Author's Notes: I'm back! Now, anyone who knows my old account, Jo-Faythe, knows that I am an Axl fangirl and I attempted to write a story about what happened after X8 and a detailing of Axl's origins. Both attempts fell through big time. I'm older and wiser now, and I like to think I'm a better writer as well. So now that I've got all my Mettools in a row I'm taking another crack at this. Wish me luck!

Oh, and anyone wondering what the previous two were like, search up MEGAMAN X PERFECTION and its reboot, MEGAMAN X COMPLETION. Elements from both these stories are planned to be incorporated in new ways.

MegaMan X: Next Story

Chapter 0 :: Paradise Lost
Act 1, Scene 1

SIGMA'S PALACE, THE MOON

The battle had been long and difficult. Along the way many painful revelations had been revealed, and it all lead up to this moment. It was nearly over. Sigma was gone forever, Vile had been taken care of permanently, the last thing to do was finish off Lumine, the Next Generation Reploid who was the Director of the Jakob Project and the Orbital Elevator.

The three A-Ranked Maverick Hunters, X, Zero, and Axl stood at the ready, weapons drawn and aimed at the white Reploid who was finally down on his knees, seemingly defeated.

"Unbelievable..." Lumine struggled to get his words out, staring up at the sky instead of at his newfound enemies in the three hunters. "You may have defeated me, but it's too late to stop what's already begun..."

"I'll take on plenty more like you, if that's what it takes," Axl shot back, his eyes narrowed and glaring at the broken Reploid in front of him.

"You really don't have a grasp of the situation, do you?" Lumine let out a forced chuckle. "Oh well... You'll find out... soon enough..."

X stared at the body of the director, then looked over at his friend Zero for something, anything that would tell him the nightmare was finally over. His silent pleads were answered with a shake of Zero's head, confirming that Lumine was no longer functional, forever frozen in his death pose.

At the sound of footsteps, all eyes turned to Axl who was approaching the now defunct body of Lumine.

Without warning, Lumine's body shook violently, cracking open and shooting out a shadowy tentacle at the young hunter. He was unable to defend himself from the sudden onslaught, taking a hit to his head and shattering the crystal on his helmet.

The two senior hunters sprung into action almost immediately, Zero flying in with his saber and taking out the assailant, while X had caught Axl. With a fully charged buster shot he let loose at the source, destroying Lumine's body in a fiery explosion and leaving nothing behind but a small crater.

"Axl!" X called out to the young hunter who only groaned in response and did not open his eyes.

X and Zero looked at one another, both somewhat relieved knowing that Axl was okay, although unconscious. With the nightmare over, the three hunters began their decent back to earth with the Lumine's declaration hanging heavy on their hearts.