Disclaimer: Same ol', same ol'. Nothin's mine but the OC's and story... But I can dream right?

Chapter 3- New World, Old Eyes

Roto ran to the door and began pounding on it furiously when the alarms sounded, yelling over the klaxon as best he could.

"DOC! DOC, WHAT'S GOIN' ON IN THERE?! Ah, screw this bullshit lockout... R-FRAME!"

Roto was engulfed in bright green energy as his human form was replaced by his sleek, green Reploid armor. Although he'd been deemed unsuitable for combat due to his brash and impetuous nature, Roto was designed as a Spec-Ops Solo Infiltrator unit. Equipped with the skills and gear necessary for Soft or Hard entry into enemy territory, Roto was outfitted with Weapons Tech and Ordinance.

His Buster cannon was known as a Neutron Buster, or N-Buster, and was capable of blowing holes through a foot of Ultranium when fully charged. But this caused a severe loss of power afterwards. Ultranium, being several times stronger and lighter than the Proto-Titanium material used in the creation of most Construction grade Mechanaloids, is regarded as the toughest metal alloy on the planet to date. Roto's Buster made it look like paper over fire when he was done with it. Along with explosives of varying degrees of power ranging between stun and napalm, one would assume Roto was a War machine. In fact though, he disliked the idea of battle wholeheartedly.

This situation, however, called for something drastic. Samuel's life depended on him getting inside. Destroying whatever was in there was just going to have to be collateral damage. 'Sorry Doc, but your life's more important than some outdated info...' Roto thought as he began to charge his Buster.

As he reached maximum charge, the klaxon suddenly ended. Roto filled with instant dread as thoughts of Samuel laying dead in the chamber filled his minds eye. Taking aim, the young Reploid prepared to fire when the door hissed open and Samuel stepped out. A look of shock rode freely on the man's face as he saw Roto, who immediately powered down his cannon and dashed over to his friend.

"DOC! What the hell happened? The alarms went off and I thought you were flash fried for sure."

Samuel smiled at his companion and waved him inside.

"You and me both Roto. I literally tripped and set the alarms off. The security protocol was a nasty one. Sentry guns and Attack Drones. But, it would seem, I'm a VERY lucky man."

As they entered the room, Samuel stepped to the side allowing Roto a better view of the inside of the chamber. Although he would normally have been interested in the variety of gizmos and gadgets laying around, Roto's eyes fell directly to the blonde haired man in the back of the room dressed in a red leather jacket and black cargo pants with matching boots. Roto's jaw, for the second time today, dropped wide open as he attempted to speak.

"That's...that's...that's..." was all he could seem to get out of his mouth as Zero turned around to face them. Samuel almost burst into gales of laughter.

"Commander Zero, I'd like to introduce my partner in this assignment. Roto, this is Commander Zero."

Zero walked over to the pair and, after sizing up the green armored Repolid, extended his hand. Roto, still dumbfounded, shook it as best he could.

"It's just Zero. I resigned my commission a long time ago. Your a different looking Reploid, Roto. Never seen a combat model like you. I assume your a special Infiltrator type, correct?"

Roto nodded and thought, 'For someone almost a millennia outta the loop, he's still sharp as hell... Legendary status...' Releasing Zero's hand, Roto finally took a look around the room and whistled.

"Lotsa crazy stuff in here, Doc. But what I wanna know is; whaddaya YOU doin' down here Zero?"

The former Hunter gave one of his slight smiles as he walked back over to the other capsule and placed a hand lightly on the plexiglass cover.

"Stasis kid. Me and her. I saw a lot in my time, and eventually decided it would be for the best. Iris and I saw a world at Peace after so much fighting and loss and figured 'What the Hell? We deserve a good rest'. But, the doctor says it's been a thousand years since then and it seems as good a time as any to wake up and see this new world."

Zero's smile faded away as a few realizations came to him. He turned to face the pair once more, eyes intense.

"Why is the base underground?"

Samuel and Roto exchanged glances, obviously at a loss of what to tell the former Hunter. Zero stepped away from Iris' capsule and continued to look back and forth between the pair intently. Roto broke the awkward silence of the situation.

"About 150 years ago, a Reploid named Lacadian made a huge breakthrough in reusable energy. Things were startin' to look a little rough on that front, so her research development was just what we needed. The 'Caden Cell' was the final result: an energy source that could replenish itself through ANY natural means."

Zero nodded, "That kind of research was starting back in 22XX, but was still a long way from completion."

"Right. Lacadian's research was rooted there. She just progressed it to a finished product. An' things were lookin' good for the world. With an energy crisis looming, this kinda good news was welcome. Then THEY showed up..."

"They?" Zero's eyes narrowed at how the young Reploid had said 'They' in such a devastated way. When Roto didn't continue, Samuel laid a hand on his shoulder and pressed forward.

"The Nihilist Armada. Led by a Maverick named Null, they swept into the world like a proton-wave obliterating anything and everything that stood between them and Lacadian. By the time we could mount any kind of defense, it was already too late for so many. They captured Lacadian and all her research and used it to create the Void Bomb. A W.M.D. capable of reshaping landscapes through neutrino-particle disruptions. The first two bombs were dropped on the U.S. and Russia and effectively turned them into shattered landmasses."

Zero's mouth dropped open in shock that quickly became anger and his hands clenched into tight fists. He'd seen destruction on a wide scale before, but this sounded like insanity to him. 'Even Sigma wouldn't've used a weapon of that magnitude...' When he finally spoke, Zero's voice was filled with fire.

"What happened to the Hunters? Where was X? I know 850 years is a long stretch to keep going, but how could he have not tried to stop this?"

Samuel shook his head sadly and told Zero that X had retired himself back in 26XX. Zero almost fell over when he heard his brother had retired HIMSELF.

"According to history, a couple of centuries after the Repliforce Incident, X's capabilities had finally reached a peak. As he was unique, he was incompatible for more modern upgrades to his systems. Slowly, he degraded or, as he'd put it in his memoirs, just got old. During what should've been a routine Mechanaloid stop, his Nova Strike system shorted out and annihilated several city blocks. Unable to mentally deal with the destruction he'd caused, he removed his processors, and most of his memory systems, then set his Buster and Nova systems into Overload."

Samuel stopped there as he saw the look of horror and sadness on the Red Blade's face. Zero knew, even if he wasn't held accountable for a systems failure, his best friend wouldn't've been able to live with a tragedy of that magnitude. And Zero also knew that no one, not even him, could've stopped the Blue Bomber in his decision. That did little to ease Zero though.

"So, who opposes Null and his forces now?" Zero asked, his gaze toward Iris.

"'Her' forces." corrected Roto. "Null is female. According to her, her creator wanted a truly calculating and unrelenting commander for the Armada and a male just wasn't up to the task. The answer to your question, though, is the Imperium Command. They picked up the torch where the Hunters fell. But they're just a prolonging force, no real way to rout Null or the Armada." Roto grumbled, his distaste for Null and the Imperium's lack of ability clear.

Zero walked over to Roto and laid a hand on the young Reploid's shoulder. As he looked up at Zero, he could feel a great and terrible power inside of the legendary Hunter.

"That's all about to change kid. I left this world in Peace. I fully intend to make sure it's not a temporary condition. Get back to your commanders, but say NOTHING about this place, for now. I've gotta make plans, and get back to proper fighting shape." Zero reached into his coat pocket and handed Roto a small data disk. "That's my personal frequency. Use it to stay in touch. I'll pull your data from the systems here. You've linked in enough that I'll be able to find you. A century lived in Fear isn't a life for anyone, and it ends now."

With those words, Samuel and Roto departed with looks of astonishment plastered on their faces. Zero burned inside with a deep Rage centered around this new war that ravaged the world. 'No more Fear.' he thought as he walked back towards Iris' capsule and activated the Revive sequence. 'I'll need all the support I can get to take this on. I'm sorry, my love, that I can't wake you under better circumstances. But we're needed.'

The capsule opened quietly and Iris' eyes began to flutter open slowly. As they locked eyes, she smiled and reached a hand up to touch Zero's face gently and all of his Fury and Rage subsided. Leaning his head down, their lips met for the first time in a millennia and the world seemed to stop inside that moment. He broke their kiss and smiled.

"God, you're a sight for sore eyes..."

A/N: They're back! It's starting to move along now, but still not quite up to speed. Hope the description of Roto in his armor is to everyone's liking. And I'm sorry for the way X went out, but I thought it was kinda cool. The next chapter will introduce Null and be mostly from her perspective throughout. As usual, R&R. Like it, hate it, give it to me straight Doc. Only way I can make it better.