Authors Foreword
First things first, to all of those who might be wondering where Memories of The Forgotten Souls has gone to, it's right here using a title that further suits the original purpose of the story I wanted to write.
Well, it's been long overdue and after recently getting the urge to do something creative again, I've finally decided to try and put together a good story using this old idea of mine. Time really flies doesn't it? I started this in 2007 thinking I would have a good time making a "what if" scenario that would fit after seeing all the potential that went squandered as per the "conclusion" of the series in Megaman Zero 4. However, things got the better of me between responsibilities and my own personal circumstances. I've been re-inspired to do this story again after wanting something new from the Megaman lore set in the X or Zero timelines. It's a guilty pleasure I'll freely admit to, as much as I play the games for my running, jumping & shooting/slashing fix, I've always liked the lore and world building put into the games, even if at times the ideas presented were limited to only being stock and cardboard. I always felt that this stuff would lend itself well to comics or animation, but eh that's a thought for another avenue. :P
The story is still following its original plan, but certain parts are going to be altered for the sake of a better flow. Megaman and all things related to the franchise are the property of CAPCOM and I claim no ownership over the characters or trademarked elements of said franchise.
A hero can challenge the finite, making opportunities where none were previously. A hero supports a cause, giving his all for it. A hero can come in as many shapes and forms as there are stars in the skies and then some. A hero can offer a place of rest and relief in the face of turmoil, balance in the face of inequality, and a successor in the face of legends lost to the progression of time. As sure as the wind blows along its current, water flows through the stream, flames warm the earth and shadow follows one's self, so too does the idea and appeal of a hero persist throughout the ages.
The beginnings of madness unlike any other were quashed by one such hero, a lone crimson warrior. Casting aside what had been "proper" for as long as humans and reploids had lived together in society, the figure known as Zero fought and defeated the entirety of the human Weil's unsound vendetta against the entirety of existence. In so doing, he found his peace and the truth to his own existence at the end of a path he had walked upon for centuries; unsure of whether or not said truth even existed. His legacy of perseverance and dedication to the ones he believed in would never be understated to those whose lives he touched…
As an era steeped in blood, anguish, and misdirection ends, those who have proven themselves capable of changing the times and beginning the long road to recovery on this earth look onward at the lingering brilliance of this hero's efforts. They find themselves eager to move on and ensure a new and everlasting peace. But a curious thought still lingers in the back of their mind. Would this world be alright without these heroes who fought for their right to peace? If not, who would take the initiative in the event that such individuals were lost to the ages?
We would soon see the answers to these curious little questions. We would also see how legacies – both noble and twisted – could persist and change the scale of things to come forever…
- Sunset, Day of The Ragnarok Operation -
A group of reploids made their way through the wreckage and ruins of the former metropolis, Neo Arcadia. They were all in ceremonial robes, each with an embroidered 'X' on the back. As they passed through the town, they began to take note on the ghastly appearance of their once beloved city-state. All of the buildings in the area were dilapidated and devoid of light. Entire spaces of ground were scorched beyond recognition, dust clouds whipped around due to the winds and the vast deserts surrounding the exposed and charred locale. The area had the silence of a crypt.
"What more can we do?" asked the crimson clad reploid of the group, his eyes matching his fiery disposition. "After that damn fool Craft fired on Neo Arcadia, everyone who could got up and ran away from it all. It'd be stupid to continue this charade when we all know that anyone who was caught in the blast would be instantly—"
"Have some respect, Fefnir!" the jade armored reploid traveling with him responded. In contrast to his willowy build, he towered threateningly over his companions. His winged helmet and green facial markings from his war days seemed to accentuate the solemn look in his eyes. "If we are to blame anyone for this catastrophe, we can only blame ourselves as well as our own ignorance and pride."
"Harpuia's right after all," commented another, his face and expression hidden behind a mask, "We can only do so much anyway in our current situation and my being of a data soul nature doesn't aid for much more than company. Besides, it was the Master's request that we all meet him where the old Eden Dome once stood." His voice carried a timbre of understanding and wisdom.
"Does anyone know why we are being summoned come to think of it?" A feminine voice rang out. She was petite when compared to her siblings but that was to be expected of the only girl. She was clad in sapphire armor and her blue helmet with its two downward protruding 'fins' created the illusion of long azure hair. "Also, why has the Master been acting so, strangely?" Her concern was easily masked beneath her stoic and somewhat cold appearance. "This will be the first time we'd have all spoken to each other since the Omega incident and yet I get the feeling it isn't going to be a pleasant reunion."
"Leviathan, you put too much thought into things. At this rate your mind will end up old and dull! Maybe then you and the master will have more in common! You think you'll ever beat Zero like that?" Fefnir jested.
Clearly among this group, the mention of Zero brought up numerous different internal responses. He was something of a curious spectre to them. Someone who, at one point, they refused to acknowledge yet continually proved himself as a force of this world. How could there exist a being who could and would challenge absolutes and overturn expectations all on the strength of someone else's plea? How could a reploid of a time long since past come up in an era of such uncertainty and become such a driving force for the era? How does a figure that hadn't fought in a battle since a time referred to almost as a myth, come along and best the pinnacle of what present time had to present him in opposition? It began with the Guardians themselves, unique beings designed as second only to Master X. They were the best of the Neo Arcadian forces. Even so, one by one they fell at Zero's hands, without any ceremony at the hands and blade of the crimson legend. He then went on to include Master X himself in the long list of "impossible" upsets he was responsible for. After this, there was the battle with the culmination of reploid frustration and anger in the incident with TK-31, nay, Elpizo and the Dark Elf. While the former brought no real sense of dread to the minds of those in charge of apprehending him, it was perhaps this collective apathy towards his existence that became his second greatest weapon as he managed to slip in under just enough radars and come into possession of his greatest weapon, a mythical figure known only as the Dark Elf. It was responsible for the planet wide repurposing of reploids into deranged and twisted weapons of war thanks to the machinations of those who wished for the eternal rage of war on the planet. Yet even with all of this at Elpizo's disposal, Zero triumphed. As if that wasn't enough of a resume, this person had also managed to score one over the devil and his vehicle in a time when everything had become washed in corruption and madness. Dr. Weil's most twisted "creation" and the most terrifying opponent of the past, Omega had been unleashed yet again upon the world, a world which specifically lacked both X and any sort of concentrated effort to stop the doctor from accomplishing his warped goals. To make matters worse, Dr. Weil had managed to complete the original design for this monstrosity dating back to the chaos of the Elf Wars and united both the Dark Elf & Omega in an attempt to seize control over all in one move. Zero was the only active force on the front lines in the face of this seemingly grave case… And he still succeeded. It entranced them, fascinated them, and at the same time moderately irritated them given their far less impressive roles and performance during their last act of service in a Neo Arcadian emergency situation. They could only assist Zero with a ploy for time after he had done the majority of the work battling back the beast that was Omega. With their pride still recovering from this incident in particular, the Guardians found themselves exchanging small banter with one another on the current situation.
"Hush Fefnir, my appearance will have no bearing on the outcome of another match with that "legend." What's more, I am getting quite irritated with his constant theft of my prey. He'll have to make up for that with surplus the next time I see him." Leviathan remarked in her trademark mixture of sadism and playfulness. It would seem as though the Siren General was just as eager as Fefnir to meet Zero in combat once more, although her tone suggested a more chilling reason for it.
"Eh, whatever you say." Fefnir shot out, adjusting himself after leaning on the side of some rubble that had given away under the strength of the reploid's force against it. "I have to admit though Fish, I don't see the allure in toying with him. Your creepy side is showing again, but then again I guess a fetish is a fetish. All that tension of yours has got to be put towards something…" Fefnir interjected. There's something of an art form to the completely blunt nature that defined the former Ash Flames General. Whether it is an all out brawl or the simplest conversation, reserving himself was a foreign concept.
Leviathan was, putting it simply, less than amused. "I'm certain a great number of nuances are lost upon you." She replied without missing a beat, her frigid delivery concealing the cattiness of her response. "As for Zero, I don't know what he's thinking running off into orbit to continue his display of overdramatic heroism. Personally, I think he's suicidal, but if that were the case, he could have at least picked meeting his demise in some watery abyss, frozen over and broken by my hand over disintegration during re-entry…" Her less than subtle smirk giving away to everyone nearby that the girl was taking delight in the morbid imagery.
"I'm certain that at a time like this, you can put aside your personal desires for battle as well as this little squabble you're both having and respect the deceased." The increasingly irritated Harpuia quipped, opting to shift the topic somewhat. "Also, it would be nice if you both remembered that we have no reason to go to the grave versus Zero anymore."
Unlike his younger siblings, Harpuia had found himself beginning to slowly accept Zero. While he was interested in testing his mettle against the crimson swordsman as well, there was a noticeably absent tinge of war mongering or twisted attraction in his mind. As Harpuia mulled his own thoughts on the matter, he soon found himself lost in thoughts that he had supposedly put away in pursuit of professionalism to his charge as a Neo Arcadian General. Envious of the manner in which X trusted Zero and curious about the reason for Zero's conviction and dedication to X, the jade reploid felt as though he could only glean insight on how these things could be through crossing blades with him once more, free from the responsibilities and circumstances of war. There would be no maverick being chased down, no statuses being defended and no extended circumstances causing further conflict between the two, just two people aiming to learn from one another – at least that's what he hoped.
With early evening beginning to take set in the area about themselves, the quintet of reploids continued on. The fragments of the space station Ragnarok had begun to fragment and put on a light show for the travelers. With every ounce of the colossus that fragmented from the main body and streaked across the landscape, the area would "respond" by taking on an ethereal iridescent look. Buildings, run down and dilapidated as they were, would reflect the lights at a constant clip thanks to the materials used in their construction and the remnants of the synthetic glass dome overhead that was once used for setting climate "moods" for the city's residents. As Fefnir absorbed the scenery in this strange moment of his life, he thought of what was happening on the space station. Thanks to Leviathan's technological expertise, the group had managed to stay in the know and covertly provide support to those who needed it most while remaining on the lam from Neo Arcadian, nay Weil's authority. Acting independently, they assisted in the limited ways they could aiding fleeing groups from Neo Arcadia find their way out of the area. The group had also learned of what the madman Weil had been conducting under the guise of the Ragnarok Operation, the response from Zero & the Resistance, and the current drama playing out on the interstellar stage.
"Gotta say though, that demon is certainly putting on a hell of a show with all the shit that's been going down lately. I wonder what Zero's up to now as he moves aboard a would-be Eurasia part deux."
The trek to the center of what was once Neo Arcadia's central residence district was shorter than the former Guardians had expected. Without realizing it, they had walked into the center of the once majestic Eden Dome. The area had been reduced to almost nothing when Ragnarok's laser had connected with the ground. Now, the unrecognizable mess would serve its final purpose, as the meeting grounds for the Guardians and their Master and the seating for the view of the plummeting space station.
"I still can't believe that the destruction was so terrible..." The once feared Siren General Leviathan of the Dark Oceans nearly tumbled to the ground in shock. Her brothers, as typical of all males, reploid or human, hid their dismay and astonishment behind stormy eyes.
"This is what comes from the abuse of power."
All four soldiers quickly spun around and kneeled before their revered Master X. Standing atop the only column left erect; X gazed across the darkened, scarred landscape. The pain of seeing this destruction was not easily hid behind his words.
"You seem to be concerned about my behavior as of late, Leviathan." X calmly said. A pink blush appeared on the pale cheeks of the girl whose colors almost matched her master's own.
"I meant no disrespect, Master X." She stated quickly, watching her own tone to indicate her reverence. A small chuckle escaped X's lips.
"Rise up. You needn't worry. It shows me that your powers of perception have not dulled in the slightest. In fact, you've given me an opening to discuss the reason I summoned all of you here." X paused, his facial expression becoming grim. "I want to ask you something."
The guardians felt a wave of apprehension wash over the torn landscape. The screams of those they had failed to protect seemed to fill their ears. Master X was going to ask why they had failed him, surely—
"Do you know who I am?"
A pause followed. Confused, the Guardians stole glances at each other. Was this a test, a riddle? Finally, Harpuia, as was once his custom, stepped forward.
"You are our Master, X. The ruler of Neo Arcadia, saviour of the human race and the most esteemed of Maverick Hunters." Although his eloquent answer seemed to be confident, something tugged at him in the back of his mind, and a somewhat familiar doubt had resurfaced, making itself apparent on the visage of the usually composed general of the Fierce Skies.
"I see. You are correct about that much, but I'm asking in reference to the one you've been following all this time versus the one you have knowledge about."
A small pause followed. It was long enough, however, to have each of the Guardians somewhat antsy over the nature of X's vagueness. What he would say next would challenge quite a bit of what they knew and believed in.
"What if I told you that the "master" you've come to worship was nothing more than my copy?"
A sound like shattering glass fell on the ears of three of the guardians. Phantom however remained unfazed and seemed to be deep in thought. Fefnir was the first one to offer a response.
"What do you mean a copy? A copy? You mean...but...we...I...I don't understand! You're the same! We've served under you since the origins of Neo Arcadia! We've been by your side for as long as we remember! You gave us our purposes and our will to fight! Are you telling me that we've all being serving a lie?" Confusion and irritation trapped the crimson reploid and stripped him of his oratory.
"What do you mean, Master X?" Just as troubled by this news as her brother, Leviathan stepped forward as well. "It really doesn't make any sense! I mean, well, I don't really know what I mean! Why is all of this happening now? Why are you telling us these things? It's not true! You and our master are one in the same! There's no difference! There's—"
"I knew as much."
Harpuia interjected. The look his "younger" brother and sister gave him would have you believe that the jade reploid had committed heresy. "Harpuia, what in the fiery hell do you mean by this?" Fefnir shot out with complete disregard to anything happening at current.
Opting out of a direct answer to the question his brother posed and sister emphasized with a rare expression of true irony lacking shock on her face, Harpuia turned aside. Querying the "X" standing in front of him, Harpuia began. "You were lost at Yggrasil after the Elpizo incident, weren't you?"
Memories flashed all at once. While Harpuia's mind was flooded with imagery of being rushed to the repair bay in critical condition after fighting a lost battle of attrition against possession by the Baby Elves the ex-Neo Arcadian unleashed against himself all while drifting in and out of consciousness and remembering the bitter request he made to Zero of all people to save X, Fefnir and Leviathan both had memories of a wanton Zero wandering into their respective temples, meeting in their inner sanctums and a feeling of total euphoric delight as they instigated a fight using highly destructive forms they had never used before in battle. The latter two immediately felt a sense of guilt at that, realizing their total mental compromise at exposure to the playfully sinister Baby Elves as part of Elpizo's gambit for time as he continued to raid the deepest parts of Neo Arcadia.
"Indeed." X replied with a moderately solemn pitch to his voice being caught by all as he spoke. "My body had been ruined beyond repair and with so few people remaining that knew of my predicament, there was no chance for me to regain a physical form without coming under heavy scrutiny given the events that followed the Dark Elf's release."
"How long have you been like this?" Leviathan asked next, understandably shaken but with enough presence to command attention.
"A short while after the exile of Weil and Omega while Neo Arcadia was just in its infancy, I voluntarily opted to be the seal for the Dark Elf with the hopes that after its self-purification period had ended, I would be able to put the fear of her power being misused out of my head once and for all and resume leadership over the land." X stated. At this point, the three physical Guardians perked up and took notice. With such a long timeframe to account for, they were all curious about what X would recant with them there.
"Unfortunately, what I didn't expect was for myself to react so violently with her power and the consequences of said action. When the initial sealing took place, there was a massive power struggle between her and myself. I was trying to contain and aid in pacifying her with my power while she was in a delirious state of fear & pain instinctively fighting to break free. It was so intense that at one point, she struck me and portions of my being began to fragment from my core DNA."
X's story was remarkably fascinating to the three Guardians of the elements. An entire history seemed to open up before them in a manner none of them had expected. Hearing about X from the man himself just seemed to be another wonder they could have no amount of preparation for. Phantom however, kept to himself, seemingly content to listen in with his eyes closed.
"I eventually went on to contain the Dark Elf and her influence. As she slept, I was left in a state of half-consciousness and immobility as the final parts of the sealing had only begun to take place. I was to remain there with my mind still active to provide a failsafe of sorts should the seal ever be threatened before the self-purging mechanisms of the Mother Elf finished their job and freed her from her corrupted state. Interestingly enough though, there were interesting side effects to this event. In this cross space between the tangible "form" and intangible "data", the ruptures of my soul had collected together to form four unique masses that began to take on their own crude shapes and attributes." X announced as a gentle smile was beginning to form as he looked upon them fondly.
"Curious about this phenomena, I intended to have it looked at by the best Neo Arcadian scientists and engineers possible, but then I ran into a rather obvious dilemma – I was stuck within the core of the Dark Elf's seal, isolated from all manner of Neo Arcadian personnel by my own design. I could have chosen to wait it out patiently, but something was pushing me, telling me that this phenomenon was something that required the highest level of attention. Sometime later however, I would be granted with a method to present these phenomena to those who would do them justice. With my physical form now fully dormant thanks to the latter parts of the sealing beginning to set in, I found my "self" drifting about, for lack of a better description of the feeling I was experiencing. All I knew how to do was drift; all I was capable of was drifting. I was endlessly, nonchalantly drifting. It would be sometime later when I found out that this was the fate of all strong willed reploids that had lost their corporeal forms and had only their core data and will roaming about the afterlife known as Cyberspace. I was different at that time however, because my form had not been compromised; only left dormant. With enough time, I learned how to project my form over long distance thanks to the astounding level of technological progress that had been made but overlooked over years of war in the past and Earth's bigger problems in the then current. With my own internal strength, I was able to put together the events that would lead to those portions of me gaining forms as unique personalities and beings as reploids – the reploids that stand before me today."
The Guardians had always known they were of X, but they were never aware of the circumstances that brought about their creation. As such, this revelation was enough to get the group wondering what other things their master had forwarded as part of his own designs. That is, of course, until a shell shocked Fefnir spoke up.
"So, I'm a bit confused now." Fefnir interjected, scratching his copper hair after removing his helmet. "While this history lesson's been great and all, I still haven't heard anything about what makes you the 'original' X versus some cheap assed attempt at screwing with our minds or playing at our currently shaky psyches. As far as I know, Master X was retired when Neo Arcadia was first breached by the resistance and Zero."
"Fefnir—!" An offended Harpuia exclaimed before being assuaged by an amused X.
"The X you served and I, we are one in the same design but not the same 'soul'. Leviathan, you pointed out the difference yourself just from our mannerisms. And I believe you've had your suspicions for a while." X glanced down at three stunned reploids. "With my immediate actions in the Omega incident, I knew I would eventually need to have a conversation like this with you all. I'm certain that at that time, you thought of me as the spirit of that replica. As such, hearing the strong suggestion of assisting Zero on top of your standard orders to defend those that couldn't defend themselves definitely came in stark contrast of your expectations, am I correct?" The Guardians gave it a good amount of thought, save for Harpuia who was getting it at a quicker clip. Reflecting on the answer they gave their master in Cyberspace when beginning their internal counterattack on Weil and Omega, Fefnir and Leviathan began to see the differences become more and more apparent, noting X's generally warmer and more supportive tone towards them and their mutual decision. They also began to think harder on what reasons an X who would shun the actions of a "maverick" Zero would have to even hint at helping him in that particular scenario. "I think you've all had some inkling here and there of this particular truth. They probably didn't come entirely to mind until the events of the past two years with the rise of the reploid resistance, the return of my comrade Zero, and your individual experiences fighting him."
"Comrade Zero", the choice of words replayed in the trio's head, reverberating endlessly it seemed. While the Guardians were fully aware of X & Zero belonging to a previous generation of hunters during the classic Maverick Wars, they couldn't help but be taken aback somewhat at the suggestion of a close working relationship or particularly deep bond between the two figures. What X would say next would prove to be another moment that wouldn't be soon forgotten with all those present and taking part in this conversation.
"As I moved about, and witnessed the breakdown of Neo Arcadia into a twisted reality that stood completely opposed to the intentions I had for it in its inception, I found myself further pursuing a means to change things, even in my limited state. Eventually…" X hesitated, "I learned of a method in which I could interact with and aid those that needed more strength to right the wrongs that were slowly accumulating under the policies of the latter Neo Arcadian regime."
With a gentle wave of his hand, the air beside himself rippled and cleared like murky water giving way to a crystal clear pool. In the center of this pool, a series of images began to display. Scenes of Zero's resurrection played from a detached POV. While this was nothing the Guardians hadn't seen before thanks to recovered data from the felled battalion of reploids both of their own forces and the small time resistance forces that were deployed to the area, they still found it eerie to behold from such a ethereal view. They witnessed from this POV, how an object was lobbed towards the reawakened Zero, forming the unmistakable shape of his saber. The images would continue to play, continually depicting numerous times that this figure had managed to provide Zero, Ciel and the Resistance with just that "little bit more" that was necessary for them to clutch out their victories. It didn't take much for the group to realize what was happening here, but their thoughts became confirmed when the final scene began with this POV appeared before the three living Guardians & Zero facing a tattered Omega. Harpuia, finally coming to full understanding but still somewhat breathless at the scope of what he had just seen was deathly silent. Leviathan leaned her back against the nearest fixture with a general aura of exhaustion, both physically and mentally, permeating herself. A simple utterance, "Unreal", was all she could muster at that revelation. Phantom, who had done well not to speak for all this time continued to pay attention to his siblings while musing quietly. Fefnir however? Were there a soul in the area outside the dome, they would not be able to hear themselves over Fefnir's eruption and barrage of speech.
"Are you not only telling us that our master was a fake, but that you, the so called original, worked with that, that blender from hell Zero and that shoddy Resistance faction to sabotage Neo Arcadia? This is bullshit! What kind of twisted ass speech is this? How could something we worked on for so long – all for the sake of the founder's wishes I might add – go up in smoke thanks to the repercussions of the person who founded the goddamned thing in the first place? I just want to know what the actual fu... Actually, I don't even know what to say here that doesn't involve me letting loose a good amount of profanity." At this point, the tan skinned reploid looked over to his brother.
"Hey Harpuia, get started on a response, because I for damn sure need something with substance right now!" Funnily enough, the siblings all had a way of coming to Harpuia when something needed that extra emphasis in words. Fefnir was counting on this while hoping for some better attempt at addressing this issue as well as a more eloquent consolidation of his own frustration and heated temper towards the circumstances. While he found himself questioning the validity of X and what he had done versus what he knew of "X", he knew he could never hold a thing against the one responsible for his being. As such a strange inner conflict was brewing inside himself and needed to be stayed before he could accept anything further.
Harpuia had been silent for the entire second half of X's speech. It was almost too much for him to bear. He had wondered for the longest time how the Resistance who started off in his mind as nothing more than fodder that would perish on their own when faced with the harsh environments outside of Neo Arcadia with no provisions and no real means of offensive managed to accomplish what they did, eventually culminating in sending the devil to Neo Arcadian doorsteps literally without an inside job or mole. To think the answer to that question which had bugged him since the start of these Neo Maverick Wars was right in front of him smiling in pride over what he had accomplished.
"Everything he has said is true." Phantom easily slid into the conversation even with this being his first words in hours. "With my death during Zero's first storming of Neo Arcadia's Shrine, I was approached by what I thought to be a spectre of Master X and found myself confused at the circumstances. Initially, I thought of it as odd given that I had exhausted my life knowing Zero still had you three to contend with before he could hope to duel our leader. This figure, the Master you see in front of you, had me walk with him and follow along watching Zero's raid through the Neo Arcadian Core ultimately culminating in his fight with the one we knew as X at the time. Confused, I asked for an explanation myself, only to be lead to knowledge of the past by the X we see in front of us. This knowledge had slid out of both human and reploid memory. Zero was indeed a fellow Maverick Hunter with skills to match our Master's own. He was just as revered as Master X himself. However, when the world's champions suddenly disappeared for better or worse all those years ago, humans fell into despair. Who would protect them from their own creations, the reploids, if they turned against them once again? In that light, or in that darkness if you will, researchers decided to experiment on humans themselves to create "geniuses" who would in turn create solutions to these problems. The brain child that resulted from this generation of experiments was the one who not only gave us the master in the form we knew him best but she also reawakened our most potent rival..."
"You don't mean ..." Leviathan started.
"That runaway brat..." Fefnir stared simultaneously.
Harpuia remained silent.
"The resistance leader, Dr. Ciel." Phantom finished.
This was getting out of hand. Too much information at once could kill someone. Thoughts and emotions banged themselves against the skulls of the three reploids who were trying to digest this information.
"I think I've said enough on the matter." X suddenly concluded. The roar of something immense plunging through the skies served as a potent moment, drawing attention away from this expository and to the immediate train of thought. "For now, there are more pressing matters occurring in the present that need our attention." Almost as punctuation to his sentence, an immense shower of what seemed to be stars, streaked across the sky, tearing through dark of night and illuminating the five who stood below.
"Ragnarok has come," X began, "and when it has passed, where will you all stand on the pages of history? Will you be remembered as those who served an absolutist regime, killing senselessly, all for the ranting of a petulant child ruler and the lurid machinations of a mad doctor? Are you still those souls caught between duty and pride who were the vehicles of the abuses of power? Have you realized that you venerated the wrong "hero"? If anyone in these recent times deserves to be given that honor, it—is—Zero!"
At that moment, a brilliant burst of light lit up the sky; a white dawn had taken its place above the world. At its epicenter stood Zero and the mad doctor himself, locked in mortal combat. The space station was burning up in the atmosphere at an alarming rate. Then suddenly, just as suddenly as it had all come into view it vanished in an instant flash of almost blinding and surreally brilliant light.
"My oldest friend is the savior of the human race as he was so many centuries ago." X gave a weak smile to the blinding light, hoping that somehow, there could be another way to reunite with his friend that did not involve Zero joining him in cyberspace. "And like all those years ago, he's doing it via suicide. Some things never change."
A penetrating silence had fallen upon the five assembled for the end of another hero's legacy. Who would have believed that a person would go so far as death to fulfill a promise? As if the weight from the knowledge of his death was not enough, a biting sting was left behind in wake of the revelations from earlier on. This would serve to be a night that none would soon forget.
"It's over now... Zero succeeded." A weary sounding X stated to the group. His tone of voice filled with regret and remorse.
"So it would seem, X..." A distant voice stated.
Startled, everyone, save for X, looked all about in an effort to locate the source of this voice. Their surprise only grew as they laid their eyes on a very familiar cyber-elf floating towards them, its blinding light illuminating the surrounding ruins.
"Mother Elf, it's been a while." The seasoned hunter greeted his newest guest with a warm smile.
"X, you know that name is far too formal for me, and yet you never seem to stop using it." The feminine voice responded with a slight hint of playfulness in her voice.
"True as that may be, I have no right to refer to you with your proper name especially with everything that's happened and everything you helped to accomplish," X responded in a lighthearted tone of voice. "With that being said, what might the reason for this visit be?"
"I came here to give you good news." The Mother Elf stated. "Zero...he's alive. I...I personally saw to that."
Curiosity mounting, three of the Guardians couldn't help but speculate upon the reason behind Mother Elf's rescue of Zero. Maybe she felt indebted to him for freeing her from Weil's grasp? Phantom however pondered in silence, seemingly detached from the events that were taking place around him.
"So even now, you continue to look out for him... I guess you're doing a better job of that than I currently can." X stated with a twinge of sadness in his voice.
"I'll always watch out for him...it's the least I can do... And you shouldn't worry about things like that; you've been fighting just as long as he has," replied Mother Elf, trying to assuage X's feelings.
Harpuia, Leviathan, and Fefnir, unable to come to a valid conclusion, were looking on in a confused stupor. Certainly this would be another moment that time wouldn't allow them to forget. They continued to monitor their master's actions in silence, as if not wanting to interrupt the two with a rush of questions.
X, however, took note of this as he addressed the group below them.
"You all have been my greatest supporters for quite some time now." He started. "You saw the peak of the new utopia Neo Arcadia, and you witnessed its fall, you followed your duties admirably, and although you came to find yourselves trapped in the bindings of politics and war, you all managed to pull through in the end. Now I have a bit of an interesting question for you all to answer..." X paused.
The three were anticipating every thought that could have been running through the master's head only to get nothing out of it. They resolved themselves to be ready for another dramatic twist.
"What will you all do now that the fighting has ceased?" X inquired.
The three looked on, taken aback by this inquiry. Never before had they taken the time to consider what life would be like without the constant of battle. They were all proud warriors who had never shown any sort of hesitation when asked to deal with conflict. They were born to protect and defend the humans who needed them at all costs. Now that the conflicts were seemingly over what were they truly supposed to do? What was their purpose? The group struggled to put together a coherent thought.
"I dunno," Fefnir then stated bluntly, earning him a good jab in the side from his younger sister.
"Dumbass, how we are related, I'll never know..." Leviathan trailed off, seemingly trying to get away from the subject at hand.
Harpuia, being the most sensible of the three, merely turned aside and shot them a look which instantly reminded them of whose presence they were in.
X let out a small chuckle upon seeing this, somewhat reminded of his days as a Maverick Hunter & how often he had argued with Zero and his other Hunter fellows, exchanging jeers and mulling over their mutual recklessness in certain situations. "You all really don't have a clue on how to go about this do you?" His amusement was apparent in his expression as something of a warm but silly grin appeared on his usually careful and composed visage. "Well I'll tell you what you should do," X started, "it's about time you all found out who you were as individuals and not as my servants. Honestly, I never looked at any one of you as such, but rather as my equals."
The shock on the trio's faces was apparent to anyone who might have seen them. Certainly, Master X, whom they all aspired to be like and served with the utmost diligence was not the one paying them a compliment of that magnitude, was he?
"In the beginning, while you four were all created for the sake of defending humanity, there were originally two additional motives for your individual activations. The first of which was to help with the restoration of Earth after the years of war and destruction, so that eventually, people would be able to repopulate the lands outside of Neo Arcadia. You all remember this right?"
They nodded. How could they not remember this? Before they were brought back together in Neo Arcadia to extinguish the Resistance and even before they became the Guardians, this was their first and foremost mission. These were perhaps the first orders given to them after their activation and the only ones that still held any meaning now.
X then continued to speak. "Well, I guess the second reason is going to come off as being a bit more selfish then. You all were also created because of my own weaknesses and my inability to deal with the fact that so many of my peers had been lost to the fighting and seemingly endless wars. You were supposed to be as I said before, my equals and my company..." X trailed off. "In all truth, I was tired," stated a defeated sounding X, "I was completely exhausted from the years and years of suffering, conflict, loss and death... And then on top of it all, I had lost a fellow partner who had been fighting in the same period of war for maybe longer than I have."
Leaning forward in an expectant manner, Harpuia shot out a question in a point blank manner worthy of Fefnir himself.
"Just who is Zero exactly? Why is he so important?"
X, looking at the ever inquisitive trio, smiled and stated "He is one of my greatest friends... When all else failed and I couldn't go on, I could trust his judgment and rely on his strength."
The group, as a whole knew that X, or more precisely, the Original X had held Zero in high regards, but there was never any real mention to it prior to this conversation. Leviathan was the next to address him.
"You seem to be vouching for him very heavily, is he really that great a guy? I don't understand how he could be though..." Leviathan mused, unsure of the reaction she might get. After all, it wasn't like she knew Zero personally, she just saw him as a good challenge of her own skill and a good excuse to cut loose and "play" while out in the field. "You know, maybe it's time that you told us a little bit more about him." She hesitated with the last part.
Leviathan's remark made X realize how little they knew of the crimson warrior. "Did you know he died twice defending me?"
Everything went silent. They had known of Zero's near recklessness and his uncanny will to fight for another's sake but to think that he had gone so far for X of all people made a few things more unbelievable in retrospect.
"He believed in me when my own resolve was shaken and even after dying both of those times he never stopped pressing forward..." X trailed off. "He believed that even if he wouldn't be there to put an end to it all, I'd would continue forward and pick up where he left off. In all reality, I can't change your minds and convince you that he's a good guy, all I can say is if you got the chance to interact with him, you'd find he's probably no different than myself, albeit a bit rough around the edges."
"That sounds like a good idea," Leviathan thought, "I'll have to work that into another one of our encounters…"
Looking outward at the ruins, now bathed in the light of thousands of stars far off in the night sky, X found his voice once more, finally coming to the true reason he had assembled the Guardians. "Now that Neo Arcadia has been toppled and I am retired to roaming about Cyberspace, there is no longer a need for me to possess "Guardians" in the way you have been assembled. Forge your own paths from now on. Develop your own justice amidst the shades of gray in this new era. You are dismissed."
With that broad statement, X disappeared. A warm breeze caressed the ruins. It was all well and dandy that Master X, no, X, had told them what to do, but how in the world were they supposed to start?
"Well, what do you guys think we should do now?" quipped Fefnir, flopping down on a rock. "Sure, we got new orders, I guess, but anyone got a clever way to jump on the mission bandwagon? You have any suggestions for us, Harpy?"
Harpuia leaned on the side of a worn down pillar. He, who had the most troubled character at this time, was about as clueless as Fefnir trying to do logarithms. "I don't really know." he admitted with a small, sad chuckle.
Leviathan, now cross legged on the rough ground, pouted slightly. "Absolutely wonderful." Leviathan said aloud, stressing each syllable to convey her apparent exasperation. "So I take it no one knows what the hell we're supposed to do?"
Phantom finally spoke up, "I must return to cyberspace with Master X for now. The amount of time I can spend on the outside is limited. I trust you all will come to some solution." At his last word, Phantom gracefully bowed out.
Fefnir, being the most, audible, of the group snapped out, "What is WITH these people and being uselessly vague? Do they think the answer will drop in from the sky or speak for itself? I mean—"
"I will tell you the same thing I told Zero." The Mother Elf interjected, cutting off Fefnir's ranting. The former guardians jumped, having forgotten that Mother Elf had not left with X and Phantom. "This new world is still in need. It requires heroes to protect it and guide its people. You all still have your own justice, your sense of duty to protect humans. Use this faith. Find those that most need your help now. You each have your own talents, have you not? Turn them into the vehicles for the hope of this new generation."
A brief pause followed. "Well, that was surprisingly easy. Maybe a little vague again but still, you shoulda spoke up sooner—" Fefnir's idiocy was cancelled a united kick from Leviathan and Harpuia.
Suddenly, the light emanating from Mother Elf began to wane. As if reflecting her gradual weakening, her last words became drawn out. "This will not be our last meeting... I must...go now...Good...Luck..." With the strength she could muster, Mother Elf drifted away until she was nothing more than a pinprick of dim light.
Harpuia stood straight and took charge once more. "We've been given orders. Let's go." He spun on his heel and began to walk in the same direction from which they had all come.
"Hey, wait up!" called Fefnir almost tripping in pursuit of the green reploid. "Just where are we going?"
"Isn't it obvious? There's something I, no we, need to do..." Harpuia replied, mysteriously. A curiously good spirit had manifested itself in his mannerisms, like a silent catharsis had taken place upon grasping all of what had taken place in this strange evening conversation and just now coming to a decision for what action they should take next.
"I am only going to say this once more before I have to break something, or someone…" started Fefnir, clearly not having any more patience to deal with the vague hints he had been dealing with from the ending moments of X's speech, "What. The. Hell. Are. We. Doing."
Leviathan chimed in, happy for any opportunity to play against Fefnir's "limited" thought process. "We are going to go and devote ourselves to the restoration of the world, not that you would understand that with your penchant for wanton destruction." She began to reminisce on the time before being assembled as the Guardians of X and subsequently the Guardians of Neo Arcadia when she would work freely and peacefully in the oceans while her older brother would take to the skies above providing aerial support to repair climates and regions heavily scarred by the wars. Fefnir at the time had been in charge of a large scale trash collection and recycling effort which usually dealt with the destruction and melting down of different robotic and mechanical remains from the previous wars littered about the Earth, but with Neo Arcadia's limited energy production, his duties couldn't take place on the same scale, leaving him out of the loop versus his sister and older brother.
Harpuia nodded as his own nostalgic memories started to come to the surface, but not before getting in a mental sucker punch on the two reploids who had managed to nearly start another round of sibling bickering between one another. "Precisely, so who's up for a trip to see the other troublesome blonde we've had to deal with lately?"
With only a moment's thought, Harpuia's "plan" had been deciphered and Leviathan & Fefnir found themselves in sync for the first time in all of the night's conversations.
"Oh, hell no—"
The familiar sound of a portable transmission device going off and three figures disappearing into the night were the last things to occur as the site of the old utopia became dormant, never to be inhabited again and easing into its overdue rest.
Author's Notes
So after a longer than anticipated hiatus, here's the first chapter in hopefully many of "The Shining Arms." After looking around and reading a few excerpts of the then untranslated Megaman Zero Perfect Works book, I was taken in by the depth of the scenario Inticreates had created for the series. There were no shortages of discarded ideas that were absolutely fascinating and worth pursuing in my honest opinion especially when with a few continuity ties a stronger storyline could have been born. The concepts of legacy and heritages had been played with to such great extents during the series (primarily the run between Zero 1 – 3) that I found it increasingly weird over time that Zero 4, beyond the reference to the previous X series in Area Zero, didn't try to expand on this idea.
Now, if I'm allowed to just talk about the writing of this chapter, well let me just say that I absolutely hate doing chapters like this. Expositionals have never been my strong suit, and the only reason for that is simple – I prefer going a "show, don't tell" route as often as possible in terms of setting up a story. For this event though, it was necessary for X to both absolve the Guardians of their selfless duties to the figure of X as well as to bait them somewhat into using their own individual judgment to find new answers for the questions that should rack their minds given the turnout of the events of the last games (Zero 3 & 4). What better way to do this though than to present them with a truth in a manner they probably hadn't been exposed to prior? Another thing to note here is that this story, while still dealing with familiar faces (very familiar faces) from the previous series, is also here as a sort of redemption story for them. When you think of the horrible acts they were either head of or willingly allowed to happen as per Zero 1 and their loyalties to the figure of X versus justice itself, they still haven't really been more than flawed heroes at best. This is something that really didn't get played up enough and with the retcon making sure that their story ended in such a anti-climactic way, I found it kinda sad to say the least.
Finishing up this round of author's comments, I'm wondering how far I can take their personalities without straying too far from their canon portrayals. I've always seen them as a group that gets along far better with one another than they do with other people, going so far as having specific ways to get under each other's skins or call one another's attentions to themselves. I've always loved that idea behind their design as being siblings so why not play that much up to its furthest extremes? The story's going to have a lot of focus on them growing and learning from the old cadre of heroes, as they pretty much are the new kids on the block, but that much can only happen after the full collection of past heroes comes into play.