It seemed like the night would last forever. But, when at last morning came, Louise fell asleep. She woke up at noon and went to sleep again. It was a mentally exhausting cycle. The more she slept, the more she saw Zero. The more she saw Zero the more she wished to sleep. Two weeks had passed after using the Summon Servant and learning about Zero's death. All during this time, Louise never even took a single step out of her room. From time to time she got off the bed to eat the dishes placed at her door. She didn't care anymore who it was placing it there. Only in her dreams could Louise meet Zero. So Louise tried to sleep all day long. Whenever she could not fall asleep, she drank wine. For Louise, the distinction between morning and night had already lost almost all of its meaning. The curtains in her room were always closed, so it was always dim. Such a way of life gradually blurred the boundary between day and night. The boundaries between dream and reality become ambiguous too. However, this was the only world that Louise longed for. She wanted to stay forever in this dream world, where she could meet Zero.

Even if someone knocked on the door, Louise did not answer. In order not to hear if someone called for her, she stuffed her ears with cotton. Her door was locked, and a chair was propped up against it, preventing anyone from entering the room.

In her dreams, Zero always gently embraced Louise, holding her close. He would say the words she had wished he had said when they were to be married. This was the ideal Zero of Louise. From the bottom of her heart, she wanted to be with her beloved familiar...

On the evening of that day, Louise had a dream about Zero. They were strolling together besides Ragdorian Lake.

"The water is beautiful." Zero commented. "I don't think I'll ever be able to get used to the world like this. But I'll protect it, just like I'll protect you."

Louise looked down, feeling her face heat.

Hand in hand, the couple walked around the lake. Louise was wearing a black dress, one that contrasted her skin and hair admirably. That appearance was mirrored by the beautiful surface of the water.

"This was where we met the water spirit, right Louise?" Zero asked calmly.

"Yeah." Louise replied, a smile on her face.

They did not talk much. All words seemed plain and useless. Instinctively, Louise felt that uttering unnecessary words would break this little world of theirs. A warm world of illusions made of cracked glass. She knew that even if it was swallowed further and further by the darkness, that this would still be where she wanted to be. That's how it felt.

"Louise, come here. This light reflected on the water is beautiful..." Zero said, as he knelt down beside the lake.

"Truly," Louise murmured as she drew closer.

"But, not as beautiful as you, Louise."Zero said smoothly.

Louise couldn't help embarrassment as she stuttered,"S-stop saying silly things!"

"It is true. I think you are more beautiful than anyone. So, I want to be together. So, in order to do that, I'll protect you. Always." Zero spoke resolutely.

"Then, you won't go anywhere, right?" Louise asked, her voice sounding somewhere between desperate and hopeful.

"How can I protect you if I go anywhere?"Zero replied flippantly as he put his hand on her head gently.

Deep inside Louise knew; this was just a dream. But she kept on repeating a badly acted play between Zero and herself. In fact, she was the only spectator watching it, so the acting mattered not. All that mattered was Zero... Gathering her courage she looked at Zero. "I have something to tell you."

"What?" Zero asked as he looked down at her.

Louise muttered embarrassed as she stepped into the water.

"Stop it Louise. The water is cold, you'll freeze."Zero warned gently.

There was something special about words spoken in this lake. Perhaps it was because of the Water Spirit, the spirit of oaths; oaths forged here could never be broken. Even if it was just in a dream, Louise wanted give her oath to Zero."I want to swim. Why don't we swim together?"she asked playfully.

"All right. If you get cold, I'll warm you up."Zero said as he followed her in.

It was a dream. Louise knew that Zero wasn't like this. He'd probably just shake his head or pull me out of this cold water...Zero is not this gentle... Still she was happy. Because it was impossible in reality for her and Zero to meet again... She heard the water churning and thought he was going towards her, but was wrong.

Steadily, Zero went further into the lake. Almost mechanically, he moved one foot infront of the other.

"Zero? Where are you going? Louise asked.

Zero waved her back with a smile.

"Stop! You'll drown! You'll die!" Louise screamed in panic.

"How can that be Louise? I was never really alive to begin with, remember?" Zero replied in a happy voice.

Slowly Zero's body disappeared in the water. Louise ran after him. "Wait! Do not go! Please! This is an order! Don't go! S-stupid familiar, get back here!" However, Louise's shouts did not reach him. Zero went fully under the water. Louise ran towards him, the water weighing down her clothing, slowing her advance towards Zero, who was continuing his trek, going further and further under water. Louise went into a frenzy. "Wait! No! No, don't go there! I said stop!"

Zero's figure became smaller and smaller, as his hair seemed to float behind him, almost like a billowing cape. But soon enough, even that was fading from her view.

"Wait! Please!"Louise cried,"Wait!" Louise sprang to her feet. It was pitch-dark in the room. She was in her room? Louise shook her head as she tried to catch up to herself. It was night, up at night only led her to despair. Though it was not much different than waking in the morning, waking at night was more exhausting.

Yet, Louise was not relieved that it was a dream. It is was the same, dream or reality. Either way, she felt the same pain, the same guilt. That day, when Zero left, she had been given a mission. It had been her life that was supposed to be gone... Why did he have to leave? Why did he have to be the one to die?

"Where are you, Zero? You said that you would come back...You said you'd protect me... How can you do that if you're not here?" She demanded, feeling a sick combination of anger and crushing despair. While she waited, no answer was given. Louise's thoughts wandered as she slowly fell into the blank numbness in her heart. "Is it... cold in there? Like at the bottom of Ragdorian Lake... is it cold and dark?" Zero was in the place where she couldn't go. Where her voice could never reach him. Though she knew that, she could not help but say it."I want to meet you again."Louise closed her eyes as she muttered in a fading voice."Can I go too?" No tears left. Just a body, dully wrapped in helpless numbness. "I can't bear it anymore. I can't bear the parting. In dream or reality, I can not bare it. Therefore, can I go to the place where you are?" Louise knew that there was only one way to get there. But, this would mean betraying everything he had fought for. Betraying her duty to her country, her mission as a Void user, her hopes and beliefs, loved ones and Zero too, who died to save her she would be betraying him too. Louise understood that well. However, she could not think of anything else. But now, being saved meant to meet her kind familiar again, this was really the only way."I want to tell you those words again.. And I want to hear them from you too. So, can I go to meet you? I want to say them by all means. I want to tell them to you... So, forgive me."Louise rose from the bed and headed towards the door barefooted.

***Break***

Louise chose the artillery tower, where people rarely came. The bonus was, that it was high enough that any fall from this height would be fatal. She could not remember the steps she had taken to get there. By the time she noticed, she was already standing on the roof. The roof of the round tower was a staircase leading towards the void in the stars and nothingness. Louise approached the stones that lined the top of the tower and climbed on top of them. When she stood there, she looked down to the ground. It was pitch-dark and nothing below could be seen. Yet, she felt that somewhere on the other side of that darkness, Zero waited for her. "If I go to the same place, we can meet again Zero..." She whispered and tried to take that one step into the open space. However she couldn't take that step forward. Her legs were not obeying her. Contrary to her will, her body still wanted to live, which angered Louise. "Zero is in that pitch-dark place! How can I leave him there alone? I have to go!"

When she decisively bit her lip the voice came from behind."Miss Valliere! Step away from the ledge! Zero would not want this."

When she turned around, she saw Roll standing there, with Kirche, Siesta and surprisingly enough Tabitha standing right behind her.

Unable to look straight at her face, she subconsciously averted her eyes.

"What are you trying to do?"Kirche demanded

"C-calm down."Siesta said, seeming to have trouble keeping her own calm.

"Even if you do that, it will not bring Zero back!" Kirche yelled at the girl.

"Maybe so… but I cannot meet him anyway. Upon casting the Summon Servant spell, the gate opened. I've got to do it, or I will never meet him." Louise replied back, then turned, ready to take the plunge until she came face to face with what she could only call a ghost.

"I advise you watch your step, as it IS a rather long drop." A gentle male voice said, seeming to come from a shadowy silhouette that had appeared before her.

"W-who are you?" Louise yelled as she fell backward, and was quickly restrained by Roll. Feeling her body immobilized by the joint locks from the other girl, she screamed, "Let go of me!"

"Yeah, I'll let go of you as soon as we're not someplace you can throw yourself off the roof."Roll replied, tightening her grip on Louise. Then Roll looked at the floating shadow and said,"Although she asked a good question. Who are you?"

A gentle laughter followed the question, but no response was forthcoming.

"You're that fairy I met at Tabitha's house." Kirche said as she recognized the familiar silhouette and the rainbow haze around his head.

"Ah, yes. I take it you understand the meaning of my warning about Zero now?"

"I... I do now..." Kirche admitted.

"What warning about Zero?" Louise demanded as she struggled to get out of Roll's grasp,"Did you know this was going to happen Kirche? You did didn't you?"

"No, she was simply told not to involve Zero in another conflict." the young man corrected her.

"Why are you here?" Roll asked, then tilted her head. This person seemed familiar for some reason.

"I'm simply a cyber elf. I believe I was called a prototype by Ciel...One that wouldn't be killed upon usage...They named me Charity..." A gentle laugh followed this. "I suppose with the working Data Network I can show you who I am, since I don't have to pull so much from the latent energies of this area to show myself..." A small flash of light and a young man in blue armor stood floating in the air with a circlet of light that seemed made of a rainbow. "While I could no longer hold my constant form, I allowed myself to become a somewhat regular cyber elf so that I could fight alongside Zero even after my death. Ciel was the only one to know the truth of the matter though..."

"Who are you?" Louise demanded again, but was startled when Roll released her grip on her.

"X, is that you X?" Roll asked as she stood up.

"Yes. You're Roll, right? I don't remember you sadly, but I'm glad the family tradition still exists, even if I started it..." X smiled.

"Tradition?" Roll,"What are you talking about? And why did you show up here? And Zero said that the cyber elf that was with him was female!"

"What? The girl was going to kill herself, and that would have upset Zero." X replied simply. "He's already totally surpassed his old limits twice now since he's been here. I'd rather he not do so a third time, thanks. He is, if you noticed it, quite an excitable person. And on the fact of me looking like a girl, of course I did. I didn't want to give any hint that I was anything but what he was told about me. My 'body' right now is nothing more than a hologram really. Do you know how easy that is to manipulate?"

"He's dead!" Louise cried out. "The summoning ritual would have succeeded! I shouldn't have been able to cast that spell had it not been for the fact that he was dead! So why are you so carefree about this? How can you not care?"

"Dead?" X asked curiously."So ready to write him off? Who can know if Zero is really dead? More likely he's just going to show up with a stupid one-liner when you're about to die, and make you feel stupid for worrying about him. Besides, he's died like..." There was a pause as the floating young man seemed to be counting on his fingers,"Five times I can currently remember. Some days I wonder if he's just a bit too dense to realize that when you die you're not supposed to just... Show up again at a later date. Or maybe the universe just loves bad one-liners that much."

"Axl said almost the same thing! How can you talk like that, he was your partner! And what do you mean-" Louise shouted.

"Wrong." X interrupted the screaming girl.

"What?" Louise asked, shocked at the response the man who called himself X gave.

"He called us partners, but no. He was more a brother than anything. I learned everything from his encouragement, without his willingness to become a shield in defense of me when I was younger... I would never have survived to reach the peak that I did. Partner is too shallow a word for that." X said with a smile. "That's why I know he's fine. I have faith in him. Don't you?"

"But the spell," Louise said, her voice breaking.

"Do you have faith in him?" X asked with a gentle smile on his face.

"Of course I do!" Louise shouted as she surged to her feet.

"Then believe in him. I trusted him to protect our world and he did. I trust him to protect this one, and he will. I trust him." X said slowly, then looked at the others. "I feel that you should all trust him as well.."

"I do trust him! I trust him with my life!" Louise shouted.

X laughed at that,"Ah, I can see it. You really care for him don't you?"

Roll looked at her brother and said,"We all do. I believe in him. Axl said he'd come back, and I just can't see Zero fading away like that. I mean... I mean, he's better than Bass, and nobody could get rid of him, not even Wily."

"Good, now that this crisis is averted, I've got other things to do." X said as he continued chuckling lightly.

"Wait, X!" Roll said suddenly. "What are you doing? Why didn't you tell Zero who you were?"

"I can't tell you what I'm doing, but if I had told Zero 'Hey, I'm an abnormal cyber elf that can't do anything outside of increase your capabilities' the idiot would have stopped at nothing to get me a new body, and that wasn't what the world needed. The world needed Ragnarok stopped." X said with an air of regret.

"Ragnarok? What's that?" Kirche asked.

"The end of the world, the designs of a power hungry madman who was willing to destroy the world if he couldn't have it."

"Weil." Roll stated in a dead tone.

"Yeah, if you already know all that there is no reason for me to rehash it now anyhow." X said as his form blurred into a silhouette again. "Sorry but I must go. I have put too much into motion to stop now. Do not tell Zero about me please. He'll probably tear the world apart looking for me. Then kill me. Then build me a new body so he can kill me again. Its just easier this way." X said with a chuckle as he faded from sight.

"I'm going to Albion!" Louise declared once she found her voice again. "I'll find Zero, and bring him back here!"

"Well then, I suppose I'm going as well. I can't just let my rival have all the glory in the search for Zero." Kirche replied haughtily, happy to see her friend's eyes finally show some light.

"I will as well. I might not be much, but I'm a good medic." Roll replied.

"Debt," Tabitha said simply as she nodded.

"I can go too! I'll cook for us! We'll find Zero. Then I'll hit him with one of my frying pans! Let him know that making us wait was unfair!" Siesta said excitedly, as she made a motion of hitting someone with an imaginary frying pan.

Louise looked at the girls on the top of the tower and her tears started to flow again. For the first time in weeks, she had hope.

***Break***

In Vestri Courtyard, below the narrowly averted catastrophe, Montmorency glared at Guiche, and asked quietly,"What do you want to show me in the middle of the night?" When she was sleeping, she was asked to come here. But… even if you came here, was there anything? Could he be having some strange thoughts? Montmorency glared at Guiche.

Guiche smiled sadly at the look he was given by Montmorency and shook his head. As he looked at what appeared to be a blank corner of the courtyard he said,"No, it's because I completed something... Something that took me a great effort to do, to complete. I did it without magic, I did it with my own two hands as a tribute of sorts...And I called you at such time because... I wanted you to be the first to see it."

"Completed? What did you make?"

"This."Guiche quickly pulled something, and where a moment ago was nothing, appeared…

"A statue?" Montmorency gasped, as what showed up there was a huge statue of at least five meters tall. Because Guiche had used a magical cloth that had imitated the surroundings, there had seemed to be nothing there before. Was that how Guiche had worked on it in secret in such a place?

Guiche nodded in satisfaction, while pointing at the statue."Zero's statue."

The splendid statue stood with it's right arm extended, a fair approximation of his saber in it. His left hand was in a more guarded position holding a large Derflinger at ready. His hair fanned out behind him in an arc. It was made with precise details, almost as if it was ready to leap into battle."This took me weeks; I worked fiercely during the nights... But its done. My tribute to that man is done."

"You have skills." Montmorency watched Guiche with an admiring face.

"I will put an Alchemy spell on it now, and change the soil into bronze. And… this way, I will praise the hero forever, in my own way." Guiche said with a smile as he looked at the statue, the testament to a true hero.

"I will show it to Louise later, Surely it will comfort her a little." Montmorency said, her eyes glistening at seeing the visage of the indomitable hero. With this memorial in front of her it truly hit her. He was gone. He had always been there to protect everyone before him. He had fought for this country that wasn't his... And saved her beloved. She could never thank him enough for his sacrifice.

"Indeed." Guiche agreed.

Montmorency looked down slightly, with an unusual blush on her cheeks."Forgive me Guiche. It seems I have misunderstood you. I thought that you were lacking in delicacy."

"I was. I didn't understand anything. But that was before I met Zero. I"ll admit I was stubborn, and stupid... But I learned eventually."

"My thoughts are changed. You are a gentle, wonderful man, Guiche."

Guiche became embarrassed and rubbed under his nose."I'm sorry for waking you for this, but I wanted to share it with you first. I also couldn't think of an inscription to place upon it. I couldn't come up with anything to suitably call forth just what Zero was standing for... I mean, I think I understood what he wanted to tell us, what he showed us, but I can not put it into words."

"Ah... I think I have an idea..." Montmorency smiled as she whispered into Guiche's ear.

Guiche's eyes widened. "Nobility by merit... Hero by action... It is perfect, Zero would love it if he knew."

***Break***

In the Westwood Village, Agnes stood across from Zero who was in his civilian guise. Agnes held a training sword in her hand. She would strike him this time! She swept in and swept her blade toward his legs, but slammed the makeshift pommel on it with her left hand swinging the blade up to come within an inch of Zero's chest.

"You're good. You're probably one of the best I've ever seen when it comes to deception in your tactics. Unfortunately the problem with that is, once someone knows that they can predict that most of your attacks aren't going to be what they appear to be." Zero said as he danced around her strikes.

"You think just because you were a legendary familiar that you're so good," Agnes said as she struggled to breathe. It had been hours since they started and he still didn't tire.

"Huh? That's not the reason. You're damn good for a human, but you are just that. Human," Zero said as he straightened up.

Agnes looked at him, her left arm on her hip. "I keep hearing you say that. Just what do you mean by that?"

"It is simple. I am a robot, made to mimic humans in form, but with power and mental capacity far surpassing what humans can do. Its simple, right? To try and compare a normal human to a monster like me, is silly."

Agnes looked at him with an arched eyebrow."Simple? You have a skewed version of that word."

"It makes more sense than all this magic crap." Zero replied as he waited for her next attack with a smile on his face. "You are getting faster, I'll complement you on that though. And your skill is actually very high. Were you a reploid, I'm fairly certain that you'd give me a damned good run for my money, just like Layer. Against a human, I doubt there are very many, if any at all who could beat you."

"I have to be faster and more skillful! Its the only way to deal with someone like you!" Agnes shouted as she rushed again...

***Break***

Morning started to break… finally released from practice, Agnes was washing herself. She had to smile at the workout. For the first time in a long time, she had found someone challenging to battle, someone who could help her build her skills. She couldn't help but laugh as she thought of how Zero tried to explain why he didn't need to wash up after their practice to Tiffania. Just because he said he didn't sweat... She never knew that a gentle girl could glare so hard at someone. It was even more amusing when Zero gave in so readily to her. His actions were nothing like what she had dealt with previously regarding the former familiar. He'd always been rather standoffish with her... Perhaps it had been because of her actions against Colbert? Or was it her treatment of the girls at the academy. Thinking back to then, and comparing his actions to how he was now, he couldn't be seen as a monster. He didn't want people to be forced into fights, he didn't want them to die. He had admired the teacher for holding his ground, and trying to teach people how to channel their powers into a more positive thing, something more constructive. Shaking her head she turned her thoughts away from what was still unresolved for her...

***Break***

Zero was washing himself, having gotten a bucket, a cloth and some simple soap from Tiffania. He hadn't touched the ground or anything, he wasn't dirty but here he was. He sighed as he gave himself a cursory wash, then grabbed the towel and started to dry himself off. Suddenly, he heard a gasp behind him. Startled he, turned towards the noise and saw Tiffania stood there with a towel. Seeing Zero's upper-body naked, an embarrassed blush spread on her cheeks. Zero stared back at her and finally said,"You know, I'm going to have to charge you for the show if this keeps up."

Tiffania gasped and shook her head."I brought you a towel, I didn't know you had already grabbed one. I'm sorry!"

"Thank you,"Zero replied, as he finished drying himself off and replacing his clothing.

Tiffania looked hesitant, as if wanting to say something.

"What's wrong?"Zero asked as he sat down on a crude bench.

Tiffania opened her mouth and awkwardly spoke,"W-working hard."

"Not really."

"Can I ask you something?"

"All right."

"The blood on your armor... It was from confronting Albion's army, right? You stopped that huge army from advancing? Did you really do it? I thought it was just a rumor, even if you said that to the mercenaries..."

Shaking his head, Zero replied,"Who told you that?"

"The sword did... It said that he had felt your power flare and that he wished he had been there... He said you're his partner..."

"He can't stop chatting,"Zero said as he crossed his arms.

"I can't imagine how it would feel... To be alone against that many people."

"Who knows. I've fought unbalanced battles before. I always have to fight because I can. Because others won't let other people live in peace. For energy, for power, for resources, for useless Darwinist ideals ... Fighting always happens." Zero said. "I just happen to be better at it than most."

"You protected us though, that isn't bad right?"

"No. I don't regret that. But it doesn't matter, I'll keep fighting until someday something will overpower me and destroy me."

"Why do you say that?" Tiffania asked quietly.

"Because its what I was made for and its all I can do." Zero replied.

Tiffania became silent. Suddenly, a thought came to her as she asked,"Then why you are training so hard?"

"Because that woman wants to get better. And for some reason, something about her manner reminds me of... Me, a long time ago. If I can help her, I will."

Tiffania said, choosing her words carefully."You still have something to work hard on. However... I just wanted to just live quietly and stay out of trouble. Though I wanted to go to my mother's hometown, I only thought about it, but never acted. You act, you defended everyone, you stopped an army, and now you're helping that woman..."

"You're still young. It isn't like you've wasted your life. Besides, wanting to live quietly and staying out of trouble isn't bad. I mean, you even felt bad for those bandits that I killed. That just shows how gentle you really are." Zero noted.

"No. It is all because of my cowardly nature." Tiffania clasped Zero's hand. "Thank you, Zero. I want to see more unique things. Before, I just lived in an old house and then in this village for years, but now, for the first time, I want to see the world. The world is not just unpleasant things. There are also joyful things for sure After seeing you, I realize that."

"Don't kid yourself... The world is full of unpleasant things... although, I do wonder..." Zero said, stopping mid-statement as he pondered again all the unusual things that he had noticed since he had awoken.

"You do wonder what?" Tiffania prompted him.

"How long did I sleep for the world to change this much. I mean, nature has recovered, there is a low energy field that surrounds the world that I don't recognize... Humans can tap into it, and science has been more or less destroyed...Not to mention the double moons. I can't even imagine how long it would take to get..." Zero hesitated as he spoke, then continued," I can't even begin to think of how long these changes would take..."

"I don't know about any of that..."

"It doesn't matter, it was just a stray thought." Zero said as he smiled at her.

The young woman looked down, with a blush on her face, then spoke suddenly,"Hey, do you want to be my friend? My first friend."

Zero just looked at her and laughed, causing her to blush, and even growl. He laughed harder at the too cute growl."I don't know about this place but ya know, in my experience when you ask that its already way too late."

Her eyes watering, Tiffania looked at Zero,"Too late? Its too late to be friends?"

"No, its too late to ask. By the time you think to ask you're normally friends anyhow, right?" Zero reasoned, teasing the girl lightly. He laughed lightly as he saw her smile at him.

"When you first came to the village, though I thought about erasing your memory of us after you were ready to leave... I didn't though. For a long time, I wanted a friend... And you seemed different, lost... Like me..." Tiffania said gently. As she spoke she drew closer to Zero.

"I see."Zero replied, as he nodded. With his face this close to her, he got a perfect sight of the valley of her breasts. He coughed and looked away. As he did this, Tiffania pulled away, blushing."Sorry about that," Zero apologized, wondering just why he was apologizing. She was the one responsible for it.

"I-it's all right. Since you are a friend, it is all right."Tiffania replied, her face still red. An embarrassed silence followed before Tiffania spoke again,"T-the food is ready. Let's eat."

Zero nodded, and began to walk. From the house, a nice smell flowed. He had to admit, Mathilda was quite good in the kitchen, and made him glad that his creator had given him the systems to appreciate such things, even if the old bastard had made him containing the Maverick virus.

***Author's notes***

Sigma is a maverick, though he was also the former leader of the Maverick hunters. Signas is the leader of the maverick hunters in the X timeline. Do not confuse the two. It will piss off Signas.

Missing words. I have no idea why this thing keeps doing it, but it still removes words. to this day I still can't get to be placed in the chapters. I can't really do anything if the doc manager wants to decide that it wants to omit things for various reasons. And going back after the edit, I apparently can't put in D R. C A I N or R O C K . E X E without typing like that for some unknown reason. These are not the only instances of this happening, but its something I've been dealing with since i started posting here. I've had to literally rewrite whole paragraphs making myself unhappy with how the language flows so crap doesn't disappear sometimes, and I'll admit I'm not paying as much attention to that lately because its a pain wrestling with a program that's got these stupid flaws while also working on the story itself.

As for the time skip, yes. there are time skips now. I'd rather not write 10 chapters about how depressing everything is, and how boring meetings are.

Okay, explaining the whole sharding thing one last time. A corrupted "Shard" is removed from normal use and bled back into his systems as it is analyzed and all harmful portions of it are fixed or deleted. Consider it a very powerful sandbox and recovery program. This loops back into the Wily in his mind, who is supposed to come out and handle the more "sensitive" issues that might be too much for the automated program. By Sharding Zero's memory he becomes blank. His mind "Shuts down" and he can be considered dead during that time. Roboreader hit this on the head. Now to clear up another misunderstanding, once the shard is reintegrated into his memory there IS NO MORE SHARD. Where Zero had multiple shards to work with last time, there is only this single shard this time. The reason for the multiple shards was because DR. C A I N did not have the reploids initialize him correctly, and woke him up/rebuilt him incorrectly causing massive failure in Zero's programming putting him in a berserker mode when he woke, then unable to integrate correctly once he was repaired.. The Sigma fight was one of these sharding events, but not the only one by any means.

And so we've explained the super mimic cyber elf in MMZ4! It was X! A team to the end. Also explains how model X and Z came about with the loss of Zero's body. X mighta helped convert Zero and gotten them both out through the data network! Oh hey, that MAKES SENSE. Therefore it probably didn't happen that way. But in this, it did. If of course they hadn't been summoned.

Also, I think some of Zero's sarcasm wore off on X after a few centuries. Anyone disagree?

Also, is anyone else just WAITING for Zero to see that inscription in flowing script on a statue of him that is towering over a courtyard? Oh I know I am.

On the note of Zero not being a reploid, I'm pretty certain I said in one of the VERY early chapters that I know he's not a reploid. Even if he was made from X's design, a reploid is the cheap knock off that was made from 10% of X's analyzable data. Both Zero and X are robot masters. Also keep in mind that both X and Zero refer to themselves as reploids as well, even though we all know that they are not.

Direct quote from Zero : Even if we Reploids are destined to join the scrap heap when that evolutionary step does come about... We still have to fight... Not only against Mavericks, but against our own destiny as well

This shows that Zero does in fact think of himself as a reploid even if he is a robotmaster. If its good enough for Zero to call himself a reploid, then its good enough for everyone.