Chapter 8 – On the Mend
"Well then..." Ciel said as she stepped out of the shed followed by X, Zero and Phantom. "Time for a proper welcome."
Phantom said nothing, wearing an inscrutable expression on his face.
"Getting second thoughts now?" Zero asked, watching him.
"I can't exactly blame him." X said, feeling somewhat nervous at the prospect of facing everyone.
Zero sighed, grabbed his partner and the Guardian by the back of their necks and started dragging them along.
"Hey!" X protested.
"Come on." Zero said, as if scolding a child. "This is for your own good."
"We are quite capable of walking, you know." Phantom said, rolling his eyes.
"Then stop dragging your feet and come along." Zero said, before letting them go.
Once again, Ciel quirked an eyebrow at their antics, but said nothing, opting to observe as she led them on a short tour of the small settlement. As for the Chief Engineer, he simply watched in quiet amusement, before shutting the door behind them.
A few dozen families were already living in the area, and more civilians kept steadily trickling in as the Resistance continued to secure the roads and other pathways in the region, keeping them safe from dangerous animals and leftover Neo Arcadian drones. The current residents knew it was inevitable that the settlement would continue to grow further and therefore continued pushing themselves as hard as they could in order to prepare for their new future. X took note of the ongoing work, which he had not had the time to look at on his way in, and felt a wave of relief.
"Despite everything..." he thought. "People still endure. I'm glad."
Along the way, they spotted Alouette, playing with some of the other children around her size, human and Reploid alike, together without any distinction. Even X found it difficult to tell them apart at a cursory glance. Much to his surprise though, as well as Zero's embarrassment, they found her wearing a layer of red cellophane wrapped around her pink dress, and twirling what looked like a wooden broomstick, painted green.
"Off we go!" she shouted excitedly, unaware that she was being watched, pointing the broomstick forward. "In the footsteps of the Messiah of Steel!"
Zero's eyes turned as wide as dinner plates as he witnessed the display.
"Is this what she gets up to when she's not trying to play matchmaker?" he thought, covering his face.
It was clear to him who exactly she was referring to, and though he wasn't too fond of the name after hearing Omega refer to himself as a messiah, he couldn't help feeling something else stirring in his chest alongside the discomfort.
"Can robots even get heart attacks?" he silently pondered. "Even in that silly getup she still looks too damn cute."
Next to him, X watched his reaction in silent amusement, while Ciel ran up to Alouette. Phantom remained absolutely silent, keeping his distance with an unreadable expression.
"What are you doing?" Ciel asked, glancing at the broomstick.
"Like you said before, Big Sis." Alouette replied with a cherubic smile. "Acting my age for a while longer."
She then pointed the broomstick down and let its tip rest on the earth.
"Don't worry, I'm not about to hit anyone with it." she added.
A sudden, random and bizarre thought crossed Ciel's mind at that moment, completely unbidden.
"She almost looks like Zero's daughter wearing that… but what would that make… me?"
She was definitely not prepared for that particular thought, and soon she too found herself covering her face, feeling a sudden rush of heat.
At this point, X couldn't contain himself any longer and just burst into laughter.
"Oh!" Alouette cried out, finally noticing him. "X!"
That definitely got the attention of the other children as well, and as she ran up to give him a hug they gathered around, excitedly chattering over each other and clamoring for his and Zero's attention.
Meanwhile, a figure in a typical Resistance uniform watched on from a distance, its face covered by white goggles. At the sight of the scene, it grinned.
"Should have brought a camera… This is just priceless!"
The children spent a good twenty minutes around the legendary pair, overflowing with excitement as they asked all kinds of random questions. Some time later, Rocinolle walked in.
"So this is where you all were." she realized with a smile. "Children, it's time for classes."
"Aw!" a small blonde boy in a green tracksuit pouted. "Do we have to?"
"Yes, you do." she said, firm but gentle. "You know how important this is."
The remaining children hesitated, but then Ciel stepped in, flashing her usual smile.
"Think of all the things you'll be able to do once you know how everything works." she said, pointing at her head. "I wasn't born like this, you know."
That seemed to work, as many of the children were in awe at her and Cerveau's technical prowess and the things they were able to build or repair with scavenged materials and random parts.
Seizing the initiative, Alouette took the lead and ushered the others along. Just before leaving, she looked over her shoulder at Ciel.
"See you later." she said with a giddy smile, already excited about spending the next few hours learning.
Rocinolle lingered a while longer before stepping up to X. He was a little nervous, but visibly relaxed as she patted his shoulder with one of her firm hands.
"Glad to have you back with us." she said with a smile.
"Thank you." X said. "Glad to be here."
"What did I tell you?" Phantom said, still absolutely deadpan. "Your past deeds were not forgotten."
The woman's round face then was marred by a frown as she looked at the Guardian.
"Of course we haven't forgotten." she said, eyeing him suspiciously. "Just as we haven't forgotten what you lot did, the good and the bad."
"I make no excuses." he said flatly.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Trying to make amends… if you will let me."
"We lost plenty of good friends because of you lot." Rocinolle said with a glimmer of steel in her eyes. "But I also know you helped pull a lot of people out of Neo Arcadia before the end. If Zero, X and Ciel vouch for you, then I'll wait and see what you do next… but we'll be watching."
"Then watch." the Guardian said, his expression still inscrutable.
It was then that he surprised everyone present with a rare display of emotion, as a look of regret crept upon his face.
"We chose poorly. For that, I am sorry. All I can do now is offer my skills to your cause."
"I never thought I'd see the day..." Rocinolle said, caught by surprise.
With a strange look on her face, she walked away.
The four just stood there in uncomfortable silence before Ciel finally spoke up.
"I believe in what I said back there." she said. "In time, so will the others. But for now, let's keep going."
"Well then..." Cerveau said, finally catching up with the others as they reached the outdoors cooking area. "Shall we?"
"Yes." Ciel said. "Let's."
Cerveau nodded and reached for a handheld radio.
"All Area Zero patrols, come back. Ciel has an announcement to make."
About fifteen minutes later, about thirty people in Resistance uniforms finished getting in formation on the pathway between houses, facing the gathering area. While they were by no means an official military outfit, Ciel was impressed – and a little unsettled – by how well coordinated their movements had become when acting as a group over time. Pushing such thoughts aside, she addressed them.
"Thank you all for coming." she said, slightly more confident since the speech at the crater. "I have some exciting news for everyone."
She paused for a moment and then continued.
"Someone very important has returned to us, in order to help us figure out how to move forward. We've all grown up hearing tales of his heroics and his kindness, and now we have the opportunity to welcome him back."
"Your cue, partner." Zero said with a grin as he lightly shoved X out from behind a nearby house, where he had been hiding with a sudden bout of stage fright.
X yelped in surprise at the sudden push, but before he had time to register what was happening he found himself standing before a group of cheering soldiers, who were soon joined by civilians who were slowly trickling in.
"It's X!" one of them cried out.
"Welcome back!" another added.
In a matter of seconds he found himself completely surrounded by people patting his shoulders, lining up to shake his hand and giving them their heartfelt thanks for various things he had done at different points. X felt completely overwhelmed at the display, and likely would have ended up crying a little if his temporary body were capable of such a thing.
"What did I tell you?" Phantom thought, watching from out of sight with a degree of smug satisfaction at being proven right.
One particularly cheeky redhead girl in uniform even tried to grab X for a kiss, before a larger man grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and pulled her aside for a scolding. For a moment Zero blinked in surprise.
"Her again?! And now she's gunning for X?!"
He then looked over his shoulder at Phantom.
"Aren't you going out there too?"
"Now is not the time." the Guardian said flatly. "Let him enjoy his moment in peace."
The Guardian then glanced around suspiciously as he heard a rustling nearby. A figure in uniform quickly ducked out of sight around the corner of another building.
"Not yet." the skulking figure thought. "Glad to see you get a proper welcome X… but I'm not ready yet. What am I even going to say after all this time? Do you and Zero even… remember me?"
A couple of hours later, after the crowd dispersed…
"Do you know why we chose this name for the place?" Ciel asked, looking at the Hunter pair.
"I can guess a couple of reasons." X said, smiling as he glanced at Zero.
"You wouldn't be wrong." Ciel admitted. "But also because this is a new beginning. A reset. The future we build here will be built with our own hands."
"Then let's get it right this time." X said. "So nobody has to go through those terrible things again."
"Never again." Ciel said with a nod and a determined look on her face.
"Never again." Zero echoed.
The next few days rolled along, as the plans for expansion continued to be implemented. Given the new project Ciel had taken up, she'd been forced to do the unthinkable and delegate.
"Come on Ciel." Zero said to her during one of the periodic status meetings, which he had taken to attending while X silently watched in the background. "Leave something for the others to do. They have the drafts, the materials, the tools and the people. Trust them."
"You're right, of course." she conceded. "Now then… on to the next order of business."
"We've been getting reports about survivors trying to scavenge materials from the Neo Arcadia crater." Aurelia said with a sigh. "Technically it's not stealing since a lot of them used to live there, but it's still an extremely dangerous place for the unprepared."
"Not only that, but..." Colbor added. "I'm sorry, but there's no easy way to say this. Some of our scouts also mentioned they had to stop a few survivors from jumping off the edge."
Ciel sighed, knowing very well that many people had lost the only home they'd ever known and might not be able to cope with it on their own. Zero squeezed her hand reassuringly and spoke his piece.
"We can't cordon off the entire area like some would probably want to, and we don't have the manpower to keep everyone out even if we had the right..." he reasoned. "But we can't let them do such a pointless thing."
"We'll see to this." Astra said. "We can't let you do all the work, and even you can't be everywhere at once."
"I'm impressed." Ciel said after the meeting, after the three had moved to a more private area. "You've been more outspoken lately."
"I have no interest in being a leader." Zero said. "But I used to be a commander back in my Hunter days, and I know the only way we're going to have a future is by getting everyone to work together."
"I remember you used to hate those briefings." X said with a smile.
"It's true that I was usually more focused on taking action." Zero conceded with a nod. "The times are changing though. At this rate maybe I'll actually… end up hanging up my saber for good."
"I hope to be able to see that day." X thought. "You of all people definitely deserve it."
"What about you, X?" Ciel asked.
"I have no idea." X said "After what happened last time I should probably stay away from any kind of leadership position.
"I'm the sword and you're the shield." Zero said, before patting his old partner's back. "Let the others sort the rest out. We'll make sure they stay safe."
Zero then turned to Ciel.
"Never forget. People like me exist so people like you can do what needs to be done."
"What kind of logic is that?" she asked. "Surely you must have some goals and dreams of your own."
"I do." Zero said. "To see you achieve yours."
"After everything you've done..." Ciel said, unsure what to say. "After everything you've endured… is there nothing you want for yourself?"
"Peace." Zero said. "Peace will do."
"Is that all?" Ciel asked, tilting her head slightly.
"We… I've been seeing a lot more smiles around here lately." Zero admitted. "That also counts as a nice reward. Especially yours and Alouette's."
His words made another rush of heat bloom in her face.
For his part, X abstained from teasing them again, instead showing a smile of his own.
"That's just how we are." he said. "We never asked for anything for ourselves. Once, we dared to dream about a different kind of personal happiness, but that was taken away from us."
"What do you mean?" Ciel asked.
"Remember how we lost so many friends and companions?" X asked, before letting out a sad sigh. "Just as bad as outright losing someone… is not knowing what happened to them at all."
"I'm guessing there's a story behind that." Ciel said.
"Let me tell you about Alia… one of our best and brightest. You actually remind me of her in a few ways."
Zero glanced at his old partner sympathetically.
"I guess I'm not the only one hung up on the past..." he thought.
Outside, the improvement plans were proceeding on schedule, and what once been dirt paths in the central area of the settlement were now orderly cobblestone paths. The spot where people frequently gathered to cook meals out in the open had been further cleaned and expanded and was sporting a set of metal tables and chairs so people wouldn't need to carry their own back and forth. Some houses were showing an additional floor in various states of construction while some people had taken to planting flower seeds along the front and back of their homes. Stripes of earth had been strategically left untouched, with the thought of running additional power lines, cabling and pipes later, but for the time being the people were focused on immediate needs such as food, water and living space. Between Ciel's energy production system and the solar panels mounted on the rooftops, they had enough reserves to last for a year or two.
A few more weeks passed, during which Zero alternated between helping Ciel and Alouette with their tasks, showing X and Phantom around and sneaking off to pick up more fresh fruit and berries in the middle of the night.
On a slow summer day, Ciel was sitting in the workshop, assembling some of the more delicate components by hand. She had finally gotten around to moving the last of her lab equipment from the old Resistance base, and was intent on making full use of it. A set of large monitors mounted on her desk were displaying schematics from her scans of X's original body, the copy's design files and scans of Zero's body, which to her surprise had turned out to be extremely similar to X's.
"Don't forget that this is Zero's second body." X had said to her after she'd finished the initial scans and remarked on the similarities. "The original was lost to the virus and this one was based both on the original and my own."
It dawned on Ciel that things were going full circle, as she was now drawing ideas from Zero's frame to build a new permanent vessel for X's consciousness. She had also entertained the notion of drawing upon data from the Four Guardians, but X had never been built as a war machine, and she did not feel comfortable taking the new design in that direction.
After finishing the assembly of another tiny electronic component with precision tools, Ciel carefully set it down and lifted the magnifying eyepiece off her face.
"Another one down." she said with a satisfied look. "Ten more to go."
She then grabbed the mouse plugged into the computer and pulled up a status readout from the automated fabricators she had programmed with a precise set of instructions the previous day. With a nod, she closed the window. Scavenged components would not do for this. She wanted to personally vouch for every single one of them, and that meant producing them from scratch. The main bottleneck was raw materials, which meant she would need to scour the old production facilities, storage silos and mines scattered throughout the countryside.
"I'm impressed." X said as he took a look at her work. "My maker's designs left scientists and engineers scratching their heads for centuries. Some devices back when I was first awakened couldn't even get any readings at all. Dr. Cain was only able to gain a limited understanding of my systems."
X then recalled something and started counting with his fingers.
"In fact, other than Dr. Light, I think you may be the fourth person able to fully understand this."
"The first would have been your maker, right?" Ciel asked as she continued her work. "Who would be the other two?"
"The first was someone we'll probably speak about at length later." X said. "A woman who lived through the Elf Wars. In fact, I'm almost sure you're related."
"Oh?" Ciel asked. "What makes you say that?"
"Zero's memories may not be fully restored just yet, but I never lost mine. The resemblance is too striking to be just a coincidence." X explained as he pulled up another chair and sat on it.
"We worked closely together at the time, though I don't know what became of her later. She was responsible for helping build the body Zero has now, when the Maverick Virus was consuming the original and we couldn't find an alternative."
"Are you serious?!" Zero interjected, remembering some of the dreams he had been having. "So that woman I saw..."
"She was quite fond of you, you know." X said with a smile.
Then he turned his gaze to Ciel.
"I guess some things run in the family." he added.
"Huh?" Ciel asked, trying to pretend she didn't understand what he was talking about even as her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.
"Zero was always like this." X said with a chuckle. "Driven, intense. The kind of guy people start looking up to... but he was usually focused on work and duty."
Then X's expression hardened considerably.
"My fight against Sigma was based on simple facts. I rejected his twisted ideology and the way he wanted to dispose of humanity and set himself up as some kind of god-king. I had to protect everyone from his madness. Zero, on the other hand, absolutely hated him on a more personal level on top of that. The bastard hurt him in a way that isn't easily forgotten."
Ciel glanced between the two, understanding that there was a deep and painful history behind his reaction and the previous panic attack. She had never seen Zero so disturbed, and hoped never to see him like that again.
"There were other reasons too." X added. "Mostly tied to our history, even if we only got the full picture much later. Have you heard of a man named Albert Wily?"
"I… can't say I have." she admitted.
"Then we have a lot to talk about." Zero said with a frown. "But you're probably not going to like a lot of it."
Ciel was already familiar with some of the legendary duo's history, but there were clearly many parts that had been lost to the passing of time. Hearing the whole story directly from the source was definitely a rare opportunity.
"In fact..." Zero added. "I wonder if your opinion of me is going to change once you know as much as we do. Records from back then are sketchy at best, and a lot of this happened before we were ever activated, but for all I know he was an insane monster… and… my maker."
Ciel was definitely surprised by that. He had never mentioned his creator before, and it was clear that this was a sore subject. She couldn't help wondering what he could have done for Zero to refer to him in such terms.
"Tell me Ciel." X said. "Have you ever heard of a city called Megalopolis?"
"The jewel of the old world?" Ciel recalled. "Yes. Supposedly it was one of the biggest cities ever built centuries ago, but nobody knows where exactly it is and many wonder if it ever existed at all."
"It did exist." X said with a nod. "Before this entire succession of cataclysms and wars, it was a place bustling with life. There were actually two versions of it, in fact."
"Oh?" Ciel interjected.
"They were both built in the same location, one on top of the ruins of the other." X clarified. "I never saw the original with my own eyes, but my maker left a considerable amount of capsules with a holographic AI interface scattered around and a few backup computers with records of what happened back then."
"For some reason, those capsules usually ended up exactly where they were needed." Zero pointed out. "At places where X or I would end up finding them. We always wondered why. Nobody could have planned that far ahead, especially seeing how they usually contained recorded messages and upgrade parts for him."
"Even after all this time, I'm still putting some of the pieces together, but I'm sure about a few facts." X said. "The city was real, and it was the home of my maker, a renowned roboticist by the name of Thomas Light… and those who came before me. My siblings."
"Your siblings?" Ciel asked. "You… have a family?"
"This was long before my time." X clarified. "My maker was afraid of what might happen if I were awakened prematurely, before the reliability of my systems and moral compass could be fully tested. Given what happened to Reploids, his concerns were not unjustified. From what I understand, there was an entire group of precursors to Reploids that were created by my maker."
He leaned back on his chair and furrowed his brow.
"The most notable among them were called the Robot Masters, each of them custom built for a specific purpose… though some of the designs make me wonder what exactly that purpose might have been. More importantly though, there were three others. I don't even know what they looked like, only their names. The first of the line, Blues, with the code name Proto Man. My sister Roll, reputedly a kind soul and deadly with a broom. And then there was Rock, though the world at large knew him by another name."
Zero blinked, once again feeling another memory fragment clicked into place.
"Mega Man." he recalled. "I remember. After Sigma was finally gone, X and I went on a trip, trying to find out more about our origins. We found more of those capsules and a few ruined facilities, buried deep underground, but they looked like secondary outposts or maybe emergency resupply stations. The long and short of it is that his old man once had a research partner who went crazy and tried to reprogram the Robot Masters for world domination. Not very original, I know. Now this Rock… he..."
Zero felt a bout of dizziness as more memories returned, and sat down on a nearby one seat couch.
"From what we gathered, he was a lab assistant." X continued. "Never intended for combat. But he had a trait that Zero and I share. He couldn't just sit around doing nothing while Dr. Wily went on his rampage. So he asked our maker to modify him, to give him the means to fight back. The weapon replication system I used was originally developed for him. My Buster was also an upgraded version of his. And so, much like Zero and I, he fought, and fought, and fought."
"He was a little too effective for his own good." Zero chimed in. "Wily was a sore loser and kept cooking various schemes to try to get rid of this threat. All of them failed, though we don't know half the details. Eventually he switched from tampering with other people's robots to building his own, but that didn't help. Then he tried to step up his game. The result of that was Bass, a robot who hated his guts more than anyone else and developed a weird rivalry with Rock… and then… there was me."
"You?" Ciel asked. "Then you were…?"
"I was supposed to be Wily's final middle finger to the world." Zero said with contempt. "Stuffed in a capsule, pumped full of the Maverick Virus and sealed in a bunker somewhere, like a time bomb. From all accounts, I made quite a bit of a mess when that thing was finally opened. I was mindless. Berserk. I can't remember what happened back then, but Wily wanted to cause as much destruction as he could."
Zero then let out a sigh.
"Then, the unexpected happened, and I was eventually knocked out cold by one particular Maverick Hunter commander. Big, burly, bald… and whatever he may have been like back then, I always knew him as a hard-ass or an outright bastard. Sigma."
"You're kidding, right?" Ciel asked incredulously.
"Sigma was my mentor back when I started at the Hunters." X said with a nod. "Nobody realized it at the time, but the virus hidden inside Zero ended up spilling out, infecting Sigma and warping his mind. I don't know if the virus changed him completely or if it simply blew his worst aspects out of proportion, but the end result was the same."
X rested his chin on his fist, in a very human way despite the limited sensory feedback his temporary body was capable of.
"A protector of the people became a terrorist… and then some kind of devil. A supposed doomsday weapon was left in a blank state, without a place in the world… and then ended up becoming a hero in his own right… and my best friend."
"Wily would be spinning in his grave." Zero said with a scoff, before cracking a slight grin. "Or doing backflips."
But then his expression hardened.
"But in a way, he still got what he wanted. Chaos and destruction. Even without the virus, Sigma was always a charismatic bastard and a lot of humans and Reploids resented each other. It didn't take much to push some groups to violence. Eventually he also figured out a way to move between bodies, take direct control of others, and he kept coming back time and again, in a bunch of different forms."
"Only to be finally betrayed by one of his co-conspirators and destroyed for good on the Moon, where he had nothing else to take over." X added.
The pair reminisced about a few more things until eventually, the conversation died down. X stepped outside to check up on something and Ciel found herself left alone with Zero.
"Something is still bothering him..." she thought. "Not much else I can do now but this."
She gathered her courage and walked up to him.
"I won't pry." she said, before patting Zero's shoulder. "I know there are things in your past still bothering you. I'm the same as you in that regard. If and when you feel you can open up, I'll be here."
"Thanks." he said simply.
"And sorry for the hassle." he thought. "I can't give you what you want. Not… yet."
Elsewhere…
In front of the crater where Neo Arcadia had once stood, two strange figures were standing side by side, surveying the destruction.
The first was clad from head to toe in a strange white suit of armor, that looked like a cross between a medieval knight and futuristic flair, without any visible seams. Through the black visor on the helmet, it looked into the seemingly bottomless crater as the red cloak on its back fluttered in the wind.
"What a depressing sight..." the figure said in a male voice, crossing its arms.
The young woman next to him consulted some sort of device on her left wrist and then closed her blue eyes for a moment, clearly uncomfortable about being in such a place as well.
"The scans will take another forty-eight hours." she said. "There are plenty of other places we can check out until then."
She seemed to be in her late teens or early adulthood, with a soft face and statuesque proportions. Long golden hair cascaded down her back, over her outfit – a white armored vest and plated boots with matching wristguards over a blue body glove.
"You're absolutely right." the armored figure said. "The wilderness nearby looked gorgeous from above."
She then looked at him and rolled her eyes.
"Are you seriously going to keep wearing that while we're here? All the time?"
"I find it... comfortable." he said flatly.
"You know the air is fine, and we shouldn't run into any trouble here." she insisted, before taking a deep breath as if to illustrate her point.
"No harm in being prepared, is there?"
She let out an annoyed sigh and then glared at him.
"This is you right now." she said before making some exaggerated noises, imitating someone breathing through a respirator.
"I find your lack of faith disturbing." he retorted, deepening his voice for added effect.
In response, she lightly slapped the top of his helmet from behind.
"Why do I put up with you anyway?" she asked, shaking her head… though the smile in her face told a different story.
And with that, they turned and left.