Zero slowly opened his eyes. The room was blurry and his body didn't seem to want to move. Trying again, Zero managed to bring everything into focus, and even got his hearing back. A slow steady beep was next to him, almost in tune with another on his right. Looking over, he realized he was in a bed, hooked into a machine. With a sigh, he sat up and unplugged himself, making the monitor go flat line. A long shrill sound filled his ears and Zero quickly grabbed the small monitor to try and stop it. But it was too late, the door already opened.

"ZERO!?"

Reploid: Zero IV

By:

Satashi

"Um…Hi?" he asked, setting down the monitor slowly.

Ciel ran to him and wrapped the reploid in a hug. "Zero! Your okay!" She quickly pulled back and punched his shoulder. "You idiot, you scared me!"

He was confused. "So are you mad at me or happy?" Zero rubbed his shoulder as Ciel turned off the life monitoring device.

"Both." She crossed her arms. "What is up with bringing Leviathan into our base?"

"It's… kind of complicated."

"Try me."

Uh oh. She had that look. That was the 'I don't take any shit mister man!' look. Zero, thinking fast, reached back into his new memory for help. The first solution he found: diversion. "I forgot?"

"Nice try."

"I'm really too tired to go into detail right now." He exhaled. "Is she okay, though?"

"Oh yeah, she's fine. Been awake for two days now."

"Two days!?"

Ciel lost her flare at him and softened. "You were badly beat up, Zero. I was really scared…"

"How long have I been out?" he wondered absently, patting Ciel on the head in a calming gustier.

"Almost a week. We were getting worried that Leviathan would attack while you were out."

"She won't do that. Where is she?"

"In her med room. She won't come out or eat anything. When I go to check on her, she just gives me this weird look and hugs her knees."

Zero looked down at the ground. "Care to walk with me?"

"Sure"

                                                            ~**~

"So X betrayed her?" Ciel asked as they continued the path to the cafeteria. "Because of you?"

"Yeah." He nodded, picking up some food. "I feel bad about it. She only wanted to be honourable."

Ciel absently got her lunch as well. "I see… Where are you going?"

"To see her." Zero called over her shoulder before reaching down and grabbing a six pack of beer that was for the people off duty for the night.

"Zero?"

He stopped and turned. "Hm?"

"I studied your boots while you were out, I hope you don't mind?"

He gave her his now trademark grin. "Nah."

                                                                                    ~**~

Zero knocked twice on the door when he reached it. "Go away." Was his response. The two guards standing post bit back a snicker at this. Keeping his cool, Zero knocked again. " I said go away!"

The guard on the left let out a chuckle. Zero glared at him, making his instantly stand at attention. Grinning now, he opened the door anyway and walked in.

Leviathan looked up from the corner at him. She was holding a pillow in her lap and was out of her armor. "Zero." She stated his name simply.

"Here." He handed her a plate of food and sat Indian style in front of her. When she was about to ask, he held up the pack of beer. "I said I'd treat you." After a small pause, she let a small smile hit her face. The first one in days.

"So," He began, popping open his drink. "How you been?"

"Like hell." She replied taking a bite of the fish dinner Zero had brought her. "How about you?"

"Dunno, just woke up. You thrashed me good." To overstate his point, Zero rotated his arm while holding his shoulder. "I think you misaligned my joints…" She cracked a small smile again before it faded. "Ah! You smiled!"

Leviathan looked up at him suddenly. "Why are you so nice to me?"

He paused while drinking. "I dunno." He spoke around the can. "I guess I like blue hair."

She looked a little shocked. "I've never seen you like this before."

A shrug. "You've only seen me once out of missions. And I'm remembering more and more of my past. I actually have a personality. Me, can you believe it? Ice cold Zero, war machine." And with that, he added: "Did you know I like ice cream? I didn't. Just found out."

Not being able to help it, Leviathan laughed. She laughed hard and long, doubling over and continuing until it turned to cries and then sobs. Food forgotten, she hugged the pillow close to her again and cried the tears she held in since she was activated again.

Zero didn't say anything at first. He simply moved over next to her and put an arm awkwardly over her shoulders and leaned back against the wall while she cried. "What do I do?" She sobbed out. "I'm known all over the continent as being one of X's bodyguards! Everyone I was with hates me now, and everyone I fought against still hates me! I have nothing!"

Closing his eyes and thinking before he spoke, Zero slowly offered some advice to his new demi-friend. "Not true, really." He comforted. "I don't hate you. Not too much at least. I could whop you one for running me through, though." Her cries choked on a small laugh as she dried her eyes on the sleeve of her shirt and sniffed. "I meant what  I said," he ventured further. "I already explained to Ciel about what you did. You'll be welcomed here."

She leaned back. "Even though I personally tried to kill some of your people?"

He though about it. "Well,  I won't lie, some of the people here won't like you. But some will. You can start over again." With another sniff she nodded softly. "Now," he placed her plate back in front of her. "Eat. You haven't plugged in since you woke up and you need a source or carbs to burn for energy until you recharge."

"Yes sir." She started to eat again in silence. Zero sat beside her and ate as well. Neither felt like they needed to speak. They had somehow reached a bond in that small hospital room. It wasn't like the one he had with X, no, this one was different. He just couldn't understand just what made it different.

                                                                        ~**~

Zero screwed in the last nut that was needed on his bike and sighed. His armor was still being repaired, something about his plasma generator being on the fritz or something. He was currently in his normal working cloths. It had been a full day since he woke up. While his repairs were underway, He was base bound. Several friends of his went on missions in his stead, proving that they were still part of the resistance. The delay was well used and Zero was sure no one had gotten into a capsule yet. He could feel it.

"Come on baby." The reploid purred to his re-creation. "Work for daddy." He pushed the ignition button and was greeted by a low hum before air shot out from under the machine and levitated it a foot from the ground. Then, without warning, plasma shot out and formed, keeping the device afloat. "I… I did it! It works!"

Jumping on, Zero revved it up. The machine roared loudly and begged to put into use. "Okay." He said under his breath. "Armor or not, I'm going out!"

"Without me?"

He turned his head to see Leviathan behind him, now wearing he armor again. It was fixed and shone bright blue. The left breast had a small Resistance badge soldered onto it. Upon realizing what Zero was looking at, she covered her breast and blushed. "Pervert."

"Eh!?" Zero looked shocked. "No! I was looking at your chest! I mean, the badge on your chest! I mean-!"

Leviathan smiled lightly. "You're armor is ready to be put on. But the gun is messed up."

Zero clicked a hidden button on his helmet and was rewarded with a shiny titanium helmet and boots, along with a war torn battle vest. Both arm covers were still cracked and could obviously not form his blaster. "Make do with what you have."

The female jumped onto his bike and sat behind him. "Ciel doesn't know, she won't let you go without your full repairs, but…"

"I need the capsules before they hack them and get parts of my past that may have a weakness to it."

She nodded. "Let's go. I'll be cover fire."

"Can you generate plasma?" He asked, amazed.

"No, but I have a mean ice beam. It's how I freeze liquids. Not good for long distance, but it makes a hell of a shield."

Zero nodded. "Okay. Let's do this. The desert will be first since it's the closest." The bike revved again as Zero threw his wrench at the bay door opening button. The projectile hit it's mark soundly. Making the gates open.

                                                                        ~**~

"Ciel, gate three is opening!"

"What!?" She ran to the assistant who was typing away at the keyboard. "Give me a visual!"  A large screen appeared before her, letting her witness Zero on a hover bike, one that it's design was lost several years ago. "What is he doing!? And in that armor…..Is that Leviathan!?"

She slammed her hand down on the intercom button. "Zero! I refuse to let you go attack without being at one hounded percent capacity!"

Zero's face appeared on a smaller screen to Ciel's left. Probably from a camera on his bike. "This is Zero, requesting permission to hunt Fefnir. Assistant Leviathan is with me."

"Permission denied!" She screamed at him.

Zero grinned. "I'll be back before dinner!"

"Zero!"

But her cry was drowned out by a "whoo-hoo! Let's go baby!" And the loud sounds of a plasma generator engine being used to propel a hover bike at increasing speeds.

"That……..That idiot!"

                                                                                    ~**~

Leviathan gripped Zero's waist tighter, pulling herself close to him in fear of being thrown off. "Must you go so fast!?"

He winced. "I have an intercom in my helmet, you know." The words flowed into Leviathan's helmet as smooth as water.

"Oh," she felt a small blush. "Um, can you slow down?"

"I forgot how." Zero lied, pulling the handle bar to him a little bit and speeding up to almost a hounded kilometers per hour.

"Zero!"

"Fine, fine," He slowed a bit. "Where is his base anyway?"

"Southeast of the town of Payon." Was the reply. "Need the location exactly?"

"I can find it. That's around our old base."

There was a small silence. Leviathan shifted slightly to get more comfortable. "You seem to know how to ride this pretty well."

"I made it myself. Took me a while. Started about the time I got the first capsule."

"I see." She looked over his shoulder. "What are all of those buttons?"

"This one is for the turbo booster. It's not installed yet. This one over here on the handle bar is for the blaster up front. It shoots a large plasma blast at the touch of a button. Thanks to the aggressive plasma generator, it can fire as much as I want as long as we're moving. The air will cool it. This baby can go over anything, even water, so that's not ever been a problem. It's a bitch to fix, however."

"Fixed it a lot?" She inquired, curious of his hobby she just learned about.

He smiled. "I've destroyed over sixteen of these things."

"Good lord!"

"Hehe, The MHHQ wasn't very pleased with me. That's why they refused to loan me out one other than missions. That's why me and X started to build our own. He had a pretty impressive record as well.  I think it was around twenty by the end of the first war."

"What happened after that?" When Zero didn't answer her, she was about to ask again. Just when she was about to open her mouth, a response came.

"I don't know… I was dead."

Leviathan slipped back to her seat properly and wrapped her arms around his waist again for support. "Oh…" She whispered to herself. 'He's been killed before…No wonder he is such a good warrior. When you no longer fear death…'

"I was rebuilt." Zero suddenly spoke out. "I don't know how, or why, or even by whom. But I do know that X managed to save parts of my memory in some chips he got while searching the fortress. It's all a blur to me, so I can't be sure… But it had to have happened, right? I mean, I have memories past that…"

Her grip on him tightened a little, almost as if it was a sympathetic hug. "The base is close," She replied, not answering him. "We better get alert."

Zero leaned forward a little bit. "My past belongs to me." He stated as a large building came into view. "I won't let you…" Several runs shot from the ground and locked aim onto them. "…or anyone else…" X-droids came out by the dozen. "…take them from me!"

Zero's hand revved the bike hard, making it lurch into a dive and into the air. All at once plasma rained at them in every size imaginable. The bike weaved in and out of the fire, blasting a path clear through the opposing robots. Leviathan froze anything that got too close to them while Zero kept anything from going by undestroyed.

The pair rammed through the front door of the base easily, coming to a halt just inside the main hall way. Unfortunately for a small amount of X-droids, Zero just so happen to park on top of them.

"Come on," She started running. "I've only been here once, but I know it's this way."

Zero dashed off after her, pulling his saber from his back holster and igniting it. "It's time…"

                                                                        ~~**~~

A/N: Sorry for the delay in uploading this chapter ^^;. I put up X-mas lights yesterday and today I met up with a friend I haven't seen in a few weeks. That's why this one is a bit shorter than usual. Anyway, next chapter will have the fight with Fefnir and Zero's past from the second to fifth Maverik wars! Stay tuned! Same bat time, same bat channel!