Chapter One: Prelude to Horror
There hadn't been any violence for months in the city; the Maverick Hunters had taken down every last renegade within fifty miles, leaving previously uneasy citizens with a feeling of security. The image of reploids as loyal servants of humankind had been warped further by the Repliforce incident. No human was truly willing to trust a reploid anymore; signs all over town left the non-combat models out of work: "Reploids need not apply."
Everyone was working harder now. The influx of new 'bots to Hunter HQ looking for jobs put everyone that didn't have a combat position (and some that did) in a tough spot. For someone to keep his job, he had to continually accept lower wages and longer hours. It was to be expected; after every wave of mavericks, civilian reploids had lost jobs and needed some place to go. With no other reploid organizations, the Hunter HQ was the only place to go. They had always gone there --but never so many. They gave jobs to as many people as they could, but few had many skills. Every officer had at least two secretaries; when one person could do a job, two were sent; the janitorial staff was tripled; every job had too many workers now, so the vast majority of reploids were put on construction detail.
Construction detail was akin to a death sentence. Paranoid human overseers ran reploid workers to the very limits of their capacity --and beyond. There was always construction work, never enough time to do it in, and always, always, someone was falling down --often times for good. It was horrible, and nothing could be done about it –there were too many of them, too little desire for their presence.
With the tension running so high in Arcadia City, it was only a matter of time before it created shadows and demons of its own. One week ago, there was a gruesome murder after the newly started weekly reploid's ball. There was only one victim, but the immensity of the crime was enough to scare even the most stoic of reploids. Hunter HQ released few details about the crime, but some things leaked that were better left secret. The official release was a masterfully written cover up that the human populace bought fully. The reploids weren't so convinced. Rumors of the crime flew like a disease, spreading from each new listener with feline stealth and speed.
Most of the rumors were false, but no one could tell what was fact and what was fiction. The only people who knew the truth about the crime were the three investigators, and the top-level brass. Without any factual information, no one who had heard the grisly rumors could rest easy. Something needed to be done, but there were no solutions forthcoming. The Ball was intended to help quell the growing hatred among the displaced reploids, but now few were likely to attend.
The fifth ball is tonight, and there is a pitiful crowd in attendance. Less than one eighth the original crowd has shown up. Top hunters X and Zero have been forced to come in an undercover effort to find the murderer who would likely be in attendance, but with well over two hundred reploids there, there is still a considerable task before them.
-Maverick Hunter HQ 2100-
-Inside Unit-17 Officer Quarters-
X stood in front of the mirror with an angry look on his face –he had been trying to get his tie tied for the last half-hour; so far, he hadn't succeeded. Casual clothes were unusual for him, which left formal clothes somewhere between "rocket science" and "nuclear physics." The buzzer on his door went off and he gave up on the tie, leaving it untied in his collar. After checking the screen, X unlocked and slid the door open.
"The mission started an hour ago."
"Hello to you, too, Zero." The two chuckled a bit at X's joking indignation.
"Come on, we have to get going… Need some help?" X looked at Zero a little embarrassedly and nodded an affirmation. Zero tied X's tie without a hitch and they stood in the doorway a moment longer. They were a striking contrast: Zero wore a dark red suit and had his hair bound loosely at the base of his neck. X wore a light-colored blue suit with a white shirt. Zero knocked his head back a little and the two headed out of the barracks.
"Why do they always send us?" Zero was a little taken aback at X's question. "I mean, I know that we're the best HQ has to offer," he spoke without arrogance, "but this is hardly our area of expertise…" one of the 17-unit troopers pulled up to them.
"Hey guys." X and Zero offered a greeting each and continued their conversation in a pre-selected code.
"Anyway, like I was saying, I don't know how to fix a dishwasher (solve a murder), let alone figure out what's actually going wrong with it (find the culprit of a murder)."
"Sometimes you just have to do things for your girl, (follow orders) X. Just go with it, I'm sure you'll figure it out, after all, she wouldn't have asked you if she didn't think you could handle it (command wouldn't have picked us if they didn't think we could pull it off)."
"I guess." There was a brief silence.
"Hey, I'll catch you guys later since you seem to be going to the dance in a bit." The two nodded and watched the reploid walk off, the yellow in his outfit seemed lost in the brightly lit corridor of HQ's main hall.
"Oh, X, I almost forgot something back in my quarters. You go on without me –probably best not to show up at the same time anyway."
"I guess you're right. I'll see you there." Zero nodded and headed off down toward his barracks. X walked deep in thought to the ball.
-Fifth Reploid's Ball 2104-
-Hunter HQ main courtyard-
X was bewildered at the enormity of the "reduced" crowd. He was also confused at the music playing –he had heard music, he liked music, but this was new to him, and no less than a little strange. More than that, however, they were dancing. X couldn't dance to save his life (or his job!), and he expected that just as much might be on the line. He didn't know where to start. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he looked to see another reploid from his unit. The trooper took him over to a sizeable crowd of people that he introduced. The group spoke for a while and then dissipated after the band started playing a song that was a little more upbeat than the others.
X just sat down, genuinely lost. He watched people dance in pairs for a while, wondering how they managed it. This was alien to him, so he did what he could to bring something familiar to it. He thought about the mission again; he was to determine who the murderer was with the help of three individuals.
"Oh yeah." He thought aloud. There were two more people on the mission. He couldn't remember their names –they were new names anyway, and most everyone was new these days. He seemed to remember them as being unusual names, but beyond that it was a total blank.
"That must be why you were late, you went and fixed that dishwasher without me!" X nearly jumped out of his folding chair. There was a female reploid in the chair next to him, and she was clearly one of the operatives assigned to the mission.
"No, just trying to sort out what might be wrong with it." He looked at her for a moment. She was about X's height and had a tall face with bright, green eyes. Her black hair fell neatly down her back, making a stark contrast with her silver dress and white shoes.
"So, X, tell me. How do I look tonight?" Thinking on his feet wasn't always X's strongest ability, and when he couldn't remember what code the question meant; he realized she was asking in earnest. After another moment looking at her, as if to lend credibility to his delay, he replied simply.
"Gorgeous." She smiled at his response. "I'm sorry, but I don't recall your name, what was it again?"
"It's Carice." She responded instantly with a smile. The two spent a moment taking each other in, memorizing the person they would be working with. Then, as if an afterthought, "Do you dance?" She spoke with a happy tone in a melodic voice.
"Some people have two left feet; I think I don't have feet at all." X was loath to answer the question, since Carice seemed a little crestfallen at his response. A spending a moment frowning, she stood up and held out her hand. "What?" X was a little confused.
"Get up; it's time for the crash course." X stood, and the two headed a little way into the crowd of dancers. The band stopped for a moment as X and Carice did. She took to moment to quickly explain that the style of dance was "ballroom" and that X was the "lead" and that she was going to help him learn. As the band started a rather slow song, Carice grabbed X's hands and engaged in a position that was a little more intimate than X was comfortable with. He let it go, however, as she continued to explain what the dance was and how to do it. After a few moments, X had the basic step going and Carice seemed as excited as she had been at the start of their meeting. They picked up their original conversation during the dance.
"Any clue who broke the dishwasher (committed the murder)?" Carice started things off.
"Not a one."
"I've a few in mind."
"You'll have to tell me."
"I will." The song ended and X was a bit relieved. He was pretty sure he was doing something wrong, but couldn't figure out what. They headed back to where they were sitting down before the dance lesson. The two spotted Zero and another reploid around the same place and walked over.
"Hey, Zero!" Zero looked up after pushing the brim of his red hat a little higher.
"Hey, X." He nodded to the seat next to him. X and Carice made a circle with Zero and the woman next to him. "X, this is Angie; Angie, X. Angie says she's going to help you fix that dishwasher." X nodded in a friendly way to signify he caught on.
"Hi there, Angie. This is Carice; Zero, Angie, Carice. She's helping as well."
"That's great! Carice and I have already met." Angie had a bit of a low voice and spoke soberly. She wore a black dress and was only a little shorter than Zero. Her skin was pale, and her hair short when compared to Carice's flowing locks. The group spoke in code for the remainder of the ball. X had to dance a few times, but neither girl could convince Zero to get out of his chair. His excuse was always "It's not my style."
The rest of the night passed uneventfully, and the group compounded a list of suspects before they went their separate ways. They all went to their respective quarters and went to sleep around 0200. X got a disturbing phone call at 0dark30. It was one he was hoping wouldn't come, and one he was sure would. It was time to get up, time to go to work, time to start solving this problem…
A/N
Well, that's the newest fanfic I've got. I think I should take this opportunity to warn you, potential readers, this story is going to get graphic, so consider yourselves forewarned.
Anyway, I'll make an effort to respond to any reviews I get and I'll put important notes in the A/N's at the end of every chapter. I hope you'll enjoy Megaman X: Shadow of Arcadia, even if the horror/mystery genre isn't your usual read.
Until next time, keep those feet movin'!