Yet again, Zack found himself separating from the main group, this time heading to the Armory to blow off some steam. Right now, he wanted to be as far away as possible from the look Cody had on his face…and the fact that it seemed there was absolutely nothing he could do to take it off.

Leaving him with Bailey had been sort of a knee-jerk decision, but he didn't really regret it. After all, aside from their bizarre habit of breaking up about every 30 minutes or so in different parts of the world (that last part being a luxury that the "School at Sea" program they were all a part of afforded them), the two were pretty much inseparable. True, their "intellectually stimulating conversations" should be classified as a form of torture, watching them play chess was a pretty good cure for insomnia, and their lovey-dovey stuff made him want to hurl over the side of the boat every time, but…

...compared to this, though, he'd sit through it all day, every day.

As for what he was doing now, through some creativity on his part (pretty much involving semi-randomly hitting buttons on futuristic-looking computers until something good happened), he'd stumbled upon what he thought was the "training dummy" setting. It sure looked like it, judging by the results.

He'd just gotten through experimenting with his new "Stag Rush" ability (it was really wierd grabbing things with your head…) A voice stopped him.

"Well then, can't say I've seen that one before."

He didn't catch who the owner of the voice was first, and, assuming it was his so-called "mentor", was about to tell him precisely where to shove that glowing green toothpick of his, the dummies deactivated and disappeared, leaving him alone with a person he barely recognized.

It was a dark-colored reploid, but it wasn't Axl or Black. His more laid-back disposition and overall "military general" theming said as much.

"You're… Wait, who are you, again?"

He chuckled easily. "I'm not surprised you don't remember me, Zack. I'm Signas. I watched you guys wake up when you first got here."

The boy relaxed, but raised an eyebrow. "…and where have you been, exactly?"

"Around," he answered simply. "I'm technically a Gerneral by rank, although practically speaking, I don't need to keep too close of an eye on X and Zero. They've saved the world countless times, even before I ever signed on. As for Axl…"

The man chuckled again. "…well, he's an interesting story all his own. Anyway, I was keeping tabs on things, and was kind of curious as to where you were."

The twin was skeptical. "Really…?"

Sighing, Signas shook his head, still smiling, though now a little guiltily. "Okay, you got me. Alia was wondering where you ran off to."

The darker red reploid sighed heavily. "If she's expecting me to just 'kiss and make up' with Zero…"

"Nobody was expecting that," he walked closer until he was face to face with the boy. "That said, you realize that we all have to work with people we don't like, right? Believe it or not, there was a time that X of all people didn't like Axl."

It took Zack a second to remember who he was talking about. He had been so focused on the blue and red Hunter that the third barely came up in his mind. He had been paired with London, right?

He shook his head. Regardless, he knew, he couldn't just hide here. Not with his brother taking this the way he was. Not when he actually needed him for once.

"I'm coming," he finally said emotionlessly.

Signas, probably knowing that he wasn't completely sold on his little talk, added, "You know, you might discover that Zero isn't such a bad guy after all…"

Doubt it, the boy thought as he followed the general.

--BREAK--

X paced and paced outside of the Repair Bay as he half-listened to Bailey try to comfort her boyfriend.

What could he say to this? This wasn't merely a random rookie Hunter who was built and/or signed up for this here: this was a teenager, a child.

A child who just had his worldview figuratively blown to pieces right in front of him.

One that had been terrifyingly similar to that of himself and his creator…

How long had it been since he felt that way? Had years upon years of fighting Mavericks of all shapes and sizes sanded away his dreams and left him adrift in apathy?

No, he reminded himself. He still believed in Dr. Light's dream, of humans and robot (or more accurately, reploid) coexistence. It's what kept him fighting this far regardless of the cost, of the sacrifices he had to make along the way.

Likewise, he needed to give this human-turned-reploid something to fight for.

Carefully making his way in the room, he calmly had Bailey step out of it so that he could speak with the newly revitalized boy.

Cody barely made eye contact with X, possibly out of shame. "Hey."

Though this was a verbal response (a welcome change from earlier), it was distressingly quiet and clipped compared to the inquisitivity he displayed upon his arrival, or even through that last mission.

Thinking quickly, the Azure Hunter threw something in. "You… You did a good job."

He clearly hadn't expected that. "Excuse me?"

"You managed to keep up wth me, of all Hunters. That's no easy feat, even for most New Generation Reploids."

No response for a beat. Then… "Doesn't matter if I don't have the 'killer instinct' to finish the job."

Boomer's words were clearly still having an effect on him. "Remember, Cody, he was a Maverick…"

"That doesn't mean he was wrong. I couldn't finish the job. If you weren't there…"

"…but I was," X lightly inerrupted. "…and so are your friends, whether that be Zack, Bailey, and even that London girl. You're not as alone as you seem to think."

He seemed to be thinking it over. "I... I suppose…"

"Hang in there. We'll all do our best to resolve this and find a way to get you home. Understand?"

"…okay." It wasn't an overly enthusiastic response, but it was enough to keep him moving forward…for now, at least.

--BREAK--

What X didn't expect to find on his way back was a certain blue-haired girl, who clearly looked as if wanted to ask him something.

"Hey… Sapphira, is it? What's up?"

She looked like she was debating just what to say for a moment. "Um… It must be hard being a Maverick Hunter, isn't it?"

He looked back at the Repair Bay before answering honestly. "Sometimes. But it's important and necessary work all the same."

"Hmm…"

"What?" The Azure Hunter asked curiously.

"It's just that… All the fighting you guys do doesn't seem to really fix anything. It seems like there's always another group of Mavericks out there."

"Huh?"

"I've been…studying up as we've been going along via the Base's records. Ever since Sigma first attempted to wipe out mankind, there's been constant fighting. He's tried to destroy everyone several times."

"He's long gone now, don't worry," X said, though he wondered internally at the validity of his answer. His last fight with the Hunters on the moon had apparently silenced him for good, though given the bald madman's habit of resurrection, X couldn't entirely rule out yet another return.

"Different groups, such as the Repliforce and Red Alert, get branded as Mavericks too…"

"The situation with the Repliforce was some sticky political matter that I barely even remember at this point. As for Red Alert, they were essentially unsanctioned vigilantes. They muddied the waters for anyone looking for the real Hunters. We simply couldn't have them just running around like that. Both situations were only aggravated once Sigma got involved..."

"Still," The blue-haired, tanned young woman sighed. "The truth remains that this keeps happening, and innocent people get hurt…"

There was a look that the girl gave X and a tone with which she said that that raised a flag in his head. It felt almost…oddly personal, as of she had been speaking from some sort of experience.

Before he could act on the sense, however, the girl's expression immediately grew more pleasant, as if hiding her lapse.

"Sorry if I'm bringing you down even more, X. I'm just…surprised that the world's been through what it has."

"I'll admit that it doesn't feel like it at times, but we're making progress. At least one of the biggest threats is ancient history, and RD teams all over the world are working around the clock to find a cure for the Maverick Virus. Until then, I'll gladly accept the help of reploids like yourself. Let's try and stop these incidents before they start."

"Agreed," the two shook hands, each of them carefully filing this conversation away in the back of their minds.