Chapter 1: Battling the Outcome

It happened five years back. Back when I was still fully human. The three legendary Maverick Hunters, Megaman X, Zero, and Axl, went missing. The three legendary Maverick Hunters who were my heroes. My friends.

I was B class Maverick Hunter in the 17th Unite. I was really weak, since I was half human. No body strength at all. It was pretty sad... But I did have one of the highest I.Q.s at Maverick Hunter Headquarters. And no, I wasn't a Navigator. Though I was always told I should be.

Megaman X, or Commander X, disappeared during a Maverick Uprising at an old Repliforce base. Zero and Axl accompanied him when he'd gone missing. It must of been really hard on Zero. Wherever he'd gone. That had left a big void in my heart. Especially when they were dubbed "M.I.A"(1) one year later. And then "K.I.A"(2) two months after the first announcement.

I was only a rookie, barely able to hold my own. But, you won't believe the impact they'd had on my life. When I was eleven, six years back, I tried joining the Maverick Hunters on-the-field Medic Squad. I made the cut. Then after a certain... incident, two years later, my status was changed to Maverick Hunter, Medical Fighter(3). I had to train hard then. Really hard.

My I.Q had increased greatly because I studied. Maverick weak points were my specialty.

You see, every Maverick has their "Achilles' heel"(4). For Vile, an ex-A/S Maverick Hunter who specialized in Mech. Armors and an AWOL maverick, if you shot his blaster cannon, literally inside the cannon, then you deactivate one of the two biggest threats. The most major was himself outside the Mech. Armor. Then his speed, accuracy (for the most part) and style completely changed and or increased. For Sigma... I haven't figured him out yet. But I'm getting closer.

Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! As your narrator, my name is Arain. Most people call me "A". Well, let's get started!

My story truly begins on October tenth, nine A.M.

A dark maverick stood in front of a panel, which hid the signal of one of the three greatest Maverick Hunters. The Hunter was currently unconscious, and the maverick had been given permission to execute the plan 2ALX. The Mavericks had been waiting for this plan since Sigma's first rise. And several times they'd come close to completing the plan without a hassle, and several times the target had vanished into thin air.

Luck had, had to have put their target with the Maverick Hunters, making it much easier to capture it since they were regularly sent out on missions. But much to their dismay, their target had never seen true to a mission. Not once.

But if this signal caught there attention, and the leader of Hunter HQ knew about the target, then he'd have to send it. Especially since the layout of the base was designed for the target itself.

He chuckled to himself as he clicked the numbers and letters, sending the orders to every Maverick-held vicinity:

2ALX

October Ninth, 220X, 8:44:07 A.M

"You have to think of your sword as an extension of your arm," Six relaid to me. I nodded curtly as I focused on the blade in my hand, handling it a little looser than before. "Good, you don't walk around with stiff arms. When you move your saber it's easier if your arm is loose, not stiff. If your arm is stiff, you can't move your saber as easily and it could easily be your final mistake." She took a few steps towards me, adjusting needed points and smiling softly.

"You've defiantly mastered handling the beam saber, good job, A. You've improve greatly. Now that you know the basics of handling your saber, and you know the basic blocks and swipes, we'll start working on more difficult moves and blocks, ones that are more effective. But we'll save that until tomorrow, I think. For now, let's go get some breakfast, I'm starved," Six complimented, groaning towards the end. I chuckled. "You're always hungry. You know, if you weren't a reploid, I think you'd be obese," I joked.

She glared at me playfully, punching my arm lightly. "Shut up, A. You can eat as much as me-"

"I just chose not to."

"But you go for food more often then most because of it."

I felt blush crawl up into my cheeks. "Shut up, Six!" I hissed, seeing some younger rookies chuckle. She 'tsk'-ed. "I'm your superior, A. What I say is the truth," Six pushed. My eye twitched dangerously as my hands curled up into fist. "You're just asking for it Six," I growled. My friend froze and glanced at me, terror slightly showing in her indigo eyes. She giggled nervously. "Now, now, A. No need to sound so... serious."

I blinked. 'Serious' was a double-meaning word in Maverick Hunter HQ. It meant dangerous, crazed even. Chatter lowered in the hallway at Six's remark and I stopped walking completely, just standing there in the middle of the hallway. Serious... Six called me serious... she-I... I must of looked, sounded... crazed. The mere thought scared me. Crazed is what I used to describe Mavericks. I'd just labelled myself a Maverick.

Six took another small steps towards me while I took a small one away. Am I really being labelled dangerous...? And by Six of all people?

Six was an A class Hunter in the Fifth Unite, the First Platoon Unit, and was co-commander. She was one of the most well-known Maverick Hunters out there, said to rival X, Zero, and Axl. My heart clenched at just remembering their names. When people talked about Six over-powering Zero in swordsmanship I scowled at them and sent them a look. They forgot that thought then real fast.

Six was also like my polar opposite. Tall, strong and confident, she had long, thin black hair which flowed neatly to her thighs, easily swaying with her as she fought. I was hesitant, slightly shy, and had low self-esteem with short, messy, blonde hair. She was an A class hunter... I was B class. Do you see the difference? I sure did.

After a few moments I snapped out of it and chuckled weakly. "Come on, let's go feed the always-hungry. I need to get to my studies after this." I studied and trained everyday, for three hours each. That's right. If it was almost nine o'clock at the time, I was up at six that morning. Per usual.

She gave me an incredulous look.

"You're going to do what!?" she screeched. I rubbed my ears. No need to scream woman. "I'm going to study," I answered slowly. She grabbed my shoulders and my eyes widen. Oh no. She then proceeded to shake me like a rag doll, screaming about how I FINALLY had a day off and all I was going to do was studying and that I should train instead, blah, blah, blah. I kind of lost track of her words, my brain frizzing as my eyes glazed over. I didn't even notice when she dragged me into a storage closet.

I blinked in the sudden darkness. Where did the hallway go...? "A, as your superior I'm going to give you some advice you need to follow," Six started. I nodded numbly.

"A, I need you to quite studying and train harder." I blinked. Stop studying? But doesn't Six understand that I needed to train both the body and mi-

"I understand that you need to train the body and mind, A." I rose an eyebrow. Did she really know me that well? "But you train three hours less than the average rookie, not to mention you're already half-human, meaning you should train three hours more than the average case. But no. You train for half as much time as normal rookies."

I sighed. "Six, I need to study. How else am I going to-"

"Listen, as your superior and friend, A, I am going to tell you to stop studying. I am going to wake you up at six every morning, train you until late breakfast, train you more, late lunch, and late dinner, do you understand? You will stop studying completely and start focusing on your training full-time, do you understand?" she explained. I shook my head.

"Six, I can't do that-"

"What if you run into Vile?"

"What?"

"What if you ran into Vile? Commander X, Commander Zero, and Axl's worst enemy just below Sigma." I winced. Sigma was a taboo word that no one liked to say. "I would aim for his armor buster of course-" I was cut off again.

"With what? Would you have even the proper aim to even skim him? How do I know you wouldn't just freeze up as he approached? Your life and your comrades' lives would be on the line, and you could loose it all because of your stupid inexperience." I winced again. Six was never this rough on me unless she truly meant it. She really means this... she really wants me to completely stop studying. She wants me to train for nine hours a day, of which we are only awake for twelve out of twenty-four hours.

"I would be perfectly fine, Six. I've mastered the buster."

"Have you? You've never been sent out on a mission, not once unless you were out to retrieve and help the injured, but even then, that doesn't count as a proper mission. Even rookies have gone at least one mission. You haven't. And the reason why is because of your human half and your skills. Your skills are too low to be put on a mission. So from now on, I am ordering you to show up at the trainer grounds and meeting me there. You will remain there until you are at least A Class hunter skills. Understand?"

I nodded in defeat. Like it or not, Six was a co-commander, and had higher authority over me. I had to obey her orders, or else I'd be labelled either "Maverick" or "AWOL". I sighed deeply as we walked into the hallway. But Six did have a point. I had never been on a proper mission. I wasn't what they called, "Mission ready" as to be put kindly.

But now that I think of it, I'm not really sure if it was Alia that called me that day. I think it was destiny.

We walked into the hallway again, Six and I, and stretched. I bit my lip to stop the escaping sigh. Six knew I preferred studying over training, and I purposely trained less than the average rookie so I wouldn't be spotted a mission. I knew my plan would have to stop one day, I just didn't think it'd be that day. "A, we need you at Command Center, ASAP," Alia called through the intercom.

Six and I froze, mid-step. Whaaaa~! Six voiced my thought and turned to me. "Holy-"

"Don't say it!"

"-shit!" she continued. I sighed. I wasn't too into cursing and she knew that, so she tried to keep a lower cursing profile around me. "I thought you'd told me, several times, that you weren't, what we call, 'Mission ready'?!" she demanded. Her finger went to my armor and I chuckled nervously. "We can always say we're on vacation..." I muttered. Six shook her head and grabbed my wrist, dragging me along.

A mission... I thought nervously. Am I ready for this?

We walked into the Command Center, which was also the Navigation Room, and Control Center. Basically, it was a bunch of tiny compartments made for Navigators, little screens and keyboards. Some were 911 operators, who picked up the emergency line and deployed the rescue units. Alia waved me over from one of the three biggest control seats. She, Layer, and Pallette all had the three largest control operating room, being the top three Navigators that had operated Commander X, Commander Zero, and Axl.

Layer and Pallette were hard at work, clearing paper work and decoding messages from Maverick-infested areas. I know, besides maybe me, they missed Commander X, Commander Zero, and Axl more than anyone else in Maverick Hunter HQ. Even more than maybe Signas, but all he ever felt was guilt. I didn't like Signas very much, never had really. Every time he looked at me, I saw the guilt pile even higher in his eyes. He's one of the few that knew my secret. Pallette, Layer, Alia and Six being the only others.

"We're having a debriefing for a serious mission, one only you can execute and possibly complete," Alia informed me formally, typing furiously at the keyboard. I nodded, gulping nervously. Six, on the other-hand, wasn't having it. "Why can only A only possibly fill out this mission. If she only has a-at most-a fifty percent chance, why don't you send a more experienced hunter out there? Maybe an A or S rank? A is barely a B rank, having just made it during the test. I don't think she's ready for a mission like this!" she demanded.

I could easily see the problem. Six wanted this mission. Badly. She liked the thrills, and didn't like the fact she was being neglected for some lower-leveled punk like me. But honestly, I'd thought she'd be happy for me. Clearly not.

Alia took her hand on her ear-set and gave Six an irritated look. "Did you not hear me say only A could do this mission? Unless you came upon a processor that gives you photographic memory, only A can fill out this mission. So can you please go?" I understand Alia was cranky, everyone was this early in the morning. I could also understand Alia had a distaste for Six. You couldn't like everyone.

Alia motioned for me to follow and I shuffled along, hoping no one could hear my heart. I had an... accident during the sixth Maverick War and the reploid who'd operated on me had given me processors that were only just coming out, at at least 10,000 zeni. Photographic memory was still rare though, and the fact they needed it... it didn't sound promising. It meant you couldn't contact Maverick Hunter HQ to pull up a map.

It meant you had to absolutely paid attention during the briefings or it could be your life.

We both walked into the sound-proof de-briefing room, and there I met Signas. He was rubbing his temples, bags under his eyes. I saw a file under his arms. I gulped again. It was my file. The moment he glanced at me, I saw something different. Sure, the guilt was still there, but it seemed like something was off his shoulders, just a little bit of weight. But it made all the difference.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" I asked. Alia motioned me to sit down next to her, and I glanced back before completely shutting the door. This was it. "A, I'm giving you a mission that should be executed by A/S or S ranked hunters," he told me off the bat. I nodded. "But I also need to tell you something more personal. More like, give you something more personal." He dug around in his pocket, ever-so-slowly, like he was lifting a four ton weight off his back. He bit the inside of his cheek slightly and passed me a folded envelope.

I turned it over and froze. My heart leaped into my throat at the familiar calligraphy. Oh my god... I thought sluggishly. It's impossible, though. But only he would write on paper, plain boring old paper. He did it because I liked writing on paper. Tears sprung into my eyes but I wiped them away.

"W-why... how long have you had this?" I croaked weakly. He gave me a sad look. "Since you arrived at Headquarters," he admitted. My heart plummeted. Eleven, now twelve years... Signas had held onto this paper since I was five. He did it for X. A choked sob escaped me and Alia put her hand on my shoulder. For a second, I'd thought, that somehow, X had gotten this letter to HQ. I guess I was wrong.

Signas coughed a bit, and I turned my gaze to him. I shook my head and wiped the tears away. I'll read it later. "A, I think you should know the main factor for this mission," he stated. I nodded. "The main focus for this mission is..." As he told me the main focus, hope erupted like a flame inside me. It wormed its way through my body, its heat almost unbearable, but yet... comforting.

It felt like, well... the world's weight was on my shoulders, but I was ready to take it. I was ready to hold it. I was ready to accept this mission.

GROWL!

I blushed crimson at the realization. I was starving. Alia giggled as Signas cracked a smirked. "Go eat lunch, or breakfast in your case. We'll deploy you at thirteen-hundred army time," Signas advised. I saluted him and turned to the door. I was afraid, sure I was. Anyone would be with the mission I was given. But I was hopeful. It was infesting my body, heating me to inhuman temperatures, but I couldn't care less. I had something to hold to. Something I hadn't seen in five years.

Hope.

I made my way to the cafe' on floor twenty-five. There were little cafe' stationed all over HQ, but on floor twenty-five it was the biggest. I passed a few friend I knew from being a rookie, waving and them giving me congratulations at my very first mission. One of them, a human-turned-reploid named Hane, asked if she was allowed to accompany me. I told her I was going to eat in my room, to prep for the mission.

Which was true, but in reality, I was going to read X's letter. Sorry, Commander X's letter.

Walking down the cafe' line, I picked the stuff I knew I should eat for my mission. "Apple... banana, ugh... salad..." I was determined to eat extra healthy for this mission. Even if I had to eat bananas, which I dis-tasted greatly. I arrive at the register, where I was met by my favorite employee, Rock.

Rock was this little kid-designed reploid with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He usually wore civilian clothing, a blue white-accented tee with black shorts, but was a Commander. He was Commander of the Eighth unite, the stealth unit. Being designed as a young boy, he could easily be mistaken for a human and was usually sent to scout Maverick-held territory. He'd arrived when I was about twelve and had been here ever since.

"Hey Rock, how's it going?" I greeted. Rock grinned and brought his hand up for a high-five. "Congrats, finally getting to go on a mission, eh? 'Bout time if I'd say so. Are you allowed to spill?" he said. I shook my head. "This mission is top-secret, Rock. No can-do," I replied cheekily. He sighed and gave me the total. "$15.85," he informed. I gave him the money.

After checking to see I still had the letter, I lead myself to my room. Inside, I looked my door and pulled my curtain over the window. I place the food down on my desk and slowly opened the letter. I heard the tear in paper, and being extra careful, opened the folded pieces of paper. There were three pieces of paper, each were different hand-styles I knew all-to well.

I opened the first one, which was from X.

Dear Arain,

Talk to Alia.

I blinked in confusion. What...? Why do I need to talk to Alia? I wondered. I turned to the other two letters, hoping for more information, but to my dismay, it was almost a copy-off of what X wrote to me.

Zero's said:

Dear A,

Talk to Layer.

And Axl's said:

I hope you're doin' well A,

Talk to Pallette, 'kay? :)

I smile slightly at Axl's letter. Honestly, he was always such a kid. He'd even put a smilely face at the end. I checked my clocked, ignoring the half-eaten food. I had thirty minutes.

I folded the letters and held them tightly. I really didn't want to talk to Alia, Palette and Layer about the past. Especially about X, Axl, and Zero. They were sad enough as it was. I sighed as I made my way to the Command room. Layer, Alia and Pallette were typing a thousand words per second when Pallette noticed me.

"A, you're twenty minutes early, why're you here so soon?" she asked, still looking at the screen. "I'm going to hate myself after this," I muttered to myself. Pallette risked a glanced behind her shoulder, eyeing me. "What is it?" she asked again.

"Signas gave them to me," I stated. Alia stopped typing completely and paused her work. "He gave me... their notes..." The other two top navigators froze, staring blankly at their screens. "They-they told me, to talk to you three. That was all they said." Well... Axl had asked me how I was... but I believe that's besides the point.

Pallette sighed, turning in her chair to face me. Layer and Alia followed suite. "I knew this day would come..." she muttered. Layer put her head down and I saw something fall off her face. Tears. I totally suck right now... I thought guiltily. "Let me take a wild guess," Pallette started. "Axl put a happy face at the end of his message, didn't he?" I blinked in shocked.

She sighed again. "How predictable..." She shut her eyes tightly before reaching behind her skirt. After a moment of hesitance, she put something in my hand. The smooth surface of the hand gun sent shivered down my back, I closed my eyes, not wanting to see Pallette's pained look. "It's one of Axl's Axl-Bullets," she informed me. My eyes snapped open in shock. "He'd had Douglas try to copy one of his originals to perfections, but just like him the designs were too complicated and Douglas only came out with a cheap copy. He'd..." She squeezed her eyes shut in pain. I felt guilty to have caused this. "He'd taken the copied one and gave me one of his originals."

My eyes widen even further. She was mad at him. Mad that he hadn't taken probably his best weapon and in turn, had become K.I.A. I think my heart broke in half.

"He told me to tell you, word by word, 'Don't worry about me, A. Honestly, no matter what, your big brother won't leave you alone. Not in a million years. I'll tough out Maverick prison for you. So don't you worry, because no matter how much I may annoy you, I ain't ever leaving!'" she finished. Tears pelted down my face as my hand tightened around Axl's gun.

When I was little, about five, Axl had brought me to Maverick Hunter HQ. Lifesaver had told me I had an incurable case of amnesia, so I'd never know what happened during the first five years of my life. I'd taken a habit to calling Axl "Big bro" or "Big brother" when I was younger. He was the first person I'd ever truly trusted. The first I remembered anyways.

I placed his gun in the gun barrel Pallette gave me. She'd been carrying it around for five years, maybe more. I clenched my eyes shut in pain as the tears ran down my face. Damnit Axl. Now I feel frikkin' guilty. Not only are you making me cry, but you made Pallette cry too! You always knew she wasn't one for tears... no. You know she's not one for tears. Because you aren't dead. I know you're still alive, Big bro... I just do...

Pallette whipped her eyes and turned back to her screen, readjusting her glasses. Layer turned around, her eyes making contact with mine. It was very rare this happened. She used her bangs to cover her face, to hide her emotions. But just looking at her eyes... I knew she was sad. But at the same time, she was happy.

She gave me a recorder. I rose my eyes brows , placing the earphones in my ears, and clicked played. I saw the gears turn as Zero's voice was projected through the headsets.

"Ah man, X. Really, you know I'm not good at this!" he complained. Someone hissed something in the background and Zero sighed. "FINE." I failed to stifle a giggle. "Okay, um... A, listen. This is probably going to suck. You know very well I'm bad at 'talking out my feelings' as X puts it. But, let's give it a damn shot."

Listen A, I really used to think you were a brat, especially that first day I saw you in the Med. Bay. Man was I pissed." I winced. "But when X had asked me to take you to that damn carnival... well... I don't regret it. I found your fear of heights on the Ferris Wheel hilarious and you knew it too, so you spat on my shoe. That was totally Axl's fault for even teaching you that." I laughed quietly at that, tears streaking my face. "But over-all... you were a great kid. You probably still are."

You're a strong kid. A fire burns within you, and I'm not talking about that 'enigma'(5) crap either. Passion, love, being human, you're lucky. You get to experience the full-joys of feelings. And-ah man. I'm starting to sound like X, aren't I? Well I better wrap this up, you're banging so hard on my door I think your indirectly threatening to pound it down." Zero was cut off by a childish voice. And for once, it wasn't Axl's.

"Zero! Let me in! You have all the leftover cotton candy from Tuesday! LET! ME! IN!"I felt myself blush crimson. Man I'd been so addicted to cotton candy after that carnival. Even now, seven years later.

"Hold on you little brat! Let me finish something! Geez. You're such a pain in the ass, you know that? Well anyways. Good luck out there, kid. You're gonna' need it." The recording stopped. I think I was out of tears. I took the ear sets out to see Layer hard at work again. I checked the clock. Five minutes left. Alia smiled softly as she gave me something. It was wrapped up in bright yellow wrapping paper with baby blue stripes. A big bow was on the top, with a little piece of paper saying, From X.

I tore away the paper slowly and gasped, bringing my free hand to my face, covering my mouth, even bigger tears dripping down my cheeks like a river.

It was a picture frame.

It was a simple white boarder but inside is what counted. It was me. X, Axl, Zero and myself standing in Giga City Park. We were in front of the cherry blossom trees, in the middle of spring, so leaves, cherry blossoms and petals were floating in the background. Axl (grinning like an idiot) and Zero (smirking, ruffling my already-messy hair, which used to easily flow to my thighs) were on left, or on the photo's right, and X was smiling next to me, bent down slightly so he was just a head above me, his hand on my shoulder. His green eyes showed many emotions, most of which was joy.

Alia tapped me. "It's time to go," she whispered. I checked my watch and sure enough, it was one o'clock P.M, or thirteen hundred. Signas walked in and saluted me. I saluted back and whipped away the last tear. "I'm ready, Commander," I confirmed.

"You are going into Maverick Territory S7, one of the most dangerous territories there are. You are to rescue and save our captive hunter and try not to raise awareness for you being there. Therefor, not only is this a rescue mission, but it's a stealth mission. If you complete this mission, I can rethink about changing your status or letting you take the A Class Hunter test. But until the results of your mission are clear, you are still a regular B Classed hunter whose abilities are an important asset to us. Now, it's best be off. We want you to bring him home by sundown if possible. Hunters, salute!"

All the hunters in the room turn to me ans saluted. I didn't see Six in the room. I saw Rock run through the Command Room doors, slightly salute Signas,before running in front of me, panting. "H-hey... can-can you tell me your mission now?" he begged. I nodded.

"My mission is to break into an enemy stronghold and take back one of our hunters from their grasp," I informed. He gave me a dry look. "I need you to elaborate more, A," he muttered. "Who're you saving that's so important that S Rank hunters should be going on this mission!?" With confidence and authority (that sadly did not exist then) I gazed at my comrades and took a deep breath.

"I am going to save Commander Zero."

Hey guys! Updating my story finally! This is sooo much better. Not to mention longer. Oh, and the numbered words, they mean I'll write down their def. down here.

1. M.I.A- Missing in Action

2. K.I.A- Killed In Action

3. Medical Fighters- Doctors and nurses who fight on battle fields while protecting and caring for the wounded. Usually consist of long-range fighters with much more heavy duty weapons such as bazookas and missile launchers.

4. Achilles' Heel- Achilles was a Greek warrior who died in the Trojan War, said to be invincible except in one spot, which was his heel. In terms, this myth says that nothing in invincible and everything has a weak spot, even the toughest of Mavericks like Sigma and Vile.

5. Enigma- A mystery, something elusive.