Q&A Time!

I got a question on deviantART, so I'll copy it over and answer it here as well~

RSBCS: Nice work. Glad to see Axl is recovering after that hit Lumine gave him. But, didn't we see something in where he was struck that might suggest the Maverick did something to Axl? Well, either way, good to know the rookie hunter ain't down and out. But, what numbers was Professor Axiom talking to Signas about? Was it the number of new generation Reploids going Maverick because of Lumine and sigma's efforts?

There's a lot of story left (therefore, lots to spoil), but I will say I have not forgotten Axl's ending in X8. And you are mostly correct on your assumption there - Axiom and Signas were discussing the amount of New Generation Reploids produced, which is the total amount of potential Mavericks thanks to Lumine and Sigma. The war has just begun, after all.

Yes, I'm painfully slow at writing. No, Nighthawk, I'm not dead yet.

.: Prologue III :.

The past few days had passed by in a blur for Axl, with everything feeling more like a dream than reality. He remembered most of his time was spent being examined by the various researchers, and X and Zero visited him every day for a few hours. Everything he did up to that moment was confined to a recovery pod, but finally, after three days, he was allowed to walk around, and on his own, too… for the most part.

"Oi, keep up, will you? I have stuff I'd actually like to get to today!" A jade coloured reploid that he came to know as Delilah yelled at him from a good distance ahead. If she were walking any faster he would need to dash to keep up. "Honestly, I would be much better off working with the others trying to find out exactly why this disaster is happening, but no, I'm stuck babysitting… Why not let one of the assistants handle this? This stuff is nothing compared to what I should be doing."

Axl bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying something he would regret, and followed two steps behind her down the empty hallways until she stopped at a large door.

"Okay, here's the training lab where I'll be watching as you do a simple training exercise," she said, inputting a passcode to open the door. "Basic stuff, just hit the targets. They'll adjust their distance and movements as you hit or miss."

"Heh, this should be no problem."

"Good. The less problems you have, the sooner we can wrap this up, and I can get back to my own work." She pointed to the now open door. "Head on in, I just need a minute to set up. You'll know when the test begins."

Walking through the door, he was greeted with a familiar sight - a large, concrete room with high ceilings lined with projectors, and a glass window one floor up which housed the room's controls behind it. No matter where he was, the training rooms all looked the same.

A short while later, he watched as Delilah entered the control room, taking a seat. The door to the room shut, and a familiar hum started up as the projectors came to life, materializing a single bullseye target a fair distance away.

Heh, easy enough. A rookie could hit this!

He materialized a single gun, gripping it tightly as he focused on the solitary target. The necessary steps were second nature to him - focus, aim, fire. He had been doing it for as long as he could remember, under almost every circumstance he could think of. As a marksman, it was his job to do so. It felt odd to him that he was focusing on his target so intensely, but Signas was right when he said to take it slow.

Don't rush, get my bearings. Aim…

He pulled the trigger, a single gunshot ringing out as the bullet travelled straight and hit the target on the outside edge. Detecting the poor shot, the target readjusted the distance between itself and the shooter, moving closer to Axl.

He jumped a little, surprised his aim had been so off, but quickly shook it off. It was his first time shooting after a somewhat major injury, he just needed to get his bearings straight. Once again, he lined up his shot, taking more care in his aiming. Satisfied with his aim, he pulled the trigger again, once again only barely hitting the target, prompting it to move even closer.

What the..?

It didn't make sense. It didn't make any sense to him at all. His entire hunting career, no, his entire life, was centered around his sharpshooting eye, his ability to hit targets over long distances. But now he couldn't hit a target that might as well should have been right in front of his face.

What's wrong with me?

An echoing cackle interrupted his barrage of thoughts. At least, that's what he thought he heard. Looking around, he saw no one else, and Delilah was nose deep in her datapad, too busy scribbling notes to be doing much else. It wasn't her, it couldn't be her. It didn't even sound like her. Yet, it sounded familiar.

Was I… imagining things? Are my systems glitchy or something? It sounded so real…

He let out a long sigh, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. The target was very close now. He took aim again, trying to line up the shot, but couldn't. The gun felt heavy in his hand, and he could see he was shaking. Not willing to give up he used both hands to support his gun, reducing the shaking but it still felt like he was trying to hold up the world. His finger slipped, sending a bang echoing through the room, and the bullet missed its mark completely, ending the exercise.

Heh, what a joke. THIS is the kid who fought alongside with the legends? More like some tag-a-long leech.

The gun in his hands disappeared, and Axl let his arms fall to the side. His gaze fell to the floor. That voice in his head… It sounded so much like his own, but those words were ones he would never use. He was always such a cheery guy, never allowing such statements to get to him. He remembered way back when still in Red Alert, many had called him a leech and a useless pet because of his poor fighting skills, but he used those hurtful words to improve himself and prove to them he was worthy of being a member of such an elite bounty hunting group. And after he left, before he was finally granted the title of Maverick Hunter, all the scowls he received from actual Hunters as he took on missions as an outside affiliate, many of them with his heroes, X and Zero. He may have been unwelcome then, but he refused to give up on his dream, and was rewarded in the end with his current A-Rank.

Rewarded for hard work and perseverance, or given because of my abilities and status as a New Gen? I only did become a hunter after finding out what I was...

His voice echoed in his mind again, but those weren't his words… Or were they? They couldn't be, but could they?

What is wrong with me?

"Hey," a soft voice called from behind him.

Turning around quickly, Axl came face to face with the owner of the voice - a slate blue coloured reploid, their armour accented with silver stripes. Dark bangs hid their eyes, and the rest of their long hair was tied back with a white bow. The reploid looked familiar to him.

No, not familiar. They look a lot like me.

"H-hi," Axl stuttered out a forced greeting back.

The two stood in awkward silence for a minute that took an eternity to pass, before the newcomer spoke again.

"I couldn't help but notice you were having some issues. Are you feeling okay?"

So they saw that, too… "I'm fine. I just… I just need a moment to get my bearings again. It's been a while since I last had to do this…"

"Understandable, just take your time. I'm not sure what Delilah told you, but this is supposed to be more like physical therapy in a way - don't rush yourself, just focus on recalibrating yourself. You also don't have to worry about her breathing down your neck, I'm taking over so she can get back to her own work. I know she's rough around the edges, but that's only because she prefers doing... 'productive' work."

"Oh... Thanks."

"Not a problem, Axl." They held out a hand in greeting. "My name's Alpha, by the way, but just call me Alphie."

Alpha… wait a second. I've heard about you.

"So, you're the 'original prototype'. Well, that makes a lot more sense now." Axl muttered under his breath.

Alphie let out a small laugh. "Oh, good. Professor Axiom did tell you about me the last time you were here. Please, don't think anything different of me, I'm just Alphie."

That's right. The day I found out I was a New Generation Reploid, I was also told that I was built identical to Alpha, the original prototype, whose blueprint had been stolen after completion… But we're not completely the same. Heck, we don't look that similar after all. I came here hoping it would answer some questions I had about myself and my origins, but I just walked out with even more questions. Just my luck, I guess. But it's fine, because I'm me, not anyone else, and no past of mine will change who am I now.

"Axl, are you okay?"

He shook his head, clearing out his stray thoughts. "Sorry, zoned out for a second. Can you start the training program again? I'm ready to give it another go."

"All right then. Just give me a moment to set up," Alphie said, taking his leave from the room.

The second time around went much better. With the stress of expectations and time limits lifted off him, Axl found that his performance had improved. It wasn't perfect - he still missed an occasional shot here and there, but by the end the target had moved as far back as it could, and had reset itself as a moving target. Both himself and Alpie agreed to end it there, feeling exhausted from a good day's work.

The two passed through the lobby, running into X and Zero as they entered the Centre.

"Hey, Axl!" Zero waved to him.

"Ah, your friends, right?" Alphie asked. "I'll leave you to them. I have my own things I should be doing anyways."

"Okay," Axl nodded. "See you around, I guess."

Alphie nodded and walked away, while X and Zero walked up to Axl.

"It's good to see you up and about," Zero commented. "Should be ready for the frontlines soon, right?"

"Of course!" Axl said. "You two are late today, where have you been?"

"We had a important mission today," X started. "A group of New Gens went maverick and went on a rampage in a small town. We managed to take them out before anything serious happened."

"Aw, you guys are having fun without me!" Axl whined. "That's it, the next time you get called out, I'm going with you! Can't let you guys have fun busting mavericks without me!"

"Yeah, yeah, you need to get out of here first!" Zero exclaimed, firmly grabbing Axl's helmet and giving him a shake. "Once they say your head's on straight we'll be taking you out with us again."

"Don't worry, we're sure you'll be out of here soon. It feels weird not having the three of us working together on missions." X commented.

"Aw, X, you miss me!" Axl teased, punching him lightly in the arm. "You really miss me!"

"Yes, Axl. Yes I do."

Author's Notes: Wow, this chapter was done fast. Big shoutout to Dearest Friend Shinryuu Uroborus for helping me write this chapter. Seriously, this chapter wouldn't have been finished without her. Heck, this chapter wouldn't EXIST without her.

Anyone else feeling fluffy inside over X's change of heart with Axl? Because I sure do. The change between X7 and X8 was so heartwarming, it makes me melt every time I think about it.

Next time on Maverick Wars: the action commences as Chapter 1 begins! Will Axl be able to join in on the action, or will he be forever doomed as a horrible shot? Tune in to find out!