Chapter Nine: Straining the Systems
Zero came back to his dorm to find a stack of files and reports wrapped neatly with brown paper and tied with a pristine white string. He groaned, but nonetheless picked the packet up by the string and tapped the keypad next to his door, inputting the password and stepping through when the door slid open.
On his way back, the young Axl had run by him, X's helmet clutched in his grasp and held high in the air. Zero used his imposing height to his advantage and when Axl ran by, snatched it right out of his hands. Axl skid to a stop, nearly falling forward and whirled around with a childish pout on his face. X turned the corner, face flushed from yelling and running for the past four hours and ran up to them. He gratefully took the helmet from Zero, even smiling at him before turning to Axl and giving him the worst scolding Zero ever heard X utter. Axl stood, head slightly bowed, trying to give X puppy-dog eyes from under his repaired helmet, his hands clasped behind his back. It was almost perfect, seeing X acting like a father.
Zero dropped the papers onto his desk and plopped into the chair, his headache still a dull pain, but manageable. He opened the drawer, withdrew a pen, undid the ties and got started. However, the sounds of his pen scratching on paper started to drive Zero insane with drowsiness. He may detest paperwork, but Zero was a Commander and he got all his work done and on time. Falling asleep on his desk was too tempting.
Zero dropped his pen and walked over to a large cabinet across from his desk. He opened it to reveal an expensive sound system, complete with impressively large speakers and a player that could play any format of music. Zero scanned the collection of CDs stacked neatly in a small cupboard of space. He wasn't exactly partial to any genre, and actually listened to anything as long as it filled the silence effectively. Old, new, re-mastered, digital, he had almost one of everything possible.
Zero picked up an old Epica CD and popped it into the player. 'Our Destiny' filled the room and, pleased with the silence now stabbed with the female vocalist and her rock band's guitar riffs and drum beats, the blond returned to his desk and resumed his work. The music made his head throb painfully, but Zero managed to ignore the thrum of pain and focused instead on his reports and the white noise of lyrics he randomly sang along with at infrequent intervals, his pen scratching the paper in neat yet bold handwriting.
The CD was on its second play-through when Zero was found asleep at his desk, his left hand still gripping the pen as his other arm was completely stretched out across the desk. He lay on his cheek, but had enough dignity even in slumber not to drool all over his papers, although the ink of the pen was blotting all over the current report he was writing on.
When X entered and saw the blond passed out, he smiled. After Axl finally calmed down and went out with Alia, he found himself with a free few hours. He meant to ask Zero out to try and make up for his sudden distance, but seeing how tired Zero was to pass out on his own desk… X didn't want to wake him up.
X carefully got Zero's blanket off his bed and draped it over Zero's shoulders, and gently dislodged the pen from his grasp and capped it. Considering Zero was a light sleeper out of the pod and he did not stir, he had to have been exhausted. X looked at his friend with worry in his eyes; was it his fault Zero was sleeping so restlessly? Truth be told, X himself wasn't sleeping all that well recently either…
X carefully swept some of Zero's hair away from his face, and still no sign of waking up from Zero. The only person allowed to touch his hair was X, and only when he asked X to help him brush it. If Zero had to be vain over only one thing, it was his hair. The blue-clad Reploid glanced around, then went over to Zero's dresser and, as quietly as possible, dug through a small box sitting on the top of it. Inside were various hair ties, ribbons and leather strips, all thoroughly used. With a smile, X pulled out a long blue ribbon, the color a shade between Zero's eye color and X's own armor. He made his way back to Zero and carefully tied his hair back in a ponytail, although he missed a few strands.
As X leaned close to make sure he was being careful in gathering his friend's hair, he found himself staring at Zero's peaceful face. He had kissed Zero's forehead before when the blond slept, but now, the impulse to do so was gone. Instead, curiosity filled X's mind.
He's in love with me, X thought. And since he told me I've been thinking… if I could ever…
The music continued to blare, but X droned it all out and suddenly, Zero's sleeping face was the only thing that existed in the world.
Zero was a handsome Reploid—looks were not a problem when it came to the elite Hunter. All women, and some men, had swooned in his presence as he walked regally down the hallways, his hair a golden cape of silky nobility. Although X saw all of Zero's physical flaws, like his crooked nose and slightly different colored eyes, the one cheekbone that wasn't as sharp as the other, they all still conformed so perfectly into the smooth face that was Zero. His best friend was also smart, with sharp wits and an amazing sixth sense when it came to combat. Power and intelligence were Zero's forte, which was only fitting considering his position as a high-ranked Commander. And despite rumors rookies liked to circulate, Zero was not that big of a bastard, did know how to smile and laugh, and had a sense of humor that fit anyone. Zero knew when to be serious and when to have fun, and wasn't the 'playboy' of HQ either despite his looks.
In all reality, X could summarize that he had a ninety-seven percent change of falling in love with Zero. They just… melded to each other so well. When X was on his high, Zero balanced him by being low and vice versa. They understood each other, knew each other inside and out (quite literally since recently!), and been through some crazy shit and yet still remained together…
I could fall in love with Zero if I gave myself, and him, the chance. X concluded. He smiled slightly to himself. Maybe I already have been…
X pressed a quick, chaste kiss on Zero's lips. When the deed was done, he gasped lightly and pressed his fingertips against his lips, for the action was a complete impulse and not at all planned. A blush stained his cheeks when he realized he enjoyed the small action.
I can try. Zero isn't Delia… he'd never go out of his way to hurt me. We've been everything to each other anyway… what's adding another layer?
X swallowed hard and left Zero's dorm, new thoughts swirling in his mind. Zero remained asleep, oblivious to what transpired, his entire systems so strained from the recent stress he was almost totally shut down.
~*~
"Zero…"
"Hn?" He cracked an eye open, then both and sat up as he realized he somehow made it to his recharging pod. It wasn't even the pod in his dorm, but in the Hunter's Recharge Room.
Bright light filled the darkness and caused Zero to squint.
"Zero…"
A shadow of what appeared to be a human man, an old one, filled the open door. Yet the light was so bright, Zero saw no features, nothing to help him try to recognize who this was. It certainly wasn't Cain.
"Who are you?" Zero demanded.
"My masterpiece…" the old man drawled.
It creeped Zero out, and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "Who… who are you?"
The old man's voice changed from that of a creep to a deranged man as he raged, "After him! He is my nemesis! Our rivalry… is what gives me motivation in life! Now go. Destroy him. That's an order!"
The old man began to fade, and Zero tried to run forward, his eyes dilating. "W-wait!"
Zero stopped short as a piercing pain and high-pitched sound stabbed his brain, and he grabbed his head with a grunt. As the pain and sound increased, Zero fell to his knees, then tossed his head back and howled in pain as images of destroyed and dead Reploids filled his mind; images of what looked like his own schematics, Sigma's terrified screams and his own hands drenched in blood…
X's face, bruised and broken, flashed before Zero's howl of pain became a shriek of despair.
Zero screamed as he jerked awake, flinging his entire body back, knocking himself from his chair and tossing himself back into the wall, cracking his already enflamed head against the wall. Despite being awake, his head screeched in pain, and all he could do was cradle it in his hands and let out his own wails. Through hazy eyes and muffled hearing, he heard Hunters gather outside his dorm and bang on the door, but the lock prevented anyone from entering. Sweat rolled down Zero's face, his loose strands of hair sticking to his face and, in crazed desperation for release, began to slam his head repeatedly into the wall. Even unknown to him, tears streamed from his eyes, the same image of X crumpled and bloodied searing his memory and threatening to break all of his systems.
The door opened and X, along with Axl and Alia, barreled in before the crowd. Zero heard nothing, barely saw them as he continued to hit his head, praying under the pain and despair he'd knock himself out.
X threw his arms around Zero, trying to get him to stop. "Call Lifesaver!" he screamed above Zero's own. "Someone call the goddamn doctor!"
His eyes swimming with tears, Zero stopped his struggle and looked at X, his hands still clasped around his head. X himself looked terrified and confused, even as Zero's cries were lowering to loud moans of obvious pain.
"I'm shutting you down, Zero," X said. He reached under his friend's ponytail and pressed hard against the back of his neck.
The pressure only worsened the pain, and Zero thrashed in X's arms, but the shut down switch was finally activated, and Zero went deathly limp, his hands falling from his head and his eyes losing all sense of life and shine. X held him close, shaken and afraid. Alia knelt next to him, and Axl squatted on Zero's other side.
"Lifesaver is coming," Alia said comfortingly. "We'll find out what happened." She put her hand on X's shoulder.
Axl said something else, but X tuned them out, only holding Zero closer and burying his face into his friend's shoulder while stroking his hair. He knew Zero sometimes complained of headaches, but he never indulged X about just how much they hurt…
X could also swear Zero's eyes had shined red before shutting down.
~*~
Lifesaver grunted. "Even I heard him screaming, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with his systems. Every scan came back clean, each part works well, he has plenty of coolant, blood, and fluids. His core is in good shape. His cranium is undamaged and all wires in their proper places. All I could do was clean him, but that's it."
"Nothing?" X asked incredulously. "You sure there wasn't a clash, short circuit, something?"
Lifesaver shook his head, and Axl looked thoughtful for once as he stared at the still inoperative Zero in the medical pod. Various wires were plugged into every port he had, screens all over him showing pristine systems. This Zero fella sure took good care of himself.
"You are sure…" Axl said almost absent-mindedly, "that something isn't missing?"
Lifesaver and X both looked at him, and Axl lifted his hands at the sudden intense pressure he felt. "I mean, no one knows who made him right? You told me that, X. Ya'll found him banged up a few months before Sigma went berserk, fixed him up and he joined Hunters since then, yeah? Well, you might have fixed his essentials, but what if whatever beat him up stole some part of his program or systems that ain't part of your usual Reploid, but still essential to his smooth runnin'?"
Lifesaver stroked his chin in thought. "I had not considered that, but if anyone knew anything of that, it'd be Dr. Cain."
Axl beamed, feeling useful at pointing out something he figured obvious. X held his hand at his own chin, looking at the ground in thought.
"If so, why malfunction now?" X asked.
"Maybe the part wasn't needed until now," Lifesaver offered. "You said he's been acting strange for months, X, and then this recent week, he's really been off, and so much so that everyone noticed. Do you know what's wrong?"
X didn't answer, for Lifesaver's observation put him back into thought. Is it tied to his emotion chip? But if so, when he was in love with Iris… well… was he really ever…?
"X?" Lifesaver pressed.
"Think you can boot him up?" X asked.
Lifesaver shrugged. "Yes, but if he'll need to stay here until we figure out what's wrong."
"I'd like to talk to him… boot him up, then you and Axl go get Dr. Cain." Before Axl could complain, X added, "That's an order from a Captain."
Axl shut his mouth and pouted as Lifesaver's fingers flew over a nearby console. The medical pod Zero rested in hummed to life. "If he goes into another frenzy, press this button," Lifesaver pointed, "to deactivate him again. Let's go, young Axl."
The two left, Axl still pouting, and X pulled up a chair as Zero began to twitch. He took in a single breath before opening his eyes. Immediately, he recognized the feeling of being more or less tied to a pod via cords and wires, for this was how he woke up the first time he came to Maverick Hunters. Using his eyes, Zero looked over and saw X.
"Zero? You okay?" X asked gently.
"Y-yeah… sorry." His voice was raspy, and he coughed to clear it.
X grasped Zero's hand, and smiled a bit when Zero gave it a good squeeze. "You worried me…"
"I figured. So how long am I stuck here?"
"Til we figure out the problem," X leaned over him a bit so Zero could fully see him.
Zero frowned. "Lovely… so Cain's going to be digging through my insides and my brain."
"We need to figure out the problem," X asserted. His eyes softened in worry. "You were in so much pain…"
Zero shrugged, although the wires made it uncomfortable to do so. "Yeah, it was the worst of the lot, but I'm fine now."
His friend shook his head. "No, you're going to get a thorough check."
"Meh, fine. At least shut me down when Cain gets here."
"He'll be here in a few minutes… want me to do it now?"
"Preferably." Zero closed his eyes.
X paused, then pressed the button Lifesaver indicated. Zero felt power drain out of him, and his systems began to shut down one by one. Just before his sensory one did, Zero swore he felt something like a kiss on his forehead.
<--- PREVIOUS CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER --->
Zero came back to his dorm to find a stack of files and reports wrapped neatly with brown paper and tied with a pristine white string. He groaned, but nonetheless picked the packet up by the string and tapped the keypad next to his door, inputting the password and stepping through when the door slid open.
On his way back, the young Axl had run by him, X's helmet clutched in his grasp and held high in the air. Zero used his imposing height to his advantage and when Axl ran by, snatched it right out of his hands. Axl skid to a stop, nearly falling forward and whirled around with a childish pout on his face. X turned the corner, face flushed from yelling and running for the past four hours and ran up to them. He gratefully took the helmet from Zero, even smiling at him before turning to Axl and giving him the worst scolding Zero ever heard X utter. Axl stood, head slightly bowed, trying to give X puppy-dog eyes from under his repaired helmet, his hands clasped behind his back. It was almost perfect, seeing X acting like a father.
Zero dropped the papers onto his desk and plopped into the chair, his headache still a dull pain, but manageable. He opened the drawer, withdrew a pen, undid the ties and got started. However, the sounds of his pen scratching on paper started to drive Zero insane with drowsiness. He may detest paperwork, but Zero was a Commander and he got all his work done and on time. Falling asleep on his desk was too tempting.
Zero dropped his pen and walked over to a large cabinet across from his desk. He opened it to reveal an expensive sound system, complete with impressively large speakers and a player that could play any format of music. Zero scanned the collection of CDs stacked neatly in a small cupboard of space. He wasn't exactly partial to any genre, and actually listened to anything as long as it filled the silence effectively. Old, new, re-mastered, digital, he had almost one of everything possible.
Zero picked up an old Epica CD and popped it into the player. 'Our Destiny' filled the room and, pleased with the silence now stabbed with the female vocalist and her rock band's guitar riffs and drum beats, the blond returned to his desk and resumed his work. The music made his head throb painfully, but Zero managed to ignore the thrum of pain and focused instead on his reports and the white noise of lyrics he randomly sang along with at infrequent intervals, his pen scratching the paper in neat yet bold handwriting.
The CD was on its second play-through when Zero was found asleep at his desk, his left hand still gripping the pen as his other arm was completely stretched out across the desk. He lay on his cheek, but had enough dignity even in slumber not to drool all over his papers, although the ink of the pen was blotting all over the current report he was writing on.
When X entered and saw the blond passed out, he smiled. After Axl finally calmed down and went out with Alia, he found himself with a free few hours. He meant to ask Zero out to try and make up for his sudden distance, but seeing how tired Zero was to pass out on his own desk… X didn't want to wake him up.
X carefully got Zero's blanket off his bed and draped it over Zero's shoulders, and gently dislodged the pen from his grasp and capped it. Considering Zero was a light sleeper out of the pod and he did not stir, he had to have been exhausted. X looked at his friend with worry in his eyes; was it his fault Zero was sleeping so restlessly? Truth be told, X himself wasn't sleeping all that well recently either…
X carefully swept some of Zero's hair away from his face, and still no sign of waking up from Zero. The only person allowed to touch his hair was X, and only when he asked X to help him brush it. If Zero had to be vain over only one thing, it was his hair. The blue-clad Reploid glanced around, then went over to Zero's dresser and, as quietly as possible, dug through a small box sitting on the top of it. Inside were various hair ties, ribbons and leather strips, all thoroughly used. With a smile, X pulled out a long blue ribbon, the color a shade between Zero's eye color and X's own armor. He made his way back to Zero and carefully tied his hair back in a ponytail, although he missed a few strands.
As X leaned close to make sure he was being careful in gathering his friend's hair, he found himself staring at Zero's peaceful face. He had kissed Zero's forehead before when the blond slept, but now, the impulse to do so was gone. Instead, curiosity filled X's mind.
He's in love with me, X thought. And since he told me I've been thinking… if I could ever…
The music continued to blare, but X droned it all out and suddenly, Zero's sleeping face was the only thing that existed in the world.
Zero was a handsome Reploid—looks were not a problem when it came to the elite Hunter. All women, and some men, had swooned in his presence as he walked regally down the hallways, his hair a golden cape of silky nobility. Although X saw all of Zero's physical flaws, like his crooked nose and slightly different colored eyes, the one cheekbone that wasn't as sharp as the other, they all still conformed so perfectly into the smooth face that was Zero. His best friend was also smart, with sharp wits and an amazing sixth sense when it came to combat. Power and intelligence were Zero's forte, which was only fitting considering his position as a high-ranked Commander. And despite rumors rookies liked to circulate, Zero was not that big of a bastard, did know how to smile and laugh, and had a sense of humor that fit anyone. Zero knew when to be serious and when to have fun, and wasn't the 'playboy' of HQ either despite his looks.
In all reality, X could summarize that he had a ninety-seven percent change of falling in love with Zero. They just… melded to each other so well. When X was on his high, Zero balanced him by being low and vice versa. They understood each other, knew each other inside and out (quite literally since recently!), and been through some crazy shit and yet still remained together…
I could fall in love with Zero if I gave myself, and him, the chance. X concluded. He smiled slightly to himself. Maybe I already have been…
X pressed a quick, chaste kiss on Zero's lips. When the deed was done, he gasped lightly and pressed his fingertips against his lips, for the action was a complete impulse and not at all planned. A blush stained his cheeks when he realized he enjoyed the small action.
I can try. Zero isn't Delia… he'd never go out of his way to hurt me. We've been everything to each other anyway… what's adding another layer?
X swallowed hard and left Zero's dorm, new thoughts swirling in his mind. Zero remained asleep, oblivious to what transpired, his entire systems so strained from the recent stress he was almost totally shut down.
~*~
"Zero…"
"Hn?" He cracked an eye open, then both and sat up as he realized he somehow made it to his recharging pod. It wasn't even the pod in his dorm, but in the Hunter's Recharge Room.
Bright light filled the darkness and caused Zero to squint.
"Zero…"
A shadow of what appeared to be a human man, an old one, filled the open door. Yet the light was so bright, Zero saw no features, nothing to help him try to recognize who this was. It certainly wasn't Cain.
"Who are you?" Zero demanded.
"My masterpiece…" the old man drawled.
It creeped Zero out, and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "Who… who are you?"
The old man's voice changed from that of a creep to a deranged man as he raged, "After him! He is my nemesis! Our rivalry… is what gives me motivation in life! Now go. Destroy him. That's an order!"
The old man began to fade, and Zero tried to run forward, his eyes dilating. "W-wait!"
Zero stopped short as a piercing pain and high-pitched sound stabbed his brain, and he grabbed his head with a grunt. As the pain and sound increased, Zero fell to his knees, then tossed his head back and howled in pain as images of destroyed and dead Reploids filled his mind; images of what looked like his own schematics, Sigma's terrified screams and his own hands drenched in blood…
X's face, bruised and broken, flashed before Zero's howl of pain became a shriek of despair.
Zero screamed as he jerked awake, flinging his entire body back, knocking himself from his chair and tossing himself back into the wall, cracking his already enflamed head against the wall. Despite being awake, his head screeched in pain, and all he could do was cradle it in his hands and let out his own wails. Through hazy eyes and muffled hearing, he heard Hunters gather outside his dorm and bang on the door, but the lock prevented anyone from entering. Sweat rolled down Zero's face, his loose strands of hair sticking to his face and, in crazed desperation for release, began to slam his head repeatedly into the wall. Even unknown to him, tears streamed from his eyes, the same image of X crumpled and bloodied searing his memory and threatening to break all of his systems.
The door opened and X, along with Axl and Alia, barreled in before the crowd. Zero heard nothing, barely saw them as he continued to hit his head, praying under the pain and despair he'd knock himself out.
X threw his arms around Zero, trying to get him to stop. "Call Lifesaver!" he screamed above Zero's own. "Someone call the goddamn doctor!"
His eyes swimming with tears, Zero stopped his struggle and looked at X, his hands still clasped around his head. X himself looked terrified and confused, even as Zero's cries were lowering to loud moans of obvious pain.
"I'm shutting you down, Zero," X said. He reached under his friend's ponytail and pressed hard against the back of his neck.
The pressure only worsened the pain, and Zero thrashed in X's arms, but the shut down switch was finally activated, and Zero went deathly limp, his hands falling from his head and his eyes losing all sense of life and shine. X held him close, shaken and afraid. Alia knelt next to him, and Axl squatted on Zero's other side.
"Lifesaver is coming," Alia said comfortingly. "We'll find out what happened." She put her hand on X's shoulder.
Axl said something else, but X tuned them out, only holding Zero closer and burying his face into his friend's shoulder while stroking his hair. He knew Zero sometimes complained of headaches, but he never indulged X about just how much they hurt…
X could also swear Zero's eyes had shined red before shutting down.
~*~
Lifesaver grunted. "Even I heard him screaming, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with his systems. Every scan came back clean, each part works well, he has plenty of coolant, blood, and fluids. His core is in good shape. His cranium is undamaged and all wires in their proper places. All I could do was clean him, but that's it."
"Nothing?" X asked incredulously. "You sure there wasn't a clash, short circuit, something?"
Lifesaver shook his head, and Axl looked thoughtful for once as he stared at the still inoperative Zero in the medical pod. Various wires were plugged into every port he had, screens all over him showing pristine systems. This Zero fella sure took good care of himself.
"You are sure…" Axl said almost absent-mindedly, "that something isn't missing?"
Lifesaver and X both looked at him, and Axl lifted his hands at the sudden intense pressure he felt. "I mean, no one knows who made him right? You told me that, X. Ya'll found him banged up a few months before Sigma went berserk, fixed him up and he joined Hunters since then, yeah? Well, you might have fixed his essentials, but what if whatever beat him up stole some part of his program or systems that ain't part of your usual Reploid, but still essential to his smooth runnin'?"
Lifesaver stroked his chin in thought. "I had not considered that, but if anyone knew anything of that, it'd be Dr. Cain."
Axl beamed, feeling useful at pointing out something he figured obvious. X held his hand at his own chin, looking at the ground in thought.
"If so, why malfunction now?" X asked.
"Maybe the part wasn't needed until now," Lifesaver offered. "You said he's been acting strange for months, X, and then this recent week, he's really been off, and so much so that everyone noticed. Do you know what's wrong?"
X didn't answer, for Lifesaver's observation put him back into thought. Is it tied to his emotion chip? But if so, when he was in love with Iris… well… was he really ever…?
"X?" Lifesaver pressed.
"Think you can boot him up?" X asked.
Lifesaver shrugged. "Yes, but if he'll need to stay here until we figure out what's wrong."
"I'd like to talk to him… boot him up, then you and Axl go get Dr. Cain." Before Axl could complain, X added, "That's an order from a Captain."
Axl shut his mouth and pouted as Lifesaver's fingers flew over a nearby console. The medical pod Zero rested in hummed to life. "If he goes into another frenzy, press this button," Lifesaver pointed, "to deactivate him again. Let's go, young Axl."
The two left, Axl still pouting, and X pulled up a chair as Zero began to twitch. He took in a single breath before opening his eyes. Immediately, he recognized the feeling of being more or less tied to a pod via cords and wires, for this was how he woke up the first time he came to Maverick Hunters. Using his eyes, Zero looked over and saw X.
"Zero? You okay?" X asked gently.
"Y-yeah… sorry." His voice was raspy, and he coughed to clear it.
X grasped Zero's hand, and smiled a bit when Zero gave it a good squeeze. "You worried me…"
"I figured. So how long am I stuck here?"
"Til we figure out the problem," X leaned over him a bit so Zero could fully see him.
Zero frowned. "Lovely… so Cain's going to be digging through my insides and my brain."
"We need to figure out the problem," X asserted. His eyes softened in worry. "You were in so much pain…"
Zero shrugged, although the wires made it uncomfortable to do so. "Yeah, it was the worst of the lot, but I'm fine now."
His friend shook his head. "No, you're going to get a thorough check."
"Meh, fine. At least shut me down when Cain gets here."
"He'll be here in a few minutes… want me to do it now?"
"Preferably." Zero closed his eyes.
X paused, then pressed the button Lifesaver indicated. Zero felt power drain out of him, and his systems began to shut down one by one. Just before his sensory one did, Zero swore he felt something like a kiss on his forehead.
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