Here is my latest story. I hope to have the next chapter done shortly. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own X, Zero, or any of the Megaman cast.
Prologue
"Aren't you done yet?"
Orpheus ignored the yellow armored reploid's comment and continued to type commands into the computer terminal in front of him. He stared in fascination at the readouts that appeared on the screen from the scans he had just finished running. They were unlike anything he had seen before; of course nobody had ever seen anything like the Nightmare before. Orpheus tore his gaze from the computer screen to stare at one of the few remaining objects in the laboratory, a plexiglass cube located a five feet from his work station. Within the cube were two specially designed Tesla coils that worked together to produce an energy field around the ghostly, blue sphere between them and connected to the top of the cube was a cable that ran across the floor and whose end was attached to the base of a cylindrical container on the other side of the lab. The scientist stared in open wonder at the blue sphere as he pondered the impact it would have on his project.
A Nightmare soul, for once the Hunters sent us something useful . . . he thought before turning his attention back towards the screen before him. Usually when the Hunters sent something in for analysis, it was typically some piece of technology that had been smashed to the point where little useful information could be learned from it. When the Hunters normally did retrieve some new or unusual technology intact, they tended to analyze it themselves before sending it on to the Reploid Research Team. Traditionally the RRT had always surpassed the Hunters in the ability to analyze and develop new technology, but in recent years however, the Hunters' own Research and Development team had begun to rival the RRT in that regard. This caused some of the RRT's scientists to think that the Hunter's were trying to make themselves less dependant on the RRT for weapons and enhancements as well as keeping any technology they captured from the Mavericks for themselves – Orpheus couldn't help but grin at that idea given the fact that the RRT had been keeping certain things secret from even some of its own members for years, such as the project he was working on.
Orpheus had no doubts that the Hunters were running their own analysis on the other Nightmare souls they must have collected by now and quite frankly had no intention of wasting his time writing up a report for them about it. He was more interested in whether or not the Nightmare soul could benefit his project and the scans looked promising.
Orpheus smiled as he reviewed the results of the scans one last time. If these readouts are correct, then it will be possible to harness the Nightmare soul and use it to greatly enhance the prototype's abilities. This new model could surpass even X or Zero in power . . . too bad Alia is no longer here. Her assistance would have greatly sped up this project and she might have been able to decipher the Nightmare soul's code enough for us to make more of them for future projects. He shook his head to clear away thoughts of his former colleague and refocused his full attention on the project.
"Hey mister, did you hear me?"
Orpheus groaned as he swiveled his chair around to face the yellow armored guard who had brought the Nightmare soul to the lab. Orpheus glared at him, just long enough to express his displeasure over the interruption of his work, before responding.
"Yes, I heard you," Orpheus stated calmly. "To answer your first question, I am not done yet and if you keep harassing me, it will take just that much longer for me to finish this project." The scientist turned his chair back around to resume his work, only to be interrupted once more by the guard.
"Listen sir, there have been sightings of the Nightmare nearby and you've ignored the evacuation order issued three hours ago. I don't know what this thing you're working on is, but it's not worth risking our lives. I suggest we finish packing up and evacuate, especially before . . ." - the guard paused and looked warily at the cube containing the Nightmare soul - "that thing turns back into a Nightmare."
Orpheus did not bother to turn around to reply to the guard this time. "The project is at too delicate of a phase to move, we're still compiling the DNA file, there are still parts we need to finish adding armor and synthflesh to, and the Nightmare soul may very well be vital to project XT-203's success," he responded irritably. "You also needn't worry about the soul reverting to its viral form. Those Tesla coils are generating a current around the soul that will prevent that from happening and they still have several hours worth of power left in their batteries – besides for some reason a Nightmare soul looses its ability to revive a Nightmare once it's come into physical contact with a reploid. Even if it did turn back into a Nightmare, it's better for it to happen in an abandoned building than wherever everyone else has evacuated to. I'm also not about to abandon something I've spent years working on just when it's nearing completion. So don't even bother suggesting that we go and leave everything behind."
The guard stared at the scientist while listening to the explanation, trying to decide if the man had lost it. The guard finally just shook his head; He felt that the smart thing to do was to forget about the project and leave the RRT facility, but there seemed to be no way to convince Orpheus of that. Besides he had his orders, he couldn't leave until Orpheus finished what he was doing or until the scientist told him he could. Until then, it was the guard's job to make sure Orpheus remained safe. As the guard glanced uneasily around the nearly empty lab, he found himself wishing that somebody else had gotten this assignment.
The lab, located on a sub-level of the main facility of the Reploid Research Team, had been stripped of almost every piece of equipment that was not essential to the project Orpheus was working on. Even the Reploid Research Team insignia had been removed from the wall. The only things left in the room were a set of scanners that were aimed at the Nightmare soul, the computer Orpheus was using, and the big cylinder shaped container on the other side of the room from the Nightmare soul.
The guard looked at the cylinder for a moment. The cylinder itself was little more than a glass tank, with a large metal base bolted to the floor, the top of the cylinder was sealed and had various wires and tubes connected to it from the ceiling and wall. Inside the tank itself, was bubbling, bluish fluid and what appeared to be a person floating in the substance. A work station next to the cylinder flashed regular reports on the being's status on its screens. The guard walked closer to the cylinder to get a better look at what was floating in it and barely suppressed a shudder.
The being in the tank was a partially completed reploid. Most of its body was already covered in what seemed to be a black, featureless combat armor, except for the right arm and the calf of the left leg. In those spots the endoskeleton and internal components of the reploid were still visible. But what made the reploid's appearance truly creepy was the fact that no synthflesh was on its face, leaving a bare metal skull exposed. The skull appeared to have a permanent, toothy grin that only added to the face's eeriness, especially since it was framed by a featureless helmet.
The guard slowly backed away from the tank and resumed his post at the entrance to the lab, unable to shake the unsettling feeling he got from being around the half-finished reploid. Meanwhile, Orpheus was running some calculations and grinned as he saw that what he wanted to do with the Nightmare soul was possible. The procedure would be difficult, but it would make the prototype reploid almost unstoppable. It would also be the crowning of his career.
Several hours later, Orpheus stood by the cylinder's workstation and finished preparations for the procedure, thankful that the guard had decided to leave him alone and wait outside the lab. He was going to attempt to merge the compiled DNA file with the Nightmare soul and then download the modified DNA file into the reploid, bringing it to life. The scientist knew that there was a danger that the procedure would fail, resulting in the loss of both the Nightmare soul and the DNA file. The benefits however would be immeasurable. The prototype reploid already had one of the most advanced auto-repair systems ever created, an experimental armor, and a few other innovative systems, particularly the weapon built into its hands. But if it could also gain the abilities of a Nightmare virus – most notably the ability to pass through solid objects and the reality warping effects attributed to the virus – then it would be the ultimate warrior.
Orpheus looked affectionately at the reploid within the tank. He and his colleagues had labored for years, working in secrecy on it, and now all the hard work had come to fruition. He felt a measure of pride about being the only member of the project's team to witness the reploid's birth, the others already having evacuated. The last piece of the armor had been attached, but the face still didn't have synthflesh on it yet – though having a skull for a face seemed fitting for reploid designed solely for war. Adding it was relatively simple procedure that could be performed even after the reploid was activated; besides he was concerned about the Tesla coils power running out and possibly having the Nightmare soul revert to its original form – despite his earlier assertion to the guard that such a thing wasn't possible.
Orpheus typed the final command into the computer and executed the procedure. He watched as the Nightmare soul seemed to dissolve into tiny particles that flowed into the cable attached to the cube containing it. He watched the readouts as the machinery and computers in the base of the cylinder began to merge the Nightmare soul's data with the DNA file and then recompile it. Once the DNA file was through recompiling, the process of loading the program into the reploid body began. The DNA file was downloaded through wires that were connected to the base of the reploid's neck and Orpheus breathed a sigh as the display indicated that the procedure had been successful. There was no sign of file corruption or any other negative side effect of integrating the Nightmare soul with the DNA file and the prototype was now ready for activation.
The scientist frowned as the computer initiated the activation process and bolts of electricity began to fill the tank holding the reploid. It had just occurred to him that nobody had ever decided on a name for the prototype, they had always just referred to it as either the "prototype" or by the official project name XT-203. Contrary to what some people thought, reploids did not always have names picked out for them prior to activation. Sometimes a reploid was allowed to choose its own name, sometimes the name was pre-selected for the reploid, and other times a reploid simply changed its name if it didn't like the one it already had. As he watched the flashes of lightning and the bubbling blue liquid within the tank, Orpheus decided that the reploid would really need a name. XT-203 simply wouldn't do for when the reploid was revealed to the world. While the scientist pondered what to name his creation, it began to move and placed its hand against the glass.
The guard finally couldn't take it anymore. After waiting outside the lab for a few hours, he had come to a realization. Standing watch, alone, in the hall of an abandoned laboratory complex where some crackpot scientist was working on an experiment was just as unnerving and creepy as being in the room with the scientist and his experiment, where he could at least keep an eye on what Orpheus was doing. He opened the door to go back in the lab and saw the reploid that had been floating in the tank standing over Orpheus's body. The guard wasn't sure if the scientist was alive or dead, but he did not hesitate in aiming his rifle at Orpheus's attacker and firing a three round burst at him. The bullets hit XT-203's chest armor, leaving indentations but failing to penetrate it. A blue light flared in the eye sockets of the reploid's face as he examined where the bullets hit him, seemingly in surprise at what had just happened. XT-203 then looked up at the guard as energy blades emerged from the backs of his hands. The guard retreated through the lab's doorway, shutting the door behind him, and ran down the corridor.
Seconds later the guard heard the footsteps of someone running after him.
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