Azak grunted, snarling softly to himself as Reploid vital fluids dribbled over his armor. The corpse he was carrying was old, old… but Reploid vital fluids took longer to turn viscous than human blood. The dead boy in his arms was still oozing.

They were deep in the heart of Maverick territory, in what had once been Earthsaver II. The ruined city had been left to rot like an impaled corpse. Dead bodies, dead cars and crumpled towers were everywhere. The human bodies exposed to the air had mostly skeletonized, while the ones buried in the shattered buildings were more preserved. Azak knew because he'd been digging many of them up.

"Why did we get this shit job?" Lyos complained, to Azak's annoyance.

"Because someone must do it," he rumbled, his voice deep and rumbling. "And we are strong." Lyos snorted, but didn't comment as they dumped the bodies in the square they had cleared.

They had no fear of Mavericks stumbling over them. Ordinarily, that would have been a very definite danger. They haunted the ruins of dead cities like maggots in rotting meat, but lately, even Mavericks were afraid to enter Earthsaver II. The more sensitive suffered a creepy feeling, a sense of malice and something dark and unknown surrounding them. The very sensitive had waking nightmares, sensing, dimly, the truth of the matter. Their dreams would have told them, if they could have untangled the symbolism and faced the heart of it. But there were few sensitive Mavericks, and less who could ever understand what was happening. All they knew was that something did not want them here.

And it was taking active steps to keep them out. Maverick patrols had developed a very nasty way of disappearing, and reappearing in all the wrong places… and conditions. Sigma had finally stopped any patrols when a Maverick General had turned up dead, without a mark on him… but his fusion generator entirely drained. They had heard rumors that Sigma was considering bombing the place, in case there was a resistance cell hidden in the ruins. As far as they were concerned, he could go right ahead after they left. The dead wouldn't care about a bit of extra defilement.

Azak dumped a second corpse in the square, then scowled down at the young Reploid female. She had taken a plasma shot through the chest, and her weak, civilian armor had been no help at all. In life, she had likely been pretty. Her hair was a sun-kissed golden blond, she possessed perky, mechanical cat ears and her eyes were grass green under their coating of dirt. And she appeared to be looking straight at him, her unblinking eyes fixed on his face.

Azak turned away, going to retrieve another body. So he didn't see the green eyes following him. The head could not move, but there was enough of something to animate those pupils, and keep them centred on him until he was out of range.

Not that it would have surprised him. In fact, he would have been supremely unsurprised if he had noticed. He knew what was happening here.

"So, have you figured out who she is?" X kept his gaze averted from the dead woman. Her body had been opened up by the coroner like… a filleted fish. Several specialists in physiology, marine biology and even a medical doctor had all looked at her. Their reactions had ranged from horror to bafflement, and they had dozens of theories about what had happened to her, but no solid facts. Lifesaver had assisted them, interested in expanding his skill with humans. Now he was standing in front of X, the formal report of their findings in hand.

"Yes, actually. We had to check every database, but she was once a police officer and her prints were on file." Lifesaver took out a picture. It was a full color glossy, obviously staged and probably provided by her family. It showed a middle-aged woman who was pretty, in the way of someone who had been beautiful before age had started taking a toll. X blinked at the picture, then glanced at the body, focusing on the face.

"She looks younger," he observed. The dead mermaid-woman did indeed look much younger than the picture would suggest. There were no lines on her face, no hints of age spots. If you overlooked the teeth, fish-belly skin and unnatural green eyes, she was actually quite beautiful.

"Indeed," Lifesaver said sourly. "Probably because, from what we can tell, something was overwriting her DNA. We suspect a viral agent, although we could find no trace of it in her body." X looked at him, startled.

"Sigma has never used biological warfare before," X protested. It was actually a little strange that Sigma had never tried it. There was speculation that he had no Maverick scientists capable of it, but X doubted that. Engineering viruses and bacteria was actually quite easy. Perhaps the Maverick Virus had some pre-programmed limits… biological warfare had been banned for a long time… or perhaps there was some tiny speck of the original Sigma still in there, the Sigma that had once commanded the Maverick Hunters. Perhaps.

"I doubt Sigma had anything to do with this. It's entirely too roundabout." Lifesaver briefly examined the woman, then shrugged. "Also ineffective. These creatures are moderately dangerous at best." X had to nod. Once they had gotten past the vocal weapon, killing the creatures had not been too difficult.

X was leafing through the report, walking back to HQ, when Alia's call had come.

X, we're detecting some really strange energy emissions from what's left of Earthsaver II.

"Alia, that's deep in Maverick territory." X said with a grimace. Any attempt to investigate would be dangerous in the extreme.

I know, but this is so terribly unusual… Signas wants you and Zero to investigate. I think this could be related to Axl. That news arrested X, and his eyes narrowed as he snapped the report shut.

"Oh? How so?"

The emanations are similar to the last incident when you saw him, and seem to be almost as powerful. If what he's doing has to do with these kind of power signals, he could be there. X hmmed softly to himself. That conclusion was a bit of a stretch, but it was a lead.

They had been looking for Axl for weeks, with very limited success. There were several reports OF him, mostly associated with strange phenomena, but it was nearly impossible to predict what he would be doing next. X winced as he thought about all the reports from China. Not that Axl had hurt anyone, but a lot of people had died. And no one could figure out exactly what was up with that strange place, or how Axl had created stable entrances to it. The scientists were mumbling things about alternate dimensions and twisted spacetime, but it all amounted to 'we don't have a clue'. A lot of people wanted very desperately to talk to Axl.

X wanted to speak to him rather desperately too. Strange things had been happening all through the world, and he was absolutely certain Axl could tell him what was going on, if he chose to. So…

"Alright. Tell Zero to meet me there."

"Ho, hum, what a ghastly place. Dynamo, you do know how to pick your assignments." Dynamo grimaced as a bit of stone crumpled under his hand. "Yick. Disgusting place." Dynamo had been tapped to go check out Earthsaver II. After the loss of so many patrols and a Maverick General, Sigma wanted to send out someone a bit more clever and expendable than most of his Mavericks. That meant Dynamo, and he was charging Sigma through the nose for it.

Dynamo wasn't too worried about the expendable part. He was pretty sure the only reason Sigma hadn't gotten information yet was because his Mavericks were stupid as hell about running away. It was easy to put up a communications jammer, and most Mavericks were totally unable to turn around from a fight. So communications loss + superior forces no news for Sigma. Although why a resistance cell would be lairing in some place so gruesome…

It was a funny place, too. Dynamo looked up at the sky with a frown. It was heavily overcast. There seemed to be a really weird fog formation constantly over this place. Sigma was pretty good at giving info for assignments… he wanted Dynamo to succeed… so he'd mentioned the weird energy readings and cloud cover. Some of the more meteorologically inclined Mavericks were wasting their time on it, apparently. Earthsaver II sat at the banks of a river, so fogs weren't unusual, but this was still weird.

Dynamo cocked his head to one side as he heard voices, and slinked towards them. Who else would be here? Sigma had pulled out all his patrols.

"Oh ho!" Dynamo murmured with a grin as he saw blue and red armor. "Someone else is explor-ing…" This would give Sigma fits, but Dynamo didn't much care. He could follow the Hunters and let them trigger any problems… hell, maybe they were meeting with a resistance cell! Sigma would love to have that information and-

Dynamo yelped far too loudly as something SHOVED him. The brutal push came as a complete surprise, and he went tumbling out, to X's and Zero's surprise. The two Hunters stared at him as Dynamo started to swear.

"What in hell?" Dynamo turned around to glare at the surroundings, trying to spot what had shoved him… but he couldn't see anyone. There was a surprised gasp from behind him, and Dynamo whirled to confront X and Zero. Shit, his cover was SO blown! Zero was looking… surprised, while X was looking… grossed out?

"Dynamo, you've got some… stuff on your back." Dynamo blinked at X, then reached behind himself to touch his back and-

Felt something wet oozing under his fingers. He glanced over his shoulder, and to his utter disgust, saw that someone had smeared some MEAT on him. Old meat, full of maggots and squirming…

"Argh, SHIT! Get it off!" Zero laughed at his evident distress, and actually helped out, using a piece of stone to scrape the mess away from him. Dynamo put up with it… he really wanted that crap off him. Blood was one thing, but rotting meat? "Christ, who PUSHED me? Who would do something this sick?" It was totally bizarre.

"How about you tell us why you were watching us, instead?" Zero said conversationally, and Dynamo sighed. His cover was blown, but it wasn't a total loss. He could just lie to Sigma about how he'd gotten the info.

"Well, ya see, Sigma's kinda interested in why all his patrols go missing. So, Dynamo to the rescue!" Dynamo spread his hands with a smile. "So, mind if I tag along?"

"Can we get rid of you, short of shooting you?" Zero said wryly. Not that he would object to shooting Dynamo in the head, but it might distress X a bit. He had gotten a bit fond of Dynamo, in a bizarre way, probably because the mercenary could make him laugh. Dynamo looked thoughtful.

"Well, if you tied me to a tree and beat me like a piñata I MIGHT be a touch discouraged…" Dynamo said with a grin. "Also, whips and chains would be a little off putting. Well, unless X did it, then it'd be sexy." X blushed, then laughed.

"Pervert! Okay, you can come along." X didn't care for the way Dynamo would work for anyone who would pay him, but that couldn't stop him from liking the blue-haired mercenary personally. And he was pretty sure that Sigma would learn nothing useful from Dynamo's report on this place. There was no resistance cell, only something weird…

Zero's eyes went wide as he saw something blue-white flash through the air, and he pulled out his saber, activating it. X and Dynamo both turned around just in time for the light to glow flashing through the air, straight for Dynamo. Zero swung at it, but missed, and it passed directly through the mercenaries' chest. Dynamo gasped in surprise and horror, then collapsed to his knees. X knelt down beside him, gripping his shoulders as he curled up, shivering violently.

"Dynamo! Are you alright? What happened?" X asked him, concerned. Dynamo shook his head, wincing in pain.

"My generator… it drained me." He gasped out. "So cold…" He felt horribly chilled. Like a finger of ice had gone right into him.

"It's coming back!" Zero shouted, and X jumped up as the light arrowed back and put himself in between it and Dynamo. The light abruptly slowed, then stopped in front of them. At first it was formless, and reminded X of an ancient story he had read, about a demon creature called Willowisp. But then it stretched out, and assumed a form.

It was like looking at a hologram, but one that wavered and pulsed oddly. To X's horror, the light took the shape of a little girl, no older than ten. A horribly maimed girl, her left arm torn away and his face and body brutally burned. She looked at X with large, soulful eyes, then started to cry. It was as if the sound was coming from very far away, and X stared at her in shock. A ghost? The little girl pointed at Dynamo and X accurately interpreted her expression… a combination of anger and questioning.

"He's not really that bad. He only works for Sigma sometimes," he reassured the little girl, who looked at him with sad eyes. "He doesn't kill people." That was a bit of a stretch, but Dynamo really didn't kill defenseless civilians. The girl seemed to consider that for a moment… then she slowly disappeared, fading into nothing.

"Holy crap," Dynamo said, his voice cracking, as he stared at the place the girl had stood. "What was that?"

"A ghost, it looked like," Zero said with admirable calm. "There's all kinds of weird shit going on lately."

"That's an understatement." X muttered, and tensed. "There's more of them." He could see faint lights in the distance, and he didn't think it was from flashlights. "Come on, Dynamo." He helped the mercenary up, who coughed and massaged his chest.

"Thanks, X. I owe you." Dynamo really did appreciate it. "God damn. That must be how that Maverick General bought it." He shuddered at the thought of being invaded so completely by that terrible coldness. Just the touch he'd gotten was more than enough.

"What Maverick General?" X questioned as they headed towards the greatest concentration of power. Zero glared around warily, at the shifting lights of soulfire. Some got close enough for him to almost make out features, but then they darted away. Perhaps the ghost girl had told them something?

X suddenly stopped abruptly, and Dynamo almost ran into him from behind. "Huh?" The mercenary looked over the smaller Reploids' shoulder, then blanched. "Holy shit! That's disgusting!" Someone had gathered up hundreds of dead bodies, dumping them in this courtyard. The scent of rot was heavy in the air, and Zero coughed at the cloying smell.

"No more disgusting than anything that's happened here," X said quietly. "At least they were dead before this was done to them." X delicately stepped through the field of bodies… then suddenly staggered, looking down. "…Zero? Could you maybe pull me back?"

"Huh? Why…" Zero followed X's gaze down to his ankle. "Oh unholy crap." A dead hand was tightly gripping him. And if one of them could move, then… Zero dashed forward, his Z-saber slashing down and severing the wrist holding X. He quickly grabbed X, yanking him back, and not a moment too soon. The dead bodies shifted and stirred with a sound like wind through dry leaves. Slowly, jerkily, they pulled themselves to their feet.

"What is this, Resident Evil VII?" Dynamo stepped back, repulsed. "I think I'm gonna- OW!" Another spirit went through him, and Dynamo collapsed again, gasping and shuddering. X whirled around and fired at the spark, which disappeared. Then the dead began to move… to either side. They were clearing a path, looking at X, Zero and Dynamo through rotting and cracked eyes. One stepped forward… a young female Reploid, she would have been beautiful when she was alive. Her dirty green eyes looked into X's, and he shuddered faintly as he realized there was something alive in there. Or rather, not alive, but aware and suffering.

"Come," she said, her voice as rusty and corroded as her body. He could just barely understand her. "Come see her. Come."

"See who?" Zero said warily, his beam saber pointed at her. She was indifferent to the danger… which only made sense. The worst had already happened to her. What more could he do?

"She gave us form. She gave us a voice. Come see her," she said. "Come see the Queen." They exchanged glances, and then Dynamo spoke.

"Can I have some promises that nothing will go through me again?" Dynamo had pushed himself to his feet, and he was shivering violently now. The dead woman looked at him, and her expression could charitably have been called a smile. But the bitterness and malice in her eyes was endless.

"We hate you. You work for him. Only that you are not infected keeps you alive. We will not suffer our murderers to live." Her smile grew more terrible, and Dynamo actually looked away. "We are the dead, and our pain has a voice." X took Dynamo's arm, but the mercenary had had enough.

"Sigma can stuff this contract. I'm leaving." Dynamo's expression as he tried to teleport away made the dead Reploid laugh. "You… you bitch! What are you doing?"

"It is easy to enter the land of the dead," she replied. "But not so easy to leave."

"It's alright Dynamo," X said softly to the blue haired mercenary. "We'll get through this." Dynamo looked at X uncertainly, but nodded. He had the feeling that without X's obvious support, he would have been killed a dozen times over by now.

They walked between the lines of dead, not looking left or right, the dead Reploid leading. She took them to a second, cleared courtyard… but one that was different. The ground had somehow been fused into a black surface that looked slick as glass, yet was somehow rough enough that they did not slip when they stepped on it. The buildings surrounding this space had partially melted into a similar substance, and there was a throne in the centre. A woman was slumped in the middle of it, looking like a broken china doll in the midst of the black throne. Her skin was very white, and her hair was flaming red, spilling around her face and flowing in the wind.

The three Hunters slowly stepped forward, and her eyes snapped open. They gleamed green, glowing faintly in the dark. She slowly straightened, and stood. She was wearing a filmy black gown that clung appealingly to her curves. Zero tilted his head to one side, and stepped forward, intrigued. There was something very dangerous about this woman, and to him, that was interesting.

"Hello, beautiful," Zero said with a winning smile. X winced… somehow, that didn't seem at all appropriate, under the circumstances. "What's a lovely lady like you doing in a place like this?" The dead Reploid girl stood silently to one side, as the woman cocked her head to one side.

"I am the focal point for this place," She said softly, her voice sweet and thick as honey. "The Queen of the Dead. What do you want here, Hunters? Mercenary?" She glanced at Dynamo, who shifted nervously under her glittering gaze.

"Erm, well, Sigma sorta wants to know where his patrols have been going?" Dynamo glanced warily over his shoulder, on the lookout for more spirits. The woman tilted her head to one side, then gave a magnificent, one-shoulder shrug, her gown swirling around her.

"This city was murdered by Mavericks, and the shades of their victims far outnumber the Maverick dead," she said, then smiled poisonously. "And those taken against their will by the virus come here angry, as well. This place will never be safe for them. Tell Sigma to leave this place be, and stop wasting his time."

"Sigma might decide to bomb it," X said cautiously. "Maybe even a tactical nuke." Ordinarily, nukes and other large weapons could not get through the defensive screens. But Earthsaver II was in Maverick territory, a dead city, and nothing protected it. But the woman only shrugged again.

"The dead don't care."

"Huh… what's your name, lady?" Zero asked brightly.

"Domina," she purred, stepping closer to him. X and Dynamo watched… this was beginning to feel surreal. Well, more surreal than before. Zero was flirting with the self-proclaimed Queen of the Dead? And unlike many who would claim such a title, she had a lot of evidence to back her up.

"Domina. So, where's Axl?" Zero asked innocently, but her eyes hardened and her smile turned a touch dangerous.

"My master? I'm sure I could not say." She said demurely.

"Your master?" Zero pursued the question, ignoring the warning glitter in her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think," she said slowly, her voice meltingly sweet. "That you should go elsewhere for your answers, Hunter. Or you might never leave at all." There was a soft, shifting sound behind them. X cautiously looked over his shoulder, and tensed… the dead were there, watching them. And they seemed rather ominous… well, moreso than before. Zero's eyes hardened, and he stepped closer.

"Look, lady, we really need to know. Axl seems to be the only one who knows what's going on, and we need the truth!"

"You can't handle the truth." Domina smiled wryly as they all groaned. Zero had set himself up for that one.

"We still need it, and you're damn well going to tell- FUCK!" Zero tried to leap back as she moved with blinding speed towards him. He activated his beam saber to ward her off but she ignored it-

"Zero, no!" X cried out, then gasped in horror as the woman ran herself ONTO the saber. Then Zero was flying through the air, hitting Dynamo with a tremendous crash, knocking him down. X blinked… had she backhanded Zero with one hand? She was still standing, and X gagged at the smell of cooking flesh. Then he stared as she gripped the beam saber's hilt, and slowly pulled it out of her body. She smiled viciously, as the horrible, gaping wound slowly rebuilt itself before their eyes.

"And how will you make me?" She asked Zero sweetly, as he rolled off Dynamo with some sulfurous swear words. Domina switched off his saber, throwing it back to him before she turned away and walked back to her throne. She seated herself on it, then spoke. "So… tell anyone who cares to know that this place is the Necropolis, and they can come here to speak to the dead. Although they may never leave. And now… GET OUT!" Blue spirit fire suddenly surrounded them, cold as the dead, invading all of them. X managed to scream before he blacked out…