Chapter 2
Leanne Cormier walked purposefully through the halls of the residential section of Warren 113, her gold-flecked, brown eyes glancing at the address plates next to each apartment. Her lab coat fluttered behind her as she moved briskly towards the apartment of her superior to deliver the report on the datapad she carried. She finally spied the correct apartment number and came to a halt.
She hit the call button and told the apartment's occupant her name. The door silently slid into the wall and Leanne walked into the apartment. Even though the apartment consisted of only a living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, it was quite spacious by warren standards. Since space was at a premium in the underground shelters, most rooms, such as her own, had a cramped, utilitarian feeling to them that this one lacked. Dwellings like this one were typically reserved for people whose position warranted it, such as a government leader or an influential industrialist.
The walls of the living room were painted in a soft, pastel blue and there was soft, plush carpeting along the floor. Ornate, wall-mounted lamps that appeared to have a dull bronze finish and a single overhead ceiling lamp cast soft light throughout the room. Paintings from various cultures adorned the walls and an old, oak bookcase filled with works on a variety of subjects was right next to the door leading to the bedroom. Next to it and directly underneath one of the wall lamps was a large, red chair with soft cushions and its accompanying ottoman. A wood dining table with four wooden chairs was located near the entrance to the kitchen. In the middle of the living room was a coffee table made up of a brass ring with four curved brass legs and a glass top. A leather couch and two green recliners were arranged in the approximation of a circle around the coffee table.
Leaning back in one of the recliners, reading a book, was a reploid with neatly combed, silver hair, wearing white armor covered with pale blue streaks. He seemed to not be aware of Leanne's presence, though he was the person who let inside her the apartment by means of a small remote on the left arm of the recliner. The reploid finished the chapter he was reading, closed the book, laid it down on the chair's right arm, and made eye contact with Leanne. The human woman felt a brief minute of apprehension as her boss's brown eyes focused intently on her. The feeling had nothing to do with the fact he was a reploid, it simply had to do with the way he looked at her. In fact many people who met him often became unnerved when he looked at them. It was probably just the intensity of the gaze that did it - there was nothing apparently malicious about it or his manner, but it did make one feel as though the man were scrutinizing everything a person did, right down to the tiniest gesture.
"Please have a seat doctor," he said in a quiet, but powerful voice. Leanne complied, handing him the datapad before sitting upright in the recliner across from him. The reploid scanned through the report on the hand held device. "So the Hunters found another camp with the inhabitants slaughtered . . . Is there any reason I should be concerned over this?"
"Is it safe to talk about it here?" Leanne asked cautiously. Her voice had a musical quality to it that some people found charming, a trait she seldom tried to take advantage of.
"Yes, I had some associates make certain that there were no listening devices. We can speak freely here," the reploid assured her.
"Very well, as you may have noticed, the report radioed into Hunter HQ contains details just like the one from the attack on the camp last week–"
"As I recall, the Council's investigation team determined that last week's tragedy was the result of a riot within the camp," he interrupted.
Leanne didn't allow her irritation at being interrupted to show and responded "That's the official story, yes. But given the real findings of the Council's investigators, the close proximity of the incident to our largest, most important lab facilities, and the description of the wounds from the Hunter's own initial reports – I think it's safe to say that we know what did happen there. This new incident seems to be an exact repeat of last week's."
The reploid nodded his head and for a moment his eyes seemed like they were looking at something far off in the distance, then they fixated on Leanne again. "I figured we hadn't seen the end of this. Now that we know what the cause might be, do we have any clue as to why it is doing this or how it was capable of getting inside some of those buildings without cutting a hole in the wall?"
"No," she replied. "Offhand – I would venture to guess that Orpheus may have been playing around with that Nightmare soul the Hunters sent over for analysis prior to our evacuation and that may have something to do with what's going on. That or something went wrong with formation of the sentient part of its mind and it's just doing a variation of what we created it for."
"It was a mistake to let him stay behind to finish things up," the reploid said calmly, "he may have been a genius, but he still wasn't always the sharpest knife in the drawer. He probably wound up infecting it with the Nightmare virus. We should have just put the project on hold until after Gate had been dealt with."
The reploid's brown eyes seemed to flare up at the mention of the deceased renegade scientist. To say that there had been no love lost between the two men would have been putting things mildly. The influence Gate had acquired, the potential danger of his creations, and the way Gate flaunted the rules of the Reploid Research Team had always been a source of conflict between the two of them.
"That's true, but it would probably have been wise to send a team back there when Orpheus failed to report in," suggested Leanne.
Her superior made a dismissive wave with his right hand. "No, that would have looked suspicious since we informed the Council that we had already retrieved everything of importance form there. It would have also meant getting the Hunters involved. I didn't want them to know about our little project just yet - but if it is responsible for what's happened at the camp, they'll learn about of its existence soon enough . . . is the council going to take over their investigation this time as well?"
Leanne simply shook her head. "They ruffled the Hunter's feathers enough by doing that last time; they aren't going to risk alienating the Hunters by doing so again. Not when the Hunters are currently the only ones who can manage a project like rebuilding the planet."
"That does seem likely," he affirmed, "Besides the Council only intervened last time because we brought pressure on certain members to deal with any incidents that occurred near that facility if something unforeseen occurred. That way if someone had found out about the project, we could keep things quiet until we got a chance to recover it. There seems little chance of keeping things quiet now. If the Hunters complete their investigation, they'll figure out the connection between the attacks on the two camps on their own."
"We should get started on damage control then. Since this is most likely Orpheus's doing, we can let the blame fall on him if it comes to that. The computers in the lab he was using were independent of the facilities network, so we may want to recover the data about the project from them - so we can start over again later if we want - and then destroy the hard drives as a security precaution."
"Good idea Leanne, you were the project director so whoever we send will need your codes to authorize the download . . . we also need to come up with something to tell the members of the Council we can't influence and a story for the Hunters too, in case they discover this was the work of our project," the blue and white reploid replied.
"What about the Hunter's current investigation?" Leanne asked.
"Let them do their job and don't interfere in any way. If the project is out of control, it's best just to let them deal with it." – A grin spread across his face –"They may even send what's left of it back to us for analysis. Even if they do connect us with XT-203, we don't have anything to fear. It's not like we were doing anything illegal by creating him."
"Not technically anyways," Leanne said in a dubious tone. "We need to be careful with how we deal with the Hunters though, our relationship with them has been – somewhat strained since Gate's insurrection . . . which brings up another matter . . . What about Alia? If she tells them about what happened to Gate . . ."
The head of the Reploid Research Team leaned further back in his recliner. "What about her? I doubt she'd be stupid enough to tell the Hunters the real story behind Gate's leaving us or how she was involved with the demise of two of his associates. She knows better than to cross us and telling the truth would jeopardize her career in the Hunters. Besides, the official inquiry into Gate's recent activities was closed last month and it would take more than just her testimony to reopen it or begin an investigation into what happened at the RTT back then."
The Council had ordered the Hunters to do an investigation into how Gate was able to cause such havoc and what his goals had been. Because the Hunters had the more pressing issue of cleaning up the damage created by the Eurasia debris, the investigation had been reasonably short and appeared cursory. There were things in the Hunter's reports that disturbed Leanne though. Things such as allusions made to how the conflict between Gate and various members of the RRT may have played a role in the deaths of Gate's associates and creations, which had coincided with his decision to leave the RRT. There was also the mention of something Gate had found and used to generate the Nightmare, but no real details about it other than a mention of it involving one of their best Hunters, Zero. It seemed like the Hunters were not telling everything they knew about Gate or the Nightmare and that made Leanne uneasy
Of course, if the Hunters did know the truth about what happened to Gate back then, they may not release that information. If they had included it in their report, we could have found out what they know and figured out a way to deal with it. As long as we don't know what they know or what they can prove, if they were to spring the information later on, we'd be unprepared for it, Leanne thought nervously.
"I think we've covered everything Leanne. I will make the necessary arrangements to recover the data from the facility. Then all we need to do is come up with a cover story and hide our influence in the Council's official investigative report for the earlier incident. Such reports and evidence do get routinely lost or misfiled even in this day and age," the RTT head said thoughtfully.
When Leanne finally left the apartment, she ran her fingers through her short brown hair and breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad to be out of there and not discussing a cover up anymore. The idea of a cover up unsettled her, but the Reploid Research Team could not afford the hit to its credibility that having a rogue experiment running around could cause. Eventually the Hunters and the Council would be looking to different scientific organizations to participate more openly in the reconstruction program and having a project connected with the massacres of two refugee camps would definitely hinder the chances of the RRT playing a significant role in the reconstruction process. Besides, this wouldn't be the first cover up she had been involved in and it probably wouldn't be the last.
She hadn't been directly involved with what had happened to Gate – in fact she was only familiar with scientist by reputation – but she had known what was happening to him and turned a blind eye to it. Eventually she had been involved in hiding the truth of what happened; lured by promises of money for her under-funded projects and the freedom she needed to do them. One thing about being a researcher was that it didn't necessarily matter what your project was or how beneficial it could be, sometimes your funding depended largely on who you knew, both inside the RRT and outside. Even though the RRT provided funding for the experiments of its scientists, they could also get grants from outside sources such as businesses and governments. Sometimes just having the right outside connections guaranteed a scientist better funding from the RRT itself. Leanne had learned this lesson the hard way, struggling to meet budget and deadline requirements as she saw her funding get slashed several times while projects of lesser value scientifically received more funds from the RRT's appropriations committee because their project leaders had better connections in the realm of politics and industry. When she finally agreed to help with the cover up, the head of the Reploid Research Team had put her into contact with outside sources to help fund her projects. He had even been impressed enough with the results of her experiments to put her in charge of project XT-203.
Leanne had found out during the cover up that, interestingly enough, many of the people involved with Gate's downfall hadn't realized they were even part of a conspiracy against him. The few that were aware of it had either helped orchestrate the events or found out after the fact. The latter were typically 'encouraged' to remain silent on the matter. When Alia abruptly left the RRT to join the Hunters, the fear that she might expose what had happened had hung over the heads of most of the RRT's staff like a guillotine blade. Eventually the fear subsided, only to have Gate's sudden reappearance spook everyone considerably and revive the fear that they may still be exposed.
Of course that's the problem with cover ups. Once you're involved you're committed to maintaining the lie and unless you have a very good contingency plan, the truth winds up locking you up rather than setting you free. Then again you wouldn't have to worry about somebody exposing you anymore and that by itself must be a great relief, Leanne thought grimly.
As she made her way to her own smaller, more Spartan abode, Leanne felt exhaustion start to overtake her. She always felt this way after dealing with the head of the RRT, relieved and exhausted. The relief seemed to come from getting away from the man, while the exhaustion was from withstanding the intensity of his gaze and the accompanying nervousness it gave her. She swept the memory of the gaze away and sped towards her apartment, deciding that after some rest she would feel better. Then she would have to get to work on whatever the cover up required of her. As Leanne drew closer to her residence, she briefly wondered if Alia had the right idea about leaving the RRT.
The Supreme Commander of the Maverick Hunters remained seated behind his desk as he swiveled his chair to face the wall-mounted monitor to his left. His posture was relaxed but alert as he prepared to receive the incoming call. Signas had been expecting the call for a while now, ever since Unit 0 and the 17th had been dispatched earlier to the refugee camp. The face of a middle-aged Japanese man with slightly graying hair appeared on the screen. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. Everything about the man's expression was neutral, an ability that was the result of years of political dealings, but it was clear that he was waiting for Signas to make the first move.
"Councilman Tanaka," Signas addressed the man, "this is a pleasant surprise." The statement wasn't entirely false. Signas had been expecting to be contacted by somebody from the Council after notifying it about the attack on camp 5, but the fact that it was this particular member of the Council was a surprise. Normally Signas would have been contacted by somebody a bit lower on the Council's totem pole.
Councilman Saito Tanaka had been a member of the Council since Sigma's second uprising. Shortly after X had put the Maverick overlord down, the question about the future of the reploid race came into question. Back then, Tanaka had come to realize that it was simply impossible to get rid of the reploids, humanity had simply become too dependant on them and needed them to help repair the damage caused by Sigma's rebellion. He also realized that any move to cease reploid production permanently could possibly begin a full-scale war between the humans and remaining reploids that would make Sigma's first two uprisings look like mere skirmishes by comparison. The councilman had also been shrewd enough to realize that none of the human military forces were in any condition to fight such a war then, assuming they could ever be ready for an event of that magnitude.
Realizing those things, Tanaka developed a policy that many of the more moderate politicians had since adopted. The policy involved maintaining stable human-reploid relations by granting reploids enough rights to make it less likely that they would join the Mavericks, but not enough freedom that human populations would feel overly threatened. Tanaka's view was that if maintaining stable relations meant changing the current status quo, so be it. As a result, over the years reploids had often had rights granted and revoked, but never to the point that they would be considered equal to humans in the eyes of the law or that reploids would feel oppressed enough to break out into open rebellion.
It would be misleading to label the councilman as pro- or anti-reploid rights since he didn't really care about the matter, except insofar as how granting or revoking such freedoms would make reploids more sympathetic to the Mavericks, whether humans were simply ready for reploids to have those freedoms, and how it could benefit him politically.
"It is good to see you as well General Signas, I trust you are in good health?" the politician responded pleasantly.
"I'm quite well and you?"
"In as good of health as a man my age can be expected to be in."
The small talk continued for several minutes as they discussed the conditions in the warrens and the camps along with other more trivial matters. Signas had learned long ago that small talk was as an important a skill in politics as giving speeches was. In the world of politics, small talk generally preceded a discussion about more important matters and could sometimes be used to glean information. Tanaka didn't appear to be probing Signas for information he may not have given the Council, it seemed the small talk was simply a precursor to discussing the attack on the camp.
Signas briefly entertained the notion that maybe the Council was considering taking over the whole reconstruction project now and that they may try to use the attack on camp 5 as justification for doing so.
The Hunters had initially begun the camps and their reconstruction program without the go ahead from the Council. Even though the Council was really in no position to do anything to begin its own reconstruction program, quite a few of its members were put off by the Hunters taking the initiative and acting independently on the matter. To smooth things over, Signas had sought the Council's official support in exchange for the additional resources and freedom the Hunters would need to carry out a planet-wide reconstruction program. Even though the Council had agreed to not interfere with how the Hunters did things, except in cases of blatant discrimination or gross negligence, they had understandably insisted on being kept informed of the program's progression and of any major incidents involving refugees.
When Signas had notified them about the status of the camp the 23rd Unit had come across the week before, the Council immediately ordered the Hunters off the site and sent in their own investigation team. The justification was that since the camp had been close to a Reploid Research Team facility and because that organization received a regular grant from the Council, the investigation should be taken over by a government team. It was a tenuous claim at best since incidents involving reploids typically fell under Hunter jurisdiction, but it was enough to legally justify the action.
Now that he had sent in a report of another camp that had been attacked, Signas had known that he would be contacted shortly. Since the Council had no legitimate grounds to take over the current investigation, Signas was not sure what they would tell him to do. The fact that one of the more prominent members of the Council had contacted him told Signas that something was definitely afoot.
"General, I understand that there has been another incident involving a refugee camp . . ." Tanaka began.
"With all due respect sir, based on the preliminary reports I received from the Hunters on the scene – referring to what happened as an incident trivializes what happened considerably," Signas interjected.
"Hmm . . . I take it you've already begun an investigation."
"That is correct councilman. I will present a full report as soon as we have all the facts. Hopefully then we will have determined what happened and who was responsible."
The councilman nodded his head. "Good, good." – He looked thoughtfully at Signas – "I imagine that you still aren't too thrilled about having last week's investigation taken out of your hands."
Signas repressed a grimace and tried to decide how to answer the question truthfully without seeming overly indignant or self-righteous. To deny that he was nonplussed and irritated with the Council's little stunt would be an insult to Tanaka's intelligence. However it wouldn't be prudent to simply reply yes to the statement nor would it be wise to say nothing at all.
"Councilman Tanaka," Signas began respectfully, "when the charter for the Maverick Hunters was drawn up, one of the terms was that matters involving acts violence possibly committed by reploids fell under our jurisdiction. The charter also stated that we were to do joint investigations with local and international authorities should the situation warrant it or if such an investigation were requested. The incident in the camp involved not only humans, but reploids as well. As such it is our duty to pursue the matter until it is resolved or the culprit turns out to be human, in which case the appropriate authorities would take over since humans are outside of our jurisdiction. The fact that the Council chose to prevent us from doing what the Hunters were created to do – what the law created by the Council itself requires of us – creates the impression that you no longer trust us to do our job."
"Some people would argue that the events of two months ago attest to the Hunter's incompetence in performing their duties," Tanaka countered with a slightly condescending tone.
Signas kept his expression neutral even though he felt a surge of anger at the apparent arrogance of the statement. If only it was as easy to see Sigma's schemes in advance as some people felt the Hunters should be able to. Time and again Sigma had displayed an uncanny knack of hiding in the shadows while pulling other people's strings to achieve his goals. That was part of why the boldness of Sigma showing himself during his initial attack at the beginning of the Eurasia crisis was something that had caught everyone off guard - he hadn't done something like that since the first uprising over two decades ago. Combine Sigma's ability to manipulate people with the fact that he could remain hidden for as long as he chose to, gain influence, and amass an army right under the noses of almost every intelligence network in the world, including that of the Hunters, and you had a very dangerous opponent who could launch an attack before you realized what was happening. Yet every time Sigma showed up, someone always insisted that the Hunters had to have known – or at least should have known – what he was up to in advance and had just done nothing to prevent it.
The Supreme Commander of the Hunters kept his voice calm as he addressed the councilman once more, "Sigma has never been easy to predict or stop. You seldom know what his plan is until it's already in motion. He seized control of Doppler Town despite the fact that it was being watched by almost every government on the planet and its leader had developed an antivirus that could have stopped Sigma for good. Sigma also somehow convinced the Repliforce to seek independence from humanity in an attempt to use them to accomplish his objectives. The more recent chaos of the Eurasia Crisis was accomplished without him even employing a legion of Mavericks to set it in motion. Even in the rare instance warning signs do appear, there is never enough evidence that he is back and up to something to justify a preemptive strike or elevate our alert status. As a result, we can only react when he makes his move rather than before he's ready to do so.
"Now as to whether or not the Hunters have been incompetent in performing their duties, I think the fact that Sigma was defeated and that there are still humans living on this planet is proof enough that we have done our job to the best of our ability and without overstepping our bounds."
"Which is all that we can ask of you," Tanaka said smoothly. "Believe it or not general, I can sympathize with how you feel about our taking over that investigation. Although I am not authorized to discuss the results of our team's findings over even a secure channel . . . as a display of good faith, and to maintain our mutually beneficial relationship with the Hunters, I will see to it that a copy of their official report makes it to you. I hope that will help to smooth things over and that the findings in the report will prove satisfactory."
Signas blinked in surprise. "I appreciate the gesture councilman. I'm certain the results of your team's investigation will prove to be enlightening and will provide the Hunters removed from the investigation with a sense of closure. Hopefully we can avoid disputes of jurisdiction like that one in the future, possibly by doing joint investigations in such situations."
"An interesting proposition General Signas – I'll certainly consider bringing up the possibility at the next Council session. It's been a pleasure speaking to you."
"Likewise Councilman Tanaka," Signas said as the councilman's image faded from the screen.
Signas briefly wondered what Tanaka's angle was. A high ranking member of the Council did not normally contact the Hunter commander over a matter like an attack on a refugee camp; it was a task typically reserved for a junior member of the Council or a designated liaison. What had surprised Signas most of all was how the councilman had shifted from almost accusing the Hunters of not doing their job to handing over the report concerning the investigation of last week's attack under the guise of an apology. What had really put Signas on alert was the way Tanaka had emphasized the word 'official'.
Signas was well aware that sometimes official reports had details omitted from them or could even be outright lies. He wondered if whether the former or later were the case this time or if he was simply reading too much into it. The Supreme Commander was curious to see how the Council's investigation stacked up against the initial on scene report from the 23rd Unit. Given the similarity the 23rd's report had with what X and Zero radioed in from Camp 5, Signas suspected that the two incidents could be connected. The question was would the Council's investigation support that belief or disprove it. An even bigger question would be whether the account in the Council's report was the truth or simply a cover story to keep the Hunters in the dark about something. But if that were the case, why would Tanaka have been the one to contact him and personally guarantee Signas a copy of the report? It would have been simpler to just send it through a liaison or junior councilmember to avoid piquing unwanted interest. Something was going on, but what?
Signas pondered those thoughts as he waited for the teams to report in from Camp 5.
The 17th Unit rematerialized on the one of the pads in one of the Maverick Hunter headquarters' Embarkation/Debarkation rooms, more commonly called the EmDee rooms. The room was large and had several teleporter pads in it. The main pad, located towards the front of the room, was used for any group of Hunters leaving or arriving at the base. Four larger pads positioned in a semi-circle behind the main pad were used primarily for teleporting any equipment a team of Hunters may need, such as ride armors and landchasers, but could also be used for teleporting Hunters as well. The emdee rooms also represented the only way to teleport into or out of the Hunter base once the EM field that comprised the base's shield went up. Since the EM field prevented teleporter signals from being transmitted, the emdee rooms used special equipment to punch holes through the field to allow the signals to get through. Of course, the only real defense the shield offered was forcing unauthorized teleports to land a short distance outside the base perimeter, but that was enough prevent Mavericks from simply teleporting into the Hunter's command center and attacking.
Even though the majority of the Maverick Hunters had their own internal teleportation unit and thus did not need the aid of a teleporter pad, it was official policy that all teleporter traffic related to Hunter business be routed through these rooms. The policy was mainly developed to improve base security since it made it easier to detect unauthorized teleports and catch intruders before they could do any damage as well as monitor outgoing traffic. Normally the only time exceptions were made was during extreme emergencies, like the colony drop, or when the Hunters completely mobilized their forces and the sheer number of troops made it unfeasible to use the EmDee rooms for anything other than teleporting armor and artillery to the battlefield or evacuating reploids who were unable to teleport by themselves for some reason.
The Emdee techs welcomed X's unit back as the Hunters wearily stepped off the pad. They began to file silently out of the room to go to the debriefing area as Zero's squad, the recovery team, and the investigators arrived on three of the other pads in the room. Unit 0 followed the 17th out of the room to join them for a joint debriefing while the investigators prepared to take the evidence to the lab for analysis and the recovery team prepared to place the bodies of the victims in storage until they could be properly examined by the medical staff.
The silence among the members of the two units as they made their way through the base was deafening. There was none of the normal after mission chatter since nobody felt much like talking after seeing the scene at the camp. The silence was all the more oppressive because of the emptiness in the halls of the Maverick Hunter headquarters itself. Before Sigma tried to crash Eurasia into the Earth, the corridors of the base were seldom empty, no matter what time of day it was. Then up until a month ago, the halls had been swarming with terrified refugees and it had been difficult to maneuver through them. Once the camps were set up, the Hunters quickly relocated the refugees into them. Without the refugees, it was easily apparent just how much the Hunter ranks had been thinned since many of the corridors were now typically empty.
For X and Zero though, the emptiness of the hallways was a reminder of how they had failed when Sigma had used them to trigger the world wide release of the Sigma virus a few months prior. Being reminded of that did little to improve their moods as their units arrived at the debriefing room and entered it.
After being dismissed from the debriefing, Tempest flopped onto the couch in the rec room of the 17th's barracks while the other members of the unit dispersed around the room. She didn't bother to turn on the TV in front of it since there were no stations broadcasting any programs. There was a selection of DVDs next to the TV that she could watch, but she wasn't in the mood for a movie or for playing a video game on the console hooked up to the TV.
Even though the mission hadn't been physically demanding, it had been an emotional and mental drain for Tempest. Her reaction to the massacre still embarrassed her even though she had composed herself by time the unit was ready to return to base. She just hoped Charger didn't tell X about it, she'd probably get booted out of the unit. She didn't know X very well, but from what she had seen he seemed rather testy, which didn't seem to fit with the stories she had heard about him during basic training. Tempest had quickly decided that she didn't want to get on his bad side based on what she had seen.
What am I even doing here? She thought. I wasn't even meant to be a combat reploid. Am I even ready to make the kinds of decisions a Hunter does? I'm barely over two months old for crying out loud!
Tempest's thoughts drifted back to the day she was activated at the Light Robotics Institute. She was one of their new 'Zapper' models; reploids designed to deal safely with high voltage equipment, downed power lines, and withstand the massive electrical discharges such things could emit. The doctors had been eager to test out her abilities, but moments after her activation they quickly forgot about her. That day Sigma spread the Maverick virus all over the world and the space colony began its descent towards the Earth.
Amid the swirl of confusion as the scientists prepared to leave, Tempest had been separated from the people who had activated her. To make matters worse, several of the reploids there went Maverick and what was left of the local Hunter garrison was called in to stop them, turning the institute into a war zone. Once the Mavericks had been dealt with, everyone finished preparing to leave and Tempest, lost and forgotten by her creators, had nearly been left behind. One of the Hunters found her and made certain she was evacuated from the building. She wound up on a transport that took her to a Hunter base where she shared a room with a half dozen refugees from other cities. Tempest had remained at that base throughout the scare created by the Nightmare as more and more refugees poured in.
Having been born only recently encountering so many new people was a frightening experience. The stories they had to tell about their own experiences didn't make things any easier and Tempest had simply remained silent most of the time, uncertain about what to say or do. She felt isolated from the other refugees since they would sometimes talk about what things were like before the colony disaster - clinging to the memories in hopes of not falling into total despair – while she had no past, no memories of better times. The world left behind in Eurasia's wake was the only one Tempest had ever known and she had effectively wound up all alone in it.
As time passed and the refugees started to be relocated, nobody from the Light Institute came for her. Apparently forgotten once more by the people who created her, Tempest had pondered what to do with her life. The first few formative weeks of her existence had seen nothing but chaos and she had been able to do little more than stand by and watch. She had wanted to help, but she hadn't known what to do and just seemed to get in the way of others. Tempest hated feeling so helpless and had been impressed by how the Hunters had just seemed to know exactly what to do in a given situation.
She wanted to have that kind of certainty and confidence too. She didn't want to stand idly by, she wanted to be able to figure out what to do when something happened and then be able to act. She wanted to be able to help people. Based on her own experience and the some of the stories she heard from refugees, helping others seemed to be what the Hunters did.
Tempest had signed up then and there, not quite realizing that there was more to being a Hunter than helping people. After she completed the accelerated basic training course, which was run by a fairly brutal instructor, she had been assigned to Unit 17. She had been shocked to learn that she had been allowed into the unit reserved for the Hunter's elite fighters. Somebody had obviously been impressed by her abilities. The shock quickly turned into excitement and an unfamiliar sense of pride manifested itself. She had never been so happy or had such a feeling of accomplishment before.
Tempest had been determined to make a good impression on the members of her new unit. She made sure to follow every regulation, keep her armor well maintained, show proper respect to superior officers, and in general be a model Hunter. She had even adopted a more cheerful, outgoing persona in an attempt to make friends with the other members of her unit. She had some limited success in that regard; for the most part the new attitude seemed to slightly annoy a few of the 17th's members.
Then on her first mission as a member of one of the foremost Hunter units, she had cried after seeing the slaughtered bodies of the refugees. Even though people had died during the fighting at the LRI, she hadn't seen a dead body before. Even after hearing the many horror stories during her time with the refugees, it was still beyond her ability to understand why someone could do such a thing to another person. She had known coming out of basic that people could die during a mission, but the idea hadn't seemed real to her until arriving at that camp.
"Hey kid, what's with the long face?" a voice asked with genuine concern.
Startled out of her thoughts, Tempest sat up and saw X's second in command, Slag, sitting on the arm of the couch on the opposite end from her. His armor was grey and blue and had a round dark red gem in the middle of the breastplate with four black spikes painted around it, making the gem resemble the compass rose of a map. A v-shaped crest was emblazoned on his helmet and around his waist was a belt with compartments on it for holding small shaped charges and grenades.
"Nothing," Tempest told him. Nothing I feel like talking about anyways.
"Let me guess, the mission wasn't quite what you were expecting huh?" said Slag. "I have to admit that this probably wouldn't be the best first mission for somebody who just joined, but they're not all going to be like this–"
"Some will be worse," a morose male voice interjected from behind Tempest.
"Gunner, you shouldn't sneak up on people like," Slag said, directing the comment towards a reploid wearing recon armor. Recon armor resembled normal combat armor, except that it was lighter weight, designed for stealth, and offered slightly less protection. Recon armor also lacked the shoulder guards commonly found on most reploid body armor. Instead it had a plate of armor covering the upper arm, but not the shoulder joint. Gunner's recon armor was painted in a desert camouflage scheme that allowed him to blend in with the terrain of the wastelands created by debris from the colony, though he could easily get the color changed to match any other environment the 17th might possibly visit.
Gunner stood there, holding a sniper rifle in his right hand and a cleaning kit tucked under his left arm, ignoring Slag's comment. The glum, distant expression on his face made him seem more like a normal robot than a reploid and gave something of an ominous air.
Gunner looked at Tempest and began speaking again. "Tempest, you should be thankful that this was one of the better missions. Not all of them turn out so well."
Tempest looked at the reploid in horror. "How can you say this mission turned out well?! All those people were killed!"
"Any mission where everyone in your team comes back alive is a good one," Gunner rebutted in an icy tone. "What happened to the refugees is regrettable, but it was beyond our power to do anything about it. So there's no reason to get worked up over what you can't control or a situation you weren't responsible for."
Tempest looked at him lividly. How could somebody say something like that so coldly? There was nothing in his voice to indicate he felt any sympathy or sorrow over the fate of the refugees.
"Gee Gunner, nice pep talk. Are you trying to upset her?" Slag muttered sarcastically.
"I'm just telling her the truth of the matter," Gunner replied walking over to one of the tables in the rec room and laying the cleaning kit on it.
Slag turned back to Tempest and said, "Listen kid . . . what Gunner said is good advice, but I don't think that what he's talking about is the case here."
Charger must have told him what happened! Tempest thought angrily. Why else would Slag say that? I wonder who else he told . . . everyone's going to think I'm some kind of crybaby now. Charger is so dead!
Slag noticed Tempest's darkening expression. "Let me guess, something embarrassing happened during the mission? Don't worry; it happens to everyone, even veterans. Ask Charger about what happened at the power plant Squid Adler was guarding sometime if you don't believe me."
"Huh?" Tempest replied. She'd expected to get a dressing down for what happened, so Slag's attempt to make her feel better was a surprise.
"I'd tell you what happened . . . but it's more fun watching him tell the story," Slag chuckled. "The missions will get rougher as time goes on. You'll have days that make this one seem like a cake walk and others where things are so boring you'll feel like banging your head on something, that was true before Siggy's latest stunt and its true even in these harsher times. You'll see things that will frighten and terrify you, that's nothing to be ashamed of either, and you aren't always going to be happy with how you react when encountering those situations . . . but you'll get better at handling them as time progresses. It won't make it any easier to see something like what happened at the camp, but you'll be able to deal with it better . . . even if it means putting your feelings aside until after the mission is over. Of course if you ever need anybody to talk to, you should always feel free to talk to anyone of us, even X. Like it or not you're a part of the team and that means we're there for you if you need us."
Slag got up off the arm of the couch as Tempest mulled over what he said. She was still mad at Charger for blabbing to him about what happened, how else could Slag have known what was bothering her. However the little speech he had given her, minus Gunner's interruption, had at least reassured her that nobody was going to think less of her or kick her out of the unit because of her behavior at the camp. But it didn't make what happened less embarrassing since now more people than just Charger knew.
"Hey kid, I'm going to play a game of pool with Sera. You want to join us?" Slag asked unexpectedly.
"Isn't it a two-player game?"
"Mostly, except for variations like cutthroat. If you like you could always play winner, or we could drag Charger away from whatever he's doing and we could play teams."
"I . . . don't know how to play," Tempest admitted sheepishly.
"We can't have that now, can we? Com' on, it's not that hard to learn. But you don't have to play if you really don't want to," the 17th's second in command said walking towards the room's pool table. Tempest hesitated a moment before getting up off the couch and deciding to take Slag up on the invitation.
Zero stood outside the simulator room debating on whether or not to barge in there or just wait for its occupant to finish his training program and come out.
After the debriefing, he had tried to confront X about his recent behavior only to have the second Blue Bomber brush him off and disappear. Zero was getting concerned about how X was acting. His friend had become moody, short tempered, and even a little withdrawn at times. Zero was still shocked that X had allowed his temper to get the better of him back in the camp, X rarely allowed something like that to occur during a mission.
He'd seen X behave this way before, after some of the nastier Maverick uprisings, but he usually was back to his normal self within a week, two tops. The fact that he'd been acting this way for close to a month now was disconcerting. Something was definitely bothering X and Zero didn't have a clue what it was.
Zero wondered if X's attitude had something to do with Gate's uprising. Even though X had returned from the battle at Gate's lab determined to restore the Earth to its former state, something seemed about him seemed a little off. Rather than the typical period of somewhat ill-tempered melancholy X seemed to go through at such times, the Blue Bomber became pensive and seemed to be at odds with himself. What little depression he did exhibit was mostly in regards to the fact he had promised Alia that he'd bring Gate back alive and had failed to do so.
Even though X had recovered Gate's body, Alia and Lifesavor had been unable to resuscitate him. The death of her colleague and friend had hit Alia hard. Her feelings of guilt about her role in what the RRT had done to him only compounded her grief. For a brief period of time, Alia's mood darkened and she began to withdraw from the people around her. She spurned the condolences offered by her coworkers – not believing they could honestly understand what she was going through since they knew nothing of her past actions or her friendship with Gate – and was determined to deal with the grief by herself.
Zero had felt a great deal of sympathy for her. Her behavior had reminded him of how he had been after Iris had perished. Alia had not only been forced to recall painful memories of the past that she had tried to put behind her, but she had also been forced to watch as two people who were important to her fight each other. Given the close friendship Alia had with Gate, was it any wonder his demise would hit her so hard, even after all the years that had passed?
Zero recalled how awful X had felt seeing her hurting like that. For a while X avoided her, feeling he was to blame for the pain she was experiencing. Eventually X went and talked to Alia. Zero didn't know what went on during that conversation, but it seemed to help both of them. Alia was still in mourning, but she was more cordial towards people and began to socialize again, while X appeared to have dealt with whatever had been bothering him.
Now X seemed to be dealing with some new personal demon and seemed to be angry about something most of the time. Zero had seen X angry before and just outright furious on a few occasions, but he'd never witnessed the kind of seething anger X had shown recently. Zero guessed that X was for the most part keeping the feeling in check, but it was beginning to get harder for him to do.
What worried Zero the most was that eventually Signas would notice X's behavior – if he hadn't already – and decide to do something about it. Zero knew that Signas would try to do something about it. X was one of the four people that Signas had come to rely on for advice and support – the other three being Alia, Douglas, and Zero himself – especially in times of crisis. A sick feeling overtook Zero. If X had exploded over his suggestion about returning to base early, how would X react if Signas relieved him and tried to force him to take some leave? Would X do something stupid and jeopardize his career as a Hunter? Would Signas unknowingly provoke a violent outburst from X?
Zero finally decided to enter the simulator and punched an override code into the panel by the door. The heavy steel doors slid open as a computerized voice warned Zero that he was intruding upon an active combat simulation. Zero ignored the warning and stepped through the walkway into what seemed to be the roof of an abandoned parking garage. It was nighttime and the lights of the surrounding city sparkled. A full moon hung in the sky above along with the few stars whose light was not drowned out by that of the city and the night wind blew gently.
Suddenly a geyser of flame erupted from the ground a foot away from Zero, catching him off guard. A figure rode the column of fire up from the level below, flying up into the air and then falling onto his back five feet from the newly made hole in the garage roof. Zero quickly recognized the fallen figure's blue armor as another person made a powerful leap up through the hole, soaring above both X and Zero. Wisps of flame escaped from the either side of the creature's mouth, illuminating its reptilian visage and making it look like some kind of nightmarish demon as fire gathered around its hands and feet.
Zero instantly recognized one of the most infamous traitors in the history of the Hunters, Magma Dragoon.
Zero's hand instinctively began to reach for his Z-saber, but he stopped himself. This was just a simulation; X was in no real danger. That realization did little to keep him from wanting to rush to his friend's aid. X had defeated Magma Dragoon during the Repliforce War so there was little chance that he'd lose to a simulation of the renegade Hunter. But Zero still remembered how damaged X had been after that fight. X had been covered in burns, exhausted, and his armor had been charred and cracked – there had even been what looked like teeth marks on his left shoulder. X had been repaired by the next day and went back to fighting the remaining Repliforce officers, but he hadn't been able to get back up to full strength until right before the assault on the spaceport.
There was no way that X could get that hurt in the simulator room though. Dragoon's power had obviously been cranked up some for this particular fight, but X still wasn't in danger of being seriously injured.
Unless he shut off the safeties, Zero thought grimly. Even I'm not crazy enough to try that! No, X wouldn't do something like that . . . but still, I should be ready step in if things get out of hand, but not before then.
Magma Dragoon began his descent in the form of a flying kick. His outstretched foot turned into a blazing whirl of flame as he aimed for X's head. The massive reploid quickly built up speed as he prepared to use X for a landing pad.
Right before Dragoon could connect with his attack, X rolled out of the way and came up in a crouching position as Dragoon's clawed foot crashed through the roof. Dragoon's momentum carried him downward through the roof, enlarging the hole created by his foot, to the level below. X got to his feet and started to follow Dragoon as pillar of fire blossomed out of the hole. X stood his ground until the spire of flame abated and Dragoon reemerged from the lower level in another leap. This one took him up and over X, letting him land behind the Hunter.
X spun around, his right arm morphing into his X-buster, and unleashed a large green burst of plasma at his opponent. After firing the shot, X began to charge towards his opponent. Dragoon edged his left foot over slightly before pivoting on it to narrowly avoid the destructive projectile and cupped his hands near his right side. A ball of flame began to form between the clawed appendages. Watching from a distance, Zero saw the move and knew what the simulation of Dragoon was about to do.
Haduken!! roared the simulation brought its cupped hands forward, opening them up to unleash a torrent of fire. X skidded to a halt and dropped to the ground, almost taking a direct hit from the assault.
As X felt the heat from the attack on his back, he grinned and unleashed another fully charged shot from his X-buster. Despite its size, the shot slid easily underneath the stream of fire of the haduken and hit Dragoon's right foot. The shot seemed to splash and flow over the foot like water. Like lasers, plasma was hot enough to burn through or melt most types of armor. Plasma also had the advantage of not entirely dissipating after hitting its target. That meant that for several seconds trace amounts of plasma would remain on an opponent's armor, chewing away at it and any exposed circuitry. Unlike lasers, plasma also had mass. This was bad for Dragoon since the pose he assumed while executing a haduken was meant to brace his body against the recoil of the attack, which meant the simulation was unable to maneuver while performing the move. This meant the force of the shot's impact would make Dragoon break off his attack to try and keep his balance. It was either that or risk having his own attack fling him to the ground.
X had expected the simulation to use the favorite attack of the former member of the 14th melee unit and then taken advantage of the moment of vulnerability it had offered. X got back to his feet and unleashed a volley of uncharged buster rounds at Dragoon as he resumed his charge. The simulation stumbled back, snarling in pain, as it tried to shift its weight off of its mangled foot, the exposed circuits sparking as it did so.
Dragoon suddenly dropped towards the ground in crouch, opening his mouth wide and letting smoke and fire spill out from it. Two fins on his back suddenly sprang up as Dragoon placed his hands on the ground and dug their talons into the cement to brace himself for his next assault. A rumbling roar emerged from Dragoon's throat as a raging inferno burst from his mouth. The wave of fire was bigger than X was and moved so fast the azure Hunter had to use his dash thrusters to safely sidestep the attack. X barely got a chance to collect himself before a second wave of fire engulfed him and knocked him to the ground.
Dragoon stood up slowly, favoring his injured foot, and prepared to press his momentary advantage. The simulation's second volley had been slightly weaker than the first, allowing it to fire again as soon as X finished dodging the first attack. With a sound that was mixture of both roar and battle cry, the Dragoon simulation leapt into the air once more. With the damaged foot it couldn't leap as high as before, but it didn't need to. Dragoon cupped his hands as he prepared one last haduken to finish X off.
Meanwhile X had stumbled to his feet and saw Dragoon's maneuver. He activated his dash thrusters and sped away as the Dragoon fired. The force of the haduken propelled Dragoon higher into the air as the attack hit where X had been and its flames began to spread out across the parking garage roof for several yards, creating a lake of fire.
Dragoon landed hard from his jump, his bad foot giving out from under him. He tried to regain a fighting stance as he saw X dash towards him and jump. X lashed out with his foot, nailing the side of Dragoon's head with a punishing blow. X landed on the ground and began to punch Dragoon rapidly in the stomach, leaving dents in the armor of his opponent and forcing him back. Dragoon managed to grab one of X's arms and used a judo throw to toss X over his shoulder.
X hit the ground and rolled onto his feet. He turned to face Dragoon. The dragon based reploid was crouching once more on the ground and the two fins on his back were raised once more. X unclipped the saber hanging from his side and clutched it in his left hand.
Dragoon fired a torrent of flame and X jumped up above it. X activated his dash system and performed an air-dash towards Dragoon. Dragoon saw this and cut off the attack. He tried to stand up, only to stumble back down into his crouch.
The Blue Bomber activated the green blade of his saber and swung it downwards as his momentum died, causing him to fall to the ground. The emerald blade cleaved through Dragoon's head, throat, and chest. As X's feet touched the ground, he leaped back a small distance as Dragoon's body collapsed on the ground and dissolved into billions of pixels. The night sky, city, and parking garage also dissolved, leaving X and Zero alone in an empty room with white walls and a single door leading out.
X was feeling wiped out from the simulated battle and his exhaustion manifested itself as he stood there panting. He turned to face Zero and saw his friend's stern expression.
"Having fun?" Zero asked with a hint of disapproval.
X shook his head. "Just trying to get my mind off of something."
Zero crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow questioningly at X. "By fighting? That doesn't sound like you X."
"Well, you always say that when something bothers you, a tough simulator session makes you feel better. Didn't work for me though, it just made me tired."
"Which brings up an important point – just how high did you set Dragoon's power? Because I don't remember him being that powerful and you're stronger than you were then, so you shouldn't have had that much trouble dealing with a simulation of him," Zero said crossly.
"I had the computer adjust his power to be about three times what it was back when he betrayed us and crashed Sky Lagoon into the city below it," X said, his tone becoming bitter and angry at the memory of the incident that had sparked the Repliforce War. "Don't look at me like that Zero, I left the safeties on. I may be a little crazy, but I'm not stupid."
"That's a matter of opinion," scoffed Zero. "What were you thinking X? With the simulation at that high of a power, you could have been seriously hurt before the safeties kicked in! Don't give me any crap about trying to get your mind off of what happened at the camp today either! I know you better than that. When something like that happens, yeah, you get a little difficult to put up with for a while. But for you to start trying what I do to relieve anger and stress, then there is something really bugging you. I don't think this has anything to do with the slaughter of the refugees either, at least not entirely. You haven't been behaving normally lately and I'm starting to get concerned."
X rubbed his temples and sighed. He was tired from the fight with the simulation and didn't want to deal with Zero being on his case right now. What was Zero's problem anyways? The lack of trust Zero had shown in X at the camp was bad enough, but now he was harping about how X chose to deal with his feelings about the mess at camp 5.
Maybe it was true that the fate of the refugees wasn't the only thing that was bothering him. There was the devastated condition of the planet to be concerned about, not to mention there were still quite a few Mavericks left over from the Eurasia crisis. The fact that the Hunters simply lacked the manpower to guarantee the safety of the refugees was another cause for concern and X didn't even want to think about the difficulties in handling the logistics for a project like rebuilding the Earth. There was also the fact that with Alia's disclosure about her past, X wasn't sure if the Hunters could trust the Reploid Research Team, one of the groups likely to be a key player in the later stages of the reconstruction program. There were also the rumors about groups of vigilantes and mercenaries harassing the refugee camps. The rumors were yet to be confirmed and the refugees seemed reluctant to comment about them – much to the frustration of the Hunters investigating the veracity of the reports. Then there was that creepy sensation he got from looking at the refugees and the conviction that something awful had been done to them, something worse than just being killed . . .
With all of that to worry about, is it any wonder I might be a little stressed out? So what if I tried handling it differently from normal? I just don't feel like discussing it with anyone, thought X. Even if I did, it wouldn't change anything – nothing I do lately seems to make any difference. I doubt Zero would understand anyhow.
X knew that Zero was not planning on letting him leave the room until he got some answers. Zero felt that confrontation was the best way to deal with problems, which explained why he wasn't always tactful about some things. With a sigh of resignation, X decided to try and placate Zero somehow so he could go back to his room and get some rest.
"Listen Zero, if this has to do with my blowing up at you earlier, I'm sorry. There's really nothing to be worried about . . . I've got it all under control."
"Really?" the crimson warrior responded incredulously.
"Yes, really," X said brusquely. He could feel himself growing angry at Zero. Why couldn't Zero just drop it? So what if he was a little short tempered? Who was Zero to speak anyway? Despite his normally calm, casual demeanor, Zero had a temper that had gotten him into trouble more than once. Even if X knew what was bothering him, why should he tell Zero about it? It wasn't like Zero always confided in him. Zero had kept his reaction to the Sigma virus a secret; X had to find out about it from Lifesavor and Signas. Zero had been in a dangerous situation where he probably needed help and he hadn't trusted his best friend enough to ask for it.
The problem was suddenly and startlingly clear to X. Zero didn't trust him. It was so obvious now. Zero hadn't trusted him during the Eurasia crisis, he had obviously reappeared during the Nightmare because he didn't trust X to handle it on his own, and Zero hadn't felt that X was up to completing his mission at the camp today. X clenched his fists as his ire rose.
His left hand was still grasping his saber and X looked at it, feeling some of his anger draining away. This was the saber Alia had given him when he woke up in the infirmary after Sigma tried to kill him; it had once belonged to Zero. Zero had toiled on the blade for years, customizing it into a truly unique and powerful weapon. He had insisted that X keep it after he returned. Zero had entrusted it to him, saying that he was sure X would find it useful someday.
Whatever Zero's reason's for not telling X about his problem during the Colony drop or about some of the things that had been bothering him in the wake of the fourth uprising, it wasn't because Zero didn't trust him. A pang of guilt for thinking otherwise stabbed X in the chest.
"Zero, I really am sorry about what happened today," X said at last. "I don't know what's bothering me either, it doesn't seem to be any single thing either . . ."
Zero relaxed upon hearing X's mild tone. This was a good sign, hopefully. "Well in that case X, I guess the only thing to do is take some time out to figure out what has been getting to you then."
"I don't know if that's possible . . . this just isn't the kind of life I thought I'd be leading . . . When I joined the Hunters, it was only to stop Sigma. I never thought of anything beyond that or what the price of accomplishing that goal would be. After he went down the second time . . . I don't even know why I stayed in the Hunters after that."
"X, what are you saying?"
X looked solemnly at Zero and asked "What exactly have we actually accomplished as Hunters Zero?"
Zero was stunned into silence. He'd never heard X say anything like that before. X would beat himself up wondering how he could have done something differently to save more lives or avoid a battle, but Zero had never heard him question his achievements as a Hunter. X had just seemed to always accept that the Hunters were doing the right thing and he hadn't ever suggested that the Hunter's goals weren't worthwhile or pointless.
When Zero finally found his voice he responded, "X, we've accomplished a whole damn lot! If it weren't for us Sigma would have set himself up as a dictator and humanity 'd be long gone!"
"So instead of taking them out in one clean sweep, old baldy just sets up plans to take them out piecemeal. Face it, no matter what we did Eurasia was going to kill a lot of people and before that the Repliforce war killed a fair amount of humans. Now there are humans on the surface who can't get into the warrens and have been left for dead in Maverick infested wastelands by everyone who did make it to those shelters. On top of that, Gate was well on his way to wiping out the surviving reploids and humans on the surface not too long ago."
"We stopped him though. That gave everyone on the surface a second chance."
"A second chance at what Zero!?" X rebutted. "Do you think the survivors who aren't living in a refugee camp are any better off than they were before Gate showed up? Most of the reploids who survived are scared of us because they still remember what happened to the Repliforce. Some of the other refugees don't feel like they can trust us much since a frelling space colony nearly flattened the planet! We also haven't given them much reason to have faith in us now. I mean we couldn't even protect the people at Camp 5!"
"X, we're doing the best we can. We can't do anything for the survivors who don't relocate to a refugee camp, there's just too many still out there for us to even try. If they choose not to go to one, that's their choice – we can't force them to accept our help anyways."
"I know that Zero!" X snapped. "But it doesn't mean that we should act like they don't even exist! These people have already been abandoned by everyone else; we shouldn't just give up on them as well. It's our duty to protect them, a duty we haven't been able to fulfill . . ."
"I know it sounds cold, but we should only worry about the people we can help. Unless we can actually do something for the people not in the camps, worrying about them won't accomplish anything. Once the reconstruction project kicks into full gear, then we should be able to help them," argued Zero.
"And if they still don't accept our help?" X asked deadpan. Zero remained silent, not making eye contact with X. That was all X needed for an answer.
The silence between them began to linger and grow uncomfortable. Zero wasn't sure how to respond to X's question. The truth was that once the political leaders came out of the Warrens, the people on the surface would have no choice but to follow them so long as the Hunters took orders from the government. Even if the remaining humans and reploids resisted their return to power, some of the political leaders wouldn't hesitate to sic the Hunters on them. If the Hunters refused to obey, the government couldn't enforce its will and the people who had been abandoned by them might rebel. Naturally the Hunters would get caught in the middle of something like that.
Regrettably, it was in the best interests of the Hunter's plan to revitalize the planet to have a stable government to help organize things. That meant whether the refugees liked it or not, the Council and other world governments would eventually emerge from the shelters to take back their positions of power. Then they would claim the fruits of the labor of the Hunters and refugees for themselves.
"Zero, why did you join the Hunters?" X asked suddenly.
The question caught Zero off guard. It was something he had never thought about. When Dr. Cain had repaired and reactivated him, he had simply been told that he was to be a Maverick Hunter. Zero had simply accepted the decree without questioning it or even stopping to think about whether it was what he wanted or not.
Zero had never had cause to question it before. Being a Hunter had seemed to come naturally to him. Tracking down an opponent, engaging them in combat, showing no mercy to his foes, it had all come so easily to him. It had just felt right. Even when Sigma went Maverick Zero didn't think twice before labeling him as an opponent or even about why Sigma would suddenly go against the principles he had upheld his whole life. Even when Iris had died, Zero had only questioned what he was fighting for, never why he chose to fight in the first place.
In fact he had always eagerly anticipated every battle that lay just upon the horizon. Even when appearing to enjoy the peace he helped create, Zero was always on the look out for the next potential conflict. It was like he was driven on some level to always be prepared for battle, to always keep an eye out for anyone who might provide him a decent challenge, whether they be friend or foe.
To his own horror, Zero had sometimes caught himself thinking about how he would take down X if they ever fought for real, after all X was one of the few androids in existence that could match him in power and ability. What had truly frightened Zero was that during his battle with X after the Eurasia colony was destroyed, a part of him had desired to massacre his best friend. A quite whisper that urged him to rend and destroy, to revel in ecstasy over X's mutilated corpse. During the fight the whisper became a pounding within his head, a compulsion so deeply rooted that it was difficult to block out until he finally gave in and came at X with everything he had. A part of Zero had relished that fight, enjoyed it more than any other battle he had fought before. He was just thankful that the battle had ended in a draw. Iris's death had devastated him more than he would have thought possible. He didn't want to think what being responsible for killing X would have done to him.
In the end, he had joined the Hunters because he was told to. Even if he had come to believe in some of the organization's ideals, it didn't change the fact that initially it hadn't mattered to him. Only being able to fight had meant anything at all.
"Personal reasons," Zero finally said.
"More personal than stopping a psychotic killer you helped to create?" X asked bitterly.
If only you knew the half of it X, Zero thought to himself. He was one of the few people who knew that X had helped Dr. Cain design and build Sigma, the reploid who was supposed to surpass X in every category. However, nobody but Zero and Sigma knew that it was the virus Zero himself had carried that had turned the once noble Hunter into a mass murderer.
"Have you heard anything from Alia lately?" Zero said, changing the subject.
"No, Signas has kept her pretty busy going from the various warrens and Hunter bases trying to organize labor and supply lines for the reconstruction project," X replied, "Once she's through with that I think Signas is going to have her split her time between her spotter duties and continuing to help manage the resources allocated for reconstruction. Samantha's taken over as our spotter while Alia is away. She's not doing a bad job either."
"You miss her, don't you?"
"Of course I do, she's my friend."
Normally Zero would tease X a little by asking if that was the only reason he missed the blue eyed spotter. It was usually fun to do since X got pretty defensive and a little embarrassed. It was more fun when he could tease both X and Alia at the same time though since their composure would slip quite a bit as they denied the insinuation. Zero supposed that the reason ribbing them like that was so enjoyable was that because they were normally just such reserved, level-headed individuals, that it was unusual to see them get flustered like that. Then there was the fact they didn't seem to be certain about the exact nature of their relationship themselves, which made teasing them about it almost too easy.
But given X's current attitude, Zero didn't think it would be such a good idea, even if changing the subject to Alia had seemed to mellow the Hunter a little.
Zero sighed and then spoke a in a calm voice, "X, I really am worried about how you've been acting lately. Maybe you should think about taking some time off until you can sort it all out."
"Take time off?" X said disbelievingly. "Zero, I really don't think we can afford to spare any Hunters right now. Don't worry about me, I'll handle this . . . I always do." With that X began to walk past Zero and towards the door of the simulator room.
As X walked by Zero spoke. "You'd better do it soon then. I think it's beginning to affect your judgment; that could needlessly put a lot of people in danger X."
X continued onward, not even acknowledging Zero's comment, and exited the room. Zero remained where he stood for a moment longer before leaving as well, hoping that X was right about there being no need to worry about him.
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There it is, the end of chapter 2. This was a long one!
I hope you enjoyed it, please review!