Chapter 2: Hunter in the Making
Zero, as anyone could have guessed, headed back to his garage. He had stopped in a small alleyway and bundled his hair up into the hood on his jumper, obscuring his face, as well as taking a few seconds to work out how the rifle worked. Zero closed his eyes, taking deep breaths as he let his hands wander over the metal. With a few clicks to figure out where the safety was, he slid it under his jumper and held it there as he walked, doing his best not to attract attention. When he got to the garage, he dropped his hood and stared with wide-eyed shock. All that was left of the old building was charred metal and smouldering wood. Zero began to crawl over the wreckage and, relying on memory, found roughly where his workbench should be. Then he began to dig; he grabbed and tossed bits of wood and metal like it was nothing. As he dug, he ignored things like cuts and bruises. Then he found it; the metal bench had somehow survived the explosion. He cleared out under it and found what he was looking for; his photograph. It was scratched and charred from the heat of the explosion, but it had survived.
"A miracle," he said to himself, before he pocketed it and turned to find a new place to live. He was going to leave the rifle behind when he left; he only took it to make a point. But then, he heard something. Mechanical footsteps sounded from behind him; big and heavy, like a construction Mechaniloid. As he turned, drawing the rifle, a Mechaniloid rose from behind the wreckage. It was twisted and looked ready to rip him to pieces. It opened its mouth, roaring a static roar. Zero didn't blink; he began squeezing shots from the rifle at the robotic creature as he ran. The creature followed after him, unfazed as it took shot after shot.
"Okay, armour is too thick for lasers," Zero said, making a mental checklist of this machine's abilities. "It's slow, which means I can outrun it." He squeezed off a few more rounds before running off. But the Mechaniloid had other ideas; it began lumbering after him, roaring its mechanical roar before advancing faster than it should be able to. Its claws tore through the streets after the newly reconstructed Zero, who realised he wasn't going to have enough time to find a weak spot unless he got out of there quickly.
"Come on Zero, THINK!" he yelled at himself. He ducked down into a nearby alleyway and slammed his body against it, breathing heavily from a combination of exhaustion and the first real fear he had felt in a long time. The Mechaniloid, at least, couldn't turn very well, so he may have bought himself some time. Zero closed his eyes and saw himself surrounded by black, the massive Mechaniloid bearing down on him. The only flaw was its mouth led to its power core; no laser would do enough damage to bring it down. But just maybe something else would.
Zero dashed out of his hiding place, cranking up the setting of the laser to maximum before the creature roared and headed towards him. Once a laser was set to maximum, you only had a certain amount of time to fire it before it exploded from the energy build-up.
"Eat this!" he yelled as he chucked the overloading weapon at it. The gun sailed clear into its mouth, before its jaws snapped shut. Shards of light shone through its teeth before an explosion ripped the Mechaniloid in half. Zero covered his head from the heat, and looked up at the burning mess he left in front of him, hair flaring out behind him.
"So much for leaving the rifle," Zero said, turning to leave before someone showed up. But before he could move, someone stepped out of the shadows. They were tall, covered head to toe in purple armour, with a massive cannon-like thing on their shoulder. The weapon was pointed at Zero's head. Zero didn't think; he ducked and threw himself to the side, just as a long stream of plasma shot out of the cannon and blew apart the spot that Zero occupied only a few seconds ago. The purple-clad warrior, for want of a better word, turned and fired again at the blonde mechanic, who threw himself away again.
Out of nowhere, the sound of gunshots rang out and bullets impacted on the purple warrior's armour. Distracted, he turned and Zero scrambled out of the line of fire. Speeding down the street was a blue and white Hunter cruiser; X was driving while Axl leant out the passenger window, reloading his handgun. Ciel was in the back seat, clutching at her seatbelt in fear. Axl released another hailstorm of bullets, and the purple-clad warrior turned fully on them and fired another blast of plasma. The yellow and orange stream of energy barely missed Axl; X swerved and Axl fell out of the cruiser, yelling out and rolling comically before managing to get to his feet and continue shooting with his right arm. His left was ripped to shreds; the ripped off skin revealing the synthetic parts of his reconstructions, including his metal bones. The purple-clad warrior took each bullet with minimal damage to his armour, bringing his cannon to bear and charging another shot. But X was faster; he slammed the cruiser into the warrior and knocked him off his feet, the shot of plasma going wild. Ciel threw the back door open as X began to back-up. Axl ran towards the car, dead arm swinging as he squeezed a few more shots before his gun ran out.
"GET IN!" she yelled. Zero didn't need any more incentive. He ran at the door and scrambled into the seat, climbing over Ciel. Once Zero and Axl were in, X reversed at full speed before driving off, all of the occupants of the cruiser breathless.
"WHAT THE HELL," Zero yelled at the top of his lungs, "IS GOING ON? WHO WAS THAT?"
"That was Vile," X said, hatred easily readable in his voice, "he's one of the Maverick leaders."
"That's all well and good," Zero remarked, taking a deep breath, "but what has ANY of this got to do with me? And while we're on the subject of me, why the hell is my body suddenly mechanical?"
"How can you tell that it's mechanical?" Ciel asked. Zero looked at her as if she was crazy.
"I can hear the metal shifting under my skin," he replied, "and before you keep asking, I don't know how, I can just hear machines and what's wrong with them. That's why I'm a mechanic. I'm just a mechanic that keeps his nose clean and out of other people's business. So why are these Mavericks after me?"
"We don't know," X said, "but until we find out, the safest place for you is Hunter HQ."
"Yeah, coz you guys are doing a great job at protecting people," Zero snapped, folding his arms and slamming his back into the seat. Ciel was watching him this whole time, analysing him. He got angry quickly, didn't like the Hunters, or by extension the government and was good with machines. That didn't point to someone that was going to be a massive problem if he ever joined the Hunters, which didn't seem likely at all.
"Would you stop shearing the gears?" Zero suddenly said, "the noise is grating."
"That's how I always change gears," X said defensively. He hadn't even changed gears since they drove off.
"How many cars have you wrecked?" Zero asked, ignoring the statement. When X didn't answer, Zero said "make sure to put the clutch to the floor before you switch gears, then you get rid of that grating noise that makes me want to take my chances with the purple guy."
Axl laughed. X glanced at him with a questioning look, but Axl didn't pay attention.
"Oh, we're going to get on fine once we get to know each other a little better," Axl said, turning in his seat and offering his good hand to Zero. "I'm Axl," he introduced himself, "best Hunter marksmen in Abel City."
"Zero," Zero said, shaking his hand, albeit a little reluctantly, "best mechanic on the planet."
"I don't doubt it, if you can correct X's driving," Axl said, laughing out loud again. Zero, in spite of himself, smiled a little, before his face returned to a scowl.
'What are you holding on to?' Ciel asked herself; Zero's just displayed behaviour showing that he was actually a nice guy. So what had happened to him that he felt had to hide it? Ciel looked away and out the window of the cruiser. What was it about this Zero that intrigued her so?
Back in the Hunter HQ Medical Bay; a room like most medical bays but stacked with lots of towers that ran the computers, as well as a massive scan room that did everything from MRI to ultraviolet radiation. Zero was currently strapped into said machine, being subjected to Iris's custom scan to detect problems with the mechanical skeleton and synthetic organics of reconstructed bodies. Axl's arm had been repaired, and now the entirety of Alpha Squad was watching.
"Alright," Iris said, "this was Zero before his reconstruction." She tapped a few keys on the keyboard on her desk, and an X-Ray image of Zero with everything organic coloured green. "As you can see, there was nothing at all inorganic in his body. Now I'm going to adjust the image to show the reconstructions." She tapped a few more keys, and most of the green image turned orange. The only parts that remained green were his head and a section of his chest, and even that was tinted with orange.
Axl whistled, before commenting; "Now THAT'S a lot orange."
"Exactly," Iris said, "we've had to replace about eighty percent of his body, and that includes arteries, veins, muscle tissue, skin tissue; everything about his body is now either mechanical or synthetic. But I've found no medical evidence that he can hear machinery that's specifically designed not to make noise."
"It might be more of an instinct than anything," Ciel said, "X wasn't even changing gears when he pointed out that he sheared them."
"A more disturbing thing is that if anyone else put themselves through the same physical exercise and trauma as Zero did after receiving their reconstructions, they'd have killed themselves or, at the very least, damaged their reconstructions."
"But Zero didn't?" Lumine said, interjecting for the first time.
"No, and that's the weird thing," Iris said, "I ran a scan to check his RP signature, and I got this." She clicked away again and instead of an image of Zero the group was shown a brightly coloured and shifting image that was to represent the energy given off by the reconstructions.
"That's a lot of energy," X said, "but why is that important?"
"This is why," Iris said, tapping the keys again and bringing up a split screen; Zero's signature was on one side, while someone else's was displayed next to it. "That's Omega's last recorded RP signature. When I overlap them," she tapped the keys again and the images overlapped perfectly, "they match. I'm going to do more research before I clear Zero for active duty."
"We don't have time for that," a deep voice said, and a hulking figure dressed in military-green armour, a massive scar lining his face diagonally. X and Axl stood to attention, saluting him. The others stood a little straighter, but didn't salute. Commander Signas walked over to the screen, looking at the matching patterns.
"Sir, if Zero has a pattern that matches Omega's," Iris said, "that could indicate he might turn on us. I want to do a few more tests to make sure it's not a calibration error."
"Ciel, you're our best psychologist," Signas said, "Is there a chance he'll turn on us?"
"If given the chance," Ciel said, "he'd leave, but he's not likely to join people that tried to blow him to pieces."
"That's all I need," Signas said, "make sure he hasn't damaged himself and then have him report to me. That's an order, Medical Officer." Iris shut her mouth; she wouldn't disobey a direct order. No matter how right she thought she was.
"Iris, can you give me a copy of those energy readings?" Lumine asked.
"No, I can't," Iris said, "I'm busy." She turned and continued her work as the others left. Lumine scowled as he left the room after them, leaving Iris with her tapping.
"Alright, just lift your arms up to shoulder height," Iris said, holding a portable computer with Zero's reconstruction calibration data on it.
"Is this really necessary?" Zero asked as he did what he was told.
"Probably not with what you've proven you can do," Iris said, "but I'm Chief Medical Officer so I want this done by the book. Stretch your arms out in front of you."
"Whatever you say," Zero said, stretching his arms in front of him. This continued for a few more minutes until the door opened and Ciel walked in.
"What do you want Ciel?" Iris asked.
"I'm supposed to escort Zero to his meeting with the commander," she said, "but I'm happy to wait if you're not finished." Ciel sat down as she said it, so Zero continued with the exercises that Iris gave him, until she was finally satisfied.
"A word of advice, Zero," Iris said as he left with Ciel, "Show the commander some respect. He fought in the Eve War, and doesn't enjoy being talked back to."
Zero looked like he was about to make a sarcastic remark, but stopped himself and simply said, "Thanks for the advice."
Ciel and Zero walked in silence to the commander's office, taking an elevator up to the top floor. Zero, instead of standing next to Ciel in the small cubicle, moved to a corner, leaning on the wall and folding his arms.
"Do I smell or something?" Ciel asked, looking at the moody mechanic.
"I prefer my own personal space," Zero said, not looking at her, "is that a problem?"
"No," Ciel said, "just wondering." Zero looked at Ciel, locking eyes with her. All of a sudden, the world seemed to go black, with two spotlights centred on them. Zero's eyes softened from his glare, and Ciel's heart and breathing began to speed up. Then the elevator stopped, the jolt bringing the two of them back to reality. They exited the elevator, and Ciel showed him to Signas's office.
"Now it's time for my advice," Ciel said, "don't lie to him. He can see more about you then you can imagine."
"Thanks," Zero said, lingering a little before entering the office. Once the door closed, Ciel hurried away from the room, getting back into the elevator and shutting the doors, breathing heavily. What was that feeling? She had never felt anything like that before.
Zero looked around the office. Despite the modernity of the building, the office had a simple paintjob, a large wooden desk and a retro-looking computer from the early 2000's sitting atop it, along with reports of some kind strewn across the desk. Signas himself was standing with his hands behind his back, looking out the massive window that covered the back wall.
"I'd ask you to take a seat, but you won't, will you?" Signas said. His voice sounded rough and uncompassionate, but the tone he took suggested otherwise.
"I don't plan on it," Zero said. Signas turned to Zero and gestured to a seat before taking his at his desk. Zero considered standing, just to prove that Signas had made a correct analogy of his personality, but decided against it. His legs felt tired anyway, so he sat down in front of the commander and leant back, folding his arms. Signas linked his fingers and rested his elbows on the desk.
"As you no doubt know, Zero," Signas began, "the Hunters aren't fairing well in this war with the Mavericks. We lose more battles than we win, and our numbers are becoming depleted, even with the Reconstruction Program on our side. And some of our top Hunters are either defecting or being killed."
"Is that why you brought me here?" Zero asked. "So I can join up?"
"Not entirely," Signas said, "we believe the Mavericks are targeting you because your RP signature is a direct match to our former top Hunter, Omega."
"Omega," Zero said, the word rolling off his tongue, "who's that?"
"As I said, he was our top Hunter," Signas continued, "but he was killed in a mission about three years ago now. His RP signature; that is, his Reconstruction Program signature, was the highest we'd ever seen. At least, until you showed up," he said.
"How could the Mavericks know that?" Zero asked, "Seems a little far-fetched that they could know my RP signature before I got reconstructed."
"They might want you for a different reason," Signas said, "but that's the most reliable theory I've got."
"Right, so you want me to take this Omega's place?"
"Not right away," Signas said, "you need to be trained in combat, and not the pragmatist combat you displayed during your escape. Once that's done, I'll put you on active duty with Alpha Squad; the group you've been interacting with. If all goes well, you may become what Omega was; a hero." Zero nodded, and then stood up.
"When do I start?" he asked, leaning on the desk.
"No protest?"
"I've got no job and no place to live," Zero said, "and I've got an angry purple guy with a cannon the size of a mounted turret after me. I'm not getting bailed out again."
"Excellent," Signas said, "X and Axl are down in the R&D department. Underground level 2; you'll like it."
Zero didn't say anything. He stood up straight, gave a two finger salute instead of saying goodbye, turned and went to leave. But before he did, he stopped and looked back.
"Just so you know," he said, "I'm no hero." Then he left, leaving Signas with his thoughts.
"Not just his signature," Signas said, "he even reminds me of Omega." Signas leant back and folded his arms, looking somewhat satisfied. "This is going to be very interesting."
