DISCLAIMER: I do not own Megaman. It belongs to Capcom.

"I just don't get it," I complained, "How am I having this much difficulty with this? I've multi-tasked in countless battles before—why should one song be so difficult?"

"Because, X," Alia replied, "playing a piano is a much different practice from combat. Just keep trying; you'll get it right eventually."

I sighed. We were at Alia's house, which I had learned was a medium-sized building with one bedroom. She had decorated the place with paintings and house plants, and she kept her piano in the living room. I had stayed true to my idea and asked Alia to start teaching me piano, which she was more than happy to do. That had been a few months ago, and I was getting pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. However, I was having quite a hard time figuring out how to play with both hands at once. Some songs were easier than others, but this one is particular was giving me a hard time.

"I just don't understand how I'm supposed to remember which notes are which on the left hand side," I explained irritably. "It's like trying to read two different sentences at the same time. I can't focus on one line of sheet music while still paying attention to another." Alia gave me a knowing smile.

"Just try playing the left hand first, and then try to add the right hand. There are always patterns to look out for when playing with both hands." She explained to me. "For example, while you're holding down this note here, your left hand supplies the next few notes over here. See?" I looked, and managed to let out a suppressed laugh.

"Always giving tactical advice, huh?" I commented. She smiled.

"Haha! Yeah, I guess so." She replied.

"It's easier teaching something than learning it, I suppose. Back when I was teaching Zero how to play the guitar, I…" I froze. My smile wavered. Get a hold of yourself, X, I thought, you're just telling an anecdote here. I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. "…I remember telling him, "No, Zero, that's not how you hold a guitar pick. It's not a weapon, put it down." I'm not sure if he ever got the message." I managed to smile at the thought. The image of Zero curiously picking up the guitar pick and swinging it around like a ninja star or a Frisbee always put me in a good mood. Still…

"How was that any easier than learning piano?" Alia asked, trying to sound humorous but ultimately sounding troubled—most likely because of my hesitation. Stupid me, I thought bitterly, you didn't come here to make her worried about you. You're trying to feel better, remember? So, I replied,

"Because if nothing else, he paid attention. He picked things up surprisingly quickly after getting over his initial… mistakes. He hadn't been active for very long at the time," I explained, "But he wanted to learn because… well, he really liked my playing…" I trailed off. That's right. He did like hearing me play the guitar. In fact, I can still remember that day; I probably would have started spacing out about it if Alia hadn't suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

"I'm sorry, X," she said sympathetically. "I wasn't trying to make you upset. Do you want to continue the lesson sometime later?"

"Oh, no, it's not your fault!" I replied frantically. "You didn't do anything wrong, I just—I got distracted, that's all. I'm fine, we can continue the lesson. Let's see, where were we?"

Alia smiled. A good sign on my part. The last thing I wanted to do was worry her with my own problems; if I was going to start thinking about Zero again, I'd have to do it on my own time. It would be unfair and bothersome to everyone else if I started breaking down in public, and even though this wasn't exactly a public setting, it would still be awkward for Alia. Instead, I started focusing on the sheet music in front of me.

I will conquer you, I thought to page. I just need to figure out your secrets first.

It was later that day. I was in my office, sorting through the reports the 17th Unit members at sent to me that afternoon. Maverick outbreaks were still an occurrence, although I'm happy to say that with the Sigma Virus and the "Zero Virus" (I had never been fond of that name, but since the virus took on the form of a purple-themed Zero, it was only fitting) had been wiped out, the Maverick incidents had massively dropped in frequency.

I frowned. I didn't like that we could only have peace once Zero was gone. Sure, it was the fault of the virus he carried with him that made things difficult—as well as the nearly unending reactivation of the Sigma Virus—but that didn't make me feel any better about it. My best friend was gone because of…

…Come to think of it, I wasn't even sure whose fault it was. I think that made me angry more than anything else in that moment. Zero was dead, and this time I didn't have anyone to blame it for. I couldn't even take out my frustrations on the cause of all this mess—I'm assuming it was Zero's creator, who at this point would be long dead, anyway.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. I had to keep focusing on these reports. I think I had just skimmed over three paragraphs without actually processing what any of it meant. Great. Now I had to reread the whole thing. Sorry about that, Jacob, I mused, reading the name of the soldier who turned in the report. I'll get to your report right away.

Apparently, those three paragraphs were really important. It was about today's mission—a few Mavericks had started wreaking havoc and needed to be dealt with, but thankfully, little damage had actually been done. There were some injured civilians, but thankfully no one had died that day. I had sent a squad to deal with them; I could have gone myself, but the threat level wasn't all that great, and my team could use the hands-on experience without me there to help them.

But all that aside—apparently a small group of vigilantes had intervened with the mission, assisting my squad with the mission, despite being told repeatedly not to. The worst part was probably the fact that the vigilantes had managed to escape; didn't they know that vigilantism was illegal?! Why was it so hard for people to follow the law nowadays?!

I would have to give my team a lecture later that day, and some additional training on trying to catch someone trying to escape. But I guess my primary concern right now would be: how to find and arrest the vigilantes? Apparently, they called themselves "Red Alert" and had been doing this sort of thing for a while. I guess I just didn't know about them until now because I was busy dealing with, you know. Saving the world six times over.

But now that the war was over, this gave me a new goal. I hadn't really wanted a new goal besides playing the piano decently, but the world has a way of giving you responsibilities without asking. Like fighting in a war, for example. That I could have done without. We all could have done without that.

Especially with the way it all came to an end… I thought, images of Zero being locked away in a capsule surfacing in my mind. I remembered meeting him for the first time, the way he gave me a look like he was trying to figure out what species I was.

Well… then he attacked me. He was clumsy and barely aware of his surroundings, but still, that wasn't exactly what I'd call a great first impression. Needless to say, I hardly wanted anything to do with him after that, but he eventually calmed down enough to let me near him without throwing a fit. Oh, how times had changed.

I winced at my own thought. I had meant the fact that Zero and I had become such good friends despite our rocky start, but now I just thought of him lying there in the base… all alone… unaware of anything, even what I was feeling right now; how could he stand something like that? Was there any part of him left? Some part of him that was aware, lonely, anything?

It's not like I wanted him to feel bad for himself—I just wanted him to be alive enough to feel something! Was that really so much to ask, I wondered, clenching my fist. I could feel myself trembling at the thought. Not being able to feel anything sounded like the worst possible option for someone. And yet he had resigned himself to it?

"Captain X?"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked up to see a Reploid with purple armor and short, black hair—it was Allen, a B-Class Hunter; one of my troops.

"Oh, yes? What is it?" I asked. To be honest, I felt embarrassed, and yet, relieved. But at the same time, annoyed. Embarrassed because I had been stupid enough to leave my door open—of course someone would come in at some point. And it just had to be during one of my emotional breakdowns. But I was also relieved because honestly, dwelling on thoughts like those was probably the least pleasant thing I've ever done. I just hoped that Allen hadn't noticed.

"Um, I just wanted to remind you that you were supposed to start training the rest of the troops ten minutes ago. I understand you're very busy, but, um…" Allen stuttered, visibly feeling awkward about the entire situation. I mentally slapped myself in the face. Of course, the training session! How could I be so absentminded as to forget?! I sighed in frustration.

"Right, I'm really sorry about that. I'll get down there right away." I paused. "Thanks for reminding me. I guess I've just been preoccupied lately." Allen relaxed a little, but he still looked nervous.

"You're welcome, Captain. And, um, I apologize for barging in. I should have knocked; it was very disrespectful of me…" he trailed off. I approached him, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine, Allen. No harm was done, and I needed the reminder. Just be sure to knock next time, alright?" I assured him. He straightened up.

"Y-yes, sir!" he responded.

"Now, let's get to that training room…"

Several hours had gone by. My team had performed well during the training session, but I decided that I would accompany on the next mission, just in case this "Red Alert" appeared again. After all, if they were fighting for peace, however illegally, it implied that they at least considered themselves to be on our side—they might be more willing to compromise than my previous adversaries.

With my work shift now over, and no other obligations to keep me busy, I decided to do what I had been doing for a few years now: visit Zero back at the old base. And I was about to do just that when Alia approached me just outside the current Hunter HQ.

"Hey, X, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked. I didn't really feel like talking to her at the moment, what with my mind distracted with other things, but it would be rude to refuse, wouldn't it? Besides, I was beginning to really enjoy and appreciate her company. Zero could wait a few more moments, right? So I said, "Sure. What's up?"

"Well…" she seemed to struggle to find the right words. "I've just noticed that you seem really distracted lately. You've been late to more than a few meetings, and your training sessions have been starting late as well. I was just wondering if you should take some time off." I gave her a bewildered expression. I mean, yes, those were all valid points, but… I had an obligation to the Hunters. I wasn't about to take time off just for personal reasons. Wouldn't that be irresponsible?

As if sensing my thoughts, Alia added quickly, "Just for a short amount of time, I mean. I'm not asking you to quit, you've provided a lot of help and support to the people in this city, but… I don't want you to be held up by any distractions." Her expression softened. "I know recent times have been hard for you. I'm not happy about it, either…. So I think, out of respect and understanding for your situation, maybe a break would be good for you, you know?"

Part of me wanted to snap at her, tell her that no, she didn't understand, she couldn't understand—it wasn't her best friend that had been deactivated, how could she possibly know what I was going through?

But on the other hand… she had an air of honest concern about her. Like, even if she didn't know exactly what I was going through, she cared enough to offer a chance to help. There wasn't any reason for me to be mad at her; she was too kind and thoughtful for me to be angry. And besides, if there was one thing I knew by now, it was that Alia was almost always right.

And even though part of me wanted to stay a while longer to keep an eye out for Red Alert, the other part of me reasoned that there was no guarantee they'd show up soon at all. They weren't exactly active during the war last I checked, so maybe they were only just getting back into their routine?

"…Well, alright," I agreed. "You certainly know how to make a valid point. Just be sure to keep me posted in case anything serious pops up, okay?" Alia smiled.

"Of course. I'll inform your troops right away. Your second-in-command is Alice, right?" she asked. I nodded as a confirmation.

"She's really reliable. If anyone's going to take over in my absence, it's her." I said. I was about to walk off when I noticed that Alia seemed to be thinking something over, like she was going to say something and couldn't quite figure out how to phrase it. "Is there anything else?" I asked, curious about what she had to say.

"Well, it's just that…" she paused. "…If you ever want to talk about anything that's bothering you, you know you can always tell me about it, right? I mean… I really care about you. And I don't want you to shoulder all your problems by yourself, you know? So…"

I smiled. Alia really was a caring person. And it was nice, knowing that she cared that much about me. But since I couldn't really think of anything to say in response to that, I simply nodded and walked off. I wasn't sure if I intended to tell her what was on my mind or not; right now, I was focused on seeing Zero.

Still, I would have to meet up with her again later. She was becoming a good friend, and good friends were hard to come by these days.

"…and then it turned out that some group of vigilantes showed up to help finish the job," I explained, gazing upon Zero's sleeping form. "I guess they call themselves "Red Alert." From what I've heard, they're pretty well-organized; neither the police nor the Maverick Hunters have been able to put them in jail yet. It's troubling, but all things considered, we're doing much better now that the war is finally over. It's pretty much business as usual." I paused, half hoping for a response from Zero. Of course, none came, but I had been rambling for a while now.

It was hard, talking to Zero without his own input. He always managed to add his own flair to any conversation; whether it be a sassy remark, a silent nod, or just casually agreeing or disagreeing with whatever was being said. He was a pretty laid-back person, really, except for when you made him angry or if you had the misfortune of being an enemy. And even then, there was a certain professionalism that I had come to expect and appreciate from him.

Now he just looked defeated. And if there was one thing Zero hated more than anything, it was being defeated. He always had a discontent look on his face if he didn't get 100% on a training simulation. I always told him that he worked himself a little too hard, but in some ways, it was that hard work that made him such a respected and skilled Hunter.

"Also," I said, once again trying to change subjects, despite the fact that Zero wouldn't notice nor care. "I brought my guitar this time. The acoustic one, by the way, not the electric. Electric guitars don't sound as good when they're not plugged in." I didn't feel it necessary to explain the fact that I couldn't drag an amp all the way here to him. Technically speaking, he didn't need me to tell him anything, but it felt better when I talked to him.

"I figured, you haven't heard any music in some time… and, well, you're not exactly in a position to… to play anything…" I took a deep breath. Don't focus on that, just play the song, I told myself. As soon as I started playing, I started thinking of when Zero had first heard it. It was years ago now, but the memory was still clear to me.

I was in a nearby music studio—one of the places I always went to wind down from a hard day at work. As much as I liked working as Dr. Cain's assistant, some time to myself was always welcome. I liked my free time just as much as anyone else, after all. And what better way to spend it than by playing some catchy tunes on the guitar?

Since I only trusted my own amp to work with my electric guitar, I had decided to bring my acoustic one this time. Technically speaking, I didn't need to be in a music studio in order to play it—my house would have worked just as well—but there was something about being in an actual music environment that made the music itself sound better. Or maybe I was just being weird, I don't know.

I started playing one of my favorite original songs—I hadn't decided on a name yet—which was both fun to play and nice on the ears. Or at least, I thought so. I wouldn't exactly call myself a genius composer, but hey, I liked it, and that was enough.

A few minutes went by, and I was reaching the end of the song. It didn't have any lyrics—God knows I can't sing—but I didn't think it really needed any.

"Cool tune. What's it called?" a voice said out of nowhere.

I jumped in surprise, panic causing me to end the song early. I whirled around to see Zero standing in the doorway, his familiar calm expression on his face.

"Don't… don't do that!" I exclaimed, aftershock still making me jumpy.

"Do what? Complement your song?" he asked, another familiar look of obliviousness lacing his expression. I resisted the urge to laugh. Zero, while he had proven himself to be relatively intelligent, he still seemed to be puzzled by some things. I couldn't blame him; he had barely been active for more than a week.

"No, just don't sneak up on me like that. It's impolite, you know." I explained. Zero seemed to consider this for a few moments.

"And being impolite is bad, right?" he wondered. I grinned. Sometimes his lack of knowledge seemed ironic; after all, he was almost always polite. Part of me considered the possibility that he was joking, but disregarded it.

"That's right. Being rude can hurt people's feelings sometimes. Or in this case, unnecessarily startle people. Don't worry about it too much, okay?" I replied. Zero gave me a puzzled look, as if to say, "How can I not worry about that?" I thought for a moment. "How long have you been standing there, anyway?" I asked.

"About… ten seconds, I think. Why?"

"Oh, nothing… just a little self-conscious, I guess." I replied, feeling a little embarrassed for some reason.

"Why would you feel self-conscious about me standing here?" he asked. Then he paused. "Do I make you feel uncomfortable?"

"What? No, not at all! I just wasn't exactly expecting an audience, is all." I explained. The last thing I wanted to do was make him feel bad about himself. Although I'll admit, sometimes I felt a little wary around him, like he was going to suddenly start attacking me again like he did the first time we had encountered each other.

"Hmm. Okay. Do you think you could start that song over from the beginning?" he asked, processing the new information.

"Oh, um, sure," I agreed. I guess I had an audience now, unexpected as it was. Might as well not disappoint.

Despite my nervousness, Zero certainly seemed to be enjoying it. He had been bobbing his head up and down for the majority of the song, getting more enthusiastic as time went on, until he practically started head-banging. And with his ponytail flopping over his head in the process, it just started to look ridiculous. In spite of myself, I started laughing, pausing the song for a few moments. Zero didn't like that.

"Why'd you stop?" he asked, looking put-off by the whole thing.

"I think a better question is… pffft…" I tried to contain my laughter, but it quickly failed and I started bursting into laughter again. "What were you even doing?" I asked between laughs. Zero just looked confused.

"Um… head bobbing?"

"Yeah, no. That was borderline head-banging," I countered.

"Banging? What are you talking about, I wasn't banging my head on anything," he replied, sounding as confused as he looked.

"It's an expression, Zero."

"Oh."

"And it looked hilarious."

"Hey!"

We both laughed before I picked up where the song left off. I was really happy to know Zero liked my song that much. I didn't think I had actually done that well in composing it. I guess feedback can really make you feel better about yourself. I'd have to keep that in mind for the future.

I had finished my song. Placing my guitar on the ground, I suddenly realized that I had been crying. That was odd. Normally, I noticed things like that. I guess Alia was right; I really had been distracted lately. I hadn't even noticed myself crying anymore. Did that mean it was becoming a habit?

That memory of Zero and I used to be so amusing to me. Now it felt bittersweet. We had been so happy, and now… now we'd never have that kind of conversation again. We couldn't laugh together anymore, no matter how much I wanted to. Zero couldn't even laugh by himself. There was no joy to be had anymore. Thinking of that just made me cry harder.

"It's not fair, Zero…" I whispered. "It's not fair that only I can laugh now. It's not fair that only I can feel anything. Why is it, Zero? Why is it that I'm always the one being left alone? You don't have to keep doing this, Zero. You can stop now…"

Stop making me feel so miserable… I thought. But it was no use, was it? It would never be any use now. But Zero wouldn't want me to give up on him, would he? I didn't know at this point. But what else was I supposed to do?

"Tell me, Zero… just this once. Tell me what I'm supposed to do now that you've abandoned me. You always know what you're talking about, right? So, please…"

And yet, I received no answer. That silence would plague me more than anything else ever had, or will.

Please, Zero.

I... I don't know what to say, you guys.