Maverick
The Mavericks, rogue Reploids bound and determined to go against their human creators. Reploids whom believe they are above their creators, far enough up to replace them. Reploids whom believe they are the next stage of evolution, and like the humans replacing the dinosaurs, they replace the humans.
Vile punched the wall, leaving a large dent in the metal face. Damn right we will.
If there had to be something Vile hated beyond Zero and X, it was human weaknesses. Not limited to just the humans themselves, no—he hated human characteristics like attachment and loyalty. Where the hell did things like that get anyone? Attachment got Zero killed at least three times—not to mention brought back each time only to suffer more—and loyalty cost every Maverick under Sigma's command their lives or worse. Humans, and their characteristics, no longer fit in the world.
Vile scowled behind his helmet. To be Maverick didn't mean to be infected with something as pathetic as a virus. To be Maverick was to take fate in your hands and shred it to hell and back and do what the hell you wanted, what others think and say be damned. To be Maverick was to be alive, and it seemed like the only real Maverick was Vile himself. He lived to fight X, to try and kill him and his pretty little friends. And once he succeeded, Vile would find another purpose to pursue, something he wanted. Not something someone else told him to go for.
Vile was meant to change the world—being himself was the only way to really achieve that.
"Besides," Vile scoffed. "Following Sigma just got your ass kicked, and he fails every damn time too."
This last insane plot of Sigma's was the last straw for Vile. He'll strike out on his own from here on, to be a true Maverick and do what he wanted just because he could.
That's right. I'm going to change the world, and I'll do it my way.
~**~
X gently brushed aside some of Axl's hair, worrying over the break of skin where Lumine's attack impacted him. The boy had yet to be successfully rebooted, and Lifesaver was struggling hourly with whatever it was Lumine tried to implant in him. It wasn't quite like a virus in terms of its data strings, but it was trying to re-write Axl's systems much like the Maverick Virus…
Maverick… X closed his eyes, his body tensing. Are we all ticking time bombs to become Maverick? Are we all meant to go insane, just to get scrapped? Is that the meaning of our existence? Dr. Light, you made me for the humans, but what about the Reploids? As their 'father' am I to forsake them? What gives me that right to damn them for their sins, when it's my sin that's ultimately to blame?
X opened his eyes when he felt a hand on his shoulder, glancing up to see Zero standing over him. The blond said nothing, just looked down at him with his eyes soft and face blank, yet X understood the silent, subtle code and turned back to the unconscious Axl, resting his chin against his clasped hands.
Zero pulled up a chair, keeping his hand on X's shoulder, and the blue Reploid had no words to thank his friend with. With that hand there, X had a tie to reality, and with that security he closed his eyes and lost himself in thought again.
X didn't know what complication in his systems that caused the Reploids to be susceptible to becoming Maverick. Something that was copied wrong, something that wasn't programmed right. Why did X have to be immune, and his 'children' damned to be weak? The only people he knew that shared his blessing of immunity were Zero and Axl… and Axl might not make it, and Zero was recklessly addicted to being a martyr it seemed.
X suddenly reached up and grasped Zero's hand, and the red Reploid responded by gripping his hand tightly. No words, no questions, no interruptions.
Where is the answer? What did it mean to be Maverick, and was 'Maverick' even an illness that could be cured? Did it have a cure? Was there a correction, or was it fate?
"Quit it."
X looked at Zero, who finally spoke. "Zero?"
"Quit thinking like that," Zero said, his voice low. "I can tell you're depressing yourself over this. What did I tell you before? Forget what Lumine said."
"But…"
"We'll figure it out, X. Shouldn't you have more faith?"
Was faith the answer? X didn't want to hang his hopes on something so fickle as faith, but then again, the world was changed radically by flaky ol' fate. Maybe that was the answer. To have faith, but faith in what? Himself?
"I guess."
~**~
"We are Mavericks."
Ciel jerked at the sudden interruption of her thoughts, turning to find Zero leaning tiredly against the doorframe. She jumped to her feet, realizing his arm was sparking, and his overall appearance was beaten and weak.
"Zero! We have to get you to Cerveau!"
"We are Mavericks." Zero repeated passively, making Ciel stop in her rush to his side. His black eyes regarded her, half-lidded and looking just so tired. "We fight against Neo Arcadia, the will of the humans. By definition, we go against our creators, believing ourselves better. We are Mavericks."
"We fight for peace!" Ciel argued, her heart sinking at this declaration. "We fight for equality between humans and Reploids, for harmony."
Zero pushed himself off the doorframe, reaching up to grasp his hurt arm. He looked away from her, looking at the wall. "That's what Mavericks of old fought for, Ciel. Their ideals. They thought their ideals were rational, and they used forced to bring them about. They fought for a world for Reploids, a world that would ultimately be peaceful. Our ideals of peace, brought by force."
Ciel's eyes watered. That's what she had feared all this time, and Zero always told her to believe, to have faith! "You told me to not give up hope, Zero. To do my best… you have to do the same."
"My best is fighting." Zero sighed, again slumping against the doorframe and for once, looking weak. Ciel wasn't sure what to do. "Either way you look at it, Reploids like me are meant to fight for the humans we believe in. We fight for your ideals. Neo Arcadian's fight for their humans' ideals… provided their idiots actually have an idea to what they really want. In the end, we're both Mavericks. Maverick versus Maverick. It depends on point of view."
"What brought this about, Zero?"
"Craft's death. X's death, hell, both of his deaths. Harpuia, Leviathan, Fefnir. What did they die for? Humans. What will I die for? Humans. Hunter and Maverick of the old days, they all died because of humans. Ciel, I never believed in justice. I never cared about it… I just knew what was deemed an enemy was meant to be killed. I'm no hero." Zero gripped his sparking arm harder, hissing. "Ciel, there has to be more humans like you. X and the Guardians, the Hunters from years ago, we fought and died for humans like you. Does that make us Maverick, when we go against humans that aren't like you?"
Ciel swallowed, unsure of what to say. When silence went on for a few moments, Zero pushed himself off the doorframe and walked out of the trailer without another word or look, going to the laboratory for repairs.
Ciel backed up until she fell back into her chair. Ultimately Zero had asked her, what made a Maverick a Maverick? It was a human-generated label… it was logical to ask a human.
Yet Ciel had no idea. Did a Maverick even have to be a Reploid? Weil was a human, and yet she would call him a Maverick in a heartbeat. So what made a Maverick… a Maverick?
"Even if you are a Maverick…" Ciel whispered, as if Zero was still there. "We still believe in you. We still care for you. We're all Mavericks in the grand scheme of things, but I know… I know we're doing the right thing…"