X1

Zero teleported back to Dr. Cain's lab and immediately placed X upon an operating table.

"Zero! What happened? I noticed X's lifesigns fluxuating minutes before you got back, and now I see him like this!"

Zero was panting and his pupils were dilated.

"Storm Eagle blasted him from both sides with Storm Tornados. I think it did something to his outboard motor circuits. I dunno. Can you do anything?"

Dr. Cain walked over to where X lay on the table. He carefully looked him up and down.

"Hmm, this looks pretty bad but I think he'll be fine. Just give me some time, Zero."

Zero closed his eyes and turned away. He went over to the main computer and placed Storm Eagle's data chip beside the central controls. As Dr. Cain welded and sparked at X's damaged parts, Zero occupied himself with monitoring and surveying surrounding areas for Maverick activity.

"Those Mavericks will pay for what they did to my teammate. No fellow Hunter dies on my watch. NO ONE!"

He went back over the areas they'd already wiped clean of Mavericks in case a resurgence emerged. But nothing. Not even a single Met was to be seen.

"Dammit. Dr. Cain, how is everything?"

Dr. Cain didn't even look back at Zero.

"Patience. You and X are unique amongst the others. You take extra special care in your repairs. A few more minutes and he should be able to at the least speak to us."

Zero kept on observing different areas surrounding Maverick Hunter Headquarters. Behind him he could hear grinding and whirring from the different tools Dr. Cain used on X's bodyframe. Just as he was about to say something, a blip on the main viewscreen began flashing red.

"*gasp* The old base ruins! A collection of Mavericks are slowly reactivating the old base!"

Dr. Cain shook his head in dismay.

"That could only be the work of Sting Chameleon. He was recently scheduled to permanently shut down that old base. The wildlife had grown too thick and we feared contamination of the local wildlife."

As Dr. Cain was finishing his wonderful speech, X's eyes slowly began to open.

"Wait...no stop! Oh...where am I?"

X tried moving, but it was a fruitless attempt. He was still badly damaged but luckily Dr. Cain had a fast hand.

"Shh, don't worry X. You're in my lab now. Storm Eagle damaged you in the fight you had with him. Zero came to your aid and now you're safe here."

"Zero...I...I'm sorry. I should've tried harder."

Zero leapt up from his chair by the monitor and ran over beside Dr. Cain.

"Relax, X. I'd been scouting his main base for a little while anyway and I saw you come. I knew you two had had some long talks. I wasn't about to come in and fizzle a situation you were handling pretty well."

"Yeah...I sure handled it well, eh? Nearly got myself killed, put you at risk and jeopardized the lives of my friends."

Zero smacked his hand on the surface of the platform beside X's body.

"Look, rookie, I only did what I thought needed to be done. You would've done the same for me, I know it. Let's just say you'll owe me one out in the field."

Dr. Cain smiled and glanced over at the data chip beside the main console.

"Hmm. I'm curious, X, why didn't you try out any of the special weapons I'd given you?"

Zero furrowed his brow in agreement.

"Yeah, you might've been able to take down Storm Eagle in one shot with one of those new weapons!"

"Well...if you hadn't noticed *nngh* I barely had enough time to take out his wings let alone try out some new weapons I'd never even used before. Maybe next time..."

Dr. Cain half-smiled as he looked at the two of them.

"Well there won't be a next time, at least not for awhile. You've still got some nasty body damage that will take some finer work. Zero, I think you'll have to tackle the problem at the old base ruins yourself. Think you can handle it?"

Zero brought out his well-seasoned Z-Saber and scrunched his face.

"Of course. If Sting Chameleon's up to no good, I'll be the one to put him down. Besides, he always rubbed me the wrong way anyway."

X tried raising one arm towards Zero and only managed to lift it a few inches.

"Zero...I'll try to get to you as soon as I can. Just keep an eye out for more capsules. Heaven knows I could use one right now."

Dr. Cain closed X's eyes and powered him down temporarily.

"Don't worry, X. Even rookies like you are allowed breaks. Besides, you've earned it. Anyway, Dr. Cain, I gotta head to the ruins before he restarts the entire base's mechanics!"

Dr. Cain gave him a nod and watched as he teleported to the ruins. The data chip of Storm Eagle glistened from across the room, bound for X's Buster.

"Godspeed, Zero. I'll get X to you as soon as possible."