Chapter Text
It had been just over a year.
In the corner of a small cafe, X sat in a booth as he tried to let his mind wander. The sounds and smells were relaxing, the warm colors and sensibly positioned lights tasteful in their careful arrangement. He leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment, enjoying the peace. Thankfully it wasn’t crowded, he wasn’t really in the mood to be recognized.
Not that he was easy to be recognized with what he was wearing.
In the place of his armor and uniform, X wore a brown jacket and faded jeans. To the untrained eye, he looked positively human– save for the indented metallic cylinders where his ears would be. Wavy medium length locks of brown hair hung a few inches above his shoulders, with it pressing into his neck as he leaned against the seat. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
X was here to enjoy his day off.
“...Jakob Corporation continues on the upward trend with each passing development.”
His eyes opened, his attention once again recaptured by the outside world as he glanced at the holo-feed.
“Considered one of the most controversial and aggressive interventions in recent history, the strict regulation of copy chips from new-generation reploids seems to have bolstered the public opinion of Jakob Corporation– despite the protests from humans and reploids alike.”
“With this regulation being enforced not only for newly built reploids, but also existing new-gens, it has left the Council satisfied that an incident like Orbital Elevator will never happen again. Much of the blame has been attributed to that of Sigma’s data being readily accessible on copy chips. While Jakob Corporation has been met with criticism for including this data on their models, CEO Kain Jakob stated that the data has been present on all previous copy chips, not just Jakob Corp’s. Nevertheless, the company was swift in their promise, providing new chips for all new-gens – free of charge.”
“However, these new chips are functionally different from their predecessors. No longer are new-gens capable of copying other reploids freely. Their functionality has now been severely reduced, with only select programs available to each model based on their job class. The freedom of transformation without consequence, is a burden of the past.”
“Yeah, except for one person,” X whispered. Axl was the exception, and he was pretty sure they couldn’t even remove his copy-chip if they tried.
“Incidentally, this has caused some unrest within the reploid community, as a small case of new-gens remain unaccounted for. Experts suggest that this subsect has fled to the Lower Sectors of Abel City, hiding among the ruins of the old world. The Council has already deemed them Maverick, dispatching the Maverick Hunters to collect.”
This wasn’t what she had in mind when it came to field work.
Layer scaled the old buildings effortlessly, dashing across the crumbing rooftops of former skyscrapers as they struggled to stay in their own rubble. Her visor pinged as she saw four other dots share their coordinates to her.
“Approaching rendezvous point,” Layer stated, her expression blank.
“Roger,” a voice answered promptly. “Everyone else is on the way, we’ll get started shortly.”
“Copy.”
The meeting took place at the top of the tallest building, a task easily scalable by any Maverick Hunter. Within seconds she was at the top, where her squad was going to be joining her. She landed in a crouched position, before slowly making eye contact with the other person here.
“Captain Gain,” Layer acknowledged.
Gain nodded in return. “On time as always, Layer.”
Layer watched as the others followed suit. Within seconds, three others dropped down next to her and gathered around their captain.
“Did the council really need to send an entire squad for this?” One of the new arrivals sighed, a hunter in black armor. She crossed her arms, her stormy gray eyes visible beneath her visor.
“Securing the undocumented new-gens appears to be their highest priority,” Gain answered plainly. “They are considered a top-level threat.”
“Those new-gens are just trying to protect what’s theirs,” A shorter reploid produced a rifle, looking down its scope as he began to scan the perimeter. “They didn’t ask to have Sigma’s data.”
“Yeah, I’m sure Sigma’s data makes them feel real unique and special, Pan,” said the final squadmate, landing next to the sniper with a heavy thud.
Pan looked up from his scope and scowled. “Really, Beatz?”
“What?” Beatz shrugged, scratching the back of his neck in the process. By all means, he was the sniper’s opposite. Tall, large, riddled with muscle from head to toe. “They’re dangerous, and they know it.”
“That’s not why they’re running, Beatz!”
“Enough,” Gain cut, not even changing his pitch.
The two glanced at each other for a moment before turning their attention back to Gain, giving him a nod.
“While the Council has tasked the Hunters as an organization, our mission comes from Commander X directly.”
The change in energy was palpable, with everyone’s posture shifting at that moment, save for Layer.
“Fade, would you please review the Council’s demands?” Gain asked calmly.
“Yes sir.”
The Hunter in the black armor’s eyes flickered for a moment as she began to access the file. “...Per the council, we’re to investigate the Lower Sectors for the rumored new-gens. They aren’t clear on what they want with these rebels, only that they are… taken care of.”
Layer watched the others carefully, noting each member's reactions to that information. She instinctively looked at Beatz first, but he gave no visible reaction. Ever since Gain had quelled the argument between him and Pan, he had become quiet.
It was clear that this team wasn’t lacking in discipline, personality quirks aside.
Pan, however, wasn’t as good at hiding what he was feeling. Layer could see his worry, but this wasn’t the first time she had worked with him.
Pan was once a supporting navigator, a subordinate to herself, Alia, and Pallette. He had been present for the Orbital Elevator mission, as well as when Axl had…
Her head lowered. That was a dark day for them all.
It was clear that Pan wasn’t one to hide his emotions well. As long as it didn’t hinder his mission, it wouldn’t be a risk.
As Fade continued, Layer watched how her eyes moved as she read out the mission details, the way her brow shifted in muted skepticism as she read through the Council’s demands.
And then, to Gain. Like her, Gain had nearly effortless control of his emotions. Having to listen to an entire paragraph written by men that didn’t understand their kind in the slightest took restraint. His blue eyes weren’t as icy as they appeared though. They weren’t over polished like others who had been in his position, nor were they devoid of feeling.
He was here to complete the mission, but that look in his eyes told Layer that there was something behind those eyes. She could tell that X had put him in this position.
“Thank you Fade,” Gain said as he took center. “We all understand the official request, now.”
His wording was deliberate there.
“Now with that out of the way, let me share what our mission is.”
Layer held back a smile.
“We are going to capture the targets alive. We should assume that they know we are coming, so negotiations will be difficult. It’s likely they will respond aggressively, so keep your guard up. That all being said, this is still a hunt. Should our targets threaten us or innocent lives, we must neutralize them.”
Gain looked at them all. “I understand some of you have reservations with this mission, but we can’t let that get in the way of our safety, is this understood?”
The hunters nodded in unison, though Pan was the slowest to do so.
“What will be our primary method of identifying the target?” Layer asked.
“Navigation will be assisting on that,” Gain answered promptly, raising his hand to his ear now. “Alia, do you copy?”
“Affirmative,” Alia’s voice pinged across their comms.
Layer felt strangely out of place, hearing Alia’s voice on the field. She had spent so long working at her side at the desk that it was surreal being on the other end.
“We’re in good company then,” Layer acknowledged, grinning.
The small beat of silence from HQ had caught Layer’s attention for a moment before a sigh could be heard. “Keep your targets in your line of sight and I will be able to scan if they have old chips.”
Layer knew that Alia was still not thrilled by her decision to join the front. It was clear in how she spoke to her these days.
“We also have our databases primed and ready if the target is using another reploid’s form. We’ll know as soon as you get a good look at them.”
Gain nodded. “We also can’t ignore the possibility of them working together. They all share a common goal, so it’s likely they will band up and be in communication with each other. So that means that the quieter that we handle this, the smoother it will go.”
“Didn’t realize this was a stealth mission,” Beatz rolled his neck. “I’m not exactly built for that.”
“A confrontation is inevitable, so when that happens you’ll know pretty soon why you’re on this mission, Beatz.” Gain spoke plainly.
Beatz flashed his teeth, now rolling his arms – which were practically the thickness of steel beams. “You know me, Captain.”
Fade shook her head and chuckled. “You just can’t contain yourself can you?”
“What? I’m a growing boy,” Beatz snickered while smacking his fist into his palm. “I need to blow off some steam.
Pan rolled his eyes.
“We will be breaking up into small groups,” Gain continued, “With one standing by as lookout and support. Pan, that will be you.”
“Sir,” Pan nodded, wiping a curl of hair out of his eyes, and tucking it back into his helmet.
“Fade and Beatz will take the north side.”
“Copy that,” Fade hummed, her buster manifesting as it pulsed with an ambient teal.
“You got it boss,” Beatz stretched again, his thumb bristling against the stubble lining his jaw.
“Layer, you’re with me.”
“Yes Captain,” Layer acknowledged, gripping the hilt of her rapier.
“Pan,” Alia chimed, “You’ll be my main eyes out there. Don’t fixate on one spot.”
“Yes ma’am,” Pan responded, “I’m already on it. I’ve got a few cameras already in position, and I’ve got a drone ready to patrol.”
“Excellent work.”
Layer watched Pan try to hide his smile.
“No reason to delay any further, let’s move.” Gain ordered.
“Roger,” they spoke in unison before leaping off the building in an instant, gone without a trace.
The bell above the cafe door jingled as someone walked in.
“Welcome,” the barista greeted.
“Hiiii~”
Still leaning back, X’s eyes glanced towards the approaching footsteps as a sweeter scent became more apparent. Standing over him was a petite reploid wearing a slightly oversized cardigan, but what clearly defined her look was the metallic hair pieces that she wore proudly even off duty.
“Well, you look comfy, don’t you?” Pallette tilted her head.
X raised a brow, but couldn’t hold himself back from grinning. “I earned this.”
“Yeah, it’s way overdue,” she rolled her eyes.
“Just like this coffee date, right?” X flashed his teeth.
“Good one.”
She took her seat across from him, scooting in closer as the tiny table shook a bit in the process. “One year, huh?”
X’s lips pursed as he fixed his posture, now upright. “Yeah, that’s about right.”
“You’ve been working hard.”
He shifted a bit at that, the bags under his eyes apparent. “Well, I’m trying to.”
She shook her head at that. “Don’t sell yourself short, everyone knows you’ve been working yourself to the bone.”
His gaze drifted, not exactly meeting her eyes.
“It’s a little worrying sometimes, X.”
“Yeah, I know.”
She felt herself pause a bit, not really wanting to press any further. As long as he heard it from someone.
“Your new unit has been performing well,” she leaned in now, changing the subject. “I’ve been keeping track of them. It’s… very clear you picked all of them.”
X smiled. “What makes you say that?”
She grinned back at him. “Oh there’s signs for sure. But I like them. They were all very promising picks.”
“I wanted to avoid a group that was too like-minded. I know Gain can keep them in check, but I think it’s also important that they do it amongst themselves too. It’s risky, but that was also one of the reasons why I screened them all myself.” X explained.
“Even Layer?” Pallette added.
“Even Layer.”
“It’s been a long time since we’ve used a squad format, but I believe it can work.” X nodded.
It made sense. Considering X’s start in the Hunters, the Unit structure was familiar to him. While it was originally Sigma’s design, his original staffing had led to rebellion. Assigning varied personalities would manage this. Signas’ more fluid structure was certainly more flexible, but it eventually led to an overreliance on certain individuals.
“You put a lot of thought into it, didn’t you?”
X nodded. “I had to, and I need Zero to handle things outside of standard missions.”
“What about Axl?”
Admittedly, Pallette regretted asking the question. Collectively, that was a day that many had not spoken about, even amongst themselves.
His hand closed into a fist upon the table.
“...I’m not sure yet.”
“Why don’t we go put our orders in, huh?”
“Alright.”
Bonus Image: X and Pallette's outfits, by Ratprt!
