13's lucky for me, as you'll soon see. Hey, that rhymed! Anyhoo, enjoy!

MMZX3: Mega Man ZX Enforcers

Assassin Of The Fog

Before the team had warped out of the camp, Siarnaq had already reached the Cave of Shadows. Clouds of thick grey fog blanketed most of the area, preventing him from seeing what lied ahead.

"ACTIVATING RADAR SCOPE." He stated. He attempted to use Model P's special function, but nothing happened. "RADAR SCOPE NOT FUNCTIONING. VISION STILL LOW. DIFFICULTY OF MISSION HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED."

"Oh, your mission is difficult, all right. In fact…" An unknown voice spoke from nowhere. Siarnaq looked around to find the source, but the fog prevented him from locating it. Suddenly, a large silhouette appeared in the mist behind. "You've just failed." The Shadow Mega Man only had time to look behind him before everything went black.

Not long after this, the other Mega Men, Megamerged due to the Auto-Megamerge system, entered the Cave. They immediately were confronted by clouds of the same dark fog.

"So this is why they call this place the Cave of Shadows." Ashe mused.

"We shouldn't walk through that mist." Aeolus warned. "It's too thick, even for me to get through. We'll never be able to see, and getting separated could be fatal." Just then, something shot out from one of the clouds directly towards Thetis. He quickly sidestepped, but he reached back and caught the object in the air. It was a bladed energy boomerang.

"What's with this?" He pondered. "It looks like it's made of the same energy as Siarnaq's kunais." More boomerangs flew out from the fog, snapping him out of his thoughts. He, Taylor, and Aeolus knocked the weapons away with their own blades. Grey, Ashe, and Atlas returned fire at their assaulters. Soon, the energy barrage ceased. A small explosion occurred within the cloud, sending a soldier flying out from the mist. It was clear that he was a Model S Mega Man, but his armor was marked with purple streaks. He struggled a bit, and then collapsed, dead. His death caused him to De-Megamerge, revealing a purple-streaked Model S copy. Taylor walked over and picked it up, examining it.

"Looks like Model H wasn't the only Biometal to be copied." He said. Turning around, he showed them the copy. "Judging by these streaks and those energy boomerangs, these Model S copies must've been created from Model P's data."

"I'd be willing to bet they've also copied the data of Models F and L, too." Grey commented.

"We'll have to tread lightly from here on. Stay on your toes at all times." The Model O Mega Man told them. The group nodded.

"Taylor, look." Atlas said, pointing back at the clouds. He looked back and noticed a path uncovered by fog. "We should be able to move safely through there."

"Good plan. Let's go." The team made their way through the uncovered path. Throughout the way, they encountered more purple-streaked Model S Mega Men (whom Ashe called Model PS Mega Men, since they used Model P's data), but they were no large threat. They kept their eyes peeled for clear areas to travel through. Oddly, throughout the cave, there was no sign of Siarnaq. Soon, they came to a familiar metal door.

"Something doesn't seem right." Grey said. "If Siarnaq was here, we would've seen him by now."

"Model P's signal has been strengthening as we traveled, but it is still weak." Model L reported. "It, and most likely Siarnaq, must be past this door."

"Sounds reasonable. Let's do this." Thetis stated. The group agreed and decided to enter. The next room was very dark, lit by only two large torches.

"Greetings, travelers." A voice called out. From the shadows nearby, a large Pseudoroid walked out slowly, step-by-step. It was shaped like a dragon, with a black chest area, a dark purple scaled back, and two arms with four-clawed hands. Its tail was long, having four small spikes running down it. Two grey wings were on its back, which were big, but too small to lift the huge robot. Lastly, its head had two black horns and red eyes.

"Shadraco! We should've known you'd be here." Aeolus spoke.

"It should've been obvious." Shadraco said. "I know why you are here. You seek the Shadow Mega Man, Siarnaq, do you not?"

"Clever, you're right." Grey mused. "Where is he?"

"I took him down a while ago. He's further in the cave, out like a light." The dragon told him, grinning. "Then again, what good will knowing that do you, since you're about to perish yourselves?" He raised his foot and slammed it down on the ground.

WARNING

WARNING

BATTLE SEQUENCE

ENEMY: SHADRACO THE DRAGONROID

"I need to get more comfortable." Shadraco stated. He reared his wings back and flapped them hard, creating a gust of wind that blew out the torches. With the light gone, darkness descended upon the room. "I prefer to battle under the cover of darkness. It makes it easier for me to catch my prey."

"Not hard to tell why. I can barely see a thing!" Ashe complained.

"Stay frosty, everyone!" Grey yelled. Everyone scattered around the room. Under the cover of darkness, the Mega Men had to adjust their eyes to the inky blackness. Shadraco might have been big, but his loud footsteps could not be heard. Obviously he was experienced with darkness combat. A rock rattled along the floor, triggering a reaction from Atlas, who fired a bullet in the sound's direction. The bullet lit up part of the room as it traveled.

'Hmm, that could help.' She thought. 'Okay, where are you?' As if to answer her, she heard a sound that sounded like fire. With her now-adjusted eyes, she looked for the source, causing her eyes to widen. "Aeolus, behind you!"

The Wind Mega Man heard the warning and quickly took to the air. Beneath him, a wave of purple fire raged past. The attack lasted a few seconds, so Aeolus activated his wings to hover above it. Such a move could only come from the Dragonroid. When he finally landed, he looked back and saw the beady red eyes of the Pseudoroid glowing in the darkness. The glow faded, leaving the enemy out of sight.

'Jeez, this is getting us nowhere!' Taylor thought. 'We can't fight if we can't see!' As he backed up to brace himself, he bumped into something. It was one of the two torches. He snapped his fingers in realization, activated his Omega Aura, and unleashed his Ryuuenjin slash in the space over the torch. A flame was lit in the torch, brightening up the room. Shadraco's position was given away from the light, and he growled in frustration. "Looks like we've found your Achilles' heel!"

"Just because it isn't dark doesn't mean I can't fight." The dragon growled. He opened his maw and unleashed more dark fire while moving his head, sending the flames in a spread pattern.

"Guys, group together!" Grey yelled. All the Mega Men huddled up, the flames heading right for them. Grey and Ashe moved to the front of the group.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Thetis asked.

"Just trust us, will ya?" Ashe retorted. The two Model A Mega Men glowed a familiar glow.

"A-Trans!" They both shouted. A flash of light covered them, which faded to reveal them both in Bombat's form. They backed up just in front of the others and shielded them by crossing their wings. The purple flames were harmlessly deflected by the thick metal, leaving them and their allies unharmed.

"Not bad." Shadraco mused as Grey and Ashe returned to their normal forms. "But not good enough, either." He raised his own wings and flapped them again, blowing out the torch again.

"Those wings are too much of a problem." Aeolus commented. "We'll need to get rid of them."

"I've got an idea. Huddle up." Atlas said. Everyone got in close as the Flame Mega Man whispered something to them. When she finished, the group scattered again. Atlas fired a bullet that the torch that Taylor had lit earlier, burning it bright. Meanwhile, Taylor used Ryuuenjin again, lighting the second torch.

"What a waste of time." The dragon chuckled. "With one flap, I can darken the room again." He raised his wings.

"That'ssssss what we were hoping for." A hissing voice called out. Suddenly, Shadraco yelped in pain as he felt something pierce through his left wing. A shocking feeling coursed through his body as well. He struggled to turn his neck to look at what happened and saw the head of Grey, transformed into Hisstorm, with his fangs sunk into the wing. The "snake" retrieved his teeth as the electric venom surged, rendering the left wing useless.

"Good thing I still have one mo-AGH!" The Dragonroid yelled as he felt a cold stinging in his other wing. Turning his head, he saw what looked like Chillguin, but it was really Ashe, unleashing her icy breath on the right wing. The appendage was fully frozen, also unusable. The transformed Mega Men backed off and returned to normal.

"Our plan worked perfectly!" Grey exclaimed.

"With those wings wasted, you can't darken the room anymore! And with the venom and cold shock, you're a sitting duck to us!" Ashe taunted.

"RRRRROOOOAAARRRR!" Shadraco bellowed. "I'm… not helpless yet!" A black aura suddenly covered him, detached from his body, and reformed into a silhouetted clone of himself, complete with its own pair of red eyes. "This is my Shadoppelganger technique. If I can't fight, my clone will! Destroy them!" The clone let out a low growl, and then opened its shadowy maw, unleashing its own dark fire stream. Needless to say, this caught everyone off guard, as they had to scramble to dodge.

"Man, you are getting on my nerves!" Thetis complained, charging his energy. "Dragon!" He swung his halberd, sending his Freezing Dragon toward the duplicate.

"Count me in on this one!" Aeolus chimed in. He charged his energy and sent two Plasma Cyclones to aid Thetis's attack. However, the attacks just disintegrated upon contract, no visible injury on the clone.

"What the?" Both Mega Men yelled.

"Oh, yes, did I *urk* forget to mention that my Shadoppelganger is immune to attacks?" Shadraco asked rhetorically.

"Why do I get the feeling he's not telling the whole story?" Taylor wondered. To test his theory, he pulled out his O-Buster and fired off a shot. Atlas decided to join in, firing off a bullet from her cannons. The fire bullet vanished when it struck, but the O-Bullet passed right through the shadow, nailing Shadraco right in the chest.

"Gah! It… it can't be!"

"Looks like Model D didn't make him perfectly! The copy can't block non-Elemental attacks!" Atlas chirped. "Grey, Ashe, time for a blitzkrieg!"

"What do you say, Grey?" Ashe asked, her helmet mark glowing.

"I'm in." The Reploid replied, his own mark glowing. "Take cover, everyone!" The other four Mega Men hit the floor as the Model A duo readied their twin pistols.

"Oh, no!" The Dragonroid cowered in fear.

"Oh, yeah!" Both Mega Men retorted. "GIGA CRUSH!" They unloaded their signature bullet storm everywhere, striking various areas but missing their allies. Shadraco, on the other hand, due to his large frame and the copy's inability to block the attacks, took shot after shot, having his body marred with various holes. When the attack ended, the two Model A warriors pointed their blasters at him and fired one last shot, piercing the dragon right through the head. He couldn't even say one word because of the pain, and slumped forward, his head landing on the ground with a thud. The clone instantly vanished, and light erupted from his body, followed by a massive explosion, causing everyone to shield their eyes. When the light faded, Shadraco was gone, a DNA Core in its place. It flew over to Ashe, who absorbed it into her body.

"Four down." She said. Both of them turned to the others, who had gotten to their feet.

"Let's hurry. We have to find Siarnaq." Grey told them. They nodded, and everyone pressed on, taking the door on the other side of the room. However, on the other end, the path was fully covered by the dark mist.

"Oh, perfect." Taylor groaned.

"Hang on." Ashe spoke. "Shadraco used his wings to blow out those torches. Maybe he could get rid of that fog!"

"Good idea, Ashe!" Model A chirped. "Let's try it!"

"A-Trans!" A light covered the female Mega Man, transforming her into the purple dragon. "Here goes!" Rearing her wings back, she unleashed a large flap. The gust of wind blew the fog to the sides like it was nothing. "Sweet!" Ashe zapped back to normal, and the group rushed down the now-clear path. A ways down, Model L stopped them.

"Wait! I sense him. Siarnaq is very near now."

"Urrrghh…" An echoed voice groaned. "Help us…"

"Only one Biometal's got that voice!" Model F said. "Yo, Model P! You OK?" From a nearby cloud, a small purple object floated out slowly. It was Biometal Model P.

"Mega Men… I'm glad you are here." Model P breathed weakly. "Please… help Siarnaq. He is in the fog."

"Right." Grey agreed to the request. He became Shadraco and blew the mist away, revealing someone on the ground. Grey re-transformed and the group rushed to the person. An injured Siarnaq lay on the ground, badly beaten, his scarf no longer covering his face.

"So that's what he really looks like." Thetis commented.

"Please, help him." The Shadow Biometal pleaded.

"That was our plan from the start. Don't worry." Model H assured it. "Is there a teleporter nearby?"

"Yes. I can guide you to it." Aeolus and Taylor grabbed Siarnaq's head and legs (respectively) and lifted him up. "Follow me." Model P flew off, followed by the group. Soon, they came to a teleporter, just as Model P had stated. It could accommodate them all, thankfully, so everyone stepped on. Grey pressed a few keys on a keyboard, activating the teleport beacon and warping everyone, including the injured Shadow Mega Man.

Unknown to them, there were two figures watching them from a distance.

"Crud. We just missed him." One of the voices said.

"Don't worry about it." The other spoke. "We'll get him." Both of them chuckled darkly before walking back into the shadows.

Keep your eyes peeled, because next chapter, we'll see if the Mega Men can convince Siarnaq. Stay tuned!

Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.