Part III

Maverick Wars

Chapter Twenty-One

'Gamma, we're on our way back. Can you inform the medical team that there were some casualties? They need to be assessed…'

Zero spoke over their communication line. His voice was stressed and annoyed to a very heady extent. He wasn't the only one either. There had been another attack only six hours, twenty-one minutes, forty-three seconds, fifty-eight milliseconds and two nanoseconds ago. Eight more hunters that had gone to fight had lost their lives. With a heavy sigh, Gamma finally replied. "Affirmative. The med teams will be waiting." She stated with a pause, before asking quietly. "How bad was it?"

Zero didn't' seem to want to answer, but after a few moments he finally got the stomach to. "It was bad. Worst one we've fought yet. It seems like we can't even go into the city anymore without running into a group of them." He shrugged. "It annoys me." Gamma shook her head slowly, listening to the tiny creaks that gave way from the rusted nuts and bolts that twisted together. Her movements had long ago become less elegant and more forced, but she paid it no mind. Her once powerful brain was only running at 64%. That was the highest it ever got, and she wondered when it would decrease again.

Despite that knowledge, she had begun to notice a change in the way Zero acted. She didn't fully understand it at first. Two years ago, he had started to act funny. He acted distant around his friends and was reluctant to spar with anyone. It had finally hit Gamma that Zero was slowly losing control of himself. He tried to hide it as best as he could, but sometimes even he had to back out of missions. She didn't blame him at all, she understood that the last thing he wanted was to hurt people.

"Come home safe you guys." She mumbled, turning off her COM. She slowly sat back onto a chair that resided in the command room. Alia, the pink reploid that X always talked about, looked over at her with a worried expression, "Are you alright Gamma?" She asked slowly, a microphone piece attached to the headphones around her head. Her voice was even concerned about the hunter's wellbeing.

"No. Not really. I haven't been since the attacks started to get worse." Gamma stated truthfully. It seemed like whenever they were asked if they were alright, they would either lie or simply say no. Alia frowned at that, stepping over to her side. She placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her. "Things will get better Gamma, these are just hard times." She offered a faint smile, but even her smile seemed forced. She knew she was lying between her teeth.

Gamma gave a small nod to sooth her anxiety, going along with her plan to stay positive. "You're right." She looked up, a blank look on her face. She slowly forced a smile, the metal plates lining her face and mouth twitching as they tried to fall back into a frown. These were dark times for them all, and things would only get worse before they got better. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time. How long that time would be, no one really knew exactly.

"Where's Lilly?" Gamma finally asked, tilting her head backwards by about 70 degrees. Usually the girl was in the command room when X and Zero were away, but that wasn't the case at all today. Alia looked back at her, tilting her head. "I think she's still asleep. I haven't seen her this morning." She tapped her chin. "I can go check on her if you like." She smiled again, always trying to stay in a positive mood. Gamma studied her for a moment, quiet. After a few moments she spoke up. "That is alright. I'll check on her later. Her illness might be bothering her today." That seemed like the most logical explanation. "I am going to meet the other in the loading bay."

Gamma stood out of her chair, the round ball-and-socket joints rotating and partially locking into place with a soft tug. She was thankful that not all of her movements were slow. No one even noticed her malfunctions, and she was very grateful for that. Alia watched her, tapping at a computer screen swiftly. "Alright. When you have time, send X this way." Gamma made a note of the simple smile on her face, one she was trying desperately to hide from everyone else in the room. So much for that plan. With a quiet sigh, Gamma chuckled lightly "Sure thing Alia. Might want to hide that hint of red on your cheeks though." She teased.

With a silent gate, Gamma headed out of the room, snickering at Alia's sudden yelp. She stepped to the right side of the hallway to walk. She passed by few hunters on her way towards the eighth floor foyer. So many of them had lost their lives trying to fight for what they knew was right, justice and peace. It didn't even seem fair to them anymore, there was nothing but meaningless killing. Sometimes Gamma wished that all of the fighting would just go away. She wished life could be peaceful again. It would be easier.

She wanted to talk with X and Zero, despite knowing they didn't like to discuss it. But they knew it was to help the cause. Gamma was excellent at predicting an average time frame for the attacks. She stopped at a wall with two metal doors engraved in it. Her hand quickly reached up to press the button between the two doors. It blinked twice before lighting up in a dark, glowing red.

She had a lot to ask the two and a lot to tell them in return. She knew it could wait, but she also wanted to check on Lilly before the day was over. She also knew that X would want to check on the little girl too. He was always worried about her physical health. It was ironic in a way, because Lilly was always worrying about their mental health, especially X's mental health. He was so tired of fighting. He hated it so much, but he wouldn't give up.

Ten seconds later, a ping rang out and the door on the left sluggishly slid open to a smaller room. Gamma stepped in without a second thought. She turned to watch the doors close, her eyes narrowing lightly. With that, Gamma headed down for the loading bay to meet up with them.