"It's good to see you're safe, X. I was really worried about you."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry. It's all over. Go home and rest. You've earned it."

"But Zero!"

"... What... What if I become one of the Mavericks?"

"... Don't ask such a silly question. I'm breaking contact now."

"Wait! Zero! I'm- I'm serious!"

"..."

"Zero, if- if I become a Maverick, you have to take care of me."

"..."

"Don't be ridiculous. Now hurry on back."

---

I thought of that conversation hundreds of times before. How X was so concerned about going Maverick. How I told him not to worry about it. How he asked me to "take care of him". I had thought over those words hundreds of times, trying to process the true meaning of those words. Take care of him? Like, retire him? Every part of me didn't want to believe that was their true meaning. Instead, I thought of it as arresting him and trying to bring him back to his senses. That's what I believed to be right for X. That's what he meant.

Right?

---

Maverick Hunter X

Status: MISSING

I stared at the report quizzically, trying to comprehend the very thought. X missing... He wouldn't just disappear without a trace. Couldn't. He cares too much about the safety of humans and reploids to just leave them. I couldn't understand how someone so kind and optimistic as X would even leave in general. No one could understand why he left or where he went. Some think he sealed himself in stasis somewhere. Some say he's just living as a normal reploid. But... most theorize he went Maverick, and is somewhere with Sigma, plotting against the Maverick Hunters.

I dared not believe or even listen to their words, though. I was on a mission to find my best friend. And I would die trying if I had to.