She watched, helpless, as the screen showed Zero on the falling wreck of the Ragnarok. Pipes and wires were flying everywhere, and the metal around him was burnt and charred, while Zero's armor itself was showing signs of damage, remanants of the previous battle with the mad Doctor Weil.
"Agh! I can't stop the descent." He shouted in frustration through the radio. She checked the readouts that her computer was giving.
"Zero! Reaching critical speed! If it goes any faster, I won't be able to get you back! Hurry!" Her urgent cries stopped and her eyes widened in fear when she heard another voice coming through the radio, a voice she thought was defeated a short time ago. No...
"No... It isn't over yet!"
Weil's battered cyborg body rose from a hole in the ground, damaged in numerous places but still working, the levitation funcions keeping it afloat as the tatters of Weil's cloak flew in the wind. Zero cried out his name in rage as Weil started to laugh, softly at first, then loudly, mocking them.
"I told you... I can't die! Nobody can stop Ragnarok now!" Ciel wasted no time.
"Z-Zero!" She cried, her voice faltering for a second, "There's no time! Get back here!" Please... Zero shook his head, his expression stony.
"No, there is no way. If I destroy Weil's core, the explosion will take Ragnarok out with it... If Ragnarok is blown apart, it no longer poses a threat!" Ciel took a step back, she should've expected this. Zero, the self-sacrificing soldier.
"But what about you?" Weil cut Zero off with a loud laugh before he had a chance to reply.
"Are you even capable of it!? The Reploid hero... Protecting justice and humanity! I am one of those humans you were sworn to protect! Do you have it in you to defeat me!?"
Immediately after Weil finished his rant, several robotic appendages sprouted from the ruins and attached themselves to the back Weil's body, more and more coming faster and faster. The screen went white and before the worry could intensify, the image returned more horrifying than ever before. Weil's armor was now larger and improved with parts of the ruins of the Ragnarok, several spire of metal jutting out from his now immense form. The only part of his former body that was unaltered was his head, now peeking out from the middle. She heard Zero speak before she recovered fully.
"I never cared about justice, and I don't recall ever calling myself a hero... I have always only fought for the people I believe in. I won't hesitate... If an enemy appears in front of me, I will destroy it!" He added determinatedly.
"Zero! Zero!" She repeated desperately, attempting to convince him to come back.
"Ciel... Believe in me!"
"Zerooo!!!" She shouted as a dome formed around Weil's head, as another spike erupted from above the dome, much larger and sharper than the previous. Please... come back...
She watched the battle, transfixed and helpless once more. She couldn't do anything when Zero would go out of missions, fight, and feel hurt and pain and damage from fighting for the resistance, for the reploids, for the humans and for her. So she watched, helped, and hoped and prayed that nothing happens to him, that all missions go well and without surprises because surpises meant that Zero would get hurt. Hurt because of her. Like now, as she watched Weil try to shoot the spikes into Zero's body, as Zero tried to dodge. Energy aimed and missing, burning holes into the already scarred battlefield while Zero tried constantly to slash at his head-dome with the Z-Saber, each impact making minute cracks on the surface. Hit after hit, the cracks went larger, joining and going deeper. With one last slash, the dome shattered. She felt a small bout of relief, before it was crushed when Weil's body exploded and the screen went to white. She just looked at the screen, willing it to come back.
"Ragnarok... is... breaking apart..." Came Rouge, the red-haired operator from behind her speaking with a hint of surprise in her voice, tinged with sadness. Ciel could only stare at the moniter, hands clasped in prayer, but the camera view showed only static. Zero...
"Ragnarok has entered the atmosphere. Most of it will burn on entry... Impact with Area Zero has been averted. Mission... successful..." Ciel could almost hear the tears in Rouge's voice, but Ciel couldn't cry. Not yet. No... Zero... please...
"Zero! Come in Zero! Zero... please... come in..." her voice gave out. Don't.. please don't...
"There's no response from the receiver..." Rouge paused, apparently trying to collect herself. "The connection has been lost..." Ciel faltered for a just a little while before unclasping her hands, silently turning as she looked down at the floor before running from the trailer, hearing the sound of Rouge crying her name as she first stepped onto the ground. She didn't know where she was running and only belatedly realizing that she came upon Area Zero. She stopped and panted heavily as she came upon a group of people. Cerveau spoke first.
"... Did you... reach Zero?"
She looked at them all grimly, but she couldn't cry. Neige, a couple of guards, Cerveau, and others' faces all showing worry, while Typhon showed innocent ignorance. Even looking on her daughter's face as she clutched the plush toy, something that used to calm her even in times of stress, did nothing. Cerveau again, was the first to vocalize his thoughts.
"... Zero, why..."
"How could this happen... after saving all of us... And just when humans and Reploids were finally coming together... What do we do now?" One of the reploids questioned, although in her current state Ciel couldn't recognize who it was. Everyone else was silent while Ciel closed her eyes and looked down at the ground, her hands previously held together now falling by her sides.
"It's okay... I'm sure Zero is... still out there..." A gasp of surprise came from Neige, but Ciel continued, lifting her head and opening her eyes, the unshed tears distorting her view "And one day he'll come back to us!"
Ciel ran again and like before she did not care about her destination nor her direction. She just needed to get away. She soon came upon a small bluff overlooking the lush border of Area Zero, the wind making the tuffets of grass, small bushes, and the branches of a nearby tree sway. She stopped and with her hands on her knees, she panted heavily. Physically spent, she fell on her knees as her grief and sorrow were finally unleashed, the tears running paths down her face. She continued to cry, alone, as the pieces of the Ragnarok fell and burned in the atmosphere. The 'shooting stars' were an irony now, created by the destruction of her wish. But she knew she was wrong. He wasn't just a wish.
He was a hero, even if he always said he wasn't.
He was their hope, even though he was just one Reploid.
He was Zero, the Maverick Hunter.
She eventually just ran out of tears, and stopped. Prostrating herself, she turned and stared up at the night sky as the raining pieces of Ragnarok continued their illuminating fall. She clasped her hands and spoke to the heavens, her hair flying in the wind, hoping that her message would be delivered to him.
"Zero... You believed in us... Now it's our turn to show you that your faith in us was not misplaced... Watch Zero... I'll make this world a better place... One where humans and Reploids can walk hand in hand, living in peace... Just come back someday... I..."
"I believe in you!"