Zero stole away down the small offshoot of the main corridor, far removed from the many voices and laughter that now rang in his ears. The hall before him was so entrenched in darkness it was as though a ray of light had never touched the place, so quiet it was as though a sound had never disturbed the silence. It felt like his sensors may be malfunctioning or jammed entirely, but despite his nasty fall, he knew it wasn't so. It was probably a newer wing of the building that was destined to be occupied by the next wave of Hunters, still under construction and currently off-limits.

Which makes me a trespasser, he thought with some annoyance at violating code. His jealous cohorts would have no end of fun reminding him of that, but he eschewed that train of thought much as he did them. Right now, the one who lurked within his midst was much more important.

He turned on his night vision and off the light that his helmet produced out of its central green "V", completely cloaking himself in darkness. Assured now that he wasn't simply blind as craggy cement walls and exposed electrical wiring came dustily into view, he quickened his pace. As though to confirm his earlier convictions, a sign appeared in front of him that read,

"Danger! Construction ahead. Restricted Access"

He felt the knot that had formed in his stomach - a function, he could only guess, which was programmed by some puritanical human - tighten as he read it. What could Sigma possibly be thinking, coming down this hall? As long as the answer eluded him, Zero would never feel prepared for what he stood to find down this hall, never be able to formulate the tactics at which he so excelled, and that irritated him.

As he cautiously progressed, strafing alongside the inside wall, down the seemingly endless granite hall, it became less and less finished, in its present state more of a tunnel. None of the rooms had yet been carved out of the soil - for it was entirely underground that the living quarters of Maverick Hunter ran - so Zero, keeping his back to the wall and moving at a maddeningly slow pace, needed only keep his eyes front. He scanned every inch of the earthen surface around him relentlessly for signs of his quarry.

The sound of a helpless, tearful voice shattered his concentration and stopped him cold.

"Help me… help me…" it wafted weakly down the hall. Zero struggled to pinpoint the source of the plea, the reverberation of the halls fooling his sensors. He broke into a restrained trot, eyes darting frantically to locate the voice's owner.

Finally, the end of the hall came to meet him. A dead end. But wait, a room! Adjacent to the end of the hall, a room had been hollowed out. Except… no, this was no planned construction – the gaping, jagged hole that served as an entryway bore burn marks along its circumference, meaning that the room had been blasted out of the rock. The uneven, concave terrain within confirmed that indeed, a large blaster had been used, forming a gigantic crater in the side of the earth.

Zero raised a foot over the threshold, blaster held close to his chest, and peered inside. Not but a metre away from him, a pile of rubble filled the collapsed far end of the room. From within the mound, a hand emerged, resting limply atop the rocks. The voice had fallen silent.

Zero bounded towards the heap, working fast to uncover its trapped victim. He dug fiercely, thankful that his reinforced, pain-resistant white gloves allowed him no distractions. His eyes shone as more and more dust entered them, small rocks scraping the polished sheen of his metal armor, but he ploughed on mercilessly, until an arm was visible, then, a dirt-caked body covered in a fine layer of sooty sand, and finally…

It was Sigma's face.

"How can this be!" Zero thought aloud, taking a step back. "His voice seemed entirely different… again… just what is going on with this guy?"

Sigma looked entirely prostrate, some sharp rocks having sliced into his energy unit, which now oozed a translucent, green fluid from his abdomen. His systems had suspended themselves to prevent further circulation to the area and more leakage. Zero knelt down on a knee and looked upon his broken partner, ashamed of the hesitation that gripped him.

What was he possibly thinking… Zero considered all the possibilities. His intuition settled on the idea that he was being set up, that Sigma would have him take the fall for his injury, and that his career would be ruined. He again cursed his pessimism, and resigned himself to what he knew he must do.

He scooped up his fallen comrade and trudged back to the main hall towards the infirmary, now emptied of all but some littered scraps of paper.