A Tale of Two Kitties
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Groggily, the golden-haired hunter awoke. He was grouchy until he saw the adorable onyx-and-ivory kitten curled up in a small, fluffy ball by his head.
"Heheh, you're a nice sight in the morning."
"Mrow!"
"Let's get you some breakfast," sweetly spoke the hunter as they went off to get some kitten food in the red bowl marked 'Mel'.
"Prrrrrr…"
"Really Mel, you don't have to rub against me and purr every time I feed you!"
"Mew."
"Aww…"
The hunter couldn't help but smile at his kitten. Mel is just too cute. That was all that the sapphire-eyed android could think.
After his usual routine, he set off to Signas' office. He wanted to know why he was woken up this early. Everyone in HQ knew that eight o' clock was his absolute earliest time to wake up. Without Mel around, Zero soon was grouchy again.
"What's so important that you have to wake me up so early Signas?" Zero's voice had only a hint of his full grouchiness.
"A mysterious reploid contacted us about you. They wanted to see you at these coordinates, something about a 'special area'."
Zero's eyes opened wide when he saw the co-ords. He then spoke with a powerful tone, "Understood." He left before Signas could ask anything about the area.
The brave hunter strode around in the location. It is a brilliant crystal cave that only he and one other knew of. Of those two, he was the only one still alive. He almost looked sad, pacing the area like a worried human. This was an area from his recent past.
The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps. Before Zero now stood the mysterious Reploid, a cat-like one at that. They were partially armored in shades of blue, with a sky-blue collar around its whole neck and a sheath of the same color over its tail. It had ultramarine paw-covers. It sat down in typical cat fashion, front paws serving as pillars to its thin but powerful body. It had light green eyes and a triangular blue gem in its forehead, similar to Zero's, but pointing up. In the center of its chest was a pentagonal crystal of the same color. What stood out most was its realistic orange fur. Zero couldn't tell if it was real or synthetic.
"Confused, Red Dragon?" The cat had a sweet undertone to its voice that was so familiar…
At this, Zero began to tear up. Red Dragon was an affectionate nickname that the other who knew about this cave gave to him.
"You have nothing to fear. I am an admirer and an ally," the cat continued, "And I wish to help you."
"H-how do you know so much?" Asked the teary hero, "How do you know… Her…?"
"I am Claw, designed to heal. I wish to heal your sorrows."
"Well unless you're a miracle worker, I doubt you'll achieve anything."
"I am not yet ready for the big miracle, but I have foreseen a horrible scene. The Dark One standing over two corpses, one blue, one red and laughing manically. They have won."
"Sigma…?" The warrior was now more angry than sad.
"As a healer, this disgusted me. The evil cannot win. Especially with you in this state."
"So are you joining us to fight?"
"No. But I will give you a way to survive."
"How?"
"A more… organic form."
"How's that supposed to help me?"
"When the next war tears though, you will see. You will see, Red Dragon."
With that, the cat vanished. In their place was a collar of some kind. It was red material, cloth-like in flexibility but leather-like in durability with a silver claw in the center.
"So this will help me pull another Zero. Heh! Sounds crazy enough to work!"
Several months later, another Sigma war broke out. It was a standard defeat-the-eight-Mavericks-then-kick-Sigma-into-oblivion war until the end. The duo of X and Zero stood face-to-face.
"I can't trust you."
"What…?"
"You might be a Maverick this whole time."
"You seriously think that I, Zero, the greatest Maverick Hunter, is a Maverick?"
"I can't take that chance… Goodbye, Zero…"
They were almost evenly matched. They fought for hours and hours. After a long bout of fighting, Zero came out on top. X released a last minute Soul Body. Both collapsed to the ground. A familiar figure appeared over them.
"Hehehehe! You've made my job so pathetically easy! The world's greatest hunters, at my mercy!
"Not… if… I… can… help… IT!
In a last bit of strength, Zero shielded X from Sigma's blast, and sliced Sigma in half.
"Thanks… for… everything… Zero…"
As X lapsed into unconsciousness, Zero crawled away. Time to try this 'organic' form out, thought the wounded dragon. He put the red collar around his neck and began to feel warm. Surrounded in brilliant flames, the soldier looked at his hands. They were now white cat's paws with orange flame spurting out of the back of his wrists. The crimson hunter became a great white cat, the size of a male Amur Tiger. Orange flames came out of the tip of his long tail, behind his eyes, behind his shoulders and the back of his heels. An orange arc decorated his sides and an orange flame pattern colored his underside. Two golden wings came out and folded over his back. Feeling much rejuvenated, the white cat ran off.
Backup came and discovered X horribly wounded. Some thought he wouldn't make it. It was obvious that the only one strong enough to do this was Zero, but they found no trace of the crimson warrior. They did feel the remainder of the Sigma Virus.
The milk-white cat decided to test out their new wings as they came to a cliff. Running full-on and spreading the feathery and golden wings, he took to the air gracefully as any bird. The feeling of flight was nothing short of amazing. He had flown in planes and gliders numerous times, but flying under your own power, making your own choices was something completely different. He decided to call this his divine form, since that was how wonderful it felt to run on all fours at breakneck speeds and then fly off even faster. Making a sharp turn for the north, he headed to the crystal cave to recover.
"It worked just as I wanted it to," spoke a cheerful voice.
"I really owe you one," replied a gruffer one.
"Rest and rejuvenate yourself. I do not want you to push yourself too hard."
"Heheh, a cat-nap sounds like a wonderful idea right about now."
"Good. I will make sure that you can see your friends at Maverick Hunters Headquarters again."
"Thanks a lot, Claw."
"Do not thank me yet," spoke the orange cat shyly, "I have a surprise even larger for you. Until then, let me show you the special power this form has."
Claw showed how Divine Zero can use their flame tail tip as a brush, summoning the elements of nature. When asked how Claw knew and could do the same, he simply said that his creator was not of this world. Dr. Ray had quite some skill with what humans would call "magic" and gave that power to his creations. By using Rejuvenation, the two kitties were able to re-build Zero's normal form as the Sixth War came to an end.
"X, you should see this." Alia was nervous. A familiar energy signature had come back into view.
"What is i… Oh my…!"
Without anything else said, the blue bomber sped off in search of his great friend, the crimson hunter.
"Heheheh… I knew you'd come."
"Z-Zero…?"
"Don't be afraid, I won't bite."
"Is… Is this really you…?"
"Who else would I be? Martha Stewart?"
"No… Someone's made a purple mockery of you."
The cerulean reploid couldn't resist it anymore. He buried himself in the blonde hunter, hugging him harder than he'd ever hugged anyone, even Alia. The blonde couldn't help but chuckle and hug back. It was really good to see his buddy again.
Aside from some nervous looks, the red-armored hunter fit back in as if nothing had happened. The base was assured by X that this was indeed the true Zero.
"MEW!"
"Hey there Mel! Missed me?
"Mow."
"Ah, come here you adorable kitty!"
"Mrew!"
"So how did you keep yourself so healthy?"
"Mew! Meow."
"A big orange cat came around and kept you fed and happy?" The hunter smiled. For a while now, he was able to understand the little cat and visa-versa.
Nobody knew about the onyx-and-ivory cat, the Reploid cat or the divine cat. The hunter dressed in red intended it that way. Having a few secret friends and powers would come in handy if and when war would come again.