Author's Notes: This fic was actually started way back when the first few bits of plot information from X7 were trickling out. Among those bits of information was the fact that X was no longer with the Hunters for the first part of the game. So I came up with this scene where X leaves the Hunters, which, I now realize, never really happened in canon (though if I really wanted to justify it, I could pretend that X actually did leave for a bit before returning and taking a desk job). Thus, this is now a bit AU.

Disclaimer: X, Zero, and all related characters are property of Capcom.

-o-o-

Knock knock knock "Zero?"

"Ngh."

Knock knock. "Zero!"

"G'way. Sleeping."

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Zero! Wake up!"

"Mmmph," Zero grunted, hauled himself into a vertical position, and shuffled toward the door. He opened the door and winced as the bright light of the hallway streamed in. "Wha?"

A pink-gloved hand shot out, grabbed him by the arm, and started dragging him down the hallway. "Come on, blond boy, duty calls."

"At four in the morning?" Zero yawned. "Alia, can't duty wait until the sun's up, at least?"

"No," she replied, continuing to haul Zero along behind her. "He'll probably be gone by then."

"Who?"

"X."

"Gone where?"

"Somewhere else. Not here, that's for sure. He's resigning from the Maverick Hunters."

Zero tried to detach himself from the spotter's iron grip. "Oh, come on, Alia, he says that at least once every couple of months."

She shook her head. "No, I think he's serious this time. He's packing up his room and everything."

Shaking himself free, Zero came to a halt. "He's what?"

"He's packing up; plans to be gone before morning, when it gets too busy around here."

"But he can't leave!" protested Zero. "He's X for crying out loud. I mean, he's been a Maverick Hunter as long as I've known him, and he's so flipping good at it..."

"Tell that to him. Signas and I haven't been able to talk any sense into him at all."

Zero nodded, and followed Alia down the hall to X's quarters. He knocked on the door. "X? You in there?"

"Come in," came the reply.

Zero opened the door to find his best friend was, indeed, packing up his belongings. "So... Alia tells me you're leaving."

"Mm-hmm. Could you hand me that roll of packing tape?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. Why are you doing this?"

X stood up from the box he had been wrestling closed. "Why, Zero? I'll tell you why. I joined the Hunters because I thought it would change things. I thought that I would be helping to make the world a better place, and that we'd be able to eliminate the Maverick threat. That everything would return to being peaceful once more. I never meant for this to become a lifelong career."

"But you're so good at it!" Zero pointed out. "I mean, heck, if it weren't for me, you'd be the top Hunter at the base."

X snorted, and started pulling books off of a shelf. "Top Hunter. Great. As if that's what I want. There's no point to it any more."

"No point to what?"

"Look, Zero, we fight and we fight and we fight, and what do we have to show for it?"

"Um... decommissioned Mavericks? We beat Sigma all those times, didn't we?"

"Yes, and there are always new Mavericks to take their place, and Sigma keeps coming back."

"Well, yeah, but think of how many Mavericks there would be if we didn't fight." Zero smiled, thinking he had made a very good point there.

"Oh, come off it, Zero," X snapped. "Unlike you, I don't take any pleasure in reducing fellow reploids to spare parts."

"Hey, now..."

"Don't try to deny it. I've seen that look in your eyes during battles. You enjoy the destruction."

"I do not!"

"Don't lie, Zero." X started to clear off the next shelf. "If all we have to show for all these years of fighting is a bigger Maverick Hunter organization, hundreds of dead reploids and humans, and, oh, did I mention the fact that the Earth's biosphere is in ruins, thanks to us? No, thanks. I'm through."

"X, if you would just stop and think this through..."

"Do you honestly think I haven't given this any thought?" X said, turning to glare at his friend. "I have been trying and trying to figure this out, ever since that last encounter with Sigma, and this is the only conclusion I've come to!"

Zero looked at the shorter reploid. "You can't just walk away! We need you here!"

"I'm sorry, Zero, it's just that... I just need some time alone, you know? Away from all of this." X made a gesture which seemed to encompass the entire Maverick Hunter base. "I need to get away from all the fighting. You know how my unit went out after that Maverick last week?"

"Yeah, you totally creamed him."

X winced. "Yes. Yes, we did. And you know what Zero? I didn't feel a thing. Nothing. I felt nothing towards that Maverick as we blew him apart. It was just... numb. I can't do that, Zero. I can't not care about the enemies I'm fighting. It's wrong, and I worry that I'm starting to become desensitized to it, like you are."

"It's not so bad," Zero shrugged. But inwardly, he started to wonder if maybe X was right. X just wouldn't be X if he wasn't the moralizing little blueberry, acting as the conscience of the Hunters even as they went and did sometimes horrible things. And someone as powerful as X without a conscience...Zero shuddered at the thought.

"I have to leave, Zero, and the sooner the better," X said. A faint ghost of a smile flickered across his face briefly. "It might not be forever. I just need to figure some things out on my own."

"Well, where are you going?"

"I got a job with one of the terraforming teams," X said, rearranging the contents of a box to make more room. "I'll be doing something constructive instead of destructive for a change."

"And since when do you know anything about terraforming?"

"I haven't always been with the Maverick Hunters, you know. I do know how to do things beyond killing."

The room fell silent for awhile, except for the sound of X rummaging through a desk drawer, emptying it out. As he turned to pick up another empty box, he caught sight of Zero's worried face. "Hey. It's not like I'm moving to the moon. New Metropolis is just a short hoverbike ride away."

"It won't be the same around here without you."

"I don't imagine it will be, no." X taped the box closed. "Well, that's the last of it." He picked up two boxes, balancing one on top of the other, and headed towards the door.

"Um, hey, X? You need any help with that?"

"Sure, if you want to grab some boxes, that'd be great."

Zero picked up a short stack of boxes. "Where are we taking these?"

"I've got a van waiting outside the 17th's hanger." X held the door for Zero, then looked around the now bare room. I'm going to miss this place. He closed the door, then hurried to catch up with Zero.

The End

Please let me know what you think. Constructive criticism and other forms of feedback are always welcome, and I'll do my best to reciprocate any reviews.