Four lifeless Reploid bodies stood around the white room as if in a tribute. In the center hung an orb with blue and green etchings on it, and a female face with eyes closed that looked down upon the four Reploids in a still calm. At the doorway, the ruler of Neo Arcadia, the one who called himself X but was not the original, looked up at the orb above with an expressionless face.
"Here they are Mother Elf." Neo Arcadia's ruler declared tonelessly. "The Four Guardians of Neo Arcadia."
The orb above him started to change upon this introduction as the face on the orb started to slowly disappear and a pixelized form took place on the ground in the middle of the four lifeless Reploids. The pixels began to form into the figure of a young woman draped in a dress that materialized into the floor and highlighted her figure in a pleasing, gentle way. The woman softly turned her body to look at the four Reploids before clasping her hands over her mouth in surprise and awe.
"Oh!" she exclaimed happily. "Look at them Tekiya! I can't believe they're finished already!"
"Yes." he replied dimly. "They are without their armor for the time being, the Secondary School of Neo Arcadia have given their brightest the opportunity to create them. And Mother Elf, we agreed that you would call me X."
"Only when others are around." the Mother Elf playfully replied as she walked over to one of the Reploids to get a better look at it. Another sound of admiration as the Mother Elf's hologram looked over the Reploid with interest; this one was a male, his hair was short but feathery, and he seemed to be distinguished and associated with the color green. The Mother Elf's hologram cupped her hands under his chin and softly turned his head from side to side to get a better look of him.
"That is XF#1, Harpuia." Tekiya X claimed.
"Sage." the Mother Elf corrected. "I want him to be called Sage, because he'll be the wise one."
"I'm afraid that would be a bit hard to explain to the Reploid Regulation Committee." Tekiya X told her with a blink. The Mother Elf's hologram gave a gesture similar to a passing shrug that send an unnerved chill down Tekiya X's back before the hologram went on the inspect the next new Reploid in line. This Reploid was a bit taller than Sage Harpuia, had a military buzz-style hair cut, and built a bit stockier as well. Similar to how Sage Harpuia seemed to be coordinated with the color green, this Reploid was given the color red.
"Fighter." the Mother Elf said, placing a hand on his head in a soft, thoughtful way.
"XF#2, Fefnir." Tekiya X told her with a grim expression. Was she honestly going to do this for all of them?
The Mother Elf's hologram then floated to the next Reploid in the circle. Unlike the others, this one was given a red scarf despite his overall darker color scheme, while his hair was styled back in a short pompadour that did not detract from the idea of being mysterious. The Mother Elf's hologram put a hand on each of this Reploid's shoulders and gave him a long look in the eye. This one seemed to be a bit shorter than Sage Harpuia- this Reploid was almost exactly her height (the human the Mother Elf's hologram was based one had been rather short any way).
"That is XF#4, Hidden Phantom." Tekiya X informed the Mother Elf with a sense of pride. "The builders considered him to be their greatest achievement due to his stealth capabilities."
The Mother Elf nodded, although she did not particularly care. That was when the hologram looked at the last Reploid remaining, and gave a sharp inhale of surprise. Tekiya X dimly looked over as the Mother Elf's hologram took a hold of the last Reploid's shoulders, then pressed the hologram's forehead against the Reploid's.
"You didn't tell me one was going to be just a little girl." the hologram said to Tekiya X.
"She is not designed to be a little girl." he argued with an annoyed tone. "XF#3, Leviathan is designed at the same physical age state as the others.
"She almost looks like..." the Mother Elf's hologram started to say, but stopped and shook her head. "Who designed her?"
"The children of the Primary School of Neo Arcadia designed all the Guardians." Tekiya X told the Mother Elf with a yawn. "Although those children did not actually create the Guardians themselves, that was the job of this city's best and brightest, of course."
"But who designed her?" the Mother Elf asked again, as she played a bit with Leviathan's boy-cut hair. "Surely you told the children it was a contest, yes?"
"A girl, if that's what you want to know." Tekiya X informed her shortly. "I have a foggy memory of such trivialities, perhaps it was Sky. Or Cial. Something to that effect, at least."
The Mother Elf's hologram looked thoughtful at this idea, then she quickly slipped her hands into Tekiya X's hand like an over excited child given the promise of something interesting.
"Activate them." she said to him. "I want to see them activated and moving around!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that until Dr Weil comes." Tekiya X told her as he moved away from her touch. Being touched by the Mother Elf's hologram was like having a small electrical current placed in the area she was touching you in. To the unfamiliar, it was an odd feeling, and Tekiya X did not like it at all.
"But you hold the key to activating them, don't you?" the Mother Elf asked with a curious tilt of her head and a small saddened face.
"Of course."
"So, you could activate them now if you wanted. Yes?"
"Yes, I could."
"Then why won't you do it now?"
Tekiya X looked at the Mother's Elf hologram with a cold, hard look that was certainly the love child of displeased and unamused.
"You will have a minute to talk to whichever one you please." Tekiya X then told her. "If you plan to talk to all four of them, let me know when you are ready to talk to the next in line. Do you understand?"
The Mother Elf's hologram nodded before dashing to the first Reploid she wanted to speak to first; Harpuia. Tekiya X rolled his eyes at the hologram's apparent eagerness and activated Harpuia for her. The Mother Elf watched as patiently as she could as Harpuia's eyes flickered to life and trained themselves onto her. The green Reploid jumped back a little in surprise.
"Hello ma'am." he said to her. "I am Sage Harpuia, one of the Four Guardians of Neo Arcadia. I was created from the legendary Mega Man X's DNA to help aid humans into regrowth and rebirth. If you do not mind me asking, who are you? My database does not recognize you as a citizen of Neo Arcadia, human or Reploid."
The Mother Elf's hologram smiled wide with pure enjoyment.
"I am the Mother Elf." she said to him, trying hard to refrain from holding his hand while he was active. "The body you see me in now is not my true form, it is only a way for me to reach out to those I see fit. You are special, so I will allow you to see me like this."
Unintentionally or not, Harpuia cheeks flushed a light pink color.
"You..." he started to say, but was unsure of how to finish, "I am honored that you feel comfortable enough to make your secondary form known to me. Thank you."
"No, thank you." the Mother Elf said to him. Harpuia gave the Mother Elf a funny look, but before he could say anything else, he went offline again. The Mother Elf's hologram shot Tekiya X a rather ugly look, in turn, the ruler of Neo Arcadia shrugged as if nothing was wrong. With a sigh, the Mother Elf then went to Fefnir next. She waited for him to be activated, and he too like Harpuia jumped back in surprise upon seeing her. However, unlike Harpuia, after being surprised, Fefnir attempted to take a swing at the Mother Elf's head. The force of the swing made him fall down, which made the Mother Elf laugh a little. Fefnir had not found it funny, and he quickly scrambled back up to throw more punches at an intangible hologram. At the rate he was going, it didn't take long for Fefnir to exhaust most of his energy. While he lay on the ground, muttering some rather colorful words, the Mother Elf's hologram bend down so that they were at eye level.
"Your armor will give you a greater endurance." she said to him calmly. "Before then, you need to improve your technique a little more."
Fefnir looked up at the Mother Elf with a rather angry expression although his eyes were signaling something more on surprise. He started to say something as well, but his eyes quickly went dim and lifeless as his body slowly started to stand back up into a neutral position. The Mother Elf looked at Tekiya X.
"It's sweet that you thought he could actually hurt me." she teased. Tekiya X averted his gaze away from the Mother Elf, but she knew the truth and it amused her. With a smile, the Mother Elf then went to Phantom. When he was activated, he did not jump away from her in surprise, instead Phantom looked her head to toe then gave a small bow of reverence. The Mother Elf's hologram gave a small smile and bowed back. When they came back up, the Mother Elf's hologram then moved closer to him to give him a small peck on the cheek. The gesture was the one that shocked him the most, as he touched the spot where she had kissed him. The life in his eyes went out at the same time as his body returned to a neutral position once again.
"Surprised by such a petty gesture..." Tekiya X muttered loud enough for the Mother Elf to hear. "A few bugs in the circuitry if you ask me..."
The Mother Elf shrugged this comment off and went to Leviathan at last. Like Harpuia and Fefnir before her, when Leviathan's eyes trained themselves on the Mother Elf's hologram, the Reploid was visibly surprised. The Mother Elf's hologram smiled back at Leviathan, ready for her to speak.
"Greetings," Leviathan said to the Mother Elf, "I am Fairy Leviathan, one of the four guardians of Neo Arcadia. I was created from the legendary Mega Man X's DNA to help humans rid pollution from their waterways."
"Hello Leviathan," the Mother Elf greeted as well, "I am the Mother Elf, overseer of all the Cyber Elves of the world. I was created to rid the world of an old virus that no longer possess a threat to us- before that, however, my will was given to me by a third party. I am the embodiment of a dying woman who assisted Dr Weil, and I was a woman that once loved a Reploid I feel you would know quite well."
Leviathan looked at the Mother Elf with curious eyes, but the Guardian bowed in reverence.
"It is an honor to meet you." Leviathan then said to Mother Elf.
"It will be an honor to work beside you." the Mother Elf assured Leviathan with a smile. Leviathan looked up at the Mother Elf uncertainly, but slowly started to smile back.
"Rest." the Mother Elf then instructed the female Guardian. "We will talk again soon."
Leviathan nodded before her eyes flickered dim and lifeless once again. Satisfied, the Mother Elf's hologram started to disappear as her face on the orb reappeared.
"What atrocious manners!" Tekiya X shouted at her. "Do I get no thanks for what I've done for you?"
Before the Mother Elf could reply, Dr Weil came in. All conversation about what Tekiya X had done for the Mother Elf was gone; Weil, on the other hand, had no idea of the influence the Mother Elf had already placed on the Four Guardians without his permission.