WARNING…ENERGY LEVEL AT 10%
Omega groggily opened his eyes…he had never felt so low-battery in his life; under him, Zero was still.
How could this have happened?
And then he remembered…Zero had been too low on energy himself. Thus omega had plugged his own power supply onto the glitchy copy…no that he cared or anything, he just didn't want to be alone with the scary powerful plant and the other mute guy…
Oh, the three other humans.
'Power…need…power...sunshine…' Under him…Zero fared no better, his self-repair sucking more energy than it had any right to.
He still looked like something that had been dragged out of a graveyard, so Omega had no clue what it was trying to repair…
Nevertheless, the crimson reploid began to seek a source of power, but it seemed the whole city was in a blackout once again. No energy flowed through the walls.
Omega tried to raise his head…only to have it fall again with a small 'tunk.'
He could dimly hear some shuffling around…it was the plant guy…Karuna…he could feel his hand on his back.
"Omega? Omega, is everything alright?" He frantically asked.
The murderous reploid could have snapped at the plant back, but he barely had any energy left even to growl. "looooow…power…sun…Zero…Low…low…low."
And then Karuna was gone…only to come back with something that radiated enough energy to power up a small city. it was also slightly radioactive. "Here…um…Oh Krishna, how do I plug them in…what? No way…alright, let's try this out then." Karuna once again spoke to his imaginary friend. He then took Omega's braided hair and stuffed it in one of the generator's ports.
Almost immediately, the strands of nanite took the shape of the suitable connector, and pure energy flowed within omega and, extension, Zero. The crimson death let out a sigh as he felt his level steadily rising. Not as fast as if he was alone but quickly enough to have him operational after two minutes.
He got up from Zero, careful not to jostle the umbilical connector that linked him and his copy together, and sat on his folded legs, bringing the generator to his chest.
"Are you Okay there, Omega?" Karuna asked, a hand on Omega's shoulder, showing more concern than Weil's reploid knew what to do with.
Omega moved away…he didn't feel comfortable being touched by a stranger. Especially one so powerful. 'Yamuna hugged me…it was nice, she didn't hurt me.'A small voice spoke in his heart.
Yes, she was definitely not to cross, as much as he hated to admit...but she felt nice, she smelled nice and...she was nice...
As long as Omega ignored the fact that she had abandoned him and Zero to fend for themselves out in the crazy, water-soaked, filled city of New-Delhi.
And Karuna also gave off the feeling of someone who didn't want to hurt anyone, not even a fly, but...
But Omega had no means to protect himself...or Zero. And he had no idea what Karuna-Sindhu wanted of him...and Omega could not conceive why such a powerful being didn't kill Zero, a dead weight, at his first opportunity.
Weil had deleted and destroyed those he was as useless without any remorse...and Zero would've been sent to the smelting pot...or put on display like a sick trophy.
'Is this how being worried feels like?' It was a terrible feeling, and yet Omega could not escape it…
He was worried, concern about the welfare of Zero…someone who he would try to and would be killed by on multiple occasions. It made no sense…and yet Omega could not help it.
He cared about Zero…he worried about him…He wanted his only constant in his life not to die…otherwise…
"Omega?" Karuna-Sindhu broke Omega out of his churning mind. "It's Okay …we'll get through this together." The green-haired monstrosity spoke with soothing tones. It put the red ravage at ease. "You're worried about him. It's alright; you don't have to be ashamed about it. It's natural, completely natural." Karuna's eyes shone with unending compassion…and it was clear he wanted to touch the crimson death again.
Omega brought the generator closer to his chest…short of Hugging his obsolete copy.
"You're scared…aren't you?" Karuna observed. "It's all-new for you. You don't have to be ashamed of it; everyone will get into crazy, confusing situations…I mean, I was in your situation five years ago, so I know what you're going through."
Omega raised his glowing red eyes towards the powerful being…
"You know, I won't hurt you."
"You're…powerful."
"Yes." Karuna nodded.
"…you will hurt me…" Omega knew how it worked…The more powerful you were, the more pain you liked to inflict on people. That's what Doctor Weil had said…and that how doctor Weil acted…that's what he did for fun. And that's how Omega had fun…
Power was fun; because you could control people…you could do whatever you liked with them…so the opposite was also true.
A look of sorrow drew itself on Karuna's scared face. "No…I won't. I know I'm scary powerful Omega, I know my abilities…but I don't want to hurt you or anyone. My power, I swore I would use it to protect those weaker than me." The powerful youth spoke gently as he placed his right hand on his heart, quietly not to scare Omega further.
"…I don't like being scared," Omega mumbled as he lowered his head. He hated to admit it…he hated being weak.
This whole situation…he felt flat-footed. What was he supposed to do? How was he to react? Most of his powers were locked away; he was out of the armour…
The only time he had been out of the armour was at the time when he would face Zero, and Zero and X…it would be when Zero would kill him again…when his cycle would restart. There had also been the times the Doctor Weil had taught him the truth about the weak and the strong…that time, Omega had been weak.
"Nobody likes to be, Omega…and you don't have to be either." Karuna sadly explained. "Yavata and I are aspiring Vaishnava's. We follow the path of none violence…so no, you don't have to fear us." He pointed to his forehead, where the U-shaped mark glowed with benevolence. "You can trust those who wear this Tilaka...even if it's in different styles...there's are some rascals who wear it but...you won't see many of 'em. This I assure you."
Omega nodded wearily...he would keep this information in mind.
"Omega…if you don't mind me asking but…how old are you? You know, from your activation time?" Karuna asked. Omega noticed that Yavat was awake behind him and looking at him with curious yet gentle eyes.
Omega closed his eyes… "I…I'm over a hundred, I guess. But it's hard to calculate with all the repetitions I went through…and I kind of slept through around…I guess ninety-five of those years?" It was so blurry, as if in a dream. Actually, Omega was not even sure he had lived those four years of glorious bloodshed and chaos.
"So you're like ten or something?" Karuna asked.
"Maybe…" he became quiet. "But…I don't think I really lived that long," Omega admitted.
"Because you only knew death and strife, right?"
Omega nodded; he felt so small, so insignificant. The past events leaving him in a state of constant bewilderment.
"Karuna-Sindhu…what am I supposed to do now? I can't kill anything, and I can't leave Zero…there's no war…Weil's not here, X is not here, and Zero's…not OK…what am I supposed to do? What…"
"Why do I exist? What's my purpose?" Omega rasped out…he never had the time to think and never had the time to ponder his situation. He had thought the cycle of constant death and pain was all that there was… "The elf-war…did it even happen? There are humans everywhere, no Cyber-elves are to be seen, and Zero and I are the only two reploids around…"
"Omega, Omega, calm down. It's alright…everything is fine." As Karuna spoke, Omega could feel some of his serenity washing away the panic he felt.
That was another first…Omega had never panicked before.
"Omega…Listen to me carefully," Karuna spoke gravely, maintaining eye contact with the so-called mad reploid. "What you lived through…It never happened." The Vaishnava revealed.
Omega gritted his teeth… "Then why do I remember it? I remember all the time I've killed humans and reploids alike! I remember facing X and that useless doll." He jerked his head toward the very still, arm-less Zero. "I remember every buster shot, every sabre strike! I remember the screams and…and how can it-"
"Hey, hey, whoa there. You don't want to wake our hosts up." Karuna shushed him. Both hands flew to Omega's shoulder. The reploid tensed at the sudden contact but could not move away in fear that Zero would get unplugged. "They may be able to sleep through a cricket match, but I doubt they will remain asleep if you start shouting. " Karuna-Sindhu explained with a gentle smile.
"OK, Let me reword it; it's not that it didn't happen to you. But here, we never had the elf-war. The earth is not scorched…climate change is a thing, though, and we are still recovering from the last pandemic, but we still have forest and bustling cities going on, and no, we don't have robotic slaves either. At least, none who are sentient. And we are still in the twenty-first century." Karuna explained. "Do you understand?"
Omega nodded, trying his best not to show how terrified he was…
"Hey...don't be scared, alright?" Karuna spoke as he gave a self-humorous smile. "Geez, I feel like Lord Narashima-deva when he told his Pujari to Chill." *true story.*
Omega stared.
"Narashima-deva's another form Of Krishna, The supreme personality of Godhead." Karuna gave a short answer, not elaborating much, to Omega's great relief. "Anyway, right now, all that you know is gone. You now have the chance to start a brand new life, a life without violence, without wars…much. A life in which you don't have to get killed over and over again…how does that sound, Omega? Are you ready to have a life?"
Omega looked deeply at Karuna-Sindhu…he didn't act like doctor Weil…and while he was powerful, he didn't seem to desire to hurt. His eyes were innocent and yet were older than his body. The crimson death could not help but relax…
The words of Yakumo Yamuna resounded once more in his memory bank…
Omega never had a life; he didn't even know what it meant…just that it wasn't constant fighting and destruction.
He turned his eyes toward Zero, the Copy still unresponsive; there was some slight movement, though, and now that he had a steady power source.
'Maybe something is wrong with his core.' Omega mused….he hoped not; an energetic core was not something one could easily fix.
He felt Karuna-Sindhu gently squeezed his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry, we won't let Zero die…I know some people who could fix him, even giving him a new pair of Arms." Omega turned his head toward the plant person…something, another feeling glowed in his core…a warm, thankful feeling that seemed to radiate like the sun.
He felt grateful.
"Omega…why don't you stay with us?" Karuna proposed with a kind smile. "Yavata and I live in this beautiful place called Mayapur, it's nice and quiet, and if you want to flex your sword arms, I and my mom would love to have another sparring partner, you know?," he grinned. "you don't have to stay with us forever of course, but at least until you know what you want to do."
"And what if I go on a killing spree?" He asked with a fangy smirk. Not that he could anymore, he was just curious.
"Then I will personally remove you from your current body and send you to hell." Karuna's eyes flashed with a tinge of red, the warning very clear.
"There's no hell for a soulless machine." That's what the doctor had said.
"Omega, a machine doesn't have emotions and desires…you have plenty of emotions and desires," Karuna explained, looking the murderous reploid right in his optic; once again, only sorrow and compassion could be detected.
"Just some chips simulating them…Their just… glitching right now." Omega tried to brush the silly concept away; everybody knew Reploids had no souls; they were just some clever programs making a body move and interact with the world around them. Nothing more…
'But then…why do I fear? Why do I have emotions if I'm just a made for killing? Why did Doctor Weil even bothered? Is it because…'
"Omega…are you aware of the room you're in? Of Yavata? Of Zero? Of your self?"
Omega nodded; of course, he was aware; he was even aware of the mosquito flying outside the windows and the fake cyber-elves floating around Yavat.
"Do you have feelings? Or is it just calculation? All cold numbers."
"No... I do have emotions." And Omega had been made acquaintance to quite a few ever since his meeting with Yamuna.
"Then you exist…" Karuna revealed."In a way, it's true that we don't have a soul." He then conceded as he scratched his right ear. "I mean, we are the soul stuck in a body made of gross matter; we can't really have ourselves now, do we?"
Omega stared blankly as he remained silent…he had so much information to process…and revelations. "So…I'm a soul?"
"Yes! And you are dear to God." Karuna got up from his crouch, stretching himself languorously. "OK…What time is it anyway?" He asked to no one in particular. Yavat taped on the floor twice. "Uh…close enough to the morning for me. Do you want to take your shower first, Yav?" He asked his bedmate, who shook his tousled head, still looking sleepy. "Alright…Say, do you want to take a shower?" Karuna-Sindhu returned his attention to the Crimson reploid."
"No, I had plenty." Omega answer back; he was close to charge fully, so He unplugged himself from the generator and connected it directly Zero to it, know that the Red Legend needed the energy more than him. He heard Karuna stifle a laugh.
"Omega...I was asking if you wanted to clean yourself?"
"Clean myself?" He never had to do anything like this…not even when caked in the blood of his ene…of his quarries.
Karuna stared at him funny. "Omega…do you know basic hygiene?"
"…"
It was then that Omega Realized that this new chapter in his life would be an interesting one.
"So…that's you clean yourself," Omega spoke from his vantage point of a small stool as Karuna finished his ablution.
It was interesting to see the human (as human at this…plant thing was) moved and flexed, twisted and bent. The crimson death never had a chance to study how they looked under their clothes…and how they would shower and eliminate waste.
He didn't see how Karuna did a system purge, but from the sound of it, it included both liquid and solid. And it was obliviously not from his foot valve.
The room he was in was quite big for its use, and shiny tiles covered its floor and walls, their surface reflecting the light off the extra stable buster shot Karuna had casually generated as a light source. Omega could not help but notice how one could wash the whole room…a perfect place to get rid of someone…
At the far side of the room was a showerhead and a tap right under; there was also a water heater that uselessly hung aloft, for no electricity flowing through it. There were also a few buckets, what Karuna had called a toilet and a sink where the plant-like boy had cleaned his mouth and tongue with a twig. He had also shown Omega how to do it…not that the reploid had anything to clean.
Reploids can't get cavities after all. Still, omega had to admit; his mouth felt…better.
Karuna had just finished cleaning his surprisingly muscular body…no, the boy was not overly bulky, but he seemed to be built as an agile fighter who could hit hard and get out... He also sported many green scares on his body; the most prominent one was on his chest…it seemed like someone had ripped Karuna-Sindu's heart out some time back.
"How did you survive that?" Omega asked as he analyzed Karuna's upper back; there seemed to be four sprouts coming out of his skin there.
Two green ones and two purple ones.
"Survive what?" Karuna asked as he dried himself off; only a towel was around his waist. The Vaishnava had what would commonly be called a bucket wash and had managed to remain decent during the entire ritual.
And no, the cold water didn't seem to disturb him at all.
"It looks like your heart got ripped out." Omega pointed at the ugly green scar.
Karuna looked at the now healed gash and smiled. "Good eyes, bud. Yeah, Got my heart ripped out by a Donkey-peacock Mesopotamian demon five years back." Karuna's eyes softened as he touches the green area. "God didn't let me die, and…well, I guess it grew back." The survivor spoke dismissively.
"Wait…God saved you?" Omega asked with a raised brow. "That's…Krishna, right?" He remembered Yamuna speaking this name. What was it, a week ago? "Why?"
Karuna turned his warm, brass-coloured eyes toward the reploid, a bright smile illuminating the room. "Yes, that's His name." he averted his eyes as he began leaking from his eyes. "And…He did it because that's what he wanted. Nothing more."
"You're leaking…"
"I know… He cleared his throat. "Anyway, it's your turn, Omega." Karuna dismissed as he gave the walking Armageddon the bucket and a bar of soap.
Having watched the entire procedure, the crimson original got up…and Karuna stopped him.
"Hey…before you go in…maybe you want to st-to remove your armour?" Karuna informed. "It's more effective this way…and I forgot to tell you last night, but…you also need to keep your boots off."
"Why?" Omega asked as he removed his helmet…so far, Karuna-Sindhu hadn't shown any sign of aggression, nor did he seemed like a guy who would kill someone…willingly at least. He was still mighty, so the crimson death still kept his sensor on him.
"Because shoes are stupidly filthy. It's actually a great sign of disrespect to keep them in a house. "Karuna explains. "I didn't tell you yesterday since…well." He let the phrase hung.
Omega grunted as he removed his armoured top, the white pelvis guard, and the pair of holsters, his dirty gauntlet and finally his boots.
It felt…so weird to be naked. Omega had absolutely no protection at all. Especially to his very fragile hip joint.
"You're not removing your under armour?" The plant interrupted Omega again as he was just about to empty the bucket content over his head…just like Karuna did.
'No…you can't kill him. Unfortunately…' Oh, how he wished he could rough the plant up, unfortunately, there was very little he could do. "Can you rip your own skin off?" Omega snapped instead.
"Wow, ok, dude, chill. I didn't know…I thought it was like a black latex suit or something." Karuna raised his hands as a show of surrender; he still wore the same, infuriating smile.
Omega…felt on edge; there was something about the plant; he looked human, was way too powerful and…way top nice with him…and the crimson reploid had no trust for him in such a convenient place.
"Can you untie your hair?" Karuna asked.
"No…Gargi did something to them; I can't remove the damn ribbon." And he couldn't kill, couldn't destroy anything, and his techniques were all blocked.
"Uh…I wonder why. Here, let me try." Karuna got up from his seat and went to where Omega stood, and then he removed the pink frilly ribbon
Hatred, Madness, rage and power flooded Omega like a tsunami, leaving him thirsty for blood and the sound of crushing bones and-
He was on the Floor; Karuna was sitting on his back and had retied his hair. In such proximity, Omega could now feel the full extent of the Vaishnava's raw power.
The reploid scanned his memory and entire frame…no, he didn't remember how he ended up in a puddle of water on the floor with Karuna sitting on him. And he still had all his limbs attached, thankfully.
The powerful Vaishnava had this weird smile on his face, his pupil glowing a bit redder than Omega would have liked. "Ok…we are not going to do that again, shall we?"
The crimson death had no idea what Karuna was referring to…but he nodded anyway.
"What the hell happened?" He tried to keep the wavering out of his voice…
"Oh, you went a bit murderous here…I had to stop you. It's alright; nobody is hurt, and for the love of Sweet baby Krishna, never. Ever. Remove the ribbon, or I will personally end you." The powerful plant-like being darkly intoned with a very fake, very bright smile. "Is that clear?"
Omega could only nod meekly…this, he was used to. But Weil never had been so…gentle with him.
He didn;t need repair for once, and everything was accounted for.
Karuna got off Omega's back and helped him off the tile floor, grumbling about a crazy morning and how it was too early for that type of crap.
The rest of the cleansing Ritual happened without any more disturbances…except that now Omega knew he would have to watch himself closely least Karuna utterly destroyed him.
"Hey…Omega?" The powerful being addressed the crimson reploid.
Omega paused his drying and fully turned to Karuna-Sindhu. The Vaishnava had lost his smile and looked at Omega with deep concern. "I know…I'm sorry about what happened. Just…" He sighed as he ran a hand in his green hair. "I don't want to hurt you, Omega, and I didn't do this to scare you…I just didn't want…"
"I'm scaring you." Omega let a smirk twist his feature; it felt good to know that even with everything locked behind the stupid ribbon, he could still make Karuna squirm.
"No…I just don't want to kill you if I don't have to. But there' some people I care about in this apartment. People I wouldn't hesitate to lay my life for." He sighed again. " Anyway, we took long enough." And with that, both exited the shower room.
What awaited them out was Yavata and Zero, The weaker copy was kneeling up on one knee, and the blue-haired youth held him as he struggled to remain stable as he did his damn best to lunge at Omega.
Zero's eyes were wide open; one optic cracked beyond repair. His right aperture was fully bloomed, he was venting heavily, and his entire frame shook as he struggled to get out of Yavata's clutches while simultaneously remaining upright. The Red hero had this intense look of determination burning in his eyes.
Omega knew this look; Zero's battle mode was engaged and running. The Crimson death never felt so happy in his life. He openly grinned at his broken yet moving copy…he still looked like a pile of scrap, a moving pile of scrap.
A living pile of scrap.
"Yav'! What the hell happened?" Karuna asked as he all but ran to Zero's side, holding him still as the maverick hunter struggled against the two youths…still trying to throttle Omega with whatever strength he had left.
'Zero…you frigging Bastard…' Omega grinned widened as something bloomed in his stone cold-core. Zero was awake, he was moving, and looked murderous, his great ire aimed at Omega…As it should.
Yavata stared owlishly at Karuna-Sindhu as if to say, 'I should be the one asking that!'
"I removed Omega's ribbon." Yavata's eyes grew even wider. "Yeah, that was a seal, yes, it's from Yamuna…no, I'm never doing that ever again in a heavily populated area."
Suddenly, some undefined emotion passed over Zero's face, and the broken reploid once again slumped down like a broken doll, making the two powerful youth yelp as they tried not to let the broken legend face plant on the ground…Along With Omega's moral about the whole situation.
After they managed to reposition Zero onto the carpet, reconnecting him onto the egg-shaped generator, a moment of heavy silence passed…
Omega whirled around to see the Husband and wife looking at the pathetic scene; the woman looked extremely worried while the man was unreadable. He turned his ruby glances back at the broken trio, Yavata looked extremely concern, and Karuna gently caressed Zero's now messy hair with a general feeling of pity. After a moment, he got up from the ground.
"Yavata…I'm gonna call mom. Keep an eye on them while I'm out?"
Yavat nodded.
Omega…began to fiddle with his braid…Zero…the way he had shut down…the way he laid on the ground…
Omega moved closer to his…to his Zero and took him in his arms, holding him protectively to his chest.
He was upset…and there was nothing he could do about it.
In Mayapur, in a forest Hermitage hidden from view and protected from the ambient noise, Mukhara spoke on her headset in the shelter of her simple home. The air was heavy with humidity yet still held the cooling rays of the moon. "Phalguni, Are you sure you can't make it?"
"Sadly, I'm positive," Phalguni answered from the other side of the world. "My wife is expecting at any moment…"
"So I've heard," Mukhara asked with a playful smirk. Her Godsister had kept her elder in devotion up to date about every single event of her first pregnancy. "Congratulation! Now I know why Radha was so happy." Mukhara smiled at the good news, knowing full well that whoever was born Of Phalguni and Radha-Shyamasundara would be great devotees; it was the Boon he had received from the Lord after the whole SMT debacle.
"Yes, but it also means that I absolutely can't travel for the next month or so…and I also have plenty of patients who require my presence."
"I understand; we all have our duties to follow. You do not have to feel guilty about this." After Mukhara and Radha extracted him and her son and whatever wanted out from Stephen's Hermitage, Flynn took a shine to Reiki and Hypnotherapy. After a few years, he was now a very successful practitioner in Japan where he lived with Radha-Shyamasundara and Asahi. His wife and adopted daughter, respectively.
"Anyhow, keep me in touch about them. We may be able to help them…we practically went through similar ordeals. I will start treatment right now on Zero; distance is not a problem for me…"
"Indeed…Alright, Phalguni, please keep me posted on Radha's progress."
"I will, thank you…oh, and Asahi say Haribol."
"Hare Krishna to her also. Thank you Phalguni, just to know I can reach you is enough."
"Haribol."
"Hare Krishna"
The connection ended, and Mukhara let out a sigh. Phalguni would have been the best for those two, Especially Zero. 'But you have another plan, don't you, Krishna?'
While she could not Hear Krishna as clearly as her son, she had a feeling that the mischievous master of countless universes would give a head wiggle with a crooked smile…a mind stealing smile.
Keeping this image firmly fixed in her mind, Mukhara grabbed her Japa beads and began to chant; she was at round 33, and she had 31 to go. 'I guess I'll add another ten rounds after that if I have time…Oh Krishna, please give me more time.' She prayed as she began reciting the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra, letting the Lord and his beloved in the form of sacred sound dance on her tongue.
Of course, those were extra rounds. She had already chanted the required sixteen's and simply could not stop so easily.
She lost track of time, place and identity, relishing the pastimes of Vraja that unfolded in the deepest confines of her purified heart. Transported, she didn't hear her phone ring until Rupa-Manjari told her to answer it; it was important.
This uncharacteristic break of Character was big enough for the ascended hermit to return to her material identity, back in her garden in the holy land of Bhauma-Mayapur.
'Alright…if it's not a matter of life or death.' Mukhara grumbled as she whipped away her tears. She pressed a button on her head set, 'I should just throw away this useless piece of problems…but then, my son won't be able to reach me.'
"Ma?" It was her Glorious son…her number one priority in this lifetime.
"Yes, beta. I'm here." He sounded worried. "How are your two protégé?" She asked.
She had read more about them…Zero definitely needed the break.
She heard her son let out a drawn-out sigh. 'Well, this doesn't sound all that encouraging.'
"I woke up to a low battery Omega and Zero. Thankfully, they are compatible with Uttara's generator."
"That's good…" She paused. "Well, not really. But it's nice to know that we can keep them alive while they are in this 'robotic' doll form."
"Yeah. I also spoke to Omega; He's basically a ten-year-old stuck in the body of an oni. …He's terrified of me. Everything is new for him, and…" She sighed again, and Mukhara could see her son run a hand in his tousled hair. "I'm sure you've read what he and Zero went through…"
"Yes, I did."
"Just loop it a few times."
"Oh no." Knowing of his description…
"Oh, and Omega's power got sealed by Gargi with a very pretty ribbon that I can remove for some obscure reason. Thankfully, I realized my mistakes in time. Also, yeah…he's completely robotic, I have no idea how his Hermit made it, and I don't think it's reversible."
"I will be the judge of that," Mukhara spoke with confidence. Over the years, she had learned how to reverse the illusion's hermits would place on their 'playthings. Some decided to remain as they were, like Yavat; others joyfully cast of their illusory appearance to return to their original human forms, like Mai.
"Mom…It's not an illusion."
Mukhara remained silent. 'Oh Hell, pixie, I hope they're not what I think they are…Oh Prabhupada, please be merciful on them.'
"Now…how about our Hero Zero?" She asked. Already dreading the answer.
"He…when I removed Omega's ribbon, it triggered him."
"What do you mean by triggered."
"Our broken blond tried his damn best to kill Omega without a pair of arms. The thing is, He can't stand upright, and Yavat was able to restrain him with some difficulty."
Mukhara closed her eyes. "Let me guess…That's not normal."
"Nope, not at all. Reploids are much stronger than a human. And while Yav's not like an earth human, his strength's not as it should. So yeah, now Omega's in the far corner of the room clutching Zero protectively while Yavat tries to calm our host down…" He paused for a bit. "Mama, please tell me you got our Ticket for tonight's train?" Karuna plaintively asked, causing his mother to smile.
"Yes, I was just about to send them to you. You will have to sneak Zero in, though." And then she paused. "Beta, if Zero is in such a bad state, why don't you bring him to Vrindavana?" She asked, with the month of Kartika starting so soon.
"Because...Mom, It's Vrindavana, not just another dusty Indian village lost in the middle of nowhere. This is were Krishna showed his full sweetness and exposed His most intimate pastime with his pure devotees...Zero, I don't Think Vrinda-Devi will let him in...let alone approach the border of the holy place." Karuna Regretfully stated. "But Mayapur is open to all. Sure, Zee may not make it to Rudra-dwip in time. But we have a better chance to actually get him in the most merciful of Dham."
Mukhara inclined his head, a small, sad smile lighting her lips. "It's of sound logic beta. I then pray that our guest will make it to Gauranga's transcendental abode in one piece then. I will contact Uttara and see if she could do a house call. And I'll ask Shyama-Pryia to prepare Zero's final guest room. Now, do you have an idea how you'll bring our most esteemed guest home?"
"I do; Krishna gave me an idea. And what about Phalguni? Can he come?"
"No, Radha's about to deliver; he can't move until the babies are out; he will still treat Zero, though."
"Ah…Tell him congratulation for me…and ask him how Asahi's doing. Alright, I need to get the twins to the New-Delhi temple. And I also need to do a bit of shopping before we can leave for Mayapur. I'll see you tomorrow Ma."
"I'll see you soon, Hare Krishna. Oh, before I go, Asahi says Haribol. And she is doing well."
"Haribol to her too. Love you, mom." The line closed, and Mukhara sighed as she prayed to Lord Narashima-deva to protect all of those children. Then she returned to her Japa…just a few more rounds.
"Are you okay there, Omega?" Karuna asked the reploid as they flew in the early morning air. The rain had stopped, the air was more or less clean, and the sky was a much better option to travel…especially whit two robotic blonds with less than ideal mental stability.
In his arms, the reploid looked around the city with undeniable wonder, looking at everything with childlike wonder, turning his neck at angles impossible for a mere human to emulate. "Yeah…I never saw a city so big."
Karuna raised a brow. "really? But I thought You destroyed around seventy percent of the human population."
He felt Omega shrunk in his arms. "I...It was just a few settlements...and Neo-Arcadia..."
"Oh, I see. Make sense." The dryad nodded. "Sure, Delhi's pretty big, but it's not the biggest city in the world," Karuna answered to the Reploid in his arms. "And no, you can't kill any of them." The young man could just feel the eye roll.
It had taken some time to convince Omega to let the devoted Dryad hold him; the Reploid simply did not trust him enough. Thankfully, once Yavata took flight with Zero, Omega had changed his tune.
Karuna-Sindhu remained silent, checking up on his brother and Zero.
It was hard to see them in the dark, Yavata wore his usual dark blue outfit and fedora, and while he had regained his moonlight glow, it simply was not strong enough to pierce through his cloth rendering the young man but another somewhat brighter spot in the cloud bound, early morning sky.
He was carrying their oversized travelling bag; inside was the egg generator and Zero. The Heroic reploid looked like a dead man, and to put him in an oversized bag seemed to have been the best solution as to how to move him around the city without causing yet another stir... Still, Karuna knew Yavata would feel the burn in a few hours. Still, the Vaishnava would rather carry the rest of their stuff (not that there was anything less after what happened yesterday.) and the more dangerous of the two…not that Zero was inoffensive.
'Nope, Zero's armless.' He smirked.
"Hey Yav', is everything alright?" He asked his adopted brother.
Yavata Nodded, It was not all true that Yavata had human strength; his stint as a Jiang-shi had given him a greater resilience to pain and the ability to use most of his strength.
"Is Zero fine?" Karuna asked.
Yavata gave him a look.
"Nothing changed?"
Negative.
'Great…Krishna, I know it's up to you.-'Spoke to his Lord.
"But you would like Zero to recover?" Krishna shot back, unseen but very much present.
'Yeah, just to give him a chance to get in contact with you…but, well, your call.' After serving Krishna for so long, Karuna-Sindhu had learned that Krishna's plans were all for the best; it may not look like it materialistically wise, but spiritually wise? 'Left hand or right hands, we are always in Krishna's care.' Suddenly, he heard Omega make a sound of pure wonder.
"Uwa! What is that?" The Crimson reploid was pointing at their destination, the New-Delhi temple. The three ninety feet tall spires beckoning the dryad with its waving flags, the chakra on top… None different from His Krishna, glowed lovingly.
'Oh Krishna…I'm almost here.' No matter how often he came to visit the beautiful mandir, Karuna-Sindhu would always feel like a return home...like with every temple in the world. "Omega, that's the New-Delhi temple, on top of Krishna hill. We will land here and stay for a few hours. Just long enough to print our ticket and do a bit of shopping for you and Zero."
Omega fully turned his head toward Karuna; he was clearly confused. "Shopping?"
"You know, getting you some clothes and whatever else will be needed for the train ride."
"…why?"
"Because I don't want you to get mobbed by picture happy Indian and…the fandom." Oh, fandom were just the worst…
Apparently, Stephan had sold whatever good stories came out of his torture-land... and Karina-Sindhu's... or Nanashi's story had its follower... and its favourite ship, unfortunately.
Omega gave a blood-thirsty smile… "Let them come."
Right, their guest had a long way to go. 'Thank you, Krishna, for having your Yamuna sealed his power.'
Karuna-Sindhu did not deign to try to correct Omega; he knew he was used to violence and thus would deal with his problem. "Say, once were home, mind a little spare?" The Vaishnava asked instead, Param-atma telling him that it would let Omega blow some steam after the week he had.
A look of very subdued fear manifested in Omega. "Don't worry; a spar is just fighting for fun, a way to train without killing anyone." Karuna-Sindhu began to explain, well aware of how it must have sounded for the war-born reploid. "Sure, we'll beat the petals out of one another but, in the end, I won't kill you."
"Then it's a waste of time…" Omega dismissed. "What's the point of fighting if you can't kill your opponent?"
Karuna paused; in a way; Omega was right and yet. "Omega, both of us are warriors, Kshatriyas. It's our nature to want to fight, hunt and protect the weak. "The Dryad explained as he began his descent, he could already see Balaram Prabhu waving a ten wick lamp to indicate a safe landing spot. "But…well, we can't hunt or kill weaker than us, it's like so wrong, it would be sinful…not the 'indulgent' sinful, the bad one." The one Yamaraja would take note of…on top of everything else. "So sparing, fighting just for the fun of it with people of the same strength, is what we do. and trust me, the way we do it...you won't have to hold back." Karuna smiled broadly; spell card rules were so fun. "Omega, let me tell you something, killing innocent…it's boring. But fighting someone who has the same strength as you…and winning. Oh, there no better feeling."
Well, there was something else that was way better. But Karuna knew he had to redirect Omega's aggro and desire to fight away from meaningless slaughter and onto some more sportive propensity.
Omega remained silent for a bit, still looking around as Karuna-Sindhu floated down to the ground.
"Omega…we're soon going to land in a sacred place. I won't force you to stay in the same room we will be, just remain in the temple complex, and don't cause any disturbance."
"Or else?" The black and crimson reploid snarked, goading the dryad with a glowing red eye.
"Or I'll force you in a frilly dress to match with your fab ribbon, sweet cheeks." Karuna gave a sadistic smile.
Omega's neck snapped back to Karuna. "…you wouldn't." He hissed.
"Wanna test me Goldilocks?" Karuna goaded. 'Krishna…please gives him the intelligence, not too.'
Omega gave The Vaishnava a long, hard look. And then he averted his eyes, grunting a small 'fine.'
Karuna-Sindhu let out a sigh as he thanked his Lord.
He may be in India, but he was still far from home.
Any questions or comments are appreciated.
Also... don't expect much from Zero.