Chapter 26: Escape and discovery.
Zero opened his eyes, his head was aching and he felt sick. His blond hair was almost completely covering his view; it seemed someone took his helmet off. From what he could see from behind the locks of hair he understood that there were three more people in the room. One was sitting with his back to him, his outer layer was in some places metallic and in some places it looked like a skin-colored gelatinous fluid, which was dripping down to the floor. Another was standing in front of him and cleaning up his outer layer from the sticky liquid. The third one in the room was unmistakable, it was Harpuia.
Zero couldn't remember how he got here, not to mention why he had such a big headache. He remembered seeing Leviathan… no, two Leviathans and Fefnir too… He must have been crazy. It couldn't be.
He was in the infirmary of the Neo-Arcadian base and for some reason he couldn't move. He tried moving his hands but something was holding them back.
"Harpuia," Zero said, trying to blow his hair away from his eyes. "What's happening?"
Harpuia looked at him solemnly and stepped towards him.
"Harpuia, what's going on?" Zero asked, pulling his arms again to no avail. "Why can't I move?"
Harpuia stared at him a bit more, considering his words, then he said, "You're restrained Zero, I'm sorry. You've become a menace; you are jeopardizing the citizens of Neo-Arcadia. I'm sorry Zero, but…" He paused, looking at the floor and said, "We'll have to retire you."
Zero stared at him in shock A menace? Retire me? He thought, trying to understand what he has done to deserve something like this.
"We can do nothing, if we don't retire you the human government will force us to."
"Done." A female voice said, the nurse finished cleaning the gooey substance off of the person sitting in the chair. The chair turned around and when Zero saw Hubershnicdt's metallic face it all came back to him.
"They don't care about you Zero… Join us Zero…"
"You filthy bastards!" . . . "What are you doing Zero?" . . . "You know damn well what I'm doing!" . . . "Zero stop!" . . . "Zero no!" . . . "Thro me a stun gun, hurry!"
It all struck him; he was trying to retire Harpuia, on the way obliterating every obstacle in his course to the Neo-Arcadian base. So he was mad. He looked at Harpuia but Harpuia didn't look back, he simply turned and left the room.
Hubershnicdt looked at him and tried to say something, but his voice box was completely ruined. When he shouted for the stun gun the intense heat melt it, so what came out was a bunch of creaks and robotic unintelligible sounds.
"Hold on Mr. Hubershnicdt. I need to replace your voice box." The nurse said, Zero couldn't imagine the pain Hubershnicdt had been through to save his life. His duty as a Neo-Arcadian soldier was to eliminate threats. But instead he risked his own life to stun Zero instead of shooting him with his buster.
The nurse approached Hubershnicdt and he opened his mouth. She took out some device and pulled out of Hubershnicdt's throat the circular voice box. She then replaced it with another, shiny voice box and took out another device, it was long and had tweezers at the end of it. Near the handle was a screen, allowing the nurse to see what she was doing as she used the device to connect the wiring to the proper places.
"Okay, finished Mr. Hubershnicdt, the voice model you had is no longer manufactured so you'll have a different voice now.
"Thank you." Hubershnicdt said, all accent gone from his voice. His voice was now deep and confident. "Finally, I got rid of that old, broken voice box. I didn't want to ask for a new one but now I won't have that silly accent anymore. When I fought Hyena and my jaw malfunctioned the voice box was affected too." Hubershnicdt explained to Zero, "So since then I had that accent. I talked like a German to fit it but I really couldn't stand it. I guess I should thank you for that huh Master Zero?" Hubershnicdt said sadly. He stood up and started pacing around the room, looking at the nurse who was busy with some device in the back.
He leant over to Zero and whispered, "Just say the word Master Zero and I'll get you out of here. Just say it and you'll be free."
Zero smiled at him, but shook his head, his blond hair gracefully covering his face.
Hubershnicdt looked at him, and even though he wasn't capable of facial expressions Zero knew he was sad. "Look Hub, I don't want you to break any laws. You've served Neo-Arcadia for so long and I'd hate you to ruin your perfect record because of me."
Suddenly, the door opened and Zero heard footsteps, he couldn't see much because of his hair so he couldn't see who entered the room.
"I'll leave." He heard Hubershnicdt say and the door opened again, and shut again.
A warm, gentle hand pet Zero's cheek as Leviathan's face entered his field of view.
"Zero…" She said softly, tears in her eyes.
"Don't worry about me Leviathan; once they get rid of me at least Neo-Arcadia will be safer." He said, and a tear slid down Leviathan's cheek.
"Zero, I should tell you something. We've met the leader of the Executioners; his name is Haze Manus…" That name… it rang a bell in Zero's mind. Where has he heard it before? It was so long ago… "He was a weapon designer and builder for Neo-Arcadia back when Copy X was in charge. He made the Pantheons, the Golems and most of our mechaniloids." Zero was only half-listening to her, he was thinking about that name. Haze Manus, for some reason it was very familiar and related to another name, what was it? A wave of memories swept over him, he remembered sacrificing himself so that X could destroy Vile, and he remembered waking up later and helping X overcome Sigma… Then he… What was it? He couldn't remember. "That name sounds so familiar…" He muttered. "Hmm?" Leviathan looked at him, "That name, Manus… It's familiar to me. From before I woke up in that laboratory. From before Neo-Arcadia." Leviathan stared at him for a moment, "Zero, that's quite impossible. We have a record of all of the survivors of the Elf Wars. Haze Manus was created afterwards." She said. "Please check again Fairy. I know I heard that name before."
Leviathan nodded and planted a kiss on Zero's lips. "I'll be back soon." She said and left.
As she left Hubershnicdt returned to the room. "Here you are Mr. Hubershnicdt!" The nurse said, quickly pacing over to him and forcing him to sit in the chair. "Now sit still so I can create your new skin." She said and started working. Zero watched as a machine slowly spilt some skin-colored liquid on Hubershnicdt's metallic exterior and it hardened in a few seconds. After that the nurse started to plant hairs on Hub's new skin, it was agonizingly slow and boring to look at it, but what other choice did Zero have?
After a few minutes of this boring procedure Leviathan came back. "No Zero, we only have a James Manus on the list, and he was human. He worked with Haze on the weapons; apparently he was Haze's creator." Leviathan said. "What?" Zero heard a voice from another bed somewhere in the infirmary. "Levi, I think Zero's right." Leviathan turned to where the voice was coming from. "What makes you think that Fef?" She asked. "Well Haze, he did say something odd. He said he worked with the son of his creator to make weapons for us." Now Zero could see Fefnir, wearing a red jumpsuit. Wait a minute, Fefnir? What the heck? Fefnir was dead! What on Earth?
"He did? But the only other Manus on record is Martin Manus and James' son Jonathan Manus. But Martin died back in Sigma's time. It's impossible that Haze would…" And suddenly it all clicked to place. "Martin Manus was killed by human anti-reploid activists following the third maverick uprising lead by Sigma. Martin Manus was known for the creation of Enigma laser cannon, which was later used to slow down the Eurasia colony before it crashed into earth." She said almost robotically. Zero looked up at her for a moment, "Fefnir's alive?"
"Later." Leviathan said, and Fefnir interrupted.
"He'd have to be practically ancient to be as old as you say Zero. I mean, James died about five years ago, reaching well over a hundred years old." "More than one hundred years old? Is that even possible for a human?" Zero asked.
"Yeah, he got his brains into one of his robot thingies but eventually decided to shut down." Fefnir answered.
"I have to go inform Harpuia." Leviathan said, rushing out of the room. Fefnir took a glance back at the nurse, who was still tending to Hubershnicdt and almost finished tending to his hairs. "I should go with 'er." Fefnir said and left, leaving Zero to look at the boring hair-planting process. Which turned out to be even more boring once it was finished. "Where's Master Fefnir? He hasn't left has he now?" The nurse asked, Zero nodded and she left the infirmary.
Hubershnicdt stood up and turned to Zero, pulling out a shock gun again. "Hub, What're you doing?" Zero managed to ask before Hubershnicdt activated the gun and yet again he sank into a dreamless slumber.
Zero awoke in the middle of the desert, the shock gun's effects haven't worn out yet and he couldn't move. "Hubershnicdt what's going on?" Zero asked.
"You gave me my life, so I'm giving you yours." Hubershnicdt replied, transferring away in a flash of white.
Zero quickly jumped to his feet, his helmet was placed right near his feet and he picked it up.
"Rats." He muttered under his breath, he thought for a moment and made a quick decision. He then dashed straight towards the north-east, towards the resistance base.
"He what!" Harpuia banged on his desk with his fist.
"Escaped Master Harpuia, I shouldn't have left him alone." Hubershnicdt said, shaking his head slightly.
"But how did he…?" Harpuia started but stopped,. "Never mind, just find him Hubershnicdt." Harpuia said and gestured for Hubershnicdt to leave the office.
As Hubershnicdt left Harpuia opened a comm. Channel, he closed his eyes for a moment and said, "Leviathan…"
"Yes?" Leviathan's feminine voice replied.
"Zero has escaped. His frenzy chip has affected him too much I'm afraid." Harpuia said forlornly, looking at a specific spot on the wall and not moving his eyes from it.
"He what? No!" Leviathan's worried voice sounded through the comm.
"I sent Hubershnicdt to look for him, but I want you and Fefnir to get over here."
"But…" Leviathan started and then changed her mind, "Okay…"
Harpuia turned to the window of his office and looked down at Neo Arcadia, deep in thought.
Bullion, Vulture, Whirlpool and Daemon knelt in front of their master, bowing their heads.
"It is time, my children, Time for the final battle." Haze said in his deep voice, standing tall in front of them.
"Daemon, Bullion, Whirlpool, you will guard the inner sanctum and make sure that the guardians will not pass. Vulture, you will guard my chamber, to make sure that Zero is worthy to face me. You will use your new ability against him." All four nodded. "Go and prepare yourself my children, for this is the battle which will decide the fate of thousands." All four nodded again and cleared for their rooms.
"Don't worry, human. Soon Zero will be destroyed and your entire race will be extinct, I wonder though, why is Zero so stubborn?" Haze asked, walking towards a shadowy corner. A feminine voice replied. "Zero won't give in to the likes of you! He will do whatever he can to protect the innocents and you can't stop him you…" She was interrupted by Haze, slapping her across the face. "No human shall speak to me like that. You'd do better to mentally prepare yourself to your death." Haze shot her one last glance before walking towards his throne again.
Zero reached the gates of the resistance base, but they were empty. The guards were missing. Zero walked towards the gates and looked at the guard towers, they were empty.
"What the…?" Zero asked, then climbing above the gates and landing inside the base.
He went to the elevator and descended to the first level, no one. He descended to the second level and went to the control room, besides from a huge amount of red fluids that disturbingly looked like blood he didn't find anything.
He quickly ran and descended to the third floor, looking in the rooms as he went and finding the red fluid in every one.
"No…" Zero said, looking around he saw pieces of olive green cloth, pieces of uniform and a flashback came to him.
He was standing inside a large room, filled with olive green pieces of cloth. He didn't pay much attention to them, but his attention was directed at his foe, Vulture.
"No!" Zero yelled, dashing upwards to Ciel's room. He frantically opened the door and entered, to find the room in perfect order, a note was placed on Ciel's computer. Zero picked it up and looked at it.
"Zero, if you're reading this note then you surely know that your friends are all here… save for a few who resisted… I am leaving the Trans coordinates for our stronghold here for you, as well as a portable transerver. It is on Ciel's bed. I hope to see you soon.
Vulture."
Zero looked at Ciel's bed; a round device was placed there. Zero slowly walked over and picked it up.
He didn't hesitate for a second; he opened a comm. Channel to Neo-Arcadia and transferred the coordinates to the operator.
"Give these coordinates to Harpuia! They're the coordinates of the Executioners' stronghold!" Zero yelled, "Tell him that I'm getting there now!"
Zero picked up the portable transerver and opened it, inside was a keyboard and a screen. Zero punched in the coordinates and pressed the 'Enter' key, he then disappeared in a flash of white to the Executioners' stronghold's entrance.
"You have to be kidding me." Harpuia said.
"No master Harpuia, he just contacted me with these coordinates, he said that the Executioners' base is there." The operator replied, not less confused than Harpuia.
"So what happens now?" Leviathan asked, "Are we sure that the frenzy chip hasn't affected Zero too much?"
"I don't know Leviathan, I really don't know. But if he's right and we don't act now, they'll have a chance to escape." Harpuia said.
"That's stupid; if we leave for their stronghold then Neo-Arcadia will be nearly defenseless and most chances are that we will lose anyway. We can barely face up to one of the executioners. Not to mention all four of them and their master. Zero or not we don't stand a chance." Fefnir said wisely, his arms crossed on his chest.
"You're right Fefnir, but we can't give them more time. Haze could easily build an army of machines and march it against Neo-Arcadia, if we don't strike now we may never get another chance. That's why I'm sending all of our forces except for the Aerial Patrol.
"What?" Both Fefnir and Leviathan asked in alarm. "You can't be serious Harpuia you'll leave Neo-Arcadia completely defenseless!" Leviathan said.
"The army has no use inside of Neo-Arcadia. We cannot use heavy mechaniloids here because they will damage the citizens; neither can we use any artillery. We need to take the fight to them and finish it, once and for all. Go and get ready."
The looks of absolute determination upon Harpuia's face made the two understand that there was no talking him out of his plan. They exchanged dark looks and left the room.
"Send out a message: We're sending a full scale attack at the Executioners. Mobilize the army the Aerial Patrol remains in Neo-Arcadia." Harpuia quickly pressed a button on his comm. Unit and said, "Hub, never mind searching for Zero. Get back to base immediately."
Neo-Arcadia's main military base was full of chaos as the guardians mobilized Neo Arcadia's army to attack the Executioners. Thousands of reploids, Mutos and humanoids alike formed the second attack wave, whereas the first attack wave was made out of thousands of mechaniloids, including Pantheons of all kinds, heavy assault mechaniloids and Golems of all elements. Artillery was at the back, in case it would be necessary to destroy the stronghold in order to defeat the executioners.
The guardians and their subordinates led the gigantic army, Harpuia with Falcon, Fefnir with Fenrir and Leviathan with Hubershnicdt. Neo Arcadia's military mass transed to the coordinates given to them by Zero, preparing to strike…
To be continued…