The motor home plugged away tenaciously, making its way down the Nevada road. Dust flew up in flurries as it passed by, coating anything unlucky enough to be nearby the road. Which was nothing. Not many things were insane enough to venture out in the noon day heat, in the middle of nowhere.
Inside the motor home was the clutter of six people making a home out of a space meant for four. Complicated by enough equipment to power a small rocket launch, packing into the corners and pulled out for entertainment.
On one of the cots was a small, frail looking young Reploid. He was spasming and twitching in ways that would have made most medical Reploids get very professional… at least, until they noticed the headphones stuck firmly into his ears. He was having a rhythmic fit. His hair was an orange red, and very spiky. If he were human a bottle of hair gel would have died to achieve it, but being a Reploid had advantages in that area. He was out of armor, wearing nothing but pajamas with jolly duckies waddling across them.
Three of his friends were clustered in the rest of the space. A very pretty young human girl was playing a video game against a spectacularly ugly Reploid male in dark green armor. If he'd been human, he would have been considered evidence for the Neanderthal mating with modern man theory. The girl laughed, tossing her sandy blonde pony tail as she was winning, then groaned at a sudden reversal. The third person was asleep on a nearby cot, preparing for his stint at the driver's wheel of the motor home. He was a middle-aged human, with dark skin and black hair. The two driving were a pair of cute little blonde Reploids, a male and a female. They both had orange and silver armor, in the same general style of Rockman X. Very generic, but they had a pronounced resemblance to each other. They had been designed to be siblings, and had embraced that identity.
The Reploid on the bed sighed as his song drew to a close, and pushed himself up on one arm, pulling out an earphone. "Pamela? Patrick? How close are we?"
"Another two days, Rose," the male answered. "Like last time you asked. However, it should only be two hours before we reach Purity."
"Purity…" Rose sighed, scratching an ear. "Well, we should be able to get munchies there. We're almost out of chips."
"Chipless," the male Reploid at the video game agreed. "Like animals."
"That'd be because you ate the last of them, Thing." The girl beside him said with a snort, and Rose grinned. That was actually the other Reploids name. Which made him feel a little better, being a male Reploid named Rose. Then the reality sank in.
"You mean, we're totally chipless? Not just semi-chipless? That sucks!" He exclaimed.
"Keep your voice down, Rose, you'll wake up Gerrick." The girl scolded him, shooting a glance at the sleeping human. Rose hissed, but lowered his voice.
"We better hope the convenience store has chips, June." Then he sighed, flopping back down on his bed. "Ugh. I'm going to try to sleep." The life of a traveling band could be quite boring… even when they were about to hit the big time. Or perhaps especially right before they hit the big time.
Their band had finally cut an excellent record deal, and they were going to Las Vegas to film the music videos in some spectacular locations and play at one of the major casinos. Rose was really pleased with the opportunity, and not a bit nervous. None of them were nervous. They'd been on the road for a full year, and every bit of stage nerves had been burnt out a long time ago. They'd even been on big stages before. This was just another.
Rose closed his eyes, meaning to rest a bit… and snorted awake as the motor home rolled to a halt. He rubbed his eyes, sitting up, then blinked as he realized…
"Chips!" He bolted out the back, and jogged up to the convenience store counter as Patrick started filling up the motor home with gas. Thing and June followed, making the cashier look at them in alarm. "What kind of chips, guys?"
"Tex-Mex Doritos." June said promptly, pulling two bags off the shelf. Thing went for some all natural, baked potato chips. Rose took several bags of onion and dill potato chips, then a twelve pack of Dr. Pepper. He thoughtfully added several large bottles of Artesian Well water. "We better get some Cheetos for Gerrick, or he'll skin us alive."
"Mmm, good point." Thing passed over a few as Pamela tripped into the store, quickly adding a half dozen bags of Twinkies and a couple boxes of Ding Dongs. The clerk shook his head in amazement at the pile.
"Wow, one heck of a party, huh?" Rose shook his head with a grin, paying for their things with his one and only credit card. If everything came out well, he'd be able to pay it off soon. If not… not.
They hauled everything back to the truck, and soon Rose was lying on his cot again. Unlike Pamela, Patrick, Gerrick and Thing, he and June had no license for vehicles of this level. Although Rose was cleared for a hoverbike, for what that was worth. So he had very little to do besides sleep, eat, and compose new songs.
"…" Rose suddenly sat bolt upright and grabbed a piece of paper, jotting down lyrics as inspiration came to him. This whole situation could make a good song! Not for their next performance, but they always needed new material.
New songs could make or break a band…
"Las Vegas!" Axl beamed, looking over the neon. Zero slapped him on the back with a grin.
The two Hunters were standing on the top of a nearby building, gazing down at the main strip and all the casinos. They had gotten up there by the simplest method… kicking their way up. If anyone had noticed, they hadn't dared protest. Zero's ponytail was very recognizable. Axl was sure if it had just been him, he would have been shouted at.
"I can't believe X passed this up," Zero said as he gazed over the bright lights appreciatively. Axl tilted his head enquiringly.
"Didn't you come here with him before?" he asked innocently. "And wasn't there an accident with a stripper, some whipped cream and a cherry?" X hadn't told him the details… X hadn't told anyone the details… but Axl had overheard him mumbling about the cherry. From the context of the mutters, Axl had been left to wonder exactly where the cherry had ended up. Something about getting a grip on the stem… Zero actually blushed, and looked away with a cough.
"Well, anyway," the red Hunter said briskly, and Axl grinned. He really would HAVE to get the full story out of X someday. It had to be good, to embarrass Zero! "We have reservations down at the Caesar." Zero grinned, recovering some of his usual attitude. "I just LOVE all the naked statues." Axl's eyes widened.
"Really? Naked statues?" Zero laughed, and nodded.
"Oh sure, it's authentic Greek and Roman stuff. They went for authenticity," Zero said, then smacked Axl on the back again. "C'mon, kid, let's go put our stuff in our rooms." Then he grinned evilly. "And see about finding some cherries, just for you." Axl gulped, then grinned tentatively. He was sure it was a joke.
Well, fairly sure, anyway.
Soon, they strolled casually into Caesar's Palace. Zero ignored the jaws dropping around them with practiced ease, as the humans and Reploid gamblers turned to stare. It wasn't every day a pair of world class Hunters graced a casino with their presence. The clerk at the desk beamed nervously, but Zero quickly set her at ease.
"Hello, lovely, I'm Zero and this is Axl. We have reservations for the penthouse?" Zero's charming smile and flirting tone made the receptionist smile more naturally, and nod.
"Yes, sir!" She gestured to a bellhop, but Zero shook his head.
"We can carry our things, darling. How about just the room key?" She bobbed her head, handing over the magnetized cards for the door. "Thanks, ducky."
As soon as they were out of earshot, Axl said to Zero, "Ducky?" Zero shrugged, his golden hair shuddering with the movement.
"She liked it, didn't she?" he replied. Axl sniggered.
"Yeah, but didn't you get that from Dr. Cain?"
"And so what if I did?" The cheerful wrangling continued as they took the elevator up to the penthouse. Soon, their suitcases were safely in the room, and Axl and Zero decided to explore the casino.
"Oh WOW!" Axl looked at the fountain, enchanted. "This is SO pretty!" Zero grinned at his enthusiasm. The fountain was outdoors, with statues of what looked like white marble and jets of water, with lights in strategic spots to add to the effect.
"That statue there is Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. Those winged horses are Pegasus." Zero said sagely, and Axl nodded, eyes wide. The fact that Zero didn't know much about what he was spouting was lost on the impressionable young Hunter.
"C'mon, let's go hit the slot machines." Zero finally broke into Axl's reverie. "We've got a lot of money to waste!" Zero saw no point at all in saving his wages. What was he going to do, retire? Not unless a Maverick did it for him. Axl smiled up at him. He saw just as little point in saving as Zero. The two Hunters went off to see what Las Vegas had to offer…