X and Palette's return to the Base was about as quiet as could be, and appropriately so, as neither of them wanted to mention what they'd just come from. Only Alia had been up, clearly having been waiting for him.

It was easy to read the various emotions the reploid woman cycled through. Shock, terror, sadness…

Acceptance.

She often went through this roller coaster every time the Hunters, especially the three she knew so well, went out on missions that were particularly rough.

Only this time was worse.

X quietly handed the unconscious body of Layer to her, who took her to the Med Bay as he and Palette brought up the rear.

The navigator had taken a glance at Palette, who had stayed silent while nursing her broken hand.

Did she even want to know?

The staff got to work on both of them as soon as the two patients hit their desk.

After waving Palette goodbye, X stepped out to let them do their job. Alia followed.

"Do you want to talk about it, X?"

He shook his head almost instantly. "I... I need to think..."

"…about how to explain this to them?" She was clearly referring to the teens.

X didn't speak for what seemed like an eternity. Then he floated a question by her.

"What do I tell them?"

"The truth," she would reluctantly answer after a moment. Think about it, X. Just in the few days since they got here, they've grown exponentially from where they were. Considering what they've been through, it's getting pretty hard to call them kids anymore."

The Hunter understood this, but also couldn't imagine them being able to comprehend what he had had to do (he knew he wouldn't be able to look at himself for quite a while after this).

"I'll tell them what they need to know."

"Don't withhold anything unnecessarily. Those four are your comrades. Remember that."

She knew the Blue Bomber's penchant for subtly redefining what "need to know" meant when it came to talking to the press or new recruits...

That was often when Zero had to step in with a painful dose of reality.

Speaking of which…

"Is Zero up?"

Alia shook her head. "He came back from his mission and went right to his swordplay for the rest of the night before turning in. He didn't look happy."

"That bad, huh?"

"Afraid so," she trailed off. The two walked in silence until they made it to X's room. Alia put a hand of comfort on his back, him turning to see her give a small smile.

"Whatever you did, whatever you had to do back there, you're still a hero."

I wish I could believe that, he thought, but didn't dare alarm her (and earn a lecture as well) by voicing it. Instead, he thanked her for the company with a smile of his own that he hoped looked convincing. She didn't look like she bought it, but also chose not to pry.

"Good night, X."

"You too, Alia."

With that, the two went to turn in.

-000-

The next morning…

The four teens were woken up pretty early to report to the Navigation Room. So early, in fact, that complaints about the time flowed very naturally from London's mouth, as if they came as naturally to her as breathing (which actually wasn't far from the truth).

"Shut your mouth," Zero coldly ordered, his glare compelling her to comply. Axl and Alia were there waiting, too.

With everyone accounted for and silenced, X finally felt it right to begin.

"Now then, you're probably wondering just where I was last night…"

He went on to briefly explain what went on at Point Oasis…up to the point where he had to talk about the damage he caused.

"X…" Alia warned upon realizing he was dancing around it.

After a period of silence, he forced out the truth.

"The workers there went Maverick, and I was forced to defend myself…there were casualties."

The boyfriend and girlfriend let the horror of that statement sink in.

The other girl of the quartet barely got to open her mouth before clarification was given by Alia.

"He had to kill them to protect himself."

She fell silent and froze, and not just from the shock of never even being able to imagine something like that in her life.

Could…could he do that to her?

The blue Hunter hurried to his next point. "Eventually, me and Palette found the one who's likely behind all of this: a Maverick named—"

As if on cue, Alia answered the all-too-familiar tones that heralded an incoming transmission.

A face that was unknown to almost everyone, that of a silver, white, and gold reploid.

One that X and London in particular knew very well.

"Good morning, Hunters."

His tone was equal parts grandiose and unbothered.

"You." Almost as if they were the identical twins, the eldest girl and the Azure Hunter gritted out their "greeting" near-simultaneously.

"Did you sleep well? I know I did…" He seemed to be leering right at the two specifically with that statement.

X was the first to really speak. "What do you want, Lucien?"

"Nothing, really, except to greet you denizens of the Old World. So, have you told them about your recent, er, exploits? On second thought, I'd hesitate to call you a mass murderer, as you were simply defending yourself, as you always are, right, X?"

"Shut your mouth, Maverick!" Alia was rarely this irate. "He's bled and cried for every single Reploid he's ever had to aim his Buster at. Yet he keeps fighting for a future where we can all live in harmony with humans. He isn't perfect, sure, but he's doing a heck of a job putting freaks like you away!"

"Pretty impressive amount of moral grandstanding coming from a killer, eh, Alia?"

Lucien seemed to light up with sadistic glee as the blonde shrank away in her chair. "I'm not a murderer…"

"Blizzard Wolfang would disagree..."

Her unwitting hand in the conspiracy that ended his life initially was one of her darkest memories that she tried to suppress to this day.

"…and so would Gate. In fact…"

He motioned towards someone offscreen. It was then that a recolored, yet very recognizable helmet crest came into view.

"Long time no see, X, Zero…Alia." The former two gritted their teeth at the sight of yet another returning adversary, while their Navigator was busy being gingerly talked to by the two others who had walked in. Lucien took notice of this. "How are you healing, girls?"

Layer and Palette paid him no mind as they tended to their hurting friend. Eventually, coming to a decision, they would take Alia out of the room only to come back alone, cold resolution in their stares.

"I do look forward to our reunion." With a bow, the lightly British-accented reploid walked back out of frame.

Zero's voice was a dangerous growl, his body tensed and ready for action as he spoke for the first time. "Where are you hiding, Maverick? Because the more you run your mouth, the more I want to cut it off before shredding the rest of you."

Said Maverick smiled in a creepily pleasant manner as he regarded him specifically. "And why would I tell you that, Zero? I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, after all…" Then the grin turned sinister. "Besides, if I want to do that, I'll have to get in line. Isn't that right…Colonel?"

Then, a very militaristically styled reploid with more of the same silver and gold paint job walked in, arms crossed. Despite this, it was blatantly obvious who it was, like it or not.

"Interesting little reproduction you've got there, but can it talk?"

X, having known his partner for decades at this point, picked up on the subtle nervous uptick in his voice despite his words. He was terrified, but if there was one motto he had learned to live by, it was to never let it be visible.

Never let the enemy see your fear.

Then the reproduction talked.

"My, my, Zero. Haven't we grown cynical over the years? Not that me or my sister would understand how much time has really passed… Isn't that right, Iris?"

The icy tension in the room wasn't lost on the teens. What was so important about her?

"Hey there, Zee-Zee!" The dark-toned girl sporting a dress-like armor and beret as well as an Australian accent to match her brother's greeted him as if nothing was wrong.

"Oh, no," X mumbled, eyes wide.

"Doesn't that sound like a pet name to you?" Cody whispered to his girlfriend. She nodded uncomfortably.

Zero couldn't quite process what he was seeing. This was something out of more than a few of his worst nightmares. "N-No. You're dead..."

"No thanks to you." He got the briefest of death glares and a twitch from her before her sunny disposition returned. "But Master Lucien gave us new life and power. Now we're fighting for the New World!"

"Naturally, this means we find ourselves on opposing sides once again, Zero."

The man tipped his hatlike headpiece to him before leaving with his sister in tow. She got the last word.

"See you soon, Zee-Zee!"

Lucien stepped back in. "Now, I'm on a schedule, so I'll leave the Prototype's trip down memory lane for later. The girl…well…"

Said girl cringed in horror, knowing full well that he'd already been inside her mind.

"While you wait your turn, why don't you ask the number of people here who actually have a brain in their head what the word 'illegitimate' means… That is, unless you already know, Freak."

Every one of the Hunters looked on as London looked as if she had been punched in the stomach before she ran off in tears (or as close as she could get as she was).

Bailey was quick to run after her, and her boyfriend almost followed after her until…

"Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast… Codester."

Upon hearing Zack's personal nickname for him that he'd been using since kindergarten, the taller twin turned back to the Maverick with a rage he'd never felt before. "What did you just call me…?"

"You aren't deaf, are you?" He rolled his eyes before continuing. "Anyhow, I know where a certain someone is. Tell me, did X get to this part during your little briefing?"

Instantly, he transformed into a near-perfect copy of…

…Of Zack.

Cody was about as pacifistic as it got, as his brother would attest to (and tease him for), making it all the more shocking when he lunged forward, as if to hurt his tormentor through the screen. It was actually a bit of a challenge to restrain him, but the mentoring Hunters managed.

Finally giving up on the attack, he spat at Lucien in what could only be described as an angry, broken hiss, "You don't deserve to wear his face!"

He transformed back. "Deserve, hm? That's a funny word. He doesn't seem to mind, considering he didn't think he deserved anything."

With a snap, the very thing Cody Martin feared was thrown right in his face.

His rowdy, womanizing, scheming, sometimes bratty, but ultimately fun-loving, loyal, and big-hearted (even if only in his own way) big brother, his twin, was a shell of his former self, to say the least.

A seeker and thinner armor with Lucien's colors encased him, matching his cold, apathetic machine-like eyes. He somehow managed to look much deader than he had for the past month.

No joy, no sadness, no anger. There was just…nothing.

And that's what sapped away any remnants of rage that the boy had burning within and replaced it with nothing but sadness and longing.

"Of course," Lucien interjected, prompting the boy to look up from his despair. "Should you make your way alone to the coordinates I send you, you might just be able to save him."

"This is a trap," X noted, unsurprised.

"Maybe so, but you never know. I could just get bored and get rid of him. Same as what would happen if I were to detect anyone but him at said coordinates."

The light blue Hunter growled but said nothing.

"Anyway, look for many more surprises in the near-future. Until then…"

The transmission ended then and there.

Cody instantly began taking steps towards the teleporter.

"I'll go."

"But-" X was about to try to talk him out of it, but seeing resolve in his eyes that mirrored his own changed his mind.

This was his fight.

Silently, he typed in the given coordinates and warped away.

-000-

London was still crying when Bailey got to her room. She was aware that that Lucien character was probably still trying to mess with Cody's head. If only she could be in two places at once...

"What do you want? Go away..."

The heiress's voice was a feeble, quiet interjection between sobs. She was curled up in a ball in a corner of the room but seemed to notice her immediately.

As she tried sitting next to her, Bailey was wracking her brain trying to figure out what to say to her friend when she realized something.

"London," the farm girl started, treading as carefully as she could. "You don't happen to know what the word 'illegitimate' actually means, do you?"

She mumbled something hostile and scooted away from her. Her actions spoke louder than anything she could've said.

"I don't care. You're still my friend."

London didn't reply, but didn't move away either.

"Does Mr. Moseby know?"

After a moment of deliberation, she mumbled an answer.

"Probably."

"Oh."

To be honest, the brunette was at a loss at how to continue. Time from being her unwitting pack-mule had shown her just how stubborn the Asian girl could be, and right now, she simply did not want to talk. Then she did.

"Go meet up with the Hunters. Check on Cody. He needs you."

"But what about...?"

"That wasn't a request," she snapped at her in a harsh tone much more in line with her usual self, particularly when she was annoyed, with her accompanying glare helping her get her point across.

"All...all right."

As the girl left, she didn't see London's expression melt into a softer, more appreciative one.

Maybe she would understand after all...

It wouldn't be long before Bailey and London both would learn of her boyfriend's disappearance to a set of unknown coordinates...

-TBC-

We've hit a "turning point" in the story as the title implies here. Things get pretty personal (outside of just Zack) and it'll go much deeper than just Lucien's jabs from here on out, so get ready! Next time, Cody's rescue mission begins!

On your way out the door, be sure to ask questions, comment, review and show your support in any way available if you liked what you've read here. Also, keep tabs on this story and profile for more. Goodbye until next time!