A/N: This chapter is a little shorter, but it was originally part of the last one. I decided to cut it out and expand on it a little. Random title because I don't know. Wee!
Thanks to user Hibary-Hiwatari for letting me know that their location was a little unclear. They are at Dr. Cain's house. I added more to the beginning to help clarify this! Thank you again!
In seeing X's transformed body over video call, Dr. Cain invited X and Zero to his home in Abel City.
"I would come to headquarters, but I'm afraid my constitution isn't up for it," he explained.
Sigma granted X and Zero approval to use a couple of ride chasers- in exchange for any new information Dr. Cain reached about X's condition.
"I don't want to share anything about me with Sigma," X said as they approached Dr. Cain's manor.
"Then we won't," Zero replied.
"We can't ignore orders."
"We'll just say we didn't learn anything new." Zero chuckled. "Relax. You don't have to think about that stuff right now."
Dr. Cain's manor rose high out of a grassy lawn. The structure appeared part laboratory, part residence: the solid marble of its exterior made it seem more like an institution, yet the tall crystal panels that wrapped its exterior gave it an elegance beyond mere functionality. The main double-door was two such crystal panels. As they approached the door, a security camera descended from a narrow cut in the trim. The camera floated back and forth between the two Hunters.
A voice said, "Welcome! Come in!"
X heard the door unlatch and the panels slid apart.
"Come! Come!" On his hoverchair, the doctor met them at the threshold. "Good gracious, X. Your condition looks far more striking in person."
"Thank you for making time for this," X said.
"For you, it's no trouble at all," Dr. Cain replied, ushering them to his laboratory.
However, it did not take long before Dr. Cain pinched the bridge of his nose, perplexed. He squinted at the diagnostic data scrolling down the screen. The data was being fed directly from X, who was laying down next to Dr. Cain with wires and cables plugged into his back and connecting him to the computer.
"X, I'm not sure what you were expecting exactly, because all I can determine is what you already know. You have an incredible ability that until now, no one could have known about except for your creator," the doctor said.
Zero huffed. He hovered over X's supine form, watching the doctor as he made sense of the data stream. He said, "Is there really nothing more you can tell us? X looked like he was about to destroy the entire test wing." Zero reached out and put a gentle hand on X's red crystal. "Everyone was spooked."
X looked up at Zero. "Everyone?"
Zero said, "I thought it was a little scary. Terrifying, actually, if only because I didn't know what was going to happen to you."
X smiled. He felt so glad Zero stood beside him through this. He did not want to imagine facing this alone.
Dr. Cain's voice cut in, speaking as though he had not been paying attention. "The data you downloaded from Longhorn and Scorpion is showing as written in permanent memory, but in storage that is separated from your conscious memory, that is memories that you are able to purposefully recall as sights, sounds, ecetera. This kind of memory is what we humans might call subconscious," he said.
"If I can't consciously control this memory, then how do I get back to normal?" X asked.
Dr. Cain leaned back, stroking his beard in thought. He said, "I'm not certain. Perhaps you will revert back after a period of time? Or perhaps there is a trigger? Or you have to download new default data from a Reploid who's not as specialized?"
"Maybe try recalling your normal form," Zero suggested.
Dr. Cain shrugged and said, "Might as well try everything we can think of, starting with the simplest."
X glanced at Zero before glancing back to Dr. Cain, who were both looking at him expectantly. X then brought his head back and closed his eyes. He relaxed, clearing his mind except for the image of his normal blue form. He thought of the way his armored legs looked, the shell of his chest and shoulder caps, the cylinder of his buster arm. Soon he felt nothing, heard nothing as though he were asleep.
His eyes then snapped open and he said, "I don't think it's working."
"Well," Dr. Cain said. "I suppose it would be a little too simple if you could merely will it away."
"Maybe there's a toggle on you somewhere," Zero suggested, poking his helmet.
"What? I'm not a vacuum cleaner, Zero," X said, batting him away.
Zero appeared to not have heard X as he fixated on X's buster arm. He raised a finger and started poking it.
"Stop," X demanded, yanking his buster arm away from him.
"Maybe your sensor crystal has something to do with it?" Zero said, leaning over to examine it closely. "It shone brighter than any of your other parts while you were transforming."
"You have no idea what you're doing," X said, now completely annoyed.
"I think that was a reaction to the incredible amount of data flowing into him. The energy required to process it all without causing irreparable system damage would have been immense. Great surges of heat and light were probably generated as a result of his body working to disperse that energy" Dr. Cain said. He turned away from the console and wheeled himself over to X. "Just remarkable."
"Yes, but that has nothing to do with getting my body back."
"Fair enough. I've been thinking, though, that you ability to transform explain why your nanomachines are so unique, and why I have not been able to replicate them. They must be the key facilitators of your transformation. The unique specs you receive from another Reploid is interpreted by your processors, and your nanomachines use that interpretation to then reshape your body to fit the information. Why, the possibilities for you are as limitless as the number of Reploids on Earth."
"So?" X said.
"So," Cain hesitated. "So somehow, your nanomachines need a command to begin reassembling *your* original specs."
X sighed. "I just tried thinking about my own form and that didn't work."
"Perhaps you don't need to imagine it as much as you need to command it," Dr. Cain replied.
X closed his eyes again. As suggested, X mentally demanded himself to transform. Suddenly, X's eyes popped open and became glassy.
"X?" Zero said, waving a hand in front of his face. X remained still. Then, as with his previous transformations, his armor began to glow in a radiant blue light. Zero and Dr. Cain stepped back in amazement. A few seconds elapsed, and the glow was replaced with a solid blue. Finally, X blinked, shaking his head.
"What happened?" Dr. Cain asked him.
X looked down to check that he had reverted to his original form. He raised his buster arm and looked to see that it had also returned to normal. He said, "I didn't so much think the command as much as felt it. I felt my choice of program to run. Doctor, all of this is so unsettling."
Dr. Cain said, "I wish I knew how to advise you, my dear boy. What I just witnessed has reminded me of how little I truly know about you." He then smiled and said, "One thing I do know, however, is that your system integrity is strong enough to carry this power, and that you are not corrupted by it. There is no sign of any instability."
X said, "That's my worry, doctor. Although you say they are a part of my subconscious, I can still recall their designs and specs as if they were my own." X then closed his eyes again, and thought of Longhorn and his shape. X could almost feel himself merge with the image. "I want them deleted. It's not right for me to carry around these stolen abilities when I have no use for them. Especially when they're-" X paused. His face fell.
Dr. Cain knitted his brow. Zero turned to him and said, "Sigma ordered them disposed of. Permanently."
"What! Despicable!" Dr. Cain said. "What madness!"
Zero turned back to X and said, "Your 'borrowed' abilities protected you when you were desperate, didn't they?" Zero said. "Imagine what they could do against Mavericks."
"No!" X vigorously shook his head. "I don't care. These don't belong to me, Zero. I cannot hold onto them just for my purposes. The power is too much. What if the other officers see me? What if they see me at the training grounds using their late comrades' abilities as I please? It makes me sick to think about."
Zero nodded. "I understand. I think that you could be throwing away something useful, but I do see your point. Maybe it is better that you only use your borrowing ability on actual Mavericks."
Dr. Cain smiled. He said, "Your decision is admirable, X. I will be happy to honor it."
The doctor moved between consoles, inputting commands. They took several minutes to configure. The doctor estimated anywhere between a half an hour to several hours for the data to be scrubbed from X's memory. As he finished calibrating his equipment for the procedure, he said, "We have to be sure nothing is left behind that could cause any glitches."
"I understand," X said. He looked to Zero and said, "Since it may be a wait, you don't have to stay if you don't want to."
"What I want is to be sure you can walk out of here on your own. I'm staying," Zero told him.
"Alright," Dr. Cain said. "We're ready to begin."
X nodded, and the doctor pressed a key on the console. X felt a mild jolt, then a gentle pulling sensation at the back of his head. "I'm okay," X said.
"Good." The doctor came over next to X and patted him gently on the arm. He looked between him and Zero and said, "Zero, will you watch him? I just remembered that I have some correspondence I need to catch up on."
"Huh?" X said. "You're leaving?"
"I won't be far. Zero can come get me in case anything happens."
"Not a problem," Zero said.
Dr. Cain's lips curled, smiling as though he knew something they did not. He bid them goodbye and left the lab, leaving X alone with Zero. An awkward silence hung in the air as data flickered and flashed across the computer screens nearby.
"So," X said, thumbing his fingers. "I guess I didn't make A Class."
"Yeah you did. Even if Sigma won't admit it."
X looked up sharply at Zero, then dropped his eyes. "It doesn't really matter then, does it?"
Zero frowned. "You're so hard on yourself."
"Sorry."
Zero bent down. Now eye level with X, he said, "What's wrong?"
"I really didn't want to hurt them." X looked down at his hands.
Zero put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I don't know. But," he paused. "But you knew the odds, and you didn't back down. I'm proud of you."
X smiled at him. "Thanks." He sighed. "I know I don't show it well, but I'm really glad you're here."
He froze in shock when he felt Zero lean forward. He came face-to-face with Zero's breastplate and felt a gentle pressure on his head where the latter kissed him.
"Zero?" X sputtered, his voice cracking. He felt his systems race, and his cheeks flush.
Zero let go of him and straightened. He knitted his brow and said, "What? You look terrified."
"You, um, I-," X started. He could not meet Zero's eyes. "I just never had anyone do that before."
Zero chuckled. "You're cute."
X chuckled, too, though more from embarrassment. Embarrassment about his reaction, but also about the unmitigated bliss he felt well up inside him. Zero turned to a nearby lab table and hoisted himself up to sit. A single word sprung to X's mind as he watched Zero's blonde hair settle around him: perfection.