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Title: Mega Man X6: False Awakening
Chapter: Stage 03 "I won't end up being betrayed!"

X0X0X0X0

As X teleported into the first Nightmare area, Signas began his briefing. "We are now beginning the mission to check out the eight areas, where Isoc sent his investigators," he said. "Your goal is to learn more about the Nightmare phenomena. Also, some Reploids may have followed Isoc's message and come to the Nightmare areas. If you find them, secure them and send them to the Hunter Base." Signing off, he added, "Good luck, X!"

Only X and Alia remained on the line. "Were you able to find out anything about Isoc or High Max?" he asked quietly.

"...No. There isn't any record of either of them," Alia replied. There was something strange in her voice, but before X could ask if she was alright, she hurried on. "This is the Amazon area. To be honest, I'm almost blind here. The only data I'm getting is from the sensors in your armor. The Nightmare phenomenon might be causing this jamming."

The situation was far from ideal. The dense jungle blocked out even most of the faint moonlight, which reflected eerily off drifting banks of fog. The confusing tangle of plantlife and machinery made spotting an enemy difficult. Worse yet, X perpetually saw something flicker and shimmer at the edge of his vision, though there was never anything there when he turned to look. It was probably the "sensor ghosts" some Hunters talked about, but X himself had never experienced the effect before.

He only said, "That's okay. I'll find out when I get there, what the Nightmares are and what Isoc intends."

X kept his Buster charged and ready as he made his way through the jungle, despite the sensor ghosts he was still experiencing and the risk of misfire. He had long ago learned the danger of hesitating in a situation like this.

Before long, one of the hills that dotted the region rose up in front of him out of the trees and mist. A cavern had been carved out of the side, lined with machinery and electronics.

Something moved in shadows, and X turned quickly to point his Buster at the source, instinct telling him this was real, not another mirage. But a different, opposite instinct made him hold his shot for the instance it took him to identify the target as a Reploid.

The Reploid was of a common design, more suited to a city than the jungle's difficult conditions. The humidity and rough terrain, not to mention the pollution from Eurasia's crash, had clearly taken their toll. He stood slumped on a maintenance platform high above X's level, probably used by the rainforest restoration team to monitor the ecosystem controls. X could only guess how and why the Reploid had gotten up there.

X lowered his Buster, but only partially. He watched the Reploid carefully, looking for any signs of Maverick Virus infection. Although obviously hurt and exhausted, the civilian model lacked the almost glassy tinge to his optics that characterized an infected Maverick.

He was trembling, X noted.

"Alia, can you get a lock on him?" X asked quietly.

"No," she replied after a moment. "I don't think your suit is configured for that, and all our equipment here is still showing nothing but snow. You'll have to get closer... probably right next to him."

Stepping forward, the Hunter called out, "Hey! Hang in there! I'll get you down!"

The Reploid's gaze shot to him, showing sudden, stark terror. "S-Stay away! Stay away from me, Nightmare!"

"I'm not going to hurt you!" X protested. He wavered for a moment, caught between his desire to dismiss his Buster to reassure the Reploid and his hard-drilled reflex to always remain ready in a combat zone.

"X, I'm getting an unusual data signal," Alia said tersely. "It must be the Nightmare! Stay alert!"

In the next instance, the source of the signal became apparently. Behind the Reploid, strange, chain-like tentacles appeared straight out of the cave wall. They extended soundlessly, followed by a dark torso and a rounded head.

Shaking away his surprise, X yelled, "Look out!"

But the Reploid, still panicked, only took a step back, straight into the creature's reach. The blue and red tentacles lashed out, but instead of wrapping around the Reploid, they passed straight into him. The Reploid's body jerked and stiffened. He let out a low, mechanical groan.

"X…" Alia began, her voice distracted and apprehensive.

"I know. I see it," X cut her off. He could see the signs. Up above, the Reploid slumped and turned its head unnaturally to focus on him. It growled and tensed, before suddenly leaping off the platform. As it plummeted toward him, X dashed away, leaving the Reploid to crash into the ground where he had stood a moment before, sending out a dull shockwave. It straightened quickly, apparently unhindered by the drop, and roared.

The sound was cut off as X hit it with a charge shot that tore through the civilian model's light armor and ripped off one of its arms. But that seemed to do little to hinder it as, instead of falling back, the Reploid charged toward X, who continued to fire until the last moment.

As the new Maverick came within reach, X shifted weapons and swung the saber blade that had appeared in place of his arm. It cut cleanly through the Maverick, though X purposefully avoided its core.

Something shrieked, the same way the apparition of Zero had.

X only had a moment to hear Alia's warning cry when the Nightmare emerged from the Reploid's remains and shot toward him, its tentacles wrapping around and through his armor even as he tried to cut it away with the Saber.

For an instance, all his sensors seemed to offline, and when they re-engaged, none of the readings were the same as before. The Nightmare was gone as well. Straightening slowly, X looked around.

"Is this still the Amazon area?" he wondered. It appeared to be. He was still in the same jungle, but his surroundings had changed. The cave was gone. Instead, a giant stone head lay on the forest floor next to him, partially obscured by thick vines. "Something's different… What's happening? Alia? Are you there? Come in!"

"…" At first, only static came across the comm, then Alia's voice faded in, sounding almost panicked. "…X! X, can you hear me? I finally re-established transmission. For a moment… your signal just disappeared."

"That's what it was like from this end too," X said. "Was that an effect of the Nightmare? It was almost like…" X trailed off, not wanting to admit what it reminded him of - the strange area created at the Eurasia impact site by the high concentration of the Maverick Virus.

X shook the thought away, focusing instead on his immediate surroundings. "I've got a strong DNA Core reading up ahead," he reported. "It should be…"

"…from an investigator," Alia agreed. "The investigator here should be Commander Yammark. He was created for a nature preservation project, but the forest he worked in burned down…"

"Was he accused of causing it?" X wondered. What that the kind of Reploid that worked for Isoc? One with a grudge?

"No, that wasn't it…" Alia said, something strained in her tone. "Someone altered Yammark's flying system… He crashed and died."

"Died?" X repeated. "Did Isoc rebuild him? DNA resurrection is prohibited by the law." Alia didn't answer. X shook his head, setting aside that train of thought. Instead, he readied his Buster and stepped forward.

The jungle opened up suddenly, revealing a clearing lined with ancient ruins. Making his way further into the center, X looked around at the mounds of rubble and the broken heads that almost seemed like some sort of forgotten audience.

A persistent buzzing filled the air, and looking up, X was greeted by the hovering form of a Reploid. The stranger had a unique model, designed for aerial maneuverability and patterned after a dragonfly. Mechaniloid insects circled around him, adding to the growing hum.

"You're the Nightmare investigator, Commander Yammark?" X asked neutrally.

"Yes! I'm in charge of the Amazon area," Yammark replied strongly, pointing at X. "Tell me, what is Zero up to? You must know something."

X scowled. "Zero has nothing to do with this! Stop accusing him!" he demanded, forgetting to his mission and attempts at diplomacy.

Yammark clearly returned his expression, despite his faceplate. "I knew I couldn't trust you Hunters! You're the same as those Reploid researchers," he said, his tone dark. "I won't end up betrayed and retired again! I'll get rid of you first!"

With a sharp gesture, Yammark sent his insect guard into an attack pattern. Each tiny Mechaniloid fired off a rapid storm of green energy bullets at X, who dodged the first round and fired back with his Buster. But for every insect he shot down, another appeared, and the swarm around Yammark only grew. Their buzzing had become an ominous roar.

"X," Alia called out quickly, as the Mechaniloids circled around Yammark again, "I'm getting Nightmare readings from him. Be careful!"

Suddenly, Yammark's body tilted forward, horizontally, and dashed at X. The Hunter dodged the inspector, but the insects trailing Yammark's charge clipped his armor while others blocked his return fire.

Yammark turned nimbly and shot back for another pass, but he had underestimated X's aim. Timing his shot carefully, X targeted one of Yammark's thin joints. Even uncharged, it was enough to cripple the investigator and send him spinning off course. One of his delicate wings clipped a half-broken stone pillar, leaving it cracked and useless. Even as he tried to straighten, Yammark's hover remained visibly lopsided.

"N-no!" he groaned. "Not again!"

Destroying several of his insect guard in quick succession, X finally had a clear shot. As he charged his Buster, he swallowed a flash of regret and sympathy at Yammark's panic and desperation. The charged shot tore through the flying model's light armor, and in the next moment his core detonated, making X throw up an arm to cover his face.

As the aftershocks of the explosion dispersed, X frowned. Something was shining in the place Yammark had been, a sphere of energy that seemed to be...

"It's related to the Nightmare," Alia reported, seeing the same readings. "It's a lot like... Hm... a Nightmare Soul...?"

"Nightmare Soul? Like a DNA Soul?" X quickly made the same connection. Frowning, he reached out toward the floating orb as it slowly descended. But the Nightmare Soul suddenly jerked away, flying toward a figure that suddenly stood in a place that had been empty before.

This time, X simply gritted his teeth against the static that ripped across his sensors, keeping his eyes firmly on the discolored hologram of Zero. The Zero Nightmare, as High Max had called it, held out one hand, all of its motions still jerky and disjointed, like a video missing half its frames. It grasped the Nightmare Soul, though only for a moment before the energy sphere was absorbed into the apparition.

"What do you think you're doing?!" X demanded, stepping forward. "Stop this ridiculous charade!"

Suddenly, the Zero Nightmare was facing him, the weight of its regard making X's metaphorical skin crawl.

"WHERE IS [ZERO]? WHERE IS HE HIDDEN?" it demanded, and X realized that it wasn't speaking so much as broadcasting - its mouth never moved. Though it sounded more coherent now, it was clear that he wouldn't get any answers out of it. Instead, X raised his Buster.

Something shifted in the Zero Nightmare, and in the next moment, it was in front of him. Just like before, there was no sense of transition, of even dashing. It was simply upon him, phantom saber cutting through the air.

X sidestepped the downward slash and released a charged shot into its chest in the moment it was open. Though driven back by the blast, the Nightmare appeared undaunted and undeterred. If anything, its attention sharpened.

"A BLUE ROBOT..." it stated, as if considering or calculating something - and coming to a conclusion. "...ENEMY... KILL YOU!"

The Zero Nightmare swung its saber again, the movement surprisingly refined for what seemed like wild bloodlust. X ducked a smaller crescent beam and dashed forward. He activated Zero's Saber, and he cut through the apparition in one swift motion.

The ghost screamed, playing havoc on X's systems. Disrupted, it flashed in and out of existence.

"[Zero]... Where is [Zero]...?" its 'voice' came through, distant and faded, before it vanished altogether. A moment later, X's sensors began to reorient and return toward normal parameters. He allowed himself to straighten out of his combat stance.

X shook his head. "…I wish I knew," he muttered to the empty jungle clearing.

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Notes: Gun safety? What is that? (:V)

So my fight scenes suck. I'll have you know I wrote this story for the talking heads, not for action. (Also for homoeroticism. But mostly for the talking heads.)

Just so you know, we're not going to through every level. In fact, we'll only be seeing three of eight Nightmare areas.

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