Me: Srry it took so long, guys. YAY! People favorited my story. Thanks ChaoCream for being my first reviewer and favoriter! And thanks to everyone who read my story. I didn't think it would turn out that good, but I feel a whole lot better now. (BTW love your repost list on your profile, ChaoCream. Wrking on going through them all)
Emma: Don't be so hard on yourself. It's not as bad as some of the things I've read. And don't forget, you've got your friends to help you make it better: me, Namikaze, Spazz, Zer_Wolf, and the whole Megaman crew.
Me: Speaking of which, where are those guys?
Emma: Well, remember when you went to get Spazz last chapter?
Me: Yay *sheepish look* got distracted with Megaman X7 hard mode (really hate Hyenard, I always mute my battle with him)
Emma: Well…
*in the distance*
Spazz: !
Zero: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! RUN AWAY!
X: Axl! Get that net ready, we gotta stop her!
Axl: X, she's a halo fan. A net's not gonna stop her.
X: But still, she gonna hurt Zero!
Axl: You're freaking out too much, uke.
X: I am no-… wait *confused look* what did you call me?
Axl: Nothing, just a title that fit you perfectly. Right, Nami? Emma?
Me: Yep
Emma: Absolutely
*Spazz catches Zero and glomps him*
Zero: GET HER OFF ME! PLEASE!
Emma: I think we should leave him there for a while.
Me: Agreed. Axl, would you do the honors?
Axl: Sure, HikariNami does not own anything in this story except the plotline, all things related to Megaman X are the property of Capcom.
Me: However, if I did own it, there would be a Megaman X9 and we would finally figure out what happened to Axl. WHAT DID THAT ******** LUMINE DO TO YOU? I really want to know.
Emma: It's okay. Let your imagination do the work.
X: *holds up one of my many notebooks* I don't think that's a good idea.
Emma: Who asked you, uke? Now on with the story while I pass out copies of the pictures taken from last chapter to all that read, with plushies going to the ones that reviewed.
A/N I rewrote this chapter several times before I got it right, cause its one of the torture Axl chapters. *cries* I feel so ashamed to be a fanfiction writer right now. And there will be some swearing, but we're all big girls and boys, we can handle a few simple curse words. And the rating is T…for now, maybe. Well, enjoy!
-IAMTHESEPARATIONBAR-LOVEME!-
Chapter 2: Tortured Soul
The final generator room they searched was the one farthest from the entrance and proved to be a successful find. Despite the darkness, the two reploids could see papers and boxes littered the floor as if a tornado had recently gone through the room. In the center of the large room sat a table, on the left wall was a line of computers, and several boxes and crates were situated on the right wall. The generator itself took up nearly the whole wall across from the door.
"There definitely seems to be something going on here," Zero commented walking up to the table to run his fingertips across it. "The place is abandoned, yet there's still energy going through this area an-"
The red reploid paused in his statement as he felt something sticky and slightly warm come in contact with the nerves in his hand. He lifted said appendage from where he had been swiping his fingertips across the table's surface. There on his glove, standing out heavily against its white material, was a thick liquidy red substance.
"X…" the swordsman said cautiously, motioning his partner over with his right hand, eyes fixated on his left. The blue bomber hurried to his side and caught sight of Zero's red-coated fingertips.
"What the… Zero, don't tell me that's…blood?"
"I'm afraid so. It's the same texture and smell. There's a more metallic scent to it, so it must be the synthetic blood of a reploid," Zero stated, a look of utter disgust on his face as he picked up a discarded rag to wipe his hand off with.
"There's so much of it," X commented, looking at the table's surface, switching his optic view to night vision, "A lot of it looks dry, but there's a fresh coat judging by your hand. When they abandoned their research here, do you think they turned this place into a…um."
The blue reploid gagged a bit and couldn't bring himself to it, but Zero knew what he was trying to say: torture chamber.
"It's possible. This much blood could only suggest something like that, because I don't think Red Alert is big on surgical procedures. Maybe something in here could give us a clue."
"Zero, what about that?"
The blonde raised his head to look where X was pointing. There was a laptop on top of a small table next to the generator that they hadn't noticed before. Next to it was a metal grey box that was bigger than Zero.
"What the hell is that thing?" he asked as the two approached it.
"The laptop's on, so maybe it can tell us," X said, as he began hacking into the laptop's systems.
"Just make sure you don't trip any alarms while you at it," Zero joked, which earned him a snort of amusement as they both knew that X was one of the top hackers in the Hunters and was unlikely to trip any security measures.
"It seems to be a record of different subjects, mostly pertaining to the status of a reploid. Energy levels, attack power, defense abilities, and speed that seem to be the condition of a single reploid. Then there's something labeled DNA data acquired."
Zero gave X a confused look, "DNA data acquired, what's that mean?"
"Probably means the core of a reploid. Most of the names listed are standard type reploids like Ruinsman, Runnerbomb, and others that are mass-produced."
"That makes sense but…" Zero once again paused, his attention focused on the metal box attached to the generator by several wires.
"What is it, Zero?" X whispered, thinking that an enemy was nearby, but his assumption was dissuaded by Zero's next statement.
"I thought I heard someone crying."
"Crying?"
Zero nodded. "Yea, it was faint, but it sounded as if it were coming from this crate over here. Think you can find a way to open it?" the red swordsman questioned as he approached said metal container to feel the edges for a manual way to access its interior.
"I'll see what I can do."
After several attempts, Zero gave up looking for an exterior switch and decided to go over to see how X was faring. However, as he turned to head to his comrade, he heard a triumphant, "Ah ha." come from the blue reploid's location.
"Got it?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.
X nodded before frowning, "I sure do, and it seems that crate is in fact a prison of sorts that disperses energy taken from the prisoner in large waves, which has the potential to attract virus-infected mechanaliods in the nearby area. I'm guessing we found what caused the power surge, cause there's a reploid energy signature emanating from inside."
Zero felt his jaw drop, then his eyes hardened, "Then let's gets them out before this madness continues. They're probably sick of being in the dark by now."
"Deactivating locks now."
A hiss echoed through the room as the pressure locks on the prison were released and a mechanical hum sounded as the front of the crate began to pull away, revealing the captive inside.
(A/N: I was debating a cliffy here, but then decided to be merciful. XD, but I did take a break here)(Beta: I would have killed you Nami if you did and Axl couldn't have protected you)
X and Zero peeked inside the box to see a whole mess of wires connecting the exterior walls to the reploid within. They watched as the cables disengaged themselves from the huddled form and retreated back into their compartments, allowing the hunters to see the reploid more clearly. It was a male reploid in civilian form (no armor) and wearing only a pair of navy blue boxer shorts. There was a black blindfold covering his eyes and his wrists were tied together by thick wire cables. His hair was pulled back into a spiky ponytail and looked brown, but it was difficult to tell because of the blood that was matted into it. He was in the fetal position and was curled as far away from the opening as possible. From their viewpoint, the two hunters could tell that he had been hurt extensively due to the amount of cuts and bruises on his body and the boy was even crying. His hiccups were nearly silent but were audible when he choked on a couple of sobs.
The two glanced at each other, unsure of how to approach the situation. Cautiously, X knelt in front of the boy and reached out to gently place his hand on his head. The body recoiled violently as a hoarse yelp came from the body. He curled tighter in on himself, shying away from what he believed would be a painful blow.
Seeing that touch wasn't going to help, X finally spoke, "Hey there, young one. There's no need to be afraid of us. We just want to help."
This got a more positive reaction. Bound arms relaxed from their defense stance in front of him and hidden eyes looked in the direction the voice had come from as a confused look appeared on the boy's face. That voice didn't belong to Anteater-sama, Red-sama, or any of his other masters. It was more kind and gentle then the harsher, more aggressive tones of his family members. Who was this person and why was he here?
"I'm going to take the blindfold off, but I need you to come forward a bit more so I can reach without hurting you too much, okay?"
Without hurting him? Why would this person not want to hurt him? Wasn't pain how one showed their affection? He had also done wrong by looking at Boarski-sama in the eye and being unable to answer Crowrang-sama's questions, so he deserved this punishment because he was unable to earn their proper love, didn't he? But if his family really loved him, why would they hurt him like this? And why did he feel like he could trust this kind voice?
"Are you okay, kid?" came a deep, but just as gentle voice.
The young reploid looked in the direction the new voice came from with a curious expression this time. There were two? What did they want? Why did they want to 'help' him? He was thinking too much again. Tonion-sama had said that if he thought too much, people wouldn't love him anymore and he would be abandoned. However, curiosity got the better of him as he slowly scooted forward towards the area the voices had come from.
"That's good. Now I'm going to take the blindfold off, okay?" the softer voice said as the youngest reploid felt two gloved hands reach around his head to the knot at the back. He flinched, fearing a punishing blow instead of a helping hand, but the hands stopped and didn't continue their task until his body relaxed a little.
"We are not going to hurt you, kid," Came the deeper voice again, "We just want to help, that I can promise you."
Those gentle hands untied the knot and carefully pulled the cloth away from the boy's eyes. He kept his eyes closed so as not to offend these new people (more than likely reploids but the sounds he heard and the gloved hands), just in case they turned out to be like those in his family, but instead he heard the breath of the two people catch once the cloth was removed. This startled the child. Had he done something wrong?
Suddenly, he felt fingers touch the bridge of his nose where he knew the center of his scar was, causing him to jump. However, like before, the fingers were gentle and made no indication that they were going to harm him. He heard the shuffling of armor and a light tap on the ground, which meant that the other had knelt too.
"Will you open your eyes, please?" the deep voice asked.
Why was he asking? Shouldn't he just command him to do so? That's what his family did. These reploids were completely different from Red-sama and the others. Just who were they? And why did he feel…content in their presence?
Deciding to stop his inner questioning, the boy slowly opened his eyes, revealing tear-stained, deep green eyes. Blinking to adjust his eyes to the dimly-lit room, the boy focused on the red and blue blobs in front of him. As his vision cleared, he began to make out the details on the two faces in front of him. Their expressions were one that he had not seen often. Sadness? No, it was a little more than that. Pain? Maybe, but they didn't seem injured at all. Concern? But why would they be concerned for him?
"It's you," The red one said, with an undertone of shock.
'They know me? How?' the boy thought, he couldn't remember ever seeing them before, so how did they know him?
Noticing his confused expression, X smiled gently at the slightly shivering, hiccuping body. "We met a couple of weeks ago, remember? You were with Red and he had you get the suitcase for him."
Focusing on the blue reploid's eyes, he felt a bit of recognition in his mind, but it was unclear. He remembered meeting two reploids on his last mission with Red-sama, but he never got a good look at them. Although, the green eyes he was staring into looked very familiar. Taking a deep breath, the boy prayed that he wouldn't get punished by these two for asking a few questions.
"Who are you?" asked a small, scratchy voice.
X and Zero were stunned. This boy didn't know who they were. Even newly activated reploids who were not programmed with the knowledge of the two S-class hunters knew about them within the first week or so of activation. Did Red Alert shelter this boy so much that he didn't even know he was in the presence of two of the greatest hunters in all reploid history?
Despite the boy's lack of knowledge, X couldn't help but smile. This child's will was strong, despite how broken his eyes were. He was always on guard and expected pain when someone was showing kindness, but he always gave someone a chance no matter who they were.
Looking at his red companion and meeting his icy blue gaze, X saw that the same endearing smile that was on his face was also on Zero's. This boy was innocent despite what was happening to him. He just needed someone to guide him back on the right path and help him heal. And the two of them felt that it was their job to do so.
"My name is X, and this is my partner Zero."
The child simply nodded, "It is nice to meet you, X-sama, Zero-sama."
The two smiled gently at him and chuckle lightly. It made him feel warm. They had not hurt him for looking them in the eye and did not seem offended when he asked questions and for not knowing who they were. This made him start to think: what was he supposed to believe? That affection was shown through kindness or through harshness?
"There is no need for honorifics, just call me X. Now why are you here, young one?" X asked.
"This is my punishment," The boy said quietly, tears that had stopped starting to gather in his eyes again.
Zero gave him a confused look, "Punishment for what?"
"I looked Boarski-sama in the eye when I'm not supposed to and I was unable to answer Crowrang-sama's questions. I was bad and they said that if I don't learn from my mistakes and do stuff for them, then they won't love me anymore and will abandon me."
"But how is torturing you and draining you of your energy showing you they love you?" Zero asked, clearly flabbergasted by the way Red Alert worked.
"They said they loved me and that that's how people show their affection, through punishment for wrongdoings. I've been doing bad lately so they've been upping my training to make me be good," Why did X-sama look like he was going to cry? And why did Zero-sama look so angry? Did he upset them with his answer? This was how everyone trained, wasn't it?
"That-that's how things go…isn't it?" The boy's voice had lost its carefree tone and was trembling in fear.
X was quick to calm the child, "No, no, sweetheart, you did nothing wrong."
The blue reploid reached out to comfort the boy, but those verdant eyes froze up in fear again before he curled back into a ball and began to whimper.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I won't ask any more questions. I'll be good. I promise."
This reaction shocked and enraged both hunters to the core. Those bastards had the boy associating pain with affection and were punishing the boy's curious nature. Just like a human child, this child had a natural curiosity, and Red was taking advantage of it to turn this kid into his puppet.
Lowering his hand, X called out to the young reploid, "I'm the one who should be sorry, young one. I frightened you and I am truly sorry for that. May you look at me again? There's something I would like to explain to you."
Slowly, the boy uncurled once more. His legs lowered so that he was sitting Indian style and his bound arms were lying on his crossed legs. Once the child returned his gaze towards the two hunters, X continued, "Young one, you have a naturally curious mind. That is something that you should not be ashamed of. It was Boarski, Crowrang, Red, and the others that have done wrong. Looking someone in the eye is not a bad thing. And being unable to answer a question just means that you must learn more so that you have the knowledge for another time."
Then Zero spoke up, "And pain is not how one's shows another that they care. Torment and fear are ways to dominant someone, not to show their affection. "
"B-but why would they lie to me? I thought they loved me," The scarred body was trembling, confused on what to believe. Then the dim light around him vanished as Zero had started to reach out to examine the cables on the bound wrists and he cowered into his defensive ball again. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't ask any more questions! I'll be good."
"Hey, hey, it's okay, kid. I'm not going to hurt you. Watch me, ok? I'll show you that we mean no harm," Zero said gently. When a terrified, tear-filled gaze met his, he carefully moved his hands to the bound wrists to grasp at the heavy cable there. "I can remove these if you want. They don't look very comfortable."
No pain? These people really didn't want to hurt him, just help him. Was all that Red-sama taught him just a lie? What was true and what wasn't? Maybe he could find the answers from X-sama and Zero-sama. They didn't punish him for asking questions like his family and they hadn't given him any reason to think that they were just using him. So maybe he could believe in them.
Holding out his wrists, the boy nodded to Zero, who took that as a sign to cut the ropes. He drew his saber and ignited the blade, but forgot to warn the boy of his actions. When he saw the bright green plasma blade extend from its hilt, the small reploid freaked and his body tensed, once again expecting pain.
X was quick to rectify the child's fears, "It's okay, young one. The ropes are really tough, so Zero's going to use his saber to cut through them. Just hold your wrists steady for him and he'll get the ropes off. Zero won't hurt you, he promised you that, didn't he?"
The boy nodded once more and braced himself, suddenly unsure of his decision to accept their help. With a quick flick of his wrist, Zero severed the cables and sheathed his sword. The young reploid looked at him in awe. He had never seen such swordsmanship. Not even Red-sama, with all his skills with his double-scythe, could have been able to do that.
Zero smirked, "Impressive, huh? I can teach you, if you want. That is, if you want to come with us."
X smiled and nodded in agreement. "We can help you and keep things like this from ever happening to you again."
The boy looked up in shock. Leave Red Alert and his family? Would that be right? Wouldn't he be punished severely for abandoning his family? But…was this really how family treated one another? Or was what X-sama and Zero-sama offering the real thing? The boy looked down in thought. He was thinking too much again, but…it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?
"O-ok. I'll…go with you," The child said hesitantly, still unsure if his decision was the right one.
X and Zero each held out a hand for the boy to take. With a large amount of hesitation, small hands grasped those of the hunters and the smaller reploid was carefully lifted out of the metal prison. The boy wobbled a bit, but stayed steady as small rivets of blood trickled from the cuts that had still not healed.
Suddenly, Zero chuckled, "You know, we're taking you home with us, but we don't even know your name, kid."
X smiled, "Doesn't matter, but we do need to know what to call you. You do have a name, don't you?"
The boy looked down at his clasped hands, studying his nearly purple wrists as he thought. What name should he give them? The name (more like title) that Red-sama and the others called him, or the one he knew was his real name. Do they care which name? No, X-sama said that they just needed a name to call him. He really liked his real name, but no one ever called him by it since Red-sama found him and asked the same question. Looking up with determined eyes, he decided to give these two reploids the name he wanted to be called.
"My name…is Axl."
-IAMTHEENDINGSEPARATIONBAR-LOVEMEMORE-
Me: O.o Holy mother of bacon, ten pages. This is the longest chapter I have ever written for ANY of my stories.
Emma: I'm impressed. See? I told you you could do it. Imagination is a powerful thing. Though I nearly cried. Poor Axl.
Me: Yep, nearly all of this chapter was freehand, so I am impressed with myself. Thanks for the support Emma.
Emma: No prob.
Me: *looks around* where are the others?
Emma: Well, Axl's eating ice cream, cake, and cookies to get over the fact that this chapter was really depressing to him. I don't blame him either.
Me: I know, I know. I was crying through most of it. It broke my heart doing this to my Axl. I SWEAR IT WILL GET BETTER AXL!
Axl: *in the distance* IT BETTER!
Me: And Axl's gonna have a major sugar rush later.
Emma: So true….why does that scare me…..
Me: Okay, so what about the other three?
Emma: Oh, them…well…*scratches back of head, laughing nervously* Spazz and X are having a tug-o-war contest…with Zero as the rope.
Me: ….
Emma: …
Me: And you're not recording it?
Emma: …*blushes* Forte's doing that for me.
Me: Oh, Forte's here now?
Emma: Yep! He got bored in his black hole so he decided to come see what the chaos was all about.
Me: So he's enjoying himself?
Emma: More or less. Haven't heard anythi-
Forte: *in the distance* WOOT! GO SPAZZ! BEAT THAT UKE AT HIS OWN GAME!
Zero: *also in the distance* OMG! STOP PULLING MY HAIR, WOMEN! X! LET GO BEFORE SHE RIPS MY HAIR OFF!
X: *in the distance as well* NOT GONNA HAPPEN! THIS FANGIRL NEEDS TO LEARN HER PLACE! AND IT'S NOT WITH YOU!
Spazz: *screaming so loud you can't tell if she's in the distance or not* MY ZERO! MINE! MIIIIIIINNNNNNNEEEEEEEEE!
*Emma and I look at each other*
Me: Shall we join?
Emma: Absolutely.
Me: Well, R&R please and I'll see you next chapter. LATER!
Emma: This view is golden. WHERE'S THE POPCORN, REZ?