Relic from the seas

By

Dr Facer

-16-

The first thing Mega Man X did when his systems came back online was to perform a full self-diagnosis to make sure everything was running smoothly. The report he obtained this way indicated his optics had been replaced (not for the first time) as well as most of his wiring. His modern armor, the one he had requested before the seventh Maverick uprising, had been replaced completely and he now wore new parts identical to those he used to wear during the fifth and sixth rebellions. It could be far worse, he decided, and perhaps it was even time for him to go back to his standard armor.

Feeling glad his systems were fully operational and at 100% capacity, X finally opened his eyes, being greeted by the blue tinted glass of a recovery capsule. Unsurprising, as he knew he was still in the medical bay. He interfaced with the capsule and ordered it to open, which it did at once with a soft and mechanical hum.

That was when he saw her. Alia.

She was sitting on a chair next to his recovery capsule. She had leaned on a small table, her head resting over her forearms. He did a scan on her and noticed Alia's power core was at just 15%, which told him she had entered stasis to save energy. He got up and approached her, wondering why she was there. Did she stay by his side while he recharged? No, that was impossible, Alia wasn't irresponsible and she certainly wouldn't have spent the forty-eight hours it would have taken him to fully recharge after his extensive repairs sitting there looking after him.

But what if she had?

X realized he didn't know how to feel about that possibility. It certainly made him feel… strange, knowing that she appeared to care so much for him. But it was a good kind of strange; it made him feel… it made him feel good.

It was then he noticed she had his yellow scarf under her arms.

That detail made him remember Splash Woman. He hadn't visited her in at least three days, and he doubted she knew what happened to him in the Orbital Observatory, which meant she was probably worried about him as well.

He would have to go and see her later.

But before he did, he would thank Alia for everything.

"Alia," he called, placing his hand over her shoulder. "Can you hear me?"

She stirred and blinked a couple of times. "Who…?"

"It's me, Alia."

She looked up, still drowsy, her electronic brain struggling to catch up for a microsecond and then she was able to focus on the person next to her.

"X?" She asked, still not believing he was standing there, smiling and perfectly repaired. She had honestly feared he would never wake up, but now, seeing him in front of her alleviated all her fears, replacing them with a strong wave of relief that washed over her, filling her with warmth and happiness.

Alia stood up and reached for him, her right hand stopping just as it was about to touch his chest. She suddenly felt too nervous to move; would he feel uncomfortable if she touched him? She had never done that before, keeping their interactions strictly professional, but…

It was X who reached for her hand intertwined his fingers with hers. He smiled when she looked up at him with disbelief in her eyes. She felt light and hot as he held her hand. Was this supposed to make her feel this way? She didn't know but decided she didn't care. Because this was good, better than what she felt when Gate touched her. And to think X could make her feel something so strong just by holding her hand…

"Thank you for looking after me," he said then, pulling Alia out of her meditations. "Thank you for helping me, it is only because of you that I'm here right now. I owe you my life, Alia."

"But… you owe me nothing, X," she said, lost in the intensity of his eyes. "I… I would do everything for you, I…"

She couldn't say anymore, didn't dare to. Instead, she reached up with her left hand and placed it on his chest. She entertained the idea of touching his face then, but she also didn't dare to do something so bold and instead felt satisfied with what she was doing, amazed and glad that he didn't move away. Knowing that he accepted her touch was reassuring, and in that moment she felt everything was perfect in her life. The uncertainty she had been feeling since Splash Woman was reactivated vanished like a bad dream and, absorbed as she was in X's deep blues, all she could think about was how much she truly cared for him.

"You can tell me anything, Alia," X assured her. "Please go on."

"I love you," she thought. Taking in a deep breath to cool off her servomotors, she steeled her resolve to finally tell Mega Man X what she felt for him.

But she didn't get the chance to say those three words. The door behind her opened and Axl loudly marched in, followed by Zero, Layer and Pallette. To their credit, the two navigators went silent and became visibly uncomfortable once they understood what they had interrupted, but Zero and Axl simply started asking X questions about his recent fight with Dynamo.

"What's the deal with this Dynamo guy?" Axl asked, not noticing how close Alia and X had been standing together or the way she had quickly moved to one side. "I've only read about him in reports from the fifth and sixth rebellions, what's fighting him like?"

"Axl, give him some room," Zero chided. "I'm sure he'll tell us everything in a minute, and he better, because I'm still curious about how Dynamo used the Nightmare virus to power up."

"We're sorry for interrupting," Layer whispered to Alia, who had by then moved to where she and Pallette stood.

"We couldn't stop them. They rushed to the clinic as soon as the capsule reported to Control Room that Captain X had woken up," Pallette likewise muttered.

"It's unfortunate they were both there…" Layer lamented, still in a hushed tone.

"It's ok," Alia said with a sigh. She felt disappointed, but hoped the she and X would have some time alone again soon. Understanding this, she started paying attention to what X was telling his partners. "Besides, learning about what happened in the Orbital Observatory is more important."

Notes:

Thanks to Adam for beta reading duties.