X1

Several hours had passed for the Hunters and their Doctor since Boomer Kuwanger's passing. X feverishly analyzed the new data chip as well as his current arsenal to find out their true power. Dr. Cain was putting the finished touches on Zero as he was nearly back to full health. Zero began opening his eyes.

"X...are you okay?"

X wheeled around in his chair from the computer terminal.

"I should be asking you the same thing. Don't worry, we're fine. Sting Chameleon got the best of us this time but he hasn't escaped forever!"

"Damn right...I'll finish him off myself!"

Dr. Cain put one last component into Zero's torso and welded the area shut.

"There. Good as new, Zero. How do you feel?"

Zero reached for his Z-Saber instinctively.

"I feel like kicking some serious green Chameleon ass. That is what I feel."

X got up and walked over to Zero's operating table.

"Now don't go being irrational, Zero. Even you can see the downside to running into situations head-first."

"No need to tell me what I already know. Anyway is there any word on the latest Maverick attacks? What about the old base ruins and Sting's reactivation of the area?"

Dr. Cain couldn't help himself and nudged in between the two Hunters.

"Well funny thing...I was actually able to remotely shut down the base permanently."

X and Zero looked bewildered as their mouths dropped to the floor.

"W-what? But what of Sting Chameleon and the Maverick army?"

"You see, Zero, with Sting Chameleon temporarily out of our way, combined with yours and X's wiping out of the Maverick threat in the area, the place was totally deserted. I can remotely shut down the base in times of emergency but the process takes several hours. Sting Chameleon would've easily shut me down had he still been there, along with any Maverick who happened to hear the wailing emergency beacons contained in the entire facility! With your help it gave me the time needed to shut down the base for good."

X sighed long and hard. He was upset that their own Hunter base was so close to being used as a hub of Maverick activity. Another mistake. Averted.

"But to go with the good, there is the bad."

Zero rose up and stood in an offensive posture.

"What! Bad? Tell me the news, I am ready to fight!"

X leaned in, curious as to what the Doctor had to say.

"I hope you two like the water because Launch Octopus has usurped our Subterranean Base!"

X pounded the operating table with his fist in protest.

"All our friends, our mentors, our...brothers. Why are they all turning on us? Now it's Launch Octopus! This ought to stop soon. I can't handle the loss of another friend."

Zero turned to X and walked straight up to him, towering over the rookie Hunter.

"You know they were MY friends too. It's very sad and depressing but it has to be done. Until we find a cure for this Maverick outbreak then disposal is our only option. If we leave these infected Reploids to go about simply because we once shared morning tea with them then that's another thousand or so lives on our heads! If we could speak to them rationally, then destroying them as the best course of action is what they would tell us."

Zero backed away and shrugged towards Dr. Cain, observing X the entire time.

"Yeah, but it just feels like we could do more for them."

Zero slammed his boot on the ground so hard it dented the lab floor.

"There is NO MORE we can do for them! Yes I know, fighting should only be used as our last option, but we've run out of options X. You know this. If all we can do is fight, then at least let's make it a good one."

X finally raised his head and smirked, if only for a second.

"Alright. But I won't give up on them."

Zero shook his head.

"I know."

Dr. Cain wished the two Maverick Hunters luck as he watched the red and blue auras dissipate into the sky and onward to the Subterranean Base.