"…Ciel?"

"I told you…she never existed. I'm Zero."

Ciel and Lan were standing face to face, their eyes firmly locked onto one another. Lan was still trying to grasp the meaning of what Ciel had just told him.

She was…Zero? How could that make any sense?

"There's nothing left for you to save…but I can't say that I'm sorry for that. I've hated living in this false reality for so long."

"Don't talk like that…"

However, even as he kept telling himself that none of what she said was true, he could see her appearance start to change from what it was before. Her eyes weren't as cold as they were earlier, in fact…if he had to describe what that look was…

It looked a lot like insanity, in a way.

"I guess in the grand scheme of things, I'm still just a tool, huh…but at least…"

She pointed to the earth.

"At least I'll get to destroy this world with my own hands."

"You wouldn't…!"

"I would, and I definitely will."

"I guess I've got no choice, then…"

"Hm?"

Lan raised a fist towards Ciel. "I'll be the one to stop you."

She looked surprised for a moment, and then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Ahahahaha! You really mean it! You didn't come half-cocked after all, did you? That's good…that's very good."

"Hah! Did you really expect me to come at you halfway? Even if things didn't turn out like this, I'd still have to fight you one way or another, right? It's better this way, because I don't have to hold back now."

"Oh…is that how it is…?"

She walked up to Lan and whispered in his ear.

"I'm looking forward to it, Lan Hikari."

"…I'm going to save Ciel, and I'm going to beat you."

"Beat me? Why not destroy me?"

"I'm just saying that for now…if things change, I might just take you up on that suggestion."

"My, how sadistic…you don't sound like the boy from before. Are you going to follow me into the darkness for her sake? What if it turns out I was right all along?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I get there…"

"…Well…"

She turned around and picked up the notebook once more.

"I have no more tears to shed over this, or over anything in my life…this is where it all will end."

"We'll see about that…"

"…"

Ciel started on her way again, but turned her head for a moment to look back at Lan. The look in his eyes just then wasn't something she could accurately describe, but she knew that it made her skin prickle and her blood start to run cold when she saw it.

But even in the midst of that, she felt something akin to excitement build up inside of her.

Whatever that look was, she wanted – no, needed to see it again the next time they met.

"So, you've put a lot of it together," Yuuchirou Hikari said.

"Yeah…most of it," Eugene Chaud replied.

"Okay…what do you have so far?"

"Well, it seems to be like this. The experiments from years ago connected Gospel to Arcadia Technologies, and with that, Arcadia Technologies straight to Wily and the World Three organization. In essence, using partial data from what was to become the Supernavi Project, the final steps could be completed to create Zero.

Before that, there was a battery of failed experiments, called the Gospel Frequency Tests. It involved using the data from the Gospel program to create pulse signals to manipulate areas of memory. The side effects were near total memory loss and psychotic episodes, as well as an abnormal focus on a single goal or thought. Naturally, there were many of these experiments conducted behind the scenes…this was supposed to tune them with Zero, making them able to fight as a team with increased efficiency and power – if you want, you can think of it as a limited version of the Full Synchronization theory.

The Maverick Frequency was a specific instance, and referred to the point where the subjects reached a state of near, or in some cases complete insanity along with the side effects, yet kept some instances of logical or rational thought, as well an added boost to other mental processes. The main issue was the tendency to destroy anything deemed a target at random. An accident on the net produced these same results in a large population of net navigators…the prototype navigator 'Zero' was then introduced under the guise of a 'Maverick Hunter', and exterminated all of the rogue or 'Maverick' navigators according to the interests of national security.

Everything was kept quiet for a while, until Zero became unstable and destroyed about half of Arcadia Tech's information and resources, before becoming 'sealed' in a way similar to that of Alpha, but on a smaller scale. As a result, most of the non-vital work from the project was stopped until further notice. The problem was with many of the sequences and algorithms involved in his creation, since there were incredible amounts of variables to go through. The ideal thing would be to tune the data with itself internally, then build around it constantly, making changes as needed – the ability to flow with the changing situations was the key. Zero was designed to be a fusion of an adaptable, reactive fighter with the qualities of a traditional program.

Knowing this, the development team needed a medium to be able to translate the raw data into something accessible that could be used towards Zero's growth. The only medium capable of such a thing would be a human with a mentality aimed towards constantly processing the data that made up the Zero Project. In short, a human computer. Procedure wasn't as rigid, and a wider spectrum of results seemed to be better than the mechanical and meticulous results of a computer operation.

The irregular brain patterns that posed a danger to Ciel's life actually were the counters to the major side effects of the Maverick Frequency. Suggesting that she focus on the data, absorb it, and then process it as needed was an easy enough task, considering her maturity at such an early stage in her life. Her brain recorded the frequency once and then it was put into loops at certain intervals, triggered by events which included fatigue, visual, mental, or audio cues. As her actions regarding the project didn't cross her consciousness while she was mentally in control, she never would figure out the nature of her work, or even be able to figure it out when she saw it. She had an innate skill for programming, and that along with advanced procedure was worked into her alongside the data for the Zero Project.

Absorbing the data and having to work with it all of the time made it a literal part of her, so much so that the Zero we've seen is likely nothing like what he was years ago. It's very likely that Zero is more of an idea now rather than simply a tangible program to be tweaked with. Zero is exactly what Ciel sees in her mind, from the inner workings to the outer shell. Every line of code that runs through him runs through her first. But even in that case, they're not copies of each other, since they both think and act autonomously. She isn't a machine but is as close to one with her mental instabilities as you can possibly get. The advantages of the 'human OS' seem apparent in Zero's battle strength and capabilities, and the focus she has on the programming aspects and general missions make her a very efficient operator…but that's just the problem. In making Ciel into what she was, the other, more human-like side of her was left in. That part of her was by default fragile and unstable in nature. Her emotions and mentalities seem to be a moving conveyor belt of sorts, tumbling over each other and pulling one another along at a high rate of speed. That is a danger, but even more dangerous is the possibility of her snapping altogether and deciding to follow her primary objective, which is to destroy the world as we know it.

Her personality shift started after the murders of her parents, Anne-Marie and Darien. Her father was in charge of the Zero Project and CEO of Arcadia Technologies, having a partnership with Weil who acted as the company president. There was a rift between them after Darien had considered halting the Zero Project altogether, but even after the laboratory's 'dissolution' following Darien's death, investigations haven't been able to turn up connections to Gospel or Wily, or even the suspects for the murders of Ciel's parents. Any data pertaining to the Zero Project had mysteriously vanished, or so it was thought. The reality, as it should be clear now, is that all of the relevant data to the Zero Project lies with Ciel Amé, and her alone. Weil could not reproduce Zero by her dictation, or have her hand out instructions on how to build him up from scratch. Instead, he gave the original Zero to Ciel and had her repair it according to what she knew. From there, the plan was to have Zero destroy a significant part of the net, and force everyone to come to him as the one who could stop the destruction. By manipulating those two like a puppeteer, he aimed to remake all of cyberspace in his own image and eventually assume control over all of it in one fell swoop."

"That's a lot. You've done well, Chaud."

"Maybe. We've found the connection between Ciel and Zero, and have realized that Ciel is in essence the original 'Zero'. The connection between Arcadia, Gospel, and subsequently Wily has been made. The reasons for Ciel's actions and mood swings are more apparent, and the grand scheme to take over cyberspace has been revealed. We've answered a lot of questions, we've gotten closer and closer to the truth, but it doesn't mean that much right now. If we want to be practical at present, it's impossible for anyone in any position to stop either Ciel or Zero…"

"Well, we should be able to put something together with enough time. I've been working on something for Lan, but we could complete other things while we operate here. What about the attacks on the facilities?"

"The first move was halted after Iceman intervened to fight one of the intruders. As expected, they had no operator and could not be readily traced back to Weil or his operations. There are at least two more projected targets I'm thinking of."

"Windmill farm and the old incinerator."

"Right. We don't have a timeframe on when the attacks will start, but chances are that they'll be simultaneous, and the navis there will be high-level. The windmill farm is closer from here, so I'll head over there myself. Make sure to get Ayano and Obihiro to start things as quickly as possible. I'll make contact with your son as soon as I get out of range."

"Okay, sounds like a plan."

"So, you're really going to come at her like that, then."

"You say that as if I have another choice."

"Good point."

"The only way to do this is to fight fire with fire at this point…and there's a good reason for it."

"I'm not sure what you're planning right now, but it seems like you've still got your head on straight, for the most part. I'm with you, Lan."

"Thanks, Megaman. I'll really need your help this time."

"Okay. Just give me the word."

Lan looked up towards the sky, deep in thought.

At first, he thought that whatever had happened to Ciel, he wanted to try his best to reverse it, maybe even erase it completely from her, and set her free. At least, that seemed like the right thing to do.

Then something else came to mind, something that wasn't about being the good guy and saving the day completely. The more he looked at that option, the more it seemed to make sense. What he had to do was walk the line for as long as he could…because it was the only way to reach Ciel at this point, the only way to connect with her at all.

It wasn't about becoming the way she was, but about making his intention to fight without holding back, without caring about what would happen when the battle was over and just pushing each other to their limits non-stop. The risk was clearly there, but the reward was sitting right beside it.

"Man…"

Wasn't this like the other times? Another game of Russian Roulette with the world at stake?

No…actually, it wasn't. He knew what the outcome was going to be. Heck, he had always known. He was going to win this battle, and he was going to save Ciel. That was the future, that had always been the future.

All he had to do was make it a reality.

"So all I have to do is win…simple enough, right?"

"You really think so, Lan?"

"Has to be. I've done it before."

"…That's…what it is, then. I think I understand…"

"Really…that's just unreal. I can't imagine something…like that…"

"…"

"That's what Ciel's been going through…?"

At about the same time, Chaud had made a call to Maylu, to tell her what exactly was going on. Along with Yai, Shuryou, and Haruka, they had moved back inside the Hikari house to listen to Chaud's explanation of the events up to this point.

"How fast can you get to Kotobuki?" he asked Yai.

"Pretty damn fast at this rate. We don't have any time left."

"Alright. Obihiro, how much do you remember about-"

"Gospel Frequency…all of it. Every last detail is in my head," Shuryou replied quickly.

"So you can reverse-engineer it."

"I don't see why I'd have any trouble."

"Fine. We'll see about that when we come to it. Maylu, where's Hikari?"

"He went after Ciel."

"Huh…after her…" Probably a good chance that he doesn't know the whole story yet.

"Well, then…Miss Hikari…"

"Yes…?"

"You're really caught up in this right now, but if you need to, we can keep you out of the rest of this whole thing until it ends…"

"My…my son is out there about to fight again for the world…my husband's probably in some sort of danger again, too. My son's been shot and nearly killed, my husband kidnapped at gunpoint, and I was put to sleep and dragged to a dark place with people ready to do horrible things to me on a whim. I've cried at nights thinking about what could happen to the people I love, I've seen a son die and come back to life, and I've watched the world reach the brink of existence far too many times. Even now, right now…I feel like falling apart, like going to sleep and waking up from these horrible nightmares…and I only have one thing to say after all of that…"

She clenched her fists.

"I'll drop dead before I ever think of running away."

Chaud only smiled through the monitor.

"Well said."