A week passed rather quietly. There was no other casualty, the mechalinoid were well behaved, and X was taking care of Iris like one would a doll.
A well-beloved doll that just so happened to be life-sized and weighed 58 pounds. And a doll that also happened to be a dead reploid taken from the crypt... a reploid Zero had once loved and killed.
Zero's dead Maverick girlfriend.
'X... please don't give me more reason to believe Life-saver.' Douglas thought with dismay as he approached X's door. Seeing a sculpture of a rather gruesome sight of an angry lion wearing a golden helmet. And this one song X had put on repeat loud enough for the passerby to hear it.
Signas had been notified, but good old Douglas wanted to see if he could try and reason with the quasi-maverick...
X.
He knocked on the door, preparing for the worst.
"Coming!" He heard from the other side. After some sound of shuffling and the rustling of cloth, the door slid open, revealing a sight that took the old medic by complete surprise.
X was completely out of his armour.
No, not just the helmet; everything was off. And instead, he wore white bed sheets as pants and a top. Not only that, but he had a Ų shaped mark on his forehead made out of clay, a set of wooden beads around his neck and a colourful bag dangling from his neck.
"Oh, Douglas! Please, come in. I'm so happy to see you." X greeted as he all but dragged the medic into his room. His face was bright, his smile reaching his eyes and his voice filled with hope and joy.
It was... the only time Douglas had seen the father of all reploids so happy was when he was accepted as a Hunter.
'How long was it? Ten years ago?'
X's room was mostly empty... he only had a pod (containing Iris when she was not sitting on the couch), a desk with his computer and a chair, a sofa and nothing else, having given all of his stuff away to various reploids and humans... saved things that related to Zero, since, as he had admitted to a very worried Signas, he still cared for him, and his friend told him it was O.K since he was also becoming a Vaishnava.
... Yes, They had plenty of reasons to worry, and if Douglas failed to bring X back to sanity...
No, he could not fail!
"Please, sit down." He gestured at the couch. "Do you need anything else? Some water? Food?"
"No... I'm fine." Douglas declined... only to have a glass of water in his hand...
How did it manage to get there?
"So, what may I do for you, Douglas," X asked as he sat behind his desk, his whole countenance glowing even though his partner was still MIA for an entire week.
Another twenty-four hours, and he would be declared dead... or rogue.
Douglas looked at X; it was oblivious that the Father of all reploid was happy, for he seemed to glow with a joy that came from inside and yet...
He was chanting this weird song, had given up all worldly possession, saved the one he deemed useful and was speaking to an imaginary friend... and was dealing with Iris's body like one would a broken doll.
Now, Douglas hated to admit, but the cold frame looked good enough that he was sure it would work with another core.
And he also hated to admit that mister Paranoid was right about something.
Speaking of which. "X... Can you please tell me again why you are keeping Zero's dead girlfriend in your room?" He asked, not wanting to waste time with idle talk. He had to break through to X, and if he tried to do it the gentle way... X would always manage to loop the conversation into idle talk about how he was following other sets of laws and was attempting to become a servant of God, and how Douglas really should too, since Krishna was just the sweetest and most loving and a whole love more spam and junk.
"Oh, my friend Kokila told me Iris-chan still thinks she died. I'm just keeping her in a functional state until Kokila and Krishna can break her out of this illusion." X explained as if this was the most mundane things in the world. "I know, It's weird-"
Douglas slammed his fist on X's desk. "X! It's not weird; it's wrong!" The medic sternly informed the degenerating blue bomber of this fact. "You took a corps, a maverick's corps out of its grave and...what would Zero think if he were to learn that his best friend's been cozying up to iris' dead body?"
"Oh, he would get mad... But I don't think it will happen since my friend's friend is inspiring Zero to stay with Bahula Devi Dasi and-"
"Oh, so the Virus has a name then." Douglas snarked, taking note of it despite how terrifyingly insane X had become.
"Please, don't finish that phrase." X gently ordered the medic, his easy smile fading away. "Bahula Devi Dasi is a saint, a servant of Krishna."
"Krishna?!" Douglas openly scoffed. "And who the hell is he? God?"
"Yes." X nodded. "And the one thing the Lord can't forgive is to have his devotee's blaspheme and hurt. Just ask Sigma."
"Oh yeah, I will the next time this cyber-reaper pops up again." Douglas sarcastically replied. Causing X to laugh.
"Oh, If I were you, Douglas, I wouldn't e holding my breath," X revealed. "Kokila told me he tried to kill Bahula... he won't be back till the next day of Brahma, meaning, approximately-"
Douglas turned his ailing superior off as he massaged the bridge of his nose. X was talking nonsense again. 'Well... At least he didn't start talking about taking over the planet and killing all humans... yet.'
"Doug, are you alright?" X asked as he noticed the pained expression on the medic's face.
Douglas shook his head. "No X... I'm not."
"Why?"
"You." The medic informed the First. Feeling despair creeping in his heart. "X you... You've changed since the crash."
"I know I did... But I'm no going maverick, I promise."
"Yeah, that's what they all say... But no sane reploid would talk to an imaginary friend, Worship a God, and steal a corps!" His voice cracked at the end; he had seen the way X's state went from sane and fit to fight to... 'will wake up at three in the morning for a cold shower and walk around in bed-sheets mumbling to myself because I want to love god.' Insane.
'Please... Please, don't do this to us... don't turn maverick... or else.' He would have to face Lifesaver and the board again... and knowing them, they would probably force him to kill one of his friends because he didn't fit with what they expected of him.
If X's body would be made out of flesh, he would just be odd and... a collector with a fine taste, nothing more.
He heard X get up from his desk, and sure enough, the father of all reploids was walking around his desk and to Douglas's side.
He looked right at the medic's eyes, his own artificial green bright and un-fogged by sorrow.
They were shockingly clear.
"Douglas... I know what's going on, I may have gotten a bit odd, but I'm not a fool... much." He added with a self-deprecating smirk. "But I swear, I know what I'm doing," he assured as he brought the overwrought medic to his feet, gently leading them to X's storage capsule.
'At least he had the decency to cover it with something.' Said something was a crocheted table cloth.
X pulled it off, exposing the remains of poor Iris.
"Huh... She doesn't look so bad." Douglas spoke aloud. "You fixed her?"
"No, I just cleaned her body and fixed her hair. Her self-repair did the rest." X informed Douglas as he expertly folded the clothes. "But until my friend can break her out, Iris won't wake up." He frowned.
The old medic looked at his superior commander and back at the supposed corpse.
"Can you lift the lid?" he asked... he had to check this out; Iris's skin was... it wasn't cracked and had this sheen only live reploids would have. There was no sound coming from her fans tough, and no movement could be detected either.
A simple cursory look would not be enough... Douglas had to be a bit more hands-on.
In this way, he could hopefully break X's out of his illusion and bring him back to more or less sanity... Just enough for him to start looking for Zero at his earnest, since, after further review and some radio-burst, it was clear he had survived the crash.
...
'Actually... why did no one went and look for him during the week.' Douglas wondered as X opened the Pyrex lid.
The father of all reploids had cleaned the F-model quite efficiently, and the clothes were something a human would wear, like a sleeping gown with tiny purple flowers printed on it.
It was something an old woman would wear to bed... and it looked freaking adorable on Iris. Especially with the way X had tied her hair with a silken ribbon.
Would it not be for this maverick's dead status, Douglas would think he had walked in on snow white.
Actually...
On a hunch, Douglas accessed the medical cloud and looked up Iris, and sure enough, he quickly found her file, marked as a maverick.
He frowned... there was something wrong here, but... he could not put his finger on it. And once he opened it, he realized why.
Iris was not officially retired; she was still marked as active... it was as if no one had bothered checking up on her status once Zero managed to bring back her remains from the exploding space station...
No one knew how he'd managed to pull this off... but some source said that X had been the one to return with Iris's remains and that Zero had offed Sigma this time around.
"Say, X... are you the one who returned Iris to base?" He addressed the blue bomber in white. Let this one mystery lay to rest.
"Yes, I did," X confirmed with a nod. "I thought Zero would need an outlet after what Sigma did to our Repliforce friend. And personally, I also had to return since Duo did a number on me."
Douglas hummed as he began to probe for Iris's medical port, and sure enough, he found it were it should be.
He sent a small charge to see if her batteries were still up and running...
They were, and they were fully charged.
'Alright... so we know the hardware powered up, but how about her BiOS?' He wondered as he managed to boot her up... his heart pump working overtime as his diagnosis algorithm began to prove X right.
He booted her root menu, and it opened without any problem...
Douglas's breath hitched as the adrenaline kicked in... everything was there; all of her booting options were stable. He clicked on diagnosis...
"Oh God above." The elder medic breathed out as he read all of Iris's vitals.
She was fully functional... the batteries were fully charged and...
"She's alive..."
"Good Job, Zero-Prabhu." Bahula joyfully cheered from the top of the cliff.
Zero struggled to get back on his feet, his knee joint's creaking in defiance.
It had been a week after the crash, and during this week, he and Bahula had elected to move their new village from the hidden valley to the foot of the mountain.
Zero had been against it, telling the Hare Krishna Saint that being surrounded by a mountain meant that they would be protected from all sides. It was a logical argument, and if they were to house reploids marked as mavericks, they would need all the protection they could get.
Bahula had shot it down, arguing that to make a haven for the persecuted barely attainable even by the sound bodies was like throwing the life-raft as far away from the boat as possible and telling the survivor to swim to it.
Zero could not argue that logic.
They had made good progress, and while Zero had no idea how to build things, he still managed to cannibalized the water ... the thing that made drinkable water for humans out of moisture and black water from the derelict space station. And make it work outside.
Bahula had then dug out a huge swath of land to make a pair of artificial lakes, the one on the left was crooked, and the one at its right was a perfect square.
She had called them Shyama-Kunda (the big crooked one.) and Radha-Kunda. (the perfect square.)
The machine was now filling those two lakes, but... not having much to work with, it would take quite some time, a bit over a week, before they would have enough water for Bahula to wash her feet in.
There were more things Zero and the saint had done, too, including prepping the ground for Perma-Culture and teaching Zero how to meditate using different breathing exercises and mantra chanting to control his mind and sometimes volatile mood.
And it worked; Zero's anger and self-loathing were down by quite a sustainable amount. He felt better and managed to let go of plenty of hurts he had been lugging around.
It was amazing what three short words would do.
It made the Zero-Unit commander wonder how more efficient the Hunters would be if they included the Maha-Mantra in their life. Thirty minutes in the morning was minimal... for all he knew, the risk of them turning maverick could very well be cut down by a substantial amount.
Yes, So he was already implementing the hare Krishna mediation and breathing exercise in the schedule; if it made him feel like a reploid fresh of the conveyor belt, then other would be more performant also.
He... just needed to get off his lazy ass and return to base... as if nothing had happened.
Easy... like, so easy...
No, Zero didn't want to return just yet, since, for the first time in his life, he had the chance to truly explore what he was with the help of Bahula Devi Dasi.
She also taught him how to use his innate magic; first lesson, flying, of course!
Now... As Zero had discovered, flying using his magic was much harder than his first stint in the air. Either it was the shame at how he had almost lost control of himself... or it was the fact that it was magic and his magic hated him with a passion only Sigma used to have. Otherwise, why would he always drop like a rock when he tried to float? Bahula could easily do it, and she called herself the worst flyer in Gensokyo!
Whatever and wherever Gensokyo was in Japan.
Speaking of which, the saintly woman was gliding down like a graceful crow. Landing without a sound beside the magical Reploid...
A Magical robot... it sounded like something out of a cheap anime with a cult following. And while it seemed cool at first, Mother Bahula had quickly informed the techno-magical marvel that it was not at all amazing. Just rather uncommon and illegal to make.
"Oh no." The saint gasped in dismay at the sight of her student. "Oh, Zero-Prabhu... your legs have become all crooked."
"It's nothing my self-repair can't fix." Reploid grunted as he tried to straighten his knee's... only to receive plenty of error messages about his legs being irremediably bent out of alignment. 'Great... I need to pay Lifesaver a visit...no, wait. I can't...' Well, he could but...
How would he be received?
Would it be a Hero's welcome? He did fail his mission since the space colony was still intact...
But the space colony was still intact, Sigma was apparently gone for good (but Zero had, unfortunately, no proof of.) and he...
Was now aiding a witch whose desire was to build a refuge for mavericks... another Doppler town. Without a vaccine and technology. Said witch was also triggering the sigma-virus warning system.
Bahula forced the mildly damaged reploid to lay on the ground and prodded his legs with a glowing hand.
They felt like the virus... but not really. It was... very comforting to the downed reploid, and he knew it was the closest thing he would ever get to a mother's loving touch.
The saint's brows furrowed. "Zero... why didn't you warn me that the fall was too great for you to handle." she scolded. "I'm not sure I can safely fix the bend in your metal bones." She sadly informed her student.
Zero Had never experienced someone fussing over him... saved his sweet Iris. And X, of course.
The man was a mother hen for those he cared about...
He missed him... He missed them both.
Suddenly, Bahula lifted him off the ground as if he was a bride.
"Whoa, Hey! Put me down!" Zero protested as the superhuman woman carried him to her hut.
Zero had improved on it, it now had a solar panel, and soon, he would install a water pump. And other facilities. In a way, this was the prototype of the new-Radha-Kunda village affordable housing.
This one was made with organics in mind, but some facilities for reploids like a DIY charger were also available. He still had to find a way to manufacture the minerals they needed without using the usual method... maybe he would find something in the wreck to help him out.
When he could straighten his bowed legs again, that is...
Bahula laid the reploid on his makeshift pod. It really was but a recharging station, nothing more. Then she moved to his legs, calling on her magic again.
Zero's virus scan screeched, but he silenced it, knowing that this was but magic, nothing more...
Nothing less.
He felt his system accept it, his own magic (He had magic... How did Wily manage to pull that off?) whatever little damage was there quickly fixed itself, and his abused shock absorbers returned to function.
Nanite were great... but not perfect. They could fix the small things but not straighten the inner frame.
Bahula frowned. "Hmm... if your have would a pair of shattered legs, then fixing them would have been a matter of minutes."
"You can repair shattered bones?" Zero asked the saint.
" Close horrific wounds, cure cancer, reattach limbs, healing illnesses... the only thing I cannot do is regrowing a body part." She enumerated as her frown deepen. "And repairing you, it seems."
"... You can cure cancer?"
"Yes... But those who are free of this blight are still bound to die one day; I can merely give them borrowed time." Bahula sadly spoke as she sat beside Zero's makeshift pod. "We may be all immortal, my son. But until one completely surrendered to Sri-Sri Gaura-Nitai and chants the Holy names of Krishna, they are all stuck in the endless cycle of reincarnation."
A slight smile tugged at Zero's lips; the saint was back into teacher mode.
Was there anything this woman could not do?
"Why do we keep reincarnating?" Zero asked, eager to hear the truth flow from the saintly lady's lips.
While there were something he could not grasp, it would still be less frustrating than his failed flight attempts.
Bahula looked at Zero with some slight surprise, and after thinking about it for a bit, gave him the answer.
"We keep reincarnating because we keep desiring the wrong thing; to enjoy this world without the Lord... and without restriction." She began. "And another reason for that is our identification with dead mater."
" What do you mean by that?" Zero asked the saint.
Bahula gazed mercifully to the downed reploid. "Who is Zero?" She asked.
"I am?" Zero answered as he pointed at his face... and then he paused. "No, wait... You told me I wasn't this body; I am the spirit soul."
The black and white saint's smile brightened. "Yes. And as the souls, our nature is to serve the supreme soul, Sri-Krishna." She raised her hand. "This body is made out of unfeeling matter; once the soul and the Super Soul is out, the body returns to his nature as dead matter."
"I see. That makes sense." Zero admitted. "I've seen plenty of dead bodies, Reploids and humans... they all look the same and... it's clear something's missing. And no one has ever managed to bring a dead body back from the dead; that's just fantasy."
"Indeed." Bahula nodded. "Well, reviving those who have passed away before their time is possible, the science had been lost, and the mantras required to perform this act is now no better than mere words. For no one have the qualification to chant them."
"Hmm... So what happened to those souls whose body died before their time?"
"They turn into Ghost." Bahula answered simply. "being a Ghost is a terrible Situation Zero. You see the world around you go one while you can only watch. No one can see you, no one can hear you, you can't touch anything, you can only hear...and the only way to break free from this terrible situation is through the mercy of Shiva-Ji or a Vaishnava."
"Is it the same thing for suicide?" The reploid in red asked.
"Yes... Suicide is a great sin... an action that causes arms to the living entity." She explained he eyes losing focus. "I...There's nothing noble about such an act... and the suffering ones receive by this act is rarely, if ever, worth it in the end."
Zero remained quiet for some time... "And... how about... sealing once self to save th-"
"You should not do it." Bahula snapped.
Zero stared... for the week he had been with her and all the sass and attitude he had shown to the saint, she had never as much as raised her voice. But for the first time since he knew here... The sweet woman had spoken harshly.
She stared at Zero, her eyes wild with fear and sorrow. "Zero... In my opinion, being sealed away... it's the same as a suicide..."
"But... You're still alive?" Zero stuttered.
"No... my son, to be sealed away... it's the same as being stuck between life and death." The sain;t voice became haunted. "If you are lucky, your body falls into a coma... but your loves one suffer more than if you would simply have died."
"But if it's for"
"You can't save the world by committing suicide... for what you have is not the cause of the hate that plague this land."
Those words, spoken by the saint, held Zero's tongue.
"I'm... sorry, my son. I need some fresh air." And with that, Bahula left her hut and Zero to his own device.
A bit later, when Bahula's mood improved. To Zero's great relief.
As it turned out, the saintly witch also had so hidden Trauma, and thus the was veteran gave her the time she needed to deal with it... as he uselessly tried to have his nanites fix his bent-out legs.
After some time, their talk resumed where Bahula had left it off, about reincarnation.
"-The way to end reincarnation is to readjust our priorities, instead of desiring to enjoy our senses, we desire to give enjoyment to Krishna... without any desire for remuneration."
Zero grunted. "I see..."
"And, Paradoxically, we enjoy more like this. For Krishna, being the most generous, will fulfill whatever desires we have and make sure all of our needs are fulfilled."
"Uh, really?" now that was quite surprising. " Is that... your talking about Causeless devotional service."
Bahula nodded with a blissful smile on his lips. quite the change from her stormy frown she sported an hour or so ago. "Indeed, the reason for true misery is material desires. One would think the way to stop suffering would be to be completely desireless, but this is wrong, for the soul is never free of wants." Bahula explained, and Zero was sure she was referring to her rather long stint as a Buddhist. "But once I gave up the path of Nihilism, I now truly desire nothing for myself, and yet... I am not desireless."
"Alright, you need to explain that to me," Zero admitted as he sat up experimentally.
He received quite a few more warnings about how his knee joints were too damaged for his self-repair to fix... he would have to go and... face the music and get them fixed by Douglas... no way he would trust Lifesaver; the guy was a freak.
Bahula nodded kindly, her smile not diminishing. " The soul is eternally desiring; it's impossible for us to stop." the saint began. "In Buddhism, the goal is to become desireless... a rock, really. And I assure you, my son, that it is not as pleasing as the tantras are making it to be." A shudder moved her thinning frame. "Not to desire is unnatural for the soul... for existing means desiring. But selfish desires are what cause all miseries in this world and the next."
"I see." Zero nodded.
"Buddhism is for those so hopeless and ignorant... they desire to erase themselves." Bahula's eyes grew distant as her smile faded. "No matter what they say, and what drivel will escape from their mouth, Buddhism is no better than Spiritual suicide."
Zero remained silent; he had not expected such a weighted statement... only an hour after the first one.
What is the name of Doctor Light... and Krishna happened to Bahula?
"And... how about Bhakti? How do Bhakti-Yogi's deal with those desires?" The reploid finally managed to ask after a while, moving away from this painful subject. But not from his painful knees.
Good thing he liked pain; otherwise, he would be in agony.
"We use dovetail them in Krishna's service," Bahula answered as she extirpated herself from some painful memories. "Almost everything can be used in Krishna's service."
"Like fighting?" Zero's eyes shone with deep interest.
The saintly woman nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, Goodness. Yes, you may fight for Krishna and Krishna's devotees." She began to laugh, a welcomed change from her previous demeanour. "Were I come from, Gensokyo, we all love to fight. It's called Danmaku, and it the most dangerous yet beautiful form of fight you can imagine." She explained with great enthusiasm. " We all fly in the night sky, on a darkened illusory stage. there, we make beautiful and most intricate pasterns with glowing magical orbs for Krishna's pleasure as we fight each other!"
"Oh..." No, Zero had no idea what she meant by that. "And how about regular fighting, like killing enemies... isn't it violence?"
"Yes, It is... but despite our desire for non-violence, sometimes, circumstances are such that choosing the peaceful option will result in more harm than good."
"Yeah... that's what I tried telling X, but..." Zero sighed. " Sometime, we would speak about how... maybe we could have avoided all of this.
"You and X have been stuck in the same situation as the Pandava. But from what you told me about mister Sigma, violence truly was the only option."
"Yeah... I know that! X knows that..." Now his mood soured. " It's... my fault..."
"Oh? What do you mean, my dear son?" Bahula, the ever-so motherly witch, asked with gentle tones filled with love.
"I... I was the first carried of the Virus."
"And what did I told you about this virus?" Bahula quickly interrupted Zero from drowning in his self-loathing. "What you called the virus really is your innate magic. Maybe your magic freed Sigma of his inhibition... either that or Sigma was the true carrier while you were used as a mule."
Once again, Zero gave out an angry huff. "yeah, so our commander, somehow tough turning in despots, would make the reploid situation better." He grumbled. "But then... Maybe he was like this since the beginning; Psychopaths are good at being seen as the most handsome."
Bahula remained silent, and Zero waved away the thought of his old mentor and commander.
For a blessed time, he had been a fair a just commander, a father to his man and loved even by humans, especially children.
Zero chose to keep this in his heart and pray for him for Commander Sigma, The link between human and reploid. After a minute of remembering the great man he used to be, Zero desperately wanted a subject change. "Mother Bahula...can you tell me about the war the Pandavas went through."
Bahula Nodded. " With pleasure. You see, my son, The war Arjuna and his four brothers fought was called the Kurukshetra war; at the beginning, after the conch shells were blown, Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-Gita to his best friend in the middle of the two armies. After, the war started and lasted for eighteen days."
"Eighteen days?" Zero gasped. "dang, that was short."
"Indeed, in ancient times, wars were a quick affair that only warriors would participate in. The battlefields were away from the cities and the innocents living there. There were rules to follow, a time to fight and sleep and weapons so powerful, it made what you have utterly unimpressive." Bahula happily stated. "Were talking of mantric and tantric weapons like the wind weapon, fire weapon and the atomic weapon; the Brahmastra."
Zero raised a brow at this. "...Atomic weapons? You mean, like the nuclear bomb?"
"yes, but more powerful and with a precision that you wouldn't believe," Bahula stated with not no small level of amusement.
"Try me."
"The smallest object a Brahmastra was once shot at was a fetus in the womb of his mother... and it was launched from the Himalaya while she was in Hastinapura... or New-Delhi."
Zero's eyes went as wide as his mouth. "No way... you're kidding me."
"No. I am not." Bahula stated with no little amount of triumph. "The unborn child did survive though, for he was a pure devotee of Lord Krishna, the last descendent of the Pandavas... and the last great king of the age of Dwapara Yuga." She explained. "He was directly protected by Lord Krishna in the womb of his mother, Uttara. And after gaining this audience, the child kept looking for God after his birth, earning him the name Parikshit, or he who carefully inspect, examined attentively... he who seeks."
"Oh... I see. But... how did God... Krishna entered the womb? Isn't it like... an airtight balloon filled with water or something?" Zero asked doubtfully.
At this, Bahula got up and smirked as she crossed her arms over her breasts. "Ah, but don't you know? Krishna is all-pervading."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that Sri-Krishna is everywhere. He is in the universe, in everyone's heart and every atom." The black and white saint explained. "So for Krishna to appear in a sealed womb is not at all impressive for him."
"Ha... ah... alright then... So God is also in me?" He didn't feel it... Him.
"Indeed," Bahula confirmed. "What you call guts feeling really is the lord yelling loudly at you."
"Why does God has to yell at me?" Zero asked, quite surprised at the answer he had received. Bringing his heart o his core and trying to feel the Lord in there.
There was...
No... he still couldn't feel it, but Zero chose to believe Bahula anyway. Since she had never lied since the first day they had met.
"He yells at all of us... He would rather speak to us face to face, but since we have let our ego get in his way and only listen to it, Sri-Krishna had to up his volume... we can sometimes hear Him." Bahula spoke regretfully. "But trust me, Zero, once you're false ego starts diminishing, you can start hearing God clearer, and eventually, you will be able to have a sweet conversation with him. Face to face."
A slight smile light Zero's lips. "Oh really? How does he sound like?" The magical reploid asked; as it turned out, his Nanites could indeed fix his knee's, saving him from walking all the way back to Mega-City.
But... but not straighten his internal frame, unfortunately.
Oh, sure, he could contact HQ and explain the situation, but... this may put Bahula in great danger.
She was a witch; she could use magic... and this magic triggered the Virus alarm. Not only that, but Zero was now exuding this miasma, too, unbothered to hide his true nature anymore.
No, he would not follow his previous instruction... no matter how horrible humans could be.
"The revealed scriptures said that Krishna's voice is deep like the sound of thunder in the clouds, the sound of the coming rain, the crashing of waves on the beach... and yet so sweet that it makes ambrosia taste bitter."
"Oh... have you heard him?" Zero asked. He had heard many religionists talking about God... but they would never give the details. Not the amount given by Bahula anyway.
Bahula shook her head. "No, I'm still at the Anartha-Nivriti stage... the stage in which the dirty things in my heart, including the false Ego, slowly but surely get purified and dissolved."
"Ah... and what happens when the Ego is gone?" The maverick hunter asked again; really, he absolutely adored those conversations; this back and forth with the Vaishnavi was unlike anything he had heard before. Everything had a logical explanation, and she would never take the 'because God made it so' stage.
Of course, sometimes she did, but it was so rare that Zero could let it be... for indeed, Krishna was God, and thus nothing was impossible for him.
"Ah, now that is quite the wonderful questions you are asking," Bahula stated as she got up. "You see, we have two Ego's, the false, temporary one, and the eternal one.
"The false-Ego is the false identification with the material body and what is connected to it. Like land, country, family, species, gender and planet." She explained. "For example, my false identity is that of Hijiri Byakuren, a woman born in a little out-of-the-way village that grew chicken and made charcoal, and who became a Buddhist who used to worship Bhishamonten, and then a witch who was only pretending to be a Buddhist."
"Oh so... my current identity as Infinity Zero, the S-class hunter. Is not really who I am then."
"My, you caught on quickly, my son." The saintly being praised.
"Only because I have a good teacher... and my creator did not skimp on the processor speed." Another teaching Bahula had mercifully imparted on the reploid; Once power and abilities, let alone the present body they had, was not a reason to be prideful, for it didn't come from them, it was gifted.
The body they had was a gift of Material nature, and the human form with a human level of consciousness was so rare it one would have more chance of being struck by lighting after winning the big lotto number after finding the winning ticket in the middle of a very busy road.
And it was not like Zero had made his own, perfect war body... it was a certain Doctor Wily who had build it from scratch after he had learned from different teachers... and those teachers from their own teacher's ad infinitum until one reached Brahma, and from Brahma, Vishnu.
And Vishnu came from Krishna, the sweet cowherd boy in Vraja who just so happen to the original Godhead.
Thus, they kept talking like this, Zero would ask questions pertaining to Krishna, and Bahula would gladly answer them all.
There was no bloodshed, no violence.
It felt... nice.
Back in Gensokyo.
"Come one out, you old, saggy gap hag!" Hakurei Reimu vociferated in the courtyard of her converted shrine. " You lazy bag of old bones! Cheap cougar, loose-"
"Yes, Revati, I heard you once; I just had to send out some exalted pilgrims to Mayapur." The legendary gap Yokai herself emerged from her eye-filled portal and prostrated herself in front of Reimu. "I'm here now; what may I do for you?"
For her part, Revati Devi Dasi was picking herself up from the flagstones, dusting herself from the invisible dust. "Just forgive me for insulting you." The shrine maiden of Paradise begged as she bowed again. "And can you please change your messaging magic? I don't want to keep insulting you when I just want to talk." She grumbled as she went to help Yukari to her feet, for it was not an easy task when being so tall.
"I will if I remember." The regal Yokai in purple his her lips behind her fan; this was not something she wanted to change, for he ears could not handle praises anymore. "So... why have you call, my dear? Is there something Kasen cannot help you with?"
"No, can't do Yukari..." Said Oni-Hermit and Revati's best friend emerged from the glowing Shrine, now repaired to an even greater glory. "We Lost Bahula Devi Dasi... and we can't find her."
Yukari's eyebrows raised to her cap as she closed her hand fan. "Oh my... Have you contacted Patchouli and Acyuta-Gopi?"
As if summoned, the two powerful witches emerged from the shrine's main room. Patchouli looked like she had been forcibly dragged out of the basement and had her first dose of sunlight in a decade... and she looked as exhausted as Alice, now Achyuta-Gopi Devi Dasi.
"Oh my, and what happened to you two?" Yukari asked... although she could already guess.
"Achyuta and I scried for Bahula... For seven days." The seven days witch wheezed. "Were... out of power, and mentally exhausted... But we did manage to find a clue as to were our Bahula is."
"I see. Shall we return inside?" Yukari almost gaped everyone there, especially the two overwrought magicians. Instead, she nodded as she followed the two powerful witches and her student/teacher of Bhakti.
Every since Revati's two-year trip outside of the border, courtesy of a very generously drenched night and a drunken bet between Aya, Suika and Yukari. Reimu had changed.
She would no longer drink, didn't gamble whatever little donation she would have, followed the same diet as Byakuren and gave up her girlfriends. And had asked the gap Yokai to arrange for a proper suitor, telling her teacher how it was grand time she started reviving the glorious Hakurei bloodline...
Not that the line had anything to do with blood.
This had prompt Yukari to send Reimu, who now called herself Revati Devi Dasi, for a trip to old hell, hopping Satori-chan could cleanse whatever brainwashing those crazy outsiders had subjected her sweet Reimu to... for not even the grand Yokai herself could undo her.
The next this she knew, Satori was singing the Hare Krishna Prayer at the top of her lungs... as most of the inhabitants of Old Hell.
After a few more attempt at deprogramming Revati and restoring Reimu, the Gap Yokai had... a very interesting dream-encounter with a Half-Lion half-man of Indian origin, and who defeated the glow of the sun with his effulgence... and was animated by a wave of anger that would make Junko turn red with shame and envy.
He had told the eldritch being that, would she keep going, He would make her forget everything, even her own self.
When Yukari had awoken, ten hours later... Her scalp had been pierced by ten claws... ten lion claws...
Needless to say, The Gap Yokai had freed Revati and whoever were with her in the specialized seal... and all came out bright-faced and jolly despite their indescribable ordeal.
It was then that Yukari elected to... join them, for it seemed less troublesome than to always go against the Hare Krishna pandemic.
And to be honest... Gensokyo had never been better.
'Yes, I am indulging in exposition for all of you, now let us return to the story at hand now that you are all aware of how Bhakti entered my Gensokyo.' Yukari addressed the readers, knowing that this would not be popular enough to have an anime adaptation... maybe.
With this multidimensional statement, Yukari walked up the few step up to the shrine's proper, bowing down to Sri-Sri Nityananda-Rama and Nataraja-Mahaprabhu... Or just Nitai and Gaura, the Eternally joyful well of Spiritual bliss and his little brother, the King of Dancer who just so happened to be God incarnated.
'Nietzsche was right; one should not worship anyone God who does not dance.' Yukari thought as he got up from the small temple's floor, it had been freshly swept, and the flowers were adorning the two dancing Deities were presently fresh and fragrant.
Then, something caught her eyes... some bees were on those garlands.
'Oh-oh? Now, what has caused you to be so happy, my Lord? What adventure have You prepared for us?'
"Yukari-Sama?" Revati spoke up, Causing the gap Yokai to Cringe a little. "Please come to the main room, were all waiting for you."
The Sage of Gensokyo properly got to her feet and followed the most fortunate soul in the world to her living space. There, she met with Shou, Janavi (also known as Hoshiguma Yuugi), Unzaan, Youmu, Toyosatomimi no Miko (a friendly rival to Bahula.) and little Sukuna.
She was sleeping on top of Janavi's head... same as Miko saved that her head was on the table.
It seemed the 'immortal' Taoist who controlled the cosmos could not control her insomnia or immortality rhymed with needlessness.
Poor thing.
Now, add Yukari, Achyuta-Gopi (Alice Margatroid) and Patchouli knowledge... Revati's living room shrunk to a rather uncomfortable size.
'And this is why only allow short girls to stay here...' Yukari internally grumbled as he subtly enlarged the room... and then the entire temple to suit fifty people.
Her Revati had complained about the lack of space. 'Hmm... I may have to pull this favour from Remillia; this temple does need better facilities.' mentally sending her order to Ran to set up a tea time party for the charismatic vampire, Yukari sat down on the empty Zabuton. "Alright, what seemed to be the problem," she asked the august assembly.
"Bahula is not in Gensokyo anymore," Janavi spoke without much perambulation. "Those girls here asked me to tell you since-"
"Since no one can exit my realm unless I let them." Yukari finished for the ever truthfully oni, closing her eyes. "But... technically, Bahula wasn't in Gensokyo when she exited... wasn't she?" The ancient being turned her golden glance to Shou and Uzaan.
The statuesque woman sat with her shoulders hunched, and Unzaan had been reduced to a mere puff of steam. "No, madam... She was sent to Hokai again." The most fortunate servant of Bishamonten (Also known as Lord Kuvera.) Said with lowered eyes. "One of her followers... could not handle our acharya giving up the path of impersonalism and walk the pleasant road of Bhakti."
Once again, Yukari's golden eyes slid to Unzaan... it didn't need her level of intelligence to figure out who it was.
"And, what happened in my Sister's realm?" The blond Yoshima asked as kindly as she could.
"We... don't exactly know," Revati spoke up. "I was tasked to retrieve Bahula-sama from Hokai again... But when I arrived, Shinki told me she sent her friend out... she didn't tell me anything else after that."
"You didn't beat her up at the inch of her life?" Yukari asked, quite surprised at this development.
Revati gave this very annoyed look to her old teacher. "No, why would I do that?" her tone of voice matched her eyes. " I've already caused her to destroy her kingdom in a blind rage once; I don't want to cause her this kind of pain again. Besides, she doesn't use the spell-card rules, and I had no guarantee she would tell me."
"And you didn't want to do more work than necessary," Yukari interjected with a knowing smile.
"Why would I waste my time beating someone up?" Revati crossed her arms over her chest. "And Shinki was nice this time, even took a Gita and a ToLC before we left."
Yukari raised a brow at this as she hid he lips behind her ever-present fan. "She offered you sacred hospitality and yet did not bother telling you where our Dear Bahula went."
"Either she didn't want to, of she had no idea," Revati spoke as she lowered herself to a floor cushion. "But that's not important... well, it is, but I don't think Smashing our numerous brains on this particular wall will help us find our friend."
"If I may?" Patchouli interjected. " Achyuta and I have scried for our Godsister for a whole week, and we came to the conclusion that dear Bahula is not in Gensokyo anymore... and she is neither in Makai, Hokai-'
'oh, Thank Krishna.'
"Bhava-Agra."
"Shee, I told you our cow wasn't in posh-high." Suika yelled from outside, sweeping the leaves.
"Nor the Moon, as told by Tri-bhuvana-ishvari herself." Patchouli finished. "The only place she may be would be the outside world... Mukyuh." The grand witch sighed as she slumped at the low table.
If Yukari were a less cultured woman, she would openly whistle at the feat the two powerful magi pulled, for it was not easy nor cheap to contact Maha-Maya's expansion known as Hecatia Lapis-Lazuli.
" That's why we contacted you." Revati continued. "We didn't want to disturb you, Yukari-s-" The Vaishnavi's voice stopped as Yukari pulled her lips.
"My dear Revati, compared to me, you are greater in wisdom and age." The powerful phantasm said with a slight frown. " You have taken your second birth when I am still considered an animal..."
"Rev', just call Yu'kri by her name; she ain't the most powerful anymore." Suika yelled again from the courtyard. Making Yukari's smile widen... and Miko twitch. Raising her head before once again letting it fall heavily on the table.
For an ever drunk oni, the diminutive disaster had a perfect vision. 'Only Oni can be spiritual and always wasted; humans cannot advance if intoxicated by flesh and wine.' She conveyed to those who watched through their screen.
"Yeah... well..." Revati coughed a bit. "Right, as we were saying, Bahula is not anywhere in our part of the world, at least not behind the Hakurei barrier anyway. And Nitai told me she was out for good and... saved a crashing vimana. And she now teaching one of her first students about Bhakti-Yoga... and Magic apparently."
"Well, it doesn't sound as if you needed my help, my dear Revati." Yukari tried to hide her disappointment under her white fan, demurely hiding her lips.
The Vaishnavi gave a long huff. "Nitai only told me that they were in were Kathmandu used to be... and what's Kathmandu anyway?! A city?" Revati asked.
"Kathmandu used to be the capital city of Nepal, but due to numerous pandemic, world war three and climate change, the once striving city in the mountains ceased to be."
"Oh... I see."
"How sad," Shou spoke up again. "Mother Bahula wanted to revisit this place..."
"Hmm... And... you want me to Gap you all there, don't you?" She asked, already planning the best path for the best outcome."
"No, Nitai told me we had to go to this place called Abel City... well, not me since I'm supposed to stay in Gensokyo," Revait informed Yukari. "We already have a few volunteers ready to go out, and we've got enough books to give out." She caught the Sages' eyes. "Is there a temple in Able City?" The red and white Pujari asked.
Yukari hummed as she opened her eyes behind their lids. "Yes... there is indeed a Hare Krishna temple here, but... it's extremely neglected since. Oh my, it seemed that since they managed to... 'Make souls with science.'" The white and purple Yokai made exaggerated air quotes. "Religion and spirituality became a joke to most of the population. Since they now, they have seen this so-called feat as proof that God does not exist."
All the assembled Devotees rolled their eyes at that. Only atheists would readily believe that energy could be made out of nothing if it meant edging God Out.
Silly atheist.
"So, I am to send who to the outside world?" Yukari asked.
"Everyone here," Miko spoke as she raised her heavy head from the table, her eyes were puffy, and it was clear the Hermit was suffering from a lack of sleep. "I would have loved if Mamizou or anyone from the Moriya shrine could come with us... but alas, it seems we will have to face the outside world blind." She made a face. "I have no idea how the world will react to us... and I will admit that I am terrified of what I will find there."
"I see." Yukari hummed. Peering to the future, she smiled.. the supreme plan would work.
As Shou, Uzaan and the rest of the rescue team were gaped out, the overly tall Blond forgot that she had been playing with a teeny tiny girl with a great and glorious ancestor.
In a hidden laboratory, Gate gaze at his crowning achievement. Floating in the nanite-rich water.
This was not a legal lab, and Gate had spent probably more than he should have on the equipment... and the rare material. But he had done it! He had done the impossible.
He had 'cloned' Zero.
This was quite a misnomer since Reploid didn't have conventional Deoxyribonucleic Acid like humans and other animals and organisms had; for them, it was their blueprints. And a reploid blueprint was practically impossible to get unless you were a registered medic... a senior medic.
Douglas, being a wet-ware, had been a dude, and the man could smell the reploid even if he were in another room.
He was a human, after all. And no matter how much was replaced, he would still be a human.
Thankfully, Gate had another source. Or... plenty of them.
To appropriate one, Lifesaver Unit had been a walk in the park for the scientist, and it's not like people would miss Dell anyway.
It had been a worthy sacrifice, for he now had the blueprint, the DNA of one Zero. and with this, made the supreme purifier.
Nightmare Zero.
In the intimacy of his hidden laboratory, Gate burst into uproarious laughter, foreseeing the sea of blood flooding the streets of the world.
Nightmare Zero, the pure form of Infinity Void, the way the God of Destruction should have been at the start, unblemished by the taint of Cain's humanity and X's bleeding heart.
Just the way Master Wily intended him to be.
ToLC... Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, a must-read for those interested in knowing who Krishna is and how to perform Bhakti-Yoga.