Rockman X

Episode I

The Cataclysm Element

Chapter 2: The Sleeping Madness

It's surprising, to say the least. It's surprising, that among this dirt there would be such a thing. That it would wait behind a huge red door. Wait for its awakening.

It's kind of funny, now that I think of it. That at the time I... WE were so desperate, that we overlooked all the clues. Even tough it was so obviously "too good to be true", we still decided to awake it.

The boy who slept, and behind his bed, on a wall... a sign. A sign which just screamed "DON'T DO IT! DON'T WAKE HIM UP!"

And yet, we did.

I did.

"Seed?"

"What's wrong, Red? What's in there?"

I'm brought back to reality by her voice. I just realized, that I was staring at the writing on the wall for a long while. I look around, the laboratory is white, just as rest of the hallways and rooms in this forsaken place. It was dirty here too, of course.

However, there were three things, which made this laboratory unique.

One, there was a skeleton dressed in a lab coat stained with blood. The bony hands and legs were twisted in positions that seem very painful. Whatever it was that killed him, it probably didn't fuck around.

Two, there's a giant writing on the wall which says "SEED". It's written in blood, probably of that skeleton guy.

And lastly, there's a pod, with a young looking Repliroid in it.

"Well, lady. It seems I found something. A sleeping pod with a Repliroid in it, and a dead human."

"A... dead human?"

"Well... more like a skeleton of a dead human. But that's just unnecessary details."

"U-understood. Examine the sleeping pod, try to see if the Repliroid inside is still functional."

"Already on it."

I check the console, attached to the side of the pod. A typical keypad, with letters on the keys. Giving a closer look at the pod, it seems like it's the only object not affected by the dirt, which seems to crawl all around. There's a plug in port, which means I can let Alia do her magic. Or I could try my own magic.

"S-e-e-d."

I type the word on the console, and after a moment of absolute silence, I hear a beeping and a voice.

"AWAKENING PROCESS INITIATED!"

"Lady, it seems like I managed to wake our sleeping beauty up."

"Be careful, Red. We don't know what we might be up against"

I back away, readying my scythe. God knows what will happen now. After all, for what I know, this dead guy over there might be the work of the sleeping beauty here. It would be a shame tough, a real shame, if we went through all that trouble, only to kill the one thing apparently worth a damn in this place.

Hot steam gushes from the pod, obstructing my sight. I back away a little more.

I see a black silhouette get up, and slowly come out of it.

Can't say I'm not nervous. Everybody would be nervous in my place.

And so... the steam begins to disappear and I get a good look at the young bot.

He's looking at me... smiling?

"Yo. It's finally the time someone woke me up. Geez... it really took a while."

"Um..." I'm not sure what to reply. He's acting completely different from what I imagined.

"Well... never mind. My name is Axl. What's yours, pops?"

Every night, a nightmare. This time, it wasn't different. I woke up, screaming. I don't know why, why am I now plagued by those horrible dreams. Is it some kind of sign? Or maybe I'm just losing my grip on the sanity?

Don't know.

As I sit there, in the darkness of my room, I start to think about different things. Things to take my mind off the nightmares.

However, the only thing I can think about is X's strange behavior. It doesn't put me at ease, not even one bit.

This is frustrating.

I get up, and leave my room.

A little walk won't hurt.

The brightly lit hallways of the base, seem different, alien to me. Even tough the layout is the same, the look of everything changed when Nebula came. New dark purple paint on the wall, new locks in the doors of each room, and of course. Almost completely new staff.

Discounting those who didn't leave, the base is full of new faces. All assigned by Nebula, to fill in for the "traitors". There's something strange about them, something... different from the rest of us. As if they were built only to serve under Nebula.

Heh.

I wouldn't be surprised.

What worries me the most tough, is that X seems to get along with them surprisingly well. In fact, he's no longer my partner, instead he was paired with some girl named Slur. When they offered me a new partner, I said "No. I'll work alone if I have to".

Was it smart of me? I don't know. I just feel that I can't trust anyone else. Heck, it looks like I can't even trust X anymore.

Maybe I really should leave?

"Hello, Zero. Going for a walk?"

I stop, and turn around. She stands before me, with that bored look on her face. A female Repliroid, in a snow-white armor.

It's her, X's new partner... Slur.

"Hmph. What if I am? It's none of your business what I'm doing."

A smirk appears on her face.

"Well, aren't we grumpy? I can see you don't like me... jealous much?"

"Ridiculous. If X wants to have a new partner, then let him have it. It's none of my business."

I turned around without saying anymore, and not even waiting for her reply, I start to walk away. Then, she says it.

"X is ours now, and soon you will be too... Red Devil."

I stopped. No, that's not the right word. I froze. What she just said, it made me feel a chill so cold that I couldn't move. I was standing there for a moment that seemed like an eternity. I heard as she walked away, as the sound of her footsteps slowly disappeared. Only when I was absolutely sure that she wasn't near me anymore, did I move again.

There was no doubt in my mind anymore.

I had to leave, I had to find Red Alert.

We are waiting for the completion of the analysis.

Now that we have brought the boy to our base, we have to perform a standard procedure on him, and that is to check if he's not being tracked by Nebula.

We wouldn't want to be discovered. Especially not by them.

Our base is located deep underground. This place used to be a metro tunnel, until we came here, fixed the place up a bit, and made it our home.

The analysis is done, using our AlertKomps. Each of our AlertKomps have built in a function, that allows us to always check, if we are not being tracked. Did I mention that they are useful?

"Well, Alia? Is there anything planted on or within him?"

"Nope. He's clean of any tracking devices." She said, closing her AlertKomp.

"Cool. Can I get my guns back now?"

The young boy, looks at both of us with an expectant look. I look at the table, where his two guns are laying, and then smile at him.

"Sure, take 'em."

He takes them with a smile, without waiting even a moment.

So there he is, our bounty, taken from the abandoned laboratory.

Can't say I expected to find a happy-go-lucky kid, but I can't complain.

Now however, came the moment of questioning. We have to find out as much as we can from the boy.

I look at Alia, she looks at me. We both understand that it's time now.

"Now, kid. Listen."

"What is it, pops?"

The boy looks at me with a cocky smile. It's almost as if he knows that now we are going to question him.

Heh.

"We need to know everything you know."

"About what? I think I already told you, that I know nothing about myself."

"Yet you did expect to be woken up." I continued. "So you must know something about Nebula Company."

"Oh, you want to know about them? Why didn't you say so?"

I crossed my arms. It seems like we are getting on to something, good.

"We are all ears."

"Well so... as you probably know already, Nebula Company is in charge of the "New Generation" project."

"New Generation project? It's the first time I've ever heard of it."

Both me and Alia, have surprise painted on our faces.

But to be honest, so does the boy.

"What? You know nothing about it? Geez. I thought that they would have announced it by now."

"What is this New Generation project, Axl?" Alia asked.

"Well, it's kinda complicated. I don't know much myself, but, New Generation project's goal is to create a new race of Repliroids. Immune to the Sigma Virus, and therefore not capable of going Irregular."

We are staring at the boy, in long silence. Both of us aren't sure what to say. New Generation of Repliroids, which are immune to the Virus? That's something we did not expect to hear. Now, the obvious next question will be...

"In case you're wondering, then yes. I am one of the NewGen Repliroids. In fact, I'm the prototype."

The boy answers our question, before we even ask him. He's sharper than he seems.

"I see. Tell me, Axl. How do you know all of this, even tough you've been sleeping all this time?"

"Well, while I was sleeping, I was "fed" information. I know everything I need to know about the world."

"You also said, that you know nothing about yourself. Yet, you do know your name and that you are a part of this New Generation. How can it be so?"

"That's exactly it, pops. I know what I am, and what my name is, but I know nothing about WHO I actually am. When I saw you wake me up, I thought you would tell me."

"I see. I'm sorry, Axl, but I think you might have been abandoned by Nebula."

"Gee, you think?"

His answer tells me everything. I didn't notice it at first, but there's a huge aura of sadness around him.

I can't say. I pity the boy. Abandoned, alone. Sleeping for a long time, and then awakened only to learn he knows nothing about himself.

Damn, Nebula.

"Hey, pops."

"Yes?"

"Do you think... I could join up with you guys?"

Damn it all!

My plan for escape was simple. Get through the gates of the HQ under the cover of night.

It seems tough, they expected me to do that. No, more than that.

She said what she said, because she knew what I would do. That I would try to escape, and make contact with Red Alert.

It was a trap, everything must have been a lure to lead me right into it. X's strange behavior, the dreams.

Now I understand. Whatever Nebula is planning... I must escape! I must get away!

So I'm running, and they are chasing after me through the streets of the city. They have ride chasers, I don't.

So I have to carefully plan my every step. Even the smallest mistake, might lead to my capture.

I can hear the sirens, they are looking for me. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. It's madness.

I'm running through the dirty back alleys, jumping on balconies, hiding in the trash. Everything to escape those who are trying to find me.

I gotta run. Echo of the sirens is spreading in my head. Using every opening, I have to get away from the city.

Then there's... the pain. My head hurts... a familiar pain. I've felt it before. Yes, few times before.

The image of an old scientist flashes in my head. It hurts, it hurts. Please somebody stop the pain.

And then... I feel nothing. I hear nothing. Just black, endless void. Am I dead? Am I dying? Or is it something else? I'm flying through this hollow place, wondering, what is wrong with me. What is happening... and then, I hear them. Those words. The incomplete poem. This time... it's different.

I am near.

I can hear.

I'll whisper in your ear.

Is it the death you fear?

No... I fear no death. I only fear...

"THE RED DEVIL IS HERE!"

I hear my own voice, complete the poem. But after that... nothing. Only never ending black.

Then...

I woke up, outside the streets of the city. In a cave.

I don't remember what happened, or how I got here.

On my hands there's blood... Repliroid blood.

What did I do? What happened?

I don't know. I don't want to know.

I must find help... I must find Red Alert and...

KILL THEM ALL!

... with them find out what Nebula is up to.

If anybody can help me, it's...

THE FEAST MADE FROM THEIR CORPSES!

... them.

I must...

SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!

... find them, before it's too late.

The Sleeping Madness... end