Book 4
Zero was inconceivably nervous. As he opened the ornate double-doors with a quick shove, he saw Christine in the distance. She was talking and laughing with her friends. 'Did she follow me?' Zero thought. He certainly hoped so, because that would mean asking her out would be a shoe-in. He didn't know why, but whenever he saw her, she calmed his nerves, and it freaked him out. 'Dammit, I'm a bachelor! Think Bachelor-ish thoughts...' he thought. Beyond that, though, his indoor surroundings were colorful and infinite; he couldn't see a wall at the other end of the room. Most of the wall was covered in sky pattern wallpaper, giving more depth to the illusion.
"Hello?"
"Hmm? What? Oh!" Zero looked forward to see a beautiful female receptionist reploid, but she wasn't as breathtaking as Christine. To Zero, there was no comparison.
"Are you Zero Omega?"
"Yeah."
"You have been summoned."
"Where do I go?"
"Go east until you hit a wall, then make a left, and it's the third door on your left."
"Mmmkay. Drugs are bad..." (He was watching the TV archive the day before his hectic encounter with Fropea, and South Park was one of his favorites, plus there was Scooby-Doo and Beavis & Butt-head.)
"Excuse Me?"
"Nuthin'. See ya when I leave."
"Have a good day sir!" You could almost sense how fake the sincerity in her expression was.
Now he just needed to get there. The walk was almost as tiring and thirst provoking as the walk he took to get here, but the air conditioning and occasional water fountains made this walk easier. When he finally arrived, he opened the door to find three men in lab coats.
"What's up?"
"Zero, don't you realize what's going on?" The tallest one asked.
"Nope, not a clue."
"Then, we'll explain it. After we introduce ourselves..." this time, the chubby one talked. The last one was tall and chubby.
"I am Dr. Yorvu." He was the chubby one.
"I am Dr. Light." Tall and chubby.
"I am Dr. Stij." Tall.
"I am Zero." Red guy.
Light said, "Hasn't X told you about the maverick occurrences? I thought he was your friend."
Zero replied harshly. "Hey! He's a good friend! He's just out on missions all the time. We don't have time to play Playstation64 anymore, and his communication device is only for missions now."
"I created X to be methodical, and he'd call you if he had the chance. But he doesn't, because the missions are all too common; and nobody has the ability to really help him. But you can change that. Don't think that nobody saw that Fropea incident."
"Hmph. How much did you see?" Zero retorted.
"All of it, Zero. All of it." Stij said.
"What're you gonna do about it?"
"We've got serious plans for you Zero, serious plans." Yorvu talked this time.
"What kind of plans," Zero had to ask.
"It won't be easy, Doctor," Stij said to Dr. Light.
"I know, but it needs to be done," he replied.
"Hello? Am I in this conversation?" Zero was growing impatient with the odd-looking doctorates.
"Zero, your abilities precede you. You know about them as well as your creator did. You need to tell us; where are the modifications for charging your buster and dashing in that reploid body of yours?"
"If I tell you, are you gonna cut me open?"
"We may, yes. But think about it, Zero. What if all the maverick hunters had the same abilities as you? What if they were all just as powerful? The maverick hunters could easily mow down all enemy forces. Isn't that worth a sacrifice?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sacrifice!? I thought you could just analyze the parts and write down how to make one or something."
"Well, yes, but you would lose your individuality as a powerful reploid."
"However, we've prepared a distinct piece of equipment and are prepared to give it to you, if you agree with this." Yorvu said.
"What is it?"
"An energy sabre."
"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt."
The 'Z' class upgrades were only issued to hunters and commanders who distinguished themselves from the rest of their comrades, and they were applied through the use of capsules. Once the reploid was within the capsule, it would quickly and automatically upgrade one of the four reploid systems. The systems are: Head (sensors), Body (armor), Arms (buster), and Legs (acceleration). On a side note, only X is able to assimilate new technologies into weapons, and so his buster was also analyzed. Thanks to that, there are now three kinds of busters: Mega busters (can't charge, can't assimilate), X-busters (can charge, can assimilate), and Z-busters (can charge(2 shots), can't assimilate). Most hunters have Mega busters, however 3 have X-busters and 1 has a Z-buster, because those who are good enough to receive a Z-buster opt not to, thinking the power to assimilate is better than 2 charged shots. Other buster types are currently being researched. Also, scientists hope to develop an air-dash system within the year.
2 years later
Zero had a lot of experiences over the two years that passed. The most prominent of them was that he was now Class A. That's right, he's a commander now. Ironically, X was under his command. Despite having been a hunter for so long, X couldn't compete with Zero, because he still hadn't received an upgrade. Only his X-buster kept him as a hunter.
Another experience that Zero had (shield your children) was his first girlfriend. After thinking about it a long time, he finally worked up the balls required to ask Christine out, and she accepted rather eagerly. Oh, they had so much fun. After watching a great romantic comedy at the local movie theatre, they went to an amusement park, played at the arcade, and even had an expensive dinner. Afterwards, Christine asked Zero if he'd ever had a girlfriend before, and when he said no, she was sold. His incredible innocence was so... sexy. She then invited him to her room (they're still at MHH, you know).
*flashback*
"So Zero, what do you think of my room? Tidy?"
"Uh... uh, yeah." Zero was so nervous, he was sweating out of every pore of his body.
"You're getting hot, huh? You look like you could use a drink. I'll get the wine."
"Wine??" 'What the hell... ooooooooooooooh. She wants me, doesn't she? Ho shit.' Zero thought.
"I hope you like red wine," Christine said sensually.
'I hate red wine,' he thought. "I love red wine!" As she poured the wine into two shimmering wine glasses, Zero started to become more aware of Christine's physical features. 'Oh God, her breasts are perfect... maybe they fit just right in my hand... and those legs, aw man. I can't take it anymore!!' Zero was now sweating more than ever.
"Hey Christine, why did you bring me here?" he said as he picked up his wine glass and took a sip. 'Ugh. I hate this.'
"Well, I just," her words seemed to trail off as she slowly sat down on her bed. 'I want to have sex with you.' she thought. The bed was a double bed, too.
Zero sat down also. "Christine, do you like me?"
"Zero, I..." Zero knew what was coming, since Christine was inching ever closer to him. He could finally answer those lips' call. Zero inched forward as well, and they shared a long, passionate kiss. Their lips parted, and the silence that surrounded them was nerve wrecking. "I love you, Zero."
"Oh God, Christine!" He needed her. Right then and there. He slowly lowered her onto her back, and then, well, you know what happened.
*back to the real world*
"That was the best 3 hours of my life, X."
"Heh, heh, heh. Zero finally got some pussy!" X shouted at Kalbon, Woxal, and George. Zero smiled.
