A/N: For this one, I not only added a bunch, but combined two chapters.
Thank you to all who have left reviews!
Two weeks passed since he helped set Zero up for treatment. His memory cleared in little less than two days, and the virus successfully infected him a day after that. Since then, however, there had been no change for the better - but also none for the worse.
Nonetheless, the lack of progress spelled doom for Zero in the eyes of Sigma. Sigma increasingly considered Zero as a liability. Everyday, X hoped for some change, any change, in Zero's status. X refused to think that the treatment did not affect Zero, and that they wasted their time.
The worry ate at X. As he lay in his maintenance bed, he turned over the things he could say to Sigma that might prolong Zero's life. Zero is a valuable specimen in our understanding of Mavericks, sir. Zero might offer insight into Reploid design given he's not modeled after me, sir. Zero could recover enough to explain his origins, sir.
It then occurred to X that his thoughts toward Zero bordered on obsession. Why was this Maverick so important to him? Zero puzzled him, terrified him, and tried to choke the life out of him, yet he had no greater desire than to see Zero open his eyes again.
He felt exhausted, and his processing speed slowed. He knew his worry over Zero and the integration into the Maverick Hunters stressed his systems dearly. While the maintenance bed decreased the time his systems needed to discharge heat, defragment, realign, then restart, but it required him to relax and power down his cognition and sensory interface. X's whirling thoughts prevented him from reaching that relaxed state. Frustrated, he huffed and rubbed his tired face.
The doctor's advice entered his thoughts. What did X want to achieve? So many things, yet all of them seemed insurmountable. Peace between Reploids, and between Reploids and humans, first of all. Secondly, he wanted to know what meaning his life had.
Third, he supposed, he wanted to help Zero. X pictured himself holding Zero's hand as X helped him to his feet, the latter no longer angry nor hostile. X imagined a chagrined Sigma wanting to say something, but declining in the face of Zero's miraculous recovery. He thought of what he would need to teach Zero if he did in fact recover.
The maintenance bed whirred, catching X as he drifted off and powered down.
"Doctor, you wanted to see me?" X said walking into Lab 44.
"Very good, X. Thank you for coming so early. Yes, I have some very good news for you indeed," Dr. Cain said. X's face lit up and he followed the doctor into the room where Zero lay. "It appears that Zero's auto-repair function has activated, which concerned me at first. Auto-repair includes increased production of antibodies in addition to builder nanomachines, and I feared that they would reverse the work done by our virus."
X nodded, believing that he vaguely understood. Dr. Cain continued, "Zero's body is not producing more antibodies. From the looks of it, he appears to be ignoring the infection."
"What is he repairing, then?" X asked.
"About that, I'm not sure," Dr. Cain replied sheepishly. "I do believe it is a good sign for his health."
"That's great," X said, leaning over Zero nestled within his bed of cables. He waved a hand in front of Zero's drooping eyes. "Good morning," he said to Zero. Dr. Cain turned his attention to X.
"He looks so peaceful," X remarked. "Hard to believe there's a battle going on underneath it all."
Dr. Cain looked X over. "You seem different today. Can't quite put my finger on it."
X turned to him and smiled. "My maintenance went better than usual last night."
"Ah, I see. Never underestimate what a good night's rest can do for the soul, whether you're human or Reploid. This attitude suits you much better, so do keep it up," Dr. Cain replied.
X wanted to explain how the doctor's advice worked like a charm, but it sounded like too much in his head. "Thanks, doctor," X said. "I will."
Suddenly, Zero lurched forward in the capsule. X gasped and jumped back, watching in horror as Zero's body seized violently. The computer blared an emergency siren as his vital signs spiked out of control. Panicked, X dashed to Zero's side and Dr. Cain moved quickly to a station of monitoring panels to examine the readouts.
"Zero!" X said. He struggled to hold the red Maverick, concerned that he would rip his life support lines out. Zero's sickly green eyes stared into nothingness and his jaw slackened as he shook.
"Dr. Cain! What's wrong? Help him!" X called, barely containing his horror.
"X, hold him steady until I prepare a tranquilizer!" Dr. Cain replied. "Most peculiar," he muttered. He glanced at the data readouts flashing around him on multiple consoles as he fumbled with a syringe.
The quakes soon reduced to tremors, and the seizure dissipated as swiftly as it began. X exhaled and gently pushed Zero back into the capsule. The red indicators on the monitors sank and returned to their green, level state. The end of Zero's episode came as a small relief for X. "Oh no," he breathed. Frowning with sorrow and regret, he moved to wipe the droplets of blood that were leaking from the corner of Zero's lip with his thumb. He then whispered, "This can't be. It can't."
X leaning into his arm against the capsule, and rested his head next to Zero. He reached out to shut Zero's eyelids, sighing deeply and wishing they were playing their game again.
"He stopped on his own, I see," Dr. Cain said, holding a syringe of what X presumed to be a very powerful sedative.
Suddenly, X snapped his hand back as if Zero had bit him, for the red Maverick lurched forward again without warning. The seizure came back with a vengeance, and the emergency siren blared once again. Zero came within inches from X's face, and this time, X realized Zero was fully aware. X trembled, sensing fear, confusion, and pain, though Zero's face remained unexpressive.
"Doctor!" X called. More blood bubbled out from Zero's lips, staining more of his chin and torso.
"Coming," Dr. Cain said, arriving swiftly to the capsule to administer the contents of the syringe into an intravenous line connected to Zero's capsule. He also handed X a suction tube attached to a pump and said, "Intubate him, and start clearing out the blood."
X followed the order once the sedative began to work - well within seconds of its application. Zero slumped backward. The back of his head felt heavy as X supported it to apply the tube. He switched on the pump, and profuse amounts of fluid drained out of Zero's mouth and into the pump's reservoir.
"He must be suffering from severe internal damage," the doctor said. "Oh, X, I don't know what to tell you now. I wanted to lift your hopes, not crush them like this." As he spoke, Dr. Cain moved to sit beside X and place a hand on his blue arm. X did not reply. The doctor tried to look at him, but the angle obscured X's blank face. Though the doctor could not see him, X's demeanor felt almost threatening, and the doctor retracted his hand.
X's shoulders drooped and relaxed, but into great sorrow. There had been only one other time X felt so lost: the day X realized he was not human. As the only Reploid in the world, he yearned for flesh and blood, just so he could fit in. He suffered in silence, but the pain lessened as Reploids went into mass production. And much like that time, X wondered why a human would bestow a robot with the ability generate such awful emotions. What use did isolation and despair have for him?
The picture of helping Zero from his capsule, healthy and alert, crumbled to pieces. X now envisioned Sigma pushing him aside to rip Zero from his cables and drag him off to a parts depot for disassembly. He imagined seeing the lab for the last time as he went back to his normal life, surrounded by the strange new faces of the Maverick Hunters. He thought of the dark and powerful loneliness that lay ahead of him.
"Pull the plug," X suddenly said.
"What?" Dr. Cain said, startled.
"It's clearly not working. We should stop this," X said firmly and coldly. "There's no point in making it suffer."
"'It'?" the doctor said, alarmed. "Now, now. This isn't over. We should give Zero some more time and-" the doctor began.
"No," X said, cutting him off while turning around to address the doctor. "I can't sit here and watch as he dies in agony, or see Sigma rip him away. We can't control what the virus does to Zero, but we can choose how this ends. Please."
Dr. Cain sighed. X also produced something unique to his kind, something no other Reploid could make: tears. Upon seeing X's tear-streaked face, the doctor deflated. Arguing against X's wishes seemed cruel and unreasonable now. X cared so deeply, and the doctor respected that about X. He considered X's authority over the well being of the red Maverick to be a given.
"I'll inform Sigma," Dr. Cain said.
"Wait. Don't tell him yet," X said, sniffling. "I am not ready to hear what he has to say."
Dr. Cain nodded, letting a corner of his lip curl up. "Me neither," he said. "If you're sure, I will begin disconnecting Zero from life support."
X nodded saying, "I'm sure."
Dr. Cain hovered back to his monitoring station. X turned his sights toward Zero, who slumbered with a sickly, oblivious expression. "I am so sorry," he said, kneeling down. "I promised you that things would get better. I promised, and I failed you."
Unable to maintain steady composure, X bowed his head and waited for Dr. Cain. After a moment at his station, Dr. Cain gave him the signal to terminate life support. With a deep breath, X rose to his feet and tapped the stop commands into the console beside Zero. The hum of the equipment and the warm glow of the stasis capsule circuits faded.
X could not watch as Zero's death darkened the room. Zero trusted X to help him, and instead he pulled the plug. His head spun, and he pushed himself away from the capsule. He crumpled to his knees and pressed his hands to his face. A silent sob wracked his body. The metal floor felt like ice beneath X's folded legs. He shivered, sensing that Zero was fast growing cold as well. Though he had been sure that ending Zero's suffering was the right thing to do, X was overcome by a growing tide of regret. X understood death and loss, but only as a serviceman in the anti-Maverick forces. He felt saddened for those killed in the line of duty, and compassion for the bereaved. Those instances never touched his heart, though. Not like this.
"I'm sorry," X breathed, bowing his head low toward Zero. Tears sprang from his eyes. "I'm so sorry!" he wailed. He balled his fists and struck the floor plating, the dull thuds resonating like bell tolls.
Dr. Cain's face fell, but he stayed silent. X pounded his fist again. He gritted his teeth and wished he could disappear.
Then, a peculiar sound reached his ears, as if a generator had been switched on. His eyes darted to Zero, whose eyes once again held a dim green flame of life.
"Doctor?" X called. He jumped to his feet, fighting the instinctive urge to train his buster on Zero. Nonetheless, he prepared himself for anything.
Dr. Cain studied the readouts before saying, "Don't panic, X. His reserve power core just kicked in, that's all."
X relaxed, but cocked his head slightly, awaiting further explanation.
"All Reploids, including you, have such emergency power cores. They kick in when vital systems undergo a severe power drain, or the main reactor gets knocked offline somehow. However, it is little more than a battery. Once it runs out, that's it."
X sighed and asked, "How long?"
"Zero's design is unique, but most Reploids' cores last only half a day at best."
"He'll cling to life with all he's got," X said glumly.
"I can probably find a way to shut that down, too," Dr. Cain offered.
"No," X said, wiping his eyes. "There's no need if he will be gone by the end of the day." He crossed over to Zero patted him lightly on the shoulder. In truth, X was wavering - he felt ashamed of himself knowing that Zero was still fighting. "But if you don't mind, I would like to remain here until the true end," X said.
"Of course," Dr. Cain said. "But don't you have training to attend?"
"I'm known to play hooky. If they want to find me, they can certainly try."
Dr. Cain smiled. They then worked together to refit Zero's armor and clean him up, after which Dr. Cain excused himself by claiming he had other work to do. X was grateful to be alone, yet the solitude made his inner thoughts especially loud.
He still could not explain his attachment to the red Maverick. The answer ran through his grasp like a handful of oil. Gathering up his composure, he seated himself next to Zero resting in the capsule, a faint glow in his eyes still smoldering. X studied him intently, imagining what it might be like if Zero were awake, healthy, and just a normal Reploid. X smiled, recalling how Zero had put him out of harms' way, and the unhesitating trust he had put in X. These events led X to believe that, without his Maverick programming, Zero could have been a kind and noble spirit. X wondered, too, if any Reploid could really be built as a pure Maverick, no matter what their human creators intend.
X's thoughts were like many trains all trying to stop at one station. Tears flooded his eyes once more when he heard Dr. Cain say, "I think you would have been good friends."