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Zero closed the multiple error messages in his head trying to inform him about the giant gash across his chest, something he was already aware of, thank you very much. What worried him right now was the limp reploid he was half-dragging, half carrying back to the entrance of the building. Had he been in better condition, Zero would have picked X up and run to headquarters, but he was worried about exacerbating the large wound in X’s waist even further. The injury was bad. Bad enough that upon seeing his friend, Zero almost thought—
But X’s systems had just gone into a hard-shutdown. It wasn’t great, but X’s healing processes were good. Better than most Repliod’s. Zero repeated the words over and over again in his head as he dragged himself and X through the silent missile base back to the motorcycles they had taken to the site. With any luck, Zero would be able to contact HQ and tell them what happened before Sigma caused any more mechanaloids to go berserk, but Zero wasn’t one to hope. Sigma’s actions were calculated; he probably expected to be caught sometime soon and already planned for that possibility. By this time, Sigma had likely gone into hiding, and what with how easily he’d masked his crimes from his subordinates and comrades, Zero figured it would take a few weeks at best before the Hunters managed to pinpoint ex-Hunter's whereabouts.
Zero ground his teeth. The communicator in his helmet wasn’t working, and he doubted X’s was in any better condition. But to his relief, as they reached the cycles parked just inside the building and as he thumbed over the communication channel, he got a signal.
The call took longer to get through than normal, and for a minute, Zero almost thought HQ wouldn’t pick up. He didn’t know what he would’ve done then; X was hurt he wasn’t good with repairs, not for something on a scale this big. He wasn’t sure how long X could hold up in this condition without additional external aid, and his options were frustratingly limited.
But eventually, someone did pick up.
“HQ, get me a medic team stat,” he said without preamble. Though the feedback image on the motorcycle's relay was all static, the voice on the other end was audible. He heard shouts and other operators’ hurried voices along with other indistinguishable background noise, the sound of panic and chaos.
“Zero? Is this Zero?” He wondered briefly if the image relay on the Association’s end was damaged too. “Where are you? We need your help locking down the area and taking care of any survivors. What happened to Commander Sigma?”
“Survivors?”
It was only then that Zero registered the abnormal amount of smoke and fire in the distance. He had been so focused on getting X out of the building and contacting HQ that the distant sound of sirens hadn’t even registered in his mind. He stood there, one arm still supporting X, his other hand over the communicator as he took in the scene of destruction spreading across their city.
“Zero? Do you copy?” The scared voice of the operator snapped Zero back to the situation at hand.
“I need a medic team. I know it’s a mess right now, but X is badly damaged. I can help after he’s taken care of.” There’s no way I can leave him as he is right now. He heard the operator’s hesitation and knew there were probably no free medical teams to spare if things were actually as bad as they looked. If X were conscious, he’d probably insist Zero let the medical teams help people in even worse shape. But X wasn’t awake.
“Commander Sigma’s gone Maverick, we can’t afford to lose X too. If I was in any better condition I’d take him back to headquarters myself but…” The cycles weren’t meant to carry two people and he was worried about injuring X more than he already was.
He heard the operator sigh on the other end. “I’ll see if I can redirect a unit to pick him up.”
“Thank you.” He grimaced as he re-adjusted his grip on X, leaning back on the cycle and keeping an eye out for the medics. Smoke rose from the buildings in the distance, the stench of burning metal reaching Zero as the winds shifted. Grimacing, he turned his attention back to X as the blue reploid's head drooped onto his shoulder. Zero's expression softened from frustration to concern as he pulled his friend closer.
X wouldn’t have gotten himself into this situation if he’d just shot Sigma when he had the chance. Even if he had hit Zero, Zero would rather be the one in pieces if it meant their enemy was taken care of, and if it meant X was safe. But this wasn’t X’s fault, none of it was. Zero blamed himself, for not realizing Sigma’s plan early enough, and for getting caught and used as a hostage so easily. They’d played right into Sigma’s hand. He gritted his teeth, cursing himself as he replayed the fight over and over in his mind, reliving the feeling of powerlessness he'd felt when Sigma incapacitated him so effortlessly, the reploid's wide, cruel smile the last thing imprinted in Zero's memory bank before he blacked out.
It was ten minutes before medics came, which gave Zero ten minutes to try and assess the damage to the city and wonder what the hell had happened after his systems shut down. Judging from the distant fires and scope of destruction, it looked like the missiles from the base were fired, but whether they had gone off before or after X and Sigma fought, he wasn’t sure. But missiles or no, the question of why Sigma let them both go alive, damaged or no, concerned him greatly.
Zero still hadn’t reached a satisfactory conclusion by the time the medical team arrived, but he pushed the thought aside as he watched the medics gently lift X’s unconscious form into the emergency vehicle.
“You’re coming back to base with us, aren’t you sir?” one of the medics asked hesitantly, noting the gash in the red reploid’s armor.
Zero shook his head. “Looks like the city needs all the help it can get. Besides, I can handle a scratch like this.” He forced a grin, because it was the sort of thing X would do to help raise morale. “Take good care of my partner alright? Don’t let him out of med bay till I get back. Knowing him, he’ll push himself too hard and end up right back in there.”
“Yes sir!” The reploid saluted him before loading into the truck with the others.
Zero watched them drive off before letting concern replace his smile once more. In a few hours, X would wake to the knowledge that his hesitation likely cost countless humans and reploids their lives. But he knew X well enough to know even with the guilt that would inevitably arise from his decision, X wouldn’t let his grief keep him from helping to remedy his mistake (Zero also knew that despite his orders, no medical team in the world could keep X from going right back out into the danger-zone and assisting the rescue teams. X's compassion was the force that drove him, after all).
But X’s compassion was a double-edged blade; it had saved Zero, was the cost worth it? As Zero mounted his cycle and again looked at the burning city, he didn’t think so. The life of one person could never be worth so much death. Despite that, Zero wondered if the tables had been turned and if he was the one in X’s position, would he have been able to pull the trigger?