Zero looked at the female walking gracefully down the hallway until she disappeared.
He then walked slowly into his room, he spoke to voice lock and the door opened. Zero absent-mindedly he entered the room and went for the PRS but as he passed the mirror and looked at his reflection he noticed someone else was standing in the room,
"Harpuia!" Zero exclaimed as he turned to greet the jade reploid.
"Zero." Harpuia nodded at the scarlet reploid.
"Harpuia, I'm sorry I lost my nerve back there... I'll understand if you'll dismiss me from being a guardian." Zero lowered his head.
"Dismiss you? I just came here to congratulate you. All by yourself you destroyed the strongest of the four reploids that the executioners sent upon us." A pleasant smile appeared on Harpuia's face.
"And if what I heard from our operators is true, you managed to knock one of those bastards to the ground." Zero forgot completely about the operators being tuned in at every moment of the mission.
"I don't know what happened to me, I went berserk and the power I had was simply amazing." Zero said looking at his hand.
"I think I can explain that," Harpuia said and drew a small holographic projector from his pocket.
"Your PRS detected an abnormality in your CPU, it seems that you have some sort of chip installed unfamiliar with us." A small holographic chip just appeared in Harpuia's palm.
"It's irremovable, meaning that if we do as much as slightly budge that chip you'll self destruct in enough power to destroy all of Neo-Arcadia. It seems like someone planted this chip in you, but I can't tell who. We call this a 'Frenzy chip' when your anger reaches a certain level the chip takes over magnifying your power to gigantic standards. We don't know exactly how strong can this chip make you but we know that once it takes over you lose control of yourself." Harpuia explained.
"So what you are telling me is that I am not responsible for killing Camazotz, but this chip is?" Zero asked, hoping.
"Exactly, it was that chip that spoke like Copy X not you." Harpuia said what Zero was thinking.
"But, why am I having these thoughts even when that chip isn't active?" Zero asked.
"It happens only after you're angry, think about it." Harpuia was right; Hyena angered him by calling him maverick. The second time he was angry because Harpuia almost defeated him. The third time was when Zero was angry about the humans' behavior and the fourth time was after he fought Thor and Bullion has offered him to join their ranks. Zero realized Harpuia was right, and decided to change the subject.
"So Harpuia, tell me who's the new cleaner?" Zero asked.
"What do you mean?" Harpuia replied with a curious look.
"You know, the cleaner girl that cleans the rooms. Alexia she said her name was." Zero said.
"But we don't have a... RUN!" Harpuia shouted and jumped to his feet the two just narrowly exited the room before an explosion knocked them to the opposite wall.
Zero groaned and he stood up slowly.
"Sabotage!" Harpuia said, "Inside the Neo-Arcadian core I don't believe it!" He was obviously shocked of the security breach. "But how did they place the bomb without the bomb detector going wild?" he asked.
"It has to be someone with access to a security terminal which means someone of the military." Harpuia said as he and Zero walked over to the mission room.
"Yes, but who would like to kill you? Maybe Fenrir Hahira..." Harpuia said and Zero recognized the last name.
"Hahira? As in Hyena Hahira?" He asked Harpuia, who stared at him.
"Yes, his brother is Fefnir's second in command." Harpuia explained, "He is very familiar with explosives but you said there was a female reploid that you talked to, he might have paid her to throw us off track." Harpuia suspected loudly, turning heads in the mission room.
"I think you'd better talk a bit more quietly." Zero suggested.
"Everyone back to work! If I see another face looking at me you're all fired." Harpuia said harshly and all of the operators and various assistants returned to work.
"I think I need to talk to this fellow." Zero said, "You try to find out more about that girl, see if you can find anything about her. She had dark blue hair and eyes, was about as tall as Leviathan, in fact she resembled her a lot. Look up anyone fitting that description and see if you can find anything." Zero said and left the mission room.
He left towards the training room, knowing that Fefnir would probably be inside. He planned to ask Fefnir where this Fenrir was but was in luck.
He entered the room and found Fefnir talking to a rather feral-looking wolf-like reploid.
"Fefnir!" Zero exclaimed as he entered, drawing the attention of both reploid.
The wolf-like reploid immediately saluted.
"At ease." Fefnir said and the wolf ended his salute.
"What is it Zero? Something you'd like to talk to me about?" Fefnir asked.
"Yes, I'd like to talk to your second in command, one Fenrir Hahira." Zero informed but the answer came not from Fefnir but from the wolf-like reploid next to him.
"I am Fenrir Hahira sir!"
"Yes I'd like to talk to you then, Fefnir will you excuse us?" Zero asked politely.
"Yes, I'll just be off..." Fefnir said and left the training room, shutting the door behind him.
"Mr. Hahira, as you probably know your brother was killed because of me. He lost his temper and while trying to attack me he attacked Ms. Leviathan." Zero said formally.
"I know of that shameful display by from my brother's side sir but I assure you I am not like him! I will not attack any guardian unless I will see proof of that guardian being a maverick sir!" Fenrir said.
"Good, I just wanted to inform you that I am sorry for your loss. I never intended for Hyena to be killed." Zero said and Fenrir shouted, "Thank you sir I appreciate it sir!"
"Where did you get the name Fenrir Mr. Hahira?" Zero asked, trying to know Fenrir closely will be the best step in order to make peace with him. Zero thought.
"My first name is that of an ancient Viking monster, the myth says that he was son of Loki the giant Fenrir was a gigantic wolf that was so fierce that only Odin the chief of the gods' son Tyr would try and feed him sir! The other gods decided to chain him, so they got the dwarves to make a magic chain, made of secret things like the noise of a moving cat, the roots of a mountain and the breath of a fish. It seemed like a cord made of silk, but nothing could break it. Fenrir got suspicious and didn't let anyone go near it unless Tyr's hand was in his mouth. The other gods then chained Fenrir and Fenrir bit Tyr's hand off sir!" Fenrir explained like a true mythologist.
"Interesting..." Zero said, thinking of anything else to say.
"I thank you for your time Mr. Hahira, dismissed." Zero said and left the room.
Meanwhile at the mission room..."Look up all known images of the following description:
Species: Reploid
Gender: Female
Hair: Dark blue
Eyes: Dark blue
Height: Six and a half feet long
Armor: None
Name: Alexia, might be an alias." Harpuia said to the operators, who immediately input the information into their computers.
The large main screen flashed with various pictures of female reploids, including Leviathan and then stopped on an image.
"Match." The operators said, the image was that of one tall and muscled reploid standing on a sand dune, his face covered with a hood along with a blue haired, blue-eyed reploid holding a spear-like weapon.
"The image was taken by a reconnaissance group of Pantheons who were found deactivated in the desert." One of the operators informed.
The female reploid did resemble Leviathan greatly, if you changed her facial notes a bit, the cold stare in her eyes and the color of her hair you would have gotten a perfect copy.
"I'm interested in the reploid next to her." Harpuia said and the image focused on the reploid.
He wore a torn black robe that only reached his ankles and a torn hood covered his face with a shadow.
In one hand he held a beam weapon of a kind but the torn robe blocked it so Harpuia couldn't determine what weapon it was but it vaguely resembled something he had seen before.
The reploid was muscled, seen on the reploid's arms and legs.
He was staring at the camera with two orbs of emerald and a stare that was even colder than that of the woman next to him.
"Those eyes..." Harpuia said to himself.
"Compare this image to image number four hundred seventy three from my personal image bank." Harpuia ordered.
Immediately a second picture appeared next to it, of Vulture in his battle armor.
The computer beeped and then several lines appeared to be drawing from each component of Vulture in his battle armor and to the robed reploid.
"Match." The computer announced. The eyes were the same and the weapons matched to be the double-edged beam saber.
The muscles the reploid had matched with those seen on the tight ultra-rubber parts of Vulture's armor (The specially made rubber armor protecting most of the body while the heavy armor protected the critical areas).
"Compare it to an image from Leviathan's image bank number four hundred forty nine authorization: Harpuia code zeta." Harpuia said and another image appeared, this time of Whirlpool in her battle armor.
"Focus on the female again." Harpuia said and the female reploid appeared instead of Vulture.
"Match." Said the computer again without even being ordered to compare them.
"Save file and send it to my personal terminal." Harpuia said and ran out of the room.
He then realized he had no idea where Zero is; he decided to check in the infirmary just in case Zero was visiting Leviathan.
He was right luckily, Zero was in the infirmary sitting in a chair next to the deactivated body of Leviathan.
"Zero," Harpuia started, and then both said in unison:
"It wasn't Fenrir."
Harpuia started explaining about the female reploid, along the way cursing the security system for allowing such a thing to happen.
"You mean she was an executioner?" Zero asked after Harpuia finished.
"Yes, it was that Whirlpool the one who created Poseidon." Harpuia said quickly,
"We have to get ready I believe their base is in the desert. The only possible location however is that of an old deserted stronghold of mavericks, the inhabitants destroyed less then a century ago by maverick internal wars." Harpuia said.
"Some of us need to stay here though, what if the executioners will attack in our absence?" Zero asked.
"Right, okay you and I will remain and I'll send Fefnir along with the best reploids we've got. I will awaken X's guard." Harpuia said.
"Okay I'll go brief him then, where are his quarters?" Zero asked.
"Take a left in the second turn after your room and you'll reach it." Harpuia said.
Zero dashed off, he ran all the way to his room that was being cleaned by several reploids.
He took a left in the second turn and reached a corridor with five doors:
There were two doors to the left, two doors to the right and one in the end of the corridor.
The doors to the left had been labeled with a golden plaque "Leviathan" and "Harpuia"
The two doors on the right were "Phantom" and "Fefnir" the one in the end of the hallway was labeled "Master X" that was where Harpuia currently resided, his old room empty.
Zero went to the second door to the right and knocked three times.
There was a strange sound as if something was being transferred away from inside and Fefnir opened the door a few seconds later.
"What's up Zero? Want to go duel a bit?" Fefnir asked.
"No, you have a mission. We found out where the executioners are and now Harpuia is waking up X's guard for an attack on their base." Zero said.
"What? All right, what about you Zero? Will you be staying here or coming along?" Fefnir asked.
"Me an Harpuia must stay here if the executioners decide to attack in your absence then we'll be here to protect Neo-Arcadia." Zero said.
Suddenly Fefnir's comm. lit up and the operator said:
"Mr. Fefnir please report to desert landing pad."
"I'll come with you there." Zero offered.
He walked Fefnir down to the outside of the base, they were transported by a shuttle to the desert landing pad, a gigantic platform in the middle of the desert filled with gun-ships military transports and bombers.
They arrived over there and a reploid briefed Fefnir about his mission.
Harpuia was flying high above the landing pad, watching carefully with his sharp eagle's eye.
Fefnir said goodbye to Zero and boarded one of the military transports, they were going to attack from the ground but they took several gun-ships along just in case.
Zero watched Fefnir's transport flying away and suddenly as if in slow motion it exploded above the landing pad, along with every other transport that took to the air.
The shockwave knocked Zero off of his feet and unto his rear and he stared in disbelief.
The transports fell burning to the landing pad, crushing the aerial fleet of Neo-Arcadia almost completely.
"No!" Zero yelled and jumped to his leg, sprinting up to the crashed transport of Fefnir.
He started digging in the ruins and debris, throwing chunks of metal everywhere until he fell to his knees.
He saw Fefnir's arm cannon, severed and burnt and crushed.
It was clear to him now, Fefnir was dead... it was another sabotage.
Harpuia yelled behind him at the landing pad's personnel, how Harpuia got there Zero did not know, or cared.
All he knew was that the executioners managed a crippling blow to the guardians and Neo-Arcadia, he could imagine them laughing somewhere inside their base, taunting and teasing him. Waiting for him to lose control again and in his rage destroy Neo-Arcadia.
To be continued...