GIVEN / REPLOID NAME: Zero

Night silently swallowed up Skull Castle, and Wily grudgingly decided that he had better tidy up a bit around the fortress before turning in for the night. He was in the process of discarding a half - eaten box of stale donuts just as Bass burst into the room, his face wreathed in smiles. Behind the bot, a red and silver figure stumbled awkwardly, unsure of its steps. Bass skidded to a stop, spread out his arms and began to talk like a madman. "Doc! The reploid woke up! Isn't this amazing? Doc? Doc! Oh man, he fainted. I hate it when he does that. I'd better get some water...no, wait, he's coming to." Bass extended a hand to help the old scientist back on his feet.

"Buh - Bass...the reploid...it's awake?"

"Appears so."

"Holy Mother Takhisis! I don't believe it!" Wily scrambled back to his feet with the aid of Bass. He regarded his creation with narrowed eyes. "Why won't it speak? And why did it move so clumsily when you busted in?"

Bass suddenly seemed proud of the fact that HE would actually be able to explain something to WILY for once. "I think that a newly - activated reploid is a lot like a human infant. It has to get used to its new body, and learn about the skills it possesses. This fellow's progressing rapidly," - Here Bass jabbed a finger at Zero - "he's already walking. And he's not talking, because he's too busy thinking."

Wily's worn heart raced. Thinking? Could that be true? Sure enough, when he looked at Zero, the reploid was squinting at a contraption resting on a small table, as if he were thinking about what use that object might have. Wily slowly turned back around to Bass.

"Thinking?"

Bass nodded as a twisted grin worked its way to his face. "THINK - ING! And who knows what else he can do?"

Wily clutched his chest. "Okay, Wily!" He coached himself calmly. "No time for a heart attack now! We have a lot of work to do." He steadied himself. "Zero!" He barked sharply.

The reploid suddenly snapped out of his trance and whipped around to face Wily. "Sir?"

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yessir. You're the one who gave me life, or so my brother Bass told me. I plan to serve you in any way I can." The reploid punctuated the sentence by performing a little bow. Something else seemed to cross Zero's mind as he grimaced and said, "I plan to serve you even though you're a human. But since you created me, my loyalty is with you."

Wily hardly dared to hope. "Is something wrong with humans?"

"Well...yes. Shortly before I was pulled into birth, some sort of black entity appeared to me in my dreams and explained that all humans are evil, and need to be destroyed." Zero raised his arm cannon above his head for a dramatic effect. "I plan to do just that."

Wily's twisted grin seemed to reach from one end of the country to the other. "Well, isn't this a happy coincidence? That's the plan I had in mind for you! But don't destroy ANYTHING yet. Nothing. There's a time and a place for that, y'hear? Here's what my immediate plans for you consist of: You will remain awake for four months. During this time, Bass will teach you what kind of skills you posses." Wily helpfully pointed Zero in Bass' direction, who waved at the reploid with unworldly enthusiasm. "After those four months, you will be sealed in a capsule where you will become dormant for at least 30 years. When you wake up in the future, nestle yourself in society, then kill all you want once you're comfortable. Did you get that? Do you want me to write it down?"

The reploid's response was a flabbergasted stare. Another reflection of the emotions he was feeling. "Why does my future appear to be so odd?"

"I have my reasons. Now, listen: I hope your weapons work okay." Wily picked up Zero's right hand, the one containing the arm cannon. "This is a pretty damn good shooter, if I say so myself. Are you able to change between your cannon and your hand with ease?"

Sure enough, Zero switched between his hand and his weapon with a fury that would have shamed Inspector Gadget. He felt a strong surge of pleasant energy flow through him as he did this, which would have been the human equivalent of a testosterone - rush. The surge melted away his bewildered feelings.

"Very good, very good." Wily cheered on the crimson reploid. "I hope your emotions work as effectively, too. Let's test." Wily's eye fell on Bass, who was daydreaming while staring at the ceiling, obviously entranced by the thought of what Zero could do to the future world. Wily snuck up behind the black robot and pushed him with youthful energy. Bass screamed as he toppled over like a stack of cans, and landed on the lab floor with a resounding crash. Zero began to laugh hysterically. Humour. Wily then swung a fist into the reploid's jaw. Zero's grin immediately flipped over and became a grimace of anger. He remembered just in time not to retort against his master. Anger.

"Well Bass, what do you think?" Wily questioned of the black bot, who was collecting himself from the fall. "His weapons are fine, and his emotions are fully functional." Bass' pride was a bit hurt after having the experience of being the butt end of one of Wily's jokes. Nevertheless, he responded. "I think he's ready, Doc. It's just a matter of keeping him convinced that humans are evil, and letting him know what powers he possesses. I'll take over from here on. You've done well."

Wily sighed deeply as he turned around. "We've done it. We have a reploid. The future is going to have some serious problems, as will Light's reploid. But that's not my concern. My work is done. I can rest...now."

And so, time passed as it had a funny habit of doing. Spring seamlessly melted into summer and Proto, Roll and Mega could be found on the steps of Light's lab. They'd just been in the process of a rousing game of indoor hide 'n seek, when Proto had accidentally knocked over a few fragile articles while trying to tag Mega 'out'. Light went slightly berserk, and threatened to hang Proto from the rafters by his scarf if he didn't go out to get some 'fresh air'. Proto was upset that such a good game had to be broken up, and when he got outside, he vented his anger by throwing stones at various things. He was still doing this when Roll brought up an interesting question beside him. "We haven't had any trouble from Wily in the longest time. I wonder what he's up to." Proto's heart lurched. The very same question had been ripping around in his mind for ages. However, he had recently pushed it to the back of his mind; it would be a shame to spoil such nice weather by thinking of the evil scientist.

Mega piped up. "I don't know what he's up to. Maybe he's slowing down because he's old. I'm not going to bother him if he doesn't bother me first...it would be like throwing rocks at a bee's nest."

Proto grinned wickedly as he chucked another rock into the empty air. "I've heard rumours about why Wily has been so silent."

"So have I," Roll chimed in. "some of them are pretty wild."

"I heard he was abducted by a hoard of tentacled aliens."

"I heard that he was killed by the Mafia."

"I heard that he ran away to join the circus."

"I heard that he was ground up and served as hamburgers at McDonalds."

"I heard that he quit the crime game and became a male prostitute."

Roll gave her brother a sidelong glance. "Somehow I doubt that."

Proto shrugged off Roll's criticism. "Believe what you will, but I think we all agree on this: I don't like this silence. I don't like it at all. Wily could be up to something BIG, providing that none of those wonderful rumours are true. I think I'll scout around the city for a bit and see what's up."

Now, fast forward a bit and cue in on Wilyland's famous Robosaur Park, headed by the infamous Slash Man. It was a huge tourist attraction, even if the dinosaurs within were only robotic. The park itself was large and roomy, a perfect dwelling place for the mechanical T - Rex, Stegosaurs, and Velociraptor pack that resided there. Above the park entrance there hung a crude, hand - painted sign that screamed 'Welcome to Robosaur Park!'. Beside the gargantuan wooden gates of the entrance there was a weathered, smaller sign that welcomed visitors to the park, and listed off several rules to make their stay more enjoyable. Slash Man himself had constructed the sign, and he was exceedingly proud of it:

Slash himself was parked up in a tower that loomed high above the park, where he could watch the ongoings below him with ease. The dinosaurs were his children, and he watched over them with his life. Today, the wild, spiky orange and grey clawed bot regarded the park drowsily while laying on his rope hammock. There were few spectators to marvel at the wonders of the place that day. Slash secretly didn't like to see the park so empty: he enjoyed having people around to gawk at his dinosaurs, and it was nice to have human company once in a while. Affected by the intense heat of the day, Slash began to drift into a light sleep. He was violently brought back to his senses when someone suddenly swung his hammock back and forth with lust. Slash was spilled to the ground with a hollow clang. Irritated, he glanced upwards to see Bass towering above him. His irritation was immediately replaced by icy terror.

"B...Bass! What's wrong?"

"Have you checked your e - mail lately, Slashy?!" Bass snarled viciously.

Slash was forced to admit that he hadn't. Bass picked up Slash by his scruffy neck and sat him down hard in the chair in front of his computer. "I recommend you check your mail NOW." Bass said in a monotone voice that still managed to be threatening.

Forcing himself to stay calm, Slash began to boot up his computer when his massive claws got in the way. With a mild curse, the orange robot sheathed the deadly weapons and guided his mouse to the email icon on his monitor, as Bass had clearly instructed. Sure enough, Slash had one email message for himself from Elecman, the electrifying robot (bad pun again!) who powered the nuclear power plant on the edge of the city. Bass still hovered over Slash, his eyes boring invisible holes in his back. Slash found it difficult to retain his faux mask of calmness as he read the email:

Like a maroon and silver mouse, Protoman impatiently scurried and jumped between and around the towering building tops that dotted the city. He was looking for something...ANYTHING...that would explain the reason for Wily's uncanny silence. It was a wee bit irritating: he had turned over every rock searching for an explanation, but had come up empty handed. Perched high above the main street of the city, unseen to eyes, Proto gave the passing sea of traffic and general hubabaloo below one last careful scan with visored eyes. He was about ready to call it quits.

"Let's see here." he thought idly. "There's two disgruntled motorists down there shouting murderous threats to each other....not like that's anything new...oh, there's a colourful band of vandals spraypainting wonderful words from the English language on that skyscraper wall. Maybe I should go and stop...naw, nuts to that. There's some kids down there playing ball...there's a bot cleaning up some rubbish from the streets...there's a young human couple who are...uh...okay, that's none of my business. I don't think they want an audience. There's a pack of raptors attacking a bus filled with screaming passengers...there's...hey, waitaminute!"

Proto's alarmed glance swept back over to the bus that had occupied his last thought. Making sure that no one was occupying the rooftop with him, he lifted his trademark visor up a bit to get a more detailed look. Because his eyes were so used to seeing in blue and black, the lights and colours of the outside environment blinded him slightly. Ignoring the protest from his optics, Proto leaned over to get a better look at the dormant bus.

Sure enough, a medium sized pack of robotic reptiles was circling the vehicle, much to the displeasure of the panicked people inside. The raptors came in a dazzling variety of colours, markings, and sizes, very much like a box of assorted cookies. The heat and light of the midsummer sun reflected on their pseudo - scales, causing a near - blinding glare.

"Well now. THERE'S something you don't see every day. Unless I miss my guess, those little fellows are from the Wilyland Robosaur Park. But they should be confined to the park. Who let them out like an idiot?" The rapotrs had tired of the 'circle - around - the - bus - and - scare - the - passengers - to - death' game that they had been playing, so they began to start CHARGING into the vehicle. Some of the robotic reptiles pushed their heads against the bus, rocking it back and forth like a pack of rioters. Proto was about to leap down from his post to help the occupants of the bus when another question crossed his mind. "Are there any more of these dinosaurs?"

As if on cue, an earth - shattering roar sounded from behind the visored bot. Terrified, Proto whipped around and gawked in disbelief at what he saw. A mechanical T - Rex was lumbering around the streets about 10 blocks away from him. Despite its distance, Proto got an excellent view of the behemoth swaggering from side to side as it destroyed as it pleased. Proto valiantly decided that NOW was a good time to help some of the panicked citizens scattering below him.

"I'm pretty sure that this is the work of good 'ol Doc W." He muttered grimly. "No wonder he was so silent. He was preparing to...release killer robotic dinosaurs to terrorise the people in the city." Proto paused. "What a stupid thing to do! Why not just come barrelling down the street in a two - storey tank? It would be easier. I guess humans do dumb things as they get older. I remember when Light's mother was still alive and used to reside in the Old Folks Home, she used to do nothing but knit, even though no one needed any clothes of any kind." Proto fondly touched the scarf that encircled his neck like a friendly python. "Well, she was a good woman. Thanks to her crazy obsession, my neck is always warm. Now, time to play hero!"

Across the city, the famous scientist Dr. Cossack hummed contentedly, even though he was swamped with work. It was such a nice day. Nothing was going to spoil his mood! The red - haired man glanced idly out of the seventh - story window that enclosed his office. He had always loved to look at the city spread in front of him. Therefore, it is understandable why blanched a bit when he saw a giant dinosaur taking up most of his beloved view.

The giant reptile locked its luminant, yellow eyes with the scientist's terrified ones. Man and beast stared at each other for a full minute, neither one moving. Finally, the leviathan lost interest in playing a staring game with a red - haired Russian scientist, and bellowed off to search elsewhere for dinner. When the animal was gone, Cossack removed a fine hankerchief and a small card from one of his many lab coat pockets. He mopped his sweaty forehead with the hanky. Then, shakily, he called:

"Kalinka! Kaliiiiinka! Come here, will you?"

Kalinka, Cossack's daughter, entered. She was a young thing, hardly over ten years old. She was as inquisive as any girl her age could expect to be, but to her life was to be taken seriously. "You called?"

"Yes. I don't mean to worry you, but your daddy has been...seeing things. Yesterday, a carnivorous laptop computer chomped on my ankle, and the day before that the flowers were talking to me. Today, I had a staring contest with a dinosaur. If daddy starts to do something rash one day, like say, oh, throwing bricks at pedestrians on the street below, call this number. I pray you won't have to call it; hopefully, I've just been working too hard." Cossack handed his worried daughter the card that he had extracted from his lab coat earlier. Kalinka studied it with concerned interest.

"Hey dad...what's a 'mental institution'?

"I have a very bad feeling that you're going end up visiting me there soon enough, dear."

"Get back! Back! Away from the bus, I say!"

The leader of the velociraptor pack whipped around to see what individual dared challenged him. Finding nothing more interesting than a maroon robot waving his arms at him like an idiot, the robotic reptile returned to stalking the bus with his cohorts.

"No! Bad dinosaur! I told you to stop! No soup for you!"

Proto was about to learn a valuable lesson: velociraptors, robotic or not, didn't care for discipline. The pack leader, a towering red - and - beige beast, whipped around again with unearthly speed and raked its huge foretalons in the air in front of Proto, missing the stunned bot by hardly half an inch. Proto's heart lurched as he watched certain death pass him by a hair's length. Before he could recover from the shock, he felt something tighten around his neck like a noose. He managed to crane his neck around just enough to see that the raptor had gripped his precious scarf in its deadly jaws and was pulling at it with tremendous strength.

Needless to say, Proto began to feel a slight need for air about 30 seconds after the raptor had tightened the scarf around his windpipe like a hangman. Proto tried one desperate strategy: he pulled, trying to beat the dino in a contest of brawn. In response to Proto's sudden struggle, the raptor emitted a pleased squeak, and pulled back even harder. Tug of War. Proto became enraged: the damnable lizard thought it was a game!! The rest of the raptor pack had lost interest in the destruction of the bus and scattered here and there to cause other mischief. The doors of the bus slid open with a hiss of dragon's breath, and the terrified captives of the raptors surged out of them.

Proto had one last option: He had to get out of his scarf, or die in it. With an expression of utter defeat and regret, he managed to slip out of the ever - tightening noose, then ran. He wanted to blast the raptor to retrieve his trademark scrap of clothing, but then he knew that the rest of the pack would come to the leader's aid. Then there would be big trouble.

The raptor fell back a bit when the other end of the 'rope' went slack. Pleased that it had won the game, it began to shread up the scarf. The creature found out quickly that the scarf wasn't edible: so, leaving the yellow memento on the deserted street, it sprinted off to find something more tasty than wool.

Slash Man ran like a man possessed. He leaped over rooftops on all fours, an uncanny skill that only a jungle animal should have had. His breath surged in and out of his systems rythymatically. Beneath the rasping, he could hear Bass' frightful words echoing in his head: "if you don't get those freakin' fancy animals back in this freakin' fancy zoo, I'll personally rearrange your freakin' FACE!" Slash man paused in his mad sprint and sat upright like a chipmunk. He closed his eyes and listened for an audio clue as to where his children might be. Some twenty blocks away, Slash heard a earth - trembling roar. The T Rex! Slash quivered with excitement.

"Hold on, Sarah! Daddy's coming!"

Slash lunged back into action. His feet barely touched the ground as he sailed over rooftops and jumped over the gaps that yawned between the structures. Very soon indeed, he saw Sarah. The behemoth had obviously just snacked on something (or someone) and was preparing to swoop down on a little child who stood dumbstruck before the beast. Just in time, however, Slash landed on his pet's head with a hardy metallic thump. Sarah instantly reared her giant head, and expressed her displeasure with a bellow. Slash talked calmly to the T Rex:

"It's okay, Sarah...it's me. Now be a good dinosaur, and calm down."

Sarah recognised this soothing voice, and immediately carried out Slash's request, for she loved him. When Sarah had cooled down enough, Slash turned his attention to the frozen child before him.

"Listen kid, I'm sorry if Sarah scared you out of a year's growth. Here..." Slash man dug into his pockets. "Three free passes to my park! Bring the kids! Oh wait..you ARE a kid. Nevermind." The passes fluttered down from Slash's clawed hand and came to rest on the sidewalk before the kid. The child found his voice. He held up a navy blue leash that was frayed at the very end, and stained with minute drops of blood. "Your dinosaur ate my dog!"

Slash man shrugged. "Sorry, kid. They can't all be Barneys."

Proto swore bitterly as he watched a large pack of chicken - sized compies leap and shriek as they closed in on him. Battling robotic dinosaurs was not something one should do single - handedly. One of the tiny but deadly lizards lunged at Proto with its maw open, sharp teeth on display. Proto kicked the scavenger square in its chest. It tumbled backwards like a scaly ball. The rest of the pack surged forward, hissing, claws unsheathed.

"This is it." Proto thought glumly. "I'm dead. It's all over. Killed by a bunch of chicken - sized, robotic dinosaurs. Of all the ways to go!!"

The earth suddenly trembled, and a cheerful voice wafted above the rumbling sound:

"Hullloooooooo!"

Proto couldn't believe his eyes. He watched as the pedestrians (the few that were left on the dino - ravaged streets) flung themselves this way and that to get out of the way of Slash Man, who was perched happily on the head of a giant T Rex. The compies lost all interest in Proto, and surged around Slash and Sarah, squeaking and jumping like children around their father who had just returned from work. Proto hailed the orange - maned robot.

"Hey, Ace Ventura! We usually don't let two - ton pets wander the streets, you know!" His visor flashed in annoyance. "I know." Slash Man called down. "I'm sorry. These fellows escaped from my park when Elecman shut off...oh, never mind...it's a long story."

Proto nodded in understanding. "Want me to help you take these critters back to the park?"

Proto could see Slash Man's distant face light up. "Sure! That'd be great of you. Climb aboard on Sarah." At a word from her god, Sarah offered Protoman her tail to help the bot scale up her back. Proto hesitantly took the Rex's generous offer, and scurried up to Sarah's head and seated himself behind Slash. He looked down from a dizzying height. He could see the compies swarming around Sarah's gargantuan hind paws. Slash grinned as he saw Proto blanch in fear from the height of the drop. "Just hang on tight! Away we go!" Sarah started forward. It was a jerky ride, like riding a ship in a storm. The compies marched in military fashion far below. The whole thing looked like a Jurassic parade. Proto hung on for dear life, but Slash looked as comfortable as a man in an armchair. Proto cursed himself as dull company: He decided to start up a conversation with Slash.

"So...all these dinos yours?"

Slash nodded with pride. "Yep. They're my children. I've named them all."

Proto was impressed. "Every single one?"

"Yes. This here's Sarah." Slash patted the T Rex's massive head. Sarah purred in response. "As for those compies down there..." Slash jabbed a finger towards the green swarm below. "Well, there's Dennis...Brad...Mavis...Brad..."

It's narrator hour! Whee! Hey, I'm sitting here telling this story, I gave life to the characters that you love so much (well, except for those that are actually featured in the games. I had to say that so that Capcom wouldn't sue my scaly hide off). Ya'll are never gonna guess what happened today! I got my third - and last - Hepatitis B shot! This was the worst one of 'em all. The culture that they inoculated us with was extremely strong. Heh...you should've seen the girl who got her shot before me! The nurse poked the needle into her arm, and as the vaccine was injected, the girl's eyes got wider, and wider and finally she screamed, "AAAHHH, Goddammit that HURTS!" Then my turn came around. As I rolled up my sleeve to take my shot like a good hatchling, the nurse got all flustered and asked me if I was pregnant (No, I'm not fat, they have to ask every female they inoculate). I pointed to my male friend, who had come to get jabbed as well, and said "No, but HE is."

Torontonian nurses have no sense of humour.

The good news is, I got a cute little keychain. It has a picture of a cartoon virus on it, and under the disease in sprawled handwriting, there is a slogan that states 'Get the Vax!' as if getting a Hepatitis B vaccine is as thrilling as a roller coaster ride to hell and back. I say it would be more accurate if the keychain stated 'I got jabbed three times and all I got was this crappy keychain!'. My friend said it should say 'Bite me, I'm vaccinated against Hepatitis'. In the same vein, I don't think that diseases have googly - eyes like the one featured on the keychain. I'm under the impression that you people don't care. On with the story! This is an important chapter, and I'm only gonna write it once, so read it carefully!

The heavy titanium gates clattered loudly as Slash Man shut them behind the compy pack he had ushered into the pen. He spoke to Proto in a loud voice in an effort to be heard over the din.

"Thanks for your help, Proto. It's a good thing I got all the dinosaurs back into the park, or I really would have been up a certain creek without a paddle."

Proto stifled a yawn as he watched some mets repair the electric fence that Slash's scaly friends had torn down. " 's no problem. So, what now?"

Slash offered Proto a puzzled glance. "What do you mean 'what now'?"

"I mean, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?"

Slash shifted his eyes nervously and stared at the grass that was stamped with small dino - footprints . He extracted a rapidly melting chocolate bar from one of his pockets, broke it into bite sized pieces and handed them one by one to the eager tide of squeaking compies inside the den. "Uhm...nothing...really...the park is closed to the public until those mets finish that fence...maybe I'll do laundry and...and..stuff..." Slash's voice trailed off pathetically. He did not want Proto to know what the rest of his day consisted of. In truth, there was a wing - ding of sorts going on in Skull Castle to honour the creation of the first member of a species that would ultimately lead to the demise of the human race: A 'reploid' named Zero. Slash had planned on attending the party. But the whole 'reploid' business was to be kept under wraps. Slash had been forbidden to tell anyone about it, least of all Mega's brother. "I...I'll catch you later, Proto!" Slash finished up quickly and bounded out of sight on all fours. Proto raised an inquisive eyebrow at the clumsy, hesitant speech and sudden departure of the beast - bot, but he shrugged it off. He decided he would make sure everything was secure in the park before he would head home.

"So Wily WASN'T really responsible for the dino - rampage." Proto muttered thoughtfully. "Guess I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

Although the weather was beautiful, a chill shuddered through the visored bot. "Damn, I miss my scarf! I'm freezing!!"

"Proootooo!"

Mega's call drifted eerily through the rubble strewn on the abandoned street before it bounced back to him in a hollow echo. He got no response. Not discouraged, he took another deep breath:

"PRRROOOOOOTOOOOOOOOO! Come out, come out, where ever you are! Show your ugly face!"

Still no response. A hint of fear and worry began to trickle into Mega's heart. "Aw man! Something BIG has been happening here, and knowing Proto, he got caught up in it when he went 'scouting'."

The wind sighed warmly, symthesizing with Mega's concern. It also bore a bright yellow object, and dispensed it gently at Mega's feet. It appeared to be a dirty article of clothing. It was tattered...it had obviously witnessed a huge battle, and the victor had torn it to shreds. Despite this guise, there was no mistaking the object for what it was:

"Proto's scarf?"

"A toast!" Cried Bass has he thrust his fine goblet of violet hued wine into the air. "To Wily, the creator of the reploid species!"

The robots present responded to Bass in one resounding voice: "Aye!"

Bass clapped Wily on the back. "You're a genius, Doc!"

Wily did not answer. Indeed, he was turning an interesting shade of green. He was on his fourth cup of wine, and the old fellow was zombied right out of his mind. Still, he managed to offer the robots a weak, lopsided smile. The cheering of the robots doubled, and turned into an all - out roar of joy. Zero, who sat to the right of his creator, regarded his crazed brothers with frightened eyes.

"Life goes on!" Bass remarked cheerfully as he quaffed back the drink. Once their superior had finished his drink, the rest of the robots started on theirs as if on a signal.

Slash jumped right on the table and actually lapped up his wine like a dog drinking out of a toilet bowl, only much stranger.

Shade Man sat silently. There was a hint of disappointment in his eyes as he stared at the wine before him. He would have preferred a drink more along the lines of fresh virgin's blood, but he still sipped the wine without complaint. He saved a wee bit for Flagg, who was perched happily on his shoulder. The raven helped himself, then raised his grotesque head and cocked a sharp eye at Bass. Bass merely glared back at Flagg with venomous hate in his optics. No one was really sure what Flagg and Bass had against each other.

There was an audible thump next to Bass. Wily had completely passed out.

Mega's thoughts whirred. The hand that clutched his sibling's tattered scarf was hit with tremors. The markings on the scarf reported that Proto had gone to that Great Big Robot Factory in the Sky, compliments of the dinosaurs that had stormed the city. Mega just knew it. His next black thought surfaced: Who had released the dinosaurs?

Wily. No doubt.

Wily had released the dinosaurs to destroy the city -

- and the dinosaurs had killed Proto.

Unbridled rage blossomed in Mega. "I'VE - HAD - ENOUGH!" He wistfully looked down at his arm cannon. One single shot would put an end to the old man. One shot...and it would be over. However, common sense suddenly quenched Mega's thirst for revenge. He knew that killing Wily would be more trouble than it was worth. Robots couldn't break the first rule of robotics, yadda yadda yadda. If he were to kill Wily, he would probably be deactivated. And even if he wasn't, the media would probably make his life a living hell. Mega began to despair. He couldn't just let Wily walk away with this. SOMETHING had to be done...

An idea lit up in Mega's eyes. "I know! I'm going to go to Wily's castle and tell him off once and for all!"

"She's got a smiiiile that, it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memorieeees, where every - thin' was as fresh as the bright blue sky..sky...sky..."

Castor grimaced sourly at his twin's off - key caterwauling. But he did not complain. The duo was situated outside, guarding the fortress as per usual. As a result, the worst of the god awful sound was mercifully carried away by the wind, far from Castor's ears.

"Now and theeeen when I see her face, it takes me away to that special place, and if I stare to long, I'd prolly break down and CRY!"

Castor's patience had been stretched paper thin. Kindess only went so far. "Hey Pollux.."

Pollux stopped his noise. Yeah?"

"You remind me of something."

Pollux puffed with pride. "A great opera singer?"

"No. A cat in heat."

"HEEEEY! That's so MEAN!"

"I'm just telling the truth." Castor stated mildly. "Now, if you had been watching for intruders rather than singing dumb songs that date back to the twentieth century, you would have noticed that someone is approaching the castle." Castor pointed a lazy finger at an unidentified shadow that was coming rapidly towards them. "Whoever it is seems pretty peeved. Wonder who it is."

Silence followed Castor's inquiry as the shadow became more and more recognizable. Pollux suddenly made a strangled, choking sound. "It's...it'sssss...Mega Man...!"

The little blue bomber came striding down the path to the castle like a king. He meant business, judging by his unwavering speed and focus on the hateful structure that loomed before him. Both twins leapt to their feet in unison. Completely forsaking his duties as a guard, Pollux dove into some bushes beside him.

"POLLUX!" Screamed Castor hysterically. "Get back here! We have to keep Mega out and guard Wily!"

"Screw that! Wily can defend his OWN blasted castle," was Pollux's cowardly response from his sheath of leaves. "I quit!"

"You CAN'T quit, you IJIT!"

"JUST TRY TO BLOODY WELL STOP ME!!!"

Castor thrust his hand into the bushes and groped around until he found one of his twin's gem - gilded boots. He began to pull it in a futile effort to drag Pollux out. "Pollux! Get out NOW, or I'll...I'll...tell Wily that YOU were the one who tried to shave Zero's head!"

Pollux blindly delivered a lovely kick to Castor's shin. "YOU DO THAT AND I'LL RIP YOUR STINKING GUTS OUT!"

Castor cried out and doubled over as the kick found its mark. When he regained his composure, he began to make up some great adjectives to describe his brother using words that were certainly not suitable for table talk. The Gemini Men were too busy bickering to notice that Mega Man had soared by them and had entered the fortress a full two minutes ago.

Mega plowed relentlessly through the fortress, propelled by his animosity for Wily. A batauntaun suddenly dove at him, fangs glistening. Mega blasted it. A sniper joe leapt at him out of the shadows. Mega blasted it. A tour - bot welcomed him warmly to Skull Fortress. Mega blasted it. Oops. Two out of three ain't bad. When Mega reached the formidable but familiar staircase that wove its way to Wily's chambers, he did not break his pace. He shot up, skipping every other step. Now a tunnel - like hallway stretched before him with massive steel doors at the tail. Mega was just about to start down the hallway when something lupine, purple and silver casually strolled across his path.

"Gospel?"

Devoid of his master, the robodog stood stock still and looked at his nemesis with a perfect picture of terror in his eyes. He didn't want to fight Mega without Bass there to instruct him. So, in hopes that Mega would leave him alone, Gospel flipped on his back and played dead. Mega shook his head, stepped over Gospel's faux corpse, and continued down the hall. He crashed through the heavy steel doors to the chamber. There, he was met with a pretty interesting sight. Several robot masters were in a small cluster around a fine table, celebrating some sort of occasion. In Mega's fevered mind, he thought they were celebrating the demise of his brother. Rage boiled within him.

Upon hearing the door crash open and seeing Mega standing in the large doorway like a small but deadly omen, the robots were a little slow to react. The wine they had just consumed probably played a factor in that fact.

Suddenly, with a noble battle cry, Snake Man flung himself at his enemy. Mega greeted the serpentine robot's onward rush by grabbing Snake's wrist, twisting it, then flipping him on the ground with a hollow clang. Monty the Python was flung from Snake's neck. The vile serpent lay in thick coils on the floor, stunned for a bit. Now that he was deprived of his master's body heat, he had adjust his own body temp to the cold stone he rested upon before he could take off.

Several other bots surged forward to challenge Mega, but he fought them like a berserker. His power seemed to have doubled in his wrath . One by one, they all pretty much 'got theirs', as the expression went. Eventually, the flood of warriors waned. Only Bass remained standing, seemingly undaunted by Mega's inhuman acts of strength. He was Wily's last bodyguard, and he was determined to let no harm come to his master. The intoxicated Wily was shaking and shuddering like a wounded guppy. Mega got a perfect view of his terrified, ages - old nemesis, but there was one thing he did NOT see. Beside Wily, but shielded from Mega's sight courtesy of Bass' oily - black body, was a certain crimson and gold figure who was watching the fun with with quiet awe, his humanlike eyes taking in every detail of this blue attacker...

Bass smirked diabolically. "Well, well WELL! If it isn't the tooth fairy!"

Mega's expression of anger melted into confusion. "What's THAT supposed to mean?"

Bass shrugged his plated shoulders. "Well, I don't rightly know. But it sounds good, don't you think?"

Without a pause, Bass delivered a jarring kick to Mega's stomach. Unprepared for this action, Mega reeled backwards and doubled over. A split second later, the happy end of Bass' arm cannon was aimed right at Mega's face. It was all over. From miles away, Mega could hear Bass triumphantly stating, "He who hesitates is...um...what's that word...lost! Yeah, that's it!"

Suddenly, Bass' arm cannon jerked back with a curse and a scream. Mega dared to open one eye. He couldn't believe the sight he was met with. There was Flagg, Shade Man's infamous pet raven, hurling his body at Bass like a missile of feathers and talons. Bass echoed Flagg's scream as he wildly flailed his arms this way and that. Mega saw his chance. A sharp report rang out as he fired two shots aimed at Bass. The first one quite unexpectedly hit Bass' vital point, and felled the black bot instantly. Flagg fluttered off and perched ominously on the rafters, unhurt. He set at once to preening his ebony feathers. Mega's second plasma shot, however, sailed right past Bass' collapsed body, and hit Wily in the chest square and true. Wily sailed back in his chair a few feet, then toppled over. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

The air around Mega seemed to crash. Everything was silent. Nothing moved. Time was still. Only the grey ribbon of smoke that trailed lazily from Mega's warm cannon was real. From Mega's feet, Bass' muffled voice parted the curtain of silence with the awful truth:

"You've killed him, Mega."

These words hit Mega like an arrow. They snapped him out of his deep trance. "But...I didn't mean to...he...I...you..."

"You've broken the first rule of robotics to do what you've always wanted to do. You must be very proud." Bass' voice was devoid of emotion.

"But..."

The nearly forgotten pile of damaged robots that had made the mistake of challenging Mega earlier untangled itself. Those robots that still had the energy needed to stand up and walk began to lurch eerily like zombies, not towards Mega, but towards their master, Wily, who lay weeping blood. Their voices rose and twisted together into a quiet but terrible chant. "Killed him...Killed him...Killer. Killer. Killer."

Mega tried to explain that the second shot had been meant for Bass, not Wily, but the words died on his lips as he faced their accusing glares. No one would believe him. It was a well known fact amoung humans and robots alike that Mega had come close to expressing his venom for Wily with his arm cannon more than once.

These thoughts wandered in Mega's mind, disturbing him greatly. So greatly, in fact, that he hardly noticed the large, crimson and gold robot that crouched by the still - warm body of Wily. The odd robot turned away from Wily's sickening corpse with an expression of grief that none of the other robots seemed to wear. The robot's expression of regret melted into hatred as he turned his eyes on Mega. The eyes were incredible. They seemed to have a humanlike glitter of intelligence and emotion in them. They searched Mega, found him, and marked him...

The whole excitement and overall nuttiness of the day was too much for Mega to handle. His confusion and fear merged into an immeasurable terror. He backed up a step. Then another step. The robots were too concerned about their master to worry about him.

The stricken Bass had a dull, knowing smile plastered to his face as he looked at Mega freaked expression from his odd viewpoint on the floor. Mega had killed a human, and if the authorities found him, it was over for the blue guy. "Knowing Mega, he would turn himself into the authorities." Bass thought with disgust. A robot that broke the first rule of robotics ('A robot must never kill a human, no matter how big of a screwball that human is'), ergo, he would have to suffer the consequences.

Mega continued to slowly back out of the near - silent room. Still no one pursued him. Only Bass stared after him gleefully, and the odd crimson robot still tacked his deadly eyes on Mega. Suddenly, the crimson robot took one slow step towards Mega. It was at this point that Mega turned right around and broke into a blind run like a child frightened by a stranger. He was nearly halfway down the huge staircase he had ascended earlier when he finally teleported to the temporary safety of Light's lab.

"I'm telling you! The ticket to world domination is to own the electric company and the railroads! After that, it's only a matter of time before I can take over the prisons! Then, I shall be unstoppable, and I will lord over every sorry creature on God's green earth from my four - star hotel on Boardwalk!!" Proto bashed his armoured fist on the shaky table to underscore his point.

Roll calmly motioned for her brother to sit back down. "Proto, settle, settle. Stop taking this so seriously. It's only a Monopoly game."

A sheepish smile surfaced on Proto has he found his seat. "Sorry. I just got caught up in this." He picked up the game dice and rattled it in his hand. "C'mon, lucky seven! Daddy needs a new scarf! He lost his old one to rabid raptors!"

With a skilled flick of his wrist, Proto sent the dice tumbling across the board. "Aw MAN! Snake eyes! At any rate, I get to pick up a 'Chance' card!" Proto nicked the first card off of the orange pile and examined it. "All right! Second place in a beauty contest! I guess no one can resist my good looks!"

Roll muttered something under her breath about the beauty contest being judged by a bunch of jungle apes. Proto was to busy strutting up and down the playroom like a stuck up model to pay any heed.

When he had finally tired of showing off to no one in particular, Proto returned to the game and stayed in his amiable mood...until he landed on Park Place, which was owned by Roll. To make matters worse, the block of land sported the dreaded barn - red Hotel game piece. Roll saw Proto's awkward position and began to laugh cold - bloodedly.

"All right, Brad Pitt! Cough up the money!"

"Don't I get a discount for being family?" Proto pleaded.

"No. I hate freeloaders."

Proto shrugged. "Oh well. Can't win 'em all, I suppose!" He began to dig around in the mixed - up pile of play money beside him to pay for his stay. This was quite unlike Roll, who had her money set up all tidy and easy to access.

Suddenly, Proto stopped rummaging around. He gaped at Roll with a shocked expression. "Roll! Look behind you! Isn't that Howard Stern?"

Roll looked about her frantically. "Where?!"

With his sister's eyes temporarily off the game, Proto casually sent a hand sweeping over the game board. Game pieces, houses, hotels and cards fell around them like coloured rain. Roll jerked back around and threw her sore - loser brother an angry glance.

"PROTO!"

"What?! My hand slipped! It's a nervous twitch, and I'm a little sensitive about it if you don't mind!"

The cozy room was suddenly filled with the characteristic hiss of a teleportation beam. Within seconds, a rather bewildered looking Mega Man materialized in front of his siblings. Proto broke out into a grin.

"Hey, Rocky Horror! Wassup?"

The instant that Mega's eyes swept over Proto, his face drained of all colour. He pointed to Proto with a trembling finger. "Yuh...uh...you're...suppos t' be....duh...duh...."

Proto removed his helmet and clapped it against his chest with a mockingly solemn expression. "That's my brother speaking. What a way with words!"

"You...you're supposed to be DEAD!" Mega managed to spit out in a strangled half - scream.

Proto stole a sorrowful glance at the game board he had upset earlier. "Ah yes, how I do wish I was dead..I owe Roll quite a bit of money. Can you lend me five thousand, Rock? I'll pay you back tomorrow, I swear."

Mega lunged towards Proto and grabbed the startled bot by his shoulders. He tried to look directly into his brother's eyes, but all he saw beyond the visor was his own terrified expression.

Proto squirmed slightly under Mega's hold. "Uh...Rock? You're my brother and all, but you're invading my personal space, and I don't really care for that. What's your problem? What do you mean I'm supposed to be dead?"

Mega somehow regained enough of his composure to collapse into a chair and tell his brother about the torn - up scarf he had collected on the ruined city streets, and about how he had been worried sick that Proto had fallen victim to the dinosaur attack. Proto beamed hugely as he heard this.

"Awww...isn't that sweet? Rock was actually WORRIED 'bout me!" Now it was Proto's turn to invade Mega's 'personal space' as he swept his brother up into a bear - hug.

Mega struggled to free himself from the affectionate clasp. "So then...what HAPPENED? Where's your scarf?!" Mega managed to croak.

Proto let Mega get a little air. "Well, it turns out that the dinosaurs that had a walk through the city were fugitives from Slash Man's Robosaur Park. The electric fence had been shut down, and Slash didn't monitor the activities of the dinosaurs close enough. Ergo, the dinos escaped. I met up with Slash Man. He's really sorry that he leveled the city, and he gladly took up my offer to help him put the dinos back. As for my scarf.." Proto's voice became laced with regret, "..well, before I met up with Slash, a nice little robotic velociraptor decided to play 'Tug of War' with me, which turned my scarf into the equivalent of a noose. I had to give the raptor my scarf. Unfortunately, air is a bit more precious than a scrap of clothing."

"Yeah, life's like that." Roll sighed.

Proto let go of Mega. To his surprise, his brother collapsed to the ground like a blue sac of potatoes. His eyes seemed vacant. "I haven't finished telling you what happened after I found your scarf." He said in a faint whisper that still succeeded in sending uneasy chills up Proto's spine.

"All right then...go on." Proto egged.

All energy seemed to be drained from Mega now. He leaned his head against the table leg situated conveniently beside him and quietly told his siblings about how he had gone to Skull Castle to tell off Wily for killing Proto, and ended up killing the old fellow quite by accident. There was a slight pause after Mega had finished. Proto and Roll exchanged exasperated glances. This whole awful situation seemed to echo the conversation they had had a while back about Mega's emotions taking control of him, resulting in Wily getting hurt.

"Rock...it WAS an accident that Wily died, right?" Roll tried to keep her voice steady, but there was a note of urgent terror in it.

Mega only nodded numbly. "What's gonna happen to me now? Will I be deactivated?"

"I don't think it'll happen if it was an ACCIDENT." Proto tried to sound hopeful, but he knew it was useless. There was no proof that it had been an accident, and Mega was not known to love Wily. Some folks were certainly going to assume that he had killed the old scientist on purpose. And since Mega had assumed that Proto had been killed by Wily...well, that was just the final blow of the executioner's axe. Proto could hear the accusing voices now: "Mega Man had killed Wily to get revenge for his brother's death."

"Maybe Wily's robots who witnessed the death will confess that Rock hadn't shot Wily on purpose," he mused mentally, but he wisely ended up just chalking that prospect under "Things that probably wouldn't happen even if Hell froze over". Everything seemed to be in a messy - mushy - mix - up...a row of toppled dominos, all set off by Slash Man's carelessness.

Roll's expression finally reflected her true feelings of fear for her brother's future as she sat down next to him and put an arm around his shaking shoulders in a fruitless effort to comfort him. "I'd be lying if I said that everything will be back to normal someday, Rock."

Bass drifted in and out of consciousness as his systems attempted to repair his extensive damage caused by his short battle with Mega. He became quite awake, however, when he heard some dull clanks being emitted from the top of his helmet. He craned his neck around just enough to see that Flagg was pecking angrily at his gold - finned headpiece.

"Oh, get the hell away from me, you vulture! Go make life miserable for someone else. Here, eat Wily's corpse; he's dead anyway." Bass growled weakly.

With these words from his enemy, Flagg unfolded his grand wings a bit and snapped his beak open and shut just inches from Bass' nose.

"rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUFFFF!" Bass barked.

Flagg disappeared in a frightened black whirlwind of feathers. Bass grinned in spite of himself. He slowly hauled his battered body up into a standing position. He limped over to the small cluster of robots that mused over Wily's fallen body. Slash Man saw Bass standing over him like a black entity favouring its right arm.

"Sooooo....now what?" The wild orange robot questioned of his superiour.

"What do you mean, 'now what'?"

"Are you sure that Wily's dead?"

"Well, he's stopped breathing and his body's gone cold! I think that makes it a bit bleedin' obvious!" Bass snarled.

Slash shrugged. "Well, maybe he's just holding his breath."

"Maybe he's....WHAT!? My God, you're IMPOSSIBLE!"

Unnoticed by his brothers, Zero sat huddled with his knees against his chest in a dark corner near Wily's still form, a victim to his superiour emotions. His father was dead...what was left for him?

Slash spoke up, temporarily renting the mist of gloom that surrounded Zero.

"Well, Bass, if you're so smart, tell us what to do with this body. If we want to bury it, there's a big rubber tree plant with a very large flower pot to it just outside of this room...I think he just MAY fit if we break a bone here and there...."

"Are you insane!?" Bass shrieked. "Don't you see an opportunity here? Mega shot Wily, and he may think that he's won. But all we have to do is show Wily's body to the media and tell them the truth....that Mega killed him. To put it bluntly, Mega is pretty much screwed."

Slash Man sprang up and punched the air with his clawed fist. "Huzzah! Bass, you're brilliant! I think-- "

Slash never had a chance to tell Bass what he thought, for as soon as he had uttered that last phrase, his optics suddenly went dim and he pitched over and fell flat on his face.

"Sir Slash! What in the order of the Kingfisher and the Rose has happened!?" Knight Man managed to spit out seconds before he crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap. He was followed almost instantly by Cut Man.

"Oh no!" Bass groaned faintly. "Not now! Not NOW!"

Snake and Shade Man pounced on Bass immediately. "Bass, you know what's going on! Why are all the robots shutting down!?"

"A while ago, Wily told me that there's a chip of some sort in all of us that would cause us to shut down one by one when he died." Bass' voice was flat. "I don't know how the chip would work, but it seems to be doing its job with ease right now!" Bass finished just as Toad Man croaked at his black boots (Bad pun #3! I deserve to be shot!). Bass could feel his own systems begging to shut down under the sudden, sleepy lure that the mysterious chip cast upon them. Bass sympathized with his circuits, but he used all his will to sternly command them to stay functional. Snake Man and Shade Man were apparently doing the same judging by the way they swayed and blinked rapidly.

"I can't shut down now!" Shade Man wailed. "So much blood to drink! So many humans to assimilate into my Unholy Vampire Army of the Night! Besides, what will Flagg do without me!?"

"Get caught in some power lines, I should hope." Bass muttered under his breath. He bit his tongue as he felt himself nodding off.

"Never mind your bird!" Snake Man echoed Shade's pathetic whine. "What about my Monty?"

Bass waved his arms with the strength he had left. "What about Wily!? The media! We gotta...gotta...oh, who am I kidding?" Bass began to succumb to the will of the chip, as did Snake and Shade.

Zero, the only robot in the room who did not posses the chip, was suddenly pulled out of his grieving for Wily by a terror that was spawned while he watched his brother and teacher, Bass, sink to the ground like a wilted black weed.

"Bass!" He cried as he scrambled frantically to his brother's side. Bass opened his eyes slightly when he heard Zero's voice. He offered the crimson figure a weak smile.

"Sorry, buddy....it's the end for me. I haven't taught you everything I would have liked to. I can only do one more thing before I go. Fetch me that phone over there." Bass motioned towards a cell phone that rested on a nearby table. Zero did as he was told. Bass pulled up enough strength to dial a number and hold the phone up to his ear.

"Hello? Is this the Daily Blah newspaper? Good...this is Bass. Yes, the same Bass that was created by Wily." There was a slight pause on Bass' end. "Well yeah, it's probably the same Bass who drove the tank through your living room window, too. What did you say your last name was? Winnik? Yes, I'm pretty sure that it was me who did that. No, don't hang up on me, you fool! Listen! Wily's been shot by none other than - get this! - Mega Man. He's pretty much sealed the fates of the rest of us robots, too. I figured that my last action should be to bring this event into the light.....yes, Wily's dead. Yes, I'm sure. No, he is NOT holding his breath! Okay? This is the story of the year! Are you gonna report it, or do I have to call up the Weekly Star? I bet they'd be interested!....Heh heh...I thought so! When you enter the fortress, be careful of the alligator pits, the killer bee nests, and the psycho robot guards that're armed to the teeth. Okay Mr. Winnik, you have yourself a nice day, you hear? Bye!"

Bass let the receiver slip out of his near - lifeless fingers. He turned his head away from Zero. He was actually getting a little emotional over leaving the reploid. "Listen, Zero. Soon enough, reporters are gonna be swarming here. You'd best not stay. They'll ask you questions that you won't be able to answer. Wily mentioned earlier that he planned to shut you in a capsule at the end of a period spanning four months, after which you'd shut down automatically, much the same way I am now. That capsule is hidden far, far downstairs, in storage room 7-G, behind some loose bricks in the north wall. I would tell you to enter it now, but since you'd end up just standing there until four months was up, you'd probably become bored out of your skull. Therefore, I think you should get out into the world and learn a bit more about it. Learn what I couldn't get a chance to teach you. You'll be fine...just remember..." At this point, Bass' eyes became quite alert as they locked with Zero's. "NEVER ever tell ANYONE that Wily created you. Do you understand? And until you wake up from your 30 year hibernation, don't harm any humans! No matter how much they sicken you. Don't do anything to arouse suspicion, or you'll blow the whole deal. Once four months are up, just come back to the fortress...I pray that it'll still be left intact. Then enter the capsule. If the fortress is destroyed and you can't enter the capsule, find somewhere else to hibernate. The only problem with that is I don't know when you'll wake up. The capsule is designed to pull you out of your sleep at an appropriate time. Okay?"

Zero's body shuddered with sobs, but he managed to nod.

A grin played on Bass' mouth as he observed his brother's grief. "Just remember, Zero...you're a reploid. Superiour to humans in almost every way. Use that knowledge and make me proud." Bass ceased breathing as he submitted to the will of the chip.

A deathly silence settled over the room. Flagg perched on the immobile chest of Shade Man and mourned his master with a woebegone cry that would have shattered anyone's heart. Zero mimicked the bird's cry as he hunched over the body of his ebony brother. While Bass' directions were still fresh in his mind, Zero felt hopelessly lost in a dark wood of confusion.

His weeping passed like a storm. He sat silently as the light of reason began to penetrate his dark clouds. The light touched Bass' last words and illuminated them with startling brilliance. Zero stood up and gave not a backward glance to his fallen brothers or father as he headed towards the entrance of Skull fortress. The training was over. His real life was to begin now.

He was a reploid....

And he would make Bass proud.

Proto frowned hugely as he regarded the swelling sea of TV and newspaper reporters that swarmed before the main doorway of Light's lab. A muffled roar of miscellaneous voices rose from the crowd, but every individual was generally asking Proto Man to grant the same request: they wanted to know exactly what had happened when Mega Man had killed Wily. Accident or not, Wily's death was big news.

Proto began to sway a little, feeling oppressed by the flashing camera bulbs and sound of rattling papers that emanated from the tangle of people. He never took well to crowds, noise or confusion, and the very scent and stand - offishness of most humans always gave him an icky feeling in the back of his throat.

The tide of reporters was creeping up to the door of the lab that Proto stood in, much to his dismay. Their glittering eyes and eager expressions reminded Proto uneasily about the pack of compies he had faced not long ago. Frustrated, he waved his arms at the persistent buggers.

"Go away! We're...closed or...or...something!" He shouted angrily.

One of the reporters in front, a young human male, tossed Proto's advice right over his shoulder and into the wind as he took a step closer. "Proto Man, how do you feel about the fact that your brother murdered Wily?"

"For the fifteenth time, he didn't 'murder' anyone, you ijit!" Proto snarled, but his voice was lost in the growing din. He raised it again. "Wily's death was an accident. Now get out of here! ALL of you!! Go home and curse your mothers for ever bringing such slow, deaf idiots as yourselves into this world!"

"Please, just one interview with you!" One of the reporters pleaded.

"No! Go home!"

"How about Dr. Light? Can we speak to him?"

"No. The Doc has...uh, the Doc has ebola."

"Impossible!" The reporter scoffed. "That disease was wiped out ages ago!"

"Yeah, well, uh...this is one of those new strains. You know, the magical kind."

"Okay, whatever. What about Mega Man? Can we speak to him?"

"Dear Creeping Gods, no! Mega Man has...has...forgotten how to speak English."

"How can that be? Robots don't forget!"

Proto offered the bewildered reporter a wry grin. "I guess that makes Mega special, doesn't it?"

Back inside the lab, Mega was a mess, which is a hell of a lot less funny than that may sound. He was trembling, and wearing the expression of a whipped dog. The sounds of the activities of the reporters outside wafted to his ears, constantly reminding him of what waited for him out there. A pack of half-starved wolves, ready to tear him apart in a second with inquires.

Doc Light leaned heavily against one of the lab walls near his frightened 'boy'.

"All right, Rock." He drawled. "Calm it down, and tell me again, in your own words, what happened..."

Mega was a little reassured by the monotone yet soothing voice of his creator, so, in a shaky voice, he told the story of his 'revenge' all over again. As Mega concluded his story, Light rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. There was the ol' migraine attack again. "Okay, folks...let's not panic. It was an accident. Maybe everything will turn out all right."

Light was interrupted by the familiar clang of metal boots echoing down the hall. A cranky Proto Man bust into the room. Wordlessly, he headed to the kitchen, and stormed out a few minutes later, brandishing an armful of potatoes. The maroon and silver bot was muttering something about "Getting rid of those damned reporters even if he had to stoop to juvenile acts to do so." Seconds later, muffled shouts and dull explosions could be heard as Proto gleefully whipped the tubers at the reporters, cleansing the doorstep of them, if only temporarily.

Mega shifted uncomfortably, and cleared his throat. There was one scrap of info he had been withholding from his family this whole time, and that was about that odd blond-haired robot he had encountered shortly after Wily had bought the farm. He had withheld the info until now, because the sight of that robot had seriously scared him halfway out of his mind. There was something about it that he couldn't put his finger on. It was as if the robot had radiated a disarming, malignant power that was almost unworldly. And those penetrating eyes didn't belong to any sort of regular robot. When Mega tried to recall them, the memory summoned an immeasurable fear into his heart, a feeling he didn't really enjoy.

"Doc...?"

"Yes?"

"I didn't tell you this before. I met a new robot when Wily was...uh, iced."

Light dismissed this with a simple wave of his hand. "Never mind that. Wily was always dingaling with mechanics, and always coming up with new warriors..."

"No Doc." Mega's voice was quiet. "This was different. Much different."

"What was so different about it?"

Mega suddenly looked small and helpless, as if his soul had been yanked out of his body by the devil. "It was...just...I don't know! It was just so humanlike. Hard to explain."

All the air rushed out of Light's weary lungs. His head began to throb at Mega's last words.

Mega and Roll looked at the Doc with concerned interest. "Something wrong, Doc?"

Dr. Light did not answer. His mind seemed to be coated with a fuzzy panic. He steadied himself a bit fixed his eyes on Mega.

"Rock..you said that this robot was 'humanlike'? In what way?"

Mega shrugged. "It's really hard to explain. Its actions and emotions seemed richer and more real than any of the other robots there. Like a human or something."

Dr. Light's world crashed. This was it. Wily really HAD used those reploid plans that Bass had stolen so long ago. He had built a reploid. Dr. Light didn't doubt it, even if Mega's description of the robot had been vague. And there was little doubt that the reploid would be put to ill use. Even if Wily was dead now, there was an excellent chance that the twisted scientist had told the reploid what to do with its future life, i.e. kill humans, cause general destruction. Also, there was a vital hibernation period of at least thirty years that reploids needed to go through to make sure that their advanced minds will develop enough to be able to tell the difference between right and wrong. It was crucially important that they had judgment, as a reploid's conscience was the only thing that would keep it from blasting all sorts of neat stuff. Dr. Light had written that clearly on his notes. He prayed that Wily would at least have HIS reploid go through the hibernation process so that it would be a bit more stable.

Dr. Light fell into a chair behind him and did some quick calculating in his head. He was sure that Wily WOULD have the reploid hibernate. Wily was a lot of things, but he wasn't stupid. On the notes, Light had indicated that he was going to put his own reploid into hibernation, should he ever create one. Wily would likely realize that an unstable reploid is not a happy reploid, and would do the same. Oh, this was going to be a fun future.

"Hey Doc. You die?"

Mega Man's inquisitive voice brought Light's thoughts thundering back to the present. Roll stood beside her brother, a look of concern etched into her face.

The Doc snapped out of his trance and began to speak in a hushed voice. "What you saw at Wily's fortress, Rock, was not a robot. It was a reploid. There's a world of difference, and I'll explain it to you later. But I'll tell you this much. Reploids are dangerous. Very much so. I should know: I created the plans for the construction of one, but I never carried them out because I was fearful of what they were capable of. But your little friend, Bass, stole them a long time ago when he ransacked the lab. Back then, I told you he hadn't really taken anything of very great value, but I was lying. Wily has obviously created a reploid that'll wreak havoc in the future. I can't allow that to happen. I created the plans, and they were my responsibility. I have to find some way to retaliate." He slowly rose to his feet, his body creaking in protest to this movement. Sighing, Light was reminded that he had little time.

"Rock, hear me out for a second...."

Proto was painfully aware of the fact that he was running out of creative ways to scatter the reporters from Light's door. He involuntarily cried out as the flash from a camera lit up the world for a second. Even with his visor, Proto was extremely sensitive to light.

When the spots cleared, Proto was suddenly hit by an idea that made no sense at all. In other words, it was perfect. He dashed inside the lab as a streak of silver and returned to the reporters with a cellphone in his hand. He fixed the journalist in the front of the mass with a friendly smile.

"Hey. Your mother's on the phone."

At these words, the reporter's eyes grew to twice their normal size. A scream escaped him as he whipped around 180 degrees and began to claw his way into the crowd.

Proto chuckled as he listened to the dialtone in his ear. "I'm surprised that worked. Maybe his mother was a psychotic rodeo clown. Wouldn't surprise me. Humans are so messed."

John Winnik, a famed journalist from the popular newspaper known as the Daily Blah, averted his sickened gaze from Wily's cold body to the unconscious forms of the robots strewn around him in an uneven pattern. Several reporters milled about the fortress, writing down various points, snapping photos, etc. John's partner, Sean Mac, whistled as he regarded the mess.

John turned to his friend and jabbed a finger at the jumble of robots before him. "Do you know which one of these is that bastard, Bass?"

Sean shrugged. 'No clue. Why?"

"I was hoping to pry off his arm and use it to patch the gaping hole in my living room window! I'll never forget that tank attack."

"Mmm. How touching. So what's gonna happen to this lovely fortress now that Wily is kaput?"

John peered at the dripping, dank grey stones that surrounded him, and breathed of the unpleasant, stale air that swathed him. "I guess we'll just have it torn down, and give the robots to the Robot Museum. This place is an eyesore."

Sean nodded in agreement. "Uh, so...you gonna take a picture of Wily's body, or what?"

John was taken aback. "No thank YOU. Why don't you do it?"

"I can't point a camera to save my life! Besides, I thought Sy was your photographer."

John snorted. "Yeah, well, Sy ain't here now, is he?!"

Sean shook his head numbly.

John roused himself and clapped Sean on the back. "Tell you what! I'll take the picture of Wily's body, and you go call Sy's wife and tell her that her husband was devoured by a booby- trap full of alligators! Sound fair?"

Proto was thankful for the onset of night. It was the time of day that the reporters shuffled away from the Lab and allowed Proto some peace and quiet until the reporters would return at dawn's first light, and the torture would begin anew.

The night was perfectly still and the sky was crystal clear. Proto gazed up at the starts which hung in the ebony blackness like majestic, shimmering lamps, tributes to an awesome, ages-old heavenly power that no race on earth could completely comprehend. Taurus and Orion were locked in their eternal, starry battle, as were Draco and Hercules. A dreamy smile crossed Proto's face as he fell to his favourite pastime: counting stars. "One...two....three...four...five...six...seven...eight..."

Proto was interrupted at seven hundred and three by a sullen clang beside him. He turned his helmeted head to see Mega Man sitting next to him. The small blue bot looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

'Something wrong, Rocky Horror?"

"Yeah." Mega's voice was unusually heavy. "Light just gave me a sneak preview of the future, and it doesn't look pretty. Did the Doc ever explain to you what a reploid is?"

Proto recalled the argument he had had long ago with his creator about the safety of the plans. Slowly, he nodded.

"Well, " Mega continued, "it seems that when Bass ransacked our lab all those months ago, he stole the Doc's plans for a reploid, and Wily built one of his own. The Doc didn't tell me that the plans had been stolen at that time, because he didn't want me getting too 'angry'. I don't know what he was talking about when he said that."

"Hmmm...that's a bugger."

Mega picked up a rock and threw it into the darting shadows of the trees. "I haven't even gotten to the worst part. The Doc says that the reploid is probably even stronger than me. Besides that, we have NO idea when it may attack. Reploids' minds are very advanced but also very unstable. Because of this, a reploid may attack anyone...even its own creator. But if it hibernates for at least thirty years, its mind will become more secure. The Doc says he has reason to believe that Wily's reploid will go into hibernation and wake up in the future to cause trouble, which is most likely what Wily wants it to do." Mega paused. "Dr. Light wants me to be around in the future to retaliate any attacks the reploid might make on society."

"That's a great idea!"

"No. Let me finish, Proto. The only way for me to fight a reploid is to become a reploid myself."

Proto looked blank. "What do you--?"

"Dr. Light doesn't have the time to build a complete reploid, and even if he did, he lost the plans to Bass. But since my mind is almost as advanced as a reploid's, he says he remembers enough of his plans to turn ME into one quite easily. Then he'd put me into thirty year hibernation. There's a very good chance of it working...but I'd lose all my memory of my life as a 'bot."

"But that would....suck!" Proto mentally cursed himself for not using a word that was a bit more compassionate.

Mega stirred. "Yes, it would. But I'm going to accept."

Proto actually became frightened at the thought of losing his brother. "No! You can't. I'LL take your place!" He said lamely.

"Wow, one of your first unselfish acts towards me! Excuse me while I have a heart attack." Mega grinned teasingly. "Anyway, this is something I need to do. Humans in the future are gonna need to be protected against this 'reploid', and I'm the only one who can do it. I WANT to do this. Wily may be gone now, but that doesn't mean that crime etc. will just vanish into the air. You need to stay and protect this time period. I'll handle the future. Don't worry."

The brothers sat in silence for a second, listening to the distant whirr of crickets in the evening's heat. Proto's voice ruined the fine stillness.

"So...is the Doc gonna transform you right away?"

"No. First I gotta pay a visit to Auto's shop and get the right materials."

"Hm. On your way, you think you could stop at K-Mart and fetch me a new scarf...?"

"Hey...buddy...are you gonna pay for that?"

Zero disgregarded this question as he pocketed an energy canister.

The robust green and yellow robot behind the counter of the popluar robotic supply store known affectionately as 'Big Eddie's' cocked his head and frowned at the tall, scarlet robot that browsed freely amoung his wares. The odd stranger picked up some sort of nick-nack that Auto could not identify from his viewpoint. He got a perfect view, however, of the stranger examining the object, shrugging, and discarding the item over his plated shoulder. Auto nearly freaked, which was very unlike his humourous nature.

"Hey, come ON!" Auto exclaimed as he waddled from his lair to see what damage the robot had caused to the object. "Don't throw stuff around like a Fishwife! Do you think nuclear atom splicers grow on trees?"

"Hell with you, fat boy."

"That's not very nice."

"Ask me if I give a damn." Zero pocketed another small item to punctuate this statement.

Auto sighed. Usually, almost nothing could daunt his good nature. This newcomer, however, was doing a very good job of undoing the happy-go-lucky air that surrouned the store owner. He realized that Eddie himself was going to have to handle this loser...

Zero shuffled around the contents of another shelf . Annoyance welled up within his systems as he did so. Garbage, garbage, garbage. This cheap store didn't have what he was looking for, although Zero himself didn't have any idea what he WAS looking for. To vent his frustration, Zero pulled some stuff off the shelf and let it slide onto the floor. He felt a tiny glimmer of satisfaction as he listened to the resounding crash.

As Zero stood ankle-deep in the debris of his destruction, he thought about how messed up his life had been since Bass had gone bye-bye. Without his ebony brother to lead him, Zero was pretty much lost. Sure, he would automatically deactivate in four months...but what was he to do until then? Eat stale fruitcake? Run up and down the city streets naked, screaming that Big Bird was coming to kill him? Obviously not. Bass had warned him to behave. But only seven days had passed since Zero had left Skull Castle, and already he was screwing up royal.

One thing was certain: Zero had turned nastier since his departure. The loss of his father and brothers had not been good for his mental health. Besides that, now that he wandered the city streets, he found himself surrounded by humans. Humans. The very word dripped slowly into his circuts and tainted them with hate. He would never forget that mysterious, swirling entity that had hovered above him like a formless omen. He would never forget the entity's voice, which had sounded like gravel being shifted back and forth in a wooden bucket, telling him that humans were evil. And now that he actually had contact with them, Zero hated them. He hated their recklessness, their backstabbing nature, and the way they made themsevles out to be such a big screaming deal. Zero found that as each day passed, it got a little bit harder to refrain from going berserk and introducing a few dozen humans to the happy end of his blaster. But common sense was always there, nagging him and scolding him. He could not do any killing of that sort...not yet.

Zero was pulled back into reality as a thin, unplesant feeling cut through him. It was a feeling we all get at one time or another: Zero felt like he was being WATCHED.

But watched by what? Zero looked up down and around and finally at his armoured boots. There, standing no higher than Zero's knee, was the oddest creature he had ever laid eyes on.

"Hey. Innkeeper. You've got rats." Zero's monotone voice betrayed his actual feelings of surprise.

"That's not a rat, buddy."

And, indeed, it probably wasn't. The little creature was a bright, firetruck red. Its head bore a crest that was almost suitcase shaped, and looked hollow. While the thing had no arms, it had two legs. It continuosly rocked back and forth on those legs in a rhythm that was as steady as the tides themselves. Its large eyes blinked in a manner that kept perfect time with its rocking. Those eyes were now looking directly at Zero, fixing him with a menacing glare. Zero felt a little bit overwhelmed. Zero didn't know many knee - high, dancing pieces of luggage that could deliver the 'evil eye' like this one did.

"Hey big guy...who is this little freak and what does he want?"

"That," said Auto, "is Eddie, robot 72080 of the Flip - Top breed. He is requesting that you return the materials that you stole."

"What's he gonna do if I don't? Blink me to death?!" Zero snorted as aimed a swift kick at the small, seemingly defenseless form before him. To his surprise, the suitcase sidestepped the attack and retorted by delivering a head butt to Zero's knee. The crimson reploid yelped as his knee gave way and spilled him onto the item - strewn floor. All the items he had stowed away in his armour rolled out and became lost in the clutter.

Above him, Auto broke into peals of laughter. He offered one of his big hands to Zero. Zero grudgingly accepted it and scrambled to his feet. Then, without hesitation, he aimed his arm cannon at Eddie.

"Hey!" Auto said sharply, smacking Zero's cannon away from his friend. "That's not nice! Now come on. Let's have a little chit chat. I have a feeling you need one."

Zero lowered his arm cannon, surprising himself. He felt a little reassured by Auto's friendly tone, so he accepted his offer. He felt lost and confused, and needed a friend to talk to, even if it was a big, dumb, fat robot that was painted the colour of mucus. However, he was wisely selective about what he told the big bot.

"My name's Zero. I don't really know who I am. My creator abandoned me, and I've just been wandering around for the last little while."

Auto's normally blank eyes suddenly brimmed with regret. "Aw, you poor thing...you're an orphan."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Auto pounded Zero on the back, knocking the wind out of the reploid. "Well, that's enough about you! I'm Auto, and the store you stand in is called Big Eddie's! Not to toot my own horn, but we're pretty renowned! We supply Dr. Light himself with a large amount of materials!"

Zero's circuts froze with a chilling hate. Dr. Light. He had heard that name before. But where? "Dr. who?"

"Oh, you haven't heard of Dr. Light? He's famous! He's the creator of Rock, Roll, Tango, Beat..."

Unbeknownst to Zero but knownst to us, Rock was Mega Man's real name. But since Zero didn't know that there was any relation at all between the two names, he merely smiled, the first one he had cracked in a long time. "That sounds a lot less like 'Dr. Light's Creations' and more like 'Mr. Holland's Opus'.

Auto bellowed as if he had heard the best joke in the world, and slammed Zero on the back again. This time, Zero went staggering nearly halfway across the store.

"I like you, buddy! And Eddie likes you too."

Zero recovered himself. "Eddie? That dancing suitcase that I nearly shot? He talks?"

"Well, not really. But he's my best friend..."

"You're best friends with a mute, knee - high briefcase?" Zero slowly began inching towards the door in case he had to make a break from the loony bin he was currently enclosed in.

"Yeah, Eddie helps me run the store." Auto said cheerfully. "Even though he can't talk, I understand everything he's trying to tell me!"

Zero's curiousity finally overshadowed his uneasiness. "How do you communicate with him?"

"One blink means yes, two means no."

Zero couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Auto lumbered towards Zero again and threw his thick arm around the reploid's shoulders. "I can tell I'm scaring ya, buddy. You can leave now if ya want, but afore ye go, could you please help me clean up the mess you made with your temper tantrum?" Auto motioned towards the shelf that Zero had pulled down.

Disgusted, Zero peeled Auto's massive arm off of himself. "Why do you keep on making physical contact with me, Auto? Are you coming on to me or something...?"

Auto's booming laugh ensued. Zero became slightly annoyed. Didn't this guy take offense to ANYTHING? Zero realised that he could probably throw a brick at Auto's head, and the guy would still be laughing. It was highly irritating.

Nevertheless, Zero agreed to help Auto clean up. Eddie tagged closely at Zero's heels like a puppy while the reploid put items back on their designated shelves. He was obviously making sure that nothing was ripped off again. Zero was contemplating on whether or not his leg should 'accidently' thrust out behind him and kick Eddie in the face, when a nearby object that bore a brilliant lustre caught his eye. Zero dropped the armful of supplies he had scooped up, and walked in a trance to that shining object like a moth to a candle. It seemed to be calling his name. As he got closer to the object, he saw that it was a cylindrical handle of some sort of sword that lacked a blade. Very unusual, but Zero still streched out a tentative hand and drew the object towards him. It felt cool to the touch, and it was a healthy weight. Zero's hand seemed to become one with it, but he still was in the dark about just what it was...

"Hey Auto - Man. What is this?"

Auto looked over his shoulder. When he saw what Zero possesed, he waddled over to him. All the salesman instincts within him awoke with a vengence.

"Isn't that a peachy little thing? It's the newest weapon on the market, and that's the sole one I posses. They were recently built to honour 'Lucas', the great god who was said to exsist way back in the 20th century. It's called a 'lightsabre'. You see that funky little button near the hilt? Push it."

Zero did as he was told, and he got quite a start when a pulsating blade shot out of its lair. The blade emanated a harsh, neon green light. Zero instinctively gave a swipe with the blade. There was a deep - throated hum from the sabre as well as a faint trail of lime - coloured light in its wake. Zero was held in thrall by the wonder of the weapon. He had to have it.

"That's the lightsabre!" Auto boomed on like a commercial. "Share it with your friends, scare your gramma with it! It comes with a neat sheath that is genuine leather! I'll let it go for a...somewhat low price."

Zero's face fell. He didn't have any money, and he knew he couldn't steal this weapon. It was obviously worth a lot, and Auto would never let Zero just walk away with it. Yet, something had to be done. The lightsabre now owned Zero. It held him with its beauty and power.

"I have no money, big guy...but I'll tell you, I just HAVE to have this. Isn't there some way you can just...give it to me?"

Auto frowned thoughtfully. "I'll tell you what. We'll barter. I need some help around the store. We're busy lately. You help me around the store for a few months, and I'll let you have the sabre. Deal?"

Zero considered this. It was still four months before he would be shut down. If he worked with Auto, he could pass the time and earn the lightsabre he loved. Two birds with one stone. The drawback? Zero knew he was going to have to summon every bit of will he possesed to keep his sanity while working with Auto.

Still, the pros outweighed the cons, and Zero accepted.

Auto pounded Zero on the back once again. Grimly, Zero realised that if Auto's outlandish behaviour didn't cease, he was going to have to do some pounding of his own.

"Great, Zorro! Glad to have you aboard!" Auto quipped.

"My name is Zero."

"Ah, whatever."

And so, time went on slippin' into the future, and Zero got a taste of what it was like to work. He didn't particularily care for labour, but what the hell, it gave him something to do. He carried his new lightsabre with him wherever he went. Auto gave him the leather sheath he had mentioned earlier, and the sabre now took residence on Zero's back.

One fine day, about three months after he had begun the working life, Zero found himself carrying a large table on his back. He was huffing and creaking under the burden while Auto stood thoughtfully, thinking of where to put the simple piece of furniture.

"Okay, big guy." Zero panted brokenly. "This thing ain't exactly light. Tell me where to drop it."

"In a second. Do you think that table would look better by the door, or near the window?"

Zero could feel acidic words rising in his throat and coating his tounge, just begging to be spit out, but Zero wisely swallowed them. "This isn't exactly a life or death desicion, Auto. Please hurry and decide before by shoulders break off."

"All right." Auto said reluctantly. "Put it by the door."

Zero promply did as he was told, glad to get rid of the weight.

"No...wait...I've changed my mind. Put it by the window."

Zero's temper began to mount. He wasn't a bloody beast of burden! Gritting his teeth, he snapped a leash on his lashing anger and held it back, an action that working with Auto had forced him to practice. And he was getting better at it, too. Wordlessly, Zero heaved the table onto his shoulders again and plunked it down by the window.

"No wait...change of heart. Put it by the door again."

"AUTO! MAKE UP YOUR FRACKIN' MIND!!"

"Sorry, I can't help it if I'm indesicive!"

Zero sighed and picked up the table again. He staggered over to the door and placed it there neatly while fixing Auto with an icy glare. "There you go, your Majesty. Is that kosher?"

Auto beamed. "It's perfect! Thanks Zippo, you've been a great help!"

Zero had just about given up on correcting Auto when the big bot got his name wrong, which was almost always. "Glad to be of service." He sighed. "Now, I'm going to my room to fetch something. I'll be right back."

Auto nodded and waved him off.

Zero trooped off to his small bedroom and fetched his lightsabre and sheath. He had been forced to remove them while he had been moving the table. He hummed contently as he started back to the main store. Auto was a dork, but he was nice, and life wasn't so bad after all. Even Eddie had been agreeable lately, despite the spat that he had had with Zero all those weeks back.

When Zero saw the customer that was now browsing in the store, he froze. He expertly dodged into the shadows of the corridor mouth that yawned into the main room. Swathed in partial darkness, he felt a little bit better. He could not allow this customer to see him...not if Bass' plan was to go smoothly.

The customer was Mega Man. The little blue bot was locked in a seemingly heavy conversation with Auto. Zero could not hear the words exchanged between the two, but Mega seemed to be bearing bad news, judging by the unusually downcast look in Auto's eyes. Suddenly, Auto swept Mega into a massive bear-hug. Zero smiled without humour. It was just that Mega's struggling little body in Auto's gargantuan arms reminded Zero of a rabbit caught in a bear-trap.

Mega finally departed about fifteen minutes later, his arms loaded down with complex- looking materials. Zero let a sigh ease through him. He stepped out of the maw of the corridor and looked at the door casually. Despite the fact that his heart was still crashing against his ribs, he managed to keep his voice at a neutral tone. "So that was..."

'Mega Man." Auto finished off sadly. "One of my bestest buddies. He killed an evil tyrant named Wily, quite by accident."

"It was no accident!" Zero almost shrieked. Thankfully, he caught himself before he did so. Instead, he said, "Yeah, I've heard of Wily. From what I've been told, he deserved it." Zero immediately bit his tounge.

"The media hasn't left the poor Blue Bomber alone since then." Auto sighed. "So he's sorta...leaving. He wouldn't tell me exactly what's going on, though."

"Good riddance," Zero thought bitterly.

"But he DID give me some good news. Skull Castle has recently been torn down."

Zero's world silently crashed. His face drained of all colour. Luckily, Auto wasn't looking at him as this occoured. For his own safety, Zero pulled his casual face back on. "Well, I'm...glad to hear that. What do you suppose happened to all of Wily's bots that were in there?"

Auto shrugged. "That's the funny part. They were all deactivated when the reporters got there. Even Bass and his dog."

Bass. The very word brought a wave of loneliness crashing upon him.

"The only living things that were found in the Castle were a large raven and a rare python. I don't know what happened to those two."

Zero inwardly sighed as a tide of fond memories engulfed him. Flagg and Monty. "But what happened to the robots? Where are they now?"

"Uhm...Mega mentioned that they were shipped to the Robot Museum, I believe."

A sliver of ice worked its way into Zero's heart. What a fate for his brothers. Zero had once been to the Robot Museum. It hadn't been a nice experience....seeing his relitives and ancestors poised stiffly on display with faux expressions of bravado plastered on their faces for eternity had given Zero the creeps for a good long while after that. Their glassy, meaningless eyes were forever pegged on an unseen threat. Zero had hated it.

"Something wrong, Zilcho?" Auto's voice sounded concerned.

"Zero." Zero corrected automatically. "And no, nothing's really wrong. Just a little...tired out."

"Hm. Get some rest, why don'tchya!"

Wordlessly, Zero complied and lurched back to his room like a member of the undead. On his way, only one thought now pounded painfully on his mind: If Skull Castle was gone, where was he to hibrenate when the time came? His last days were on their way.

"Whelp...I guess this is it, Rockster."

"Yeah." Mega sighed heavily.

Mega, Proto and the rest of the dispirited clan were regarding the sea-blue capsule that loomed before them, exactly 8 by 14 feet.

Mega gulped. He knew that he was to enter this capsule for his own good and for the good of the future, but part of him resisted. Damned new emotions. Mega looked down at himself. He was now a reploid. His mind and body now had limitless power, which he could pracically feel ebbing from himself. A nameless power that was extremely dangerous.

Mega regarded the capsule again with narrowed eyes. Once he entered that thing, he'd be plunged into a 30 year sleep, during which most of his memory would be wiped. Did he really want to go through with this?

Light prodded at Mega's slugishness. "Come on, Rock. Step into the capsule. You've already said your goodbyes."

Mega took one hesitant step towards the yawning mouth of the capsule. He threw a quick glance at Proto, who gave his brother the thumbs up. "Don't worry, Rocky Horror! I'll look after the city while you're snoozing. I just hope I don't screw up royal. I'm kidding! hehehe!"

Mega returned the smile, and finally summoned up enough guts to step into the capsule. Light closed the door calmly, if not a bit tearfully.

"And that is that." Roll sighed when the hydrolic hiss of the door subsided. "I just hope that no one is going to bother him for 30 years. What will we tell the reporters when they find that Rock's missing?"

"We can tell them that he ran," Light said grimly while he pecked at some keys at his computer. "Not very noble, but that's the best I can think of at this time."

"Oh no!" Roll nearly wailed. "Then everyone will think he DID kill Wily on purpose."

"Everyone already thinks that." Light mumbled. "Now, silence please! I have to finish this warning in case anyone finds the capsule before 30 years is up." Light returned to his typing, dictating to himself as he did so.

""X" is the first of a new generation of robots that contain an innovative new feature...the ability to think, feel, and make their own decisions..."

Cloaked in the blackness of the moonless night, Zero stole one final glance at the store that had served as his home for four months. Big Eddie's. Zero was definately going to miss Auto, although he hardly admitted it to himself: the big bot was one of a kind.

Zero found himself in the heart of the city. The place was calm. There wasn' t a trace of the ruckus that usually covered the streets. Only a few cars whispered by every five seconds or so.

Streetlights placed soft orange islands on the black street. Zero dodged from one to another, heading towards his destination. Within minutes, it was before him.

The subway station.

Surely, this place could provide him some bedding for thirty years. Hopefully. Zero plunged into the station and glanced around. A few humans milled about lazily, none taking much interest in Zero.

Zero made his way down to the trains. The ticket collecter was in his little booth, reading a magazine that seemed to hold all his interest. Therefore, it was no trouble for Zero to slip by unoticed.

As he neared the tracks, Zero saw a subway charging and snorting down them like a mammoth steed. He waited patiently as the train roared in, emptied its passengers, loaded a few on, and resumed its dreary course. The place was deserted. Zero prepared to make his move.

Making sure his lightsabre was strapped on securely, Zero lept onto the tracks and darted into the tunnel that the train had entered. He traveled down the murky chamber, his eyes searching for appropriate bedding.

There! A nook! Zero flattened himself against the wall as he traveled deeper into it. Suddenly, sleepiness tugged on his circuts. Panicked, Zero began to speed up his journey.

The nook made an 'L' shape. In the inky darkness, Zero felt along the wall, turned the corner and finally settled. This was to be his home for the next 30 years or so. He muttered a short prayer, hoping that the nook he rested in was really as unused as it appeared to be.

Zero remembered Bass telling him that, without the capsule, Zero wouldn't awaken in exactly 30 years. It might be a bit more. It might be a bit less. The chip that Wily had planted in Zero at birth would take care of the job of putting him into a long sleep: hopefully, his systems wold be smart and would wake him up at the appropriate time.

This concern was still settled on Zero's mind as he succumbed to the lull of the chip within him. He closed his eyes. The only ones to witness the beginning of his long hibernation was a family of mice who now had a big red robot sharing their nook, much to their disgust.

"And now, we have to decide what we want to do with it."

"Hold up, Maugrim. Don't do anything rash. I think I've almost got him activated. Saints and Stars, how the hell DID this hunk of junk end up down HERE? And how long has it been here?"

"I say we kill it!"

"Naw. If it turns out to be one of those bloody Hunters, we'll torture it. THEN we'll kill it!"

A clawed hand tugged on some exposed wires, and a flurry of sparks flew angrily from them. Zero was jerked with a start from the inky black peace of his hibernation. His eyelids snapped open effortlessly, despite the fact that over 30 years of dust had built up on them.

"It lives." A bestial voice rumbled.

Sleep still misted Zero's mind and threw his optics out of whack. He couldn't focus on the figures grouped before him properly. When he tried to sit up, he found, to his dismay, that his years-long hibernation had stolen all the cunning out of his joints. He could barely move. One of the figures, who was barley more than a blur of watery green, assisted Zero. "Up you go, Goldilocks."

Zero thickly stammered his thanks as his vision came into view. Three lupine robots towered over him, their expressions stern. The one who had helped Zero sit up was now crouched beside him. The 'werewolf' in front of the rabble, apparently in charge of the other three, approached the crimson reploid. His fur was jet black, which clashed savagely with his gentle sky-blue armour. His sleek arms were folded across his chest. He squinted his snout down at Zero and slit his haunting yellow eyes at him.

"Howdy stranger." The wolf's suspicion of Zero was apparent in his rasping, surly tone. "Would it be any skin off of your behind to tell us what you're doing here and who you are?"

Zero was forced to think hard. His hibernation had fuddled up his memory. He fumbled around with facts in his head for a bit until he finally came up with what he was looking for.

"My name's Zero."

The black werewolf drew back his lupine head. "Very nice. Now, how did you end up all the way down here? And what were you doing just sleeping here like a vagrant?"

The wolf's eyes were still nailed on to Zero's. Zero felt a little overwhelmed as he vainly tried to collect his thoughts that the sleep had scattered. "I...I don't know what I'm doing down here. All I know is that I've been sleeping for years, and I can't remember much of anything for now..."

The black wolf clacked a claw on his armour before grabbing Zero roughly by the shoulders. "Why do I get the feeling that you're witholding info?"

Zero managed to emit a startled cry. He had never felt so helpless before. His body was too tired to respond to his desperate commands to attack.

"I want you to tell me everything, friend. Tell me everything I want to know or - my word! - you'll catch it."

"I've told you everything I can remember! My name's Zero. I've been hibernating here for a long time. I can't remember why. I might in a little while, but for now I've told you everything I know!"

The wolf gave Zero a shake that caused the reploid's armour to clank together. "Are you a Hunter...?"

Zero was already sadly confused by the wolf's interrogation, and this latest question only served to muddle him further. "Hunter? What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, or I'll rip out your lungs and play them like bagpipes. I mean it!" He slacked his grip and Zero went tumbling to the ground again.

"Hold it, Maugrim." The green - tinted wolf crouched beside Zero said. "I think his story has some truth to it. Look, he has a lot of dust built up on him."

Sure enough, thick dust fuzzed Zero's armour like a coat of wee feathers. The black wolf, who's name was obviously Maugrim, grunted at his colleague. "But this fellow is obviously a reploid J.T.. Despite the fact that he appears to be a dimwit, he has that look of intelligence in his eyes that no normal robot possesses. And everyone knows that reploids are a fairly new creation, yet this guy says he's been sleeping here for 'years'. What's going on?"

The green wolf, J.T., shrugged his shaggy shoulders. "I don't know. I say we just lead this guy back to the surface and leave him be. He doesn't appear to be a Hunter."

Zero still didn't know what the wolves were talking about when they referred to him as a 'Hunter', but he could have hugged J.T. for telling Maugrim to back off. He wisely refrained from doing so.

Maugrim finally gave in with a rumbling growl. "Okay then...we'll let this guy off. Help him up. He's a reploid, and as long as he's not a Hunter, I have no problem with him."

Furry paws that were so like yet unlike human hands roughly helped Zero to his feet. Zero swayed like a fragile tree in strong wind, but he managed to keep his balance. His mind slowly became more lucid. He mumbled his thanks and looked at Maugrim. The gaunt wolf was flanked by two other wolf friends (fiends?). Other than the fact that one was beige and the other was aqua - blue, they were nondescript.

Memories of his past slowly began to trickle back into his mind as he looked at his surroundings. He vaguely remembered beginning his hibernation in a subway tunnel. It appeared he was still in one. The murky stone walls still frowned down upon him, and the tiny shafts of determined sunlight that filtered through the odd crack here and there did little to drive back the general depressing nature of the place. Weeds actually flourished between the tracks at Zero's feet, which told him that long years had gone by since a train last rumbled down this path.

"All right, you've seen enough." Maugrim snarled as he caught Zero harshly by the shoulder. "Come this way. You're lucky J.T. talked me out of letting you go. Few have stumbled on a Maverick's hideout and lived to tell the tale."

'Maverick'? Zero mentally added this word to his vocabulary. He yearned to ask Maugrim all sorts of questions. Where was he? What time era was this? What was a 'Hunter'? And for that matter, what was a Maverick? Were there more reploids in the world besides himself? He looked up at Maugrim as the reploid werewolf led him through the labyrinth, but the forbidding look that was twisted on Maugrim's wolfish face immediately bolted Zero's mouth shut again.

Finally, Maugrim and his pack showed Zero a rusty escalator that looked as if it had not seen life in years. The black wolf pointed a claw up the stairs.

"Up there is your way out, Zero. My name's Maugrim. The green wolf is J.T., the beige wolf is Duskclaw, and the blue fellow is Sabre. Remember our names, for we'll meet again! 'till then, ta!"

There was a scurrying of clawed feet on the tiled floor before all was silent. Zero drank in the eerie stillness for a second before he ascended the stairs.

Zero was hit by a massive recollection of memories as he wandered aimlessly through the city streets. Bass. Wily. Auto. Eddie. His lightsabre (upon that thought, Zero hastily checked his back and was greatly relieved to find it intact). And, lastly, the destruction of Skull Castle which had forced him to hibernate in the subway tunnel. Zero didn't know exactly how long he had been asleep. It appeared that those wolves he had met had managed to re - activate him when they found him. He also remembered his personal war against the humans, but that wasn't his prime concern at the moment.

Zero absorbed the changes the city had gone through as he strolled though. The looming buildings around him seemed to be pretty much the same. The inhabitants, however, were definitely different. Humans rushed by Zero, but mingled amoung them were vast varieties of reploids, like himself. Where had they come from? Zero needed answers.

Minutes later, part of Zero's answer stumbled upon him and slapped him in the face. A towering billboard smiled down on him. Zero craned his neck up to read the contents of the board:

Zero frowned, rather puzzled by the somewhat unprofessional ad before him. Usually, an army that was seeking recruits used mind-bending propaganda, not billboards slapped with some crud that wasn't fit for an underwear commercial.

As sad as the billboard was, it provided some lethal information: there was some kind of war going on, something between the two confusing terms Maugrim had used earlier...'Hunters' and 'Mavericks'.

Zero stared up at the address again. He was certain he could find some of the answers he was looking for at the HQ that the ad spoke of. 413 Maplemain. If Zero's memory still served him well, that wasn't too far from where he stood. He swerved around in the right direction and was on his way.

Maverick Hunter HQ! Huzzah!

"Sweet Dancin' Sisters..." Zero mumbled in awe as he shaded his eyes from the blinding sun to get a better view of the mammoth building that soared in front of him. It seemed to span block after block. Zero thought that perhaps he had the wrong address, but, sure enough, a large sign in the well - kept lawn beside him reported that he was indeed at the right place.

Humans and reploids swarmed all around the building like restless bees in a hive. Many were heavily armed. Some, particularly the humans, threw Zero worried glances as they hurried by.

Taking a deep breath, Zero approached the regal gates that marked the main entrance of the HQ. They were closed, but Zero noticed a small boxlike structure on his right that looked like a doorbell and was meant to be treated accordingly. Zero hesitated, however, when he spotted a tiny sign that was positioned just below the bell:

PUSH TO FEEL GOOD.

Zero blinked, but the crazy words on the sign did not change.

PUSH TO FEEL GOOD.

Zero tensed as he pushed the bell, expecting 1000 volts of raw electricity to shoot through him, or something equally as pleasant. To his surprise, nothing happened and his summons were answered almost immediately by a tall reploid donned in brilliant platinum armour. The reploid spied Zero and grinned like a mad monkey.

"Well? Do you feel good?"

"Yeah, I'm just orgasmic, buddy." Zero grunted as he tried to push his way past the platinum reploid and enter the building. The gatekeeper held him back.

"Whoa, not so fast there! If you're an applicant, go around to the east side of the building."

Zero began to lose his temper. "Who ARE you!?"

"The porter of Hell's Gate! Bwa ha ha! Now smarten up, Brighteyes."

Zero's head spun. So, it was coming down to insults now, was it? Zero was tempted to reach into his mind and pull out the most lewd and vile put-downs that he possessed; however, he didn't want to get started off on the wrong foot in this new time era. So he attempted to push past again. The good nature of the 'porter' vapourized like water as he delivered a kick to Zero's shins. Zero yowled and swung his fist, planting it in the reploid's grinning face.

Pretty soon, Zero and the platinum reploid were locked in a nasty fight like hammers and nails. Curses flew thick. Some humans and reploids gathered around the two, but no one tried to break up the fight: rather, they were standing as fans do at a football game, cheering their favourite side.

"What in the name of Skie is going on here!?" Someone shouted. "All of you, back to training! If Cain gets word of this, there'll be hell to pay!"

From afar, Zero could hear disappointed mumblings from the ring of bloodthirsty spectators as they broke up. Zero, however, was too busy gleefully flailing at the platinum reploid pinned below him to notice.

A cold, clammy hand came down on Zero's shoulder and pried him from the bleeding reploid below. "All right...that's enough. Calm down."

Zero was still flinging his limbs around and didn't stop until he turned his head aside to study the hand that retained the vicelike grip in his shoulder. It was blue. Yes, blue. A nice, deep ocean blue. And scaly. And clawed. Yes, every finger that gripped Zero was tipped with long, black claw. Zero tilted his nervous gaze upwards and found himself in the shadow of a long, reptilian snout with several yellowed fangs jutting out of it. A breeze tickled past Zero. Averting his view to behind him, Zero spied two massive, leathery blue wings slowly fanning back and forth like some sort of monstrous bird of prey keeping its balance on a carcass. Beyond that, a lithe, barbed blue tail lashed back and forth like a cat's.

Zero gulped as reality dawned on him. A reploid dragon. He was being held in thrall by a reploid dragon. Zero wisely slowed his struggle.

"Attaboy." The reploid draco cheered him. Although the voice sounded like a cross between a human and a cement mixer, it was friendly. "Now. Answers. Get up, Forrest, and tell me how this guy peeved you so much."

The platinum reploid, who obviously had the unfortunate christening of 'Forrest', scrambled to his feet. Black circulatory fluid trickled down his face. He jabbed a finger at Zero and snarled, "This big blonde Wookiee tried to kill me!"

"I did not."

"Now now." The dragon chuckled. "Let's not fight!" The leviathan laxed his grip on Zero, which allowed him to get a better view of the peacekeeper.

The dragon's triangular head was supported by a sinuous, reptilian neck. A short, jet black mohawk bristled from the dragon's forehead and worked its way halfway down the neck, where it ended in a small ponytail that was bound by a blood-red band. Two black ivory horns protruded from his skull. They looked capable of goring through any material. Protective blue scales covered the dragon's body, but full, pale purple armour was present to augment his defensive capabilities. The reploid was at least two feet taller than Zero.

"Forrest, I think you should get back to training," the behemoth suggested in a kind but firm tone. "Forget about guarding the door."

Forrest pouted. "But I LIKE being the doorman!"

Seeing his new nemesis getting the boot made Zero break into a broad smile. "Yeah, well, life's a you-know-what, and then you marry one!" Zero paused for a second, wondering how he had known such a line. Had he picked it up from somewhere?

"And that's enough out of you!" The draco said, giving Zero a cheerful shake that still rattled the crimson reploid's teeth. "We're going to have a bit of a chat. What's your name, please?"

"Zero."

"Pretty name." The mechanized dragon commented. "My name is Lord Th'ckpa'sskyleth, but my friends just call me Skysheen or Sky. Are you here to enlist in the Hunters?"

"Uh...no. I don't even know what the Hunters are."

As soon as those words escaped him, Zero got an odd look from Skysheen. He was expecting a bombardment of questions, but fortunately, the dragon wasn't nosy. He merely shrugged and said, "No? Airhead, huh? Well, never mind. I'll be more than happy to explain." Skysheen walked slowly as he talked. Zero followed.

"Let's start from the beginning." Skysheen rumbled. "About 30 years ago, a scientist and geologist named Dr. Cain was digging around in some dirt somewhere looking for prehistoric plant life or some such nonsense. Anyway, he eventually came across a neato capsule. Inside the capsule was a robot, but not just any robot. This was a member of a highly advanced race of robot known as 'reploid'. The reploid said his name was 'X', but that was all he could remember about his past."

Zero's heart fluttered. So, all those years ago, he hadn't been the only reploid in existence!

"So, anyhow," Skysheen droned, "Dr. Cain became extremely interested in making more of these 'reploid' things...so, with X's help, he did. 'Twas only a matter of time before reploids were in mass production around the world.

"Reploids were immediately noted to be amazing creatures. They had limitless strength, yet each one had a unique personality and a large array of emotions, making them very humanlike, and thus good companions. Sadly, a handful of reploids recently realized that they were the superior species and humans were limiting their growth. So they turned violent against humankind. These renegades are known as 'Mavericks', and their greatest desire is to wipe out every last human. Fortunately, the ranks of the Mavericks are currently very small. Hopefully, they'll stay that way, and it'll be easy for us, the Maverick Hunters, to neutralize 'em!"

"So," Zero thought, "There are other reploids who share my hate for humans. How peachy! But their forces are weak, and threatened to be snuffed out. How un - peachy."

"I get it." Zero said thoughtfully. "The Maverick Hunters destroy 'Mavericks' and protect humans, right?"

"Aye. It's an organization that Cain set up, and it's hugely successful. We have reploids and humans fighting for a common cause. It's really neat. We're led by a reploid named Sigma. He looks a bit like Mr. Clean, but that's between us!"

"Oh, humans fight with you, too? Are they strong enough?"

Skysheen gave a short laugh. "Oh, certainly! You'd be surprised. If humans are fighting for a cause they believe in, they can turn into nasty little war machines. They can also overwhelm in sheer numbers."

"Neat." Zero's respect for humans increased a wee bit. He made a mental note not to underestimate them.

"In fact," Skysheen went on, "let me show you something." Skysheen led Zero around to the back of the massive structure of MMHQ. Zero peered around the corner and was met with an awe - inducing sight.

A huge field yawned before the crimson reploid. Dozens of makeshift cabins dotted the trampled green. Hundreds of humans from every race and walk of life moved about the camp. A dull buzz rose from the crowd as the humans made themselves busy doing nothing.

"Are these all Hunters...?"

"Well, not all of 'em." Skysheen admitted. "Most human hunters live inside the dorms in the HQ. Most of these folks are refugees. When Mavericks attack and destroy their neighbourhood, they find temporary shelter here while things are rebuilt. The conditions are crowded, but they're better than nothing. Some refugees stay with us and become Hunters."

Zero cast one more glance at the refugee camp before Skysheen led him away. "So, Zero...are you gonna become a Hunter?"

Zero frowned. How was he supposed to tell a 8 ' 5 reploid dragon that he was more interested in destroying humans than he was in aiding them? He began to search for words.

"Well, uh...you see..."

Skysheen clapped a scaly hand on Zero's back good-naturedly. "That's the spirit! Glad to have you aboard! I'll take you inside to look around a bit, then we can fill out an application for you! Then we'll find a suitable position for ya."

Zero sighed. It was hopeless. If he told Skysheen the truth, he'd probably be mangled on the spot. Zero hopelessly yearned for the days of his past life when he could have easily destroyed anyone he wanted. Okay, he would lay low with the Hunters for a while, then take it from there...

Skysheen ushered Zero though the main gates where he and Forrest had had their little tiff earlier. Zero stepped into a cool, well-kept building. The floor of the main hall was tiled immaculately. It neatly and almost immediately branched into smaller halls which seemed to lead to room upon room. If not for Skysheen guiding him, Zero would have become hoplessly lost in a matter of minutes.

The traffic in the halls was heavy. Humans and reploid hunters brushed by Zero every second. Skysheen led Zero through some twists and turns before he finally gave a cheerful: "Here we are!"

Skysheen effortlessly pushed open a heavy door that was marked MAINFRAME COMPUTER. Inside, Zero found himself surrounded by luminescent computer terminals. Their persistant hum filled his ears and amplified in his head.

Besides Skysheen and himself, Zero spied one other figure in the room. It was another reploid dragon, a red one. She was female and there was no mistaking it: her body build beyond her ebony armour leaned a bit heavily towards the 'feminine' side. It would be no lie to say that she looked similar to Xena in a dragon costume.

The dragon spun herself in a swivel chair, obviously forsaking whatever duty she was supposed to be performing at the computer before her. As she spun, a long, black ponytail whirled madly with her. The dragon's massive, batlike wings were fanned out a bit to keep herself in balance.

The dragon stopped her game as the door clanged open. Her guilty look was immediately replaced with a dreamy dragon smile as she fixed her eyes on Zero.

"Hey there, hun! What can Auntie Draco do fer ya?!"

This friendliness left Zero a little speechless.

Skysheen sighed. "Red...please behave yourself. Zero, I'd like you to meet my sister, Lady Dra'conia'mat."

The red reploid dragon tumbled out of the chair and drifted towards Zero. She offered a clawed hand and yet another mad grin. Zero rightly felt a little nervous when he looked at the maw filled with razor edged teeth. He diligently took the hand and the dragon shook it vigourously.

"Yep, Lady Dra'conia'mat is the name...but you can just call me Red Draco! It's glad to know ya!"

Distressed, Zero could see that Red already had a bit of a crush on him....

Hello, my little hatchlings! This is your friendly neighbourhood narrator with a wee interruption. I just want to thank a fellow dragon, Neon Tiger, for allowing me to use her character, Torrent Leviathan, who is mentioned in this chapter and will be appearing in the flesh further on in BNF. Thanx, Neon! :) And now, the beast--er, beat goes on!

Skysheen hoisted his bulk up from the swivel chair he had seated himself in and made his way to the door. Prior to exiting the room, he looked over one of his winged shoulders and said "Well, Zero...I'll get you that application for you to fill out. I'll be back in a sec. Until then, you and Red can become better aquainted!"

Zero gulped as the metallic slam of the heavy doors echoed and re-echoed in the small chamber. He and Red were alone now...and judging by the way the mechanized dragon was observing Zero intently and bemusidley with narrowed yellow eyes, that wasn't really a great thing.

Alarm shot though Zero as Red suddenly began to silently paddle her swivel chair closer to Zero's own using a particularily nasty looking lance - type weapon. Instinctively, Zero started up a conversation to save himself for whatever Red had in mind for him.

"So, uh...that's a whole lotta humans you guys have in that refugee camp."

Red stopped her stalking abruptly and shrugged her leathery wings. "So Skysheen showed ya the camp, eh? Yeah, when a human's home is destroyed by Mavericks, they're invited to stay with the refugees for a bit, and maybe become a Hunter. It's all part of Dr. Cain's FTH program, which stands for 'Free The Humans', although most of the Mavericks seem to call it...uh...'Something-Else The Humans'."

"Ah." Zero got the hint.

Uneasy silence reigned again. Red began to propell her chair towards Zero. Hastily, Zero's voice sprang up.

"Er...nice weapon you have there." Zero motioned towards the silver lance that Red held.

Red grinned with pride. "Thanks! It's called the Deltawyrm Lance. Care to have a closer look?" With that, the draco tossed the formidable weapon into Zero's lap. Zero picked it up. It was suprisingly lightweight. Its sleek shaft travelled upwards until it reached the head where it seperated into two wicked looking prongs. Additional spikes were lined up near the head, to assure that the strike would be costly to the enemy.

"Pretty." Zero remarked as he handed the lance back to Red.

Red beamed as she slipped the lance into a sheath that was located on her back. "Isn't it, though?" By the way, what Maverick Hunter Unit do you hope to get in to?"

"Maverick Hunter Unit...?"

"Oh, I forgot! You're new here. Anyhoo, the Maverick Hunters are split up into three units. There's the Night Vipers Unit, which consists almost totally of humans and rookie reploid Hunters. There's the Regal Dragons Unit, which is led by Yours Truly and Skysheen. It consists mainly of experienced reploid Hunters and some of the more vicious humans. Finally, there's the elite Spartan Unit, which is composed entirely of the best reploid Hunters we posses. Siggy himself heads that unit, and thus he heads all the Hunters."

"So there's no humans in the Spartan Unit?" Zero inquired

"Actually, there used to be one. Jake McTreggor. One of the earliest Hunters. He was pretty damned good for a human. Too bad he came to such a nasty end."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You see, there's this one very nasty Maverick who skulks around in the sewers below the city. His name is Torrent Leviathan, and he's one of the few formidable fighters the Mavericks have. Jake got a little over-confident about his skills, and he attempted to take on Torrent by himself. Torrent got ahold of him, however, and--" at this point, Red silently drew a finger across her long neck.

Zero grimaced. "You mean..."

"Jake got his throat slit." Red finished off Zero's sentance and nodded. "Aye. With all due respect, it was dumb of him to go off and try to assasinate Torrent single-handedly. I guess he was trying to prove that humans could fight just as effectively as reploids. Very noble, I suppose, but he should have thought of his family."

"He has a family?"

"Had." Red corrected Zero patiently. "And yes, he did. A wife, A teenage girl and a wee male hatchling who would be about 5 or so by now. Don't know where they all are right now, but I hope they're gettin' by all right without Jake there."

"Block...block...parry....slash...."

These commands flashed madly through Celeste McTreggor's fevered mind as she kept her eye fastened on her opponent's darting wooden blade.

"Block...TWIRL!"

Celeste swiftly veered to the right as the blade came crashing down next to her, narrowly missing her shoulder. Seeing her chance, Celeste automatically swung her own blade, driving it into her opponent's exposed ribs. The enemy doubled over with a howl, dropping his weapon. A cheer rose up from the spectators that surrounded the victor. Oblivious to the praise of those who had been watching the match, Celeste moved her shoulder-length brown hair away from the back of her neck in an attempt to cool off a bit before she dropped her stick onto the ground and walked over to her opponent, who was painfully moving his hand along his side, checking for any broken ribs.

"Sorry, Josh. Didn't know my own strength."

Josh managed to offer his friend a half smile. "Don't worry about it. That's what I get for trying to compete with someone who can fence like a bloody Jedi Knight!"

Seeing that the display of fencing was over, the crowd of kids who had been watching broke up and began to shuffle back home reluctantly. One girl broke off from the rest of the mob and joined Celeste and Josh. "Nice going, Cel!" She called. "Good work, considering that Josh is nearly a foot taller than you."

"Oh, shut up Tess." Josh growled, clutching his bruised ribs as he did so.

In unison, Celeste, Josh and Tess all hopped up and sat on the old stone fence behind them that overlooked one of the many sidestreets that wound its way through their crowded neighbourhood like a concrete river. After the excitement of the match, things seemed rather subdued at that point.

"What a boring day." Tess commented with a sigh. "Wish something would happen."

Tess' last words promptly demonstrated the old saying, 'Be careful what you wish for, or you just might get it!' Almost as soon as she had spoken, the heavy clatter of many metal-plated boots marching rang through the air as a platoon of nondescript military reploids peeked over the horizon and came trooping down the street with a rythym that was steady enough to sing to.

Celeste's heart leapt into her throat. "Mavericks?!" She whispered hoarsely around the block in her windpipe.

Josh patted Celeste's shoulder reassuringly. "Nope, no need to get all worked up. They're Hunters."

And so they were. As the troop rang by the trio, Celeste could see that each reploid wore a circular badge on their arm. Enclosed in the circle was an emblem that bore two rampant Welsh Red dragons flanking a silver shield that was stamped neatly with a gold crown.

Only Tess was excited to see the reploids. "Cool! Hunters from the Regal Dragons Unit, right in our own neighbourhood!"

Josh frowned. He, like Celeste and Tess, had gotten used to seeing Hunters patrolling the area. "That's not really a good thing, Tess. There must be some heavy activity going on near here. Regal Dragons usually don't handle the minor issues."

"I've heard rumours that Mavericks are going to attack this area," Tess chimed in. "This neighbourhood is densly populated, which makes it a prime target."

"Oh, lovely." Celeste muttered. Ever since her father had been killed by Torrent Leviathan all those months back, she didn't like to hear anything that had to do with reploids. In her opinon, their creation was a huge mistake.

Tess flipped her black ponytail over her shoulder. "I'm not so hot on the idea of Mavericks leveling our neighbourhood," she declared. "I don't want to end up in that stuffy refugee camp."

Zero forced himself to stay calm as Red, who was directly behind him, tickled a claw slowly down the side of his neck while emitting a kitten-like purr. It was highly unnerving.

"Uh...Red? I...I, uh, just met you and all..." Zero gulped as he observed Red's barbed tail entwine itself gently and playfully around his left leg. Red's only response was a high-pitched giggle.

Relief washed over Zero when Skysheen entered the room again. The blue reploid dragon was holding some documents in one claw. He rattled them. "Hey Zero! Here's that application you need to fill out, and...Holy Mother Tiamat! RED!"

Taken completely by surprise, Red jumped away from Zero. However, she had forgotten about her tail, which was still in it's love-grip around Zero's leg. As a result, Red went tumbling. Her sparse armour clanked about as she made contact with the floor. Zero barely kept his balance.

Skysheen helped his sister up whilst he shook his head. "Red, Red, Red...PLEASE pay attention to your work." He pleaded. "And leave Zero alone. He may not be one of those 'touchy-feely' types, you know."

Red pouted as she was hauled to her feet. "I don't like my job! It's boring."

"Why, what's your job?" Zero inquired curiously.

Red motioned a hand towards the computer behind her. "When I'm not Hunting, I'm supposed to be keeping track of the human casualties and birthrate in the city. It's important that one compliments the other. Balance is a must here. If the casualties skyrocket and the birthrates plummet, then we and the humans are pretty much screwed. But, my word, it's a BORING job."

Sky then gripped Zero by one shoulder and guided him to a nearby table in the room. The draco set the paper down and plunked a pen in front of the crimson wonder. "There you go, Zero...that application shouldn't take too long. While you fill that out, I'm going to have a wee talk with Red about curbing her artificial hormones." With that, Skie left Zero on his own.

Zero mumbled to himself and chewed on the end of his pen as he regarded the application, which stared right back at him. The black type on the milky surface of the paper jumped out at him. Zero frowned. The application asked a lot of questions about his past. And, of course, he wasn't going to tell anyone who he really was. Nevertheless, Zero DID manage to fill out the application without giving anything away. The paper looked a little something like this once Zero had finished with it:

disembowel.

that Elvis is REALLY dead? Do you sometimes pretend that you're an airplane? I do. I

spread my arms and run in circles yelling "ZOOOOOOM!" What movies do you like? Do you ever bake? Can you light matches and eat them? Can you suck Jello up through

your nose? I always wished I could do that. Do you like Pez candy? I once had a Pez

dispenser that tried to kill me. You know, I've heard that Canada doesn't sell Cherry Cola

anymore. Do you think that Canadians should have access to that drink? I do, even if it

tastes like puke. Oh, and speaking of Cherry Cola,

AnytimeIneedtoseeyourfaceIju

stclosemyeyesandIamtakentoaplacewhereyourcrystalmindandmagentafeelingstakeupshelt

erinthebaseofmyspinesweetlikeachic-a-cherrycola! Can you say that three times fast? I

can.

Skysheen took the application from from Zero and swept over it with his reptilian eyes. Zero expected Sky to object to the information he had put down, but other than raised eyebrows, Sky remained silent.

"Uh....okay Zero. Thanks. I do believe we have a position for you."

Zero grinned. He could see himself blasting Mavericks all over the city. He would have prefered to blast humans, but that time wasn't at hand yet. Besides, violence was violence, and Zero had built up a raging bloodlust that needed to be quenched.

Skysheen beckoned to Zero. "Come along."

"Wait!!" Red pleaded, jumping up from her chair. She gripped Zero tightly by one arm and stared directly into Zero's eyes. The stare bore into him painfully, and Zero nearly lost his nerve again. A grin resurfaced on Red's face. "You're mine, my cute little crimson cookie!" She hissed sweetly. "Hold on while I get something for you~!"

Leaving Zero for a second, Red began to paw around in a box that rested beside her. She eventually fished out a thick, yellow ribbon which she carefully tied in a bow around Zero's neck. "There! You look SOOOO cute! Oh, for a camera!"

Skysheen managed to pry Red away from Zero as he dragged him out of the room.

"I'll see you REAL soon, Zero!" Red gushed after the scarlet reploid. "Next time I get a hold of you, I'm going to braid your hair!"

Zero could have sobbed. In his past life with Bass and the crew, he had been considered a god. But ever since he had woken up from hibernation, everything had botched up. There were other reploids that were even more powerful than him. His plan to slaughter humans seemed to be going down the john. Now he was tangled up in an operation that actually PROTECTED humans. Besides that, he was now a plaything for a nine-foot luststruck reploid dragon. Things were not going well.

Zero's heart had been set on joining one of the Hunter Units. A Unit that saw a lot of action and violence, such as the Regal Dragons or even the Spartans. Therefore, it's easy to understand why he gaped with disbelief as Skysheen ushered him into the large Medical Unit of MHHQ.

Disappointment weighed heavily on Zero's stomach as he stared at the rows of identical and immaculate beds before him. Most of them stood empty, but one did house a Hunter, a human male with an injured leg. The human slowly bounced a red rubber ball against the wall, caught it, and stonily bounced it again. Judging by the crazy look churning slowly in the young man's eyes, he had either had too much painkiller or was coming down with a severe case of cabin fever.

"Skyster..." Zero gulped, "are you saying that I'm gonna be working...HERE? The hell with that! I wanted to be a Hunter, not a frackin' nurse! I'm leaving!" Zero turned to exit, but Skysheen blocked his way. The draco was perfectly silent, but he fixed Zero with a look that was absolute poison.

Zero wilted. "Uh...okay...I guess I could stay...for a while...don't knock it 'till you've tried it...that's my motto..."

Sky's stern expression dissolved as he clapped Zero on the back. "Atta boy! We have plenty of Hunters, Zero, but we're severely short on medical staff. You'll like working in this branch! I promise! Now, I'll take you to meet da boss man!"

Boss 'MAN' was sort of misleading. When Sky directed Zero to his new boss, the first thing that he caught sight of was the backside of a short reploid that was equipped with a bushy, orange-red tail which was swishing back and forth. The reploid was busying itself at a desk with something or other.

"Hey, Genesis!" Skysheen called cheerfully. "I got some staff here to help you."

The reploid did not turn around, but the nervous twitching of his tail increased tenfold. "It's about bloody time ya did, Sky...when the Units get back from Hunting, this place turns into a madhouse! Especially when the Night Vipers come back. Oy, half the humans in THAT Unit get all banged up and end up in here!"

Skysheen actually drooped his majestic head a bit in shame. "I know. I'm sorry Genesis. I'll get you more help from now on, I promise."

"That's what I like to hear," Genesis stated prior to pivoting on his heel to face Zero and Sky. The phenotype of his new boss caused Zero to recoil a bit in surprise.

Genesis was a bipedal reploid fox donned in silver and maroon armour. A badge on his right shoulder that bore the traditional symbol of a hissing serpent coiled around a crucifix signified his position in the Medical Unit. Two canine-type ears jutted from Genesis' helmet. Most surprising, however, was the fact that his head gear had a black visor that rested on his pointed snout and covered his eyes completely.

Genesis frowned as he observed Zero who was staring at him with wide eyes. "What's with Mr. Big Eyes here?" the fox snorted contemptuously. "You'd think he'd never seen a fox wearing sunglasses or somethin'!"

Zero was getting ready to tell Genesis exactly where he could put his sunglasses when Skysheen suddenly pulled him aside.

"Play nice with Genesis, y'hear?" the dragon whispered into Zero's ear. "He's a nice guy, and he takes good care of the injured humans in here. Help him out and do as he says. If you don't, you'll have ME to answer to. And I can assure you, that won't be pleasant. Okely dokely?"

Zero nodded glumly.

Skysheen nodded, satisfied. "All three Units are going on a big mission today, so you'll have plenty of work when we get back. We're trying to re-claim some territory that the Mavericks took over. We're gonna have quite a time! See you soon!"

Skysheen exited the Medical Unit (not before getting his massive wings caught in the doorway), the badge of the Regal Dragons proudly displayed on his right arm. Zero watched him, distressed. Genesis' grating voice penetrated the crimson reploid's cloud of gloom.

"HEY! Wookiee - Man! Don't just stand there staring! I have lots of...ooooh...." Genesis stopped in his tracks. Zero whipped around in alarm. The reploid fox stood, swaying, staring in wonder at the nearly-forgotten yellow ribbon that Red Draco had tied around Zero's neck earlier.

"Oh man...that's so COOL!"

Zero blinked twice and pointed to the scrap of cloth encircled around his neck. "This lousy yellow ribbon? 'Cool'?"

Genesis nodded dumbly.

Zero shrugged. "Here, TAKE it!" he said, glad to have an excuse to get rid of the thing. He peeled it off of himself and handed it to his canine boss, who gripped the thick ribbon with shaking claws.

"You mean...you mean I can...HAVE this?" he whispered in disbelief. "Oh..oh MAN! Thanks, Rapunzel! You're the BOMB!"

"My name's Zero."

Genesis didn't seem to hear. He was too busy winding the ribbon around his neck. By the time he was done, Genesis looked like he was sporting a spiffy yellow scarf. He modeled for Zero. "So...how do I look?"

Probably nothing on earth was more bizarre looking than a reploid fox wearing shades AND a scarf. However, Zero remembered that Genesis was his new boss, so tried a lie.

"You look fabulous."

Genesis grinned ecstatically. "Thanks! I feel so...complete now!"

"I'm very happy for you," Zero said flatly.

"Well, time to get to work!" Genesis said cheerfully. "There's a big hunt today, and we're likely to get a LOT of injured folks, human and reploid alike. Mechanics will handle the reploids, but we'll be bandaging up the humans!"

Now Zero was going to be FIXING UP humans. Yay. This got better and better all the time.

"What I want you to do, Zero, is to go down to the Hunter-Dispatch area and see how many human Hunters are there. We need to have enough beds. You don't really need to include the reploid Hunters in your head-count. Although an injured reploid needs to be very still in order for its auto repairs to work, it doesn't need a cot for that need. Sitting still on the floor repair it just as effectively. Some injured reploids will try to unload some sob-story about how they NEED to lie in bed to get better. If that happens, and you need the bed for an injured human, just dump the reploid out of the bed and kick it out the door."

Zero grinned. "Got it!"

"Do you know where the Hunter-Dispatch area is?"

"Yes." Zero lied.

Genesis looked as if he didn't quite believe Zero. "First floor. Hang a right from the main entrance and keep going straight. Can't miss it unless you're a drooling idiot. Now hurry up and go; the Hunters will be leaving at any minute! And put this on." Genesis handed Zero a badge that was identical to his own with those last words. "Now go! Hurry hurry hurry!"

The Hunter-Dispatch area WAS quite easy to find, and Zero had an uneventful trip there. As a security measure, he had to stop and talk to some reploid guards before they could allow him into the bay.

"Okay son, what's your name?"

"Zero. And don't call me 'son'."

"Okay...why do you need to enter the Hunter-Dispatch area?"

"Oh, I have to take an estimate on how many humans are gonna get mangled in today's hunt. It's for the Medical Unit."

"I see. Pass."

The second guard opened the steel door in front of Zero and shooed the reploid in. Zero was met by a sprawling, massive room that looked much like a huge, rectangular garage. Cool air filtered in through the open hatch at the tail end of the room. Platoon upon platoon of Hunters, reploid and human, male and female, accompanied Zero in the area. Zero could see that they were more or less separated into three large groups. Everywhere, Hunters were checking their armour, tightening straps to sheaths that held wicked blades, talking nervously to one another or praying. The fresh breeze in the room did little to wash away the stale pre-battle tension that hung in the air. Zero had never felt so jealous in his whole life.

Zero's eyes swam through the crowd. He took a rough count of how many humans were in the room. His conclusion: a hell of a lot.

Zero picked out a familiar face in the masses: Red Draco. He hesitated for a second, then began to push through the sea of Hunters to meet her. Although the reploid dragon's feelings for HIM were pretty obvious, Zero still didn't have much of an idea about how he felt about Red. She was a puzzle to him.

Zero finally broke free and found himself a few meters away from Red. Unlike the other Unit leaders who had already begun to give a solemn pep talk to their Hunters, Red was pounding her chest and bellowing gothic war songs at the top of her lungs like a bloodthirsty demon from the Ninth Ring of Hell. "Join in!" She'd call out every so often to her Hunters, and the nervous Regal Dragons clustered in front of her would be forced to mumble through a verse or two of the chant. Fear was obviously one feeling that Red lacked in her emotions cache.

"Red!" Zero called out once there was a lull in the song.

"HONEYBUNNY!" Red squealed as she rushed to meet Zero. She bowled over a few Hunters as she did so. "Give us a hug for good luck!" She said as she scooped Zero up in her arms and gave him a 'hug' that nearly crushed all his ribs. "I'm glad you came to see me...oh! What happened to that ribbon I gave you? It went with your hair!"

"I...uh, lost it." Zero lied.

Red squeezed him again. "No matter! I've got other things for my precioussss...!"

Zero gulped involuntarily.

Red spied the badge on Zero's right shoulder. "Ah! My honeybunny is part of the Medical Unit, is he? That kicks ass!"

"No it doesn't," protested Zero. "I had really wanted to join the Hunters."

"Tsk! Poor you! Too bad...on a nice day like this, freshly spilled blood smells extra good!"

"Ah! Hello there, Zero!"

Zero spun around to see who had issued him this greeting. His eyes met with pale purple armour. Zero looked upwards and grinned. "Hey, Skysheen!+

Skysheen grinned back down at Zero. His black claws clacked on a silver, barrel-shaped cannon that was mounted on one of his shoulders. It was a truly formidable weapon and the beauty and originality of its structure burned into Zero's mind.

Skysheen pulled Zero out of his trance. "We'll be leaving soon, Zero...maybe you'd like to meet the leaders of the other Units before we take off."

"That's a good idea," Zero agreed. "Best of luck in the hunt, you two!"

Skysheen saluted while Red blew Zero a kiss.

At the far right of the Hunter-Dispatch area, the Night Vipers swarmed together in a nervous huddle. Their badges displayed a night-black viper that had its tail entwined around a silver dagger. A tall, young human male stood in front of the Unit, shouting out directions. Zero could tell at once that this man was the leader of the Night Vipers. He found it hard to believe that a human would actually be in charge of a Unit. "Hullo there."

The man looked around to see who had addressed him when his eyes locked onto Zero. "Oh...hello." He smiled nervously. As the man turned to face Zero, a long blonde ponytail crawled over his shoulder. Annoyed, he flipped it back over behind him.

"I'm new here, and I'm just getting better aquatinted with the leaders of the Hunter Units," Zero explained casually. "My name's Zero."

The human nodded. "Nice to meet you. I'm Paul Wells." He smiled modestly.

Zero nodded in his turn. "So...have you been a Hunter for long? It's my guess that you have been, since you're leading your own Unit."

"Yep! I was one of the first ones to sign up." He smiled. "I may be in my forties, but I'm going strong!"

"Whoa!" Zero was quite impressed.

"Yeah. And as long as there's Mavericks, I'll probably keep on going. Robots taking over the entire human race is a thought that I just can't stand. A robot took my dad from me, and that was enough."

"Uh...?"

"When I was little, some freaky black and gold robot actually knocked out my dad and took him," Paul explained, casting his eyes down. "I still don't know what that robot would have wanted him for, but I never DID see him again."

For the first time in his life, Zero actually felt sorry for a human. "Tough break."

"Yeah." Paul sighed. He then cocked his head. "You know something? You actually remind me a bit of him."

Zero grinned. "Now THAT'S freaky! I'd better go now...good luck in the hunt today!"

"Be seeing you around, Zero!" Paul called cheerfully.

At the far left of the Hunter-Dispatch area, Zero found the Spartans. They were a small Unit compared to the Night Vipers and Regal Dragons, but one could see that they packed a lot of power. The emblem for the Unit was laconic, just as the Spartans themselves had been. All the badge consisted of was two spears crossed over one another.

However, the members of the Spartans Unit did not need fancy badge art to look forbidding. The blood-red cloak that each fighter in the Unit wore did that job very nicely. The leader of the Unit stood proudly with his back to his Hunters, facing the open hatch before him. He seemed to be picturing the fight that would ensue with the passage of about ten minutes. The leader wore a crimson cape rather than a full cloak. Red had told Zero about this fellow earlier; Zero was almost certain that he was staring at the leader of the Spartans and the Hunters overall: Sigma.

Zero pushed forward through the sea of red cloaks to reach the proud Hunter.

"Hey, watch it! No shovin'!" One of the Spartans yelped as Zero passed by it. Zero turned towards the voice and caught a glimpse of a reploid penguin's eyes and beak drowning in the shadows of its cloak.

"Watch the tail!" a green reploid chameleon hissed at Zero.

"Watch your step," warned a massive reploid Mandrill whose red cloak was oversized to fit his massive bulk.

"Hey hey hey, what's goin' on?" a reploid eagle demanded as Zero stumbled into him. There were two large humps beneath the eagle's cloak. Zero guessed that, if the bird of prey were to remove his cover, the humps would turn out to be massive wings.

"You know, there IS such a word as 'excuse me', a reploid mammoth huffed as Zero pushed by him.

Finally, Zero reached Sigma. The bald reploid did not turn around.

"Good day, sir." Zero panted. He had exerted a lot of strength by the time he reached the leader. "My name's Zero, and I just wanted to--"

Sigma suddenly whipped around and bellowed, "HUNTERS! The time has come. Night Vipers...DISPATCH!"

Paul motioned to his fellows, and the Night Vipers trooped out the huge door and into the open air in even lines.

Once they were gone, Sigma fired up again. "Regal Dragons...DISPATCH!"

Red Draco bellowed and her Hunters gave an answering cheer. Rather than dispatching neatly like the Night Vipers had done, the Regal Dragons simply surged out of the room in a tangled mess. Sigma shook his head as he watched them go. He turned to the Spartans behind him. "And lastly...is us. Chill, Sting, Spark, Flame, and Storm. Let's go!"

The Spartans all nodded in unison and followed Sigma into the outside world. The noise of the troops rapidly receded into the distance, leaving Zero very much alone in the now silent Hunter-Dispatch area.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Siggy." Zero muttered.

"Ohhh, I know it's hard when you're fat and alone...no one's there to see you. And on your birthday, no one calls you on the phone...'cept for your mother and she says, "Ha-ha-happy birthday, Pumpkin! I won't talk for long, 'cause I know you've probably got someone in your bed..."

Zero, under a burden of medical supplies, let his song wail through the almost - empty infirmary. The shrill words wafted around the room, bouncing back at him in a hollow but pleasing echo. A disgruntled, bedridden human next to Zero winced as the desolate sound tore at his eardrums.

"Zero...tone it down a bit, will you? The Mavericks tortured me enough when they captured me."

In response to this plea from the injured Hunter, Zero cranked up his voice a few notches and sang a verse to another one of the songs in his infamous cache:

"Some TIMES these WOMEN are so EASY....SOMETIMES these women are sooo COLD! SomeTIMES these woMEN seem to RIP YOU RIGHT IN TWO..."

"That's enough, Zero," Genesis drawled from across the room. "bring me those supplies now. And watch your step. The floor may be slippery. I just had it --"

A muffled 'clank' of dense metal hitting concrete accompanied by the tinkling crash of medical glassware shattering cut Genesis off in mid - sentence.

" -- waxed." The reploid fox finished lamely.

Zero cursed as he pulled himself up from the sea of glass shards that lay scattered around him. "Sorry Gen. I'm not really much of a help to the Medical Unit, am I?"

"You've really improved over the past couple of weeks, Zero." Genesis smiled as he crossed his fingers behind his back. "And you'll continue to improve."

Zero fetched a broom to clean up the spilled glass. "I guess I'd better improve! I've botched up pretty badly lately. Man, remember the time I gave that human Hunter the wrong antibiotics, and he went into spasms? Hehe! Boy, that was golden!" Zero laughed hysterically at the memory.

Genesis' grin did not fade as he pat Zero on the shoulder. "Okay, buddy...here's a job that's nearly impossible to screw up. We need some ice up here. Our daily shipment is late. Would you go down to the cafeteria and fetch some?"

"Ice?" Zero echoed.

"Yes. Ice. Do you need a recipie?"

"Hardly!"

"On your way, then."

On his way down to the cafeteria, Zero noticed that the hallways of MHHQ were almost deserted. Another large hunt involving all three Units was underway at the time. Bitter jealousy poured acid into Zero's heart, and not for the first time.

The Crimson Wonder made his way down to the mess hall. The large door leading to the area swung open without complaint. The warm smell of food cooking in the back kitchen greeted him. The cafeteria itself was a mammoth room which occupied rows and rows of tables standing at attention. The room's huge size was necessary: at meal times, the area had to seat every human Hunter, as well as the refugees in the camp.

Yet, few were inside the cafe at this hour. Besides himself, Zero spied two reploids who were shaking and abusing a candy machine, obviously in an attempt to get some free treats. Across from them, two maintenance reploids were busy trying to put up a shelf on the south wall. Zero recognized them right away. They were A.G. and Hack. Neither of them were very bright, but they were nice fellows. Finally, a lone, blue - armoured reploid was anchored at a table, reading some sort of book. Half the reploid's face was sunk into one hand, and his green eyes were partway closed. He looked sleepy.

"Hey there Astro Boy," Zero remarked casually as he breezed by.

The azure reploid snapped to attention and his head perked up. " 'scuse me?"

"Oh, nothing."

The blue reploid cut his eyes at Zero. "You DID say something."

"I dinna say anythin'!" Zero grinned, turning around. He had found a new victim to torment, and it pleased him greatly.

The reploid snorted disdainfully and said, "Well, just so you know, my name's X."

"X?" Zero tasted the name, letting the single - constanant roll around in his mouth. He liked the sound if it.

"Yes. X."

"As in X - Ray?"

"No..."

"As in X - Men?"

"No!"

"As in X - Rated?"

"NO!!!"

"As in --"

"AS IN MEGA MAN X, YOU IDJIT!!"

A bright red thread of alarm cut through Zero as he heard the name that was tacked on to the 'X'. 'Mega Man'...was this the same Mega Man who had killed Wily, his father, all those years back? Zero cleared his throat.

"Er...uh...Mega Man...I've heard that name around before. Wasn't there a famous robot from the past named Mega Man? Are you him?"

X shrugged helplessly. "To be honest, I don't know much about my past. I haven't much of a clue who I am."

Zero snapped his fingers. "NOW I know where I remember your name from! You're X, the first reploid ever created, right? The loser who knows nothing about his past! Am I right?"

X's mouth was drawn in a tight line, but he managed a short "Yes."

The hatred and alarm that had stirred in Zero's mind subsided and went back to its slumber. This obviously wasn't the same Mega Man he knew and hated. The original Mega Man had been smaller, and had been a robot, not a reploid...

X continued to stare at Zero with his head cocked to one side, as if he expected another quip to fire from the Scarlet One. Zero gulped nervously, searching for nasty words. He bought time by watching A.G. and Hack put up the shelf they were struggling with.

"Okay A.G...hold the other end of that shelf up. I've gotta put the nail in this side." Hack called to his friend at the other end of the structure.

"Okay, Hack!" The other reploid returned cheerfully.

Hack nodded. He held his end of the shelf against the wall and began tapping a nail into it.

"My arms are gettin' tired," A.G. complained after a minute went by.

"Well, keep on holding your end up! If you let go before I get this nail in, the whole shelf will fall!" The tapping of Hack's hammer ensued.

"Okay, I'll try to hold on..."

* tap tap tap *

"My arms are about to fall off!! Hurry up!"

* tap tap tap *

"I can't HOLD this thing any longer! I'm dropping my end, Hack!"

"NO!"

* BLAM *!

"SHIT!!"

"I'm sorry, Hack..." A.G. gulped apologetically, rubbing his sore arms.

"YOU'RE sorry?!" Hack exploded.

Zero couldn't help but grin at the scenario. As it ended, Zero thought of something to say to his new 'friend'.

"So X...how come you're not out a - huntin' like everyone else right now?"

"I'm not a Hunter." X returned in a flat tone.

Zero nodded in understanding. "I know how you feel. I wanted to be a Hunter SO badly, but nooo, they stuck me in the Medical Unit! I am SO ticked off about that --"

X shook his head. "No, you misunderstood me. I'm not part of the Hunters. I won't have anything to do with them."

"Wha --"

"I don't believe in violence."

"Uh?"

"You heard me."

Zero gaped in disbelief. "But violence is FUN!"

"Violence is terrible. Reploids and humans mangling each other...it's insane."

Zero snickered. "Aw man, who programmed you? Raffi? Or was it Barney the Dinosaur? Perhaps Big Bird or Mr. Snuffleupagus threw in a few source codes of theirs. No, I've got it! Your creator was Dudley the Dragon!! I just solved the great mystery of your past for you, X my boy! You owe me a beer."

X slammed his book closed and scraped his chair back as he stood up and drew himself up to full height. He tried to look Zero straight in the eye, but he was a few hands shorter than the crimson reploid, so he appeared a bit less threatening than he would have liked to look.

"I don't know you," X hissed, his tone low and dripping with venom, "but I REALLY don't like you."

"Aw, poor baby." Zero snorted sarcastically. "Life just bites with a capital 'B', don't it? Everyone around you is fighting for a cause they believe in, and you just wanna go home to mommy. Boo hoo."

"And I'M just standing up for what I believe in!" X retorted faithfully.

"I recommend that you don't whine like that, X." Zero warned.

"And why's that?"

"Because it makes my fist twitch like THIS." With that, Zero drew back his fist and buried it in X's face. X staggered backwards in shock and collapsed weakly into his chair again. It appeared that Zero's punch had rattled a few of X's teeth.

"Aw, damn! There it goes again. See what I mean?" Zero chuckled as he cracked his bloodied knuckles. His grin was poison.

X stood up, dazed. He shook his head once to clear it and stop the bells from chiming in his ears. Then, narrowing his eyes, he threw a fluttering and rather sad punch that missed Zero by a country mile."

"Hehe! You swing like a girl, X!" Zero taunted.

X did not answer, but his glazed eyes fell on a bowl of fruit on a table nearby. He seized a bright red apple that was throned at the top of the fruity pile. He brandished it, liking the feel of the weight in his hand...

"See what happens when you don't believe in fighting and violence?" Zero's voice touched X's ears and burned them. "You end up all soft and sugary like a box of old Lucky Charms." Zero paused and beckoned towards X, backing up against the wall. "Yeah, that's what you remind me of, X! That little elf who's always trying to hide his cereal from those kids. Well, come here, Lucky! I've got your cereal! Try to come and get 'em from me! I'VE GOT YOUR LUCKY - FRICKIN' - CHARMS RIGHT HERE!"

"SHUT UP, EWOK!" X screamed as he hurled his apple in Zero's direction. Zero ducked the projectile as lithe and liquid as a cat. The fruit made contact with the wall behind the scarlet reploid and decorated it with its spattered pulp.

"Oh man! You throw like my grandma, X!"

A screech of utter rage escaped X as he threw himself on Zero, flailing his fists wildly. Zero's grin of malice held strong as he confronted his attacker and attempted to pin his wheeling arms. Punches, kicks and curses were exchanged.

"You KILLED that nice apple, X!" Zero puffed as he and the rage - swathed X both stepped backwards for a breather. "So much for your vow of non - violence! I bet that apple had a wife and kids. I bet all the little apples are crying for their dad right now, and they'll never SEE him again because you just HAD to splatter his brains all over this wall!" Zero jerked his thumb behind him. "You murderer! I hope you burn in hell! I hope that you're tormented by the apple - demons until the end of time! I hope --"

Zero was cut off as X shot towards him again like a blue bullet. The fight began anew. However, Zero only got a few good kicks before he felt strong hands prying him away from his target.

"Take it easy!" The voice behind Zero demanded. It was Hack. Zero could see that A.G. was restraining a wildly struggling X, who appeared to be foaming at the mouth. His eyes burned a baleful red.

"I'll KILL him! I'LL KILL HIM!" X screamed over and over, lunging in Zero's direction and cursing at A.G.'s strong hold. Luckily, A.G. gave X no slack. Zero had aroused the killer instinct in a once - peaceful reploid. You can bet he felt extremely proud.

"I think Cain himself is gonna hafta handle this one," Hack declared, nodding his head in X's direction. "Bring Zero with. Cain'll have a talk with 'em."

A sharp - edged wind scurried aimlessly about the dank street, mercilessly forcing dry leaves and discarded papers along in its wake. It seized Sigma's blood red cloak with icy hands and spitefully made it snap sharply. Sigma sighed.

"Hunters, fall in. Let's see how badly we screwed up THIS time."

As if on cue, hoards of pain - racked figures stumbled towards their stern leader. A draconian form was amoung these. Red. One of the very few unscathed. She sauntered over to Sigma and delivered him a tremendous smack on the back that was intended to be affectionate.

"Hey, Siggy! Hooo man!" She laughed crazily. "You wanna see screw ups? Just look around you!"

To underscore her point, Red scanned a gleaming claw over the pack of Hunters before her. Ninety percent of them appeared to be in some stage of hurt.

"And that's not even the tip of the iceberg!" Red giggled, which improved Sigma's mood none. "Lookit over there."

Sigma turned towards where Red motioned. He blanched slightly at the sight he was met with.

"Oy vay." The Spartan sighed. "We've had ourselves QUITE the time."

Sigma was looking directly at Paul Wells. The Night Viper was being supported by two fellow unit members. The young leader appeared dazed and was bleeding out of one ear.

Sigma did not allow any concern seep into his voice. "Will he be all right?"

Red shrugged her leathery wings. "Sure, and I don't know. Just a very nasty crack upside the head. He'll be fine with some rest, which is a bit more than I can say for the rest of us. Skysheen and I are all right, but do you have any idea how many of our Regal Dragons we lost in today's hunt? Sky's going nuts tending to 'em. Paul also lost some good fighters in his unit, too." Red lowered her guttural voice. "Lately, the Mavericks have seemed to dramatically increase in number, skill, and organization. It used to be so easy to take 'em down and reclaim territory, but now we're fighting for our lives every time we hunt. This ain't no good, Siggy!"

"Tell me about it. And next time you call me 'Siggy', I'll personally rip your arm out of its socket and beat you over the head with it."

Sigma was lecturing empty air, however. Red had taken off as noisily as a night shadow.

Red fanned her wings out to full length, allowing them to drink the cold, dark air currents that suspend her lithe form in the chilly air. She soared over building rooftops which no human eye could ever detect in the ebony darkness, but she could see perfectly well with her gift of nightvision. The reptilian huntress' speed did not falter: Red had a certain destination in mind.

"Almost there!" she sang out to herself as her greenish filtered eyes roved the familiar rooftops that guided her towards her goal. "Tra la la. I love life. Whoops, here we are...!"

Red dropped herself onto the rooftop of a nondescript triplex as silently as a feather. Expertly, she peeked over the edge of the roof without being seen. As she did so, a wild hope flared up within her like the persistent flame on a newly lit candle. She had found what she was looking for!

Crammed in a fairly small alley below her were several of the Mavericks the Hunters had taken out just moments ago. Although the Hunters had suffered quite a few losses on their side, the Mavericks themselves didn't exactly escape rent - free. They, too, had some severe damages. They had obviously gathered in the alley to - literally - pull themselves back together. Red's intention was to heard one of the crippled fighters off to the side for some 'questioning'.

And her chance came very soon. One of the Mavericks, a male werewolf - type reploid, made the mistake of limping out of the alley by his lonesome self. As soon as Red was satisfied that he was far enough from his comrades, she leapt on the wolf as silently as a cat, but with the breakneck force of a wild lightning bolt. The werewolf didn't even have time to yelp. Before he could grasp what was happening, the Maverick found himself lying dazed on his back with the sharp end of a lethal lance prodding ever so slightly on his exposed neck. However, due to his akward position, he could see little beyond the trim silver cylinder that held him in thrall.

"Hullo!" A cool yet familiar female voice chirped cheerfully from above him. "No noise, otherwise...heh...'poke poke'!" The tapered end of the lance dug into the wolf's neck just a tiny bit more with these last words. He was at a loss.

"Who are you?" The Maverick snarled weakly.

"Jo' momma. Oooo, that was good! Chalk one up for me." The unseen voice tittered. "Well, never you mind. I think the real question is...WHO are YOU? And before you decide to mouth off, remember who's at the business end of my happy little lance."

"All right. Fine. My name's Maugrim."

"Ooh. Scary name." the voice commented sarcastically with a snort. "I have a few questions to ask ye, if you don't mind."

"You're a Hunter, aren't you?" Maugrim bristled.

"Kinda! But just tell me what I want to know. Where are the Mavericks planning their next big attack?"

"Why should I tell YOU?"

"Well, just because the necks of Mavericks make the cutest little 'squish' noise when they're skewered with sharp objects..." the voice commented casually as the poised lance nudged Maugrim's neck almost playfully.

"All RIGHT." Maugrim hissed, summoning every ounce of his will to keep his voice devoid of the nervousness that squeezed his heart. "Our next attack is at Torrisham Crossings in two days."

"My. That's quite a big attack. That neighbourhood is densely populated."

A grin crossed Maugrim's jet black snout. "That's right. It's a big area, and the Mavericks want it for their own territory. So, Hunter, go ahead and try to evacuate the humans that live there. We don't care one way or another. But be warned: any human that remains in the neighbourhood after we storm it gets killed. No questions asked."

"How friendly, not to mention neighbourly. Thanks to this little talk we had, I'm afraid you won't get the satisfaction of offing any humans during your invasion. I'll be going now. Thank you kindly for your cooperation." The looming point of the lance receeded.

Maugrim squirmed and pulled himself into a sitting position. "Wait a sec. Let me get a look at you."

Smiling sweetly, Red dropped down to one knee so that she was eye level with Maugrim.

Maugrim flew into a rage. "NOW I know you! You're the leader of the Regal Dragons! I just saw you tonight during the fight!...Red...Red...somethin' or other..."

"Red Draco, reploid 72081 of the Mechadrake breed. It's glad to know ya!" As she uttered this greeting, Red swung the sleek handle of her lance and whacked Maugrim upside the head.

Maugrim yelped shamelessly as he clutched his sore skull and attempted to stagger to his feet and retaliate. But Red had already disappeared with a whirr of crimson wings.

Maugrim's ears rang insanely. His blood pounded in his head like a sledgehammer.

"I know you can still hear me, Hunter!" he roared, temporarily drowning out the high - pitched singing in his head. "Sure, go ahead and run! Badmouth the Mavericks' skills all you please. But very soon, you and the humans will have good reason to fear us. Why, you ask? Torrent Leviathan. That's all I need to say!"

Seething, Maugrim stormed back to rejoin his injured cohorts.

"Hmmm....interesting." Zero mused as he stared at the office ceiling above him.

X, seated in a chair next to Zero, threw a poisonous glance at his new nemesis. "What?"

"Cain's ceiling. Weird structure." Zero pointed up towards the thick wooden planks that had slowly aged until they were the colour of old honey. "See, between each plank there's a crack. Watch this." Zero snatched a handful of rubber bands off of Cain's perfectly organized desk and, after propping his boots up on the desk as if he were lounging at home rather than being in the office of the respected head of MHHQ, he began to shoot the elastic bands at the ceiling, attempting to jam a few in the cracks. This outlandish behaviour nearly threw X into spasms.

"What're you doing?" he hissed ferociously. "Don't you know where you ARE? Cain might walk in at any second."

"I don't see old man Cain anywhere," Zero drawled, flicking yet another elastic band, "but when he comes in, I'll be sure to tell him that his office ceiling is as weird as hell. Hey cool, I got one of the elastics jammed! I'm so talented."

"Stop that!" X snarled.

"Okay, FINE," Zero sighed and began to fire the elastic bands at X instead. It was at that precise moment that Cain happened to walk into the room. He shook his head as he observed the two badly scratched - up reploids before him. One he recognized as X, of course, but he had no idea who the crimson reploid that was pelting X with elastic bands was...

"Oh, I can't wait to hear THIS one explained," Cain sighed as he hobbled over to the chair behind his desk and wearily seated himself in it. He fixed the long - haired reploid before him with a glare. "If you'll just give me back those elastic bands, please....thank you. Now, I don't believe we've ever been formally introduced. Would you mind telling me your name, please?"

"Zero," Zero said politely as he extended a hand. "I work with the Medical Unit. It's nice to meet you."

A smile tugged at Cain's beard. "My, such nice manners. I'm Dr. Cain, head of MHHQ."

"I know, sir." Zero said with proper awe. "I've heard all about you, but up until now, I'd never had the honour of meeting you."

"'Zero'." X echoed, his voice saturated with contempt. "So THAT'S the wishy - washy bastard's name."

Cain frowned at X disapprovingly. "Really, X! Please watch your mouth. Anyway, you two, A.G. and Hack have told me that there has been some...friction between you two. Obviously, we need to discuss things. X, why don't you tell me what happened?"

X pointed an accusing finger at Zero. "I was just minding my own business when 'Ponyboy' here starts up with me for no reason at all!"

"Uh...yes." Cain cleared his throat. "Zero? Why don't you tell me your side?"

"X is a murderer, sir." Zero explained gravely. "No legume is safe around him. I was quite shocked and appalled by his needless display of violence towards veggies and fruits."

Cain blinked. "X? Violence? These two words just don't seem to go together. I'm quite surprised that he even fought you."

"HE WAS BUGGING THE LIVING HELL OUT OF ME! 'BRAVEHEART' STARTED IT! I JUST HIT BACK!" X shrieked defensively.

Zero pretended to look shocked at X's outburst, but deep down inside, he was laughing hysterically. He hadn't had this much fun since Bass pushed Slash Man down the stairs of Skull Castle all those years back.

Cain motioned for X calm down. "Cool it, X. I've never seen you this angry."

A hollow metallic sound rang through the office's tense air as X brought a fist down on Cain's desk, causing an empty coffee mug to actually jump. "I'm just WARMING UP! When I get my hands on..."

"That's ENOUGH!" Cain boomed so loudly that X was actually startled enough to stop his ranting. "Listen, X! It's hard enough to try keeping the reploids and humans from bickering with each other in this building. I DON'T need hassles with reploids fighting amoungst themselves. Do I make myself clear?"

"Uh...yes, sir."

"Good. X, I don't know what you're so worked up about. Zero seems to be a polite reploid with fine manners. I'm afraid I find it impossible to believe he would start any trouble."

X made a small noise that was something between a laugh and a scream.

"In fact," Cain continued, "I'd like you to stick with him for the day. Get to know him better. It would be nice if you picked up some of his good habits."

This time, X really DID scream.

"Thank you, sir." Zero said sincerely to Cain. "By doing this for X, I believe that you seized the wheel on his slow boat to complete insanity. I'll look after him."

Cain's eyes suddenly flicked towards X, who had silently moved behind Zero. "X, put down that hammer," Cain commanded sternly. "no blood on the new carpet."

"Oh man. I can't believe the way you lied in there. I just CAN'T." X pouted. "The things you said about me...and then Cain sticks me with YOU...it's just not FAIR!"

"Poor X. It just isn't your day." Zero remarked as he continued down the hall towards the Medical Unit. "I'll tell you this much, friend. Stay near me and behave yourself or I'll tell Cain that you were acting up. And then, my word! you'll catch it."

Zero's wrist commlink bleeped impatiently. Sighing, he switched it on. "Yeah, what now?"

"Zero? March your ass back to the Medical Unit this instant. And I mean NOW." Genesis' static drowned voice insisted.

"What's the rush?" Zero asked cautiously. "Are you gonna get me to wash syringes again...? Because, by the Almighty Tuesday, I HATE doing that..."

"No, Zero. This is much more important. Put it this way: the Hunters came back, and not too many of 'em are in one piece."

"Oh. Happy happy joy joy. Well, I'm on my way. And I'm bringing a friend!"

"Great," Genesis snapped. "a friend. I'll go bake some bleedin' cookies and pour the frackin' milk. If you're not here in three minutes, I'll shoot your dog...if ya got one, that is." With that, Genesis cut the line.

"He thinks he's so damn big." Zero grunted as he shut off his commlink. "Well, come on X. Medical Unit, ho!"

"Holy bloodbath, Batman!" Zero remarked, awed. Things were always a bit bloody when the Hunters returned from a mission, but he hadn't quite been prepared for gruesome sight that hit him in the face when he entered the infirmary. Hunters everywhere. Bashed, dented, broken, gashed...name any injury, and it was on at least one of the Hunters. Screams and cries of pain riddled the area. The little help that Genesis possessed in the Unit ran themselves almost to death, trying to tend to those who needed it. Beside Zero, X's face had drained of all colour. He looked ready to fall over at any minute. Zero, however, was not sickened at all. Quite the opposite. Never had he been met with such gore. The coppery smell of the wounded's blood filled his head and sang sweetly...it was a great feeling...

"Hey! Candy Cane! Over here, sugar!" A voice beckoned from the crowd. Zero snapped out of his trance in shock. What had just happened? Was that feeling triggered by the sight and smell of all that blood...?

"Hey, honeybunny...what's the matter?" That same voice inquired, now next to Zero. It was Red, of course. "I called out to you, and you looked sort of spaced out. You also had this kooky look on your face, like you were...uh...REALLY enjoying something."

Zero shook his head to clear it. "I'm fine." He mumbled. "Are you all right? It seems as if half your Unit is severely injured."

Red beamed with pride. "I'm jes' fine! Aren't you glad?"

"Er...yes." Zero smiled weakly and braced himself for Red to pounce on him and hug him to pieces. Surprisingly, it never happened. Rather, Red nodded towards X. "Howdy X. Nice to see you again."

X bobbed his head in acknowlagement. He was still too queasy to speak.

Red yawned (exposing rows of steel hard teeth), and leaned on her lance, facing Zero. "Got some news for you, pudding. The Mavericks are planning to attack Torrisham Crossings next. They wanna claim it for their own."

"Really?"

"Uh huh. Remember how I told you about that human Hunter, Jake, earlier? I think he lived there. But that's beside the point. The humans need to be evacuated..."

Zero thought that Red was hinting that his help was needed in the Hunter units after all. Wild hope flared in him. "So, you want me to evacuate the humans?"

Red shook her head. "Nup, Cain already assigned A.G. and Hack to evacuate 'em and bring them here."

Zero's jaw nearly hit the floor. "THOSE morons!? They'll probably lead the humans off of a cliff or something. Hell, they couldn't even put up a SHELF earlier."

Red giggled. "Well, that's all Cain could spare, really. Most of the Hunters are out with injuries. Even Paul."

"Paul!?" Zero said in alarm. "Is he all right?"

"I think so..."

Zero's voice started to rise. "Are you sure...?"

"Sure, he's just fine." Red said, surprised. "Why are you so worried 'bout him?"

"I...don't know." Zero was forced to admit. And, truthfully, he DIDN'T know why he was so worried about the Night Vipers' leader. When Red had mentioned that Paul had been harmed, some deep down protective instinct had fired up.

Red cocked her head at Zero. "Anyway, A.G. and Hack leave tonight to preform the evacuation."

"That's it." Zero said flatly. "If A.G. and Hack is the best Cain can do for a rescue mission, then I really belong with the Hunters. I'm tired of Mickey Mousing around. I'm sneaking after those two in case they need back up, which I'm SURE they will."

"Sounds like a plan!" Red smiled.

"Uh? You're coming with me?"

"Of course! Can't let my big boy hog all the glory and fun! Don't worry, Skysheen will stay with Genesis and help out the injured here. I think Genesis will be too busy to notice you've slipped away."

"Heh! Yeah, I'm not much help anyway."

X spoke up for the first time since Zero had entered the infirmary. "I can't believe what you two are plotting! You're forsaking your assigned duties to sneak out on a mission you weren't assigned to. I'm going to report to Cain."

Zero threw his arm around X's shoulders. "Nah, you won't be doing that. Cuz if you do, YOU'LL be reporting to THIS." Zero ignited his lightsabre and waved the pulsing, lime coloured blade right under X's nose. "Clear? You're coming with us."

X gulped an affirmative.

"Okay then, Red." Zero smiled. "I'm ready to go. I even have a few...supplies on me in case any humans are injured during the evacuation. I'm sooo practical!"

Red laughed and grabbed Zero's hand. "That you are, honeycake! Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

"I wish...I wish...I WISH I brought my cigarettes with me," Celeste pined uselessly, "I could use one RIGHT now."

"You're hopeless when it comes to those things, you know that?" Josh remarked in a disgusted tone that would have set Celeste off in a fit of retorting under normal circumstances. "But," Celeste thought as she timidly glanced at the towering, muttering masses of nervous people around her, "these are hardly normal circumstances."

Tess skipped up beside her friends, undaunted by the uncanny stillness of the night. No fear penetrated her beaming face.

"This is sooo cool," she cried excitedly, jumping up and down, "all of Torrisham Crossings will be evacuated in a few minutes! The whole neighbourhood's here!" Tess gestured at the crowd surrounding the trio before she punched Celeste in the shoulder. "Isn't this fun? We're having an adventure!"

"Right. And I'm having a bloody nervous breakdown. I can't believe Mavericks are going to be storming this area." A hellish trick of illusions was acting out Celeste's worst nightmare before her eyes: to die the same brutal death her father had at the hands of some bloodthirsty reploid.

Josh cleared his throat. "Uhmm...has anyone seen any of our parents? I mean, I think we lost 'em all in this huge crowd."

"Aw man, that bites. Last I remember, my mom was right beside me as we walked to the meeting place...that is, to say, the park that we're standing in." Tess remarked with a tremendous yawn. "Herded me out of bed...damn, it's late and I'm bloody tired."

Alarmed, Celeste was about to break away from her friends to search for her mother and brother, when a commanding voice froze her in her tracks.

"Okay people, settle...quiet, now...please be quiet....uh...WOULD EVERYONE SHUT THEIR FRIGGIN' MOUTHS FOR A WEE SECOND?!"

Startled, the evacuees fell silent with no delay.

"Thank you." The burly voice belonged to a stocky reploid clad in blue armour with silver trimmings. "My name is A.G. The fellow beside me is Hack. In case you're wondering, yes Mavericks have threatened to destroy your neighbourhood in a matter of days, and yes, you're all going to die horrible, bloody, painful deaths if you stay here. Doesn't that make you all feel warm and cozy inside? Now, here's the good news: A.G. and I have been assigned to lead you to safety. MHHQ, to be exact. So, everyone stay calm...stay together...stay in sight of Hack and I...and let's be on our way."

With those words, the tide of now homeless people slowly surged forward after their guides, leaving their lives behind, riding on the faint hope that someday, things would be back to normal. Fat chance.

Now Celeste was hopelessly lost in the slow moving sludge of nervous evacuees. Josh and Tess were nowhere to be seen, but Celeste had no choice but to go with the flow, so to speak.

Seconds dripped into minutes, and minutes seemed to drag on into hours. With all those strangers huddled around her, blocking out the sky ("Damn, I HATE being short!"), time lost all meaning. However, after an infinite span of time that consisted of nothing but keeping up an unwavering trot, Celeste dully noticed that the evacuees around her seemed to be marching slower and slower, then finally grinding to a complete stop.

"What's goin' on?" She muttered sleepily to herself, her lack of slumber beginning to take its toll. Of course, most of the humans were far too tied up in their own affairs and worries to pay much mind to her. However, Celeste DID snag a few threads of conversation that was running through the restless crowd...something about 'lost', and 'Maverick occupied territory'. Even in her muddled state, Celeste could piece together some of what was happening. As she did, a fearful emotion sent a shudder down her spine.

The refugees had been led into Maverick occupied territory.

Panicked, Celeste managed to claw her way up near the front of the tide, where she spied the two 'guides', A.G. and Hack, holding a feverish conference between themselves.

"I TOLD you we took a wrong turn!" Celeste could hear A.G. hiss ferociously.

Hack looked downcast. "I guess I made a small mistake."

"SMALL!? Hack, this territory is occupied by Mavericks. If a batch of them just happen to see us here with a large group of humans, what do you think they'd do? Invite us for tea and chit chat? I REALLY don't think so. And why are we just standing here, arguing? Let's get the hell out of here! Get the herd moving again."

Hack obediently cleared his throat. "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls..."

"...and werewolves of all ages!" A raspy voice suddenly sang from the cloaking shadows.

Every single refugee jumped simultaneously.

"Heee! That was funny," came an invisible, insane giggle that was just to the left of the last hail. "all of you jumping at once like that. Do it again!"

"Tea and chit chat?" Another rough voice hurled from the darkness. "Sounds smashing! I say, how about that local sports team? Do they suck or what?"

"I thought I detected the stench of humans coming from this direction," came a low growl/purr, "and it seems that I wasn't mistaken after all. How does one greet a multitude of guests...? I guess we can start with introductions."

With those last words, an aqua green reploid werewolf drew itself out of the dancing alley shadows that circled the terror - stricken humans like vicious, shapeless beasts. "I'm J.T."

A beige werewolf was the next to emerge from behind the refugees. "Howdy. Duskclaw here."

An ebony werewolf seemed to appear out of nowhere in front of the refugees. A towering nightmare of razor claws and teeth whose forbidding bulk struck every human dumb with fear. "Maugrim at your service."

Finally, a slightly less formidable, dark blue reploid werewolf revealed itself. "And I'm Sabre, yup, that's right. You'll notice that we have you surrounded, so it's in all your best interests to stay calm and tell us why two Hunters are doing something as stupid as leading a pack of humans through Maverick occupied territory."

A.G and Hack, being the brilliant rocket scientists that they were, raised their arm cannons and aimed them at Sabre. Chuckling, the lupine reploid simply bounded into the air and brought his bulk crashing down on poor, solid Hack, who was promptly torn up by merciless metal claws. Before A.G. could even react, his fate was sealed by Duskclaw's slashing teeth.

Of course, viewing this slaughter did little to boost the humans' morale and keep them calm. Panic rang through the crowd like a raging virus, and Celeste, caught in her worst nightmare, was nearly trampled. Her mind screamed at her to do something...anything! Propelled by a deadly mixture of fear and rage, she threw herself at Sabre and bombarded the werewolf with a hail of punches, not stopping until at last fatigue forced her to fall back, panting. She finally allowed herself to look up at the face of her victim to see what damage she had caused with her attack. To her horror, Sabre was staring right back down at her, amusement twisted on his lupine face.

"Are you QUITE finished?" The Maverick rumbled.

Speechless, Celeste could do nothing but stare right back, silently.

In one fluid movement, like a hen picking up a worm, Celeste was scooped up into one of the wolf's brawny arms. Crying out, Celeste pumped her legs uselessly. Sabre laughed in response to his prisoner's struggles.

"A human female. I'm sure we could find LOTS of uses for one of these....OW!"

Yelping, Sabre released his clutch on Celeste to nurse the arm that she had just sunk her teeth into. Celeste landed on the ground with a jarring crash. Before she could make her escape by slipping into the panic-stirred crowd, she heard a dull explosion prior to feeling a red line of pain sear through her left arm. Celeste screamed, more from shock than pain. She could hear Sabre's demonic chuckle muffled by her own cries, and she knew exactly what had happened. Sabre had shot her in the arm. The warmth flowing down her wounded arm accompanied by the coppery smell of blood confirmed this.

A strange brew of confusion, shock and rage reigned in Celeste's mind. A ferocious adrenaline surge gave her the false assumption that she had enough energy to get to her feet and run; but the amount of blood she had lost was the reality. Celeste was forced to collapse again. No one came to her aid. Behind her, Sabre was still giggling.

"Boy, you look pretty screwed up right now, my dear! I can't believe you tried to tackle me. Typical human thought process at work here. No matter...well, this is good night for you, then!"

It was the end all right, but not for Celeste, oddly enough. As soon as Sabre had finished gloating over his prey, he was reduced to a bountiful shower of debris by a single well aimed plasma shot.

"Here I come to save the daaaaay...!"

"YEAH! Woo hoo! ONE shot and he's down! I was meant for this stuff. I'm the KING! THE KING I TELL YOU! Red, tell me...WHO'S THE KING??"

"You of course, lambchop!" Red declared faithfully as she dropped to a perfect landing beside the exuberant Zero.

"Hey, lookit! The other wolves are running!"

In response to this, Zero tried to give chase, slicing through the cooling crowd like a knife through butter. He came to a stop beside where Celeste was curled up. In one smooth motion, he stooped down and grabbed of Sabre's shattered arms, which he chucked into the shadows after the other three rapidly darting wolves.

"Hey! Maugrim! YOU SUCK!" He spat.

"Isn't Maugrim a sweetie?" Red grinned, taking a spot next to Zero.

"I'll say. Hey, where did X go? I swear, I'm going to spike a metal bar through his head one of these days."

"Hmmm..." Red mused, "I think I saw him just a second ago. He's trying to calm down the crowd."

"Good. Keep him out of our hair. Whoops, what have we here...?" Zero cast his eyes down at the shaking, sobbing human a short distance away from him. He took a step closer and dropped down to the human's level.

"It's her arm." Red remarked from behind. "Take a look."

Zero did as Red suggested, and he was sorry he did. A slick river of blood cascaded down the girl's arm, visible even in the unreliable light. That 'feeling' tore through Zero's mind again, the unknown sweet crescendo of emotions that was sometimes triggered by the sight of blood.

Silently, Red watched Zero fight an interesting inner struggle. Although she was quite scatterbrained at times, Red was very far from stupid. Watching Zero's reaction to the blood, she decided that these emotions bore study, but now was not the time. She poked Zero with her lance to haul him out of his dreamworld.

Getting shot in the arm could sometimes do things that fuddle up your mind, Celeste found out. In any case, she was in quite a state. A red pain misted her eyes and clouded her judgment. When she noticed the equally red reploid crouched beside her, she automatically took a wild swing at him with her good arm, missing by about a mile or so. The reploid laughed a little, put a heavy hand on her hot forehead and gently told her to calm down. Celeste did more than calm down: she lost consciousness.

"Well, she's out of it." Red observed. "Probably for the best: with the way she was thrashing about, she was losing too much blood. Did you catch her name or anything?"

Zero shook his head. "Nup."

"She looks familiar." Red mused. "Well, no matter. We'll have to do something about her arm. I think Genesis can probably patch it up pretty good. Let's take her to him. I guess the rest of the folks will be coming with us to the refugee camps as well. Whee! A parade!" Red jumped up and down. "Ha ha, hee hee, clap my paws, squeal with glee. I'm so excited I could just barf. Let's mosey."

"Sigma! Sir! Wait up, please!"

Rolling his eyes, Sigma stopped on a dime and swerved 180 degrees to face Skysheen who was pounding down the empty hallway in an attempt to catch up to the Spartan. "What is it, Lord Th'ckpa'sskyleth?"

Skysheen halted and saluted. "Requesting permission to talk to you."

"Can you talk and walk at the same time?"

"Uh...I think so."

"Then you may accompany me as I walk back to my office." Sigma resumed his march with Sky in tow. "What can I do for you?"

"Have you been made aware of the brave deeds of that member of the Medical Unit, Zero?"

"The one who forsook his duties to carry out orders that he was not given? Indeed I have. I'm going to see that he gets what he deserves. Your sister, Lady Dra'conia'mat, was also reported to have been going against orders." There was an edge to Sigma's voice with these last words.

Skysheen blanched a bit. "Sir, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to ask you to pardon them for their disobedience. Zero and Red may have disobeyed, but they saved a lot of lives in the process. Those refugees would have been killed if they had not've shown up."

Sigma gave a neutral grunt. Skysheen wasn't sure if the leader was even listening to his pleas. Shakily, he drew a breath and prepared for the kill. "Sir...I'd like your permission to promote Zero to the Regal Dragons. Red told me that he's quite an awesome fighter, and we need as many of those as we can get at this point. I will take responsibility for any negative actions that may result from my desire."

Skysheen mentally braced himself for a bombardment of insults and nasty comments which were characteristic of Siggy. To his astonishment, they never came. Rather, Sigma merely checked his watch and mumbled, "Yeah, sure...do what you want...sounds good, party 'till you barf, that's what I always say. Zero can be promoted, and Lady Draco will be pardoned. Now if you'll excuse me..." Sigma turned the handle to his office door, stepped in...and stopped short in utter shock. Skysheen nearly crashed into his superior.

"What in GOD'S name...?" Sigma sputtered, scanning the room with disbelieving eyes. His office, normally reputed for its meticulously orderly state, was overrun with hordes of toddlers armed with blocks, books, and other assorted toys.

"What the hell is going on!?" He roared. "This is my OFFICE, not a bloody DAYCARE!"

A colourful block printed with a picture of an 'H' and a horse flew out of the crowd and smacked Sigma right between the eyes. Skysheen wisely surpressed a wild urge to laugh. Scattered giggles rose from the sea of children.

Skysheen cleared his throat. "Sir, allow me to explain. Because it's raining outside, some of the parents in the refugee camps were concerned that the shelters didn't provide enough protection against dank drafts. Ergo, some of them sent their children into Hunter HQ to prevent them from catching cold."

"That's insane! I couldn't care less if they caught ebola!" Sigma seethed, his words not exactly reflecting very well on his role as a protector of humans. "Let them go play in the kitchen or the bathrooms, or something!" Sigma turned to face the children before him. "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY OFFICE, YOU EGG SUCKING, WEASEALLY LITTLE BASTARDS!" He reached for a kid who promptly bit him, while others clamped onto the Spartan's legs, begging for a story. In all the ruckus, Skysheen wisely slipped away from the 'babysitter' to announce the good news of Zero's promotion to him.

"She'll be fine. She's just going through post-anesthetic shock right now," Genesis announced to the anxious ring of Hunters around him as he tossed another warmed blanket onto the unconscious, trembling human in the bed before him. "during the surgery, we put some metal fragments into that arm of hers. She'll still have use of it, but it might be a very long time before full strength is restored." Genesis turned and frowned at the Hunters who still loomed over his shoulder like vultures. "That was a hint, my friends. You're invading my personal space. Get lost. She'll be fine. Pip?"

That last word summoned a small, spry blonde haired medic reploid to Genesis' side. "Yes sir, Mr. Genesis sir?"

"You mentioned that this girl's mother was outside of the recovery room? You can bring her in in about thirty minutes. For now, just update her on what's going on."

"Rightyo, Mr. Genesis sir!" Pip tottered off to carry out his orders.

"Red, Zero...you two can stay and keep an eye on this girl. I have a lot of work to do. Try to get her name and all that when she snaps out of the anesthetic. The rest of you are just taking up space by hanging around here. Go play out in traffic or something."

Zero felt a tug on his ponytail. Startled, he turned around and dropped his eyes to Pip, who had issued the physical summon. "Mr. Zero sir?" The small robot voiced.

"Yes Pip, what is it?"

"Lord Skysheen is outside...he wishes to talk to you. It's good news!"

"Okay then. Red, you stay with her."

"Sure thing, Sugarmuffinhoneybunny!!"

Slowly, Celeste ascended the dark staircase of unconsciousness. Sleepily, she blinked her eyes and tried to draw in her surroundings through her drugged mind. Not surprisingly, she was in a medical ward of some sort. What WAS surprising was the large, female reploid dragon sitting closeby with a comic book clutched in her claws, chuckling softly to herself at regular intervals. One sharp - finned ear twitched in Celeste's direction, and the dragon was suddenly smiling at her. "Hello, dear. How are you feeling?"

Celeste's mind was too sluggish to even bother searcing for an answer.

The dragon seemed to understand. "Here, I'll give you an easier question; can you tell me your name?"

Celeste accepted that. "Celeste," she drawled. Then, almost as an afterthought she added, "McTreggor."

The draco froze. "McTreggor?" She breathed. "Do you happen to be Jake McTreggor's daughter?"

Celeste only blinked listlessly. The dragon shrugged. "We'll talk about it when you're more up to it. I'm Red Draco, by the way. You just came out of surgery. You'll be fine. We managed to save your arm."

For the first time since awakening, Celeste remembered the arm that Sabre had nearly blown clear off. She found it in its usual spot, swathed tightly in adhesive bandages. The injured arm throbbed dully, but other than that, Celeste didn't really notice any pain. What she DID notice, however...

"Uh...Red...?"

"Yes?"

"Where did my clothes go...? Can I have them back?"

Red laughed. "Sorry 'bout that. You see, you go into surgery with nothing on. Something about sterilization and germs. But now that you're out, I think we can fit you into something." Red snatched a blue cotton robe from a hook beside her and helped Celeste into it. "Watch your arm, dear...oh, and stop acting so embarrassed! We're all girls!"

The next time Celeste snapped into life, she was much more aware of where she was and what was going on. She had obviously been moved from the recovery room at some point into a more comforting semi - private hospital room that didn't have such a stale air of urgency hanging in it. "It's much more...homelike," Celeste decided...until she noticed the crimson reploid sitting beside her.

The reploid was having a doze, his head cradled in his arms, which were laid on Celeste's bed. In the dim light, Celeste spied the reptilian escorts of the Regal Dragons Unit badge newly soldered on the reploid's shoulder. A gold ponytail of impressive length spilled out from behind his gilded helmet. He awoke with a start when he detected Celeste's movement. "Hey Celeste," he mumbled quietly with a sleepy smile. "Are you all right? Can I get you anything?"

"I think I'm fine."

"That's good. So, you tackled a Maverick, huh? I can see that you have the 'never give up and never think things out logically' spirit that your father had. You'd better be more careful."

Celeste paused. "You knew my dad?"

"No, but I heard about him. Jake, right? He was a Spartan."

"Yes. He went after Torrent Leviathan by himself, and I guess you could say he payed for it. I see where you're getting at."

Zero decided it would be best to change the subject. "I'm Zero, by the way."

Celeste wasn't really listening, but she was trembling slightly.

"Celeste, what's wrong?"

There were a lot of things wrong. Mostly, Celeste was lonely and scared. She had seen her mother a while back, but she had only been able to stay for a little while before she had been politely hearded out of the recovery room and back into the refugee camp. "Nothing...my arm just hurts," Celeste made excuse.

Zero was already up and preparing a syringe of something. "Well, I can fix that!" He returned and eased a small needle into Celeste's arm. "There you go. That should help. It'll also make you drowsy, so if you feel sleepy, don't fight it."

Celeste sank back into her pillow wearily. All at once, everything caught up with her, causing tears to sting her eyes. She gave up and began to sob. Zero regarded her with mild surprise. "There now," he soothed, pushing back Celeste's bangs from her eyes. "You're going to be fine. Just go to sleep."

Obediently, Celeste turned over, still shaking. Zero watched her until he was sure she had fallen asleep. Once he had confirmed it, he extracted a small pencil and notebook. It had been such a memorable day, Zero decided, that he wanted to record it. Start a journal, in fact. "Who knows," Zero pondered mentally, "someday in the future, someone might actually want to read this. Or use it for firestarter." Zero shrugged, and the pencil began to scratch onto the notebook paper, leaving a trail of words that recorded the day's events:

April 12 / 21XX

"Today marked an amazing turn of events for me. As a reward for saving those refugees, Skysheen made me a member of the Regal Dragons! Woo hoo! Now things'll get underway in earnest.

"I've been thinking a lot about how things have turned out. At first I thought that I wanted to rescue those refugees just for the sake of a fight, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that I actually WANTED to save them. Besides that, I also wanted to watch over Celeste. Yick, I hope I'm not growing respect for humans. That would go against my purpose in life.

"But anyway, to happier stuff! As soon as Skysheen made me a member of the Regal Dragons, he took me on a tour of the RD branch of MHHQ. Quite interesting. I was assigned a computer lab along with some other Unit members, where we were supposed to log in the number of Maverick kills we had made that week. Instead, we downloaded the 'Barbie Girl' song from the ancient 'Aqua' website, printed out the lyrics, and had a singalong before I came back down to keep and eye on Celeste. Am I a hard worker or what?"

Zero closed the journal and yawned. Prior to exiting the Medical Unit, he threw one last concerned glance at Celeste to make sure she was sleeping all right. With that confirmed, he went on his way.

Zero whistled cheerfully to himself as he tromped down the familiar hallway leading to the Medical Unit. As he walked, he tossed his old MU badge up and down carelessly like a kid with a new baseball. He had torn the medallion right off as soon as he had gotten his fresh Regal Dragons badge. Zero sauntered wordlessly into the stuffy room. The stale, alcohol-tinged air reminded him of his old position, and, frankly, he didn't want to recall it. Genesis was in the room, as Zero had hoped. The reploid fox frowned at his old employee. Smiling innocently at his grumpy boss, Zero threw down his tattered MU badge on the table between them, gave Genesis the one - finger salute, and waltzed out of the room, kicking his heels as he departed.

On the other side of MHHQ, Celeste wandered aimlessly down the hallways, so deep in thought that she hardly noticed the heavy weight of her bandaged arm in its sling. Her thoughts turned over painfully again and again, troubling her with every movement they made. Did she really want to go through with her plan? Did she want to be a Hunter...?

Eventually, quite by accident, she ran full force into Skysheen, nearly getting tangled in his leathery wings like an unwary fish in a net. The huge Mechadrake laughed and helped her out.

"Hey there Cel. Whatchya doin' all the way over here. You should be resting until that arm's fully healed."

Celeste shrugged. "Needed to get out and think." She hesitated. "Look, Skysheen...I need advice. Can you help me with something?"

"Uh, well, I guess. I'm no Ann Landers, though. Er, are you pregnant or something?"

"No!!"

"Good! Just making sure! What's on your mind?"

"It's about my future." Celeste said. "I was thinking of maybe finding a position somewhere with the Hunters, once my arm was healed." She looked up hopefully at the draco. "Is there any job open that I could fill?"

Skysheen mused. "Well, we're in need of a table dancer for the HQ's pub..."

"EXCUSE me?"

"Ha ha! I'm only kidding. I'm not very funny, am I? Well, we're always in need of good fighters. And if you're anything like your dad was, you'd be a very valuable addition. Of course, the question is DID you inherit anything from him, or is this whole 'heredity' thing amoung you humans a crock?"

Celeste was rendered somewhat speechless.

"Here's what I say." Skysheen continued. "When's that cast of yours coming off?"

"Genesis said about one more week."

"Good, good. How about this: as soon as you're up to it, I'll take you to the training room. We'll try you out, and you can see what it's all about, and we'll go from there. Does that sound kosher?

Celeste agreed that it was quite kosher.

That night, bored and restless, Zero made another journal entry:

May 16th , 21XX

I found out something interesting today. Cain often uses real, specially trained dogs to track down Mavericks. I thought that was pretty nifty. There's about 50 purebred malamutes in a kennel located near the refugee camps. His real prize is a female named Jessi. Cain assigned two maintenance reploids named Terrence and Phillip to tend to the dogs. If you ask me, that's as big a mistake as it was sending A.G. and Hack to rescue those humans. Well, it's not my lookout!

Little Pip wrung his hands nervously as his head snapped back and forth to take in the stressful problem before him. To his right stood Sigma, silent with a very dark expression hung on his face. Across from Siggy stood another Hunter, a human male. The human stared right back at Sigma, just as hard. His feet were steadfastly nailed to the ground and his arms were crossed over his brawny chest. Pip had been around humans long enough to know that they communicated an awful lot with body language, and as near as he could tell, there was a great chance of a nasty fight erupting between the Spartan and the human. The last thing Genesis would want, Pip knew, is for a brawl to blossom in the Medical Unit.

"Mr. Sigma sir," Pip's heard his voice crack. "please, whatever it comes to, don't fight here! In fact, don't fight at all."

Sigma whacked poor Pip upside the head for his pains. "I am NOT leaving," he announced boomingly following his assault, "until this human apologizes for his inconsiderate remark regarding my leadership skills."

The human's face split into a humourless grin. "Face it, Sigma. The Mavericks have become more and more powerful and you seem to be losing a lot of men lately."

Luckily for the human, Sigma did not have time to respond before Genesis appeared. Pip nearly collapsed like water and thanked his lucky stars that his boss had appeared at the right time.

Genesis looked as cranky as ever. "What seems to be the dilly - hoo - ha here?"

Sigma looked ready to kill. "This human has insulted my efforts, my morals, my values!" He half roared.

"Wowie Zowie, Batman." Genesis snorted disdainfully. "I think I just came. Pip, please direct Sigma, along with his values and morals, towards the door. And you," Genesis tossed his head towards the battle ready human, "will come with me."

Sigma's mouth unhinged with shock. "You can't speak to me like that, Genesis!"

"Oh, can't I?"

Pip diligently ushered Sigma towards the door as he had been ordered to do. Prior to exiting, he heard the human shout jeeringly: "Be seeing you, O great leader! Whether or not in one piece remains to be seen!"

"Your mother was a drunken trollop!" Sigma barely had time to spit out before Pip gave him a final push out the door.

Outside in the nearly empty hallway, Sigma was left alone to his slowly twisting thoughts. Sigma was deteriorating, and he knew it although he revealed nothing of this sort to the world. He constantly had his cold, stern mask on, no matter what mood he was in. But lately, he found that beneath his mask, he was twisting and warping like a bug infested piece of wood. Some kind of terrible hate towards something was transforming him. But WHAT the hatred was directed towards, the Spartan couldn't quite put a finger on at first. When he had first become aware of it, the black emotion had been deeply rooted, but it was still only a seedling. Over time, the dark plant had flourished inside him, and the more it bloomed, the clearer the image of what he hated came into view. Finally, a few weeks after the animosity had been conceived, his mind presented the mysterious object of his hatred as clear as a trumpet fanfare.

Sigma, leader of the Hunters, hated humans.

The argument in the Medical Unit had confirmed this warped assumption. He suddenly realized that humans were the rival species of reploids.

"Humans and reploids can't coexist on the same planet," Siggy thought haughtily as he strode down the hallway to his office, "and if I feel this way, surely other Hunters lean towards my argument, too. If I were to very slowly and carefully - and I mean carefully - bestow anti human propaganda on those reploids, they might just eventually turn from Hunter to Maverick. And, if at the right time, I were to emerge as their new leader..."

The raven thoughts beat in Sigma's head as he cracked a malicious smile. "The beginning of the end of the humans' reign upon earth," he thought, "and such a plan! As Iago would word it, 'Hell and night must bring this monstrous birth into the world's light.'"

Suddenly, Sigma's left leg started to drag a little, surfacing him from his mental strutting. Puzzled, he looked down and saw a small human child clinging to it. The child's eyes shone blue with admiration for Sigma. Completely disgusted, Sigma kicked the kid off and chased it down the hall for a bit.

"Whoops! Sorry, Celeste. I think I punched you a bit too hard there. I thought you would block it."

Collapsed on the Training Room floor, Celeste could feel her eyes bugging as she panted desperately for breath. "It's okay, Skysheen." She finally managed to rasp in a small voice. "I didn't need that left kidney anyway."

"Skysheen plays too rough!" Red sang from the rafters of the gargantuan gym that held a smattering of reploids and humans vigorously training within it.

Skysheen frowned at his sister. "Red, for the fifteenth time, get down from there, or I'm going to tell Cain that you've been goofing off the entire day."

"Oh gee, there's a threat that scares me." Red snorted playfully. "I hate to tell you this, Skysheen dear, but I've been 'goofing off' since we left Mechadrake Assemblies Inc. Besides, when I went to Cain earlier this morning to talk to him about some new Hunting strategies, he smelled of cheap scotch and started telling me scary stories about his ex wife."

Skysheen paid no attention to his sibling's prattling. He turned his attention back to Celeste. "Okay, Celeste, next step in our first training session. How good is your aim with a lightweight laser rifle? It's the weapon of choice amoung a lot of human Hunters."

"I don't know. I've never tried one." Celeste admitted meekly.

"Well, now's a good time to start." Skysheen presented an oily black pistol about a metre long from a holster on his hip, and handed it to Celeste. Celeste accepted the weapon with proper awe....and nearly let it clatter on the floor.

"Hold it up!" Skysheen hissed almost sharply.

"I can't lift it!"

"What do you mean?"

"My left arm just gives out under its weight," Celeste voiced, trying her best to stay calm.

"Oooooh Mother...." Skysheen breathed, suddenly remembering what Genesis had said to him about Celeste probably never having full use of her left arm again. "She's partially crippled."

Zero silently watched his friends from a secluded corner of the gym. They did not notice him; he was an expert at hiding in sparse patches of shadow. Zero forced his attention to focus on Skysheen's shabby method of training Celeste. He tried hard, very hard indeed, not to focus on Celeste herself. Time and time again he had to tear his gaze away from her gentle brown hair, her smile, her....

"Stop it," he thought viciously to himself, "I'm not in love. No, not with a human. Anything but a human...."

"Hi!"

Zero nearly jumped out of his skin. When he recovered, there was X smiling politely at him. "What do YOU want?" The Hunter seethed.

"I....just wanted to talk to you." X nervously seated himself beside Zero. "Uh, listen, I'll put this bluntly. I've been a prick to you. I only admitted it to myself recently that you have a lot of my respect. You're an excellent fighter, really, and I've started to realize that a little fighting HAS to be done to protect the humans. I've accepted it." X stuck out a shaky hand towards Zero. "Friends?"

A glimmer of warm light dawned in Zero and surfaced as a smile. Something told him that he had started on the road to a long lasting friendship. It would prove to be a very bumpy road at times, but it would always be a secure and steady one. "Sure. Friends."

The two lapsed into a comfortable silence. Zero started to watch Celeste's training again.

"You love her, don't you?" X then asked out of the clear blue.

Shock and fear lanced through Zero. "What? Who? What do you mean?" He asked too sharply.

"Celeste. You love her."

"What...what gives you that idea?" Zero stumbled lamely.

"Well, your pupils dilate every time you look at her body."

"Reploids don't need love." Zero half snarled, but his insides were knotted with fear. Was it that obvious? That wasn't good. He was supposed to be killing humans. His creator had told him so. Bass had told him so. And Bass wouldn't lie.

Would he?

"Celeste." Zero heard himself call out.

Surprised, Celeste whipped around to the direction of the hail.

"Sweet Sugar Candyman!" Red singsonged automatically towards Zero from above.

Zero quickly threw his gaze to the ground where Celeste had dropped the laser rifle so that he wouldn't have to think about how blue the human's eyes were. "Your arm will never be strong enough again to wield the rifle, Celeste. Here." Zero unsheathed his precious lightsabre from his back and tossed the cylindrical handle towards her. Celeste caught it as gracefully as a cat. As Zero had assumed, she had excellent reflexes burrowed away in her small form.

The Crimson Hunter produced a cheaper, clumsier sabre and ignited its blade. "A lightsabre isn't a two handed weapon like the rifle." Zero explained in a monotone voice. "You shouldn't have any problems with it, especially since I'm going to be training you from now on. But first..."

Zero fell silent as he raised the pulsating blade of his own sabre in line between his eyes, a traditional gesture of respect and challenge amoung the Hunters. "This is where heredity proves its worth, Cel. Let's see what you can do with just your instincts."

"Dad!"

The word lept from Paul's mouth as neatly and strongly as water gliding off a cliff. He was a small, helpless child again, watching his father's limp form being hauled away like a bulky sac of potatoes by a jet black robot with war-scars on its face. The robot shot Paul an almost sorrowful glance just before being swept away -- with its newly-aquired baggage -- by a translucent beam of light. In one gulp of air, Paul screamed for his father in a boyish cry. The scream rang on and on, becoming deeper and deeper until it became the desolate wail of a tormented adult. It still continued to pour forth as Paul was violently jerked out of his nightmare. His eyes flew open and his mouth clamped shut at the same time.

It was morning. Slabs of cheery sunlight cuddled up next to Paul in his dreary hospital bed. It wasn't the first time he'd had that dream, and chances were it wouldn't be the last.

Paul was getting ready to try to go back to sleep when Genesis bustled into the Night Viper's private room, chattering a string of nonsense without bothering to stop for air.

"Morning, Paul! How're you feeling? That's nice. Time to get ready to go."

Paul blinked while trying to register everything that had been blustered to him. "Go?" He finally managed.

Genesis nodded. "That's right. I think you're well enough to be discharged from the infirmary."

"How do you know...?"

Genesis flashed a sharp toothed grin. "Nothing personal, but the sight of your face is starting to piss me off. That's how I always tell if a patient is ready to go or not."

"Ah, the wonders of Medical Science," Paul muttered.

Zero slammed back the doors of the computer Mainframe room with no mercy. Sure enough Red was there, her serpentine head inclined just slightly, bathed in the muted green glow of the surrounding computer screens. She was obviously preoccupied as she did not flinch at the ringing crash of the metal gates being flung open. Unbidden, Zero jumped and slid on the flawless floor and came to a halt just behind the Mechadrake.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced in a sober yet playful voice, "let's put our paws together for Zero, the world's best Hunter and everyone's favourite sex god!"

The last thing Zero remembered seeing was a horrific slashing of dagger teeth and talons while being englufed by a whirlwind that was spawned of the frantic beating of leathery wings. The next moment, he was lying on his back, completely stunned. A worried looking Red Draco (a whole spinning roomfull of them, actually) towered above him, frantically waving a clawed paw a few feet from his bruised face.

"Holy Mother Tiamat! Zero! I didn't know it was you, buttercup! I'm REALLY sorry! Oh jeez...what have I done?"

As soon as there was only one Red in the room, Zero opened his mouth to speak and immediately choked on a mouthful of slick, coppery fluid. He coughed and some of it flecked his lips. Blood. No surprises there. "Did...did I do something wrong?" The Hunter finally managed to rasp around the blockage in his throat. "I'll bring roses next time...I swear..." Zero started to try to sit up, but the effort made him light headed. He would have collapsed again if Red had not been there to support him.

"Take it slow." She advised, still upset. "Sorry about that. You startled me, and attacking you was a reflex action."

"That's some reflexes."

A mysteriously wicked grin surfaced on Red's face. "We Mechadrakes are just full of surprises. See, I pounced on you because I was protecting my lunch..."

"Lunch?" Zero shook his head in an attempt to silence the bells chiming within it.

Wordlessly, Red brought her left paw level with Zero's bloodshot eyes. A tiny bundle of brown and offwhite fur squirmed uncomfortably in the clammy nest of gleaming claws and crimson scales.

The bells in Zero's head stopped chiming immediately. "It's a kitten...."

"Yep."

"Red, you sicko! You were gonna devour a helpless little KITTEN?"

"I've got a taste for young meat! What do you want from me?"

Zero's strength returned to him in one magnificent surge of energy as he scrambled to his feet. Although his emotions and attitudes had been undergoing vast changes over the past months, chances were good that he'd still grant a human a slow and painful death if Bass had been there to order him to do so. But never in his lifetime would he stand by and allow that trembling puff ball to be led by Red's hand into her cavernous chomper.

"How in the world did you get a kitten, Red?"

"It just wandered in here like it owned the place. That says a lot for MHHQ's security, doesn't it? I think it came from the refugee camps. Now can't I just snack in peace?"

"Sorry Red, that's a no no." Zero said firmly. "Give the kitten here."

Red pouted, but she obeyed.

The kitten snuggled in Zero's hand and rumbled contentedly. Zero took advantage of its calm state to study it a bit closer. "It's a six week old male," he concluded. "I'll ask around the refugee camps to see if anyone lost him. But for now, I've gained a pet! I'm naming him Matzah."

"Stupid name, but it sounds tasty," Red sulked as she wistfully eyed the feline.

Zero cautiously put the snoozing Matzah up on his shoulder. The kitten gave a soft 'mew' of confusion prior to finding his footing.

"Now that I've done my good deed for the day," Zero said, "I wanted to talk to you about placing Celeste in the Regal Dragons. I've only been working with her for a few days, but I can already see that she's going to be incredible!"

"Sounds tasty," Red repeated, her eyes still nailed to the kitten on Zero's shoulder.

Zero kicked Red in the shins. That brought her out of her trance, all right.

"Okay!" She snorted. "I'm over the kitten. And from what I've seen of her abilities, Celeste looks like she can live up to her dad's name. Bring her to my office this afternoon and we can sign her up if she accepts."

"Sounds tasty," Zero smiled in his turn. Red nailed him over the head.

Not surprisingly, Red's office was an untidy but cheerful nest of old papers, reports, and general clutter. The windows were all thrown open to allow the room to swallow the pleasantly warm May air wafting softly from the outdoors. What was most noticible about the office was the fact that large posters of old twentieth century movies were framed haphazardly on the walls. Celeste found her nervous gaze returning to them again and again as Red fired off one application question after another. In between the hasty inquries, Red would mutter incoherently to herself as she scribbled down Celeste's answers. Knowing the erratic Mechadrake, the mumbles could have been anything from little remarks about Celeste to lewd lyrics from some raunchy new CD. It was impossible to tell.

"Okay, last question!" Red began just before one of the movie posters behind her -- the one featuring a popular romance called The Titanic to be exact -- tore itself from the wall with the wind's assistance and rushed to meet its doom on the office floor with a loud, shattering report. The reploid, the human, and the Mechadrake all jumped as one. For half an instant, Zero's arm fell protecively across Celeste's shoulders, but it was hastily removed without so much as a glance from the crimson reploid. Red, in the meantime, was roaring with laughter.

"Wup! Looks like the Titanic sunk again," she commented as she went through the motions of attempting to clean the sparkling shards of glass scattered on the floor. Ultimately, however, she settled back into her chair and grumbled something that sounded like "Piss on it...DiCaprio sucked big in that movie. Anyway Celeste," she continued in a louder voice, "we're almost done with ya! As I was saying before, just one more question..."

Another interruption reared its annoying head. Red's phone rang impatiently from across the room. Red snorted with disgust. A faint streamer of smoke rose from one soot caked nostril, which was a definate sign that she was fed up. Red only seemed to produce fire and smoke when she was severely agitated. "Get that for me, would you Zero? I'd like to finish this while I'm young."

Zero obediently headed across the room and picked up the reciever. "Psycic Friends Hotline."

"Lady Draco...?" It was Siggy on the other end. Whoops!

"Hello, sir!" Zero quickly recovered his respectful tone. "No, this is Zero. Red's busy with a new applicant to the Regal Dragons."

"Indeed?" Sigma drawled in his usual bored voice. "Who's coming aboard?"

"Celeste McTreggor."

"Hmmm...oh yes, that girl who was injured in the last refugee evacuation. I remember her father. Well, once she's signed up, can you bring her down to the training room? I've heard that you've been training her. I'd like to see what she can do."

Zero's heart lept at these words. Would Celeste be able to flaunt her lightsabre skills in front of the Big Cheese as well as she had in front of him? A disturbing vision of Celeste screwing up massive before Sigma's critical eyes swam into Zero's mind. If she was nervous, Celeste could fumble and easily chop her good arm off with her sabre. Oh boy, THAT would be fun. Skysheen would go white, Red would most likely die laughing, and Zero himself would probably turned on by the blood, as usual. Nevertheless, he maintained an airy tone while saying to Sigma, "I think it can be arranged, sir."

"Excellent! I'll see you there in an hour."

"Don't be nervous when you see him, dear!" Red advised softly in Celeste's ear on their way down to the training room. Zero and Skysheen were in tow.

There was no need to worry about that: Celeste was already scared halfway out of her mind about meeting Sigma. Her right hand was wrapped tightly around her new sabre, its hilt already streaked with sweat. Her crippled left arm throbbed painfully under the stress the rest of her body was undergoing. Her new bone white lightweight titanium battle vest (soldered with the Regal Dragons Unit badge) clanked ridiculously as her body was hit with tremors. She was nervous all right.

The party walked into the vast chamber that was the training room. Sigma was not there.

"Guess we're early," Red huffed as a sweep of leathery wings took her to her favourite spot in the area: the rafters.

Skysheen's forked tounge flickered like red lightning over his yellowed teeth. "I TOLD you that your watch was fast, Red, but noooooo...."

Frowning, Red silently thrust her balled fists down at her irate sibling and began making twisting motions with them. Skysheen flicked his eyes up at his sister and then narrowed them suspiciously. "Red, what in the name of Silvara are you doing?"

"I'm wishing cancer upon you, Skysheen."

"Cancer?"

"Yes. In the head."

Zero and Celeste giggled. Skysheen, however, was not amused. "Why don't you come down HERE and wish Head Cancer upon me?!" The blue draco challenged. With one graceful creak of wings, he lept and latched onto Red's forked tail with onyx talons. Red gave an ear splitting screech as she was pulled from her post. Luckily, she managed to untangle herself in mid air. Her face twisted in a dangerous snarl, she locked onto Skysheen and raked her equally sharp claws across his neck, ending up with a fistful of the blue Mechadrake's mohawk. Skysheen's hand instantly shot up to his prized mane, a look of horror spreading slowly across his face as he felt its now marred surface. The horror was promptly exchanged for rage, and Skysheen launched himself in a frenzy at his sister.

Celeste's jaw simply dropped as she watched the brother and sister duke it out. Surely the two would end up dismembering each other. She had never seen such a ferocious battle between reploids. Zero regarded her uneasiness and laughed.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "It's just a little sibling squabble. Happens all the time between these two."

"Looks more like the start of World War IV."

"Nah, neither of them will come close to getting hurt." Zero paused and frowned. "Although I think I should try to stop them before Sigma comes. It wouldn't do to have him walk in and see the leaders of the Regal Dragons like this." The Hunter dashed off towards the squalling dust cloud situated across the mammoth room.

Celeste cocked her head slightly to one side as she watched Zero depart. The Crimson Wonder had basically stuck by her like glue since she had gotten shot last month. He was always making some reason to be with her. If Celeste didn't know any better, she'd say that the Hunter had a crush on her. Well, that was definately a compliment. Sort of. Celeste had never had much success with the males of her own species, yet she attracted a champion reploid. Go fig. Her mind plunged deep to search for any emotions that she in turn might harbour for him; it resurfaced with a simple answer.

"He's kinda cute," she muttered to herself.

"I thank you."

Celeste jumped and began to run like a bat out of hell. A booming laugh from behind stopped her. It was Sigma. Celeste sheepishly walked back to him, turning five different shades of red the whole way.

"I never knew that humans were capable of such colour change," Sigma rang out heartily. "I think Sting would envy you."

The Spartan's mood was unusually light. Celeste would never have guessed that diabolical thoughts were slowly turning the gears in his cunning mind, preparing to hatch the plans for the liquidation of the humans right at that moment...

"Where's Zero?" Sigma then asked.

Celeste listlessly pointed in the direction where Skysheen and Red were still tussleing. Zero ran alongside them, jumping up and down like an idiot and waving his hands in a futile attempt to get the drakes to calm down.

"The Mechadrake breed," Sigma snorted in a half - amused tone as he observed the unruly sight. "The Eighth Wonder of the World."

Celeste blinked. "Really?"

"Not really, but Mechadrakes ARE a puzzle," Sigma explained, sounding like a nature documentary. "They're basically bipedal reploid dragons, but their structures, their thinking patterns, their battle skills are far more advanced than any other breed of reploid. So advanced, in fact, that it would be nearly impossible to build a Mechadrake reploid outside of Mechadrake Assemblies Inc., and even repairing one in our most advanced Medical Units is hell. Mechadrakes are fiercely proud of their exclusive heritage..."

"Mechadrake Assemblies Inc.?" Celeste interrupted, then suddenly realized who she was talking to. "Sorry sir...didn't mean to interject."

"Quite all right. To answer your question, Mechadrake Assemblies Inc. is a reploid plant that assembles Mechadrakes, as you could probably tell by the name. The parent company is in Toronto, and a few smaller branches are scattered throughout the rest of Canada. Mechadrakes were ordered and shipped to a few Hunter Bases down here in the States, and there was even talk of opening a US Mechadrake branch. However, when the Border War occoured between the two countries, the plans for the US factory were scrapped, and even the trickle of Mechadrake warriors stopped. The planning of the US assembly plant didn't resume when the peace treaty was finally signed, either: Canadians still aren't all that friendly with us."

"So when did Sky and Red arrive?" Celeste inquired. "Why did they leave?"

Sigma shrugged. "They won't tell, and we can't make them do so. They talk as little about Mechadrake Assemblies Inc. as they can...although Red never shuts up about how great Toronto is. She misses it terribly from what I understand."

Celeste gave silent sympathy to Red; she knew the feeling of having to leave your home.

Sigma shot a glance and the musing human. Unbridled hate bubbled within him, but he didn't let the emotion scar the features of his stony face. Today, with Celeste's help, step one of the human holocaust would begin. Manipulating a human mind would prove to be fun.

"Well, Celeste!" Sigma rang again. "Why don't you show me what you can do? Zero says you're quite good. I should think so. That's a Regal Dragons badge, isn't it? My my."

The room around Celeste lurched violently, and she felt as if she were going to throw up. Across from her, Zero had managed to break up Skysheen and Red. Celeste noticed with a touch of amusement that Zero had banished the mussed dragons to opposite corners of the room, where they both sulked. Zero kept his eyes nailed to them like a stern schoolteacher, shouting if one of them dared to make a move.

Sigma read her mind. "Don't bother calling Zero over here, Celeste; he's got his own issues to deal with."

"Okay," Celeste exhaled as she drew her lightsabre hilt.

Sigma sneered in disapproval. "A lightsabre? Oh no no no. Those things are so tacky. Why aren't you using a laser rifle?"

Celeste cast her eyes down at the polished wood floor. She hadn't even started, and already Sigma was finding fault. "They're too heavy for me, sir. My left arm is partially crippled."

"Nonsense." The Spartan drew his own trim rifle and handed it to the Huntress. "Try this. It's one handed, very light, and extremely powerful. You'll be able to handle it. Be careful, they're very expensive; the HQ only has three of them that I know of."

As Celeste examined the high - tech weapon, Sigma glanced again at Skysheen and Red. "Your father was a great Hunter," he commented out of nowhere.

A spear of ice jabbed at Celeste's throat. She swallowed it. "I know sir."

"He died an honourable death."

"Thank you sir."

"Skysheen and Red weren't the only Mechadrakes to come down from Toronto, you know. Torrent Leviathan is a Mechadrake, too."

The room had stopped lurching, but it now began to change colour and perspective as Celeste fixed her eyes on her scaly friends across the room. "....he is?"

"Indeed," Sigma said in a grave tone. Inwardly, however, he jumped and cheered as he saw a sickly light glint in Celeste's eyes. "In fact...." he continued, "I'm told that he looks something like Skysheen does."

"Skysheen...?" Echoed Celeste dully. She was in a trance, exactly as Sigma had planned. He lowered his voice.

"Yes...blue scales, cunning eyes. Can you imagine what the battle between them must have been like?" Sigma was careful to say 'them' rather than specifying Torrent Leviathan.

Celeste continued to stare stupidly at Skysheen across the room. Her active imagination recalled the image she had made up months ago of her father fighting for his life in the filthy depths of some stagnant sewer. She could see her dad's phenotype very well -- when he died, he had still been fairly young and had not quite yet exited the fleeting stage of wildflower beauty and spirit that all humans experience early in their life. Torrent Leviathan was there, of course: a nightmare of teeth and sea blue scales...blue like Skysheen's....

All of a sudden, Celeste was amid them as Torrent was about to pass his gnarled, bloodstained claws across her father's exposed throat. Feeling as if she were drowning in blue, Celeste raised the lightweight rifle and fired an intense bolt of white energy towards the threatening Mechadrake...

A terrible dragon's scream accompanied by the sickening smell of burned leather, metal and scales jerked Celeste violently out of her dream world and back into reality. She watched in disbelieving horror as a sapphire form writhed in pain on the floor across the training room. A cry of anguish lept from Red as she dashed towards her stricken brother.

Celeste had shot Skysheen.

All of a sudden, things were in a tizzy. Half of the reploids and humans present in the room ran to aid Skysheen, while the others dashed towards Celeste. From behind her, Sigma said nothing, but he issued a quiet laugh. The huntress became dimly aware of someone wrenching Sigma's rifle away from her while others grabbed her arms and shouted garbled commands in her ears. Thankfully, they all vanished as the ground rushed up to meet Celeste, bringing with it a merciful, silent void.

A brilliant light exploded painfully before Celeste. Wincing, she tried to turn away from it, but it followed persistently. A commanding voice then reached her.

"Open them! Open your damn eyes!"

Celeste didn't dare to disobey. The light grew more intense for a second, but it was then averted, much to her relief. Once the spots cleared a bit, she could make out the form of Zero frowning down at her, holding a flashlight. He looked like a thundercloud. Celeste recalled what had happened, and she began to cry in spite of herself.

Zero did not soften. "Turn off the waterworks, Celeste. I want to know what happened. Sigma insists that you were aiming for another target and misfired. Luckily for you, almost everyone believes him. But I don't. With a shot that intense, you had a purpose. Why did you shoot Skysheen?"

Celeste gulped back a sob. "Is...is Skysheen...dead?"

Some of the harshness faded from Zero's face. He sighed. "No. You were lucky there, too. He's seriously mangled, though. Genesis is still working on him, and Red's throwing a fit. I'm still not sure if she blames you, although I don't think she does. You've been unconscious for well over five hours. I'm sorry I got so mad at you, but I really need to know what happened. No one else needs to know."

A bit calmer, Celeste tried to settle into the hard hospital bed. She closed her eyes again. "It wasn't an accident....not completely. Sigma was talking to me about my dad when you were trying to break up Red and Skysheen. His tone of voice sort of lulled me...it was really strange. I can't remember exactly what happened, but he kept on saying how much Skysheen looked like Torrent Leviathan...next thing I knew, I saw Torrent right in front of me. It was so real. I shot him, and it was Skysheen instead...." Celeste trailed off.

Zero frowned. He didn't like the sound of that. "You're saying that Sigma sort of controlled your mind?"

Celeste's eyes flew open again. "That's exactly what it was like. I know it sounds stupid, but..."

"No Celeste. I believe you. I never did like Sigma much...he can be very hypnotizing. And I definitely don't like the smell of this. I'll have to investigate further."

Relief crossed Celeste's face. "Thanks."

Zero smiled fondly and toyed with a lock of her hair. "Don't you worry. Just rest. As far as I know, you're still in the Regal Dragons, but I would lay low for a while until this whole mess gets straightened out...."

The doors to the darkened room swung open. An irritated and thoroughly exhausted Genesis stepped through them. "I HATE MECHADRAKES!!" The reploid fox bellowed, following up with a kick to the wall beside him.

Zero turned his attention from Celeste and rolled his eyes. "Now what, Genesis?"

"It's Skysheen," Genesis seethed. "He'll make it, all right...but he's bitchin' and moanin' all over the place because I can't restore his Mechadrake form. I CAN'T repair a Mechadrake as banged up as he was! It's impossible! I had to rebuild him a humanoid form. It's a very nice one, too! I saved his bloody life, but noooo, THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! He wants his WINGS back! He wants his TAIL back! He wants...oh, to hell's gates with him. I left Pip to reason with the thankless bugger. I'm going to go slit my wrists in the bathroom now. See ya." Genesis stormed off.

"I hate it."

Pip had nearly lost all hope. "Lord Skysheen, it's the best we can...."

"I SAID I HATE it!" Skysheen roared as he glared venomously at his reflection in the mirror. Staring back at him was a lean, handsome humanoid face, devoid of its former draconian majesty. Locks of greasy black hair with mild curls in them hung down past his ears, almost touching his shoulders. A firery red pair of eyes were fixed above a slightly upturned nose. His sails of leather were gone: he was groundbound. The only thing that remained was his shoulder mounted cannon and his newly polished violet armour.

"Gah! Human faces are so UGLY!"

Pip was slightly offended. "Well now, sir...they're not so bad..."

"Get out, Pip. I want to be alone for a little while."

Pip gladly obliged, but before he left he placed something hollow on the table beside Skysheen. "If you're truly self conscious of your current form," he explained softly, "here is an option." With that, Pip exited.

As much as Skysheen loathed his new form, he couldn't take his eyes off of it. He was now a normal humanoid reploid. He thudded his head against the mirror softly. "Why did you have to miss that target, Celeste?" He murmured to the empty air. His human-like hand groped and drew Pip's 'option' towards him. He turned it over and over, studying it. It was a visored mask that promised to completely cover his new face, if he chose to use it.

"Bless you Pip," Skysheen muttered. "God knows you're annoying, but you're sensitive and understanding. No one's going to see me like this." The world darkened slightly Skysheen slid the tinted headgear on. He glanced again at his reflection. This time, he almost liked what he saw.

Purple armour with blue slashed unevenly across his boots. A shoulder mounted cannon. Red eyes peering menacingly from the black depths of the mask. It all matched. Only the badge of the Regal Dragons seemed to outcrop and clash. Heaving a sigh, he wandered off to look for Red Draco. The first person he walked into was Pip who looked like a frightened rabbit in the presence of a hawk.

"My my, Lord Skysheen!" he managed. "Allow me to say that you look most....um...scary!"

"Thank you, Pip. But I don't think my old name fits me anymore. Call me...." Skysheen paused. "Call me Vile. Does that sound like a name that'll turn Mavericks into Jello?"

"It's very fitting, Mr. Vile sir." Pip agreed solemnly.

"Hey look! Boba Fett walks amoung us!"

Cruel laughter followed this cliche joke.

Ignore them, Skysheen (or Vile, as he was now called) thought to himself with an inward rumble of contempt.

"How was life inside the Sarlacc's stomach, Boba?" Another jeered.

They're only kids... Vile coached himself.

"Any luck tracking down Han Solo?" A third joined in merrily.

...and they're PISSING ME OFF!

Vile finally cracked. He swerved towards the taunting band and fired a shot into the air with his shoulder cannon. This resulted in the kids scattering and squawking like a flock of chickens fleeing the axe, as well as a big black mark on the ceiling of the hallway. Vile grimly realized that he was going to catch holy hell for solving his problem in that manner.

Sure enough, Sigma was already heading down the hall towards the former Mechadrake. Vile braced himself for the onslaught.

"Good afternoon, Lord Skysheen."

"With all due respect sir, my name is Vile now," Vile returned, his voice echoing metallically from inside his concealing helmet.

Sigma didn't appear to hear or care for the namechange. "It's been tough adjusting from your former form, hasn't it?"

Vile nodded numbly. Nothing was closer to the truth. At least five times over the past 24 hours, his shoulder muscles would twitch spasmodically, bewildered to find that the grand wings they used to control were gone.

Sigma turned his nose up at the Regal Dragon. "Hard to imagine that a human -- a female, no less -- could do you in like that, hmm?"

Vile stiffened slightly. "But you yourself said it was an accident..." the purple clad reploid trailed off as Sigma gave him a cold, knowing stare that prompted a black light to dawn within Vile. "You mean....?"

Sigma nodded gravely. "It may have been an accident...but when I recall the entire scene, I am inclined to believe that a shot that intense had a purpose..."

Vile's unseen mouth gaped. Would Celeste really do something that vile (so to speak)? An emotion he had kept buried frozen solid in ice since the accident began to thaw out. With a firey, yet slightly guilty flash of pleasure, Vile realized he was doing what he had wanted to do since his transformation: he was allowing himself to feel resentment towards Celeste for damaging him. Celeste had surely shot him out of jealousy for his flawless Mechadrake body. Not just that, all humans were jealous of the superior build and ability of ANY reploid...

Sigma watched the purple reploid fight an inward struggle. A tiny smile formed in his black heart: Skysheen's manipulation had proved to be fairly easy. The former Mechadrake was still angry and confused about losing his magnificent dragon form. Chances were good that he'd serve Sigma's purpose without question.

Sigma lowered his voice. "We have matters to discuss, Lord Skysheen. I know that you have many questions on your mind. Be at my office at two this afternoon. My Spartans will be there: tell Lady Draco that I wish for her to be present as well."

"As you wish, sir."

"No Matzah, get your claws out of my hair…"

Matzah paid no heed as he contentedly sunk his wee talons deeper into the back of Zero's scalp.

"OW! No kitty, that's a bad kitty!!"

Matzah hissed.

"That's it. We're taking a trip to the refugee camps. Time to get you a home."

A cold, grey drizzle had begun when Zero reached the camps. The sombre weather did little to improve the already drab scenery surrounding the ever-crowded escarpment. Zero absently scratched Matzah's silky ears as he glanced around. All the humans had basically abandoned the trampled grass and holed themselves up in the identical weathered cabins to escape the restless skies. One small boy of about 13 was still outside, however. He was absently scratching nondescript patterns into the dampened mud with a stick while muttering incoherently to himself. The boy was startled out of his game as an instinct fired up. Sitting up like a pudgy chipmunk, he frisked the area over with nervous, almost wild eyes.

This scene saddened Zero a bit: no child of that age would be playing such a game outside on his own, or have such a wild-animal look in his eyes. There was obviously something not right about him. To put it crudely, he probably had a screw loose somewhere.

Upon spying the observant Crimson Wonder, the boy jumped to his feet and dashed into one of the cabins, slamming the door behind him before anything could be said. Zero managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of the beginnings of a blonde ponytail trailing behind the boy as he fled. The youngster bore a remarkable resemblance to Paul Wells.

"Paul has a son?" The Hunter muttered absently. "Interesting. I never knew he was married. Too bad about the kid. I wonder exactly what's wrong with him." Zero hesitated: It was obvious why Paul had never talked about his family. The poor guy was probably ashamed.

Matzah suddenly nipped on Zero's thumb as if demanding him to think happier thoughts. Also, the kitten did not care for the damp air.

"You're some cat, you know that?" Zero huffed. "I should just give you back to Red. THEN you'll see how little you like damp places."

Only one cabin had its door fixed open. Zero decided to save himself the bother of knocking by starting there. He poked his head in the doorframe.

"What do you think, Matzah?" he murmured. "Shall I just dump you in here?"

Matzah gave a mew of objection: he obviously wanted to meet his new family before any 'dumping' was done.

"Fine." Unbidden, Zero entered the cabin. A short hallway with slate grey floor tiles led him to a square room with four crude bunk beds fixed neatly against the drafty walls. Each of the eight beds showed visible signs of inhabitancy, yet only two girls were present in the room at that moment. The first one Zero saw was a girl of about 16 on the lower bunk across from him. She swung her short legs and silently smiled at Zero as if he were an old friend. When he made a motion to speak, however, the girl sobered and pressed a finger warningly against her lips. Before Zero could ask a question, the girl pointed to the second girl that was on top of the bunk beside her.

Barely clothed, the human female lay face down with her eyes closed on a dingy green blanket. She was flushed a deep red, and her exposed skin was shiny with a thin film of sweat. She was dangerously feverish.

Alarmed, Zero cautiously took a step closer. The girl's eyes suddenly snapped open, startling the Hunter out of a year's growth.

"I'm allergic to cats," the girl wheezed, managing a grin. Her fine black hair was plastered to her sweaty forehead.

With hardly a thought, Zero tossed Matzah to the room's other occupant. "You're as sick as a dog," he said with awe. It should be noted that he hardly took notice that the sickly human was practically in her birthday suit: reploids aren't quite as modest as humans when it comes to things like that. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's just a little something that's been going around the camps. It'll pass." The girl shut her eyes wearily.

"What's your name?"

"Tess. And don't worry about me. My fiancée, Josh, is helping me out. He's gone now to get me something to drink."

Zero blinked. "You seem a bit young to be getting married already."

Tess' eyes flared open again. A blue fire smoldered wrathfully within them. "Look, Hunter," she sneered. "love and hope are probably two of the only things we have left in this hell. Yes, that's damn corny, and I hate myself for saying it, but it's true. It's no secret that the Hunters are beginning to lose battles. More and more resources have to be spent on the war...at the expense of the refugees in this camp. My neighbourhood hasn't been reclaimed and repaired yet, and God knows if it ever will be. I don't have the guts to sign up with the Hunters, even if it means better living conditions. So I'm here to stay for a long time. Disease and pregnancy are rampant, lineups to the bathrooms are insane, and we're getting less and less to eat every day, but what the hell, it all builds character, right?" The girl gave a short, humourless laugh.

Zero was quite taken aback. A creeping sort of guilt weighed on his tounge, muting him. What Tess said was too true: more and more resources had quietly been taken from the refugee relief funds to fuel the Hunts. Well, the money had to come from somewhere...

A scuttling sound of claws against wood emitted from one of the dank walls. The sound crawled down Zero's spine, and Matzah suddenly transformed from a cuddly ball of fur rumbling on the other girl's lap into an alert hunter.

"Mice," Tess explained in a monotone voice.

"Uh...that's a rather creepy sound," Zero had to admit.

Tess shrugged listlessly. "You get used to them keeping you up at night. Actually, they seem to shut up if you quote from Pulp Fiction." The feverish girl smiled down at the girl on the lower bunk beside her. "Right Nat?"

"Yep!" Nat returned.

The nerve-wracking scratching ensued.

"They're not going to give us any peace unless we act," Tess concluded. "We'd better say our lines. Ready, Nat?"

"Uh huh," Nat answered prior to placing Matzah on the floor. The kitten immediately shot towards Zero, climbed up his hair with a fury that would have shamed Prince Charming, and sat on the Hunter's shoulder, ears scanning the room ferociously. Zero plucked the tom off of his resting place.

Tess raised her voice in the direction of the wall that seemed to contain the mice at play. "Hey man, you want some bacon?"

"I don't eat pork." Nat recited.

"Why not? You Jewish?"

"No, I just don't dig on swine."

The scratching ceased.

"Ta da!" Nat and Tess sang in unison.

Zero would have clapped if his hands weren't full of cat.

"So...tell me something." Tess asked of Zero. "I heard that a friend of mine, Celeste, got badly injured the day Torrisham Crossings was evacuated. I haven't seen her since that day: I'm guessing that she was taken to the Medical Unit. Do you know her? Do you have any idea if she's okay?"

Did Zero know Celeste? Did Bo know baseball? (did he?) Hooo boy. With a split second mental debate, Zero resolved to play it safe and tell as little as possible.

"Yeah...I know Celeste a bit. Her arm was injured pretty bad -- in fact, it's gonna be partially crippled all her life from what I understand. But she's all right now."

Tess narrowed her eyes with curiosity. "Why isn't she with us in the camps, then...?"

No avoiding this one. "Last I heard, she was going to become a Huntress."

Tess' eyes grew to twice their normal size for a full three seconds before they settled back down to normal again. "That sounds like something she'd do. She's so STUPID! Hasn't she learned anything from her idiot dad? She'll probably go off and do something mental like HE did!"

The very same concern had nested within Zero from the first day he realized that he had fallen for Celeste. He wasn't about to share this, though. He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. She's very headstrong, but I don't think she'd be proud enough to do something as dumb as take down Leviathan by herself."

Tess snorted down at the Blonde One. "You're absolutely sure that it was PRIDE that set Jake after Torrent?"

Zero gave a returning snort. "Don't be stupid. What other reason would he have?"

Celeste...

Celeste's eyes jolted open. She had just had a nightmare where Torrent Leviathan, in all his stagnant glory, was standing just ahead of her. The aqua-dragon's luminous, groping eyes looked directly at her, amused. Blue lips flecked with dirty green slid back from his yellowed teeth as he called her name...

Celeste...

Celeste shook under the drab hospital covers. The image was gone, but Torrent's slick voice was still fresh in her mind...

Celeste, my little jewel...you are not dreaming anymore. I really am speaking to you.

Ice lanced through Celeste's heart. She crammed her fist in her mouth to stifle a wail.

Do not make a sound! Torrent returned to her sharply. Speak to me with your mind. You can do it.

Celeste felt squashed between two forces. Her mind, her body, everything, had become glue.

Calm down, my pretty. I will not hurt you. I merely wish to talk. Torrent's voice was gentle...almost friendly. Please...try to speak to me in your head.

Celeste hesitated. ...like this...?

You've got it!

Celeste was absolutely fascinated to be talking to someone in her mind. She almost forgot that the person she was speaking to was her father's killer. How come I'm able to talk to you like this...? She sent to Torrent.

I have been able to talk to certain members of your bloodline for years and years, my beauty.

Celeste blinked, astonished. "Years and years"...?

Yes. 100 years at the very least.

But...how's that possible? You're a reploid, right?

Correct.

And you were were put together at Mechadrake Assemblies, right?

Correct to a point.

I thought humans only discovered how to create reploids 30 years ago...?

Celeste could feel an inward sneer from Torrent. Who said I was BUILT by a human...?

Celeste gave a silent ode to whatever mysteries went behind Mechadrake's closed doors.

Yes, Celeste. As I said, I am able to communicate like this with a very select few from your bloodline. I will tell you more about the How and Whys about 'Mindspeak' some other time. For now, I ask you this question. When are you going to come and visit me?

Visit you...?

Yes. I wish to talk to you in person.

Celeste turned cold. Never. How does that sound?

Torrent's low chuckle rattled around Celeste's head. Your father said the exact same thing to me when I asked him this question. Lo and behold...well, you know the rest. I shall return to you later, my jewel! Fare thee well!

Celeste could feel Torrent's presence withdraw from her head, leaving his last haunting words to bounce around ceaselessly in the emptiness. Celeste lept from her bed and made a beeline for the bathroom, quite sure that she was going to be sick.

Zero peered nonchalantly at Sigma as the Spartan prattled on and on with no meaning across the cafeteria table that Zero was anchored at.

"Sorry to cut you off, sir," Zero finally had to beg of Sigma when he was unable to stuff his ears with anymore nonsense, "but basically what you're saying to me is that another evacuation has to be performed tonight?"

Sigma nodded gravely. "This time, according to our sources, the Mavericks are targeting Levitt Cresent."

"Sounds typical. I take it that you want me to help you?"

"Indeed."

Zero stood up stiffly from the table. He yawned hugely whilst cracking his back. "Fine with me. So the evacuators are you, me...and who else?"

Sigma made a quick mental count. "Let's see...we have all eight of my Spartans -- Chill Penguin, Launch Octopus, Sting Chameleon, Storm Eagle, Flame Mammoth, Boomer, Armoured Armadillo, and Spark Mandrill -- as well as Lady Draco and Lord Skysheen (or Vile, as he now wishes to be called...don't ask me) from the Regal Dragons, and finally ten human hunters from the Night Vipers."

Zero raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "That's quite a load."

Sigma smirked. "Yes, well, we're not going to let the Torrisham Crossings incident occour again. Which reminds me, is Celeste able to join our little party?"

Zero now raised both eyebrows in surprise. "You want her to come on a mission after what happened with Skysheen?"

"She may as well." Sigma reasoned. "That was an isolated incident. She still shows great potential. It would be a shame to let those sharp instincts go to waste, wouldn't it?"

"Yes. But at any rate, she can't come. Ever since she passed out after shooting Skysheen, Celeste's been in the infirmary under observation. Genesis is worried about her; she hasn't been sleeping right, and she can't seem to keep anything down. It's like she's very upset about something all of a sudden, and she refuses to talk about it."

"Ah." There was a shadow of disappointment in Siggy's voice. It was not regret about Celeste's condition; it was something completely different, something Zero couldn't quite track. "Well, that IS unfortunate. However, there's always next time. I want you to be ready for the evacuation in two hours."

Zero was reluctant. He didn't like the idea of shoving more refugees into the squalid camp, which was already bursting at the seams. He didn't have a choice, though.

"All righty."

Zero was surprised to learn that Celeste was asleep when he went to visit her an hour before the evacuation was to take place. Zero had tiptoed past Genesis (who was getting very tired of the Hunter's frequent visits to the Huntress) and stuck his head into the door of her room, only to find her snoozing peacefully, if not a bit fitfully.

Zero padded his way around her bed and seated himself in the now-familiar chair parked beside it. He had his journal in one hand and was preparing to open it when a streak of brown and white fur flew into the room and leapt neatly into his lap without hesitating once.

"Matzah," the Hunter muttered critically. "You're gonna kill me one of these days."

The spunky kitten only pawed playfully at a stray lock of Zero's hair in response. Ignoring the bundle of energy, the Scarlet Hunter opened his journal and reread an entry he had made yesterday:

June 3rd 21XX

Here's a story that's almost funny. As I mentioned earlier, Cain has real malamutes near MHHQ, and his prize is a female named Jessi. It turns out I was right: Getting those two maintenance reploids, Terrence and Phillip, to tend to the dogs was pretty damn stupid. A couple of weeks ago, one of the male dogs -- I think his name's Tommy -- was clawing and howling to get out of his cage. T and P put two and two together and they let Jessi and Tommy out of their cages to 'play'. Now Jessi probably won't be able to be used for any sort of hunting for four months or so. Cain's really upset about it. As far as I know, T and P were demoted to potato peeling. The puppies will be born in the fall.

Zero smiled as he read the old entry. He sobered, however, when he remembered what he had originally come to do. Without procrastinating for another second, he tore a blank page and prepared to write on it. What he was about to do was copy a scene from 1984, a book that he had particularly liked. The Hunter hastily scribbled on the paper:

He did not sign his name or mark up the paper any further. Instead, he folded it into fourths and slipped it under Celeste's pillow. He took the opportunity to land a small kiss just next to her nose. The Huntress stirred, but did not awaken.

Zero stood up, spilling Matzah from his lap before exiting the room. Matzah leapt on the foot of Celeste's bed without hesitation to resume his broken nap.

"I got rhythm! I got music! I got my man, who could ask for anything more?"

Red sang like one possessed as she twirled her lance like a baton. It amazed Zero how Red could swing that thing around so skillfully at the brisk pace the Hunters were setting. The night was absolutely gorgeous. Flawless, even. Sigma's proud form crested the still air while Zero, Red, and the human Hunters were just behind him. The rest of Sigma's Spartans, along with Vile, brought up the rear. They were perhaps 20 minutes away from their destination: Levitt Cresent.

"Watch where you cut with that stick of yours, milady," one of the humans was finally forced to ask when the wickedly sharp blades of the madly spinning lance gave him a close shave.

"Why don't you sing something else?" Zero suggested to his Mechadrake friend.

Red happily obliged. "Would you light my caaaaaandle?" She crooned seconds before a jet of flame launched from her mouth and into the inky sky.

"Uh...I meant a song where no one could get hurt."

"Oh." Red paused for a moment in thought before her face lit up again and she bellowed, "Ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball..."

"Ugh!" Zero clamped his hands over his ears in protest. "Just forget it all together."

Red laughed and playfully poked him in the back of his neck with a claw. "I can't seem to please you, sugar! You're such a dick."

Zero couldn't help but smile back. He punched Red in the shoulder. "I am not. You're a dick."

"No, you're a dick."

"You're a dick."

"You're a dick."

"You're a dick."

"YOU'RE a dick."

"You were probably the most annoying dick in Canada, Red."

The dragon thoughtfully scratched her head with an ebony talon. "Well, maybe I was." She threw a scaly arm around Zero's shoulders as they marched side by side. "At any rate, my Candyman, if you don't shut up, THIS is gonna happen to you!" Red laughingly speared the human next to her on her lance.

Zero stopped. He just stopped. There was Red Draco the Maverick Huntress with her lance passed right through an innocent human Hunter. The young man had a look of utter terror and shock twisted on his face. He twitched feebly at the other end of the weapon. Red merely lifted him off of the ground like a steak on a pronged fork and shook the body off of the lance's shaft with a look of mild annoyance on her face. The lifeless bag of blood soaked flesh sagged to the ground.

Zero noticed at this point that the party had stopped completely. All of the other reploid Hunters, Sigma and Vile included, had ringed themselves inexorably around the rest of the humans. Not a word was exchanged. Not even between the humans. Only slow, demonic chuckling could be heard from the outer edges of the circle.

Zero did not join the other reploids in the ring of death. The only word he could managed past his parched throat was "Red....Red...."

Red looked at Zero. She was amused, not at all regretful or shaken. "What?" She laughed out loud. It was a ringing sound. "Did I do something wrong, honeycake? Hey Siggy!" Red turned to Sigma. "Zero's all broken up here. He seems to think I did something unneighbourly. You know I wouldn't do anything like that, right? I'm a good girl I am!"

"Why, no, Lady Draco." Sigma smirked dangerously. "You did nothing wrong. All you did was this!" The brawny Spartan plucked a helpless human from the condemned crowd. Lifting him off the ground a bit, Sigma expertly broke the man's spine, ceasing his futile struggles at once.

"Stop it!" Zero took a step backwards as the Spartans fried, froze, burned, sliced, stung, bulldozed, and stabbed the remaining humans accordingly. "What...what...?" He could not get past those words.

With the slaughter over, the so called Hunters fell at once to cleaning their bloodied weapons. No emotion whatsoever penetrated their faces, and none paid any mind at all to Zero's babbling. Only Red approached the shocked blonde warrior. The Mechadrake had not bothered to clean her lance yet, and the fresh blood trickled down its shaft and oozed in inlets over her fingers. There was something erotic about the scene in Zero's mind, and it brought that well known sweet 'feeling' with it at the worst possible time. He summoned all his will to repress it, and was successful after a very difficult struggle. Red smiled terribly as she watched.

"You think I'm stupid, my dear."

"Huh? No, Red! I don't...what the hell did you...why...?"

"Don't pretend to be appalled. You loved every moment of that massacre."

"No! I..."

"Why didn't you try to stop us, then? Why didn't you shoot me?"

When Zero did not answer, Red fished a still-warm body from the lifeless pile. Sheathing her lance, she held one limp arm up near Zero's nose and eyes, drawing a claw across the supple wrist. Blood instantly welled up in a thick red rope. This time, Zero's will could not stop the dreamy feeling from invading, and it surfaced on his face like a light. Red caught him.

"There you go, Zero. I don't know who created you, but you and I both know that it was someone who wanted you to kill. X avoids blood whenever he can. Celeste, despite her Hunting instincts, passed out at the sight of Skysheen mangled. Yet, you seem to get -- dare I say it -- almost a sexual pleasure out of mass death and suffering. That's why you didn't stop us."

All Zero could do was stare blankly at the Huntress' sneering face.

"Here's my point, muffin. You may or may not have noticed it by now, but we're going Maverick. All of us." Red's eyes narrowed. "You were meant for killing: it's your calling. Are you with us?"

Zero found his voice at last. "Red...why are YOU going Maverick? Is it because of Celeste and Skysheen?"

Red shrugged. "Kinda. When Skysheen told me that he was going to battle humans, I could hardly resist joining Siggy's cause with him. He's family. Mechadrakes stick together. Sky and I have been through a lot. I'm not gonna abandon him now."

"But..what about ME?!"

"That brings me back to my original question. Are you with us or not?"

Red's eyes cut into Zero again. He was in the spotlight: the other killers had stopped their cleaning and conversation and waited eagerly for the confused Hunter's reply.

Zero remembered. He remembered the dream he had had moments before awakening for the first time in his life. He remembered his beloved brother Bass' last words about 'making him proud.' He remembered feeling ashamed for falling in love with a human female who had wanted to follow in her dad's footsteps. He remembered Tess, sick and hungry, struggling to survive in the unpleasant atmosphere of the refugee camps. He remembered them all, and he came to a decision.

"No."

Red did not utter a word. Rather, she shrugged seconds before hitting Zero square in the chest with a blast of flame from her gaping jaws.

The firey blossom had confused Zero more than it hurt him; he struggled to stand and began a panicked run away from the Mavericks. He could hear their malicious laughter from behind. It burned his ears worse than Red's breath had.

Red. Suddenly, a black shadow, like one of a giant reptile in flight, draped Zero in its darkness as he desperately tried to flee. A nanosecond later, Zero was staring right into a gaping dragon mouth planted with rows of ominous teeth. The small spears promptly sank into his right shoulder pad. Red had her teeth locked on him. He could barely move for the weight she applied.

Zero resisted for as long as he could; soon, however, the pressure became unbearable. The armour on his shoulder gave way, and Zero finally allowed himself to scream.

The pressure eased. Zero sunk to the ground almost as lifelessly as one of the murdered humans had earlier. His swimming vision caught sight of Red glaring at him with a strange cross of sorrow and contempt before she flew off in the opposite direction, headed towards Sigma, Vile, and the rest of the New Mavericks. The Regal Dragons were dead. The Spartans were nonexistent. These were the only thoughts that occupied Zero's mind as he lurched his way back to MHHQ.

No matter how cold and unfriendly the world outside became, the kitchen and cafeteria of MHHQ never failed to be a warm and welcoming place. On stressful days, Celeste found that she could always take comfort within its secure walls.

Hot and tired after a very sucessful round in the Training Gym, Celeste sat up on a table in the kitchen, idly kicking her feet and wondering with mild impatience when she was going to get to battle a real Maverick. Before her sat Terrence and Phillip, who were silently and methodically stripping potatoes of their jackets. Having a conversation with the two ex-kennel staff reploids was usually as thrilling as watching paint dry on a fence, but Celeste decided that she was desperate enough to talk to them. She needed to put her mind at ease.

"Hey fellahs..."

T and P instantly stopped peeling and whipped around to face the Huntress.

Now that she was in the hotseat, a fresh layer of sweat rose on Celeste's skin and replaced the traces left from her earlier training.

"Tell me something, guys...what do you think about love?" Celeste's right hand unconsciously tightened around the piece of paper balled up in it. It was the note that Zero had left under her pillow last night. It didn't have his name on it, but it was still pretty damn obvious who it was from...there had been brown and white cat hair all over it.

"Love...?" Terrence and Phillip blinked at each other as their sluggish minds tried to process an adequate answer to this oh so complicated question.

Phillip was the first to speak. "Isn't that what leads humans to make more morons?"

Celeste ground her teeth. "Fall on your knees and thank your God, Phillip, that I can't find anything good and solid to throw at you right this minute."

Panic swam in Terrence's blank eyes. "Have we been stupid again, Ms. McTreggor?" He squeaked. "Please don't tell Lady Draco! She can't stand it when fellow Canadians act stupid. If she gets word of this, she'll crack our heads together...again!"

Three surly knocks suddenly landed outside of the kitchen's locked door.

"Knock-knock-knockin' on the kitchen door!" T and P sang automatically, although neither of them made a move to get up and answer the angry summons.

A scarlet titanium boot kicked the door clear off its hinges.

"Uh oh," T and P said in unison. They both dove for shelter under the table that Celeste was still perched on.

A severely cheesed-off Zero barged through the maimed doorway. By the looks of his singed armour and the neat row of odd teeth-marks crisscrossing his shoulder, the Hunter had been at the losing end of some battle. Zero ripped off his helmet, revealing a rather humourus 'helmet head'. The Hunter flung the gilded headpiece against the wall opposite to him hard enough to make a dent in its sturdy twice-forged titanium. Then, with the loudest voice and most vulgar vocabulary he possessed, Zero told everyone present exactly what he thought of Sigma and his mother.

"That's the loudest profanity I've ever heard!" Terrence remarked from his hiding spot.

"Zero!" Celeste slid off of the table and threw caution into the wind as she ran towards the frenzied Hunter. "Calm down! What's wrong?"

Zero merely continued to howl like an unfed wolverene. Celeste could pick up only a few broken words...and she didn't like what she heard. The disjointed phrases consisted of "Draco...Sigma...Skysheen...Spartans...we're all gonna die!"

"Soooo..." Cain sighed wearily from across his office desk where Zero had officially delivered the bad news with Celeste there for him as support. "What you're saying is that Sigma, Red, Skysheen, and the Spartans went bats and offed all the human Hunters present before trying to get you to join them?"

Zero bobbed his head slowly, weighed down with disbelief.

"That's it, then." Cain mumbled, creaking back into his stylish chair. "By starting the mass production of reploids, I've effectively doomed the entire human race. And mother said that I'd never accomplish anything in my life. I've certainly shown HER, haven't I?" The elderly scientist gave a short, humourless laugh.

"Sir...shouldn't we start working on a counterattack plan right away?" Celeste inquired.

Cain lurched to his feet. "Of course, my dear...after I visit the pub downstairs for some...inspiration." He excused himself and exited, shakily singing something along the lines of, "It's the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine..."

"Argh! This is by far the worst goddamned day I've ever had in my life! Damn Sigma! A fury is in my brain!"

X found it difficult to keep his voice devoid of the exhaustion that pressed down on him as his short steps tried to stay in time with Zero's long, passionate strides. "It...can't be all...that bad," the blue reploid puffed optimistically to his friend. "After all, Cain promoted you to the leader of the Regal Dragons..."

Zero gave a tremor of a growl. "It's not 'Regal Dragons' anymore, X. It's been renamed the 17th Unit. But whatever in bloody hell its name is, I don't want to lead it." Zero reached the training room and bashed its heavy doors open. The gym was empty.

"What are you going to do in here?" X puzzled.

Zero waved his arms around helplessly. "Oh...I don't know. Maybe I'll bash my head against the wall a few times. That should cheer me up."

"Come on Zero...maybe Sigma doesn't want to kill off the entire human race. Maybe he just wants to...enslave them or something."

Zero shook his head slowly, sorrowfully. "X, you're one of my best friends and I love ya like a brother, but you're living in a world of MAKE BELIEVE, with elves and moogles and little dragons named Smaug. Sigma wants the entire human race to go pppfht... off the face of the planet, for good. That'll be a gargantuan task to complete...it could take centuries. After all, to put things bluntly, most humans have sex drives that would send any jackrabbit into an early grave. But the point is, our best Hunters have gone Maverick WITH him. We have no defense against his attacks."

X shook his head defiantley, as if he had been thinking of a counterattack to this statement for ages. "Not entirely true."

"Oh? 'zat so?"

"I want to join the Hunters."

"Uh...what was that you said? I think we have a bad connection. Aren't you the one who thinks that violence is oh so wrong?"

X had seen this one coming. "I'm not saying that I think it's right. But I also think that it wouldn't be very nice of me to let the humans fend for themselves. Will you let me into the 17th?"

Zero blinked twice in rapid succession before throwing back his head in a long howl of laughter. "X, what do YOU know about fighting? You're not even equipped for battle! What're you gonna do, throw your shoes at the Mavericks? Or maybe you'll preach them to death with sermons on how wrong war is."

X retorted in a silent voice. He was absolutely heartbroken, and it showed on his contorted face.

Zero softened at the pitiful sight. "Aw come on X...I'm just looking out for your safety. Didn't you hear what I said earlier? The Mavericks now have Sigma and the Spartans on their side. What worries me most is the fact that they also have Red! That gal can crush beer cans against her head."

"So? Anyone can do that."

"While the cans are still full?"

"...Oh. She can do that?"

"You betchya. Look, Cain is organizing a counterattack on the Mavericks that'll involve the 17th. It's basically a suicide mission. Our best fighters have gone with Sigma. There's no one left who'll want to be a Hunter."

"Y'think?" A feminine voice challenged from behind the crimson reploid. The half-word wafted up from a sea of din that had suddenly appeared with the voice.

X and Zero both stared at each other for a second prior to turning around.

There was Celeste, decked in her light fighting gear. A prize smile lit up her fairly simple face, giving it a glow of beauty. And behind her were equally eager Hunters. A lot of them. A few reploids were scattered amoung the ranks, but most of the mass was made up of humans. Zero recognized a few of them with disbelieving eyes...he saw Paul Wells and his Night Vipers (most of whom had been humans in the first place), and a few residents from the refugee camp...including, much to his surprise, Tess and a young male beside her that Zero took to be Josh.

"We're all part of the counterattack, Zero." Celeste explained. "We're in the 17th, under you. I know that humans aren't as good at fighting as reploids are, but now that Sigma has officially declared war on humans, what're we supposed to do? Wait to die? If I'm going to be killed, I want it to happen while I'm protecting my existance, and the existance of my family and friends. The others agree."

A ripple of positive murmur rose from the large band behind Celeste.

'When humans are threatened, they can turn into nasty war machines.' It was Skysheen who had told Zero that on the first day he had arrived at MHHQ. Finally, the Hunter knew what the Mechadrake had been talking about. Celeste and the others seemed ready to fight to the death before they would be axed by Mavericks. A slow smile dawned on Zero's face, relaxing the worried lines that had been etched into it. Humans. They couldn't think ahead, they couldn't educate their young...but damn, they could fight. He had found a new respect for them.

"Okay Hunters!" Zero shouted with new energy. "Welcome to the 17th. When we can finally locate where Sigma is hiding, we'll be right there to kick him in the groin. Some of you won't return from the mission when that day comes...actually, a hell of a lot of you won't. But that's not what's important right now...let's get some training done!"

A small candle with a proud, unwavering flame lit inside of Zero as he watched his new troops practice what they knew about fighting Mavericks. Some of the recruits were already decently trained, and they helped out those who were not. Zero hungirly anticipated the coming battle. Shame was threaded in with the hunger, because Zero knew that he looked forward to the spilling of blood on BOTH sides. Some emotions died hard. Oh well.

X was beside the observant Zero. "Doesn't look too shabby," he remarked.

"Yeah, I guess." Zero sighed absently. His gaze was pegged on Celeste who was busy far across the other end of the gym.

X flicked his eyes up towards his new leader. "You still like her, huh?" There's no need to mention who X was referring to.

Half of a nod was the only response.

"A lot?"

"Oh yeah."

"I think she likes you too," X drawled, "but I doubt she'll ever say it to your face. She's a human, you're a reploid. I don't think the two species are...romantically compatible."

"Duh."

X nervously rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. "Well...it all might work out in the end. After all, did a cult of great prophets not once say, 'Love is sweet misery?'"

"That was Aerosmith, X, and they were a far cry from 'great'. No, what you said earlier is true. A reploid's mind has desires, but his body doesn't know what to do with them. It's a pretty cruel thing to do to us if you ask me!"

X patted his mourning friend on the slumped shoulder. "Come now, don't worry. Look...do you want me to talk to Celeste and see what she thinks about the whole situation?"

Zero actually flushed a little bit. "Uh..well...I guess if you want to." The Crimson Wonder thought that X meant he would talk privately to Celeste when he got a chance. He was sadly mistaken.

X took a deep breath. "HEY CELESTE!" The word rang through the gym like a gunshot.

Celeste (and about half of the occupants in the gym) looked up at X's hail.

When he had the Huntress's attention, X motioned towards Zero, who was paralyzed with a numbing species of shock. "ZERO MAY NOT BE A HUMAN LIKE YOU'D BE ACCUSTOMED TO, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN HE CAN'T FIND WAYS OF MAKING YOU HAPPY!"

Laughter raged through the gym. Celeste turned about three different shades of red before she slunk off to hide somewhere. Zero remained an oil painting. Giggling, X wisely scurried away.

"Another day another box of stolen pens," Celeste quoted to no one in particular as she crashed on her bed. Between that day's training and X's nice public announcement, Celeste was completely spent...but she quickly regained some energy with an adrenalin surge when she felt a dreaded, unmistakeable presence trickle into her mind...

"I wanna be an Airborne Ranger!" Torrent sang to Celeste's subconsciousness.

Torrent? Just leave me alone for today...please?

"I wanna live a life of danger!"

Go away! Celeste couldn't keep the tremour out of her thought. I always get sick after we do this 'Mindspeak' thing...

It's quite normal to experience nausea after a session of Mindspeak, Pretty One, Torrent chuckled, after all, it puts an enormous strain on the mind and body. But you'll get used to it. After all, your father did.

Celeste didn't respond to this statement, but Torrent fed off of the wild emotions she was experiencing.

You're wondering why you have the ability to Mindspeak, right dear? Torrent asked for her. It's simple high school genetics. Somehow, through random mutations, this freakish telepathy gene found its way into your father's bloodline. The gene is expressed as complete dominence, not incomplete dominence...which means that you either have the ability to Mindspeak, or you don't. There's no such thing as just having 'a little' of it. Plus, there's a good chance that you're a carrier of the gene as well, and can pass it on. And that's what worries me. I've been studying your bloodline for almost a century now. Most of you are unaturally good fighters. A few of you have Mindspeak. A very few of you have both abilities, yourself and your father included. I can't stand humans with gifts such as these. They're dangerous For this reason, I worked on luring your father to a showdown. Killing him had been rather useless, for I found out that he had sired two children. I'm afraid you must be gotten rid of.

Celeste simply stared unseeing into the empty air like a corpse.

Torrent changed the subject quite suddenly. Have you ever read 'The Chrysalids'?

...no.

Oh. Screw you then. I'm going to cut this conversation short by asking you what I always do. When are you going to come and visit me? I'm afraid I can't have you running on the streets, especially now that there's an all out war versus the Mavericks now.

Celeste gave the same answer she always did. Never. She meant for the word to be bold and steady, but it turned out more like a kitten's mew.

Heh...we'll just see about that hon. You know as well as I do that you'll end up here eventually. Tune in for more Mindspeak later! Same Bat Time, same Bat channel! Torrent cut off his line suddenly like the slam of a door, leaving Celeste very much alone, frightened, and sick. Her heart gave a startled flip-flop as she realized what had happened to her father. He hadn't gone after Torrent because of pride, as was the popular belief. Rather, he had pursued the aquatic Mechadrake in hopes that Torrent's death would mean the liberation of his own mind. Mindspeak had been driving him to the point of insanity.

And Celeste knew that sooner or later, she would crack under the strain of constantly being on the other end of Torrent's communications. Eventually, she would do as her father did and hunt down the lizard before she lost her mind.

"Hi guys." Joey joined the small, downcast herd of elementary school students at his school bus stop. There really wasn't much reason for the band to be so depressed; only one more week remained in the prison of books and authority that they called school.

A chubby kid named Eric waddled up to Joey and returned the greeing with "Hey Joe, can I copy your math homework from last night?"

"Nah."

"Awww..."

A low, ominous rumble suddenly ebbed through the street and thummed in childrens' ears. before trailing off mysteriously. Joey raised an eyebrow at his robust friend beside him. "What did you have for breakfast today?"

The sound shuddered through the neighbourhood again. This time, everyone took notice of it, as it was now more like a soft roar than like a growl.

"Whoa momma!" One kid squeaked.

A titanic nightmare then lifted itself from the horizon of city rooftops. A huge flying fortress, draped in black, savage purple and other war colours, began to drift slowly towards the children like a threatening stormcloud that promised to never lose its quietly terrible power. The all-too-familiar crest of the Mavericks flanked both sides of the gigantic vessel. Strangely enough, nothing about the winged behemoth approaching them scared the children. In fact, they were excited. It wasn't every day they were treated to such a magnificently fearsome sight. Questions and theories on the machine's purpose and origins flew thick amoung them.

"Maybe our schoolbus broke down and it's here to take us to school?"

"I bet it's a floating ice cream truck! I hope so...I missed breakfast."

"I remember hearing something about Mrs. Krabapple buying a new car. Do you think that's it? Some car!"

"Is it a Ford? Maybe we'll get to see it crash and burn!"

Vile restlessly paced back and forth in the belly of Storm Eagle's flying fortress, which had been christened The Roc just last night. The Maverick tried very hard to avoid looking out the porthole-style windows of the fortress -- viewing the city of Kapcom at such a height made his old wing mechanisms twich with a lonely ache for the wind. Yet at the same time, he wanted to take a look at what kind of turmoil the humans below were getting into with potential death floating above them. Vile hoped that the sight of the flying machine was at least botching up morning traffic. Torn between two urges, he finally decided on taking a trip to the cockpit and having a coffee with The Roc's proud owner, former Spartan Storm Eagle.

"Nice place ya got here," Vile commented over a cup of decaf with double sugar.

"Thanks," Storm returned through a mouthful of blueberry muffin. He swallowed. "You should thank Sigma. He got us the funding for this little baby, and got its construction underway ASAP. We even have the 1001 airport to ourselves to park it! Siggy said I only need to pay him back in charred human corpses." Storm winked. "Sounds good to me!"

Vile grinned broadly beneath his cowl as he hefted his feet up on the table between them and tilted his chair back. "And to me. But for today, why don't we just take it easy and drift around a bit...chase our prey until they're at their most hysterical...then strike."

"Ah...fun in the sun. Great idea Vile!" Storm tapped his wristcom and established a link to the navigation deck.

"This is navigator Black from the deck of The Roc," a fuzzy voice declared in a few seconds. "What are your orders, sir? Our weapons are ready."

"Don't use them just yet." Storm ordered his underling. "We're going to strike a little fear into a few human hearts first. What's our current location?"

"We're just a few blocks away from a large collection of human children." The navigator observed.

"Excellent!" Storm crowed. "Do something to scare them. Fire a false shot, or release the cage of Evil Clowns upon them. Stir up a little fun."

"Yessir." The navigator concluded.

Ten minutes later, the steady monotone hum of the engines remained unchanged. Vile and Storm simply held a staring contest. Nothing seemed to be happening. When Vile began to tap his finger on the table impatiently, Storm quickly and wisely slammed open the communication line to the navigation deck once again. "What's the freakin' hold up?" The avian snarled at Black.

"Umm...it's about those kids you wanted us to scare, sir..."

"Well, did they go running home to mama?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. We're currently directly above them...but all they're doing is chucking rocks at us."

"Hey Krabapple!" Joey shrieked above the roar of the Roc's engines. "This is for that 'D' you gave me on my report about World Countries!" With that, the small boy pitched a stone at the hovering craft directly above him. The projectile met and parted with the Roc's hull with a sharp ping! "Canadians DO live in igloos," Joey continued. "it's a proven fact! My dad told me so!"

Fat little Eric joined in the fun. Puffing with the effort, he also hurled a rock at the vessel that was supposed to have sent them running like rabbits in fear by now. "THAT was for the time I ate chocolate cake in class, and you sent me to detention just because I didn't give you any!"

Another hunk of mineral went flying up to meet the Roc. "There's one for yer old man!" A kid yelled gleefully.

Very soon, a thick hail of stones had the Roc under fire. The schoolchildren were having themselves a grand old time.

"This is crazy!" Storm yelled as he observed the school kids below from the naivgation deck. "What does it take to scare people these days? I guess we'll have to start bringing out the big guns. I really feel like breaking something." Storm turned on his heel. "Black, what's the nearest major structure?"

Black's fingers flew over a keyboard for an answer. "There's a school building just five blocks from this location, sir."

"Perfect! Aim and fire!"

The kids cheered as they watched the monster above them turn tail and begin to receed. They kept right on celebrating until a sleek cannon lowered itself from one of the Roc's flanks. A dim glow radiated from the cannon as it charged up...then...

Kaboom.

The kids watched in hushed awe as an orange ray speared from the weapon and stabbed some unfortunate building in the distance. A ghastly explosion followed, along with the blaring of car horns and the screeching yowl of a pissed off cat.

Joey was the first to speak. "Um, hey guys...what just went 'boom'?"

A slow smile thawed Eric's face. "I think...I think...that was the school that got blown up."

What followed was a spectacle of cheering and jumping and cartwheels. The kids broke off from each other heading towards the city parks and arcades. The children had earned their liberation. There was much pint-sized singing and dancing in the streets that morning.

"We got out of schooool! No more school todaaaaay!"

X looked at Zero with pleading, bleary eyes. "It's too early in the morning for training, Zero."

"Wuss. Look at all these humans around you!" Zero swept a hand around the gym. "They were all out of bed and into training today in mere seconds! Now come on. You're got a lot of practice ahead of you if you want to do battle with a major enemy. Let's begin." Zero hit a button on the wall next to him. A panel on the opposite wall hissed open. A small robot rabbit with cannons where its ears should have been timidly hopped out. Zero shoved X in its direction. "This is a typical class E Maverick drone," Zero explained. "you'll find them all over the place in occupied territory. They're simple to off. All right X...let's see what you can do!"

The rabbit cocked its head curiously at X and blinked rapidly. Shaking, X slowly raised his arm cannon...then dropped it again.

"I can't do it," he mumbled.

Zero narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I can't do it. I don't wanna shoot the bunny."

"Aaaarugh! What am I going to do with you?" Zero pressed his fingertips against his forehead. "Let me show you something, X." Zero raised his head again. "Tess! Tessa Ewell... May I see you for a second?"

A young human female bounded up and saluted her commander.

"Tess, do you see that little bunny near X?"

Tess craned her neck. "Yes sir. It's a class E drone."

"And we know what to do with class E drones, don't we?"

In answer, Tess tore the two-handed laser rifle from the holster on her back and fired once. The deadly crimson ray that the gun produced smacked into one of the rabbit's ear-cannons, tearing it right off. The drone squealed in terror and hopped around in unending circles. With a hop and a flip, Tess cut off the rabbit's path, grabbed it by the neck and expertly cleaved off its head with a lightdagger. Reploid blood washed her hands. Tess grabbed the bunny's maimed head by its one ear and presented it haughtily to Zero, who smiled in proud approval.

"Well done, Tess. Here, give the nice bunny head to X."

Tess shrugged. "Sure." She placed the head in X's hands. X's mouth was slack.

"Y-your hands...t-t-they're covered in b-b-blood," was all he could stammer.

The Huntress observed her greasy black human paws. "Hmmm...you're right. There's only one thing to do about that." With that, Tess drew a happy face on the wall next to her with her pointer finger, using the robot blood that graced her hands as ink. She then returned to practicing her skills against a class A Maverick.

"There you go, X," Zero began to lecture. "if a human can shoot the bunny, then surely you could. If you learn how to make use of the abilities you have, you should be able to --" Zero was cut off by the impatient bleep of his wristcom. With a typical sigh, he switched it on. "Whaaaat ees it, man?"

"Uh...Zero?" It was Celeste. She was supposed to be on her break from training. "Could you come to the observation deck? We have a slight problem."

Being true to its name, the observaton deck of MHHQ gave a spectacular view of the city and its ongoings. Carefully placed video cameras and monitors allowed for an in-depth look at some of the more secluded parts of the city. And what Zero saw was not at all good. A magnificent Maverick flying vessel took up a great deal of the picture, along with some plumes of smoke rising from a couple of wrecked buildings.

"Well, it looks like the Mavericks have officially started their war!" Zero said almost cheefully. He had been waiting for this. "It looks like we're going to have to double up on the evacutations and start the counterattack. The Hunter turned around. "X, I want you to go downstairs and round up some..." Zero stopped in midsentence and frowned. "Where in the sam hill did that fellow go? He was right behind me a second ago."

A hasty search was conducted around the room until Celeste tapped a monitor and cheered, "Here he is! He's on Maplemain road..." Celeste's voice trailed off as a realization dawned on her.

"...chasing after the Maverick vessel..."

Joey could hear nothing but the wind whizzing by his ear as a dull roar. His father's mud-spattered navy blue pickup truck continued to barge down the highway; sitting in the open back of the vehicle, Joey got a great view of the grand buildings shrinking on the horizon as he was taken further and further from the occupied city of Kapcom.

The boy instinctively tried to flatten his tousled hair with his hand, but his mane was beyond salvation in the rushing wind. Joey didn't really notice; he had other things on his mind. He was bubbling inside with a strange brew of sadness and excitement. Sadness because he was leaving his home city ('twas the only home he ever really knew!) and excitement because he didn't know where the magical and mysterious journey of the pickup truck would take him. All he knew was that his mom and dad had made him pack a hasty suitcase that morning. Then the three of them had piled into the truck and, zoom! They were off. Destination unknown.

Joey had a good idea about why they had left Kapcom so suddenly. Maverick reploids had taken over the city, killing humans, destroying buildings, end of the human race, blah blah blah. At least, that's what he had picked up from his parents' earlier conversation. And apparently, Joey's family wasn't the only one to hit the road; several strange cars were neck-in-neck with their own. A frantic horse race for life where the winners would gain a slim chance of shelter and the losers would become dog food.

Joey crawled up to the sliding window that divided the truck's cab from its back. He poked his fair head into the opening. "Hey mom and dad, where ARE we running to, anyway?" He inquired.

Joey's father took one hand off the wheel and tilted his oversized cowboy hat forward just a little bit. "We're goin' to Canada, my boy...No Mavericks in Canada. Your pa's gonna teach you how to build an igloo and ice fish!"

The truck sped ever onwards to the boarder. It was probably for the best that Joey's father didn't know that ignorant Americans were a favoured snack amoung the Mechadrakes of Toronto.

Kill the beast...cut his throat...spill his blood...

These words ran through X's mind as he blasted himself a path through the sea of Maverick bad fellows. The chant was a favourite of Zero's; he claimed it fired up the killer instinct. And maybe it did. Although the sadistic poetry had chilled through X's head when he first began to recite it, he found that the more he chanted, the less the violence surrounding seemed to bother him. He was in a trance. Every bolt in his body was saturated with the will to protect humans. Freaky.

Kill the beast...bash his head...do him in...

X never took his eyes off of the shadow of the Roc. It was truly a nasty thing; although poison seemed to pulsate from its frame, its slow, careless way of floating in the air made it look almost passive. The blue reploid wearily wondered if he'd ever catch up to the fortress; wave after wave of baddies broke upon him. The city was completely occupied...

X caught very swift movement to his left. Without hesitation, without reason, he whipped around and fired at the new threat. "AY YAH! Take that! You can't have my ice cream bar!"

A red Ford with a pink lawn flamingo taped to its hood and a license plate that read 'LIL BSTRD' promptly screeched to a halt. A very irritated teenager unrolled his window and leaned out to examine the huge scorch mark that now resided on his car. Seeing X and his smoking arm cannon, the teen bared his teeth which were already showing some faint niccotine stains.

"YOU DON'T SHOOT AT THE CIVILIANS, YOU DOINK!"

Well exc-uuuuuse me for trying to save your lousy species...

"Um...Zero...X is doing very well on his own out there, but maybe you'd better follow him just in case..."

Zero resurfaced from inspecting his fingernails and looked up at Celeste who was studying X's progress through the city on one of the monitors in the Observation Deck. "Hm? You say something Celeste?"

Celeste was starting to get peeved. "You heard me."

"You're cute when you're mad."

Celeste ignored that. "What's X trying to do, anyway?"

Zero allowed himself a slow, casual intake of breath. "Oooh, I have a feeling that he wants to take down that entire flying fortress all on his own. Some sort of berserker battle program seems to have kicked in with the human race being threatened. I guess he was built to fight after all!"

Celeste became alarmed. "The entire fortress? By himself? Good God! He'll be killed!"

"I imagine so."

"Aren't you going to HELP him? He's your friend!"

Zero pouted mockingly. "Aww...I was gonna spend all day staring at Baywatch reruns. Well...I GUESS I can keep an eye on him for a little while..."

Zero ducked the paperweight that Celeste threw at him.

"Heheh! Okay, okay! No need for projectiles. I'm off!"

"Go away Mr. Bee!" X sobbed hysterically as a ferocious Bee Blader chased him relentlessly down Kapcom's wrecked highway. "I don't love you anymore!"

Zero slowly rolled his head around on his shoulders as he tried to take in what was left of Kapcom's main street. Destruction to his right. Death to his left.

What fun.

Continuing to track X down, Zero eventually came upon a yellow and black schoolbus that had obviously seen some action earlier. It now lay on its side, contorted and twisted like some nameless monster about to give birth. A pudgy child with an overturned saucepan resting on his head as a crude helmet suddenly ran from behind the bus and smacked Zero in the shin with a gnarled, blackened tree branch. The Hunter yelped.

"Take that, Maverick!" The boy crowed as five of his merry men sprang from behind the sheltering bus and proceeded to abuse Zero by whacking him with sticks, pelting him with rocks, or pulling at his hair. Zero caught a rock as it flew towards his face. "Okay. What's this all about?" He grunted.

The fat kid brandished his stick with boyish triumph. "I'm Eric, leader of the Rabid Squirrels Hunting Unit!"

"Uh. I should have figured. Look kid, I don't like to kill dreams, but you're too fat to lead much of anything other than a line to the cafeteria. Where are your parents?"

No answer; the assult on Zero promptly resumed doublestrength.

"Hey...(OW!) Cut it out you guys!...Let me pass...(ACK!) Damn, that smarts! If you stop now (OUCHIES!)...I'll give you chips...(YIKES!)"

A gutteral yet familiar voice suddenly pierced through the boyish battlesounds...

"'EY! YOU KIDS WANT SOME CANDY?"

The Rabid Squirrels unit stopped their beating and slowly looked at one another and around them for the source of that new voice.

The voice hailed again, a raspy sound that seemed to float from the leaves of a nearby tree on the roadside. "Hey! You kids wanna be in a movie? It's called 'Erotic Adventures in the Phone Booth!'

Now the boys looked at each other in utter panic, terrified by the unseen and potentially perverted summons.

"Um...Eric..." one of the boys wavered, "I think I've gotta go now..."

"Yeah...me too..." another boy followed up. Soon all of the boys were suddenly full of excuses to leave the Rabid Squirrels. They surrendered their 'weapons' at their commander's dirty running shoes.

Eric became startled. "Hey...wait! Come back!" As he watched his troop dash off without him into the afternoon sunlight, his squinty eyes brimmed with huge tears which begam to slide unchecked down his fat cheeks. "Screw you guys!" He finally screeched after his friends. "I'm going home!" He stomped off in the oppisate direction.

With that ordeal over with, Zero cocked his arm cannon in the direction of the tree where the mysterious voice had come from. "All right...who's there?"

The sheath of leaves rustled a bit before an unmistakeable reptillian head adorned with a black ponytail jumped out of the leaves like a jack in the box. "Hello!" Red Draco sang.

Zero lowered his arm cannon. He lowered his jaw as well.

"Thought I'd just help you out with that road block," Red declared as a forward flip brought her down from the tree. She plucked a few stray leaves out of her hair. "I've been keeping an eye on those orphaned kids, you see..."

"'Orphaned kids?'" Zero repeated in disbelief. "But...you killed those humans in the Regal Dragons. I thought you were a Maverick?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, that thing," Red said absently. She grimaced slightly as she pulled a tree snake from under one of her shoulder pads and handed it to Zero. "Here, be a dear and hold him for me. Reptiles is people too. Yeah, I still AM a Maverick. The reason I was looking after those kids is because I wanted to eventually use them in an experiment to see if humans can be molded into mindless machines that would kill their own kind without question. I was planning on submitting a whole huge report to the Mavericks, as well as Mechadrake Assemblies Inc. It's something they'd be very interested in."

The faint flutter of hope that Zero had dared to feel when he first saw Red pop out of the trees snuffed itself out like a candle flame. Angirly, the crimson Hunter drop kicked the tree snake that Red had asked him to hold. It went spinning through the air like a small coil of rope and out of sight. "Why did you get my hopes up by helping me, then?" Zero spat. "Why didn't you just let your 'test subjects' beat me into submission?"

Red frowned when she saw how Zero treated the snake, but the frown quickly dried up as she pinched one of Zero's cheeks. "Because it was the safest thing to do, Bunny. You have a short temper and that charming bloodlust...eventually you might have ended up hurting those kids badly, and my experiment would be shot. As it stands now, I can always just find those boys and assemble them when I'm ready to continue my research." Red suddenly glanced at her Mickey Mouse watch. "Holy Mother Tiamat, would you look at the time? Must be going!" Red leapt into the air and pumped her wings until she was wheeling above Zero like a scarlet bird of prey. "I'll be seeing you very soon, Honeybunny! Until then, remember to eat right and listen to heavy metal music! Oh, and my apologies for nearly killing you that day Skysheen, Siggy and I turned sour."

Zero's arm cannon hung forgotten at his side; he hadn't even thought about so much as lifting it. Instead, he waved his arms up at the Mechadrake above him and shouted "Wait! Where you going?"

Red pulled herself into a sitting position in the air and pointed to the east where the Roc hung ominously. "Going to the Roc to visit my dear brother, I suppose."

"'The Roc'?" Zero puzzled. "Is that what the fortress is called?"

The draco snorted. "What did you expect? 'Tommy's Holiday Camp'?" Without another word, Red glided off to the east as she had promised and was swallowed by the sunlight, leaving behind the deserted fortress of the Rabid Squirrels and an emotionally scrambled Zero.

Vile peered out of one of the Roc's portholes and pointed down in disgust at the blue speck squirming on the street directly below. "What ungodly thing is that?"

Storm Eagle, who had the sharpest eyes of anyone on board, looked over his commander's shoulder. "It appears to be X, sir. Remember him from MHHQ? He's jumping up and down like an idiot, waving his arms at us. I think he wants a confrontation."

Vile paused in thought. "X, hmm? He still owes me ten bucks. I'll confront him all right. Get the Chimera Mech ready."

Storm looked nervous. "Sir, that 'Mech' isn't meant for fighting. We use it to put books on high shelves. It won't hold very well in battle. In fact, the right arm is loose and ready to fall off at any given moment now."

"Storm old friend...it's not about how you fight...it's about how flashy and impressive you look while doing so! Now prepare to lower the Chimera and I to the highway."

X's world shook as the Mech that had been lowered above him took a step. And again. And again. X was jostled and jolted until the purple and blue breastplate of the Chimera, adorned with a silver sillhouete of a lion with a dragon's tail and wings, was right in front of his face. The Roc hung suspended above the two warriors, eagerly awaiting the battle to follow.

Vile was speaking. Smooth and seductive. It seemed as if all traces of Skysheen had been purged out of that nasty purple shell. "Hello X. Isn't it a nice day? Let's play a game. I'm going to see how many of your teeth the Chimera can punch out in a minute. Then I'm going to try to beat that record! Do you understand? Let's begin then. Oh, wait one minute." Vile smashed his way over to a nearby parking meter where he inserted a dollar for the parking of the Roc. With that done, the Maverick dashed into X and pretty much mowed him down.

X knew right then and there that he had made a bit of a mistake. When he had a chance to catch his breath and the red haze in his eyes cleared a little, X made a valiant attempt to fight back, but he may as well have been emptying the ocean with a teaspoon. The Hunter felt as if he were being bashed over the head repeatedly with a sack of hardcover Stephen King novels...you know, the really big and heavy sort that he likes to write on occasion. X collapsed, completely spent. From afar he could hear Vile gloating "See! I TOLD you it was a fun game!..."

A plasma shot flew through the air with a comforting sizzle, like frying bacon. It smacked into the Chimera with sharp report. The Chimera's right arm flew clean off.

"Argh!" Vile shrieked above X. "Who built this cheap thing? GM?"

Zero screeched to a halt just past the collapsed form of X. "Whup, whup, wahey!" He sang as he began to charge up another shot for the former Mechadrake and his cheap Mech suit. "Hey Vile! Yo' momma's so fat, the last time she saw 90210 was when she stepped on the scale!" He released the shot, but it just missed the Maverick as he hopped onto the Roc's lowered platform with the Chimera. Vile disappeared into the Roc's belly, but a styrofoam cup of coffee flew out seconds afterwards, obviously hurled by the irrate loser. "Here! Have some coffee! Coffee is the spoils of your stupid joke!" Zero ducked just in time and the cup landed behind him on X's still form. The scalding brew spattered all over the blue Hunter, bringing him around.

"AHHH! TOO HOT!" X rolled around on the floor for a bit before he noticed Zero standing above him with his hands on his hips. All at once, he came down from his berserker high.

"Um...hi Zero." He said with an edge of a whimper. "I guess I'm not ready to defeat him..."

"Gee whiz X, you think so?"

X fell silent.

Zero finally cracked a smile as he helped X up. "Don't worry about it. Vile was built to be a war machine, so he's not going to go down easily. We'll get a chance to throw things at him some day. For now, there's a lot of occupied areas in the city that we need to clear out. That should give you some practice, and who knows? You might even become as great and godly as I am some day."

X brushed himself off. "Cocky little bastard, aint'chya?"

"Let's not get sore. I've had a very rough day." Zero set his teleporter for MHHQ and was swept away by a crimson beam.

X did likewise. "Don't tell me about rough days..."

"All right X, it goes a little something like this." Zero tapped his finger twice on the lit up map screen beside him. "There are eight badass ex-Spartans -- or Mavericks, if you will -- who are on the rampage and are having lots of fun kicking people in the bum. According to my spies, each one of the nasties has vital information on finding Siggy's fortress...."

X narrowed his green eyes at the map before him. "Spies?" He echoed dubiously. "Are you sure your 'spies' always have their information straight?"

X saw an offended shadow splash over the alien-green light that glowed on Zero's face. "My spies are only the best, X my boy. I pick them all myself. The information I just told you came from my top man, Bill!" Beaming proudly, Zero jabbed a finger at the dark, far left corner of the computer mainfraime where a greasy-haired, alcohol-soaked slug of a human male lay snoring loudly. "Bill's NEVER wrong with his information! Right, Bill?"

Snore.

"I said, RIGHT Bill?"

Snort.

A white hot plasma shot fired by a certain irrate crimson reploid screamed through the air and ferociously burned the wall just inches from Bill's rolling head. The human merely scratched his rear and murmured "Yeah Martha, I'm getting up...ah hell, we're not playing cards again with the Wilsons tonight, are we....?"

Zero stormed over to the corner where Bill had quite literally made himself at home. He picked up the so-called spy by the flabby scruff on his neck like a firey red cat with an unruly kitten. Throwing the door open, Zero booted Bill out into the hallway. The human rolled down the corridor for a few feet but still did not wake up. The door slammed shut again and Zero walked towards X, brushing off his hands. "Okay, let's forget about Bill. But anyway, I know for certain that this information on how to find Sigma's hideout is correct. I suggest that you start by taking down Chill Penguin first. He has a base on the Alaska-Yukon border..."

X shook his hands with his palms outwards towars Zero. "Whoa, wait a second. I'm going alone?!"

Zero pretended to look surprised. "Why, yes. This is strictly a one man job." He moved behind X and started to give the blue Hunter little pushes on his azure plated shoulders, prodding him towards the door. "I would go, but there's far too much to be done at MHHQ as it is...organizing armies, filling out equipment orders, doing laundry...those kind of schlepps. Off you go now." Zero gave his friend a cheerful, final shove out of the computer mainframe and leaned grinning on the doorway.

Distressed, X slowly looked around him. "Where's the base? Where do I go?"

"On the Alaska-Yukon border," Zero repeated as he slid the door behind him again. "here's a tip: head north." A few ominous thunks and thuds were heard from behind X as the entrance to the mainframe was locked. The corridor would have been silent if not for Bill's thick snores.

X tapped the human lightly on his sagged shoulder. "Um, excuse me...do you happen to know which way is north?"

Bill roused himself, pryed one sticky eyelid open and tried to focus on X. "Ask the bartender in the pub," he rasped. "He knows all. He gave me tips on weaseling out of my third wife's child support payments."

X was disgusted. "Oh, isn't that just nice. Never mind, I'll find Alaska by myself, thank you."

Bill laughed harshly; his throat to his stomach was coated in a lovely beer-induced mucus. "Don't throw a hissy fit, Astro Boy. That base Chill Penguin took over used to be one of ours, and the radio frequency still seems to be up. Just go to the teleporation capsules on the third floor and ask the crew there nicely to beam you to the old base and they'll do so. Just don't ask them to teleport you to Disneyland, cuz they'll do something cute like teleport you to Death Valley, or put you in the middle of a crowded city street -- minus your clothes." A tiny hint of soberity seeped into Bill's bloodshot eyes. "Trust me...It's happened. Not at all a pleasant experience."

Genesis wearily removed his helmet and combed his shaggy fingers through the sea of flattened fur atop of his equally shaggy head. He inwardly pined for a cup of coffee as he regarded the wailing human in front of him.

"Mrs. McTreggor, we're doing all you've requested," the reploid fox rumbled. "Your daughter, Celeste, has been locked in room 215 of the infirmary, which is a private room. We will keep her under observation for as long as you wish...but you must forgive me when I say that I REALLY think you're overreacting..."

The young woman in front of Genesis promptly sunk further into rage and worry, carving haggard lines in her modestly smooth features. For an instant, she strongly resembled a rustled mother hen. "Genesis, I have every reason in the world to 'overreact' like this. Celeste came to visit me in the refugee camp earlier today...just by the way she was acting and talking you could tell that she -- oh hell, why am I explaining this to a reploid. You probably don't know the first thing about maternal instinct." Silvia McTreggor bit off her sentence with a choked sob.

Genesis fell silent for a few seconds, slightly offended. He had worked for months with injured humans. He prided himself in being an expert on the species, and thoughtless remarks like Silvia's often burned him up. Of course he knew about maternal instinct.

Silvia grabbed the stage again once she had regained her composure. "I'm sorry, Genesis," she apologized, reading the fox's mind. "I'm just so scared. The way Celeste talked to me today...it was almost as if she were saying goodbye. She had a distant, preoccupied look in her eyes." Celeste's mother began to stumble clumsiliy over her words again. "She looked the exact same way my husband did before he went after Torrent Leviathan and got himself...got himself..." The words 'Torrent Leviathan' escaped as a puppy's yelp. Silvia broke down again. "I just know she wants to go after Torrent. I think she wants to avenge her father. Please...keep her locked up and don't let her go anywhere, at least for tonight!"

By now, Genesis was damn sick of melodramatics. "All right...all right. We'll keep our eyes on Celeste. Now please return to the refugee camp...quite frankly, you're scaring the patients."

"You've got dat right!" An unidentifiable human voice chimed from a nearby bed hidden behind a drawn privacy curtain.

Silvia complied with a silent nod of thanks. Zero, who had been talking to Genesis prior to Silvia's outburst, stepped back up beside his ex boss and laughed. "Holy crow, what a woman. I can see so much of Celeste in her, and at the same time they're as different as night and day. Celeste's jammed packed with energy and youth, and her mother looks so tired and serious."

Genesis did not share in Zero's humour. He slowly shook his head. "Give her another 15 years or so, and Celeste will be exactly like her mother."

Genesis' unhappy remark slowly quenched Zero's amusement like a tall drink of water. "Are you serious?"

Genesis laughed lightly in his turn. "You've still got a lot to learn about humans, Zero. How old did you say Celeste was?"

"She'll be 20 soon."

"Ah yes. She's in the prime of her life now. She'll hunt tirelessly and recklessly, given the chance. But she's also at an age where she'll begin to seek out serious, life-long companionship." Genesis narrowed his eyes at Zero. "That reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh goody," Zero sighed, hardly enthused. The sigh was more of a reflex action from his days of working in the Medical Unit than anything; the words 'I want to talk to you about something' were once dreaded bell chimes that preluded a lecture from Genesis about the latest screw-up that Zero had pulled.

"Zero, if I'm not mistaken, you're quite in love with Celeste."

"Hell," Zero snorted. "It ain't much of a secret, especially since X announced it in the middle of the training gym not long ago."

Genesis grinned teasingly. "Oh, don't be so bitter. I'm personally fascinated by this whole thing. It's quite rare for a reploid to fall in love as deeply as you have, and it's especially rare for a reploid to fall for a human. Is your love based on...how should I put this...physical attraction?"

The room all of a sudden became unbearably stuffy for Zero. "Yeah...part of it, I guess..." the scarlet Reploid stammered.

"Ha!" Genesis clapped his soft paws together. "Rarer still! Most reploids are lousy at judging a human's physical beauty. Do you know what makes a human appear 'beautiful' to another human? It's merely an instinct that subcontiously tells the observer that he or she has stumbled upon a potential mate that is healthy and fertile. Of course, we reploids have little use for such an instinct, so it isn't nearly as strong in us as it would be in a human. Yet, you're breaking a lot of reploid stereotypes by falling in love with Celeste. You're a strange little 'ploid, Zero."

Zero did not really appreciate being stuck in centre stage as an example for a report on the latest breaking biology news story. "I thought you wanted to tell me something, Genesis," he huffed. "Let's go. More matter, less art."

Genesis growled faintly and melted back into his grumpy, serious self. "Very well, let's dust off the sugar coating. You're spending far too much time with Celeste. There's a great chance that she's in love with you, too. Sure, it sounds sweet, but as I said before, she's probably beginning to look for a mate. In the short term, you would appear to be a prize catch. As much as I hate to admit it, you're a great guy...protective, fearless, blah blah blah. But you're still a reploid. If you were to do something radical like marry Celeste, a lot of sacrifices would have to be made by both of you, including the potential of children. I just can't see it working out in the long run. Humans are meant to spend their lives with other humans, not advanced machinery. I'd hate for either of you to get hurt like that. In short, try not to be so affectionate towards Celeste. It'll pay off down the road."

Zero's gears twisted, knotted and collapsed with each of Genesis' seemingly harsh but true words. Deep down, frozen solid inside him had been the very same concerns, but until now he had been to selfish to thaw them out. Now that they were exposed, they were raw and sore, painful to touch. They could not withstand the onslaught of Genesis' advice. Zero realized he could never tear himself away from Celeste, at least never completely.

"You're right Genesis," the Hunter announced. "As corny and awful as it sounds, a human probably couldn't prosper in the arms of a metallic. Nevertheless, I don't think I could ever stop thinking about her. Thanks for your advice, though."

Genesis raised one furry eyebrow behind his opaque shades. "Being in love must be something else," he remarked with a smirk. "No wonder the human population is somewhere in the zillions. I'm happy to give you advice at any time...whether you follow it or not is your own damn business."

Zero suddenly slammed his open palm against his forehead. He had completely forgot about X in Alaska. "I'm going to check up on X," Zero assured Genesis who was leering uneasily at him. The hunter flipped on his wristcom.

"X? How's it going up there? X? Where are yooooou?"

At first, there was nothing but the fuzzy cheer of static. Then: "IT'S FRICKIN' FREEZING UP HERE, MR. BIGGLESWORTH!"

"X! You're alive!" Zero howled with laughter for no reason whatsoever. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine so far." Even through the bad reception, Zero could hear X's teeth clacking together. "I'll be meeting up with Chill Penguin soon enough. I'm admittedly taking my time, I've met some nice people up here. Remember that innocent little bunny-type Maverick you tried to get me to kill back in training? I've been having a real nice conversation with one of them. He showed me the Northern Lights and some pretty icebergs. Too bad he tried to shoot me in the back at that time, and I had to kick him into the Arctic ocean. He was a really funny rabbit." X ended his sentence with a preoccupied giggle. "Here's a joke he told me before I offed him. Jack and Rose were standing together on the bow of the Titanic, when suddenly Jack says --"

"Whoops, got a call on the other line," Zero drawled apologetically. He had little patience for jokes that day. "Sorry, X. I'll contact you soon!"

The bare-walled room was as windowless and friendly as the Death Star. There was only one exit and it was guarded religiously by a lanky reploid nicknamed 'Roadkill'. Celeste was not discouraged; something deep from within called to her, lulled her. Calmed by the sweet nature of the summons, a hardly-noticeable current of yellow fear told that Torrent had run out of patience. She had not gone to visit him in the sewers as he had requested of her several times before...so now he was taking matter into his own claws and calling her to him instead.

Going over her escape plans one more time, Celeste plucked Matzah (now a good size) from his nap on the drab hospital bed. Matzah cuddled in her arms, completely content and trusting. Unfortunately, that trust would not last very much longer. She tucked her lightsabre handle into her pocket; she had been allowed to keep it while under observation. To be disarmed was considered dishonourable. She did not have her titanium vest with her; she would have to make do with fighting in street clothes.

Celeste poked her head out of the hospital room's door ("Wow, unlocked, how brilliant."). She thanked her lucky stars that Genesis had picked the lackluster Roadkill to 'guard' her. Roadkill was down the hall a bit and had his spiky back to Celeste, talking to a fellow Hunter about boring matters.

"I'm sorry about this, Matzah," Celeste whispered to the cat seconds before she wound up and hurled the screaming tom down the hallway. Roadkill and his friend exchanged 'What-in-the-hell' looks as they took off towards the commotion. Celeste slid out of her prison and pounded down the hallway, unseen.

Ah, so Celeste, you are on your way at last. Torrent cut off his flow of sweet mind-drugs.

Celeste stopped abruptly in the middle of Maplemain's crowded nightlife, earning her strange stares and plenty of breathing room from the passerbys. It was as if she had suddenly woken up from a sleepwalk and realized where she was.

Come now darling there is no reason to be scared, Torrent assured her, sensing her wildly mixed emotions and feeding off of them. I only wish to...talk to you.

A sleepy grey mist swathed Celeste's brain again and took over. She unconsciously plodded down a sleeping side street. The haze lifted, and the Huntress found herself before a sewer-manhole with the cover removed. Had she done that?

Come on down, Celeste. The potatoes are boiling, the kettle is singing, and I dare say that I'll catch us some fish.

Staring down into the black abyss, Celeste did not feel at all brave or heroic. She felt as if she were going insane. Over and over again, she recalled the feeling of her mind turning a sickly green from too much of Torrent's mindspeak. Over and over again, she saw her father die at the Leviathan's feet. Those images and feelings were the fuel that propelled her as she descended down into the manhole.

Darkness. Cold, slimy water closed in around Celeste's ankles. It took every ounce of will she possesed to keep from screaming like a doomed maiden in the Minotaur's Maze.

Thrilled with Celeste's terror, Torrent's howl rattled in her head. Ha! Daughter of Jake! Where do we go now? Where do we go?

Two clammy paws landed on Celeste's shoulders with a cold that seeped through the thin materal of her T-shirt. An unseen, damp reptilian snout nuzzled the back of her neck affectionately.

"Sweet Child O' Mine..."

Pip was finding it very difficult to work at his computer with Zero leering eagerly over his shoulder like a psychotic schoolmaster whose yardstick swung freely. Pip cleared his throat once, twice, hoping that the sound would prod Zero back a few steps. The crimson reploid merely leaned in closer. Pip was finally forced to surrender his gentle British manners.

"Mr. Zero sir, with all due respect, I find it very hard to work on this banner when you're watching my every move like that."

"Just making sure you pick the right graphics, Pip old chap."

The medic reploid sighed wearily and regarded his work onscreen so far. Two bitmapped mountains flanked the bold "WELCOME BACK!" text. Oh how tacky and false those mountains looked. The banner was for X, who was expected back from his fight with Chill at any moment.

"Don't you like the mountains, Mr. Zero?" Pip ventured. "Mountains're nice."

"Too inanimate for my tastes," Zero snorted. "Try something else."

Pip scrolled through the graphics and highlighted a frame showing a frisky dolphin in mid-leap. "How about dolphins, Mr. Zero? Dolphins are such pretty fish."

"Dolphins are mammals, you twit." The Hunter muttered before pausing in thought. "Yeah...I say go with the dolphins. They ARE nice."

Several others in the vicinity strolled over to help Pip and Zero solve the banner dilemma. The computer mainframe, decked out in swanky dressings, was packed with Hunters eagerly waiting to greet X upon his return. In fact, the entire theme of the party was 'Welcome Back, X'. Zero grimaced sourly. A better theme would probably be 'Let's All Vomit in the Men's Room Sinks'. More than one human in the room drank up the punch bowl with longing, thirsty eyes; drinking had been forbidden until X's arrival. Many of the human Hunters were notorious for breaking up parties early by getting loaded and bashing beer mugs over each other's heads. Celebrations usually finished in the Medical Unit with a fine load of concussions to treat.

Zero was jostled by bodies in all directions. His mood began a dangerous downward spiral; he hated to be crowded. It was a phobia that probably stemmed from his cramped 30-year hibernation in the tiny subway tunnel nook. He took an unseeing step backwards, his heavy foot landing on something small and squirming. A frightened yelp leapt up to his ears, followed by a sharp pain lancing through his right hand. Zero let out a yelp of his own as he jerked up his hand and inspected the skin which was now broken by a crescent-moon of human teeth marks. He snapped his head behind him and was met with the wrathful glare of a miniature Paul Wells.

"Wha'dja do this for?" Zero seethed as he thrust his blood-smeared hand in the path of those burning eyes. His mood had hit rock bottom. "I'm sorry I stepped on you, but jeez -- you don't have to bite my hand off. You humans carry diseases! Have a little consideration!"

Paul Wells then pushed his way through the crowd to stand beside his son. The fear and hurt drained from the boy's eyes as he turned from Zero and buried his face in his father's stomach. The family resemblance was stunning.

"Clyde's sorry that he bit you," Paul drawled apologetically for his boy. "He does that a lot when he's hurt or scared. He can't help it...I guess I don't need to point out to you that he's..." Paul stumbled over his sentence. "Not really all there."

Shame rebounded Zero's foul mood. He had observed the kid a while ago back in the refugee camps, and it had been easy to tell that the lights were not all on upstairs. He apologized for snapping whilst patting Clyde on the head. Clyde recoiled at the Hunter's touch.

"Once the drinking starts, this place won't be suitable for kids," Zero reminded Paul. "Why don't you take him back to the camps?"

"I'm entitled to party," Paul grinned, "and there's no one to take care of him in the camps."

"What about your wife?"

"Don't have one."

Zero raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Divorced?"

This question obviously struck a sensitive nerve. Paul glowered, turned red and veered back into the crowd with Clyde in tow. Needless to say, Zero was slightly confused until a nameless human boldly patted him on the shoulder and said "Zero, you silly beast...Clyde is literally what we call a 'little bastard.'"

"Oh dear," Zero sighed. "I have to learn how to mind my own business." Excusing himself, he swam through the crowd until he reached the punch bowl. Putting its blood-red contents to good use, the Hunter dunked his injured hand and began washing it, oblivious to the mixed bags of disgusted and surprised glares that were hurled by the disappointed humans. Of course, no one dared to even think of objecting to Zero's bathe.

The door to the large room smacked open. Everyone turned in unison to see who the latecomer was. It was Genesis. And judging by the snarl twisted on the fox's furry face, he had not come to celebrate. In his right paw, he held the scruff of a very miserable-looking Roadkill.

Genesis dumped Roadkill in a heap at Zero's boots. "My friend here has something to tell you, Zero," he said in a mockingly excited tone, like a child ready to show off a new toy at Show and Tell.

Roadkill trembled like a peasant before the feet of a wrathful god. He flicked his eyes halfway to meeting Zero's own before he lost his nerve and dropped them again. He had obviously done something dreadfully wrong, as he could not even bring himself to speak.

Genesis was all to glad to tattle on him. "I left this dolt in charge of guarding Celeste. You remember how her mother wanted her under lock and key, right? Well, not only did Mr. Brilliant not lock Celeste's door, he ALSO let her escape."

Zero tapped a finger against his jawbone and regarded Roadkill thoughtfully for a full three seconds before he leaned over and wrenched off the Night Viper's badge from the wild bot's shoulder. "In case you can't figure it out," Zero said in even tones to Roadkill who looked up at his commander in bewilderment, "that means you're demoted. We may as well put this in the bathroom, about all it's good for is toilet paper." Zero tucked the rent badge nicely amoung some hidden compartment in his armour before he let loose and wailed on Road.

"Are you a COMPLETE idiot? Answer me that one question, please! You're really in for it now. Because of your stupidity, Celeste's more than likely to be hunting an extremely dangerous Maverick on her own right now. I'll say his name slowly so maybe the worlds will penetrate your thick skull and make some sense. TOR-RENT LE-VI-A-THAN. Great work! Allow me to remind you that we NEVER allow human females to hunt on their own, let alone take down the big fellows!" Zero had to pause for breath. Using that time efficiently, he cut his eyes down at Roadkill who seemed to be trying to melt into the ground like a puddle. "Need I remind you why we enforced that rule? Remember what happened to that nice young girl, Katt Luck, a few months back when SHE went hunting on her own?"

Stories of the horrors that had been inflicted upon Katt while she had been a prisoner of the Mavericks had floated around the HQ like the whispers of uneasy ghosts. Roadkill's eyes grew wide as he recalled the very disturbing collection of events; torture, starvation, and the very worst of all...'genetic termination'.

"Oh no...oh no..." was all Road could manage to whimper. Zero clapped. "Wow. You remembered! I'm so proud of you. I was originally going to put you in the kennels, but you know what? I dare say you're smart enough to be more of a help in the kitchen."

Faint cheers from Terrence and Phillip wafted from the very back of the silent room. They were delighted at the idea of a new friend.

"No!!!" Shrieked Roadkill, flattening himself at Zero's feet. "Don't send me to the kitchen!! PUH-LEEEZE! I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! You have no idea!"

It was Cain's human compassion that saved the weeping Roadkill from the potato manacles. The old man shuffled up beside Zero. "I don't think Road would be much use in the kitchen," he stated matter of factly. "I need a lab assistant...I'll take him on board."

Roadkill's sobs for mercy ceased at once. His eyes shone huge as he rolled over on his back before his saviour like a submissive puppy. "Oh, THANK you sir! I'll be the best damned lab assistant this side of hell's creation. You'll see!"

"As for the rest of you," Cain said out loud to the room's occupants, "what Zero said is very true; Celeste is in a great deal of danger. I want all of you to organize into a search party. I hope none of you mind getting a bit muddy, 'cause you're going to be searching the sewers."

Suddenly the faint buzzing of words in the room took on some meaning. It was obvious that no one minded getting dirty because a great deal of the Hunters in the room eagerly followed Zero to the Hunter-Dispatch area. Only Cain, Roadkill, Pip, Genesis, and Terrence and Phillip remained.

In the uneasy stillness that followed, Pip eagerly called his boss over to the computer where the banner he had laboured over was still displayed.

"Do you like it, Mr. Genesis sir?" Pip beamed with pride. "I made it myself."

Genesis rubbed his chin as he looked at Pip's hard work. "Wow. You made that all by yourself?"

Pip nodded proudly.

"It sucks," Genesis snorted, puncturing Pip's pride at once. The fox grabbed the small medic by one arm. "Come on, back to the Medical Unit with you. I have a feeling that Celeste's going to be in need of some major medical attention when she's brought back."

X hardly noticed the sad excuse for a 'party' that surrounded him upon returning to the mainframe from his battle with Chill. He was oblivious to Terrence and Phillip's wild confetti-throwing and singing. From far, far off he could see Cain smiling at him and asking how things went. Completely engulfed in the muddled maw of his trance, X could only mumble one thing in response to the scientist:

"My dad...I saw..."

X trailed off. His mouth went slack as if he had suddenly lost his mind. He collapsed in a blue heap, stray icicles dripping slowly off of his armour. Cain, Terrence and Phillip all died down at once. Cain narrowed his eyes, puzzled. He absently scratched his back with his cane and asked X to repeat himself, and to make some sense this time if it weren't any trouble. X complied to the best of his ability.

"I saw him. The ghost of my father. In the Arctic."

Cain frowned. "All right X. No more Shakespeare for you. That stuff is obviously rotting your brain."

X lifted his head from his arms. He got on his feet and stabbed Cain with a firey glare. "I saw him," he insisted in a low, monotone voice. "I don't care if you don't believe me, but I know what I saw. I asked him who I was, and why I was created, but he didn't answer those questions..."

Without warning, Cain whipped X over the head with his multipurpose cane. There was a percussive, bonking sound and X staggered a few feet before coming to a halt and shaking his head in a futile attempt to halt the out of control merry-go-round within. "What was that for?!" The reploid wailed.

Cain smiled, pleased with himself. "When I start to see things, I find that hitting myself on the head clears up the illusions. I just thought I'd share my folk medicine. Did it work?"

"I don't know, because I know for a FACT that I WASN'T seeing things," X snarled, still clutching his bruised head. "If Light's ghost was only an illusion, how do you explain how I got THESE?" X kicked out one foot. In the place of the dull blue paint that had coated it before, the boot was now covered with a racy red and white layer. The boot's new, streamlined nature told that the much-coveted Emergency Acceleration System (EAS, yay!) had been installed. Cain merely gaped, completely stunned. No one at the lab knew how to install EAS in reploids. What X was saying had to be true.

X absorbed Cain's shock with relish. "NOW what do you think?" He asked with a sharp and slightly smug smile.

"Oh, those colours are SO last season," Terrence lisped with a feminine wave of his hand. Only Phillip found humour in Terrence's imitation.

For the first time upon his arrival, X noticed the lack of Hunters in the mainframe. "Where did everyone go?" He asked. "Where's Zero? He was supposed to help me take down the next nasty."

"They were all called out to an emergency," Cain drawled absently, still focused on studying X's new shoes. "Celeste's gone hunting Torrent on her own. Zero's heading the search party."

Now it was X's turn to be stunned. "Whatwhatwhat?"

Cain joyfully tapped one boot with his own foot in a half-assed test of the EAS's durability. He could not be bothered to give X more information on Celeste. "I'm afraid the rest of the Mavericks will be left up to you and you alone, X. Oh, that reminds me." Cain resurfaced from his EAS worship. "When you beat Chill, did you receive any information about the location of Sigma's fortress?"

"Well, kind of," X said as he slowly extended his left hand. He uncurled his fingers and lying quietly in his palm was a small soapstone carving of a penguin. Its crystal eyes glittered teasingly, hinting that information might be stored within them. "When Chill blew up eight ways from Sunday, this was left behind. I have a feeling it won't be any good on its own. I guess all eight Mavericks are gonna have to go until we can learn what this is for and if it'll tell us the location of Siggy's fortress."

Cain caught the heavy note dragging down X's voice. "X...you don't mind going after the next few Mavericks by yourself, do you?" He ventured. "I don't think Zero can help you out for a while...finding Celeste is top priority for him, and you can't take any human Hunters with you. The terrain would be far too dangerous for any of them."

X shrugged listlessly. He didn't care if he would have to run a marathon across the Great Wall of China. He just wanted to rest for now. "I should be all right on my own. Besides, I have a feeling that Light will only show up again if I'm alone." Out of the corner of his eye, X glared wrathfully at Terrence, Phillip and Roadkill who had all started snickering again. They settled down once X's eyes cut through them. X continued. "I only wish I could do something to help find Celeste. I can't stand the idea of her with Torrent, especially after what happened to Katt."

"Hm, yes, that concern had crossed our minds," Cain grimaced.

"Why did she go after him in the first place?"

"The popular belief is that she is going to avenge her father."

X fetched a bucket and began to mop up the puddles of icicles that he had shed since his return. "What she's feeling right now is silly human pride," the Hunter drawled.

Cain shuffled through his disorganized memory. "I think there was once a hit song with those same lyrics."

X paused in his cleanup and leaned heavily against his mop. "At this point, it doesn't matter whether those words belonged to me or some drippy human singer. What's important is that Torrent is probably turning poor Cel into a pretzel right about now."

One solitary fish. Alive without breath, as cold as death, never thirsty always drinking, all in mail never clinking. It swayed aimlessly through the thick sludge, completely engrossed in the important business of surviving. It was an old fish, a veteran that had been scarred by countless battles with fishermen and tossed ceaselessly by stormy waters until it had finally been allowed access to the calm haven of the sewers. Unfortunately, its heroic life came to a rather abrupt end as the vicelike jaws of a Mechadrake closed on its body.

Torrent Leviathan paddled his way to shallower waters in his beloved sewer. All at once he leapt from the soup up onto one of the ledges above the surface. Prying the freshly killed meat from his jaws he hummed a little battle tune as he poked his snout in the air, trying to pick up the scent of his prized treasure above the other interesting variety of smells that the sewer had to offer. He locked onto the desired scent right away...the fertile richness of a human female, bearer of life. Proceeding in that direction, Torrent hummed louder until he could eventually see, from far off, the dim fire he had put together for his treasure. It wasn't long before he was finally able to see the treasure herself. Surrounded by rare and delicate possessions that such a princess deserved, Celeste glared at her captor and 'breadwinner' as he approached with the daily kill.

Torrent tossed the dead, rubbery fish down before the fire. "Hello my dear." The fish slapped and flip flopped feebly at Celeste's feet, not completely dead. As she stared down at it in disgust, Torrent smiled. "Are you going to eat today? It might be a good idea. You haven't eaten much in the past three days."

Three days...the words echoed and bounced in Celeste's buzzing head. MHHQ was probably worried sick about her. "Have I been down here for three days, Torrent?"

Torrent wordlessly stretched his supple blue body behind Celeste and curled around her like a boa's embrace. Celeste's back was against the Mechadrake's flank and she could hear him rumbling contentedly in his chest, very much like the sly and malicious cat that he was. He began to drift off in what was most likely the pretense of sleep. Celeste was left alone to her thoughts.

She had been with Torrent for three days, all of which the drake had treated her like his queen. Piled around the fire and glittering in its uneasy light were wonderful gifts that Torrent had somehow managed to acquire and present to her in a futile attempt to please her...clothes, jewelry, money. Celeste had refused to even look at the loot. She was still in the casual T shirt she had been wearing upon meeting Torrent, even thought it was filthy by now. However, she was missing her lightsabre as Torrent had managed to disarm her on his 'sneak greeting'. Celeste was secretly mortified about that; a Huntress was never supposed to let her weapon out of her sight.

What frustrated Celeste the most was the fact that she had come to meet Torrent for a showdown...a final decision as to who would be the master of her mind. But from day one, Torrent showed no aggression towards her whatsoever. Just the opposite. He treated her like a prize. She was his finest treasure, and he was just going to enjoy her presence for a little while before anything was done. Torrent was a dragon at heart, after all; coveting and hoarding were his nature. But Celeste mind churned ceaselessly on the frightening prospect of what Torrent had in mind for her after he was tired of her 'visit'. He was extremely erratic, after all...

Next to her leg, Torrent's eyes suddenly flashed open and his aura stabbed into Celeste's mind. He chuckled low in his throat and hauled up a cruddy corner of his mouth in a smug grin. He had locked into her last thought very nicely. He hauled himself up onto his webbed feet and towered over Celeste who was frozen on the spot. Torrent's presence in her mind numbed her limbs.

"So my dear...you want to know what'll happen to you? I was hoping that you'd allow me to enjoy your company for a little bit longer...but if you're in a rush, I'll tell you your options now. Is that all right?"

Reduced to a paranoid child, Celeste chewed on a thumbnail and whimpered quietly.

"Very good." Torrent reared back his head and squatted down by Celeste's ear. "Here's option number one. I can make a lot of money on you. And I mean a LOT."

A terrible (and perfectly valid) thought then crossed Celetse's mind. Torrent read into it and snorted.

"No, not prostitution. That's so done. No my sweet...you don't know it, but in the underground there is a very pretty price on your head to anyone who can deliver you alive. The same price was on your father's head...and several other members of the McTreggor bloodline dating back several decades."

This news was extremely disturbing to Celeste, yet far within her she felt a faint note of strange excitement and pride sing out. All of a sudden she was an outlaw? Cool! But...

"Who wants to find me that badly, Torrent?"

Torrent laced his dirty fingers behind his head and tilted it back in a yellow smile. "This is where the age-old question pops up: 'How far will you humans go to guarantee the existence of your species?'." Torrent was able to sense Celeste's frustration with his stalling. "The Inheritors of Eden want you, child," he announced solemnly.

Celeste felt as if she were living a bad comic-book story. "Inheritors of what?"

"The Inheritors of Eden, an organization that has been around for ages. If I were to deliver you to them, I'd be rewarded an insane amount of money."

Celeste boggled slightly.

"It goes like this." Torrent moved closer to Celeste in automatic response to her shying away. "The Inheritors would love nothing more than to add the McTreggor bloodline to their ranks. They know about your fighting history and they also know about Mindspeak. You would not be mistreated if you joined them. You'd live a rich and meaningful life if you were willing to...cooperate with their program. I gave this offer of eternal happiness to your sire, and just to let you know the fool was too 'faithful' to his mate and children to take it. But you...you are not obligated to this world in any way. Will you allow me to deliver you to the Inheritors?"

Celeste felt like a sponge in a bucket of water. More had been thrown at her than she could possibly absorb. It took some effort, but she managed to wipe the slack-jaw off of her face to seriously consider what Torrent had said. The Inheritors of Eden. Somehow that sounded like the kind of thing that would change your life if you dared to indulge in it.

"Torrent, why don't you tell me what the Inheritors do?"

Torrent was taken aback. "Why, daughter of Jake...would that matter if you were happy?"

"Yes, actually, it would matter a great deal," Celeste grimaced.

Torrent suddenly thumped himself down on his hindquarters and drew Celeste close to him like a grimy child with an overused teddy bear. Celeste hardly flinched; she was getting used to this erratic behaviour. She simply marinated in the Mechadrake's stench as he rocked back and forth with the her head against him.

"Sweet Child O Mine," Torrent purred soothingly like a mother comforting a baby, "that question is irrelevant. If you are given a chance to live a perfect life, don't question it. That's what got your kind kicked out of paradise in the first place." Torrent paused. "No, I don't think you are ready to join the Inheritors of Eden. I guess we'll be going on to option two now..."

All at once, Torrent hopped to his feet. Celeste went for a bit of a tumble. She cowered, expecting the Mechadrake's claws to dig into her flesh at any second. However, Torrent wasn't even looking at her. He was looking over his shoulder, his spiny ears turning and scanning. Although Celeste couldn't hear anything, she could sense that Torrent had.

"Torrent, what -- ?"

Be still, Torrent's whisper trickled in her mind.

Celeste clamped her mouth shut and strained with her inferior human ears for a hint of what Torrent was so worked up about...

"Yum. Sewage."

Paul and a handful of his Night Viper underlings sloshed through the maze knee-deep dirty water. The foul sludge reflected their moods. They had found very few traces of Celeste and Torrent over the past few days, and they were beginning to lose hope.

"I wonder if the other parties are having any luck," one of the Vipers thought aloud.

"I sure hope so," Paul said. "This may not be fun, but at least we're not one of the groups that has to search the R-Section labyrinths. Down there, the water can get neck-deep."

"Double yum."

The group splashed on, Paul at the head. Bringing up the rear was his second-in-command, a human male named Ozzie. Ozzie had tripped and fallen into the scummy fluid earlier that day, and he was utterly miserable now as his wet clothes slapped against his skin. To top it all off, there was a chilly draft billowing from one of the many passageways. It was conditions like these in which a person could easily catch a --

"Ah--CHOOOO!"

The sneeze had snuck up on Ozzie without warning. It blazed through the catacombs and bounced off the walls happily, like bells ringing in the new year.

Paul glowered at Ozzie in disgust. "God bless you."

Ozzie grinned sheepishly.

"If Torrent was nearby," one of the reploids in the group remarked, "he's long gone by now."

The sneeze had reached them like a gunshot. Celeste's face lit up with hope upon hearing it. That sneeze HAD to belong to a member of a search party! She sprang up, intending to yell out her location, but before she could even make a sound, a clammy hand closed around her mouth with alarming strength. Torrent swept Celeste off of her feet and tucked her under one arm as he dove into the water, paddling swiftly towards an escape route. In a very few seconds, Celeste's lungs began to feel as if they were bursting at the seams, yet Torrent didn't show any intentions of surfacing for air. He merely pressed onward through the silent, watery tomb, oblivious to Celeste's mental screams of panic. The Huntress' mind fizzled out as her body went limp.

Celeste surprised herself by waking up. She was laying on solid ground and panting furiously, her body obviously retrieving its oxygen debt. Her throbbing head just about blew up when she tried to sit up. When she finally succeeded and the black spots stopped slam-dancing in front of her eyes, she was treated to Torrent Leviathan suddenly thrusting a vial of unidentifiable clear liquid under her nose. Celeste instantly drew her head back. Good move. Unfortunately, her back met with a wall and the vial was right in front of her face once more.

"Okay Torrent, what's with THIS?"

"Option number two, my dear!" Torrent cackled. "I need a guinea pig. You'll do nicely."

"Is...is it some kind of super virus?" Celeste cracked as she tried to become one with the grungy bricks behind her.

"Oh, puh-leeze!" Torrent rolled his eyes. "Not only is the whole 'super virus' thing cliche, it's also completely useless. Humans are one of the most genetically diverse species in the universe. Sure, a virus would wipe out a handful of them but there would always be a percentage that would survive. It's called meiosis and humans undergo the process specifically for protection against killer diseases. What DO they teach you in school?"

Celeste's pale mind could only recall learning the ABC's.

Torrent waggled the vile under Celeste's nose again. "What we have here," he announced, "Is a more fun and exciting way of Mavericks getting rid of humans. My pet name for it is 'Crazy Juice'. Once this stuff enters your blood stream, your sanity gets shot to hell. You quite literally become stark raving mad and will blindly attack anything that moves. Can you imagine it? Mavericks pitting one berserk human against another in the arena...placing bets on their favourite...raking in the cash. Sure beats horseracing! You save on oats, too."

"And you want to TEST this stuff on me?!"

"It would be very nice if you would cooperate," Torrent said airily. "See, at this point, I don't know if the effects are permanent. A...friend of mine ran a bit of a test for me. He/she used it on a pack of orphaned kids, but they ended up mangling each other in the final stages of their insanity before any results could be confirmed. Ever see a bunch of kids kill each other? Sad sight, my dear, sad sight indeed."

With the deadly speed of a cobalt cobra, Torrent had coiled around Celeste and held her fast, laughing at her desperate struggles. Celeste could see one of Torrent's claws glittering dully, poised just above her right arm, ready to draw blood. Just a little bit of the stuff rubbed into a fresh cut would do perfectly fine...

But no. Torrent dropped his hand and gave Celeste some slack. Celeste scrambled out of his hold. "I'm not being fair to you, child." He rasped. Celeste whipped around and faced the Mechadrake, adrenaline singing and pounding against her eardrums. She was ready to die fighting tooth-and-nail against the devil. But Celeste's foaming at the mouth didn't change Torrent's sad tone. "I'm not being fair to you," he repeated.

Celeste squared her shoulders and wiped the greasy film of sweat off of her forehead.

"I can't just infect you with a disease while you're defenseless, then watch you die without a prayer in the world. You came for a showdown. And a showdown you shall get. I allowed your father the same privilege, after all." Metal hissed against metal as Torrent the Tenderhearted suddenly unsheathed a six-inch hunting knife. Dark light flashed on its dim surface as it was jammed in a crack at Celeste's feet. Celeste gawked at the weapon as if it were a spirit. Dried, black blood dulled the blade's brilliance. Blood that could only have belonged to...

"Jake." Torrent finished the thought for Celeste and gave a lukewarm grin. "Yes, this is your father's blood before you. I used this knife to slit his miserable throat, and I never cleaned the blade after that. It was an unforgettable battle, let me tell you. Your dear old da' was a great representative for humankind. Here, this is for you." Torrent graciously tossed Celeste her lightsabre. He had ignited it for her, and in her trance Celeste nearly caught the weapon by its pulsating neon blade. That would have cost her a hand.

"Myself, I will be fighting with just these dirty little fingernails of mine," Torrent announced grandly to a make-believe audience. "But...let's add a bit of Shakespearean zest to the duel, shall we?"

Torrent hummed softly as he withdrew his vial of Crazy Juice. Holding it in his balled left hand, he carefully dunked each of his talons on his right hand in the deceptively harmless-looking clear fluid. Then he set the vial down and blew on his hand like a woman trying to speed up the drying process of her fingernail polish.

"One scratch and you're bats," Torrent rhymed for Celeste with a final shake of his spiked hand. "Awright...let's goooo!"

The limited English vocabulary simply fails to come up with words that are spectacular enough to describe a battle between two individuals who have the ability to tap into each other's thoughts and feed off of each other's emotions. Comparing a fight that is fueled by Mindspeak to a normal fight between skilled fencers is like comparing the apocalyptic raging of divine warriors to grunting, clumsy cavemen splitting each others' skulls with crude clubs.

Shimmering waves of glaring, neon heat shed from Celeste's lightsabre. The false warmth spawned the perspiration that condensed on her forehead and gushed down her neck in rivulets. Her shredded T shirt was soaked with a nauseating mixture of dirt and sweat. The coppery scent of fresh blood was also seeping its way into the delightful concoction that was growing on the mangled cotton; just minutes ago, Torrent had delivered a stinging tail whip to the Huntress that had drawn a fine diagonal line of red from her right shoulder all the way down to the left joint in her hip. The furious pumping of her heart did little to halt the slow but steady flow of blood. For the moment, the wound didn't bother her very much. Celeste knew that the thing to watch was Torrent's poisoned right paw, which the Leviathan swung freely.

Any other human in the same furious battle would have dropped dead long ago of blood loss or dehydration, if not both. Strangely enough, Celeste did not feel any exhaustion whatsoever. The battle had forced her to learn how to use Mindspeak to her advantage. Raw emotions were cascading between her mind and Torrent's, and by feeding off of her foe, she was able to plead with her body to lend her a nonstop flow of adrenaline.

The wild emotions, thoughts and memories that ebbed and flowed between Celeste and Torrent during the battle were potent, random and nonsensical, a bizarre mix of everything felt by a newlywed couple on their wedding night to a rookie soldier on the front lines for the first time. Hate, love, anger, terror, lust, passion. Both their minds were so cluttered with the unusual emotional sludge that neither one of them could make sense of exactly what the other was thinking. Their fighting was completely wild with no strategy at all.

Numerous slashes crisscrossed Torrent's body. His eyes burned baleful and red with ambition. He was under the same drive as Celeste. He wanted to cut off this wild frenzy of emotions, he wanted to grab them by the neck and strangle them. Neither of them could continue to torture their bodies for very much longer. In the battle with Jake, it had been the human who had weakened first. But Celeste was younger and full of ginger by the looks of the calm blue fire burning steadily in her eyes...was it possible that she could outlast him...?

NO. Jaws agape and terror renewed, Torrent leaped for Celeste throat. The Huntress simply swerved to one side and rewarded Torrent with a gash along his neck. Torrent roared in pain and rage, unsheathing his claws once more. He would drive the (respectable) little crackwhore off of her prissy dry perch of land and into the water. THEN they'd see who would outlast who!

Torrent's webbed feet slapped against the brick floor, the percussion to his howls as he marched with unwavering speed to where Celeste was standing. But Celeste did not back away in terror as Torrent had planned, even when he bellowed a lovely dragon-roar just inches from her face. She had become a complete statue. She was not even looking directly at the Mechadrake; she was looking beyond him with glazed eyes. Her lightsabre extinguished itself as it slipped through numb fingers and clattered to the ground. Triumph thrummed through Torrent's cooling mind; he had driven Celeste to shock! Extremely pleased with himself, he delicately bared his lemon teeth to nibble on the Huntress' jugular. The first spurt of blood was always the best...

Suddenly, the statue was a she-cobra who flashed at her assailant's thigh with a dull black fang. A red arrow of burning pain shot through Torrent. Too dumbstruck to even bellow his displeasure at being skewered through the leg, the Mechadrake looked down to see the shaft of a blade protruding out of his muscular thigh like a blackened, broken bone...the shaft belonging to the very same blade he had slit Jake's throat with. Torrent had shown it off to Celeste and jammed it in the ground moments before launching his attack. But when had Celeste recovered the blade...? Torrent's fevered mind could not recall.

Torrent averted his slack jawed gape (which was very unbecoming on him) from his injury to Celeste's face. She was enjoying herself, feeding off of his pain as he had done to her so many times. It was apparent from the satisfied smug expression that oozed to every corner on her face and settled into the corners of her mouth and jerked them up into a malicious grin that did not seem to belong to her. Then Celeste opened her mouth to speak.

"Drink your own medicine, Torrie."

It was not Celeste's voice.

It was Jake's.

Heights. X liked heights, especially on windy days. X also liked airports, and seeing how he was now on the windy roof of terminal 5 of Airport 1001, he was having a pretty neato day all in all.

At that moment, X was supposed to have been confronting Storm Eagle who had taken over the port, but he was allowing himself a little rest first. His legs were stretched out before him, and on his lap was the new helmet he had just received as a gift from his 'dad'. It was a fine white and blue headpiece with a crest of dual tapered fins that would make ceiling bashing a whole lot of fun.

X ran his fingers along the edges of the bladed helmet as he prattled on to Light's form, which was still shimmering in the capsule that X was leaning against. The love-starved reploid insisted on talking to his father whenever he had the chance. Light still refused to tell X about his past and rarely said anything other than what X's latest upgrade doohickey was good for. X didn't mind; he just liked to have someone to talk to.

"So, let me tell you a bit more about this friend of mine, Doc."

"I don't know X," Light said in a hollow and exasperated tone of voice. "I'm really not joking when I say that this is long distance..."

"Ah, you're doing fine." X assured him as he fixed his new helmet onto his clammy, mussed nest of brown hair. "Anyway, like I was saying, this Zero fellow is quite a character. We didn't really like each other when we first met, but he turned out to be an okay fellow. Now we're pretty much best friends. I've noticed a few weird things about him, though. For one thing he has a hard time handling the death of anything that's important to him in any way. Like this one time he left me in charge of feeding his goldfish. I kind of...forgot to do it, and the stupid critter went belly up. So you know what Zero did? He dragged me down to the parking lot and slammed my head repeatedly with his car door. That's part of the reason I'm so grateful to get this helmet of yours, Doc. My old one is kind of bashed up."

Light nonchalantly stared off into the wild blue yonder. "This friend of yours does seem interesting," he drawled. "Who did you say his creator was?"

X shook his head. "I didn't. He claims to have been abandoned at activation."

For the first time during their long conversation, Light appeared to be interested in what X was saying. "Really? That IS interesting. I'd like to meet this fellow some day. Shouldn't he be helping you to defeat the Mavericks?"

X drew a long sigh that was saturated with self-pity. "Yeah...but for now, I'm all alone." The azure reploid then went on to tell the whole sad story of Celeste going after Torrent, and how Zero had gone chasing after her. "Remember how I said that Zero hates to see anything or anyone close to him die? Well, I'm sure he wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to Cel."

Light's ghostly pale brow was furrowed in thought. "I see," he muttered. "You're saying that he cares for a human?"

"Oh hell yes." X craned his neck back to get a better view of his father. "He's admitted it several times to me. I kept it a secret, of course." X's voice wavered a tiny bit at the end of the sentence as he recalled just how much of a 'secret' he had kept Zero's fascination for Celeste.

Light suddenly began to laugh heartily.

X was puzzled. "Is funny?"

Light's laugh trickled off into a chuckle. "In a way, yes," he grinned. "Technically, humans and reploids aren't supposed to fall for each other because of all the nasty complications that can arise. But now that I hear it's happening...well, the basic idea is kind of nice! Maybe the two species can coexist after all. X, next time anyone is giving our happy couple a hard time about being together, kick them in the shins and tell them it's from good ol' Doc Light."

"I'm way ahead of ya."

Torrent braced himself. When he was ready, he screwed up his courage and grasped the hilt of the blade lodged within his leg. Setting his teeth he slowly freed the dirty metal from its fleshy bed. The acoustics of the nauseating self-surgery were particularly interesting, between the drawn out slurping sound the knife made as it left its sheath and Torrent's own high-pitched whine. Jake, in the shell of his daughter, was not taken aback at all. The Mechadrake could taste the acidity of Jake's triumph. It was an acrid spot on the roof of his mouth that was slowly spreading to coat his forked tounge.

"You're going to want a band aid for that, Torrent."

Torrent simply rumbled, hunched over his wound. Then he rose slowly, like a twisted weed growing out of filth. All at once he hurled the bewitched knife into the watery vein beside him. He no longer had any reason to be proud of it. Celeste had retrieved her lightsabre and was now advancing on her prey. The tables had certainly turned. Torrent was bleeding furiously. He couldn't fight with a lame leg.

Celeste was the mouthpiece for her father's spirit once again. "I didn't want anything to do with the Inheritors, so why would my daughter?" The Huntress (Hunter?) swung the lightsabre in a wide, lime arc. Torrent dodged none to gracefully. His leg was now dragging. Celeste was still advancing. "Leave my daughter alone. Leave her thoughts to herself. Leave the McTreggors alone. Do you think we ASKED for the 'gift' of Mindspeak? Do you think we're proud of it? Why do you think we never tell anyone about it? What have you got to fear from us?"

Torrent slowly coiled as his arch nemesis approached. "More than you think, Jake ol' chap."

There was a sudden, blue flash. Celeste could feel Torrent's hot breath hissing on her left arm a nanosecond before all five of the sacred poisoned talons on the altar of his right paw sunk into her skin. The Huntress' world turned upside down as her back slammed into the wall. As she slid down, she could feel the rough brick licking along her skin like the tounge of a very large cat. She regained her equilibrium just in time to see Torrent slither into the soupy water beside her ledge. The leviathan was gone, but he had infected Celeste with his experimental virus. He had left a happy Maverick.

"Another turn, another fork stuck in the road." Zero glared hatefully at the series of tunnels before him that snaked their way further into the catacombs. Frustration had free reign of his mind and it was tearing him apart. He couldn't keep half of MHHQ's fighting force way down under to keep up their fruitless search for Celeste. There was an actual war going on. That's where everyone was supposed to be...

Zero dismissed it temporarily as he irritably waved for his small troop to follow him down one of the randomly chosen passageways. The trio of nondescript reploids complied silently; their commander was in a very foul mood. About ten minutes later, the small group met up with a nest of three completely exhausted Night Vipers.

Zero regarded the two reploids and one human with bleary, hopeless eyes. "Did any of you find anything?"

"No sir."

"Not yet sir."

"We ain't found shit!!"

Everyone glared at the third Viper who was quietly upset to find that nobody shared any pleasure in his jokes.

"I'm pretty sure this is all useless," one of Zero's reploids dared to say once everyone had had a good stare. "kind of a needle-in-a-haystack type of thing --"

A pain-soaked roar from afar cut him off. Everyone was jolted at once.

Zero's eyes flared deliciously as he mentally pinpointed where the cry had wafted from.

"Bingo-bango!"

The virus got down to work very quickly. Celeste, still slumped against the wall where Torrent had left her, could feel it tingling all around her body like the marching feet of thousands of icy ants. The straight, sharp lines of the sewer brickwork began to melt down and swirl madly before her glazed eyes. The world in itself was rapidly becoming more and more psychedelic.

Hang in there Kitten, her father's ghostly mind whispered soothingly into her own. Ironically enough, the voice was the only truly real thing that Celeste could hang on to. Help is on the way.

Celeste became frantic at the thought of being left alone in a strange place while a freak virus was taking over her body. Are you leaving me here? You CAN'T go! I've been wanting to talk to you for ages!

Celeste could sense Jake's regret. Sorry my dear, but you might say that this is long distance. I'll just say that I'm extremely proud of you. Give your ma my love! The famous Hunter's presence burned out of Celeste's mind like a candle flame, leaving her very much alone.

It was at that moment that the virus slammed into the Huntress full tilt. Her eyes were drained of all traces of sanity. She rose slowly to her feet and unsheathed her lightsabre. She knew only one thing; some human had to die.

Her potential victim came into the light very quickly. Seven figures burst into the chamber. One of them, a huge crimson demon with a fire-yellow tail, spotted her right away and rushed towards her with open arms while chanting her name over and over in a slow, unearthly voice. Celeste was not interested in him. She could smell the hateful human that cowered in the very back of the group, safe behind a shield of reploids. She had to reach him and skewer him at all costs. With an alien battle cry, the possessed Huntress charged the red devil before her, the devil that was blocking the way to her rightful prey.

"Holy fish on toast," Ozzie gawked. "Get a load of that look she's giving me!"

Zips the reploid tossed a wide grin at his young human friend. "Maybe she's coming on to you," he teased.

Ozzie shrugged and smiled feebly. "Hey, if you've got it, you've got it."

Nobody, not even Zero, said anything for a full five seconds as they observed the beast of a girl fretting across the room. She fearlessly padded around them, lightsabre drawn, growling and drooling like a blood-starved cat in a cage. She never pried her eyes away from Ozzie, the single human who was snug in a shield of reploids. The musty scent of his blood drove her wild, and the shrieking leviathan's voice in her head assured her that the blood would smell even better once it splashed on the pavement...

Ozzie suddenly reeled in surprise as he recognized the human girl that was tearing him apart with those bloody optics. "Whoa!" he yelped. "It is Celeste! We've found her!" He began to move towards her, but Zips pulled his arm back sharply.

"Not a good idea. Something's not right about her. She looks rabid."

"I know that," Ozzie snarled, insulted. He tried to pull away from his friend, but Zips gave him no slack. "I worked in the Medical Unit for a time. I need to get a better look at her! I can help..."

"Stay where you are!" Zero barked in a quietly commanding voice as he barred the way to Celeste with his arm. "Zippy's right. Something's happened to her."

Celeste chose that moment to strike. She bounded towards the Hunters, her sabre held in front of her like a knight's lance. Her tangled, unwashed hair flew behind her like a comet's tail, and the shredded ribbons of her shirt flapped like the banners of an unholy army. An unearthly scream, not unlike that of a banshee, wailed from beyond her yellow teeth. She was revved to cut through Ozzie's live shield with everything she had.

Luckily, Zero was prepared. He likewise charged Celeste, his arms outstretched like a fisherman's net, expecting her to break for him. Even Ozzie's inferior human ears could hear the shocked sadness that weaved into Zero's voice as it rose above the girl's hellish din.

"Celeste...Celeste dear, what did he do to you...?"

Unfortunately for Zero, Celeste wasn't breaking for anybody. A hot shower of sparks and black blood washed over the Huntress as she drove her lightsabre into the crimson reploid's upper left arm and ripped it out again. A terrible scream broke free from Zero, and he instinctively kicked at his attacker. The sharp steel toe of his boot slammed into Celeste's shin with a sickening crack of splintering bones. Issuing a pained wail of her own, Celeste collapsed on the spot, the agony of her broken leg making her violently sick to her stomach.

Leaving a spatter of blood as he pounced, Zero tackled the stricken girl and pinned her neck against the ground with his good arm. He couldn't help but crack a malicious grin at the irony of the situation. He secretly always wanted to have a nice 'roll in the hay' with Celeste ... and here she was below him, even though love had absolutely nothing to with the position. (so to speak!)

That's when Zero's nearly-forgotten 'dark side' suddenly surfaced like a bubble in bad jam and drew a sick pleasure from the situation. All of the reploid's compassionate feelings for Celeste drowned as Bass' cobweb-strung voice invaded his head.

That's the way to do it, little bro! Just like old times, huh?

Zero silently agreed with his brother. The female below him was his rightful quarry and was at his mercy. He could do to her what he pleased. He tightened his grip on the Huntress' neck, allowing his long-starved evil psyche to savour her terrified helplessness and pain. The blood that laced the vomit puddled around Celeste's head accented his rapture...

What was he thinking?! Zero panicked and quickly regained control of his emotions. He eased his death-grip on Celeste's neck. The smothered fire leaped back into her eyes as he did so. She clawed at the Hunter, but was still pinned under his bulk. She couldn't twist out from under him and she was only going to hurt herself trying. Zero was beginning to consider knocking her out with a careful blow to the head when a quick breeze whipped past his arm. Startled, he jumped off of Celeste just in time to see a nullifier dart burrow into her left shoulder like a tropical bird immersing itself into a flower.

The drug worked extremely fast. Celeste's face had already gone slack and stupid by the time she reached up and pulled the dart out of her skin. From his viewpoint, Zero could see that the dosage she was shot with was much smaller than what was usually given to a reploid. Studying the syringe with wild-animal curiosity, Celeste suddenly eased her eyes shut and allowed the dart to slip from her fingers. She settled down, but she did not lapse into total unconsciousness.

Weariness and fear invaded Zero. He clutched at his injured arm, his thoughts buzzing painfully through his head. For months, he thought it was safe to say that he fully converted from a villain to a good fellow ... but now he realized that a portion of his soul was still shaded black from his days growing up with Bass. And it was more than just his trademark bloodlust. Zero shuddered as he watched Celeste convulse in the swath of the nullifier. His mind played back the raven emotions he'd experienced during their struggle. Horrified, he realized that when he had Celeste at his mercy, he wanted to hurt her, rape her, even kill her. Certain circumstances could revert him back into the masochistic, power-hungry brother of Bass. He would have to be a lot more cautious with his emotions, or he could seriously end up hurting her...

"Hey Zero!" Ozzie suddenly called and grinned whilst twirling his nullifier gun triumphantly. "I TOLD you to let me handle this! I mean, I'll give you credit for trying to knock out Celeste like that ... but hell, it was totally unnecessary!" He stopped twirling and frowned up at the reploids around him. "ALL of you have got to give more credit to us humans."

The ring of reploids around Ozzie merely gave a collective grunt.

A small bucket of relief quenched a little bit of Zero's panic. The other Hunters hadn't realized the evil side of his attack on Celeste. That was one headache avoided. Temporarily pushing the ugliness out of his mind, Zero kneeled beside the semiconscious Huntress and carefully gathered her up, wincing as she weighed down on his injured arm. Celeste subconsciously felt the jolt to her broken leg and became fretful again, kicking and squirming.

"Do you want me to take her?" Zips inquired. "With the way she's moving around, I'm sure she's hurting your arm even more."

"No thanks. I've got her," Zero said. He grinned as Celeste flopped around like a landlocked fish. "Actually, when working for the Medical Unit, I had to handle a countless number injured humans. Ozzie had the right idea with giving her a small shot of nullifier." Zero nodded in approval at the human who grinned in acknowledgment. "But here's a trick that'll get her to settle down completely."

With that, Zero shifted Celeste slightly so that his left hand reached over her face, covered her eyes and pressed her head against his chest. In no time at all, the rigidity of the Huntress' body thawed and she became completely relaxed.

The observing reploids were impressed with the quick and effective results. "What did you do?" they all wanted to know.

Zero shrugged modestly. "Darkness and a heartbeat," he explained. "It's an instinctive reaction. It reminds most humans of being back in the womb, so they settle down. Doesn't work all the time, but hey, it's always worth a try! Now, who's up for getting out of this Happy Place of Fun?"

Celeste's dreams were stormy and vivid. It was hard for her to actually determine when she was dreaming and when she was awake. Furious activity spun around her. The first thing she was aware of was the icy sponge that washed and dressed the nasty wounds on her arms chest. Then there was the fiery agony of her leg being set. Celeste howled and cursed, frantically tugging at her restraints and scanning the room for a human to take her pain out on. Then something sharp bit her upper arm and injected a sweet, liquid lullaby. She surrendered to sleep's less troubled waters.

But in an instant, Celeste's eyes flew open and she was glaring at the reploid fox who was hovering over her and jabbering medical jargon to two nearby friends; the red demon she charged earlier, and a small British 'ploid with a stupid hat. Celeste could filter in a few broken phrases: "highly unusual virus", "uncontrollable lust for human blood", "can be diluted, but will be very painful".

The next thing Celeste knew, she was hooked up to an IV and the blonde-red reploid was beside her bed, gently squeezing her hand and telling her to be brave. Celeste had no idea what he was rambling about until a faint burning sensation began to pour into her veins. The burning gradually became more and more intense until it was downright excruciating. Celeste's screams respectively reached higher and higher scales until she finally passed out.

Torrent...? Celeste cautiously approached the Mechadrake, who had his spiky back turned to her. Torrent? she repeated.

Torrent did not turn his eyes from the sewer brickwork. This is the last time you shall dream about me, Daughter of Jake, he said. I just wanted to offer you my congratulations.

For...?

Torrent snorted and wheeled around. He slit his eyes at Celeste. For surviving my virus, of course! And for defeating me. The amount of physical and mental pain you've suffered is incredible. And yet, you've remained so damn optimistic and cheerful! You really are a McTreggor.

So...I'm going to be okay? Celeste ventured. Torrent nodded. Indeed, he rumbled. Thanks to your services as a guneia pig, I decided that I won't be unleashing the virus. I have more pressing matters to attend to back home at Mechadrake Assemblies. Besides, I trust you humans will breed yourselves out of existence in a little while, so why bother with genocide?

Um...good point, I think.

I leave you to think about that, Torrent lolled and winked. And I leave you with this final message. Sooner or later, the Inheritors of Eden WILL get their hands on you. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe years from now. Maybe they'll even wait for your children. But when the time comes, do yourself and the world a favour. DON'T resist them. Torrent snaked his neck around Celeste's own. He nuzzled at her cheek with his bumpy snout, chuckling at the Huntress' unspoken disgust. Well then, this is goodbye. Take care...Sweet...

'Sweet Child O' Mine', Celeste automatically finished up for him.

Torrent suddenly pushed her away roughly and lashed at her with his tail. Caught off guard, Celeste yelped and staggered backwards to the lip of the sewer platform. She teetered on the edge for a split second before falling off. She braced her body for the splashdown that was sure to follow, but it never came. She just fell...and fell...and fell...

"Mr. Zero sir...there's not much you can do for her. It's up to her to pull through the effects of the anti-virus."

"Shut up Pip."

"Oh...okay."

Celeste lay half-naked and almost motionless under a complicated net of wires and tubes. Why can't humans heal as quickly and easily as reploids? Zero mourned. He was anchored to Celeste's bedside, clutching a handful of her matted brown hair. He did his best to tidy the girl up a bit by running a comb through that handful of hair, over and over. The repetitive motion allowed his thoughts to crawl through his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about how he was responsible for Celeste's broken leg, and he couldn't forget how badly he wanted to hurt her when she was at his mercy. What if that happened again? Maybe it would be best to take the advice Genesis gave him way back and try to fall out of love with her ... nah, he couldn't do that. That was like asking him to stop breathing. Zero sighed, and started on a new handful of hair. I'm a selfish bastard, he thought dully as he gently wrestled with a fresh set of tangles. Celeste's safety was on the line, and he couldn't even make the effort to stay away from her. But that wasn't very important at the moment. All Zero wanted was for Celeste to open her eyes, look at him and tell him that she was okay...

The sickly sweet smell of charred flesh wafted into the Medical Unit. Zero grimaced as the scent introduced itself to his nose. Turning in the direction of the stench, he was met by a medium-rare X.

"Whoa! X!" Zero gaped at his charred friend, forgetting about Celeste's hair for a minute. "Good God! Are you all right?"

X's barbecued form swayed back and forth like a tree that was about to be toppled by stormy weather. His blackened hair stood up on end, indicating that he'd obviously been shocked repeatedly with several million volts of electricity.

"I have a headache," X mewed pitifully before passing out.

Genesis and Pip picked up the reploid between them and moved him to a more comfortable resting place. Zero reached over to pick up the small figure that tumbled out of his friend's grasp. The destruction of each Maverick boss always left a carving in its form. X's last battle had been with Spark Mandrill ... and yet, Sparky's figure was not that of an ape.

"Looks like some kinda yellow rat," Zero mumbled to himself as he studied the object. "But what kinda rat has a lightning bolt for a tail and red cheeks...?" Zero stroked the rat's puffy cheeks in curiosity, and was rewarded with an intense blast of electricity. That woke him up.

"Pikachu!" the seemingly innocent rat introduced itself sweetly once Zero's world stopped reeling.

"Well, at least Sparky had a sense of humour," Zero cracked. He delivered the bewitched carving to the computer mainframe, wisely deciding not to touch it again if it could be helped. On his way back to the Medical Unit, he realized X had defeated seven of the Mavericks.

Only one more to go...

"Come on, Celeste. Haul your cute little human carcass up into a sitting position. You can do it."

"No..."

"We have to start rehabilitating you."

"Lemme 'lone...too cold."

"You've got to be kidding. The entire Medical Ward is a sauna. Genesis insists on screwing around with the temperature, even on a beautiful day like today. Speaking of Genesis, he's sick of taking care of your bedpans, and he insists that you get out of bed today. So UP!"

Celeste's stale blanket was ripped from her. Sharp air needled her skin for the first time in three days. Celeste yelped from the shock and grabbed the tail of her quilt just as it trailed away from her. She yanked at it with all the fluttering strength she had. Zero responded on the other end with a much firmer tug. Celeste's woolly security slipped away from her. The Hunter grabbed her by one shoulder and helped her sit up. Totally washed out on drugs, Celeste contorted in response to the sudden cold, like a withering hag. Her inability to keep her right eye open did little to improve her looks.

"Lookin' fine," Zero lied. He parked a wheelchair next to the bed. "We're going to go for a little walk. The fresh air'll do you good. Here, I'll help you get in." Zero hefted Celeste into his arms. "The weather is beautiful, and ... uh ... ... why are you leering at me like that?"

Celeste ate Zero up with her good eye right before she threw her arms around his neck like an affectionate spider monkey. She pressed up against him. Severely flustered (and pleasantly surprised at the same time), Zero staggered backwards and did his best to keep his composure. What in God's name was this gal doing to him?! The startled Hunter opened his mouth to yell for backup.

"GEN--ulf!"

Celeste's mouth closed over Zero's own, cutting him off in mid-holler. Hey! This was fun!

Genesis padded into the room just then. He grinned as his shaded eyes fell on the tangled Hunter and Huntress. "Warned ya!" he sang in Zero's direction.

"About what?" Zero said aghast, looking down at Celeste who was now back to dozing with her head snuggled contentedly against his chest. "I was just about to take her out for a nice walk, but she took a hyper spaz when I lifted her up."

"I warned you to stay away from Celeste," Genesis said, his bushy tail swishing irritably from side to side. "But of course you didn't listen. Now she's fallen for you. The conditions are perfect...she's almost 20, you just saved her life, it's springtime, and she's under an ocean of medication. Ta da."

Flattered, Zero carefully set Celeste into the wheelchair. "What does her medication have to do with anything?" he wanted to know.

"She's on morphine," Genesis explained. "That stuff can really mess with your mind ... the truth suddenly becomes much easier to tell...or, in this case, act out. Under normal circumstances, I doubt that Celeste would've even told you how she felt. But thanks to the magic of morphine, her desires surfaced and she was perfectly comfortable with climbing all over you like an oversexed orangutan in heat."

"Oh...man..." Zero trailed off as he eyed Celeste's broken leg and was reminded how it ended up that way in the first place. Damn erratic emotions. So now the human was officially in love with him. Well, what good was that if Zero would always be at the risk of hurting her?

"Guys, please, could you give me five minutes? I'd like a moment to talk to my dad."

X's fan club -- a platoon of rabbit-like Tombots -- paid no heed. They simply bathed in their own silent awe, looking up at their blue mentor with adoring eyes. They were the only still and quiet animal life residing in Sting Chameleon's teeming techno-jungle. Reploid beasts and unnatural genetic hybrids squawked from every corner, their eyes flickering like unearthly flames. Dense foliage draped the pseudo trees and a dark green light shimmered in the humid air.

"That's quite a following you have there," Light's ghost remarked from the ice blue capsule behind X.

"I know," the Hunter sighed. "These dumb rabbit bots have always had a thing for me. Do I smell like carrots or something? I don't get it!"

"Maybe it's that new armour I just gave you," Light suggested jokingly. "I guess white and blue is a turn-on for rabbits?"

"Everything is a turn-on for rabbits," X snorted, his fingers running possessively over his sleek new jacket. Besides making him look snappy and sharp, the armour would reduce damage to his systems considerably. "All of ya go home now! 'kay?"

Nope.

Light chuckled sadly. "I guess we'll have to say our goodbyes with an audience."

X's eyes suddenly grew huge and blue with shock. "Wh-what goodbyes?" he stumbled.

"Goodbyes. You know, as in ciao, cherrio, au revior, shalom, God be with ye..."

"You're...leaving? For good?"

Light's holographic ghost shifted uncomfortably. "Yes,foralongwhile," he slurred, attempting to hide the emotion that was puddled around his words. "I've done what I can to help you...the rest is up to you...I can't stick around for any longer."

Reality bit into X's heart with icy teeth. "No!" he yelped. "You can't leave me alone like this!"

Light turned his back to X's face like a brick wall. "Sorry old boy..."

"I'll get REALLY mad..." was X's pathetic threat.

"I've told you before, this is long distance..."

"I'll throw one of these Tombots at you!..."

"If I could stay with you all the time, I would..."

"I mean it! I'll do it!...oh God, you're the only one who I can really talk to..."

"You're like a son to me..."

"I can hardly even say something to Zero without getting some smartass retort..."

" 'I never married and my dog is dead...' "

"Plus, he's too busy with his pet human to care about anything I say anymore..."

"Companionship is very important..."

"He's with her all the time...couldn't even help me defeat the Mavericks..."

"The bond between male and female..."

"Why doesn't he just SLEEP with her?..."

"Human and reploid..."

"Let us all offa the hook..."

"Those two could be the hope some day."

Father and son stopped ranting simultaneously. They simply stared at each other for a long time, sharing the same silent message of understanding. Light broke the spell by offering a last, sad smile to X just before shimmering out of sight. One second his solid image was there, and the next he was just diamond-like particles twirling in the heavy air like enchanted sparks rising from a mage's fire, scattering and dying forever. X was left very much alone.

Soaked with misery, the blue reploid plunked himself down next to the hollow armour capsule, listening to the liveliness of the forest around him and watching the sunbeams bounce off his new armour. The Tombots shyly loped away, abandoning their fallen hero. Only the smallest one remained faithful, and it cuddled up to X's leg. Moving in a daze, X scooped the little robot up into his arms and huddled over it so that his tears wouldn't drip on its metallic skin.

"Come back, dad...you're the only one who understands me..."

"Mmmhmmmmaaaaow." Sting Chameleon opened his beaky mouth in a yawn. "Good morning, Han. Milk, toast, and Eggo waffles if you please..."

No response.

Sting eased one bulging eye open and scanned his small chamber from his viewpoint on the ceiling. "Han, my dear boy...where are you?"

Still nothing.

"Wake up, old chap!" Sting swung himself down from his perch and slithered to Han's favourite corner. He scraped aside some of the moudly leaves and grass piled there. His efforts eventually revealed a trembling, middle-aged human male. Han. Han was once the head ranger of the forest until the day that Sting arrived. Sting thought it would be pretty nifty to have a human slave to terrorize, so he kept Han alive. Now the reptilian reploid loomed large over the terrified homo sapien.

"You humans really think you're something else," Sting hissed. "Am I right, Han?"

"N-no--no no no, sir!"

"Let's not lie. You all exist just to defile this planet with more of your kind, and -- goddamit, how many times have I told you to keep your fists BALLED UP, Han?! I can't stand the sight of those ugly opposable thumbs! Now hide them before I break them off!"

Han squeaked and sat on his hands.

"Good." Sting swung himself back up to his outpost. He closed his gruesome eyes dreamily. "Now sing me my song."

Han did as he was told without delay:

"Wonderful!" Sting cackled. "Well done, Han. You may keep your thumbs for one more day...oooh...all of a sudden I don't feel so fresh...I think I'm being watched..." Sting turned around. X had entered the room as silently as a cat during Han's song, and judging by the Hunter's creased face, he was not in a pleasant mood.

"Hello, Sting."

Sting stiffened. "Hello, X. Please stop looking at me. You're making me feel ill."

X nonchalantly twirled a Boomerang Cutter with one finger. "Not an option," he drawled. "I want to see if it's possible to make paper dolls out of synthetic chameleon hide. I like to watch."

Sting blanched at the sight of X's new armour, and, most of all, the Boomerang Cutter, which happened to be the only weapon capable of jolting him off his leafy throne in the rafters. "I suppose this'll be one of those fight-to-the-death deals, won't it?" he said.

"Yep."

"All right then. Off we go."

"So you see," Zero said to Celeste as he aimlessly pushed her wheelchair up and down some of the HQ's hallways, "it's best that we remain friends...at least for now. Do you understand?"

Celeste rolled her head, too zonked out on morphine to really hear anything Zero said. "Hmmm...heh heh...."

"All right, Celeste?" Zero repeated.

"Heeee ha...sure. God, I'm stoned."

"Attagirl. It's for your own good. I don't want to end up hurting you."

"How 'bout no longer being masochistic?" Celeste sang to no one in particular.

"You don't hear a word I say," the Hunter sighed. "I'm taking the coward's way out by saying all this to you right now."

"Where's my Flintstone phone? I wanna call Ernie and Bert."

Zero's wristcom hissed into life. The Crimson Wonder stopped abruptly to answer it, and the sudden jolt nearly sent Celeste flying off her wheelchair.

"Mr. Zero sir!" Pip squeaked over the 'com. "X thrashed Sting, but good! Come to the Computer Mainframe."

The Big Kahunas of MMHQ filled the Computer Mainframe, including Paul Wells who was holding the sticky hand of Clyde. Clyde sucked on his fingers and looked around the darkened room with wide eyes, in silent fear of the illuminated Cyclops-eyed monitors that peered down at him. Zero was the last one to arrive, pushing Celeste along with him. Everyone pressed against the exhausted X and his spoils; a jade chameleon statuette and a fellow named Han. X was holding on to one of Han's arms, and the crazed man was straining to get out of the grip. X eventually let go, and Han clawed his way through the crowd, laughing, crying, and screaming something about Great Big Sea. He wailed all the way to the Men's bathroom, where he locked himself in a stall and refused to come out for the rest of the day.

X nervously set the jade chameleon on the table, like a magician preparing some grand trick for a new audience. Now the pieces of the puzzle were all together; the soapstone penguin, the jade chameleon, the sapphire eagle, the ruby mastodon, the onyx beetle, the diamond armadillo, the brass octopus, and the cheap plastic pikachu. The animals statues stared at each other, exchanging wordless greetings and ageless secrets with their glittering eyes...

And nothing happened.

Noiseless seconds dragged on into minutes. Some of the humans began to stir restlessly; a cough here, a mutter there. Celeste finally broke the spell.

"Well this is a whole lotta nothin'."

The silence in the room was shattered all at once. People suddenly became full of ideas on how to squeeze out the information on Siggy's fortress that was undoubtedly hidden in the animals.

"Cut 'em open!"

"Step on 'um!"

"Give them a right nasty scolding!" (This was Celeste in all her morphine-induced wittiness.)

Forgotten in the commotion, Clyde Wells became fed up with the nonsensical noise and heat. He was drawn towards the animals, which reminded him very much of his zoo playset back at home. He went over the setup with critical eyes. Why were the animals all staring at each other? Maybe they didn't want to look at each other. Clyde carefully began rearranging the figures to suit his taste...

Celeste turned around in her wheelchair to glare at her propeller. "This room is too small for such noise," she remarked. "Settle 'em down, great leader."

Zero smacked his hands together and raised one arm into the air like a schoolteacher. "All right, everyone," he called out. "Quiet down...quiet now...don't make me flick the lights on and off...all right, that does it. SHUT UP! I GIVE YOU ALL PERMISSION TO SHUT THE HELL UP RIGHT NOW!"

The roar of the rabble trickled into a murmur. Everyone in the room faced Zero, who smiled in relieved satisfaction.

"Thanks, folks. Now, as we all know, these statues most likely contain information on the location of Siggy's fortress. I'm not exactly sure on how to extract the info, but if we all work together and make a nice pot of coffee I'm certain that ... oh, for Christ's sweet sake ... Paul, could you get your kid away from the display?"

Paul sheepishly made his way up to the front to fetch Clyde. Just as he reached for his son, Clyde moved the last animal in its place. A blinding flash stabbed everyone in the darkened room. Hands flew up to eyes and curses were yelped. When it all settled down and the spots cleared, a hologram of Siggy himself was hovering above the table, in the centre of the circle of animals, sneering down at the sea of dumbfounded Hunters.

"An army of Mavericks," he said, his voice hollow like pebbles falling into a tin bucket.

Zero looked blank. "What?"

"An army of Mavericks," he repeated. "One in the million will have the coordinates for my fortress. Once you have those coordinates, two of you -- and only two -- may teleport in and have a nice chat with me."

"You mean," X said slowly, "it's not a walk-in deal?"

"Oh no no no," Siggy chuckled. "My fortress floats. It's quite spiffy, and I really can't wait to show it off. The battle between the armies will take place in three weeks. On the outskirts of Kapcom. Champion reploids versus bug-eating tree dwellers and a few broken-down tin soldiers. This oughta be fun." Without another word, Siggy's ghostly image faded to black and was gone.

"This is it, then," Celeste said soberly, never taking her eyes off the cold, lifeless statues on the table.

"Yep. Armageddon," Zero said flatly.

"Reploids versus humans," Paul chimed in.

"And no stupid meteors," X mumbled.

"Or Aerosmith," Tess added.

"Three weeks," Josh said.

"Everyone who can will have to fight," Cain concluded.

"One Maverick in the entire army will have the coordinates for Siggy's fortress. Terrible odds," Ozzie reminded everyone.

"We can do it," Zero said. "When I first arrived here, Skysheen told me that human Hunters could overwhelm with sheer numbers. Plus we have the Malamutes. The dogs. They can help us."

"Well!" Genesis clapped his paws together. "We've got a lot of planning ahead of us. Let's get busy."

Celeste slowly picked her way down to the kennels, limping along with the aid of a crutch. Her thoughts dragged as heavily as her bound leg. She felt like a condemned horse.

"Won't be able to fight like this," she told Zero sadly.

Unable to bear his friend's slow, sorry plodding anymore, Zero swept Celeste up and plunked her on his shoulders where she teetered in surprise.

"Don't worry 'bout it. Genesis will really be able to use your help, anyway. Now, allow me to go off topic for a second and ask you an important question. Why did you go after Torrent by yourself? Were you single-handedly trying to restore your family's honour and put your father's soul to rest, or were you just on cheap horse crack?"

Celeste leaned forward over Zero's head. "Maybe it was a bit of both."

"Come on now, be serious."

Celeste slung her crutch on her shoulders, confident of Zero's hold on her ankles. "I guess a lot of people think I was going after Torrent to avenge my father," she said, "and a lot of folks think that dad went after Torrent to prove that humans don't suck when it comes to fighting. Maybe those reasons had something to do with the showdowns...but there was a lot more to it. Trust me."

Zero's interest smoldered pungently. "Like...?"

For a split second, Celeste tossed and dressed a few daring ideas in her head. Should she tell Zero about Mindspeak? Unload her anxieties and talk to her friend? Risk the information leaking out and her being alienated and subjected to endless tests?

"I'd rather not say. I have secrets that I'd like to keep. But let's just say that I have no more reason to go after Torrie."

"Spoilsport. But I'm not going to press. Lord knows I have my own secrets, too. But if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm always...whoa, mind your head!"

The abrupt warning came a second too late; Celeste's forehead gonged on the top of the doorframe.

"Warned you," the Hunter laughed as Celeste yelped from her saddle. "Anyway, like I was saying, you know that you can trust me."

"Yeee-ah."

"Now, down we go to the kennels. Have y'ever met Mama Rowlf before?"

Celeste shook her head. "Can't say as I ever have. The name sure sounds interesting."

"Then it'll do you good to keep your mouth shut when you see her. When we say that the kennels are right next door to Hell, we aren't joking. You'll see."

Celeste saw. Mama Rowlf was a grade-A bitch, metaphorically and literally. She was a bipedal reploid German Shepherd with blazing red fur, blue eyes that shot icy glares with ease, a mouth that would have sent Genesis crawling under a rock, and a permanent sneer that registered never-ending contempt for her moronic staff and the world in general. She towered proudly over everyone else in the kennels, the undisputed ruler over the rows of silver cages that housed the yapping Malamutes. The kennels were dark, hot, noisy and reeked of doggies and incompetence. Celeste had to take only one look at the kennel staff as they shuffled, stared blankly and wasted time to understand why Mother Rowlf was on eternal PMS.

"Hey Rowlf," Zero said, his voice a sunny birdsong. He knew that he was not a favourite of hers.

Darkness rolled over Mama Rowlf's face as she looked at the Hunter and Celeste. "Well, well. Zero. Come to grace me with more of your demoted Hunters?"

"Nooo..."

"More of your stick-swinging yahoos who couldn't peel a barnacle off their ass, yet you expect them to learn how to properly take care of my poor puppies?"

"They're not your pups, they're Cain's. Listen to me..."

"You want me to take in this young lady, right? Once again you expect Mama Rowlf to flop out a boob and yell, 'drink up!' to yet another slack-jawed yokel. Forget it. No vacancy for vacant morons. Out out out!"

"ROWLF!"

"What?"

"We need your help, and the dogs'. There's a war going on."

Celeste and Zero witnessed an incredible event that would never, ever repeat itself; Mama Rowlf wagged her tail happily. "A war! My little puppies are going to war! Oh, what a world." She settled down and touched her cold nose to Zero's, which was wrinkled in disgust at his putrid surroundings. "I don't suppose you'll be handlin' one of 'em?"

Zero laughed shortly. "Yeah right. We're talking Armageddon here. Siggy's declared mass war a week from today. X and I will be going after Siggy himself..."

Mama Rowlf furrowed her fuzzy brow and rubbed her chin. "X...?" She did not know too many Hunters; frankly, no one liked to visit her.

"I brought X to meet you once," Zero reminded the kennel queen. "You knocked his head off his shoulders after he dropped a puppy that peed on him."

"Ah yes, now I remember. That Jack Aster in blue. Someone oughta call the fashion police on him. Anyway, if you won't be using the dogs, I suppose there'll be some other Hunters to mishandle them."

Zero nodded. "One of them will be this lovely lady over here!" He gave Celeste a friendly shove towards the unpleasant mountain of teeth and fur.

"Ah..." Mama Rowlf stooped down and squinted her "I See All" eyes at Celeste, who glumly allowed herself to be sniffed and poked.

"You're a human..."

Celeste remained silent, remembering what Zero told her about keeping her mouth shut before entering this hole of hell.

Rowlf smacked the Huntress upside her skull. New Year's Day bonged in Celeste's head for the second time in one hour. Zero put his hands on her shoulders to stop her three-legged staggering, but he didn't dare say anything towards her attacker.

"Answer me, girl! You're a human, right?"

"Yeee-ah. I am. Celeste."

Celeste's world quaked anew as Mama Rowlf grabbed her small hand in her huge paw and pumped furiously. "Wow! Don't get too many of your kind down here. Right proud to meet a Domesticator, I am! You'll do well with my dogs."

Celeste just wanted to go home and nurse her new migraine.

"Follow me." Rowlf started down the kennel hall, Celeste limping in tow. "These here are some of my fine Malamutes," she crowed, waving a hand at some of the cages they passed. "They CAN be used as attack dogs, but they're more effective at moving injured fighters to safety. Since you'll be helping Genesis (by the way, when you see him, tell him he still owes me five bucks), that's what you'll be using the dogs for. I like you, Celeste, so I'm going to let you use the finest we have."

With that, Mama Rowlf proudly opened a large cage. The huge Malamute inside immediately sprang to its proud feet. It was a fine dog with markings that would've shamed an Oreo cookie. Its back was a dark, rich black and its belly was a creamy white. Its eyes were bright and shone with playful intelligence. Its peaked ears moved about on the top of its lupine head, scanning the area like small satellites.

Celeste cocked her head at the perky creature. "Cute little bastard."

Rowlf beamed. "His name's Tommy."

"Tommy?" Zero snickered. "Jessi's playmate? The proud father?"

Mama Rowlf's smile wilted and pulled its roots to the corner of her mouth. "Let's not remind Mama Rowlf about that Terrence and Phillip incident. 'kay?" she growled.

Genesis paused long enough in his packing of medical supplies to look at Celeste and scratch his head in bewilderment. "No kidding. She gave you Tommy to help us?"

"Turns out Mama Rowlf really likes me," Celeste sighed. "For some reason, that makes me want to cry."

"I'm not surprised. She can be rather intimidating. By the way, I'm really gonna need your help taping ripped up humans back together in this battle, so thanks a lot for crippling yourself beforehand and gaining an excuse to stay out of the fighting! Pip and I will need all the help we can get."

"Sure..." Celeste flumped down on an empty bed beside her.

Genesis sensed the human's depression and pat her on the head. "Now now," he crooned. "Don't be so disappointed. You'll see plenty of action. You and Tommy will be pulling mangled people off the field. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Celeste gave her friend a polite smile. "Of course. By the way, who'll be running the Medical Unit here while we're fighting out there?"

"Ozzie," Genesis drawled as he pawed through a mismatched assortment of items in a drawer. "He used to work here before he ran off with the circus -- er, I mean, the Night Vipers. He's a bit rusty, but he remembers the essentials."

Ozzie burst through the doors of the Medical Unit at that moment, lustily clutching a rubber tube above his head like Quasimido with the body of Esmerelda on top of the Notre Dame cathedral. However, he was howling "Enema!" instead of "Sanctuary!" It was definitely a disturbing sight, and every human patient in the room pulled his cover over his head and sobbed quietly.

"Yeah, what else does he need to know," Celeste mumbled.

Genesis' visor flashed in annoyance. "Celeste, your depression is not doing my karma any good. If I show you something neat, do you promise to pull your chin out of your cereal?"

"I didn't mean to depress you. I'll leave..."

"Shut up and look at this," Genesis said as he creaked a small velvet box open in front of Celeste's eyes. There, nestled in royal purple, patiently lay a tiny silver whistle. The lights in the room skated effortlessly across its surface, leaving a trail of rainbow that soothed Celeste's eyes. It looked pretty old.

"It's gorgeous," Celeste gasped. She meant it.

"Isn't it though," Genesis said. He snapped the box shut as Celeste reached for it, like a clam protecting its pearl. "Sorry my dear...I don't want greasy little human paws to touch this. Nothing personal. It just means a lot to me. I've had this trinket for as long as I can remember...and best of all, eet's got eerie powers."

"What does it do?"

Genesis tucked the box away with the rest of the stuff he was bringing to the battle. "I have a feeling you'll see soon enough."

"By the way," Celeste said. "What's our army being called?"

Genesis grimaced. "The Starship Troopers."

"Oh my Lord, that's lame."

"Easy, Tommy...heel!"

Those three words became Celeste's entire vocabulary the minute the "Starship Troopers" departed for Siggy's fortress and the massive battle that waited for them.

"He's just excited to see the light of day," Genesis chuckled as he waved at the huge open space that yawned every which way. Behind the troops lay the city, a nest of diamonds that glittered in the twilight.

Celeste said nothing, keeping a short leash on Tommy. Something was making her uneasy...very, very uneasy. And it wasn't just the battle at the end of the trail. It was the plain itself, the sprawling space that made her feel so tiny, the strangely lifeless, dried-up grasses which clattered softly like impossibly thin bones whenever a hot puff of breath stirred them.

"Genesis...I don't think I can stand this. This place is seriously creeping me out."

The fox chuckled. "Not surprised. Like most humans, you were born and raised in a city with noise surrounding you at all times. You're probably overwhelmed by the silence and sheer size of this place."

"No...it's more than that, I'm sure. Why the hell isn't this place developed? Where are the humans? Forget that, were are the animals? There's nothing here!"

Genesis laced his hands behind his head as he walked. "You ever learn about World War III?" he asked. "Happened just before humans started to seriously build 'bots."

Celeste nodded. "My great-grandmother lived through that war. Heard all sorts of stories from her."

"Nuclear weapons were used, as you know," Genesis said. "And although it wasn't quite the end of the world like people predicted it would be...well, I'll say this much; this area used to be developed. Hell, it used to thrive."

"Good God!" Celeste yelped. "You mean..."

"Kapcom definitely isn't the only city in the world with a huge, dead prairie surrounding it, Celeste. 'Skeleton Grasslands' like this one won't be able to safely support long-term life for quite a few generations yet." Genesis arched his back. "They've made for some excellent battle-grounds, though," he growled. "Humans sure love tradition when it comes to slaughtering each other." He wheeled around at the antlike line of Hunters who were staggering far behind under the weight of the medical supplies they were carrying.

"Come ON!" he roared. "My gramma can move faster than you idiots...and she's DEAD!"

Night flopped its dark flank on the Skeleton Grassland. Celeste found an unnaturally large hill that rose out of the flat land like a growth. She parked herself there, tucked her knees up to her chest, and watched the ongoings in the camp below her. Fires were being built, food rations were being burned, and eventually the humans slunk off to find some place to sleep...quite a few of them in pairs. Celeste could hardly blame them for having a good time together before they died tomorrow. Domestic discipline was lax for that very reason. The Starship Troopers had been accurately named.

The fires burned low and red and hot, but Celeste couldn't even think about going to sleep. She peered out across the west for a sign of the Maverick army. She didn't see any trace of enemy camp...but what she did see nearly made her strangle on her heart anyway.

The plains were glowing ever so slightly. A pulsating, calm purple that could barely be noticed. Its quiet subtlety is what squeezed Celeste's insides with hot claws...the way the radiation just lay there like some ancient but deadly beast...the terror it had been spawned of all those years back...the terror that ate acres of land, tormented thousands with slow deaths, caused hideous birth defects and mutations...

Like your Mindspeak, perhaps?

Celeste froze. Who said that? No answer, but at least it wasn't Torrent who'd spat ghosts in her ear. And tomorrow, it was all going to happen again. Humans clutching at their bloodied wounds, screaming and dying, the way they'd always done before...

"Hey. You all right?" Zero mounted the hill.

"No!" Celeste crackled as she pointed to the glowing plains. "LOOK at that!"

"Yeah, I guess it's kinda creepy," Zero drawled as he sat down beside Celeste. "I had a feeling you'd be disturbed, so I thought I'd keep you company."

"Thanks. I need it. This place is just so...I don't know."

The two sat in silence for a little while. Suddenly, something heavy and damp leaned into Zero. Surprised, the reploid turned around to find Celeste sobbing on his shoulder.

"You only seem to do this when I'm around," Zero chuckled softly as he put his arm around her and rubbed her back. "There now. That's what I came here for. Have yourself a good one."

The storm passed in a few minutes, and the two resumed their silent radiation-gazing, Celeste still in the crook of Zero's arm.

"I wonder what Gen would say about a human and reploid getting married," Zero mumbled.

Celeste snapped out of her sleepy state. "What?" she squeaked.

"Oh...just thinking up some long term plans," Zero smiled. "You know how I feel about you...and I know how you feel about me." Zero told Celeste about her antics under morphine. Celeste blushed, but she smiled shyly.

"It wouldn't exactly happen tomorrow," Zero said. "Hell, I gotta get out of Siggy's fortress alive. 'sides that, I want to learn more about myself and my past. But in the long run..." he gave Celeste a quick squeeze. "I want to take care of you someday." Unwinding himself, Zero reached behind him and placed the heavy, cold hilt of his lightsabre in Celeste's hands. "Here. I gave this to you once before, when I started to train you. I want you to keep it now."

Celeste stared at the metal cylinder, which glowed strangely in the purple-and-red. She was overwhelmed.

"It's a Lucas..."

"You bet. They don't make 'em anymore."

"But...you...have to fight tomorrow."

"Hell, I got plenty others. Not Lucas's, but the factory-run crap from the HQ. I'll manage."

"But...I can't take this! It's too valuable!"

Zero stroked Celeste's head with a quiet smile. "Well...it's not quite a ring," he laughed. "But I kinda figured the tradition called for an exchange of sorts. How about it? Will you marry me someday?"

Celeste stared at the sabre for a good while longer before she put it back down in front of Zero. Zero looked crushed, but Celeste put a hand on his knee for a second to reassure him. Then, she slowly rolled up her left pant leg. There, to Zero's astonishment, was a small leather sheath. And from the sheath, to Zero's additional astonishment, came a gorgeous dagger, which Celeste handed to her husband of someday.

Zero studied the dagger very closely. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen. The hilt was made of two crystal-studded snakes that twined around each other. In between its rich coils lay thin golden slabs...adenine, cynine, guanocine, thytocine. The blade was a simple point of silver.

"Two snakes forming a DNA helix," he mumbled. "Very clever. It must mean something. Where'd you get it?"

Celeste shrugged. "It was the middle of the night when dad left to go after Torrent. I was half asleep when he came into my room, hugged me and said he loved me. I woke up in the morning and that was beside my pillow. I guess he put it there. Damned if I know where he got it...he always had his secrets. Needless to say, it means a lot to me. I've been carrying it with me almost everywhere I go. I'd like you to have it. In case you can't get it through your blonde head by now...my answer is yes."

Celeste happily sank back into Zero and fell asleep in a matter of seconds. The Hunter quietly played the part of the pillow for the rest of the night, staring out over the slow, purple breathing of the Skeleton Grassland and thinking about what the future would be like with a human beside him. His thoughts almost drowned out the sound of Bass screaming in his mind.

Idiot! You'll turn back to us. Trust me. Why don't you listen to that fox who smells like piss?! Mark my words, baby brother. She's a human, and she'll break your heart. Just wait 'till she gets a hankering for some bacon in the oven. You can't give her THAT.

At some point in the night, a cold wind sprang up and shuddered through Celeste, who curled up into a fetal position but did not wake up. Zero gently swung his ponytail over his shoulder and covered the Huntress with a thin blanket of hair. Then he went back to guarding over her sleep like he'd done so many times before.

"Oh, the city's alight with lovers and flame, and bright blue eyes..."

Maugrim sang softly in time to his marching feet, which swept over the dry grass like black death and cracked the blades beneath them. The sickly snapping was echoed hundreds of times behind him, mixed with a crescendo of clanking armour.

"An entire Maverick army at my disposal!" Drunk with excitement and anticipation, Maugrim draped his arms around J.T. and Duskclaw. "This is gonna be sweet. Lord Siggy made some good choices for his Generals, I'll tell you."

"Yeah, we get cool CB radios," Duskclaw giggled, lifting his black Motorola into view. Before anyone could stop him, he turned it on.

"310 calling Unit 323!" Duskclaw barked into the radio.

"Unit 323," a slightly-panicked voice choked out over the waspish sea of static. "What is your command?"

"Stop jerking off!"

"Uh...10-4?"

Duskclaw clicked the radio off and threw his lupine head back in a howl of laughter.

Maugrim frowned. "Dusk, behave yourself or I'm taking that away. This is no time to be stupid. In about twenty minutes, we'll be gutting sacks of humans like so many salmon."

Duskclaw lapsed into silence as he thought about the game before him. An entire Maverick army was at his hairy back, but only one of them possessed the coordinates needed to teleport into Siggy's fortres...

And Duskclaw happened to be that Maverick.

What fun! Dusk's smile dawned slowly with the sun. He gathered the coils of his weapon, a ferocious whip that was aptly named the Rattler's Fang. The objective of his sadistic 'game' began to form, and it entertained him as he marched. Some unlucky human female would discover that it wasn't so hard to get the coordinates from him after all...but in return, she'd have to stay and play for awhile. Just like Katt Luck. Life was dull without a girl to torment.

About a mile behind the advancing army, the rising sun spilled the shadow of Sigma's floating fortress across the Skeleton Grassland. The blackness slithered behind the troops like a guardian serpent.

"Papa sing my sing my song!..."

Day's dawnin', skin's crawlin'...

The army advanced rapidly towards the Hunters, a silvery river of chrome shimmering in the new sunlight. Celeste arched her back, narrowed her eyes, and allowed one longing hand stray to her lightsabre sheath. Instincts swam rapidly through her blood like fish in a stream, leaping playfully and calling to her tensed legs, daring them to beat down the hill towards the army along with the rest of the Hunters, like a little missile, weapon forward, mouth open in a war-cry...

No. Can't fight, won't fight. Will help Genesis like I said. Keep promise. Yeah. I'm a good girl, I am.

Celeste ground her teeth. Life was treating her like a little bitch lately. She turned her back towards the Mavericks, disgusted with herself. She certainly wasn't a fan of wars, but the sight of that advancing army was delicious in some twisted way. She marched back to the medical tent. X and Zero were leaning (carefully) against the flabby exterior, talking their plans over in low voices. Celeste snatched bits and pieces of their conversation.

"...get to the fortress...."

"...gotta find the bloody coordinates first..."

"...split up? Main attack force..."

"...on crack?"

"Bite me..."

Zero noticed Celeste standing beside him. He excused himself and pulled her aside.

"Good morn to you, missus. I assume you still have my sabre?"

"Of course."

Zero nodded. "Listen. Keep our little, uh, engagement under wraps for now, all right? Even after this whole Maverick mess is settled, I don't think that the idea of a human / reploid relationship would fly with the rest of civilization so soon after a war. It might take a while. But our time will come...all we need is a little patience."

Celeste nodded.

"Just a little patience. All right?"

"I know what you mean. Don't worry about me. I'm young, I can wait."

Zero grinned. "Thanks, Cel. This whole 'Maverick Fortress Go Boom' project is only the first step. X and I will be waiting here until we get the coordinates to enter the fortress." He gave Celeste a quick squeeze. "Whatever you do, watch your back out there. Mavericks don't give a damn if you're helping some poor Johnny Deformed off the field. They'll kick you upside the head regardless. Keep your eyes open, your ears strained, and your legs shaved."

"I will. And -- wait a minute -- my legs what?"

Tess wrung her sweaty hands over the handles of her heavy laser rifle. Her terrified mind rattled her thoughts until they strayed back at the day she decided to join the Hunters.

I did it just to get out of that damn refugee camp...for better living conditions...thought it would just involve training in action simulators...never thought it would lead up to this. Dirty trick. I miss maiming Class E bunnies...

Tess watched the glimmering vein of Mavericks slowly flow towards the heart of Hunters.

Now I'm on the front lines. One Maverick out of that whole mess has the coordinates we need. Oh, what in God's name do I do now?

"Steady, colt," Paul Wells murmured to Tess. "You're jittery. Don't do anything until I give the signal."

The head of the Maverick army was so close to the Hunters that Tess could see his red eyes burning in sunken pools in his head. Maugrim. He was flanked by two lackeys. On his tail was his army. The hoard rustled and clanked, eagerly waiting for their General's signal.

Maugrim's liquid eyes cooled as he looked up at the rise in the land where Paul and Tess stood. He raised a hand towards the Hunters.

"Humans. I hope you are prepared to kiss your monkey-asses goodby--"

A firey laser beam suddenly lanced from one of the Hunters' rifles. Maugrim's head exploded in a shower of synthetic fur, fluid, and metal.

Dumbfounded, Paul looked beside him. Tears streaked down Tess' face, burning paths in the layer of dust on her cheeks. The smoking barrel of her rifle slanted downwards and planted itself in the soft earth.

"I'm scared. I want to go home." she sobbed.

The armies leapt on each other. All Paul could see were wolf fangs...

Celeste learned very quickly that she'd be taking care of two types of people in the Medical tent. Those who were genuinely hurt and moaned like the dying, and the rabble with minor injuries who were well enough to leer and cat call.

"Hey Chicky! Don't I get to be shot up with drugs?"

Sweat plastered Celeste's bangs to her forehead. She lugged water and blankets to and fro, and now she had to deal with smartasses. She grit her teeth as she tripped over Tommy for the fifth time that day. The malamute rested after each run he and Celeste made to bring another injured Hunter off the field. She was glad at least one of them could rest.

"Bug Genesis," Celeste mumbled sleepily. "Drugs are bad, mmkay?"

"Heh heh...how 'bout a sponge bath?"

Oh, for the love of... "Ask Genesis nicely and give him lots of money. If he's in one of his 'moods' you just may get lucky," Celeste said as she dropped her huge load of blankets in Pip's outstretched arms. The small reploid was completely buried in the mass and very possibly smothering, but Celeste didn't give a monkey's butt. "I need fresh air. I'm going to have a cigarette now."

Rejuvenated by the sad means of nicotine, Celeste darted like a squirrel among the fighting troops. Tommy bounded ahead of her, his small cart bouncing and clattering against the uneven ground. He was a valuable companion; he could track down severely injured Hunters and move them to safety.

Tommy picked up the scent of fresh blood. He took off like a bat out of hell towards the source. Her breath rattling in her lungs and her lame leg slowing her down considerably, Celeste chugged behind, panting. Tommy was leading her to a rather secluded area.

"Tommy, where the hell are you taking me -- oh man ... is that ... "

Celeste screeched to a halt. Duskclaw towered in her path. An unconscious, unidentifiable human figure was sprawled face-down on the grass behind the huge wolf.

"G'day, miss."

Celeste's back bristled. Her lightsabre was already drawn. "You're Duskclaw, right?"

"Indeed I am."

"Who's that behind you?"

"Oh ..." Duskclaw shrugged nonchalantly. "A friend. He's kinda half dead now, and he's no good at Monopoly, so I figure I'll kill him in a bit. What a character he is! A great big bear of a man, and he's sobbing for his 'dad'. You wouldn't be interested in playing now, would you?"

Celeste's "witty comeback" cache was extremely low, and since she was always too short on time to refill it, she couldn't waste time with words. Instead, she slashed a red line down Duskclaw's maroon pelt; a bloody gouge that ran from the wolf's left shoulder to the right side of his hip.

Taken off guard, Duskclaw yelped and jumped back, panting with exertion, just as Celeste, who forgot her vow to take it easy, charged for him again.

This time the wolf was ready. The lash of a whip split the air like lightning. It coiled tightly around the Huntress' right arm and burned a bloody ring just above her wrist. Celeste howled, but she wisely kept her hold on her sabre.

The pain intensified as Duskclaw gave a jerk on the whip handle, drawing Celeste right up to his heaving, lupine face. "S-24, N-64," he breathed in her face.

Celeste blinked back the tears of pain that blurred her eyes. "W -- what?" she gasped.

"S-24, N-64. Those are the coordinates to get into Sigma's fortress. Two may enter. Go tell your little friends now, and have a nice day."

Duskclaw loosened the whip and bounded off, clearing the path to the wounded human behind him. Celeste was completely confused as to why Duskclaw left her alone, but she didn't have time to waste to stand and puzzle things out in the wind.

"Tommy? Where are you, boy?"

At the sound of his friend's voice, Tommy slithered out of a patch of long, dry grass. He had been hiding himself.

"Thanks for your help," Celeste snorted. "Come on, let's see who this is."

Genesis stepped out of the Medical tent to join X and Zero as they watched the violent sea of warriors churn below them. The smell of blood hung in the air like a thick red mist. X shook his head at the fighting. "Terrible," he mumbled.

"Arousing," Zero grinned.

"Tiring," Genesis sighed as watched Celeste and Tommy pull yet another maimed Hunter towards him. The three met up with the Huntress, who appeared very down in the mouth.

"Who you got there, Celeste?" Zero said.

"Paul. He's on his way out."

"Done all I can...not going to be enough."

Celeste and Genesis looked helplessly at Zero parked bedside Paul's bed. Paul was completely motionless, but the reploid was whimpering and murmuring to himself, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"It's really too bad about Paul," Genesis said, "but I'd like to know why Zero's so broken up about him specifically. There are plenty of other near-dead humans in here he could moon over."

Insensitive bastard. Celeste suddenly remembered something. She padded softly towards Zero and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her with dead eyes.

"My poor boy," he said in a raspy whisper that was devoid of energy.

Celeste had no idea what he meant. "S-24, N-64. Those are the coordinates, Zero. I'm really sorry about Paul."

Zero blinked a listless thanks. Then he transformed. He knocked over his chair and stormed out of the tent. In a few seconds, the protesting voice of X wafted back to Celeste and Genesis.

"OW! Let go! That's my EAR! Where are you dragging me to--?"

X's squeals cut off suddenly like a door had been slammed.

"Celeste, I never knew you had the coordinates," Genesis scratched his head.

Celeste nodded heavily. "I got 'em from Duskclaw, the Maverick who sliced up Paul like that. It was weird, though...he just gave them to me and left. But he also gave me this." Wincing, Celeste held up her right arm that Duskclaw had lashed. The wound wasn't bleeding anymore, but for all the world, Celeste could swear that a small film of foam was gathering on it. "I think you'd better check it out. I haven't been feeling so hot since I got it."

Genesis took a close look at the ragged wound. He sniffed at it suspiciously and rubbed a bit of the froth between his fingers. He stuck out his tongue a bit ... a sure sign that he was disturbed.

"Oh hell...this we don't need."

Celeste blanched. "What is it?"

"Heh. Bad news, my dear. You've been poisoned."

A purple-red sunset flushed the sky as X and Zero touched down on the surface of Sigma's flying fortress.

"'Sigma's Flying Fortress.' Sounds like a casino," Zero snorted.

A summer evening wind brushed at the Hunters' skin gently. It was a ghostly feeling. Zero went over the plan.

"Here we are thanks to the sacrifices of many brave men and women, yadda yadda. I'd ask for a moment of silence for them and Paul," Zero's voice went heavy, "but I know that you're a fidgety bastard, X, and you couldn't lie still for your own funeral. Here's what we're going to do. We'll split up. According to reports, the fortress has a main defense force on the upper levels. I'll keep it busy and you slip in. How's that?"

Zero didn't wait for a whole answer. He sped off, leaving X hanging in mid sentence.

I have scaled these city walls ... only to be with you ...

Zero shimmied up a steep wall, a difficult venture due to the fact that the wall was as smooth as ice.

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for...

Indeed, Zero had no idea what he was looking for. Even after spelunking for 15 minutes, there was no trace of a "main defense force."

Could be just over this wall...

Zero swung himself over the top. From his view, he could see that four walls connected to make a box.

What the hell? Wonder if this is the place?

Zero leapt down from his perch. He was now completely enclosed; quick escape would be impossible if it were needed. He inspected the prison. On the far north wall, he noted some scratches ... a verse that looked like it had been etched into the wall with claws. Zero squinted at the words:

The second Zero finished the last word, something huge whizzed by his ear and stuck itself into the wall just beside the Hunter's face. A lance. Spidery cracks, spawned by the impact of the weapon, skittered across the verse. Zero bit his tongue as a draconian shadow fell on the wall, its wings outstretched from one corner to the other. The crimson reploid didn't even need to turn around to figure out who the main defense force actually was. The guttural voice was a clue enough.

"I am the Lizard Queeeen!"

This was going to be a long night.

Poisoned. Now why does this crap always seem to happen to me?

Celeste idly kicked her legs over the edge of the table while she waited for Genesis to return. Funny, she didn't feel as if she'd been poisoned … she was a bit sleepy, but that was it. Outside, the dull explosions of battle thrummed in her ears. At least she was safe here for the time being … Genesis returned. He looked puzzled, an expression that was very unbecoming on the confident reploid fox. "Well Celeste, I ran those blood tests. Good news and bad. You're not poisoned, per say. That's the good news. Now here's the bad. I don't know what the hell is in your blood right now. If anything, it's a narcotic. How do you feel?"

"Drowzy," Celeste yawned on cue.

Genesis scratched his head. "Wild. I guess the Mavericks use the stuff to slow down the human Hunters … but they would be more likely to use a poison that would kill you in screaming torments, y'know?"

That was a thought that had teeth, and it occupied Celeste's head all right.

"I wonder what's up?" Genesis mumbled. "This is too weird. Moreover, I don't like the way that poison smells."

Celeste blinked. "What smell?"

"You probably can't smell it," Genesis snorted with an air of reploid superiority, "but I can smell it from clear across the room, even though we washed your arm and bandaged it. Bitter stuff. I don't like this at all. At any rate, I want you to take it easy until I know what's up. Try getting some sleep."

Both armies were well aware that X and Zero were already in the fortress. The coordinates had been found. Any fighting between them was now just senseless killing.

And for that reason, it continued.

It wasn't about serving a particular leader anymore. It was just about taking out aggressions: humans were sick of living in fear of being overthrown as the dominating species. They were backed into a corner and they would fight claw-to-claw for their territory. This, of course, only aggravated the Mavericks further.

Deep in the swamp of clashing metal, oil and blood, Josh was dealing with J.T, one of Maugrim's last remaining Fenris soldiers. The humans were holding up surprisingly well; the Mavericks had underestimated them and were simply unable to match them in numbers. J.T. wasn't particularly fond of battle; he was not trained. But things were getting desperate.

Josh was on an adrenaline high, enjoying himself immensely as he easily danced around the staggering wolf before him who raked at his stomach with clumsy swipes.

Froth that was laced with grief for the loss of Paul and confused compassion for Tess' role in the death boiled in Josh's stomach and flecked his lips. He was in a furious trance. He slugged J.T. in the stomach with the butt of his laser rifle. As the wolf doubled over, Paul cracked him over the head. J.T. clutched at his abused skull and yelped shamefully like a puppy.

"J.T.!" Duskclaw called sharply to his companion from a safe distance. "He's berserk. Forget him, fall back!"

As Duskclaw spoke, a red beam grazed a hot path on his left shoulder.

"Bloody hell! J.T.! Get back here NOW!"

J.T. bounded away from Josh and took his place beside Duskclaw. Duskclaw glowered at Josh, who likewise glared down at the duo from a swell in the earth. His stance dripped silent pride. The dying sun graced his skin with blood.

"Who's in charge of your army, human?" Duskclaw called up to the Beast on the Tumour.

"What do you want? I'll relay any messages you have."

"This battle is becoming pointless. The Hunters already have the coordinates, and neither side can do anything now but wait to see the outcome. I say we quit the spat this evening, hmmm? We need a break and some repairs, and YOUR kind can't remain on this wasteland for very much longer if ya'll wanna hear the pitter-patter of little feet in the future!"

Some of the insanity drained out of Josh's eyes. His pupils dilated. He touched earth again.

"It sounds reasonable," he said. "I'll see what can be done. You'll get your answer in half an hour. Meet me back at this spot." Josh walked in search of authority, his laser rifle clacking hollowly against his armoured thigh.

J.T. scratched his head and grunted. "Well, you brought HIM around real quickly."

Duskclaw snorted in return. "I saved your green pansy-ass, that's what I did! Your problem -- no, every Maverick's problem - is the fact that they don't know how humans think. That's the key to winning the war. Oh sure, use brute force and hunt 'em out…they'll dig themselves deeper underground. They're slippery bastards. Back them into a corner and they'll fight like wild dogs."

J.T. still looked puzzled. "So why…?"

Duskclaw was gradually sinking into a pool of disgust. "You're supposed to be the smart one," he said. "Didn't you hear what I said to that monkey-boy?"

"Well…yeah!" J.T.'s eyes lit up as he recalled the brief conversation. He was starting to understand.

Duskclaw nodded. "Humans are really only terrified of threats they can't see," he explained. "Insanity, sterility, disease…you can't see 'em sneak up on you. You can't prevent them. And when they do attack, you can't fight back. You have no control over what happens to you. Humans can't stand that. And speaking of humans…" Duskclaw poked his nose into the air and picked out a foamy, bitter scent among the nearly overpowering death-musk that hazed the field. "…we have one stop to make before we lead the troops home. Follow me."

J.T. looked uncertain. "Do you really think that Maugrim would've stopped the battle?"

Duskclaw sighed and adjusted the black coils of the Rattler's Fang into a more comfortable position on his hip. "Well, you see, friend, Maugrim is kinda splattered all over the Grasslands at the moment and he won't be leading jack whoop from now on. I'm in charge. Now let's go pick up our package."

Celeste woke up slowly, her brain sending a sluggish wave of panic as she realized that she could barely move. Her limbs felt as if they were tied to cinderblocks. Around her, she could hear muffled cries.

This is screwed. I can't move. What's going on?

She was able to slit open her eyelids. Garish white light from the Medical tent opening poured onto her face and flooded her vision. For a panicky moment, Celeste thought she had gone blind … until an enormous wolf, a silhouette cutout in the white sea, hung its shaggy head over her bed.

"Well well, here's my little princess," the shadow said low purr. "The Rattler's Fang did a number on you, eh? Good! Come with me, little one. We'll take good care of you."

"Gen…" Celeste began, but the cry for help slid back down her throat and choked her.

"No noise now," Duskclaw whispered soothingly. "We don't want to wake up the other nice Hunters. Right, J.T.?"

Celeste's vision cleared enough for her to see a green wolf flank the other side of her bed. The lupine Maverick flicked one of his claws and a few drops of stray blood splashed on Celeste's face.

"Oh…I doubt they'll be waking up for a long time."

"Red, Red, Red. What am I going to do with you, my sweet Reddy?"

"Try leaving me alone and see what happens!"

Zero slowly turned to face the huge Mechadrake roosting proudly atop of the opposite wall. "That's not an option, honey. I want to get over that wall."

"Hmm. Probably not gonna happen," Red drawled as she held out her left and curved her claws towards the wall where her lance was embedded. Some unseen force caused the formidable weapon to wriggle out of its new crevice and fly back to Red's open hand.

"Magnetic Fetch," Red explained as she observed Zero's puzzled look. "I can call the lance back to me after I've thrown it."

"Ah," Zero said thoughtfully. "All this time I thought you'd have to get it yourself."

Red snorted. "That's stupid. Why be a throwback to the caveman era? I ain't huntin' mammoths." She fell silent, glaring down keenly at the Hunter below. She squatted diligently on the north side of the "box" that Zero was trapped in, leaning on her lance for support. The unbroken wind lashed at her raven ponytail, whipping it to and fro. It was easy to tell that her battle instincts were slowly seeping into her limbs.

Zero squared his shoulders. "So you're this 'main defense force,' eh?"

Red's tounge flickered. "Yare."

"And this is going to come down to a fight, obviously."

Now Red was grinning, showing teeth. "Yare."

"That's too bad. I was hoping for some melodrama. I'd sob and cry, ask why you betrayed me and killed all those nice innocent people. Then you'd break down, touched by my emotional side, and you'd say, 'Why bless my soul Zero, I've been a right nasty bastard! I have seen the light!' and life would be cool again. See?"

Red cleared her throat and slowly fanned out her wings. They blotted out the dusty purple sky like giant, leathery blinds. The Mechadrake looked like a huge bird of prey, ready to kill. "Well, Zero," she rumbled, "we have a saying back home in Toronto, and we go by it religiously."

"What would that be?"

" 'Life is short, life is shit, and soon it will be over.' "

The two warriors stared at each other, sinking in a suffocating muck of love and hate. Finally, Zero managed a lopsided, sickly grin. "I love you, Pumpkin," he smirked.

Red's grin likewise looked diseased, but it was sharper, hungrier. "I love you too, Honeybunny."

Red raised her head to the sky and bellowed. She threw herself down into the box, battle instincts churning in her eyes and fluids. The remains of the sun's light bathed itself on her lance's silver blades and glanced off as the weapon met Zero's light sabre with an echoing clash. The arena was quickly filled up with the battle-prelude until the ominous sound overflowed and splashed onto the rest of the Fortress and the Plains below.

The metallic scent of fresh blood was just beginning to bloom inside the stuffy Medical tent when Genesis walked back in. His eyes bugged out of his visor and his jaw went slack as he regarded the occupants of the tent, now silent, their throats cut open, their blood trickling down their necks and soaking into their sheets.

"Good God!"

Duskclaw's arms were full of limp Celeste, so it was J.T. who whipped around and tensed, ready to pounce on Genesis at the first sign of resistance. But Genesis only hung his head and wrinkled his nose sadly. He removed his visor and rubbed his damp eyes with the back of his arm.

"Didn't know you guys were quite this bad," he half-mumbled, half-sighed. "Kill a bunch of bedridden humans who have no hope in hell of fighting back…how low can you possibly get…" Genesis straightened up and replaced his visor. He ran his claws through his sweat-plastered hair. "Sorry Paul," he grunted quietly. "I'll take care of Clyde."

J.T. loosened up and took a look around the silent tent, the vivid splotches of red against the sterile white, the blood caked on his own claws and matted in his fur. Duskclaw, however, was unfazed.

"You need to stop talking to dead people, freaky little man. Come along. Quietly, now."

Genesis dried up in a hurry. "Like hell!" he roared, bristling. "Put Celeste down. So that's what that poison was for."

"Right," Duskclaw grinned. "Why do you think the whip is called the Rattler's Fang? Rattlesnakes bite their victims, then let them run off…but the scent of the venom lets the snake find its prey later, when it's too weak to move anymore."

"Hrrmph," Genesis snuffled. His hand unconsciously fell to the niche in his armour where he was storing his nearly forgotten whistle. His options were limited if he wanted to protect Celeste, who was writhing feebly in her net of fur and muscles. A plan was starting to unfold within Genesis. Thinking on his feet was his strong point. He was, after all, a fox.

"All right. I'll come, as long as you don't hurt her."

"Oh, sure," Duskclaw snickered. "Come on."

The four stepped out of the tent. Below them, the war was churning to a halt. The armies were separating, going their own ways, carrying their own who couldn't walk. A fresh breeze dropped from the blackening sky, washing the humid, sticky scent of war from the plains. Lightning forked the sky in the west, promising rain. Mother Nature was experienced in cleaning up after her children and their rebellious, more metallic children.

The two wolves and the fox paused for a second in a rare moment of mutual enjoyment. The cool breath of air felt good against their tired, sweaty faces. The break didn't last long: Josh came trudging up the hill to meet Genesis, thoroughly exhausted. A line of blood ran and dripped from under his left eye to his chin.

Duskclaw drew himself up to his full height. "Stay there!" he barked.

Josh looked up at the tent for the first time, confused. "The hell?!"

"Don't come near us," Genesis warned. "We'll be all right. Find Pip and the two of you do whatever you can for the folks inside the tent."

J.T. took a firm grip on Genesis' shoulder and led him away from the Medical tent and past Josh, who was completely taken aback, but stood his ground. Down the hill they marched, joining the river of Mavericks that slowly flowed its way back towards their Fortress.

Don't breathe fire…oh, for the love of God, don't breathe fire…

Zero prayed harder and harder as his viewpoint got less and less pleasant. He was on his back, Red's lance pressing against his chest, which he strained against with desperate strength. The Mechadrake's cavernous maw, lined with dripping, yellow teeth, snapped a bare inch away from his face. Zero dared to take one hand off the lance he was straining against to jam his lightsabre in Red's neck, just under her powerful jaw. She didn't appreciate that. Howling, she reared back on her hind legs again…raising Zero and his jammed lightsabre along with her! Zero's weight dragged him downwards, the sabre ripping through the Mechadrake's hide. A crimson rain of scales and blood showered the Hunter. The triumph that sparked in him was short-lived…as he fell downwards, Red smacked him with her lance like a child playing T-ball. Zero and his sabre went flying in opposite directions. The sabre bounced once against the concrete and rolled to a gentle stop behind Red's barbed ankles. Zero, however, splattered against the east wall. Red was laughing like a lunatic, despite the river of vital blackish-red fluid that positively flowed down her long neck.

"Got a one way ticket on your last-chance ride, got a one way ticket to your suicide!" she chanted as she tossed her head, beads of blood splashing in all directions. She leaped into the air, hovered for a second and chucked her lance where Zero lay, stunned.

And, by some miracle, she missed.

The lance cracked into the wall like a lightning bolt, right beside Zero's right hand. The Hunter's fighting instincts directed him as he groped for the lance and took hold of its cool shaft.

Cursing, Red held out her hand towards her weapon, claws curved. The lance wiggled free once more and flew back to its owner…this time with Zero in tow.

"Hey!" The Mechadrake snarled. She held up the weapon horizontally, with both hands. Zero dangled like an athlete who was too tired to attempt his last chin-up. "Let go, you little red monkey! No hitchhiking on the Deltawyrm Lance!"

"Hmrrmm…" Zero mumbled through the red haze that filled his eyes and mouth. "Get away from me Bass, I ain't dead yet." Instincts taking over once more, he booted Red square in the stomach, subsequently discovering the one weak spot of all Mechadrakes.

Not even Red, who could have half her neck chewed up without being fazed, was quite prepared for the fun of getting slugged in the gut with a sharp metal boot. Her eyes bulged out upon impact, her tounge flopped out of her mouth, and her claws loosened their grip on her lance, spilling Zero and the deadly weapon on the ground together.

Sense found a path into Zero's little head once more. Hardly missing a beat, he scooped up the lance and sprang at Red with every fibre of strength in his body. The stunned 'drake flopped and toppled like a stack of building blocks. By the time she was lucid again, she herself was on her back, this time with Zero pressing the lance against HER belly.

"Uh, man, not good," she whimpered.

Zero grinned. "Wanna cooperate now, Reddy?"

Red was in complete submission now, all fours up in the air. "Leave me alone!" she shrieked, utterly terrified. "Get away from my stomach!"

"Ah…so even MECHADRAKES have a weakness, huh?" the Hunter grinned. "I don't believe it! You guys can't stand being in a state of submission! You don't like having your stomach exposed! Once you're on your back, you're screwed. Please excuse my very poor choice of words."

"I'll let you go up the stupid wall! Just let me up!"

The lance receeded. Red shakily hauled herself up on her feet. "Jeeeeeeezzz…"

Zero stared at his former friend.

Red grinned, more like her old self now that she was back on her feet. "Nice fight, old chap."

Zero couldn't help smiling back. "Felt good, didn't it? If I were human, I'd want a cigarette. Now, you'll let me go up the wall?"

"Of course!" Red bowed. "I'm at your service."

"You're selling what now?"

"Silly. It's a little thing among Mechadrakes called "battle respect." You defeated me…I have to assist you in any way I can."

Zero's face lit up. "Great! Because, you see, there's this guy named Sigma…"

"Within limits," Red snorted.

"Oh. Well, maybe one day we'll be on the same side again," Zero said.

"Yes. And maybe one day, angels will fly out of my-"

"Take me to the top of the wall," Zero coughed suddenly.

"Certainly!" Red grabbed Zero by his ponytail. "Let's fly!"

The dragon tensed her back legs and launched towards the top of the east wall, massive wings slicing through the night air, her cargo screaming the whole way up.

J.T. took a deep breath and tiptoed to the heavy, double-locked cell door. He pressed his body against the icy metal and peered in through the frosted window, his breath fogging up the translucent glass.

Celeste and Genesis were curled up together in the the black dampness of the corner furthest from the door. They looked like two sleeping, helpless puppies in a whelping box just emptied of their brothers and sisters. Celeste was the sickly pup that would eventually be culled, and Genesis was the protective, ferocious pup that no one could handle.

J.T. carefully grasped the door handle and turned it slowly, avoiding any noise, he couldn't afford to make any noise this time, oh please don't let the door squeak when it opens…

Success.

J.T. exhaled and padded softly to where the two pups lay, half shrouded by wet darkness. The wolf cursed inwardly when he noticed that Genesis was still draped over Celeste. He'd been protecting her since they'd arrived. But it would have to stop now. Duskclaw wanted Celeste in the lab, chop chop. J.T. carefully reached for the human at the bottom of the little jumble…

And received a face full of Genesis for his trouble.

J.T. shrieked and batted a big paw at the furry hurricane that slashed at his throat. The lucky shot struck home, and the fox tumbled across the dank concrete floor. He regained his composure and rolled back onto his feet just in front of Celeste, bristled and snarling, hunched over like a rabid dog.

"Stay away from her!"

Startled by Genesis' uncharacteristic ferocity, J.T. backed away. "You can't keep this up, Genesis."

"Watch me!"

The door boomed shut again. J.T. was gone, for now.

Celeste rose her head wearily. She was still slow, but the effects of the Rattler's Fang were slowly starting to slip away. "Thanks, Gen. I really wish I could defend myself, but they took my lightsabre."

Genesis cooled down and sat next to where Celeste lay. "I know, hon," he murmured. "Just try to relax." He'd stopped saying "We'll be all right" a long time ago.

The cell was alive with dead sounds, water dripping, paws scurrying. Celeste breathed deep of the blackness and steadied herself.

"Gen…we can't hold out for much longer, can we."

Genesis squared his shoulders. "Honestly? No, we can't."

"Any plans…?"

"Not really."

Celeste wasn't upset. Just beaten. Tired. She sank back down and closed her eyes. Seconds after she drifted into a troubled sleep, she was prodded awake again by a grinding sound…the haunting sound of a weapon being sharpened. Celeste opened her eyes completely. Genesis was still beside her. He'd unsheathed his claws, and we was filing them on the rough stone floor. Their points glinted wickedly in the dull light. Celeste's own powerful thoughts caught scent of the disturbing current running through the fox's mind.

"Genesis, what are you doing?" she said in alarm, now fully awake.

Genesis didn't stop whetting. "The second Duskclaw ushered us into this toilet, I swore to myself that I wouldn't let them take you alive. I intend to keep that vow."

"Uh…what do you mean?"

Genesis wasn't one to beat around the bush. "I'm going to kill you before they can get their hands on you, and I want to make it as quick and painless as possible."

Celeste blinked, disbelieving. "I don't understand," she said stupidly. "I'm your friend."

"You have the wrong idea," Genesis chuckled without humour. "I'm your friend, too. And Zero's. That's why I'm going to do this."

Terrified reality seeped into Celeste's eyes. "You don't have to. I can take whatever they dish out."

Genesis took a firm grip on Celeste's right shoulderpad. "If I thought that," he said quietly, "I wouldn't go through with this. If you were a reploid, or even just male, I'd let you go through whatever's coming to you. But it's not like that." Genesis tightened his claws. "See, Mavericks don't kill their human female victims. That's the problem. A few months ago, Katt Luck was in the same screw-up situation as you're in now…we found her a week later, starved and beaten…but that wasn't the worst of it." Genesis stared into space and bit his lip as his mind wandered back to that godawful day. Katt half conscious, her skeletal body draped between two Hunters, her eyes sunken, black and ghostly, and a rusty red gash across her lower abdomen, crawling with infection, roughly sewn up… "Well, you know me by now, I'm far from squeamish, but it's even difficult for me to think about what they did to her. But let's just say the Mavericks ripped her open, but they wanted her to live. They had a specific purpose for their 'operation.'"

Celeste didn't miss a beat. "Sterilization?"

"Bingo."

"Christ," Celeste said in a hazy voice as she turned her eyes down to the floor. "That's awful."

"Of course it is, and the smarter Mavericks know it," Genesis said. "Duskclaw is a known terror, he's dedicated his life to studying human behaviour and thinking patterns. It makes for a fun playtime. He knows that genetic termination is the cruelest thing you can do to a human, particularly females, and that's why he does it! He loves torture, and that's why I'm going to kill you before he makes you his new playmate!"

"But what about you?"

"Pah!" Genesis half-laughed. "No worries. I may be with the 'enemy', but I'm still a reploid. Worst they can do to me is give me a dignified death. But if I were to let you go through what Katt went through, Zero would never forgive me."

A curtain of silence fell over the duo. As Celeste digested the rather horrific information Genesis fed her, she drew a shaky, sob-laced breath. Genesis was right, but she couldn't just stand by and let herself get killed. Caught cruelly between instinct and reality, Celeste was frozen on the spot, a green current of adrenaline trembling through her body, washing away the last of the Rattler's Fang poison. Genesis sensed the restless tossing and turning of her instincts and grinned gently, pulling her into a hug. "There now dear, it's for the best."

Without warning, the fox shoved Celeste roughly out of the embrace. The Huntress took a bit of a tumble, instincts screaming through her blood. Panicked, she looked up just in time to see Genesis bear down on her, vicious teeth streaking white through the darkness, the glittering blackness of his claws aimed for her neck. Her system in overdrive, Celeste let her genes take over. She rolled into a sitting position. Genesis fell short of his target and thudded on the sandpaper-rough stone floor. He grunted, sat up, shook his head and leaped again.

"It's for your own good! Stop screwing around, you'll make this harder!"

Celeste silently locked her hands together and swung her arms. Her elbow caught Genesis in the stomach. An "Ulf!" sound sprang from the fox's gut and he rolled backwards, hitting the ground hard. A small, silver cylinder jumped from Genesis' armour and bounced twice before it rolled to a stop in the middle of the cell. Celeste watched it in a trance for a few minutes while Genesis lay flat on his stomach like a run over chipmunk, sucking in air. The whistle shone anciently, brilliantly, a spectre from a past life.

"Genesis!" Celeste said suddenly.

Genesis opened one eye, his tongue lolling between his fangs, his breath rasping. "Wh-what?"

"Your whistle."

Genesis' tinted eyewear fell on his prized possession. "Oh…"

"Maybe it can help us."

"Oh, nice, daughter of Jake. How?"

Celeste narrowed her eyes. "You told me the stupid thing had powers or some crap!"

"Yeah, well, I lied!" Genesis painfully hauled himself to his knees. "If I knew it would actually help us, I would've used it by now. I usually just carry it around as a good luck charm. Fat lot of good it did us, eh?" The fox grinned in spite of himself.

"Have you ever played it before?"

"Yes. It DOES sound kinda nice. Very soothing. But it does jack. Listen. We're both stressed out. Take a break, and we'll talk further about where you're gonna end up. 'kay?"

Celeste nodded slowly and lay back down to mull over her thoughts. Genesis sluggishly picked himself up from the floor and sulked with his bruises in the opposite corner like an unruly schoolboy. The whistle lay between them, watching.

With the cold of the floor seeping through her back like water, Celeste, who felt strangely at peace, thought about what route to take next. The situation pretty much sucked. There was no escape…

It works, you know.

Mindspeak. Celeste's eyes flew open. Oh no. Not THIS.

The voice in Celeste's head was smooth, and curled softly within her, like gentle grey smoke. It meant no harm. The whistle. The fox can't use it, but you can. It works.

I sure won't miss any of this when I'm dead. Who is it this time? You're not Torrent, I know that much.

I'm the very same who talked to you that night on the Skeleton Grasslands. I've known you all my life, and athough you don't remember me, I chose you to bring me into life. I'm obligated to get you out of this, although I'm in no state to physically appear. Close your eyes.

Celeste complied with little hesitation. After all, this newcomer was pretty tame compared to Torrent's loud, yet somehow subtle, perverted thoughts. And it looked as if Mindspeak was going to be a normal part of her life, sadly enough.

Relax. Go to sleep.

Whether by some force or her own exhaustion, Celeste tipped into a sleepy blackness as if she leaned too far back on a chair. She opened her eyes to a dream.

She was a little girl, not much older than four, with pigtails and a red yarn sweater that itched her badly. She felt weak, as if she'd just recovered from a long bout of sickness. Her chubby fingers were wrapped tightly around a silver cylinder -

A whistle! Neato!

It was a whistle like Genesis'. Its mouthpiece was still wet, as if she'd just played it. Celeste's breakfast jumped around in her small stomach. Before her was a forest of tubes, tubes that seemed to stretch from the ground to the sky from her viewpoint. The room was dark, the only light was the unworldly, greenish-white pulsing of the material inside the cylinders. In the tube directly in front of her, some kind of black, leathery creature stared at her gently with cinder-eyes while it floated in its bed of sustenance. Curious, it cocked its reptilian head at Celeste with a childlike curiosity. Satisfying approval flowed into her mind like warm soup running down her throat. Whatever the creature was, it liked her. It scratched softly on its glass wall. The top of the tube opened with a dry serpent's hiss, and the creature gripped the slippery rim, dripping, hauling itself into the biting cold air and slithering towards the floor, inching to Celeste, fanning its small wings to dry it off…

Celeste's eyes jumped open. She was her regular 19-year-old-going-on-20 self again, staring at the sickly ceiling of her prison. The droplet of dirty water that subsequently splashed on her forehead was the final kick that verified she was back in reality.

The hell was that all about? she asked fiercely of the stranger.

A flashback you can't recall, if you can figure that one out! It's a long story. But to make it short, that was me as a juvenile Mechadrake, and that was you as a little girl among the Inheritors of Eden.

Celeste moaned inwardly. Not this crap again. I can't take this anymore.

Never mind that, the stranger huffed. You'll know more someday. For now, you're getting the hell out of here. First step. Grab that whistle in the middle of the room.

With nothing to lose, Celeste rolled over sleepily as if she were in bed. She reached lazily for the wizened instrument. Genesis looked over his shoulder and cocked his head at her.

"Ya'll right? Whatchya on?"

Celeste didn't answer; the stranger was speaking to her again. Blow it.

The Huntress couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at this command.

Disgust. Oh, grow up! You used to be such an innocent little girl…ah, humans. Just do as I say.

Celeste put the whistle to her lips and drew one, clean note from the instrument. It was a lonely but purposeful sound that made her feel a little homesick. For the first time in weeks, she thought about her mother (as distant as she always was to her daughter), and her little brother. Most of all, she missed her father and the way he was always there for her, the way he understood her, the way he always smiled although underneath he was rather sad and confused. Genesis watched in interest as Celeste finished and lowered the whistle and breathed a sigh. The silence that was temporarily pushed up by the music rained down black on the chamber once again. Nothing happened.

"I don't want to say 'I told you so,'" Genesis said, "But I told you so!"

Celeste wasn't so sure. Something was suddenly different…something was stirring.

"Last stop!" Red sang as she perched on the top of the wall. Her chest puffed as she breathed in the clean night air. "Aaah, nice!" she exhaled. Suddenly remembering her package, Red swung Zero up by the hair as if she were pulling up a carrot, and set him down hard on the wall beside her. The Hunter was whimpering and rubbing his scalp.

"There you go, honey. All set! Look below you."

Zero did as he was told. The wall he was on seemed to plunge down forever, but when it finally met the bottom, it paved the way to a steel door that looked rather unfriendly…

Red read(!) Zero's mind. "Past that door. That's where Skysheen hangs out," she explained. "Or maybe you know him better as Vile. I don't know how you crazy Hunters talk these days. But if you wanna get to Siggy, you're gonna have to get past motherfargin' Vile first!"

Zero stared down into the pit. "Hooray."

Red reared and snuffed the air again. "X is coming," she said matter-of-factly. Sure enough, a small, timid blue form heaved itself onto the platform and stared at the door as if it was going to grow teeth and eat him. Zero drew in a breath to yell down at him, but Red smacked him upside the head.

"Shh! Skysheen's also in the area."

Zero snapped his mouth shut again. "But won't Vile get pissy because you helped me?" he dared to whisper.

Red snorted. "Well, let's all hope that the little purple bastard at least remembers a wee something about Battle Respect."

Zero sensed slight friction. "Ah, Reddy? You seem bitter. Don't you even care that I'm about to rip apart your little brother?"

"Hmph." Red cocked one arm on her hip and looked away from the Hunter. "Of course I mind, but at the same time I want you to rip his helmet off and feed it to his rear. Sky's been a real jerkoff since he became Siggy's second in command. I left my friends, I killed those humans, I nearly killed you, all in the name of love. I had every intention of sticking by Sky. My loyalties are to my brothers and sisters, as Sky's should be. But noooooooo, he's totally forgotten about Mechadrake Assemblies Inc. Hell, he's forgotten about ME! Look at me! I'm the stupid 'Main Defense!' Wowie zowie, thank you sir, may I have another kick in the ass?"

"Well…." Zero didn't quite know what else to say.

A purple streak hissed down the gothic tower opposite Red and Zero and materialized far below, right in front of X, who seemed to seep into a terrified blue puddle. Vile.

"And besides," Red continued as she glanced down, "I can guarantee that Vile's gonna flatten you. He's got the Chimera with him, and he's buffed it up or some crap. So best of luck to the two of you."

"Thanks," Zero sighed. "It's a nice day to die."

"It always is," Red chuckled. The sound bubbled in her throat and suddenly died. Her face twisted into a snarl and she twisted her supple neck this way and that. "Damn…"

"What's up, Red?"

"What the hell?" Red bellowed. She clutched her ears and howled incoherently. Her eyes darkened to the rusty colour of dried blood, a rather unnerving sight.

"Red!" Zero cried out, rather terrified that he was beside a Mechadrake going berserk.

"That SOUND!" Red shrieked, completely possessed.

"What sound?" Zero was slightly distressed.

Red didn't answer. She whipped around on her perch and launched in the air, the old brick crumbling under the impact of her takeoff. Her stinging tail caught Zero in the shoulder with such force that the Hunter lost his balance. Zero yelped and tumbled off the wall, head over heels. The raven wind shrieked and laughed at him as he fell…and fell…and fell…

"Well well well X, long time no see."

X stared wide-eyed at the faceless demon before him, his knees swaying and trembling.

"What, you have nothing to say?" Vile laughed shortly. "You come to confront me and all you can do is stare like a fish in an aquarium?"

X's tounge would not move.

"And you think you can beat me? Silly ignorant little boy."

"I…" X gulped.

"You can't run. No one can help you. Only me. And I'm the Beast."

Vile's dramatic effect was ruined by Zero, who came screaming down from above like a meteor, limbs flailing in all directions. He splattered on the ground between X and Vile. Both were rather taken aback.

Zero silently staggered to his feet and collected some of his loose bolts that were scattered haphazardly on the ground. X simply gaped at his friend.

"What the hell are you starin' at?" Zero snarled weakly as X slowly pointed over the crimson Hunter's shoulder. Zero turned around. "Oh my holy cow, it's Vile!"

The Maverick cocked his head at the two Hunters before wisely turning to retreat through the steel door that marked the entrance to his lair. His first attempt to escape was marred by the fact that the door didn't open and he ended up striking it with a gonglike clash. Vile staggered, shook his head to clear it, and tried again, this time succeeding. The dark hallway beyond the steel gate swallowed him up with ease.

X thawed and started towards the gate, but Zero thrust out one arm, which caught X in the stomach.

"Stay back ol' boy, I'm going after him."

Before X could agree, Zero kicked open Vile's door and was off like a shot.

Genesis was creeping up to Celeste again. The Huntress watched him warily out of the corner of her eye.

"Hold on Genesis."

The fox sat up. "Nothing's gonna happen!" he snorted.

Celeste calmly twirled the whistle between her thumb and forefinger. "You just watch. Follow me."

Celeste got up, dusted her pants with her hands, and calmly walked towards the tiny glass window in the door. She stood on her tiptoes and peered through it. Her heart leaped into her throat; there was J.T. again, tagging submissively behind Duskclaw, who strode with all confidence towards the cell. Duskclaw had a dart gun in one paw. Nullifier. Now she was in for it.

Four, three, two, one… the voice in her head whispered.

A tremendous crash roared through the room outside the cell door. A red and black reptilian form screamed down from a newly-bashed hole in the isolated tower's fragile roof. Duskclaw and J.T. turned at the same time to face the hulking red Mechadrake that glared at them, hunched over, with bloody, possessed eyes, her lance at the ready. A little tongue of fire lashed out of her mouth with every breath she heaved.

"Who!?" she frothed. "Tell me, who has one of those goddamned whistles in their greasy paws?"

Duskclaw and J.T. exchanged hopelessly baffled looks.

"Too slow!" Red swung her lance once. There was a coppery snick! sound, and that was the gruesome end of Duskclaw, J.T., and the Fenris Soldiers.

Red kicked the bodies aside and stormed towards the cell that contained Genesis and Celeste. Celeste yelped at the utter locomotive chugging towards her, and she leaped far back from the door. Wise move. The door bulged and groaned as Red slammed it with one fist, but it did not open. Snarling, the 'drake took a few steps back, pawed at the ground with one clawed foot, and charged the door with her tremendous shoulder. The hinges blew clean off and the door collapsed. Red filled the doorframe from top to bottom, her eyes blazing.

Genesis looked at Celeste. "Damn, it works all right. It summons berserk Mechadrakes! Ha, this is fun, isn't it? We're gonna die, aren't we? Hehe!"

Red dipped her neck at Celeste and pounded towards the Huntress, who pressed her back right up against the wall furthest from the door, her mind flashing back to her hellish fight with Torrent, her hand unconsciously groping the sheath where her lightsabre used to be.

Whoa now, calm down my girl. I wouldn't steer you wrong. Stand still.

What choice did Celeste have?

Now Red was charging towards Celeste, her lance lowered, aimed for the human's soft stomach. Celeste dug her fingernails into the bricks.

"Oh my holy GOD!"

Red still charged like a hell-bent unicorn, Celeste grit her teeth, closed her eyes, and prepared to meet her father on the Happy Hunting Grounds, while Genesis just screamed like some demented child.

The angry pounding of reptilian feet suddenly halted. The tip of Red's lance hovered a bare quarter inch away from Celeste. The Mechadrake's eyes drained and flared their normal(?) green.

"Well I'll be." She turned her lance upright and scratched at her oily black hair with one claw. "Where am I? What am I doing here? Oh, hello Celeste!"

Celeste opened one eye. "Yeep."

"And Genesis, nice to see you too."

Genesis just glared. "You are completely psycho."

"You just noticed? What's been going on? I feel like I've just danced mambo number five with Satan."

"I…uh…" Celeste shakily handed Genesis' whistle to Red. "I played this and you came barging in here like you were possessed. It belongs to Genesis, so kill him, not me."

Red's eyes expanded like ice at the sight of the little twitter-tube. "Hat rack of Mother Tiamat!" she swore in awe. "I don't believe you HAVE one of these!" She snatched the whistle from Celeste and thrust it in Genesis' face. "All right foxy boy, HOW did you get this?"

"I don't know," Genesis said flatly. "And that's the God honest truth."

"Yeesh," Red snorted. "Show me a reploid with a complete, normal past, and I'll show you a Mechadrake that doesn't like to snack on cats. Anyway, what you have here is a 'Caller.'" Red flipped the small flute over in her palm. "They can be extremely dangerous if you don't know what you're screwing with. The sound of a Caller is what 'shocks' a juvenile Mechadrake into life."

"Uh…" Celeste recalled her flashback with the whistle and the baby black Mechadrake swimming in the tube before her.

"Something up, Cel?" Red asked.

"Well, actually, I was wondering how something like a 'juvenile' Mechadrake could exist. Aren't Mechadrakes a breed of reploid? Reploids don't grow."

Red pat Celeste on the head. "Ah, little miss Rocket Scientist over here. You can't put a limit to the potential of the reploid species…that would defy our entire purpose, hmmm?"

Celeste narrowed her eyes in thought; she was not satisfied with this answer.

"Tell you what," Red bargained. "You give me a detailed explanation on where human babies come from, and someday I'll tell you all about baby Mechadrakes. Fair?"

Celeste slowly wiped her flushed face with her hand. "Nevermind."

"Thank you." Red continued. "Anyway, juvenile 'drakes like the sound of the whistle," she repeated. "On the other hand, play this sucker in the presence of a mature 'drake, and you've got trouble. We can hear the sound from quite a distance, no matter how quiet it is. And we hate the sound. If we hear it, we fly straight to the source and destroy it - anything to shut the stupid thing up. We can't resist the call, and it pisses us off. But you gotta be specially trained in order for the whistle to have that effect."

Genesis and Red both eyed Celeste at the same time.

"Stop looking at me like that," the Huntress said weakly. "I don't know anything more than you two do."

"Best leave the McTreggors to their own strange selves," Red grunted at last after a good long bout of silence. "Her dad was pretty flap-jackky too. Now, to business!" Red gave Genesis a friendly slap on his back. Genesis staggered halfway across the cell. "Gen old boy. I think this whistle is best left with me."

Red was a great deal taller and more foreboding than Genesis, but that didn't keep the fox from bargaining with the leviathan. "What'll be in it for Cel and I?"

Red gazed idly at the chewed-up roof of the prison. "Well, I can get you two out of here easily enough. The sooner the better. X and Zero arrived not too long ago…some nasty sparks are gonna fly shortly."

Celeste jumped. "You saw Zero?" she squeaked in terror.

"Saw him!" Red snorted. "Hell, I fought him!"

"Wh-what happened…?"

"I ripped off his limbs, tore his dripping heart out of his chest, ate it raw, and then I smote him good!"

"RED!"

"I'm JOKING!" Red guffawed. "Geez, you're gullible Celeste. We did fight, but it pretty much came out to a truce. Well, actually, I lie. But at any rate, I took him by his hand and led him to Vile's chamber. That's where he wanted to go. And now you two are getting out of here."

Celeste cocked her head at the red Mechadrake and summoned her courage. "Red…"

"Yare?"

"Are you with us or against us?"

For the first time in her entire life, Red looked completely exhausted. "Please don't ask me that," she sighed as she looked back at the seeping bodies of Duskclaw and J.T. "I confuse very easily. Grab my hand."

Something suddenly bit at Celeste's mind. "Wait a minute! Zero's lightsabre! He gave it to me, and Duskclaw took it! I have to…"

Several metallic boots were ringing on the steps up to the cell. Voices were shouting from the hallway.

"Forget it!" Red howled. "There's no time!"

"But…"

"We're leaving NOW!" Red grabbed Celeste by her collar and Genesis by his arm. "Those Mavericks'll be able to figure out that I was the one who skewered them wolves, and I'll be confronted about it soon enough. But why screw myself any sooner than I have to?"

I guess I should go in… X mused. He pressed his hot cheek against the cool metal door. But Zero said I should wait here… he strained his ears to the din beyond the door.

Thud thud thud.

Muffled cursing.

CRACK.

Louder cursing.

Errie silence.

"Hell with this!" X summoned his courage and dashed in.

Battered and completely spent but far from disheartened, Zero lay on his back in his tiny cage, his scorched fingers laced behind his dented helmet. He knew very well that he'd reached the end of the line, and he was quite prepared. Here he was, locked up tight, and his sabre was a little metallic smear on the foot of the Chimera. There was one alternative left, made possible by the love of Celeste, and Zero was ready to carry it out for the good of her race. He just had to bide his time and wait for the right moment-

The good of the human race. Good God, I can't believe what I'm thinking. What a stupid turn my life has taken.

Determined to enjoy his last few moments of life, Zero idly kicked at the trembling green bars of energy that locked him in. Each kick produced a surprisingly soild-sounding clang! that was murder for anyone who was sensitive to sound.

"I could keep this up all day!" he sang over the din

Vile towered over the cage in his Chimera, which had pounded Zero into his sad state. "Knock it off!"

"It's my cage, little man, and I shall do as I wish."

"My name is Vile."

Zero tired of his game and slowly sat up, his body creaking and groaning with the effort. "Wrong," he grimaced. "It's Skysheen."

"Bzzt, now YOU'RE wrong. Skysheen was a human loving jerkoff."

"…who was mauled by a human girl just barely out of puberty," Zero snickered.

"Ah yeah, your little pet human. Say, I have an idea. After I've turned your head into a handpuppet, I'm going to find your little friend, burn her alive, and then burn the ashes. Ah yes, that should be fun."

Zero rested his head in one hand. "Well gee, I dunno," he said thoughtfully. "See, she mangled you once. I have a feeling she'll do it again and again. Say, I'm being a real bastard today. If I were you, I would've killed me a long time ago. What're you waiting for?"

Vile's answer came dashing through his maw of a doorway. X slowly turned his gaze from the pent-up Zero to the behemoth that was Vile, and all hope abandoned his sinking eyes.

The former Mechadrake was quite pleased with X's predictable arrival. "TWO hand puppets!" he cackled.

X was quite bewildered by this statement.

Zero glared at his friend, half disgusted and half amused. "X, you're far too fond of getting yourself into nasty situations that involve little prick robots that like to hide behind big huge mech suits."

X buried his face in his hands. "Oh, I am SO screwed."

Outside the fortress was dark. The black air was thick, heavy and humid. A few lingering drops of water, the remains of the heavy thunderstorm that had roared through most of the night. Now it just fussed and growled; it was holding off for a bit, recovering for another tantrum.

Celeste was straddled on Red's neck, her legs dangling as the Mechadrake cut through the air with her massive wings, weaving around the ancient gothic towers that speared the sky. Lights from small tower windows flecked the night and provided some guidance for Red. Celeste tried to suck in the dank air, but it stuck in her throat, never quite feeding her lungs.

She was becoming rather uncomfortable. However, she had the best seat for the flight; poor Genesis was trusting his life to Red's firm grip on his body. The fox was facing downwards, frowning hugely at the mat of grass that sprawled far, far below the fortress. He was obviously not a fan of heights, Celeste observed. She took a firmer grip on Red's neck, and recoiled in disgust when her fingertips met with a ragged, scabby ridge of a wound. Red flinched a bit at the touch.

"Hands off that specific area of my neck if you please, miss McTreggor! No questions, thank yoooou!"

Celeste glumly shifted her grip. She wasn't having very much fun. The rain stung her in the face like wet bullets. Her clothes were soaked through, and even the oven-like wind was making her feel chilly. Besides that, Red was very fond of reckless flying. The dragon would head full speed towards one tower, banking sharply when she was just a few feet away from splattering all over its side. Then she'd laugh about it. Red repeated this sport several times until Celeste and Genesis were rightfully scared halfway out of their minds. If the two complained, Red would accuse them of having no sense of adventure shortly before breaking into a series of stomach-clenching barrel rolls.

Besides the slim chance of surviving Red Airlines, Zero's lost sabre was also gnawing at her brain…

"Stop pulling my hair!" Red suddenly bellowed into the wind.

"Can't we go back for the sabre?" Celeste pleaded.

"No no no a thousand times no! Grow some damn wings yerself, then you're welcome to get your stupid sabre."

Genesis, from the baggage coach: "What's so important about that sabre anyway, Celeste?"

"It's a Lucas, and it's Zero's."

"Well, why'd he give you something so valuable?" Red asked.

Celeste was cornered like a fox in a hunt, the hounds howling at her. Zero had warned her not to talk about the sabre, and now she'd screwed herself. How did she explain this?

"Well, we…"

"…'exchanged our weapons along with our vows,'" Genesis finished up for her with an unkind snicker. "Common tradition among human Hunters in love, given the fact that their crappy salaries couldn't pay for any piece of jewelry that didn't come out of the gumball machines at Walmart. But a human and a reploid? That stupid jerkoff. I warned him to stay away from you."

Genesis was disgusted, but Red was just confused.

"Why would anyone wanna get married, settle down, and end the good life of late night Hunting and wild moonlight?" the Mechadrake puzzled. "I don't get it. Must be a pain in the arse to have a mating instinct, eh?"

"Yeah, it sucks," Celeste sighed.

"You know Celeste," Genesis said flatly, "if you get married to Zero, the whole thing's gonna eventually go to hell. Too many biological and cultural differences between the species."

"Thanks for your vote of confidence," Celeste snarled. "Gee whiz, at this rate, reploids and humans will be running through flowered fields, hand in hand, singing 'Happy Shiny People' in no time at all!"

"Just speakin' the truth," Genesis grumbled, his voice drowned by the howl of the wind.

"No fighting," Red said sternly. "Now listen, both of you. Lecture time. No being understands the terrible beauty that is human love and sexuality, and the mystery has not been unraveled, even over centuries. But aside from desire, companionship, and its resulting offspring, there is obviously a deeper reason as to why a young pair decides to make two hearts beat as one. Celeste and Zero's affair is a pure example of love conquering lust, and is especially a prime example of patience, problem solving and thoughtfulness."

Celeste and Genesis went blank.

"All right, I'll translate," Red sighed. "Celeste's love for Zero, for obvious reasons, goes way beyond her just wanting to throw him down and mount the pony. Surely the feeling is mutual between them. And I admire that."

Blood bloomed in Celeste's cheeks as she hung her head slowly. "Reeeeeed…"

Genesis was laughing. "Tasteful!"

"What what?" Red said, dismayed. "I try to be deep and philosophical, and no one understands what the hell I'm trying to say. In such cases, I guess old ways are the best!"

Once again, the earth quaked in protest as the Chimera smashed it with merciless metallic paws. Once again, the nasty purple and blue bulk of the mech, with its silver hybrid silhouette, filled X's eyes. Once again, Vile was saying something about playing a game. And once again, X knew he'd gotten himself into a real fun fix. Only this time, Zero wasn't able to take him by the hand and yank him out of danger. No, his saviour was behind bars, cursing Vile in ten different languages.

Vile slowly reeled back one huge, armoured fist and let it fly. X ducked the blow and scurried under the Chimera's arm. He screeched to a halt beside Zero's cage, panting in terror, seeking useless protection. The behemoth reared, exhaled slowly, roared sleepily and lumbered its way towards the Hunters. Vile was merrily stalking his prey, he was in no hurry.

"Don't run to me, I'm not your mama," Zero hissed at his friend. "It's about time you grew up. Do your best to wear him down. I'll take care of the rest. All right?"

X widened his eyes at Zero. "You're kinda confined. How're you gonna manage?"

"You just watch."

X suddenly went flying, courtesy of Vile and the Chimera, so he didn't get a chance to watch anything. Shaking off his hangover, the small reploid David stood steadfast, staring down his demon, assulting the goliath with a hail of white hot plasma shots, but he wasn't getting too damn far.

But that was fine. All Zero needed was a diversion. He lifted his scorched and smoldering left arm up to his eyes. Clamped to his wrist was the typical nondescript chrome ring that clenched at the wrists of all reploids, and for good reason. The wrist was a vital area on humans and reploids alike, and a slashed wrist could likewise mean death for a 'ploid. Staring at his own smudged eyes in the metal ring, Zero carefully reached for Celeste's dagger, his last weapon, from a niche in his boot. This, too, he brought to eye level, silently admiring the mysteriously fine craftsmanship of the glittering serpentine DNA helix that formed the dagger's hilt. Against the background music of mechanical whirring and pounding and X screaming like a fisher's wife as he was splattered against and peeled off several of the walls in Vile's dimly lit chamber, Zero sadly thought about Celeste as he caught some of her scent wafting from the dagger. Oh sure, Zero thought, there was a chance that he would be revived. Reploids always had a second chance. But how long would it take? Months? Years? Decades? What would happen to Celeste in that time? She wouldn't get younger, that was for sure. Chances were good that she'd get married to some human Hunter and have a critter or two. Zero's Lucas would be forgotten, or given to the Hunter in question. But Celeste wouldn't be to blame. She couldn't help her instincts, could she?

Zero had a tendency to look at the worst case scenario.

At any rate, her kids would need a safe world to grow up in.

The reformed reploid sighed at his own philosophical cheese as he went to work with the dagger. With its tempered tip, he carefully worked at the minute screws that bit into the chrome ring and his wrist. He grimaced slightly as each screw left its deep sheath of metallic bone and skin. This wasn't a fun job.

But when the wrist guard fell away and Zero was left staring at the complicated network of veins and wires that swished and churned silently underneath his thin layer of skin. And he was scared of what he was about to do, scared of the cold knife biting into his warm skin and letting the blood flow.

But it had to be done.

The Chimera's mammoth back was facing Zero, within leaping distance. X was doubled over on the floor before the godlike, remodeled book-organizer and its proud rider. The Hunter's breathing was shallow and laboured. He couldn't take anymore. This was it.

Zero braced himself and dragged the serpent's knife along his exposed wrist. A thick black rope of blood instantly welled up from the gash. Cold nausea crept down Zero's stomach as he watched his severed wrist-wires turn about lazily like a nest of multicoloured adders, spitting sparks dangerously close to the slick black river of fluid. He liked the sight of fresh blood, but not his own.

Zero closed his eyes. He was all set. He hauled himself to his feet, his carefully thought-out battle cry ready to flick from the tip of his tounge.

Vile reared back one of the Chimera's legs, ready to kick the heap of X before him into oblivion. A sharp cry stopped him.

"HEY! VILE!"

The Maverick turned around to see Zero standing in his cage, clutching the shimmering bars, one of which had a oozing river of circulatory fluid inching down it. Zero's eyes darkened to a terrifying shark-black. A poisonous grin lit up his face, and a gritty red halo hung heavily around the Hunter, dancing faster with each passing second. His systems were going into overdrive.

"YER MA'S A WHORE!" The sound of Zero busting out of his cage was like a spray of bullets hitting a line of wine glasses. Debris rained down on all sides of X and Vile. Zero fell with the metal hail. He landed on the Chimera's back just as the severed wires of his wrist made contact with his flammable blood. Zero's fist was subsequently enveloped in a screaming, electrical fireball. The Hunter slammed the whole hellish inferno down the open neck of the Chimera, into the cockpit where Vile sat, stunned. The Mech's systems screamed under the fire as if it were alive, and it slowly buckled down onto its knees. The flame consumed it like a hungry beast, along with Vile and Zero. A dull explosion rocked the chamber, and everything went milk-white…

Heavy raindrops spattering down on her, Red, leaning on her lance, looked up sadly at Sigma's fortress, the sharp, stiff grasses of the Skeleton Grasslands biting at her bare ankles as they swayed in the baked wind. She knew exactly what was going to happen to Zero and Vile. One would never yield to the other. They would simply cancel each other out, like an acid and a base. Red heaved a sigh and waited for the moment. She didn't have to wait long. A very small but bright haze of white bloomed from one particular sector of the fortress like the birth of a new star. It was at that exact moment that the two most important scents in Red's life fled her nostrils forever: the scent of her brother Skysheen, and the scent of her best friend, the Hunter Zero.

"Both of ya are ijits," the Mechadrake muttered. "Especially you, Zero…fighting on a side you were obviously never meant to be on. Always had to bust me arse looking out fer ya, you silly twit. Now you're gone. What am I gonna tell Celeste?"

Red turned to look at the young McTreggor who was straggling back to Kapcom with Genesis and the last few Hunters left on the Plains. She stopped suddenly and stared back at Red.

"You all right?"

Red grinned slowly. "Sure, I don't know."

Celeste came to stand beside Red, rather dwarfed by the Mechadrake's massive frame.

"You think Zero's all right?"

Red paused. "He can hold is own." It wasn't quite a lie.

But lying to Celeste never quite worked out. Red knew the Huntress didn't buy a word. She could tell just by the way the human was staring at her with expressionless but piercing eyes.

Red gave it up and gave Celeste a quick hug. "It's all right. Things'll work out. I promise. Now go on home."

Celeste quietly did as she was told. Red watched the poisonous plains swallow her and the other Hunters up.

"Yes Zero, you ARE an idiot," Red snorted at her friend. "Proposing to a young human girl just minutes before you go off and get yourself killed? What do you expect her to do, wait for your sorry ass to be revived?"

Red made a decision. Fanning out her wings, she tensed her back legs and sprang into the air, raindrops hissing like grease on a frying pan as they spat on her ever-burning snout. Shielding her eyes from the small but stubborn storm, the dragon chugged her wings against the wind, thankful for the friendly darkness that hid her as she flew back to Siggy's fortress.

Zero…

"Uh…"

Zeeeeeroooo! I'm on my way to take you home!

"Oh. Oh damn."

You have some 'splaining to dooo!

"I know…"

"Zero!"

This time the voice was tangible.

"Zero! C'mon…!"

Not to mention stricken.

"Get up! Come on…" the voice slid down a notch to teary. The owner started shaking Zero's mangled frame back and forth. Without bothering to open his eyes, Zero slapped the hands away.

"Hey…" Surprised and a little hurt, the voice reared back. It sniffled wetly.

After some struggle, Zero managed to open his eyes a tad and lift up his head slightly, despite the hammer that throbbed and pounded inside his skull. He saw two things he could've done without; his own body, burnt and gnawed in half, and the sight of X weeping like little Nell Down by the Well. One thing cheered him up slightly; Celeste's dagger was at his side faithfully, completely unmarred despite the hell it burned through. Quite a weapon.

Zero gritted his teeth against the pain that ripped down his body with burning claws. He closed his eyes and lay back down, and the agony eased slightly. "Aw, c'mon now, X…"

"Zero…you're okay, right?"

"Uh…well, I don't know too much about the reploid anatomy, but I do know it's a bit hard to survive with only your upper half intact…" Zero broke off as his lungs started to rattle coldly. "Ah no." he coughed thickly. "You're on your own."

X started to quake. "Aw no!" he cried. "You're fine!" he started to pick up his friend, whose eyes flew open as pain racked him once more.

"Ow ow ow OW, put me DOWN!" Zero screeched, gurgling on a mouthful of blood as he did so. He spat the stream aside venomously. "Listen to me, X," the crimson Hunter began angrily, but his voice trailed off, his scalding words drying in his mouth as he looked up at X, who was shaking, sobbing quietly, trying very hard - with little success - to keep his tears in check.

For an instant, Zero was taken back to Skull Castle, a lonely and confused newborn who positively bawled as he watched his stricken brother wilt and die under some mysterious chip that their late father had planted in him. And Bass had been understanding of Zero's grief.

Zero grinned a bloody, blackened grin. "Aw, what the hell. You go on and cry it all out. You'll be a better man for it."

That was X's cue to howl like an abandoned wolf pup, but he didn't take it. Without a word, he just hugged his best friend tightly, tears spilling quietly. Zero surprised himself by hugging X back, with only one arm as he needed the other for balance. A lonely sadness bloomed in the dying Hunter as the embrace tightened.

"I'm sorry," X gulped suddenly.

"Sorry for what?"

X put Zero down. "Sorry for being such a jerk when we first met," he snuffled, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

Zero grimaced at X's bad hygiene. "Make sure you don't touch me again or anything, X. And what do you mean 'being a jerk?'"

"Oh…when we first met in the cafeteria. Remember? You called me Astroboy, and I called you Ponyboy, and I threw that apple at you and you beat me up for it and…oh God, I'm going to miss you."

Zero chuckled. "I'd almost forgot about all that, you know?" he said faintly. He didn't have much more time. "You have nothing to be sorry for, X, so don't worry your head. Come now, take a second and collect yourself. You're up against Siggy by yourself. Here." Zero unfurled his fingers and inched Celeste's serpent dagger towards X. "Take this. Yeah, no need to say it, it looks like a crappy little pocketknife, but there's something more to it, I think. It might come in handy. Even if you don't use it, give it back to Celeste and tell her to wait."

"Huh?"

Zero smiled bleakly. "Nevermind, you'll see someday. Just take care of her for me. And for the love of Schweppes, take care of yourself. I'm not gonna be around to take you by the hand any longer. Now go away. Just let me sleep." He closed his eyes one last time.

Life had been good to Zero sometimes, and other times it screwed him over, but in general, it just confused him. Now he was at the end of it, and he had tried to live it the best he could.

So I'm no different from any human. Or better. No reploid is. What a great time to stumble upon the secret of life!

With that last thought, the black curtain fell and concluded the life of the Devil's Son.

X stumbled blindly through the corridors of Sigma's fortress, unaware of where he was going. Angry Mavericks swarmed him, but somehow he mowed down platoon after platoon, his arm cannon having a life of its own. Nothing was real. It was all a dream. Only Celeste's dagger was real. Staggering drunkenly into a cold blue cement pillar, temporarily out of range of any enemies, X clutched at the rough surface and sobbed. Zero was gone.

"Hey."

He was being watched. X shamefacedly rubbed at his watery green eyes with his palms.

"No sense in hiding it. Nothing wrong, we're all upset, eh?" the voice was friendly, but savagely familiar.

"Red…?"

"Yare."

X looked up at the Mechadrake for the first time since she betrayed the Hunters all those weeks back. She pearched on a gothic spire not too far up from where X stood, like a regal gargoyle, wings outstreched, dark ponytail fluttering as one with the night sky in the cool wind. She held a gorgeous, almost antique lightsabre across her chest. The blade was lit, and its lime light reflected off her dark armour, drenching the sombre metal with a shimmering green hue.

"Nice to see you, X!" she said cheerfully. "This is Zero's Lucas. Nevermind why I have it. I just have a feeling you can use it." She threw the relic down from the tower. It bounced once and rolled to a stop in front of X's boots. Upon impact, the blade quickly scurried back into its hiding place with a slurping hiss.

"Tell that friend of yours that he's an ijit," Red snarled, "and that I'll never let him rest as long as these wings drink air. Now get along, you! Siggy is close. He's very close. It's always easy to tell where that funny looking creep is hiding, 'cause he smells bad. There's a tip from me to you. Make the most of it, wha'!"

Red was gone as suddenly as she appeared.

Zero opened his eyes.

The air in Vile's chamber was stagnant and heavy, but still and peaceful. Zero yawned and pushed his arms upwards, and got a start as someone grabbed his outstretched hand and gently helped him to his feet. Zero scrambled up and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"Bass?"

Bass was looking his normal self, with his sharp toothed, self-confident grin and oily black armour which was still augmented with its usual gold trimming. Some things never changed.

Zero smiled lopsidedly at Bass. It was all he could do to let his brother know that he hated him and still loved him dearly at the same time.

"Hey Zero. Ready to go?"

"Where?"

Bass silently pointed down. Zero looked, and saw his shell, twisted, battered, scorched but peaceful, lying on Vile's grimy floor.

"Oh yeah. That thing."

Bass cleared his throat. "So Zero, we strayed from the path during our lifetime, didn't we."

Zero narrowed his eyes defensively. "I did the best I could in life. Your lessons on humans were totally bogus. I was forced to live among them, befriend them, save them, and even heal them. At first I couldn't stand it, but I learned to admire them after a while. There are reasons to, trust me."

Bass simply raised one eyebrow at Zero, arms folded across his ebony chest.

"Well, it's true," Zero finished lamely.

Zero received quite a surprise when Bass hugged him.

"I'm just glad to see you again, baby brother," Bass murmured soothingly in Zero's ear. "And if Wily ever saw this, he'd start to wonder about me." Bass let go and lightened up. "Besides, your life is far from over. You'll be revived some day…still plenty of time to go berserk against the humans you love, eh wot?"

Before Zero could respond, Bass grabbed him by the wrist. "We've got catching up to do, and so little time to do it in! Come on, let's go see that goldfish that stupid friend of yours X never fed."

Hours passed slowly and the dawn pushed over the darkness. Coloumns of the virgin light filtered through the blackened holes in Vile's chamber and snuggled on top of the still body Zero. A soft summer breeze wafted through the dank air and washed the blackness away. Then the roaring started, a tremor that thrummed from deep in the vaults Siggy's fortress and flowered through the rest of the soaring towers and stuffy chambers, growing more and more intense with each passing second. Then the whole structure of the floating warbase went to hell, the walls buckling like paper machee. The Behemoth groaned and turned slowly on its side just before it gave up and slowly rolled downwards into the sea, which shimmered quietly at the edge of the Skeleton Grasslands.

The pipes were old. Rust flaked away under X's fingernails as he slowly hauled himself up the network. An evil smelling mist hung in the air, swimming around the Hunter, beckoning to him. Something unseen crept over his fingers. At the same time, a shudder crept through him. This was the final ascent.

A steel gate gaped open not far above X's head, leading to a room. But knowing Siggy, a going slowly through the gate would probably mean having a vice of metal lanced through his midsection. This was going to have to be quick. Gathering his strength, X coiled and sprang upwards like a cat. He cleared the gate as it clamped shut under his feet like the jaws of a malicious animal. X crouched, panting.

Well, now what? The room was dark. A deep throated humming emitted from somewhere.

A snarl.

X stood up again.

A particularly vicious looking wolf reploid slunk from the darkness to stand before X. It looked up warily at the Hunter with eyes of blood and copper. Its lithe puprle body twisted 'round and 'round as it paced in a tight circle around X, growling the whole time. Its claws gleamed dangerously. X tensed, watching the wolf's every movement.

A command boomed from the darkness:

"Velguarder! EAT!"

Utter chaos reigned. The wolf, Velguarder, rolled into X's legs. X lost his balance for one heart-stopping second, just enough time for the beast to pounce and bury its claws into X's chest. The unmarred chrome soaked up X's blood, staining the deadly weapons black. X and the wolf howled at the same time, one in slight discomfort and the other in triumph.

Velguarder curled his claws in X's chest, then reared, pulling them out cruelly, taking a good part of X's chestplate with him. Incredible pain screamed through X. The wolf was on his hind legs, looking hungrily at the dark lake of blood in X's new chest cavity.

Rather frightened, X could sense the wolf's intentions. Inspired, he rocked back a bit, got his legs under the wolf's stomach, and pushed. Velguarder yelped and went for a bit of a ride, tumbling to a halt about ten feet from X.

That was enough time. X drew himself shakily to his feet, blood running down his front like spilled food. Velguarder regained his composure, and, without a pause, jumped on the wall behind him. From there, he sprang, twisted his body in mid-air, and sailed straight towards X, jaws agape, foaming.

A sphere of plasma went flaming down Velguarder's throat. The wolf choked and dropped in mid flight where it writhed on its back, making shameful puppy noises. But he recovered in a very few seconds.

Plasma don't do much.

Well, there was one other option.

Velguarder sprang to his paws, infuriated. Snarling, he shot towards X and leaped, stained claws unsheathed once more. The Hunter jumped backwards, yanking Celeste's dagger into view and whipping it at the wolf in one fluid motion. The diamond-studded weapon somersaulted and buried its blade in Velguarder's chest as easily as a knife into a pat of butter. This time, when the wolf cried shrilly and clattered hollowly as he fell on its flank, he stayed down. The spark drained from his eyes until they were a cold, dead black.

X doubled over, panting greedily for air. He placed his hand over his chest to staunch the bleeding, but the black fluid just dribbled between his fingers and continued its course.

The Hunter was weak, tired, spent…and there was still no sign of -

"Sigma? Where are you?"

The humming grew more profound.

"Ah, X…"

X stood rigidly, his head whipping all about. The voice wafted from every dark corner of the room.

"My poor, wandering child…so lost, so helpless."

X stood up straight. "'Lost? Helpless?'"

"A reploid without a title, without a friend, gone astray of his race. Rest now."

Coloured lights flared before X like precious jewels, emanating a soft hue against an enormous breastplate.

"A generation without name, still trying to recover from a nuclear war, created us. Reploids, Lords of the Earth. And, unlike humans, we need not worship our creators. So why do you bother to fight for them, hmm?"

Far above X, two green eyes thrummed into life. Slowly, the entire frame of the behemoth was bathed in muted light.

X's eyes grew huge. "What in the name of sam hill is that…?"

A very good question indeed. The reploid leviathan before X looked like a terrifying cross between a rat, a dog, and a dragon. Hunched down on all fours, it shifted its enormous blue-and-purple bulk to glare at X with lazy but deadly eyes. It reared its triangular head in a sharp-toothed hybrid of a squealing roar, shaking the foundations of the fortress.

And there, towering far above, was Siggy, saddled on the neck of the Beast, still wearing his bloody Spartan cape proudly, silently announcing his position of authority in the past.

"But despite being superior to all creatures on Earth," the Maverick howled above the roar, "reploids still follow nature's iron rule of Survival of the Fittest. Let's see what you can do, X my boy!"

Sigma tapped the Beast's shoulder. The deceptively clumsy looking hybrid shot out a paw with unimaginable speed. The huge mass of metal smashed just inches away from the Hunter. Bits of the floor flew up in a typhoon, hailing on X's frozen face. The Beast was large enough to swallow him whole.

X took a deep breath to thaw his terror stricken body. He succeeded, and fired a volley of shots at the Beast's metal hide. No sense in fancy tricks yet. The Beast grunted as the plasma bounced right off without even damaging the shine.

Sigma chuckled. "Now THAT'S funny."

A plume of fire shot from the Beast's cavelike maw. The edge of the jet caught X, barbecuing him to be sure. When the inferno cleared, X staggered blindly, in bad shape. One more hit like that, and it would definitely be lights out.

His vision dark and blurred, X couldn't exactly see where he was going, and he smacked into the wall behind the Beast's hindquarters. He grunted. Groping, he felt…tubes of some sort…

A voice, eerily similar to Zero's, trickled in X's head. If you open your eyes, you could probably see a lot better.

X did.

He had his hands around a network of thick green tubes that were not at all unlike jungle vines. The tubes tethered the Beast to the wall and ran their course into the behemoth's metal-plated sides. The tangle rendered the Beast semi-immobile, but they probably fed its dangerous arse a great deal of vital fluids and power…

The enormous hind leg of the Beast flashed before X's eyes and buried itself in the concrete just a smidge beside his head.

"Not advisable that you play in that area, X," Siggy called down. "I'm getting tired of watching you scuttle. FIGHT! C'mon!"

X gazed up at the former Spartan and his faithful dog-rat-thing. He thought, lonesome, about Zero, lying dead and cold on the ground thanks to the war. And unconsciously he unsheathed his late friend's Lucas.

Strike, fall, and I will follow, Zero's voice whispered. X could almost see the former Hunter's confident grin.

The Beast twisted its bulk around with a grunt of displeasure. The wires chafed its every movement, and it obviously feared pulling itself out of the wall. It moved diligently whenever possible for this reason, like a hospital patient with an IV stand. When it was quite satisfied with its positioning, it let another paw fly and smash. X rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the deadly weight. The Beast snarled and hauled its paw back up for another try.

X was ready. With a catlike bound, he grabbed onto the paw and was lifted with it. The Beast, a little slow to catch on, realized a bit too late that X was hitchhiking. He jerked his head around and snapped at his flank where X was shimmying up, like a dog chewing at a flea. It was no use. X's fingernails scratched away at the hybrid's maiden coat of paint as he vaulted up and over its shoulder, where Sigma sat, stunned.

For a full three seconds, Hunter and Maverick stared at each other blankly. No emotion whatsoever was exchanged between their stoic eyes.

"Be still," Siggy whispered to the Beast, tapping its huge head. For an instant, X heard fright seep into the Maverick's voice, like yellow dye soaking through cloth. The leader hauled himself to his feet, balancing carefully, shrugging his cape behind his back like the wings of a raven. The blade to Zero's sabre jumped to life, seemingly on its own. X didn't take his eyes off Sigma.

"Listen to me, you little fool," the Maverick began gruffly, but X silenced him by pressing the tip of the lightsabre against his chest. A small hole slowly started to burn in the jade armour.

"No. There's nothing left to say."

Green electricity crackled and split the air like lightning as X slashed at Sigma. His heart jumped into his throat as the Maverick literally grabbed the sabre's blade. The lime fang bit the stricken Spartan's palm, which spat forth blood as he squeezed harder.

"X, stop! Listen to me!" Sigma was genuinely pleading now, terrified, teetering on the edge of his pet's head.

There comes a time when you can't give any quarter.

"No. I've listened to plenty on your behalf," X said very quietly. "Humans in the Refugee Camps wondering aloud if they'll ever see their homes again. Orphaned kids wondering where their parents are. No more."

One Last Kick.

Sigma, screaming like a dying bird of prey rendered flightless by a hunter's arrow, corkscrewed as he plunged from his mount. It was a bad landing; the Maverick's neck took the full brunt of the impact. There was a dry snap, like a breaking twig. Panting, X peered over at the spreading black pond that marked Sigma's landing pad.

The former Reploid King was unconscious, unmoving, but breathing very shallowly. He was still alive, and his pet could sense trouble. Tremors rocked under X's feet as the Beast pondered its next move.

The tubes! Jump! I will follow!

Aha… X was starting to understand. The azure Hunter ran along the Beast's shifting back until the life support wires were in full view below him, writing like a pit of angry snakes. X threw his arm forward, and the lightsabre cracked through the air like a spear. The deadly weapon cleaved through the Beast's wires in one clean cut.

X got results right away. The severed wires spat and writhed like wounded lindwyrms. Ironically, the Beast was fully paralyzed without the cumbersome tubes that served as his life support…and on the flip side, the main core, which drew a great deal of energy and coolant from Sigma's pet, began to overheat and complain.

The dog-dragon-rat lifted its head in one last mournful howl before it buckled over on its side like a stricken ox. X jumped just in time from the Beast's back - landing safely on his feet - to see the sad monstrosity roll over and completely crush Sigma's body, only leaving his head free.

The main core's complaining turned into a scolding, a bitching, and finally a ranting rave. The entire fortress began to shake and crumble as if it were in the claws of a giant.

X made no move to escape. Instead, he stared down at Sigma, whose eyes lit up with the faintest blue as they focused on the quietly triumphant Hunter.

"Why…" he laboured, sucking in whatever breath he could manage. "Why…did this happen…Reploids…we should be…Lords of the Earth…"

X surprised himself by throwing his arms back and laughing. He laughed long and loud, over the screams of the stricken fortress, an echoing sound that carried itself through even the dankest vaults of the battle base and flitted around the towers like gaily coloured birds. He laughed for the human race, now free to rebuild and breed, to create, to screw themselves over the way they'd always done before. He laughed for Paul and the other Hunters, who had not died in vain after all. Zero's voice mingled with his own, and they both laughed at Sigma, who was inches away from Death's scythe.

"Hey, buddy! Shit happens!"

Bill sat his big fat greasy-assed self on a rise in the Skeleton Grasslands. Morning emerged sunny, but strangely cheerless. Bill ran his hand, streaked with dirt and blood and sweat, through his matted mass of hair. With a quiet grunt, the human gazed at Siggy's Flying Fortress, the favoured name for the stupid contraption among the Hunters.

Genesis, noticing that one live Hunter was missing, came back for the deadbeat. He cleared his throat.

"Bill, you should be coming with us."

"Yeah, so."

"We're going home."

"Yeah, so."

"You stay on this wasteland much longer, you're gonna become impotent. And if that happens, you will not come crying to me, because I will not be able to keep my lunch down long enough to help you."

"Yeah so, I've had it with women. I was married once, remember? Bad idea."

Genesis sighed long through his feral snout. "Okay Bill. What are you standing here for, anyway?"

Genesis' question was answered in just a few seconds as the Fortress on the edge of the Grassland began to rumble. The two watched in quiet awe as the monstrous, gothic structure sank lower and lower on the horizon along with the moon, until the sea reached up to claim it. There was a spectacular flash of light as the sea took one last gulp. The fortress was gone.

"Action!" Bill sang.

Genesis snapped his dangling jaw shut. "X, Zero," he gulped.

On cue, a blue beam shot down from the ghostly grey sky and solidified into a very exhausted and battered X.

Genesis and Bill stared at the Hunter before them with huge eyes. They were looking at a ghost. X stared back. "Sigma's gone," he said blearily. "And so's Zero. He sacrificed himself to Skysheen for me. Genesis, looking at you right now is like looking upon the face of an Angel of Mercy, which is a sign that I'm beyond help." X swayed.

Genesis smacked his forehead against his palm. "Zero's gone. Huzzah. Which of us lucky bastards gets to break the news to Celeste? Well, I guess we'll worry about that one later. Come on, X. You need to get home."

"There's nothing for me at home," X mumbled.

Genesis playfully looped his arm around X's own. "Come now, don't say that, Sir! Hamlet came home from school to find his father dead, his momma fooling around with his uncle, and his girlfriend pregnant. And HE came through all right, didn't he?"

X glared wearily at Genesis. "Do you even know how Hamlet ends?"

Genesis shrugged. "I flipped through the book, I recall something along the lines of a group hug. Come on. You too, Bill."

The fox, the Hunter, and the human all ambled off into the sunrise. A sunset would have been a lot more fitting, yes…a nice and bloody sunset to represent the sacrifices of the Hunters. But the narrator is helpless to control the events of nature. That's God's department. If you have a problem with it, go call Him.

Genesis fiddled with his bow tie. His eyes bulged out as he nearly strangled himself. "Why do I have to wear a tux?" he urked.

"'cause it's a wedding," Ozzie Bono said absently as he expertly adjusted his own noose.

It was indeed a wedding, taking place in the huge back lot of MHHQ, as far from the Refugee camps as possible. Nobody wanted to be reminded of its squalid, depressing atmosphere now that reconstruction of Kapcom was in full swing.

But Ozzie, who'd been in the camps himself for a short while, refused to take his eyes off the squat ring of cabins and tents that lay like sick, dirty animals. "We gonna get rid of them cabins?" he grumbled.

Genesis finally managed to loosen his bow tie. He took a good gasp of clean air. "I don't think so. We may need 'em again. You know, tuxedos are stupid." Genesis was roasting alive in the heavy, black material. "It's summer, and I'm dressed like this! I don't have a death wish. How come Tess and Josh get to marry in traditional battle dress, and the rest of us schmucks have to sit like jerky under the summer sun?"

"Tradition."

"Me arse." X came floating over the freshly-manicured lawn to join his two friends. He'd put on his own tux, and it was just slightly imperfect for this reason. But he was proud of his achievement. "Ozzie is right, Gen. It's tradition." The Hunter stiffed proudly. "You may ask…how was this tradition started. I'll tell you!" X paused in thought. "…I don't know..."

Two lines of Hunters flanked the aisle on which Tess and Josh strode down. Every single one of them stood slack-jawed at the reploid who would be performing the ceremony.

"I'm sure there's a good reason why Cain chose Cass as the Justice of Peace," Genesis muttered to X, sweat trickling down his fur, "and damn, I can't wait to hear it from that fool."

"My guess is that Cain was 'liquored up' again," Ozzie murmured on the other side of Genesis, his head down. "Cass is his personal hero."

Cass, a large reploid badger, was the bartender for MHHQ's popular pub, Salamandastron's Illusion. And he was never, ever seen out of his domain.

"I've never seen him crawl out from behind his counter," Genesis said. "So THAT'S what his lower half looks like."

The wedding party began to shuffle restlessly under the beating sun. Murmurs of disapproval over the choice for the Justice of Peace began to rise in a cloud of contempt.

"This is a wedding, not a wine tasting."

"Speaking of wine, when do we drink?"

"Too late, I've already started."

"Me too." A pause. Then: "Ms Hoover! The floor's shaking!"

Cass calmly cleared his throat and waddled to his place at the podium before Tess and Josh, who likewise exchanged confused glances. Once he was quite comfortable, the handsomely striped badger slammed his Bible on the solid oak. The sound boomed over the microphone like the prelude to an avalanche. The crowd shut up at once.

"Thank you," Cass said sweetly. He began the ceremony.

Ten sweltering minutes later, Genesis was completely at his wit's end. "This is stupid," he snorted quietly so as not to invoke Cass' wrath again. "Dumbass human mating rituals. I ask you, what's wrong with 'em crawling off into caves together?"

"Don't ask me," X said weakly. He sighed. Zero would've gotten a kick out of this whole wedding thing…

A disturbance rustled through the crowd. Genesis woke up and started to pay attention. A slow grin soaked on the fox's face.

"Awwwhawhaw!"

"What's up Gen?" X whispered.

"Forrest can't find the ring," Genesis giggled softly. "Boy, between having Cass as the Justice of Peace and Forrest as the Ring Bear, this whole wedding was shot to hell before it started."

Josh was practically frothing at the mouth; he was seconds away from garroting the sheepish platinum reploid beside him. Forrest, squeaking with terror, was slowly inching away from Josh, gathering energy for the sprint that would take him clear to China.

A claw clanked on Forrest's shoulder. Forrest turned and found himself face to face with Red Draco. No one had seen her arrive, and now Forrest was genuinely terrifed. Overwhelmed, he hunkered down and began to cry quietly.

Red gently fished at Forrest's smudged tux collar with her left paw. She lifted him up again and held up her right paw. The ring was coiled around her pinky claw. She wiggled her scaly eyebrows at Forrest and smiled.

Gently, gently as if reaching for a live wire, Forrest took the ring from Red. When the Mechadrake made no move to eat him, the platinum Hunter smiled feebly at her. Red grinned back and snapped her teeth once - which set Forrest into terrified spasms again - and dropped the Ring Bear back beside Josh. Then, she reared her head and made an announcement.

"I'm goin' home." Red turned and walked down the aisle. Halfway down, she stopped again and looked at each individual in the wedding party, smiling.

"But…you can all come, if you like!"

Not surprisingly, no one took Red up on this. The Mechadrake chuckled to herself. She continued down the aisle and away from the crowd, her forked tail slithering behind her happily.

"Well," Genesis broke the stunned silence, "at least it ain't a dull wedding."

"That whole ring sequence was a blatant ripoff of a music video I saw once," Ozzie said.

X frowned thoughtfully. "I was thinking more along the lines of a Menthos commercial, Oz."

The ceremony continued as if the wedding ring had never been lost and an estranged red Mechadrake hadn't found the durned thing. Through it all, Celeste, who flanked Tess in full battle dress (an extremely high honour) grappled with her emotions. Her mind replayed the announcement of Zero's death, X hugging her as he quietly told the Huntress about Zero's last few moments. They'd both shared a good cry together. But she hadn't cried since.

The ceremony concluded with a grand flourish, which included several joy-drunk reploids firing off their arm cannons in some twisted semblance of a salute. Cain had to tell them to knock it off when they started hitting birds.

Celeste staggered away from the celebration. She stumbled blindly, not quite thinking of any destination in particular, when she found herself among the ghostly huts of the forgotten refugee camp.

She didn't wake up until she stumbled upon Clyde Wells. The young boy was smeared with dirt and neglect; like the Camps, he was also forgotten.

Celeste blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Clyde, you should go back to the big building, okay hon?"

Clyde threw a clumsy grin at the Huntress. "Dad'll come back soon, right?" he giggled. Without waiting for an answer, he obeyed Celeste and ran off in the direction of MHHQ.

Celeste sighed sadly and continued her aimless wandering. She walked into one of the empty cabins. It smelled lived in and hopeful…old love and sex. Suddenly very tired, Celeste clamboured up one of the bunks and stretched out on its sheets, wondering about the cabin's former inhabitants, and also wondering if she'd ever hear again from the mysterious stranger who'd helped her slip from Duskclaw. Not a peep had issued in her head since her escape.

Wallowing around in her thoughts of the stranger and Zero, Celeste eventually slipped into cool, deep sleep. She dreamed of the ocean bottom, where a mated pair of dolphins darted and clacked happily around the giant ruins of some fortress. The ruins were grim and forbidding, but the dolphins didn't mind; the ruins were in their domain, where everything was beautiful in their eyes.

And besides that, the ruins sheltered two treasures that the pair guarded relentlessly. An old Lucas lightsabre, rusted, but still profound. Beside it lay a serpentine dagger, encrusted with precious jewels. The two weapons were brought together through undersea storms and vicious undertow, but they were safe now, inside their crumbling walls with their dolphin guardians. They could rest.

Celeste woke up with a start. Far away, music wafted and champagne sloshed as the reception bulleted on. Strangely enough, a good deal of Celeste's loneliness had drowned with her dream and the dolphins. She had a feeling that everything would be all right again. All she needed was just a little patience, as Zero had told her back on the Skeleton Grasslands.

Rolling over on her side, Celeste faced the wall next to the bunk. Something was written there, etched in very small letters. The Huntress had to squint to read them:

And for the first time in days, Celeste smiled.

I think I'll preserve this moment. :P 12:58 a.m. on Monday, January 31, 2000, I'm in my housecoat, the dishes are still undone, and my little brother is blaring GNR's remake of Sympathy for the Devil in his room next door. After three and a half years, I've finished my longest piece of writing ever, Bass is Not a Fish (add as many exclamation points as you think I deserve ;P)

How I managed to make a 200 page novel out of two games that barely contain 2 pages of text each, I'll never know. But I'm glad I did, I know that much! It was a wild ride all around. I remember writing the earliest chapters in my school's computer lab when I was in grade 11, sweltering in the June heat, wrestling with my surly Mac Plus. All through high school, I had BNF with me, and I was constantly working on it, always making new OL friends through it. :) It still boggles my mind how popular it turned out to be, despite the fact that very few Mega Man physics were followed. Megaman and X never used special weapons. I never explained the inner workings of a reploid because I'm at a loss to do so. I never even tried to venture into physics. :P I guess people were just looking for a good story, and I'm glad they found it in me. :) It was very rewarding to write BNF…no online fan community is more dedicated than the Megaman community. We kick them Final Fantasy groupies square in the arse! :D

So to speak.

Now that I'm running off at the mouth, I'd like to take a second to talk about the character Red Draco. I created the Mechadrake race one afternoon a couple of years ago. I was at a trade show with a friend of my mother's, set in the International Centre in Toronto. I was bored, and my mind had time to wander, which is a dangerous combination. ;P Well, there's a point to this story, and it's this: the response to Red overwhelmed me. I don't like to toot my own horn, but I honestly don't think I've ever seen such a popular fan-created MM character. Yes, Red will indeed be around in my next fanfic, which will be a sequel to Zero Tolerance, so don't panic. ;) I'd like to thank all of Red's fans who take the time to write stories and draw artwork…I don't take the time to thank you all enough! :) You're all an extremely talented bunch and you put me to shame.

One other fun fact. A lot of ye have asked where I got the title Bass is Not a Fish in the first place. I owe my school's yearbook for that one…it was a comment made by the music department, and I thought it would be a wretchedly adorable fanfic title, so I saved it for future reference. ;P

BNF also goes by an alternate title - "Barenaked Fish," derived from its initials…think Barenaked Ladies (BNL), everyone! ;) I have to thank the oh so clever Metalman (Taoster) from #megaman for that one. ;P I bet he never thought I'd have the guts to actually use it. Well, fah on you, Metal! Haw haw! SPIKEMAN SUCKS!! Although "Barenaked Fish" IS indeed a fitting subtitle. I mean, we've peeled Bass back in this story, layer by layer, and we've seen what he can really be like.

'hem. Well, I'm getting too egotistical, so I'll throw some cold water on myself and belt out some thank-yous! I owe a lot of folks for helping me out.

NEON TIGER gets the first thank-you…she let me use (mangle?) Torrent Leviathan, the unseen author and rival of Celeste's life. Deep, eh? Together, we shaped his personality for BNF and came out with some happyific results! Thanks, Neon!

JETMODE also deserves many many many thanks. I secretly confessed to her how badly I suck at writing battle scenes, so she helped me through the final stake out with Siggy. She's also just a cool person to talk to! :D

BLACK DRACO for coming up with the cool ass name "Nytetrayn" for the mysterious black Mechadrake that Celeste hears from near the end of the book. More will be revealed on Nytetrayn in ZT's sequel, fer sure! Also special thanks to BD for being by my side for two years, through good, bad and worse. I love him lots. :) This is probably a surprise to a whole lot of you…I don't make these kind of public announcements often, if ever. :P *goes red and hides*

LEX! Lex is COOL! :D She happily agreed to draw a cover for BNF! (for the upcoming contest-stay tuned for details!) I know that she's a busy little sprite-monkey thing, but she's always friendly and great to talk to…unless you bite, or you're an Acid Queen.

ASPECT, SIGNAL, JETMODE (yes, again!) and LYRA SILVERBLADE for going over the last few chapters of BNF and letting me know what they thought before I made 'em public. Trust me, your opinions counted! ;)

SLASHMAN, TEKNOKAT, and TRIFTER, for being my oldest OL friends and fans! Cool people to talk to about how the story is going, or about life in general!

THE BNF MAILING LIST - Did you know the stupid thing has over 100 subscribers!? Damn, man! Anyway, the mailing list will live on, as I will be writing ZT's sequel soon. If you wanna be removed, speak now or forever hold your peace!! Thanks, folks, for bothering to subscribe. :)

THE MECHADRAKE and TENGOKU 13 BOARD MEMBERS - Ya'll know who you are! Thanks to all of you for also previewing some of the beginning of the end, and for never failing to offer your suggestions!

#MEGAMAN - I've been with these psychotic bastards for almost four years now! Save me!! Well, they're all cool bastardos, always good for a laugh…and whenever I need someone to tell me how much my favourite bands suck, they're always there for me!

Finally, thanks to BRYAN DEWITT for starting me out on fanfics in the first place, when I was just a pup. :) Once in a blue moon, I still get a hold of this guy, and it's always a thrill to talk to him!

Well cubs, that's it! I sincerely thank you for wallowing this far with me. :) I hope ya'll found the ending of BNF satisfying enough! Please give me a shout and let me know. I had a hell of a fun time writing this mess!

So, until next time…

"I like soup." -- Fireman

Love and stuff,

Nadia "Red Draco" Eisner.