Hey everyone, SZ Chimera here! This chapter isn't going to be the usual level of happy-go-lucky humour. Also, the writing may begin to "get a little weird" as it goes on. Why, you ask? Well, it may be best to read and find out...

"No, no, no, no, no...!" X grimaced as he dashed down the street.

He raced past pedestrians and shops, past lights and music and all sorts of celebration. Fireworks exploded brilliantly in the air while firecrackers popped and sizzled all over the street. The jovial atmosphere was lost on the blue bomber as he frantically searched for something before it was too late. A bar caught his eye as it came into view. X stopped his headlong rush, staring at the establishment with a sinking feeling. He gulped before heading towards it. As he entered, his eyes fell upon the one person he'd hoped to never see in a bar again.

"Oh, Zero..."

Earlier...

Zero sat at the desk, filing another report. He's just finished another sweep of the desert, his search for anything amiss having proved fruitless once again. He was glad for this of course, and the patrols themselves proved to be some valuable alone-time. After all, ever since Axl moved in, things had livened up considerably around the base.

Axl was quickly becoming well known around the base for his constant smile and happy mannerisms. Whenever someone came across him they couldn't help but smile, no matter how bad a mood they were in. He helped out with missions from time to time, even though he wasn't officially employed by them (but Ciel had been considering it recently). Anything to do with cheering up, he was there. Anything to do with a good laugh, he was probably the cause of it. Just as Zero had become a symbol for power and reliability during the war, Axl was becoming the symbol of happiness and optimism. (He was also the only one known for being able to break through Zero's stoic composure on a regular basis.)

Almost with a hint of jealousy, Zero thought of what else Axl was becoming a symbol of. Change. A bright future was coming to this once war-torn land, and sure as the sun rose X and Axl were leading the pack towards it. X, a well known symbol of peace, because he always lead the way towards it, and Axl, making the journey there all the more fun.

Zero was deep into his own world as he walked. He headed towards the desk where he could deposit the report. There was no denying it. Over a year of him searching every inch of the desert had concluded in only one thing; the war was well and truly over. Humans and reploids worked side-by-side, everyone got along. Even the remnants of Neo arcadia, the politicians, the administration, the soldiers and everyone else, were content to let bygones be bygones. A perfect example of this was the former "Guardians of Master X". Once his sworn enemies, now some of his closest friends. Zero sighed, tugging at his new Christmas gift, a red scarf given to him by aforementioned Guardians. Now, as happy as Zero was about the end to all of the fighting, something was troubling him. Everyone was so well adapted, it seemed, to this change. If he thought about it in a figurative manner, the world was very much like a huge herd of mis-matched animals. Where before they had quarrelled and killed because of these differences, they now accepted them and moved on. X, Axl, the guardians, they led this herd towards a new future. Ciel, Cerveau, everyone in the Guardian HQ... everyone.

Everyone but him.

Sure, he tried all he could. He tried to show everyone the way, like he always had. He'd always attempted to show this proverbial herd the errors of their ways, that fighting wasn't the best thing to do. In the small pack of him, X and Axl, hadn't he always been the first one to put his life on the line to kill the few others that didn't want to listen, no matter what? He'd been there for his friends from the beginning, fighting everyone who refused to listen to his and his friend's preaching. Fighting all of them, and then some.

But now, when it came down to it... the herd was listening. There was no longer a need for violence Everyone listened because they were tired of the fighting and wanted to end it. No longer did everyone stand around or attack others. Everyone was headed for the new future, they listened to X and Axl and him and followed them to the next step. Peace was here...

So why did it all feel so... wrong?

Why did it feel so empty? Shouldn't someone, at least, still be trying to resist the flow of the herd? It seemed like, after several centuries of war, that at least someone still should want to resist? There was no one it seemed, absolutely no one, who wanted to resist this change. Not one person looked at each other in blame any more, only to the future, the horizon. Everyone rushed to that horizon, so happy to finally see it.

Everyone but him.

Zero dropped the report on the desk, no one the wiser. Someone would pick it up later, sign it after reading through it briefly, and then file it into the darkest corner of the guardian base's records. Everyone knew that Zero was the ever vigilant protector, always keeping his eye out for trouble. However, they also seemed to know in their hearts that trouble was long gone. Because of that, Zero's reports, the last hint of troubled times, were subconsciously and literally shoved as far away as possible.

He walked through the nearly-empty halls of the base, gazing absent-mindedly at people as he passed. It was December thirty-first, around noon. Most people were going home to relax or start partying. Those that were still in the base were occupying themselves with meaningless chores, such as him. Zero didn't even have a shift that day, but for some reason it didn't feel right to just go somewhere and do nothing. The red hero stole away to his room, no longer having an excuse to do anything anymore now that his patrol was over. He went to his bed and flopped down. Sure, Fefnir had invited him for a drink later, but Zero didn't drink. Even more so, he never got drunk. The last time he'd done that was way back in 21xx, and it had resulted in him being kicked out of every bar in the city, not to mention he was severely lectured...

He closed his eyes, remembering that time with a small chortle. Ah, good times. His thought process reverted back, for the briefest of moments, to his metaphorical herd dreamed up earlier.

Wait, hadn't he thought of that metaphor before?

The answer escaped him as his eyelids dropped. He thought, feebly, that the answer might come if he slept on it. And so he did.

X X X X X

Axl pouted cross-legged on the sofa. He was idly toying around with a can of soda as he heard the ex-generals discuss their night-time plans with each other.

"Stupid adults, not letting me go with them..." he grumbled to himself.

He didn't even bother listening in on the conversation, content to stare down the scenery with disgust. The few elegant pictures in the room had their beauty ignored in favour of the minor flaws in the wall. Axl kept staring so hard he could see designs starting to appear out of the design-less surface. And still he kept staring, his bottom lip stuck out furiously.

"So what if I can't go? I'm perfectly fine right here!" he snarled.

And so he kept staring at the wall.

Phantom peeked at him from around the corner, trying not to laugh at the look of absolute indignation that his partner-in-crime was giving the wall. He disappeared back to the conversation held by the other generals about where they wanted to go.

"That poor wall! I wonder what it did to deserve that kind of look?" he chuckled to himself. On a whim, he snatched a camera off of a nearby table, snuck back and took a picture of Axl, and returned to his previous course of action. He pocketed the camera for later use. Drunk pictures made excellent blackmail, after all.

As long as the plan didn't backfire, he'd be fine.

X X X X X

A lone wolf stood among a gigantic herd of sheep, sniffing the air. It looked around desperately, growling occasionally at any sheep that strayed from the main herd. Surprisingly enough, the sheep who were growled at bleated happily, then trotted back to their brethren. The wolf, who was tame, watched them leave with confusion.

Near the front of the herd were some big, rough, but friendly looking dogs. Sheepdogs? They yipped and barked happily, wagging their tails as they led the herd towards the top of a hill. They'd already seen what was on the other side, and were joyously trying to get the sheep to follow them over the hill. The sheep were obliging them, walking towards them.

This is unusual, the wolf seemed to say to itself. He gazed up at the dogs, who were his best friends. There were a few more of them than there were last time. He tried walking towards them, and to the top of the hill that he had never seen over. Then he stopped. They were having so much fun at the top of the hill. They were about ready to try and fly over it, they were so enthused. Despite having no wings with which to fly, this attitude was so infectious that it spread to the sheep.

He thought he'd always been one of them. Another dog like them. But he knew, deep under his fur, that he was not.

For the first time in a long while, the wolf stopped. Simply stopped and stared, confused, at the sheep and the dogs, who all got along.

And then, for the first time in a long while, the wolf looked back.

The skeletons of many sheep and wolves were locked together in death, rams and pups and lambs and alphas were all entangled together on the dead plain, the grass brown and the dirt gray. Those were the ones who had not backed down to his growls, the ones he and the dogs had killed to protect the sheep. And yet, when the wolf looked, there were countless innocent sheep as well, most crushed by the bickering of the ones who had decided to fight, or killed when they had become terrified and attacked others as well. Some dog skeletons were also there. These were the dogs who had not survived the attacks of the wolves and scared sheep.

And beyond them, far, far beyond the acres of bones and dead soil, was a shadow. A great forest, looming far in the horizon. But it was dead too. Unlike the last time the wolf had looked back, this forest had no shadows prowling at its borders. This forest had no life left within it, not one lone wolf to threaten the herd. The tame wolf looked at this forest. There was nothing there, nothing but the ghosts of memories. There was nothing left in the forest.

The wolf looked back at the dogs, yipping and barking happily and wagging their tails at the herd that followed. They were all staring at the horizon beyond the hill.

Everyone but him.

The wolf was all alone, the sheepdogs hadn't realized that he was absent. He didn't mind. A wolf did not fit in a herd of sheep and dogs.

There was nothing left in the forest.

He headed to the forest.

Zero woke up abruptly. He patted his face, which was cold to the touch. He shivered, remembering his dream of wolves and sheep and dogs. The last time he'd had a dream like that...

That time, he'd still had the virus. He'd done something too, something to try and protect his friends, but it had failed. He'd tried to have the virus removed, than had all but disappeared off the face of the earth. All without his friends knowing. It wasn't until Weil, one of the few scientists he'd entrusted with his secret, betrayed him and attacked his friends did he come back.

Back then, he'd had almost the exact same dream. Back then, the wolf had gone back to the forest too.

It was a dream that Zero had told no one about, one that he would never forget. After all, the dream symbolized disaster, didn't it? He'd had the dream, then hidden himself from the world only to be dragged back to it as more war broke out.

Whatever the changes in the dream might have meant, it didn't matter to Zero. All he knew was that it must've been a sign of more war to come. But, this time he wouldn't make a mistake. He wouldn't trust anyone to know his plans.

He would disappear until needed again, and that was that. And he would be damn sure to be gone before anyone figured it out! Before they figured out his plans, or his secret. But, this time at least, he'd say goodbye...

He picked up his communicator, dialling in the number.

It was picked up soon after. A familiar voice answered the phone.

"Yeah? Who is it?" Fefnir asked.

"Hey Fef, it's me, Zero. You know what? I've changed my mind. Let's go for a drink."

Presently...

X shook his head at Zero, his brilliantly pink cheeks giving away his present state.

"Hey Eksh! Hey! Took ya long enough to get here! Hee..."

Everyone currently with Zero laughed uproariously at the enormous grin plastered on the drunken red hero's face. Harpuia was not present, but Fefnir, Leviathan and Phantom were. Fefnir pounded the bar's surface with delight, grinning back at Zero.

"Ha har! Ey, lookie here, Zero's actually smilin' for once! Haa haa haa!"

Leviathan was leant against her brother, Phantom, as she hiccupped loudly. Then she patted him over the head as he stared dully at Zero, "Oi, you, brainless! Didn't you get the joke! Hah hah, Zero smiling! Weeeeeiiird..."

"Huh?" Phantom asked, apparently too out of it to really care what was going on.

Zero, still smiling at X, finally realized that he wasn't getting a smile back. Now disinterested, he flopped forward onto the bar, his tongue lolling slightly.

"What the hell am I going to do now?" X pondered aloud. As he was now, there was no point in telling Zero off since he was too drunk to listen. At this time the best thing to do would be to bring him back home (Whose home it was didn't matter; as long as it was somewhere Zero could sleep without too much collateral damage it'd be fine).

While X was racking his brain trying to figure out how to get Zero to safety, a new person joined the party.

"Well, I didn't expect you to be here..." said a rather surprised voice.

X turned around. Harpuia stood behind him, having made his way through the crowds of drunk and barely sober bar patrons. He carried several drinks with him.

X frowned, "To tell you the truth, I wish I wasn't. But I heard Ciel say that Zero had gone out with you guys, so I decided to come to the rescue."

"Rescue? Hmm, please tell me why you think we'd need to be rescued," Harpuia questioned casually. He handed X one of the drinks, then sat down at the bar beside Phantom. X sat beside him and looked quizzically at the drink in his hand.

"No worries, it's just water. These guys keep demanding drinks, so I got them some. Non alcoholic, but don't tell them that," Harpuia winked.

X smiled tiredly, "Ahh, okay. So I'm guessing you're the designated driver today?"

"Yup, Phantom was last year, so this year it's my turn. Sheesh, a whole year has already passed in peace. My does time fly."

"Yeah, it sure does," X agreed, sipping his water, "thankfully it's a peaceful time though, hmm? Although, with Zero drunk as he is, the peace might not last for long."

"Hmm?" was the response.

"Well," X started, "when Zero gets severely drunk, he can be unpredictable at best. He never remembers it, mind you, but it's the main reason why Zero usually doesn't drink."

"And why he initially rejected our offer to come drink, I assume," Harpuia added.

X nodded, "Yup, that'd be why. I don't know why he came out today actually. The last time he got drunk, he ended up in a load of trouble."

"Oh? Would you explain?"

"Sure." X nodded. The other ex-generals leaned forward to hear the story, having found nothing else to do. Zero, on the other hand, had engaged himself with re-arranging a small but decorative display left over from Christmas.

"Well, here's how the story goes. So, Zero had gone out for a drink around the seventh rebellion during the maverick wars, right? He hadn't gone out for a drink in a few years since the Iris incident, and some of the guys around Hunter HQ had decided to give him a treat for New Year's. Now, around two in the morning, I got a call about some red guy causing trouble at the highway. I went there to check it out, and lo and behold it was Zero. His buddies had lost track of him, and he'd gone out to play baseball on the highway."

"Musta been some traffic problems there," Fefnir snorted. Leviathan giggled at the joke.

"Less of a problem with traffic and more of a problem with what Zero was doing to said traffic."

"How so?" Harpuia asked.

"Well, there tends to be a bit of a problem when someone tries to play baseball with a street light and oncoming cars. Dang good thing he was drunk or he might've actually hit someone... But in all fairness, he'd done a wonderful job of not getting hit himself. And causing a big mess..."

"Wait a minute? He was actually using a traffic lamp to try and hit stuff? Snnrt!" Leviathan chortled.

"Yup. And it was a dang good thing that I'd gotten there when I did, the highway traffic was getting heavier and I dare say he was starting to get more accurate, if only by luck," X finished.

"What I wonder is how he managed to swing a street lamp at all," Harpuia said.

"That's one of the seven great mysteries of Hunter HQ. Not even Zero could figure that one out... not that he was sober enough to remember doing it, anyways."

The pair looked at Zero, who was still engrossed with his makeshift flower arranging. The poor Christmas fern had gotten quite a makeover, and a pinecone ornament was nowhere near where it should have been. In fact, it had been squished out of shape and placed at an entirely different angle than the one it was originally at. Two red orbs sat on either side, like eyes. The leaves of the fern seemed to sprout out of the left and right, resembling a clown-like hairpiece. In fact...

"Hee hee hee... lookit, it's Wily..." Zero grinned.

"Hah hah, so it is!" X laughed.

"Wily? Who's Wily?" Harpuia asked.

X sighed, leaning back in his chair as he explained, "Oh, Wily? Not a lot of people know anything about him. Considering that his data was erased from a lot of memory banks, it's no wonder. Wily was an insane old man from around 20xx. You all remember about my predecessor, Megaman, right? Wily was the guy that incited almost every robot battle that Megaman had to quell. As much as an annoyance as he was, not too many people died from his attacks, only the mechaniloids or upgraded robots, so he was either forgotten or erased out of history books. Actually, I only learned about him from one of the capsules my dad left for me, I'm probably the only one who really knows about him these days."

They let the information sink in, X taking a drink of his water. The he sat bolt upright, spraying his beverage as he exhaled in shock. He stared intensely at Zero.

"Huh? Wha'z wrong, pops?" Phantom inquired.

"Zero, how the HELL do you know what Wily looked like?"

Now it was everyone else's turn to sit up. They'd all just realized that Zero knew something that, apparently, he shouldn't.

"Huh? Didn't you tell Zero about Wily too?" Fefnir said.

"No, I didn't. When I told him that my dad had sent me some info on 20xx, he got bored and told me to 'save the history lesson for later'."

Leviathan's lip went at an angle, "Hee hee, so how'd he figure that out if you didn't tell him?"

X shrugged. The group stared at Zero, hoping for an answer. Zero did not respond to them. He simply stared at his masterpiece Wily, his tongue still loose from his mouth. His face expressionless, he raised both his hands to the sides of the plant, turning them into fists. Then, without warning, he smashed them into either side of the Christmas fern, squishing it entirely. A little cloud of dirt exploded outwards.

X's face contorted into something between concern and horror.

"Zero, what was that for?"

Zero's arms fell slowly to his side, then hung limp below him. Still leant against the bar, and only supported by the seat he sat on, he finally looked over to the others. Then his eyes lazily slid past them to look out the window. It had begun to rain slightly, with the pedestrians outside running for cover. A wicked smile spread over his face. With the tip of his tongue hanging out, it gave him the appearance of one of the ancient, carved demon faces that one might see on a gargoyle. But on Zero, it was far more sinister.

"It's raining, it's pouring, this carcass is so boring, the old man's dead 'cause I crushed his head, and I'll kill the rest in the morning! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

X suddenly grabbed Zero, rushing him out of the bar. Harpuia paid off the barkeeper in record time as the rest of the group dashed after X. Fear was in their eyes. What had Zero just said?

A headlong race ensued, with Harpuia at the back of the group. They tried to keep up with X, completely confused as to his destination. But they followed anyways, hoping that wherever it was, it was safe.

When the group managed to catch up with X, he was hidden in an alley with Zero, his eyes flickering about for anyone that should not be in range of the conversation that was to come.

The generals had sobered up enough to realize that something was terribly wrong. Harpuia came forwards slowly, looking at X imploringly. X, clutching a baffled Zero, nodded back. The former guardians entered the derelict alley, avoiding stepping on the stray pieces of garbage as they came closer to the two reploids. Dark dirt and grit clung to the walls and floors of the alley, as well as any loose clothing that came into contact with it. Zero was limp in X's arms, most of his body dragging in the muck as X struggled to stay on his feet while holding the red reploid's weight.

"Hey, can we help?" Phantom asked groggily.

"NO! Stay there. I'm going to find out exactly what Zero meant by what he said," X growled. Determination drew his eyebrows down in concentration as he posed a question to his captive, "Alright, speak up! Just what did you mean when you said that 'the old man's dead because you crushed his head!' Zero, tell me!"

Zero stirred, but said nothing.

"C'mon Zero, please! Tell me!"

Again, X's cries went ignored. But then, X lost his air of desperation. He stared, frighteningly calmly, at Zero.

"Zero... what have you been hiding?"

"Stupid little bastard!" Zero shouted suddenly, flinging X roughly aside as he charged at a garbage can. X hit the wall with an audible crack! The guardians forgot everything else as they rushed to his defense. Leviathan made sure that he wasn't too severely damaged. The others held their ground against as an enraged Zero ripped the unfortunate garbage can in half, then proceeded to stomp on it viciously.

"Stupid little fuckup! You dumbass robot master, like you could stand a chance against me! Hah!"

He kept on beating up the garbage can. The others thanked the gods that he seemed completely unaware of their presence. X struggled to his feet with Leviathan's help, clutching his bleeding head. Phantom spared him a glance. X noticed that he was terrified, and he didn't blame him. He himself was frightened. Zero had never treated him like this!

"It's okay, I'm okay," X said. That calmed the shadow guardian considerably, but he was still tense.

Fefnir was completely disoriented, "What do we do? This isn't Zero, he's never acted like this before!"

"And what the heck is a robot master? Zero seems quite obsessed in destroying one," Harpuia added.

X coughed, steeling himself for whatever might happen. Then he told Harpuia, "A robot master is an upgraded robot from 20xx. You know, those robots I told you about earlier? How Zero knows the term is completely beyond me."

"He seems to know a lot more than he should. Especially about 20xx. Are you sure you didn't tell him anything?"

"Positive."

Leviathan peeked around from behind the others to look at Zero. He had seemingly calmed down too, and was kicking the remains of the garbage can in annoyance.

"Stupid robot masters. If they're so great they should put up more of a fight!" he grumbled. He fell to his haunches, sitting and looking around at the scenery curiously. His eyes fell to X, and they widened.

"Hey, it's you!"

X was taken aback, but went with it, "It's me? Oh yeah, it's me! You know, uh..."

"You're that stupid little blueberry twerp, remember? Duh! You robots are so stupid! Forgetting your own name, how dumb! Dumbass!" He swayed drunkenly, his face creased from the concentration it took to stay upright. X recognized this as a sign that he was ready to topple, so he went on with business without further ado.

"If you're so smart, then what is my name?"

"Hah hah, you're so stupid it's sad. You're Meh... Moron? No, wait... Megaman!"

X froze, unable to believe his ears. This sentiment was shared by the rest. "Mega... man? No, it's Megaman X. You always call X, remember?" He denied, trying to make sense of what was going on.

Zero sneered, "Whaa haa haa, you really are stupid, ain't yah? Shithead!" Then Zero looked at him, leaning his head to the side. His expression changed from scorn to wonder. He laughed raucously, "Oi, wait a minute! Heh hah hah hah! You're supposed to be dead! You so stupid that you forgot you was supposed to be dead? Hah hah!"

X grimaced. One question came into everyone's mind, all at the same time. Only X was brave enough to ask it.

"Hey, Zero... why am I dead?"

Zero looked at him with extreme boredom, like a child ready to discard an old, broken toy.

"'Cause I killed ya."

Zero's eyes went blank. They rolled up into his head as he fell backwards, unconscious.

Harpuia stepped forward, gazing commandingly at all in attendance.

"Our house. NOW."

X X X

The doorbell rang at three in the morning. Footsteps echoed throughout the decorated halls as Harpuia jogged to the door. He opened it, the freezing night air rushing into the house.

"Ah, it's you! Come on in you two, before it gets cold."

Two huddled figures came in, the thinner of the two rubbing her shoulder to dispel the cold.

"Ah, thanks, Harpuia!" Ciel smiled. Cerveau began to remove his gloves, nodding at the green sage, "I hope we made it in good time?"

"You did. He's still asleep," Hepuia frowned, "but that's also a bad thing. The longer he's out, the more worried X seems to get. Damnit, what was that red idiot thinking?" he scowled absentmindedly, returning to the chamber which held Zero. The pair at the doorway followed suit the moment their jackets were hung up.

In the same room that the ex-generals usually had their celebrations, they now had one very pale looking reploid accompanied by his worried friends.

"Go go away... stoppit... uh, woof or something..." Zero grumbled.

The red hero was laid out flat on his back on the couch, snarling at an imaginary foe in his dreams. He was virtually buried in blankets and pillows, one of his arms stuck out at an odd angle to claw occasionally at the air. X was sitting at his side, gently patting his cheek to try and wake him up. Leviathan appeared next to him with a warm, damp cloth.

"Still having nightmares, hey?" Cerveau noticed sadly.

Harpuia nodded.

"Grr, stupid copy... oh wait, I'm the copy... Whoopsie..."

Fefnir sighed, holding a towel to his own head as he fought off the effects of his earlier alcohol binge. "Can't someone shut him up, it hurts..." he moaned.

His complaints went ignored. Phantom was barely holding onto consciousness himself, but Axl was the polar opposite, pacing frenetically and glancing over at his older brother constantly. His restless movements did little to help the situation, however, as Zero remained ignorant of everything happening outside of his own mind.

"We're sorry to have to call you over, but we really have no idea about what's happening to him," Harpuia explained.

"Nonsense, you did the right thing. Besides, we would have come over anyways," Ciel chided. She walked over to the unconscious red hero, gently shooing X away as she leant in to try and solve the problem.

"Ooh, look at the pretty butterfly... I think it's trying to kill me..." rambled Zero.

The scientist frowned, "Well, I don't really know what's going on... does any of what Zero is saying sound familiar?"

X shook his head. Everyone else frowned.

Axl grimaced, "Nope, nothing he's said so far has sounded familiar..."

"Hah hah, hey X, Axl, it's buttface version eight-point-oh!"

"Except that..." he groaned.

Phantom was staring at Zero with confusion, and he wasn't the only one. Harpuia looked over at X questioningly.

"That quote was back from the eighth maverick uprising. I wouldn't ask..." he explained.

"I doubt I'd get it even if I did," Leviathan muttered loudly.

"Well, now that he said that, a couple of things that he's said have made some sense. But, most of it's pretty vague at best," X pondered.

"Hmmm..." Cerveau scratched his chin, a habit he favoured. Then he turned to Ciel, "Hey Ciel, you said something some time ago, around Valentine's, wasn't it? That Zero may have been traumatized during an event in his past? I wonder if this is a side-effect of that."

"It's more like it's the full-blown symptoms, if you ask me," Axl shot worriedly.

"Now that you mention it, that may very well be the cause of this. If Zero was holding back something that important from everyone, it may have slowly eaten away at him. During the wars it could have been pushed into the back of his mind, but now that the time is more peaceful, he's probably had nothing else to distract him from whatever happened."

"So he's basically been a ticking time bomb ever since the war ended..." Leviathan sighed.

"Pretty much, I'm afraid. It may have been accelerated by his getting drunk, though. Now that he's at the mercy of his subconscious mind, whatever raging... thing was confined there is now running amok."

"Geeze Zero... Geeze! Why couldn't you just have told me what Sigma told you!" X yelled angrily.

Surprised by his outburst, the others could do nothing but watch as a teary-eyed X pounded his leg in frustration.

"To hell with it, Zero! What's it that's so important that you can't tell anyone? What's so great and scary that you had to keep it to yourself? Let it devour you from the inside out! Damn it, damn it..." he despaired, his eyes never straying from the weak form of his friend.

"What did Sigma tell you back then, Zero? Please. Zero, please tell us."

Zero shuffled. He snarled again, his brows furrowing in intense hatred.

"Sigma..."

X looked at Zero. "What did he say, Zero? C'mon, tell me. It's okay. Go on."

"Sigma... you liar... Liar! Liar! No, no! Liar!"

Everyone was silent, their breaths held tightly inside their chests. The room seemed completely still. Then Zero began to twitch, slowly and almost unrecognizably at first, but stronger as time wore on.

"Liar! No, that can't be true. You liar... no. No. That's not true... I can't be. No, I can't be. No, no, no. Cain made me. Not him. Can't be him. Not him. Liar. Liar! No!"

Zero suddenly grabbed the back of the couch, gripping it so hard his knuckles seemed to stand out like mountains. "Not him, there's no way. I'm not... not either. Not a maverick. No. No I'm not, I can't be. Not a maverick. No. You were the maverick. You. Not me. You," he mewled, disbelieving. It wasn't the fact that seemed to want to deny something that caught the hearts of his audience with a cold, clammy grasp.

It was the fact that he was trying to deny something he thought was true.

The tone of his voice said it all. Desperation mixed with anxiety and anger, the voice of a scared child and the roaring hatred of a demon.

"Not me, can't be me. You were the first maverick. You were. Not me. No, no. Lies! He didn't make me, couldn't have! He's dead. He's been dead for longer than I've lived. So he can't have made me. Cain made me. That's what he told me. No! You liar! Liar liar liar... noooo... He didn't make me! He's dead! I can't have been... first maverick, no, not me. He didn't make me! Not that man! Not Wily! No no no no no no no no no no no no no no NO NO NO NO NO!"

Zero trembled, clutching the couch. X ran from the room, aghast. He stopped just outside of it, his hand to his mouth and his eyes wide in shock. He too was trembling, terrified of what he'd heard. Axl dashed after him, skidding to a halt in front of him.

"X..."

X fell to the floor, his hands moving up to his ears.

"I didn't hear that. Please tell me I didn't hear that. No way."

"X..." Axl gave him the softest, kindest look he could muster, "It doesn't matter. Zero is Zero."

"But... Wily! Maverick!" X stuttered, unable to formulate his thoughts into a coherent sentence.

Axl, although the most innocent of the group inside of the ex-generals home, was somehow the calmest. He knew what he'd heard just as well as everyone else. And he knew that it must be harder on X than everyone else. After all, X was made by Light. He knew that from how proud X was every time he'd mentioned the man who'd made him. And he was one of the few who'd listened to X's tales about his ancestor, Megaman, and his struggles against an apparently evil, psychotic mad scientist by the name of Wily.

But even he hadn't expected that madman to be capable of making something, no, someone, like Zero. Wily was supposed to have just been a good-for-nothing joke. A robot thief, right? Just some random guy who ought to have been put in an asylum. Axl was sure that knowledge was causing X no end of torment. The thought that Zero had been created by someone as malicious, twisted, tainted as Wily...

Not to mention what Axl had been told about what Zero said earlier. About killing Megaman...

"X, look, Zero is Zero. He's your best friend, and right now he's in a lot of pain from the inside. Even if he really was made by Wily, he's not some mindless monster. We're all really hurting, X... especially Zero. And I'll bet you all my money that the moment we can get Zero happy again, we'll all be happy. Come on, X!"

X finally looked up, sniffing. Then he gave a small, nervous grin, "Axl, you've got way too much money. I couldn't hold you to that bet."

Axl giggled, glad to have been able to make X smile in even this dark of a time. "Come on you great blue blob, let's get back to the others."

The navy prankster helped X to his feet, walking him back into the room with the others. They were ashen faced, quiet as a grave. Only the sound of Zero's whimpers broke the heavy silence.

X walked up to Zero, sitting beside him on the couch. The others looked at him, unsure of what to do.

Calmly, X spoke, "Wake up, Zero."

"Hey Zero," Axl followed, "wake up, would yah? Nightmares aren't any fun. Wake up from this one."

The others looked at each other then came over, draping themselves wherever there was room, all looking longingly at Zero.

"Hey, come on, up and at 'em!"

"Wake up, Zero, we still need you out here."

"Get up, would you?"

"Wake up Zero, please."

Fefnir growled at the unresponsive Zero. "Hey, you've got a bunch of nice people out here acting as your alarm clock and you're not listening! Wake up you thick clod!" He brought his fist down on top of Zero's head hard, but not hard enough to do any permanent damage.

Zero grunted. He shook his head then quivered, his eyes still closed. X grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him lightly.

"Come on! Wake up Zero! WAKE UP!"

Zero's eyes fluttered. His death grip on the couch weakened before giving out altogether. He seemed exhausted, his cheeks still somewhat flushed from the alcohol.

"Huh...? What...? X? Axl? Ciel? Everyone? What are you all doing here?"

"Trying to bring you back," Leviathan replied.

Ciel smiled sadly at zero, "You were asleep, but caught in a nightmare.

"A… nightmare?" Zero asked.

"Yeah, Zero, a really bad nightmare. You were talking in your sleep, too," Harpuia answered.

"Zero…"

"Yeah, X?"

"You were made by Dr. Wily, weren't you?"

Zero stared in shock. His eyes were wide and frightened as he looked at X. "H-how…?"

X sat down beside his scared friend, doing his best to appear calm and kind like he usually did, "I asked you what Sigma said when you were asleep, and you started yelling about "first maverick" and who made you and "Wily", and a lot of other things that didn't make sense. Zero, I think it's time to tell us what happened back then."

Zero's eyes darted around the room, glancing at everyone in attendance. Everyone was looking at him with concern, fear, confusion, all sorts of different emotions. Zero himself wanted to bolt off the couch, run and hide and go to sleep and wake up to a world where nothing had ever happened. He swallowed that thought right then and there; he couldn't shove this matter away any more. They'd all heard him say something, so there was no way he could hide it any more. He confessed.

"It… it all started back when… in 20xx, when Wily made me. It's all a blur. I remember doing so much, but it's like I was just watching it all happen. Wily activated me… told me to go kill something. Go kill everything. I think he meant to say, "go kill everything that opposes me," but all I remember him saying is "kill" and "everything". So I did, started with him. Then these strange little robot guys appear outta nowhere, attack me, so I attacked 'em back. I got a bit damaged, but it was no biggie. So I kept going, killing everything I could see. Then there was a few new robot guys that came along. There was a red one, a black and yellow one, a blue one… and some other ones. They fought a lot harder than the other robots, I took a lot of damage. I was just about to finish off the last of them, a big green one, when… now, this is just what I remember… I saw some guy that looked like Santa Claus. Not even kidding, he had a big white beard, and was covered in red. I doubt it was Santa, I think I'd just taken too much damage to the head. The robots from earlier were damn good at shooting me there, and it really hurt. So I ran back to Wily's base, and took a nap in my stasis pod to shake of the headache, right?

I must've slept longer than I meant to though, 'cause next thing I know some newer looking robots are banging on my pod and pointing at me and grinnin' like idiots. I still had a bit of a headache I guess, 'cause I got really pissed and smashed my pod to get at 'em. Killed a bunch of them. Then I remember walking around for a while, trying to find my way outta Wily's base. Then this one really big robot comes up to me, he looked mad. It was Sigma, although I didn't know it at the time. So we fight, and I'm having a lot of fun 'cause he's really strong, right? I finally manage to get the upper hand after a long brawl. It was so fun! I remember thinkin' that maybe I should keep the guy barely alive, so he'd fight me again. Then my headache got really, really bad. I mean, just AWFUL.

From what Sigma told me right before our fight in the fourth rebellion, I'd apparently started screaming in pain and clutching my head, and that's when he'd seen a weird W symbol appear in my head gem. From there he'd guessed that it was my weak point. So he gave it a right good punch, knocked me straight out. And well, that was shortly before he started acting maverick… turns out, it was the virus that Wily had programmed into me acting up. I don't know why it did, but it did. And when Sigma hit me in the head, the majority of the virus got transferred to him. Only the stuff in my core programming remained, and it took a dang good while before it started producing itself again. And, well, I'm sure you can guess what happened from there. Cain took me in, told me a few white lies, etc, etc."

Zero had been getting paler and paler as his story wore on, staring into space like it was trying to kill him. He began rocking back and forth.

"When I think about it, about what I did… I can't believe I killed so many… They didn't do anything to me… all my fault, I murdered them. Murdered them all, I'm a murderer, murderer, and no matter what I tried it just happens again and again and again… It's just going to keep happening, murdering them all, even when I tried to remove the virus people just kept dying and dying and it never went away. It's going to happen again and again people dying again 'cause it's all my fault I'm a murderer murderer …" he babbled, the full force of his trauma hitting him head on. The he stopped, stared at X, his face ghostly.

"It's never going to stop, never. Not unless I go away. Go away for good."

Before he even realized what was going on, Axl had practically flown into his lap, nearly choking him as he hugged him tightly around the neck.

"NO!" Axl sobbed, "no, don't say that! No!" He cried, tears draining from his eyes at a rapid pace. Zero was stunned. He stared at Axl, who was looking up at him, his face creased in despair.

"Big brother, don't say something like that!" he wailed. Axl clutched Zero tighter, his small frame wracked with sorrow. Zero had no idea how to react.

Ciel finally made herself known, stepping forward and kneeling down in front of the pair, "Zero… You don't have to leave. You don't ever have to leave. I don't know where you got that idea from, but get rid of it right here and now." She gestured towards Axl, still buried in Zero's chest, "Look at him Zero. If you were to leave, he wouldn't be the only one that sad. We'd all be sad. You've done so much for us, sacrificed so much so everyone could live in peace. It wouldn't be fair if you had to go. You've put so much effort into this world; it's time you stayed and enjoyed the fruits of your labours."

"But… but…" Zero tried to argue. How could he get them to understand? He decided that there was only one way to it.

Zero told them about his dream, about what had happened after that last time he'd had it. Wasn't that enough evidence that he should leave?

Harpuia looked furious, "You… how could you? Zero, you stupid fool! Why do you think that justifies what you're putting us through right now?"

Zero, for the first time in a long while, looked absolutely stupefied. All he could manage was a dumb gape at the lightning sage.

"First of all, what kind of reploid honestly makes decisions based on silly little dreams! Dreams are nothing more than the works of a flitting imagination! Besides, Zero, even if this dream does have some relevance, what kind of fool lets a decision that important fall solely to himself? You have friends, Zero! FRIENDS! Me, Leviathan, Ciel, Fefnir, X Phantom, Cerveau, Axl! And that's only the tip of the iceberg! You're not alone, Zero, and there are so many people that would be hurt to no end if you left! Zero…" he continued, his previous rage completely devoid from his voice, "don't do this to us. I lost many people during the war, as did everyone. Especially the resistance. You were their beacon of hope during the war. You still are. Even I, a proud supporter of Neo Arcadia, was swayed by your light. You have no idea how many people would be devastated if you just up and disappeared one day."

"Zero, we both have our monsters," X began, "but don't think that, just because you've done regrettable things, that you too are a monster."

"But what if I am?" asked Zero hollowly. "I killed so many back then…"

Fefnir growled, "Zero, you are no monster. If you were, you would not be here today. You want a monster? I've seen what you'd have looked like if you were. You did too. Remember? Remember Omega?"

An unconscious shiver went through everyone who had seen the reploid first hand. Leviathan was the first to reminisce.

"Oh, now that was a monster. His eyes…"

"Omega's eyes held nothing but bloodlust," Harpuia murmured, closing his eyes as if to try and blot out the memory.

"Now, Zero," Ciel started, "you remember what Omega was like, right?" Zero nodded gingerly in response. "Okay, good. Now, think, what exact traits did he have? Name one."

"…uhm… Glowing eyes…"

"Yes! Yes, Omega had glowing eyes. Nasty, icky, glowing red eyes. What else did he have?" Ciel indicated to the others that it was their turn; they joined in jubilantly at this apparent game.

"Omega had some pretty scruffy white hair, didn't he?"

"Ugh, yeah, I remember that! And Omega had some dark red armour too, didn't he?

"Dark? I bet it was just really dirty. After all, he decided to pop up in that ratty old lab, didn't he?"

"Yeah! He could've come to fight Zero anywhere, but no, Omega just had to appear out of that filthy, grimy, mucky water. Eyuch!"

"And Omega was seriously compensatin' for something with that head gem of his, wasn't he? Sure it glowed all bright and nice, but it was probably making up for the fact that he was such a dimwit!"

"Not all the lightbulbs were on in that attic!"

"I know, right? And he couldn't make up his mind what element he wanted to use, either! Fire here, ice there, and a bit of electricity for the hell of it! What a dumbass!"

"Dumbass? More like, 'easy to kick ass'!"

"He was such a wimp, too! Had to heal after every little boo-boo he got!"

"I bet the jerk would've gone crying home to mommy if he'd had one!"

"Honestly, I don't blame the idiot for going belly-up! After all, with no mommy he'd have had to go crying to Weil!"

"Oh, don't even get me started on that old prune! I'm starting to pity that poor sod Omega!"

"Yeah, no wonder he wore that armour, if that old goat's face was the only other thing to stare at all day!"

The discussion wore on, each comment gradually getting funnier than the last. Suddenly Zero couldn't take it anymore. He burst out laughing, tears streaming down his face as he clutched at his sides. The heaves of laughter turned into great sobs, but Zero couldn't stop. Axl looked up at his big brother, confused, but proceeded to simply give him a hug. Zero returned it. Ciel sat down beside them, joining in. X followed, then Leviathan, and eventually everyone was in the group hug, comforting Zero, wordlessly encouraging him to let it all out. And he did.

It seemed hours before his cries finally ended. Zero gave a final sniff, and that was that. He seemed to withdraw into his own world for a while again, but everyone was fine with it this time. After all, there was no longer anything there to haunt him.

Ciel, X, Leviathan and Axl stayed with Zero. The others quietly moved out of the room, letting the red hero recuperate with as little interference as possible. Phantom coughed, uncomfortable. Cerveau glanced around the hall, unsure about what to do with the new silence.

Fefnir scratched his head. Looking away from everyone, he suddenly seemed to address Harpuia.

"Hey, Harpy… remember that old superstition?"

Harpuia, surprised, turned around, "Which one?"

The others cocked their heads, interested in the transaction that Fefnir had started. "You know, the one where people sneeze when they're being talked about."

"Yeah, so? What about it?"

Fefnir turned around, grinning widely, "I bet if that whacko Omega was still around, he would've been having a sneezing fit!"

A light laugh echoed throughout his audience.

X X X X X

"Haaa..."

"HaCHOO!"

"KUH!"

"Haa-TCHOOOO!"

Wham!

The back of a helmeted head cracked painfully against the ground as its owner was sent flying by the force of his latest sneeze. The dark red fins on the helmet did not help matters, as they caused the helmet to assume an awkward angle as it hit.

Omega snarled in bad temper, doing his absolute best to hold down his apparent "allergy attack" as he tried vainly to discover the source.

"Hoo... ATSHOO!"

He ran a system scan, then looked around to see if anything had changed with the scenery. Nothing. He pulled himself to his feet. With bated breath, Omega waited for a new sneeze. However, it seemed that his fit had finally come to an end. A sigh of relief escaped him. Then-

"WHAACHOOOO!"

Wham!

And he was back on his back. Omega looked up at the distorted sky with utter disgust.

Once he got out, someone would be getting fucking MAULED.

X X X X X

That night, Zero had another dream.

The wolf walked towards the forest, feeling alone but somewhat happy. Going back to forest was the right thing to do, it thought. But still, the dogs had been so happy after seeing the other side of the hill. What if the other side really was that great?

No, it couldn't be. Could it?

The wolf fought the urge to turn back. It kept heading to the forest, convinced it was the right thing to do. The empty, dead, bleak forest that held nothing but the ghosts of memories.

"Why?"

The wolf looked behind itself, surprised at what it heard. One of the dogs was there, sad. "Why", it asked, "why do you go back?"

"Wolf". The wolf said simply, not wanting to betray anything.

"But there are no more wolves! We killed them all!" Said another dog who had appeared.

"Silly you, don't go back!" Laughed another dog.

All of the sheepdogs appeared, asking the wolf not to go back, telling him that he was silly or stupid to think that there were more wolves in the forest.

"But I am a wolf. I must go back." The wolf said, finally realizing that he could lie no more. He was not a dog, and he could no longer pretend to be.

"You are not a wolf," said the first dog. The others echoed the statement.

"But I am," said the wolf. And he went and stood in the forest. He growled, showing his teeth. "See? I am really a wolf!"

The dogs saw this and quieted down instantly. Dogs do not come from forests, only wolves do. Only a wolf would step in the forest.

The first dog was scared. "Did not wolves kill dogs and sheep?" He had never seen the wolf kill those on purpose and said as thus. "Why are you a wolf?" It cried, confused and despairing.

"Oh, but I have. I have killed dogs and sheep. While you all fought the wolves, I also fought the sheep and dogs, and sheep and dogs who threatened others in the herd. But I have also killed wolves. I am worse than a wolf, for I have killed my own kind, even though they were killed for the herd. I am worse than a wolf, I am a monster." Said the wolf, hiding in the empty forest.

"You are not a monster."

All the other dogs and the wolf stared. The quietest of the dogs had raised her voice.

"Yes, you were a wolf. I can see you in the forest, where no true dog can stand. And yet, there you stand. But that forest is dead, it holds no shadows, only the ghosts of memories. You were a wolf, but are not one anymore. Come here, for you are a dog."

The wolf, surprised, stepped out of the forest.

"If you were a wolf you would not have obeyed a dog," she said. "If you were a wolf, you would not have fought alongside us dogs to protect the herd. Maybe you did kill dogs and sheep, but only because you used to be a wolf. But you are a dog now, and we dogs must protect the herd."

"All the wolves are dead!"

"Besides, what if a new forest lies ahead? The rest of us could never smell the dangers in a forest as well as you!"

"Yeah!"

The other dogs said. They began yipping and barking happily and wagged their tails. To his surprise, the wolf's tail began to wag as well. The other dogs went back to the hill, the wolf followed. He yipped and barked happily as his tail wagged along with the others, all the way to the hill.

When truly tamed, a wolf is not a wolf but a dog.

And all the dogs went over the hill.