Chapter 6: Red Warrior Rising
Zero, still tired even though he is not human, slowly opened his eyes. His body, even though it was completely repaired, still felt as if two great Golems from the very core of Neo-Arcadia had taken him by surprise. But the red warrior smiled. Two lousy Golems weren't going to be able to catch him off guard from now on. Experience and untold power lies on his side, bringing his strength back to how it used to be before his century-long stasis.
Footsteps came closer to his recovery chamber. Peering through the glass, a familiar face looked through. A pair of brown eyes surrounded by a concerned face nearly covered the whole glass. Zero knew who it was. It must be Morris, the Reploid who had found him barely alive.
"Hey, Zero!" Morris said as he lifted off the clear lid. "It's about time you got up!"
"I could've gotten up sooner if it weren't for your loud racket," Zero replied as he winced. "Can't you keep it down?" The green-clad Reploid smiled as he shook his head.
"I can't keep quiet only for one reason!" Morris shouted as he threw an arm around Zero's neck and led him out of the room. "You should realize that you're lucky to be here!"
The dramatic yet amusing Reploid pressed the button to open the door. The metal door slid open, letting the early rays of sunlight bathe the room in its glow. Stepping out, Zero was surprised at the new look of the base. Looking up and down in wonder, he glanced at his guide.
"Yup, looks amazing, don't it?" Morris chuckled. "Here, let me show you around." They then walked into the elevator, waving hello at the occasional Resistance member along the way. Stepping inside, Morris went up to the console against the wall.
"You've recovered amazingly well for an ancient Reploid, Zero. You're known by all of our Resistance soldiers. I guess your reputation precedes you." Pausing and tapping his chin for a moment, Morris chuckled as he remembered something. "Well, maybe except for the really new members who have just arrived here recently. Oh, before you wander off after I finish my little spiel, Ciel and Cerveau want to speak to you."
An amazing assortment of buttons were on the console, nearly confusing Zero for a moment. But instead of pressing one of the buttons, Morris's hand reached to the side and flipped the entire keypad over. But what was amazing was that another keypad, this time only nine digits, was hidden underneath the first keypad. Sensing Zero's confusion, Morris turned and grinned.
"Miss Ciel and the original Resistance members told me about that monkey hunter breaking into the original base with the elevator codes," Morris said as he tapped in a series of digits. "If they ever do make it past the perimeter level, they'll never find the access codes to the underground levels. If they tried any codes or even plugging their special code breaking software into the systems, they'll be in for a surprise..."
"I see," Zero said slowly as he watched the floors slowly rise. "Has the Resistance grown much over the past year?"
Morris hesitated. "More or less. Ever since you retired Copy X, the tide of Pantheons have stemmed. Normally we'd get about five or six raids a month back at the old base but since you completely annihilated most of the core of Neo-Arcadia, it's fallen down to about two or three a month. And those waves are pretty weak, almost weak enough for the trainees to handle without the Elite Squadron on standby to back them up."
"Pantheons?" Zero was puzzled. "The name sounds familiar..."
"Yeah, Pantheons. A Reploid who was working inside the Neo Arcadia network defected to us after he was threatened with retirement for failure. He told us that the true names of the X Drones were Pantheons." Morris then glanced at the computer display.
"Ah, here we are..."
Elipizo stood impatiently at the center of the Command Room. It had been three days since the scout party last reported their position. And on top of that, that dratted so called 'rear guard' just had to return empty handed. Slamming his fist into a nearby wall, the commander's breath steadily grew heavier as his rage grew.
"Failures, all of them!" he growled as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Why, if I had gone with them..."
Elpizo continued to fume and rage, pacing through the great command room. The great doors that lead to the hallways opened, allowing two figures to enter. Blinded by the natural light, the commander of the new resistance base covered his eyes.
"Who goes there?" he barked as two beings entered. When they didn't reply, Elpizo made his voice grind in a threatening tone. "I said, who goes there!"
"Commander Elpizo," that familiar and irritating happy voice called out as the doors began to close. "I bring a valuable ally from the past. Zero, meet the new commander of the Reploid Resistance, Elpizo."
As the door closed with a mechanical whir, Elpizo was happy to see that the light was gone. Seeing the newly recovered Zero caused the circuits in Elpizo's mind to short for a moment. In the lapse of his manners, the commander could only gawk and watch Zero. After so many tales of how this legend of the past had saved the world from the vices of Sigma, it was no wonder why Elpizo lost his capability for speech. Zero could only look sideways at him before walking past him. He bumped shoulders with Elpizo, who hastily stepped back and saluted Zero.
"Um… wait a second…" Elpizo managed to stutter. "Allow me to introduce myself, Zero."
Zero looked once more at Elpizo before slowly turning around. The grind of his metal soles into the command room did just enough to show Zero's impatience at this suddenly hesitant and new commander. Zero had served under commanders like this back in his era and none were to his liking except perhaps Command Signas.
"Make it quick," Zero said brusquely.
"Ahem… My name is Elpizo. I have been appointed as commander of this new Resistance Base," Elpizo said nervously. "I've heard much about you and your talents, Zero. I would be much obliged if you would lend your support to us. Let's fight together and destroy Neo-Arcadia!" With a flourish, Elpizo held out his right hand to shake. Zero looked down at the outstretched hand before folding his arms across his chest.
"Destroy Neo-Arcadia, huh?" Zero said stiffly. "It's not that easy…"
"Then what are you gonna do, eh?" Elpizo replied scathingly, annoyed at Zero not shaking his hand. "Sit around and wait until they rebuild X? Then send down wave after wave of Pantheons?"
"I don't know," Zero replied. "Perhaps we ought to wait until Ciel finishes her energy research. With that complete, we can use it as a bargaining chip to negotiate peace with Neo-Arcadia."
"Ha ha ha… You're a funny Reploid." Elpizo cackled and laughed, doubling up. "Ah… Anyway, nice to meet you Mr. Legend."
"Come on, Morris," Zero said, nodding to his guide. "You've yet to show me where Ciel and Cerveau are."
"Right you are, Mr. Zero," Morris replied cheerfully. "This way, please."
Moving to the other end of the room, where another set of doors, smaller than the ones that led to the passages. A keypad with red lights was built into the right side of the doors, waiting for someone to activate the security code. Tapping in several digits, Morris stood back and grinned at Zero. With a click and whir, the doors opened sideways. Taking two steps into the new hall, Morris looked both ways before gesturing for Zero to hurry through.
"You're such a celebrity, Zero," Morris said as he hurried down the hall, Zero jogging to catch up. "Alouette's all a dither about you finally returning, Ciel's actually taking the break she deserves from her substitute energy research, and Cerveau's actually happy about repairing weapons for once."
"Really?" Zero said with a bemused grin. "I can only wonder why."
Morris chuckled, stopping first at a door on the left side of the metal hallway. Stepping close to the intercom to the right of the entrance, the brown haired Reploid pressed the call button.
"Who is it?" a voice crackled. "I'm almost done finishing some repairs. Can't this wait?"
"It's Morris, mister Cerveau. I've got Zero with me."
"Ah, Morris! Bring him in! I've got something new to show you both!"
In a trice, the door slid open and Morris beckoned Zero to enter. Stepping into the neat room, barring the single crate in the middle of the laboratory, Cerveau finished tapping the last of his weapon enhancements into what seemed to be a long chain affixed to the hilt of the Z-Saber. Turning around and shutting the tool he was using to place the enhancement chip into the hilt, Cerveau smiled at his two visitors.
"Ah, Zero. How are you doing?" the Reploid scientist asked as Zero and Morris came closer to him. "Morris, how's your blaster?"
"Fine, Doctor. How are you?" Zero replied politely. "It's wonderful to see you again, Doctor."
"Neh, it's still working, Doc," Morris said off-handedly. "If you would, can it be possible for you to enhance my blaster? You haven't upgraded it since three months ago." Cerveau sighed as he handed the enhanced and repaired weapons back to Zero.
"Morris," Cerveau said in an exasperated tone. "If I had told you once, I had told you a million times. We have not enough supplies and armaments to upgrade every Reploid's blaster! You'll just have to make do with your MB-17."
"Come on, Doc!" Morris said emphatically. "Elpizo's already got the new supplies coming in and there's still more coming from the raids he has been coordinating! Can't you give a little?" Cerveau still shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest.
"No can do, Morris. Either those shipments have to be coming in droves or that there's a horde of Pantheon Hunters are coming, I will not budge to improve your weapons."
"But you just repaired Zero's weapons!"
"His weapons are top priority. Yours are not." Cerveau said calmly. "If you wish to upgrade and enhance your blaster, fine by me. Get the parts I require and you'll get your upgrades. However, I will only accept this if you acquire the parts by yourself. No help from anyone or I'll make sure you will fight with that blaster until the day you die, Morris. Do I make myself clear?"
"Aw crap… Yes sir…" Morris replied sulkily. Sticking his hands into his pockets, he slouched and began to leave while dragging his feet.
"Heh, that happens all the time?" Zero asked.
"Honestly, Zero," Cerveau said as he shook his head. "How can you wear out your weapons like that? But don't worry, I've fixed them."
Cerveau chuckled as Zero ignited his Beam Saber. Zero swung the energy weapon and gave a low whistle at how it hummed gently. Switching his grip, Zero found the button to activate the Triple Rod. The saber collapsed into a staff but when Zero thrust the rod forward, a hooked green energy blade popped out on a line of green energy. Zero winced when the new addition to his saber struck a nearby crate, biting deep into the metal. Giving it a yank, the crate moved towards him before the energy blade popped out. It returned into the metal rod, deactivating with a low hum.
"Haven't heard it hum this quietly since I finished Copy X off," Zero said as he deactivated his weapon. "But what's this new grappling hook thing? And what happened to the Triple Rod?"
"Ah, the Triple Rod was severely damaged when you brought it back, Zero. This time, thanks to Elpizo's warehouse supply raids, I've kept the spear-tip and added energy chains. This new weapon, which I've dubbed the Chain Rod, still has the spinning blade technique, which you must've used several times with the Triple Rod. I must say though, it's an outstanding weapon." Cerveau gushed as he took the adapted weapon and swung it around several times. "However, it has a limited range and you can't exactly fire the grapple with accuracy if you're in motion. You'll have to stop to get a decent hit with the Chain Rod." The Chain Rod was deactivated and returned to Zero.
"Thanks, Cerveau," the Crimson Warrior said as he activated it. Giving it an experimental swing, Zero smiled. "This has to be invention of the century, Cerveau!"
"Hehe, have fun with it, Zero," the Reploid scientist stretched before turning back to the worktable. "Well, I'll get back to my research. Use it wisely, Zero."
Zero gave a hearty pat on Cerveau's back before leaving the laboratory. As the metal doors slid back together, Zero looked around for Morris. When he didn't find him, Zero shrugged and continued further down the hall. It didn't take too long before he reached the last door on the left of the hall. Looking above the door at the plaque signifying whose it was, Zero couldn't help but smile a little. Moving in front of the entrance console, he noticed a little sign next to it.
"'Door's already open'," the sign read. With a smile on his face, Zero went ahead and pressed the green button. With a quiet hum and whir, the door slid open.