On 9-3-2009, a certain author well known for his MMX fanfiction, Erico, presented a project to the community here on , From the Sidelines. Its original intent was to gather talent from the community and to write small side stories about characters either from the Mega Man X game series, or about original characters caught up in a larger series of events, either related to the games or inspired by them.

If you have not read his work, I highly suggest that you do. It is among the best written work you can find on this site. It is also relevant to the story I am working on here.

I myself wrote up an entry for FTS, and was happy to see that the Superbard himself had accepted it. I recommend that before reading this story that you read through From the Sidelines, and my entry, To Serve and Protect, that leads directly into this here. Hell, I recommend reading through all of his work in general. Other good authors that have inspired me would also include and are certainly not limited to Maelgrim, Magus523, Revokov, and many, many others who have preceded me and are my superiors. I wouldn't be attempting this had they not provided the spark for me to get off my duff and get writing. I am forever indebted to them for the years of entertainment and inspiration they have provided me.

At any rate, welcome to my continuation to the short story I provided for From the Sidelines. It is based off of Erico's own works, and will likely diverge from them at some point. In addition to my own cast of characters, there will appearances from a number of folks from his works. Hopefully, by the time this is finished, I will have crafted an interesting world for them and for you, the reader.

Introduction

The truth of life on Earth is that humanity remains as the dominant species, and despite the sheer destructive force it has unleashed on the planet it calls home, war is always being waged somewhere, for any number of reasons. Their reploid creations are just as affected by it. They fight eachother, Hunter versus Maverick, and they fight as soldiers against humans. It is something that would bring the late Doctor Thomas Light to his knees in anguish, to see that the future has changed so very little, and that his last living son is caught up in the tribulations that shake the world to its core.

War is something humanity has tried, time and again, to reflect upon and swear that at long last, this time, the lesson has been learned. That no longer should man bear arms against fellow man, whatever the reason. In the 2040's, the world faced death on an unprecedented scale, and yet it clung on by a thread. A Second Rainbow brought hope to the survivors of that conflict, and among them, two men named Light and Wily would bring about the Age of Robots, and much later, would bring war upon one another, with the world as their battlefield. A dark history familiar to all who live in this world.

Humanity found that without a true existential threat, without something to rally against, something truly tangible and ever present that could touch the lives of every being throughout the world, the borders they lived within never disappeared. The religions they practiced, though many were similar in so many ways, still remained irreconcilable. The color of skin could never be ignored. The land one lived on was always better than your own. The resources they had you always needed more of. And so on went the laundry list of things that, for a short time, had been ignored.

When Wily disappeared, the world turned in on itself. The UN finally dissolved, and chaos brushed its free hand across the face of the Earth. The world managed to reign itself once more at the brink, only after a terrible cost had been exacted. The Global Defense Council would take power, and seek to enforce peace at a cost that only now have people begun to question.

In the year 2117, the world is shown X by James T. Cain. The Reploid is born from his design, and is mass-produced. Quickly, it becomes a tool for humanity in its reconstruction. Within a year, it becomes the newest threat to human existence. Lead by a former Hunter named Sigma, Mavericks make total war upon the human race, in the name of independence. By 2124, the GDC puts their new tools on trial. It is a sham trial, born of the minds of human supremacists, and they call none other than the reluctant progenitor of a species to take the stand in their defense. Against the odds, the Reploid race is acquitted of guilt in the Maverick rampages. It is an event that will never be forgotten, or forgiven, by Reploid or Maverick.

Mavericks continue their war, and Sigma rises from defeat again and again. Casualties only worsen. X and his partner Zero begin to feel the enormity of the task at hand, as do all of their comrades. Time, it seems, is on Sigma's side. As his presence continues to fade from the minds of the people, they slowly, inevitably, begin looking inward once more. Preparing for threats that may or may not exist. Terrorists still strike around the world. The GDC and its member states still deploy armies around the globe to instill order, at gunpoint if necessary. Resources continue to dwindle. It is an age of distrust, of unspoken fears. Reploids, designed to serve and protect humans, find themselves caught in the middle.

It is the year 2133, two years after the events that transpired in Erico's Demons of the Past, and closing in rapidly on 2134. Apollo, a commander reploid in the US military, lead an ill-fated rebellion against the Global Defense Council, attacking a US defense arcology in Los Angeles, California, taking his entire unit with him on his personal crusade. With the help of Mega Man X and Zero, and their respective Maverick Hunter units, and other units from the New York Hunter HQ, Los Angeles MSWAT was able to see the incident come to a brutal, abrupt end. The political fallout is immeasurable, and the true effects remain to be seen. Apollo's Rebellion may have died, but there are those who were a part of it that roam free. Like Sigma, the immediacy of their transgressions has long since passed.

Much like a singular bolt of lightning, the thunder of their passing rolls on into the future, well beyond their moment on the stage.

It has been said, incorrectly, that lightning never strikes the same place twice.

It can be said that while it does, it does not need to.