Louise awoke and smiled as she looked up into the face of Zero. He was here. She hoped it wasn't a dream, she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it if it was...
"You're up," Zero said,"Does that mean you can let go of me? I ran my diagnostics and have been laying here for the past three hours..."
"Its really you. You're not acting all sweet..." Louise said as her hand came to rest on Zero's face.
Zero looked at the girl and sighed,"You know I'm not human right? I'm not even living."
"I summoned you... And the spell only selects things that are alive." Louise countered as she looked at him. "But even if you aren't alive, then I don't care. You're still Zero."
"Why do I get the feeling we've played through this conversation before..." Zero asked, feeling tired for some reason.
"Because we have," Louise answered with a giggle. "But no matter what you say, I won't listen. I'm only going to listen to my heart. It is telling me that Zero is an important person to me. So I'll stay with you."
"You don't know just how much death follows me. You'd be better off finding someone more normal than me." Zero insisted
"You protected me. But that doesn't matter. I know that during the elf wars, counting reploids and humans over eight million died per day on average for four years... But that was not you. That was just someone who looked like you. You stopped him."
"So you've talked to Axl. He didn't tell you the truth about it though. That was me. It was my body." Zero replied
"I talked to him. But it doesn't matter if it was your body. It's your heart that's important right?" Louise looked at Zero with a smile as she said this. When Zero didn't reply, she said,"Oh, and don't forget, he punched you in the face. Apparently X told him to do it too. Isn't that the weirdest thing for a brother to ask someone to do?"
"Brother? No, he was my partner. I'm not near good enough to be considered family to someone like him."
Louise looked at Zero and felt the sudden urge to hit him. Or tell him just what X had said, but she couldn't. "You think what you want, but just because you're older than me doesn't mean you're not wrong."
"So, are you going to get up soon?" Zero asked,
"Dun wanna," Louise said childishly, but soon enough her stomach rumbled.
"Lets go see Mathilda and get some food for you. Only one of us has eating as an optional requirementt." Zero said with a smirk.
"Alright... Just who is this Mathilda anyhow?" Louise asked suspiciously. She'd best not be another girl after Zero's affections...
"A friend of mine. She's crippled. It looks like someone attacked her. Her spine was severed." Came Zero's reply.
"How horrible." Louise gasped, feeling sorry for her previous thoughts immediately.
"She makes due though. She's an earth mage, but she's content to stay here and protect the children. She used to send more money back here to help protect and provide for the children when she could work." Zero spoke with clear admiration of the girl.
"She sounds like a nice person." Louise said, wondering what this new girl was like to have made such an impression upon her familiar.
"I like her." Zero agreed.
***Break***
As Zero lead Louise to the kitchen, he heard a quiet humming and the sound of a knife chopping up and down repeatedly. "It appears we're a little early." he said lightly.
"Ah Zero, is that you? Breakfast isn't ready yet. I'll have Tiffania bring it out when its ready." Mathilda's voice came from the kitchen.
"Its fine, I have someone who wanted to meet you. " Zero replied.
"Ah, its fine. There isn't any reason for that," She said hurriedly, but wasn't quick enough to stop Louise from entering the room and seeing her.
"Fouquet!" Louise shouted suddenly as she drew her wand and pointed it at her old enemy. "How did you survive?" Louise demanded, her lips beginning to move in a silent chant.
"What is wrong with you Louise?" Zero demanded as he quickly took the wand from her hand deftly, scowling down at her.
Mathilda looked at Zero and sighed,"I suppose that this was going to come out sooner or later... But I was hoping it wouldn't. The girl has every right to point her wand at me. I tried to kill you both... Twice."
"What? Why would you do that?" Zero asked the woman, suddenly wary of this whole situation.
Mathilda looked away and murmured,"Because I valued the people here more than some spoiled noble brats..."
Zero looked at her with a raised eyebrow. That certainly hadn't been an answer he was expecting. Zero waited a moment more and when no other responses were forthcoming, he said,"A little less cryptic, please."
"A certain movement in Albion had me over a barrel so to speak. Tiffania is a relative to me... We were part of a noble family that was an extension of the Royal family, if a fairly obscure one... They tried to kill Tiffania when she was a child but her mother protected her. I knew about her, and was her only real company for years. I assisted her in setting up this village after some unpleasantness happened actually... Anyhow, the fact that she was of royal blood, and of a certain blood as well...That was two reasons that they wanted her dead."
Zero nodded.
Mathilda looked at Zero then shrugged,"This whole village was to be burned. I offered my services to keep them from doing it. It is why I went from stealing valuable things from nobles to looking for destructive and powerful items."
Zero nodded and said,"So, that makes sense. You used to send the money needed from what you stole. And to protect your family you did what you had to do... I understand that..." Zero looked at her hesitantly. "I... I'm the one who crippled you, aren't I?"
Mathilda looked at Zero then nodded,"Yes."
Zero walked up to her slowly, and knelt in front of her. He wanted to sigh as she flinched away from him. He looked up into her face and said sincerely,"I'm sorry."
Mathilda looked at the young man kneeling, at his eyes. There wasn't any deception. "Why are you sorry? I tried to kill you. It was either kill you, or die trying. Besides I was able to use enough water spells to stop my bleeding. And with that, the movement forgot about me, because it had you to deal with. In a round about way, you were protecting Tiffania before you even came here... So you don't need to apologize."
"How can you believe such a stupid story?" Louise demanded, "She tried to kill us before! Use some common sense! I mean, if Tiffania was of royal blood, why should she be hiding here?"
"What are you talking about, Louise? Didn't you hear her say that they wanted her dead for that reason? And considering her temperament, helping out someplace like this is probably a whole lot more fulfilling for someone like her than lording whatever rank she has over the other people around her." Zero replied as he turned to face Louise. " Anyhow, enlighten me to this 'common sense' you're talking about."
"She tried to kill us! She was working with the rebel government. She got injured and then was confronted by you, so of course she's going to come up with some story or another!"
Zero looked at Louise and shook his head,"Alright, I counter with my common sense. She's been cooking for you all since you got here. She has made herself scarce, to prevent any problems. Tiffania has talked extensively about Mathilda and how she used to send money to support the children. She knows nothing of this Fouquet person. None of us have fallen dead from poison, or been killed in our sleep by any sort of magic which would have been a fairly easy thing to do if she actually was intending to kill us. Well, except me. She knew who all of you were after all, and had more than a small advantage."
Louise looked at Zero, her mouth hanging open. Suddenly she shouted at Zero,"So you're going to side with this murdering thief instead of your master?"
Without missing a beat Zero crossed his arms and said ,"Yep." With Zero's simple reply Louise stormed out of the room in anger.
"You really shouldn't have done that." Mathilda commented,"She is right. I was willing to kill her and you. That is why you tried to kill me."
Zero shrugged,"It doesn't matter. You were doing it for a reason. We might have been enemies, but right now you're someone I'll protect. I wasn't lying when I said that. I will protect you and everyone else here, no matter what. "
Mathilda looked at Zero and laughed. "Ah, to have a handsome familiar like you... What a lucky mage she is, even if she can't truly appreciate it quite yet." When Zero shrugged at this Mathilda spoke again,"I believe you should go inform the others of my identity, because I doubt that Louise is going to hold her tongue on this."
Zero turned to leave but stopped looking back at the woman who had once been an enemy and asked," Although, I wonder... I normally am pretty good at what I do... How exactly did you survive?"
Mathilda laughed lightly, then shook her head,"Oh, you were quite good. I almost didn't survive. While my main element is earth, I am also gifted with a talent for water magic. I was able to stop the bleeding by casting water until the wound closed. I am just lucky that the fall from my golem did not knock me out. If it had, I would never have woken up. Unfortunately, I'm not good enough with water magic to repair what was done to me..."
Zero sighed as he left the kitchen. Was this really all there was to him? Even here, in a new world... Was he still nothing more than a destroyer?
***Break***
The reveal of Mathilda's other identity to the visiting nobles went about as well as could be expected, but with Zero scowling at them with his arms crossed, no more wands were pointed at anyone, and things returned to a fairly peaceful if tense situation.
***Break***
As evening fell, everyone sat in the living room, with Louise glaring at Zero, who was sitting between Tiffania and Fouquet. Agnes was cleaning her sword. While Tabitha and Kirche looked at Fouquet with some suspicion. Siesta and Roll looked at a loss with the high amount of tension present.
Agnes crossed her arms and asked,"Who were those enemies that attacked us last night?"
Zero looked at the woman and replied,"That was Leviathan. One of the guardians of Neo Arcadia and Copy X."
"Copy X?" Roll asked curiously.
"When X used his body to seal away the dark elf, he became unavailable. He had been the leader of the city, and without his presence people started to lose hope. He had been an ever present hero for over two centuries for them. One of the scientists created a copy of him. Unfortunately the copy was just that. It had little in common with X. It merely wished to be better than the 'real' X. So it wanted to create the perfect world. It was too bad the world was far too damaged to allow that. Where X was concerned with ensuring people would live, Copy X cared more about giving them comfort so that people would see him as the true hero. Not that anyone knew that he was a copy. He was killing reploids enmass so that the humans could have more energy for their own comforts... "
"That's horrible. Who would be foolish enough to make a copy of someone like that? It seems both irresponsible and stupid." Kirche commented.
"Ciel." Zero answered flatly as he glared at Kirche. With Kirche looking suitably contrite he continued,"The Guardians of Neo Arcadia followed this Copy X, and waged war on the reploids because they felt that the survival of humans required it. There were four total. Leviathan was the guardian of the seas and the oceans. She was always the most flighty of them... But they should have been destroyed by Omega..."
"Omega?" Tabitha asked, a note of curiosity in her voice.
"My true body... I had left my body in the hands of a researcher ... Oh, I'd say a little over a century ago, to try and get some of the more dangerous parts of me nullified or removed. Unfortunately a man named Weil used my inactivity to steal my body and put a loyal personality into the shell that was my former body. The researcher, who was oddly enough, an ancestor of Ceil made my copy body and when it was completed I went into battle with my old body. In the end, I couldn't strike myself down at that point... So we exiled my body to orbit, then I had myself put to sleep for a hundred years. After we dealt with Neo Arcadia initially he came back, rebuilt Copy X, and used his authority to get the freed Omega into a position he could use him to enforce his policies. "
"Wait, so Weil was a reploid too?" Roll asked
"No, he was not. He simply had his life extended as his punishment. He was put into a regeneration suit and forced to go live in the destroyed world he created." Zero replied,"I should have killed the bastard, but I didn't know that he was the one who built the Gentle judges. they were the ones who passed 'judgement' on him."
"I see... So humans can have their life extended?" Roll again interrupted, her eyes gleaming with this type of information.
"Honestly, Ceil had a number of ideas and methods already set aside and started that would allow for partial mechanization of humans. I helped her with it, since she used a good deal of my base systems as a schematic since I was closer to human in function than other reploids."
"Wait, that's possible? That's amazing." Roll replied,"So what exactly was she planning on doing? Was it some sort of nanite system in the blood? Or artificial organs? Or what?"
"I hate to interrupt, but isn't this putting us a little too far off topic?" Agnes stepped in.
Zero nodded and continued,"Anyhow, Omega was used by Weil to take control. Once I defeated Copy X for a second time, he tried to transform into his second combat form, but Weil had placed a trap inside of him that blew him up, and blamed it on me. He then tried to use Omega to destroy me. The guardians tried to intervene and were killed by a blast that Omega let off as he exploded. Later, I looked to see if I'd be able to find any of them but didn't find any bodies. All I found were parts, and what parts there were, were heavily damaged."
"What happened to Omega?" Louise asked curiously. If this was all true, it would easily explain why Leviathan had been so afraid of Zero when he pretended to be Omega.
"I killed him. That's where the blast came from." Zero said with a shrug.
"You killed your own body?" Kirche asked, her eyes open wide in horror at he thought of such a thing. What a terrible thing to have to do!
"Yeah well, I have my body now. Its my mind that's important. It will optimize and allow the evolution of any body that it inhabits. I'm an ever changing and upgrading weapon of mass destruction." Zero replied calmly.
"That's right!" Louise agreed,"As long as his heart is still Zero, then he's still the only real Zero. Right?"
"So that's what we know of her?" Roll asked, bringing the topic back to that woman.
"She also said that she was called Myoznitnrn by her master. Like Zero, she has an affinity. Instead of weapons, she said she has the ability to use any magical item…" Louise answered.
"She's supposedly a void familiar like myself," Zero stated blandly.
All in the room gasped.
"Zero!" Louise cried out in surprise,"That's not supposed to be said to everyone!"
Zero shrugged,"We're all on a need to know basis with how things are happening."
Agnes said while polishing the sword. "I wield my sword for Her Majesty. As long as you are Her Majesty's allies, I guess I wield a sword for you as well. What happened, who the enemy is, why such a thing is possible; I do not care to know. And considering you're technically equal in rank to me Zero... I'll follow your lead on this." After wiping the blade with a cloth, Agnes placed it back into it's sheath.
"Well, for two-to-three days we'll be taking a rest. Are you all tired?" Tiffania asked in a gentle voice.
"Were you two able to sleep a lot last night?" Agnes said out of the blue. A strange grin appeared on her lips. Siesta's eyes narrowed.
Blushing furiously, Louise shouted. "W-we were asleep the whole time!"
"I wasn't. I had to sit there while she pretended I was some sort of safety blanket." Zero complained.
"I see. That's nice to hear. Really." Agnes made a strange laugh.
Siesta approached with a smile and harshly trampled on Zero's foot."Did you do it?" She asked.
"Do what?" Zero asked, wondering why this french maid had just stomped on his foot.
"I, I can't say it out loud!" the woman stammered, her face glowing pink.
Zero stopped to think for a moment and again, face palmed. Oh yes, this felt natural now. He knew he must have been doing this for a while. Even if his mind didn't remember, his body seemed to. "Why ask such a... Nevermind not even worth it..."
"S-stop assuming things!" Louise stammered. However, finally tonight… they might, she thought. She would make her move...
"Your hands and legs are moving at the same time," Siesta noted.
Louise blushed and replied,"What are you talking about? You said it was alright!"
"I allowed you to sleep together for one day, because I didn't think you would try anything."
"That's why you shouldn't be saying such things in the first place!" Louise countered.
They both stared at each other, grinning angrily.
And, the moment when it looked like hell was going to break loose… Tiffania called everyone for a meal in a shy voice. This voice broke the tension. Most everyone was hungry.
After that, Zero and the others peacefully spent their time in the garden at Tiffania's house.
There were no clouds interrupting the sky, high above the continent of Albion. Zero looked up at the sky and wondered just how these recent events would impact his life.
Next to him sat Siesta, and she said looking at the sky, "A beautiful sky. Somehow, it takes one's mind away." Then with a serious look, she glanced back at Zero. "Though you were attacked by a strange person, the war has finally ended, and I was able to meet Zero again. I'm happy." Siesta gave him another smile. This smile made Zero feel uneasy.
Zero looked at her for a few moments then shook his head sadly.
"It's all right."Siesta said after a few minutes.
"Huh? What's alright?" Zero asked clearly confused at the girl's statement.
"I am second. That's what you want to say, right?" Siesta said with a gentle smile, as her hand brushed his arm.
"Siesta..." Zero said slowly, trying to figure out what to say. This was getting more and more awkward by the moment.
"I will wait."
Zero looked at her and replied,"That isn't what I was thinking. You do realize I'm not human right?"
"That's fine." Siesta replied.
Zero sighed, feeling like no matter what he said she wouldn't listen.
Agnes was sharpening her belt knife, distracting herself from her worries. Tiffania, who was sitting on a chair, was tightly grasping her fists. Louise was sitting, biting her fingernails and occasionally throwing irritated looks in their direction. Tabitha was looking at Zero with an arched eye brow and Kirche was doing her best to get Zero to notice her cleavage. Mathilda was sitting reading a book, her chair having been wheeled out by Tiffania.
Suddenly, Siesta asked everyone,"Hey everyone... What are your future plans?"
"Huh?"Louise puckered up her brows at such a sudden topic change.
"Right. Everyone, let's talk about the future. I think it is important, and with everything changing..."
Agnes laughed."Aahaha! Future! Well, follow my career at my best... and buy a little land where my hometown used to be. And, once I'm retired from the musketeers, live listening to the sea everyday."
Next, Siesta said,"A fantastic dream! I too have a dream. I think being able to live with a beloved person in happiness. It doesn't matter where you live or who you are in that case, and I'm going to make my beloved person understand that. Miss Valliere?"
Suddenly faced by such a question, Louise thought honestly, and blushed.
"…Now, please answer honestly."Siesta said, waving her finger at the smaller girl.
"W-what are you talking about!"Louise said as she turned her head.
Zero let his mind wander in thought. Future dreams? He hadn't even imagined such a thing. When was the last time that he had really looked forward to the future? A sweet face and a soft laugh passed through Zero's mind, and his lips tightened.
"What about you, Miss Tabitha?" Siesta asked the young girl.
Tabitha shrugged and said only,"Help mother..."
"Oh, is something wrong with your mother?" Roll asked in concern.
"Sick..." Tabitha replied.
"If magic doesn't work on her, then perhaps my methods would work better? Cattleya has had much better results with my medicine than the tradition of magical medicine." Roll offered in a friendly manner.
Tabitha shrugged.
After the silence hung in the air for a few more minutes Siesta turned to look Zero in the face. "What is Zero's dream?"
Dream…He didn't think about it until now, the answer that in this world cannot be found, not anymore anyhow… Zero looked up at the sky absent mindedly."A dream huh? I suppose to meet just one more time, the woman I love. Although to do that, I'll need to die, I suppose... So that's a very long way in the future... Probably."
The room was quiet for a few minutes before Tabitha spoke up. "Already met her."
Zero turned to look at the young girl. "What did you say?"
Tabitha met his gaze, a gaze that felt like it was piercing her very being and repeated,"Already met her. Cyber elf now. She forgave you."
Zero looked like he had been struck physically when the small girl spoke those words. "Don't even joke about that." Zero said as he looked at the girl who spoke so seriously.
Tabitha shrugged as Kirche said,"It is true! Axl can turn into the cyber elves he has! He can even give them control for a while. You got to meet a really weird bird guy named Storm Eagle, and even your lost love Iris!"
Zero looked at Kirche and Tabitha as the two of them looked back at him. "That's... that's not possible. Axl can't do that. He... no" he mumbled his denials.
Kirche looked at Zero, her eyes watering slightly, then continued," The way you cried her name when she was at her limit made me so jealous. I'd do anything, even die to hear you cry my name like that..."
As Zero tried to stand and leave, he felt a pair of arms encircle him. Looking to his right he noticed that Tiffania had moved closer to him and when he had made a move to leave had tried to offer what comfort she could. As Zero broke her grip and stood to leave, Tiffania's hat was knocked off, and her ears came out in full view.
"Elf!" Louise screamed, pointing at the pointed ears. "What is an elf doing here?"
Tabitha's eyes hardened as she pointed her staff at Tiffania. Kirche followed suit with her own wand.
"Everyone calm down!" Zero said standing between everyone and Tiffania."She's a half elf."
"One of the founder's enemies?" Siesta asked, fear evident in her voice.
"You're staying with Fouquet and an elf? Are you mad Zero?" Louise demanded of her familiar,"Do you have any idea what could really be happening here?"
Zero just looked at her as if she was stupid. Not being able to help it when dealing with this level of stupidity he fell back on his one and only defense against such a thing... Sarcasm. With a shrug Zero replied in a serious voice,"Oh yes, I know of all the evil in this place. You see, Tiffania's true intention is to run a secluded orphanage village so that she can somehow make the jump to world domination or the destruction of your countries or whatever. That's a logical scenario, right? And Mathilda is practicing cooking so she can become good enough to work in a royal kitchen so she can poison a bunch of important nobles, correct? Its all so simple, I'm surprised you all didn't see it sooner. So much simpler than them actually running an orphanage village to actually help people."
"But she's an elf. They've been humanity's enemies for a long time!" Kirche replied, while Tabitha nodded.
"What's so bad about someone being an elf?" Roll asked at a loss with this new and intense hostility that she sensed. While she knew that humans and elves didn't get along, she didn't expect this type of violent reaction...
Zero looked at the girls and shrugged. "They're my family. If you can't accept them, then you might as well leave. Lets go you two, I'm tired of this."Zero said as he turned around.
Tiffania lowered her head and spoke,"No Zero, they're right...I am scary after all. A half-breed. I'm neither human nor elf. I'm just a failure and a freak..."
Zero growled at this.
Though Siesta kept on alternately looking at Zero and Tiffania she said, in a determined way,"E-Elves are certainly scary, but you helped Zero. And, you haven't tried to harm us. I'm sorry for being afraid."
Louise watched Tiffania suspiciously."Why is an elf here in Albion?"
"That..."Faced with Louise's clear hostility, Tiffania was unable to speak. Louise approached Tiffania and pulled her long ears. Tiffania, cried out at having her ears pulled. Louise looked at the young half elf and said,"They're real!" Then she looked at Tiffania and noticed the other abnormal attribute on her. As she looked at her further she realized just how beautiful the elf girl really was. Louise knew that she couldn't compare to someone that looked like that and that only fanned her anger further as she tightened her grip on the girl's ears.
"Let her go, Louise!" Roll cried out as she took a step forward to try and intervene, although it was unneeded.
Louise gasped in shock as she felt an iron hand clamp around each of her extended arms and exert pressure. "Louise, I don't know what type of crap I used to put up with, but I'm not going to let you bully someone like this." Zero said, his voice loud and angry. As he turned to Tiffania and Mathilda he forced a smile and said,"Don't worry. They'll be leaving soon. Lets go inside. They can use their tents or whatever the hell they brought with them. Mathilda, you're sleeping in Tiffania's house tonight." Zero moved to Mathilda's chair and started wheeling her towards the house with Tiffania trailing behind him, looking back at the others who were staring stunned at Zero's reaction.
Louise looked at the back of her now angry familiar, and wondered just how badly she had been mistaken in her actions.
Roll grabbed Louise shoulders and yelled at her,"What the hell were you doing? We are their guests, and you walk up and start pulling on her ears? They were helping Zero when he was out here all alone, and that is how you treat them? What is wrong with you?"
"B-but, she's an elf," Louise said weakly, as if that was a defense.
"That's right. Elves and humans have been in a state of war for thousands of years." Kirche agreed.
Roll looked at them and shook her head. "And you couldn't leave her well enough alone? Any idiot could see she's not a threat to anyone. I'm going to go talk to Zero." After Roll took a few steps she paused and said,"You act like you care about Zero, but you don't really take the time to know him as a person... If you did, you'd know why what you did was so stupid..."
Siesta after a moment's hesitation followed after Roll, leaving the three nobles to wonder just how things had turned this way.
Agnes surveyed the scene and shook her head, wondering just how she could report this to her Queen. That stupid girl should have known Zero's triggers by now... Even SHE had figured them out with the little time that they'd spent together. Its not like he hid what pissed him off.
***Break***
Inside the house, Zero was fuming silently.
"Zero," Mathilda said slowly,"You shouldn't be so angry."
"Why the hell not?" Zero demanded as he turned to face her. "The girl is the gentlest person I've met since Ceil! How the hell can they be afraid of her, hate her just because of her ears? How stupid and asinine is that? They were ready to attack her just for the difference that her ears present!"
"Because the elves and the humans have been at war for six-thousand years. Each side has lost innumerable amount of people to that strife. Six-thousand years is a very long time for hatred to build up. It is a hatred that can not be overcome." Mathilda said sadly.
"She's right..." Tiffania agreed sullenly, her eyes tearing up,"I should never have thought about leaving this place..."
"Bullshit!" Zero cried out,"You're here living with her!" Zero pointed at Mathilda, then continued his rant,"Not to mention her mother and father had to have some feelings for each other, right? I might not be biological but I know where babies come from. I don't believe any of that stupid crap you're all saying. If you want to see the world I'll go with you Tiffania. I'll protect you so you can see the world."
"What?" Tiffania asked, her voice full of surprise.
"You heard me. Nobody in the world can stand up to me. Even if the whole world would turn against you, I'd still protect you..." Zero's face darkened,"If I had to, I'd kill them all..."
"Y-you don't need to do that," Tiffania objected to what Zero said, but somehow when he said that, her heart beat fast. Even if the whole world...
"Why would you do that? Why go to such great lengths?" Mathilda wondered.
"Haven't I already said it? You are my family. If I can find a way back to my home world, I'll take all of you with me. If not, we'll make a place where we can all exist." Zero said, clenching his fist. "We'll find someplace if we have to..."
"Are you talking about building your own country?" Mathilda shook her head in disbelief. Did this familiar truly have the power to do that?
Zero laughed, a warm sounding laugh,"Oh god no. No god no, that's just... Ha, that's a good one. Wherever Tiffania wishes to settle down, we'll settle down. Everyone will be welcome, except for those who make trouble."
Mathilda looked at Zero with her head cocked."You're serious aren't you?"
"Of course. I'm not a nation builder. That was X. I'm just a sword. But I'm a good sword."
"I don't see why you should do this... I'm not worth this trouble," Tiffania said, looking down to try and cover the heavy blush.
"And I don't see why you helped me when I was out there with no memory in the forest. You could have left me, but you didn't." Zero countered.
"You were in trouble and I helped. It is a natural thing to do..." Tiffania said, scuffing the floor with her shoes as she looked down.
"Well there is the answer. You say its the natural thing to do. But to everyone else? It isn't. To other people, its natural to kill or enslave those who are different from them. We saw that outside."
As Tiffania was about to respond, she was interrupted by a light knock on the door. Zero walked up to the door and opened it, a slightly hostile look on his face. On the other side of the door stood Roll and Siesta.
"What do want?" Zero asked, his voice having a clear edge to it.
"We just wanted to talk. We're sorry that the others acted that way." Roll said sincerely.
Siesta nodded and added,"I wasn't lying when I said what I did. I really am thankful to have met you, because you kept Zero safe...I do not know if I could ever repay you for that. Please forgive us."
Zero looked at the two girls, and sighed. "Its fine. You two weren't the problems. My summoner and those other two though..."
If it comes down to it son, I can remove that Rune from you. All I need to do is blank your mind for a few minutes and it will consider you dead. Kind of like a soft reboot so to speak. Because of this, though it will have to wait for another day or so. I'd rather not risk your memories while they're being repaired. Your next diagnostic should give you back all your memories.
"Hmm. I wonder." Zero said aloud as he looked at his left hand. "Should I get rid of this mark?"
"You can't!" Siesta said urgently as she grabbed Zero's arm,"The last time you almost died! What happens if you really do die this time? I won't let you!" As she said that she looked around, her eyes pleading with the others in the room.
Zero shrugged,"As I said, I evolve... I'm not sure what it requires exactly but I'm reasonably sure I can get rid of this rune with no problem. I just need to wait for my memories to come back for it to be safe."
Roll looked at Zero and said,"Whatever you decide, I'll stand by your decision. It's your freedom and life... But I still need you back at the academy so that we can help Rock..."
Zero looked at her and raised an eyebrow,"Yeah, who is Rock anyhow? You said you'd tell me."
"Well, he's X's older brother. He's kind of without a body at the moment, though. We have a lab with a good deal of equipment and parts, but right now we have been trying to figure out how to do a lot of the things without the help of Dr. Light. We already made it so he could use my old body."
Zero stared at her as she delivered this bombshell."Seriously?"
"Oh yes. You two get along quite well. Well, except for that whole cross dressing incident with him in the darling little dress... He tried to kill us for that, but aside from that we get along well. Although I'm not sure if it was really cross dressing since it was my old body." Roll replied easily.
"What? That sounds awkward..." Zero said reluctantly, unsure if he really wanted to know about this.
"Oh, nothing of the sort. I believe, at the time you were going to help me turn him into a pretty magical girl. Maybe even make him his own theme song." Roll said seriously, only a twinkle in her eyes betraying her amusement.
"Rock doesn't have a buster I take it?" Zero asked with the same serious look Roll was giving him.
"Oh no. He chased you with a large metal broom. I've never seen you run quite that fast." Roll replied with a grin. The others in the room couldn't help but laugh as she described that ill-fated prank.
"Ok, now I can't tell if you're just trying to screw with my head, or what." Zero stated as he crossed his arms.
Roll just grinned back at Zero and shrugged. "You'll just have to wait and find out, won't you?"
"Ya know, messing with the head of someone with amnesia is not very nice." Zero replied.
"Ah, you are probably right. But it is amusing." Roll said as she smiled at Zero.
***Break***
Derflinger had listened to the two loud nobles argue for the last few minutes. These girls really were stupid. And this coming from a sword with no brain! As they wore on his last metaphorical nerve, he finally shouted,"Shut up!"
Three sets of eyes turned toward the sword that had been left outside, and its uncharacteristic outburst.
"Do you idiots have any idea what you two are talking about? All of you were ready to attack a sweet girl who didn't do anything aside from try and save the very person that you guys came out here to find! But instead of taking her kindness at face value, you pull on her ears, and talk about her being your enemy because she's not human. Well here is some news! Partner isn't human! I'm not human! Do you hate everything that isn't human? Are you really going to be stupid like that?" Derflinger shouted angrily.
"But... We've been at war for so long. Its almost unthinkable for there to be a peaceful elf..." Kirche said sullenly.
"Oh, really? Last I checked, how many friends and family have your rival families claimed? Isn't that why you two were so hostile to each other before?" Derflinger demanded,"Don't make stupid excuses like that. Humans can be good or bad. So can everyone else. You heard Zero. Even reploids could be bad. A fake Zero could be evil. A good Zero is well... good. But you get my point! Stop arguing about this, and go march up to that house and you apologize!" Derflinger finished his rant imperiously.
Louise looked at the sword. She had never heard Derflinger yell like that before. As she processed what she had heard she looked down at her feet. "B-but..."
"No buts! You go up there right now!" Derflinger demanded again. as he noticed the three noble girls slumping their shoulders he continued,"And you better pray that partner forgives you. Because even though he has that rune on his hand, I doubt you can make him stay if he doesn't want to. Especially since his rune has shifted. The marking is different now."
Louise's eyes opened wide in shock. "What do you mean?"
"The compulsion portion of the rune was not there. You have no control over your familiar." Derflinger informed Louise. "This has happened before as well..."
"What?" Louise cried in panic.
"It doesn't matter. I've already told you what to do, stupid girl. Go do it." Derflinger sheathed himself and said no more.
"I suppose he is right." Kirche said reluctantly and then followed Louise. Tabitha followed slowly after that, only taking the time to grab Derflinger and carry him along to the house.
***Break***
As Louise walked up to the door, she heard laughter from inside. After a few minutes of hesitation she knocked on the door. When it opened to reveal Tiffania Louise looked down at her feet, which had become quite suddenly very interesting. "Ms. Tiffania, I'm sorry." Louise nearly shouted,"You took care of Zero when he was alone, and I treated you badly. I can't think of anything to do except apologize..."
Kirche spoke as well,"We are sorry for judging you like that... It is unfair and unbecoming of a noble... Please forgive us."
Tabitha stayed silent but bowed her head slightly, placing Derflinger by the door.
"Oh, it is alright. I'm used to it..." Tiffania said,"Well, actually I think that today is the first time someone has actually apologized before... Its alright really."
After Tiffania's acceptance Louise walked up to Zero and looked him in the eyes. With a sad smile she shook her head and said,"It appears this is another mark against me not deserving such a person as a familiar, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" Zero replied curtly.
"Whenever I was wrong, or disappointed you, you'd let me know. And looking at this... There isn't much for me to say on my actions. I'm sorry." Louise said then turned and walked to the door, leaving the house.
"Where do you think she is going?" Tiffania asked curiously, watching the girl go.
"Who knows." Zero replied with a shrug.
"Shouldn't you go after her?" Tiffania asked quietly.
"I don't see why." Zero replied.
Tiffania looked at Zero intently and again asked in a very gentle and calm tone,"Zero... Shouldn't you go after her?"
"Yeah... Sure. I'll go make sure she's alright..." Zero said as he stood. He didn't know how such a gentle girl could be like that. Just like Ceil...
"Thank you, Zero." Tiffania said sweetly.
"N-no problem. I'll be back." Zero said as he walked to the door, to go after his summoner, still wondering just how they could be so damned scary, while not being a threat at all...
***Author's notes***
Holy Crap. Queen Mathilda? Or Queen Tiffania? Is the world ready for this?
On Zero's memories coming back slowly. They were already on the way back but Wily had to do a good deal of extra work repairing them because the rune had altered and suppressed them. Getting the rune back did nothing for or against his memories because Wily wasn't going to let that happen again.
Zero does not have his absolute Zero armor. As it stands right now, he had his Black armor(MMX black armor/Protoform From MMZ2 hard mode. fun times), His normal armor, and his X armor. this allows him plenty of utility.
Also, Zero. Your selectable girl count is currently : 8. Just how high are you trying to go?
Zero:...Hate you.