Chapter one.
In the stratosphere, a tragedy of planetary proportion was unfolding. The space Colony Eurasia, now filled with the ever so destructive maverick virus, was falling down on earth like an inauspicious and deadly, man-made meteorite.
the crash would turn the once blue planet into a mass grave, its ecosystem already struggling from the robotic revolution, world war III and of course, the mavericks.
To try to stop the aluminum and silicate glass behemoth was a lone shuttle filed with a three nuclear payload. Inside, a brave reploid drove the nuclear load into the falling artificial continent with the hope that it would break it apart and mitigate its impact on the already struggling earth.
The reploid's name was Zero... and this was how he chose to die. The prime carrier of the Maverick virus knew what ought to be done, he knew he could not remain alive lest this nightmare continues.
Inside the shuttle's cockpit, fear became his last companion, together, they would lead him on a date with death...
This story...you have seen heard and read it so often, and you all know how it will end...
The reploid in red heard the countdown, he had ten seconds left to live...nine, eight...
seven...
Six...
Five...
the side of the space colony was coming in quick, Zero had no chance...he could not turn back, not that turning back had been his intention anyway.
As for Ejecting? No, it was too late for that also, and the re-entry won't be as kind as a head-on collision.
He screamed...pushing the rocket's engines in its final trusts and...
.. the Rocket was shredded to pieces, the Atomic charge was thrown to outer space and Zero found himself in the arms of someone too soft to be made out of metal...and still flying at terminal velocity towards the Eurasia station.
Zero's CPU tried to make sense of what had just happened, only for him to be steered away from the virulent colony and around it a few times at a decreasing speed...and then entered one of the maintenance hubs that should be sealed...
No, wait. It had been ripped open by superman...since at this point, Zero would no be surprised at all.
The person dropped in a place that they probably tough safe (the place was supersaturated with the maverick Virus...Zero may be in a good place to heal, but...the whole colony would impact earth in twenty-minute.)
Hopefully destroying him.
The red Hero whirled around to face whatever alien being had doomed the world...only to come face to face with a ... a woman matching him in height, dressed in a black and white dress, a red cape floating off from her back, golden-eyed and... purple and brown hair.
After reviewing the image, he realized that the woman wore a black coat over a white dress and black fabric covering her feet, white length of fabric tied her sleeves and foot covering securely...
and yes, her hair was natural...it was long, wavy and... there was a mark on her forehead and nose...
Ų
' What does it mean?... And what is she holding?' Zero wondered as he openly stared at what seemed to be a scroll-shaped hologram...without the hardware.
There was no way a holographic projector could fit in those two purple sticks...there was just now way.
A warning appeared in Zero's U.I, they were exiting the stratosphere...and entering the atmosphere.
He had failed his mission...all due to this...this...
Human woman that didn't need oxygen or even normal pressurized condition.
Said human woman took his hand, patted them a few times as if offering Zero some comfort and proving that...yes, she was indeed a human. Then flew went out the maintenance door and... sealed them shut. Leaving Zero in the over-saturated viral environment.
He closed his eyes as he felt the virus merge with its original source...it's siren song too sweet to ignore. And purpose...revived.
Outside the falling Space colony Eurasia, Byakuren-
"Bahula Devi Dasi dear."
Right...Bahula Devi Dasi flew out of the falling Eurasia colony and quickly went under its hull, calling onto her magic to cast the oldest spell in her book, Myouren's levitation spell.
Usually, this would be cast on an unmoving target, either a building or the Palaquin-temple-ship. But this was not the usual situation, nor was this a best-case scenario, quite the opposite, really.
This was an emergency, Bahula had no idea whom she had saved from a gruesome death -save that he was a blond tsukumogami- but one thing was for sure, it would be a learning experience.
She could see the fire born of the hull's friction with the oxygen...and she could feel the heat after the numbing cold of inner space...
'Huh...After Makai, they tried to send me to space.' A little smile lit Bahula's lips.
She had tried to preach something other than the empty tenet of Buddhism. Something that spoke on the eternality of the soul and of God as a person...as the supremely beautiful Sri-Krishna. And how to stop worrying and to simply love Him as He Is.
meaning as the most beautiful cowherd boy, the son of mother Yashoda and the Trenscentental love of Srimati-Radharani.
Vaishnavism was the religion of the soul, the person that was the source of consciousness, and bliss.
It expounded three great truths, the first being that Krishna was the supreme personality of Godhead, the eternally individual souls were meant to serve him with love. The Goal of existence was to resume their eternal relationship as Master and servant, friend and friend, Son and parent and even lover and beloved. And the way to reach this goal was through the process called Sadhana-Bhakti, or the process of loving service to the Lord following the rules and regulation until one developed pure and spontaneous love for Him.
And no, it was not to merge in the universe...or in his impersonal aspect. For this was but a temporary respite before one inheritance nature as the ever-active as the eternal individual pushed them to return to the world of mater and mystery... the wold of illusion.
One was never meant to be alone and unfeeling. The soul simply wasn't happy in the Brahma-Jyoti. It was but temporary.
Bahula should know, for she had reached Nirvana...and had run away from it, desiring to be with her family once more.
she still acted as if she believed in the teaching of Buddha, at least when it concerned dealing with life's' hardship and how to deal with people with love without attachment.
this had lasted until she had met a certain Madri, a simple Bhati-Yogist that Yukari had spirited away...for some unknown reasons. save maybe for the fact that she carried with her a treasure trove of revealed scriptures.
And..after meeting this travelling Vaishnavi, had jumped the boat, as they say.
The teaching of the great saint had been a literal revelation and a balm to Bahula's heart. It gave her hope... and something more than spiritual suicide as the ultimate goal of life. The Sacred Vaishnava hymns were also so sweet to her ears and heart.
But, as with everything in Bahula's life, her path towards self-realization had been fraught with danger and many obstacles.
Someone... whom Bahula considered a very dear and near friend...had not been very happy about that, and, with the help of some pseudo-Gods and Goddess living in Gensokyo, had managed to reopen the rift to Hokkai.
Thankfully, her dearest friend and teacher Shinki had caught her in time...and had sent her to space...for some obscure reason. Not only that, but this place looked nothing like what she thought space should look like... and the earth looked markedly different also.
But then, there was also the possibility that her stint in Hokkai had lasted longer than anticipated...and that Krishna had sent his cow at another time where she would be more needed.
Oh the Lord of all universes had sent Bahula to another Brahmanda...it would not be that hard for him.
'And indeed I was...thank you, my Lord, by your action, a poor Tsukumogami had been saved from a terrible faith.' Byakuren praised the master of her master as she flew in front of the burning...
Was it a space Colony? Sudevi (Sanae) had shown her so many animated plays about some oversized armour fighting in outer space...and man-made planets that always seemed to be in danger of destruction.
'Ara ara...Oh Krishna, thank you for preparing me for such ordeal, otherwise, I would not have been mentally prepared to so acting so quickly.' She prayed as she gently began to slow the crashing death trap without breaking anything inside.
Mystic powers had their uses...other than making one 'ever-young', that is.
She wasn't sure if any human beings were left inside, she just knew her blond friend was there...
And it would be rude of her to let her new friend get hurt. And whatever was inside.
Now out of the ozone layer, Bahula could finally feel the incredible negative pressure of space rise, she was in the proper terrestrial atmosphere. And the colony was descending at the same speed the Myouren would travel in the sky.
With a satisfied smile, the saint of the white lotus manoeuvred the oversized space village so that she could easily land it...
where tough, was quite the question, probably the sea... or maybe in a mountain range. Nepal perhaps?
But as she came down, she realized something terrible...there was no greenery, no forest...and no lacs... only a few patches here and there...
the earth was barren... and clouds of miasma covered her surface, she could see very few cities, and almost no villages. What was left seemed to be huge futuristic capitols with nothing else around but uninhabitable waste-lands.
'Oh Krishna...what happened to mother earth?" Bahula wondered as she descended, she felt sick by the sight...
'Let me fist land this palanquin...and then I can see what you want me to do here Gaura. Let me be of use to you, let me be the instrument of your mercy." she prayed as she found the perfect place to land.
She began her descent at her earnest, feeling the Miasma at her back...or something that felt and acted like the miasma she had soaked in for close to a millennium.
'It feels like I'm right beside the tear between Gensokyo and Makai.' A small smile lit the saint's lips.
As she lowered the space colony...some very peculiar Youkai came to greet her. they were very colourful and metallic. And they were also as fast as a drunk tengu on a Monday morning. They passed by her...twice, screeching like a flock of harpies.
On the second pass, they launched something at her...and the colony.
She only had a fraction of a second to boost her defence to an unimaginable level, just in time to take the brunt of the missile impact.
'Oh My, what a reception.' Bahula thought as she felt some explosion on the top of the glass dome. 'Well...I can't let them hurt my friend now...Oh, Gauranga, please forgive, me, I have to use some force now.' Waving her scroll, she selected a spell card she hope would deter those jet fighters without killing them.
Hopefully.
Those poor things probably thought she was a demon...and they would not be wrong.
Back in HQ pure Chaos reigned.
This was not how it was supposed to happen, this was...this was impossible.
Zero's mission had a high success rate, despite its grim end.
Yes, Lifesaver had assured Zero's partner that the Red Hero would and could eject from the atomically loaded shuttle way before it would hit. But truth be told, they all knew the chance of it succeeding was low.
X had been devastated...but had held on, knowing That Zero would not want him to lose it at a most critical time. And yet...
And yet, as the countdown to impact had started...he had felt as his life had ended. And the closer to zero it went...the closer to God X turned to, going as far as to pray to this very human concept to somehow or other, save Zero.
And it had happened, despite all odds, the shuttle had been destroyed by what could only be an angel, and his partner whisked away inside the viral environment.
No, Neither X of Life-Saver knew why Zero's system would repair itself in contact with the virus...
Well, both had a clue, but it was a possibility X never wanted to entertain...
But despite this miraculous event, the Eurasia viralized ecosystem was still plummeting toward the earth!
Well...Not quite. A woman of human appearance seemed to be holding the behemoth of a structure as she gently flew it down. Signas had ordered a pair of remote-controlled drones to investigate her...and to take her down.
She may look human...but they could not be completely certain for her entire body was covered.
It had made X 'nauseous' at the thought. For his highly advanced sensor, even through a screen, it was clear she was at the very least organic. For synth-Skin didn't bruise like that, and what flowed from her forehead was clearly not oil. For oil didn't flow like blood.
How did she get wounded? X had no clue... but Signas, after the failed murder had given the order that all humans remain in the underground bunker. while it would not be as catastrophic as having the dead space colony fall from orbit down to earth, the damage would still be massive.
And then, another miracle happened...two of them, in fact.
The missile had struck the mysterious entity head-on...and yet, she was still alive, a rainbow coloured corona of...a cipher spinning around her head like a CD.
And then...the entire...
The entirety of the Eurasia viral colony was covered with what amounted to a cloud of fast-moving purple bullets. Those bullets completely shredding the two drones and obscuring what was happening with the... entity of terrifying power.
This was what caused the absolute chaos happening in HQ...that, and the fact that she had landed the entire space Colony down someplace between the old border of China and India...in a Nepalese valley surrounded by mountains and destruction.
It was there that the somewhat damaged, virus filled Colony landed...and this would be were X, the only Reploid able to withstand the Sigma virus, would be dispatched.
And this was where...Zero was waiting for him. And this mysterious being of unfathomable power.
At least, it was not overtly Sigma.
The light faded, and X reopened his eyes to what had once been the green and lush Kathmandu, now render a desert due to climate change.
And in the middle of the valley, floating without a sound, was the viral nest. It loomed between the needle-like mountains like a dark promise, the plague pouring out of the damaged hull and onto the valley. Its dome was as dark as sin...and X could already feel the virus dancing on his armour.
[X, this is Alia.] His operator contacted him. [I'm detecting a critical amount of air-born virus coming from the colony.] she uselessly informed her ground unit who could simply stare at the beautiful catastrophe with resignation.
[Do we have any luck contacting Zero?] He asked, not bothering to hide his anxiety.
Alia remained silent...it did not bode well. [No...he's not dead but...his communication's down, and he's not sending any pings.]
[So how do you know he's alive?]
[Eurasia didn't crash, and we all know how Zero can repair himself if enough virus is around.]
[Yes...I know...] But X just had the feeling something terrible had happened to his partner. Sigma had completely taken over and corrupted the space colony, and most unshielded technology in the world at large...and now.
'Was this plan a success? Or is it a failure?' X wondered. 'Eurasia didn't crash and thus, there's still something to be saved...but the closed environment had been preached, and the virus is flowing out like a river, meaning...' He clenched his jaws.
'No...There must be a way...there has to be a way...But first, let me find Zero. Maybe he has some clues about this mysterious woman.' And with that, X dashed to the salvaged wreck...hoping he would be able to find Zero and the mysterious woman before Sigma.
As expected, the place he was in was an absolute visual nightmare, colours kept changing, and he never was sure whether what he was standing was real or not. Still, Zero had to be found, Sigma...who was behind, destroyed again and...find a clue about the anomaly.
For all X knew, This woman was a manifestation of the virus. Maybe, she was the virus...
A tentative smile spread on X's usually dour face. Maybe he could try and reason with her...he had nothing else to lose at that point.
He traverses the digitized realm, Fighting the cyber-image of mechalinoids and a shadow devil...
He had sustained quite a lot of damage from the dark fiend...and Ranga Banga. 'I have no idea what Ranga's designer wanted to make...but he did got the job done.' He grumbled as he managed to fix his bent-out knee with whatever he had managed to gather.
"Oh...Excuse me? Do you need any help?" A woman asked...
X whirled around to face...whoever had spoken to him. And he was not surprised to see the alien that had abducted Zero.
She had spoken in ancient Japanese...and she looked completely organic saved for purple and brown hair... the virus that flowed out of her like a river.
X stared...
She was organic... she had a heartbeat...she had a pulse...
She was Human...
She was not...she was the source of another strain of virus...and yet her body was not made of it...
she was not glitching...she was really in from of his...a human was in danger...
She was someone to be protected...
she was a maverick human...
Mavericks had to be eliminated...
She was human... she had to be protected...
She was maverick... she had to be eliminated...
"What are you?" X managed to choke out as he managed to stave off a crash of his logic center...she was infected...but this was impossible. Unless...
"Oh, I'm a witch." She said as if this was the same as being a human or a reploid. "Well, I'm a soul in a human-shaped body that can make magic... So, a witch."
X could feel his logic center struggling. "Are you...is a witch the same as a human...or a reploid?"
" Human..." The human answered, looking at X with deep concern. "My name is Bahula Devi Dasi...a human turned witch who serves Krishna, Or God. And who are you? And is everything alright?"
This did not help...at all... "No...no...you...you got infected...Humans can't get infected...you are maverick...but you are a-"
"My son? What is the matter? Have I done something-"
But X didn't hear the rest...his struggling processor crashing over the fact that he was the son of a maverick human witch...
Bahula stared at the paralyzed Tsukumogami, the poor thing's eyes had turned from vivid green to grey, and he seemed to be stuck in a very awkward pose.
"Oh Krishna...I hope I didn't kill him." The saintly witch prayed, she could already see the other's reaction to this.
And then she realized...he looked quite different then any other Tsukumogami she knew. He had no...the item he considered his body was nowhere to be seen. And Bahula was fully aware that a Tsukumogami without his object was as good as dead.
'Speaking of which, I don't think my blond fried had as the item he's attached to either..."
And then...it hit her!
Those were not Tsukumogami...those were robots! Automatons moved by electrical currents.
"Oh Krishna...I feel like I stepped in one of Sudevi's sci-fi shows." She put a hand to her head, now realizing that she definitely wasn't in Gensokyo anymore. "But how...how could this have happened? Last I've heard, the earth was still green and..." An absolutely horrific realization hit her...
What if...
What if her last stint in Hokkai, had been longer than she had thought?
Bahula sighed as she approached the crashed automaton...There nothing much she could do save serve Krishna.
And she would...despite her current situation.
"Now...think Bahula, what would Krishna want you..." She paused for a bit. "Krishna dear, what would you have me do about this robot. is it alive? He did look like it...but is there a soul inside? Or is it just a fancy doll programmed to act like a human?"
Listening to Param-Atma, Bahula approached the human-shaped computer and, following a divine hunch, applied her hand to his heart...
Her eyes widened. "Oh...you...You're a Jiva..." She murmured as she checked his charka points and Nadi.
And indeed, it was a living entity, his body somehow made of metal. He was extremely confused, tired and emotionally drained.
"Oh, my child..." She patted his blue helmet. "You have done well. Now rest, I will take care of you." She spoke to the unresponsive X as she picked him up a tad awkwardly.
His entire body was as stiff as a board. And if not for his natural energetically signature, Bahula would've thought he had died was already entering rigour mortis at a rate only a certain Bankai had achieved.
But he was rather light for how solid he was built, even lighter than Uma (Miko) even.
"Well Mister blue, I don't think you can remain here, not in your state anyway," she spoke to the mysterious doll-like being. Suddenly, she felt him move...and struggle.
"n-no...I have to...find...Find Zero...S...Stop S-Sigma..." He managed to say.
"Oh Child, just rest. I will find your friend and stop Sigma..." She paused. "Can you tell me how I can differentiate one from the other?" she asked, not willing to kill the friend by accident.
"Z-Zer-o...Blond... tall...red..." He managed to choke out, his whole body shaking as he struggles against a mysterious malaise.
"Got it...and may I know who you are? Just so your friend knows I'm not I'm with you," she asked as she used her magic to sooth
"E-Eks...X..."And once again, the blue soulless doll became still, and Bahula carefully carried him out of the Hokkai-like area and to a cave in one of the mountains. There, she laid him on the ground wrapped in her red cape, she kissed his head as she cast a powerful protective charm around the cave.
Those who came in with ill intent would be struck by lighting.
"May Lord Nashima-deva protect your life...and may you return to Krishna's lotus feet." And with that, the saint of the white lotus once again entered the hellish place...
She had a blond and red robot to find...and A rascal to chastise.
Navigating the...numerical Hokkai was an interesting affair for the witch. it was not as desolated as the place that had kept her alive yet dead for a millennium, and yet...the atmosphere was not the same, for the type of Miasma was...of two types.
One was vile and filled with unlimited hatred and envy. It was not very potent and seem defuse, tired almost. while the other was neutral yet desperately angry...and confused. Looking for a purpose, a reason to exist.
It reminded Bahula of those poor yokais and humans who had no clue about the supreme goal of life.
And this one was strong, like a pure river gushing out and yet not going out of her bank. But this innocence was easily exploitable for the demoniac one.
'Whoever is feeling like this, I have to find him.' The black and white witch resolved as she navigated the bright and black expanse. She could feel the two... flavours of either mingling and merging, the vile and poisonous one taking over the pure yet confuse river.
She frowned as she managed to trace the source of the energy...what could only be the virus...or whatever the blue child was referring to.
She floated until she found a cave-like area, there, the purple mass of hatred swirled and converged onto a human form...a form that resembled X, yet was much more colourful...and very noticeably blond. He was floating in mid-air, a magenta aura covered his mechanical body while the mixed ether swirled around him like a brewing storm. His eyes were closed, and he seemed serene despite the vile maelstrom that seemed to consume him.
"Ah...and this must be Zero." Bahula spoke up as she approached the blue youth's friend.
Zero opened his eyes, revealing a pair of purple lenses. "No...I am more, Human." he smirked, showing his very impressive sets of fangs.
"Oh, you look just like my Shou." Bahula shamelessly cooed. "And yes, you are indeed more than Zero." Bahula smiled kindly. "You are a spirit soul, just like me."
"Have have nothing in common with you!" Zero snapped. "You are inferior to me, made out of flesh and yet...you still think you can control me." He sneered.
"Oh, I was not talking about our bodily composition Zero. And how can I control you? I can barely control my mind." Bahula admitted with a beatific smile.
"I will kill you." He growled as he pointed at her. "You will be the first human casualty, my first blood." Zero threatened as he flexed his claws. But this only caused Bahula to laughed.
"Oh, I apologized Zero-kun. But you can't kill me...and the body I inhabit is already dead. And I can't really be considered a human anymore." she admitted. "As for some blood...how much do you need to be satisfied?" She asked her sharpened nails already to her wrist. "DO you want all of it? I don't mind, you know."
Zero stared at her... his smile falling.
"So...how much blood do you need? It's not really human blood tough, so it may taste a bit bitter." Bahula admitted.
"Your not human?"
"No...well, yes. But no... "She tried to explain. "I was born of human parents, but through training and dark magic, I became a witch, a yokai."
Zero seemed to freeze...and Bahula worried she may have caused the poor doll to suffer from a mental disruption.
"...You...Who... You're a witch." He stated, pointing at her. "Like, legitimate witch-like those in myths and children's books?"
Bahula blushed. "Well, I am an old woman. And I supposed I did look witch-like before I foolishly gave myself 'eternal youth.'" She explained. "Never the less, you friend, Ekesu, wanted me to find you." she digresses, bringing the conversation back to its point. "He was worried about you, same for me."
Zero Sneered. "My friend?" he spat. "No...you are mistaking. X is my enemy." the red and blond doll declared as he drew a light-sabre. "I will destroy him, as it was written in my destiny!"
"Oh? And why is he your enemy?" Bahula asked, calling onto her scroll to start boosting her bodily strength.
"because his death is my destiny!" Zero declared, clearly annoyed. "As is yours." He took a fighting stance, and Bahula remained tranquil.
"So...your destiny is to kill your friend X?"
"Yes!"
"And after that?" She asked. Tilting her head.
This seemed to catch Zero in a loop. But he recovered quite quickly. "And after that, I will destroy everything, returning everything to the void!" He lurched forward, his offensive clear.
"I am Zero, I am oblivion...and everything shall return to it!"
Bahula Dodge the first slash and the second, using her increased speed, agility and fortitude to parry Zero's attack.
"Why?" She asked again. "What will you gain after turning everything to void? Happiness?"
"Yes!" Zero declared as he upped the pressure, and Bahula buffed her states to match that of the poor soul.
"Why do you think that? Why do you think the void will give you happiness?" She asked as she held Zero's wrist in place, despite their size.
"Because there's no suffering in a void...there's nothing." Zero kicked Bahula in the guts, sending her flying like a wooden toy.
The saintly Vaishnavi hit one of the wall-like constructs, her breath cut off by the hit. She was bout to recover when the poor blond voidist launched himself at the millennial witch, grabbing her by the neck and squeezing it with all of his might.
His hands, being much bigger than the average human should have popped Bahula's head right off from her delicate neck, but thankfully, she had managed to up her resistance to high enough that Zero wouldn't have her death on his head.
Actually, by the sound of it, Zero's arms and fingers were sounding more like they were twisting themselves until...
She heard a whine and the sound of straining motors. Zero's face was twisted in a mix of pain, rage and determination.
'Oh no! He'll hurt himself if he keeps on pressing! Oh Krishna, I have to stop him, right now.' And whit this thought, Bahula grabbed Zero's straining fingers, opened them and took him down as gently as possible.
She made the bewildered soul knelled on the ground as she held his arms behind his back at an angle and pressure that prevented the doll from moving. She made her body heavier than a small hill and pressed her knee onto Zero's back, her left hand on his head.
It was quite uncomfortable for him, no doubt about it. But if Bahula wanted this poor soul to be spared pain, then she would rather make him suffer through some humiliation than an outright fight to bodily destruction.
"So...you desire to merge back in everything and become void, isn't it?" Bahula asked as she held the struggling doll in place. "Then, my son...I grant you a vision of Nirvana!" And with that, the saint of the white lotus cancelled Zero's mind and senses, temporarily freeing the poor soul from his Ego and giving him a taste of the Brahman effulgence...where everything was one.
Then...she took her beads from her neck and began to chant...the attack of the Vaishnava shrine happened during Mangala-Arati, meaning she had no rounds chanted out of sixteen.
'Yes...I do believe two and a half-hour of impersonal liberation will be enough for Zero to understand my point.' She thought as she began to chant.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare