Zero's feet pounded on the linoleum floor, his arms tightly gripping Dan's body. He wasn't going to wait for the medical team to arrive. He already knew the path they would take anyway, so it was certain they would meet up at some point. Dan's pupils were blown wide, face staring into nothingness. The only sign that life still resided within the metal frame was the occasional twitch and ragged breathing, a sure sign to Zero that he didn't have much time before Dan's respiratory systems shut down completely. Then his reactor wouldn't receive the required hydrogen to function and when that was gone…
Face focusing even more, Zero continued his streak towards the med bay. As he predicted, he ran into the EMTs on the way. There were only two, both gripping onto a separate side of a floating gurney. The one on the left Zero didn't recognized, but he knew the guy on the right. The reploid's name was Gauze. He had been with the Maverick Hunters since shortly before the start of the Third Maverick Uprising. He had gained a great deal of respect from his peers by skillfully handling the triage of causalities while MHHQ was under assault by Doppler's Army.
"What happened?" the medical reploid demanded.
"Suicide attempt. Yanked out a bunch of his core circuitry," Zero quickly replied, lying Dan down upon the gurney.
"Jesus Christ…" Zero glanced back to see the other reploid staring slack jawed at Dan's exposed torso. Gauze was on top of the situation.
"Snap out of it and call Hazil! Tell him to get the ER ready!"
The two reploids turned around and sped back towards the med bay. Zero took off down another corridor. Hazil was good at his job. Hell, he was probably the best there was. But Zero's gut feeling told him that he would need help from someone who intimately knew of a reploid's construction. Fortunately, the world's expert in that field lived right the facility.
Arms pumping, Zero ran towards Dr. Cain's office.
The aged man was hunched over his desk, a pair of glasses resting on his nose. He was currently in the middle of his daily routine of sorting through his mail. It was kind of funny, in a way. Technology had brought about many kinds of wondrous things, one of them electronic mail. And yet, after its invention nearly two hundred years ago, people were far from abandoning the old-fashioned way. Because the security a piece of paper held over electronic firewalls, virus scanners, and port blockers, important things were still being sent to him, care of the US Post Office.
'Bill… bill… junk… stock report… bill… junk… bill… death threat (third today)… charity request… junk…'
Cain's mind was stuck on automatic until Zero came crashing through his front door, panting heavily.
"Zero? What's wrong? You're as pale as ghost."
"It… it… it's Dan," a hunched over Zero replied.
"What happened?" Cain asked, rising from his chair, raising his hands to take his glasses off. Zero closed his eyes and took a deep breath before answering.
"He tried to commit suicide."
The sound of shattering glass was heard.
"Oh God, no…"
"I called the med bay and met the EMTs half way. I don't know if Hazil will be enough for this."
Cain gripped his cane tightly and started hobbling towards the door as fast as he could.
"Zero, go and get X. He'll want to know.
The Crimson Hunter nodded and quickly left the room. He didn't know how he was going to tell X. What could Zero do? Beat around the bush and try to break the news that way? No, X would get impatient and then probably deck him after he had finally told the truth. Should he tell X that Cain wanted him to report to the med bay for a surprise check-up? That was a possibility, but Zero didn't like lying to his best friend and battlefield partner.
He inwardly sighed. The best option was just to come right out and tell X what happened, no fancy dressings, no "slowly pull the band-aid off" approach, just the straight truth in one short sentence.
Before he had realized it, Zero was standing in front of X's door. Taking a deep breath, he buzzed the bell. For a moment, there was no answer. Then the crackling of static came, shortly followed by X's voice.
"Commander X, here."
"X, it's me. Open the door."
A short moment later, the metal obstruct slid into the ceiling. X had his armor on, but his helmet was discarded, revealing a mess of black hair. Right from the beginning, the Blue Bomber could tell something was wrong. It was written all over Zero's face as plain as day.
"… it's Dan," Zero started.
"What happened?"
"He tried to kill himself."
X's breath caught in his throat. His face constricted into a look of horror and shock. He stared at Zero, demanding more news.
"He's in the med bay. Cain's already on his way down."
Not a single more word needed to be said. The two took off towards the med bay, X leading the way. His concern for Dan overwhelmed everything else. X roughly pushed aside anyone who got in his way, not even giving an explanation. But none was needed. Everyone knew X enough that anything that could cause him to act like was of great importance.
Meanwhile, in MHHQ's med bay, Hazil was having a fit. His patient was not only of a special case, but he threw nearly the entire damned book of reploid medicine out the window. The nearby monitoring equipment, which would've given Hazil and Cain a clear view of Dan's vital stats, was switched off. Without any control chip, there was no place for the machines to hook into. And Dan's interior build… well, Hazil thought it was like solving a Rubix's Cube.
"Any ideas, Cain?" the medical reploid asked, hunched over Dan's body. The good doctor was right beside him, studying Dan's insides.
"Maybe we should isolate the exposed leads, then figure out what plugs into what."
"He'll be dead by then!"
"Well, what do you think we should do?"
"I'm working on it."
The two continued to study Dan's interior. The man's arms and legs had been strapped down to the operating table. Partially, this was so they wouldn't have to worry about Dan's seizures interrupting them, but also so that, if he lived, he wouldn't immediately try to kill himself again.
Cain's eyes darted all around the chest cavity. Half of what he saw just flew in the face of reploid physiology. Systems which should be in one place were somewhere else. Completely foreign designs spattered the area, some offering the slightest of glimpses of their function and others none at all. It was a true puzzle to both Cain and Hazil.
And it was the latter who figured out what to do.
"I think I found a solution." Cain glanced up.
"I'm all ears."
"I'm not certain, but I don't think all of red boy here's vital system were damaged too much. I say we stabilize him the best we can, hook him up to an external power source, and let his auto-repair system handle the rest."
"Then what?"
"We wait."
Cain glanced at Dan's auto-repair system. It was largely intact and seemed to be no different than X's, so it would be easy to fix. It was a good plan, probably the best one that could be cooked up under the circumstances.
"Let's do it."
Hazil looked to the right and was about to grab one of his instruments when X and Zero burst into the room. At the sight of Dan lying on top of the operating table, opened up like a clam, X came to a halt. Zero just looked at Hazil grimly.
"What's happening, Hazil?"
"We may have found a way to save him."
Zero just nodded. He turned towards X and lightly grabbed his shoulder. He looked back with eyes that shimmered with repressed emotions.
"Let's wait outside, X. Let Cain and Hazil handle this," the Crimson Hunter said in a hushed voice. X swallowed and nodded. The two left the room without another word. Cain and Hazil waited until they had left before resuming the operation.
"So what do you think?" Cain asked.
"God help this guy if we pull this off. X will go postal on him," Hazil replied, perfectly understanding what Cain had meant.
They then proceeded in silence.
Outside in the waiting room, X and Zero were both sitting on a couch, hunched over and deep in thought. The room was sparsely decorated, just a few places to sit and a dusty table that nobody ever bothered to clean.
"I should've seen it, Zero," X said, voice trembling audibly.
"You couldn't have, X. We had no idea what was going on in his mind."
"But the signs were all there!" X's strongbox of feelings was now being pried open.
"He woke up three weeks ago to a world that's completely new to him and found out that he was now a reploid! His fiancé died in front of his eyes! And because of that press conference we forced him to go to yesterday, over half the damn world wants his head on a platter! He never asked for any of that! None of this has been fair, damn it!"
Tears now streaked down X's eyes as he continued to vent his grief.
"He doesn't deserve to be put through this hell! He should be living forty years ago, not going through all this shit"
X tightly closed his eyes and bowed his head.
"He's my brother, Zero. I care about him because of that. I don't want him to be this miserable."
X spoke no more and just silently shed his tears. Zero didn't say anything. No words of his could possibly comfort him.
The two Hunters sat in the silence, and waited.
Dan found himself floating in a misty void. He felt warm and safe. Nothing could harm him here. Slowly he drifted, further and further up. He didn't know where his destination lay and he didn't care. He could stay like this for all eternity and be happy. Suddenly, he stopped moving, and felt like he was standing up. Puzzled, he looked around. He couldn't see colors in this place; everything was shades of gray. Out of the fog came a hand, opened and reaching towards him. Dan thought that it was the hand of an angel coming to take him home.
And thus was reasonably surprised when the hand slapped him hard across the face.
Dan stumbled back, a shocked expression on his face.
"What the fuck is wrong with you!" a voice said.
"What?"
"You had said that you were pretty screwed up at this time, but suicide? Jesus H. Christ, are you an idiot!"
"Who are you?"
"You don't remember me, huh? Well, I'd like to tell you but…" The voice quickly chuckled to itself. "It could seriously screw up the space/time continuum or some other Star Trekish bullshit."
"What are you talking about?"
The voice sighed and put the hand on Dan's shoulder. It was strange. From the way the arm receded into the mist, its owner seemed to be quite a bit shorter than Dan.
"Listen, bro - I know things are tough right now and it ain't gonna get any better for a long time. But you've got to hang in there and above all else stay alive. A hell of a lot is riding on your shoulders."
Dan's vision started to dim and he felt like he was falling. He desperately tried to grip onto the hand, but his fingers slipped right through it.
"See you later, Dan. Much later from your point of view."
Right before he blacked out completely, Dan heard something else.
A four tone, five note whistle.
X and Zero continued to wait outside the med bay. X was staring listlessly at the floor, his face streaked red from his crying. Zero thumbed through some old magazine pile that every single damn waiting room seemed to have. It had been over an hour since the two took up their post and waited for news on Dan's condition. X hoped that Cain and Hazil could pull of one of their seemingly endless miracles. Zero wanted to have a good, long talk with Dan as soon as he was released.
The twin doors leading into the med bay slid into the wall and Hazil rolled out on his treads. X suddenly snapped to awareness and fixated his anxious face on the medical reploid. Zero looked up from the magazines. Silence reigned for several moments, X and Zero awaiting news, Hazil trying to find the right way to say what had to be said.
"… Cain wants to talk to you X."
X didn't say a thing. He walked with a hurried step into the med bay. As soon as he had disappeared behind the sterile doors, Hazil left the waiting room, leaving Zero all alone.
Inside, X could see Cain taking a deep drink of water while, in the corner, hooked up to an external generator, Dan lied on his bed, sleeping soundly.
"How's Dan?"
Cain tossed the wax cup into the recycle bin. Taking a deep breath, he looked right into X's green eyes.
"He'll live."
A deep sigh that came from the heart erupted from X's mouth.
"Thank God."
"You'd better; Hazil and I had a bitch of a time trying to fix Dan up."
Cain grabbed his walking stick and slowly walked over to Dan's bed.
"X, there's something you have to see."
Puzzled, X followed Cain. Dan's torso cavity was, thankfully, covered with a cloth. X and Cain came to a halt on the left side of the bed.
"I hate to say it, X, but this operation presented me with a good look at Dan's internal operating systems. What I found was astonishing, to say the least."
"Like what?"
"For starters, Dan's chest compartment is non-existent."
"So he can't use heart or sub tanks?"
"Yes, but for him it doesn't matter. His micro-fusion generator has been enlarged to compensate."
"Well, at least it balances out."
"That's not all I found, though. Dan's armor isn't made up of Titanium-X, like yours. Instead, he shares the same armor plating as your first armor set."
"Maybe that's just because Dr. Light started work on his body after he had created the armor."
"I thought the same - at first. But then I took into consideration the rest of his body. The extended air dash thrusters, his extremely powerful buster, the enlarged generator, his superior armor… it all points towards one thing: Dr. Light made this body to fight."
X remained silent for a moment.
"But, that doesn't make any sense. I was built with the ability to choose my own life. Why would Dr. Light do the opposite for Dan?"
"I don't know. And that's not the surprising part."
"What do you mean?"
"Each of Dan's secondary systems is completely identical to that of any other reploid. But his core systems, the ones that make him tick, are completely different. If anything about this boy is certain, it's that he's not a reploid."
"Well, technically, neither am I," X said.
"No - Dan's not even a protoreploid."
"… then what is he?"
Cain sighed and placed a hand to Dan's forehead.
"One of a kind."
X stared at his brother. Dan's face drew together in some kind of puzzlement and he began to murmur unintelligible sounds.
"So, Dan'll be fine?"
"Yes. He just needs to rest. He should be fine by tomorrow."
"Good. I'm going to bed."
Cain nodded his head and began to hobble towards an illuminated desk off to the side.
"Make sure you get a lot of rest, X. You look horrible. I'm going to keep an eye on Dan until Hazil comes back."
X didn't reply. He merely walked out back into the waiting room. Zero was still sitting on the couch, arms folded across his chest.
"How's Dan," he asked.
"He's going to be okay." Zero nodded his head once.
"Good. I'm going to crash out here for the night. I want to have a few words with Dan when he comes out."
"Alright. Later, Zero."
"Later, X."
X walked out and disappeared around a corner. Zero took a deep breath and stretched out the couch. Soon enough, his eyes were closed and he was fast asleep.
Dan slowly opened his eyes, an action he immediately regretted. The overhead lights were blinding. A splitting headache swept over him like a tidal wave. His eyes snapped shut. A groan of pain escaped his lips, feeling for the first time what a hangover was like. He was dimly aware of the restraints confining him to the bed.
"So, you're finally up," Cain said, sitting in a desk chair.
"Stop shouting," Dan whispered, barely loud enough for Cain to hear.
"What time is it?" he continued.
"One in the afternoon - you've been out for over twenty hours."
There was a moment of silence.
"You know," Cain started, "you gave us all a scare, especially your brother."
At first, Dan didn't respond. Timidly, he reopened his eyes again. The blinding light had receded somewhat, leaving a strange glow to everything in its place. Looking across the room, he could see Cain stare at him, awaiting a reply. Dan looked the other way.
"How's X now?"
"Better. Right now, he's occupied with his duties." Cain's voice was a few decibels quieter now.
Dan stayed silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Cain leaned back in his chair, tapping his cane on the floor.
"Who brought me here?" Dan finally asked.
"Zero did. You owe your life to him."
"… can I leave now?"
"I don't know. Are you going to pull the same idiotic stunt again?"
"No."
Cain stared thoughtfully at Dan for a moment before rising and moving to the bed's control panel. He typed in a few commands and the metal clamps encircling Dan's body released. Sitting up, Dan swung his legs over the side of the bed and hopped off. He didn't say anything to Cain. Taking a deep breath, he walked out of the med bay.
The doors slid into the wall and Dan slowly walked out. His right hand was holding his head, the headache having yet to disappear.
"I see you're alright."
Dan froze in his tracks and looked behind him, his hand dropping. Hidden in the far corner was Zero, his arms folded across his chest, a dark expression covering his face.
"You put X through Hell last night," Zero continued to say, slowing walking towards Dan. The red armored man just stood there, his eyes focused on the approaching Crimson Hunter.
"The only reason why I haven't already beaten the living crap out of you is because I have something of an understanding of what's going on in your head." Zero came to a halt, mere inches away from Dan.
"If you ever put my best friend through that kind of misery again, may God help you, because I will be using your ass for target practice. Got it?"
Dan nodded and turned away. Zero huffed and began to walk off.
"Zero," Dan asked, his voice low.
"… what?"
"Thanks."
In an instant, Zero smoldering disgust towards Dan disappeared. He looked back at Dan with a surprised look on his face. Dan had already resumed his hangdog appearance as he strolled into the hallway. Zero stared out after him for a few moments. He didn't know what had suddenly shifted Dan's attitude. Somehow, he didn't seem as gloomy anymore.
Zero took a deep breath and left the waiting room, eager to resume his duties.
Dan aimlessly walked the hallways of MHHQ. Most of the other hunters barely gave him a second look. He felt like that was a good thing - the less attention he garnered, the better off he was. His hangover continued to bother him, but he was able to put it out of his mind. After all the alcohol he drank last night, Dan was surprised that he had managed to keep it all down. It still hadn't occurred to him that he didn't have a stomach.
Somehow, Dan reached his room. The metal door slid up into the ceiling with a hiss as he walked in. Resting on his nightstand was his helmet, right where he left it. However, beside it were a note, a pen, and a plastic card. Curious, he walked over and picked the piece of paper up.
Dan,
I don't know where to start. Obviously, it's probably in yours, and mine, best interest that we don't talk until later. I can't begin to understand what's going through your mind, so I came up with a solution of sorts.
The plastic card is my debit card, linked directly to my personal bank account. Do yourself a favor and get out of MHHQ for a while. There's plenty of money, so don't worry about overdrawing.
Your brother,
X
Dan stared at the note for a few moments, a sense of shock and warmth running through his body. Despite everything that he had done, X was still willing to help him out. Picking up the debit card, Dan stared at it and wondered what he would do with the money. People would recognize him the second he stepped out the do-
And then the perfect answer hit him. It was so obvious that Dan was surprised that he hadn't thought of it already.
Crumpling the note up and tossing it onto the floor, Dan walked out of his room, an energetic step carrying him, a four tone, five note song on his lips.
An hour later, Dan was walking down a seedy alleyway. The nondescript red brick walls were covered by graffiti, none of which was readable by anybody with a brain. The paved ground was littered with newspapers and decaying food bits. A few bums slept by a steam vent, cardboard boxes serving as their blankets. Dan didn't mind walking down a place like this. In fact, he preferred it since no one that hung out back here cared who he was. If he had walked down the open streets, he would have attracted unwanted attention.
Held tightly in Dan's left hand was a rumpled print-out from a phone booth. On it was a list of several kinds of stores that Dan was looking for. He had already found about half of the stores listed, turning away at the sight of each one. From the way they looked, the staff would ask questions, questions that Dan didn't want to answer. Judging from the local conditions, the next place on the list might be just the one he was looking for.
Continuing his walk, Dan found himself wondering about what he was going to do once he reached the place. Would he go for the full treatment? Or would he stay low key and simply go for the least outrageous thing? Being a bit of a practical kind of guy deep down, the former wasn't really all that appealing. But neither did he want to choose a bland option that would leave him feeling like it was a waste of time.
Turning the corner at the end of the alley, Dan found himself right where he wanted to be. The place's sole window was barrel, the glass behind it fogged over by many layers of dust. The metal door had several sturdy looking locks on it, most of which ran the whole length of the door, he guessed. Hanging over the door was a sign, the lettering on it a bit faded, but still readable. "Meyer's Reploid Body Works," it read. This was the right place.
Walking in, Dan heard a buzzer go off, heralding his arrival. The lobby was small, a few old chairs lining the wall along with a stack of magazines that appeared to be over a year old. Opposite the door was the front desk, rusted in several areas, holes covered over by duct tape. Behind it was a door that lead, presumably, to the back area where all the work took place. Coming out of it was the owner, a humanoid type of reploid, a stained white t-shirt covering his chest. Dan swore that, if he had been human, the guy would've had a thinning hair line, a beer gut, and in need of a shave.
"Whaddya want?" he asked, his gravelly voice coming out like Dan had interrupted his favorite sports game.
"I'd like to change the way I look, obviously. Why the hell else would I come to a place like this?" Dan had come across a few people like this before and knew how to deal with them.
"Look – if you insult me, or my shop, I'll throw your ass to the curb, or I'll screw you over on the redesign, understand?"
Dan chuckled lowly, waving X's debit card in the man's face.
"Once you see how much money I have to spend, you'll be treating me like royalty."
"Oh yeah?" the owner countered.
"Yeah," Dan replied, handing the plastic card over. The man snatched it and slid it through his reader. When the account information displayed on his computer screen, Dan swore he could see the guy's eyes bulge out of their sockets.
"Er, how can I help you today, sir?" the owner asked, a nervous smile on his face now.
"Better. First, I want to see what kind of modifications you can do."
"Certainly. If you'd follow me into my work area, I'll give you a full rundown."
The owner flipped up a section of the desk, allowing Dan to pass on by. He walked through with a bit of a smug air about him. Right now, he held the power and the owner was more than willing to bend over backwards to get as much as he could.
"I'm Meyer, the owner of this shop," the man said, following Dan.
"You can call me Parker."
The owner nodded once as he closed the door behind him. Dan looked over the room.
To his surprise, the place was clean, not a spec of dirt to be seen. The floor was made of simple black linoleum, but had been waxed to such a degree that one could see their reflection. The walls were made of simple aluminum sheets riveted to the support beams behind them. Each leaf of aluminum was well polished though. The ceiling had a pair of florescent lights fixed to it, a gentle blue light cascading down, giving the room a more metallic feel. Several vidscreens were mounted on the walls, their faces blank. A few workbenches and desks lined the perimeter, tools and equipment neatly arranged to be within easy reach. In the center of the room, however, was a large, man sized, machine had several thick cables and hoses running from it to different units mounted on the top of the nearby wall.
This place may be located in a dingy part of town, but it was obvious that the owner took great pride in what he did.
Meyer walked over to a computer that was hanging on the wall and pressed a few buttons. Its screen blinked to life as the image of a generic humanoid reploid appeared on it. Meyer typed a few things into the keyboard, changing the display to match Dan's appearance.
"So, do you have changes in mind?" he asked.
"Not really," Dan replied, slowly walking up to the screen. "Care to suggest anything?"
"Well, your armor color's fine but those flesh tones on your limbs hurt my eyes to look at. I'd suggest changing it to something that blends in more with your armor. I can do anything from single colors to more 'exotic' blends."
Dan crossed his arms as Meyer made a color table appear on screen. White, tan, red, green, blue, purple - Dan's eyes grazed over all of the primary and secondary colors with disinterest. None of them seemed right. But then a thought popped in his head.
"Can you apply grayscale, or just for shading?"
"Are you kidding? Gray is color; I can do it."
"Then I want that."
Meyer nodded and picked up a pen that was lying next to the keyboard. He walked over to the screen and touched the gray area of the color table. The screen flashed and extended the gray cell into a bar that ranged from the lightest shade to the darkest.
"In what hue do you want it?"
"A few levels darker than my armor."
Meyer touched the corresponding section. The screen flashed again and returned to the full body picture. In a wipe that started from the top, the flesh colored limbs and waist turned to gray. Dan nodded in approval.
"That looks much better," he commented.
"Can I make another suggestion?"
"Shoot."
"How about we do something about the helmet?"
"Sounds good."
Meyer walked back over to keyboard and called up the possible modifications for the helmet. Dan watched as the screen flashed again, highlighted the helmet, and zoomed into it, everything else dissolving away until the headgear was all that was shown. A second later, a few additional boxes appeared around the screen.
"See anything that you like?"
Dan looked at each of the selections displayed. Shaping, coloring, designs, accessories – none of them appealed to him. Then his eyes focused beyond the screen, at his reflection. Upon seeing it, he realized that, no matter how much he changed his body, he will always see the same face looking back, a face that was supposed to be human.
And again, the answer solution came to him.
"Can you add shades?"
"Shades?"
"You know, sunglasses, a visor?"
"Oh yeah, sure, I can do that."
"Then I want a visor, black colored, no curved edges, just in straight lines that'll slope down from the edge of the helmet, angle at my cheeks, and meet above the bridge of my nose."
"No problem."
Meyer hit a few keys, selection screens on the monitor appearing and disappearing, finishing with the described visor added in the helmet.
"Anything else?"
Dan closed his eyes and the mental image of how he would look appeared. He chuckled lowly to himself, seeing just how much he resembled Protoman. It wasn't intentional, but why shouldn't he go all the way? The only things that he couldn't get here were the yellow scarf and a shield. But there was one more detail that he could add.
"Can I add custom designs?"
"Sure, just take the pointer and draw what you want on the screen."
Dan picked up the pen and, walking over to the screen, outlined three triangles coming out from the visor, reaching back about a third of the helmet. He heard Meyer hit a key and the drawing imposed itself onto the helmet.
"What color do you want that to be?"
"White, please."
A moment later, the color inside the triangles shifted to a pure white. Dan smirked and nodded to himself. This was exactly what he wanted.
"Anything else?" Meyer asked.
"No, that's it."
Meyer loudly tapped an entry into the keyboard. The screen changed back to the full body view, the blue background changed to green. He then walked over to the large person sized machine and flicked a few switches on the side of it. The machine hummed to life and a table slid out of it.
"Alright, I'll need you to take off your helmet and lie down on the bench. Afterwards, you'll be slid into this machine where the body paint will be applied while I make those changes to your helmet. The process will take only around half an hour, but the helmet will take about twice as long. I highly doubt you'll want to be active for that time, so I'll put you into stasis for the duration." Meyer prattled off, tapping the machine a few times for emphasis.
Dan tossed the pen back next to the keyboard and walked over to the machine. He took his helmet off and tossed it on a nearby workbench with all the tools, the metal headgear clattering loudly upon impact. Taking a deep breath, he got up onto the table and lied down. Meyer hit a few switches and paused just as he was about to start the sequence.
"Are you sure you want to do this."
Dan closed his eyes.
"I am."
Meyer turned his attention back towards the machine and hit the switch. With a barely noticeable hiss, Dan felt as the table was drawn into the machine. There was a loud clunk as if finished retracting. A few moments later, he was out cold.
Meyer watched for a moment as his automated paint applicator did its job. He recognized Parker from the news yesterday. It didn't come as much of a surprise that he had wanted to change the way he looked. Meyer felt a degree of sympathy for the poor guy. He also felt a bit upset at himself for how he treated Parker at first. Truth was, Meyer was in a bit of debt and it wasn't uncommon that the collection agencies to make unexpected visits. That and he had been ripped off a few times by some thugs that were trying to run from the law.
Stepping away from his machine, Meyer walked over to where Parker had tossed his helmet and sat down. Turning the headgear upright, he leaned to the side and turned on a nearby monitor. The screen came to life in an instant and displayed the modifications that he would need to make. Reaching above, he turned on a device that cast a grid upon the helmet, the design Parker wanted perfectly outlined. Clutching his etching tool, Meyer settled down to work.
Dan slowly opened his eyes. The luminescent lights above had a few halos around them and the surrounding area had a bright hue to it. He wondered how long he had been out. In response to his thoughts, a computerized voice ran through his mind, telling him that he had been in stasis for exactly one hour, eight minutes, forty-two seconds, and a few other numbers that Dan didn't know what to call. Slowly, he stood up and swung his legs over the edge of the table. To the side, Meyer was applying the finishing touches to Dan's helmet.
The first thing Dan did was to look down at his newly colored limbs. To his delight, the machine had worked perfectly, his waist and thighs now a dark dray. A quick check of his upper arms confirmed that they had been done right too.
"You may not be located in the best of places, Meyer, but you have some damn fine machines."
The owner of the shop barely spared a glance back from his work.
"Thanks," he mumbled out a reply. Dan smirked to himself. Meyer seemed like the workaholic type, a definite contrast to the way appeared. Dan idly wondered what the guy could do if he had better resources (and a better location). Probably, he'd make a good name for himself very fast.
"Alright, it's finished," Meyer announced. He set to work cleaning up his work bench while Dan hopped off of the table. The machine automatically slid the bed back in while Dan walked over to where Meyer was still sitting.
Just as Dan reached him, Meyer turned around. His face was beaming with pride at the work he had done, the helmet held between two white paint stained hands. Lifting them up, he presented Dan with his headgear. It was exactly as the man had wanted it, and then some. Attached to the helmet were two circular devices, one on each side, approximately above the ear, that rose sharply and gently curved inwards, forming a bowl shape, the inner lining a green color. It was something that he had noticed on X and Zero, but never asked about.
"What are those things?" Dan asked, a questioning look on his face.
"Well, you seemed like the Maverick Hunter type, and since your debit card was linked to the personal account of Megaman X, I figured that you were one." Meyer handed the helmet off to Dan as he continued to blather on.
"That being the case, I attached a radio to your helmet, free of charge. Naturally, it'll only pick up civilian bands, but I'm sure you can get a technician at MHHQ to modify the transceiver with the appropriate encoders and frequency modulations."
"Uh, thanks."
Dan took a deep breath and slid the helmet over his head, hiding blue eyes behind a dark, impenetrable barrier.
For a moment, both Meyer and Dan remained quiet and still, both reflecting on the latter's new appearance. For Dan, it was a new identity, free from all the restrictions and reputations of his first. To Meyer, it was a job well done and a satisfied customer. Meyer smiled and clapped his hands.
"You're look pretty snazzy there, Parker. No longer does your appearance give off 'nimrod with bad tastes'. Now, you seem like cool, mysterious guy that's bound to be a lady killer."
Dan laughed loudly at Meyer's opinion.
"Thanks for the vote of approval. By the way, how much did this cost?"
"Let me put it this way: you barely made a dent in the Megaman X's bank account."
"Good to know; he'd probably throw a fit if I spent half of his savings up."
Dan quickly shook hands with Meyer, picked up X's debit card, and strode out of the body shop. He had no real destination in mind. He didn't feel like going back to the MHHQ again so soon, so he decided to just walk about the city and test his new look out on the public.
Instead of sticking to the alleyways and shadows like he had on his trip before, Dan stayed on the sidewalk the whole time, walking upright instead of the hunched gait that he had become accustomed to, shoulders back and head held high. There was a newfound self-assurance in his walk now. He kept his arms by his side in a relaxed pose, the card held snugly in his right hand. From behind his visor, Dan watched different people's reactions as he strolled by them. To his delight, they spared him no extra glance than they would at another reploid. No longer was he Public Enemy #1. He was just another face in the crowd, anonymous the only identity the world assigned to him.
Spirits high, Dan continued his leisurely walk.
At MHHQ, Zero was slouched over his desk in his office, going over the documents for his unit. Held loosely in his left hand was a pen. The blinds to the room were drawn shut, cutting off all natural light. Presently, the only source of illumination was the lamp that rested in front of him. The look of Zero's face was one of absolute, pure, unadulterated, mind numbing boredom. His eyes were glazed over as he listlessly stared at the paperwork before him. All the writing on the documents had blurred and morphed into an indecipherable foreign language. As far as Zero was concern at the moment, his personal Hell would consist of him filling out the same damn piece of paper again and again for all eternity with no breaks.
In short, he loathed doing paperwork.
Blinking a few times, he leaned back and stretched, glancing at the digital clock that hung on the wall. It was roughly a quarter after four in the afternoon. He had been chained to this desk for the past two hours and he had had enough. Pushing away from the desk, Zero decided to leave the red tape for another time, which to him meant ignoring it until either Cain or X did it.
Walking out of his unit's office, Zero began wandering around the building. Most of people he passed either ignored him as they carried on with their own tasks or came to attention as he walked by. Like any effective leader, he cared about proper discipline and respect for higher authority, so he quickly saluted the latter of the two groups. As for the others, Zero also knew enough not to be a tight-wad about regulations, so he ignored them as well.
After a while, Zero found himself by the lounge where that party had been held a week ago. All of the furniture in the room had been put back, as well as the replacement stereo system installed. Sitting inside in a comfortable looking chair with his back towards the main entrance was X, left leg crossed over the other as he read a book on Japanese history and culture. Zero had a few books about Japan in his room as well, though his were about the ancient Samurai's sword fighting techniques, some of which he applied to his style of fighting.
"Yo, X."
The Blue Bomber looked up from his book, twisted his head around, and smiled at Zero.
"What's up?"
"Well, the sky, clouds, planes…" Zero jokingly remarked, taking a seat next to X.
"I thought you had some work to do?" X asked, placing his book on a table beside him.
"I put that on that back burner for now. You know that I hate being a paper pusher."
"It comes with the job, Zero," X commented, sighing at his friend's incredible laziness.
Zero knew X was right, but he didn't care. There were much larger problems to worry about and they both knew it. Besides, Cain didn't care all that much whether or not it was done. Only the GDC did, specifically Emilius Cristoph. The only time Zero was ever serious about doing the administrational parts of his position is when it came to screening new applicants for his unit.
"What are we going to do about Dan?" X asked, staring up at the ceiling, his voice turning low. Zero sighed and hunched over, clasping his hands together.
"Who knows? Sooner or later, he's going to have to either join the Hunters or get a job. Cain may be a pretty generous guy, but he'll only tolerate freeloaders for so long."
"Maybe he'll make an exception with Dan," X replied.
"Make an exception about what?"
X and Zero both turned around in surprise at the sound of Dan's voice. He was leaning against the entrance's doorframe, arms crossed and a smirk on his face.
"Dan? Is that really you?" Zero asked, not believing his eyes.
"The one and only. Oh, and thanks for the money, X. I followed your suggestion and got out for a while." Dan flipped X's debit card back to him. X easily caught it, but he continued to gape at Dan's new look. Zero got out of his chair and walked up to Dan, slowly circling him and taking in all the changes that he had made.
"Damn… you're looking real sharp, Dan. I like the visor; it adds a 'badass' factor to you."
Dan chuckled.
"Thanks Zero." He turned his attention towards X.
"Well, what do you think?"
"What do I think?" X repeated, walking up to Dan. His expression was not one of approval or mild disinterest. He was appalled. His eyes flared up at Dan, his stance rigid and prepared for the verbal lashing he was about to dispense.
"What do I think? I'll tell you what I think! I think that this is horrible!"
Though his eyes could no longer be seen, Dan's expression fell neutral and he looked away. X ignored him. He had hoped that Dan would be willing to tackle his demons head on, to overcome the obstacles that had been placed in his path. Now, it was obvious that he was just taking the easy way out.
"You made those changes so you wouldn't have to deal with your problems! You're just trying to hide from yourself!"
Dan started walking away. X took a deep breath and said the one thing that he had wanted to say.
"You're damn lucky that you have someone who cares about you!"
All of a sudden, Dan halted in tracks. For a moment, X thought that he had finally gotten through. Then Dan turned around. His mouth was drawn into a thin line. His hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly. X stood firm. If Dan wanted to turn this into an all out fight then, as far as X was concerned, let him. It would probably do the two of them good to get all their pent up emotions out of their systems.
Dan walked up to X. X could feel Dan's eyes staring straight at his from behind that visor. X met that gaze with the iron determination not to flinch. One way or another, a turning point had been reached.
Dan stopped with his face just inches away from X's.
"I don't care what you say anymore; this is my life,' Dan said in a low, controlled voice. X was shocked. That was not a response that was expecting. He turned and began walking down the main hall. He had only gone a few steps when he stopped and looked over his shoulder.
"Go to Hell with your own life. Leave me alone."
And with that, Dan walked down the hall and out of sight.
X and Zero remained in a stunned silence. X began reconsidering what he had said. Maybe he should've been more understanding? Or should he have tried to understand Dan's point of view? As soon as any possible comprise entered his head, he immediately cast it aside. What X had said needed to be said. There was no other way around it.
Zero sighed and shook his head.
"What do you think he'll do now, X?"
"I don't know, Zero. I honestly don't know. As much as I hate his new look, he's acting a lot more confident now."
Dan sighed as he stared at the radio besides his bed. The digital readout said that was roughly 9 P.M. now. After his verbal spat with X, Dan had gone into his room, locked the door and refused to come out, spending his whole time lying on his bed and thinking. And he had come to a conclusion.
It was time for him to leave Maverick Hunter Headquarters.
There was nothing for Dan to pack or worry about. Though he didn't know what to do with X, Zero, or Cain. As much he didn't want to, Dan grudgingly admitted to himself that he had become attached to them during his stay here. But he couldn't say good-bye in person. Cain would probably try to stop him for some reason or another. It was hard to tell with X. Maybe he'd still be mad from their fight and tell Dan off. Or he could try and talk him into staying. As for Zero… it was strange, but Dan got the feeling that all Zero would do is pat him on the back, wish him well and send him on the way.
Out of three that he knew well, Zero was probably the closest to a friend he had.
However, he wasn't a hundred percent sure at what either one would do. Getting off his bed, Dan searched around for the note from X that he had tossed on the floor. After locating it by the door, he straightened it out the best he could, placed it blank side up on his nightstand, and wrote a short letter of explanation with the pen that was left there.
When it was finished, Dan left it on the center of his bed and walked out the room. The hallway lights were dimmed and mostly empty. A single cleaning robot could be seen down the hall to Dan's right, but that was it, save for a few reploids chatting outside someone's room. Dan walked down towards the main entrance. He passed a few guards and other reploids on the way, but none of them spared him a look.
As Dan placed his hand on the front door, he paused and looked back at the place that he had been living for the past three weeks.
"Good-bye, everybody - I've got to go. Got to leave you all behind and face the truth," he softly sang, quoting an old song.
He opened the door and a moment later was gone.