I do not own MegaMan X, Silent Hill, or any characters involved in said series. Same opening and closing as usual.

Response:

Warp Liga Obscura- What the…? Okay, that was rather odd… It's not good to go around saying that you know who people are when it might, and in this case isn't, true. And yes, I know that Alia is equipped to kill. But, as we shall see later in the chapter, that's pretty much useless in this hell.

Rioni Riishu- Thanks! I worked really hard on getting the first two chapters just the way I wanted them before I even signed up here. This third chapter took some doing however…

Ri2- It's okay if you don't know much about Silent Hill. I can't sat Iknow a spectacular amount myself...When I first got the idea for this story, it was planned to be a Resident Evil cross-over since it's a lot easier to understand without playing. However, Silent Hill'sscrew with your head factor made it an easyand logical chioce.As for what they've gotten themselves into, well… let's just say I'm an evil little b$#!&$#, okay?

Jade eye's- Well, here's your update! Thanks. Having people tell me that I've captured the feel of what I'm trying to write is very encouraging, seeing as I haven't even played the game…

Aoi-Chan14- Well, you should have got my E-mail by now. Hope that answered your questions, and once again, thanks for being my very first reviewer!


ChaPteR tHree: All fall down

X rolled over, trying to remain asleep. Unfortunately, he rolled into a pool of ice cold water that shocked him awake.

"Arrg! Why me? I hate cold showers in the morning! …wait. Where am I?"

Slowly, the blue clad Reploid stood up and tried to take in his surroundings. Fog was the first thing that registered in his mind, but soon after he made out the form of Zero's thrashed Ride Chaser buried up to its driver's seat in a Jeep.

"Wow… That's old. I guess I'm still in Silent Hill."

While uncommon in this day and age, Jeeps were sometimes used in archeological digs to carry equipment and to pull stuff when Reploids were not available. It also happened to be one of the first vehicles X saw after he awoke in Dr. Cain's lab, so he had a cursory familiarity with it. Ignoring the vehicles turned modern art for now, X turned about to look for his friends. When none appeared after he called their names, he looked around for any familiar landmarks. Unfortunately, none appeared except for the ominous outline of Silent Hill's rooftops. Deciding that speed wasn't really necessary, X started toward Silent Hill at the pace of a light jog. Soon enough, the Reploid found cement under his feet once more. X slowed down as he made his way into the town. The first building he passed was a convince store, and more buildings followed after it. He was a good way into the town when he heard something metallic strike the pavement in an alleyway to his right.

"Hello?" X looked into the dark passage, but nothing was there except for the vision obscuring fog. Shrugging his shoulders, he started to move on when he heard the noise again. This time it was louder, as if it didn't want X to leave without investigating it. X hesitantly turned back to the alley and stared into it. "This does not bode well…"

Common sense told X that it was a trap, and that twenty Mavericks were probably laying in wait some distance down the brick corridor. Realizing that twenty was a small number compared to the many hundreds he fought on a normal mission, X's ego slapped his common sense once or twice as he moved into the alley. His blood red helmet gem gave him enough light to maneuver through the dark and fog laden pathway, but it didn't reveal the presence of a single Maverick.

"That's weird… There's nothing down here! Huh…" X shook his head. He assumed the noise was probably just a glitch in his systems. "Gotta have Life Saver check that out…"

Unfortunately, the sound wasn't just a glitch. This time, the sound was extremely close, and ten times louder than before. X covered his 'ears' for a second to muffle the noise, but it wasn't very effective. He charged his X-buster for safety's sake before moving further into the alley. As he walked, he could have sworn he heard a dripping sound from up ahead… A feeling of dread suddenly stopped him. X was suddenly and unexplainably afraid to go further. Did he really want to find out what was down there? It was like a suspenseful mystery play, and X was the lead actor who had forgotten to study his script. The noise's repetition had ceased for some reason, leaving only the dripping sound to drive him insane. Building his courage, the Blue Bomber boldly stepped forward once, twice, three times before he stopped once more. This time however, it wasn't because of his gut feeling. It was because of the twisted art that had appeared down the alleyway. He could barely make out the shape of a body hanging in mid-air, impaled on several poles.

"Dear God…!"

The impulse to help whoever it was suddenly overtook any feeling of dread that might have held him back. X activated his EAS in a mad attempt to get there faster, even though he knew it was probably too late to help. Details slowly filtered out of the fog, revealing the gruesome sight. A Reploid body had been impaled by nine spears, and had been planted into the hard cement like a deranged trophy of sorts. The maddening dripping noise was apparently the coolant running from all of the punctures and falling to the ground, which had created a good sized pool. What disturbed X more than the sheer cruelty of the Reploid's death was the fact that said Reploid looked identical to X himself.

"What the…! That's…?!"

The terrible smell of rotting human flesh filled the air once more. His communicator suddenly switched on, allowing a loud shriek of static to pierce the air. X started to back away from his own death, only to run into it once again. When he felt something bump into him from behind, X spun around to face it. Behind him stood a tall figure with blood stained clothes and a pyramid shaped mask covering his head. Or was it his head? X didn't really want to know. Right now, all he wanted was to get away from it, and fast. He jumped away from it in an attempt to escape, but he noticed too late that it had a spear in its left hand. While X was still in mid-air, the person/creature threw the spear at him with such strength that it pierced his abdomen and pinned him against a brick wall. He cried out in pain when his system registered the damage incurred by both the spear and the impact, but still managed to keep him self under control. X wrapped his hands around the shaft of the spear and pulled with all of his might, but to no avail. Suddenly, he could hear footsteps approaching, which to his damaged systems sounded like metal being dragged across the pavement. X stopped struggling and looked at his attacker, and realized that the Pyramid Head had another weapon. Dragging behind him was a huge knife of sorts that looked like it would end X's suffering rather quickly if he didn't stop it. Moving on instinct, X raised his arm and quickly formed it into his X-buster. With a cry, he loosed the fully charged blast at Pyramid Head's chest. Unfortunately, it passed right through its upper body without leaving so much as a scorch mark. Shocked by this turn of events, X simply stared in shock as Pyramid Head brought his knife down upon his head…

…Only moments later to wake up in an old, crumbling diner.

"Wha…!? What the hell?"

Disturbed greatly by this turn of events, X sat up in his booth and took a good look at his body. To his surprise and obvious joy, there wasn't a single hole in his stomach or face. But that still left a few unanswered questions in his mind…

"What the heck just happened to me?"

Unfortunately, the run down restaurant wasn't in the mood to answer him. Sighing, X slid out of his booth and stood up. His blue armored boots crushed some broken glass as he did so, causing him to cringe slightly. As he looked for the source of the broken glass, he found that the windows of the diner had been smashed in by something. He had a feeling that whatever it was, he really didn't want to meet it. Deciding that standing around and admiring the damage wasn't going to help him find Zero and the others, X made his way to the front door and pushed it open. He was immediately surrounded by fog again.

"Stupid weather…"

He stepped out into the fog and tried to find some sign of where he was. The sign above the restaurant read "Café 5". There was more, but the rest had been broken off and mangled beyond recognition. Starting a map in his head, X placed a mark for the café in the middle.

"Well, at least I know where I am… Now I've got to find the others."

Deciding to head south, X began walking down the street. It was eerily silent except for the constant noise of X's boots striking the pavement. The air was completely still, which made X nervous. After a minute of walking, X came to an intersection of "Bachman Road" and "Matheson Street". There was another restaurant was to his left, going by the name of Queen Burger. He could have sworn he heard something moving on its roof, but X didn't stick around long enough to see what it was. He moved further down the street in an attempt to find the end of it. Another minute of walking earned him another intersection. This time it was "Bachman Road" and "Bloch Street". Across the pavement was a rather old looking building with a cross atop it.

"Heh! I'm in need of a little help down here. Maybe I'd better go inside…"

X started to cross the street when his communicator started playing static. In the back of his mind, he remembered the burst of static from his dream. Knowing that Pyramid Head had appeared soon after the static, X readied his buster. Someone, no, some Thing wandered out of the fog from X's right. Immediately he spun to face the creature, then wished he hadn't. It looked similar to a human in general shape, but that's where the similarities ended. It looked like a deranged scarecrow without the sticks to hold it up. A melted face with a single black eye rested below its hat, giving its approach an even more chilling effect. It seemed intent on getting closer to X, and he had a feeling that it didn't like him too well. Using his most official voice possible, X tried to reason with the creature.

"Halt! Don't move or I'll shoot!"

The Scarecrow didn't listen. Its pace picked up slightly instead, leaving X no choice but to fire. A bolt of energy was released from his buster, careening towards the Scarecrow's chest. Like with Pyramid Head, it passed right through its body without any effect. Fortunately for X, the Scarecrow wouldn't have the chance to hurt him. X's dash system was in fine working order, allowing him to easily escape his nightmarish pursuer. He headed east, across a bridge and into another part of the town. He didn't bother to take in the sights as he ran, as there could be time for that later.

'Crap… My buster has no effect on these things! And if that dream was right I can't hurt them but they can hurt me! What am I supposed to do, beat them into the ground with my bear fists?'

As X reached the other side of the bridge, he noticed a building appearing out of the fog with the word "Police" inscribed above it. The blue bomber smiled when he noticed one of the windows adorning the station had been broken, allowing him access to the buildings inside. The static had faded by now, which made X feel a bit better about slowing down. He stopped just before the window and checked over his shoulder. A shadow could be seen in the fog across the bridge, but it was still quite a ways off. Quietly, he pulled himself into the darkened police station. The red light his gem let off spilled over the room, illuminating most of the area. To his surprise, there was someone in the room with him. And that someone was crying softly into her knees.

"Alia…? Is that you Alia?!"

Alia didn't answer, and instead continued to cry. From the looks of it, her headset had been broken, and several cuts had been made in her armor. Her normally blonde hair had streaks and splotches of blood in it, while it appeared that the back of her armor was covered in the red substance. Kneeling down in front of her, X reach out and touched her shoulder lightly.

"Alia…"

Slowly, Alia lifted her head. Her light blue eyes seemed empty, and the water marks on her synthetic flesh let X know that she had been crying for quite some time.

"X? …I-is it really you?"

"Yup. I'm here Alia."

She smiled slightly and started crying again. Quickly, she moved out of her fetal position and pulled X into a hug, burying her face into his shoulder as she cried. X was a little uncomfortable at first, but eventually settled into the embrace. Slowly, he began rubbing her back and whispering into her ear, a technique he had witnessed several people use to calm down those who were in shock after Maverick attacks. Amazingly, it also worked on most Reploids as well as humans. After a few minutes had passed, Alia's crying had subsided.

"Alia, what happened? I remember all of us walking together outside of Silent Hill, and then I went offline for a little while…"

The Spotter broke her embrace with X slightly. Alia wiped away her tears as she spoke.

"Well, I woke up just outside a Church a little to the west of here. I walked around for a little bit, but then I saw something moving around in the fog… It… it looked like Zero, and it had a green saber like Zero does… X, he attacked me! I never even got to see his face because of the fog, but he fought just like Zero did! I-I never even got a chance to hit back! He… He just started beating me and cutting me until I couldn't struggle, and then he left me for dead! X, I… I was so afraid that Zero was going to come back and kill me…"

Alia's tears had returned in full force. She pulled herself into the hug once more, seeking protection in the blue hunter's arms. It was like he was suddenly her safety blanket, and there was no way she would ever let go.

"Alia, something is wrong with this town. I don't know what exactly, but… are you sure it was Zero?"

"I'm sure X! He tried to kill me! Don't you believe me…?"

X sighed. Zero wasn't one to attack someone or something at random. Nor was he a Maverick in any sense of the word… Why would he have attacked Alia? "I believe you Alia, but… Zero isn't the kind of person who would do that. Something must have happened to him…"

"X, please… You've got to stop him! If he comes after me again, I…"

"It's okay Alia. If anyone tries to hurt you, I'll be there."

Alia's eyes went wide at his statement. "X? D-do you really mean that…?"

He nodded. "Yeah Alia. I won't let anything in this town hurt you."

"Thank-you X…"

Slowly, she released him from the hug. Alia used her blood stained hands to rub away the new tears from her eyes, which caused some red to mingle with the tears. Amidst the dark and bloody police offices, Alia smiled. Knowing that the police would most likely have firearms, X stood and looked around the room for anything of use. There wasn't anything of value in his immediate view, however tugging on a few desk drawers caused something to rattle. Smirking slightly, he gripped the drawer and yanked it out of the desk. His prize was a twin set of nine millimeter pistols with three clips of ammo.

"Jackpot." X picked up a weapon and began to familiarize himself with it. Sliding a clip into the firearm and setting the other two on the table, he turned to Alia. "Well, we aren't going to accomplish anything by sitting around here. We need to explore the town, no matter what's out there."

"But X, what about Zero…?"

X frowned. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it… Alia, I'll understand if you want to stay here, but I've got a lot of ground to cover if I want to find out what's going on here."

"I know X. I'll come with you. I can't feel safe if there's no one else here…"

"Okay then." Leading the way, X jumped out of the window. Almost immediately his communicator started playing static. He held up his hand to stop Alia from following him. "Something's close," he whispered, "stay there until I get back, okay?"

"X…" Alia's voice was filled with worry, but she nodded anyway and stayed inside the police station.

Leveling the pistol in front of him, X started looking around for whatever was causing the static. He had wandered over to the end of the bridge before he heard the sound of squishy footsteps. Slowly, a hulking form wandered out of the fog. Its chest was rounded and fat, with a single blood-shot eye set in its 'face'. Massive arms and legs accompanied the rounded chest, but even with all this it still wasn't very tall. Grimacing, X fired a shot at the hunchback's face. The bullet struck below the creature's eye, causing it to slow slightly. As X lowered his gun to inspect his handiwork, he noticed a stream of fluid running from the hunchback's face and smiled guiltily.

"If it bleeds, it must thereforedie in some fasion."

Raising his weapon again, he fired another shot at its eye. The bullet punched through the weak point, causing the creature to grasp at its face in agony before falling over. The static still continued to fill X's ear, so he gave it another bullet for good measure. The static finally faded. The blue hunter, now confident in his ability to protect Alia, walked back to the police station. On his way there, something crunched under his foot. Knowing that cement didn't normally crunch under his boots, X looked down and found a small piece of a map. Picking it up, he immediately recognized the intersection of Blotch Street and Bachman. This map went further south however, and revealed Bradbury Street and one Midwich Elementary School to the east. The school was circled in red, with the words "Time to go to school, X" next to it.

"Guess someone wants me to learn something… Better get Alia before I head over there."

After copying the map to his hard drive, X dropped the crumpled piece of paper and began his short walk to the police station. Hopefully, Alia wouldn't have any misgivings about going to the school…


Well, here's chapter number three. Now the long gap between when I post this chapter and the next… Since I'm still a student, I don't have much time to write, but I will do my best to keep this going.