Search fora Soul
Chapter 8
"Loved and lost"
By MEGAMANX411

X and Alia left the bar, and walked towards the movie theater that Alia pointed out earlier. It appeared as though X was finally managing to have a good time after all. Alia was impressed that she even got X to leave Maverick Hunter base in the first place, and she was really glad that things were going well. She did admit that seeing him depressed all the time had started to get to her too.

"So, what movie did you want to see?" Alia asked.

X shrugged his shoulders in response. He was a very timid and agreeable person, so he usually never had very stubborn answers.

"Well, I don't see that many movies. Whatever you pick would be fine with me," he replied.

Just then, X caught sight of Zero on the other side of the street. Zero noticed them as well. The blonde reploid appeared to be alone, although knowing Zero, X believed that there was probably a crowd of reploids that would chase after him. Zero was definitely a lot more social than X was, that was for sure.

"Hey guys," Zero began, giving them both a smirk. "What brings you here?" he asked.

Alia smiled in return. She hadn't told Zero about her plan, but it looked as though he had some ideas of his own.

"Just showing X a good time. He's been down in the dumps recently," she replied.

Zero nodded in response. He knew X's behavior all too well. He was glad that Alia was managing to get X to loosen up a little, it in turn made him feel a little better. As X's best friend, Zero felt a little responsible in a way. However, he still had something that he wanted to talk to X about.

"Yeah, I know. It's good to see you having some fun X, we all know you need it. Anyway, can you talk to you in private?" he asked.

X's eyes widened. He figured if it had to be kept secret from Alia, then it was obviously something quite important.

"Me? In private? Sure, ok," he replied.

Zero motioned for X to come on over, and he then leadhim to a little secluded spot. They were amongst some bushes and other plantlife, just on some private property. They were off the sidewalks, so no one else was close. The district they were in was a safe one, anyway. They didn't expect any immediate interruptions.

"It's nice to see you and Alia having a good time," he teased.

X blushed. He instinctively lowered his gaze to the ground, and started rubbing the back of his head. X truly was the picture-perfect symbol of embarassmnet in that instant. He didn't really get a chance to reply either.

"I guess you like her, eh?" Zero added.

X smiled, but looked embarassed. He didn't reply once again, because he had no idea of what to say in response. Thankfully, Zero already had something prepared.

"Well, I guess I'll stop messing with you and get the point. I just want to tell you to be careful X," Zero muttered.

X looked a bit confused. A second ago Zero was teasing him about spending time with Alia. Now what was this all about?

"Why?" he asked. "Is there something wrong?" he added.

Zero closed his eyes, as if painful memories flooded into him. He let out a slight sigh, which was something he usually didn't do. Zero was a very focued person, and he barely let anything get to him. Truthfully, he had a lot of painful memories of his own. Somehow, he managed to go on regardless.

"Just remember that you're a top-ranked Maverick Hunter. If a Maverick were to catch sight of you with Alia, it wouldn't be good. Just...protect her," he replied. "X?" Zero asked.

"Yes, what is it?" X replied.

"Do you remember...Iris?" Zero asked, his eyes conveying a deep sadness.

X looked down to the ground. Of course he remembered Iris. After that incident, Zero was heartbroken. But amazingly enough, he managed to keep fighting. Something that X simply couldn't understand. If he were in Zero's position, he would've felt that for a much longer period of time...it probably would've stuck with him forever.

"I...loved her," Zero whispered. "She was the one. But Sigma robbed me of her because of that," he added.

X clenched his fist. Sigma robbed his best friend of his greatest love. What can you possibly say in response to that?

"So...we have to bury feelings like that...simply because of the Mavericks?" he asked.

That was ridiculous. Because of the Mavericks, people had to live in fear of reploids, and some reploids had to live in fear of humans and other reploids. And now there was a restriction on emotion? Just how much did damage did Sigma and his "revolution" plan on inflicting upon the innocent? It tore X up inside, and made him feel ill at ease.

Zero placed a hand on his shoulder. He realized that he upset X by what he said, so he wanted to make X feel better. His goal was just to warn him, not make him miserable.

"Never mind what I said...I guess I was being a bit overcautious. Just have a good time with Alia, and keep an eye out. I'll be heading back to base. If one of the top hunters is goofing off, I guess at least one should be ready for duty, eh?" he teased.

X smiled. Zero, although he could be a vicious fighter at times, still was a great friend.

"Later X," Zero added, running off.

X waved back to his friend.

"Yeah, later Zero," he replied.

X walked back and waved to Alia. She was still waiting patiently for him.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

Alia gave him a strange look. He did take awhile. What could they have possibly talked about?

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"Oh, it was nothing, he just told me he's heading back to HQ," he replied.

Alia smiled. She didn't know if X was telling the full truth or not, but at any rate, she didn't want to let it ruin anything.

"Oh, I see...Zero gave you some pointers, didn't he?" she teased.

X blushed once again. It was becoming quite a habit for him.

"Well, no, it's not like that.." he protested.

Alia giggled. She found X to be a funny person to be around. He was so meek and humble, it was almost heartwarming to just be around him. As they walked, X obviously had certian nervous tendencies, and because he and Alia came across as a couple, he often thought of holding her hand. She, however, ended up taking the initiative, and grabbed ahold of X's hands before he even comtemplated doing anything. He blushed, but didn't resist. When they reached the theater, X and Alia got many perplexed stares by several of the humans there. Reploid couples were fairly common, but not nearly as common as human couples. And, the fact that X was a Maverick Hunter made things a bit more complex. Many humans thought he wasn't taking his job seriously, and was taking time to goof off.

The theater they were at was meant for both reploids and humans still, but there were more humans there than reploids. It was a rather large building, and housed a ton of different screens. Despite technology becoming more advanced, cinema was still popular. Some rooms had the older, flat screens, while some rooms actually were arranged in a circular pattern and used three-dimensional holograms. For reploids, they could simply download a movie straight into their bodies, if they wished, and watch it as they sleep. Still, theaters were sometimes fun to go to. However, before X and Alia could go inside, a human called out to them.

"Hey!" a human shouted. "Maverick Hunter!"

X turned to face the man. He looked as though he was about 30 or so. He must've been pretty young still, but then again, X couldn't be sure of his age. The man's hair was a dark brown, and his eyes were the same color. He didn't appear exceptionally strong, but he had some muscle on him. He was wearing jeans and a plain black t-shirt.

"Yes?" X asked.

"Shouldn't you be doing your job?"the manasked in reply.

X could've taken that as an insult, but instead opted to remain kind. He just decided to answer the man and leave it at that.

"There aren't any missions assigned to me as of yet," X replied, staying polite.

The man gritted his teeth. He thought X was just messing around, and giving him a hard time. He didn't believe that Maverick Hunters were supposed to have any time to themselves, after all, they were created for the sole purpose of hunting Mavericks, right?

"Oh, I get it. You're just slacking off. You don't care if the Mavericks attack at all, do you?" he replied.

X sighed. He didn't know what to say in reply to the man. He was getting so tired of arguing about fighting, it seemed like that was all he was doing. Before he could say anything though, Alia stepped in for him. She actually looked quite agitated, and her eyes flared.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Alia shouted. "X fights very hard, and is it so much to ask to simply take a break for once?" she added.

The man clenched his fist, gave Alia and X a hostile stare, and simply left. He had nothing else to say to them.

"T-thank you.." X whispered.

Alia giggled in response. It looked as though this time she did the saving! For such a legendary warrior, X sure let people push him around.

"It was nothing. People like that get on my nerves," she replied. "Well, let's not let it spoil the evening," she added.

X nodded, and followed Alia into the theater. They went into one of the older rooms, with the flat screen. It was still a very high resolution, but it was still before the age that 3D hologram film was popularized.

"So what movie is this?" X asked.

"It's a suspense movie. I love mystery movies, complex plotlines are my favorite thing," she replied.

X smiled. He hadn't really seen too many movies, but if it was something that Alia liked, then he figured he might like it too.

"That sounds interesting. I'm sure it'll be a good movie," he responded.

However, throughout the course of the movie, X found himself thinking of other things the majority of the time. He hadn't felt this good for quite some time, it was very refreshing. He remembered being a rookie at Maverick Hunter HQ, thinking that those battles would be his last. But they didn't end. The fighting continued. Back then, even though he idealized peace, he could stand the fighting. He managed to laugh and smile back then. He remembered when Zero dared him to pull a prank on Dr. Cain. He put some ink on the edge of his coffee mug, which discolored his mustache. It was hilarious, and even though X apologized afterward, he remembered that he was laughing the whole day. X wasn't always as serious as he was now. He felt as though a part of him was slowly dying, like he was wasting away because of his own sadness.

Then his thoughts drifted to Zero. He knew that Zero had loved Iris immensely, and he would've done anything for her. But Sigma, being the twisted, corrupt, vile creature that he is, forced Iris and Zero to fight, and ultimately, made Zero kill his love. Some reploids had a similar ideal to X, only with one major difference. A world just for reploids. No war, no fighting...but no humans, either. X kind of agreed with that, but he felt as though humans and reploids should be able to get along. Why was it people had to disagree on so many things? People have many different ways of thinking, which is both a good and a bad thing. If people agreed on everything, there woud be no conflict. But then there would be no free will, there would be no difference, there wouldn't be any...originality. That wasn't the kind of world X idealized. After that, X's thoughts shifted to Alia. Why was she being so nice to him? He supposed it was because they were friends. Alia had always been very kind, and somehow managed to retain a positive outlook despite all the negativity in the world. X then noticed he was staring at Alia.

"Is something wrong, X?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing, sorry," X replied.

X smiled, and then looked dreamily at Alia. He couldn't comprehend why, but he was having the time of his life...especially now that he was with her...

Elsewhere, something was being plotted against X.

"X and Alia..that is interesting," a voice hissed.

"You have done well to deliver this information to me."

"Anything to bring X to his knees," replied the other figure.