Chapter Text
The halls were just starting to enter power-saving mode when Axl finally got back to base. The mission had gone south near the end and it had taken Axl an incredibly long time to clean up the stragglers. It was already midnight…
It had taken a few months, but Axl finally had felt stable enough to enlist and join up with the Maverick Hunters on a more official basis. It had also helped that X had taken him aside and assured him that he was in no way bound to them indefinitely. He wasn’t stuck there with no options as he had been in the past life he had lived through.
In this new timeline, the human’s command board at HQ had been effectively dissolved, their contract voided, and X had completely overhauled the Maverick Hunter’s policies, rules, and guidelines. Due to the recent changes, joining up was no longer a binding arrangement. There was a lot more freedom and flexibility in place these days and this was one of the reasons that Axl had felt that he could finally take a more active role in helping them with missions.
He’d been assigned to Red’s squad, who was one of the unit leaders of the Zeroth Unit. The mission that Axl had just gotten back from had looked like it would be a straightforward infiltration on the data disk.
Too bad that the Intel that he had been given had been outdated…
Suffice it to say, it had not gone well, and Axl was going to be sore for a few days.
At any rate, Zero had still been awake when Axl arrived at the Command Center.
Axl didn’t want to throw the intelligence officers under the bus, knowing that they had been swamped with cases in the past week, so he didn’t mention the faulty data. Though judging by Zero’s irritated look, the Crimson Hunter was already well aware of it and wasn’t thrilled that Axl was glossing over it. …Which meant Red would be finding out sooner rather than later. Axl bit back a sigh.
Once his report was done, he saluted and turned to leave, but Zero stopped him.
“I’d better not see you at the mission board again until 0700 hours or we’ll be having words,” Zero warned.
Axl knew that what he actually meant was ‘Or I’ll tell X, because this is the fifth time this month I’ve caught you pushing yourself and it’s pretty clear you’re straddling a relapse, don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
Damn his friend’s perception and damn him for being right…
“Sir, yes, sir!” Axl gave a lazy salute, and Zero grunted at him.
Zero was probably going to be telling X anyway…. And X, traitor that he was, would tattle to Axl’s therapist…
Having to deal with X’s ‘I am disappointed in you” face was bad enough, but Shane’s was worse. Shane, his and X’s therapist, had made non-verbal communication into an art form to the point that the man could even talk X around when he got into one of his moods.
Damn it…
Thankfully, Axl managed to sneak away from Zero before the Crimson Hunter had noticed him limping or Zero would have really followed through on the threat. Small mercy after the night he had been through. Axl just wanted to crawl to his room and lick his wounds in peace for once. The medbay was too silent and doing missions kept him from thinking too much. That was all. He was doing better; he was just having a rough day. He’d go there tomorrow and schedule another appointment before X could corner him, Axl decided.
Still…
Axl groaned into his hand. Red was going to be pissed when he found out…
Axl made his way back to his room sluggishly and the long trek seemed to take forever to Axl’s tired mind. Once he finally reached the door to his private chambers, he nudged the door open with a yawn, not even bothering to turn on the lights as he trailed through his room. He was utterly exhausted.
He yawned again and began unhooking his armor, starting with his chest plating and working his way down as he limped to the next room. X had insisted that he could have one of the larger private guest rooms and hadn’t taken no for an answer. Axl was never more grateful for it than after such a long mission. It was nice to have everything he needed at hand and be able to fit without feeling cramped.
Once he had finished removing his armor he piled it up in the corner of his bedroom before he got to work on removing his under-suit next. Once that was done, he folded it and dropped it on top of the armor pile. Next, he shrugged on some more comfortable civilian clothing. A loose, sleeveless black shirt and some shorts that he was fond of. He didn’t bother to put on his slippers as he trudged back to the living room and grabbed one of the fuel cans on the shelves he kept by his desk.
He took a few swigs and rubbed his eyes, fighting back another yawn and failing miserably. Once he had finished drinking he threw the empty fuel can into the recycle bin.
A sudden movement caught Axl’s eye.
As tired as he was, he still reacted instinctively to the intruder’s movement before they could pin him. Flicking on his night vision without missing a beat, he jumped back and rolled, ducking into the bedroom and snatching up his discarded plasma pistols in the next sweep.
Another movement lashed out from behind and Axl pivoted, but not fast enough— Shit, shit, there were two of them!—
Axl lunged.
“Whoa, whoa! Relax, Axl, it’s just me!”
There was a clang of metal meeting metal, followed by a duller whump. Axl grunted. Crowrang had hastily grabbed both of his arms during Axl’s initial offensive, drawing his aim off, and Axl’s fingers froze on the triggers, his body tensing when their eyes met. They were both breathing hard. “Was hoping you’d turn on the lights, first,” Crowrang gasped out. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, kid.”
Axl whipped his head around and saw Snipe Anteator approaching with his hands up though there was a glint of urgency in his eyes that Axl wasn’t sure what to make of. “Apologies, Young One.”
Crowrang slowly released Axl’s arms and the gunner hesitantly lowered his pistols, still running high from the sudden rush of adrenaline.
“What the— why are you guys in my room? It’s late.”
“We’re aware. I truly am sorry for scaring you, but we need to move fast, Young One.”
Crowrang stood and offered Axl his hand to help him up and he took it. Immediately after, Crowrang moved to the door and checked the hall.
“It’s clear.” He reported.
Snipe Anteator nodded. “Good. Young One, come. We need to get you to safety. Time is of the essence.”
“Wait, what? Hold on—“ Axl held up his hands.
Snipe telegraphed his movement, stepping forward, keeping eye contact as he did so, and slowly, ever so slowly, he took Axl’s wrist in his hand. Axl followed the movement warily but allowed it in his confusion. What was going on?
“Quickly, Young one. Please.”
“Wha— No, no— Wait a sec!”
He didn’t want to fight against Snipe’s hold; he trusted his friends. He knew they had to have a good reason for this. So when Snipe tugged on his arm, Axl gingerly allowed himself to be led to the door.
“Think he’s gonna need his armor? Hey, Kid, you have anything important you want to bring with you, now’s the time to get it.”
“Slow down, seriously, guys! What’s going on?”
“Young one… Please, just stop with the pretense. You don’t have to pretend around us anymore. We know.”
Axl frowned in confusion.
“Did you think we wouldn’t notice, Kid?” Crowrang smiled sadly and shook his head. “And did you really think we’d stand by and do nothing about it?”
“Is that why you kept up the act? Young One, you could have come to us with this. We would have listened, I swear it! There was no need to pretend that you were fine when you weren’t for as long as you have…” Snipe said and Axl knew him well enough to catch the slight narrowing of his eyes and knew what it meant. Snipe was really upset, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him unless you knew his tells.
What the hell had happened? What was this about?
“Snipe... Hey…” Axl touched his shoulder and squeezed gently. “I’m doing much better now. I am.”
He really was. The past few months had been incredibly difficult; there was no avoiding that… Being in Maverick Hunter headquarters again had been like coming home… but it had also doubled as his cage in the past and had been the source for a lot of his worst memories… They had almost drowned him. In those first few weeks back at HQ, his EML had overwhelmed him and he had lost himself constantly.
X had helped Axl schedule appointments with the woman who had helped him with modifying his own EML installation to manage the side effects.
Over those shaky months, Axl had been to appointments with the Modder as well as kept up on his weekly visits to see the therapist that X had recommended.
The EML modding installation had been incredibly painful and rehab had been brutal, but it had been worth it. Axl had never before felt so safe in his own mind…
With the new modifications, when one of the memory logs went off the rails without his explicit permission to replay it, the modding would kick in and short it out. It had been one battle after the other at first, and Axl had felt wrung out and drained for weeks on end, but slowly… things had gotten better. Red had helped cover for him when the others had asked what was going on with him and Axl had desperately needed that. Though in hindsight, Axl should have expected that Snipe would notice that things didn’t quite add up.
Axl was starting to suspect that they had reached a grim conclusion but he needed more information before he could act.
…granted he may have been falling into old habits again. Maybe.
Oops?
“Oh, young one…” Snipe shook his head.
“What’s going on, guys? Has something happened?” Axl asked and turned his head to meet Snipe’s eyes and then Crowrang’s.
Crowrang sighed, but his eyes were sharp. “Enough, Axl. Just stop with the act already. We know that Red’s been using you again.”
“Wha? What are—“
“And it’s gotten very bad, hasn’t it, Young One?” Snipe, once again slowly telegraphing his movements, placed his own hand on Axl’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “You must know that I would notice the contradictions in the reports? There were quite a few. The holes were rather glaring when one knew to look for them. I only wish I had noticed sooner…”
“None of Red’s reports have added up. And there are so many damn holes in yours it’s almost insulting that it took us so long to notice. Yeah, this is a nice gig we’ve got now, but it’s not worth it if it comes at your expense!”
“Wait, no— Back up. You’re wrong. I’m not being—“
“Yeah? Then why are you limping again, hm? Why are you always so run-down? Kid, please.”
“Wait, that’s not— it’s got nothing to do with—“
“Young One… Enough. Please, just let us help you, I beg of you.”
“Dammit, you’ve got the wrong idea. It’s really not like that!”
“Do you think we enjoy seeing you like this, Kid? What did he do to get you to start going on missions again, anyway? You didn’t see yourself, kid…. You were a mess! You still are! And Red just keeps brushing it aside and pretending that he’s not running you ragged! Hell, are the S-Ranks in on it too?!”
“I’ve noticed some… discrepancies in their reports regarding you as well.” Snipe agreed.
Ah, man… This was bad.
That was definitely a dangerous conclusion they had reached. And it didn’t help that it couldn’t have been avoided because Axl hadn’t been ready for them to know. Telling Red, X, and Zero about the events of his past had been bad enough. Axl had been barely getting through each day as it was…
There was no help for it now, but thankfully, he was in a much better place than where he had been at months ago.
Unfortunately: Running on fumes and after-battle stress paired with the rush of adrenaline wasn’t a good combination: In his urgency, Axl missed his next step and let out a gasp of pain when the hasty patch job he had done on his leg ruptured.
“Shit, Snipe… His leg—“
“Young one..!”
“Ah Hell… here, Kid. Hold on to me, no no… Damn, need to get you off your feet. There we go.”
“Goddammit, ‘Rang! Put me down!”
“Not a chance! Shit, need to stop the leaking…”
“I’ll get his gear.”
“Where’s your kit, Axl?”
“In my bedroom.”
“We don’t have time, Crowrang… Patch him up on the way. We need to get him to safety first. The next patrol is starting in a few minutes.”
“Alright, here you take him. Here are the bandages. Get his leg wrapped while I check the hall—“
“Hold on, young one.”
“For fuck’s sake, stop it, both of you!”
Exasperated, exhausted, and in a great deal of pain, Axl sent out a call to Red’s frequency, knowing that the elder was sleeping, but he was at his wits end.
Red patched him through only a minute after, “Mmph… Kid?” Red slurred, clearly still half asleep. “…What’s wrong…? You okay?”
“Sorry to wake you, Red. I know you’ve had a long day, but please come over to my room. Now.”
“Kid?” Red asked, suddenly sounding much more alert. “What happened? Color?”
“Just get here, please. I’m fine, but Snipe’s gone bloodhound. He’s been ‘digging.’ They aren’t listening to me anymore.”
Red groaned and massaged his temples. “Was hoping Anteator wouldn’t dig for at least another week, but guess that was a tall order; too many breadcrumbs.”
“He’s currently outlining to me, in extreme detail, all of the contradictory statements and holes in our stories, right down to the exact report and line numbers,” Axl reported dryly. “Crowrang also has been digging into my medical reports, apparently. They’ve concluded that you’re abusing me and that I’ve been too afraid to come forward.”
“Ah, fuck…”
“I’m.. I’m sorry, Red…”
“Don’t be, Kid. You needed time. And if you still need time, that’s alright too. I understand. We’ll figure this out.”
“Yeah… Thanks, Red.” Axl’s voice trailed off into a whisper. “I… I didn’t mean to worry them… But it’s… also kind of nice…? To know that they care enough to go this far, you know?”
The kid sounded awed by it and Red bit back a sigh. The kid had made a lot of progress, but it still hurt to hear just how surprised he still sounded when anyone besides Red, Zero, and X showed that they cared about him.
“I… I think I’m ready. If X and Zero agree, I’d like to read them all in, not just Snipe and Crowrang. I… I think they all deserve to know.”
“Are you sure? You’ve already been pushing yourself, Kid, don’t think I haven’t noticed.” Red chided. “You don’t have to rush this.”
“I think I can handle it now, Red. I’m ready.”
“…Okay, Kid. After we get this sorted, sleep on it for a few days, alright? If you still feel up to it by then, we can go to X. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Alright.” Red nodded. “Any luck convincing them?”
“I think they’re planning to break me out of my own room,” Axl informed him gravely.
Red did sigh then. “Sit tight, I’m on my way.”
“Thanks, Red.”
“’Rang, stop it! Snipe you too! I’ve let Red know, he’s on his way. Close the damn door, already!”
“Young one, what have you done? We are trying to protect you—”
“This is a misunderstanding, Snipe. There are some important things that I haven’t told you and Red’s been covering for me while I’ve been trying to cope. He’s not hurting me. Close the door, ‘Rang. Come on.” Axl said.
“Kid… You…”
“Thank you. Both of you.” Axl smiled. “It really means a lot to me that you’d go this far for me if I ever needed your help.”
“Of course we would!”
“Young one…”
“That being said, I’m sorry that I wor— uh…” Axl trailed off and let his head sink into Snipe’s shoulder, the room seemingly spinning, and suddenly feeling faint. “Um… I uh… I might need to go to medical…”
“Ah, shit! He’s gonna pass out!”
“No! Hold on, young one!”
And of course, that was when Red finally arrived, with Axl dangling in Snipe’s grip and Crowrang hastily trying to re-bandage Axl’s leg again. “Alright, looks like we have a lot to…. Wha—What the hell happened to your leg?!”
“Er…”
“For fuck’s sake’s, Kid!”
“Shit, I can’t stop the leak…” Crowrang exclaimed, waving his arms frantically.
“Why didn’t you go to medical right when you got back? We’ve talked about this, Axl!”
“I didn’t want to… worry anyone,” Axl admitted with a wince.
Red gave a wordless snarl of frustration.
Snipe studied Red suspiciously and then turned to Axl and asked, “He’s truly not hurting you? Or forcing you?”
“Of course he’s not!”
“Of course I’m not!”
“That can wait for later! We need to get him to medical!” Crowrang interrupted urgently.
And then, to add to the chaos, Zero turned the corner right that second, looking irritated. “Do you guys have any idea what time it is? What’s with the racket? I can hear you all the way down the hall! Do I even want to—” Zero stopped abruptly and stared at Axl, the hastily wrapped wound, the rapidly spreading fluid on the bandages, and realization quickly flashed across his eyes. Zero's eyes narrowed. Axl wanted to sink into the floor. “What the hell happened to your leg!?”
“Oh for—don’t you start!“
“How badly are you hurt?” Zero demanded.
“My leg’s the worst of it.” Axl admitted tiredly. “Was going to get it checked out in the morning.”
“You should have gone straight to medical!”
“It would have kept until tomorrow!”
“That’s not the damn point!”
Snipe looked confused and a little miffed for not understanding the byplay, but he ignored it in favor of the more urgent matter at hand. He and Crowrang shared a significant look, wordlessly communicating, and then Crowrang nodded as Snipe gently passed Axl over to him.
“Enough already! We need to get him to medical. Stop blocking the door!” Crowrang snapped and he pushed his way out between them. Red and Zero (Axl hadn’t even seen him move closer to the door) sidestepped him when he did.
Not looking back or waiting, Crowrang was already halfway down the hall with Snipe not far behind him.
Red met Zero’s gaze and they both nodded, falling into step behind them.
“Gonna have to read those two in. No help for it now.” Red informed Zero. “And Axl wants to read in the rest of them too when he feels up for it.”
Zero stared down the hall as Crowrang and Snipe disappeared around the corner at the far end. Zero could imagine they were already tearing through the rest of the complex at a rapid pace to reach the nearest medbay. Zero hummed. “Fine. I’ll let X know.”
Red grunted, satisfied. “Let’s go.”
And that was how the rest of the Red Alert Hunters eventually learned of Axl’s past life, his true circumstances, and his struggles with his EML installation.