ooc: Zero looks just like Zero from the Megaman: Zero games for GBA. Please read and review
Zero
Chapter 1
Origin
Part 1: The Corporation
A lonely figure sits at the top of a tall, almost pillar like mountain, looking down at what is going on below. A long highway goes past the stony pillar, connecting two cities. There is a lot of traffic going on down there, with different cars and hovercars driving by constantly. Atop the pillar, the lonely figure smiles slightly, as he relaxes completely. He breathes out slowly, as the sun is setting in the distance. In sharp contrast to his relaxed demeanour, the lonely figure is wearing some kind of armor and has a sword lying besides him. The armor consists of a black suit. At his feet are large, red, armoured boots, and on his forearms are red bracers, which are golden at the wrist. At his crotch is a white sort of armor, which has a holster for guns attached to it. A red armor covers his chest, while a black and red helmet, with a green gem in the middle, protects his head. His long, blonde hair flows behind him in the wind, escaping the confinements of the helmet through a small hole near the lonely figure's neck. He stretches out a little, and then he lies down on his back, looking up at the sky. It has been such a long time since he had time to look at the stars. Sighing, he silently awaits the coming of the stars, as the sky grows gradually darker. Below the rocky pillar almost no cars are appearing anymore, because of a rumour about some desert bandits that are in the area at night. The wanderer has not heard that rumour, as he has not been near civilisation of any kind for some time. Not since he escaped...
Two weeks ago... A large building, which looks almost like a fortress, stands proudly as the last bastion of civilisation in the middle of the wilderness. Weapons of different kinds are situated outside the compound as defence, to keep intruders out. Together with the weapons, there is an electric fence surrounding the area. There is only one gate in the fence. At the gate is a single sign, which says: "Private property of the Arcanum Corporation. Trespassers will be shot." Inside the compound, everything is quiet. Except inside a room in the basement, where the humming sounds of several active computers can be heard from. The door leading into the room seems to be impenetrable, as if it was designed to keep someone out. Inside the room, there is a single hatch in the floor, nothing else. Down the hatch is a staircase, leading down to underneath the basement of the compound. Small lamps lights up the staircase, with a few meters between each of them. At the staircase the humming sounds of the computers are even louder, as an almost deafening silence are all around. At the bottom of the stairs is a long hallway, with doors on each side. From all these doors the humming of the computers can be heard. All the doors are firmly shut, so that no one interferes with what is going on inside. At the end of the hallway there is a single door, which seems to be even more fortified than the one leading down into this area of the compound. Inside the room an eerie green light lights up he room. Two men, dressed in lab coats, are inside the room, studying something on a computer. As the information comes up on the computer, the first man snickers to the other. Lab Guy 1: "Finally we got something useful out of that guy. Now what are we gonna do with it?" Lab Guy 2: "First of all, we'll tell the boss. Then we'll go down and look at how our little "friend" is doing. Maybe those down there want know this, don't you think?" Lab Guy 1: "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll send a message to the boss, then we can go." The first guy quickly taps something in on the computer, and then he sends the message. While the first guy is doing that, the second takes out some sort of remote control from within his pocket. He presses a button on it, and slowly a hidden door appears. After a few seconds it slides open, revealing yet another group of stairs, leading even further down. As if this is just routine to the two men, they casually walk towards the door, then they continue walking down the stairs. After ten minutes, the first man asks the other a question. Lab Guy 1: "Tell me, why do you keep this guy locked away down here? It isn't like he is dangerous or anything, is it? I mean, when we don't experiment on him he is locked inside that stasis field, right?" Lab Guy 2: "You're new here, isn't you?" The first guy nods, as they continue down the stairs. Lab Guy 2: "Do you even know why we experiment on this guy? Why we take DNA samples from him and stuff like that?" Lab Guy 1: "No. I've seen the results, and I have seen that they have been both positive and negative, but I don't know why." Lab Guy 2: "I thought so. You see, this guy, Subject Zero, as the big guns refer to him as, has a completely unique DNA code. There is none with a DNA code like him on the entire planet, so we try to get samples from him, and then we experiments a little on him, to find out how his DNA reacts to different things. Sadly, except for a tremendous potential for power within it, his DNA seems to react to things the same way that our DNA do. But there is something about his DNA code that we can't decipher, some strange strain in it. We have now been trying to find out what that is for years with no luck. And then, there's also the rumours, of course." Lab Guy 1: "The rumours? What are those?" Lab Guy 2: "There are those who believe that the big guns are turning Subject Zero into some sort of killer machine, controlled by them. I don't know about that, but I know that he has been brainwashed, so that he doesn't remember anything from before he came here." Lab Guy 1: "Yeah, who know? We're here now, so we better stop talking about it." Lab Guy 2: "Don't worry. It isn't like they have cameras or anything in the staircase. Listen to me and stop worrying; the boss isn't as evil as some make him. The reason that we are experimenting on this guy is to find new kinds of medicines and stuff like that. We're the good guys. I've also heard that they caught this guy while he was on some kind of rampage. He just went through town after town, demolishing them in the process, until our guys stopped him. But you can hear for yourself. I believe that some of his "guards" are here." Lab Guy 1: "I don't hope so. They're so creepy." Finally, after the two men have walked for almost half an hour, they reach the end of the staircase. A huge door, like the one that protected the room with the computer, is located at the end of the stairs, seemingly impossible to get through. The second man just smiles, as he once again pulls out his remote controller. He points it at the door and presses a button. Suddenly the door starts moving, slowly opening. An overwhelming bright light meets the two men, as they walk inside, at least compared to the dim green light that lights up the stairs. Inside are three scientists, two men and one woman, dressed in lab coats similar to those worn by the two men. There are several computers all over the room, and in the middle is a lonely figure, held upright by some kind of machine that is connected to his back. Several tick cables run from the machine up into the ceiling. A strange blue light is located around the figure, almost as it seems to keep him where he is. Even though the figure's body is standing almost upright, his head is hanging down, his eyes closed, as his long, blonde hair falls down from his neck. A grey sort of shell covers his body, formed like some sort of armor. Several large machines are located around him. Lab Guy 1: "So this is the stasis field. I've never seen technology like this before. It is incredible." The female scientist turns around, facing the two newcomers. Scientist Woman: "Yes, isn't it? It keeps him alive, frozen in time. He doesn't age, and he doesn't feel time passing. Only when we release him. Not that it happens that often these days. Thanks to the technology that we have from his very own armor, we are now able to take DNA samples from him without breaking the stasis field. I have no idea, where technology like that armor originates from. If it wasn't because of the stasis suit that we have placed him in, the stasis field wouldn't even affect him." One of the male scientist looks at the woman with an angry expression. The woman sees this and stops talking, then she turns towards he computer screen once again. The male scientist who looked at the woman then walks over to the two men, staring at them. Scientist Guy 1: "What do you want here? Are you two not supposed to receive our results up in the entrance room? Or have I mistaken something?" Lab Guy 2: "You're absolutely right, Dr. Cortez, but our schedule also says that we have to go down here and check on you guys some times, and it is one of those times now. Just continue, we'll leave shortly." Dr. Cortez looks like he is about to say something, but he stops, as his computer begins to say some weird sounds. A puzzled expression appears on his face, as he quickly runs over to it. On the screen a message appears, through the internal message system of the Arcanum Corporation. Message: Doctor Tobias Cortez... It has come to our attention that you have yet to get any useful results from Subject Zero's DNA code, even though you have been working on the project for years. You have one week from now to get some results, or you will be TERMINATED from the project. Focus, Doctor. The Arcanum Council Almost shaking, Dr. Cortez reads the message over and over, much to the confusion of his colleagues. They had always known Dr. Cortez as a fearless man, who had no respect for anyone but himself and the mysterious leaders of the Arcanum Corporation. Seeing him shaking now, the male scientist questionably looks at his superior. Scientist Guy: "Sir... Dr. Cortez? What is wrong?" Dr. Cortez turns to face the man, his voice shaking as he speaks. Dr. Cortez: "We have one week. I will be terminated from the project if it takes any longer to get some results. And we all know what the Arcanum Council means when they say terminated, right? Our only option is to temporarily release him and try to get some more technology from his armor. Then we must try to enact some more experiments on him." The scientists all agrees, even though Dr. Cortez is harsh, he is their superior, and he has led this project for years. If a new leader arrives, he or she might screw up everything they have found out this far. Dr. Cortez: "Very well. Have the inhibitor collar ready. We'll release him from the stasis field now." One of the two guys from the room with the single computer quickly gets some kind of collar in his hands, while the other seems to ready himself. Lab Guy 1: "I get hold of him as quick as possible. Are you ready to put the collar on him?" Lab Guy 2: "Of course I'm ready! Dr. Cortez, you can shut the power to the stasis field down now." Dr. Cortez nods, as he pushes a button on his keyboard. Suddenly the blue light surrounding the figure in the middle of the room disappears, his eyes opening in the same second. Black, piercing eyes look upon the five scientists, as if he is trying to remember who they are. Suddenly anger wells up in his eyes, as he remembers them. Suddenly one of the scientist jumps at Subject Zero, trying to hold him with all of his strength. Subject Zero struggles to free himself, but he is still too groggy from his confinement within the stasis field, so the scientist manages to hold him down, as another scientist places the inhibitor collar around the subject's neck. Once the collar is secured around the subject's neck, Dr. Cortez presses a button on his keyboard, and suddenly Subject Zero falls to the ground, unable to move. The two scientists let go of him and walk over to the others. Lab Guy 1: "So, is he pacified now?" Dr. Cortez: "Yes. He wont even be able to speak, if I doesn't allow him to. It is so irritating when the one you're experimenting on keeps on talking and screaming." As the other scientist turns towards their computers, getting ready to extract the DNA code of Subject Zero once again, together with blood samples and other stuff they might be able to use. Some of them also gets ready to extract pieces of Subject Zero's armor, while the female scientist keeps a watch on the prone form, who seems unable to move. Suddenly the subject's eyes open, and his black eyes stares right into the female scientist's own blue eyes. Shocked by this, the female scientist finds herself unable to speak. The other scientists doesn't discover this, as they are busy getting their equipment ready. To the female scientist, it feels as if the piercing black eyes of Subject Zero stares straight into her soul. She slowly moves closer to him, keeping a watch on him all the time. As she stands just in front of him, she once again feels his piercing eyes, even stronger. Before anything happens though, the four other scientists return, all of them carrying different machines to extract the information they need from Subject Zero. The female scientist almost looks frightened, as the machines begin to stir. The male scientists and researchers slowly walk towards the prone form of Subject Zero, grinning as they come closer and closer. Unable to move, Subject Zero can just watch as the machines begin to extract his DNA and take small parts of his armor, the technology within going to be used to schemes currently unknown to Subject Zero. Slowly, the female scientist sits down in her chair, as she turns to her computer. The data from the machines would soon get in, and then she would have to evaluate it. But why should the results be positive now, when they have been negative so far.