Neo World of Advent
Chapter Three: Cero's POV
The sky over the dormant hulk of metal known to many of as the Resistance, others simply "The Caravan" was still, a dark shroud permeated by an innumerable measure of tiny gleaming lights stretched far above. It was a good night for stargazing, something Cero, the Advent child of Zero and Ciel, was none too keen on missing.
He was followed by a reploid with a red coloration. His father. The reploid's expression was distant, unreadable. By now Cero had learned to interpret even subtle changes in Zero's normally stoic demeanor, and could tell that his father was curious as to why Cero had brought him there, at this early time in the morning.
"Haven't you ever been stargazing before, Dad?" Cero hung his feet over the edge of the top floor. "You can't ever do it in Neo Arcadia. Too many lights there."
"I was made to fight mavericks, Cero." Zero sighed, and sat down beside his son all the same. "I wasn't intended for astronomy."
"This isn't about astronomy," Cero explained, a hint of mirth betraying a laugh. "All you ever think about is practical stuff. Hasn't Mom taught you by now that there's more to life than that?"
A grunt. If Zero had indeed learned of life's finer aspects, he wasn't eager to share them at this time.
Cero shook his head in mock despair. "Surely even Maverick Hunters did some things for fun?"
Zero thought about it for a moment. "Sometimes we would visit our friends. It was fun to go on missions with them…"
"Something other than missions, Dad."
Zero smiled, a rare sign of unguarded expression that he reserved for only the closest of friends and his small family. "You remind me of an old friend of mine. His name was Axl. He was a wild card, for sure. I'm sure he'd know what to tell you something we did for fun."
Cero was silent for a moment. "You almost never talk about your life before the Resistance. Who was he?"
"Axl? He was a goofy, fun-loving, prankster of a machine. But he was also one of the better maverick hunters the world would see, something I admit I didn't see at first."
"What happened?" Cero was careful not to look his father directly in the eye.
"An old enemy brought him down," Zero said. "It came out of nowhere. X… he tried to save him, but it was too late. Too many Hunters died in the old days. It was a chaotic time."
"There's a saying," Cero said, "That the greatest hunters are immortalized in the stars. An ancient civilization had this hero they called Orion. Maybe Axl is up there with them."
Zero looked up at the heavens emblazoned with stars. "Perhaps. But we reploids have a different concept of the afterlife. We call it Cyberspace."
Cero dangled his feet against the edge of the Caravan. "Where do you think I will go when I die? I'm not human or a reploid. I'm an Advent."
"Maybe you get to choose," Zero said. The thought seemed to amuse him. "You could be the bridge between your mother and I, perhaps. Let's hope that day doesn't come for some time, alright?"
Cero nodded. "I know. It's just something I've been giving a lot of thought lately. You know, where we end up when we die. Do you think Light and Cipher are watching over us somewhere?"
Zero closed his eyes. Cero immediately felt regret at mentioning his two brothers, said to have been taken at an early age by the renegade Umera, believed dead. Not many things could bring Zero visible pain, but the loss of his two eldest children was one of them.
"I hope so," Zero said at last. "Maybe Axl is up there, corrupting their young minds with practical jokes. I can only hope X is also there to keep them in check."
"X. He was your oldest friend, right? The one Copy X was based off of?"
Zero nodded. "Yes, he was. He was a strong believer in peace, much like your mother. He was as good, if not better than I am at fighting. He was a good Hunter and a better friend. I miss him, at times." The old reploid grew quiet, almost as if he had said too much.
"It must be rough, losing someone," Cero said. "I don't want to ever lose you or Mom."
Zero ruffled the blonde hair of his youngest child. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that for some time, either. Not while I'm around to look after her."
The door that lead to the interior of the Caravan closed shut, footsteps betraying the presence of another person in the vicinity. Neither Zero or Cero turned around; only one person knew where they would be at the time.
"Please, Zero," Ciel said. "As if you don't need looking after either. I swear," she addressed her son, "If I didn't make sure he got enough E-crystals, he'd run himself dry one of these days."
Ciel sat down to the left of Cero, sandwiching hi between his parents. "Stargazing, are we?"
"Sort of," Zero offered. "What brings you out here so early?"
"I finished my symposium of energy-based crystals early, so I thought I'd go see how my two favorite soldiers are doing."
"We're fine Mom," Cero said. "The sun's about to rise anyway. Hey, do you think I can get a transfer to Neo Arcadia sometime today? There's this new Slider out that I really want to try…"
"You know the rules," Ciel said. "Chores first. Then training. Then, if it's not too late, maybe. Zero?"
Zero nodded briefly in assent. "I want to see you at combat training shortly after noon. Don't be late."
The reploid stood up, offering a hand to Ciel, lifting her up as well. "Until then, check to see if Colbur has anything for you to do."
Cero nodded glumly. "Yes, Dad." Cero watched his parents disappear from the morning light into the artificial luminescence of the Resistance. Distantly, he pondered the probability of Colbur telling on him if he didn't do his chores, but thought against it.
Colbur could always be found on the same floor as the CMD Room. The Command Room was where most missions were given and soldiers dispatched, fortunately having grown mostly unused from lack of necessity. Nowadays the only use people had for it was to transfer to one area to the other. Usually Neo Arcadia.
Cero approached the reploid, whose head was currently buried in paperwork of some sort casually. "Hey Colbur. You don't have any chores for me today, do you?"
Colbur looked up from whatever business he had with the pamphlet and nodded. "As a matter of fact, I do."
Cero's head drooped at this news, but he quickly regained enough posture to ask what it was he was assigned to do that day. "What is it?"
"You don't have to act so glum about it!" Colbur laughed. "No, Cero. To be honest, this is your mother's early birthday present to you. If you head to the nursery, you can pick it up."
"The nursery?" Cero thought for a moment. "You don't mean? My own – is it an elf?!"
Colbur smiled. "You'll just have to see."
Cero ran out the door, vaulting himself past people in the hallway, who were halfway into scolding him until they saw that it was the son of the Resistance leaders. In a carriage two sections down, Allouette was holding a bright orange-gold Cyber Elf.
"I could hear you coming all the way from here," Allouette remarked lightly. "Were you racing anyone?"
"No Aunt 'Lou," Cero said bashfully. "Colbur said Mom got me an Elf."
"Did he now?" Alouette frowned. "That was supposed to be a surprise."
"Well, I more or less guessed as much," Cero said. "So is that it? Did I get an Elf?"
"Yes, Cero." Allouette held out the small orb for Cero to hold. "Her name is Clover. Like Croire, your father's old elf, this elf can possess various abilities. She's still very young though, so be careful with her. She's not yet ready for combat, either."
"Do I get to keep her in my room?"
Allouette shook her head. "Until Clover opens her eyes, she's not mature enough. When that day comes, she can take on a physical form similar to that of a human or reploid, in her choosing. Then you can train her like Croire."
"How old do cyber elves live?" Cero asked. "I remember Croire when I was a kid."
"Well," Allouette said, "It varies. Some elves can live for a very, very long time such as animal elves. Nurse elves and hacker elves tend to live shorter lives. An elf such as Clover will possess characteristics of all three, so I can't really be sure. Croire lived to be about ten years old."
"Oh." Cero frowned. "I thought they lived longer than that. Is there any way to extend their life cycle?"
"I assume so," Allouette said. "As a matter of fact, I've been working on something like that. It's a joint project your mother and I have been working on for a long time, actually."
"If anyone can do it it's you two," Cero said earnestly. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."
"Thank you for your note of confidence," Allouette said. "Now, Clover eats quite a lot for an elf her size, so I need you to find me some large Energy Crystals. I believe Hibou can help you with that."
"Sure thing!" Cero handed Clover back to Allouette and dashed outside. The energy hub of the Caravan was mostly obsolete, due to the Ciel-System being in place, but occasionally newborn elves had to be fed from energy crystals, thus preserving the usefulness of the hub.
Hibou stood guard outside the door. He was a very slightly pudgy reploid who constantly reminded people that he was on a diet. Zero once told Cero that he had lost a lot of weight, actually. Hibou gave Cero a salute when he saw him.
"How is Master Cero doing today?" Hibou asked.
"Please," Cero said, "I told you – it's just Cero."
"Well then, 'Just Cero,' Hibouu said, "What is it that brings you to the Energy hub? Not many people stop by to visit. Or come at all as a matter of fact…"
"I just need some energy crystals," Cero said. "Powerful ones, if you can help it."
"I can indeed," Hibou said. "Hold on one minute. Actually, why not come inside? I can show you around."
Cero entered the door left open by Hibou as the reploid entered the Energy Hub. Inside, a stream of blue energy veins could be seen streaking across the room, curving and convalescing into the domed ceiling. A massive machine stood in the middle, generating energy. Cero recognized it as one of his mother's Ciel System prototypes.
"Ah I see you've found the Generator," Hibou said, following Cero's gaze. "That produces most of the energy we use in the Caravan. We don't need anything fancy, so this older model does just fine. I've heard that Neo Arcadia has one as large as this whole caravan. And it's a newer model, too!"
"Wow." Cero couldn't help but be impressed. "That must generate a lot of energy."
"It does," Hibou agreed. "But, that being said, the people of Neo Arcadia use a lot of energy as well. And we both know what happens when they run out of energy sources."
The two of them shared a grim moment of silence for the reploids who had been falsely accused of being a maverick under the cruel regime of Copy X.
Hibou beckoned Cero further into the room, wherein one of the shelves, a large stack of crystals rested neatly in rows of three. A few hummed gently, visible reminders of the portable sources of power they contained.
Hibou wrapped those crystals up, handing them to Cero. "Here you go. And do be sure to tell Allouette how helpful I am, will you? And er, handsome, if you will."
Cero snorted. "Why don't you tell her yourself?"
"I have a job to do," Hibou said defensively. "Besides, it's not like Allouette would ever go out with a reploid like me anyway..."
Cero took the reploid's gloomy silence as a queue to leave, thanking him before shutting the door. Crystals in hand, Cero made his way toward the Nursery—more carefully this time. He didn't want to risk dropping the crystals and causing a minor explosion.
Cero opened the door to the Nursery, careful to keep a tight grip on his packaged goods. "Aunt 'Lou! I'm here. I brought those E Crystals you requested."
"Thanks Cero." Allouette placed one of the crystals in a slot on Clover's incubator. "Just place them like so and Clover can feed off them when she's hungry."
"Cool." Cero watched Clover float up to the end of the crystal and absorb it slowly. It was interesting for Cero to see Clover eat.
"I imagine your father will want to see you now," Allouette said. "It's about time for combat training."
"Oh." Cero forced a smile. "I mean, great! I'll head over there now."
"Cero." Allouette gave him a concerned look. "How is your sparring going?"
"It's great," Cero said hollowly. "I love fighting."
Allouette didn't look convinced, but she let Cero go anyhow. "Go on then," she said. "And do your best to give your father a few sores, will you?"
"I'll try!" Cero called out, but by then he was already out the door.
Zero was waiting for him, two practice sabers pushed in the ground equal distance from each other in a ring. "You're late," he said.
"Sorry Dad," Cero said. "I was feeding Clover."
"You will address me as "Master" during this time, Cero," Zero reminded him. "But yes, a good elf," Zero said. "Take good care of her. Your mother worked hard to breed that particular elf. You had best not slack off like you do in combat practice."
It was this last slight that had Cero cringe. As much as he tried to help it, he just felt clumsy with a sword. Even busters felt uneasy to him.
"Pick up your practice saber." Zero held his own leveled at Cero's chest.
Cero held his own sword unsteadily. When Zero rushed forward, he panicked and dropped the blade.
Zero raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"
"I er, panicked," Cero said at last. "I know. I'll practice. I know how bad I am at this."
Zero's eyes hardened. "You said that last time, Cero. Now pick up the sword again. Back to the basics. For one, your stance is too wide. Hold your sword tighter. Listen…"
The lesson droned on for what seemed forever to Cero. When it finally ended, Zero said it was far from good, but acceptable. One of the Resistance members arrived with a bottle of water, which Cero drank greedily.
Cero eyed the practice saber wearily. It was bad enough that he hadn't unlocked his Oversol yet, but he hadn't even the skill to use a simple saber either. Sometimes Cero wished that he had been born with his father's skill with weapons. It seemed to him that the only thing that came easily to him was his intellect.
The resistance member took the bottle from Cero, leaving him to his thoughts. It wasn't as though he tried to be such a disappointment. It's just that any sort of weapon seemed wrong to Cero. He felt useless with them, like they were an ugly, obtrusive third foot, far from the "Extension of one's own arm" that his father kept spouting about.
Cero sighed, and kicked the saber irritably. At least there were a few hours left in the day. He could still manage to take a trip to Neo Arcadia and come back home before nightfall. All he had to do was convince his mother that he should be given a transfer.
Cero found Ciel at the head of the CMD, a fortunate position for him, as that was just where he wanted to be. "Mom!" he called out. "I finished my chores. I even sparred with Dad. Can I take that trip to Neo Arcadia now?"
Ciel pondered the request for a moment. "Yes, but be sure to be back when the sun sets, alright?"
"I'll request a transfer back as soon as dusk settles," Cero promised. "Thanks!"
Ciel shook her head, but smiled all the same. "That's all he ever wants to be. I suppose his friends are there or something. I'll handle the transfer. Stand ready."
Cero nodded. "Ready!"
Ciel entered a sequence of numbers into the machine. Soon Cero was bathed in blue light, and found himself in the bustling streets of Neo Arcadia. Cero grinned, taking in the hustle of people running to and from their jobs, on Sliders, or taking public transportation. It was a stark difference from the rather bucolic life in the Resistance.
Cero thought for a moment, deciding eventually that it would be a good idea to check out the local tech. Deciding ultimately on a rather quaint shop in the middle of the lower reaches of the City, known as "Cipher Mechanics and Repair," Cero stepped inside.
