Don't own Familiar of Zero or Any of the Megaman X/Z characters included here.
Chapter Three: Legend
Mr. Colbert was teacher who had dedicated twenty years to Tristain Magic Academy. His Runic name was "Colbert the Flame Snake." Since the Springtime Familiar Summoning a few days ago, he'd been concerned about the commoner boy that Louise had summoned. Or more precisely, he'd been concerned the runes that had appeared on that boy's left hand. He'd never seen anything like them, and so for the last few days, he'd done nothing but research the various texts for a reference. Colbert was now in a section called "Fenrir's Library" that only teachers were able to access.
He levitated up to an out-of-reach shelf and scanned it intently for a particular book. His efforts were rewarded as his gaze fell upon the title of the book. It was a very old text which held descriptions of the familiars that had been used by the Founder Brimir.
His attention was focused on one particular paragraph written in it, and as he read on in fascination, his eyes grew wide. He compared the book with the sketch he'd made of the runes on the boy's left hand.
Holding the book in his arms, he hurriedly descended to the floor and ran out of the library. He was nearly shaking with excitement. His destination was the Headmaster's Office.
***Break***
The Headmaster's Office was located highest floor of the tower. Sir Osmond, the current Headmaster of Tristain Magic Academy, was sitting behind his elegantly built desk, looking unbearably bored as he shook his white beard and hair.
Looking at nothing in particular, he slowly murmured "Hmm" and pulled open a desk drawer. From inside he procured a smoking pipe. Miss Longueville, the secretary who had been writing something at the other desk placed to the side of the room, waved her feather quill.
The pipe floated into the air and landed in Miss Longueville's palm. Sir Osmond muttered dejectedly, "Is it fun taking away an old man's little pleasures? Miss, um..."
"Managing your health is also part of my job, Old Osmond."
Sir Osmond stood up from his chair and walked up to the cool and collected Miss Longueville. Stopping behind the seated lady, he closed his eyes, his expression grave.
"If the days keep passing by so peacefully, figuring out how to spend time is going to become a rather big problem."
"Old Osmond," Miss Longueville spoke up without taking her eyes off the feather quill that was scribbling away on the parchment.
"What is it? Miss..."
"Please stop saying you have nothing to do as an excuse to touch my bottom."
Sir Osmond opened his mouth slightly and began walking around in tottering steps.
"Please also refrain from pretending to be senile whenever a situation goes bad," Longueville added calmly. Sir Osmond sighed deeply.
"Where do you think the ultimate truth may be? Haven't you ever wondered that? Miss..."
"Wherever it is, I assure you, it's not underneath my skirt, so please stop sneaking your mouse under the desk."
Sir Osmond's face fell, and he murmured sadly, "Mótsognir."
From under Miss Longueville's desk scurried out a little mouse. It dashed up Osmond's leg and perched on his shoulder, twitching its tiny head. He fished out some nuts from a pocket and held one out to the mouse.
"Chuchu," the mouse chattered
"You're my only truly trustworthy friend, Mótsognir."
"Chuchu"
"Ah, yes, yes. You want more? Very well, I shall give you more. But first, I would ask that you report back, Mótsognir."
"Chuchu"
"I see. White and plain white too. But Miss Longueville should really stick to black. Wouldn't you agree, my cute Mótsognir?"
Miss Longueville's eyebrows twitched.
"Old Osmond."
"What is it?"
"The next time you do that, I'm reporting it to the palace."
"Bah! Do you think I could be Headmaster of this Academy if I was scared of the palace all the time?"
Sir Osmond flashed his eyes wide and yelled angrily. It was an impressive display, completely unexpected of a frail-looking old man.
"Don't get all prissy just because I peeked at your underwear! At this rate, you'll never get married! Haa To be young again, Miss..." Old Osmond began stroking Miss Longueville's bottom without hesitation.
Miss Longueville stood up and wordlessly kicked her boss around.
"Sorry. Stop. Ow. I won't do it anymore. Really." Old Osmond covered his head and cowered. Miss Longueville breathed heavily as she continued kicking Osmond.
"Ack! How can you! Treat a senior! In this way! Hey! Ouch!"
This "peaceful" moment was interrupted by a sudden intrusion.
The door was thrown open with a slam, and Colbert rushed inside.
"Old Osmond!"
"What is it?"
Miss Longueville was back at her desk, sitting there as if nothing had happened. Sir Osmond had his arms behind him, and turned to face the visitor with a serious expression. That was certainly a quick recovery.
"I have some big news!"
"There is no such thing as big news. Everything is but a collection of small events."
"Please take a look at this!"
Colbert handed Osmond the book he had been reading just before.
"This is "The Familiars of the Founder Brimir," is it not? Are you still going around digging up old literature like this? If you have time to do that, why don't you think up some better ways of collecting school fees from those slack nobles? Mister, err... What was it again?"
Sir Osmond cocked his head.
"It's Colbert! You forgot?"
"Right, right. Now I remember. It's just that you talked so fast I never really caught it. So, Colby , what is it about this book?"
"Please take a look at this also!"
Colbert then handed him the sketch of the runes on Zero's left hand.
The moment he saw that, Osmond's expression changed. His eyes took on a solemn light.
"Miss Longueville, would you please excuse us?"
Miss Longueville stood up and left the room. Osmond spoke only after he confirmed she was properly outside.
"Explain this to me with every detail, Mister Colbert..."
*** Break ***
It was just before lunchtime when they finally finished tidying up the classroom that Louise had made a mess of. As punishment, using magic to clean up had been forbidden, so it had taken considerable time to finish. But then again, Louise couldn't really use most spells anyway, so it hadn't affected her much. Mrs. Chevreuse had regained consciousness two hours after she'd been caught in the explosion.
Having finished tidying up, Louise and Zero headed to the dining hall for lunch. While it had been a bit of a pain to clean up, it wasn't anything hard, and he had at least gotten Louise to give him a run down on the magic elements and the different category of mages.
"'Louise the Zero.' Now I get it. That's just perfect. My only question is, where all that power comes from?" Zero asked quite simply. He knew this was sure to annoy her. But at the same time, a part of him was curious. He'd run through some things in his head, and nothing added up.
Louise didn't say a word, which only caused Zero to continue further.
"Transmutations shouldn't allow for anything to go wrong. If you can't transmute, it would just effect the material with whatever your element is. I wonder. Could it be a lack of training, or perhaps just an oversight by the staff. I mean, you certainly have power. Power is force, and an out of control force is still power. But it would seem control is lacking. Maybe your gift is more unique than others" Zero said. "Would you like to know what i think, after you explained the magic principles to me?"
Louise's eyebrow was twitching furiously. She was on the verge of blowing her top, but Zero was too absorbed in his logical process to stop.
"Why don't you tell me what you think?" she grated out between her teeth.
"I believe that my name might be a good moniker for you after all. Nobody understands your ability. You have tried all their recognizable elements. Perhaps, you're something else entirely. Something new." Zero said seriously, thoughts of X and himself popping into his head.
"Shut up. You don't have to pity me!" she said, stomping away.
Zero was gonna say something like this. But even he knew that when a girl got this angry it was best to leave them alone and talk to them about it later.
*** Break ***
When they arrived at the dining hall, Zero pulled out a chair for Louise.
"I'll be outside when you're done." Zero said, leaving as soon as she was seated.
*** Break ***
Zero sat outside, enjoying the sun, and the grass. For the first time, he'd not needed to worry about fighting. Nature really was a beautiful thing. He couldn't help but smile as he shook his head at all that had happened.
"Is something the matter?"
He turned around to see a normal-looking girl in a maid's outfit carrying a big silver tray, looking concernedly at him. Her black hair was neatly adorned with a headband, and her freckles were cute.
"It's nothing..." Zero responded.
"Are you by any chance the one who became Miss Vallière's familiar...?"
"You know me?"
"A little. It's become quite a rumor, you know, that a commoner was called by the summoning magic."
The girl smiled sweetly. It was the first carefree smile Zero had seen since he came to this world.
"Are you a mage too?" Zero asked.
"Oh no, not me. I'm a commoner, just like you. I serve the nobility here by doing domestic duties."
Zero figured it would be as useless to explain himself to her, as to his actual 'master', so Zero decided to just introduce himself.
"I'm Zero. Nice to meet you."
"That's quite a strange name... I'm Siesta."
"You must be hungry."
"Not really" Zero said indifferently.
"You should eat. Someone mentioned you haven't eaten at all since you got here. Please follow me this way."
Siesta walked off.
Zero was led to the kitchen located at the rear of the dining hall. Lots of large pots and ovens were lined up inside. Cooks and other maids like Siesta were busily preparing food.
"Please wait one moment, okay?"
Siesta had Zero sit on a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and disappeared hastily into the back.
She soon returned with a bowl full of warm stew in her hands.
"This is some stew made from the leftovers of the nobles' meals. If you don't mind, please eat this."
"Are you sure? I really don't need to eat"
"Yes. It's only the staff meal though..."
Her kindness was touching. This was completely different from the soup that Louise had given him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. Delicious. While he didn't need to eat, a good meal was still worth enjoying.
"This is excellent"
"That's great. There's plenty if you want seconds, so take your time."
Zero ate the stew slowly. This was amazing. Siesta stood watching him, smiling sweetly all the while.
"Weren't you given anything to eat?"
"I was offered food, but with the way it was being given to me, and the treatment, I'd rather do without food, than accept that. A matter of pride as it were" Zero responded, a hint of anger in his tone.
"Oh no! You shouldn't act like that. Its just how the nobles are to us commoners, they're so much more important!"
"Noble? Since I've come here, the only noble action I've seen, has been from you"
"Noble? Me? That's so nice of you to say, but I'm still just a commoner... You must have a lot of courage to stand up for yourself though..." Siesta said as she turned away, a blush covering her face. Nobody had ever complimented her like that before.
Zero gave Siesta back the empty bowl.
"You really have no idea how long its been since I've had food that good. Thank you." Zero smiled at her, causing her blush to deepen.
"I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to visit whenever you're hungry. If you don't mind having whatever we're having, I'd be happy to share."
Such a kind offer. Zero was even more touched. Something about this girl reminded him of Ciel. Looking to help the troubled, even if it didn't involve her.
"Thanks..." Zero said, wondering just what Ciel was up to.
Zero suddenly broke out in tears, surprising Siesta, and himself.
"What's the matter?"
"I-i'm not sure. I'm worried. I'm stuck here, with all the people I swore I would protect back home... And the only person who has even shown any consideration for me, I just, suppose I became emotional ." Something was wrong. He'd sobbed before, he'd screamed when Iris had died. But tears? Something was very wrong, he knew he shouldn't even be able to cry. It wasn't part of his damned design!
"Th-that's an exaggeration."
"It's not. If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. I'll lend a hand."
"In that case, please help me serve the desserts."Siesta said with a smile.
"Okay," Zero nodded. At least he'd been asked.
*** Break ***
Lots of dessert cakes were arranged on a big silver tray. Zero carried the tray, while Siesta picked up the cakes with tongs and served them one by one to the nobles.
One mage in particular stood out. He had curly blonde hair, wore a frill-trimmed shirt, and looked rather self-important. There was a rose stuck in his shirt pocket too. Something about him pissed off Zero the moment he saw him.
"So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?"
"Who's your lover, Guiche?"
So it seemed the prideful mage was called Guiche. He gently raised a finger to his lips. You could almost feel the self importance oozing from him.
"'Go out?' I hold no one woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."
At that moment, something fell out of Guiche's pocket. It was a small glass bottle with a purple liquid swirling inside it.
Zero called out to Guiche.
"You dropped this bottle from your pocket."
But Guiche didn't turn around.
Zero passed the tray to Siesta and bent down to pick up the bottle.
"I said, you dropped something." Zero stated, placing the vial on the table.
Guiche shot Zero a dirty look, and pushed the bottle away. "This is not mine. What are you talking about?"
Guiche's friends then realized where the bottle came from and raised a loud commotion.
"That perfume, isn't that Montmorency's?"
"Yeah! That vivid purple color is the perfume that Montmorency only mixes for herself!"
"So to have something like that fall out of your pocket, Guiche, means that you're going out with Montmorency now, right?"
"No, wait, listen to me. I'm saying this for the sake of her reputation, but..."
As Guiche was about to say more, a girl, who wore a brown cloak and had been sitting at the table behind them, stood up and walked over to Guiche's seat.
She was a cute girl sporting chestnut-colored hair. According to the color of the cloak she wore, she was a first year student.
"Guiche..." And with that, she started crying uncontrollably. "I knew it, you and Miss Montmorency are..."
"They're misunderstanding. Katie, listen. The only person I hold in my heart is you..."
But the girl called Katie slapped Guiche's face as hard as she could.
"That perfume you dropped from your pocket is more than enough proof! Goodbye!"
Guiche rubbed his cheek.
At this point, a girl with tightly rolled hair stood up from a seat further down the table. Zero recognized her as the girl who'd had the argument with Louise when he was first summoned to this world.
Wearing a severe expression, she approached Guiche with quick clipped steps.
"Montmorency. This is a misunderstanding. All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests of La Rochelle..." Guiche said, shaking his head. While he was trying to remain composed, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.
"Just as I thought! You've been making moves on that first year, haven't you?"
"Please, Montmorency the Fragrance. Don't twist your rose-like face in anger like that. It saddens me to see it!"
Montmorency grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the table and poured its contents out audibly on Guiche's head, then yelled "Liar!" and stormed off.
Silence fell upon the hall.
Guiche pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his face. Shaking his head, he spoke dramatically. "It would seem those ladies do not understand the meaning of a rose's existence."
They seem to understand perfectly, Zero thought, as he took the tray back from Siesta and began walking off.
Guiche called him to a stop. "Stop right there."
"What now?" Zero asked, already out of patience for the lack wit.
Guiche spun his body about on the chair and crossed his legs with a flourish. It gave Zero a headache to see such arrogance exude from every action. He also felt an overpowering urge to punch him in the face. "Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputation of two ladies has been damaged. How will you take responsibility?"
Zero replied in a cool tone, "Hey, it's your fault for two-timing. I'm fairly certain I don't have anything to do with your love life, oh rose who blooms for the pleasure of many. And if you were going to do something you shoulda done it with people who aren't close by or not in contact with each other. It's common sense. But not only are you a two timer, but you're too damned stupid to be a two-timer. "
Guiche's friends burst out laughing. "Exactly, Guiche! It's your fault!"
Guiche's face flushed crimson. "Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just go along with it?"
"Whatever. Either way, you would have been uncovered. You couldn't even think fast enough on your feet for such a simple thing as a vial that you dropped. You would have doubtless given yourself away without my help. I just happened to assist you to an earlier conclusion which likely would have led to you to a far less painful end if women here are anything like they are back him. On top of that, I'm not a server."
"Hmph... Ah, you are..." Guiche snorted, as if looking down on Zero.
"You must be the commoner summoned by that "Louise the Zero." To have expected a noble's wits from a commoner was completely my mistake. You may leave."
Zero snapped then. Pretty boy or not, there was no way he was just going to stand there quietly taking all this from such a conceited narcissist. The fact that he reminded him of Elpizo, somehow, made it even harder not to make just one inflammatory comment.
"Shut up you over-pretentious bastard. Why don't you try taking some responsibility for your own actions, or are you too much the little boy?"
Guiche's eyes narrowed. "It would seem that you don't know the proper etiquette for addressing a noble."
"What's so noble about trash?" Zero demanded
"Very well. Then I shall teach you a lesson about respect. A perfect way to relieve some stress." Guiche stood up.
Zero bared his teeth and growled. I didn't like this guy right from the start. Second, he's going out with two fairly cute girls - though neither are as cute as Louise. Also, I do not care that they're cute and Louise is not cute. Zero couldn't help wondering what was wrong with him.
"You wanna do it here?" Zero asked. He'd beat the hell outta this kid if it came to it.
Guiche turned in the other direction.
"Are you running away?"
"Don't be stupid. I can't taint the dining table of nobles with the blood of a commoner, can I? I'll be waiting at Vestri Court. Come once you're finished delivering those cakes."
Looking excited, Guiche's friends stood up and followed him off.
One person remained though, as if to make sure Zero didn't run away himself.
Siesta gazed at Zero, her entire body quivering. Zero spoke with a grin.
"It's all right. There's no way I'll lose to that weakling. Some noble, huh?" Zero said laughing
"You... You're going to get killed."
"What?"
"If you truly anger a noble..." Siesta dashed off in a hurry.
What was that about? Zero muttered. Is that guy really that strong?
Louise ran up to him from behind. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? I saw all that!"
"Louise." Zero acknowledged her presence.
"How can you just go promising duels like it's no big deal?"
"From what I saw, it was no big deal," Zero said. Few people had the courage to do that back home, or was that just common sense.
Louise sighed and shrugged disappointingly.
"Apologize to him."
"No"
"If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you."
"No"
"Just do it." Louise fixed Zero with a firm look.
"Nope" Zero looked at her. Did she really think him so weak?
"So stubborn... But you know what? You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'll be lucky to come back alive with just injuries."
"I won't know that unless I try, right?" Zero said, nonchalantly.
"Listen, a commoner can never beat a mage!"
"So where's this Vestri Court?"
The friend of Guiche's that had been watching Louise and Zero's exchange pointed with his chin. "This way, commoner."
Zero smirked, and walked off. They'd see just how damned common he was after this.
"Aaah, jeez! Really! Why does this familiar keep going off and doing stuff on its own?"
With that, Louise chased after Zero.
*** Break ***
Vestri Court was the central garden situated between the Wind and Fire elemental towers. It was the perfect place for a duel.
Right now... the place was packed with people who had heard the rumors.
"Gentlemen! It's a duel!"
Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.
"Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!"
Even now still just an animal Zero thought bitterly. He was getting angry enough that he was going to ensure that they knew his name after this.
Waving his arms about, Guiche acknowledged the cheering.
And then, as if finally noticing Zero's presence, he turned to face him.
Zero and Guiche stood in the middle of the Court, glaring intently at each other.
"First of all, I commend you for coming here instead of running away!" Guiche remarked in a sing-song voice, as he twirled his rose.
"Like anyone would run away from a spoiled brat like you."
"Right then, let us begin," said Guiche.
"First" Zero interrupted "As is traditional where I come from, the rules. Shall we make this to the blood, or death?" Again he had to thank X's odd choice of reading for his knowledge ahead of time.
"W-what?" Guiche asked "Its a duel. We fight until there is a winner. A Noble isn't afraid of death"
"I see. Very well then. Before we begin, do you have any last words?" Zero said quite calmly, reaching his right hand to his saber. It could be used to intimidate, not kill if it came down to it. You couldn't exactly call a buster shot back.
It's roughly ten paces to where Guiche is. I don't care much for nobles or mages; but that's fine. I won't kill you. I'll scare some sense into that empty head of yours.
Guiche watched Zero with a leisurely smile and flicked his rose.
A petal floated down as if dancing in the air...And became the armor-clad shape of a female warrior. Its height was about the same as a person's, but it appeared to be constructed from some hard metal. Under the pale sunlight, its skin... its armor gleamed. It stood stoically in Zero's way.
"I guess I forgot to mention earlier. My Runic name is 'the Bronze.' Guiche the Bronze. Accordingly, my bronze golem "Valkyrie" shall be your real opponent."
"What is this? Can't fight for yourself, well then" Zero brought his right hand down, saber's blade leaving a glowing arc and a bisected golem in his path. Before anyone knew what had happened, his saber was already back in its resting place.
"Eh?" was the only response the mage could come up with upon seeing his creation destroyed so easily. All he had seen was a flash of that commoner's hand.
"I will not bow to you, unless you can subdue me with overwhelming force. So, can you?" Zero said, taking a step forward pausing for a moment as he heard Louise call his name. He'd only used his saber for a quick slash, that he doubted anyone had even registered it.
"Stop! You'll get hurt!" she cried lunging out to grab his hand.
"No" was the simple answer Zero gave. "I can't go back to my world... Which means I'm stuck living in this one for now, right?" Zero muttered, almost to himself. He didn't look at Louise.
"That's right. So what about it? Right now that doesn't matter!"Louise held his right hand tightly.
Zero declared in a clear strong voice. "I will not bow to anyone against my will! This is a matter of my pride! I am Zero. Watch closely, because very few people have faced my blade and walked away! Let it be etched into your mind as its last memory" In that instant... The runes inscribed on that hand began glowing brightly as he gripped his saber once again. He realized the runes on his left hand were glowing. And then...His body felt light. Everything seemed amplified. He remembered this feeling. It was almost like being his old self again. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt like this.
"Firstly, let me congratulate you. I'm honestly quite impressed that a commoner would come this far against a mage." Guiche said lazily. With that, he twirled the rose in his hand.
'That artificial rose must be his wand. Really, how vain can you get?' Zero wondered.
Zero bolted towards Guiche in a whirlwind of action, leaving multiple after images. It wasn't required, but damned if he didn't feel like showing off a bit.
Panicking, Guiche waved his rose wand wildly. Petals danced, and six new golems appeared. Altogether, seven golems was Guiche's full arsenal. Never had he thought that a mere commoner could be a match for even one. The golems surrounded Zero and sprang at him all at once.
And just when it looked like they had him, five of them were slashed apart, their bodies seemed half melted. It had been so fast that nobody even saw the blade, making everyone wonder just what kind of superhuman ability this was. All they saw was the glowing metal where the golems had been cut in half, and what appeared to be droplets of metal that scattered and rapidly cooled..
The remaining golem promptly dashed over to guard Guiche, but it too was taken down by an unseen sword-stroke. This one seemed to shatter like glass, a layer of frost covered the the area that was struck, and shards of bronze were sent flying.
A kick to the face sent Guiche sprawling to the ground. He saw Zero leap at him. I'm gonna die! he thought, as he shielded his head. He felt a hand constrict on his throat, and his body lifted from the ground. His eyes opened, and he looked down into Zero's eyes
"Noble's aren't afraid of death hmm? You're trembling a lot aren't you. Your heart rate is also rather high. You're at least at a hundred sixty beats a minute. That is rather unhealthy." He tightened his grip a little. "If i was a normal person, that first golem could have killed me. You are aware of that aren't you?" Zero glared into the young man's eyes.
Guiche was paralyzed. The look in his eyes. he couldn't speak. He could only listen
"You think you're so good, with your magic, and your station. Well, I've got my hand around your throat. All it would take is a few quick flexes of my fingers, and you'll never be a bother again. And its alright, because nobles aren't afraid of death. Right? Right!" Zero asked again, shaking the scared Guiche a bit. He had to admit there was something pleasurable about this. The young man seemed to waste no time bullying, and taking the chance to harm someone below him in station. If he had been right about Zero, he didn't seem to care at all that he'd kill someone over his own mistake and misplaced blame. And that pissed him off more than anything in this whole situation.
"You want to continue?" Zero asked in a low voice, tightening his hand around the young man's throat.
Guiche shook his head as much as the grip would allow. He'd totally lost any will to fight. And in a failing voice he said, "I... I don't want to die." His whole body was shivering in fear now.
Zero released his hand and walked away. Guiche fell to the ground boneless. "You are not a warrior. You are a coward. You didn't take responsibility for yourself, and you were stupid enough not to assess me as a risk. You lived by my mercy. You've got a long way to go before you live up to that so called noble title, kid" were the parting words Zero left him. He shook his head. This world, while so beautiful, had so much fundamentally wrong with it.
He could hear rowdy cheering from the audience such as "Whoa, that familiar is awesome!" or "Oh man, Guiche lost!"
He could see Louise running over to him. He saw the look in her eyes. He wasn't sure if she was terrified or furious. "I won" he preempted anything she was going to say.
Guiche stood up from where he had been unceremoniously dropped, "There's no way my golems could have lost to "just a commoner."
"Hmph. Wasn't it just because you were weaker?" Zero asked simply.
"You're just a familiar, so why do you keep doing stuff on your own?" Louise shouted at him at the top of her lungs, tears in her eyes.
Zero looked at her, shook his head, and walked off. Apparently these nobles had harder heads than he thought. He wondered when they'd realize he wasn't a dog or some other order of low life form.
*** Break ***
Sir Osmond and Colbert finished watching the entire event via the Mirror of Far-Seeing. They exchanged another look.
"Old Osmond."
"Hrm."
"That commoner actually ended up winning..."
"Hrm."
"Guiche is only a first level Dot mage, but even so, he shouldn't have been beaten by an average commoner. What amazing speed! I'm still not sure how he cut those golems to pieces. I couldn't even see his movements once it started. I've never seen a commoner like him before! There's no doubt that he's Gandálfr!"
"Hrmm..."
"Old Osmond. We should report this to the palace immediately and ask for instructions..."
"There will be no need for that." Sir Osmond shook his head.
"But sir! This is the biggest discovery of the century! A Gandálfr reborn in the modern world!"
"Mr. Colbert. Gandálfr was no ordinary familiar."
"Exactly! The familiar used by the Founder Brimir, Gandálfr! There was never any description of its appearance, but it's said to have been created specifically for the purpose of protecting the Founder Brimir during his spell incantations."
"Correct. Founder Brimir's incantations were especially long... However, that made his spells very powerful. And as you know, mages are most vulnerable while spell casting. Gandálfr was the familiar that he used to protect himself in those times of vulnerability. Its strength..."
Colbert eagerly cut in at this point, looking extremely excited.
"It could annihilate an army of one thousand all by itself! Ordinary mages were said to be no match for it!"
"So, Mr. Colbert."
"Yes?"
"That boy, he really is just an average commoner, right?"
"Yes. No matter how I looked, he was just an average commoner. I even confirmed it with a Detect Magic spell when Miss Vallière initially summoned him, but he was still a genuine average commoner. I sensed nothing magical about him at all. As a matter of fact, it seemed like he was barely alive"
"And who was it that turned him into a modern Gandálfr?"
"That would be Miss Vallière, but..."
"She must be a very talented mage, I take it?"
"Not at all. Rather, one might say she's un-talented..."
"A puzzling duo to be sure."
"Yes."
"So how did an average boy contracted by an untalented mage become Gandálfr? What an utter paradox. I just can't see where the ends meet."
"Indeed..."
"In any case, there is no need for us to hand over Gandálfr and its master to those fools at the palace. Give them a toy like this and they'll just cause another unnecessary war."
"Oh, I see. I apologize for overlooking such important matters."
"I will take responsibility of this case myself. You will not speak of this to anyone else, Mr. Colbert."
"Yes! I understand!"
Sir Osmond took hold of his staff and turned to look out the window. He immersed his thoughts in the far reaches of history.
"The legendary familiar Gandálfr... Just what kind of form had it taken before, I cannot help but wonder."
Colbert murmured as if dreaming.
"Gandálfr was said to be able to use any weapon to take down its enemies..."
"Hrm."
"So it must have at least an arm and a hand, I think."
*** Break ***
Back in her room, Louise was giving him the riot act. He could almost imagine that he was getting yelled at for whatever suicidal action he'd taken in the past. Come to think of it, he'd always had that independent streak about him.
"Ya know, according to the duel, I should have killed him" Zero said simply when he got tired of standing there getting yelled at.
"W-what!" Louise demanded.
"I had no intention of it, but he is the one who gave that particular part of it. He's a bully, and just like everyone here, unworthy of the title of noble. He needed a lesson in humility."
"He's a noble! You have no right to give him lessons in anything you commoner!" Louise nearly shrieked. She had been so worried about him, and then to have him literally rip the golems to pieces... The worse part was, each attack had appeared to have a different element. Was that the sword?
"Commoner. Ya know, I think I'm just about done here" Zero said, looking at her
"W-what?" Louise responded shocked.
"The only reason I've not left, is that insecurity you've got. The way it defines everything about you. It reminds me of someone i met about two centuries ago. Full of potential, just unrealized and unsure. But he never had an attitude like yours. Instead of lording over the people he felt were weaker than him, he stood tall, and got his recognition by proving himself. He earned his praise. You simply quiet your fears and insecurity by clutching to that noble title of yours like it was some kind of life line!" Zero said in a scathing reply.
Louise looked at him. Century. That was a hundred years."How old are you Zero?" she asked carefully.
"I don't know exactly. I spent a lot of time sleeping. I'm a little over three hundred and fifty years old. Can't say exactly though."
"You don't look any older than me though"
"I wasn't made to look older than you"
"I'm sorry" She said, looking away.
"For what?" Zero said flatly.
"I was just so upset that I summoned you. I've always been a failure. Even my family views me as one. But to have it confirmed in front of my class. To have everyone know it? I guess I treated you horribly"
"Yes. You did. " Zero said. He took off his helmet. "But at least you proved that i wasn't wrong"
"What?" Louise wondered aloud.
"I knew that i seemed to be your failure. I must have been the long line of failures seemingly made flesh. You're not a bad girl. But you really gotta stop with this whole noble thing. Yeah that kid had magic. I've got none, and I still could have taken his head off."
"Zero..." She said softly
"Yeah?"
"Were you really made to be a weapon, to take over the world?"
"Yeah. The ultimate weapon." he said, his head falling back as he looked at the ceiling.
"I'm glad" she said, looking at him, a strange smile on her face.
"What?" he said, looking startled. That was in no way a response he would have expected from that conversation.
"You're proof people can be more than what others think they should be. If you were just a weapon, you would have killed Guiche. But you didn't. You scared me, but you didn't actually hurt him. I'm glad."
"Hmm. Never thought about that. All I've done since i was born, has been fight" Zero said sadly.
"What about when you were a child"
"I was never designed to be a child either. I was designed to be what you see in front of you"
"So, you were never a child? You didn't have friend's growing up?"
"Heh. My creator wasn't much into developing the personalities of his creations. He made me after a great deal of failures with lesser creations. His only real purpose for me was destruction and subjugation. Not something to be proud of"
"But you overcame that?"
"Not really no. I became a maverick hunter. I destroyed the reploids like myself, who became the enemies of humanity. Then i fought against the humans of Neo Arcadia and their reploids when they were trying to kill the reploids that were just trying to live peacefully. I've never really gotten away from it. I'll always be nothing but a destroyer. But I'll protect those who wish to create with my power."
"Zero..." Louise murmured his name. Something about that seemed so sad. Hundreds of years of fighting.
"Its getting late. Go to bed. I'll wake you in the morning"
"Good night Zero"
"Good night" Zero smiled. No matter how things changed, they stayed the same.
***Author's Notes***
And here comes the reason Zero has been more patient with Louise than he normally would be.
Zero's weapons are powered by him. As such, when they're not in use they are in their resting place, the"Handles" on his hips as one reviewer put it. Its basically the same in the series if you ever see him run when not charging up his weapons. He is equipped with just his buster, and saber, and his bare hands. He has his elemental chips(Fire/Ice/Thunder). I feel the chips give him some more versatility and are more interesting than just specific skills, especially with what i have planned. EX skills aren't entirely ruled out, but most of his EX skills in my opinion aren't anything special compared to what he should be able to do normally.
I'll admit he was harsh on Guiche, but the circumstances are pretty similar to back home. The reploids who were being killed off because of the energy crisis didn't do anything wrong, and they purposely misplaced blame onto them. They then started a systematic genocide against them. Keep in mind that you have what they feel is survival as their goal, you can at least see a reason for it. In this situation, it is simply pride. If they start killing this way as kids, just what type of actions/sacrifices will happen for their pride when they get older, and DO have the power to cause the deaths of whole towns, or even cities for the sake of their pride. Thinking in that way, Zero wanted to ensure that Guiche fully understood that he could have died, and just why he came so close to his own downfall. That and an angry Zero is never a good Zero.
As for them not understanding science, it all comes down to what things are called. For hundreds of years, science was often referred to as alchemy, which made a lot of progress in creating science as we know it. Alchemy did this while failing in its primary goal of turning lead into gold(which is possible, its been proven with current science, but it costs so much more to make than just finding it its ridiculous. Also I'm pretty sure they used mercury for it, but i can't remember exactly). So for them, a mage is a scientist, but they are a culture that is based on magic, and is very very rigid. In history, rigid cultures like this don't make large advances. Most large advances don't come till the norms are broken. For a long time, not much changed tech wise about this world, then we come to the "New world", AKA America, and all of a sudden everything goes into a frenzy of development because of the broken norm. In a comfortable situation like they are in now, just what is the reason to look up newer ways to do things when they have ways that work just fine for them, and at the same time, keep the nobles with the ability to lord themselves over 90% of the population? In this case, its not just repression as was seen in our past(esp of alchemy since the crown thought it would devalue gold should anyone learn how to turn lead into gold), but more a lack of reasoning to push forward. Why put money into figuring out ways to do the same thing you can do with a wand. The only problem is, that without figuring out new ways they're less inclined to look at limits and how to break them. Why spend the time and money to create such simple things as an anti-inflammatory, if we can have a water mage use their power to stop swelling and heal the person in pain. Without basic medication like that, and the research that went into making it, you'd never get to some of the more advanced medical techniques either. They'd never do something so barbaric as dissecting prisoners to get a greater medical understanding of the human body, at least not the way we did. But these things lead to modern knowledge of the human body, which is required for such things as surgery and the like. Their world view IS magic. Hopefully this brings an understanding as to the difference between a "scientist" and a mage would be, and how they don't understand science beyond alchemy.
In the original storyline, even Colbert didn't really start looking into the true how of things till Saito showed up, broke the norms and explained to him the basics of how things worked(as he understood it). Colbert being a naturally curious and intelligent person took it from there, but without the catalyst that was Saito and his basic knowledge it could be argued that he wouldn't have made half the progress he did. He probably wouldn't have even figured out how to use the Zero, or how the engines worked because without knowing what they do and not having a reference in his own world to anything similar, you end up with a fancy piece of equipment in a vault that is totally misunderstood(see staff of destruction with Louise waving it around like an idiot).
Well that's all till next time. Hope you enjoyed it.