Love Alia!
Chapter 8
"Old Wounds"
By MEGAMANX411

As Zero walked back to the resort, his blonde hair swayed side to side, making Layer blush even more. He was completely oblivious to that, however. Layer did try to shield her face by lowering her gaze to the ground, and she did try to make sure she didn't bother Zero. He kept a pretty good distance between himself and her, though. At the same time, Pallette and Axl were heading back themselves, although neither really showed any signs of affection towards each other. And of course, X and Alia were both already at the resort. X was in the process of cooking dinner, while Alia was still working on some files she wanted to finish.

"Hey Alia, are you almost finished with those mission reports?" X asked, turning to look at the navigator.

"Yeah, I'm almost done...what about you X? Are you finished with dinner? And did you make enough for Zero, Axl, Pallette, and Layer?" Alia asked.

X looked across the kitchen to see everything he made. He narrowed his eyes as he looked over the food, and he tried to properly assess how much was necessary.

"Um...I think this should be enough. I don't think we'll have any other unexpected guests, so this should be enough," X replied.

At that moment, Zero came in the room, followed by Layer, then Axl, then finally Pallette. They all seemed to take cue from X and sat around in the kitchen area. Pallette got a little mischievous grin on her face as she surveyed all the people in the room. She then leaned over and whispered something in Layer's ear.

"Hey Layer...why don't you just go out and tell Zero?" she asked, smirking.

Layer forced an embarassed smile, but tried to signal to Pallette that she'd rather not tell Zero. Axl, in the meantime, was busying himself with whatever handheld gaming device that suited his mood for the moment. Zero was surprisingly quiet as he looked outside, and his gaze was clearly aimed towards the full moon out the window. Alia, however, was by X, helping him with the kitchen needs. Pallette then leaned over and asked Layer again...and again...and again. Her questioning, although innocent, was becoming a bit annoying.

"Fine!" Layer huffed, finally becoming a little agitated.

Everyone else looked at Layer with an expression of surprise because of her sudden outburst. Layer blushed with embarassment and then slowly tried to regain her composure. She sighed softly, looked back at Pallette, and shook her head. Pallette frowned again, because she really didn't want to see her work impeded. Of course, she still hadn't taken into account how difficult it would be to overcome Layer's reserved nature. But the bigger obstacle was still unknown to both Pallette and Layer.

"Come on Layer! Just tell him!" Pallette urged.

Layer was starting to have a hard time avoiding the issue now. Everyone there was starting to take notice, and Layer was having a hard time holding in what she had been wanting to say for such a long time. Suddenly, she stood up with a furious expression on her face.

"Cut it out! Fine, I love Zero! There, I said it! Now leave me alone!" Layer shouted, losing her cool.

Everyone else there stared at Layer with blank expressions, which caused the embarassed navigator to slowly take her seat. Zero just looked back at Layer with a cool gaze, as if what she said didn't concern him at all. He shook his head and then walked outside. On his way out, he only muttered one thing:

"My love is dead."

Pallette had a horrified expression on her face, because her innocent little game suddenly turned ugly. Layer was not only embarassed now, but part of her was crushed by Zero simply brushing her declaration off. X and Alia were both speechless. Axl wasn't quite as concerned as the others, but he obviously showed some signs of curiousity due to the sitatuation as well. X was really the only one who knew what Zero was talking about, and he was Zero's best friend to boot. Even though Zero had been causing him grief on this trip, X knew it was just Zero's nature...he was like that back even when X was a rookie at Maverick Hunter HQ. The fact that he acted like a joker even after the incidents involving him and Iris was remarkable, because it showed that he was getting better.

X walked outside after Zero and tried to find him. Layer on the other hand, just looked down to the ground with a hurt expression. She didn't want to cause Zero any pain, but she didn't know what exactly she did to offend him. She wasn't mad at Pallette either, but she was just frustrated with herself. By the time X reached Zero, he noticed that the red hunter was sitting on top of a hill, looking up at the moon.

"Hey Zero..." X muttered, walking over to his friend.

Zero kept deathly silent.

"Zero, listen, it's all in the past now-"

"Shut up X. I just want to be alone for awhile," Zero answered, looking away.

"That's not fair Zero. We're supposed to be friends," X replied, looking a little hurt.

"And you think what happened to me was fair?" Zero asked.

"I never said that Zero. Iris is dead, you already accepted that before," X muttered, sitting down beside Zero.

"Aceepting it doesn't make it any less painful..." Zero muttered.

"Shutting yourself off from everyone isn't going to make you feel any better," X answered.

"You're one to talk. You're the one who's always depressed. Normally I have to cheer you up. So why exactly are you acting all high and mighty now, huh?" Zero asked.

"Well...I...I guess that..." X stammered, trying to find the right words.

"Just leave me alone for awhile, please," Zero muttered, standing up.

X was becoming a little frustrated now. He was trying everything he could to cheer Zero up, yet it was becoming increasingly difficult. Zero did tend to bury his thoughts about Iris, so perhaps that's what was causing most of the pain for him. But still, for Zero to act this cold...it wasn't fair to X at all.

"The Zero I know isn't weak..." X whispered.

Now Zero was the one becoming angry. He gritted his teeth, turned around to face X, and started walking towards him. He grabbed X's shoulders and started looking at him face to face.

"What did you say?" Zero questioned, getting mad.

"I said...the Zero I know isn't as weak...as you look right now," X muttered, his voice still meek and quiet.

"You have no right to say that, X, unless you're prepared to show me that you're strong enough to call me weak," Zero answered, gritting his teeth.

"I don't want to fight you, Zero..." X muttered, lowering his head.

Zero shook his head and turned his back towards X again.

"That's the kind of answer I'd expect from you," Zero replied.

X clenched his fist, grabbed Zero's shoulder, turned him back around, and looked him back in the face.

"Just listen to me Zero! Just come back to the resort, and we'll talk things through," X offered.

Zero shrugged off X's grip, and then started to walk away. As he walked, he didn't even wave or make any gesture of showing farewell.

"I just need to be alone for awhile," Zero answered, his pace quickening with each stride until he eventually got to running.

X just stood there, speechless for awhile. He couldn't believe that his own friend wouldn't listen to him. Then again, he never really experienced the same thing Zero did, so he didn't comprehend the depth of his pain. X had just hoped that his friendship was at least worth enough for Zero to stay...but Zero leaving really cut deep into X. Soon after, Alia, Layer, and Pallette came out. They were probably too confused or frightened to say much at that point, but they both looked at X.

"X...where's Zero?" Axl asked.

X didn't say a word. He just shook his head and then lowered his gaze to the ground.

"Where did he go?" Pallette repeated.

X knew that he was probably the only one that could get Zero to come back. He and Zero have been friends for a long time. He just had to say or do the right things to get Zero back. But first he had to go look for him. Without turning around, X declared that he was leaving.

"Guys...I'm sorry about this. I'll go find Zero. Please stay here. And I apologize if you're at all hurt Layer. None of this was your fault at all. Zero just has a kind of ...dark past. That's why I have to go talk him into coming back. See you later," X announced, walking away.