Title: Testing

Characters: Zero, X, Roll.

Pairing: Implied, but not present, Zero/X.

Author's Note: This is the original opening that I had for the longfic in this verse (which is actually coming; it's just very slow), with some of the prose from this still in the version I'm working on. I was going to post this as an original oneshot (at least on this site; on my tumblr it's different), but I figured it'd work best as an omake piece to Repairs rather than its own standalone thing. I hope you enjoy!

It was never a pretty sight when Mavericks were involved. Even from his convenient perch on top of an overturned overpass, as high above the wreckage to make it seem surreal (but close enough to know that it was not), it was impossible to deny; especially when it was right before his eyes.

A sigh.

Overturned cars, the glint of metal, the remains of barricades and spits of flame amongst the smoke was enough to make it something of a post-apocalyptic wonderland. Photographers and writers would have had a field day, if some of them hadn't found a way to sneak in and do so already, huddling amongst the pandemonium to satisfy their curiosity (or even to assist the wounded) before the Hunters or rogue machines got ahold of them first. Chunks of charred organic matter lied around alongside the inorganic, but outside of the fact that it was once alive, there was no way to determine what it once was.

And in the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something move, though it could have been a trick of the light; a hope for life amongst a fiery graveyard wrapped in nighttime's embrace.

He knew he was supposed to go down there. Everyone else already was, possibly waiting for him to make a move. No transmission had been given in the past half-hour, but that didn't mean anything; with the chaos as it was, any sort of outbound communication could have been a risk.

He swallowed, letting out a shaky exhale before hopping down to the ground, grabbing hold of a thick wire and climbing down further to the carnage below.

The young man's chest tightened under his protective combat suit, and he swore his heart skipped a few beats before moving to a normal, albeit quicker, pace.

And upon touching ground, all he could think about was climbing back up.

Even with the crackling of flames and the clanks of hidden metallic feet, he could still hear the screams, interspersed between the sounds of isolated explosions and gunfire. Some human, some mechanical, some nothing more than a wet, garbled voice, from which he didn't even want to consider the cause.

Girding himself, he took a few jerky steps forward.

"H-hello?" It wasn't much of a call, now that he thought about it; he had to be more professional about this. Besides, what was there for him to be afraid of? A perforated barricade, that possibly had nothing behind it? Flaming barrels? Stacks of rocks with a stain of color (Oh my God, is that blood? Please tell me that isn't...) spattered around the side?

For all intents and purposes, he was alone.

That didn't stop his chest from tightening again, or lightly grasping it with his right hand as he glanced at his surroundings.

"Come on," he whispered to himself. "I can do this."

Easier said than done, but he would manage.

He took one step, then another. And another, and another still. His right hand gripped his chest tighter, the arm cannon on his left poised up, ready to fire.

"Hello?" He called again, stronger this time. Yeah, he could get the hang of this. That thick smell of burning metal and charred meat may have turned his stomach, his trembling may have made his blue bodysuit start to rattle a bit, and his legs were perhaps a bit unstable, but he was all right, considering. "Hello, is there anyone here? I-it's all right – I'm not here to harm you."

...Says the man in combat armor.

At the silence, he swallowed.

Forcing his feet to move, he was only a foot away from the barricade, made of a few dumpsters and a fallen set of cinderblocks. As far as defense went, a human could do worse, but considering the enemy, and the few large holes in the center, it probably didn't go as well as the builder had hoped.

But maybe there was something there. Maybe...

Unsteady feet moved just a bit further, and his head peeked around the side.

He had already smelled the thick odor of copper and sweetened meat before he'd looked down.

That didn't stop him from letting out a cry of surprise at the blank stare of the half-crushed woman's face, muffled by the inevitable vomiting that had followed.

"Oh, shit, breaking contact! Computer, stop simulation!"

You know, X Light thought through his migraine as his body landed in a heap on the VR Room floor, I should have expected that this would happen.

That, and he should have expected the loud hiss of the VR Chamber door as it slid open, or the booming footsteps against the tile wracking his brain. Pulling the connector helmet off and tossing it aside (his hair was soaked; he was going to need a nice hot shower when he could stand again), he curled his knees against his chest, hugging them to him in hopes that they would somehow keep his stomach from turning more than it already was.

...Or prevent the inevitable prospect of moving.

The footsteps stopped. Bright red and thick enough to crush his skull into pulp? Yeah, it wasn't exactly rocket science who they belonged to.

"Hey, buddy, you okay? X?"

"Hey yourself." X grumbled with a poor attempt at a smile. Oh, man—this was a bad one. The room was still spinning. "Don't worry about me; 'm all right, Zero."

His companion let out a small breath; whether or not that was a chuckle was anyone's guess, and X wasn't in the mood to look up and see his expression to find out. "No offense, but I don't think the floor can really say the same. Come on, let's get you out of here."

"But who's going to clean it up? I'm feeling a little better." Okay, that was a lie, but still. "I should at least—"

"I had Roll on standby in case this happened. Don't worry about it, it'll be good as new before anyone else uses it." A sigh. "Now come on, up you go."

"H-hey, easy, I might-"

Yeah, there it was. That familiar lurch of the stomach, the white-hot head pang that made him want to huddle further in a ball. Hoisted to his feet, his body weight moved towards Zero's; partially in exhaustion, and partially because of the fact that if he tried to stand on his own, he'd just lose balance and fall again.

"You do," Zero mock-snarled, leading him out of the VR chamber and into the hallway, "and I'll make you clean me with a toothbrush." A pause. "ALL of me."

There was a good possibility that if X was thinking clearly, he would have taken that more seriously; but as it was, he was just having trouble walking, much less determining the intent of the long-haired, red-clad, sentient robot who was helping him stay on his feet.

"I should have known that it would react this way." X mumbled, "I should have taken more precautions, maybe taken some anti-nausea medication prior, or..."

"Come on, X, there was no way you could have known that you'd react when we put the synchronization levels so low." Somehow, that wasn't all that reassuring. "Most humans barely feel the effect with this sort of low-grade VR sim."

"In the past, when 3-D based media was still getting its start, there were many people who couldn't handle watching it without vomiting; maybe there is a similar affliction amongst humans, simply with VR?" A sigh. X's legs were starting to become less like jelly as they moved down out of the central hallways and veered off into the far-too-white side-corridors, as empty as it would be expected to be at five in the morning. Still, it was nice to be able to walk around without hearing the usual hum of activity, if not for just a little while.

As they neared a large set of double-doors, X shook his head. "No elevators," he said. "I don't think I could handle all that rumbling."

"Teleporters, then?" Zero asked.

"We could try..." X tried to lean on his companion less, breathing deep in hopes to quell the churning in his stomach. "I'm really sorry about this. You could have been recharging and yet..."

"Don't worry about it." A tight grip on his right shoulder was a good enough response; X didn't really feel the need to look into Zero's face. "I told you that I'd help, didn't I?"

"Only for it to end in me getting sick again. Why do the license exams have to be based on VR tests?"

"Because we normally don't have Medics, much less Hunters, with sensitive human constitutions. We never considered that we'd need a 'VR-averse' option."

"I guess." If it wasn't one thing, it was another. Really, it was hard not to feel bad, considering the circumstances. "Again, I'm really—"

"Say the rest of that and I'll gag you. Now let's get to the Med Bay before you end up puking again."