Let's Go!

Giga city was a man made city in the ocean with the original purpose to mine a mineral, Force Metal, and consisted of different research facilities which made up the island to study and develop the metal; as well as, conducting reploid research. After the rebellion, the state had gone through a transformation and though mining the metal and research were still in primary play, commerce had become an essential part in the city. Due to its ideal location and now open policy, merchants had begun to flock the city and in no time a merchant and common district was added into the city; which had become the symbol of peace and tolerance among its human and reploid residents.

It only took them a second for them to arrive their destination. When they opened their eyes the three Maverick Hunters were greeted by the blindingly bright ray of sunlight that was freely beating down on the exposed area. They had been transported right at the center of the plaza and were standing on a slightly elevated cemented platform. It was decorated with an elegant assortment of artificial stone and curved mental all around, which painted quite an intricate design on the pavement on which they stood. And just above them a sturdy arch, that almost look too futuristic for the elegant design tower across the round platform with a sign that read GIGA CITY PLAZA.

Soon Hunters to realize that the platform itself was the destination landing for the public who used teleportation transfers as a means for transportation. It also the centerpiece in this round open area. Benches in the far rim of the circle were placed strategically facing the platform while shaded by the trees that surround them. Somehow it went well with the rest of its surroundings, even though it seemed to be the most obvious sign of industrial and modern day décor around. There were several people sitting on the seats, some eying the new arrivals. But most of them were pairs of young eyes who had eagerly waited to watch the show individuals appear out of thin air. And at the moment they were all quite memorized by the three Hunters that had arrived. Who wouldn't? Although it wasn't an unusual sight, it's not every day civilians, especially children, see combat type reploid appear out in the public, especially in a large group of three. It was their form of entertain, most likely, that's why the platform was in such an obvious and eye catching position in the first place. Quite a genius concept to be honest.

The three were very eye catching in their own individual respect, they grabbed the attention of onlookers that were passing by. Some of them stared with a strange look of curiosity while others appeared to have distinguish who they were but battled their inner temptation to approach. However for the most part people merely took a quick glimpse and went about their business not even taking interest the Hunters. There was a mother calling out to her little children to stop running, another chasing down her daughter as she came too close to the platform, an old man peacefully admiring the flock of birds that have gathered to feast on the breaded delicacy he had in his hand and in the shadowed corner a young couple enjoying each other's company. For the rest, it was just a steady flood of individuals, reploid, human or even animals, walking pass and going about their day.

"This is Pallette, just calling to confirm status," Axl heard the blonde navigator say in his ear.

"We're here," the young reploid confirmed.

"Roger. Transfer successful."

"Palette, return me at once!" X ordered the blonde navigator through his communicator.

"No can do. You and Zero are required to accompany Axl until sundown. No objections. We will only be accepting Axl's reports every hour."

"Pallette!" X contested.

"Sorry…can't hear you. You guys just enjoy yourselves, alright?'' Palette ignored..

"Heh, we will. Thanks Pal." Axl answered back, cutting off his communicator after he heard the playful blonde sound her farewell with a whisper of good luck to her partner. However, when he turned back, he wasn't greeted with such nice lovely and enthusiastic faces like he would have wished for. X looked at him with a face that seemed as if he had been pulled away by his lifeline was disgruntled at the fact that he was there, while still maintaining a very composed fuming face. Zero… Zero on the other hand had the appearance of a man ready to kill him. But it was what he expected and he was pretty use to it with all honesty. This wasn't the first time they were absolutely furious with him and this probably won't be the last. Most of all, he knew the worse they would do is lecture him. But, that surely didn't stop him from fearing the possibility that today they just might act on their silent threats.

"Sooo…it looks like we're all cleared to go. Where should we go?" Axl cautiously thread to his friends. They we're both glaring daggers at him.

"I can't believe this, you've taken it too far this time, Axl!" X complained in an angry tone, struggling to keep his cool as to not disrupt the public and make a scene. A blessing for Axl. He knew that X and Zero being as self aware as they were, were pushed into a corner that prevent them from fully erupting. It was the only reason why he probably hasn't been dragged back to base yet. In Axl's mind he was truly thanking the three navigators for deciding to land them in this exact position in broad day light, which gave him an advantage over his friends.

"You can do whatever you want to do. But leave me out of it." Zero irritated answered..

"No way! This is the first time the three of us are able to go out! We have to make the most of it. Just let it go for now and let's have fun for now, okay?" Axl stubbornly persisted as he pushed his friends out of the platform and out into open area. Zero let out a heavy sigh.

"Axl!" X scolded at him.

"Just gives it up X, there's nothing you can do about it." Zero cut in. The look of a defeated warrior plastered all over his face as he willingly abide by Axl's forceful request. It was becoming too tiresome to continue arguing with the stubborn boy in a situation where there was no easy victory. Not to mention the last thing he wanted was to make a scene.

"You're awfully compliant." X grumbled.

"I just know when I've lost. There's nothing we can do. Besides, one day couldn't hurt can it?" Zero replied back.

"I suppose you're right." X replied with a displeased look on his face, however he subtly voiced out his unwilling compliance.

As much as the two showed their displeasure for being forced into the situation, it was obvious that they themselves were not so against the idea as they tried to show. It brought a huge smile to Axl's face. Never once had he ever imaged that he would be able to get his friends to willingly comply. It was like he was living in a dream; one he would not want to wake from.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He exclaimed in excitement. The young Hunter cut in between them and wrapped his arms around each of their shoulders. The weight of his arms forced his two friends to slouch closer as he began to drag them to the pace of his eccentric walk.

Without much of a plan the three heroes decided to follow the stream people, who all seem to have one specific destination. After a short walk out of the courtyard, the Hunters arrived at a vast open space and were stopped in their tracks.

"Woah!" Axl voiced out in awe as he and his friends gaze at the scene in amazement.

A bountiful amount of people were entering through an arched gate and on the other side there were countless tents and temporary buildings situated in a clustered row. Beyond the tents were large colorful lights attached to large fair rides spread all over the area.

"A carnival?" X identified.

"Yeah, looks it's a festival to celebrate the treaty between reploids and humans." Zero read out of a flyer which advertised the event.

"That's awesome!" .Ever!" Axl jumped up in excitement. The young reploid felt like the luckiest person in the world. He didn't expect there to be an event today, but the timing couldn't be better. There was no better way to spend their day than to join in on the festivities.

"C'mon! C'mon!" Axl exclaimed, tugging on his friends' arms before running ahead of them.

"Axl, wait!" X called out, but the boy was already out of his reach and lost in the sea of people before he could even react. "Mmghh…This is going to be a long day, isn't?" X groaned in frustration.

"You can say that again." Zero agreed as he began to walk.

"Hurry up, slowpokes!" Axl yelled out to them, motioning them to speed up.

Back in the Hunter's base

"Wah! Is that true?!" gasped a black suited reploid on the holographic screen in front of the purple haired navigator's desk. He had a pair of head visors around his head with the Maverick Hunter's emblem patched on the side. There was the title Unit Z marked on the side of his chest and in the background there was group of reploids in the same uniform lined up perfectly side by side behind him. They had relaxed their trained military posture and were all wearing the same surprised face that was present in lead reploid's.

"Affirmative. Commander Zero has taken off for the day." Layer confirmed with them.

"So does that mean…?" The trainee asked unable to finish.

"Your training is canceled today. Please rally the message to all of the squad members." She ended for him.

"Did you guys hear that?!" the reploid turned to his comrades, unable to contain the shocking news.

"WAHH!" the soldiers cheered reploids in the screen. Some of them were unable to hold in their joy and were jumping in happiness while others looked as if they were about to break down in tears. The lead reploid himself too was having a hard time keeping his emotions bottled in. Repeatedly he thanked the navigator. Even after the call was cut off, he couldn't give a proper response to the order given to him.

Layer sighed with a smile on her face as her screen returned to its default image.

"They sounded happy," Pallete said through her communicator prompting the navigator to turn to youngest looking female in the room.

"They were looking for Zero. It seemed like they were scheduled to do a new training regimen today." Layer explained.

"Ahhh, I see. Poor guys. Knowing Zero he was probably planning to train them to the bone." Pallette commented, remembering how strict the red Hunter could be when it came to his subordinates, especially recently due to the lack of action.

"All done," Alia exclaimed sounding accomplished and relieved just as Pallette had finished her sentence, which prompted her two coworkers to look at her.

"Sounds like you had a tough one." Layer noted. Alia smiled back.

"For someone, who had nothing to do X still had a pretty packed schedule," Alia replied looking at the paperwork and other projects X had been working on. She had readjusted his work accordingly and had even completed some of the easier tasks he had herself.

"Well that guy is a bit of a workaholic," Pallette commented.

"You can say that again," Alia chuckled, "I'm glad he's finally gone out for one."

Suddenly, an alarm rang through their ears.

"Maverick at Central City." Layer, being the first to react, informed them as a request for action simultaneously blinked on the navigators' screen. "A rouge reploid, civilian class, has gone on a rampage. Local enforcements are requesting for dispatch."

"Is the suspect infected?" Alia inquired. Almost naturally, the three operators had quickly set aside their miscellaneous work and switched over to a more focused

"No confirmation," Pallette answered.

"Call those three back and dispatch them." Signas ordered, standing up from his seat, prompting the three navigators to give him a conspicuous look.

"It's a D class mission," Alia reminded him. Only after minute of assessing the situation, it was clear that the in question Maverick wasn't a relative threat and with that level it wasn't enough to send out the S rank Hunters. "Dispatching a swat unit should be enough."

"The circumstances may escalate, its better to them out." Signas argued.

"No," Alia bluntly objected.

Signas was about to issue another order when another message came into the screen.

"Oh, local enforcements were able to subdue the Maverick on their own." Layer read the message.

A disappointed and almost distraught face came over Signas's face.

"Hehe, looks like we don't have to deploy anyone anymore." Pallette playful commented.

"Send over the containment unit, just in case." Alia instructed.

"Roger." Layer complied, taping on the screen to send out the order.

Settling back onto his sit, Signas let out an exasperated sigh.

"Quit being such a sour dough, commander. Let them have some fun." Pallette read his mind.

She and the others knew that their commander wasn't in the best state of mind at the moment. He was feeling uneasy without his three best hunters and it him turn into a nervous wreck. It also didn't help, that being out voted and outwitted by Axl had scratched his ego. He had been sulking and had been fretting nonstop to bring them back.

"They can have fun here," Signas pouted.

"Alia's got it covered. Besides, their nothing really going on," Layer assured him.

"I'm so jealous. Those three must be having so much fun right now." Pallette sighed heavily. She slouched her entire upper body forward as her face rested sluggishly against her arm. "Maybe we should take a day off too," Pallette happily suggested, but then suddenly felt a chill down her spine as Signas gave a swift glare of opposition before she can even finish her sentence.

"…Or not," she regressed.

'Arghh! This is so boring!" Axl whined loudly, causing the line of people to stare at him and mutter inaudible comments.

"It can't be helped. This ride seems to be one of the more popular attractions." X tried to comfort his friend.

"You were the one that chose it." Zero chimed in, leaning against the railings.

The three friends were standing in the center of a rather extensively long line to one of the festival's many rides, The Sinking Spiral. It was a large roller coaster, designed not for the faint of heart with five massive loops and ninety degree drop. Upon entering the festival, Axl had caught eye of the large contraption and not so discreetly suggested for it to be their first activity.

"At least we're half way there," X continued.

"Ughh! You're not helping, X," Axl wailed. He was dying. Watching as each ticking second being wasted in this line was not how he wanted to spend his day.

"Should we try to look for something else? We've been waiting here for almost an hour." Axl proposed.

"I don't see a problem, we can wait," X answered him calmly.

"But there are so many other things we could do ya know," Axl whined as his impatience was grew.

"We've waited this long might as well suck it up," Zero responded. Unlike the whining Hunter, the crimson and blue reploids were indifferent and had even began to oddly find standing in line to be awfully relaxing.

Axl groaned slouching to show his frustration as he attempted to find another way to outwit his unanimated friends.

"Let's stay like this a bit longer," X uttered, in an almost breathless whisper.

"Huh..?" Axl raised an eyebrow. He barely caught a weft of the sentence and couldn't distinguish if those words were meant for him or if X was speaking out his thoughts.

But before Axl could try clarify, he felt a small tap on his shoulder. It was Zero's. There was a small smile on the red hunter's face as he gently shook his head. He nudged his head slightly, pointing to the endless sea of people passing then shifting his eyes to their blue friend.

Following his companion's actions, Axl glanced over at X. His vision quickly caught the sight presented to him. There was such a serene look on his peace loving friend's eyes, which were fixated on the crowd of people.

"Ahh…" Axl sounded in understanding.

Humans and reploids were walking side by side with smiles on their faces without a care in the world. It was like a totally different scene from what they had grown accustomed to, which was nothing but struggles against destruction and death.

His friend, even though it may only be a smidge in this long war, he was watching his dream play right in front of him.

Observing his friend it made Axl realize something; Hunters never truly had the chance or time to see the fruit of their efforts, especially in person. Due to the never ending battles and constant responsibilities to bring peace his friends had always only seen the immediate chaotic aftermath of the war. After they bring back order in one, they quickly move on to new set tasks and problems. It was an endless cycle; something the boy learned pretty quickly. Now he understood why it was so difficult for the two heroes to leave behind their duties; the world was in constant need of their protection. They couldn't leave it alone.

Axl never thought about it before, but he came to realize how fortunate he was. Unlike, his two seniors who had lived their entire lives in this cycle, the boy had a chance to experience the results of the Hunter's efforts. While he was a vigilante, he was also a civilian. He had a time when fighting wasn't all there was to live. He was actually able to enjoy the modern pleasures and lead a, while very eventful, normal life.

He turned back to Zero, whose smile had grown a bit wider than before repositioning himself against the wall.

Even Zero was enjoying the atmosphere, Axl thought to himself.

Axl smiled with a sigh, retreating from his complaints and made himself comfortable by crossing his legs and sat on the ground. The young Hunter had been so fixated in giving his friends a wonderful and exciting time, he didn't consider that the little things were all that was needed.

Who knew, just being out and about without constantly watching your back would be enough.

Still, waiting in line was definitely boring. But then again… he would much rather be here than coped up in base.

Staring into the unchanging pace of the crowd Axl's mind was beginning to wander off when abruptly an internal alarm startled the copy reploid. It was a notification he made for himself when the clock struck a new hour to remind him of the incontinent condition his superior instructed gave himhim.

"Fourteen hundred hours. Hmmnn…" Axl groaned upon receiving the notification.

"Time's flying by huh?" X caught the youngster's expression.

"Yeah," Axl sighed, "I guess I have to give the base a call." He wasn't too enthusiastic in calling. Somehow he had a gut feeling that his lovely and understanding commander was very eager to talk to him. He can almost bet his life on a scolding would be the first thing he hears.

Fun…

Back at the base, command room was everything but tranquil.

"Douglas! Layer! Nana! Pallette! Hold him down!" Alia ordered at the top of her lungs. "Don't let him get anywhere near that the control pad!"

"W-What's happening exactly?" Douglas, unknowingly sucked into the conundrum asked. He and Nana had just arrived to the command room, literally not even a minute ago and were immediately greeted by a storming leader.

The scene occurring a true spectacle to behold. Five Hunters, four navigators and a mechanic struggled to hold down their superior. Signas's arms were then fastened down by Alia and Layer while Douglas, who was at least two heads shorter than their commander had somehow managed to put Signas into a Nelson hold, where his both his arms were strapped around Signas' underarms to lock the shoulder joints in place. The remaining navigators, Nana and Palette had the job of anchoring Signas into place, with Nana strapping herself around Signas's left leg while Palette pushed Signas's significantly larger frame from advancing.

"Let me talk to him!" Signas fought with them.

"Please, calm down for a second, commander!" Palette pleaded.

"That brat is already forty five seconds behind! Tardiness is unacceptable!" Signas struggled, trying to free himself. He's finally cracked, his anxiety too much for him to handle.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me…" Nana stoically commented. She was not fully aware of the situation but she was put the two and two together.

No one knows how it happened but he had completely lost it. The navigators knew that their commander was quite meticulous when it came to his subordinates, however they never knew his disorder would go this far. Anxiety had really gotten into him.

"Transmission incoming." Delta said; a standard green reploid trainee who was spared from the struggle in order to man the neglected controls.

"This is Axl." The young Hunter's voice spoke through the speakers.

"Mr. Axl!" Delta gasped in surprise. Immediately his face turned into a panic as he turned to face his distracted higher-ups.

"Give it to me!" Signas grunted as a reserve amount of strength suddenly awaken in him, causing those who held him to nearly fall out of balance. However, it was futile as they regrouped their own strength and let out five times the resistance.

"No!" Alia signaled Delta to disregard their commanding officer's order.

"Huh? Delta, that you?" Axl said through the speakers. His voice sounding bit confused since he wasn't expecting to be received by the green reploid. While it wasn't out of the ordinary to be received by different navigators, due to Axl's high rankings it was almost a given that his calls would transmit promptly to his designated partner or at least the more experience operators rather than a trainee.

"Y-yes, sir!" Delta answered nervously.

"Weird." Axl uttered, "I'm just checking in. Can you connect me over to Palette?"

Delta glanced over at the blonde whose entire focus was devoted in preventing their superior from escaping. "Her hands are a bit tied up right now."

"Oh, maybe Layer or Alia then?" Axl requested.

"T-They're busy, too!" It wasn't a total lie. The other navigators did have their hands full.

"Ehh...Is everything alright there?" Axl asked a bit surprised with a hint of worry. "Did something happen?"

"No! Everything's fine! Everything is totally fine!" Delta yelp out.

"Delta, just hang up!" Layer instructed him.

"Was that Layer?" Axl was able to hear the background.

"N-no!" Delta masked, "Thanks for your call!"

"H—" Axl began

"Glad to hear from ya! Talk to you later!" Delta ignored, cutting him off and hanging up not a second a later.

"Hey!" Axl called out to his communicator just as he was cut off.

'Is everything alright..?' X asked with a bit of concern in his voice.

"Dunno, I think. That's what Delta said." Axl answered as he tried to make sense of Delta's rushed answer.

"You were talking to Delta?" X crooked his head slightly and gave Axl a very confused look as the student explained what had just transpired.

"Weird, right? And all the others were busy he said." Axl elaborated.

"Maybe something happened." X said worriedly, "Should we go back?" He turned to Zero to get his opinion.

It took a moment for the red reploid to respond as he tried to digest all that Axl had given them.

"Was there on one else in the command room?" Zero asked.

"I heard Layer." Axl replied.

"If she's there and then I doubt its much to be worried about." Zero replied, quite the opposite of what his companions were expecting.

"It's still weird," Axl answered, suspicious of Delta's rushed reply, "he said everyone had their hands tied."

"It happens. Not to mention Delta is still a trainee so he's not the best one to delivery information just yet. The kid was probably got too nervous. Alia mentioned they need to train him some more." Zero reasoned with them, cutting off the two worrying reploids before they started drawing any conclusions. "We all know how Signas is like, if it there was really an emergency Command wouldn't hesitate to call us."

"T-that does make sense," X agreed.

'I guess you're right.' Axl replied, throwing his worries away. He was satisfied with Zero rational conclusion and to be honest he didn't want to think about being called back to work so soon.

"It's not every day he gets to talk to a S rank, like me" Axl cockily claimed. His nose seemingly growing from his brimming overconfidence. At almost the same instant, he felt two fists equally hit him in the head bringing his sense back on earth.

"Don't flatter yourself," Zero and X said simultaneously, both contributing to the blow on the young Hunter causing him to shrink to down to ground along with the rest of his cockiness.

"O-ow..that really hurts. Was that really necessary?!" Axl groaned in pain as he held onto his freshly bruised head.

But the pain was immediately forgotten as his eyes instantly shoot open as he saw a four legged creature suddenly jump through the railings and tackled X to the ground.

"Whoa!" X gasped in surprise as he fell.

"X!" Axl called out.

Running on instincts the Axl jumped to his feet and went into a defensive position, but it was already too late, the creature was already gobbling up on the blue reploid.

"A dog?" Axl uttered in bewilderment. A medium sized and red furred hound, about a quarter of Axl's height was on top of the blue hero. The hound had armored plating all over his body, but Axl can tell just by looking that the plates were more for fashion than combat.

"H-hey stop that!" X laughed, feeling ticklish as the dog liberally licked the side his check. Its tail wagging uncontrollably.

"Looks like it like you." Zero commented as he watched his friend be at the creature's loveable mercy. He was also taken by surprise but unlike Axl he was far more composed. The crimson reploid reached down to pet the surprise newcomer but when his hands have come close the dogs demeanor quickly changed. It let out a vicious growl at the blonde and barked a warning nearly biting Zero's fingers.

"And it doesn't like you," X chuckled, petting the dog under the ears.

"Apparently," Zero uttered, retreating his hand and placed himself behind Axl in an effort to not provoke the dog.

"Where'd it come from?" Axl asked. He stepped a little closer to X as he looked for some kind of tag or collar to help them identify who the animal belonged to. Surprisingly, unlike his reaction with Zero or X, the dog merely recognized Axl's presence, but had little reaction as it returned its attention back to X. Axl noticed a Zero's mouth open slightly in amazement as the crimson reploid had probably reached an immediate conclusion that the dog was anti-social with anyone besides X.

"Who knows. It just ran up to X and started licking him." Zero answered keeping his distance.

"It doesn't look like there's any collar on him." Axl said after his observation.

"I'm not getting any chipped ID either. Maybe it's a stray." X inferred.

"Maybe." Axl agreed, petting the red creature. "But it really does like you a lot huh. I didn't know you were so good with dogs."

"Neither did I," X said, unable to wipe the smile off his face.

"Can we keep him?" X asked Zero. His eyes twinkling at the idea to have a new companion.

"No," Zero responded, which instigated another growl not only from the hound but from X as well.

"But," X protested.

"I doubt Signas will that kind of pet in our line of work." Zero reasoned.

While X might have been oblivious to it, Axl could notice a slight rivalry forming between the two reds. In the short while the blue hero held the hound an instant connection had formed between them and Zero had immediately sensed its unbreakable formation. Zero must be feeling threated by him somehow; although Axl can't see the reason why. He doesn't know why, but he was getting this outrageous feeling that Zero and this hound had a long estranged hate for each other; past life maybe?

"Are you two fighting for X's love or something?" Axl awkwardly whispered to himself. But the dog and Zero sharp ears heard his comment and in a synchronized motion snapped their heads at Axl and presented him with a glare.

"I take it back…" Axl regressed in a small voice.

"You don't think so?" X uttered in disappointment, not hearing Axl's comment, "I guess you're right. In our line of duty it'll have to be a reploid pet. But can you guys just image it if could be compatible for combat? How amazing would it be if he could turn into hover board?" X exclaimed.

Zero and Axl sweat dropped down their forehead as they tried to swallow X's ridiculous idea.

Hoverboard? Who in their right mind would make a dog into a hoverboard? Axl thought to himself. The young hunter was for the idea up until that part. No matter how many times he tried to picture it, the image didn't fit quite right. Of all things X could have thought of. Having pets assist in mission was a common thing, but having them transform into a flying skateboard, well not so much. However, as much as he wanted to poke fun at the idea, the young Hunter decided to keep his opinion to himself and so did his crimson friend. Somehow, it was like X had turn into a kid himself. It was the first time he's ever seen his friend sound so excited over something so childish. He had a wilder imagination than Axl had first thought.

"Rush!" The hunters suddenly detected a voice call out over the crowd from a distance. Instantly the dog's ears perked up as its head turned to the direction of the sound. Recognizing the voice upon hearing its name a second time, the carefree dog ran to its direction.

The hound disappeared into the sea of people, but it didn't take long for the three heroes to locate the source of the voice. It was a human boy in blue with brown hair, standing next to a food stand where there was less people. He had the statute of ten year old child, but due to the ground being elevated slightly, he stood out from the rest.

"There you are boy!" the human child exclaimed, opening his arms as the hound reappeared and leapt onto him.

"Where'd you run off too?" he asked, petting his friend. The red dog barked happily in response.

"Rock! Did you find him?" a little girl called out to the brown haired boy. It belonged to small blonde haired human girl wearing a plain red dress with a high pony tail. The three hunters didn't see her quite as fast as they as she was far smaller in physic and was swallowed by the large crowd.

"Yeah! Roll over here!" the human boy answered as the blonde girl ran to him. The dog parted with the boy and in the same way greeted the girl.

"Hi, Rush!" Roll exclaimed, "Alright, c'mon! Grampa's waiting for us!" She said, pulling onto her brother's arm after exchanging affections with their pet.

"Okay! Okay! I'm coming!" he replied as he tried to fight his sister's forceful tug.

"Rush, lets go!" he called out. But instead he heard his dog bark out at what he could only describe as a goodbye.

"Huh?" Turning to see what was going on, he saw that it was not him that his companion was barking at but rather something else in the distance. Curious, Rock and Roll trailed to what had their companion's attention and caught eyes with the three Maverick Hunters, who had been watching them from a distance. Recognizing them as the source of Rush's goodbye the two children walked over to their spontaneous friend.

"Are those your new friends, buddy?" Rock asked, petting the top of Rush's head. As an answer the Rush nodded and barked at what would sounded as a yes.

"Heh, you silly dog." Rock commented. Then just like Rush, the two children raised their hands and waved to the heroes and the Hunters did the same in return. X shyly waved with one hand, Axl ecstatically waved with two, while Zero simply nodded with a smile.

"Rock, lets go!" Roll, who was the first to put down her hand turned for the exit.

"Yeah, yeah!" Rock replied. "C'mon, Rush."

Letting out one last wave and bark, the miniature group disappeared as quickly as they appeared, their little figures swallowed up by the much taller figures as by made their way to the exit.

"That was sudden," Zero commented, watching the children until he lost sight of them.

"Rock and Roll, hehe that's pretty cute. Whoever named them is a genius." Axl commented crossing his hand behind is head after the children left. Even though they were at a relatively far distance thanks to a reploid's enhanced hearing he was able to listen in to the humans' conversation.

"Rush, huh," X muttered the name to himself, placing a hand on his chin. "I've heard that name before."

"Really?" Zero replied.

"haha, no it's probably in hindsight," X laughed off.

Letting out a heavy sigh after an energy consuming communication, the green reploid, Delta turned back to his superiors who were still in their unending battle against their relentless commander. However, his relaxation didn't last very long as an alarm appeared on his screen.

"Will you five please let go of me!" Signas requested as his strength to fight his subordinates weakened, but none of his companions were willing to listen.

"Then stop struggling!" Nana exclaimed who had resorted in clinging into his foot like a monkey in an effort to hold him down.

"U-umm, Chief," Delta called out to the head navigator.

"Delta, we're a little busy here." Alia responded as she tightened her.

"T-There's a Maverick attack." Delta informed them in the most casual way possible. Although it was a serious matter, he was very unsure whether or not he could interrupt their little scuffle.

"Class?" Alia inquired, the news not seeming to phase her.

"C. A ground type mechanoloid is attacking civilian workers. Damage is currently unknown." He reported.

"Where?" Alia asked.

"Gimialla Mine, Giga City." Delta answered and in an instant the room let as if the atmosphere in the room had dropped. The statement stopped everyone's struggle as their full attention went to the trainee.

It was just their luck, everyone thought. Although, some people's definition of luck varied. The one day the three hunters went away, Maverick attacks suddenly sprawled and to make it worse it was in the exact location the heroes were enjoying their day. Grasping the moment of shock as an opportunity, Signas with all his strength made one last attempt to free himself. Effortlessly, he released himself from the five hunters' grasped, allowing them to fall on top of one another.

"Commander!" Palette called out as bodies of her friendspiled on top of her.

"Delta stop him!" Alia ordered the bewildered trainee, but knowing there was only a seconds of freedom Signas showed no mercy. The trainee didn't even have time to jump out of his seat when Signas threw one the navigator's chair at him, knocking the unsuspecting reploid to the floor as Signas ran to his command terminal and with inhuman speed tapped on the keys and took command of the controls.

"That brat, he thinks he can get away with such insubordination! How dare he! I knew he couldn't keep his end of the bargain! Well just he waits. When I get my hands on him, l I'll show him…we'll see who gets the last laugh!" Signas mumbled to himself with a devilish smirk in his face.

"Signas!" Alia screamed, finally able to free herself from the pile.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of that Maverick." Signas assured them amplifying his voice on the final word. With a final stroke of the key, Signas' figure was wrapped in a white glow. Alia jumped to their commander's fading figure but a mere second made all the difference. As her hands reached for his figure, the last stage of the transfer commenced all Alia was able to grasp was the wind and light he left behind.

"Uh-ohh.." Palette sounded, staring at the empty platform.

'H-he's gone..!' Douglas gasped. His goggles loosened by the struggle falling off one side of his face. The whole command room was in shock. Even with their best efforts they weren't able to stop their manic leader.

It was a wide ride. The deafening roars of the coaster was matched only by the screams of its riders and could be heard from a distance. The large ride spun and whirled in its tracks in such a speed that could send even the bravest of hearts to their knees as it dropped in a straight angle.

"That was awesome!" Axl exclaimed as he and his two friends exited out of the ride's gates. "What did you guys think? That was one hell of a ride, huh?"

"Oddly, enough. I didn't expect to get such a rush." X agreed, having more than his fair share of excitement in battles and unprecedented experiences, the blue hero was extremely surprised that a common ride would rattle tough nerves. "As expected from a city that knows the limits of reploids.

"Right? Right?" Axl nodded. The adrenaline rushing through his systems had made him forget about the wait they had to endure. "Definitely worth it!"

"It was alright," Zero replied, killing the mood and earning himself obscured looks from X and Axl.

"Says the guy that screamed on the first drop," Axl nonchalantly said.

"I wasn't paying attention then," Zero rebuked.

"Sure, sure, if you say so." Axl mocked.

"Or what about the 'Ahhh! Get me out of here. Make it stop.'" X mimicked.

"You're exaggerating," Zero corrected.

"Am I?" X replied back. Knowing X's impersonations to be true, the crimson reploid turned his head away from the two pairs of critical eyes.

"Whatever. What's the plan now?" Zero asked, eager to get out of the subject.

Seeing the typically composed reploid flustered. X couldn't help but let out a chuckle before answering. "I'm not sure. What's next, Axl?"

However, when X turned to face the youngster his figure had vanished.

"Axl?" X called out, looking around the sea of people.

"Where'd he go?" Zero asked, copying X's action.

"He was just here a second ago," The blue reploid replied, with a perplexed expression on his face.

Doing another three sixty observation, X then noticed a large group of people have begun to accumulate at a short distance from them. Enhancing his auditory receptors, X suddenly heard a gun fire and screaming in the same direction. He then looked over at Zero, who then had also noticed the same oddity.

"Did you hear that?" X asked him.

Zero nodded, and in unison they rushed to the source.

"This is bad, this is really bad!" Douglas panicked, pacing back and forth around command center after recovering from the pile. "Commander is going to drag those three back here and who knows how he's to do that."

"Not if I can help it." Alia said, being the first to retrieve her composure and snapping the others out of their shock.

"What are we going to do?" Nana asked.

'We have to stop him! Layer locate the commander for me." The head navigator took command. She was the unofficial second command after Signas and in an instant everyone rushed to their station.

"He's already arrived." Layer pointed out as she checked his status. "But, he's disabled his honing device, I can't pinpoint his exact position anymore.

"Palette give me options." Alia requested.

"I can try to bring him back forcefully, but without a location I can't extract him. He could be anywhere right now." Palette responded.

"He should still be dealing with the Maverick incident." Alia informed her.

"Yes, but without a honing device I can't return him unless he's completely still for at least ten seconds." Palette replied.

"Damn it," Alia cursed, a form of speech she rarely used aside from being under stress. She looked at the bustling command screen which took priority in assessing their commander's whereabouts. The Maverick's outbreak seemingly being a miniscule obstacle that could be easily overlooked.

"We can send out one of the units and retrieve him." Nana suggested, tapping speedily on the keys as her eyes scrolled for the most suited unit to hunt down their escaped leader. "I have six unit available for dispatch."

"Negative, knowing Signas he won't go down without a fight. If we dispatch units it'll definitely attract too much attention and those three will know something's wrong. We have to contain both the Maverick and Signas as discreetly as possible." Alia answered.

"Then, what are you suggesting we do, Alia?" Layer asked as none could conjure a proper solution.

Thinking long and hard, the head navigator's calculated all possible options and scenarios in her head. Then her eyes brightened as an idea came to her head.

"Us four and Douglas' Alia proposed eyeing each one with a commanding look.

"Eeeeeehhhh?!" the room gasped.

"U-us.?" Douglas stuttered, pointing his index finger at himself as he tried to wrap his head around what the head navigator had just stated. He was still trying to understand how he got caught up in this situation as his original purpose was just to drop Nana back to command room after doing systematic diagnostics with her and LifeSaver.

"Yes, we are going to need all the help we can get." Alia answered.

"But what about the commander center? One of us have to stay. If we all go there won't be anyone managing the control room." Layer pointed out.

'I-I can stay if needed.' Nana volunteered. She had a bad feeling about the whole ordeal and to be quite honest, she wasn't exactly excited with the idea of going after an AWOL leader.

'No, this mission is far more important.' Alia dismissed. "We can leave it to Delta."

"M-me?" the green reploid pointed at himself.

"Today isn't too busy. Think of it as a simulation test. You can handle it can't you?" Alia asked.

"Y-yes ma'am!" the green reploid replied, instinctively going into a salute as he was unable to refuse his superior's request.

"Ehhhh...?! B-but doesn't that mean we have to fight the commander!?" Douglas gasped out when all the information finally sank in.

"If the situation calls for it, yes." Alia honestly replied.

"W-wait! W-why me? I'm just a mechanic! I'm not a combat reploid! I've got no chance against Commander!" Douglas reminded Alia. While all Maverick Hunters were required to have some sort of battle knowledge and skill, by profession and design Douglas was the least suited of them all. Unlike the operators who each were at least a B class Hunter, Douglas's combat skills just scratched the bare minimum required to be employed as a Maverick Hunter. If weren't for his outstanding mechanic skills, he was absolutely sure there was no way he would be standing here right now.

"Douglas is right, we're no match for the commander." Palette agreed. Although, their ranks were praise worthy it wasn't enough. It was a known fact, that although their commander rarely goes into combat, due to the overwhelming responsibilities he had on his plate, he was not only a wise leader and a masterful tactician, but also one of the most skilled and powerful reploids at the Maverick Hunter's disposal. One that could match and be a formidable opponent to the three strongest active Hunters.

"That might be true. No, it is true. None of us are anywhere on par with the commander. But, neither are any of our squads. They might, by some miracle contain him but by the time they do, half of Giga City would know. Especially those three," Alia preached, "we can't let that happen. All of us are aware how hard those they work and for the first time Axl was able to drag X and Zero to finally go out and get a break for once. We can't let Signas ruin the one day they're allowed to forget and experience peace.

But I can't do it alone. It'll take a team to take down Signas. Alone we don't stand a chance but together we can do it. Only we can. We know Signas's strength and weaknesses better than anyone else. So there is no better people. It has to be us. We have to protect them!" Alia tried to convince them, determined to get everyone onboard.

The set of navigators and mechanic stood silent, looking back at each other as they tried to read one another's silent opinion. They went were all still very hesitant as each were still not up for the idea to go against their leader.

"Let's do it for them! Who's with me?" Alia extended her hand.

Relayed by the last statement, the group's faces brimmed with determination.

"Count me in!" Palette was the first join. "Axl was excited about today. I can't let my partner down!"

"Me too." Layer followed, "As Zero's partner it's my duty to ensure nothing gets in his way.

"Me three. It's the least I can do for X did for me back in Epsilon's rebellion." Nana joined in, alluding about the time she was rescued by X after being kidnapped during the rebellion in Giga City. After the incident, Nana's contribution and performance outshone the rest and was promoted to be in the position she was in today.

As the last person in the group, Douglas froze in place as all the females turned their attention to him. "I'm not really give much of a choice, am I?" He sighed nervously. "My pride as a man will be crushed if I left four ladies to go up against commander."

His last statement destroyed the mood of the room as all the navigators were unable to stifle their giggles.

"I-I mean I've known Zero and X for a long time and have been really good friends with Axl so…" Douglas retracted, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"For a second Douglas actually sounded cool." Nana commended the normally giddy mechanic.

"Really?" Douglas said amazed, forgetting all other things going around and caused another round of laughter to go around the room.

"Alright. Thank you, everyone!" Alia breathed in gratitude as she pulled everyone back into to situation at hand. "We need to get going. Everyone prepare what we need and be back in three minutes, we'll discuss our strategy then."

As expected three minutes flew in the blink of an eye. Douglas and the navigators didn't have time to catch their breaths, as they scrambled to meet the deadline. By the time they did, they're eyes opened they were met with a jaw dropping sight.

"Woah," all the newly arrived Hunters aired in awe.

"Amazing," Layer uttered in bafflement.

They only lagged behind Signas by merely less than five minutes and in that time the rouge leader had already left his mark at the scene and was nowhere in sight. The ground was littered with slashed and chipped pieces of former reploid and mechanoloid parts, at the foot of the mines where the Maverick attack took place. A drill scorpion droid laying in it's own bed of parts with smoke of fried circuitry still obvious. There didn't seem to be much of a struggle as the fight was pretty much a one sided battle. Even in a rush all the Mavericks were cut with clear procession by their commander's blade, while still leaving the mine's equipment and foundation unscathed.

"This is what we're going up against?" Douglas gulped. He would had much rather fight the wasted mechanoloid than the monster they call their leader.

"Commander is pretty scary, huh?" Palette commented, twitching at the idea that they had to go against such an opponent.

"Is everyone ready?" Alia rallied the group after analyzing the area.

The group nodded as they took arms of their desired weapon of choice.

Douglas had a long rod a foot taller than him. It was a tool he had designed himself, equipped with a spare for combat and retractable butterfly net perfect for capturing. Palette had her laser gun which she modified with more than an ample amount of sedative tranquilizers, and Nana armed herself with a wipe and lasso. On the other hand, Layer who specialized in determining an opponent's weakness and strength had used the short time given to study their commander's battle specs with Alia who developed some kind of strategy. Layer brought along her rapier and Alia calibrated her buster..

"Hey, what's that big hole over there?" Nana pointed at the mine ground next to the sliced up mechanoloid. But, before the suspicion of the mystery gap raised grasped the group's attention Delta's voice spoke in their communicator.

"Chief, I was able to track down Commander Signas using the surveillance system around the city. I'm sending you coordinates now." Delta announced, transmitting a local map to everyone's tracking systems with a small dot of which signified their prey.

"Good job, Delta!" Alia praised him, as the map showed in her peripheral vision along with everyone's. "Send out a containment unit to clean up here."

"Already on it." Delta acknowledged before tuning out.

"We're counting on you," Alia added.

"Okay, this it," Alia turned her attention to her friends, "everyone knows that plan. Our objective is to subdue Signas before he comes in contact with X and the others. We're going into a public sector so try not to use weapons unless absolutely necessary." Alia summarized.

"Understood." The group responded in unison.

Then in one simple command the chase began.

"Mission Start!"

Author's notes

I did it. Yay!

And it only took me…idk 7, 8 months? Lol I'm praying the next chapter won't take as long.

And I know it's been forever since you guys left it, but AliAllison and Guest thank you for leaving your reviews!

AliAllison: I'm glad you and your sister like it :D

Guest: I know it's not the amusement park, but a festival is fairly the same I think xD

I don't know if this is the best place to put this but it seems really unfair to bring everyone's hope up to upload a 'chapter' with just this announce.

Recently for some reason after a few days of posting chapter 12 of MI, my account had been experiencing some wacky stuff. It kept giving me errors every time I try to look at my profile and story stats, messages, reviews, or make edits. And just yesterday it went back up but all stats and activities done in that interval of time had been wiped out. So I have utterly no idea if anyone sent me a message or review. I really have no clue if it's going to magically fix itself or not. I don't even know if it's actually fixed yet. I see my stats now but its literally only yesterday's and todays all other days from Dec 1st to 19th are gone. Nothing seem to change with message or reviews but again, I don't know. Maybe someone tried to contact me. Idk

So if any of you guys did, I sincerely apologize.

Fingers crossed this one won't have the same issue.

Till next time!