The price of freedom...

What does one do when one is faced with the decision to save the one they love or lose it all?

Slowly she paced the floor in the hall outside X"s room, biting her lip with intensity as a million and one thoughts raced throught her mind. desperty trying to sort out one thought from another and continuously coming to the same solutioin even if it seemed far fetched or purely out of the question...

...her alchemy...

stopping in her tracks, Shonen mournfully stared at his door and wanted nothing more than to enter his room, hold him in her arms,stroke his hair and tell him everyting was going to be alright. But at that point in time, comforting him even entering his room was out of the question. Being banned from X's room did not sit well with Shonen. Even though there was no possible way she could contract whatever he had. Rules were in fact rules and against her better judgement, she had to follow them...

Frustrated, she let out a deep sigh and was about to return to her room, when she heard footsteps coming up behind her.

"I knew i would find you here... wha do you continuously torture yourself day and night? for God sakes just go in there already.. if no one sees you, no one will be the wiser" Zero said with a slight smirk on his face.

Shonen kept quiet as she let out another deep sigh and leaned her back up against the wall as she crossed her arms.

"i'm well aware of that.. but the code is changed every hour... and knowing Signas, he probably fixed it in such a way, that if i did try alchemy to break in, i'd probably wind up electrocuted or something..."

Zero put his hands on his hips.

"doing somethinjg stupid has never stopped you before..."

".. says the reploid who's been killed twelve times..." she replied without missing a beat.

Zero simply stuck his tounge out at Shonen, then continued his statement.

"well in any case, there's got to be some other reason... are you afraid that if they were to find out they'll take X away from you forever?"

Shonen lowered her eyes.

".. that's been done to me already... i havn't seen X in over four years... i have no idea on what condition he's in.. everyone's been keeping it this huge secret... a secret.. from me..."

"have you even bothered to ask what's wrong with him?"

Shonen stood up from the hall and narrowed her eyes.

"..yea.. i have... and everythme i do, they change the subject on me... they're not telling me shit"

Zero reached out and grabbed Shonen's hand, then held it against the keypad.

"..then by all means, fry the lock, go inside and see your brother. if the worse thing they can do to you is release you from the hunters for seeing X and quite possibly being able to save him, then maybe you and him were not meant to be hunters in the first place.."

Shonen raised an eyebrow as she shifted her eyes from the lock towards Zero.

"what are you getting at?"

Zero this time rolled his eyes.

"do i really have to spell it out for you?..." he replied as he released her hand.

Shonen shifted her eyes back to the keypad as her hand remained on it.

"...what's the worse that could happen?" she thought to herself as she scratched her transmutation circle on the keypad, the brushed her fingers across it, releasing a soft glow which was followed by the sound a few short beeps then the sound of a deadbolt unlocking.

Shonen drew back slightly as the lock released the door allowing her access to the inside X's room.

Carefully, she pushed the door open then gave Zero one last look before slipping inside and leaning against the door to close it.

Zero smiled slightly as he turned and walked back to his office.

"Good luck Shonen."