To make a long story short, the hunters made quick work of the rogue mechaniloids before they could cause significant damage to the city and returned to base.
“Good work out there, men”, lauded Signas, “It’s nice to see you three are still at the top of your game. Anyway, there don’t appear to be any more signs of maverick activity, so until further notice, you’ll be on stand by. Be sure to file a report on the attack within the next few days. And Axl, this time I expect more details than ‘that awesome headshot you pulled off.’”
“Yes, sir…” the young reploid groaned.
While Axl walked away grumbling, Zero turned to speak to Layer. “Hey, just thought I should thank you for today. I’ll admit, without your analysis, I might not have found that giant tank’s weak spot, or at least not until after it had mowed down a few more city blocks.”
Trying once again to conceal her blush, Layer meekly replied, “Oh, um… not at all, Zero. I’m just doing my job.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Still, it’s always good to have someone like you to watch my back. Anyway, since I’m on stand by for now, I figure I’ll go hit the training chambers for a while.”
As Zero turned to leave, Layer thought to herself: “I wonder, does Zero ever give himself a day off? I mean, I understand he has his duties as a hunter, but, especially with maverick activity at an all time low, you’d think he might take a day off every now and then. Maybe if I invited him to go somewhere…”
“Wait, Zero!” Layer blurted out, surprising both Zero and herself.
“What?” questioned the red hunter.
“Um… n-nevermind.”
“Oh, okay then, see you around.” And with that, Zero walked away.
“What was I thinking?” Layer reprimanded herself. “I can’t just go asking him out out of nowhere like that! I probably just blew away whatever respect he might have had for me…” She was so busy beating herself up over her perceived blunder that she couldn’t hear Pallette walk up behind her.
“So, are you ever going to ask him out?” the blond navigator piped up.
“P-Pallette! Don’t startle me like that! And I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Layer sputtered defensively.
“Sure you don’t. Come on, Layer, I’m your best friend. I can read you like an open book. Though right now, I’d say your story could probably use a few revisions.”
“What are you saying?” Layer enquired warily. She and Pallette had trained together as navigators at the same academy, and she recognized the look in her friend’s eyes all too well. It was a look that said “I’m going to drag you into a plan that’s totally going to take you out of your comfort zone.”
“Just that I’ve got a plan that’s guarenteed to bring you and Zero MUCH closer together!” Pallette exclaimed. By this point, one could all but feel her excitement coming off of her in waves.
“Pallette, please don’t…” Layer began to plead.
“No need to thank me! If I start working now, I can probably have it built in a couple of hours!” And with that, the young blonde skipped off to her laboratory, ignoring her friend’s pleas.
“What have I gotten myself into?” Layer groaned.
*****
As the sun began to set over the city, Zero was leaving the training facility, a bit earlier than he usually would. For some odd reason, he just couldn’t concentrate as well as he usually does during combat, as his mind would randomly drift back to his conversation with Layer. “I’ll admit, I’m slightly curious as to what she wanted to say to me. I’m sure it wasn’t all that important, but still…” His train of thought was cut short as he heard some footsteps running toward him.
“Zero, Zero!” Pallette exclaimed, “I was just looking for you!”
“What for?”
“I’ve just finished work on a new chip! It’s built to increase the accuracy of a reploid’s melee attacks. You’ve just got to let me install it!”
“Do we have to right now? I was just about to…” But before Zero could finish speaking, Pallette was already dragging him off to the lab.
*****
About an hour later, as Zero was preparing to enter his stasis tube, he thought back to what Pallette told him as she was installing the chip:
“Now, for this chip to integrate itself into your systems, you’ll need a full night of rest. As such, the chip will make sure to keep you in sleep mode for the duration of the programming period.”
“Well, I suppose the sooner I get this chip installed, the better. And who knows, this upgrade might be what I need to get back into combat mentality.” With this last thought, Zero entered the tube, and entered sleep mode.
Only a few minutes later, the chip began to kick into effect. Zero began to rapidly shrink in size, until he was roughly 2-3 inches tall.
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