X: HEY! Why does MY chapter start off with Zero?
Mega-X: Because it fits. You were in his chapter!
X: Fine, but why are you so corny? I mean, seriously, has anyone ever told you that?
Mega-X: Well, first, it comes from watching way too much of the Megaman cartoon. Second, no one dares because I'm the author and I'll be damned if I'll stand for insubordination.
X: Getting a weird feeling you're talking about me. -_-
Mega-X: ~_^ I could be.
X: I'm toast, aren't I?
Mega-X: Burt, baby, burnt.
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~¤
¤~¤ He ¤~¤
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤ Dream ¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
In a room shrouded with cloudy darkness there stood a figure before him. A figure he knew well but only from his scattered dread. He feared it and looked upon it with shock. It's menacing form leering down at him.
" Kill him." It would say commanding him and taunting him. " Kill him." It pointed. The silhouette would not falter in its attempts to be heard. Yet, when he looked down at the floor there was nothing but blood and indistinguishable bodies. Save for one. The one he knew that he had draw blood from. The form of someone important and he knew it. The name would no grace him nor would the face, but the vibrant colors of cloth and intricate patterns tugged at his heartstrings. He knew this figure crumpled upon the earth. He tried to call to it but it was not possible. Then he glanced at his hands strained with red blood and wished to cry.
Tthe tears would not come.
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤ Dream End ¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
Zero woke up with a start and immediately looked at his hands. Only a dream. He reminded himself as the cool light of the setting moon illuminated the last bits of the night. Zero recalled vividly the first time that he had told Deena this dream. Her response had been truth and yet apart of him had been hurt that day. She had sympathized as always but told him that perhaps his original purpose of creation was to kill "him." That was a concept Zero had not wanted to think about. Though he knew he was a weapon he had not wanted to be used as one.
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤ Russian Base Command Room ¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
Flank smiled faintly at the hunter as he prepared to leave.
" Well, do stop by again." He said crossing his arms and watching the movement around him.
" Don't worry, we will." Said Zero grinning. Deena was still healing so she had been made to go back to the main base earlier. She raised some hell while she was at it but in the end she was pushed into the transporter. He stepped up to the other commander and shook his hand.
" To think, that we would leave and such a cheery note. Well, see ya." Zero said with a final wave as he turned. There were many hushed comments of bitterness as he left the building. Once again the Russian Hunter Base would return to normal.
Zero made it to the transportion room and said farewell to the people there before returning to the main Hunter Base.
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤ Hunter Base HQ ¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
When Zero appeared in the Hunter Base he was greeted by Alpha. She was wearing her official base uniform as usual but seemed a little strained. She bowed and addressed Zero.
" Welcome back." She said as he stepped down and started to walk out with her.
" Thanks."
" Anyway, we have a new mission…" She started as Deena walked up.
" New mission?" The other woman asked.
" Yeah, X has been ordered to go to the Eurasia colony."
" So the big bad blue bot is going into space. One small step for man, one giant boot for robot kind." Deena chuckled.
" Yes, yes." Alpha said.
"Anyway, I'm gunna return to my unit. There are too many rookies this time of year and I have some asses to whip into shape. Lazy little things they are." She nodded to them and turned around sprinting towards the training grounds. Zero felt sorry for her unit. Deena was known for her slave driver ways but she always turned out to have the most skilled hunters. Even Zero had to admit that a good number of the hunters on his team had originated from her training grounds.
" But, X is going on a mission?" He frowned looked at her. This wasn't good. He didn't like the sound of this at all. If X was having problems with his systems he couldn't believe that Signas would even think of sending him. Especially after the little disagreement they had earlier.
" Yes."
" I don't like this." Zero started down the hall with Alpha in tow. Her long hair swayed wildly as she tried to keep up with his pace. Man! It sucks being short! Why wasn't I built to be a little taller? They briskly made it to an elevator.
" Whoa, there. Slow down, Zero. Where's the fire?" She said catching her breath and leaning against the glossy walls. " Come on. It'll be ok. The only problem is that X'll miss you." She said as up-beat as she could. It had been quite awhile since she had been alone with Zero, if ever. She had never had to deal with him in such a bad mood. He wasn't smiling, and he wasn't in the mood for much small talk. Not a part of him seemed playful anymore and she slightly cowered.
" But what if something DOES happen?" He said sharply as the elevator door opened and Alpha scuttled along after him. Her skirt made it difficult to run.
" Don't worry!" She said as she swayed trying to avoid the oncoming traffic. Once it passed she saw that Zero had stopped for her. They were now along and the eerie feeling wouldn't leave her. It was awkward for her. He was a tall and intimidating red reploid and she was a petite and delicate looking robot. It was something that was almost out of a dark adventure series.
" Tell me," Zero started raising and finger in question. The woman before him had her hands together over her chest and nodded. " Has X acted up lately?" Alpha's eyes were suddenly downcast and that's all the answer he needed. "How bad is it?" He said forcefully walking towards her slowly. She looked up and was amazed at how dark he now seemed. Zero, when he was upset, was something that no one wanted to face and with good reason. He had once been a maverick and even now he possessed the almost evil qualities of one gone mad. Yet, she knew this was Zero and this Zero was quit sane. He had just retained the ability to intimidate.
" Well…" She started meekly. " It's gotten a tad worse…"
" And the problem?" He lifted an eyebrow looking down at her. He shifted a bit crossing his arms.
" We still can't figure it out." She shook her head finally finding the strength to cut their connection.
" What happened?" He cupped her face in his hands making it impossible for her to look anywhere but straight at him.
" He fainted during a brief." She could tell he was enflamed by that. " But, but!" She cut him off " He begged to go on this mission! And, and Signas agreed on the grounds that if he were to go with someone he'd allow it! Um… Dart's going with him!" And her voice wouldn't work for her anymore as Zero huffed and stormed down the hall. She was left a little dizzy form all of the excitement.
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤ Signas' Office ¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
Signas was playing once again with his green cube. Though he was one of the most advanced repoilds this left him with a bit of a lack of common sense. He enjoyed a diverse variety of things. On one hand he enjoyed tackling the most mind boggling games in the world, but on the other hand simple child's play stumped him. This is why he enjoyed Alpha's company very much. While her background was still mysterious she, at the very least, enjoyed humoring him. In no way was her CPU to his scale but she supplied him with endless useless knowledge. He himself even wondered where she had gotten it all. Yet, Signas knew well that she spent most of her time reading.
" Sir." Came a voice from his communication unit. It was his secretary.
" Yes?" He said after gently pushing down the button.
" Very heavy foot steps are heading this way. My only guess is that it's Zero."
" Thank you, and please see him in."
" No problem, sir." She ended their conversation. Signas sighed and leaned back putting his puzzle in his desk. He heard the steps coming. After a few seconds and they stopped briefly. Zero must have reached my first line of defense. He was thinking of his secretary but that didn't last long as Zero huffed in and stood squarely in front of his desk.
" Sir…!" He started before the other reploid held up his hand silently and gave a soft smile.
" I know. X, right?"
" Yes, sir."
" He wanted to." And his sentence gave way to informality.
" But Signas! You know X has been acting up!" Zero pleaded.
" Yeah, but you know, you just can't keep a good hunter down."
" Good my ass! Signas, he is NOT ready to handle anything!"
" He's not going out into battle. He's investigating." He said calmly looking down at the slightly frantic Zero.
" Investigating? What if it turned into more?"
" Then we'll handle it. I'll send you straight up. Plus, he's not going alone. Dart will be accompanying him."
" I have faith in Dart but it's the principle. You wouldn't let him go with me, but you're going to let him go off with Dart?"
" Yes." He said chuckling as he saw that Zero was starting to steam.
" Damn it! Signas!" He said stepping up and slammed his hand on the desk. " I'm worried something will happen to X! Aren't you!?"
" Well, yes, but if I told him to stay he'd get himself into even more trouble. Might as well allow him to go out and do something peaceful. I mean, you're mission I knew you'd be fighting. You think I could send X out there, Zero?"
" Well, of course not."
" Then you understand why I sent Deena."
" Yes." He sighed and sat on the desk flipping his hair to the side. " But that doesn't dieter from the fact that it's still inadvisable."
" This may be true but he's not going out into battle for the last time. He'll be fine. You worry too much. Plus, I'd get more hell if I kept him here. This is his kind of mission. You know?"
" Oh… fine. I still don't like it." He crossed his arms hopping down from the desk and silently leaving. Signas turned looking out the window upon the city that was not far in the distance.
" There are many things we do not like but must do anyway."
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤ 6:00 PM ¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
Later on, only a few hours from nightfall, Zero was wondering the halls of the base. He was still disturbed, but after having a long talk with Dart he didn't feel uneasy as much. He knew he had to trust the orange hunter and Dart had worked with him before. Though he seemed, form his outward actions; to be a low-level rookie, Deena had trained him well. Zero could tell that he had talent that Deena was beating him up to tap. He chuckled a little as he passed corridor after corridor. He had always been found of watching Deena work with her favorite rookies. It only meant that she had a personal punching bag for awhile.
" Now where is that idiot?" Zero said peeking through doors and windows. Then he finally came upon Alia. " Oh, hi Alia."
" Hello, Hunter Zero." She said cleaning up her desk and preparing to leave.
" Oh, come on, you don't need to be so formal. It's just Zero." He said offering a helping hand. He walked with her towards the mess hall.
" OH, you're such a newbee." He joked taking her through the shortcut. " I'll help you around. Do you have to sort all these papers?" He asked looking at the pile he was helping he with.
" Yeah." She sighed. " It's not going to be fun in the slightest." She whined. " This sucks!"
" I bet, that's the only good thing about being a hunter, you don't get as much paperwork to do." They sat down at one of the tables. "Hey, you want me to get it while you start?"
" Yeah." She said looking up at him blushing. As a person of high duties she had little time to look around at people. She had even less time to make a lot of friends and often found herself bogged down with work. However, this day was different. She had noticed how charming Zero was. Sure, it wasn't as if she was head over heels or something, but it was nice of him to keep her company. She had long envied the Justice League, or at least what that's Signas dubbed them. They all seemed to be such good friends. She blinked a second before fumbling with her answer. "Um, a cherry shake and an order of nachos."
" Well, that's one hell of a combo." Zero beamed at her nodding before going to retrieve.* Wow, I can't believe I've been such a dolt. I've got to keep focused. The base needs me! She thought as she started sifting through the files. Rookies, people who are to be promoted, backgrounds, and divisions. It just doesn't end on this base. She sighed to herself not noticing that Zero was returning. Only when he lifted the food above her and set it in front of her did Alia notice that he had returned. Actually, it had been a long time since she had last been so close to anyone. She could feel his hair bounce against her as he backed up and turned to sit across from her. This is nice.
" So anyway, hey Alia. Where are you from again?"
" Um, I'm from Poland." She smiled sifting through papers and taking a sip from her drink.
" Oh, hey, seems we all come from all over the place." Zero smiled taking off his helmet and reaching back to unclasp his hair. The woman across from him stared in amazement. Though Alia felt silly she had to admit that Zero was a creature to be watched. He fluffed out is hair and produced a brush from his buster.
" What about you?" She stated as her eyes feverishly scanned the papers and her hands quickly obeyed.
" Russian." He said. " But you'd never know it unless I deactivated my voice program." He snickered with a confident grin.
" Really?" She blinked. Alia had heard of many reploids uploading all kinds of programs but a voice program was odd. " What type of program?
" It masks my accent. If I turned it off you'd hear my heavy Russian accent."
" But, how do you know. I mean, your files say you know nothing of your past."
" That's true, I don't, but when you wake up with a heavy accent and the first language you recognize is Russian, that kinda gives you a hint."
" Does X know?" She giggled and tidied up her sorted stacks. She reached for hr nachos waiting for a reply.
" Of course he knows, the fucking brat. He's always working on this scrambler that turns it off." He grumbled and Alia almost spit out her shake.
" What?!" Came her humorous shock.
" Yeah." Zero snorted resting his head lazily upon his hand. " That brat know all about it and likes to see if he can deactivate the program by remote control. He even succeeded once."
" You lie!?" She gasped trying not to laugh. She was envisioning and a small X sneaky up on Zero during a meeting and pressing a magical button.
" It's true. I had to build up my firewall against it. But it's kinda a hobby for him. Trying to find a way to turn it off, that is."
" But why?" She said snorting.
" Because he likes it, along with everyone else. You'll still find a few hunters around here that remember."
" What wrong with having an accent? Well, I mean, if people can understand you that is."
" Simple, the chicks like it a little too much." Alia was still chuckling.
" But it makes no sense." She covered her mouth still attempting to eat and talk. The entire situation amused her to no end. " Why would X make it into a hobby to try and make you speak I your normal tongue?"
" Gives him something to do. I guess."
" I think he just likes it, too." She smiled pleasantly as she cleaned up her stuff and tossed it into the wastebasket.
" Oh, I KNOW X likes it. That's why I don't use it." The red hunter grinned.
" OH, that's not very nice." She scolded slightly but really didn't care.
" Well, I guess it's a part of nostalgia for him and me." He sat up. " For the longest time neither one of us could really understand one another."
" Huh?" She was truly confused as she stood up and started stacking her papers.
" You see, X, too, uses a program to cover up his accent."
" X, too?" She was taken aback. She had no clue that X had an accent as well. " Where is he from?"
" Well, in our cases it's not about where we're from, it's about the language we were given first. He is Korean."
" You're kidding?" She looked at him slouching a bit. " I would have never guessed."
" Most wouldn't." He rose and took the other stack on the table.
" But, Korean?" She said lifting an eyebrow as they headed towards her room.
" Yeah, I know, you can imagine our communication problems. Both of our heavy accents through the other off."
" Then how…?" she trailed off bewildered and trying to figure it out for herself
" A lot of silence."
She smiled as they finally made it to her room. The door was opened and Zero put the papers down before walking out the door and leaving. As the door slide shut Alia smiled to herself. She had never known such things about X and Zero. It also amazed her how they overcame such verbal differences. And then she started to wonder why was X fooling with Zero's programs in such a way. In conclusion to her thoughts she tried to put herself in X's place. It took a lot but she figured in the end that it WAS a part of nostalgia. It must have taken a lot of trial and error for them to become friends and those must have been fond memories.
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤ 8:24 PM ¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
After checking his hook-ups Zero found out where X had gone. One of X's hunters informed him that their commander had said he was going into the city. Now Zero knew that X actually hated the city. He never went there for fun. The only time his blue friend ever went to the city was to get something or to go to its playground. There X could play with the children and they would teach him all about the latest trends and card games. Currently, according to X, they were into some series called Yu-mi-ho. X had given him a short explanation of the game but Zero never understood that stuff. It was about as ridiculous as that accursed Polkaman game. He never understood it. Needless to say he jumped on a hover bike and sped off.
Zero, too, did not care for the city that much. It was about the most technologically advanced city in the world, this was due to the fact that Hunter Base was near it and more reploids lived there than humans. In fact, so fewer humans occupied the city that it was quite the sight to see two humans together. Most humans that lived here had reploid partners and came to be in peace. Even with all the technological advances and the growing thin line between human and reploid a good portion of the world still harbored a prejudice of them. Sure, most of them didn't care about having reploid friends and co-workers but a lot of them cared about couples. However, even with the human intervention the only beautiful place was the park. It lacked all the computers and flashy lights that made up the main city.
" Now where the hell is he?" Zero said lowly as he nodded his head to a couple sitting on a bench. The only problem with the park was that it was huge and filled with thick trees with clearings dotting the way. There was a large playground situated near the front of the part but that gave way to paths leading all over the place. He passed a few flower beds and a couple of dear before remembering that when X wanted to be along he would find a very tight spot, one where people would have to go through a bit of trouble to get to. This made Zero sigh as he turned a corner and got off the paths. He would have to go frolicking in order to find his buddy. I have really gotta get a tracer for that bot. Honestly. He didn't even take his communicator. But Zero plowed on being able to sense his friend but only faintly. This meant that X had most likely fallen asleep. It was at times like these that Zero wished he had brought his helmet. His blond hair was being snagged and pulled by trees and branches.
"Note to self: Make X buy me a new hair glove." He growled as he moved a branch and it swung back and smacked him in the head. He rubbed his wound a little bit as he stumbled into an incredibly small clearing. He looked behind him to see if anyone had followed him but all he saw was precious strands of his hair marking the way. They glittered in the filtered moonlight. Moreover, just as Zero had thought, there was X sleeping and a ball on the ground. There was a little woodland creature taking up residence under X's helmet when another found it his right to sleep on X's forehead. Zero laughed a bit as they woke up and scampered off. He bent down and nudged X cheek gently with his finger.
" Come on, X." He gently held X in his arms cradling him in his right. " X, wake up."
" Gmmmmhh…" Was all the came out of X's mouth as he shifted into the embrace and conked his head against Zero's gem. A rippling laughing came from Zero before he quickly tried to put a plug in it. It was too late; X had woken up and lazily was looking at Zero with discomfort. He was too drained to rub his head so he had a very pissy look on his face.
" Zero…" He grumbled and tried to sit up. That didn't work so he decided that maybe lying there was a good idea. X already knew what Zero had come to talk to him about. It didn't take a psychiatrist to figure out that Zero most likely had heard about X's mission. " If you're going to get mad at me, do it later. I'm still sleepy." He said lifting himself to rest on Zero's smooth chest.
"No, no, no, big baby, X. That's a bad, X." Zero pushed his friend away before X wrapped his arms around him and pulled himself to him. They struggled a bit.
" All right, all right." X said sleepily sitting down and rubbing his eyes. It was a very cute scene and Zero sat next to X. His hair was glowing in the moonlight and his eyes shone as X finally looked at him.
" Listen, X. I'm just concerned about you." Zero started as he brought X into his embrace. " I just don't want anything to go wrong."
" I know, Zero. I'm going with Dart so I'll be fine. Plus, I think Alpha's coming along, too."
" Well, that is relieving but it doesn't change how I feel."
" Hey, I promise. If anything goes wrong, I'll contact you." He said as Zero rubbed his hair and it curled snugly around Zero's large fingers.
" Fine." Zero finished. " I'll trust you on this, but you best contact me if anything goes wrong. Cause if I find out from anyone else later I'm kicking your ass."
" Yes, dad." X sighed, broke their bond, and got up. He dusted himself a bit and looked around scratching his head. It was very late and he was disoriented. " Um, where?"
" Um, this way." Zero pointed taking X's shoulder and showing him the right direction.
" Hey," The blue bot marched up to a few glowing strands of gold. " What is this?!"
" A new breed of spiders!" Zero said dramatically snatching X away form it. " Don't touch it! It could short your circuits!"
"Z-Zero!?" Was all X could get out before his friend started giggling away and brought out his brush. Slowly a few strands of Zero's hair streamed out of the bristles. He held it up and the light of the moon struck it illuminating the fine hairs. A cheesy grin came over his face once X realized what was going on.
" What do you think? Spiffy, no? It happened when I was getting here. Those damn branches took out pieces of my beautiful hair." He groaned a bit. " You know, I can't afford to keep loosing hairs like this." He patted his hair and threw it behind him before sweeping down and picking up X's helmet. " Here." He said offering it. X took his helmet and put it on after tucking his hair back.
" Funny." Zero closed his eyes and absorbing the mood. " Some people don't even know you have hair."
" Well, it's not like I have so much that it comes BURSTING out of my helmet."
" True, true," He nodded and opened his eyes. " But you know, I think you're hair is very cute. Done in an old style, I'll give it that, but styles are always recycled." X nodded and began finding his way through the bushes. For some odd reason he meticulously made it a duty to take every single strand of Zero's hair with him.
" Why ya doin' that?" Zero said from behind him as he fought with the greenery around him.
" I don't want people knowing you were here."
" Why?"
" I just don't." And it seemed very mysterious of X. Zero felt that maybe there were other motives but at the same time he would not ask. A long time ago he figured out that X would come to him in time. If X wanted him to know then he would tell him. That's all that mattered. The continued on and found the park almost empty. There were a few scattered groups and skaters. They made it to the hover bike and Zero turned to X.
" So, you driving?"
" Sure." He took the keys from Zero and hopped on. " I don't need your hair cutting off my air." He joked lightly as Zero settled behind him and put his arms around X's waist.
" Ready when you are, Captain."
" This is going to be a non-stop flight to the Hunter Base. All passengers---ow!"
" Cut that out and just drive, X!"
" Shhhh, not so loud. Geez. I swear, the ABUSE I take from you."
" I do it cause I love you." Zero teased as they took off and left only trailing dust behind them.
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤ 7:30 AM ¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
The next morning X Left the base for Eurasia. The entire morning Zero had been watching X to make sure he was all right. since nothing happened X was allowed to go to the colony though Zero was in a sour mood about it. He didn't say anything but he did bid X farewell and gave quite the glare to Signas as they disappeared.
" Come on, Zero." Deena said pulling at him. " Don't be grumpy. OH!" She said being fed up. " Fine then, be that way. I have a new hunter to break in anyway!" Zero blinked at this.
" You do?"
" Well, sorta. I know he's gunna be put on my team soon enough. He's got a lot of talent. Kinda like Dart, but I've heard he's somewhat of a loner."
" Really? What's his name?"
" I don't know." She shrugged. " They just informed me that I was obtaining a new hunter in the future."
" Great, don't you just hate it when they do that?"
" No kidding." She snorted and went on her way.
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤ Official Hunter Shuttle ¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
X was sitting next to he window watching the earth become smaller. It had been a while since he was last in space. Dart was sitting next to him and by him was Alpha. I her boredom Alpha started playing cats cradle with her long hair.
" Look!" She presented her fingers before them " It's a butterfly." She giggled as they lifted eyebrows and gave weak smiles. " Hey!" she said with a pout " Humor me." They clapped and she once again beamed. Yet, something about her actions jogged a bit of emotional nostalgia from X. He wasn't quite sure why her playful toy was making him feel as if something were lost.
" Hey, X." Dart started a bit hesitantly. " This is the first time I've ever been to the colony. What about you, as a top hunter I'm sure you have been here."
" A few times." He said looking out the window as his head swayed slightly on his hand. " It's just like earth save for the artificial EVERYTHING. Well, not everything is artificial but transplanted." He pepped up a bit. " But it's pretty cool. It'll kinda remind you of the city near the base but in a different way. It's like they're trying to live earthling lives and it's not working so well."
" Really?" Alpha leaned into the conversation.
" Yes, you see, they don't have the natural earth system of recycling water and whatnot. I've heard there have been problems with purification."
" Really?" She gasped intrigued. Dart blinked and nodded. He too had herd of a few of the mishaps that had happened in the last several years, plagues, all sorts of sickness, dirty water, and sometimes a lack of oxygen.
"Yeah, all kinds of problems that we don't face on earth. Just think of all the filters that have to be on the colony to keep it running. There are often times when they fail and you can guess the chaos." Dart said shaking his head. " I have nothing against the colony but they're a bunch of morons. It was made by an independent company but it's kind of a failure."
" But the people and reploids stay there?" She was very concerned, it seemed ludicrous for humans to stay on an unstable colony. Reploids and other robots she could understand because they didn't need water all the time and air was another thing they could almost live without.
" Well, many people were born there. They just love their home, no matter what he danger."
" I understand that all too well." X sighed and not once did he turn to look at them. He was still concerned about all the surfacing emotions that were phasing through his body. He really just did not comprehend why all of a sudden he was halfway remembering things. The other two noticed this and decided to leave him be. X didn't even notice that they had stopped talking to him until almost the end of the flight when the captain called there attention.
" Oh!" He blinked. " I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you two." He said waving an apologetic hand.
" It's OK." They said in union. " We understand."
" You are a space case." Alpha said.
" Come on, Captain X. Don't worry about it, we're about to reach the colony."
" Yeah, and pray it doesn't defect on us." Alpha tittered before buckling her seat belt as they slide into the landing docks. X thought this entire mission was a little odd for a routine check, but the colonies were protected by the hunters just as the planet so it was important for political and practical reasons for a top hunter to visit the base. Granted he wouldn't be here long but it made the people feel at ease.
They were escorted to the Colony Hunter Base Second Division and given quarters. The base was very small and could be totally evaluated in a matter of minutes. It was about two stories tall and had a ranking of sixteen hunters and one commander. For the colony is was late at night and the night blinds had been folded back revealing the stars and black universe above.
X was sitting in one of the guestrooms. Here he was regarded as a super star of sorts, and he knew it. There had been a crowd when he and the others were escorted to the base. A part of him was thankful for his fans while another longed to be home where he was famous but not revered in such a godly light. Most of all he wished to be back with his friends. He was only away for a few hours and already he wished that they were back on the earth. The colony was still just too abnormal for his liking. The only thing the colony had going for it, to him, was the fact that it had such a fantastic view of the stars. He remembered how back in the day he and Deena would go out and watch the stars. It was like a ritual for them, but it stopped with the advent of Sigma.
" Bastard." His eyes narrowed on the spot on the earth that he knew was where the Hunter Base had to be, or at least the general area where the base was. After staying up to see if he could find the constellations he retired.
Some where within the base Alpha was doing her usual self-security check. She was going through the entire base and learning all the nicks and crannies. She turned the corner and ran head on into something. She was bounced back onto her ass and had a bit of trouble getting up because she had accidentally worn a longer skirt than usual.
" Ow." She shook her head and grasped the faceless and that was offered her.
" Are you all right, young lady?"
" Oh, yeah. I'm fine." She looked up at the significantly taller man and cursed her shortness. Everyone's taller than I am. She mopped a bit but gave the stranger a smile. " Hi, my name is Alpha." She said pleasantly.
" I am Gate." The violet reploid said keeping her steady. " Good to make your acquaintance."
" Nice to meet you." She said giggling " I'm so sorry about that."
" It's quite all right." He said giving her a soft smile.
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤ 9:00AM ¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
X was walking with Dart the next morning as they were making their routine checks of the colony. Alpha was by there side and had told them of her meeting of Gate. Dart damn near had a hernia as he heard this. He had wanted to meet Gate for a long time and was jealous of her. Yet, this subsided as the day droned on. It got interesting as fans started to bug X for autographs. He signed many and it delayed them quite a bit but he wasn't sad. It kept him busy and let him know that people appreciated him and the rest of the hunter's work.
" So guys." X looked over to them. " What do you think about Sigma? I mean, we kicked his ass but no offense, isn't it about due time he returns."
" No bull." Alpha was fixing her hair. " I'm surprised he's not back yet. It's flippin' amazing."
" He's hibernating, I tell you!" Dart shook his fist. " I know he'll be back."
" Can't keep a Mavvy Bot down, eh?" X chuckled hooking an arm around Alpha bringing her to the front. " Hey, you. Stop lagging behind. This ain't no train service."
" But if Sigma does come back." Darts tone was dark as he continued to walk back to the base with them. "What will we do then?"
" I don't know." X spoke softly. " We'll just fight him. It's nothing new."
" How repetitive. Does he really want to take down humans that much?" Alpha blinked.
" Yes." X eyes were a cold grass green. His voice was almost scary and made Alphas neck hairs stand on end. She always wanted X to sound happy. Serious was never his strong suit.
" Why?" She said lowly. In a lot of respects she never understood the Maverick regime.
" It's a fight for dominance." Dart chimmed in with his voice flat.
" Those with the gold make the rules, they say. Yet, who said the "gold" was a metal? It's power." X noticed how sad Alpha looked and rubbed her head. "Don't worry, lil' Alpha. We'll protect the humans just as the humans have protected us." He winked.
" They've protected reploids?" She had never known of any humans that had protected the reploid race before. These types of stories she had not been around long enough to hear. The only humans that she knew that protected reploids were on the base.
" Yeah." Dart brightened up. " A lot of humans help us all the time. New technology, politically, and the like. Sure, a lot of them still see us as tools or whatever. Yet, there are plenty that understand us."
" Yeah, mostly those people create reploids themselves and, of course, understand the intricate makeup of our systems." X commented.
" See?" Dart looked down at Alpha patting her back. " We're all working together for a better tomorrow. Slowly, but surely."
" So," She looked down as they entered the base " You two really have that much faith in that race?"
The two nodded. " Yes, we do."
She smiled and giddily jumped up to hug them, which in turn sent them crouching down. " I'm glad! I like the humans too, they're confused sometimes, and scared, but in the end what are we? Right?"
" One hundred percent correct Alpha, we were made to be inorganic humans. We have to help our cousin race just as they helped us to life."
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
¤~¤ Mega-X's Notes ¤~¤
¤ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¤
* Go, Zero, Go!
I have found, that not matter how much I am in love with the Megaman sound tracks, Final Fantasy 7 does it for me. Seriously, there is a song for every moment in this entire series that can put me in the mood. Wanna know the song for this chapter?
Final Fantasy 7- Could's theme (I have yet to find the NAME of the song)
That's right. X isn't Japanese. He's Korean! Bwhahahaha. Or at least his first language is Korean. Why Korean, because it's a little more interesting than X being Japanese.
~~ Longest Ending Convo To date ~~
Doll: (reviewing script) Hey, this looks like a bunch of comedy to me.
Alpha: Looks like laziness, too.
Deena: Looks like a couple of dimwits are about to get their asses beat.
Mega-X: Would that be you or the chapter? Eh, Dimwits?
Eveyone: Ummmm… LOOK! (Pointing) Dynamo!
Mega-X: Where, where?! O.O
Everyone: (runs)
X: (walking up) Hey, it's a good way to skip over the shit she's not using from our series.
Zero: Yeah, let's not forget that this story is supposed to be basically AUish.
Dart: As an Original Character of this story I would not know.
X: About this time we're suppose to be facing Sigma in battle and shit but she's kinda skipping over it.
Zero: Yeah, we're also supposed to face Gate but that's not happening, is it?
Mega-X: Maybe later when I feel like finally making him more than a reference.
Alpha: DYNAMO!
Doll: Damn, what in gods name are you screaming about?
Alpha: Dynamo. ^_^
Deena: He's in the next chapter after all.
Doll: But the next chapter is more like an overview than anything.
Mega-X: AHEM! That's because it serves my purposes. Plus Rockman X6 sucked.
Gate: I'm insulted here.
Dart: You're not supposed to show up yet.
Gate: Yes, well, my good ploid. I'm making an early appearance.
Dart: Cameo?
Zero: Just like Gambit in X2
Deena: Let us NOT get on that one.
* Mega-X raging in the background about injustice to Gambit lovers *
Everyone: NEXT CHAPTER!
Intermission form Author:
Hello dear readers. After careful consideration I'm stopping THIS chapter here. Why? Because I just noticed how incredibly long this upcoming flashback is gunna take. That itself could come out to 8 pages in 10 font size. You have any clue how long it takes to write that? Not only that FF.Net can only upload so much data at a time. If I make it too long… well, I'll end up cutting it ANYWAY.
X: HA! HA HA HAAAAA!!!! I get TWO CHAPTERS! Suck on that Zero!!
Mega-X: X!
X: What? ^_^
Mega-X: ^^ He might if you ask nicely.
X: O.O… O.o…. (Pleads the Fifth (amendment) and walks on)
Mega-X: Did I say something wrong?
Anyway, the next chapter will be labeled " He-2" And should be considered apart of this chapter. Though it'll take up spot 6 on the list.