Forenote: This story is something that has been plaguing me for a long, long time. The style in which I'm going to write it is far different from the style I normally use. Another thing it will have is a 'sound track' to it; basically, the song that I feel fits the chapter the most. The song will be the title of the chapter.
This story will contain graphic violence, death, alternate universe, heavy fantasy elements, physical and mental torture, resurrection, and original characters. If any of these things bother you, please, head back now.
This story has been written by Iridescent Hope
This story was edited by Feather
Take note
Fractured Reality
To Zanarkand
The man sighed and slid into the chair, rubbing his eyes. His short, vivid blond hair fell into his eyes, causing him to repetitively push it away. Picking up a pen from the desk in front of him, he stared at it for a while, thinking, How long ago was it that pens were considered ancient technology?
Placing the pen to a piece of paper, he began to write, slowly.
'I… I'm still not sure how it happened. Or why. All I know is that… I don't know what I know.
My name is Zero Omega. I think. At one time, I was the commander of the 0th unit. I think. I don't know if that really happened or not…
I still remember the first day it all started. I should have expected it. But I didn't. And I still blame myself. If it weren't for me, if I had known…
Maybe none of this would have happened.
But, they said that it was 'falling apart'. If not now, soon. It was inevitable.
Nothing in inevitable, though. That's the one thing I know. Everything can be changed, if you try hard enough.
Maybe they didn't try.
This is my story. This is what happened. This is… how I failed…
I'm sorry…
*
I can still remember the attack vividly in my mind. For once it had not been done by Mavericks; a deranged human had bombed the building by attaching enough explosives onto his body that a small town could have been leveled. Unfortunately, a small town would have had fewer people in it then the office building that was targeted.
I remember… I remember Alia screaming, screaming as loud as she could. Her little sister, Trista, had been there. Her little sister would never get the chance to see anything else after the attack.
I remember all the panic and fear in the hunters that day. And all the sadness, for those who had died. And I remember that I had been feeling detached from everything; all I could feel was a numbing coldness that kept me apart from everything else. I couldn't feel anything at the time.
Something compelled me to go to the accident sight. At the time, I can surmise that I thought it was because it was my duty as a hunter. But now… now I'm not too sure. Nothing was purely coincidence. They had it all planned.
There was this distinct smell at the site, a mixture between burning rubber and flesh. Trying my best to ignore it, I walked through the outer layer of debris, going towards the heart of the attack - a rather stupid thing to do, on my part.
It was then that I saw her. Nadia.
She was young when I saw her then, probably around five years old. Her hair was short and brown, sticking out in all directions, and her eyes were a deep blue. She was standing in the middle of the wreckage with one hand in front of her face. From a distance, it looked like she was chewing on her finger, but as I got closer, I could see she wasn't. She was thinking. If I hadn't been in such a funk, I probably would have found that rather odd.
My footsteps alerted her and she turned to face me, staring into my eyes. That was when I was struck by the similarity between her and X.
X. He... he had died three years before the attack. Exactly three. Trying to protect me. Or so I thought.
Hissing slightly at the unpleasant memory, I knelt down in front of her. Something drew me to her, and even now, I'm not sure what it was. "Are you okay?" I asked her, brushing some of her hair from her face. She looked up to me, and her eyes widened.
"Are you my daddy?"
The question shocked me, making my own eyes widen. "Daddy...? No, I'm not."
"Daddy said he would come back, but would look different."
I was speechless. Here was this strange little girl, with a painful resemblance to X, asking me if I was her father. And she seemed so sure that I was. Part of me, at the time, felt like I couldn't say no.
Instead of answering her question I picked her up. She weighed so little I could carry her with one arm. "What's your name?" I asked.
"Nadia. It means Hopefully One, or Bringer of Hope."
The irony of that statement... but no. You'll understand later.
She spoke easily and intelligently, something I hadn't expected from someone of her age. I shrugged it off, thinking that it was probably because she was a child-model reploid or the daughter of an extremely rich couple. After all, most people who had worked in the building had high paying jobs.
That thought reminded me of something. "Nadia," I said, picking my way out of the debris, "How did you get here?"
"Daddy left me here and told me to what. He said he would come back."
Glancing down at the child, I shook my head and sighed. "I'm not your dad. He..." I stopped and swallowed. I knew the pain of losing someone whom I cared a lot about. And I knew the pain of losing someone I loved. She was so young, how could I make her go through that?
I will say this right now, I was not thinking straight when my mind came to this conclusion. I don't even think that it was I who made the connections, but that it was they, influencing me.
I nodded. "I'm not your dad, but he told me to come here. I'm going to take care of you for a while."
She smiled and giggled. "Okay!" Easily, she accepted the situation. I began to envy her for being so innocent. If she had been any older, she would have known that her father hadn't asked me - that her father was dead.
Walking out of the debris with Nadia, I passed a sobbing woman. Curious, Nadia peered over my shoulder as I was walking away from her.
"Why is she crying?"
My mind went blank. How the hell was I supposed to explain that to her? " She… has just lost something important to her."
"Oh. Do you think she'll find it?"
I decided against answering that. She didn't seem to notice, anyway, as she was absorbed in the surroundings. I heard her muttering something to herself, but couldn't quite make it out.
Nearing my LandChaser, I paused. "Have you ever ridden a 'chaser before?" I asked her, placing her on the ground.
"Sure! Lots of times!"
I blinked. That had not been the answer I had expected: very few people outside of Hunter's had 'chasers, which meant that either she was lying, or her father had a very important job.
I nodded, slowly. "Okay..." I picked her back up and placed her carefully on the 'chaser then got on myself, leaning over her. Strangely enough, she seemed to shrink, making it easier to ride. Now I'm going insane, aren't I? I thought, shaking my head. Yeah, and I'm only imagining that she exists.
She squealed when I started it up, and began laughing as I flew over the roads with great speed. In no way, shape, or form was she at all frightened of the fast pace that I was going at. Apparently, she had been telling the truth.
As I neared Hunter Headquarters, I began to regret my decision, however. For all I knew, she could have been a Maverick, designed to get into the base and then attack, like Double had. Or even if she wasn't, how was I going to take care of her? Even a reploid, with that young a design, would be hell to watch.
Sighing, I picked her up and carried her inside. I did receive many odd looks as I walked down the hallways, heading towards Alia's office.
"Daddy, where are we going?"
I cringed when I heard her call me 'Daddy'. "Call me Zero, not Daddy. And...we're going to see a lady, Alia. She'll help us."
"She will?"
"Yes." Her small amount of weight seemed to grow and, before long, my arm was burning. "Can you walk?"
She nodded rapidly. Sighing in relief, I bent down and placed her on the floor. Before I could straighten myself back up, however, she grabbed my hand and hung on for dear life.
Closing my eyes, I tried to keep my face from turning the shade of red it surely was, or would become, from my embarrassment. I can only imagine how idiotic I must have looked then, walking down the hallway with her holding my hand. However, I couldn't just wrench my hand from her. Even I wasn't that cruel. And there was just something about her...
But, as I've said before, time would only tell what was to come.
Knocking on the office door, I waiting for Alia to finish whatever she was doing and answer it. That was one of her most annoying habits. While it did make for a good spotter, it was bothersome that she wouldn't get up and open her door. She needed to finish the paper she was working on first, and then she would get up and open the door for the person seeking admittance. Suffice to say, after a couple months of her working on base, she got her own secretary.
It didn't take as long as I thought it would for her to finish. Not expecting her to get up so soon, I had been leaning against the door and almost fell onto her when she opened it, which jerked Nadia forward slightly.
"Zero! Where have you been?" she exclaimed in her usual fashion, helping me stand. Glaring at her slightly, I moved the girl up in front of me.
"She survived the terrorist attack," I said simply. "I... I couldn't leave her there..."
"Oh Zero, that is so cute!" That really had not the answer I was expecting. "Zero, you're an idiot," or "Zero, I'll take care of her," maybe, but... cute? Then again, Alia had just lost her sister. Maybe that had something to do with it.
My shock and confusion must have shown on my face, because Alia began to laugh. "Okay, so maybe that was a little odd." Kneeling down, she smiled at her. "Hello, I'm Alia. Who are you?"
"... I'm Nadia." That was all she said. No explanation of her name, nothing save her name. I frowned, but no one noticed.
"Nadia? That's a pretty name. Do you know where your parents are?"
As she was saying that, I began to frantically make a 'no' sign. Alia saw it a moment to late and immediate understanding dawned on her face. After all, she, too, had just lost someone that day.
"Zero says that my daddy told him to take me here."
"Hmmm. Well, guess what? You have to stay here a little while 'til we find your dad, m'kay?"
She nodded, looking more towards me than Alia. It was obvious that she trusted me more. Trust that I felt I didn't deserve, not after what happened with X.
X... and Iris... the two things that had held me in that mood, that had kept me away from everyone and everything. If only I had been paying more attention to the signs then; maybe none of this would have happened.
Standing up, Alia nodded to me and mouthed one word: Maverick. Huh. I supposed that twisted minds do work alike. I nodded back.
"Nadia, would you mind going with Alia to...," I struggled to find a good way to explain this, trailing off. "You need to see a doctor, to make sure you aren't sick."
"But... will you come?" Her eyes were pleading, begging me to say yes.
I groaned inwardly. In all truth, going with her to get a blood test done was the last thing I wanted to do. But I didn't think that she would have gone peacefully with Alia. Sighing, I said yes.
She smiled and hugged me. Well, she hugged my knees more than my actual self. But, strangely enough, the pressure of sadness lifted slightly when she did that. Just enough for me to notice.
Maybe... maybe it was then-
{ Yes, the cut off is supposed to be there }