Grim Reaper
by: Megaraptor the Scribe

DISCLAIMER - Mega Man X is the property of Capcom and Keiji Inafune. I do not claim to own these characters. I do not seek profit from this work. This story is mine and mine alone.

What does it take for someone to become a monster?

Throughout history, humanity has had its fair share of monsters Warlords, murderers, psychopaths... whatever you call them, they crossed the line. Line? What line you ask? Well, a line created by society, of course, but a line nonetheless, and it's one you're best advised not to cross.

That must make me pretty stupid then, because I've crossed it more times than I can count.

Just as humanity has had its monsters, they've tried to explain why those monsters exist. They try to apply things like psychology to it, or even things like religion or other facets of the supernatural. I wonder if it ever occurred to them that some of them probably just didn't give a damn.

But then again, being a monster can be like a drug. Forget the Sigma Virus, there's nothing more corruptible than power. And the greatest kind of power is to be able to hold someone's life in your hands... to be able to be the one who can take someone's life away from them. Be my victim a human or a reploid, I've come to relish having that kind of power.

And the purest form of this power is to do it without a cause. I'm not like the Maverick Hunters, and I'm not even like the Mavericks I often find myself in the company of. I do this merely because I want to. Because, when I have that kind of power, and it's driven only by my personal will, I feel a thrill like no other. It makes me feel free. It makes me feel like nothing matters, because nothing does.

And that's why I discarded my old name. When I realized this truth, I ceased to be a Maverick Hunter. And even when I joined Sigma's rebellion, I wasn't truly loyal to his cause either. I had been born again. The creature that I was, the reploid named Vava, had ceased to exist. I became a monster. I became death.

I became Vile.

And for a while, that was enough. Of course, I was eventually labeled a Maverick by the other Hunters, and put into stasis. Why they didn't kill me, I don't know, because it proved to be a colossal mistake. Soon enough, Sigma reactivated me to help in his rebellion. And what a thrill that was! Though I did have orders, I had a greater opportunity to fight, to kill without discretion!

Then he came along.

X. He and I are like opposite numbers, you know. He the staunch defender of justice and peace, and me, the monster who kills for the sheer fun of it. That makes the fact that I've claimed him as my nemesis to be all the more ironic, even if I'm just another obstacle to him.

But X took something very precious away from me. X caused my death, and when I was revived by Dr. Doppler, I realized I had to make him pay for what he did. And that's when killing stopped being fun... that's when I had... I had a cause! Doing what I did was no longer a simple joy, it was now a need... a filthy, accursed need that I had to satisfy above all others.

That's why I remain in this world. No matter how many times I'm struck down, I'll find a way back. Be it on my own, or through people who want to use me as their pawn, I will return again and again until I satisfy that need and become free once again.

Free to be what I know I am, deep down inside.

I am a monster. I am death.

I am Vile.

AUTHOR'S NOTE - There's not much else to say here, beyond explaining my use of the name "Vava", Vile's Japanese name. In this case, I wanted to reference the fact that Vile was once a Maverick Hunter, and it didn't make much sense for Vile to be the name he started out with if he were part of a "good" organization. So, I used Vava, and had it so he "became" Vile when he made a personal transformation.

On another note, I'm seriously thinking of taking a break on all these "introspective" works. I'm worried about working myself into a rut, here.

That's about it. Hope you enjoyed it. Catch ya' later, True Believers.