Disclaimer: All characters belong to Capcom. Blind, Dr. Asaki, and random people thrown in, unfortunately, belong to me. Blind only belongs to me until the very end, where his 'secret identity' is revealed and I must return him to his proper owners. Damn him.

I'm not making money off of this; it's for entertainment only. Dedicated to the few who have been reading since the beginning, in its wee, tiny existence and to those who... who... um.... ^_^;;; yeah.

XD Oh, I forgot to mention. There's wet skin in this chapter.

Chapter 2

In the past...

"I had a nightmare."

A dark eyebrow arched over a pair of shades. "You called me because you had a bad dream?"

Rock pouted, picking at the food in front of him. "I thought big brothers were supposed to comfort their siblings, not berate them."

"I'm not berating you." Blues snitched a fry from Rock, muttering, "God, I hate McDonald's," before eating it.

"Hey! Get your own." Rock swatted his hand at his brother, trying to ward the Evil Menace away from his meal. "And if you hate it, why did you agree to come here and eat the food?"

"Because if I didn't," he said, waving about a chicken nugget to emphasize his point, "then you would have dragged me off somewhere that I dislike even more. And I said I hated the restaurant, not the food. So," Blues clucked his tongue and slowly made the McNugget vanish, "what did you dream?"

Rock puckered his lips in thought, scratching a finger at his temple. "Well, it was strange. For one, it didn't seem like a dream. Yeah sure, it was fuzzy when I woke up and all I could remember was this really... I don't know how to describe them, but there were these...eyes! Definitely not human, but I'm not sure if they were a robot's either. And," he turn somewhat sheepish, "after I stayed up for a bit, I remembered."

He went on to recall the events of the vision, skipping around the more grotesque details, but generally got the idea across. And Blues sat there, quietly taking in everything he was told like a professional 'listener' should.

"And, and like I was trying to say before I tripped over the eye thing, it didn't seem like a dream at all. Or even something a person would imagine. It was like... a memory. A very twisted memory. I mean, it felt like... I have really gone through something that.. that...--"

"That morbid and outlandish?"

Rock shrugged and reached for his fries. "For lack of better words, yeah."

"Well," said Blues, kicking back on his side of the booth, "whatever you say it is, it was a dream which might have spawned from your urges to rehabilitate Forte. Nothing more."

Rock's brow creased with worry. "I don't know... but I keep getting this feeling it's connected to that... swirly disk.. whatzit thing."

A tiny smile tugged at Blues' lips as Rock flailed his arms. As if that would help his vocab. "Rock, it was no sweat. We were pulled in.. and came out the other side. Nothing happened."

Rock frowned at his brother. That's suspicious in itself. Blues was all over that thing at the time. "Then why were you unconscious when we came out the other side?"

"What does it matter?" he asked airily. "You're alive, I'm alive, Forte's still a bitch, and the mutts are just dandy."

"I just..." Rock looked down at the isle floor, putting a hand to his chest. "I just wish you would let Light-san scan you for any irregularities in your system. It would make me feel so much better."

Blues sighed softly and pushed the shades to rest on his forehead, catching the younger 'bot's attention with the movement. "I have made many readjustments to myself, Rock. If he were to go by my original blueprints,-- that's all he /can/ do-- then he would find a million things different." He licked at his top lip nervously. "Rokku, if there /was/ something wrong with me, I would know it. ...Six days is more than enough time for a problem to arise /if/...there was one."

Rock's expression saddened drastically; he was having a difficult time believing his brother. But there's nothing I can do. "Alright.. Alright. ...I trust you."

In the present...

The moment X pushed open the infirmary doors, he assaulted by the vulgar shrieks of his underling, half of which shouldn't be repeated by anyone. The busy medical personal swarmed about like ants at an intersection, with the head doctor in the center of the commotion, patching Okudo up as best he can.

"Dammit, dammit-- Shit! Why the fuck didn't you shut me down, you rat-fucking basta~AAAAH!" X winced and weaved around the Lifesavor, approaching Aesculapius from behind. "So what's the deal, doc?"

Okudo looked up to the familiar voice and hysterical relief flooded over the slightly pudgy face. "Oh man! Commander, please tell this sadistic asshole to put me under, PLEASE!"

X raised an eyebrow and looked over Aesculapius' shoulder, ignoring Okudo's cries of pain. The medic was reconstructing the reploid's leg using a mecurial templating laser; the azure reploid grimaced. "Aesclad, if this wasn't your work, I'd be scared."

Aesculapius snorted, cutting the power to the laser. "All I'm teaching him is to never do something stupid (like get hurt) ever again. Don't get injured and you've learned a very important lesson. Besides," the blonde hit Okudo in the shoulder, indicating for him to pay attention as well, "you're Elites. You should be able to handle the pain."

Okudo had tears hanging out of his eyes. "Argh! Bullshit, doc!"

The reploid medic cast a glare at Okudo, putting a delicate hand on his hip. "Would you rather I tear the leg off right now and start to replace it from scratch?"

The Elite yelped and grabbed at his still-useless leg, shaking his head insistently. Aesculapius grinned evilly. "Good," he purred, before collecting a passing Lifesavor and gave it orders to switch Okudo off and restart the repairs on him.

And then, he turned to X. "I doubt you came down here just to see how your subordinate was faring under my 'torture'."

X gave a half smile; Aesclad was always quick. "Can I talk to you somewhere?"

Faster than X could say 'trousers', Aesculapius hooked his arm into X's and dragged him off to his office. A few of the recovering patients they passed either snickered or gave them bewildered looks. But the sight wasn't about anything their imaginations could conjure up.

Aesculapius' personal space was as cluttered as a closet and could have been as small as one. X half-lidded his eyes as the doctor closed the door behind them. "I thought you said this place was cleaned up."

"Nooo," drawled the blonde, depositing his lavender-armored self into his chair. "I said it was cleaner, not cleaned up."

Snort. "Could've fooled me. This place screams 'bonfire'. Can't you put them on disk?"

Aesculapius gave a thin smile. "Secret: they are. This is just to discourage people."

"Like your sadistic tendencies?"

"Pshaw. Hardly. That's more like taking out my frustration." The mechanical doctor narrowed his eyes. "The Septenary have still refused my request to be transfered from staff to field duty. Their constant excuse? I'm the best damned doctor in this whole facility and that should not be taken away.

"Of course, with all the complaints they received about /how/ I am the best, I'm surprised I haven't been transfered sooner... or even destroyed, what with all the prescribed Maverick scans I have to take."

"How many times are you at?"

"Down to four times a week, yeah baby," he said unenthusiastically. He shoved a stack of papers to the side, a handful falling to the floor; Aesclad disregarded them. Instead, he just folded his hands and placed them in his lap. "So what can I do for you, Commander?"

X left his spot by the door and sat down in a cheap leather-brown chair, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees. "I used the Giga Crush without the armor again."

Aesculapius quirked an eyebrow, his attention at full now. "I know we talked about this, X. Did your systems overheat like last time?"

X shook his head. "No malfunctions or anything out of the ordinary."

"...Odd." The blonde swiveled around in his chair and punched up a screen on his holo-console. With a butterfly's touch, Aesculapius moved the cursor around, accessing a few files. "The only explanation I can give you off the top of my head is that your body adapted and developed around it and synchronized its energy pattern to your bio-signature."

X gave him a sceptical look. "And I didn't feel this?"

"Hey," he chided, not even bothering to glance at his patient, "I'm a goddamn genius, hero boy, not a researcher." Aesculapius' face turned sour when he didn't find what he wanted and shut down the holo-console. "Although, that doesn't mean I can't pick up the role as one. I want to scan you for anything that's changed since the last one you took back in October. That alright with you?"

"When can you pencil me in?"

"Ummmmmmm..." Aesculapius looked up at the ceiling, mentally running down his list of appointments. "Free tomorrow night?"

The azure Hunter smirked and stood up. "Not the way I'd imagine a 'first date' would go."

Aesclad snorted, amused. It was nice to joke around a bit, after four straight days of being the Wicked Warlock of the East. "Just bring your birthday suit and plan to be lying on your back for an hour."

X chuckled quietly, but remained motionless for a moment. And then softly, he murmured, "I'm glad you aren't a Maverick, Aesclad."

An eyebrow arched, a thin smile creasing his lips. "And why's that, X-san?"

"Because," he said simply as he turned the knob on the door, "if you were a Maverick, we'd have something to fear." And he was gone.

Aesculapius frowned as the door closed and the medic shook his head mournfully. "It's only a matter of time, Yakasa," he whispered. "Only a matter of time."

~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~

"Please, Lee-chan," said Alia, looking mildly disturbed. "Everything is going smoothly, which only means disaster is coming closer and closer."

The voice on the other side of the monitor chuckled. "I find it hard to believe that there haven't been any bumps in the Great Circle of Misery to date."

"That's what ironing is for," she countered dryly.

"Well, /someone's/ a little agitated." The figure leaned back in their seat. "Getting a bit nervous?"

"...I'm a bit skeptical," she admitted. "It's like some big, messed up déja vu thing going on and you know you've never run through it before."

"Ai-chan, there's nothing to be doubtful about. He said it himself, life will be as it is until the door closes. We have a few days."

Alia sighed, still not soothed. "And what if I never see you again?"

"Well, what if /I/ never saw /you/ again? It's a two-way road and you have some risky business on your hands."

"But I want to be back home!" she cried out, clutching the arms of her chair frantically. "With you and the boys."

The figure smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry, Ai-chan. I have faith in God that he will make everything turn out right. You've trust him before, with your very life. Don't start doubting everything now."

".....Alright, Lee-chan. Alright. I'll believe. For you."

~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~

The sounds of sprinkling water hitting the floor and flesh, feet slapping against the wet tiles, and random, echo-y chatter reverberating around the sickeningly pale green walls hardly broke Zero's mixed concentration on the horrid mass in his lap.

His hair-- his gorgeous hair!-- was soaked to the roots in water... and still, the black goo remained. It had crusted now, a sad thing indeed. The hardened fluid had flaked off both of his face and armor, but was bound tightly to each strand of hair like glue. It was almost enough to make a grown man cry. Yes, even Zero.

Stupid, stupid--! Dumb, stupid, moronic... animal! I HATE THEM.

His mind raged, but a tiny, tiny part was grateful that he didn't get wrinkly; he had been sitting under the showerhead nearly since he got back in, some few hours ago, in only a small waist-towel. He poked the caked gunk numbly.

Not even soggy.

Maybe if he took a sandblaster to it? No, my hair would be ruined. A mallet? Hair would be ruined if it broke off with the shit. A jack hammer? ....I like a good vibrator like the next person, but that's ridiculous! It could chisel out my hair!

Zero spat out a few choice curses that caught the attention of a pair of passing humans, who each went wide eyed and took a step to the left, to keep their distance. A cursing Zero is not a happy Zero.

And an unhappy Zero meant something was going to go BOOM. Very, very soon.

Zero's expression became grave. He had already tried to break it off with his hands... but whatever the hell kind of nano-fluid that coursed through those lizards' veins wasn't a normal brand, because not even a chip broke off.

....A suspicious eyebrow rose.

He was off of his stool in a heartbeat, making his way out of the showers and through the locker room; people literally jumped out of his way when he stormed by and cringed with the force of the door slamming open, along with the cold air rushing in.

There were two things people noticed as Zero rushed by them, however. One was the dark clump that travelled up to his shoulder like a mountain range on a map. From the tip to almost his neck, it stood out like a stain on white and was something to gawk at. The other thing...

He was still in his little waist towel and soaking wet. Go figure.

~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~ :: ~

Signas may have been fresh to the responsibilities of a general, but that didn't mean he wasn't ignorant to protocol. So, when X stepped into his office, Signas stood and grumbled, "Durges says that you checked in 31 minutes ago."

"Well, yeah," said X, clearing his throat. "I needed to speak to Aesculapius right away."

Signas gazed critically at him. "And Reitori reported in two hours ago, with news that you and Zero had defeated those monsters, and /he/ checked in when she did. Anything I should know, X-san?"

"Ahh.." X blinked momentarily, then shook his head. "No sir. I... I just wanted to clear my head before coming back. It felt important that I did so."

Signas nodded. "Alright." He paused before continuing. "Reitori's already given me her verbal. I want your briefing /and/ opinion, considering I'll probably get a more appropriate one out of you than I would from Zero." A quirk of a smile touched his lips. "Begin."

"Sir. We encountered a number of soulless drones out in section 5-D. Shock troops." And he continued for several minutes, conveniently omitting a few more... personal details that Signas did -not- need to be informed about. The general wasn't the wiser.

"You didn't happen to bring back a body, did you?"

X face-faulted. "A.. a body, sir?"

An eyebrow twitched. "The body of one of the retired lizards."

Sweatdrop. ......Shoot. "Erm.. No. No, sir.. The thought should have crossed my mind, but I was plagued with.. other.... thoughts." Lame. Real lame. ....Can't say I was lying, though.

Signas frowned with skepticism. "It's a good thing that Shao thought to do so, then."

More sweatdrops. "I'm sorry, sir."

"You don't have to apologize," said Signas. "This is the first time you've ever been absent-minded, to my knowledge, so I will dismiss it. But X." The Azure Hunter steeled himself. "In the future, I would rather you focus more on the battle and the clean-up procedures instead of going off into another train of thought. You can dwell on whatever's bothering you afterwards."

Easier said than done, he mused dryly. "Yes sir."

"Dismissed."

In the past...

Forte growled to himself, barely low enough to carry five feet down the stone-laced hallway. And as usual, the few metools and Masters in way moved hastily aside to let the glowering robot have the right-of-way. But he barely noticed them.

What the flying fuck is Wily thinking?! Twisted son of a bitch... He puts so little into his robots-- lookit Chargeman! Brain dolt-- and yet, he's exerting /too/ much effort into /this/ one. ... Just one. A /girlie/ bot. The type doesn't even have a damn /name/ yet!

And blonde. My god, what is with that man and /blondes/?? Half of us are freaking blonde... even the ones who /shouldn't/ be blonde, are blonde.

And.. jesus, Wily /must/ be lonely, he's so god damn insane. His face hardened in disgust, So fucked up on viagra that he's making his 'perfect weapon' too much like a fucking /woman/! He spat. This is not my day. Not my day, not my day.

He snorted angrily. With the way Wily's building it, I wouldn't be surprised if that thing were to cry if it were to lose those golden locks of his.

In the present...

Zero took a step back, sheer horror written over his face. "Wha- what??"

Aesculapius nodded, his expression bleak. "You heard me, Zero. It's got to go."

Zero choked back a squeak, covering his mouth, as Aesclad continued. "Even Douglas and Burcan agree with me. They need to analyze it, and they can't do that if it's still attached to your head. And you can't operate on synthetic fiber. You've got just one option left... and it's already not a pretty one from where I'm standing."

"....!!" He was ready to break down and cry. There were two of his possessions he treasured, that were always there, never changing, what he would never sacrifice for -anything-. One was his beam sabre, the same one he's had since the beginning; it spoke volumes of who he was and sometimes, the one witness to horrible crimes committed against humanity.

The other.... Zero clung to it childishly. "YOU CAN'T CUT MY HAIR!"

Aesculapius exhaled in annoyance, steeling his eyes. "/Commander/!" Zero stiffened. "You are behaving irrationally and foolishly! As head medical officer of /this/ facility, my orders override all who associate under it, with the exception of the Septenary, Committee of Seven. And I'm ordering you to sit down on this table, stay still, and let me take some shears to your head!"

From Aesculapius' view, it looked like Zero would comply; after all, he -was- a soldier. But he looked closer... and wanted to groan.

Zero's lip was trembling slightly.

It's about time you grew up, 'Commander'. How this man is one of the forces behind Sigma's defeats is beyond me. He mentally smirked. Ah well. Time for the coup de grace, I guess. Aesclad clucked his tongue and opened a drawer to his right.

And wouldn't you know it, at the sight of the tiny pair of scissors, the mightiest of all Hunters, one half of the backbone to the entire Japanese regiment, collapsed in a dead faint onto the doctor's office floor.

Aesculapius' eyebrows shot upwards, intrigued. He also managed to stifle a laugh. "Alright, enough fun and games." He stepped over the towel-clad body and pried open his door just enough to stick his head out. "Unit 12! Call Megaman X down here for me, will ya?"

XDDDDD Am I confusing the living shite out of you yet?! Tell me I am, pleeeeaaassseee! ^_^ I'll take it as a good sign!

And you know what? If you couldn't tell, I suck at the actual action of a fight. ..... X_x What the heck am I gonna do for the Siggy/X+Zero battle at the end?? *cries*

Oh, and you might be wondering. o.o This is Japan, right? So why would a bunch of Hunters lack Japanese-ish names (I admit, some aren't real 9.9)? Answer: They're transfer Hunters from different countries. It'd think that with all the bad stuff happening, governments wouldn't mind trading.... o.O like in sports! Players get traded all the time!

Rokku- Rock