Chapter 4 – Soul Searching
Another morning came, with the promise of more new beginnings, but while most were turning their gazes to the future, the hero of the Resistance was trying to focus on the past. His past.
Zero knew that his original body had been lost to the Maverick Virus, eventually becoming the monster known as Omega. He knew that the incident had been at least partially instigated by Weil, given how easily he had been able to control the abomination. Neither of them were in any condition to answer the questions biting at the back of his mind, and the only one who might remotely be able to help him in the immediate future was gone, possibly for good.
"All this technology… and nobody thought to make a damn memory backup?" he thought with considerable annoyance. "Or was it on purpose?"
He struggled to focus, and found his thoughts drifting to a particular subject. Ciel. Her formidable intellect and resolute presence were definitely remarkable. She also had her fair share of endearing traits, especially the eyes brimming with curiosity, as well as the soft voice and warm smile that he had come to know, but they were not the only reasons why he had chosen to stay even after what seemed like a final, if painful victory. Examining his actions since the moment of his awakening, he mentally retraced his steps.
Upon seeing her for the first time, he had reacted out of instinct, gunning down the mindless killing machines bearing down on a helpless girl. As time went on, he had come to know her other qualities, in particular her kindness and her talent for leadership, as well as her concern for the future of all.
He had watched, with a silent rage building up inside him as first the faker tarnished the legacy of his barely remembered friend and brought Ciel's dream to the brink of ruin.
He had seen her repeatedly show great courage in the face of adversity and stand up to far more powerful opposition. With the memories slowly tricking back in fragmented pieces, the whole affair had felt increasingly familiar, as if he were witnessing something that had happened before.
Then his thoughts turned to the woman in his dream, whose face he could not recall, but whose smile and voice felt hauntingly familiar. He strained his mind to recall anything else of substance, until his head was hurting, but the haze would not yield. He felt there was some significance to that memory and the timing of its surfacing, but much to his frustration he was barely making any progress.
Then, adding to his confusion, another stream of fragmented memories started edging into his consciousness, seemingly older, from a different time and place.
"What do you think you're doing?!" the short, long nosed old man in a crumpled labcoat shrieked at him, glaring with a mad gleam in his eyes as his head, nearly bald apart from two prominent strands of gray hair jutting out from the sides as his lips curled into a snarl underneath a matching bushy mustache.
"Choosing my own path." Zero heard his own voice say. "I am no one's pawn, especially not yours."
"Insolent fool! Have you forgotten who created you?!"
"Bah!" Zero heard himself counter before grabbing a random piece of lab equipment and hurling it at the old man. The item in question, seemingly an old microscope, went straight through him, crashing against the metal wall in the back.
"You're not even him." Zero heard himself spit, his tone dripping with contempt. "You're just a stupid AI pretending to be a long dead maniac!"
The old man's hologram glared at him with a deranged gleam in his eyes.
"I may not strictly be the original, but I have all his knowledge. The plan will continue with or without your cooperation."
Zero's vision flashed red and the memory of excruciating pain became almost vivid enough to physically feel. He saw his sight falter as he appeared to stumble to the ground.
Standing over him, the old man's hologram sneered.
"You are far from the only insolent creation the great Dr. Wily has had to deal with in his lifetime. Your idiot brother was too willful as well."
The hologram approached with a smug grin, until it stopped in its tracks and its expression shifted into one of pure rage.
"Where is it?!" he snarled. "What have you done with it?!"
"What the hell are you talking about you old bastard?!" Zero heard himself snarl back.
"You fool! Without the other ultimate creation, you are utterly useless!"
"To you, maybe." Zero heard himself growl, jumping back to his feet.
The green blade of his old Z-Saber came into view, slicing wildly across the room and reducing the assorted cabling and electronics lining the surface and the walls. The old man's hologram cast him a glare of pure hatred as it flickered erratically, but he ignored it, continuing his rampage until the emitters producing it were utterly destroyed. He then turned to the enormous mainframe mounted against the back wall of the chamber and sliced it to pieces, pouring out all his pent up rage until he was exhausted.
He paused for a moment, surveying the destruction he had unleashed.
"That old bastard did get one thing right..." he recalled thinking with bitter irony. "I'm rather good at unleashing destruction. But I decide what to unleash it upon. Not Sigma, not the Nightmares, and most definitely not some stupid electronic ghost of a bitter old fart."
He stepped outside the hidden underground complex just in time to find a concerned looking X standing there, seemingly about to barge in.
"What happened in there?" X asked. "Are you OK?"
"I'll live." Zero heard himself reply. "But this isn't the place to talk about it. Let's get out of here."
Zero inhaled sharply as the sudden memory faded from his consciousness. They were definitely becoming more intense and emerging not only during his sleep but also during the day. As the momentary disorientation faded, he shook his head to finish clearing his mind and decided to go for another of his walks.
"What the hell was that?" he thought. "Wily… yes… I remember… but what did that fake mean?"
Even centuries after the facts, the specter of his hateful creator seemingly lingered on, even if only in Zero's memories. Despite everything, he found himself smiling at the irony of how things had turned out. Though he still had much left to recall, a new image in his mind's eye was a source of comfort. A veteran Maverick Hunter, clad in a somewhat bulky red armored suit, with the helmet crowned by a large blue gem… and next to him, a newcomer to the ranks, in a familiar blue suit with a red gem adorning his helmet above the forehead.
"Yes..." he muttered to himself. "I was always pretty good at defying other people's plans for me."
As he continued on his aimless walk, he eventually found himself a good distance away from the settlement, in front of a large field littered by the occasional rock outcropping. To his surprise, he realized him that even unconsciously his feet had taken him to an increasingly familiar destination.
Pacing around the field, Ciel and Alouette were busy planting what looked like tree saplings at even intervals, with their hands covered in thick gardening gloves. Out of the way, a few metal crates with open lids where the rest of the saplings were stored were set next to a set of metal canisters, each topped by a valve to with an attached hose.
"It looks like no matter where I go, my path leads me to the same destination." he silently pondered with a touch of amusement as he watched the two going about their work with a contagious enthusiasm. With a shrug, he decided to join them, and the three spent most of the day dealing with the task, taking a break around lunch time to eat some sandwiches the two girls had packed in a basket.
By the time they finished, the afternoon was drawing to a close.
"Thanks for the help." Alouette said, as she and Ciel smiled at Zero, tired but definitely happy about their progress. For his part, he looked at the two and returned the smile, finding their energy contagious.
"I've got to be careful around those two." he thought in amusement. "That much concentrated cuteness is dangerous."
"Well, I have a couple more things to do before heading back." Ciel said, stretching her arms. "Could you take Alouette home?"
"Sure thing." Zero said. "Just don't overdo it."
After dutifully escorting Alouette home… and letting her ride on his back for a portion of the way at her request, Zero left her under the watchful eye of the ever present Rocinolle. With the end of the hostilities, the strongly built nurse was once again showing her talent with children, having moved out of the Resistance base and into the settlement to better help with the challenges ahead.
Zero grabbed a simple burlap bag from the back of his shack and set out once again, with a specific destination in mind. He had seen some interesting things in the wilderness during his usual treks and found the perfect items for a little plan of his own. Knowing Ciel, she would probably be busy for a few more hours, giving him more than enough time.