Search for a Soul
Chapter 3
"The blue and red deaths"
By MEGAMANX411

Zero looked at X. His eyes were filled with determination. His brilliant green eyes really shone with a deep resolve that somehow managed to overcome any mission. Zero truly was a force to be reckoned with.

"You ready X?" he asked.

X nodded in response. His response was a little timid, however. He shook a little as he thought about the upcoming mission. Normally, such a plain assignment wouldn't warrant any worry. X, however, was more worried about what he would do himself.

"Yeah, just a little tense I suppose," he replied.

Zero rolled his eyes. He could really tell that X was far more idealistic than himself, but he would never let that get in the way of a mission. Since he had known X, he had always struggled to understand his ideals. Zero believed that the best he could do was to just take care of the mission as quickly and efficiently as possible. X, however, always protested that anyone needed to be destroyed.

"Look, I don't need you getting all soft on me pal," he teased.

X smirked. Even though Zero's methods could sometime frighten him, he was still a friend. He couldn't quite understand it though. They handled their missions so differently, and they held such different views. They were both still Maverick Hunters, and both somewhat mysterious ones at that, but their personalities were what set them apart. X was a dreamer, and idealist. Zero was more calm and collected. And he would certainly not waste any time.

"Well, time's wasting. We better get going," Zero reasoned.

X and Zero rushed to the location described by Signas. Thanks to the teleporation function that they possessed, they could easily get around to any place they wished. And because of the amazing information network they had, no place was really out of the Maverick Hunter's reach. They could find a location, and teleport there almost instantly. The main exceptions to this, however, obviously dealt with Sigma.

"This is the area?" X asked, looking at an abandoned warehouse. "He's hiding in here?"

Zero shrugged. He remained very nonchalant about the mission.

"Guess so. Point 3245-A, East Sector," he replied. "This is it."

X sighed. Zero placed a hand on his shoulder, instantly realizing what was wrong. Zero knew best of all that he had to support X, mostly because they were friends. That's just what they did for one another. Human or reploid didn't matter, friends would always be friends.

"Look X, you don't need to worry. This mission is in and out, this is a low-end Maverick," he reasoned.

"I suppose you're right," X replied.

Zero and X then proceeded into the warehouse to discover a rather common reploid (certainly not one meant for battle), mugging a human. The reploid could definitely be described as "scrawny" if anything. His armor was damaged and decrepit, so it was painfully obvious that he was a really low-end Reploid that suffered from poverty. His armor, which originally appeared to have been white, was now stained with garbage and filth. He didn't seem to have any noticeable fighting abilities, either. He was lacking protection, as well. His armor was all banged up, and his helmet was missing, which caused his filthy black hair to touch his shoulders.

The human couldn't have been a day over 30. He was a common man, with no really distinguished features. Most reploids thought humans looked alike anyway. He wore casual clothing, just a nice shirt and jeans. He was also a bit on the skinny side, with short brown hair. The Maverick had roughed him up a little, but the man didn't appear to have been seriously injured. Either way though, he was still a Maverick, meaning that he had to be dealt with.

"Put the human down, Maverick!" Zero shouted.

He pointed his saber at the Maverick, and threatened to attack. No one ever took one of Zero's threats lightly. The crimson Maverick Hunter was completely unwavering in his declaration, and kept his weapon pointed at his foe. The reploid immediately set the human down, and a look of pure fright came over his face. He began quivering uncontrollably, and he seemed to lose all his sense.

"Oh no, they sent X and Zero after me!" he shouted, backing up against the wall.

"Easy, we're not going to hurt you," X replied, stretching out a hand.

He wanted to instigate feelings of peace, but sadly, things were not going to go that way. X never intended to hurt the Maverick, he just thought he could reason with him, and get him to give up. After all, he was unarmed. Well, that's what X thought. He didn't notice any weapons on the Maverick at first.

"No way! This is a Maverick Hunter trick! You'll just kill me!" the reploid shouted, looking entirely freaked out.

Zero sneered. He would never waste time on a mission, especially not one like this. It was a really low-end task, and it presented no problems to him. There was really nothing standing in his way, and this Maverick offered no challenge whatsoever.

"Look, I don't have time to waste with a small fry like you. Just disarm and come back with us to base," Zero reasoned.

"No, get away from me!" the Maverick shouted. "You guys are the blue and red deaths!"

Now it was X's turn to look frightened. He turned to Zero, his eyes quivering. Why exactly would X and Zero be associated with death? He could not figure it out. After all, X was a very calm, gentle person. He certainly wasn't bloodthirsty. However, there was the fact of his reputation. Both X and Zero were reputed to be exceptional Maverick Hunters, meaning that most Mavericks had a definite fear of them. To them, they knew that becoming a Maverick meant encountering X and Zero, the two most feared Maverick Hunters in existence.

"The blue...and red...deaths?" he asked, his eyes becoming wide.

"Stay back!" the Maverick shouted.

Zero was becoming thoroughly annoyed by this turn of events. He didn't let the Maverick's comments get to him; he just wanted to get back. This mission should've been dealt with already.

"I'm getting tired of this..." Zero muttered. "Look, you can either come with us to base, or we can fight. It's your choice."

The supposed Maverick looked too frightened to even make a conscious decision, let alone voice it in the first place. He shook wildly, like an injured animal. There was obviously no way he could hope to fight X and Zero, so there was no escape for him.

"X, let's just take this guy by force," Zero muttered.

"But Zero!" X shouted.

Zero walked up to the Maverick, and was trying to get him in a headlock. He didn't want to kill him, he just wanted to detain him. He had no reason to retire him anyway. Besides, he knew that it was preferable to try and detain the subject first.

"Get away! Get away! He's gonna kill me!" he shouted.

Zero sneered. Once again, the Maverick was testing the limits of his patience.

"Shut up! I'm not gonna kill you, but if you don't stop screaming, I'll just have to knock you out!" he shouted.

The Maverick then began to laugh, almost in a manner that just screamed insanity. He must've clearly lost his mind, because he was in a very serious situation. He was facing X and Zero, two of the best Maverick Hunters, and he was resisting arrest. That in itself warranted him some punishment. Zero just gave the Maverick an annoyed look.

"What the hell is wrong with this guy?" Zero muttered.

The Maverick bent down, and picked up a nearby explosive weapon. He had a plan in mind, although it clearly wasn't planned out with any sort of logic.

"He's armed! Watch out X!" Zero shouted, readying his saber.

The Maverick held the weapon firmly in his hands. One would've assumed that he would've thrown the explosive, in an attempt to harm X or Zero. After all, Mavericks detested the Maverick Hunters. Still though, he knew he would be destroyed either way. If he had to go, he thought that he could try to do more psychological harm than physical.

"See you in hell!" the Maverick screamed.

Instead of the throwing the explosive at X and Zero, he brought it to his face, and detonated it. The explosion encased the Maverick's being in searing flame, and his head was shattered to tiny pieces. Most of his chest was destroyed from the blast, and his arms were completely blown apart. His entire body was thoroughly ripped apart. X stared at the Maverick's remains in a state of total shock. Instead of reasoning, he chose to kill himself.

"No!" X screamed.

Zero put his saber back and turned his back to the suicidal reploid. This mission was done; there was nothing else to do. That much he understood. So, the best course of action was to just file the report, and go onto the next assignment. Things weren't that simple for X, however.

"Nothing more here...let's report back to base," he muttered.

X, however, wasn't paying attention to Zero's command. He was kneeling down beside the "retired" Maverick. He picked up some of the remaining pieces, and yelled at them as if the Maverick were still alive.

"No! You didn't have to do that! I wasn't going to kill you, why don't you understand? Why!" he screamed, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Zero placed a hand on X's shoulder.

"Come on, there was nothing you could have done," he comforted.

X winced his eyes in apparent pain. He couldn't just forget about that. He saw someone die right in front of him, it was terrible. The message that the Maverick screamed before his death resounded in his mind. X thought that he should've been able to reason with the Maverick, to save him. But he wasn't able to.

"No, that's not true..." he replied. "I could've saved him, I should have saved him...but I couldn't..." he muttered.

Zero was becoming a bit angry. He gritted his teeth, and began to tense.

"That's enough!" he shouted. "Look X, I don't know what's wrong, but you need to cut this out now! You didn't do anything wrong, and you tried your best to stop him! Your conscience should be clean!"

X looked down to the floor. His eyes were filled with crushing sadness. There was nothing else he could protest. His spirit was being crushed under a heavy weight, and he felt as though his throat was being choked.

"It..s-should be?" he asked. "But how...I've retired...killed...so many..." he whispered.

"Look X, from what it sounds like, the problem cannot be solved physically. In order to find guidance, you have to be willing to listen in the first place, so if you're not gonna listen to me, I can't help you. Come on, let's get back to base," he added, extending his hand.

X took it, and stood up. Slowly but surely, he finally decided to go with his friend.

"Y-yes.." he muttered.

He took a look back at the Maverick. X first mouthed a silent prayer, then shed one more tear for the deceased. He then turned back to his partner.

"Let's go..."