Zero Purpose
Neo Arcadia, Seven Days after the Reploid Rebellion, 0800 hour
The hall echoed with the sound of his metallic steps as he calmly strolled through the government building. The sound of idle chatter was missing from the offices that he passed by. Everything was eerily silent, except for the occasional metallic clatter that rang out when a reploid bumped into something. He sighed. Mindless reploids had replaced those that had been deemed "Maverick," but with the convenience of having lower powered reploids, he had to put up with the reploids' somewhat jerky movements. For a reason that was never understood, the reploids that imitated humans in emotions also seemed to be able to move more smoothly, like a human, without bumping into things as these new reploids were prone to do. Unfortunately, the last of those reploids in the government building had fled seven days ago, when the head scientist, Dr. Ciel, had planned the reploid rebellion.
Rebellion was too strong a word for what occurred a week ago. It was more like "The Reploid Escape," but due to media reasons, "rebellion" had been chosen to dub the events of that night. That word turned the public against the escaped reploids, and also caused them to mistrust those reploids that had not escaped with the others. All in all, it had been a wise decision to call the event a rebellion, but it was a decision that did not sit well with Harpuia. It felt so…underhanded to him.
"Master Harpuia, here's the log for Neo Arcadia's defense barrier," a monotone voice said, handing him a stack of papers a foot high. "Awaiting next duty," it said, and stood there, unmoving.
"Hmm," Harpuia said, quickly glancing at the first page of the log. He felt his energy core suddenly flare with energy, before he suppressed it. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked, not a hint of impatience in his words. The reploid went to his side, and looked at the first page.
"The meaning of what, sir?" the reploid asked mechanically.
"Of this entire stack!" Harpuia said, finally losing his patience.
"It is the log of Neo Arcadia's defense barrier," the reploid replied, stating the obvious.
"Yes, but this log only shows what wildlife was stupid enough to approach the barrier and fry itself to death! What am I supposed to do with a log of dead animals?" he asked angrily. He was tempted to rub his temples like a human. If he had his information specialist, then he wouldn't have to put up with this moronic reploid. Unfortunately for him, the information specialist had also run off during the rebellion.
"Shall I compile a list of plants that have also touched the barrier?" the reploid asked, completely missing the point. This time, Harpuia did slap himself on the forehead.
"Now, now, no use in getting angry," a familiar, deep and quiet voice said. "The reploid is only doing what it's programmed to do."
"Why couldn't someone program some common sense into these things?" he said, once again regaining his calm.
"Then we'd just have another batch of 'Mavericks,' wouldn't we?" the other guardian replied. "Reploid, search for Neo Arcadia's defense barrier's power usage log on day zero-seven, month X, year 22XX, from 1800 to 2400 hour. Confirm command."
"Command confirmed," the other reploid replied dutifully.
"Then go." The other reploid walked off, the hall echoing with its predictable pattern of steps. "This time, it is sure to return with the correct information."
"It should have given me the correct information the first time around," Harpuia said, watching the other reploid disappear down the hall. "A human would not have made the same mistake."
"And neither would a humanoid reploid," the other filled in the unspoken words. "The reality is those reploids can no longer be used. The sooner you accept that fact, the sooner the system will become more efficient again."
"You forget that we, too, are of the type of reploids that are being retired," he said, his voice dropping to a quieter tone.
"We won't be retired anytime soon," the other reploid said confidently. "As much as the government wants to save energy to allocate to the other humans, they don't want to get rid of the higher up reploids that they have to interact with on a daily basis. They don't like interacting with the idiotic reploids that they have been replacing this building with. They like how we act and respond like humans, even if it means we're wasting their precious energy by doing so."
"So it's ok for them to have human-like reploids, but it's not ok for everyone else?" Harpuia asked rhetorically, indignant with the government. Many of his co-workers and friends had already disappeared under the new law. The other guardian simply shrugged.
"Be glad that I'm your friend, otherwise I'd have to report that little act of insurrection," he said, quickly scanning the perimeter for anyone that would have overheard their conversation.
"With those espionage reports you're bringing in daily, I doubt that they would pay attention to the few words that I've said," Harpuia replied casually, waving a hand in the air as if to brush the problem away.
"That may be true," he said quietly. "But what about Master X?" Harpuia looked at him sharply.
"Phantom…" he started.
"You needn't worry about anything," he said, turning away from Harpuia, walking down the hall. "I am loyal only to you." Before Harpuia could give a reply, the other guardian disappeared, much like the phantom that he was named for. Harpuia continued his inspection in the other direction of the hall, the mechanical silence once again filling his senses.
Neo Arcadia, Core, Seven Days after Reploid Rebellion, 1500 hour
His hand hesitated over the door, not quite sure if he was supposed to knock or not. He knew that if he keyed in the code, or at least stepped in front of the door and announced his name, he would be granted instant access into the room. Yet, X had insisted that others knock on the door before entering. It was an old custom that had existed in the days when doors still had hinges, but in the era of automatic doors, it was a pretty useless custom. The door would open before one could even knock on it.
But then, there were always doors like this one; doors that did not grant access to everyone. He supposed it acted as a lock of sorts, though locked doors were a little different. Locked doors granted access to only the one who held the code to open the lock. These types of doors existed mainly to force entrants to announce themselves. Entrants like himself.
Knock. Knock.
"Master X?" he asked uncertainly.
"Harpuia! What took you so long?" a playful, feminine voice called out. The two doors slid open, revealing the three guardians of Neo Arcadia and the re-created master of the city.
"What were you doing? Playing around with the fools in parliament again?" a gruff voice said. "You're the last one here."
"I was picking up the defense barrier's report," Harpuia said, walking into X's office. "It seems that Dr. Ciel was really the one who turned it off. There's no one else who could have passed through all the security checks."
"We're still sticking with the story of her being kidnapped," Phantom said, looking like a shadow near the wall. "It would help us with our campaign against the Mavericks."
"They have already left the city. They should no longer be a problem for us," Harpuia said, beginning to frown. He looked at the others, and saw in their faces that they were indeed going to pursue the runaway reploids. "Why--"
"Those reploids have broken the law and therefore must be pursued," the calm voice of X said. "We can't let lawbreakers get away without their due punishment."
"What law did they break? This situation can simply be overlooked as an improperly documented case of mass immigration," Harpuia said, not happy with how the situation was turning out. "There's no law that prevents reploids from moving at their free will."
"No, but there is a law that prevents any Neo Arcadian from leaving the city," Leviathan said quietly, lacking her usual playful tone.
"What?" Harpuia asked angrily. "There's no such law. If there were, don't you think I would be the first to know?"
"It was enacted seven days ago," Fefnir said, poking at an energy crystal on X's desk. "And none of us knew about it until a few minutes ago."
"What?" was all Harpuia could get out.
"Someone in parliament knew about what was going to happen," Phantom said, his eyes still shut, leaning against the wall, "and so they created a law that they knew those reploids would break if they escaped from their persecution."
"Why?" Harpuia asked, his voice cool with anger.
"They want us to pursue the reploids, and hopefully cause a war-like situation while doing it," X said with barely suppressed anger. "Reploids destroying reploids. It would do more than quell reploid energy consumption."
"If they desire the destruction of reploids, all they have to do is create a law that forbids manufacturing, buying, or using reploids."
"And risk public disapproval? They are already unpopular for getting rid of 'Maverick' reploids and their poor handling of the energy shortage."
"And starting a war will help them with the energy shortage? If anything, it'll make matters worse," Harpuia said, shaking his head.
"It'll only make things worse in the beginning," Leviathan said, trying to explain the parliament's reasoning. "When the war is over, there won't be enough reploids to pose that much of a threat to the energy allocation."
"There also won't be many reploids left to oppose the government," Fefnir said, walking over to the large window and crossing his arms in irritation. "The government would be able to do anything. The people won't have enough power to go against the government, especially without reploids acting as firepower."
"All in all, it's a good plan," Phantom said, finally moving away from the wall, and heading towards the rest of the group. "They get rid of the problems that the energy crisis has caused, change public opinion about reploids, and render the public powerless to stop the government by force."
"And we're going to help them accomplish this?" Harpuia asked coldly. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, but weren't we created to help the public achieve peace?"
"By carrying out parliament's will, we will be helping the public achieve peace," X finally said, his back facing towards them. They could see the reploid's reflection in the glass window overlooking the city. His words had been firm, but his face revealed the uncertainty he felt about what they were going to do. "We have to believe in the humans. We have to believe that they will make decisions that will be the best for all of them."
"What part of this decision even hints of having been done for the good of Neo Arcadia?" Harpuia asked, trying not to sound angry. Fefnir simply continued poking the energy crystal while Leviathan shrugged, seeming not to care. Phantom shook his head slightly, as if in warning.
"All of us were created to obey and serve humans," X said, his voice sharp and unforgiving. "I will not tolerate any dissent against the humans. Do you understand, Sage Harpuia?" Harpuia turned away, his fist shaking with the sudden surge of energy that flowed into it.
"Yes, Master X," he managed to say in as neutral a tone as he could muster.
"Good. We will commence the attack on the rebel reploids at 1800 hours. Prepare your troops well," X said, turning around and entering some information into the computer. "I will give you your specific locations later. Until then, you are dismissed."
"Yes, sir," the four guardians said in unison, saluting the "leader" of Neo Arcadia. They quickly left their superior's office, but not without taking a peek at their leader's face. They couldn't believe that X would willingly go with the parliament's plan, and upon looking back at him, their suspicions were confirmed. X was as reluctant to attack the renegade reploids as they were. But orders were orders, and a copy had no place in voicing his opinion in the government.
Arcadia, 1730 hour
Water sloshed around her boots as she waded through the dark sewer, the thin beam of light from her flashlight the only thing illuminating her path. Even through her gloves, she could feel the moisture of the walls as she ran her hand against the wall, using them as a second guide through the dark sewer. She checked the rope around her waist again, not wanting to lose her only way out of the underground maze. Looking behind her, she could see the reassuring presence of the length of rope marking the way she had come. She checked the rope around her waist again, and continued making her way into the depths of the sewer.
"Are you getting all of this, Cerveau?" she asked, speaking into the microphone attached to her earpiece. "I don't want to be walking around down here for nothing."
"Yeah, yeah, your signal is still coming strong," came the crackling reply from the other end. "The other units have also almost finished charting the sewers down there. Just a little longer and we'll have the entire sewer system mapped out."
"Then I can finally get out of here," Ciel said cheerfully, releasing a little more rope behind her. A splash echoed through the tunnel.
"If you want to get out so badly, you should have let one of us go in the first place," Cerveau laughed. Ciel could imagine him shaking his head in the computer room and laughed with him.
"I can't just sit in front of the computer all day and not move around. Doing all that research gets tiring, you know," Ciel said, almost slipping into the murky water. "Ugh. Sewers are so disgusting. I almost fell in the water."
"Be glad that there haven't been people dumping their waste into the water for a while, or else you'd be fainting into the water," Cerveau said, sounding slightly distracted. "Humans can't turn off their senses like reploids can."
"Reploids can't feel their socks getting soaked either," Ciel complained. "Sometimes I wish I were a reploid." She heard a splash behind her, and turned to look. The small tunnel of light from her flashlight didn't reveal anything incriminating. She shrugged and continued on her way.
"Don't worry, you should be finishing soon," reassured Cerveau. "You're nearing the edge of the city." Another splash sounded behind her.
"Cerveau, you didn't send someone after me, right?" Ciel asked nervously. Her eyes darted quickly around her, but still she didn't see anyone.
"And risk getting you angry with me? Not a chance." Ciel reached to the necklace around her neck, finally breaking the small capsule next to her pendant. Sparks of light flew around her as the cyber-elf was freed from its container. It hovered around her as she turned off her flashlight, groping around her belt for her buster.
"Ciel?" the cyber-elf asked questioningly.
"Go over there," Ciel whispered, pointing to the direction of the splash. She gripped her buster tightly, her hands shaking slightly. "Who are you? Reveal yourself, or I'll shoot!" The cyber-elf hovered over to Ciel's directed area, lighting up the tunnel as it went. From the elf's light, Ciel saw a familiar blond head among the dark waters.
"It's me," the little reploid whispered, looking forlornly at Ciel. The reploid kicked at the water in anxiety.
"You're that reploid from, what, seven days ago?" Ciel asked, recognizing the reploid child. The girl nodded her head.
"I'm sorry for following you. Please don't be angry," she squeaked, ready to flee at the slightest provocation. "I was just a little worried…"
"Cerveau, were you the one who planned this?" Ciel asked in mock irritation.
"It wasn't me! It was Milan. He's the one who said he would get you a reploid escort no matter what," Cerveau responded defensively.
"Milan, eh?" Ciel said somewhat evilly. She noticed the little reploid looking slightly afraid of her. "Oh, don't worry! I'm not going to do anything to you," Ciel grinned, gesturing for the girl to come closer to her. "Since you're here, let's explore the rest of this tunnel together." The girl gave an uncertain smile and walked closer to her, while she put her buster away and turned her flashlight on again.
"Ciel, do you want me to go back into the capsule?" her cyber-elf asked, reaching Ciel. Ciel shook her head.
"It's been a long time since you've last been out, and since I'm not doing any research on you, there's no point in putting you back in the capsule again," she said, holding the little girl's hand and continuing down the sewer. "Besides, you're much brighter than my flashlight."
"Always glad to be of service," the cyber-elf laughed.
"Hey, Cerveau, how much farther until I start turning back?" Ciel asked. Once the entire sewer system was charted, she and the other reploids could start thinking of an escape route to be used just in case someone attacked. But before she could do that, she had to finish mapping her part of the sewer, and walk all the way back. She was beginning to think that Cerveau was right. A reploid wouldn't be feeling as soggy and tired as she was. Perhaps she should have let a reploid do the job?
"Cerveau, answer me." She was greeted with static. She tapped her earpiece, wondering if it was malfunctioning. "Hello?"
"Ciel, do you hear that?" the reploid whispered, sounding afraid. Ciel stopped her tapping and listened, wondering what she was listening for.
"I don't--"
"Shh! Listen!" her cyber-elf hissed, eyes darting to the ceiling of the sewer, looking worried. Ciel looked up too, but she didn't hear or see anything. She sighed, and was about to attribute it to something that everyone else was imagining, when she noticed that the floor seemed to be shaking. Not only that, but the water around her seemed to be shaking with more ripples than it was possible for them to create.
"Something's wrong," Ciel frowned, worry creasing her face. "Cerveau! Cerveau, answer me!"
"Ciel! Keep running forward! Now!" came the urgent command before it was cut off with more static. Ciel looked at the others, worry and fear on her face, before running in the direction that she had been heading, pulling the reploid along with her while her cyber-elf followed dutifully. They splashed their way through the watery hallway, each becoming more afraid as they began to hear thundering noises above them, and gunfire echoing in the sewers.
"What's happening?" the child asked, eyes wide with panic. Ciel gripped the child's hand tighter. She didn't have an answer to give and just kept running.
"Dr. Ciel. Dr. Ciel, if you can hear me, cut off the rope that's connected to you," a calm voice said, the sentence punctuated with static interruptions and breaks. "I repeat, cut off the rope that leads to you."
"Hirondelle? Hirondelle, is that you?" Ciel called into the communicator, beginning to panic. When she didn't get a response, she began fumbling in the dark, trying to untie the knot on the rope around her waist. She let out a strangled scream in frustration, as her wet hands simply slipped off the rope.
"Ciel, do you have a knife?" her cyber-elf asked, as the reploid also tried to help Ciel with the knot.
"No, but I have a blaster," Ciel said as the idea suddenly came to her. She removed the blaster from the pouch on her belt, and took aim at the length of rope floating in the water next to her. She was about to fire when she felt someone tugging on the rope, causing her to slip and fall into the water. She let out a scream as she fell, losing her hold on her weapon, feeling helpless as someone continued to pull her back.
"Ciel!" both the reploid and cyber-elf screamed, running after her. The reploid picked up the dropped blaster, and quickly aimed at a rope farther back in the tunnel. She prayed that she wouldn't hit Ciel, and pressed the trigger just as she heard a large number of splashing down the tunnel where she had come from. There were shouts and bouts of gunfire, and the little girl added to the sounds, firing at the rope. Water sizzled and evaporated as the shot connected with the rope, burning the line off from Ciel.
"Thank you," Ciel gasped, pulling herself out of the water and starting to run again. "We have to get out of here!"
"Ciel, the path splits up ahead! Which way do we go?" the cyber-elf asked, flying back to her. A blast sounded behind them, shaking the entire tunnel.
"Uh…" Ciel panted, looking behind her while trying to decide. "0NB9, any ideas?"
"Right!" the girl shouted, shutting her eyes as Ciel yanked her to the right tunnel. A blast of heat suddenly enveloped the tunnel they had been in, creating a brief wall of flame. The reploid didn't have time to scream as Ciel continued pulling her along, beads of sweat rolling down her face from the heat.
"I'm sure we're almost to the end of the sewer," Ciel said, breathing hard. "Cerveau said we were almost to the end, didn't he?"
"Up ahead…I think I see some light," the cyber-elf said, flying a little ahead of them. It suddenly stopped and flew back in panic. "Go back!" Ciel and the little reploid halted abruptly, but froze in their tracks, the sudden order taking them by surprise. Someone tackled them from behind, knocking the human and reploid into the dark water. Shots fired over the place where they had been standing.
Ciel gasped as her head broke the surface of the water, breathing in much needed air. 0NB9 grabbed her hand fearfully, looking at the one who had knocked them over. The second reploid picked himself out of the water, shaking his head a little and spraying droplets of water on them. Ciel held the small reploid close to her, grabbing her blaster and aiming it at the other reploid.
"Whoa! I'm on your side!" the other reploid said quickly, holding up both of his hands in peace. "I'm 0NB6. Well, you probably don't remember me. I look like the other reploids, anyway."
"He saved you from getting shot," the cyber-elf added, trying to get Ciel to lower her blaster. Ciel let out a suppressed cry as she dropped the blaster, burying her head in her hands.
"I'd pick up that blaster if I were you," 0NB6 said, readying his own blaster. "There are enemies before and behind us."
"Where did you come from?" Ciel asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Using one hand to support her against the wall, she stood up, trying to calm herself by breathing deeply.
"I followed the rope you left behind," he said, gently pushing the smaller reploid against the wall. He looked behind him, and after waiting a while, sighed in disappointment. "Seems like I was the only one who survived that blast from the flamethrower. We can't go back that way. There are hordes of Neo Arcadians there."
"But someone from the other direction just fired at Ciel!" the cyber-elf cried, lost as to what they could do.
"There's probably just one reploid on the other direction," Ciel said, finally regaining her calm. She picked up her blaster, and listened to the familiar whirr as the blaster began charging up. "It only fired a few shots right?" The cyber-elf nodded in affirmation. "If it's just one or two, then the two of us should be able to deal with it." She looked at the other reploid.
"You can count on me," he said, nodding. The small group proceeded in their previous direction, listening closely as the sound of someone splashing approached them. The single red eye of the Neo Arcadian reploid stared at them, locking them into its sights. Lifting the blaster, it prepared to shoot them, but was blasted apart by the charged bullet of Ciel's blaster, its parts exploding into the water.
"Hurry! Before more come," the cyber-elf said, flying before them and looking up at the opened manhole. The group quickly ran past the opening, delving deeper into the sewers. They could hear the screams of unfortunate reploids above them, as the sound of gunfire and explosions traveled below to them, dulled by the water in the sewer.
The sounds continued for hours, and for hours they trudged through the sewers, trying to ignore the destruction above them while keeping an eye out for enemies. There was the occasional panicky moment when splashes could be heard echoing behind them, but it was a miracle that they remained nothing more than echoes. Finally they reached a dead end, and they huddled together, listening for the sounds of warfare while looking up at the closed manhole above them.
"I'll go up and look around," Ciel broke the silence. She placed the buster on her belt and moved towards the ladder, when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked at the male reploid, an unspoken question in her eyes.
"I'll go. You're far too important to risk your life to scout around," he said, pulling her away from the ladder. "Let an unimportant number do the job."
"What are you—" Ciel started.
"You and I both know it's true," the reploid said, starting up the ladder. "We need you to research an alternative source of energy. You're the only one who can do it. I know I sure can't." He stopped at the manhole, listening for any strange sounds.
"You!" Ciel hissed, trying to keep her voice down. He looked down at her. "You…you're not just a number! Just…be careful, you hear?" she said, holding the smaller reploid's hand tightly. "We'll be waiting for you here, so you'd better be careful." The other reploid smiled and nodded, then carefully lifted the manhole slightly, looking around for any enemies. When the coast seemed clear, he lifted the entire metal plate off, climbing out of the sewers. A little distance away, he could see the beginning of the desert, and behind him, he could see the remnants of an abandoned human residential district. The stars twinkled above him peacefully, belying the danger and destruction that filled the city behind them. He quickly looked around his surroundings, listening for any suspicious noises, and when he was satisfied that it was safe, he called down to the sewers, asking for them to come up.
Ciel looked at the calm night, a slight wind blowing grains of sand around her. She felt like she had walked out of a dream into another dream; the world felt so surreal to her. She rubbed her arms, her wet clothes making her feel colder in the night wind.
"Should we continue on, or find someplace to stay for the night?" Ciel wondered out loud.
"Depends on you. We reploids can go on until we run out of energy," 0NB6 said, shrugging. "In fact, it'd be better for us to keep on going, rather than waste precious energy resting here. If we keep going, we might be able to find some hidden stores of energy crystals while escaping Neo Arcadia, but if we stay here, we might be able to find some left over energy crystal, but it's almost certain that Neo Arcadians will follow the sewer routes and find us."
"Let's keep going then," Ciel said, beginning to head towards the desert. "I don't think I can sleep tonight anyway. And you're wrong," she said, turning towards the taller reploid. "Even for humans, it would be bad to stay here. I need to keep going while I'm still not faint with hunger."
"But, Ciel, what will you do when you do get hungry?" the smaller reploid asked, following her anyway.
"I'll deal with that when it happens," she said, not once looking back. "There wouldn't be any food left in that old, abandoned part of the city anyway. Someone would have taken it after all these years. Our only hope now is to keep going, and hopefully we'll find a place that safe from Neo Arcadia." The taller reploid was about to remark that such a place was impossible to find, but upon looking at the hopeful expression on the smaller reploid's face, he decided to hold his tongue. The group then began its trudge through sand this time, the windy silence a comforting presence after the sounds of combat.