Prologue

X, my former friend and companion, is dead. He has been for some time, since 23XX. I'm in horrible condition. The 10 years in the sleep capsule hadn't regenerated my systems the way I'd hoped they would, and now I'm alone, with a bad Z-buster, in the ruins of point D. I'm looking for myself, and with my pre-hibernation upgrades (infinite nourishment and longer Z-sabre), I can look for as long as I want.

Zero then wrote, October 21, 35XX. His journal, though girly (he thought), was therapeutic and helpful. A reploid needs all the help he can get when he's stranded alone in hostile territory.

A reploid, Dr. Wily thought, was "a perfect robot." Reploids are unique from other robots because they can think for themselves, not to mention their humanoid figures and blood. That's right, a robot with blood. The first person to create a reploid, Dr. Wily thought that the human body could not be improved upon, so he included human-like bodily systems in their design, meaning that reploids need to eat, and their blood serves the same purpose as human blood. Also, he included hair on most of his prototype reploids.

One particular reploid, well, one of currently three, named Zero Omega, has long, flowing blonde hair. His armor (not all reploids have armor) is a vibrant, glowing red. Under the Universal Time Layout, he is now 35. He was created in 00XX, also known as the year 3074, by Dr. Wily. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Wily passed away and left Zero with nothing. Zero knew nothing of himself other than his designation: Reploid #5386-2859-0147-Z Warrior class. He knew how to use his Z-buster, and he'd heard of a new virus that had been contaminating many reploids, since around the time of his assembly. Thus, he decided to join the Maverick Hunters, and the story of Zero began.

Book 1

The Maverick Hunters' ranking system worked as follows: Class D [rookie], Class C [fighter], Class B [warrior], and Class A [Commander]. Since Zero had toned his skills during his practice sessions with Dr. Wily, he already had considerable knowledge of combat and undeniable skill, so he was enlisted as a Class C maverick hunter.

"Damn, I didn't know so many reploids existed," he said to himself as he walked into his crowded barracks.

He sat down in his hibernation chamber, and neatly organized his armor and supplies in a nearby cabinet. Zero figured that if he were friendly with the other reploids, then he would have much fewer enemies and make his combat training less stressful (the training, by the way, was modeled after 20th century Marine Corps training, with academics every other day).

"Hey, how are you doing?" he said cheerfully to his nearest bunkmate.

"Fuck off. I'm meditating."

"OK then!" he said as he walked away slowly. He then realized that not all of the reploids would want to befriend him, since he was already Class C and he was bunked with Class D's. "Oh well," he said as the realization came to him. "I'll do my best. I just hope that prick wasn't representative of the whole battalion."

"Hey, what's going on? I'm Zero and I'm new to the Unit."

"Yeah? Well so am I, dumbass. In case you didn't notice, we're all Class D!"

"Shit, you're right. I was just wondering if you're worried about tomorrow's training."

"Yeah, I guess I am. I'm Leebroz. Who're you, dumbass?" Zero laughed.

"I'm Zero." Then, they shook hands and spent the rest of the night getting to know each other.

"GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASSES! GET UP NOW!" the Drill Instructor yelled.

"Oh, shit. Day one," Zero said to himself.

"Heh, heh. No kidding," he heard Leebroz say.

"PUT ON YOUR ARMOR AND GET OUTSIDE, NOW! YOU GET 30 SECONDS! 30, 29, 28..."

"Hope your day goes well," Zero said.

"Yeah, you too." said Leebroz.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0! GET OUTSIDE YOU BUNCH O' FAGGOTS!" The two friends didn't say anything else to each other that day, but they couldn't even if they wanted to. The DI's would eat them alive. It was a stressful day, but neither of them had any doubts in their minds. They hoped they would get to Class A together.

The next day was even more stressful, as it was their first day of academics. They sat next to each other, naturally.

"They think we need this shit to be good hunters," Leebroz said sarcastically.

"Well, we do, don't we? My creator always said, 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.'" Zero thought it was a great saying.

"I still think it's a total crock o' shit."

"Don't worry. There'll be more physical training in an hour."

"YOU! ZERO!" The voice echoed for miles after Zero heard the shout. "CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT A MAVERICK IS AND WHY IT IS THAT WAY!?

"Yes, sir! Ahem... A Maverick is a reploid that has gone 'berserk', causing it to attack humans and other reploids! The source is known to be the Maverick Virus, which has been found in every maverick ever analyzed!"

"GOOD JOB! NOW SIT DOWN!"

"YEAH! SIT DOWN!" Leebroz mocked. Zero hoped that these good times would last.

32 Days Later

"Wooooooooooooo! We did it, guys! Yeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaa!" You could tell from his tone of voice that Zero was very excited. He had reason to. He had just finished MH training, with all of his friends: Leebroz, Woxal, X, Kalbon, and George.

"On to our 'not as hard' desk jobs!" Woxal said.

"I heard that brudda!" exclaimed Kalbon.

"It'll still be hard, but now we get paid!" X said.

George sighed. "Life is good." They all felt proud of themselves for their accomplishments, and they all went to sleep that night very satisfied with themselves, after a few rounds of beer (yes, reploids can drink).

Zero woke at the crack of dawn the next day, hoping that his assignment would agree with his interests (video games, freelance writing, women). Sure enough, he got the one job he didn't want: technician. But at MH headquarters, that's a doctor.

"My job starts tomorrow," he complained to his friends while they all enjoyed lunch. "I'm the technician."

"Technician?" X seemed interested. "You meet all the girls on that job."

"Hmm?"

"Everyone gets injured sometimes, right? I mean, lately, there've been a lot more Class B girls."

"Yeah, and more missions," George intervened with a full mouth.

"You're sure to meet one 'loid you'll like," Kalbon said, also with a full mouth.

"I don't know. Maybe I will meet more girls, but I really didn't want that job. I have to do 20 days of straight academic training." Zero sighed.

"Heh, heh. Goin' back to school, eh?" Leebroz laughed. So did the whole table.

"Shut up, guys. Anyways, what assignments did you all get?"

"I was promoted to Class B, and now I have missions every week," X said.

"Fuck. that's what I wanted."

"I got the kitchen," Woxal said.

"I'm a mechanic," said Kalbon.

"Ditto," said George.

"...." Leebroz didn't say anything after that.

"What's up Leebroz? Didn't you get assigned?" Zero asked.

"Yeah."

"So... what'd ya get?"

"... Clean-up."

Everyone at the table then said at the same time: "oooooooooooooooooooooh."

"I know. Why God?"

"Heh. Don't worry. At least your personal problems will be mopped away." Zero couldn't help making the joke.

"Yeah. Fuck you too," Leebroz said as he lifted his tray and left.

"Damn. I hope he stays long enough to be reassigned. I mean, who wants to be a janitor?" said Woxal.