Zombie here. Hope you folks like the story so far. I wanted to get this chapter out sooner, but there were delays due to my schedule. I'm sure you know how that goes. By the way, feel free to tell me what you think with reviews if you want! They are most appreciated! Anyways, on to the fic. . . .

Chapter III

Several days passed without any serious problem. The flashbacks continued to return, but not quite as bad as they were. X figured it was just perhaps some form of battle fatigue, and he decided maybe he did need a break. The problems were indeed minor. . . A few rogue reploids here and there and the problem was done with. He let the lower class Hunters deal with it, and sometimes even just the local police were able to deal with the problems. X continued on with his daily routines, despite what seemed like the constant reappearance of his old rival Vile.

Sure, he saw Sigma and a lot of the other enemies, but it was Vile's image that seemed to constantly come up more then any other. Finally he decided to ask Zero about Vile, who had known Vile before X.

"What did you think of him?" X asked him casually.

Zero thought about it for a moment and then said, "I specifically remember him as being crazy. He was a top notch Hunter formerly, but I heard that even in those days he was crazy. The bastard took his job quite seriously! Taking out an entire building filled with innocent people to eliminate a single Maverick!"

X nodded. "Yeah, Vile was crazy. I guess I just look back on him because he was my first real threat."

Zero grinned. "You worry too much about those kinds of things, X. I say the direction is forward!"

X couldn't help but to smile. "That's right! Well I'm outta here Zero!"

Zero did a kind of salute with his hand to wave him off. "Yeah, X."

Mega Man X left, but Zero's words did little to change how he felt, despite what he himself had said. Hell yeah he was crazy. The guy had wiped out his own factory to destroy him! His insane laughter always seemed to fill his head when he started to seriously look back on Vile. Why couldn't Vile just die and leave him alone?

The planet had suffered greatly from Sigma's mad plans, but it hadn't been the first time. If there was one thing about this planet's inhabitants, it's the persistence of its people, whether it is human or reploid. Construction programs were launched planet-wide to rebuild the war-torn cities. Once again human and reploid worked together on a massive scale. At first there was no trouble, as the few problems that did occur were dealt with quickly and efficiently. However, there always seemed to be some kind of bigger problem out there.

A project to rebuild a destroyed tower about ten miles from the Maverick Hunter HQ was going along smoothly until a number of accidents began to occur. Reploids working on the project were sometimes smashed with huge crates filled with heavy equipment due to poor driving and control of the crane vehicles. Who were driving these vehicles? Humans of course.

The reploids always seemed to get stuck with the difficult work. They were the ones that were risking their lives the taller the tower got. It was estimated this giant building would stand well over 100 stories. That was a long fall. Indeed, it wasn't long until these casualties began to occur. Despite this, the construction continued. The process of rebuilding the Earth's cities was on a very strict deadline. However, one reploid stood above the rest of them. Although still answering to the humans, he was declared the "Project Supervisor." He lived up to this quite well, and he carried out the orders of the people to the fullest. Sitting in his office, he could hear it now:

"Oh, three reploids crushed this week? We'll need replacements! Take care of it immediately!"

And that's what he did. Unfortunately, he didn't have a complete disregard for his own kind like these humans did. At first he tried to do what he was supposed to do and hope the Tower would be completed as soon as possible. He kept things on schedule, something they liked. Despite the losses the project continued, and he soon became tired of it. His workers respected him and followed his orders. It was through him that the humans controlled. As the days went by and the project neared its end, his mind had already been taken by the Virus. Hatred flowed through him and his workers were quick to join him.

The Project Supervisor was no pushover. Standing at eight feet tall and had enough strength to lift boulders weighing in the tons. He looked like a reploid construction worker with the yellow hat and square chin. They had built him to be strong enough to work on such large projects as these. The Supervisor was clever, and he quickly saw the human's weaknesses and how useless they had truly become. Turning their construction vehicles of war with modified armor and added armory. Anything could be bought, and what better way to use project funds then to order weapons? The main weapon was the large crane, as it was fitting with blaster turrets and the crane shortened to provide for faster crushing power. It was a perfect killing machine, as it was also large enough to hold not only the Supervisor himself, but also six of his worker-turned-soldier followers.

Three days before the initial completion of their vehicles, they had rounded up all the human workers. Keeping a low profile, they continued to work on the tower project while at the same time the reploids constructed what were basically construction vehicles turned into tanks. And when they attacked the whole city knew it.

Up to then it had been uneventful. Zero had led a few of the newer Maverick Hunters on a simulation raid. Two of them were killed and Zero killed each and every one of the enemies himself .Overall the simulation was a success. Other then that the day was boring. He merely roamed around the headquarters, not really having anything planned. X was out and about as always. He spent hours in the simulators lately, but that was alright he supposed. X was a dedicated fighter, but so was Zero!!

Still, Zero honestly didn't really feel like doing anything right now. When he walked into the command center it was mainly to annoy the operators. Instead, the siren went off.

"Zero!" one of the operators shouted loudly. "The city is under attack! Looks like some reploids have gone Maverick!"

"Maverick huh? There hasn't been an attack in a while, so maybe the Virus is starting to disappear."

Nobody was surprised when X showed up almost immediately.

"Sir, there appears to be four large vehicles destroying everything in their paths. Looks like they originated from the Tower construction site!"

"What?!" X exclaimed. The threat actually sounded as if it might have some kind of significance for once. "How armed are they?"

"We're not entirely sure, but reports on the ground indicate that their armed to the maximum!"

"Sounds fun," Zero said confidently. "Looks like one of the vehicles is more powerful then the other two. X, you take care of that and another while I take care of the other two!"

X nodded. "Right!"

They dashed out of the command center with quick speed and were on their way. Little did they know that this threat was actually well-planned. These reploids had a mission, and that was to further their cause across the city.

Author Note: I hate to end the chapter there, but I wanted to get a chapter out to show everybody that I am trying to get this one written. The next chapter will be action-packed!!