Arsenic and Rubies

Chapter 2

AN: -insert same excuses as always here-. I'm going to be gone all day tomorrow, so I thought I would post a chapter of something before my trip. Though, I'm going to guess only one person was really looking forward to an update of Arsenic! Ah, well, I have plans for the other fics. It's nearly 12:30 and I have to get up at 6, so I hope this isn't riddled with errors. Reviews are nice.

Bitter(sweet)

Zeros days were now mostly about X. Protecting X was what he was supposed to do, but X hadn't been called out to the field at all since a few days ago, so now he did his best to keep both X sane and himself from destroying furniture out of boredom. Their relationship was anything but stable now, or healthy, and their conversations were frequently peppered with barbs. And they usually ended in arguments now, like this one. In retrospect, digging at an unstable X with questionable morals was probably not the wisest thing he could have done. He wasn't sure why, but his instincts told him that still X wasn't quite as different as he seemed to be, which was why he suffered no worse than being banished from X's room. He didn't think it was really his fault; when X had lapsed into a brooding silence that he had endured until he could stand the emotionally oppressive atmosphere, he had told the small Reploid in no uncertain terms that he was too old for a Goth phase. The look of intense disappointment X leveled him with had made him smirk; yes, he was always rather proud of himself when he wheedled X properly.

He didn't take it badly when X pushed him from the room. At that point they both needed their space. X wanted to brood and Zero wanted to think about what X had told him, mostly bits and pieces won from wheedling sessions. They were both relieved that their relationship wasn't in shambles, even after the reprogramming. Zero was more relieved that X was still… X, even if he wasn't his X. But given what he'd been through lately, that was to be expected. Oh well, they could deal with that when the time came. Once this "Dr. Light" was dealt with. He just hadn't figured out how to do that yet.

Zero straightened himself out and glanced both ways down the dim corridor. Humans had lived here not long ago, though he couldn't recall if it had been some sort of business building or a hotel that had been converted. There was no shortage of bedrooms on this floor, he'd been told. X rambled a lot back when Zero had been giving him the silent treatment. A lot more than he willingly told Zero now. He almost missed pretending to be a drone because then at least X instigated the conversations.

The sound of voices made him freeze, his muscles tensing. Were they being invaded? ….No, there was no way any competent assassin would be laughing like that. Zero relaxed, remembering the newbuilts. X's children. X's children with some of his programming. The image of the big blond that had looked like him came to Zero's mind. Would they attack him if they saw him? No, that was stupid. They would know by now that he was X's bodyguard, right?

Zero peered into the room, finding the three in what was probably once a lounge or break room. It was lavish in a boring way, with a decently sized table that looked like some modern artsy type style that Axl would probably recognize, a potted plant in the corner away from the counter and stove, and a locked smart fridge. Well…. It had been locked. Now it looked like it had been mauled by a bear, and he had a feeling he knew who the culprit was. The big blond was grinning broadly as he spoke to the tall unit beside him, his expression smug. That one; he'd known he would be trouble. Another blond, this one slim and pale. Beside the animated, grinning blond, this one seemed like a statue, his face and body unmoving. Then there was the little one. He looked… like X. His hair was a deep shade of black, but shone blue under the right light. His eyes were a deeper green than X's, but the same round shape, with the same sickeningly sweet gleam of happiness that the original's had been missing.

The former Hunter's curiosity got the better of him. He was pushing forth a greeting before he allowed himself to be seen. The newbuilt that could have been X's clone recoiled from the brush of an unfamiliar mind against his own, physically flinching in his seat. The big blond, Frith, snarled at him, an animalistic warning, his thick blond hair an impressive mane as he stepped toward Zero, then paused. Zero watched all of the rage go out of the young unit, leaving only puzzled wariness.

Zero opened his mouth to say something. His son spoke first. "It's you."

The other two glanced at Frith and something seemed to pass between the three of them. He saw understanding in the youngest one, but the slim one was still unreadable. He dared to move closer to them. "So I did recognize you. Frith, right? Which means you must be Sheol and….. Xavier."

The X mini-me ducked down a bit, and then frowned suspiciously at Zero. He was adorable. So adorable that he wanted to ruffle his hair. But if he was anything like X then Zero would only get smacked in return for it. "Cute."

The dark haired boy squeaked, startled or outraged. He couldn't have been more than a few months old. Was this kid really going to fight? Come to think of it, none of the boys were very old. Saying that the older two were a year old was generous and unlikely. They had older AIs than the smaller one, but in regards to their processors, they all seemed more or less the same age.

"Yeah," the darker blond spoke up, moving subtly toward the space between Xavier and Zero. It seemed Frith deemed him untrustworthy around the tiny thing. "And you're Zero, our other creator?"

"I didn't have anything to do with making you, but your programming matches mine in places, I'm told," Zero nodded. "So yeah, I guess I have kids."

Zero had never wanted kids. It was surreal to think about. He'd never particularly cared about having kids, though X had always said he wanted to build a few when things settled down. This isn't settled down, X.

If anything, the state of the world was worse because, for once, they had a truly competent enemy, who had X on his side. And Zero too now. He was still sore about that. And still sore that X had rubbed his nose in it. His X would never do that. It was such a strange situation. X seemed like his X, but at the same time there were a lot of quirks and differences. Was it the reprogramming? The trauma?

He watched the bigger of the two blonds lean toward him.

It all felt bizarre. He half expected to wake up and find he'd been subjected to an invasive simulation test again. He hated those things. He hated it when they'd been introduced as random, mandatory tests if the Commanders thought you'd been acting suspicious. It started messing when a Reploid's head, made it hard for them to tell what was real or not, and, ironically, weakened their mental state and made them more susceptible to contracting the virus. Thankfully, being a Commander, he didn't have to worry too much about them, only if he'd done something questionable. And with no X to show off to, or tick off, he'd been fairly subdued lately.

Zero reached out to firmly nudge the younger unit away. The intent staring had started to unnerve him. Hadn't X taught them any manners?

The other blond smiled, a mischievous grin that made him think more of Axl than of X or himself. Was it possible that there was some of Axl's programming in there? Nah, even X wasn't that self-loathing, even now, to subject himself to a younger version of Axl.

"Oh, so you're not in standby."

"I was thinking," Zero clarified stiffly. He didn't know how he felt about these kids, but he knew he didn't want them in his face.

The other blond tilted his head. Zero had an issue with newbuilts. X had always found them adorable, but they unnerved Zero. The cute displays never kept him from the knowledge that this was still a Reploid, a Reploid with full strength, if not finesse, and half the morality of an adult Reploid. They were dangerous. There was a reason humans were rarely allowed around the soldiers when they were first activated. Humans, and plastic or wooden furniture.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Your Dad," he grunted. He knew he had made a mistake when he saw wicked glee alight in the kid's eyes. This brat really was another Axl; he could practically hear the teasing. Time to nip this behavior in the bud. "No. He's changed. He's not himself anymore, and I don't know what to think of him."

Instantly, the younger unit's expression sobered and became guarded. He almost looked hurt, if the slight furrowing of his brows was to be trusted. He was a handsome Reploid, with skin darker than his or X's, giving him the look of someone who spent a lot of time outside in the sun, enjoying himself. He looked healthy and vibrant, unlike most newbuilts he saw, who came online with some knowledge of what they were getting into with their expendable little lives. And yet this one did know he was just a soldier, a pawn for someone else's ideals, like Zero was now, because he had fought for them only a few days ago. Was this Zero's programming at work, or had "Dr. Light" sunk his claws into them?

Frith was pouting. If this kid wanted him to start taking him out to baseball games and training him then he was sorely mistaken. Zero didn't feel bad about being distant with a stranger, even if they did share some of his programming. ….Maybe a little.

The former Hunter waved his hand dismissively before the younger Reploid could speak. "I'm a little sore about being reprogrammed," he said by way of explanation. Hopefully the babies would catch the distinct undertone of "leave it alone".

There was a collective wince. The tiny one swung his legs and looked down at his lap, Frith rubbed the back of his head and glanced at the sad fridge. Sheol stared unflinchingly, but Zero couldn't get any sense for what the kid was thinking. Oh well, he'd had enough of them for one day. The demoted Hunter grit his teeth and turned on his heel, painfully conscious of the lack of hair swirling around him as he left his unwarranted "creations" behind. No, maybe he wasn't done picking at X for the day. There was a lot left that he wanted to say to his old friend before he said it to the newbuilts instead.

There was a new link between he and X now, one that surpassed friendship. Zero sneered as he paced through the halls, boots clicking sharply on the floor. It was so damn dead in here. An entire building, sound, and with running water and electricity, and only a handful of people inside it, it felt wrong. Zero didn't know where they kept the deserters, but it wasn't this place. Maybe he would ask X when he finally went back to his new master, if he could even remember how to get there. Oh, he knew how, of course, he recalled the way perfectly. But now he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to confront X, if the twinge in his gut was anything to go by. The reprogramming? Or something else? How was he supposed to know anymore? X was good at what he did, and he had reprogrammed a few Reploids that had been irreparably damaged, but not taken over by the Maverick Virus. He did his best to make everything fit smoothly together, so they couldn't tell what thoughts were intrusive and which ones were the result of their natural programming and personality data.

Damn you, X. The anger was hollow, bubbling ineffectively in his stomach. Reprogramming? He had no idea what he really felt anymore. The sound of his footsteps in the dead building were suddenly thunderous against his audio receptors. The blond Reploid slowed and lightened his steps, coming to a halt in an inner corridor. There were no windows here, only the faint light of the emergency exit signs and the few lights that had been left on in some nearby rooms. He was breathing hard. It was a mostly unneeded action in Reploids, except for cooling purposes. Zero hadn't realized he'd started to overheat. He put a hand on his chest, feeling his core throbbing as if he had nearly gotten sheared in half by a beam saber. He wouldn't mind sparring right now, but the only person he had to spar with was him. And right now he didn't know what he would do if he saw X; suddenly his mind and body were not his own anymore, and it was X, champion of Reploid rights, who had butchered him.

With a soundless snarl, he began to walk again. He passed by open door after opened door without really noticing where he was going or what he wanted to do. All he knew was that his core wouldn't stop pounding. At once something changed, a flash of pale blue and yellow caught his eye as he passed a doorway, but he didn't stop, realizing immediately when he'd glimpsed. No. Zero was not ready to face anyone, especially not him. He did not want to go back there—

"Zero. I would like to speak with you," Valkyrie called out, his voice pleasant, but commanding. There went any control he'd had over the situation. X had told him enough that he knew likes and maybes meant anything but what they seemed to.

Zero paused for a moment before turning and walking into the room the weird Reploid had claimed for his own. The white and silver color scheme was almost overwhelmingly pale and pristine, a fake fireplace, paintings, a chandelier. Yes, it was quite a bit more lavish than X's quarters were, even if the view was more or less the same. The view… nearly the same angle and everything. Had he gone right past X's room already? Oh well, it wasn't like he'd been looking for X, he'd wanted… something.

The former Hunter eyed Valkyrie with barely disguised distaste. He was slim, quite a bit taller than X was, but not as tall as Zero. He was blond and golden-eyed, and had a serene smile on his face that made Zero's hackles lift. This seemed nothing at all like the kindly, stout human he had seen in old newspaper articles in X's room. This guy really claimed to be Dr. Light? And worse, X didn't argue with him about it! X could be ridiculous sometimes though.

There was also the possibility that X, also reprogrammed, couldn't argue about it.

The blond unit was standing, his back to the windows. He was an almost blinding spot of blue against nerve-wracking white. And he was smiling in a way that made Zero want to reach for his saber…. Which he did not have.

"How have you been since your operation?"

Well that was to the point. "….Fine."

If Valkyrie took offense at his flat, dry tone, he gave no notion of it, nodding. "Good, good, it might take some adjustment, but I'm sure you'll bounce back. I trust X went over the possible side effects, headaches, confusion, and the like?"

"He wouldn't need to, I already know them," Zero answered, almost impatient. That weird, uncomfortable energy was back, making his synthmuscles tingle with the need to move.

"Ah. And did you meet the children? Outside of Frith, of course," Valkyrie went on, ignoring Zero's twitchiness entirely. "Sheol isn't much of a talker, but Frith does enough of that for both of them."

Something in him felt uncomfortable, moreso than before. There was so much wrongness associated with Valkyrie. X, his reprogramming, the newbuilts, the Hunters falling. It was all his doing. Zero wished he would just crawl right back in to whatever hole he had crawled out of.

"And Xavier! What a little doll! I can't lie, he's my favorite," Valkyrie chuckled. Zero's lip curled; he hoped Valkyrie never laughed again. "He's a bit different from his brothers… next to nothing of you in him. He was more of an experimental design."

"He's partially organic, a bioroid. I noticed." Now he was just annoyed. Valkyrie seemed oddly focused on the runt. What was he getting at? Let me leave already.

"X went a different angle with this one, but I was impressed by his work designing the other two, so I gave him my blessing for the bioroid."

"X had the patience to incubate a bioroid. Or you did. Congrats, do you want a medal?" Different angle? X had been talking about bioroids for years. Let Valkyrie get annoyed. Maybe he would get to work off some of his tension.

Only Valkyrie laughed and made a shooing motion with one elegant hand. "No, no, don't let me keep you here. I only wanted to see how you were doing and chat a bit about your sons."

That was all the encouragement he needed to turn around and begin his retreat, only slowing a little when Valkyrie began talking again. At least it seemed to be mostly to himself this time.

"Xavier must have looked a lot like X before he was brought online." What in the world was he talking about now? Please, Asimov, not another insane Maverick overlord. But he was free now, relatively speaking. He was in the hallway and he could resume his… patrolling. Yes, patrolling.

"I wonder whose child Xavier was."

Zero suddenly felt cold, pausing once more outside Valkyrie's door. His processor struggled with the broken information Valkyrie had divulged, and what conclusions it kept drawing made him feel ill. Suddenly, spending time with the newbuilts or Valkyrie instead of X didn't seem like such a bad idea.

—-

AN: I am off now. Reviews are very much appreciated!