#Like on a practical level they would have been roadkill many more times without him

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #306

i’m v talkative today so pardon my jabbering below.

What is the strangest type of candy you have eaten? I think I've had one of those lollipops with a bug in it before as a kid? I don't remember. What would be your most ideal profession? A freelance photographer. But I'm honestly starting to lose hope. Have you tried those coloring books for adults? Yeah; it's funny you mention 'em, 'cuz a family friend got me one for my birthday earlier this month. What is a topic you definitely don't want to talk about with anyone? I don't like talking about my sexual history, doesn't matter who you are. It's just uncomfortable. What was your first gaming console? An Atari. Is there something you're eagerly waiting for? What is it? *SLAMS FISTS ON TABLE* MAY NEEDS TO FUCKIN' HURRY. My tattoo appointment is set then. :''') Do you/have you ever belonged to an organization? If so, which one? I was a Girl Scout when I was young. What is something you're very passionate about? Nature conservation, gay rights (equal rights in general, really), the pro-choice movement, and then there are less "important" things like certain hobbies interests and such. I'm sure there are more big ones that are just slipping my mind right now, considering I feel passionately for a shitload of stuff. What are you studying or what was the last thing you studied? I majored in Art & Design with a focus on Photography in college. But guess who dropped out. What was the last present you gave someone? I don't know... I mention enough that I don't have a source of income where I can really buy anything. I think the last thing I did was a Christmas gift for Mom a year or two back of a drawing I did of our late dog Cali, whom she absolutely adored. Do you enjoy plays? If so, what was the latest one you saw? Not really, no. What was the last thing you achieved? PHP has helped me focus on little victories, so prepare for an underwhelming answer haha, but it's something. I Facebook messaged an old friend I really wanted to catch up with, and everyone in group cheered for me. :') It was really heartwarming. What a shocker that this program is really helping me once again. What is something you would like to achieve at some point in your life? I would love love love to take at least one "famous" or award-winning photograph. It'd be such amazing validation that I'm talented at something I love so much. What is one philosophy you have regarding life/living/purpose? That's... difficult to answer seeing as I'm trying desperately to find my purpose. I do try to live by this old quote a therapist said once: "Deal with life, or life deals with you." I think it holds an incredible amount of depth and meaning in such a short phrase. How would you design the inside of your own home? I don't know the details of it, really, besides that shit is gonna look like a Halloween house year-round. I can imagine wanting black furniture, too, and having loooots of decor expressive of what I love and find comfort in. Gotta make a house feel like a home just for me. What is a band you remember liking from your childhood? Backstreet Boys, duh. Do you ever get mad at people for not having the same opinion as you (i.e. abortion being wrong/right, meat-eating being wrong/right)? Two things: it depends on the topic, and "get mad" is the wrong term for what I feel. It's more disgust; ex., I'm repulsed by anti-gay rights people and want absolutely nothing to do with 'em, but I'm not like, mad at them. Do you edit any of your pictures? In what ways? Oh yeah, and it definitely depends on the raw photograph. I edit depending on the mood it emanates; like if you've seen my roadkill photography versus nature shots, there is an extremely distinct difference in editing style and vibe. I'd say in general though, I tend to like to brighten my photographs and add more vibrance. If you like to take pictures, what is your motivation? God, I could write an essay on this. I just love and am so thankful for the fact we can literally freeze time forever with the click of a button and look back on fantastic sights, beautiful moments, memories... It's just magical to me, and I adore contributing to that art. Would you ever consider living anywhere cold? Well yeah, that's my preference, actually. What is your absolute favorite food? The spicy shrimp fritas from Olive Garden, jfc. Would you ever wear snake-skin pants, or other animal clothing? Fuck to the absolute hell no. What foreign country would you like to go to for a shopping spree? Idk, considering I'm not well-versed in the artistic creations of other countries. Perhaps India? Japan? I dunno. If you met your favorite musician, what would you ask him/her? I'm asking for his fucking autograph and a hug while I smile my face in two AND cry lmao. What do you spend most of your day thinking about? I ain't gonna bullshit nobody, my PTSD. In some way or another, he's lurking in that head of mine through memories, flashbacks, wonders of what could have gone differently... but thank God it's no longer in the forefront of my mind after my first PHP. I've come very, very far, but especially when trying to blank out my mind to fall asleep, parts of PTSD strangle my brain until I'm just finally out. I really hope that changes someday. Where is a busy place you would like to go to? Yikes, nowhere, really. I like to avoid busy locations. Do you think video games cause people to become violent? Absolutely not. You are responsible for the decisions you make; music, games, movies, etc. have no deciding voice in stupid shit you do, and it's bullshit that people blame art and entertainment for such things. Vocabulary: What was the last word you learned? I'm unsure. Have you or could you build your own site? Absolutely not from scratch. The closest I've gotten to that is my photography website, but it was through the assistance of Wix. What's the best thing you can cook yourself? Scrambled eggs, haha. I do make some bomb eggs at least. Are there a lot of graffiti around your neighborhood? No. Do you have a hobby that forces you out of the house? If so, what is it? Nature photography. Would you stop eating meat, if you had to raise and slaughter it yourself? Absolutely. God, I want to go vegetarian again... Besides English, what other languages can you speak? I can speak a very little bit of German. Took four semesters of it in high school and became very good at it, but lack of practice has pretty much ruined that. Besides English, what other languages can you read? I can read German well; as in, I can pronounce most words I see, but that doesn't mean I understand what is written. Do you think you could make it as a chef? Gordon Ramsey would deadass kick me off his show on day one, lmao. What's your favorite kind of tea? It marvels me JUST how many tea and coffee questions are in surveys. Anyway, I don't like tea. I am an embarrassment to NC culture. What thing/person/happening has made you the happiest you've been? lask;dfjal;wekrjwe What's the most freeing thing you've ever done? Stealing my happiness back from someone who had no right to hold it all in its entirety. That shit's mine. Do you think today's kids are really impatient? Most, probably, but in some ways I can understand it - at least, in the sense that with the assistance of modern technology and advancements in satiating our wants so quickly, kids just expect it. I definitely believe that patience is something to try to be deeply instilled in everyone, though. I don't have an ounce of it (in most situations) and wish I did. Have you ever tasted birch sap? No. How about the young buds/shoots of spruce trees? No. Which edible flowers have you tasted? One of my favorite Southern experiences is finding a bunch of honeysuckles and tasting the honey (is it technically even honey??). Tastes amazing. My family's hairdresser lives down a beautiful path that sprouts a massive amount of them, and as kids, my sisters and her two boys would go tasting them while our parents talked for so long, or if we were waiting our turn. Good memories. What has been your worst restaurant experience? I'm not sure, really. What's the most immature, adolescent thing that still makes you laugh? "Inappropriate humor type jokes." <<<< They can get me sometimes, too. Have you ever had a life-threatening condition? If so, what was it? No, thankfully. Have you ever had a custom print done on a shirt? If so, what was it? I don't believe so, no. Besides making a tye-dye one in HS with our school colors. Wasn't my idea and never wore it, haha. Do you ever read other people's survey answers? It depends on the person. If it's a friend, absolutely, because I love learning usually obscure things about them I wouldn't have known otherwise. If it's a user I don't know from wherever I got the survey, sometimes, depending on how short the answer is and my eyes kinda just scroll over it. Do you like daytime or night time better? Why? Daytime, especially mornings. I'm generally happier when there's light around. What's your highest level of education so far? Some college. Describe your ordinary day: My average day is embarrassingly uneventful. It's sitting on the laptop doing shit on various sites, none of which are actually important, and playing WoW, which is also without true substance, save for social interactions with my friends on there. I spray Venus' terrarium everyday multiple times as well to keep the humidity up, and obviously eat and handle that kinda bodily needs stuff. Would you ever have a UV tattoo? Ugh, that'd be so dope. I've seen some awesome ones, but idk if I'd get one, considering when am I actually going to be under UV light?? Like I wanna be able to see my tat. What is the brand and color name of your favorite lipstick? I have one black lipstick, but it comes right off so I don't even like it. I only ever put it on to take pictures. What do you like on your tortilla? Just ham and cheese. How about inside your pita bread? I've never had pita bread, actually. What do you like in your burger? It depends on where I'm getting the burger. My basic is cheese, ketchup, mustard, a bit of mayo, pickles, and a light sprinkle of diced onion, but sometimes I add bacon and take away the onions. How about on your pizza? I have three I tend to pick from: pepperoni, jalapeno, or meat lovers. Do you work better alone or in a group? Alone, definitely. Which body part would you not mind losing? I'ma be extremely honest, with just how horribly weak my legs are, I could live without them, I guess. Not saying I want to by any means, it's just exhausting using them. Ideally, I'd take away something minor, like a finger or something. What common saying people use is absolute BS to you? “'Everything happens for a reason.'” <<<< Fuckin' colossal "same." I won't rag on people who believe it, especially if it gives you courage to keep moving forward, but I don't believe it in the slightest. If it were so, I'd like to talk to whoever is in control of those "reasons," please. What is the most interesting thing you’ve read or seen this week? I had no idea elephants were pregnant for two years, like holy shit, can you imagine. It was in an article I saw on Facebook about a mother and daughter elephant who are both expecting and doing well. Wonderful to hear. What’s the most useless talent you have? Ha, I'm a master in the arts of catastrophizing and jumping to conclusions involving people hating me in one way or another. What’s something everyone looks stupid doing? I'm one of those people who hate dabbing done by anybody, like you look like you're just smelling your armpit. Which kids’ movie scarred you for life? I wouldn't say "scarred me for life" by any means, but when I was little, I was terrified of the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz and even had nightmares about her. It sucked because my little sister was obsessed with that movie, haha. In one sentence, how would you sum up the Internet? A source of incredible knowledge but also hate and misinformation. What would be the most ridiculous thing for the government to make illegal? I literally dread the idea of Roe vs. Wade being reversed. Banning abortion would kill so many people with operational uteruses and cause absolute pandemonium. How many friends do you have on social media and how many of them do you know for real? On Facebook, I have 124 friends, and I'd say I know most of them "in real life." However, having been on the Internet since I was so young and befriending loads of incredible people, a good chunk are "online friends." Hell, I'm more interested in their lives than most "real" ones. Long-distance friendships are so valid. What fact amazes you every time you think of it? Lots of things, generally regarding the stupidity of humanity. What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done? Probably going to the beach w/ my old friend Colleen. We had zero plans of doing it, but she just called me one morning and asked if I wanted to go, and off we went. It was a fun day. What has taken up too much of your life? I'ma be real, WoW. I don't think I'm addicted to it like I once was seeing as I go through spans where I barely want to play it at all and don't, so I truly am capable of not playing it, but rather it's just the most entertaining way to kill time in my life. I just don't like how much time I've invested into a game over six or seven years regardless. Where do you not mind waiting? Uh, nowhere lmao. Is there an app you hate to use, but still use every day? No; why would I use it if that was the case? Who is the funniest person you know? My friend Girt is fucking hysterical. What three words describe you best? Complex, passionate, and creative. What makes you think you’re smart? Lol who says I think I'm smart? Who inspires you? Korean Jesus. Okay on a serious note, not just him, of course, but he's #1 in an entire universe of ways. Do you aspire to be like somebody else? If so, who? No; I want to be my own authentic self. How did you meet your best friend? YouTube, back when it had more social aspects. Which one of your accomplishments are you the most proud of? I want to say my recovery, but like... I wonder a lot if it's "enough" to be proud of with how scarred I still am? I still struggle with a lot and feel like I could be so much better by now if I tried harder. If I'm completely honest with myself, I think it's finishing high school in the top percentile of my graduating class. There was a ceremony for the handful of us and all, and I cherish my plaque probably too much. Reminds me of a time when I knew what the fuck I was doing. What's the strangest thing you ever did as a child? Thinking I had "animal powers" where I could invoke the traits of certain animals at will, like what the actual fuck, Brittany. What did your mother teach you? Christ, a lot. Dad didn't do a lot of the raising, honestly, so much of my core values and whatnot were instilled by my mother. She taught me to care for and be nice to others, respect myself, try my best in everything, and most importantly that she is always there for me and my sisters no matter what and can tell her absolutely anything. She was very serious about us going to college and saving sex for marriage when we were younger, but she diverged from those ideas as absolutely necessary with experience. I'm extremely lucky with who I call my mom, overall. What did your father teach you? Eek... Read above. Not a lot as a kid (save for riding a bike and playing softball); most he's taught me has come following reuniting with him after my parents' divorce. I remember we went to lunch once and talked about my breakup, and he talked to me about sometimes, you just have to let people go in order to be happy, like with him and Mom. He's very serious now about ensuring us girls know that he is always there for us and will help us in any way he's capable. What makes you feel powerful? "Powerful" isn't something I really feel, if I'm being real. What are you ready to let go? It would be inexplicably fantastic if I could let every speck of Jason go in both my head and heart. What is your most bizarre deal-breaker? I don't really find any of my expectations and limits as "bizarre?" They're all valid to me. Well wait, idk if you'd find it strange that I absofuckinglutely would not date someone who hunts, but it's not to me. That's a difference in a very serious value to me. Would you rather be hated or forgotten? Hated. God, I don't want to leave this earth having given just nothing. I can live with some people hating me for whatever reason. What’s the biggest personal change you’ve made? Accepting my bisexuality, probably. That's something that I consider pretty big for two reasons: 1.) I could end up with a woman forever, and especially 2.) I was originally homophobic. I still have difficulty in fathoming how I ever was. What are some of your short-term goals? PHP is finally starting to make me build these again. I want to get better at selfcare, draw, write, and read more, I want to drink a lot more water, exercise way more... Lots of things, really. What is the weirdest thing about you? Uh. I dunno. Probably that I RP meerkats, which is a very obscure RP niche for sure.

[currently-in-fanfiction-hell]

Days at the Hunter Base, CHAPTER 5: The Zero Fanclub (originally from my Quotev account)

It was a normal day at Hunter Base.

Too normal, in fact.

Despite it being so long since the last major Maverick incident, X, Zero and Axl still weren't used to the peace and quiet. Funny, since that's what the Hunters strive for, but they'd become so accustomed to the havoc that peace seemed to worry them.

So whenever an opportunity comes by for them to do anything at all, they'd take it up, in this case, it was going grocery shopping for Dr. Cain.

"Man, ever since when did we become his personal caretakers?" Axl stretched his arms out, all that shopping tired him out, all of them never expected a grocery list to be so long, in fact, they were taking a break at a nearby cafe, they were that tired.

"Axl, it's not his fault that his actual caretaker turned out to be sick with the flu, besides, it's not like he'll be able to manage all of this grocery shopping by himself, be considerate." X scolded him.

"Besides, you told us that you wanted to tag along, so it's not like you didn't have a choice, so stop complaining." Zero added, "At least it's all over now, all we need to do is drop this off at his place, right?"

"Yep," X nodded, "I haven't visited him in a while, so I hope you don't mind if we stick around a bit longer."

"No problem at all." Zero said, then he proceeded to look at Axl with a stern gaze, "Right, Axl?"

"R-right!" Axl stuttered, while he'd been a Maverick Hunter for long enough to get used to Zero's glares, they still, and always felt...intimidating.

"Great!" X smiled, "Let's not keep him waiting."

_______________________________________________

They proceeded to walk out of the cafe, enjoying the nice afternoon breeze, when suddenly...

"OHMIGOSH!!! IS THAT ZERO?!" The high-pitched squeal of a teenage girl was a complete surprise to all of them, a moment later, a young, female Reploid ran up to them, or to be more specific, she ran up to Zero.

"Ohmigosh, are you really Zero?!" Her squealing became even more high-pitched, to the point where it sounded like she practically lived on helium.

She was bouncy, energetic, and couldn't stop fidgeting, she was also sweating all over.

And they thought Axl was energetic, this was a whole new level.

"Uhhhh...Yes...?" Zero responded rather cautiously, he was used to getting attention from journalists and the press, but for all of...this to come out of a young teenage Reploid?

...Wait, he thought, oh, great, not one of those again...

The girl's grin grew even wider, if that was even possible, "OHMIGOSH! IT REALLY IS!!!" she then motioned a signal to something behind her, yelling, "GIRLS! IT'S HIM! IT'S REALLY HIM!! COME HERE!!! WE FOUND HIM!!!!"

...a whole group?! 

X and Axl proceeded to back away slowly, but unfortunately for Zero, he wasn't able to do the same, a storm of teenage girls (both humans and Reploids) came out of an alley and ran up to him, bombarding him with squeals, questions, and adoration.

"I LOVE YOU, ZERO!!!"

What?

"KISS ME, ZERO!!!"

Huh?!

"ZERO!!! SIGN MY FANFIC!!!"

F-fanfic?!

Zero's face just stayed in a state of shock, this wasn't the first time he met someone like this, but to see so many in one place... it was overwhelming, to say the least.

X was watching this disaster unravel before his very eyes, his face in a state of pure horror, someone needed to help Zero, but X was the one carrying the groceries, which meant he had to choose between helping him or keeping the groceries safe, being the good person (or Reploid) he was, he dropped the groceries on the ground and ran up to help his best friend.

"Take care of the groceries for me!" X called out to Axl, who quickly grabbed the bags, without thinking, he rushed to where Zero was and grabbed his arm, Zero, who was understandably sweating bullets by now, turned around and saw Axl mouthing the words, "Follow me!" they looked at X, who nodded, knowing what to do.

_______________________________________________

While Zero and Axl ran from the angry crowd, X tried desperately to calm them down, before the angry teenagers could chase Zero down, X blocked their way, the entire crowd stopped and went quiet.

Thing is, now he couldn't tell whether he made things better or worse.

The Reploid leading the pack clenched her fists, "Grrrr.... LET US SEE ZERO!" She yelled, the rest of the pack raising their fists in the air.

X would rather be anywhere else right now, but he learnt from experience that you'd have to stay calm if you want to handle hyperactive teens.

X sighed deeply, then said as clearly and sternly as possible, "Not until all of you explain yourselves." he paused, "I don't want to resort to violence, but I will if absolutely necessary, so can all all of you co-operate with me?" He took another deep breath and hoped that things would slowly resolve peacefully-

"HOW DARE YOU INTERFERE WITH OUR PLANS OF MEETING ZERO?!" One of them yelled, the others shouted simillar things in agreement.

They started trying to push past him, but he somehow managed to keep them from going on a rampage.

...Unfortunately, life, as he should've figured out ages ago, was never that simple.

_______________________________________________

MEANWHILE...

_______________________________________________

The two were escaping the crowd so quickly that it was all a blur to Zero, all he knew was that he needed to run, fast.

Eventually, they found a hiding spot in an alley, Axl put down the groceries that he had held in one hand, the other he had used to hold Zero's hand as they were running away.

After a few moments of catching their breaths, Axl turned to look at Zero and said, "Zero, I've never seen you like this before, you'd usually keep your cool around admirers, but I've never seen you- well, you know what I'm talking about."

"Well... yeah, I would, but there's just...so many of them." He panted, still exhausted from running.

"Heh, I suppose so." Axl said, "Y'know, Zero, to be honest, I think it's kinda obvious that you'd have obsessive fangirls stalking you."

"Hm? What's that supposed to mean?" Zero asked, what was so special about him? He was just another Hunter doing his job, that was all.

"Eheh, Zero, it's actually kinda suprising that you don't know." he said,  "You've just got those qualities that fangirls seem to love."

"O-okay..." Zero stammered, he didn't know why he was the one people seemed to be attracted to, and he didn't care, he just hoped that X could manage the mob all by himself.

What was he thinking? Of course X could manage it, if he managed to defeat Sigma multiple times by himself, then of course he could manage a crowd of screaming fangirls.

"...Hello? EARTH TO ZERO!" Axl yelled, Zero immediately snapped out of his thoughts.

"Zero, this is no time to be zoning out!" Axl told him, "We'll need to get back out there before X becomes roadkill!"

"Yeah, you're right." Zero said, "I don't want to give him any more trouble than I already have, besides, I think I've calmed down a little." He paused, looking at Axl, "So? Hurry up, we don't want to keep him waiting, do we?"

"Y-yeah, right!" Axl grabbed the grocery bags and quickly followed behind Zero, he hated being rushed, but it was understandable in this case.

_______________________________________________

Eventually, Zero and Axl caught sight of X, who was currently holding back against the tackle of an angry fangirl (and resisting the pull on one of his feet thanks to another), they stopped and let go at the sight of the two other Hunters.

"Zero, Axl! Thank goodness both of you are back! I was really worried about you two, plus I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold b-" X was interrupted by heaps of incomprehensible screaming, "ZERO!!! OHMIGOSH, I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU DECIDED TO COME BACK! CAN YOU TAKE A SELFIE WITH ME?!"

X yelled out loudly enough for the two Hunters to just barely hear him, "I'm sorry, Zero! I tried reasoning with them, but I think they'll only listen to you!"

"It's alright, X, I'll handle this." Zero stepped forward, the fangirls were  getting closer, "Okay, can any of you explain this?" He said as sternly as possible, something he was thankfully very good at.

One of the fangirls stepped in front, she seemed to be a mixture of shy, anxious, nervous and timid at the same time, she might've been the most sane of the crowd, "'Uh, Ummm, w-where do I start?! Uh, it's just t-that we're all your biggest fans. a-and w-we started a club dedicated to fangirling, all a-about you, of course," she was getting red in the face, obviously embarrassed, "I-it started off with just t-talking about you and writing s-silly fanfiction, but over time. we started doing m-more, ummm, questionable things, like..." Her voice trailed off, "Like...what?" Zero asked, not realizing that he had probably made one of the worst mistakes in his life, he could hear Axl give him a sigh of disapproval in the background and X backing away slowly.

The girl was a stuttering mess by now, the words at the tip of her tongue, but they wouldn't come out, perhaps it was for the best, Zero thought.

"You don't have to, it's fine, if it makes you feel that uncomfortable, then you should stop." he said, everyone sighed a breath of relief, Zero was glad that he dodged a bullet there.

"Anyway, I suppose I should ask you, how'd you manage to know where I was?" He asked, hoping that it was just stalking, and nothing else-

"Um- uhhhh.... I-we...ermmm..." her face was getting hot and sweaty, and was almost, if not redder than Zero's armor, suddenly, one of the fangirls from the crowd raised her voice.

"It was only a matter of stalking, sheesh, why are you such a mess?"

Someone else spoke up, "...And in order to do that, someone thought it was a good idea to break into Maverick Hunter HQ."

The club leader was getting red in the face, "H-hey!  It's not l-like we had any other options! Besides, it w-was a decision we a-all agreed on!"

The timid fangirl, the first to speak up inhaled, and then said, "No, it wasn't!  You FORCED us to agree! And even then, only two others volunteered for the break-in!"

Axl decided to speak up, "Besides," he said, "Wasn't there a better, more sane option? Wouldn't any normal human being- or Reploid just, I dunno, walk up to the nearest person and ask, 'Hey, do you happen to know where Zero was headed?' You know, something that DIDN'T involve breaking the law?"

"NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION, LOSER!' The club leader screamed.

"Okay, I just want everyone to stop," X raised his voice, "Can we just talk it out without a second of shouting?"

"..."

"Alright," Zero continued interrogating the group, "So you broke into Hunter Base, and how'd you find out where I was?"

"Oh, we broke in, grabbed some purple-haired Navigator chick by the neck and asked where you were headed." 

Purple-haired Navigator... could it have been... Layer?!

"Y-you what?!" All three of them were shocked beyond any further wording.

One of the fangirls also decided to speak up, "You almost got arrested there! We saw it all through the side window!"

"But at least we didn't!" The club leader yelled, her sapphire eyes giving an angry glare.

Finally, X decided to get his point across, "So, what I'm getting here is that you broke into HQ without any sort of authorization and threatened a Navigator who had little to nothing to do with this, on the chance that she knew Zero's location, that's punishable by law!"

"Yeah!" Axl joined in, "You could get arrested by the police at any time now- wait, we basically are the police!" He smirked.

Zero smiled, "There's no need to arrest anyone, Axl, look at who's coming."

They all turned their attention to several Ride Chasers with the Maverick Hunter logo on them, Zero flashed a quick thumbs up towards a Hunter he recognized from his own unit.

"Sorry 'o keep 'ou waiting, sir." He apologized, "There was a bit o' a delay tracking 'em down, Didn't even expect you to be involved in this! Did anything bad 'appen to you, sir?"

Zero shook his head, giving another small smile, "There wasn't any trouble at all, don't worry." X shot him a look that was somewhat angry and teasing at the same time.

"That's good to hear, sir, now if you don't mind me, I'll 'ave to arrest these folks, HQ's probably gonna let 'em off with a bit o' the ole' interrogation, well, minus the ones who broke in an' threaten'd that Navigator, 'ope that lass is alright."

While a few members were kicking and screaming as they were being handcuffed, the rest accepted their punishment with no problem.

Before they were taken away, Zero decided to say one last thing, "You know, if you asked nicely without the aggresiveness, I would've been glad to give an autograph or something."

One of the fangirls turned around and said, "We know, well most of us, anyway, but thanks for putting an end to Liz's madness, most of us were too terrified of her to object to anything."

Liz turned out to be the Reploid leading the club, she was screaming agressively, trying to free herself of the handcuffs.

Zero laughed a little, "No problem, I hope this'll be an important lesson for all of you."

_______________________________________________

"Hey, Axl, Remind me to request higher security once we get back to HQ." X said as they were walking to Dr. Cain's house, it was already late in the evening, he was probably already worried sick.

"Sure, we don't want anything like that to happen ever again, after all!" He grinned.

"By the way, Axl, I remember you telling me that I have qualities that fangirls seem to love." Zero said, "What exactly did you mean by that?"

"Hm? What's this? Something I missed out on?" X smiled.

Zero told him what had happened in the alley.

"Well, I can certaintly see what Axl meant by that." X nodded.

"Hm?"

"Well, to answer your question, Zero," Axl grinned, "You're insanely cool, and not just character-wise, they probably have a thing for your hair and the rest of your appearance, too."

"Oh, this?" He looked at himself, "I really don't see what's so appealing about it, looks too flashy to me."

"Riiight, clearly whoever made you cared more about your design than fixing your agonizing unawareness issue." Axl groaned.

Axl took out his phone and opened up some sort of social networking app, X and Zero stared to look at what he was doing.

Soon enough, he opened up some sort of tabloid profile, one of their latest posts was a poll titled, "Which of these Maverick Hunters is the Hottest?" And surprise, surprise, all three of them were the poll options.

It hadn't even been out for a day and the poll already had over 10,000 votes, Zero ranked first with 71%, X with 10% and Axl with 19%.

"See? Told ya, Zero, people go crazy for the hair." Axl grinned.

 Zero wasn't sure whether to be flattered or embarrased to rank first, he didn't look that good to people, did he?

No matter, it didn't matter if he was the most attractive or not, what mattered most was whatever he was tasked to do in the present.

Eventually, they reached Dr. Cain's house, way later than they thought they'd be, of course.

"So all of you are finally here! I was getting very worried, did something happen?" The old archaeologist asked.

"Let's just say that we ran into a bit of...trouble." Zero forced a smile.

"No matter, I'm just glad you managed to come, thanks for taking care of the groceries, I'm sure I can count on you again, right?" He chuckled.

"Dr. Cain, I'm sorry, but with all due respect, never again." Axl said.

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(Author's Note): I had a bit of writer's block writing this chapter, but I managed to get it done! I wanted to write a chapter with the kinda-4th-wall-break about Zero having fangirls, it took a long time to finish this one because I had to change some major plot points along the way, it was tiring, but I think it was worth it!