Death and the Vibrant Architecture of Rebirth

by goldenyuusha

A century had passed since Zero had sealed himself away. After being awoken by the Neo Arcadian king X, Zero finds himself in an unfamiliar, perfect world with no one to turn to but his old partner. But cracks start to form in the perfect things he once held dear, and Zero must accept that they may be set in stone forever. An MMZ AU where Neo Arcadia finds Zero before Ciel.

13. Chapter Twelve

AN: Ummmm it's been four months. Sorry lol. Got no excuses really, I've just been slow and lazy. I write a lot on the bus to uni, but I've just wrapped up my course so I had no premium bus writing time.

Anyway, I've just gotten a scholarship for a pHd so you might have to get used to month long waits...

ITT: answers and more set up (sorry). enjoy

---

CHAPTER TWELVE

Early morning sunlight poured through silk curtains, bathing X's living room in a warm, golden wash. Alone, he stood at the kitchen counter, taking in the early morning glory, setting aside his duties for the time being to rest his soul and gather his thoughts. He was alone, his quarters quiet save for the soft thrumming of a coffee machine and a radio broadcasting the news softly on his desk.

His helmet sat idle on his work desk, a hologram monitor set to his alert inbox that gradually filled up with the events of that morning. He ran his hands through his silvery-blonde hair, fingers catching in the last dark brown locks he retained from his glory years.

Dark coffee trickled from the machine into his mug, the rich, earthy aroma wafting through his quarters. He brought it to his lips, flinched when it burned, but took a hearty sip of the bitter fluid nonetheless. He leaned over the counter and looked out to the city, absentmindedly tapping his toe against the hardwood floor. Early morning dew shimmered on the lush green terraces that coated the peaks of skyscrapers, vines crawling down their impressive heights and embracing them like emerald branches. He tugged at the overgrown stubble on his chin.

"Hey, Mikhail."

There was an electronic warble as his home automation system came online.

'Yes, X?' came its stiff, robotic voice.

X took a sip before replying. "Who's playing tonight?"

'SynTech Jackalopes will be hosting the CIViC Cardinals at 7:30pm on NBS.'

X pouted, swirling his coffee around in his cup. "No football?"

'That is tomorrow.'

He set his mug down and looked up with a puzzled frown. "Really? I thought it was Sunday already," X said. "Well, what's my schedule look like tomorrow night?"

'General Harpuia wishes to meet with you to discuss the Pilgrimage II expedition at that time.'

"Could you reschedule?"

'Harpuia is not available for any other time that day.'

"Shit. Record the Sunday night game."

'Done. Would you like anything else, X?'

"...How about breakfast? Two eggs and a slice of toast, will you?"

"Mmh, make a plate for me, too."

X snapped upright and turned around, finding Zero joining him from his bedroom, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. X's gaze nervously flickered around, swallowing hard and wetting his dry lips.

"Zero?"

His partner joined him at his side, offering a reassuring, loving smile. X felt conflicted, he knew well that Zero should be upset with him, and yet, he offered him company as though nothing had ever happened. He had a thought to ask Zero what had changed, but he decided against it. He would cherish this rare moment of intimacy, and he melted into Zero's warm, comforting presence, frown falling away in way of a pleased smile.

No matter what, Zero always looked so perfect, even when he had just gotten out of bed. His silky hair was a frayed mess, dark eyes half-lidded and heavy, and X loved every part of him.

"Good morning, sunshine," X greeted, resting his head against Zero's. Zero leaned into him, chuckling with endearment.

"G'morning," Zero mumbled. In the background, the mechanical arms of X's home system worked away at their breakfast in the kitchen. "Didn't make coffee for me?"

"Ah, I–" X stopped. –Didn't know you were there didn't make sense. Of course he knew Zero was there, he had slept in his bed that night. "Didn't know you wanted one."

Zero made a coy laugh, before shifting, pressing up against X's back and wrapping his arms around his waist.

"Of course I wanted one. Long day today."

When he thought about it, X didn't really remember waking up at all. Zero set his chin on the crook of X's neck, nuzzling into his collarbone and letting out a content sigh.

"Really?" X asked.

"Yeah. Busy."

X snorted a laugh. "And what exactly has you busy these days, Zee?"

He could feel Zero's lips form a smile against his shoulder. "Don't you remember? It's Axl's birthday today. We still haven't gotten him a present."

In that moment, X's blood ran cold, a frigid talon grasping his every nerve and squeezing tight.

"...What?"

Zero made a perplexed electronic chirp. "Hm?"

"What are you talking about?"

X looked into his reflection on the benchtop. No red eyes stared back at him. An old android, with hazel-green eyes and long brown hair, dark like umber with flashes of grey, hanging from his head like the branches of an overgrown willow tree, was gazing back at him.

"Axl's birthday. Don't you remember?"

X stepped away from the table, casting nervous glances around the room. There was no room left, only an endless expanse as dark as the darkest night skies. X turned around in a panic, the flurry knocking Zero away from him.

"Zero, you don't…" the words caught in his throat. "Axl's dead."

Zero stared at him for a beat with a distinctly vacant look. His dark grey eyes that were once so pretty now imparted a hollow emptiness, like X was staring into cold Arctic waters. Zero's lips quivered into an amused smile, and he made a soft, sly laugh.

"Of course."

Zero slowly stalked towards him. X felt compelled to back away, but no matter how fast he tread and how slow Zero walked, Zero managed to close the distance between them.

"Zero…?"

"I know. I remember."

Zero reached out and snatched X's forearms, yanking his arms outwards and holding him still. X couldn't seem to muster up the strength to pull away.

"I don't–"

"I don't mind. I know you never wanted him."

X swallowed. He had compartmentalised everything to the point where he had forgotten what Axl meant to him. Axl was a maverick, a terrorist, the enemy. Axl was his son.

It didn't hurt to see him on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Why could he feel tears well up in the corner of his eyes? Zero's hands were warm around his arms, a black, viscous fluid pouring from where he was holding him.

"You didn't really want kids. You just wanted an excuse to have me to yourself. Tie me down with children so I'd never run away."

X looked at his feet. He knew that, but he was too selfish to bear hearing those words spoken from someone else's lips.

"It's okay, X. You missed me."

When X met Zero's gaze again, those dark grey eyes were gone. A barren red stare bore into him.

"This– you–"

"You missed me because you needed something you could hurt."

Omega laughed.

"D-don't touch me, you crazy bitch!"

"Don't forget, this belongs on your hands."

Weil's siren dragged his hands down X's arms, wringing his wrists and hands and fingers until he let him go, having painted his arms and hands in blood.

"No… you don't understand anything!"

X stared at his hands with wide, roving eyes, his breathing too fast and too shallow, his heart racing in his chest. He paced away until his boots stepped into a pooling body of blood.

In his frenzy, he stumbled backwards over a carcass, dazed and confused as the world distorted around him, his vision blurring and seeing double. When he came to his senses, he realised he was on the ground, cheek to the floor in a puddle of blood, still warm. His gaze met Axl's dead eyes, lying down face to face with his dead body. His jaw hung open, once bright green eyes glazed over in a grey haze, his frame littered with bullet holes that ceaselessly trickled and bubbled with blood.

"N-no, This isn't real. I know it isn't! You can't hurt me, Omega."

X scrambled away, his breath hitching in terror.

"Poor thing. Always so down on your luck. Life was just never kind to us."

"Get away from me!"

Omega crept closer as X got to his feet, heaving and quivering, dread washing over him like an oppressive mist.

"You know you don't belong here."

Consumed with a profound fear that neared debilitating, X activated his buster and aimed an unsteady shot at Omega, his arms quaking and numb.

"You belong to me."

X let out a desperate, primal yell, shutting his eyes and turning away as he blindly fired a charged shot straight through Omega's heart.

A heavy silence followed. X mustered up his strength and slowly opened up his eyes again.

At his feet was his own body, laying lifeless with a hole in his chest. His red glare lost its lustre.

X stared back with hazel-green eyes. The black hair hanging off of him wasn't his own.

From behind, he felt a cold hand grip his ankle and pull him down into the deep.

"Master X!"

X returned to the waking world with a jolt and a gasp, still feeling the lingering sensation of fingers grasping at his leg.

It was the morning, and he found himself sitting at his desk. His breath was still laboured, heart still thumping so hard in his chest he could hear the pump of blood in his head. X reached to feel his face, grabbing his overgrown locks and ensuring his hair was still the same silvery blonde colour he went to sleep with. The radio broadcasted the early morning news from somewhere in the room, and his helmet was still sitting beside him.

Harpuia's voice speaking over his intercom had woken him up. He would have to thank him later.

"Sorry, Harpuia. I, uh… was asleep."

"Ah. Um, please let me in, father."

X was still in such a stupor, it took him a while to realise that Harpuia had spent the better half of his morning requesting his permission to enter. He alone had filled up most of his alerts. "Right…"

He was still dizzy, a bitter taste lingering in his dry mouth. His head throbbed with a mild but nonetheless tense ache. X unlocked his door from his computer and a sheepish looking Harpuia promptly joined him in his living room.

"Good morning," Harpuia greeted. He slowly cocked his head and squinted, taking a better look at his father. "Are… you well?"

X was sure he looked like shit. He rubbed the fatigue from his eyes and combed his fingers through his hair. "Fine. Must have passed out here last night." He looked at himself in the reflection of his computer monitor. "Had a weird dream though. Almost felt real."

He could still feel the nightmare crawling underneath his skin, his arms still prickling as though they were coated in blood.

"Good or bad?" Harpuia asked.

X shrugged. "The only dream I ever have."

It didn't clear it up in any way, but Harpuia wouldn't prod at the issue. "Well, unfortunately, Zero still has not returned. However, we've released the helmetless images of Craft and Zero to the public, and we've already come up with a convincing lead. A group of civilians out in South-West Sector C came forward with information, saying they had encountered Craft and Zero in the underground redlight district. It appears they have taken on a civilian disguise." Harpuia offered X a datapad, showing a blurry screenshot of two reploids, backs facing the cameras, leaving some train station in the Outer Sectors. They were heavily dressed, with thick jackets and long trousers, obviously moving in a way to hide their faces from the prying eyes of surveillance cameras. Of course, X knew that long mane of blonde hair like the back of his hand.

"Moreover, we've already confirmed that they had been heading towards Grand Central Station that day, and the times those sightings were made line up neatly with the South-West Sector train line schedules, so we have grounds to believe the claims of these witnesses. We've already started combing through recent surveillance footage from that region with a high resolution facial recognition assay and begun interviewing the security force assigned there. We've already begun piecing together their movements. With luck, we can predict where they may have gone."

X handed Harpuia back the datapad. "Hm. Good work."

Harpuia took a moment to reply. He looked a little disappointed with his helmet wings drooping so, like he was expecting higher praise for his efforts. "...We will be leaving to interrogate the witnesses shortly–"

"I'm going with you."

X tucked his hair back and slipped his helmet back on, his helm latching on with a solid click before he got to his feet. Harpuia stepped back, a little exasperated.

"Ah, that won't be necessary, I promise. Our people have everything taken care of," Harpuia assured, but X wasn't moved.

"I said I'm going with you," he said again, more firmly this time. Even if he wasn't needed, he needed something to get his mind off of things. Besides, Zero was his, and he had to take charge of finding him. Wallowing that he woke up alone despite having him back changed nothing. Harpuia made a sigh of resignation, and bowed his head in submission.

"Very well…" he conceded, leading the way for X to follow.

Before they could get anywhere, X had to ask a pressing question that had been bothering him since he had woken up that morning.

"Harpuia, what day is it today?"

Harpuia peered over his shoulder with an impassive look about him. "Saturday, sir."

Just as it was in his nightmare. He felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach.

"Why do you ask?" Harpuia asked. X swallowed through his nerves and shook his head.

"Ah, just curious," X explained. "Jackalopes and Cardinals are playing tonight, aren't they?"

Harpuia turned and continued to walk away. "You'd have to ask Fefnir or Leviathan. I don't follow sports."

He left without another word. X let his shoulders loosen up with a long, quavering sigh. The haunting memory of blood being drawn over his arms, Axl's lifeless, clouded eyes, Omega's frigid laugh tormented him, his heart still racing and panic still constricting his chest like a cold rope wound tight around his core.

X wiped down his mouth, the stiff hairs growing above his lip and on his chin digging into his hand. If Zero were here, he would've teased him about the scruffy look.

The golden rays of the early morning sun burst through the curtains, the vivid Neo Arcadian skyline glistening with dawn's dew. X could barely catch his reflection in the window, hidden in the shade of the curtains.

Master X, who saw his world through red eyes, wondered if he really was the same person as the wiry man in the glass, staring back with a weary hazel green stare.

---

"You have to be the luckiest person on this planet. I hope you know that."

Craft was laying down on a stiff examination table as Cerveau took a surgical stapler to his many wounds. The bed was uncomfortable, it smelled so sterile it made Craft sick, and the lights were glaringly bright overhead, but it was familiar. It was what he called home for so many years.

He has been accosted by Ciel and Neige, the two women sitting by his bedside as Cerveau tended to his injuries. When they had first reunited, Neige hugged him at first, then cried a bit over his return, and now, she was back to her usual, critical self. Not that Craft would dream to have it any other way.

"That was really stupid, what you did back at the brig," Neige said, as Cerveau continued to staple Craft back together. "You're a charmed man, Mr. Fenrisúlfr."

His pain sensors had been dulled a bit. It had the added effect of making him a little woozy. "Yeah. Hey, it worked, though… you're still here."

Neige huffed, shaking her head. "It could've easily not worked," she said, "just… try not to do anything that stupid again. I would've never forgiven myself if I inadvertently got you killed."

"Can't make a promise I can't keep. Besides… might be a bit too late for that," Craft said. "I'd say running away from Neo Arcadia with Zero is a pretty stupid decision."

Ciel, who had been quiet and looking rather pensive the entire time, looked up at the mention of Zero and Neo Arcadia. "Neo Arcadia's been looking for him… it's all over the news. I fear it's only a matter of time until they realise you've taken him to us."

"Hmph. X has already come to that conclusion. I assure you," Craft insisted. "As far as he's concerned, everyone's out to steal Zero away from him."

"...It's gotten worse, hasn't it?" Ciel asked. "X… Neo Arcadia."

"It's worse than I've ever seen it," he said, "I think X is realising Zero doesn't share his vision. He's not taking it too well. He knows he can't change his mind, so he's doing everything he can to pacify him, short of just turning him into a drone…"

Ciel pursed her lips, looking aside as she mulled over her thoughts. Neige crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

"So… did you uncover any interesting scoop while you were living it up in X's ivory tower?" She asked. Craft made a thoughtful hum.

"Not really. I was Zero's servant. That's all," Craft answered. "I was never going to be regarded as anything more than a traitor there. They didn't trust me. I guess I've given them reason to, now. This was what X was afraid of after all; some big, bad Resistance terrorist, taking away his waifish, helpless partner."

"Yet it was Zero who demanded you to bring him here," Cerveau interjected.

"Sure. X would never hear it. He'd just say I'd brainwashed him, or that Zero just wasn't thinking straight, hibernation sickness and all," he said. He lazily turned his head towards Neige. "That's besides the point. If you want my assessment of the Neo Arcadian government, I'd say everyone in that citadel is feeling mighty wound up right now."

Ciel cocked her head, leaning in with piqued interest. "In what way?"

Craft made an uncertain noise. "Just is. You know? When you're in a room with a bunch of people who don't get along but they have to pretend they do. It's what it feels like," he explained, "with the Guardians, the Judges. I think we all know X is being unreasonable, but good luck telling that to him… but I don't know, it's just a hunch."

"...I see," Ciel said. "Well, perhaps Zero may be so kind as to offer us more insight when he wakes up."

"I still find it hard to believe that he is in our midst," Cerveau muttered, thinking out loud. "Zero, the Zero, choosing to ally himself with us? I thought the day would never come. There must be so much he can tell us about the old world… things even Axl couldn't have known. It feels unreal, like I'm seeing an angel or something."

"Indeed. I just wish we didn't have to sacrifice so much when we first tried to recover him…" Ciel lamented. "I suppose all we can do now is take this opportunity and work from there."

"Well, that's life. I'd be more surprised if things didn't go our way at this point." Cerveau set down the stapler, having finished the job. Craft would be stuck there a little while longer, waiting for the painkillers to wear off.

"So… what should we do about Zero then? Tell the others about it?" Neige wondered.

"...We would have to ask Zero what he wants," Ciel said. "We shouldn't overstep our boundaries. It's up to him. Even now, though I'd guess we'd all agree that it would be a blessing to have Zero fighting for our cause, we can't expect that of him. If he just wants our help to escape Neo Arcadia, then we have to treat him as fairly as we do with all our asylum seekers."

"Tch, and that collar complicates things," Cerveau added, giving his tools a wipe down. "If what you believe is true, Craft, then if he wanted to fight for us, X made sure he couldn't."

Craft knew that. Still, it infuriated him to think about. It was wrong to keep such a powerful and formidable reploid on that tight of a chain. It would give out eventually, it was just a matter of whether Zero or X's leash surrendered first.

"I'll have to think about what to do about Zero," Ciel said, getting to her feet. "Let's agree to keep it a secret for now. We don't know what Zero wants just yet. The Resistance might not take too kindly to him, either..."

"You won't hear a peep from me," Cerveau assured. "Let me know when he's up. I'll take a look at that collar for him."

"Thanks, Cerveau. Get some rest, Craft," Ciel said. "I'll be in the command centre if you need me."

Neige gave her a small wave goodbye as she departed the room. When the door closed, she turned back to Craft with a sly smirk.

"I just can't believe you sometimes. I was losing sleep worrying about you, buddy. You're gonna make my hair go grey, I swear…" Neige said again, resting her chin on her hand. She wanted to cry, for she had cried every night, stricken with a guilty mind and struggling to think that she could've been the reason why Craft was dead. Yet, all she could do was laugh. "You've got a very generous guardian angel looking down on you, big guy."

Craft made a tired, breathy chuckle, folding his hands over his chests and leaning back on the examination table. "I know. You should thank him. His name's Zero."

---

After being holed up in X's tower for so long, Zero had gotten accustomed to humming the same tune every day. Despite the luxury he was so graciously endowed, he didn't get much sleep in his vast, empty bed.

Zero woke up slowly. It was a struggle to open his eyes, his lids heavy as he blinked away the blurriness afflicting his vision. His HUD came to life in stages as his internal systems booted up again, the small, accompanying whirring of computers running softly buzzing in his head before fading away again as his auditory sensors tuned it out.

He had woken up from the best sleep he'd ever had in his very brief recent memory. Despite the uncomfortable bed, he felt refreshed, both physically and mentally. It was like he had shed a weight hanging from his mind and soul, despite the collar still latched tight around his neck holding him back from truly moving forward from the life forced upon him.

There was an IV embedded in the back of his hand and his vitals were being monitored by a clamp on his finger. It was hooked up to a console on the IV pole that beeped rhythmically. Slowly, he sat up, rubbed his eyes, and took stock of his circumstances.

He was in someone's living quarters, that was for sure. He was set up in an opened, capsule-shaped pod that was more akin to a table covered by thin cushions than anything that could be considered a real bed. He was hidden from the rest of the room by a drawn, dull pink curtain. Despite the signs of life- a computer sitting idle at a desk under a loft bed with tousled, unmade sheets and an empty, stained mug set beside it, Zero was alone in that room.

He hung his legs over the side of the pod, combing his mess of hair back with his fingers. His armour had been arranged in a neat pile near his bedside. Whoever this room belonged to, it didn't seem as though they were returning soon.

Zero got to his feet and pulled the curtains aside. His balance wavered a touch before he steadied himself. Carefully, he grabbed onto the IV pole and wheeled it around as he explored the bedroom.

A cursory attempt at locating his rough position on the map failed. All traditional EM signals failed to escape wherever he was, and likewise, failed to get in, his sensors detecting no transmissions at all. At least, he knew it was a little before noon in Neo Arcadia, though without a sun to judge, Zero couldn't be sure if the same could be said wherever he was.

He wandered past the computer, giving it a thorough inspection. The desk was covered in loose notepads and paper towels with scatterbrained notes messily scrawled over every inch of them. Zero tapped the keyboard, the dim monitor coming to life a moment later.

It belonged to Ciel. On her lockscreen was a picture of herself and a small, child-aged reploid, with long blonde hair and straight bangs over her eyes. He tried to access it, but there was a password ahead of him. He decided against trying to crack it, letting the computer idle long enough until it fell asleep again.

He meandered around, peeking at everything he could without explicitly invading Ciel's privacy. She had a large bookshelf opposite her bed, lined with countless binders with faded labels and books with loose sheets of paper peeking from within their pages. Near the top was a thick, plastic binder with the words THESIS written on a strip of masking tape plastered on its spline. Zero plucked it off the shelf and flicked it open to the first page.

The emblem for the Reploid Integration and Organisation Trust was printed on the top of the page. In the middle was the title; Drawing from the Dimension of Possibilities: Understanding the Reploid Halo Brain and its Applications.

It was a draft, but Zero flicked through it. Instantly, he found it far exceeded anything he understood about the subject matter, even with Iris' propensity to go on about it lingering in the depths of his memory. He closed it and set it back where he found it. From within its pages, small loose leafs of paper fell, scattering at Zero's feet.

"Damn it…"

As to not disturb the needle embedded in his hand, he slowly squatted down to collect the small sheets. He paused when he caught a glimpse of a picture on the other side.

Zero took the papers and got up, tapping the pile on the surface of the bookcase to straighten them out. He sorted through the photographs one by one.

There he was. X. Not the X he had come to know; the Neo Arcadian king, the tyrant, the warlord. Not Master X, but X. Just X.

With armour the colour of a stormy sky, accented by highlights of vibrant, yet cool and comforting shades of patina. A few locks of hair hung from the brim of his helmet, a brown so dark it was black in the shadows. His gentle eyes were the colour of spring grass with invading brown streaks.

Zero could feel his emotions well up in his throat, his breath catching. X was carrying a human infant in his arms, swaddled in a soft, woolly blanket. She had fuzzy blonde hair and big, azure blue eyes. Ciel.

If he could, Zero would've cried. It was too much for him to take. Master X's mistreatment of him had clouded his feelings so deeply that he had forgotten how much he really missed what they once were. He missed X. He missed how safe he felt when he was with him, how he made him feel valuable. For all he was concerned, his X was dead and gone.

The photos told a story of Ciel's young life. First she was a helpless bub, then she was crawling, then she was walking. Then she was tinkering with whatever machines she could get her hands on, intense curiosity encoded into her very genes. Then she was at the feet of the Guardians, their faces much younger and their eyes much brighter. Zero managed a sombre laugh at Phantom's awkward smile and Harpuia's endearingly grumpy frown. Fefnir and Leviathan seemed to be inseparable from the start.

Then she was graduating from her Master's Degree. She couldn't have been more than twelve. In her long black gown and cap, she happily stood next to a similarly proud Axl, presenting her certificate from the RIAOT with a beaming smile. In his heart, Zero was struck by conflicting agonies in the crushing pain and incomparable joy of seeing his son's beautiful face again. His auburn hair was a mess, as it always was, and his smile could light up the darkest night.

In the final photograph, Ciel presented her Doctorate. She didn't look as happy as before, a little more tired with dark eyes. She was sixteen, maybe. She stood next to a reploid, middle aged, with receding spiky black hair that was quickly greying and a visor covering his eyes. They were graduating together.

The sound of footsteps approaching tore Zero from his reverie. He snapped to attention, quickly slotted the photographs next to her thesis, and made his way back to his bed before the doors opened.

Ciel walked in, with a companion following close by. The same reploid who graduated with Ciel, now with a fully grey head of hair and clad in the same forest green uniform the rest of the Resistance donned. When Ciel noticed Zero sitting up, she gave him a warm, welcoming smile.

"Mister Zero… you're, um… you're awake!"

The doors closed behind them. Zero stared blankly at her. After seeing her grow up so quickly in such contained snapshots, it felt a little surreal to just make small talk with her. He tried to return the smile, but it was a touch on the strained side.

"...Yeah."

Ciel stared back, opening her mouth to say something, but it just never came. She laughed nervously, looking down at her feet and scratching the back of her head.

"Ah, I swear, I've been thinking about what I was gonna say to you if I ever met you for so long. I totally had one loaded in the clip, but it just…" Ciel made a rolling gesture with her hand, like her thoughts were gone with the wind. Zero let out a soft laugh.

"It's alright. I'm not that special, anyway," he assured. Ciel shook her head.

"Oh, but you are… you're–" she paused, unable to really put into words what she was thinking. Even without his armour, even when his artificial muscles had atrophied so drastically, he was like no one or nothing she had ever seen before. He was Zero, someone she had read so much about, to the point where he was more like a storybook character than a real person. Someone who took down the most dangerous of global threats with elegance, wit, skill and agility the likes no one had ever seen before, and likely ever would see again. A legendary war hero. A curious case in the field of the halo brain. One of the two founders of the new species that were reploids. A relic from centuries ago, the magnum opus of a fabled mad scientist. The only person who could hope to stand a chance against X. Her first attempt to wake him had been Ciel's last desperate hail mary against Neo Arcadia.

"...I'm just Zero," he assured. Ciel nervously looked back and forth between him and Cerveau.

"Ah… well, either way, I'd like to welcome you to the Resistance. We shelter reploids who have been unfairly persecuted under Neo Arcadia's reign and help them escape the city. It's an honour to have your support, Zero… it's like a dream come true." Her eyes glimmered with joy. "You've already met me. I'm Doctor Ciel. I'm a former research lead at the RIAOT with a focus on accessing the realm of the halo brain. But, uh, of course, now I'm the Resistance leader." She gestured to the reploid beside her. "This is Doctor Cerveau. We- ah, studied together at the RIAOT. He's our head engineer and doctor."

The man- Cerveau, smiled and bowed his head in greeting. Zero returned the smile and waved.

"Craft told me you wanted me to take a look at that collar," Cerveau said.

"Yes, I did," Zero said, his fingers coming to softly brush over his neck brace before he turned back to Ciel. "Did… Craft tell you anything else?"

"Only what he could tell us," Ciel answered. "But I've heard enough to know you have suffered, Zero. I'm sorry to hear of what has happened to you. Nobody deserves such abuse, especially a hero like you…"

Zero had the thought to insist he did deserve it, but he held his tongue. Cerveau walked over, a clean toolbox in his grasp. He was a little bit taller than Zero but thin, his cheekbones hollow and his hooked nose was slightly crooked. He took a scanning glance at the monitor tracking Zero's vitals, looked back at Zero, then back at the monitor.

"Just had to get you on a line. You weren't in good shape," Cerveau said, taking the clamp off Zero's fingers and turning off the monitor. He opened his toolbox, revealing a litany of medical tools and supplies. "If you'd like, I can give you a medical check up too. Have you had one recently?"

With a cotton swab in his grasp, Cerveau took Zero's hand, carefully unhooking the cannula from the needle in his hand and in a smooth, swift motion, removed the syringe. He covered the pinprick with the swab and drew a strip of medical tape over it to keep it in place. As Cerveau worked, Zero couldn't help but recall the many times he'd been poked and prodded like a labrat in the past.

"...No, I don't think so," Zero answered after Cerveau was finished. "So, sure. Go ahead."

Cerveau clipped his toolbox shut and got up, lending Zero a hand to help him off the side of the bed. "Excellent. Follow me to my office, sir."

With nothing to object to, Zero set off with the two, Ciel's doors opening to the corridors of the base. It was quiet where they were, the sounds of their footsteps on the metal panel floors echoing off the walls.

"Where are we?" Zero asked, looking around with his risk assessment protocol on high alert. The lights were dim, the hallways were clean and sturdy, yet vines and weeds crept through the thinnest cracks between fibreglass, metal and plastic walls. The corridors were eerily quiet.

"The Resistance base," Ciel answered. Zero had already come to that conclusion, but…

"I suppose you can't tell me where we are exactly," Zero assumed. Ciel made a sheepish laugh.

"Well… I do respect you, Zero, but I'm sure you understand where we're coming from in that decision," she said. "Either way, all you need to know is we're far from Neo Arcadia, if you're worried about that."

Zero made a hum of confirmation. "I understand," he said. "You've got an impressive operation going on here. No signals coming in or going out. Can't locate where I am on the globe. It's like you're invisible."

"Mhmm, that's the goal," Ciel said. "Your instruments wouldn't pick up our transmissions. We've designed a novel system. That, and we do much of our communications in person. There are advantages to housing a bunch of exiled scientists, heh…"

"I see. Interesting," Zero said. "Where's Craft?"

"Familiarising himself with his old friends," Ciel answered. Neige came to mind for Zero. He had never met her, and yet, he felt like he knew her already. They boarded a lift and descended to the bottommost level.

The basement floor was an engine room, and it was here where Cerveau's office resided. It was a small room, and when Cerveau unlocked the door, Zero was introduced to a room that was equal parts messy as it was organised. A special kind of chaos that made sense to the mastermind, and none at all to the unenlightened. The sickeningly saccharine stench of phenol hit him like a punch to the face.

"If you would be so kind, sir." Cerveau gestured to an examination table. Zero shrugged, resigning to his fate and getting settled onto the bench, sloughing off his jacket. The doors closed and locked shut. Ciel sat on a chair close by to watch.

"I hope you don't mind… there's so much I wish to ask you, Zero," Cerveau said, setting up his tools and equipment. "To have you in our company… it's… I can't even begin to describe it. I never thought I'd ever get the chance to meet you. I guess it's like getting to meet a saint in real life."

Zero made a thoughtful hum. With all the murals of past wars adorning the ceilings of the citadel like a cathedral, the stained glass portraits of him and X, the statues, the utter devotion of the Neo Arcadian citizens to their war heroes and saviours… Zero supposed their status was reminiscent of deities and idols and other religious figures, once the backbone of society and since lost to history.

"I don't mind," Zero assured. "I concede that I'm a unique patient."

Cerveau let out a hearty but muted laugh. "You don't mind if Ciel's here for this?"

"Not at all," Zero answered. Cerveau smiled graciously for a moment, before grabbing a tablet and pen.

"Good. You drink or smoke at all?"

"No," Zero answered succinctly. Cerveau noted it down.

"Are you up to date with your vaccines?"

"I don't know."

"Alright, I'll record that as a 'no'," Cerveau said. "Any pre-existing conditions we should know of? Concerning medical history?"

"I was patient zero of the maverick virus if that counts."

"Well, I suppose it does… used to have colleagues who did work on that," he made a note. "...now, given your records, it's just something I have to ask, so please answer honestly. Are you pregnant?"

Zero made a sour face. "...No."

"Alright. I'm going to do some physicals now." He pulled a scale from under the bench. "Stand here, please."

When Zero did as told, the scale read 54.3 kilograms after fluctuating a bit. Zero grimaced, he could only imagine what that number really was; he still had much of his armour still equipped and that heavy collar on his neck.

"...Ah, hmm. Well, please stand by this wall," Cerveau motioned to a stadiometer.

"Ugh... Did I really lose that much weight over my hibernation?" Zero wondered as he stood on the measuring platform. Cerveau pulled the sliding piece down to the top of Zero's head.

"It's entirely possible. Still, I would've expected you'd have at least gained some of the weight back…" Cerveau said. "I'll have to see how that restraining bolt is impairing your body's homeostatic pathways. 176 centimetres."

"At least that's stayed the same," Zero lamented, sitting back down. "I was never that heavy… but..." He trailed off.

"We'll do everything we can to help," Cerveau promised. "Do you mind if I take a blood sample? Just want to check your nanoparticle levels for any aberrations that would explain your condition."

"It's fine." He outstretched his left arm for Cerveau to wrap a tourniquet around. Ciel watched closely from her seat. Though she freely spoke her mind, it was difficult for Zero to read what she was thinking. Cerveau poured Zero a cup of water and handed it to his free hand.

"Ciel, while I'm here, can I ask you something?" Zero asked. "Two things, really."

Ciel's brow rose. "Of course. You can ask me anything," she said, before adding, "...within reason, that is."

Cerveau swabbed the inside of Zero's elbow. "This'll hurt a bit." Cerveau plunged a needle under Zero's skin. Zero's threat assessment flared, but he overrode its alarms.

"Are you a human?" Zero asked. Ciel took a second to process the blunt question.

"Um. Yes, I was," Ciel replied. "I was part of a government genetic engineering program. The state hoped they could design the problem solvers of the future. I was one of the few successful products of that project."

Cerveau filled a tube with blood, capped it off, and labelled it. Zero felt a little woozy. "...Was?" Zero parroted.

"I was human. I've augmented my body to the point where I'd be hard pressed to call myself human," Ciel replied. Zero cocked his head, recalling the way Dr. Weil had replaced his flesh with circuitry and metal until he could no longer be recognised as a man. The thought sent a chill through Zero's blood.

"...What brought you to do such a thing?" Zero asked. Ciel thought about it, then shrugged.

"I guess it just became a necessity for my field of work. As humans, it's tough to visualise the higher dimensions, where the halo brain and cyber elves reside. I designed a device that allowed me to collapse those dimensions to a dynamic three dimensional cross-section. I had to augment myself to integrate that device into my body. It just snowballed from there." Her arm retracted and revealed a buster, reminiscent of X's own. "Now that I'm the Resistance leader, I realised my human flesh limited my ability to preside over this movement. It's not something I regret, really."

Cerveau took another sample from Zero's veins. He took a sip of water. "That's quite the technical feat," Zero said. Ciel's cheeks flushed with the praise.

"Aw, thanks," she said gratefully. Cerveau took the needle from Zero's arm and pressed a swab on the prick.

"Keep pressure on this," Cerveau instructed, taping a bandage over the swab and undoing the tourniquet.

"The second thing…" Zero continued, "what happened to X?"

There were many answers, and Ciel didn't know which one to start with. Instead, she took in a deep breath, leaned back, and exhaled the tension twisting into knots in the pit of her stomach. "I know what you want to hear, but I can't tell you for certain, Zero. Maybe it was the pain of losing you reaching a crisis point. Maybe the responsibility of nourishing a broken world back to health weighed too heavy on his shoulders. Maybe he was just angry at the world for taking everything from him. Maybe he really thinks he can fix the world by culling its population, I don't know. It's probably a sum of all of these things. It's been a hard past hundred years," she answered. Zero's spirit visibly dampened.

"...I assumed as much already, to tell you the truth. Stupid as it sounds, I was hoping that maybe… I don't know, it was the Dark Elf, or he was being brainwashed or blackmailed. Something that would've proved that X couldn't be so cruel, that this isn't him," Zero admitted. "But this is him. No one else is making him do this..."

"If only things were that simple," mused Ciel. Zero slumped his shoulders.

"I never should have left him…" he muttered, grief and guilt tangled in his heart. "I never thought he could ever be so cruel. I was naive. I'm sorry for all the pain and suffering I've caused from my mistake. I… I took the easy way out, and now Axl… he's dead because of me. A lot of good people are."

"Zero, even if you were there for him… well, sometimes, people just change. The Elf Wars hurt both of you," Ciel consoled. "Time changes everyone. Even good people, like X. Sometimes in small ways, sometimes so much you wonder if they're the same person. I… I knew him, before he changed. We were witnesses to his pain, and we didn't do anything. We didn't notice it. We took his kindness for granted. We let him suffer until suddenly it was just too late. That's how life moves, sometimes. So slow, you don't even notice it, then everything moves all at once until time begins to blur, and then suddenly, it's over, and life slows to a crawl again."

Zero sighed, looking at his feet. Maybe X's downfall was inevitable, no one could shoulder so many years of pain and suffering. Cerveau set Zero's blood samples in a crate.

"Alright, let me take a look at that collar of yours," Cerveau said. He looked through all the drawers of his cabinet and pulled out a gun. "This is just a topographical scanner."

He went over the surface of the restraining bolt with the gun, getting a good scan of its surface.

"Ah, this is Doctor Mills' allotrope work. Such a shame that this sort of materials engineering marvel was wasted on building restraints," Cerveau mused. "Let me check how this thing's wired to you."

He ejected a memory stick from the scanning gun and plugged it into his desktop, furiously tapping his keyboard until the monitor lit up. Zero kicked his legs onto the bench, leaning back on the examination table and staring off into space. "...You think you can take it off?" Zero asked.

Cerveau made an unsure noise. "Doctor Mills worked in pursuit of engineering superhard carbon allotropes. I'm afraid he was caught in Neo Arcadia's justice system. He protested against his work being used in this sort of way, and he paid the price." He unspooled a cable from his cabinet, plugged it into his computer, then plugged it into a port in the nape of Zero's neck. "I suppose with enough force, we could break it off, but if this bolt is truly fixed to your central nervous system… Well, that would do more damage than good. Do you give me permission to override your system firewalls?"

"Do what you need to do," Zero ceded.

"You can kick me out at any time. I need to see how this collar is fixed to your internals…" Cerveau said. He pulled up a chair and got to work, hunched over his computer. "I'll be a moment."

Zero stared blankly at the ceiling, holding his cup of water limply over the side of the bench. Ciel fiddled with her hands, looking downwards.

"What was it like?" Ciel asked, "before the world ended?"

Almost in an instant, so much came to Zero's mind that it was overwhelming. Green meadows, clear blue skies, cool autumn afternoons, spring rain hammering the roof at night as he drifted off to sleep… those little things that the Elf Wars stole from the world. He couldn't quite make the words out to describe the feeling. Ciel and Cerveau were children of Neo Arcadia. They would've never basked in the glory of a generous Earth.

"The world was kinder," was the answer Zero mustered. "It was never perfect before… but it could get close. There were things to look forward to. We dreamed about the future and what it would bring. There was hope." His face grew sombre. "After the Elf Wars, I feared that there would be no future. If there was, it would be a cruel one. It's… in part, why I sealed myself away a century ago. I had been responsible for so much of the pain and suffering in the world. I couldn't bear to keep hurting X. I realise now that it was the wrong decision…"

Zero looked aside, forlorn.

"There is so much I failed to appreciate it when I had it, but now that it's gone…" he trailed off. There weren't words that could pay tribute to those things. The shimmer of wheat when the summer wind blew over. The amber sun setting over a glistening ocean. When the streets of Abel City got covered in petals in spring. The laughter of children playing in the lush, green parks while flocks of doves in their path fluttered away. X's warm smile. "We were lucky. I took peace for granted. It was easy to do so when you lived your whole life as a soldier." He turned back to Ciel, the girl's eyes wide and glowing, enraptured by the thought of such a world. "It's all gone now. X has tried to capture the glory of it in Neo Arcadia, but it's gone. We have to move on."

"...What was X like, before it all happened?" said Ciel after a measure.

Recalling the man X was- the man Zero fell in love with so many years ago, it stung like a rose's thorns, his chest tightening with bittersweet nostalgia. "He was everything I wasn't. He was powerful. So powerful. And yet, he chose to be kind. That takes true strength," he said. "When I charged forward into the battle, he stayed behind to care for the injured. He wore his heart on his sleeve so effortlessly, he wasn't ever ashamed of his emotions. He always treated everyone as his equal, even the greenest of rookies. He never let anyone fall behind, even if there was nothing he could do to help them." He brought the cup of water to his lips when his voice hitched, pushing down the thickness in his throat.

"He was always so unsure of himself, but that was his greatest strength," continued Zero, "he was so… human. I…"

He set his jaw before he continued, considering his situation. "I loved him. He made me feel safe, made me feel significant. Even now, after everything he's done, I still… still love him."

Ciel slumped her shoulders, her big eyes looking glossy. Cerveau leaned back in his creaky chair and rubbed his chin.

"Well, Craft was right. Take a look."

Ciel got up and looked over Cerveau's shoulder. Cerveau rolled away and gave Ciel and Zero a view of his monitor.

"It knocked down his combat subroutines. Reflexes, muscle force, muscle exertion… it's been coded to induce hormonal imbalances too, among other things, probably why you're failing to gain weight and muscle mass, Zero." he said, pointing a pen vaguely around the screen. "It's been fixed to your C6 vertebra and locked by biomarker and halomarker checkpoint. I'll have to check your blood tests to assess the downstream effects, but it looks grim, I'm afraid…"

Zero felt sick to his stomach. His brow furrowed, colour draining from his face and incredulous eyes roving from side to side like he was trying to look straight through Cerveau.

Ciel gulped nervously, looking to Cerveau. "Do you think… you could sever the collar-spine interface?"

Cerveau groaned ambivalently, his lips drawn into a line. "It'd be a delicate procedure. It would be difficult with the tools we have… we'd risk paralysing him. Or worse. Who knows what anti-tampering failsafes are wired into this." He shook his head in resignation. "Look, I could plan a surgical intervention, but it'd take time, and that's something we just don't have."

Zero brushed his fingers over the neck brace, what he believed to be an accessory revealed to be nearly permanently fixed to his body. It was now a part of him, whether he liked it or not, a symbol of X's desire to possess him in his entirety.

He saw himself in his reflection in the dim monitor. In the low light of Cerveau's office, it still glimmered like a sterling silver necklace. There wasn't anything they could do about it, not in the near future anyway, but that was just how things progressed. Regardless, he knew what was wrong with him, and even though it was the worst possible outcome, the simple act of knowing made Zero feel better.

It took a moment for Zero to find the wearwithal to speak. "Alright…"

Cerveau made a defeated hum, leaning onto his desk and resting his chin on his hand. "I'm sure you were expecting more out of this and I apologise for that."

"It's fine. I know now, and that's more than I could've ever asked from you," said Zero. "I suppose now I need to start figuring out what I should do with myself now."

"Take the time you need, Zero," Ciel assured. "This must be a lot for you to take in."

"But there is no time. I said I would fight for you, but the truth of the matter is I can't. And even if I could, I…" Zero drew in a deep breath and held it. "I still… I still don't know where I stand. X has hurt me, but there's a part of me that wants to remain loyal to him. I know he has to be stopped but doing that would be the hardest thing I'll ever do."

"...I know. It hurts all of us to turn on him, but it was the only choice he gave us," Ciel confided. "I can't demand you fight for us. We've kept your presence here a secret from the rest of the Resistance. If all you seek is escape from Neo Arcadia, we will grant you that, just as we do every other refugee."

After a moment to weigh up his options, Zero cocked a brow. "...Where is there to go? There's nothing but desert out there."

"To Neo Arcadia, perhaps, but to those who seek it, there is an oasis out there. A settlement, where nature has returned and where we have started anew," Ciel explained. "Tabula Rasa. A clean slate."

"And X hasn't found out?" Zero assumed.

"Not to our knowledge. The settlement is protected from their detection and forces by a dimensional anomaly- the Rift. Maybe it's the intervention of Cyber Elves, we aren't too sure," she said. "But you must make the journey to Tabula Rasa by foot or caravan. Our transervers don't work past the Rift."

Zero nodded with a placid look. Despite the storm of emotions swirling in his chest, his sombre expression remained largely stagnant. "I should speak to your people. They deserve to know I am here."

Ciel straightened her posture. "You really want to?" she asked. "There may be some who are unsympathetic to your plight, Zero… they don't know what X has done to you. To many, you're just… I'm sorry I have to say it like this, just X's partner."

"I'm aware. That's why I need to tell them everything," Zero said, "I want them to know I am not just X's pet. That I have a voice and X has done everything in his power to stifle it. If I can't fight for them, then I wish to offer them hope… I know hope can't win wars, but without hope, there's no future."

Zero felt the cord disconnect in the back of his neck, and he pulled it out on his own volition. "Before he passed, Axl told me that I had to keep believing in a better future. That I was not a machine or a thing to keep, but a person, capable of art and thought and love. I feel an obligation to share his message to the Resistance…" he said, newly resolute. "If I can do anything to keep Axl's fight alive, even just the smallest thing, it will have been worth it."

As X's reign grew ever more dire with every passing day, it was easy for Ciel to disregard something as intangible as hope. It couldn't feed mouths, or save innocents from the recycling plants. Yet, the Resistance was built on a foundation of hope, a dream of a better future ahead of them. It kept the dream in reach, even as the world around them grew darker.

Zero didn't know it, but though he couldn't fight, he had already brought something irreplaceable to Ciel. He'd brought her hope.

---

In Central Neo Arcadia, civilians kneeled and bowed their heads when X passed them by. In the Outer Sectors, they ran, like rats scuttling away into the shadows of alleyways and holes in the wall.

The streets were quiet as X made his way to the sector's police station, with only the hum of streetlights that could be heard. The roadside markets had been vacated upon word of X's presence, workers and denizens hidden away indoors in fear of crossing X with his convoy of soldiers and his trusted sons, Harpuia and Phantom, in suit. When they reached the station, his Guardians waited outside, while a group of soldiers followed X inside. The sheriff, a stout reploid with a thick moustache covering his lip, was waiting in the lobby for him, surrounded by officers. He offered a stiff salute.

"Master X. It is an honour," the sheriff greeted in a low, husky voice. X nodded a greeting. "The witnesses are being detained in a holding cell, sir. They offered to show us where they reportedly encountered Craft and Zero," he said, speaking as they made their way to the cells. "Apparently they had been crossing the underground facility tunnel system behind the red light district, from what the witnesses say…"

X's brow furrowed at the mention of that vile hive of sin. Craft would pay dearly for bringing Zero to such a dangerous district. "And who are these witnesses?"

"Unemployed civilian builds, from what their MeReAD log's tell us. We've already interviewed them. Oldest is 23, youngest is 19. They probably do undocumented work in the subterranean districts. Files say they had just been treated at the local ER recently, but that's all we know," he said. They stopped at the holding cell, where four young reploids were confined, hands shackled in cuffs. They gawked with wide eyes and slack jawed as X came to stand before them. His shining blue, white and gold armour was blinding against the dark, drab concrete walls.

"We're ready to go when you are, Master X," the sheriff said.

"Then let's go. Don't waste my time."

X turned and departed, letting the policemen handle the frivolous task of wrangling the witnesses. He met with Harpuia and Phantom at the station entrance, who stood at attention in his presence. He gave Phantom a steely eyed glare.

"Who's assigned security in this sector's subterranean district?" Asked X.

"Polaris Security Solutions, sir," Phantom answered quickly. X frowned.

"Hm. Fill out a performance evaluation on them," he commanded, "such a cavalier district demands strict enforcement. I fear they've grown too lenient."

Phantom withheld an exasperated sigh- his hands were too full to entertain such menial tasks.

Soon, the sheriff emerged with the witnesses in tow, no longer shackled, but escorted by heavily armed policemen. Even with freedom to escape, they would be stupid to try run. X gestured to the policemen to go with a flick of his head.

The witnesses timidly lead the way through empty streets with rifles threatening their heels the entire way. They passed through the empty market building to an old, rickety elevator, its metal frame coated in rust and lichen. The neglected and overworked mechanisms were loud as it slowly descended underground, creaking and yawning the way down. X eyed the witnesses closely with a critical glare, the young reploids doing everything in their power to avoid meeting his harsh gaze. He stood alongside the eldest of the witnesses, assessing the deep claw marks running across his face and a broken nose he was nursing. The injuries were still fresh.

"What's your name, son?" X asked the young man. He startled, eyes growing wide and lips drawing tight.

"...Me?" He asked, voice thin and quiet. X hummed a yes. "T-Tyrod, sir."

The elevator came to a stop at the underground red light district, the busy tunnel system and countless holes in the wall had long since been deserted in the wake of X's arrival. Through drawn blinds and closed shutters, he could see the wary eyes of the subterranean denizens watching him pass by.

"Tyrod… you did an honourable thing, coming forward," he said, though it hardly sounded like praise. X could sense his mechanical heart racing in his chest. "I should thank you. You've done your country a good deed. It would be a shame if Master Zero was lost here. Wouldn't it?"

'Lost, amongst unwanted and scorned vermin, like you,' was a message he left unsaid, but the chilling tone of his voice did it for him. The young reploid's reply coming out as a strained rasp. "Yeah. W-would be, sir."

One of the witnesses, a tall and bony young reploid, stopped by an alley wedged between a decrepit betting office and a ramshackle bar. "They were in the tunnels through here," he said in a soft voice. "In the garages… the man was searching for something. A vehicle, maybe…"

He was referring to Craft. He led them into the alley, coming to a door that had its locks broken off. Looking to Phantom and Harpuia, X spoke his commands. "Start compiling the recent security footage from this area. See if you find anything interesting."

The brothers glanced at each other with unsure faces, before nodding a confirmation to X. Phantom flipped open the console on his wrist and got to work, Harpuia looking over his shoulder with a diligent eye.

The tunnel system that lay beyond the subterranean districts was cold, the air stale and recycled. Despite the constant whirring of fans, there was a foul stench in the air, like burning plastic and petrol fumes. Litter was stolen away in the gusts of fan blades, and bottles and syringes were scattered at their feet. The few windows looking into the tunnels were covered by drawn blinds, and the distant sounds of reploids scrambling away at their appearance echoed through the labyrinth.

The skinny man stood next to an electrical box at the head of an alley, a warning sticker that had been scratched off plastered on its ajar cover. The garage's roller door at the foot of the alley had been opened.

"They were here. They weren't talkin', either," another one of the witnesses chimed in, a short, sturdy man. "Looked shifty. Zero, he was wearing, ah, fuck… a red jacket or somethin', the big guy was in a green coat, I think…"

He scratched the back of his head nervously. X cocked a brow. "One eye? Scar on his face?"

"Yeah… somethin' like that."

The tall witness shuffled over to the sheriff at X's side. "If it's okay… I can draw them…"

That piqued X's interest. When the sheriff looked to X for approval, he nodded. The officer handed the gaunt reploid a datapad and a stylus. The man began to swiftly and meticulously reconstruct Craft and Zero's faces, right down to every little detail, in a series of miniscule dots that eventually formed an image, like an inkjet printer. When he was finished, he timidly offered it to X. He promptly snatched it away.

X studied the images closely. Zero wore a baggy jacket and trousers that covered his gauntlets and boots with square rimmed glasses, while Craft disguised himself in a jacket with a large collar. Both were without their helmets. There were too many small and distinctly human details to suggest it wasn't a fabrication. At first glance, they would've been easily mistaken as any random citizen, but a little scrutiny and one would see right through their disguises. He handed Harpuia the datapad.

"Input this image prompt into your identity recognition software. See where they've gone," X said, before turning back to the lanky witness. "Impressive work. Where did you learn to do that?"

"...Hobby."

X nodded slowly. "Did you see what they were looking for?"

"No."

"I see. No matter, it won't be too difficult to figure that out with the information we have." He glanced over his shoulder at Phantom, still combing through security footage on his wrist console.

"...And pray tell us… what were you doing here?

The question caught the witnesses off guard. Nervously, they looked at each other for guidance, a sense of guilty awareness festered amongst them, their pupils small and taut faces pale. After a silent conversation between them, Tyrod took a trepid step forward. He shook his head, swallowing his nerves.

"We were just passing through."

A silence fell over the group like a thick fog. X's face didn't change, unconvinced. "You aren't lying to me, are you?" He asked with a cold lick to his words. "That wouldn't be very smart of you now, would it?"

The witnesses didn't reply, and their diffidence told him everything he needed to know.

"Father…"

Phantom called for X and gestured him away from the group and further into the alley at the foot of the garage. X followed his son to the shadows, looking over his shoulder to watch the monitor on his wrist console.

"I've found something of interest."

On the monitor, he skimmed through footage from various security cameras of Craft and Zero, clad in the disguises the witnesses familiarised him with. They traversed through the busy halls of the subterranean district, into a bar and through these tunnels. From the garage they stood by, they emerged, a red ride chaser in their possession. X clenched his jaw and grit his teeth as he watched Zero flush at Craft's side, a twinge of jealousy chipping away at his composure. He steadied himself before it could overwhelm him, looking aside for a moment and dragging his palm down his nose and mouth.

"What's the model on that?" X asked.

"It's a modified NAC-T5000 military model. It's been out of production for two decades. It looks as though there isn't a licence plate on it, but it should be Craft's vehicle from his days in the army," Phantom replied. "I've sent what I've found to my squadron. I'll have them scan highway footage for it. We should be able to track it down shortly."

"Good, good. Good job." He patted Phantom on the shoulder. "Thanks to you, we'll have Zero back home in no time."

Phantom gave a small nod. He had an air of uncertainty about him, but X didn't pry. "There is another thing I've uncovered. It's about the witnesses' story. "

He skimmed through the film again. X leaned in as he watched the scene unfold on the screen. Tyrod, the timid witness, rushing to strike Zero in the alley, who fought back with no other choice handed to him. Phantom skipped through the footage again. There Zero was, helpless as the unruly civilian pinned him to a wall. His associates closed in on him like vultures circling in on the kill.

X could feel the anger welling in his chest, pupils like pin pricks and his deep breaths shuddering in and out of flared nostrils. He flexed his fingers into a fist.

"I'm not sure why they engaged him," Phantom said, "but they clearly initiated the fight."

Soon, Craft reemerged from the garage and warded the attackers off with ease as Zero watched on. X stepped away, having seen enough. Bitter jealousy and rage were entwined in X's core, enough to make him feel ill.

"We have enough evidence to arrest them on assault charges," Phantom advised, "it is your call…"

X shook his head and huffed. "Mavericks…" he spat like he was uttering a curse. "They will be dealt with accordingly…"

Phantom steeled himself, for he already knew what to expect. They reappeared from the darkness, the witnesses slowly backing away as X exerted his oppressive presence. He motioned the sheriff and his officers out of the way on his way to confront Tyrod.

"That's quite the impressive scar you have there, Tyrod," X murmured, low voice rumbling. "How did you get that, exactly?"

X cocked his head and tightened his gaze. Tyrod glanced nervously at his friends, who could offer him little consolation. The young reploid was filtering through excuses in his head, but no matter what he came up with, the words wouldn't come out. X stuck his nose up at him.

"Come on. Don't play dumb with me," X chided. He leaned in to whisper, "Zero's got sharp claws, doesn't he?"

The witnesses inched away, but their backs met the wall, and heavily armed officers cornered them in. Tyrod held his breath, mechanical heart thumping hard in his chest. He didn't say anything, but that spoke volumes.

"You have some nerve, assaulting my partner so callously," he growled, slowly pacing back and forth. "And thinking you'd face no repercussions? You insult me. Why'd you do it?"

Tyrod's voice caught in his throat, mouthing silent words as he stumbled over his thoughts. "It- it was a misunderstanding..."

"Don't lie to me!" X snapped, lunging forward like a biting hound. "I saw the surveillance footage. This was no accident. You hurt him. I should kill you where you stand."

Tyrod set his jaw and gulped, beads of sweat running down the back of his neck. "We didn't know, I swear."

"Bullshit," X snarled, "you wanted to steal him away from me, didn't you?"

"N-no, it's not like that–"

"Then what is it?! Because from where I stand, you're guilty of assaulting a Neo Arcadian official. Not only that, but you assaulted a legendary hero, who fought so you could live your miserable little lives free from Weil's reign. Shameful."

"We–" Tyrod clenched his teeth, biting back words. "Sir, it was a mistake..."

The witnesses taking cover behind Tyrod shuddered in their boots with wide eyes and anxious shallow breaths, as terrified as a cornered lamb. They didn't dare speak.

"A mistake… I cannot tolerate any more mistakes," X said, leaning back with his chest puffed and head cocked.

"Unauthorised possession of a deadly weapon is a felony. I wouldn't suppose that was a mistake either."

Tyrod's gaze flickered to and fro, meagre fortitude waning quickly in the face of certain doom. With his options running thin, he turned to the only choice he had left; violence.

"Then why don't you just get the fuck out of my face and let me explain shit?!" Tyrod yelled, bumping his chest into X. He stumbled back as Tyrod pointed an accusatory finger his way. "I'm fuckin' sorry I didn't recognise your bitch right away. I'm not fuckin' obsessed with him. But from what I can tell, he ain't fuckin' into you either, you fascist prick!"

X seethed, lip curling into a snarl. "You know nothing."

"I know enough. He wouldn't be in this shithole if he wasn't runnin' from you."

A dangerous silence rolled over them. Officers shuffled, rifles clacking against their armour as they readied their weapons. X's chest rose and fell with deep, furious breaths, tension gripping every inch of his being.

X made his decision at that moment. Tyrod wouldn't live to see the day to regret his words.

His hand retracted into his arm cannon in a blur, beam axe firing outwards and bathing the dark tunnels in its white hot glow. Before Tyrod could so much as gasp, X had already swung his axe up and through his chest and head, shearing his torso into two leafs.

"Oh, shit!"

The sheriff shielded his eyes as X painted the tunnels red. The witnesses cried and shrieked in terror as their friend fell to the ground in a heap. Phantom darted his gaze elsewhere, and Harpuia instinctively closed his eyes and turned.

X took a deep breath in and sheathed his axe and arm cannon, standing up straight and composing himself. He motioned to his troops.

"Take the rest of them to the processing facility," X commanded. His soldiers marched over and swiftly apprehended the witnesses. Though indignant, they were too shaken to protest. When they took hold of the tall artist, X waved a negative.

"Take him to the brig. It'd be a shame for such a talented artist to go to waste," X said. "Phantom, Harpuia. Focus your attention on tracking where Zero's been taken. The rest of you-" he turned to address his troops and the police officers, "-will keep the outer sectors on lock down. Enforce curfews. Report and apprehend all suspicious individuals. Every second counts. Now go!"

Never ones to argue, his subordinates agreed hastily with an ensemble of 'sir yes sir's, before they quickly cleared out, whisking away the suspects and the dead corpse from the scene. The sheriff lingered, staying behind to watch the splatter of blood slowly dribble down the walls and floors, rivulets eventually pooling at the drain.

"...You killed that kid, sir."

The sheriff's mouth twitched behind his moustache, short nose turned up. X nodded.

"Doesn't that bother you?" He continued. X contemplated for a beat.

"It used to. Not anymore." He wiped the blood from his face. "Though I take no pleasure in it, I know now that it is what must be done."

X stared off into nothing, eyes distant and aloof. The sheriff huffed and pulled up his belt as he turned to vacate the tunnels, leaving X to stew in his own thoughts.

"You like hurting people, don't you?" said Omega, still lingering at his side.

---

Craft's living quarters in the Resistance base was the size of the bathrooms back at the citadel. It was cramped and coated in a film of dust from its owner's absence. There was a berth built into the wall, a desk pushed against the wall, and not much else. Despite the lack of luxuries, Zero felt at home, like he had been taken back to his old living quarters.

The berth was cramped, even for Zero's smaller frame. It was a struggle to find a comfortable position to lie in. He was sore and dizzy from all the jabs Cerveau had given him. The blanket was fuzzy and prickly, too thin to offer much warmth, yet it offered Zero rare comfort. It smelled a little bit like him, too.

"Hey."

Before Zero could drift off, Craft had returned with his armour, dropping it all on the mattress. Zero rubbed his eyes and scooted off the bed.

"You left your armour back there, Red," Craft said. He leaned on the desk, shuffling his things around absentmindedly. "How are you feeling?"

"Better…" Zero said, not that it was a high bar to clear. "Yourself?"

"Likewise. I heard Cerveau gave you a medical. Sad to hear I was right about the collar."

"Yeah… it is what it is. I'll learn to live with it." Zero tucked his hair neatly behind his audials and clipped his helmet back on. "He was quite the character."

"Cerveau? You have no idea…" Craft said. "He's our weapons guy, too, you know. He gave my baby here a solid upgrade…"

He reached around himself to scoop up a massive laser cannon that was propped up against a wall. It must've weighed a ton, but he picked it up like it was nothing.

"There was no way in Hell Neo Arcadia would let me walk into the citadel with this," he said, seemingly swooning over his ridiculous weapon. "This baby's the World Ender. One of the deadliest firearms in existence."

He flourished it in front of Zero, who gingerly stroked its barrel, unsure of what else he was supposed to do with it. "Impressive," Zero praised. "I can think of a few times it would've come in handy."

"Ah, I know, but I'm not about to hand it over to the authorities," he explained. "The military already has plenty of firepower as is."

He set it down again with tender, gentle care. "I'd say Cerveau would be interested in asking a couple questions about your Z-sabre too," said Craft, "if you're lucky, maybe he could build you a new one."

Zero slipped off his shirt and jacket, fitting himself back into his vest. "I've already asked too much of these people," he denied. "Besides, it would be in the Resistance's best interest if I didn't stick around long. I don't want to lead X here."

Craft deflated, shoulders slumping with a sigh. "Suppose you're right," he said. "Better off you run free than stay tethered to Neo Arcadia… maybe that's true for all of us." His gaze darted to his desk, where he found a picture frame knocked on its face. He adjusted it, propping up a photograph of himself besides Neige. "But someone needs to be around to fight the good fight."

There was a knock on the door, which crept open with a creak. Ciel peaked inside.

"You have a moment, Zero?" she asked, slipping in through the gap in the door. "I hope you're feeling better... I've called an assembly, if you're still interested in speaking to the Resistance," she said. "Please, don't feel as though you're obligated to do anything… everything we do, we do to ensure reploids' safety. That includes you, Mister Zero."

"It's okay. I've made up my mind," Zero assured, getting to his feet. "I should speak to the people… it's the least I can do."

Ciel bowed her head and opened the door for Zero. "If that's so, then come with me," she said, gesturing to the hallways. "I'm sure there will be plenty of folks who would love to meet you, Zero."

When Zero left the room, he was confronted by a woman, a human woman. She was tall and well built, with tan, slightly freckled skin and short, deep red hair. Even at first glance, Zero sensed a fiery aura about her, not one to be messed with. Ciel set a hand on her shoulder.

"Zero, this is Miss Neige," Ciel greeted them. "She's a journalist and activist, investigating Neo Arcadian injustices."

Neige offered a hand for him to take. Zero reciprocated, and she gave his hand a firm shake.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mister Legend," Neige said, a little coy. "Never thought the day would come."

"The pleasure is all mine," Zero replied, "I've heard a lot of good things about you."

Neige glared at Craft over Zero's shoulder. "I'm sure you have," she said. "Ah, where are my manners? I really should thank you for saving Craft's life. I don't know what I would've done without him… I owe you a lot, Zero."

"You shouldn't. I just felt like it was the right thing to do," Zero insisted, walking at her side as they spoke. "He's done a lot for me already."

The assembly room was spacious and circular, even when the seating area was packed full of Resistance folks. Ciel opened a back door to a dias overlooking the crowd, where Cerveau was already standing. Zero cooled his nerves and breathed a deep sigh, finding refuge in Craft's presence.

"You just sit back here until you're ready," Ciel said. "I'll be a moment."

The murmur of the crowd died down when Ciel stepped foot on the podium, addressing the Resistance folk with a kind smile.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice… I really appreciate it," Ciel started, quickly garnering their attention. "Look, I wish I could offer you good news more often. It's been a tough couple months, and I know you've been fighting hard for longer than you deserve to… we've lost a lot lately."

The crowd's spirits visibly flattened in tune with her sentiment.

"But I wouldn't have called all of you here for no reason. Rather, I have to make light of quite an unexpected development…" she said, reigniting their intrigue. "Finding allies in Neo Arcadia is not easy, not anymore. X has made it his mission to eliminate all dissenting voices, even of those closest to him, that we know… but there are still those who have compassion for our cause, though they may be unable to express that sympathy."

Ciel took a deep breath and held it. "Months ago, we failed to stop Neo Arcadia from taking Zero… to tell the honest to God truth, I believed that there would be no salvaging that failure. And yet, in the same vein, I thought Craft would've surely been executed, but as you know now, he's fortunately still with us. I have someone special to thank for that…" Ciel looked over her shoulder at Zero with a gentle smile. Her gaze effortlessly calmed Zero, tension lifting from the pit of his stomach. Knowing he had the endorsement of the Resistance leader, he stepped forward into view at Ciel's side.

There was a sudden burst from the crowd, reploids gasping and mumbling, uncertainty and shock buzzing from the throng of people. There were reploids of all ages, shapes and sizes before him, from young, barely teenage children to grizzled warbot animaloids, all donning the forest green uniform of the Resistance.

"I never thought I'd get to say this, but it is a privilege I'm pleased to have… it is thanks to Zero that Craft had his life spared by the Neo Arcadian regime, and now, in a time of need, he has come to us seeking sanctuary," Ciel explained. "I'm sure you have many questions for him, but I ask you to be patient. He has suffered under X's control, maybe in ways you won't understand. He has asked to speak to you, so I won't keep him waiting…"

The crowd were equal parts uneasy and wonderstruck of Zero's presence, and his combat algorithm flared with so many eyes honing in on him.

"Thank you, Ciel. It is true that I have come here seeking asylum from Neo Arcadia. I wish it didn't have to come to this, that I could fight my way out of this life without having to burden you good people with my troubles, but the truth is I simply can't…"

Zero clasped his hands over his chest, speaking from his racing heart. "A hundred years ago, I made a mistake. I left X, sealing myself away, thinking I could only cause more destruction and pain. I was naïve and impulsive, and I realise now that it has only led to more suffering. It was my mistake to make, and I feel it is only right I side with those who paid the price for it. Even if it means turning away from X…"

He sighed, eyes closing slowly and head dipped. I wish I could do more for you. But I have no say in the matter. It hurts to say it. It is in my blood to fight, and I want to fight for you, the people I believe in, who've offered me refuge and generosity I don't deserve. But X has made it impossible for me to do so."

A soft murmur travelled throughout the crowd. There were too many voices for Zero to pick out any one sentiment. "This collar; it's a restraining bolt," he stated bluntly, sending the crowd into a harsh silence. "It has numbed my senses, taken my power and stamina and stolen my agency. I want to be the hero you see me as, but I'm just not that person anymore. X has taken my own body from me. He's lied to me, betrayed my trust, he murdered everyone I could've hoped to turn to without remorse. He's done everything he can to take away my freedom. But what pains me the most is knowing that he's using me as an excuse to hurt others. I know what I've gone through in my short tenure in Neo Arcadia is paltry compared to what you've all suffered, but it's the truth, and I wish to speak it."

He swallowed, his heart thick in his throat as the silent crowd considered his words. "I wish I could do more for you, but the best thing I can do for you is run. X will be looking for me, and I know he won't stop at anything until I'm found. The last thing I want to do is lead him here. X had been given no choice but to live in exile for now, as far away from Neo Arcadia as possible," continued Zero. "But I promise, I will come back. I don't know how I can free myself from this restraining bolt, the only one who can is X himself, but I won't give up. X has to be stopped, and the cruelty he stands for cannot be tolerated. I will fight to destroy what's left of the old world and let a new one rise from its ashes. It was the last thing Axl asked of me…"

He graciously bowed his head. "Thank you for accommodating me. I've made mistakes, grave ones, and I won't dare demand your forgiveness. What I can promise you is I will do what I can for you. For Axl."

The crowd maintained its silence as they took in Zero's speech, his words persisting in the air long after they had left his vocalizer. He was well aware that the Resistance would be justified in harbouring resentment against him.

Among the crowd, a young reploid stood upright, big eyes brimming with expectation catching Zero's attention like a beacon in the night.

"Will you save us, Zero?" he asked.

'Can I even save myself, at this point?' he thought. Was his life even worth saving?

He shut his eyes and whisked the thought away. His life was rife with suffering and death, but he had to get over it. He had to keep living. If anything else, just for the sake of living.

"I promise."

---

In the confines of a hangar on the outskirts of Neo Arcadia, Fefnir and Leviathan stood beside one another, looming over the shipyard from a overlooking platform. From this height, the soldiers looked like busy worker ants, scurrying around frantically but purposefully all the same.

Towering Golems, artefacts of an old war, lined the hangars. They stood dormant side-by-side, lights dimmed, silently waiting like racehorses at the starting gate. Leviathan furrowed her brow and hummed a sceptical sigh.

"Is it weird that I don't trust those things?" She asked, though she wasn't really looking for an answer. "I feel like they're cursed or something…" She crossed her arms and tightened her lips, watching intently as the vacant red gaze of the war machine came to life, hydraulics hissing loudly and an electronic whirr echoing off the walls.

"I don't know. They definitely have some bad juju."

Fefnir scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "Yeah… I don't trust 'em as far as I can throw 'em either."

Soldiers and engineers rushed to distance themselves from the Golem as it slowly came online with a deep, resonant rumble. It shook the entire hangar, sending a chill up even Fefnir and Leviathan's steadfast spines.

"What can you do… dad's orders," Fefnir bemoaned. "They're just machines, nothing more. Still…" he shuddered, then shook his head. "Anywho, I guess there ain't no better way to flush Zero out of hiding than with brute force. The Neo Arcadian Way."

He puffed his chest out and put his hands on his hips as sarcastic flourish. Leviathan made a half hearted laugh that died quickly. Slowly, the Golem's VTOL systems fired up, and they gently hovered from the hangar and into the sun, moving like ghosts through the air.

"Suppose so." Leviathan agreed grimly. "Talking about brute force…"

Following the departure of the golem fleet came a massive humanoid beast following in their wake. A creature, with liquid oozing flesh that refracted light in a way that made it look like a glistening rainbow, all host to the head of a vacuous pantheon. Its body morphed and shifted grotesquely with each foot step as it was shuttled outside by a group of pantheon soldiers. Leviathan grimaced.

"There goes Phantom's pet project…"

She wrinkled her nose.

The ringing of her transponder being pinged took her attention away from the beastly sight. Leviathan flicked open her wrist console, projecting a holographic display of the caller.

"Speak of the devil," she murmured, answering the call. "Hey, Phantom."

He looked as bleak as ever on the display. "We have good news concerning Zero's whereabouts. It seems Craft has taken him to the industrial district in the Outer Sectors by ride chaser. I'll send you the coordinates and an image of Craft's vehicle."

They got a notification for a few new files on their shared cloud storage.

"Sweet. Few golems should be there in a moment then. Just deployed them." Leviathan sent the new information to the battalion she was overseeing. "Rest are going to crowd control in the other sectors. You want that slime thing to come on the Zero hunt?"

A small pause. "...You mean the Rainbow Devil?"

He sounded a little incredulous. Leviathan hummed a yes.

"That would be ideal."

"Alright. Sending it over, it's your problem now," Leviathan said, sending the Devil's unit to Zero's supposed coordinates. Fefnir stepped into Phantom's view, squeezing up next to Leviathan.

"Oi, did you come up with any leads on that supra force metal incident from the other day?" Fefnir asked. Phantom looked aside to think.

"No. To be honest, it… slipped my mind," he revealed. "I've been occupied with tracking Zero and dealing with data security issues… I apologise."

Fefnir slumped. "Well, no harm in asking."

"If there's nothing else, I'll leave you two be. I'll see you soon."

His display went dark shortly after. Leviathan snapped her wrist console shut and dipped her head back in exhaustion.

An ugly silence followed.

"...I am so tired…" she groaned.

Fefnir stared off into the distance, his flickering gaze rich with apprehension. He folded his arms behind his head in exasperation and aimlessly wandered around.

"I just don't know about all this…" Fefnir admitted. "I… I don't know. I don't think Zero wants to come back."

They all knew it, but no one wanted to say it.

"This is all just a massive waste of time, isn't it…"

Fefnir sat on the ground, feeling lost. Leviathan struggled to say anything.

"But… Zero loves us. He loves dad. Right?" she asked. "Craft's just stealing him away from us. We just gotta get him back!"

"You really think that?" Fefnir prodded. "I think running away with Craft was his plan to begin with, Levi…"

Leviathan's brow furrowed. She denied it, but he was probably right.

"He always looked just… so miserable," he continued. "Didn't matter how cosy his life was. After what dad did to Axl…" he trailed off- neither wanted to talk much about the incident. "It's all just totally fucked up. Dad said that Zero was gonna love us like we were his own kids, and he was gonna fix everything. Like it was all gonna get better, but now it's just worse."

They wanted Zero to love them like a father. X had always been there, but there had come a point in their lives when he was no longer their loving dad. He was their leader, and his children had become little more than his subordinates.

"Maybe we should just let him run…" he said with a cynical shake of the head. "We've got more important shit to be worrying about. I mean, that magician asshole with the OSA's just swindled us out of a couple tons of Supra-force metal. What's stopping them from just, fucking– nuking the capital off the Earth while we're busy chasing Zero around?"

"...And just let Zero fall into the hands of mavericks?"

"And what is he gonna do? He's hardly a threat with that collar dad put on him," Fefnir rebutted. "I just…"

He breathed hard through gritted teeth and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. "Why bother? I'm tired of it. There are bigger problems we're facing than dad's relationship issues."

"Alright, that's enough moping!" Leviathan stamped her flipper and put her hands on her hips. "Seriously, this is what the mavericks want you to think! I mean, sure, Zero can't do shit right now, but just having him sends a message! We just need to save him from their poison, and we can figure out the rest later. Right?"

Fefnir clenched his jaw. "...Right."

Leviathan extended a hand, heaving Fefnir off the floor. "Besides, messages go both ways. What do we want 'em to know?"

"...We hate 'em," answered Fefnir, his spirits reignited.

"That's right. Well show those bastards that this city isn't for the taking!" pepped Leviathan. "This is our problem, alright? There's a civil war on the horizon, there's dissent frothing to the top, and we ain't tolerating it!"

"Right!"

They looked into each other's burning eyes, sparks of hostility in their fiery gazes. Leviathan squeezed his hand and lifted it to the sky.

"We hate 'em, we hate 'em, we hate 'em!" they chanted in unison, leaving their doubts behind them as they leapt from the platform and followed their battalion into the sun, ready to pluck Zero back from the grips of the Resistance.