What Could Have Been

Disclaimer: All characters, including Mega Man Zero, Omega, Ciel, Dr. Weil, the Four Guardians, and Mega Man X, belong to Capcom.

"But…how…?" Zero stared in utter confusion at the sight of Omega. Or rather, himself. His true self. The warrior could hear Dr. Weil's cackling.

"Fool! Believe it! You're nothing more than a copy! An imperfect facsimile of the real, indestructible Zero!" Dr. Weil said. Zero wished he'd die from his own laughter.

Zero gritted his teeth. "No. You're wrong. The heart is what counts. X knows that I'm the real Zero. I may be in a copy body, but I'm still the real one." He pointed a finger at Omega. "You're just a tool. I defeated you once, and I'll defeat you again, scum."

Omega grinned. "I am the messiah! I am the God of Destruction! I will lead the reploid race to salvation of destruction. I WILL RULE EVERYTHING. I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Omega laughed insanely, and Zero gritted his teeth, tightly gripping his saber.

"Beat it, dipshit."

The two warriors got into their battle stances, activating their sabers and Buster Shots. Zero was nervous, despite the fact that he probably had the advantages in terms of tech, like the Ultimate Foot Chip.

Zero dashed right through Omega, swinging his saber around, hoping to instantly slice off the opponent's head. Omega deftly ducked, and swung his leg around, sweeping Zero. However, before Zero's body could even hit the ground, Omega performed a Ryuenjin with his saber, fire burning Zero's armor and sending him flying back.

"This is a hopeless fight, Zero. Give up and save yourself the humiliation of dying in battle. Surrender, so I can get this over with."

"Fuck off." Zero growled, putting on a more defensive stance than before.

Omega slammed his fist into the ground, and then there was a shockwave. Zero immediately knew what he was doing. Omega was performing a Rekkouha. Pellets of energy flew around the arena. Several shots managed to graze Zero's armor, but for the most part, he managed to dodge the attack fairly well.

"My turn." X spent some time retraining Zero and reteaching him some powers, like the Hyouretsuzan and the Hadangeki. Zero dashed towards Omega with a Shipuuga, which increased his speed. This took Omega by surprise a bit, so he was unable to dodge. After the Shipuuga was done, Zero jumped in the air, slamming his saber downwards, performing a Quake Blazer, which set his saber on fire. The Quake Blazer was like a downwards mid-air version of the Ryuenjin. Omega was sent flying back, but he got up like it was nothing. "Come on! Can't the legendary Zero do any better?"

Zero dashed towards Omega, swinging his saber. Omega deftly blocked, smirking. He tried to counter with a Shipuuga, but Zero wasn't even done attacking. Before Omega could perform the move, Zero merely spun around, slamming his foot into Omega's face.

As Omega flew to the side, he rolled to the side, drenched from the water on the ground. Omega swung his saber, firing a Hadangeki projectile. Zero quickly charged up his Buster Shot, firing a shot at the projectile, causing it to dissipate.

"Done warming up yet?" Zero asked, getting slightly confident.

"My full power will annihilate you. I've toyed with you for long enough. Prepare yourself, fool! SOGENMU!" A gray clone of Omega appeared behind Zero, who blocked an attack.

The real Omega dashed towards Zero, saber tight in grip. As he prepared to strike, Zero jumped out of the way, giving him space. The red reploid scowled, realizing he was getting a little tired. Dammit. Not yet. Not now.

Zero decided to go on the offensive, dashing towards the maverick and his clone. However, he let his guard down, and Omega easily dodged, countering with a stab. Zero gasped in pain, and Omega slammed his foot into Zero, knocking him into the wet ground on his back.

"Damn…I…I can't fail. Not yet…"

Omega laughed. "Fool. You never had any chance at beating me. Had X still have his physical form, then maybe you would've had a chance. Farewell, Zero."

BANG.

A fireball slammed into Omega's chest, knocking him back several feet. Zero turned his head to see the guardians. Fighting Fefnir had just shot a fireball at Omega, saving Zero's life.

"Come on. Get up!" Sage Harpuia ordered, before flying towards Omega. Harpuia slashed at Omega about two times, before flying back. Fairy Leviathan helped Zero up carefully.

Then Zero felt an aura of light. X. Omega was on his knees now, gritting his teeth. Leviathan reluctantly let go of Zero, who stumbled to his knees as well, though he slowly got up, clutching his wound.

"What? NO! This isn't possible! This can't happen!" Dr. Weil yelled in disbelief.

"You were right to believe in me, Zero, though I don't think I needed to tell you that, did I?"

Zero was too weak to talk, so he saved his energy by simply shaking his head. Fefnir handed Zero his saber. "Come on. You can do this."

Then The Dark Elf emerged. Only…its glow was a bright light, instead of a dark aura. "The curse of Weil has been broken." X stated.

"NO! The Dark Elf is my slave! She cannot disobey me!" Dr. Weil yelled once more, desperate.

Fefnir grunted in annoyance. "Shut it, old man. It's time you get what you deserve."

The Dark Elf, or rather, the Mother Elf, flew over Zero, X, and the Guardians. "Zero…" It said softly.

Zero felt a surge of strength go through his body. Sage Harpuia put a hand on the warrior's shoulder. "Kill him. Then we can end Weil's evil for good." Zero nodded in agreement, and dashed.

SLASH!

The explosion was immense. Nothing nearby could've survived unless they were protected. And that was what happened. The Mother Elf managed to protect the heroes from Omega's explosion, though they fell unconscious. The Resistance found the heroes and carried them back to the base.

Zero awoke with a headache. He tried to get up, but he heard a gasp, and he felt arms hug him, and he was pushed back down by accident. He grunted in surprise, but he instantly knew what happened.

Ciel never left Zero's side. She was excited to see him okay. So excited that she couldn't resist hugging him. After all, she was only 15. As smart as she was, she was still a young girl.

"Zero! You're okay! I'm so glad!" Ciel shrieked, as Zero gritted his teeth in pain, realizing he had a massive body ache. Ciel realized this, and sheepishly let him go. "S-Sorry. You're still healing."

The crimson warrior nodded. "What…happened?"

Ciel sat down in a chair next to Zero's bed. "Apparently, the explosion from Omega nearly killed you all. But the Mother Elf saved you. We found you and the guardians, and here we are."

"Where's X?"

"I saw him around. But you should rest just a little bit more before walking."

Zero reluctantly nodded. "Fine…wait, did you say you also found the guardians?"

The girl nodded. "Yes. Fefnir and Leviathan are already awake, but it might take a little longer for Harpuia to wake up. We'll see. The point is, you all survived."

"Ciel, is Omega gone for good now?"

"So it seems. The explosion was, well, big. However, Weil is still out there. We need to find him soon. And hopefully, the guardians will cooperate. With Copy X dead and the real X here, maybe they'll listen. Maybe we can work together."

Zero shrugged. "Let's hope so…"

After a few more minutes, Zero eventually got up. "Where are the guardians anyway?"

"Just in the next door."

The red reploid nodded. "Thanks." Zero made his way to the next door, where he saw X and the guardians, even Harpuia, who had awoken. Fefnir was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, Leviathan sitting on her bed, and Harpuia standing up, with X standing in front of him.

"…so you must understand, the Resistance is not the enemy. I trust Zero with my life. What's left of it, anyway."

Harpuia couldn't help but scowl. "But, Master X, they opposed you—"

"They did not," X cut in, "They opposed my copy, who we will not speak up. It was a mistake that I had to think of an idea like that. I regret asking Ciel to build the damned robot for me. But now, he's gone. I would've personally preferred to rule Neo Arcadia, but I did what had to be done."

Harpuia scowled some more, deciding to change the subject. "Are you sure we can really trust the resistance? And Zero?"

"Zero is a good reploid. His past makes him what he is, but I assure you that he is trustworthy."

Zero decided to finally speak. "I can speak for myself. You always were the fatherly type, X."

X raised an eyebrow as Zero entered the room. "What can I say? I'm a lover, not a fighter."

"Oh, yeah. Just like how you loved Alia."

If cyber-elves could blush, X would've been redder than Zero's armor. "Well, that's not fair. It's not like she came on to me or something. She was just…y'know. It still happened anyway."

Zero couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Took you a while though."

Harpuia cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but I thought we were discussing serious matters."

"And what serious matters were you talking about? I'd love to know."

Fefnir shrugged. "I ain't payin' attention."

Leviathan smiled, winking at Zero. "Well, to answer your question, Zero, we were just discussing how lovely you and the Resistance are."

Harpuia glared at his sister, before looking at X again. "Master X, you still haven't explained to me why you're leaving. For good."

Zero's eyes widened in surprise. "You're leaving?"

X sighed. "Yes. My energy is almost all spent. I won't be able to be in this world anymore for much longer. So I just wanted to say my goodbyes, and how I want my children to trust you, as I have trusted you, Zero."

"But…Master X…what about the energy crisis? That was the whole reason why Copy X decided exterminating the reploids."

"Indeed, but we'll find a way. Like a great human said once, a true leader only uses violence as a last resort. Trust me. Harpuia, you are the wisest reploid I know. In your heart, I know that you're just like me, but you're still young and brash, looking for the easiest way. But know that the easiest way is not always the best way."

The cyber-elf laid his hand on his "son's" shoulder. Harpuia closed his eyes, sighing. "You may call me wise, Master X, but no one will ever be as wise as you were."

X chuckled slightly. "That's not what I heard two centuries ago, but that's nice to hear." Then he faced Zero. "Take good care of them, Zero. They're all I have left."

Zero nodded. Then a portal appeared beside X, who turned, and faced it, walking towards it. Harpuia spoke up again. "Be well, Master X."

X smiled. "Don't call me your master. You are independent. You have no master. You are Sage Harpuia, a proud warrior of peace and justice. Fight well." And then he disappeared forever.