"You know, X, you haven't been very responsive or talkative lately. What gives?"
To somebody who didn't really know better, the question would sound more or less like a simple one. But to somebody like X, the two words "what" and "gives" fused together formed the equivalent of a mental punch in the groin. He'd never enjoyed answering it, nor any of it's many forms, and he wasn't exactly thrilled to hear it now, especially in the state he was in.
"Hey, Glaish... you might want to lay off," another voice chimed in, this one softer than the last. "You know the way X can get. It's probably best that we leave him the way he is."
"Well, I've DONE that before, Nora," the first voice started again. "Trust me, he can get dangerous if he doesn't get the chance to let his feelings out. I've seen the fruits of his pent-up rage before, and trust me, it's a wrath that none of us want to incur."
He really hated situations like these. He'd always despised looking like an idiot, especially in front of his friends. So what was he going to do now? Look like a whiny fool and sit there with his head down on that cafeteria table all day, not saying a word? X hated doing it, but there were times when he just couldn't help it...
"What? Is he asleep, or somethin'?" a third voice interrupted, a little gruffier than the other two. "I mean, honestly. He's been like that for twenty minutes now. I think we should wake him up."
"Icarus, he ISN'T asleep, okay?" the first voice rebuttaled. "He's just... angry, I think. Or just really, really tired. Or both."
"It's kind of disturbing, really," the soft second voice began again. "Saddening, even. You think the leg injury is starting to effect his brain somehow...?"
Now X was starting to get seriously uncomfortable from this chatter. What possessed them to talk about him like that, when he was sitting right in front of them? What could POSSIBLY possess them to think that he wasn't capable of hearing every word they were saying?
"Nah, it's nothing physical, I reckon," the first voice stated. "This is emotional, no doubt. I'm not sure what it's about, though... maybe if SOMEBODY would get him to say something, THEN we could find out."
"...well, maybe he can't say anything," the third voice started again, sounding more grim than usual. "Maybe he's dead."
"He's not dead, Icarus," the second voice scolded. "But, then again, he doesn't seem very alive either."
This was becoming unbearable for the silent blue Hunter. He didn't know exactly what was keeping him from telling them how he felt, but whatever it was, he was certainly considering disregarding it right about now. Still, he had that nagging feeling that telling them too much would make him feel even worse...
"Well, let's just say, for the sake of argument, that he's dead," the third voice reasoned. "Is it really that surprising? I mean, he's had to deal with a LOT of stress in his life. The guy's had a decent run - might as well just let him rot in peace, eh?"
"Er... well, while I admit that he's undergone a lot of stress in the past, I don't think he'd just die for no apparent reason after eating lunch," the first voice said. "Unless, of course, he ate too much tuna again. That overload of mercury might have finally infected his systems."
"Alright, you know what?" the second voice butted in, sounding desperate. "Why don't we just end this conversation now, okay? So maybe X is dead. Big deal. Let's just leave him here for now, and if there's a problem, the janitors can clean up his remains..."
Okay - now it was COMPLETELY obvious as to what they were trying to do. Although X really didn't want to give them the satisfaction of waking up, he decided to toss his principles in the wastebasket for now - it just wasn't worth the trouble anymore. Grumbling to himself, he lifted his head up from the table and opened his eyes, immediately halting the annoying chatter of his friends seated around him. Even though the bright cafeteria lights caught him off guard at first, things came into focus very rapidly. Three of his friends, the owners of the voices, were staring at him from their seats, all looking surprised and satisfied at the same time.
"...well well well. Look who isn't dead!" the owner of the third voice exclaimed, a grey-armored humanoid named Icarus. The sun lightly reflected off of the small, faded-gold gem capped on the middle of his forehead, forcing X to blink a couple times at the unwelcome light. "How are things on your end, buddy?"
"Urr... hi there," X said groggily, trying his damndest to suppress the rage that had gradually surmounted within him during the past few minutes. So, he pondered, they were STILL joking around with him. How lovely.
"Good to see that you're awake, and... err, alive, X," said the owner of the second voice, Nora Estin, seated to X's left. She was one of the most prominent members of X's 17th Unit, with mid-length reddish-brown hair and an athletic-yet-slender body. While she sometimes acted timid in social activity, she was still very friendly and personable. "Got worried about you for a minute there."
"Oh, I'm sure you did," X replied, reeking of dry sarcasm. "So, Glaicer. You got some blatantly phony courtesy to throw my way, too?"
Rather than reply snidely, 12th Unit Leader Glacier Dragoon just glared at X with narrowed eyes, a look of concern on his face. His form was sculpted to resemble a dragon of sorts, with his elongated snout and teeth-filled mouth, claws on hands and feet, and smallish, green eyes. His cerulean-armored build, however, resembled that of a common humanoid's, as was the popular design among animal reploids.
"Oh, I see how it is," X said, acknowledging Glacier's piercing stare. "So you're gonna give me the silent treatment. Well, that's just fine with me..."
"X, WHAT is your problem?" Glacier suddenly barked, trying not to let his voice get too loud. "I mean, seriously. You've been sitting with your head down for almost all of the time we've been in here. You haven't eaten anything, you haven't said anything... I mean, the three of us thought you were DEAD, X. And now that you've been awakened from that 'slumber' of yours, you're acting like an angry old man. Honestly, what's the deal with all this?!"
Even in X's foggy, diluted state, he still could tell when somebody was trying to get serious with him - and Glacier certainly was. But even with his friend's bold tone, X couldn't bring himself to vent his problems for all to hear - that gut feeling inside of him was still tugging at him, coaxing him to keep his emotions clandestine for the moment. Or was it beause he just didn't have the energy...?
"I'm just... well..." X stuttered, keeping his voice low. "I'm just... tired, is all."
"...OH! I know why X is acting upset," Icarus suddenly chimed in, sounding unnaturally cheerful in his discovery. "This has something to do with Zero's scouting mission, doesn't it?"
A chilling, seemingly infinite silence suddenly encased the four of them; even with the bustling noise of the cafeteria surrounding them, the entire table just seemed to pause in time, allowing Icarus's realization to sink in. X could feel himself shivering - the name "Zero" sent an unpleasant impulse shooting through his body, and it showed.
"...OH," Nora said, breaking the silent tension among them all. "So this is all about Zero, is it? Now THAT would explain a lot."
"Right, right, right," Glacier agreed. "He went on that scouting trip on Saturday, right? He's off all week with the Colonel and Iris, and his unit." He looked directly into X's face, which currently displayed a mixture of frustration and defeat. "So, X. THIS is what you're all worked up about, eh?"
He couldn't close the floodgates now; X was pinned against the wall. Letting out a giant, heaving sigh, he suddenly straigheted his posture a bit and looked right back at his friend. "Alright," he said admittingly. "I know I've been acting weird, and... yeah, Zero has something to do with it. But only PARTIALLY." He made sure to accentuate the word 'partially' as much as he could. "See, Zero's little escapades, while not that bad on their own, have led to more destructive consequences for me in the long run..."
"Which are?" Icarus pried in his nosiest voice.
"Hold on! I'm GETTING to that," X scolded. "Listen, I admit that Zero going off on the scouting mission and leaving me here to rot in my own filth does get me a little perturbed. But furthermore, BECAUSE Zero isn't here... I've been given an alternate job from Cain."
"Oh, THIS should be good," Glacier commented. "Is it a chore?"
"Might as well be," X groaned. "See, the doc is having me sent to the Repliforce HQ for a few days to stay with General and the others while Zero's away. As he puts it, he's worried about the Repliforce's faith in the Hunter cause, and he wants me to represent the Hunters and give the soldiers a morale boost... or something along those lines." He let out a sigh. "And I just don't feel up to it, really."
"...well, that doesn't sound all that bad, X," Nora comforted. "I mean, think of it this way. Zero is doing something he enjoys doing - you know, being out in the open, leading missions with friends of his. He's much more action-oriented than you are. You, X, have always been more of a thinker than a fighter - and because of that, you're getting to do something that WON'T involve violence to get the job done. See what I'm getting at?"
"Yeah, but this is different," X quickly rebounded. "This isn't some pissant group of people who really don't know me outside of my battle victories, or a group of elementary kids or something. This is a faction of reploids strongly dominated by a military spirit and Reploidian pride and all that whoo-ah. I'm just... not like that at all. And they happen to resent me for it."
"Waitaminute. They ALL resent you?" Icarus inquiried. "That's a... little odd. I mean, sure, you're kind of a reserved, peaceful weirdo. And you know, people around you might think of you as a... well, a reserved, peaceful weirdo. But I don't know why anybody would out-and-out resent you for that."
"Then there's plenty of people in the world that you haven't met yet, Icarus," Glacier butted in, his eyes narrowed. "It isn't too hard for me to imagine people disliking X..."
"Oh, thanks," X replied sarcastically, shooting his friend a piercing set of dagger eyes. "So I'm COMPLETELY dislikable now?"
"Err, uh..." Glacier stuttered nervously. "Well, you aren't exactly Johnny B. Benevolent, if you know what I mean."
"...uhh, yeah. Well, the point is, it isn't EVERYBODY in the Repliforce that resents me," X specified. "I mean, there's still the General, who's always held a pretty high amount of respect for me, which I'm fortunate to have. But most of the other soldiers - especially the Colonel - just look at me at this pacifistic, dried-up hack with no loyalty towards his people. And, believe me, I would MUCH rather help Zero with his mission than try to get a giant grouping of pride-driven reploids to understand MY point of view."
"Well, what do you want us to do about it, X?" Nora asked with a bit of desperation. "Honestly, I think I speak for both Glacier and Icarus here when I say that watching you go through depression kind of creeps us out. A LOT."
"Hmm..." X pondered for a second, some memories starting to come back. "Well, now that you mention it, there is ONE thing you guys can do. When Cain was talking to me about the Repliforce visit, I recall him mentioning that I would be able to bring a friend with me. Now, considering that Zero is out of the picture, and the three of you are a few of my closer friends..."
Before X could even finish, Icarus suddenly leaped from his seat and pointed to a window across from their table. "HEY, LOOK! A BLUEJAY!" he announced with vigor, his voice ringing painfully in the ears of the Hunters seated around him. "You NEVER see those things outdoors at THIS time of year, no siree bob. I'd better, uhh, go photograph it for... uh, my bird photography collection... thing. Yeah." He paused nervously for a second, his arms trembling. "So... BYE!" With that, he quickly sped away from the table and towards the other window, knocking several unwary soldiers to their feet in the process. As a bit of a ruckus ensued among the troops, X just sighed a bit.
"Well, I have to admit it, he seemed to pull that stunt off pretty well in such short notice," the worn-out blue Hunter acknowledged. He turned his attention back to Nora and Glacier. "So, anyway, since the TWO of you are a couple of my closer friends..."
Neither Hunter said a word - both of them knew very well what X was implying to both of them, but weren't able to pick up on it as quickly as Icarus had. Instead, they just sat there, dumbly exchanging frightened glances, as if desperately searching eachother's minds for the perfect alibi. At first, it didn't seem like either of them would be quick-witted enough to cut X's sentence off - that is, until Nora finally spoke up.
"AGH!" she yelped, suddenly clasping onto her left leg. "Aww, jeez... well, there goes my bad leg again! What is this, the fifth time this week?! Wow..." Milking her feigned pain as much as possible, she "tried" to lift herself up from her chair, only to slip and almost fall headfirst to the ground. Luckily, she had grabbed onto the side of the table beforehand. "WHEW!" she exclaimed. "Better watch myself, eh? Heh... well, I'd better get myself down to the infirmary to get this... evened out..."
"Oh, is that so?" X commented, a look of uncharacteristic sadism on his face. "Well, then maybe you'd like me to help you down there. I mean, it IS a long walk, and you wouldn't want to go tumbling down 3 flights of stairs, would you?"
"Wha-WHAT? Oh, oh no! Don't worry about that!" Nora replied desperately, trying her best to back away from the table while still staying true to her pained limb. "I, uh... can handle myself. Yeah. Well, er... I guess I'd better... go, and... BYE." Suddenly breaking "character", the Huntress fleetingly ignored her act and ran full-speed in the other direction, making like Icarus by knocking even more poor Hunters to the ground. X and Glacier just stared, flabbergasted.
"Hmm... well, that was a little weak, eh?" X commented snidely. "Now, Glacier..."
Oh, GREAT! Now I've gotta fend X off on my own... Glacier mentally panicked, trying his best to not let the awkwardness of the situation get to him. But it was a futile struggle - his mind had been wiped clean of all possible exuses, and the fear of the situation froze him right in his seat. X was talking, it was obvious - his mouth was moving. But his mind was so occupied trying to find a way out of his current Hell, he couldn't comprehend a word...
"So, Glaish, since everybody else chickened out..." X was began to finish, much to Glacier's dismay. But he wouldn't go down without a fight.
"Well, err... actually, X..." Glacier finally interrupted, his voice sounding shaky and horrifically desperate. "I'd love to go, really. But there's a... well, a... thing, that..."
"Yeah?" X broke in, giving him a piercing stare.
Glacier gulped. "Uhh... well, this thing is... REALLY important. Actually, it's SO important, that that I'm not even sure I'll be able to stay a Hunter if I don't attend it. Yeah. It's a, uhh... protest march..."
"Oh! A PROTEST march," X butted in, his stare becoming more and more unnerving to the already broken Glacier. "What about?"
"Oh... what about?" Glacier stuttered, trying to keep his eyes turned away from X's. "Ah, it's, uh... protesting the usage of cow... eyes... in reploid armor. Yeah." He paused for a moment - now X's sadistic, narrow-eyed stare was REALLY starting to creep him out. Although he hated admitting it, it was only a matter of time before he cracked under the pressure...
"Oh, wow. Sounds like a noble cause," X continued, feigning interest. "So, how long is it gonna last?"
"Uh... well, we're..." Glacier said, his voice starting to break up. X knew VERY well that he was making all this crap up - there was NO way he would get away with this charade now. "It'll be... a week or so... and, uh... we might be out for another... two... uh... days, because..."
It was over. Glacier Dragoon was abandoned, frightened, and creatively shot to hell - three factors that sealed his fate. Before he could say another word, he just paused for a moment, looking white with fear, searching his mind for something - ANYTHING - he could use to back up his lousy alibi. But it was hopeless, he realized, scratching his claws angrily on the hardwood cafeteria table and clenching his teeth.
"...ALRIGHT!" the blue dragon almost shouted, staring at X with disgraced eyes. "You win, okay?! I'll GO with you." He huffed a little bit. "When is this thing again?"
"Wednesday," X reminded him, a smile of triumph imprinted on his formerly stolid face. "Be ready by noon. And don't worry, you won't have to say anything or do anything important there - you'll mostly just be my lackey for the trip."
"...hmm. Well, I guess that's good, considering that I hate public speaking..." he admitted, scratching at his snout. "But if I'm going to go on this thing, I want you to promise me something. If there's any kind of hazing, or burning, or bombing, or even CEREMONIAL LYNCHING, it's going to be directed all at YOU. Okay? You'll take the brunt of it all, and I'll just sit on the sidelines scarfing down Cheetos. Sound good?"
X raised his eyebrows. "Honestly, I don't think you really have anything to worry about," he bitterly reassured him. "Trust me, if things get down to the wire, it'll be ME that gets ceremonially lynched. No offense, but I'd be surprised if anybody in the Repliforce actually knew who you were."
Glacier nodded. "Nice point," he said, stretching his arms out a bit. "This'll be such a fun trip."
Being a night watchman isn't a very rewarding job, nor an exciting one. While some might consider the job dangerous and very frightening, those who have actually experienced it would probably say otherwise; unless the area that's being guarded is really important and popular, the entire job mostly consists of standing outside in the cold all night trying to find ways of amusing yourself. Now, to some people, this job is relatively easy considering that you get to lounge around as much as you want. To others, it's incredibly boring.
But to a veteran Maverick Hunter like Zero... well, he was indifferent about the whole thing. But then again, he wasn't outside in the cold, and he wasn't standing up. So that made his life much easier.
Standing around outside was stupid, anyway... at least, in Zero's eyes. It was way too obvious. If somebody just came waltzing over to some door and saw that a guard was there, would they even TRY to get in? Probably not. Instead, they'd just walk away for a time, secretly vowing to strike once again. And, to Zero, that didn't solve the problem in the slightest. No, the only way to make sure that this person wouldn't be able to strike again would be to catch them in the act as soon as possible. Hide in the shadows and watch them do something they shouldn't be doing - and then LEAP at them, surprise them, capture them, convict them. It was easy.
And, all things considered, it was a helluva lot more fun. Zero would never deny that. What was the fault in taking pleasure in one's work?
But the crimson-armored hothead hadn't exactly chosen to do this job; in reality, it really had been more of a request by the Colonel of the Repliforce. He couldn't find any of his own soldiers willing to guard a small, abandoned Maverick weapon storage area, so he specifically asked Zero to take care of it. And, being Colonel's friend and everything, he accepted without too much hesitation. Not like he had much else to do that night besides play solitaire or something... all of the soldiers tended to go to sleep pretty early. Must've been some Repliforce policy thing, Zero figured.
So there he was, sitting alone in a small cave-like area filled with Maverick weapon crates, his long blonde ponytail ruffled against the walls as as he hid behind one of the larger crates. The area was completely devoid of any light whatsoever - which in all honesty didn't bother Zero as much as he thought it would, even after sitting there for almost two hours now. He had brought a lamp, but he had decided not to use it. Darkness wasn't that tough to handle.
"Well... nothing like some nice peace and quiet, eh?" the Hunter playfully noted, his voice echoing softly throughout the cave. Unfortunately enough, Zero really hadn't brought much to entertain himself with during this overnight charade; well, except for his trusty lightsaber, which he had a tendency to carry around wherever he went. But something like a lightsaber was really only fun to swing around during training or something - it would cause a little too much distraction in a dank place like that. The only thing Zero could think of that would entertain him would be somebody sneaking in - but Zero knew that couldn't happen, considering how disciplined and orderly the Repliforce soldiers were. The Crimson Hunter wouldn't deny that for a second...
...that is, until he heard a foreign, audible tapping noise from the far end of the cave.
At first, he really wasn't sure of what it was, or exactly who was generating it. But it was loud enough to arouse suspicion in Zero - one thing was for sure, it didn't sound like a natural kind of tapping at all. As it resonated throughout the cave's walls, Zero noted that it sounded almost metallic, as if it came from a reploid's boot... and there it was again, louder and closer this time. The Crimson Hunter could definitely sense a presence in the room this time around - although there weren't many other signals to indicate it, he had the uncanny ability to percept another person's presence. But was it safe to act on this yet...?
Probably not, Zero figured, keeping all his five senses acute in order to figure out what was transpiring behind the large weapons crate he used as his hiding spot. It wasn't long before the same metallic tapping sound ensued once again - it approached faster this time, but still remained slow; this person must have been making sure the coast was clear, Zero gathered. His estimates were suddenly confirmed when finally a soft voice was heard. "Alright, looks like the area's unguarded for now," it murmured, barely receivable by Zero's ears. "C'mon!"
"Hold on, hold on..." a second voice replied, in a much louder whisper than the first; this voice sounded much more feminine than the last one, too. "I'm sorry, but you KNOW I don't like being here at this hour."
Zero rubbed his chin a little bit. So there were two people coming in now? Hmm...
"Please, Lucinda, could we NOT argue this right now?" said the first more-masculine voice, his tone noticably louder this time around. "C'mon, all I'm gonna do is take some pictures. It's my hobby! Photography kicks so much ass."
"Oh, whatever..." the female voice countered. "Listen, just take your stupid pictures and let's get the hell out of this place, okay?!"
"Okay, I DON'T need that attitude," the male barked, losing his temper. "Just what is your problem?!"
Oh jeez, don't wanna get involved in this... Zero mentally noted. Deciding to take a bit of a risk anyway, the Crimson Hunter finally poked his head above the top of his hiding crate to take a look at the scene - and was very surprised at what he saw. In the middle of the cave were two Repliforce soldiers - Lucinda, a thin female reploid with violet-hued armor and very long, light-blonde hair, and Jax, a male reploid with maroon armor and some reddish hair sticking out from underneath his helmet. Both were friends of Zero's, and close friends with eachother... most people had the idea that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, but it was kind of hard to determine solid relationships between machines. It was odd, though - from the way they carried on, Zero had predicted that they were a married human couple, bickering over some stupid thing that happened during their vacation. He looked on intently, making sure not to let himself be seen or heard.
"Jax, my PROBLEM is that I can't STAND all of this anymore!" Lucinda yelled, almost dropping the small lamp that served as their only source of light. "Listen, hobbies don't usually annoy me this much, but you're taking things to far. If you wanna go venturing into some closed-off area to take pretty little pictures, then do it YOURSELF next time, okay? I've got better things to do with my time..."
"Better things? HAH! That's a good one," Jax said snidely, laughing to himself a bit. "What in blazes to do you do over at the Repliforce camp at night that's so important?"
"I DO PLENTY!" Lucinda screeched. "It's a lot more constructive that hanging around in a cave with you all day, I'll tell you that right now. And ANOTHER thing..."
Zero had decided to stop listening for a time; this was getting out of hand, and he was going to personally put an end to it. Although usually Zero wasn't one to horn in on other people's affairs, these two were trespassing in the area, and REALLY were getting on his nerves to boot. Making sure to make as little noise as he possibly could, the agile Hunter shifted slowly away from his crate, ducking his head. Moving behind a much larger stack of crates next to his original one, he heard a little more of the conversation as it progressed.
"...and it's dangerous here, too!" Lucinda continued, her voice carrying throughout the entire cave. "You pulled me into this before I could even grab a weapon or SOMETHING to protect us a little. Say we get ambushed - what're you gonna use to fight back, a Polaroid?!"
No weapons, eh? Zero pondered as he began to climb the large stack of crates, making sure not to knock any of them down. Well then, this'll be a LOT easier than I expected.
"Hey, remember who you're talking to!" Jax yelled. "I may not look like much, but you know well that I'm one kick-ass martial artist. If anybody attacks, I'll just choke them to death with my vice-like kung fu grip."
Zero was practically in position already, having finally reached the top of the crate stack. He had a full-range view of the cave now - Lucinda and Jax were positioned right in the middle of his view, the light from their lantern forming a circular ring around them. He knew exactly what he'd do; with as much energy as he could muster, the Crimson Slayer would leap heroically from the crates, sailing over the two Repliforce soldiers and landing right in front of the cave's entrance. This would prevent the two from trying to escape, allowing Zero to give them a good talking to. Or something along those lines.
"Well, here goes nuthin'," Zero whispered to himself, bending his legs and preparing for takeoff. A sly smile spread across his face as he leapt powerfully into the air...
...and, right around then, was when he felt the snag. Barely moments after fleeing his post, the cocky Hunter's right foot scraped against part of the top crate, causing Zero to completely lose his composure. Panicking, he suddenly realized that there was nowhere to go but straight down...
Lucinda and Jax both heard it - a desperate cry for help, followed by a deafening THUD! almost right next to them. They were startled as a sizable cloud of dust met their senses, blurring their vision and causing them to cough a little bit. Lucinda, trying her best to get a better look at the scene, was the first of the two to catch a glimpse at who (or what) had taken such a nasty fall.
She blinked. "Commander Zero? Is that you?"
"...uhh..." the fallen reploid moaned; Zero's entire body lay face-down on the ground, his arms and legs spread out. His armor was completely tarnished with cracks and dust, and his face was embedded in the soil. Despite these qualities, however, it wasn't hard for Lucinda and Jax to identify their friend - they could easily distinguish his lightsaber sheath and long, blonde ponytail from their point of view.
"...Zero?! Oh, great!" Jax panicked, looking on nervously at the accomplished Hunter's twitching body. "What's HE doing here?! Oh, jeez, now we're gonna get busted for sure... just my luck!"
"Jax, would you PLEASE stop worrying about that for now?" Lucinda scolded. "The guy just took a pretty bad spill, okay? We'd better help him out, or else the situation's gonna get worse before it gets better." She looked back to the Hunter commander, who appeared to be struggling to pick himself back up. "Uh... you need any help, Commander?"
"...uhnnn..." Zero groaned again, this time sounding a little louder than before. After a brief struggle, he managed to lift his head off of the ground, as well as most of his torso "No... I'm okay... I think. Probably obliterated half of my brain, but dems the breaks they be," he said as he sluggishly lifted himself to his feet, dust particles falling off of various parts of his tattered armor. Lucinda and Jax looked a bit surprised as they watched on - after a very painful-sounding fall, Zero didn't seem to be half as damaged or jittered as they thought he would be due to his surprisingly rapid recovery.
"Zero, you're SURE you don't need any help there?" Lucinda pressed on. "I mean... are you okay?"
The Crimson Hunter, his face greyed from dust, shrugged a bit. "Hmm... that's a good question," he replied groggily. "I guess I'm alright, but honestly, I'm feeling a little less than perfect. I mean, honestly, a fall like that is never a good thing for anybody. Ever." Cracking his neck a bit, he directed his attention to the large stack of crates behind him. "But hey, at least I was lucky enough not to knock down any of these crates with me, eh? Otherwise, I REALLY would've been squashed. Jeez."
"Uh, sir?" Jax chimed in, shaking a bit. "If you, uh, don't mind my asking, WHY exactly are you here? I thought you were back at the base."
Zero huffed a little bit, and odd smirk forming on his face. "Why am I here? Heh, that's a good one," he said. "Maybe I should be asking the two of YOU the same question, eh? I'm the night watchman here for now, and I know for a fact that the two of you aren't supposed to be here at this hour."
"Commander, I know it might sound dumb, but this wasn't my idea at all. It was HIS." Lucinda pointed damningly at her friend, who immediately went white with fear from the accusation. "I was having a decent time back at the base area until he barged in and dragged me, without ANY explanation why, to this dingy little cave. THEN he told me why."
"Listen, I'd just found this place out, okay?!" Jax rebuttled, trying to salvage his dignity just a little bit. "It's really cool in here, with all this old Maverick junk. I was about to take some photos of it all, but then I remembered that you would probably wanna see all this crap too, so..." He shrugged. "I dunno! It was just for fun, overall. And I never expected there to be any security, let alone somebody like you, Zero..."
"Alright, alright!" Zero interrupted, waving his arms to-and-fro. "I've heard everything already, trust me. Your voices were so damned loud, it was kind of impossible NOT to." He brushed a few more specks of dust off of his double-pointed helmet. "But seriously, guys. I really don't care who started it, or whatever - you shouldn't be hanging around here at all. And you DEFINITELY shouldn't take pictures - they could start spreading around and then who knows what would happen then."
"Err, well..." Jax said softly. "I was gonna keep them to myself..."
"Well, nevertheless, it ain't safe in here," Zero instructed. Glancing down, he bent over to pick up a small rock from the ground. "Here, let me show ya." Looking over to a small crate on the far side of the room, he took the rock at hurled it lightly towards it. Almost immediately on impact, the small box exploded with a small yet powerful-seeming flash of light.
"HOLEE!" Lucinda shouted, the ground below her feet rumbling a bit. She and Jax looked on as the smoke cleared, which revealed a sizable hole in part of the cave wall. The two Repliforce soldiers looked on with wideeyes, while Zero smirked.
"See that?" he pointed out. "Not very stable around here, nuh-uh. Could EASILY get yourself killed if you do something stupid, right?" The cocky Hunter wiped his hands together. "So, now, what to do..."
"Commander? You aren't gonna mention any of this to the Colonel, are you?" Jax asked the Hunter, sounding plainly unnerved. "Because if you did, well... we wouldn't be treated very well, if you know what I mean."
"Hm... well, I'm not sure," Zero admitted, furrowing his brow. "Now, the Colonel's a good guy, but he's just very prideful and strict. So I can understand where you're coming from there. But on the other hand, it's my duty to let Colonel know about any disturbances around here. I wouldn't wanna betray his confidence or anything."
"Please, Zero? Just this once," Lucinda begged. "From now on, I'll PERSONALLY make sure something like this doesn't end up happening again. Trust me." Making her message clear, she elbowed her Jax in the arm, causing him to recoil a bit from the pain.
"Yeah..." Jax said woefully. "Whatever she said."
Zero, still pondering what he should do, scratched the back of his head a bit. "Alright, tell you what," he began. "The two of you are friends of mine, and I know both of you to be good people. So I'll give you the benefit of a doubt and say that you were just curious enough to check this place out. But let's make a deal first, okay?" He cracked his fingers. "Now then... I won't say a word to Colonel about this, but ONLY if you keep quiet about that fall I just had. I have a reputation to maintain, you know. Comprendes?"
The two both eagerly nodded in unison. "No problem."
"Okay, then. It's a deal," the Crimson Hunter finalized, still wiping some leftover dust particles out of his hair. "Now, listen... I would definitely say that the two of you should get the hell out of this place as soon as you can. I'm a little worried that that small explosion thinger I set off could've cause some commotion back at the base... but eh, it's not terribly likely. Security around there isn't quite as tight as you may think."
"Don't worry, we'll be quiet," Lucinda assured him, already starting for the exit.
"Yeah, we will..." Jax agreed with humility, turning around to follow his friend. "Thanks, Zero."
"Hey, no prob," Zero said, starting to walk back towards his post. "Just hurry up, alright? The Colonel might catch you sneaking back in if you're too slow. And get some sleep, too - we've got more scouting early in the morning tomorrow. I think he wants us up at around four, or something."
"Four-thirty," Lucinda corrected him. "And trust me, we'll be awake. We really don't sleep THAT much. Have a good night."
"You too," Zero said with finality, watching as their two forms walked out of the cave and into the darkness of the night, their lantern as their only guide. Again, the entire area around Zero was cold and dismal, with nothing visible at all. Taking solace in his own mind, the Crimson Hunter remembered the explosion he had set off not to long ago-
Mini-mines, he recalled, smirking. Damn, those things work pretty good! 'Twas enough to make the two of them think this place was filled with explosives... when, actually, there's nuthin' in here but dried-up Maverick canteens. Deception can be so fun.
Still energetic but worn out from the fall, Zero first considered taking a nap back at his little nook - he figured it wouldn't hurt, since he really couldn't imagine anybody else jumping inside the cave at this hour. But that was a little too boring for him; he wanted to do something different, but still relaxing. Staring outside, he noticed the stars were out - shrugging, he decided to take a look at them for a little while. The cold didn't bother him, after all, and it would be nice to get out for some time. He'd forgotten the last time he'd actually taken time to stare at those things, anyway...