MLaaTR: Maverick Hunter X

By Drewmaster

26. Chapter 26

About a week passed with no sign of a Maverick attack. A little surprising, but most realized that the first few attacks were really just a way show off their strength, and to show how serious they were.

As far as Jenny's schooling is concerned, an exception is being made because she's trying to defend the Earth. She is still being sent her lectures and homework to her e-mail address.

Then there was X and Zero's personal issues. X had been showing signs of home sickness the whole time, but only now did Zero begin showing signs himself. He didn't talk about it, but it wasn't difficult to tell that that was the issue.

One night, Vexus was walking around the building really only because she had nothing else to do, but also because she was still getting used to her stronger, more lightweight body. She stopped by every room in the building for the purpose of sightseeing. She eventually found a small lounge: much smaller than the recreation room. She saw Zero sitting in a chair resting his head in his left hand. She slowly crept around to see his face and confirmed that he was indeed asleep.

She was a little surprised and concerned when she saw his expression. She could tell he was having a nightmare.

She walked several feet away from him, turned to face him, and then called out to him saying "Zero! Zero! Wake up!"

He suddenly stood up really fast knocking the chair he was sting in down to the floor, pulled out his saber, and got into a battle-ready stance. Vexus stood to his right so she wouldn't be the first thing he saw. She didn't want to risk being attacked.

He finally looked to his right, and asked "Wha…what are you doing in here?"

"I found you here sleeping during my personal tour of this building. You were having a nightmare, and…I'm standing over here just in case you impulsively attacked," Vexus answered.

Zero calmed down, sighed, and put away his saber.

"And I almost did. Sorry about that," Zero said.

As he picked up the chair, Vexus said "Don't worry about it. I'm just fine. I'm more concerned about what was bothering you so much."

Zero finally sat down in the chair again and then said, "I really don't like to talk about it."

She walked closer to him and asked, "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

He shook his head indicating that he didn't mind. She pulled another chair over and sat in front of him.

"No one's bothered to ask until now, but you haven't seemed as calm and confident as you normally are, these past few days. Are you feeling a little…homesick?" Vexus asked.

Zero sighed and answered "Yeah."

"I thought so. I don't want to push you into telling me anything too personal, but I wonder what could make such a strong person like you so, how do they call it…jumpy. Whatever you were dreaming about seems to be keeping you on edge," Vexus said.

He could see the genuine concern in her eyes. Every time he looked into her eyes, he ended up getting this odd feeling that he couldn't explain.

"Umm…you see…there's actually. I never talk about this with anyone but X. I don't know if I should…," Zero said nervously.

"If you want; I'm an expert at keeping these kinds of secrets," Vexus assured.

Zero felt a surge of anger flow through his body as he stood up and walked across the room ready to leave the room.

"I can't. I'm sorry," Zero said as he opened the door.

He was heading out the door when he saw that Vexus was looking straight down with a sad expression. This caused him to pause suddenly. He re-entered the room and closed the door behind himself.

"Why are you so concerned about me anyway?" Zero asked.

Without looking up at him, Vexus answered "Because even though you seem to have everything under control in your heart, I have this terrible feeling that you are actually far more heart broken than most people, even more than X."

Surprised, Zero asked "But how? I mean…no one has ever told me that, not even X."

"I see it when you are alone. I only saw it for moment a couple of times, but I can tell, you have very deep scars on your heart. I believe X sees it too, but he doesn't mention it because he believes he should keep out of your personal life. You may not like what I'm going to say, but if you keep it bottled in for too long, that bottle will eventually explode. I know from experience," Vexus replied.

Zero sat back down in the chair and said "And here I thought I was good at keeping secrets by acting tough and trying to keep a clear mind. It really isn't easy. I guess I must've assumed X thought I got over it. Oh well. It's like this. Remember when you asked about a significant other?"

Vexus looked up at him and answered "Yes."

"This was a long time ago. There was group of reploids that banded together that claimed to be fighting to defend reploid rights, when all they really wanted was to build a society where only reploids existed. In the end, it turned out to be another repeat of what Sigma is trying to do, only without the destruction of all humans, just the amount they felt would be necessary. It became personal when the one person I thought would see their plan for it really was, was my friend, Iris. I didn't realize she felt the same way about me that I did about her until it was too late. She fell into their beliefs because she wanted the easy way out of having to live in humanity's shadow. I ended up having to kill her in order stop her from causing too much destruction. For a moment…I didn't feel as though there was a reason to go on living. Once I found out that Sigma was the one behind the deception, I came to my senses and hunted him down. I tried so hard to forget it even happened, but it's fucking impossible. Do you have any idea what it's like to lose the one you loved?" Zero asked.

"I can't relate in that area, but I did lose my father a long time ago. He left home one day without warning, and when I saw him again a week later, he was smashed into fifty-four different pieces. I discovered later that he banded together with several other robots to fight our creators who had oppressed us. I vowed revenge…and you know what happened; I got my revenge. Two years later, I was part of a revolution that won our freedom. I even found the person who killed my father, and I killed him. I was so bloodthirsty that I became power hungry and challenged our leader for his position. At first, I thought I wanted to become the leader only because I thought I had a better plan for our future society, but when I look back on it, it was also that I just wasn't satisfied with killing my enemies. I wanted someone else to kill; and I did. I became a ruthless queen that was feared by practically everyone. It was a downward spiral into madness from that point on, until recently. The story of 'the great queen of Cluster Prime' doesn't really seem that great anymore. It's a really sad waste when I stop and think about it," Vexus replied.

"Looks like you've had it pretty rough too. I'm sorry for your loss though…your father I mean," Zero said.

"The worst part is that I haven't done a single thing to honor his sacrifice. What I did with that power is not what my father would've wanted. Thank you, anyway. I'm sorry for your loss as well," Vexus said

"Thank you. There is another problem though. I also keep having nightmares about a strange old man that tells me that I was meant for some great purpose: to destroy mankind. That doesn't sound so great to me. It took me a long time to realize it, but I believe this man might have been my creator. I don't remember much about my past before I was released from my capsule. Then there's this nightmare about me slaughtering a lot of people. I feel like a different person when I see myself do that. What we believe, is that the scientist named Dr. Wily is the most likely candidate for being my creator, but there's not enough proof. Deep down, there's a terrifying monster sleeping inside of me. It awakened once, and it almost killed X. He managed to defeat it, but there's no way of knowing if it's still there. I think my creator put it inside of me. The only thing I do know for sure is that it's not dormant by choice. It's more like a coma. I just don't know what would cause it to awaken again. I should stop, the atmosphere is getting a bit too tense. You really do seem to be sincere about changing your ways, especially since you're showing so much concern," Zero pointed out.

"Actually, the story was quite fascinating, but I think I'm satisfied now. Yes, I am quite sincere. I hate my past, and I want to do something that's actually worth something real for once. Showing concern about other people's problems, I sort of figured, was a start," Vexus explained.

"Everyone deserves a second chance. I just wish people wouldn't push their luck so far sometimes. Sometimes, I think I need a break from all of this…why are you grinning like…? Let me guess. It's about that 'stress relief' you mentioned, isn't it?" Zero asked with a grin.

Vexus laughed out loud when she could no longer hold it in.

The following day, the world was given a sign that Sigma was planning to attack within the near future. Every major news station broadcasted the event.

"Un…believable! They burned his name into the Washington monument. Who the hell does he think he is?" Jenny said angrily as she stared at the screen.

The Greek letter for Sigma was burned into the monument for all to see.

"He is arrogant, that's for sure, but that's no different from when Vexus used to raise Cluster Prime's flag all over our planet. I…kind of anticipated this already. It likely means that he plans to carry out his big plan soon," Ms. Wakeman explained.

"Though I wish you wouldn't remind me of my past, I do agree that he likely plans to attack soon," Vexus added.

"I can only imagine what everyone else we know must be thinking," Jenny said.

"They're likely thinking what we're thinking," XJ5 said.

"They're hoping that we're enough to do the job. I really wish Misty was on our side right now. She would be a great help," Melody said.

Jenny folded her arms together, frowned, and then said "The problem with that is, I have no way of contacting her. Even if I did, she'd only do it for money. In this case, she probably would be paid, but like I just said, I don't know how to find her."

"She needs some sense…smacked into her," Grace commented.

"Tell me about it. I wish I knew what makes her tick. Anyway…I shouldn't stress myself out about her. We have more important things to worry about. For instance: don't be too surprised if we get a phone call soon. I'm sure Ms. President is gonna want to know how prepared we are, especially since time seems to be of the essence," Jenny said.

They did receive a call, but not the type of message they expected. The white house had just been reduced to cinders. Everyone was even more surprised to find that several other capital buildings had been destroyed in other countries at the same time. Most of those world leaders were also destroyed in those explosions. Of the leaders that escaped the explosions, two of them were badly injured: The United States president and the leader of India.

Public statements were made about these attacks, but most people didn't think time or money should be spent on fancy speeches. Most people felt as though the Mavericks should be attacked head on and eliminated quickly. There was really no one who could honestly claim that the situation hadn't already gotten out of hand. Something needed to be done, and soon.