This says chapter 2, but I actually wrote it first. Then I got the idea for an intro so now the hunters know Vile's back, and interject some mystery as to what he's doing here, and some other stuff. Also wanted Argo to have one more appearance. Anyhow, this takes place a few months after the first part and I hope it doesn't suck.

---

Beep beep!

X blinked as his pager went off. Drat. He'd just been about to settle down with his favorite book. Hopefully this wasn't anything important.

"X here. What's up?"

"It's Argo, sir. He's in trouble."

X raised an eyebrow. Argo was one of the older members of his unit, a large fellow with a profound love of smashing things to pulp. What could he have possibly gotten into that would require X's direct attention?

"What seems to be the trouble?"

"Ah, Vile seems to be wiping Times Square with his ass..."

X was out of the room before his book hit the ground.

-

"You see, THIS is why I generally stick to assassinations."

Argo wasn't exactly what you would call a wimp. At least, you wouldn't tell him that to his face, because he was over six feet tall and had a face that looked like it had been beaten against a few brick walls and come out little worse for the wear. When he wore his heavy bronze and blue armor he was a truly intimidating sight, especially when he transformed his right arm into a truly fearsome plasma cannon. Few Mavericks cared to go up against him alone, especially with his reputation for never backing down from a fight.

Currently he was running for his life as the street behind him was torn apart by a series of blue-white explosions.

"I mean, it's not that I mind just slumming it and kicking your ass. Fun is fun, after all. But there's just no challenge. When I do an assassination, it's someone important, not some gutless peon like you, so I'm pretty much guaranteed a good time. The only way I'm gonna salvage tonight is if I can get enough cash off your corpse to buy a few beers."

Vile strolled down the street fairly unhurriedly, talking conversationally as he chased his startled prey. His deep purple armor seemed to absorb the streetlights, turning him into a walking shadow, while the bright blue and white trim reflected the same luminescence like highway stripes. Over his right shoulder hung his trademark shoulder-mounted cannon, a fearsome thing of chrome and blue steel. Mounted on his left was a box-like structure that seemed to house minimissiles of some sort, and it was these missiles that he was currently using to disrupt traffic as he chased down Argo.

"You've got enough on you for a beer or two, right bitch? I'm sure you've got an emergency stash somewhere for when the cravings hit real good."

Argo finally skidded to a halt and whirled, raising his plasma cannon.

"SHUT UP!"

Vile sighed and casually backhanded the blood-red plasma blast, shaking his head in mock pity.

"No no no, you're just not doing it right. You're not SELF-RIGHTEOUS enough. Make me hate you, bitch!"

Vile's left eye gleamed like a demonic ruby as he grabbed his shoulder cannon and fired, paralyzing energy arcing across the ground like lightning and slamming into Argo's chest, pinning him to a lamppost. The huge Maverick Hunter gritted his teeth and squirmed, trying to escape. Vile chuckled as he closed in.

"Welcome to my parlor, I say to you, 'cause I'm supposed to spout something clichéd as I close in. I never was much good at dramatics. Oh well, I DO like the death-lines..."

His right gauntlet opened up, revealing a recessed rocket launcher. Argo's eyes widened in terror as the helmeted Maverick raised the weapon to his face. Vile's voice grew deep and haggard as he spat a final line at his prey.

"Eat shit and die you piece of-"

BLAM!

Vile was cut off as a burst of golden plasma hit the ground where he'd been standing a fraction of a second before he somersaulted straight backwards. Whirling, his eye focused on the interloper with a hate-filled glare.

"Figures they'd send you."

X leveled his arm cannon at Vile's face as he approached. "Yeah, well, I've kicked your ass so often, they figure I have enough practice at it. So why'd you come out of hiding purple people eater? Miss me?"

"The music of your girly screams has been gone from my auditory receptors for far too long," replied Vile. He waved backwards to Argo as he sauntered over to X. "Don't run away now, bitch. I'll draw and quarter you later."

Argo snarled, but couldn't break the writhing energy ropes that held him in place. X shot forward, his arm cannon blazing as he rapid-fired plasma bolts. Vile leapt straight upwards and held up his arms, fire blossoming from his wrists as rockets arced through the sky towards his scurrying white–armored prey. X skidded to a halt, the blue trim on his armor turning purple as his plasma bolts switched to green laser beams, blasting the ordinance out of the sky with pinpoint accuracy, filling the air with shrapnel and smoke.

And then Vile came rocketing downwards out of the smoke like a comet falling to earth. X barely had time to bring his cannon to bear before the Maverick barreled into him, driving him back and through the street, sparks flying and blacktop buckling beneath his boots. Neon green lasers sprayed across the road, but Vile's shoulder grinding into his chest made aiming impossible, even with his weapon's advanced targeting sensors. Then Vile's hand wrapped around his throat in a bruising choke hold and his back slammed into a concrete wall, his feet dangling over the ground.

X's arm snapped up, and a green target sight lit up the Maverick's visor just between his eyes. In the same instant, Vile's shoulder cannon leveled at the hunter's face, the black recesses of the barrel as dark as the road to eternity. Both reploids froze.

"Well golly gee," said Vile, "THIS looks familiar."

"Yeah," said X, "If I recall correctly, the next part is where you die."

He fired his boot thrusters. Both their weapons discharged with a Whumpf! of sound, accompanied by the sharp crack and sizzle of energy striking and melting metal, the electric hum of Vile's stun blast, and a sharp cry from X. The stun blast struck him in the left shoulder, numbing his arm down its entire length. Vile spun away with a curse, tearing off the ruined remains of his shoulder-mounted missile sprayer. X continued dashing upwards for as long as his boots held out, then planted his feet hard against the wall and leapt, bouncing off the building on the opposite side, zigzagging between the two sides of the street all the way to the top of one of the buildings. Vile followed a second later, landing on the edge of the roof just in time for X to fire a great ball of azure energy at his face.

Vile held out his hands and the plasma blast slammed into an invisible barrier, swelling against it briefly before ricocheting upwards and disappearing into the night sky. Vile hissed softly as smoke rose from his wrists, accompanied by some nasty-looking sparks. X grinned humorlessly and began recharging his cannon, an aura of incandescent blue energy rising around his body.

"You keep coming up with new tricks..."

"Yeah yeah, I'm just full of surprises and all that shit. Eat fire."

A smaller, secondary barrel on Vile's shoulder cannon lit up and roared, sending a jet of flames across the roof. X hopped to the side and fired, a blast of searing blue energy tearing towards Vile. The Maverick leapt to the side, sending another arc of fire at X, who leapt straight up, right into the path of Vile's blue lightning.

"GAH!"

Vile chuckled as X hit the roof, trapped in a writhing net of electric energy. "Ah, I live for that girly little squeal of yours X. I imagine you must make the same noise when Zero sticks it in your ass. Of course, imagining that makes me want to stab myself in the eyes. It's a catch 22 really."

"F-f-f-f-fuck you!"

"Ew. No tha-ARGH!"

Vile stumbled forward, the charred remains of his shoulder cannon scattering across the roof. Behind him, Argo smiled and steadied his arm cannon as power built back up in the chamber. "This is for my wife, you son of a bitch."

Vile stood straight as a rod as the blow struck him between the shoulder blades. There was a sharp report of energy on metal and a puff of smoke, but otherwise no reaction. Slowly, he turned to regard Argo, burning red eye narrowed into a slit of pure murder, ignoring the small crater in his back, and apparently deaf to X's struggles. Argo stared him down, cannon raised, teeth gritted.

Vile took a step, and then another, and a third, eerily silent. Argo's teeth ground together and he took a step back. His arm fell, trembling, to his side, and his eyes widened in terror.

"No... no, get away from me."

Vile was on him like a hawk pouncing on a rat. Argo turned to run and found out he had no room left. He tripped over the roof edge and fell, with sickening slowness, towards the street below.

Vile's hand clamped onto his ankle, jarring him to a halt in mid-air. Argo looked up at him in horror. "Wh... what...?"

"Vile, no!" X struggled to rise to his feet, to bring his arm cannon to bear. Even after years of battle, of getting used to pain, of bearing unbearable exhaustion, he still couldn't break through Vile's stun blasts. Not right away. He fought it every second, and still it held him.

"Oh, don't be a complete idjit," Vile sneered, staring down at his prey. "We both know I'm gonna drop him, I just want to get the melodrama out of my system. Besides, your friend here made a rather unfair accusation against me. What did you say about me and your wife, bitch?"

Argo snarled as he struggled to free his leg from Vile's grasp. "I don't know what the fuck you did to her, infected her with your damn virus or some shit, but I swear I'll kill you for it!"

"So simple. So stupid. I almost feel bad about this, killing you before you realize what's really going on..."

He released Argo's boot. The Maverick Hunter fell with a scream that was cut hair-raisingly short by the unforgiving asphalt.

"Almost. Ooh, he might have survived that if I hadn't dropped him on his head. Nasty."

"GrrrrrAAAH!" With a final herculean effort X shredded the ropes of electricity, freeing himself. He snarled like an animal as he raised his arm cannon. "You bastard!"

"Oh, go eat a dick, X."

X fired, but it was a futile gesture- Vile disappeared in a flash of purple light. The Maverick Hunter let out an impotent scream of rage and slammed his fist into the roof, doing little more than dirtying his knuckles. With a sigh, he rose to his feet and walked to the edge of the roof, daring a look over the edge.

Damn. Even a Reploid couldn't survive losing that much blood.

X skidded down the side of the building and alighted on the ground and watched as the paramedics arrived and mopped up the mess as best they could. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see Alia giving him a sad smile. He wordlessly pulled her into a hug, which she returned.

"It's not your fault," she whispered.

"I know," he said, "but that doesn't make it any easier."

Alia pulled away and took him by the hand. "Come on," she said, "his girlfriend's waiting. She should hear it from you."

X nodded wearily and followed. Alia led him to a small ground-level apartment two blocks away. The door and most of the front wall had been blown out, and inside two policemen were questioning a reploid woman who was sitting on the sofa. X recognized her from the few times Argo had brought her to the base, a pretty, lively girl named Cassy. She had short, bouncy blonde curls and a sunny disposition, normally. Right now she looked fairly forlorn, and an ugly purple bruise was forming over her left eye where the tiny fluid capillaries beneath her synthetic flesh had been ruptured. The policemen spoke to her for a few more moments before turning and leaving, shaking their heads. X walked hesitantly up to the girl, carefully avoiding a pile of clothing in the middle of the floor.

"Uh, Cassy?"

She looked up at him dully. "Yes?"

He swallowed and rubbed his hand backwards over his helmet, a habit he'd picked up from not being able to run his hands through his hair. "You probably know I'm MegaMan X, I was your boyfriend Argo's unit commander..."

"Wife."

X blinked. "Sorry?"

She looked at him, but not AT him, like she was staring at something behind his head. "We're married."

"But you can't-"

"I know it's not legally binding. We didn't care. We were young, in love all that-" She stopped short, and then focused on him for the first time. "Wait, was? He get kicked out?"

"Uh, no." X grimaced, trying to say it as gently as possible. "Your, uh, husband was fighting one of the most formidable Mavericks of all time, and I did my best, but..."

"He's dead!?"

X was taken aback. Cassy was staring at him, eyes wide, mouth agape. It was almost the reaction he'd expect, except something was... off. Cassy didn't have the look of a woman crushed by the death of her lover. She seemed... eager. Almost relieved.

"Y... yes, Vile killed him..."

"Oh thank fucking CHRIST." Cassy fell back against the couch, heaving a deep sigh. X and Alia traded looks. They were both confused as hell.

"Um, Cassy..."

She nodded. "I know, I know, I'm happy my husband is dead, it must be the shock. I'm sorry you lost a soldier commander, but if you'd really known him... oh god..."

She curled up on herself, her shoulders suddenly heaving with sobs. Alia sat down beside her and laid an arm gently around her. Cassy fell against the other woman and cried into her shoulder. After a moment she managed to get herself under control and looked back up at them, wiping her eyes.

"I guess I owe you an explanation..."

X and Alia traded uncomfortable looks. "Well, I'd like to know, but if you don't feel up to it..."

She shook her head. "No, someone needs to know. It just... it's kind of a long story..."

X sat down on a nearby chair. "Take your time."

Cassy let out a deep sigh, looking down at the floor. "Right. Well, I guess I'll start with the wedding. It was six months ago, around Christmas..."

-

Legally, reploid marriage carries no weight. Nonetheless, many reploids who wish to show their devotion for each other indulge in ceremonies, some religious, some not, that symbolize their devotion to one another. Argo and Cassy had one such ceremony, standing under a sleeping apple tree in the snow and speaking vows that carried no legal weight, but represented instead the solemn binding of their hearts. It was beautiful and romantic.

It was also proved just about as worthless to them as it did to the law.

"Honey? I thought you were gonna make dinner tonight?"

Cassy hummed to herself as she tapped away on the computer. For her weekly column she was doing a segment on being a Maverick Hunter's wife. A subject that needed to be explored more often, she thought.

"I got pretty busy today so I ordered a pizza, it should be here in a few minutes."

Argo appeared in the doorway, frowning. "But I wanted you to cook today; you know I love your meatloaf."

Cassy shrugged, not looking up from the keyboard. "I know honey, and I'm sorry, but I just got caught up. I'll make it later this week. I promise."

Argo's frown deepened. "Sorry? That's it?"

This time she turned, frowning a little on her own. "What? You expect me to drop to my knees and beg for forgivness?"

The tendons in Argo's neck drew tighter. "I expect you to show some respect to your husband."

Cassy's brow wrinkled and she turned back to her work. "I don't know what you expect, honey. Yeah I'd like to cook for you, but my job's my job, and I have a deadline to meet. I'll make meatloaf when I get the chance."

Cassy had never been that close to a plasma shot before. At first she thought lightning had struck somewhere nearby, the concussion of noise in her ears was so loud, the light so blinding. Then she smelled her singed hair, and her optics adjusted, and she saw the black mark on the wall where her computer's monitor had been not two seconds ago, and her mouth fell open.

"A... argo...?"

"So now you've got time."

She whirled to ask him what the hell was going on, but he'd already left the room. She was about to get up and follow, when she realized her fuel pump was beating at least twice as fast as normal.

Was she actually... afraid?

No... no, Argo was just tired. He'd been pulling some pretty late shifts lately, he just needed some time to relax, that was all. She cast a worried glance at the remains of the computer, but there wasn't much she could do about that. She'd call her boss and tell him the computer was down, he'd understand. One missed week wasn't a huge deal.

She supposed she might as well make that meatloaf, now...

-

The nurse had an odd look on her face as she treated Cassy's black eye and cut lip. It wasn't a "how in the world did you do this falling down?" look like she'd gotten from the last two nurses. It was more of a "I know how you really did this" look. It scared her. She didn't want anyone to know how it had happened, she didn't want anything to happen that would make Argo angry at her.

She didn't want anyone to know she was letting him do these things to her.

"You don't have to protect him, you know."

Cassy started. "W-wha?"

The nurse was giving her a hard look, but she was smiling in what was supposed to be a friendly manner. "I saw the guy you came in with. Nobody could blame you, he's twice your size. But you can't let this go on; it's the twenty-second century, for godssakes! Get some help. Tell the police. Tell SOMEBODY, just don't let it continue."

Cassy stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "R... right. Sure. Whatever you say."

The nurse looked at her skeptically, but didn't say anything else. She finished fixing her and sent her on her way. Cassy paid the bill and went out to the waiting room. Argo was leaning against the wall waiting for her.

"Feeling better?"

"Y... yes."

"Good. Now we'll never have to worry about that happening again, right?"

"Yes! Yes of course!"

"Good. Now let's go home and have sex."

"...sure."

-

Run, Cassy, run!

Oh god, since when did she start paraphrasing quotes from bad twentieth century movies to herself?

Panting heavily, Cassy skidded to a halt and threw herself into a conveniently located dark alley. Hiding behind the dumpster she huddled against the wall, gasping for breath, her fuel pump beating wildly as she tried her hardest to be quiet. She could hear the drum tap of metallic boots on the sidewalk approaching... then a moment of silence.

"Cassy? Honey? Come out, I just want to talk."

The last time they'd "talked" he'd fractured her jaw.

The footsteps started back up and continued on in another direction. Cassy heaved a sigh of relief.

"Is it safe?"

She sat straight up, heart pounding in fear. The voice had come from somewhere in the shadows of the alley. It definitely wasn't Argo's voice.

"Wh-what?"

"Is it safe?"

"I guess?"

"It rubs the lotion in its skin or else it gets the hose again."

Cassy tried to become one with the wall. Great, escape from abusive husband only to run into a homicidal maniac. Her day was just getting better and better.

"It doesn't talk precious. Maybe it likes... riddles?"

"I... I can handle riddles."

"Riddle me this, riddle me that..."

A cold metal hand closed on the collar of her sweater and hauled her upright against an armored body over a foot taller than she was. She kicked her feet, trying to escape, when a single glowing red eye blazed in her face. She stopped kicking as realization crept over her, draining the circulatory fluid from her cheeks.

"What the FUCK are you doing in my alley?"

"H-hiding?"

Vile blinked, then dropped her on her bottom with a thump. "Oh, that's okay then."

Cassy winced and sat up, rubbing her bruised backside. She looked up at Vile, who was staring down at her wordlessly. All of a sudden he bent down towards her. She scrambled backwards nervously, running into the alley wall in the process.

"Wh-what are you looking at?"

"You're bleeding."

Cassy hurriedly tried wipe the circulatory fluids from her face. She'd been lucky, this time, and he'd only clipped her nose before she got away. Unfortunately, the stuff didn't seem to want to just wipe off; she only succeeded in smearing it around on her face.

"Heh. Stop it kid, you're turning me on."

Cassy froze, staring up at Vile in horror. "I... I'm getting... blood all over my..."

"And it's irresistibly cute! Oh, don't look at me like that, you and everyone else in the megacity system knows I'm a sociopath. Here."

He handed her a handkerchief. She stared at him for a second, then, slowly, as though expecting him to bite her, took it and started cleaning her face.

"Why... are you being nice to me?"

The Maverick straightened up and shrugged, which looked really odd with his huge shoulder-mounted weapons. "Why not? You're a reploid. You're not a Maverick Hunter. What possible reason do I have for hurting you?"

She blinked. "You need a reason?"

"I'm a very selective sociopath."

Cassy sighed and leaned against the wall. "I wish everyone was as selective as you."

"Hmm, I sense a long story here. My first instinct is to not care and leave you to your fate, since I really don't. But you're hot so I figure I might as well stick around long enough for the comfort sex." He squatted down beside her, doing his level best to look interested. Cassy frowned at him.

"You're not going to get any comfort sex, I'm married."

"So why don't you have your husband beat up whoever gave you a bloody nose?"

"My husband's the one who did this to me."

"OH."

He straightened back up. "Well, that all makes sense now. Hmph. Sad."

She blinked. "Sad? That he's beating me?"

He shook his head. "Let me ask you something. If any other man hit you, what would you do?"

She frowned. "I'd kick his ass, but this is different, he's-"

"-your husband, and you love him, blah blah blah."

"He's strong enough to take me apart with his bare hands, nevermind the arm cannon. I mean, he's a Maverick Hunter for godssake..."

"He's a... hehehehehehehe.... Hahahahahaha!!! Oh god, that's hilarious!"

Cassy blinked. "What's so funny about it?"

Vile was chuckling so hard that his shoulder shook. "Hehehehehe, it's just so fitting... not only has he betrayed his race by turning on those who would save him from subjugation, he breaks his own vows and turns on the one he swore to take care of. That's just priceless."

He turned and began to walk back into the shadows of the alley. Cassy scrambled to her feet. "H-hey! Wait! You can't just leave me! What am I supposed to do!?"

"If you're expecting help from me, you're more pathetic than I thought. It's not my problem. Go to the police or something."

Cassy stood helplessly as he left. Great, what the hell WAS she thinking? Asking Vile for help with anything was like asking Satan not to eat kittens. Still, he had a point. Argo couldn't possibly hurt her if she had police protection, right? When the nurse had suggested it, she'd still had some hope that everything would work out, but now...

-

"Don't worry ma'am, I'll write up the papers for you right away. We won't let this creep hurt you again."

Cassy heaved a deep sigh of relief. The officer she was speaking to was kind and understanding, and had been nothing but helpful. She now felt a glimmer of hope. It was going to be okay! They were going to help her!

"Cassy! THERE you are!"

She let out a cry and leapt out of her chair as Argo approached, his face carefully arranged in his "I'm being polite in public but I'm going to beat your ass when we get home" expression. Cassy hid behind the officer she'd been talking to. "That's him, that's him! Don't let him hurt me, please!"

"...Argo?"

"Hey, Fred, how's it going?"

Cassy felt a sinking feeling like a whirlpool opening up in her stomach. Argo and the officer greeted each other like old friends. They were old friends, most of the Maverick Hunters had contacts in the police department, it only made sense. Argo jerked a thumb towards Fred's office, all the while keeping an eye carefully trained on Cassy.

"Hey, why don't we go to your office? I can explain everything."

"Uh, I guess so. Excuse us ma'am."

Cassy wanted to run. Every fiber of her being screamed for her to run. But Argo left the office door carefully open, watching her, that eye boring into her soul like a drill. She was rooted to the spot until they came back out. Now Fred was eyeing her with suspicion, like she was the one at fault here.

"I'm really sorry about this Fred, it's nothing serious, just a little electrical imbalance..."

"It's fine, I'm just sorry I almost had to write you up! You make sure she gets to a therapist, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't you worry."

His hand closed around her arm with enough force to bruise. She didn't dare cry out. She was silent for the entire walk home. So was he, but it was a different kind of silence. The silence of a volcano before it erupts. When they got home he shoved her through the door. Not taking any chances. The click of the lock was like a round being loaded into the chamber of a gun.

"You went... to the POLICE... you stupid BITCH."

She didn't care anymore. "So what are you gonna do about it?"

-

The wind blew stronger on top of the apartment building. It was a little cold, but it felt good against the bruises and lacerations on her face. She'd have taken a shower to soothe other places on her body, but Argo had wanted to wash the circulatory fluid off. She had about half an hour before she needed to be back in the apartment, or he'd come looking for her.

"You know, the dark purple blotches of damaged skin really bring out your eyes."

Cassy wasn't particularly surprised when she looked up and found Vile standing on the edge of the roof beside her. He started backwards when she looked at him full on.

"Eesh! He did a number on you! What happened, you try to hold out on him?"

"He raped me the first time I tried that. This time he got all pissy because I did a little thing like trying to get a restraining order. I didn't realize the officer on duty was a friend of his, though. Silly me."

"Jebus, it's like a bad J-lo movie."

"A what?"

"Nevermind. Listen, this seriously fucks with my brooding evil maniac image, but I can help."

Cassy sighed and stared down at the street, twenty floors below. "You're gonna push me off?"

"Did you come up here to jump?"

"I thought about it."

"Pfft, that's the pussy way to do it. Here."

She blinked as he put something in her range of vision. Reaching out, she found herself holding a large handgun.

"You want me to shoot myself instead?"

"Jesus you're dense. Him. Shoot HIM."

She stared at the gun, her breath caught in her throat.

"It's up to you. I could just gut the guy, but what would that prove? You fuck up with one guy and then go on to another? You have to solve this yourself. And if this is the only way... well, it's not like you ENJOY getting battered, is it?"

-

It was a week later. He'd been nice to her, up until now. He usually was. He'd take her to the hospital, then go shopping, get her something nice, dinner at a fancy restaurant. Make her feel like queen of the world. Except for the look in his eyes. That implicit threat. After a week or so, things would start to build up, the little things she couldn't help. That morning he told her to clean the damn house or he'd put a hole in the wall with her skull.

He'd actually said it! He'd never had the balls to actually say it before. Good for him. It made everything so much easier.

Argo got home late. He'd had to take down some Maverick drones on the east side and he was tired and cranky. So when he opened the door to find a pile of dirty laundry on the floor of the living room he was naturally somewhat upset.

"Cassy... what the FUCK is this?"

Cassy just sat on the couch, head down, not looking at him. He snarled and kicked the pile, scattering clothing about the room.

"Goddamn you, ANSWER ME!"

She pointed the gun at his heart.

"Goodbye."

She fired three shots, sending miniscule blasts of hot pink plasma across the room and directly into his chest. He'd taught her how to fire a gun. Ironic, really. Being a reploid, she also had near perfect aim.

Of course, the tiny pellets of energy still bounced off his breastplate, doing little more than singing his paint job. She paled. He did just the opposite. There was murder in his voice as he strode across the room, ripped the weapon out of her hand, and crushed it.

"You fucking cunt, I'm gonna break you open! The coroner'll have to do DNA testing to find out who you were!"

He struck her across the face with the back of his hand, throwing her to the floor. She just laid there, her face expressionless. Praying it wouldn't hurt too much. At least after this, she would be free.

"I'M GONNA BREAK YOUR FUCKING SKULL YOU-"

The front wall exploded.

Argo whirled, eyes wide in rage. "WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"Dude, calm the hell down. Wipe the spittle off your chin, you look like a psycho."

Argo's jaws worked, but no sound came out. Vile calmly walked through the hole he'd made and began picking up the scattered clothes and putting them back in their pile.

"Honestly, I can't blame you for being a little annoyed, I mean, this is pretty shoddy housework. But breaking her skull? Jeez dude, even I don't use lines that corny."

Argo let out a roar and leapt forward, slamming his fist into the side of Vile's head. The Maverick didn't move for a second, then calmly straightened up, grabbed the hunter's arm, and flipped him into the street with a crash and a screech of metal on asphalt. Argo scrambled to his feet in time to see Vile aiming his shoulder cannon at his face.

"Run, bitch."

He ran.

Vile turned back to Cassy. "So what happened? You chicken out? Was it 'true love'?"

"The gun didn't hurt him at all, you bastard."

"...oh. Well, I guess if your heart's in the right place I can help a little. You mind?"

Cassy buried her head in her arms. "I don't care. I just... I just don't want him to hurt me anymore..."

"Don't worry. He's the one who's gonna hurt now."

He turned and walked out. Cassy started to cry.

-

Alia walked outside. It was drizzling slightly, now, but she didn't seem to notice aside from shielding the lighter with her hand as she lit a cigarette. She took a deep pull, then let out a heavy sigh. X walked up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I keep telling you those things'll kill you."

"I can get my filters replaced. Must I remind you that me with no nicotine means you with no nookie?"

"No ma'am. Do what you like, ma'am."

They stood in silence for a long time.

"You're not going to... charge her with anything, are you?" Alia asked.

"Jesus, no. If Vile wanted to help her out, that had to be a bad situation. She's been through enough without an arrest. Remind me to look up an officer Fred, though. He's going down."

"Will do."

There was another moment of silence. Then X laid his chin on Alia's shoulder and leaned his head against hers.

"If I ever tried to beat you, you'd put a bullet in my head, right?"

"Right after I put two in your crotch."

"Good, just checking."

-

Cassy hadn't moved from the couch for three hours. Finally she uncurled from her fetal position and laid out, staring at the ceiling. Then she spoke.

"Maybe it likes riddles, precious?"

"Hey! That's MY line!"

She sat up. A second later Vile slumped down beside her, leaning his head back in exhaustion. Cassy whistled as she fingered his damaged shoulder armor.

"I thought you said you'd hurt him now? You let him hurt you?"

"X did most of that. Your late husband was a pussy. He couldn't even handle a ten-storey fall."

"Eh, I guess all the armor wasn't any help in the end."

"Hehehe! Yeah! I like the irony."

They sat there in silence for a long moment. Then Cassy reached up and began poking under the chin of his helmet.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for a strap."

"There is none, it locks onto the sides of the chest armor. Here."

Vile pressed a hidden button on the side of his neck. There was a pair of loud clicks, and then he pulled the heavy helmet off. His raven black hair ruffled slightly in the breeze. He flinched when Cassy raised a hand to stroke the huge scar that marred the side of his face.

"You could get that fixed, you know."

"I kind of like it. It makes me feel tough."

She slid into his lap. He wrapped an arm around her and gently titled her chin upwards. She put an arm around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.

"I find it remarkable that you're not worried about ME beating you."

"Next time I'll aim for the groin."

"Oh, so you're THAT kind of girl, eh? Naughty..."