A/N – Update again! Enjoy! Please R&R. I hope I got everyone their lemony goodness. If you still need it leave a comment or e-mail and we will get it to you. Sadly, I must run to work now, so it's another short chapter.

Dynamo grinned up at him weakly, though it was not his usual, award-winning grin. One eye was swollen shut, and he was bleeding from the mouth, his nose, anywhere the liquid could escape from, smearing his face. And still he grinned, triumphantly. "No, I don't think so. I did what I came here to do."

Sigma glared daggers at Dynamo, who had been thrown at his feet. "Is that so? Then, you know who that boy was. Good, I'll get everything out of you soon." He gave Dynamo a small kick in the gut, smirking as he withered and collapsed. "And I beg to differ. You'll wish you had never betrayed me, Dynamo. This is it for you."

He coughed loudly, and frowned, unhappy to see a small pooling of blood. "The only time I'll regret this is when I'm strapped for cash." He began to laugh, his voice odd, wheezy, and he knew he was done for. They would torture him slowly, doing unimaginable things to him, and then, when it was all over, and they had gotten everything they wanted from him- which was a lot, Dynamo knew many things he shouldn't- they would kill him.

Shutting his eyes, he let the mavericks close in on him again, no longer putting up a fight. What the hell, at least it ha been worth it. He wouldn't have minded getting laid again before he died, though. He snorted at the thought, hardly noticing as he was pulled to his feet and dragged down the hall. Hopefully X had been smart, and had left with Rock. He could hardly see him sticking around to bail his ass out of trouble, knowing how X felt about him. He smiled dreamily, shutting his eyes, and the figure crouched in the shadows went unnoticed.

Oh yeah, Dynamo had taken one hell of a beating, X noted from the vacant expression in his eyes. Dy looked almost pleased with himself over something, grinning as blood trickled into his mouth. Scanning quickly for mavericks, he hit a button on his communicator. "Zero. I'm sending you my coordinates. You'd better get down here." He looked around slowly. "I'm at Sigma's base."

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Rock ran and ran down the hall X had pointed him down, tripping over fallen objects, and the occasional corpse, wire and chip strewn across the floor coated with blood, and looked around desperately for a way out. He was terrified, breath falling in small gasps and sobs, and had no idea whatsoever where he was going. Suddenly he hit cold metal and realized he had run into a wall, so distracted with the thought of escaping, he hadn't noticed it until it was too late. His mouth tasted rusty, and he realized he'd gashed his face again, spitting the blood out. He had damaged himself far worse than any of the mavericks had, all while trying to escape, first his situation at headquarters, and now the base he was trapped in.

Mopping his eyes quickly, he continued to run in the direction he hoped was the exit, before suddenly crashing into something hard. Armor. He shrieked hysterically, trying to push the maverick away, but they jerked him closer, shaking him and calling to him. Suddenly he realized it wasn't a maverick who'd run into him, it was Zero.

Zero stared down at the mess Rock had become. He was shaking violently, gashed and bruised everywhere, and seemed unable to talk; anything he may have tried to say coming out as loud incoherent shrieking. He was obviously in some state of shock. Zero wondered vaguely what could have happened to him to make him so completely hysterical. "Rock." He stated again, firmly, as he shook him. "Hey, it's okay. X-" He never finished his sentence, Rock had latched onto him tightly, and was all but wailing, legs giving out beneath him.

Zero was shocked. He thought Rock had hated him, but it was obvious that whatever was going on around this place was enough to make him forget all of that. He picked Rock up, shushing him and hoping that the wailing wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. Christ, what was going on here? It was bad enough that he was in Sigma's base, but X was nervous and Rock was hysterical enough to come to him for comfort... Zero blinked. That left Dynamo. He could imagine what had happened there...but if the mercenary had been killed, he wouldn't have been called, so Dynamo must have not died yet.

"It's okay," He muttered again, patting Rock as he hiccuped slightly, the sobbing slowing. "If you want me to help, you're going to have to let go of me," Zero pointed out gently, and it got through to Rock enough for him to loosen his grip. "Great. Now if you could just tell me where Dynamo is..." The boy squirmed out of Zero's arms, eyes wide and teary, and pointed vaguely in the direction Rock had come from. "Alright." Zero sank to one knee, ruffling Rock's hair. "You just hold on, okay? I have to leave you here or X will kill me..." Rock sniffled then clung to Zero's leg. "Oh, come on...you could get hurt." No response, but Rock clung even tighter to his leg. ... Great. Zero heaved a sigh, pried Rock slowly off his leg, and immediately had the boy attached to his arm.

Screw it. "Fine, fine, you can come. I'm not going to get rid of you, I see." Great, just great. With his luck, Rock would end up getting killed or worse. Zero did not have a great track record of coming away from battles like this unscathed.

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X shuddered slightly in nervousness, noticing how the mavericks were starting to disperse now that Dynamo had been beaten. A couple of them dragged the mercenary down a dark hall, and X ducked out of the room as fast as he could without attracting attention. Alright, he could handle this. Zero was coming along, hopefully with stealth, and Rock would be out of the building now...

He raised his buster as footsteps clicked to a stop near him. And blinked at Zero. The red hunter had a very shaky Rock clinging to his armored chest like he was the last bastion of hope for the boy. "Why is Rock here? He could get hurt!" X hissed, frowning.

Zero raised a hand defensively. "He won't let go of me," He muttered. "Not my fault."

X sighed, sinking back against the wall. Christ, had anything gone right tonight? Nothing he could do about things now, however. The mavericks were no longer grouped together, spread out amongst the building once more. There was no way they'd be able to take Rock out, then return for Dynamo without detection. They'd have to make it all out together, in one shot, or leave Dynamo, and X was not going to do that. Regardless of what Dynamo had said and done to Rock, he had exchanged his life for the boy's and that meant a lot in X's books.

"Right, right.. I should have expected as much." He whispered, walking up to them. He ran a hand through his brother's hair soothingly, surprised at the lack of reaction from Rock. Great, he'd gone catatonic on them. "Well, here goes nothing." he murmured, then kissed Zero-rather hotly- both for good luck, and just in case. Carefully, he slid through the doorway, making his way into the lower level of the base.

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Dynamo yelled in pain as he was run through with yet another hot poker, eyes wide with pain. He was no longer drifting, the pain kept him well grounded and alert. Somehow he found the strength to kick out at his attacker, unable to do much else. His arms were shackled over his head. God, that made seven. How many more times were they going to do this? Heat up an iron rod, then ram it into his body, searing, tear, destroying. Blood dripped slowly onto his face in large droplets, no wonder. There were three rods in his arms alone.

Why hadn't he talked yet? What was he, stupid? They were going to keep him alive until they got something, anything out of him- it had become personal for Sigma. He had trusted Dynamo a little too much, and his sudden betrayal angered him beyond imagination. If Dynamo were smart, he'd start talking now, before they moved onto more painful things. Then again, Dynamo wasn't known for his brainpower, was he?

So instead, he clenched his mouth shut, ignoring his torturer's demands for information, and found himself instead wondering whether Rock had made it safely out or not. He could only hope that his sacrifice hadn't been in vain, and that the little bastard was back at home, staring at the clock and waiting for Dynamo to hurry back after his daring escape. He'd just sit, and wait patiently, wearing that sweet smile of his which he showed proudly to the world. Dynamo smiled softly, pain once again clouding his mind as he let his thoughts stray far from his current position.

The room came alive with a resounding crack as a whip made contact with his bare stomach, and he was instantly brought back from his little daydream with a loud shout.

He hoped the boy was used to disappointment.

As X strode down the hallways, Zero remained a good distance behind, keeping an eye out for enemies and making sure Rock didn't whimper too loudly. It was easy to track where the mavericks had brought Dynamo. All they really had to do was follow the blood. There was a very loud scream that echoed through the halls, and Rock wrapped his arms around Zero so tightly he thought the boy would crack his armor. Crap. That...really didn't sound good.

He glanced at X, seeing a very determined look on his friend's face. With a heavy sigh, he resigned himself to backup duty; X looked angry. Just as well. Rock needed protection anyway.

"Fuck it, he's not saying anything."

Dynamo couldn't have spoken at that point even if he'd wanted to. His mind was completely frazzled, too disconnected with pain to come up with a coherent thought, much less a sentence. He decided passing out would be a good thing right about then, but sadly he didn't think he could just will himself to do so. Fuck. He blinked up at the blurry outlines of his torturers. At least things couldn't get worse... He screamed again as something stabbed him in the back, feeling blood running down his skin.

"Dynamooooo!"

The mercenary looked up, recognizing that voice. Rock. Alright, things could definitely get a hell of a lot worse. He sagged in his bonds. He'd failed after all...

Suddenly Rock was reanimated, releasing Zero, and ran for Dynamo before he could get a good grip on him. He crossed the room quickly; ignoring the surprised looks of his torturers, and threw his arms around Dynamo's waist, sobbing loudly. "You're hurt!"

Now this was the understatement of the year. He ignored that question, moving on the immediate situation at hand. "Rock, what are you doing here? I told you to escape! Get out of here!" He yelled frantically, fighting his bonds as the two mavericks torturing him made for Rock. "Rock! Get the hell out!"

Rock ignored him, and wrapped his arms around Dynamo's ragged body instead. "X!" He whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut. He had hardly gotten the words out and X was already there, placing himself between Rock and the mavericks. The entire battle took place in about 2 seconds, just long enough for Rock to flinch as he felt warm blood splash on his stunned face.

"That's that." X sighed, wiping blood off the plate of his armor. Damn, those mavericks had made a mess. He glanced back at Rock, noting the blood drenching his face and hair, then waved to Zero, urging him over.

THUD.

Rock was lying at Dynamo's feet, looking small and prone. Someone wasn't happy with the blood shed. Zero walked up to them, then stared at Dynamo, who was squirming in his bonds, eyes fixated on Rock. "Uhh. Guys... Think you could let me down?"

X smirked at him. "I don't know about that. I kind of like you that way, you're less of a hassle." The amused look slipped off his face as he surveyed the damage Dynamo had received, and slid in behind him, to catch the bloody mercenary if he couldn't hold his own weight. "Care to do the honours, Zero?" he asked, making a gesture to the bonds restraining Dynamo's beaten form.

Zero activated his saber, grinning widely. "Of course." He stepped up to Dynamo, staring at the thick bonds, then sighed. "Just a suggestion- don't move. I'd rather not carry your hand back to HQ in my pocket." Raising the saber, he took careful aim.

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Rock forced his eyes open, stirring. Why was he on the cold ground? It was wet, too. Turning his head a little, he stared up at the dim, hazy outlines of Zero and Dynamo, everything falling into place. The maverick base. They were still in the maverick base. Rock wanted to cry; he had never been more homesick in his life. This was no place for him, this building this world, none of it. Even the simplest mavericks were better equipped and far superior to him; he had no chance of surviving. None of them did, and it was entirely his fault. Slowly, his vision began to clear, allowing him to see the two looming near him, and Rock realized that Zero had his saber drawn and pointed toward Dynamo.

No. It was the same as before, everything. The smell, the dim, destroyed area, and Zero- poised to kill those he tried his hardest to protect- His loved ones. He'd told them Zero was a bad man, yet no one had listened to him. Something felt wrong with that belief suddenly, and Rock felt a pang of guilt, remembering the way Zero had held him, and carried him back to his brother when Rock had run into him. He hadn't seemed very bad then.

One thing was certain however; Zero was about to attack someone very precious to him.

"Nooooo!" Rock howled, and threw himself at Zero, tugging at the red reploid's armor. "Don't hurt him!" He knew that if worse came to worse, there was no way he could stand against Zero. He hadn't done well the first time they'd fought, and now he was hurt and Zero was armed and perfectly fine. He felt a sudden chill. Where was X? Had he...

Zero stared, wondering what the hell Rock was babbling about. It took a second, but he realized that it probably didn't look very good when he held a saber towards Dynamo and X was nowhere in sight. "Rock... I need to cut him down." The boy looked up at him, unsure. "I'm not going to hurt him. But if you keep shoving me around like that, I might accidentally chop off one of his hands, and I don't think he'd like that very much." Sighing, Zero rolled his eyes, glared at Dynamo, and began slicing carefully through the bonds.

A few seconds later, the mercenary collapsed back against X, the room spinning around him and totally out of focus. "...Ow." He said, not able to think of any sort of thanks or much of anything at the moment. Fuck, it hurt more now than it had when he was hanging for some reason. He heard a sniffle, and suddenly a small, warm body was pressed gently up against his.

"'M sorry! I didn't mean for any of this to happen!" Rock whimpered, near sobbing again but trying desperately not to cry. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Zero peeled Rock off of Dynamo. "Come on. We know you didn't want this to happen, but apologies later. Getting out alive is slightly more important right now." He glanced at X. "Got a plan?"

X nodded and sighed, then shook his head. "I had a plan, but you brought Rock. It's too risky." He wasn't about to traumatize Rock further than the poor kid already was. He kept his voice low, not wanting to upset Rock and make him think he'd done something horribly wrong. He'd save his reprimands for another day.

"Forget that, let's do it. Better he get... Well, better while trying to escape. If we stay here, we're all done for." Zero reasoned with, and inadvertently started a fight.

Dynamo watched the two argue back and forth in hushed whispers, then let his head drop back again. Great. They were going to die for sure now. He shut his eyes, sighing softly. May as well take a quick nap before getting strung up and tortured more. He felt Rock tug on his arm, and tried his best to ignore him. He couldn't deal with the tears, and the worrying, and the-

"Why don't they ask that pretty lady, Alia? She always tells X what to do."

Dynamo snapped up quickly. "X! Get Alia's help!" Why hadn't anyone thought of that before?"

X glared over at him, irritated at the interruption of his argument with Zero. "Wow, why didn't I think of that before? Oh, because it'd be pointless." He muttered. "Without at least a basic map of the place, Alia can't do anything for us." He turned back to Zero, knowing he'd have to go with the original plan if things didn't look up. Then stopped. "Dynamo... Do you know of any maps for this base?" Dynamo was constantly in and out of the building; he'd had to have seen something.

Dynamo shrugged. "I do. Buuuut, it's going to cost you." He noted the rather brutal look X gave him, and quickly added in: " Absolutely nothing. Consider it a freebie."