Zero Alpha

Notice: I don't own Mega Man, or Zero. I own nothing of anyinterest so Capcom has nothing to gain by bringing me to c-ourt. That is the last time I'll say that so whatever.

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Mission One: Sand of Time

The desert was hot under the afternoon sun even to a reploid. Zero continued along the path that he felt would lead him somewhere he felt he should be. His throat was unbearably dry due to the long distance he's traveled since the previous day, and the sand that would often find it's way into his mouth. Even a reploid such as himself wouldn't last long out here without water or anything else.

Zero's attention was taken when he glanced to the distance in front of him. A small metal tower broke through the ground so that it was clearly seen from afar. Zero headed that way when something inside of him silently screamed for him to go to it. With each step Zero felt lighter and the wounds he had suffered from the guardians and X seemed to no longer affect him. Then the one tower became three. There was only one, and he knew that. Everything became blurry and multiplied as he became weaker, but he never stopped. He wasn't aware of what still drove him to walk toward the tower. His body had taken control of his actions.

"What is it?" Zero questioned as he came closer to the object.

This place again? I hate this place.

"I've been here…before." Zero noted as he approached the teal rock surface that he thought to be a metal tower. A support for a highway that once ran through this desert area. This place had once been near a city, or rather this place that was now only sand was once an area where a city stood. "I've seen this before."

Many years ago Zero came here to fight someone. X was here as well. He and X were partners and they both investigated this place a number of times. Zero saved X here. X was being beaten by a foe in a Ride Armor who was about to go in for the final strike. Zero used his Z-Buster to chase off the reploid with ease. X was weaker than him. Zero was stronger, but was he? Could it just be that they were equal?

Zero tripped and fell to his knees causing the sand to stir and make a cloud surrounding Zero. "I don't…understand any of that." Zero used his Z-Saber to stand up and walked over to the support pillar. A loud noise came from within it that resembled a rapid. "Water? Heh. Perfect." Zero smirked as he slashed the wall causing water to erupt and hit him in a blast. Slowly the water clamed and the flow wasn't as strong. Zero shook the water off him as he moved his head to the flow of water to get a drink. After getting a good supply of water in him he sat down to look over his wounds.

X defeated someone I failed to.

"Huh? A weird thought." Zero noted. "Are these my memories?"

A male reploid in nearly gold armor approached Ciel in her laboratory. This was Elpizo, one who was on the same side as Ciel. He however had a slightly different idea of how to handle the situation than Ciel or Zero. He wanted to use force to win, but he didn't bother to think over possible results that don't end with victory.

"Oh, Elpizo." Ciel expressed just noticing his arrival.

"So, you are sure about me taking lead of all this?"

"Yes. I must concentrate on finding a new energy source so that the fighting may stop." Ciel explained.

Elpizo scoffed. "Of course."

"Be careful and don't make any risky decisions." Ciel advised.

"I will handle this well. You continue with what you do best, and I'll worry about the rest." Elpizo stated with a smirk.

"Right. Good luck. I have full confidence that you will help bring change." She said as she went back to her work.

"Yes…change"

Zero looked out from a cliff to the plains below. He was in the middle of nowhere. He was far from Neo-Arcadia, and far from the resistance base. He carried a slight fear now that he knew the resistance was in danger. He couldn't figure out what the feeling was that he had, but it wasn't good. He hoped Ciel could manage without him. She was so distraught the last time he saw her, and he thought it best she lose that look. Zero knew his strength wasn't at full as well. He had wasted too much energy, and he also no longer had his Shield Boomerang and Triple Rod so he wasn't at his best. The three guardians still were alive somewhere and he had a feeling they would come back. That meant the resistance was relatively defeated without him. The guardians were too weak for him, but no one on the resistance could fight them without losing their life.

"All that business with mavericks…Why does that seem familiar?" Zero wondered as he slid down the mountain face to the desert plains below. "Why was I hibernating? And who made me? Why was I made? Why am I a legend?" Zero continued to question as he walked onto the hot sand. "The more I go the more questions I have. All I really know is that I can fight. That comes all too naturally to me. So that means I was made to fight something right?" Zero looked away to the horizon and squints his eyes to check out the area. He definitely felt a presence out here. Who was out here with him? He was in the middle of nowhere, unless, that's what he thought. Maybe he wasn't in the middle of nowhere after all.

There he is…The guy who beat X…

Zero looked around him to find that voice's owner. "Where are they? How close are they?"

Beat me? Oh, you mean 'Master' X…

Zero gripped his Z-Saber as it glowed green. He noticed a movement ahead of him and went for it with his superior speed, but whatever was there was faster. "No way." Zero looked around in confusion for what he swore was there. "I'm not hallucinating." He said to himself. He wasn't about to go crazy out here. "Come on out!" Zero demanded shouting to the sky.

"I'm right here so stop whining."

Zero turned to the man quickly. "No way…I killed you."

X stepped forward from behind four other reploids that Zero couldn't make out because of the sun behind them. "You didn't kill me Zero…You killed my brother for which I'm thankful for."

"I don't understand this." Zero said in disbelief. A reploid that looked just as the copy of X did. The true X was no longer around so this one was not the real one. Which led to one question: How many copies of X did Ciel make?