Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The last few days were a test of patience. Deep within the confines of a training room in HQ, X stood alone. His gaze trailed across his palm, up his fingers, watching his knuckles clench slowly.

“….”

Snap.

His hand shook, the tactile memory of Lumine’s death still fresh in his mind. The snap of his spine was an eerie reminder— that X was forced to do what was expected of all Hunters. Lumine had just been another mission, another inevitability.

Another kill.

But this wasn’t like the others.

This one was different.

Lumine made a choice. That much was certain. The realization awakened something in X, something he still wasn’t sure he understood.

Justice. That word came to mind when he thought about what Lumine did that day. It emboldened him, pushed him forward.

The trap that Lumine set for them felt personal. And then he’d had the nerve to say they couldn’t understand…

X felt a throb in his temple as he imagined the thrumming jade that overtook him that day—a power so potent, so volatile…

So intoxicating.

His breath hitched at that thought, the whites of his eyes pulsing as he looked away from his hand.

…It felt good.

The rush, the overwhelming power… he hadn’t tasted that in years.

Would it come back?

He didn’t have much time to consider, as he heard the shutter open. X gazed over his shoulder, not surprised to see who was coming to check on him.

“Hey.”

Zero’s greeting was short, aware of the interruption he caused. Nevertheless, he remained firm in his approach.

“You alright?” Zero asked with a slight tilt of his head.

X’s lips tightened, the sharpness in his stare unmistakable. He managed to breathe.

“I’m managing,” X admitted, a tension brewing in his chest as he looked away.

“This whole thing,” Zero stepped forward, “It’s definitely getting to you more than I thought.”

The brown haired hunter shook his head, his bangs hanging over his eyes. “It’s a lot,” X managed, unaware that his knuckles were tightening. “Axl is still down, Jakob Corporation is playing coy, and Lumine-“ he hitched.

“Hm?” Zero rose a brow, watching X closely, “What about him? He’s gone.”

“…Yeah.”

Zero made his way to X’s side, getting a better profile of his face. “You‘ve been thinking about that a lot, haven’t you?”

X’s silence was telling.

“Lumine said a lot of things, most of it nonsense. A lot of what he said was justification for genocide.” Zero affirmed. “However, when he started getting desperate, that was different, wasn’t it?”

X could feel a tremble to his lips now.

“It doesn’t excuse what he did—“

“No it doesn’t.” X cut, drawing a pause from Zero.

“—but I think it could be worth looking into,” Zero finished, watching X’s gaze tighten.

X couldn’t contain himself for much longer, and Zero could see it. His friend had been stewing ever since they came back.

“…You feel some type of way, huh?” Zero breathed.

“How can’t I?” X turned to face him fully now, his optics pulsing, “You saw what he did—who he hurt!”

Every Maverick attack always had its share of casualties. However, it was rare to see X get this worked up. Zero couldn’t deny that this one had been close, but that didn’t appear to be the only reason X was here today.

“It’s funny,” Zero trailed a bit, turning his head slightly, his hair pooling over his shoulder, “Lumine was a Reploid who couldn’t even get infected, but that didn’t stop him from going Maverick, huh?”

“That’s exactly why this bothers me,” X stepped closer, “He made the choice, I can’t look away from that Zero.”

“Well he’s dead, isn’t he?”

X let out a half-hearted scoff, a shake to his head, “That’s not…”

“Yeah, I know,” Zero sighed.

It was clear X wasn’t going to let this go.

“So he made the choice. We’ll talk about that, is that all?”

X huffed, “Well, Axl for one,” he began.

“Axl is stabilizing, I actually came here to tell you that.”

The relief Zero could see in X’s eyes made the trip to tell him in person worthwhile. X had been more worried than most about Axl, all things considered

“…Should have led with that,” X peeked over his shoulder.

Zero flashed a grin, “Yeah, maybe, but let’s figure this out, shall we?”

—

The two of them sat down together. X leaned his head against the wall in a brief moment of relaxation, while Zero crossed both arms behind his head.

He could tell that this was helping, X didn’t really do so well trying to tackle his feelings alone, not when things worried him this much.

“You know,” Zero grinned, “You can talk to me if something’s bothering you, right?”

X’s eyes slowly peeled open before he let out a small sigh. “I know.”

“Yeah, you got a funny way of showing it sometimes though,” Zero jabbed a bit, flashing his teeth. “It’s not like the old days anymore, you’ve got a team now.”

X could feel himself smile, meeting Zero’s gaze warmly. “Yeah, I do. I forget about that sometimes.”

“Can’t really blame you,” Zero acknowledged, “You didn’t really have it easy after I bit the dust.”

“Which time?”

Zero snickered, “Alright wise guy.”

X beamed in response, flashing his teeth a bit back at Zero as they laughed it off.

However, as things settled down, X could sense the shift in energy, especially as he watched Zero turn towards him.

“That power you showed on the moon,” Zero breathed, watching as X’s head tilted to make eye contact, “What’s that all about, huh?”

X’s gaze drifted past Zero’s for a moment, his lips parting as if he was trying to recall a memory.

“…It’s something that I don’t really understand,” X revealed.

“Can you control it?” Zero felt himself adjust, looking to X with more clarity now.

“…Not really,” X admitted, “It comes and goes, but I felt it first when Sigma attacked us in the missile base.”

Zero nodded, “Yeah, I remember you mentioning something came over you that day. So that’s what you were talking about?”

X nodded back.

“Yeah.”

“Did it happen any other time?” Zero questioned further.

X’s head flattened against the wall again, his eyelids squeezing shut.

“Remember when I had to warn you, about me being a Maverick?”

Zero had stilled, his eyebrows furrowing just a bit as he gazed ahead. “…Yeah, what about that?”

“Once we finished our mission on the Final Weapon, I asked if you’d be able to take care of me— if that were to ever happen.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Zero’s tone became stern, almost protective.

It still sounded ridiculous, but Zero had definitely dismissed X’s worries that day. Admittedly, he couldn’t even handle the thought of X losing control. It simply wasn’t a possibility to him.

“…Was this what you were warning me about?” Zero leaned forward, his arm resting on his knee now.

X closed his eyes, his chest rising before breathing out.

“There was a point during that mission where we got split up. There were two paths, and we had to cover ground quickly.”

“Yeah, Sigma planned that, the bastard,” Zero growled. “He really had it out for me for a while, he tried everything to mess with me. I couldn’t stand him.”

“You ended up finding Sigma,” X continued, “And I ran into General.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine that was fun, that guy was giant.”

“It felt like no matter what I threw at him, he just shook it off. It was exhausting.” X sighed, as if he were inheriting the fatigue of the memory itself. “He just chipped away at me, breaking me down. I was faster but it didn’t matter because he wasn’t going to stop until he was forced to.”

Zero could see the frustration brewing across X’s face now.

“I couldn’t be there to help you fight Sigma.”

Zero flashed his teeth, “What, didn’t think I could take him?”

X’s gaze shifted back, albeit a bit sharply.

Zero frowned, “…What?”

X stared. “You’ve never fought him alone till that point, Zero.”

Zero was about to object, but as his memory was coming back to him, he couldn’t contest that— X was right.

“Anyways,” X looked away, back to his thoughts, “General wasn’t letting me through, wasting time while you had to struggle.”

Zero blinked, but as he watched X speak, he was sure that he could see a twinkle of something in his friend's eyes. A small hint of jade.

“I think you can remember what he looked like when he found you,” X breathed.

Zero did remember.

The last time he ever saw the General, he was practically in pieces. General, who was the anatomical equivalent of a freight train on two legs, looked ripped apart.

X did that to him.

“…Oh,” Zero nodded, “I see what you’re getting at.”

X returned the nod, but his gaze was solemn now. “I was just worried about what I could become, after seeing what I am capable of. So as we were leaving, I had to call you. I didn’t know how to explain what happened, I just remembered my vision going white, and then General was destroyed.

“Ah, sorry about that,” Zero scratched the back of his head, guilt evident across his face.

X looked back at him, his lips parting slightly as he raised his brow.

“I didn’t mean to brush you off that day, during our call. It was just,” he let out a sigh, “…It was a long day.”

X studied Zero’s expression, watching as he seemed to look through X instead of at him.

Zero nodded absentmindedly, a twitch to his fingers as the beat of silence between them became heavier.

He didn’t need to explain further, X wasn’t going to press on that memory any further.

“…So what now then,” Zero recovers, “What’s next, are you going to be punching holes through people now?”

As crude as the joke was, X merely sighed.

“I didn’t have a choice with Lumine.”

The directness from X was something that Zero wasn’t ready for, admittedly. However, the blonde’s silence on the matter was telling.

“I’m not sure if we would have made it if I didn’t,” X breathed, the memory of that power fresh still.

“We needed to figure something out, Lumine was something else,” Zero sighed, “In the end, I think we would have pulled through though, right?”

X didn’t exactly meet Zero on eye level. “I don’t know Zero, Lumine surprised us, he had everything he needed to break us apart. We weren’t prepared for what he could do. That worries me. We were lucky my powers came in when they did.”

“So is that what this is then?” Zero pointed at X, “Trying not to rely on luck?”

X’s vision trailed back to his palms, calloused and tough. Judging from the grim expression on his face, it was clear to see his success had been limited.

“I think it’s dependent on my emotions.” X revealed, “The few times I’ve felt this, it was when something pushed me over the edge…”

“Like trying to protect us?” Zero lifted his brow.

“…I don’t think that’s it.”

Zero shrugged, albeit a bit comically. “Ah, I see how it is.”

Half a smile ghosted over X’s face before he looked back to his hands. “If that were the case, it would have happened more often.”

“Yeah, we’ve had some close calls. Lots of people threaten us but I never see you act up like that,” Zero crossed his arms.

“Yeah…”

“I’d almost say it’s anger,” Zero glanced back at X, watching him closely.

X hadn’t moved, and that reaction alone was clear that Zero hit something just now.

“…Anger?”

Zero tilted his head, “You can get pretty stressed and worked up, we all know that, but you don’t really cut loose like how you did there. It’s something different I think.”

“Hm,” X looked away, his palms now going flat against the rough floor beneath him, staring ahead to the rustic walls of the training room.

“I do gotta say,” Zero began, “The fact you’re putting in this much effort to control this tells me Lumine scared you more than I thought.”

The brown haired hunter lowered his gaze, clutching his knees now as he exhaled through his nostrils.

“…I didn’t like being treated like someone’s toy.”

When Zero looked back to him, he noticed X’s visage sharpened into a stare, an intensity in his eyes that reflected his tone.

“Lumine had the nerve,” X’s teeth grit, “To lie to us, to trap us like rats, to hurt people, and to say that I didn’t understand…”

Zero watched the fixtures around X’s optics tighten. His vivid green eyes now burned, aching with heat.

“He had the audacity to tell me what he went through justified all of that…?”

The air felt thick around X as his stare sharpened, unwavering in its approach as he looked at Zero.

“I’m not going to sit around and hope that I’ll be ready. I’m getting tired of telling people there’s another way, only for them to spit in my face and try to kill the people I care about.”

“And you said it’s not about protecting your friends?”

X scoffed, looking away as he shook his head.

“I think you’re right,” Zero affirmed, his tone steady, “That’s not it. I think this is more personal than that.”

With a sigh, X’s posture pressed into the wall behind him, before slowly tilting his head to look back to Zero.

“I think,” Zero continued, “It’s got something to do with everything you said. Most of the time when you have to fight, it’s once all other options have been exhausted. And even then, you still don’t want to. In the back of your mind, you’re hoping for a miracle.”

“…What if this is when you decide to fight?”

X stiffened, his body still as his teeth jutted, his green eyes wide beneath his bangs.

Zero merely shrugged, “It would explain why it’s happened so little.”

“…I always come to a decision, don’t I?” X’s voice trailed.

“You tell me, Dragoon dropped the sky on an entire city, and you still asked him why, didn’t you?”

X bared his fangs, his fists shaking.

“But maybe you wouldn’t think that way now, who knows.”

The fact that Zero’s words were hitting him so deeply wasn’t surprising, but it was unsettling how much they seemed to make sense.

“But when I think about it, it has to really bother you, on a level that matters to you more than anyone else. It feels like it’s saved for people you think personally towards.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” X growled, his head shifting quickly towards Zero now, but the sweat across his brow was telling. “I’ve fought Sigma so many times now, why wouldn’t it happen every time?”

“Is Sigma really a person anymore?”

That question silenced X quicker than he thought it would, his eyes wide as he tried to find the words to respond.

Zero’s arms remained crossed, giving X another shrug. “It’s easy not to take something seriously when you don’t see it as human, right? At that point, why waste the energy?”

“…What are you saying,” X stammered, “That I wanted to hurt Lumine?”

Zero didn’t blink, his posture poised, his expression constant.

“…I’m saying that you felt like he deserved it.”

Chapter Text

Schedule a meeting with the Hunters.

Those were the orders Jet had received after she had watched everything fall apart, right after Lumine was eradicated. There wasn't much time to process it, as Kain Jakob was already making his moves to control the situation.

Jet had submitted her request to HQ that day, and now it was time to follow up.

There were few organizations that had the pull to request an audience with the Hunters, and Jakob Corporation was one of the few powerful enough to do so. Not many could claim having the Orbital Elevator as a project under their belt, that alone had propelled the company to unprecedented heights. Kain had provided a reality that hadn’t been deemed possible– cheap trade with the colonies, and affordable space travel.

The Jakob Project in particular had become paramount in securing Abel City’s dominance, so it was only natural that humanity would panic if anything were to disrupt it. The moment Vile had come into the picture, the Hunters had been called.

Nobody would have expected Lumine, the director of the project, to have gone Maverick. And all things considered, that knowledge was better off outside the public consciousness.

The Hunters had not released a public statement yet, the time was ripe to secure them as an ally in this matter. Kain would see that this would be handled appropriately.

Kain’s gaze shifted away from his desk to a woman across the room, her gaze fixated on a mirror. She was a Reploid, human presenting in nearly every way. She was the only one he could trust in handling this matter.

Jet gazed at her reflection, carefully scanning her appearance. Swathes of tousled white hair framed her cheeks as the rest hung just above her shoulders. Digital irises gazed back at her as their violet glow gently pulsed beneath stylishly unkempt bangs. Her attire was pressed and neat, appropriate for a meeting with such a prestigious client. The fabric was a tasteful hue, dark and velvety and strikingly professional. In the right light, a sheen of purple was visible in its fibers, accentuating refinement and regality. Dark gloves of matching color tightened across her palms as she gave herself an approving nod.

She was ready to leave.

As she made her way to the door, a low, controlled voice beckoned to her.

“Jet.”

She stilled, that tone of his all too ingrained in her that she couldn’t look away.

Jet turned to face Kain, watching him sit at the desk across from her, his dark eyes unwavering in their presence.

“Sir,” she breathed, her feet carrying her over, her shoes clapping steadily against the marble floor.

Kain’s knuckles rested against his cheek, his thumb slowly caressing across his skin as Jet stood before him, attentive and ready.

Waves of dark hair– dusted with flecks of silver, were neatly coiffed and parted above his collected stare. She noticed the slight bags beneath his eyes, but it did little to disrupt the potency of his visage.

“Do you understand how important your mission is today, Jet?” Kain breathed, his voice calm and steady.

She nodded promptly. “Yes sir.”

Any other answer would have been unacceptable.

Kain, however, remained unphased. His posture remained constant, his blinks were slow– manual even. “I trust that you took your time to review the material. I hope you understand what is at stake. I’ve already made an appearance in HQ prior to the incident. Considering the volatility of things right now, I can’t be seen in public. Too many people are asking questions, I need to rely on you to make our recovery on this matter possible.”

She swallowed, unwavering in her gaze. “...I know why you’re sending me, sir.”

He hummed in approval. His stare persisted but that noise was always a relief, a chance to take a breath.

And Jet didn’t even need to breathe.

“...Good.”

Kain rose from his chair, his fingers pressing against the matte of his desk as he stood upright, his back straightening as he surveyed her.

She had to tilt her head slightly upward to track his gaze, his long strides allowing him to close the distance without wasting any movement.

He now stood before her, and her face was met with his chest. As she looked up, past his dark vest and burnt orange button up, she was able to reestablish eye contact. Her mouth pursed, hair just barely grazing against her lips as watched him.

“I’m glad I can count on you Jet, you’re not like the others,” he purred.

Her breath hitched, that feeling once again swelling in her chest as she didn’t dare look away.

“You’re not like Lumine.”

The moment he said that, his hand had slid across her chin, drawing a gasp from her. Her frame went rigid as his fingers firmly held her head in place.

This feeling.

He was so good at summoning it, all things considered.

He released her, watching her step back as she brought a gloved hand to her mouth, her optics throbbing, heat thrumming across her cheeks as her flush was barely hidden.

“Is something wrong?” Kain breathed, his head tilting, locks of hair spilling over an eye.

She shook her head, trying to regulate her breathing.

“...No,” she whispered.

Jet took a step back, huffing as she attempted to adjust her hair, but each effort had been sloppy, unfocused.

“Right,” the smirk was evident in his tone, turning away from her as he returned to his desk. “I have faith in you, Jet. You are well suited for this task.”

She looked away, making for the exit, albeit hastily.

“...Yes sir.”

Zero’s words had left their mark, that much was certain.

Haunted eyes stared downward as X felt the warm rush of the shower soothe his body. As relaxing as it should have been, the water did little to ease his mind. Zero hadn’t spared him,but all things considered, X was grateful for that. Zero would never lie to him, even when it cut deep.

There was no way forward without confronting the truth.

That didn’t mean he had to like it though.

He huffed, brown hair splayed and pressed against his neck he turned off the water, his back muscles heavy with the weight of his prior conversation. He braced upon the shower handles in an attempt to ground himself, still digesting what Zero had told him.

Axl was still down and with no sign of waking up. Lumine had to have the last laugh, even in death he was still toying with them, leaving Axl in a comatose state while Zero and X were trying to pick up the pieces.

As far as X was concerned, they were all still trapped on the moon– fighting for their lives.

And according to Zero, X felt personally about everything, and it was something he couldn’t even deny.

He growled, pushing off the wall with more force than he wanted to, making for the locker room. As he got dressed, a ping registered on his optical feed.

A message– from Commander Signas.

The notification sat for a beat, the ping breathing at the corner of his eye. With a reluctant sigh, X opened it.

Signas was asking if X had time to talk.

The informality of it made it clear that this was no order. If anything, it showed worry, something that X would rather have others avoid, as per his nature.

His response was short, but clear.

‘Yes.’

Given the suddenness of the message, X wouldn’t have time to change into something more appropriate– a simple tank top and pants would have to suffice. However, he had a feeling that’s not something Signas would be concerned with, considering the tone of his request.

He shook his head as he made his way to the halls, walking briskly and avoiding eye contact. He didn’t like the fact that people were fretting over him, it made him uncomfortable. It was clear Zero and Signas were wise to the fact that this was bothering him, so he was sure that others were aware too.

He could sense their concern, as face after face that passed him just barely glanced in his direction.

Signas’ office never usually felt this far away…

X grit his teeth, weaving between the traffic hastily before feeling something collide into his chest.

“Ow!” A voice cried out.

X stopped in his tracks. He hadn’t budged, but that didn’t stop him from looking like he had committed a crime. “I’m sorry..!”

“Man, who the heck is walking around here like that-” Pallette groaned before cutting herself off mid-sentence as she realized who she had run into.

“Oh, hey X.”

X shook his head, crouching down to her level now. “Sorry about that, are you alright?”

She grinned, “Oh yeah, I’m fine, considering what I landed on.”

X paused, making note that she had fallen directly on her rear.

“Ah…right.”

Pallette snickered, “If ya feel bad though, mind giving me a hand picking all this up?”

Mortified, X hadn’t even noticed the pile of force metal scattered about.

“...I’m so sorry,” he fumbled, already on his knees as he began to scoop up what he could.

She smirked, joining him, “Wow, I got big bad X, helping little old me~” she teased.

He shook his head again, “No, I need to watch where I’m going, that’s on me.”

Admittedly, that made her smile, a warmness to her usual puckish grin as she crawled to get some more. “It’s okaaay,” she chimed, “You and I both know you’re busy, I get it.”

“...Still,” X sighed.

Man, he really was a boy scout, wasn’t he?

“Alright, I think that’s all of them,” Pallette chirped, jumping back to her feet, holding the canister of force metal with both hands “You can put them all in here~”

“Right,” X nodded, dumping his armful into the container before she sealed it.

“You know, I probably should have double checked the latches on this thing before running through HQ with it, silly me,” she shook the container, but not before grinning deviously at him. “But then again, I didn’t expect to bump into speed-running X.”

“Ah…” X pursed his lips, “I’m sorry again, Pallette.”

“Dudeee, I’m just teasing,” she rolled her eyes, her pigtails wagging with her head motions, “God, you make it so easy to mess with you.”

X was at a loss, his hand clutching the back of his neck as he tried to smile, but it was clear he hadn’t been prepared for an interaction like this today.

She probably should cut him a break, all things considered.

“Hey.”

X blinked before recoiling a bit as she pointed towards his nose, his green optics wide as they crossed to focus on her finger.

“If you really feel bad about it, why don’t you buy me one of those coffees you like so much? I see you bringing those in every now and then, I wanna try them!” She beamed.

“Oh,” X blinked. “Sure.”

“Great!”

And with that Pallette was already on her way, noticeably shorter than the others as she passed before glancing back at him.

“Don’t forget, ‘kay?”

X forced a grin, before nodding. “Got it, I won’t…!”

“It’s a date then!”

The look on his face was priceless.

She laughed. “I’m just kiddinnnnnnng…!”

She nearly skipped away, proud of the damage that was done.

X stood with a slack jaw expression, completely forgetting where he was before another ping from Signas had snapped him out of it.

He wanted to run, but he didn’t want another date to worry about.

Commander Signas was a man of principle.

With a career as decorated and as enduring as his, it was no secret that he had spared little effort to make sure the Maverick Hunters had prevailed. Even under the most strenuous of trials, even with the world coming to an end, Signas had watched his Hunters rise above it all.

They were strong.

And he would be nothing without them.

The Commander stood with his arms crossed behind his back, gazing at the photos, the memories that had decorated his walls like an impromptu tapestry. Various faces gazed back at him, most of them not of this world anymore.

“....”

This was the world they lived in, wasn’t it?

Day after day, year after year, Signas would watch eager lives be taken away, consumed by the Maverick menace. They gave everything, sparing nothing– including their lives, to ensure that peace could be upheld.

Peace that never seemed to last.

He let out an exhale, before stopping to gaze at a more recent picture, a trio of brothers smiled back at him.

X, Zero, and Axl.

They had never looked happier.

Somehow, after decades, Zero and X had found someone that they could lean on. Someone who had their backs when the unthinkable would occur. Axl, the prototype– an unlikely specimen in every facet imaginable, made X and Zero feel safe.

His gaze lowered to the file upon his desk.

Axl’s hunter identification decorated the trim of the folder, alongside a classified seal.

He peeled it open, but he wished he hadn’t. He frowned, closing the folder after a beat of silence.

He hated looking at that. Seeing Axl in such a state was heartbreaking, and nothing felt worse than not having an answer.

Axl hadn’t recovered, the Lifesavers on sight were doing their best, and Pallette was funneling every resource she could into keeping him stabilized, bless her heart. While things were stable for now, they hadn’t found a solution.

Nobody knew what was going on. They had never seen anything like Lumine, nor had they ever seen an attack like that before. A post mortem strike– that was more Sigma’s ballgame. Signas could not blame them for being unprepared for that.

But that was the reality.

They were all unprepared.

It was impossible to not take full responsibility, it was too ingrained in Signas to not look at this situation as pragmatically as possible. It was his nature, and it was why he remained the most consistent Commander in Hunter history.

However, the memories…the bodies… the unhelped, he could not forget them. He refused.

His most recent failure was sitting on his desktop, a folder that he wished could just disappear.

The knock on his door was the release he needed, his optics pulsing as he stared intently towards the disturbance.

“Come in.”

The wooden door creaked on its hinges, before closing with a firm weight.

The sound of muffled footsteps approached Signas as X made his way over, the carpet a welcome sensation in comparison to the sterilized halls.

“You wanted to speak with me, sir?” X breathed, standing across from his Commander with a tired gaze.

“Speak with you?” Signas echoed, surveying X quietly before a ghost of a smile graced his features, “No, I just wanted to talk to you, X.”

He watched X remain firm, almost statuesque in his posture as he seemed to process the meaning of those words, as if he had never heard them in his life.

“...Okay,” X breathed.

Signas nodded, walking past his desk to stand on the other side, with X.

“Would you like something to drink, X?”

X’s lips opened to protest, as if on instinct, but stopped when he saw the gaze of his Commander– Signas, had effortlessly disarmed him.

“...Sure,” X nodded, softly.

Signas smiled, “Good, I would like that.”

X had seated himself upon a couch, which rested comfortably underneath a shelf of various models. When he looked up, he could see a few of them peeking from above the wood, some that even looked familiar.

“You’ve been working since the Jakob Incident,” Signas called, taking X away from the models and back to him.

X watched as Signas produced a decanter, within its crystal resided a deep amber liquid, its color rivaling the old wood on the counter beneath it.

“Can’t say I blame you,” Signas chuckled warmly, “I did the same thing.”

In truth, they all hadn’t stopped working, but that much was obvious.

“...I’m not satisfied,” X admitted, his head low, his fingers creasing into the leather beneath him. “I failed.”

“You failed?” Signas stopped, his fingers firmly upon the crystal before glancing to X over his shoulder. “Who told you that?”

He resumed pouring, his gaze firm though as he focused on the glass.

“Surely nobody under my command would be that insensitive.”

X grimaced, his chin curling as his knuckles went white against the couch.

“...I did, sir.” X breathed.

“Then you should be more sensitive, X.”

X paused, but he could only lower his head. There wasn’t much else to say.

“Here.”

Signas stood over X, offering a crystal glass endowed with whiskey.

X’s lips parted, hesitating for a beat before reaching for the glass. “...Hm.”

Signas moved before he could take it, with X blinking as the Commander now sat next to him, smiling.

“Here, drink up, X.”

X’s silence had been expected, his lack of reaction all too fitting as Signas watched him process this moment in real time. He didn’t mean to disarm all protocol with one drink, but he simply refused to let this be a formality, at least as Commander.

He placed the glass in X’s hand, before clasping firmly across X’s fingers.

“Don’t let go, we’re counting on you.’

X stammered, half a breath croaking through his lips before Signas released him, the glass secured.

Signas nodded, “Good, I see we’re in good hands.”

“Sir?” X blinked.

Signas chuckled, before raising his own glass, just inches away from X’s.

“It’s not something you have to think about, because it’s so effortless for you, X.”

X wanted to question him, he wanted to ask what this talk was all about. However, that look in Signas’ eyes was so warm, so free of their usual sharpness, that he didn’t have the heart to derail it.

“Would you drink with me, X?”

The glass swayed in Signas’ grasp, the rich liquid pooled with allure as the mature scent wafted subtly in X’s sinuses.

“....”

X raised his glass, meeting Signas' with a gentle clink.

“Good.”

Without another beat, the two of them leaned their heads back and drank.

Chapter Text

Far away from the bustle of HQ proper, one of the older offices was filled with the sound of rhythmic keystrokes. A black coffee sat near the keyboard, but it had been neglected for some time. Nevertheless, the lukewarm mug was brought to the user’s lips, unphased and stoic as they continued their work.

Alia’s lips scrunched, but she paid no mind to the taste.

There were more important things on her mind, and they were much more mind numbing than stale coffee, like Jakob Corporation and their toys going unchecked. The Hunters were used to cleaning up messes, but this one proved to be bigger than most. The press was chomping at the bit for answers, and unfortunately for the Hunters, it wasn’t their place to reveal the details of their mission without direct approval from the Council.

Considering how things were looking, it seemed likely they were to sweep all this under the rug. Because of course they would, and it wouldn’t be the first time. Jakob Corp had secured Abel City as the most powerful metropolis in the world– they would be idiots to poison that well.

How infuriating.

Admittedly, this fixation upon Jakob Corp was cutting into her work time. There was so much to do, but Alia instead found herself analyzing Kain’s most recent address, while cross referencing the data they had in regards to the Elevator incident. The Council would get their data, but only after she was done with it first. If she found anything interesting, well, nobody would have to know about that.

There was a lot Alia kept locked away here. It was for their own good. Humanity had made it quite clear that the elevator was their achievement– not Reploidkind’s. It didn’t matter that Reploids had helmed the project, it had all been funded and ideated by humans– or rather, one particular human.

It made her skin crawl.

Jakob had certainly bided his time, hadn’t he?

…She was getting distracted.

Her typing resumed.

The data Alia had requested and received from Jakob Corp was obviously altered, potentially by Kain himself. It was clear that whatever happened up there was enough to make him paranoid. Even with Kain holding favor of the council these days, it was clear that there was evidence out there that could set him back.

Her gaze shifted to Lumine’s remains, which rested securely– and more importantly, far away from her. They all knew what had happened to Axl, and Alia wouldn’t have been surprised if Lumine’s particles were harboring some sort of nanoscopic parasite. But one thing they did know was that Kain wanted those remains for himself. Those men on the moon had been persistent, but thank god Zero and X were too fed up to deal with their bullshit.

She wasn’t sure if there was anything salvageable from Lumine, but Kain was clearly worried enough to send a taskforce to retrieve him. There likely wasn’t anything useful, but of course he had to have it.

…It was so like him.

She resisted the urge to spit. She hated that she understood him so well. What worried her though was that it seemed like she was one of the few who did. Even Signas could be brought up to speed a bit.

One way or another, they would have to learn, and she was hoping it would be her that educates them on who they are dealing with now– not him.

…She would never forget what was taken from her.

“....!”

Alia found herself flinching as she heard the door open, clearly more absorbed in her work than she had thought. At first, she whipped her head viciously toward the intruder’s direction, a scowl forming before she cut herself short at who she saw.

X stood halfway in the doorway, a look of guilt upon his face as he stopped mid-stride.

“...You should knock,” Alia grumbled, her anger simmering, but waning with a sigh.

X swallowed, “I-I can come back later-”

“No,” she cut, shaking her head. “It’s fine just–”

She took a breath, clearly unable to hide her frustration as much as she thought she could. This whole situation truly was weighing on everyone, wasn’t it?

“...It’s fine because it’s you,” she admitted, now looking at him fully. The hardness in her gaze had never gone away, but the shift in her posture was familiar enough to X that he could take a breath.

“Just close the door behind you.”

Without wasting another second, privacy had been restored as X shut the door. He looked over his shoulder from the panel to meet her gaze. The hardness in her gaze had lessened, her comfort with the restored privacy evident.

He pulled up a chair to sit with her.

For Alia, anyone else getting this close without permission would have earned them more than just a stern look. But there were always exceptions to the rule, she let him sit. Her gaze was half trained on the columns of data in front of her, and that had given X enough time to catch his breath.

X couldn’t find the words. Instead, he counted the tiles on the floor, his posture hunching as the sound of the breathing had been their only exchange for what felt like minutes.

“....”

“....”

Slowly, her head turned to face him.

“...You can say it. It’s not going to bother me.”

His lips pursed, eye contact remaining difficult, especially when she knew what he had been thinking.

“It’s alright,” she stated plainly, “I know it’s your nature. Just spit it out.”

That had been convincing enough, despite how blunt it was.

“...Are you okay?” he breathed.

Of course he would ask that.

It was such a useless question. One that she hated answering, especially when the answer was written all over her face. If it were anyone else, she would have let them have it.

“...No,” she sighed, “I’m not, X.”

He lowered his chin, giving her a reactive nod.

“But I know it’s important to you to ask– to check in, even if I think you’re just wasting your time,” her edge managed to sneak in.

“Yeah,” X breathed, “I’m working on that, sorry.”

She shrugged, her face statuesque and firm. And yet, she had been the one who enabled him to do so, even if it logically made zero sense.

She couldn’t deny that it at least meant something coming from him.

“You don’t look so good either,” she added.

That too was obvious, but it compelled him to speak, finally. “Zero told me some things that I’m having a hard time accepting.”

There it was.

She sighed, a bit louder than she should have as she turned her monitors off, now looking back to him.

He stammered, ready to protest but was stopped cold as she simply held her hand up.

“It’s fine,” she stated plainly, “Just talk.”

There were two inevitabilities in this room. X’s feelings boiling to the top, and Alia dropping everything in that instant to listen to them.

After all these years, that was just how it worked with him. And she had entertained it– always.

She blamed herself for that.

“What did Zero tell you, X?” she spoke clearly.

His vision wandered from the tiles, to her monitors, her hands, before finally settling upon the charred remains that sat across the room.

“...He said that I felt like Lumine deserved what I did to him… that I believed in it.” She watched X slowly turn his head to meet her gaze, and what she saw was enough to make her lip twitch.

Wide, green eyes pleaded in her direction, searching for something in her eyes. The breath that eked out of X’s chest was fragile and vulnerable– unbefitting of a “hero”.

She scoffed at that thought.

If anyone else saw X like this they would laugh at him. She hated that. It was always easy for those on the outside to criticize things they knew nothing about. They would accuse X of being too scared to do his job. They had no idea why X had retired that one time. They had no idea that if anyone had earned that, it was X.

Those people were weak.

They didn’t understand that X swallowed his pride and repressed everything to get back on that battlefield and fight. They don’t know how peaceful that retirement had been for him, they just wanted to see him kill again, because it was useful.

Those cowards didn’t understand the sacrifice and blood X gave for decades.

And most of it he had to endure–alone.

And now X had just revealed that the repression had evolved, transformed into something else– something monstrous.

“...What did you tell him?” she whispered.

X felt his breath break into a choke.

His hands snagged into his hair as his breathing began to hitch, his vision growing hot as he tried to push forward– to the truth.

“...I walked away,” he admitted.

Alia closed her eyes, exhaling firmly through her nose. “...I see.”

She too glanced at Lumine’s remains, the sharpness of her stare venomous towards the inanimate pile of slag.

At this point, she didn’t even need the specifics. The severity of the situation was sold effortlessly by the man who had endured it. And that man just happened to be a pacifist that had brainwashed himself to orchestrate war on a spectacular level.

What other choice did he have?

“I didn’t have time to think about it, Signas asked to see me,” X’s breathing shook.

“Do you think he knew you were bothered?” Alia asked without dropping a beat.

“I don’t know,” X admitted, “But he just wanted to share a drink with me, for some reason.”

Alia paused at that, her posture tightening just a bit in direct response to that information. X couldn’t see it, but her eyes had grown wide, as if she heard something forbidden.

“...Understood,” she breathed.

“Huh?”

Alia shook her head slowly, “It’s nothing you should worry about, at least more than you usually do. I think Signas has decided…where your head's at now.”

X stammered, his jaw parting a bit as he practically scoffed from confusion. “I…what are you saying?”

Alia sighed. When X got like this, subtext tended to elude him. But that was fine, it was probably better this way.

“He thinks you’re on the right path, is what I’m trying to tell you.”

“Wh- right path? What?” X tilted his head, frustration now in his eyes as he looked at her.

She frowned at that.

“Did you hear what I just told you, Alia?”

She closed her eyes, her fingers digging into her forearms.

“...I did, I’ll word it differently for you, then.”

She quashed her annoyance. For X.

“...I’m saying that he believes you will make the right choice, that whatever you’re going through right now, it’s showing him things that you aren’t able to fully understand right now.”

X stammered, about to speak again, but Alia leaned forward, only slightly.

“X.”

He stopped, tears welling in his eyes.

“You trust me, right?”

He bit his lip, fighting the urge to give into those tantalizing emotions that he worked so hard to keep in check. And yet, there were a few that had welcomed it, there were a few who understood.

And she was one who understood him better than most.

Despite his emotions running wild–frustration ruling him, the Hunter nodded, keeping his mouth shut.

Alia huffed, her temples throbbing as she bit her cheek, only to deflate as she watched him nod. With another forced sigh, she leaned back into her chair.

“...Your friends believe in you, especially Zero. I think that’s what you should take from this day X, whenever you can accept that.”

She could see how that response made him hollow. She knew it was unsatisfying, she knew it was frustrating. God, it would make her spit at the person who even said it to her. What useless, cryptic nonsense she had just spouted.

But for X?

"Faith was just enough of a bandaid to let the rest of his psyche heal from the godforsaken moon and a madman’s dream of domination."

“You’ll need it… for what’s coming,” she growled.

The hero hung his head in defeat. X was tired, much too exhausted and frustrated to argue anymore. Maybe this was for the best.

He trusted Alia.

“...Alright,” he relented, “...Okay.”

It wasn’t easy seeing him like this, it reminded her of how he acted after Eurasia– how powerless he felt during that time. And yet, as always, he had been forced to trudge on, burying everything to be the hero the world needed.

And they had succeeded because of that.

Alia felt her hand reach, just barely nestling into his hair.

She felt him hitch, imagining his face as he trembled and stared to the floor.

The sterile tile gazed back at him, his reflection warped from the glossy material as he searched for an appropriate response, but it hurt trying to think of one.

He just needed to close his eyes.

He just needed to lean on them.

She felt him deflate, a whimper eking from his chest as he sobbed, his chest hugging against his thighs as his voice became muffled.

She was still, watching him unravel in silence. Her fingers threaded through his hair ever so slightly– a small gesture of assurance.

Words were no longer appropriate, this was the best she could do for him.

But it was all he ever needed.

Chapter Text

There was no room for error in the foreseeable future. Everything had to go according to plan.

“...”

As dusk began to settle upon the skyline, a silhouette could be seen gazing through the window panes of Abel’s tallest structure. Like the Elevator piercing over the globe, Jakob Tower loomed– casting its shadow across the streets of the Upper Sector.

His fingers pressed into the glass, as black irises locked with his own through its reflection. Yet even through the darkness staring back at him, his vision never felt clearer.

Waves of orange smeared across the city as the horizon prepared its transformation. The canvas was set, and everyone would bear witness to the inevitable– it was only a matter of time.

There was a knock at his door.

He didn’t even have to think about who it was. Nobody else had the audacity to commit such a disturbance, so at the very least he was able to quell his irritation.

“...Dad?” A voice called out as the doors opened, the low groan of its hinges audible as tentative footsteps followed.

Kain didn’t blink, his poise unwavering as he continued to watch the world beneath him. His silence on the matter proved that he excused the intrusion.

The footsteps persisted– as expected, the marble floors doing little to preserve the serenity from earlier. Naturally, they continued before he could sense the presence of his son behind him now.

Kain remained silent, still fixated on his piece before him as another reflection manifested beside him.

Orange eyes met with his, wide and open. Kain squinted at them, before letting out a controlled sigh.

“What is it, Leo?”

Leo’s lips pursed, breaking eye contact for a bit as he attempted to urge his words forward.

With everyone else it was so easy– effortless even. Even with that awareness, it was never enough preparation to look into the eyes of his father with clarity.

“...The university hasn’t stopped talking about what happened on the moon.”

Obviously.

Leo swallowed. “I just felt like you should know, even during the lectures I couldn’t stop hearing about it.”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

Leo stammered, his pause all but expected as his father turned to meet him face to face now.

“It’s worldwide news, Leo. I’m sure middle schoolers are writing their first papers on it.”

The silence between them was abrupt and rehearsed. The beats had fallen into motion as predicted, with the two a stand off.

An unfiltered sigh shuddered out of Leo’s breath as his vision wandered elsewhere, yearning for something to latch onto.

A firm, but controlled huff pushed through Kain’s nose as he curled his chin, “What did they say to you?”

Leo’s response was delayed, as if he was caught in a malaise. Kain’s words drew pause from him as the question stewed in his mind. With a deep breath, a clarity returned in his eyes as he looked back up to his father.

“...Nothing, actually,” Leo breathed.

Nothing?

Kain’s brow furrowed, now leaning in a bit towards Leo as if he were being surveyed.

…He wasn’t lying.

A ghost of a smirk creased across Kain’s face.

“And you, did you say anything?” Kain breathed.

Leo shook his head, “No, I would never.”

“You didn’t ignore any questions, did you?”

Leo hadn’t even hesitated, meeting Kain once more with a firm stare.

“No, I didn’t want to give them anything that could hurt us, I made sure I was prepared.”

Smart.

Kain nodded, “Good…that’s good.”

Leo blinked as Kain stepped a bit closer now, craning his head slightly as he could feel tension in his shoulders begin to melt away.

“You understand the situation better than I had hoped, I’m glad to see that,” his tone was soft, nearly a whisper.

With unexpected speed, he passed Leo now to grab his coat, before making his way to the door. Leo could sense it, the stride in his father’s legs– Kain was excited.

“Let’s go for a ride, we should discuss this further, Leo.” Kain commanded, already putting his coat on.

His father was looking at him with expectation, as if the surgical examination from moments prior never happened.

“...Sure, dad.”

The elevator ride was quiet, as expected. Ever since the initial incident, Leo hadn’t seen Kain for more than moments at a time. But he couldn't blame him– how could he? The entire world had been watching the Orbital Elevator and the chaos that had ensued around it. Night and day, his father was making sure that thing stayed afloat.

Leo looked up at him, before smiling.

“It’s good to see you’ve gotten some rest…Dad.”

Kain scoffed lightly, “I didn’t have a choice after a little while. There was nobody else who could have handled that.”

Leo nodded, but found himself staring absentmindedly to the buttons on their elevator, slowly descending back to surface.

He was right– there was nobody else.

Try as he might, Leo never could wrap his head around his father’s work. It just was too much, he didn’t get it.

From a business and optics standpoint, Leo could comfortably see the dynamics his father was weaving. But everything else?

It was just too hard.

“I..wish I could have done something,” Leo admitted.

Even though he couldn’t see him, Leo could feel his father’s eyes trained on him now, a slow deliberate shift in focus that made him hold his breath.

The silence between them was only interrupted by the pleasant tones of the elevator.

“Then let’s not make today a waste of time, Leo.”

As the two made their way to the lobby, someone had already been waiting for them at the door.

“Sir,” Jet stood firmly, giving Kain a prim nod, but not before her eyes shifted to Leo’s for a beat.

“Were you able to schedule with the Hunters, Jet?” Kain walked forward, not even making eye contact as he looked at his phone.

“Yes, sir.” She replied, her posture poised and attentive– naturally. “They couldn’t see me today, but I have an appointment tomorrow.”

“Good, we will monitor that accordingly. For now, let’s take a scenic tour. I have decided to let Leo in on what we have been discussing, so I need some time with him.”

“Oh,” Jet blinked, before looking in his son’s direction. Her shock was muted, only accentuated by her eyes, but was quickly succeeded by a warm smile.

“That’s great to hear, Leo,” she bowed, a glow to her cheeks now. “I’m glad you’re helping us.”

“Thanks, Jet. I want to help.” Leo warmly acknowledged.

She already knew what this meant to him, and she was sure she hadn’t seen a smile like that from him since he was a boy.

“The car is outside, are you both ready?” she pivoted in Kain’s direction, a fleck of eagerness in her eyes.

“Yes we are, thank you.” Kain nodded, pulling his remaining glove on, before looking to his son.

Leo nodded, standing at Kain’s side now.

“...Great~” Jet nodded, a pep to her breath, already out the door.

“She seems excited,” Leo grinned, looking over his shoulder to Kain.

“I’d say so, it’s been a long time…” Kain started, but trailed.

“...A long time?”

Kain shook his head, making his way outside now, “It’s nothing, let’s go to the car.”

Leo blinked, watching in pause as he watched Jet open the door for him, with Kain promptly seating himself upon the posh upholstery. “Leo, let’s not waste any time,” Kain called to him, snapping Leo back into focus.

“Ah– right…sorry.”

After Leo was seated, Jet closed the door and made her way to the driver’s side, before proudly taking the wheel. She turned to look at them both, her lips curled into a grin now.

“Let me know when you’re ready, sir.”

“Now is fine, let’s take our time as well, no need to rush.” Kain replied, typing on his phone.

“Yes sir.”

Without further delay, they were off.

Jakob Corporation being in the heart of Abel proper meant that just past the gate– a bustling metropolis awaited.

Traffic on both the ground and sky flowed seamlessly, with some cars merging into lanes that transitioned smoothly into the air. Leo watched as wheels were traded for flight in effortless fashion, following beams of light to weave into their designated skylanes.

For now though, they remained grounded.

One step at a time.

As the minutes passed though, Leo could feel himself holding his breath. Kain hadn’t spoken since they had started. Counting the cars passing by had begun to lose its meaning. He looked away, before stopping as his gaze trailed to the steering wheel, and then eventually to the mirror.

Jet was silent, and her eye contact was sparse, save for a quick glance in Leo’s direction, acutely in sync when Kain was typing something on his phone.

Her fingers remained pressed against the wheel.

Leo felt the urge to ask Kain a question, but he found himself mirroring Jet’s rhythm. His glances towards his father were reactive and hidden– aching for release.

When was the right time to breathe? As if on cue, Leo’s attention was taken from him as something familiar loomed over the horizon, a recognizable landmark that commanded numerous blocks within the city.

Leo hadn’t been this close to Maverick Hunter HQ in some time.

He trailed his father in his peripheral vision, noting the posture shift. Kain had joined them in their sightseeing.

“Enjoying the view?” He murmured.

When he looked this time, Kain was looking straight at him. Funny how the thing that Leo had wanted most ended up catching him off guard.

Leo’s head stopped at the halfway mark, HQ still in the distance, but the majority of his father taking the rest.

“It looks bigger than I remembered,” Leo breathed, before committing to eye contact.

“Really, it looks smaller to me,” Kain couldn’t help but grin, his phone slipping into his pocket at last. “Everytime I pass it I can’t help but imagine them inside, watching the walls shrink.”

Leo didn’t know how to respond to that.

Kain chuckled, his legs crossing as he looked back to it. “Once you enter my world, you tend to see how little everyone understands. Don’t let a castle fool you if everyone inside is scrambling to keep the moat up.”

Jet felt her shoulders stiffen for a moment, before making eye contact through the mirror– completely by accident.

“Was there something you wanted to add, Jet?”

Her eyes were back on the road and they wouldn’t be moving away again. “No, sir.”

Kain hummed, before casually glancing back to his son.

“Do you understand what I am telling you, Leo?”

The exchange didn’t go unnoticed by the heir, studying Jet’s expression vividly before realizing he had been asked a question.

“...I think so,” Leo finally responded.

“I’m not asking if you ‘think’ so.”

That cut harder than he had expected, and Leo shifted gears, “Sorry, you’re saying that most people are keeping appearances up, but struggling behind closed doors.”

Kain rose a brow. “I suppose that’s a translation of my metaphor– yes.”

Leo swallowed, not sure where to navigate next as Kain let out another sigh.

“What I was telling you was that being aware of this is power, Leo.”

Power.

They turned the corner, with HQ now shrinking in the rear view mirror as Leo reaffirmed eye contact with his father.

“The incompetence of our… ‘peers’ remains consistent in our society, Leo. Naturally, being aware of their weaknesses provide the leverage we need to secure our foothold. Which is why we also have to cull any loose ends that threaten our stability.”

Leo obediently remained silent, as he was expected to.

“Right now, the world is waiting in bated breath for our downfall. While we were praised by everyone before, they have now turned coat and wish to strip apart our carcass if we die. It’s simply nature.’

Kain joined Leo in gazing at the shrinking reflection of HQ.

“And unfortunately, we are in a position that is at the mercy of someone else, someone who gains nothing whether we live or die. We had to rely on them to clean up the mess Lumine behind, and that gives them power– for exposing the world to our weakness.”

“...Don’t they work for the Council?” Leo had the courage to ask.

“Yes,” Kain acknowledged– much to Leo’s relief, “But the Council is also composed of men, and their noses are attuned to any shift in power, especially shifts that can secure their foothold. The Council may have praised us for the Elevator, but why give them the chance to turncoat too?”

It made sense.

Leo looked back to his father.

“What do we do?”

Kain’s gaze deepened, still unwavering in his stare as HQ became a dot upon the horizon.

“A Jakob must never get their hands dirty, Leo…” Kain whispered, a gravel to his tone.

“...But I am willing to make an exception, just this once.”

Chapter Text

Signas wasn’t the one to call impromptu meetings without good reason. It didn’t take long before people began to step into his office– ready for whatever news that he had for them. After the last person filed in, it was clear that Signas was ready to begin. However, what seemed to catch everyone off guard was how little people had entered the office.

“Is this it?” Alia surveyed, noting the presence of X, Zero, and Signas himself.

“Everyone is accounted for, save for one,” Signas nodded, his elbows resting on his desk as he met each of their gazes with a nod. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice.

Axl was still down for the count, so it made sense that he wasn’t here. Pallette had her hands full attempting to stabilize him, so that ruled her out as well.

“Layer,” Alia deduced, crossing her arms now, “Why couldn’t she make it?”

“Layer is preoccupied, she had announced her absence to me this morning.” Signas nodded.

Alia’s brow furrowed. Who would refuse to attend a meeting from Command? Layer wasn’t one to mess around, she was sure there was a good reason– but it still didn’t sit right with her.

“I wouldn’t worry too much, Alia,” Signas noticed, “Her absence today can be excused. After speaking with her, I can confidently say that we can handle this without her.”

“Sounds like she got the full briefing before us then, huh?” Zero couldn’t resist a scoff.

“If she could attend, I would have told her with the rest of you. It’s important that we all are informed, Zero.” Signas retorted firmly– yet free of any edge.

Zero shook his head, not exactly enthused by the response.

“...Let it be known I am not withholding any information. I called you all here because this is a matter of importance that I would rather not risk leaking out. I spoke with Layer personally, she is someone we can trust.”

“Sorry sir, I’m just not very fond of secret meetings, pardon me for assuming though,” he squinted towards Signas.

“X, what about you,” Signas trailed, still looking at Zero for a beat before shifting his focus to the person sitting next to him. “Any concerns before we begin?”

The tension was already palpable in the room. Zero and Alia’s concerns were valid– all things considered.

The sheer tenure in this room alone dwarfed the rest of HQ by decades, Signas couldn’t blame them for their questions. The only person who hadn’t spoken up yet was X, so that needed to be addressed before moving forward.

“...No,” X breathed, his lashes heavy– his weariness evident. “This is fine, I’m ready.”

“Very well,” Signas nodded, not taking his eyes off X for a beat before shifting his focus back to the room. “Let’s begin.”

Despite their differences, they could all agree that the Commander knew how to keep things on track.

“Jakob Corporation has scheduled a meeting– to follow up on the incident with the Orbital Elevator. They want a debrief. Naturally, we are still recovering from it all, and we are not in ideal form to wrestle with human politics.”

Predictably, Signas’ gaze shifted over to Alia’s, but her nonplussed reaction told him she had expected this outcome as well.

“They had requested the utmost urgency on this matter, and given the fact that Jakob Corporation has direct ties with the Council, refusal wasn’t an option for us.”

“Well that’s just great.” Zero scoffed. “They don’t seem to care that we did them a favor by cleaning up that mess, do they? Let’s not forget the fact that our comrade is still bedridden.”

Not seeing Axl’s face for nearly a week had admittedly started to wear on them all.

“Unfortunately, Hunters aren’t afforded the luxury,” Signas sighed.

“What else is new?” Zero shook his head.

Nevertheless, Signas continued. “As Maverick Hunters, we are sworn to protect humanity and Reploids alike. Regrettably, that service is framed as an obligation to many.”

“There’s a reason you're calling for this meeting then, right?” X finally spoke up, his head lifting to speak. “Despite us having to comply with Jakob Corporation’s demands, there’s something that we have that puts them at a disadvantage.”

Eyes were trained on X as they watched him sit up now.

“Otherwise, why would they bother to have a meeting, right?.”

Signas nodded, “Exactly, X.”

“Well, we have a jar full of Lumine, and the guys that we ran into on the moon didn’t seem keen on letting us take him home, remember?” Zero shrugged.

“It’s not just that,” Alia shook her head, “We may serve humanity, but we also have credibility on top of that. We don’t have as much evidence as I’d hope, but the fact remains that this planet wouldn’t exist without us, so our word against Kain still holds enough weight. They can’t ignore us, we’re far too valuable.

“Essentially, we are obligated to accept this meeting,” Signas addressed them all, “But the fact this meeting exists at all proves we have leverage against them.”

“You don’t have to say ‘they’,” Alia retorted, a scowl to her breath. “You can just say Kain.”

“Kain seems like a guy that doesn’t like playing by the rules if he can get away with it, doesn’t he?” Zero began, but stopped as he made eye contact with Alia.

“You have no idea,” she growled.

Zero scratched his head, “Jeez, that bad huh?”

“I probably wouldn’t be working here if it were any different.”

Alia’s words sounded harsh– ungrateful even to the unaware. If anything, their silence had proven that she could speak her truth on this, and that caught her off guard.

She looked away, admittedly a quiver to her lips before she bit it away. “But enough of that…that was then, this is now.”

“And we’re grateful for that, let’s move on.” Signas asserted, much to Alia’s relief.

As everyone else shifted a bit, X hadn’t looked away from her, his lips parting as she stared at the floor, unaware of his gaze.

“X,” Signas continued, opting for the blue hunter to look in his direction, “What do you think we should do?”

The question caught X off guard. He stared at Signas, wide-eyed, unsure why he was being asked.

Zero studied Signas, he could always tell when the Commander was up to something, and Alia’s silence on this matter was all the more suspicious. Nevertheless, he kept his mouth shut and let this unfurl.

Despite his weariness, the spike in X’s posture had been instant. Signas had expected it, but that wasn’t important. What mattered more was X’s response.

“...Who is representing Kain for this meeting?” X breathed.

Signas’ optics surged, a twinkle to them even.

Magnificent.

“Good question, but we haven't gotten that far yet. Do you think Kain won’t make an appearance?”

Alia’s fingers tapped, her face scrunching at even thinking of that reality.

“...Well, he’s vulnerable, right?” X began, as if he was finally waking up. “The public doesn’t have answers for what happened, so if he showed his face it could cause complications. He needs us to clear things up, so in the meantime he would send somebody else in his stead.”

“Exactly, a proxy is necessary for this,” Signas nodded. “Continue, X.”

“If that’s the case,” X resumed, “Then that gives us room to work with. That being said, who he sends isn’t someone we can underestimate– they still represent Kain, so we have to be careful. But that also means that there is room for a misunderstanding.”

“Yes. And in doing so,” Signas continued to nod, a fire to his eyes even as he repressed a smile, “It can make another follow-up necessary. This can buy us the time we need to gather our bearings and be ready. Kain is being decisive right now, he’s trying to catch us off balance, but we know his limitations. While he has done nothing to harm us personally, we have reason to suspect that Lumine may not have been an isolated incident. This allows us to investigate more on our terms.”

X nodded. He may not have gotten that far in his thinking, but the earnestness in his gaze showed Signas that X ultimately was thinking in that direction.

Excellent.

“It looks like we found our goal, we need to take advantage of this opportunity,” Signas nodded firmly.

Nobody could disagree, the plan was solid.

However, Zero once again could sense something. The way Signas was looking at X told him that the Commander had something up his sleeve.

“X, do you think you can handle this?”

Alia blinked, her lips parting to speak but Signas moved, only perceptible to her– a wave of his hand.

His message was clear.

She crossed her arms, now joining Signas in his staring as she leaned into her corner.

All eyes were on X now.

X had been too tired to pick up on the exchange, and the shock of the question alone had caught him off guard. The ball was in his court now, and he didn’t know if he could refuse. With everyone looking at him like that, he couldn’t help but feel compelled to answer.

“I..-”

Why?

Ever since Signas had shared a drink with him, things had been different. The questions felt loaded– where was he leading him? X was exhausted, but he wasn’t stupid. And the silence from everyone else had told him that in some way, they were all involved.

He stilled as he looked at Zero in particular, watching his friend stare back at him, his expression unreadable.

Did he even have a choice?

“...Okay,” X whispered.

Signas’ fist clenched beneath his table, barely hiding the huff that escaped his chest.

Outstanding.

X truly had no limits, didn’t he? Signas could barely contain his glee, that he didn’t notice Alia’s gaze tracking him from her corner, her own silence louder than the rest.

“...Very well, let’s get you briefed, X. Today is more important than you know.” Signas nodded.

“You seem nervous.”

Kain’s voice softly cooed over the car’s speakers as Jet made her way across the highway– weaving into the appropriate lane for her destination.

“...Sir,” she acknowledged, albeit shakily.

“There is nothing to be afraid of. I don’t expect this to be simple, I have accounted for everything.”

The low hum of the engine was enough to mask her choking breath.

“Do you doubt me?” His voice cut, causing her to stiffen.

Even through a phone call, she could feel his nails across her chin, her neck curling on instinct as she stared ahead.

“...No, sir.”

“...What is the problem then?” he murmured.

Her fingers began to crease against the steering wheel as HQ slowly appeared in the horizon. “I don’t want you to have to worry,” she managed after taking a breath, “I want to handle this for you, sir.”

The silence she got in response made her hold her breath. Not being able to see his face made this suffocating. But then again, even if she was looking into his eyes– would there be a difference?

“Your enthusiasm…is noted,” he purred.

She could breathe, at long last. The timing was perfect as she made her exit, onward to Maverick Hunter HQ.

“It’s refreshing to know I’m not alone, Jet. Very well… let’s see what you can do. I await your results with anticipation.”

She could hear the intrigue in his tone, as if he were whispering in her ear. That controlled, exact tone of his that made her shudder.

“...Sir,” she acknowledged, her lips shaking as she let out a breath, giving herself a quick nod.

“I’m counting on you, Jet.”

Her gloves tightened against her knuckles as she shifted in her seat, her optics polishing themselves as her pupils constricted with the fervor of a huntress.

Failure was never an option.

The commute had become a blur after that. Her mind was elsewhere, living in the moment that was yet to come as she parked and made her way to the check-in. The elevator ride to the lobby felt like a blink of an eye, and before she knew it– Jet stood in reception, staring off into space

“...Miss?” The receptionist called, snapping Jet into focus.

“Ah-oh.” Jet shook her head, blinking before realizing where she was. “...Sorry about that, I was just a little distracted.”

“Busy day?” The receptionist smiled, “I mean, you have to be if you’re here, right?”

Jet grinned, her eyes closing as she flashed her teeth. “Oh, of course~”

“Okay well, let’s see…do you have an appointment?” They chimed, “Can I get a name, please?”

Jet was already producing identification, her card between her fingers as she offered it to the receptionist. “Yes, my name is Jet, but I’m actually here on behalf of Kain Jakob– to speak to Commander Signas.”

Everything about that statement made their eyes go wide, as Jet’s smile persisted.

“Oh.”

The way they held Jet’s ID now made it seem like it was printed on gold.

“...Right, well, let me get right on that for you, okay?.”

“No worries!” Jet beamed, positively chipper.

It never ceased to surprise her when people reacted to that information. Year after year, whenever handling business, the reactions were always some sort of variation of that. It made things so easy.

With a sway to her step, Jet placed both hands behind her back as she let the receptionist work, the smile upon her face persistent as she examined the lobby.

Even at a glance, it wasn’t nearly as decorated as she had thought it would be. With a legacy as revered as the Hunters, one would assume there would be some front-facing grandiosity for the public, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

There was nothing like that. If anything it was more bare than it should have been, honestly, but this was just a simple lobby. Hunters occasionally would be seen fanning in and out, giving Jet a wave or an ‘Excuse me’ as they passed by. Her curiosity would get the better of her as she would take a peek through the double doors leading into HQ proper, but all she could see was another clinical looking hallway.

This felt nothing like Jakob Corporation.

Considering the importance of this meeting that Kain had stressed, she had imagined something bigger. And while the facility was large, she just couldn’t shake how…public it felt. This lobby’s size was purposeful, the hallways functional. Less waste, and more utility was what she understood when looking at HQ.

Her gaze wandered for just a bit longer before she heard a pair of footsteps approach from her side, promptly catching her attention.

Unlike the Hunters that passed her, something was different about the man who had approached her. His outfit was positively human, and in the place of chest armor and greaves, were simple jeans and a brown jacket. Medium waves of brown hair relaxed against the back of his neck as his bangs just barely kept out of his eyes.

“Hello, you’re Jet with Jakob Corporation, right?”

“Oh,” she adjusted, only having to tilt her head slightly to meet the green eyes of the stranger. She wasn’t sure what had come over her, but as she looked into his eyes, she could feel something. Something brewing behind him that she couldn’t quite explain. Why would a random person give her this feeling?

“...Yes, I am. I’m sorry but I don’t have much time to talk I’m afraid. I have an appointment.”

To her muted surprise, that didn’t seem to resonate with him. And upon closer examination, she could see the digital flux of his irises.

“...You’re a Reploid,” she breathed.

“Hmm…technically, no,” he pursed his lips at that.

That response made her draw pause, her snowy bangs shuddering for a beat as she watched him smile at that.

“...What do you mean? Aren’t you?” Her tone was light, buried in her breath.

He wasn’t really of the mind to play games, nor keep her guessing. She could see that on his face as he offered his hand to her.

“...I’m X, I’m here on behalf of Commander Signas today.”

X.

She’s a statue, any semblance of motion to her frame had stopped on a dime, hair just barely catching up as it settled back into place.

Mega Man X.

That X.

Not a Reploid. This was the blueprint for them. For her. And clearly not just a Maverick Hunter… but the hero. And more recently– the one who had killed Lumine aboard the Orbital Elevator.

“I…I’m sorry,” she whispered, her eyes wide, “I-I just didn’t recognize…”

“It’s okay,” he managed a grin, still offering his hand. “I like it personally, it makes walks around the city a bit easier.”

“...I bet,” she chuckled, clearly a little out of her depth as her hand reached forward to shake his hand.

The moment their palms touched, she felt her breath hitch.

Her eyes widened, staring at his knuckles as his hand clasped over hers.

Her chest swelled, her sensors detecting something deep within the confines of X’s core. Something present, churning… swelling, something she had never felt before.

X’s battle with Lumine flashed before her eyes.

That night, Kain and her had front row seats, watching the action unfold from the confines of his lab. She vividly remembered it. The way his eyes had glowed—not just with power, but purpose. That violent, brilliant jade…

“Are you alright?”

His controlled tone snapped her back into focus as she stammered, trying to conjure the words needed for a basic response.

“I…Sorry,” she stammered. “I guess just… a little starstruck, is all.”

It was only a half truth, the sensation of that energy had been overwhelming. Kain had designed her systems to not only generate energy, but to accept it as well. She had never felt anything like this before. It felt alien– like her nerves hitched and snagged, like her spine was squeezing as his power had soaked into her core.

“That’s alright,” X grinned, none the wiser.

It took more restraint than she wanted to admit to let go of his hand, a small huff escaping her lips as she composed herself.

“Right, well… I have to ask then, why are you here, X? Where’s Signas?” she queried. “It’s great to meet you, truly, but I’m here because I have to speak with the Commander. We had an appointment.”

X let out a sigh, the subtle cue enough for Jet to sense immediately.

“...Unfortunately, we can’t spare Signas at this time.”

Her senses had been correct. The way X had shifted, the way his lips pursed before delivering the news, she could see it all coming.

This wouldn’t do.

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but with all due respect, X, that’s not what I was promised. This is an urgent matter– I need to speak to Signas.” Her tone was sharp, deliberate, but admittedly, a little shaken.

That soft, almost vulnerable gaze of hers had hardened, emboldening into a stare as she awaited his response.

“...That can’t be done.” X breathed.

Her face drained as he watched him deliver the news, her eyes widening now. This wasn’t the plan. She had a job to do, what happened?

She shook her head, her lips firm as she looked away from him now, a heat to her cheeks. “...This is very disappointing, X. I wouldn’t have expected the Hunters to operate this way. This is incredibly unprofessional.”

“Signas had sent me in his place to speak with you,” X cut, his exhaustion flaring behind his eyes as he stood a bit taller, watching her stiffen in response. “I’m sorry that this isn’t enough, but our hands are tied.”

This was hard. He wasn’t in the right mood to handle this. For some reason, Signas had this faith that he could just take meetings for him now– all because he was good at answering a few questions. He could feel his frustration burning as Jet remained adamant in her stance.

“I can’t accept that, X.”

“Why not?”

She gasped, her lips parting as she felt herself hesitate, not expecting that sort of tone from X as he matched her energy from before.

“I was on the moon myself, I fought Lumine, I saw everything. Is that not enough for you and Jakob Corporation?”

“...That-”

…It was true.

But still, it wasn’t what she had told him she was coming here for.

“...Give me a minute, please.” Jet whispered, before turning away from him.

X exhaled through his nose, before forcing his gaze to the window, his nails digging into his pocket as he bit away the tension in his jaw.

It was clear that they were both from different worlds. The way she carried herself was evident of that. She was so clearly molded by her environment that it was easy to forget she wasn’t human. He had never met any Reploid like her before. There were procedures and standards that she had to uphold, and even though he was making it difficult for her, she had to find her own way out.

The fact that she hadn’t called Kain was noted.

After collecting herself, Jet turned back, noticeably less frustrated than before as she took a breath.

“...Alright, this will have to do,” Jet exhaled, her tone not quite as measured as she hoped. “If Signas can’t be bothered, then I don’t have a choice.”

While not exactly the most tactful response, X shook it off as he crossed his arms, waiting for her to continue.

“...I’m sorry for that,” she admitted. “It’s just… There's just a lot of pressure with this. Mr. Jakob is already dealing with enough, and I don’t want this to be a waste of time for him.”

“It’s fine,” X nodded, but paying close attention to her words. “Signas would have been here if he could– all things considered.”

“...I’d like to believe that,” Jet breathed.

Nevertheless, here she was. Kain had trusted her to see this meeting with the Hunters through.

“Right– well, let’s head to your office then, X.” She nodded, more composed than ever as she looked to him expectantly.

X blinked… “Ah, well… you see…”

She went stiff as a board, gawking now.

“...You’re joking,” she blinked.

He flashed a toothy grin at her before rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, it doesn’t really work that way for grunts like me.”

“Grunt…?! You’re–do they even…?” She blathered.

She pinched the bridge of her nose as she huffed in frustration.

She had to uphold professionalism.

“...Alright, where do we go then?” She relented yet again, her arms dangling weakly at her sides.

“...We can take a walk?” X shrugged, his teeth bright.

God.

“...Sure…sure, let’s walk.” Jet shook her head, “Why not…”

Chapter Text

“You don’t do this very often, do you?”

Jakob’s assistant and the hero of the Maverick Hunters walked side by side through the halls of HQ. Jet tilted her head at X as they walked, her hands clasped behind her as she waited for a response to her question.

Unfortunately the truth wouldn’t do for a meeting like this, and X wasn’t going to out himself just yet.

“I’m too busy, most of the time,” he navigated the question, “Also, there are a lot of people here who specialize in meetings like this, so that’s normally delegated to them.”

“Hm, I suppose that’s true,” she breathed, matching his pace as a squad of Hunters jogged past them. “If that’s the case, why did they send you then?”

Her rebuttal was smooth, effortless in its delivery as X managed to mask his hesitation, his resolve shining through as he looked back to her.

“They thought it'd be better, since I was on the moon that day.”

“...Oh.”

His preparation had paid off. He figured she’d ask a question like that.

“...That makes sense,” she breathed, her eye contact wavering as they continued through the halls. It wasn’t often that Jet spoke with people outside of her realm. Corporate politics had a way of conditioning you to analyze every response you were given. Everything was connected, every action mattered in how it correlated to their respective interests. Even if X was upholding a similar level of poise, the clarity of his tone was so sobering that she found herself contemplating what to say next. “...I’ll admit,” she replied, ”It’s not often I get to hear perspectives like yours, but to hear it from the source, it’s not quite what I expected.”

“That’s what I was hoping for too.”

His stride came to a halt as she found herself a step ahead, a small noise of surprise eking from her chest as she pivoted back in his direction.

“...What do you mean?”

He couldn’t hide it, not him. If he was navigating with caution before, he wasn’t now. “...Lumine,” X began, his knuckles tightening, “He mentioned there were things that we didn’t understand, things that drove him to do what he did.”

Jet was still, ready to respond, but the tightness in her throat was palpable– a faint constriction as she swallowed, not daring to look away from him.

“I…I don’t think I’m qualified to answer that,” she whispered, a shake in her breath. “I think that’s something only Kain can answer.”

The stare that she endured from X made her core hitch, the gateways that were his eyes felt vast– as if she could get trapped just by looking into them for too long.

She could feel it– even when she wasn’t touching him.

“...I figured that’d be the case,” he breathed.

As he passed her, Jet could only gawk in silence before she caught up, not taking his eyes off him for a second now.

“I’m sorry,” she chimed, almost pleading, but simultaneously bewildered why she was even apologizing. “I wish I could tell you more.”

X said nothing, his attention shifted forward despite the wide eyes in his peripheral, continuing his walk until Pallette’s lab came into view.

They stopped, again.

“Why did we stop this time?” she whispered.

The doors to the lab were pulsing with red lights, a stark message to anyone:

Restricted Access.

“My friend is in there,” X replied, just as quietly.

Jet blinked, before slowly looking to the sealed doors.

“...Axl?”

He gave her a solemn nod, not taking his eyes off the lab.

“We’re still trying to figure out what happened,” she began thoughtlessly, “We never knew anything like that could-”

She stopped herself, her skin pale, as her eyes widened.

X turned immediately, a visceral stare surging towards her as she froze.

“Kain told us he couldn’t see what had happened.”

She swallowed, her lips sealing shut as she didn’t dare reveal anything else.

“Are you saying that wasn’t the case?”

Her core raced, her jaw clenching as she scrambled for an answer.

“...I was saying that we never expected Lumine to do such a thing,” her lips shook, everything about her face betraying her bold faced lie, “We never would have anticipated things like that to escalate the way they did…”

He was looking through her now, visceral in his stare. “Then maybe you can tell me why you’re really here.”

Nothing else mattered but careful navigation, it was all on her to salvage this. The pressure to execute professionally, but also to maintain the reputation of the entire Jakob legacy? She had accounted for a mistake such as this.

She had underestimated everything.

“...Kain wants to know what he can do to help,” she whispered.

His silence, while suffocating, was enough for her to take a breath.

“He just hasn’t been able to make any moves lately, because all eyes are on him. He sent me to make sure this could be handled with discretion,” she revealed.

“With all due respect to you Jet, I feel like Kain has taken his time,” X growled.

She was cornered, fully disarmed. Were circumstances any different, she felt that she could give him some sort of answer to appease him. However, in one fell swoop, X had taken full control of this meeting. It wasn’t about getting the Hunters to cooperate, she had already failed there. Now it was getting herself out of this on the best possible terms.

And mustering the courage to explain this to Kain.

“I think you should see this,” X ushered, walking towards the lab. “Come with me.”

Obediently, she walked with him, her haunted visage untameable as they made their way into the lab. At this point, she had to do what she was told. She could only leave when she had assured that Kain could have some sort of answer to this– some semblance of control.

As soon as the doors to the lab opened, she could sense everything.

Energy signatures fluctuated erratically, all contained deep into the lab at one point. It was struggling, fighting… weakening.

The room was messy, empty canisters of fluid piling up, as well as shreds of Forcemetal scattered haphazardly among the work benches.

Someone was managing all of this, and Jet could hear them struggling.

“I know if that door is open, you have clearance,” Pallette let out a frustrated groan, “But you really shouldn’t be in here unless I let you-”

She froze as she turned to see them both, coolant smeared across her hands as she nearly dropped the tool in her hands.

Jet’s eyes widened in response, already aware that she was an intruder. Pallette’s horrified expression confirmed all of that, and Jet found herself creeping towards the door.

“X. What are you doing.” Pallette eyes were wide, staring through him as she didn’t even need to look at the person standing behind him.

“This is Jet, she’s with Jakob Corporation,” X began.

“Oh that is just fantastic.”

Jet was a ghost, pressing herself away as she watched Pallette’s face contort further.

“You. Outside.” Pallette pointed at her. “Now.”

Jet didn’t have to be told twice.

The second Jet escaped, Pallette stormed forward, nearly smashing her tool down on the table as she stared up at X.

The look of shock upon his face was even more infuriating than Pallette wanted to admit.

“You know, for a guy who’s older than every Reploid on the planet, that was incredibly stupid, X.”

He began to speak, clearly something to say, but she wasn’t having it.

“No, you listen to me,” she cut him off, “I don’t care how many times you saved the world, you ever bring an outsider in here again without my permission, I will make sure Signas hears about it.This didn’t happen.”

For a moment, she could see his temples flare, a burn to his eyes that looked almost threatening. He had a reason for this, he knew what he was doing. He was on the moon that day, not them.

The curl to his knuckles were telling, the anger swelling in his chest was enough to make Pallette brace herself, and god, she just didn’t have the strength for that, not after this week.

“.....”

Silence.

His shoulders began to deflate.

“.....”

“...I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Pallette could breathe– finally. She wasn’t ready for anything else. After everything she had gone through, watching X blow up at her now would hurt, maybe even make her cry. But thankfully, he was X.

“...I know you’re hurting,” she whispered, looking up at him as she watched him tremble. “Believe me, X, I know.”

He nodded, his lips shivering as he couldn’t even look her in the eye.

“But you can’t do things like that, especially you , X.”

She looked tiredly back at Axl, sighing as the machines attached to his core and brain worked overtime to stabilize him. “After everything that’s happened, we have to keep it together– it’s the only way we can figure this out. The minute we start throwing that all away-” she glanced back at him now, “-is when we lose. Do you understand what I’m saying, X?”

He didn’t need any convincing any more. She was right.

“...Yes.”

God, hearing that was such a relief. They could move on, and she could get back to work.

“I don’t really have time to ask why you brought her in, but knowing you, it was for a good reason. But you can’t do things like that– especially when we also have our reasons, okay? I trust you, X, so please don’t make me question that trust.”

“...I’m at my wits end here,” she resisted the shake in her chest.

Everything she said came from the heart. They both wanted their friend to be okay. He understood that more than ever now.

“...She has the ability to sense energy,” X revealed.

Pallette pursed her lips at that, despite mentioning that she didn’t have the time, she let him speak.

“And considering she knew Lumine, maybe she’d be able to figure out what he did to Axl,” he finalized.

“She’s the enemy, X, at least until we know better. We can’t trust anyone else right now.”

By all accounts, he couldn’t argue against that. What else was there to say? With a deflated sigh, he nodded, before making his way to the door. “Right, it won’t happen again.”

“Thank you, X.”

He was about to leave, but like always, there was something else. He did that a lot, especially with his heart on the line.

“I think we need to confront Jakob Corp directly,” he clenched his teeth, his finger reaching for the panel, “Axl hasn’t gotten any better, has he?”

She pursed her lips. She wanted to give him a better answer, something to make his erratic behavior seem silly in hindsight.”

“...No,” she admitted.

With that, he was gone.

As he made his way out, to his surprise, Jet had not left. She was still in the hall, waiting.

The moment they made eye contact, she approached, her hesitation prevalent before meeting his gaze once again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

X shook his head, looking back to the sealed lab with a sigh. “It’s not your fault, it’s mine. I shouldn’t have done that.”

The fact that he mentioned that, to her of all people, brought pause to her. He didn’t owe her an explanation– all things considered. Why did it matter that she knew?

“Is there something I can do?” She found herself speaking without thinking. Again.

X blinked at that, but he found his eyes glowing at the opportunity.

“Yes, I think I need to meet-”

He stopped himself, his breath catching mid sentence as she watched him with intent.

This wasn’t just him.

“...I-I need to convene with the others, before we go on any further.”

It was the smartest thing he could have said, all things considered.

Jet nodded, aware of the line in the sand. “Very well, I think that’s best too. Whenever you decide what you want to do next, give me a call.”

She produced a card, handing it to him with an attempted smile.

“Can you escort me back?” She managed, trying to tie this back to some world that she was familiar with.

“Sure,” X exhaled, exhausted beyond measure. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

The unreadable stare of Kain Jakob was not something that Jet had ever gotten used to, even after all these years. His chin rested firmly upon his knuckles as he watched her, waiting for her to continue her report.

“And… I made a mistake,” Jet refocused, eye contact reestablished.

Kain hadn’t moved from his perch, but she could sense the shift from him immediately, the hollowness of her breath ripe for his dissection.

Jet shivered, a tremble to her lips now as she struggled to look at his face.

“...I slipped up, I-I told X… that we saw what happened on the moon.”

The only thing she could hear was the shake of her breath. The whirl of electricity in her joints was audible to her now as the room grew still. It felt as if in that moment, every function of her carefully crafted body felt audible to her, her own processes droning incessantly in her ears.

She was a spiraling cacophony, while her keeper remained statuesque.

The poise of Kain Jakob made her choke, the artifice of his stare made her feel as if his eyes were spun from glass.

She swallowed, daring to look up.

“S-s-sir…” she shook, aching for a response, anything to break the tension.

Something to divorce her from the perpetuated silence.

At long last, she watched his eyelids close, and a relieved gasp escaped from her chest before she silenced herself.

Her noises sounded feeble, so effortlessly human that she didn’t even recognize herself.

“...I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Once more, his silence spoke louder than any reprimand. Correction and discipline were palatable and preferred. It meant she existed, that she mattered.

She would take that in a heartbeat over this.

She had gotten comfortable with this project, and she was paying for it now. X had proven to be too much, he had disarmed and distracted her from her mission with a single meeting, and that was inexcusable. And she knew that better than anyone.

She is supposed to be better, that’s why Kain trusted her.

Failure like this made her no better than Lumine, and Kain didn’t even have to breathe for her to come to this conclusion.

She felt it, deeper than she could have ever known.

There wasn’t time to appeal this, he needed something from this, anything that would justify him trusting her ever again.

And then, it came to her, like a warm light in the back of her mind as her lips parted to speak, her eyes brimming with desperation.

“I…I felt something,” she whispered, “When I touched X, I…I felt his power.”

Her voice carried across the marble clad floor, only to deafen against the figure sitting at the desk across from her, absorbed into the void.

Kain didn’t even draw breath, his gaze unwavering as he watched her stir.

Jet bit her lip, frantically searching for something else to bring to his attention.

“Kain…” she pleaded, only to be met with that suffocating stare that analyzed her inside and out. His eyes were dismantling her where she stood.

She knew the look.

Pleading spiraled into desperation.

“He-he let me see Axl..!” Her breath shifted, her eyes wide, not even looking at him, just staring into the swirling marble at the foot of his desk.

“It was just for a moment, but I felt his energy, it’s not normal.”

“Something is wrong with him and they don’t know it…!”

His knuckle flexed, but she didn’t even have the mind to notice through her spiral, desperately trying to prove that she was better than Lumine, that she wouldn’t fail.

She wasn’t like him.

“I’m sorry…please!!-”

Her tear soaked cheeks stiffened as she watched his hand raise, her sobs diminishing on cue.

Wide, violet eyes stared at Kain’s palm, studying every crease with razor sharp precision, only looking away from it as she watched him begin to breathe.

His finger curled inward, beckoning her over.

Her feet moved before everything else, already at his side.

He lifted a glass to his lips, his attention seemingly elsewhere as she couldn’t get a good angle on him.

The ice in the amber liquid settled as his lips curled.

“Explain,” he whispered.

Salvation.

“Y-yes,” she nodded, “I-I just could feel-“

She was getting ahead of herself, clinging to the thought of words before coherent sentences could even form.

“Breathe,” he interrupted.

His voice was a command, an order.

She obeyed, naturally.

“...I could feel something in that room, I sensed it, it felt… it felt like him.”

The way he looked at her now felt like a cross between rage and horror, a rare blend that she wasn’t sure she had seen before.

“...You don’t think-” Kain bit into his knuckle, a throb to his eyes as he studied the empty chair across from him, the void of his pupils wide as he assessed the possibility.

“I…I don’t know what to think,” she whispered, “I can’t say for certain, but I feel that if anyone else could sense what I could, they wouldn’t be leaving him there alone.”

He nodded, his gaze still fixated on the chair across from him as she spoke.

“...That tendril Lumine produced,,” he growled, his tone hushed, as if trying to subdue that admission from an invisible audience, “It wasn’t of my design. Somehow, he had managed to catch everyone off guard, including myself.”

Jet said nothing, her jaw clenched as she watched the gears continue to grind in her creator’s brain. She watched him lift from his chair as he began to pace.

“To make matters worse, I haven’t been able to study it. The Hunters have made it clear I'm to be nowhere near Lumine’s remains.”

“They seemed…lost,” she interjected.

He looked back to her, his fingers still trailing his chin as watched her posture shift in response.

“Yes… they must be,” he breathed. “It’s not often that a Reploid remains out of commission this long, especially with the resources available to the Hunters. The fact that Axl is still nonfunctional is valuable information for us.”

“Sir?” she urged, ever curious to know what he was thinking.

“Perhaps, you have given us an opportunity, Jet. Maybe there is more in our favor than I had thought.”

Hearing that ignited a spark in her, the perk in her spine immediate as she stood to join him.

“The Hunters are making little progress in Axl’s recovery, and you were able to obtain knowledge that they are currently lacking. That’s the piece in our favor. Knowing who has been tending to him, they have exhausted all options. They’re malleable now, maybe even desperate.”

Jet could only watch as Kain made his way to the window, the outline of HQ upon the horizon

“As far as they know, Axl’s condition remains something that only we can assist with. Lumine was my creation, so if I were to analyze Axl myself, I can diagnose the problem. And while I’m busy tending to their wounded, I will extract whatever data I can from that prototype’s skull. I won’t remain ignorant to what Lumine became that night, I refuse.”

Lumine wouldn’t get the last laugh, in the end, he would win. Kain could feel it, a smirk slowly gracing across his face.

He always got what he wanted.

“Sir?”

Kain blinked, before looking over his shoulder at her.

“Yes?”

“If you help the Hunters, will you earn their favor? Axl is important to them, I feel this relationship would be advantageous for us.”

He grinned, a half-hearted chuckle escaping his lips as he turned to face her fully now. “Not exactly, I suspect they will remain vigilant in their stance against me. I fear that I will never get Lumine’s remains… diplomatically.”

The pause between his words made her blink, but she didn’t have much time to dwell on them as he made his way over to her. His previous ire had melted away, reverted back to his familiar, calculated self. It was relieving, all things considered.

She was still useful.

“It buys their silence” he stated plainly, surveying her closely as she looked up at him, their height difference apparent as he nearly towered over her, “Should I succeed in bringing their hero back, they have no choice but to state who was responsible for keeping one of the Hunter’s finest still alive.”

“The world really wants to see you fall, doesn’t it?” Jet breathed, almost dejectedly.

He chuckled, his knuckle now perching just beneath her chin.

Her core raced, her eyes wide as she stifled her breathing from the touch. She could feel the pounding behind her ears as she felt his knuckle guide her gaze, her eyes meeting his in no time.

“You’ve seen it yourself haven’t you?” he stared.

She swallowed, not daring to break eye contact.

“The world has always been against us. It doesn’t matter what I create, what I provide, what I fix, it doesn’t matter in the end to them. They see what I have to show for it and they want me to fail. To them? It’s always an opportunity to take me down should an opportunity arise.”

“Even those we thought we could trust.”

Her lips parted, a shiver her spine now as she felt a tear bead down her cheek.

“Mmm,” he observed, “Perhaps we should let some wounds still heal?”

“I’m sorry,” Jet shook her head, still in his grasp as she wiped her eyes. “...I shouldn’t…-”

“No… it’s alright,” Kain breathed, his grip lowering as he watched her head lower, a shake to her shoulders now. “...But you understand, don’t you?”

“You understand why I have to be so hard on you.”

“You understand what’s at stake… Jet.”

That did it.

She broke into a sob, her face burying into his chest now as she trembled, her voice nothing but a hushed cry as she clung to him.

“I’m sorry…!” she repeated, the stillness of her creator providing a perfect anchor as her hands pressed against his chest.

Kain didn’t need to say a word, his enigmatic silence only drawing out more from the one who had never left his side. Throughout everything, Jet had been there.

After all, she had been his first.

His first masterpiece.

For a while, they stood together, silent outside her shivers as she slumped further into his frame.

She would be better, she was better. She wouldn’t join the others, she wasn’t like them. She belonged here. Words couldn’t express this as she held him tightly, hoping that he would understand.

“Remember, Jet…” his lips ghosted against themselves as he felt her grip tighten, as a shadow of a smile warped itself across his face.

“Remember how much you care, and never let anyone else take this away from you.”