A week later.

"I can't believe we did this," Axl said, gazing up at the wall in awe. "Do you think maybe they'll keep it?"

"This one's not pornographic, so maybe." Zest looked over his handiwork, then sneezed. "Gah… paint fumes. Damn near lethal paint fumes. Woo!" He ran a hand through his hair, accidentally spiking it with green.

"I can't believe you made the first one," Chip said, amazed. "This is just incredible!" Zest grinned, proud of what he had accomplished.

With Axl's and Chip's help, he'd repainted the wall. This time, though, the mural wasn't obscene… it was a group of Hunters dashing through a war zone, thrusters activated and weapons at the ready. Zero and X were both in it, Zero leading the way into the danger. And down in the corner was Zest's message… "Paint shall never prevail. Welcome to the second edition of this wall!" Axl had broken down giggling when he realized what Zest was writing there.

"The mad graffiti artist strikes again," Axl said with a grin. "But you better get cleaned up before someone sees us!" Axl laughed, pulling Zest towards the HQ. They had waited until the wee hours of the morning to do their mischief, so not many people would be about… and Chip was taking point, to make sure the halls were empty before Zest started down them. He had to get to the shower without incident, or they would be busted. Zest went willingly, if a little unsteadily. The paint fumes really had been enough to make him high.

"So, how did you like that?" Zest said with a wild grin. Axl grinned back, and Chip laughed softly as he checked to see if a hallway was empty.

"It was totally crazy and if X finds out it was us, we're toast. But it was still great." Axl said. "You guys are the best friends ever." Zest clapped the redheaded Hunter on the back, then grinned as they finally reached their room. Inside, he'd be able to spend the next several hours getting all the paint off.

"And you're a great sport, Axl. We couldn't have done it without you." That wasn't technically true, but it was close. Axl's hovering ability had made some of the more difficult parts a lot easier than they had been last time, even if Axl couldn't keep hovering indefinitely. Axl beamed at the compliment.

"What about me?" Chip protested, a little hurt, and Zest gave him a grin.

"Oh, we couldn't have done it without you either! How about I give you a great big hug" Chip stepped back with a mock expression of horror, fending off Zest easily.

"Not covered in paint! Yeeuch, wash first!" Zest laughed, and casually stripped off his clothes before he stepped into the shower. Axl blushed brightly, accidentally seeing more than he had planned on.

"Uh, well, I better get to sleep. See you guys later!"

"Later, Axl!" Chip waved with a smile as Axl dashed out the door, then he carefully picked up Zests' clothes, and used the Starduster to incinerate them. One of its settings had a disintegration effect on weak materials, so when he was done, there was no evidence left. They had decided that laundering the clothes would be a bit too dangerous, and Zest had some ratty things he could easily sacrifice.

It had been a wonderful adventure.

"Damn, damn damn!" X fumed, looking up at the devastation that had been the beautiful, pristine white wall of Hunter HQ. "I can't believe this!"

"At least the subject matter isn't as offensive." Vosk said philosophically, gazing up at the mural. "Actually, it's rather flattering. The portrayal of you is particularly good." It appeared whoever had painted the wall had devoted the lions share of their attention to X… or at least, had a very good grip on his character. For all the violence of the captured moment, X seemed solemn and a little sad as he attacked the Mavericks.

"What about me?" Zero grinned, delighted. "I'm kicking ass! X, tell me we can keep this one." There had been no question about keeping the last one, no matter how charming it had been. Little children had been asking their mothers about it and elderly folk had been offended. Well, mostly. A few old men had been drooling.

This one, though, was an enthusiastic but realistic portrayal of Zero, X, Axl and Vosk. X glowered up at it… then suddenly frowned, a thought suddenly occurring to him.

"Vosk is in it, but he's not well known." X said slowly. "I mean, recruit commander is very important in the HQ, but it never makes the news. Sorry Vosk." He apologized to the other commander, who waved it away and regarded the mural thoughtfully.

"You're suggesting this was painted by a recruit." Vosk considered that. "Possible, but the first one was painted during the previous class. It could be the work of a Hunter."

"One of the hoodlums from the 0'th squad." X muttered, but Zero only grinned and shook his head, not at all offended.

"If any of them had artistic talent like this, I'd already know about it, X. Remember when we decorated the lobby?"

"I'm trying to forget. Alright, not the 0'th. That leaves the recruits." X sighed. "And the security cameras picked up nothing!"

"They didn't?" Vosk questioned, startled. "Why not?" That was very strange. The cameras had been put in specifically to deal with this issue.

"Someone disabled them." X said grimly. "With a virus over the network. It was sneaky… they recorded blank tape for several hours."

"A rookie with computer skills?" Zero mused. "Do we have any rookies with skills like that?" Vosk was silent for a moment, running all the rookies through his mind. Then he shook his head.

"Not that I'm aware of." Vosk had no suspicions of the truth, since Zest was honestly not capable of creating the virus. He did, however, have it on his portable USB drive. A gift from his sister, Angel, who was a creative virus writer.

Someone else, however, did know the truth.

"You guys are nuts," Gilgamesh said flatly from behind Zest and Chip. Chip started violently, and Zest turned around slowly to look at the grey rookie, his eyes narrowing. "If X finds out, you guys are dead."

"Finds out what?" Zest said innocently enough, even as his mind worked furiously. How did Gilgamesh know? Had he seen them at work?

"You know what." Gilgamesh snorted, and Zest scowled as Chip looked horrified.

"X doesn't know what people don't tell him…" The threat in Zest's tone was unmistakable, but Gilgamesh only sneered.

"I'm not a damn fink." And he walked away, his spine very straight. Zest and Chip both stared after him, stunned almost speechless.

"…Wow." Chip said wonderingly. "Who would have thought there was something to admire about him?" Zest abruptly grinned, as he remembered a past member of his family, Raphael McCoy. He hadn't made the comparison before, because circumstances had been different… he had been Raphael's junior, not a peer, and had always shown respect. Raphael had also died in an accident before Zest could become a peer, so Zest had never dealt with him on an adult level. But he'd been a cantankerous bastard, constantly pressing on others, especially other men, in an effort to be more dominant. There had been more than one fistfight out behind the shed with Raphael's siblings and cousins. He'd been a brute, a bastard, difficult to deal with… and still family, with the family sense of honor. Making that comparison, between Gilgamesh and Raphael, suddenly made Zest feel better. He might be a bastard and they might eventually have that fistfight for dominance, but Gilgamesh wouldn't shoot him in the back.

"Yeah, who would've thought?" Zest agreed, and turned to look up at the artwork again. "Hey, where's Axl? We need that camera." Just in case the Hunters painted it over again, Zest had decided to take some pictures right away. Lord knew they wouldn't be the only ones. Several other rookies and Hunters had already dug out the digital cameras, and a few were using their cell phones to spam the images to their friends.

And Gilgamesh was true to his word. No one ever found out who had created the latest mural, and to X's eternal annoyance, Zero's wishes prevailed and this mural stayed up. Some kids were caught trying to spraypaint a different wall, but they were only copycat imitators. The mad graffiti artist never returned.

Well, that was what the Hunters thought. In actuality, he never left.

Zest grinned as he watched the rookies doing a far more advanced simulation. It had been almost four months, and they had all improved dramatically. He thought Chip and Gilgamesh were ready to be put in a squad, although they would remain with the rookies for the next two months anyway. Mordred was developing a surprising knack for infiltration work, and Kikana was still steady as a rock. Chalene had stopped improving, and Zest suspected she was going to be tapped over to become a Navigator. A prestigious job in its own right, and she would do it well, with her knack for peacekeeping.

But in direct contrast to the progress of the rookies, Zest's progress with X had stalled out. The blue Hunter wasn't ignoring him, exactly. He was polite and kind and they had even gone out for coffee. But he was just too busy for serious dating. Zest frowned slightly. The Mavericks were really keeping the Hunters hopping these days.

Zest's turn at the simulation finally came, although Phase let him work several notches above everyone else except Chip and Gilgamesh. They were able to hold out on the highest simulations now, although neither was as energetically violent as Zest.

Zest was only halfway through the simulation when it abruptly shut down. A siren cut through the air, startling all the rookies as much as the end of Zest's run. They all listened… but the alert wasn't for them. The X squad and the 15'th were being called out. The 0'th squad and the 13'th were already on urgent missions. That left only the heavy weapons unit, a small mobile defense force and the rookies in Hunter HQ. Not an unusual situation, and with the entire heavy weapons unit in place, no one would attack. But less than ten minutes later, Vosk and Phase approached him.

"Zest," Vosk said shortly, his face calm but his eyes hard and cold. Phase was visibly angry and upset, which made Zest blink. He'd never seen that before. Phase was usually cool as a cucumber. "You will be leading your unit on your first mission." Behind him, Chip had been drinking from a water bottle, and went into a spasm of choking. The rest of the rookies stared at Vosk with googly eyes.

This was completely out of order and incorrect. They hadn't graduated, they weren't Hunters, and this wasn't a real unit, although people called it the rookie unit. Zest eyed Vosk, then nodded sharply. He was certain the recruit commander had a very good reason to ask this of them, and most of them were ready. "Tell me more, sir?"

Soon, Zest was being fully briefed. He waved Chip and Kikana close, ignoring Gilgamesh's fuming. He'd watched Gilgamesh as much as any other rookie, and his plans left a lot to be desired. Kikana had an eye for practical problems while Chip could be creatively nasty. Vosk let them hammer out a plan, then approved it.

It wasn't that much of a plan, though. The Mavericks had attacked from all sides, and despite the units splitting up, there just weren't enough Hunters to cover all the hot spots. X and Zero were both dealing with some tremendous problems, which left Zest and the rookies as the only fighting force left. Zest suddenly wondered if the Mavericks had done this deliberately. Were they trying to wipe out a rookie class? With all the savage fighting, it would be a severe blow to the Hunters and might affect their prestige. And it might effect recruitment.

Meeting Vosk's gaze, Zest realized that the recruit commander had made the same calculation. He was betting on Zest, betting on Chip, Gilgamesh, Kikana and even Mordred. Betting that they could kick the Mavericks a new arsehole, even if they were young and untried. Zest grinned ferally. His own presence had probably been the deciding factor, since he gave the rookies a champion.

"Sir, I think the main centre of the trouble is here." Zest outlined a specific area. "I suggest a small team, myself, Chip, and Gilgamesh head for the centre of this spot." That was where the Maverick General was sure to be. Gilgamesh looked startled, then unreadable. It wasn't the first time Zest had picked him for something important, although it grated on him that Zest was doing the picking. "Kikana and Chalene can lead two teams… Alpha for Kikana's, Beta for Chalene's, and start cleaning out the Mavericks here and here." Zest pointed out the locations. "And Chalene, you'll keep Arby with you at all times." Chalene blushed, but didn't dispute his order. Arby was a very fit, but mentally childish rookie. Perfect to protect Chalene as she smoothly issued orders. "Remember, both of you, stay back and coordinate." They'd both been in that role before, but Zest wanted to hammer it home. Neither one was an X or Zero, and if they hit the front line they could very well die, or lose control of their squad, which was just as bad. They would have to be the brains of the venture since… "I assume Navigations are all screwed up, sir?"

"Naturally." Vosk said sourly. "And I approve your suggestion, with one exception. Phase will be coming with your team." Zest nodded respectfully to their teacher, who nodded back. "He will be your second in command." Vosk wasn't leaving anything to chance. Even Zest could die. "Who will be the second in command for the Alpha and Beta squads?"

"Uh…" Zest quickly examined the remaining rookies. He'd used up the best leadership talent, but… "Tiddily for Alpha, Homer for Beta." They weren't the most creative of the rookies, but they were among the least likely to panic. Which was likely to be the reaction for a lot of people, suddenly thrust into leadership.

"Very well," Vosk said, stepping back and looking them all over with eyes that glistened faintly. "Try to come back alive."

Kzzt… we're almost… fzt… ere! Zest mentally interpreted Chips excited message, blasting a Maverick with one of his guns. There was an obscenely loud explosion to the side, as Chip used the Starduster's maximum setting.

"We know," he muttered, dashing forward and slicing apart the resistance. Then he spoke more loudly. "Careful with the ammo, Chip!" Chip had five spare powerpacks for the Starduster, but the setting he had just used drained a good quarter of one. And once all the powerpacks were used up, the Starduster became a very fancy club.

I.. kzzt… goo… Zest decided to trust Chip, and concentrated on his own tasks. The Mavericks were getting harder, which was probably a good sign. They were nearing their target.

Phase lived up to his name, briefly blurring out and confusing the Mavericks before unleashing his own buster shots. Chip slung the Starduster over his back and unlimbered his laser whip, as several Mavericks got a bit too close. Fortunately, the Starduster came with a shoulder sling that made the move feasible.

"I would walk five hundred miles… and I would walk five hundred more… just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door…" Zest sang quietly to himself, so he wouldn't disturb the others. But moments like this really needed a soundtrack. Life really should come with a soundtrack…. well, with a mute button for the annoying bits.

Pushing away that brief moment of whimsy, Zest dashed out into the very centre of the area he had marked. This should be where-

And the ground collapsed under his feet. No… it SUCKED him under. Zest attempted to plunge his beam sabre into the edge of the ground entrance, but only lost the weapon as the suction refused to let go. He swore sulferously as he landed on hard metal.

"Well, well… the little copy of Zero." A terribly familiar voice came from the darkness, and Zest snarled as he saw brilliant red eyes glowing from the shadows. "Come to meet your maker?"

"You weren't my maker, Vile," Zest said sweetly. "And speaking of her, how is Morgan these days?" Vile's eyes flamed brighter at the mention of the Maverick scientist that had created him, and Zest grinned viciously. "I do hope she hasn't had a misfortune." Vile didn't reply, and Zest knew why. His adopted family had arranged a misfortune, at his request. Morgan wouldn't be making any more Reploid copies of Zero. Zest pulled out his guns, silently blessing his family for insisting he learn how to shoot as well as he used his beam sabre. "Stop hiding in the shadows, Vile. Let's do this."

"Yes." Bright light illuminated them both, and Zest dodged the fist of Vile's robot ride armor with another swearword.

"This is not fucking fair!" The armor gave Vile a tremendous advantage, and Zest had lost his sabre… but Vile only laughed coldly.

"I don't do fair." Zest dodged his next blow nimbly, and fired several shots into the armor. They seemed to do next to no damage, and the fist clipped him on the way back, sending him into the wall with stunning force.

I have to be clever, clever… what can I do that's clever? Zest bounced back easily, and kept dodging and firing as he tried to think. I have to get that armor off him. How can I get the armor off him? It'll take an explosion… yeah! He reloaded one of his guns on the fly, giving it a fully charged powerpack. Then…

Vile dashed forward, trying to ram Zest, which was perfect from his point of view. He leapt up, but not too far, landing on the ride armor. He ignored the spiking pain as the armor shocked him and Vile shot him just long enough to slam his gun down right behind Vile's back. The armor would have protected Vile against even a point blank shot, but it couldn't prevent him from jamming the small weapon into place.

Vile screamed in frustration as he heard the classic whine of an energy weapon set on overload, and Zest leapt away, leaving a trail of blood. Vile tried briefly to free the weapon and throw it out, but then gave up as the whine scaled up, leaping free just before the gun went off like a particularly vicious grenade. Pieces of the armor slapped into the walls, blown free by the force, and Zest just barely avoided being hit by a large chunk. He winced at the force of it, then scowled as he registered how badly he was damaged. Vile had gotten quite a chunk of him when he'd jumped onto the armor.

Zest took a deep breath, and took his second gun in a two handed grip. It was the only weapon he had left, a second handicap. He would have to make every shot count.

The duel turned particularly vicious, with Vile not quite as fast and strong, but far more intact. Zest started to pant, his generator desperately trying to stay cool as he lost more vital fluids. Zest swore to himself, wishing the bleeding would stop. What had Vile hit when he was on the armor, anyway? His diagnostics answered, and Zest rather wished they hadn't. He wasn't feeling much because of shock and battle rage, but Vile had shot him just above the gut at point blank range.

Vile laughed coldly as he realized that, and Zest slowly fell to one knee, breathing hard. There was only one last chance, and it depended on Vile being overconfident and cruel. Hell, that was a good bet. Zest slowly dropped his gun, as if he were beaten, a hand dropping down beside his leg.

He raised his head slowly, as Vile walked up to him, and grimaced.

"My friends will stop you," he said weakly, and Vile laughed again, leaning closer so his shoulder gun was almost touching Zests forehead.

"I think not. By the time they get here, you'll be dead, and I'll be gone." Vile said, amused. "Any last words, Zero 1.0?" Zest almost groaned. He couldn't believe that had once been his name.

"Yeah. Life's a bitch-" Zest abruptly moved, with the snakelike reflexes that had put Zero to the ground. Vile never knew what hit him, as the shot rang out and the back of his head exploded, showering the ground with red and black fluids and wires. "And then you die."

Zest slumped to the floor, feeling his systems finally giving up and going into emergency shutdown. The world was getting vague and distant, but it didn't matter… he'd won…