Nightmares Realized
Having bought his time well, the leader of the Neo Arcadian government, Rubeus, found himself aboard Elysium overseeing the reconstruction of the ship. Its master was long gone but the technology was vast and needed to be put to a use. Rubeus, who shared some of Sigma's extreme views, wanted to purify the human race with Elysium's resources. All his ideals had accumulated for this moment as he met with the lead redesigner, Elpizo. The young Reploid, who stood before him, yearned for power and wanted nothing more than to destroy X. Rubeus found him on the streets and took him in. With the promise of power, Rubeus trained him in all the arts of science, technology and chaos. Elpizo ate up everything Rubeus told him and blindly did everything that he was ordered to do. All the long years of doing what Rubeus wanted had brought him to this moment when Rubeus greeted him and got his status report. For shortly, all of the preparations would be tested and the systems turned on to see the progress... Little were they to know that there would be a minor setback today...
"The scheduled activation of systems is as scheduled?" Rubeus inquired.
"Yes it is," Elpizo yawned, "We've stayed up for days prepping for this moment sir. You will see only a fraction of Elysium's true power but it'll all be worth it. When this station finally becomes activated, all will tremble before the might of Neo Arcadia!"
"Very good my son," Rubeus smiled, "My quarters?"
"We have prepped a room for you," Elpizo bowed, "If you follow me, I will show you to it. I tried to make the room as comfortable as I possible, but then again this is space... we don't have a lot to work with... And don't worry about missing the demonstration for I will send someone there to awake you when it's time."
"Right," Rubeus nodded, "After you?"
Elpizo and Rubeus walked down the dimly lit halls toward a room that left no detail to ponder. It was lavishly decorated with every comfort that could ever be thought of. If Rubeus did not know better, he would swear that he had just gotten the President's suite at his favorite hotel. Pushing aside these thoughts and sitting down on his bed, Rubeus swiftly fell asleep where he dreamt of his total domination of all...
After showing Rubeus his way to his quarters, Elpizo quickly got back to work on getting things prepped... Sweeping the systems for problems, Elpizo tried to pinpoint power fluctuations through the station but was interrupted by some of his maintenance team. Angered at this interruption, Elpizo turned to the six Reploids standing before him...
"Make this quick," Elpizo grumbled, "I don't have the time to waste on idol chit chat..."
"Sir?" one of the two foreman spoke up, "We found something of interest that you may want to know of."
"Oh really?" Elpizo perked up, "This had better be good because I was doing something very important here!"
"This way sir," the second foreman chimed in. Together the group followed a long hallway at which everyone stopped... Looking at a wall, the six Reploids smiled at Elpizo's bewilderment. Taking their moment, one of the foremen stepped forward and readied to open the secret compartment. Tapping a brick, the wall vanished to reveal a treasure of mammoth proportions... Black Talon's fleet...
"We believe this to be the fleet of robotic ships that attacked the Redemption," the first foreman interjected the long silence, "It would prove to be of great importance to add to our already growing number of alien weaponry..."
"This is great!" Elpizo cut in, "We have more alien technology than we could ever do with and now we get these gifts! This is most wonderful! You guys can take the rest of the day off! I'm proud of you!"
"Right," the two foremen of the team barked, "Turn in for the day men! Go off and have fun. I expect you to be back here in the morning. You may leave."
"What the hell?!" Elpizo gasped, "It can't be..."
"Oh shi..." the two foremen yapped in unison as two large plasma shots took them out.
"No one will reactivate this place," the mysterious Reploid proclaimed, "It will rot and decay like its master will!
"Pity... That maintenance team should've never found this place... Ah well... I will spare only your life... Elpizo. Not because I'm showing you mercy but someone has to spread the news... I'm back and looking to condemn this place... once and for all..."
"But we had a deal!" Elpizo shot back, "You wouldn't seize control over the station until we ran the systems check!"
"Plans change," the mysterious Reploid responded quickly, "Now go! I have issues to take up with that asshole Rubeus! He'll pay for what he did!"
"You must stop!" Elpizo begged, "Rubeus is the one key influence that stops civil war on Earth! Without him, everyone will turn on each other and then..."
"Indeed," the mysterious Reploid laughed, "There will be chaos and mayhem... Everything will be thrown into bedlam and help us to realize the dream of all Reploids, our own world!"
"I never heard you talk like this before," Elpizo stepped backwards, "Wait... It can't be..."
"You're right..." the mysterious Reploid snickered, "I didn't have the backbone to say it before but NOW... I do... Thanks to something I found amidst some rubble... It changed my life and granted me powers unknown to ANYONE! Now begone from my presence!"
The Reploid stood in a doorway highlighted by the starlight and smiled knowing everything had come down to this. Tossing a chip with a symbol on it in midair, Zero cackled menacingly into the night as he realized his plan... Holding Sigma's DNA soul in one hand and with the other the fate of the world, Zero walked off toward Rubeus without a care in the world...
Meanwhile back on Earth, the infected form of X continued to rampage through the Neo Arcadian fortress setting everything ablaze... It would seem that nothing would stop it from its nightmarish rampage... but then again, an unexpected turn of events would soon unfold... While his body went on a rampage, X was trapped inside of his mind running through everything that had happened thus far... The moment froze in his memory of how he was unable to stop Sigma from unleashing his virus onto the world... He had limitless potential and all the power to stop him but he could not... Now everything was damned and he had no way of stopping the virus or Sigma for that matter... As his hopes drained from his body, a small pinpoint of light started to focus inside of all the darkness... Maybe there was still hope...
"Alia," X mumbled in a dreamlike state, "I must continue to see my wife... I can't give up yet... No... It can't end like this... I WON'T ALLOW IT!"
Raising his arms into the air, he focused all of his energy inside of himself... Clenching his fists amidst his fury, X released his energy in a wave of raw untainted emotions that rocked the chasm of his mind... Alia's smiling face flashed through his head as it all snapped forth... Like a mirror, the hold of the Mother Virus was shattered...
Outside of his mind, the viral infected X fell over with a thud as his eyes went blank... Golden light engulfed the room at which the form of X stood highlighted against the flames and embers... Gritting his teeth and balling his fists, he resumed control over his body and took back his will to fight... in order to send Sigma to his grave at last...
Zero and Zenith, who were standing outside of the burning citadel, stood upright as they sensed that their friend was finally free from Sigma's control... As they finally pressed forward into Neo Arcadia, they were stopped by the likes of the Assassins Guild... Assuming their attack stances, Zero and Zenith readied to let them have it...
"I was getting tired of being out of the fight," Zenith folded his hand onto his sword.
"I'll take the ones on the right and you the left," Zero grasped his blade.
"Wait! Too much blood has been spilt recently," Xephyr hymned, "We are not your enemy here! We came here because we have seen the errors in our ways... Too blinded we were about our pride to notice the evil Sigma spreads... The few of us that are not infected with Sigma's virus have come here to put an end to his wicked deeds..."
"His deeds are not the only that need to be stopped," Zenith added.
"Which other deeds are there?" Xephyr questioned.
"Neo Arcadia is going to launch an attack on Reploidom after this battle," Zero fumbled, "They won't stop til our race is on the brink of extinction..."
"We know," Oracle sullied, "That's why we're starting a Resistance to stop this evil and all evils from terrorizing this world."
"From foe to friend," Zenith laughed, "Interesting concept... I'll take it into consideration when we are battling Sigma. Let's draw him out and we'll go from there..."
"Change of plans," Oracle smiled through shut eyes, "X will take care of our problem up there. He's freed himself of the virus and is now going after Sigma. I wonder why Typhus wanted to infect him like that anyway... Nemesis ordered him not to do it..."
"Wait a moment," Zero grumbled, "What are you? Some fortune teller?"
"They don't call me Oracle for nothing, Crimson Fury," Oracle giggled, "I have foretold many things and have seen your end along with the ends of several others. Of this I'm sure, we will only survive to see the prolonging of our race by creating this Resistance against Neo Arcadia. Let us now join together and find our comrade Typhus. With him, we can do much good for the races of man and machine."
"Don't worry about finding me," Typhus barked, "I'm right here..."
"Finally! You have some major explaining, my friend! We have questions, you have answers," Xephyr prodded, "Now tell us... Why did you spread the Mother Virus?"
"Because I was tired of taking orders from a decrepit old timer living in his own world," Typhus grinned, "I'm glad you're free of the Mother Virus cuz I want you to remember this betrayal! And since you brought me Zenith and Zero also... Oh! And I'd like to thank you for stalling until I got here! I can now infect you all at once!"
"I don't think so," Nemesis yawned, "You might be the one that helped spread it, but you don't know how it works like I do. In fact, the anti- virus is still in the air! You can't infect us... so much for your betrayal! Time to do what I should have done ages ago, retire your sorry ass!"
Drawing his sword, Nemesis dispatched Typhus to the ground with a quick swipe. Swiping the blade clean onto the ground, he swiftly placed it back into its sheath... Nemesis grinned and shook his head at the remains of his one time friend. Stepping aside, he turned to meet the rest of the group and together they tried to decide on their next course of action... However, before the blood curdled on the ground, a series of tendrils shot out from Typhus' body and reformed his broken body... Standing there laughing evilly, Typhus looked at everyone's mystified faces...
"Sigma showed me the truth to your lies, Xephyr," Typhus cackled, "He gave me power unlike this world has ever known and with it I will banish your kind from this world!"
"Look Typhus," Zero shook his head, "He stole that technology from Black Talon... You're nothing but another pawn in his army of lackeys! Now step aside or else I will remove you from this life!"
"Zero," Typhus vexed, "You outdated copy! Once the true demon unleashes his judgment on this world, you will be singing a different tune. He is a plague and will forever leave your mangled bodies on this battlefield!"
"I'm not a copy," Zero jinxed, "I'm all original! ...What's the deal with everyone copying me anyway? Is it the cool thing to do?"
"You pathetic fool," Typhus delighted, "Let me instill in you the truth that comes from the Sigma Virus! Black Talon didn't just leave the virus here! He secretly installed it into Zero! He was the instigator of the viral outbreak! That's why Sigma became infected! Not because he sought a face that would strike fear into his foes! It was a chance coincidence that he wound up with Black Talon's face!"
"Truth? Since when is this truth? I swear that bad guys like to run their mouths... but this is just too damned much! Are we through with the talking? I want to fight!" Zenith muttered.
"Almost," Typhus input, "Copy Zero... You are almost the demon your father intended... It's too bad that you're such a fossil and by far outclassed... I would have loved to see you go against the true nightmare! Oh well... Soon you will be a scrap heap, that you should be! With Elysium's might, us, Mavericks, will be avenged! And you all will be damned!
Each of the team eyed up Typhus with their weapons ready to be drawn... Time passed and not a single person moved from where they stood... Before any of them knew it, the hour that they should dread passed and brought with it the dimming hopes of all... For as the sun stretched over head, a silhouetted beacon of light lit up the sky as it streaked downwards toward the Neo Arcadian fortress.... Parting clouds as it struck, the light burnt a reminder of who ruled the world as it shot down and vaporized an area around the citadel... A few more moments passed as several more streaks of light hit around the Assassins Guild and the two heroes... Out of no where, a series of attack crafts materialized and revealed themselves... Hovering over the ground, thousands of space crafts eyed up the few uninfected Reploids... ready to kill...
Elysium's might had been unleashed proving the truth and weight of Typhus' words... The nightmares of the people had been realized and forever tarnished the future to come... A new evil had been unleashed and with it, it would spell the ultimate doom of all hope... or could something happen to change the outlook of the future?
Having bought his time well, the leader of the Neo Arcadian government, Rubeus, found himself aboard Elysium overseeing the reconstruction of the ship. Its master was long gone but the technology was vast and needed to be put to a use. Rubeus, who shared some of Sigma's extreme views, wanted to purify the human race with Elysium's resources. All his ideals had accumulated for this moment as he met with the lead redesigner, Elpizo. The young Reploid, who stood before him, yearned for power and wanted nothing more than to destroy X. Rubeus found him on the streets and took him in. With the promise of power, Rubeus trained him in all the arts of science, technology and chaos. Elpizo ate up everything Rubeus told him and blindly did everything that he was ordered to do. All the long years of doing what Rubeus wanted had brought him to this moment when Rubeus greeted him and got his status report. For shortly, all of the preparations would be tested and the systems turned on to see the progress... Little were they to know that there would be a minor setback today...
"The scheduled activation of systems is as scheduled?" Rubeus inquired.
"Yes it is," Elpizo yawned, "We've stayed up for days prepping for this moment sir. You will see only a fraction of Elysium's true power but it'll all be worth it. When this station finally becomes activated, all will tremble before the might of Neo Arcadia!"
"Very good my son," Rubeus smiled, "My quarters?"
"We have prepped a room for you," Elpizo bowed, "If you follow me, I will show you to it. I tried to make the room as comfortable as I possible, but then again this is space... we don't have a lot to work with... And don't worry about missing the demonstration for I will send someone there to awake you when it's time."
"Right," Rubeus nodded, "After you?"
Elpizo and Rubeus walked down the dimly lit halls toward a room that left no detail to ponder. It was lavishly decorated with every comfort that could ever be thought of. If Rubeus did not know better, he would swear that he had just gotten the President's suite at his favorite hotel. Pushing aside these thoughts and sitting down on his bed, Rubeus swiftly fell asleep where he dreamt of his total domination of all...
After showing Rubeus his way to his quarters, Elpizo quickly got back to work on getting things prepped... Sweeping the systems for problems, Elpizo tried to pinpoint power fluctuations through the station but was interrupted by some of his maintenance team. Angered at this interruption, Elpizo turned to the six Reploids standing before him...
"Make this quick," Elpizo grumbled, "I don't have the time to waste on idol chit chat..."
"Sir?" one of the two foreman spoke up, "We found something of interest that you may want to know of."
"Oh really?" Elpizo perked up, "This had better be good because I was doing something very important here!"
"This way sir," the second foreman chimed in. Together the group followed a long hallway at which everyone stopped... Looking at a wall, the six Reploids smiled at Elpizo's bewilderment. Taking their moment, one of the foremen stepped forward and readied to open the secret compartment. Tapping a brick, the wall vanished to reveal a treasure of mammoth proportions... Black Talon's fleet...
"We believe this to be the fleet of robotic ships that attacked the Redemption," the first foreman interjected the long silence, "It would prove to be of great importance to add to our already growing number of alien weaponry..."
"This is great!" Elpizo cut in, "We have more alien technology than we could ever do with and now we get these gifts! This is most wonderful! You guys can take the rest of the day off! I'm proud of you!"
"Right," the two foremen of the team barked, "Turn in for the day men! Go off and have fun. I expect you to be back here in the morning. You may leave."
"What the hell?!" Elpizo gasped, "It can't be..."
"Oh shi..." the two foremen yapped in unison as two large plasma shots took them out.
"No one will reactivate this place," the mysterious Reploid proclaimed, "It will rot and decay like its master will!
"Pity... That maintenance team should've never found this place... Ah well... I will spare only your life... Elpizo. Not because I'm showing you mercy but someone has to spread the news... I'm back and looking to condemn this place... once and for all..."
"But we had a deal!" Elpizo shot back, "You wouldn't seize control over the station until we ran the systems check!"
"Plans change," the mysterious Reploid responded quickly, "Now go! I have issues to take up with that asshole Rubeus! He'll pay for what he did!"
"You must stop!" Elpizo begged, "Rubeus is the one key influence that stops civil war on Earth! Without him, everyone will turn on each other and then..."
"Indeed," the mysterious Reploid laughed, "There will be chaos and mayhem... Everything will be thrown into bedlam and help us to realize the dream of all Reploids, our own world!"
"I never heard you talk like this before," Elpizo stepped backwards, "Wait... It can't be..."
"You're right..." the mysterious Reploid snickered, "I didn't have the backbone to say it before but NOW... I do... Thanks to something I found amidst some rubble... It changed my life and granted me powers unknown to ANYONE! Now begone from my presence!"
The Reploid stood in a doorway highlighted by the starlight and smiled knowing everything had come down to this. Tossing a chip with a symbol on it in midair, Zero cackled menacingly into the night as he realized his plan... Holding Sigma's DNA soul in one hand and with the other the fate of the world, Zero walked off toward Rubeus without a care in the world...
Meanwhile back on Earth, the infected form of X continued to rampage through the Neo Arcadian fortress setting everything ablaze... It would seem that nothing would stop it from its nightmarish rampage... but then again, an unexpected turn of events would soon unfold... While his body went on a rampage, X was trapped inside of his mind running through everything that had happened thus far... The moment froze in his memory of how he was unable to stop Sigma from unleashing his virus onto the world... He had limitless potential and all the power to stop him but he could not... Now everything was damned and he had no way of stopping the virus or Sigma for that matter... As his hopes drained from his body, a small pinpoint of light started to focus inside of all the darkness... Maybe there was still hope...
"Alia," X mumbled in a dreamlike state, "I must continue to see my wife... I can't give up yet... No... It can't end like this... I WON'T ALLOW IT!"
Raising his arms into the air, he focused all of his energy inside of himself... Clenching his fists amidst his fury, X released his energy in a wave of raw untainted emotions that rocked the chasm of his mind... Alia's smiling face flashed through his head as it all snapped forth... Like a mirror, the hold of the Mother Virus was shattered...
Outside of his mind, the viral infected X fell over with a thud as his eyes went blank... Golden light engulfed the room at which the form of X stood highlighted against the flames and embers... Gritting his teeth and balling his fists, he resumed control over his body and took back his will to fight... in order to send Sigma to his grave at last...
Zero and Zenith, who were standing outside of the burning citadel, stood upright as they sensed that their friend was finally free from Sigma's control... As they finally pressed forward into Neo Arcadia, they were stopped by the likes of the Assassins Guild... Assuming their attack stances, Zero and Zenith readied to let them have it...
"I was getting tired of being out of the fight," Zenith folded his hand onto his sword.
"I'll take the ones on the right and you the left," Zero grasped his blade.
"Wait! Too much blood has been spilt recently," Xephyr hymned, "We are not your enemy here! We came here because we have seen the errors in our ways... Too blinded we were about our pride to notice the evil Sigma spreads... The few of us that are not infected with Sigma's virus have come here to put an end to his wicked deeds..."
"His deeds are not the only that need to be stopped," Zenith added.
"Which other deeds are there?" Xephyr questioned.
"Neo Arcadia is going to launch an attack on Reploidom after this battle," Zero fumbled, "They won't stop til our race is on the brink of extinction..."
"We know," Oracle sullied, "That's why we're starting a Resistance to stop this evil and all evils from terrorizing this world."
"From foe to friend," Zenith laughed, "Interesting concept... I'll take it into consideration when we are battling Sigma. Let's draw him out and we'll go from there..."
"Change of plans," Oracle smiled through shut eyes, "X will take care of our problem up there. He's freed himself of the virus and is now going after Sigma. I wonder why Typhus wanted to infect him like that anyway... Nemesis ordered him not to do it..."
"Wait a moment," Zero grumbled, "What are you? Some fortune teller?"
"They don't call me Oracle for nothing, Crimson Fury," Oracle giggled, "I have foretold many things and have seen your end along with the ends of several others. Of this I'm sure, we will only survive to see the prolonging of our race by creating this Resistance against Neo Arcadia. Let us now join together and find our comrade Typhus. With him, we can do much good for the races of man and machine."
"Don't worry about finding me," Typhus barked, "I'm right here..."
"Finally! You have some major explaining, my friend! We have questions, you have answers," Xephyr prodded, "Now tell us... Why did you spread the Mother Virus?"
"Because I was tired of taking orders from a decrepit old timer living in his own world," Typhus grinned, "I'm glad you're free of the Mother Virus cuz I want you to remember this betrayal! And since you brought me Zenith and Zero also... Oh! And I'd like to thank you for stalling until I got here! I can now infect you all at once!"
"I don't think so," Nemesis yawned, "You might be the one that helped spread it, but you don't know how it works like I do. In fact, the anti- virus is still in the air! You can't infect us... so much for your betrayal! Time to do what I should have done ages ago, retire your sorry ass!"
Drawing his sword, Nemesis dispatched Typhus to the ground with a quick swipe. Swiping the blade clean onto the ground, he swiftly placed it back into its sheath... Nemesis grinned and shook his head at the remains of his one time friend. Stepping aside, he turned to meet the rest of the group and together they tried to decide on their next course of action... However, before the blood curdled on the ground, a series of tendrils shot out from Typhus' body and reformed his broken body... Standing there laughing evilly, Typhus looked at everyone's mystified faces...
"Sigma showed me the truth to your lies, Xephyr," Typhus cackled, "He gave me power unlike this world has ever known and with it I will banish your kind from this world!"
"Look Typhus," Zero shook his head, "He stole that technology from Black Talon... You're nothing but another pawn in his army of lackeys! Now step aside or else I will remove you from this life!"
"Zero," Typhus vexed, "You outdated copy! Once the true demon unleashes his judgment on this world, you will be singing a different tune. He is a plague and will forever leave your mangled bodies on this battlefield!"
"I'm not a copy," Zero jinxed, "I'm all original! ...What's the deal with everyone copying me anyway? Is it the cool thing to do?"
"You pathetic fool," Typhus delighted, "Let me instill in you the truth that comes from the Sigma Virus! Black Talon didn't just leave the virus here! He secretly installed it into Zero! He was the instigator of the viral outbreak! That's why Sigma became infected! Not because he sought a face that would strike fear into his foes! It was a chance coincidence that he wound up with Black Talon's face!"
"Truth? Since when is this truth? I swear that bad guys like to run their mouths... but this is just too damned much! Are we through with the talking? I want to fight!" Zenith muttered.
"Almost," Typhus input, "Copy Zero... You are almost the demon your father intended... It's too bad that you're such a fossil and by far outclassed... I would have loved to see you go against the true nightmare! Oh well... Soon you will be a scrap heap, that you should be! With Elysium's might, us, Mavericks, will be avenged! And you all will be damned!
Each of the team eyed up Typhus with their weapons ready to be drawn... Time passed and not a single person moved from where they stood... Before any of them knew it, the hour that they should dread passed and brought with it the dimming hopes of all... For as the sun stretched over head, a silhouetted beacon of light lit up the sky as it streaked downwards toward the Neo Arcadian fortress.... Parting clouds as it struck, the light burnt a reminder of who ruled the world as it shot down and vaporized an area around the citadel... A few more moments passed as several more streaks of light hit around the Assassins Guild and the two heroes... Out of no where, a series of attack crafts materialized and revealed themselves... Hovering over the ground, thousands of space crafts eyed up the few uninfected Reploids... ready to kill...
Elysium's might had been unleashed proving the truth and weight of Typhus' words... The nightmares of the people had been realized and forever tarnished the future to come... A new evil had been unleashed and with it, it would spell the ultimate doom of all hope... or could something happen to change the outlook of the future?