Yes, my friend's wedding was beautiful, and I got to see my Guru again (He's based in Toronto, and the poor man had to remain cooped up in our temple... and city for a whole 16 months. but being a travelling Swami, I'm sure he's more then ready to end his break and... well, travel.)
Oh, and I'm moving more towards My He Academia...
I only have one fic finished, Krishna, please... slow down.
Anyway, here's another chapter for you folks, and if anyone wants more information about Krishna and why we are so happy despite being sober, I'm open.
"WHOOO!" Zero shamelessly hooted as Bahula's bike shredded the road at high velocity, its rider the best pot-hole dodger.
It had been years since Zero had hit the road.
Years... ever since he had killed Iris. 'Nope, not gonna get there. What happened was our Karma, and it would be a shame to act like mopey again; neither X, Iris or Mother Bahula would like it.' Besides, it was in the past, and he could not change it.
No, instead, as per Bahula's expert counselling (why wasn't reploid grief counselling a thing... or counselling in general?) Zero learned to let go of his past and move forward. And in the direction that didn't involve numerous wars.
Better yet, just like the nun knew the destination at hand, so was Zero.
After all, he had lived through, and after hearing Bahula's path from a 'went insane with grief' Buddhist nun to a Jolly Hare Krishna devotee, Zero Realized that this was what he wanted.
He wanted to be happy, to truly live like an actual person and not as a tool of death and destruction.
He wanted to be more then merely Zero.
And Zero... maybe due to the crash, wanted to try this Krishna-Consciousness. He had been through so much and suffered.
After Iris' death, the heroic robot-Master had begun to question his reason to live.
Sure, he knew he existed to fight and kill but... why?
Why do so when he would one day have to destroy those he loved?
He would be alone in the world, with only ruins and a few survivors trying to kill him.
He tried to find alternatives to fight, to act more like X, more like Iris... but his nature always screamed at him to fight...
That was all he knew...
This had been what had been expected of him.
And when the virus took over, Zero accepted it, opening his arms after a short struggle as he let his main directive overtake him.
Let X come; He knew his best friend, his equal, could easily surpass him. He trusted in his Kohai.
He didn't train a whimp; he trained the most powerful reploid in the world... and he knew his X would do the needful.
The only hiccup n his plan was the woman he held onto for dear life; the vinyl handles already a thorned mess of shredded fibres.
And with this superhuman woman came the revelation that there was indeed something beyond mere birth and death, unending wars and fight.
She gave him the supreme and absolute truth, true hope eternal, the supreme goal of life and... the one true love; God himself.
God... Krishna. The supreme personality of Godhead, the ultimate controller, the best friend of all, the darling son of Yashoda and the Beloved of the Milkmaids of Vraja, headed by Srimati-Radharani, His divine loving Potency showing her full glories.
Who would have thought God was a sixteen-year-old cowherd boy with impeccable taste in women. And who would have thought that the awe-worthy Sri-Vishnu, the four-armed source of all universes, was but a mere expansion of the divine Bishonen?
And then... he felt the shot hit his back, almost making the reploid let go of what little was left of the passenger strap to dust whatever maverick/ raider/ dead idiot that dared to potentially hurt his Guru.
Thankfully, after awakening to his full potential, something as small as a buster shot was a mere afterthought... and an untrained X had packed more punch despite holding back.
But unfortunately, without the use of his legs and having to hold on to Bahula's back for dear life meant that he could not take any swipe at the goons, let alone a buster shot.
Bahula swerved, dodging a few mines as if she was not flying down the road at ludicrous speed, to her student's great delight.
And then, Bahula boosted the motorbike to a speed that made the shuttle look like a snail on a dry day, as X would say. And thus, she left the mavericks in the dust.
After this burst of speed, the saint of the auspicious cow slowed down to more or less the speed limit, to Zero's great relief.
Sure, speed might give him a buzz... but after the crash?
Yeah, PTSD was a bitch.
[Mother Bahula, can you please tell me how you joined again?] Zero asked; so far, the raids and other rascals had yet to catch up with the Flying Nun, and thus the red doll elected to try and get more information on his teacher.
He desperately needed to move away from his near suicide.
[Mother... could you please tell me more about you?] This was the only thing Zero Managed to come up with as he struggled not to relive the last five minutes (second) that had preceded he would-be crash.
[You must really like me if you want to hear that again.] Bahula said wryly, her back stiff. [And please, remove your arms from my waist.]
[Ah, Sorry... the strap broke and... I have nothing else to hold on to.] Zero sheepishly admitted.
[I see...]
[Is it wrong? I can change my pronoun and voice if it would make you feel better.] Zero provided.
[...What do you mean by that, my son?] The saintly woman asked as she dispatched a dozen or so Mechaniloids with bullets and some golden glyphs.
Apparently, they were going through enemy territory if the number of mechanized guards were of any indication.
[Well... I know you're a nun, and nuns don't usually hang out with man... and nuns don't usually let men hold them as close as I am now and.]
[No, you are right, Zero. I... I have no trust for any man.] She said as she made her bike jump over a barrier, and Zero scanned the area to see who this could belong to.
...
'Nightmare police... never heard of them.' But one this was for sure, this was an illegal use of robotic resources and liable for... the label.
If he managed to survive Signas' ban hammer, Zero might be able to start an investigation on them.
But back to the main topic.
[How about now, mother.] Zero tried as he managed to modulate his voice so that she sounded more like a woman. Thanking his creator for making his frame completely neutral, unlike X.
Suddenly, Bahula stopped her bike, making the ancient beast slid across the sand as it came to a standstill. Getting off from it as fluidly as she rode it. 'They've gained on us... and I cannot focus on the road anymore.] She radioed Zero, her tone quiet yet cutting like the sharpest of blades.
On edge, Zero got his buster out, but Bahula gestures her to stay down.
Obliviously, this is the last thing Zero wants to do, but right now, fighting anything would prove to be about as successful as flying... but at least he could shoot maverick.
Then, he felt Bahula's magic cover the area like a blanket, and their pursuer pass by them without as much as a head told.
Once they were gone, Bahula turned to Zero. "You... changed gender."
"N... Not really. Being reploid means that whatever gender I happen to show in public is merely a cosmetic change." She explains to the Nun. "But if you'd rather have a woman holding your waist."
"Actually, this would be more agitating to my senses." Bahula readily admitted with a slight colouring of her sunken cheeks. "But thank you for your thoughtful action, Zero."
"Hmm." The reploid grunted as he reseted his voice chip to his usual soprano. "Why did you stop here?" He asked the saintly woman who watched the road, lost in thought.
She turned to Zero and removed her helmet. "Oh, you surprised me, that's all... and I could not focus on the road anymore... as I'd just told you." She admitted. " I only know another person who can do what you did, but for them, it is truly a gender change." She trailed off, looking somewhat forlorn.
Then she shook it off and sighed. "Ah, life is like a river filled with sticks. Sometimes, those sticks clump together for some time, and in another, they separate."
Zero made a sound at the back of his throat. He knew what it meant, and his river was a rather lonely one, to be honest.
"But... even if we float all alone, our dear friend Krishna is never very far from us." Bahula smile as she helped Zero off the back seat.
"... are you sure I don't-"
"No... and I'm sorry how I acted previously; I'm not one for violence."
"Oh so... it was not because I wanted to hear your past again." Zero sighed. "I..."
"You remembered your near-miss... and it distressed you."
Zero didn't fight the urge to bite his lips; something Iris would often do when nervous or in deep thought.
"You don't have to feel ashamed, Zero." The saintly witch place a comforting arm on Zero's upper arm. "What you went through has left its marks. You have strong feelings about it, mostly negative. You can't ignore them... you can't bottle them up."
"What do I do then?" Zero asked, at a complete loss.
Bahula smiled kindly, her eyes soft and filled with motherly compassion. "You open your heart and empty it."
Zero made a face. "You want me to expose my weaknesses."
"yes, and once we know where they are, then we can start mending them." The saint confirmed as she retracts her magical sutra scroll. "I know you think not showing where it hurt is a sign of strength Zero, but believe me, it's not. Strong people are those who are comfortable with who they are and humble enough to admit that they need help. And this, my son. Is a true show of strength."
"Strenght in vulnerability." Zero muttered.
"yes, and just so you know. I will never think less of you, no matter what ails your heart." Mother Bahula spoke gently as she placed a fortifying hand of Zero shoulder pad. " I won't share it. And I won't use it against you."
Zero stared at the saint, someone whom he knew he could trust. Bahula returned to her bike and took out an old tent,, and gave Zero the stakes. His task given, the broken reploid went to work.
'Once my legs are fixed, I'm never taking the act of standing lightly anymore.' He thought as he pressed the stake in the ground with no tools. His knee joints complaining at every movement.
He felt terrible, his Bhakti-teacher was practically doing everything, and this, after Zero had promised the Lord he would protect Bahula with all he got...
Meaning, Bahula was the one protecting him.
It was... a very humbling experience, that's for sure.
'Maybe I should tell her that... it's in my heart and... those thoughts are making me weak.' He realised as he gazed at the bi-coloured-ette. Bahula noticed and let her golden yellow gaze linger on his downed and dusty form.
She was listening, asking, letting Zero know that she was there and that nothing he would tell her would reduce his stature in her eyes.
The reploid opened his mouth, willing his turbulent state of mind to form words she could understand, and those words, coherent phrases...
The only thing he managed to get out of his voice box was a pitiful crackle. Ashamed, he returned to his task... until he finally managed to speak.
"I don't like feeling weak... useless... a burden... smaller then everyone."
"I see..."
and apparently, this was the only thing Bahula had to say; there was no judgment, only a sign that she had absorbed the information.
"I'm supposed to be the most powerful around. And it's not like I don't have any proof. I mean, my creator called me the god of destruction and all that." He babbled on. "But... I... I don't want that anymore. I've only been destroying all I've seen. Fighting for the sake of fighting. And being praised as someone heroic." he scoffed as he pushed a stake in a pit too hard in a rock, twisting it out in the process. "Oh, scrap."
"It's alright, Zero. I have some spares." Bahula assured him. " And I can understand where you come from. You want to control, but not to hurt.
The image of Iris, laying in his arms as her lovely body cooled, flashed in Zero's vision.
"I... hate not being in control."
"No one is in Control save Sri-Krsna. But, as humans, or as close to it, we do have a degree of free will to act how we desire." Bahula spoke up after mulling over what Zero had told her. " We may be able to control our emotions and bodies to a certain point. But we can't control others' nor can we control the forces of nature, the cosmic movement of celestial body and time... what to say of bodily need like evacuating and sleep?"
Zero opened his mouth and... " You know, I think I remember you telling me that we, the marginal souls, came to this world to play God."
"Indeed, I did."
A self-deprecating smile stretched Zero's lips. "Heh... This whole God business is not going all that great then. I'd rather leave it up to Him; It's not like that Kid has no experience, you know?"
This rhetoric caused the saint to chuckle.
"You are absolutely right, Zero... Only Krishna can be Krishna. But... it doesn't mean we have absolutely no control on our destiny, only two true choices that open more pathways." The Saint explained.
"Like?"
" Do you want to serve Maya and remain stuck in this transient world of suffering? Or would you rather serve Krishna and go back home, Back to Godhead?"
Zero remained silent... but his soft smile spoke for him.
He was tired of this shit, tired of running after a fight, of killing.
He was ready for something else, ready for something different. Something that went against what his father wanted... no, what modern 'civilization' strove for.
Money, Sex, Shallow fame, so-called power, useless knowledge, vapid wisdom and self-denying austerities.
He'd seen it all."
He caught Bahula's eyes. " I chose Krishna... to Hell with Maya."
Bahula chuckled as a bright smile lit up her entire face. "Wonderful, but do know that Maya's not the enemy. She is also a Servant of the Lord, a potent controller, Krishna's material Shakti and his little sister Subhadra."
"I see... Thank you, Mother Bahula."
In no time, Bahula had set up camp. She had a small wood-burning stove powered by magic of course. And some food...
Beans and rice.
Now, Zero knew, despite his rather stunted knowledge about the humans he apparently protected, That humans tended to run after whatever would taste good and would go mad if forced to eat bland, boring food with no salt for a few days.
Bahula had been eating a plain porridge made of rice and bean every single day without spicing. Not even salt.
Havish, she had called it.
Still, even with the human fuel, Zero's Bhakti teacher was getting thinner by the days, and there was nothing Zero could do... save praying and listening to her.
Once the camp was set up and a magical border was erected around the perimeter, Bahula finally sat down to rest.
"You look exhausted." Zero commented after draining his E-tank, chewing of the highly nutritious can.
They had found a hunter's cash, and luckily, Zero's frequency was still registered as a hunter, meaning he could take whatever resources were there.
Unfortunately, the cash had been raided, and thus, just a few energen cans and some other thing could be recuperated from behind a hidden partition, it was still better then a wet towel, to be honest.
"Do I?" Bahula asked. "Oh... I do feel somewhat tired."
"You drove for over twenty hours." Zero hissed. " Even a reploid can't drive that long without a break."
"I just don't want you to be gone for longer then necessary, Zero. And I know how frustrated you are by your lack of movement." Bahula said as she watched the pot of Havisha boil away.
" My lack of movement... Listen, I just need to find a reploid that's about my size and rip his legs off; I can replace them no problem." In theory, but it would be agonizing to walk around with leg's that were not meant to work with him.
All reploid, no matter their size or alignment, all came from X, and since Zero had been made as to the one thing able to utterly destroy X by his crazy mad man of a father...
Yeah, no, He and X were only compatible friendship-wise, but not hardware-wise.
"You are antsy," Bahula spoke.
Zero clicked his tongue. "I'm not used to being down for so long... unless if it's for recharge." He amended. " But... like this!" He jester at his legs. "It's pure torture!"
Mother Bahula's eyes grew even kinder and filled with the same sad shadow that lurked there when she touched about her past.
Her far past.
Now, Zero was a hunter, and as a hunter, he had developed a knack for putting disjointed information together until it brought him to a possible conclusion.
Bahula knew what it was to be different and ostracized, and she also seemed to carry quite a few burdens, yet she never let any of it slow her down.
More than a thousand years ago, she used to be a plain human and, after a tragedy, chose to give up her humanity and become a demon—a human Maverick.
From... the bits and pieces Zero had managed to glean from that information. Bahula essentially became a Maverick hunting other mavericks... or Yokai, as she called them. At the same time, appearing to the innocent public as a normal human nun.
She had mentioned that... she then changed her tune. And Since Bahula could very easily emphasise with Maverick she never met... well, it was clear to Zero that she chose the demon side of the equitation.
And then... she probably got caught and was sequestered for enough time that her body mutated.
Yes, so he had taken a peek at the woman when she bathed under a rare rain shower...
He was just curious to know how a human looks like under their clothes, and it was not like he was interested in her like that.
She was a human woman, and his teacher... and there were some sacred limits he didn;t dare to cross.
This being one of them.
Still, he had been curious, but what he discovered had not been what he'd expected.
When dressed, Bahula's body was curvy and attractive but naked...
She looked like a mummy; a natural mummy X had once shown him during this one terrible exposition about natural corps preservation.
"I had to make this body a Teru-Teru Bozu before I could become a witch." She had explained without much preamble as she walked past the peeping tom, undisturbed by his intrusion.
It had been the last time Zero did such a thing.
Wait... what was he thinking about again?
He shook his head; he hated when he would go off tangent.
He would love to hear X make his mouth wander off following his broad mind, but Zero-like things going from point a to point B as not to lose his way there.
So, what had he been thinking? Oh yes! That his Bhakti-teacher had probably been locked in for quite some time and that it was clear that she was much older then he and X's age combined.
They're just the way she spoke thing she would reference and names of Japanese emperors that had become a myth... and the fact that she would sometimes wake up, gasping for breath as she crawled outside of her hut, reaching her hands to the stars as she wept, chanting the holy names of the lord as he flashes back once again faded in forgetfulness.
Something Zero was well aware of being her closest neighbour and all that.
She would also talk about her friends and Family back in Gensokyo. About a flying red and white Shrine maiden and the black and white witch who would fight with then same zeal Zero had. And a green hair shrine maiden who had received the numerous blessings of Vayu-Deva, the god of wind, and the boon that all blessing she would give would come true.
Those three had saved Bahula from a seal... and that's all he knew about it.
But from how Bahula hated enclosed space and darkness.
Zero had once entertained the idea of ... giving his body up to science, essentially sealing himself for a long time since... in his grief and tired mind, he strongly believed that he was the cause of everyone's trouble.
Bahula had stared at his with pure horror, her golden eyes turning distant as... whatever had happened in this seal... and in Nirvana came back to haunt her.
And, as she had told him the first time they'd met... and showed him practically. To be one with everything was worst then hell. Plain and simple.
"So, you were telling me about the umbrella person." Zero began, trying to change the subject.
Bahula raised his head from the pot of havish merrily boiling on the campfire. "Oh yes, Tatara Kogasa, the Tsukumogami." She nodded nostalgically. " She's a good friend of mine and a resident of the myourenji." She explained he eyes closed, her features even softer then before.
"And ah... how does she look like?" Zero asked.
He knew what a Tsukumogami was, being rather invested in Japanese culture... mostly in Kendo and its language, really.
"She's an umbrella, or this ghost is fettered to an eggplant-shaped umbrella. Her body is the item, but she does have another form: a young, fourteen-year-old girl with heterochromia, blue hair... she likes to pull pranks on others, mostly human. And for the length of time, she believed that she would consume people's fear to live." Bahula's smile grew even fonder. "Poor girl... she identified so much as a Yokai that feast of other's fear that she couldn't eat."
"Can Yokai really feed off of certain typed of emotions?" Zero asked. Causing Bahula to rubbed her chin as she gazed at the breathtaking sky.
"Well... No, it's a Japanese misconception." The saint admitted. " No one can live off of other people's fear unless one is a bully, and those also need normal sustenance." She stated. "She's better now,, though, and the last I heard, she was taking bhakti-lesson from Revati back in Gensokyo."
"Hmm... I see. And how about you? I can barely remember the last time you ate back out new Radha-Kunda." Zero prodded.
"I'm a witch; I do not require sustenance," Bahula explained. "I will look like a corps if I do not eat tough, but otherwise, it never bothered me."
Zero grunted. Waiting to see if his teacher would add something else or note.
He'd hoped so; he'd dearly hoped so.
Eventually, the rice and pulse were cooked, and after offering it to her Guru, (she always had a locket with a picture of him, it was an Italian man, his smile was as big as his face... and bigger then that was his heart.)
His name was Lochana das Thakura Maharaja.
He had asked Bahula if this man was still alive since the background was awfully green.
Yes, he was. And he lived in Italy in the Vila-Vrindavan community in Tuscany.
After this was done, Bahula sat down and, after saying yet another prayer, finale began eating.
Zero let her, Praying to God that they would soon reach Abel City despite the increased maverick presence.
A shiver went up to to his dorsal cable...
"Zero-Prabhu?"
"Please... swear in God's name that Sigma's truly dead." Zero rasped. With the state he was in right now, it would be close to impossible to fight him.
Zero may be the deadliest Robot-Master on the field, but of what use is he if he can't even stand upright? And forget about his buster; he knows this thing when from armageddon in a can to a wimpy pea shooter.
Technology walked on and had forgotten old Zero behind.
... OK, so this may be an exaggeration, but he knew his buster never packed the same punch after Vile blew him off, and he wasn't sure if being awakened did anything to remedy its lack of potency.
Bahula looked at her student before her face softened. "Oh, my poor Zero. I can assure you, and I will gladly swear on my life and on Krishna..." Then she paused. "Actually, I have a better vow then that." The saint smirked as she pointed at a random stone. "If my Lord and Master, Bhagavan Sri-Krishna did liberate Sigma, and that Sigma will never return to haunt you, then this rock will be wet!"
Zero stared at his Bhakti-teacher. Then at the rock, waiting for a miracle, but not expecting one.
Bahula may be a powerful witch whose power could buff her body to super-human strength, let her survive in space, land a falling space station and overpower Zero at his strongest without breaking a sweat. But she still needed outside help to manifest water.
Bahula ate her Havish, and nothing seemed to be happening.
Fear and self-loathing began to eat as Zero's core... when he felt something ridiculously small fall on his head. Then his Audio picked up the sound of...
"Rain?" He whispered, fearing that he may be wrong. And sure enough, the moment the word left his lips, rain began to pour from the heavy clouds above them.
Clouds that had not been present the minute before, and they had ridden in the middle of the Eurasian desert!
Zero let the water pour over him and looking at the rock. He could see that its surface had turned darker.
It was wet.
A small laugh escaped Zero's artificial voicebox...
Sigma was gone! He was gone for good!
'But then... who's in control of those maverick?' The reploid wondered.
If his virus was just his magic, and his magic had, in turns, empowered Sigma to brainwash thousands of reploids to his side. Making them no better than the loyal drones...
And if the main hub, the commander, was truly dead and gone...
who controlled those unfortunate units?
Who was the maniac that somehow managed to...
'No... If it wasn't the virus. Then... no, someone has to be behind this, someone who knows how to replicate the Virus's effect in reploids. And someone who got plenty of link with the underworld and the Hunter Base.'
Oh, he'd recognize a few faces, alright. But those...
Those faces used to belong to the deads...
Knowing that yet another war was about to start, a war caused by another person then Sigma, Zero folded his palms and began to pray.
X woke up with a start...
He was awake... but he was not sleeping in his usual capsule, he was on the ground, and his body was dressed in cotton cloths. His helmet was gone, his buster was smaller (he had modded it in his dream... he was not supposed to do that!), and he was in a location other then the Hunter HQ.
In other words...
"It was real." X breathed out as dread flooded his system. " I... I did..." He covered his mouth, choking on his own scream.
He was not supposed to do that; he was not supposed to... he was not supposed to do that...
To join any religion or anything that seemed religious, he had to remain completely neutral.
He was not supposed to show sing of a religious denomination.
He was not supposed to modify his own design; only Doctor Light could do it.
He was not supposed to go into the crypt with the purpose of taking a live system out... he was not supposed to take a maverick out... he was not supposed to take Iris...
He was not supposed to keep her dead body in his room and have Douglas, who was as good as a human, examine her since she was a reploid who had turned maverick and thus had no more privilege.
He was not supposed to contact a lawyer to get his emaciation... he was not supposed to get his emancipation. His emancipation meant that he would not be in the service of humanity, that he was his own person... his own man and that he was free to act...
He was free to act...
He had the same right as a human, including the right to defend himself, which meant that...
He could accidentally kill a human... he could kill...
And he was not forced to fight Mavericks... he would kill humans via inaction...
"I have... I have to come back..." X wheezed out as he scrambled to his feet.
"I have to... return to Signas... Break the ruling I..." He had no idea what to do, and while he knew where he was, he had no way to contact the base since he had not helmet anymore...
But he could... he could run back. Return to what was safe, to what the capsule told him was right and safe for the world... even if it wasn't for him...
He was meant to be an instrument for the good of humanity... he wasn't meant to have his freedom...
'But... don't you want peace?' A little voice asked.
"My peace... puts humans in danger... I can't have peace... my happiness is dangerous." X mumbled as he grappled around in the dark. His feet unsteady without his usual heavy boots.
He felt lost and confused; why did he do that? Why did he go against his morality... what was he doing... he didn't want to fight, but he had to fight. He had to protect humans, just like what he had done before... he knew he would be stuck in this position for all eternity but... but... but...
It was his duty... he had to protect humans... humans were fragile and important, he could sacrifice himself, Zero had sacrificed himself. And Zero was his mentor, so he had no reason to...
X was so deeply caught up in his spiralling emotions that he did not notice the pink cloud entering the temple with a few bags of milk and some vegetables purchased from one of the twenty-four hours store. The only thing the maverick could see was the exit and his walk of shame that loomed ahead of him.
Imagine his surprise when the man with the fluffy pink beard turned intangible and engulfed him a cloud...
No, wait... he was the cloud. And he had swallowed X up, and no matter how hard the reploid tried to break free, it's just made his prison of droplets smaller.
Since, you know... apparently, clouds were solid around their parts.
'Am I dreaming? Is this all real? Is this what being a maverick feels like? It's so real...' X frantically thought as he tried to use his buster to break out of his humid jail, only to hit a nasty snag.
The cloud-like entity, Unzan, had rendered his buster inoperable, having found the vent and...
Well, he had frozen the wires. And while X's hardware was waterproof, it was not ice-proof.
Especially humidity-then-magic-ice-proof.
The heroic father of all reploid let out a whimper... curling up on himself in a rare show of vulnerability.
In normal time, he would fight tooth and nail. In normal time, he would use all he had... in normal time, he would contact Alia to have her bail him out!
This was not a normal time; he had no support, he had no one...
He'd stupidly burned those bridges and was now left to drift in an ocean of uncertainty.
X heard someone clear his throat and look up, only to see that the cloud, Unzan, had manifested a face.
'Oh... I'm in his beard.' X numbly thought as he stared at the wrinkled face of a bald man who, not even a minute ago, had looked shockingly human... and heartrendingly like doctor light.
Unzan manifested a fist and coughed in it. Clearing his throat. "Child, you look awful. Mayhaps you have suffered a terrible nightmare?" The cloud man asked quietly and gently, his deep voice soft, and it seemed like the sound of the wind would cover it.
X stared and tried to remember if he had ever heard the cloud, only to come with plenty of negative answers.
Also... he had been called a child at over a century and two and a half-decade old.
Unzan's glowing yellow eyes never left him... his brows furrowed. "Hmm... you are definitely panicking, child. Fear not, Uncle Unzan will not harm you. None of us will." he assured the soon-to-be maverick, and his atmosphere changed.
X felt... he felt his initial anxiety melt away under the negative ion and ozone produced by the pink cloud man. And for a moment, X felt as if he was in his sleeping capsule that was still back at the base.
He closed his eyes and melted in the cloud's surface, his mind finally clearing up enough for him to articulate his emotions.
"My son?" Unzan softly says. " What happened back there? You seemed as tough a ghost attacked you?"
"No... not Ghost..." X spoke as he curled himself tighter. "Just... Guilt... and, are you really named Unzan? And... is the ancient prince of Japan here with a magical puppeteer, an Oni Prostitute from old hell, an avatar of Bishamonten and a inch high girl? Is this... is this real?" X asked in desperation.
He knew this was true, for he was a natural lucid dreamer.
But... it was just the sheer ridiculosity of it all that made the father of all reploid doubt his sanity, as with his previous actions.
Unzan chuckled gently, sounding like the gentle rumble of faraway thunder.
"Yes, my son. We are very real, and we are indeed as old and... I am indeed a cloud demon who worships the Supreme and absolute truth, Krishna." The cloud man confirmed with a nod. " what happened two days ago and the day before truly did occur."
"How can I believe you?" X asked, "you are a sentient pink cloud."
"And aren't you a sentient doll?" Uzaan asked with a quirk of his bushy brow.
X paused and realized how ridiculous it was for him to be hung up on such a small detail. Hell, he had met reploids that were practicality jellified acid. "Point taken."
"Good... now, tell me. What else caused you to panic as you did?" The cloud man asked gently, gently rocking X, calming him down further.
X took a deep breath; the heavy topic enough to gave his synthetic adrenaline another boost. And yet, the gentle rocking and the ozone calmed his frayed nerve down.
"I went against my Father's wish, and I..." He reseted his thoughts again. " My creator... he could not finish my moral programming, so he let me experiencing a plethora of scenarios meant to forge a strong moral compass."
"Hmm... I see." Unzan gravely nodded. " So your father trained you... without being there. And he let you experience situations that would help build your morality?"
"I don't know, the more I think about it, the more the whole thing felt like... like brainwashing," X admitted. " Sure, it taught me about consequences and whatnot, but... was it really necessary to have me mature this way? Experiencing pain at every 'wrong' decision?'" X asked. " Why not... why not just leave a note for the next person would find me about how I would need to learn." he let out a huff. "I... the capsule thought me that my life and happiness meant nothing compared to the life and happiness of humans."
"I see..."
"And... and doctor light designed me... the capsule... my duty is to protect humans from..." X paused.
"To protect humans from?"
"From... for danger..." X rubbed his head, a gesture he had picked up from Zero. "And from myself."
"So, you must always be fretting for humans then." Unzan quietly said with a frown.
"Oh." X let out a hollow chuckle. "You have no idea... you have no idea." tears fell from X's eyes. He'd never had anyone to listen to his fear... well, he had Zero, but Zero had other things to worry about and would often dismiss X's constant anxiety, hoping it would go away if ignored.
And after Iris's d...
Accident.
After Iris's terrible accident, Zero had been more reclusive, often snapping at X when he showed any negative emotion. Let alone a stray tear.
At first, the blue reploid had been hurt by how his friend had been acting, only to realize the cause of the red ripper's foul mood.
Zero had never known grief, and he had no idea how to express them, and thus, he was envious of X's ability to cry and freely emote.
After dragging the confession out of his best friend after the most intense sparring match in existence, he had dragged the defeated Zero to see a grief counsellor... for humans.
He had gotten better until the councillor realized Zero's nature.
'It will get better, now that reploids can get emancipation and the same right as an adult...' X's face fell at the implication... and at the memory of what he did.
He was without a tether, without a leash now. X was free to do whatever he wanted... and yet, he could not protect humans since he...
He had quit.
"My boy. May I ask you something else?" The pink cloud quietly asked, still rocking the reploid in his awfully solid hold.
"Sure," X mumbled as he curled on himself further. In the fluffy pink cloud.
"Why are you so afraid of yourself?" Unzan gently asked.
"I'm dangerous. I can kill humans so easily, you know?" That's what he had learned in his capsule; humans were fragile, X was not. They were weak, not as smart as they should be and kept getting into a dangerous situations...
His duty was to protect them.
His directive was to protect them... even if it meant dying in the process.
"Hmm. Like all us then."
"No... you don't understand!" X snapped. " If I were to kill a single human..." his venting hitched as the sight of a scorched and filled with ruins and death appeared in front of his vision.
"You would transform into a demon? You would unleash the apocalypse?"
" I would break the third law and-and-and I wouldn't... I would be..."
"Free?"
X... didn't know if he should nod or not.
"X Prabhu. Do you have free will?" Unzan asked, his shiny eyes looking deeply in X's own.
"I do; that's what makes me so dangerous." He tried to curl tighter.
"Alright... you and I and very much alike then."
Those words brought X out of his spiralling thoughts, staring at the cloud man with great surprise.
Taking his stun silence as permission to continue, Unzan pressed on. " I and nyuudo, or a size-changing cloud demon... and a bonzu, can grow to the size of a city, but I know some, like the Samvartika and his cohorts that can cover the entire universe. And those are known to cause the apocalypse."
X eyes widen even further at this admission.
"Were I to desire so, I could easily destroy Abel city with a thousand fist raining down on those poor humans. I can also find a dark place and wait here for an unsuspecting victim, wait for them to see my feet and... cut their heads off. I could also-"
"You are a threat... dangerous." X practically accused, trying to figure out how to destroy this demon that threatened the life of so many.
"Like everyone, X. Everyone has the power to destroy and kill. To cause damage both physically and emotionally... and do you know how many I have killed in the last thousand years?"
X could only shake his head as he fought over the dreads that flooded his conduits.
"No one... I killed a few in the beginning, but... I stopped." Unzan spoke quietly and kindly. Surprising X by his admission.
"... Why?"
"Free will X." The pink cloud demon explained with a kind smile. " We may all have our set destiny, but it is not completely set in stone. We have the power to make our future, and this power is called 'choices."
X's eyes grew wider. "Choices..." He repeated.
"Indeed. And while those choices are under the purview of the three modes of material nature. We still have them... and this power of selection X is the reason why I am not destroying Abel city, it is why Toramaru-Sama is not prowling the street to eat human flesh, this is why Achyuta-Gopi, the adopted daughter of the Goddess of the Hellish Planet Makai did not ascend the throne... and this is why Toyosatomimi-Sama is waiting for me to release you since she is worried about you, and not meditating in her room in complete quietude.
For his part, X let his lips curled in a smile. "Oh, that's nice of her." Then his smile crumpled. "But... If I'm not a hunter, if I'm not fighting back the maverick threat, then it's the same as putting my buster to their head." X admitted with a shudder, remembering his time in the simulation...
Those hellish situations aimed at giving him his monochromatic vision.
Humans were always good, and a good robot master was a dead robot master... even if it meant X.
And soon, the definition changed to include Mavericks... not matter what being a maverick meant.
"Well, That's not a healthy way of thinking." Another voice sounded, and Mukhara's head popped in the cloud, her two golden eyes glowing a bit.
X stared and, for the first time since he woke up, burst into laughter.
The whole thing was so... it was ridiculous, and no sane man would consider what X went through to be normal.
"Also, your Problem, X-Prabhu, is the fact that you identify as a... reploid, a protector of Abel city and the last son of doctor light."
"But... I am all that." X countered, Miko's declaration stopping his mirth. "That's my Identity."
"It is only your material identity X, and a material identity is woefully temporary. One moment, you are the protector of humanity, and the next, you are a treat to be taken down." X shuddered at Miko's assessment. "What you are is a spirit soul, your eternal identity is that of God's eternal servant, and your duty is to serve Him with love... by saving other souls stuck in the same situation as those who are internet of Krishna existence. Also, the Girl that told you that the first time is known to us as either Komeji Koishi or Kokila devi Dasi; she has control over one's inhibition and mind. Yes, she controlled your mind, X-Prabhu, but for it to have made you give up your previous life... well, my young friend, know that this desire was already in you, you simply acted on it once your anxiety, inhibition and conditioning were removed."
"Yes... I do remember our dear Kokila hovering around him." Unzan interjected quietly as the pink confine dissipated, revealing that he had taken X to the living quarter, the ashram of the temple.
To be more precise, they were in the main room that leads to a few doors where they would sleep. X's own room still had the door wide open.
He had left so quickly, his fear and anxiety having taken over.
A wry smile tugged at his lips. 'Ah... what would Zero say about me?' He wondered as his nerve settled.
He felt Miko's hand on his shoulder. " I know what you want X, and you, deep in your heart. Want this... your just afraid of leaving your status quo."
The reploid sighed heavily. "Your right; I don't like stepping out of my comfort zone... less chance of-"
"You won't go berserk, X Prabhu. And if you do, know that we will all be able to efficiently take you down with minimal casualty."
at those words, X felt his entire being relaxed and melt on the couch. "Thank you..."
"It's no problem, X Prabhu. Now, if you excuse me, I have to wake their Lordship, they have slept for long enough... and Yes, Uzaan, I do have my Brahman Initiation, my name is Uma Devi Dasi and my spiritual master..." A small chuckle escaped as her gaze turned to Unzan. " I could tell you. But I think we need to start our Sadhana, stay with X tough, he needs a real father." and with that, the ancient woman walked away to the bathroom.
For his part, X leaned back on the couch... Unzan's hands.
He felt drained, but... he felt safe.
He was safe... everyone was safe.
"... will you... will you stay with us?" A tiny voice spoke up, X reopened his eyes (he didn't remember closing them.) and saw the inchling floating in front of his face and natural glow warm and caring despite the frown that adorably adorned her tiny face.
X paused... he was emancipated, and he had quit his post as the second in command of the hunter unit-B. He had quite been the slayer of his ill-begotten children. And right now, he had the chance to do something else, to be something else then X, the maverick hunter.
He did a quick calculation of what he could be right now, and while begin a cook and raising children was nice and all... X had to admit, worshipping in the Bhakti-Cult was crazy enough to replace whatever had kept him in the Hunting business.
Not only that, but he had seen the Library.
So many books, The Srimad-Bhagavatam, with its twelve Canto's, the Chaitanya-Charitamrita with seventeen volumes. The Brhat-Bhagavatamrta, the Krishna book, the Nectar of instruction, of devotion... the positively numerous biography and Memoirs pertaining to Srila-Prabhupada...
So much knowledge a simple web search could never assuage. Something new that X never heard of, and answered to questions that had stumped humanity since its inception.
Why did everything exist? What was time? What was the goal of life?
Those questions that X had asked Cain numerous times, only to be hit with complicated but ultimately empty and useless answers dark enough to make X curl up in a ball and wish to be deleted.
'Oh X, life doesn't really have a deep meaning. Just go and have fun while you are young, and make sure you don't regret anything when you die.'
"And what is death?"
'Death is the end... there's no continue, no more hope... no more fun...'
'Victor...'
'X?"
"Yes?"
"I'm... scared..." Victor Cain's voice wavered as his frail body shook. "I don't... I don't want to go... I don't want to die..."
The once brilliant man had died in a hospital bed. Drugged out of his mind because dogs and demons kept haunting him. And he wanted to live longer, to love stronger and... and...
He didn't want to disappear; he was not happy with what his life gave him.
Then... he had screeched about ghouls and demons... after that, he was not allowed consciousness, and he avowed atheist passed away 'peacefully.
X could see them... but no one believed him.
He closed his eyes and took the most important decision in his life.
He would give up whatever illusion of normality he had and plunge into the ocean of Bhakti-Yoga.
What did he have to lose anyway?