Chapter One - Awakenings…

Trust me on this one X; don't die. Being reactivated is a real you-know-what. I only do it 'cause if I didn't who else would save your sorry butt? -Zero Omega

Blackness. I can't see anything. I can't feel anything. Very much like being in a sensory deprivation chamber, or stasis I guess. It takes me a moment to even become aware that I am, in a sense, aware of anything.

Then comes the pain.

The world explodes into color as a fury crashes into my being. I howl as my body feels like it's being torn apart and lit on fire at the same time. I convulse on the floor, feeling all my systems overloading, blaring in my brain, trying to tell me what's wrong with me.

Then something very hard impacts my gut, and the pain I feel all over gets turned into pain I feel from only one point. I can see and feel again and I notice that I am in a room with various machines on the walls. I look behind me and see a table that has lots of little tubes and machines hovering over it. My ears also let me know they are working when I register some sound directed at me. "Get up. We have work to do."

I cough, a little fluid coming out of my mouth, and I turn to see who kicked me. Two massive legs stand before me and, as I turn my gaze upwards, I recognize the person connected to those legs. "Sigma," I choke out. I rise to my feet and ask, "what happened?"

He looks down at me with a scowl. "What do you think? You were destroyed by X, Zero, and their friend Axl. After that, they fought and destroyed both Lumine and myself. It's been ten years since, however, and my new plan is finally coming to fruition." Sigma turned and began walking out of the room. I quickly followed.

As we made our way through various rooms and corridors, Sigma began to speak again. "Now pay attention, because you need to be brought up to speed and I lack the patience to repeat myself. Over the past few years I have had a spy in the Hunters and he has proven himself to be an invaluable asset with regards to the intelligence I have gained about the Maverick Hunters current status. They grow weak and overconfident. In the past few months we've staged maverick attacks on various points around the world to test the hunters' responses. The only units that performed with any real decency were X's, Zero's, and Axl's unit. The other units have grown lax and the recruitment and training of new hunters is at it's lowest since before the Repliforce incident."

"So, what you are saying, is that you have been wasting your generals in pointless field research? X and Zero have always been the best of the hunters. Either one could take on any maverick and when they team up there is nothing that could stop them."

Sigma cracked a wry smirk as he looked down at me. "Always so quick to offer your tactical opinion. Yes, as it stands the hunters are still more then enough to stop our plans. However, if we weaken the core, the rest of the body will decay. Do you understand?"

"Weaken X and Zero? How so?"

Sigma laughed. "In time Vile, in time. Now, however, I would like to introduce you to my spy."

I noticed that we had stopped in a large room. It was bare except for some targets on the far wall: a training room. I looked around, seeing no one, and started to wonder what Sigma had meant, when it happened. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turn to see this new comer.

It was me. I backed up slightly, glad for the helmet which blocked my startled expression, while Sigma chuckled. "Now, now. Don't play mind-games with him. Let him see who you really are."

The copy of me gave an over-exaggerated bow and said, in a perfect simulation of my voice, "as you wish." It was then engulfed in a bright white light and began transforming into another form. When the light faded, I could see all the details of this copy. He was black and grey with red trim. He had two blue gems, one on his chest and the other on his forehead. However, his most striking feature was the orange hair sticking straight from under his helmet. My memories were still a little fuzzy due to my recent reactivation, but I had no trouble recognizing the reploid that stood before me: Axl.

My eyes widened behind my helmet. I stumbled back as he smirked. "Yeah, you remember me right? It's been ten years but I remember our fight like it was yesterday. You should have seen how many pieces you ended up in. It was hell trying to hide your remains on the way back from the Moon."

"You…but you…"

"Killed you? Yeah I know, I was there. But don't you worry about that. I won't do it again. Maybe…"

Sigma laughed as he walked over to Axl. "You see Vile, after the Jakob incident Axl was infected with the Maverick virus and now he's been filling me in on every little event that's been going on in the Maverick Hunter Headquarters. Recently he's dropped a particularly large bombshell that has made me come to the conclusion that our good friend Zero is close to fulfilling his true destiny."

"His true destiny? I don't understand what you're talking about."

"You never knew what made Zero special: never knew why I have always tried to convince him to join us. It's because he is destined to destroy X."

"Impossible, those two are inseparable. They've fought together since the beginning. Nothing could cause them to turn against one another."

"But you're wrong Vile. For a long time I was the only one who knew Zero's true nature but now I shall share it with you. Zero's secret lies in his creator, the one who knew what the future, and X, would bring to the world. All reploids have been based on X's design, you, me, even the copy reploids share this in common. However, no one could fully understand what Light had created with X, and so no other has ever been able to rival X's power. However, Zero is different. There was one man who grasped what Light had created with X: one man who was fully capable of replicating X's design. Zero is the product of that man, and Zero is the one who will destroy Mega Man X. You see, Zero's creator was Dr. Albert W. Wily."

I was stunned. "No…that's not possible. How…"

"During the X-Hunter incident, I foolishly tried to posses Zero. When that happened I saw into his mind and had access to some of his memories. What I saw in him was truly frightening. I saw the ultimate killing machine, something that would destroy whatever tried to stand in its way. That is when I knew that Zero was destined to join our side, to fulfill his destiny; destroying X, the last creation of Light."

"If what you're saying is true, how would we go about convincing Zero of this?"

"It has already started. Just yesterday Axl gave me some very good news. We were assaulting the MHHQ with copy reploids in the form of X when Zero apparently went berserk and nearly killed the real X. According to Axl, Zero has also been suffering nightmares and has been sent to a therapist. Can you imagine it? Yes, these are the signs I have been waiting for. The time is nigh and if my plan succeeds, Zero will fulfill his programming and destroy X."

"So, what is your plan? How are you going to cause this mental break in Zero that you keep alluding to?"

"It's simple. He won't believe me if I'm the one who tells him his purpose. I'm going to have him meet his creator."

This was unexpected. "What? But Wily was an old man back in the 21st century. Surely he's dead by now."

"Of course Vile, he was merely human. But he had contingency plans that let him live on through his works. I met one of those during the Eurasia incident and I'm going to introduce Zero to him. Subtly of course. It wouldn't do to have Zero think I've engineered this from the start. So Vile, does this plan meet with your approval?"

I could feel Sigma's and Axl's eyes boring holes into my helmet as they awaited my opinion. "Theoretically, it works. It would cripple the hunters and they would fall easily before your forces. My only question is, where do I come in?"

"Well Vile, right now I don't have a use for you. When my plan proceeds to it's next step, then I shall need you, however, now I want you prepare yourself for what is to come. Do whatever you like, that's what you do best."

I stood as Sigma turned and exited the room, followed closely by Axl. 'So, he just expects me to sit and wait and train does he? Well, I'll certainly prepare, but don't try to predict my actions, you'll be badly surprised.' I looked down at myself. I hadn't had a paint job yet and I was still lacking in weaponry. The perfect disguise. I resolved myself to reconnoitering my enemy, I needed to see if X had changed in the decade since we last met. I activated my warp system and headed for 'home.'

End Chapter 1