Closing the door, the red-armored man begins to walk through the hallways, thinking. He couldn't remember much, and the only thing that seemed familiar to him was the word "zero". When his master was called that, it felt like something he had once owned. But what was it? What did this simple word mean to him? Thinking about it brought up only more headaches like before, but it was his only lead. Walking through the corridors, he notices a few people milling about, but as soon as he appears they all stop and stare at him. They were stares of curiosity, amusement, disgust, and some even had fear. Was he that imposing? Sure, he stood out and was rather tall, but to scare someone like that?
He didn't like it. Quickening his pace, he finds an exit to the building and walks out. The night air feels cool to him, and the sky dark, but dotted with bright stars. What was odd, however, was the moon. Rather than one, there were two large moons, one red and one blue. Thinking to himself, he recalls that there should only be one moon. If he remembers that there's supposed to be only one moon, then why are there two? Let alone the fact that of all things to remember, why would it be something as simple as that? It was puzzling, to say in the least. Mulling over the moon bit, he recalls other simple things, like his planet's name, the name a various stars, and eventually a whole range of basic knowledge.
Along with all the mundane things that came back to him, he recalled one particular word that stuck out to him. "Reploid". Was that what he was? Although part of him wanted to say that yes, he was indeed a reploid, another part of him, deeper down, denied that. If that was the case, then what is he, really? Once again, nothing but headaches seem to follow such intense thought, so perhaps it's still too early to try to think over something like that.
Looking up at the sky again, he notices someone looking out their window at him. It's the red-haired woman from before, it seems. Staring straight back at her in her eyes, she flinches back, and retreats into her room. Did he scare her or something? It might be a good idea to ask someone about this later, as he didn't want to intimidate every person he meets. Looking at the academy's grounds, he decides it might be a good idea to get a basic map of the area in his mind. Walking over to the side of the tower, he grabs one of the stones that was jutting out slightly and pulls himself up enough to get his feet on the wall. With that, he kicks against it, pushing himself up and away from the wall, before using thrusters in his feet to push himself towards the wall, landing on its side. He repeats this process until he scales the tower to the top, making sure to avoid windows and being as quiet as possible. Looking down to see if anyone saw him out their window, he doesn't see anyone, with only a few windows even open. Getting back so he wouldn't be seen, he looks out at the rest of the area and notices that there are five towers set into the shape of a pentagram, each with a differently colored roof. With the setup, it appears more like a castle than an academy. In the middle of the area is a taller, grander tower, connected to four of the five towers. The only tower with no connection to the central one was the one with the purple roof. Looking at the ground, he made note of the locations of various smaller buildings, and a few large ones. Finishing up with his mental map, he decides that he might as well get some sleep. While he didn't need it, it would make time seemingly pass by faster. Laying down on his back and crossing his arms, he closes his eyes and sleeps a largely unnecessary sleep.
It was dim. Around him were a few scientists and a blue-armored man. The blue one spoke up to him.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I'm positive," his dream-self responded. "With me around, there will only be more fighting. You saw what Wiel did. If I'm locked up here where nobody can get me, then you'll be able to lead and accomplish our dream."
"But with Wiel gone, nobody would be able to use you again!"
"That's what we thought when Sigma was defeated for good. Look how that ended."
Looking down, the blue one sighed to himself, and then looked back up. "Well, we'll all miss you, but we'll never forget you."
"Don't worry, X. Just keep those Z-Sabers as mementos. If necessary, give them to someone else if they need to use them. Just make sure it's going to the right person, alright?"
Nodding to him, the one known as X responded. "I will Zero. I'll make this world a peaceful one, where Reploids and Humans live together. My father wanted that, and we both have as well. Your saber will never be used for the wrong things."
"Thanks X. I know I can count on you."
"Have a good sleep." After X says this, his dream-self walked into a capsule, which hooked itself up to his body, and then closed. Shortly after that, everything faded to darkness, with the last thing he saw being X just standing there, looking at him with a saddened expression on his face.
He wakes up, someone shaking his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he looks to his right and sees a blue-haired girl with red glasses prodding him. "Morning," she simply says. Getting up, he shakes his head and turns to her, noticing to see a blue dragon behind her. Putting this bit of information away for later, he asks her a question.
"Do you know if my 'master' is awake yet?" In response, the girl shakes her head from side to side. Nodding to her, he begins to walk to the edge of the roof, only to stop. He turns to her and asks her another question. "Do I intimidate you?" Seeing her shake her head from side to side again, he gives her a quick thanks and leaps off of the edge of the roof, plummeting down towards the ground. Landing with a thump and startling a few nearby students, he walks to the inside of the tower and quickly makes his way to Louise's room, recalling the way he came the night before.
Coming to the hallway leading to Louise's room, he stops when another door opens up. Out of it comes the redhead from the day before, and she looks at him with a bit of surprise. "I didn't expect to see you here," she remarks. "Off to wake up Louise?" Nodding his head to her, he walks past her and over to Louise's door and knocks it rather loudly several times. Hearing mumbling coming from inside, he backs off to give the door room to open, after which said door opens and a disgruntled strawberry-blonde haired girl glares at him, then looks at him with a little surprise.
"It's time to get up," he says to her. With that, she retreats back into her room, closing the door in the process. He leans against the wall next to the door in wait. The redhead still stands there, with a look of amusement on her face. Deciding the silence was boring, she attempts to initiate a conversation with the man.
"So, remember anything yet?"
"No," Zero responds simply.
"Don't worry. I'm sure it'll come back eventually. I imagine you weren't exactly a commoner, seeing how you're far from the usual meekness of one." Raising a barely-seen eyebrow at that, he just stands there and waits. After a few minutes, the door opens again, with Louise coming out and looking far more proper than she did moments earlier.
"What do you want Zerbst?" she speaks up. It was less of a question and more of an irritated command.
"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to know if you and your Familiar had made any progress on his memory."
Ignoring her, Louise speaks up to the man. "Familiar, for your disobedience last night, you're not getting breakfast. Now, let's go." With that, she begins to walk off. Shrugging his shoulders, he follows, not particularly caring either way at her declaration. "Since you won't be eating, I expect you to just wait outside with the other Familiars. In fact, you could wash my clothes while you wait. Go back to my room and pick up the dirty clothes, and then you can ask one of the staff members where and how to wash it." With that, she walks off, ignoring him. Turning around, he heads to the room while the redhead, Zerbst as she was called, looks at him with curiosity.
"You really don't mind not eating?" she asks.
"I don't really need to worry about food," he responds.
"But everyone has to eat, dear."
"You two might need to eat, but I don't have to worry about that." After he says this, her eyes widen a bit.
"So then, what are you?"
"I ask you keep this to yourself for the time being, Zerbst. You might enjoy the look on her face if I'm the one to tell her. As for what I am, I'm not entirely certain, although I do have a general idea." After saying this, he walks into Louise's room and spots the dirty clothes quickly, particularly because of their odor, although their slight dishevelment certainly helped. Grabbing all of them, he heads out the door and notices Zerbst still standing there, but this time with a large reptilian-looking creature that was letting off a fair amount of heat. Seeing him take notice of her familiar, Zerbst decides to tell him of her it.
"The sight is impressive, isn't it? This is Flame, my familiar. Unlike Louise, who summoned you, I summoned a fire salamander. And another thing; I'm Kirche the Ardent. Zerbst is part of my full name, but most refer to me by either Kirche or Kirche the Ardent. Well, unlike you, I need to eat, so I'll be seeing you around Familiar of Zero." After this, she walks off, Flame following her.
'There's that word again,' he muses to himself, 'and it seems certainly familiar.' Heading off through the halls to search for help in his newly assigned task, he continues his train of thought. 'Speaking of which, wasn't I referred as "Zero" in that dream? First, there was the blue-armored man. If I recall correctly, he was called X, and that name certainly sounds familiar. Likewise, X had referred to me as Zero, and that was just as familiar, if not more so. There were two other names as well, Wiel and Sigma. When I think of those names, I feel... hate. Disgust and hate, nothing more. Thinking a bit more upon them yields nothing else at the moment so it might be best to ignore them and focus on X.'
'Odd,' he continues thinking, 'when I think of X, I feel the exact opposite compared to Sigma and Wiel. I feel a sort of kinship when I think of him, almost as if he's... a brother? But yet I know that's not the case. If I know something like that for sure, then what else can I remember about myself?' Before he can continue, he almost bumps into someone. Stopping himself just before hitting them, he gets a quick look at her. She had short, black hair with blue eyes, and she was wearing a maid outfit. "Excuse me," the man speaks up, "but are you by chance a part of the staff?"
"Oh! Why yes, I am," she responds. "Do you need me to wash those?"
"No, I'll do it myself. I just need to know the location of the washing facilities. Do you mind showing me?"
"Not at all, come this way." After saying this she begins to lead the man off through the halls. "By the way, my name's Siesta. What's yours?"
"I'm not sure, though people have either called me Familiar or Familiar of Zero. It's mostly because I can't remember my name."
"Oh, that's not right. We need to call you something other than that!"
"It's alright, really."
"No it isn't!" she says while turning around to face him. "Everyone should have a proper name! So…" she stops to think to herself, as if trying to decide on something. Suddenly, she gets an inspiration and starts to speak again. "I've got it. Until you can remember your name, I'll call you William! How does that sound?"
Staring at her, he eventually shrugs his shoulders, not really caring either way. "It'll do, I suppose."
Smiling at him, she turns back around and continues to lead him to their destination. Finally arriving to a fountain with a washboard nearby it, they both sit down on its edge. Putting the clothes into a pile nearby, the man grabs the washboard and some detergent, and starts on the pile of clothing, scrubbing away at stains and removing odors.
"You said they called you "Familiar of Zero" earlier. Does that mean that Louise the Zero summoned you?" Nodding his head, she continues. "Do you know why she's called Zero?" Shaking his head in response, she then explains. "I've heard that it's because she always fails at magic. Apparently, every one of her spells ends up as an explosion. Odd, but still, I almost feel sorry for her, given that she's ridiculed so much because of that."
"You said 'almost'."
"Yes, well, I generally don't like the nobles here. Very few treat us commoners like people, and given that I've yet to see them treat even one of us as if we were a normal person, I don't think any actually do. Just because they have magic doesn't mean they can mistreat us, since we're people too."
'Treating people like lesser beings just because they were different than you, huh?' Zero thinks. 'Something about that just doesn't feel right. It also feels like something I've stood against before.'
Quickly going through the clothes, Siesta then takes some of them and brings them over to a clothing line to hang and dry. He picks up the rest and hangs them up as well. Finished with that chore, he then asks another question. "Do you mind showing me the area where the students eat? I need to check on my 'master'."
"Sure!" she answers with a chipper tone. Both of them begin to head off to the dining hall, reaching it in a short amount of time. The man heads over to the entrance, but is stopped by Siesta. "I'm sorry, and I don't mean to offend, but familiars aren't supposed to enter. I don't know what they'll do to you if you go in."
"I'll be fine." With that, he enters the hall and begins to scan the tables for Louise, Noticing the tables were filled with respectively matching cloaks, he goes through the middle table until he sees Louise's hair color. Noting it was distinctive enough that almost no one shared it, he begins to walk over to her location, drawing quite a few stares in the process. Once he was up to Louise, she had already turned to face him.
"I already told you that you can't have breakfast."
"I don't need it. I just came to see if you were done yet or not."
Staring at him with an expression of confusion, she asks, "What do you mean you don't need it? Did you steal food? You better not have."
"No, it's just I don't need to eat. I never said I was human, you know." After saying this, her eyes open with shock, and then narrow.
"Why didn't you tell me this?"
"You never asked. By the way, your laundry's drying, and it should be done shortly." With that, he turns around and then walks out of the hall, noticing Kirche and the blue-haired girl from earlier, with amused and curious looks, respectively. Once outside, he leans against the wall of the building, waiting for Louise to finish. After a while, she eventually does come out. Heading over to him she talks to him in an irritated voice.
"We need to talk. Now." Walking over to a courtyard with the man following, she then sits down at a table, with him sitting opposite of her. "You're not supposed to sit there. It's for nobles only."
"I'd rather sit for this. As you said, we need to talk."
Nodding her head, she asks the first question on her mind. "You said you weren't human. If not, then what are you?"
"I think I'm a Reploid. I imagine there aren't any here typically, so I'll explain. Reploid is short for Replicate Android. They're designed to think and act just like humans, but because we're mechanical in nature, we can have more formidable bodies. Some Reploids work in special areas that humans can't, while others have simple jobs like that of humans. Since we have free will like humans, we're able to make our own decisions, hence the fact we're given strenuous jobs. Unfortunately, because we have that free will, we can also become criminals as humans can."
"What do you mean by mechanical?"
"Just that; I'm a machine. With metal and wiring making up a fair amount of my body, I can't eat food like you do."
"So you're like a golem then?"
"Not exactly."
"But you have a mouth with a tongue and teeth." She was beginning to get really confused, and her face showed it.
"It's for speaking," he answers, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
"But how do you get energy?"
"I absorb solar energy. I just stand out in the sun's rays and I absorb it, kind of like a plant."
"...What?"
"It might be best to ignore the specifics for now, and focus on more important things. Your next question?"
Thinking to herself to absorb what she was just told, she then asks her next question. "Has your memory started to return in any way? Also, I'm going to need proof on that Reploid bit later."
"Given that I won't be eating anything while I'm here, I think you'll realize it's true soon enough. For my memory, I only remembered the Reploid thing last night when I looked up at the moon. Well, moons."
"What do you mean?"
"I noticed having two moons was odd, and I tried to recall why. After doing so, I remembered a lot of basic stuff; well, basic for me anyways. Where I'm from we have only one moon, with it being a silver or gray-ish color and being a fair bit smaller in comparison to these two."
"I suppose that's a but... unusual. Anything else?"
"I also had an odd dream last night. I'm not sure if it was actually me in it, but still, everything about it was very familiar. It was with me talking to a blue-armored man, and I said his name was X. When I think of him, I think of someone very close, like a brother of sorts, even though I know he wasn't actually my brother. There was also what he called me, although I'm not sure if it's a nickname or my actual name."
"Well, what did he call you?"
"Zero." After he says this, Louise's eyebrow noticeably twitches. "Another thing. Every time I've heard that term in my time here, it has sounded familiar. When they called you 'Louise the Zero' and when I was called 'Familiar of Zero', I felt like they were referring to me, even if briefly."
"We're not calling you Zero."
"One of the maids insisted on calling me William as a temporary name."
"Even if I didn't choose it, it's better than what you think your name is."
For some reason, he felt offended by this. "I'll figure out my real name soon enough."
"Did you get anything else from the dream?"
"Only two other names, and when I think of them, I feel just a cold hate towards them. I think they might have done something to me in the past."
"Just a cold hate? Odd... I just have one more question, and it's about when I summoned you. Normally, the ritual brings the familiar to the master, however I got sent to you. You were on your knees and held up by what looked like ropes, and you were missing most of your arms, with other parts of you ripped open and dirty. Also, we were in old, decrepit ruins of some sort. Anything on that?"
Thinking to himself, the man responds, "No, I can't remember anything like that."
Sighing to herself, Louise speaks again, "I suppose that this will do for now, since it's been only a day or so. We will need to get you a more proper name than William though."
"Well, it doesn't matter at the moment. I'm going to go check on your laundry, it might be dry soon." With that said, he walks off to where he and Siesta had washed and hung the clothes. Reaching the location in a few minutes, he sees Siesta already there taking down some of the clothes. Noticing him, she speaks up.
"Oh, I didn't think you'd be back already. I was going to fold these and take then to Louise's room so you wouldn't have to."
"It's alright, I'll get them." Before she can protest, he already takes the clothing in her hands and folds it, putting it in a neat pile with the rest, and then moves onto what was still hanging, quickly taking it down and folding it faster than Siesta would have, keeping all of it orderly in the process.
"Are you used to this kind of work?" she asks.
"No, but it's easy. Really, folding something shouldn't be too hard."
"Well, when you put it that way, I suppose it does seem easier than it is." As she grabs some of the pile, the man takes the rest and they both head off to Louise's room, reaching it in a few minutes without saying much. Putting the clothes up, he then asks her a question.
"Do you need to do anything else today? I don't have anything to do at the moment, so I'll gladly help you since you helped me."
"Well, if you insist. I'm supposed to pass out various sweets to the nobles soon, so if you'd come with me, please. And thank you for the offer."
"Don't worry about it, I just need to find a way to pass the time." Following her through the halls yet again, they eventually reach the kitchen, where Siesta grabs an already-prepared cart with various cakes and other similar food items on it. Walking along next to the cart, they go out to a courtyard with various tables and seats scattered about, and various nobles with their Familiars were there, chatting and getting used to each other. Siesta began to walk from table to table asking the nobles if they wanted anything. If they did, Zero would grab the item in question and give it to them, once again getting quite a few odd stares. As they went about, he saw a young boy surrounded by other students. It seemed they were poking fun at him, but Zero paid them no mind until something fell out of the boy's pocket. Walking over to it, he noticed it was a vial filled with a strangely colored liquid, possibly a perfume of sorts. Picking it up, he walks over to the boy and imitates clearing his throat to grab the boy's attention. Noticing him, the boy speaks up.
"What do you want, Familiar of Zero? I'm a bit busy here, you see."
"This fell out of your pocket." After showing him the vial, the boy speaks up again.
"Why, that is not mine," he says with slight trepidation showing on his face. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Zero replies, "I saw it fall out, so it must be yours." Putting the vial on the table next to the boy, he walks off, and then hears the other students raise a commotion again, this time over the vial. Heading off before he can get caught up in things, he goes over to Siesta. "Let's continue." She nods her head and begins pushing the cart from table to table again, both of them ignoring the spectacle surrounding the boy. Unfortunately, before they can finish passing out the sweets, the boy in question heads over to them, with wine in his hair and a red handprint on his face.
"Halt right there!" Stopping to turn and face him, both Zero and Siesta look at him in his condition. Siesta holds a look of amusement on her face while Zero just holds a steady neutral look. "Because of you, the reputations of two ladies were just damaged. I ignored the perfume in the hope that you would catch on and keep it for yourself, but you just left it there and allowed this to happen. How do you intend to take responsibility?"
Narrowing his eyes at him slightly, Zero coldly responds, "Do you even know the meaning of responsibility?"
"Well of course I do! Unlike you, who can't even remember his own name."
"I'm sorry, but all I did was give you something that fell out of your pocket. Whether or not this was a problem for any kind of plan of yours isn't my fault, as you should've thought of this outcome in the first place and planned appropriately." After he says this, the other students burst out laughing.
One of them speaks up between laughter, "He's right, it's your fault Guiche!" With this statement, Guiche's face goes red with embarrassment.
"I wouldn't expect a noble's wits from the commoner that Louise the Zero had summoned. I apologize for my mistake. You may leave now."
Shaking his head, Zero speaks up again, "When I hear the term 'nobility', I expect someone who's noble. However, all I've seen here are cowards who expect their names to do all the work for them." Turning around, he quickly mutters to Siesta. "Let's go." However, before they can do so, Guiche addresses them again.
"It would seem that you don't know the proper etiquette for addressing a noble."
"I do, actually. It's just that you aren't deserving of the title of a 'noble'."
"If you truly believe so, then I shall teach you a lesson about respect." Suddenly pointing a rose at the man in red, he then shouts, "I challenge you to a duel!" With this, Zero quickly turns around and faces the boy yet again, this time with a hostile glare. Guiche, however, is too caught up with his own theatrics to notice or care. "A perfect way to relieve some stress. I'll meet you at the Vestri Court whenever you finish delivering those cakes." With that, he walks off, followed by some of the other students who chatted amongst themselves excitedly.
Turning to Siesta, Zero speaks to her, "Well, let's finish up with those cakes." However, on Siesta's face was only shock.
"You're going to get killed."
"I somehow doubt it."
"But you've angered a noble…" With that, she rushes off in a hurry. Sighing to himself, he prepares to ask one of the students still in the area where Vestri Court is, but is stopped by Louise, who gets in front of him.
"I saw that ordeal," she says. "What do you think you're doing? Human or not, you won't survive."
"I'll be fine. Do you know where Vestri Court is?"
"I'll only tell you if you choose to apologize to him."
"I shouldn't have to apologize for his mistakes," he says to her. "Just tell me where it is." With that, Louise raises her arm to slap him, but is quickly stopped by his hand. She struggles to remove it from his grip, but she can't even budge either of their arms in the slightest. Letting go of her hand, he proceeds to ignore anything else she says and asks a student nearby for the location of the duel. After the noble boy answers he walks off, brushing Louise aside when she tries to stop him. Quickly reaching the area, he sees a large crowd cheering Guiche on, although there are a few separate from them whispering to themselves worriedly.
"I've heard that that commoner isn't even human."
"I saw him jump off of one of the towers and land perfectly!"
"He might be a mage who's remembering his powers. Maybe Guiche won't stand a chance…"
Ignoring them for the most part, he stops fifteen feet away from Guiche. The crowd quiets down and focuses on them. Guiche is the first to speak.
"First of all, I commend you for coming here instead of running away!"
"Are you going to start the duel or not?"
"Very well then, if you're so anxious to be beaten, then so be it." After he says this, he flicks out a petal, which lands and turns into a statue of a Valkyrie. "Behold the might of my bronze Valkyrie! It's a shame my fine craftsmanship will be stained by your blood, but I suppose some things are simply meant to be." After Guiche finishes talking, the golem immediately rushes over to the man's location, intending on punching him in the stomach.
It didn't get the chance. The moment it gets close, Zero's armored arm intercepts its fist and throws the golem over his shoulder, smashing it into the ground and leaving a noticeable crater, as well as smashing the head of the golem. Gasps of shock and awe resound all around, and Guiche begins to panic. "I-impossible! No normal man, let alone a commoner, can so easily toss aside my Valkyries like that!" Immediately after this, he sends out six more petals which all turn into golems, although this time they were armed with lethal weapons, causing Zero to narrow his eyes at the boy. They quickly surrounded him, spears, shields, and swords all pointed at him. One with a sword rushed him, aiming to impale him, but he grabbed its sword in his left hand and pried it away, tossing it into the air and grabbing it by the handle. With this, the runes in his left hand started glowing. Taking note of it for later, he quickly slashes through the golem's shield and through the golem itself, cutting it in half horizontally. At this moment, a vision begins to occur to him.
He was still himself for sure, but instead of a bronze sword in his hand there was a glowing green blade, and likewise the golem's remains had been replaced with damaged, burnt machinery. Around him were similar machines, and they quickly rushed him all at once. Jumping up to a point where he's unreachable to them, he lands on the head of one and stabs the sword straight down through its core. He jumps off of it and behind another one, bringing his sword down vertically and slicing it cleanly in half. Another one close by tries to impale him with a spear with a glowing tip, but he grabs the spear by the staff, yanks it out of the machine's hands, quickly turns it around so the tip would face the machine, and impales it with the spear, after which he swings the impaled machine towards another, sending them both down. With only two left, they both attack him at the same time, aiming high and low to prevent him from jumping. Instead, he dashes back out of the way, and when the two were recovering, he dashes forward and slices through the two diagonally, letting them drop to the ground like their fallen brethren. Getting up from his position, he sees a blue-armored figure running toward him.
"I'm glad to see you're alright, Zero."
With that, reality takes over. Looking around him, he immediately notices that the golems were all now defeated in a similar manner he had defeated the enemies in his vision. Likewise, in place of the blue one, he sees Louise, looking at him with surprise, awe, and a little anger. Did he really do all of this?
"Impossible. No one's been able to stop all of my Valkyries by themselves without magic!" Guiche suddenly speaks up, his voice laced with fear, and he hesitantly asks the man a question. "Just what is your true name, commoner? Surely you must have remembered something like that by now."
Once again, the question regarding his memories is brought up. However, even if he can't remember much about himself, there was one thing he was certain of by now.
"My name is not 'commoner', nor is it 'Familiar'." With a firm tone, he finishes, "My name is Zero."
