-

The two dazed Hunters gasped in unison, while Zero, who was at least four feet ahead of X, reached the cause of the sudden shock. Zero shook his head slowly, before he knelt down beside the tattered figure. X caught up within a second's time, and his normally gentle emerald eyes were plagued with unimaginable guilt and pain. No matter how he tried, the cerulean Hunter could not shake off the feeling that this horrific incident had been his own fault.

Before them, was an unresponsive Axl, who was amidst the pool of his own life blood. Jagged shards of glass protruded from the left side of his face, and more noticably, there was the mutilated flesh that surrounded his eye. Lastly, was the matter of the surgical precision knife, that was plunged deeply into his right arm. As expected, he was unconscious, and the two Hunters were completely unaware of Red's interference, or even the fact Axl had fallen from a higher ground.

"...This isn't a good sign. X, why don't you go on in and check for other damages? I'll take care of him." whispered Zero, who was wiping some of the blood from Axl's face. X remained as silent as death itself, and made no movement to comply with Zero's request. It was as if he was frozen in a single moment of time, unable to free himself from the shock that accompanied the situation. Zero cleared his throat and snapped his fingers, which was meant to break X from his dreamy state of mind. When this failed, he ended up clapping his hands together; this caused Axl to flinch, proving that he was still alive, but did not reach the distant X.

"X! Are you even listening to me?" snapped Zero. His voice was tinged with a deadly edge; of course, this was only his concern and fear manifesting within him, and bursting out more cruelly than intended. However, it did manage to complete it's appointed task, as X had finally returned from his world of daydreams.

"..I'm sorry, were you saying something?" replied X softly. His eyes had never once left Axl's still form; he had examined Axl's body countless times in the past minute, and he knew it's condition like he knew his own name. Blood had even soaked into the younger Reploid's hair, and sound of small droplets of the crimson liquid slamming against the tainted grass was the only audible noise between the three.

After this eerily quiet moment, Zero then proceeded to speak. Right now, he feared the worst for the fate of the other Hunters. "Yes, I wanted you to go check on the base. You're going to be headed there anyways. I need to take care of this kid," whispered Zero. "Hurry up. If everyone has ended up as bad as this, then we've really got problems." He hated the bitter thought of this, but he knew better than to be optimistic, and have his hopes shattered by reality. The crimson Hunter had seen it and experienced it so many times before; but there was a time and place for everything, and this was not any time contemplate the past.

X blinked, as if he were still intaking the information. After this brief pause, he administered Zero a sharp nod, and dashed off in the direction of the base. His thoughts were clouded with what he percieved to be negativity; however, these pessimistic notions were very close to the truth. No sooner had he entered the indented doorway, did he get the urge to take his leave of the somber sight. Individual flecks of blood dotted the damaged hallways, and corpses of fellow Hunters lined the hallways. Most of all, though, was the emotion that blazed in their faded, colorless eyes.

Each optic was placed upon X's stunned figure, and each pair of eyes was flooded with endless waves of sorrow. Every one of them stared through X's form; they were staring into the loneliness, the guilt, and the regret that had configured itself in X's mindset. Had it not been for the rapid rise and fall of the azure Reploid's chest, he could be easily mistook for one of the dead.

Zero eventually made his way to entrance of the disheartening structure, yet, he was more capable of concealing his shock and his emotions. He nudged X with his shoulder armor, and motioned for him to move forward. Although he understood the mental anguish X was experiencing at the time, he was also aware of the possibility of survivors, who would need assistance. Even if there were no others who endured the unexpected assault, the crimson hunter was still worried for Axl's sake.

"Listen, X. As much as this may sound cruel to you, I want you to forget about the dead, and concentrate on looking for survivors." said Zero, using a comforting tone to alleviate X's increasing sorrow.

"...All right. I'll try to find a medical unit for Axl, too."

X flashed Zero a reassuring smile, before taking off in another direction. He was ignoring the lifeless bodies of the others to the best of his ability, which was beginning to fail him. The expressions that would forever mark the pale faces of the dead was horrifying to him, despite the fact he dealt with such things daily. As much as he tried to convince himself of the truth of that thought, he realized deep within his heart, that it was not the same. Slaying one with intent on mass destruction and the torture of others was one thing, while slaughtering innocent civilians was another. There was no need for further comparison from there.

In an instant, he snapped back into reality. This was not the time to be exploring his emotions, or the endless threads of his mental capacity. Carefully, X examined each of the countless side hallways, in search of anything; signs, bodies, survivors, or even an exit to the nightmare he was living. Much to his surprise, many of these areas were empty, aside from the occasional mark of a struggle. Whatever had happened, the attacker had a set destination, and had obviously wasted no time in reaching it.

After approximately fifteen minutes of thoroughly searching the insignificant, smaller bits of the base, X mustered the courage to head back to the central hallways. Mentally, he was sketching out a map of the route he would take, and planning his next area to scrutinize. Common sense told him that a quick scan of the central hall was all that would be necessary; while it could take much more time to get around to each individual chamber.

'Note to self: Leave the Hunters' quarters for last. If fate takes pity on me, maybe Zero will decide to go look through all of them.' Although, he knew very well, that luck had no part in this particular day.

X ventured into the chamber used for surgical purposes, expecting to find it uninhabited, much like the other areas. To his dismay, however, there were more innocent victims that had met their untimely end at the hands of the enemy. With emotional complications, he managed to defeat the urge to lift each of them into his arms, and prepare a temporary burial service; instead, he retained his concentration for the task at hand. Taking extreme caution, he moved on to the adjacent Navigation Room. Before X had even passed beyond the doorway, he could almost be sure he heard someone's voice. This could mean he was going insane, or that there were survivors; hopefully, it was the latter of the two.

With the metallic creaking sound these doors were famous for, the entrance slid open in a single movement. This revealed an array of trembling Hunters, as well as Alia, Signas, and Douglas; as for the rest, it had become impossible to determine who they were, with the commotion that had suddenly erupted.

"...X?" Alia cried, while silver tears began to swell in her eyes. "X, is it really you?"

A flicker of happiness spread across X's facial features, while he casually advanced into the heart of the room. He nodded slowly in response, while his eyes scanned the perimeter of the chamber. In general, the room had been left untouched, other than the typical scratches made by the ecstatic crowd. His fear had settled down considerably, and this was made clear as he visibly relaxed.

"Okay everyone, I'm glad to see some of you are still with us. I must request that you remain calm. As far as we know, the attacker has left the base," X paused, and drew in a sharp breath. "But, many lives were stolen in the process. Right now, I'm searching for survivors, and Zero-"

As if it had been planned prior to these announcements, Zero emerged from behind X. Many of the Hunters gasped in awe at the limp, lifeless figure in Zero's arms. Even Alia, who had not yet spoken to the young Reploid, could not keep her tears held back any longer. The crimson Reploid paused, and shifted Axl's weight to a more comfortable positioning, before turning to the assembly of Reploids.

"Look, I need anyone who's got experience in the medical field, to come with me. I'm not sure how long the kid's been like this, and from what you see, you know that that's not good."

Zero's short presentation ended with this. There was no commotion, nor noise. Overall, the still cluster seemed more like a photograph that had captivated each of them perfectly, than the actual beings themselves. Zero's hope was beginning to falter, which was displayed as he lowered Axl's body slightly. X glanced over at Alia, and curiousity washed over him. He had always known her to be skilled at treating minor injuries, therefore, there was nothing he could lose by asking for her services.

"A-Alia," X stammered, looking over the shocked Navigator. "Do you think you could do something for him? Just to...H-help fix the bloody mess?"

-

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

If you press that little purple button down there, it would be even better than having a Valentine!

Perfect. I have to be mean on a holiday. (sigh)

Lyza K: It's fine that you dislike what I've written, I can deal with rejection and everything. You did have some valid points in the beginning - yes, maybe I have physically tortured Axl too much for the good of the story, and I admit to that. If you had left it at that, I'd be perfectly happy with what you've said. It's the rest of what you said that wasn't right. Telling me that I'm young and inexperienced is pointless. What should I do about it? Not only that, but...You actually had the nerve to say 'you're writing a story because your daddy doesnt get you everything you want?' Not everyone is like you, y'know. What's happened between my father and I has nothing to do with 'getting everything I want.' In case you couldn't tell, it's just a slightly touchy subject. And who are you to judge how I get inspiration to write? It shouldn't matter. Before I end this, here's something to think about:

If you had given me an email address, I would verbally tear you apart you in privacy. No, of course you didn't think to include that. Were you afraid of the stupid little girl with no experience? Just thought you should know, now everyone who reads this story, knows about you. I hope they laugh at you. And, you know what the best part is? It's your fault it happened. Oh, but have a nice life.

As for everyone else; thanks for the support!