Unnamed Inti Creates Crossover

[H-Man]

Author's Note: I ended up inspired by the 'Crimson Striker Zero' story that can be found in this section. But I guess I expanded the reach a lot, so... expect to see basically all the primary Inti Creates settings involved. Hopefully people will find this story interesting and good!

Enjoy!

Prologue​

In the dark of a storage facility, a single, beeping noise started.

The noise was too low to be picked up by normal sound detectors. It came from a machine placed at the very end of the building, kept among many other broken down, destroyed rejects, a machine that by all accounts was long past its expiration date.

And yet, it was active. The noise was quiet, but it belonged to its core, beeping as if it was a heartbeat. The internal CPU could barely function at this moment, only having enough energy at the moment to realize how little energy it actually had. Although its core systems were focused on conserving that energy, it was clear that it was only just enough to keep the machine from outright shutting down for good and become unable to function at all any longer.

The active core’s beeping was, however, a signal as well. Two computer systems detected it almost simultaneously, approximately six minutes after the beeping started. One of the systems was closer, having a direct connection to the building’s sensors and thus, having immediate access, the information transferred to a set of blue screens. The second system had only satellite and infrared forms of access, relying on hacking processes to collect further information from the first system, if not outright overriding it. This was a difficult task as it was, forcing the original system’s programmer to constantly counter these attempts with their own efforts, which reduced the amount of data being processed and revealed.

As both systems’ masters worked on keeping the other at bay, a third entity watched from the outside. The data warfare could only keep so much data scrambled and inaccessible, and it was not difficult to obtain the confirmation that, indeed, something stored within that building had activated on its own.

Her lips pursed for a moment, before she smiled.

“We’ve finally found you, Master,” she said, letting the natural HUD in her eyes take shape for a few moments. “This time, you’re coming back with us.”

 

[H-Man]

Chapter I
Machine Angel​

The sound of footsteps never failed to catch her attention.

She didn’t ask ‘Who’s there?’ like a novice, however. Instead, she twisted into what amounted to a roll, her hands already moving in for the next action. It was a careful, precise and trained sequence of movements, ones she had memorized with her body to the point of becoming instinctual.

Her interloper just stared at her, unamused. “Seriously?”

“…you know, I could have killed you three times over just now,” she muttered, holstering both pistols. “You’re lucky I’ve been waiting for you.”

“You left the safeties on again.”

She paled for a moment, before her face turned red again. “I-it’s for my warning shots! I can’t go around killing random civilians who may show up during our steak outs!”

“One, it’s not a ‘steak out’, it’s a stakeout. Two, ‘random civilians’ don’t come up to the top floors of buildings right on the edge of a Sumeragi storage complex. And three…” he counted, having lifted one finger per number, “the only lifeforms around for three square blocks are either drones or Sumeragi troopers. And the second a ‘warning shot’ is fired, they’re going to shoot to kill for sure, even if it’s one of your custom Heart Bullets.”

She huffed, standing up fully. “Frankly, Colbor, you have no sense of passion, do you?”

“That’s what we have you for, Rokoe.”

The two figures couldn’t help but chuckle a bit after that bit of banter. They made for an odd pair, certainly; their uniforms only barely matched in style if not in color. Colbor, the male, was dressed in a set of green combat fatigues, bound together with an oversized belt where a pistol, ammo and some grenades were stored, in separate belts. The fatigues were currently set on ‘non-camo’ mode, being a single tone of green, and his arms were currently uncovered, revealing a black skinsuit under a pair of black cybernetic gauntlets that matched his boots. His green beret had only a single red marking, but it was attached to a visor shaped like a pair of goggles, which ended on two ear-covering devices directly connected to his skull.

The female, Rokoe, contrasted more than just her gender. She was maybe a teenager in appearance, with wild aqua hair she kept in a long braid that reached as low as her buttocks and bangs clipped to frame her face, revealing her slightly tan skin and blue eyes like an eyecatcher. She wore a long blue overcoat that reached as low as her boots, but underneath she wore some fashion of combat dress that resembled a school uniform, given the shorter skirt and neck tie that rested over her chest. Even the gauntlets and boots were not that out of place, despite their cybernetic nature; they were simple versions that mostly protected her forearms and shins on all angles, the only part of her that seemed combat-ready from the outside. The outfit, however, could do nothing to hide her physique.

Colbor wasn’t inattentive to her beauty, but the mission was a Priority One situation; he was forced to ignore her and keep his eyes on hers. “According to Jaune, we have approximately six minutes to get in and out. Commandeering a Sumeragi teleporter is already underway, but there are none in the actual building, so we’ll have to play this one by ear.”

Rokoe nodded. “Infiltrate, capture, escape. So far it’s not a problem. I should be able to run interference easily with my babies, anyway.” She patted her twin pistols to emphasize it.

Much to her surprise, he frowned. “Actually… Jaune was clear on her orders. You’re in charge of recovery.”

“W-what?!” Rokoe stammered, after a few moments. “W-what do you mean, ‘me’? I’m good at distraction and destruction, not recovery! I mean, if I go up there, they won’t be nearly as occupied as it would be otherwise!”

“Boss’ orders. Said we need to ensure the recovery goes through no matter what. And your gift is what is going to allow us to do so.” Colbor pressed one of the devices on his ear. “Colbor to all units. We’ll initiate the distraction as soon as the Striker is on her way. Make sure you don’t mess this one, understood?”

“That’s not our style and you know that, Cap’n,” one of the voices on the other side said, but he didn’t grace that with an answer. All he did was give Rokoe another look, a darker one this time. The blue-haired girl swallowed for a moment, before nodding uncomfortably.

“F-fine! I can do that recovery part, easy! Just keep your guys out of the danger zone, alright?” she said, looking over at the storage building ahead. It was very large, typical as it was for Sumeragi constructions, and heavily defended as well; several human guards and mechanical soldiers were visibly stationed near the rooftops and inside, giving them good coverage of their surroundings. The main reason why they had not noticed the two was, in part, the distance, as their current hiding place was still quite far from the main building, and the uneven heights between them gave them just enough distance to stay out of the patrols’ line of sight. The dark of the night also helped their stealth attempt.

“Alright. Once you’re in there, try and keep radio silence; the last thing we need is our comms hacked again.” Rokoe didn’t like the reminder, but it thankfully hadn’t been due to a fault of hers; one of their previous missions had resulted in the discovery of their previous hideout thanks to an unfortunate call by one of the soldiers, and extrication had been a pain.

“Understood. I’ll only report once I find him.” Satisfied with that, he gave her a nod, before heading back down the fire escape. She turned back to calculate both her entry and escape routes, before nodding to herself. It seemed easy enough.

“Celestial Striker Rokoe, setting out!” she declared, taking off at once. As soon as she did, a van began to drive down the road, swerving just a bit to allow Colbor to land on the top, where a hatch opened. Six other soldiers were inside the vehicle, which had been repurposed into a battering ram of sorts, having been armored and equipped with as much technology as they could afford.

The van went for the main entrance of the facility, having already accelerated past safe urban speeds and collided head-on, going past the gates with one clean blow and into the main courtyard. The impact sent the metal gates flying through the air, while the van slid into a drift to turn and head towards the west side of the facility. The alarms began to ring all over the facility, just as she started her leap towards the east side of the courtyard.

“Three, two, one…” she muttered, before her HUD registered the system variation. Lifewave detectors were highly complicated devices and thus, prone to shortage; part of this mission’s setup had been to make sure the ones on this side did short out. It wouldn’t be for long enough to keep her undetected, but the twenty seconds afforded by this action gave her a little advantage for her infiltration.

By focusing her thoughts, a pair of wings formed behind her, made of pink feather-like energy, while a pink halo formed over her head in the same color. The wings flapped while she floated, the pink changing tonality within the dusty air around them. She made it to the wall of her destination, pressing her feet on the surface to latch on for a moment; her boots lacked the strength to perform a ‘wall jump’, as the term went, but they could keep her from simply falling, giving her a little perch.

From there, she used her hands to grab onto the window she had aimed for, twisting herself in a fashion unusual for someone with her build, before throwing her whole body through. There were no guards yet, though she supposed it was unlikely in a building as short as it were, and thus Rokoe went on towards the center of the building, where she supposed an elevator or staircase would be available.

Right on cue, with the twenty seconds up, she heard a louder crash. The van’s signal had stopped, but not died; they had started phase two of the operation. Their part was to make as much of a distraction as possible, and right now, this meant slamming their vehicle against one of the entrances and keeping the outside guards away from the inside. It wasn’t always easy, but rocket launchers were hardly standard issue even for Sumeragi guards, and even if they brought one, that van had been equipped with enough armor to tank the impact.

If they hadn’t caught enough attention yet, now they certainly had all of Sumeragi’s forces after them.

She forced herself to go faster, the halo and wings having already disappeared. She didn’t want to think what would happen if she didn’t find her target.

…%D​

There were still some patrols within the building, not surprising given the actual situation. Rokoe did her best to stay out of their way, but the wider rooms that led to the underground storage area where the target was supposed to be. The other unpleasant part was the fact that, for security reasons, there was no elevator leading straight to that area, meaning she had to keep switching between going up and going down for about two minutes.

Still, the time limit wasn’t up yet. The doors of the last elevator opened at last, giving her a full view of the storage area. Hundreds of broken down Mechaniloids were placed there, many of them broken apart in such a manner that their internal parts had been removed and used elsewhere.

Rokoe walked in, slowly, her breathing and pace as quiet as could be. It was one thing for her to hear the beeping of their target all this time, but it didn’t serve as a true guide given how faint it was. She had to hear it with her ears as well as the signal she had caught before, to actually perceive its distance to her and where it actually was.

It was kind of stressful, but she didn’t let that break her concentration. She made her way further into the room, breathing carefully, walking silently.

Suddenly her HUD started to glow in alarm. One minute left. She didn’t have that much time to spare after all.

The alarm was so sudden that she slipped, one of her feet catching a metal plate in the process and kicking it in the distance. She froze at once, fearing the worst; a sensor picking up the movement, the noise, or even the dull impact it made against a metallic device.

None of that happened, however; what did happen was the sound of another object moving, pushed by the heavy plate she had kicked away. Her eyes widened as the beeping noise increased in strength, as if the impact had startled it.

Coming closer confirmed it, despite the lack of light.

“I found you… I really found you!” she whispered, before the last point of Colbor’s warning made itself clear. The core beeped because it had enough energy to be active, but it lacked the power to actually keep the body alive. It was the mechanical equivalent of a vegetative state, and while machines did not break down as easily as a human body would in the same conditions, this pulse was still a last ditch effort by the body to avoid a complete power loss. If that pulse ran out, he would never activate again.

There was only one thing she could do. It would not be quiet and it would certainly catch the eye of everyone around, but she had no choice if she wanted to fill him with power again.

“Throbs of passion! A blissful voice in your heart,” Rokoe chanted, her eyes sharp as she concentrated; the wings and halo formed once more, even as her body was enveloped by a pink aura that seemed to have cartoonish hearts shaped on it; her voice was melodious nonetheless, following a song that seemed to be formed by her aura, “speaks the one truth above all! Fictitious Love!”

The name was rather silly, but the effect was undeniable; energy pulses flowed from her wings to the machine, while she felt pain start to form inside her. An unpleasant side-effect of her power, as the Septima she wielded converted her life energy into pure power, which she currently focused on the machine with the intent to heal, not destroy. It was a difficult task, but one she was quite used to by now, and she would never allow him to be killed so easily.

The other side-effect was the amount of energy she burned through to use this power. To put it simply, while she kept her focus straight on the crimson machine in front of her, much of the energy invoked was too big to be used at once, and it was expelled into the air above. The mixture was not outright violent, but what did happen was that the entire building’s Lifewave detectors would pick up on a surge of Septimal power.

In other words, she had just lit a giant bonfire right under a smoke detector.

It was, however, a risk she was willing to take, as the sounds of the machine finally activating filled the room. The pulse strengthened even as it faded, replaced by the moving parts performing their original duties once more.

Slowly, the form stirred, its body still illuminated by the light of the Fictitious Love. Long, blond hair flowed at the back of a black helmet with two crimson crests similar to horns, with a single green crystal containing the control chip on the front, and an exposed face. The torso was protected by a crimson jacket made of ceramic titanium, with two golden lines on the chest area. The waist was only barely protected with a white guard of the same material that also reached down to the crotch on both sides, akin to a codpiece. The gauntlets and boots were not nearly as technologically advanced as the ones Rokoe or Colbor wore, but their design was not only perfectly functional but had the distinct advantage of being non-threatening. The rest of the body was clad in a black skinsuit, similar to that which Colbor wore, but there were clearer segmented marks over the body as a whole.

Broken and damaged it may have been, but it was still alive, certainly.

A pair of green eyes met blue, as the figure finally found the strength to look up. Rokoe could barely breathe in her current state, her Septima reaching the end of its effect bit by bit. There were a few tears there, barely restrained by her, even as she lowered herself down on one knee to be closer.

“Are… are you okay?” she asked, and the form slowly lifted its head further. The mouth opened carefully, as if trying to remember how to speak for one moment, before its expression became more focused, the eyes sharper upon seeing her with more clarity.

“I… I am. I am… Zero.”

The voice was certainly masculine, with a slight twinge on the voice processors, causing a feedback he wasn’t aware of at first. It definitely sounded more robotic than her own, at least.

A moment later, he was pulled up into a hug, the heat of Rokoe’s body clashing with the cold he had experienced up to this point. For a few moments, he could say nothing, his own mind split between processing her actions and understanding the messages his internal systems were sending him, referring to many levels of damage he had suffered over the period of time before his activation.

One thing, however, seemed quite clear to him, even if he could not verbalize it just yet.

‘Something is off. I don’t remember… being saved from that explosion…’

“Zero-sa… I-I mean, Master!” Rokoe’s words shifted from a blatant Japanese speech pattern to a more natural, less native format shortly after that cry. Her sobs were enough of a distraction from that line of thought, however, as he felt the strength returning to his arms enough to pull away.

“Where… where are we?” he asked, trying to focus.

“O-oh! Well… this is a Sumeragi Mechaniloid storage facility in Neo Tokyo, somewhere near Neo Akihabara. You were placed here among thousands of retired Reploids and Mechaniloids, destined to be nothing more than someone else’s spare parts… but we managed to retrieve your reactivation signal before the Sumeragi Adepts did the same, and I came here to rescue you and bring you back to the fold!” Rokoe explained, all smiles, but Zero stared at her blankly. “…w-what’s wrong? Did I mess up the explanation or something?”

The truth was, she hadn’t, but Zero had no idea how to explain that. His mind wasn’t completely clear, but he knew he distinctly remembered a massive explosion, incredible heat, and then a state of nothing, as the last things he knew. Yet, a single casual look at his arms or legs made it clear they were not turned into titanium charcoal, and they were not pristine enough to be pure replacements either.

Then, there were those words – Sumeragi, Neo Tokyo, Adepts. The last he remembered a ‘Tokyo’ was a series of abandoned ruins that had been bombed to submission during the Elf Wars, and that crater was incapable of sustaining normal life thanks to the Eurasia crash. His memory banks had no knowledge of the words ‘Sumeragi’ or ‘Adepts’ in any meaningful fashion, and he doubted the blue-haired girl looking at him in sheer awe was interested in either the now non-existent imperial family or generic Latin scholars who sought to change the composition of metals through alchemy.

Of course, the fact that his own internal clock was glitched and refused to give him the correct time was even more bothersome than that. He couldn’t get a correct reading at all, the numbers switching or glitching out every few seconds, which he couldn’t ever remember having happened before.

While he focused on addressing those internal issues, Rokoe had turned her gaze over to his whole body, now that she could see his front properly. She had so many questions to make, and to be honest, a part of it related to his current appearance, but right now she was just too happy to see he was awake.

When she realized he noticed her stare, the girl just raised her hands in peace, shaking them quickly. “S-s-s-sorry! I’m sorry, I’m so very sorry, Master!” she apologized, which only caught his attention further.

“…Master? I don’t know why you would call me that,” he said, blunt as usual. Of course, he knew of the reputation that Zero carried, but it wasn’t something he had any concern for in recent times as far as he knew. And the fact he had no idea who this girl was meant he had no interest in being polite for the sake of it.

He did not expect her to start tearing up even more, however.

“Oh… oh no! Master, you’ve lost your memories, haven’t you? Please tell me you haven’t forgotten Rokoe so easily!” she pleaded, pressing her hands together.

All Zero could do was stare at her.

“What about the Guardians? You do remember them, don’t you?”

Still more blank looks.

“Q… QUILL?” When that didn’t do anything, the blue-haired girl threw herself at him, actually bawling now. “Nooooo! I hadn’t expected the damages to be so severe when I restored you! You must have returned to your factory defaults! If only I had arrived here faster, you wouldn’t be in this condition!”

“…I may not be aware of what’s going on…” Zero interrupted her, his eyes focusing on the other direction, “but I’m pretty sure that we shouldn’t be here, according to you. Is that correct?”

“Y… yes! This was an infiltration mission, after all…” Rokoe let out, mid-tears. “You’re awake and mobile, so that’s a little less to worry about right now. I’ll contact Colbor and inform him we’re moving on to phase 3 now.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” a voice suddenly rang on the intercom, even as the lights turned on, and both turned to face it. On the other side of the storage area, the cargo lift was moving down to their level at last. “You two aren’t reporting aaaanything.” The voice yawned. “‘Specially because you’re ruining my raid.”

“…what?” Zero muttered, only for him to notice the girl had paled, one hand to her mouth.

“Oh no… that must be Sumeragi’s security Adept!” she realized. “He must be coming over to eliminate us!”

“Wooooow, talk about an ego. I don’t need to warp down there to terminate an outdated piece of junk and an overheated Adept.” Zero could feel the condescension drip from this person’s mouth with each word they said. He couldn’t remember anyone sounding this unpleasant, even among all the people he did remember. “I’m just sending in enough Troopers and Sentries to storm a federal building. They oughtta do it.”

A slight fritz came from the audio just then. “Sir, wouldn’t it be better to send in some Golems for suppor” a second voice was suddenly silenced at that point, letting out some kind of ‘gack’.

“Uh-huh no. Boss man may say we can use those things, but I’m the military commander and I refuse to work with inferior technology,” the first person muttered, before blinking. “Wait, why is this coming out of the intercom?” A quick series of typing noises was heard over the intercom, making both Zero and Rokoe look at each other. To say the mood had changed was understating it. “GAAAAAACK, it’s the green dork. I guess I know what sector is getting a pay cut next meeting. Not like it matters since you’re aaaaaaaall doomed anyway. Have fun dying down there. Later.”

“lol n00b” a third voice came out just then, before loud music started to play all over the room. “Yo WAZZAAAAAAAP!!! This is DJ Teseo on the mic, here to bring some tunes to the upcoming slaughter! Coming live and hot, here’s ‘Seven Swords A-Swimming’, which fits your hosts, the spectacularly oppressive Sumeragi Group!”

As some kind of action tune started to play as loud as possible on the room, Rokoe turned to face Zero, who just stared at the elevator completely stupefied at the conversation they had just been privy to.

“…what the hell kind of world did I just woke up in?” he muttered. Had that ‘gack’ word been inserted as some form of auto censor or something? And what was wrong with the third guy, for putting on such a song like this was a dance club? All that was left was the shifting colors and a shining ball on the ceiling, and things would be completely ridiculous.

A sudden pull on his arm took him out of his trance. “I’m sorry, Master, but we can’t afford to discuss this right now. If Merak sent his forces here then we must first find a place to hide, before they arrive…!” Rokoe explained, and he couldn’t help but nod. That, at least, made sense.

A large Mechaniloid body served as their initial hiding place, the pair kneeling behind it for now. Of course, Zero felt sluggish at first, his body not quite used to the sudden movements, and it made him wonder how long it had been since he had been placed here, or why this ‘Merak’ had not tried to eliminate him before.

“B-before I forget…” Rokoe piped in, and she blushed once his eyes focused on her again, “I-I was g-given something, something y-you should have, M-Master.”

“…please don’t call me that,” Zero muttered, but his eyes widened as he saw what she had taken out. It was worn, certainly, with a power cell that had possibly ran out its charge and the ammo slot had been removed to make it lighter and easier to hold, but it was still the same handgun model that Zero had become familiar over the last few years of his memory. The carved ‘M’ initial on the grip, the slight adjustments on the barrel to enable a charger, the insertion slots for chips… every single aspect was just as he remembered.

“I… I’m aware it’s an antiquated model at this point, it’s nothing compared to my own, but… but Colbor thought you should have it, it’s been in storage ever since your disappearance.”

‘Disappearance.’

That word chilled him more than he ever thought possible, to be honest. Zero had gone through a lot, but outright ‘disappearance’ had only happened in the hundred years after the defeat of Omega, and that was something he hardly considered a good memory.

The lift stopped just then, the doors opening. About a dozen soldiers stormed in at first, wearing green body suits with darker green armor pieces placed over their chest, gauntlets and boots, the same tone as their helmets with faceless blue visors, carrying rather oversized guns on their hands, which reminded Zero of railguns; they were followed by several shorter troopers in lilac body suits and purple armor, which reminded Zero of his own in terms of overall design and protection, their heads literally black visors with optic sensors installed all over their surfaces and bearing an arm-sized cannon on their left or right arm, depending on the unit.

These, Zero remembered enough. “Variants…?” he muttered, just upon feeling a light tremor on the floor.

“You said something, Master?” Rokoe asked, only for him to shush her.

Behind those troopers, he could see a few large machines, twice as big as the soldiers and giving him a similar reminder. They were gray machines with large, oversized bodies, even in the pair of giant police alarms placed on the shoulders, and the single gun placed on the left arm with a barrel and muzzle more fitting for a tank certainly made these intimidating. A normal hit by any of them would likely deal significant damage.

“…these are dangerous enemies,” he muttered, only for Rokoe to stare at him.

“What? But Master, you’re so strong! Why are you afraid of a few Sentry Units?”

He had to stare at her. “Aren’t you?”

“T-that’s not the point! I may be the Celestial Striker, but your skills are formidable and peerless!”

Her sudden dismissal of his concerns was bothersome. “…have you ever seen me in action before?” he couldn’t help but wonder, given her behavior.

Whatever answer she would give, however, was silenced as one of the bigger machines decided to fire, launching a very powerful bullet that vaporized a destroyed Mechaniloid nearby.

“…now is not the time to talk,” he muttered, glancing back for one moment. “We need to get out of here.”

“O-okay… our exit is behind them, but we should be able to make it so long as the lift stays here. Otherwise, there’s no way we’re getting out,” Rokoe explained, her hands disappearing in her coat. A second later, she revealed a pair of pistols similar to his, but lacking the hand guard and designed to work with a different type of power cell, placed on the center of the pistol rather than on the top. Each pistol had a different cell; one was a bright blue in color, while the other was pink. “I’ll give you support for now, Master. Just go ahead and try to find cover!”

That was hardly sage advice, not that Zero could find the moment to complain. Compared to him, she was more of a novice, but he could guess why she would rather focus on that; they were frankly outnumbered, outgunned, and the mission would only be successful if both made it out, in his opinion.

So he decided, gripping his Buster Shot, to focus on killing everyone first. The faster he did that, the less time he’d have to spend worrying about her safety.

Zero jumped on the Mechaniloid, then over it, aware of how every gun in the room started to aim at him. However, the weapons all had different charge rates and, even if he was not particularly aware of those standards, it was easier to tell which ones fired faster. The Variants fired familiar plasma shots, while the Troopers’ railguns took a little longer to charge but had faster, clearly electrical projectiles.

The second leap was slower than he had anticipated, and some of these projectiles grazed by his armor. Whatever Rokoe had done to him was enough to ensure his armor could take some of the plasma burn without injuring him, but it did not make the situation any less uncomfortable. The railgun shots whizzed past his head, nearly taking out where his neck used to be, and he had to roll in his landing to reach the next point of cover.

But that was enough. He had their timing on his head, even as they started trying to melt the broken machinery with their shots, and the crimson Reploid quickly took aim at the nearest Variant and fired. The plasma bullet sailed true at its head, cracking the visor somewhat and forcing it back, its intended aim ruined if the messages on the visor meant anything. Two more shots aimed at the chest toppled it, the robot firing a few random shots in a spray before lying useless on the ground.

Zero had just lowered his head again when he saw Rokoe rise up and pull the triggers simultaneously, both guns firing thin needle-like bullets that struck the Troopers. Her face twisted into a deep frown as she leapt away, a faint pinkish field forming for a moment before dissipating as well.

‘What was that?’ he wondered, just as a hole broke right under his chin. With a grumble, Zero focused on his retreat for one moment, running at the nearest wall. What might have seemed suicide to anyone else failed to be so once Zero kicked off it, the momentum of his jump being barely conserved and allowing him to return to the wall, which he kicked again and again to increase his height.

By the time he reached the ceiling, his enemies had already corrected their aim and were ready to fire, but none of them expected the crimson blur to simply drop down once they were about to shoot and move in while they did not expect it. The closest Variant lost its neck as the plasma bullets pierced it point-blank, Zero immediately twisting his arm towards the next one and firing without looking, striking true thanks to prior calculations.

Rokoe’s shots were maybe not having the effect he wanted, as they seemed to be harmless, but she had not lied about giving him cover; the needles pierced the Troopers’ body suits and seemed to trigger their pain reactions. Zero didn’t quite understand why the different reaction, as the few Variants she struck seemed to be less affected by the shots, and it was a question he shelved for later, assuming they survived.

One of the Troopers seemed to go in for a swing with their large railgun rather than shoot him point-blank, a better decision given that a shot would be likely avoided. Zero was sure that he should just slice it apart, but all he had was a gun and, for a moment, his mind blanked on how he was even going to slice it anyway. Instinct drove him to grab the gun with his free hand instead, even as another message appeared in his HUD.

‘Z-Knuckle activated.’

A glowing ‘Z’ shone for a moment, before Zero pulled back as hard as he could; there was a twisting noise at first, but the grunt let go with a loud cry, falling to the ground with the arm sufficiently intact. Yet another thing that he did not understand, but there was no time to think as one of the big machines fired at him.

Zero rolled out of the way, even as he felt the grip of his other hand twisting to hold the railgun, as parts of it were destroyed to fit his hand. The trigger was pulled on instinct as he fired, the stronger electric bullet piercing some of that Sentry Unit’s armor on its normal arm; it had been no killer blow, but it had let out a louder alarm that bothered the other units.

The HUD already listed the amount of shots remaining, 7 in total, which would probably have to make do for those machines. He turned towards the remaining Variants and fired a shot, which proved better than his own pistol in terms of penetration; at least three lost a significant part of their body mass, either being crippled or outright deactivated from a destroyed core.

This gave him some breathing space, though it wasn’t like he could actually rest. While the Troopers were not as aggressive in terms of shooting and the Sentry Units had to charge slow, yet powerful shots, Variants were still the same aggressive jerks he remembered, firing whenever their target was clear and doing their best to separate his head from his torso. All this did was make sure he had enough space to move without needing to dash away, something he realized was more difficult than ever.

Rokoe, on the other hand, looked more and more concerned. Not for her sake, as she had managed to avoid the worst of those shots thanks to a good use of rolls, cover, and trying to shoot at her enemy’s visors, but for Zero’s as she realized he was making no effort to head for the exit yet. Was he actually trying to fight against this entire squadron with only two guns?

Of course, his sudden grasp and take of the railgun surprised her. Last she had understood, these weapons were DNA-coded to keep anyone from using them but their legitimate owner, so seeing her ‘Master’ suddenly wielding one without any apparent issues was quite impressive, and it was only instincts of her own that kept her moving, firing shot after shot.

Still, even she realized she couldn’t keep it up forever. Without the boosted power fueled by her Septima, those needles were too weak to deal serious damage, and she could still feel the heat of her sweat as it evaporated immediately. It was the first time she had stayed like this for longer than thirty seconds, and she couldn’t draw enough energy to restore right now.

Upon finding cover from the last run, she set her guns down for a moment, clicking a set of tabs. She had been told not to use them in this mode before, as the energy cost was greater, but it was the only way she could give Zero the support he needed right now. Taking aim, she fired at one of the Troopers who was aiming at Zero, pulling the trigger…

…only to be sent flying on her ass, bouncing a little more, due to the sheer recoil from the shot she fired. Her companion was forced to pause for a moment, as the Trooper flew back from the shot, a large arrow-like bullet having slammed against him with strong kinetic force.

“Whoa… what a kick!” Rokoe couldn’t help but admit, forcing herself back into position, pressing her boots harder on the ground. A magnetic lock formed, keeping her balance steady as she fired again, and to her credit she only swayed off balance this time as one of the Sentry Units’ head camera was literally crushed by the impact.

Zero grunted, wishing he had a way to speak to her right now without having to talk. The extra firepower might be useful, but she was unable to calculate the angle she should strike properly for his advantage, and in some ways this made her previous needles a better option for the current situation. He was being forced to recalculate his path on the fly, in case one of those bullets sent a big robot in his direction or the Variants altered their formation again, and he wasn’t getting as much of an advantage as he would hope from her help.

Still, as he threw himself towards the nearest wall, the only difference between this time and other missions he had gone through was that the artillery fire was coming from someone on his side.

Rokoe kept up her rate of fire, taking care to focus on the targets that were more likely to aim at her. The new firing mode of her pistols was certainly useful, but the ammo cost had become noticeable, requiring her to take short pauses so the energy would reload on its own. Still, it was worth seeing the enemies being toppled, even if it wasn’t from her Septima.

She turned to look to Zero again, and her jaw dropped. One of the Troopers had just let out a warning to focus fire on him, and his sudden dive into the group made it a justified decision, as Zero managed to spin around and fire at all targets he could, firing both plasma shots and railgun rounds in wild abandon. He was weaving through their shots almost as if he could see their paths, letting them graze past him harmlessly.

Zero himself wasn’t aware of how it seemed as he fought for his life, facing it as yet another normal situation in his life. The fact that he could see it as a ‘normal situation’ might have been concerning were it anyone else, but a combat Reploid like Zero had never cared much for living a more stereotypical form of a ‘normal’ life.

Right now, all he cared about was surviving.

His focus was broken by one of the bigger robots dumping its cannon turret with a loud noise. What could’ve been a relief became a greater concern as a chainsaw blade larger than his torso emerged from the stump, whirring dangerously as the Sentry Unit prepared to attack.

Zero managed to leap out of the swing, but his eyes widened as the chainsaw struck one of the Troopers who had been unfortunate enough to be on the way. The body was split in half, the upper body and half of one of the arms flying off while the rest fell to the ground. By itself it wasn’t a shocking sight, but he realized soon enough that the flesh of his opponent was actually organic and not metal like the Variants’. The scream of utter agony the Trooper had was also disturbing, even more as it died along with his lungs and the heart that had been torn apart.

Zero just stared for a moment, losing his focus. Pain followed right after as a Variant managed a lucky shot, the impact throwing him to the ground for a bit. Before another shot could be fired, however, Zero managed to fire back, the cannon arm being pushed away by the plasma bullet before it exploded, taking half the arm with it.

‘This isn’t good…’ he thought, scrambling to his feet before one of the remaining enemies – six or so, by his count – would fire at him. An injury like this wasn’t nearly as serious as it could’ve been, but the railgun was spent and he lacked a good counter to those chainsaws, which were too big for the Z-Knuckle to capture.

But then, Zero was nothing if not creative.

Running around to the other side, forcing the machine to spin, he used his Buster to draw it into an aggressive stance, aware he only had seconds to get it in position. Another Sentry Unit came over with its cannon outstretched, as if ready to slam it on his head, but that was what Zero was waiting for. Both machines attacked him at once.

But Zero rolled under the cannon, barely losing his hair in the process, and was glad to hear the sound of metal clashing as the chainsaw gnawed at the metal, unable to stop due to its inertia. The cannon crushed the other machine’s shoulder alarm and blatantly damaged its arm, causing nasty sparks to fly out in the process.

Zero grasped one other railgun with the Z-Knuckle, disappointed to see it only held two charges this time. By climbing the nearest Sentry Unit from behind, he quickly took aim and fired, the shot piercing both heads in a single impact.

As they fell down, too damaged to continue, he glanced back at the last point he saw Rokoe at. A couple of Troopers were approaching that area, and he realized her cover fire had already stopped. Before he even thought about the worst, he had already thrown the railgun at them, the barrel colliding against one of them and toppling the man at once. Just as the other turned to face Zero, he was already on the air, the Z-Knuckle active.

He heard one strong impact, before feeling the body under him stop moving.

The music was still going on, but Zero began to relax, as he realized nobody else was still moving; the Variants and Sentry Units had all been destroyed, and the Troopers were lying on the ground, some of them seriously injured and some… perhaps less. It was hard for him to tell how many had survived, and their lack of activity allowed him to guess that even if they weren’t dead, all enemies were neutralized.

In short, they had won this little skirmish.

As he turned to look at Rokoe’s hiding spot, he was surprised to see her lying on her back, eyes closed, her face bright red. Zero stared at her in disinterest and decided it was better to speak to her before anything else happened.

“All targets neutralized,” he said, loud enough to draw her attention. Rokoe’s eyes widened as she suddenly stopped her actions, forcing herself up. “Are you injured?”

“N-no… no, not at all!” she admitted, shaking her hands. His stare was disconcerting. “S-so… you finished them off yourself? Amazing, Master!”

“You were helpful. I won’t deny that.” His gaze stopped on his own hands. “It’s been so long since I fought with nothing but this. I… grew used to having more weapons to help me. Even the Z-Knuckle was activated by chance.”

“You still could do better than I did at this time!” Rokoe insisted, all smiles. “Without my Septima or ammo, I feel so useless!”

“…that reminds me… I need information. Apparently, I was fighting humans here as well as machines, Rokoe.” She grinned when he said her name. Something told him this wouldn’t be unexpected coming from her. “So what changed since I was last activated? Humans are supposed to depend on Reploids for their safety, not fight on their own like that. It’s dangerous after all.”

That wiped the grin off her face very quickly. “You… y-you really… really, really, really forgot everything? I… I’m so sorry to hear that, Master…”

“Don’t. Just explain what’s going on.”

Rokoe considered his request, but took a look at the lift. It was still there, thankfully, but… “…listen, Master, maybe we should have this conversation once we’re out of here? It’ll be safer, at least.”

“…fine.”

The two of them headed to the lift, managing to get inside just as the music started to fade out. “And that was ‘Seven Swords A-Swimming’, brought to you by your corporate overlords, Sumeragi! Just kidding, it’s still me, DJ Teseo, and I have to say…” the last voice from before said, before the sound of the lift really started. “What?! It’s over already?! I take one break for two minutes to check my mail and I miss the end of the fight? This GACKing sucks! #YouSuckBro!”

Zero could only hope that he would never have to face this guy after this.

 

[H-Man]

Chapter II
Song in the Dark​

The cargo lift groaned as it steadily went up, passing by the occasional set of lights that shone over the two passengers. Both were standing on opposite sides, Zero resting by the north wall while Rokoe stood watching him from the other side.

Of course, now that they had actual time to relax until their ride ended, both were considering each other. Zero was staring at the Celestial Striker, taking his time to truly analyze her. She wasn’t injured, so her fall from before had not happened due to damage, but the way she carried herself was truly odd. She kept her guns in hand like it was a second nature, yet her stance was less like that of a soldier and more like that of a normal girl, in ways. Whatever militaristic nature she had, it seemed to disappear with her hesitant glances and the blush on her face.

Her build was also a problem, to be honest. Zero was a machine, so it didn’t matter how he looked, just that his muscles, gears, servos and structure could use their full strength whenever necessary. Rokoe, however, was a human by all accounts, and he was absolutely sure that she did not have the developed muscle mass necessary to match said strength in any level. In fact, more of her muscle mass had gone to her chest, waist, and hips, on any casual observation, than to her arms and legs, and once the fight was over he was surprised at how easily she had moved into combat nonetheless, lacking the usual issues.

The fact was, he didn’t know how to feel about her. Much less about the fact that, apparently, she was taller than him by just a bit, if one ignored the horns of his helmet. It made things simply… odd, to be honest.

As he considered all that, he realized that she was staring at him, very much in fact. It was a little bothersome, to be frank, even if something inside of him somewhere told him that he probably wasn’t different.

If she wasn’t going to speak, then, he would. “Rokoe… correct?” he asked, making sure he had memorized her name. It was odd, given the way she seemed to use it; it didn’t quite seem right to him. “It seems we have a little time to ourselves. As such… I’d like to talk to you about something.”

To his surprise, she was blushing very much upon hearing that, her face turning red like a tomato. “O-ourselves? Us? W-well, Master, I’ll certainly try to be of help but I’m not sure how I could”

“What’s going on?” he interrupted, realizing this would not go in the direction he wanted. “Why are we in the underground bunker of some corporation that is currently trying to kill us?”

“Oh!” She blinked twice, realizing it had nothing to do with her actual train of thought. “Well… how do I put it…” After a few seconds of hesitation, Rokoe managed to figure out a way to start her explanation.

“Alright, Master, allow me to explain to you what is going on! It is the present day” That choice of words made Zero raise an eyebrow under his helmet. What kind of dating method was that? “and we are currently in a Sumeragi Mechaniloid storage facility in Neo Tokyo, as I said before. As one of the few major human nations in the world, Neo Japan is one of the survivors of the ‘Maverick Wars’, a very serious conflict that took place a long time ago, after the creation of Reploids.”

Indeed, all of this went over his head in terms of recognition. Only the term ‘Maverick Wars’ were something he remembered, and even then it had been too devastating, too dangerous.

“S-so… the conflict ended with the fall of a comet, which devastated the Earth. Humanity was forced to live underground, for the most part, while Reploids managed things over on the surface. Of course, Neo Japan was protected thanks to its psychic forces, along with several other nations, but” Rokoe blinked, at that moment, as she realized he was staring at her blankly. “Oh! You don’t remember, right? Well… it turns out that humans have psychic powers! Like, most of them. The lower levels normally only have a few mental enhancements and abilities, but higher levels allow for all sorts of things! Those belonging to the seventh level, the Septima, and thus the most powerful are referred to as Adepts. Like me!”

Zero stared at her. She was supposed to be part of the ‘strongest level’? Or even psychic? True, she wasn’t completely incompetent, but… she behaved nothing like what he’d expect a psychic to, if he were to be frank. She seemed more like a teenage girl who happened to be good with guns, rather. And the idea of a comet destroying the world… was that what they considered Eurasia now?

“So… as I was saying, at the end of the ‘Maverick Wars’, the Adepts started their own uprising, taking up arms against the Mavericks to protect what remained of humanity. While the normal humans retreated to the underground, the Adepts joined the remaining Reploid forces and well… after that, we don’t know. Most of the records of that conflict have been lost, and it’s very dangerous to go around exploring when Mavericks or berserk Adepts can attack you. Very few places are safe as it is, and Neo Japan happens to be the safest for humans, thanks to the Sumeragi Group.”

That… well, it didn’t fit any of his memories, but he couldn’t deny it made sense. If Mavericks and Adepts were equally dangerous, an army similar to what he had just fought – but more numerous and violent – would make for a good counter. But at the same time, he didn’t think that was all of the explanation.

“So… if Adepts are so dangerous, why are you here?” he interrupted her at that moment. “We are in Sumeragi territory, correct?”

“Well, yes… Adepts aren’t exactly welcome here, but on the other hand, we’re allowed as long as we don’t cause too much trouble.” He stared at her skeptically.

“Like invading one of their storage warehouses and killing their guards?”

“H-hey! They’re the ones who started it by storing your body here!” she stammered, before shaking her head. “Look, Sumeragi isn’t the good guys, okay? They’re oppressive and mean and force everyone to obey them or else they’ll get arrested! They force everyone to register and if you use your Septima for anything at all without an order from them, they punish you and your entire family! And if you’re a Reploid, they force you to work for them whether you want to or not, otherwise you’re not even allowed to enter the country! None of the Reploids built here have more intelligence than a Mechaniloid, they’re just… those creeps we just fought!”

‘The Variants, then…?’ Zero considered it for a moment, before frowning. It wasn’t like he knew many Reploid designers anymore, but the design philosophy behind them… it was terrifying.

“And to think, this is the only alternative Reploids have! Either they stay in Neo Arcadia where they’re not allowed to leave, either, they join the Guardians or QUILL in an attempt to at least change the world for the better, or they’re considered Mavericks and killed on sight by the patrols! It’s not fair!”

Neo Arcadia. That changed things again. And that behavior… it reminded him too much of when he had first learned of it.

“I hear that’s what happened to most of the Guardians. They used to belong to Neo Arcadia, but they weren’t happy at all there, and now they’re working with us at QUILL. Hopefully now that you’re awake, Master, we’ll be able to really make the change we’ve been looking for!”

Zero couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable, as he realized she was looking at him with… well, too much hope, to be frank. It reminded him of someone else, but on her… that look just didn’t belong.

“…believe me, I’m hardly the ‘hero’ or the ‘legend’ you’re looking for,” he said, remembering something he had said long ago. “I don’t plan on just ditching you once we’re out of here, but I don’t want to give you the wrong idea. I just don’t know this world. I have to learn more before I make a conclusion.”

“O… okay,” Rokoe agreed, not quite sure if she understood what he said. “I’ll see how Colbor is doing. We need to extract quickly, before Sumeragi’s lockdown is too strong and we’re trapped here.”

While she pressed a pair of fingers on her ear, Zero just watched his surroundings, deciding to ask her for the frequency later. For all he knew, his radio system was busted again and communications would not be two-way.

The sound of the cargo lift grinding to a halt was not too surprising, but he was glad to see that they weren’t too far from light as it happened. The walls around the lift gave way to a large room, reminding him of a normal warehouse, and he assumed that the windows above would serve as possible escape routes.

Of course, that also meant they weren’t alone; more Troopers and Variants were placed throughout the room, having the advantage of time to prepare as they set up cover and blockades around them. “Intercept them!” one of them ordered, right as they started firing.

Zero was already on the move when they pulled their triggers, blowing off a Variant’s head and tearing out its arm a moment later, before the internal charge was wasted. Plasma shots flew through the room, striking their targets true while he kept the attention off Rokoe, who was already going the other way at first.

“…I see. I’ll see what I can do,” she said, growling for one moment. Zero had only just noticed that before she turned around, shooting at one of the Troopers. “Master! Colbor just”

“Is he coming?” he interrupted her, destroying a railgun with his guns.

“No, he” She had to stop for a moment, shooting another Trooper’s legs to try and knock them down, right as they tried to get behind him.

“Is he in trouble?”

“No, but”

“Then it’s not important!” Toppling one of the Variants with a kick, he forced the arm cannon on its helmet, letting the plasma bullet melt through its skull. “Colbor’s dependable. If we have to hold our ground here, so be it. Let’s deal with them first!”

“You don’t-Master!” Rokoe let out a frustrated noise, before retreating further back, switching her guns to their more dangerous mode. “How am I supposed to tell him I just got reassigned?!”

…%D​

Another alarm popped up at the corner of the screen.

“Ugh, not agaaaaaaaain.” With a yawn, he clicked on it for a moment, only to quickly click out, already switching the combination. “I hate being the healbot.”

The young, brown-haired boy sitting in front of the screen looked like an average middle schooler, all things considered; the gray suit he wore was left open on the front, showing his white shirt, and he had quite a negligent stance, barely looking at the screen with his one free eye while the other was hidden past huge bangs covering it. Although he seemed to be sitting lazily on his chair, he wouldn’t be too out of place in a classroom.

Of course, it was hard to say he was not out of place when he was sitting on an extremely expensive chair that was integrated with Sumeragi’s entire network database on several layers and levels, and also currently staying at their headquarters in the middle of Neo Tokyo, near the place where once stood the famous Tokyo Tower. Or that he was playing the same game on three different screens with six different characters at the same time.

But to Merak, the military commander of the Sumeragi Group, this was so far from difficult he was paying more attention to the music coming out of his earphones than to the game, or the warnings about what was going on in the Mechaniloid Storage Facility. He was also waiting for the actual raid to happen, already having cleared three of the five steps before the monstrous superboss of the game would show up. He’d have already started it if it wasn’t for the rest of his guild wanting a shot for once – and while he certainly had no interest in playing along, he thought it would be worth it to throw them a bone and see how many of them would be dead before he jumped in with his rival character to save their butts.

His quiet humming, matching his favorite song currently blaring at full volume on his ears, went well with his typing as he manipulated all characters in perfect progress, using his multifunctional keyboard to maintain as much control as he could with the least amount of effort possible. He took a moment to glance lazily at the clock setup, noticing the counter. They would break the world record at this rate, given how he was at least a minute ahead – quite ironic, given his reputation – and a slight smile made its way to his lips before he abandoned it. Smiling was a waste of time and effort.

“Sir!” one of his underlings said, right as the music picked up. He blinked for one moment as one of his characters took an unnecessary hit, before quickly recovering. One of his fingers slipped to the corner of the keyboard and he slammed a key placed there specifically for moments like these, feeling his power flow briefly while the new hum took his hearing.

“What did I say about messing with my raids?” Merak asked, not even looking at the newcomer.

“F-forgive me, sir, it was just”

A loud noise came, followed by a scream of pain, and Merak smiled at that sound. “When I give an order to not be disturbed, it means I am not to be disturbed. Not unless the boss man himself contacts me, and anything but.” After eliminating the monster that had just ruined his perfect kill attempt, the boy finally deigned to look at his minion, giving him a cold and unnerving glare like none other. “So, what was it that made you want to risk your life so pointlessly?”

“T-the invaders, sir, they…” the man gasped for breath, one hand placed near his lungs. Hm, he thought he had aimed for the kidney. He’d have to improve his aim next time.

“Aren’t they already taken of? I already set all the troops to basically and literally invade our own property. What more do you want?”

“T-the Golems…” Now THAT got his attention. Merak spun his chair in place to face him without having to stop looking at the screens.

“Didn’t I say we’re NOT using them?!” he snapped, almost typing a new combination, just as the door opened again and distracted him.

“It’s not that, sir!” another underling said, quickly snapping into attention. “Two of the Golems were activated despite your orders! We believe it was the local Pseudoroid who has been responsible!”

“Pseudo” Now he was getting a headache. When had they hired one of those again? “Ugh, I’ll deal with this later. Send the order to turn them off. Blow them up if you have to. I don’t care about this Neo Arcadian junk.”

Right as Merak turned his chair away, aware that the injured officer was being taken away, one other underling spoke up. “But sir, what about the transport passing by the storage facility? Shouldn’t we warn them?”

“The transport…?” he muttered, his memory blank for a moment, before he recalled the actual information. His expression finally changed. “Who authorized that passage?”

“Uh, it was Jota, sir. He wanted the transport to leave Neo Akihabara as fast as possible, and as it turns out, this was the shortest path…” Whatever else he had to say was ignored, as he was struck down as well, Merak typing furiously on his keyboard.

“Of all the things that could happen…” he muttered, before seeing one more notice on his screen. The word ‘TSUKUYOMI’ had popped up just at once, making him groan louder.

There was no escaping it this time. He’d have to answer this one in person.

…%D​

“Why do they keep coming?!”

To say the warehouse was in chaos was understating facts. Zero had thought this would’ve been easy enough, like the underground battle; kill everyone, get out, simple as that. Instead, it seemed like there was no end to their foes, as new Variants showed up whenever he seemed to have thinned their numbers, and behind them there were still Troopers armed with those railguns to shoot from cover. In the distance, right past the exits he had figured out before, he could see more Sentry Units – still not primed to attack, but they would likely do so if given the chance.

It was all Zero and Rokoe could do to keep themselves safe, but it was hard enough to keep this many opponents down. Not only that, Zero had realized early on that even if they managed to defeat everyone, the Sentry Units would have less issues tearing them apart, if they even had any to begin with. Eliminating them was a priority, but he wasn’t willing to risk doing that with so little equipment on their side and the Celestial Striker’s apparent inability to use her full powers.

“Rokoe! Where’s Colbor?!” Zero yelled, figuring it wasn’t time to keep quiet about that.

“He’s coming… he’s still coming!” she said, breathing slowly; whether that was from exhaustion or the pushback from firing a massive arrow that tore through the Variants like paper, he couldn’t tell yet. “We don’t have enough time… I’m sorry, Master!”

“What do you mean, ‘not enough time’?”

“Change of plans!” she yelled back, stopping right behind him. “Sumeragi’s transport is passing by as we speak. I just got orders to enter and investigate!”

“You just got the orders?!” With a grunt, Zero slammed a Variant using his Z-Knuckle, before throwing the body to the side. “Why would they change the plans so suddenly?”

“It’s because…” She bit her tongue for a moment, but decided to be honest. “Since you’re awake, Master, QUILL wants you to return to base as soon as possible! I’ll have to leave you with Colbor, and once he comes, then”

“Then you’ll set off?” Zero didn’t need to see her to understand her response. Although he remembered being in such a bad state before, he absolutely did not remember being forced to abandon a mission in the middle of it to handle another. Whatever was going on was definitely more than just ‘serious’.

And her clear discomfort at abandoning him made it harder for him to support such a decision.

“…tell Colbor to retreat.” His words caught her by surprise. “I’ll keep you company for now.”

“W-what? But, Master…!” Rokoe stopped firing for a few moments, turning to face him. “My mission was to recover you, and… take you to safety! I swore to give my life to fulfill it!”

He didn’t need to know the girl to know that she was taking it as seriously as she could, and that made things worse. Zero might not have remembered everything of his past, but there was no way he was leaving her alone like this.

Rokoe was surprised as he pushed her to the ground, bullets barely missing her head.“My life is not worth more than yours.” His words were cold, but serious. “Or anyone else’s, for that matter. I’m going with you.”

Of course, just saying that meant nothing when he wasn’t sure how they’d make it out to begin with, at the moment, but that was when an explosion rocked the warehouse’s wall, on the farthest side. It was enough to stop the fighting for a moment, just before an odd light shone past the smoke and dust that had been pushed up by the wall’s collapse.

Zero barely had time to recognize what happened before he heard the screams. The beam of light sliced through the ground and wall ahead, tearing through the Variants and Troopers that had been unfortunate enough to be on its way, blood and oil splattering about in equal measure. A massive machine moved forward, painted in dull tones of white and gray, with a large grill-shaped chestplate placed over its core. The large arms were barely dented by the plasma bullets that some of the Variants had fired in self defense, and the eyes of the machine started to glow a brighter shade of green as they charged up for a new laser.

Without a doubt, that was a Neo Arcadian Golem, one of their strongest combat units. Zero tightened his grip on the Buster he held, quite aware the odds were against him. He could maybe steal a railgun, but it would run out of power before the Golem was truly injured, and he had no hopes of outlasting one while dealing with possible cover fire.

As much as he hated it, especially as he did not understand what was going on, Zero had to accept that the only alternative they had was to run away, if they wanted to survive.

“Rokoe. Can you contact Colbor?” he whispered to her, eyes still on the Golem. She nodded slightly, not quite sure what he had in mind. “Then tell him this. We’re moving on to the next phase. I’m taking you to the transport.”

“B-but”

“Rokoe. That’s an order.” He glanced at one of the windows. The laser beam had slagged it completely, creating a large hole that could take one person fully. “I’m not sure if we’re targeted or not. Whatever happens, run to the window and don’t stop. Do you hear me?”

“Y-yes!” the Celestial Striker replied, surprisingly obedient. He didn’t have time to consider that, and instead adjusted his grip on the Variant cannon he still held, preparing himself for what would happen next.

Once he started moving, he immediately fired at the Golem, before darting to the side. Indeed, he became the primary target of its optic laser, which tried to chase him while he weaved past the hapless Mechaniloids and Troopers taking aim at his head.

The beam barely grazed him on the leg before it stopped, a painful reminder that things weren’t different enough. The timing was the exact same now as it had been back then, and Zero allowed that knowledge to give him hope, as he spun back to throw the Variant cannon at the Golem. It didn’t really damage it, but it was enough to make the machine recalculate its attack pattern, shifting to a forward leaning stance.

Zero was not surprised to see Rokoe had made it to the window as well, in part because he had been slowed down by the pain on his leg. It was just high enough that she wouldn’t make it out on her own, so he made a signal with his head, and she quickly grabbed on to him.

As soon as her hands held on to his shoulders, he leapt at the wall, feeling the servos on his fingers stress and grip on tightly, and immediately kicked off, akin to how he had performed that maneuver before; however, the single kick wasn’t enough to give them the height they needed, and Zero slammed his free hand against it, digging into a newly formed hold and using it to send himself up again. The bullets flew towards them in great numbers, but Zero had taken that into account when he started his plan, and he used the momentum to keep going on a direction as well as higher.

The third wall jump was enough to reach the window, and the two of them dove out, Rokoe having somehow loosened her grip as she fell. However, when Zero turned to face her, he was surprised to see that she had slowed down her fall for a moment, while he wasn’t looking.

“…are you okay?” he asked, and she nodded, blankly. “Good. We have to find the transport. Where is it?”

“…past the wall, in that direction,” the blue-haired girl said, indicating the nearby Eastern side. “We’ll just have to get over it and”

The wall behind them blew up right then, as the Golem broke through. Rokoe took up her guns, but Zero lifted one hand to keep her from doing anything stupid.

“We’re running. Get to the wall. Just keep moving!” he ordered her, before realizing she was still hesitating. “Now!”

With a groan, the Celestial Striker started on her way, and Zero nodded to himself. He would have to feint it if he wanted Rokoe to avoid becoming the greatest target around, and that meant taking the long way. Still, in an open area like this, things were a little more to his advantage in comparison to his previous situation.

He took a moment to confirm his current energy gauge. Sixty-four percent. That wouldn’t be enough to defeat a Golem, but he hardly planned on doing so. Surviving, on the other hand? That he would.

“Colbor! Colbor!” Rokoe called out, as she managed to get behind a tree. “Where are you?”

Her communication unit answered after a moment. “I’m almost done in the west wing. Things got hot around here. Did you make it to the main lobby yet?”

“Negative… we were forced into the courtyard,” she said, taking a deep breath. She couldn’t believe she had exhausted her Septima to this point. It was barely enough to make her bullets effective, no matter how little she used, and this meant none of her other abilities were available at the moment. “Zero ordered me to take him to the Sumeragi transport.”

“Zero did?” Colbor hadn’t expected that, based on his tone of voice. “How odd… I thought he’d be coming back with us.”

“Well, he refused to… not until I complete my mission, anyway! But that’s too dangerous even now!”

Just as he was about to answer, loud explosions echoed in the transmission, forcing her to silence it for a few moments. When the audio returned, her comrade was at the end of his own statement: “ned here by a Golem, should’ve known the things were active…”

“A Golem?!” Rokoe let out, almost panicking. “You went and messed with a Golem?! Is that why there’s one trying to kill us over here?”

“…yeah, sorry, that’s on me.”

His apologetic tone was so bothersome that Rokoe could barely keep herself from ranting at him – but as she glanced back, she realized now was not the time. “Well, whatever! We’re running out of time and I can’t stay here much longer! What are we going to do about your extraction?”

“…I see…” After a few moments of deliberation, Colbor’s message couldn’t come fast enough. “Listen, Striker, we’ll have to abort the current mission. You take Zero to the transport and evacuate from there.”

“What?! But Colbor”

“That’s an order! We may all be expendable, but we’re not allowed to let him be captured! Do you understand?”

She bit her lips for a moment, before nodding. “Y-yeah… yeah, I understand! But you better come back alive, you hear me?!”

“Planning on it,” he replied, even as more explosions rang out. A nasty crackling noise began to form on the communications due to interference.

“Colbor? Colbor?!”

“-bzzt-oa, check it out-bzzt-hy wer-bzzt-iding someth-bzzt-ike THIS i-bzzt-garage?-bzzt-”

And with that, the signal went mute.

Rokoe couldn’t bring herself to say anything, simply putting all her energy and frustration onto the run she had broken into, heading towards the wall. Although it was indeed rather solid, she had her own way to handle this, shifting the gun back to its large, ammo-based bullets.

The first shot managed to break a hole the size of her fist in it, while throwing her back on her ass. She grumbled and turned on the clamps of her boots, using the rest of her cartridge to create a ladder that’d allow her to climb up.

She had only just done so when she saw the transport incoming. It was an older type of electric train, riding on multiple tracks laid over the asphalt nearby, which happened to make a turn near the end of this side of the wall. It wouldn’t really be easy to land on it, but they were out of options if she was to do this that night, and this was the only opportunity they’d have without invading a more dangerous and better-guarded Sumeragi outpost or base.

One glance back, and she saw Zero climbing on the wall as well, leading to her waving at him. “Over here!” she called out, and he turned to face her. Good! They were both making good time. Even if she couldn’t take him along, at least he’d be able to run out and meet up with Colbor and the others once they had made it out of there.

Of course, she wasn’t expecting the wall to break down right under his feet, Zero barely managing to get on the same side as her. Below them, the Golem had just finished its tackle, ignoring the rubble that had crashed upon its body as it tried to maintain its pursuit.

“Guess it won’t give up so easily…” he grunted, running after Rokoe. It wasn’t easy thanks to the shots being fired at them, but the Variants and Troopers were nowhere near as accurate as they might’ve been otherwise. “Where are we going, Rokoe?”

“That train… it’s going to make a curve in a few seconds! We’ll have to make it in one leap if we want to get on!”

Zero blinked. Just by looking at the distance, he could tell there was no way he could make such a jump, and he had his doubts that Rokoe had the same jumping abilities. “…please tell me you are joking.”

“Nope! It’ll be tough, but I can do it!” She panted for a moment, unable to hold back a smile. “I mean, I never did a leap on a train moving at full speed, but as long as I don’t land in front of it I should be okay!”

“That’s not… it’s impossible to jump that far! Even a Reploid couldn’t do it!” he said, and she took one moment to glance at him.

“…if you don’t believe me, then hang on!” she said, taking his hand before running as fast as she could. Zero managed to keep up, and was surprised to feel such a strong grip coming from a girl as young as she was.

As soon as they were at the edge, Rokoe used all the strength in her legs to jump, carrying Zero along. He wasn’t completely surprised by it, as he had jumped as well, but it was impressive for him to see that she was actually going higher than he had despite their obvious limitations.

Then he could feel it; a surge of power emerging from her, a second before the pink halo and wings formed. Their downward momentum was gone, replaced by an increased forward impulse, as Rokoe hovered towards the train with the help of her wings. It even seemed like his weight was irrelevant, though he doubt that was the case.

They were just about to reach the train’s locomotive unit when the impulse ended, much to his surprise, and their fall started again. A loud scream let him realize that Rokoe was also taken aback by this, and not for no reason; they were going to turn into a smear if they just slammed against it directly.

Zero forced them into a spin, letting his back scrape against the very top of the locomotive, before sliding past it and down to the main cars – which were fittingly only cargo cars, having no walls or ceiling to get in the way, and instead containing various metallic or wooden boxes and crates. The follow-up impact was almost as nasty as the first, as his legs struggled to take the kinetic force, but he forced himself to ignore the pain and slam a hand against the floor.

The Z-Knuckle activated, tearing out a good section he had grabbed in an attempt to stop their constant slide, and he nearly felt his arm slide out of its socket in the process. Just as he thought it would actually rip out, however, Zero felt himself stop moving against the train.

“…” He took one look at Rokoe. The poor girl wasn’t quite conscious anymore, her voice coming out in mumbles as she twitched. He could only hope she hadn’t broken anything during this crash. “…are you okay?”

“Y-yes…” she muttered, feeling the contents of her stomach shift. Zero closed his eyes, focusing on his current situation. 30 percent power remaining, and he wasn’t sure if his arm wasn’t actually broken. Rokoe couldn’t be doing much better, even if her body was somehow tougher than that of a normal human.

“…so, we’re in the transport,” he said, turning off all his pain receptors for a moment just so he could focus. “Are we taking it to a Sumeragi base or something?”

Rokoe shook her head as she stood up, flinching a little; there were red spots on her outfit, but she didn’t seem to be in shock despite that. “No… our target is here. It relates to one of Sumeragi’s projects…” she explained, shortly before crawling over to the side and puking. “Ugh… I don’t think I can use my Septima for flying anymore…”

“…so that’s what that was.” With a grunt, Zero stood up, performing a quick check. Thankfully all their weapons were still there, and he could activate the Z-Knuckle on his other arm. “What’s our target, then?”

“…QUILL’s orders… ‘capture the Muse’. Should be at the other end of this train.” As she stood back up, Rokoe took out one of her guns, sticking to it for now. “There’s still some security, maybe, but… they shouldn’t be too strong…”

“You stay here. I’ll scout ahead.” He forced himself to keep on moving, telling himself this was hardly the worst injury he had ever received. “If nothing else… I’ll see if I can get something to heal ourselves with.”

Rokoe wanted to argue, but her exhaustion made it so difficult to do so. She decided to simply go on and obey him again, focusing only on restoring what little power she still had back to a bearable state, and ending the headache she currently had.

…%D​

To say Nova Tsukuyomi was not happy was an understatement. But then again, he hardly was, when it came to the Seven Swordsmen of Sumeragi, his direct subordinates. Between their bloodlust, aggressiveness, and otherwise irrational personalities, it was not uncommon for him to have to find a bomb [or many] in his hands just waiting to explode, and for his department to receive yet another pay cut from their proprietary overlords.

That was why he was currently in the briefing room of Sumeragi’s headquarters, sector West, sitting at the end of a table with seven other chairs. All of the chairs were occupied at the moment, something unusual to be sure, but a requirement given the information he had just received from his superior.

“Merak. Jota.” His tone was calm, but it was enough to interfere with the argument the two were about to start. “Care to explain what is going on tonight?”

“It’s just QUILL,” the boy said, dismissive. “They decided to attack one of our storage facilities. Same as usual. Probably looking for Reploids to salvage.”

“Is that so.”

“It isn’t simply ‘QUILL’, Master Tsukuyomi,” Jota answered, having just adjusted one of his gloves as usual, due to a tic. “They decided to send their strongest Adept to act tonight.”

“I see… that ‘Celestial Striker’, right?” He had seen the logs before, the bluenette’s combat records on the screen in front of him. They were certainly unfitting for someone with her appearance, as far as he knew; he wouldn’t believe it was true if it wasn’t for the fact that Sumeragi’s records were hardly incorrect.

“Hmm…” a quiet hum came from the side, and he hated having to look in that direction. It was Zonda, who apparently had decided today was ‘creepy-ass fuck’ day regarding her appearance. “My, my, she looks just my type. If only she were a little more on the violent side, hm…”

Nobody wanted to reply to that.

“So QUILL has decided to act again. So what?” Viper asked, resting against his seat. “They suck. I still don’t know why you haven’t ordered them dead, boss.”

“Their actions have done little to discourage the rest of the inhabitants of Neo Tokyo from supporting us. In fact, I believe that the last reports indicate that we have received 33% more support after their little game of terrorism,” Merak explained, lazily tapping on the keyboard. The screen popped up in front of all their monitors. “Besides, they hardly have the numbers to face us for real. These little guerrilla tactics of theirs aren’t profitable in the long run. There’s no need to deal with them.”

All of that was certainly true, yet Nova was hardly one to trust Merak and his motives, given how unusual it was that a teenage boy was an army officer at the age of 13. Not only that, the fact that Sumeragi’s dealings with the rest of the world were primarily isolationist meant that they had to keep said army in their island nation, rather than deal with foreign threats directly.

In short, he was quite sure that Merak would rather QUILL exist so he’d have something to fight, rather than wipe them out as they all knew was possible, if he could help it.

“Of course you’d say that,” Jota said, partially externalizing Nova’s own opinion. “But the troops at that storage facility were hardly in enough numbers to deal with the threat, as seen by how 20% of them were eliminated before I sent the order to activate the Golems.”

And that got Merak frustrated again. “I thought I told you to not go against my orders!”

“Your refusal to use all tools at your disposal to your advantage is simply frustrating! We have an entire platoon of forces Neo Arcadia allowed us to make use of, and still”

“Why would I want to use that inferior junk? I designed those Sentry Units myself, as well as half of Sumeragi’s current lineup! And they’ve been keeping the peace for six years now!”

Nova could feel his own frustration build up with each word, as he was reminded once again of how difficult Merak could be, sometimes. Those units had not come to them cheap, and yet, this preference of his meant that they often had to rely on the older models, which had not been upgraded as ‘trying to surpass their perfection is pointless’.

Of course, the fact that a Golem had apparently wrecked their own troops betrayed a lot of Merak’s statements. But he let it slide at the moment.

“In the end, it all comes down to this: there has been another terrorist attack this week, and right on the day when we were transferring the Muse to base for processing,” he summarized, enjoying the sudden concern in Merak’s face. “Jota, I trust everything is going well there?”

“Absolutely. I even made sure to direct the transport through the shortest route in Neo Akihabara, to ensure it would stay out of danger, given the circumstances,” the aforementioned man replied, looking quite proud of himself.

“The… shortest route, you say?” Carrera asked, taking a quick look at his map. “Isn’t that exactly the one that passes right by the storage facility we are discussing at the moment?”

Nova couldn’t have obtained a better expression in their faces than if he had told them he was going to fire them with no back payment. Jota’s expression turned from an unpleasant, smarmy grin into a shocked, white-faced horror, while Merak literally slammed his face on the table out of despair.

A loud spit-take noise broke the awkward silence formed. “Pffft! So you’re telling me that they actually put the Muse in MORE danger than necessary?!” Stratos started to pound the table as he laughed, much to Zonda’s displeasure as she was forced to wipe their faces. “I swear, I never get to laugh like this back at the asylum!”

“D-don’t worry, Master Tsukuyomi,” Jota managed to squeak out, trying to keep his dignity. “Even if QUILL attempts something, we know they do not have the numbers to fight off the troops I had already placed. Not only that, our troops at the storage facility last reported that they had pinned down the intruders, and”

A noise came from Merak’s screen, as he received a message from the base. “Um, sir?”

“Please tell me you have already disposed of the bodies,” the boy muttered, earning looks from his peers. Of course, the sound he received was already being shared with the others, and whatever frustration he felt was dismissed by Nova.

“Actually, sir… it’s about the Golems we have deployed. One of them was caught in an explosion the terrorists have caused just now, possibly by destroying their vehicle… that’s what we managed to figure out. It’s still functional, but we can’t get any further information.”

That was a relief. Nova had hoped that the Golems would be tough to be worth their money, and considering QUILL had apparently had to blow up a vehicle to deal significant damage, he considered it a worthy sacrifice. Now all they needed to do was haggle the armor costs through claims and

“Sure, sure. And the second unit?” Merak asked, managing to be dismissive as usual.

“Well… um…” Now he was hesitating. That was a bad sign. “That one has just made its way to the transport.”

There was a full minute of silence so heavy, a pin hitting the ground would’ve been louder than a bomb going off.

“…excuse me?” Merak uttered, in complete disbelief. “Did you just say the Golem moved to the transport?”

“…yes, I believe so, sir.”

There was no time for silence, as Stratos started to laugh like a maniac, howling so much that he was nearly slamming his own head against the table.

“Why the JITT is it going there?! What part of ‘eliminate the intruders’ was too difficult for that piece of slag to understand?!” Merak nearly roared, speaking so fast that he actually managed to run out of breath, like he had been speaking for an entire minute non-stop.

“T-the intruders managed to escape, sir! They actually headed towards the train!”

Jota suddenly found his collar extremely interesting and worthier of attention than his surroundings.

“…contact the next stations in the itinerary and arrange for a stop. I don’t care if the next station is fifty klicks from your location or in some brat’s backyard, we’re stopping that train before it makes it out of Neo Akihabara, you hear me?!” Merak managed to respond, as he typed in many more orders at once. “See what you can do about the Golem but do not let it get any closer to the cargo if you can avoid it!”

“Sir, yes sir!”

With the radio contact out, the boy was forced to face the others, if only because both Nova was glaring at them with actual, physical pressure involved.

“So… because of what you two have done, our Muse transport operation is at risk,” he began, arms crossed. “What do you have to say for yourselves?”

It was difficult for them to come up with a proper response. Part of it was, of course, how inexcusable things were; this situation was clearly turning into a SNAFU of the highest consequences, and there had been plenty of warnings from Nova to treat the matter of the Muse as seriously as possible.

The other part was how Nova was currently crushing their windpipes just by thinking it.

“R-red-gaspbot!” Merak desperately managed to say, his words managing to catch Nova’s attention. He loosened the grip slightly, giving him a chance to breathe.

“Explain. Now.”

“T-there was a… red robot with them… he seems to be… a combat unit…” the boy wheezed, trying as hard as he could to remember what little information he had absorbed from that brief interaction. All he knew was that the robot was old, ugly-looking, and had somehow been important enough for an Adept to concern themselves with. “Before activating… we detected the biggest… Septimal pulse ever…!”

Both Merak and Jota suddenly found themselves freed, though their faces hit the table for good measure. “A red robot and a strong Septimal pulse…” Nova muttered, as he realized something. The message was sent silently while the others considered what was going on, not quite sure if they understood the information they had heard.

“Master Tsukuyomi, we have to get there at once!” Viper called out, his grip on the table tightening. “We have to protect the Muse no matter the cost! Get Merak to open one of his portals and I’ll”

“You are not going anywhere.”

Nova’s cold tone was shocking, enough to make even Stratos stop laughing and pay attention. The youth was also staring at them with the most piercing eyes they had seen before, and they all felt an unnerving pressure forming over their bodies as he stood up.

“I have to confirm something. None of you are allowed to leave this room until I am back. If I find out a strand of hair or an insect with your DNA was anywhere outside this room after I left, I’m going to break every single one of your bones. One. By. One.” He headed to the door, watching as it opened on its own. “Are we clear?”

“…yes, sir…” they managed to let out, uncomfortable as they were, and Nova left the room. A loud ‘click’ indicated the locks were activated, and then the pressure disappeared.

Viper remained calm for approximately two seconds and a half before letting out a cry, his hands crushing the table they used for the meeting.

“I can’t GACKing believe it! GACK!” he snapped, feeling his mouth burn in rage. “If anything happens to her, I’m tearing your skins out, you pieces of JITT!”

“Get in line, pretty boy,” Stratos taunted him, licking his lips. “I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do to you two… oooh, maybe instead of keeping you alive, he’ll actually give me permission to finish you off! I can’t wait, I can’t wait!”

“Silence!” Carrera ordered, only to be met with a derisive snort. “Is this the reputation you wish the Seven Swordsmen have? Show some respect to each other, already!”

Despite his best efforts, however, it was clear none of them planned on cooperating beyond what was necessary. Stratos had already gone back to drinking his private serum, while Viper was trying as hard as he could to avoid smashing the table. Merak and Jota were already nursing their injuries, and the others… well, he decided not to think about them.

Some things were too much even for him to accept.

…%D​

Some things never changed.

While he lacked the serious weaponry he was used to, and his body still felt a little weird to move in, Zero was enjoying the workout he had to go through in order to survive so far. He had to improvise tactics, which was fun in its own way, and it helped him get used to his current conditions.

But the fact was things hadn’t changed. The Variants were simplistic in their attack patterns, a little deadlier than the Pantheons he remembered but still nothing compared to what he knew. Destroying them helped him get rid of some of the stress formed from the sudden situation he had found himself in, and avoid thinking about what he did remember when he was trapped in another battlefield where everything wanted to kill him.

The only change was the song.

He wasn’t sure when he had first started to hear it, though it certainly was after they had landed on the train. However, at some point, he was sure that he was hearing a song, louder than the train’s movement yet coming from no actual loudspeakers, as the train lacked the structure to have those. It was oddly familiar for some reason, but he couldn’t pin what about it was so important.

Strange song aside, the lack of change involved in this situation managed to bother him, once he realized what the feeling was. Not simply familiarity, but the choice of words from before, his disappearance, came back to him with an absolute sense of duress. It was an unpleasant reminder of the darkest period of his life, and he refused to allow himself to fall back into that once more.

“…I should go back,” he muttered, taking one look back. He was nearly at the end of the train right now, much to his surprise; that little scouting party had taken longer than he expected. Rokoe was probably concerned at this point, but Zero had been so focused on blasting his way out of trouble that he had barely realized he had gone through seven cars’ worth of grunts and goods. “She’s probably better now… or perhaps in danger again.”

Just as he turned around fully, however, a massive blur flew towards him, the Reploid forced to jump out of the way before he was smashed. His expression changed to shock as he realized that it was the Golem from before, its crowned head broken but not seriously damaged, and the arms barely scratched. Destroying the wall protecting the facility hadn’t seemed to do enough damage, and Zero had to admit this armor was much better than he had expected.

He refused to stop, however. Not until both he and Rokoe were safely out of danger.

‘Haven’t I done this before?’

That question suddenly popped in his mind, as Zero nearly lost his head to a massive fist slamming against it. After the evasive roll he shook his head quickly, hearing the song build up to a louder tone, trying to take out the Golem’s head the best he could – their only weak spot, given how the plasma actually burned through a little. Part of him wanted it to simply tackle him or even slice the train in half, but he knew this would only cause more trouble if things went wrong, and he didn’t have the energy to waste in such a case.

There was an unpleasant truth in that thought, however. Awakening among ruined machines, fighting his way out with only a gun, only for a Golem to stop him… no, this was too similar. Not enough to be an exact copy, but certainly enough to be concerning. And the worst thing was, unless he were to assume Rokoe was supposed to fully represent the last element…

The fight barely lasted thirty seconds after that before he was flung against the locomotive car, crashing against its wall. The door was blown off its hinges in the process, slamming against the Golem harmlessly and crumpling like it was made of paper. Zero wiped off some blood that was slipping past his lips, his breathing ragged and his injured arm sending him plenty of pain messages, to the point where he had to turn those off again before they drove him crazy.

If only… if only he still had it…

A flash of light emerged from the room behind him, clearly visible from the outside. The light was enough to stun the Golem, and Zero could not shake the feeling of how familiar it was, even as the song grew louder and louder, surpassing every other sound around him. It seemed to spur him on, helping him ignore the pain and keep on going, to the point where the crimson Reploid instinctively knew where he was supposed to move his hand to.

His fingers closed around a metallic hilt, so familiar that he didn’t even take a moment to adjust his grip, the action being automatic. He did not need to see it to know where the switch was, hearing the hum of energy building up into a single blade. Nor did he need to think about his next movement, as he leapt towards the Golem and slashed.

A thin white line formed on the machine’s front, starting at the very crown and going down and towards the grill plate, and from there to the rest of the body. He did not need to see it to know the same line was formed on its back, at the exact opposite position, nor that the sheer speeds affecting them were pulling the Golem backwards and splitting it further apart.

The explosions happened simultaneously and on the sides of the train, which shook dangerously afterwards. It was almost enough to make the train loosen its magnetic grip from the tracks, and Zero had to hold on to the floor the best he could, hoping he hadn’t forced it to derail and crash, as they were moving too fast if the Golem had been flung out the moment it was deactivated.

“Master!”

In the distance, Rokoe had just called out to him, as she made her way closer. The train shook a little more but she seemed to be keeping her balance, or perhaps it was those magnetic boots of hers; either way, she managed to reach the locomotive car just fine. “Master, are you okay? Was that a”

“A Golem, yes,” Zero replied, standing up. Once again, that feeling of mistrust emerged, as he realized how familiar this had been as well – downing a Golem in a single blow, bringing it down with the help of a sword, when all else had failed. He looked at the blade, grimacing as he realized it was green, a familiar triangle shape that felt more like a perfect extension of his arm, the blade shifting as he moved it slightly. “I finished it off.”

“Y-you… Master, that’s amazing!!!” Rokoe squealed, almost hugging him, but Zero was already facing the other way. The song had been his guide, perhaps, but now it had ended – yet he knew it had something to do with the inside of the locomotive. He made his way in while the Celestial Striker continued her cheer, not sure what he expected, yet still hoping that his thoughts weren’t correct.

The locomotive car only contained a large machine, which seemed to be its power source. Zero would’ve taken his time to examine it properly and see what he could do to the train, but it didn’t seem like any of the actual controls were available from this side. The contents of the machine, however, took his attention further as the inside lit up, revealing a human figure placed within.

A human girl.

Zero’s eyes widened a moment later, recognition running through his mind. It couldn’t be, that was impossible, this didn’t make sense – and yet, there was no way she wasn’t the same person. The same height, same face, same hair color and style… everything was the same.

“C… Ciel?!”

Rokoe stopped in place as she heard that. “Master, do you know her?” she asked, and he nodded slightly.

“I… I believe so. But…” Something was wrong. The Z-Knuckle and the customizations added to the Buster Shot had given him the impression that perhaps he had survived whatever nearly killed him only to awaken in a much distant future, one created by the actions of Ciel and the others. But if that was true, Ciel would’ve changed too, even if she were alive – she’d have reached adulthood, perhaps even become an old woman, similar to Andrew. The technology existed to extend one’s life but he thought it unlike her to not accept aging, at least if he was gone.

But no, this ‘Ciel’ was not just young. She was the same age as when they had met, and no older than that.

The girl’s eyes opened a moment later, blank and empty. Something sank on the pit of his gut. Was this a trick? Perhaps a clone, or…?

“Welcome,” a new voice spoke, as light emerged above the girl. It reminded him of the other, final element that was missing, but he was disappointed that the rainbow data shapes that took form did not create an ‘X’. “I have been waiting for you, Mega Man.”

“…Mega Man?” Zero repeated, watching as another ‘Ciel’ seemed to be formed by the light. There were indeed more similarities than he expected, but this one looked closer to adulthood, with a voluptuous body to match. She was clad in a pink and blue outfit, reminding him of fashions long gone, and her voluminous hair was not only three times longer than even his own, but seemed to have such an artistic design that it would’ve realistically taken half a day to be made.

“Indeed. You are the Mega Man who will change the world…” this one said, before her expression shifted; her blank expression turned colder, more arrogant. “Perhaps you will also be the one to free me from this prison, while you are at it.”

“Um…” Rokoe muttered, raising an eyebrow, only to stammer as the woman looked at her. “W-who are you? Do you know Master? And what is a Mega Man, anyway?”

“I am Morpho, the Diva of Sumeragi,” she answered, only to close her eyes. “Perhaps ‘Muse’ is the term they use for me, nowadays, but they never failed to refer to me as a Diva. You should thank me, Mega Man, for it was my song that saved your life only now.”

“I see.” Zero’s bad feeling was growing. “So you were the one who manipulated me so I could grasp my sword?” She nodded in response. “I suppose you want some thanks then.”

“Hardly. I don’t need to be thanked for keeping you alive. Rather… I was curious.”

“About what?”

“Your existence. Who the ‘Mega Man’ could be. If I had not stolen the sword, I would not have found the answers, so I did.” She hardly seemed impressed, however. “I expected more brutality from you.”

“I’m not one for needless destruction.”

“That is an odd choice. Nonetheless… I suppose it is my duty to assist you, Mega Man.”

“That won’t be necessary. Just tell me what’s going on.” She raised an eyebrow in response. “What is Ciel doing here?”

“…oh, the host body?” That dismissive tone was getting on Zero’s nerves. “She’s currently unconscious. It was necessary for me to maintain my control over her.”

“Control?” he asked, pointing his sword at her. “If you are harming Ciel in any way, I”

“Hold your blade. I am not dangerous to her. In fact, the only danger here would be either of you, as if my form is injured in any fashion, she will suffer tenfold and so will I in the inverse. It is not as if I have a choice with regards to the host I have.” An unpleasant answer, but Zero understood at least the main point of it; attacking Morpho now would be stupid. “I will gladly answer your questions, but do you believe now is a good time to do so, when Sumeragi forces may attack you at any time and possibly injure your precious little girl?”

“Then tell us how to turn this off.”

“Certainly. I only wish to finish what I had to say, first.” Zero tightened his grip on the saber, hoping it would be quick. “As one of those with the power to change this world, Mega Man, you must understand. There are others, such as the leader of Sumeragi, who seek this very same power. It is for that reason that I have been created.” She closed her eyes, pressing one hand to her bust. “If Sumeragi recovers my power, it will be the end of the world as you know it. If you wish for the world you desire to exist, you must protect my existence no matter what. Do this, and I will reward you greatly.”

It was such a melodious voice and such an enticing suggestion that even he could not deny had its effect on him. For a few moments, Zero even considered just saying ‘yes’ to whatever she had to say. It was only the odd expression in her face, one that did not belong to Ciel, that made him resist it.

“I don’t particularly care about Sumeragi, but I refuse to let them keep either of you.” He lowered his saber, looking at the sleeping human form. “Tell me how to turn this off and free her. We’ll discuss what happens next after she wakes up.”

There was clear disapproval in Morpho’s face. “…very well.” As she did so, she indicated a computer screen to the side. “That computer controls all the locks and systems. Be warned that once you turn them off, I will fade for now, and will not return until she is safely elsewhere.”

“Of course.” He took a moment to look at Rokoe, who seemed to be on a daze, before snapping his fingers. “You should understand this better than me. Turn it off.”

“O-of course, Master!” she said, getting to work quickly. As she worked, Morpho hovered closer to Zero, staring at him.

“You don’t trust me, do you?”

“I don’t trust anyone.”

“Yet you seem willing to trust this girl you never met before.”

“Ciel is different,” Zero retorted, briskly.

“How is she different from me? She is not even conscious of what is going on. You’ll only scare her if she wakes up.”

“I have my reasons.” Realizing he had little choice on the matter, he decided to change the subject. “Do you care where you go now? Or do you plan on simply coming along no matter where I choose?”

“Either QUILL or the Guardians would be a poor choice on the matter, but I can see you hardly have the options available at the moment. I will decide on our choice of path once freedom is obtained.”

“Done!” Soon enough, they felt the train slow down, the brakes doing their job. They had only just managed a turn, so there was no issues with the train getting derailed, and Rokoe smiled at the results. “Alright, we should be coming to a halt right now! The locks will be deactivated in seconds, too!”

“Good. And extraction?” Zero asked her.

“Well…” The smile turned into a grimace, as she typed information on the computer. “…we’re kind of too far from civilization now. It should take us three hours to reach a Trans Server, and I don’t know if I can hack our way back right now…”

Somehow, he was not surprised. Luck was not something he often counted on, after all.

Just as the train fell silent, however, they heard a new, loud noise. Zero headed out, saber and gun in hand, ready to defend them in case it was something dangerous. His eyes widened.

On one hand, it was a tank. It hardly seemed the type of thing Sumeragi used, but to be fair, tanks weren’t much different from a Golem, and the fact that it was currently emitting some sort of color shift on its surface meant it was probably a stealth vehicle as well.

On the other hand, it hadn’t even tried to aim at him once he came out, and whoever was piloting it didn’t seem to be a good driver. He remained on his guard as the top hatch popped open, ready to attack whoever it was that showed up.

“Is that you, Zero?!” Colbor asked, a moment after they saw each other. “Check this thing out! Can you believe Sumeragi was building this? Why didn’t they use it before?”

Somehow, Zero couldn’t help but smile.

 

[H-Man]

…%D​

“I see you were all obedient for once.”

When Nova walked back into the room, he was not disappointed to see every single Swordsman sitting down, silent as they rarely were. The same could not be said of the room, of course, but he had to accept some level of destruction as part of their venting.

Besides, he had a bigger issue to address now.

“What’s going on, Nova?” Viper asked, twitching a little. “Is the Muse okay? Did those damned terrorists”

“Things are worse than I thought,” Nova interrupted him, not even giving him a look. “It turns out our enemies went too far tonight. Not only were they after the Muse, but they actually compromised a national secret.”

That actually got their attention. Each one of the Swordsmen looked at each other, unsure whether to speak up.

“You see… when the Celestial Striker attacked the storage facility, she was looking for a specific machine, one which we had sealed away long ago. I thought it was strange that they were looking for Reploid parts… and my guess was, unfortunately, correct.”

Their screens turned on to reveal footage of the battle, although it was hard to tell what was going on; it was a scene of carnage, as soldiers and Variants alike were blasted apart and torn to shreds, explosions damaging the footage and making it difficult to see clearly. But they could see a red blur moving through in inhuman speeds, mauling its targets, destroying them with unbelievable strength.

“B-but… true, it’s just a combat model…” Merak gulped, hoping there would not be even more blame laid on his feet. “But all the old models in storage are inferior, I’ve checked all the specs…”

“Only the models Sumeragi officially keeps on record, Merak. This one was off the books.” Of course, he didn’t bother to bring up that the boy had probably hacked and found out about the ones off the books as well, but admitting this right now would only make things worse for him. “And for good measure… if the population at large had been aware that it was not destroyed after the Maverick Wars, we’d have a catastrophe like no other.”

His serious tone brought a chill down their spine. What could be so dangerous that Sumeragi itself had no records of its existence?

“It was the Golem’s destruction that confirmed what I suspected.” Now the footage changed to the transport, as the Golem had arrived for its assault. The fight was shorter than any of them expected, and for a moment Jota felt relief, assuming that the robot’s destruction was about to happen, which would have at least spared them further grief.

But then the crimson blade appeared, and the Golem simply fell apart, shortly before its own destruction.

They were silent for a moment, in complete unison, while Nova observed them. Before he could go on, however, Zonda slammed her hands on the table, a twisted grin on her face as she ground her teeth, pupils shrinking.

“Un… unbelievable… such brutality, such violence…” she said, the young woman covering her mouth to hide her arousal. “I take it back, I take it all back…!”

“…t-that was amazing…” Elise whispered, breathing quickly. “He… he killed it so fast…”

Carrera tightened his grip on the swords he held, his natural desire to kill conflicting with the terror he felt at the sight. He had once fought a Golem in single combat, as he had done every other foe he had found, and even a damaged one had never been split like that by any of his weapons. Stratos was gasping for air, having forced out a laugh in the middle of his drinking, and looked even more demented than usual.

“Merak. Jota.” Nova’s words were cold, but restrained. The two turned to face him. “I will not admonish you further on the matter, as neither of you were aware of it. It’s hard to believe that QUILL could have found out, but hardly impossible given the rumors surrounding the Celestial Striker. Most importantly, however… I am making it clear to you – to all of you – what this foe actually is. What you saw before you is the Crimson Demon. A monster of a time long gone who nearly wiped out all Adepts – all of us – and humanity in the process. I have no idea how the Celestial Striker has any control over it, but the truth remains that we must eliminate it as soon as possible, before another rampage happens.”

To their credit, they only looked down at the table, clenching their fists.

“And to answer your question, Viper… the Muse has been taken away. By the Demon.” Their eyes widened. “It is unlikely they can actually unite their powers to truly threaten us, but this makes her recovery all the more important. I will give you 24 hours to prepare a plan. I don’t care if the seven of you have to destroy an entire city to recover her, just do it. Do I make myself clear?”

“Sir, yes sir!” they declared, as one, and Nova nodded to himself. That was enough motivation for now.

“Dismissed.”