Neither of them were sure how it got to this point.
Commander Signas had raised them about an important mission he had for the pair. He had just finished declaring that the orders were Priority 0 ("Serious Business", as Zero often coined it) when, with a jerk and internal alarms signaling something about an energy surge, that the world had gone black.
Next thing they knew, they were waking up in the middle of a dilapidated cityscape with Maverick fire pinning them down behind rapidly disappearing stone cover.
Neither were sure how it happened, but both had been beaten a bit by the fire, evident by the burns, scuffs and dents in their otherwise sturdy armor.
"So..." Zero said, brushing away some debris from his hair. "This is the last time I accept orders on a priority level that I share a name with."
"If you can figure out how without a court-martial," X replied, examining a few dents in his X Buster, "Then let me know."
Zero chuckled, unsure if X was joking or not. A couple of plasma bolts from Maverick Busters disintegrated the stone a few centimeters from his head.
"X?"
The blue Hunter turned to his red companion. "Yeah?"
"Listen, if we somehow don't get out of this in one piece, there's something I need to tell you."
X raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.
"Look, I know I haven't always been a good guy. Hell, half this Maverick mess is my fault, and I'm doing everything I can to try and make this whole thing right."
Is... X thought to himself. Is this going to lead to a confession or something?
Zero smiled "I just want you to know, if we don't get out of this, that you're probably the closest thing I'll have to a friend. Thanks."
X let out a deep sigh he didn't even know he was holding. "Thank goodness."
"Huh?"
"Nothing." X quickly backpedaled. "Anyway, we should probably figure out a way to put an end to this."
Zero's smile grew. "Let's just charge in and take out as many as we can, huh?"
Normally, X wouldn't dare think about simply laying a place to waste-like. However, on this particular day, under these particular circumstances, one can't necessarily blame him if he decided to humor his friend just once.
"Sure. Why not?"
The two S-Class Hunters took a few deep breaths, calming themselves before performing what is, tactically speaking, the most idiotic action in the world.
Zero looked over to X, still smiling. "Ready?" X nodded. Without another word, the two Hunters quickly left their cover and began a headlong charge into the waiting Maverick horde. X fired his Buster, while Zero cut down those that stood in his path.
Both were ready to play the hand Fate had dealt them.
Meanwhile, Commander Signas looked over the battle in which his two best Hunters were currently engaged. Most missions, one would expect that he watched with interest, concocting potential battle plans to suggest to the two.
On this occasion, though, he could only be seen slouching in his chair in the Command Center, his hand covering half of his features. Rubbing at his face, he turned to Alia, the ever-vigilant Operator for X and Zero, and asked the one question he felt begged to be asked.
"They do remember that this is just a VR simulator test, right?"
Alia nervously scratched at her temple. "I think Tasing them might've fried their short-term memory banks."
Signas buried his face deeper into his palm. This was the last time he was going along with anything Axl suggested.