#eldergunner

[cobra-helmed-wilybot]

Ashes

"Keep your shoulders back, old man, I've taught you way better than that. Kid, watch your footing; if you trip, it's on you for having an off stance."

This wasn't a sight most people would be able to see in their lifetime- not one Axl, but two locked in hand to hand combat with one another, sharp green eyes focused in on equally intense teal. And who better to observe and advise them than a unit who had been built and programmed for hand to hand combat, after all.

Granted, having two people in the same room with the same name was making things...interesting.

Seeing one Axl punch another in the face was amusing, all the same, and brought up several opportunities for 'stop hitting yourself' jokes, none of which Skrah was willing to take advantage of lest he get punched in the face himself. "Faster, kid," he said, age being just about the only way to tell the two apart verbally. "You're getting sloppy; tighten up and focus."

He turned his head slightly when he heard footsteps loping past the room; seeing as how they weren't running an active simulation, there had been no need to shut the door. "Good afternoon, Forte," Skrah called over. "You're welcome to join us if you want."

"Ehn? Oh." Forte shook his head, looking rather unusually subdued- especially at the thought of sparring. Even Gospel seemed quieter than normal, the wolfbot's normally bright gaze dulled and distant and his tail low instead of up and wagging. "Can't right now. Gotta go turn in a report."

"You okay, cobra?" the younger of the two gunners asked, nodding at his alternate to break from their spar for a bit. "You look like hell."

"Hell don't even begin to describe it," Forte said with a bitter laugh. "Offworld incident no less."

The younger Axl frowned, opening his mouth to question only for Forte to interrupt before he could say anything. "It wasn't him, Ax, relax. It-" The Wilybot drew an almost shuddering sigh. "It's a long story."

"We've got time," the elder of the gunners said quietly. "I need a break from kicking my alt's ass anyway."

"More like a break from getting your ass kicked," was the younger's muttered response.

Forte sighed again, tucking his datapad under his arm and shuffling his way over to stand with them, Gospel slinking along quietly at his side. "Went t'visit Hana a couple days ago, me'n Xav. Day off for both of us, figured she'd appreciate joinin' us for some chocolate."

"I'm guessing there wasn't a lot of chocolate involved, judging by the look on your face," Skrah put in.

"Not a bite," Forte said with a snort. "Shit was goin' down when we pinged 'em. Apparently...Hana had some...sleeper programming in her code. Second personality, looked like. Fuckin' anti-synthetic asshole got close enough to her t'activate it."

He was well aware of both Axls paling visibly at 'second personality', even Skrah twitching an eyebrow in surprise and concern. "He used her," Forte said, his voice dropping a note. "She...or...whatever personality coding...thing was in control, killed a human friend of hers and...and we got there just in time y'see her plant a knife in Sakura's chest."

The Wilybot watched the older of the two gunners cringe, the younger gasping audibly and Skrah crossing his arms over his chest as if to hold himself back from a stronger reaction. "Xav got Sakura out of there," Forte went on. "Just in time, too; she made it through alright after some medical attention. Hana...whatever was controlling her apparently wasn't keen on giving up yet."

He swallowed, feeling as if there was still an all-too-heavy weight in his chest. "I managed to subdue her. Heh...pressure points. Go figure, right?"

To his mild surprise, Skrah reached over to ruffle his scruffy blond hair, though the Wilybot reflexively swatted him off regardless. "You've been practicing," Skrah said quietly. "I'm glad it's paying off."

"You'n me both," Forte sighed. "Anyway, at that point the bastard what pulled all this was still on the run. Me'n Xav..."

He paused, rubbing the back of his neck with a soft cough. "We...caught him before he could get too far. Let's just say he won't be hurtin' anyone again. Ever."

"I'm guessing that's a large part of why you had to file a lengthy report," the younger gunner said, deciding not to pursue the details of that imagery further- at least for now. "Is...is Hana okay?"

"Depends on your definition of okay. She looked...dazed as fuck when she woke up. An' she broke down after a few minutes."

"Judging by that," the elder Axl said, his voice quiet even in comparison to his usual calm, "I'm betting she was at least...semi-aware of what went on." His younger alternate muttered an agreement in Russian, green eyes distant with thought and worry. "She's going to need a hell of a lot of help to get through this."

A pause.

"Are you okay, Forte?" the aged gunner added softly.

"More or less," Forte murmured. "I've just...fuck, it feels like too often lately I've seen someone gettin' into someone else's head, fuckin' with 'em and usin' 'em. It just ain't right."

Gospel gave a low whine as if in agreement, and Forte shifted to scratch him behind the ears with a faint, fond smile. "Helps havin' Gos around," he said. "Dumb mutt's dragged me through more emotional turmoil'n I care t'calculate."

"He's your support unit, correct?" Skrah piped up, even his expression unusually...well, expressive in the face of the news Forte had given them. "I assume that means he's coded specifically for you, in a sense?"

"Yep," Forte said, his smile strengthening just a little at the change of subject. "Hard-coded wireless connection. We can kinda share thoughts, and emotions to an extent. It's...it helps sometimes havin' that silent support when things are tough, y'know? No need to explain or ask, he's just there."

Skrah nodded in understanding, seeming to drift into thought for a few moments before speaking up again with, "Does Hana like dogs?"

"Yeah, 'specially pups," Forte replied, blinking inquisitively. "She-"

Skrah raised an eyebrow, and Forte's eyes lit up as a lightbulb seemed to go off in his head. "I'll bring it up," he said with a thoughtful nod. "Ain't a half bad idea..."

He straightened up with a grunt, giving Gospel one more affectionate pat on the head. "Anyway, I gotta get this report in an' all that."

"You're welcome to join us after, if you want," the elder gunner mentioned, casting his alt a worried glance. The younger of the two Axls had gone all but silent, apparently lost in his own thoughts.

"Maybe," Forte said. "I could stand t'let off some steam, honestly..."

"You think you're getting out of hand-to-hand practice that easily?" Skrah asked, the faintest gleam of good humor in his eyes. "I applaud you for subduing a non-combat unit but all the same..."

Forte snorted, rolling his eyes and ignoring Gospel's quiet huff of amusement. "Yeah yeah. Gimme half an hour, I'll be here."

And he'd definitely have to go speak to Sakura again soon, and bring up the idea of a combination support unit and therapy dog…

Once Forte had left the room, the elder gunner turned his attention to his silent alternate, his features still soft with concern. “Are you alright…?”

“Y...yeah,” the younger redhead murmured. “Yeah, I’ll be alright. It just...hits too close to home. I mean hell, I still haven’t fully recovered from...what happened. And that was about two years ago…”

“She’ll appreciate the support,” the elder of the two pointed out quietly. “Need it even, I’d imagine.”

The younger nodded in agreement, silently promising to himself to make something extra sweet and chocolatey and visit in the next few days, as soon as he had some time off. He knew damn well, better than many people, how fucking terrifying it was to be a prisoner in your own mind, and watch your body be used to hurt the people you loved.

Calling it one’s worst nightmare would be an understatement.

[blue-phoenix-reborn]

"Dad." Her face expressed a familiar determination as she stared at them. "Dad, let me help. I've trained for this, I can't just sit here and not do anything. Please."

His reluctance was clear as he studied Nadya. The other girl tended to hop between her world and her other father’s, and she was quite skilled. But that didn’t mean that he wasn't going to be afraid.

"…Alright. I will let you come with me this one time, as long as you agree to flee the instant that I order you to.” Rather she be where he could keep an eye on her, because he had the strangest feeling that she wouldn’t stay still.

[rockman-xavier-blog]

"Geronimo!" ~elder-sharpshooter

6. A driving car5. Hungry dragons

Xav liked the company of the older Axl, given how he was similar in personality to his younger counterpart but had a lot of experience that only age could give him.

Which is why right now, he was glad for the other’s company in this strange new world. They hadn’t encountered much of anything that was working, other than a single, working vehicle.

That vehicle soon became their lifesaver, considering that not long afterwards, they heard a screech, and a giant beast that could only be described as a dragon swooped down towards them.

Xav held on tightly to the vehicle as Axl swerved and dodged the flying beast. “What are we going to do to get out of here?!”

"I don’t-" A blip caught his eye, and the older Reploid’s eyes caught sight of a slight ripple in spacetime. "Got it! Xav, there’s a rift - jump when you have the chance!"

Gulping, Xav eyed the portal, leaping through as soon as he got the chance. The bioroid gave a soft sigh of relief as Axl followed not long afterwards, and the rift closed.

[blue-phoenix-reborn]

"Geronimo!" ~elder-shrarpshooter

8. A roof4. The military

"Okay," Axl said, from where they’d been cornered on the roof with a bunch of Elysian Pantheons. "Your world seriously sucks."

"That’s putting it mildly," replied Phoenix dryly. He and Axl had a casual friendship going on; the two of them had gotten to know each other better after the failed blind date that Hana’s sister had set them up on, and knew what was at stake to visit each other’s worlds.

"Those things look like Zero," Axl mused as he fired at them. "Geez, how many of them are there?”

"Too many," the blue Reploid grunted as he kicked and snapped another Pantheon’s head off. "And yeah. It’s to remind everyone who owns the city."

Axl’s face was concerned as there was a break in Pantheons - likely because the next battlement had yet to catch up to them - and couldn’t help but ask, “What the hell happened to your world?”

Phoenix stared at the ground; if they could just get down, and into those alleyways, they could get away. The quickest route to do just that was to jump off where they were, and he gestured towards Axl.

"Phoenix?" The other caught his signal and nodded, but the blue Reploid hadn’t answered his question.

"I’ll tell you when we get down there," he said, jumping off with Axl right behind him.

[blue-phoenix-reborn]

A little something warm for the holidays, my friend~ I also threw in a data chit with Lady and the Tramp on it- it’s an ancient as hell movie, but it really is worth a watch. Merry Christmas!

-Axl

He couldn't help but pull the sweater on immediately, marveling at how warm it was. It was also dark and inconspicuous; perfect for when he needed to stay warm and when he needed to stay in the dark at the same time. He was really glad he had managed to send Axl a little something.

He tilted his head at the data chit, promising himself to watch it as soon as he got the chance.

Later, he would groan at the spaghetti scene, but now he would understand why Axl had made that comment.

[rockman-xavier-blog]

Merry Christmas, kid. I hope this keeps your mind and your hands occupied when you’re restless.

-Skrah

Happy holidays, Xavier! A little something soft to keep your ears warm~

-Axl

Xav stared at the round rubik’s cube that Skrah had given him, smirking as he wasn’t at all surprised that Skrah had gifted him with a puzzle. “I could probably spend a bit of time on this…”

He set it down before he pulled on the hat that the Axl from Skrah’s world had given him, tucking it around his ears. It was really nice and warm…

[rockman-xavier-blog]

What the...

The preparations had been massive but it was all worth it. It had taken Hana the entire day, and quite a lot of help - Giaselle, Skrah and Axl had been gracious enough to lend a hand or six for most of the dishes, and an extra arm to keep Sakura from getting in the kitchen.

One of the biggest surprises there was was the enormous home-made chocolate-peanut-Snickers-esque bar that Giaselle had managed to sneak some mint in; Hana would’ve stopped him if she didn’t know that Xav would’ve liked the combination regardless.

Then again, with Xav liking something as outrageous as bubblegum ice cream cake should’ve given them an idea.

Speaking of bubblegum… It had taken Hana and Skrah the entire morning to finish the large bubblegum cake - that, and swatting Axl’s hand off from tasting the icing. Along with the desserts were some pasta, a platter of macaroni and cheese as well as a dish full of bowties, broccoli and mushroom Alfredo. Also, she didn’t forgot the large fondue pot. Never.

It had taken some coordination from Cyril to get all of the dishes in the quarters without Xavier noticing; with Xav off-duty it would’ve been quite the feat to surprise him along with some balloons and streamers. It was a stroke of luck that Xav got called out, giving everyone the opportunity to prepare.

Hana grinned as she set Xav’s gift on his bed, unwrapped, but he would be able to see what it was, given how the object acts like a nightlight, projecting out dots in almost a constellation-like pattern.

As it was, she and her co-conspirators had help from Zero and Cyril as well (with the former adamantly saying that he needed something nice to happen to make up for the horrible summer that he had had).

So when Xav finally did get home, he found himself staring, open-mouthed, at the party streamers and all the decorations, and all of the food. He almost gravitated towards the pasta before he stopped himself, and gave Hana an accusing glare that was less intimidating and more giddy.

"I should have known I would come back to this,” he said, grinning. He was going to have fun eating all of that food. And he was going to have fun with that nightlight, too.

[blue-phoenix-reborn]

"Askbox roulette." ~elder-sharpshooter

A romantic candle-lit dinner

[[“WHAT.”]]

((I am not rerolling. *giggles* Tree ships Axl and X, but I don’t think she meant this Axl and this X…))

[[“Oh great.”]]

Phoenix sat at the table, trying not to look as awkward as he felt, at the atmosphere. It was a lovely little restaurant; everything looked much more organic that it did back home, and the colors were warm and inviting instead of the harsh blue, silver, and black metal that all of the buildings and walls had. The candle gave off an inviting light, and it made him feel oddly warm and at peace.

Hana’s sister, Sakura, had been the one to tell him to come here, that she was going to set him up on a date with somebody that he had never met. At first, he had said a flat ‘NO’ to the idea. Even if this person was from another universe, which was apparently just as horrible as his own, throwing himself at a stranger was stupid and dangerous.

But he trusted Hana when it came to others’ safety (not her own), and Hana trusted Sakura, so he had eventually agreed to it. The only thing that he knew for a fact was that this was not his world nor the other person’s world; they were too dangerous. So this had to be Hana and Sakura’s world that he was in.

He drummed his fingers on the table nervously, only looking up when he spotted a redhead with green eyes catching sight of the ‘identifier’ (some heart-shaped trinket that Sakura had found) and heading over to his table.

"Hey," Phoenix greeted him, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt. This was never going to work; he didn’t even know this person, and from the wide-eyed look from the other’s face, this person either recognized him or thought he looked like X. Great.

"So… erm… Sakura tell you to come here?" he asked, by way of introduction. His eye twitched as the waiter set down a single plate of spaghetti with meatballs with two forks. There had to be something wrong with Sakura. She had told him to ‘bond’ (he got the feeling the word didn’t mean what he thought it did) with this person over the fact that their lives sucked but…

This was ridiculous.

[rockman-xavier-blog]

"Spit it out!" ~elder-sharpshooter

He’d been fast asleep in the room and bed that Axl had provided for him, in a surprisingly deeper sleep than he tended to be in. That was why, when Axl opened the door, he didn’t snap awake completely.

"Huhwhat? I dream of cows," Xav muttered to Axl, blinking sleepily up at him.

He was not going to remember saying that in the morning.

[rockman-xavier-blog]

"How'd we get in this mess?" ~elder-sharpshooter

10: have been handcuffed together

Xav eyed the older version of his brother figure and friend, and then down at the handcuffs that the two of them were in. He had no idea how it had happened, but he suspected that someone at Axl’s place (not Skrah) had a pranking tendency.

"Axl," he said calmly, knowing that this wasn’t the redhead’s fault. "Might you know who would be responsible for this happening?"

Because he was ready to slice the stupid thing in half with his weaponry.

[rockman-xavier-blog]

♒ ~elder-sharpshooter

27

"Let’s party like it’s the end of the world!" Maybe Xav had accidentally picked up some alcohol… and unfortunately flopped an arm around Axl’s shoulders, squeezing him.

[rockman-xavier-blog]

Interrogation/torture meme (~elder-sharpshooter)

(submission because asks can't make paragraphs)

Infiltrations were something Axl was quite used to. As was blocking out most of the noise he wasn't actually listening for in order to do his job. He'd learned to tune most talking out as no more than white noise.

A noise that very distinctly reminded him of someone being slapped across the face, however...

He paused in his tracks, running an extra proximity sweep and shifting his path slightly. Soon enough, he found himself peering out of a ceiling-mounted vent, green eyes narrowing at the sight.

How dare they.

It was plain to see, even from where he was, that the bioroid was looking a bit bruised up, but it was also plain to see that he wasn't planning to give in anytime soon, at least if the way his mouth was set in a stubborn line was any indication. He settled himself into a more comfortable position, raising his gun to his cheek and closing one eye.

Three well-placed headshots took all three torturers down, and Axl checked and double checked that all was clear before sliding down from the vent and deactivating his Stealth Mode. "Hey, kid," he said softly, moving to the bioroid's side and setting about freeing him from his bindings. "You all right...?"

And especially not to some Mavericks. How organized were they, honestly, if they were starting to kidnap "civilians" and trainee Hunters and torture them for information?

He'd started in shock when he heard the three shots and his torturers went down, but the wary, nervous expression made way for a much more relieved one.

"Hi... Axl," he smiled as he stretched. Asimov, his joints were extremely sore. "Th-Thanks a lot..."