The Voice in Your Heart
Page 90: Myself When I am Real
"Zero! Zero, holy shit, come look!"
The red reploid approached Delta and Epsilon, who were watching… something, through one of the screens displaying the footage from their drones. X turned towards the screen too, and both X and Zero saw three figures entering the place where Zero's copy body was sealed.
"Resistance soldiers, a cyber elf, and… who's that girl?" Zero asked.
"She's Dr. Alois's last living descendant. If I remember correctly, her name is Ciel." Delta explained.
"Shouldn't, you know, we go help her…?" X remarked when he saw the Pantheons chasing the party.
"You can if you want," Epsilon said, "But given the conflict they're involved in, you might get roped into a global-scale conflict, X."
The four of them then said nothing for a while as they watched Ciel and her companions run from the Pantheons.
"This… this can't be right. She can't be older than 16… why is a child… this is wrong." X declared.
Delta looked at the screen grimly for a while before speaking up, "You know, X? You're right. If you want to go off and help her, we got your back. Just don't bite off more than you can swallow."
"Thanks, Axl!" X beamed.
"Hold up, X, maybe you don't need to after all." Zero remarked when he saw Ciel and her team arrive in front of the sealing room door.
"I sure hope you're right…" X responded.
But then soon the Resistance soldiers were gunned down, and Ciel was forced to use her cyber elf Passy to resurrect Zero's empty body.
Zero grimaced, "Well, shit."
"Go, X! Go, go, go!" Delta waved his hand in a shooing motion.
"I need weapons! Armour, anything! I don't want to die either!" X requested.
Epsilon scratched his head, "Dude, those things don't appear in an instant, even with our tech… unless…"
As quickly as they could, the three reploids scramble to safely eject X's cyber elf out of his reploid body, and sent him on his way. The real Zero acted as X's navigator as the cyber elf made his way to help the copy Zero. Having known the layout of the place, X was able to find the Z-saber that was stashed somewhere in its storage and handed it over to the copy Zero.
Soon after Ciel and the duplicate Zero was able to escape and return to their base, cyber elf X returned to his own home base.
"Well," X remarked, "It looks like someone's going through an identity crisis."
Delta nodded, "I think so too. That cyber elf… Passy? Ended up thinking she was Zero."
"It doesn't help that Ciel didn't realize that it's Passy inside Zero's body… and then she must be overwhelmed by the memories inside that copy body. Coupled with the fact that she thought she'd die…" Epsilon continued.
Zero just sighed, "But if the Resistance knew the truth, they'd lose morale. Besides, what good would it make for them to know the truth, when the real Zero is right here?"
The four of them nodded their heads.
Delta stretched and cracked his knuckles, "Let's see how it goes… and when it's all over, what about we help that cyber elf realize who she really is. Sounds good?"
"I don't see the problem in it. Although if it drags for too long, it might cause another problem…" X replied.
Delta shrugged, "I dunno, it just doesn't feel right to let someone think that they're someone they're not."
"In the end they just need a powerful warrior," Zero added, "Whether it's Zero or Passy, what really matters is that they have my powers."
Epsilon folded his arms, "But the most important thing here… X, you can't use too much of your powers. You need to make sure you have enough to return here. If you dissipate out there, we can't guarantee your safety."
X laughed, "Of course, Epsilon. Of course."
The four of them watched as the conflict between the Resistance and Copy X's Neo Arcadia rage on. But by the third conflict, X realized that he couldn't keep interfering. He withdrew permanently when he nearly spent all his power saving Passy-in-Zero's-body from dying after defeating Omega.
"The world has to move on without me," X remarked as he was recharged in Delta's base, "Likewise, I have to move on from… all this as well."
After X was fully recharged, he as well as Delta, Epsilon, and Zero went on to give the Four Guardians proper respects. His disciples died defending Neo Arcadia, and they deserve an honourable sendoff at the very least.
The four of them watched as the conflict goes on and on, until Passy-as-Zero managed to save the world from being destroyed by Ragnarok. Maybe it was a miracle, or maybe it was Passy's good karma, but Zero's old helmet managed to prevent the CPU in the head from being destroyed. The body was heavily damaged, but it was salvageable.
Delta and Epsilon teleported to where Passy had landed, with X and Zero accompanying them in cyber elf form.
Thanks to Delta and Epsilon's advanced technology, they managed to mass-produce capsules that repair reploids almost effortlessly. Just one capsule managed to repair Zero's damaged copy body, and when it was finished, it was as if the body was just built. Soon Passy-Zero opened their eyes.
"Who… are you?" they questioned.
Delta kneeled down to meet their eyes, "You can call me… Deus ex Machina."
"And I'm his assistant. Hello there, Zero. Or should I say… Passy?" Epsilon greeted with a wave.
"Pas…sy? Ugh…!"
Passy-Zero held their head in their hands as they struggle with their memories. With one mention of her true name, her memories returned to her. The time she spent with Ciel. The human girl's unwillingness to use her powers for so long, until they had no choice. How Ciel treated her like family, even if she's just a "disposable tool"…
Passy then opened her eyes, catching her breath all the way. The concerned cyber elves with Delta and Epsilon transformed into their humanoid forms, and Passy's eyes widened when she saw the figures in front of her.
"X…? I thought you… went to Cyberspace… and you, you must be… the real Zero…?" she stuttered out, somewhat disturbed by the low, masculine voice of Zero's copy body.
X smiled, "We meet again. Sorry I had to go. The world can't depend on me forever. I also need to rest, see."
"You did a good job, Passy. You're a legendary hero in your own right." Zero praised.
Hearing the acknowledgement from the real Zero himself, Passy felt tears form in her eyes. She was so touched that she didn't hear the sound of frantic footsteps approaching the group.
"Hah… hah… Zero…! You're alive! Hah… wha… who are… X? And you… who are you?"
Delta, Epsilon, X, Zero, and Passy turned to the source of the voice – Ciel.
"Ah… to recap," Delta broke the silence, "I'm Deus ex Machina. This is my assistant Epsilon. And as you see, X is here, and this red cyber elf is the real Zero. The Zero you know is your friend Passy, who had a massive identity crisis after possessing Zero's copy body."
Ciel's eyes widened and she froze, "What…?"
Passy smiled, "Hi, Ciel… I'm sorry. I sound really different now. But it's me. Remember? You created me because you wanted a little sister."
Ciel gasped, "Passy…! Passy, it's you…"
"If you're uncomfortable with how you sound, we can fix that." Epsilon offered.
"I'd love to, but are you sure it's okay? This body is practically a legendary relic. It doesn't feel right to… tamper with it." Passy replied.
Zero shrugged, "Hey, it's your body now. Do what you want with it."
"Ah, I… maybe, we can have a bit of time? All of this is… I'm still trying to digest it all…" Ciel requested.
Delta and Epsilon then teleported everyone back to their home base. Ciel and Passy were immediately in awe – the technology in the base is much more advanced than they can ever hope for.
Epsilon and X escorted Passy off to one of the laboratories for the body modification, while Delta and Zero sat with Ciel. One of the mechaniloids quickly served Ciel some tea and cookies. It was clear that she was tired after the long trek.
"Thank you," Ciel said as she took them, "So this… this is where the legendary Deus ex Machina lives? I'm honoured, really…"
"Somehow, people remember that title after so many years?" Delta questioned.
"Of course! Everyone knew Deus ex Machina was the one who sealed the Dark Elf… we tried looking for you. The Resistance divided into two teams. I went to look for Zero, and the other team went to look for you. They returned empty-handed. But at least they returned…"
As Ciel sipped her tea, Delta dreaded the question of why he didn't help the Resistance directly. Given what she's been through, there can be no good answer to this…
"You've been helping us all along, haven't you?" Ciel noted, "X is here. X was with us, doing what he could during the war. You backed him up, didn't you?"
Zero whistled, "Wow. You really are smart, little lady."
Ciel giggled, "Thank you, um… Zero. I'm not quite sure what your reasons are, but knowing that you had our back somehow made me feel a bit happier. I understand that you don't want Neo Arcadia to find you and target you."
Delta heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank you. Truly, you're Dr. Alois's descendant, alright."
Ciel blinked, "You knew my ancestor?"
"We had a few disagreements," Delta replied, "But without him, neither I nor Epsilon would be here today."
Ciel nodded and took a bite out of the cookie.
Once Ciel managed to finish her refreshments, she remained there with Delta and Zero as she waited for Passy to return.
"So now that Dr. Weil has been defeated, will you be joining the new civilization?" Ciel asked, "You don't need to be afraid anymore. And surely… everyone will be happy to have you."
Delta shook his head, "Nah. Thanks for the offer. But we'd rather remain here."
"I see…" Ciel responded.
"The world needs to move on from us old-timers, heh." Zero remarked, "And we also… we also need to move on from our duties."
Soon, Passy came out with a feminine body that suits her better. X and Epsilon followed her. They watched with a smile as Ciel hugged Passy. After handing them some plant seeds to help terraform the war-torn world, Delta and Epsilon teleported them back to the Resistance.
But not before they configured the teleportation machine to remove some of their memories.
Ciel and Passy returned to their friends with the seeds. They remembered that Deus ex Machina helped them, and that their Zero was not the real Zero but Passy all along. But the rest… the rest was foggy. But it was alright.
As X and Zero watched the reunion from the screen, X stretched his cyber elf body with a smile.
"Well… I guess I'm really not going to interfere with wars anymore. Just those little feats and keeping up with things were tiring, even with you guys helping me." X admitted.
"I kind of agree. Even if I know nothing was going to happen to us, it was still emotionally draining to keep up with the conflict." Zero added.
Delta chuckled, "Let's just chill. We're old men, so."
Epsilon waved his hands towards X and Zero, "Okay, get back in your bodies, boys!"
The four of them then continued to live peacefully, away from the troubles of the world. They researched new technology, and continued to watch as the world changed.
Humanity and reploids slowly eliminated the differences between them. But with new innovations came new problems. The four watched as a human named Albert created Biometal Model W. To counter his supernatural-scientific weapon, Ciel created the other Biometals after she found the old, old, old archives of the Maverick Hunters: the legendary pair X and Zero, and X's disciples, the Four Guardians.
The Biometal conflict raged on, but it died eventually, like with every other conflict before it.
Eventually, the Earth was abandoned by humans. The humans created their own paradise called Elysium, while artificial humans – Carbons – were left to terraform the Earth.
The four reploids watched as conflict wrecked havoc on the Earth once again. With Megaman Volnutt trapped in Elysium and no one to rescue him, the Carbon Reinitialization Program started, wiping out all the Carbons on Earth.
Delta, X, Zero, and Epsilon watched in their safe haven as the entire old world was wiped clean and restarted anew.
After that, for the first time in a long while, they left their base. Unbeknownst to the cloned humans, they sowed seeds to reforest the Earth and released clones of long dead animals to repopulate it.
Once all was said and done, the four reploids returned to their hidden base. They continued to watch and observe as life flourished in the planet, their hearts filled with hope.
May this new world be better and kinder than the previous one.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Whew... another summary-ish chapter... but this is the last one. Finally, my work of 5-6 years is done... I have so much to say, yet nothing at all. A lot has changed from the very first concepts. But I have changed myself. My views changed too. But I like this ending much better, I think? It's more heartwarming. But it stays true to the core concept.
I'm glad I managed to finish this. Despite life's difficulties, I swore I would not die before this fic is finished, nor will I abandon this fic. I contemplated stretching the plot of this chapter into several more, but I think it would be unnecessarily draggy since there is no real tension for X, Zero, Delta, and Epsilon. I never played Megaman Legends either, so I couldn't expand much on it. But thanks to the Megaman Wikia, I know bits and pieces; enough for the ending, at least. Since MML3 isn't coming out, I like to think that the Carbon Reinitialization Program happened.
Anyways... you can say that ch90 is an epilogue of sorts. I don't want X, Zero, Delta, and Epsilon to die. I always loved my old concept of Delta being Deus ex Machina, isolated and safe from the world. At first he was conceptualized as a bitter shell of his former self who refused to help the world at all. But as I matured, my views changed and so does Delta's final character and ending.
While I've been looking forward to finish the fic, it felt a bit painful to say goodbye to TViYH. I'm going to miss Delta and Epsilon.
For you who stayed with me all this time... thank you. Thank you so much. It means a lot to me. See you in AO3! I have moved there, so this will be my last update in FFN. Again, thank you so much for being here.
One last note... the chapter title is named after a Vaporwave song. I think it suits the chapter.