"Such a small thing to cause so much trouble." Patricia Briggs

Zero opened his eye to see glass completely encasing him. Many LED lights hung around him, as faces obscured by shadow seemed to hung around the area.

Where am I?

Zero looked to hear people conversing with each other, though their sentences could not be made out. He wanted to inch his head towards his left side, but found he could not. In fact none of his parts seemed to be working.

What's going on here?

Then Zero heard a voice…this one he could actually make out completely.

"There's not much time until he's completely sealed." Someone's face said obscured by a bright light in a window. "His functions have already begun to shut down. I doubt you will able to have a meaningful conversation."

There was a scampering of feet towards Zero's direction. The shadow of the humanoid was greatly obscured by the darkness of the room, but even so, Zero had no problems recognizing the being. It soon became apparent what he was seeing.

Wait…of course…these were the last few moments I could recall before I was sealed away…ending the Elf wars…this is nothing more than a dream…

"Zero!" X shouted.

"X…?" The image of Zero replied, words coming from a result of the dream, and not from a result of his own will.

"Are you okay with this!?" X shouted, almost to the point of begging. "How can you let them do this after all you gave to fight for everyone?"

"As long as I exist, history will continue to be stained with blood." Zero replied, slowly falling asleep.

"No…" X moaned. "Zero…what are you saying!?"

"I have always wondered…" Zero began. "For what purpose; for whose sake must we Reploids slaughter one another. But even then…you continued to believe in humans."

When did I fall asleep? What was I doing before this?

"I trust in you…as a friend." Zero said.

HEY ZERO! GET UP!

The force of a bottle woke Zero up from the dream he was having. Zero managed to react quick enough to catch the bottle right before it hit the floor. He looked to see that he was in the student council room where Suzaku was having his party, celebrating his knighthood…a day before the operation Zero was on now was about to commence.

Oh…now I remember…

"What are you doing, sleeping like that?" Leval asked. "Suzaku is almost here; and here you are sleeping."

Zero made a small chuckle. "Sorry…guess I must be tired."

"You guess huh?" Leval asked. "Did someone stay up all night?"

"Maybe." Zero said, pulling himself to his feet, looking around at the new appearance of the student council. The entire place had been decorated, and the seats had new table cloths laid out on them. Wine glasses had been brought out from the china cabinets at the Ashford Manor, and Zero cracked his head as he walked over to a seat, waiting for Suzaku to come into the lounge.

Almost killing X really must have awoken some very repressed memories. When this rebellion against humanity started, I completely forgot about that conversation I had with X. Humans…they're corrupt...

Zero then looked at his hand. A flash of memory when he retired Gamma's unit during the beginning of the Maverick wars flashed in his mind.

"But then again…so are we." He whispered.

My mind's made up…when this battle is over…I'll…

A large commotion broke Zero's thoughts. Suzaku had finally entered the lounge. Many of the student body moved forward, all going to congratulate him, applauding him for all the service he had done in Britannia. And without the students even knowing it. Leval moved to the front of the group with a bottle of sparkling grape juice (since they couldn't get alcohol).

"All right people!" He shouted. "Time to raise a glass to Kururugi here. Valued member of the student council; and knight of the realm. Now let's get this party started."

All of the people who had their glasses filled in advance raised them high, cheering the young Japanese for his valued service in Britannia. Suzaku inched his view towards Zero, who just gave Suzaku a small smile, and saluted him. Suzaku smiled back, but did not have time to address him because of the sheer number of people attending the party.

Zero then laid back, as he took a glass of the juice in his hand.

Yeah…I'm no better than any other person out there…that might be for the best…

Cecile and Iris were at a working station. Since they had located the Reploid X, the R&D division and the Special Envoy had been attempting to duplicate the many different mechanics and designs that X had within his memory banks. While some of the mechanisms were far too difficult to recreate due to lack of technological tier, some of them were possible. Cecile was about to duplicate the first 16 QB flash drive ever built. Using the precision tools that she had, she placed the final layer of plastic on the device and then sealed it. After that, she inserted it into the computer, and plugged Iris into it. Using the software Iris created; they installed the driver and activated the three inch flash drive. It displayed with no problems.

"My word." Cecile said, as she looked at the flash drive. "We've literally jumped over a few years of technology in just a few short months. This small piece of plastic and metal has more storage capacity then some of the Britannian military servers."

"Well I'm glad I we could help with that." Iris said.

"This is more than just help." Cecile said. "You machines are literally pushing Britannia into an era of technological marvels that we might be centuries away from."

"What should we go for next?" Iris asked, as she opened a PDF file contained more plans from inside of X's hard drive.

"I think we'll take a break." Cecile said. "Lloyd's already going to be happy enough when he hears that he can take his plans for the Lancelot wherever he wants now; along with all of his other research."

Iris nodded and then walked away from the bench. She then walked into the hallway where she overheard X and Massimo talking. A sudden curiosity came over her and she walked by, prompting her to hide behind a wall.

"But if she still doesn't know about him?" Massimo asked. "…You know you have to tell her right?"

"Honestly; I'm trying to avoid that." X said. "I don't know what she will do if she finds out he's still out there. And the side that he chose…it might be too much for her to handle."

"But…you said that what happened between him and her…" Massimo began.

"I know!" X shouted. "But…I…I think she still had feelings for him…I…I just can't…"

"She's bound to find out eventually X." Massimo said. "How long are you going to keep that secret from her?"

"I don't know." X said. "I…"

Iris was curious to who X and Massimo were talking about. She then peered her head around the corner.

"Hi X!" She shouted.

X literally jumped up so high that he fell off of his feet and landed on the ground. Iris looked at X to see a bewildered look on his face.

"Are you alright?" Iris asked.

"Completely." X said, his eyes having swirls in them.

Suzaku remained the highlight of the party for most of the day, while Zero kept to himself. He watched in the background, drinking the sparkling grape juice, while he listened at Millay and Nunnally talk to Suzaku.

"You really should thank Nunnally for this." Millay said. "This was all her idea."

"I'm sure you're tired of the celebrations." Nunally said. "If you don't mind, we want to honor you too."

"It's alright; I really appreciate it." Suzaku replied.

Zero sighed as he raised his head in the air.

From all the reception I hear from the TV, it doesn't look much celebration ensues from his parties anyway. More angst and contempt from what I see.

Zero watched as Kallen came in the room. He watched her scan her eyes around to find Suzaku. As soon as she found him, she began to slowly walk over to him. It didn't take long before Zero was able to inference what she might be trying to attempt.

Wonder what she's up to…better go stop it before something happens.

Zero popped to his feet and began to move in between the crowds. Before he could get even close to Kallen however, Millay came over him, and wrapped her arm on his shoulder.

"So Zion…" She said. "Care to tell us who the blonde haired girl is?"

"Not now Millay I…what are you talking about?" Zero said.

Millay opened up her phone and then went to the pictures section of it. There she revealed a picture of Zero and Ciel standing next to each other.

"Shirley saw you two running around the school." Millay said. "She snapped a photo and then sent it to me. I must say Zion…I didn't think you were into short girls."

"Where did you get that!?" Zero asked, trying to reach for it.

"Aw aw aw!" Millay said, putting the phone behind her back. "You're going to have to tell me first…and about that little girl right next to her."

"What little girl?" Zero asked.

"The little red head who was holding the hand of that blonde broad you had by your side." Millay said. "You two were going to lunch and I just so happened to be in the area to witness something I would consider mighty suspicious. Well; what's the scope Zion? Did you knock the blondie up or something?"

Zero's face had a wave of bewilderment written on his face; and he had a feeling that Millay knew something was up. For the first time since he had this human body, he began to sweat. He knew this is sometimes what humans did when a tense situation arrived in front of them, but even with his human body, Zero was able to keep a level head. He could not believe he was sweating right now.

"Give it here Millay." Zero shouted, attempting to reach for the phone.

"Even try to touch it, and I'll text this picture to everyone in the entire school." She responded with her usually snarky attitude. This is what Zero did not want. He had intention of gaining any form of public attention from Ashford at any point. He was ready to punch Millay in the face when he heard the door open in the party.

"Bad news Suzaku." Lloyd said, walking out with Nina. "You've got even more work to do I'm afraid." It wasn't Count Lloyd that got Millay's attention, but the fact Nina was there. She turned to Zero once before going over to where Lloyd was. Zero managed to hear her whisper something before she left. He also managed to whisper back.

This isn't over.

Get out of my face.

"Nina…is something wrong?" Millay asked as she walked over to her.

"Oh Millay…do you know this man?" Nina asked.

"We're to be married." Lloyd replied.

Lloyd had talked loud enough for every single person in the room to hear at the time; and it actually succeeded in raising more racket than Suzaku being the Knight to the princess for a few moments. Most of the audible gasp came from the female crowd, with only a few of the males being in shock. Leval went ballistic when he heard this.

"Isn't that right honey bun?" Lloyd asked Millay.

"Uhh…yeah." Millay said quietly.

"Secret's out." Suzaku said, Zero barely managing to hear it.

"So you knew?" Lelouch asked.

"Yep." Suzaku replied.

They all then watched as Leval ran over to where Millay was.

"Whoa whoa…who is this guy!?" He shouted.

"Earl Asplund." Millay whispered.

"EARL!?" Leval shouted, just loud enough for the entire student population to hear, even those that might have been outside the student council room. He then turned in complete shock and whimpered at him, "It's…it's an honor your lordship. So…what did you say your relationship was again?"

"She and I are betrothed." Lloyd said.

Leval screamed in complete despair as soon as he heard this, assuming a feeble position on the floor. Suzaku then walked over to where Lloyd was.

"So…what's this all about Lloyd?" He asked. "Do I have military duties then?"

"Yes; an important someone or another is arriving by boat." Lloyd replied. "We're to ride out and meet him; along with the Lancelot and Princess Euphemia naturally."

There was again a large gasp from the female crowd, and Suzaku was again made the talk of the town in that moment. Zero then turned around and began to walk away from the area.

This doesn't concern me…

"We better go now Suzaku…sorry to take you away from your party." Lloyd said. "I'll have Iris prep the Lancelot when you arrive."

Zero stopped paying attention to what he was doing in that moment and immediately turned around. But before he could do anything, he saw Lloyd already exiting the building. He stood there, stunned out of his mind.

Iris…does…does he mean…the Iris from my world?

The party lasted for two more hours before it was finally time for it to end. Suzaku of course helped everyone clean up, even though the bash was specifically for him, along with Zero and Lelouch. Lelouch returned home immediately afterward to put Nunally to bed, leaving Zero and Suzaku to walk around.

"You sure went from that awkward individual to the talk of the town pretty quickly." Zero said.

"Sure seems like that." Suzaku said. "Though in all honesty, I preferred just retaining myself to just my friends at the student council and Lelouch. All this attention isn't something I want…if I were to replay that fight that people broadcasted on TV, I would have honestly preferred not losing my hatch."

"I guess it makes sense." Zero said. Zero had the same take on this subject along with Suzaku. "With this social media moving around, there's no way for you to avoid the faces of others now." Zero continued to walk with Suzaku until he and him reached a crossroads.

"Well…I've got to get going." He said. "It was really good for you to come out."

"Come on Suzaku; you knew I would come." Zero said. "Me and Lelouch were the first people who you came to know when you arrived…why would I abandon you?"

"I guess you got a point." He said. "See you later."

Suzaku turned around, and began to walk away from Zero. As he did, a temptation to ask Suzaku about Iris came into his mind.

"Suzaku…I need to ask you something." He said.

"What is it?" Suzaku asked.

It was only after he asked where he realized he had no idea how to actually approach this. Iris was a Reploid, and so was he. If he knew about her in anyway, he knew Suzaku would get suspicious of him. How could he ask him anything about her without raising any form of suspicion? And then…Ciel crossed his mind…he knew he was beginning to have affectionate feelings for her…he could feel it both in his mind…and in his body when he assumed a human identity.

He concluded there was no way to ask him.

"Uhh…" He mumbled. "You know what; forget it."

"Why…what's wrong?" Suzaku asked.

"Don't worry…it doesn't concern you." He said.

He then turned around and began to run off, to ensure Suzaku could not get any more words out of him.

"Tomorrow; a noble from the Mainland will be arriving on Kamine Island." Sigma said, debriefing Britannian soldiers on a ship heading towards there the day before. "All of you that have been gathered here were chosen to come here as a result of your outstanding military records; and your patriotism to the empire. However, as you can see, our forces are quite small; and the attack on the military prison from the Black Knights is a red flag that they are slowly becoming into an actual fighting force; rather than a minor nuisance. Because only soldiers with outstanding military records were chosen for this meeting, our reinforcement pool will be limited. Therefore, I feel it is necessary to make some changes to your positions and command structure here." Sigma then took a clipboard from a small table nearby his position. "Captain Reginald, you will be in charge of the first and second defense force at the garrison. Keep an eye out for any unusual signs."

"Aye sir." He replied.

"Terrance…you will be in charge of squads two, three, and four." Sigma said. "When tomorrow comes, you will be patrolling the forests around the garrison, and will continue to do so until our business is concluded. Check in every ten minute intervals."

"Yes my lord." He replied.

"Reploid unit Vile." Sigma said. "You will be defending the beachhead and ensure her highness arrives safely."

"Yes sir, General Sigma." Vile shouted.

"Mega Man X." Sigma said. X looked up at Sigma as he looked at him. "You will be physically present on the boat itself. I want to guard Princess Euphemia; as well as that of the Special Core unit Lancelot until the business is concluded."

"Yes sir." X shouted, still in disbelief that he was taking orders from Sigma again.

"That will be all for now." Sigma said. "Any more information about the operation is classified. Your boats are leaving at 9 PM tonight; and we will arrive at promptly 7 AM; which will be 7 hours before the arrival of the princess…of which your shifts will begin. I keenly suggest you all get to sleep immediately when you arrive…if you have trouble, tranquilizers will be made available."

"Sir." A soldier said. "What about squad one?"

"I'll be commanding Squad 1 personally." Sigma said. "There is already enough staff officers ; and they can handle any military affairs that may come up while I am out patrolling. If there's something important, they'll have an open channel to me There's no reason for me to assume command, unless a worst case scenario arises; in which I will assume command…adding any more staff officers to an already well stocked garrison would be redundant."

"Right sir." The soldier shouted back.

"That is all." Sigma said.

"Yes my lord!" All the soldiers shouted.

X continued to walk within the hallway, completely in bewilderment of what he had just witnessed he watched Sigma talking to him in front of all those soldiers.

All of us Reploids who came back to life had our memories back. Some admittedly had forms of amnesia from the hibernation sickness, but we got over it relatively quickly. Sigma…could he be lying…could be putting on an act?

X stopped walking and looked down at his hands.

No…there's no way could be putting on act…he's a schemer…not an actor like Weil. Weil was able to assume control of Neo Arcadia and run it like an empire…but Sigma never did stuff like that. He always stayed behind the scenes with his planning…there's no way he would have been able to put on an act like this. Not to mention…the virus. Every time I fought Sigma…he always had this aura about him…something you couldn't analyze…but feel. Now I don't even feel that…it's like the aura was wiped out of existence.

"I survived at the battle where we purged those Japanese at the harbor." A soldier said. "Did you see how he moved…like he wasn't human."

"Like that blue machine that answers to Cornelia." Another said. "Here he comes now." Of course the soldiers were whispering to levels that would not be easily heard, but X's ears were much more attuned that humans; and caught their discussion very easily. He passed by, and continued to listen in, slowing his pace as he did.

"Those guys are real freaks." One said. "Secret Britannian project…how come we never heard of it? And how the hell does the Black Knights have more than us?"

"You should watch your mouth." Another said. "That guy may not be human, but he's still higher ranked than us. And I don't care what he is…he keeps our asses safe…that's good enough to be cool on my end."

"That blue one?" A soldier said. "Okay…yeah I'll give you that…he does look out for us a lot more than some of the brass…I'm talking about that General Sigma guy. We all know who Dolton is…so why don't we know anything about him!? And he moves exactly like those machines. I tell you man…something's not right."

"Master X…" Harpuia said as he walked out, in his regular human persona. As soon as X heard him, he immediately turned away from the soldiers and looked at Harpuia. "Are you…are you alright?"

"I…" X began, but then stopped. "No…I'm fine Harpuia…I'm just lost in deep thought right now."

"About what?" He asked.

"A lot of things." X said.

Zero remembered every single detail from the previous day, as he stared at Lelouch giving his speech.

"Euphemia is going to that homeland to meet a noble from that Island." Lelouch continued as the Black Knights stood in attendance. "Her Knight, Suzaku Kururugi will be accompanying her. That far out at sea, the enemy strength will be limited. It is a golden opportunity. Our objective is the capture of the Lancelot and Suzaku Kururugi. Once we have won the battle, I want Kururugi to be taken safely into custody."

Zero could hear a sigh of relief from both Tohdoh and Kallen. As for Zero, while he shared a kinship with Suzaku, it wasn't strong enough to make him care. He knew for a fact that Lelouch was never going to kill Suzaku anyway. He was safe from the start.

"So…what happens when we get him?" Tamaki asked.

"Don't worry…" Lelouch replied. "Leave that to me."

After that, Lelouch dismissed everyone. Zero still stood there, his back resting against the wall. Lelouch, sensing something was wrong, walked up.

"You're not usually quiet like this." He said. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." He said. "My mind's just in deep thought."

"That much is apparent." Lelouch said. "Is it about X?"

"No…well…actually yeah that is troubling me still." Zero said. "You and me both know he's going to be there…but that's actually not bothering me right now."

"You know Zero…" Lelouch said. "I am quite a capable talker…I'm sure if you captured X, I would be able to dissuade his loyalty away from Britannia."

"That's not what's on my mind right now." He said.

"Then what is bothering you?" Lelouch asked. "I can't have your mind clouded when the attack begins."

Zero lowered his head before he continued.

"It's…a more personal issue." He said.

Lelouch looked at him with annoyance, seeing as he needed Zero to be fully aware of his surroundings when the Black Knights began their attack.

"Figure it out fast then." Lelouch said. "I don't want a repeat of last fight."

"Don't worry; a battle is probably exactly what I need right now." Zero snapped back. "I'll be fine for combat."

"You better." Lelouch barked.

He walked away from Zero as the Reploid stood there still.

"Such a small thing to cause so much trouble." He whispered. "I hear the name of someone who may not even be the same person I'm thinking of, and now my mind can't stop writing scenarios or possibilities in my head."

For Suzaku, the next day was busy. Suzaku was knocked out asleep the moment he got on the ship that was going to take him. He woke up to find himself in the middle of the sea, with Princess Euphemia and X waiting on board.

"Why Shikine Island?" Suzaku asked. "From what I understand, the Tokyo settlement would have much safer."

"Yes; I'm curious about that myself." Cecile said.

"What; you mean you didn't know either?" Suzaku asked in shock.

"Ditto." Lloyd said.

"What!?" Suzaku asked again in shock.

"You shouldn't have said anything; thanks to you are plans got leaked all over the net." Cecile said with minor disgust in her tone.

"That girl was so charming though; I couldn't resist." Lloyd responded, not an ounce of him being sorry detected within his voice.

Suzaku stood there stunned, but then decided to drop it, seeing as nothing could be done now. Eventually, Cecile and Lloyd began to get into an argument about something of which Suzaku didn't really fully catch. He walked over by X and looked out the window he was gazing out at.

"Worried?" He asked.

"Just a little." X said. "We're going to have very little access to reinforcements this mission…makes sense that I'm a little uneasy."

"Don't worry…we'll be fine." Suzaku said. "General Sigma is going to be on the field."

"That's what makes me even more uneasy." X said.

"Why?" Suzaku asked. "I heard he went against your friend; and managed to hold his own quite well. He's the same as you isn't he? Isn't he your friend?"

"No Suzaku." X said. "No he is not."

Suzaku stuttered, as if he was looking straight into a fire, emanating from X's eyes.

"Some pasts have already done enough damage." He said. "I never thought once that it would be this hard to forgive your enemies."

Euphemia's ship arrived long after Sigma and his forces landed on the Island, so there was already a strong welcome party at the docks. The docks had no definitive features; other than a white sea dock. There were no buildings or armories, so presumably this was more of a secret base than it was a known installation. There were still plenty of Knightmares and soldiers at the docks when they arrive, including General Sigma.

"It is a pleasure to see you arrived unscathed." Sigma said.

"Thank you Sigma." Euphemia said.

"Everything is moving on schedule." A soldier next to Sigma said. "Miss Euphemia...a room has been prepared for you. If you would like to retire there, we can take you to it."

"We have assurance that the ship is docking here?" Euphemia asked.

"Yes…that is correct." The soldier responded.

"This will do fine then." She responded back.

"Very well…I'll just arrange for a…" The soldier said. HE suddenly stopped as a large scale interference wave hit them, and his communicator went out. Sigma caught it too, and reached for his head to try and find out what was going on. X as well.

The answer to what was going on came to them a second later when a large smoke column seemed to loom over the horizon.

Somewhere far away, a figure stood by, watching the fight as it began.

"Looks like the battle has begun." Cut Man said.

"Looks like it." Bass said. He then reached for his back and drew his beam saber. "All right you relics…Wily wants us to capture Zero at any cost. Let's get this done right."

"Sure you can take him?" Guts man barked.

"Don't worry." Bass said, his free hand clutching as hard as he could. "Wily says Zero's the ultimate machine…but I've been upgraded fully now to match his strength. I'm putting that notion to the test here and now."