Karuna Virus, 12
Warning, some rather coarse language. Suicidal thought, mention of suicide attempts and a human getting badly hurt.
After the...very informative bath, Leviathan had given Draupadi some new clothes to cover herself with.
It was a red and bright green mini-skirt that fit particularly well with a new red top and a gorgeous ribbon.
It was still rather short, and Draupadi missed X's long robe, but this was what she had.
It was definitively better the wearing nothing.
Then after chanting for two hours and a half in Leviathan's presence, knowing that the Mantra would have a positive effect on...let's call her a new friend, Draupadi was off to face whatever challenge her destiny would throw at her.
But...not after yet another hug and another kiss from the amorous and hands-on guardian.
It felt weird and...not exactly appreciated for the Vaishnavi, but thankfully, Leviathan would not go further than the side of Draupadi's lips and her waist.
'Good news, my systems are all optimally running, and I finally got to know what was the deal with the guardians...not so good news, I now have a lady-lover.' She huffed as she wandered the great halls of the ivory tower. She could feel the need to be with her husband again...her friend in her heart warning her that she was needed.
But to be very honest, she didn't expect anything too melodramatic, just X giving his formal apologies and announcing his (partial) Sabbatical leave. And more writing.
The Vaishnavi could already feel her finger itching at the prospect of re-birthing the revealed scriptures; the glorious Bhagavad-Gita was almost ready to be published under the aegis of the Neo-arcadian government.
Yes, having a husband in so-called power really had its perks. X may be stepping down, but he still kept enough authority so that he may make his wife's divine mission a bit smoother. And not to let the mice destroy whatever good was left in Neo-Arcadia in the name of so-called progress.
As she entered the tele-pad and warped to the mediatic floor, Draupadi could not help but thank the Lord for her current situation. Sure, she had lost complete contact with the resistance and Alouette...and now had another reploid trying to pull a Sigma on her and Neo-Arcadia. But spreading the Krishna Consciousness movement again from her own Bhakti-creeper would be a bit easier...by Gaura's mercy.
Of Course, Draupadi had no illusions. Krishna may have removed some obstacles...but to rebirth and disseminate this divine knowledge would not be as easy as she hoped.
Especially after the four years, Neo-Arcadia had to endure.
It was for this reason that today, X would do one of his rare public appearances and addressee his citizen...to apologize.
An apology was better than him simply leaving the place for the Jackal's pleasure or simply staying on the throne without anything more than a very weak mea-culpa. They had spoken at length about it, and it was clear X leaving his post completely was not an option.
If X would be gone...Oh, they were still surrounded by demons wishing to make Neo-Arcadia reploid-free... and those reploids that wanted to make Neo-Arcadia human free.
But...if what she had read was true, most citizens actually saw reploids as...practically equals. And most demanded to cull to be stopped.
But none did anything to stop X... either out of fear or out of cowardice.
Still...what happened happened, there was nothing else to do but to rebuild things better. Meaning with Radha-Krishna at the centre. Draupadi was well aware that not many in the fortress city of Neo-Arcadia would be willing to give up their so-called pleasurable activities to worship Krishna, the reservoir of all pleasure, wanted to worship someone for material gain; her husband was not the one to go to.
He had enough to deal with already. He didn't need a long shopping list too.
X needed time for himself; he needed to focus on what was important and give himself time to heal and enjoy what the Lord had given him. Phantom would be the one steering the citadel toward political and social stability, for he was the oldest and the sanest among X's guardian. Still, X would be his pilot and the one who would give the last words on all depressions.
And Draupadi was there for emotional and spiritual support, nothing more.
Draupadi walked to the recording studio, still barefooted despite the pair of high heels provided by leviathan.
She never understood why those F-model made for fighting would always come equipped with those torture devices/ death trap/ liability. It made as much sense as Layer's armour...
She missed her second-best Navigator...
Nevertheless, she saw Fefnir talking to Phantom. The Assassin was the first to notice her, his eyes gaining a certain glint despite his stone-like face...and Fefnir the second.
"Whoa! You clean up nicely!" He said as he eyes the red legend appreciatively. His crooked grin and coal red eyes scanning her and every single stitch. "da-hanm!"
'Oh, Krishna...' "Oh, just give me a mop and see what happens," Draupadi stated dryly, pulling at the skirt self-consciously. Now feeling even more exposed than when she wore nothing.
She... didn't like the length at all, but the Lord had provided her with a piece of cotton to cover herself. And it was not like she really needed clothing...Reploids didn't need it, and she had nothing to hide.
...She missed wearing her saris...
Under the gaze of the two guardians, she crossed her arms, trying to forget about the whole dress thing. "So...where's X?" she asked, anxious to know of his actual whereabouts.
"he's in the transmission room; Camera needed to re-calibrate his equipment." Phantom explained as he maintained eye contact with the heroin gold and red. "I thought I sent you a map of the Ivory tower."
"You did...I'm not used to a fortress having a map." She admitted...once again tugging at the overly short dress. "Let me guess; it makes him green?" Draupadi chuckled. "I go to sleep for a hundred years, and technology still hasn't advanced enough to not turn him into Quint." She crossed her arms.
Light had given X the ability to be 'whatever' he wanted, and this included the colour of his body and armour. Unfortunately, it meant that the Video recorders would translate his armour hue to either green or brown...
Like...this hideous shade of brown.
"Quint?" phantom asked with a tilt of his head and an assent of a brow.
"Oh...just some poor kid who got hit with bad luck." she waved it off, unwilling to let her mind linger on yet another atrocity of Wily. "Now...where's the recording room?"
Phantom, who was casually leaning on the wall, smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"I would..." Draupadi deadpan. "I tried contacting my husband, but his radio's silence. And Krishna...Someone...my little finger told me he might be in trouble." she ended lamely, not even bothering to hide her concern.
"Radio silence?" Fefnir, who had moved behind Draupadi, broke out of his intent, scanning her bottom half. He looked somewhat worried. "Yo...why would-"
" He's fine..." Phantom tried to wave off whatever misgiving there may be. But he also seemed somewhat worried.
"Is Sage Harpuia with him? Leviathan?" Draupadi asked as she felt the deep and frankly unwelcome dread fill his being.
"No...Harpuia and Leviathan are out for patrol." Fefnir's stated, a certain type of edge having entered his voice. "He's fine...I'm sure he's fine...he's always fine."
"You don't sound so convinced." She observed already unzipping the underdress. As pretty as it was, she wanted to have all of her limbs as free to move as she could.
"No... me neither. Let's go." Phantom pushed himself away from the wall and broke into a run.
The trip had lasted a bit too long for Draupadi's liking...even when dashing at full speed, scaring whatever human employees happened to be in the corridor at the time.
They found the studio's location rather easily with the map. But when Phantom tried to open the door, the electronic lock did not even recognize him.
The Shinobi bit back a curse, a curse Fefnir roared as he was also denied entry.
Draupadi gently shoved them to the side and called to her internal data-cloud. She easily entered the door lock internal programming and unlocked it through a back door.
And as expected, the portal opened to the sound of many very human gasps.
Draupadi and Phantom dashed in, stopping the rats from sounding the alarm.
[Huh...good use of nanite Generated darkness Phantom.] Draupadi praised.
[Humph, It's not nanites... it's my natural armed phenomenon.] The Shinobi informed the legendary commander of the Zeroth Unit[...interesting use of the virus. Devi.] The assassin conceded.
[Thank you.] she sent him a smile as she carefully manoeuvred one man she had caught to where Fefnir was waiting. She had covered his mouth with his hands, with a silent promise that she would kill him would he make as much as a squeak.
...She also chanted the Maha-Mantra in his right ear...the poor soul was in sore need of it.
After that, all humans were nonlethaly taken out and given to Fefnir's care. The two mechanized Ninja slid in the dark studio, merging in the darkness.
While it was true that Draupadi's gems and body held a natural glow, she had her way to turn invisible and ghostly quiet.
It helped that Krishna, who is in the heart of all and the very atoms, ensured no security could catch her.
He was and always will be The Master of all senses; nothing was impossible for Him.
After some taut moment, they finally arrived at the main studio...Phantom and Draupadi jumped at the top of one of the sound stage rafter and, still keeping to the shadows, watch what was happening below them.
Down in the main recording Studio, X was seated upon a throne, his data crown back upon his head and his features doll-like and lifeless...there were two humans in the room; one was at a computer connected to her listless husband, typing at it furiously while the other was trying to fiddle with something behind X's back.
"for Light's sake, why isn't he connecting?" The guy behind X groused, jiggling the connectors. "It worked before. Why can't we plug in its mainframe now?"
"Beat me. I can't even make sense of his code; it's like he got return to how he was before Elispe overpowered him..."
"How he was, you mean before he came so hard with Elipse deep inside him, he went into a coma?" the raunchy man stated as he gave X a hit on his blue helmet. "Bitch here can't handle to be fucked...wonder how he and his old boyfriend managed to have some fun together."
Draupadi almost jumped out of her hiding place to kill the demon, daring to strike at her husband. Instead, she recorded everything.
Krishna told her it was the right thing to do. Still, she hated seeing her husband so helpless at the hands of the two Yavanas.
Phantom covered her hand with his; it was clear he agreed with the mechanized Vaishnavi.
Those two were as good as dead. But not after they got as much dirt on them as they could.
"Yeah...Basically, all of Ciel's patches and back doors have been removed." the computer tech informed his colleague...and the two reploids hiding in the rafters.
[So...this was Ciel's doing.] Draupadi sent to Phantom. [...what was she planning before God laughed at her plan?]
[You're asking me? That's the first time I hear about Master X's codes being tempered with.] Draupadi could hear Phantom clenching his fist and teeth. [Ciel...was Master X using her to suicide? Or was Ciel using him?] he wondered. [Can't believe she modded out master...]
[I knew...She doesn't code like D...Doctor Light.]
[And how do you know how the Legendary Doctor Light code? You were his assistant?] Hidden Phantom sarcastically asked.
[ No, I was one of his cleaner-bot. I know how he codes, and I know what's not original, so returning my Hubby to sanity was relatively easy...still had to pull patches for hours.] She informed the Shinobi. [Glad to know by Xiu Ying's back at being tamper-proof again.]
Once again, her journey in Uranet was still paying off. 'Thank you, Krishna.'
Sure there was the possibility that X would not be in this position would she have remained at his side...but the overall situation would've been worst. Of this, she was certain.
"So, what do we do 'bout Master Puppet. Can't give him back to his four goons like this..." the crude man spoke after giving up in fiddling with X. "Pr, maybe we can, it ain't like they can kill us, you know. And he's been repaired with the bits of that other one...you know, the copy." he spat. "Have no idea how Doctor Ciel managed to get X's original blueprint..."
"Told me she had a dream...but rebuilding X from scratch...It was theorized that only X's original maker could pull it off...obliviously, they didn't count on genome editing." the computer guy waved it off. "But no one could've gone in and tweaked his codes...I swear, not even Mikey could even decode X's codding language, and he was the top coder in Neo-Arcadia."
"Until Ciel walked out from Gen-tech, fresh from the womb with a view." The technician rolled his eyes and returned to fiddle with X, who was still unresponsive to his treatment.
"..oh no." The techy suddenly exclaimed as he practically squished his face against the screen of his PC.
" What?" the bastard asked, letting X alone on his torture device. "Did I broke him?"
"No...No... It's just...His pain Chips gone." The tech guy informed the freeloader, his voice tight. "Meaning...OK, no wonder a blew a fuse yesterday."
"So he's off his leach then." The other technician went to his toolbox to grab something...it was a machine... "So...what do we tell the press?"
"Draupadi...you need to stop him now."
Draupadi didn't need anything more; she emerged from the shadows, making sure her helmet was re-manifested, and the virus was out. She landed in a way that would give her a clear shot of the pervert. Her buster shot primed and ready. "Two choice freak, you step away from my partner and drop damn thing, or I kill you."
Shocked, the pervert raised his hands in the air and dropped...whatever the tool he had was.
She could hear Phantom grabbing the computer guy behind her, hopefully with his fuuma shuriken at his throat.
Oh, they were done playing by the Asimov rules.
"Alright, bud, get on the ground, hands behind the head."
The creeper sneered and brought his hands down. "And why should I listen to you bitch? You can't kill me; I'm a human." he declared as he picked up the dangerous gadget.
"Define human!" Draupadi ordered, charging her shot.
"I'm made out of flesh."
"Animals are made of the same things. Try again," she demanded...belatedly realizing that she would be more efficient with her deep, masculine voice.
Oh, well...too late now.
"I...I..."Finally, some proper fear. "I'm human! I'm a fucking human, you bitch!"
"A human dosen;t defame his leader...now on the ground." she could definitely kill the man, but it would upset X and...Mahaprabhu.
"HA! As if! X is just a Motherfu-" His curse was cut short by Draupadi's shot. It practically blew his shoulder off.
"Oops."
Needless to say, the man was on the ground after that.
After this overly-dramatic event, Draupadi left phantom the two humans, telling him he could dispose of them at his own discretion. She had something more important to do...like scanning her husband for any sign of tampering and/or damage.
She was still reeling that Ciel had her hands in it...but to hunt her down for retribution was not on Draupadi's mind...she didn't have the time of the inclination.
Let Krishna take care of this situation; Draupadi's mission was not to hunt down maverick anymore,
No...Her duty was to protect her Xiu Ying. And to save him from repeated birth and death.
She was sitting beside him, holding the listless form of X to her side as she let the Virus connect their systems.
And...by Krishna's grace, everything was fine and in working order. Nothing had been added, nothing had been removed, and no values had been tweaked.
'So...why is he not conscious? Krishna...what's going on? Are you removing him from my life because...I forgot you?'
"My dear Draupadi...just wait, he'll be back soon. I promise."
"If you say so..." The Vaishnavi murmured as she held her husband close, beating herself for not having followed her first idea and evacuate the (second) man in her life out and away from the cesspool that was the Neo-arcadian... seat of power.
Really...she should have beat him within an inch of his life, warped back to Neo-Arcadia with him in tow and boot Bakasura out. But no, she had to turn the other cheek...
Eventually, X blinked...and stared at his two guardians and his dear wife. "Oh, Zaki...ah...What Happened to Mike and Camera?"
"Oh...they tried to hack you back to how you were before, and this didn't work... So they tried killing you." Draupadi informed her husband, clenching her jaws and fist...
If Krishna hadn't made her forget about the tower map...she would have arrived too late to save X.
The irony was not lost on her, for she was always slower when following a map.
X stared at his wife, his eyes wide...and then the smile became somewhat bitter. "Ah...I knew it." He sighed. "Well, I'm not surprised...not after what I did yesterday." the resignation in his voice was clear.
"Taicho?" Phantom walked forward. "What should be done of them?"
X waved a hand. "Later Phantom... You can look onto it at your own time." He spoke tiredly. "Alright...so, who knows how to make the recording System work?"
"I do." Draupadi piped up. "Technically."
[Echo...what happened? How did you manage to get duped by those two clowns?] she conveyed to her husband through their private connection. [You're better than that.] she didn't bother hiding how displeasure.
X was not the awkward B rank she would stalk like an overly curious golden retriever. And he was smarter than that...
[I didn't think anything was wrong until they turned off my motor function and communication array.] He admitted. [I trusted those men since they served Neo-Arcadia dutifully for over ten years now...] He sighed. [I'm...Draupadi...are all humans so...]
[No...real humans are nice and sweet, truthful, humble and aiming at self-realization.] She described. [They are peaceful, clean...and God-conscious.]
[So...is I am to trust your definition...then there are practically no humans in Neo-arcadia...except for you.]
[And you, and Leviathan, and Andrew.] Draupadi reminded her husband. [By chanting Hare Krishna, you offer our lord the top-most service Xiu Ying.] She turned to smile at him. [It's funny really, Humans consider us no better than appliances...but by the definition of the great sages and the Srimad-Bhagavatam, then we are not only souls but also humans.]
X Chuckled... [So...if were humans, what about the twenty thousand souls bellow us...]
[I would say it fluctuate between animal and demoniac.] She informed her beloved X. [But it's still no reason to slaughter them.] Draupadi gave her husband a thinly veiled jab. [a human follows the principle of none violence after all.]
[Non-violence...so why is there blood on the floor?] X pointedly asked his violent wife.
[Non-violence doesn't mean 'you sit back and do nothing.' It can also mean to protect others.] She explained. [ Sri-Arjuna was a warrior, and he killed many enemies after they heard the Gita for Krishna, the Lord and his best friend.] Draupadi closed her eyes. [None violence to other souls can sometimes mean that you have to kill a few bodies to save thousands, in the Manu-Samhita, the book of law for all human beings, it's enjoined that no sins are incurred if one kills a murderer, a killer of cows, an arsonist, an invader and a man who stole someone's wife. Killing those is actually mercy, for it cleanses them of their sins.]
[Oh? But...I still can't see it.] X admitted.
[X...there's more to the universe than what you can see, even with your amazingly broad spectrometer. Hell is a place, and sinful people go there to have their sins purged excruciatingly...killing those who committed grievous violence to others means that they don't have to suffer in hell for them.] she caught X's eyes. The blue bomber still didn't look convinced.
[And...My Guru-ma and Krishna told me to protect you; I was just doing my job.] she admitted, averting her eyes.
[Griviious violence...Zaki, when did you learn those words?] he asked his wife as he went to grab her retreating hand.
[I've read holy scriptures translated by a pure devotee...those pure souls are so poetic...it rubbed off.] She gave a shy, self-conscious smile. Once again, amazed at how much she had changed.
For decades, she took a new identity as the devotee's servant, A Devi Dasi. Zero, the red ripper, had died without his knowledge, and from the ashes of this sacrifice, Draupadi devi dasi was born.
It was only now that she realized that fact.
She felt a sweet pressure on her lips. Breaking her out of her realization. Instead, the all adoring face of X met her eyes.
"X?"
X simply smiled affectionately, his wordless message loud and clear.
I trust you. I love you...
'Oh Krishna...what have I done to deserve him?' She wondered as she sent her husband the same message.
"So...when do you think you could start?" X asked after a time. "The broadcast already behind by quite a bit."
" Sure, just give me a minute and..." she got up and walked away from the seat of prop and behind the camera. She was unwilling to reveal herself to the public yet, since for them...she was either still dead, dead or a dangerous maverick.
And yet...she could hide forever; It never worked anyway.
She connected to the Camera's and, after figuring out the codding and adjust its setting so that all could see her Echo's beautiful azure in its full glories, was ready to start to live broadcast.
"Alright Xiu, ready when you are." She informed her spouse.
The ruler of Neo-Arcadia took a deep breath in, chanted the Maha-Mantra and gave Draupadi the go-ahead.
'Aw man...master X's such a lucky guy.' Fefnir thought he looked at Draupadi-Zero operating the recording equipment while master X apologized to the reploid population. And an update on the busted status quo.
An apology...
And indeed, there he was, the master on Neo-Arcadia. With palm folded, apologizing to all of his subjects... even going as far as getting up from his throne and prostrating to the ground. His whole frame shaking.
And the fire generals...and the other two also, knew that it was not for show...Master X really was admitting his wrongs, his sins. And begging for forgiveness.
He received a message from Draupadi-Zero, about how, from his position as the supreme ruler of Neo-Arcadia, he could do no wrong. This was but a way for X to heal...and to regain the heart of his subject.
Fefnir averted his eyes from the shameful display. He didn't want to admit he was wrong; nobody wanted to admit they were at fault. For it meant that they were less than perfect and...
And it meant that they had turned Maverick for four years, basically. Just because they offline the unneeded population. The one who would sap the energy to frolic and play as the human's...did the same thing.
Really, from his point of view, Fefnir knew the only reason humans were still around was that they could reproduce and potentially repopulate the planet...once terraformed again.
And then what? They would fight over pieces of land again, wars would start again, they would exploit nature again, and eventually, they would make more robotic slaves because they were just a bunch of lazy fools who had nothing better to do in life than eat, sleep, reproduce and fight.
That. Was. It.
Oh sure, they could love...and then what? Reploid could also love, animals could also love.
Really, they should've just saved the animals, like cows...and let the human-shaped one die off.
Cows were good for everything, and they would never try to eat another species to extinction.
But no...they had to protect uselessly, war-mongering, lazy, hypocritical humans because...humans were apparently intelligent and could make scientific improvement...meaning how to have better sex, eat better, shit better, sleep better and kill more efficiently.
Really...what were Cain and Light thinking by making robots for the humans to play with? Equality among humans and synth was but the stuff of sappy movies, just like equality among colours and the extinction of racism.
Neo-arcadia only had one colour of humans...mainly. No blacks and no brown could be seen...and if they did... it was in the Ghettos and slums that peppered the city.
Oh, Fefnir may act like a brute on the battlefield, letting his battle lust and masochism the full control of his body as he blew rebels and maverick to smithereens. But really...at this point in his life, he knew what humans were after.
Reploids were all for fun...they had no business to exist save to give humans more chance to do those five activities constantly as inevitable death slowly but surely loomed over.
He knew their situation, and he knew of his inability to re-green the planet.
How could he make plant life grow and strive in a desert? The lands were all depleted of nutrients, and no rain fell to revive the few spots of arable land.
Really, Neo-arcadia had more to do with a fancy death camp than anything.
And thus, Fefnir would usually lose himself in two activities, fighting and uselessly growing plants until destruction would free him.
That was until he met Zero... the Red legend, X's messiah and...the hottest piece of polarized metal known to any kind strutted back into their source's live... like a beautiful flower raining destruction on puppets...
The fight they had in the middle of the desert had been...revivifying!
The agility, the grace, the sheer power stat slept under his dark sili-carbon skin...everything about Zero was perfect...save for eh fact that he served the resistance.
But with how absolutely gorgeous and...strong, It gave Fefnir some incentives to just blow the dead-end place and join the resistance. Connection to X is damn.
At least...that's what he thought on his way back to base.
After his most satisfying, vivifying and...igniting fight he had in a century, Fefnir would readily admit that he started fantasizing about the gorgeous blond. About how...would the fire general won, he would have carried the heavily damaged frame of the red demon back to Neo-arcadia. Keeping him alive and repairing him in secret as he...
Got to know each other, become intimate friends and... seduced him...
Oh, he had no idea why back then, but Zero just had this...je ne sais quoi, this attractive quality to him that had drawn Fefnir to him like a moth to a flame.
He just wanted to hold him near as he stroke his beautiful blond hair, spoke him sweet nothing to his audio, shoot the wind about weapons, plants and how everything was slowly going to hell...
They would fight. Of course, it would not be just the mushy stuff like candlelight dinner and whatnot.
Not that he was opposed to the super romantic stuff either. Like, he would totally take the legend out for a moonlight walk in the desert, as far away from the light as possible, gazing at the stars as they laid on a blanket, the highest grade of energeen shared between the two as they lost each other in the sky of their eyes...
Yes...so Fefnir was of the mushy type. Blame it on his master...
And then...he had learned about how the great legendary warrior of old, the supreme badass, the deathless hero in red...was an F-model.
An F-model...
Even Better!
The first time he had seen her...she...
Fefnir did not recognize her...
Alright, so she wore the same armours and the same helmet, and the frame was the same. But the way she was holding herself.
She was meekly looking at the floor, humbly holding her hands in front of her and...
And then those golden marks! If M-framed Zero was a national hero and a historical character filled with mysteries...F-model Draupadi was shrouded in more myth than Fefnir could shake a stick at.
It seemed that a different reploid had replaced zero. And yet...
And yet Fefnir could feel the awakened power of the red legend. It was dark, foreboding and extremely inviting like a siren song beckoning him to give up everything and surrender unto her.
And he would...oh, he totally would give up everything for the minx, especially after the crazy acrobatic and ninja worthy move she pulled as she climbed the Ivory tower. Laying waste to their security mechalinoid and about twelve legion worth of Pantheons with stile grace, efficiency and sheer utter dominance.
Oh...how he longed to feel it as he held onto Draupadi-Zero's shuddering frame against his. Or better yet, lay under her heel as she crushed him, making his frame one with the earth again!
Fefnir exited from his unattainable fantasies as he returned his attention to the drivel X was feeding his pets.
Master X began to call out on those humans still wanting to take control of Neo-Arcadia, openly scolding them about how, by their actions, disaster had almost struck the last bastion of humanity. This disaster being Zero's wrath.
He was still admitting that his august self had been wrong...but no one had dared to challenge him, even when he was sworn to protect humans and thus would not have opposed them. No, instead, a young girl with a handful of civilian grade reploid had to oppose him...and had managed to find and almost set the Z apocalypse in full motion.
Oh yeah...She could definitely raze everything to the ground without a sweat. Draupadi-Zero...from the root of her hair to the tip of her exquisite feet was made to fight and destroy, add to that the maverick virus she holds and...
Well, there were still Reploids and Mechaniloids in Neo-Arcadia. She just needed to take control of them all, and voila! The final apocalypse!
He still remembers the sheer feeling of raw fear he felt when he had first seen the minx, seated in the middle of the medical room with X on her laps and the Virus pouring out of her and staining everything a vile purple.
She had been terrifying. Like, the most beautiful catastrophe just waiting to happen, a viral Chernobyl to the top of the city, it's guardian at the epicentre.
And this same catastrophe had saved him...
She had no reasons too...for Fefnir was still a dog of X...And Draupadi-Zero was his wife...
She was unattainable as long as X lived...and even beyond that.
As he spoke, Fefnir could detect some anxiety that was not from him, meaning it was from his Master. And not a moment after he had felt that, Draupadi-Zero was at the side of her husband, standing near him like an ever-watchful angel...
Or more like a viral Valkyrie.
She laid a strong hand onto the legendary blue bomber shoulder as she looked straight ahead.
The moment she did and Fefnir could just feel Master X's anxiety diminish.
Master X grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Once again, the amount of love he felt for Zero was...
'I have no chance...She's master X...She won't even look at me.' She didn't even like the cute little dress he had gotten her as a token of gratitude.
Oh...X didn't even need to ask Fefnir to get some proper cloth for his better half; the Fire guardian already had commissioned the pretty dress even before Leviathan began to complain about how terrible she looked in Master X's dirty dress.
And from what he had seen...
Well...she wore it for some time and gave the fire general ample time to scan her. But it was clear Draupadi-Zero was only wearing it because it was the only thing she had.
Fefnir sighed...X was a lucky man... a fortunate man...
"-And I would like to thank those who went against my order to kill all the civilian units. You are Heroes, and your act of bravery will be recognized eternally." X finished as he folded his palms and bowed his head. "You...all of you. Thank you...and I pray that I may be able to repay you all for what you did."
"Now...before I end this broadcast. I would..." he hesitate...X, once again felt his anxiety spiked at the next item, the next information he would give the people of Neo-Arcadia. He could feel his core output sky-rocketing in anticipation of a jolt of pain that would never come.
He felt the grounding hand of his wife...of Zero on his shoulder. And once again, he felt her reassuring presence chase away whatever irrational fear he felt.
He reset his voice chip.
"I would like to re-introduce Zero, the returned red Legend." he smiled at his wife, who's face was carefully neutral. "He...has returned once again. And again, I ow him my life."
His Zaki never was one for the camera...not after his first death anyway.
[Zaki... you doing great. I'll be alright; you can move behind the Camera now.] He didn't want the life of his life to suffer more anxiety than needed; that was his job.
She gave a squeeze. [ Xiu, I can still feel the tension in your frame. I can manage it. If I want to preach to them, I need to get used to making public appearances.] she radioed him. [Also...thank you for introducing me as male...but I would've rather you tell everyone the truth about my gender.]
[But...wouldn't that be dangerous?] He asked. With his anxiety fluctuating, he was even more on edge than usual.
[Taking risk for Krishna's not dangerous. The worst that can happen is I-]
[Zero...please...]
[X, Sigma couldn't kill this body, crashing in the Eurasia station didn't do it either. What can they do? The worst those humans can do is throw stones, brick, and whatever they can get their untrained hands on.] She answered him. [And God's protecting me...and I can't die any-]
X interrupted her by squeezing her hand a bit harder than necessary. [Please...Please don't...I don't...I won't be able to...] This was the drop that tilted his scale; X could only struggle to maintain a somewhat neutral and beatific facade in front of the camera.
Blame it on Centuries worth of pain, stress and losing everyone and everything he ever cared about over and over again.
[Hey, Hey...It's OK; I'll be careful. Like, I won't go out without a full escort and...]
[No...no. It's just...my fears speaking...Just...]
[It's alright, Xiu Ying, just ask Krishna to take your anxiety away.] She conveyed.
Considering his Zero's...habits. X thought it wise to do so, for it seemed only God himself could protect her.
[Alright...Alright...Let Krishna take all of them. I can't deal with this amount of stress anymore.] He finally conceded. [Now...do you want me to do an addendum?]
[Yes, it will be out eventually...and I also have some words for Neo-arcadia in general. Oh, and don't forget to tell them that I'm holding you hostage.] Draupadi Zero reminded him.
[Right...Never tough being held hostage would be so pleasant.] X admitted.
[I'm your wife, get used to it.]
It took everything for X not to burst into laughter.
He returned to normal atomic time and resumed his broadcast. "Well...I say he but. Zero...Zero is my wife, and she had this position for over a hundred-fifty year.-" he explained, remembering the conversation he had with Leviathan over two weeks ago, more or less.
Yes, there was no easy or elegant way to deal with Zero's gender. He was actually as she and had been for all time.
Cain knew Douglas knew...and their favourite Life-saver, Louis, also knew...
Zero was kept in the dark since he remembered anything about 'his' mysterious past would trigger a very hidden kill code.
"-She...returned to us recently and, she would have a few words to say." X ended as he passed the proverbial mike to Zero...Draupadi.
It was a beautiful name, just like her.
"Citizen on Neo-Arcadia." she began, her posture stiff, her mouth kept in a line, and her brows knitted. "You are all under my control."
[Huh... you're not mincing words.] X tried not to wince at this; he could already hear and see the gasped of shock and horror that would spurn his citizen to send their E-prayers to him...flooding the terminals with...
Spams...just a bunch of spams...
"The Virus is still with me, and I can turn anything maverick by my will."
[Zaki...you know, your could be less...ah...] It seemed his beloved Draupadi was ignoring him.
X sighed internally; this would be something exciting to deal with; he was certain.
"But...I won't." she closed her eyes. "I won't unleash this nightmare...As long as you all leave my X and what he holds dear alone." She opened her eyes again, letting the virus turn her sclera purple.
"Five days ago, the council tried to control him again; they tried to return him to slavery, to being a mere puppet. I'm sure you all know by now what X did..."
[Draupadi.] He pleaded while he kept his face in a neutral smile.
"As the King and sole ruler of Neo-Arcadia, he acted in his right." Draupadi closed her statement like she would cut down an enemy. "Today, just before this broadcast, two-man tried to...Hack into his system." she spoke those few words in disgust. " and one of them...one of them tried to kill my husband in front of mine and Hidden Phantom's eyes..." the amount of barely subdued anger in her voice. "If any of you have some intelligence left, don't you dare try a third time...I only need thirty-minute to destroy everything you hold dear. And no, this is not a challenge; it's a promise." She punctuated with a show of her undiluted power.
X shuddered...his Zaki was protective of him...
Although she had threatened the last bastion of humanity with rempent maverikism, X could not help but find it extremely endearing. Yes, this truly was his Zero. The awakened Zero...the one who would and could do anything and everything for X's ultimate benefit.
Up and including giving up her life...trice.
Then Draupadi took a deep and steadying vent, releasing it with all of her anger, it seemed. "But...knowing most of the population only want peace, the smart one at least, then I doubt it would have to go that far."
"Beyond that..." Draupadi paused, and, by the sound of it, began to mill something over.
"Beyond that, if you could all chant, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, then I will be less inclined to obliterate the place. I'll even protect it with my life." She assured with folded palms and a humble smile.
This smile took X's mind and worried away. 'So that's what you want...you just want them to chant the holy name, don't you.' X let his own smile turn genuine.
"That will be all." His dearly beloved Draupadi ended as she inclined her head. Once those four words left her lips, her whole posture hunched over, her hands shaking.
X reached over and, expertly ignoring his dear life's protest, pulled her onto his laps. Sending Phantom and Fefnir to please exit the room, he could take it from there.
"X! Let me go!"
"No, you took over Neo-Arcadia...you took all my citizens hostage!" X playfully scolded as he struggled to keep the Beautiful Draupadi from wiggling her way out. "Maverick, I now have you in custody... what do you have to say for your crimes?" He grinned.
It had been so long...so, so long...since the last time he had fun with his Zero...his dear Zaki.
Draupadi stopped struggling and raised her hands. "He Krishna! He Yadhava, He Saketi! He Govinda, He Damodhara, he Madhaveti!" she exclaimed. "O, Krishna! Come save me!"
"What is this? Your surrendering to God of all persons?" X asked as he kept his wife close to him, burying his nose in the back of her neck. And Planting a kiss on the delightful location just for the sake of it.
"Hey, it worked for my namesake...and it worked for me!" she revealed as she crossed her arms over her chest...with a pout...
Yes, Zero could and would pout for X...
"But you called God's name in vain," X argued back. Trying to chase away the fear and the dread of the riot that was probably going on outside.
"You can never call Gauranga''s name in vain. One should always remember it."
"But...you just said Gauranga," X spoke in confusion. "I thought you were calling Krishna?"
"I did...Krishna is also Gauranga."
"And who's Gauranga?"
"Nityananda."
"Nityananda?" X parroted...was his wife speaking in tongue again? And then...
"Wait...Nityananda?" X repeated this word...or was it a name stirring something in his memory bank. "Nityananda...Jay Sri-Krishna Chaitanya, Prabhu Nityananda...Sri Advaita, Gadadhara Srivasa Adi Gaura Bhakta Vrinda..." He murmured as he rubbed his chin. He could still remember Zero's weight as she pounced the blue bomber's vessel, filling his audios with the Maha-Mantra. "Say...Draupadi, what does it-"
The next thing he knew, he felt his dear wife's lips on his, her arms tightly wounded around his neck.
After some time, she finally let go; tears (tears!) were filling her amethyst like eyes. An oceanic smile filled her lips. Giving her a glow he had never seen before.
"So...I wasn't wrong...it was you in those pantheons." Realization light Draupadi's fathomless eyes.
"yes...I can send my consciousness in them since...since some time, I just want to...not be me," he revealed, his smile and happy facade breaking to pieces.
X = pain^suffering...and he hated being X, the so-called God of Neo-Arcadia, the father of a destructive race...the puppet ruler.
Light's greatest curse upon the earth...
And being in a Pantheon meant... meant he was Not X...He was but a machine... he didn't have to think...it meant he could go through as many destructions as needed to atone for his sins. And he didn't have to be...he didn't have to be X...
He didn't have to be X...he didn't have to be this sad and lonely creature anymore...
Since X could never fall to Zero as often as a pantheon would. He could let his Zaki, his angel of Salvation, destroy him...destroy X...
And he would destroy X... He would always destroy X...
X had to die to atone for humanity's Sin...his suffering was deserved and welcome...
He could still feel pain, but this pain had been liberating... And he would fantasize that X truly was gone...until he had to return to his painful body.
Draupadi sat astride upon his lap, cradling X's face in her hands. "X...X...Xiu Yin...Xiu..." she gently called out to him, extirpating the so-called emperor out of his dark thought. "Echo..."
"I...I'm sorry I..." his face was wet...was he still smiling? Zero was there...everything was fine... he would take care of him...
"It's alright, Echo...I think you had enough administrative duty for today," she spoke gently as she kissed his lips gently, letting their Data-gem touch.
X could feel her serenity and natural felicity...it soothed his heart somewhat. "Zaki...I...It's just morning...I have."
He had to check on his subjet...he had to answer them...to assuage their fear and anger at the many sins he had committed...
He had to return to his Data-throne...and answer his emails...and take their pains away... to take it all upon him...
He had to protect them...
He had to protect them...
He felt a gentle viral wave wash his duties away... this nightmare away."Nothing to do all day." She spoke with finality. "One of my demand to maintain the peace in Neo-Arcadia was a ten year sabbatical for you...short of your complete retirement...you can still advise, and you're words are still laws, but I won't let you rule as you did for the last century, is that clear?"
X sighed, the weight of his responsibility still sticking to his broken shoulder, although one strong enough could help him lift it.
"I'm...I should be stronger than that." X stated...he could already feel his control over his emotions breaking further apart. He leaned his heavy head to Draupadi's chest, relishing the hum of her working internals.
"Yes, and as with every brave warrior, you got badly wounded..." Draupadi spoke gently. "Krishna's Son Pradyumna had once been wounded on the field, and Sataki, his charioteer, had to pull him out. Same with King Dhasarath...his favourite queen, Kaushalia saved him more than once..." she explained gently, stroking his helmet. "X...People may criticize you, but I know you...you need...you need to stop right now and focus on what really matters." Draupadi lifted his head so that he may look into her eyes, his tears fully o display for his Hero. "You need a break from fighting...from violence." Guilt entered her countenance. "I...I shouldn't have pulled you out from your retirement back then," she admitted.
"It's...alright...Politic leads me nowhere anyway...and no one wanted me back in the lab, calling me too old to be of any use." He had tried...he had tried so hard for peace...
"Zero...Why...What was I...what am I fighting for?" he asked with a choked voice, to his life long partner. The one that remained despite everything.
He was...she was right there, looking down at him from atop his lap.
He could feel her weight, he could feel the virus and the energy that coursed through her warm frame...he could feel her braid, her venting and...
She was so beautiful...like an angel of mercy.
No...Zero...Draupadi-Zero was an angel, a herald sent by God, Krishna, to save him...again.
"X..."
He broke into broken sobs...it was not even noon, and he had enough of being X.
Draupadi walked out of the private broadcasting studio, helping her husband walk upright.
He was a war veteran, someone who had seen and done too much, and was now practically thrown to the side after being over-used. Forgotten by a society that existed only due to his repeated sacrifice.
Really, Draupadi may have demanded a sabbatical, but it was clear her Xiu Ying really needed to retire... and with no properly trained rulers and many jackals waiting for the Lion to die or leave...
It would not be possible.
'Even if he still has to call the shot, he won't be alone this time, and He'll have Krishna; he needs Krishna.' Draupadi resolved to start teaching him at her earnest, she had already typed the Bhagavad-Gita and had already gifted the first copy X, but she fully knew what her dearest husband needed.
He needed the Krishna book...
Unending bliss flooded Draupadi's heart as she planned her attack. She was already juggling a few books around, but one of Srila Prabhupada's greatest gift to humanity was this particular work. Had the power to give pure love of God with a single word.
It was her favourite...a gift from her black-skinned neighbours, three centuries ago.
'God has a sense of humour...and the best of all, foresight.'
She was already picturing the perfect evening with her recovering husband, curled up against one another...or even in each other's embrace as they read the beautiful work. As spoken by Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, the transcendental so of Vyasadeva, God's biography to the assembled sages of Naimasheranya over five millenniums ago.
She shuddered in bliss, her feet faltering as the weight of the joyful task at hand robbed her of her legs...
Then she heard someone...not really gagging, but clearly disgusted.
This broke Draupadi...out of her divine planing of her Echo's retirement and back to reality...
A reality in which Harpuia was sneering at her as if she was human waste. Beside him was Fefnir...he was holding the Skirt Draupadi had worn but a scant few hours away. He was staring at the scene; his face was unreadable. But it was clear he was not happy either.
"Yes?" She asked, prompting them to move. Beside her, leaning on her shoulder, X was leering at Harpuia with narrowed eyes.
"I..." Harpuia started, only to bite his tongue. It was clear he wanted to run Draupadi through with the sword of his sharp tongue, but the aegis of her husband protected her.
Harpuia turned to the side, about to depart. "Master...your...Zero forgot to turn off the recording..." he spoke tightly and with disgust. Turning his heel and walking away from the two.
Draupadi's eyes grew wide...and would she be human, cold sweat would be pouring down on her back.
[Peh...I bet you gave them all a good show.] Fefnir conveyed to Draupadi, he was clearly miffed about the whole thing.
[If you could consider calming X down from another break down entertaining...] She send to Fefnir, noticing how the red and white general was holding her discarded dress. [ I made a mistake... I admit that. And I hope I will never do it again.]
She felt heat painting her cheeks and turned off the blush option. So she had appeared on National T.V wearing nothing but a red top...and Straddling her husband's lap as he once again broke down.
At least...there was a chance that the microphones had caught the Maha-Mantra. Still...this was not something the public was supposed to see...at all. It made her husband looked weak, a pray...
A hundred years ago, she would've told him to toughen up, but Draupadi knew the reason why he was in such a fragile state was that he bottle everything in...and had toughened up, becoming like an unfeeling doll while he tried to hide his wounds, letting them fester.
Still, it was the second time in three days. Not so bad considering the state he was in the first time she met him.
She wordlessly walked to X's room... she needed to talk to someone...
To be back with X was a dream come true, a Miracle. But the fact that he was so...emotionally bruised.
It could get draining.
He knew and hated it...
And this just made his depression worst.
And thus the vicious cycle went on.
She went in, helped her husband to his bed and prayed to the Lord for a way to free him from his terrible pain.
She kneeled in front of him. X had donned his helmet but was not connected to the wireless array. He was staring at his hands, deep in thoughts.
"X...Echo?" Draupadi ventured as she gently took the hands of her husband. "What happened back there...can you tell me?" she asked. Making sure no one would listen in.
X worried his lips, and Draupadi gave him the time he needed to get all of his thoughts in order.
"Zaki...I...I'm tired of being...me." He began, his eyes still not moving from their joint hands.
"You don't want to be X anymore." She couldn't blame him.
"No...X...X means suffering, nothing more," he confirmed. "I...I want X to...to die..."
"You don't want to be a hunter or the emperor of Neo-Arcadia anymore." She resumed, gently massaging his hands.
"No...I never...I never wanted to be in this position...I never wanted to be a ruler, but..." he sighed as he let himself back on his freshly made bed. "After the elf-war, they practically made X as good as God for this small settlement."
"But...you didn't want that," Draupadi said as she laid beside her Prabhu. Openly cringing at the fact that those Envious demons had the gals to deify their martyr.
Why go to the unfailing Acyuta and surrender to him when they had another fallible messiah to crucify and exploit?
" I never wanted recognition. But after the miracle of having Neo-Arcadia up and running despite everything...they all but enshrined Elipse and me calling us the supreme power-couple." he sneered.
"So...you and-"
"No!" X vehemently denied as he sat up. "Elipse...I have always seen and treated her as your daughter, the last thing I had left of you..." His chest began to heave. "I...I love her as if she was our daughter. I raised her, fed her..." His face crumpled after this uncharacteristic show of love fuelled anger. " She...Weil...he."
Draupadi got up, wrapping both arms around X's chest. "I know..." She felt her own tightened...
"I...I saw it as an opportunity. I wanted... After my failed attempt during the exile..." Draupadi painfully closed her eyes...
"Those sun-charger left Neo-Arcadia and...I was with them..." X's voice turned into a tired monotone as he relived this horrible day. A day Draupadi knew from far away... But X had lived it...
"Echo..."
"I...I was also charging in the sun, and I...I was tired, Zaki, so tired...I've seen everyone die...Cain, Iris, you...Alia... Axl...They all..." he sobbed again before his voice returned to be emotionless.
"That night...I went with them...we all knew we wouldn't survive...none of us could come back to Neo-Arcadia...we all...we all had to die...and I could stop...X would be gone."
Draupadi closed her eyes...And prayed for strength.
All glories to my two newly-initiated God-Sister Ganga-Pryia Devi Dasi and Yamuna-Priya Devi Dasi.