In one of the abandoned warehouses in the most decrepit part of Neo-Arcadia, in the condemned basement of what used to be an access silo to the Sub-arcade reactor, the movement could be detected.
It was Larily-Lala, emerging from his most successful retrieval mission yet!
The fused Reploid stumbled out of the old and rotted eaten barricade. Battered, bruised, hungry and bearing with him X...
X... a soul so dear to them...it was clear he had done something to please Srimati-Radharani...or Srimati-Radharani just felt especially merciful on this Ekadasi day.
That...or Nityananda...was just being Nityananda.
'Ladly...is it real? Is it true? Is it really...I was not dreaming down here, was I?' He asked his dear Bhatki-partner. As he clutched X closer, noting with great pain at how...depleted he was.
He was practically dying...his heart so broken, his will to live nil...He was such a far cry from the Super cool hero of old that had taken him, the overly enthusiastic Axl, under his wings.
Now...those same wings had been clipped, and his guardian angel had fallen into the pits of hell, his mind twisted by two demons in the form of babies Programmed by a horrible asura that had once, decades ago, being as good as an uncle.
He clutched the elf-closer, feeling his overtaxed and dust clogged vent stuttered. Oh, he needed to get to Ciel and Alouette...
This felt so surreal...and Alalanath wasn't sure if the Elf he carried was really him...his father figure.
'Yes, Ala...It's X...' Larily confirmed what he already knew but feared to believe. But he could also detect some...hesitation in his wife's voice. And yet...he still felt the effect of her presence, a veritable firewall and virus buster had sought and destroyed whatever effect those two A. I had afflicted the temple president with.
She had tried the same thing with Phantom and Harpuia, the latter being the new emperor of the Eurasian continent, and soon the world, could not have his software and mind twisted by the inglorious hatred of a man who deserved his walkabout in the desert.
It had worked, partly. They Systems still recognized her as Lumine and prevented her from doing more than a light sweep. Still, it was better than nothing, and now that the protection software knew what to look for. (being self-updating and all.) such an event would not happen anytime soon. They just needed some time to recover.
Still, he could feel his left side had doubts.
'Lulu...you sound a bit confused.' What answered him was an ironic scoff.
'Well... weren't you confused from the identity of our captive not even five seconds ago?'
'Yes, I was... thank you for the scan, by the way. You just sound like someone who has a few questions on your mind.' he asked as he began to move debris and vegetation out of the way. "So ask away, we still need to wait for Uluka and Shuka."
'Ala...can a cyber-elf be considered a ghost?' His literal left side asks. She was the one holding X to hear battery core, still connected to him via nanite tentacles.
She would use them sometimes, for when sharing one body, it helped to have another pair of arms.
'No...not really. A ghost is the subtle body made of the mind, the intelligence and the false ego... A cyber-elf has the additional covering of sound sky, air and fire.' Alalanath explained, curious about how his beloved could have forgotten about this fact, being the absolute Vedic geek out there.
But then, both were well aware that... others were watching their every move and words.
Behind them, the sound of Phantom lugging the one-legged Harpuia informed the fused couple that they too had managed to exit sub-Arcadia in (almost) one piece, despite their damaged state.
Larily-Lala turned to face them with pride. They truly were the true heirs of X...
"Alalanath Sir...I...I..." Phantom tried to apologize; it was clear the previous event had bruised his pride.
'Oh Krishna...that's quite some mercy you gave us back there...It's only because of you that we've made it all out alive.' He felt his wife hug X closer.
She...had also grown quite close to X during the four years before Zero's...fall. Not as much as Z-T... but enough for her to care about him.
"It's alright, Uluka, we all make mistakes...and we all face demons stronger than us," Alalanath reassured the Shinobi. " And how's Shuka? Is he back with us yet?"
"Ahhhh...A little..." Harpuia stirred. "I...hate Baby-elve," he muttered on Phantom's neck.
A well-shared sentiment.
On the way down the dilapidated nuclear smokestack, the green general had been a beast. Destroying corrupted mechalinoid left and right as he became the arms and blades of Vayu-deva. And what to say of Phantom, who all but merged in the darkness sub-Arcadia like a green parrot becomes one with a green tree...
Or an impersonalist in the light of the Lord.
It was only some especially lousy Karma that had let the two programmable demons take over the fearsome guardians.
Alalanath didn't bother hiding his smile at the two... "Alright, both of you are alive. Were still a bit far from the tower tough."
"It's alright, Harpuia's not the heaviest..." phantom informed the centennial reploid as he readjusted his grip. "I think we can teleport now, were out of the sub-level..." He winced. THis brother copied the painful reaction.
"Guys? What's wrong?" Alalanath asked the two heir of Mega Man X. He felt on edge too...and it was not due to what had happened prior.
"Notification...a warning." Harpuia winced as he spoke. "It...a code like...urgh..." he leaned his damaged helmet onto Phantom's shoulder.
"Hari...what's wrong?"
"The baby...the Bad-Elves messed with my memories. I think...It's back, but...Ah...No...Those Notifications are...impossible." He mumbled, clearly in great pain.
Larily-Lala didn't waste any time ruining to the side of the suffering Ruler of Neo-Arcadia. "Hari! Hari...what's wrong?" The duo asked the green nephew of a sort as Alalanath laid a hand on Harpuia's shaking back, letting his wife's tentacles latching onto one of his port.
'Oh no...he infected.'
'Infected? Oh, please tell me it's not the maverick virus.' Alalanath pleaded, praying to Krishna and Narashima-deva that he would not be required to...
No, he could not even think about that...the ex-maverick hunter had already forced to souls out of their bodies...bodies that were meant to invoke that of an innocent child.
He didn't want to kill someone he cared about again...lest the Lord orders him.
"-ick virus."
The oil and coolant practically froze in their lines... "I beg your pardon?"
"I said...It's not as bad as the maverick virus." Harpuia repeated. "I think... it's something the elves were carrying, but... it's not... It can't do much... just makes my day sukkier," he hissed. "..it's making me glitch...warning about the dark-elf getting free flashing worst then Pandu pink and Neo-yellow tie-die."
Said Ninja now had the same expression as Alalanath when he heard about the maverick virus. "Harpuia...I...my scans came in clear..."
"And?" the mildly infected guardian asked.
"I'm also receiving a code black..." he revealed with a very tight voice.
At those words, all the reploids understood the horrific implication.
Without waiting another moment, Larily-Lala contacted their daughter. "RADHA! Radha! This is MaTa, Report right now!" He ordered as his dear wife clutched X closer to her core.
[DAD!] after what felt like an extra hundred years, he finally heard the blessed voice of his youngest daughter. She sounded scared... "Dad...mom...Where are you? I tried contacting you, but everything was shut down and-"
"It's alright, Radhika... we're here," Larily spoke gently as she tried to hide how fearful she was at the whole situation.
[Mom...mom...is it...Ciel...and...] His God sent daughter stuttered as she tried to speak, clearly in shock.
'Oh my Lord...please bring us home.' The centennial Vaishnava prayed. Ready to give up whatever he had, for he knew his current situation was temporary.
If the Dark-elf really was out...then breaking X's connection with his old body may not have been the best of action to perform.
[Yo, Alalanath! Hare Krishna, Fighting Fefnir speaking.] The firefighter joined in on the call. [ Sorry to hack your Nandini's com. Chanel, but everything's in shut down.] The boisterous general spoke. [Were fine, Ciel, Alouette, and Nandini have been teleported out of the Babel Tower as with everyone that lived there, they're with Leviathan and Kamala. The whole temple's in apocalypse mode, and...everyone's chanting the Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra ecstatically...is that normal?]
[Yes...absolutely.] There was no place safer than an ecstatic Sankirtana. [What's the situation? Harpuia and Phantom reported that the dark-elf had broken out of her prison.]
[Yep...] Came leviathan's higher than normal pitch. She was clearly panicking at the terrible development. [apparently, our supper smart human leader thought it would be wise and perfectly fine to have the Dark-elf at the top of the Babel tower since, you know, her prison also happened to be our Father's tomb and...you know, it's not like we needed to know that information since it would totally clue us in about how Xerox was a reprogrammed reploid and the human maverick and-"
"Leviathan, calm down. You don't need to panic." Alalanath ordered with all the authority he had gained over the past hundred years. "You are a scion of X; act like one!"
[Act line one...you mean committing suicide?] She snapped. [Listen, I'm sorry to tell you, but with the Dark-elf out, it's game over.] She finished with a frightful amount of sobriety.
[Lucie, listen to me.] Phantom interjected. [ We can't...] he sighed—[Lucie...you're in Little Vrindavan...remain here and protect everyone. We will...we will do our best to stall her. Have Ciel take control of the telecommunication array and make an R.W firewall around little Vrindavan.] he ordered his sister unit. [Listen...I...I love you all...]
[Pandu, please!] Leviathan's voice wavered.
[It's alright, we're all going back home anyway..} Phantom spoke with both conviction and kindness. [I chant Hare Krishna, you chant Hare Krishna. We're all going in the same direction Lucie.]
Alalanath could hear some sobs from the Ice general. Usually, he would consider it a very out of character act for such a fearsome guardian... that was until he received a message from Prana-Govinda, he located the dark-elf...
She was at the front door of the temple, holding and unresponsive Z-T and Xerox hostage.
And Using X's old frame... that was still usable after all this time.
Needless to say, it took no time for the fused Duo (plus Cyber-X) to warp back at the temple...leaving behind Harpuia and phantom, for at the moment...anywhere but the Banke-Bihari Mandira was safe.
Back at the temple...
"Prema...I think you scared them." Xerox informed the newly christened Mother-elf.
It was a temporary name, but the copy of master X liked it better than Ai.
"I...s-s-s-s-scared...Bu-u-u-u-u...I'm n-o-o-o-o...t...Scary..." Prema protested as she once again knocked on the door.
They had managed to exit the babel tower through its roof; since Prema had wings and technically was the mother of all Cyber-elves, this was to expect. What had waited for them was a city in full panic mode and humans willing to give their lives to protect their land from an innocent who had just woken up from a nightmare.
Prema had... done something to their radio and whatever electronic they had. And now those humans were leaving them alone.
Speaking of Prema, she was a bit more vocal now. But her vocal chip was definitely faulty.
Well...it was not her chip, to begin with. It actually...it used to be for Master X.
...Well, he was gone...hopefully having taken a human birth this time. And now Prema was in the old, bicentennial frame.
Xerox returned his attention to the holy-place. His favourite place in all of Neo-Arcadia. He could hear the ecstatic Kirtana going in in the temple room, and it was clear everyone was notified of the 'Dark-Elf' newly found freedom and thus were preparing for the worst...
'Oh Krishna, if only they knew mother-elf was purified...that you purified her.' The blue copy lamented. Not only that, but he could not contact anyone since his mom had turned his long and short-range radio off.
No, it was not for what he did under the influence of those so-called humans; he had just...well...
...he had no right to call as many people he could to invite them to the Sunday feast...or sell transcendental books on the phone since he was better than a mere telemarketer AI.
'Mom...why did you have to turn it off? Alalanath thought it was an awesome idea! And now look! I can't even call you to tell you I'm fine!' Was this how being a teenager was all bout? Frustration about one's parents over their over fussing and unfair punishment.
Oh, Xerox knew he deserved much worst...but now his mom had potentially doomed him, Z-T and Prema to a possibly deadly misunderstanding.
Once again, Xerox knocks on the temple door. And once again, he was met with a wave of mantra...
He saw someone, Prana-Govinda, peaking his head to see who it was. The ancient reploid seemed unsure as to what to do... and absolutely terrified. He glanced back to Prema and the still crashed and dust-caked Z-T with clear mistrust.
Yes, so Z-T, even whit a full tank (they had found one energy container that was not too old.), could not clear-out his absolutely clogged vent. And, with the horrific sound of his over-burdened fan, he had gone into emergency shut down mode.
Xerox knew how it looked like, and to be honest, it would be hilarious if not for the fact that they were in the very real danger of being killed from a misunderstanding. He knew Prana would not open the door for them, not after all the betrayals he had survived. The imperfect copy of Master X was beside the most dangerous corrupter, the 'Dark-Elf.' He was also certain they thought he was affected by its presence.
Not only that...but she was technically impersonating the deceased master X.
No, he was not corrupted again. His mother had made sure nothing short of being reprogrammed would turn him evil... and after what had happened, she had even made her son reprogramming-proof. Something no reploids were...for some sadly oblivious reasons.
Suddenly, Xerox wasn't too sure about his stability... He had felt fine after his first mind-rape...at least until he had woken up on the infirmary table with a wrathful Harpuia about to end his life again. And for a good reason.
'Oh, Krishna...Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.' He chanted the Maha-Mantra. Since, as Bhakti-lata and Bhagavad-Gita swami would say, when in doubt, chant Hare Krishna.
"Ze-r-r...Rocku...Are u-u-u-u-u-u O-o-o-o-o k?" Prema asked as she went by the Kailia-Nataraja fountain.
"Ah...I don't know Prema-Prabhu. Are your really free from the vile curse or...or am I just hallucinating that you're back at being nice and sweet?" Xerox asked as he ambled his way beside mother-elf. Assuming she was nice and sweet in the beginning.
Prema paused and knitted her brows. "I-I-It is Gone... I can't hhhhhhh-e-e-e-e-e-ere the bad v...nice..." she informed her Copy of this fact as she dunked Z-T in the fountain.
Xerox's eyebrows hid under his helmet as he hoisted himself on the side of Kalia-Nataraja. The water around Z-T had turned black with the smooth and the dust that had previously clogged his tiny filters, and the Nanoid was still unresponsive.
Really, the blue copy suspected that Z-T might have fallen asleep in Kalia-daha, or Kalia's lake. Which, for the reploid population, was permitted.
As long as they cleaned up after themselves.
"SO...you were hearing a...bad voice?" Xerox asked as he made himself comfortable.
Prema nodded, then she began worrying her lips. "B-baaaa-d-d-d Voi- voicsssssssssssss...E-E-E-Evi-lllll Man..."
"The voice was from an evil man?" Xerox once again asked. This...sounded similar to what he had been through.
Prema nodded, still keeping an eye on Z-T. "Ll-l-l-l-l-l-l-lastttttttttime I sa-a-a-a-a-aw him he had a c-c-c-c-c-c-one head a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a" The mother of all elves mute her voice box as a look of sheer frustration twisted her face. It was clear that, despite her clearing CPU, the voice chip was shot to hell and back.
Once again, Xerox could not help but find it very endearing.
Yes...Master X could look very endearing, especially when the adorable mama-elf was in control of his old body. Especially the way she would pout.
'And I thought Z-T's pout was dangerous, Prema's practical world ending.'
Said...cyber-entity turned her fathomless green glance to Kaila-Nataraja, then back to Xerox. Then she pointed at Sri-Krishna.
"Oh, do you want to know about Krishna?"Xerox asked. Not bothering to hide his joy at the prospect.
Prema nodded as she readjusted her seating so that her feet were in the water reservoir. The day was a bit hot, and, as Xerox had noticed while serving Madri's samadhi, putting once feet in Kalia-Daha was a legitimate way to bring a reploid's temperature down.
Not that the blue replica could anymore... but a whole body bath was even more effective.
At the bottom of the water-bound diorama, Z-T sighed a look of pure bliss and contentment on his pudgy little face. The expression transferred itself onto Xerox and Prema.
Yes, Z-T was perfectly fine in the sacred water.
"So...the beautiful blue boy you see dancing on this snake is Krishna. But everyone knows him as God." The blue half-bot began, praying to Srila-Prabhupada and Vedavyasa that he may be empowered to share this transcendental knowledge. "You...Know what God is...right?" He asked the oldest-elf in existence.
Prema bit her lips and shrugged. Surprising Xerox by the fact that she knew something about Krishna.
"Huh...ok...So...yeah, Krishna's the supreme personality of Godhead because he has all the six opulence, all wealth, all strength, all beauty, all knowledge, all power and all renunciation in full. and He has all the sixty-four qualities...don't ask me what they are tough, I didn't even start reading the Nectar of Devotion yet." He was still studying the Srima-Bhagavatam; he was in the third Canto. The teaching of Kapiladeva to his mother, the saintly Devahuti.
Prema nodded, making a little beep to tell Xerox to continue.
"So yeah, Krishna controls everything; he said in the Bhagavad-gita that nothing can move, not even a blade of grass if he doesn't want it to. But at the same time, He won't remove our free will."
Prema let herself make an 'a' sound.
"He's in the atom as super soul, he's in the heart of everyone, he maintain the universe, and he is the universe." he heard Prema's iris blooming wide. "Basically, there's two-part of God...the person, and his energy...which is also none different from him. Like how the sun and its rays are one yet two. Understand?"
Prema nodded vigorously.
"OK, so God is to be worship with aw and reverence...but that's just in the lower spiritual realms. Vishnu, Rama and Dwarkadisha are all holding positions of power. Vishnu...of Narayana's basically God, the supreme controller, the maintainer and the upholder of Drahra, or the natural constitution of all things and the dully wedded husband or the Goddess of Fortune, Srimati-Lakshmi devi. Same this in...ah...well, same thing as Lord Rama and his wife, Sita-Devi. They are the Supreme King and Queen of...oh, Ayodhya." Xerox explained, feeling the great bliss caused by sharing god with another soul.
"and in Dwarka, Krishna's a powerful hero...He's not really a king, but other kings would see him as such. He was...is the Son of Vasudeva and Devaki, and his grandfather is King Ugrasena, the Chief of the Yaddus." Xerox tried to remember.
In the Krishna book, Krishna is described as having made the ocean-bound fort of Dwarka...but he could not remember if the Lord was ever called King Krishna.
He was called Lord Krishna...but not King Krishna or anything.
Huh...
"A-Anyway. He lived in his citadel in the middle of the Indien ocean with his sixteen thousand and a hundred and eight queens... but... But this is not this Krishna," He pointed at the chastiser of Kalia. " This Krishna in Vraja's worship by love and love alone. There's no awe, no reverence... just pure, unalloyed love." He finally managed to explain.
He heard Prema beep twice, and he felt she wanted to have more information about the previous topic. Meaning the one about Krishna being the most successful polygamist ever while paradoxically being a monogamist at the same time.
God and Paradox... meaning there was no Paradox at all.
Prema's eyes grew wide at that, and her mouth fell open. Apparently, Xerox had spoken out loud.
He would do that since...you know. He didn't have that many friends and would remain for a long stretch of time cleaning the tombs.
"Yeah, Krishna can marry as many young girls he wants, He's God, and we all belong to him." Xerox declared to a very surprised Prema.
"Of course, we all belonged to him. Krishna's everything, Even us...But we're not him." Xerox quickly amended. " Krishna...OK, First of all, were not those bodies, we're spirit souls made of eternity and knowledge inside a body made of...mostly metal and silicon." He rubbed his head...
They had a bit of a clue about how this had happened, but as Alalanath had explained, it was basically the result of some unknown past actions, and they were now reaping the price...as was everyone in the material world, for that matter.
Xerox was not a good preacher by any stretch of the imagination...but he had heard Madri was pretty good if not...flooding the poor new people with more information they could ever hope to understand.
'Oh, Mother Madri...I know I caused the greatest offence to your lotus feet, but please help me out to explain the transcendental knowledge to Prema, the mother-Elf.' The replica prayed to the departed saint, hoping she would be willing to bestow her causeless mercy unto him.
"Prema...Krishna is like the unlimited well of eternity, consciousness and bliss. And were his small parts and parcels...just like droplets of water...but unlike water, we cannot completely merge in his existence again...Basically, we were one with him and different." he explained. "Krishna's not made of mater...His Body and his Self is one like...like what you see, that's who Krishna is." he gestured to Kalia-Krishna. "We're...different. Our body and our true self, the soul, is different. Like, what you see here, the red-eyed reploid...that's not who I really am."
Prema pointed at the replica quizzically.
"It's the same with humans and everything that lives. Humans, plant, animals...reploids, we're all spirit souls in material bodies...do you understand."
"Ye-s-s bu-bu-but what ab-b-b-b-b-b-bout his six-six-six-" Prema tried to speak, to bring Xerox back to her question.
Right... that hot topic.
No, Xerox had no idea how to answer that... he was just a sweeper, not a great Vedic scholar, and it showed. 'I just wanted to tell her about Krishna's sweetness in Vraja! Oh... why did I had to broach this particular subject? I'm such an idiot!"
"Krishna the only man, basically, everyone belongs to him." A woman spoke from behind the statue of Krishna dancing on Kalia's hood. " Krishna is the supreme husband, the supreme father, the supreme friend and the supreme Lover. And we all love him back!"
Xerox perked up, trying to see who was hiding behind the monument. "Who...who are you? Why aren't you hiding in the temple like everyone else?" he asked, a bit worried by this development.
"I'm your friend, and I have nothing to be afraid about." the friend walked out from behind her hiding spot. "But you may call me...Madhuri."
She was a young human woman; she was of average height and had very broad hips compare to her torso. She was barefooted and wore a deep blue sari that fitted her plenty of full curves. Her long brown hair was tied in a very thick braid, and her eyes and smiles whereas broad and as warm as Xerox thought a human could conjure. On her forehead was the urdapunda tilaka, marking her as a devotee of Krishna.
And she was...quite familiar as if Xerox would've seen her somewhere...but... at the same time, it was clear she was not of this world.
"Mother Madhuri...I don't remember seeing you at the temple." Xerox commented as he discreetly leered at the weird woman.
She was not registering on any of his sensors. But one glance at Prema told Xerox that she could also perceive the woman.
Madhuri gave a mischievous smile, then turned to the statue of Krishna. "So, what Xerox was trying to tell was that this." she gestured to the murti. "supremely handsome and mind-stealing moon-like youth is God. And as God, the ever-free controller controlled by love, he can do thing us poor mortal can't...and he doesn't have to follow the rules in Vrindavana because it would prevent him from giving the intensity of loving dealing He wants to his greatest of devotee's." Madhuri closed the subject and went to another. "Now, as for why our Krishna was dancing on Kalia, a snake's who's poison was so virulent, it made the Yamuna deadly for all...well, I sorta told you why...but please let me tell you with more details."
"One day, Krishna was herding his friend's cows in the forest near Kalia-Daha, or the lake Kalia was staying at since he managed to anger Garuda...it's another story, but...don't eat what's meant for God and his representative." Madhuri began her tale, enchanting her audience. "Anyway, Krishna and his thousands of millions of cowherd boyfriends and numberless cows, after walking through the twelve forests of Vraja, were thirsty, and thus, to relive their parched throat and cool of from the summer sun went to the nearest bank of the Yamuna river... was it just so happen that the extremely envious and poisonous Kalia...and his numerous wife were staying," Madhuri explained as she acted the drama.
"Now, at this time. Kalia's ever-flowing poison had turned the Yamuna's glorious water into a bubbling pit of vile venom. Nothing could grow on its bank, and if a bird had the misfortune to fly above the river." she lowered her voice. Then she clapped her hand. "It would die...only a lone Kadamba tree remained on its bank."
"And then what happened?" Xerox asked, completely engrossed in Madhuri's narration.
She looked right into their eyes, his face taking on the pallor of death. "They all died."
Behind him, he could hear Prema gasp, her hands covering her mouth in sheer horror.
Madhuri took a few steps back. "I know what your wondering right now, why did the little cowherd boy, who previously great muni's rishis, Vedic scholars and the great Demi-God went to drink the clearly poisonous water, right?"
Xerox nodded as he drank the nectar flowing from Madhuri's plump lips.
"Well, my dear friend, Those pure souls, those who have reached the Spiritual sky, especially those eternally liberated associates of Krishna in Vraja, have such great faith in their best friend that they would willingly drink poison and walked into the mouth of a demon to spread his unending lories. For they are fearless, knowing that Krishna will always protect them." the plump woman declared, her blue-green eyes shining with a glow that was not of this world.
Xerox nodded, not even bothering to close his mouth. He could see that Z-T was awake and listening to the mysterious Krishna devotee, holding onto Prema's leg through his peripheral vision.
"And Krishna did!" The otherworldly woman in blue assured them all. "Seeing that all of His cows and cowherd boyfriends were unconscious...dead on the ground, the Supreme Personality of Godhead revived them all with his glance." she showed her eyes, and her Audience gasped.
Madhuri smiled broadly, pausing for dramatic effect. And, would he had hair's Xerox whole body would be covered in goosebumps.
"The Lord possesses unlimited potencies, one of which is his Isha-Shakti; if he wants something to happen, it will happen. And if he doesn't want something to happen, it won't happen...but it may also happen if it will give him enjoyment." she gave them a conspiratorial wink. " That day, Krishna wanted all of his friends to live, and thus they lived."
"But!" she raised a finger. "Krishna was not done, for the rascal who dared make his Yamuna a poisonous river was still alive!"
Suddenly, little Z-T gave this loud giggle filled with murderous anticipation, catching everyone by surprise.
"Oh my? What is this? Do we have someone who knows who this pastime will happen?" Madhuri addressed the Nanoid using a cutesy voice. Z-T vigorously nodded as he pulled himself out of the fountain. The human woman looked at the blond and very wet reploid baby with mock gravity. "Then you better not spoil it, clear?"
Z-T gave a salute the blew out whatever water was left in his system before...looking at Prema and Xerox in clear confusion. Making those cute, indecisive sounds as his hair wiped from one side of his face to the other as he tried to decide who he wanted to go to.
Madhuri made a sound that implied that her heart had melted a bit. "D'aww...you don't know who you want to be on, do you? It's alright, just sit between the two then." then she straightened herself. "Now...where were we? Right...the chastisement." the woman in blue resumed her tale of ancient history.
"Now Krishna, the supreme personality of Godhead, climbed on alone Kadamba tree on the bank of the poisonous lake, the pious tree was the only one there, for all other vegetation had perished. Some account says that Garuda had dropped some Amrta, ambrosia, on its roots, his foreknowledge if Krishna's eternal pastime prompting the king of all birds to prepare the playing field in consequence. Others say that the tree returned to life by the touch of Sri-Krishna's soft lotus feet. Nevertheless, the moment the Lord Climbed on its branch, the Kadamba bloomed out of season. And the Lord Jumped in the poisonous, snake-filled lake." Madhuri lowered her voice, and a shiver went up to everyone's' spine.
"The kalakhuta poison of Kalia...had absolutely no effect on our dear Lord as he began to swim in the lake, the moment he hit the water, the Yamuna went out of her bed and flooded Vraja for a few miles but, beyond that, nothing terrible happened."
They all let out a sigh of relief.
"But Krishna did not jump in to have some leisurely swim, oh no. God wanted to get Kalia out of His Yamuna as soon as possible then, so he began to play in the water like an elephant, making as many waves as he could with his two powerful arms."
"Obliviously, Kalia didn't like it. 'Who dares to have fun in my lake?' he wondered as he swam up, his thousand of mouth dripping with poison as he prepared to end God's life!"
Once again, Z-T began to giggle, a sound so pure that it would've probably revived Master X where he to hear it.
" But before he could strike our fearless and eternal Hero...Kaila paused to take in His unlimited beauty."
"Krishna was a fresh youth, his skin as dark as a tamal three, a dark bank of cloud, like amorous love. He wore a bright golden dhoti that shamed lighting and the sun; he wore sweet and delicate ankle bells on his feet; he had lost his garland during his intense play. His black, curly hair was thoroughly soaked, and his turban was gone. Krishna looked so beautiful with his mischievous smile decorating his plump red lips."
"And yet, despite this divine vision rarely achieved by the best of sages, Kalia's envy did not permit him the privilege to fall in love with the all-attractive one, and instead." She paused for dramatic effect as she mimed Kalia's sinful act. "Struck the Lord's butter-soft body, coiling around Him as he tried to crush Balarama's little brother. Plunging his dripping fangs in Krishna's butter-soft flesh."
Prema gasped...same as Xerox.
Sure, he had heard the pastime once but...not the way Madhuri would tell it. Xerox could practically see it.
" Back in Nanda-gaon, Balaram was celebrating his birthday with his mother, Rohini and Yashoda. King Nanda was also present, as were all the innumerable Vraja-Vasis...only their festive mood was not accounted for, how could they, when Krishna was gone, and inauspicious signs marred the celebrations. Even the beautiful Kama-Dhenus looked as if their calf had just died.
And then...the terrible news came in; Krishna had jumped in Kalia-Daha...the very life of Vraja was now hanging limply from the demoniac serpents coil...dead."
Xerox frame froze at those words, Z-T whimpered, and Prema gasped in horror as she gathered the nanoid in her arms.
"They all ran to the Yamuna, Kalia-Daha was well known to them, and there...they would enter her deadly water." tears flowed from Madhuri's eyes. "Balaram ran after them, telling them all how it was not true, that nothing could kill his brother!
"they arrived at the bank of Kaila-Daha were...Krishna was being held in the deadly coils of Kalia-Naga!"
"The Vraja-basis all moaned and cried in pain unknown to us! Their very life! Sri-Krishna was..." She swooned, catching herself before she could fall. "They swooned and fainted, Balarama had to hold back the Vraja-Vasis with his powerful arms, preventing them all from joining their beloved Kanu." At this point...tears poured from everyone's eyes.
"Balarama, seeing how his Devotee's the pure lover of God's in his sweetest and human form were about to die from grief, called out to his brother." Madhuri raised her hands. "He Krishna, Oh My Lord! Those are not your servants in Vaikuntha, the Vanaras serving you as Rama or the Yadu's!" The plump woman in blue beseeches to the concrete form of the Lord, living the pastime as if she had been there. "Those are your Vrajavasis, whose love is such that your Godhood hides in shame. They see you as their very lives, oh my Lords, My master, Please save them from this ocean of sorrow and return to them!" She bellowed out. "Don't rain infamy of your head by killing your unalloyed Devotee's."
Madhuri paused as she gathered herself; Xerox had the feeling an august audience had descended from heaven to hear the mysterious Vaishnavi's Narration.
"And then...Krishna opened his eyes. And expanding his body, he jumped out of Kaila's deadly coils. "She mimed. " Kailia, unwilling to let his prey escape his grip, tried to bite Krishna again." Prema made a distress sound, but Madhuri was not done yet, for her smile told everything the reploids needed to know.
This was there that the real story began!
"Krishna, Jumped on top of Kalia's Hood! And began to dance." Madhuri struck a pose similar to the statue of Krishna. Striking her feet to the ground like Krishna striking the heads of Kalia. "And the Lord dance to the tune of his flute and the beating of the Demi-God's drums. Using the heads of the sinful serpent like the most amazing of dancing arena!" she spoke animatedly as she jumped and showed off her amazing classical dancing skills; it was as if Nataraja-Sri, Krishna had entered her body and was making her move.
"And thus, Krishna struck his head over and over, jumping from one head to another as the dull serpent, the most fortunate of all, tried again and again to bite him. Kalia spat poisonous sludge and fire, and Krishna made him vomit more as he struck the jewels on the top of his head!" she truck the ground with her red heel showing how...golden and surprisingly sweet the feet were.
"The demi-Gods in their Vimana showered petals upon the King of all dancers, and Shiva, whose dance bring upon universal annihilation fell to the ground, weeping at the sight of such exceptional dancing skills." she bellowed, enraptured in her own narrative, it was abundantly clear that it was not a story for her, but an event that was happening right in front of her.
"And as Krishna chastised Kalia, the snake's seemingly unlimited strength began to wane, and he began to spew blood. But despite his weakened condition, Kalia continued to oppose the lord, unwilling to surrender."
"and just as he was to give up his life...at this time, he realized that Krishna was the supreme personality of Godhead...the only shelter of the living entity. Noticing that their impious husband had learned his lesson. The saintly Naga-Patnis, his wives fully versed in the art of Bhakti, rushed to save their husband from his assured demise. Praying and beseeching the Lord to please be merciful onto their Husband, Kalia.
they offered the lord, unguents, flowers from the Yamuna, gold, jewellery and numerous pearl necklaces to pacify him."
"And Krishna...by the heartfelt worship of those Nagini's, forgave Kalia for his offence and banished him away from the Yamuna. Assuring the thousand hooded snake that Garuda would not be a treat anymore, since He had left the mark of his ever so auspicious footprints of Kalia's head." She finished with a bow. "Now...there a little bit more to this story, but I believe cutey Alouette and Ladly-Lala want to have a word with you." Madhuri's smile could not be brighter...and sadder.
It was then that Xerox recognized the saint...before she returned to her Pushpa-Samadhi...no, to Goloka, where she now resided eternally.
The small assembly turned around to face the fused couple and the only reploid that could safely handle the Dark-Elf. Both were staring at the trio.
Immediately, Xerox wanted to run...after all that had to happen, there was no way he would get out of this with his life...let alone Prema.
She was in X's old frame, and she had a worse reputation than her blue copy.
But hey... at least he had a pretty intense experience out of it, and he got to see Madri...too bad he had not recognized her before she left.
"Ah...Ummm...Hi...ah..." Xerox awkwardly waved at the oldest and sole surviving Maverick hunter and his dear wife.
They were openly staring at Prema... And in Larily's hands was a dimly glowing Cyber-elf.
Poor thing would not last for a week... if that. That's was undeniably clear.
He took a deep breath in.
"Ah...yeah, that's mother-elf in X's old body. No, it's not X...he's been gone for over a hundred years. Yes, she was still the dark-elf when Z-T woke her up...no, the curse is Gone, Harinam Prabhu purified her..." Xerox Explained as he very carefully hopped down from the basin and moved closer to Alouette. The little reploid had her reader already on him.
The blue copy of X was curious to see if what had just happened was real...or if he was controlled by an illusion again. "Also...I think Madri just told us about the pastime of Krishna chastising Kalia, but...I'm not sure...please tell me I'm-" Xerox asked shakily...
He felt faint.
You are in the green." Alouette confirmed. "everyone in the green except the elf in Larily-Lala's hands."
"Oh...Ok...um...Ok...ok..."
"Xerox...maybe we should just return to the tower and..." But larily-Lala's words didn't reach the copies audio...
He had seen Madri...Madri...Madri...
The one he had killed.
He felt Alalanath's hand on his head. "I know... she just saved you." He confirmed with a bright smile. "Almost shot you on sight... she told me all that happened."
This was too much... Just too much.
"I can't believe it," Fefnir spoke as he openly stared at Mother-elf...in Master X's body.
She had the look, she had the buster, the green eyes, the blue helmet with the red gem...but she definitely acted like a prime and proper woman, sitting with her legs delicately folded at an angle—he hand's daintily folded in her laps and...a pair of breast.
On X frames...
Fully functional breast...
Apparently, one of the temple goers was a mother with a tiny baby. The baby had grown hungry, and thus, his mama fed him...
And Prema...Emulated the human with Z-T. Meaning she had modded a pair of breasts... A working pair of breast, may he add.
On X, the father of all reploids, their father...the blue legend, the ruler of Neo-Arcadia, the angel of Mercy, the most unfortunate android in existence...
No one knew if they should cry or burst out laughing... this was just too much.
Speaking of which, Their leader, Master X, had been lurking in Sub-Arcadia and the dark side of the net for more than a hundred years, his only company a pair of demoniac clones of mother X... sorry, Mother-elf made to drive any Cyber-entity mad with rage.
It was a wonder how Neo-Arcadia was still standing.
Fefnir ran his hands in his rad mane of hair. He had Touhgt the crazy revelation had been last year, and this year would've been the start of a peaceful recovery.
He had been wrong, so, so wrong.
Mother-elf...As Xerox had called her, Prema made a clicking noise, her old and overused voice-chip the last thing Ciel had to fix. First came the mystery-elf, Harpuia, Phantom and finally...Prema.
"So...the kid called you love." He spoke conversationally to what had been the Dark-elf, now purified and back to sanity.
She nodded, a sweet and gentle smile on her lips.
"Do you remember... your other name?" Fefnir asked again, having been chosen to take care of the...Of Prema.
Leviathan was assisting Alouette and Ciel to stabilize the mystery elf on the order of Larily-Lala. Apparently, this was not an ordinary Cyber-entity. But the fused couple remained mum about who it was. His only clue was that Ciel somehow knew of this elf, telling the Guardian that they suspiciously looked like the elf that had helped the resistance finding their base and where Z-T had been hidden.
Meaning, this elf deserved a freaking medal, a piece of land and as much sacred E-crystal he could eat until he went back home, back to Godhead.
Back at the present location, Prema shrugged helplessly. "A...I-i-i-i-i-i-" She muted her system, and Fefnir cringed.
A reploid with a damaged sound-chip was terrible...but it was even worst for other Reploids since they could head a wider spectrum than mere humans...
"So...Ai...alright," Fefnir muttered as he pulled himself into a chair and sat in front of Prema. "Name's Fighting Fefnir...but Fefnir good too." He greeted.
He had never...he could not remember if he had ever met master X before, but one this was sure tough...
He was build to look like a cute, innocent and rather average for a reploid. Save for his bright green eyes that put Harpuia's own to shame.
Her...her eyes.
Fefnir, using the chair backward and heavily leaning on the back and...
Well, he now had the most mind-blowing revelations ever...
X was out, as Prema had managed to convey. He was gone, and that did not even sadden Fefnir. But Prema, mother-elf, was in; she was using this ancient body to move, speak and interact with the world.
Sure, she had an avatar she could use in Neo-Arcadia...but this was just a hologram to show that she was there, a place holder. She now had a body...
She was a cyber-elf using a body...X's sacred body.
She made a clicking sound.
"Yeah?" Fefnir asked.
'Am I in trouble?' she signed.
The firefighter peaked up. "wait...you know ASL?"
'Yes...I remember how to use it...I don't know why but, I do.'
Fefnir grinned. 'Alright! You won't have to awkward stare at X's stolen corps for five hours then! Thank you, my dear Lord Krishna!' Really, this was a literal God-sent.
"Nah, as long as you don't go dark again... we won't punish you." He assured the mother of all cyber-elves. "You...your not insane anymore, are you?"
'Dumb questions are dumb, bro...' The red copy of master X Mentally Slapped himself. An insane person would never see himself as crazy.
Prema furrowed her brows. ' I don't know...what do you mean by sane?' she signed, once again pouting. 'I woke up with a creepy old man telling me to make my puppets dance to his will; then I saw X being forced... to do something to me...Now I feel better, and the curse is gone...but I just had a dead human telling me about how God danced on the head a thousand hooded cobras.' she signed with a very wry smile. 'Now tell me, Fefnir...is this Sanity? Or am I still under the clutch of the curse?"
"Well, Alouette and Ciel gave you the green light. And Xerox vouched for you...by the way, how do you know X and Zero?" Fefnir asked. Sure, mother-elf was said to have assisted X in ridding the world of the sigma...of the virus. But...how could she know about Zero? Her...
Father?
'I don't know.' Prema began. 'I just know...I just know I know X an Zero.' she lowered her green eyes. 'I...I think...I miss Zero. I think I did something terrible to him a long time ago.' She revealed. 'I...can still hear him call my name...' some tears fell from her fathomless eyes, surprising her.
"Yeah...alright, so that's another mystery on our hand then...thank God." The firefighter snarked.
Not that he didn't like a bit of action here and there, his name was fighting Fefnir for nothing. But this...
No, this was beyond what he could take.
Prema made another set of clicks. She wanted to speak again. 'Mister Fefnir...This...this really is X's frame, isn't it?' She asked he tears still pouring down her eyes.
The scorched earth general lowered his eyes. "Yeah..."
'So he...he died?'
"You tell me..." Fefnir leaned his cheek on the one hand. "He sacrificed his frame to contain you when the curse drove you mad."
A look of pure horror came over Prema's face...X's face. The sight broke Fefnir's softening heart to tiny bits. But as he knew...Prema needed to know.
They could not keep her in the dark...and Fefnir had been the one whom the thankless tasked had been given to.
'After this...I'm kidnapping Z-T...'
About the breast part... It was an idea I cut off in the last chapter... but in this one, I realized that Those pice of the female anatomy served to differentiate Prema... Mother-elf from X.
And Fefnir's reaction to them was just... I had to keep it in.
Also, chanting Hare Krishna at the top of your lungs is probably the most important skill one can know. and yes... Madri is my self-Insert...and no a Vaishnava cannot die...and she wanted to help her friend out.
I know Leviathan sounded too out of it with the tears and everything. but think about it...