Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Blood Red Fox ❯ Form of a Fox.. ( Chapter 3 )

Nov/18/99

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A Known Blood Red Fox

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By Vile Deadboss

Chapter III: 'Form of a Fox..'

"No, no, no! You move that beam over there with the others!" Lerek shouted as he placed a hand behind his helm and thought for a moment about one of his newest member of his crew, keeping an eye on the reploid who was picking up rubble and removing it to a side as the other hunters scanned the area further for some type of clue. After watching the new reploid for some time, Lerek sighed frustriatedly and started to mark some spots on his coordination folder and map. How did he end up as a construction hunter when he was doing well with his training before? He'll need someone to remind him to speak to Shadow after.

"Okay that's good!" Lerek kept a new watch on his original workers and wondered where'd the three Commanders go anyways?

Zero used his boosters to dash ahead of X and Shadow who were following the crimson hunter further in the abandon city, deeper in the mavericks domain perhaps. Zero smirked micheviously, somehow he can imagine the looks in their eyes now if they were here. Noticing that the hunters are about and aware of their new hiding place. The hunter couldn't wait for the bloodshed though, best part of each mission. Using his boosters for a lithe impulse in the air leaping on top a fallen building and landed on it's rubble carefully keeping his balance professionally. Scanning the area with his eyes alone hoping to find some clue for the mavericks. They weren't stupid of course, a worthy enemy to be caution about, yet he knows very well that had to leave some clue at least. A hidden camera perhaps?

He heard another lithe impulse from other boosters and he knew that X and Shadow finally had caught up to him, he turned to see who hopped onto the building beside him. X carefully took each step on the rubble making sure that he wouldn't break the building's wall with his weight, he then glanced around the area with a relief look in his eyes. "Nothing here either, huh?"

"Nope..." Zero droned as he observed the area carefully. "Still this place could be worth checking, maybe Shadow can get Lerek to remove some construction here for further inspection."

"Maybe, if Lerek is willing to do that though." Shadow called from below looking around the building's base. "We have 27 checkpoints for him and his crew to look around in. That's quite a lot if you ask me."

"Pay him in comics and cyber slurpees and he would be more then happy to look through another point." X grinned as he crouched down to peer through a broken window which showed the inside of the building, dark and dusty. Nothing in there was X's first guess.

"Okies, whatever you say X. I'm putting this point down under your name!" Shadow marked the map in his hands and folded it back. Looking around the area once more. "So what now? We've been at this all morning and I still see no Mavericks! Wouldn't they try to chase us off by now?"

"Their not stupid Shadow.." Zero hopped off the building with X following, landing near the third commander. "Something tells me that their waiting for us to get lost."

"Which means their hiding really good someplace, we can't leave til this city has been fully looked through." X walked past the two hunters and looked back to the fallen building, tilting his head curiously at it. "You think that the mavericks are here at all?"

"Who knows..." Zero tapped his lightsaber handle thoughtfully, his icy blue eyes scanning the deserted area. "We won't know anything until were finished...let's go."

Zero walked ahead of the hunters again with Shadow following, X stood watching them walk alongside as he wondered about the city for a moment, before he followed them finally. "That's what I'm afraid of.." X muttered to himself as he kept his distance from the other two. "...Nothing."

Zero then dashed off ahead with Shadow following, shouting curses at the crimson reploid for always wanting to be first at everything. X smiled and started his boosters up, following the two once again. Zero has always been like that, yet deep in himself there was a part of Zero that X somehow couldn't grasp and was afraid to know. Zero wanted to show something to X, perhaps share with him? X knew how and what Zero's been up to ever since the war with the repliforce has ended. X has been afraid...always afraid. Afraid that he might end up killing a human, afraid that he might understand his purpose for being there, afraid of being maverick. X gulped at many other reasons but one reason

stood tall above all his other smaller reasons....

Afraid to fall in.......

"Ack!!" X yelped as he tripped over a beam that stood out from some other rubble, X got up cursing at himself for his clumsiness and brushed a bit of the dust off his neat blue armor. Okay, that was the last time he was gonna think unconciously while running in a abandon city, though deeply he knew that it couldn't be helped. He fell anyways, smiling softly to himself as he looked around for Zero and Shadow.

Finding the two on top another fallen building and they both stood there grinning, noticing the blue hunter trip from their distance. X blushed and ran quickly to catch up to them. Using his boosters to hop on top the building with them, Shadow started to mark another spot on the map that he carried with him. "Okay Zero, This spot is under your name." Shadow announced.

"Yeah whatever..." Zero chuckled softly, turning his gaze to X. "You alright?"

X nodded blushing slightly still, he then diverted his gaze away from Zero's and scanned the area to forget what he thought and what just happened. "So? nothing here either?"

"Nope, damn this sucks! You know what we should of brought along? Coffee! Would be nice if there was a Starbucks nearby!" Shadow grumbled as he hopped off the building and peered his head through the broken windows, looking inside of what was left of the building.

"Hey, Do you remember this city?" Zero asked inquisitvely, X took a glance around, shaking his head slowly. "You should...I was your Commander during that time." Zero grinned as he hopped off the building, landing beside Shadow. X blinked and eyed the city once more. That's right...This was the same place where X first learned to handle his emotions better, his fighting emotions. His anger, hatred, and fear. Zero helped him cope through it that time before Sigma went maverick on them.

X was given not much of a choice but to fight and become a hunter.

"Oh yeah!" X chirped as he hopped down near the two hunters. "Can't believe I forgot..."

Honestly X was trying to forget that time also. Why did Zero bring the memory up all of a sudden anyways?

"Idiot.." Zero chuckled mildly. "Has it been that long?"

"seems like it...to bad, I really liked this city." X crouched down and picked up a ragged doll that he found, staring at it for awhile before letting it drop back down and looking around the buildings base.

"Find anything, Shadow?"

Shadow climbed through the broken window and into the building, both the hunters stood watching him as he successfully climbed in and poked his head out with a grin. "Maybe their hiding in here!"

"Moron, careful that the building doesn't crumble with you in it." Zero warned the navy hunter, as he eyed the building's weak structure.

"Just a sec! I think that's a coffee can I see!" Shadow called out from inside.

"Yuck!" X snickered at Shadow's desperation for coffee, approaching up to the window and peered inside of it to see what caught Shadow's interest for him to be inside the old structure. "Aside from old maggot growing coffee, what else did you find?"

Shadow then snapped something off the wall and looked at a piece of machinary that was making some hissing noise still. He then looked at X and handed him the hissing metal piece, grabbing it. X frowned at Shadow's discovery. Shadow then hopped out of the building with an empty coffee can. "Aww....No coffee!" He whined.

"No...But it seems that the mavericks do know that were here..." X lifted the ebony metal piece to Zero. The crimson reploid frowned then.

"A hidden camera....."

"So what now?" Shadow tilted his head childishly at the two frowning hunters.

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"Sir! we have lost visual contact with Camera sequence 13!" A female android announced as she looked back to Ragnarok who turned his head slightly. Keeping his gaze on the invading construction hunters who were investigating the west side of the city.

"What was 13's last visual concept?"

"I'll play it on the center screen now, sir." The female reploid then quickly tapped the computer console as the bigger screen went blank. The screen then showed what the camera last saw, it's glass lens observing it's area showing no one, til a dark hand appeared tapping the camera shaking it from it's stand and soon the screen fell in a hissy white snow show. "according to the readings here, 13 was ripped from it's connection, Sir."

"Ripped? Check the other camera's that surround 13's area." Ragnarok ordered as few of the reploids quickly tapped on their computer consoles. One of the reploids gasped at what he found and turned his worried gaze to the reploid master.

"Master Ragnarok! 15 confirmed sightings of Maverick Hunters!"

"Place the sightings on the center screen."

"right away, sir." the reploid did what he was told, replacing the large hissing screen with 15's sightings on three Maverick Hunters who were rushing back to the area where the construction crew were.

15's angle was soon replaced by another camera's sighting's of the three hunters, all the reploids switching the scenes so their master could take a good a look at their enemy.

"It seems the hunters know that were here..."

"If we don't do something soon, were all gonna be decimated." Agile walked in casually as usual, noticing what was going on in the high chambers. "So Master Ragnarok...any plans on what to do with those three Hunters?"

"One...Dispatch the class-D series to play with those three for a bit." Ragnarok said calmly as he headed for his seat and sat down watching the rushing hunters. Agile nodded. "Yes, sir." He then approached to one of the computer consoles, repeating Ragnarok's orders.

Ragnarok carefully eyed the three hunters, recognizing two of them but the third one he was unsure of. The navy hunter seemed to be the latest hunter, was his rank high as X and Zero's? The D-series will answer that question for him soon enough. Perhaps the fox should see how well of a challange his opponents are....

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Shadow rushed ahead of Zero as the two raced eachother back to the spot where they left the constructional group. Shadow leaped over the hills as Zero did the same, X followed but he was in no competitive mood as his two friends. He tried to keep up with them anyways, with the now dead camera in his hands. It was the only fact and proof that the mavericks could be about. Was it enough proof though? It wasn't a total waste of time at least.

X watched the two hop over large mounds and taking sharp turns past the buildings, Showoffs! X thought idly to the two, but he caught a certain hissing sound which definately was not coming from the camera. So where? He was about to pause til something else hopped out of a large mound of rubble and tackled the hunter down unexpectedly. X's yelp caught the other two hunters ahead.

"X!" Zero shouted and reached for his lightsaber activating it while rushing forward to attack the droid that pinned the blue hunter down. X struggled to kick the heavy reploid off him, taking a good look at what type of reploid it was. He recognized it as one of the weaker reploids that the mavericks used against the hunters to buy them time!

Zero slashed the back of the reploid and picked it up and off X, throwing the metallic body to a side.

X quickly got up and activated his arm cannon ready for the upcoming battle now. Zero turned to see if the hunter was alright. X nodded to his friend before observing the area carefully which was now surrounded with more of the lower class reploids.

"Yep, the mavericks are definiatly here." Shadow grunted as he tossed the empty coffee can up and down in his hand. "So what now?"

"Shadow you try to head back to warn Lerek! Zero and I will hold these guys off." X then rushed forward and slammed into one of the larger reploids causing it to lose it's balance and fall back, he than shot another reploid down striking perfectly at it's head. Once the dead reploid body fell, it gave the other reploids a signal to attack the hunters.

Zero then dashed forward, expertly slashing each reploid down with one stroke at a time. While Shadow fought his way through with his two metallic scythes, grabbing the camera X had and dashed forward and away from the battle. Knowing that other reploids started to follow the navy hunter, he twisted around for a sharp split second to allow a couple plasma shots to soar through the air and hitting only one of the pursueing droids down.

"Damn I need practice!" Shadow cursed at his shots, preparing for another shot but he then let his plasma cannon cool down as he noticed X shot the second reploid down from quite a distance. Now that reploid was quite an expert already. Shadow grinned at the thought, X should be the best sharp shooter after the hell that reploid went through. He couldn't imagine how X's feelings were to all that, but it was also non of his business either. His thoughts ceased when he noticed more Mavericks ahead. Same D-class types but looking a little near to the C-class. Yes, the difference was confusing sometimes.

"I wonder if they were prepared for us like the last time?" Shadow thought aloud to himself. Last time the leader back at the old Central city was well prepared for the hunters. Was this group ready as them? X nearly lost his life last time without realizing it. "No time to worry, Shadow-man, Zero is with the little blue guy."

Satisfied with that thought, Shadow raised his scythes forward readying his attack for the reploids ahead.....

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Kurama frowned at the request for his presence from Ragnarok. What would that damn youkonapper want now? Flair followed inquisitively by his side, as they both headed for the high chambers. A quick bite to eat but it was enough to satisfy Kurama since he didn't care for eating much there anyways, it was hard to eat with all the damn reploids staring at him constantly! For once he wondered at what exactly were they looking at that have caught their interest and disgust?

"You don't look impressed Kurama, is something wrong?" Flair noticed the frown on his face, he breathed some air in as he felt a bit frustriated from his swamped and aching head.

"Nothing wrong..."

"You sure? Did you get enough to eat?"

"I'm fine Flair..." His voice droned pathetically trying his best to hide the tint of anger in his tone. One thing stuck deeply in his mind though which was probably the only thing that was keeping him stable.

To avoid help...

Three words were enough to swarm a million reasons in his head. He hated it..

He was just going to do his job and that is it, and he hopes that he's gonna do it soon enough!

"I wonder why Ragnarok summons you to the high chambers? I hope he doesn't send you to fight the hunters so soon.." She paused there and crushed her lips shut as the fox raised a confused brow at the female reploid.

"Why not?"

"Well...I just think you need time to repair and prepare yourself, before you fight them."

"Repair?" He blinked at the sudden word. Was the pain inflicted on him showing? "I'm very well prepared for anything, I may have no clue on how these hunters fight but Vile surely believes that I can beat them with no acquired training of some sort."

"So I see, Summoning plants at your will is very impressive indeed. How is it possible that you can do such a wonderful thing?" She smiled slightly, her eyes showing the glint of curiousity. Kurama shrugged unsure of how he was gonna explain that to her.

"You think it's wonderful?"

"Of course...it's not everyday you see such a beautiful creature pull a gorgeous well grown rose from his hair." She smiled softly then, Kurama didn't like that smile now. In fact he despised it, he then looked away from her fascinated expression and stood cold. Saying nothing to the compliments, he couldn't except them anyhow.

"What did you mean repair?"

"That I can't answer for you yet..." Her tone grew serious once more, Kurama was more comfortable with that type of tone then her softer ones. Why was that? He wondered on that for a moment til he realized why, He bit his tongue for remembering a painful thought and then set it to a side as they entered the high chambers. Not even glancing around as he usually did, he kept his dark golden eyes on Ragnarok. How much did that reploid exactly know about his two homeworlds? maybe he doesn't know about the Makai, but he sure knew alot about himself and....

"Ah, glad you found the time to be here, Kitsune..." Ragnarok grinned slightly at the fox, who raised a brow at the maverick master. "I wanted you to see who your gonna be up against..."

"I'm not interested...I know enough from the files that Vile gave me..." Kurama's tone was mild yet angry somehow. Ragnarok shrugged slightly, ignoring the fox he pointed to the large screen which showed the two hunters fighting what was left of the D-class droids. Kurama calmly looked at the screen and tilted his head curiously at one of the hunters.

He recognized the hunter X, the reploid looked alot different in his armor considering Kurama had a dream of the hunter without the armor. X stood away from his other hunter friend and rushed against a reploid knocking it off the building, he then used his boosters to slide back to avoid falling down with the reploid. Hopping off the building, he let one plasma shot down which caught one of the reploids right at it's metallic head. X landed on the dead reploid body to soften his fall then dashed away to another direction.

Kurama seen enough he decided to watch the other reploid in action, his mouth opened slightly as if to gasp at the sight but he caught himself from doing so. He recognized the other hunter very well.....

Zero leaped ontop of a fallen buildings side to avoid some plasma blasts from the droids, the camera had a good view on that reploid. The droids of course followed the hunter ontop the building and rushed forward to take the hunter down by hand, Zero mimiced their attack and rushed forward towards them as well. He rushed past them so fast it did not give the reploids time to pull their own hand weapons out on him. A second and a slash was all it took for the reploid to take them down.

Zero grinned at the sight and realized something else soon after.

His form on the screen grew bigger which worried all the worker droids knowing that the hunter spotted the hidden camera, He grabbed the lens to face him alone. ~"We know your here Ragnarok! Time's up for you, death is now at hand!"~ was all the reploid said before the screen grew a shattering white snow. Kurama blinked at the screen and looked at Ragnarok, the expression on his face never changed, he still stood there calm and shrugged his broad shoulders lightly.

"If the hunters continue to advance, we may have to dispatch you to take care of them earlier then planned unfortunately..." Ragnarok muttered as he folded his arms and turned his red gaze on the fox.

"So? The sooner the better, ne?" Kurama glanced at the Leader for a moment before checking to see how Flair was taking all this? She stood calm but her eyes glowed a slight worry as she stared at the large screen which was now dark. "I don't know what's to worry about...the hunters don't look all that tough to me."

"Hah, a confident youko. You are indeed not much different from the other youkai, Hiei."

Ragnarok grinned as if proud of the fox's attitude. Kurama's shoulders stiffened when the name of his koibito was mentioned once again, the damn reploid knew his name. "I see your point though, but to be honest with you kitsune...non of us could easily take care of them as you will soon enough."

"Hn..." was all Kurama could say, watching the reploids trying to identify the hunters whereabouts. He wondered about the hunter Zero though, for one moment, Kurama could of swear what the hunter was thinking. Impossible ran through his mind but he was in the mind of that reploid in his dream, his thoughts, his ideas. He knew almost what the hunter desired even and it somehow hurted the fox to know such a thing. He sliently cursed at himself and the insane dream for showing him the reploids mind.

Kurama couldn't stay in the high chambers now, turning to take his leave. Without a word he walked out with Flair following of course, Ragnarok watched the two disappear before continueing to watch the intruders about. He knew the fox had a lot in mind, for the fox wishing death it is obvious for the reploid to see and know what had happened to him. It was very obvious....

"Kurama?" Flair caught up to the fox finally and looked into his face to see the trace of anger that marked it. Her icy blue eyes melted to concern in them and Kurama noticed that.

"I'm just heading back to my room.." He mumbled. Flair nodded understandingly diverting her gaze away finally. "Nothing else for me to do but wait."

"I don't like it! It's way to soon for you to fight them!"She frowned not impressed with Kurama's actions back there.

"Why should you care? because I'm your valuable experiment?" He growled lowly. She gasped and looked at him, shaking her head slowly.

"No! your not just an experiment!"

"Oh, so I still am an experiment here!" He rolled his eyes and observed the hallway trying to recognize his way back to his room. Flair then stopped suddenly and folded her arms sternly looking at the fox who paused as well and looked back at her confusingly.

"Listen Kurama, your more then just something less, got it?"

"I don't quite understand..."

"You should! Your thinking less of yourself now and I hate it! Your gonna die with that kind of attitude you know." her gaze softened once more, Kurama stood quiet staring at her with a confusing expression. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Dumb enough reason for me to wish for death to approach closer you know." He grumbled turning his back on her, deciding to find his way back by himself. Flair followed him yet arguing with him still.

"why? Why do you want to die??"

"I have no reason to tell you!" He growled back to her. Flair then rushed past him and stood in front of him her cat ears twitching from the anger that rose in her. He blinked at her block and folded his arms eyeing the corrider to see if he was even going the right direction?

"What's wrong foxy? have noone to love you??" her voice dropping low with venom. Kurama backed away from her a little, his golden gaze growing darker. "Is that why you want to die? Acting like a human, have you no shame!?"

"You don't even know how my kind are! So how dare you to be saying that to me!" Kurama growled heavily now tempting to summon his ki forward. "Leave me alone Flair, I don't have time for your sympathy."

"Sympathy? What's wrong with me trying to help you with what's hurting you the most!?"

"Flair!" Another voice echoed through the grey corrider startling the two and looking at the same direction where the voice bellowed from. Flair covered her mouth frightningly realizing what she was doing. Backing away from the angered fox, she turned her gaze down to the metallic floor and her cat ears drooped with shame.

Vile stepped forward slowly keeping his red optics on the ashamed researcher, then turned to look at Kurama. He folded his metallic arms staring at the two at a time, wondering what started all this fuss about? "Flair your dismissed the fox is under my care from here on."

"But Commander-"

"Kurama is here to do a job for us, he's no longer your research." Vile then handed some other folders to Kurama who calmly took the folders and raised a brow at the reploid. "Recieving some care from you would only slow him down."

"Yes, sir.." Flair would protest for Kurama's sake but disobeying Vile's orders are far worse then Ragnarok's. She glanced at the fox one last time before she went on to another direction, leaving the two alone. Vile shook his head slowly as he watched her disappear first before facing the fox finally.

Kurama stared down at the folders curiously. More hunters for him to kill?

"I've just been informed that we've been discovered by the hunters." Vile motioned for the fox to follow him, without a word Kurama followed while looking through the folders curiously. Explaining the history of the reploids existence, why should he know all this stuff before death? "I knew this was gonna happen, but didn't expect them to discover it That quickly."

"Learn to hide your equipment better.."Kurama muttered as he closed the folders, not really interested in knowing the reploids history or the war with the humans. Vile glanced back at the fox for a moment, noticing that he refused to read the history of that world. He shrugged his metallic shoulders and kept his pace onward to a different direction.

"I don't think it's possible for me to kill the human hunters unless I have a reason too." Kurama noted, Vile paused then and looked back to the fox with a confused glint in his red optics.

"Why's that?"

"You see..In my world, I have a position that refrains from killing humans." Kurama folded his arms as he said this, letting the folder dangle against his side carelessly. Vile grinned silently to himself noting Kurama's stance.

"Understandable, I'll find a reason for you soon enough, those two human hunters can wait anyhow." Vile then continued his pace with Kurama following curiously. "The main objective to your mission is to kill the three reploid hunters, I'm sure your aware of which hunters I'm speaking of?"

"Mega Man X, Shadow, and Zero..." Kurama calmly said, brushing some of his silver hair away from his face. He thought for a moment about the last reploid Zero, and what the reploid's thought were towards the blue hunter X. He recognized those thoughts all to well, is he starting to feel regret to hurt these maverick hunters now?

"Correct, I'm sure you can beat them with ease, eh?"

"Confident are we?" Kurama grinned slightly at the purple reploid, who waved his hand mindlessly at the fox. "So when do I get to fight them?"

"As soon as the hunters finish off our low grade droids."

"I see great interest in this, Vile.." Kurama couldn't help but smile pleasently at the certain yet strange excitment of wanting to fight these hunters.Vile's red optics narrowed slightly and grinned under his mask. "I'm glad you do, fox....I'm glad you do..."

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X ducked down quickly to avoid two plasma shots which soared over and by his head and crashed against an already damaged wall. With his cannon fully powered up he let out one full powered plasma blast towards the two reploids who were easily enveloped in the shot and exploded withen contact.

Pleased with himself, X smirked happily and looked about for anymore reploids.

Seeing non he decided to look for his blond partner and sprinted forward with the help of his boosters hopping over some debris here and there. He could hear a battle close by and with his only guess that Zero was still fighting his share of the mavericks.

He then stopped beside the corner of a well balanced office building, it's structer seemed fine enough to be active. X leaned against the corner and peeked out to the side to see how well Zero was doing by himself.

Zero leaped over a mound of debris and ducked behind it to avoid some countless shots which nicked the mound here and there protecting Zero fully, He then hopped out from behind and quickly thrusted to the side to avoid more shots from the reploid which tried it's best to shoot the hunter from it's distance. The hunter was closing in towards the reploid and it quickly ran knowing that it wouldn't stand a close combat with the hunter, yet it turned now and then to shoot the hunter. It then realized that it shot air instead of the hunter who was no longer in sight!

Worried, the reploid paused and looked about for the hunter. Slowly taking it's steps back as quiet as it could make, the reploid noticed another hunter nearby standing beside the fine unharmed building.

The hunter stood there as if it were watching a game waiting to be killed, that's it ain't it?

Something went by the reploid quickly from behind, a familiar sharp hum was heard and a quick slash at it's arm cannon was all it took in a split second before the reploid disappeared again.

That hunter was fast! The reploid then turned and quickly ran to where the refuge was it had to stay away from that building or it's commander will kill it himself if he seeked refuge in that building, it can no longer fight with the hunter now.

A lithe impulse of boosters were heard and the reploid screeched when it felt a sharp slash through it's back and it soon fell in a slumped heap of damaged metal. Zero then deactivated his lightsaber, and kicked the heap to see if it was still active itself? the smoking metal did not make a sound nor moved, Zero only shrugged at it and turned to the direction where X was who shook his head slowly.

Zero grinned and started to make his way to meet up with his partner who rolled his eyes and waited for the crimson reploid to approach.

Zero opened his mouth about to say something to X, til surprisingly the blue hunter frowned and lifted his arm cannon and right away sent a plasma shot which flew by the crimson hunter who stood frozen for a comic split second, a loud crash was soon heard followed by the same screech from before.

Curiously Zero turned to see what X shot, only to find the same reploid which he thought he already killed before lying in a scrap of burnt metal.

"Feh..." Zero grimaced as he kicked the burnt scrap. "Damn things just won't stay still!"

"I think it's time you start being more serious with your opponents from now on, Zero.." X noted as he let his plasma cannon cool down and approached Zero calmly. "One of these days you have to stop playing around with your opponents like that!"

Zero blinked a bit surprised at X's sudden response and then shrugged after. "So I mistakenly let my guard down for a split second, when did you decide to care of how I fight anyways?"

"forget it, that rep seemed to avoid the building that I was beside..." X turned to eye the huge, unharmed building, standing tall and proud. "...I think we better check this one out."

"okies!" Zero chirped and dashed ahead to the building with X following, rushing inside of it without the mildest care in their minds that there was a chance of the second possible trap lying before them.

Second possible trap? Once inside the building the crimson hunter stopped and scanned the area as well as waiting for X. Hearing the sound of lowered thrusters, Zero cautiously walked around the building eyeing the place for more hidden cameras perhaps? or reploids waiting to jump out at them?

"Not much to see here." X mumbled thoughtfully checking each empty rooms that were once used to be offices. Zero didn't like it...Something was not right about the building, considering that it was empty and very bare, in fact a bit clean as well?

"Something's missing here..."

"Yeah...The houseplants!" X smirked mildly as he walked further in the building, Zero followed cautiously eyeing for any possible clue about that there was a trap nearby.

"That's not what I meant..."

"I know, I have a bad feeling about this too." X then paused his tracks and looked back to Zero who stopped as well and folded his metallic arms. "This is odd, no reploids, no traps and no goddamn guide to tell us where the hell Ragnarok is!"

"It's seems they wised up to the idea that Sigma's tricks don't work on us no more." Zero boredly said dropping his arms to rest against his hips. "Ragnarok is smart, but he's not as tough as Sigma."

"Thank the Goddess for that!" X snapped a bit frustriadly. "I'm getting tired of chasing him down though, now that's one reploid who I wish would stay still for Once!!!" As X growled the last word, he heavily punched the grey bare wall to prove his point, leaving a fist printed mark on the paint and wood. Just as X rubbed the bits of paint off his knuckles a slight click was heard from the hole in the wall which he punched. He raised a brow and wondered what he hit anyways?

Brushing the paint and wood splinters to a side, he found a hidden control console embedded against the wall.

"X?"

"um....I found something...."

Zero approached to see what the blue hunter found, raising a curious brow at it. The two hunters analysed the console for a moment til X decided to see what it's use was. "Okay! let's see what we have here..." He pressed a few buttons to activate the small screen which blipped awake and first thing it showed up on the screen was the 'XH personnal #?'.

"personnal number? eh....." X tapped his helm trying to figure this one out, Zero then snapped his fingers and dashed off outside quickly leaving X alone with the console, X blinked at Zero's retreat and watched the crimson hunter stop in front of one of the dead reploids and checked around it til he ripped something out of it. X frowned slightly and wondered what the hell was Zero doing??

Zero then quickly rushed back and looked at the piece of metal in his hand to make sure that he got what he was looking for then handed the bloody piece to X.

"Try that number on it!"

"um...okay?" X tapped the number's on the console that were embedded on the small bloody armor piece, then they both waited quietly and patiently to see if that worked? A silent moment went til finally a confirmed chirp was heard from the console, X smirked impressed with the easy security bypass and tossed the piece of metal to a side. "Way to go, Zero!"

"Thank you..."

"So your robotized brain still function to this day, that's good to know!" X flashed a sarcastic grin back to his partner before he kept his gaze to the console, Zero rolled his eyes and gave the azure hunter a small punch to his arm. "Not funny X..."

Before any more words were exchanged a much larger screeching sound was heard nearby, causing the two hunters to quickly turn around completely to see what caused the screech? A hidden door unveiled before the two hunters, showing a path of stairs leading down to who knows where.

"A trap?" Zero asked cautiously.

"I feel too damn proud for it to be a trap, how about you?" X still had his pleased grin looking at Zero with a michevious glint to his emerald eyes. Zero smirked and grabbed his saber handle out preparing for some further action ahead.

"Me too...Let's go.."

X nodded, this time taking the lead and rushed down the stairs ahead of Zero who followed closely behind the azure hunter. Zero couldn't help but feel different about the whole thing, it wasn't bad yet it wasn't good either. He felt that something big was gonna happen but will it happen to him? or X....

Zero frowned slightly as he glanced at X...No...not this time, He was gonna protect X this time.

He wasn't gonna allow anyone to hurt him.... much less try to even kill him....

To Be Continued.......