Megaman X: Final Prologue

By: SylentStryke

Rated: M

Disclaimer: (Please insert statement stating the reserved rights of companies, organizations or individuals that are affiliated with the original characters of this work of fanfiction. This excludes the addition of original characters that the author has created.)

Chapter 3: Check

MHHQ- 17th Quarters
Time: 4:43 A.M.
Date: 6-12-22XX

X lay awake in his bed. He found sleep hard to come by on a regular basis, but now... Things were escalating to a catastrophic level. He placed a hand on his brow, sighing in hopes of easing his mind, which was rattled with unwanted memories.

"(Nana...I couldn't save you...or anyone else. Something's happened to Axl, Zero's gone...the humans...damn it...)" He rolled over, deciding that a different position might be better. The image of Nana being severed into two flashed in his head. Massimo being eviscerated, a crazed Marino, dying Cinnamon...

"I told you, didn't I X?" X nearly jumped out of his bed at the sound of the familiar voice. He spied his quarters for the source of the deep voice.

"I told you, X. I tried to prevent this, I really did." X turned around to see Apus Epsilon, garbed in eerie black robes. His figure glowed with a supernatural aura.

"I told you that it was either Paradise Eden or the destruction of everything, and look at what's happening now." X clenched his teeth, not knowing how to retaliate. He sensed another figure creep up on him.

"Hehehehe! X, you are a fool. Did you really think that you would win? Did you think that because I died, the world would find peace? Well?"

"...Sigma..."

"The humans are the venom that poison this world. Do you see now? The Earth is about to be destroyed by the hands of a human! Ain't it ironic?" Vile jumped up through the floor. X stood with a ridged stance.

"We never wanted to destroy Earth; we only tried to prevent the current events from happening."

"...shut up..."

"But you insisted on being the catalyst. You ALWAYS found a way to halt us."

"...Shut...up..."

"Now that you see the errors you've made in the years past, you wish you could fix your mistakes don't you? Now you and everyone you hold dear to you will die!"

"SHUT UP!" X shouted, causing the ghastly images of Sigma, Vile and Epsilon to shatter. X took in deep breaths, shaking off his current thoughts. He slowly sat down on his bed, trying to calm down. His nerves jumped when a pair of arms pulled him down tight against the bed. He looked over his shoulder to see Alia holding him in a death-lock.

"Mmm. X, do you like the way I'm holding you? Do you feel the warmth between us?" Her voice was very sultry. He noticed she wasn't wearing anything when he felt a pair of soft spheres with hardened tips press into his back.

"Alia...wh-what are you doing?" X barely got the words out as she pulled him closer. Her breathing became heavier.

"Oh, X. That feels so goood!" X was confused. He could easily overpower Alia, but he couldn't move an inch. Not a muscle. Next, he saw Axl pinned to the wall with what appeared to be short blades. In front of that, he saw Zero fighting...X?

"What the hell?" Zero took a wild slash at the other X, who in turn unleashed a full charged plasma wave into Zero's chest, destroying his arms and lower body. He caught the remainder of Zero's body and held it up in front the Alia ensnared. He crushed the corpse of Zero and threw his head into the wall.

"I am no m-mere copy-y! I am the perfect copy! Better than t-t-the original!" The X with red eyes shouted whiling he laughed manically. Suddenly, a green light burst from the 'perfect copy's' chest, spraying blood onto X and Alia, who at the moment was panting heavily. X looked at Alia who was suddenly on top of him, sweating and bare. She sat down on top of him and leant over forward, her chest heaving and pressing into his. He still couldn't move. Looking over her shoulder, he caught a glimpse of Zero, red-eyed and snarling.

"...this has to be a dream!" X concluded as he felt Alia tense up and let loose an ear-shattering scream of pain. X felt a burning sensation in his chest as the beam saber Alia was run through with pierced his lungs. Zero invaded his thoughts.

"I aM thE OriGINAL! I wiLl deStroy EVERYTHING!" The devilish Zero shouted as he charged up his buster and aimed for X's head. Blood was everywhere, Alia lay on top of him whimpering, Sigma was taunting him, Zero pulled the trigger. X screamed.

Hesat up fiercely in his bed, his face covered with sweat. "I was dreaming?" He hastily put a hand to his chest, checking to see if he really was just dreaming. Relieved that he had no infliction, X climbed out of his bed and turned the light on.

"No...That was more like a nightmare." He pulled on a pair of blue sweatpants and clasped the straps on his sneakers down. He wouldn't sleep for a while after that episode, so he decided to walk around for a while.

>>>

Despite being early in the morning (or late at night, depending on how you look at it), the building was still in a constant uproar. "(But that's to be expected...)" He waited for the herd of intel operators and navigators to pass before he crossed to the other side of the hall. He decided he would visit the medical lab, to check up on the team that went with him to Giga City.

As he went walking down the hall, he met up with members of the 14th Grapple Unit before they made their way to the warp sector. The 14th was and outstanding unit, containing at least two-hundred bulky reploids. Needless to say, they were heading for the frontline.

When X made his way to the waiting room of the med lab, he walked absent-mindedly past Dot, the desk nurse. Any other reploid would get their ass chewed for barging in uninvited, if not by Dot then by Kicker Yamito, the lead medic in HQ. X made his way to the O.R., deciding to check up on Axl.

>>>

Axl lay on a table with a pulse monitor adhered to his chest, neck and wrists. Kicker was studying the monitor, watching carefully for any sudden changes. Echo was slumped over snoozing in a chair next to Axl. She hadn't even gotten out of her armor. X cleared his throat to make his presence known.

"Oh, X. What's up?" Kicker asked concernedly. X shook his head as he leant up against a wall near the door.

"Just came to check up on Axl and the others. How is he?"

"His status is still normal. He's unconscious, but alive." Kicker thought about this scenario. "X, why are you up at 4:50 in the morning? Shouldn't you be resting up?" X sighed heavily.

"I can't rest. Not with things the way they are. It already gave me one hell of a nightmare." Kicker raised an eyebrow. "Please don't ask me about it; I couldn't tell you what went on," X quickly added, dismissing any question Kicker was about to ask him.

"Fine. I'll take your word on it." Kicker said as he stretched out his arms.

"Where're Stryke and the others?" X asked, realizing that he had other friends.

"In recovery room seven." Kicker said almost trance-like. X gave him a wave as he walked out of the O.R. Coming to the room the others were in, X gave the door a soft rap.

"Come in." A soft voice answered. Upon entering, X saw that the others were more damaged than he imagined. Locke's entire leg was wrapped up in bandages. Her right arm was in a sling. Stryke was sleeping, but it looked like his left eye was bandaged up, as well as most of his head. Leyna was sleeping with her knees pulled up to her chest, facing the wall. She didn't seem to have any physical injuries, but there was no doubt that she would be deeply hurt emotionally.

"Hey there, X." Locke said as X looked at each of them individually. He grabbed a seat from the corner of the room and sat down. He gave her a weak smile.

"Hey yourself. How're you doing?" X chided himself silently, knowing that they were feeling like crap.

"Well, I feel like crap. What about you? What's keeping you up at this hour?" X frowned as she asked.

"Let's just say this entire thing gave me a nightmare. I probably won't sleep until this whole thing is over. Besides, I felt like I needed to check up on you guys," he said with a low tone. Locke couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, you big lug! You're so sweet! We'll be fine by tomorrow." X slumped in his chair, hanging his head.

"...but I pulled all of you into this mess. It's entirely my f-" X started when Locke waved a finger with her good arm.

"No, X. Don't even start with the whole 'I'm the one to blame' act. You couldn't have known about anything! This is...fate." Locke said, unsure about the last word that escaped her mouth. X lowered his head.

"I know. I just...I just feel so responsible." Locke let out a large sigh.

"X, don't make me call Alia." X gulped, not wanting to hear the usual speech Alia gave him at the start of every war.

"... ...okay." X said in submission. He was about to get up and explore the rest of the base when Locke called out for him to wait. He turned around to see a worried look on her face. She beckoned for him to come closer. He did so and leant down closer to her.

"Do you think Zero's still alive?" Locke whispered in a low tone. X wore a face of discouragement.

"I...I don't know. Though he's come back from the dead before...I feel something odd about it this time..." X said, his voice full of hopelessness. Both X and Locke stopped talking when a sound was heard. Suspicious that someone might be listening in, X decided to leave Locke to her rest. Upon the lights shutting off and the sound of the door closing, Leyna began to weep softly.

Arcadia
Time: 5:06 A.M.

Overdrive Mosquito stared dubiously at the large, incomplete...thing. He watched as the team of mind controlled reploids worked assiduously on the large metal object. "Hmmph," he grunted as he walked around the large room, looking for some sort of entertainment. He had been a Maverick not long ago. A Maverick he was no more, but he still despised the thought of working for a human. Working for anyone, as a matter of fact. He clenched his fist and punched at the air, listening to the whoosh of the air as it was disrupted suddenly.

"How mad. Swatting at flies again, O.D.?" A deep gravelly voice erupted suddenly. Overdrive turned around quickly, with help from his insect-like wings.

"Why do you bother me, mutt?" He spoke in a vexed voice to Inferno Surebrec. The large, canine reploid bared his teeth and sneered.

"No need for names, O.D. I'm just trying to figure out why you, of all people, would swat at your winged cousins?" Surebrec said, letting his slight Aussie accent taunt the smaller reploid.

"Watch it. I may not be a Maverick anymore, but that sure as hell won't stop me from ripping out your teeth!"

"Settle down, you two. Heh, you argue like you're married!" A feminine voice called out, disrupting the dispute between the large Doberman and mosquito. She stood with a hand on her hip, chuckling under her breath. Mosquito narrowed his already beady eyes.

"And you are?"

"...your team all-star, of course." She winked at the two reploids as they stared in disbelief. Overdrive decided that he had had his fill of nonsense for the day, early as it was, and tromped off, muttering more than audible curses. Surebrec on the other hand scowled and walked dangerously close to the woman.

"Well, aren't you the catch of the day?" He said in a clear, low tone. He dropped down to all fours and walked around the girl, inspecting her thoroughly. "I like what I see. Got a lotta spunk, hehe. This is going to be a fun war."

"Watch your tongue, Fido." An unfamiliar voice echoed in his ear. Surebrec turned his head and snapped at the intruder only his clench his mouth and reel back in pain a second later.

"Did you think I wasn't literal?" The new reploid said as he re-sheathed his black katana after wiping the saliva off of the blade. After his teeth stopped screaming at him and he could form actual words, Surebrec stood up.

"...Who the hell are you?" He said carefully as his teeth were still tender. The man pointed a finger at the canine.

"You don't need to know my name. Just know that I'm the one giving your worthless ass orders." The man said coolly. Surebrec growled and pulled his black lips back, revealing his razor sharp teeth in an attempt to intimidate the sword wielding reploid. The man simply scoffed and knelt down. "Puppy wanna go for a walk? Let's go boy, c'mon." Surebrec suddenly lunged for his would-be victim. As he brought a heavy paw down, he thought he had attacked a digisteel wall. The swordsman held the massive dog's paw above his own head with the blunt side of his blade in one hand. With his free hand, he punched Surebrec in his chest, sending the large reploid sliding back a few feet. He whimpered as he did so, signaling that he was indeed hurt. The man walked over to the pain-stricken reploid.

"I am the controller. You are the pawn. You listen to me without challenge, or I will kill you. You got that, mutt?" He whispered in a promising tone. Not daring to even look him in the eye, Surebrec simply nodded his head. The man smirked. "Good boy. Now leave." The now obedient canine reploid walked briskly but carefully to the nearest elevator. The man now turned back to the female.

"Scar. That was hardly necessary." He raisedan eyebrow.

"Sorry bout that, Rayne. But he was begging for it." Rayne shook her head.

"I could've done that by myself." He laughed. But his brief moment of joy disrupted by the thought of their current situation.

"We're living through it again, Scar."

"I know. But, we don't have a choice."

To be continued...

OK! Chapter completed. Some darker stuff in this chapter, and more to come in the next chapters. Thanksgiving was a blast! Be on the lookout for a new X-mas fic! (Starring the cast of MMX, of course) This has been SylentStryke reporting. As always...

Till Next Time!