By the time Louise had been tracked down by Siesta, who had surprisingly enough been in Kirche's room having a heated argument with the girl, and managed to break up the argument long enough to convey her message to the distraught girl, a messenger owl from the palace had already arrived with a note.

"Oh my," Louise said as she took the scroll from the owl, "Already taken care of. Be home soon." Louise read as she looked at the scroll.

"But... Isn't that... A little fast? I mean a void user..." Kirche replied doubtfully.

"Pope?" Tabitha asked curiously.

"What?" all three girls asked as they looked at the normally silent girl.

"The void mage, the pope. Shouldn't be an issue. Axl's Master?" Tabitha asked

"Ah, I see..." Louise said with a sigh of relief. With that out of the way she turned to glare at the girl whom she had originally come here to yell at. "Back to our original subject, how could I have listened to you?" she demanded angrily.

"Oh, be nice Louise. You just came on too strongly. You need to be able to read the mood a little better. Sometimes you need a feather's touch and others you need the full weight of your arsenal, so to speak." Kirche replied easily to which Tabitha nodded. "Besides, it takes a very great deal to affect him."

Almost unconsciously, Siesta disagreed, "The black dress I'm wearing had an effect." and suddenly she found herself under the scrutiny of the other girls.

"What kind of effect?" Kirche demanded, an excited gleam in her eyes.

"Well... he was blushing a lot. And he didn't even deny that he saw me as a woman. H-he was blushing and couldn't look at me straight" Siesta said quickly, blushing and feeling flustered at the mixture of attention she was getting from the girls. From Kirche she saw some sort of unidentifiable fire; Tabitha's was a cold calculating scrutiny and Ms. Valliere... Miss Valliere's look made hellfire seem cold in comparison. "Then he suddenly pushed me away, changed into his armor, and told me to find you Louise. He said we'd talk about it later!" The maid could barely contain her excitement.

"Hmm... That's more than any of us have gotten." Kirche said thoughtfully as she assessed the maid. She shook her head and smiled. Zero could do worse. The girl was pretty enough, and while a commoner, she had an exotic look to her. But even more than that, the girl was honest. This girl would never hurt Zero. She would probably die before that, but knowing that it would hurt Zero she'd probably do her best not to do that either. "Yes..." came a single word as Kirche loomed over Siesta.

"Y-you. Y-you." Louise stammered, her face flushed with anger as she glared at the maid.

"Now, now Louise. Remember, Zero will make his own choice. As long as he chooses that's all that matters, right?" Kirche asked as she laid a hand on the girl's shoulder.

When Louise glared back at Kirche she was met with a sad but somehow happy look from the redhead. Although she could not say that she was happy about this... If she became angry, wouldn't it make her words a lie? Her feelings a lie? "I...See. Yes. I'll be going to sleep now." Louise said suddenly as she walked out of the room, not looking at anyone else.

"Poor girl." Kirche said as she shook her head, and then turned to look at the maid. "Reaction, you say?" With a smile like the Cheshire cat that they knew nothing of Kirche stalked closer, and the Maid had wished that she had departed with the young La Valliere "So just what did... What did you do to finally snare him, at least a little. The war isn't over but to make a concession... That means that... His defenses around you are the most broken. But why? What is the difference between who you are, and who we are?

"Well... I am a commoner, so I do not know if that had anything to do with it. He simply saw me in this dress after he caught me in his arms when he fell from the tower," Siesta said truthfully.

Kirche replied with a nod. "I see. So holding a girl that is scantily clad can get a reaction out of him..." She laughed as she thought about her unused secret weapon. This would be it, the counter for the black cat suit would be perfect!

"Excuse me... but what is so funny?" Siesta asked, confused.

"Best not to ask," Tabitha replied calmly as she read her book, "her mind is a scary place."

"It is not! It's full of love and the flames of passion!" Kirche objected, being broken out of her plans for Zero and her 'ultimate weapon'. "Wait, did you just make a joke Tabitha?"

"No," was the serious reply given with a straight face. "You're only proving the point."

Kirche looked at Tabitha for a few moments than hugged her tightly as she laughed, "Oh, you are just the best!" to which Tabitha just continued reading her book.

***Break***

"Louise, class started a while ago. Get up." Zero said as he tried to wake Louise up. However, she tugged back on the blanket and did not come out of the bed. When no response was given, he said, "Get up." Zero pulled the blanket, but she pulled it back with force. It looked like Louise had no intentions of getting out of the bed. Siesta, who watched that sort of scene, primly poked Zero's shoulder.

"Hm?"

Then Siesta clung to Zero and shouted.

"Such a thing! Zero! Doing such a thing so early in the morning!"

Still, Louise didn't get up from the bed. She seemed to be considerably depressed.

"Hey Louise… the hell is the matter?" Zero demanded.

Siesta abruptly parted from Zero and said with a polite cough. "Zero, you know what you did to make Miss Valliere so depressed..."

"Huh? I didn't do anything." Zero said quickly, wondering just what it could have been this time.

"Then, why is Miss Valliere depressed so much? You couldn't have forgotten already, could you?" Siesta asked with a smile on her face for some reason.

"Just what kind of person you think I am?" Zero asked.

"So you didn't do anything? Or say anything? That's the truth?"

Zero looked at the two of them and did what Zero would inevitably do, come to the wrong conclusion. "It is! Why would I do anything to Tabitha? She's human! Louise is depressed over nothing. Not that your little display helped, I'm not even sure how the hell I got into this situation! It's like someone is conspiring against me!" Zero shouted. When the girl didn't stir Zero demanded, "Hey, Louise, stop sulking this instant." Zero rocked Louise.

"Zero." Siesta said lowly.

"What?" Zero asked irritably.

"That small girl… Indeed, it must really be your fetish. My mother said – when a man loves small girls more than needed, he will perpetrate acts in the future. But, if Zero has to perpetrate then… I…" Siesta's face turned crimson as she said this.

"The hell is wrong with you all? Why is this all about sex? I'm not human! Can't you all understand? It's not like there is any future! She was teaching me to read as repayment for helping her mother. A fair trade or something like that! The hell is so wrong with that!" As he stared at the girls he sighed. "I can't take this anymore. I am not a possession, I am not a prize, I'm not a lover, I'm nothing more than a weapon. And staying here is just making this worse by falsely reinforcing your beliefs. You people keep thinking that I am more than I am." Zero said heavily. After a pause, when nobody spoke, Zero shook his head and continued. "I'll be staying in the lab from now on when I'm not on duty so to speak. Louise and Roll and I guess Guiche will know how to get to me, as will Cattleya. I just can't deal with this crap anymore." Zero murmured, his voice tired as he started walking toward the door. As his hand reached for the door the weak hands of Louise trapped his arm.

"Please forgive me. Please forgive me. I'm sorry," she chanted. "I, I know that you're not human, but that doesn't matter. If I never become a mother, I'm okay with that. If I just have Zero, I am okay with that. But please, please don't leave me. Please." The girl begged, tears in her eyes as she tightened her grip slightly.

"Why? Why shouldn't I Louise? You'll know how to find me, but there will be no misunderstanding. I'll either be working with the knights, be working in the lab or be sealed in the capsule. This way, there are no more misunderstandings. No more girls going after me. And you'll all finally realize that I'm serious when I say that I'm not human! Only a weapon, a non-human entity can be sealed away like that! Humans can't be sealed like this, it kills them. Only something like me can!"

At the word sealed, something broke inside Louise and a wellspring of energy enveloped her as she jumped into Zero and knocking him to the ground while screaming, "No! You will not! I won't let you! I swear, I swear if you try and seal yourself I'll blow up those tubes! I will! I know you need them to do that!"

Zero just looked into the panicked eyes of the girl who had somehow managed to drag him down with her sudden burst of strength. Zero shook his head as he tried to calm her, "I don't think you understood me. I didn't mean a permanent sealing like what happened a hundred years ago, I meant something closer to sleep..."

"No. No sealing, I refuse. Never again. You will never seal yourself again, you understand? If you don't promise me now I will destroy them both!" Louise threatened, pulling her wand out as if to demonstrate.

"Then what more do you want me to do Louise? I can't take this anymore! Either I'm fighting battles, or I'm doing the best I can to dodge the advances of... everyone!" Zero replied hotly.

"Pick one." Siesta said, her voice trembling. "If you don't want us fighting over you, then pick one to favor. Then we could at least accept that."

Zero just grabbed his head with his hands. "You don't understand. That's not the problem. Do you really want me to rip off my skin or something and show you just what it is you're in love with? I'd rather not since it will be a pain for it to regenerate not to mention the pain of actually doing it, but if I have to, then that's fine!"

"I do not care what you are Zero." Siesta said finally, with a nod from Louise. "Human. Demon. Reploid. None of these things mean anything to me. Your heart is more human than any other man I have met. My choice is still the same. If Zero would have me, I would marry you at a moment's notice. If you would not, I will wait the rest of my life for you."

Louise looked oddly at the maid then back to Zero. "While she puts it plainly, perhaps that is for the best. That is how I feel as well Zero. As I have said, as long as you are by my side, nothing else matters." Louise's eyes started tearing up. Her mind flashed with images of Zero standing before her, taking injuries for her. She imagined Zero's silhouette as he looked down at an army the likes of which she couldn't imagine. He had been everything to her, had been willing to give everything for her. After a pause she continued, "I need nothing, other than you. You are the reason why I exist in this world. I almost died so many times... But you saved me. Zero I... Do truly... Truly love you."

"W-what the? What are you talking about?" Zero replied as he broke her hold on him, unable to withstand such an honest confession. "Why would you say something like that? Don't you understand anything? I mean, honestly, to feel like that for a guy like me?" As the two girls stared back at him, he shook his head. "What am I supposed to do for you all? What is it that you want? I can't even get you to understand what I'm saying."

"And you think running away would solve that?" came a soft voice from the door. All turned to see Tabitha standing in the doorway. "Heroes don't run."

"Damn it, I'm not a hero! I'm not human!" Zero objected angrily, "Why can't you all understand that?"

With a rare smile that shocked Zero, Tabitha replied, "Heroes rarely call themselves such, nor do they care about such things. A true hero does things not because they will make them heroic, they do things because nobody else can. Or will. That's what makes them heroes, isn't it?"

"We're all proof of that, aren't we darling?" Kirche replied as she stepped into view. "I see that it was a good idea to come check up on you all once I noticed that Louise had not come to class this morning. To think that my advice backfired so badly that such a thing has happened..."

With a sigh, Zero asked, "Is it me, or is everything I say ignored?"

"It isn't ignored." Kirche replied as she stepped forward and placed a hand on Zero's shoulder. "But it is disregarded when you're wrong. And while in battle you're perfection... Outside of battle, you're so awkward that it's cute!"

"W-what?" Zero asked taking a step back from the unexpected turn in the conversation.

"Oh yes, yes." Kirche replied with a smile. "When anyone draws close you run away as fast as you possibly can, which I'll admit is also impressive. You also tend to take any opening you can to escape. Including windows. I've noticed that Tabitha's room is a bit drafty at the moment, incidentally."

With a sheepish look on his face Zero turned away. "I had a reason for that. It's not like I meant to anyhow."

"Oh, so having a cute girl showing her intentions to you in an obvious attempt to catch your fancy is reason enough to jump out of a window at that height? Interesting." Kirche replied with a smile. She then giggled.

"It's not funny." Zero replied angrily.

"Oh, in some ways, it's tragic..." Kirche replied seriously, "But I prefer my tragedies to have happy endings. And Zero, as I see it, you're one long tragedy. But just like Romeo and Juliet, you shall find your love in the end."

"And die alongside them?" Zero asked, in disbelief that Kirche would mention that story. Even Zero knew that was the definition of a tragedy.

"What? Well sure they poison themselves, but then the magic cure revives them and they live happily ever after!" Kirche replied with a smile.

"This world, is so fucked up, it is beyond belief." Zero said as he face palmed. "You are aware that where I'm from, the Romeo and Juliet story doesn't have a happy ending. They both die. Young. Because of something stupid like everything that's been happening."

"Well then, isn't it nice that this isn't Zero's world?" Siesta asked brightly, "If this world has the ability for such happiness to happen, then why can't Zero's story be changed as well? Your tragedy could become happiness here."

"The maid... Has a point." Louise conceded as she looked at Zero. "Please, please just give us a chance. That's all we're asking."

"Pick whoever you want. While I'd love if you chose me, and I'd make sure that you loved it as well," Kirche said with a coy smile, "All that matters to me right now is that you open yourself up to someone. If not us, Roll is quite pretty, as is that Leviathan girl, when she's not trying to kill you."

Zero met the gaze of each girl who was focused on him and shook his head, "I don't know. I have to think on this. I can't just..."

"Take your time. We'll give you space." Tabitha said as she looked at the other girls. "Won't we?" the last two words held a chill that reminded them all of the powerful square ice magic she held sway over. The other girls nodded in agreement when she said this, afraid of invoking the wrath of the small ice princess.

Zero nodded. "I suppose you can go to class now Louise?" When he received an affirmative he said, "Then I have to talk to Colbert. I have some things I need to take care of."

"No. You're not leaving yet." Louise replied suddenly.

"Louise, we agreed to give him his space." Kirche said reluctantly.

"That may be, but he will not leave my sight until he promises." Louise replied.

"Promise what?" Zero asked, confused for a moment.

"That you will not attempt to seal yourself. I will not let that happen. If you don't promise now, I'll go down to the lab right now." Louise replied, her wand held threateningly in her hand.

"You're serious?" Zero asked, but got no response from the pink haired girl. "Fine, I promise. I won't try sealing myself or anything. Ok? So don't go crazy." When she smiled and nodded he shrugged then sighed. He couldn't help but wonder why dealing with all this made him so tired. As he strode from the room he could hear Kirche say, "Now that that is all out of the way, shall we go back to class?"

As everyone shuffled out of the room, not one person noticed the letter that was tossed delicately through the window, nor the gentle smile of this unknown person. When all was clear they jumped from window to roof and waited for extraction as he laid a small piece of equipment on the floor.

***Break***

As he looked around him he couldn't help but smile. While it had been painful in a way, he had come to enjoy the pain. While he was in this body he would regenerate it, but each time he removed a portion of himself what was replaced was not organic, and that which he removed could be manipulated to an extent. While it had seemed fruitless at first, the more he worked at it, the more useful parts he could create. And thus was this place born. It was but a room, a lab, but in this lab this world would be born anew. He had his start. He understood why he had lost last time. Omega had been imperfect. He had been overly logical and thoughtless with all but the current goal in his mind. This was not perfection. When faced with Zero's determination and flawed logic and actions, he had been unable to counter the more diverse skill set of the original, even though he was in nothing more than the copy body. But this time, his Omega, his new Zero would be the victor. Because, just like that time over a hundred years ago... The man let out a sharp laugh as he looked at the red crystal inlaid into the blue helmet. While neither was complete, once they were, the world would be his to command!

A voice called to him from the door,"Excuse me, Sir..."

'Joseph' turned to face her, a smile on his face. "Yes, my dear Ms. Moliere?" he asked with a gentle smile.

"You told me to inform you once we gathered the alchemists and the materials you asked for. I have here the invoice for the materials and the names of all the alchemists that we have managed to obtain the services of." She said hesitantly as she handed the papers to the king whose manner had changed so drastically with the departure of that strange woman.

"Good work. Thank you. Such a treasure to have one such as you. I must humbly admit my dear Ms. Moliere that I would be lost without you. I'll leave you to your other tasks." He replied with a nod, dismissing her. As he looked at the list he smiled. Things were going too well. With the alchemists' work, the iron, steel, gold, and platinum would become the basis for his new armies. Once that ancient fool knew what was going on, it would be too late and he would fall as he should have. Everything was on his side this time. "Ah Zero. I do hope you're enjoying this little taste of paradise... Because once I make my move, you will know the hell that I knew... But not for long, no. I will not allow you, who nearly killed the unkillable to live. You shall be destroyed." With that he turned back to the works before him, made from his own evolving parts. He smiled sinisterly as he looked into the glassy blue eyes of the perfect copy of Zero's most treasured partner. Indeed, the fools of this world would know that they had nowhere to live but under his rule.

***Author's notes***

To everyone... I can see the end, fairly clearly. Happy, sad, who knows? But it's done. and we're just working towards it now. Thank you for staying this long.

Zero FINALLY got pushed far enough by the girls. I was always wondering just when that was gonna happen. Who expected it on this chapter? I dunno. But my new beta reader called me a bastard.

As with the little teaser with "Joseph"...Hah, who saw any of that coming?

As had been made clear, or at least I thought was made clear... Void's true aspect is nuclear. It has the ability to change the world down to it's base components. Small amounts of energy become big booms with her around on even a simple spell. They have the power to change how the world operates, how reality works. That's pretty fuckin scary. Why throw in some bogus "Demons and devils". They're considered demonic and evil because of how it can be used, how it was almost used. A void mage is in essence a walking Hydrogen bomb if they could figure the correct type of spell to use. So no, no evil void mages. that's just dumb. Especially with what's been in my story. Also, Sasha. First Gandalfr. wasn't summoned. He just put the runes on her. She was an elf. No supposing there. Them's the facts. But that's all you'll get outta me.

On Wale's retarded decision, if by his reluctance to use Zero as a weapon there was two reasons. 1) no matter how powerful a single blast he could make he could be out numbered. He figured that someone like that dying in a lost fight would be detrimental to the woman he loved. Having such a powerful defender there to protect the one most precious to him was a big reason for him saying no. The other is, even though they resembled, those people had families. They had lives, and they technically were his responsibility. Had Zero come earlier, and offered to just go kill the leader, Wales would have whole heartedly agreed. This wasn't retarded. In the mind and heart Wales couldn't bring himself to cause that much death and destruction, but at the same time he had to cause them some loss of morale. Such a force taking the damage it was to take from his nobles would be enough to bloody their nose and buy time for Henrietta. Everything Wales did was out of love, be it for Henrietta or his country as a whole. That fact that people might construe this as retarded makes me sad... I mean, how many people find something or someone the feel deeply enough about to purposely go into the line of fire, to put themselves in harms way? Yet alone, how many people find people or something that isn't just worth the chance of dying, but going through with it as the certainty. That is the most sublime attribute of humanity. Self sacrifice for love, for someone you hold dear. That is what self sacrifice is about. It isn't about being forced to or doing it out of guilt. Either of those are useless. Wales was an upstanding man who chose how he chose because he was, in a way, too good for this world.

I like Tabitha too. She's awesome. Next thing you know she's going to offer an alliance with Leviathan since Kirche and Louise have one going already, even if it has been strained... to say the least.

Tabitha: ...

Zero: Oh god she heard you!

Tabitha walks away calling out softly: Leviathan... I have something I wish to speak to you about.

Whoops?

Zero:Whoops? No Whoops! They were going to calm down, now this?

Well... it's in the author's notes, so it's non cannon right?

Zero: Oh you want us to think that. But everything in the author's notes have come true, or almost everything. Or foreshadowed something! Remember Axl?

Huh... Hey Zero.

Zero: What?

If that's true... Shouldn't you be more worried about Erza Scarlet Henrietta?

Zero: ...Oh... my...god...

That's right. So You wanna agree with me on this. Authors notes is non canon?

Zero: Yes, yes non canon for the love of god / founder / Vishnu / Flying Spagetti monster whatever you humans worship!

That's right.

Anyhow, read and review people.