A year and a half had passed ever since Larily-Lal and Jiva had shaken the very foundation on Neo-arcadia. and many things had changed...for the better.
Phantom had enacted the Zeroth law upon those elitist terrorists trying to take over X's modern ark. Finding more reason to...oust the human maverick as he looked through their personal computer.
No one but Leviathan knew it was him...and she made sure no one but the guardians, under the guiding hand of Alalanath and his wife, could rule.
They had decided that Harpuia would be the head of state, Phantom bowing out of the opportunity since, after killing, he felt the second born was a better choice, despite everything. And the first thing the green heir of master X did was to pardoned Ciel's followers, going as far as bowing down to their feet and offering his most sincere apologies and whatever facilities they needed to recover and live a full life.
The rest of the guardians had followed suit, knowing full well that it would not be enough to repair the four years of damage and wholesale slaughter of innocents that they had perpetrated. but it was a step in the right direction...and a step they were more than willing to take.
Ciel had cried and sobbed, her trust and loyalty to the guardians now fully secure when they had given Alouette a job and schedule coordinator. And an actual funeral for all that had perished in their madness.
As for Alouette's very important governmental job?
Basically, she had to force everyone to take some break...especially Ciel. But most importantly, she would scan whatever reploids worked in Neo-arcadia for signs of tampering. She, being temper proof due to her previous work as a child protector.
Andrew had the chance to visit his wife's urn in the columbarium. he had spoken to the ashes for a while before he asked Ciel to reverse her work and turn him back to how he originally looked. he was now more than ready to live again, as a servant of God. Alalanath and Prana-Govinda were more than happy to greet him to the Brahmachari ashram, calling it his home away from home.
as for why he had elected to regain his youth?
As he had told Larily-Lala and Sanatan-Prabhu. his previous life as a householder was done and over with, this was his new life, and thus, like the phoenix, he was reborn from his ashes. Besides...he really was still a young reploid compare to Alalanath and Prana.
Of course, they had still arrested this one blond reploid, for he had come in contact with some very dangerous knowledge. But otherwise, everything had been refreshingly peaceful and free of oil shed.
of course, the guardian's had a free for all to blow of steam, slaughtering oodles of Mechalinoids in the span of eight hours. Gathering a ludicrous amount of e-thank, reactor core and more E-crystal than what the entire Cyber-elf population knew what to do with.
those were machines of wars...machines that would've been used to take over more settlement if what Phantom had found in the pig's computer was right. And besides, who needed so many war machines when reploids used fewer resources anyway. they kept enough mechanoids...but not enough to cause an energy crisis.
They had given everything to the resistance and Ciel. those who had worked under her aegis now counted as hero's and given all that was needed...in hope that they could one day forgive the five of their gross misuse of power.
And no, stepping down from their position was not feasible at the moment, for the governing center of Neo-arcadia had been stirred in a turmoil only seen after Master X's death.
The four guardians (plus Ciel.) had elected to leave Z-T With Larily-Lala, admitting that, as warriors, they had no idea how to care for Jiva, especially with how busy they were. Same with Xerox, who had taken to the Bhakti cult like a drowning man a life-saver.
Jiva...had then thrown his first-ever temper tantrum. And no matter what they did, the littlest reploid would not be pacified.
Not even Alalanath's expertise could calm him down. Even Z-T's favourite memento of his best friend and his worshipable deities could stop his tears.
It was only when Leviathan proposed that Jiva could stay with them that Zero's copy finally calmed down.
All the guardians' plus Ciel and Xerox now had a schedule as to who would take care of Jiva for the day. And this meant that they would all one day off…
Well, Ciel had two. Since she was human and all that.
This meant that the guardians had the time to actually clear up their cash and defragment their disk as they should, leading them to realize just how overworked and error-prone they were.
And yes, they had indeed been tampered with, repeatedly...and no, they had no idea how they had managed to return to Normal.
Fefnir had then burst into laughter, telling them that this was yet another act of God.
And after all that had happened, all who had lived through the wonderful few days merely nodded with a smile.
Part of their new routines had been to dedicate a few hours to His worship at the Radha-Banke-Bihari temple under the lead of Sanjaya Das brahmachari, a young human male who had dedicated his life to the study of scriptures and the divine service to the lotus feet of his Spiritual Master; His holiness Prabhava-Vigraha swami.
Oh, the temple did not only catered to humans, there was plenty of Reploid congregational members as well as some cyber-elves. even the animals and bugs that loved within the compound were all considered devotee's
It was at this point that the Guardians (plus Xerox) had realized how inclusive the Hare Krishna cult was.
It was a culture about Love, first was love for God, then after this pure love was somewhat awakened, love for all of Krishna's parts and parcels would soon follow. Without any care for who or how they were externally.
The individual souls were all the same and had the same source, Krishna, the supreme father. and like any father, He would get a great pleasure seeing his numerous sons and daughter get along...and not kill and eat each other over some difference in hardware.
The Reploid retiring center was decommissioned and the survivor promptly freed after a moderately long stay at the military repair center. the head of Neo-arcadia (Harpuia) had apologized for a million times (counted and recorded), letting them all take a shot at him, and after that, he had sumptuously gifted them with whatever they would need to recover and hopefully move on from their ordeal, had given them his own com. Frequency so that they may yell at him until they truly felt vindicated.
And Harpuia personally arrested Aztec Falcon and downgrading the once proud and sadistic head of the brave sky to be no better than a mount for his daily excursion in the desert.
He had always desired a horse...A falcon was an acceptable substitute.
As it turned out, most of the Guardian's Muto's had more in common with Mavericks than with the Hunter of old. From the group of elite sadist, only Ganesherif and Necromancess kept their post under heavy supervision. The rest would all be reviewed and tried accordingly. The eight gentle judges being also under suspicion, thankfully Larily had the brilliant idea to look for some Pro-Reploid judge and jury.
Juge Martin Lavigne, Prosecutor attorney Miles and best friend and court rival Naruhodo would now handle all the maverick cases. Alalanath spoke very highly of them and how the three were truly neutral and had morality on par with Dharma-Raja, Yamaraja and his secretary Citra-Gupta.
Harpuia and Phantom had no idea who those personalities were, but they trusted the centennial Maverick hunter's judgement more than their own at the moment.
Ciel began working on the sun charging technology, and soon. She came up with the first prototype, Xerox was the willing test subject. And while it was somewhat glitchy, it was clear the reploid fuel dependence was coming to an end.
But in the confines of the cyber-world, a lost soul linger, his plans changed and taken away from him. His only solace was the fact that his beautiful city still stood, and the situation had been resolved more or less peacefully. Beside him...two 'babies' cried, begging for their mother...
Z-T squealed in pure rapturous joy as he trotted away from Xerox. The Perfect-Copy of master X running after the little darling on his hands as he tried to catch him and rain upon the Nanoid the worst torture of all!
Tickle torture!
Of course, not having his lower body mean that, while he was still mobile, Xerox could not catch the littlest reploid so easily. Still, the screams and babbles of pure joy were exactly what he, Ciel and Nandini-Radhika needed to hear.
The Vaishnavi and his mom had become quick friends. And while Nandini was ten years older than Ciel, the two girls had synchronized faster than what the best of computer could clock it.
She was...rather nice, especially for one who had lost a friend due to Xerox's folly. But As the ex-ruler had realized, this was the Nature of a Vaishnava or a servant of God.
They could forgive all offences done to them. Their pure heart overflowed with love and compassion for the lowly and degraded, and yet, they never let any pride get to their head.
Actually, a Vaishnava, the most elevated of beings, would always consider himself the lowest of the low, the servant of all, even the ants. For with their pure vision, they saw the Lors in everything and every event as an act of the Supreme.
Still, while they would not even protect themselves from the treacherous act of others, Krishna, the supreme personality of Godhead, He whose ultimate weapon was time would take offence for them.
In other words, his death and dismemberment at the hands of the original X's guardians were the Lord giving him a mild warning...but Xerox still had no idea why he was alive.
He had caused so much damage...and because of him, a human, a Gaudia-Vaishnavi had died.
How many more suffered this fate? He couldn't know, for all had been carefully hidden.
This...Nandini, hearing words of sincere repentance (what he could muster anyway.) may have forgiven him, same with Larily-lal...and God may have also washed him of his Sin, but Xerox would never forgive himself for Miss Mardi's death.
Already, he was planning a posthumous ceremony for the brave woman, to give her the medal of courage...no, there must be something higher than that for someone who willingly protected an innocent reploid by giving their life.
Harpuia would know, he was very knowledgeable like that.
And he had also talked with Larily-Lala...if he could serve her final resting place in any way, shape or form.
The fused couple had been at a loss, but they finally told Xerox that his mood of repentance and a sincere apology was all that Madri would take. But if he liked, he could always sweep the leaves and debris around her Pushpa Samadhi and meditate on her feet.
Xerox did, despite his lack of a lower-body...and he had to admit, he felt as if a weight and a buster and been moved away from his head.
He had also started to chant the Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra regularly and read the cults book.
And he had to admit, if half the population of Neo-arcadia knew of those teachings, they would have something as close to eternal peace and prosperity Master X so desperately wanted. They already had the structure in place, what they only needed to do was to put God back in the picture.
And no, not his impersonal aspect but the Lovable, Michevious, sweetest blue young Cowherd boy of Vrindavan. The best friend of all the living entities whose love could not be calculated. The most beautiful, powerful, inteligent, wise, rich and renounced and He who loves his devotees more than Himself.
It may seem illogical for the so-called ruler to have accepted those holly teachings so readily. But after speaking to Miss Larliy more, and learning of her troubled past…
If the lord could forgive Lumine and accept her after she had turned maverick, then it was clear that there was some hope for him too. And this was all he needed.
"Zephir?" His mother called him. She had gained some weight despite her hectic schedule, and along with this weight, some height too. And some colour. She was taking a break from her work, the new sun-charging update was going along without a hitch, and soon, the reploid population would be free from their fuel dependence.
" Yes, Mother?" He asked.
"Is everything fine? I could hear your thought process."
"Yes, mother...I just...I still feel awful about...you know..."
"It's alright...I also feel awful about it." Ciel gave a wry smile. "I should've been more careful about it...and not blindly trust the government."
"Mom...it's not your fault!" Xerox protested.
"he's right...you just followed your authority, thinking it would be for the best." Nandini-Radhika supported the blue reploid. "You were young back then, and I'm sure they conditioned you to trust them, no matter what."
"I know but-"
"In the shastra, it's written that a child never incurs sins until he knows right from good." The prime and proper woman spoke compassionately. "You just followed. And Xerox was just a few month's old, What happened wasn't your fault."
"I'd rather not think like that," Xerox spoke as he crossed his arms. "It sounds like a lame excuse you know."
Suddenly, tired of being ignored by his big brother, little Jiva jumped on his back and began to wrestle with him.
Such an innocent reploid...a child…
And to say Xerox had almost shorted the little dear…
In his heart, the copy of Master X made the firm resolve that it wouldn't happen again. And that he would become their servant.
"See, Even Z-T's not mad at you. He just sees you as a playmate." Nandini pointed out. "Zephyr...I forgave you, just forgive yourself."
Xerox remained silent as he absentmindedly rolled Jiva in the play blanket, pushing the squirming bundle of joy to his heart's delight as he tried to free himself.
It was his favourite game.
"Zephir." Nandini-Radhika called him again.
"Yes, mother Nandini?" He asked.
"There's a Christian saying...Every saint has a past and every sinner have a future," she spoke compassionately. "Sure, you've made mistakes, but now it's time to let them go and move forward. Besides," The beautiful daughter of Larily-Lala beamed her straight teeth glowing against her dark complexion. " Mom and dad trust you, and they can hear Bhagavan speaking to them in their heart." then she turned back to Ciel. "by the way, they told me to warn you that there's two distressed Cyber-Elf in the Neo-arcadia server."
"I only managed to pick up one... it's a very old elf in need of maintenance but...it hid deep in the Sub-arcadia network" His mother bit her lips. "I also picked up plenty of 'baby' elf reading." she said with some enthusiasm.
He had overheard Ciel talking to herself about how she could harness the energy of the cyber-being to generate enough power to solve the energy crisis if the solar captor project would fail.
at those words, Nandini blanched.
"It's bad I take it?"
"Ciel...baby elves...we can't even call them babies, they are terrible, they were made by doctor Weil a hundred years back." Nandid scolded.
"Oh."
"And they're primary objective is to turn reploids crazy!" Nandini jumped to her delicate and unadorned feet and she began passing back and forth. Making her golden ankle bell ring in response to the pitty-patting of her feet. "Mom and dad told me once Mother-elf was...sealed, all those little demons went into the bowels or Neo-arcadia...And they told me that if I were to see one, I had to run or kill them." She looked at Ciel with eyes that showed her age. "Mom and dad would never tell me to kill another living entity if they were not extremely dangerous, like, their mere exitance would put the entire world in danger."
"Ah." it was clear his mother's plan for alternative energy had been effectively shut down.
" I need to call dad, he needs to know about it." and with that, Nandini-Radhika was out of the room, and Xerox could easily see that she was extremely worried about it.
He sighed...thankfully, babysitting Z-T was not as complicated as what all the 'Adult' were doing.
Later that day, Xerox would learn how wrong he was.
"Oh, Master Alalanath, what ow us this auspicious visit." Harpuia greeted the Temple president and his wife.
Today, the centennial maverick hunter and last survivor of the legendary trio was in charge of the body, his wife 'resting' as he did all the work. Meaning that he was wearing his favourite green Kurta, made by his wife while she was supposed to rest.
Alalanath waved away the overly formal greeting and spontaneously embraced Harpuia.
"Shuka! don't so formal with me! I'm like your uncle you know?" he jovially spoke as he gave a hearty slap onto the space between the wings of the new and already overwrought ruler of neo-arcadia.
His choice, and, yes, plenty of Reploids wanted to kill him and tell what their real feelings were about him. and Harpuia was completely fine with that. it helped him remember what he should not revert to. as to why Alalanath considered the quasi maverick his nephew...
After he had learned that the four guardians' body had been...copied from Master X, he had considered them X's kid and thus were as good as Family.
And Alalanath was a notorious family man, inviting anyone he liked to be a part of the Hare-Krishna universal fraternity and sisterhood.
And Larily-Lala loved everyone already, seeing them all as family.
Not that Harpuia minded, over the past month or so, largely and her husband had invited the sextant to souper practically every two days, telling them that they should pray in the morning, work har at noon, relax and have fun with the family in the evening with them and sleep soundly at night.
Of all the guardians (plus Ciel and her creation.) only Xerox had followed this instruction. The five thought it was not a very effective way to work, but low and behold, Xerox And Z-T had the most mental clarity, stamina and efficiency than all of them combined on a bad day.
Needless to say, prayers before and after the sun rose up, homemade breakfasts, work, lunch, a bit more light work and dinner at the Hare-Krishna and a healthy amount of recharge became the norm for all of those who served the seat of power.
in the year and a half...The Temple became a sanctuary, and Larily-Lala a source of strength, inspiration and love for the guardians, Xerox and Ciel. And Z-T became the little brother.
Never the less, While Alalanath and Larily would come and visit the babel tower often, today's visit was not planned…
"So...may you please tell me why you dropped in like that?" Harpuia asked again. "Not that I mind of course."
Alalanath crossed his arms and leaned on one leg. "It's not something I can tell you in a semi-public place."
"I see, please follow me, then, we'll go to my office."
"Awesome!" Alalanath gave a thumbs up, and Harpuia saved a still.
Under his loose Kurta and dhoty, the saintly father of Nadini-Radhika wore his armour, the only thing missing was his helmet.
[Sir...what's going on? Should I be worried that you're wearing your armour.] He sent out by private Radio wave. [Mother Lately, I apologize for not greeting you beforehand.]
[There's nothing to apologize about Harpuia. I'm taking the day off from the external world-]
[Basicaly, my gorgeous wife is taking the day to catch up on her reading. Also, good catch on the armour, didn't think anyone would notice.] Alalanath praised. [If I told you it was about the cyber-devil spawns' would it make you move faster?]
It was all Harpuia needed to transport the fused couple and himself directly to his office.
"Sigma's back." it was not a question. Harpuia may have had his disk wiped, but Master X didn't skimp on the history of the plague master and how he met his end to an upstart Larily...and how he used to be as good as the first 'born'...a friend, and the head of the glorious hunters of old.
"Nope, it's not good old Siggy, this guy got exorcised almost a century ago by our Ekadasi." Alalanath proudly pronounced as he stropped of from his casual devotional wear and reviling a black armour. " She made us all proud that day."
"Ekadasi...that's Kamala's mother, right?" Harpuia knew the woman, she was well over ninety by that point. "I thought Mother-elf was the one who got rid of the virus."
"Yes, she did. But only temporally. Sigma was still on the loose, and wanting revenge, trie to attack our Family." a proud smile took over Larily-Lala's full face. "Our little Ekadasi had just memories the Sri-Brahma-Samhita. and when Sigma tried to kill her, she began to recite the sacred text." The fused couple chuckled. "The next thing we know, old siggy's gone in a flash of light."
Harpuia's eyebrows reached the top of his hair cap. "Really...so he got impersonal liberation."
"Yup...but all the credit was given to mother-elf and Doctor Cossack...Glad the Lord kept her bloodline alive tough, otherwise, we wouldn't;t have our Ciel." he murmured.
Harpuia leaned his round hips on the side of his desk, he was not in gears, but dressed in his, as he called them, work duds. Really, the Neo-arcadian take of an opulent dress.
It was more like the casual version of the Neo-arcadian ceremonial coat, and he absolutely loved it! "So, if this is not Sigma, who is it then?"
"'Baby-elves.'"
This one word was enough to have Harpuia out of his robe and into his armour. "Shit!"
"I know." Alalanath grinned as he donned his helmet and manifested his wings and buster guns. "We all had this reaction when our Radhika called us...in the middle of a Srimad-Bhagavatam class, no less."
[We cursed in front of an exalted assembly of Vaishnava and out Ista-Devata's…] Larily lamented in waves. [I hope those are not rumours, otherwise, we've committed an offence for nothing.]
"Mother Larily...Whether the presence of 'baby-elves' is real or not, the result would still be disastrous." Harpuia tried to joke.
"have I heard Baby-elves?" Spoke Phantom from the door. And since it was his day off, he wore one of those anti- cow slaughter tie-die Hare Krishna shirt and a pair of Boho yoga pants. The whole set made the usually dark and foreboding reploid look... as if he had walked out of the summer of love. And this was not helped by his dread-locks.
How did he manage t fit them under his helmet would be something only Sri-Nityananda, the source of all saintly mad man would know. But now, the Hippy looked at the centennial reploid with Horror. "Please...please tell me I've heard wrong."
"No, I did say Baby-elves...and another Cyber-elve." The fully geared Alalanath solemnly validated their worst fears. "A good friend of ours told me two of them were in Neo-arcadia. And both of them are...not so good."
"Do we know their exact location?" Phantom asked, already stripping down to his ever-present armour.
"Sub-Arcadia, the lowest level obviously." Alalanath rolled his eyes. "Listen, you may not want to follow us down there, Those little pests have a tendency to corrupt cyber-entities worst than the virus."
"Being Copies of X, all guardians are virus-proof." Phantom informed the ancient reploid of this fact.
"But those are not viruses, those are Corrupter-elves, they don't care about firewalls." Alalanath warned.
Harpuia stood straighter, his pride as a warrior shining in his green eyes." as the new head of Neo-arcadia, it id my duty to protect my citizens. Which include you, Larily-Lala Prabhu." Harpuia spoke as he bowed. "Please, by our action, Neo-arcadia has put your life and the lives of countless in jeopardy...If I lose my life in service to my most important citizen, then I will consider all the sins we have incurred repaid."
Sure, the green sky general may be as good as royalty, but he knew who was the real master of the place. And after what he did, risking his life for his most important citizen was the very least he could do.
"ah, C'mon guys. I'm basically just a janitor here." Alalanath meekly folded his palms. "Your all of your go absolved the moment you chanted the Hare Krishna Mantra and walked around Tulsi-devi."
"Still, us not assisting a devotee of the Lord as he risks his life for us again will make our eternal benefactors angry." Phantom stated as he stood beside his brother-unit.
Larily-Lala gazed deeply at the Kaze-duo...and, after consulting with his wife, closed his eyes. "Fine, you two may come. But if I ever see you acting corrupted." he meaningfully cocked his gun.
Both guardians gravely nodded, knowing full well that nothing could get in their ever-updating firewall and anti-virus.
"If I may ask sir...don't you also run the risk of corruption?" Phantom asked as he somehow managed to fit his numerous dreads under his helmet as the trio walked out from Harpuia's office and to the teleporter.
"Oh, I have my wife." Was his concise answer. "now c'mon, let's save this elf and slay demons!"
"For Krishna!" They raised their fist to the sky, gone was the cheer for Neo-Arcadia, for they know who the real king of all king was.
"Z-T? ZEEEE-TEEEEE?" Xerox called out as he lumbered through the halls of Neo-arcadia. Looking for his little dear and Little- big brother despite everything.
Really, Vaishnava's were ridiculously forgiving when it came to themselves. and Z-T was no exception.
Still, The reason why Xerox was desperately looking for his Nanoid was sadly simple and very much relatable. He had taken some time to rest his arms and motors after the play, thinking little Z-T tired from play and in deep recharge on the soft blanket, still holding the X doll and Radha-Krishna.
He swore he'd closed his eyes for less than a minute and Z-T was gone. Despite the ever-vigilant Radhika and Ciel.
Needless to say, X's so-called copy wasted no time as he began to search for Z-T. He'd already asked the staff of Neo-Arkadia if they had seen the little dear scooting across the floor with X and Radha-Krishna.
Some looked down on him in confusion, others blatantly ignored the ex-maddened ruler of Neo-arcadia but a few were somewhat helpful.
Before his resurrection, Xerox would openly condemn this treatment, he was a Hero after all and their continued comfort was his to give and remove.
But now...after this humbling experience. He knew that this was not the position he was meant to be in, and he never wished to be back on the throne again.
Let them spit on him, let them hate him and disrespect the usurper for what he was.
He deserved worst...oh so much worst.
Nonetheless, his wallowing was over, and now it was the time for him to be a real servant. besides, he had a Nanoid to find.
Following the vague indication of the staff, Xerox managed to track down Z-T to an unused wing of the Babel tower. It was completely empty, and most of the pleasant lights were gone, only the service LEDs gave the cavernous expanses and otherworldly glow.
Xerox... didn't like this place, even his fake Mama had told him to stay away from there.
And yet, The blue half-bot's audio could pick up Z-Ts distinctive chirps and broken words as he spoke to his plush dolls... and the sound of something being ripped apart...something made out of metal
'Oh...that's not good.' Xerox thought with dread as he swallowed his fear and entered the last corridor of the last level. Wondering how in the holy names of Radha-Krishna did Z-T manage to get there? and how much trouble were they in?
With whatever bravery he had, Xerox entered deeper into the unused wing, the floor was free of dust despite everything, but he could feel...something here … something dark and foreboding.
"Z-T, Come here baby." He called out halfway trough the corridor, he could somehow see the indistinct blotch of bright clour that was his little brother.
He wore a red dragon hoody, a gift from Fefnir sewn by Kamala. On the littlest blond, the thing looked ridiculously adorable. It also made him somehow easier to stop in the white sandstone.
Xerox could easily perceive Z-T turning his head to look at him...but the Nanoid didn't listen, and instead, resumed his previous activity of pulling apart a part of the wall.
"Argh! Z-T!" He called out as he 'ran' to the little red destruction. "What are you doing you little brat!"
Once again, Z-T peered at Xerox with wide, innocent eyes and resume his destructive task. He managed to pull the wall panel off the moment his blue babysitter reached him, exposing a dusty and spider ridden corridor in between two rooms.
There, no service light shone, the back of the metal walls could be seen and the stare, dust-filled air and an eery humming sound filled the ether like the most foreboding siren call ever.
Xerox check the map of the Babel tower...the unused wing was shown...but not this corridor. It was supposed to be the main support beam, the spine of the tower.
He'd never seen something as scary and horror show-worthy in his life and...if he were to be very honest with himself, he would love to explore this hidden room since, if he were to trust video game logic, something good must be there for those brave enough to venture in.
but alas, he had Z-T to take care of and safely bring back to his Mama and Nadini before Leviathan come and pick the little dear up. Xerox would have more time to explore after that.
But...logical did not mean reality. Z-T was already trotting down the debris-filled corridor, unmindful of the webs the water that was leaking there (what a waste, he will have to call the water recovery crew on that.) and the dust.
So...Much...Dust...
Of all those things, the dust was the worst. It was a reploids worst nightmare and while most would keep it to themselves, all had the same opinions about those treacherous particles.
Nevertheless, Xerox once again ran after Z-T. The Nanoid's air filtration system was small, and thus his vents would become clogged. He would over-heat and suffer a crash even before Xerox would have the chance to pull him out.
"Z-T! Come back!" He called out, without much of an effect. "Z-T! Stop it!"
The tiny blonde finally stopped, looked back and started his trot again. "Follow! Me me...Follow me!" he chirped.
Without much of a choice, Xerox followed, hoping he would not have to face some until horror like some mechalinoid or, Krishna forbid, the zombified version of Master X.
His predecessor's body was nowhere to be found. And Xerox doubted humans and reploids would misplace him... besides, his body had to be kept somewhere to seal the dark-elf. And he seriously doubted it would be anywhere in Neo-Arcadia since, who in their right mind would keep such a dangerous entity in such close proximity to X's precious humans?
And thus...he followed Z-T, hoping to God that he was right at that he would just emerge from the other side of the corridor. finding yet another empty room with relics of the past like old USB keys and the likes.
"So, like I was saying, I managed to reach an agreement with Grand-Bay's trading port, soon, they will start shipping grains and natural fibres again," Harpuia spoke with enthusiasm as the robotic trio dived deeper in the abyss of Sub-arcadia.
"Great!" Alalanth joyfully cheered as he dispatched some more zombified Mechaniloids. "It's our cooks and Pujari's who will be happy. No offence bro, but the stuff Neo-Arcadia grows not all that great." He admitted. while they were fully capable to grow their own food, sometimes, they didn't have enough variety for the kitchen sevaka to use their art for the Lord's pleasure.
Harpuia grumbled something about being in the middle of a desert.
"But how come you Krishna's have actual greenery, and how do you grow your food and make your e-crystals?" phantom asked.
"Simple, we chant Hare Krishna and the Lord provides." Alalanath explained as he went up a ledge, landing as noisily as possible. "He's the supreme provider, you know. Whether E-crystals for us of grains and beans for the water-based population, Banke-Bihariji will always make sure we have all we need." Alalanath spoke loud enough to be heard from across the room and from the hallways.
The reason for this seemingly suicidal tactic was simple; Corrupting-entities were attracted to any sign of life, whether it was speech, fire or even the slight and harmless radiation a reploid would produce. In other words, the louder they were, the easier it would be to find the so-called 'babies' and eliminate them as the threat they were.
It was a dirty job, but Alalanath and Larily were the sworn protector of Little-Vrindavana and Neo-Arcadia. And they would fight and kill in the service of the Vaishnava.
This was their vows of non-violence, a vow Arjuna took.
"So how do you get your E-Crystals?" Phantom asked as he peered into one of the many drainage pipes.
"We get out raw elements from our mines." Alalanath explained.
"wait, you have a mine?" Harpuia asked, his antennas erected in surprise.
"Yes we do, it's not very deep, but it's always filled to the brim with unpolished gem ready for a charge in our sun-kiln." It was quite the amazing contraption, the last gift of the ever so crafty Devaloka das before his health made manasa-seva the only viable way to serve.
He missed the man, even with all of his quirks and odd behaviours.
"A sun-kiln…"
"Yes, stones, especially quartz and diamond have this amazing energetical capability. That's how we can make rechargeable crystals." No more waste in this department. Once again, the entire reploid population of Little-Vrindavan owed their very life to this amazing man.
"if you don't mind me asking." Harpuia interjected. "How come we have never heard of this?"
Alalanath scoffed as he entered yet another corridor. "Oh, we did try to share the technology, but it was not "scientific" enough for the reploid energic consumption head director. Too...new age they said." then he changed gears. "they would rather make us slaves to consumable and highly unstable man-made glass than what Mother Bhumi provided for us for centuries." Larily sniffed. "And now look whose going through an energy crisis?"
"So, even if the Ciel System and the sun-charging technology would fail, we could still have a backup plan." Harpuia spoke with clear enthusiasm.
Alalanath returned as the main controller of the shared body. "yes...But I would rather depend on the sun directly than on easily stollen resources like chemicals and precious stones. And by Nature, the humans...sorry, the human-shaped population on earth has a strong tendency toward thievery and exploitation."
Harpuia's antenna drooped. "Oh...right."
Larily-Lala sighed. "To be honest though, it's great if Ciel could make a way for Cyber-elf to be able to live off of sunshine...and get rid of this ridiculous restriction." Alalanath spoke darkly as he moved in the water-filled corridor. " Mother-elf curse was on her progeny, if an elf wants to heal someone, build something or use whatever God-given ability they have, they die...they give up their body."
"But...isn't it how it always was?" Harpuia asked.
"No...Cyber-elves, before Weil corrupt mother-mother elf, could use their powers at will." Once again, Larily-Lala's face darkened. "but...humans grew envious…"
"Weil is not the only dangerous human around, he's just the only one who enacts his poisonous wrath in an overt way." Larily spoke, her tone echoing that of her husband.
" The Dark-elf may have driven a good chunk of the elf and reploid population to madness, but she also broke their curse, letting them use their awesome power for destruction as they will."
"We believe that...those elves were in full sanity. Despite what the report said."
" Larily, they were not sane." Alalanath rebuked his wife. "The little ghosts were corrupting them."
"yes...just as Sigma's view corrupted me." She pointed out. "Those who were obedient to the humans were twisted in abominations, while those who wanted to rebel took this opportunity to kill those who had robbed them of their potency."
Alalanath sighed. "Man...what a mess. I just pray that we won't have a repeat of that, otherwise…"
"Otherwise, let's just take Vanaprastha and find the holy land of Mayapur. Or Bhauma-Vrindavana." Larily finished for him.
"yeah...but first." He sent a flare to the dark and foreboding room in front of him.
He could not hear Phantom anymore, and Harpuia was also curiously quiet.
The flare illuminated a dark figure hanging upside down on the ceiling...it opened it great wings only to reveal the twisted face of Phantom, now rendered no better than a bloodthirsty animal.
Behind him, the sound of metal scraping painfully on the sound, Harpuia's distorted screech a good indicator of what had just happened to him.
"Ah Krishna…" Larily-Lala muttered as he engaged his fighting protocol. "it's one of those days, isn't it?"
'Ala, do you want me to keep the 'arms of Nrhari' at the ready?' Larily asked over their private connection.
'Yeah...that be great.' He dodged a sonic scream as the armed Phenomenon fell from his perch and began raining hell. 'dang, now this feels nostalgic.' Alalanath shot a few times before properly engaging the corrupted Phantom.
His goal was not to kill him, obliviously. But the draw a little demon out.
After exchanging blows and screeches, the second armed phenomenon joined in, Harpuia was now looking more like his namesake than ever.
"A two on one? C'mon guys, now that's against the rules of fighting." Alalanath mildly protested. "At least it's just two against… no, wait..technically you're now fighting fair, my bad." He apologized as he dodged Harpuia's sharp Tallon. "I was being like Bhisma-dev and...was it Dushasan? I think he was part of the group that Killed Abhimaniu...do you remember who else was-" This moment of intention was met with a punishing wing slap by the frantic night-Phantom.
'Ala...I was just about to yell at you...please don't quote scripture while fighting.' Larily deadpan as her husband got off from the ground.
"Oops, sorry devi," he smirked. "Any luck with those hell spawns?" He asked instead, now a bit more careful.
'I can feel three cyber-being. One...one will perish in a scant two months if he conserves his energy while the other two's are our target.' She informed her target. 'Containment field?'
"Yes please." Alalanath confirmed as he dodged another onslaught, the pitch-black room turning darker.
The nimble reploid moved aside, and, as the Lord had planned, both phenomena crashed into one another with the terrifying sound of screeching metal.
The temple president winces, and he could feel his wife doing the same.
'They will feel it for a week.'
"Two...and that's if we can kill those ghosts before they go to phase two." Alalanath moved aside, and he felt his wings change shape. Soon, the four appendages of Larily replaced them.
He smirked. 'Krishna, what would I do without my wife.'
"My dear friend, you'd be dead." He heard his Ista-deva, Sri-Gauranga speak from the heart of heart.
Oh, He would not deny it.
'Alright, the containment field is up.' Larily informed her husband. 'ah-ah. Ala, at 4 o'clock. 26 degree up.'
And Alalanath shot, and the cry of a so-called baby filled the underground chamber as the Worm let out a dying screech, stabbing his fatherly heart.
Oh, It took a special kind of evil to manifest little demons that looked and act like Babies…
Harpuia's screeched, rushing at the Vaishnava couple with the murderous determination to kill them both.
Alalanath shot a barrage of powerful lasers, chipping away at his twisted and overly bulky armour of Phantom, careful not to hit anything vital.
Harupia's claws dug deep in his left shoulder, he heard Larily gasp. The dark reploid shot the talon off, offering his most sincere apologies to his wife as he moved away from the frenzied harpy."
"Ala! There's another...what in the world?' Larily exclaimed despite the pain. 'Axl...I'm picking up...no...that's not possible.'
'What's not possible devi?' Alalanath asked as he managed to tear on of Harpuia's wing, leaving the ruler of Neo-Arcadia to twitch and write on the ground as sparks flew from the thorn limb.
He would survive...Alalanath just prayed Harpuia could forgive him for mutilating his frame.
He turned his attention to Phantom, the bat-like phenomenon had retreated to the rafters...and Alalanath could detect the telling glow of yet another little demon.
It was using Phantom as a shield, twisting the budding Vaishnava more until he took the entire ceiling.
[A….al….K...Kill me...I'm sorry…] Phantom managed to send via-a glitchy radio.
Alalanath sighed and landed on a ledge and waited as Phantom rained down destruction.
'Prabhu...I don't need to tell you what's behind our Pandu-Prabhu, do we?' Larily asked.
"Nope...I already saw it." Alalanath gritted as he tried to fit in a crack in the wall, he succeeded partway. "So...what's up with the real elf?"
'Ala, I'd rather not tell you now, just get rid of this one and free our favourite nephew from its control.'
"Got it, Devi." And with that, Alalanath pushed himself away from the wall and under the shower of bullets. And became smaller than an atom.
'Ala! I never thought you would use Mystic power!'
'Brute strength won't cut it, Lulu.' Alalanath conveyed as he sneaked behind the corrupted phantom and the so-called 'baby'. 'Alright, let's end this.' And without further ado, after taking back his usual size, Alalanth shot the second Corrupter down.
Once again, it screeched like a baby before turning into static. The bat-like phenomena screeched at the death of his so-called charge, but stuck to the ceiling, could do nothing but trash about until his system natural anti-viral software purged him of the pseudo-virus.
Alalanath held him, unwilling to have his nephew of sort get more damaged than necessary.
He had to take down one, he didn't want to make this one suffer also.
Eventually, Larily-Lala held the limp form of Phantom, now in a humanoid shape. The fused couple lowered themselves until they landed beside the recovering Harpuia.
Thankfully, the Tallon he had lost could easily be reattached. And whatever damage he had received while an armed Phenomenon were...well, it would take Harpuya and phantom a week before they could be pain-free.
Alalanath sighed as he heavily sat on the ground, now feeling his wounds. "I'm getting too old for this." He could still hear the echo of the 'Baby' elves dying scream.
'You did good Prabhu.' His dear wife assured. 'I can only feel one Cyber-elf, the one our Krishna told us about.'
"The weak one you mean?" Alalanath asked aloud as he monitored his two nephews' rebooting process.
They had been affected by the corrupting elves despite being copied from X's blueprint...this was...
"Lulu...I just had this weird, crazy and scary conspiracy theory." The Vaishnava spoke almost conversationally. "What if...what if X had been controlled by them?"
'What do you mean Prabhu?'
"I mean...those Corrupter elves managed to mess Shuka and Uluka. What if...what if they also affected X?" Alalanath asked.
X...had been a good friend of Zero and absolutely against having any position of power. So for him not trying to save his only friend left and becoming the sole ruler of Neo-Arcadia, a place made by humans with his counsel and input made no sense at all.
'Hmm...well, those are pseudo-virus, so it wouldn't surprise me that X's firewalls would let them through...but this does not explain why Z-T told us that his hands were tied.' Larily referred to the shocking revelation they had received from Z-T through the mouth of Fefnir and Leviathan.
"Hmm...o.k, other scray taught. Zero descent into madness was started when Weil gave him his update." He began as he tried to erase the sight and sound of the dying 'baby elves. "And X Update was also made by him." he shrugged. "I know we're a hundred years too late but...what if X's body had been programmed like one of those old Robot Master Archeologists found just a few years back. You know, not really free to act as he wanted...this would explain what Z-T told us...and all those decisions."
'Hmm...Yes. I can see what you mean Prabhu. Do you remember the last time we saw him alive?"
"do."
'He tried to tell us something, but he couldn't.' Alalanth could feel his wife's anger.
"Hey, Lulu...it over for him. There's nothing more we can do." Alalanth sends yet another prayer to the most merciful Lord on the behalf of his dear friend X. "He must've taken birth again you know. I'm sure he's a human right now."
'Or he could be a very weak, dying Cyber-Elf.'
"Lulu...why would X become a cyber-Elf." Alalanath rebuked as he turns to his left side, imagining his beautiful wife beside him. " A ghost, maybe, but not a cyber-elf."
'Oh?' Larily challengingly crossed her arms over her breast. 'Then how come I've picked up his designation?"
Alalanath's eyes grew wider than what a human could make. "No...no that's not possible."
'But it is…' Larily send the energical reading to her husband...indeed, the distressed elf had the same reploid designation as X, down to the last digit.
"But...X is…"
'Right behind you Prabhu.' Larily spoke sadly as her gaze stayed on something, a very weak elf that had barely enough energy to glow.
Alalanath closed his eyes and turned around, knowing what he would see, having being forwarned by the two most important people in his life.
When he reopened them…He felt his life air quiver.
X was there...