Shrinking Hopper

Chapter 1

(DREAM SEQUENCE)

In the bright and colorful strange looking environment, a lean Asian man with his short caramel locks in his early twenties cladded in a red hoodie jacket and a dark business suit with a Hiden Intelligence pin attached. His pair of chartreuse rubber shoes stepped on the dark green unknown terrain and widened his eyes in shock, becoming unfamiliar and lost of where he had gone into. He moved his head to and fro and noticed the bright purple aura flowing around him. There were no presence of any living beings and Humagears when he kept walking and searching.

" What the hell is this place?! " the man anxiously said to himself. " Definitely, this is not Satellite Zea or the Ark?! Where's everybody?! "

The young Japanese businessman skidded around and reached the distance for he still had no idea what place he was in. Looking everywhere, he had seen nothing, but radiance and strange looking objects. He thought of any lifeform which he could come to him. Then, he snapped his fingers which he could create a commotion and echoed.

" Hello, Is anybody here?! Hello?! "

No one responded which the businessman's voice bounced back. He crossed eyebrows and continued walking. Suddenly, he thought of cracking his bad jokes, calling attention.

" Now, I am freaking lost like a ghost! Is there a host here?! Hai, Aruto jaaa....NAITOH! " he loudly exclaimed and proudly placed his pointing finger at nowhere.

No one had dared to respond to a dryly humorous statement from President Hiden Aruto of Hiden Intelligence. The bright strange objects didn't even bother to laugh at him. Aruto crossed his eyebrows and frowned, furiously kicking the ground.

" Seriously?! " he exasperatedly sighed and facepalmed to his dismay. " No one even cares to laugh at my joke! What kind of place is this anyway?! No people, animals, nor humagear?! Just nothing?! I'm just wandering around with some strange colorful things here! I'd better find my way to get out of this place! "

Aruto continued skidding and turning around the place, looking for an exit. He tirelessly searched everywhere which it took more time for him. The Hiden intelligence CEO gave up and became hopeless, realising he was going around in circles. He desperately slapped his both hands on his knees and heavily sighed. Without any awareness, he accidentally bumped a tall cloaked figure behind him, turned around, and nervously grinned, " Oh, sorry about that! I just didn't know you're...."

Aruto paused and intently looked at the being who revealed itself to be a reptilian mutant man with dark red irises on his eyes. The mutant gave him a sinister grin and evilly chuckled. The Hiden Intelligence CEO realized he forgot to bring his Zero One Driver and slowly stepped away from the man to his safety. The suspicious cloaked one readied himself to attack the lost businessman. Aruto widened his eyes in shock, ran away, and anticipated the worst that could happen to him.

(CEO'S OFFICE, HIDEN INTELLIGENCE BUILDING: TOKYO, JAPAN: 8:30 AM)

" Aruto-sacho, Aruto-sacho, Aruto-sacho, " a soft and youthful female voice calmly echoed on the CEO's ears. He leaned his head and arms on his table.

His secretary was a female humagear with a medium dark hair and shades of jade green. She cladded in a white coat with black and emerald green trimmings with a grey blouse, a skirt, and a pair of dark stockings and shoes. She had a ribbon with green and black stripes wrapped around her neck. The humanoid kept shaking her boss's shoulders and heard him snoring in his deep sleep. She frowned and let a deep sigh, secretly scanning him in his morning slumber. Finally, she knew what to stay for waking him up.

" ARUTO-SACHO, THE ARK HAS INFILTRATED THE COMPANY PREMISES! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! " she loudly exclaimed to his left ear, like an alarm clock. " WAKE UP!! WE NEED YOU IN ACTION AS ZERO ONE! "