Chapter 2: An Illuminous Nightmare
Zero was nested inside his capsule in the resting chambers, alongside him there were 4 other similar capsules, which each facing different directions, forming a center circle in the chamber. The capsule was made just right to fit an average-sized Reploid inside.
A bright light shone upon him and awoke him from his slumber. As Zero slowly got up and adjusted his sight to see through the blinding light, all he could see was a person, a man, with two thick layers of hair sticking out from both sides of his head, and he looked to be wearing a white coat.
"Zero…" the man spoke.
"Who are you?" Zero responded, still unsure who the person was as the light was too bright for him to see the person's face.
"... my masterpiece." continued the man seemingly in his fifties… no, sixties.
Zero was still utterly confused, "wh… who are you?" he asked again.
"Do not forget your mission! After him! After my nemesis! Our rivalry is what gives me motivation in life. However! You must destroy him, defeat him! So that I can finally proclaim victory! Go! Now!" the man spoke as if he was giving out a command, an order. As soon as he was done, the bright light quickly vanished and so did the man. It took a while before Zero realized his disappearance and tried to catch up with him.
"Wait!" Zero yelled, but it wasn't long that his helmet soon released some electrocuting circuitry into his brain, causing excruciating pain that Zero had to clinch his red helmet and dropped onto his knees, but the pain did not diminish and continued to torture him. Zero, unable to bear the pain any longer, released a loud scream. At this very moment, various flashbacks blitzed through his mind, with the final moments being Zero's hands were fully stained with blood.
"Emergency! Emergency!" the alarm blared and broke free of Zero from his nightmare. "All Maverick Hunters available should assemble immediately to the main hall! I repeat… All Maverick Hunters available should…"
Zero got up and held his head, still trying to recollect what had happened in his nightmare. "The same dream… again." Zero muttered to himself as he looked at his right hand, which was actually clean and not bloodstained. Without further ado, Zero stood up and ran towards the exit as he made his way to the gathering point.
By the time Zero arrived at the main hall, the only Maverick Hunters present were the Special 0 unit and the 17th unit. All remaining units had already been dispatched to various missions. Zero's unit, the Special 0 unit, also known as the Shinobi Unit, hastily greeted him as they noticed his presence.
The main hall was a large space, originally designed to fit in all 17 units of the Maverick Hunters at the same time. However, it seemed empty with only two units present. There wasn't much of a design as the headquarters of the Maverick Hunters were located underground, deemed to be the safest place to be from external threat. The room was merely a simple and crudely made square room with specially hardened walls. While it was not well decorated, at least the feeling of security was unmatched.
"Commander Zero! You are here!" one of the Reploids spoke out, as he gestured a stern salute to his superior. The other members of the same unit did the same.
"What's the status?" Zero asked, waving his hand to allow his members to lower the salute.
"Sky Lagoon was under attack! I heard this was a large scale Maverick activity!" the reploid duly replied.
"Zero!" a familiar voice cried out. Zero turned and it was X, the blue Reploid who ran towards him.
"X! You are here as well!"
X, said to be the original design of the many reploids that were reproduced thereafter, was the commander of the 17th Elite Unit. He and Zero had fought together in countless battles, and were very good pals. While Zero was a very brilliant fighter who held a very high Hunter rank among the Maverick Hunters, X was generally more reserved and dislike fighting, holding a lower Hunter rank, yet his battle prowess was not to be underestimated and his fighting potential was said to be limitless.
"This is bad, Zero! Rumor has it that the Repliforce are behind this!" said X.
"What!?" Before Zero could resume his sentence, he was brought to a halt by the one of the navigators of the headquarters.
"Mavericks had emerged at the point 5567! They had already occupied Sky Lagoon! This appears to be Repliforce's doing!"
"Looks like the higher ones are also buying the rumor…" whispered Zero. X briefly glanced at Zero, before returning his gaze to the speaker in front.
"All units! Prepare to depart immediately! Your mission is to find out the perpetrator of this incident, and capture him! That is all!"
Right after the announcement had ended, the two units, with a combined amount of around twenty men, were scrambled to Sky Lagoon.