Celeste finally stood up from the mutilated carcass of Vile. Fighting off the dizziness that threatened to engulf her, she took a final glance at the dead reploid, not believing what her rage had possessed her to do. Celeste shrugged. That was one less wacko to worry about. The real question on her mind was if Zero was okay.

Zero lay in a far corner, sleeping as peacefully as a child. X had removed the injured Hunter's helmet, and was now kneeling wordlessly beside him. He was obviously going to get all emotional on them. Zero's hair covered him like a blanket. He was badly hurt, and had to get back to Headquarters as soon as possible.

That's when a single word of frustration was uttered behind them.

"D'OH!"

Out of the mouth of the corridor behind X stepped Phoenix, Flame Stag, and Overdrive Ostrich, who wore the expression of a condemned man. Phoenix looked none to pleased with the Hunters' victory.

"So! You've defeated Vile." She said, her voice surprisingly light. "And you've got back your little friend. Isn't that nice! I tell you, isn't that touching, OVERDRIVE? Doesn't it make you want to WEEP with joy?" Phoenix glared directly at Overdrive. Overdrive was obviously wishing that he could hide his head in the sand.

"Yes...very nice milady. Ooooh boooy..."

Phoenix knew that she should have kept up the witty remarks and comments. It was the natural thing to do for any bad person in her place. However, she was simply not in the mood. Without another word, she sent a wheel of flame rocketing towards the group. This left a small trail of fire behind it. Flame Stag caught on to the idea, and followed suit. Although nothing in the room looked particularly flammable, it still caught fire fairly quickly. X watched with alarm as the flames built up.

"It ain't over yet!" Phoenix shouted above the frightful roar of the fire. "Be seeing you, X! Gee, that's awful cliche, isn't it?"

Phoenix, Overdrive and Stag were swept up by white beams of light. They had obviously teleported, which had to mean the force field was down! Excited by that discovery, X told Forrest and Celeste to get ready for teleportation. Then he punched the sequence to get back to Maverick Hunter HQ into his wrist teleporter. The message that flashed on the small screen almost made X's heart stop: WARNING: CAN NOT PROCESS REQUEST. SEVERE MALFUNCTION. HAVE A NICE DAY. Desperately, X tried the sequence again, even as the inferno grew around him. Still, he got the same message.

"Where the hell did Cain get these things?" X cursed as he punched his wrist. "The Bi - Way?"

X's only answer was the soft roar of the flames around him. He began to panic slightly. If his teleporter wasn't working, the only thing to do was to walk out. This presented a few problems; first of all, Celeste had overworked herself with her head injury, and she barely had the strength to stand up. She wouldn't be able to go very far very fast. Second of all, Zero certainly wasn't in the mood to walk anywhere. Thirdly and most important, where the heck was the exit? X had forgotten to map the area when looking for Vile, and the Mavericks' fortress was as tortuous as the Minotaur's maze. About as safe, too.

Zero stirred, and opened one eye.

"Ohmigod." X heard the injured Hunter mumble. "Flames. All around me. Why? I was a good little repliod, wasn't I? Well, unless you count the time I shoved a pretzel up X's nose, but that was an accident! I swear! He was asking for it...I don't deserve to be here..." Zero's voice trailed off, and he drifted into unconsciousness again.

The figure in the dark corner whimpered as the flames continued to consume the room. He had seen the whole battle. It had been quite a sight, and sort of touching, he had to admit. His eyes fell on the Hunters across from his hiding place. They all sat there, huddled like frightened mice, trying to get as far away from the growing fire as possible. The figure knew that he had to help them...and now would be a great time to do so.

X's head jerked up in caution when he saw who was now approaching him. A squat, uncertain reptilian creature. Wheel Gator! X stood up from Zero's wounded body to face the leviathan. X didn't want another fight, but it didn't look like Wheel Gator did, either. Nonetheless, he and Forrest were ready to protect their two injured friends if need be.

"I ain't gonna hurtchya." Gator rumbled. "I wanna help you."

Forrest and X exchanged bewildered glances. Had they heard right?

"Look," Gator said impatiently. "I noticed that you're in a spot of trouble, X. I know my way out of here. I can carry Hellfire - er, I mean Zero, while you and Cornholio help Celeste..."

Forrest smiled slightly. "My real name is Forrest, Gator."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Forrest Gator. But now's not a good time for introductions. Are you people gonna trust me, or would you rather fry in here?"

X chewed over this. Gator was a henchman of Vile's, but he probably DID know his way out of the fortress. Anyway X looked at it, they had no choice but to follow the reptile.

"All right, Gator." X agreed reluctantly. "But remember, if you try to backstab us, you're still outnumbered by me and Forrest."

Gator wordlessly headed over to Zero and picked up the unconscious reploid a bit too roughly. This caused Zero to snap back to life very quickly.

"OW! Dammit! Do you mind?" Zero snarled irritably. Then he noticed whose arms he was in. "Oh no you don't, Maverick! You're not taking me away again!" Zero bit Wheel Gator on his scaly arm. Wheel Gator howled, but he didn't drop Zero.

"Can't you tell when people are trying to HELP you?" Gator snapped. He freed one arm and used it to bash Zero over the head ever - so - gently. Zero's head fell back limply, and he slept again. This time, for a looong while.

Celeste, who was propped up between Forrest and X, laughed.

"Was that really needed?" She challenged Wheel Gator.

Wheel Gator merely flashed her a grin that showed all of his infamous white teeth. Then the roof started to cave in.

"Come on, people! Follow me! It's time to go."

Putting all their faith in Gator, the Hunters followed him. Gator, Forrest, and X couldn't help but chant on their way out:

"The roof...the roof...the roof is on fire! We don't need no water..."

Their voices trailed off and were muffled by the roaring flames as they headed down the corridor to safety.

Before long, the Hunters and the Maverick were out in the clean summer air. It was quite a relief compared to the stuffy, smoky environment they had fled from. After he was a safe distance from the fortress, X watched its remains burn. He didn't know exactly why he did this...it was a strange habit of his to watch his enemies' hideouts, etc. burn/explode into a million pieces. It was something he enjoyed. Finally, he tired of watching the burning wreckage and turned towards his friends.

Celeste sat up on the grass, already looking better now that she was out of the smoke. The sun was very nearly set, which caused her pale face to flush a reddish colour. Forrest and Gator were standing over Zero, who had been laid on the clean grass. He was still unconscious, but his breathing was much more regular now; indeed, he'd probably be all right. X walked over and joined them.

There was a second or so of silence. Then X spoke up.

"Thanks, Gator."

Gator looked a bit surprised that someone had actually been courteous towards him.

"Not a problem." He muttered.

"Hey Gator..."

"Yeah?"

"Why did you help us?"

Gator smiled slightly. "Zero was the only one who liked my song."

X knew better than to ask.

They stood there in uncomfortable silence for a bit longer. Gator scratched his rear and waited a beat.

"Well, guess I'd better be off." He mumbled awkwardly.

"Where are you going to go, Gator?" Forrest challenged him.

Gator looked at Forrest as if the platinum reploid had asked a dumb question. "Why, I'm going to find Phoenix and the others, of course!"

"What?!" The Hunters asked in unison.

"They're all I've got going for me."

"But..."

"I know, I know." Wheel Gator sighed. "They were never nice to me. But what the heck, I figure that wherever they are, they're in need of a scapegoat. My loyalty is always with them. See ya'll later!"

Without another word, Wheel Gator turned tail and trotted away from the group. He seemed confident that he'd find his colleagues.

X stood, watching the alligator fade into the horizon. Then he shrugged, not quite knowing what to think.

"Come on, people. There's only one way back to Headquarters. Walking. Celeste, do you think you can make it?"

"I'm a little shaky, but if you take it slow, I'll be okay."

X nodded. He and Forrest picked up the unconscious Zero between them. Then a sudden impulse caused them all to take one last look at the smoking remains of the Mavericks' fortress.

"I wonder what's going to happen to it now, " Celeste thought aloud.

Forrest smirked. "They're gonna make it into a candy store," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Celeste laughed. "Yeah! A restaurant! 'Sigma's Good Eats'!"

Still chuckling, the party began to pick their way towards home. It would be a long walk that would probably take them most of the night. But none of them seemed to mind, although Zero WAS heavy. They group was making their way past the twisted remains of the Gryphon, the greatest riding armour of all time, when Zero awoke.

"X?" He muttered thickly.

"I'm here, Zero." X assured him.

"Sorry for what you had to go through."

X was silent for a second. "That's okay, I guess. Zero, do you remember anything that happened to you?"

"Not much," Zero answered honestly. "I remember being drugged out by the Mavericks. Then I guess they did something to me. By the looks of things, I think they turned me against you."

X smiled. "Yeah, sorry that Forrest had to shoot you in the stomach."

Zero returned X's smile weakly. "That's all right. I deserved it. I'm sorry about your CD, too. Although it WAS as annoying as hell."

"That's not the only thing that's annoying around here," Celeste piped up. "Hey Zero, when we get back home, can I put your hair up in two ponytails? Please?"

'Uh, let me think about it. No." Zero answered. "Let's just get home."

X couldn't have agreed more.

A tiny sliver of red was all that remained of the fine summer sunset when Violen and Neon Tiger approached their home. They were laughing and talking about the events that had occurred at the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

"Man!" Violen giggled. (It was quite a sight to see a reploid of his size give a girlish giggle) "Wasn't that a hoot, Simba? I never knew I could 'Time Warp' so well!"

Neon Tiger echoed Vio's laugh. "You're telling me! Did you see me hit Dr. Scott with the toilet paper? Right between the eyes!" Tiger smacked his fist into his open palm. "Pow!"

"Hey, Tigger." Violen grunted. "I meant to show you earlier. Look what I found on the way back from the Show." Vio held out a small, circular object that bore a platinum sheen.

Tiger studied the object in the behemoth's outstretched hand with interest. "Looks like a CD of some sort."

"Ayuh. There's some writing on the front," Vio grew a little embarrassed and looked down at his feet. "and...I can't read it."

Tiger wisely choked back a titter. It was not a good idea to laugh at a Maverick who was almost twice your size, no matter how good a friend he was. So Tiger cleared his throat and took the CD from Violen.

"This says...'Pulp Fiction soundt rack. Recorded in 1995.' "

There was a solemn pause.

"That's quite a long time ago," Vio noted, proud of this discovery.

Tiger nodded in agreement. "Hold on, I'm not done yet. There's something written in black marker here." Tiger squinted in an effort to read the words in the failing light. "...'Sacred and holy property of Mega Man X Light. Keep your grubby paws off of this CD, or I shall personally rip your brains out and sell it for Play - Doh.' "

"Mega Man X Light. I guess that's X's full name, and this is his CD." Vio remarked.

Neon Tiger shrugged. "Guess so. At any rate, I'm keeping this CD. And if X wants it back one day, he can bloody well kiss off!"

Although nothing was particularly funny about Tiger's blunt words, both the repliods burst into hysterical guffaws.

The Mavericks' laughter died when they approached the wrecked fortress that had once served as their home. They stood silently, not quite knowing what to make of the smoldering rubble.

"Hey Violen,"

"Yeah?"

"If I'm not mistaken, wasn't our fortress standing here when we left?"

"That's what I think, Tigger."

"Well," Tiger said slowly. "It ain't anymore. You know what I think? I think that the Hunters got Vile."

"Oh dear. That's a bugger."

"Yeah. D'ya suppose that Phoenix or some others might have fled the fortress?"

"I don't doubt it."

Neon Tiger stood stock still while he tried to register all this information.

"Know what I think, Vio?"

"What?"

"I think we should look for them."

"Know what, Tigger?"

"What?"

"That's the best suggestion I've heard all day."

Tiger nodded with a touch of pride. "The Hunters got us today...but tomorrow is another day!"

Violen laughed. Then the two Mavericks skipped off into the dying sunset, singing, "Tomorrow...tomorrow...I love you...tomorrow...you're only a day awaaaaaaayyyy!", until their voices gradually faded off in the distance. It was truly a sight that would have made the great Lord Sigma retch.