DeltaX: The life of a Hunter

by Lock Ostire

Delta X is a hunter. His entire exsitance so far has been with them. Soon, his true past will be revealed and he will find something he unknowingly longs for.

3. A day at the HQ

Delta X: A day at the HQ.

By Delta X

All characters in this fic except Delta X and Sapphire are owned by Capcom, the other two are owned by me but I don't mind you using them, just tell m

Thunder Demon: Yes, I will do a prequel after the main story is done and I know that if I double the workload it could be disastrous.

Maverick Hunter Phoenix: I'll try, the first three chapters were written before I posted them so the 4th will take some time.

Erckie: I'm not really an artist, I'm more of a Engineer so I can only draw technical drawings. His amour design is essentially the same as Mega Man triggers' with the main body amour for his chest and torso less separated and closer together. As for coloration, the blue color is replaced by blue that's about 90 true blue, 5 black, and 5silver. The pale blue is replaced by 'Gun Metal' a dark silvery color that not as dark as graphite and more metallic. His eyes are a blend of brown and forest green and his hair is a very dark brown. As far as body shape and size, every thing is average except for height which is slightly above the norm. As far as the reference pic is concerned, I can't seem to get an address that doesn't take up the entire screen. But all you need is a picture of Mega Man form the legends series. Planet Mega Man has plenty of official works and what not and should be online when this chapter gets to be posted. Whew… was that enough?

Friday, April 16th 7:30 PM

Delta looked at Sapphire with a bit of concern, " I promise that I will believe that you will tell me the truth."

Sapphire took a deep breath, this was going to be hard to explain so she had to be blunt, " Delta, my hair and eyes are this way naturally… this was how I was born."

Delta was confused… very confused. Delta knew that some humans have blue eyes like hers and even fewer have naturally silver hair. But what confused him was the fact that they were mixed together. The facial expression he wore resembled that of a deer being cough in one's headlights, his eyes widening as his body remained motionless.

"Delta? Are you okay?" She looked at Delta with concern

Delta shook out of his daze and came too, "Sapphire… how is that possible?"

She looked down at the ground in front of her, " That's just the way it is."

Delta nodded, " Okay." There was a strange silence between the two before Delta spoke again, " So I guess that's why those two were bothering you."

Sapphire nodded, it was the only thing she needed to do for Delta to understand, " Don't worry about it Delta. It's nothing you need to worry about." Sapphire looked like she was about to cry.

Delta saw this and moved some stray strands of her hair away from her face, " Sapphire… if you want to talk to me about it I wouldn't mind."

" Delta… have you ever felt lonely?"

" At times…"

" I have no friends and my only family is constantly away. It feels like it's just me vs. the world. Nobody to back me up or support me. I feel so defenseless when large groups start to make demands of me. No matter where I turn I'm rejected, even groups that look caring on the outside reject me. But you haven't, Delta. I haven't been this happy in a long time. Thank you." Sapphire smiled at Delta.

Delta could understand her feelings and he sensed that Sapphire was being truthful with him, " I'm happy too. I have been having some problems of my own."

" Like my problem?"

"No… different. You see… ever since I was born I have been training to be a hunter. Rarely have I ever gone out to shop or enjoy myself. I feel detached and separate from the world… it's hard to explain."

"I'll try to understand."

" It's like everyone is living a world of color while I can only see black and white. Sapphire…I…feel like… it just that… I've killed so many mavericks, but I feel no regret for them. Nothing makes me smile or laugh anymore like I used to. I feel that all that's left of me is a shell that follows orders. It isn't horrendously bad yet, but if it continues for long enough " Sapphire took Delta's left hand and turned his palm up, and then she started to trace circles on it with her index finger, "Sapphire?"

" It's a self calming technique that I use to relax myself." She breathed in and out, "Delta… do you feel better when I am around."

"Yes."

" That's good. "

After a few minuets Delta spoke up, " So um… how long do you do this."

"Do what?"

" Trace circles in your hand."

Sapphire just realized that she had been doing her self-calming technique on Delta's hand non-stop for the last minute, " Eep!" She immediately removed her hand.

"I liked that."

"Really?"

" I've never felt anything like that before. I was like my entire hand was filled with… a calming energy of some sort."

" I get the same feeling too."

It was quite some time before they talked again; Sapphire noted that it was getting late, " Hey Delta, what time is it?"

Delta checked his internal clock, " It's 8:16 pm."

"It's too early to go to sleep, hey Delta, if you could be any animal what one would you be?"

Delta, confused as to where this was going, went along, " I would want to be a… stingray."

Now it's was Sapphire's turn to be confused, after all, not many people say they would like to a stingray, "Why a stingray?"

"Because they are at home in the water. The way they glide along, how they move them selves. It as though they where meant to be in the water."

"I would want to be a cat, they are all fury and warm and the can jump really high."

"It's funny that our two animals don't mix… cats hate water and stingrays aren't fuzzy."

Sapphire giggled, " That is funny… opposites do attract."

Yet again the couple was surrounded by an air of silence before Sapphire broke the silence, " Hey Delta, I brought my ocarina."

Delta perked up, " Can I see it?"

"Sure." Sapphire reached for her backpack and brought out a potato shaped instrument that was painted blue with three golden triangles along the mouthpiece that stuck out, interestingly, it looked like it was made of baked clay, a material not commonly used in 21XX. Delta never saw a real one in his life but was able to recognize it.

"Hey, isn't that the ocarina of time from that legend of Zelda game?" Delta thanked his buddy, Axl, for teaching him about Zelda.

"It is. How did you know?"

"My friend Axl plays a lot of old video games. He taught me a lot about video games."

" My grand mother was a big fan of that game. When she was a little girl when it came out on a collection CD of old Zelda games. She gave it to me latter and then thought me how to play it."

" What songs do you know how to play?"

" A lot of different ones. Some of them are from video games and others are my own creations. "

"How many did you create by your self?"

" Nine."

"That's a lot for one person to remember."

" It isn't that bad actually. It's actually easy for me to remember."

Delta thought for a second, if she made the song then she should remember it so it wouldn't be out of the question for her to remember nine of them, "That's interesting."

Sapphire changed the topic, " So Delta, where am I going to sleep?"

Delta stopped for a minuet, he never had guests over before so he never had the need for a extra bed or at least a couch that turned into a bed, " On the couch."

"And Yourself?"

" In front of the couch. Hey, are you tired already?"

"I want to get an early start tomorrow."

Delta got off the couch, " What time do you get up?"

Casually, she said, " About five in the morning."

Delta turned around, " Five in the morning? Why so early?"

" I have to get up and walk to school, I can't take a bus since the district can't 'afford' to send one to our area"

" How far is it?"

"A mile away."

"It could be worse…"

"True…"

" But that doesn't give them the right to do so, if it is a rich district, then they should be able send one."

"I'm not naïve Delta. I know that they don't want to spend the money on me since I am a non-athlete or anybody important."

Delta smiled, " I know, and that's one reason I like you… that you know what really going on and are not some air headed person who can't understand what's going on."

"It's though…"

"Be strong and you will win the battle, that's what Zero used to say to me during training." Delta went into his bedroom to grab his pillow and blankets. Delta soon returned with a pillow and a blanket for each of them.

Since Delta was on the ground now in front of the couch Sapphire could see his brown hair, it was thick and messy, but wearing a helmet all day did make you hair hard to manage, "Delta… promise me that you'll stay my friend… I feel stronger when you are around."

"I promise, and Sapphire, I feel happy with you around."

Sapphire blushed, "Thank you."

" I don't care what the rest of the world says about you, you are beautiful. Your blue and silver hair and eyes are so… enchanting."

"Delta…"

" Good night Sapphire."

"Delta, do you sleep with the lights on?"

"Oh… didn't think about that."

Delta got up and turned off the lights and came back, "Good night."

"Good night… Delta."

A moment latter she heard him snoring, (He's so cute when he sleeps.) she then slowly fell asleep on his couch.

Saturday April 17th, 5:40 A.M.

Sapphire woke up on the couch and yawned, (All right, now what are Delta and I going to do today?) she looked down at the reploid, (It's so hard to believe that he is made of metal… he looks and acts so much like a human it's hard to tell that he is a reploid.) Sapphire smiled as Delta started to toss and turn. She reached down with her right hand and tapped his forehead, " Wake up Delta."

Delta groaned as he woke up, "Sapphire… what is it?"

"Time to wake up."

" I guess…" Delta slowly stood up, " Let me change, I'll be right back."

After Delta came back with his fresh new gray pants and blue shirt he looked around for his guest, however, Delta could not find her, " Sapphire, where are you?"

"Right here Delta." She came out of the bathroom with a long blue skirt and a gray shirt, "So do you have any ideas for today?"

"Well… I thought that we could see the sunrise on the observation deck on the roof of this floor."

"It must be beautiful…"

" It is."

"Come on let's go."

After they got their jackets and shoes on Delta took her hand and led her around the many hallways until they got to the stairs that led to the roof of the 14th floor. When they got their, it was still dark out, but it was slowly getting lighter, "Hey Sapphire, we just made it."

After a few minuets the sky started to change colors, to, then to, and finally to, " Delta, it's so beautiful."

Delta looked back at sapphire, her silver hair reflected the sunlight perfectly and once again the wind played with her hair. Delta noticed that she was happy, just looking out at the sun rising above the ocean, "And you are too."

" Delta, you sure know when to say the right stuff. You know, you're cute, kind, and interesting."

" Interesting? "

" For someone so young, you are very knowledgeable, and open. That's something that you don't find in many people."

After a bit of silence Sapphire spoke up, "Do reploids have dreams like we do when we sleep?"

" Sometimes… But most of the time we just enter cyber space. That way we can use programs."

Sapphire became interested, "What kind of programs?"

" Word processor, internet uplink, Data sheets, Anti-Virus. Any kind of program really."

" That must be neat."

After a while Sapphire looked over to Delta, " Hey Delta, is their anywhere to eat here?"

"Of course. Come on, I'll show you." The two went down the stairs and to the elevators where Delta pressed the button for the first floor and waited for the elevator to stop. After they got off they headed to the back of the base to where the Cafeteria was located.

Delta came to the entrance of the cafeteria and noticed the sign in front of the cafeteria…

Saturday breakfast Menu

Hash Browns

Scrambled Eggs

Pancakes

Doughnuts

Sausage

Bacon

Ham

Today's Special Saturday Chef and Meal

Douglas and his Mechanic team

Breakfast Soup

Delta immediately remembered what day it was, " Hey sapphire you're in for a surprise today. Every Saturday we have a unit or support team make us breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Last week we had the head commanders cook for us, needless to say, Signas' Sausage Slushy Surprise from last week was very interesting."

Sapphire raised an eyebrow, "Delta… did you really try it?"

Delta then started to walk in to the cafeteria, "I did… it was… unique… to say the least. Took a while to get rid of the after taste. But when Zero cooks it is nearly twice as bad. When he cooks things they tend to be burnt, mangled, and in no way or shape even resemble what it was originally." Then they both entered the Cafeteria.

The Cafeteria was a large dome shaped room; the upper portion was made of glass while the bottom was a repeating pattern of large windows and plaster walls. The windows showed a large garden courtyard behind the main base and. In the center of the room was the main kitchen, next, a ring of tables and chairs surrounded the main kitchen, then, a walkway surrounding the tables, Lastly, Each hunting or major support unit had a triangular section of wall that they can use for what ever they want. While most units have bars, a few don't, like the 17th's little joint. Overall they serve food that the unit likes. And the greatest part of all this is that it is free.

Sapphire looked around at the sight, "Wow… this is incredible Delta."

Then an Ostrich-like reploid came over to the pair, " Delta! There you are… Zero has been looking for you all morning."

Delta noticed the said reploid, "Overdrive, where is Zero, and why is he looking for me?"

" He wanted to see how you were getting along with your girl friend. As for where, he's at my bar doing his normal morning routine."

Sapphire turned to Delta, "So he really cares about you, Delta."

" He's kind of like a father to me."

Overdrive started to walk towards his bar, "Come on Delta, Zero is waiting." Delta and Sapphire soon followed behind him to his bar.

When they arrived at the entrance, Delta and Sapphire both looked inside, to see a checkerboard tile floor, F-1 racers, stockcar, and dragster models everywhere, sponsor stickers and posters where all over the walls, and the drink dispensers where modified gas pumps. Delta walked to the bar with Overdrive leading the way and Sapphire quietly flowing behind them.

When they got to the bar they found Zero drinking his usual dose of his elixir, so Iris was keeping a close eye on him so he didn't over do it and start a fight like he normally does when she's not around. As they approached, Iris greeted the trio that arrived, she noticed that the girl that was with Delta last night came with him. As for Zero… just like humans can't start a day of work without coffee, neither can he start his day without beer, and until he has it, he isn't really awake, " Hello Delta, Zero is drinking his normal stuff."

"Iris, did you try the special food item for today?"

"Yes, it was relatively good considering last week's failure…" Iris shivered at the memory, "That almost sent the entire base to the med wing. Thankfully, people stopped drinking that before every one got sick."

"Signas' Sausage Slurpie surprise… what was the man thinking?"

"Delta?" Sapphire asked, "Do you have to pay for the food here?"

"No, it comes with the contract. Free food and rooms…along with no taxes."

"That's a good deal."

"It truly is. Well, let's get our food, we know were we can find Zero now."

Meanwhile in the 17th's 'tea room', as it was so dubbed by its members, Signas, Lifesaver, Alia, and X sat at a table drinking their favorite beverage… tea. Signas put down his tea and looked at the reploid ensemble, "You know, we are going to start the Hunter Navy program tomorrow."

X looked up, "So we are finally going to start that program."

Signas looked at life savor and the medical reploid answered his question, " All scans of the officers read negative for any scans of the virus. But still, I don't like this idea. They could go maverick again."

"They are not going to go maverick Lifesavor."

Alia smiled, " Hey Signas, are there any people in the Navy that are not zombies?"

" That would be left up to the head of the Navy, Duff McWallen. I actually recommended Delta for a low- level position as a captain of one of the smaller ships."

X decided to bring up something important, " Signas, he's already going to command his own ship… he's already half a year old… he is a D- Rank hunter. Don't you think it's time we told him about his past."

The black-clad leader of the hunters froze, he never thought about that, " Maybe… it's as good as a time as any. He's mature enough to handle it now. X… since you're his 'father' I will leave it up to you on how to tell him."

Lifesavor, who was stunned from when X proposed the idea, immediately came to, "We can't do it! It's too risky." All the other people at the table turned to look at him, " There is something I have to tell all of you. When Delta went for his medical exam he passed the physical section of it. However, there is a problem with his mental state. He is…"

While Lifesavor was just about to spoil the plot for the next chapter or so, Delta and Sapphire proceeded to the center of the room where Douglas was cooking. When they got there, they saw the short green mechanic shouting commands to his small army of mechanics. At first sight everything seemed normal, but it was when the got closer did they see the true horror. The pancakes were being fried, the eggs, with their shells still intact, were baked, and alas that was only the start. The doughnuts were being grilled with the ham, while the sausage, hash browns, and, bacon was being boiled. Overall, it looked like it was headed for disaster.

Douglas looked over and saw Delta, " Hey Delta! Brought a friend with you today I see."

Delta called back, " Yup, she's Sapphire."

"Hello Douglas."

Douglas smiled back at Sapphire then turned to Delta, "So are you going to try my food?" his arms stretched out to the buffet table in front of him. We used reverse-engineering techniques, video recordings, and this book." He held up a book called 'cooking for dummies', " I just hope we are doing things right…"

Delta got a plate, as did Sapphire. He carefully looked at the food in front of him as he took some of the sausage and bacon that was in front of him but he didn't take any fruit unlike sapphire, who took a banana. When he got to the soup, he was happily pleased, for the soup smelled good and looked edible. After he got his soup, Sapphire and Delta went over to where Zero was and sat down to eat.

After Delta ate his breakfast, he looked at Sapphire, who had just finished her food, " So what do you want to do now?"

Sapphire smiled, "I was thinking that maybe we could go to the park today."

"That is good idea as any." Delta sighed, "I have absolutely no idea what to do on a date."

"I'm sure that you'll come with some good ideas someday. Come on," She picked up her tray, "Let's get going."

After they dropped their trays off at the tray drop-off they headed outside the base where it was a nice 64o degrees outside with a few puffy clouds outside. Sapphire stretched her hands above her head as Delta smiled mentally (My life feels so much better now with her.)

Sapphire stretched hear arms above her head, "Come on Delta, it's beautiful today."

Delta shook himself out of his daydream, " It is, so lets make the best of it." Delta walked to the entrance with Sapphire behind him. When they exited the Maverick Hunter base Sapphire lead Delta down to the boardwalk were they were last night. They walked across the entire length of boardwalk, which ended shortly after Sapphire's house, and came upon the entrance to the park. It was a public park so they didn't have to pay an entrance fee and where able to walk right in.

"The flowers are so beautiful today, aren't they Delta?" Sapphire looked over to Delta, smiling. The flowers that she were indicated had blue pedals and where attached to a short plant.

"I've never seen flowers like these before, are they a custom breed?"

"Yep, the are a cross between two types of flowers."

Delta looked around, "Hey Sapphire, is there anyplace in this park were we can be… alone?" They both turned a shade of red.

"Well Delta, there is a place like that near here, but it is outside the park on the other end."

"Ok." Delta then started to walk to the other side of the park.

"Delta…"

"Yes Sapphire."

"Can we take a detour?"

"Sure, it's not like we have to be anywhere right now."

Sapphire led Delta to a hill that was crowned with a lone, large, and healthy tree. When Delta got to the top of the hill he looked around. To the north was the H.Q. in plain sight. Then between that and his location was a shallow body of water that was surrounded by sandy beaches. Then the hill sloped downward to the beach that was in the park. Then the shoreline jutted out to the sea sharply, then came back gradually and continued down south.

Sapphire jumped in front of Delta, " Do you like the view here?"

Delta smiled, "It's great. Maybe we can have a picnic here during the summer."

" Ok, then let's do it sometime then after I get out of school."

As they walked down the hill Delta saw someone familiar, "Hey is that who I think he is?"

Sapphire was very confused, "Who?"

"Him." Delta pointed to a teenaged male with a short, crimson, mane that had an X- shaped scar on his forehead. He was wearing black pants and a worn out red alert- tee shirt, "Hey Axl!"

Axl turned to Delta, " Delta! I've been looking everywhere for you. Where were you this morning?"

"Eating Breakfast with Sapphire."

"Oh, I should have figured that one out. Well Sapphire, I'm Axl, the third SA-Rank hunter."

Delta sighed, " They only made you SA-Rank because of your chameleon chip and the fact that you would only obey orders from Zero."

Axl whipped back, " Hey! That's not true! The reason why I'm a SA rank hunter is because I'm the best mercenary Hunter there is."

Delta laughed, and Axl calmed down, " I know that, after all, you're the one who first joined them. Heck, you can say you're their founder."

Sapphire was obviously confused, " What's a mercenary Hunter?"

Axl lit up, like he needed to proclaim it to the world, " A mercenary Hunter is a maverick hunter who instead of working in a unit works by himself, of course they could work with other mercenaries and units in missions but they tend to go it solo on most assignments. You have to be a class D rank or have a good resume to join. The downsides are that you have to supply your own equipment and that your only are paid for doing missions so during times of inactivity we tend to fight over assignments, even in some cases assignments like cleaning the restrooms."

"Oh, I never knew that they existed."

Axl lowered his head and sighed, "Well… um… yea. We were just formed so…yea." But then Axl raised a triumphal fist, looking up at the sky, " But we will be known someday!"

Delta sweat dropped, " I am quite sure that one day you will."

Axl started to walk away, " Well Delta, I don't want to ruin your date. See you later."

As the youthful hunter walked away, Sapphire turned to Delta, " How long have you been friends?"

Delta looked up at the sky, " Ever since I was activated."

" It must be nice to have friends like that."

Delta remembered that he was her first friend, "Sapphire…"

Sapphire smiled, "Delta… thanks for being my friend."

Delta blushed, " You're welcome Sapphi-chan. "

Sapphire started to walk again, this time to the exit of the park, "Sapphi-chan?"

"It's a nickname I came up with."

"I like it, it's sounds cute"

"So where are we going exactly?"

"It's a beach. It's very quiet there."

As the two finally approached the boarder of the park, Sapphire stopped and turned to Delta, "Delta, can you keep this place a secret? I really only want it to be a place for ourselves so we can be in peace."

Delta nodded, "Sure. You found it so it's yours."

Sapphire continued walking, "Thanks… Delta."

The pair then exited the park, crossed the street, and then walked up a sand dune and back down the other side. After they reached the other side, they then took a right turn and walked up the coast to small peninsula, "Delta, we're here." Delta looked around, the stretch of land they were on was indeed a peninsula and they were on the tip of it. The beach in front of him was overall short, but big enough for two people to be in peace. The sand that rose from the ocean lasted for a few yards before it turned into a flat, river rock type of stone that was between the sand and the forest that was part of the forest in the park.

Sapphire walked up to Delta, "You like this place uh?" She smiled at him.

Delta looked at her face, this was one of the few times he saw her smile, and when she did, he felt confused. (I feel… warm? No, happy? More than that… I don't know.).

"Delta? Are you alright?" Sapphire looked at Delta with concern.

"What?"

"Just now you began to zone out… are you okay?"

Delta began to walk towards the large flat stone and sat down on it. Sapphire walked over to him, "Delta, is something wrong?"

Delta frowned, but said nothing "Sapphire…" Delta sighed, and then struggled to continue, " When you just smiled it made me feel warm inside… Sapphire… I don't really understand what I'm feeling."

"Delta, do you feel better when I do this." She than sat right next to him and put her head on his shoulder.

"Yes."

" Delta, I think that you…love…me."

"Sapphire," Delta brought his head down next to her, "Do you…love me…too?"

"Yes."

Delta brought his head back up, "I've never felt this way before… I've never felt this kind of happiness before in my life. Sapphire, I'm glad we meat."

"Me too…" Sapphire lifted her head.

"Sapphire, there is something I want to tell you… I've felt love once before."

"Where?"

" It's a dream I have every so often… I'm really small, like the size of a baby, and I'm in this crib. Then I look up and see this woman smiling down on me… she looks a lot like Iris… and then she say's I'm her son and that's it."

"Delta, could it be a glitch or virus."

I have scanned my systems numerous times, but noting shows up… it's like it was meant to be in their from the beginning…

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Oh the Drama, the Irony. Thanks for all the reviews. Remember: Reviews and such motovaite me.