(A/N: Hey guys! Long time, no see!I know I haven't updated this story in a long time, but I was pre-occupied with Miracle of Love. Now I will try to alternate and not keep these stories too lonely, keyword here being try. Sadly, though, I've not had the passion for it. This year has been a total shitshow and it may be starting to get to me mentally. I've had bigger troubles with staying focused on my projects and even my real life job as a result. Whenever I have days off, I usually settle down and look at porn to keep my mind off. It may show in this chapter. Enjoy it anyway, though...)

Maverick Hunter X: Next-Level Insurrection

Chapter 13: Into the Fire

DISCLAIMER: It is heavily advised that this story be read with awesome Mega Man music playing in the background. I do not own any Mega Man X related characters or themes. All characters from Mega Man, Mega Man X, Mega Man Zero, Mega Man ZX, and Mega Man Legends are all owned by Capcom. Please support the official release!

MAY 6, 2053

20:34 – MAVERICK HUNTER HQ – CAFETERIA

About eight hours passed by. X felt absolutely terrible. Fighting the Mavericks had been a trial for the past few days, but this was probably the hardest. Storm Eagle was not like the other Mavericks X had fought up until now. Most of them were pretty awful people or had twisted views that Sigma exploited. But Eagle was different. He was the only one of those that X considered a true friend. Being forced to put him down was disheartening, even moreso being called a monster by Eagle's biggest fan. X thought he was going to break again. How long was he going to do this? He had to basically pray that Zero found something from Layer so they could end it…

X knew he had to do what was right, but was all of this truly right? Was Sigma perhaps right in his crusade? The minute he thought this, he stopped moping and scratched that. Whatever his intents were, the way his fallen Commander was going about it was completely wrong. Free rights and honor did not justify all the senseless violence and murder. He was done thinking about it. X finished his snack and walked back to the main control room. Nana and Iris were waiting for him to return. There was work to be done.

Over the past four days, X had fought and defeated seven of Sigma's commanders (well six, technically). Now there was just one Maverick left: Flame Mammoth. The big guy was all that stood between them and Sigma. The Hunters deliberately picked him last because while he was slow , he was durable and able to take a beating, as well as dish it out. Mammoth was a total sadist at heart and was an ass to his teammates. X needed to be careful. He turned over to Nana. "Any word from Zero about Sigma?" he asked. "Afraid not. Hopefully by the time you're back, we'll have something useful." She said. X was getting nervous. Eight Mavericks or not, they wouldn't be able to finish this conflict unless Sigma was destroyed. "All I can do is take Flame Mammoth down and hope for something. Better get moving!" X said and teleported off. "Good luck, X…" whispered Nana.

18:39 – MIDWEST URO GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT – ROSEMONT, IL

X arrived and looked around the area. Geothermal was a primitive energy source, but this plant churned out massive energy levels that it was hard to scoff at. The Blue Bomber looked and saw some humans tirelessly working but looking exhausted. Something was off to him. Why were the humans being spared here? He thought Sigma wanted to kill the humans, not enslave them. The only thing he could think of was this is Mammoth's agenda, not Sigma's. Though he would think Sigma would put a tighter leash on the big fire Maverick.

"I made it. Looks like Mammoth has enslaved the workers here to do his bidding." Said X. "That fat bastard has a twisted way of exterminating. It stands to reason he may seek to kill them by forcing them to overwork until they expire from exhaustion. Seems like the energy isn't even his objective…" noted Nana. "He isn't getting away with it either. Let's get busy!" X decreed and rushed into the factory to take down Mammoth's operation. "X, I shouldn't have to tell you that there's lava all around the factory. Try not to get hot under the collar." Nana teased. X groaned at her bad pun and jumped onto several conveyor belts. He had to dash a few times to keep his momentum going, but that was little trouble for him. Getting off to a platform, he noticed several human workers being carried through by Degraver Mechaniloids on chains. They were carrying dangerous materials and looked mighty tired. One was even about to collapse from exhaustion, falling to one knee as he breathed heavily.

The Mavericks didn't like that. One of them raised it's pickaxe, preparing to strike down on the defenseless human. X had seen enough. Leaping into action, he dropkicked the Degraver hard, sending it against the guardrail. Its Maverick comrades charged at X, but the Azure Hunter jumped over them and readied his buster. He shot small careful plasma shots at the workers' chains to free them. "Go, get out of here!" he yelled to the humans. They wasted no time in trying to run away from the battle, but a few of them, including the one X rescued, were too weak from overworking to even get far. As X threw a punch to some Mavericks, he noticed this and realized they needed medical help quickly. "Cinnamon, get here fast! I have some injured civilians here!" he yelled over his communicator. "On it, X!" responded Cinnamon.

Cinnamon teleported into the power plant and quickly began to tend to the wounded. She hadn't treated a human patient in some time, so she wasn't sure how she might want to go about it. But she also realized it wasn't a good time to relearn or sulk. Not when civilians were in danger like this. X kept the Mavericks busy with charged shots and kicks to the groin. The hunter saw a Maverick jumping at him from afar, so he reacted by blasting him in the chest. The Maverick was blown off and fell into the lava below. X looked down after dealing with the others and grinned sadly. "That was a sick burn." He commented. "Wow. And you say my pun was bad…" said Nana. "I was just improving on it, Nana. Nothing more." Said X. He ran over to Cinnamon tending to the last of the victims.

"Are they alright?" X asked Cinnamon. The young Reploid nurse looked up at X. She was still a tad bit fearful of the blue Maverick Hunter, considering his recent rampage, but spoke professionally. "They're bruised and heavily dehydrated, but they'll live." She said. X sighed in relief. He was glad they would make it through. "Good. I'm heading forward to liberate the rest of this plant! Cinnamon, get the rest of them out of here!" he said. Cinnamon nodded and helped one of them to his feet. But the human worker called to X. "Wait! There's still more trapped… and our kids too!" he said. X gasped in shock. "Seriously?! Why are there kids in a Geothermal Power plant?!" he exclaimed. "It was… our boss's son's birthday. He… invited his friends… and our kids… but that's when… the Mavericks showed up. Their leader, Flame Mammoth… he said he would… kill them unless we…" the human was breathing heavily. X was clenching his fist. The other Mavericks he faced were treading a very sharp line, but now Mammoth just flat out crossed it. He was going to pay dearly for this.

"Don't worry, sir. I'll get them out safe and sound!" X said, reassuringly. The worker smiled weakly at the hunter. For some reason, he had a feeling he could trust this Reploid to rescue the children. "Thank you…" he said. Cinnamon carried he down outside, where the rest of his fellow coworkers awaited him. X, meanwhile, rushed ahead with tranquil fury. He had to keep himself composed, but the more Mavericks he fought, the more heinous acts they were committing. "X, remember your duty! You must detain or destroy Flame Mammoth and free those hostages! Don't lose yourself in the moment, and keep your mind clear!" said Nana. X stopped as he came to a hallway. He already lost control of his emotions once during this conflict. He would be damned if he let it happen again. X was angry, but he had to keep his focus and not let his emotions overtake him. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Yeah… I got it. Thanks Nana. Glad to still have you…" he said. Nana smiled and blushed a little bit at his compliment. She just hoped her words could fully calm him.

X ran over to the corner of another hallway and looked ahead. He saw some Mavericks patrolling the perimeter and armed to the teeth. Getting those hostages free wouldn't be easy. In fact, the only easy part would be finding where they are. "Nana, Iris, run a scan of the facility. See where Mammoth might be holding those hostages!" said X. "Already on it, X! It looks like Flame Mammoth is keeping them in the central furnace. That's where the lava and magma are being syphoned from and converted into usable energy." Said Iris. "Doesn't he realize that those kids might not make it under that intense heat?! Why would he keep them there?!" X exclaimed. "I think Mammoth does realize that. He doesn't just want the humans to die, he wants them suffering…" said Nana solemnly. Now X was getting angry again. How could Flame Mammoth be so heartless to do this?

"That's so cold… I have to get there fast, or those kids won't make it!" he said. But X needed to think this through. He lost control for going into fights guns ablazing. He may have had all his Sub Tanks, but Flame Mammoth was big, boisterous, and dangerous. He needed everything to bring him down. He quietly switched over to Jungle Form and prepared activating his Camo-flague ability. Using Sting Chameleon's invisibility would come in handy to evade the Maverick guards and get through the plant at a quick pace. Once active, X jumped from wall to wall, dashing and sliding through the Mavericks around him, who went about their business none the wiser. He slid through a big door where his ability wore off. He could see row upon row of platforms and conveyor belts above hot molten lava.

"Nana, is this the central furnace?" he asked his navigator. "Negative. The furnace is several blocks forward. You're in one of the energy conversion chambers. Keep your wits up, there's still plenty of Mavericks around and there's plenty of spots here ripe for an ambush." Advised Nana. X sighed. He was hoping to get this done and over with quickly. The more time he wasted on the Mavericks, the less time those kids had to live. "Understood!" he said, rushing forward onto a platform, running forward in a careful but rushed way. X was trying to hurry, but needed to be cautious or he would walk into a trap. Unfortunately for him, he already had…

"X, bogies at 1 o'clock! They're right on top of you!" said Nana. X barely had time to spin around and fire off Boomerang Cutters at the platforms above him. Sniper Joe units took precise aim at the Blue Bomber, only missing because of the wreckage that blocked their shots. X was safe there, but couldn't rest at all. He found himself shot from behind by more snipers hiding behind their own barricades for additional cover fire. The Azure Hunter was now trapped between a sniper and a hard place, and the Mavericks knew it too. "Target immobilized. Preparing to destroy." Said one Sniper. X wasn't ready to give up just yet though.

'SHIELD FORM'

X changed to his Shield Form and put up his guards, deflecting the bullets off and into support beams around him. He summoned Armadillo's shield and threw it at the snipers, aiming right at the heads. The shield's sharp edges cut off their heads, leaving them dead and immobilized as the shield eventually came back to X. Now the Azure Hunter had to deal with the Sniper Joe units that pinned him down behind the barricade. X switched back to Jungle Form and activated Camo-flague again. He jumped over the large barricade, where the Snipers were lying in wait for him to come out. Thanks to his invisibility, they didn't see the Maverick Hunter jump out and then jump from one conveyor belt to another until he decloaked behind them and unleashed a Prickle Sting attack, firing a three-directional green laser projectile that destroyed them.

X quickly dash jumped over to the exit of the chamber. It was getting a lot hotter the more he searched. "The central furnace will be just after the chambers to your right. Cinnamon's also near the doors." Said Iris. X tilted his head. Why was Cinnamon still here and not with the human slaves? He ran through the hallway to his right, where Cinnamon was outside the door. "Cinnamon! What are doing here? Shouldn't you be tending to the workers?!" X asked. "Already taken care of. They just needed some water and bandages, and they were fine after that." Cinnamon replied cheerily. X put two fingers to his forehead in dismay. No way it was that easy. The nurse didn't even seem too worried about the impending dangers. "X, those kids aren't going to survive too long. I need to be able to keep them hydrated and healthy, or they'll die from the intense heat!" she pleaded.

"It's too dangerous, Cinnamon!" said X, "You may have medical technology equipped with you, but all you have for defense is a small pistol. You won't stand much a chance against them!" X argued.

"That's why I'll have you to watch my back. You do all the shooting, and I'll just be doing the medical deeds. Easy as pie!"

"I can't defend you all the time, Cinnamon! Another Maverick can easily sneak up behind you and—"

"And I bitch-slap him in the face!" said Cinnamon cheerily. X blinked a few times to process the fact she said that.

The Blue Bomber was still resolute in his decision. "Just stay here and I'll get those kids outta there!" he said, running for the door. Cinnamon still ran behind him. X turned to look at her. "This isn't a joke, kid!" he said. "I know it's not, and it isn't a matter of debate! I'm a medibot that's made to nurse and protect! So I'm going with you and that's final!" said Cinnamon. X sighed. He knew there was no use arguing with her at this point. It was best to drop the subject and move forward. "Okay, fine… but you stay close to me and don't get any bright ideas about getting confrontational unless you have to. Got it?" X said sternly. "You got it!" Cinnamon saluted and skipped behind him.

X ran across a few pipelines, with Cinnamon following close behind. Switching to Electric Form, he jumped up and saw Hoganmer Mavericks swinging their maces around and looking bored out of their minds. The blue Maverick Hunter leapt up into the air and hit a Spark Pound, releasing sparks across the pipes, destroying the Mavericks and taking out the defenses in short order. Cinnamon hopped over their bodies and looked at them. She didn't like them, but she was still a nurse made to help others. She put a hand on one of their chests to check their systems. They didn't seem too bad, but would be out for several hours. It would be enough for her and X to sneak past and save the kids. X smiled faintly. Cinnamon had to be the only other Reploid he knew that actually cared about the lives of others, even their enemies. Cinnamon stood up and the two quickly hurried through the next set of doors, leading to the central furnace.

"X, Cinnamon, be advised! Our scanners are detecting Flame Mammoth's energy signature. Stay on your guard!" said Nana. "Roger that, Nana!" said X as he and Cinnamon rushed through the doors. X found himself on an unmoving conveyor belt in the center of what seemed to be a big room at first glance. There was little floor, with lava surrounding them. In the center, Cinnamon could see the main furnace powering the facility, and circling it was a line of chains with little kids shackled to the ground and looking very tired. "Those have to be the hostages!" Cinnamon thought aloud. X nodded, clenching his fists in anger. They had no time to waste, those kids were going to die. X returned to normal form and lined his buster up to shoot the chains off the kids. He needed to be careful, though. One wrong misfire and he could kill them instead of save them. However, he never got the chance. X and Cinnamon felt the ground shaking a bit as they tried to steady themselves. X looked ahead and saw the obese yet imposing Maverick, Flame Mammoth, stomping towards them.

"Ho ho ho! Look what we got here – some wannabe prodigy and the baby nurse!" Mammoth laughed, "Come to save the day, X? It's really adorable for a wimpy B-Class Hunter!"

"It's not about rank here, Flame Mammoth! It's a matter of right and wrong. And I'm here to put a stop to your Maverick ways!" said X, pointing his buster at the big guy. Mammoth just laughed at his bravado.

"I'm just giving these humans what they been asking for. They wanna kill each other, I do it for them in the slowest way possible... Am I just Maverick cuz it took too long?" he snuffed.

"You're working them to death, and putting those kids down there in unsafe conditions! They could die at any moment!" Cinnamon protested.

"Hah! Those brats are annoying anyway, no one's gonna miss them. Letting them rot is basically a mercy, if ya ask me." Mammoth said, apathetically. This pissed off X all the more. "That does it! I considered arresting you instead of killing like the others, but someone like you doesn't deserve that! Time to be scrap, Flame Mammoth!" shouted X.

X charged at Mammoth and threw a hard punch at him. The large Maverick laughed. "Hahaha! That kind of tickled! Now it's my turn!" he shouted, grabbing his arm and tossing X across the room, colliding him into hard steel. "Oh no, X!" yelled Cinnamon. X began to stir, looking over to Cinnamon. He nudged, motioning for her to free the kids. The medic looked at him. She wanted to help him but quickly realized that the children had been in the heat too long. She had to move to save them. Cinnamon flapped her tiny wings and flew down to help the dying children. Flame Mammoth looked back and saw her trying to slip away. "Nuh-uh-uh! You ain't goin' nowhere doc!" he said, pointing his blaster at Cinnamon. However, X fired off a charged buster shot at Mammoth from behind. He wasn't letting those kids suffer either.

"You aren't going anywhere, Mammoth!" he said, "You'll have to deal with me first!"

"Hah! This'll be easy!" boasted Flame Mammoth. He raised his arms and trumpeted from his trunk. The minute he did this, X felt the conveyor belts moving, rotating backwards to where X entered the room. He noticed his optics scanning and analyzing Flame Mammoth. Now the final Maverick battle had begun. X ran towards the current of the conveyor belt, firing off small pellet shots at the lumbering giant. Mammoth jumped up to stomp onto X, but the hunter dashed out the way. However, the collision caused a small rumbling that knocked X off his feet. Mammoth took the time to launch balls of fire from his blaster at X. As the Azure Hunter's scanners analyzed the attack, he got right back up and jumped out of the way.

X navigated around the big guy and shot some more plasma shots. Mammoth tanked the bullets and tooted his trunk. The conveyor belt then changed directions, now the two were going backwards from where they were. X had to struggle with running against the flow of the belt, even if he wasn't in any imminent danger. Now Flame Mammoth opened up with more fire blasts at the struggling X, who had to jump to evade them. His scanners analyzed them, but a diagnosis only saw them as slightly less powerful than his Hadouken technique, only meritable as a potential upgrade. "X, I'm sure you were aware already, but Flame Mammoth's trunk is controlling the conveyor belts! Take it out and he'll be at a disadvantage!" said Nana. "Got it, Nana!" said X, trying to switch to a new form. Unfortunately, Mammoth didn't give him a chance. He launched another fireball at X that sent him against the wall. X had to be smarter than this now.

Meanwhile, Cinnamon flew down to unbind the heavily dehydrated and unwell children. She wasted no time getting out her pistol and shooting the chains. The metal chains were undone and the kids were free, but they were too exhausted from the heat to run. Cinnamon looked at the group, seeing about ten children of different ethnicities that were in need, most of them girls. She ran over to them to help them in any ways she could. "Hang on, kids! Nurse Cinnamon is here for you!" she said, trying to reassure them.

"Are we… going to die…?" said one little girl.

"Not if I have something to say about it!" replied Cinnamon, in a cheery tone. She had to keep their spirits high even now.

Cinnamon used a scanner to take their temperatures. She knew it was bad, but needed to be sure for records. It was worse than she thought. The kids would die if she didn't administer any way of keeping them cool. She pressed buttons on her forearms, activating a medical hose of sorts. "This may sting a bit, but it should cool you off." She warned the kids. The medic began spraying the kids with cool water to try to keep their body temperature stable. However, the intense heat was making the water hot. It ended up not helping at all. Her next instinct was to try to create some breeze, but she didn't know how to do that. That's when she got an idea….

"X, it's too hot in here! I can't work under these conditions!" she called out to X. The Blue Bomber was still locked in a seesaw chase with Flame Mammoth, unable to get a real advantage over the big guy. X didn't have a whole lot of room to change into another form to combat him either, he was mostly trying to tire him out. But when Cinnamon called out, he realized how bad the situation was getting. The longer he prolonged his battle now, the less time the hostages had left. He understood what needed to be done. "Then looks like we'll need to cool off." He said, finally getting an opening to jump dash and switch to a new form.

'ICE FORM'

X's change into Ice Form against a Fire Maverick came with a boisterous laugh from Flame Mammoth. He knew X wasn't that bright, but even he didn't think X was this stupid! "Ha ha ha ha ha! Have you flipped your chips for good, X?! You know that ice isn't gonna work on me, right?! I mean, I'm not called Flame Mammoth because it sounds cool! What's a few snowflakes gonna do against me?!" he gloated to X. The Maverick Hunter actually knew full well what he was doing here. His priority wasn't on Flame Mammoth right now. It was the kids down below. He looked up at Mammoth and got into a bluffing fight stance. Flame Mammoth tooted his trunk to switch the directions again as X prepared to move. Mammoth then spat blobs of oil at X, which he analyzed and dodged with great ease. The Blue Bomber slid past his legs and fired off ice shots at the big guy's groin, doing underlying severe damage.

"Ugh! That could not have felt good…" Nana commented.

X took the opportunity to kick the dazed Maverick and then jump over him. He unleashed about six Shotgun Ice projectiles, all going right over Flame Mammoth and hitting its intended target: the reactor and the lava, freezing them over and changing the atmosphere from a scorching oven to a winter wasteland. Flame Mammoth had just gotten back to his bearings and realized that X had missed every shot. He didn't notice the changing of his surroundings, though. The big tub of fire just mocked X for his seeming ineptitude, unaware of the dramatic irony.

"What kind of aiming do you have, blue boy? You missed every shot!" he laughed.

"No I didn't." smirked X.

"Yes you did, dumbass! You shot like six ice thingies and none of them even hit me!"

"That's because I wasn't aiming at you."

Flame Mammoth blinked and looked around. It was only now just dawning on him what X had done. The central heater and furnace was completely frozen over. The lava was turned to ice, and the air was chillier. Looking downwards, he saw the kids getting cold, but Cinnamon had a thermal heater to keep them warm and well. She was also able to spray them with cool water and hydrate them again. X smiled at his handiwork. While not the results that most would go for, he did what he had to, to save the hostages.

X looked to Flame Mammoth, who was completely baffled at what the Azure Hunter had just done. He completely made Flame Mammoth look like a bigger fool than he is and thwarted his plan. Now the big guy was pissed. "Oh X, poor little X… that was a huge mistake you just made! Now I'm really mad!" said Mammoth and tooted his trunk and jumped to stomp onto X. The hunter jumped out of the way and landed on the ice, activating his Slide Skates which created icicles on the bottom of his feet to use as skating blades. Flame Mammoth stood on a platform nearby, thinking he had X trapped, and unleashed fire blasts at the hunter.

X skated out the way, maneuvering around his projectiles. Chill Penguin's sliding ability was coming in handy. As X sped up through the ice, he began picking up speed. Dodging the projectiles coming his way, he jumped up and dashed, sending his bladed foot right into Flame Mammoth's gut and sending him back a few feet. Now back on solid footing, X switched up to Steel Form. He could hear the children cheering him on. It motivated the Maverick Hunter to fight harder, laying some strikes to Flame Mammoth. The end was coming.

Flame Mammoth stumbled as X prepared to fire off a finishing blow. However, the big guy chuckled callously as X was readying his attack. Mammoth knew X's weaknesses and was willing to exploit them at any cost. He turned his flamethrower and aimed it at the group of kids. X gasped and very quickly dash jumped right in front of them. Mammoth released a stream of fire right at them, which X took the full brunt of. His scanners downloaded the attack as he felt the damage done to him. Mammoth laughed at how well his plan worked. X took the bait hook, line, and sinker. Even if he didn't, he would have torched those annoying pests anyway, so to him, it was a win-win.

Flame Mammoth laughed mightily as X fell down, glaring up at the fat Maverick. Mammoth kicked the blue boy right into the cold furnace, smacking X around and causing heavy internal damage. "Man, you are so easy to break, X. You're way too soft, and way too weak!" he sneered. He spat out more oil attacks which connected and stuck to X. The blue hunter slipped over the oil at his feet and Mammoth took the time to shoot a Fire Wave right at X. The chain reaction from the meeting of fire and gasoline caused X to be set ablaze. X screamed in intense pain as Flame Mammoth laughed X's predicament. Now the kids were trembling in fear, seeing their hero be burned and tortured.

Cinnamon couldn't just stand idly back. Reactivating her medical hose, she began dosing water onto X to stop the flames. It worked, but the damage had been done. X was charred and covered in heavy burns. His systems were failing and he could barely move. Flame Mammoth was about to stomp on him to keep the pain going when he felt small bullets hit his shoulders. Cinnamon had tried shooting him with her handgun, taking a defensive stance to keep him from hurting the hostages. The kids cuddled up in fear. "Ho ho ho ho! That actually tickled, nurse! May I have another?!" he yelled, stomping his foot down to cause a small tremor. Cinnamon stumbled a bit which was enough for Mammoth to grab her and slam her into the wall. He charged his buster to finish her. X was barely on one knee, unable to stop in time. Cinnamon closed her eyes, in fearful resignation of what is to come….

Suddenly, Flame Mammoth felt a large metal clang that pushed him back a foot or two. When he looked up, he saw a Hoganmer before him, raising its shield to defend Cinnamon. She opened her eyes and saw the Maverick, looking at it in confusion. Even X was perplexed as he tried to get back up from the beating he received. "Hey, move it pal!" shouted Flame Mammoth to the Hoganmer. He wasn't happy about one of his own turning on him and protecting an enemy. The Mechaniloid said nothing and returned to his defensive stance.

"There a glitch in your head, shrimp?! I said move!" yelled Mammoth. X took the opportunity to use one of his Subtanks to replenish his health. He started feeling better, but stayed silent observing. It was unlike a Mechaniloid, much less a trooper like a Hoganmer, to defect back to a more heroic directive. Perhaps there was hope for it's kind. "Maybe I oughta spell it out for you, rustbucket!" yelled Mammoth, raising his boot to stomp the duo. The Hoganmer drew it's mace to hold it back. It didn't look like a safe bet at all and it seemed like it wouldn't work. But just then, after a minute of struggling, a plasma pistol appeared in the Hoganmer's free hand, and he used it to lay several shots at Mammoth's leg. The Maverick stumbled and fell back as everyone in the room looked at the Hoganmer in surprise. It was nothing compared to what happened next.

"No thanks, I don't really speak douchebag anyway." It said. Then suddenly, a ring of digital data surrounded the Hoganmer and it glowed white as it seemed to be reshaping itself into something completely different. In a few moments, the light and the ring faded, and both X and Cinnamon looked in awe at the new character that stood in the Mechaniloid's place. Mammoth was only slightly surprised by the new arrival. This one was a Reploid unlike any they had seen before. He had a slender teenage body, roughly around Cinnamon's physical age, with a grey undersuit, and mostly black armor with yellow lines on his arms and legs, as well as a blue gem on his helmet and short spiky auburn hair protruding from the back of it. He had green eyes, an 'x' on his forehead, and small slanted jet wings on his back with boosters on his heels. In the Reploid's hands was still the pistol he used, but a second appeared in his left hand, which he twirled around with a cocky smirk.

The kids cheered upon the newcomer's arrival, their hopes brought back up. Cinnamon looked up at her savior in awe. She seemed star-struck from his reveal. The Reploid turned back to her with a light smile. "You okay, nurse?" he asked in a gentle tone. Cinnamon blushed at him. She thought he was kind of cute. "I… I'm fine." She nodded, earning a smile from the stranger. He turned and walked to a stirring Flame Mammoth.

"I dunno who the hell you are, but now you really pissed me off!" said the lumbering Maverick, "Now I'm gonna stomp you into ashes!"

"I wouldn't count on that, tubby. Though would be a better use of your feet if you actually moved them once in a while." said the stranger, smirking.

Flame Mammoth wasn't going to take that insult lying down. He fired off his flamethrower at the kid, who flipped out of the way and started shooting him with small but rapid gun shots that chipped at his armor. He tanked them all the same, unaware of the damage from earlier on in his fight with X taking its toll. The new guy dashed and bicycle kicked him a few times in the chest, doing minimal damage but still pestering Mammoth with his presence. The big guy punched him off but the stranger recovered in the air and hovered above twirling his guns. "Gee, someone's getting a little under the collar." He snarked, warming an irritated growl from Mammoth.

X, meanwhile, got back up and observed the battle. He wasn't sure who this new stranger was or why he was helping. Furthermore, he had never heard of a shapeshifting Reploid before. The Blue Bomber was conflicted on what to do or who to help. "Nana, Iris, who is this guy?!" he asked his navigators. But for once, they had no answer.

"I'm not sure, X! There's no records in our database of any kind of shapeshifting Reploid, or anything like him!" said Iris.

"It's very suspicious. It might be a trap, X! Proceed with caution…" advised Nana.

X heard loud and clear, but he still wasn't sure. After all, the stranger saved Cinnamon's life and was fighting Mammoth to protect the kids. There's no way someone like that could be considered bad, could it? Then again, this kid could just be eying her for his own desires. X wasn't sure which option was more true. What he did know, however, was that this kid was helpful right now and that Flame Mammoth had to be taken down. Now recovered, X rushed into action, switching back to Steel Form after being knocked out of it earlier.

Flame Mammoth was firing off his flamethrower all over the place, trying to hit the stranger. The newcomer was continuously dodging everything Mammoth threw at him, flipping right over the flames being sprayed at him. The big Maverick shot fire blasts which the newcomer pranced and flew around, mocking the Maverick. "You may wanna consider aiming, pal. Just a thought." He said in a mocking tone. Flame Mammoth was getting even more pissed. The youngling fired off almost an entire human magazine of plasma bullets at the big guy, doing only a bit more damage, but made sure to also give him a couple to the face as well.

"Why you…! That's it! You're going down in flames, twerp!" shouted Flame Mammoth, preparing to fire more oil from his trunk.

Just at that moment, X fired off a Boomerang Cutter that sliced off Mammoth's trunk. The wooly Maverick screamed loud in pain and stumbled. X smiled as he leapt over to the young stranger. Flame Mammoth was weakened and devoid of all vices keeping the heroes at bay. Now was their time to strike. "I owe you, kid. Cinnamon and those hostages would be goners." Said X to the new stranger.

"Just doing what comes naturally for me, you know?" said the stranger with a grin on his face. He put away his pistols and reached out, as a High-Speed Assault Rifle appeared. The youngling grabbed and cocked it. X was curious as to how he managed to obtain such a weapon. The teenage Reploid shot off dozens of energy shots at the stumbling Maverick, piercing his thick armor in record time. X got a few shots in as well, using Magna Shuriken attacks to amplify the pain tenfold. The Blue Bomber reverted back to his normal form and charged his buster. He and the newcomer fired their weapons, finishing and destroying Flame Mammoth for good.

"I was just getting fired up too." Said the kid. X blinked and tilted his head in bewilderment. The stranger's one-liner and pun flew completely over his head.

"DOWNLOAD COMPLETE. OIL SPILL AND FIRE WAVE OBTAINED. HADOUKEN UPGRADED TO LVL 2."

X was surprised that his Hadouken attack had gotten upgraded. He was unaware his attacks could receive upgrades. He turned over to look at Cinnamon, shrugging those thoughts off for a quick minute. Fortunately, she didn't seem to be completely hurt and the kids were both healed rather quick, and looked very happy jubilant to see the Hunters.

"You okay, Cinnamon?" X asked, walking over to her.

"Yup! All good! Thanks to you and that… huh?!" Cinnamon said joyously, then blinked when she turned to where the stranger was.

X turned over to where he was as well, but to his surprise, he was gone. He never even got the kid's name, but he was grateful for his help. The kids seemed happy about it as well, but looked disappointed the stranger had to leave so soon. "Who even was that guy…?" X wondered out loud. "I don't know… but he was dreamy…" Cinnamon said, smiling blissfully. X raised his eyebrow in concern. He still wanted to know more about this newcomer that had helped them. That was when he got a call.

"X, come in! X!" yelled Nana.

"I copy you, Nana! What's wrong?!" he answered.

"We just got a message from Zero! He's located Sigma's base!"

X's eyes widened, and Cinnamon gasped in excitement. All that waiting and fighting old friends had finally paid off. Now they were ready to commence the final battle and stop Sigma's rebellion against the world. "Return to base immediately! We'll need to plan our attack accordingly!" said Nana. "Roger that!" said X, hanging up. He looked to Cinnamon, tending to the hostages who were reuniting with their families. The Maverick Hunters smiled and looked at one another. Cinnamon looked a bit concerned for the kids though. Some still looked like they needed checkups and rehab.

"I'm headed back now! We have to bring down Sigma once and for all before…" said X. Cinnamon nodded in understanding.

"You go, X! I'll catch up." She said. Cinnamon was still thinking of that handsome Reploid that saved her. She may have fallen in love and part of her wanted to know all about him. She walked to the kids and their families, helping them out through the healing process of what they just went through.

X teleported back to base quickly, preparing for the final confrontation with Sigma. It was time to end this madness for good…

TO BE CONTINUED…

(A/N: Aaaaand BOOM! There we go! This one took a lot longer than I hoped. Like I said, my mind wasn't focused on Mega Man, or on writing at all, so it may seem like a slop at times. It was also very difficult to not outright spoil who the young stranger was, even though I think most of you might be able to guess who anyway... But I hope I'm not letting anybody down here. The endgame for this story is coming real soon. It will be quite the big load of chapters and exposition and I want to do my best there. I'm hoping to do a lot better by then. Until then, see ya folks!)