Chapter 33: Four AM

Caillou was dreaming violently when Nytetrayn poked him in the shoulder, then in the neck. Eyes still closed, Caillou shot straight up, retrieved his weapon from under his pillow, and, in a vicious reversal, pressed it against Nyte's neck.

Nyte craned a cautious eye down at the blade tickling him; getting punctured by a circuit-stinger would not help along his plans. Moving carefully, he slapped the boy lightly on the side of the head.

Caillou grunted and slit his eyes open halfway. "Am I still sleeping?"

"What kind of question is that? You're awake."

"Danner--" Caillou withdrew the knife. "She went into the Hollow. Go get her."

Nyte looked at him sharply, then caught himself and softened his glance before Caillou's eyes could focus on his expression. "You're still dreaming. If you don't start talking sense, I'm going to dump water on you."

"Sorry," Caillou mumbled, rubbing his face. The Ouroboros band on his wrist shone dull brass in the warren's diffused light. "I'm awake now." He shifted and his blanket slid off his bare shoulders.

Nyte disguised a grin by picking at his tooth. "Sleeping naked?"

"Someone stole the boxers I usually use."

"You're pathetic."

"Since when do I care what you think," Caillou muttered as he shook off his warm blanket and pulled himself, shivering, into his daytime underclothes olive-green jumpsuit. "What's so important that you had to run in here and start slapping me around?"

Nyte said, "Zero arrived in Eden not two hours ago."

"Zero?" Caillou echoed. "Who's that?"

"Zero the Maverick Hunter, you omadhaun."

"Huh!" Caillou pulled up his zipper. "What's he doing here?"

"Jody brought him in."

"You mean--"

"Yes, the same Jody you remember," Nytetrayn said. "He was among the Hunters for a while, spying on them. He was supposed to be the one to bring your sister back here, but we already know that certain dragons had to do the job for him. Speaking of, did you talk to Celeste?"

"Yeah." Fully dressed, Caillou scowled and rubbed his chilled arms. "I don't think she trusts me."

"No surprise."

"So do you have a plan? My grandfath--Aiden doesn't like me and I doubt he likes you, but he seems ready to do whatever it takes to--" Caillou paused abruptly. "You know what, I don't know what he wants."

Nytetrayn fluttered his wings in a shrug. "He's lost his loyalty to Eden. He wants to get away and live on the lam with Kathleen, or else he wants to die well. Whichever comes first."

"That's grim."

"Humans aren't tough to figure out."

Caillou flopped on the one chair in his warren and laced his boots. "So what about you?"

Nytetrayn said, "Unlike humans, this situation is pretty tough to figure out. The rumour going around is that Jody 'caught' Zero and hauled him all the way here."

Caillou sat up and snorted. "Is that a joke? He couldn't bring back Celeste but he rounded up an elite Hunter?"

"I don't know. I guess Jody's forgotten that Asmodeus is a lot of things, but he's not stupid. Celeste shows up in Eden, and another Hunter follows. Anyone can smell a scheme."

"Maybe Jody's got a plan. Or maybe he's just desperate. Like us."

"Like us," Nytetrayn repeated in a mumble as he scratched at a loose scale under his nostril. "This isn't so bad. Asmodeus' attention will be diverted. I'm still curious, though. I guess Jody grew fond of the outside world, and he decided not to come back. It happens. But Zero? Even if he's here to rescue Celeste, how did he get permission to launch a solo mission? The Hunters have their own problems on the surface."

"So I guess Celeste's not elite?" Caillou asked.

"She's very good, but she's also in a lot of trouble topside. She was set to be ejected from the Hunters, anyway. I doubt they'd use Zero to track her down. There's some variable here that's missing--"

"Nyte, why am I wearing this goddamn thing?"

"--but I think I know who we can talk to. Huh?" Nyte swung his head in Caillou's direction.

Caillou rubbed at the Ouroboros band on his wrist and wedged his fingernails in the hair-width of space between the metal circlet and his skin. "This thing. Why was it put on me?"

"So you don't go around knocking up the pretty girls of Eden," Nyte said in an annoyed voice. "I know for a fact Asmodeus explained that to you. Are you going daft now?"

Caillou smiled, but it wasn't an easy smile. "Took you a second to think of a lie."

"It's not a lie!" The acoustics in the warren echoed the words back with emphasis on Nyte's defiance, and Caillou laughed.

"I know you're half right, Nytetrayn. But I also know Asmodeus wouldn't spend the resources to bother with me unless there was a reason. I was banded because I'm a threat."

"Don't go giving yourself an ego, boy."

Caillou drummed his fingers on his table without any kind of pattern or rhythm. "Ison put me under to get this thing on me. Since then, the more I try to think about my past, the more I blank out. My childhood memories have always been misty around the edges, but I can piece them together easily enough, lucky me. Last year, though? I remember very little from last year. I feel like...someone sucked memories out of me and stored it somewhere."

Nyte said nothing, but he nodded carefully.

"I forget more every day. But when I dream, I feel powerful. I feel--" Caillou stopped, ran his fingers through his black hair and clenched a handful at the back of his neck. "Do you know Danner? Meria Danner in the Diamondback Unit?"

"Hmm," Nytetrayn grunted, "I think so. Good looking girl. You have your eye on her?"

Caillou shook his head. "I don't…I don't really feel anything for girls."

Nytetrayn tucked his fingers under his chin and looked thoughtful.

Caillou smiled wryly. "Predictable, but I don't feel anything for guys, either. Or anyone, really."

"Well then, why bring up Danner?"

"Because my dreams are different. Before you woke me up, I dreamed I was by the Hollow, and Danner was nearby. I was burning up--I wanted to run her down." Caillou pantomimed grabbing someone. "But it was more than that. She'd always ignored me, like everyone else. I wanted to give her something to be scared of. Do something she'd never forget. Do something Eden would never forget."

Nytetrayn shook his head and said, "Tsk."

Caillou looked ashamed. "I would never do anything like that. It doesn't matter how people treat me here; it'd be a weak excuse where there is none. Even in my dreams, nothing actually happens because…"

"Because your Captain threw your head into a wall."

"What? No, nothing happens because I wake up."

Nyte paused. "Dreams are just dreams," he said. "Don't over-think them."

"But the band--"

"You know what it's for."

Caillou looked at long at the Mechadrake and started drumming his fingers again.

Nyte gave in a little. "I won't deny that the two—the band and the dreams—are related. But I'm done talking about you for now. I have to find a way to get a hold of Zero and we don't have much time to putz around."

"Will you need my help?"

"Not unless I want to remind Asmodeus that I'm up to no good. He's mildly pleased with me for bringing back Celeste. He might even trust me again. Toting you around would nullify that in a hurry."

Caillou stood up again. "Then what do you want me to do?"

Nytetrayn said, "Study up on pain management."

Entering Eden required a long slither through some cubbyholes that were a little rocky for Jody's liking. Every push and slide was a new adventure in his struggle not to vomit as his broken rib cage crunched and shifted. He occasionally let slip the whimper of a beaten dog. He couldn't help it.

Behind him, Zero flashed a high-powered battery flashlight around the rough terrain and offered little sympathy. "Place is filthy and dark. Not surprising considering the types who live here."

"We're not in Eden yet," Jody hissed slowly. "Keep it down."

"You said this was one of Eden's main entrances?"

"Yes. Shut up."

"It's pretty small," Zero observed. "What happens when you need to dispatch your soldiers? They'll only be able to come out in a trickle."

Jody shut his eyes as the close walls brushed against his wounds again. "The Hollow is used for dispatch, too. It's a pretty big area. Still, Eden is about striking first and fast, then hiding away. We prefer camouflage to might."

Zero smiled and said nothing.

"Turn off the flashlight," Jody said. "We're getting close."

"It's pretty dark in here. You sure you can see?"

"I can see, I can see."

Zero switched the device off and noted with surprise that the walls around him were faintly luminous. It was enough light for a reploid to see around him—as well as a human with heightened vision. Zero was also sure of a soft thrumming under his feet that subsequently crawled up the wall, over his head and back down again. A shudder ran up his spine.

Unfortunately, Jody saw him. "You're uneasy," he said, "because you're a reploid. I don't know what kind of rock lines this cavern, but the original builders of Eden noted that beings made of circuits and wires tend to be thrown off their guard when they pass through here. Our dragons do all right, though, being part organic. Here comes a perfect example."

Zero lifted his head and his heart stalled. True to Jody's word, if the gigantic Mechadrake who suddenly filled the cavern in front of them meant them meant any harm, he had noticed it too late to prepare himself.

But the 'drake didn't pounce, which was very well because it was a monster the likes of which Zero had never seen. It lay on its stomach with its arms tucked under it; there was no room for the creature to draw himself to his full height. Each breath wheezed out of its lungs like a blacksmith's billow and the sound rattled against the haunting walls.

"Don't make any sudden moves," Jody murmured, "and it'll be fine."

"What--" Zero rubbed the back of his hand across his dry lips. "What colour is it? I can't tell in this light."

"He. He's a bronze."

"I've never met one."

"Atticus is the only one of his kind because he's half-loco. Let's pray he's having one of his good days."

Suddenly Zero wanted to be above ground very badly, fighting some nice, normal Mavericks.

The Mechadrake, Atticus, peered at them from up the cavern, every bit a storybook dragon protecting some secret horde. He was a terribly ugly critter, all tusks, thick masses of bone jutting from his skull and dull scales. He stretched one paw in front of him like a cat deciding slowly whether or not to chase a mouse it had sighted. Each of his claws was as long as one of Zero's fingers and jaundice-yellow. The Maverick Hunter was reminded of the disfigured Mechadrakes that had invaded Headquarters just days prior.

Atticus slowly unfurled his second paw in front of him and started to shift upwards; his shoulder muscles rolled and scraped at the rock. He'd obviously decided that the vermin before him was worth inspecting. Zero reached for his weapon.

"Watch this," Jody said smugly. He raised his voice a little and said sharply, "Atticus."

"I had a feeling it was you, sir." The words rolled down the cavern in a beautiful baritone. "I can't see you very well, but your scent hasn't changed."

Zero looked all around him for the source of the rich voice before he realised it had come from the deformed Mechadrake. He was stunned. It was like hearing birdsong pour from the beak of a duck.

Jody continued to talk to Atticus. "I'm going to make a prediction. You say I smell like my old self, but I bet Asmodeus is going to go on about how I stink of corruption, etcetera, etcetera."

"I have no doubt of that, sir. Asmodeus is a titch predictable." Atticus paused. "I missed you. You've been gone a very long time."

Jody approached the mechanical dragon, rubbed him between the eyes with his palm and embraced him around the snout. Atticus gently tossed his head like a happy dog wrestling with its master. Zero leaned against the wall weakly.

"I didn't bring back Celeste," Jody informed Atticus.

"I know. She's here."

"Is she okay?"

Zero perked his ears.

"She's alive." Atticus' tone wasn't one of concern.

Jody exhaled. "Well, that's something."

"You're wounded, sir."

"It's nothing."

"I'd be happy to say the same," Atticus rumbled, "but your injuries smell like the abomination over there. Why?"

Zero tensed again. "'Abomination?' You're the one who looks like a year-old grilled cheese sandwich."

Jody turned on his heel and indicated for Zero to shut up with a frantic slashing motion.

Atticus' voice became harder, more dangerous. "What are you planning, sir? What do you expect my role to be?"

The light was bad, but Zero was certain he saw the silver-haired boy close his eyes and mouth some words to himself. "Atticus." Jody expelled the name in one wide breath. "How did Asmodeus treat you when I was gone?"

"He chained me," the Mechadrake said simply.

Now there was no mistaking the relief on Jody's face. "We—Zero and I—are going to deliver Celeste from Eden," he said just as simply.

"Let's hear more about it," Atticus returned, "and keep your voice down. We're close to home."

"I've 'captured' Zero, you see. That's when I got injured. I'm going to deliver him. Asmodeus will forgive me for being seduced by the outside and neglecting to capture Celeste."

"Hmmm," Atticus rumbled and smiled. "You hope."

"I hope very much, but I know it's not going to be so easy."

"I can escort you back into Eden and protect you best I possibly can, but don't expect miracles, sir. They're not going to happen."

"It's Providence that you were on guard duty here. Your support is all I want, Atticus."

"You have it." the bronze Mechadrake pointed a dirty claw at Zero. "You. Come here."

"I'm not sure I want to do that," Zero said shortly.

"We're about to descend into a hellhole. Do what I say and you might survive a day in the company of the Devil."

Again with the Mechadrake drama. Zero nudged past Jody and stood in front of Atticus' bloated bronze face. Every nerve in his body was high-strung, tuned to grab for his sabre if needed.

To Zero's surprise, the Mechadrake said to his boy, "Jody, stand away. I need words with this one."

To Zero's further surprise, Jody hung back.

Atticus reached up one paw and rested it on Zero's wounded shoulder. It was a companionable gesture, but the Mechadrake also let his full weight rest on the injury, and it wasn't an easy feeling.

"I know you. You're called Zero up above, yes?"

Zero narrowed his eyes. "Zero, Captain of the Maverick Hunters' Special Unit 0."

"Somehow I don't think that's the case anymore."

Zero started to protest, but his words slid away and died. He was deep underground, surrounded by some pulsating mineral that weakened and confused him. He was about to enter a pit full of zombies who'd been bred for years to hunt and kill his kind, like ferrets are trained to flush rabbits. If there was ever a time he was friendless and completely alone, this was it.

It was irrelevant. He had to survive; there was never any other option, ever. He had to remain as fierce as he'd ever been.

But he couldn't afford to be brash or stupid.

Zero said, "I'm prepared to be who I need to be here in Eden."

"That is the smart answer, Captain Zero. Give over your weapon."

"I'm not about to."

"You're a prisoner," Atticus said calmly. "Prisoners don't tend to remain armed."

"Tell me something, Atticus. How stupid is Asmodeus?"

"Not very."

"Which is why he'll never believe Jody managed to take me prisoner. I want to talk to Asmodeus, but I'll do it on my own terms: armed."

Atticus surrendered with a casual brush of his paw. "Fine. I can understand why Asmodeus might honour that. You're terribly outnumbered if you try any tricks, anyhow. I plan to stick by you as long as possible."

"Don't trust me, eh?"

"I just told you that you're going to be outnumbered, Hunter. You are the Champion of nothing in Eden. I, however, am very curious to see who will claim this girl."

"Girl?"

"Celeste."

"She's a Hunter," Zero said flatly. "One of us. We need her."

Atticus didn't even acknowledge his weak defiance. "Jody took care of her when they were children," he said. "When Asmodeus needed someone to go above and fetch her, he didn't hesitate. I have my 'spells,' as they say, but I can see things when the clouds clear, Zero. Jody thought he could overpower her, command her. It didn't work out that way, did it? Otherwise he would've been home a lot sooner."

"Jody's quirks are none of my responsibility."

"No they're not," Atticus conceded. "Still, he reeks of aggression."

"It's because I'm a reploid. He doesn't like my kind, and I'm guessing you don't either, you metallic hypocrite."

"No, he hates you because you're both lusting after the same girl. It's the human way."

Zero was so impressed by Atticus' blunt declaration that it took him several seconds to summon a retort. "Eden has a lot to learn about how the real world works."

Atticus' smile was razor sharp. "I think maybe you'll be the one to teach us. It should be fun. Now, I have a small favour to ask you."

"What?"

"Few people in Eden, Asmodeus included, know that I can talk. It won't hurt our chances for survival if they go on thinking that."

Even though X was positively ancient as far as the Reploid race was concerned, he still discovered new things about himself every day. His most recent personal discovery wafted over him while he looked down at Monroe Cain, very still, silent and pale in his hospital bed: X couldn't stand the sight of any injured human, no matter how much he liked or disliked that particular person.

Monroe acknowledged X suddenly by saying, "Tell you what."

X jumped. "W-what sir?"

"Tell you what. I'm going to disband the Hunters and start breeding bloodhounds. I bet a pack of ugly dogs wouldn't have lost Iris' trail."

X felt hurt, but he thought Cain expected a smile, so he tried.

"Oh, you think it's funny?" Cain said fiercely. He tried to raise himself off the bed, but fell back with a quick hiss of pain. He sighed in defeat. "How could you lose sight of a crazy Reploid with a love for florescent colours?"

The private room was dim, but X was alarmed at how defeated Cain looked. The boy had doubtlessly expected an easy time of things, having inherited the organisation during peace time. Instead, one problem had stacked on top of another and now the situation was as bad as any Maverick War X had ever fought. Cain's face was etched with lines that hadn't been present when he first addressed the Hunters at the start of spring. He'd lost weight, not something he could afford. He looked...dusty. Neglected. Defeated.

"We'll find Iris, sir. And Paul. I promise you."

Cain rolled his eyes up at him. "And what if I tell you that we don't have the resources to keep searching for Iris and the baby?"

X squared his shoulders. "Then I'd have to keep looking in whatever way I could."

"Oh, aren't you noble. I want to see Iris dragged back here as badly as anyone, but I don't think you need to be reminded that the Refugee Camps are filling up again."

"I know--"

"Rapidly."

"We have a prisoner," X said. "He's among the humans who tried to invade Headquarters. His name's Kincaid."

"Is he the one you smashed up?"

X squeezed his hands behind his back. "Yes. I think he'll answer any questions I ask."

"Resources, X. Resources. Do you think Kincaid has anything to do with the immediate Maverick threat?"

"No," X admitted. "Kincaid is part of something...different. Something that wants us, specifically. Not the city."

"Then the Mavericks remain our first priority."

"I agree. But I think Iris had something to do with them."

"I don't know what to tell you," Monroe said flatly. "We need to mobilise our Hunters to take back the city." To X's great surprise he added, "This was a bad time to lose Zero."

"What--" X paused to collect his words. "What will happen to him? If we find him?"

"Well, I'm not dead," Cain said sourly, "so he might live. Can't make any promises, though. Why?"

"I'm just wondering."

Cain eyed him suspiciously. "You hiding something? You have the badge for Unit 0. That's mighty interesting."

"He was my best friend," X said sharply, "and he asked me to look after his most prized item, so I granted him that favour. I don't know what his motivations were, but his betrayal hurts me worse than anything I've ever felt. But I know my duty to humanity and I don't appreciate any suggestions that I don't." X bit his tongue, but it wasn't in time. He braced himself for the explosion that was no doubt coming.

Instead, Cain continued to look at him. He smiled slowly and said, "I didn't think Reploids could genuinely feel anything beyond protocol or duty."

X felt his hackles rise again. "With all due respect, Sir, you're missing the basic point of our species. We can think for ourselves. It's what separates us from drone robots."

"And a lack of tails separates humans from monkeys. Doesn't guarantee we'll behave ourselves." Cain winced as he tried to shift on his bed. "Damn it, I think that asshole friend of yours broke my back. Genesis said that wasn't the case, but it sure feels like it. I'm lucky he didn't hit my spine directly; it would've been over for my legs."

X took a deep breath, steadied himself and said, "Sir, why don't you like Reploids?"

"God, is it really not obvious?" Cain said in a neutral voice.

"They—we--consumed your father's life."

"And I was just attacked by humanity's greatest defender."

X quaked. "There's that."

"But your first guess is a good one. My dad dug you out of some sandbox and the two of you became best buddies. How often did you see me? How often did you hear about me?"

X had to admit that he had been surprised when he first learned Cain senior had a son—and that had been just a few months ago.

"I understand," X mumbled. "How can you like us when we stole away your father?"

"Christ almighty, who cares about that? Grudges are for three-year-olds."

It was a lie. It was a big lie, but X didn't pursue it.

"I don't understand Reploids," Monroe continued. "I thought I'd be holding down the fort until my father recovered; I didn't think I'd be choreographing a war with soulless tin soldiers."

X frowned. "'Soulless?'"

"Reploids experience emotions, or something close enough to them," Monroe said. "I never admitted it to myself, but I can see it clearly. You all laugh. You get angry, you can choose to obey my orders or tell me what to do with myself. You all can make friends and fall in love. You have the strength of elephants, but you have the basic flaws that humanity has yet to overcome. Basically, my father built a race of powerful beings that can lapse into a turbo-powered sulk when a pretty girl rejects them. Right?"

X said, "Yes, sir."

"What a fucking stupid idea. Dr Light must've been senile."

"Please don't call my creator senile."

"Oh, what the hell. None of this matters, anyway." Monroe shifted again and groaned. "Get out there and kill some of your own kind. They're tearing up the city while we sit here and discuss reploid sociology."

X saluted and turned around. He considered for a moment, looked over his shoulder and asked Monroe, "Where is your father?"

"I don't bloody well know," Monroe returned. "Somewhere where he doesn't have to deal with this garbage."

"Maybe...he'd be better suited for handling the situation."

"You don't think I've considered that a thousand times? Anyway, I'm here and I'm not dead. I have to keep going."