Author's Notes; Mythological/Royalty AU. Shounen Ai. Fluffy. Tension. Sorrow. Here's the deal; I got out of DMA 040 2 weeks before the course finishes and now have to wait and dread for DMA 050..Then, I'll be done with my math prerequisites..Raged right through 040 apparently, even lost a chunk of hair to it..Oh well..Zero's sacrificing himself so that they don't have to live in constant fear of death from Wily's forces..Zero's scythe has a voodoo-like effect with him if someone else that has some of his power inside them, namely X..It transfers any contact from that power holder to Zero, meaning Zero will feel X's touches and sense any other energy produced by the scythe itself like the barrier..It and the armor were both made in the Netherworld in this story, there's lots of room for creative liberty..This kinda came up on the fly, but was also inspired slightly by an episode from Ed, Edd, and Eddy where Eddy pinches Ed's shadow and Ed feels it..Plus, thanks to Sly 3 and living on the coast, I'm no stranger to pirate and sailor talk..Is it crazy for someone aged nearly 26 to have this sort of imagination and so many sudden inspirations..? If so, I'm loving every minute of it..Please enjoy..
Snow showers arrived as Zero flew into St. Petersburg. It proved to be no impairment to him and X was warm and cozy under his red mane. His hair was like a very thick blanket, insulating him as Zero flew and touched down not far from the harbor, spotting a cruiseship collecting passengers. He allowed X to stay on his back and keep warm until it was their turn to board.
The captain grew suspicious of Zero's armor, spotting X's hands and legs around his body, and questioned Zero in Russian. Zero explained to him that he was letting X keep warm and that their voyage bound for Germany was arranged by Light, whom the captain recognized since Light was an old friend of their Czar and allowed Zero to board. The steward showed them to their cabin, passing Zero a key to it and X a spare key just in case. Zero thanked the steward as they went into their cabin. He looked around the cabin, seeing that it had a kitchen, bathroom, and den with two beds and a fireplace. He used a small spark of lightning to light the fireplace, creating an ominous purple flame, but it generated much warmth even at a distance, regardless of its strange color.
X crawled off of Zero's back, looking at the flame as it flickered in the fireplace. Zero grinned and deactivated his armor, setting his helmet on the nightstand beside the closer bed. He had kept his robe in the form of wings on his back and sat down beside X, patting the floor beside him to get X to sit down too. X did so with a smile and crawled into Zero's lap, watching Zero close his wings around him to insulate him. "Zero, how do people of your kind court or try to be romantic?" Zero shrugged. "The Netherworld is very primitive, X, as are its creatures. We possess little if any concept of romance, we just focus on survival. If we doth find another we think is worthy of mating in our eyes, we wait until we can get them alone. Then, we mate, sometimes brutally, roughing up the other. Infants often doth not get to stay with their parents. Death of the mother after childbirth is common and the father usually leaves." X shook his head. "That's very sad. Have you done that?" Zero grinned and shook his head. "Until thou came along, I did not desire a mate. I am innocent of this at least. How doth thy kind court?" X pondered a little, inexperienced but explained based on what he had seen in their old kingdom. "Based on what my sister told me and what I've seen, we usually date a person of interest for months and sometimes years. We do things together like eating, hugging, talking, getting to know each other, hand-holding, things like that. When we're sure we want to spend our lives together, we get engaged and this is usually marked with engagement rings until we setup a marriage and get actual wedding bands." Zero listened carefully. "Hmm, wouldst thy kind consider defense against danger and self-less assistance as romantic?" X nodded deeply. "In an age where most people are mostly detached from the threats of dangerous animals and ill-intentioned people, such deeds are rare and considered romantic and chivalrous. Defending someone in those situations are considered the epitome of romantic gestures. Its hard to find someone who will protect you with their life and vice versa these days. Not many have that sort of gut or will." Zero looked down at X, blushing and rubbing his back. "So, by thy standards, standing in thy defense is romantic and noble. Therefore, before we crossed the sea, I endeared thee? I was doing it right?" X nodded deeply again. "Very much so." Zero made his left hand glow purple. "In regards to this engagement concept, please taketh this." He made a black ring with the red capital letters of Z and X together in the center appear on X's left ring finger, making one of his own on his own left ring finger too. X looked at the ring. "An engagement ring? Danke sehr, Zero." He snuggled into Zero smiling widely and Zero snuggled back, enjoying each other's warmth as the ship set off into the waters of the Baltic.
The ship sailed gently through the Baltic for days. When X and Zero looked on from the guardrails on deck, Zero could name some areas in the countries, showing X that he had become a seasoned traveller thanks to his father. He could name areas of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and even Poland.
On the final night before they would arrive in Germany, the ship was attacked and raided by pirates hired by Wily to find and send to him anyone involved in protecting Light. The steward tired to keep everyone calm as the pirates boarded and stormed across the ship. X and Zero kept themselves hidden in their cabin. Zero had his armor on as a cautionary measure, holding a trembling and frightened X close to his warm chest lens, keeping quiet as the pirates checked every room on the ship.
A boot kicked down their cabin door after things had seemed to quiet down. The captain pointed his cutlass at them. "Thar be the bloomin' flying boy from before an' Light's son. Take 'em to the brig." Two more pirates came in and towards them. "Touch him and thou will breathe no more, vermin. Leave him be. I am the only one thou art taking away." Zero threatened. X's eyes widened. "Zero, no!" Zero leaned his head to X's ear. 'Still thy tongue, dear. There is an opportunity to be rid of Wily present. If they take me to Wily, I could do away with him. Thou and thy father wouldst no longer live in fear.' He whispered. X quietly gasped, realizing the brilliance of Zero's plan, and hugged him tightly for a long several minutes, enjoying his warmth while he could. The brunette slowly got up and the pirates shackled Zero, leading him away and onto their ship.
When the pirates were out of sight with Zero captive, X was in fetal position weeping heavily. The breeze from outside made the room very cold. A familiar warmth suddenly filled the cabin. Sparks of Zero's lightning had lingered in the fireplace and ignited once more into a purple flame. A sad X slowly crawled to the fireplace to warm up, fearing the worst and hoping Zero was ok. Another purple hue was caught from the corner of X's eye, making him turn his head. There, in the left corner near the broken door was Zero's scythe, leaning against the corner of the wall. X sniffled as he got up and walked to the glowing scythe. The red of the blade reminded him of Zero's red mane as he approached it. He hesitantly reached out and held the pole of the scythe. It was strangely warm for a dark ominous object, much like its master. X caught Zero's scent and essence through a stuffed up nose as he held it, seeing the purple glow fade away. He carried the scythe back to the fireplace and hugged it carefully as if it really truly was Zero, unaware that it encased him in a protective purple forcefield just like the one Zero had set over Cossack's palace.
Below the brigg of the pirates' ship, Zero sat imprisoned and quiet, hoping that X would be ok. He hated being without X, he found, but he wanted it so that neither Light, himself, or X would have to worry about being terrorized by Wily's forces. In that sense, this was the best opportunity to get rid of the old fool. In the same instance that X grasped his scythe, Zero felt a surge of power go through his body, tainted with a familiar presence. 'He hath my scythe.' He whispered in the cursed tongue so no one could understand him from above nor hear him. It felt like X was holding him directly, except he wasn't. He had been keeping his scythe close at hand the whole time on the surface and through this experience, he learned how his scythe and armor could work together when apart. With this, since X bore some of Zero's power, the scythe transferred X's touches to his armor, thus sending them to his body. When X sat in front of the warm fireplace and hugged the scythe back on the cruiseship, Zero felt X's touch and warmth surging through him, as if X was really there. He could sense the barrier produced by the scythe to protect its co-master and whispered in German, 'This shall pass, X. We shalt endure it together, even if we art separate.' X kept the scythe tightly in his arms, not even noticing that Zero's German whisper was now written in purple on the red blade of the scythe.