As Colbert walked into Atol's alchemy, he had a smile on his face. He had supplied the implements to Roll as asked, and had talked to her about learning the strange language of her world so that he could have access to the vast store of information that was to be found within the lab. She had agreed almost immediately, although she did say that it would hinge on the free time she could take from another important project. While she wouldn't say exactly what this project was, Colbert couldn't help but notice the smile she had when she spoke of it. After that they had talked about a few of the compounds needed, and after analyzing them, he found that they could be replicated from some rather... interesting plants that many frowned upon the usage of. As Colbert browsed the selection of plants that were available taking mental note of what would prove useful. As he did he noticed a familiar flash of pink hair turn the corner. His first thought was how unusual it was that his student would be in such a shop, since she didn't seem one to brew potions. Then when they came into view he realized it was the girl Cattleya who had been on the mend at the academy when Roll had used her techniques to cure her of the wasting sickness. "Ah, hello Miss Cattleya." He said with a smile as she turned. "What brings you to this area?"

"Oh, Mr. Colbert right? It has been a while, hasn't it?" Cattleya replied with a smile. "I was going to be heading to the academy today, to talk to the headmaster regarding a position I had inquired about before I left the campus last, and thought it might be nice to have a perfume made for Miss Roll, as a thank you, all things considered."

"Ah, how thoughtful of you. But what position is it that you're interested in?"

"An assistant in the infirmary. If things go well there, I hope to learn what I can from Roll on what she calls, 'the art of medicine'."

"I see... You are talented with water magic, yes?" Colbert asked, remembering what little he could about her abilities. When she nodded in an affirmative Colbert smiled at her. "You know, Roll has been looking for a water mage to help her with something, one who wouldn't oppose her more... radical methods."

"Oh?"

"Yes, you see, she's trying to assist someone who has what could be considered an incurable affliction, but she needs to use some methods that others might find... barbaric or worse." Colbert replied seriously.

"Oh my. Well, while her methods are unusual, I am proof of their effects. If my skills can help... then I'd be glad to lend my assistance."

"Very well then. Shall I escort you since that is what my trip out here today was for?" Colbert asked with a smile on his face. He had not expected things to fall together so well. He had expected it to take weeks if not longer to find a water mage who would work with someone who wasn't gifted with the ability to use magic, yet alone what she planned to do.

"It would make things easier. Thank you" Cattelya said as she considered the man, then smiled at him kindly.

"Oh, it's no problem." Colbert replied as he contemplated the enormity of what was going to happen, the type of impact it could have on medicine as a whole should it succeed. He wasn't thinking at all of the endless information that would be opened to him should he be able to learn that language. A laboratory and studies done for the betterment of humanity that he would soon gain access to. No, not at all. Colbert continued smiling as he said again,"It's no problem at all."

***Break***

After classes, Louise decided to go back to her room before the evening meal. She was pleasantly surprised to notice Zero in the room, sitting at the foot of the bed. He seemed to be concentrating on something. As she moved closer to him, he turned to face her a look of frustration on his face. "What's wrong?" Louise couldn't help but ask.

"This!" Zero tossed the note written in the native language at his summoner. "It was here when I got back, and it's stupidly cryptic and i can't figure out what it's supposed to mean! Not to mention someone was able to get this close to the room!"

"What do you mean?" Louise asked as she started reading the note. It was written in a sure, bold hand.

To those who reside here, I bid you greetings.
There are many questions to be asked in life, and few are ever answered, and those that are answered often lead to yet more questions. You will surely question who I am and what my motive is for bringing this letter to you, but that is something I'll leave to you to figure out. For the past decade the Elven Nation has been assisting one known as King Joesph despite my protests. They have now found the results of that come home to roost. One of the most respected and powerful elves is dead at the hands of what some could call an abomination. I personally think they reaped what they sowed, but that's apparently beyond them. Since that time ten years ago when they ignored my counsel I have worked on my own to ensure that our countries do not fall to chaos, and thus I offer this question to you, in hopes that it will be a bit of good will towards the elves. If "Magic" is dispelled and "Evil" forgotten, what remains? Once you figure this out, I wish you the best of luck, you will need it in the days to come,unless I miss my mark. And I rarely miss.

Signed, The Elven Knight

"Huh... what an, unusual message. I wonder what that last part meant..." Louise said as she read the letter. It had little content except for some philosophy and a question. "So does this mean that there is an elf who is on our side?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Zero demanded shortly,"This letter was here when I got here. And seriously, what the hell is that whole 'if magic is dispelled and evil forgotten, what remains?' crap? Why can't they just give us a straight answer?"

Louise furrowed her brow trying to understand the question as well. "Well, it has always been said that the elves have thought differently than humans. Perhaps we should think of this literally?" as she said this, she read the letter again and gasped as she reached a word. It seemed to be almost darker than the other words. Dispelled. That was it! "It's talking about my Dispel spell!" Louise shouted as she took out her book.

"I figured it was something like that, but it still doesn't make any sense, what are we supposed to use it for? I mean, Leviathan's magic was already overwritten by me. I can't really see the use for dispelling..." Zero trailed off as his eyes widened. Louise's eyes had gone wide at the same time.
"Zero, do... do you think this is talking about Tabitha's mother?" Louise asked nervously. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but that was all she could think of relating to the elves.

"Yes... and forget! That's a spell Tiffania can use." Zero said as he bolted to his feet. "Dispel the magic that is afflicting her mother, and erase the madness that remains? Could that be the peace offering? A way to negate what the other elves have done?"

"We have to get Tiffania!" Louise said immediately.

"No, I'll go get Tiffania, you go get Tabitha. We'll meet in her mother's room." Zero replied as he took the quickest way out of the room, the window.

"Well... At least he opened it this time." Louise replied with a slight smile. In some small way, she was happy because at the moment, Tabitha seemed to be the one who held the most interest for Zero... And he didn't want to go get her himself. Quietly she berated herself before she ran out the door to find the girl, thanking the founder that Zero had at least gone out the window... and not through it.

***Break***

As Tiffania and Louise stood over Tabitha's mother, the small girl was more pale than usual. Her lips were a thin line, and her features seemed drawn. It was easy to tell that she was nervous. While she hoped this would work, she couldn't let her hopes get up. She couldn't, because if this failed...

"Are you ready Tiffania?" Louise asked as she looked at the large chested girl.

"Yes, Miss Vallaire. I'm ready." She replied, a steel in her eyes and voice. The moment Zero had told her that she could use her power to cure someone, to save their life she had felt a resolve that she had never known before. Unlike the past, this was something she could do. Something that was her and her alone. And in a way, she wanted to be of some use to Zero...

"On one." Louise said as she held up her left hand with three fingers on it. "Three. Two. One."

As soon as her countdown was done, the two started casting in tandem. An odd "warping" could be felt by Zero as the two void spells seemed to ease into one matrix that he could clearly see. It was bright, and clear. He couldn't help but wonder if this was what it meant to combine the power of the void users. He watched as the glow became almost blinding, and he was forced to turn away. As he turned, he noticed that Tabitha's eyes were locked on her mother, a sort of desperate longing in them. He placed his right hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. When she turned to look at him he smiled at her reassuringly. Her response was a nod as she looked back to her mother. As the magic reached it's peak and was released, Tabitha's mother gasped, and was covered with a glow of magic. After this, she seemed to sleep.

"It's done." Tiffania said hesitantly, and Louise nodded.

Tabitha moved over to the bed that her mother was on and placed her hand on her mother's arm tentatively. When she did, the woman's eyes shot open. A stark clarity that hadn't been in them for years was there, and she took in world around her. She didn't know any of the people around her, this place had the feel of a sick room. Had she been sick? For how long? Her Charlotte needed her! As she looked at Tabitha she spoke suddenly, "Where am I? Who are y-..." There was a pause as she looked into the tear filled eyes of her daughter. "Charlotte?"

"Momma!" Tabitha cried out as she held the woman who was finally looking through the world with clear eyes.

"Charlotte, just what has happened? You... You got so big." the woman said as he looked at her daughter.

"You were sick Momma..." the girl murmured as she buried her face in the woman's neck.

"Sick?" She asked, but there was no response from her daughter.

"You took a poison meant for her. A poison that was going to destroy her mind." Zero said flatly. "You've spent years in a prison in your own head."

"Zero!" Louise cried at his tactlessness, then turned to face the woman who they had just freed from her mental prison.

"I see...All I remember was..." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes watered. "My husband. He was killed by a poison arrow, and during one of the balls we were required to attend afterwards, I overheard one of the the king's men talking about the drink that they would be offering to my daughter! They spoke of a brew of elven origin!"

"Yeah. We got that much when we saved Tabitha from the same situation as you." Zero replied darkly.

"No! They can't target my daughter again!" the woman cried as she clutched her daughter protectively.

"I don't think he will." Zero replied, an almost cruel smirk on his face.

"And why is that?" she asked, almost suspiciously.

"Because the bastard elf who tried... I ripped him in half." Zero said brightly with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"You... Bested an elf? How many of you were involved in this combat?" She asked, looking around the room.

"It was one on one, more or less." Zero replied said as he flexed his right hand in anger as he remembered the nonchalant way that elf handled the destruction of an innocent girl's life. "The others went to get you and your daughter. I told them that I was angry. And I was. And that I was going to rip him apart. Which I did."

"So... I have you to thank for protecting my daughter?"

"Nah. not at all. You had people who cared about Tabitha, and her feelings for you that brought me to where I was. In all actually thinking about it that way," Zero replied dismissively. "I just did what I wanted to do. Like always. Nothing special there, maybe even a little selfish."

"He's a hero..." Tabitha murmured just loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Will you stop calling me that?" Zero asked exasperated, but a small shake of Tabitha's head got him to sigh. "Listen, I'm not a hero. I just don't do it well. Hero's don't rip people apart or any of the other things I've done. Believe me, I know what it takes to be a hero and that's just not me."

"A hero does what needs to be done, even if he damns himself in the process." Tabitha countered, still holding her mother tightly.

"I think that Zero is a hero as well." Tiffania said timidly as she looked at the floor.

"Ugh. Whatever." Zero replied as he crossed his arms. He didn't think that this conversation was going to go anywhere, so he wasn't even going to argue. "It doesn't really matter anyway. You're back safe, and you're with your daughter. Let's go everyone. I'm sure they have lots to catch up on." Zero said as he left the room with Tiffania and Louise following close behind.

"I see you have met an interesting young man in my... absence my dear Charlotte." Tabitha's mother said as they left the room. She then looked her daughter in the eyes.

"I have..."

"But why do they call you Tabitha? Was that not the name of the doll that I gave you?" she asked curiously.

"Long story. It doesn't matter. My name doesn't matter... All that matters is, you're back." She replied as she hugged her mother again.

***Break***

As Copy X read a book he couldn't help but smile at his partner's annoyance. When they had been activated, the first thing the reploid had done was punch their creator. Called it an "instinctive reaction". Since then, the two of them had been given these rooms near the laboratory and were told to learn what they could about the world from the small library of books that had been placed here. "You know, your pacing will accomplish nothing, Zero."

"I don't know what's going on. All I know, is that we have to 'learn' about this world. What the hell does that even mean? And come on, look at us and everything else. Everything seems peaceful, but there are weapons all around. Is there a war coming? Is that what we were created for? Damn it!" Copy Zero punched the wall in annoyance, powdering some of the stone with the force he had used.

"Calm down. Our father has only asked us to learn of this world. He doesn't seem to be very aggressive either. One thinks...That perhaps we were created as a deterrent. Or as defensive weapons I hope."

"Yeah, right. There's nothing defensive about me." Copy Zero countered.

"Perhaps that's why he made the two of us?" Copy X hazarded sounding unsure.

"Who knows. I just know that the stupid smile he had on his face when I opened my eyes made me want to punch him so much." Copy Zero replied angrily as he swung his fist again as if to emphasize the point.

"That was really inappropriate though." Copy X admonished. "He was simply greeting your entrance into this world. You didn't have to punch him so hard."

"There was something more... I just can't figure out what it was." Copy Zero said as he shook his head. "But I'll find out."

"I think you might be thinking too much but..." Copy X started then paused,"If you're right... Something tells me that I should stand with you."

Copy Zero looked at Copy X for a few moments then laughed,"Stand with me huh? It might be nice to have a partner to have my back. Fine then, same goes for you. I'll watch your back, since you're obviously too trusting. If I don't watch your back then you'll just leave it open."

"Maybe. But I would like to hope. Don't you?" Copy X asked of his counter part.

"No. I can't say I do. I'd rather work towards my goal, or defeat what needs defeating than hope it all goes alright. Because if we just stand there and hope, nothing gets done. And then it will all go to hell. Then what?"

"Hmm... I suppose you are right, but we can hold out hope until we need to act right? There isn't anything wrong with that is there?" Copy X asked with a smile.

"I guess not." Copy Zero grudgingly admitted.

"I knew you'd see it my way." Copy X laughed.

"Whatever." Copy Zero replied as he rolled his eyes, although he couldn't hide the easy smile that he felt.

***Author's notes***

And here is the next chapter. Working on more as I can but have been fairly busy.

On the question of why Zero isn't going all super assassin and killing all the nobles? That would turn into a bloody, bloody conflict. The commoners would end up getting pushed into it, the structure of society would be upended and anarchy would reign for a period of time. That always ends with death. A new political structure put into place with force is NEVER a smooth transition. Now, if the commoners had risen up and decided to do a democratic self governance that might be helpful, but at the same time the nobles do for the most part do the job of protecting them from the normal demi-humans, elves not withstanding. So the orcs/ogres/trolls who attack the commoners are repelled or discouraged by the nobility. The nobility seems to get pushed into war a lot, to the point that the students are put into a temporary officer corps, while you didn't see anything similar to that for the commoners. While there were commoner soldiers they seemed far more like real mercenaries than conscripted soldiers, while the student officers were far closer to that. While it has it's flaws it's not the worst system of governance. Add on to that fact that Zero isn't really the whole 'murder everyone without just cause' type of person, and you see why there is still a nobility.

On Weil not being bright... He's brilliant. Unfortunately he's like Wily in that he's got a little bit of an ego problem. The only question is... How is it going to turn out now that he has two copies at his disposal, even if one punched him in the face the moment he woke up.