"Hey X, your nerd show is on. Aren't you going to watch?" Axl calls, nestled cozily in X's couch. "Oh, this one is on some old 20XX tech archeological dig! It's right up your ally!"

X sighs, rubbing his face. "They're documentaries, Axl, and I can watch them later. I have reports to do, and so does Zero." He reminds the younger reploid sternly. "Rather, why are you in here? Isn't today your medical check up?"

"Exactly," Zero replies from behind his computer, having made himself comfortable in X's room for the long haul. "Since when does Axl ever make it on time to the check ups?"

"I do! Sometimes!" Axl complains without much conviction, his attention spit between the conversation and the documentary on the holo screen. "Man, that's some ugly work of architecture right there. Is that supposed to be a human skull?"

Zero nods absently. "Right." A pause. "X, do you remember why we ordered all those rubber balloons?"

"Simulation," X replies promptly, flipping through reports. "I've written it down somewhere – here. I'll send my narrative copy to you."

"Thanks," Zero grunts, only his shock of hair visible over the top of his screen.

Axl laughs. "Oh man, good times. I can't believe Signas agreed to that." The reploid sighs lost in memory. "The water balloons were the best part. I won so many bets – "

"Axl," X snaps. "Please. We're trying to work."

"Sooorry. I'll keep quiet. Promise." Axl adds, hands going up in a gesture of peace at X's glare.

There's a few seconds of blessed quiet (except for the easily ignored droning of the TV). X relaxes. Maybe he'll be able to get this done and watch the documentary online before the end of the night. It's just his luck that the official TV airing is on his most busy day, but –

There's a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Axl cries, jumping up from his seat.

X sighs. Mysteries of 20XX will have to wait until tomorrow. It'll take all of his focus to get even half the reports done at this rate.

"Hi Roll!" Axl greets, X's door swung completely open to the hallway. "What's up?"

Roll, dressed in full armor and a pin designating her role as part of the medical team, nods politely at all of them in turn. "Hello Axl. Lifesaver wants you down in Medical for a check up." She grins cheerily, a broom suspiciously in hand. "I'm here to escort you. I am authorized force should you resist."

Zero snorts, and then clams up when Roll's attention turns to him. The child adds, "Commander Zero, Lifesaver also wanted me to remind you that your next check up will be in approximately a week. Please be there on time."

There's something incredibly menacing about the way the small reploid holds her cleaning tool. Zero's face disappears completely behind his computer screen.

Axl hedges further back into the room in the meanwhile, using Zero as a distraction. It's a poor choice. Roll immediately zooms in on him, like a predator on a moving target.

Axl freezes. "I. Uh. Can it wait? I'm watching uh." The reploid looks desperately to X for help.

"Mysteries of 20XX," X supplies, grinning behind his hand.

"Yeah that!" Axl agrees, jumping on the chance. "I can't miss it, you know?"

But X isn't done yet. "It'll be available on the broadcaster's website by 1900 tonight. He can catch up later." He finishes, stifling laughter at Axl's betrayed expression. "Feel free to drag him down, Roll."

Roll salutes X. "Yessir!" She advances in on her hapless victim, broom bristles first. "Lifesaver will be very disappointed if we cannot keep to schedule, Axl. Don't struggle."

As Axl makes a break for it, Zero comments, "So that's the blunt force weapon she's used to, huh?"

X blinks, tearing his eyes away from the younger reploids. "What?" Roll certainly wields the household item with intent but it's hardly a weapon.

"Remember how I told you I had to train her out of old habits?" Zero says, "Like she used a dull physical weapon rather than a piercing one. I guess she must have used a broom."

X stares at Zero, then looks back at Roll, now triumphantly hogtying Axl to her weapon of choice. "Uh, right." He decides to agree. Zero's strange musing aside, X turns to address Roll. "Do you need any help, Roll?" Axl is larger than her, after all. Carting him down singlehandedly would be difficult for her stature.

Roll simply slings her makeshift rotisserie, victim and all, across a shoulder. "I'll be fine. I'll be sure to return him later."

"You can keep him." Zero suggests with feeling.

Outraged, Axl wiggles desperately against his bonds. They hold.

X is impressed despite himself. "Be careful in the halls."

Roll doesn't respond, eyes riveted on the holo TV screen.

"Roll?" X calls.

The child blinks and startles, coming back to herself. "Ah sorry. I'll be going now then. Have a good rest of the day." Roll bodes, and marches out, Axl in tow.

X and Zero stare after them bemused. "We'll finally get some peace and quiet, huh?" Zero comments, stretching his joints out. "I almost want to go down to Medical if it'll get me out of finishing these reports…."

"Don't say what you don't mean, Zero." X advises as he moves to turn the TV off.

The screen closes on a picture of a half buried chunk of curved metal: black, with an underside of gold, like the hood of a cobra.

-ooo-

As if to punish him, Lifesaver finishes with Axl almost last. It's dark by the time he's let free, and Axl shamelessly flees the repair bay, desperate to make as much distance between the medical officers as he can.

All the scans itch something fierce under his plates in a way he can't describe. Axl shudders.

But man, he's not going to go within a broom's width of Roll anytime soon. Under orders or not, the reploid's methods were brutal. Tying him up without leaving a single mark or dented plate – crazy.

Axl decides if he has to blame someone, it'd be X and Zero. They hadn't done a thing while he was being subdued! Absolute betrayal. There was a grudge to be repaid, yes. A few rounds of silly string surprise would do. Ooh. Maybe even as Signas –

"Bwurphl," Axl wheezes as he runs into something. Someone.

Metal clatters onto the ground, and Axl immediately goes to help pick things up. "Oh man, sorry. I wasn't looking where I was go… i…." Axl stares at the metal object he's just picked up. It's a leg. "GYAH!"

The body part goes flying through the air, and in a stunning display of athleticism, Rock jumps up to catch it before it flies past him. He lands, holding the leg piece, and he and Axl exchange startled looks. "A-Axl," Rock starts, a pile of miscellaneous limbs in his other arm, "Are you alright?" The child has no extra hands to help Axl up with.

(Or rather, he does. In his pile of limbs. Don't think, Axl.)

He gets up just fine. "I'm… I'm fine. I'm great! What are you doing with reploid body parts?" Axl asks, sentence eking out into a squeak. First the ghost, and now this. His processor can't take more of this kid.

"I'm doing some repairs." Rock says. The florescent light above the reploid casts harsh shadows across his bangs and onto his face. The child's backlighted eyes glow all the brighter for it.

Axl swallows thickly. "I… I see." He doesn't. Who's doing repairs at this time of night? The kid has the day shift. "Well, uh, I'll just be going then."

"Goodnight, Axl." Rock calls from behind him.

Axl kicks his dash into gear.

Man, Axl should have been around for when X had to cart around Zero's severed body parts. Good times.