Disclaimer: I don't own MMX, or any of the MM franchise. I did however offer to buy it off Capcom for a dollar, yeah that didn't go over too well.

In our last Episode:

X eyed the lifeless head of Agile and shook his own in disgust, " Zero, you have a sick sense of humor."

" You think that's twisted watch this." Turning Zero walked over to where the rest of Agiles prone body lay, ironically the Maverick's posterior was facing skyward. Swiftly Zero brought his foot to bear and swung, hitting his target. The body went sailing into the fire where it promptly exploded. Turning around satisfied Zero clasped his hands on a job well done, " Never say I don't keep my promises."

Before X could muster a response the ground began to violently shake as several large explosions rocked the entire compound. " This base is about to blow!" Another explosion sent both hunters flying towards the wall. As X and Zero stood the ground began to once again shake. Zero groaned,

" Not again."

On cue the ground gave way as both hunters fell. The base erupted in a massive explosion as a white light engulfed both parties. Letting their cries drown out in the background.

" Shiiiiii…."

Chapter Six: Subtly thy name is not

"iiittt!!", Was the sound currently coming out of Zero's mouth. Truthfully this was not the way he wanted to go. Dying in a massive explosion brought on after you beat the bad guy was not cool in his book. There was no heroics involved, no cool final words, just what his quick whit had spouted in reflex. His vision burred, then re adjusted to see the familiar shape of a cross female spotter with blond hair. Zero finally stopped yelling as one crucial detail started to seep in.

" Funny, death looks a lot like Alia." said Zero as he blinked.

" That's because it is Alia genius."

Zero glanced over to spot his partner X, who was standing casually next to him with an annoyed look; his Falcon armor had dispersed during transit. " So…what's the difference again?"

Alia who had heard the whole conversation was about one transistor short of going Maverick. Bad enough they scare me witless with their antics, but there's no way in hell I'm going to let you two dingle-dorks bad mouth me while I'm in the same room! Much to her delight she remained composed, however she let her anger be known as she glared at the two Hunters. When she did speak however, hell's temperature dropped by two degrees.

" The difference is Zero, with me you wish you where dead."

Both Zero and X gulped, and then simultaneously quipped a " Point taken." in response.

Satisfied that she etched the fear back into their sorry hides, Alia allowed her glare to soften. Though not by much, " Good, now then, you two, with me. Where going to debriefing." Turning she walked away towards the exit, then stopped and turned when she realized that neither one had followed her. " NOW."

" Yes ma'am!" was the unanimous chorus that filled her ears. Smiling, she turned and left.

X let a sigh escape as he stepped down from the transporter, " Man. Am I the only one who thinks we'd be better off back in the explosion?"

Zero snorted, " That my friend is an understatement."

" Well lets hurry and catch up, where already on her bad side so lets not make things any worse." With that X hurriedly strode off towards the exit. Leaving Zero and the transporter operator alone.

" Man, he's whipped harder than a batch of scrambled eggs." The grin currently on Zero's face could only be describes as shit eaten. " Bed life's gonna be interesting as hell though."

A low cough was heard in the background, interrupting the red reploids current train of thought. Looking over to where the noise was Zero spotted the Hunter tech standing by the operating podium. The Hunter was currently displaying a look of impatience and annoyance. However this information was trivial to what Zero immediately noticed as he arched an eyebrow in amusement. The said Hunter Tech passed in an identical resemblance to a certain Scottish engineer off a popular sci-fi show," Oh you have got to be kidding, someone out there is just plane sadistic."

The Hunter in question eyed Zero suspiciously. " De' ya mind? I need tah run a diagnostic on tah matter-anti-matter chamber. Anna I can't do it with yea standing around like some bleeding idiot."

Upon hearing this Zero immediately began to tear up in hysterics as he tried to suppress the urge to fall to the ground laughing, " Oh hell no, you even sound like him."

Once he realized what Zero was referring to the Hunter sighed as he crossed his arms, " Might as well get it out ouv ye system so I can get back to work."

Immediately Zero laughed, hard, from deep within his core. Then standing to his full height he stepped off the transporter still spouting a grin, " Well I'm heading off to the bridge, keep the ship in once piece Scotty."

The Scotty rolled his eyes, " Aye, like I haven't heard that one before."

Zero only responded by parting his hand to the familiar 'V', " Live long and prosper."

This of course was met with the finger as Zero strode off happily completely ignoring the remark.

As the doors slid shut the Reploid snorted, " What an ass."

====

X walked briskly behind Alia deep in thought. Currently his mind was replaying the events of the battle. It troubled him greatly that so much resistance was met at an abandoned base. What more so the fact that an ex-X-hunter was the culprit, how was he rebuilt, and by whom? Not to mention the dream he had before, this plagued him to no ends. Again his subconscious was trying to tell him something important, and like so many times before it hung on the tip of the shadows refusing to step into the light of discovery. The rush of sudden energy, new abilities, mysterious past, it was all too much for X to contemplate. Its like I'm trapped in some god awful Anime, of worse…fan fiction.

Zero introduced it to him a few years ago; at first he found some of the stories amusing. But then one fateful day he stumbled onto the other kind of fan fiction and it send him reeling. It dawned on that day to X that there where some people with real issues posting this stuff. Honestly, X himself though that he was tolerating enough as a person. But some of the stuff he skimmed was just sick, no way in the world would he do that to Zero! The last thought sent X into an involuntary shudder as he steered his thoughts away from the realm of fan fiction.

Once again X was so deep in thought that he failed to notice that his eyes had locked on to Alia's rear assets. Even worse that Zero had caught up with him and was currently watching the scene with evil intent.

The Crimson Hunter walked casually next to X intently watching the events unfold. X's eyes where glued to Alia's ass. And rightfully so, thought Zero. Even he had to admit, Alia had a pretty cute butt. Now the question was would X do anything about it?

A frown appeared on Zeros face as he came to the realization. X is the nice guy. He'd never do something like that. Which is probably why he hasn't snagged a girlfriend yet.

Zero's smile twisted to a grin, In times such as this X needs his evil conscience to poke him along in the right direction. And sense he doesn't seem to have one, I'm the next best thing! Zero suppressed the urge to cackle, as he beamed brightly at his conclusion.

Besides, this will allow me to gauge each of their reactions, so I at least know what I have to work with. With much enthusiasm Zero put his plan into action…

Over the years X had developed a kind of sixth sense as to when danger was near, he asked Zero about it but the red reploid contributed it to 'spidey sense'. What that meant he had no idea, but right now it was tingling. Unfortunately for X he was too late to react, as Zero grabbed his hand and placed it firmly on Alia's butt with a resounding slap

A smart reploid would have immediately pulled away, however X's mind was currently locked in heated debate of facts:

1: He was going to kill Zero.

2:Alia was going to kill him.

3: This has to be a dream, no way was his hand on Alia's butt.

Unfortunately X's hand was getting quite a good feel, which lead to a whole new train of thought.

1: This wasn't a dream; his hand was really on Alia's butt.

2: Alia butt was quite firm, yet soft and malleable at the same time.

3: He was in deep doo doo.

===

Prior the event, Alia was replaying the tactical data that had occurred during the mission. While the boy's antics where nerve wracking in itself, they where nothing compared to the energy spike prior to the huge explosion. What's more, that the spike came from her X. She blushed involuntarily at the way her last train of thought invaded, and secretly was glad X was behind her so as not to see her blush.

Absently she wondered when she began to think of X in such a manner. In the beginning it wasn't so. When she joined the Maverick Hunters Alia was delighted to work under X and Zero. Although she was aware of their reputation of recklessness, not to mention they scared off any person who attempted to spot them. She would not let then deter her. After Gates, she was ready for a new start along with new challenges.

X was the first breed of new robots. He alone was the blueprint for all reploids, no mater what the design, his was the foundation to everything. Even more enigmatic was the fact that his systems where still to this day not fully understood. They're where still many 'black boxes' that held their secrets. What was more bizarre was that Zero too held the same 'black boxes' even though their design was similar, they where uniquely different at the same time.

Like two sides to a coin, Alia mused to herself.

At first it was purely professional. The thought of working with the two was too good of an offer to pass up. However as time moved on and she got to know them personally, things changed. Particularly towards X, never before had she met a reploid quite like him. His kindness was something out of a fairy tail, truth and justice was something he truly believed in. The sheer depth of his compassion and gentleness slowly chipped away at her defensive walls. In her mind, he was truly a hero.

SLAP!

"Eeek!" Was all that escaped Alias mouth. Immediately she turned and too see X's hand where her rear was. His face was clearly beet read as he tried to mumble an apology, however all that came out was silence. Had Alia been thinking clearly she would have seen the ploy for what it was, Zero himself was eying the situation with glee.

However because her thoughts where on X, the situation reeled her into shock. Already she was blushing, unable to cope with the idea of X being so bold. Her Hero visage was shattered, and immediately was replaced with rage.

" X you pervert!"

X's eyes widened, " Uh oh."

WHAM!

===

Signas sat in his office observing the satellite imaged of the battle. He was so engrossed in the readout that he jumped slightly at the shrill of a woman's voice outside his office.

Looking towards where the door he replayed the voice, " Was that Alia?"

His confusion grew as the voice was indeed Alia as she shouted, " X you pervert!"

Signas arched an eyebrow at the statement as he mouthed the word 'pervert' in silence. Suddenly the wall near the entrance shuddered slightly with a loud THUD as various picture frames rattled with the impact. It didn't take a rocked scientist to figure out what that was.

Moments later Alia walked into the office, her expression cross and foul tempered. X followed holding his left eye and wincing, Zero was the last to enter his armor was still a mess, however he was snickering so badly he really didn't care about his appearance.

Behind his desk Signas suppressed a smile, he had a fairly good assumption as to what was going on and decided to let things play out. He signaled for them to each take a seat as a display monitor blipped on revealing the remains of the Replaforce base. All eyes where glued to the screen until Signas made a noise drawing their attention.

" Now then, would anyone explain to me what happened?"

Not missing a beat both X and Zero pointed towards one another, " He did it."

Inwardly Signas sighed, now was not the time for their antics. " That's nice, now please clarify before I ask Alia to do it for me."

Both Hunters turned their attention towards the female reploid, who at the moment was glaring back. For the first time ever, Hell's Air conditioner kicked in.

Both X and Zero quickly got to the point as they began their debriefing.

Twenty minuets later and a few mock dogfights with hands Signas frowned, " So Agile was the commander of the base you say? This is most disturbing."

In front of him the three reploids where equally deep in thought, Zero grinned in recognition, " Key word was, stomped him good I did."

" That's nice to see you actually have a viable use, and here I thought all you where was another pervert amongst the lot." Said Alia.

The icy tone was not missed as X winced, Zero eyed the blond in another light as he mentally told her off

Bitchy lately? Not so fresh right now? Seriously, what crawled up your ass aside from X's hand? You should be thanking me you prudish…

Fortunately Alia didn't hear what Zero was thinking as she continued, " The question now is who rebuilt Agile and why?"

Signas nodded in agreement, " Indeed, a rogue X-hunter is not something I like to re-enact."

" Alright, here's a question then. What would Agile have to offer in order to warrant his reactivation?" Everyone looked at X, who up till now had remained silent.

" You mean aside from hating your guts?" Asked Alia coldly.

X said nothing as he continued to take the verbal beating, she was too hot to talk to rationally at the moment. Silently he made a mental note to once again kill Zero. " If that's the case join the club and get in line."

Somehow Signas didn't think X's comment was directed towards Agile. He decided to let the debriefing end early before tension became uncivil. " Well then, if theirs anything else you recall please put it in your reports. Until then, dismissed."

Alia was the first to get up as she hastily strode out in a huff. X sighed as he shot a glance at Zero, who at the moment was stretching as he sprang out of his seat. Cracking his knuckles X slowly rose as he followed with the intent to kill.

Once the doors closed Signas sighed, " Whatever Zero's got planned I hope it doesn't blow up in his face…or worse the HQ." With that he returned his attention toward his monitor as the Energy surge appeared on the screen. It was eerily similar to what happened to Zero so many years ago. The patter was slightly different, but the overall effect was the same. But still, what caused it?

An incoming call interrupted Signas thoughts, turning he looked disdainfully at the phone icon on his screen, " Oh for the love of sanity." Tapping the icon Signas cleared his throat, " Commander Signas speaking."

Douglas appeared on screen, and smiled. " How's the paperwork up there?"

Truthfully, Signas was taken back by the crew chiefs appearance. Douglas never called his office; usually he was too involved in his own work to bother with making timely reports. Which was probably why Signas usually made frequent stops to the armory section of the base, not that he minded. It was a good excuse to take a break away from his desk and simply stroll around.

" Thick and never ending." Responded the commander in kind, " However what intrigues me more is the fact you actually know how to use a com. station. Whatever it is the situation must be important."

Douglas smirked, " Nothing life threatening. But it has thrown my green tin plated rear for a loop."

The Hunter commander laughed, " If you want loops remind me to tell you what happened with X, Zero, and Alia when I make my rounds."

Douglas cackled, " Gossip eh? Ok chief you drive a hard bargain." Quickly the Mechanic's demeanor turned serious. " Earlier today at around 01:23 hours we experienced a power surges at level 6."

Signas eyes arched, " X's Armory level? Was there any damage?"

The green mechanic shook his head, " Nothing too severe, the power regulation couplings blew out but that's it. The strange thing is when they went the surge should have stopped."

" But they didn't?"

" Nope, instead they shot off the scales and triggered the emergency bulkheads. The computer actually thought that we where under attack."

" Interesting." Said Signas as he leaned back in his chair, " Tell me what time did it occur again?"

" 01:23, and it lasted for about three minuets."

" I see, Douglas send me the details as soon as you can. And lets keep an eye on that section for a bit."

" Right-o Commander!" Douglas saluted as he smiled, " And thanks again for the twenty! Douglas over and out!"

Signas smirked at the comment; twenty was really chump change to what he was playing for at the moment. Putting his attention back to the readouts Signas checked the time of the incident on a hunch.

As he did his eyes widened, " They match…"

Staring at Signas was the time of when the power surge was detected on the battlefield and what Douglas had told him, both read 01:23.

Frowning Signas mulled over the information. In his line of work coincidences often lead to disastrous results, and somehow X was the key. The more he thought about it the more Signas didn't like what he saw. Finally standing he walked towards a window as he looked outside.

Glancing down he could spot the two familiar red and blue reploids as they chased each other with a vengeance. His thought now drifting towards another matter, particularly towards the situation of Alia and X, of course Zero's intention was obvious.

Sighing Signas lightly banged his head on the panel, " Heaven help us all."