AN- This is my third attempt at a Megaman fanfic. Megaman does not belong to me, but to Capcom. Thank you.
Chapter 1: The Assault
Through the long history of Reploids, man and machine were pitted against each other in desperate battles for survival. Some Reploids decided to stay with their old masters, while others were drawn by the power of a Reploid leader named Sigma. Sigma, gaining a great army of rogue Reploids, called Mavericks, declared war on humanity. The main resistance to Sigma's war was a group of Reploids and Humans known as the Maverick Hunters.
The long, bloody period of strife caused by Sigma's aggressions was known as the Sigma Wars. Two Maverick Hunters, Megaman X and his best friend Zero, led the fight for peace and an end to Sigma's reign of terror. Although Sigma himself was destroyed several times, he always came back in a new body to wreak havoc. Then, Zero destroyed the Sigma Virus, the core essence of Sigma's being, by inserting an anti-virus program into his Z-Saber.
It had been ten years since the day when Sigma was struck down. The world enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity, and humans and Reploids finally began to coexist. There were still some Maverick revolts, but the Hunters easily dispatched them. It seemed that the world would enter a Golden Age… but history is destined to repeat itself…
*******
"Is all going according to plan?"
The small, tan Reploid kneeled to the figure that had spoken. "Yes, Lord Thanatos. Our armies are growing all the time. The Hunters still know nothing about us, so we still have the element of surprise."
"Good." The mysterious Reploid known as Thanatos mused. He was a tall man, dressed in Red armor with black stripes. At his side, Thanatos carried two Beam Katanas, his weapon of choice. His ruby red eyes adorned the middle of Thanatos' narrow forehead and seemed to pry into the soul of anyone whose gaze they met. Arising, Thanatos strode towards the tan Reploid as he asked him a few more questions.
"Bane, I've had my spies do some research lately." Thanatos said. "Do you know what they've found?"
"No, my lord." The Reploid known as Bane replied. "Is it important?"
"The Catalyst, Bane!" Thanatos laughed. "We have found the location of the Catalyst! It is currently located inside of a Repli-Tech research facility if the spies' information is accurate."
"The Catalyst?" Bane asked in shock. "They've found it?"
"Yes." Thanatos whispered. "Soon, the world will witness the dawning of a new age…"
*******
"Wake up, sleepyhead!"
X groaned. He hated waking up in the morning. Opening his eyes, he saw a Reploid in red armor.
"Good morning, X!" He yelled.
"Let me go back to sleep, Zero." X grumbled.
"No such luck, X." Zero replied. "You see, you've slept until noon. If you don't wake up, everyone will think that you're dead."
"Alright already." X grumbled, rising from his bed. "I'm up. Anything exciting been happening?"
"Nope. Sorry. After those revolts a week ago, the Mavericks have been fairly quiet. I guess that's a good thing, though."
"Yeah, you're right." X replied. "I just wish that something would happen. It's boring around here!"
The two friends finally came to a large cafeteria during their chat. Although Reploids didn't need to eat or drink to survive, the cafeteria was there to feed the Hunters that were human. X and Zero sat down in their usual spot without getting any food or anything to drink.
"Maybe I should've woken up earlier." X mumbled. "I still can't believe that I slept till noon."
"Yup." Zero replied. "You were sleeping like a baby, so I couldn't wake you up earlier."
X was about to reply when a loud beep pierced the lazy atmosphere. "That's for me." Zero said, reaching into his pocket for his Portable Com-Device.
"Hello?" He asked. "Oh, hello Doctor. This is Zero. What do you…" X watched his friend's face turn ashen. He nodded grimly. "I see. We'll be there right away."
"Zero, what was…"
"X, get on your battle gear. There's been an attack at a research facility. We need to check for survivors." At that, Zero got up and left the room.
*******
X was horrified at the devastation that he saw when he arrived at the Repli-Tech research facility. The facility was a charred ruin of a building, with broken glass and rubble littering the ground. Several men in uniforms were carrying survivors out of the building in stretchers, and researchers buzzed around the building, sampling for any indication of what happened.
"What the hell happened here?" Zero asked.
"I don't know." X shook his head. "How could anyone do something like this?"
Before Zero could answer, a man in a lab coat came running towards the two. "X! Zero! I'm so glad you made it!"
"Doctor Cain, what happened here?" X asked.
"From what was left of the surveillance cameras, a large force broke into the facility. The security tried to hold them off, but they were too well organized. The tapes end there.
"And I'll tell you another thing, too." Doctor Cain continued. "It wasn't the Mavericks who destroyed this facility. The workers triggered the self-destruct mechanism themselves. Obviously they didn't want what they were working on to fall into the wrong hands."
"I see." Zero nodded. "Doctor, does anyone know who did this?"
"No, not really." Doctor Cain replied. "We do know one thing, though. Some survivors who were left for dead told us that a convoy carrying stolen information and prisoners was headed north."
"X, we have to find that convoy." Zero said immediately. "If whoever did this has hostages, the results could be catastrophic. Also we can't just let them take off with whatever they were looking for in here."
"You're right." X nodded. "Doctor, we have to go." At that, the two friends went to where their Motorbikes were parked.
"Good luck, Zero. Good luck, X." Doctor Cain whispered as the two sped off into the sunset. At that, he sighed and went back to work on the investigation.