Disclaimer: I don't own Mega Man Zero, or any of its characters. They are the legal property of Capcom. I do, however, own any other characters in this story unless specified otherwise. None of the characters own any part of me either, though I'm pretty sure Harpuia wants my head for showing him in his boxers in the last chapter.
Author: Hey again. Sorry it's been so long. Been up to my ears in graduation, plus job-hunting, plus teaching courses, plus training, yada-yada. You know, all the usual excuses. I just hope the extra one-shot I posted will stop the readers from tearing my head off. In this action-packed chapter, it's time to clean up Neo Arcadia. It seems that the attacking mavericks are much more than what they seem. The plot thickens. As usual, it takes the incredible strength that falls on a hero with a purpose on this day…
Zero: Heart of a Hunter
Chapter 3: Amber Skies
Everyone in the command center stood in shock as Harpuia finished his transmission.
"…and we need the Resistance forces to face the southern army when it marches!" His voice sounded harried and anxious. Harpuia's visage paused, and then…
"I promise the immediate cessation of all hostilities against the Resistance if you comply."
"I cannot promise your pardon if you help us…that is not my choice alone to make…but I promise a peaceful meeting between our leaders to try and negotiate the Resistance's pardon and return to Neo Arcadia. That much, I can do."
Then the image fizzled out of focus and the view screen was empty once more.
No one moved for a moment. Zero sat still, his cobalt eyes dilated in thought.
They need us. If we don't go, likely they'll be crushed. If we do go, then we lose a good number of our own as well if we push them back. But if those unknown mavericks take the Neo Arcadian capital, the human – and reploid – civilians living there will be defenseless against them, and if they're anything like what Harpuia said, we can't allow that. I can't allow that. These mavericks must be stopped.
He opened his mouth to order the shuttles to get ready for lift-off, but then a thought struck him and he stopped.
Of course, there is a chance it could all be a trick to lure us out. They could have just faked that video of the maverick army. We haven't heard of any mavericks here in the Outlands for ages and it wouldn't be the first time the Neo Arcadians tried trickery.
Zero took a deep breath and stood up. Only one way to find out.
"Zer- Commander, we should go help them. If we win, this could mean peace." Ciel looked anxious to get started.
"Ciel, we need to be sure they're telling the truth first." Zero walked over to the trans station.
Sheela, surprisingly, nodded at Zero and turned to Ciel. "He's right. I was thinking the same thing. This might be a trick."
Ciel stiffened slightly at the voice. She turned and glared at Sheela, who glared right back. The air between them was practically crackling with mutual dislike.
Zero was inwardly startled. He'd never seen Ciel look at anyone that way before. What the?
Ciel opened her mouth, looking for a second like she was going to argue…but then she stopped, realizing Zero's suspicions were justified.
He put the thought aside for later. "Don't worry, Ciel. We are going to help them. I'll just go and see if they're not playing around, and then we might get our chance at peace sooner than we thought." Zero said as he stepped onto the pad. "I'll be back soon. Until then…officers, Ciel, send our forces in the shuttles and keep them circling high and out of sight in the clouds near the capital until I call you."
"Wait a second, Zero!" Cerveau suddenly shouted. Then he stopped, looking slightly embarrassed as he noticed everyone in the room had turned to look at him. He walked over to Zero, saluted (Zero winced), and held out a pair of metal rods.
"Th-this is the new weapon I built for you, commander." he said lamely.
Zero raised one eyebrow and took the new weapon. "What is it?"
"I call it the Recoil Rod. I built it with the combined designs of the triple and chain rods in mind." Cerveau explained. "Good weapon for long range and thrust attacks, but it might take a while to learn to use it properly. I'll go over all the fine print with you later, commander." Cerveau, still looking sheepish about his over-enthusiastic outburst, saluted again clumsily and stepped back.
Zero nodded. "Very well. Merem! Trans me now to the landing zone coordinates they sent!"
"Yes, Commander Zero!" Merem saluted smartly and activated the trans unit. "Transfer…start!"
"Transfer!" Sheela echoed.
And Zero disappeared in a ray of light.
BRRUUUMMM!
Zero materialized out of thin air on a large circular concrete landing pad.
He blinked, his mind shrugging off the sudden change in light, and gazed at his surroundings.
He was standing on a landing pad built for shuttles inside a military air base located, he guessed from his sniff of the air, on a high building. There were guarded metal gates on all sides, twenty meters high, with sentries manning the battlements. Not mindless Pantheons, thankfully, but reploid soldiers, dressed in uniforms bearing the jade hawk crest that Zero recognized only too well as that of the Neo Arcadian Rekku army. Over the walls of this high security landing pad, he could see only what looked like the top of an observation tower.
"You there! Halt!" One of the reploids on the walls bellowed.
"It's Zero!" squawked the one next to him in surprise, seeing the crimson hunter below.
The first reploid stared at the second one incredulously for a moment before bellowing "Take him down!"
The Neo Arcadians opened fire, and Zero, cursing, pulled out his shield boomerang and activated it. He crouched under the long plasma plate as the shots struck it. The shield boomerang had been upgraded by Cerveau to be able to create a shield dome around him if he ever crouched under it and held it horizontally over him. He sat under the glowing plasma dome and contemplated his next move.
So…either these idiot soldiers didn't do their homework or this is a trap after all.
Either way, he had to get out before they started bringing in the big guns. Shield boomerang or not, he'd be a sitting duck then.
In any case, I've gotta move. Zero stared through the dome at the reploids manning the walls. There were about ten of them. This would be the longest throw he ever attempted. Flicking his optic sensors and his fingers at the same time, Zero inputted coordinates into the back of the shield and set it to charge.
The shield began to thrum with energy and vibrate in Zero's hand. Zero jumped to his feet and threw the shield upwards with all his might as the plasma dome broke. Most of the soldiers had used all of their ammunition on his dome already and were inserting full clips as he threw, but some still shot down at Zero, who dashed quickly around the inner perimeter to avoid the bullets.
The shield boomerang spun lazily in its flight, and then suddenly, the coordinates Zero had inputted kicked in and it twisted and shot around the wall perimeter in a perfect arc, flawlessly slicing through the nozzles of the soldiers' guns. There were shouts of surprise as soldiers witnessed the green blur literally passing centimeters before their faces, but not hitting a single one of them.
Can't have any misunderstandings anymore, can we? Zero thought, as the shield boomerang arced back into his outstretched hand.
"Hey guys!" he bellowed up to the dumbstruck soldiers before they could collect themselves. "You know and I know that I could scrap any or all of you without getting so much as a scratch, so why don't you just lay off the hardware and listen up…I was called here!"
"Draw side arms! Open fire!" the reploid officer bellowed, apparently ignoring Zero. The crimson hunter groaned as he saw they weren't going to be put off. He pulled out his Z-saber and prepared for a leap onto the walls.
This can't be a trap. They'd send more than a bunch of trigger-happy grunts here if it was. But if I have to defend myself…at least I tried to warn them.
"HOLD!" The voice thundered across the whole airfield, the voice Zero recognized and he knew could very well mean the difference between big trouble and little trouble in this situation.
Sage Harpuia soared overhead and descended down into the landing pad. Fixing Zero with a cold stare through half-open eyes, the First Guardian landed beside him and called up to the Rekku soldiers.
"Hold your fire! Zero is here under the terms of a truce!"
The soldiers stopped for a moment and gazed at each other unsurely, and then back down at the two reploids.
"Any soldier who draws will do a month's garbage collection!" Harpuia bellowed, a look of outrage on his face at their insubordination.
His threat made the reploids' battle-hungry expressions melt off their faces and their hands twitch away from their holsters. Zero chuckled quietly. It never fails.
"Don't think I would ever do you a favor like that again, Zero. Where in the heck are the Resistance!" Harpuia muttered sideways at him, glaring.
Zero frowned and turned to him, not bothering to deactivate his Z-saber. "First and foremost, Harpuia, it's your men you did a favor…not me. Secondly, the Resistance won't come until you show me exactly what we're dealing with."
Several of the Rekku soldiers involuntarily tensed up at the sight of Zero facing their master with a weapon drawn, and a few of the bolder ones went for their pistols, but Harpuia stopped them with another stony glare. He faced Zero again.
"I have no time for any foolishness. You must signal them at once and come with me." Sage said stiffly, standing straight with his arms folded.
Zero looked closely at the green-armored reploid. Harpuia's armor looked dented and scratched as though he had recently been in combat, and his face was pinched and pale-looking, with a long, red scar down one side. His eyes, however, were the worst of all. He was a reploid in the midst of true turmoil.
Zero smirked slightly. "Bit touchy, aren't we? You'd think a guy who called for help would be a bit more polite." Then he straightened. "Show me your mavericks, Harpuia...then I'll think about signaling the Resistance."
Harpuia stared hard at him for the next few moments and Zero held his gaze, emerald on sapphire, until the Guardian finally looked away. "Well…I suppose I can't pretend your suspicions aren't reasonable, Zero. Come with me."
Still holding the thrumming Z-saber at his side, Zero followed Harpuia as he marched up to the eastern wall and called for the door to be opened. The wall parted some three meters below the top and two long doors, designed for unloading from landing weapons transports and dropships, slid open to reveal the rest of the airfield.
They were standing on a large raised roof high above the ground, the whole roof large enough to fit dozens of aircraft. The building it stood upon reached so far off the ground it would be impossible to see it when one peeked over the airfield's perimeter. They would simply see the zig-zagging network of bridge roads and monorail leading from building to building.
"In the middle of the metropolis, I suppose?" Zero said, raising one eyebrow and staring around at the mega-skyscrapers all around the 'field'. In the distance and between the taller buildings, he could just make out the tallest building of all, the High Temple, glowering over all of Neo Arcadia.
Harpuia nodded grimly as he walked towards the air control tower, Zero following. "Yes. Not ideal, I know. This potential target makes it dangerous for the civilians below, Zero, but I had no choice. After the first few battles of the war, I needed more air bases…so the government gave me this civilian airfield for use…"
He snorted loudly. "I usually just assign my army's troublemakers here to get them out of my way, hence your welcome. I haven't had any use for this airfield until today, Zero."
"Perhaps it'll be useful now…" Zero muttered.
All around them were long runways for aircraft, along with refueling depots and storage hangars. A few of the fighter jets and shuttles the Rekku army used were out on the runways being tended to by hurried mechanics. Zero supposed Harpuia was having every last one of them tuned up and prepared for battle.
The Guardian turned and saw Zero looking at the aircraft. "Yes…I ordered every last aircraft armed and checked. We'll need all the help we can get for what's coming."
Zero's eyes flicked back to Harpuia again. The Guardian walked up to the entrance to the observation tower and hit the touch pad. The doors slid open and he walked in, Zero following. When they were both inside, the floor jolted and began to move, lifting them both in an elevator. Harpuia was silent as he stood with his arms folded and stared sideways at Zero's thrumming Z-saber.
"You can put that away, Zero. You know I wouldn't try to trick you…"
Zero raised one eyebrow before slowly deactivating his Z-saber and holstering it. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. Even if you do try to jump me I could beat you off without it."
Harpuia glared for a moment before the lift hummed to a stop, fitting seamlessly to the large, circular floor of the observation level.
Without a word, the green reploid walked towards a large landscope. It was a long, silvery steel tube set on a raised, mobile platform before a chair. Harpuia jumped up onto it and commandeered the platform, moving it on its supports to face eastward. Harpuia frowned as he put his eyes to the magnifiers on the scope and swiveled it on its support until he finally nodded grimly.
He leaned back into the chair behind the scope and turned his head to look down at Zero, who watched silently.
"Well, here's your proof, Zero…" Harpuia flipped the small lever on the landscope's control panel and there was a deep humming noise.
Slowly, a lens on the side of the scope clicked open and a projector screen slid out of the ceiling. Zero watched as the lens began to glow and filter the image of the scope out onto the screen.
Zero frowned as he saw it. So it's true, then.
Before him was a large picture of an enormous group of reploids, marching in rank and file. They were all armed and armored, and even interspersed with what looked like tanks and mobile missile launchers., along with enormous mechaniloid weapons.
Zero squinted to look at the two-inch tall soldiers on the picture and frowned even more deeply. Animaloid reploids…and definitely mavericks. It's all true.
Zero glanced up at Harpuia, who nodded and deactivated the projection with another flick of the lever. The Guardian, now looking a little more satisfied, jumped off the platform and landed beside Zero. "So we're agreed, Zero?"
Zero nodded slowly, his face losing its suspicion and becoming grim. "Agreed. Where's your command center? We'll take this from there, right?"
Harpuia nodded before stepping back to the elevator. "What about those Resistance transports?" he asked as Zero joined him. Zero nodded once and activated the com in his helmet wing.
"Sheela! Merem! Do you copy? This is Zero. Maverick attack on Neo Arcadia confirmed. Commence shuttle descent!"
"Yes, Commander Zero…"
Harpuia suddenly made a funny noise and glanced sideways at Zero, the hint of a smirk playing upon his face.
Zero glared at him. 'It wasn't my idea' he mouthed before Merem spoke again.
"…Commander, do you wish descent upon the previously acquired coordinates?"
Zero frowned. "Standby, Merem." He clicked off his com and turned back to the green reploid. "I don't think they should land and deploy here, Harpuia. It may take hours to get them from here to anywhere the fightings going to be…"
Harpuia nodded grimly. "I thought of that, Zero. But like I said, most of my other fields are simply too full of the Rekku army. I made arrangements to have your forces picked up and taken to the battlefront by transport…"
Zero shook his head before Harpuia could finish. "No…they're not going anywhere without my direction. Give me the coordinates of your defense line against the south and I'll get them to descend directly to the ground there."
Harpuia glared at him coldly. "We need the Resistance to reinforce our eastern garrison too, Zero. We may have less than three hours left until the fighting starts."
"Then get them transed. You can do that, can't you?"
Harpuia shook his head. "No…not enough energy…"
Zero shrugged. "Then I guess I'll reinforce the eastern side until you can cart the Resistance there around the city. How does that sound?"
Harpuia slowly nodded, knowing, no matter how much he may have disliked it, that Zero would be a greater advantage than any they could hope to have on the eastern front. "That's fine, but you'll have to get Fefnir to do that, Zero. All the large land transports belong to the Jin'en army…"
The elevator whirred to a stop again at the base of the tower.
"Where is my welcoming committee anyway?" Zero asked dryly. He knew that if they had been given the chance, Fefnir and Leviathan would have been there waiting for the Resistance. To greet him, threaten him, and provoke him.
Harpuia smirked slightly as he realized what Zero was asking. "I ordered them to stay put at the command center and prepare our defenses under the threat of suspension after the battle if they didn't."
Zero chuckled quietly before flicking his com back on. "Operator? This is Zero. Cancel the previous coordinates and have the Resistance descend to deploy at…" He glanced questioningly at Harpuia. The Green Guardian frowned and tried to recall it from his memory.
"…Z4-45 V7-31, Zero." He said after a moment, his brow furrowed.
"Z4-45 V7-31." Zero echoed into his com. "Prepare defensive perimeter with Neo Arcadian direction and expect Neo Arcadian Jin'en forces to arrive to redeploy some of our forces afterwards."
Her voice sounded anxious. "Understood, commander…relaying orders to Resistance transports. Be careful, Zero."
Zero nodded. "Keep my channel on standby for more information, Merem."
"Yes, sir! Merem out!"
Zero looked up. Harpuia was staring at him, smirking slightly.
"What?"
"Do you know how stupid that looks? Nodding into your com?"
Zero gazed at him levelly. Smug, aren't you. "Don't tell me you don't ever do it."
Harpuia shook his head, his face grim again, before exiting the tower. "Come with me, 'Commander' Zero. We don't have much time. I'll get a transport to take us to the command center. We've got briefings to give and old grudges to throw out if we want this to work."
Fairy Leviathan paced up and down before the briefing room, waiting for news over the com.
She hated this. Harpuia was away preparing his Rekku army for the battle and preparing for the arrival of the Resistance. Fefnir, meanwhile, was recalling his Jin'en army from their guard positions in the city and getting them ready for skirmish and defense on the city walls. Her own forces, the Meikai army, were of no use in this upcoming battle. There was no water anywhere nearby for her forces to attack from, and she had little preparation of any kind to make, so she merely paced the briefing room. She knew she would eventually be called upon for some reason, but she was certain she wouldn't like it when she was.
The worst part about being in such a predicament was the sense of danger ever-rising, and then the feeling of gut-wrenching helplessness kicking in as the enemy drew closer. Nervousness did not sit with Leviathan very well.
I hate this…It was her very thought.
We lose the Dark Elf and Master X to that overdressed, curly-blond peacock of a maverick, Elpizo! Then we get the city streets swamped with upstarts and have to clean up their mess! Then we see some mavericks that shouldn't even exist anymore coming onto us in overwhelming strength with no forewarning whatsoever, and now we have to strike a deal with the Resistance and Zero, of all people, to try and hold out! Making matters even worse, there's no water involved and unless I harass Harpuia or Fefnir I have to sit here and cheer from the sidelines again! Haven't I proven myself useful enough in their battles before! Something's gotta give…and double quick!
Suddenly, the doors slid open and Fairy stopped pacing and glared at the doorway. Fefnir stood there, dark circles under his eyes and his limbs looking stiff and tired.
"Hey Fairy…" he muttered dejectedly as he walked in. "I just got an interestin' message from our little green buddy…"
At that point though, there was a shout of surprise somewhere out in the corridor and Fefnir spun around while Leviathan looked at the doorway again. The shout was followed by what sounded like a hard crack and a familiar voice bellowing at some poor soldier to stand down. Leviathan and Fefnir looked at each other. Leviathan shrugged, but Fefnir grinned and glanced back at the corridor.
What on earth is with Sage this time? she thought.
Her question was answered a few moments later when a scowling Harpuia strode into the room followed by the one reploid Leviathan had never thought she'd see in their base unless he broke a hole in the wall and charged in, saber in hand.
Zero?
It was indeed him. Zero…still cold, still intimidating, and still as dangerous as ever.
Leviathan felt a wrench inside her as she looked at his face. She never knew why, but even though she cried out at night for the legendary hero's blood, looking at his eyes made her digestive unit turn to jelly. The strength and coldness the orbs radiated made Leviathan feel challenged, and she longed to meet that challenge head on in the reploid before her now.
Zero's gaze seemed to flicker to her for a moment. "Leviathan. Fefnir. It's been a while."
Fefnir growled, his red eyes glowing with barely-contained violence as he gazed at the only warrior who had ever bested him in battle. "Well…well…Zero…I guess I'm glad yer here. You came without the Resistance. Heh heh, how considerate of you. Guess this means I get to scrap you and make it look like an accident…care to step outside?"
He took a menacing step forward, but in a flash, Sage was in front of him, a palm outstretched. "Not here and not now, Fefnir."
Fefnir growled again, his eyes still fixed on Zero. "Look, Sage! Look! He's right here, in front of all three of us right now! He's been our biggest problem for the last year! Imagine what we…"
"Not now, Fefnir." The Green Guardian repeated sternly in the tone which he saved exclusively for a temperamental Fefnir that always made him halt in his tracks.
Leviathan smirked as Fefnir snarled and pouted childishly before glaring down at the floor.
Harpuia glared warningly at him for a moment before turning back to glance at Zero. "I…apologize, Zero. You're here under a truce and none of us will break that…" he then turned and looked at Leviathan with one eyebrow raised. "Right, Fairy?"
Leviathan smiled coldly, fixing her wide open gaze on Zero. "Rii-ight…"
Zero did not even blink during the whole exchange, his face remaining cool and impassive to the Guardian's antics. Leviathan felt vaguely offended that not even she had managed to catch his interest in any way. She felt he wasn't taking them very seriously.
Well, maybe I should remind him just how much he's dealing with…
"Zero…" she said sweetly, smirking at him slightly. He looked at her.
Leviathan smiled shyly and twirled a strand of her blue hair between two fingers. "If we're on the same side now, I guess this means I have to hold back on you now…hmmm, but in other things I don't have to hold back at all." She winked at him.
Zero, to Leviathan's silent delight, did manage to look faintly uncomfortable for a moment, but he quickly dropped it and looked away. Leviathan heard a deep breath beside her and she was sure Fefnir was trying not to grin.
Sage glared at her. "What did I just say to Fefnir, Fairy? This isn't the time to play around! Are the officers assembled?"
Leviathan nodded. "All of your men are in the next room for the briefing. I had a hard time convincing them to stay there and wait for you, Sage."
Harpuia turned and glared at Zero. "I wouldn't have been late if someone hadn't insisted…" he muttered.
The red reploid shrugged as if he couldn't care less. "So are you gonna brief them or what, Harpuia?"
He shook his head. "No…we are going to brief them.
Zero raised one eyebrow.
"They need to know, Zero, completely, and with no doubt whatsoever, that they must lay off you and the Resistance soldiers during this battle…" Harpuia said. "…and what better way to do that than have Resistance Commander Zero at their briefing?"
Fefnir suddenly snorted and burst out laughing. Leviathan grinned to herself, but didn't make a sound.
Zero! The commander of the Resistance! I just might need a drink…
"Commander…Zero…eh?" Fefnir managed to gasp out through his chuckles.
Zero folded his arms, his eyebrow twitching slightly. "I'm getting just a little bit tired of hearing that today."
Fefnir looked up, and his hostility seemed to vanish as quickly as it came. "Can't say I blame you, Zero. Titles and ranks can be a real pain in the neck from my experience."
Zero nodded, but Harpuia cleared his throat impatiently. "If you're finished, Fefnir, we'll discuss Zero's rank another time. Let's get these briefings underway. Pay close attention, Zero, these are for your benefit too…"
Zero merely shrugged again as Harpuia turned, gesturing for him and his two fellow Guardians to follow him. Leviathan fell into step behind Harpuia and Zero and was aware of Fefnir following behind.
Zero…she thought as she gazed at his back. Well, I can say I thought I'd never see the day…
Harpuia tapped the entrance pad beside the door to the main briefing room, and a voice emerged from the speaker above the pad.
"State name and rank for voice confirmation."
Zero watched as Harpuia bent down to the speaker.
"General Sage Harpuia, First Guardian of Neo Arcadia."
"Identity confirmed. Access granted."
There was a hiss and the door slid open. Harpuia beckoned with a jerk of his head for Zero and the Guardians to enter before him. Zero stood still and looked to Fefnir and Leviathan. After a moment's staring, Fefnir shook his head and walked through the doorway. Leviathan raised an eyebrow at Zero before walking past him and following Fefnir.
"Still don't trust us, Zero?" Leviathan muttered as she passed him.
Maybe, Zero thought.
As difficult as he knew he was being, caution was still engraved deeply into Zero's character, and as much as his heart might push him to do otherwise, his warrior instincts warned him against trusting the Guardians, who he knew were driven to fight him by warrior's rivalry right down to the deepest corners of their beings. But at the same time, he knew that the fact that the Guardians fought him for the sake of that rivalry alone made them honorable warriors, and for that reason he could probably trust them more than anyone else in a battle. Levi's question was indeed far more relevant than she imagined.
Zero shook those thoughts out his head as he followed the Guardians into the briefing room, emerging before a crowd of reploid officers who sat on raised rows of seats, or, in the case of the bulkier animaloid types, stood on raised platforms.
Zero's eyes roamed over the Neo Arcadians, who stopped talking and promptly fell silent, even more so than usual at the guest that their Master Harpuia had brought them.
Zero grinned inwardly as he gazed at each of their profiles. He read many different expressions on their faces: shock, outrage, anger, and things in between. Zero noticed a few familiar faces in the crowd and stifled the urge to chuckle at the daggers Aztec Falcon and Panter Flauclaws were glaring at him. The two of them looked ready to jump him right there and then.
Zero glanced over at Harpuia, who nodded and rapped his knuckles sharply on the closest desk to tear everyone's gaze away from the red reploid.
Harpuia, you're going to have one heckuva time…
"Gentlemen!" Harpuia began, frowning. "I expect you all to remain silent and accept whatever I say…and hold any questions for later. Officers will speak only when spoken to! We are pressed for time and there will be no disruption of this briefing!"
Their expressions changed. Mostly now looks of disgruntled and uneasy attention.
Harpuia walked over to the lectern beside at the front of the room and stood behind it. Fefnir and Leviathan walked over to the nearest seats and sat in them. Zero, smirking slightly to himself, took the seat next to them, earning many scowls from them and the surrounding reploids.
Harpuia cleared his throat and began to speak again. "Guardians Fefnir and Leviathan, Neo Arcadian defenders…we are about to be besieged by the one thing we never hoped to see again…organized maverick forces. As terrible as this is, we must make a stand and be prepared to face it!"
Harpuia clicked a button on the lectern, and the bright white walls of the briefing room disappeared.
Zero involuntarily jumped. The area had just changed. Now he was sitting in the middle of a miniature version of the desert surrounding the Neo Arcadian capital.
This room has a hologram feature. Of course…what better way to give a briefing?
Harpuia was now standing beside a mini-Neo Aracadian city. Zero saw, when he turned his head slightly, that the officers were now sitting on raised seats and platforms on top of tiny sand dunes.
Harpuia picked up a white pointer stick which, Zero could see when he squinted, had a small grey sensor set on its point.
"At present, we are expecting an attack at any moment from this army of maverick reploids…" he said, making a semi-circular movement and a swish with the pointer, making the holographic environment revolve to face east and magnify to show a horizon full of a bustling grey 'army'.
"These attacking mavericks are greater in number than our own forces, that much is known for certain, but we will still have the advantage in defense because of our walls and fortifications. The real threat they pose however…"
He clicked a button on the lectern, and the maverick 'army' seemed to rush up to the magnified city walls. Harpuia swished the pointer again and the image flattened to ground view with the gray blob of mavericks standing just before the city.
"…lies in their bombardment weapons and air forces. For that reason, Aztec Falcon and I will be positioned atop these walls with several Rekku aircraft and Jethawk squads to counter any air force the mavericks may have. In case of failure, anti-aircraft weaponry have been placed immediately behind the walls to be elevated and used by Jin'en gunners, but they are not to be fired until the Rekku units have been cleared…"
"Master Harpuia…" a reploid captain sitting across the room from Zero spoke up slowly.
Harpuia ignored him. "Bombs have been concealed beyond our defensive gridline to act as a large detonable minefield, hopefully to take out the larger siege weapons, but we must be wary…it's likely they saw us planting the…"
"Master Harpuia!" the cat-like reploid spoke again, his voice louder and more insistent.
Zero grinned as Harpuia turned his icy glare on the captain. "Did I not give out orders that my briefing was not to be disturbed, Fealikks?"
Reminds me of someone I used to know, Zero thought.
The feline reploid looked faintly uncomfortable for a minute before straightening on his platform, swishing his long, jagged tail and gazing through slitted eyes at the green Guardian. He was clad in a white breastplate with grayish streak marks along it, and dark plates along his long, black legs. His arms ended in short, grey claws and he wore a heavy cannon on his left arm. His eyes were narrowed to feline slits and set inside horizontal diamonds beneath a conical helmet with cat ears and over a protruding cat's mouth. After a moment, his gaze swiveled and settled on Zero.
"Master Harpuia…forgive me…but I only wished to ask what I believe is on the minds of every officer present in this room…"
Zero steeled himself for what he knew was coming, and was faintly aware of Leviathan tensing beside him as well. Harpuia glared at the reploid.
"That is, Master Harpuia…" Fealikks continued. "Why are we concerned about the mavericks outside the city when there is one inside this very room, and a particularly notorious one at that…"
There was a general growl of agreement from many of the reploids in the briefing room. Almost everyone was looking at Zero.
"…" Zero remained silent, though he wanted very much to tell the cat where to stick his tail. Me, a maverick? As if he wouldn't already spit enough fur balls…
"Fealikks…" Harpuia began coldly, obviously annoyed at the cat's persistence. "I believe I already informed every one of you that Zero and the Resistance would be joining forces with us. We have struck a truce against a common enemy…"
"What hope is there that mavericks will ever keep a truce?" Panter Flauclaws spoke up then, his low, crackling voice seeming contemptuous as he glared at the warrior who had defeated him in the past. "Especially against other mavericks."
Zero reflexively clenched his fist around the hilt of his Z-saber at his belt, ready in case Flauclaws made a move.
"Do not be too quick to throw that word around, Flauclaws." Harpuia suddenly said in a scathing tone. "Zero traveled here in person…alone…as a pledge of the Resistance's support…"
"Master Harpuia, I would not call it a pledge as much as I would call it the greatest danger we could possibly face at the moment." Fealikks interrupted again. Zero grinned inwardly. Well…they know me. I just love my new fan club.
"Garbage collection, Fealikks!" Harpuia snapped. "One week for interrupting me and another for contradicting my order…starting immediately after this problem is resolved! You may be a reliable fighter, but I will not tolerate this insubordination! And Flauclaws…you better keep quiet for the remainder of this briefing or you will get the same! Now sit down!"
Both afore mentioned reploids were already seated, but they got their master's point. Flauclaws' pointed face looked sulky, but Fealikks merely swished his tail and said nothing, leaning back on his haunches and continuing to glare murderously at Zero.
Well, that's just peachy. Not only am I going to be facing a maverick army, but I also have to deal with 'allies' who would try to kill me just as quickly as they would. Gotta keep my optics skinned for backstabbers. Zero looked back to Harpuia, frowning and feeling a prickling on his temple. Leviathan and Fefnir, who had surprisingly remained silent during the whole exchange, were both looking sideways at him.
Harpuis cleared his throat again. "Now…as I was saying, the eastern mavericks will be faced by the bulk of the Jin'en legions with several battalions of Pantheons when they manage to breach the trenches and our bombs. More Pantheons will remain behind the walls operating turrets and standing by to reinforce them or face the mavericks in the event of a breach in the wall. Rekku Jethawks will supply support in both instances. I emphasize once more that the biggest threat is their assault weaponry, so that will be our primary target."
He paused and looked at Zero. "Resistance Commander Zero, please stand…"
Zero looked at him briefly, pulling an incredulous face. He stood finally, ignoring the burning glares he felt as Harpuia showed him off like a puppet.
Harpuia turned back to his men. "I will not lie to you, officers. Our current power will not be sufficient to hold off these mavericks without help, especially with the second maverick army to the south on the march and the now-critical energy shortage. For that reason, we are forced into an alliance with those whom we have called enemies…"
He swished his pointer again and the holo-room swiveled to face south. He tapped the 'capital's' southern wall with another blue 'army' drawing closer.
"The Resistance have agreed to support us in the upcoming battle by carrying out our defense of the south with our supervision until the eastern situation is resolved…or until they cannot do so any longer. Commander Zero, the current leader of the Resistance (Zero's eyebrow twitched again and he ground his teeth), will fight with us on the eastern front until Resistance reinforcements arrive to aid us by Jin'en transport…"
Fefnir quivered for a moment at that, but he said nothing.
"…and I want to make it clear that under no circumstances whatsoever…" Harpuia said, his voice louder and more commanding. "…is any one of you to harm the Resistance forces…or certain body parts important to you and not to me will be tokens of apology to them. Is that understood?"
Most of the reploids in the room remained silent, though some snorted lowly in displeasure, and others grunted grudging assent, particularly the 'male' reploids.
Clear as crystal, Harpuia…but it won't stop them from trying. Zero sighed inwardly and sat down. Maybe I should just stay on the east and leave the Resistance where they can't touch them instead. Yeah, I'll do that…they'd be better off not fighting with the Neo Arcadians.
"Forget moving the Resistance, Fefnir…" Zero muttered lowly to his right, just loud enough for the Red Guardian to hear. "I'll stay with you on the east."
Fefnir snorted quietly and, without looking at Zero, he said "What makes you think I was gonna do it anyway?"
"Commander Zero…" Harpuia said slowly. "Do you have anything to say?"
Zero winced at the title, thought for a second and nodded. He stood and stomped up to the lectern over the tiny sand dunes, making no attempt at politeness or formality. He stood before the lectern as Harpuia stood aside. He saw many expressions, and felt others. He looked at the reploids before him, some he had faced, wounded, and been wounded by in battle, some he had never seen and instinctively disliked, and others he had never seen and knew would stay away.
Fefnir and Leviathan looked at him with something like grudging acceptance. Aztec Falcon was staring like he wanted nothing more than to blast Zero, and Panter Flauclaws looked like he was trying hard not to snarl. The cat reploid, Fealikks, was glaring at him through slitted eyes.
One face though, was quite devoid of emotion. A cloaked and hooded female reploid seated at the very back of the room remained still. Her face was hidden, but Zero could feel nothing in her gaze. Briefly, Zero wondered who she was.
He snapped his attention back to the seats before him.
"If you cover the Resistance's backs…" Zero said slowly. "…I'll cover yours. Fair enough?"
The hazy morning sun gleamed dully upon the grey steel walls of the Neo Arcadian capital. The outer battlements beyond the walls now rose above a network of hastily dug trenches and obstacles to give a more defensible position to the defenders, who stood and watched from the lower walls. The red tiger-crested Jin'en reploids looked on grimly, interspersed with the mindless pantheons, who stood on standby. Of all the Neo Arcadian forces, the Jin'en land forces represented the fiercest, most fearless and reckless. They plowed their way into any enemy with berserker ferocity and almost unstoppable power…each and every one of them an image of their general. But they were still few in number compared to the vastness of the airborne Rekku and aquatic Meikai, barely five hundred, and it was for that reason that their expressions were grimmer than usual. They were far outnumbered this time, and even worse, by a large army of ancient nightmares who had supposedly been much more powerful reploids than they.
Who knew if the mighty Jin'en berserkers would even survive the coming conflict or if they would disappear forever in the mountain of scrap that was sure to follow this conflict?
That was the thought of Fighting Fefnir who stood at the forefront of his army facing the eastern horizon.
So many of them, and so powerful. Could we possibly win?
"Nervous, Fefnir?" Leviathan asked in falsely sweet voice from beside him.
Fefnir groaned inwardly. The last thing he wanted was to hear her voice anymore after all her pestering until he finally agreed to allow her to join his forces for the battle.
If this girl wants to fight on land so bad instead of in the water, why doesn't she just take off that stupid helmet, put on some better armor and sign up like everyone else? Why me!
"Hah!" He puffed himself up and grinned maliciously at the east to cover up his doubt. "As if! We'll recycle these mavericks and be back at the comman' center in time for lunch!"
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Fefnir…" his other companion spoke up quietly.
Fefnir turned to see their supposed 'secret weapon' standing beside him. Zero had remained silent for a good half-hour, staring stonily at the approaching black field and doing odd things like shifting his feet and rubbing the gem set into his helmet.
Fefnir frowned. He doesn't seem so impressive now…just standing here without a weapon drawn and no fighting stance. In fact, I barely recognized him when he came down here. He seems just like a…well…just some quiet kid. How can it be? He's the legendary maverick hunter, the only reploid who's ever beaten me, and now that he's on my side he hardly looks up to much at all…I guess he really is a mystery…
"What's your problem, Zero?" Fefnir growled, though he had to push to put all his heart into it. Fefnir cursed himself for the fact that he was inwardly too carefree to remain infinitely hostile to those who became his 'allies', even if it was someone like Zero…
Argh! Get a grip on yourself, Fefnir man! This is ZERO! The reploid you've sworn to destroy with your own hands for crying out loud! Gah! Better to concentrate on hating his synthoguts right now so there won't be complications later.
Zero smirked slightly. "Aww, you're worried about me? How considerate of you…" He smirked more deeply as Fefnir scowled. Zero's expression went serious again as he rubbed the gem set into his helmet as if it was a habit. "Those mavericks make me uneasy. I've felt the signature they're giving off before somewhere."
"Where?" Leviathan asked, turning her head to look at him.
The red legend shrugged and turned his gaze back to the approaching army, now only several miles away.
"Much darned use you are then, Zero…" Fefnir muttered, though whether Zero had heard him or not he never knew.
Suddenly there was a high, screeching noise blasting though the tympanics of every reploid on the walls. Fefnir and Leviathan involuntarily covered their ears and snapped their eyes shut at the sound, but Zero did not move, and his expression did not change as the terrible, keening note continued.
Fefnir growled and flipped open his wrist-com. "HARPUIA! Can you hear that? Harpuia! Come in!"
He could faintly hear static coming from the com over the screech, but nothing else.
Fefnir turned his head and forced his eyes open to look at Zero.
Zero's mouth was moving, but his face was eerily calm.
Wh-what the heck is he saying? What is going on!
"It's them…again."
Zero watched as, at last, the source of the noise finally shimmered into view before them.
It was a reploid. Female, humanoid, but large…much larger than any human. Her synthoflesh was a light shade of grey and her pale blonde hair and her prominent green eyes bugged grotesquely out of the unpatterned, haphazard holes in her green helmet. She wore an ancient design of greenish armor. Her long, black mouth showed two rows of uneven sharp teeth as she screamed, her red snake's tongue seeming to leap from between them. Zero thought at first that all of the screaming was coming from her mouth, when he noticed similar mouths set in the synthoflesh in the crooks of her elbows and her knees, as well as the stomach area. He shuddered at the sight of her, and at the energy signature she gave off.
The maverick continued to scream for another few seconds before finally lowering her voice little by little until the Jin'en forces took their hands from their ears.
Fefnir immediately snarled and raised his arm cannon to fire at her, but she merely screeched with laughter and snapped her jaws mockingly.
"Yoooouuuu…." she screamed in a high, cruel voice. "…really think you could hurt me with that, little Guardian? Your fire will not harm a creature of the lightning! Now stand down and hear what I say before I destroy you!"
Fefnir growled menacingly and began to charge his cannon. Leviathan flipped open her own com, shouting into it for Harpuia to respond, but there was no answer.
The female maverick screeched briefly again from all six mouths, making Leviathan flinch, before speaking again.
"Do not bother trying to use that while I am here to scramble it, girl! I am Urbalos Banshii…and I greet you in the name of my Master, the greatest living reploid. He offers you all the chance to surrender now and join our forces so we may seek to scour the world of the human infestation once and for all, as one race under the maverick name. If you refuse we will crush you all and bury this city in the desert! Surrender or die! Those are my Master's options!"
Zero did not move, but Fefnir bellowed "You can tell your 'Master' to take his options and stick 'em up his exhaust port, ya old hag!"
He fired his arm cannon at the hideous maverick. Banshii took the blast without moving.
Nothing. No effect whatsoever.
She screamed again and disappeared, her high, cackling laughter still floating in the air.
Zero remained silent, staring at the spot where the maverick had just floated.
"Zero! What the heck is the matter with you?" Fefnir growled at him. Zero ignored him.
It was getting closer, he could feel it. And it was growing. Before it had been sleeping, holding itself back to avoid showing its true power.
But it was awake now.
And it was crying out for blood.
"They're coming…" Zero muttered. "This truly will be a nightmare…"
"What's that?" Fefnir asked, sounding half-annoyed and half-curious.
Zero pointed. "Look…"
A great, dark shape had reared up like a black arm over the maverick army. They had halted…and the dust had settled. There was no sound. No sound at all.
The great dark arm seemed to rear back, and then fold back over.
It suddenly erupted a pillar of black fire that reached high into the air.
Suddenly, there was an ear-splitting crash from above, and a giant fireball erupted from the wall, gouging a great hole in it and raining fiery debris upon the Jin'en below.
"TAKE COVER!" Fefnir bellowed over the din as he, Leviathan, and the other Neo Arcadians scattered to hide beneath the lower walls.
Zero was dimly aware of the crash of burning rubble and the screams around him, but he still did not move.
Mavericks…once again.
He slowly looked up and gazed at the approaching nightmare back from the dead.
"Fefnir! Leviathan! Answer me!" Harpuia bellowed into his wrist-com from his turret as he watched the burning rain fall upon the Jin'en defenses.
It's not working. Something has to be jamming our transmissions…just like when I fought Stymphian and couldn't scan him. Gah! We need to find what's causing this and stop it or we won't stand a chance! No bombs, no reinforcements, and no battle recon! Darn it!
He looked up, and, sure enough, the maverick forces were breaking their front ranks and charging. Harpuia could see, faintly, the airborne mavericks speeding towards the city walls.
Harpuia drew himself up to his full height and bellowed down to his waiting soldiers and Jethawks.
"TAKE FLIGHT!"
There was no more time to worry about his comrades below, and he could only hope they survived that weapon and stood to fight as he soared off the turret and led his men to battle.
The fighting had begun.
A wave of memories crashed through Zero's mind. It was, without a doubt, the same maverick signature he had felt years ago, and though it tightened a knot in his digestive unit, he stood stock still unable to move as he finally understood the terrible power of what he was dealing with.
It was evil, not just misguidance or insanity as was the case with Elpizo and Copy X. This was utter and pure evil. The evil which had spawned the mavericks…and the one he existed to wipe from the face of the world. He felt a part of his soul…which had been dormant since his revival, waking up and fueling him once again…
…As he stared.
The mavericks…the true mavericks…were back.
And he, Zero, the maverick hunter, would fight them again. He drew the Z-saber and activated it. He leaped over the edge of the wall to the ground below, dimly aware of the shaken Jin'en emerging around him.
They were coming, running and jetting across the ground…to their doom at the hands of the Crimson Hunter. Zero raised his Z-saber and howled his battle-cry which had not been heard on the face of the earth for one hundred years.
And then he charged.
Author: As usual, please R and R. Yes, this chapter's a bit boring, I know, but I've run out of time. Don't worry, the next chapter will make up for it. I apologize again for this taking so long, and I hope the extra one-shot I posted in the R section makes it up to the readers. Next chapter: The battle is on, and mavericks appear left and right. Why aren't the Neo Arcadian coms working, and can they fix the problem in time? And the Resistance arrive at the southern front…along with a surprise. At last, Zero and the Guardians are on the same side and the war between the Resistance and Neo Arcadia is over, but will that come at an even greater cost yet? Time will tell.
Oh, by the way, for those readers who like that sort of thing, here's some short 'outtakes' from the story.
"Let's just sit down, okay?" Zero turned and moved towards his bed and Ciel followed him, and at that moment, the invisible spirit of klutziness chose to make its grand entrance into Ciel's life.
Ciel caught her foot on a protruding steel tile, and she fell forward and landed with a smack on the floor, her arms flailing for some kind of support…and support one found.
Zero turned to look down at Ciel, trying hard not to laugh. "Umm…Ciel, aren't you supposed to ask me out first?"
"Huh?" Ciel looked up to see her hand resting firmly on Zero's rear end.
(Author: Cut!)
As he thought about it, he quite failed to notice that his arm had somehow instinctively found its way around Ciel's shoulders.
She jerked slightly, but even though she stared at Zero, she did not pull away immediately.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
"Huh?" Zero suddenly realized where his arm was and jumped.
Before he could say anything…
The door slid open and Zero's Resistance fangirls jumped into the room. "Zero! We though we heard…"
They all fell silent at the scene before them, Zero on his bed, in his pyjamas, with his arm around Ciel.
The scream of "YOU PERVERT!" could be heard miles away as Zero crashed through the wall of the base, spiraling through the air and screaming like a girl until landing with a splash in the outdoor women's bath. (Author: First prize to the one who recognizes that scene)
(Author: Cut!)
Zero pulled himself out and scratched his head, confused. "Since when do we have an outdoor bath at the Resistance base?"
"Sage! Where are you...Whoa!" Leviathan jumped aside, narrowly avoiding the flying Guardian.
"W-what's with him?"
Sage sped on, eventually coming to the end of the dorm corridor. He sped right up to the window…and crashed right into it, rebounding and falling to the floor. "Ow!"
The maintenance bot controller grinned as he witnessed it over the surveillance. "There! That diamond reinforcing should teach him to start opening the thing first…"
(Author: Cut! Medic!)
"Sage!"
Leviathan ran to him and hugged him around the side.
"F-Fairy, I don't…please…get a grip." Harpuia weakly tried to swat her away.
Leviathan grinned evilly. "Don't think so, Sage. I've got just the thing in mind to make you feel better…"
(Author: Cut!)
Levi reached for the operating tray next to her, keeping her eyes on Sage, and picked up…a scalpel!
Harpuia and Fefnir both gasped in horror as Levi held it over his face.
(Author: Cut!)
Suddenly, she looked down at it and frowned. "Oops! Silly me."
She set it down and picked up the object next to it…a bright blue…
"Ready for your spongebath, Sage?"
Fefnir fell over, and Sage just passed out to get out of the silly situation.
(Author: Cut…please.)
"Ummm…Sage?" Leviathan asked hesitantly, blushing and looking to one side.
"What!"
"Look down, mate." Fefnir looked like he was tearing up in hysterics.
Sage looked down, and then to his armor and exclamation-marked boxers hanging on the chair, and his face turned bright red.
"You sure flying turtle wouldn't be better than flying hawk, mate?" Fefnir asked, grinning, causing Sage to faint from embarrassment.
(Author: Cu-…hahaha! Cut!)
Author: Again, please R and R. Love you all, readers.
Jim'Van