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The Dream Machine Chapter 16: A Lost Friend For what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Sky stared wordlessly at who she thought she knew as the Legendary B-Class Hunter X. Although she would have to confess she didn’t know him long, from the accounts of the other Hunters, and the ones from the people he managed to save during the Maverick Wars, she thought he was deep down a good person. Her hopes of repairing X and bringing him back to the side of the Hunters was always in her mind…but now… “Are you…completely mad…?” She searched deep in his gaze, trying to find any sign of doubt in his eyes. “You knew it was Dr. Wily and you went along with it…” X took his hand off her shoulder and stared downwards, not able to meet her accusing eyes. “I… overheard him talking to himself as I was waking up one day.” X said evenly. “He doesn’t know I heard… By then… I’d already…” He returned her stare now, and defended his position. “Maybe this is for the best. It finally forced me to do something about this senseless war. I always knew this was the only solution.” “You know Wily’s up to no good!” She stood back up and threw her hands in the air. “Doing anything he wants is an invitation to disaster! He’s a MAD scientist!” “He could provide me with the equipment I needed, and now that I’m onto him, I can keep an eye on him as well.” Dr. Sky’s expression hardened. Maybe she couldn’t talk him out of it, but she hadn’t tried everything yet. “What changed, X?” She shook her head. “If you knew it was always the solution, why now. Why not a year ago?” X was at a loss for words for a moment, and she continued on. “Something kept you from this simplistically idiotic method before… What changed?” “Me…” He finally replied. “I think I’ve gotten older.” He chuckled, almost cryptically, at the words. “I’ve tried everything else. You haven’t been here, for this war. No… you were sheltered in your own little lab while the rest of us drowned in each other’s misery. You decided to isolate yourself. Well, I don’t have the same luxury!” For a second he looked furious, his eyes aflame. “So don’t you dare tell me what an idiotic solution looks like.” She staggered back, shaking from his tone and his words. At the sight of her reaction, X replaced the anger in his eyes with surprise. He pulled his thoughts back to himself. What just happened? Why did I suddenly get so angry? “This is exactly what Dr. Light feared.” She said, her voice still trembled slightly. “You have to go see him. You owe him at least that much.” “Fine.” He looked away again. “I will go to Dr. Light’s pod with you… I need to talk things out with him.” -------------------------------- “Are you up here again?” Zero heard Alia said as she approached. “Yes.” Zero replied. Leaning against the guard wall, he let his gaze wander through the matrix of lights below. There was really no point of having a roof anymore, since only 10 feet above him was the ceiling of the underground cove. The only view the roof offered was of the other residents of the cove and the absolute misery in which they lived. “You’re the only one who comes up here.” Alia pointed out as she joined him by the guard wall. “What really is there to see?” “I’ve got a great imagination…” Zero continued to stare beyond. “It’s not like the view’s any better above ground.” “Well, the committee just finished its initial evaluation on the 13th Unit.” “What did they say?” “They couldn’t conclude on anything aside from the fact that Weaver went Maverick. No links has yet been found tying the entire 13th Unit to the case.” Zero nodded. “What did Doyle have to say about it?” “He just said it was ‘regrettable’ that the 13th Unit lost someone as talented as Weaver.” “Great…” Zero made a mental note to keep an eye out on Doyle. While he couldn’t provide proof, he was sure Commander Doyle had dirty hands. “Are you thinking about X again?” Alia could read the answer even without a word from Zero. “I’m sure he’s fine…” “He was bleeding a lot.” Zero’s mind wandered back to scenes from the compound. “He’s seen worse… he’ll make it…. Besides, you said he saved you, right? Doesn’t that mean there’s still hope that the real X we all know is still somewhere in there, despite what happened to him?” Zero nodded. I want to believe that, too. He wanted to ask Alia how she knew that the X running around killing Reploids isn’t the real X, but he knew it wouldn’t help to do so, so he simply nodded. For now, he would believe that they could bring X back, not matter how slim the chances. “Now come on.” Alia grabbed his arm and started to drag him back to the stairs. “You’re missing the meeting for evaluations.” “Ev… evaluations?” Zero’s eyes widened. “I don’t do evaluations. I don’t have a squad.” “Well… X isn’t here, so technically you’re the leader of the 17th unit. I know you haven’t been back all that long, but you have to be present at the meeting anyway, no matter how boring you feel it is.” “Nooooo!” Zero mock screamed as he was lead back down the stairwell. --------------------------- Dr. Sky finished the repairs on X, grabbed a new environment suit in the lab, and led X to Dr. Light’s pod. The two did not exchange many words during the trip, except for warning each other about the guards posted throughout the Maverick base. Dr. Sky didn’t want to talk with X, and X felt the same way. It was quite a relief when they finally reached the pod and Dr. Light’s hologram appeared. “X…” Dr. Light’s hologram trailed off at the sight of X. On sight, he could tell something’s changed about X since the last time they met. “Is it true?” “About what Dr. Sky told you? Yes.” “I’m convinced Dr. Wily is--” Light began. “I know about him.” He studied his creator carefully; his reaction was not what he expected. Light did not look surprised at all. “Whether or not you know about him doesn’t change the fact that he’s manipulating you. I’ve known him for a very long time, X, and I know how he works.” Light started to reach out for X, but remembered he couldn’t move outside the confines of the projection module. “You might think you’re onto him, but he’s very, very cunning. Take that into consideration.” “I’ll keep that in mind, Dr. Light… but now that you know my situation, there is nothing more I need to say to you.” X turned and started walking away. “Wait!” Dr. Sky finally said to X. “You can’t do this. What about Zero? How do you think he’s going to feel if he can’t tell himself this is all Wily’s trick?” X halted in his tracks. “He can live with that.” X replied without turning around. “You’re wrong! Damn it! I might have only have known him for a month or so, but I know he’ll just let it eat him alive, even if he looks fine on the outside. You can’t do this to him!” Tears started fogging her vision, so she quickly wiped them away. “Friends shouldn’t end up this way! He cares for you a lot, and I know you do too, or else he wouldn’t consider you such an important person in his life.” The Blue Reploid turned and started walking back towards Dr. Sky. He unlatched the Z-saber from the holster on his back and handed the sword handle to her. “Please give this back to Zero. I won’t be needing it anymore. And… tell him I’m sorry.” With that, he started walking away again. “Hey!” She started after him, but he turned around again. The look in his eyes stopped her from continuing forwards. “Don’t.” He said simply, and he disappeared into the darkness beyond. “You… you…. idiot.” She buried her face in her hands, her sobs echoed loudly down the cave passageway, but still fell on deaf ears as X continued walking away. Fan Fiction - Top |
