"Mega Man Zero: Love Story – I returned for you, Ciel"
Hi, fanfics fans! This is my first fanfic of Megaman in a long time, and the first of Megaman Zero. After playing Megaman Zero Collection and seeing the ending of the final game, *SPOILER* after seeing that Zero died through the explosion (cannon and everything, or Megaman ZX would never have happened, since Biometal Model Z is Zero) and Ciel's monologue, it made me think "This simply isn't right!". It was a major heartbreak to the Zero x Ciel fans, and I was no exception. And then, something occurred into my mind: what if Zero had survived the explosion?
My mind started working and came into this. I hope you enjoy this. This is not cannon, so it doesn't coincide with the events of Megaman ZX, so please no comments saying "this is not correct!" or "you noob, that didn't happen!". This is a fanfiction for some reason. Well, enough chit-chat, let's get started!
Ciel continued praying that night. She continued wishing for Zero to return through the fake shooting stars, which illuminated the dark sky while travelling through it. Keeping her hands holding each other and leaning her forehead on them, eyes closed, she continued whispering the same sentences while kneed on the soft grass.
"Please let Zero be ok… Please make him come back to us… Please let Zero be ok… Please make him come back to…" but this time, she said something else. "… Me… Please make him come back to me…" she shed some tears through the praying. And she ended up falling asleep on the grass, but with a small smile, sure that Zero would come back. He had always come back before, after all.
Though, she didn't know he's actual state.
The sun came up, illuminating the landing site where the Ragnarok had fallen to. Huge pieces of the giant spaceship made shadow to the impossible warrior: Zero. He breathed heavily, damaged to the point of his armor being all cracked, his buster completely shattered into pieces but with the main structure still within his body, his Z-Sabre was fine though. His helmet was first taken off his skull, but he reattached it to his head again. Zero even lost a leg, torn apart from the explosion, and his left arm was almost falling off too, only showing the mechanical structures.
"I… Have… To… Return…!" he said to himself, crawling off the shadows. He continued crawling through the sand of the desert, breathing with difficulty.
Good thing Ciel had installed a Life Support Unit inside him. If it wasn't for that, he could've been completely destroyed, beyond repair. Zero kept thanking Ciel for installing it before his mission to Ragnarok in his mind. The days were a bit slow for him though. His sensory circuits were damaged to the point of making him unable to feel pain. This was both good and bad: good because he would be able to travel back to his destination, but bad because he could explode or fall apart at any moment without knowing it.
"I have… to… come back to… her!" he kept talking to himself. Self-support was one of the very few things that were keeping him alive. He continued crawling, but the days were fast, compared to him. In a good day, he crawled 2 miles, tops. Of course, he didn't have need for sleep. During the night he always looked up to the sky and remembered her smile. "Ciel… I'm coming back… for you!"
Ciel prayed every night for Zero's safe return. The resistance kept saying that it would be impossible and they should get out of the place, but Ciel denied it every time, and as the "leader" of the resistance, they had to obey her. Well, the leader of them was never clear, but Ciel was the brain without a doubt.
Ciel had turned 16 now. It had been almost a year since the whole Ragnarok incident and Ciel continued praying.
One night, while she repaired a gun one of the troops had busted by accident, when suddenly, someone knocked on her door.
"Coming." She answered, putting the white visor of her helmet back up, letting her cobalt blue eyes shine and her blond ponytail wave. She stood up and opened the door. She didn't see anyone. She looked to the right, to the left, she looked to the left, she looked up, but something grabbed her right foot. She looked down and her eyes widened out, watering as well. "Z-Z-Z-Ze-Zero?!"
He fainted before he could reply.
Ciel spent days trying to repair Zero, at least the best she could. His leg wasn't the most difficult part, but yes on how to make Zero's systems maintain stable. She was alone on the camping site, and she was trying to come up with some sort of sulotion.
"It needs to pulsate energy through his body, keeping the oil circulating… gahhh!" she banged her head against the table. Zero's unconscious body was right in front of her and she was trying her best to come up with the solution for the problem.
"Don't overthink it…"
"This voice… X?" Ciel looked behind her and the image of the ancient and famous X appeared.
"Hello, Ciel."
"But, Zero said you had disappeared from this world!"
"That's what I thought too. But then I returned and travelled around, followed by Harpuia, Leviathan and Fefnir. I came back right before Ragnarok was deactivated and fell to Earth." X explained, in his Cyber Elf form. "Zero is near death, isn't he?"
"Yes… I don't know how he survived a year, crawling every day." Ciel confessed. "But his energy that was maintained by the Life Support Unit I installed in him is near depletion. Most of his parts are destroyed in the landing site of Ragnarok, so they're not really useful. I managed to restore most out of him, but it's still needed an energy support unit to pulsate energy through his body. Even if it's anything temporary so I can assemble something more permanent."
"Ciel, I'm surprised you don't know about it."
"About what?" Ciel didn't understand X.
"Zero is an ancient Reploid, probably the oldest of Earth. Older models like Zero and me, when I was still alive, have an emergency adapter."
"Emergency adapter?" Ciel asked, but then her knowledge ringed. "I remember! Older Reploids if in danger had an emergency adapter for human organs!"
"Exactly." X replied. "Right now, Zero needs a heart, at least until you can assemble something to replace it. It has to be a young heart, to be strong enough for the job."
"A young heart…?" Ciel said, laying her hands on the left side of her chest. "I'll do it."
"Eh?" X made a double take. "EH?!"
Zero's right eye opened a bit.
"I'll do it. I'll give Zero my heart." Ciel moved to the table and took out a scalpel, a stainless steel thin surgical knife.
"Put that down, Ciel!" X said, worried, sweating bullets… if he could. "When I said a young heart, I meant that it should also be strong a developed enough! 21 years old, male, at least. Yours only 16 years old."
"Oh… ok… sorry about that, X." Ciel apologized, putting down the knife, laughing softly, which made the corner of Zero's mouth smile. "You stay here and keep an eye on Zero. I'll go to the nearest hospital and try to get a heart."
"I understand." X replied, nodding. Ciel put on a short brown jacket and she left the lab. She hopped onto her motorcycle and turned on the engine. She didn't really use her motorcycle a lot, but she knew how to drive since she turned 16. X heard the sound of the engine getting weaker, meaning that Ciel was already far.
"Ci…el…" X heard Zero mutter her name.
"Zero! Don't talk, you're in critical condition!"
"X…?"
"Yes, I came back. Somehow."
"Ciel… she was willing to give me her heart…"
"Uh?" X saw Zero's eyes soften up, which was pretty rare, and a smile forming, which was just as rare.
"Hey, X. If I don't get restored in time, could you tell Ciel something for me?"
"Of course. What is it?"
Zero revealed to X his request. X chuckled, but Zero didn't mind. After all, it was surprising, yet so obvious. X accepted the request, but hoped not having to fulfill it.
Ciel managed to get a heart healthy enough from the nearest hospital and Zero was restored, but still had to rest for a few days.
Zero woke up, slowly, but waking up, nonetheless. He looked around and noticed that he was in Ciel's Lab, on the operating table. He felt a very light weight pressed onto his lap. He looked down and saw Ciel asleep, her head and arms resting on his lap, like if she fell asleep waiting for him to awake.
"Ciel… wake up…" Zero said, shaking her head a bit.
Ciel yawned, opening her eyes slowly. She then remembered that voice. "Zero? ZERO!" she almost jumped and hugged him tightly, crying from happiness. Zero was surprised at first, but then put his arms around her. "I knew you'd come back. I knew it, I knew it!"
"I came back for you…" Zero's thoughts were what he wanted to say the most, but he knew it was a bit too early. "Ciel… I'm glad to see you."
"Zero, I missed you so much!"
Zero just wanted to say it, but something took his curiosity away. "Umm… Ciel. Why do I feel… something kind of exploding inside me?" Ciel giggled, breaking the hug. "Uh? What's so funny?"
"Silly Zero. It isn't exploding, it's beating."
"Beating?"
"Your heart. I had to put a human heart in your system to restore you completely. But don't worry, I'll make a replacement in no time." She answered, putting her hand on his chest. "Your heartbeat is very strong…"
Zero blushed. Ciel looked at him and giggled again. "What? What now?"
"You're blushing."
"Blushing? I can't blush, I'm a Reploid."
"You're an older model that has an adapter for human organs, but if it's used, depending on the organ, some effects might happen to signify that it is working and presents some secondary effects. Since you have a heart, you can blush now. If you needed lungs, you could have asthma as a secondary effect." Ciel explained. "You're cute when you blush." She admitted, blushing herself.
"Thanks, I guess." He answered, looking away, hiding his blush. Ciel couldn't help but to giggle a bit.
Zero still needed to rest for a while, some days just to be sure. Before Zero knew, he was back in action. He wasn't sent to any mission, he was just practicing to get back his grip. Nothing that could damage him or even put him in danger.
Zero rested in his bed, and was trying to clear his mind. He was sure of his thoughts and feelings, but didn't really know why. Each time he closed his eyes, he would get an image of Ciel in his mind: when they first met, after he defeated Copy X, after he destroyed Omega… And then the door was knocked.
"Mr. Zero?"
"Alouette?" Zero asked, as the little blond Reploid came in, holding her plush like usual.
"Onee-chan asked me to check on you while she's searching for parts. Do you need anything?"
"No, thank you, Alouette." Zero answered, sitting up.
"Mr. Zero…"
"What is it?"
"Do you like Onee-chan?"
Zero looked at Alouette and started blushing, his eyes a bit dumfounded. "What makes you have that idea?" he wanted to yell, but his Reploid nature made him keep his cool.
"A blue cyber-elf told me."
"X!" Zero yelled, standing up abruptly, making Alouette giggle. "Uh?"
"It's funny when you do stuffn like that. I've never seen you do stuff like that."
"Must be the heart talking. Ciel explained that it could alter my behavior once in a while." Zero said, calmly, sitting down again, blushing less. He then cleared his throat. "Hey, Alouette, could you answer me something?"
"What is it?"
"Why did you guys stay here? I thought Ciel wanted to travel around the world, to help people."
"Onee-chan insisted on us staying here. She said she didn't want to risk it again and move to some place you don't know like after you beat the creepy blue guy."
"C-Creepy?!" X was overhearing the conversation from outside, and he sweatdropped by hearing what Alouette said.
"She said she believed in you and that she was sure you would come back to us." Zero looked half surprised. "I have to go back to my room. Goodbye, Mr. Zero." Alouette said, leaving the room. X then came in.
"X, why did you tell Alouette about what I told you?! She'll tell Ciel for sure!"
"Sorry. I was talking to myself and she happened to overhear it. She first said it was a cyber elf but then described me as a creepy blue guy."
"Ok, ok… I guess I can't hide it anymore." Zero said to himself, walking towards the phone of the room. He pushed some buttons and stayed silent for a while. "Hi, Ciel? No, no, everything's fine. I just wanted to know if tonight we could go take a walk? Never mind the reason. I mean, no reason at all." Zero corrected. "What do you say?... Ok. It's a date." He hanged up after that, but he swore that he heard Ciel ask 'D-D-Date?!' for a while back there. X and Zero talked for a while, making time until Ciel came back.
For X, Zero seemed a bit more… human, so to say. Ciel knocked on his door a bit after the sun hid. Zero smiled, Ciel giggled, and the left. X wanted to follow them, but he decided to leave them alone… and that's why he was at least half a mile away from them.
Zero and Ciel walked side by side through a green field, feeling the soft breeze passing by them. Ciel smiled, but Zero seemed a bit nervous, yet he was managing to disguise it. Their swinging arms touched for a short second, which made both of them blush. Zerom suddenly caught her hand and grasped it. Ciel shivered a bit and looked at Zero, watching his blushing face, but seemed serious in a way. Ciel decided to look back to her original direction.
They continued walking, until they stopped by a lonely tree. They sat down and looked up, gazing the stars with a smile.
"Zero, why did you ask me for a walk?" Ciel asked, still a bit puzzled.
"I… I have something to tell you, Ciel…"
"What is it?"
"I… I want to thank you for all you did for me these past years…"
Ciel giggled. "You don't need to thank me."
"But it isn't the only thing though…" he put his arm around her shoulders. She blushed, of course.
"Z-Zero?!"
"I… I want to tell you Ciel that…" Ciel turned to him, and her cute cobalt eyes made him melt inside.
"I… want to tell you something too…" Ciel confessed, looking away, hiding her blush from Zero. Zero, on the other hand, didn't try to hide it.
"I…"
"I…"
"I love you." They said in unison, tightening the hug. The smiled at each other, a smile of bliss.
"I... I adore you, Ciel." Zero said, a bit abruptly.
Ciel's eyes softened up and she smiled agelically. "Zero… Kiss me."
"Uh?" Zero was a bit astonished.
"I asked for you to kiss me." Ciel said, blushing madly vermillion.
"I… uh… I…"
"You never kissed anyone before?" Zero nodded, answering. "It's ok… I never kissed anyone either."
Ciel approached Zero's face and her eyes became half-closed. Zero did the same and their lips brushed softly. They then locked lips, pressing their bodies against each other. Ciel didn't know how confusing the kiss was: it was metal cold, but it was warm as well. They pressed their bodies against each other: Zero's felt Ciel's soft body rub against his steel-hard body. He leaned back, falling onto the grass, with Ciel on top of him. He passed his hand through her hair, feeling it between his fingers. He slid his tongue inside her mouth, and she did the same. Her scent was smelled by him, and it was such a delicate yet delicious fragrance. They separated lips after a full minute and they smiled. Ciel and Zero then fell asleep, Ciel on his chest, hearing his heartbeat.
Zero and Ciel started dating after that night. They even shared a bed when needed. Ciel loved hearing Zero's heartbeat for some reason. Of course, Zero also had a couple of nights hearing Ciel's heartbeat. But it all lead to an unavoidable day…
"God, I'm so nervous…!" Ciel said, in front of a mirror, wearing a white dress.
"Onee-chan, you look beautiful!" Alouette said, thinking that Ciel looked amazing.
"Even I'm a bit jealous."
"Really, Leviathan?" Ciel asked, turning to the Reploid who had agreed not to try to kill Zero for a day, just like Harpuia and Fefnir. "I can't do this, I'm too nervous."
"Ciel, as your maid of honor, I should say that it will be fine, but even I'm not sure."
"Great. My maid of honor isn't supportive, Zero's best man has a short temper, and I'm pretty sure that the minister is trying to kill Zero."
Leviathan sighed. "Look, Fefnir is under control, and Harpuia keeps his word to Master X. After all, we wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Master X."
"I first thought X would be Zero's best man, but apparently he couldn't because he is "dead"." Ciel was so nervous that her attitude even changed a bit.
"You forgot he is the one giving you away?" Leviathan asked, making Ciel sweatdrop and, well, stay silent.
"Thanks…" Ciel said, holding the bouquet tightly.
"Don't mention it. But remember, this is only for a day." Leviathan reminded.
At the altar, pretty much the members of the Resistance and a couple of Reploids were present. Zero walked down the aisle, wearing a black tuxedo, stopping by the altar, near Harpuia, who was going to play the role of priest. He kept his cool, but if he were able to sweat, there would probably be a pool around him. The red carpet was then rolled out.
There were only one bride's maid and groom's man: the Maid of Honor Leviathan, and the Best Man Fefnir. They were followed by Alouette, who was both the Flower Girl and the Ring Bearer. They stood by the front row and then, the moment everyone was waiting for came to be: Ciel walked down the aisle. The Cyber-elf form of X walked by her side, being the one more suitable to give her away. Leviathan took Ciel's bouquet and sat down, along with Fefnir and X. Alouette gave the rings to Harpuia and sat down next to Leviathan (because she was afraid of both X and Fefnir).
Harpuia cleared his throat and spoke. "We are all here united to witness the union of Zero and Ciel." He looked at Zero and Ciel mainly now. "The step which you are about to take is the most important into which human beings and Reploids can come. It is a union of two people founded upon mutual respect and affection. Your lives will change, your responsibilities will increase, but your joy will be multiplied if you are sincere and earnest with your pledge to one another. Zero, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto her, for so long as you both shall live? "
"I do." He answered with a smile.
"And Ciel, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto him, so long as you both shall live?"
"I do." She answered, nodding and closing her eyes.
"Take hands and repeat after me: I, Zero, take you, Ciel, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward."
"I, Zero, take you, Ciel, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward."
"Now, Ciel, repeat after me. I, Ciel, take you, Zero, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward."
"I, Ciel, take you, Zero, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward."
"Here are the rings." Harpuia handed them to Zero and Ciel, each other's respectively. "Zero, please place the ring on the bride's finger and say: With this ring, I thee wed."
"With this ring, I thee wed." Zero placed the ring he hand into Ciel's finger.
"Ciel, please place the ring on the groom's finger and say: With this ring I thee wed."
"With this ring, I thee wed." Ciel did the same to Zero.
"Let these rings be given and received as a token of your affection, sincerity and fidelity to one another. I now pronounce you, Zero and Ciel, husband and wife. You may now kiss."
After Harpuia finished his line, Zero and Ciel kissed sweetly. Everybody cheered and Fefnir even started crying.
"Fefnir, what's the matter?" X asked, and Leviathan was just as curious.
"I always cry at weddings." He revealed, making both of them sweatdrop. "What?!"
Leviathan gave Ciel back her bouquet.
Zero and Ciel held arms together and walked away, happy, feeling that the whole pressure had disappeared. At the entrance, they kissed once again, gently yet passionately.
"I love you Ciel."
"I love you, Zero."
*sniffle, sniffle* Even I'm starting to cry… Anyways, I hope you guys and gals enjoyed the fanfic. The rest of their adventure is for your imagination to decide. Don't forget to leave a review if you liked it and spread the word to other Megaman Zero x Ciel fans. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to cry in private.
Bye, remember, BEAST OUT!