Zero stood with the other girls looking at him hesitantly. Agnes stood behind him with her arms crossed. He sighed and asked,"So why did you all come looking for me?"
The first to answer was Roll as she said,"Because Zero, you're one of two people like us in this world..."
"This world?" Zero asked curiously,"You act as if there are other worlds."
"Don't you remember darling? This isn't your world" Kirche replied, confused at his lack of knowledge.
"That doesn't make sense." Zero commented.
"It doesn't really have to. It is magic after all." Kirche replied with a smile.
Zero looked at them then shrugged,"Whatever... So you all say that this isn't my world? I thought I slept for at least a hundred thousand years for the changes to happen ... Not that the whole me going to a new world is that much better... But then, that means that my world never recovered from the massive damage that I inflicted upon it... That's even more of a reason for me to stay here. I'm not human, I'm nothing but a weapon."
"You can't run, Zero." Agnes said, surprising everyone.
"What?"
"You're the type of person who can't hold back if people are in danger. While you are a warrior, you also have saved countless lives. You charged into burning buildings to save the civilians on the enemies side. No matter what you think about yourself, you're a better human than me. I would have just let them burn, especially since their own side is the one that did the damage." Agnes stated coolly.
"I did what?" Zero asked, eyes wide in shock.
"You saved a number of children," Roll said with a gentle smile.
"And when you thought they were going to die, you were inconsolable. You blamed yourself even if it was a misfired spell from an enemy mage." Louise said, remembering how down her familiar had been. After a few moments pause she looked at Zero with a smile on her face. "Zero...When we were to be married, you made an oath to me." she said in a gentle voice.
"Wait, what? I was going to be married to you? Now I KNOW I definitely wasn't myself." Zero objected heatedly.
"It was my last request, since I was going to go and face the army alone... I didn't want to die without being married..." Louise said as she turned her face down.
Appraising the girl, he realized she wasn't lying. He couldn't help but wonder aloud,"What did I promise?"
"You promised you'd protect me... Always. Then you knocked me out and had Axl take me away... You then went to take my place... You stopped an army so I wouldn't have to..." Louise said, sounding near on tears at remembering the sacrifice of her familiar for her.
"Sounds like something I'd do." Zero said with a laugh, then laughed harder as another thought came to him,"It also sounds like something I'd get yelled at for later. I mean, it was almost like they were angry that I decided to show back up after dying!" After he said this a dull thunk could be heard. All eyes turned to Tabitha who had hit him in the head with her staff. "What was that for?" Zero rubbed the spot she hit, more as a reaction than anything else.
"Inconsiderate. We were worried... Not funny," She said, her face staying neutral.
Zero just looked at the girl and laughed harder,"Alright, you may not think its funny, but considering I have had these meetings off and on again decrying my habit to get into suicidal situations, I can't help but think it funny that I'm being lectured by a bunch of little girls... Then again, Ciel could be scary sometimes when she thought I was really hurt... " Zero paused before a distant look came over his face,"I hope she is alright... I was the only one who could stand up to Weil and his monstrocities..."
"You don't have to worry about that," Roll said with a smile.
"What? Why not?" Zero asked, turning to face Roll.
"You killed Weil on his space station Ragnarok. You were falling to your death when Louise summoned you the first time... I heard the memory files for that when we were running diagnostics on you..." Roll said, a frown creasing her brow as she recalled how ready he had been to throw his own life away without a second thought..
"Huh. So, Weil is dead? Good. That asshole pissed me off when he took my body the first time." Zero said, scowling as he remembered waking up in his copy body. "Although I'm kind of confused how my body has reverted to its original configurations... mostly."
"It has to do with the full package my boy. You see, you're the ultimate robot. Your mind is more powerful than your body. Your mind can force your body to change and evolve. While your body that was stolen was powerful it had NOTHING on what made your body as powerful as it was. That Omega had nothing on my son! Hell, he couldn't even use your combat systems correctly! If you recall, he never used the same move more than twice in a row even if the result would have been favorable. It was like putting a child at the controls of the most powerful weapon ever! No technique, no finesse, just brute stupid power!"
Zero spoke out loud,"OK, seriously, just who the hell are you?" then looked sheepish as the others reactions to his sudden outburst. "Sorry, dealing with a stupid fail safe program right now. It's... Complicated."
The dry voice replied,"I am the informational imprint of your creator's thoughts upon your creation... Well close enough. He was not long for the world after you were created, but in the end that was fine. He made you to be his son, a powerful force to fight for what was right. Not what others viewed as right, but what I thought was right. It is why I disabled you when you first woke up, allowing that Sigma dolt to incapacitate you. Something caused your programming to fail, probably the way you were woken up... I swear to god though, that Dr. Cain has more blood on his hands than any human in history, from sheer unadulterated stupidity. First the half-assed creations of his that copied X, then in directing the reploids to wake you up the same way he woke X. This caused you to go into a berserk rage that would have made your brother jealous. Oh, and on the note of my existence, it is not complicated. They're just a bunch of backwards fools who don't understand even the basics of how the world really works. But that is neither here nor there. That rune messed with some of your primary memories and while it was active I could only counter the issue to the best of my abilities. It also attempted to alter your personality. I've been rebuilding your routines so that the rune would be unable to alter you in any way again."
"Wait, so the rune was altering my memory and trying to turn me into some type of slave?" Zero demanded out loud again after the voice of Wily finished its long-winded explanation.
Ya know son, you really should learn to use your 'indoor' voice for this. But yes, it tried to make you subservient. It never really did that, but it altered your memories slightly. It merely made it harder for you to remember pleasant things. This caused your already precarious mental state to be further unbalanced. Its why I've been silent and your memories have been very slow in coming back after you got to where you are now. Within a year of you obtaining the rune, everything had been damaged or altered, and I've been working to get it fixed so that you can never be used again. If you choose to accept the rune again, it will do nothing more than give you the power it offered before. Its ability to command or control you has been nullified entirely."
Zero looked at Louise with hard eyes, causing her to flinch. "Did you know that the rune you put on me before, was trying to turn me into a slave? That it was trying to subvert my memories?"
"What? No, we had this conversation before. You asked if the rune would make you subservient or anything. You've never been anything but willful, especially when you felt that I was treating you like an animal or some sub-human entity..."
"Then why didn't I leave?" Zero asked, his eyes not leaving hers.
Louise's eyes teared up seeing the cold anger in Zero's eyes. She looked down and whispered,"You said..."
"I said what?" Zero pressed her.
Shrinking into herself Louise answered,"You said that I reminded you of someone..."
"And who was that?" Zero asked as he glared at her.
"You said that I reminded you of X somehow..." Louise replied hesitantly.
"Really? last time I checked X never did any of the things you mentioned." Was Zero's cold reply.
"You said that it was my insecurity..." Louise tried to explain.
"Really. Your insecurity allows you to treat people like that? And I saw that as fine?" Zero pressed further.
"You...I..." Louise started to cry as Zero passed judgement on her actions. This was the truth, right? Without the runes of the Gandalfr on his hand she wasn't his master... He could judge her more clearly now. She sighed as she realized what that meant. "You're right. I should have known. I really am a failure as a mage aren't I?"
As Zero looked at the girl, the memory of a blond woman bringing a horse whip to bare on Louise came to mind suddenly. Suddenly Zero was filled with a cold, murderous fury.
"That was her loving sister. Apparently her parents are worse than that. And considering that they've treated her like that for years... Well, you probably get it. It was all to let her know her place, and how she should treat those below her. That's why you stayed with her. She's misguided, but a good girl at heart, mostly." Wily said with some trepidation.
Zero's eyes focused as he looked at the girl, then he growled. "They beat you?"
Louise's eyes widened as she looked at the glowing former familiar. He didn't have his rune, yet he was still shrouded in that same white energy. Did this mean that the rune was not the cause of this display of power? "W-what?" she barely managed to stutter.
"Your family? They beat you with a whip? Was what I just saw true?" Zero demanded, neither noticing nor caring that the room was bathed in light.
"Was what you just saw true? Did who's family beat them?" Kirche asked, apparently lost in the conversation.
Louise looked away from Zero who's helmet was sparking. She couldn't say so in front of so many people. It was a private matter, one that should stay firmly inside of a family.
Zero looked at the girl who had become silent. His left hand was balled into a fist. He took a step forward. "Where are they?"
"W-what?" Louise asked in a shaky voice.
"Where is your family now? I'm going to kill them." Zero said more clearly.
"N-no! Its nothing serious!" Louise said, her voice shaky.
"Beating a child with a whip? I don't give a fuck about the twisted reasoning behind that not being serious. Because to me, that is certainly serious." Zero replied hotly.
"Z-zero... You already broke my sister's wrist." Louise replied shakily.
"That's all I did?" Zero asked in disbelief.
"Well... You threw her out of the room...Literally..." Louise said in a low voice.
"That doesn't seem like enough." Zero said as he crossed his arms.
"Don't worry. You put the fear of their founder in her. On another note, not all of her family is like that. She has a very sweet sister who I can't seem to figure out, when it comes to how she acts compared to these other pompous nobles. By the way, Zero, you managed to save the nice sister's life as well. She was the only one in the family who had supported the girl. You were planning on having 'words' with her parents if they decided to be a problem though, and I approve of this approach. Just remember, pain teaches far more than death."
Zero nodded. That made sense, but what was he to do? He sighed as he looked at the others, as all but Tabitha and Roll trembled from his fearful presence and ominous glow. He took a breath, even if he didn't need to breathe. He focused and tried to calm down, but for the most part, failed. "Sorry... Where I come from, there are things that are unacceptable and unforgivable. This is one of those things. Apparently beating your children with a whip because they don't meet your expectations is acceptable here and I'm the crazy one for being upset..."
"Zero, you're not the only one who was upset by this... You were ready to go deforest a good area around the academy..." Roll said sadly,"But that is reality for an undeveloped society. We can't change it over night."
"So I should just let it go?" Zero demanded.
Roll walked up to Zero and put a comforting hand on Zero's arm. She spoke gently but firmly,"You never let it go. You know about it, so you can prevent it from ever happening again. That was what we resolved, remember?"
"Obviously I don't. Or I wouldn't be ready to kill them." Zero said tartly.
Kirche looked at Louise, who had shrunk in on herself. Had her life truly been that hard? Their noble families were similar in power and standing, but she had a family that loved her and treated her with respect. Without warning she moved closer to Louise and embraced her.
"W-what are you doing Kirche?" Louise demanded as she tried to struggle out of the larger girl's grip.
"I'm giving you a hug. You looked like you needed one... I think I understand now, why you were willing to go so far as that to meet Zero again..." Kirche said sadly, as the smaller girl continued to struggle out of her grip.
"As far as what? Summoning me again?" Zero asked, confused. At the silence that met him, he had a feeling that something important wasn't being said. "What?"
Roll leaned forward and whispered something into Zero's ear. Zero's body locked up as she spoke, his face twisting in anger.
"She did what?" Zero cried out as he took two steps forward and gripped Louise by the shoulders roughly. "Do you have any idea what you were doing? You would have died!"
"I know..." Louise said in a flat voice,"But Zero was gone... And only death is supposed to break the compact between mage and familiar... And without Zero, there wasn't any reason for me to live. You were the one who protected me, who cared for me... Who believed in me. If you weren't here, and you couldn't come back... Then I wanted to go back to you. I wanted to see you again."
Zero looked at the girl and wanted to scream. Just what the hell was wrong with this twisted world? As Zero composed himself and looked into Louise's eyes as he said in a too calm voice,"But I'm not dead. You would have died. And besides, if I faced that army and died against it to save you, what of my sacrifice? Wouldn't it have been meaningless?"
"No more meaningless than life without you," Louise said sullenly, the feelings of despair that she felt when the portal had opened up that night hitting her once again. The crushing hopelessness that she had lost the one person she loved had hit her harder than she could have imagined, even though he was here holding her shoulders. She started trembling as she remembered the glow of the gate, how it had seemed to shatter... her.
Zero released her after he looked at her for a moment and put his head into his hands. This girl nearly killed herself because of him. "If you ever try that again I will kick your ass. I don't care if I'm dead, I will do it. I've died a good number of times and have bounced back from it each time! You can't! You're a human, you only get one life!"
Louise nodded sullenly, not meeting his gaze.
"I'm not joking! I'll beat some sense into that head of yours if you try it again!" Zero shouted at her. After taking a few minutes to calm himself, he looked at her and said,"Damn it, I guess I have no choice... I'll be your familiar again. But I can't leave this area with Tiffania and Mathilda and the children in danger. I didn't happen to have any money, did I?"
Roll laughed lightly, "I suppose we will have to talk to the headmaster when we get back. After all Zero, you're quite a wealthy nobleman."
"Huh, wait, I am a what?" Zero asked, as he turned to stare at Roll. A nobleman? Wealthy?
"Of course. You're my beloved Knight-Captain Zero Wily!" Kirche added with a smile.
"I see..." Zero nodded,"So, would I be able to support the people of this village in a more secure area?"
Tiffania gasped at the thought, "But Zero, that would cost a fortune..."
Zero looked at Tiffania and shrugged,"Its my decision. besides, something tells me you'll get targeted too."
"What? Why is that?" Tiffania wondered.
"Simple. You're much like Louise. The energy around you feels exactly the same. Its fluctuations are different but its got to be the same element." Zero replied seriously.
Louise looked at the chesty young girl and gasped. Was she a void user as well? A friendly, beautiful void user. "A-Another?"
"Yeah. They look the same, with the energy surrounding them and all. Right?"
"Zero, how can you see that?" Roll asked curiously.
"I couldn't before?" Zero asked.
"No, you couldn't." Louise replied tartly.
"Huh. I wonder what happened?" Zero replied, his voice mildly curious.
"So you can evaluate a person's magical abilities now?" Kirche asked in amazement.
"Somewhat, I think. You seem to have a glow of red, or heat around you... While the little one seems colder than ice" Zero said as he brought his gaze around the room.
"What an interesting ability to have," Agnes said with wonder,"What do us non magicians look like?"
"Um. Normal? I don't see anything around you. Except for Roll. She has a good number of low level fluctuations of multiple colors." Zero said honestly.
"Wait, so are you saying I could become a mage?" Roll asked incredulously.
"Iunno." Zero replied with a shrug.
"So you can identify mages? That's an unusual thing...Powerful too." Derflinger commented.
"Indeed," Kirche agreed.
"I suppose we should start getting ready for the familiar contract." Louise said after all had fallen silent.
***Break***
"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, bless this humble being, and make him my familiar."
In the living room of Tiffania's house, the Contract Servant spell was completed.
Siesta, Roll and Tiffania watched Zero's contracting with Louise with worried expressions. Agnes, with her arms crossed, was nonchalantly watching what the mages were doing.
"I guess he's willing to become a mage's tool again. " Agnes said sourly.
"Maybe…" Derflinger, who was leaning against the sofa, said in a somewhat painful voice.
Agnes looked up at Derflinger surprised. "Why so gloomy. Isn't your partner coming back with you?"
Not answering Agnes' question, Derflinger remained silent.
Once the spell ended, Louise brought her lips to Zero's.
"You sure you won't regret it? You know what I am right, what I'm capable of?" Zero asked, gazing straight into Louise's eyes.
"There is nothing in this world I'm more sure about. You're not a monster, nor a weapon. In my eyes you're Zero. You're my kind, gentle, and beautiful... divine familiar. My guardian angel..." Louise said softly as she nodded, and slowly pressed her lips against Zero's.
At once… a burning pain hit his body. "Son of a bitch!" he cried out, wondering if he remembered this if he wouldn't have just gone along with her without the damned rune.
Siesta and Roll tried to run up to Zero, who was clutching his body in agony. "Zero!"
"I-it's all right… it's just the runes of the familiar being carved in…" Louise, said as she held her familiar in her arms. "I'm sorry, Zero. I know it hurts, but please endure it."
Suddenly the pain stopped and Zero watched the curves appearing on his left hand. "Never again. Next time I'll just take the loss of whatever powers this thing gives me. Not like I'm not powerful enough as it is. But I'm serious, if I die again I'm not getting the damned rune!"
Louise ignored him as she gently traced each rune with her finger. 'This character string… is a bond between me and Zero,' she thought. While caressing them… the amount of time when they were separated, the despair she felt, she was overwhelmed by the feelings. Though everyone were still there, Louise desperately clung tightly onto Zero… and buried her face below his chest plate and stayed like that, not moving. Zero gently held Louise's shoulders.
Everyone stared at the couple. "Well, as I said, I need to sharpen my sword for the battle," Agnes muttered as she walked out of the room.
"What battle?" Derflinger asked curiously, almost teasingly.
Though Siesta lifted up her eyes for a moment, she gave out a smile in the end.
The innocent Tiffania blushed.
"Your left hand… don't stress it too much… I can't help but worry about it...but..." Derflinger muttered so silently that no one heard. Nobody but Zero anyhow...
Tiffania, after saying, "Well, I'm sure you need various things to discuss," hurriedly dashed out of the bedroom.
Siesta came up to Louise and muttered quietly in her ear. "Only for today, I will lend him to you." And left as fast as Tiffania left the room.
When Derflinger tried to say something more, he was gripped by Agnes who had returned to the room. "All right, you also have to go."
"Welcome back Zero," Kirche said with a smile on her face. "As my rival, I give you free reign for the night Louise. I hold nothing against you tonight. Get as far as you can. Perhaps let the rest of the village know how far you get. Just make sure not to go at it for too long, as it is rather late." Kirche laughed as Louise's face turned bright pink, almost matching her hair. With that she was pulled bodily away by Tabitha.
"I'll leave you two alone. But for what it's worth... I'm glad we found you Zero... Believe it or not, Rock was missing you as well." Roll said with a smile.
"Who?" Zero asked, that name seemed familiar for some reason.
"Oh, I don't feel right breaking this moment... I'll tell you tomorrow," Roll said as she walked out quietly.
Finally alone, Zero and Louise gazed at each other in an awkward silence. While they were looking at each other... tears started to fall from Louise's eyes.
Zero suddenly started to panic. Just what the hell had he done this time? He looked at the girl and asked,"Are you alright? Why are you crying?"
As Zero looked at her with clear concern, even more tears started to fall from her eyes. Not wiping them, Louise opened her mouth. "I thought..."
"Huh?"
"Th-thought I would never be able to meet you again," Louise sobbed while she was looking straight at him. "I-Ithought I, had something important to t-t-tell, you, went somewhere,"Her speech overflowed with her feelings. Her words jumbled and mixed together as she tried to say everything she had bottled up all at once."You didn't show up on the ship, you didn't show up in the bed, back at home. Do you know how worried I was?.. I couldn't take it anymore I couldn't take it because" Louise was heavily pulling out words mixed with tears. Though she was incoherent and hard to understand, Louise's feelings poured right into Zero's heart."But y-you visited me in my dreams you were gentle, and, and..."
Zero couldn't help but feel horrible now, even if he didn't remember any of this. He placed his hand gently on her head."Don't cry..."
After Louise, who finished crying some time ago and now had red and puffy eyes, was silent, Zero laid her on the bed. She laid down obediently, yet she gripped Zero's arm and refused to let go as he tried to leave. "Don't go." She whispered.
"What? but you need to sleep." Zero said, trying his best to sound sensible.
"That's fine. I'm not letting go. No matter what, I won't let go." Louise said as she pouted up at Zero.
When he laid her down in bed, she laid down obediently. Yet, she gripped onto Zero's arm and did not let it go. She pulled it down while biting her lips. So, Zero had to lie down next to her. Louise immediately placed her head gently on his shoulder, not caring for now that he was still in his armor.
***Break***
Agnes sat on a chair of in the living room, drinking sake that she had managed to obtain from one of the local villages. It was cheap, and hard. All that she needed. She heard the sounds of a harp coming from the courtyard. Agnes closed her eyes and submerged herself into Tiffania's impromptu performance.
"What's the matter, Commander?" Asked Derflinger, who she had as her drinking partner. Agnes opened her eyes.
Instead of the usual musketeer commander's steel, one could see a normal girl's anxiety in her eyes."Nothing... I just recalled my hometown. I can't return there. Such a useless memory."
"You can't return there?" Derflinger asked curiously.
Self-mockingly, Agnes murmured,"It doesn't exist anymore. It exists only in the corner of my memories."
After a while, Derflinger said." So what? A hometown is just a word. Find a new one. Look at partner, he lost his world and yet decided that Tristian was his new home. He fought to protect it... If he can do it, you can too."
Agnes became silent and continued listening to the tune, settled, in the course of time; a gentle smile appeared on her face and she nodded. "That's right... If he can do it..."
***Author's notes***
Yay, Zero's getting culture shock. Again. But in more concentrated doses! Who wants to take bets on how long Joseph lasts when he finds out about Tabitha's past?
On the girl count, is Tiffania going for Zero? Is Agnes? What is going to happen when the others meet Fouquet? Who knows? Certainly not me.
Can ANYTHING make a Wilybot subservient? Looking at Bass and Zero... I'd say no.
On the whole wanting Omega to appear, I know, he could be made into an awesome character to fight against Zero, but who knows if he'll end up in this world? Only I know. And I'm not telling. Unless you bribe me with Mike and Ike candies. Then I'd probably tell you everything. Just sayin.
Karin keeps calling in sick for some reason, and pushing back her appearance. She's apparently had the flu, pneumonia, the walking death, explosive diarrhea, and Mono as well as Athletes foot. Here is hoping she's feeling good enough to join us sometime soon.
And don't worry, for people that want the mechanization of things, don't worry. Now that things have reached this amount of non-canon crap is going to heavily spiral out of the normal swing of things.
Anyhow, toss some reviews my way, and don't be afraid to ask questions, I'll do my best to take the time to answer them.