It has been six months since the demise of Sigma and the collapse of Doppler Town. With the revelation that Sigma had been a virus responsible for the rise of Mavericks, efforts doubled down to figure out a way to identify Mavericks and perhaps cure them of the virus. Though Dr. Cain and Dr. Doppler were gone, there were still plenty of brilliant minds who offered their services to humanity's governments. One particular Reploid who rose to fame was Dr. Isoc, who had come up with a way to isolate the newly dubbed "Sigma Virus" from Reploid bodies and extract it.

However, with these new advances came more organized Maverick crime. Groups of Mavericks took up arms in the name of the fallen Sigma, believing him to have been the savior of Reploid kind, and that humans are just trying to suppress their freedom. Though there were less Mavericks these days then there were before Sigma was around, the fact that they were more prone to work together made them almost as much of a threat as the forces Sigma had gathered in his first rebellion.

But at the same time, the Maverick Hunters and their allies from Repliforce were stronger than ever. With their united forces, they were able to cover plenty of ground and stop most of the Mavericks from getting out of hand. The leader of Repliforce, General, received exceptional praise for his guidance in these battles. Humble as he was though, General always credited his work to three particular Reploids. X, Zero, and Colonel.

X has grown famous as a one-man peace keeper, and it's been said that he's been able to manage most of his mission without the need of an operator. Zero, with the help of his operator Iris, have managed to take down the most Maverick operations in recent months. And Colonel has been hailed as a charismatic leader and a man who cares greatly for the safety of both Reploids and humans.

In fact, it was Colonel who suggested to the government that Repliforce be given a main base of operations that would allow them to give sanctuary to Reploids and humans that were victims of this war. However, his request was denied by Dr. Isoc, who mentioned that the resources aren't available to build such a place during these trying times. However, not long after that, General and Colonel were visited by a mysterious cloaked man…

In the dead of night, with rain pouring in buckets from the thundering clouds, Colonel and General held their meeting in a mansion. The room they were in was kept warm by a crackling fireplace, and it had shelves of books that General liked to read in his spare time. General himself was an imposing machine. His body was big and heavily armored with golden alloy plates, and his fists were wrapped in gauntlets filled with weapons. Yet his face portrayed a patient and disciplined figure, and his hooked mustache bore his age well.

Standing to the left of him was Colonel, and across the table sat the cloaked man who wished to see them both. General, in a deep but quiet tone, inquired to his company "What is it you wish to say, stranger?" The shadows of the man's hood hid a sinister grin that could only be seen briefly as lightning flashed through the nearby windows.

"It's about your recent request to the humans, General…and why you were denied the right to your sanctuary." The figure spoke roughly, like there was rusted digging into his metallic throat. General raised his brows and remarked "It was a matter of priority. I hold no offense to the humans for deciding against our plan for now, if that is what you are assuming."

"Really now?" The man drew out a hand from his cloak and told him "What if it was something else? Do you take interest in what I have to say then?" General glared at the man and roughly said to him "What do you know?"

"A generous number of things, General. Most important of all though is what the humans truly think about Repliforce." After a pause to gauge the surprised reactions from General and Colonel, the man continued "They believe you to be a threat. Ever since the realization that Mavericks are created by a virus, they are cautiously observing the behaviors of the Reploids closest to them. Not just Repliforce, but the Maverick Hunters as well."

Colonel yelled out "That's absurd!" Slamming his fist on the table in front of him, the Reploid exclaimed "We have been nothing but loyal to the humans for years! Why would they suspect us now?!"

"Humans are very good at listening to their own paranoia, if nothing else. You are, after all, the strongest military force on the planet. If even one of you were to turn, then it would bring great catastrophe upon the humans. You have done yourselves no favors by asking for your own private base." The cloaked man's voice, though reeking of smugness, were filled with numerous truths that General did indeed take notice of.

"Unforgivable! I will not have you drag our name through the mud like we're Mave-" Colonel's rage was subdued with a brush of General's hand upward. The patient Reploid placed it back on the table and remarked "It is because of the incident with Doppler, isn't it?"

"Hehehe, you catch on quickly, General. Yes, it is because of that foolish doctor. The humans have had a much harder time trusting the Reploids ever since that incident. Actually, that's not correct…Ever since Sigma first turned Maverick have the humans been paranoid of all Reploids. They put up a face of benevolence, but at any given second they will just turn on you. There are only a few Reploids the government truly trust. The Maverick Hunters X and Zero, Dr. Isoc, and Signas just to name a few."

Colonel's eyes widened, and for the first time he found himself listening to what the man said as his eyes creaked wide open and he murmured "Not…Iris?" The man grinned through his cloak and answered ominously "Yes, dear Colonel, not even she is exempt from their paranoia."

Colonel's face tensed up in a scowl as he glanced aside. The man then looked to General and remarked "All it'll take is one misstep, and the humans will turn against you. Do you honestly believe that-"

"Enough." General garnered a gasp of shock from the man with his interruption. General glared him in the eyes and said "The humans have every right to be worried, considering these trying times. But I will still do everything in my power as the General of Repliforce to earn their trust, not betray it."

General stood up from his chair, towering over Colonel as turned around and remarked "You are dismissed." The man was not defiant. He grinned and stood up from his chair, but not before remarking in an ominous tone "We'll see how long that feeling lasts soon enough, General." As the man walked out of the room, he left the two officers of Repliforce with a demonic, echoing laugh…

MEGA MAN X: MAVERICK HUNTER X4

Chapter 1: Calamity at the Sky Lagoon

A few weeks later…

Laying in his resting pod to recover from his recent missions was the crimson Maverick Hunter Zero. He had been in there for the last twelve hours, and if robots could dream then his deep slumber would probably be filled with them.

"Zero…"

A whisper followed by a flash of white light, however, wrenched him from the comfort of rest and brought him to stand out of his now open capsule. The light blurred his gaze as he looked ahead and saw a shadow standing in the center of this pale flash. All he could discern was their ruffled mustache, lab coat, and wickedly raspy voice.

"My masterpiece…Zero."

"Who are you?!" Zero demanded to know in a moment of aggressive confusion.

"You will destroy him. My nemesis' greatest work…It is our rivalry that spurns my will to life."

"Go…You WILL destroy him. Destroy…"

The man's figure faded before his eyes, but as Zero tried to pursue them with questions burning in his mind he found himself dropping to his knees and gripping the sides of his head. Pain ripped through him like a cyclone, and in that whirlwind lied dozens of memories that Zero could not at all piece together. That shadowy figure was seen again smiling at him as he was put into a capsule, there were Reploids that were violently mangled at his feet with red oil dripping across his hands, Sigma was briefly there with a frightened look in his eyes, and finally there was a crooked "W" that flashed before him.

Then this nightmare ended all too suddenly by a siren blaring within the Maverick Hunter HQ, which alerted to everyone present in the building "Attention all available Maverick Hunters! This is an emergency! You are to assemble immediately! I repeat…Assemble immediately!"

Zero's head still throbbed in pain as he registered the command given to him. With a melancholy mumble of "That same nightmare…again…" he put on a rough expression and sprinted out of the room. Making his way through the metallic hallways, Zero soon ran into his fellow comrade-in-arms X, who joined him from a hallway roughly adjacent to the one he ran down.

X looked at his buddy and struck a casual conversation with him "Did you sleep well Zero?" Zero shook his head and remarked "Had another nightmare. Don't know why these keep happening."

With a concerned glance X told him "You should see a doctor. I heard that Isoc guy's a specialist in Reploid neurology." Zero brushed his hand out but said in an appreciative tone "Thanks for the suggestion X, but I'm not in a doctor trusting mood right now."

"…R-Right, I should've known." X promptly apologized, hanging his head a little while Zero changed the subject with a remark of "Haven't had an alert like this in a while. Must be a pretty big gathering of Mavericks."

"We'll have to be careful. I heard a shipment of advanced weaponry was stolen recently." X responded in a somewhat worried manner. Dutiful as he always is, Zero responded "We'll find out soon enough."

The two entered the command room soon after, finding it occupied with dozens of their fellow Hunters. Signas was at the center of the room, and the navigators were busy typing away at the computers. X looked to the left and saw an empty chair where Alia once sat, and he hung his head a little and found himself missing her. Meanwhile, Zero could look to the chair where his partner Iris usually sits at and feel safe knowing she's just out on a meeting at the moment.

The two's reflection of current times would end when Signas firmly addressed them. "We have no time to waste. Area 5567 is currently under siege by Maverick forces." Zero's eyes widened as he asked "That's the Sky Lagoon, isn't it?"

"Yes Zero." Signas' swift response got Zero clenching his right fist while thinking "Iris is in the city below there…" Signas then remarked "Magma Dragoon from the 14th Unit was stationed there for protection, but we've lost all communication with him. We fear the lagoon's power core may be destroyed by the Mavericks if left undefended. Your mission is to head to the Sky Lagoon and destroy all the Mavericks, and if possible find and bring Magma Dragoon back to base."

"Roger!" The Maverick Hunters exclaimed with a salute. Before they left for battle, Signas gave one final warning "We have heard rumors of the assailants carrying an advance weapon. Be careful if it happens to show up."

Everyone ran off, with X and Zero sticking together as they made their way for the teleportation room. X noticed the fierce ire in Zero's eyes and scowl and thus asked "You're worried about Iris?" Zero clenched his fist before his chest and said "I had a feeling something would happen to her if she went to that meeting. I should've tried harder to keep her from going."

"We'll rescue her, and stop Sky Lagoon from crashing." X laid a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder, and the Reploid smiled and said in an appreciative tone "Thanks X, I needed that." The two then got on their separate teleporters, with Zero reaching for the handle of the sword on his back and gripping it tightly. His body was tense, but he knew he had to stay focused for what was to come.

The two were sent away in a flash, reappearing far away from the Hunter HQ in the middle of a massive city. There were buildings towering towards the sky around and below a hovering paradise whose buildings were connected together by a series of sleek metal roadways and now broken glass tubes. Spotlights flashed towards the night sky, focusing on the flying Maverick dragonflies that were assaulting the Sky Lagoon with bombs so the Hunters could target them.

X looked towards the path of carnage carved by the Mavericks and swung his right fist out in anger. "They've caused so much destruction. How could they do this…?" Zero swung his green energy blade out beside his body and responded "They don't care what destruction they cause. Come on X, the reactor core's up ahead."

With eyebrows arched, X nodded his head and changed his right arm into his infamous buster, dashing ahead with the help of his rocket propulsion boots and shooting pellets of yellow energy at the Mavericks along the road. Zero, on the other hand, sprinted ahead without any gadgetry to assist him and sliced through the Mavericks with clear precision.

X and Zero functioned perfectly as duo, with X's buster able to pick off Mavericks that were trying to assault Zero from behind while he took care of the Mavericks that were giving their fellow Hunters trouble. Not long after sprinting down the road, the two were blocked by a cracked, sealed door. Luckily for them, two of the Hunters assigned to this mission were demolition experts and they quickly placed C4 charges on the wall, both which blew up and took down the wall when X fired his buster at them.

The Hunters gave a salute as X and Zero ran past them and continued on towards the reactor building. As they were halfway towards their destination, a bellowing roar came from underneath the road following by a gust of wind being blown up by the flap of mechanical wings. A massive green dragon rose up before the view of the two Hunters. It had four claws on each hand that could tear through a whole squadron of Mavericks with ease, and it's wings were large enough to rip through even the most structurally secured buildings.

This behemoth roared again and immediately set it's sights on the duo, slamming it's right claw into the bridge to puncture it clean through but missing his rather mobile targets. X rolled after his evasive leap and immediately charged energy in his cannon, remarking to Zero "This must be the advanced weapon Signas was talking about!" as he fired a massive blue blast of energy at the dragon's face.

The beast ripped through the attack with little effort from it's claws, then spun it's body to the left and brought it's wing down to slice right through the road. The halves of the road began to split apart from each other, and all the Hunters on the other side along with the remaining Mavericks plummeted towards the city and likely to their demise. The road X and Zero were on was not much better off, as it began to crumble from the edge.

X commented "He's tough. I can't hit him from here!" while Zero exclaimed "Then forget about him for now!" as he rapidly swung his sword at the next door in the way to cut down an escape route for them. When the scraps of metal crashed on the other side after a single thrust of Zero's palm at the center of where he cut, he glanced back and said "Lets just get to the core. He's too big to follow us inside!"

Zero then leaped back when the dragon tried to pierce his body from above, breaking into a sprint towards the building directly in front of him. X fired a charged shot at the claw to damage it slightly, then leaped off the back of it while using his boots to propel himself forward and catch up with Zero. The two made a mad dash for the last door in their way as the road's deterioration worsened, not helped by the dragon piercing it with it's claws in it's rampage to kill the two Hunters.

At the last door, Zero flipped around and grabbed his sword in both hands, swinging it straight up and piercing the palm of the dragon as it tried one more attack. Zero held his ground even with the floor crumbling below him, but through his grunts he exclaimed "H-Hurry up X!" X pointed at the last door and prepared a charged shot, gritting his teeth in hopes that Zero could hold out. When he fired upon the door, a hole large enough for them to slide through was blown through. X went through to the other side and once on his feet exclaimed "Get out of there Zero!"

Zero took a couple steps back and then put all his strength into ripping his blade through the dragon's hand, cutting one of it's claws off and making the beast retreat with a pained roar while Zero slid into the building. As the two charged through the decimated hallway, explosions started to go off all around them while Mavericks broke their way through the ceiling to escape. X grit his teeth and continued to run while remarking "Are we too late?!"

Zero did not want to comment on the matter, as his mind was too concerned with what would happen if they were too late. At the end of the hall the two smashed through a sliding metal door and found themselves on a small metal bridge suspended in front of a now busted energy core. Zero looked horrified as he saw that sight, while X looked on ahead and saw someone kneeling at broken end of the bridge.

It was a red Reploid with a sleek bipedal frame and the face of a dragon. His shoulders bore spikes that slanted down partway, his hands were gloved with purple leather and his feet had three claws apiece. Strangely though, he wore a necklace of green prayer beads. X ran closer to him and exclaimed "Magma Dragoon! You're alive!"

With the roughness of a warrior, Magma Dragoon growled "X…? Didn't think you'd be my rescue party." X got beside the Reploid and offered his shoulder as support to help him get onto his feet. X inquired quickly "What happened here?"

Magma Dragoon coughed and responded "T-The Mavericks came in all of a sudden and overwhelmed me. I can't stop them from attacking the core. F-Forgive me X and Zero, I did everything I could…" Zero swung his hand out and exclaimed "Is there nothing we can do to stop this?!"

"…No." Magma Dragoon gave a heavy breath, and Zero clenched his left fist before stating to X "You take Magma Dragoon back to HQ! I'm staying behind to get Iris!" X blurted out in shock "You can't be serious! This place is going to take out half the city, you can't survive that!"

"My parts made it through the destruction of Sigma's base, I think I can survive this if I get behind the door." Zero promptly pointed out. X could see the determination in his friend's eyes, and he understand that the concern for his partner Iris was the reason for that feeling. X arched his brows and remarked "Don't do anything else reckless Zero. I'll return with back-up after I'm done."

With his support given, X teleported back to the Hunter HQ with Magma Dragoon in tow. The explosions grew bigger and shook the Sky Lagoon out of the sky, where Zero could feel the pressure of it's descent bringing him to his knees. He used his strength to stay on his feet and turn around, running out of the room and slamming the door shut right as the Lagoon crashed into the surface.

An explosion goes off, wiping out all the buildings within a mile, while a wave of flames lashes forth and sets fire to even more buildings. Countless lives, both human and Reploid, were purged from their mortal coil in an instant. The once peaceful city had now mostly become a wasteland of embers and ruins, and the failure to stop the Lagoon from crashing would become a weight on X and Zero's conscience for years to come.

After hearing the crackling fires churning in the ruins for a few seconds, Zero pushed away the rubble surrounding his body and slowly walked forward. His body felt a little weak at first, but his spirits were even weaker. If he had a stomach, it would churn at the sight of all this destruction. He saw skeletons burning and Reploids disassembled in his wake. Thankfully, none of them were Iris.

But that was only a trite relief for Zero, who swung his sword out and growled in anger "All this destruction…It's horrible…The Mavericks will pay for this!" He then sprinted ahead towards the ruins, trying to peer past the waves of heat that blurred before him while repeatedly yelling out Iris' name. With buildings crashing into the ground and the fire crackling, his voice would only reach her when he was very close.

Mavericks still lingered in the area, but they quickly fell to Zero's angered slashes as he scaled the debris to get a better vantage point. He leaped across the top of unstable buildings to get through the ruins. "Iris! Iris! IRIS!" He screamed a few more times, but this time he'd finally hear a meek response.

"Z-Zero…?" It came from the north, and hastily Zero vaulted off the building and landed on the ground while saying Iris' name again. The sound of that weak voice was a little louder this time, prompting Zero to look out and see someone struggling to get off the ground. He ran ahead like nothing else mattered until he finally reached Iris, who laid her hands on the ground to try and get back on her feet. Her frightened, innocent face was marred with scuff marks, but a little hope returned to it upon seeing Zero.

"Z-Zero? Y-You…came to save me?" Iris murmured in surprise. Zero ran up and wasted no time in helping her to her feet while asking "How badly are you hurt? Can you walk?" Iris took off her hat and brushed the dirt off it, hiding her smile behind it as she told him "I-I'm fine Zero. But all these people…"

Zero took another glance out towards the ruins and remarked in a bitter tone "Don't worry Iris…I'll find out who's responsible for this." He clenched his fist together tightly and growled "And make them pay." Iris laid embraced his arm in her hand and looked at him with a disapproving stare. She shook her head slowly and said "Please Zero…no more today. There's already been enough lives lost."

Looking at the sorrow in Iris' voice made Zero feel a tinge of guilt, but even still he could not just ignore the harsh reality of the world. Speaking softly "I have my job as a Maverick Hunter Iris…Lets just get back to base and figure out our next move."

Before he could even send a message to HQ, a grim shadow was cast upon the two. Iris tightly hung to Zero's arm as he looked up and saw a demonic shadow flying against the burning crimson skies. He could tell that it was the dragon from before, and more than likely it was here to finish any survivors. Zero pushed Iris behind him and drew his Z-Saber, exclaiming as a warning "Get to safety! I have to destroy this thing before it can escape!"

"Be careful Zero!" Iris yelled before running to safety behind the nearby debris. She poked her head out just enough to watch as that monstrous dragon blew away the heat and flames with a single flame of it's wings before landing on the ground right before Zero. The Hunter wasn't even taller than one of it's feet, and it's bulky, intimidating form gave Iris fear that Zero would not be able to win.

Zero spread his legs diagonally and stared straight into the beast's bloodthirsty eyes, gripping his blade in both hands and declaring to the behemoth "Had your fun you ugly brute?! It's time for you to become scrap!" The dragon responded to such boldness by lunging it's undamaged claw straight at Zero, who leaped right on top of it and ran along the arm. With quick slashes at the limb he eventually got off it and cut down one of the pipes connecting the shoulder to a fuel supply on the back.

That caused the left arm to go limp immediately while oil sprayed from the wildly swinging pipe. Zero flipped off the creature's back as it slowly turned around and opened it's mouth, assaulting his foe with a barrage of blue electric spheres. Zero showed his finesse with the blade by using just one slash for each sphere, followed by him grabbing the blade in both hands and swinging it down to send a wave of energy straight at the beast's legs.

His attack grinded against the hard metal and sent sparks furiously flying until it was breeched, revealing the vulnerable wiring underneath. Some of the beast's oil splashed into the scar thanks to Zero's attack, and the Hunter dug his sword into the metallic ground and dragged it along as he charged right at the beast. It swung his claws at him, but Zero ducked to avoid them and then used the sparks grinding out from his blade to ignite the oil.

Zero ran past the monster and dove at Iris, tackling her further behind the debris so when the oil went off inside the dragon, the ensuing explosion would not hit them both. However, he still swung his sword up to block the shrapnel that flew out and pierced through the rocks, with Iris shrieking in fright once throughout. When things had definitively calmed down, Zero slowly peeked his head over and found that all that stood of the dragon was one of it's feet. Everything else was now part of the ruins it helped create.

The Hunter walked out and sheathed his blade on his back, approaching the remains of the dragon and looking around it. There was a single panel on the ground that drew his attention, so he picked it up and gave it a look. Though scuffed, there was enough there for Zero to draw a gasp of disbelief when he recognized it. The symbol on the panel was a slanted blue "R" with a star in the space.

"R-Repliforce?" Zero couldn't bear to say that name. It had to be a mistake. Many thoughts ran through his head, none of them able to make sense of how Repliforce could possibly be behind this attack. And yet here this symbol was, on a weapon that was responsible for a majority of the casualties here today. In his bout of curiosity, Zero would hopefully soon find answers as Colonel ran up to him with a panicked look on his face.

"Zero! Thank goodness you're here…I came as soon as I heard of the attack." Colonel stopped a few feet away from Zero, who held the panel before his chest and gave a slightly suspecting glare to the man. He didn't want to believe that Colonel had any hand in this, but decided to wait until he could naturally ask about the dragon.

"If you're looking for Iris, she's safe and sound over there." Zero pointed over his shoulder and nudged his head, where Iris stepped out from behind the rocks and said in a relieved tone "Brother!" With bliss in her heart she ran out, which was something Zero had not accounted for as he held the plate closer to his chest and followed his gaze on Iris as she ran up to Colonel, who kneeled down to hug her while remarking "Don't scare me like that again."

"It's ok. I feel safe with you and Zero to protect me." Iris remarked. When Colonel let go of his sister, he put on a more stern expression and looked at Zero to ask "You'll have to fill me in on the rest of the details Zero."

Zero closed his eyes and kept his respect for Colonel in line as he told him "It was an organized assault by Mavericks. They took out Magma Dragoon and destroyed the core keeping Sky Lagoon afloat. Their attack was made possible thanks to a mechanical dragon."

Colonel's eyes widened as he murmured "A-A dragon?" It was a response Zero did not want him to give. The urge to just voice his concerns now ate away at his mind, even if another part of him fought to ignore those feelings. He put one foot forward and held the panel up at Colonel, gently inquiring "Colonel, do you know something about this?"

Colonel didn't even have to step forward, he closed his eyes, as though to hide the shame he felt as he admitted to Zero "That dragon was indeed a Repliforce weapon. It had to have been what was stolen from us a while back." Zero quickly inquired after noting the disbelieving shock on Iris' face "So it wasn't sent out on Repliforce's orders?"

"Zero…do you not trust me?" Colonel asked in a flummoxed tone, laying a hand on his chest as Zero closed his eyes and remarked "I want to trust you Colonel. I want to trust all of Repliforce…but this is no coincidence. Please, make this easy for all of us and come back to HQ for questioning."

"…As a warrior, it pains me to put down my weapon, but my pride is not more valuable than the lives of my men." Colonel placed his blade into the hilt on his belt, but before he could let Zero take him away a squadron of Reploids wielding rifles encircled the three. With a muffled voice through his helmet, one of them exclaimed "That won't be necessary Colonel. You're under arrest for crimes against humanity and Reploid kind!"

Zero, Iris and Colonel swung their heads around in confusion, with Zero in particular gesturing his arm out to the squadron and exclaiming "What are you doing? This isn't proper procedure!" The Reploid remarked sternly "Silence, Maverick Hunter."

"What…?" Zero whispered in confusion. He did not recognize these Reploids, but from the way they looked they had to have been given their orders from way up high in the government. The Reploid commander of this squad said "So Colonel…do you want to die later…" A targeted laser shot out from all the rifles, focusing all on Colonel as the Reploid continued in an almost taunting manner "Or now?"

Iris murmured "Brother…no…" while Colonel looked at her. His eyes were wide in shock, and he could only whisper under his breath "So, this is how it is…That person might've been right after all."

He then looked up at Zero and remarked "Forgive me Zero…but I'm going to have to ask you to protect Iris for me." Zero widened his eyes and exclaimed "Colonel, don't do it!" It was too late. Colonel drew his blade and in the instant the bullets fired upon them he delivered an impossibly accurate circular slash that reflected the shots right back into the barrels they were shot from. The weapons blew up in the Reploids' hands, and Colonel turned around and dashed away as fast as he could.

The leader of this squad growled and exclaimed "After the Maverick!" and they all vaulted across the ruins of this town in hot pursuit. Iris held her hand out and could only murmur sadly "Brother…why? Why are you doing this?" Zero cursed his inability to comfort her in this tense moment, as he was wracked with a terrible bout of confusion. Clenching his fist and gritting his teeth, Zero could only remarked "Just what's going on here…Colonel?"

Next Time: The Rebellion