Authors Note (And Warning):
Greetings! Thank you for checking out this fanfiction. I hope it is everything you hope it to be. I would like to explain some things first: there is a Original Character in this, and some influences from Robo Cop (both old and new) in this, and maybe a bit of Deus Ex? It is not a direct cross over or anything so no listing under that. Originally this was spawned from a child hood idea brought into a much more mature light and story line.
This is a take on the X story line and its characters.
Warning! This story has implications of suicide, and other mature content. Trigger warning.
Now that that is over with, here is the first chapter, enjoy!
Chapter One: Artificial
Gazing down at her mechanical arms a great sigh was pulled from her small lips. Dangling her glass full of liquor she stared out her window towards a warming world. Winter was being chased away by the buds of spring, it had been a long while since she had been back to work and it was about time to face the coworkers she had left behind because of her accident, in which she had lost both her husband and her arms. Standing she walked over to her kitchen counter and grabbed the tequila bottle with her left hand, and after setting down her glass, opened a cabinet with her right. Placing the bottle on the highest shelf, muttering how she never wanted to touch alcohol again. Turning she was greeted with the television, a thin flat screen blaring on about how new androids where being implemented in police stations in a effort to keep the streets clean of increasing crime, it went on detailing how those with augmented limbs or those that have complete robotic bodies in general, had been creating gangs that where becoming a threat to public safety. Two scientists, a Dr. Cain and a Dr. Light had taken it upon themselves to assist human police officers by creating androids to help them with their jobs. This project of theirs was dubbed the "Reploid project".
She folded her arms at the screen changed to a interviewer and a police officer. The interviewer was asking the police officer how she felt about the cyborgs being created to assist the police. The officer was very spiteful and answered with, "It is not called the Reploid project for nothing, the first half of the word Reploid obviously means replace. These scientists mean to replace us offices with unfeeling machines." The interviewer obvious did not expect this response and scrambled for a appropriate answer before defaulting back to the studio. Having enough of the news the woman reached and grabbed the remote to shut off the television. Setting the object down she walked past her living room to the back door to open it and look outside: her dog, which had been sun bathing came bounding over to her. This caused a smile to crease her lips. Despite the chaotic nature of the world around her her small sleepy Texas town was as unchanging as ever and that stable quality was what she needed in a time of crisis. Scratching her mutt's ear absentmindedly she moved away from the door letting the sheepdog mix inside.
"Bailiff," She called leaning down and patting her thighs after closing the door. The dog's ears poked up at his name and happily made a strange whining noise before following her into the kitchen where she got him a bowl of dog food. She smiled down at him as he wagged his tail and ate. "Ah, what a simple life you live. I am envious." Walking away from him she picked up her glass that was still half full of tequila and downed it, wincing as it burned down her throat. Coughing she set the empty glass in the sink. Walking over to her kitchen table and picking up a packet she had received from her work earlier that week; first was a condolence card from her boss, and the second was her next assignment. She was being moved over from internet detective work to dealing with the new robotic officers they where going to get in their department. She and a few other of her co-workers had been chosen for this because of their qualifications.
Originally she would have not been chosen for this assignment.
Before she flipped through the pages she reached up and touched one of the robotic arms she had. Briefly she remembered when she was a child, and how frightened she was about loosing her arms. The inability to feel had worried her, but now at thirty three she was no longer scared. Science had advanced quickly when she was in her mid twenties, robotic limbs had become normal about 2023 CE. Something about linking to the nerves that would normally be severed with the normal healing process. The doctor that had preformed her surgery had not given her a choice, as even twenty four hours after losing a limb the nerves would have begun to scar and the robotic ones would not be able to be attached. Her qualification for her new job was the fact she had augments to her body
She sighed, and opened the pamphlet. It gave her a schematic of two unites that would be coming to her precinct. A frown creased her brows as she looked at the names that the creators had assigned them.
"Megaman X, and Zero?" The frown grew greater as she read the abilities that had been worked into them. Looking up she looked at her dog, the brown and black animal had finished his food and was stretched out on the floor basking in the glory of a full stomach. "Hey, Bailiff," She called him which only roused him slightly from his slumber. Lifting his big head he looked at her with his brown eyes as if asking what she wanted. "They expect us to allow these things in our precinct, with built in arm guns and laser sword that only the army robots use. These things could be really dangerous if they don't have a correct handler, why do they think we are the right handlers?" Bailiff did not care much for his mothers babbling and laid his head back down, huffing in irritation that he was awoken strictly for his humans ramblings. "Yeah, I agree." She muttered, pretending that the dog was agreeing with her frustration. Staring at the pamphlet page for a little longer she growled and threw it on the table, walking back into the living room she bit her lip while staring at the empty room.
Since her husband died of a genetic heart failure she had been a mess; it was the reason that she had lost her arms. After she had learned of his death while at the hospital; when she had been out of the room to grab some coffee, she jumped in the car without a second thought and ended up in the hospital herself.
Placing her hand on her head she sighed. "Get yourself together Ramona, you can't be sad. You know he wanted you to live your life to the fullest." It was a mantra that she had been using the past two months. Most of the time it worked and got herself out of the slump she often fell into. It worked this time too, as she took a deep breath and moved away from the living room and down the hall into her bedroom. Slipping into the bathroom she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she reached for her toothbrush in a attempt to get rid of the taste of the alcohol she had been drinking earlier. Her dusty blonde hair was disheveled and she had horrible bags under her blueish eyes. Her skin had paled in the two months she had forsaken the outside world and she had put on quite a bit of weight and had resulted to wearing her baggiest pants and shirts. Ramona had not touched her makeup in months either, and looking down at her hands wondered if she could put some on with the accuracy she had before her accident.
Another sigh. Locking her hand around the handle of the tooth brush she put the toothpaste on it and brushed vigorously, making sure to get her tongue specifically so that she would never have to taste tequila ever again. Leaning down to the running faucet she chugged a bit of the water and swished it around in her mouth. As she spit it out Bailiff began to bark, and faintly she heard a door bell ring. Wiping the remaining foam off her mouth with the back of her hand she opened the bathroom door, "Coming!" She yelled and grabbing her brush she frantically, and carefully, brushed through her hair as she ran to the door throwing the brush on the couch before opening the door.
"Hey, you depressed hunk of woman, how are you doing?" A woman, tall in stature and with bright blonde hair stared down at Ramona, who crossed her arms and frowned at her.
"Alia, what are you doing here? Don't you have work?" Ramona's tone was low and scolding which only made her friend; whom was much taller than her laugh.
"Please, I got off early today. It's my nephews birthday, I went to go get his present and was in the neighborhood and thought I would come see how you where doing," Without waiting for a invitation inside Alia walked past Ramona and went to the kitchen table were the pamphlet was. Ramona took the time to look over her friend, she was tall, slender and a walking heart-breaker. She knew Alia had a crush on one of her co-workers and turned down many opportunities to go out with other admirers because of this fact. Alia was a researcher in robotics and was helping create the Reploids that would go into the police precincts. Ramona watched as Alia picked up the pamphlet, which she had thrown face down with the page she had been looking at earlier still open. Closing the door the shorter woman began to make her way over to the kitchen. "Megaman X and Zero. Model numbers one and seventeen. Oh, you guys are getting the cute ones." Tapping her chin, it was obvious she was saying that in a motherly fashion likely because she had worked on them, and it was important that others thought they where as cute as she did. It was not in a vain fashion, but in a way a mother would think her children where cute even when others did not.
And Ramona did not think they where cute. "I don't want to be assigned to these replacements." The dirty blonde walked past Alia and into her kitchen placing her robotic hands on the edge of the sink. Her eyes where level with the sink window so she stared out of it in retaliation to Alia's enthusiasm. Her bush eyebrows where furrowed and she was gnawing the inside of her cheek as the silence between them grew.
"They are suppose to help prioritize the police better. Not take jobs," Alia's voice was now soft and slightly hesitant. "You know the same technology that created them is the same one that gave you back your arms." Now her voice was starting to gain momentum again, it was scolding and beginning to have irritation at the edges.
"Maybe, I didn't want my arms back." Ramoa's voice was low and growling, her depression still hung heavily in her heart. Her back was still to Alia so she could not tell what expression was on the other woman's face, but when a hand was placed on her hunched back Ramona took a deep breath to hold.
"He would not like you thinking like that," The touch on her back hardened with the words that came from her friend. "Think about this as a chance. You can be a mentor to these young boys."
Ramona's head lifted and she turned around frowning at Alia. "Young? They are not even living, their robotic constructions." Waving her hand at the pamphlet she briefly glared at it, and her arm.
"Your looking for something to be mad at, and its fine if you choose my life's work. I'm okay with that. But not them," Alia followed Ramona's movements pointing at the paper. "They are not unfeeling creatures. They are living and breathing, they have feelings."
"They are not suppose to according to the law." Folding her arms the dirty blonde stared up at her friends blue eyes.
Alia shook her head. "We just helped in the construction of other models. Your office is getting the prototypes."
Ramona's diluted blue eyes looked at the paper, and silently broke away from the sink and walked back over to the table to the booklet. Lifting it in her hands she caressed the bright orange paper which the words where printed on. "I can understand why one of them is a prototype, but why is Zero a prototype?" She paused and frowned at the lettering on the page, realizing that the model numbers had not been printed along with the names. "And how come you know their numbers?"
"Gate worked on the base model with Dr. Cain," She came over and pointed to the diagram of Zero. "This one though was not made by either Dr. Cain or Dr. Light, but by a student of Dr. Light's a man called Wily, he is young and from what I understand may have tampered with the original schematic." Alia frowned while looking at the picture, echoing the wary look that Ramona had developed. "I saw Zero in his final stages and only saw him activated once. He is a rather strange one."
"Did you get to see the other one activated?" Pointing to Megaman, Ramona looked at her friend from the corner of her eye. Alia shook her head.
"Dr. Light kept the staff away from him. He honestly wanted to put him a cryo-sleep. It wasn't that he was not done, it was that, and in his words, that the world was not ready for him." Alia crossed her arms over her pink blouse, cocked her hip with a sigh following her sentence.
"I hate to say it Alia, but that sounds rather egotistical." Ramona looked up to see Alia nodding her head in agreement and rolling her eyes as she walked back to the door. Her eyes where on her wrist, on a dainty watch and her face was turning into a frown as she watched it.
"Yes, he is a bit when it comes to his work but as a person he is very kind," Her eyes flicked back up at Ramona and giving her a quick smile her hand reached for the door knob. Opening it she turned and gave her friend a wave. "I'm going to be late for his party. Your going to work tomorrow right?"
"I have nothing better to do." Crossing her arms Ramona huffed staring at the hardwood floor of the breakfast area which led to the front door.
"Good! Gate and I will be the ones introducing the Reploids tomorrow. I expect you to be in the first row!" Turning Alia paused then looked back at Ramona. "You better be there."
"I will Alia, I know I cant hide from the world forever."
The slender woman smiled and gave another wave before closing the door.
Ramona looked back into the kitchen island where Bailiff was laying on the floor still, his earlier barking forgotten once he realized it was someone he knew at the door. His brown eyes where following his owner's movements to the letter and as she stared at him Ramona could not help but walk over and bend down to scratch behind his ears. For her tomorrow was going to be very eventful, standing straight again the woman looked to the clock on the oven. It only read six o'clock, but for whatever reason she was exhausted. Raking a hand through her hair she turned to the hallway to her room, already dreading the next day.
The morning was easy enough to get through; Ramona got up, made herself some coffee that was not spiked with some alcoholic drink, had a filling breakfast that consisted of some orange juice and a egg sandwich that she had decided to make herself. She fed, then let out her dog waiting for a bit before bringing him back in. Before she left she double checked that Bailiff had enough water and a little bit of food in both of his bowls in case she got stuck doing over time. Ramona also quickly put out a doggy pad in case he needed to use the restroom and she was not home. By the door that led to the garage she punched in her security code to arm her house then got in her car and left for the police that was half an hour away in another city.
Her car ride was also uneventful. After her car accident her insurance produced a new car since it was her first accident, and her office decided to pay off all the remaining payments of the car for her. Which as generous as it had been she felt like it was a bit worthless now that she had been resigned to dealing with the Reploids. As she pulled up to her new office she was greeted by a familiar face waiting by the door; Alia was chewing on her fingernails looking for her. Ramona picked up her phone out of the center cup holder in her car as she turned to park it into a parking space that was not cramped. Turning it on she saw that she was actually early: the briefing did not start until ten thirty and it was only nine fifty. So that begged the question to the ex-detective, was Alia really looking for her or was something wrong? Getting out of the car she saw the slender woman jogging over to her in stupidly large heels.
"Ramona! Thank goodness your here," The smaller woman was had to quickly stuff her phone in her purse because Alia grabbed and shook her shoulders the second she was within range. "Its horrible! Gate isn't here and the Reploids are pacing in the backroom, my assistant is distracting them but I cant seem to calm them down. We announce them in a half and hour and I cant have them nervous!"
"Wait, your saying their nervous and you don't know how to calm them down?" Ramona looked dumbfounded at her friend who nodded. This made the dirty blonde laugh. "Really Alia! Never become a mother, you would not be good at it."
"Weren't you and your husband planing to have children?" Alia looked at her friend square in the eyes.
"Yeah, we have been trying for a few years why?" The amputee was not liking where this was going.
"Can you talk to Megaman X and Zero? I mean, their like children in a way right? You've been assigned to them anyways.." Her voice trailed off when she noticed Ramona's deep frown.
"Alia you know I do not approve of them. I'm sure they will notice that. Besides, your talking about them like they are human." Ramona shifted her purse to her shoulder and removed Alia's hands.
"Ramona you are the only person I trust with them right now besides the people from the lab. You are the only one in this area that doesn't want them dead. Why do you think the office is in such a secluded area?" Alia was starting to look slightly panicked. "You just disapprove of them you don't want to kill them.."
Shaking her head Ramona moved away from her friend and began to walk to the building, which was a small brown sparsely windowed office building. It was only one floor and made out of a combination of wood and brick which was common for the south. "Why would anyone want them dead?" She asked after she heard Alia scramble to walk beside her.
"Unpleasant rumors," Alia muttered rubbing her arm. "They are completely unprecedented."
"Uh huh, why don't you tell me them and I will decide if I will deal with them?" Out of the corner of her eye Ramona saw Alia's face become slightly panicked. "You didn't mention any of this yesterday Alia. Why?"
"I wanted you to like them." She murmured softly. "They don't need anymore enemies, like I said, their like children."
Ramona turned and stomping her foot down noticed that the area was indeed very empty. There was not even a car driving down the road she turned in on. The smaller woman bit her lip, chewing it as she thought. "Okay, Alia you need to tell me the rumor first."
The panicked woman sighed. "The rumor is that Dr. Light actually used a human to create the base model for the Reploids."
"And you said yesterday that this Megaman X was the first model."
"Yes."
"I see." Ramona turned and again looked at the building. This Reploid, something that she believed was a replacement for human police officers, was worried for his own life because of the rumors spread about them. Rumors Alia said where untrue, but she also had had no hand in creating Megaman X. Did he know how he was made? Ramona's detective sense's where screaming for more information, maybe if she treated them like people she could learn the truth behind the rumor. It would not change how she thought of them, but if she treated it more like a case rather than a assignment she was placed into to keep her off the streets it would help her cope with her own inner demons. Turning back to Alia who looked at her with her big blue eyes, pleading with her silently. "You know this is not going to change my way of thinking about them."
"Maybe not right away but I hope-"
"Alia, I cant promise it will."
"I know, but please Ramona."
Ramona sighed. "Alright, I will go talk to them. Happy?"
Alia smiled, tears at pricking the corner of her eyes. "Yes, thank you."
Walking inside the building, Ramona could hear the murmuring of people similar to her. Officers and detectives reassigned because they had a artificial limb. All of the whispers where angry, and some of them even where shouts. Lab assistants mingled in corners trying to stay away from the flustered crowd. When one of then noticed Alia he rushed to her.
"Oh madame thank goodness, the Reploids their-"
"Nervous." Ramona gave the word to the assistant who nodded. Alia smiled at her, and she gave another sigh. "Alright, don't worry just show me where they are."
The assistant happily began to walk down a hallway, away from the main room where the babbling mass was. Down the hallway were several smaller rooms, and one at the far end had its door closed. The assistant opened the door, and the room was plain: it had brown carpeting and wood paneling along the walls. There where two chairs and one was occupied while the other was empty. Ramona took a step into the room and gasped when the door quietly shut behind her, realizing she was alone she turned and looked at the plain door before turning back to the two Reploids.
Her heart was pounding.
They where staring at her arms, which were bright chrome. One hung by her left side and the other was clutching her purse at her shoulder. While they stared Ramona got a good look at both of them, their models where sleek and human like. The one sitting raised his head his expression looked like he had a gigantic frown; of course that could just be the helmet on his head. The colors of his armor consisted of red, white, black with a green upside-down triangular gem on his forehead, which led out to two points and below those points where two others. There was less armor on him then Ramona thought there would be: it looked like he was wearing a little vest, his shoulders looked hard and sleek. He had arm guards which were also red. Around his waist was a pantie like which baffled her. Finally his feet where like boots that reached up to his knees. The red one shifted and she also caught a glimpse of a bunch of golden hair.
Her eyes then moved to the other one, this one was even sleeker than the other one. Instead of a vest he had a chest plate. There was no spikes on his armor and his colors where blue and white with a red gem on his helmet. His face was twisted with worry and slight panic. His model was a bit more robotic than the red one which felt more organic. This one was built for battle; one of his arm guards was in the shape of a arm canon which worried Ramona, she could not tell if was armed or not.
The silence was broken when the blue one lunged for her. "Your one of our handlers right?" He asked, his one available hand reaching and grasping hers. Now that he was closer to her she couldn't help but smile; he was so small. Only about five three. With that smile still on her face she nodded, before she spoke she tried to remind herself that these things where built for battle. Some part of her recognized that, but seeing how human they looked, and acted it already threw a wrench in her thought pattern.
"Yes, I am. I heard from Alia you where nervous?" She looked out of the corner of her eyes at their entwined hands. Then back up at the Reploid's face it was sleek and without a blemish. At the same time it looked very familiar, his nose was strong and his lips where flat. There was nothing out of the ordinary about his face, but its symmetry just pulled at a memory of hers; it was one that she felt like she had forgotten long ago. Letting it go she decided to focus on the problem at hand.
"We heard about how they wanted to kill X." The red one finally spoke up, unlike the blue one his voice as deep and raspy. It gave off a slightly inhuman feel to it and it caused Ramona to frown. She looked at him and bit the inside of her cheek. X, who held her hand was small but this one, Zero she guessed, was not. He was about half a head taller than her. Where she stood at five six, he maybe stood at five eight. Perhaps a bit more because of the spikes on his helmet. Either way he was much more intimidating than the nervous wreck that held her hand.
"Why do they want to kill me?" A small voice came from X, his hand clutched hers. "I don't really even remember anything if I had been human. I'm not that person anymore." He looked over at Zero. "Did they say I was a bad person when I was human?"
Zero shook his head, his hair gathering on his shoulders. "X, you don't even know if you where human. Dr. Light wont tell us."
Ramona looked down at the ground and then sighed, this was probably Alia's plan all along, make her see these two act human to melt her heart. It was working, Ramona had a huge soft spot for those in need. Releasing the grip on her purse she sat it down and gathered up the panicking Reploid. "Geez why are you scared? You two are big and strong, much stronger than us scrawny humans." She snuggled him into her chest, which she used to do with her husband whenever he was stressed. X wrapped his arms around her waist. She hadn't realize he had been shaking until it had stopped.
"We don't have our weapons on us, and while we have been programmed with specific fighting styles if someone has a gun from far away we could still easily be killed." Zero crossed his arms and sighed, his frustrated face fading and devolving into a concerned stare down with the shaggy brown carpet.
"We don't want to die right after being allowed outside of the lab." The muffled voice said from her chest. Looking down she saw that X had not moved his face and was holding her closer than before. She did not think it was because of her large breasts but because of her heartbeat; which he had what would have been his ear pressed up against.
"Fair enough. What if I went up with you?" She was not anyone one of great importance, but she was a human face that was at least recognized.
Looking down at the scared Reploid she sighed again, she actually felt sort of happy being around these two. Which was strange as the last two or so months of her life had been full of depression and anxiety. The loss of her husband had rocked her world in a way that most people would have tried to escape; and she had tried. The car crash had been a way of attempted suicide. Ramona remembered when her parents had her move back in with them, it had only lasted a week or so before she went back to the home she had shared with her husband. Both her in-laws and siblings kept a close eye on her as her parents prepared to move from their home on the east coast down to Texas. Eventually their move came, and they settled in the same town she lived. Having the rotating guard watching her every move hurt her worse at times then the reminder of her dead husband. Ramona could never get the guts to remove all the pictures of her husband and herself, and they still hung up everywhere. But here, in this room, knowing that these Reploids where more scared than she had ever been made her stronger. She wanted to be a rock for them: this did not change her opinion of Reploids, they still felt like a replacement, but these two, the one she had in her arms and the one with his arms crossed in the corner, she couldn't help but start to fall in love with them.
They, without knowing her name, shared how they felt just because they had been told she was someone to be trusted.
X pulled away from Ramona who blinked slightly confused and already feeling the loss of the pressure on her chest. He was smiling, anxiety was still in his eyes but he seemed calmer. "Will you? I don't know if I can go out there. Ms. Alia said she was going to go up there with us, but she sort of just walked out an hasn't been back."
Ramona reached out and stroked the little blue Reploids cheek. "That's because she's scared. There could be collateral damage if someone tries to kill you."
"Then why are you willing to come up with us?" Zero asked, his semi robotic voice grating at Ramona's ears.
"Zero right?" She responded to his question with her own, when he nodded she looked at him square in the eyes. "Because Zero, I do not have anything to lose."
This caused both of the Reploid's to frown, but they where interrupted by a quiet knock on the door. It opened as they turned to see who it was, Alia poked her head in.
"We all okay? Its time for you all to go up on stage now." Her voice was meek, but Ramona smiled at her.
"We will be right there Alia, go and get ready," Alia beamed when her friend said that and shut the door quickly. Ramona turned to the two Reploids and bent down to pick up her purse. When she was standing straight again she looked them each in the eyes. "Alright, my name is Ramona Stiles and I am one of your handlers. If you feel uncomfortable you come to me. X, Zero, lets go introduce you to the office. We have a lot to do to get you ready for the world."
To be continued in Chapter Two: A Plauge