Chapter 2

I was finally home at the Hunters HQ

Normally, civilians may find this place strange since they don't understand our line of work. But for me, it became my home after I joined the Hunters and became a Rebuilder because of something that I really wished I could forget.

I was on my way to my workshop to begin working on the Reploid I found.

But then a familiar voice yelled, "Daniel! There you are!"

When I turned towards the source of the voice, a guy wearing the standard Hunter Uniform but with a cowboy hat and no goggles was standing in front of me.

"Hi Stephen! What's up?" I greeted.

I was surprised when he said, "I wanted to catch up with the hero of the day!" He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and dragged me towards the bar.

"Not now, Stephen. You know I―" I began, trying to remind him of how strapped for cash I was.

"Don't be stupid! I insist that you join me for a round of beer since you found something like that! Everyone thought that all of the Resistance era ruins had been found, but apparently we were wrong. And I even heard from the boss that you got the discovery bonus for this month!"

I was baffled by how much my discovery was worth. But, then again, it was early in the current month, and anyone who gets the discovery bonus doesn't usually get it until the 1st of the next month. But when I saw his grin as he dragged me into the bar, I finally understood what was going on, knowing full-well what Stephen had done.

He somehow managed to convince the leading authorities of any ruins from the ancient past that it would be impossible to top this discovery. And as far as I could tell, he even played a few mind games to make sure that they agreed my discovery was the best one in the brief history of the Hunters organization.

So, knowing I couldn't escape the spotlight he put me in, I came to terms with the strings that Stephen had pulled for me and went into the bar with my best friend. As we we sat down inside, we both ordered a round of beer to drink and while we waited for the bartender to come back, I took out my wireless PDA from my bag and checked my bank account. Like I suspected, I received a lot of money, enough that I would finally be able to pay my bills, as well as getting proper repairs for my aircraft. I was happy when I knew that I wouldn't have to worry about making money for a while. I had enough to live a little before I would have to go exploring again.

"Say, Daniel, what are you planning to do now?" Stephen asked, sounding curious. "Are you going to take a break for a few days?"

I shook my head as I replied, "No. While my aircraft gets the proper repairs, I gonna use my free time begin the repairs on the Resistance era Reploid I found."

"Let me guess, old friend." Stephen said slyly with a smile to match. "You're hoping that his memory is good enough that he would be able to tell you a few things about the Resistance?" Stephen looked amused at his proper guess of my intentions, knowing me enough like we were brothers that he could always tell what I have planned.

"This time, unlike other Reploids I've repaired, I am sure he will be able to tell me what I've always wanted to here about." I replied, smiling a happy smile. "Because I used an emergency power core from HQ that I had with me in order to prevent him from shutting down when his other emergency core was almost depleted. I just need to do the proper repairs in order to reactivate him."

Stephen stared at me and nearly dropped his drink when he replied "Daniel, you… you must have the devil's luck." He laughed, saying, "I knew you would find your jackpot."

"Thanks." I replied with a smile back at my friend and he laughed. But then there was silence as a girl stomped in, took a drink and sat next to us.

I knew this girl very well. We worked together on a few missions from Hunters HQ. But it would be more accurate to say that I had to chase after her in some jobs because she had been captured by Maverick remnants and the Hunters HQ sent me to rescue her. And the look her on her face told me that she wasn't in a good mood.

"Hi Ashe. How are you?" I greeted carefully.

"Aw, shove it, Daniel. You know how I am." Ashe snapped back.

I knew what she was still mad about. But just to be sure I asked, "Still mad about the Biometal?"

"How would you react if a damn Reploid without a past takes your best bounty?!" Ashe continued in her tirade of anger. "And after he shoots down only a few Mavericks, he's allowed keep it. This has got to be the shittiest stroke of bad luck in my entire Hunter career."

A few months ago, she was on a Hunter mission with other Hunters to recover something called a Biometal. But she got seriously wounded in battle with a Reploid named Prometheus. She had to stay in a hospital while a Reploid boy named Grey, another friend of mine in the Hunters, somehow fused with the Biometal. After Grey had fused with the Biometal, he then defeated Master Albert of the Sage Trinity when he took a massive amount of a different Biometal and created Ouroboros. I would really love to get my hands on one of these Biometal fragments. Who knows what kind of lost technology is in them.

"But what do you care, Daniel?" She continued in anger still. "All you care about is to rebuild some old Reploids like you." I just shrugged because I didn't really care that I was a Reploid. During the last 200 years humans and Reploids had become more and more similar to one another. Only someone with a good set of eyes could tell who was a Reploid and who was a human…

We hunters have a sense to be able to tell the difference between humans and Reploids without taking a look at the necessary place, which was the forehead. Reploids of the modern era always had a red upside-down triangle that signified that they were a Reploid.

Stephen tried to calm Ashe down. But I knew it would be futile and a complete waste of time. I learned shortly after I met her that it takes her a long time to get over losing a good bounty like the Biometal.

I finished up my drink and sat the beer mug down. As I went to pay the bartender, he told me that Stephen already paid for the round.

After he realized he didn't have a chance to calm down Ashe, he asked me, "How about we look for the guy in the Craft Workshop? I still have to thank you for your help when you found me and the others back then."

I politely refused his offer. But I knew what he means by that last sentence.

I originally lived in a large town. But one day, Mavericks suddenly attacked and killed everybody I knew and possibly all the other townspeople. I was able to get away, but I was damaged when I got caught in the crossfire. During my escape, I found Stephen and some other Hunters with a crashed aircraft, which crashed due to a fatal defect. And on top of that, their comm radio was trashed.

I came up to them and explained what had just happened to me. After they gave me the necessary repairs, I returned the favor by repairing their transport aircraft. They took me with them after I had checked over the transport to make sure there were no other fatal defects that would cause it to crash again. During the trip back to the Hunters HQ, I learned more about the Hunters during the trip, though I had only heard bits and pieces about them before this lesson. They told me about the Rebuilders and I decided to become one as well since I no longer had a home thanks to the Maverick attack on my town. Plus I was good with machines, like the repairs I did to the transport aircraft. Stephen was the sole owner of the transport I had repaired back then. He helped me out during the beginning of my career as a Rebuilder. I upgraded our equipment from time to time but he still thinks he owes me for repairing his aircraft back then. But I knew that he only thinks that because I saved the only thing that was left of his family.

"Come on, bro." Stephen said, kinda begging. "You know how much I've been hanging onto that favor you did for me back then. Like you with that old Energy Saber." He pointed at the Saber hilt on by belt.

It was something that my family had for a long time. Yes, my family. I was the only, well, 'child' in my family of Reploids and my father gave me the Energy Saber to me just one week before the Maverick attack on the town. The old sword had an unusual design, which I guessed that it was as old as the Reploid I just found. It also had an old insignia on it. But over the years that it's been in my family, it wasn't visible anymore. And for as long as my family and I have had it, it never worked.

I didn't know why, but for some reason or other, I could never get it to activate, even thought it should work properly. I though that, perhaps, I just wasn't designed to wield this thing.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Stephen asked, knocking on my head and snapping me back to reality. "Also? Can we go now?"

"I already told you, Stephen, I can't." I said, shaking my head. "I've got some work to do."

Stephen shrugged, saying "Your decision. Well, good luck restoring that old Reploid. See ya later, bro." He waved good bye to me and left. But if I know my best friend as well as I did, I knew he would still try to pay me back for that favor when I escaped the Maverick attack and found my friend and the other Hunters stranded. He was well known around here for overdoing everything he does. Including being thankful to somebody, like how he felt indebted to me for what I did back then.

I went to the Craft workshop. Once I finished my business there, I went to pay my bills.