DISCLAIMER: I do not own MegaMan X, MegaMan Zero, or anything related to the MegaMan franchise. These rights belong to Capcom.

So, I was brainstorming ideas for a MegaMan X fanfic, and I came up with... this. All of my funny ideas seemed to work better in comic format, and this idea suddenly came to me when I was trying to figure out the Zero series... to be honest, I've never played the Zero games. But I have played MegaMan X1-X6, as well as Command Mission when I was younger, and I have a loose understanding of the Zero plot. But this seemed to be a good way to challenge myself, given that I don't usually write dark fanfics. All of my other stories are comedy.

Also, credit to Soundless Memory for coming up with the initial idea.

So... I hope you all enjoy it!

The sun was warm, shining through the clouds like it always did on a mild spring day. The light, in turn, filtered through the leaves of the trees, shining through everything, really. It wasn't very late in the day, though; in fact, it was just reaching late sunrise. The clouds seemed distant on the horizon, and everything had been highlighted a relaxing gold color. It was a reminder of how peaceful things were now.

After the last war, people had been slowly picking up their lives from the damage Sigma had done. I was proud to be a part of it—after all, this is what I always wanted, wasn't it? Peace between people and Reploids. Dealing with paperwork was difficult, even annoying at times, but it seemed far away, too. Kind of like this sunrise. Perhaps comparing it to homework would be less melancholy, but this seemed more fitting.

It was only a matter of time—time that seemed to go by incredibly quickly, I thought—before I had abandoned the paved road in the forest and arrived at a lone building surrounded by dense overgrowth. The plants were planted several years ago, actually—a way to keep the place hidden, courtesy of Alia and I. We mostly let them grow at their own pace, but when we decided it was simply taking too long for them to cover the area, we used the most recent technology to help them grow quicker. I didn't really know how they worked, although Alia kept trying to explain it to me.

Alia is really smart. Her spot-on advice and amazing tactical thinking had helped me so much on more missions than I could count, so I was happy to be able to spend some actual time getting to know her, even if we were spending that time planting, and not for a reason I was very happy about. For example, she apparently liked playing the piano and a human sport called "soccer."

I tried not to think about how much had changed, even if most of it was for the better. The fact that people and Reploids were finally having a moment of peace was wonderful, but it was sad to see the facility in this state; hidden from civilization for their own safety, already looking as though it had been abandoned for years. I suppose it had been, but with the way I had almost constantly been visiting it, it didn't really feel like it.

I punched in the security code on the door, which slid open once it was confirmed. There wasn't any disturbance as I walked across the hard metallic floor, silently wondering if the cracks in the walls had always been there. I suppose not. That would have been a terrible design flaw. But perhaps it was easier to think that they had; maybe it would be simpler to think that nothing had changed.

After entering yet another series of passwords and ID authorizations, I finally came to a clear, open room. Part of me wondered why this room was so big in comparison to the hallways, but it didn't really matter that much. What did matter was the limp figure of a Reploid in the center of the room.

Zero.

He didn't quite look like the Zero I knew; this one was a little shorter, slimmer, and his armor lacked some key details. The most recognizable part of him was the solid blue gem on his forehead and his locks of long, golden hair. Most people wouldn't have made the connection that they were, in fact, the same person, but I knew. This was Zero. My best friend.

My best friend who was only kept from falling flat on his face because of the multiple cords and wires strapped to his back, attaching themselves to a huge mechanism on the ceiling. Supposedly, it was supposed to keep his vitals stable and strong enough to keep him alive, but it was hard to think of him as "alive" in the state he was in. His changed appearance and the way he seemed to be perpetually in sleep mode, it was hard to think of him as anything other than… gone.

Don't say that! I told myself. It'll only make you upset. And Zero wouldn't want you to give up on him.

I approached his sleeping form ("asleep" seemed to be the only acceptable term I could force myself to use right now) and settled into a crouch to get a good look at his face. Well, as good of a look as I could get without laying on the floor and staring up at him, which would have both looked ridiculous and have been extremely uncomfortable. It was a minor disadvantage of his newfound lack of height.

"Some bedroom this is, huh?" I asked quietly, not expecting nor receiving an answer. "Personally, I think it could use a little more furniture. And maybe some windows…" I trailed off. What was I doing? Trying to hold a conversation with someone who could neither answer nor hear me? Still, it was slowly starting to become a habit of mine. Whenever I had time to spare, I would visit Zero to check on his condition. Nothing ever changed, but…

"I've been doing a lot of paperwork lately," I continued. "I know how much you get on my case whenever I slack off on paperwork, so don't worry, I've been keeping up-to-date on everything."

Once, when I was still a B-Class Hunter and Zero was still my superior, I had been given what felt like a truckload of paperwork concerning the financial status of Reploids in comparison to humans. Since Reploids were much more efficient—although, to my mind, no more or less important—than humans, they were much more likely to get hired and were being paid more than the average human. Some people were fine with it, but many were still anxious about Reploids at the time and were convinced we were stealing their jobs or something like that.

Now, I didn't see what I was supposed to be doing about that, my status as a B-Class preventing me from seeing my own influence as a father of sorts to other Reploids, and I wasn't very well-versed in the realm of paperwork at the time, so… I ignored it for a while. Bad choice on my part. Zero was livid. He said that it was an extremely important matter to society, a problem with the balance between humans and Reploids, and that if I was ignoring it, then I must not be taking them seriously. Then I didn't care about humans being equal to us.

That had been like a slap to the face, really. Of course I wanted equality and peace more than anything, but Zero has a way of making you realize your mistakes that makes you feel like a terrible person sometimes. So ever since then, I had made sure to look at any and all paperwork with equal seriousness and care, so that we could make a positive difference in the world.

Normally I would look back on that memory with a certain fondness—despite the fact that it involved Zero being mad at me—but now it just made me sad. Even if I did slack off on my paperwork now, Zero wouldn't be able to say anything about it. He… he wouldn't even know about it, right…?

I shook my head in an attempt to get rid of the thought. Awake or not, I couldn't afford to delay something like that. My time spent here was limited as it was. Instead, I tried to think of something else to say to Zero.

"…The world is peaceful now, Zero. We've completed our mission," I said, quiet discontent lacing my voice. "Your plan worked. We defeated Sigma, and… well, the humans are very upset, really. They're still blaming Dr. Cain and the Reploids for what happened; I'm not sure if they'll ever stop." I let out a joyless chuckle. "It's quite pointless, really. Why bother getting angry and placing blame on each other when you should be focusing on building peace?"

Granted, I always seemed to think differently from the rest of the world. When I wanted diplomacy, they wanted violence. It became an unending cycle that I was quite tired of. I didn't even want to think about that anymore, to be honest. Getting myself worked up over it now wouldn't accomplish anything, and besides… it would only upset Zero.

Speaking of Zero, he hadn't moved an inch the entire time I was talking to him. His face showed no sign of waking up from his sleep. But that was okay. It was always okay, wasn't it? This was how it had been for years.

"Oh, by the way," I said, trying to change subjects, "I got this new armor recently. It's actually much stronger than it looks, but it weighs less, so I can move around quicker, now." I stood up, gesturing to the armor in question. It actually looked more like a vest than anything else, but I'd tested it in the field and I knew it was no mere vest.

The rest of my armor had changed, too, but it was subtler. I now wore a black bodysuit instead of my traditional light blue one. I forced my face into a small smile.

"It kind of matches yours, now, don't you think?" I asked, Zero's form staying as still and emotionless as ever. Truth be told, I had modeled this armor after Zero's armor in this new body of his.

My smile quickly broke, letting out a sigh and kneeling down again. It hurt to see him like this. He used to be so full of life, stoic and professional as he was. He always had an air of confidence about him, like nothing you could possibly say or do would make him lose his composure. And now… he was like an empty shell.

That thought nearly brought tears to my eyes as I felt my chest tighten. Even if he was supposedly still alive, he was unaware. Unconscious. He couldn't tell what was going on around him, could he? My very presence was unknown to him. And that probably hurt the most.

I reached out to touch him, my hand hitting the cold force field surrounding him instead. I didn't even try to smile, even though I knew Zero hated seeing me when I was in pain. But that was just it, wasn't it? He didn't want me, or anyone, to be sad anymore, so he locked himself in this godforsaken room in a different body.

"You wanted to make everyone happy, right…?" I commented, feeling more and more lost as I went on. "Then why…" I felt myself choking on my own words. "Why would you do something like this? You're not making me happy, Zero. You… y-you're making very unhappy right now!" I curled my hand into a fist, my eyes threatening to start spilling tears. I took a shaky, deep breath. Zero, again, didn't react.

"Just stop it, okay? Stop doing that. Stop… being gone, already." I begged, finally deciding to let my eyes do whatever they wanted and let the tears spill onto my face. "…Y-you're not doing any good just sitting here! The world is trying to rebuild itself around you, the least you could do is help! Just… help me out here, would you…?"

I tried to remember what had led to this. But all that came to mind was Zero's half-conscious body, laying in a capsule, looking too darn content with everything. I remember what he had said to me then.

"As long I'm around, just existing… history will just continue… to be covered in bloodshed…"

It was typical Zero, really. Always thinking of the world before himself… before those close to him. But what he had said was just… so sad. And wrong. But it was his choice, wasn't it? His choice to change the world. His choice to seal himself away. His choice to leave me all alone.

But I couldn't stay angry at him. No. This was Zero. My best friend in the whole world. How could I get angry at him for trying to make the world happy, after so many years of pure chaos and war?

"Because you left me here…" I answered aloud. "Because you left me alone without you."

"…" came Zero's response.

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"…"

"Nothing?"

"…"

"…Fine, then. If that's how you want to be, so be it." I decided. "I have work soon, anyways." I started to walk off, but something stopped me. Maybe it was the thought of Zero being alone in here, this empty room with nothing but the machinery he was tied to keeping him company. Maybe I didn't want to leave feeling bitter about his lack of conversation. After all, my frustrations weren't all aimed at him, were they? If anything, I was angry at myself. Although I knew that if Zero knew that, he'd get on my case and tell me to stop blaming myself for everything. I know because he'd told me it before. Multiple times before, actually.

I looked back at his sleeping form, and a sharp pang of loneliness hit me. I wondered if Zero felt the same way, if he could feel anything at all.

"Hey, Zero?" I called out to him, even though I knew he probably couldn't hear me. "…I really enjoyed seeing you again. I'll be sure to come by later, okay?" I paused, then added, "You know, I really miss you, Zero. Do me a favor and… get better soon, okay?" I could hear my voice quavering, but I didn't care. Instead, I turned to leave. That office of mine wasn't going to run itself, would it?

And yet, all of that seemed incredibly far away. Like those clouds floating in the sky. Like, even if I could reach them, what would I do about it?

Thinking on it now, though, I kind of looked forward to seeing Alia at work today. Maybe I would ask her to teach me how to play the piano, just to keep my mind off things. But I still had to make time to visit Zero. After all, I didn't want him to get lonely in there without me. And… I don't think I could bear the loneliness without going to see him, either.

I blinked. Had the sunrise really gone by that quickly? Well, time certainly has a way of passing you by…

Author's Notes: Yeah, this got a little painful to write at a certain point. Not because I thought it was bad, but because I was hammering my own feels the entire time. I hope it was effective and a good read for you all! Please review!

Edit: Changed one of the sentences because it was bugging the heck outta me.