The military strategically placed their bases based on which and how many divisions it housed. For instance, the closest city to Alpha Base was Capital City - Alpha. In the age of A.C, city names were hyphenated with the largest military base in that zone. However, the closest military base was Salvatore Base(named after the officer who led the attack on reclaiming this area from the Reapers).

This base only housed several regiments. They were more of a first responder for a low level crisis and communicated any larger threats that required more soldiers.

Alpha Base however was located almost an hour away; a very large complex situated where a nearby city once stood. There were still a few of the older buildings situated around the perimeter that hadn't been cleared due to having several advantageous purposes. Standing about 10 stories high and 5 stories underground, it was an impressive structure even among other large bases. Surrounded on all sides by 30ft reinforced concrete walls, the only way in and out of the area is a narrow road in between the walls. Well, the only public way that is.

The reason Alpha Base was so far out the way from the city was the same reason that made it so formidable - it housed a team of Reaper hybrids that could be trouble if they ran loose.

A camo colored military jeep could be seen heading down this narrow road towards the entrance. Zero sat in the backseat, accompanied by Haji and Three. One of the base's recruits sat behind the wheel.

Zero looked at all the abandoned buildings they were now passing - this was the first time he had been allowed outside the base since arriving. Midnight Squad's quarters as well as the training room was located on one of the sub-levels so he hadn't even seen so much as the sun since arriving.

As they approached the gate, a guard walked up to the passenger side window where Haji sat.

"Leaving for the day, Sgt?" He asked him.

"Yes. Heading out to the city. Should be back before nightfall."

"Understood. Safe travels, sir."

He nodded and they were in motion once again.

As they passed through the thick high walls, they immediately jumped on the highway which was bordered on both sides by lush forest. Zero sat back in his seat, closed his eyes, and let the cool breeze relax him as they drove off.

Three, sitting next to Zero in the back, turned to her teammate and nudged him with her elbow. "Hey, don't fall asleep just yet. You'll want to see the view."

Zero didn't bother opening his eyes. "You mean the trees? Weren't we just in an Amazonian jungle yesterday? I feel like that kinda tops whatever we're gonna see out here."

"Don't be such a bore. We're about to come up on it now."

He wasn't much in the mood for sightseeing, honestly. Using Chronos Trigger still mentally exhausted him and he was still feeling a bit down from the interaction with Two the day before. Zero didn't expect them to just fully accept him right away, but even Five was starting to loosen up some around him. Even if just a little. But Two…

Zero let out a soft sigh.

"Here it is. Quick, look!" Three happily exclaimed.

Zero reluctantly opened his eyes and peered out his window. Just as the tree line broke, light suddenly washed over him. His eyes widened at the sight before him. They were driving on a ridge that overlooked the ocean. The sun shined brilliantly off of the water's surface, making it look like it was almost sparkling. The waves were small and tamed, rolling off the top of the water in such a smooth manner that it almost seemed like a work of art. Out in the far distance, a city could be seen dotted along the horizon.

"It's…beautiful." Zero's eyes reflected the movement of the ocean. The ebb and sway of the water was enough to lift even the dampest of moods.

"Heh." Three seemed satisfied with herself as she went back to toying with her hair - trying to make it somewhat presentable after what Five did to it.

Haji turned around in his seat to face Zero. "Enjoy the view. This highway runs along the ocean for the most part, so you'll get plenty of time to take it in for the next 50 mins before we reach Capital City."

After a long but tranquil drive, the jeep finally pulled up to the entrance of the city. Though the highway had since turned into a 4 lane road, they hadn't seen another car the whole way there.

Right outside the city was a huge square arch hanging over the highway. It was made out of a sleek metal and had a thin light strip underneath that ran the width of the highway. As they passed under it, it emitted a blue light and turned back off.

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"That's a bio scan detector," Haji called out. "It creates a reading of any lifeforms in the vehicle and sends it to a security office within the city."

"I see." Zero said softly. He didn't have to ask why as he knew exactly what it was looking for. Reapers.

"Don't worry, there's a special protocol when it detects a hybrid but you guys are already in the system."

"What system?"

Haji peered over his shoulder at him.

"Um, sir."

"Hm. All hybrids are logged and tracked in a global database. When passing through a bio scanner it checks the data it gathers against the global database to determine if an alarm should be raised. So if an unregistered hybrid were to be detected…."

"..."

They passed through the scanner and made their way into Capital City.

The city itself was remarkable for having gone through the war. There were people bustling around, street vendors at every corner, and a few cars here and there. The tallest building was probably three stories. There were a few that looked like they may have been bigger, but there was scaffolding around them. Looks like not all the damage from the war has been repaired yet. Then again…the war isn't really over yet.

Three saw Zero staring at the passing cars. "I heard these highways used to be FILLED with all types of cars. But, ever since the outbreak, trade between nations has become almost non-existent. So…gasoline is still considered a precious resource. The components to make electric cars are too expensive to spare. Most of that stuff is allotted to the military now."

"So…does everyone just walk?"

"Well. Sometimes. People kinda just stick to their cities at this point. Too dangerous to travel with the black out zones scattered about. Oh - I guess you don't know about those yet."

"We're here," Haji interjected. The jeep pulled next to what appeared to be a small little military outpost near the heart of the city.

A few soldiers came out to greet them as they exited the vehicle. The one that appeared to be the higher ranking one had short black hair that was shaped into a bowl cut.

"Good to see you again. Sgt. Sadiki. Hope the Major General is doing well these days." The officer spoke.

"Yes. Listen, I'm taking one of our new recruits into town today. I'll escort him around myself. Can I have a detail of about…3 soldiers to go with Three? She's off to the salon or something."

"Yes sir." His glance fell on Zero and Three. An uneasy look came on his face. "Um…I hate to bother you with this, but um…they'll both need their badges to walk around the city."

"Nonsense. I'm here with them. That should be enough." Haji said, appearing to be a bit irritated.

"Yes yes, I agree! And usually it is sir, but you see, the President recently passed a new bylaw where now even enlisted hybrids have to be seen with them outside of the base."

"...Fine. Do you have any spare ones? I didn't bring any."

"Oh, of course! One moment." He ran off into the outpost while the others hung back.

"Badges? We have to wear a badge?" Zero said quietly as he looked at Three. She was glancing down at the ground with a sullen look on her face.

The officer quickly came back out holding two badges attached to a yellow armband. It was in the shape of a thick cross and bore the letter 'H' in the center. Haji snatched them out of his hand and offered them out to Three and Zero. "Put them around your arm."

Three took hers and quickly slid it on. She looked at Haji with a blank stare, "Well, can we go now, sir?"

Haji looked at the officer. "Oh, right." The officer said as he motioned for the few men that were with him to go over to Three. "Take her where she needs to go and come right back."

They nodded. "Come." One of them said to Three as they started walking down the street. Each one of them had a pistol fixated to their belt. Three walked after them without saying another word.

Zero studied the badge in his hand. "What is this for?"

Haji, without looking at him, said in a low voice, "So everyone knows who you are."

Zero looked back at the badge with a sense of confusion. Why does everyone need to know? Why did it matter? They were no longer Reapers and they were even fighting to protect them. Right?

Zero slipped the badge on his right arm without asking any further questions of Haji.

"Alright, follow me." Haji started walking across the street. Zero followed behind him.

As they started walking deeper into the city, Zero started noticing a few things that he hadn't picked up on when they drove in with the jeep. Some of the people walking around were also wearing these badges. Not everyone though.

He also noticed something else. The ones who were wearing the badges…were walking hastily without making eye contact with anyone. It's like they didn't WANT to be seen for some reason.

Haji pointed towards a tall pointed building further down the street. Even though it was still a good distance from them, Zero could easily tell that it was the biggest building in the city. It seemed adorned and he could almost make out a metal fence in front of it. "That's the government building. The President resides there."

"You mean, the President of…Capital City?"

"No, the President of New America. This is called Capital City for that very fact - it's our nation's capital."

"Really?!" Zero was blown away by the fact that the President lived so close to them. Literally right down the road from Alpha Base. So blown away that he didn't notice that as he turned to continue walking that he ran right into someone else who was walking. *Thump*

"Ugh!" It was an older man, probably in his mid-40s with peppered hair and an impressive mustache. "Watch where you're going kid."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you." Zero said apologetically.

"Yeah, well just be care-" The man's eye caught the badge around Zero's arm. Then it was like his whole demeanor suddenly changed.

"Don't ever fucking touch me again you damn halfie. You're lucky I don't call the cops."

Zero was shaken by the quick attitude change. Haji stepped in between them. "Go about your day, sir. He already said he was sorry."

The man clearly didn't want to get into it with the likes of Haji. He kept grumbling under his breath and kept walking. Zero didn't understand why the man was so hostile all of a sudden. And what did he call him…a halfie? Was that what they referred to hybrids as here?

Haji turned towards Zero. "Zero. Before we go any further, you need to understand something."

Zero missed Haji's words because his attention was focused on a sign on the outside of a shop across the street. The building was a bakery, 'Zino's Bakery' to be exact. There was an open sign on the window next to the door. But further down on the corner of the building was another sign.

'Hybrids please order at the window.'

It was starting to make sense now. What Dr. Rowland said when he first arrived at Alpha Base. That he was going to face a very different life than what he lived before.

Society had been rebuilt. But he wasn't a part of that plan.