Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean, nor do I own the Gunblade (I sure wish that I did).

Chapter 1: Disrupted

"Too slow, too slow", a young man with a long red ponytail commented to a certain blue-haired young girl.

"You're making too many unnecessary movements, Maria, try to keep it to the minimum."

"Huff, huff, got it, cough Zero." Maria was gasping for breath on all fours, two small training pistols lay discarded next to her. The large open arena where the two youths were training was littered all over the place with holographic target systems, both moving and stationary.

It has been three years since Zero started living with the Traydors. Maria's parents had brought him in shortly after the "rock thing" was reported to have been destroyed. She was baffled at first, especially about the fact that he wasn't capable of speaking a word in any language at all despite his age. Actually, his age of 17 was only a guess, since there was no way to figure out his actual age, even Zero didn't know anything about himself. However, he proved to be capable of learning things at an alarmingly fast rate, as shown when he mastered the standard Terran language in less than 3 months. However, he showed no interest in joining the research team on Federation Station #17, and Jessie didn't push the matter, although he would have been quite helpful due to his extreme intellect.

Needless to say, life has been considerably less dull for Maria, now 12 years old, since Zero came. For one thing, she now had someone to talk with at home. But the chief reason for the lack of boredom was Zero's hobby. He devoted most of his time to training. At first, he tried out a pistol upon seeing some of the new recruits of the Station in the middle of their drills. Then he stumbled across the sword while studying history, and became interested in the ancient weaponry. The end result was the combination of the two, since he couldn't decide on one or the other. After weeks of experimenting, he succeeded in fusing a sword and a gun together into what became known amongst the people on the Station as the gunblade (A/N: Yay! Final Fantasy VIII! Seriously, those things are AWESOME!), which was basically a medium-length broadsword with a phase-gun with a stun-setting built into it. The handle was shaped and positioned to make the weapon look like a gun. He practiced with two of the complicated weapons, which he named the "Falcon (Left-hand)" and the "Hawk (Right-hand)".

Maria stumbled across his training about a year ago, and attempted to imitate her "older brother", as she came to refer to him. Unfortunately, the sword part of the gunblade made the weapon a bit too heavy for the young girl, so she had to give up on that idea. Instead, Zero suggested that she try out regular pistols. After about 7 months, the little child proved to be on par with most average soldiers in terms of her marksmanship, perhaps even better, much to the surprise of her parents and Zero himself. Although Maria's parents didn't really like the idea of her practicing with firearms, even though Richard was somewhat proud of his daughter, they knew better than to expect her to quit something once she got drawn into it. And this was definitely one of those things.

Maria's recent training program involved realistic battle simulation. While Maria herself, and Zero to a certain extent, believed that she was capable of handling simulations where there the person is bombarded with stun guns, her mother wouldn't hear of it, so that had to be scrapped. So, they had to settle with non-resistance training simulation, where the person has to weave in and out the "battlefield" and take out all the targets resembling enemy soldiers as quick as possible. While she did exceedingly well, Zero always found something that she was lacking, whether it be accuracy, speed, or as in this case, efficiency.

"You have a tendency to force the targets to spread out, then take them out one by one. That is a good strategy, but when you are outnumbered, it may be a little risky. Once they decide to rush you, you'll be overwhelmed." Maria hung onto every word coming from the redhead.

After his short lecture, Zero engaged in his own training, considerably more intense than Maria's, as it involved the stun guns mentioned earlier. While they don't kill you, it stung like hell and left you feeling like crap for the next 2 hours even if you use medication to heal yourself. On top of that, Zero's unique weapon made his fighting style a quite different from that of typical soldiers. He usually concealed himself until a pack of targets came by, then he would dash into the center and begin cutting/shooting down anything in sight. This came across as reckless in most people's view at first, but that was before they found out that his reflexes and physical abilities were almost equivalent to that of a Klausian. However it was proven that he wasn't a Klausian, since he did not have the ring-tattoo thing on his neck. Instead, he had a faint scar that looked like the number zero on his forehead, which he covered up with a black bandana. Once, Maria pulled a little prank on him by drawing a little eye using the scar, so he ended up looking like he had 3 eyes. But instead of laughing at him, the people on the Station got completely freaked out at his appearance. His golden eyes alone were enough to make a person feel unnerved. In fact, Maria was the only one so far who could look at him in the eye without flinching. As if to reciprocate this, Maria was the only one who Zero spoke to casually. To everyone else, he sounded a bit too stiff and distant.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Zero said as he slashed the last hologram target in half.

"Huh? Why? Isn't it a bit too early?"

Zero sighed as he explained, "your parents are coming home early today, remember?"

Maria smacked herself on the head, she had completely forgotten about that. Even after all this time, her parents were still busy at work nearly everyday, so she still tried to spend as much time as she could with them. Only problem was that she tended to forget about those days when she was "playing" with Zero, although most people would hardly consider such activity as playing.

"Come on, let's go!" Maria said happily as she tugged on Zero's arm.

"Sir! There is an unidentified space anomaly approaching the base!" The Federation officer reported. "It's probably a ship of some sort!"

"Does it match anything in our database?" The commander-in-chief of Station #17 asked, right before a shock that shook the entire headquarters.

"The ships identified as Aldian Tiamat-class Battleships! We're under attack!" The officer confirmed.

"How many of them are there!"

"There's no end to them!" Another officer replied.

"Monitor's online!" The huge holographic screen was filled with images of large spaceships, along with several smaller ones that were closing in on the base.

"Landers detected! They're trying to enter the base!"

"Scramble all ships and call for reinforcements, NOW!" The commander couldn't believe it. Sure, they've been attacked several times by the Aldians because of their location near the border, but never on this kind of scale. "I want all civilians evacuated from here, just in case!"

Maria was in deep thought as she walked besides Zero. Lately, she's been getting this weird, queasy feeling every time she was near him, except for during practices. It was getting harder for her to look at him in the eyes properly as well, and it was getting increasingly uncomfortable when he was near her.

'What's with me these days?' she thought to herself. Maybe she was starting think of him as more than just a brother? Nonsense! He was her brother for crying out loud! Well, then again, its not like he is her real blood-related family or anything, but still…

She was interrupted from her mental torture when Zero's voice brought her back to reality.

"Earth to Maria? We're here."

Slightly embarrassed, Maria was about to open the door when a strong quake knocked her off her feet. Zero managed to grab her before she fell. The door swung open and Maria's parents came pelting out of the house.

"You're back! Oh I'm so glad that you came back just in time!" Jessie sounded like she was going to go mad.

"Mom? What's happening?" Maria asked in a fearful voice.

"We're under attack by the Aldians again, only this time they mean serious business. Come on, we have to get you to the evacuation center!" Richard quickly led the group towards the Station's evacuation center, which held a transporter to a rescue frigate.

Just then, an announcement came from the military communicator Richard was carrying.

"Attention all personnel! It has been confirmed that the enemy landers have managed to break through our defenses. Keep a lookout for enemy soldiers, protect the civilians at all costs!"

"Damn! As if we don't have enough on our hands already!" Richard cursed as he urged the rest to quicken their pace.

As they neared their destination, gunfire sounded as a squad of Aldian troops appeared and began attacking both soldiers and civilians. Panic erupted as the civilians began pushing and shoving, trying to get to the transporter. Richard joined a group of Federation soldiers trying to push back the invaders. Maria began to tremble at the sight of a real battle. This was nothing like the simulations she's been through. She then realized that something was amiss. She turned to her mother.

"Where's Zero?"

As if on cue, Zero dropped straight down from the building that was right next to the Aldians. Both gunblades drawn, he slashed apart several Aldians who were unfortunate enough to be within the sword's range. Without pause, he immediately followed up with a barrage of the phase-gun, which was now set to kill, eliminating those who were remaining. Combined with the cover fire from Richard and the rest, Zero continued to cut open a path for the refugees towards the transporter.

All was going well until one of the buildings collapsed as an Aldian landing pod crashed right into it. The force of the impact knocked down anyone nearby. From the remains of the crash emerged an insect-like mechanical soldier three times the size of a normal human being. It was armed with automatic disrupter rifle on 2 of its 4 arms and razor sharp blades on the other 2, a disrupter cannon mounted on its stomach, moved on 4 spindly legs, and its 3 eyes were constantly searching for its next target to obliterate. Soon, there were more of these mechanical terrors, dubbed the "Mantis", crashing down onto the Station. Without proper equipment to handle such a foe, the Federation soldiers began to fall one by one (or by 3's and 4's if they got hit by the cannons). Zero and Richard barely managed to break through the blockade and reach the evacuation shelter.

Maria and Jessie were badly shaken up by the carnage they had just experienced. In such a short time, the place they called home had been reduced to a flaming graveyard.

"Alright, you three, get moving to the transporter now," Richard instructed as he straightened up.

"But, what about you daddy?" Maria's cool exterior broke down at last and her childish side emerged due to the stress.

Richard avoided the eyes of his wife and daughter as he replied, "I'm a Federation officer, I must do what I can here." Maria tried to protest but was silenced by Jessie's grip on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll follow you as soon as I'm done here." Richard said comfortingly before turning to Zero. "I'm counting on you to get them out of here safely."

"Understood."

And with that, Richard headed back towards the fray. Zero immediately urged the other two to follow him. At last, it appeared that today was full of bad luck, as one Mantis came barging through the corridor wall. Zero pushed the two Traydors to the side and rushed the robot. Using his Klausian-like reflexes, he evaded the automatic rifle fire and managed to slide underneath the hulking mech. Quickly, he sprang up and drove one of his blades into the back of the cannon mounted on the Mantis. He followed up by administering several blasts from the Falcon, causing the Mantis to buckle. Zero took advantage of this momentary pause and pulled out the Falcon, then sliced off both of the arms carrying the rifles. Having stripped the Mantis of its long-range capabilities, he signaled Jessie and Maria to make a run for it, just as the Mantis swung at him with one of its scythed blades, which was what gave it the nickname of Mantis.

While Zero was locked in the "sword fight" with the mechanical bug, Jessie led Maria around the battle, and the two were currently located behind Zero. Once he noticed that the two were safely behind him, Zero swiftly dropped to the ground and swung the Hawk at one of the Mantis's legs. If there was one fault in the Mantis, it was the fact that they were not very effective at handling opponents who were positioned so low due to their considerable size. Without one of its legs, the Mantis lost its balance and crashed to the floor. Just to be safe, Zero stabbed its "head" and dealt several gunshots before he grabbed Jessie and Maria and began to run. If one of the Mantises have managed to get in so far, it meant that there might be more lurking around here. He had to get these two off the base as quick as he can.

"Hurry, we're almost there!" Zero said as he rounded the last corner… only to come face to face with another Mantis. At such close range, and with two non-combatants next to him, Zero wouldn't be able fare so well against it. Left with no other option, Zero decided to take the risk and ran as fast as he could. While he did manage to slide underneath it again with Jessie and Maria, he wasn't able to avoid the scythe due to being weighed down by them. Wincing in pain as the blades left a deep gash across his back, Zero swiped at the Mantis's feet as hard as he could, which caused the Mantis to bounce around a bit as it tried to regain its balance.

Not being able to afford time for another drawn-out battle, the redhead once again grabbed his companions and ran off at full speed, and finally reached the transporter chamber.

"Quick, there's no time to lose! Get in th-" He was cut off as he was pelted with automatic fire from yet another Mantis, which had appeared from the different end of the hallway from where they come from. That explained why there wasn't a Federation soldier waiting to assist any refugees remaining on the base. If there was one thing the Federation Military prided themselves in, it was their chivalry. The rifle carried by the Mantis used very small and thin energy pellets, which made them somewhat similar to the bullets used by the guns in the old days. Blood spurted from Zero's mouth as he lurched sideways to avoid the gunshot.

"Gah! Blast, I've let my guard down…" Zero grunted as he tried to get up.

"Zero…(Zero: IRIS! … oh, wait, wrong story. -shot due to stupidity-)" Maria was on the verge of breaking down.

"GO! I'll hold them off until you two get out of here!" Maria was startled at the sudden outburst, he had never raised his voice before. He added with a strained smile, "Don't worry, I'll be right behind you."

With that, he shoved Maria onto the transporter, followed by Jessie, just as the two Mantises came crashing through the door. Zero turned and began firing wildly, his coordination being off due to the injuries he received. He had to hold them off until Jessie and Maria were transported to the escape ship. The transporter activated and engulfed mother and daughter in a bright white and blue light. Maria saw Zero cutting one of the Mantis in half, then being thrown down to the floor by the other Mantis's bladed arm. At that moment, a bright beam of light struck down the remaining Mantis, and caused a huge explosion in the room. One of the Aldian Battleships had managed to punch through the base's shield, and a stray cannon fire had hit the transporter chamber. The last thing Maria saw as she was transported out was Zero being engulfed by the flames.

"NOOO-

"-OOO!" Maria jerked awake.

Maria looked around wildly. She was in her room aboard a spaceship. So, it was a just a nightmare. Yet it had brought back some painful memories. She took awhile to calm her breathing, then glanced across the room. There was something mounted neatly on the wall. Maria got up and went to examine it. It was none other than Falcon, one of Zero's trusty gunblades. It had somehow landed in the transporter along with her and Jessie, who had also perished that day. It was probably blown into the transporter due to the explosion. She took it down and held it in her hands. It was still the heavy lump of metal it had been long ago. 7 years ago, as a matter of fact. Maria Traydor was now a 19-year-old young lady.

She turned the weapon around. The charcoal black handgrip was the same as ever, as was the gleaming blade. The trigger was still working fine, and the gun's battery was perfectly functional. Everyone on board the ship had to marvel at the seamless design of the thing. The word "Falcon" was faintly embedded on one side. Maria returned it to its place on the wall before heading out of her room. Once she took her seat on the command chair of the bridge, she began to fiddle with the golden chain around her neck, which became something of a habit. A young man called Lieber came up and greeted her, then seemed to be trying to say something, although the only thing that came out of him was a long string of incoherent blabber. Soon after, he gave up and excused himself. Maria had to suppress a giggle. Lieber's antics had always amused her quite a bit, even though it was a bit puzzling.

At last, she stopped fiddling with the chain and tugged on it. Out came the gold locket with the zero mark, the same one she had picked up on the day she met him. When she tried to return it, he told her to keep it, as a present from him. It now contained a picture of the two, back in the peaceful days. Ever since she got it, she has never been without it. Clutching it tightly in her hand, Maria had to control her teary eyes.

Thankfully, she was spared from dwelling on the bitter memories when one of her crewmembers, Marietta, called out to her.

"Captain, we've just received a faint signal from Mirage. It looks like she is somewhere on a planet called Elicoor II."

"Is the target with them?" the young captain asked.

"I can't be sure, the signal is so weak that marking the location is about the best we can do. But, since her last report said that Cliff got him, its safe to assume he's still with them." Marietta completed her analysis.

"Good, then chart a course towards Elicoor II. Judging from Cliff's reports about Vendeeni activities, we had better hurry."

"Roger"

Maria took one last look at the locket before tucking it back into her shirt. Its time to get to business on hand.

The Diplo entered gravitic warp-space. Its destination, Elicoor II, and target: Fayt Leingod.

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Arcaile63: Weeee! One chappy down!

Seifer: You! How dare you take my gunblade and name it after a bloody bird! I'll kill the both of you! -goes after Arcaile63 and Zero-

Squall: Agreed. -mimics Seifer-

Zero: I didn't do anything! I just took what he gave me!

Seifer & Squall: BUT YOU STILL TOOK IT!

Arcaile63 & Zero: … we're screwed. -runs away from the two mad scarfaces-

Seifer & Squall: How dare you insult our beautiful scars!