Author's Notes; Royal AU. Shounen-Ai. Fluffy. Drama. Suspense. Been a while since I've written and I'm going through shite at the moment so clearly, this was the best time..Sigma's remark of Zero having a heart is based on a theory of mine..In this story, most witches and warlocks are born without hearts, thus making them a bit harder to kill..To the witches and warlocks of the story, the ones that are born with a heart are rumored to serve a greater purpose in life along with possibly being capable of immortality..and since alcohol does in fact go to the brain first, which controls all bodily functions, this would also impact anything in the body permitting and controlling the use of magic..Aye, I'm a nerd..Please enjoy..
Zero wasted little time preparing for his trip to Sigma's hidden base. He took off almost immediately. He'd been to their base before, his fights with Sigma were often either inside or just outside the base. The blond still couldn't believe they kidnapped X and promised to make their ends slow and painful. King Light respected Zero's decision to go alone as he watched him fly away, but he informed King Wily and Czar Cossack, who deployed their armies to meet in Lebanon. Zero's army knew the way to the base.
It took him half the night to reach the base. In a lower part of the mountainous area, an old stairway protruded from underground, which most passerbys disregarded or barely noticed. He quietly tread down the stairs and using ghost-like magic, phased through the door. The door led into the prison cell area of the base and he could see X in one of the cells. He phased through the front of the cell and sat behind X before making himself visible. X was wide awake wondering where Zero was until the rattling and movement of the chains snapped him out of his thoughts and made him turn his head. 'Zero! You came for me.' The blond nodded as he picked the locks of X's chains with his claws. 'Of course.' X smiled happily at him. 'You're my hero.' Zero chuckled quietly as he removed X's arm shackles and moved to his legs. 'I'm no hero.' Once all of X's shackles were off, he pulled X into a tight hug. X smiled more as he hugged back. 'Let's get out of here before Dynamo comes back.' Zero shook his head. 'You go ahead. I have to stay.' The brunette raised an eyebrow. 'What? Why?' The blond sighed, lowering his head and wings. 'The reason why they captured you...is to bait and capture me. They realized you were close to me. He's likely going to try and recruit me to help him dominate the world.' X gasped quietly. 'B-But...' He was too surprised to finish his sentence. 'Listen, X, my sweet little human, you have to escape as fast as possible. Get as far away as you can. I will figure out a way to fool him and escape as well.' Zero told him. X was left without any words and a few tears escaped those emerald eyes as the blond released him, letting him stand up. 'X, if the absolute worst happens and he decides to kill me instead, I'll live on in your heart. Don't forget that.' The blond held his hand on X's chest, who was crying more now and nodded before pushing the unlocked cell door open. Zero watched him escape as Dynamo came into the prison area, taking notice of Zero and not bothering to pursue the escaping X.
Dynamo restrained Zero with magic-resistant shackles on his arms and pushed him towards the main room where the older warlock awaited them. Sigma smirked when he saw Zero. "Foolish youth. Coming all the way here to get yourself captured for the sake of a friend. Your friend must not care much if he's left without you." Zero knew Sigma was wrong, but didn't retort. He knew that's what Sigma wanted him to do. "You're a very unlucky warlock, Zero, especially since you're one of the few of our kind born with a heart. I could easily kill you with those shackles on if you don't cooperate." Sigma smirked more, pointing one finger to the chest lens of Zero's armor. The blond nodded quietly. "Go to the bunkers, General, and devise a plan for us to take over France. That's where our world conquest will begin." Dynamo lead Zero down another flight of stairs to the bunkers. It was dark, filthy, and empty, hardly a place for thinking. The white-haired man went back up the stairs, locking the door behind him while Sigma had gotten out several old bottles of ale and wine to celebrate Zero's capture.
X made his way up the stairs and slowly onto the hills. He felt horrible for leaving Zero behind, but he also couldn't control his crying as he thought about what Zero was doing. Was Zero going to be killed? Or was he going to become X's enemy as well as the world's enemy? X just couldn't believe his lover would do it, it just seemed impossible. He knew Zero was smarter than that. "Please, don't let him die." X said aloud sadly as his tears continued to overflow. He shivered a little from the cold mountain air as he headed for a campfire visible in the distance.
The German and Russian armies met just a little north of Sigma's base. The Germans showed them the vicinity of the base and began discussing how to break X out and how to finally capture Sigma once and for all. After a while of walking, X drew near their campsite, hoping they would let him at least warm up. Some of the troops of Zero's army noticed him. "Halt! Who goes there?" X stopped. "Prince X of France." He said sadly. The troops lowered their weapons and most of the soldiers came to see him. "Prince X, are you alright?" asked the leader of Cossack's army. He was an older man who looked like he'd been in service for a long time. "Yes, I'm ok." X sniffled, wiping his tears away. "Its great that you're safe, your highness, but where is Captain Zero?" asked one of the German soldiers. This made X cry again. "Zero...Your Captain came to rescue me and took my place, letting Usurper Sigma capture him." The German soldiers were shocked, murmuring about how odd yet noble of their captain to do such a thing. The Russians led X towards the campfire and covered him in a blanket, equally as confused of the news.
In the old underground bunker, the only thing Zero's mind could focus on was X. He hoped his beloved human had gotten far away safely. He was completely unaware that his and the Russian armies had been called out and hardly expected any sort of rescue. The blond wished he had a means of contacting X to tell him that he was alright. He remembered an old ability taught to him by the hermit outside of his hometown and decided to give it a try.
X explained the situation to the two armies who were completely baffled that Zero would fall for the trap. They had no idea how to free him or what they would do if Zero really did switch sides. The Germans knew of Zero being a warlock and how unstoppable he was. The two armies tried all through the night to devise a plan while X moved to one of the army wagons, staring at the sky. He hoped Zero was ok and almost thought one of the soldiers sounded just like him. He began to hear a voice in his head.
'X?' The voice in his head called.
The brunette ignored it, but got curious when he heard it again. 'Where are you, X?' asked the voice. "Zero?" X asked in response. 'Yes, X, I'm speaking to you telepathically, another thing the old hermit taught me. I'm alright, my love.' X cried happily. "That's a big relief." Zero was almost motionless in the bunker. His mouth didn't move as he spoke, it was all coming from his mind. 'Are you ok? You sound like you've been crying still.' X nodded. "Yeah, I'm ok. I found your army and the Russian army. They're taking care of me for now." 'Really? What are they doing? How far away are they?' Zero asked. "We're about 7 miles from Sigma's base. They originally came to help me, but ever since they made me explain the situation, they've been trying to figure out how to free you." Zero shrugged. 'Your father must've notified Cossack and Wily when I left. Well, there might be a way since Sigma's celebrating my capture. He and Dynamo have gotten really loud.' X raised his eyebrow. "What does that have to do with it?" Zero chuckled slightly. 'You'd be surprised. Alcohol first impacts the brain which as I'm sure you know controls all the body's functions, impairing them in humans. Its the same with witches and warlocks, but there is another drawback for us. Witches and warlocks are never supposed to consume alcohol because it impairs and wears down our ability to produce and use our magic if enough is consumed. While this is an ideal time to strike while they're off-guard, wait until the crack of dawn to get the armies to move.' X was surprised. "I get it. Wait until dawn when they're intoxicated so much that they won't be able to fight back." Zero chuckled and nodded more. 'Exactly, dearest. They should be too drunk to do anything and probably passed out too. They'll be in jail or worse by the time they wake up.' X smiled and nodded. "I'll be sure to tell them."
X soon relayed Zero's words to the two armies. The Germans nodded in approval of the plan, but the Russians were new allies, they didn't know as much about the German Captain as they did so they followed the Germans' lead and patiently waited for dawn. A little relaxed knowing that Zero was ok, X managed to catch a little sleep before dawn broke.
