OOC: original Reality Vanish profile bio
-Basic Information-
Character Name: (Zero) Nightmare; variously responds to or has been referred to as Nightmare, Zero, NV-infinity, “the Beast”, and “the Virus”.
Character Type: Main
Character's LJ: psychomachy
Place of Origin: A flawed clone of Zero created by Gate, Nightmare is from a variant of Rockman X6. In his world of origin, events continue to play out as expected after his disappearance, as Nightmare is presumed dead at X's hands; however, in this divergent timeline Zero himself is still quite dead and is unlikely to return in the foreseeable future.
Armored Description: A smidge over 5'9” in armour, Nightmare is clearly directly derived from Zero's design, right down to the ankle-length hair, though he posseses prominent fangs and generally predatory teeth. However, where Zero is the Crimson Demon, Nightmare is encased in black and dull violet - and his pale lavender hair and the faint, almost sickly pinkish cast to his synthetic flesh further distance him from the original and mark him as a carrier, possibly an originator, of the Nightmare Virus. When armoured, Nightmare has a blank, slightly crazed look in his too-bright eyes.
Though possessing a buster, this weapon is currently nonfunctional; Nightmare relies on his beam-sabre - when not spooked by it - and hand-to-hand combat, with a tendency to bite and claw when cornered.
Possibly his most dangerous potential weapon is an indirect one, as he is still a source for the Nightmare Virus. This iteration of the Virus eats away at a reploid's senses and perceptions before leaving them in a confused, erratic and easily-controlled state, ultimately destroying them and collapsing their core and energy into a strange creation dubbed a “Nightmare Soul”. In addition to spawning further manifestations of the Virus, these Souls can be consumed by Nightmare himself, or possibly used as a source of tainted power by other mechanicals. Nightmare's own affinity for the Virus is strong, but his ability to infect others is limited when compared to his initial purpose; most of the Virus has been burned from his systems.
Within his systemry lies an incomplete transform-capability similar to Zero's “Absolute Zero” variant; however Nightmare is wholly ignorant of this subsystem, and the transform itself would require completion by a competent technician cognizant of its existence -- and willing to delve that deeply into Nightmare's virus-riddled internals.
Unarmored Description: Clocking in at just under 5'6” unarmoured and leanly “muscled”, when not in a battle-mode Nightmare's strange colouration is mitigated a little; his synthflesh looks somewhat more normal and his hair is more of a pink-blonde than flat lavender. Even when wearing civilian clothing (a concept he is only dimly aware of at the moment), Nightmare retains a full-body black bodysuit out of a drive to stay covered that he can only barely express to others. Once accustomed to civilian dress, Nightmare is likely to develop a preference for well-broken-in khakis and equally mauled cotton shirts.
- History and Personality -
Passing for Human [nonhumans only]: On casual inspection Nightmare can pass for human or something closely resembling it, so long as his flat, almost pupilless eyes aren't called to attention. Beneath the bodysuit he is biosculpted to appear to have human-like musculature, and he has been 'upgraded' since his arrival in Reality Vanish to be anatomically correct. Superficial vessels allow him to appear to “bleed” a reddish-black if cut, but deeper injury reveals his systemry and the various nanite-bearing liquids required to keep him running.
While Nightmare can ingest organics as well as energy or mineral fuel-sources (and has on occasion found a disturbing preference for raw meat, or mechanical's systemry, crossing his mind), these are consumed by an internal fusion-system rather than expelled as waste afterwards. While not requiring oxygen, Nightmare does breathe in order to facilitate the cooling of his systems. He also requires a reasonably steady intake of both Nightmare Souls and the nanite-laced fluids and frame of living reploids.
Backstory: Nightmare's entire existence can be summed up with a scant few weeks of actual functionality. Created from a fragment of Zero's DNA core - and integrated with the newly-spawned Virus that bore his name much as Zero was attuned to his own virii - the violet-hued clone was unleashed upon the still-reeling populace by Gate for the purpose of spreading the Nightmare infection. That the source would be pinned on a conveniently-deceased and insane Hunter was an added benefit.
Not surprisingly, X was not at all willing to tolerate this mockery of Zero's memory any more than he would be to sit back and allow the remnants of the reploid population of Earth to be corrupted - and then killed for Nightmare Souls - to further Gate's mad plans. Despite Nightmare's crazed rantings and insistence in chasing down the blue Hunter (fueled by the fragmented memories of Zero flickering through his mind), X cornered the clone and neatly dispatched him with Zero's sabre before continuing on to deal with Nightmare's creator.
Unfortunately, perhaps, this moment of carelessness on X's part gave Nightmare the chance he needed. Too stubborn to just die and savagely desiring to find X and devour him for his apparent betrayal - or take him away from all this insanity - Nightmare fueled himself on the Virus still within his systemry and the Souls he collected from the fallen reploids in his wake as his repair systems patched him together. This was not how things were supposed to happen; he had to save X, stop X, find Zero, avenge his Hunters, devour that maddening azure-armoured prey ...
Still reeling and not quite up to par, and dimly growing aware of the notion that something in his life was not adding up, Nightmare crept back to Gate's bunker-like research facility to find his comrade/prey and get some answers - and discovered amongst the wreckage of the abandoned laboratory the twisted remains of Zero's battered shell, his face still frozen in the ghost of a mocking rictus-grin, the gaping torso emptied of his core.
Howling in maddened confusion, Nightmare had the presence of mind at least to use a sparking, half-functional teleport-pad to track down X - for who else could have done this? -- and bring him to bay for destroying this other self. But, spitting smoke and malfunctioning, the teleporter instead spit him out in Reality Vanish; and Nightmare wandered in a daze until found by Mega Man, and then members of the RV Hunters. He's been an auxiliary Hunter, budding gearhead and occasional source of amusement ever since.
Personality in a Nutshell: Somewhere in Nightmare's fractured psyche is an actual personality trying to escape. In his best moments he can be friendly enough, if distant, vaguely predatory and somewhat high-strung; but with the right provokation he may switch into an obsessive drive to hunt out “Mavericks” -- or random passers-by! -- or spiral into ranting fury or an incoherent feral state. One minute he may be trying to find X, and in another wanting to rip out his throat - or have no idea who X may be; some days he wants to search out “his Zero”, and on others he thinks he is Zero. Emotional duress especially can provoke a twisting in his current temprament.
In a “neutral” everyday situation Nightmare can generally keep it together, but will often contradict himself regarding X, Zero, Hunters, and similar topics within the same conversation or even the same sentence without realizing the flaws in his perceptions.
While his control over his own erratic behaviour is improved dramatically when unarmoured, Nightmare feels vulnerable without the protective violet carapace. There's just something about the feel of it, the strength that it gives him ...
Underneath all the emotional flipflops and psychotic breaks, however, Nightmare knows he may not be this person he is, and must try to find - the question is, if he isn't Zero, than what is he? And why does he exist at all?
Character Name: (Zero) Nightmare; variously responds to or has been referred to as Nightmare, Zero, NV-infinity, “the Beast”, and “the Virus”.
Character Type: Main
Character's LJ: psychomachy
Place of Origin: A flawed clone of Zero created by Gate, Nightmare is from a variant of Rockman X6. In his world of origin, events continue to play out as expected after his disappearance, as Nightmare is presumed dead at X's hands; however, in this divergent timeline Zero himself is still quite dead and is unlikely to return in the foreseeable future.
Armored Description: A smidge over 5'9” in armour, Nightmare is clearly directly derived from Zero's design, right down to the ankle-length hair, though he posseses prominent fangs and generally predatory teeth. However, where Zero is the Crimson Demon, Nightmare is encased in black and dull violet - and his pale lavender hair and the faint, almost sickly pinkish cast to his synthetic flesh further distance him from the original and mark him as a carrier, possibly an originator, of the Nightmare Virus. When armoured, Nightmare has a blank, slightly crazed look in his too-bright eyes.
Though possessing a buster, this weapon is currently nonfunctional; Nightmare relies on his beam-sabre - when not spooked by it - and hand-to-hand combat, with a tendency to bite and claw when cornered.
Possibly his most dangerous potential weapon is an indirect one, as he is still a source for the Nightmare Virus. This iteration of the Virus eats away at a reploid's senses and perceptions before leaving them in a confused, erratic and easily-controlled state, ultimately destroying them and collapsing their core and energy into a strange creation dubbed a “Nightmare Soul”. In addition to spawning further manifestations of the Virus, these Souls can be consumed by Nightmare himself, or possibly used as a source of tainted power by other mechanicals. Nightmare's own affinity for the Virus is strong, but his ability to infect others is limited when compared to his initial purpose; most of the Virus has been burned from his systems.
Within his systemry lies an incomplete transform-capability similar to Zero's “Absolute Zero” variant; however Nightmare is wholly ignorant of this subsystem, and the transform itself would require completion by a competent technician cognizant of its existence -- and willing to delve that deeply into Nightmare's virus-riddled internals.
Unarmored Description: Clocking in at just under 5'6” unarmoured and leanly “muscled”, when not in a battle-mode Nightmare's strange colouration is mitigated a little; his synthflesh looks somewhat more normal and his hair is more of a pink-blonde than flat lavender. Even when wearing civilian clothing (a concept he is only dimly aware of at the moment), Nightmare retains a full-body black bodysuit out of a drive to stay covered that he can only barely express to others. Once accustomed to civilian dress, Nightmare is likely to develop a preference for well-broken-in khakis and equally mauled cotton shirts.
- History and Personality -
Passing for Human [nonhumans only]: On casual inspection Nightmare can pass for human or something closely resembling it, so long as his flat, almost pupilless eyes aren't called to attention. Beneath the bodysuit he is biosculpted to appear to have human-like musculature, and he has been 'upgraded' since his arrival in Reality Vanish to be anatomically correct. Superficial vessels allow him to appear to “bleed” a reddish-black if cut, but deeper injury reveals his systemry and the various nanite-bearing liquids required to keep him running.
While Nightmare can ingest organics as well as energy or mineral fuel-sources (and has on occasion found a disturbing preference for raw meat, or mechanical's systemry, crossing his mind), these are consumed by an internal fusion-system rather than expelled as waste afterwards. While not requiring oxygen, Nightmare does breathe in order to facilitate the cooling of his systems. He also requires a reasonably steady intake of both Nightmare Souls and the nanite-laced fluids and frame of living reploids.
Backstory: Nightmare's entire existence can be summed up with a scant few weeks of actual functionality. Created from a fragment of Zero's DNA core - and integrated with the newly-spawned Virus that bore his name much as Zero was attuned to his own virii - the violet-hued clone was unleashed upon the still-reeling populace by Gate for the purpose of spreading the Nightmare infection. That the source would be pinned on a conveniently-deceased and insane Hunter was an added benefit.
Not surprisingly, X was not at all willing to tolerate this mockery of Zero's memory any more than he would be to sit back and allow the remnants of the reploid population of Earth to be corrupted - and then killed for Nightmare Souls - to further Gate's mad plans. Despite Nightmare's crazed rantings and insistence in chasing down the blue Hunter (fueled by the fragmented memories of Zero flickering through his mind), X cornered the clone and neatly dispatched him with Zero's sabre before continuing on to deal with Nightmare's creator.
Unfortunately, perhaps, this moment of carelessness on X's part gave Nightmare the chance he needed. Too stubborn to just die and savagely desiring to find X and devour him for his apparent betrayal - or take him away from all this insanity - Nightmare fueled himself on the Virus still within his systemry and the Souls he collected from the fallen reploids in his wake as his repair systems patched him together. This was not how things were supposed to happen; he had to save X, stop X, find Zero, avenge his Hunters, devour that maddening azure-armoured prey ...
Still reeling and not quite up to par, and dimly growing aware of the notion that something in his life was not adding up, Nightmare crept back to Gate's bunker-like research facility to find his comrade/prey and get some answers - and discovered amongst the wreckage of the abandoned laboratory the twisted remains of Zero's battered shell, his face still frozen in the ghost of a mocking rictus-grin, the gaping torso emptied of his core.
Howling in maddened confusion, Nightmare had the presence of mind at least to use a sparking, half-functional teleport-pad to track down X - for who else could have done this? -- and bring him to bay for destroying this other self. But, spitting smoke and malfunctioning, the teleporter instead spit him out in Reality Vanish; and Nightmare wandered in a daze until found by Mega Man, and then members of the RV Hunters. He's been an auxiliary Hunter, budding gearhead and occasional source of amusement ever since.
Personality in a Nutshell: Somewhere in Nightmare's fractured psyche is an actual personality trying to escape. In his best moments he can be friendly enough, if distant, vaguely predatory and somewhat high-strung; but with the right provokation he may switch into an obsessive drive to hunt out “Mavericks” -- or random passers-by! -- or spiral into ranting fury or an incoherent feral state. One minute he may be trying to find X, and in another wanting to rip out his throat - or have no idea who X may be; some days he wants to search out “his Zero”, and on others he thinks he is Zero. Emotional duress especially can provoke a twisting in his current temprament.
In a “neutral” everyday situation Nightmare can generally keep it together, but will often contradict himself regarding X, Zero, Hunters, and similar topics within the same conversation or even the same sentence without realizing the flaws in his perceptions.
While his control over his own erratic behaviour is improved dramatically when unarmoured, Nightmare feels vulnerable without the protective violet carapace. There's just something about the feel of it, the strength that it gives him ...
Underneath all the emotional flipflops and psychotic breaks, however, Nightmare knows he may not be this person he is, and must try to find - the question is, if he isn't Zero, than what is he? And why does he exist at all?