There was a knock at the door. It hardly took X a moment to look from the newly released on the condition of Earth after the fall of satellite colony, Eurasia. His eyes quickly adjusted from the dimly lit report to the door to his room. "You can come in," he beckoned politely.

As usual, he expected his usually red-armored clad companion to walk through the door. The nonchalance of his stride as he would enter within X's room sit himself into X's chair (though it was more like Zero's chair from how often he would relax in that specific spot) to converse in all the usual ways they would. That was what X expected. That was what he hoped. And perhaps he hoped just a bit too much when disappointment swept over the reploid as the door opened and Signas walked into the room. X tried not to look disappointed. But he couldn't help himself as every fiber of his soul seemed to rage away in agony. The emptiness in his heart seemed more apparent. Now, more than ever.

"Commander Signas," X greeted with an almost stutter. "What do I owe this visit?" he tried to smile as he began to stand from his seat at attention.

Signas held up his hand to allow X to remain seated. "Save me the pleasantries," he commanded. And X felt the tension relax as it wasn't business but rather pleasure that Signas made his visit. He watched as Signas looked around X's room. It was empty, save for some framed photographs on his wall with Cain and Zero. To the side was a shelf with a collection of rocks he had dug up with the archaeologist. It was humble, but well lived in and taken care of. The signs that X lived here. "I wanted to check on how you've been handling the past few weeks." Signas's eyes fell on a picture of X and Zero. X full of love and cheer whilst his friend had an awkward smile plastered on his face. "I understand you have not had much time to relax since Eurasia had fell and—"

"With all due respect, Commander." X stared at Signas with a timid smile. "You can say what you truly want to say."

There was a small pause, the words suddenly were almost too heavy. It was impossible to hide one's true intentions from X. More than that, Signas was always the ever so blunt one. "How have you been handling Zero's death?"

It felt as though that question reverberated around the room. It hung heavy in X's heart as he kept on with that same smile, although barely. "As well as I can, it's not the first time he's died." He tried to joke the same way that Zero would, but it felt almost too unbearable to utter them. Perhaps a long time ago X would have believed Zero was still out there. Even now he still did! But deep down, X knew very well that it would be impossible to recover him. Slowly his eyes wandered downward to the floor, his hands clenched into fists as he held back tears. The seemingly permanent scowl of Signas's face seemed to have soften as he looked at X.

"I… I've been trying to look for his body, you know. To try to give myself some closure." X bit his lip, trying to fight back the tears.

"I know." Signas stared at X with pity. "We're all worried for you X. You've been out there practically every day—"

"But what if he's still out there!?" he looked back up at Signas. His fingers gripping into his palms. Tears that had welled up in his eyes slowly dripped down his face. "I need to bring him back! What if someone tries to use him again? I can't let it happen again! What if he's out there alone? What if he can't get back? I… I…I—" it was all too much to bear for him as he let his emotions fall into place. Sadness. Agony. The loneliness was unbearable.

"I know." Signas said again. He placed a hand on X's shoulder. "We all want him back."

There was a comfort in having the touch of someone else on X's shoulder. So many times, X had run to Zero's side to reveal his emotions to his companion. To be cradled and coddled by him. So long has it been since X allowed himself to feel another presence as he cursed the world and allowed himself to feel as he was meant to. As human. His lips trembled as he let all his emotions go. Let himself feel as his creator meant him to feel. Human. A human who has lost his most cherished companion. His other half of the coin, now faceless and smooth. The pain hurt. The grief of it hurt even more. Often, he would want to betray the world who had betrayed Zero, but never could he let himself to. Because this was the world Zero wanted for both himself and Iris.

Those feelings eventually simmered, and his sobs turned quiet as he wiped his face with his arm. Sniffling and gasping. So human-like in its appearance, just as his creator wanted it to be. "I'm sorry…"

"You don't have to be," Signas smiled down at X. "I know you and Zero were rather close and it is both my duty as your Commander and friend to tell you that you don't have to go this alone." He patted X's shoulder. X knew that this was not Signas's forte, but he could appreciate that he was trying. "I cannot promise you this, but what I can offer is as we go through the crash that if we find any signs of Zero you will be one of the first people to know."

There was a comfort knowing that X would be one of the first to know of Zero's presence. "Thank you," X offered a smile. "All of my searching wasn't for nothing." He sniffled a bit, wiping a tear from his face. "While I was out there last time I was able to find this." X turned in his seat to open up one of the compartments of his desk. Carefully he plucked the item that was so carefully tucked away in X's desk. Laid gently in his two palms was Zero's precious weapon: his saber. Signas looked shocked that he managed to find it unscathed. "It still works. I'm surprised it was all I could find. It's almost as if everything about him disappeared…" X stared down at the weapon solemnly. "I just want to make sure there's nothing of him left out there. I don't want him to be used again, I can't bear the thought of it seeing it happen again." His body ached knowing that one of his final moments with Zero was fighting him. He couldn't imagine finding him once more only to fight his closest companion again.

"Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself this time." Signas spoke, his gaze took him back to the picture of X and Zero together. The joy that emanated from the photo betrayed the grief that ached in this room. "Have you gone through Zero's belongings yet?"

"I haven't." X's gaze took him to the photo that Signas was looking at. He couldn't bear the thought of going through his belongings. Not yet. "I was going to get to it this week."

Signas nodded. "I would appreciate it if you did soon, we have many new recruits these days and need all the room we can find." Even if it was harsh of him to say that, time could not stop for the dead. And as the Earth turns, so does life proceed. Signas could barely hide the grimace that worked along his features as he had to delicately tip the balance between the good for the people and the good for his people. Even if it meant making those he cared for suffer. "Stephen wanted to talk to you about something."

X paused for a moment. "Stephen. She's from Zero's squad, right?"

Signas nodded. "She wanted to give you something, I can't say what it is for certain." X nodded slowly. Signas' eyes glanced at the clock. "Regretfully, I have to take my leave. I'm sure you have work to do and I'm taking your time away."

"Of course," X tried to say it with a smile but the conversation only left him feeling bitter and depressed. He stood to see Signas out, watching the door slide open.

"And X," Signas stopped short of fully exiting, looking behind him to catch his gaze with X's. Though the reploid's face was always stern and his emotions rather blunt, there was a softness in his eyes. "You don't need to go through this alone."

There was a comfort in those words. Try as X might to push others away as he fell into despair, he knew that there were those out there that would always pull him from the abyss like Zero would. "I know, Commander. Thank you."

A rock was sent flying across the dirt as hush murmurs and faded rants flowed from the mouth of a disgruntled scientist. The vast desert that spanned before him was empty besides him as he shuffled through the carnage of the ruined colony. His words to no one but the sand as it flowed from one place to another. The metal as it reached to heaven to be one with it again. The desolate landscape nothing but the souls that whispered back to him. His steps weren't hurried as he pressed forward into the wreckage of Eurasia, the only place he could allow himself to wander without being bothered as his fervent rants grew louder. His purple armor shimmered in the sun as his lab coat billowed in the soft wind.

"Why can't they see what I'm doing is for the greater good?" he wondered out loud. "Who cares what is and what is not ethical? It isn't like humans thought about that as they tested their medicine on the thousands all for the greater good." He kicked another rock, sending it hard against scrap metal. "What is a little shadowplay, anyway? I'm sure there are hundreds out there would pay me millions to bring back their loved ones whether it be human or reploid." He gripped his hands tight as he slammed it against a hunk of metal. The noise echoing across the land where no one heard. "They don't understand what they're throwing away by denying me my work!" He kicked a board of metal, letting his rage consume him as he walked the desert.

His venting would eventually simmer, his words turned to grunts and annoyed glares towards anything that moved in the wind. All he could do was wander the broken land towards nowhere in particular. He watched carefully as the howls of madness would soon consume this beautiful crash site.

Although no one was allowed inside the Eurasia crash site, it became a common place for Gate to wander and allow his thoughts to overcome him and experiments to take place. The place was more dangerous for humans anyway, with the radioactivity and chemicals that drenched this broken land. Most who walked here would die unless they were machine. Occasionally, of course, there would be a Maverick Hunter patrol. But it was easy for Gate to lie to their face and tell them that he was here under the guise of a science expedition to the affects the crash had on Earth. Besides, there wasn't any official documentation in place to verify his status.

The mind wandered, and his legs carried him aimlessly to a place he never been before. Still considered the crash site, it looked to be untouched where neither Maverick Hunter nor treasure hunter strayed. The rubble arched up and over to create a type of half-dome that shaded it from the sun and wind. Iron bars poked from sand like blades of grass. A chasm split open deeper into the center where more metal opened up like a rib cage broken apart. Computers fried and melted down to a mush of metal. Pieces of broken Reploid scattered the place, and carcass of humans half buried in the sand. Innocents that were unable to escape the initial crash, or perhaps even those that were trapped on the space colony.

From its untouched appearance, the anger that consumed Gate was promptly replaced with glee as treasures unfolded in front of him. To another, it might have looked like junk, but to him it was a beautiful chest full of gleaming gold.

Maybe there's something I can salvage here to show those scientists what they're throwing away with my genius.

His thoughts were still consumed by the scientists that scoffed at his insane ideas. That his ideas were too unethical to treat this wounded world. But even if they thought he was unworthy, Gate would show them all that it was they who needed to be worthy for his help.

There must be something in this place. Already, Gate knew that there was a plethora of untouched data just waiting to be revealed and its secrets torn apart. Possibilists raced through his head as he wondered what secrets could be told from this carnage. Data on Sigma? Perhaps top-secret information on new Reploids. He had heard that Eurasia was developing war mechanisms. All rumors, of course.

Gate scratched the bottom of his chin as his thoughts raced. Although Sigma's data could be useful for the study of creating a new age of Reploids, everyone knew that his data was the most volatile of the lot. Perhaps there might be parts of X left in the rubble, but all Reploids came from X, and how else could he drum up something new from something so overused? Still, there were reports that he had lost some parts in the crash, and he could still use the purity of his data for something…

There was a sigh as he sat down on a piece of rubble, eyes wandered around the carnage of the colony. He rubbed his head already exhausted from his thoughts. "What am I going to do?" he lifted his head from his hands, looking up from the sky then down to his feet. "How am I going to prove to them I am worthy of their time?" He sighed again as he focused down at his feet gently kicking around the metal that looked all but useless.

It wasn't before long that he spotted something.

There! He saw it. Buried beneath the sand. At first, Gate wasn't sure what he found as the dust speckled the unknown material. It was black and partially destroyed, but it still held a green dim to it.

Carefully, he reached down. Brushing away the sand and dirt. He cradled it gently in his hands as he brought it closer to him. So carefully he held this machine part as if it would fall apart in his fingers. It seemed to be a core of some sort. The mechanism was unfamiliar to him. Almost vintage. He held it close to him, like a newborn child.

It looked important and unknown. Holding it nestled in his arm, he used his other to dig further into the ground. His hands clawing and digging to find the origin of this piece. More of the familiar materials sifted through his fingers as his brows furrowed at the discovery of such a piece. Red armor. Green fluid. Black wrapped in his arms. And soon he found it. The picturesque face of an angel of death. A face untouched by pain. A body morphed by destruction.

Gate could hardly believe this find. He thought it to be a mirage of some sort. A short circuit of his functions. But buried beneath him was a vision so beautiful. It was like the vision of God that humanity had tried so hard to find.

But this was no god. It was something else entirely. A creature laid beautiful in the sand of heaven to rest forever as its voice would harken more creatures to it.

This was the archangel of death.

"Zero…?"

This has to be destiny!

Here below him was the man of Gate's very obsession. Who inspired it all! The constant resurrections. The constant death and rebirth. It was Zero that caused the misfortune of Gate's obsession. Gate for so long tried to gain any sort of information about Zero to learn how the Reploid—no, the Machine, could stand to be brought back from the brink so many times over. Every time it was denied from him. But now, that dream, that necessity, was in his hands. Literally. He could feel Zero's skin. Feel his hair flow through his fingers. Feel his heart barely beat in his hand.

Zero was the perfect machine. The perfect dead machine. And now, was holding him in his hands. He now held God.

Gate smiled to himself. In his hands held the cradle of Gate's new civilization. And all he had to do was reincarnate the very angel of death that would lead them to it.

"Zero…" he brushed angel's cheeks. "You're going to serve me well."

X waited at the side of the room as Stephen finished her speech to 0th Squad.

It was their personal wake for Zero. Although X was invited to this ceremony from 0th Squad themselves, it felt strange being surrounded by people that he hardly knew. He hadn't intended to come initially. Though X thought himself close to Zero, he did not think him close enough to the relationship that Zero forged with his squad. What Zero and X had was a friendship that broke every boundary. But the connection that Zero had with his squad was special in a way that was different to X. Like all things.

These people had the utmost pride and dedication towards Zero, a respect that rivalled even X's own. As Stephen spoke, even X could tell from just the way she regarded him in her stories. She regaled the tales of missions that were nigh impossible. Of feats that X had often heard of from Zero himself. There was pride in her voice, and as X looked around, there was a pride on everyone's faces.

But even if this was a moment of happiness, all he could feel was the pain of emptiness.

"So, I would like to make a toast to Zero for being our commander. Not once, but twice that crazy bastard made it back to us. Nothing is forever, but we'll be sure to keep his memory with us forever." Her squad mates made nods of approval as they raised their canisters of energen to the air. A cheer. A laugh. A sip. They cheered for joy at the picture they set on the table of Zero himself.

Their offerings were sweet. Their voices even sweeter. One could hardly imagine that this was a wake for the dead.

"We shouldn't forget either…" one of the Reploids shouted from the small crowd. He was rather short compared to the rest of them. "To Stephen for taking over 0th squad!" Another wave of shouts as Stephen took on a rather bashful look. Roars of cheers and laughter spread. Even if some of them looked sorrowful, they still pressed on with joy.

It wasn't the first, nor would it be the last time, they would make such a farewell. Special missions that were borderline suicidal to the normal hunter, all the team members specially handpicked by Zero for these exact situations. There were some B ranks in the fold, but Zero had told X once upon a time that they served a special purpose like a clockwork, no matter how small their contribution. They all treated every moment as if this would be their last. They knew the risks. Yet still they took them with a smile. Ready to face the unknown.

So often X would chide Zero for such dangerous missions. But every time, Zero would make it back to him.

Every time…

From the corner of his eye, X noticed one of the beastloids approach him. He was tall and lithe and took on a hybrid appearance of a cobra and dinosaur. His metal shimmered with green and the air tasted electrifying as he stood close. His tail long and slender with two prongs set at the end of it. X remembered that he was called Asard only because of how many fights he would pick. Even with X's own squad. He knew that Asard did not like him, only because it came from Zero's mouth, albeit rather jokingly. 'Turns out I picked up someone that doesn't like you.' Zero's voice would echo in his mind as Asard stood before X.

"X," Asard grumbled as he got close enough to X.

"Asard," X replied in light conversation. His mood cheery and hardly betraying his thoughts. He was going to open his mouth to speak more but was cut short at the clawed hand that placed itself on his shoulder. X tensed just slightly, unsure of what Asard was going to do.

"You were special to Zero." Asard nodded his head sagely. "Even if I hate your guts, I can't deny that." No emotion flickered across the giant Reploid. "Stay strong, for him, alright?" X hardly had anytime to respond. Asard was quick to remove himself from X and saunter back to his teammates.

Stephen gave a laugh as she approached X who looked dumbfounded. "He isn't so bad once you get to know him," she elbowed X lightly in the waist. Playfully handing him a can of energen. Though he looked at it suspiciously.

"Does he usually act like that?" X inquired looking towards Asard as he took a sip of the drink. It was hard, as if it was alcoholic. He made a face.

"Hot and cold? That's Asard alright." Stephen playfully laughed as she stared towards the menacing beastloid. "He might not like you, X. But Asard has a strong sense of respect for you because of Zero."

"That sounds reassuring."

"He hates everyone," she shrugged her shoulders. "Don't take it personally. But… He gets the job done so we don't complain." She gave a sigh. A hand raised to her head to rub the bridge of her nose, "It's going to be hard keeping everyone in line without Zero."

X gave a laugh, "I can imagine." He held out his hand towards Stephen to shake, to which she took it wholeheartedly. "Congratulations on making commander of 0th squad."

Stephen frowned as the attention of the wake was brought back on her. "Please congratulate me at the ceremony." She already looked exhausted from the busywork, and her position was barely even formal. "Not that it was a very hard position to get…"

"You're a natural leader!" X patted Stephen on the back smiling. "I heard all the stories Zero told me about your work on missions. I think Signas is making a great decision."

"Oh," Stephen rolled her eyes. "He didn't leave it in his will?" There was an awkward silence as X stared at her confused. "Oh…" she looked to the side, slightly flustered. "Zero used to joke that he would leave it in his will that I would become the new commander. Only because I was the only one in the squad with their head on straight." She laughed, but X still stared at her even more confused.

"Was that why he picked you to become a part of the squad?" X blurted.

"Maybe? It wouldn't surprise me." Stephen shrugged her shoulders. "I thought he picked me because he needed a secretary, honestly." There was a small pause as she mulled over her drink. Her attention turned back to X with widened eyes. "He didn't actually have a will that said that, did he?" X shook his head. "Oh, thank god. It would have been a bit weird, wouldn't it have been?"

X smiled again. "Maybe… I can tell you that he did have a will. If you can call it that."

"Let me guess…" Stephen pretended to think really hard for a moment. "It said… 'X shall deal with everything I leave behind as he sees fit.'" X stared at her for a moment, before slowly nodding his head. "He's so predictable," she pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose again. "Which reminds me, I have something to give you before I ransack his office." Stephen motioned for X to follow her. "Zero liked to hide things in his office, a lot. Annoyingly almost. I honestly think he forgot that he hid this but I always remember every single thing would hide." Stephen opened the door to Zero's office. The placard next to the door still was labelled ZERO.

There was a controlled type of chaos that X was shocked to see when he saw the condition of Zero's office. Data pads sprawled about. Papers. Eyes only documents. Notes everywhere. A trash bin full of balled up paper. A disaster might have been an understatement by the conditions of the office. His mouth was wide open when he saw the carnage. "What in the…?"

"First time?" Stephen smiled back at X. "You must have seen the place after I cleaned it up. Lucky you…" She shuffled through some drawers and pushed piles of paper down onto the floor. X tip toed over papers whilst Stephen merely trudged through them. "He hid it in his office a while ago while I worked as his 'secretary' and forgot that it existed." The idea that Zero would hide anything spelled disaster. His memory was not what it used to be after the first time he had risen from death. A side effect, maybe. But he never went ahead and fixed the underlying issue.

"What is it?" X stared at the box that Stephen put on the desk. It was an old small wooden box. The features on the hinge had been worn down over the years, but it clearly had X labelled in black letters.

"Honestly? Not a damn clue." She picked a box off the table and handed it to him. "He shoved in the back of his drawer a few months after the whole Repliforce incident. Never really asked what about." When X opened it, he saw sheets of paper folded into small squares. "I did snoop, once. But it felt wrong to read something that was meant just for you. I can tell you and Zero had a very special relationship." She held her smile as X plucked through the box.

"That's what everyone says," X sighed as he gently closed the box. "Sometimes I just felt like we were the only people who truly knew one another."

She looked at X inquisitively. "X, did you… love him?"

X was taken aback by the statement. His cheeks turning red. "What!?" He gasped at the statement. His emotions lurched and fumbled. It was anger and pain and agony and sorrow. All built into this tight ball that burst inside him over and over again. It was hard to quell them as his lips trembled. "N-No! I- I mean…" X looked to the side unsure of how to respond. "Yes? I suppose?"

Stephen was quick to retract her words. "I'm sorry!" she put her hands up. "This… might have been a bad time to ask that question." She sighed pressing a hand to her face with a sigh before staring at X once more. "I understand what you mean. We all loved him in our own way." She placed her hand on the table, rubbing the old wooden desk. She reminisced. "I should get back to the party before someone starts trying to kill someone else." A sly quick attempt at an escape. She hopped over the paperwork quickly and with ease. As she opened the door she stopped to turn to look towards X. "And X… I know things are hard but we're always here for you." A small smile was her parting gift.

X smiled and nodded his head. "Thank you, Stephen."

"No problem." Stephen nodded her head. "Do you have any plans on sticking around? Alexander is planning on telling some stories about Zero and we'd appreciate it if you could tell some."

There was a part of X that wanted to, wanted to stay with the party to regale the stories of the adventures he had with Zero. But he knew that would dredge up terrible emotions of agony. And although it was him to shed tears of pain, this was a pain just for him. "I would like to stay here for a little longer… and I have some work I need to get to." There was paperwork he hadn't filed in weeks.

"Of course," Stephen nodded her head. "Well, if you ever change your mind. We'll be here…" and with a wave of her hand the door closed shut.

And X was left in the hell storm that Zero left behind. It swirled around him. His work. His writing. Everything that Zero left here swallowed him whole. Familiar handwriting left on familiar walls. Missions that X happened to briefly read that he remembered of. Pictures on walls of people that Zero once held dear too. Of Iris. Of Colonel. Of Cain. Of X. And all X could do in this swirling place was walk around to sit down on Zero's chair. To lay his head down on Zero's desk. To close his eyes and take in this place one last time before it would be taken away from him forever.

"It should have been me… I should have been the one…"

The sobs would soon drown out the silence as the cheers of happiness echoed through the empty room.

"Put that there! No. No! There." Dr. Gate gestured with pointed fingers at the appropriate accommodations of his new infatuation.

Upon the fated meeting in the desert, Gate was quick to call his scientific companion Isoc to regale the story of his discovery within the confines of the Eurasia crash site. The other was undoubtable skeptic of the discovery, hardly even wanting to bother to come out after the humiliating experience that both Isoc and Gate had just gone through in front of the scientific board. He dragged his feet to the affair, but once he had set his eyes upon the legendary hunter, Isoc was quick to change his demeanor. The two of them were quick to survey the area and surrounding place to sweep any materials of Zero to bring inside their laboratory. A job that should have taken days was completed in a matter of hours to prevent anyone else from stealing their project. Their paces were hurried but hands gentle around the damage package. Gate was careful as he brought in Zero's torso and he could not help but bark orders at Isoc, demanding that he hold and carry Zero's other body parts with care.

Every piece of Zero's body was placed carefully atop of Gate's medical table and work was quick to attach plugs and wires into sockets and documenting each piece they had. Scribbled handwriting. Frantic typing. Boxes pulled this way and that as they scrambled together each and every piece without an end.

And once everything was in place, they gazed upon their newfound friend. Exhausted and filthy, but positively brimming with newfound energy.

"It's incredible…" Isoc murmured.

"It's beautiful!" Gate shouted with glee.

Gate could only describe Zero's body as 'beautifully damaged'. His body had been bisected across his torso leaving the internal mechanism completely in view. A missing arm. A missing foot. As for Zero's face… although the beautiful hair seemingly was left untouched, the synthetic skin had begun to peel away leaving the internal structure of his jaw in complete view. Most of the body would have to be rebuilt from the ground up, and Gate's mind was already racing with ideas to improve the older frame. But nothing could truly be assessed without taking off his armor.

"We should begin to strip him of his armor," Gate moved forward.

Isoc chuckled, "Without dinner?"

Gate gave the other scientist a sideways glare, before returning to his work in pulling apart the machine's armor. He was surprised to see that most of the internal structure of Zero's body had been kept safe, but his torso armor had practically fallen apart when he pried it off. A gaping hole was left in Zero's upper chest that blasted through the armor and straight into his core. Gate surmised that likely the initial core, or 'heart', he found in the desert was meant to go there. And the damage to Zero's chest was beyond belief! The desert did nothing good for him, and it showed in how much sand that poured from every crevice of Zero's body. It annoyed Gate, to say the least. Annoyed him that he found the most stunning specimen in his life, only for it to be one of the most destroyed machines he's ever seen.

It still wasn't the worst.

As Gate reached over Zero's body to grab a wire, he could not help but glance downward at the red machine. Though his body was mangled and badly damaged there was a beauty in decay. Had Gate a heart it might have stopped beating. He was beginning to become infatuated with Zero's beautiful appearance. This angel. But he still could not help himself but feel that there was something more sinister crawling beneath his skin. As if it were worming its way through his skull and biting deep into his circuits. Attempting to consume his very fiber of his identity.

"There is a lot of work to be done," Isoc mumbled mindlessly at his data pad. Gate shook himself out of the trance and resumed his work hooking Zero up to his lab. He didn't realize how hard he had been breathing. "Do you have a plan?"

Gate smiled at the question. "Of course!" he turned towards Isoc, still half crawled onto the table. "I plan to study and unravel the mystery of Zero's DNA." He moved to sit on the table as Zero laid there. Bare for all to see. "More than that, I plan to bring him back to life and present him to the board of scientists to show how useful resurrection can be."

"You have quite the project in front of you." Isoc mused while stroking his beard. "Not to mention expensive." Isoc approached the table and bent over taking a closer look at the pipes and wires that stuck out of him. His finger squeezed a pipe, watching green oil drip from it.

Gate gritted his teeth. "Bassnium, hmm?" He rubbed the bottom of his chin in thought. "Expensive, yes, but it can be recreated with the proper elements." Gate smirked at Isoc. "What I'm more concerned about is our little friend in here." Gate gave Zero's head a gentle tap. "I am confident in my work in raising any normal reploid, but I've never seen a machine as intricate as Zero's. And I don't want to waste my time rebuilding a body that may not even have a host."

"What of the soul?"

"Soul?" Gate was taken aback for a moment. "Isoc, I didn't know you were spiritual."

Isoc shook his head. "No. But what good is a reploid that has no ambition? No motive?" Gate looked at Isoc perplexed, not quite understanding what the other scientist was getting at. Isoc sighed. "Let us take Sigma as an example. Although his body had been destroyed many times over the past century his ideals kept him alive through what humanity may call the 'soul'. We know that it is a virus, but his memories, personality, and being maintained an existence in our reality because of his belief in the superiority of machines."

Gate paused for a moment as he mulled over Isoc's words. He crossed his arms over his chest, a hand coming to his cheek to tap on it several times. "You think he doesn't have a will to live anymore?" Gate flicked his eyes towards Zero. "What makes you think that?"

Isoc smiled. "Did you see the leak of X's report from Eurasia?"

Gate eyes widened, "You have them?" He practically leapt from the table to approach his companion.

A wide grin made its way to Gate's face. With a smirk, Isoc reached over to grab a data pad, scrolling through for several moments before handing it to the impatiently waiting Gate. He consumed it in a matter of minutes, pacing the floor as he mumbled to himself.

"So X and Zero fought, then Sigma landed the finishing blow." Gate's eyes flickered across the screen to reread several earlier paragraphs. He looked somber for a moment. A grimace as he shook his head with a sigh. "What a shame," he handed Isoc back the data pad. "So, you think based on his report that Zero has finished what he had set out to do?" Gate's gaze slowly reached over to Zero. His body cold and unmoving. It reminded him of a saint dressed in gold, made to rest over and presented to everyone to touch and hold.

"He has to live again."

"Not to serve or fight?"

Isoc shook his head again. "Making Zero subservient to us may cause an error in his programming or ultimately end in him betraying us. We have already seen Mavericks who are predisposed to serve humanity to turn on them because of that thinking. If we program him to fight we may end up with a killing machine."

There was a chuckle from Gate's lips. "He already is one, Isoc." There was a grin on his face as he turned back to Isoc. "Perhaps we can join those two together. Perhaps not truly to live, or truly to fight. We all have the will to live. Humans, machines, reploids. Even the very earth we walk on. But we all have the will to die in equal measure. Even we who do not have flesh know that eventually, it will be time for us to depart the mortal coil. It is easier to revive something that has died only once, but twice is near impossible." Carefully Gate approached Zero. A hand laid gently against the other's check. He brushed away several strands of hair that covered his eyes that would sleep forevermore. "What reason does he need to live any longer? I'm sure now he is content with sleeping. But… what if we introduce to his mind the will to fight in order to live?"

Gate glanced at Isoc to gauge his reaction. Isoc looked intrigued. "Forcing his combative response system into violence in order to provoke life. Intriguing…"

"It should be a rather simple to do." Gate lifted Zero's head up, brushing his beautiful hair from his back to plug a wire into his neck. "And if successful, we can shape him into the very thing we want him to be." Gate smirked as he turned to a computer to see thousands of lines of codes. "And soon we can create a world only for us. The strongest and most intelligent of reploids to exist."