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To Chapter [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] The first thing X did when he got back to headquarters was visit Dr. Cain's lab. X was eager to find out if the news about Zero was true. When he arrived, he saw that Protoman and Dr. Cain were hunched over the computer display, reading something intently. "Protoman, Dr. Cain." X greeted. "Have you found the archives yet?" "No luck X." Dr. Cain said dejectedly. "It seems that most of the data regarding that subject was destroyed by an attack on HQ several years ago." "So now Dr. Cain is trying to call up some of the scientists who worked at the repair center some years ago to confirm if Zero was a Maverick." Protoman explained. "But their addresses have all changed, so tracking them down is going to take even longer than expected." "So meanwhile what do we tell Zero?" X asked. "Nothing." Dr. Cain answered. "We don't have anything against Zero at the moment. And even if he was a Maverick, it doesn't mean that he hasn't changed. There is no need for false accusations." "But Dr. Cain!" Protoman protested. "Shouldn't we at least keep an eye out? What if he suddenly snaps?" "Zero wouldn't." X insisted. "We just have to do things this way and wait." "I know something is up." Protoman argued. "Zero has been acting strange lately." "Protoman-" X tried to claim Protoman. "X, I'm your own brother. Don't you trust me." "It's because you're my brother that you should listen to what I'm saying." X raised his voice. "There's no need to rouse up anything if nothing is wrong. I've been Zero's partner for years now, and I trust him." Protoman stood his ground on the argument. "Fine, but if something goes wrong and we all find ourselves shish-cabobbed by Zero's Z-Saber, just remember that I told you so." Protoman gave X a last angry look and stormed out. *********************************************************** Zero stared blankly at his reflection on the mirror. "What went wrong today?" Zero asked himself. "I was going to let X fall. I was just going to let him dangle there and lose his grip. I even thought about giving him a helping shove. How could I?!" Zero closed his eyes and saw X dangling there again, but this time, when Zero grabbed X's hands, he immediately released them, causing X to fall. He could see X's expression of shock, all the way down...until his body made a healthy crack against the sidewalk below. Poor little X never even saw it coming... "What am I thinking?!" Zero shouted and punched the mirror. Spider web like cracks branched out from Zero's fist. "I can't be around X if he has to trust me with his life. I can't... because next time... I might really... let go." *********************************************************** X was in the equipment room, inspecting the armor one by one. There was nothing more to do, except kill time and wait for the answers from those scientists. X couldn't imagine fully concentrating on anything before finding out about Zero. "Hi, Commander X." It was Amp, who approached from the doorway. The smaller yellow reploid always seemed cheerful. To Amp, being a Maverick Hunter was the greatest honor, so there never came a day when he wasn't happy. "So how did you like today's mission Amp?" X asked. "By the way, why did you come with us? You're not on Zero's squad, are you?' "Oh." Amp said with a tang of embarrassment. "My commander wanted me to get more practice and since today's case wasn't all that big, he convinced Zero to let me come along." "Zero's your idol, isn't he?" X observed. Amp blushed brightly. "It's not that embarassing." X explained as he lifted another piece of equipment to inspect. "When I first joined the Maverick Hunters, I was the same. Zero seemed like the strongest and most brave Hunter in the force, and because I wasn't all that strong before, I idolized him." "You?" Amp said in awe. "Were once weak?" "Yep." X admitted and turned to look at Amp. "Before I found Dr. Light's upgrades, I was the weakest one on Zero's squad. We were on a mission once, and I accidentally bumped into Vile. He easily pounded me. I was just no match for him. I felt humiliated and weak, but Zero would always have something reassuring to say." "Was that the first time you went up against Vile?" "Yeah, that was a long time ago." X said thoughtfully, remembering the event. "Vile had taken over a city, by Sigma's orders. I went inside, and there he was with an invincible ride armor. He easily defeated me, almost killed me too, until Zero stopped him." A pause. "Later, though, Zero sacrificed himself to destroy Vile's ride armor, so I could have a chance to beat Vile, and eventually Sigma." Protoman suddenly burst into the room, with panic on his face. Both X and Amp's attention snapped towards Protoman. "X! Zero is gone!" "Gone?" X's mind whirled. "What do you mean 'gone'?" "We found Zero's room all rearranged, with everything fragile broken and he is nowhere to be found." "Are you sure?" X's face cringed. "Did you check every place?" Protoman nodded. "The situation is more serious than that, X." Dr. Cain said as he entered the room. "I've finally managed to contact those scientists, and it appears that Zero was once a Maverick, reprogrammed to be a Hunter. So what Sigma said was probably true." "Then it's settled." Protoman declared. "We have to destroy Zero." "But..." X stammered. "If it's true that Zero is on Sigma's side, then he too was probably created by Dr. Wily." Protoman turned to Dr. Cain. "And why would Wily send a robot with X to the future posed as a friend? To destroy X, of course. Even if Zero isn't a Maverick now, he will be. We can't let such a powerful time bomb run around freely." X turned to his own thoughts, and remembered a conversation he had with Zero once. It was after a battle with Sigma, when X was haunted by questions about why reploids become Mavericks: ---------- "This is Maverick Hunter Headquarters." Zero said on the communication device. "Zero!" X replied. "It's good to see you're safe, X." Zero said as he smiled. "I was really worried about you." "Sorry about that..." "Don't worry, it's all over. Go home and rest, you've earned it." "But Zero, what...what if I become one of the Mavericks?" Zero gave X a surprised look. Obviously, for him, the question came out of nowhere. "Don't ask a silly question. I'm breaking contact now." "Wait, Zero! I'm...I'm serious!" X looked at him with the gravest look. "Zero, if...if I ever become a Maverick, you have to take care of me..." There was an awkward silence between the two as they thought about the enormity of the promise, of the words that just came out of X's mouth. Finally Zero looked away. "Don't be ridiculous, X. Now hurry on back." Zero broke contact. "Promise me, Zero." ---------- X checked his arm cannon again. Protoman and many others were also getting ready for battle. Dr. Cain asked some of the hunters to go find Zero, who has disappeared for more than twelve hours, and Protoman insisted that they equip to kill. He and many of the others were convinced that Zero has gone Maverick. X slowly put on the gleaming white armor. "How ironic," X thought, "I asked Zero to destroy me if I should ever... and now we're preparing to destroy him." "Come on, X." Protoman prompted. "Let's go." *********************************************************** Zero got onto a motorcycle and kept on driving. Everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong. Even he can't trust himself now. It seems like he has lost all control over his thoughts, but was still there to feel guilty about it. "My conscious duty is to the Maverick Hunters." Zero said to himself. "But something inside keeps saying that it's not who I am anymore." "Here we are Zero." Dr. Wily said. Zero stopped the motorcycle and studied his surroundings. "I'm..." "Welcome to the Maverick Fortress, Zero." Zero turned around and saw Sigma, Vile, and various other Mavericks standing there with pleasant smiles. "We were expecting you." "So this is where I belong." Zero whispered. *********************************************************** "You see Zero." Sigma proudly said as he led the Red Hunter into his fortress. "You and I, we're brothers, created by the same scientific genius, Dr. Wily." "I'll give you that we were created by the same man." Zero retorted. "But please, don't call me your brother." "Fine." Sigma said as if it didn't matter. "Now, come over here and look at these plans." Sigma pointed to several diagrams the huge monitor. "This is the map of the Phoenix Center." Zero said. "The current location of the Maverick Hunter's repair center." "Yes," Sigma said, "And soon it will be a big pile of rubbles." "But, what about all the innocent humans inside? Most of the staff are just human scientists." "Is that a pang of pity that I sense, Zero? I thought you were beyond that." "Our target is the Maverick Hunters, not humans." Zero said. "The Maverick Hunters and anyone else helping them, humans included." Sigma corrected. He studied the ex-hunter. "What's wrong Zero? I thought you were with us. That's why you came, right?" Zero turned away from Sigma to look again at the map. "I drove myself here." He thought. "But do I really want to kill?" "I knew your memory of Dr. Wily was enough to bring you here, Zero." Sigma said. "But we suspected you might change your mind." Upon turning around, Zero saw that Cyber Peacock, Split Mushroom, and Sigma all had their weapons ready. "Heh," Zero chuckled, "You think fowl and fungi here can take care of me? You're more stupid than I remembered, Sigma." Before anyone else could make a move, Zero drew his Z-Saber and attacked the two henchmen. Cyber Peacock and Split Mushroom were ready, but none the less, no match for the more skilled Hunter. With Split and Cyber immobilized, Zero turned his attention to Sigma. "Looks like it's just you and me again sweetheart." Zero challenged. "Let's dance." "Lets." Sigma said confidently. Out of nowhere, two clamps hooked onto Zero's legs, and a burst of energy exploded from them. Zero let out an agonized cry and fell to his knees. He tried to push himself from off of the ground, but two more clamps dug into his shoulders. The shock of being hit and the electricity pushed Zero flat on his back. As Zero struggled to get Sigma the electricity intensified, causing Zero to scream out. "Good shot Vile." Sigma said. Vile stood on the other side of Zero, a grin on his face and a large weapon in his hand. "Try to stay put, Zero." Vile warned. "The more you move, the more pain you're going to get." "Sigma!" Zero growled as he turned over to his stomach. "I'll get you yet." Zero pushed himself up halfway to his knees. "Arruhhh, you .... Wretched..." "Don't worry, Zero." Sigma chided. "We'll make sure you become your old self again. That's how it was meant to be." Zero's circuits were going haywire. The electricity was eating away at his sensors like piranhas. The harder he tried to move, the worse the pain became. Everything was beginning to get fuzzy, as his processing unit began to burn out. His arms and legs finally gave and he fell to the ground with a thud. The features of the room started to blend with each other, until all was darkness. Zero's eyes lost the light of consciousness and turned hazy green as the last of his systems shut down. "Take him to the lab, Vile." Sigma ordered. "And get the virus ready. He'll be one of us, the easy way, or the hard way." [HOME] |
