Disclaimer: I don't own Mega Man Zero, or any of the other Mega Man stories. I don't even own all of the events in this story, as some of them are taken more or less directly from the game, what with it basically being a novelization of sorts.

AN: Well, this was running around in my head, so I figured I'd put it out here. I haven't exactly read many novelizations of MMZ, so I really hope it's not too similar to any others out there. Anyway, hope y'all enjoy.

"Talking"

Thought

Time Passage

During the final days of the Maverick Wars, the Maverick Hunter known as Zero agreed to be placed in a voluntary stasis so that his allies could analyze him, hoping to find a method of counteracting the Maverick Virus released years before during his battle with then-Maverick Hunter Sigma, shortly after his first awakening. The analysis was successful, and resulted in the creation of a powerful being known as a Cyber Elf. Unfortunately, while the Cyber Elf created from these studies was capable of putting a permanent end to both the Maverick Virus and the Maverick Commander Sigma, it led to a greater threat than ever before.

A sadistic scientist known as Doctor Weil and his subordinate Omega gained control of the Cyber Elf that would come to be known as the Dark Elf, and lead a grueling four-year war that decimated both the human and reploid populations of the world. But the heroes of the Maverick Wars rose to meet the new threat as they always had before, and between the combined efforts of Maverick Hunters Axl, X and Zero, Weil and his subordinates were imprisoned and exiled. When the end of the new threat came, Zero ignored X's pleas and sealed himself in stasis once again, believing that the world might finally be able to find peace without his presence to instigate such conflicts.

With Zero's sacrifice, Mega Man X was left to fight for humanity's survival.

One hundred years have passed since then, and with the rise of yet another threat, the end of the legendary Maverick Hunter's sleep has drawn near…

Underground Laboratory…

"Dammit, they weren't supposed to be here!" Poulte backed around the corner, ignoring the energy blast that crashed against the wall beside his head, and leaning out to fire off a few shots as the rest of their team's survivors dashed around to join him in waiting for two of their fellow reploids to open the rusted door blocking their way. That rather simple statement pretty much covered any thoughts he had on their current situation.

This little expedition of theirs was supposed to have been a simple, painless retrieval mission. The lab they were investigating was supposed to be abandoned, and even their scouts hadn't been able to catch any sings activity in the facility. Yet mere minutes after they'd arrived, the humanoid Pantheon soldiers of Neo Arcadia had started swarming into the building, and most of their group had been slaughtered before they had the chance to react.

No, they certainly hadn't been prepared for an all out battle in close quarters, and especially not to protect the human leader of the Resistance against such odds. Glancing over at the teenage blonde prodigy, he tried not to let his nerves get the better of him. As it was, he blamed himself for their current predicament. He hadn't been nearly insistent enough on Ciel staying at their headquarters, and now they might all pay for that mistake. Frankly, he and Milan were the only genuine soldiers among the group. They were the only ones who had ever actually served in any kind of military organization, and even then they'd only been security guards.

Thankfully, their team's lack of experience was somewhat balanced out by their determination to protect the young girl. Deciding that their brief breather had gone on long enough, and seeing that they'd had managed to open the rusted door blocking their way, he urged her to continue.

"Miss Ciel, this way!" He placed his hand on her back and gently nudged her into action, not wanting to push the human too hard, but knowing that they couldn't stop for long. Their last man had just stepped through the door as an explosion rocked the halls around the corner. Milan, ever eager to lighten the mood, decided to voice the obvious.

"Guess they finally got around to using the heavy artillery, eh?" The two at the door forced it shut again, holding it and turning to look at Ciel.

"Miss Ciel, hurry!"

"We'll hold them off!" The rest of the team quickly voiced their agreement with the statement, and Poulte gave them a respectful nod before rushing to join Milan, who was already pulling the blonde along with him, the little Cyber Elf that was constantly at her side trailing behind them. Even at a distance, the sadness in their leader's eyes at the thought of leaving her friends to die was glaringly obvious.

Within a matter of minutes, and after sealing or trapping several more doors along the way, it became clear that they'd chosen the right path. It might not have lead out, but the massive doors ahead of them were clearly designed to keep something out. Or, the morbid thought crossed his mind, to keep something in.

"A dead end!?" Ciel gasped the words as she tried to catch her breath, knowing that the men they'd left behind were probably already dead, and that the four of them would likely follow if they couldn't get through.

"No. I feel a strong energy inside. This must be the place." At that moment, as Passy stated what they'd all been hoping to hear, Poulte wasn't sure if he felt more excited or terrified. On one hand, if Passy's claim turned out to be true then it might have meant the salvation of the Resistance. If not, then their last hope and one of their only chances of raising morale among their "troops" would go up in flames. He pulled out what was left of the explosives he'd brought with him, and began setting them up along the door.

"Okay. Leave this to me! Stay back, Ciel." And in less than a minute, the door was blown inward. Or cracked inward just enough for them to get through, anyway. Those things were stronger than he'd expected, considering how old they supposedly were. Unfortunately, the noise had apparently drawn the attention of their pursuers, as an explosion sounded farther back down the halls, where they'd rigged several doors. Not willing to give up their chances when they were so close, he stood just inside the heavily reinforced entrance and signaled Milan to continue on without him.

"Milan, Miss Ciel, you should go. I'll take care of them." The far smaller entrance to the inner chamber didn't look nearly as powerful as the one they were standing at now, and he doubted it would take much effort to open. They didn't need him anymore, not if the one they were searching for was truly behind those doors.

"But Poulte…"

"Get going, now!" Ciel's hesitance only lasted slightly longer than Milan's. So with one last look at the trio leaving him, Poulte prepared to make what he was pretty certain would be his final stand.

As Poulte was preparing to hold off the Neo Arcadian forces coming ever closer, Ciel and Milan had confirmed their hopes once and for all. The chamber was dimly lit, and the figure ahead of them was far from being in perfect condition, but even as he knelt in the center of a shattered pod once used to hold beings in a sleeplike state there was something clearly different about him. Milan, strangely, was the first to voice the realization.

"This must be..." Somehow, he'd thought the former Hunter would seem more impressive. His red armor was faded and cracked, and he certainly wasn't the cleanest reploid he'd ever seen. Then again, he supposed that he shouldn't have expected something tha had been sitting in a wrecked underground cavern to be in mint condition.

"This...must be Zero..." Ciel, on the other hand, was marveling at the being before her. He was clearly damaged by time, but merely being in the presence of someone that must have been several centuries old, even after all that he'd gone through, was an amazing feeling for a scientist.

"We found him at last!" He reached towards the red-armored reploid as if to shake him awake, but was violently thrown back with a cry as his hand made contact with the energy field surrounding him. Apparently, he really hadn't wanted anything to awaken him without permission.

"It's protected." The Cyber Elf hovering around Ciel's head spoke as if she knew something that they didn't. As if she'd somehow expected this.

"What should I do…" There had to be something that he could do to bring the barrier down. Explosives were out of the question. They'd used what little they had left to open the doors guarding this area of the facility, and in such a confined space they'd probably end up killing themselves anyway, and it still might not be enough to drop the shield.

"Just a second." She was glancing around the room, trying to find some kind of computer terminal that might still be intact. Most of the facility was wrecked, but as far as Milan knew, if the barrier was still working properly, then it probably meant something else was functioning.

But as they heard a hail of gunfire from the outer chamber, followed shortly by Poulte's cry of pain, they knew they were out of time.

"Ciel, watch out!" He lunged at Ciel and pulled her behind him, turning to face the attackers that would soon be making their appearance. They didn't disappoint him, as moments later several Pantheons burst in, luckily armed with the close-range saber buster arms rather than the buster cannons that gave them such an advantage over regular weaponry. He put several rounds into their legs, knowing that it would at least buy them a few seconds, and turned to grab Ciel's arm.

"Damn, we're cornered! We've gotta evacuate, now!" It was over. They simply didn't have the time to free Zero, and when Neo Arcadia managed to get its hands on him…

"But…"

"No time to argue, come on! It's too la-" He never saw the blast coming, as the buster cannon-wielding Pantheons entered the room made their move while he made to grab her.

"Milan!" She fell to her knees as she caught the fallen reploid, wrapping her arms around his body as if to protect it from the approaching hunters. At Ciel's shock, Passy began frantically circling the two.

"Ciel! Hey, Ciel!"

"Huh?"

"You have to use my power! There's no other choice!" Somehow, Passy had known that it would come to this. Even before they'd been ambushed, she'd had the feeling that the time for her to serve her purpose was about to come.

"What? No! Passy, if I do that you'll be…" Though Passy had to admit, the last thing she wanted to do was leave Ciel right after the young girl had lost one of her best friends. And for a moment, she considered trying to find a way to escape, to keep Ciel from losing yet another friend. But the Pantheons were coming closer, and…

"Don't worry about me Ciel. Remember, everyone back home is waiting for you to come back. They need you more than me." They needed Ciel, but they needed Zero as well. Even if by some miracle they did manage to escape now, leaving without Zero would doom her to losing everyone she cared about. Yet she knew that regardless of that fact, Ciel wouldn't be able to live with it if she felt that she'd forced on of her friends to sacrifice herself.

"Ciel, please, let me do this." She had to understand that this was what Passy wanted, not just something that she had to do as a duty.

"…Okay. Okay, you're right. Passy, thank you." And Passy smiled, tried to assure her master and friend that she was doing the right thing. That she was allowing her to sacrifice herself for something that mattered, and not just letting her fade away.

"No. I should thank you, Ciel. Goodbye…"

Ignoring the young scientist's cry, she charged the dark barrier, allowing her own energy to merge with that of the field surrounding the reploid of legend. A bright light flashed as the systems controlling the barrier overloaded, forcing Ciel to turn away and drawing a curious pause from the Pantheons that were slowly but surely closing in on their human target. The light faded away, and Ciel's eyes began to focus, widening in surprise at the sight before her.

The legendary hero of the Maverick Wars, released from his bonds, remained kneeling on the ground, no signs of life present in the broken shell.

AN: Probably not my greatest work, but certainly not my worst. It could probably use a little more editing, but I felt like I needed to get it out. Anyway, I'd love to hear what you guys think, as always. Until next time.