Chapter Two

I sat back in my comfortable train seat, trying desperately to think straight. I
had just been told that my best friend had run off to find our absent girlfriends.
Okay, that wasn't so unbelievable...if I hadn't been so seriously trying to relax, I
would've done the same thing, probably. I guess, in that aspect, what he had done
wasn't such a bad thing. But without telling me? It made me think. Why would he
have run off to go find Iris and Roll without my knowing?
The girl from before tapped me on the shoulder, from her seat behind me. "I
couldn't help overhearing," she said. "This 'X'...he's a friend of yours?"
I nodded. "Here, no need for us both to strain our necks," I said, patting the
empty seat next to me. "Sit down over here."
She did, pulling her purse along with her. She took my hand, shaking it and
introducing herself. "The name's Rychel. Rychel Corey."
"Zero Omega," I said, smiling. "Pleased to meet you."
"So this X..."
"He's been like a brother to me ever since we both joined up with the
Maverick Hunters."
"You're a Maverick Hunter? Oh, geez..." she said. "I never expected you to
be the warrior type..."
"I still never expect myself to be the warrior type," I said, rubbing a temple
absentmindedly.
"So what's the situation with your friend?" she asked.
"He's, uh, gone off to look for some friends of ours...named Iris and Roll."
"I heard," she said. "Your girlfriends."
I smiled. "Right."
"Are they...really wonderful?"
"Oh, you can't imagine," I said, staring off dreamily. "Every time you look
at Iris in the right light, I swear it seems like angel feathers are blowing in the air
around her head. She's absolutely gorgeous."
"Is she a Hunter too?"
"She was," I said, "but she and her sister Roll decided to take off, to go look
for someone who could cure the world of the Sigma virus."
"Yeah, I remember hearing about that virus...again..." she said. "Did a
number on a few of our terminals at work."
"That's just the residual," I said. "Be glad your computers didn't try
attacking you."
"Yeah...I guess we were lucky."
"How many times have you fought it now?"
"Five, at my last counting."
"And...he's escaped each time?"
I nodded, closing my eyes gently. "Yes. He always managed to slip through
our fingers, no matter how much of his energy we drain away. He always has that
last little bit he needs to get away."
"Do you know where he is now?"
"If we did, you'd think we'd be pounding away at him with our weapons
right now."
"Oh, right...well, at least he's not the problem this time."
"I'm still not entirely convinced of that."
"What do you mean?"
I inhaled deeply. I knew how most humans would be inclined to react when I
told them what I was about to tell her. She seemed understanding, though...and she
seemed to genuinely care about my situation.
"I was a Maverick, at one time."
She digested that with a fair widening of her eyes, then nodded. "Okay.
You're good now, though, right?"
I nodded. "I was healed of the virus a long time ago. There's still some root
of it left in me somewhere, though...it gives me something of a sixth sense about
Sigma sometimes. In some odd way, I'm still connected to him, but I don't have to
follow his rules."
"And this...Maverick root...is telling you that he may still be alive, causing all
this in some abstract way?"
"Something like that," I said. "It's just a hunch."
There was a pause, and then she looked back up at me with the most innocent
look I have ever seen on a 22-year-old human's face. "What does it feel like, being
a Reploid? Knowing you have the ability to crush half the U.S. Army and get away
with it, but still having a conscience?"
It was a question that hit me hard. I had never thought to directly ask it of
myself...I had thought it countless times after my slavery to Sigma had ended. It
made me question whether we were, in fact, the superior race or not. In every sense
of the word, we were better than humans. We could run faster, we were stronger,
more agile, more efficient, more dexterous, and certainly more attractive, though
that made hardly a penny's worth of difference. Perhaps we were better than the
humans...but then, why did we seek to shelter them so frequently from our enemies?
Our enemies had become enemies to Reploids because of our allegiance to the
humans. Before, we had been at peace with ourselves. The humans had dragged us
into this whole thing to begin with...
No, Zero, I scolded myself. That's the Maverick talking. Reploids should
protect the humans in appreciation and gratitude for creating them in the first
place. I could understand that, though it would've helped for me to know exactly
who my creator was. Maybe then I could've seen the point a tad more clearly.
"It's complicated, Rychel," I said. "We were built to introduce a new
generation of life to the planet. Once we were born, however, it was revealed to us
somewhat painfully that maybe Earth just wasn't ready for a new race to settle
down just yet."
"You think we didn't want Reploids because of their free will?"
I nodded. "I think many humans were startled by the fact that there was a
new race of beings that were ten times as strong and fast as they were just walking
around like they were ordinary people...and as you proved to me a moment ago,
with the right clothes, it can be easily done."
She smiled and nodded. "Maybe you're right...but humans have grown to
coexist with Reploids peacefully..."
"Save for Mavericks and the now-defunct Repliforce," I said. "I remember
when we had to deal with them. It pains me to think that so many soldiers had put
their entire lives into working for that army, too..."
"It makes you wonder if you've mattered as a Maverick Hunter," she said.
That point hit home.
"Yeah," I said. "That's exactly right."
"Well, you do matter," she said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Believe
you me, if it was just the armies of the world up against Sigma, we'd be done for."
I put a hand on her arm. "Thanks. That means a lot."
"You're welcome," she said. "Just keep doing your job." She returned to her
seat, and I smiled and turned my head back to the front. "That makes me feel
better," I murmured, shutting my eyes.

* * *

I had slept for about forty-five minutes when I felt some peculiar rumbling
from the front of the car. I shook off my sleepy air and opened my eyes. Everyone
in the car seemed calm enough...conversations continued, everyone stayed mostly
quiet.
I turned back to Rychel. "Did you feel that?"
"Feel what, Zero? What are you talking about?"
"The train...it rumbled, just then..."
"I didn't notice. What do you think it is?"
"I don't know...trains this advanced aren't supposed to rumble like that
normally..."
"Maybe you should check with the conductor."
"Maybe I should," I said, easing out of my seat and into the aisle. Walking
up to the door leading out to the next car, I opened it and stepped through. There
were still two cars up before I got to the conductor. I passed through the other
cabins without a problem, until I got to the front passenger cabin. When I reached
to open the door that entered into the front of the train, the rumbling came again--
though this time, it seemed to be multiplied a hundred times. My legs gave way
slightly, and I fell to a knee. Getting back up, I slapped a hand on the latch of the
door and opened it.
Entering the conductor's cabin, I found what had been causing the rumbling.
A huge robot--comprised of metal junk and slag, it seemed--had decided to go for a
jog beside the tracks, and it slapped at them every now and then. It had, apparently,
shoved one or two of its fingers through the windshield of the train as well. Two or
three overlapping holes served to originate my guess. My first Maverick sighting, I
thought. Not even back at base yet.
I looked to the floor. The conductor lay in a thin pool of blood, gripping his
chest rigidly, and not moving an inch. I put a hand to his throat. No pulse. Damn.
Too late.
All right, all right... I thought, order of business here...talk to the passengers,
stop the train, and then...then I gotta take out this Maverick.
I turned on the train's public-address system and spoke clearly into the wall-
mounted microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, do not be alarmed. We have a
situation. There is a Maverick ahead of us. I'm going to stop the train, and then I'll
go take him out. Don't worry, I'm a Maverick Hunter. I can handle him. Just be
aware that I have the situation under control."
I grabbed the red-labeled "Emergency Brake" lever and pulled back on it
fiercely. Outside, I could hear the reassuring sound of the train slowing itself down,
courtesy of the electromagnets that propelled it. Well, the easy part's over with, I
thought. Now for the robot.
I drew my Z-Saber from my pants pocket. "Always keep you around, just in
case, old friend." I touched the pommel to my nose. "I wish I would not have had
any use for you before I got back to the base, though."
I heaved a sigh. "I may not be able to do this on my own. I'm rusty with
you, my trusty friend." I'd better be able to do this myself, I thought, scolding
myself in the next instant. I can overpower this thing...I did it last time we dealt
with Mavericks.
I nodded to myself and sliced at the ceiling. Cutting three sides of a square in
the metal, I bent the rest back so I could hop out onto the top of the train. As my
feet touched the top surface, I felt the train lurch slightly. It had finally stopped.
I popped the saber back into my pocket, pulling up another bundle of my
blonde locks behind my head. I used the loose ends of the band to tighten this hair
into a more compact form, securing it there to keep it from being a burden.
I reached back into the deep pocket for my saber, found it, and flipped it up,
catching it in my other hand. I tapped the single button on its hilt, and the pale
green streak of light that was the saber's blade shot out and surrounded my direct
vicinity with a gentle green glow.
I looked around. The streetlights were placed a little too far apart, it seemed--
light gathered in patches everywhere, but there was no real gathering of
illumination. The giant Maverick's head loomed before me, his hands scraping
along the tracks. He had obviously become amused by the fact that I had stopped
the train and had come outside to deal with him.
I jumped down from the train, landing ten yards or so from the nearest claw
of the hulking mass of metal. The light traced out what face he had in half light and
half shadow. A muted nose came as a halfhearted extension of the face, and two
red eyes glowed angrily under a solid jet-black visor. He reared his head toward me
and the eyes flashed beneath the visor. He was ready for me.
I twirled the saber once in my hand, put my weight on my back leg. If he
was ready, I was ready. "Bring it on," I said menacingly.
A claw swiped down to return my challenge. Shredding the track in front of
me as it raked its way downward, I managed a cut or three at its arm. I saw definite
evidence of damage...I didn't see him using that kind of attack on me again anytime
soon.
He made a noise of absolute rage and followed the first arm with his other,
swinging it down twice as fast. I dashed backward as it fell, keeping an eye on it.
Wait for it...I told myself. Don't rush it...
As his arm came crashing down onto the next section of track, I dashed
forward quickly and sliced my saber out to the side. Turning that side toward the
Maverick, I lifted the blade up and through the motion, finishing the "Shippuuga"
move I had learned a few years ago from a Maverick named Slash Beast. The giant
drew his hand back quickly after I struck it--he came away with more a of a tangled
mesh of wires and electrodes than an arm.
Me one, you zero, Maverick, I thought. Swing that other arm around here
and let's try this dance again.
I heard a peculiar scraping noise from behind me, and saw the train begin to
move off the track. Apparently, the Maverick's pummeling of the track had led to
the train jumping the main shaft of the track, and, if the giant continued, it looked
as if he'd shake the train right off the tracks completely. Not only were there
hundreds of people in that train, but there was a metropolis of traffic and
pedestrians below...What to do, Zero? Tick-tock, tick-tock. It's only a matter of
time before the car is off the rail, and its weight would be enough to drag the rest
behind it...
"Okay, change of plans," I said. "Gotta get those passengers off the train,
first of all."
But you've got to do something about the Maverick first, or you're a sitting
duck! I thought. Too many problems at once...not good.
I approached the Maverick again, dash-jumping to the other side of the
broken tracks. He swiped at me while I was in the air, but missed. I saw a small
metal box up ahead, probably a generator or energy distributor...I had an idea.
I lured him over my way, dashing to keep a healthy gap between us. He
plowed through more of the track, clumsily breaking off chunks of the stuff as he
went. I watched it fall to the ground below. Fortunately, everyone down there was
watching our little skirmish, so they were smart enough to move their butts before a
chunk landed on them.
Cutting my dash jets when I came within ten feet of the box, I ran my fastest,
taking a glance behind me at the approaching hulk. He assumed a cold glare and
continued advancing. Turning my head back around, I saw I was three feet from
the box. Dash-jumping from my position to the box, I coiled my legs under me and
landed on the box's side, pushing off of it with a powerful jump. I backflipped in
midair and brought my saber up.
Using my dash-jets to make me double-jump, I continued my spin in the air
as I raked the end of my saber into the Maverick's head, slicing all the way through
to the chest cavity. Once there, I looked around quickly. Finding his main battery
driver, I walked up by it and gripped my saber firmly. Leaping up into the air, I
kept my head tilted straight up as my saber emitted bursts of flame and ate through
the outer housing of the battery. At the apex of my jump, I grinned. The second
time around is always more fun, I thought as I turned the saber around and watched
a large jagged icicle form around the green blade. Falling with it, I raked the edges
of the icy dagger into the battery's core. As I fell to the casing inside his chest
again, I crouched and leapt up out of the dying Maverick's cranium, landing safely
on the track in front of him. He fell slowly, taking a few more chunks of the rail
with him, and collapsing into a heap on the streets below.
I smiled to myself. That went well. Looking back over at the train, car,
however...not so well. The car had dislodged itself from whatever little bit of center
rail had still been holding it on the tracks, causing it to slip further off. The only
thing that held it back from falling into oblivion was one of the cables from the rail
that had pulled itself away, somehow. It held one of the rear slipstream wings of
the car, and the rest hung off into space.
I frowned in disappointment and prayed silently. "I know I'm strong, but I'm
not nearly strong enough to lift that car back onto the tracks." I chastened myself. If
you'd've called the Hunters when this whole fracas started, you could've had a few
dropships to tow the car back onto the tracks, Zero! What can you do now?
I knew. I knew what I could do...absolutely nothing, other than to evacuate
the streets and buildings below. I knew that cable was coming loose soon whether I
liked it or not...
And then an interesting noise flitted to my earlobes, perhaps a variation of
Protoman's whistle...In any event, I turned my head toward the noise. Below me, a
figure in black armor raised an arm to the sky and shot off a grappling hook. It
lodged in a niche on the tracks, and I walked over to it. I had seen a long ponytail
hanging out the back, much like mine, but brown...I smiled absentmindedly, and
then kneeled down to where the hook had stuck.
The figure came rushing up past me, over my head, and landed on the track
behind me, sweeping his cape around gracefully, as in introduction.
"And you are...?" I asked.
"Never mind that right now. Let's just get over to that train car."
"Right." After I had noticed the voice, I had figured out it was a female, not a
male, and most certainly a Reploid. Yes, now that she drew her cape away, I saw
her armor.
I rushed over with her to the car. She led me around to the other side.
Extending an arm, she said: "Take a look down there."
I raised an eyebrow at her, but looked anyway. Below, another figure, this
one in tones of grey, had commandeered a crane of some description and was
easing an electromagnet our way.
"Nice," I said. "You do this often?"
She ignored it. "We have to set the magnet," she said. "Just make sure to be
away from it when it starts hoisting the train."
"I wasn't sure about that," I said. "You know, I figure I might have an
opposite charge or something."
She looked at me. Her face was hidden behind a dark black visor, but her
eyes were somewhat visible. She gave me a disinterested look and turned her eyes
back on the crane. She hopped onto the top of the crane, and I took a spot atop the
train car. As I landed, I felt the car lurch underneath me. Not good...I told myself.
This is not good...
"We've gotta hurry this up!" I yelled to her. "The train's slipping!"
She gave me a thumbs-up and yelled to her friend at the crane's controls to
hoist the magnet above the track. With careful instructions, the magnet was soon
atop the train.
"All right!" I said. "On my count, turn on the magnet!"
Another thumbs-up. "Right!"
"3...2..."
And then, the train slipped two feet further. I could see the sections of cable
that held the wing already frayed, beginning to tighten further and break. I regained
my balance and my footing, and checked the magnet's position. Still on top of the
train. Good.
"All right, we'll try this again...3..."
The car slipped another yard, the cable now down to a thread or two of wire.
I cursed to myself. I had to get this thing hoisted now.
"One more time. 3...2...1...Now!" I yelled to her.
I heard the hum of the magnet as it turned on. I jumped away from the car at
the last second to avoid being caught by the magnetic pull, and landed back on the
tracks, about ten feet away from the car. I saw the cable fray even further and then
finally break, and the crane lost hold of the car for one split second. I thought I had
lost it for sure, when a cable shot from the other direction, wrapping itself around
the wing-foil. My black-garbed friend had tried to keep the car up with one last
resort. And I have to do what I can to help, I thought, racing over to the crane and
hopping behind the girl. Gripping her hands in mine, I pulled with her at the car
while her friend repositioned the magnet. My feet had begun to make a dent in the
metal from the pressure exerted on it by my body. My hands began losing grip...I
grabbed again, but didn't get a much better hold. My hand slipped again, and the
girl lurched forward a tad. The train car began to teeter off the edge...I grabbed her
around the waist before she could go much further. Drawing her back to our
original position, I got my hold again on her hands, and pulled as hard as I could.
The train came back up about a centimeter and stayed put.
The magnet moved back over the train's length and turned on, clamping
down on it. The girl in black began giving instructions to the other, telling her how
to reposition the train on the tracks.
Finally, it was over. The train was firmly planted back in its track, and my
friend and I both breathed a hefty sigh of relief.
Still standing atop the crane, I tried to make conversation. "Nice work. I
probably wouldn't have thought of that."
"It wasn't much more than a last resort," she said. "If the train had gone
down while my hook was around it, I might not have made it back up myself."
"I see," I said. "So, why the mask? Are you afraid of anyone knowing your
identity?"
"Not really. I like the way it looks, and I wanted to surprise someone. He
hasn't seen me for a while now."
"So are you new at this rescue-hero stuff?"
"Kind of. We've been at it for a few months now, my friend and I."
"You a new Maverick Hunter?" I asked as I shook her gloved hand.
"No," she said. "Just kind of a freelance Maverick fighter for now."
"Do you and your friend have names?"
"I'd rather not tell you. You're quite obviously a Maverick Hunter, and I
wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for my friend."
"The one you haven't seen for a while?"
She nodded.
"Hey, maybe I know him. What's his name?"
She shook her head. "You're not getting that out of me either," she said.
"Could you tell me...maybe an alias I could call you? If ever I need to use a
name, it would help."
"You can call me Ebony."
"And your friend?"
"Sable."
"Fitting. That works for me."
"Thanks for the help," she said curtly.
"You're most certainly welcome," I said.
"See you around," she said, firing another grappling hook off into the
starlight. She swung off and out of sight. When I looked back into the driver's seat
of the crane, her friend had taken off too.
"Well, don't just leave or anything," I said indignantly. Speaking into my
communicator, I radioed Crysto at Hunter Base. "Crysto, it's Zero. Expect me
back at base in ten minutes."
"What happened to the train ride, sir?"
"There was an accident."
"Casualties?"
"One. The conductor."
"Right. I'll have Dr. Cain waiting for you."
"Thanks, Crysto. Zero out."
I made my way back into the train car and to my cabin. Finding Rychel
there, I made no effort to discourage her from locking me in a tight hug, one of
absolute, utter relief.