Birth of the Demon

By: SylentStryke

Disclaimer: Capcom owns the Megaman/X/Zero series. I own this nice little creation called Birth of the Demon.

A/N: After this chapter the new chapters will be unearthed. More on that at the end of this chapter.

Chapter Five: Weapons and Vacations

Raydia walked into the room before her. In the room was a large group of reploids and humans alike, all suited in olive green battle armor. Except for one. He was dressed in black casual clothing, and appeared to be monitoring stats of the trainees. There were numerous weight machines of different types, treadmills, a few different reality rooms, and much more she hadn't seen before. This must be a training room.

"Hey, sis!" A voice called out from Raydia's left side. She turned in order to see a reploid who looked exactly like the one giving her a tour. Wide eyed, she turned to give regard to Rayne, who gave her a smile. "Oh yeah, Echo here is my twin." Now it made sense. Raydia thought she had seen someone that resembled Rayne back when she was in the Silph lab. "Echo, this is Raydia." The black-haired twin said.

"Heeeey! How ya doin'?" The toothy girl said while extending her hand. Raydia shook it and smiled back at her. "So, you wanna have a quick sparring match?" The silver tip-haired girl asked while bouncing around like a boxer. Rayne was quick to protest.

"Echo, she just woke up! Plus, I'm giving her a tour of the base..." Echo sighed. "Come on, sis! Why don't you let Raydia here decide?" Rayne sighed in resignation. "Fine. Just don't come crying to me if you bite off more than you can chew," she said with a light chuckle. Echo stuck out her tongue at her twin before turning to Raydia.

"So, whaddaya say, Raydia?" The blue-haired girl glanced over at Rayne. "Go ahead, hon. Give us a good show!" Raydia smiled and agreed. "Sure, let's go."

>>>

Raydia and Echo now stood in opposite corners of the sparring room, a large crowd of trainees and trainers formed around them. Each of the two combatants had headsets on and padding on their forearms and shins, as well as boxing gloves. Echo was in black, Raydia in green.

"Alright! Ready Raydia? Don't hold anything back now, cause I won't!" Echo exclaimed as she adorned a toothy grin. Raydia nodded and got into a defensive stance. Echo stood steady for a moment, then her image started to fade. Raydia's proximity sensors went wild as Echo seemed to disappear. She turned around quickly and brought up an arm to block the grab. Echo jumped back and tried a low sweep kick. Predicting this, Raydia hopped over her and delivered a high roundhouse. Echo, surprised by not feeling the sweep connect, stood up right into the kick and was sent flying back into her corner. She planted her feet into the ground to slow down the momentum.

When she finally got her footing back, she had to duck to avoid a punch to the face. Echo grabbed Raydia's arm before she could pull it back and forced it across her collarbone. Then she connected an elbow with Raydia's jaw to stun her, giving her time to kick her feet from under her. She did so and grabbed the nearest leg and gave it extra momentum, sending Raydia into a back flip that would land her on her back.

It should have happened that way, but Raydia twisted in mid-air, causing her to land in a handstand rather than her back. She sprung herself up from this position and landed gracefully on one foot. Echo swore under her breath as she readied herself for another attack.

"Who's winning so far?" A voice next to Rayne asked. She turned around to see the man in black standing behind her with a towel draped around his neck. She shook her head. "It's a stalemate so far. Echo just tried her signature throw, but Raydia somehow found a way out of it." Scar nodded as he observed the two combatants. "I'm guessing Raydia is the one who will win this one," he predicted. Rayne raised an eyebrow.

>>>

Echo howled out as she threw a flurry of punches at Raydia, who in turned blocked a few and received a few. Raydia managed to land a punch of her own, which stopped the torrent of fists coming from Echo. Echo staggered back from the blow to her left shoulder, holding it briefly before realizing she was giving away a weak point. She leant forward and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Raydia noticed something about the way she acted. Echo seemed more desperate now than focused. It could be because she never lost a spar to someone new, or because she had found a vital weak point. She shifted to the right to avoid a right jab. "Desperation is evident in her eyes," Raydia thought as Echo carefully threw a quick left hook. Raydia watched as the fist sailed extremely short in front of her. Echo used the momentum from the punch to execute a sweep kick. Raydia tripped up and fell forward. She hit the padded ground with a loud thud. When she tried to get up, Echo slammed a foot down on her back, causing both fighters to cry out for different reasons. A second later, the crowd around the two erupted in an uproar. Echo was declared the victor as she took her foot off of Raydia's back.

>>>

Echo brushed past the crowd of onlookers that chanted her name and made for the locker room. Rayne made her way towards Raydia, who was surrounded by a few concerned people. Scar was right on her heels.

"Raydia! Raydia, are you okay!" Rayne asked worriedly. The blue haired reploid merely smiled at her, stood up and brushed herself off. Scar was puzzled now. This girl had just been beaten by Echo, who pulls punches on no one, and is smiling about it. Not a normal reploid.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine! No scratches!" Raydia exclaimed as the crowd around her increased in size. Rayne was successful in extracting her from the mob and led her out of the training hall.

"That was pretty intense, Raydia. I was sure you'd put her in her place!" Rayne said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Well, you can't win 'em all. 'Unless you're Echo...who always seems to do that," Scar said. Raydia looked up at him, not knowing how to respond. He clapped a hand to his face. "That's right, I haven't introduced myself! The name's Scar Acceleron."

"Pleased to meet you Scar. I'm Raydia Delt-" She started to introduce herself but was cut off when a loud voice boomed through the halls.

"Scar Acceleron, Rayne Zelinger and Echo Zelinger, please report to the Central Hall."

Rayne gasped, grabbed Raydia and raced down the hall. Scar was quick to follow, barely able to keep up with the speeding reploids.

MHHQ - East Parking Lot
Time:
-20:45-

X hurried out of the side of the building with a mob of curious hunters on his heels. He was known for not taking vacations like normal people, so whenever he did take one, it would usually stir up some commotion. He met up with Alia on his way out and explained why he had brought his new fan club.

"X! You're going on vacation?"

"Yes."

"You're not going to stay here?"

"No."

"You don't have a virus, do you? You might have contracted the Maverick Virus! Stay away from him!" The crowd suddenly broke away from him.

"..."

This is just a little bit of the nonsense that X had to deal with while he took vacations, be it of his own choosing or forced vacations. Alia sighed hopelessly. "X, if I were you, I don't think I would ever be able to get used to big crowds. I mean, everything you do attracts some type of commotion!" X smiled sheepishly.

"Well, after you save the world from destruction/chaos/mass genocide of the human race, you kinda get used to it. Ain't that right, X?" A familiar voice blurted out behind them. Alia turned first to see Zero, dressed in what he thought was the best Hawaiian shirt ever made, complete with his trademark grin plastered and sunglasses. She laughed at the thought of how he found such a colorful shirt. X nearly fell out from laughter.

"Zero, where's the poor rainbow that you robbed all the color from?" He said as he wiped away a tear from his eye. Zero frowned and ruffled X's untamed hair. "Ha ha ha. I've heard 'em all. I still think this is the best damn shirt. Ever. I mean, it's basically an antique! It's almost as old as you, my friend." X shot him an evil looking gaze.

"And Zero, that is why you continue to be not missed by people," Alia said, sticking up for X in a motherly way.

"Nah! The reason I don't attract large crowds when I go on vacation is because I sadden them all to the point where they can't bear to watch me go. That, and the fact th..."

"(If only he knew...)" X and Alia thought in unison.

>>>

The group arrived at the car Signas had waiting for them. X and Alia stopped immediately, dubious expressions on their faces. On the outside, it seemed to be a standard Mitsubishi X55, but it was the inside that worried X and Alia. Signas and a few other goony hunters called themselves cupids, and the last time a Mitsubishi was provided for them...let's just say they got more than they bargained for. For all they knew, this whole thing with the past meeting could be a big plot, trying to get them together.

Zero walked forward and inspected the car. He gave the okay signal and the two doubtful hunters walked over to the trunk of the car. X popped the trunk and tossed his fake vacationing luggage in, followed by Alia, then by Zero. X hopped into the driver's seat and started the engine. Zero opened the front passenger door, only to be stopped by Alia. He looked down at her hand on his, then looked her in the eyes. She gulped at his strange behavior.

"Alia...I...didn't k-know you felt that way...about me..." Zero said timidly as he forced a blush on his face. Alia quickly retreated her hand and developed an anger vein on her forehead. "Yeah, right!" She slugged him in the arm for good measure. "Front seat's mine, I called shotgun a while ago." Zero saw an opportunity and proceeded to toy with her some more. He wanted front seat. "Ooohhh, I get it! You wanna have an intimate moment with your hidden crush and maybe confess your OWW!" Zero immediately gripped his leg and howled in pain. "Fine, Zero. Take the stupid seat." She tried to hide her blush but reddened even more as she looked over at X. A few moments later, the trio sped off down the road away from MHHQ.

>>>

About two minutes down the road, the car swerved sharply to the left, veering greatly off-road. "What the hell, X!" Zero shouted as he rubbed his head. X held up his hands and stared at the steering wheel with wide eyes. "I'm not the one who did it!" Zero turned his attention to the steering wheel and gasped as it twisted and thrashed insanely, compensating for the uneven and jagged terrain. Zero calmed down a bit and noticed that something seemed odd. His mind told him to look behind him.

"Waah! Wh-what the hell is that!" Alia shouted out as the area around them slowly began rising. X rolled down his window to observe the land outside the out of control car. He realized what was happening and rolled his window up. "I think we're sinking!"

"X, Zero and Alia. Prepare for and IT jump," an unfamiliar voice sounded on the radio. They all were beamed into oblivion before they knew exactly what the hell was going on.

Unknown
Time:
-20:55-

The trio was lying on the ground in a dark room. X stood up first, scanning every nook and cranny with heightened senses. Zero did the same; though he drew his saber and pointed it at everything he saw or heard. Alia more or less moved her hand up to her mouth to grab a microphone that wasn't there.

"Settle down, you three! Sorry for the sudden IT," Signas' voice rang out from a doorway they had not noticed. "OK, Matte, you can hit the lights!" The room suddenly became illuminated. The room they were in seemed like a sort of hidden Special Ops room. The lights gave the room a bluish hue.

"Welcome to Central Blue. Follow me," Signas said as he turned around and walked briskly down the hall. X, Alia and Zero all looked at each other before following their commander down the hall.

Silph HQ-Secret Dev. Lab
Time:
-19:30-

Shin looked around the SDL with awe. So many weapons he had never seen before. Drool was practically seeping from the corners of his mouth. "Mira! Look at how many WEAPONS there are!" He said in a loud whisper. She elbowed him in the stomach. "Control yourself, Shin. Don't touch anything," she warned. Gin called out for the two of them to come over to where he was.

"So, Dr. Torious, what exactly are you telling me?" The Gin asked, trying to grip the situation. The agitated scientist sighed and tried to put it in simpler terms. "It means that she is still incomplete. With the rest of the data, she won't be able to perform at one-hundred percent. But take heed, if you do engage her, take extreme caution. You can see what happened to the group of guards who tried to stop her by conventional means..." He said while pointing over at a video monitor. It displayed the incident that happened earlier in the day. Raydia killed the four guards in less than a minute.

"Okay, so how do you suppose we go about re-capturing her? I'm sure as hell not gonna throw a punch at her." Shin blurted out, receiving an elbow in the ribs. "That's our problem. Since she doesn't have the Control data in her systems, there's no way for us to lock on to her signature if we were to do a wide area scan. Even if we do recover her, by some slim chance, the probability of her cooperating with us is slim." Gin raised an eyebrow. "How slim, Doctor?"

"A 5.00003 percentile chance. And that number is decreasing each hour. She has an advanced learning unit, and will be bound to question our goal."

"Are you saying that it impossible to bring her back?" Mira got to the point. The scientist looked at her. "Yes...basically." Gin stood up and slammed his fists on the table. "Torious, tell me you have another plan." He said through clenched teeth. Torious pushed his glasses up on his face.

"Yes sir, I do. There is a reason why I wanted those two to come along with you." Gin looked at Shin and Mira, realizing that he had a point. "That's right. So, what are you proposing?" The doctor smiled as he walked over towards a panel on the wall. The entire wall lifted up to reveal a cloud of smoke. After it spread out, the scientist walked back over towards Mira. He handed her a short, black, metallic pole. She noticed that it had no buttons on it whatsoever. While she inspected the device, Shin was rather anxious to receive a gift. He shrieked sharply when he saw a large...thing...strapped to the scientist's back, and another...thing...hoisted on his arm. Torious saw how the red armored reploid jumped around insanely and decided against giving him a weapon in here. "You get yours when we get to the roof." Shin immediately saddened and became idle. Gin gave the doctor a confused look. "Follow me if you would. I have to show you how these weapons work."

>>>

When they got to the roof, Torious set the large container on his back and cannon on his arm down on the ground. Gin stood watch over it to make sure Shin didn't blow them to hell with it.

"Um, Dr. Torious, how exactly does this...what is this thing?" Mira asked while looking at the confusingly simple device. He grabbed it from her and held it like a baton. He then swung it through the air and an orange blade appeared from the handle. Mira gasped with realization. "So it's a saber. (Awesome!)" Torious then snapped it to the side and the orange blade broke apart and fell to the ground, the blade sections strung together. "...a whip? (A whip!)" He then deactivated it and threw it forward. As it spiraled, short stubby blades jutted out from each end, creating a bladed disk. It circled around back to him as it reached a point. He caught it and handed it back to Mira. "I call it, the M Variable. All you have to do it swing the hilt like the weapon you want to use. The size of the blade depends on where you need to strike. It will extend up to eight feet, depending on the weapon." Mira nodded, the smile on her face broadening. Torious walked over to Shin, who was tapping his foot anxiously waiting for an explanation of his weapon.

"OK. This is how theE Crasher functions," Torious said as he opened the pack on his back. "There's nothing in there. It's empty." Shin said disappointedly. Torious closed the pack and pointed the large cannon in the air. Plasma particles began materializing and flew into the pack. Torious opened the pack to reveal ten explosive shells inside the pack. Shin shrieked sharply. "Press a button on the grip to create some shells. The first button creates artillery grade explosives, second creates super condensed plasma grenades, and the third makes heat-seeking, short ranged missiles. You can combine two different charges to create three additional shell types: Artillery Plasma, Heat-seeking artillery and Plasma Heat-Seekers. Combine all of the charges and you'll get a special, super explosive. But, that one takes up to five minutes of uninterrupted charging. Also, the barrel of the cannon slides back to activate a magnetic rail-gun when no shell is loaded into the cannon. He pointed the cannon at a run-down building and pulled the trigger. The barrel slid back as promised and a muzzle for a rail-gun popped up. A torrent of bullets erupted from the muzzle and tore up the building across the way. He reached into the pack and pulled out an artillery shell, which he then loaded into the slot on the side of the cannon. After closing the slot, he aimed it at the upper corner of the rail-gunned building and pulled the trigger. The shell was forced out of barrel with a low 'thunk' and crippled the building. Shin gasped at the weapon for three reasons. One, the sheer power and overall design was amazing. Two, it was recoilless. And three, no casing was ejected from the weapon after the shell was fired, making it somewhat...environmentally friendly. Torious handed him the weapon and pack. Gin gave him a round of applause.

"Shin and Mira, this is why the SDL is in constant shadows to everyone. But, Torious..." He turned to the confident scientist. "What's the point of giving them these weapons? Judging from the surveillance camera, Raydia would be more than a match for them." Torious grinned. "Those weapons were intended for use by Raydia; not against her." The other three just looked confused by his riddles. "Follow me, there is one more thing I must give you."

"What is it?" Mira asked almost immediately. Torious simply flashed her a grin. "'The answer' to 'the answer to our problems'."

To be continued...

Okay! That's it for the rewritten chapters! Now, to hit on a few important notes. "G's" are good points, "B's" are bad points.

G: I will try to get at least two chapters out with each update from now on.

G: I had a major brainstorm which will get expressed into what I hope is a great story.

G: I am currently thinking of how to link the X and Zero series, letting Command Mission be the last game in the storyline so far.

G: I will release a new fanfic about Advance Wars soon. (See below for the Bad point)

B: More chapters at a time also means a longer time for updates.

B: Due to the fact that Advance Wars: Dual Strike is hitting stores tomorrow, I will be going to pick my copy up. This will result in increasing my lengthy updates.

B: School will be back in session in two weeks. For where I live, at least. I'm in my senior year of high school, and have some challenging classes this time around. So that will also increase my update lengths.

So there is what I will be putting my time and effort into. So don't be too surprised if I seem to disappear for a couple of weeks. If you have a Nintendo DS, get AW:DS! If you don't have one, then buy one soon, dammit:)

As always, in one form or another: Till next time!

P.S.: I had fun rewritting this one. I rather like the weapons my crazy mind created.