(Disclaimer: Zero and all related characters belong to Capcom, not me.)
Nightmare
Zero ran.
He wasn't sure where he was running, he wasn't sure from who he was running, he wasn't sure why. But his instincts told him to run, and run
he did. Faster and faster, the loud clanking of his boots on the floor of this black vacuum slowly gaining rythm. Up ahead, Zero thought he saw
a white speck. This speck steadily grew, until could clearly see that there was a light at the end of this tunnel.
Zero's heart soared, and hope spread through his body. He could faintly make out a silhouette of a person amidst the light. The hope
stopped abruptly as Zero skidded to a halt and widned his eyes when he realized who the silhouette belonged to.
"No..." he whispered, but the only answer he got was laughter. Zero drew his sabre. "Shut up, Wily!" he shouted, and began hacking the
shadow to pieces. However, the shadow remained intact and began to to laugh harder. Suddenly, the image shifted. It morphed into the shape
of a female, and began to color red, gold, and blue. "I...Iris?"
Iris said nothing, but clutched a Repliforce pin to her chest and then backflipped into the purple mech behind her, which had been hidden in
the shadows up to that time. She charged at Zero. Zero shut his eyes and braced for the blow, but instead heard the sound of metal clashing.
Opening one eye, he saw an image of himself fighting Iris in her mech. The Image Zero prepared to make the final blow.
"NO! Don't do it!!"
The Image Zero heard no plea of mercy and drove his sabre straight throught the mech's heart. It exploded, leaving a battered Iris among
the wreakage. Zero blinked back tears and started running away. It was still all too clear...
Her wish to be with him...
Her innocent smile before she died...
Her fragile body frame growing cold in his arms...
(No,) he decided. (I've seen her die once. I don't need to see it again.) Panting heavily, Zero never once looked back at the sight behind him.
He wasn't sure how long it was before he heard a noise...
He stopped again and looked around him. As his golden river of hair flowed behind him, he caught something black and horrid clinging to
the tipsof it out of the corner of his eye. It spoke.
"[Zero...I've returned.]" Zero screamed in fear and sliced off the hair it was clinging to. (Okay, I got a trim. So what?) he thought.(I never want
to hear the words "Zero" and "Maverick" in the same sentence unless the words "is not a" are between them.)
"[Zero... I have returned to you.]" The blackness, the horridness, the...evil brimming from this...thing, this...Virus. It surrounded him completely
and began to latch onto him, slowly seeping into his circuts and spreading throughout his stucture, until he could feel it flowing through his head,
eating away the control chip to the programming it desired. Zero screamed, long, loud, hard, and full of pain, as the Virus gnawed away,
and then...
Zero woke up.
Breathing hard with extreme effort, he slowly stood up out of his stasis pod, dripping in a cold sweat. It was all a dream...just a dream...he
was still alive, he wasn't a Maverick, and he still had his hair. Relieved, Zero glanced at his internal clock. It was 8:45, and his training began at
9. Zero took a shower and slipped into his armor, silent the entire time. He opened the window of his room and took in a few gulps of fresh
morning air. Zero sighed and reached for his helmet. He had only one thought on his mind since he woke up, and as he snapped on his
helmet, he spoke it.
"Damn you, Wily."
Nightmare
Zero ran.
He wasn't sure where he was running, he wasn't sure from who he was running, he wasn't sure why. But his instincts told him to run, and run
he did. Faster and faster, the loud clanking of his boots on the floor of this black vacuum slowly gaining rythm. Up ahead, Zero thought he saw
a white speck. This speck steadily grew, until could clearly see that there was a light at the end of this tunnel.
Zero's heart soared, and hope spread through his body. He could faintly make out a silhouette of a person amidst the light. The hope
stopped abruptly as Zero skidded to a halt and widned his eyes when he realized who the silhouette belonged to.
"No..." he whispered, but the only answer he got was laughter. Zero drew his sabre. "Shut up, Wily!" he shouted, and began hacking the
shadow to pieces. However, the shadow remained intact and began to to laugh harder. Suddenly, the image shifted. It morphed into the shape
of a female, and began to color red, gold, and blue. "I...Iris?"
Iris said nothing, but clutched a Repliforce pin to her chest and then backflipped into the purple mech behind her, which had been hidden in
the shadows up to that time. She charged at Zero. Zero shut his eyes and braced for the blow, but instead heard the sound of metal clashing.
Opening one eye, he saw an image of himself fighting Iris in her mech. The Image Zero prepared to make the final blow.
"NO! Don't do it!!"
The Image Zero heard no plea of mercy and drove his sabre straight throught the mech's heart. It exploded, leaving a battered Iris among
the wreakage. Zero blinked back tears and started running away. It was still all too clear...
Her wish to be with him...
Her innocent smile before she died...
Her fragile body frame growing cold in his arms...
(No,) he decided. (I've seen her die once. I don't need to see it again.) Panting heavily, Zero never once looked back at the sight behind him.
He wasn't sure how long it was before he heard a noise...
He stopped again and looked around him. As his golden river of hair flowed behind him, he caught something black and horrid clinging to
the tipsof it out of the corner of his eye. It spoke.
"[Zero...I've returned.]" Zero screamed in fear and sliced off the hair it was clinging to. (Okay, I got a trim. So what?) he thought.(I never want
to hear the words "Zero" and "Maverick" in the same sentence unless the words "is not a" are between them.)
"[Zero... I have returned to you.]" The blackness, the horridness, the...evil brimming from this...thing, this...Virus. It surrounded him completely
and began to latch onto him, slowly seeping into his circuts and spreading throughout his stucture, until he could feel it flowing through his head,
eating away the control chip to the programming it desired. Zero screamed, long, loud, hard, and full of pain, as the Virus gnawed away,
and then...
Zero woke up.
Breathing hard with extreme effort, he slowly stood up out of his stasis pod, dripping in a cold sweat. It was all a dream...just a dream...he
was still alive, he wasn't a Maverick, and he still had his hair. Relieved, Zero glanced at his internal clock. It was 8:45, and his training began at
9. Zero took a shower and slipped into his armor, silent the entire time. He opened the window of his room and took in a few gulps of fresh
morning air. Zero sighed and reached for his helmet. He had only one thought on his mind since he woke up, and as he snapped on his
helmet, he spoke it.
"Damn you, Wily."