Megaman X: Return of Nightshade
Disclaimer: All Megaman X characters are copyright of Capcom. All OC's are mine.
Well, this is my first real Megaman X fanfic, and I hope you enjoy it. Please, read and review, all comments are welcome…except for insults. If I get anything insulting…well, let's just say I have friends with big black cars.
Chapter 1: A Familiar Nemesis
"It's quiet in here," said Zero as he peered around the edge of the long, dimly lit corridor. "It's almost too quiet for comfort."
Behind him, Axl and X kept glancing around, as if they expected the shadows themselves to attack them. Then again, no one could really blame them for being on edge. This entire facility that they were in had been abandoned since during the first few Maverick Wars. Even if they were there to investigate a legitimate case, it was still immensely creepy.
"Zero, I hope you're keeping your eyes peeled for signs of trouble," said Axl, gripping his pistol tightly. "I would really hate to be caught off guard and gutted like the last few guys who came in here."
For the past several weeks, there had been reports of Reploids and humans being attacked by a mysterious Maverick inside this facility. Appearently, the majority of the victims, among them a Hunter recon squad, were found torn apart. The condition of the bodies indicated that they were killed by a saber slash after being put through their torment. Now, X, Zero, and Axl had been sent to neutralize this new threat.
"Axl, just stay calm," said X, trying to hide the fact that he was just as nervous as his friend. "As long as we watch each other's backs, we should be fine."
"The coast is clear, so let's get a move on," said Zero, interrupting the conversation as he proceeded down the corridor. The others followed him, still keeping their nerves alert for signs of an attack.
Suddenly, something dropped down into the corridor from the ceiling, just ahead of the Maverick Hunters. At the same time, the lights in the corridor came to life.
"Oh, my God, no," gasped Zero when he saw who it was.
The Reploid was an exact replica of Zero, except for the fact that his armor was black. Odd purple marks extended from the bases of his eyes down his face. His eyes were a glowing red, and his lips were pulled back in a savage grin. In his right hand, he was clutching a blue Z-Saber.
"Welcome to your demise, Maverick Hunter Zero," he said, his voice a perfect, although evil, imitation of Zero. "I am Nightshade Zero Mach-2."
"Damn, I can't believe they made another one of you!" growled Zero, drawing his green Z-Saber. "X, Axl, you two stay back! I'm going to take care of this bozo!"
"We'll see who takes care of whom, Zero! Prepare to die!" cried Nightshade as he charged at his doppelganger, his saber raised to strike.
Zero leapt over Nightshade's attack and slashed, but the black Reploid countered with the same speed and skill. The two Reploids battled viciously, sparks flashing from the clashing blades of their sabers. They ducked, weaved, and leapt off the walls of the corridor in their mad attempts to cut each other down.
"Do you think we should help him?" asked Axl as he observed the fight.
"Relax, Axl, Zero can handle this Nightshade," said X, not entirely sure if he really believed what he was saying.
Just then, they heard a loud cry. They looked just in time to see Zero back against the wall, pinned by Nightshade. X tried to rush to the aid of his friend, but ran into some sort of energy barrier that knocked him back three feet.
"Sorry, X, but I can't let you interfere," said Nightshade with a sneer. "I need to download some data from your friend here." He suddenly slapped his hand over the blue gem on Zero's helmet, and his hand seemed to glow as he began the data transfer.
"X, what is he doing?" cried Axl in a panic.
"He's trying to absorb Zero's data!" replied X as he tried to blast his way through the barrier. Unfortunately, even his charge shots couldn't break through.
Suddenly, something happened that surprised all of them. Nightshade's eyes suddenly popped wide open and he began screaming in agony. A burst of electricity surged through his body from his hand up to his own helmet gem. When it reached the gem, it gave off a flash of light, and Nightshade went flying back against the wall as if he had been struck with a heavy object. The barrier dropped, and X and Axl rushed over to Zero.
"Zero, are you okay, buddy?" asked X.
Zero stood and shook his head a bit. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, "with the exception of a few bruises." He looked over at Nightshade. "Still, I wonder what the hell happened to him."
"I just want to know who made him," said X. "It couldn't have been the same person who made the last Nightshade."
"Maybe he can tell us himself. We're taking him back with us, and we're going to find out just where he came from," said Zero.
"Well, this is certainly interesting," said Gadget, one of the newest members of the Maverick Hunters. He was the spitting image of a scientist, dressed in a long, flowing white lab coat that hid most of his blue and silver armor. A pair of white rimmed goggles with blue lenses sat on his face, connected to a headset that went around the back of his head. His blue hair was long in the front, and hung just a little ways below the bottom of his headset in the back. At the moment, he was looking at a data pad containing the information from his scans of Nightshade, who was lying unconscious on a lab table in front of him.
With him in the lab was X, Zero, and Mona. Mona was a Reploid who had come over from Repliforce shortly after the Repliforce War. Her armor and uniform were very similar in design to those worn by Iris, but her hair was bright red.
"What's interesting, Gadget?" asked Mona, her hands clasped together in front of her chest.
"It seems that the power surge Nightshade received caused a short in his memory. Not only does he not have any memory about who created him and why, but his main program directives have been deleted. At the same time, the data he absorbed from Zero was mostly personality data, along with some scraps of info about all of us," said Gadget, tapping his foot thoughtfully as his eyes zipped across the data pad's screen.
"So we basically end up with nothing but a zonked out clone of me," said Zero, feeling irritated that they had lost just about every piece of data that could have been useful.
Just then, Nightshade stirred and groaned, slowly rising up to a sitting position.
"Ah, he seems to be coming around," said Gadget, turning to look at him. Zero and X tensed up, ready to strike at the first sign of hostility.
Nightshade slowly opened his eyes and looked around the lab a few times. "Where…where the heck am I?" he asked no one in particular.
"You're in one of the labs at Maverick Hunter HQ," said Gadget. "You've been unconscious for quite a while.
Nightshade looked at Gadget. "Oh yeah, I know you! You're that obsessive Poindexter with the hots for Alia!" he said with a smile.
Gadget remembered that Zero had once referred to him in such a manner. Still, he glared at Zero, causing the normally rock-hard Hunter to cringe back. If anything, Gadget had a reputation for being one of the most intimidating Reploids in the whole HQ, despite his normally mild temper.
Nightshade looked at the others. "Hey, what up, you guys," he said, hopping off the lab table. "Hi, I'm Nightshade Zero Mach-2, but you can call me Nightshade."
"Yeah, we know who you are," said X flatly. "You damn near killed me and Zero back where we found you."
Nightshade looked at him with an expression of genuine confusion. "I tried to do that?" he asked, pointing at himself. "Weird, I can't remember anything."
"Well, it's nice to have you here, Mr. Nightshade," said Mona, giving him her characteristic warm smile. Mona was one of those people who could tell if a Reploid was good or bad just by looking at them. As such, she knew that Nightshade was not a dangerous Reploid.
Nightshade smiled and knelt before her, taking her hand in his. "I must say, not only am I glad to be here, but you're even more beautiful in person," he said, kissing her hand like a knight of old.
Mona blushed lightly and giggled. "Why, thank you," she said, totally unaware that X and Zero were glaring daggers at Nightshade, their faces burning red with jealousy. After all, they had both been competing for Mona's affection ever since she had come to HQ.
Just then, a communication screen in the lab activated. An image of General Signas was on it.
"Gadget, how are things going in there?" he asked.
"Well, Nightshade has reactivated, sir," said Gadget. "Also, it seems that his memories have been erased, along with his main directives. Simply put, he's about as dangerous to us as a bowl of soup."
"I see," said Signas. "Well, I hate to do this to them, but I need X and Zero to go on another mission. Seems a group of Mavericks were spotted smuggling illegal goods into the city. From what our scouts told us, they're being pursued by another Reploid, one that we can't identify."
"Don't worry, General, we're on it!" said Zero. He and X dashed off, and Signas looked back at Gadget.
"Gadget, are you absolutely sure that Nightshade doesn't pose a threat to us?" he asked, staring hard at the scientist's face.
Without the slightest twitch or sign of hesitancy, Gadget gave the General his reply. "I'm sure beyond any doubt, General."
"In that case, send him with the others," said Signas. "I want to see for myself how he would perform in a situation where his loyalties would be tested."
"I don't think that will be a problem, sir," said Gadget.
Signas was confused. "What do you mean?"
"He already teleported out there."
"WHAT!"