Honorary hunters

Link was in his house, in the Kokiri Forest, packing his belongings. He had returned, some time ago, from an adventure and was about to go on another: to look for Navi, whom he had separated from when he was brought back to his original time. In addition, he had decided to leave Hyrule and not return, for he had told Princess Zelda what would happen if he opened the Door of Time. She handed the Ocarina of Time to him and told him to take it. Thus, Ganondorf would have no way to open the path to the Golden Land. Leaving Hyrule became less painful because of his friends' offers.

"Come live in the Mushroom Kingdom", Peach invited.

"No, he's going to live in Abel and hunt mavericks with me", Zero retorted.

"I don't think so", Alucard contradicted. "He's going to Europe to help me fight vampires, monsters and demons. Right, bro?". They looked like adults arguing over the guardianship of a child. The memory made him laugh.

—Excuse us.

And then two of them, Peach and Alucard, entered the house. They both noticed what the hylian was doing and the vampire asked:

—Are you going to look for your friend?—the hero nodded.

—Hmm… never mind, then.

—Never mind what?—questioned the boy.

Peach said that the maverick hunters were racing against time: they had only sixteen hours to prevent a space colony from colliding with Earth. Knowing this, the monarch and the vampire offered to help Zero and X destroy the station. They were to consult Link if he could help too, but were hesitant because they knew he talked about this trip in advance and didn't want to disturb him. However, he agreed to postpone the journey to help Zero and the others.

When they arrived at the Maverick Hunters Base, they were greeted by Signas, the commander, who introduced them to Alia, the navigator, and Douglas, the engineer. The leader thanked the trio for their cooperation and explained that they suffered many casualties, as many warriors were infected by the Sigma Virus and became criminals. Zero and X weren't there. They went to collect parts to strengthen the Enigma, a cannon that existed on the base and that was going to be used for a shot in an attempt to stop the collision.

—How long until the knock?—questioned Peach.

—Fourteen hours—Signas answered.

—Do you have a plan B in case Enigma fails?—Alucard inquired.

—We have a space shuttle, but it's out of autopilot because of the virus contamination—reported Douglas. —I wish we didn't have to use it. And we're missing parts for it too: engines, gas tank and orbital wings.

—Do you know where to find these things? If so, we'll get them—affirmed Link.

—We know, but it's dangerous: they're in the possession of reploids that are, possibly, infected. Alia, show them, please—requested the commander.

—Yes, sir.

The navigator tapped a keyboard and pictures of four robots and their locations appeared on a monitor. Signas explained which part each one has and the hylian, the princess and the vampire chose which places they'd go. Alia took them to the teleportation room and sent them off.

—Good luck—she wished, before.

Link reappeared in an artificial jungle. Before proceeding, the navigator told him that there was an old Repliforce base in the place and that he should be careful with the mavericks that were roaming around. The device, an orbital engine, was with Axle the Red. Unfortunately, the base had no information about him.

—I see. I'll start the mission.

The adventure through time made a lot of difference to him, and he had no problem defeating the murderous machines of the place. He proceeded until he found a fork and sighed, frustrated, when he realized that he'd have to climb up the cables, because the black blocks that stalled the shortcut were too heavy. "How I miss the golden gauntlets", thought Link.

Reaching the top, he passed through a tunnel, where he was surprised and almost had his head and feet pierced by Togeroids. He defeated them, got out of the tunnel and went down. "Be careful now, Link! There's a chasm right down there", Alia warned. He thanked her and finished going down, careful not to fall. From the edge of the hole, he saw more cables helping to cross. This time, there were Gabyoalls on the ropes, but they were no problem. In one of them, the boy almost fell, for he was, again, surprised by a Togeroid, which almost pierced his head. He destroyed the robot and advanced until he reached a door. He went inside.

An alarm sounded five times, making Link ready for any sudden attack. Suddenly, a spiral of rose petals appeared in one corner of the room. From it, a green reploid with petal-shaped hair appeared, who asked:

—What do you want with me?

—With you nothing—replied the hero, relaxing. —I just want the orbital engine. Where is it?

—Are you a thief? You can't just take things away like that. Go home, kid, or I'll call the maverick hunters!—threatened.

—I've come to pick up the engine on their behalf. If I have to face you to take it, then let's get this over with!

Axle the Red, however, was no picnic: he moved fast and jumped very well. At one point, he dropped a seed on the ground, behind the hylian, and a copy sprouted. Both threw a thorny whip and wrapped Link with it, causing him several punctures, scratches and bleeding. Link conjured Din's Fire and got rid of the whips and the clone.

—Noooo!—shouted The Red, whose body was on fire. The hero took advantage and cut the enemy in half, who exploded until disappear. He looked around the room and found the engine.

—Alia, I found the part.

—Perfect! We'll send a team to get it. Return to Base, please.

Peach appeared in a very hot area, in which there was a weapons storage, according to reports. Alia warned the princess to be careful with the lava there and that the booster engine they were looking for was with the guard named Mattrex.

—Thank you, Alia. Here I go.

She started the descent, carefully to not be burned by Dragon Magmas or shot by snipers. At the bottom, feeling very hot and very sweaty, Peach reached a point where the only possible way was underneath.

—Wait!—interrupted Alia. —There's a lot of lava there.

—Is there another way through?

—No, unfortunately. Down there the lava comes in violent waves, but you can avoid them. Stay behind the columns and wait for the wave to pass.

Peach felt the ground shaking. She looked down and watched the heat wave pass by at full speed and swallowed hard. She went down and ran straight behind a pillar and waited, safe, until the next wave passed. She did this until she was out of that area. At the next, however, she was faced with a sea of fire. Alia guided:

—You can ride on the Probe and go underneath or on the surface. It's up to you.

—I don't know how to drive it—said the monarch, embarrassed.

—It's not hard. Try it—encouraged the navigator.

—There's no time to learn now. I see a path of stones on the surface of the lava and I'll go that way.

The regent jumped from rock to rock and was spotted by a Pteranoid, which began to chase her. She managed to fight off a few attacks and continued on her way until she found a wall. She was surrounded. She had no choice but to take down the robotic dinosaur to continue. And he seemed furious that the princess had resisted his attacks. She unsheathed Exor and provoked the enemy, who came flying full speed into an offensive. At the right moment, Peach cut the maverick in half and it exploded until it disappears.

She turned to the wall that was blocking her path and knew what to do: she mentalized several bombs exploding the obstacle until it opened the way and so happened. Further ahead, she saw cables and a door at the top. She went up and in.

When she reached a room, an alarm sounded and Peach prepared herself. Suddenly, flames rose from the floor and they materialized a tyrannosaur-like reploid.

—Are you Mattrex, who has a booster engine?

—Yes—confirmed the robot. —How did you get here with all this heat, without any protection?

—I'm very resistant. Anyway, the Earth is going through a crisis and I need the device you have.

—Of course, you can take it.

—Can I?—Peach asked, her eyes widening.

—Of course not—contradicted the guard. —Do you think you can take things from here, just like that? Why don't you force me? Cutie!—he added, debauched.

Mattrex conjured flames that appeared under the princess and burned her. She screamed, but didn't come out of the fire. In the end, her body was black as coal and smoking, and yet, she remained standing still. The reploid approached and lifted the princess' chin with his finger. Peach opened her eyes and the enemy backed away startled.

—What?!

A pink energy wrapped the regent and healed the burn. She took advantage of Mattrex's surprise and gave a frying pan hit on his face and a fatal cut on him, which exploded until it disappears. She explored the room and found the booster engine.

—I think this is the engine, Alia.

—That's the one. A team of hunters are going to get it. Return to Base, please.

Alucard materialized and looked around. He thought he was in space, because it was dark and starry, but it was a planetarium. The navigator said it was a space laboratory in which Dark Dizzy, who was created by Sigma, kept a fuel tank. She also warned to be careful with the constellations, because she detected mavericks in them.

Getting past the planetarium was easy: all he had to do was transform into a bat and fly at full speed with Wing Smash, running over the bats that were in the way. In the end, he arrived on a place where there were gravitational reversers. Alia said that Alucard could use these devices to turn the environment upside down and in his advantage. The vampire thanked her advice and went on, cutting through the many mavericks that blocked his path. He entered through a door and saw many bats huddled together on the ceiling. An alarm sounded.

The bats dispersed, revealing a bigger one, which said:

—I know that smell. I didn't know that maverick hunters had a real vampire among them.

—I'm not a hunter, just helping out a brother in need. Are you the guy with the gas tank?

—Yes, but you don't want to fight me for it, do you? After all, we are comrades. Let's eliminate criminals together.

—Pff... ok, then. I'll start with you.

Dark Dizzy was probably the most pathetic enemy Alucard ever fought: he only knew to dodge around the room, avoiding attacking and watching. He seemed fascinated by the dhampir. At one point, he created bats and ordered them to attack, but, instead, they surrounded Alucard with curiosity. He gave a command and the bats turned on Dizzy, who used his Dark Hold to avoid the offensive. He realized that his opponent wasn't affected by the paralysis.

—You're not the only one who can manipulate time—explained the vampire, taking a clock from his pocket. He used it to cancel the Dark Hold, jumped very high and, with the Wing Smash, blasted the enemy, who exploded.

—Would that be the fuel tank, Alia?—asked Alucard, after searching the room.

—Yes, that's the one. Get back to the Base, please. A team will pick up the tank.

The vampire was the first to return to the Hunter Base, then Link (who had his injuries healed by his brother) and, last, Peach. Signas thanked the three and they met X, who told them that Zero had gone to Reploid Air Force headquarters to get the orbital wing from Skiver. Meanwhile, Douglas and some fellow engineers were putting the parts that Zero and X had collected into the cannon.

—The Enigma is ready—he announced, a few minutes later. —It's old, but we've reinforced it with some parts and it should work.

—Angle, power and energy are adjusted—Alia spoke.

—Alright. Blast off!—Signas ordered.

—I've been looking forward to meeting you, Zero—said a white winged reploid, pointing his forefinger at his listener. The red hunter and he were on top of an Air Force plane.

—I'd like to ask you—he continued—: was the fight between you and the Colonel really necessary? I'm not accusing you of anything. I just want to know that. I've been infected by the Sigma Virus and soon I'm going to become a maverick. That's the last thing I'd want to know.

—... It was. Someone had to stop him—he answered, concisely. He didn't like to talk about the war between the hunters and the Repliforce, because it reminded him of Iris. The loss still tormented him. —I understand your curiosity, but I'm only going to fight you because it's my mission—he drew his saber and moved forward.

Skiver flew to avoid the cut and, from above, threw strong whirlwinds that hurled Zero to the edge of the plane. There wasn't much room to stand. He managed to grab on the edge of a wing and climbed up. The enemy advanced, but it wasn't his own that came: it was an energy clone. The hunter dodged and hit Skiver with a sword strike right on the chest.

Very quickly, the white reploid began to fly around the plane and came up trying to knock Zero down with punches. At an opportunity, Zero was faster, jumped over the enemy and clipped his wings. He managed to grab his hand before it falls.

—No! Let go of me! Let me fall!—Skiver demanded. —I'm starting to feel the effects of the virus!

—If the afterlife exists for Reploids, I hope you find the Colonel again.

Zero charged his buster and pierced Skiver's body with a shot. The hunter let go of him and watched him explode in free fall. Seconds later, he saw a blast of large and bluish energy cross the sky into space.

"Was it the Enigma?", he asked himself, surprised. With the orbital wing found, Zero teleported back home.

Upon arriving, the red reploid went straight to the command room, where he found his co-workers and his brothers. He greeted all three and thanked them for their help.

—Sorry to have disturbed your trip—Zero apologized to Link.

—Not at all! I wanted to come.

—Well? Did we make it? Has Eurasia been destroyed?—asked X.

—No—said the navigator, mournful. —We just changed the orbit and delayed the time of impact.

—Fuck!—cursed Zero.

—Can't you fire again?—Peach questioned.

—It only had enough power for one shot—told Douglas. —Now we'll have to use the space shuttle. The others and I will put in the devices you brought. In the meantime, decide the pilot issue—and got out.

No one spoke for a while. They knew it was a very risky option because of the bus' lack of autopilot. Zero broke the silence saying:

—I'll go—and started walking to the launch pad.

—No!—exclaimed Peach and X together.

—I'll go in your place!—the blue robot insisted.

—Don't be an imbecile, you don't know how to drive the bus!

As the two hunters walked away, Link asked, in anguish:

—Don't you have another pilot who can drive the vehicle, commander?

—No. I trust Zero.

—Me too—agreed Alucard. —He'll come back fine. Have faith in him, little brother—he asked the boy. —You too, Princess—she nodded.

With Zero arranged in the space shuttle, he heard words of encouragement from his friends and Signas ordered the launch, which was perfect. The reploid maneuvered the vehicle around Eurasia and approached. Before it crashed, he ejected the cockpit, turned around and could see a flash, which was the explosion from the rocket hitting the colony.

—Did we get it this time?—asked Link.

—... 86%! We did it!—announced Alia, animated. Alucard and Signas smiled with relief while Link and Peach hugged each other and danced around. "He did it! He did it!", they both cheered. The other Base employees also celebrated.

—Hey, can you hear me?

—Yes, we hear you—confirmed the navigator.

—How are you?—inquired X.

—Alive—answered the red reploid, smiling.

—We're sending a team to pick you up. Try to get some rest until then.

—No need, we'll go—Peach offered, referring to her, Link and Alucard.

—Let's wait for him to get back to Earth. I can use my lupine sense of smell to locate him.

—Before you go—Signas began, taking out a small box—, please accept this.

The commander opened the box and there were three medals inside, with the emblem of the maverick hunters. They each took one and Alia pinned them on their clothes.

—I, Signas, commander of the maverick hunters, appoint you honorary hunters, for your services to this organization and to all who inhabit the Earth. Congratulations and thank you very much!—finished, saluting. Applause and a few whistles echoed through the command room. Link, Peach and Alucard looked at the medals and then at each other, satisfied.

The hylian, the princess and the vampire rescued the hunter (who was sleeping on the chair) and brought him back to the Base. However, they learned of a new virus, which was, tentatively, named Zero, because it had his image. Alia said they could solve it if they went to point 11F5646 (probably in Vietnam), from where a strong viral energy emanated. X wanted Zero not to go, for he was worried about his friend because it was very strange that he was, inexplicably, immune to the Sigma Virus. Zero insisted on going, which was supported by his brothers, who went along.

The quintet entered the place and each one stayed behind to face a powerful maverick and open the way for the others. Alucard faced Shadow Devil (who managed to shake the dhampir by transforming into Lisa and nearly killed him), Peach fought Rangda Bangda W, and it was left to Link to witness an argument between the two reploids, with X threatening Zero to take him back by force if he didn't leave. "Pff... like you can do it", he scoffed. The blue reploid tried, but lost the duel.

—Take him away, please—Zero requested to Link. —I'm going to solve this mystery of the virus. Thank you very much for all your help, little brother.

—You're welcome. See you later, bro. Good luck!—he wished, lifted X and used the Farore's Wind to leave.