X's p.o.v.
I woke up to gentle knocking on my pod.
"Hey, it's time to go!"
At first, I didn't know who was knocking or why they were knocking. Then I remembered the events of the day before, I was signed up to be a Maverick Hunter by the famous student Zero. I was a little disappointed it hadn't been a dream, I really didn't want to be apart of any violence.
"Hey!" The knocking grew louder. "It's time to go! Don't make me late!"
I opened the lid and sat up.
"Good! You're finally awake. Now come on, Commander's gonna kill me if I'm late again!" He practically dragged me out of his dorm.
The entire ride on his chaser bike there, I was clinging to him as if my life depended on it. We weren't even going that fast, but to my surprise, he really didn't mind that I was holding on so tightly.
We came to a slow stop when we reached a red light. I loosened my grip slightly and gasped for my breath back when I felt a stern hand touch mine. Out of reflexes, I activated my Buster. Zero held it up and turned it over, examining it.
"You never use this?"
"I-it's green."
My grip around his waste tightened again as he zoomed forward on the streets.
"Thanks," he said suddenly. "Thanks for agreeing to train at the Academy."
"You dragged me into it," I muttered quietly.
"Believe it or not, you're really helping me out." He didn't hear me... "If I can turn you into a skilled Hunter, then I'll get my rival's hands off of my crush. I know this is pretty selfish, but I promise I'll make it up to you someday." There was something soothing about his voice.
"I'll do my best," I said happily. "I hope your crush is interested in you."
He chuckled. "Thanks. And don't worry about the training at the Academy, I'll help you as best I can." I felt my smile grow. I'd never felt so safe, or warm. "There's something that you should know about the Academy, though."
"What?"
"The students are uh, a bit crazy..."
I gulped. "Wh-what type of crazy?"
"... There's a Reploid named Vile who, let's just say, can loose his head when he's angry, and really likes to try and get under peoples' skin. I'm the only one who can handle him. Another crazy student is a pink Reploid named Alia, a love-desperate navigator. She may seem sweet, but if you tell her you're not interested in her, there's no telling what she'll do to you. There's also an insane animal-designed Reploid named Chill Penguin who can turn you to ice and then break any one of your limbs off and put them in his dream machine to cause the 'next ice age.' Err, but don't worry about him, he's not all that great. Just don't let him sit on you, he weighs a ton. And finally, Storm Eagle. Either have him send you flying ten miles, or have his children peck at you until you die from blood loss."
My mouth dropped open.
"Why have none of these guys been expelled?"
"... Because they bring Commander some porn magazines."
"YOU'RE SHITTING ME!" I jumped off the bike and started running away. "I changed my mind! I don't wanna go to the Academy!"
"Wait! Mega Man X!"
Zero's p.o.v.
Poor guy, I had to knock him out just to drag him to the Academy.
"Huh. I arrived on time, that's a miracle."
"Hey, there, Rapunzel, who's the kid?"
"Hi, Bucket head. This here's the Reploid I'll be turning into a skilled Maverick Hunter. His name is Mega Man X."
"Ha ha ha! You're gonna have a lot of work to do if he can't even wake him up to come do the drills."
"He woke up," I said calmly, "I just had to put him to sleep again. He wouldn't have come here if he was awake."
"Ha ha! That's even more pathetic!"
"Trust me, he'll be a better Hunter than you could ever dream to be."
"Hey, don't you think a miracle is asking too much?"
"I'm not asking, I'm doing. And you're right, I should get better at insults. Anyone can be a better Hunter than you, bucket head, especially in your dreams that're coming from your tiny ass brain." He twitched his hand towards his gun angrily. I walked behind him and whispered, "Let me beat you in this bet first before you commit suicide."
I carried X for a while until I could confirm Vile was out of sight. I looked around, and none of the crazy students were in eyesight. I sighed in relief and started shaking the blue bomber.
"Mega Man X! Hey, wake up, Mega Man X, training's starting."
He moaned and sat up.
"You... knocked me out?"
"Sorry, I had to. Don't worry, you'll get used to these crazy students eventually."
"A-alright..."
"Fighting students, report to the shooting ground."
"Come on, follow me."
He followed me over to the shooting grounds. I honestly would've skipped this, I hated having to use a Buster, I only felt comfortable with my saber. But I decided to go for X. I wasn't too good at it, but I had experience with a Buster, and I thought I could help him out. And boy, did he need it.
X shuddered when he held his Buster up towards a target. It was almost as if he thought it was a person in front of him, instead of a lifeless piece of wood. He spent at least thirty seconds staring at the target, he didn't even blink the entire time.
When he finally did shoot, it was a light beam that didn't even scratch the target. But hey, at least he hit the target. Mine went right above it. Yeah, we both needed shooting practice.
After the drills were done, I couldn't help but mumble curse words to myself. I noticed X was staring down at his Buster, and seemed pissed at it. He sighed and hit himself on the head with it.
"Hey, don't break yourself," I said.
He sighed and looked down.
"Fighting students, report to the Saber dojo."
"That's my destiny calling," I said. "You wanna try out a saber?"
"Uh, no. I can't even hold my hand steady, I'd drop the saber..."
"Oh, okay. This should be over in an hour, will you be okay by yourself?"
"Hopefully."
"Just stay away from those students I told ya about, and you'll be fine."
X's p.o.v.
I actually went outside to try and shoot the targets again. I thought maybe I was so terrible because so many people were watching me. That proved to be false, as I still trembled when I held up my Buster.
I shook my head.
What am I so afraid of?
I gulped and held up my Buster again. Before I could pull the trigger, something shot past my head and hit the target. When it hit it, the target turned to ice.
"Wh-what the fu-"
"Bull's eye!"
I turned around to see a chubby penguin that went up to my chest. He waddled up to me and circled me, occasionally pecking at my armor. He chuckled and looked at me.
"You have quite lovely armor. Perhaps I could use it to build my machine to bring the next ice age."
I felt my blood freeze. It was Chill Penguin!
"Um, e-excuse me, I have to go." I started to walk away.
"Where?"
"Um, I-I'm late for saber training..."
"Then why were you out here?"
"I-I uh, f-forgot," I lied. I continued to walk away. "Well um, see ya." Phew, that was close. An ice shot hit the wall next to my head. "Aieek!"
"Hold still!"
"AHH!"
I ran away from the psycho penguin as fast as I could, evading his ice shots which were always only a few inches away from me.
"Come b-ACK!"
I ducked in a room and closed the door behind me. I heard his footsteps run right by me, and more shots from his Shotgun Ice. The second after I let loose a sigh of relief, I let loose a gasp of shock. Birds were pecking at the broken parts of a Reploid, obviously tearing him apart.
"Oh, hello."
"AH!"
"I wasn't expecting company. I'm just taking care of a Maverick, nothing special to see here. I don't think I've seen you around before, are you new here?"
"Y-you," I stuttered, "y-you're Storm Eagle, right?"
"Yes, I am. And you are...?"
"Aheh heh heh..." I went through the door and slammed it. I was leaning against it, hoping that I could keep him in. I'm gonna die. I know I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die!
"Hi there," a pink Reploid next to me said. "What's wrong? You look pale."
"Err, I'm just trying to hide from certain people."
"Oh! Well you can hide with me, I'll protect you!"
"Um, thanks."
I started to walk away when she slipped her arm around mine, and she also put her hand in mine.
"Just throwing this out there, you're really cute. My name's Alia."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Zero's p.o.v.
Saber training had finally ended. I couldn't help but smile at it before I put my saber away. When I looked up I noticed Iris walking by the dojo. I figured since I was going through with Vile's bet I could at least talk to her.
"Hi," I said. "How was the Navigation class?"
"Oh, hello, Zero. The class was great, except for the fact that Alia didn't show up..."
"What? I saw her car- Augh, she's probably trying to get a date again." I sighed. "Maybe if she was as pretty and nice as you, she might have a chance," I said with a smile.
She giggled.
"Thanks. Now I'd better go see who needs rescuing from Alia."
"Ha ha! Yeah, you do that."
I turned a corner and gasped when I saw X about to be raped by Alia.
Oh snap! She's got Mega Man X! What should I do? If I tell her to back off, she'll just think I'm jealous, and if he tells her he's not interested, she'll do Heaven knows what to him- Wait! I know! I stomped over to them. "Hey!" I grabbed X and pulled him away from her. "What're you doing with my boyfriend!?" I exaggeratedly kissed him directly on the lips, making him cringe.
Alia stared at us in disgust. I glared at her, and she walked away with a grossed out look on her face.
I wiped my mouth.
"Sorry. You alright?"
"Yeah... Thanks."
"I take it you've been 'introduced' to the students I was telling you about?"
"Three of them."
I looked around to see if anyone was watching. Seeing there wasn't, I turned back to X. "One of them didn't happen to be Vile, did they?"
"No. It was Chill Penguin, Storm Eagle, and Alia."
"Trust me, stay clear from that guy."
"O-okay," he said with a nod. "Um, should I be scared?"
"... Yes."
"Fighting students, report to the combat dojo."
"Alright," I said, "this is something I can help you with. Come on."
He was almost just as bad at combat as he was with shooting. To his credit, he was good at blocking, but he seemed afraid to hit me. I eventually broke through his block and knocked him on the floor.
"HASHORYUKEN!"
To spare his pride, I won't tell you the rest of the fight.
It was weird. I knew he was weak when I first saw him, but... I felt that there was something more to him. I felt like there was something in him that he wasn't showing, but why wasn't he showing it? I knew that there was some power inside of him, and I had to be the one to unleash it. This was no longer for the sake of obtaining Iris, it was about unleashing what was in him.
After that was over, I saw Iris again walking down the hall. I knew that if I couldn't make X stronger, I would loose her. While thinking that, I realized how stupid the bet I made with Vile was. I was a really stupid teenager...
X came up to me.
"Is that your crush?"
I felt myself blush and looked away from him. "Yeah, her name's Iris..."
"She's pretty cute, you made a good choice."
"Than-"
"Hi, there!" Our conversation was interupted by one crazy blond.
"AH! A-Alia, what do you want!?"
"You two are gay, right? That is so hot! Would you mind making out for me?"
I face palmed then sighed. "Okay, we're- WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?"
"Huh?"
"Run!"
X's p.o.v.
I never thought I would be happy to be on the chaser bike again, but it meant getting away from that crazy bitch. Neither of us said a word to each other on the way back. I didn't want to start up a conversation, anyway, I was to ashamed of my performance to talk to him.
I shamefully walked into his apartment and looked down at my Buster, sighing in disappointment. Zero slammed the door shut.
"I'm not giving up on you," he said. "There's a power inside you, Mega Man X, I can feel it. All you need is a push, and an explination how to use your power. You may be weak now, but you'll be strong. You may even be as strong as I am. I dare you to surpass me, Mega Man X!"
I felt like crying tears of joy. I stifled them back and smiled.
"Fine, I accept your dare. And uh, just call me X."
He smirked and walked closer to me.
"Thanks, that's easier to remember. I promise I'll make you stronger, just be careful and back me up, okay?"
My smile widened. "Right."
He smiled back at me and turned towards his pod. "Come on, we should get some sleep."
"Um... Zero?"
"Yeah?"
"A-are..." I couldn't finish. "Never mind, I'll see you in the morning."
Author's note: Well, this is one of the hardest fanfictions I've ever had to write. I have to avoid the military student cliches, I have to build the big-brother-little-brother relationship with X and Zero, I have to develop characters for the Mavericks that were once Hunters, my favorite character Axl isn't here, and I'm over here trying to give Alia a personality outside of "CAN YOU HEAR ME?" so I made her a playboy bunny. Well, wish me luck.