"And now, we have to decide what we want to do with it."
"Hold up, Maugrim. Don't do anything rash. I think I've almost got him activated. Saints and Stars, how the hell DID this hunk of junk end up down HERE? And how long has it been here?"
"I say we kill it!"
"Naw. If it turns out to be one of those bloody Hunters, we'll torture it. THEN we'll kill it!"
A clawed hand tugged on some exposed wires, and a flurry of sparks flew angrily from them. Zero was jerked with a start from the inky black peace of his hibernation. His eyelids snapped open effortlessly, despite the fact that over 30 years of dust had built up on them.
"It lives." A bestial voice rumbled.
Sleep still misted Zero's mind and threw his optics out of whack. He couldn't focus on the figures grouped before him properly. When he tried to sit up, he found, to his dismay, that his years-long hibernation had stolen all the cunning out of his joints. He could barely move. One of the figures, who was barley more than a blur of watery green, assisted Zero. "Up you go, Goldilocks."
Zero thickly stammered his thanks as his vision came into view. Three lupine robots towered over him, their expressions stern. The one who had helped Zero sit up was now crouched beside him. The 'werewolf' in front of the rabble, apparently in charge of the other three, approached the crimson reploid. His fur was jet black, which clashed savagely with his gentle sky-blue armour. His sleek arms were folded across his chest. He squinted his snout down at Zero and slit his haunting yellow eyes at him.
"Howdy stranger." The wolf's suspicion of Zero was apparent in his rasping, surly tone. "Would it be any skin off of your behind to tell us what you're doing here and who you are?"
Zero was forced to think hard. His hibernation had fuddled up his memory. He fumbled around with facts in his head for a bit until he finally came up with what he was looking for.
"My name's Zero."
The black werewolf drew back his lupine head. "Very nice. Now, how did you end up all the way down here? And what were you doing just sleeping here like a vagrant?"
The wolf's eyes were still nailed on to Zero's. Zero felt a little overwhelmed as he vainly tried to collect his thoughts that the sleep had scattered. "I...I don't know what I'm doing down here. All I know is that I've been sleeping for years, and I can't remember much of anything for now..."
The black wolf clacked a claw on his armour before grabbing Zero roughly by the shoulders. "Why do I get the feeling that you're witholding info?"
Zero managed to emit a startled cry. He had never felt so helpless before. His body was too tired to respond to his desperate commands to attack.
"I want you to tell me everything, friend. Tell me everything I want to know or - my word! - you'll catch it."
"I've told you everything I can remember! My name's Zero. I've been hibernating here for a long time. I can't remember why. I might in a little while, but for now I've told you everything I know!"
The wolf gave Zero a shake that caused the reploid's armour to clank together. "Are you a Hunter...?"
Zero was already sadly confused by the wolf's interrogation, and this latest question only served to muddle him further. "Hunter? What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb, or I'll rip out your lungs and play them like bagpipes. I mean it!" He slacked his grip and Zero went tumbling to the ground again.
"Hold it, Maugrim." The green - tinted wolf crouched beside Zero said. "I think his story has some truth to it. Look, he has a lot of dust built up on him."
Sure enough, thick dust fuzzed Zero's armour like a coat of wee feathers. The black wolf, who's name was obviously Maugrim, grunted at his colleague. "But this fellow is obviously a reploid J.T.. Despite the fact that he appears to be a dimwit, he has that look of intelligence in his eyes that no normal robot possesses. And everyone knows that reploids are a fairly new creation, yet this guy says he's been sleeping here for 'years'. What's going on?"
The green wolf, J.T., shrugged his shaggy shoulders. "I don't know. I say we just lead this guy back to the surface and leave him be. He doesn't appear to be a Hunter."
Zero still didn't know what the wolves were talking about when they referred to him as a 'Hunter', but he could have hugged J.T. for telling Maugrim to back off. He wisely refrained from doing so.
Maugrim finally gave in with a rumbling growl. "Okay then...we'll let this guy off. Help him up. He's a reploid, and as long as he's not a Hunter, I have no problem with him."
Furry paws that were so like yet unlike human hands roughly helped Zero to his feet. Zero swayed like a fragile tree in strong wind, but he managed to keep his balance. His mind slowly became more lucid. He mumbled his thanks and looked at Maugrim. The gaunt wolf was flanked by two other wolf friends (fiends?). Other than the fact that one was beige and the other was aqua - blue, they were nondescript.
Memories of his past slowly began to trickle back into his mind as he looked at his surroundings. He vaguely remembered beginning his hibernation in a subway tunnel. It appeared he was still in one. The murky stone walls still frowned down upon him, and the tiny shafts of determined sunlight that filtered through the odd crack here and there did little to drive back the general depressing nature of the place. Weeds actually flourished between the tracks at Zero's feet, which told him that long years had gone by since a train last rumbled down this path.
"All right, you've seen enough." Maugrim snarled as he caught Zero harshly by the shoulder. "Come this way. You're lucky J.T. talked me out of letting you go. Few have stumbled on a Maverick's hideout and lived to tell the tale."
'Maverick'? Zero mentally added this word to his vocabulary. He yearned to ask Maugrim all sorts of questions. Where was he? What time era was this? What was a 'Hunter'? And for that matter, what was a Maverick? Were there more reploids in the world besides himself? He looked up at Maugrim as the reploid werewolf led him through the labyrinth, but the forbidding look that was twisted on Maugrim's wolfish face immediately bolted Zero's mouth shut again.
Finally, Maugrim and his pack showed Zero a rusty escalator that looked as if it had not seen life in years. The black wolf pointed a claw up the stairs.
"Up there is your way out, Zero. My name's Maugrim. The green wolf is J.T., the beige wolf is Duskclaw, and the blue fellow is Sabre. Remember our names, for we'll meet again! 'till then, ta!"
There was a scurrying of clawed feet on the tiled floor before all was silent. Zero drank in the eerie stillness for a second before he ascended the stairs.
Zero was hit by a massive recollection of memories as he wandered aimlessly through the city streets. Bass. Wily. Auto. Eddie. His lightsabre (upon that thought, Zero hastily checked his back and was greatly relieved to find it intact). And, lastly, the destruction of Skull Castle which had forced him to hibernate in the subway tunnel. Zero didn't know exactly how long he had been asleep. It appeared that those wolves he had met had managed to re - activate him when they found him. He also remembered his personal war against the humans, but that wasn't his prime concern at the moment.
Zero absorbed the changes the city had gone through as he strolled though. The looming buildings around him seemed to be pretty much the same. The inhabitants, however, were definitely different. Humans rushed by Zero, but mingled amoung them were vast varieties of reploids, like himself. Where had they come from? Zero needed answers.
Minutes later, part of Zero's answer stumbled upon him and slapped him in the face. A towering billboard smiled down on him. Zero craned his neck up to read the contents of the board:
Do you crave action? Adventure? Or anything remotely like it?
Are you sick of your rut? Of having tea with your grandmother every Sunday?
If so, then the Maverick Hunters want YOU! Join the growing ranks of human
and reploid warriors who let the Mavericks know who's BOSS! Apply at Kapcom's
Maverick Hunter HeadQuarters, located at 413 Maplemain, which is renowned to
be one of the best out there.
Our motto: "Maverick Hunters do it 12 months a year."
*****Mention this ad and receive a free
Cyber-Slurpee!*****
Zero frowned, rather puzzled by the somewhat unprofessional ad before him. Usually, an army that was seeking recruits used mind-bending propaganda, not billboards slapped with some crud that wasn't fit for an underwear commercial.
As sad as the billboard was, it provided some lethal information: there was some kind of war going on, something between the two confusing terms Maugrim had used earlier...'Hunters' and 'Mavericks'.
Zero stared up at the address again. He was certain he could find some of the answers he was looking for at the HQ that the ad spoke of. 413 Maplemain. If Zero's memory still served him well, that wasn't too far from where he stood. He swerved around in the right direction and was on his way.
Maverick Hunter HQ! Huzzah!
"Sweet Dancin' Sisters..." Zero mumbled in awe as he shaded his eyes from the blinding sun to get a better view of the mammoth building that soared in front of him. It seemed to span block after block. Zero thought that perhaps he had the wrong address, but, sure enough, a large sign in the well - kept lawn beside him reported that he was indeed at the right place.
Humans and reploids swarmed all around the building like restless bees in a hive. Many were heavily armed. Some, particularly the humans, threw Zero worried glances as they hurried by.
Taking a deep breath, Zero approached the regal gates that marked the main entrance of the HQ. They were closed, but Zero noticed a small boxlike structure on his right that looked like a doorbell and was meant to be treated accordingly. Zero hesitated, however, when he spotted a tiny sign that was positioned just below the bell:
PUSH TO FEEL GOOD.
Zero blinked, but the crazy words on the sign did not change.
PUSH TO FEEL GOOD.
Zero tensed as he pushed the bell, expecting 1000 volts of raw electricity to shoot through him, or something equally as pleasant. To his surprise, nothing happened and his summons were answered almost immediately by a tall reploid donned in brilliant platinum armour. The reploid spied Zero and grinned like a mad monkey.
"Well? Do you feel good?"
"Yeah, I'm just orgasmic, buddy." Zero grunted as he tried to push his way past the platinum reploid and enter the building. The gatekeeper held him back.
"Whoa, not so fast there! If you're an applicant, go around to the east side of the building."
Zero began to lose his temper. "Who ARE you!?"
"The porter of Hell's Gate! Bwa ha ha! Now smarten up, Brighteyes."
Zero's head spun. So, it was coming down to insults now, was it? Zero was tempted to reach into his mind and pull out the most lewd and vile put-downs that he possessed; however, he didn't want to get started off on the wrong foot in this new time era. So he attempted to push past again. The good nature of the 'porter' vapourized like water as he delivered a kick to Zero's shins. Zero yowled and swung his fist, planting it in the reploid's grinning face.
Pretty soon, Zero and the platinum reploid were locked in a nasty fight like hammers and nails. Curses flew thick. Some humans and reploids gathered around the two, but no one tried to break up the fight: rather, they were standing as fans do at a football game, cheering their favourite side.
"What in the name of Skie is going on here!?" Someone shouted. "All of you, back to training! If Cain gets word of this, there'll be hell to pay!"
From afar, Zero could hear disappointed mumblings from the ring of bloodthirsty spectators as they broke up. Zero, however, was too busy gleefully flailing at the platinum reploid pinned below him to notice.
A cold, clammy hand came down on Zero's shoulder and pried him from the bleeding reploid below. "All right...that's enough. Calm down."
Zero was still flinging his limbs around and didn't stop until he turned his head aside to study the hand that retained the vicelike grip in his shoulder. It was blue. Yes, blue. A nice, deep ocean blue. And scaly. And clawed. Yes, every finger that gripped Zero was tipped with long, black claw. Zero tilted his nervous gaze upwards and found himself in the shadow of a long, reptilian snout with several yellowed fangs jutting out of it. A breeze tickled past Zero. Averting his view to behind him, Zero spied two massive, leathery blue wings slowly fanning back and forth like some sort of monstrous bird of prey keeping its balance on a carcass. Beyond that, a lithe, barbed blue tail lashed back and forth like a cat's.
Zero gulped as reality dawned on him. A reploid dragon. He was being held in thrall by a reploid dragon. Zero wisely slowed his struggle.
"Attaboy." The reploid draco cheered him. Although the voice sounded like a cross between a human and a cement mixer, it was friendly. "Now. Answers. Get up, Forrest, and tell me how this guy peeved you so much."
The platinum reploid, who obviously had the unfortunate christening of 'Forrest', scrambled to his feet. Black circulatory fluid trickled down his face. He jabbed a finger at Zero and snarled, "This big blonde Wookiee tried to kill me!"
"I did not."
"Now now." The dragon chuckled. "Let's not fight!" The leviathan laxed his grip on Zero, which allowed him to get a better view of the peacekeeper.
The dragon's triangular head was supported by a sinuous, reptilian neck. A short, jet black mohawk bristled from the dragon's forehead and worked its way halfway down the neck, where it ended in a small ponytail that was bound by a blood-red band. Two black ivory horns protruded from his skull. They looked capable of goring through any material. Protective blue scales covered the dragon's body, but full, pale purple armour was present to augment his defensive capabilities. The reploid was at least two feet taller than Zero.
"Forrest, I think you should get back to training," the behemoth suggested in a kind but firm tone. "Forget about guarding the door."
Forrest pouted. "But I LIKE being the doorman!"
Seeing his new nemesis getting the boot made Zero break into a broad smile. "Yeah, well, life's a you-know-what, and then you marry one!" Zero paused for a second, wondering how he had known such a line. Had he picked it up from somewhere?
"And that's enough out of you!" The draco said, giving Zero a cheerful shake that still rattled the crimson reploid's teeth. "We're going to have a bit of a chat. What's your name, please?"
"Zero."
"Pretty name." The mechanized dragon commented. "My name is Lord Th'ckpa'sskyleth, but my friends just call me Skysheen or Sky. Are you here to enlist in the Hunters?"
"Uh...no. I don't even know what the Hunters are."
As soon as those words escaped him, Zero got an odd look from Skysheen. He was expecting a bombardment of questions, but fortunately, the dragon wasn't nosy. He merely shrugged and said, "No? Airhead, huh? Well, never mind. I'll be more than happy to explain." Skysheen walked slowly as he talked. Zero followed.
"Let's start from the beginning." Skysheen rumbled. "About 30 years ago, a scientist and geologist named Dr. Cain was digging around in some dirt somewhere looking for prehistoric plant life or some such nonsense. Anyway, he eventually came across a neato capsule. Inside the capsule was a robot, but not just any robot. This was a member of a highly advanced race of robot known as 'reploid'. The reploid said his name was 'X', but that was all he could remember about his past."
Zero's heart fluttered. So, all those years ago, he hadn't been the only reploid in existence!
"So, anyhow," Skysheen droned, "Dr. Cain became extremely interested in making more of these 'reploid' things...so, with X's help, he did. 'Twas only a matter of time before reploids were in mass production around the world.
"Reploids were immediately noted to be amazing creatures. They had limitless strength, yet each one had a unique personality and a large array of emotions, making them very humanlike, and thus good companions. Sadly, a handful of reploids recently realized that they were the superior species and humans were limiting their growth. So they turned violent against humankind. These renegades are known as 'Mavericks', and their greatest desire is to wipe out every last human. Fortunately, the ranks of the Mavericks are currently very small. Hopefully, they'll stay that way, and it'll be easy for us, the Maverick Hunters, to neutralize 'em!"
"So," Zero thought, "There are other reploids who share my hate for humans. How peachy! But their forces are weak, and threatened to be snuffed out. How un - peachy."
"I get it." Zero said thoughtfully. "The Maverick Hunters destroy 'Mavericks' and protect humans, right?"
"Aye. It's an organization that Cain set up, and it's hugely successful. We have reploids and humans fighting for a common cause. It's really neat. We're led by a reploid named Sigma. He looks a bit like Mr. Clean, but that's between us!"
"Oh, humans fight with you, too? Are they strong enough?"
Skysheen gave a short laugh. "Oh, certainly! You'd be surprised. If humans are fighting for a cause they believe in, they can turn into nasty little war machines. They can also overwhelm in sheer numbers."
"Neat." Zero's respect for humans increased a wee bit. He made a mental note not to underestimate them.
"In fact," Skysheen went on, "let me show you something." Skysheen led Zero around to the back of the massive structure of MMHQ. Zero peered around the corner and was met with an awe - inducing sight.
A huge field yawned before the crimson reploid. Dozens of makeshift cabins dotted the trampled green. Hundreds of humans from every race and walk of life moved about the camp. A dull buzz rose from the crowd as the humans made themselves busy doing nothing.
"Are these all Hunters...?"
"Well, not all of 'em." Skysheen admitted. "Most human hunters live inside the dorms in the HQ. Most of these folks are refugees. When Mavericks attack and destroy their neighbourhood, they find temporary shelter here while things are rebuilt. The conditions are crowded, but they're better than nothing. Some refugees stay with us and become Hunters."
Zero cast one more glance at the refugee camp before Skysheen led him away. "So, Zero...are you gonna become a Hunter?"
Zero frowned. How was he supposed to tell a 8 ' 5 reploid dragon that he was more interested in destroying humans than he was in aiding them? He began to search for words.
"Well, uh...you see..."
Skysheen clapped a scaly hand on Zero's back good-naturedly. "That's the spirit! Glad to have you aboard! I'll take you inside to look around a bit, then we can fill out an application for you! Then we'll find a suitable position for ya."
Zero sighed. It was hopeless. If he told Skysheen the truth, he'd probably be mangled on the spot. Zero hopelessly yearned for the days of his past life when he could have easily destroyed anyone he wanted. Okay, he would lay low with the Hunters for a while, then take it from there...
Skysheen ushered Zero though the main gates where he and Forrest had had their little tiff earlier. Zero stepped into a cool, well-kept building. The floor of the main hall was tiled immaculately. It neatly and almost immediately branched into smaller halls which seemed to lead to room upon room. If not for Skysheen guiding him, Zero would have become hoplessly lost in a matter of minutes.
The traffic in the halls was heavy. Humans and reploid hunters brushed by Zero every second. Skysheen led Zero through some twists and turns before he finally gave a cheerful: "Here we are!"
Skysheen effortlessly pushed open a heavy door that was marked MAINFRAME COMPUTER. Inside, Zero found himself surrounded by luminescent computer terminals. Their persistant hum filled his ears and amplified in his head.
Besides Skysheen and himself, Zero spied one other figure in the room. It was another reploid dragon, a red one. She was female and there was no mistaking it: her body build beyond her ebony armour leaned a bit heavily towards the 'feminine' side. It would be no lie to say that she looked similar to Xena in a dragon costume.
The dragon spun herself in a swivel chair, obviously forsaking whatever duty she was supposed to be performing at the computer before her. As she spun, a long, black ponytail whirled madly with her. The dragon's massive, batlike wings were fanned out a bit to keep herself in balance.
The dragon stopped her game as the door clanged open. Her guilty look was immediately replaced with a dreamy dragon smile as she fixed her eyes on Zero.
"Hey there, hun! What can Auntie Draco do fer ya?!"
This friendliness left Zero a little speechless.
Skysheen sighed. "Red...please behave yourself. Zero, I'd like you to meet my sister, Lady Dra'conia'mat."
The red reploid dragon tumbled out of the chair and drifted towards Zero. She offered a clawed hand and yet another mad grin. Zero rightly felt a little nervous when he looked at the maw filled with razor edged teeth. He diligently took the hand and the dragon shook it vigourously.
"Yep, Lady Dra'conia'mat is the name...but you can just call me Red Draco! It's glad to know ya!"
Distressed, Zero could see that Red already had a bit of a crush on him....
Hello, my little hatchlings! This is your friendly neighbourhood narrator with a wee interruption. I just want to thank a fellow dragon, Neon Tiger, for allowing me to use her character, Torrent Leviathan, who is mentioned in this chapter and will be appearing in the flesh further on in BNF. Thanx, Neon! :) And now, the beast--er, beat goes on!
Skysheen hoisted his bulk up from the swivel chair he had seated himself in and made his way to the door. Prior to exiting the room, he looked over one of his winged shoulders and said "Well, Zero...I'll get you that application for you to fill out. I'll be back in a sec. Until then, you and Red can become better aquainted!"
Zero gulped as the metallic slam of the heavy doors echoed and re-echoed in the small chamber. He and Red were alone now...and judging by the way the mechanized dragon was observing Zero intently and bemusidley with narrowed yellow eyes, that wasn't really a great thing.
Alarm shot though Zero as Red suddenly began to silently paddle her swivel chair closer to Zero's own using a particularily nasty looking lance - type weapon. Instinctively, Zero started up a conversation to save himself for whatever Red had in mind for him.
"So, uh...that's a whole lotta humans you guys have in that refugee camp."
Red stopped her stalking abruptly and shrugged her leathery wings. "So Skysheen showed ya the camp, eh? Yeah, when a human's home is destroyed by Mavericks, they're invited to stay with the refugees for a bit, and maybe become a Hunter. It's all part of Dr. Cain's FTH program, which stands for 'Free The Humans', although most of the Mavericks seem to call it...uh...'Something-Else The Humans'."
"Ah." Zero got the hint.
Uneasy silence reigned again. Red began to propell her chair towards Zero. Hastily, Zero's voice sprang up.
"Er...nice weapon you have there." Zero motioned towards the silver lance that Red held.
Red grinned with pride. "Thanks! It's called the Deltawyrm Lance. Care to have a closer look?" With that, the draco tossed the formidable weapon into Zero's lap. Zero picked it up. It was suprisingly lightweight. Its sleek shaft travelled upwards until it reached the head where it seperated into two wicked looking prongs. Additional spikes were lined up near the head, to assure that the strike would be costly to the enemy.
"Pretty." Zero remarked as he handed the lance back to Red.
Red beamed as she slipped the lance into a sheath that was located on her back. "Isn't it, though?" By the way, what Maverick Hunter Unit do you hope to get in to?"
"Maverick Hunter Unit...?"
"Oh, I forgot! You're new here. Anyhoo, the Maverick Hunters are split up into three units. There's the Night Vipers Unit, which consists almost totally of humans and rookie reploid Hunters. There's the Regal Dragons Unit, which is led by Yours Truly and Skysheen. It consists mainly of experienced reploid Hunters and some of the more vicious humans. Finally, there's the elite Spartan Unit, which is composed entirely of the best reploid Hunters we posses. Siggy himself heads that unit, and thus he heads all the Hunters."
"So there's no humans in the Spartan Unit?" Zero inquired
"Actually, there used to be one. Jake McTreggor. One of the earliest Hunters. He was pretty damned good for a human. Too bad he came to such a nasty end."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. You see, there's this one very nasty Maverick who skulks around in the sewers below the city. His name is Torrent Leviathan, and he's one of the few formidable fighters the Mavericks have. Jake got a little over-confident about his skills, and he attempted to take on Torrent by himself. Torrent got ahold of him, however, and--" at this point, Red silently drew a finger across her long neck.
Zero grimaced. "You mean..."
"Jake got his throat slit." Red finished off Zero's sentance and nodded. "Aye. With all due respect, it was dumb of him to go off and try to assasinate Torrent single-handedly. I guess he was trying to prove that humans could fight just as effectively as reploids. Very noble, I suppose, but he should have thought of his family."
"He has a family?"
"Had." Red corrected Zero patiently. "And yes, he did. A wife, A teenage girl and a wee male hatchling who would be about 5 or so by now. Don't know where they all are right now, but I hope they're gettin' by all right without Jake there."
"Block...block...parry....slash...."
These commands flashed madly through Celeste McTreggor's fevered mind as she kept her eye fastened on her opponent's darting wooden blade.
"Block...TWIRL!"
Celeste swiftly veered to the right as the blade came crashing down next to her, narrowly missing her shoulder. Seeing her chance, Celeste automatically swung her own blade, driving it into her opponent's exposed ribs. The enemy doubled over with a howl, dropping his weapon. A cheer rose up from the spectators that surrounded the victor. Oblivious to the praise of those who had been watching the match, Celeste moved her shoulder-length brown hair away from the back of her neck in an attempt to cool off a bit before she dropped her stick onto the ground and walked over to her opponent, who was painfully moving his hand along his side, checking for any broken ribs.
"Sorry, Josh. Didn't know my own strength."
Josh managed to offer his friend a half smile. "Don't worry about it. That's what I get for trying to compete with someone who can fence like a bloody Jedi Knight!"
Seeing that the display of fencing was over, the crowd of kids who had been watching broke up and began to shuffle back home reluctantly. One girl broke off from the rest of the mob and joined Celeste and Josh. "Nice going, Cel!" She called. "Good work, considering that Josh is nearly a foot taller than you."
"Oh, shut up Tess." Josh growled, clutching his bruised ribs as he did so.
In unison, Celeste, Josh and Tess all hopped up and sat on the old stone fence behind them that overlooked one of the many sidestreets that wound its way through their crowded neighbourhood like a concrete river. After the excitement of the match, things seemed rather subdued at that point.
"What a boring day." Tess commented with a sigh. "Wish something would happen."
Tess' last words promptly demonstrated the old saying, 'Be careful what you wish for, or you just might get it!' Almost as soon as she had spoken, the heavy clatter of many metal-plated boots marching rang through the air as a platoon of nondescript military reploids peeked over the horizon and came trooping down the street with a rythym that was steady enough to sing to.
Celeste's heart leapt into her throat. "Mavericks?!" She whispered hoarsely around the block in her windpipe.
Josh patted Celeste's shoulder reassuringly. "Nope, no need to get all worked up. They're Hunters."
And so they were. As the troop rang by the trio, Celeste could see that each reploid wore a circular badge on their arm. Enclosed in the circle was an emblem that bore two rampant Welsh Red dragons flanking a silver shield that was stamped neatly with a gold crown.
Only Tess was excited to see the reploids. "Cool! Hunters from the Regal Dragons Unit, right in our own neighbourhood!"
Josh frowned. He, like Celeste and Tess, had gotten used to seeing Hunters patrolling the area. "That's not really a good thing, Tess. There must be some heavy activity going on near here. Regal Dragons usually don't handle the minor issues."
"I've heard rumours that Mavericks are going to attack this area," Tess chimed in. "This neighbourhood is densly populated, which makes it a prime target."
"Oh, lovely." Celeste muttered. Ever since her father had been killed by Torrent Leviathan all those months back, she didn't like to hear anything that had to do with reploids. In her opinon, their creation was a huge mistake.
Tess flipped her black ponytail over her shoulder. "I'm not so hot on the idea of Mavericks leveling our neighbourhood," she declared. "I don't want to end up in that stuffy refugee camp."
Zero forced himself to stay calm as Red, who was directly behind him, tickled a claw slowly down the side of his neck while emitting a kitten-like purr. It was highly unnerving.
"Uh...Red? I...I, uh, just met you and all..." Zero gulped as he observed Red's barbed tail entwine itself gently and playfully around his left leg. Red's only response was a high-pitched giggle.
Relief washed over Zero when Skysheen entered the room again. The blue reploid dragon was holding some documents in one claw. He rattled them. "Hey Zero! Here's that application you need to fill out, and...Holy Mother Tiamat! RED!"
Taken completely by surprise, Red jumped away from Zero. However, she had forgotten about her tail, which was still in it's love-grip around Zero's leg. As a result, Red went tumbling. Her sparse armour clanked about as she made contact with the floor. Zero barely kept his balance.
Skysheen helped his sister up whilst he shook his head. "Red, Red, Red...PLEASE pay attention to your work." He pleaded. "And leave Zero alone. He may not be one of those 'touchy-feely' types, you know."
Red pouted as she was hauled to her feet. "I don't like my job! It's boring."
"Why, what's your job?" Zero inquired curiously.
Red motioned a hand towards the computer behind her. "When I'm not Hunting, I'm supposed to be keeping track of the human casualties and birthrate in the city. It's important that one compliments the other. Balance is a must here. If the casualties skyrocket and the birthrates plummet, then we and the humans are pretty much screwed. But, my word, it's a BORING job."
Sky then gripped Zero by one shoulder and guided him to a nearby table in the room. The draco set the paper down and plunked a pen in front of the crimson wonder. "There you go, Zero...that application shouldn't take too long. While you fill that out, I'm going to have a wee talk with Red about curbing her artificial hormones." With that, Skie left Zero on his own.
Zero mumbled to himself and chewed on the end of his pen as he regarded the application, which stared right back at him. The black type on the milky surface of the paper jumped out at him. Zero frowned. The application asked a lot of questions about his past. And, of course, he wasn't going to tell anyone who he really was. Nevertheless, Zero DID manage to fill out the application without giving anything away. The paper looked a little something like this once Zero had finished with it:
disembowel.
that Elvis is REALLY dead? Do you sometimes pretend that you're an airplane? I do. I
spread my arms and run in circles yelling "ZOOOOOOM!" What movies do you like? Do you ever bake? Can you light matches and eat them? Can you suck Jello up through
your nose? I always wished I could do that. Do you like Pez candy? I once had a Pez
dispenser that tried to kill me. You know, I've heard that Canada doesn't sell Cherry Cola
anymore. Do you think that Canadians should have access to that drink? I do, even if it
tastes like puke. Oh, and speaking of Cherry Cola,
AnytimeIneedtoseeyourfaceIju
stclosemyeyesandIamtakentoaplacewhereyourcrystalmindandmagentafeelingstakeupshelt
erinthebaseofmyspinesweetlikeachic-a-cherrycola! Can you say that three times fast? I
can.
Skysheen took the application from from Zero and swept over it with his reptilian eyes. Zero expected Sky to object to the information he had put down, but other than raised eyebrows, Sky remained silent.
"Uh....okay Zero. Thanks. I do believe we have a position for you."
Zero grinned. He could see himself blasting Mavericks all over the city. He would have prefered to blast humans, but that time wasn't at hand yet. Besides, violence was violence, and Zero had built up a raging bloodlust that needed to be quenched.
Skysheen beckoned to Zero. "Come along."
"Wait!!" Red pleaded, jumping up from her chair. She gripped Zero tightly by one arm and stared directly into Zero's eyes. The stare bore into him painfully, and Zero nearly lost his nerve again. A grin resurfaced on Red's face. "You're mine, my cute little crimson cookie!" She hissed sweetly. "Hold on while I get something for you~!"
Leaving Zero for a second, Red began to paw around in a box that rested beside her. She eventually fished out a thick, yellow ribbon which she carefully tied in a bow around Zero's neck. "There! You look SOOOO cute! Oh, for a camera!"
Skysheen managed to pry Red away from Zero as he dragged him out of the room.
"I'll see you REAL soon, Zero!" Red gushed after the scarlet reploid. "Next time I get a hold of you, I'm going to braid your hair!"
Zero could have sobbed. In his past life with Bass and the crew, he had been considered a god. But ever since he had woken up from hibernation, everything had botched up. There were other reploids that were even more powerful than him. His plan to slaughter humans seemed to be going down the john. Now he was tangled up in an operation that actually PROTECTED humans. Besides that, he was now a plaything for a nine-foot luststruck reploid dragon. Things were not going well.
Zero's heart had been set on joining one of the Hunter Units. A Unit that saw a lot of action and violence, such as the Regal Dragons or even the Spartans. Therefore, it's easy to understand why he gaped with disbelief as Skysheen ushered him into the large Medical Unit of MHHQ.
Disappointment weighed heavily on Zero's stomach as he stared at the rows of identical and immaculate beds before him. Most of them stood empty, but one did house a Hunter, a human male with an injured leg. The human slowly bounced a red rubber ball against the wall, caught it, and stonily bounced it again. Judging by the crazy look churning slowly in the young man's eyes, he had either had too much painkiller or was coming down with a severe case of cabin fever.
"Skyster..." Zero gulped, "are you saying that I'm gonna be working...HERE? The hell with that! I wanted to be a Hunter, not a frackin' nurse! I'm leaving!" Zero turned to exit, but Skysheen blocked his way. The draco was perfectly silent, but he fixed Zero with a look that was absolute poison.
Zero wilted. "Uh...okay...I guess I could stay...for a while...don't knock it 'till you've tried it...that's my motto..."
Sky's stern expression dissolved as he clapped Zero on the back. "Atta boy! We have plenty of Hunters, Zero, but we're severely short on medical staff. You'll like working in this branch! I promise! Now, I'll take you to meet da boss man!"
Boss 'MAN' was sort of misleading. When Sky directed Zero to his new boss, the first thing that he caught sight of was the backside of a short reploid that was equipped with a bushy, orange-red tail which was swishing back and forth. The reploid was busying itself at a desk with something or other.
"Hey, Genesis!" Skysheen called cheerfully. "I got some staff here to help you."
The reploid did not turn around, but the nervous twitching of his tail increased tenfold. "It's about bloody time ya did, Sky...when the Units get back from Hunting, this place turns into a madhouse! Especially when the Night Vipers come back. Oy, half the humans in THAT Unit get all banged up and end up in here!"
Skysheen actually drooped his majestic head a bit in shame. "I know. I'm sorry Genesis. I'll get you more help from now on, I promise."
"That's what I like to hear," Genesis stated prior to pivoting on his heel to face Zero and Sky. The phenotype of his new boss caused Zero to recoil a bit in surprise.
Genesis was a bipedal reploid fox donned in silver and maroon armour. A badge on his right shoulder that bore the traditional symbol of a hissing serpent coiled around a crucifix signified his position in the Medical Unit. Two canine-type ears jutted from Genesis' helmet. Most surprising, however, was the fact that his head gear had a black visor that rested on his pointed snout and covered his eyes completely.
Genesis frowned as he observed Zero who was staring at him with wide eyes. "What's with Mr. Big Eyes here?" the fox snorted contemptuously. "You'd think he'd never seen a fox wearing sunglasses or somethin'!"
Zero was getting ready to tell Genesis exactly where he could put his sunglasses when Skysheen suddenly pulled him aside.
"Play nice with Genesis, y'hear?" the dragon whispered into Zero's ear. "He's a nice guy, and he takes good care of the injured humans in here. Help him out and do as he says. If you don't, you'll have ME to answer to. And I can assure you, that won't be pleasant. Okely dokely?"
Zero nodded glumly.
Skysheen nodded, satisfied. "All three Units are going on a big mission today, so you'll have plenty of work when we get back. We're trying to re-claim some territory that the Mavericks took over. We're gonna have quite a time! See you soon!"
Skysheen exited the Medical Unit (not before getting his massive wings caught in the doorway), the badge of the Regal Dragons proudly displayed on his right arm. Zero watched him, distressed. Genesis' grating voice penetrated the crimson reploid's cloud of gloom.
"HEY! Wookiee - Man! Don't just stand there staring! I have lots of...ooooh...." Genesis stopped in his tracks. Zero whipped around in alarm. The reploid fox stood, swaying, staring in wonder at the nearly-forgotten yellow ribbon that Red Draco had tied around Zero's neck earlier.
"Oh man...that's so COOL!"
Zero blinked twice and pointed to the scrap of cloth encircled around his neck. "This lousy yellow ribbon? 'Cool'?"
Genesis nodded dumbly.
Zero shrugged. "Here, TAKE it!" he said, glad to have an excuse to get rid of the thing. He peeled it off of himself and handed it to his canine boss, who gripped the thick ribbon with shaking claws.
"You mean...you mean I can...HAVE this?" he whispered in disbelief. "Oh..oh MAN! Thanks, Rapunzel! You're the BOMB!"
"My name's Zero."
Genesis didn't seem to hear. He was too busy winding the ribbon around his neck. By the time he was done, Genesis looked like he was sporting a spiffy yellow scarf. He modeled for Zero. "So...how do I look?"
Probably nothing on earth was more bizarre looking than a reploid fox wearing shades AND a scarf. However, Zero remembered that Genesis was his new boss, so tried a lie.
"You look fabulous."
Genesis grinned ecstatically. "Thanks! I feel so...complete now!"
"I'm very happy for you," Zero said flatly.
"Well, time to get to work!" Genesis said cheerfully. "There's a big hunt today, and we're likely to get a LOT of injured folks, human and reploid alike. Mechanics will handle the reploids, but we'll be bandaging up the humans!"
Now Zero was going to be FIXING UP humans. Yay. This got better and better all the time.
"What I want you to do, Zero, is to go down to the Hunter-Dispatch area and see how many human Hunters are there. We need to have enough beds. You don't really need to include the reploid Hunters in your head-count. Although an injured reploid needs to be very still in order for its auto repairs to work, it doesn't need a cot for that need. Sitting still on the floor repair it just as effectively. Some injured reploids will try to unload some sob-story about how they NEED to lie in bed to get better. If that happens, and you need the bed for an injured human, just dump the reploid out of the bed and kick it out the door."
Zero grinned. "Got it!"
"Do you know where the Hunter-Dispatch area is?"
"Yes." Zero lied.
Genesis looked as if he didn't quite believe Zero. "First floor. Hang a right from the main entrance and keep going straight. Can't miss it unless you're a drooling idiot. Now hurry up and go; the Hunters will be leaving at any minute! And put this on." Genesis handed Zero a badge that was identical to his own with those last words. "Now go! Hurry hurry hurry!"
The Hunter-Dispatch area WAS quite easy to find, and Zero had an uneventful trip there. As a security measure, he had to stop and talk to some reploid guards before they could allow him into the bay.
"Okay son, what's your name?"
"Zero. And don't call me 'son'."
"Okay...why do you need to enter the Hunter-Dispatch area?"
"Oh, I have to take an estimate on how many humans are gonna get mangled in today's hunt. It's for the Medical Unit."
"I see. Pass."
The second guard opened the steel door in front of Zero and shooed the reploid in. Zero was met by a sprawling, massive room that looked much like a huge, rectangular garage. Cool air filtered in through the open hatch at the tail end of the room. Platoon upon platoon of Hunters, reploid and human, male and female, accompanied Zero in the area. Zero could see that they were more or less separated into three large groups. Everywhere, Hunters were checking their armour, tightening straps to sheaths that held wicked blades, talking nervously to one another or praying. The fresh breeze in the room did little to wash away the stale pre-battle tension that hung in the air. Zero had never felt so jealous in his whole life.
Zero's eyes swam through the crowd. He took a rough count of how many humans were in the room. His conclusion: a hell of a lot.
Zero picked out a familiar face in the masses: Red Draco. He hesitated for a second, then began to push through the sea of Hunters to meet her. Although the reploid dragon's feelings for HIM were pretty obvious, Zero still didn't have much of an idea about how he felt about Red. She was a puzzle to him.
Zero finally broke free and found himself a few meters away from Red. Unlike the other Unit leaders who had already begun to give a solemn pep talk to their Hunters, Red was pounding her chest and bellowing gothic war songs at the top of her lungs like a bloodthirsty demon from the Ninth Ring of Hell. "Join in!" She'd call out every so often to her Hunters, and the nervous Regal Dragons clustered in front of her would be forced to mumble through a verse or two of the chant. Fear was obviously one feeling that Red lacked in her emotions cache.
"Red!" Zero called out once there was a lull in the song.
"HONEYBUNNY!" Red squealed as she rushed to meet Zero. She bowled over a few Hunters as she did so. "Give us a hug for good luck!" She said as she scooped Zero up in her arms and gave him a 'hug' that nearly crushed all his ribs. "I'm glad you came to see me...oh! What happened to that ribbon I gave you? It went with your hair!"
"I...uh, lost it." Zero lied.
Red squeezed him again. "No matter! I've got other things for my precioussss...!"
Zero gulped involuntarily.
Red spied the badge on Zero's right shoulder. "Ah! My honeybunny is part of the Medical Unit, is he? That kicks ass!"
"No it doesn't," protested Zero. "I had really wanted to join the Hunters."
"Tsk! Poor you! Too bad...on a nice day like this, freshly spilled blood smells extra good!"
"Ah! Hello there, Zero!"
Zero spun around to see who had issued him this greeting. His eyes met with pale purple armour. Zero looked upwards and grinned. "Hey, Skysheen!+
Skysheen grinned back down at Zero. His black claws clacked on a silver, barrel-shaped cannon that was mounted on one of his shoulders. It was a truly formidable weapon and the beauty and originality of its structure burned into Zero's mind.
Skysheen pulled Zero out of his trance. "We'll be leaving soon, Zero...maybe you'd like to meet the leaders of the other Units before we take off."
"That's a good idea," Zero agreed. "Best of luck in the hunt, you two!"
Skysheen saluted while Red blew Zero a kiss.
At the far right of the Hunter-Dispatch area, the Night Vipers swarmed together in a nervous huddle. Their badges displayed a night-black viper that had its tail entwined around a silver dagger. A tall, young human male stood in front of the Unit, shouting out directions. Zero could tell at once that this man was the leader of the Night Vipers. He found it hard to believe that a human would actually be in charge of a Unit. "Hullo there."
The man looked around to see who had addressed him when his eyes locked onto Zero. "Oh...hello." He smiled nervously. As the man turned to face Zero, a long blonde ponytail crawled over his shoulder. Annoyed, he flipped it back over behind him.
"I'm new here, and I'm just getting better aquatinted with the leaders of the Hunter Units," Zero explained casually. "My name's Zero."
The human nodded. "Nice to meet you. I'm Paul Wells." He smiled modestly.
Zero nodded in his turn. "So...have you been a Hunter for long? It's my guess that you have been, since you're leading your own Unit."
"Yep! I was one of the first ones to sign up." He smiled. "I may be in my forties, but I'm going strong!"
"Whoa!" Zero was quite impressed.
"Yeah. And as long as there's Mavericks, I'll probably keep on going. Robots taking over the entire human race is a thought that I just can't stand. A robot took my dad from me, and that was enough."
"Uh...?"
"When I was little, some freaky black and gold robot actually knocked out my dad and took him," Paul explained, casting his eyes down. "I still don't know what that robot would have wanted him for, but I never DID see him again."
For the first time in his life, Zero actually felt sorry for a human. "Tough break."
"Yeah." Paul sighed. He then cocked his head. "You know something? You actually remind me a bit of him."
Zero grinned. "Now THAT'S freaky! I'd better go now...good luck in the hunt today!"
"Be seeing you around, Zero!" Paul called cheerfully.
At the far left of the Hunter-Dispatch area, Zero found the Spartans. They were a small Unit compared to the Night Vipers and Regal Dragons, but one could see that they packed a lot of power. The emblem for the Unit was laconic, just as the Spartans themselves had been. All the badge consisted of was two spears crossed over one another.
However, the members of the Spartans Unit did not need fancy badge art to look forbidding. The blood-red cloak that each fighter in the Unit wore did that job very nicely. The leader of the Unit stood proudly with his back to his Hunters, facing the open hatch before him. He seemed to be picturing the fight that would ensue with the passage of about ten minutes. The leader wore a crimson cape rather than a full cloak. Red had told Zero about this fellow earlier; Zero was almost certain that he was staring at the leader of the Spartans and the Hunters overall: Sigma.
Zero pushed forward through the sea of red cloaks to reach the proud Hunter.
"Hey, watch it! No shovin'!" One of the Spartans yelped as Zero passed by it. Zero turned towards the voice and caught a glimpse of a reploid penguin's eyes and beak drowning in the shadows of its cloak.
"Watch the tail!" a green reploid chameleon hissed at Zero.
"Watch your step," warned a massive reploid Mandrill whose red cloak was oversized to fit his massive bulk.
"Hey hey hey, what's goin' on?" a reploid eagle demanded as Zero stumbled into him. There were two large humps beneath the eagle's cloak. Zero guessed that, if the bird of prey were to remove his cover, the humps would turn out to be massive wings.
"You know, there IS such a word as 'excuse me', a reploid mammoth huffed as Zero pushed by him.
Finally, Zero reached Sigma. The bald reploid did not turn around.
"Good day, sir." Zero panted. He had exerted a lot of strength by the time he reached the leader. "My name's Zero, and I just wanted to--"
Sigma suddenly whipped around and bellowed, "HUNTERS! The time has come. Night Vipers...DISPATCH!"
Paul motioned to his fellows, and the Night Vipers trooped out the huge door and into the open air in even lines.
Once they were gone, Sigma fired up again. "Regal Dragons...DISPATCH!"
Red Draco bellowed and her Hunters gave an answering cheer. Rather than dispatching neatly like the Night Vipers had done, the Regal Dragons simply surged out of the room in a tangled mess. Sigma shook his head as he watched them go. He turned to the Spartans behind him. "And lastly...is us. Chill, Sting, Spark, Flame, and Storm. Let's go!"
The Spartans all nodded in unison and followed Sigma into the outside world. The noise of the troops rapidly receded into the distance, leaving Zero very much alone in the now silent Hunter-Dispatch area.
"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Siggy." Zero muttered.
"Ohhh, I know it's hard when you're fat and alone...no one's there to see you. And on your birthday, no one calls you on the phone...'cept for your mother and she says, "Ha-ha-happy birthday, Pumpkin! I won't talk for long, 'cause I know you've probably got someone in your bed..."
Zero, under a burden of medical supplies, let his song wail through the almost - empty infirmary. The shrill words wafted around the room, bouncing back at him in a hollow but pleasing echo. A disgruntled, bedridden human next to Zero winced as the desolate sound tore at his eardrums.
"Zero...tone it down a bit, will you? The Mavericks tortured me enough when they captured me."
In response to this plea from the injured Hunter, Zero cranked up his voice a few notches and sang a verse to another one of the songs in his infamous cache:
"Some TIMES these WOMEN are so EASY....SOMETIMES these women are sooo COLD! SomeTIMES these woMEN seem to RIP YOU RIGHT IN TWO..."
"That's enough, Zero," Genesis drawled from across the room. "bring me those supplies now. And watch your step. The floor may be slippery. I just had it --"
A muffled 'clank' of dense metal hitting concrete accompanied by the tinkling crash of medical glassware shattering cut Genesis off in mid - sentence.
" -- waxed." The reploid fox finished lamely.
Zero cursed as he pulled himself up from the sea of glass shards that lay scattered around him. "Sorry Gen. I'm not really much of a help to the Medical Unit, am I?"
"You've really improved over the past couple of weeks, Zero." Genesis smiled as he crossed his fingers behind his back. "And you'll continue to improve."
Zero fetched a broom to clean up the spilled glass. "I guess I'd better improve! I've botched up pretty badly lately. Man, remember the time I gave that human Hunter the wrong antibiotics, and he went into spasms? Hehe! Boy, that was golden!" Zero laughed hysterically at the memory.
Genesis' grin did not fade as he pat Zero on the shoulder. "Okay, buddy...here's a job that's nearly impossible to screw up. We need some ice up here. Our daily shipment is late. Would you go down to the cafeteria and fetch some?"
"Ice?" Zero echoed.
"Yes. Ice. Do you need a recipie?"
"Hardly!"
"On your way, then."
On his way down to the cafeteria, Zero noticed that the hallways of MHHQ were almost deserted. Another large hunt involving all three Units was underway at the time. Bitter jealousy poured acid into Zero's heart, and not for the first time.
The Crimson Wonder made his way down to the mess hall. The large door leading to the area swung open without complaint. The warm smell of food cooking in the back kitchen greeted him. The cafeteria itself was a mammoth room which occupied rows and rows of tables standing at attention. The room's huge size was necessary: at meal times, the area had to seat every human Hunter, as well as the refugees in the camp.
Yet, few were inside the cafe at this hour. Besides himself, Zero spied two reploids who were shaking and abusing a candy machine, obviously in an attempt to get some free treats. Across from them, two maintenance reploids were busy trying to put up a shelf on the south wall. Zero recognized them right away. They were A.G. and Hack. Neither of them were very bright, but they were nice fellows. Finally, a lone, blue - armoured reploid was anchored at a table, reading some sort of book. Half the reploid's face was sunk into one hand, and his green eyes were partway closed. He looked sleepy.
"Hey there Astro Boy," Zero remarked casually as he breezed by.
The azure reploid snapped to attention and his head perked up. " 'scuse me?"
"Oh, nothing."
The blue reploid cut his eyes at Zero. "You DID say something."
"I dinna say anythin'!" Zero grinned, turning around. He had found a new victim to torment, and it pleased him greatly.
The reploid snorted disdainfully and said, "Well, just so you know, my name's X."
"X?" Zero tasted the name, letting the single - constanant roll around in his mouth. He liked the sound if it.
"Yes. X."
"As in X - Ray?"
"No..."
"As in X - Men?"
"No!"
"As in X - Rated?"
"NO!!!"
"As in --"
"AS IN MEGA MAN X, YOU IDJIT!!"
A bright red thread of alarm cut through Zero as he heard the name that was tacked on to the 'X'. 'Mega Man'...was this the same Mega Man who had killed Wily, his father, all those years back? Zero cleared his throat.
"Er...uh...Mega Man...I've heard that name around before. Wasn't there a famous robot from the past named Mega Man? Are you him?"
X shrugged helplessly. "To be honest, I don't know much about my past. I haven't much of a clue who I am."
Zero snapped his fingers. "NOW I know where I remember your name from! You're X, the first reploid ever created, right? The loser who knows nothing about his past! Am I right?"
X's mouth was drawn in a tight line, but he managed a short "Yes."
The hatred and alarm that had stirred in Zero's mind subsided and went back to its slumber. This obviously wasn't the same Mega Man he knew and hated. The original Mega Man had been smaller, and had been a robot, not a reploid...
X continued to stare at Zero with his head cocked to one side, as if he expected another quip to fire from the Scarlet One. Zero gulped nervously, searching for nasty words. He bought time by watching A.G. and Hack put up the shelf they were struggling with.
"Okay A.G...hold the other end of that shelf up. I've gotta put the nail in this side." Hack called to his friend at the other end of the structure.
"Okay, Hack!" The other reploid returned cheerfully.
Hack nodded. He held his end of the shelf against the wall and began tapping a nail into it.
"My arms are gettin' tired," A.G. complained after a minute went by.
"Well, keep on holding your end up! If you let go before I get this nail in, the whole shelf will fall!" The tapping of Hack's hammer ensued.
"Okay, I'll try to hold on..."
* tap tap tap *
"My arms are about to fall off!! Hurry up!"
* tap tap tap *
"I can't HOLD this thing any longer! I'm dropping my end, Hack!"
"NO!"
* BLAM *!
"SHIT!!"
"I'm sorry, Hack..." A.G. gulped apologetically, rubbing his sore arms.
"YOU'RE sorry?!" Hack exploded.
Zero couldn't help but grin at the scenario. As it ended, Zero thought of something to say to his new 'friend'.
"So X...how come you're not out a - huntin' like everyone else right now?"
"I'm not a Hunter." X returned in a flat tone.
Zero nodded in understanding. "I know how you feel. I wanted to be a Hunter SO badly, but nooo, they stuck me in the Medical Unit! I am SO ticked off about that --"
X shook his head. "No, you misunderstood me. I'm not part of the Hunters. I won't have anything to do with them."
"Wha --"
"I don't believe in violence."
"Uh?"
"You heard me."
Zero gaped in disbelief. "But violence is FUN!"
"Violence is terrible. Reploids and humans mangling each other...it's insane."
Zero snickered. "Aw man, who programmed you? Raffi? Or was it Barney the Dinosaur? Perhaps Big Bird or Mr. Snuffleupagus threw in a few source codes of theirs. No, I've got it! Your creator was Dudley the Dragon!! I just solved the great mystery of your past for you, X my boy! You owe me a beer."
X slammed his book closed and scraped his chair back as he stood up and drew himself up to full height. He tried to look Zero straight in the eye, but he was a few hands shorter than the crimson reploid, so he appeared a bit less threatening than he would have liked to look.
"I don't know you," X hissed, his tone low and dripping with venom, "but I REALLY don't like you."
"Aw, poor baby." Zero snorted sarcastically. "Life just bites with a capital 'B', don't it? Everyone around you is fighting for a cause they believe in, and you just wanna go home to mommy. Boo hoo."
"And I'M just standing up for what I believe in!" X retorted faithfully.
"I recommend that you don't whine like that, X." Zero warned.
"And why's that?"
"Because it makes my fist twitch like THIS." With that, Zero drew back his fist and buried it in X's face. X staggered backwards in shock and collapsed weakly into his chair again. It appeared that Zero's punch had rattled a few of X's teeth.
"Aw, damn! There it goes again. See what I mean?" Zero chuckled as he cracked his bloodied knuckles. His grin was poison.
X stood up, dazed. He shook his head once to clear it and stop the bells from chiming in his ears. Then, narrowing his eyes, he threw a fluttering and rather sad punch that missed Zero by a country mile."
"Hehe! You swing like a girl, X!" Zero taunted.
X did not answer, but his glazed eyes fell on a bowl of fruit on a table nearby. He seized a bright red apple that was throned at the top of the fruity pile. He brandished it, liking the feel of the weight in his hand...
"See what happens when you don't believe in fighting and violence?" Zero's voice touched X's ears and burned them. "You end up all soft and sugary like a box of old Lucky Charms." Zero paused and beckoned towards X, backing up against the wall. "Yeah, that's what you remind me of, X! That little elf who's always trying to hide his cereal from those kids. Well, come here, Lucky! I've got your cereal! Try to come and get 'em from me! I'VE GOT YOUR LUCKY - FRICKIN' - CHARMS RIGHT HERE!"
"SHUT UP, EWOK!" X screamed as he hurled his apple in Zero's direction. Zero ducked the projectile as lithe and liquid as a cat. The fruit made contact with the wall behind the scarlet reploid and decorated it with its spattered pulp.
"Oh man! You throw like my grandma, X!"
A screech of utter rage escaped X as he threw himself on Zero, flailing his fists wildly. Zero's grin of malice held strong as he confronted his attacker and attempted to pin his wheeling arms. Punches, kicks and curses were exchanged.
"You KILLED that nice apple, X!" Zero puffed as he and the rage - swathed X both stepped backwards for a breather. "So much for your vow of non - violence! I bet that apple had a wife and kids. I bet all the little apples are crying for their dad right now, and they'll never SEE him again because you just HAD to splatter his brains all over this wall!" Zero jerked his thumb behind him. "You murderer! I hope you burn in hell! I hope that you're tormented by the apple - demons until the end of time! I hope --"
Zero was cut off as X shot towards him again like a blue bullet. The fight began anew. However, Zero only got a few good kicks before he felt strong hands prying him away from his target.
"Take it easy!" The voice behind Zero demanded. It was Hack. Zero could see that A.G. was restraining a wildly struggling X, who appeared to be foaming at the mouth. His eyes burned a baleful red.
"I'll KILL him! I'LL KILL HIM!" X screamed over and over, lunging in Zero's direction and cursing at A.G.'s strong hold. Luckily, A.G. gave X no slack. Zero had aroused the killer instinct in a once - peaceful reploid. You can bet he felt extremely proud.
"I think Cain himself is gonna hafta handle this one," Hack declared, nodding his head in X's direction. "Bring Zero with. Cain'll have a talk with 'em."
A sharp - edged wind scurried aimlessly about the dank street, mercilessly forcing dry leaves and discarded papers along in its wake. It seized Sigma's blood red cloak with icy hands and spitefully made it snap sharply. Sigma sighed.
"Hunters, fall in. Let's see how badly we screwed up THIS time."
As if on cue, hoards of pain - racked figures stumbled towards their stern leader. A draconian form was amoung these. Red. One of the very few unscathed. She sauntered over to Sigma and delivered him a tremendous smack on the back that was intended to be affectionate.
"Hey, Siggy! Hooo man!" She laughed crazily. "You wanna see screw ups? Just look around you!"
To underscore her point, Red scanned a gleaming claw over the pack of Hunters before her. Ninety percent of them appeared to be in some stage of hurt.
"And that's not even the tip of the iceberg!" Red giggled, which improved Sigma's mood none. "Lookit over there."
Sigma turned towards where Red motioned. He blanched slightly at the sight he was met with.
"Oy vay." The Spartan sighed. "We've had ourselves QUITE the time."
Sigma was looking directly at Paul Wells. The Night Viper was being supported by two fellow unit members. The young leader appeared dazed and was bleeding out of one ear.
Sigma did not allow any concern seep into his voice. "Will he be all right?"
Red shrugged her leathery wings. "Sure, and I don't know. Just a very nasty crack upside the head. He'll be fine with some rest, which is a bit more than I can say for the rest of us. Skysheen and I are all right, but do you have any idea how many of our Regal Dragons we lost in today's hunt? Sky's going nuts tending to 'em. Paul also lost some good fighters in his unit, too." Red lowered her guttural voice. "Lately, the Mavericks have seemed to dramatically increase in number, skill, and organization. It used to be so easy to take 'em down and reclaim territory, but now we're fighting for our lives every time we hunt. This ain't no good, Siggy!"
"Tell me about it. And next time you call me 'Siggy', I'll personally rip your arm out of its socket and beat you over the head with it."
Sigma was lecturing empty air, however. Red had taken off as noisily as a night shadow.
Red fanned her wings out to full length, allowing them to drink the cold, dark air currents that suspend her lithe form in the chilly air. She soared over building rooftops which no human eye could ever detect in the ebony darkness, but she could see perfectly well with her gift of nightvision. The reptilian huntress' speed did not falter: Red had a certain destination in mind.
"Almost there!" she sang out to herself as her greenish filtered eyes roved the familiar rooftops that guided her towards her goal. "Tra la la. I love life. Whoops, here we are...!"
Red dropped herself onto the rooftop of a nondescript triplex as silently as a feather. Expertly, she peeked over the edge of the roof without being seen. As she did so, a wild hope flared up within her like the persistent flame on a newly lit candle. She had found what she was looking for!
Crammed in a fairly small alley below her were several of the Mavericks the Hunters had taken out just moments ago. Although the Hunters had suffered quite a few losses on their side, the Mavericks themselves didn't exactly escape rent - free. They, too, had some severe damages. They had obviously gathered in the alley to - literally - pull themselves back together. Red's intention was to heard one of the crippled fighters off to the side for some 'questioning'.
And her chance came very soon. One of the Mavericks, a male werewolf - type reploid, made the mistake of limping out of the alley by his lonesome self. As soon as Red was satisfied that he was far enough from his comrades, she leapt on the wolf as silently as a cat, but with the breakneck force of a wild lightning bolt. The werewolf didn't even have time to yelp. Before he could grasp what was happening, the Maverick found himself lying dazed on his back with the sharp end of a lethal lance prodding ever so slightly on his exposed neck. However, due to his akward position, he could see little beyond the trim silver cylinder that held him in thrall.
"Hullo!" A cool yet familiar female voice chirped cheerfully from above him. "No noise, otherwise...heh...'poke poke'!" The tapered end of the lance dug into the wolf's neck just a tiny bit more with these last words. He was at a loss.
"Who are you?" The Maverick snarled weakly.
"Jo' momma. Oooo, that was good! Chalk one up for me." The unseen voice tittered. "Well, never you mind. I think the real question is...WHO are YOU? And before you decide to mouth off, remember who's at the business end of my happy little lance."
"All right. Fine. My name's Maugrim."
"Ooh. Scary name." the voice commented sarcastically with a snort. "I have a few questions to ask ye, if you don't mind."
"You're a Hunter, aren't you?" Maugrim bristled.
"Kinda! But just tell me what I want to know. Where are the Mavericks planning their next big attack?"
"Why should I tell YOU?"
"Well, just because the necks of Mavericks make the cutest little 'squish' noise when they're skewered with sharp objects..." the voice commented casually as the poised lance nudged Maugrim's neck almost playfully.
"All RIGHT." Maugrim hissed, summoning every ounce of his will to keep his voice devoid of the nervousness that squeezed his heart. "Our next attack is at Torrisham Crossings in two days."
"My. That's quite a big attack. That neighbourhood is densely populated."
A grin crossed Maugrim's jet black snout. "That's right. It's a big area, and the Mavericks want it for their own territory. So, Hunter, go ahead and try to evacuate the humans that live there. We don't care one way or another. But be warned: any human that remains in the neighbourhood after we storm it gets killed. No questions asked."
"How friendly, not to mention neighbourly. Thanks to this little talk we had, I'm afraid you won't get the satisfaction of offing any humans during your invasion. I'll be going now. Thank you kindly for your cooperation." The looming point of the lance receeded.
Maugrim squirmed and pulled himself into a sitting position. "Wait a sec. Let me get a look at you."
Smiling sweetly, Red dropped down to one knee so that she was eye level with Maugrim.
Maugrim flew into a rage. "NOW I know you! You're the leader of the Regal Dragons! I just saw you tonight during the fight!...Red...Red...somethin' or other..."
"Red Draco, reploid 72081 of the Mechadrake breed. It's glad to know ya!" As she uttered this greeting, Red swung the sleek handle of her lance and whacked Maugrim upside the head.
Maugrim yelped shamelessly as he clutched his sore skull and attempted to stagger to his feet and retaliate. But Red had already disappeared with a whirr of crimson wings.
Maugrim's ears rang insanely. His blood pounded in his head like a sledgehammer.
"I know you can still hear me, Hunter!" he roared, temporarily drowning out the high - pitched singing in his head. "Sure, go ahead and run! Badmouth the Mavericks' skills all you please. But very soon, you and the humans will have good reason to fear us. Why, you ask? Torrent Leviathan. That's all I need to say!"
Seething, Maugrim stormed back to rejoin his injured cohorts.
"Hmmm....interesting." Zero mused as he stared at the office ceiling above him.
X, seated in a chair next to Zero, threw a poisonous glance at his new nemesis. "What?"
"Cain's ceiling. Weird structure." Zero pointed up towards the thick wooden planks that had slowly aged until they were the colour of old honey. "See, between each plank there's a crack. Watch this." Zero snatched a handful of rubber bands off of Cain's perfectly organized desk and, after propping his boots up on the desk as if he were lounging at home rather than being in the office of the respected head of MHHQ, he began to shoot the elastic bands at the ceiling, attempting to jam a few in the cracks. This outlandish behaviour nearly threw X into spasms.
"What're you doing?" he hissed ferociously. "Don't you know where you ARE? Cain might walk in at any second."
"I don't see old man Cain anywhere," Zero drawled, flicking yet another elastic band, "but when he comes in, I'll be sure to tell him that his office ceiling is as weird as hell. Hey cool, I got one of the elastics jammed! I'm so talented."
"Stop that!" X snarled.
"Okay, FINE," Zero sighed and began to fire the elastic bands at X instead. It was at that precise moment that Cain happened to walk into the room. He shook his head as he observed the two badly scratched - up reploids before him. One he recognized as X, of course, but he had no idea who the crimson reploid that was pelting X with elastic bands was...
"Oh, I can't wait to hear THIS one explained," Cain sighed as he hobbled over to the chair behind his desk and wearily seated himself in it. He fixed the long - haired reploid before him with a glare. "If you'll just give me back those elastic bands, please....thank you. Now, I don't believe we've ever been formally introduced. Would you mind telling me your name, please?"
"Zero," Zero said politely as he extended a hand. "I work with the Medical Unit. It's nice to meet you."
A smile tugged at Cain's beard. "My, such nice manners. I'm Dr. Cain, head of MHHQ."
"I know, sir." Zero said with proper awe. "I've heard all about you, but up until now, I'd never had the honour of meeting you."
"'Zero'." X echoed, his voice saturated with contempt. "So THAT'S the wishy - washy bastard's name."
Cain frowned at X disapprovingly. "Really, X! Please watch your mouth. Anyway, you two, A.G. and Hack have told me that there has been some...friction between you two. Obviously, we need to discuss things. X, why don't you tell me what happened?"
X pointed an accusing finger at Zero. "I was just minding my own business when 'Ponyboy' here starts up with me for no reason at all!"
"Uh...yes." Cain cleared his throat. "Zero? Why don't you tell me your side?"
"X is a murderer, sir." Zero explained gravely. "No legume is safe around him. I was quite shocked and appalled by his needless display of violence towards veggies and fruits."
Cain blinked. "X? Violence? These two words just don't seem to go together. I'm quite surprised that he even fought you."
"HE WAS BUGGING THE LIVING HELL OUT OF ME! 'BRAVEHEART' STARTED IT! I JUST HIT BACK!" X shrieked defensively.
Zero pretended to look shocked at X's outburst, but deep down inside, he was laughing hysterically. He hadn't had this much fun since Bass pushed Slash Man down the stairs of Skull Castle all those years back.
Cain motioned for X calm down. "Cool it, X. I've never seen you this angry."
A hollow metallic sound rang through the office's tense air as X brought a fist down on Cain's desk, causing an empty coffee mug to actually jump. "I'm just WARMING UP! When I get my hands on..."
"That's ENOUGH!" Cain boomed so loudly that X was actually startled enough to stop his ranting. "Listen, X! It's hard enough to try keeping the reploids and humans from bickering with each other in this building. I DON'T need hassles with reploids fighting amoungst themselves. Do I make myself clear?"
"Uh...yes, sir."
"Good. X, I don't know what you're so worked up about. Zero seems to be a polite reploid with fine manners. I'm afraid I find it impossible to believe he would start any trouble."
X made a small noise that was something between a laugh and a scream.
"In fact," Cain continued, "I'd like you to stick with him for the day. Get to know him better. It would be nice if you picked up some of his good habits."
This time, X really DID scream.
"Thank you, sir." Zero said sincerely to Cain. "By doing this for X, I believe that you seized the wheel on his slow boat to complete insanity. I'll look after him."
Cain's eyes suddenly flicked towards X, who had silently moved behind Zero. "X, put down that hammer," Cain commanded sternly. "no blood on the new carpet."
"Oh man. I can't believe the way you lied in there. I just CAN'T." X pouted. "The things you said about me...and then Cain sticks me with YOU...it's just not FAIR!"
"Poor X. It just isn't your day." Zero remarked as he continued down the hall towards the Medical Unit. "I'll tell you this much, friend. Stay near me and behave yourself or I'll tell Cain that you were acting up. And then, my word! you'll catch it."
Zero's wrist commlink bleeped impatiently. Sighing, he switched it on. "Yeah, what now?"
"Zero? March your ass back to the Medical Unit this instant. And I mean NOW." Genesis' static drowned voice insisted.
"What's the rush?" Zero asked cautiously. "Are you gonna get me to wash syringes again...? Because, by the Almighty Tuesday, I HATE doing that..."
"No, Zero. This is much more important. Put it this way: the Hunters came back, and not too many of 'em are in one piece."
"Oh. Happy happy joy joy. Well, I'm on my way. And I'm bringing a friend!"
"Great," Genesis snapped. "a friend. I'll go bake some bleedin' cookies and pour the frackin' milk. If you're not here in three minutes, I'll shoot your dog...if ya got one, that is." With that, Genesis cut the line.
"He thinks he's so damn big." Zero grunted as he shut off his commlink. "Well, come on X. Medical Unit, ho!"
"Holy bloodbath, Batman!" Zero remarked, awed. Things were always a bit bloody when the Hunters returned from a mission, but he hadn't quite been prepared for gruesome sight that hit him in the face when he entered the infirmary. Hunters everywhere. Bashed, dented, broken, gashed...name any injury, and it was on at least one of the Hunters. Screams and cries of pain riddled the area. The little help that Genesis possessed in the Unit ran themselves almost to death, trying to tend to those who needed it. Beside Zero, X's face had drained of all colour. He looked ready to fall over at any minute. Zero, however, was not sickened at all. Quite the opposite. Never had he been met with such gore. The coppery smell of the wounded's blood filled his head and sang sweetly...it was a great feeling...
"Hey! Candy Cane! Over here, sugar!" A voice beckoned from the crowd. Zero snapped out of his trance in shock. What had just happened? Was that feeling triggered by the sight and smell of all that blood...?
"Hey, honeybunny...what's the matter?" That same voice inquired, now next to Zero. It was Red, of course. "I called out to you, and you looked sort of spaced out. You also had this kooky look on your face, like you were...uh...REALLY enjoying something."
Zero shook his head to clear it. "I'm fine." He mumbled. "Are you all right? It seems as if half your Unit is severely injured."
Red beamed with pride. "I'm jes' fine! Aren't you glad?"
"Er...yes." Zero smiled weakly and braced himself for Red to pounce on him and hug him to pieces. Surprisingly, it never happened. Rather, Red nodded towards X. "Howdy X. Nice to see you again."
X bobbed his head in acknowlagement. He was still too queasy to speak.
Red yawned (exposing rows of steel hard teeth), and leaned on her lance, facing Zero. "Got some news for you, pudding. The Mavericks are planning to attack Torrisham Crossings next. They wanna claim it for their own."
"Really?"
"Uh huh. Remember how I told you about that human Hunter, Jake, earlier? I think he lived there. But that's beside the point. The humans need to be evacuated..."
Zero thought that Red was hinting that his help was needed in the Hunter units after all. Wild hope flared in him. "So, you want me to evacuate the humans?"
Red shook her head. "Nup, Cain already assigned A.G. and Hack to evacuate 'em and bring them here."
Zero's jaw nearly hit the floor. "THOSE morons!? They'll probably lead the humans off of a cliff or something. Hell, they couldn't even put up a SHELF earlier."
Red giggled. "Well, that's all Cain could spare, really. Most of the Hunters are out with injuries. Even Paul."
"Paul!?" Zero said in alarm. "Is he all right?"
"I think so..."
Zero's voice started to rise. "Are you sure...?"
"Sure, he's just fine." Red said, surprised. "Why are you so worried 'bout him?"
"I...don't know." Zero was forced to admit. And, truthfully, he DIDN'T know why he was so worried about the Night Vipers' leader. When Red had mentioned that Paul had been harmed, some deep down protective instinct had fired up.
Red cocked her head at Zero. "Anyway, A.G. and Hack leave tonight to preform the evacuation."
"That's it." Zero said flatly. "If A.G. and Hack is the best Cain can do for a rescue mission, then I really belong with the Hunters. I'm tired of Mickey Mousing around. I'm sneaking after those two in case they need back up, which I'm SURE they will."
"Sounds like a plan!" Red smiled.
"Uh? You're coming with me?"
"Of course! Can't let my big boy hog all the glory and fun! Don't worry, Skysheen will stay with Genesis and help out the injured here. I think Genesis will be too busy to notice you've slipped away."
"Heh! Yeah, I'm not much help anyway."
X spoke up for the first time since Zero had entered the infirmary. "I can't believe what you two are plotting! You're forsaking your assigned duties to sneak out on a mission you weren't assigned to. I'm going to report to Cain."
Zero threw his arm around X's shoulders. "Nah, you won't be doing that. Cuz if you do, YOU'LL be reporting to THIS." Zero ignited his lightsabre and waved the pulsing, lime coloured blade right under X's nose. "Clear? You're coming with us."
X gulped an affirmative.
"Okay then, Red." Zero smiled. "I'm ready to go. I even have a few...supplies on me in case any humans are injured during the evacuation. I'm sooo practical!"
Red laughed and grabbed Zero's hand. "That you are, honeycake! Come on Barbie, let's go party!"
"I wish...I wish...I WISH I brought my cigarettes with me," Celeste pined uselessly, "I could use one RIGHT now."
"You're hopeless when it comes to those things, you know that?" Josh remarked in a disgusted tone that would have set Celeste off in a fit of retorting under normal circumstances. "But," Celeste thought as she timidly glanced at the towering, muttering masses of nervous people around her, "these are hardly normal circumstances."
Tess skipped up beside her friends, undaunted by the uncanny stillness of the night. No fear penetrated her beaming face.
"This is sooo cool," she cried excitedly, jumping up and down, "all of Torrisham Crossings will be evacuated in a few minutes! The whole neighbourhood's here!" Tess gestured at the crowd surrounding the trio before she punched Celeste in the shoulder. "Isn't this fun? We're having an adventure!"
"Right. And I'm having a bloody nervous breakdown. I can't believe Mavericks are going to be storming this area." A hellish trick of illusions was acting out Celeste's worst nightmare before her eyes: to die the same brutal death her father had at the hands of some bloodthirsty reploid.
Josh cleared his throat. "Uhmm...has anyone seen any of our parents? I mean, I think we lost 'em all in this huge crowd."
"Aw man, that bites. Last I remember, my mom was right beside me as we walked to the meeting place...that is, to say, the park that we're standing in." Tess remarked with a tremendous yawn. "Herded me out of bed...damn, it's late and I'm bloody tired."
Alarmed, Celeste was about to break away from her friends to search for her mother and brother, when a commanding voice froze her in her tracks.
"Okay people, settle...quiet, now...please be quiet....uh...WOULD EVERYONE SHUT THEIR FRIGGIN' MOUTHS FOR A WEE SECOND?!"
Startled, the evacuees fell silent with no delay.
"Thank you." The burly voice belonged to a stocky reploid clad in blue armour with silver trimmings. "My name is A.G. The fellow beside me is Hack. In case you're wondering, yes Mavericks have threatened to destroy your neighbourhood in a matter of days, and yes, you're all going to die horrible, bloody, painful deaths if you stay here. Doesn't that make you all feel warm and cozy inside? Now, here's the good news: A.G. and I have been assigned to lead you to safety. MHHQ, to be exact. So, everyone stay calm...stay together...stay in sight of Hack and I...and let's be on our way."
With those words, the tide of now homeless people slowly surged forward after their guides, leaving their lives behind, riding on the faint hope that someday, things would be back to normal. Fat chance.
Now Celeste was hopelessly lost in the slow moving sludge of nervous evacuees. Josh and Tess were nowhere to be seen, but Celeste had no choice but to go with the flow, so to speak.
Seconds dripped into minutes, and minutes seemed to drag on into hours. With all those strangers huddled around her, blocking out the sky ("Damn, I HATE being short!"), time lost all meaning. However, after an infinite span of time that consisted of nothing but keeping up an unwavering trot, Celeste dully noticed that the evacuees around her seemed to be marching slower and slower, then finally grinding to a complete stop.
"What's goin' on?" She muttered sleepily to herself, her lack of slumber beginning to take its toll. Of course, most of the humans were far too tied up in their own affairs and worries to pay much mind to her. However, Celeste DID snag a few threads of conversation that was running through the restless crowd...something about 'lost', and 'Maverick occupied territory'. Even in her muddled state, Celeste could piece together some of what was happening. As she did, a fearful emotion sent a shudder down her spine.
The refugees had been led into Maverick occupied territory.
Panicked, Celeste managed to claw her way up near the front of the tide, where she spied the two 'guides', A.G. and Hack, holding a feverish conference between themselves.
"I TOLD you we took a wrong turn!" Celeste could hear A.G. hiss ferociously.
Hack looked downcast. "I guess I made a small mistake."
"SMALL!? Hack, this territory is occupied by Mavericks. If a batch of them just happen to see us here with a large group of humans, what do you think they'd do? Invite us for tea and chit chat? I REALLY don't think so. And why are we just standing here, arguing? Let's get the hell out of here! Get the herd moving again."
Hack obediently cleared his throat. "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls..."
"...and werewolves of all ages!" A raspy voice suddenly sang from the cloaking shadows.
Every single refugee jumped simultaneously.
"Heee! That was funny," came an invisible, insane giggle that was just to the left of the last hail. "all of you jumping at once like that. Do it again!"
"Tea and chit chat?" Another rough voice hurled from the darkness. "Sounds smashing! I say, how about that local sports team? Do they suck or what?"
"I thought I detected the stench of humans coming from this direction," came a low growl/purr, "and it seems that I wasn't mistaken after all. How does one greet a multitude of guests...? I guess we can start with introductions."
With those last words, an aqua green reploid werewolf drew itself out of the dancing alley shadows that circled the terror - stricken humans like vicious, shapeless beasts. "I'm J.T."
A beige werewolf was the next to emerge from behind the refugees. "Howdy. Duskclaw here."
An ebony werewolf seemed to appear out of nowhere in front of the refugees. A towering nightmare of razor claws and teeth whose forbidding bulk struck every human dumb with fear. "Maugrim at your service."
Finally, a slightly less formidable, dark blue reploid werewolf revealed itself. "And I'm Sabre, yup, that's right. You'll notice that we have you surrounded, so it's in all your best interests to stay calm and tell us why two Hunters are doing something as stupid as leading a pack of humans through Maverick occupied territory."
A.G and Hack, being the brilliant rocket scientists that they were, raised their arm cannons and aimed them at Sabre. Chuckling, the lupine reploid simply bounded into the air and brought his bulk crashing down on poor, solid Hack, who was promptly torn up by merciless metal claws. Before A.G. could even react, his fate was sealed by Duskclaw's slashing teeth.
Of course, viewing this slaughter did little to boost the humans' morale and keep them calm. Panic rang through the crowd like a raging virus, and Celeste, caught in her worst nightmare, was nearly trampled. Her mind screamed at her to do something...anything! Propelled by a deadly mixture of fear and rage, she threw herself at Sabre and bombarded the werewolf with a hail of punches, not stopping until at last fatigue forced her to fall back, panting. She finally allowed herself to look up at the face of her victim to see what damage she had caused with her attack. To her horror, Sabre was staring right back down at her, amusement twisted on his lupine face.
"Are you QUITE finished?" The Maverick rumbled.
Speechless, Celeste could do nothing but stare right back, silently.
In one fluid movement, like a hen picking up a worm, Celeste was scooped up into one of the wolf's brawny arms. Crying out, Celeste pumped her legs uselessly. Sabre laughed in response to his prisoner's struggles.
"A human female. I'm sure we could find LOTS of uses for one of these....OW!"
Yelping, Sabre released his clutch on Celeste to nurse the arm that she had just sunk her teeth into. Celeste landed on the ground with a jarring crash. Before she could make her escape by slipping into the panic-stirred crowd, she heard a dull explosion prior to feeling a red line of pain sear through her left arm. Celeste screamed, more from shock than pain. She could hear Sabre's demonic chuckle muffled by her own cries, and she knew exactly what had happened. Sabre had shot her in the arm. The warmth flowing down her wounded arm accompanied by the coppery smell of blood confirmed this.
A strange brew of confusion, shock and rage reigned in Celeste's mind. A ferocious adrenaline surge gave her the false assumption that she had enough energy to get to her feet and run; but the amount of blood she had lost was the reality. Celeste was forced to collapse again. No one came to her aid. Behind her, Sabre was still giggling.
"Boy, you look pretty screwed up right now, my dear! I can't believe you tried to tackle me. Typical human thought process at work here. No matter...well, this is good night for you, then!"
It was the end all right, but not for Celeste, oddly enough. As soon as Sabre had finished gloating over his prey, he was reduced to a bountiful shower of debris by a single well aimed plasma shot.
"Here I come to save the daaaaay...!"
"YEAH! Woo hoo! ONE shot and he's down! I was meant for this stuff. I'm the KING! THE KING I TELL YOU! Red, tell me...WHO'S THE KING??"
"You of course, lambchop!" Red declared faithfully as she dropped to a perfect landing beside the exuberant Zero.
"Hey, lookit! The other wolves are running!"
In response to this, Zero tried to give chase, slicing through the cooling crowd like a knife through butter. He came to a stop beside where Celeste was curled up. In one smooth motion, he stooped down and grabbed of Sabre's shattered arms, which he chucked into the shadows after the other three rapidly darting wolves.
"Hey! Maugrim! YOU SUCK!" He spat.
"Isn't Maugrim a sweetie?" Red grinned, taking a spot next to Zero.
"I'll say. Hey, where did X go? I swear, I'm going to spike a metal bar through his head one of these days."
"Hmmm..." Red mused, "I think I saw him just a second ago. He's trying to calm down the crowd."
"Good. Keep him out of our hair. Whoops, what have we here...?" Zero cast his eyes down at the shaking, sobbing human a short distance away from him. He took a step closer and dropped down to the human's level.
"It's her arm." Red remarked from behind. "Take a look."
Zero did as Red suggested, and he was sorry he did. A slick river of blood cascaded down the girl's arm, visible even in the unreliable light. That 'feeling' tore through Zero's mind again, the unknown sweet crescendo of emotions that was sometimes triggered by the sight of blood.
Silently, Red watched Zero fight an interesting inner struggle. Although she was quite scatterbrained at times, Red was very far from stupid. Watching Zero's reaction to the blood, she decided that these emotions bore study, but now was not the time. She poked Zero with her lance to haul him out of his dreamworld.
Getting shot in the arm could sometimes do things that fuddle up your mind, Celeste found out. In any case, she was in quite a state. A red pain misted her eyes and clouded her judgment. When she noticed the equally red reploid crouched beside her, she automatically took a wild swing at him with her good arm, missing by about a mile or so. The reploid laughed a little, put a heavy hand on her hot forehead and gently told her to calm down. Celeste did more than calm down: she lost consciousness.
"Well, she's out of it." Red observed. "Probably for the best: with the way she was thrashing about, she was losing too much blood. Did you catch her name or anything?"
Zero shook his head. "Nup."
"She looks familiar." Red mused. "Well, no matter. We'll have to do something about her arm. I think Genesis can probably patch it up pretty good. Let's take her to him. I guess the rest of the folks will be coming with us to the refugee camps as well. Whee! A parade!" Red jumped up and down. "Ha ha, hee hee, clap my paws, squeal with glee. I'm so excited I could just barf. Let's mosey."
"Sigma! Sir! Wait up, please!"
Rolling his eyes, Sigma stopped on a dime and swerved 180 degrees to face Skysheen who was pounding down the empty hallway in an attempt to catch up to the Spartan. "What is it, Lord Th'ckpa'sskyleth?"
Skysheen halted and saluted. "Requesting permission to talk to you."
"Can you talk and walk at the same time?"
"Uh...I think so."
"Then you may accompany me as I walk back to my office." Sigma resumed his march with Sky in tow. "What can I do for you?"
"Have you been made aware of the brave deeds of that member of the Medical Unit, Zero?"
"The one who forsook his duties to carry out orders that he was not given? Indeed I have. I'm going to see that he gets what he deserves. Your sister, Lady Dra'conia'mat, was also reported to have been going against orders." There was an edge to Sigma's voice with these last words.
Skysheen blanched a bit. "Sir, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to ask you to pardon them for their disobedience. Zero and Red may have disobeyed, but they saved a lot of lives in the process. Those refugees would have been killed if they had not've shown up."
Sigma gave a neutral grunt. Skysheen wasn't sure if the leader was even listening to his pleas. Shakily, he drew a breath and prepared for the kill. "Sir...I'd like your permission to promote Zero to the Regal Dragons. Red told me that he's quite an awesome fighter, and we need as many of those as we can get at this point. I will take responsibility for any negative actions that may result from my desire."
Skysheen mentally braced himself for a bombardment of insults and nasty comments which were characteristic of Siggy. To his astonishment, they never came. Rather, Sigma merely checked his watch and mumbled, "Yeah, sure...do what you want...sounds good, party 'till you barf, that's what I always say. Zero can be promoted, and Lady Draco will be pardoned. Now if you'll excuse me..." Sigma turned the handle to his office door, stepped in...and stopped short in utter shock. Skysheen nearly crashed into his superior.
"What in GOD'S name...?" Sigma sputtered, scanning the room with disbelieving eyes. His office, normally reputed for its meticulously orderly state, was overrun with hordes of toddlers armed with blocks, books, and other assorted toys.
"What the hell is going on!?" He roared. "This is my OFFICE, not a bloody DAYCARE!"
A colourful block printed with a picture of an 'H' and a horse flew out of the crowd and smacked Sigma right between the eyes. Skysheen wisely surpressed a wild urge to laugh. Scattered giggles rose from the sea of children.
Skysheen cleared his throat. "Sir, allow me to explain. Because it's raining outside, some of the parents in the refugee camps were concerned that the shelters didn't provide enough protection against dank drafts. Ergo, some of them sent their children into Hunter HQ to prevent them from catching cold."
"That's insane! I couldn't care less if they caught ebola!"
Sigma
seethed, his words not exactly reflecting very well on his role as a
protector of humans. "Let them go play in the kitchen or the
bathrooms, or something!" Sigma turned to face the children before
him. "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY OFFICE, YOU EGG SUCKING, WEASEALLY
LITTLE BASTARDS!" He reached for a kid who promptly bit him, while
others clamped onto the Spartan's legs, begging for a story. In all
the ruckus, Skysheen wisely slipped away from the 'babysitter' to
announce the good news of Zero's promotion to him.
"She'll be fine. She's just going through post-anesthetic shock right now," Genesis announced to the anxious ring of Hunters around him as he tossed another warmed blanket onto the unconscious, trembling human in the bed before him. "during the surgery, we put some metal fragments into that arm of hers. She'll still have use of it, but it might be a very long time before full strength is restored." Genesis turned and frowned at the Hunters who still loomed over his shoulder like vultures. "That was a hint, my friends. You're invading my personal space. Get lost. She'll be fine. Pip?"
That last word summoned a small, spry blonde haired medic reploid to Genesis' side. "Yes sir, Mr. Genesis sir?"
"You mentioned that this girl's mother was outside of the recovery room? You can bring her in in about thirty minutes. For now, just update her on what's going on."
"Rightyo, Mr. Genesis sir!" Pip tottered off to carry out his orders.
"Red, Zero...you two can stay and keep an eye on this girl. I have a lot of work to do. Try to get her name and all that when she snaps out of the anesthetic. The rest of you are just taking up space by hanging around here. Go play out in traffic or something."
Zero felt a tug on his ponytail. Startled, he turned around and dropped his eyes to Pip, who had issued the physical summon. "Mr. Zero sir?" The small robot voiced.
"Yes Pip, what is it?"
"Lord Skysheen is outside...he wishes to talk to you. It's good news!"
"Okay then. Red, you stay with her."
"Sure thing, Sugarmuffinhoneybunny!!"
Slowly, Celeste ascended the dark staircase of unconsciousness. Sleepily, she blinked her eyes and tried to draw in her surroundings through her drugged mind. Not surprisingly, she was in a medical ward of some sort. What WAS surprising was the large, female reploid dragon sitting closeby with a comic book clutched in her claws, chuckling softly to herself at regular intervals. One sharp - finned ear twitched in Celeste's direction, and the dragon was suddenly smiling at her. "Hello, dear. How are you feeling?"
Celeste's mind was too sluggish to even bother searcing for an answer.
The dragon seemed to understand. "Here, I'll give you an easier question; can you tell me your name?"
Celeste accepted that. "Celeste," she drawled. Then, almost as an afterthought she added, "McTreggor."
The draco froze. "McTreggor?" She breathed. "Do you happen to be Jake McTreggor's daughter?"
Celeste only blinked listlessly. The dragon shrugged. "We'll talk about it when you're more up to it. I'm Red Draco, by the way. You just came out of surgery. You'll be fine. We managed to save your arm."
For the first time since awakening, Celeste remembered the arm that Sabre had nearly blown clear off. She found it in its usual spot, swathed tightly in adhesive bandages. The injured arm throbbed dully, but other than that, Celeste didn't really notice any pain. What she DID notice, however...
"Uh...Red...?"
"Yes?"
"Where did my clothes go...? Can I have them back?"
Red laughed. "Sorry 'bout that. You see, you go into surgery
with
nothing on. Something about sterilization and germs. But now that
you're out, I think we can fit you into something." Red snatched a
blue cotton robe from a hook beside her and helped Celeste into it.
"Watch your arm, dear...oh, and stop acting so embarrassed! We're all
girls!"
The next time Celeste snapped into life, she was much more aware of where she was and what was going on. She had obviously been moved from the recovery room at some point into a more comforting semi - private hospital room that didn't have such a stale air of urgency hanging in it. "It's much more...homelike," Celeste decided...until she noticed the crimson reploid sitting beside her.
The reploid was having a doze, his head cradled in his arms, which were laid on Celeste's bed. In the dim light, Celeste spied the reptilian escorts of the Regal Dragons Unit badge newly soldered on the reploid's shoulder. A gold ponytail of impressive length spilled out from behind his gilded helmet. He awoke with a start when he detected Celeste's movement. "Hey Celeste," he mumbled quietly with a sleepy smile. "Are you all right? Can I get you anything?"
"I think I'm fine."
"That's good. So, you tackled a Maverick, huh? I can see that you have the 'never give up and never think things out logically' spirit that your father had. You'd better be more careful."
Celeste paused. "You knew my dad?"
"No, but I heard about him. Jake, right? He was a Spartan."
"Yes. He went after Torrent Leviathan by himself, and I guess you could say he payed for it. I see where you're getting at."
Zero decided it would be best to change the subject. "I'm Zero, by the way."
Celeste wasn't really listening, but she was trembling slightly.
"Celeste, what's wrong?"
There were a lot of things wrong. Mostly, Celeste was lonely and scared. She had seen her mother a while back, but she had only been able to stay for a little while before she had been politely hearded out of the recovery room and back into the refugee camp. "Nothing...my arm just hurts," Celeste made excuse.
Zero was already up and preparing a syringe of something. "Well, I can fix that!" He returned and eased a small needle into Celeste's arm. "There you go. That should help. It'll also make you drowsy, so if you feel sleepy, don't fight it."
Celeste sank back into her pillow wearily. All at once, everything caught up with her, causing tears to sting her eyes. She gave up and began to sob. Zero regarded her with mild surprise. "There now," he soothed, pushing back Celeste's bangs from her eyes. "You're going to be fine. Just go to sleep."
Obediently, Celeste turned over, still shaking. Zero watched her until he was sure she had fallen asleep. Once he had confirmed it, he extracted a small pencil and notebook. It had been such a memorable day, Zero decided, that he wanted to record it. Start a journal, in fact. "Who knows," Zero pondered mentally, "someday in the future, someone might actually want to read this. Or use it for firestarter." Zero shrugged, and the pencil began to scratch onto the notebook paper, leaving a trail of words that recorded the day's events:
April 12 / 21XX
"Today marked an amazing turn of events for me. As a reward for saving those refugees, Skysheen made me a member of the Regal Dragons! Woo hoo! Now things'll get underway in earnest.
"I've been thinking a lot about how things have turned out. At first I thought that I wanted to rescue those refugees just for the sake of a fight, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that I actually WANTED to save them. Besides that, I also wanted to watch over Celeste. Yick, I hope I'm not growing respect for humans. That would go against my purpose in life.
"But anyway, to happier stuff! As soon as Skysheen made me a member of the Regal Dragons, he took me on a tour of the RD branch of MHHQ. Quite interesting. I was assigned a computer lab along with some other Unit members, where we were supposed to log in the number of Maverick kills we had made that week. Instead, we downloaded the 'Barbie Girl' song from the ancient 'Aqua' website, printed out the lyrics, and had a singalong before I came back down to keep and eye on Celeste. Am I a hard worker or what?"
Zero closed the journal and yawned. Prior to exiting the Medical Unit, he threw one last concerned glance at Celeste to make sure she was sleeping all right. With that confirmed, he went on his way.
Zero whistled cheerfully to himself as he tromped down the familiar
hallway leading to the Medical Unit. As he walked, he tossed his old
MU badge up and down carelessly like a kid with a new baseball. He
had torn the medallion right off as soon as he had gotten his fresh
Regal Dragons badge. Zero sauntered wordlessly into the stuffy room.
The stale, alcohol-tinged air reminded him of his old position, and,
frankly, he didn't want to recall it. Genesis was in the room, as
Zero had hoped. The reploid fox frowned at his old employee. Smiling
innocently at his grumpy boss, Zero threw down his tattered MU badge
on the table between them, gave Genesis the one - finger salute, and
waltzed out of the room, kicking his heels as he departed.
On the other side of MHHQ, Celeste wandered aimlessly down the hallways, so deep in thought that she hardly noticed the heavy weight of her bandaged arm in its sling. Her thoughts turned over painfully again and again, troubling her with every movement they made. Did she really want to go through with her plan? Did she want to be a Hunter...?
Eventually, quite by accident, she ran full force into Skysheen, nearly getting tangled in his leathery wings like an unwary fish in a net. The huge Mechadrake laughed and helped her out.
"Hey there Cel. Whatchya doin' all the way over here. You should be resting until that arm's fully healed."
Celeste shrugged. "Needed to get out and think." She hesitated. "Look, Skysheen...I need advice. Can you help me with something?"
"Uh, well, I guess. I'm no Ann Landers, though. Er, are you pregnant or something?"
"No!!"
"Good! Just making sure! What's on your mind?"
"It's about my future." Celeste said. "I was thinking of maybe finding a position somewhere with the Hunters, once my arm was healed." She looked up hopefully at the draco. "Is there any job open that I could fill?"
Skysheen mused. "Well, we're in need of a table dancer for the HQ's pub..."
"EXCUSE me?"
"Ha ha! I'm only kidding. I'm not very funny, am I? Well, we're always in need of good fighters. And if you're anything like your dad was, you'd be a very valuable addition. Of course, the question is DID you inherit anything from him, or is this whole 'heredity' thing amoung you humans a crock?"
Celeste was rendered somewhat speechless.
"Here's what I say." Skysheen continued. "When's that cast of yours coming off?"
"Genesis said about one more week."
"Good, good. How about this: as soon as you're up to it, I'll take you to the training room. We'll try you out, and you can see what it's all about, and we'll go from there. Does that sound kosher?
Celeste agreed that it was quite kosher.
That night, bored and restless, Zero made another journal entry:
May 16th , 21XX
I found out something interesting today. Cain often uses real, specially trained dogs to track down Mavericks. I thought that was pretty nifty. There's about 50 purebred malamutes in a kennel located near the refugee camps. His real prize is a female named Jessi. Cain assigned two maintenance reploids named Terrence and Phillip to tend to the dogs. If you ask me, that's as big a mistake as it was sending A.G. and Hack to rescue those humans. Well, it's not my lookout!
Little Pip wrung his hands nervously as his head snapped back and forth to take in the stressful problem before him. To his right stood Sigma, silent with a very dark expression hung on his face. Across from Siggy stood another Hunter, a human male. The human stared right back at Sigma, just as hard. His feet were steadfastly nailed to the ground and his arms were crossed over his brawny chest. Pip had been around humans long enough to know that they communicated an awful lot with body language, and as near as he could tell, there was a great chance of a nasty fight erupting between the Spartan and the human. The last thing Genesis would want, Pip knew, is for a brawl to blossom in the Medical Unit.
"Mr. Sigma sir," Pip's heard his voice crack. "please, whatever it comes to, don't fight here! In fact, don't fight at all."
Sigma whacked poor Pip upside the head for his pains. "I am NOT leaving," he announced boomingly following his assault, "until this human apologizes for his inconsiderate remark regarding my leadership skills."
The human's face split into a humourless grin. "Face it, Sigma. The Mavericks have become more and more powerful and you seem to be losing a lot of men lately."
Luckily for the human, Sigma did not have time to respond before Genesis appeared. Pip nearly collapsed like water and thanked his lucky stars that his boss had appeared at the right time.
Genesis looked as cranky as ever. "What seems to be the dilly - hoo - ha here?"
Sigma looked ready to kill. "This human has insulted my efforts, my morals, my values!" He half roared.
"Wowie Zowie, Batman." Genesis snorted disdainfully. "I think I just came. Pip, please direct Sigma, along with his values and morals, towards the door. And you," Genesis tossed his head towards the battle ready human, "will come with me."
Sigma's mouth unhinged with shock. "You can't speak to me like that, Genesis!"
"Oh, can't I?"
Pip diligently ushered Sigma towards the door as he had been ordered to do. Prior to exiting, he heard the human shout jeeringly: "Be seeing you, O great leader! Whether or not in one piece remains to be seen!"
"Your mother was a drunken trollop!" Sigma barely had time to spit out before Pip gave him a final push out the door.
Outside in the nearly empty hallway, Sigma was left alone to his slowly twisting thoughts. Sigma was deteriorating, and he knew it although he revealed nothing of this sort to the world. He constantly had his cold, stern mask on, no matter what mood he was in. But lately, he found that beneath his mask, he was twisting and warping like a bug infested piece of wood. Some kind of terrible hate towards something was transforming him. But WHAT the hatred was directed towards, the Spartan couldn't quite put a finger on at first. When he had first become aware of it, the black emotion had been deeply rooted, but it was still only a seedling. Over time, the dark plant had flourished inside him, and the more it bloomed, the clearer the image of what he hated came into view. Finally, a few weeks after the animosity had been conceived, his mind presented the mysterious object of his hatred as clear as a trumpet fanfare.
Sigma, leader of the Hunters, hated humans.
The argument in the Medical Unit had confirmed this warped assumption. He suddenly realized that humans were the rival species of reploids.
"Humans and reploids can't coexist on the same planet," Siggy thought haughtily as he strode down the hallway to his office, "and if I feel this way, surely other Hunters lean towards my argument, too. If I were to very slowly and carefully - and I mean carefully - bestow anti human propaganda on those reploids, they might just eventually turn from Hunter to Maverick. And, if at the right time, I were to emerge as their new leader..."
The raven thoughts beat in Sigma's head as he cracked a malicious smile. "The beginning of the end of the humans' reign upon earth," he thought, "and such a plan! As Iago would word it, 'Hell and night must bring this monstrous birth into the world's light.'"
Suddenly, Sigma's left leg started to drag a little, surfacing him
from his mental strutting. Puzzled, he looked down and saw a small
human child clinging to it. The child's eyes shone blue with
admiration for Sigma. Completely disgusted, Sigma kicked the kid off
and chased it down the hall for a bit.
"Whoops! Sorry, Celeste. I think I punched you a bit too hard there. I thought you would block it."
Collapsed on the Training Room floor, Celeste could feel her eyes bugging as she panted desperately for breath. "It's okay, Skysheen." She finally managed to rasp in a small voice. "I didn't need that left kidney anyway."
"Skysheen plays too rough!" Red sang from the rafters of the gargantuan gym that held a smattering of reploids and humans vigorously training within it.
Skysheen frowned at his sister. "Red, for the fifteenth time, get down from there, or I'm going to tell Cain that you've been goofing off the entire day."
"Oh gee, there's a threat that scares me." Red snorted playfully. "I hate to tell you this, Skysheen dear, but I've been 'goofing off' since we left Mechadrake Assemblies Inc. Besides, when I went to Cain earlier this morning to talk to him about some new Hunting strategies, he smelled of cheap scotch and started telling me scary stories about his ex wife."
Skysheen paid no attention to his sibling's prattling. He turned his attention back to Celeste. "Okay, Celeste, next step in our first training session. How good is your aim with a lightweight laser rifle? It's the weapon of choice amoung a lot of human Hunters."
"I don't know. I've never tried one." Celeste admitted meekly.
"Well, now's a good time to start." Skysheen presented an oily black pistol about a metre long from a holster on his hip, and handed it to Celeste. Celeste accepted the weapon with proper awe....and nearly let it clatter on the floor.
"Hold it up!" Skysheen hissed almost sharply.
"I can't lift it!"
"What do you mean?"
"My left arm just gives out under its weight," Celeste voiced, trying her best to stay calm.
"Oooooh Mother...." Skysheen breathed, suddenly remembering what
Genesis had said to him about Celeste probably never having full use
of her left arm again. "She's partially crippled."
Zero silently watched his friends from a secluded corner of the gym. They did not notice him; he was an expert at hiding in sparse patches of shadow. Zero forced his attention to focus on Skysheen's shabby method of training Celeste. He tried hard, very hard indeed, not to focus on Celeste herself. Time and time again he had to tear his gaze away from her gentle brown hair, her smile, her....
"Stop it," he thought viciously to himself, "I'm not in love. No, not with a human. Anything but a human...."
"Hi!"
Zero nearly jumped out of his skin. When he recovered, there was X smiling politely at him. "What do YOU want?" The Hunter seethed.
"I....just wanted to talk to you." X nervously seated himself beside Zero. "Uh, listen, I'll put this bluntly. I've been a prick to you. I only admitted it to myself recently that you have a lot of my respect. You're an excellent fighter, really, and I've started to realize that a little fighting HAS to be done to protect the humans. I've accepted it." X stuck out a shaky hand towards Zero. "Friends?"
A glimmer of warm light dawned in Zero and surfaced as a smile. Something told him that he had started on the road to a long lasting friendship. It would prove to be a very bumpy road at times, but it would always be a secure and steady one. "Sure. Friends."
The two lapsed into a comfortable silence. Zero started to watch Celeste's training again.
"You love her, don't you?" X then asked out of the clear blue.
Shock and fear lanced through Zero. "What? Who? What do you mean?" He asked too sharply.
"Celeste. You love her."
"What...what gives you that idea?" Zero stumbled lamely.
"Well, your pupils dilate every time you look at her body."
"Reploids don't need love." Zero half snarled, but his insides were knotted with fear. Was it that obvious? That wasn't good. He was supposed to be killing humans. His creator had told him so. Bass had told him so. And Bass wouldn't lie.
Would he?
"Celeste." Zero heard himself call out.
Surprised, Celeste whipped around to the direction of the hail.
"Sweet Sugar Candyman!" Red singsonged automatically towards Zero from above.
Zero quickly threw his gaze to the ground where Celeste had dropped the laser rifle so that he wouldn't have to think about how blue the human's eyes were. "Your arm will never be strong enough again to wield the rifle, Celeste. Here." Zero unsheathed his precious lightsabre from his back and tossed the cylindrical handle towards her. Celeste caught it as gracefully as a cat. As Zero had assumed, she had excellent reflexes burrowed away in her small form.
The Crimson Hunter produced a cheaper, clumsier sabre and ignited its blade. "A lightsabre isn't a two handed weapon like the rifle." Zero explained in a monotone voice. "You shouldn't have any problems with it, especially since I'm going to be training you from now on. But first..."
Zero fell silent as he raised the pulsating blade of his own sabre in line between his eyes, a traditional gesture of respect and challenge amoung the Hunters. "This is where heredity proves its worth, Cel. Let's see what you can do with just your instincts."
"Dad!"
The word lept from Paul's mouth as neatly and strongly as water gliding off a cliff. He was a small, helpless child again, watching his father's limp form being hauled away like a bulky sac of potatoes by a jet black robot with war-scars on its face. The robot shot Paul an almost sorrowful glance just before being swept away -- with its newly-aquired baggage -- by a translucent beam of light. In one gulp of air, Paul screamed for his father in a boyish cry. The scream rang on and on, becoming deeper and deeper until it became the desolate wail of a tormented adult. It still continued to pour forth as Paul was violently jerked out of his nightmare. His eyes flew open and his mouth clamped shut at the same time.
It was morning. Slabs of cheery sunlight cuddled up next to Paul in his dreary hospital bed. It wasn't the first time he'd had that dream, and chances were it wouldn't be the last.
Paul was getting ready to try to go back to sleep when Genesis bustled into the Night Viper's private room, chattering a string of nonsense without bothering to stop for air.
"Morning, Paul! How're you feeling? That's nice. Time to get ready to go."
Paul blinked while trying to register everything that had been blustered to him. "Go?" He finally managed.
Genesis nodded. "That's right. I think you're well enough to be discharged from the infirmary."
"How do you know...?"
Genesis flashed a sharp toothed grin. "Nothing personal, but the sight of your face is starting to piss me off. That's how I always tell if a patient is ready to go or not."
"Ah, the wonders of Medical Science," Paul muttered.
Zero slammed back the doors of the computer Mainframe room with no mercy. Sure enough Red was there, her serpentine head inclined just slightly, bathed in the muted green glow of the surrounding computer screens. She was obviously preoccupied as she did not flinch at the ringing crash of the metal gates being flung open. Unbidden, Zero jumped and slid on the flawless floor and came to a halt just behind the Mechadrake.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced in a sober yet playful voice, "let's put our paws together for Zero, the world's best Hunter and everyone's favourite sex god!"
The last thing Zero remembered seeing was a horrific slashing of dagger teeth and talons while being englufed by a whirlwind that was spawned of the frantic beating of leathery wings. The next moment, he was lying on his back, completely stunned. A worried looking Red Draco (a whole spinning roomfull of them, actually) towered above him, frantically waving a clawed paw a few feet from his bruised face.
"Holy Mother Tiamat! Zero! I didn't know it was you, buttercup! I'm REALLY sorry! Oh jeez...what have I done?"
As soon as there was only one Red in the room, Zero opened his mouth to speak and immediately choked on a mouthful of slick, coppery fluid. He coughed and some of it flecked his lips. Blood. No surprises there. "Did...did I do something wrong?" The Hunter finally managed to rasp around the blockage in his throat. "I'll bring roses next time...I swear..." Zero started to try to sit up, but the effort made him light headed. He would have collapsed again if Red had not been there to support him.
"Take it slow." She advised, still upset. "Sorry about that. You startled me, and attacking you was a reflex action."
"That's some reflexes."
A mysteriously wicked grin surfaced on Red's face. "We Mechadrakes are just full of surprises. See, I pounced on you because I was protecting my lunch..."
"Lunch?" Zero shook his head in an attempt to silence the bells chiming within it.
Wordlessly, Red brought her left paw level with Zero's bloodshot eyes. A tiny bundle of brown and offwhite fur squirmed uncomfortably in the clammy nest of gleaming claws and crimson scales.
The bells in Zero's head stopped chiming immediately. "It's a kitten...."
"Yep."
"Red, you sicko! You were gonna devour a helpless little KITTEN?"
"I've got a taste for young meat! What do you want from me?"
Zero's strength returned to him in one magnificent surge of energy as he scrambled to his feet. Although his emotions and attitudes had been undergoing vast changes over the past months, chances were good that he'd still grant a human a slow and painful death if Bass had been there to order him to do so. But never in his lifetime would he stand by and allow that trembling puff ball to be led by Red's hand into her cavernous chomper.
"How in the world did you get a kitten, Red?"
"It just wandered in here like it owned the place. That says a lot for MHHQ's security, doesn't it? I think it came from the refugee camps. Now can't I just snack in peace?"
"Sorry Red, that's a no no." Zero said firmly. "Give the kitten here."
Red pouted, but she obeyed.
The kitten snuggled in Zero's hand and rumbled contentedly. Zero took advantage of its calm state to study it a bit closer. "It's a six week old male," he concluded. "I'll ask around the refugee camps to see if anyone lost him. But for now, I've gained a pet! I'm naming him Matzah."
"Stupid name, but it sounds tasty," Red sulked as she wistfully eyed the feline.
Zero cautiously put the snoozing Matzah up on his shoulder. The kitten gave a soft 'mew' of confusion prior to finding his footing.
"Now that I've done my good deed for the day," Zero said, "I wanted to talk to you about placing Celeste in the Regal Dragons. I've only been working with her for a few days, but I can already see that she's going to be incredible!"
"Sounds tasty," Red repeated, her eyes still nailed to the kitten on Zero's shoulder.
Zero kicked Red in the shins. That brought her out of her trance, all right.
"Okay!" She snorted. "I'm over the kitten. And from what I've seen of her abilities, Celeste looks like she can live up to her dad's name. Bring her to my office this afternoon and we can sign her up if she accepts."
"Sounds tasty," Zero smiled in his turn. Red nailed him over the head.
Not surprisingly, Red's office was an untidy but cheerful nest of old papers, reports, and general clutter. The windows were all thrown open to allow the room to swallow the pleasantly warm May air wafting softly from the outdoors. What was most noticible about the office was the fact that large posters of old twentieth century movies were framed haphazardly on the walls. Celeste found her nervous gaze returning to them again and again as Red fired off one application question after another. In between the hasty inquries, Red would mutter incoherently to herself as she scribbled down Celeste's answers. Knowing the erratic Mechadrake, the mumbles could have been anything from little remarks about Celeste to lewd lyrics from some raunchy new CD. It was impossible to tell.
"Okay, last question!" Red began just before one of the movie posters behind her -- the one featuring a popular romance called The Titanic to be exact -- tore itself from the wall with the wind's assistance and rushed to meet its doom on the office floor with a loud, shattering report. The reploid, the human, and the Mechadrake all jumped as one. For half an instant, Zero's arm fell protecively across Celeste's shoulders, but it was hastily removed without so much as a glance from the crimson reploid. Red, in the meantime, was roaring with laughter.
"Wup! Looks like the Titanic sunk again," she commented as she went through the motions of attempting to clean the sparkling shards of glass scattered on the floor. Ultimately, however, she settled back into her chair and grumbled something that sounded like "Piss on it...DiCaprio sucked big in that movie. Anyway Celeste," she continued in a louder voice, "we're almost done with ya! As I was saying before, just one more question..."
Another interruption reared its annoying head. Red's phone rang impatiently from across the room. Red snorted with disgust. A faint streamer of smoke rose from one soot caked nostril, which was a definate sign that she was fed up. Red only seemed to produce fire and smoke when she was severely agitated. "Get that for me, would you Zero? I'd like to finish this while I'm young."
Zero obediently headed across the room and picked up the reciever. "Psycic Friends Hotline."
"Lady Draco...?" It was Siggy on the other end. Whoops!
"Hello, sir!" Zero quickly recovered his respectful tone. "No, this is Zero. Red's busy with a new applicant to the Regal Dragons."
"Indeed?" Sigma drawled in his usual bored voice. "Who's coming aboard?"
"Celeste McTreggor."
"Hmmm...oh yes, that girl who was injured in the last refugee evacuation. I remember her father. Well, once she's signed up, can you bring her down to the training room? I've heard that you've been training her. I'd like to see what she can do."
Zero's heart lept at these words. Would Celeste be able to flaunt her lightsabre skills in front of the Big Cheese as well as she had in front of him? A disturbing vision of Celeste screwing up massive before Sigma's critical eyes swam into Zero's mind. If she was nervous, Celeste could fumble and easily chop her good arm off with her sabre. Oh boy, THAT would be fun. Skysheen would go white, Red would most likely die laughing, and Zero himself would probably turned on by the blood, as usual. Nevertheless, he maintained an airy tone while saying to Sigma, "I think it can be arranged, sir."
"Excellent! I'll see you there in an hour."
"Don't be nervous when you see him, dear!" Red advised softly in Celeste's ear on their way down to the training room. Zero and Skysheen were in tow.
There was no need to worry about that: Celeste was already scared halfway out of her mind about meeting Sigma. Her right hand was wrapped tightly around her new sabre, its hilt already streaked with sweat. Her crippled left arm throbbed painfully under the stress the rest of her body was undergoing. Her new bone white lightweight titanium battle vest (soldered with the Regal Dragons Unit badge) clanked ridiculously as her body was hit with tremors. She was nervous all right.
The party walked into the vast chamber that was the training room. Sigma was not there.
"Guess we're early," Red huffed as a sweep of leathery wings took her to her favourite spot in the area: the rafters.
Skysheen's forked tounge flickered like red lightning over his yellowed teeth. "I TOLD you that your watch was fast, Red, but noooooo...."
Frowning, Red silently thrust her balled fists down at her irate sibling and began making twisting motions with them. Skysheen flicked his eyes up at his sister and then narrowed them suspiciously. "Red, what in the name of Silvara are you doing?"
"I'm wishing cancer upon you, Skysheen."
"Cancer?"
"Yes. In the head."
Zero and Celeste giggled. Skysheen, however, was not amused. "Why don't you come down HERE and wish Head Cancer upon me?!" The blue draco challenged. With one graceful creak of wings, he lept and latched onto Red's forked tail with onyx talons. Red gave an ear splitting screech as she was pulled from her post. Luckily, she managed to untangle herself in mid air. Her face twisted in a dangerous snarl, she locked onto Skysheen and raked her equally sharp claws across his neck, ending up with a fistful of the blue Mechadrake's mohawk. Skysheen's hand instantly shot up to his prized mane, a look of horror spreading slowly across his face as he felt its now marred surface. The horror was promptly exchanged for rage, and Skysheen launched himself in a frenzy at his sister.
Celeste's jaw simply dropped as she watched the brother and sister duke it out. Surely the two would end up dismembering each other. She had never seen such a ferocious battle between reploids. Zero regarded her uneasiness and laughed.
"Don't worry," he assured her. "It's just a little sibling squabble. Happens all the time between these two."
"Looks more like the start of World War IV."
"Nah, neither of them will come close to getting hurt." Zero paused and frowned. "Although I think I should try to stop them before Sigma comes. It wouldn't do to have him walk in and see the leaders of the Regal Dragons like this." The Hunter dashed off towards the squalling dust cloud situated across the mammoth room.
Celeste cocked her head slightly to one side as she watched Zero depart. The Crimson Wonder had basically stuck by her like glue since she had gotten shot last month. He was always making some reason to be with her. If Celeste didn't know any better, she'd say that the Hunter had a crush on her. Well, that was definately a compliment. Sort of. Celeste had never had much success with the males of her own species, yet she attracted a champion reploid. Go fig. Her mind plunged deep to search for any emotions that she in turn might harbour for him; it resurfaced with a simple answer.
"He's kinda cute," she muttered to herself.
"I thank you."
Celeste jumped and began to run like a bat out of hell. A booming laugh from behind stopped her. It was Sigma. Celeste sheepishly walked back to him, turning five different shades of red the whole way.
"I never knew that humans were capable of such colour change," Sigma rang out heartily. "I think Sting would envy you."
The Spartan's mood was unusually light. Celeste would never have guessed that diabolical thoughts were slowly turning the gears in his cunning mind, preparing to hatch the plans for the liquidation of the humans right at that moment...
"Where's Zero?" Sigma then asked.
Celeste listlessly pointed in the direction where Skysheen and Red were still tussleing. Zero ran alongside them, jumping up and down like an idiot and waving his hands in a futile attempt to get the drakes to calm down.
"The Mechadrake breed," Sigma snorted in a half - amused tone as he observed the unruly sight. "The Eighth Wonder of the World."
Celeste blinked. "Really?"
"Not really, but Mechadrakes ARE a puzzle," Sigma explained, sounding like a nature documentary. "They're basically bipedal reploid dragons, but their structures, their thinking patterns, their battle skills are far more advanced than any other breed of reploid. So advanced, in fact, that it would be nearly impossible to build a Mechadrake reploid outside of Mechadrake Assemblies Inc., and even repairing one in our most advanced Medical Units is hell. Mechadrakes are fiercely proud of their exclusive heritage..."
"Mechadrake Assemblies Inc.?" Celeste interrupted, then suddenly realized who she was talking to. "Sorry sir...didn't mean to interject."
"Quite all right. To answer your question, Mechadrake Assemblies Inc. is a reploid plant that assembles Mechadrakes, as you could probably tell by the name. The parent company is in Toronto, and a few smaller branches are scattered throughout the rest of Canada. Mechadrakes were ordered and shipped to a few Hunter Bases down here in the States, and there was even talk of opening a US Mechadrake branch. However, when the Border War occoured between the two countries, the plans for the US factory were scrapped, and even the trickle of Mechadrake warriors stopped. The planning of the US assembly plant didn't resume when the peace treaty was finally signed, either: Canadians still aren't all that friendly with us."
"So when did Sky and Red arrive?" Celeste inquired. "Why did they leave?"
Sigma shrugged. "They won't tell, and we can't make them do so. They talk as little about Mechadrake Assemblies Inc. as they can...although Red never shuts up about how great Toronto is. She misses it terribly from what I understand."
Celeste gave silent sympathy to Red; she knew the feeling of having to leave your home.
Sigma shot a glance and the musing human. Unbridled hate bubbled within him, but he didn't let the emotion scar the features of his stony face. Today, with Celeste's help, step one of the human holocaust would begin. Manipulating a human mind would prove to be fun.
"Well, Celeste!" Sigma rang again. "Why don't you show me what you can do? Zero says you're quite good. I should think so. That's a Regal Dragons badge, isn't it? My my."
The room around Celeste lurched violently, and she felt as if she were going to throw up. Across from her, Zero had managed to break up Skysheen and Red. Celeste noticed with a touch of amusement that Zero had banished the mussed dragons to opposite corners of the room, where they both sulked. Zero kept his eyes nailed to them like a stern schoolteacher, shouting if one of them dared to make a move.
Sigma read her mind. "Don't bother calling Zero over here, Celeste; he's got his own issues to deal with."
"Okay," Celeste exhaled as she drew her lightsabre hilt.
Sigma sneered in disapproval. "A lightsabre? Oh no no no. Those things are so tacky. Why aren't you using a laser rifle?"
Celeste cast her eyes down at the polished wood floor. She hadn't even started, and already Sigma was finding fault. "They're too heavy for me, sir. My left arm is partially crippled."
"Nonsense." The Spartan drew his own trim rifle and handed it to the Huntress. "Try this. It's one handed, very light, and extremely powerful. You'll be able to handle it. Be careful, they're very expensive; the HQ only has three of them that I know of."
As Celeste examined the high - tech weapon, Sigma glanced again at Skysheen and Red. "Your father was a great Hunter," he commented out of nowhere.
A spear of ice jabbed at Celeste's throat. She swallowed it. "I know sir."
"He died an honourable death."
"Thank you sir."
"Skysheen and Red weren't the only Mechadrakes to come down from Toronto, you know. Torrent Leviathan is a Mechadrake, too."
The room had stopped lurching, but it now began to change colour and perspective as Celeste fixed her eyes on her scaly friends across the room. "....he is?"
"Indeed," Sigma said in a grave tone. Inwardly, however, he jumped and cheered as he saw a sickly light glint in Celeste's eyes. "In fact...." he continued, "I'm told that he looks something like Skysheen does."
"Skysheen...?" Echoed Celeste dully. She was in a trance, exactly as Sigma had planned. He lowered his voice.
"Yes...blue scales, cunning eyes. Can you imagine what the battle between them must have been like?" Sigma was careful to say 'them' rather than specifying Torrent Leviathan.
Celeste continued to stare stupidly at Skysheen across the room. Her active imagination recalled the image she had made up months ago of her father fighting for his life in the filthy depths of some stagnant sewer. She could see her dad's phenotype very well -- when he died, he had still been fairly young and had not quite yet exited the fleeting stage of wildflower beauty and spirit that all humans experience early in their life. Torrent Leviathan was there, of course: a nightmare of teeth and sea blue scales...blue like Skysheen's....
All of a sudden, Celeste was amid them as Torrent was about to pass his gnarled, bloodstained claws across her father's exposed throat. Feeling as if she were drowning in blue, Celeste raised the lightweight rifle and fired an intense bolt of white energy towards the threatening Mechadrake...
A terrible dragon's scream accompanied by the sickening smell of burned leather, metal and scales jerked Celeste violently out of her dream world and back into reality. She watched in disbelieving horror as a sapphire form writhed in pain on the floor across the training room. A cry of anguish lept from Red as she dashed towards her stricken brother.
Celeste had shot Skysheen.
All of a sudden, things were in a tizzy. Half of the reploids and humans present in the room ran to aid Skysheen, while the others dashed towards Celeste. From behind her, Sigma said nothing, but he issued a quiet laugh. The huntress became dimly aware of someone wrenching Sigma's rifle away from her while others grabbed her arms and shouted garbled commands in her ears. Thankfully, they all vanished as the ground rushed up to meet Celeste, bringing with it a merciful, silent void.
A brilliant light exploded painfully before Celeste. Wincing, she tried to turn away from it, but it followed persistently. A commanding voice then reached her.
"Open them! Open your damn eyes!"
Celeste didn't dare to disobey. The light grew more intense for a second, but it was then averted, much to her relief. Once the spots cleared a bit, she could make out the form of Zero frowning down at her, holding a flashlight. He looked like a thundercloud. Celeste recalled what had happened, and she began to cry in spite of herself.
Zero did not soften. "Turn off the waterworks, Celeste. I want to know what happened. Sigma insists that you were aiming for another target and misfired. Luckily for you, almost everyone believes him. But I don't. With a shot that intense, you had a purpose. Why did you shoot Skysheen?"
Celeste gulped back a sob. "Is...is Skysheen...dead?"
Some of the harshness faded from Zero's face. He sighed. "No. You were lucky there, too. He's seriously mangled, though. Genesis is still working on him, and Red's throwing a fit. I'm still not sure if she blames you, although I don't think she does. You've been unconscious for well over five hours. I'm sorry I got so mad at you, but I really need to know what happened. No one else needs to know."
A bit calmer, Celeste tried to settle into the hard hospital bed. She closed her eyes again. "It wasn't an accident....not completely. Sigma was talking to me about my dad when you were trying to break up Red and Skysheen. His tone of voice sort of lulled me...it was really strange. I can't remember exactly what happened, but he kept on saying how much Skysheen looked like Torrent Leviathan...next thing I knew, I saw Torrent right in front of me. It was so real. I shot him, and it was Skysheen instead...." Celeste trailed off.
Zero frowned. He didn't like the sound of that. "You're saying that Sigma sort of controlled your mind?"
Celeste's eyes flew open again. "That's exactly what it was like. I know it sounds stupid, but..."
"No Celeste. I believe you. I never did like Sigma much...he can be very hypnotizing. And I definitely don't like the smell of this. I'll have to investigate further."
Relief crossed Celeste's face. "Thanks."
Zero smiled fondly and toyed with a lock of her hair. "Don't you worry. Just rest. As far as I know, you're still in the Regal Dragons, but I would lay low for a while until this whole mess gets straightened out...."
The doors to the darkened room swung open. An irritated and thoroughly exhausted Genesis stepped through them. "I HATE MECHADRAKES!!" The reploid fox bellowed, following up with a kick to the wall beside him.
Zero turned his attention from Celeste and rolled his eyes. "Now what, Genesis?"
"It's Skysheen," Genesis seethed. "He'll make it, all right...but he's bitchin' and moanin' all over the place because I can't restore his Mechadrake form. I CAN'T repair a Mechadrake as banged up as he was! It's impossible! I had to rebuild him a humanoid form. It's a very nice one, too! I saved his bloody life, but noooo, THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! He wants his WINGS back! He wants his TAIL back! He wants...oh, to hell's gates with him. I left Pip to reason with the thankless bugger. I'm going to go slit my wrists in the bathroom now. See ya." Genesis stormed off.
"I hate it."
Pip had nearly lost all hope. "Lord Skysheen, it's the best we can...."
"I SAID I HATE it!" Skysheen roared as he glared venomously at his reflection in the mirror. Staring back at him was a lean, handsome humanoid face, devoid of its former draconian majesty. Locks of greasy black hair with mild curls in them hung down past his ears, almost touching his shoulders. A firery red pair of eyes were fixed above a slightly upturned nose. His sails of leather were gone: he was groundbound. The only thing that remained was his shoulder mounted cannon and his newly polished violet armour.
"Gah! Human faces are so UGLY!"
Pip was slightly offended. "Well now, sir...they're not so bad..."
"Get out, Pip. I want to be alone for a little while."
Pip gladly obliged, but before he left he placed something hollow on the table beside Skysheen. "If you're truly self conscious of your current form," he explained softly, "here is an option." With that, Pip exited.
As much as Skysheen loathed his new form, he couldn't take his eyes off of it. He was now a normal humanoid reploid. He thudded his head against the mirror softly. "Why did you have to miss that target, Celeste?" He murmured to the empty air. His human-like hand groped and drew Pip's 'option' towards him. He turned it over and over, studying it. It was a visored mask that promised to completely cover his new face, if he chose to use it.
"Bless you Pip," Skysheen muttered. "God knows you're annoying, but you're sensitive and understanding. No one's going to see me like this." The world darkened slightly Skysheen slid the tinted headgear on. He glanced again at his reflection. This time, he almost liked what he saw.
Purple armour with blue slashed unevenly across his boots. A shoulder mounted cannon. Red eyes peering menacingly from the black depths of the mask. It all matched. Only the badge of the Regal Dragons seemed to outcrop and clash. Heaving a sigh, he wandered off to look for Red Draco. The first person he walked into was Pip who looked like a frightened rabbit in the presence of a hawk.
"My my, Lord Skysheen!" he managed. "Allow me to say that you look most....um...scary!"
"Thank you, Pip. But I don't think my old name fits me anymore. Call me...." Skysheen paused. "Call me Vile. Does that sound like a name that'll turn Mavericks into Jello?"
"It's very fitting, Mr. Vile sir." Pip agreed solemnly.
"Hey look! Boba Fett walks amoung us!"
Cruel laughter followed this cliche joke.
Ignore them, Skysheen (or Vile, as he was now called) thought to himself with an inward rumble of contempt.
"How was life inside the Sarlacc's stomach, Boba?" Another jeered.
They're only kids... Vile coached himself.
"Any luck tracking down Han Solo?" A third joined in merrily.
...and they're PISSING ME OFF!
Vile finally cracked. He swerved towards the taunting band and fired a shot into the air with his shoulder cannon. This resulted in the kids scattering and squawking like a flock of chickens fleeing the axe, as well as a big black mark on the ceiling of the hallway. Vile grimly realized that he was going to catch holy hell for solving his problem in that manner.
Sure enough, Sigma was already heading down the hall towards the former Mechadrake. Vile braced himself for the onslaught.
"Good afternoon, Lord Skysheen."
"With all due respect sir, my name is Vile now," Vile returned, his voice echoing metallically from inside his concealing helmet.
Sigma didn't appear to hear or care for the namechange. "It's been tough adjusting from your former form, hasn't it?"
Vile nodded numbly. Nothing was closer to the truth. At least five times over the past 24 hours, his shoulder muscles would twitch spasmodically, bewildered to find that the grand wings they used to control were gone.
Sigma turned his nose up at the Regal Dragon. "Hard to imagine that a human -- a female, no less -- could do you in like that, hmm?"
Vile stiffened slightly. "But you yourself said it was an accident..." the purple clad reploid trailed off as Sigma gave him a cold, knowing stare that prompted a black light to dawn within Vile. "You mean....?"
Sigma nodded gravely. "It may have been an accident...but when I recall the entire scene, I am inclined to believe that a shot that intense had a purpose..."
Vile's unseen mouth gaped. Would Celeste really do something that vile (so to speak)? An emotion he had kept buried frozen solid in ice since the accident began to thaw out. With a firey, yet slightly guilty flash of pleasure, Vile realized he was doing what he had wanted to do since his transformation: he was allowing himself to feel resentment towards Celeste for damaging him. Celeste had surely shot him out of jealousy for his flawless Mechadrake body. Not just that, all humans were jealous of the superior build and ability of ANY reploid...
Sigma watched the purple reploid fight an inward struggle. A tiny smile formed in his black heart: Skysheen's manipulation had proved to be fairly easy. The former Mechadrake was still angry and confused about losing his magnificent dragon form. Chances were good that he'd serve Sigma's purpose without question.
Sigma lowered his voice. "We have matters to discuss, Lord Skysheen. I know that you have many questions on your mind. Be at my office at two this afternoon. My Spartans will be there: tell Lady Draco that I wish for her to be present as well."
"As you wish, sir."
"No Matzah, get your claws out of my hair…"
Matzah paid no heed as he contentedly sunk his wee talons deeper into the back of Zero's scalp.
"OW! No kitty, that's a bad kitty!!"
Matzah hissed.
"That's it. We're taking a trip to the refugee camps. Time to get you a home."
A cold, grey drizzle had begun when Zero reached the camps. The sombre weather did little to improve the already drab scenery surrounding the ever-crowded escarpment. Zero absently scratched Matzah's silky ears as he glanced around. All the humans had basically abandoned the trampled grass and holed themselves up in the identical weathered cabins to escape the restless skies. One small boy of about 13 was still outside, however. He was absently scratching nondescript patterns into the dampened mud with a stick while muttering incoherently to himself. The boy was startled out of his game as an instinct fired up. Sitting up like a pudgy chipmunk, he frisked the area over with nervous, almost wild eyes.
This scene saddened Zero a bit: no child of that age would be playing such a game outside on his own, or have such a wild-animal look in his eyes. There was obviously something not right about him. To put it crudely, he probably had a screw loose somewhere.
Upon spying the observant Crimson Wonder, the boy jumped to his feet and dashed into one of the cabins, slamming the door behind him before anything could be said. Zero managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of the beginnings of a blonde ponytail trailing behind the boy as he fled. The youngster bore a remarkable resemblance to Paul Wells.
"Paul has a son?" The Hunter muttered absently. "Interesting. I never knew he was married. Too bad about the kid. I wonder exactly what's wrong with him." Zero hesitated: It was obvious why Paul had never talked about his family. The poor guy was probably ashamed.
Matzah suddenly nipped on Zero's thumb as if demanding him to think happier thoughts. Also, the kitten did not care for the damp air.
"You're some cat, you know that?" Zero huffed. "I should just give you back to Red. THEN you'll see how little you like damp places."
Only one cabin had its door fixed open. Zero decided to save himself the bother of knocking by starting there. He poked his head in the doorframe.
"What do you think, Matzah?" he murmured. "Shall I just dump you in here?"
Matzah gave a mew of objection: he obviously wanted to meet his new family before any 'dumping' was done.
"Fine." Unbidden, Zero entered the cabin. A short hallway with slate grey floor tiles led him to a square room with four crude bunk beds fixed neatly against the drafty walls. Each of the eight beds showed visible signs of inhabitancy, yet only two girls were present in the room at that moment. The first one Zero saw was a girl of about 16 on the lower bunk across from him. She swung her short legs and silently smiled at Zero as if he were an old friend. When he made a motion to speak, however, the girl sobered and pressed a finger warningly against her lips. Before Zero could ask a question, the girl pointed to the second girl that was on top of the bunk beside her.
Barely clothed, the human female lay face down with her eyes closed on a dingy green blanket. She was flushed a deep red, and her exposed skin was shiny with a thin film of sweat. She was dangerously feverish.
Alarmed, Zero cautiously took a step closer. The girl's eyes suddenly snapped open, startling the Hunter out of a year's growth.
"I'm allergic to cats," the girl wheezed, managing a grin. Her fine black hair was plastered to her sweaty forehead.
With hardly a thought, Zero tossed Matzah to the room's other occupant. "You're as sick as a dog," he said with awe. It should be noted that he hardly took notice that the sickly human was practically in her birthday suit: reploids aren't quite as modest as humans when it comes to things like that. "What's wrong with you?"
"It's just a little something that's been going around the camps. It'll pass." The girl shut her eyes wearily.
"What's your name?"
"Tess. And don't worry about me. My fiancée, Josh, is helping me out. He's gone now to get me something to drink."
Zero blinked. "You seem a bit young to be getting married already."
Tess' eyes flared open again. A blue fire smoldered wrathfully within them. "Look, Hunter," she sneered. "love and hope are probably two of the only things we have left in this hell. Yes, that's damn corny, and I hate myself for saying it, but it's true. It's no secret that the Hunters are beginning to lose battles. More and more resources have to be spent on the war...at the expense of the refugees in this camp. My neighbourhood hasn't been reclaimed and repaired yet, and God knows if it ever will be. I don't have the guts to sign up with the Hunters, even if it means better living conditions. So I'm here to stay for a long time. Disease and pregnancy are rampant, lineups to the bathrooms are insane, and we're getting less and less to eat every day, but what the hell, it all builds character, right?" The girl gave a short, humourless laugh.
Zero was quite taken aback. A creeping sort of guilt weighed on his tounge, muting him. What Tess said was too true: more and more resources had quietly been taken from the refugee relief funds to fuel the Hunts. Well, the money had to come from somewhere...
A scuttling sound of claws against wood emitted from one of the dank walls. The sound crawled down Zero's spine, and Matzah suddenly transformed from a cuddly ball of fur rumbling on the other girl's lap into an alert hunter.
"Mice," Tess explained in a monotone voice.
"Uh...that's a rather creepy sound," Zero had to admit.
Tess shrugged listlessly. "You get used to them keeping you up at night. Actually, they seem to shut up if you quote from Pulp Fiction." The feverish girl smiled down at the girl on the lower bunk beside her. "Right Nat?"
"Yep!" Nat returned.
The nerve-wracking scratching ensued.
"They're not going to give us any peace unless we act," Tess concluded. "We'd better say our lines. Ready, Nat?"
"Uh huh," Nat answered prior to placing Matzah on the floor. The kitten immediately shot towards Zero, climbed up his hair with a fury that would have shamed Prince Charming, and sat on the Hunter's shoulder, ears scanning the room ferociously. Zero plucked the tom off of his resting place.
Tess raised her voice in the direction of the wall that seemed to contain the mice at play. "Hey man, you want some bacon?"
"I don't eat pork." Nat recited.
"Why not? You Jewish?"
"No, I just don't dig on swine."
The scratching ceased.
"Ta da!" Nat and Tess sang in unison.
Zero would have clapped if his hands weren't full of cat.
"So...tell me something." Tess asked of Zero. "I heard that a friend of mine, Celeste, got badly injured the day Torrisham Crossings was evacuated. I haven't seen her since that day: I'm guessing that she was taken to the Medical Unit. Do you know her? Do you have any idea if she's okay?"
Did Zero know Celeste? Did Bo know baseball? (did he?) Hooo boy. With a split second mental debate, Zero resolved to play it safe and tell as little as possible.
"Yeah...I know Celeste a bit. Her arm was injured pretty bad -- in fact, it's gonna be partially crippled all her life from what I understand. But she's all right now."
Tess narrowed her eyes with curiosity. "Why isn't she with us in the camps, then...?"
No avoiding this one. "Last I heard, she was going to become a Huntress."
Tess' eyes grew to twice their normal size for a full three seconds before they settled back down to normal again. "That sounds like something she'd do. She's so STUPID! Hasn't she learned anything from her idiot dad? She'll probably go off and do something mental like HE did!"
The very same concern had nested within Zero from the first day he realized that he had fallen for Celeste. He wasn't about to share this, though. He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. She's very headstrong, but I don't think she'd be proud enough to do something as dumb as take down Leviathan by herself."
Tess snorted down at the Blonde One. "You're absolutely sure that it was PRIDE that set Jake after Torrent?"
Zero gave a returning snort. "Don't be stupid. What other reason would he have?"
Celeste...
Celeste's eyes jolted open. She had just had a nightmare where Torrent Leviathan, in all his stagnant glory, was standing just ahead of her. The aqua-dragon's luminous, groping eyes looked directly at her, amused. Blue lips flecked with dirty green slid back from his yellowed teeth as he called her name...
Celeste...
Celeste shook under the drab hospital covers. The image was gone, but Torrent's slick voice was still fresh in her mind...
Celeste, my little jewel...you are not dreaming anymore. I really am speaking to you.
Ice lanced through Celeste's heart. She crammed her fist in her mouth to stifle a wail.
Do not make a sound! Torrent returned to her sharply. Speak to me with your mind. You can do it.
Celeste felt squashed between two forces. Her mind, her body, everything, had become glue.
Calm down, my pretty. I will not hurt you. I merely wish to talk. Torrent's voice was gentle...almost friendly. Please...try to speak to me in your head.
Celeste hesitated. ...like this...?
You've got it!
Celeste was absolutely fascinated to be talking to someone in her mind. She almost forgot that the person she was speaking to was her father's killer. How come I'm able to talk to you like this...? She sent to Torrent.
I have been able to talk to certain members of your bloodline for years and years, my beauty.
Celeste blinked, astonished. "Years and years"...?
Yes. 100 years at the very least.
But...how's that possible? You're a reploid, right?
Correct.
And you were were put together at Mechadrake Assemblies, right?
Correct to a point.
I thought humans only discovered how to create reploids 30 years ago...?
Celeste could feel an inward sneer from Torrent. Who said I was BUILT by a human...?
Celeste gave a silent ode to whatever mysteries went behind Mechadrake's closed doors.
Yes, Celeste. As I said, I am able to communicate like this with a very select few from your bloodline. I will tell you more about the How and Whys about 'Mindspeak' some other time. For now, I ask you this question. When are you going to come and visit me?
Visit you...?
Yes. I wish to talk to you in person.
Celeste turned cold. Never. How does that sound?
Torrent's low chuckle rattled around Celeste's head. Your father said the exact same thing to me when I asked him this question. Lo and behold...well, you know the rest. I shall return to you later, my jewel! Fare thee well!
Celeste could feel Torrent's presence withdraw from her head, leaving his last haunting words to bounce around ceaselessly in the emptiness. Celeste lept from her bed and made a beeline for the bathroom, quite sure that she was going to be sick.
Zero peered nonchalantly at Sigma as the Spartan prattled on and on with no meaning across the cafeteria table that Zero was anchored at.
"Sorry to cut you off, sir," Zero finally had to beg of Sigma when he was unable to stuff his ears with anymore nonsense, "but basically what you're saying to me is that another evacuation has to be performed tonight?"
Sigma nodded gravely. "This time, according to our sources, the Mavericks are targeting Levitt Cresent."
"Sounds typical. I take it that you want me to help you?"
"Indeed."
Zero stood up stiffly from the table. He yawned hugely whilst cracking his back. "Fine with me. So the evacuators are you, me...and who else?"
Sigma made a quick mental count. "Let's see...we have all eight of my Spartans -- Chill Penguin, Launch Octopus, Sting Chameleon, Storm Eagle, Flame Mammoth, Boomer, Armoured Armadillo, and Spark Mandrill -- as well as Lady Draco and Lord Skysheen (or Vile, as he now wishes to be called...don't ask me) from the Regal Dragons, and finally ten human hunters from the Night Vipers."
Zero raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "That's quite a load."
Sigma smirked. "Yes, well, we're not going to let the Torrisham Crossings incident occour again. Which reminds me, is Celeste able to join our little party?"
Zero now raised both eyebrows in surprise. "You want her to come on a mission after what happened with Skysheen?"
"She may as well." Sigma reasoned. "That was an isolated incident. She still shows great potential. It would be a shame to let those sharp instincts go to waste, wouldn't it?"
"Yes. But at any rate, she can't come. Ever since she passed out after shooting Skysheen, Celeste's been in the infirmary under observation. Genesis is worried about her; she hasn't been sleeping right, and she can't seem to keep anything down. It's like she's very upset about something all of a sudden, and she refuses to talk about it."
"Ah." There was a shadow of disappointment in Siggy's voice. It was not regret about Celeste's condition; it was something completely different, something Zero couldn't quite track. "Well, that IS unfortunate. However, there's always next time. I want you to be ready for the evacuation in two hours."
Zero was reluctant. He didn't like the idea of shoving more refugees into the squalid camp, which was already bursting at the seams. He didn't have a choice, though.
"All righty."
Zero was surprised to learn that Celeste was asleep when he went to visit her an hour before the evacuation was to take place. Zero had tiptoed past Genesis (who was getting very tired of the Hunter's frequent visits to the Huntress) and stuck his head into the door of her room, only to find her snoozing peacefully, if not a bit fitfully.
Zero padded his way around her bed and seated himself in the now-familiar chair parked beside it. He had his journal in one hand and was preparing to open it when a streak of brown and white fur flew into the room and leapt neatly into his lap without hesitating once.
"Matzah," the Hunter muttered critically. "You're gonna kill me one of these days."
The spunky kitten only pawed playfully at a stray lock of Zero's hair in response. Ignoring the bundle of energy, the Scarlet Hunter opened his journal and reread an entry he had made yesterday:
June 3rd 21XX
Here's a story that's almost funny. As I mentioned earlier, Cain has real malamutes near MHHQ, and his prize is a female named Jessi. It turns out I was right: Getting those two maintenance reploids, Terrence and Phillip, to tend to the dogs was pretty damn stupid. A couple of weeks ago, one of the male dogs -- I think his name's Tommy -- was clawing and howling to get out of his cage. T and P put two and two together and they let Jessi and Tommy out of their cages to 'play'. Now Jessi probably won't be able to be used for any sort of hunting for four months or so. Cain's really upset about it. As far as I know, T and P were demoted to potato peeling. The puppies will be born in the fall.
Zero smiled as he read the old entry. He sobered, however, when he remembered what he had originally come to do. Without procrastinating for another second, he tore a blank page and prepared to write on it. What he was about to do was copy a scene from 1984, a book that he had particularly liked. The Hunter hastily scribbled on the paper:
He did not sign his name or mark up the paper any further. Instead, he folded it into fourths and slipped it under Celeste's pillow. He took the opportunity to land a small kiss just next to her nose. The Huntress stirred, but did not awaken.
Zero stood up, spilling Matzah from his lap before exiting the room. Matzah leapt on the foot of Celeste's bed without hesitation to resume his broken nap.
"I got rhythm! I got music! I got my man, who could ask for anything more?"
Red sang like one possessed as she twirled her lance like a baton. It amazed Zero how Red could swing that thing around so skillfully at the brisk pace the Hunters were setting. The night was absolutely gorgeous. Flawless, even. Sigma's proud form crested the still air while Zero, Red, and the human Hunters were just behind him. The rest of Sigma's Spartans, along with Vile, brought up the rear. They were perhaps 20 minutes away from their destination: Levitt Cresent.
"Watch where you cut with that stick of yours, milady," one of the humans was finally forced to ask when the wickedly sharp blades of the madly spinning lance gave him a close shave.
"Why don't you sing something else?" Zero suggested to his Mechadrake friend.
Red happily obliged. "Would you light my caaaaaandle?" She crooned seconds before a jet of flame launched from her mouth and into the inky sky.
"Uh...I meant a song where no one could get hurt."
"Oh." Red paused for a moment in thought before her face lit up again and she bellowed, "Ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball..."
"Ugh!" Zero clamped his hands over his ears in protest. "Just forget it all together."
Red laughed and playfully poked him in the back of his neck with a claw. "I can't seem to please you, sugar! You're such a dick."
Zero couldn't help but smile back. He punched Red in the shoulder. "I am not. You're a dick."
"No, you're a dick."
"You're a dick."
"You're a dick."
"You're a dick."
"YOU'RE a dick."
"You were probably the most annoying dick in Canada, Red."
The dragon thoughtfully scratched her head with an ebony talon. "Well, maybe I was." She threw a scaly arm around Zero's shoulders as they marched side by side. "At any rate, my Candyman, if you don't shut up, THIS is gonna happen to you!" Red laughingly speared the human next to her on her lance.
Zero stopped. He just stopped. There was Red Draco the Maverick Huntress with her lance passed right through an innocent human Hunter. The young man had a look of utter terror and shock twisted on his face. He twitched feebly at the other end of the weapon. Red merely lifted him off of the ground like a steak on a pronged fork and shook the body off of the lance's shaft with a look of mild annoyance on her face. The lifeless bag of blood soaked flesh sagged to the ground.
Zero noticed at this point that the party had stopped completely. All of the other reploid Hunters, Sigma and Vile included, had ringed themselves inexorably around the rest of the humans. Not a word was exchanged. Not even between the humans. Only slow, demonic chuckling could be heard from the outer edges of the circle.
Zero did not join the other reploids in the ring of death. The only word he could managed past his parched throat was "Red....Red...."
Red looked at Zero. She was amused, not at all regretful or shaken. "What?" She laughed out loud. It was a ringing sound. "Did I do something wrong, honeycake? Hey Siggy!" Red turned to Sigma. "Zero's all broken up here. He seems to think I did something unneighbourly. You know I wouldn't do anything like that, right? I'm a good girl I am!"
"Why, no, Lady Draco." Sigma smirked dangerously. "You did nothing wrong. All you did was this!" The brawny Spartan plucked a helpless human from the condemned crowd. Lifting him off the ground a bit, Sigma expertly broke the man's spine, ceasing his futile struggles at once.
"Stop it!" Zero took a step backwards as the Spartans fried, froze, burned, sliced, stung, bulldozed, and stabbed the remaining humans accordingly. "What...what...?" He could not get past those words.
With the slaughter over, the so called Hunters fell at once to cleaning their bloodied weapons. No emotion whatsoever penetrated their faces, and none paid any mind at all to Zero's babbling. Only Red approached the shocked blonde warrior. The Mechadrake had not bothered to clean her lance yet, and the fresh blood trickled down its shaft and oozed in inlets over her fingers. There was something erotic about the scene in Zero's mind, and it brought that well known sweet 'feeling' with it at the worst possible time. He summoned all his will to repress it, and was successful after a very difficult struggle. Red smiled terribly as she watched.
"You think I'm stupid, my dear."
"Huh? No, Red! I don't...what the hell did you...why...?"
"Don't pretend to be appalled. You loved every moment of that massacre."
"No! I..."
"Why didn't you try to stop us, then? Why didn't you shoot me?"
When Zero did not answer, Red fished a still-warm body from the lifeless pile. Sheathing her lance, she held one limp arm up near Zero's nose and eyes, drawing a claw across the supple wrist. Blood instantly welled up in a thick red rope. This time, Zero's will could not stop the dreamy feeling from invading, and it surfaced on his face like a light. Red caught him.
"There you go, Zero. I don't know who created you, but you and I both know that it was someone who wanted you to kill. X avoids blood whenever he can. Celeste, despite her Hunting instincts, passed out at the sight of Skysheen mangled. Yet, you seem to get -- dare I say it -- almost a sexual pleasure out of mass death and suffering. That's why you didn't stop us."
All Zero could do was stare blankly at the Huntress' sneering face.
"Here's my point, muffin. You may or may not have noticed it by now, but we're going Maverick. All of us." Red's eyes narrowed. "You were meant for killing: it's your calling. Are you with us?"
Zero found his voice at last. "Red...why are YOU going Maverick? Is it because of Celeste and Skysheen?"
Red shrugged. "Kinda. When Skysheen told me that he was going to battle humans, I could hardly resist joining Siggy's cause with him. He's family. Mechadrakes stick together. Sky and I have been through a lot. I'm not gonna abandon him now."
"But..what about ME?!"
"That brings me back to my original question. Are you with us or not?"
Red's eyes cut into Zero again. He was in the spotlight: the other killers had stopped their cleaning and conversation and waited eagerly for the confused Hunter's reply.
Zero remembered. He remembered the dream he had had moments before awakening for the first time in his life. He remembered his beloved brother Bass' last words about 'making him proud.' He remembered feeling ashamed for falling in love with a human female who had wanted to follow in her dad's footsteps. He remembered Tess, sick and hungry, struggling to survive in the unpleasant atmosphere of the refugee camps. He remembered them all, and he came to a decision.
"No."
Red did not utter a word. Rather, she shrugged seconds before hitting Zero square in the chest with a blast of flame from her gaping jaws.
The firey blossom had confused Zero more than it hurt him; he struggled to stand and began a panicked run away from the Mavericks. He could hear their malicious laughter from behind. It burned his ears worse than Red's breath had.
Red. Suddenly, a black shadow, like one of a giant reptile in flight, draped Zero in its darkness as he desperately tried to flee. A nanosecond later, Zero was staring right into a gaping dragon mouth planted with rows of ominous teeth. The small spears promptly sank into his right shoulder pad. Red had her teeth locked on him. He could barely move for the weight she applied.
Zero resisted for as long as he could; soon, however, the pressure became unbearable. The armour on his shoulder gave way, and Zero finally allowed himself to scream.
The pressure eased. Zero sunk to the ground almost as lifelessly as one of the murdered humans had earlier. His swimming vision caught sight of Red glaring at him with a strange cross of sorrow and contempt before she flew off in the opposite direction, headed towards Sigma, Vile, and the rest of the New Mavericks. The Regal Dragons were dead. The Spartans were nonexistent. These were the only thoughts that occupied Zero's mind as he lurched his way back to MHHQ.
Concluded in Book Three...