Chapter II

X could see the human workers quite clearly. All four had simply been tied up in a corner and weren't even being supervised. The reploids were now considered Maverick, and they all focused on the construction of their weapons. He wanted to deal with this as quickly as possible to avoid any human fatalities. The Manager continued to ramble on about the "Maverick Revolution" when X leapt out of his hiding place.

The Manager spun around quite surprised. He was actually a foot taller then X, and was no small individual. "How did you find us so quickly?!" he exclaimed surprised. "No matter! You're finished!"

He aimed the gun, but was much too slow. X blasted him with a charged X-Buster shot. The Manager was knocked to the ground, smoke rising from him. Surprisingly, he lived.

"Kill him! He is a traitor to our cause!" the Manager shouted angrily.

The small workers picked up the small blaster pistols they had constructed and opened fire. X was quick, much quicker then any of them. He dashed around the room, dodging the small yellow laser shots with relative ease. X had a semi-charged shot for each of these guys. With each green blast he fired, a worker exploded. It was no challenge whatsoever for X.

In the meantime, the Manager rose to his feet. He was hurt badly, but still able to think and move. Unlike the others, who were armed with very light weapons, his was a slightly bigger rifle-style blaster. He charged it up and aimed at the powerful blue fighter, who was busy destroying his loyalists. With a laugh he fired, but it missed! X had disappeared and avoided it completely.

"What?!" he exclaimed.

X was behind him in no time. "Nice try!" he shouted and fired a charged up shot right in the Manager's back. "Damn you!" he shouted as he was torn in half. The explosion quickly followed, and that was that. The others had been killed. His communications link activated immediately with Zero's voice: "Well done, X. You made short work of them just as I thought. Why must you insist on wasting your time with scum like that?"

Zero made a small laugh at his last remark. "Anyway, you might as well head back. I'll send a cleanup crew to get that place cleared…. At least they will get some practice at their job!"

X couldn't help but to smile. He freed the people, who were most thankful for his help. Then he left in a hurry, not wanting to waste anymore time here. He felt more at ease knowing that he had destroyed another Maverick threat. It was most reassuring.

X returned to a very quiet Maverick Hunter HQ. He walked past the command control room and saw Zero still in there. His feet were up on the control pad and he was leaning back in his chair.

"Welcome back, X," Zero said. "Are you going to get some sleep now?"

X smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess I will get some sleep now Zero. Wake me if any problems occur!"

"I'm sure you'll hear the alarm if anything happens, X. See ya!"

X nodded and left. He supposed he might as well get some sleep. In his quarters, which were nothing fancy, he went to sleep quite quickly. Maybe he was tired after all. For some reason, however, as it had been since his last major battle, his mind drifted to the past. Dr. Cain had awakened X. X had decided that it was his purpose to help in the fight against the Mavericks. Then there had been Vile. That Maverick had been the most insidious of them all. He used his Ride Armor very skillfully, and in no time he had made short work of X.

"A worthless piece of scrap metal is all you are, X!" Vile's evil voice shouted at him in what seemed like the distance. "That is all you will ever be!"

But it had continued. Vile had tricked Zero into following him. Not even Zero, whom X thought was the most powerful reploid he had seen at the time, could defeat Vile in his Ride Armor. X had gotten better by then, but not even his new upgrades and abilities could stop Vile in that damn Ride Armor. Zero had sacrificed himself to destroy Vile once and for all.

"What a worthless gesture!" Vile's voice shouted at him. And then his laughter, always with the laughter! X wanted the laughter to stop. Why couldn't he just be at peace?

Despite it all, X had defeated Vile. Zero had gotten rid of the Ride Armor at least, and X had fought him head on. Vile had been strong, like a much more upgraded version of himself. But X had prevailed. I always prevail, X thought to himself. If Sigma or Vile or any of those others return, I'll just take care of them again and again! I'll always be there to stop them!

In a way this reassured him, and while he slept he heard nothing more of Vile's voice the rest of the night.

The morning seemed to come quickly. A bright sun was overhead, shining over the war-torn planet. Destruction was rampant, yet still the humans and reploids tried to co-exist and rebuild. There were no longer any "Maverick" threats during the previous night after the one Mega Man X dealt with. It was even suspected that those might just be rogue reploids that hadn't gotten it out of their heads that the war was over.

For the first time in a while, X found himself to be bored. The day brought nothing. He inspected some factories for a few hours, and all seemed well. Everyone, despite all that had happened in the past years, still seemed dedicated to repairing the planet. When night hit again he decided to practice his skills in the simulator. That was the least he could do to stay sharp. Instructing the computer to start out with easy stuff and then to move up some of the recorded "Maverick bosses" he had defeated in the past.

X made short work of the enemies that came. The room became covered in plasma fire as various robots tried to kill him. All were unsuccessful. He jumped, dashed, jumped off walls, rolled. . . . Nothing could hit him. He reserved a shot for each guy. It reminded him of his past battles, except it wasn't real. He wasn't killing anyone. With his confidence level rising, he made a quick pose and blasted the last enemy. Time for a Maverick Boss!

But suddenly things began to change. An all-too-familiar form appeared right before his eyes. In a way he wasn't surprised: Vile! It was Vile in his original form to be precise, the one when they first encountered. Vile was quick to fire the disable shot from his shoulder cannon. X had actually been caught off-guard by this sudden change of "bosses," and couldn't quite react quickly enough. Somehow, the shot felt just like how it had in the old days. But why?!

Anger filled him and he exploded out of the force field. Vile was surprised. X had a fully charged straight for him. One well-aimed shot and it hit Vile right in the chest, knocking him to his back. Then, the room cleared back to its normal form. Surprised, X looked around wildly.

"Ha! Caught you off guard there, eh X?" came Zero's laughing voice over the intercom. "You really should really quit wasting your time with nobodies and fight real enemies like your old pal Vile!" His laughing continued.

X calmed down immediately. Always with the jokes, Zero, he thought to himself. Mega Man X couldn't help but to smile, and he left the simulator satisfied with this training. However, he was still bothered by Vile's once again strange appearance. Was it mere coincidence? X shrugged it off and decided he would take it easy for the night.