realm of dreams anyway? Fearful that this situation could escalate very easily if I did not say anything, I took a step forward as I started to raise my hand. X responded in kind by holding up his hand before him to signal me to stop. "Don't move! Give me a moment."

I froze again without a word as X once more brought his left arm up before him. He began to speak into it, no doubt having a comm system installed into it. "This is X. I've found...someone out here... No, I'm not picking up any viral readings... At least not any I'm familiar with. I don't know what's wrong, but...I can't make any sense of these readings. I can't get any sort of confirmation here."

I did not like where this was going. I have always been very fluent in the series X hails from and knew it was all too easy to jump to conclusions when it came to viral infection and its chronic involvement with maverick activity. X's tone shifted as he began to sound reluctant over what was being said to him over the transmission. "I mean... No, I can't say it's out of the question that the Sigma Virus has mutated into a new strain... Are you sure? I... Yes... Yes... Understood. X out."

He lowered his armed before looking ahead at me with such a gaze of regret. X then spoke, "I'm sorry... I don't know who you are or where you came from, but... If these readings I'm getting from you are the result of a new virus... I'm sorry. I can't let it spread."

I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. X began to raise his right arm before pointing it at me with his left hand steadying it. Then...that telltale high-pitched whistling sound. The unmistakable cry of the X-Buster as it charged up. Light began to emanate fiercely from the mouth of the X-Buster, but it did not fire once it reached maximum charge. X hesitated. Like he always did. Those green eyes gazed at me with such a look of unease. It was why I admired him. He was not a machine who simply carried out orders. He wondered. He worried. He considered everything before firing that shot. And in that moment, I knew the instant he pointed his X-Buster at me why he was there.

"Forgive me! I can't let whatever you're carrying hurt anyone!" X called out before a flash of blue burst from the X-Buster that was easily as large as either of us. But by then, I was ready. I threw up my left arm as I powered up the shield projector on it. That barrier stood between us as I braced myself for impact. That charged shot from the X-Buster hit hard, but I held my ground as the barrier being projected from the back of my left arm held just fine. Flickering blue plasma particles faded as X gazed at me with shock. I really do not think he expected me to resist. His gaze became more focused as he knew what was coming. "I suppose you're won't be coming quietly."

Of all possible opponents I could face... It had to be the one I hold in highest regard. Only then did I know why I was there and who I was supposed to face that night. It was a once in a lifetime encounter I may never get the chance to experience twice. With this realization dawning on me, I lowered my left arm as the particle shield faded. I found myself starting to smirk as I said, "It's not every day you get to face off against your heroes..."

Fire building in my heart, I gazed ahead at X as he stood ready with his X-Buster still primed for battle. I steadied my nerves as I stared him down, ready for the fight of a lifetime as I began to raise my own H-Buster. "Right then... Here we go. H vs X! The human spirit vs Infinite Evolutionary Potential! Let's see how the homage holds up to the original!"

The two of us immediately fired off a quick burst of plasma shots. Many of them even collided with each other in small fiery explosions. X and I began to run circles around each other as we strafed, trying to land hits while also trying to making ourselves hard to aim at. But this was just the tip of the iceberg. I knew just how powerful this robotic paragon truly was. And if he truly started trying... Would the might of Project H be able to keep up?

"Right, come on!" I yelped as I suddenly threw up my left arm to project a barrier shield that easily blocked all of X's rapid shots. I promptly flared up the thrusters on the undersides of my boots and launched myself at X, pushing through everything he threw at me as he only barely managed to stand his ground as I slammed into him. Not quite getting knocked off his feet with an arm raised, I caught by surprise as X grabbed the particle shield and pushed me aside before slamming a hard kick into my back and then unloading a partial charge shot right into me. My armor held, but light damage had been incurred. I could not get complacent. X knew how to fight with more than just the X-Buster on his arm.

X politely waited for me to regain my footing after I had been nearly fallen flat on my face. With my particle shield still active with its kite shape giving off a beautiful light blue glow, I reached for the holster on my thigh. I saw X's eyes widen as I drew the H-Saber with its long fiery orange plasma blade extending from its hilt. He was no stranger to opponents wielding such a weapon. And I knew that there was a certain friend of his somewhere in the city likely dicing up mavericks with such a blade. But at the same time, I knew X had one too. And old gift. "Aren't you going to bring out your blade too?"

"Now that you mention it..." X muttered before he placed his left hand over the mouth of the X-Buster. A second later, something was pushed out into his waiting palm. A cybernetic sword hilt like my own that then extended a bright green plasma blade from the top. Where the blade of the H-Saber was flat like a true blade, this one was closer to a cylindrical spike. X dismissed the cannon on his arm as he readied himself with both hands on the sword's hilt. "I almost forgot I even had this."

"Huh... Always wondered where you kept that." I muttered as X made a very sudden cleave with his own plasma saber. I barely got my left arm up in time to block as the particle shield hissed with sparks flying. I pushed the blade away and lashed out at X's leg with him grunting in pain. His tough titanium armor held up, but there was a noticeable cut in the plating. Now we were even with one blow scored on each of us.

X tried to overpower me with two-handed longsword strikes as I made careful use of my sword and shield skills. I knew that swordplay was never his strong suit, so that was one category where I had an edge over him. No matter what he tried, he just could not get by my shield. But I was quickly reminded why I needed to be wary of any swordsman who can fight with a hand free. At one point, he pushed my incoming slash away and reached out with his left hand to try and grapple with my particle shield. Even if only made of energy, he still grabbed it like it was composed of solid mass and started to yank it around to create an opening.

I kept trying to grapple against X's manipulation of my shield as he tried to force it as far to my right as possible to interfere with my sword arm. This served to leave my left side gravely undefended with X taking advantage of this by bringing the blade of his plasma saber right down into my left shoulder plate. It held with a noticeable indentation left in the middle, but I could not allow that spot to take too many consecutive hits. With as much strength as I could muster, I flung my left arm as hard as I could to the left and practically threw X from me with him struggling to not trip up off his own feet. When I came in for a swing to his back, he only barely turned in time and threw up the blade of his own saber to block mine with green and orange sparks flying.

This simple stalemate could not be allowed to go on for too long. Especially when X tried to create an opening by clubbing me over the head with his left arm. I tried to force him to go on the offensive as I managed to get my shield up in time, his saber clashing with my shield over and over while I started to put the H-Saber back into its holster. The powerful whirring of the H-Buster filled the air as I armed it with shining light spilling forth from its mouth. X realized too late that I had swapped weapons from behind the glow of my shield as I batted away his sword and slammed the H-Buster right into his softer midsection.

With H-Buster fully charged, I unleashed my shot. X let out a yell as that massive blast of blue plasma slammed into him and carried him right across the street and exploded in a burst of embers as X was smashed through the wall of a nearby building. I watched and waited as I knew that was nowhere near enough to put him down. And after a moment of anticipation, I saw a flash of light from within the shadows as X called out. "Armor equip!"

I took a step back. It did not take long for X to decide to kick things up a notch. With a leap, he burst from inside the building's new wall cavity to reveal that he was no longer just covered in shades of blue. One of his many iconic armor sets now decorated his body. Beautifully designed with a predominantly white shell imbued with reds, blues, and golds, its most distinguished features were red spines on the outer edged of his boots pointing upwards and similar spines on the edge of his much more pronounced pauldrons. The red gem object on the front of his helmet was now bordered by extra white plating that pointed out to the sides with two triangular crests that connected to a new white crest replacing the blue that covered the entire middle of his helmet. His auditory receivers on the sides of the helmet also were surrounded by new white edges that reached up and back with stylish gold cybernetic fins. Even the X-Buster can been altered, the mouth having split into a total of seven smaller emitters with four housed on the red and gold front with the other three housed in larger blue emitters on three sides.

With X jumping back into the fight so heavily armed and armored, I dreaded what would come next as I readied my particle shield. And I got exactly what I expected. With the thrusts on his boots flaring up well become maximum output, he threw himself at me with flying shoulder barge while suddenly engulfed in a fiery gold plasma aura. The Nova Strike! I could not risk taking a direct hit and leaped to the side while pushing him past me with the shield on my left arm. The aura around X was so intense that it even caused my shield to waver and ripple from a near overload. I at least took comfort in knowing that he could only readily use it once.

Before he could even hit the ground as the Nova Strike's plasma aura faded, X activated the hover thrusters on the underside of his boots to remain aloft in the air and quickly turned around with X-Buster raised. One by one, four bursts of blue plasma ringed in rippling yellow waves were fired off as X hovered along sideways to strafe around me. A quick charge later and X sent another four my way. I was familiar with this stock charge function in this armor's modified X-Buster. Each shot hit reasonably hard, but not quite as hard s a fully charged shot from my H-Buster. And they were much too weak to have any chance of getting by my particle shield. Safe behind my shield, I considered my options against this most versatile opponent.

X must have known this since his four-shot bombardment suddenly ceased. And the whistling of his X-Buster charging reached my auditory sensors as I saw all seven firing ports glowing brightly with condensed energy. I flinched as my body froze up. This next shot would be firing at full power. I stood ready with my shield arm activated, hoping I could muscle through what was coming.

The X-Buster soon fired and unleashed a massive burst of volatile blue plasma that was even bigger than X himself. I stood my ground as it slammed into me while I pushed back with my particle shield. Once I was certain I had enough leverage on my side, I swung my left arm out to the side as hard as I could and deflected the plasma shot right up into the corner of a nearby building as it exploded to send bits of rubble falling to the street. But I barely had time to react as I was peppered by a few smaller shots from my right as I found X sprinting to strafe around me. But while this suit of colorful armor remained largely unchanged, I saw that bits of his natural blue coloration had shifted to shades of orange.

One by one, rapidly flickering identical outlines of X began to pop up around him as they flickered in a rainbow of colors. They were entirely featureless, but they perfectly matched his outline. X circled me with his clones as I recognized this ability. I too had used it once before while masquerading as Hunter. Soul Body. And thus I remembered that this particular suit of armor was seemingly designed entirely with the Variable Weapon System in mind. He could fire off as many shots of whatever weapon function he wanted and he would never run low on energy so long as he did not go for a charged shot. While my Variable Weapon System's energy gradually recharges over time at the cost of every weapon drawing energy from the same pool, X's runs on a very finite energy source for each weapon. I would have to adjust my strategy to make the most of mine while dealing with the strengths and limitations of his.

I was expecting these unstable energy projections to rush me at any time. If they gained up on me and all managed to connect, I would surely take considerable damage. I even tried firing at them only for my plasma blasts to pass right through them. The only way to counter Soul Bodies would be with other Soul Bodies. And I already had experience with it. I glanced up in the corner of my visor and quickly willed Soul Body into the equipped slot. In a flash, my armored body swapped from pure white to a beautiful combination of sapphire blue for my hardened armor plating and hot pink for my softer components and visor. All thanks to the beautiful Radiance of the Power Ponies. The H-Buster began to whir before I pointed it at the sky. "You're not the only one who can make a crowd! Soul Body!"

With a flash of light from the H-Buster's mouth, several featureless copies of myself formed around me while composed entirely of sapphire blue energy constructs. X was completely taken aback by the fact that I was using a weapon that only he had access to and came to a stumbling stop in disbelief. All of his Soul Body copies did the same while perfectly mirroring his every move. Acting accordingly, my Soul Body copies hurled themselves at the other Soul Bodies and promptly exploded into prismatic bursts of light as the two sides canceled each other out. Now alone, I took aim at X and charged up the H-Buster briefly before unleashing a partially charged shot into the baffled maverick hunter. "I know you have more up your sleeve than that, X!"

X threw up his arms at the last second to minimized damage with his armor's enhanced defenses. He would be much tougher to subdue if he was equipped with any of his armor suits, but that only added to the exhilaration. He quickly cast me a sudden glare before activating the thrusters on the underside of his boots to propel himself sideways at high speed. It was then that X really started to exploit this armor's advantages with his Variable Weapon System. The patches of orange on his body flashed to shades of a dark metallic green as he fired off several Homing Torpedoes, then to a shade of pink as stingray drones shot towards me right along the ground in the form of Ground Hunter, then a shade of bright green as he sent out ground-hugging Spin Wheels with a delayed approach, and again with hues of a deep navy blue as bounding Metal Anchors rolled towards me like bouncing tumbling pickaxes. X very quickly turned into a one-man obstacle course as I was quickly finding myself with too many objects to focus on coming from all sides while X himself dashed and leaped all around me in a circle. How could I possibly target him while I was hopping, ducking, and doing everything I could to avoid taking a hit from everything that was coming at me?!

After taking a Spin Wheel digging into my left boot and a Metal Anchor leaving a dent in my helmet, I finally had an idea to get me out of this trap. I checked my Variable Weapon Systems readings and saw that energy reserves were at maximum. I waited while I selected the Nova Strike function as my current weapon as my armor returned to its default white coloration. While I did end up taking a few light hits, the instant X was about to pass in front of me, I jumped at the opportunity. With extra vents opening up around my body, I launched myself at X while engulfed in a fiery plasma aura. The look of shock in his wide green eyes told me everything I needed to know that I completely nailed this attack. I rammed X squarely in the chest before he could even try to raise a defense and pushed him through the air before he was thrown away with the plasma aura fading. He clumsily crashed along the ground with noticeable damage lining his armored torso. I stood in near disbelief. It was easily the hardest blow I had landed on X thus far.

The color of X's armor indicated that it had returned to its default settings during the instant my attack had connected. And as he pushed himself to his knees, I could hear the whistling of the X-Buster charging up. I expected an attacked and raised my shield arm to generate a barrier. But when X turned to fire at me, his body was engulfed in a sudden flash just before he fired. But the shot that came flying at me was smaller and less round than the massive plasma shots he had fired before. And when this new type of blue plasma projectile struck my particle shield, it lingered in place as if trying to push its way through before finally dissipating. "That wasn't... Wait..."

I saw X rising to his feet with his X-Buster still aimed at me. With just a quick switch, his outward appearance had changed again to yet another famous armor set. The familiar color scheme of white and blues was still prominent, but now with bold green crystalline attachments at the knees, the tips of the pauldrons, back of the left arm, and just under his breastplate. The armor looked like that a warrior might where to the point where there even seemed to be tassets affixed the to pelvic area and with X's helmet now looking like a stylized fusion of a knight and samurai helmet complete with a V-shaped golden crest hooking under his helmet's red forehead gem. He then rose to his feet with a focused glare in his eyes, his left white hand now a fiery red with the modified X-Buster on his right arm pointing out to the side as a pair yellow attachments snapped up from the sides of the cannon to suddenly look like a crossguard for a proper longsword. And then...

With a hiss, a long and impressively broad green plasma blade extended right out of the mouth of the X-Buster. The sheer width of this new sword gave me the impression that it possessed much more cutting power than even my own H-Saber. Now sporting the look of a true cybernetic swordsman, X stood ready as if silently challenging me to a duel. As I reached for the H-Saber in its holster, I found myself starting to smile in almost gleeful anticipation. "The Blade Armor... Nice."

I have always known that swordplay was never X's forte. I more than likely had some sort of advantage while being adept in buster and blade, but I also knew that X was an ever evolving and improving force. How much farther had he come since I last thought of him? And how much sharper did his skills become now that he was wielding an armor explicitly designed for swordplay? With the H-Saber now generating its own fiery orange plasma blade, I grasped its hilt in both hands to try and match X's mighty blade with longsword techniques.

X came in swinging with speed I did not expect. And when he brought his blade down, he brought it down hard against my own blade. I was nearly forced to my knees as I tried to push back against this much greater plasma blade as green and orange sparks were thrown against my visor. I had to think quickly as I just barley managed to roll to the side to break free before bringing my sword down for a slash. But like a true swordsman, X parried my blade by using the new crossguard on the side of the X-Buster to catch my blade. I had to quickly get my shield arm up to block a very sudden counterattack since X's blade did not have to rely on edge alignment to cleave through me.

I put some distance between us as I went on the defensive. X came in swinging with sparks flying with each clash against my shield. I had to think quickly. While X's plasma blade was indeed mightier than my own, I saw a potential weakness to be aware of. With the blade essentially extending from where his wrist would be, this powerful blade did not have as much flexibility due to the lack of a pivoting and twisting hand. Perhaps I could exploit his lack of flexibility?

This idea proved to be fruitless as I found myself stuck in a stalemate with X for a time. Despite the lack of a twisting wrist, he had little trouble parrying my own attacks by relying on his X-Buster's crossguard. The only technique his blade arm was not suited for was lining up stabbing attacks, but it hardly mattered when that great glowing plasma sword was already a mighty cleaving blade with no equal. And then... The X-Buster began to charge.

X caught me off guard as I was forcefully reminded of one of the Blade Armor's unique features. The enhanced thrusters in his boots launched X right at me head first for a crushing armored headbutt squarely into my chest. I very nearly got launched off my feet before I regained my footing only to see the X-Buster 'fire' its charged shot. But with its sword function active, this only caused the blade to extend by another 20% or so as X held his arm high with it ready to come slicing right through me. With no time to think, I activated my particle shield and held it up to block this incoming attack.

This charged slash far surpassed my expectations. With one mighty slash, my particle shield sputtered and sparked as the barrier faded. That one strike had overloaded my shield generator! I barely had time to process this new information before X once again threw himself at me with ramming shoulder barge to trip me off balance before sending my right up into the air with a hard rising cut of his blade. But that was not the worst of it. Before I could even begin to descend, X readied his blade and made a wide and hard swing to launch a duo of plasma cutter waves that nearly cut right through me as I was sent flying a good distance away before I hit the pavement with a crash. That was easily the hardest hit I had taken thus far. But much like the Nova Strike, I knew it could only be readily used once. And this time, X made the most of it.

With darkened scorch lines painted across my armor, I staggered to my feet. But as I turned my gaze towards X in the distance, I noticed there had been a change. While I could see that the Blade Armor was still active on him, X's colorations had changed. What used to be blue was now a bright green. X's blade arm had even deactivated with its crossguard snapping down into the sides of the X-Buster to make it easier to aim with. At that instant, three bright flashes of light burst around X as a trio of small dragonfly drones began to circle him while he took aim at me. "Huh... Yammar Option, huh? I can do that too... Wait, what?"

I saw X suddenly cast me a sudden confused stare as I too tried to access the Yammar Option in my own data banks. But instead of shades of green, my body's hardened armor turned jet black with my visor and softer components turning a hot pink. And instead of little dragonfly robots, three boxy drones with glowing pink grid faces began to orbit around me. I let out a laugh as the answer popped into my head. "Oooooh, that's right! Metta Option!"

With the moment having passed, X and I took aim at each other as we opened fire with our drones joining in. The dragonfly drones that circled X while firing off circular orange energy projectiles while mine returned fire with bursts of bright pink projectiles in the shape of hearts suspiciously made up of large pixels. Very few of their shots even got through due to most of them colliding with each other, but X and I ran all around each other through the street with plasma shots flying. Our drones never broke formation as they never stopped firing.

I quickly tired of this futile stalemate as I finally got the idea to stand my ground. With my drones still providing cover fire, I braced myself while taking aim with the H-Buster for the heaviest damage output possible. X mistook my lack of movement as an opportunity to exploit and came to a stop before he and his drones unloaded on me with rapid shots. Only shots from the X-Buster made it through and burst lightly into me for minor damage while I muscled my way through it. With the H-Buster ready, I spoke with a smirk. "Let's see you stop this one!"

Feet rooted to the ground in preparation for the kickback, I fired. The H-Buster unleashed a large concentrated wave of raw orange plasma that blew right through the dragonfly drones' shots. I saw X just barely get his arms up as braced himself for impact and I suspect he even managed to stand against the wave at first, but I ceased firing when I noticed a flash of light followed by something suddenly shooting up into the air from where X had been standing.

Before I knew it, those dragonfly drones were firing down upon me from the sky as X went on a bombing run. They exploded into the pavement as I ran with my Metta Option drones returning fire as they were gradually picked apart and destroyed. And as the distant whistling of the X-Buster reached my auditory sensors, I jumped to the side as a frightfully fast and narrow blue plasma projectile shot down at me and punched right through the pavement.

I winced as I recognized that fast and piercing charged shot. Had that hit, it probably would have punched a hole right through me. X was not using the Blade Armor anymore. Knowing better than to be an easy target or to try and shoot X down from a severe elevation disadvantage, I accessed the Homing Torpedo function and charged up before firing off a volley of five missiles at once.

Locking on, the Homing Torpedoes veered through the air to chase X down. The Yammar Option drones could only fire in one direction and were incapable of intercepting the rockets that were coming right for him. Three of the torpedoes exploded into the drones to destroy them while X was knocked out of the sky by the other two blowing up in his face. But he quickly managed to right himself during the fall and came to a stop just above the pavement before me. X hovered just off the ground as I beheld what now covered his body. While the Blade Armor was a gorgeously sturdy suit designed for a swordsman, this one still retained the familiar colors of white and blue with gold highlights while being beautifully sleek and clearly designed for flight.

X's armor was easily more white than anything else, with sturdy blue bracings lining his arms and around where his foot panels connected to his legs. His pauldrons were much more angular and before, much like my own, as if to add a layer of aerodynamic function to reduce air resistance. A green crystal core of sorts rested just under his breastplate while a hooked blue extension that looked distinctly like the upper half a falcon's beak hung over it. Even the blue plating around the X-Buster extend to resemble hooked beaks on two sides. X's helmet was beautifully designed, two stabilizer fins reaching back like those on my own helmet that were coated in a layer of gold. And on his back while humming gently were two long and narrow rocket thrusters that held him just off the ground. Easily one of my favorites in terms of functionality, X hovered before me while clad in Falcon Armor.

"Beautiful... Simply beautiful. But if that's how it's gonna be..." I muttered as I saw where this battle was going. I hunkered down as I unfolded the collapsible flight thrusters on my back with as they too began to flare up. "Right! Let's fly!"

Together, we rocketed upward as X and I took our duel to the midnight sky. And there is nothing that can really describe a high speed aerial clash soaring over the rooftops of a metropolis in the middle of the night. We rocketed across the sky as we took aim and fired off shot after shot of small plasma burst. X was utterly glorious in flight as he was carried along on the rocket wings of the Falcon Armor in ways I had never seen before. I could only hope my own aerial performance was able to match his.

With our accuracy being less than ideal when darting along at such speed, X and I started getting more physical with our attacks. We rapidly closed the distance between each other and started ramming into each other. We had little means to damage each other this way, but the trick was to try and send the other flying off course to crash into something. Clank after clank filled the air as we rammed into each other from the side, even locking and pushing back into each other with the H-buster and X-Buster charging while glaring each other down from mere inches away.

With our weapons charged, X and I suddenly pulled away and fired. While my large blue plasma shot slammed into X hard, his much narrower and concentrated shot pierced right through mine and slammed squarely into my breastplate. There was just no stopping that particular means of attack and I was frightened at first that it had just impaled me. I was relieved that my breastplate had held up, but just barely. A shockingly deep indentation was near the bottom of the panel. I got lucky that time.

I saw the blue segments of X's armor take on a fiery red as he began to come banking back over to me. As his X-Buster charged this new weapon, I had a good idea of what was coming. With the tension rising the longer this duel went on, I decided to disable my body's limiter for making output. I equipped and unleashed the Nova Strike once more with the intention to see just how long I could keep that plasma aura going.

As I rushed back towards X for another ramming strike, X unleashed his charged shot as his body was suddenly coated in a blazing fire aura with the use of Speed Burner. Sparks flew as our auras protected and repelled each other. As this duel continued, we soon found ourselves soaring beyond the city and over the bay along the coastline. Our elevation decreased as we skimmed right over the ocean as the moon glowed over the deep dark water.

If my HUD's readings were anything to go by, I was making more progress on getting the upper hand over X at that moment than he was to me. The Nova Strike's aura was much too intense for the far weaker Speed Burner's flame aura to bypass and I was inflicting light damage upon X with every collision we made with each other. X must have caught on to this since he soon dismissed his flame aura and dove straight into the sea to escape me.

I was unsure if I should follow since I had not yet tested how effective Hunter's flight thrusters would function underwater. But I quickly found that the Falcon Armor was hardly hindered at all while the Nova Strike finally burned itself out. Glancing down, I could barely make out the bright colors of X's body as he turned himself over and began to fire directly up at me from under the surface of the sea. Energy waves of intense concentration to the point of being able to physically cut were being fired up at me, each being fired off two at once in diverging directions. Unable to aim directly at me with them, X seemed to be trying to herd me into steering myself into them with his erratic aim. "Twin Slasher?! That's a good one!"

While trying to bank around the unusual trajectories of X's Twin Slasher shots and taking the occasional glancing hit, I tried to search my memory for a weapon that could counter this. Homing Torpedo was the obvious choice, but I was concerned they might get slowed down just enough in the water to not catch up to X. If only there was something I could use that was ideal for targeting enemies below me...

That was what I considered at first until I noticed X was chasing me while underwater. A most devious idea came to mind as I willed up a familiar electrical into my currently equipped slot. My body's hardened armor took a familiar shade of almost golden yellow. X continued to fire up at me while I charged up the H-Buster, most likely not immediately recognizing the color scheme of my body. After dodging a few more shots, I pointed my cannon down at the sea and called out, "Here's an old favorite! Electric Spark!"

Upon firing, a massive burst of electric bolts exploded in all directions from the H-Buster with many going right down into the ocean. X had no hope of evading this with the water conducting the electricity right into him as I saw him lock up and writhe in shocking pain even in the dark depths below. Even as the Falcon Armor's thrusters carried him along. Taking the opportunity, I started to charge up the H-Buster's default functions for an overcharged shot now that the limiter was currently offline. "Time for a big one! Gotcha this... Wait... Is that a OW!!!"

Before I even knew what was going on down there, X had charged the X-Buster before generating and launching a massive boulder lined with metal wires right into my face! I got pushed pretty far into the air with my body having gone splat against it and I had to think fast before it could trap me under it and drag me back down into the ocean. I groaned in surprised as I pushed myself away from it, "I almost forgot about Ground Dash! And where'd he go?!"

As I flew along, I glanced all around me to try and locate X. There was no way an attack like that was not meant to at least partially serve as a diversion. Before long, I found him far away while also soaring over the sea with the metropolis far behind me. I could make out his body briefly going into a type of fetal position before he suddenly thrust his limbs out to his sides before dozens of narrow blue plasma projectiles started flying out from behind him and were coming right for me.

I flinched as I recognized the Falcon Armor's most devastation attack function. Yet another single-shot weapon, I would be torn to pieces if those all hit. I fired up the my flight thrusters on my back and even those on my boots as I banked hard to the left. Flying horizontally as fast as I could to try and get the incoming shots to just barely miss me. It was an extremely close call as every last one only barely zipped by me. While doing so, I equipped the Homing Torpedo function while charging the H-Buster to send the equivalent of such an attack right back at him.

"My turn!" I shouted as the last of X's barrage narrowly missed their mark. I unleashed my charged shot with the limiter still disabled. Fifty homing missiles burst forth from the H-Buster in rapid succession with each rushing in on X. Much like me, X replied by firing off some sort of spherical object in his wake that hovered in place while generating a round electrical field of sorts. To my surprise, I recognized that device as a Gravity Well that ended up drawing every last Homing Torpedo into its crushing gravitational field to be crushed into tiny bits of scrap. It soon ran its course after sucking up every missile I had fired before deactivating and falling into the sea. X came rushing at me well before that point at high speed while I started to propel myself backwards to try and come up with a new strategy. But as X suddenly shot up at me from a much sharper angle, he was engulfed by a flash of light before he was being carried along only by the sheer force of his prior momentum.

This sudden shift in form successfully distracted me just long enough for X to come ramming right into me as we were both being flung back towards the city behind me. But unlike the sleek and most likely light Falcon Armor, this collision came from something hard and heavy. And when I glanced up at X as he started to end up above me, my eyes went wide as both of his hands began to generate a volatile dark green and black glow. "Oh god... Oh god, not this!"

I was wide open as X thrust his hands out towards me. Through his hands, he generated a massive orb of green plasma that had black bolts of electricity arcing around it. I let out a yell as it scorched my body while X pushed it away from him and sent me on for a painful ride. Trapped inside this searing prison, I was thrown across the sky and down into the city before it finally exploded upon hitting the street as I was left in a shallow crater in the pavement. I wheezed as the pain receded and was horrified to see that this one single attack shaved off at least 25% of my body's integrity. For such an attack to hit me that hard, X must have used the...

A heavy crash reached my auditory sensors as something landed ahead of me. Upon pushing myself up, I saw him. X stood before me, but the armor his body was coated in... This was not like the much more colorful suits of armor he had been using up to that point. The plating was a darker metallic white while the much sturdier segments of his armor was a dull industrial gray complete with bolts or rivets studding them with only a few yellow bright gold segments on the front of his pelvic armor and the middle of his breastplate. This armor suit looked exceedingly tough with even X's helmet lined with more strips of dark gray braces. This muted color scheme combined with the sleek yet thick plating covering his body carried an air of raw defense at the cost of flashier functions. Even the X-Buster's new form had heavier plating on the outer side of the arm to double as a shield with the plating extending past the elbow.

This was probably the one type of armor I was not expecting X to resort to. As obscure as it was compared to the rest of his entire armory, I was very familiar with its functions. Raw firepower and ironclad defense at the cost of speed and even attack range with his Variable Weapon System completely locked out. An armor that forces the wearer to simplify their tactics. The Gaea Armor.

Still hurting from X having already dumped his strongest one-shot weapon into me to start things off, I was wary to approach him. If I remained out of range, I could probably whittle him down bit by bit even with his enhanced armor plating. As I considered my options, X broke into a sprint. The sheer weight of the Gaea Armor did slow him down to some extant with his gait only being that of a brisk jog. But even from that distance, I could feel his heavy tread through the street.

Not wanting to leave myself open, I fired off a flurry of smaller shots to at least try and keep X at bay. He responded by holding up his right arm before me and put the extra plating on the outside to use by powering through my barrage. I launched myself to the right with a dash from my boot thrusters as I began to charge up the H-Buster. My hope was to try and hit X where his defenses were less effective. But as I landed and took aim, I heard the whistling of the X-Buster charging as well.

I felt a twinge of fear fill me as I unleashed my shot before I was even sure if my aim was right. I had to try and hit him before he could fire. Even though less than a second had passed since I heard the X-Buster beginning to whistle, X managed to turn and take aim at me before my own plasma shot could hit him. And when the X-Buster fired, its functions had changed again. A massive burst of dark green energy was unleashed that obliterated my own shot and slammed right into me for a frightfully hard hit. I was sent flying and crashing along the ground as I felt the full force of that hit. X even charged the X-Buster again for just an instant and fired a fully charged shot, but I was only barely out of range that time as the incoming blast dissipated after traveling maybe a mere fifty feet.

This was a problem. The Gaea Armor's weaponry specialized in negating incoming attacks with overwhelming firepower with a drastically reduced charge time at the cost of range and mobility. How could I possibly triumph if my attacks could not even reach him?! X continued to stare me down as if he was daring me to try and close the gap as the X-Buster reached maximum charge again in just an instant with green light spilling forth from its mouth.

This was impossible. The charge time between shots was too brief for me to get close enough to maybe lash out with the H-Saber. And anything I threw at him would be negated by his own firepower. Thinking quickly, I came up with an idea. I access the Strike Chain once again with my hardened armor turning a shade of purple while charging the H-Buster. But instead of firing off a Strike Chain, I simply unleashed a fully charged default plasma shot instead before immediately hurling myself to the left. X took the bait and fired to block my shot, but I then took aim and fired off a Strike Chain at X's cannon arm.

The smaller clasping claw at the end of the rapidly extending chain hit home and clamp firmly onto the side of the X-Buster. I then gave a hard tug, hoping I could use X's own weight against him if I could just get him off his feet. "Com'ere!"

X was not quick to yield and began to resist my attempts with his only weapon not being able to line up a shot on me while the X-Buster was being grappled. But I was in for a very rude awakening. Even his very physical strength was being to the point where with just one mighty and sudden pull, he sent me flying right towards him on my own chain!

"Aaaaah no no no no UUUGGHHH!!!" I shrieked in shock before X slammed his own cannon arm right into my face with a fistless punch to slam me into the pavement and leaving a long crack down the side of my visor. The Strike Chain quickly retracted now that I was stunned, but X then grabbed me by my right pauldron with his left hand and effortlessly lifted me from the ground with a shockingly hard grip so hard that the plating composing my pauldron even fractured from the pressure. I then found myself on the receiving end of another brutal assault as X brought the X-Buster right to the softer abdominal section of my body and began to fire rapidly into me.

Even the basic uncharged shots from the X-Buster had been enhanced at the cost of range, each of them striking with the force of a halfway charged shot. But now that I was right up in X's face, the lack of range was not an issue. And it hurt! I looked at the corner of my HUD as my body's stability began rapidly dropping! If I did not get out of X's iron grip soon, the Gaea Armor's weaponry would tear me apart!

In a fit of sheer desperation, I activated the Nova Strike again and hoped for the best. Even with the ironclad plating of the Gaea armor in the way, this proved to be too much for X as he hastily released his grip on me while I shot up into the air. I threw myself backwards with the use of my boot thrusters the instant the Nova Strike's plasma aura faded to put some distance between me and X.

My hand grasped at my abdominal area to find that the softer components that covered it had been all but ripped or burned away. I was in a bad spot. The Gaea Armor alone had inflicted more damage on me than all of X's previous armor suits combined. It was just...too strong. Packing the firepower of an entire armory and being as solid as a block of iron. Too heavy. And too slow. I would need to be fast enough to get around X's attacks and close the distance since all projectiles would be negated by X's own overwhelming weaponry. I would have to get in close and break through his armor somehow...

I had an epiphany as that word crossed my mind. Break. And then it dawned on me. The Gaea Armor was tough and powerful, but very slow. And I had something up my sleeve that could probably exploit that. Glancing up in the corner of my HUD, I willed Rocket Tackle and Rising Fire into the two weapon slots. They responded accordingly as a familiar unique function was unlocked.

The white hardened armor lining my body took on a bold fiery red as my HUD displayed adjustments in my body's functions. Flight thrusters were offline as physical output and reaction time had been radically enhanced. Feeling new instincts fill me as I closed my fists. "Breaker Mode... Let's see if this tips the scales."

I saw X flinch as I made a sudden lunge for him with a sprint at speeds I could not have reached before. An instant later, he fired off a massive charged shot at me that only narrowly missed me as I flung myself to the side and vaulted through the air with a handstand flip to keep my momentum going. I never would have been bold enough to try being so acrobatic, but Breaker Mode had it all come naturally to me. X had no idea how to even really respond to such a tricky target as he kept turning and trying to shoot me out of the air with charged shot after charged shot. And with every miss, I got a little bit closer.

Finally, I weaved under another massive green blast of volatile energy and came rushing in with a punch slamming right into X's chest. As heavy as he was, the impact jarred him enough to knock his arms away from me. I had to act fast. If he got his hand on me again, I would be in for a world of pain. Arms wreathed in flames, I began jackhammering my flaming fists into X with inhuman speeds and crushing levels of force. At one point, I even started lifting him off the ground with how much consecutive force I was applying. X could not even try to counterattack!

As I got X higher into the air, I could see that the heavy armor lining his breastplate was starting to dent and even fracture. I had to end this big. I began to charge the H-Buster as I had X almost directly situated above me. At last, I relented in my assault for just an instant before sending my flaming fist right up into X for the final touch. "Rising Fire!"

I unleashed my shot and sent X shooting skyward on a huge burst of flame that was as big as himself. I looked up upon catching my footing. Seconds later, there was a massive fiery explosion followed by a smoldering heap of something plummeting towards the ground. But just as I thought X might have been down for the count, his smoldering form was engulfed by yet another brief flash of light. Before I could even react, several small yellow plasma shots came spinning at me on unpredictable trajectories while looking distinctly like shuriken. Some missed while I had to block the others with my particle shield as I suddenly knew what this meant. "Oh no... This one?"

X landed with a clank before me after having successfully regained his composure. The Gaea Armor was gone, no doubt cast aside due to its lack of efficiency against fast and nimble opponents. And in its place was easily the sleekest armor in X's entire arsenal. Jet black with patches of white and golden braces around the ankles, wrists, and even the crest along the edge of his face being a glorious gold. A long crest was affixed the to top of his helmet that reached back while a black panel covered his face with only his eyes exposed. The X-Buster's mouth had opened wide into a type of refracting emitter with its mouth being surrounded by four pointed panels. His stance was low to the ground as X had donned the unmistakable visage of a shadowy ninja warrior. As my thoughts went back to the first time I used the Breaker Mode, during my first clash with Corvus in the Project H comic book world, I suddenly realized I was at a critical disadvantage. "Shadow Armor... Hoo boy, here we go..."

With speed that caught me off guard, X came charging in at me as his left hand summoned his plasma saber. But instead of its original green color, the blade was now a brilliant bright gold as he swung it with shocking speed. I had to hold up my shield to block each swing while I tried to think up a counter to this. I then heard the whistling of the X-Buster charging as he dismissed it to restore his right hand. Taking his sword into each, X unleashed a heavy cleaving slice as the blade extended to leave a massive crescent moon shape in the wake of its slash. This hit so hard that it sent me tumbling backwards with impressive force. I managed to catch myself and vaulted high into the air with a handstand backflip as I swapped out Rising Fire for Shadow Runner. "Fine. If speed's what I need...!"

The fiery red and bright white of Rising Fire vanished and was replaced by the shadowy black and dark gray of Shadow Runner by the time I landed on my feet with enhanced finesse. A metal mask closed over my face, leaving no part of me exposed beyond it and my orange visor. The HUD projected the changes in my body's function. Flight thrusters were still offline and even the H-Buster itself was disabled aside from only being able to fire off Shadow Runner projectiles. But my reaction time was faster than ever before, as was the general speed I could move at. If I had an answer to X's Shadow Armor, my own Shadow Mode was it. X stood ready with saber in hand while I reached for the H-Saber's holster. Upon being drawn, its hilt modified itself before disconnecting at the middle as I came rushing in at X with twin bright orange plasma kunai daggers in hand.

The sheer speed the two of us moved at was exhilarating. Everything around us seemed to be moving in slow motion as our blades clashed while we zipped and darted around the street. X was faster than ever before, swinging his blazing saber with speeds that even the Blade Armor could never achieve. But I was just as fast, using my shorter blades to parry his quick slashes while getting in light slicing cuts to his armor. It was nowhere near as absorbent as the far heavier Gaea Armor, but the Shadow Armor was still providing an admirable amount of damage resistance.

Our battle soon left that section of the street as we began to rush all over the entire city at speeds that were most like bordering on supersonic. X lashed out frequently with his heavy crescent moon slashes that I had no choice but to evade . At one point, X suddenly flung himself sideways on a very sharp angle and landed lightly upon the side of the thick windows of a skyscraper. Crouching nimbly with his saber clutched in his left hand, he armed his X-Buster and took aim before firing off a rapid volley of plasma shuriken in bursts of three at a time. Stabbing lightly into my armor, rushed through the storm of shuriken before joining my two kunai together at the hilts to restore the H-Saber before extending its full blade and hurling myself right at X with a rapid somersault slash that deflected everything he threw at me.

X did not leave himself open as he shot up the skyscraper a short ways to let me go crashing into the skyscraper before finding myself in an abandoned office complex. Not missing a beat, X came lunging through the window for me with sword ready while I only barely managed to come out of my spin and deflect his strike. We went flying through the air with constant clashing of plasma blades while remaining airborne for just a few seconds at a time. Our momentum carried us along while crashing through anything that was not bolted to the floor and soon right out the other side of the building. It was like we were on autopilot as we tumbled through the air without once ceasing the rapid duel of our blazing swords.

Even locked in heated battle, we still had enough awareness to break out of our fall and land nimbly upon the ground before hopping away in a few short yet swift bounds. With some new distance, I armed the H-Buster and promptly fired off several Shadow Runners in quick succession. X made a massive leap skyward to evade, but the persistent shadowy projectiles rapidly closed in on him regardless. But just as I thought I was about to score a blow, X shocked me yet again. With a mighty swing, he unleashed two massive golden crescent moon waves that rapidly orbited them to obliterate my own projectiles. With yet another swing of his hand, those two plasma crescents broke away and came flying right at me.

I was glad this was yet another move that could only be used once as I only narrowly flipped sideways to avoid these scorching plasma cutter blades. They cut heavily through the pavement before dissipating. As soon as X landed, he hurled himself at me with a speedy dash with his boot thrusters propelling him. But as I prepared to cleave through him, he was suddenly engulfed in yet another flash of light. I thought he had swapped to a previous suit of armor at the last second, but instead... His body had reverted to its default form. And my H-Saber cleaved right through him as if he was not even there.

"Uh...what? How... Gah!" I muttered before being thrown backwards by a fist being thrown right into my face. Another prominent crack formed in my visor from the blow as I rolled along the ground. But when I vaulted back up onto my feet, my eyes went wide as I beheld X standing ahead of me. The sleek and shadowy visage of the Shadow Armor was gone. And in its place was... "Hoo boy... You're done playing, huh?"

X stared me down as he seemed to wheeze in some form of exhaustion. His body... A gorgeous deep blue armor plating adorned with gold fins on the pauldrons and sides of his boots and even two fins on the top and bottom of the X-Buster. His soften components on his limbs and midsection were a distinct light purple as black bits complimented the gold along with three narrow spines adorning the brow of his helmet. But the plating... It was not a traditional type of alloy. This material was vaguely transparent to give me a partial view of X's underlying metal endoskeleton. My HUD responded as it scanned his new form, a warning flashing across it as it analyzed this new form before me.

THREAT LEVEL: CRITICAL

This was it. The Ultimate Armor. X's trump card. Even with this new armor freshly adorning his body, I could see scuffs and chips in it that translated from the prior damage he had endured. But my body... I was astonished by how worse off I was. My body's condition had dropped to a worrisome 35% with much more prominent battle damage all over me. If I was going to have any sort of chance to come out on top with X now bringing his best to this duel, I too had to break past my limits.

With a mere thought, my limiter was disabled. Shadow Mode was disengaged as the panel over my face opened with my body returning to its natural white coloration. Vents opened all over me as I saw a pair of short fins extend from X's back to be used in stabilizing during flight. The real question now was who would be the first to break.

Together, we struck. The two of use were both engulfed by fiery plasma auras as we both unleashed Nova Strikes. We slammed into each other hard headfirst while glaring right into each other's eyes. Neither side gave as we were flung back once the auras faded only for us to try again. The greatest strength of the Ultimate Armor. The mighty Nova Strike without fear of running out of its energy reserves. Anything else would be torn apart in seconds without a fiting defense. With X able to use it again and again with reckless abandon, I prayed that my body would be able to compensate by regenerating my Variable Weapon System's reserves as quickly as I could deplete it. If it ran out while X was coming at me, I would be done for.

We soared and clashed, two fiery meteors flying around trying to get the better of the other. I tried to catch my breath by landing and using my particle shield to hold X back, but too many repeated ramming attacks from his unrelenting Nova Strikes proved to be too much and I had to resort to once again hurling myself at him with my body struggling to keep up.

I was fighting at my absolute limit. I was only barely holding my own with X as we seemed to be locked into a stalemate. Was this it? Was the might of Project H truly inferior to the limit potential of X? No, I still had something to try. Even as we clashed with charge after charge, I was charging the H-Buster well past its normal capacity. Higher and higher its charge rose, surpassing 200%. Then 500%. I knew what would happen if I went as far as 3000%. I would end up destroying us both with the sheer blast radius. I had to wait until I reached 1000% before I was sure I could safely put any faith into my next move.

At last, the H-Buster reached a charge level of 1000% and not a moment too soon. My body felt like I was suffering from a raging fever. How hard was my removal of the limiter taxing my body? X was suffering no ill effects at all. This was it. I was betting everything on this one shot as we broke away and landed far from each other. And by then, the H-Buster's mouth was glowing fiercely with a horrifyingly bright red glow. X's eyes went wide upon seeing my gambit about to be played as he too charged the X-Buster to try and counter with its own enhanced power.

"COME OOOONNNNNN!!!!!" I yelled as I took aim and fired. X did the same as a massive blue orb of concentrated plasma was fired at me that surely would have done some significant damage had it connected. Fortunately, my gamble paid off. The sheer recoil of the blast I fired very nearly threw me off my feet as an equally large scorching hot yellow blast of overcharged plasma was fired from the H-Buster. It tore right through X's own blast without issue. I threw up my shield arm just as a precaution as I tried to hold me breath.

A bright flash filled my vision as a earthshaking hissing explosion tore through the air. The pavement buckled and cracked with fissures. The shockwave very nearly threw me right through the air as windows lining the buildings nearby shattered simultaneously with countless thick shards scattering across the street. I felt a sense of relief. That did it. X had to be done for the count. At least that was assuming he was even still in one piece after that.

As the almost atomic flare faded, I gazed ahead. And I was horrified by what I saw. X still stood, the Ultimate Armor literally peeling away in layers of bright greenish light. A look of cold fury filled those green eyes as he stood there in just his default form. He had not escaped unscathed as I could see quite a bit of physical trauma lining his blue titanium armor. But now... The red gem on the front of his helmet glowed brightly. And his bare left hand. Now engulfed in a very bright almost heroic shade of shimmering green light. My visor's HUD was quick to detect this sudden and seemingly mundane return to what should have been an inferior state.

THREAT LEVEL: ERROR

I knew what this was. And I was both enthralled and terrified all at once. This was something far beyond even the might of the Ultimate Armor. His greatest and most feared power. The very X factor that his name represented. "Infinite Evolutionary Potential..."

It was over. I knew it. And yet I defied it. I began to raise my arm to fire on X, but he was already moving to intercept me as his boot thrusters launched him across the ruined pavement at speed I could not have anticipated. Before I could even line up a shot, he slammed his fist across my face as a section of my visor was shattered right off. I had no idea what had even hit me before he slammed the mouth of the X-Buster on his right arm into my gut and firing off a blast at maximum charge power even having to take the time to charge it. I tried to bring the H-Buster up as I began to charge, but was promptly slammed across the face again by another energy-charged punch. The H-Buster managed to charge enough to 300% with my body's lack of inhibitions forcing it to charge much faster than before as I barely managed to land a direct hit on X at the tiniest opening I got.

X was on the ropes. The blast pushed him back as a heavy fracture lined his breastplate. Maybe I could outlast him after all! Bracing my feet upon the ground, I took aim and unloaded the H-Buster with it set to its most concentrated settings as I unleashed a bright red focused plasma beam right at X. But to my horror, he stood his ground and reached out with his hand, literally catching what surely would have been his doom in his palm!

I dumped more and more unrestrained power into my attack with more and more of that volatile plasma pooling into X's palm. A few seconds in, he lunged to the side and literal threw five seconds worth of that attack right back at me! My HUD was lined with a glitching wall of static for just an instant as I shrieked in pain. How much damage did that explosion of my own attack do to me?! With X once again rushing in to end this duel, I swiftly drew the H-Saber and tried to bring it down into him for a desperate slash, but once again, X shocked me with another unexpected counter. His glowing left hand literal grasped the H-Saber's scorching plasma blade and held it back!

I tried to wrestle my blade free from X's invincible grasp, but he tore the H-Saber right from my hand and cast it aside with the X-Buster once again firing a powerful shot right into me. I was in a panic. I was out of options. With nothing else going for me, I once again armed the H-Buster as I heard the X-Buster beginning to charge. I began to charge mine while X and I took aim. With the H-Buster reaching 500% in just a second or two, I fired right as X did. Our plasma shots collided and we were both thrown back by the very edge of the explosive blast radius of the resulting energy explosion.

Alarms were going off in my head. Sparks were flying from cracks in my armor as I struggled to remain standing. I gazed ahead at X as he too held his left hand to his breastplate and gasped for breath. The glow in his hand was fading while the bold red shine coming from the gem on his helmet began to rhythmically blink. With half of my visor gone, I could not get a complete grasp of X's current condition. All I could confirm was that my HUD was detecting an emergency activation of my body's limiter systems. As if I would end up causing my body to have some sort of critical malfunction if I overtaxed it any longer.

I was at my limit. And I was out of options. The two of us stared each other down, wheezing in exhaustion, as the X-Buster and H-Buster began to serenade the battle with their whirling whistles and mechanical whirs. Together, we charged with our left hands reaching out. I grabbed X by the side of his neck while his grasped me by the base of my arm. Weapons charged and ready, we both brought our cannons up and aimed them at the side of each other's helmet.

And then... Nothing. It was a true stalemate. Now locked in a death grip, this duel had come down to a simple game of chicken. Who would shoot or back down first? Our gazes were fierce, never blinking as X looked ready to blow my head off. No other sounded was heard besides the call of the buster cannons on our arms. The glowing particles in their mouths showed they were ready to fire at full power.

X was hesitating, even if he was ready to end this fight. Just like he always did. But so did I. What would happen if I fired first? X would fire too. Would we destroy each other? With what little of my HUD still remained intact, I tried to perform in in-depth scan on X and myself. To my utter disbelief, I was in significantly worse shape than he was. My body was holding on by a mere 2%. Conversely, X was... I could not tell. There was not enough space left on my visor to display the entire number. All I could tell was it was in probably in the single digits as well. 6%, maybe?

With my limiter locked for my own sake, my heart sank as I was filled with a strange mixture of relief, disappointment, and satisfaction. If we were to both fire now, the results were clear. X would survive, but I would not. And thus the truth dawned on me. The human spirit of Project H had finally found its limit. And I could not deny it.

I lost.

The fire left my eyes as I vented the H-Buster's charged energy through vents on the side with its charging whir and glowing condensed energy around the mouth ceasing to be. X appeared to be satisfied with my choice as his fierce glare also left his face with the X-Buster's charge fading out as well. Our hands released their grip on each other before I finally felt the full ramifications of our duel. I dropped to one knee with a clank, wheezing in spite of my lack of lungs.

X took a step back and gazed down at me with such a look of uncertainty in those kind green eyes of his. His right hand emerged from the mouth of the X-Buster as it was disarmed, his voice speaking with a soft tone. "You're...not even a maverick, are you?"

All I could do at the moment was shake my head in disagreement while letting my head hang in exhaustion. I had never meant to deceive X. It was just an opportunity I could not pass up. He then asked, "You're not even really carrying a virus... Are you?"

"Nope... I have complete immunity to all forms of viral infection..." I retorted while almost tempted to laugh now that the tension had faded. I too restored my right hand as the H-Buster was deactivated. Although I was sure X was not exactly happy to know I had not said something sooner.

When I finally found the strength to look up at him, I saw X gazing down not in anger, but in bewilderment. He then asked, "Then...why are we fighting? You could've just said something..."

"I guess I just..." I muttered while now trying hard not to laugh. A sheepish smile lined my lips as I finally found the will to truly speak to him. "I suppose...because this was one of those once in a lifetime opportunities... I guess...I just wanted to see what it would be like to face off against my hero."

X's eyes went wide at my words. He could not find anything to say to that. I groaned while bracing my arm with hand on my knee before slowly forcing myself to stand. My stance was shaky as I wheezed, "You always were the best, X... Even if no one else ever knew it."

It was then something happened that I did not expect. X began to smile. And I swear he even began to blush. In a rather adorable fashion, he averted his gaze while rubbing his hand over his helmet. "Wow... Um... That's new... I'm not used to that kind of compli... Huh?"

I said nothing as I listened. X looked distracted. He then lifted his left arm and looked at the plating on it. Was he receiving a transmission from HQ? When he looked at me, I said quietly, "It's cool, I can wait."

X nodded and then closed his left hand into a fist before he began to speak into the receiver built into his arm. "This is X... Commander Signas, I... Yes, about that... I... Uh..."

He went silent while looking right at me. I knew that name. Just his commanding officer checking in now that the action had died down. No doubt a sign X had handled the trouble he found. But I was still alive. What could he say? X then looked away as he smiled and said, "It was a false alarm. There was no viral presence. My mistake, really. Sorry for worrying you."

I smiled at him in gratitude. He was going out of his way to get me out of trouble for wasting his time. Although he then muttered, "I am? Oh... I guess I really am pretty busted up right now... Yeah, about that... Um..."

Oh boy... Even though X had fibbed to them about not finding trouble, how was he going to explain the massive amount of damage his body had suffered? An elite warrior like him would not get banged up that easily on a routine patrol. But he still found a way. And I cracked a smirk when I heard what he said. "It's...kind of embarrassing, honestly... I rounded a corner and...tripped over an undetonated explosive someone must've dropped."

That grimace that started to cross X's face... What was he hearing on the other end? I quickly put two and two together and asked smugly, "He's cracking up, isn't he?"

X squinted his eyes shut as he tried so very hard not to laugh. He looked utterly adorable at the moment. In an attempt to change the subject, he regained his composure and asked, "Anyway... What about the others? How's Zero holding up? And Axl? Good, that's great to hear. Sounds like everything's under control now too. I'll make a few more sweeps of the area before I head on back... Yes, understood. X out."

With his arm lowered, I knew that X and I were all alone together now. And it was...humbling having finally gotten to see what my lifelong hero was truly capable of. But he then turned to me and said, "I don't even know your name. And I can't even remember the last time someone gave me that hard of a fight. Only Zero's ever given me that much trouble."

Coming from X, that was truly some high praise. The writers at EAC would be flattered to hear the closest thing to an equivalent to Project H himself being essentially compared to his as an equal. Although I then said, "Me? Well... I guess it depends on which. Codename is Project H. Most call me Hunter where I come from. But if you want my real name..."

I hesitantly held out my hand to him. I was exhausted, happy, yet nervous. To shake the hand of someone you genuinely admire... Something that is hard to describe. "James... My real name is James."

X hardly hesitated. He reached out and took hold of my hand for a friendly shake. He then spoke with a smile, "James, huh? I'll remember that. Good to meet you. But...how do you know me? You...were a little too familiar with some of what I used in battle tonight."

"You wouldn't understand even if I tried to explain it to you... Even I'm not sure of how to word it..." I retorted while knowing there was no way to explain to a product of my dream how I had any prior knowledge of him. But I then said, "But I can say this. I know you. I know just about everything about you. And for most of my life, you've been an inspiration to me. Someone I could always believe in. Even if most people forget about you... Even if others think differently... You'll always be my hero. You're the best, X. And you always will be."

"Come on, that's too much... I'm not that amazing, am I?" X said with a humble chuckle. Regardless of how modest he was, X was grinning ear to ear. It was so rare to see such a smile on his face and it was a genuine treat to behold one. And seeing him smile encouraged me to smile. We had one hell of a fight and very nearly destroyed each other, but now we were smiling and even laughing together like a couple of new friends. With his chuckling subsiding, X then said, "Anyway, how about I bring you back to HQ? I'll put in a good word for you and they can get you fixed up. It looks like you're even worse off than I am right now."

"Yeah, no arguing with that. You really did a number on me..." I retorted with a wheezing chuckle as I took a good look at myself. Even with the most intense battles I have seen while masquerading as Project H, the only time where I ended up in worse shape was at the end of the pilot issue. Of course, I knew I did not have much time left in my dream by then. And being secured to a maintenance table was not an ideal way to end this dream. So I shook my head and said, "Unfortunately, I have to decline. There's somewhere I need to be soon and they'll fix me up when I get there. I can still fly, if nothing else. I'll be OK unless someone snipes me outta the air or something."

"You're sure? Well... All right then. Just be careful on your way. I'd hate to hear you turned up wrecked in an alley somewhere and that I had a hand in it." X replied while patting me on my right pauldron with it being the only one that was still largely intact. "But I just want to say that it was good getting to know you tonight. You take care, James."

I was about to say roughly the same thing in parting, but as I looked at him and all the damage his titanium armor had suffered... It brought to mind the thought of battle all over again. And the coming battles that awaited me back in the real world. I could not say goodbye yet. There was one thing that still needed to be said. "X... Before I go... You got time for a question?"

He nodded and stood at attention before me. I thought carefully of how to word this before I said, "Well... As I said, I know you. And I know how in spite of just how powerful you are... How spectacular you are in combat... I know you hate everything about it. You just want to turn the X-Buster off forever and just enjoy life in peace. But you still fight anyway."

That gaze X was giving me showed that he was probably more than a little confused on how well I could read him like a book. But I then said, "Where I come from... Right now, there is war. And I'm actively involved in it. But like you, I... I take no enjoyment in it. I just want to put the sword down and go home. Which... I guess what I'm asking is... How do you do it? How do you find the will to fight despite it being against everything you believe in? What keeps you going in the end?"

For just a moment, X said nothing. He just stared at me in stunned silence as the gears in his head began to turn. He crossed his arms with eyes directed to the ground. "I don't think anyone's really asked me that before..."

"Take your time... Think all you need to." I said softly with a hand extended at him. There was no rush. The world still felt stable enough to not worry about waking up too soon.

With his eyes closed, X began to mutter softly. "I suppose... Even way back when it all started... I think what really gave me the will to actually do something was knowing I had the power to just...do something. To make a difference. And I'm still doing that now. I know I have the power to do good in this world. Even if the only way to do that is to fight for those who can't fight to protect themselves."

"Is that all? Is there more? Anything that...keeps you going? Even when you want to just quit?" I asked while trying to be more specific. "I know you quit once before. When you retired for a time?"

"Right... The Red Alert incident... I couldn't keep going... I guess I just finally hit burnout and needed some time to think about things... And things only got worse for everyone while I was off the field." X replied glumly while a certain sorrow filled his eyes. "Zero couldn't handle it all by himself. It was then that I understood having the power to do something...and choosing to do nothing with it doesn't benefit anyone. Those that only know how to spread suffering and destructing can't be understood or reasoned with. That's when power is needed."

He let out a sigh with his eyes closed and face directed to the ground. I noticed a small smile start to form on his lips. "But as for what keeps me going... I guess it's knowing I'm not alone in this war... I don't think I would've ever stuck with it if Zero hadn't been there with me since the very beginning. And Axl... I didn't know how much we needed someone like him until he joined up. And...just everyone... I probably would've quit a long time ago if I was on my own. Seeing their smiles at the end of a successful mission... It makes everything feel worth it in the end."

X lowered his arms as he looked right at me. His smile became uneven as he said, "I hope that's the answer you're looking for... I'm not really sure how to explain it any better than that. It's not like anyone asks me this stuff very often."

"Nah, it's fine. That's... It's all good advice. Stuff I needed to hear. I appreciate it." I retorted while smiling back at him. Such a humble hero... The world needs more people like that. Although I then let out a sigh as I muttered, "I just hope I have what it takes... Regardless of what you saw here tonight... I'm not like you, X. I'm not a warrior. And I never will be."

I knew I have never had the makings of a warrior. All I could do was hope that I could hold on well enough to see this mess through tot he end. And yet, X could see my worries without me saying anything else. He then did something I completely did not expect. X took a step forward and embraced me in his arms. I heard his soft voice speak most tenderly, "You'll do fine. I believe in you, James. I know you'll be all right."

I froze. To hear that from him... To be held like that by my hero and to hear such sincere words of reassurance, it... It was too much. Even with a mechanical body like mine, I felt tears beginning to flow down my face. I placed my hand on X's back as I muttered, "Thanks, X... I needed that..."

X soon took a step back and placed both hands upon my shoulders. His face displaying a soft yet confident smile, he spoke more calmly to me. "I hate to say goodbye, but... If I don't start heading back soon, they'll probably send Zero and Axl out to track me down and escort me back. And I don't know how I'll explain things if they find us like this."

"Heh... Right. Pretty sure attacking a maverick hunter is a pretty serious offense under most circumstances anyway..." I said with a weak chuckle. I then wiped my tears away as I said, "It was great getting to meet you, X... Be safe out there."

"Same to you, James. Goodbye. And good luck." X spoke sincerely before he almost hesitantly stepped back and began to walk away.

As I watched, I felt the urge to say something. Just anything. I could not just let him walk away like that with a simple goodbye. After maybe thirty paces, I reached out to X and called out. "X!"

He heard me and turned to look back at me. Now that I had his attention, I chose my next action carefully. I held out my fist and displayed a thumbs-up gesture while I smiled as brightly as I could. "Thank you for always being an inspiration to me."

I could see him smiling. Without hesitation, X did the same and displayed a thumbs-up of his own. Our farewells said, X turned and broke into a run as his foot panels clanked into the night.

I stood there in solitude for a moment before I was soon joined. The sound of wings reached my auditory sensors. And when I turned around, there they were. Celestia, Luna, and Nightmare Moon descending before me. The three royal sisters landed gently before me as I realized that I had completely forgotten about them during the insanity of that duel. I asked quietly, "You saw all that?"

Luna smirked in a most satisfied manner. "We most certainly did. That was a clash for the history books. The authors at Equestria Action Comics could learn much from such a stunning example."

Celestia then gave me a uneasy gaze and said, "We were considering intervening, but...that duel carried an air of personal significance. It felt wrong to throw ourselves in there. Though you did perform impressively admirably in the end without us regardless."

However, Nightmare Moon then gazed at me with a look of concern that did not share Luna's reserved enthusiasm. "And yet... You lost. We saw you yield first."

"Huh... Yeah, I guess I did... That was a first, wasn't it?" I retorted weakly as I felt the extent of the damage my robotic body had suffered. I was astounded I could even stand after all that. "The human spirit is tenacious, but I guess it still can't compare to one whose potential is genuinely without limit..."

Celestia took a step forward as she asked, "You don't seem all that upset about it... Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine... Really, this doesn't bother me." I retorted as I looked back in the direction X had run off for. "Heroes like him...aren't supposed to lose. And he's always been mine."

"Your own hero? Well...that changes things entirely. I hope this was a fulfilling experience for you." Nightmare Moon said with a more pleasant tone as a smile started to form on her lips. "Does he have a name?"

"X. Just.....X." I said softly as the world rippled around me. I looked at the royal sisters as I could sense the very walls of this world starting to be wiped clean. "Thanks for setting this up for me tonight... I really needed this."

The three sisters smiled as the time for words rapidly became much shorter. Celestia was the last to speak as she whispered to me, "It was a pleasure, James. May your morning be a pleasant one."

Moments later, my vision went blank. I felt a familiar weight across my body and a soft mattress to my back. A wing was draped across me while a hand held my left arm. As my eyes adjusted, I found Smolder to my right and another less familiar little dragoness on my left. Except I knew that the dragon before me was simply a sneaky little love bug who got lonely in her pillow fort during the night.

As I sit here writing this, Smolder is downstairs gathering up our breakfast so we can enjoy our morning meal together in my room without anyone giving Ocellus any trouble. But my thoughts are still drawn to what came before I woke up. I feel like I actually got something important out of that experience.

I am not alone in this. I need to just be mindful of who is with me in this endeavor. Need to remember that I am not powerless. I can do something about this. I can make this war end. Equestria can be saved. Thank you, X. Fictional or not, your words mean more to me than you will ever know. I will do everything in my power to make sure your advice was not for nothing. Thank you, old friend.

That will do for now. Even if that duel was just in the depths of my dreaming mind, I feel strangely famished. I suppose it is possible to work up an appetite even like that. And it sounds like Smolder is on her way back up. Time to see what is on the menu this morning.