Aya: Gah! I keep coming up with ideas! Must... write, chapter... three!
Faith: So am I Frank or what? *tries out husky voice* Hi, I'm Frank.
Aya: Eh... we'll keep ya around for now. Just try not to hurt my sweeties too much, okay?
X and Zero: *meep*
------------------------
Hunted Heart
Chapter Three: Falling
"You sure you're okay?" Zero asked X as the two headed out of the Med Bay. Douglas was finally
convinced there was nothing wrong with X and signed off on the discharge forms. X was to stay
at his quarters, bar some kind of emergency, for the rest of today and tomorrow.
"I'm fine." X carried the basket of chicken with him. He managed to save a couple of pieces
from Douglas's and Zero's greedy hands. "I don't see why I have to take time off at all. It
was probably nothing."
"Douglas is a little concerned you that you might have caught the bug as well." Zero crossed
his arms behind his head and leaned back casually. "You might have, you know."
"I'm fine now." The two reached X's quarters, Zero started to move towards X for a quick peck
on the cheek, but decided against it.
"I'll see you later!" Zero waved and took off in the other direction. X sighed heavily and entered
his quarters. After setting the basket of chicken on his dining table, he headed off to his room
and plopped on the bed.
//What was today about?// X searched his mind for clues. //Why did Zero's touch...// Footsteps
outside of his bedroom pulled him from his thoughts. He whipped around and trained his X-Buster
at the direction of the doorway. No one was there. Confused, X lowered his weapon and glanced
around the room.
"Did I scare you?" A voice chilled the air in the room. Faster now, X spun around the room,
searching for the owner of the voice, but still found nothing. "You can't find me?" X didn't
want to get jumped from behind, so he backed against the wall, squinting hard to see anything
out of place. "I can seee you." The voice said musically, then broke into a long laughter.
"Who are you?" X asked, trying to keep up a calm appearance despite his heart hammering with
fear. "What do you want?" From out of nowhere, arms appeared on both sides of X and grabbed
X by the waist and throat. Nothing but nearly mute coughing sounds came out of X's mouth as
the assailant applied firm pressure on his throat.
"Hi, X." A familiar voice whispered in his ear.
//Ze.. Zero?!// X struggled to get out of the grip, desperately wanting to turn around and find out
it's not really Zero who is hurting him, but the assailant squeezed harder on his throat. White
stars started to appear in front of his eyes. X tried to pry the hand off, but the assailant held
on with surprising strength.
"Yes, it's me." It was definitely Zero's voice. "Did you miss me?" X felt the hand loosen from
his neck and waist and stumbled forwards, coughing madly. "Because I missed you." X rolled to his
side to face his attacker. His blood turned cold when he saw Zero standing over him, a bearing a
mad smile.
"Zero?" X croaked, his voice not yet recovered. "What...are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm here to do?" Zero started to move forwards, and X instinctively peddled
backwards with his hands. "What I'm here to do all along..." Zero drew his Z Saber, his eyes filled
with excitement from the humming laser beam. "You know that, right?"
"What? No, Zero." X hit the wall behind him. He was cornered. "What's wrong?"
"Oh please!" Zero waved his hands in the air. "Are you STILL concerned for other people when you're
about to die? I'm about to kill you here!" He snapped his wrist, and the tip of the beam saber
hovered less than an inch from X's chest. "Are you still busy being Mother Teresa."
"You're not Zero." X shook his head. "No."
"Bye bye." Zero moved forward before X could react and pierced X's chest armor. X screamed loudly,
but within seconds, managed to collect his wits and grabbed the hand that held the handle of the Z
saber. With a battle cry, X shoved both of them across the room, crashing into the bookcase.
Mementos and picture frames shattered on impact, sending shards of glass into the air. Taking
advantage of Zero's lowered guard, X raised his other fist and punched Zero in the face. Zero fell
to the ground, letting go of his grip on the beam saber, deactivating the sword.
"Ugh." X staggered backwards and dropped the handle of the sword to the ground. His chest was
bleeding profusely. He covered the wound with one hand but it simply bled through his fingers.
The room started to spin around him. //Must...call...someone....// His legs started to wobble as
he moved for the com pad at the entrance of the room. //Just a couple more... steps...// He
tasted blood in his mouth now.
"No you don't!" He heard Zero say behind him. X tried to hit the emergency button but Zero's hand
grabbed his wrist and pulled him backwards. Already weakened from the blood loss, and the initial
rush of adrenaline wearing off, X was in no condition to fight. He simply fell backwards against Zero
when he pulled his wrist backwards. He strained hard to keep his eyes open, but the sensation was
already gone from most of his body.
//I'm dying...// was X's last coherent thought. The last thing he saw was Zero's satisfied grin
above him.
--------------------------
"Earth to X!" Someone called him back to reality. X shook his head and opened his eyes. Faith's
concerned face was looking down at him. "Oh thank god, you're okay. Can you get up?" X grabbed
his chest and felt around. It was in pristine condition. Next he felt his throat for tender
spots, but found none.
"What?" X sat up and found that he had been lying on the floor. "What happened?" Then another
question popped into his head. "What are you doing in my room.?"
"I came to bring you dinner. When I was with Commander Zero earlier, he said you were in your
quarters. When you didn't answer my door rings... I got worried and...." She shifted nervously.
"...kind of broke in." Looking over her shoulder to the bookcase, X found that everything on it
was on the floor, and the shards of glass laid in a pattern consistent with his fight with Zero.
//But how come I don't have any damage?// X thought to himself.
"X? Are you okay?" She sighed. "I'm sorry I broke into your room, but I was really worried about
you. I was afraid you collapsed again..." X could tell she was feeling guilty about breaking and
entering, so he patted her on the shoulder.
"No worries." X's smile was filled with support. "Thanks for waking me up. I don't know how I
ended up on the floor." He glanced over to the bookcase. "Or what happened to that, but can you
promise not to tell Zero about this?" She looked at him curiously. "I don't want him to worry.
I probably just tripped and fell."
"Okay..." She nodded, and got up. She extended a hand to help X up from the floor. He took her
hand and got up. As he did so, he noticed she winced a bit. He held on to her hand, then examined
it. She was bleeding. Looking down, he saw that she was kneeling in glass when she was checking
on him.
"Your hands and knees!" He exclaimed. "You shouldn't have knelt on glass!" He sat her down on the
bed then moved to his closet to retrieve the first aid kit. He brought up some tweezers and gently
picked out the glass pieces. "So tell me..." X chattered as he bandaged her right knee. "What
exactly is the difference between sort of breaking in, and breaking in outright?" X couldn't help
but notice her face was a shade of neon pink. She seemed too flustered to answer. "Give me your
hand again." She complied, and X cleaned out that wound. "Just try not to break into my room again,
okay?" He grabbed the bandage and started to wrap up the wound on her hand. "I know you mean well,
but I like my privacy." She nodded furiously. "Okay, you're as good as new." She pulled her hand
back and softly rubbed the bandage on her hands.
"Thank you." She said slowly.
"No problem!" X got up. "Hey, is that mac and cheese I smell?"
"Mmm!" She nodded affirmatively, and got up from the bed. "I'll let you enjoy your dinner..."
"No, no, please stay. We can call Zero and have dinner together!"
"Okay!" She smiled brightly.
--------------------------------------
//I thought about you so much for the last three years....ever since I saw you that day, and you
saved me. Now I'm closer to you than ever. I can see you everyday, working, just being you.
It's great.//
"Can you pass the mashed potatoes?" X asked, and Faith handed him the bowl.
//It's great.//
"I got your gravy train right here, X!" Zero shoved the bowl of gravy towards X, who barely
stopped it from flying right off the table.
//It's great.//
Zero and X started to yell at each other about the gravy, as Faith looked on, wearing a contented
smile on her face.
//It's great finally being around you... but...//
The two finally succeeded spilling half their meal on each other, and were occupied in a laughing fit.
//Circumstances have changed. I've fallen for someone else.//
-----------------------------
Aya: Actually, one of the comments I read on the reviews inspired a new direction :) I'll tell
you who it is at the end of the story, since I don't want to give anything away. *evil laughter*
Let's just say it's such a sweet idea that I couldn't go to bed before finishing this chapter.
X: What in the HECK happened to me?
Mob Member 1: Hum... *takes notes* A Conspiracy Theory type story, eh?
Mob Member 2: Wow, Faith is seriously disturbed... but that is some yummy mashed potatoes.
Faith: Cooking is my forte!
Mob Member 3: Applications for Angry Mob Membership is now open! Feel free to create your own
Mob Member reactions (numbers 4 and above.. I guess) in the reviews :) Have fun with it!
Aya: This is such a fun fic! I've always thought female villains could be much more twisted!
Hee hee.
Zero: Last piece of Chicken is mine!
Aya: NOOO! *sword fight with Zero ensues. Aya wins* Yum yum.
Faith: So am I Frank or what? *tries out husky voice* Hi, I'm Frank.
Aya: Eh... we'll keep ya around for now. Just try not to hurt my sweeties too much, okay?
X and Zero: *meep*
------------------------
Hunted Heart
Chapter Three: Falling
"You sure you're okay?" Zero asked X as the two headed out of the Med Bay. Douglas was finally
convinced there was nothing wrong with X and signed off on the discharge forms. X was to stay
at his quarters, bar some kind of emergency, for the rest of today and tomorrow.
"I'm fine." X carried the basket of chicken with him. He managed to save a couple of pieces
from Douglas's and Zero's greedy hands. "I don't see why I have to take time off at all. It
was probably nothing."
"Douglas is a little concerned you that you might have caught the bug as well." Zero crossed
his arms behind his head and leaned back casually. "You might have, you know."
"I'm fine now." The two reached X's quarters, Zero started to move towards X for a quick peck
on the cheek, but decided against it.
"I'll see you later!" Zero waved and took off in the other direction. X sighed heavily and entered
his quarters. After setting the basket of chicken on his dining table, he headed off to his room
and plopped on the bed.
//What was today about?// X searched his mind for clues. //Why did Zero's touch...// Footsteps
outside of his bedroom pulled him from his thoughts. He whipped around and trained his X-Buster
at the direction of the doorway. No one was there. Confused, X lowered his weapon and glanced
around the room.
"Did I scare you?" A voice chilled the air in the room. Faster now, X spun around the room,
searching for the owner of the voice, but still found nothing. "You can't find me?" X didn't
want to get jumped from behind, so he backed against the wall, squinting hard to see anything
out of place. "I can seee you." The voice said musically, then broke into a long laughter.
"Who are you?" X asked, trying to keep up a calm appearance despite his heart hammering with
fear. "What do you want?" From out of nowhere, arms appeared on both sides of X and grabbed
X by the waist and throat. Nothing but nearly mute coughing sounds came out of X's mouth as
the assailant applied firm pressure on his throat.
"Hi, X." A familiar voice whispered in his ear.
//Ze.. Zero?!// X struggled to get out of the grip, desperately wanting to turn around and find out
it's not really Zero who is hurting him, but the assailant squeezed harder on his throat. White
stars started to appear in front of his eyes. X tried to pry the hand off, but the assailant held
on with surprising strength.
"Yes, it's me." It was definitely Zero's voice. "Did you miss me?" X felt the hand loosen from
his neck and waist and stumbled forwards, coughing madly. "Because I missed you." X rolled to his
side to face his attacker. His blood turned cold when he saw Zero standing over him, a bearing a
mad smile.
"Zero?" X croaked, his voice not yet recovered. "What...are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm here to do?" Zero started to move forwards, and X instinctively peddled
backwards with his hands. "What I'm here to do all along..." Zero drew his Z Saber, his eyes filled
with excitement from the humming laser beam. "You know that, right?"
"What? No, Zero." X hit the wall behind him. He was cornered. "What's wrong?"
"Oh please!" Zero waved his hands in the air. "Are you STILL concerned for other people when you're
about to die? I'm about to kill you here!" He snapped his wrist, and the tip of the beam saber
hovered less than an inch from X's chest. "Are you still busy being Mother Teresa."
"You're not Zero." X shook his head. "No."
"Bye bye." Zero moved forward before X could react and pierced X's chest armor. X screamed loudly,
but within seconds, managed to collect his wits and grabbed the hand that held the handle of the Z
saber. With a battle cry, X shoved both of them across the room, crashing into the bookcase.
Mementos and picture frames shattered on impact, sending shards of glass into the air. Taking
advantage of Zero's lowered guard, X raised his other fist and punched Zero in the face. Zero fell
to the ground, letting go of his grip on the beam saber, deactivating the sword.
"Ugh." X staggered backwards and dropped the handle of the sword to the ground. His chest was
bleeding profusely. He covered the wound with one hand but it simply bled through his fingers.
The room started to spin around him. //Must...call...someone....// His legs started to wobble as
he moved for the com pad at the entrance of the room. //Just a couple more... steps...// He
tasted blood in his mouth now.
"No you don't!" He heard Zero say behind him. X tried to hit the emergency button but Zero's hand
grabbed his wrist and pulled him backwards. Already weakened from the blood loss, and the initial
rush of adrenaline wearing off, X was in no condition to fight. He simply fell backwards against Zero
when he pulled his wrist backwards. He strained hard to keep his eyes open, but the sensation was
already gone from most of his body.
//I'm dying...// was X's last coherent thought. The last thing he saw was Zero's satisfied grin
above him.
--------------------------
"Earth to X!" Someone called him back to reality. X shook his head and opened his eyes. Faith's
concerned face was looking down at him. "Oh thank god, you're okay. Can you get up?" X grabbed
his chest and felt around. It was in pristine condition. Next he felt his throat for tender
spots, but found none.
"What?" X sat up and found that he had been lying on the floor. "What happened?" Then another
question popped into his head. "What are you doing in my room.?"
"I came to bring you dinner. When I was with Commander Zero earlier, he said you were in your
quarters. When you didn't answer my door rings... I got worried and...." She shifted nervously.
"...kind of broke in." Looking over her shoulder to the bookcase, X found that everything on it
was on the floor, and the shards of glass laid in a pattern consistent with his fight with Zero.
//But how come I don't have any damage?// X thought to himself.
"X? Are you okay?" She sighed. "I'm sorry I broke into your room, but I was really worried about
you. I was afraid you collapsed again..." X could tell she was feeling guilty about breaking and
entering, so he patted her on the shoulder.
"No worries." X's smile was filled with support. "Thanks for waking me up. I don't know how I
ended up on the floor." He glanced over to the bookcase. "Or what happened to that, but can you
promise not to tell Zero about this?" She looked at him curiously. "I don't want him to worry.
I probably just tripped and fell."
"Okay..." She nodded, and got up. She extended a hand to help X up from the floor. He took her
hand and got up. As he did so, he noticed she winced a bit. He held on to her hand, then examined
it. She was bleeding. Looking down, he saw that she was kneeling in glass when she was checking
on him.
"Your hands and knees!" He exclaimed. "You shouldn't have knelt on glass!" He sat her down on the
bed then moved to his closet to retrieve the first aid kit. He brought up some tweezers and gently
picked out the glass pieces. "So tell me..." X chattered as he bandaged her right knee. "What
exactly is the difference between sort of breaking in, and breaking in outright?" X couldn't help
but notice her face was a shade of neon pink. She seemed too flustered to answer. "Give me your
hand again." She complied, and X cleaned out that wound. "Just try not to break into my room again,
okay?" He grabbed the bandage and started to wrap up the wound on her hand. "I know you mean well,
but I like my privacy." She nodded furiously. "Okay, you're as good as new." She pulled her hand
back and softly rubbed the bandage on her hands.
"Thank you." She said slowly.
"No problem!" X got up. "Hey, is that mac and cheese I smell?"
"Mmm!" She nodded affirmatively, and got up from the bed. "I'll let you enjoy your dinner..."
"No, no, please stay. We can call Zero and have dinner together!"
"Okay!" She smiled brightly.
--------------------------------------
//I thought about you so much for the last three years....ever since I saw you that day, and you
saved me. Now I'm closer to you than ever. I can see you everyday, working, just being you.
It's great.//
"Can you pass the mashed potatoes?" X asked, and Faith handed him the bowl.
//It's great.//
"I got your gravy train right here, X!" Zero shoved the bowl of gravy towards X, who barely
stopped it from flying right off the table.
//It's great.//
Zero and X started to yell at each other about the gravy, as Faith looked on, wearing a contented
smile on her face.
//It's great finally being around you... but...//
The two finally succeeded spilling half their meal on each other, and were occupied in a laughing fit.
//Circumstances have changed. I've fallen for someone else.//
-----------------------------
Aya: Actually, one of the comments I read on the reviews inspired a new direction :) I'll tell
you who it is at the end of the story, since I don't want to give anything away. *evil laughter*
Let's just say it's such a sweet idea that I couldn't go to bed before finishing this chapter.
X: What in the HECK happened to me?
Mob Member 1: Hum... *takes notes* A Conspiracy Theory type story, eh?
Mob Member 2: Wow, Faith is seriously disturbed... but that is some yummy mashed potatoes.
Faith: Cooking is my forte!
Mob Member 3: Applications for Angry Mob Membership is now open! Feel free to create your own
Mob Member reactions (numbers 4 and above.. I guess) in the reviews :) Have fun with it!
Aya: This is such a fun fic! I've always thought female villains could be much more twisted!
Hee hee.
Zero: Last piece of Chicken is mine!
Aya: NOOO! *sword fight with Zero ensues. Aya wins* Yum yum.