As soon as the light faded, a confused Axl looked at the gun he had aimed at Tornado's head, and then he-

Realized that X was right at his side, holding up his Buster....staring at the place Tornado had been angrily.....

"Okay." Axl said to his new friend, putting a hand behind his head sheepishly. "So that was all you then, huh? Okay. Because I know I didn't pull anything."

X tossed a glare over to the young Reploid-

He was a little angry with him

Axl was suffering, and he was suffering badly....

But he refused to show it.

He didn't want anyone to worry about him-

And that fact pissed X off to no end.

Before any one of them had a chance to speak, Tornado re-appeared in front of them, gasping for air.....holding his sides. Blood was streaming from his body....he could barely even breathe. After making several attempts to catch his breath, he looked at both X and Axl.....with lethal, eternally cold hatred.

"YOU....YOU.....NO-GOOD........DIRTY.......TRAITOR!!! YOU BETRAYED US ALL!!! I HOPE RED TEARS YOU APART, LIMB FROM LIMB!!!"

Lost within the greatest amount of wrath, Megaman X released a powerful beam of blue energy from his Buster...right along with a cry of immoderate pain. A long scream tore itself from Tornado's black soul......

And after a minute.....

There wasn't anything left of him.....

Silence reigned for five minutes.

Axl couldn't take his eyes off of the place Tornado had been, right before X eliminated him.

And he couldn't take his mind off of Tornado's words.

TRAITOR!!!

YOU BETRAYED US ALL!!!!

I HOPE RED TEARS YOU APART!!!

X gazed out into the endless realm of black thunder, lost within emotional turmoil. Axl was in a great amount of pain-

BUT HE DIDN'T WANT TO SAY ANYTHING.

The young Reploid wanted to keep everything to himself.....

And he still wanted to help Zero.

Zero.

Zero was on the ground, unconscious....and barely even breathing.

And Axl had just been forced to put down someone he had once called a friend.

I hate this........I really am stuck, aren't I? Yessiree.

Stuck stuck stuck.

STUCK.

"So. Ready t'go?" Axl asked him cheerfully, wiping raindrops from his eyes-

Or were those tears?

X wanted to blow the young one's head off.

Axl noticed that Zero was out on the ground, gasped and rushed over to him frantically,COMPLETELY ignoring everything that had just occurred between him and Tornado.

X didn't know if he should hate Axl's guts or if he should be grateful for the young one's behavior.

But he still wanted to blow the young runaway's head clean off his shoulders.

"Zero! Zero! Can you hear me?!?! Come on, pal!!"

Nothing. Zero didn't even groan.

Nothing.

"X!!" Axl called out to his new friend urgently. "We've gotta get back to base! Zero doesn't look too good!"

"I know that!" The legendary Maverick Hunter snapped at him, infinitely irritated by the sound of the young one's voice. A second later, he activated his wrist communicator, which had been built inside of his Buster.

"Alia! X to Alia! Come in, Alia!"

He didn't have to wait long.

"X!! What's shakin'?!"

"We completed our first mission, and we're heading back for base NOW! Tell the Infirmary Units to have an emergency capsule ready!"

The Navigator became worried.

"Are you guys all right?!?!"

"Axl and I are unharmed, but Zero's condition isn't improving-the virus is becoming stronger, even as we speak!! I'll be there soon! X out!"

He turned off the communicator and stared at the ground for a moment, watching the raindrops strike it, and then...he spoke.

"I REALLY am stuck. No doubt about it."

--The news about Zero didn't send Alia's heart into endless bliss. After X ended their brief conversation, she slammed her head down on her tables once again, and released a loud, comical yet heart-rending sigh.

Time wasn't her friend.

It wasn't anyone's friend.

"This sucks......"

Great. I almost forgot. He asked to me contact the Infirmary.

She dialed in different commands for access to the Infirmary, and then-

"Infirmary Units, this is Maverick Hunter Navigator Alia speaking!! Brace yourselves for an emergency landing, ASAP!! Emergency landing!!"

--Gate heard the command of his old friend and hung his head sadly.

Emergency landing?

He knew what that meant, and so did everyone else.

Zero was coming in.....

And the virus.......the power of the virus.....

Was increasing.

Increasing.

That was a very bad word.

Zero.........I really wish.....I could help......

--"So, General? How do you think things will turn out?"

General Signas was inside of his dormitory, right along with Dr.Cain......his dear, dear friend. The General of the Maverick Hunters was pacing around nervously, slowly.....and Dr.Cain was sitting on his bed, wearing a warm, comforting smile. The great researcher was always there for Signas whenever he needed some relief....whenever he needed someone to guide him.

Someone that meant a lot to him was getting ready to die.

Another dear friend of his was going to be affected by that someone's death TREMENDOUSLY.

And their new guest was being chased around by evil forces.

"How do I think this is going to turn out? Well, let me answer that for you." Signas said to him firmly, trying to restrain the tears that were in his eyes. "We're going to end up losing Zero, X is going to end up being heart-broken, and Sigma is going to have everything he wants. Why did you ask such a question?"

"Well.....I dunno. I guess I just have a different view on things, that's all."

"Different view?" Signas stopped pacing around and turned on him fiercely. "Explain yourself. What do you mean by that?"

"It's no riddle, your honor. What you heard is exactly what I mean."

The general put a hand to his forehead. Cain loved beating around the bush, and he was used to that-

But now wasn't a good time for riddles.

"I'm not satisfied with that, Cain. Could you go a little further, please?"

"I think we're going to get a big surprise. Y'know, a little light."

"What, you think something's going to turn all of this around?"

The old man licked his lips-a sure sign of satisfaction.

"I don't want to say a lot, Signas.....but......my instincts are never wrong. I just....don't feel as lost as you guys do. There's something out there. I can feel it."

--An hour later, Megaman X emerged from the Infirmary....and found Axl right outside of the door, waiting for him....waiting for news. The Maverick Hunter was glad to see the young one's face.....

But at the same time, he wanted to rip it off with his own hands.

"So, what's up?" Axl asked him hopefully, hoping for a good answer.

X gave him an extremely hard glare, making him regret even asking that question.

"Jeez.....sorry. Just wanted to know."

"How do you THINK he's doing?!" X snapped at him savagely, unable to stop the anger from rising in his heart. Ethereal drops of crystal fell from his eyes and onto the cold, lifeless floor...

"Nothing's getting any better!!! And how can you stand there and act as if nothing happened?!? How?!?!?! You were hurt back there, but you aren't even acknowledging that fact!!! You're not telling me anything simply because you don't want me to worry!!!"

Axl's face fell a million miles....right along with his heart. The Black Tiger looked at his new friend in shock.....unable to think of anything to say....

Tears were streaming from X's eyes...shimmering like stars.....

"I get it now. I understand everything perfectly. You took off from everyone you used to love, everyone you used to believe in......but......you don't want anyone to know that you're suffering. Everything Tornado said to you got you right in the heart, I know it did. Don't try to deny anything. You're the type of individual that hides EVERYTHING. You probably didn't even want Red to care about you. You want to help us...you want to help Zero......but you're keeping all of your problems to yourself. And I was wrong to trust you. There is no hope, no cure, NOTHING!"

That was it.

X stormed off, not wanting to hear Axl's voice.....not even wanting to hear Zero's voice....

But his heart was bleeding...and it was bleeding....badly.

He left behind the young runaway........regretting everything he had just said....

Axl was unable to move. He was frozen.....frozen by confusion, sorrow......and pain.

"X........."

After two minutes......X was gone.

And he was alone. All alone.

And he still felt like he was out in the middle of the thunderstorm.

X..........

He hung his head.......lost in a world of thoughts......memories....

"I was wrong to trust you!!"

"There is no hope, no cure, NOTHING!"

Nothing.....

Dewdrops filled the young one's eyes.......and he fell to his knees....

It was very cold inside of the Maverick Hunter base, and very dark.

Loneliness, sadness and shock swept over him as one big tidal wave.

"NOTHING!!!!"

You think.......I lied to you.....?

I'm..............

Did I really...........

After an eternity, Axl balled his hands into fists, gritted his teeth, and got back on his feet.

I'll show you.

I promised you.....I would help out.

And I don't break promises.

--I know this was really long-sorry about that, but I couldn't stop writing. This is was pretty cool part for me to write! I wrote it while listening to 'Wandering' of FFX. I hope you guys liked it, and once again, I'm really sorry about the length of this chapter. Thank you very much for your support, everyone!