Chapter Twenty-Four

For two weeks, everything was pretty quiet. There wasn't another attack, which made everyone somewhat happy, and Lilly had gotten better. Everyone could rest easier for awhile. At the same time, things weren't going so well in other cases. There was the constant worry that something would attack at any moment and they'd get called back into battle. That stressed everyone out to an extent.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing plaguing their minds. Zero, one of the best strongholds to the Hunter base, was becoming more and more distant with each passing day. It had been like that for awhile, but after he had come back from the last assault, it had only gotten worse. Now, Gamma had to use her scanners simply to find his newest hiding spot. Every time she asked him what was wrong, he'd divert his answer to another subject and move on. He was plotting something, and Gamma didn't think she liked it. He was even worrying poor X. The two of them were best friends, but it seemed like Zero wanted nothing else to do with him lately, which was even more puzzling than his sour attitude.

By the second Friday, Gamma was wandering the halls constantly, looking for the egotistical red hunter. She pondered on his motives for being so rude lately. It didn't really make sense at first, until she started to dig up her own answers. 'Maybe he's sick of the fighting?', 'He might just need some rest.', 'He's been getting edgier every time I mention mavericks, maybe he's just touchy on that subject now.' That last one was her guide to the proper answer.

Gamma had noticed months before that Zero has having a harder time keeping himself under control. That seemed like her most logical reason for him to act so oddly. He didn't have to take out his anger on them though, but then again, Zero's way of handling a bad situation wasn't always put in blatant terms. He was one to drive people made with his stupid ways. He'd rather push people away than let someone inside, especially his closest friends.

X, Gamma's commander and friend, was sitting in the corner of the foyer, staring at a familiar saber. He held it in his open palm, his face saddened more than usual. He didn't even notice as Gamma stepped to his side and took a seat slowly beside him. She spoke quietly, calling his name to get his attention. "X?" At first, he didn't look up, or even notice for that matter. With a small tilt of her head, Gamma called again. "Commander X?" It was only when she touched his shoulder lightly that he looked up.

His eyes were wide, almost fearful. "H-huh?" Gamma couldn't practically sense the emotion washing over her now. Fear, depression, slight anger, confusion. It was all there. He blinked once before he looked down at the saber again. It was Zero's famous saber, the Z-saber. Gamma frowned, staring at it. Zero never went anywhere without it. That was curious to say the least. "X, what are you doing with-?"

"I haven't seen him in three days. I didn't go looking for him because Zero's known for sulking for days without anyone noticing him. I was getting worried, so I went to check on him this morning. Last time I spoke with him, he was locked in his room. I started there. He didn't answer me so I unlocked his door, but he wasn't in there. In fact, none of his stuff was in there. I've torn the base apart looking for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere." X clenched his eyes. Gamma studied his hand as he gripped the saber hilt to the point his hand shook. She didn't understand until he spoke again.

"I tried his Communicator, the command room radio, his hover bike communicator. They're all turned off! Zero's never done this before. Then, I found this." He lifted Zero's saber, frowning. He opened his eyes again. "He doesn't go anywhere without it, ever." Gamma understood then, staring at X's face. Had Zero…? She didn't want to believe it at first, but X stated it anyways.

"Zero's deserted us. He's gone…" X laid his head on his knees, shaking lightly. Gamma didn't blame the way he was acting at all. They had been best friends from the very start. They were so different, but they always got along. When they fought, it would last for only a few days before they apologized and moved on. With Zero's leaving, part of X just seemed gone now. He was never one to stay upset for long, but nothing could cheer him up from this crisis.

X was always worried he'd lose the few friends he still had, but Zero was more like a brother than a friend, and that blow had devastating effects. Gamma understood that now, but part of her understood his intentions. Zero wouldn't put the people he cared about the most at any more risk than he had to. If that meant he had to leave for them to be safe, he'd be the one to do it before asking for help. Even if he did, there was probably nothing that could have been done for him.

Gamma frowned, sitting in silence with her commander as he spoke, "I can't bring myself to tell everyone else. They'll lose hope to. I don't understand why he had to leave. It's not fair." He mumbled, burying his head in his knees. He didn't say anything else after that. Gamma went over the previous conversations she had had with Zero, who was not only her mentor but her friend too, and concluded any possible reason that would be considered good enough for leaving.

She got no solid answer. It was more than likely that the rest of the hunters will see his departure more as a betrayal than anything. That's how they saw things with a hunter decided to leave during a hard time. One thing was for certain. With Zero's leave, the remaining stronghold that held the base up would undoubtedly fall to the hands of evil. The remaining hope they had now seemed like nothing more than a cry for help.