Harry: -reads PRIVATE's review- whew, danks, my arm was gettin' tired… -blinks- uh, waita moment. I'm a Met, Met's don't have hands… in dat case… AUGH!

WB: What?

Harry: I'VE GOT HANDS!

WB: Relax, you're a figment of my imagination. If I want you to have hands, then you've got hands.

Harry: Still, dis is weird… and freaky. -gulps-

WB: B. E. Dawn, hey, the love of his life has been poisoned and is slipping away. Can you blame him? And L. Wulf, what's wrong with 'Reploidic'? 'Blog' wasn't a word, but now we've got 'bloggers', 'blogging', 'bloggish', etc. So why is 'Reploidic' strange?

Harry: And dat just leaves R. Riishu's review.

WB: And like I said via E-mail. We've got the issue worked out, so its water under the bridge.

Harry: ….

WB: Aren't you forgetting something?

Harry: Uh, what?

WB: Reread PRIVATE's review.

Harry: -scans review, jumps- Yes, SIR, updating! Lets see now… how do you use hands?


"Something bothering you?"

Cerveau shifted in his seat to see the aged Andrew sitting beside him. From past experience, he knew that some things couldn't be kept a secret from Andrew.

"Its Ciel." The inventor admitted, "She's done nothing but brood about Allouette's death for the past two days, she won't sleep, she won't eat… I'm not a psychologist, and I don't have a full understanding of human nature, but I don't think that it's mentally healthy for her to do so."

"I see." Andrew nodded slowly. "She's very upset, she's lost two people that were very dear to her in a way that we cannot understand."

"Wait, are you telling me that Zero and Ciel-"

"No." Andrew cut off his companion's reply. "They were not in love. For some reason, Zero seems afraid to let himself get close to anyone, much less love someone, but they do share a silent bond."

"So she's been hit with two losses," Cerveau mentally put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Allouette and Zero… but she shouldn't go on acting like this."

"No, it's not healthy for a human to behave like she is." The aged Reploid replied, "But with our support, she will begin to live again. For now, all we can do is be there for her."

"I hope you're right, Andrew, because there's not much else we can do."

The two fell silent as they continued to ride onward.


Miles away at the ruined resistance base, the stars shone down on the wrecked structure. The entire complex had been bulldozed, and not a single stone had been left standing, all that was left of the building was a mass of twisted steel and concrete.

All was still; not a sound penetrated the area.

Then it struck.

A battle cry erupted.

A large concrete slab exploded, as a fireball ripped a hole through its center.

A mechanical hand shot out of the hole in the wreckage and into the night air.

The hand clamped onto the concrete, steadying its master's body. The robot's hand tensed, providing strength and leverage to the Reploid behind it.

Debris shifted as the battered, wounded, yet triumphant form of a Reploid hauled himself out of his tomb and to the surface.

Matted, dusty yellow hair fell into place, as the Reploid stood erect. His left hand was cradling a younger, girl Reploid, whose arms were locked about his neck.

The Reploid took a step away from his prison, reveling being alive.

"We made it, Allouette."

The girl weakly lifted her head to smile at her rescuer, before she dropped into an exhausted sleep.

The Reploid looked at his charge for a long moment, before bursting into a fast run, setting off across the sandy desert.


It was night again.

And the caravan had stopped so that its occupants could rest.

Ciel had received another visit from Cerveau, but he still couldn't get her to open up, and so he had finally left.

Ciel exited the camp and trudged away into the desert. She didn't intend to go far, all she wanted was to have a few moments alone.

She still hadn't recovered from her losses… it had been a double blow, the loss of Zero, and her adoptive daughter, Allouette. Ciel would have traded almost anything just to hear her voice again…

It was then that she realized it.

Next week would have been Allouette's 'birthday' the day that she had been rescued from Neo Arcadia. The thought brought fresh pain to Ciel, and she felt the familiar tears building up, begging to be released.

One by one, her friends had died over the years, each time so that she could live. Milan, Passy…

And even though she knew that Passy's sacrifice had been noble, she missed Passy terribly.

Ciel had rescued Allouette from Neo Arcadia's clutches before they could 'retire' her. And now, just a few short years later, Allouette had died without even living her dreams. Had she made a mistake? Was it crueler on the girl to let her think that she would have a chance at life, and then have it snatched away?

Was it really worth it?

Was she even making any progress towards peace?

Were their sacrifices worth it?

Or were they in vain?

No answers would come to these questions.

And perhaps her emotional state would explain her reactions to the next few events.

As Ciel stood there, gazing into the night sky trying to find her answers, a soft metallic noise caught her attention.

The blond scientist gasped in horror at the sight before her.

A Bat Ring had come out of the sky, and was settling down on the ground before her.

Her first impulse was to run and escape before the Bat Ring registered her presence and sent her location back to the Neo Arcadian forces. If the Neo Arcadian government received word of their location, they were done for.

Ciel turned to execute her plan.

And froze in her tracks, as a cold familiar voice echoed from the Neo Arcadian robot.

"Ms. Ciel, I have a proposition for you."

That voice, it was the voice of Harpuia, and that voice left no room for disregard.

Slowly the scientist turned back around to face the Bat Ring.

"Good, now, since you are hearing my voice you must realize that we know your position. And if we know your position, then we know the position of the last of your forces." Harpuia's voice echoed from the Bat Ring. "If we wanted to, we could come in and wipe them off the face of the earth."

Ciel remained silent, waiting on the Thunder Guardian to make his point.

"But that would be difficult for both sides." Harpuia's voice continued to come from the Bat Ring. "And much more annoying than it needs to be. My point is this, if you, Ciel, are willing to surrender to us, then I can personally guarantee that your friends will be left alone."

"You mean, they won't be targeted or hunted anymore, they'll be free to exist outside of Neo Arcadia."

"Exactly. We were forced to come after you because of your war machine production, but with Zero gone, if you were to turn yourself in, the resistance would not be able to go produce these terrors, and we would have no more reason to pursue them."

"And you won't change your mind," For some unfathomable reason, Ciel found herself considering the offer. "Or double cross me?"

"No, my word is as good as law, they will even be able to keep your Ciel System if they wish."

It seemed like the perfect opportunity, peace for her comrades, what they had been wanting for so long.

And all she had to do was to turn herself in.

Perhaps it was time for her to do something for the others…

"I'll need an answer." Harpuia spoke through the Bat Ring.

"Suppose I accept," The scientist countered, "What do I do?"

"Merely come to this spot." A small spark of light erupted from the robot, as it projected a shadowy hologram into the air. The hologram had been configured to look like a map, and the diagram was marked to show a spot about two miles away from their current campsite. "And we'll consider it an acceptance of our offer."

"I-"

"I don't expect an answer immediately." Harpuia replied, still speaking through the Bat Ring, "You have until midnight, and if you need another map later, this disk will supply that."

Its task finished, the robot deposited a disk in the sand, before flapping off into the night.

Ciel stood there for several minutes, studying the situation.

Minutes lengthened, until a half-hour had passed.

Ciel came to her decision; she took her first step, towards the spot where she would rendezvous with Harpuia.

It was time to put an end to this madness, and if she had to sacrifice herself to make it possible, then so be it.

END CHAPTER!

WB: And remember, Ciel's an emotional wreck right now, so that's why her logic's clouded.

Harry: Can we please get ridda dese hands now? Dere freakin' me out.

WB: Oh… all right. -waves, Harry'shands vanish-