Vulnerability power, part 6.
~0~
A week later.
"Oh wow!" Ciel marvelled at the sight.
Zero had finally consented to be thoroughly scanned in a specialized machine of Ciels' creation. It was a machine that would record and render what Zero's innards looked like without having to open him.
Not that Opening Zero would have worked anyway… and Ciel liked to be alive, thank you very much.
On the monitors, all of the legendary reploids components were on display… and it was nothing less then a work of ancient art living in modern time.
Just as Vandanam (Vava, apparently.) had told her.
He, the ancient and… nearly destroyed reploid had told the genius that Zero's… new maker was not human at all.
He was a demi-god by the name of Vishwakarma, the architect of the heavenly beings.
Ciel had scoffed at him first… until she got a good look at Zero's inner working.
And right off the bat, from the material used to how he would charge (he could charge with both the sunray, moon rays and the earth's innate magnetic field.) to how his body was made of highly intricate pieces made out of semi-precious stones and metals never sourced from the earth using technic no one could ever replicate told the genius that, indeed, this new Zero-frame was heaven made.
For crying out loud, his inner skeleton was made out of meteorite! Casted meteorites! And his cooling system was filled with liquid moonstones and pearls.
It was something out of a fantasy novel, and Ciel would've scoffed at the idea until she managed to have Zero give her a sample…
How were you supposed to react when what was once a pearlescent liquid turned into a stone?
That's not something anyone could do!
And what to say about his onboard computer… just the fact that Zero was only using one percent of it and his visual cortex told Ciel enough that…
That she was not surprised that Zero was…
He was pregnant.
Actually, Ciel had not only gained access to Zero's inner working, but also X.
X was made of earthly material, but his template was closer to Zero… as if they had been made by the same creator.
And yet… X had some parts that Zero didn't have…
Like…
Well…
From the schematics and Zero's one account, X could, for lack of better words, pour concentrated reploid data into the alien-made robot… and Zero had the ability to build tiny bodies.
It was… both terrifying and uplifting.
"So… I'm a woman," Zero spoke without much surprise save for some fascination with his womb.
Zero…
With a womb…
What was the world getting to?
"Umm… well, it depends on what is your definition of a woman," Ciel said in the most diplomatic way she could.
"A biological woman can synthesize her's and a male DNA to make another unit." Zero explained," a 'she' has two X chromosomes, and she is thus able to perform this miracle." He explained before putting both of his hands on his slowly growing baby bump…
"I… can do this miracle." He whispered in awe. His hands and eyes never leaving…
his/her belly.
Ciel return to her careful reading of Zero's data, Unwilling to argue with him about… well… sure, Zero's clinical description was on point, but there was a type of neurodivergent people whose body didn`t match their mind…
'And the mind had been proven to be sick in the first place.'
… as translated by Vandanam Prabhu, another super old reploid, one of the first-ever made… that wasn't X and Zero.
Actually. X's design was as close to Zero as it could be.
"Actually," Vandanam spoke up. "In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the ninth canto, king Yvanashwa gave birth to a healthy and powerful son through the left side of his abdomen, and survived to see him grow."
"Wait… you telling me there's Mpregs in your Holy book."
"Ninth Canto, he was the descendent of the Pandavas. And Vishnu, the supreme man gave birth to the architect of the universe, Brahma, from a lotus growing from his deep and fast navel."
Ciel stared.
"Hey, you scientist can only see as far as your instruments do. Also, Viswakarma is Demi-god and the one who made basically everything."
"I thought Bhrama was the architect."
"Researched it better. Brahma is the Great, Great Grandad of everyone, and while he did make the basis, Viswalarma is Basically the creation potency made a person." Vandanam explained as he let his program translate the Sanskrit text to English. "I'm not surprised, you know. Since Zero's new body was found wrapped up in golden Banana leaves… But I'm not sure you remembered getting there, don't you zee?"
Zero raised his eyes from his pregnant contemplation and narrowed them at the sight of Vandanam.
"Why should I tell you… I… I don't know you, and I don't trust you."
"Zero!" Ciel snapped. "Don't be like that, Vandanam Prahu' the one who's translating your manual from Sanskrit to English. And he's a Vaishnava."
"A… Vaishnava?" Zero asked like an inquisitive kitten.
"I serve God." Vandanam gave his nutshell. "One of His names is Vishnu, and since we are serving him through our Guru, we are called Vaishnava. Or, Gaudia-Vaishnava. And as Gaudia we worship his most Perfect form fused form of Radha-Krishna, Gauranga, along with his brother Nitiananda"
"Oh… Can you do a message for him?" Zero asked, his face still neutral yet his eyes wider and heartbreakingly innocent. "Can you tell him thank you for letting me save my X?" He asked.
Vandanam stared at Zero for a bit, then closed his eyes.
Then he grins gently… despite having a half-shredded face.
"Bhagavan said; you're welcome."
Zero sat up straighter. "Oh… can you ask him what can I do for him?" Zero asked with a ghost of a smile.
Meaning he was enthusiatcly bouncing like a hyperactive toddler at the idea of getting a puppy, or a kitten.
"Well, start by Chanting, the Maha-mantra. It goes; Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare and then you ask him." Vandanam explained simply. "And you make sure your babies hear it too, they'll love it."
Zero smiles fell as he began to calculate something. "... Should I sacrifice my firstborn to Him?" he asked with utter seriousness.
"I guess," Vandanam said, making Ciel sputter. "But better if you would surrender yourself to his Will, and KNowing Krishna, he would never condone a sacrifice like that."
'Oh, thank Go-... Thank Krishna.' Ciel sighed.
"So what should I offer him?" Zero asked. "He gave me back my X, and then he's giving me a chance to be something other then a machine of mass destruction and war." He spoke with clear wonder in his voice. " I… I never thought… I never thought God would bother with something artificial and man-made." he trailed off as he lowered his eyes.
"Nothing's really man-made, Zero," Vandanam spoke as he kneeled at a respectable distance from the pregnant reploid. "Sure, a human hand was used in our birth… and no one us were born through the usual channel. But while Man can make amazing machines that can hold a soul, God, Krishna is the one who provided the mater, the ability and the intelligence to make it happen."
Zero remained silent as he mulled over Vandanam's words. Eventually, he spoke up.
"We ow Krishna a whole lot, then."
The ancient, war-thorned reploid guffawed, sending shills down Zero's main nanite tubes.
Vandanam took notice and immediately stopped as to not make the first and only pregnant reploid lose the first baby of their race.
'Can't treat him as I used to, but I can't treat him like glass either. O, Krishna, please help me.' He prayed.
"I think… I know you." Zero spoke carefully, his dark eyes never leaving Vandanam. "We used to befriend but… you… we fought a lot, you were"
"A maverick," Vandanam admitted. "Zero… It's me, Vile."
Zero jumped to his feet, hunched over his precious cargo.
Vandanam remained impassive externally, but inside, he was analyzing the Red Ripper's posture and not liking what he saw.
'Zero's not aiming to have the first strike, he's aiming at protecting his kiln.' Oh, don't get Vande wrong, he knew his old commander could and would still rip him to shred if given the opportunity…
But now, it was clear Zero had another prerogative.
"I'm not gonna turn on you, Zero. I grew out of this phase." He admitted as he lowered his head in shame.
Ciel watched from the sideline, she had read and researched this Vile and had found that he had been a terrorist. One of Sigma's most staunch followers.
And yet, X had told Ciel that Vile had been in only for the prospective chaos, not even for victory.
And X had also told Ciel that, after the Elf-war. He had managed to survive (again, the guy was like a water bear.) by infiltrating the ranks of the devotee under another name, going as far as living without his iconic helmet.
There, he had acted like a devotee, imitating them, waking up early in the morning, attending Mangala-arati, listening to the Bhagavatam class, chanting his sixteen rounds, helping with the temple's chores…
And apparently, Vile forgot he was supposed to just mimic the life of a Hare Krishna, and instead, became one without even realizing it.
And it was confirmed by Neo-Arcadia.
Nowadays, as long as no one would act like a threat to the temple and the devotees,then he would greet you like a friend with his terrifying smile while holding a plate of Maha-prashadam sweet.
But show some aggression, and you would be faced with the oldest maverick ever the one who had faced X and Zero so often, that many considered him immortal.
Not that he should, since he was quite literally rusty.
Zero sent a worried gaze to Ciel, and Ciel gave him a reassuring nod.
'Yes, he's safe.' and if not, X would utterly destroy him.
Zero returned his mistrustful gaze back to Vandanam. And began to awkwardly shuffle around.
"You're… old."
"Not as old as you."
"That's not my Original body."
"Your still you, otherwise, you wouldn't be eyeing me like a Bhramachari eye and overly nice woman." Vandanam deadpanned.
"Where were we enemies in the past?"
"Obliviously."
"Right… you used to be a maverick," Zero spoke as his shoulder's lost their tension. "But now… You are a Hare Krishna."
Vandanam smiled as his shoulders also lowered. "Yep! Beats the wholesale destruction and hatred got old after the last war I was in. and please, don't get me started on Weil, this guy had no style and no love for a good, honest fight."
Zero quirked a brow. "Really? That's why you went rogue?"
"I… Don't really remember, to be honest. I just know I felt like the dumbest piece of plastic in existence once hindsight kicked in."
This made Zero snort in amusement. "I might not remember much about you but… I'm glad you stop that."
"Same here, Zero. Same here."
Ciel smiled at the interaction, knowing that her saviour needed more friends and plenty of support at this very special and groundbreaking time.
Especially since he was the very first reploid in History to have achieved 'organic' reproduction.
And wasn't that another can of worms?
Ciel's easy mood flew away as she realise the potential shitstorm on the way. Humans, especially those living in Neo-Arcadia would not take a pregnant reploid kindly.
"Ciels, if you are worried about me and my babies. Don't worry, me and X halve talked, and if my new status as a mother will cause a war, then we will just have to move away and start a new life away from Neo-Arcadia."
"Oh, I hope this won't have to come down to this," Neo-Arcadia spoke worriedly. "I want to see my siblings be born."
"Me too." Zero nodded before his smile faded. "But… I don't want to stay in a place where they'll be hated just because they are not made of flesh and were born of a machine."
"Please, Zero, don't start a war about this," Ciel asked shakily.
She knew of Zero's power and strength, and if he had babies to protect… his babies…
"We can't really stop people from hating reploids." Neo-arcadia sadly interjected. " Humans will always need others different to inflate their Ego's."
"No," Vandana interjected. "Demons Will always need people lower then them to crush and feed their already overinflated Ego… and if worst comes to shove, we can always hide Zero in the temple, since it's considered a neutral ground. And if the truly worst happen."
Neo's face fell.
"Anyway… Zero is indeed pregnant, and their's two reploid babies growing in his belly…."
…
"I never thought this would be something we would say about Zero, and mean every word of them.." Vandanam deadpanned. "And yet, here we are."
Back on his chair, Zero did something that caught everyone by surprise.
He laughed in pure joy. "I have two babies, two of them, not just one!… I wonder how X will react to the news?" he wondered with a very uncharacteristic smile.
Vandanam and Ciel exchanged worried glances.
With how… unpredictable X was acting, they didn't even dare to imagine what he could do.
"Hey, speaking of my… err… Mate, I guess. Where is he right now?"
"Oh, he's having a disciplinary meeting with the guardians as we speak," Neo answered. "And this is all I am allowed to share."
"Alright… let me tell my mate about the news, alright?"
"Of course, Master Zero."
~0~
Alouette didn't like the heavy atmosphere floating around France's home at the moment, it reminded her too much of the resistance when someone had to go do a suicide Mission.
Not only that, but France had put her scary armoire on, and looked as though she was about to enter a reploid recycling facility… and not to inspect it.
"France… are you sure you can't-" Anubis beseech.
"No can't do, love…" France, now fully Fefnir, spoke regretfully,. With the same tone a man on his last mission would use. "Master X knows… he knows many things and… well, I did kill plenty of innocent Units. Even fought Zero to near deletion." He spoke with a shaking voice. "I made my bed…"
"Fifi.."
"No… I… I have to go… I… If you hear nothing of me in the next hour, and if you rec… just…" Fefnir stopped himself for speaking even further as he hugged and kissed his husband goodbye. Then he kneeled in front of Alouette, Pieroquet and Menart, opening his arms to hug them.
Over the passing weeks, the little trio had learned more about the reploid couple, and they had to admit, despite the clandestine operations they were running, the two lived a very mundane and domestic life when home.
A home that was filled with laughter and games. A home she and Anubis had built to help those in need, in a building filled with refugees of their own home.
It had been her dream home.
But... as with a dream, Fefnir had to wake up now and faced the Music.
He and the rest of the living guardians had little to no contact with their returned master, the true king of Neo-Arcadia... but one thing was for sure.
He was Furious...
and crazy. the two worst combinations ever.
Squeezing his temporary children one last time, and sending one last longing glance and instruction to his sweet cake and what should have been his family, fefnir wished, not for the first time, that his makers would have includes X's tear duct
But alas, tears never fell from his eyes.
Then he turned away and walked out the door, heading to his elevator.
The trip was short, and soon, he was at the designated Tele-transiver.
He input the special code Master X had sent him, soon, his sight was filled with light, and when it receided he was in the middle of the desert, surrounded by but a few ruins of times long gone.
The Fire General closed his eyes as he filled with bellow slowly, and released it.
"Fefnir! What is the meaning of this?" He heard Harpuia, and sure enough there he was, with Leviathan by his side, fidgeting uncomfortably at the sight of all this sand.
It took everything in Fefnir not to openly scoff at her...
Then he realized that he was the brute and rough, toxically masculine Fighting Fenfir and not the wholesome housewife by the name of France Necromancess.
Meaning... He got to roast his 'sister'. And his ' Brother' also.
Not that She didn't do that on an almost daily basis.
"I don't know, man. Maybe Master X got mad at you for turning Nazi on Everyone's ass." He sassed with a growl, knowing that, right now. He had nothing to lose.
Predictably, Harpuia bristle as he pulled out his Dual Blades and Leviathan her ice spear. "TAKE THAT BACK!"
"Or what?" Fefnir asked as he lazily leaned back on his heels. "You gonna wind me to death? Freeze me?" He let out a bark of laughter. "Tough luck, bro. You and I know your wind and spark just make me stronger, and I'm waay too hot for Leviathan to handle."
"Oh poor Fefi-poo. You have no idea why where being convoked, are you?"
this statement by leviathan was more effective in freezing his system then her ice spear ever could.
"Ah... it's top secret?"
His two 'sibling' units smirked.
"We are here to discuss a possible traitor in our midst." Harpuia spoke 'sweetly.' and I don't think it's hard to know who it is."
"Fuck... How did you figure out it was Leviathan?" he asked with plenty of drama to it.
But before his sister unit could answer with her spear, X crested a dune on a pair of cyber wings, whooping with joy.
"Wee-hee!"
That was the sound he made as he zoomed past the angry trio, flying around the numerous obstacles. Some of which had some rather suspicious blue paint transfer.
The maddened Master X flew back and forth a few times, making some aerial maneuver that made Harpuia even greener before gently landing in front of his remaining guardien. His smile was wide and... rather goofy.
"Hey! Right on cue!" he chirped. "Actually... you may be a bit too early ut... eh, better get on to business now then later, am I right?"
"Yes, Master X." Harpuia smiled as he gave his usual bow... followed by the other two.
X's jovial face turned rather sinister. "Tonight, only two will walk away." He declared in a deep voice, one that would not sound too out of place in an overly cheezy horror house.
For his part, Fefnir was trying to decide to whom to pray to...
He had tried going to church on Sunday, but the priest just kept repeating a variation of the same thing about being nice, and when France had asked him about how God looked and what was his name, the priest had used many fancy words to essentially say 'I don't know.'
The mosque didn't even let her in since she was a reploid and a woman in a man's body.
But still... at this moment there was a certain amount of comfort in praying in this multi-dimensional cosmic entity who was all good.
Thinking about his imminent death was... scary.
no.
terrifying.
"Now as I have told you, we have traitors in our mids." X began without any preamble. "so... who do you think I am talking about?" He asked Harpuia.
The prideful sky general preened. "Obviously you are talking about Fighting Fefnir. May I add that I have photo evidence of him smuggling dead units to Anubis Necromancess."
"The fourth," X added.
"Truly, Fefnir here had to gals to deprive neo-arcadia of its precious resource for God knows what, but worst still, he also took away Hidden Phantom's strongest and most versatile general for... oh, but who am I to gossip."
Harpuia spoke as he sent a leering sideway glance to Fefnir, making him redouble his prayer to the Unseen Master of everything.
Not for his own life to be spared. (She knew she was going to hell. After all, that had happened, it was her assured destination.) but for her family and the rest of the resistance.
Poor Ciel, she must've thought she was finally safe.
"Obliviously, Fefnir loves dogs... as is, he really is into him. If you know what we mean." Leviathan whispered with all the insinuations she could push in her venom-filled words.
X gasped. "No way, He didn't." His maddened gaze pinning the fore fighter where he stood.
"Oh, he did. I even have video evidence of the two kissing and hugging. All the while stealing reappropriated reploid build for their own nefarious deeds." She hissed with a smug smile.
"Oi! That's fucking slander!" Fefnir screeched as he got up from his kneeling, ready to punch the world's most ugly parrot in his beak.
Harpuia, seeing this as a challenge also got up, flashing his blades and an equally sharp grin. "You better stand down traitor, attack either of us and your death shall not be swift."
"Yes, traitor... please stand down and listen to the authority, for once." Master X agreed, and Fefnir's electro heart plummet... same as his knee.
"Well, I never thought you had any ounce of respect in you, Fe-"
"Traitor... I told you to stand down." Master X spoke with a tone so cold, that it froze hell over.
Harpuia slowly turned to face his master, who was now shooting him glances that made the legendary Hadoken appear no stronger then the lemon shot described in ancient history.
Usually attached to another legendary blue bomber.
"B... but master-"
"I SAID: STAND DOWN!" Master X roared as he whipped out his Buster.
And despite wanting to fight, Harpuia had no choice but to kneel in front of the emperor of Neo-Arcadia.
"BOTH OF YOU!"
And Leviathan also knelt against her will. Shaken to the core by how the usually mild and goofy Master of Neo-Arcadia acted.
The three guardians remained on the ground, paralyzed by fear and the unbreakable order their master, their original templates, had given them.
X began to stalk around the three like a lion his prey... or a tiger.
"I said there were two Traitors... not just one. Harpuia is one of them."
"But, Master-"
"I haven't given you the right to speak, Sage Harpuia." X coldly snapped. "And you have much to answer to me..."
the sound of crunching sand under X's metal soles echoed in the night. Too loud and sinister for the guardian's taste.
"Sage Harpooia... from the beginning of your activation, you have visited my gravesite five times. And every time, you would pull a wire." X stopped right in front of the still kneeling sky general. "Answer me. Why did you try to destroy my coffin, a precious artifact?"
"I was told by You... "
"Impossible, I was stuck under that damn tree for over a hundred years, trie again."
"My master, the X built by Ciel and trained by Weil ordered me to destroy you," Harpuia growled as he visibly strained against X's main order. "I had to make it look like an accident. It was for the sake of Humanity." He screeched, desperate to have the true Master of Neo-Arcadia understand.
X remained impassive, his heavy gaze drilling Hapruia where he stood.
Then he turned to Leviathan. "And how about you..."
"I... I didn't know, Master. I didn't know you were up in Yggdrasil, I swear! An-and why don't you drill Fefnir? He's the one who went against all orders slacked off from his guarding duties and-"
"I will deal with Fefnir later. Right now, you have the spotlight."
"Scrap... scap!"
"Language please... now, can you tell me why you thought it was to sabotage my Lover's recovery bed?" X asked, his smile looking faker by the moment.
At first, leviathan remained silent, asking her brother for help Via com... "I... but Fenfir-"
"We're not talking about her, at the moment." Oh, Fefnir... France almost wanted to take that as a proof that all would be alright. "We are talking about you... so tell me. Why did you try to keep Zero in power-saving mode? And you better not waste anymore of my time by lying, I have a pregnant spouse to take care of."
"Oh scrap." Fefnir breathed out...
Zero was...
Zero was Pregnant...
He was building a second unit in his one frame...
he was…
Totally not doing that, Machines could not reproduce, that was a hard, cold fact.
"And that's why I had to do it," Leviathan spoke quickly. "We can't have reploid reproduce, it defeats the entire reploid thing since then, humans will never be able to get reestablished and reploids will be the one taking over like a virus... I was only acting under higher authorities." she defended. " and the dark elf signature is right in his abdominal partition, to keep him active means-"
"That mother elf and a second elf will take birth for him. Purified and free from Weil's curse, and the first represented of the newborn carbon race." X nodded to himself. " a new race of humans is upon us, whether this means that the current dying generation will remain just that or will stabilize, I do not know. But we can't murder those three..." X's face grew darker. "Killing other units, in my days, was a rather quick way to have yourself labelled a maverick."
The cool night air grew even colder.
"But-"
X launched his hand forward,d stopping any more argument from the ice fairy. "I do not want to hear it. And I do not care about what will happen to those humans anymore. Ancient powers... no, divine powers are at play, and we can only follow. Zero is now bearing my essence and rendering it into two bodies, truly making the reploid race, a race. And not a bunch of appliances. And if the humans cannot accept this fact, then I will call the second exodus, and leave those monsters behind to scramble as we make our own culture away from them." he spoke with a knitted brow. "Times are changing, and we can't let the blatant slavery of our race continue. We are in the twenty-fourth century, and we better start acting like it."
Hapruia managed to get up, sending a slash at Master X. "Then you shall face deletion, Mav-" but before Hapruia could finish... his body froze. "Ah, thank you, Phantom, I will take it from here." the unharmed master of Neo-Arcadia folded his palms, turning his head to face Leviathan. "and how about you, dear? Do you want to try something? No? Oh, I see. Good Job Elpizo, I'll make you you get rewarded for your quick thinking."
Master X clapped his hands together. "Now then... let's get down to business, shall we?" he spoke with an amount of Glee Fefnirr never wanted to see in his life.
He approached Harpuia, grabbed his helmet and dragged him to the ground closer to Leviathan, whom he grabbed with his left hand.
"Fairy Leviathan, Sage Harpuia. For the wholesale murder, abiding the words of a world recognized Criminal-" And X went on and one with their crimes and the crimes they had helped perpetrated and Fefnir knew one thing...
Harpuia and Leviathan were done for... and Master X was planing to do something to him.
'Oh, my Kakh... my Anubis... thank you... thank you for those beautiful four years filled with love, thank you for opening my eyes and helping to make a little change in our situation, thank you for letting me discover who I was under Fefnir, and thank you for giving me the chance to be a mother of three, even for a little while.'
The star-lit desert was illuminated by X's wing, the emperor of Neo-Arcadia was accessing his elven powers. Something only a reploid return from Elf-hood could do...
and those were usually extremely potent, what to say of Cyber-elf X?
And then... there was the gut-wrenching buzz that a reploid would make when they got deleted from their frame.
a pair of thuds was then heard, and after that, not a sound was heard in the cool desert.
For her part, France started to sob... to hell with facing death with dignity, since there was no dignity there... and why would she be worried about it? She was about to get deleted, to disappear for good.
In the back of her mind, she was calling all Buddhist sects a bunch of empty-headed hooplas because she was about to merge in all, her magnetic signature evaporating in the air until notihg was left but an empty shell and it was terrifying!
She felt X's hand on her back... and she screamed as she crumpled to the ground... whimpering.
...
"... Fefnir? Fefn- yes, I know what just happened Phantom, I just taught...Ugh..." she heard someone, master palm hitting his forehead. "and here I am, acting as dramatic as I want as I take out the two mavericks that have made my beautiful Neo more akin to Auschwitz... I'm so sorry Fefnir, I didn't... well no, I actually did want to scare you a bit, just a prank, you know. Well, not for Leviathan and Harpuia, those are cyber-elf right now." she heard him laugh in joy. "Ah! I even managed to leave their frame undamaged! Perfect for what I have in plan for them!"
France carefully turned to face the mad emperor, openly staring at his brightly smiling face with an equal part of fear and awe.
"You... you just." She managed to stutter out, trying not to look at the cooling carcasses of her sibling units.
"You deleted them."
"No, no, no, no, no." X waved off in such an efininate way that France knew that whatever crap the human council had tried to pass off as X being straight and too pure for a relationship to be utterly false.
No straight man would move like that... unless they were metrosexual.
"I just punched them out of their bodies using my OP elf powers~" He waggled his fingers. "and now I have two perfect frames for a pair of friends who need them more then those traitors. Also, France, I hereby grant you the medal for bravery and expedient service rendered to Neo-Arcadia, and yes, my Neo-neo is so grateful to you. Consider you's and Anubi's life expanse to be all paid, same to all of those whom you consider family, no question asked."
"B-But why?" France asked, still shaken by the event. (God, the defrag would take days at this point, and she was not looking forward to it.)
"Why?" X reflected back as he helped France to her feet.
"why... why the honour? I'm..."
"An integral part of the resistance and the new mother of three Adorable and rambunctious reploid children." X's glowing smile could have outshone the moon and the sun, of this, she was certain. "You, France, have saved the lives of many, many units. 3750 of them, to be exact have been saved by you and your husband in the course of three years." the emperor of Neo-Arcadia recounted. "Not only that, but you used your lad Privilege to restore and transform the Reploid Getto into a proper shelter, bought every building and brought them all to codes and truly worked towards a peaceful future for the reploids and the good and pure humans, despite what those demons did." He finished with a grumble.
"And for this, I, Mega Man X, Emperor of Neo-Arcadia and soon to be Dad, am eternally grateful to you." He bowed deeply in deep gratitude at the still shocked reploid.
France started at her Master now returned. Yes, his hundred-year-long stint in Cyberspace (one of the things he had babbled about to a very filthy, very sick Zero.) Realy corrupted his drive.
"You? A Dad? I mean sure, your blueprints are what gave birth to an entire race-"
"Not, not talking about my rape my Alia and Gate and all my angry rape babies. But my actual babies!" He spoke jovially as Neo-Arcadia manifested in front of Their master from a tiny drone, a dessert-worthy caravan filled with Pantheons passed by Master X, and the four of Individualised mooks all bowed with reverence to their returned leader.
"... They never did that before." France idly commented as another one of those panteon... one wearing a mustache and a doodled on monocle (and a fine one indeed.) covered her shoulder with a shock blanket as a few others went to pick up the inerts and silent bodies of Leviathan and Harpuia and loaded them up in specialized pods...
but... not like...
Not like Neo-Arcadian issued pod but something more homemade.
"My Musume made them, I'm so proud of her." X preened as he led the Hero of the Era to another truck. He made her sit down and helped the powerful woman get strapped in since her hands were still shaking.
"Right, you called yourself a soon to be dad... but... not in your usual sense?" France winced, knowing how it must have sounded. "Wait... I may have heard through the grapevines that you have adopted Ciel, is it true?" She asked with a heart filled with hope.
God knew the young girl needed a better father. And would she not be such a prominent figure in Neo-Arcadia, she and Anu would've snaped her up and raised her right.
To be a perfect lady... with a mean right hook and the same acumen in the kitchen and on her workbench.
True, for a lady to know many skills to make a living was one thing, but the most important one was how to cook, for one should never rely only on take-outs and expansive restaurants.
"yes, it is. And my daughter is super smart, but I really need to drill into her that she dosen't need to prove herself useful to me. I just want her to be happy and to grow well and into a beautiful lady... now, if I could find out the goal of life, the last thing I want to do is to see her grow old and die futily." Master X spoke as he swivelled his wrist. "But no, that's not why I'm a soon-to-be dad."
"Oh... er... are we going to have some more new gens?" France risked the question.
"Nope!" X happily denied it, popping his P with a skip in his steps. "Zero's pregnant with my pairs of twin, He's due in nine-month."
Now, one would forgive France from fainting at the news.
Later she would tell these stories to all of her children, and Menart would slap on another name for the fire general.
The Amazing Fainting Fefnir.
~0~
"Pregnant, you say?" Weil asked with deep interest. "Well, now that escalated quickly."
"Indeed, master Weil." Cubit Foxtar purred. "I've just received the files. Apparently, Zero and X managed to make a pair of reploids, twins."
"ooh ho ho! Even better!" The villain purred as he metaphorically rubbed his hands together in pure greed. "Just remain here and watch how things unfold. Whatever you do, do not break your cover."
"No, Master."
"And when Zero's in his last trimester... bah, just make it the ninth month, or the moment he looks due, brings him to me."
"Yes master... and how about X?" Foxstar asked. " Even since his return from cyberspace, he has turned... mad... mad enough to have adopted Ciel and Shamelessly undo whatever you have so gloriously established in Neo-Arcadia!" the Fox like reploid exclaimed with great distress. "Your concentration camp, the control chip factory. Even your elf factory wasn't spared!"
"And what have they done with those baby elves?" Weil asked.
"They... -they... Oh, it's Horrible master. It is the worst! The worst!"
"God, sometimes I wish I didn't program you to be so overly dramatic when unbounded."
"They had them go through a rehabilitation program now... they are planing to have the purified baby be adopted by he other free elves!" Poor Foxtar wept. "How could they do such a thing!? Those baby elves were supposed to lure mother elf out of her hiding! But how will they be able to do so, and how will they be able to turn more reploid back to their original programing if they are reploids themselves!" he got a handkerchief and began to dab his dried eyes. "and Zero, oh, this pale copy of the greatest hunk... He managed To wake the real Master X up, then he managed to reproduce with him as if they were a hetero couple! And-"
"Yes, yes... I know. Just remain calm, Foxstar, just wait for nine months... for however long it will take Copy-Zero to finish building those reploids. After that, bring it to me… bring all of them to me!"
"I take them?"
"Yes, and don't forget Copy-Zero. His body contains too many secrets... secret only he can know... end of transmission.
Foxstar grinned before she once again donned the mask or strick yet just inquisitor, leaving behind the old and seemingly broken down communication hub, an old radio station. And made her way back to the other judge.
They had to play their cards right, and the moment X returned from his midnight flight (oh great, he could fly now!) She would swear fealty to him. With his finger crossed, of course.
In the meantime, she and the others would have to play the role of repenting maverick, and X would swallow it all like the soft-cored fool he was.
When he entered the private floor where the rest of his siblings units resided, he was greeted with plenty of dread.
"my dear fellow units... why such a fearful and glum mien?" he asked as he grabbed himself a Cuppa.
With the reploids now freed and (ugh) treated the same as humans, some of the finer things in their artificial life had returned, like spiced energene.
... but that was the only good thing... well no, because, as reploids, they should not enjoy anything since they were not persons, just a cluster of data, electromagnetic pulse forming positive and negative bits interpreted as emotions and stimuli... nothing more... nothing less.
So it was illogical for his cohort to look as if a Nuclear bomb was about to go off.
"Prey tell? Why are you all acting as if the end of the world was upon us?" He asked again.
Glacier Cataclank was the one who dare to speak up. "Sage Harpuia and Fairy Leviathan have been deleted." He spoke robotically.
Those two had been their most useful unit, never asking questions, never stepping out of life, always hunting down those who were deemed unfit for redemption.
Those two... were now gone. Leaving the Eight without their best two agents.
They knew Fighting Fefnir was not to be trusted, he was too loose, too close to his one unit, one he had traded with the late Hidden Phantom. An act that had not been approved by the council.
And now...he was the only one left... and he was loyal to Master X.
At this moment, Foxstar decided to borrow and human cuss. "Well, shit."