This is my first fanfiction, and it contains spoilers from Breath of Fire and Megaman X5 or X6 (I can't remember). I have created my own dragons and a unit commander, so I guess it's AUish, and a slight bit of OOCness is present. This fic is being co-written with the help of jq1790. Criticism is appreciated and flames will be laughed at, pointed out, and the flamer humiliated in the next chapter, so think twice before flaming.

This chapter is pretty dialogue heavy (does that even make sense?).

Disclaimer: I do not own Breath of Fire or Megaman X. This disclaimer goes for the entire fic.

Ian was walking through the city in his green armor. "Man, why do we have to go on patrol today? The ballistics unit isn't for this, it's for blowing the crap out of everything!" He sighed and put down his rocket launcher. "What was Signas thinking?"

His communicator crackled. Ian turned it on and received an "All clear, sir" from it. "Return to the base, then. Patrol is over," he said. He heard some footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw a blue-haired child in somewhat tattered. "What are you doing here, kid? This is the worst part of town," he said

"It is?" the child asked. "I'm new here."

"Really? Where's your parents?"

The child suddenly looked forlorn and averted his eyes. "I have no one left. They're all dead."

Ian looked shocked. "Oh my God, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked... Hey kid, What's your name?"

"Ryu."

Ian picked up his communicator. "Alia, I found an orphan by the name of Ryu. What sho-"

"Ryu?!" Alia's voice sounded surprised. "What color is his hair?"

Ian gave a confused look to Ryu. "Uh... He's got blue hair. What's so special about it?"

"Bring him back to base immediately!" Alia shouted.

"Yes, ma'am," Ian replied sarcastically, although startled. He looked at Ryu. "I guess you get to meet the Maverick Hunters."

"Maverick Hunters? Who are they?" Ryu asked.

Ian stopped dead, shocked look on his face. "What do you mean, who are the Maverick Hunters?" He turned towards Ryu. "What, do you have amnesia?"

Ryu, looking confused, said, "I told you I'm new here. This place, nay, this world is so different to me." He moved to a wall and slid his hand across it. "This wall, it's made of metal. I only know of wood and stone buildings, and they aren't as tall as these are buildings are."

"Wood and stone, huh? There haven't been any wood or stone buildings in about two hundred years... Augh! You're making my brain hurt!" Ian exclaimed and just stared at Ryu. "The point is, you're not from my world, and we better get to the base. I'll explain this world as we go along." He picked up his rocket launcher and started walking, Ryu next to him. "This world is a technologically advanced one. Most of the humans you see here aren't actually humans, but reploids."

Ryu looked at him. "Reploids?"

"Yeah, reploids. Reploids are basically metallic humans. They can talk, think, feel, choose their own actions. However, not all reploids look like humans. Those that don't look human are usually animal-like. Does any of this make sense to you?"

"Yeah. But who are the Maverick Hunters?"

"The Maverick Hunters are humans and reploids who destroy mavericks," Ian explained.

"Mavericks? What are mavericks?"

Ian thought for a moment. "Mavericks are reploids who have contracted a virus that messes with their systems. They are intent to harm humans and reploids. Harming a human is against the first Rule of Robotics: A robot must never harm a human being, therefore they are a threat and must be dealt with. You might think that killing them isn't very noble, but if we don't, they'd kill everyone."

Ryu looked down. "Are... are you a... maverick?" He asked.

Ian laughed. "I may be a reploid, but I'm not a maverick. If I were, I wouldn't be taking you to the base. Hell, you'd be dead by now!"

Ryu seemed to be thinking, then asked, "Can I be a Maverick Hunter? I don't want to go back to where I'm from. I didn't really have anything to do there." He pulled out his sword. "I can be really helpful. I'm an experienced swordsman."

"We'll see."

Soon, they were at the MHHQ. Ian saw one of his unit members, as well as a few from the other units. One of the Hunters was looking around feverishly until he saw Ian and Ryu. Running, the Hunter waved at Ian to get his attention. Ryu saw this and tapped Ian, causing him to stop. "Ian, sir, Signas wanted to see you. He said to tell you to bring the kid," the Hunter said. He looked at Ryu. "Uh, is that him, sir?"

"Yes, that's the kid. Thanks for relaying the message to me." Ian saluted the Hunter. "You are dismissed." With a "good-bye, sir," the Hunter left. The armor-clad unit leader looked at Ryu.

"Who's Signas?" he asked.

"He's the new commander of the Maverick Hunters," Ian said. "You asked to become a Maverick Hunter? He's the guy to consult."

They entered the building and called for the elevator. When it came, Ryu was reluctant to go into it. After he found out what an elevator did, he entered it. Soon they were on the top floor, and they entered Signas' office.