Coco sighed as she cleaned some bloodstains off the floor. It had become such a routine that it didn't bother her anymore.
"Every time they take a bunch of human prisoners something like this happens… why do they even bother taking them here?" She didn't understand it. The humans ALWAYS died so it didn't make sense…
The Reploid prisoners made sense. They usually ended up getting infected and joining Sigma's legions. Coco quickly skipped over to the Reploid holding chamber… the captured Hunters were usually much nicer to her than the Mavericks, really. And she brought them things…
But there were no Hunters in containment today. Coco sighed. There had been a very nice girl there just yesterday, and she hadn't seen her around as a Maverick, so the infection had probably failed… she knew what happened in those cases, too.
But there was a new, extra special ooper dooper containment unit at the end of the hall… She tilted her head curiously, and skipped over.
"Oh wow!" There was a Reploid inside, curled up on his side and sleeping… he had pretty blue armor, a very cute face…
"Hi! My name's Coco!" She chirped out as he looked up.
Pretty blue eyes! He really IS cute!
Yes X, I thought so! Right away, too! Awww, you're blushing! (big kissing sounds)
Well, no Zero, I didn't… not telling you yet! You'll have to wait and see!
Now, where was I…
"Hi… I'm X…" He blinked slowly at her. "Wait… don't I know you? I saw you at the Kitomer corporation." Coco nodded, her pig tails bouncing.
"Yes, that's me! I used to work there." She smiled brainlessly. X stood up, blinking at her.
She wasn't acting like a typical Maverick at all. She was entirely too cheerful.
"Oh, you must be hungry! I'll go get you something!" She bustled off before X could say anything more, leaving him to watch after her, wide eyed.
His surprises weren't over yet. Coco came back with a huge tray, with tiny sandwiches cut into neat triangles. All the crusts had been conscientiously cut off.
"Here you are! Tuna sandwiches, ham sandwiches, and egg salad!" She slid it under a special opening in the cage. "And a big mug of coco!"
"Oh, unh… thank you. You didn't have to." X managed. He hadn't expected to be fed anything at all, before Sigma did whatever he was planning. This was entirely unexpected.
"It's a pleasure! I'll see you later, I have to clean up Mr. Doppler's lab or he'll get sooooo upset. He's a pig! Bye now!" Coco skipped out of the room, her pigtails bouncing, and X examined the tray more closely.
The coco was steaming, with a bit of whipping cream in it. The sandwiches had neat little animal pictures cut out of the tops, and little sprigs of parsley placed prettily on each.
X looked at the display of cuteness for a while.
Finally, he ate it.
Elsewhere in Maverick HQ… or rather, the backdoor of Maverick HQ…
Zero was leading his crack, commando team of Reploids to rescue X. That was the idea, anyway. There had been several setbacks, including the unsuspected methane buildup in their entryway that had left them looking… a bit worse for wear. But now they were in Maverick HQ… and utterly, hopelessly lost.
The thoughts that might, or should have been on Zero's mind could be guessed. X was in trouble, going to die, be tortured, infected… they were lost in Sigma's topological nightmare of a base…
But another set of thoughts was going through his mind.
What's with the "Welcome" mat? What's with the damn potted plants? And what's with the freakin' "Home Sweet Home" sign?
"Martha Stewart has come and conquered," he muttered as he searched around.
It was just too weird… and got that touch weirder when he ran into a little cleaning 'bot who was arranging a vase of flowers. Orchids and white spider mums, with ferns, from the look of it. Zero raised his saber to quickly end her life-
"Hello!" Zero paused as she chirruped at him. "I'm Coco. Are you new here? You shouldn't be waving around that inside, Mr. Serges gets sooooo mad when new recruits damage the fortress."
New recruits? Zero was thrown by that for a moment, then eyed her carefully. She was a pretty little thing, blond hair in pigtails, big blue eyes… and a supremely ditzy smile. She really believes that? She seemed to. Zero hesitated, then decided to take it at face value. Their situation couldn't really get much worse.
"Yes, we're new recruits," Zero said smoothly, as the other members of his commando team shot him disbelieving looks. "So… Sigma sent us to go get a prisoner. A little guy in blue. For infection." The little cleaning 'bot seemed to droop, her pig tails falling down around her chin instead of perking up and dropping onto her shoulders. Zero watched the change, interested. He'd never seen mobile hair before.
"Oh, X? I hope the infection works, he's nice… right this way." Cocoran led the way, towing her little cart behind her. She glanced back at the new recruits. They were all looking a little dinged up… they must have been practicing, or maybe they had gotten someone mad? And the one in red was really pretty. Although…
Is that a girl Reploid or a boy Reploid? I can't quite tell.
Sorry Zero! I really couldn't! X, don't choke… oh, he's laughing? Awww, Zero, don't sulk! It was just the hair! I'm sorry Zero!
Well, yes, I know he's a boy now… Zero, don't hit X! That's mean. Let me give you a hug!
Ooops, I think we squished the kitty, he's growling at us- aw, he scratched you! Bad kitty. Where are the band-aids? I have some with some sooper-ooper cute little bears on them! Here let me-
Oh, the story? Right, I should keep telling the story!
"Here he is!" Coco smiled brightly, as they clustered around the cage. X was staring at them, amazed, and about to say something… until Zero pressed a finger against his lips. He wasn't sure if the cleaning 'bot would be useful, but any use would abruptly end when she finally realized what was going on.
"How should we get him out of this, sir?" One of his unit asked, looking at the cage. It was rigged with dozens of alarms that would trigger if anyone tapped in a wrong code or fiddled with it in any way.
"Don't you have the codes?" The little cleaning 'bot asked, tilting her head to one side as she looked cutely confused. The members of his unit exchanged glances, and one quietly ignited his beam saber… but Zero gave her a winning smile. She'd been gullible enough to swallow their story so far, why not a bit more?
"Sigma was pissed off when he sent us down," Zero said smoothly. "He didn't mention any codes. Do you know who would have them?" Coco perked up at that.
"I have them, I have them!" Coco bounced up and down, excited and pleased that she could be helpful. "I know all the codes everywhere! I see people type them in all the time!" Before anyone could stop her, she stepped up to the cage and started confidently inputting all the codes.
"Huh… photographic memory?" One of the Hunters said, sotto voice. Zero frowned. That was a fairly rare ability… it required some pretty powerful processors and memory retrieval, to be able to swipe codes just by looking. What would a cleaner be doing with that kind of processor?
But she really did know the codes, and a moment later the last defense went down and the cage opened. X stepped out with a clear expression of relief.
"Zero! I'm so glad to see you." X was tremendously relieved. He wasn't sure what Sigma had been intending to do to him, but he was sure it was nothing he wanted to experience. Coco's eyes widened, though, as she heard the name.
"Zero?" She said, then suddenly paled. "Ahhh…! You're not Mavericks at all! You're Hunters- LEGGO!" One of the Hunters had gripped her arm, and she shrieked, trying to brain him with her vacuum. The handle shattered from the force of the blow, leaving Coco holding a jagged shard He swore and activated a beam saber-
And jerked away with more haste than skill as Coco tried to put his eyes out with that broken handle. Her face was utterly blank as she attacked with the improved weapon… until Zero, moving silently, punched her sharply in the back of the head. The cleaning 'bot collapsed in a heap, unconscious.
"How did she do that?" One of the other Hunters said, bewildered. One moment she'd been an ineffective little cleaning bot… the next, she had acted like a trained fighter, attacking as best she could with no weapon. Zero hesitated, then picked the small Maverick up, slinging her over one shoulder.
"We'll take her back to HQ," he decided. The other Hunters looked dubious… Mavericks were usually completely beyond recovery. On the other hand, the little cleaner didn't act much like the usual Maverick.
"Right," X agreed, peering at the unconscious girl curiously. Zero led the way out, as they made their escape from Maverick HQ…