Worenx: Any Zero, Zero 2, and Zero 3 characters are copyright Capcom characters and do not belong to me in any way, shape or form. I only own the Neo Guardians: Pixie Serpentine, Canidae Myollnir, Felidae Firaga, and Vulpes Necroma. Are we done with the formalities? Okay. Done!
Shade: Very good, Worenx. Maybe now you won't get sued.
Trust
Outskirts of C.F. Building--
Zero resurfaced from under the icy cold waters near the C.F. Building. Shortly after him, Fairy Leviathan surfaced ten feet away from the red Reploid. Both were breathing rather heavily as the aquatic battle had started nearly an hour ago. "Leviathan," Zero managed between breaths, "Stop this foolishness and let Ciel go," he said calmly and gestured to the glacier behind him with the resistance scientist tied to it.
The blue Guardian shook her head and took in a few more breathes. "What? And spoil the fun?" she barked as she phased her harpoon into a spear gun. "Besides, I haven't showed you my new skill," she finished as she began to spin a little before launching herself like a torpedo at Zero.
He narrowly avoided the initial stab, but Leviathan's spinning spread ice shards out from the sides. A shard pierced his arm pad and another scraped his armor. "Okay," Zero said as he watched her spiral. Suddenly, she turned around and headed towards him again. "Uh-oh…" He dodged in the same manner, but met with the same results. This pattern went on with Leviathan gaining more speed with each pass. 'At this rate, if she hits me dead on, she'll plow right through me. I've got to think of a plan, here,' Zero thought as he dodged her attack and took more ice shards in the arm pad and chest plate. He was facing the glacier and it gave him a brilliant idea… However, the brilliant idea would not be carried out as Leviathan picked up a sudden jolt of speed. Zero saw this and quickly dodged, but part of the spear nicked him and sent him flying towards the glacier.
He slammed against the side of the glacier. His eyes were clamped shut because of the pain he had endured. When they opened, the first thing he saw was the row of spikes made on the ice beneath him. "Oh crap," he shouted as he started to slip. 'Is this the end,' he thought as he gulped. To his surprise, there was a ledge beneath him, just over the row of spikes. He blinked a few times and sighed. "Boy… I was scared for no reason…" he said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Suddenly, he heard the clicking of several guns in front of him. A group of Pantheons had surrounded him as he had his little freak out. He drew the Recoil Rods and activated them. With a charged attack, he pushed two of the Pantheons into the depths of the icy water. The other four had started firing at him, so he wall kicked out of the way, moved above them and executed a long-since forgotten attack, Hyouretsuzan. His saber turned into huge icicle that shattered as he killed two Pantheons with the initial stab. 'How did I do that?' he thought as he regained his composure. The remaining X-Drones approached him and readied their guns. Zero thrust his saber outward and, unknowingly, used Raijingeki. The thrust attack became electrified and fried the last of the Pantheons. "It looks like I'm remembering my old techniques…"
Just as he was starting to walk to Ciel, the General of ice and water leaped onto the glacier in a battle ready position. "Did you seriously think I forgot about you," she growled through grit teeth.
Zero looked to her with some confusion, "What took you so long," he asked as he got into a battle stance.
Leviathan sighed and used her harpoon as a cane. "You know, that spiral blow can make you mighty dizzy… It took me a while just to shake it off… Rather careless of me, eh," she said with a slight smile.
"Perhaps you should work on a skill that doesn't leave you open afterward," the red Reploid suggested with a shrug.
Leviathan nodded her head and wiped her brow. "Just never eat before doing it." After that remark, she couldn't help but chuckle, and her chuckling made Zero start a bit as well.
"You know, I hate to break up this moment of peace, but I'm tied to a freezing glacier, and I'd like to get down before hypothermia sets in," she interrupted slightly peeved. Attention shifted to her as she fidgeted between the ropes and the glacier. "I'm only a weak human you know…"
Zero gestured to Ciel with narrowed eyes. "At least let me cut the ropes," he suggested to Leviathan. Her response was a violent shake of her head. He looked confused, "I thought the Guardians wanted to defend human life," he reminded.
"Yes, we do, but if I let you set her free, you'll just transport out of here! And I'm not letting her leave unless you die," she said as she pointed her harpoon at Zero. She took a single step forward, but fell backward because of the ice, and was falling head first on the bed of spikes beneath the ledge. She shrieked with terror as she plunged to her death…
"LEVIATHAN," Zero yelled as he pulled out the Chain Rod and launched it at the glacier's wall. With that secured, he dove after his opponent and caught her leg. She opened her eyes only to see her nose touching a spike. She looked up and saw Zero suspended by the Chain Rod and clinging to her leg for dear life. "I'm gonna try to reel us up," he warned her and tried doing so with the rod… Nothing… "Oh, great…"
"He's saving me," she thought as she blushed furiously. "Why? I tried killing him and he isn't letting me fall to my death? This makes no sense!" Leviathan crossed her arms and looked up again at Zero's face, making her blush again. "I've been trying to destroy him for years, so I wasn't able to look into his eyes…" The Guardian of X saw him look back at her and she looked away, but not with anger… with shyness. Her heart began to beat faster and faster. "H-have I always felt this way? I've never really looked into his gorgeous blue eyes…"
As Leviathan's thoughts ran wild, Zero continued to think of a way to save, both, himself and Leviathan. "Okay… Leviathan, I'm going to drop my Recoil Rod," he announced, looking down. "I want you to catch it, charge it and launch it at the wall. The force will cause you to fly back onto the glacier." His plan had to work; otherwise one or even both of them will die.
She nodded and soon noticed him shaking his leg in an effort to cause the rod to drop. As it dropped passed her hand, Leviathan caught it and did as she was told. As it charged, it made a humming sound she thought would never do anything more than cause harm. "Should I be accepting his help? I'm supposed to be trying to destroy him…" Her thoughts raced as fast as her heart did, and it made her feel strange. Pressing the rod against the glacier, she looked up and saw Zero, still holding the Chain Rod and her leg. "Do I just… use the rod, get up there and kill him when he gets up?..." She frowned at her thought. "But, he's saving me, risking his own life…" With a sigh, she launched the Recoil Rod and sent her flying upward, and with Zero holding her leg, she was flying in an arch going upward to the ledge they were hanging off.
Zero winced when he heard the loud crash coming from above him. "Oh, no," he managed as he reeled himself back onto the glacier. He saw Leviathan in a crater on the wall, unconscious. He groaned as he shook his head and started walking towards Ciel.
"Nice work Zero. Now let's get out of here," Ciel said as Zero got closer. Taking out a Recoil Rod, he carefully cut the ropes holding Ciel to the iceberg. As soon as she got to her feet, she rushed into Zero's arms. "It's so cold here. Let's go home," she said as she shivered in Zero's warm grasp.
"Yeah; I couldn't agree with you more," he said as they walked in front of Leviathan to retrieve the other Recoil Rod. "I hope she'll be okay," he said after he got back the rod and looked at the blue Guardian with concern.
"I'm sure she'll be okay. She's used to this cold and let's get out of here!"
Zero chuckled and took her arm. Using the portable transceiver, they were teleported back to the Resistance Base, leaving Leviathan alone on the glacier. She opened her eyes wearily. "Zero… He saved me," she said as she looked around. "Ug… too tired… must… sleep…" With that, she slowly closed her eyes and blacked out. "Zero…"
Neo Arcadian base--
Fairy opened her eyes slowly and found herself in her room, lying on her bed. On her bedside table was her helmet. She ran a hand through her long, light blue hair and sighed at the thought of how peeved Harpuia might be at her defeat. Not to mention Phantom. They were the most serious individuals she has ever seen since Omega X. She started to rub her arm nervously. "I'm really not looking forward to seeing them…" Suddenly, a loud knock came at the door. "Oh, man," she said as she rose from her bed and walked to the door. "Who's there?..."
"It's Fefnir. Phantom and Sage want to see you in the command room. They just sent me to come and get you."
Fairy sighed and opened the door to see her tan skinned comrade. "Do you know what they want to discuss with me?"
Fefnir shook his head and shrugged. "They only told me to get you. My job's done, now I'm gonna laze around in my room and read some magazines." With that, the crimson Guardian left the doorway and marched to his room.
Fairy shook her head and placed her face in her hands. She mumbled something as she slid her hands down her face, distorting her features a little and made her way to the command room, definitely not looking forward to Sage's verbal trouncing or Phantom's constant remarks about her incompetence. "Ah, the perks of being a General…" she thought bitterly as she made her way to the room Sage and Phantom waited her.
She peeked in the room and saw both Guardians sitting before the many screens, watching her previous battle with Zero. As soon as they reached the part where Fairy allowed Zero to save her, Sage growled and rubbed his forehead, "That's enough. Shut this off," he grumbled as he stood up and walked to the consoles. As always, Sage was mumbling to himself in annoyance. As for Phantom, he simply shook his head in disgust.
"Seems our guest has arrived, Harpuia," Phantom said, without even looking at the door. Sage placed both hands on the consoles and shook his head.
Fairy stepped in sheepishly and began to approach Sage. She was just about to squeak a 'hello,' but Sage cut her off. "You allowed him to save you?"
"Yes…" She looked away and started stroking her arm in a vertical motion. "I-I don't know what I was thinking, Sage… I uh… Well… That is to say…"
"It seems you did not know your mission objective," Phantom said as he approached Leviathan from behind, scaring her a bit. He stepped beside Sage. "In case you have forgotten, we aim to destroy that red Maverick. You had the perfect opportunity to end this, but you allowed him to save your life," he continued without looking at her and in a scolding tone.
"Fairy, you were given a Recoil Rod to use to save yourself, correct," Sage asked as he leered at Fairy. Weakly, she nodded. "Now let me ask you: Did it ever occur to you to use it on Zero, causing him to let go of the Chain Rod and plunge to his death?" Fairy looked away with misty eyes.
"But Sage… If I did that, I'd die as well... You wouldn't care if I died," she asked in a cute tone.
Both male Guardians sighed and shook their heads. "Fairy, I'd care… But you have to remember something: Phantom once gave his life in an attempt to destroy Zero. It was a hard pill to swallow and it wasn't like he was never missed," Sage reminded.
"You must not be selfish, Leviathan. You are as valued as a Guardian as I am, and that means your death will not be pushed aside," Phantom said in a harsh manner, but somewhat calmer than normal, "Furthermore, given that if you did give your life, as soon as your parts were salvaged, the process of restoration would begin immediately."
"Yes, Phantom's right," Sage agreed as he approached Fairy. With a hand on her shoulder, he looked into her dark blue eyes with his green ones. "I'll be willing to overlook this seeing as you are my friend," Sage started, and looked back at Phantom who had crossed his arms at that statement, showing his disapproval. "But I will only do this once, so don't let it happen again," he finished rather harshly.
Fairy looked away and held her arms behind her back. "Are you angry with me Sage?"
The green guardian turned away from her and sighed. "Highly…"
She flinched. She didn't like it when her friends were angry with her. "Thank goodness for Fefnir. He never seems mad at me." She sighed a bit and looked to Phantom. "Are you mad as well?" He said nothing; he simply nodded yes. Fairy could care less what Phantom thought about her… Not since he was restored and was no longer the Reploid she loved. She apologized again and slipped out of the room. "Just as I expected," she thought as she glanced back at the two Guardians that stayed in the room.
Lying on her bed, Fairy stared at the dark blue ceiling and sighed as her specially designed light fixture rotated, throwing wave patterns against her dark blue walls. This gave the room the illusion of being filled with water. With a sigh, she flipped a switch at her bedside and holograms of fish appeared everywhere and began swimming around in the air. This usually calmed her down, but today was different. It wasn't working. "I think being a Guardian is beginning to lose it's meaning for me," she said as she sat up and stretched. She looked at her closet and remembered the human clothes she found here and there. "Perhaps I should go out into the city and see what humans do at times like this," she muttered, rubbing her chin…
"Not half bad," Fairy complimented herself in the mirror. She had on a blue, low cut T-shirt that accentuated her chest, a pair of tight-fitting dark blue jeans, a black belt and a pair of white tennis shoes with blue stripes. Her light blue hair was tied into a ponytail that hung down her back. "I think I look like a convincing human," she said as she turned to her side and took a look at her from that angle. "Are my hips really that fat?"
Suddenly, a booming knock came at her door. "Fairy! I want my CD player," Fefnir yelled as he banged.
"Fefnir! Oh no! He can't keep a secret! Sage and Phantom can't hear of this behavior," she thought as she whipped her head to see the door as Fefnir continued to knock. She started by pulling off her shoes and hopping to the open closet, "J-just one minute! I'm not decent!"
"Oh, bull! I'm coming in to get my CD player! Now open up or I'll bash it down!"
"Don't you dare," she yelled as she hopped about trying to remove her shirt and her other shoe at the same time, but failing miserably.
"I'm gonna count to ten, Levi! And if you don't open it by then, I'll smash it down!"
"You can't even count to five," she retorted as she tripped and fell on her butt. "Ow!"
"Watch me! One! Two! Ten!" With that, Fefnir barged down the door with his armored shoulder in time to see Leviathan remove her shirt and her jeans halfway off, partially hiding a pair of blue panties. "Well… I guess you were right, he said as she blushed a bright crimson.
Fefnir sat down on Fairy's bed, laughing like a maniac, "Why would you wanna be human? They're weak, defenseless and stupid! But you're an exception; you're already stupid," he continued with a loud chuckle. This promoted Fairy to throw her pillow at him.
"Stop laughing at me! I just wanna see what it's like to be human." She grabbed another pillow and held it close to her chest. "Being a Guardian is too stressful…"
Fefnir laughed harshly at her remark, got up and pat her shoulder as if he was patting Sage's. Fairy rubbed her shoulder after the friendly gesture. "Silly Fairy. No one said being a Guardian was gonna be an easy task. You just have to man-up, ya sissy!"
This deserved another pillow from Leviathan. "I am not a sissy!" She didn't know what more to say to her crimson friend, so she just sat on her bed and held her knees close to her. "I don't like all this stress is all…" She looked at the clothes she left beside her and sighed. "Fef? Please don't tell Sage or Phantom about this little mishap," she begged. "They're already angry with me and if they find out about this, it could mean probation!" She got up with her clothes and walked into her closet and closed the door.
"Whoa now! You're not thinkin' on goin' out there, are ya?"
Her voice was heard through the door, "Yeah. I just want you to promise me you won't tell them where I am."
Fefnir nodded and crossed his arms. "Fine. I won't tell." A glint appeared in his eye as a smirk spread across his features. "But on one condition…"
"Name it," she called through the door.
"I'm coming with you. I'm curious to see how the humans live." Leviathan burst through the closet door, half naked and in shock. "What? You think you're the only one who's bored?"
"No way! You're not coming with me!" She closed her closet door and continued getting dressed.
"Okay then. I guess you don't want me to keep my mouth shut. I understand. I'll just go to the command room and tell Sage and Phantom about your actions."
"No," Leviathan yelled as she ran out of the closet and blocked her door. "No, don't do that! You can come if you like," she said with a smile.
"Heh. That's just what I wanted to hear. Now, if you'll excuse me. I gotta get MY human clothes ready." She opened the door for Fefnir and he stepped out, making the way to his room.
"HE has human clothes too?" She sighed and closed the door, "What mess have I gotten myself into, allowing him to come with me?" Fairy stepped back into her closet to change into her human attire. "Well, if it's to keep his mouth shut, then I'm okay with it."
After lights out, Fairy snuck out of her room into the dark hallways and slowly made it to Fefnir's door. It opened suddenly, making her jump. As Fefnir stepped out, Levi punched him in the shoulder, though did more damage to herself than to her large friend. After their little dispute, they continued their way down the hall. They constantly stopped when a Pantheon sentry unit came close to them. If the droids spotted them, they may not recognize them in their human attire and sound the alarm. When the coast was clear, they made a mad dash out of the field of view of the sentries. Once they made it to the back door of the base, they were home free and able to get to the city in a matter of minutes.
"Whew, that was a little tough, eh Levi," Fefnir commented as he and his companion walked. She looked over her shoulder to him and nodded. She noticed he wore a black muscle shirt, a pair of black, fingerless gloves and a pair of blue jeans. His short, dirty blonde hair was standing straight up, like a popular gunslinger in one of his mangas. To add to that illusion, he wore a small pair of yellow tinted sunglasses.
She chuckled, "Lookin' good, Fef. But take those ridiculous 'Vash' glasses off. They don't match the outfit or your build." He snickered something, took them off and slipped them in his pocket. After she turned away from him, he reached into the other pocket and pulled out a headband with a spiral symbol on it. "What do you want to do in the city, Fef," she asked as she turned around to see him putting the headband on. "Fefnir! Take off that goofy Naruto headband!"
--Worenx Note-- Vash and Naruto don't belong to me, they belong to their respective creators, whom I don't know the names of. --
"No! I like this headband! You're not making me take it off," he yelled as he tied the headband tightly around his head. Fairy leered at him with her angry eyes. "What? I'm not taking it off." She leered even more viciously at him and crossed her arms. "Not taking it off. Nope," he said, crossed his arms and looked away like a small child. He earned another death look from his blue clad friend. "Okay. But only if I can wear the glasses."
"Fefnir… I am not gonna be seen with a dweeb wearing a Naruto headband or Vash glasses. And both are simply out of the question! Take off that god-awful headband right now," she commanded like an angry mother scolding her child.
"Aw, you're no fun," Fefnir whined as he did as he was told. "So, Fairy… What did you plan on doing in the city," he asked as they neared the Neo Arcadian city. "I'll bet they got the latest Trigun mangas! Good thing I got some cash on me." Leviathan looked to him and rolled her eyes. "What? I like comic books! Just because you're don't like to read doesn't mean I don't."
"Funny, Fef. I had no idea you could read," she joked with a smirk and friendly nudge.
Fefnir narrowed his eyes to her and crossed his arms. "Shush up, shtupid…" He pretended to look hurt, but his constant smirk on his face made it difficult. "Heh heh, that was a good one Fairy." The pair of Guardians continued to make their way to the city, but at a slow pace. "Hey Fairy! Race ya," he said as he took off into a sprint.
"Hey! No fair cheating, Fef! I'm gonna kill you," she shouted with a giggle and started running after him. "Now, this is fun! I wish all four of us could have this kind of fun," she thought as she picked up the pace.
Neo Arcadian city--
The sound of laughter was relevant as Leviathan dashed through the city's entrance as if she ran through a finish line. "Ha ha! I won! I won!" She turned to face an exhausted Fefnir trudging through the entrance. "In your face, Fef," she shouted as she gave him a little shove. "I knew I'd win!"
He crossed his arms and turned away from her and tilted his chin to the sky. "No fair. You got a head start."
"You got the head start! And I still won! Now that's sad," she continued to laugh and gloat.
"Okay, okay… That's enough. Let's just have some fun here," he said as he looked around. Fairy did the same and found nothing it the area they were currently in. "Well… Let's just have a look around. Maybe we can find a comic book shop!"
"A comic book shop? I know where one is," a voice called from behind them. Fefnir and Leviathan turn to see a young girl around 17 or 18 stepping up to them. Her skin had a nice golden tan, she had long raven black hair, with hot pink highlights that hangs down to the small of her back, sapphire blue eyes, stands at 5'07" and is of a decent build. She wore a short pink skirt with a black stud belt, a low cut, black ¾ length shirt, and a necklace with a diamond dragon on it. On her hands, she wore fingerless black leather gloves. For footwear, she wore a pair of black goth boots with buckles down the front. She looked somewhat tomboyish and girly at the same time, which made her appear cute. "I can show you guys to the shop if you like," she offered.
Fefnir appeared to be tongue tied, looking at this new girl, so Leviathan had to speak for him. "Uh, sure. And you are?"
"My name is Rikku. Nice to meet you, uh… And your names are," she replied sweetly.
--Worenx Note-- Rikku is a name that belongs to Square, but I own this character. --
Fairy thought for a minute: if she used her name, this Rikku girl would surely find out who they were. "Okay, think Fairy… Think… I like to swim, I like dolphins, and I enjoy rainy days, I run the Meikai army… Kai?... Hmmm…" She held out her hand and shook Rikku's, "I'm Kai. It's nice to meet you, Rikku."
Rikku smiled and looked over to the awestruck Fefnir. "Who's the big guy?"
"Oh him?... Uh… I just met him… his name is…" "Jin'en… Jin en… Jin!" She gestured to Fefnir, winked and smirked at him, "His name is Jin! Say hi, Jin!" 'Jin' continued to stare at Rikku, making 'Kai' think. "Hmmm… It seems Fef has fallen for a human." She looked away and giggle to Rikku. "He's just shy." Fefnir started to blush as he continued to look at Rikku.
"H-hello," Fefnir greeted shyly as he stepped a little closer. "Uh… y-you said you knew w-where to find a comic book shop?"
"Oh yeah! I love comics so I know where all the best places are!"
Fefnir found it slightly easier to talk to her; they shared a common interest. "What kinds of comics do you like," he asked as they followed Rikku.
"I think we're gonna have some fun here," Leviathan thought with a slight smile. Rikku seemed to be a good person, and something told Fairy that she made a friend for life. This night seemed to be shaping up rather quickly. She hoped the rest of the night would turn out like this and without any kind of conflict with her and Fefnir being Reploids and all. Perhaps if things went right, she'd consider having another night out. But, it's only just beginning… and if Sage and Phantom ever found out, it'll be kitchen duty for a month…
End of Chapter I
Guardianship
Worenx Co. Corner
Worenx: Hmmm… So far, you're turning out to be a better writer than Chachi, Shade.
Shade: You think so?
Chachi: No! You'll never be better than me!
Aya: Oh, stagehand! Where is my coffee?
Chachi: Coming! Turns to Shade and Worenx: I hate you both!
Worenx: Rrrrrriiiiiiiight… Okay! So, when are you gonna start on the new Super Elf?
Shade: I just wanted to get this done, then I'll complete the current Super Elf and start the new one. Don't forget the New Beginnings rewrite. You're swamping me…
Worenx: So I'll leave you alone so you can finish your work. Closes door then reenters: Oh yeah! And start on the new Breath of Fire fic, would ya? Closes door
Shade, stacking papers: Overbearing tyrant… Opens Super Elf IX and starts working
Aya: I TOLD YOU I DON'T LIKE HAZELNUT! Throws scolding hot coffee on Chachi
Chachi: Why me?