[event] Something has surfaced...

[viralserenity]

[It's three a.m. A Reploid with an ID signal of a security guard at Lagrano, sends a shaky-voiced message on the standard emergency channel.]

H-Hunter Base? Th-this is Delta... We just...

We just discovered a body floating near a water purifier intake at Lagrano. W...We need someone with command authority and a medical team on the scene right now.

Comments

[mega_maiden]

[Rock heard it loud and clear, so now she is going to do what any sane person would do.

Get on the line with ping Zero and X.]

Zero! X! One of you please respond!

[tothexthpower]

[It takes a moment before he forms a coherent reply, because... well, a 3a.m. emergency call about Zero's body has robbed him of coherent thought for a few minutes.]

R-

[Let's try that again without my voice sounding strangled.]

...Rock?

[mega_maiden]

Did...did you hear that too? Have you heard from Zero?

[Very panicky here as she begins pulling up her map and scanning for all the Zeroes and Xes.] Can I leave and check it out?

[tothexthpower]

...I heard. No- No I haven't.

[He'd been so shocked by the message that in the few minutes that had passed it hadn't occurred to him yet to try to raise... the other Zero? Which one was the message about?!

It didn't matter. It's Zero.

And wait- Rock wanted to--

X didn't want her to see the body. It didn't matter if she'd seen bodies before. She barely knew anyone here, and Zero had met her first and taken her in, and... She shouldn't have to see that.]

Rock, I- I'm going to check it out. I need you to stay there so you can track the other Zero-s. Keep trying to raise them. Okay.

[experient]

[This was supposed to be a ridiculously routine, boring assignment. Hunter Base in Giga City had been hitting some bad turnover and was lacking in experienced spotters. Go out there, help train up the new ones and get them up to speed, and then back to Prime, nothing Alia hasn't done for the main branch a dozen times over. Piece of cake.

Taking calls at three in the morning about one of the pillars of the Maverick Hunters -- one of her friends -- being dead?

Not much routine about that.

She stops and covers her mouth for a minute, almost unable to process it. She must've misheard that, must've imagined something --

-- but Alia's better at her job than that, and she pushes that to the back of her mind and starts typing away at her console.]

I'm dispatching medical assistance now, Delta. Can you please -- please confirm that last? Did you say [there's a waver in that professional calm] Commander Zero?

[viralserenity]

[Oh, how relieved the poor redshirt is to hear someone in authority answering! He's still quaking, but the sound of a strong firm voice helps calm him down somewhat]

C-Confirming... It's definitely... It's him. I'm... looking at the body right now.

There's no life readings. We're going to move him to a secure location right now within Lagrano. H-have the medical team meet us on the cordoned area, we'll be at security station 9...

[experient]

Message relayed, Delta. They'll be down shortly --

[There's a pause, almost imperceptible. Technically, there's not a reason to need a navi on site for something like this. Her place is in the control room. But there are a few good trainees who should be able to step up to the plate -- in fact, she'd been looking for some minor crisis to step out of the room for and leave them to handle anyway, as a trial by fire.

This isn't quite as minor as she'd been hoping for, but it'll still do the trick, and even if there's no technical reason they'd need her on site...it's Zero. Like hell can she just take that one sitting down.

And she may not have field rank, but she's got rank. Keeping the rookies focused when they're clearly scared witless is enough of an excuse for her to explain herself away.]

-- as will I.

[A few quick orders to the other navis on duty, a quick lockdown of her console, and Alia is out the door and headed for the teleporter as fast as she can go.]

[final_number]

This is Zero. Everyone, remain calm. I don't know what the hell's going on, but I'm on-route. Whatever you guys just found, it is not me, repeat not me. Authority and line of command is intact, repeat, intact.

I want all available Hunters to meet me at Security 9 in Lagrano. We'll get to the bottom of this once and for all.

[tothexthpower]

[The emergency signal snaps X out of sleep mode. It takes him a few seconds to orient himself, but his efforts are ruined as he hears the message content.

A feeling of sick horror and shock twists inside him, sending his core racing. But it was followed almost instantly by fierce denial.

It... That can't- He's not-

The dread and fear of losing his best friend remains, despite his denial. And only then does he realize his breathing had stopped.

It takes him a moment to calm his racing corepulse and steady his breathing. Once he regains control of his horrified thoughts enough to be coherent, X opens a secure channel to respond.]

...Delta. This is Commander X. Please confirm message.

[X had to know he hadn't misheard.]

[viralserenity]

C-Commander X, thank goodness... I'm sorry to say it, sir... We have the body in our possession now, we're moving it to security station 9 at Lagrano... please come right away, sir. We just made contact with a navigator, she's sending medical, but we definitely need you too.

[tothexthpower]

[No. No, no. Wait-]

Please confirm, Delta. You're certain its Commander Zero?

[Despite his hopeful doubt, X was already in armor, out the door, and on the way to security station 9.]

[final_number]

This is Zero. Everyone, remain calm. I don't know what the hell's going on, but I'm on-route. Whatever you guys just found, it is not me, repeat not me. Authority and line of command is intact, repeat, intact.

I want all available Hunters to meet me at Security 9 in Lagrano. We'll get to the bottom of this once and for all.

Meanwhile, at Security 9... (come in here, guys!)

[final_number]

[The Air Bus can't move fast enough for Zero, and it's all he can do not to want to barge up to the cockpit, flash ID and tell them to move their asses.

Right now, what he's afraid of is... that it's the other Zero, the one whose voice he heard just briefly during the timecheck call. The twisting feeling deep in his gut that says it's more complicated than that he tries to rationalize away.

Even though he really can't.

When he gets to the station, he faces a wall of surprised looks, and he waves them off, commanding that they show him what they found. And after some arguing, and a little bit of necessary arm-bending, they do it.

They've moved the wet, waterlogged body to a table. Even Zero has to grimace at the sight- it's him after all... isn't it?

And that sinking feeling just gets deeper.]

[experient]

[Alia gets in just after Zero, and after a cursory glance at the table (and a very well stifled, but not entirely suppressed shudder), she goes to the standing Zero first, very obviously looking him over to reassure herself that yes, he's not dead.]

[final_number]

[Zero greets Alia with a tense nod, eyes flicking from her toward the table- let's get this the hell figured out.]

Still me. Whatever that's worth.

[He moves after her, taking up the other side of the table as she moves in.]

Give it a couple, I called in the troops. There's a situation here. This is the last straw as far as I'm concerned.

[experient]

[And she moves in for the examination. Careful, clinical; if there's anything in her that's got issues with manhandling what appears to be the corpse of one of her friends, she's doing a good job covering it.]

This is...I don't even know what to make of it. A new gen copy wouldn't have maintained the form after complete systems failure, and I'm not sure if the copy chip could process your code to begin with...

[gunslinging]

[Man. Worst day ever, or worst day ever?

Once Zero cuts in, though, Axl just sighs, shrugs, and kicks in his dash thrusters.]

Copy that, on my way.

[final_number]

At least there's only one of you.

[No, Zero's not tense or anything. Why would you think that?]

[gunslinging]

The world couldn't handle two and you know it.

[Might not be the best timing for a joke, but it's just how Axl functions under pressure. If he can still be a smartass, it means he hasn't cracked yet.]

[final_number]

Now we're looking at three, unless this is the one I picked up a transmission from yesterday.

This is turning into someone's idea of a real bad goddamn joke.