Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman Zero or anything else of Capcom’s. What, had you any doubts?

Okay, I noticed someone else posting a fanfic up here, so I thought I’d try it, since this one was well under way at fanfiction.net… thus meaning that it was little extra effort to put it here, too. Anyway, obviously, I’m a Harpuia fangirl, so this is about Harpuia. Duh. I think everyone knew that from the title. Anyway, I, for the most part, won’t be posting a whole chapter at a time because they’re very long. (This one being the shortest chapter by at least five pages! And shorter than most by fifteen or twenty.) So I’ll be posting chunks up until section breaks; in the case of this first one, I’ll just post the whole thing since it’s short and kinda uneventful. But heck, I bump into so few Megaman Zero fans, I’d be surprised if anyone reads this, anyway. Okay, I officially talk too much. On with it!

Less Than Human; Harpuia\'s Story
By Rioni Riishu

By now, I was beginning to get used to the hollow emptiness that pervaded my being. It really had not taken a long time. Perhaps it was always there, and I simply had had no time to think about it prior to certain unfortunate events. What was worse was the fact that I was no longer positive that those events were altogether unfortunate. If the death of the cause I had worked and sacrificed so much for was truly a good thing, than my “life,” as it were, was completely worthless up until this point. Beyond this point, I supposed it was my decision to make, and with that, the realization came to me that I had made few of my own decisions in the past.

At least before now I had had something. I was the guardian of the individual I had thought to be most important. The copy of MegaMan X and his idealistic view of human society seemed as righteous a mission as I could find, but in his death I was left with more questions than I thought were likely to be answered in one lifetime. Of course, as a reploid it was feasible that my existence could span several. In my hindsight I could see the flaws in Copy X’s ideals, and though I assumed that my duty would naturally be to become a guardian of Neo-Arcadia itself, I wanted to decipher the fact from the fiction first.

It struck me as odd that the legendary maverick hunter Zero was the one to destroy Copy X, when the original X had been his friend and brother in arms. Zero had found Copy X’s utopia to be flawed, and I was beginning to as well. But then, what would I, a mere reploid, know? I felt I was only a mockery of human kind. I found myself wondering just how involved the humans were in this war. Too many questions. Common sense told me that the humans were no more innocent than the warring factions of reploids. Other than trying to steal power sources from the Resistance forces, it seemed as though something else was on the government’s agenda, and whatever it was, they were intent on keeping it more than a little discreet.

I do not know how Leviathan and Fefnir felt about the matter, or if they even suspected anything at all. The fact was, I did not expect them to share any feelings with me because they thought much differently than I did. I was more than a reploid, but less than human, and if any one truly knew that, I would never belong in a society with either one.

Regardless of my reservations and persistent indecision, I did have one course of action that, after some consideration, I felt it, if not prudent, then potentially enlightening to take. I had no idea what my purpose was in my creation; if there was any prior programming to that end it had been thoroughly wiped out, along with the rest of my memory, before I had even become a Guardian. No, my loyalty toward the humans ran deeper than programming. Though I did not know why, I was created to look, feel, act, and function as a human being. I had covered that up quite well for most of my remembered life, but while most other reploids could phase out the most cumbersome or not normally necessary parts of their armor, I could dispense with all of it.

I stood now, nude in my quarters, considering how to best dress myself to be inconspicuous. Since it was not something that I normally concerned myself with, I wanted to make sure that I did not thwart my own efforts by poor fashion sense. I caught my reflection in the polished metal of the wall. A near-perfect physique, of course- who would wish to create something obviously flawed? Long, pale green hair, which, to my knowledge, no one else had ever even seen, hung about my face. I determined to pull it back in a ponytail at the least, or the style may have appeared a bit feminine. I may be a reploid, but I still have pride in my masculinity. Vivid green eyes glared back at me from my reflection. I did look completely human. The arrow-shaped tattoos on my cheeks seemed a bit noticeable, but I did not think that they would be a problem.

The clothing that I had acquired from a few random sources was basic and nondescript. I had my choice of several colors of T-shirt, blue, black, and Khaki pants, and three different - and rather ugly- jackets. I chose the least painful to look at, a brown leather one that was probably expensive but unnatractive just the same. That, coupled with a white T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans completed my outfit, and I looked again at my reflection in wall. Fortunately, the jacket looked better on me than it did lying on the bed. I knew that no one would suspect anything was amiss with my wardrobe, although I was dissatisfied with one thing. My boxers were bunched. This was going to take some getting used to.

* * *

Sneaking out of the base without being seen, especially by Leviathan and Fefnir, proved to be a bit easier than I had feared, though not by much. If I phased my armor on again, I would destroy my clothing, so that was out of the question. Fefnir was probably training, as usual, and thus easy to avoid. Leviathan was normally rather unobservant, but on the chance that she was wandering around- which she was wont to do- I did not want my cover to be blown, nor did I care to explain to Fefnir or Leviathan what I was doing and why. My human appearance was another subject for argument altogether.

My biggest threat to exposure was the reploids who worked under us in the base. It was unlikely that they would fail to notice me, and I was sure that there were plenty of them around. The hallway outside my quarters was deserted, and I was grateful, for the whole mission could have ended right there if someone had been out there. Most of the lights in the base were dimmed because of the inactivity of the hour, and I hugged the wall as I made my way through the maze of corridors. Twice I had to stop short and wait until the footsteps and voices of other soldiers faded away.

I was nearing one of the lesser used exits when I spotted Fefnir moving toward me. I ducked back into the shadows and bit my lower lip in frustration. I began to move back the way I had come, but I heard Leviathan call out from behind me.

“Hey, wait! Where are you going?”

I froze, and that is probably what saved me from discovery.

Fefnir glanced over his shoulder. “Why do you always have to ask such stupid questions?”

I ducked behind a trash bin as Leviathan walked by, oblivious.

“Relax, Fefnir. You’re way too high-strung. Anyway, have you seen Harpuia? I thought he was in his room, but he didn’t come to the door.”

“Leave him alone, will you? He probably wants to get away from you.”

The conversation moved away, and I punched in the key code and slipped out the exit, smiling slightly at Fefnir and Leviathan’s sibling-like squabbling. At times I thought that mentally they seemed like children. I did not normally mind, although I could not honestly say I would miss Leviathan’s constant following me around. At times I wondered if she had some kind of psychotic crush on me, and I did not like it. Fortunately, at least for me, she recently had developed more of an obsession with Zero, which, frankly, was good for me but, to be blunt, sucked for him. Especially since she also wanted to kill him, which was not too likely to happen.

Leviathan, Zero, and Fefnir aside, I was out now, and knew easily where to go and where not to go to avoid trouble. It did not take an extraordinary amount of effort on my part to get beyond the parameter of the base and into the city limits. I was surprised at how much freedom I felt, for the first time having no real obligations or responsibilities. With this came the feeling of slight confusion and unease, my burden of command being lifted from my shoulders. It was almost overwhelming. Although I had a purpose and a goal, I could reach them by my own means and at my own leisure.

Getting into the human populated region of Neo-Arcadia proved not to be too terribly difficult. Finding out what the more political side of the Neo-Arcadian government was doing seemed nearly impossible. I decided to try to start with something basic; I wanted to know how the general population viewed the reploids, both Neo-Arcadian and Resistance. I was not sure how to go about it since it did not seem a normal thing to ask to a random person. I tried for a time to pick up bits and pieces of conversations around me, but none centered upon a relevant subject. I was at a loss. I had a goal, but no path on which to get there. I had only begun, but it already appeared to be a dead end.

I sat down upon an iron bench, silent and pensive for the time being. I wished to rest my mind, but even in sleep my thoughts whirled in cyclonic chaos in the form of senseless dreams. There was no easy way to accomplish what I needed, and the few ideas that came to mind would require me to be gone from the base for a maximum of several years- which was decidedly out of the question. I only that hoped Fefnir and Leviathan did not create any trouble if they noticed I was presently missing and went looking for me.

I was beginning to see my poorly thought-out mission as a complete failure but was startled from my thoughts by explosions and the sounds of general chaos and panic. A fair sized reploid of a make I had never seen before emerged from around a corner, taking a large chunk of the building’s edge with it. It took things a moment to register clearly in my mind, and when they did I was only more confused. I knew that it was not one of my own gone maverick; I had never seen anything quite like this reploid before. For that matter, I also knew that the Resistance did not have anything like that either, and from what I knew of their leaders, they would never allow a direct attack on humans.

It bore some resemblance to a demonic beast of archaic portrayal, with skeletal wings spread behind it and thick limbs and torso which had a pseudo-muscular appearance. The head curved over in reminiscence of a snake’s, but the resemblance ended there. Two spikes stood out from the top of its head that could have represented either ears or horns. The face had no human quality, completely metal-plated and shaped like some sort of animal. Burning red pupil-less eyes gleamed with a deadly anger. A powerful jagged-armored tail whipped about behind it, taking out chunks of the wall. Long blue talons of glowing energy protruded from its fingers and toes.

The design was mostly intended to intimidate. More specifically, the demon form of it seemed to point more toward striking fear into humans in particular. The thing roared and a series of dull blue tattoos over its body began glowing a brighter aqua. Energy concentrated at its mouth for a moment, and then it fired a gleaming plasma ball in my general direction. I dove from the bench, which was ripped from its bolts and crashed away. I summoned my daggers to my hands without activating them. I had never expected to need them here. I did not want to give myself away by phasing my armor on, but at this point I was not sure I had a choice.

My brief indecision, however, brought another savior to the situation besides myself. A reploid in fiery orange armor ran around the corner behind the monstrous creature and slashed at it with two scintillating blue blades. Again, this reploid seemed different than most other designs, though for different reasons than the demon. She was humanoid, more so in fact than most other reploids other than myself. The fact that the reploid was a combatant and a female was a rarity in itself, Leviathan being the only other one I knew personally. Her armor left her midriff exposed, along with her right upper leg and left upper arm. Her helmet appeared almost incomplete, covering a little more than half of her head. One eye was masked behind a black visor, the other being exposed and narrowed angrily at her opponent. Long dark hair hung from beneath her helmet and around her face all the way to the small of her back.

The demon snarled at her, but she did not flinch. The expression on her face was so cold, that I was not sure which of the two looked more deadly. The devil-beast smacked the girl with its tail, catching her across the chest and sending her flying into the wall. She got up a bit slowly, the blow having disoriented her more than I would have thought. The monster saw its opening and attacked. Its huge body dwarfed her small form and I could not see what was happening. I was about to charge in myself when the creature’s head rolled from its shoulders, sparking and leaking dark mechanical fluids across the sidewalk.

The victor stood, met my gaze for a brief moment, and turned away. The people who were still around me broke their silence. A man hurled a chunk of cement at the city’s orange- clad savior.

“Take your war someplace else! Get out of our city!”

She turned and speared him with a sharp glare, answering in a surprisingly clear voice. “You are all fools. That thing would have destroyed all of you if not for me.”

“And you led it here,” Someone else called out. More objects began flying at the female reploid, and she disappeared around the corner. Well, there’s one question answered. The mentality toward reploids here is not good, to say the least. I sprinted around the corner after the reploid. I felt that she may have some of the answers that I sought, but I was not sure what I needed to ask. It did not matter. She was already gone.

Bravo! That\'s pretty good! I seem to be quite an inspiration....

I like how its not like cheezy fics where hero steps in, gets the answer, blows shit up, and leaves. I like how Harpuia couldn\'t find the answer. It just seemed...to have more thought to it.

Again, good job. From here on out, you can only keep getting better!

Wow! That\'s a really nice fic right there. I can\'t wait to see more.

Well, the two of you who read seemed to like it, so here\'s chapter two. Hope it\'s okay that these posts are going to be looong...

-Ri

Chapter 2

Predictably, I had to abide Leviathan’s slew of questions- more of an interrogation, really- when I returned. It had been four days since the attack in Neo-Arcadia, and the persistent female was not letting me out of her sight. I was on the verge of a mental breakdown because of her continuous drilling me for information. I had decided to return to the base and find out what I could about the mechanical demon I had witnessed. My personal questions would have to wait if there was a forthcoming danger to deal with. I had been spending most of my time locked in my room, partially to analyze the creature’s disembodied head, which I had lifted from the scene, and partially- mostly- to seek solitude from my water-loving companion.

Leviathan was now who-knew-where, and I decided to join Fefnir in some combat training- more of a warm up, really. The red reploid was presently using his arm-mounted fire buster- a novelty which seemed less useful and more ornamental- to idly torch the targets and training drones that floated lazily in the shooting gallery.

“You’re pretty hard on the equipment, Fefnir. Maybe you should take it easy.”

He glanced up at me, his slight quirk of a sadistic smile tugging his dark features into a less-than-charming expression.

“Don’t reprimand me, Harpuia. I’ve seen you when you get going in here.”

I frowned. “That’s a bit different. You’re pretty much shooting fish in a barrel.

Fefnir snorted. “That’s pretty much all there is to do. It doesn’t matter what setting you use.” A wicked grin spread across his features, distorting the slash-like tattoos on his face. “Of course, there are other ways to train...”

I crossed my arms. “After the beating I gave you the last time, I would’ve thought you’d give up.”

“You got lucky. Now c’mon, one on one. No weapons.”

I sighed. “Fine. And that includes your fire buster.”

“You’re no fun.”

“I never claimed to be.” I moved to the partially-padded center of the room, and Fefnir followed. We turned to face each other.

\"Oh, and Harpuia?”

“Yeah?”

“No flying.” Fefnir moved into a fighting stance, placing the bulk of his weight in a central balance.

I stayed light on my feet, wanting the extra agility. I knew that Fefnir would normally take the offensive, forcing me to defend until he worked me back into a corner. I did not intend to let him have that edge.

I feinted a right hook, broadcasting my direction, and then switched to a snap kick which I landed square into Fefnir’s stomach. The blow would have easily knocked the wind out of a breathing individual, but he and I could take a lot of punishment. He went down hard and yanked my right leg out from under me as he fell. I landed on my back and attempted to spring up onto my feet, but he held tightly onto my ankle, and all I managed to do was kick his hand away and roll over onto my side. We both jumped up and faced each other again.

“Gettin’ rusty, Harpuia,” Fefnir laughed.

“What about you?” I shot back. “You fell for the right hook feint again.” I laughed mockingly.

Fefnir threw a couple of right and left jabs at me and feinted a kick. I dodged and attempted to counter with a back fist, but he caught me across the side of the face with a glancing blow. I reeled back and used the momentum for a sweeping kick that took his legs out from under him. I raised my fist for a controlled punch that would name me the winner of the match.

“Harpuia!” I looked up to see Leviathan stride into the room. Fefnir unceremoniously dumped me to the ground and threw a punch which stopped a few centimeters from my nose.

“Match!” Fefnir cried gleefully.

“Opportunist,” I muttered. I knew that it was my own fault for being distracted, but it was still cheap on Fefnir’s account. I glared at the cause of my loss. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, you can,” She answered, apparently missing the sarcastic tone of my voice. “You can start by telling me where you found that thing.”

“Thing?” I blinked. “What ‘thing?’”

“You know, the whatchacallit.” She rolled her eyes. “You know what I’m talking about.”

I thought for a moment. “Are we on the same page here?”

“I don’t think you’re even reading the same book,” Fefnir commented dryly.

“Shut up Fefnir, nobody asked you.” She crossed her arms. “That chip you had me analyze. I give up. Where’s it from? Or what’s it from, more specifically.”

I sighed inwardly. I had given the chip to her to keep her out of my hair for awhile. I never expected her to actually comply with my request. I opted to ignore her questions and ask one of my own instead. “What did you find out?”

She made a face that appeared a bit too close to a pout for my tolerance. “Well, it’s not any make that I’ve ever seen.”

I bit my lower lip and fought back a sarcastic reply. “That, I already knew. That’s not what I asked you to find out.”

“Well, if it’s from a reploid, the energy readings are normal. Nothing very powerful, I’d assume. It also appears to be mass-produced, but it runs from a completely different operating system than anything else I’ve run into.” She uncrossed her arms and crossed them the other way. “That’s all I could get out of it since it’s not very compatible with our systems.”

Mass-produced? I thought. Great. Just the face I want to run into again. “Well, thanks for what info you did get out of it,” I said aloud, though not really meaning it. I turned to go.

“Wait!” Leviathan deliberately blocked my path. “You didn’t answer me. What is it from?” She enunciated each word strongly in her last sentence.

I knew I was caught this time. I would have to show her the demon’s head- what remained of it after my tampering, anyway- and quickly come up with some sort of alibi so I would not have to reveal my recent activities. “It came from a reploid- or perhaps just a robot, from what you told me, that I encountered while I was gone.” I mentally braced myself. Here it comes...

“Yeah, about that,” Leviathan complained, proving my fears correct. I winced “Where did you go?”

I physically bit my tongue. I was not letting her drag it out of me.

“For once, I’m with Leviathan,” Fefnir grumbled. “C’mon, you owe us an explanation.”

“Aw, not you too, Fefnir. Leviathan’s harping is enough.” I regretted the outburst even before it was completely out of my mouth. Now they would really be on my case, if only because I had gotten so defensive about it.

“Whoa, chill out, Harp. It’s not like we’re accusing you of anything.” He looked at me suspiciously. “That’s assuming you didn’t do something we don’t know about...”

I closed my eyes and bit my lower lip- a habit which I realized I had developed whenever I was frustrated. “First, I am your superior and owe you no explanation of any of my actions. Second, don’t ever call me ‘Harp’ again, and third, no, I didn’t do anything. At least not of the type you seem to be suggesting.” The doubled force of their accusatory glares was unrelenting. I threw up my hands in exasperation. “Fine. I was in Neo-Arcadia.”

“We are in Neo-Arcadia.” That was Fefnir.

“No, I mean the human city.”

“What were you doing there?” Leviathan queried incredulously.

“Just call it a premonition,” I lied. “I felt like something was going to happen.” I decided that I was at least telling a half-truth, and therefore could be as misleading as I wanted. “A demon-like reploid attacked in the central area of the city. I’m not sure what his purpose was other than destruction. I brought his head back with me to analyze what I could. That’s where the chip came from.” I prayed that they did not ask me how I got that far into the city without being noticed.

“So, you played hero and destroyed it, then,” Leviathan concluded.

For some odd reason, I felt embarrassed. “Uh... no, actually. Another reploid in orange armor decapitated it before I had a chance to react.”

“Ha!” Fefnir crowed. “I get it. You’re so uptight because someone beat you to the scene. You really are gettin’ rusty.” I chose to ignore him. “Well, I get you now. There’s no action since Zero left the resistance.”

Leviathan pouted. “I wanted to retire him myself.”

“Sure you did,” Fefnir said casually. “Fat chance you could, anyway. That’s my job.”

Leviathan hrmphed and turned her back on him. “So, who was this other reploid, anyway?”

I shook my head. “Don’t know. I tried to catch up to her, but she’d disappeared. I couldn’t find any sign of her after that.”

Leviathan placed her hands on her hips. “So that’s it. You’ve been chasing some girl around all this time.”

“You haven’t heard a word I’ve been saying, have you?” I sighed. “And what’s this ‘all this time?’ I was only gone for one day!”

Eventually, I made my way to my quarters, but my comrades were not about to give me the peace I desired. For the most part, I tuned out a good share of what was said, absorbed in my own thoughts at present So, the demon wasn’t a reploid after all. If they’re being mass-produced, then they’re really nothing but weaponry. But if that’s the case, who’s producing it? we’re not, and I’d bet half my sanity that it’s not the Resistance, either. That leaves the Neo-Arcadian government, but if that’s so, then they’ve acquired new designs and technology of a quality I’ve never seen from them. And all that aside, if it were theirs, why would they have it attack their own city? Or is there something I’m not seeing here?

My mind flew back to the present, and I realized that Leviathan was talking. Fortunately, she was speaking at me rather than to me, and therefore my lack of response went unnoticed. We were in my room by now, and the two were examining the mutilated mechanical head with great interest.

“...Pick apart the brain and see if I can’t download part of the operating system. And these ocular sensors are unique to anything else I’ve...” Leviathan was prattling on like a rookie with his first assignment. I decided then and there that I would let her take the whole thing to work on, thus leaving me be for at least a couple of days.

“Are there any more like this one?” Fefnir inquired, not as easily appeased as Leviathan. “I’d like to see how they are in combat.”

My mouth twitched into a wry, fleeting smile. “Well, if I find any more I’ll be sure to let you know.” I managed to dismiss them out the door, adding, “As soon as I have an idea of where to start, I’ll be hunting them.”

“You mean you’re gonna disappear on us again,” Leviathan accused.

“Pretty much.” I reached for the button to close the door.

“Warn us first this time,” Fefnir chided.

“Let me think... Uh, probably not.” I closed the door before either one could begin another argument. At least under the pretext of demon-hunting, I may be able to get away with being gone without quite the amount of controversy over it as last time. Honestly, I did not believe that I would find a direct enough clue to the origin of the demons to begin a search, nor did I think it relevant. I did, however, still intend to continue my search for answers.

Late that night, I again donned my human guise and hoped that perhaps my colleagues were resting and I could sneak out unnoticed. The last time, I had not counted on the fact that they would be about so early, but this time I was satisfied that I knew their routines and could slip out without a commotion. Fortunately, my assumptions were correct, and by dawn I was again in the human city.

I found myself presently in the factory district, which was not entirely unintentional. Since I could think of no other source that the mechanical monstrosity from the other day could have come from, I decided to see if I could find any sign of production within the city limits. I had my doubts, but it was something to go on, and at this point I was ready to accept nearly anything. To my knowledge, most of the factories had ceased production of goods and shut down, probably due to the enrgy shortage. If nothing else, I at least intended to confirm that.

I headed toward one of the narrow alleys between buildings, rather intent on finding a window or door that I could get into without too much trouble. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another figure dart out of sight and apparently into a factory. I was quite sure that that particular one was beyond use, and so my curiosity, as much as I could be said to have, was aroused.

I followed cautiously, looking over my shoulder and minding my peripheral vision, not sure what sort of trouble I would face if I were caught. The side door into the unused factory was unlocked, possibly broken, and swung inward by the rather old-fashion means of hinges. Although it was quite dark inside, I had little trouble seeing, my eyes being able to fully use the small amount of light available better than a human’s. The large room was relatively empty, save for a few forgotten, broken down machines. From what was there, it appeared to have once been used for the creation of robots or reploids. I assumed the former, since New-Arcadian hierarchy looked rather unkindly upon the later.

A small object on the floor caught my attention, and I knelt to pick it up. It was a scrap of metal, unremarkable at a glance, but on it was part of a dull blue tattoo. An image flashed in my mind of the demon’s tattoos flaring a bright turquoise as it charged its energy shot. Is there a connection between them and this place? Were they being created here...? I froze when I heard a minuscule noise and felt a presence behind me. I turned around slowly, and was met by a blade of blue energy pointed at my throat. I stared into the face of the fiery armored reploid who had incapacitated the demon the last time that I was in Neo-Arcadia.

“I’m not your enemy,” I stated reasonably.

She smiled coolly. “You don’t really know that, do you?”

I met her cold, brown-eyed stare and tried not to think of what happened to the last one who she had pointed those blades at. I imagined that she could decapitate me just as easily without a second thought. Could, and would as well. “Why don’t you tell me who you are, and then I’ll know if you’re my enemy or not.” I knew that she was not about to back down, but neither was I. Why do I feel that this could end in tragedy...

“I’ll make it easy for you.” She grinned. I supposed that is was supposed to be cold, but there was something rather innocent about it. It was a bit disconcerting. “I am your enemy.”

It was all the prompting I needed. With reflex honed by time and practice, I whipped my sabers into my hands and activated them, catching her single blade with my two. She activated her other blade and disentangled the first weapon from mine. I pushed back against the force of the clash and flipped backwards, using the momentary distance to activate my armor. All that I really had to do was want it to be there, and it would be, an extension of myself. My vision turned white and hazy for a split second, and I knew that my opponent was also briefly blinded by the light I was emitting.

“As I thought,” she said coldly. “You are the Guardian Harpuia, are you not?”

“I am.”

I shrugged out of the remains of my tattered shirt and kicked off the rest of my clothing. In this case, it was worth the sacrifice.

My attacker rushed at me with her blades held down and pointed back, intent on slashing at the last moment. I brought mine up in a defensive maneuver and sidestepped to my right. She veered to her right, half turning to circle part-way around me and bring a sword across my neck. I anticipated the blow and blocked it over my shoulder without looking. So, you always go for the neck, huh? I used the force of the saber-lock for momentum in a spin that ended with me facing my attacker. She parried my clumsy swing and struck at me with her left-hand weapon.

“So, you’re with the Resistance, then,” I growled, pushing back forcibly against her parry. The power of my thrust shoved her back, and she stumbled.

To my surprise, she laughed. “You think I’m with those idiots? All they want is the destruction of Neo-Arcadia.” She slashed at me with both blades, one of which I blocked, and the other I avoided. “The morons actually believe that that will bring ‘peace,’ whatever that means.”

I took the offensive, locking both of my blades hard against hers. Red clashed against blue, and angry sparks flew from the disturbance. “Then why fight me? I’m a defender of Neo-Arcadia,” I said over the minuscule fireworks display. “What have I done to earn your enmity?”

“You,” she ground out through gritted teeth, “are responsible for the deaths of thousands of reploids.” With a sudden burst of strength, she pushed my blades back and threw a flurry of attacks. “Do you really think that you have the right to play god and decide who lives and who dies?”

I parried her blows and blocked the last one so that we both lost one of our swords. “Then you’re in it for yourself.”

She punched me across the face with her free hand. “You could look at it that way, or you could say I’m in it for everybody.”

“If you’re in it for everybody, than who are you to make judgment calls against me?” I was more than a little angered by now. I had been intrigued by the stranger at first, but now she had proven herself nothing but a selfish mercenary. “You think it fair to kill me. I thought it right to retire the maverick reploids. Maybe someone will decide that you need to die as well. Who are you to decide whether or not my sins are too great?” I crushed her free fist in mine and her face contorted in pain. I pushed against her remaining saber. “Who’s playing god now?” She was losing ground.

“Those reploids weren’t maverick and you know it.” Even though my strength was far superior to hers, she continued to fight.

“Sacrifices must be made in the name of peace.” I forced her to drop her blade.

“That’s not a peace I want!” She attempted to wrench her fist away from my grip, but I held on tightly.

I held my sword at her throat. “The only question now is whether I retire you right here or throw you in a cell on the base.” She may still have some answers yet... Perhaps I should keep her alive, I decided.

“Go on, kill me,” She said darkly. “Isn’t that your whole philosophy? Destroy all who get in your way?”

“You would have done the same to me...” I froze, knowing that I had heard a faint noise, but not sure where it had come from. I glanced around the room quickly, but saw nothing. The girl pulled her hand away from my half-hearted grasp and backed away from the glowing beam at her throat.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a flare of blue energy, and then we were both engulfed in an incandescent plasma ball. I put my arms up in a cross-block to shield myself from the worst of the blast, but the roiling energy threw my opponent across the floor where she lay stunned. I turned to face this new threat, but it had disappeared again. Regardless, there was no doubt in my mind as to the nature of the attacker. I scanned the room and thought I caught a flicker of blue in a shadowed area littered with derelict machinery. I grabbed another blade from the floor, although it was not my own, and charged after the demon. It raised its skeletal wings and with a crackle of power, they formed a blue web of energy between the empty spokes, giving them a draconian appearance.

It took to the air, and I followed, the boosters on my back propelling me up and over the black robot. I somersaulted in the air and charged in behind it, making it all as smooth as one graceful leap. I had the advantage of speed in this battle, since I did not have cumbersome wings to flap. The creature roared, a sound like grating metal, and slashed at me with first its right arm, then its left. I dodged the strikes and thrust downward across its chest, leaving a smoking gash. It roared again, showing knife-like teeth.

I had to admit, it was intimidating. I knew that I was around six foot-two, and it towered over me by at least three or four feet. By sheer mass, it looked as though it could crush granite. It lunged at me, snapping powerful jaws that could have easily taken my arm off, had I not moved. I struck at its face and left another dark gash over the snarling muzzle. It whirled away from me, as though to flee. A realization struck me- just before his tail did. I forgot about the tail- The jagged, spine-like armor punctured the armor of my lower torso, and agony shot through my body. I hit the wall hard and fell to the floor. Pain ripped at my stomach, and I wondered how deeply the spikes had penetrated. The wound would have been mortal for a human.

I rose to my knees in time to see the beast headed for the unconscious reploid on the floor. My system’s self-repair function was already kicking in and I could feel the incisions in my abdomen closing. I wiped “blood,” for lack of a better word, from the white armor on my mid-section before rising and charging after the dark mechanical monster.

It seemed intent on destroying the girl, as though I was only an afterthought. I stabbed the two blades into its back and pulled in opposite directions, slicing it vertically. It fell away from the woman’s still form and spread a large, black pool over the floor. I leaned over the reploid, and she stirred.

“Why did you save me? I’m your opponent.” She seemed angry, yet puzzled.

“Exactly,” I answered. “You’re my opponent. Therefore I’d rather finish you myself, in a fair match.”

“What a comfort,” she responded dryly. “I feel so much better.” And with that, she lapsed into unconsciousness.

Great! Looking good! I likes it!
*runs around stabbing random objects* Fun! Seriously, you make Harpiua sound a hell of a lot cooler than he was pointed out to be!

I agree! ^^ Neato stuff. I can\'t wait for the third chapter.

Yeah, I know, it took me awhile to get around to putting this up. I\'m not posting the whole chapter right now; just the first short section of it, so I\'m not making such insanely long posts. Besides, I don\'t know if anyone\'s actually reading this, so I figured I\'d wait and see if I get some feedback before I post more than this. XP

Chapter 3

I picked the girl up and threw her over my shoulder. She weighed very little for a reploid, and did not encumber my flight back to the base in the least. I planned to interrogate her, since she and the demons always seemed to turn up at the same time. I was beginning to think that one had a vendetta against the other. I also would have rather liked to know precisely what she had against me. If it was true that she was for both sides, I had trouble understanding what was so gravely wrong with what I had done. It was nothing worse than what the Resistance had done to us. I wondered belatedly if that was the point.

By the time I had put her in a holding cell, she was beginning to stir, but I thought it best to let her recover completely before I attempted to force information from her. I thought I caught a glimpse of her angry glare right before I shut the metal door. I turned, only to nearly collide with Fairy Leviathan. I made a strange sound in the back of my throat.

“Can I help you?” I particularly did not feel up to a conversation with her at the moment.

“So that was the skirt you’ve been chasing,” she sniffed rather indignantly.

“Get over it, Leviathan, she has information we need. I’ll kill her myself when I’m done.” I attempted to step around her.

“Like I’m gonna believe that.” She planted herself in front of me yet again. “Don’t walk away from me. I thought that you wanted the analysis results of that robot?”

I sighed and nodded. So much for keeping her busy for a few days. “What did you find?”

“They have a hive mind.”

“Well,” I mused out loud. “That would explain why they seem to hold a grudge against the orange reploid.” I paused. “Anything else?”

“No, not really. I’m gonna go work on it some more.”

Yes. Another day of peace.

They are aswome Ri keep it up i hav enow two favorite danfic artists.

All right, I thought I\'d post a bit more of the chapter for now, since I got a little feedback; I wasn\'t sure if anyone was still reading it or not. Thanks! Anyway, pretty soon, I\'ll get the rest of the chapter up; I just want to re-proofread it all first.

____________________________________________________________________________

My “peace” was rather short-lived when I went back to the holding cell to check on the occupant. The door was open, but a strange, amber-colored force-field was in place. Leviathan sat sullenly on the other side.

“...Wha?” I stared mutely for a moment. “Okay, I don’t even want to know what happened,” I decided aloud. “Let’s just get you out of there.”

I tapped the force-field with one finger. An electrical charge shot through my body and dropped me to my knees. I heard Fefnir’s low chuckle behind me.

“Well, isn’t this an interesting picture.”

“Fefnir, if you don’t shut up, I swear I’ll retire you when I get out of here,” Leviathan yelled, pacing like a caged tiger.

I noticed a small disc on the floor from which the shield was coming. Unfortunately, the shield covered that, too. Fefnir and I examined this for awhile, and then Fefnir stood up.

“Stand back, I’m gonna body-slam it!”

“You’re what?!” Leviathan and I cried in unison.

Fefnir crashed into the glimmering wall and was thrown across the hall with a yell.

“Great idea, Fefnir. And if you had gone through, then what?” I commented dryly, trying my very hardest not to laugh at my friend’s misfortune.

“All right, I’m gettin’ my fire buster...” Fefnir aimed the massive gun at the barrier.

“Uh...” I began.

“No, don’t!” Leviathan wailed pathetically.

“Well, what do you suggest?” he grumbled.

“I dunno, get a maintenance crew down here or something,” I shrugged. “I’ve gotta go after the escapee.”

“What?” You’re leaving me here?” The distraught blue reploid cried.

“Hey, I tried. There’s nothing I can do.” I crept away as I spoke.

“SAGE!” Leviathan roared. Oh, crap, not the first name...

“Fine,” I said, defeated.

“Get me out of here,” she whined. The force-field flickered and went out. “Urk...” Leviathan stepped through the doorway cautiously. “What... wha...?”

I pointed at the disc on the floor. “Examine that. I’m leaving.” Without another word, I sprinted away from Leviathan’s protests.


[Edited on 30-6-2005 by Rioni Riishu]

i don\'t know why i didn\'t read these before. They rock! Now you\'ve gone and inspired me. *runs and starts planning a fanfic*

CAN\'T wait to read more!:cool:

I\'m really loving this. Especially when Leviathan calls to him by his first name. xD

When I was completely away from the base, I had to laugh. The whole situation was so preposterous and unrealistic that it was amusing. I decided that I would have to ask my escaped prisoner exactly what had transpired in my absence. I had a feeling that somehow Leviathan had gotten what was coming to her. Good ol’ Fairy, I thought to myself. It’s a good thing she’s good with electronics, or I’m not sure what I’d do with her.

It was not that I disliked her or Fefnir. Fighting Fefnir, I corrected myself. I had never taken to calling him by his first name. It just sounded a bit... odd. It was just that I had so much on my mind, and their usual antics seemed so shallow and unimportant. With the brief reprieve in the fighting between the Resistance and Neo Arcadia, they were like children on summer vacation, possessed with all the time in the world and nothing to do with it.

The words of the orange reploid haunted me. “...They weren’t maverick and you knew it!” The disturbing thought was that she was right. The Neo Arcadian government had labeled reploids as “inferior citizens” and had then sent them to concentration camps to be “retired.” I cannot deny that the thought had crossed my mind that a similar fate may await me and my companions once complete victory had been achieved for Neo Arcadia. I had not had much hand in the concentration camps, but when the Resistance grew and rose to oppose us I led my armies against them for a devastating victory. I had killed hundreds myself and I knew their blood was on my hands.

What were they supposed to do? I reflected. Just roll over and die? I had had silent reservations against my orders when copy X had given them to me, but had decided, as I told the reploid woman in the fiery armor, sacrifices must be made in the name of peace. Is that really peace? I wondered. Not for the reploids, that’s for sure.

I was so deep in thought as I flew that I did not notice the ambush until I was shot from the sky. The Resistance- The energy weapon struck my right booster and sent me careening to the ground. I blacked out for a brief moment, but I could still hear voices around me.

“...Thought we’d catch someone with this ambush, but I never thought we’d get Harpuia.” There was a hint of fear in his voice. “Retire him now, before he wakes up. This could score a huge victory for the Resistance.”

This isn’t like them, I mused, trying to open my eyes. My head hurt so much. They’ve become much more aggressive. I attempted to get up, but only managed to move my arm and my head. I must have fallen almost two-hundred feet... I groaned. My carelessness was about to get me killed.

“I’d leave ‘em be if I were you, boys.” It was a female voice, and even though I was not thinking all too clearly at the moment, I knew who it belonged to. Well, at least I caught up with her...

“A- are you with him?” one said shakily. “You’d better not try to stop us. We’re one of the Resistance’s finest regiments!”

“Charmed.” I could easily picture the look of disdain on her face. “And for the record, I’m not with this genocidal maniac.”


Genocidal maniac? Well, she has an interesting idea of me. That would explain the angst.

I heard the shuffle of feet around me. “Well... then why shouldn’t we kill him?” So nice to be included in this pivotal conversation. I decided that hearing about one’s impending doom while lying immobile on the ground was not an experience that I cared to repeat, not that I would evidently have a future in which to repeat it.

“You know,” my unlikely savior mused in a thoughtful voice, “there are two other Guardians. I’m sure that they would be a bit... unhappy at the death of their general. They may want revenge...”

At this point, I was not sure what was going on, but I thought I heard the woman tell the other reploids that she would take care of me herself. I finally forced my eyes open and looked around. Everything appeared hazy, but I could see that I was now alone with the orange reploid.

“Just how far did you fall, anyway?” she questioned, sitting cross-legged next to me.

“About two-hundred feet,” I mumbled. I was glad that I was incapable of being ill, since I had nothing in my stomach to disgorge. My head pounded.

She whistled through her teeth. “Well, I’ll say this for ya- you\'re well-made.”

“Uh, thanks... I think.” I sat up and blew my breath out in a long sigh which became a hiss of pain. I put a hand on my forehead, not that it helped. “I have what will probably amount to a stupid question,” I managed.

I thought I heard her laugh. “Let me guess; why did I save you?”

“Yeah, that- that’s pretty much it.” My self-repair systems were beginning to kick in, but I did not feel much better.

She stood up. “You saved me so we could finish this with a fair dual. Now I’m waiting for you to recover yourself so that I may honor your request.”

I stood and tested out my leaden limbs. “Oh, by the way...”

“Yes?”

“Genocidal maniac?” I shrugged, a gesture that caused pain to shoot up my spine and me to cringe. “A little harsh, don’t you think?”

“I suppose it would be,” she said, arms crossed, “if it weren’t true.”

“You have quite the ...ah... impression of me,” I said, trying to think clearly. I wondered if a reploid could suffer a concussion. “Do you actually think I called all the shots around here back then? My orders were from X, and not that it’s your business, but I did have reservations about them.”

“Sure, blame it on the deceased.” She rolled her eyes, but I thought she seemed to relax a bit. “Who gives your orders now?”

“Why should I volunteer any information to the likes of you?” I stumbled a bit and decided to sit back down. “Here’s a thought; go away. To put it bluntly, I don’t particularly feel up to a tactical discussion at the moment.”

She chuckled. “I’m just making conversation. I’m only waiting around to finish our match. But, I suppose, if you’re really not feeling up to it, I could just leave you to the metal scavengers...”

She would put it that way. “You’re a cold one,” I muttered. “I just fell two-hundred feet, and you expect me to fight you.”

Sitting down again, she leaned her chin on her knee, letting her arms drape at her sides. She smiled brightly. “Oh, there’s no rush. I can wait all day.”


I suddenly found myself wishing for Leviathan’s company over this present annoyance. “All right. I said this would be a fair fight. In that case, I’ll get rid of my upper body armor to even the odds.” I phased out half of my armor.

“H- how is that fair?” she puzzled.

“First of all, you can’t fly, so neither will I. Second, you have glaring open spots in your defense.”

“Such as...”

“Your leg, arm, and stomach.” A warm breeze blew through my hair and across my bare skin, and for a moment I wished that I could simply enjoy it. “I’m just giving you a chance, since you wouldn’t have one otherwise.” I grinned, knowing that she realized that I was insulting her.

“We’ll see,” she growled. I was treating her the same way I treated Fairy, and although the outward reaction was different, I was still gaining guilty amusement from it.

“Anyway, if this is an ‘honorable’ fight, than you really should consider giving me your name.”

“The name’s Mayu. Can we get on with it?”

I was enjoying irritating her as much as she had me. I stuck out my hand. “Sage. Nice to meet you.”

She ignored my outstretched hand and looked at me, confused. “Sage? I thought...”

“Yeah, Sage Harpuia. What, you didn’t know that?”

“No, can’t say I ever did. Or cared, for that matter.” She shook her head. “I get it, though. Your screwing with me now because I was harassing you before.”

“Very perceptive,” I nodded. “Now, shall we get on with it?”

“Hm.” She smiled, activating her sabers as I pulled out my own. We did not bother to wait for pleasantries after that. I charged at her and to the left, delivering a glancing blow as I slid by. She blocked, turning to follow my movement, and thrust a blade at my exposed back. I dodged away and slapped the weapon down with an overhead swing. She ducked under it and slide-tackled me, then attempted to roll over and stand up. I pulled a Fefnir and held her foot in an iron grip. She kicked at me vainly.

“Bloody- let go of me!”

I yanked her leg as she attempted to get up again, and she fell back. She struck out with a powerful kick to my nether-regions.

I lost my grip on her ankle. “Hey, that was a pretty low blow.”

“Don’t whine. You’re wearing armor.”

And how grateful I am for that. I sprang from the ground, ignoring my throbbing head. This was probably a bad idea on my part. Mayu brought a back-hand swing around toward my head and I pulled back just in time. I was beginning to feel dizzy.

I kicked out behind me and connected with her exposed stomach. She flew back onto the ground and gasped for breath. I must’ve kicked her harder than I thought. It takes quite a bit to knock the wind out of a reploid. I knew that most reploids did breath, but were not very reliant on it.

I turned to find my adversary, but my vision whited out and I fell to my knees. ...I over did it... I felt, rather than heard the hum of a blade next to my throat. Always goes for the neck... I opened my eyes to see her dark gaze locked on me. She stood for a moment, glaring.

“What, can’t do it?” I said hoarsely.

She dropped her blade from my neck. “Who am I to decide who’s life to take in exchange for who’s.”

I stood unsteadily. “Well, there’s a change. What brought that on?”

She looked at me from the corner of her eye. “You’re not exactly what I thought you were.”

“What, a genocidal maniac?”

She laughed, looking away. “Something like that.”

I shook my head slightly. “Why don’t you join the Neo-Arcadian forces? Maybe you’ll find something for yourself there.”

She stepped back and looked at me angrily. “And help you slaughter innocent reploids? Forget it.”

“I told you,” I said earnestly, “those orders came from X, not me.”

“Tell me, Sage, would you do anything if it were an order?” she accused.

I looked away solemnly. “I used to.”

“Well, admitting it’s a start,” she shrugged.

“Look, you asked before who was calling the shots now. Well, I am, and I don’t do things the same way as X.” I phased the rest of my armor back on. “Consider it.”

She shrugged. “I’ll think about it until next time. If there is one.”

“Do I need to throw you in a cell again?” I commented dryly.

“Don’t even think about it,” she said scornfully. “I don’t need your little girlfriend harassing me to quote, ‘stay away from you.’”

I choked. “She what?” Swallowing, I bit my lower lip- I do that a lot. “Never mind. And please don’t refer to her as my girlfriend.” I looked her in the eye. “Now I’m begging you to come back with me; just keep her away!”

Mayu laughed. “So, the great Harpuia has girl trouble. Until next time, ‘Sage.’”

Well, that went a bit better than last time, I thought to myself as we parted ways. At least she apparently no longer wishes to behead me. I smiled. That’s always a plus.

I decided to stay on the ground for awhile. Getting dizzy while flying was not on my to-do list. I did not particularly want to go back to the base, considering what Mayu had said about Leviathan. A childish reason such as that alone would not have kept me from any duties that I needed to perform, but it also disturbed me that the ambush squad was still out and about somewhere, lying in wait for my men. I had a feeling that the brief reprieve in the fighting was merely the calm before the storm.

As I walked, my head began to feel better and I could think more clearly. I was left wondering why, precisely, I had asked my rival to join me. I doubted that she would; she seemed too much of a free spirit to take orders from a washed up general such as myself.

While I thought, I also kept a sharp eye out for the group of ambushing Resistance soldiers. Since I was only half-conscious when they ran off, I had no idea which direction they may have taken. I was beginning to think that I felt well enough to fly again when one of my own soldiers came running over the next rise. He saluted me quickly, and I noted that his eyes were fearful.

“Sir. The number eight wasteland patrol squad has been attacked by Resistance guerrillas.” He gasped, and I realized that he was wounded.

“Stay here and try to save your energy. I’ll send a transport to you.” I narrowed my eyes at the horizon. “Give me the coordinates of the attack. I’ll end this myself.”

“Yes sir, here are the coordinates.” He displayed them for me on a small computer screen on his wrist.

I nodded to the soldier and leapt into the air, soaring at full speed to the given location. I arrived in the middle of a pitched battle, and it appeared that my squad was on the receiving end of much of the punishment. Swooping in, I cleaved a soldier’s head in two, saving the reploid who’s face he was about to shoot. Spurting blood, the Resistance troop slid to the ground never to rise again.

At least half of my squad was down, a good share dead, I realized upon a quick survey of the situation. A shot glanced off of my armored back, fortunately doing little damage through the strong metal. I’d better not take too many shots like that, though. If enough got through, it would weaken the armor substantially and begin to do real damage. I sliced through a soldier’s gun-arm and kicked him in the chin. He hit the ground with a pained scream and clutched at the useless, bloodied stump of his right shoulder. One of my men went down next to me to a shot in the neck.

The Resistance forces had been retrained and re-organized, I realized, and I wondered if a new general had been appointed. With Zero leaving, it would make sense that they want to make up for lost strength, but it seems that who ever’s in charge now has gone from simple defense to more aggressive tactics. I brought my arm up and blocked a shot that was aimed for my face. Pain lanced from my elbow to my hand, but it did not hurt as much as if it had hit me in the eye. I cut the offending reploid from crotch to nose, and he fell to let his own blood mingle with the rest of the fallen. Their numbers were beginning to dwindle, but my side had suffered heavy casualties as well. I stabbed another reploid, and then beheaded him to save him from a long, agonizing death.

I stood for a moment, pulling air into my artificial lungs. The fighting seemed to be dying down. Suddenly, I noticed the reploid who’s arm I had relieved him of lying on the ground and talking quickly into his wrist-com. He’s sending for reinforcements. I made my way over the body-littered battle-field. The soldier jumped when he saw me approaching.

“D-don’t kill me,” he pleaded, his terror widening his visored eyes. He lay there trembling, utterly defenseless, and I saw the same fear in his eyes that had been in my own men’s eyes as they fought a hopeless battle, and was all too often reflected in my own heart. I lowered my beam-sabers and knelt.

“Have you called reinforcements?”

“I h-haven’t had the chance to give them the coordinates yet,” he said shakily.

“You are now a prisoner of war,” I told him. “You will receive medical treatment and then be held until such a time as a cease-fire has been attained, or your release is negotiated.”

I motioned over two of my men who had remained in relatively good health through the fray. “You,” I called gesturing to one. “I assign you to guard the prisoner. Do not treat him too harshly, and see that his arm is found so that it can possibly be repaired.”

“Yes sir.” The soldier ran to the wounded reploid’s side.

I nodded to the other man I had called over. “Does your transmitter work?”

He checked his wrist-com. “Yes sir, it does.”

“Good. Radio the base and tell them to send a couple of transports and to be prepared to treat the wounded. Also, have them pick up the wounded soldier approximately four-point-eight miles north and two-point-three miles east of here.”

The fighter saluted. “Yes, sir.”

I moved through the remaining soldiers one by one, giving them each orders to help fallen allies or guard enemies if they were capable. I was about to instruct another of my men to begin clean-up of the surrounding area and to scout the territory to be sure that no Resistance soldiers escaped, but a flash of light briefly shined into my eyes and I looked to my right to see an enemy troop pointing a high-energy gun at the soldier. I had been blinded by the sunlight glinting from the silvery barrel of the weapon.

“Watch out!” I called, and shielded the soldier with my own body. The shot caught me directly in the chest and knocked me backward onto the surprised reploid. I heard yelling and a couple more shots, but it seemed so distant from my reality. My vision turned glaring white and then slowly faded to black. All the wounds I had suffered in the past two days that I had never completely let heal had caught up with me. I slipped to the ground and embraced the darkness, knowing no more.

Excellent stuff, Ri! =D It\'s getting better and better.

>>
<<

*Pushes Ri towards his comic topic*

Well, Ri, this is the first time I\'ve actually read your story. It really is good! You really put your effort and time in it. I didn\'t do that, but then again, I didn\'t want to create a story like yours. I\'m gonna look for that site...
Go on with the story! I\'m even more excited about Fanfics than I am about real books.

Well, if anyone’s still reading, here’s all of chapter four. I decided to just post the chapters as a whole rather then break it up by sections. (Some chapters don’t have section breaks, anyway. I just throw them in where I find them necessary.) I have to say, since in all actuality, I don’t know how much I like this. The original place I’ve posted it was fanfiction.net, and I’m up to chapter seventeen there... We’ll just say that my writing has improved a lot between then and now. Re-reading these old chapters is like pulling teeth for me. I wince to think how poorly thought-out some of this earlier stuff was, and not as well executed as it could have been... so in other words, forgive me for my past shortcomings. I am proofreading these (For the fifth time total...) again as I post them to try to smooth the bugs out, but overall... Meh, I just like my more recent chapters a lot better. (Pretty much chapter seven and on.) Okay. I’m done whining now. It’s not like it matters. If I really think it’s that bad, maybe I’ll just rewrite it someday. Okay, well, thanks you so much, Mr. Mettaur for still reading! And Morphman, too!

Chapter 4

There were voices. I could here them around me, fading in and out like a bad speaker. I knew that Fefnir and Fairy were there, and once I thought I heard Phantom’s voice before I sorrowfully remembered my good friend’s death at the hands of the so-called maverick hunter Zero.

I am not sure if I was dreaming or remembering from that point on. I only recall seeing images slowly appearing out of the haze, one by one, faces of friends, enemies, fearful soldiers in battle... There was no pattern or reason to it; it just continued on like a slide projector. I even called a picture of the original X to mind, standing in his white lab coat, as he had looked shortly before he had disappeared. I had not known him long before that.

My reminiscing turned to more recent events, and to Mayu. Whether she was my ally or my enemy, I still did not know. What does she want from me? For that matter, where do her loyalties lie? I found myself envying her freedom of choice. I was trapped by my own duties, defending something that I hardly knew anymore. Until now, I had never realized how far apart the government and the defense system had grown.

One more portrait flashed in my mind, this one of Mayu standing over me with one cerulean dagger held at my neck. Her words echoed in my thoughts. “Who am I to decide whose life to take in exchange for whose.” In my memory, I seemed to feel great sadness coming from her. I wondered just how much she had gone through to get to where she was.

“Sage.” I thought I heard her call to me.

“Sage, wake up...” I realized that it was not her, but just a fragment of my dreams.

“Sage, we can’t do this without you.” I opened my eyes to see a very concerned Leviathan hovering over me. She appeared so distraught that I laughed weakly.

“Don’t look so sad. It’s not like I’m dying.”

Relief flooded her face. “Don’t scare us like that,” she admonished.

“It’s not something I normally sit down and plan.” I turned my head first one way, and then the other, partially to loosen my neck up, and partially to see how much any movement hurt. Other than being a little stiff, I felt fine. “How long have I been comatose?”

“About a day and a half. You really should take better care of yourself; you were pretty beat-up.” She sat back in her chair and laced her fingers together behind her head. “At least now that poor squad-leader will stop moping around. He kept saying that he should have taken a bullet for you, not the other way around.”

“Yeah, Harpuia, you should have a little more self-preservation. An army can survive without a foot soldier, but not without a general,” Fefnir said, striding into the room. “So, how’re ya feelin’?”

I sat up and stretched my back out a bit. “Pretty good, all things considered.” I felt as though I had not moved in a month. “Did the transports get to the battle field all right?” I questioned, a bit concerned.

“Yeah, we’re still treating the wounded.” Fefnir leaned against the wall. “Is it just me, or is the Resistance beggin’ for a fight? They weren’t like this before; they just wanted to defend themselves and their energy source.”

I half shrugged. “I thought the same. It’s almost as if they have someone goading them to attack us now.”

“There has to be a way to find out for sure,” Leviathan put in. “I mean, if they have a new general, what if it changes the tide of the war? She looked down. “What will happen to the humans?”

“I know how you feel, Fairy, but if you’re talking about trying to infiltrate their base with a spy, I don’t want to put my men in any more danger.” I sat on the edge of the cot and thought about it for a moment. Something was tickling at the edge of my mind, and I had a feeling that there was something I had missed.

Leviathan shook her head in dismay. “What should we do? We can’t just sit around and wait for an attack.”

“Heh... why don’t we attack them? Best defense is a good offense, right Harpuia?” Fefnir looked to me, expecting agreement.

“No,” I said thoughtfully. “No, that would not be prudent when we don’t know what their plans are. If we take an army great enough to attack their base, then we would remain defenseless here. All they would need is a small force, and it could mean total devastation for Neo-Arcadia. The humans by themselves are defenseless. We can’t overlook that.”

Fefnir snorted. “Why are my ideas always the ones to be shot down?”

Sighing, I put my hand on his shoulder. “I hate to break it to ya, Fefnir, but sometimes you’re not much of a tactician.”

“Glad to see I have the support of my fellows,” he said darkly. “If we strike swiftly enough, they won’t even have time-”

“No!” I snapped more harshly than I had meant to. “I’m sorry,” I said a bit more calmly. “We just can’t take that chance.”

“But Harpuia, you’re asking us to sit and wait for our own inevitable destruction,” Leviathan broke in.

I was beginning to develop an idea, but I was not sure how my comrades would take it. “Fairy, just trust me on this. You gave me an idea, and all I need now is to find Mayu.”

“Mayu? Who’s Mayu?” She questioned, head tilted slightly to one side.

“A neutral party.” I smiled, my shoddy plan beginning to come together in my mind.

“Is Mayu the one that you held prisoner for awhile, but Leviathan-”

“Can it!” Leviathan kicked his shin with a metallic clang.

I looked at her meaningfully. “We are definitely going to talk about that later.” I glanced back at Fefnir. “And yes, to answer your question, that would be the aforementioned individual.”

“You mean you’re going to trust an infiltration to an enemy?” Leviathan scowled in disbelief. “Maybe you aren’t fully recovered yet.”

“She’s not necessarily an enemy,” I said moodily, growing weary of the argument. “She’s neutral, and she also saved my life from a Resistance ambush.”

Fefnir snorted. “And what makes you think that she’d help you again?”

I shrugged. “She claims to want peace for both sides. Therefore, given the opportunity, I believe that she will stop whatever bloodshed that she can. If she tells us what the Resistance is planning, then we could set up an adequate defense for it and everyone could simply cut their losses and get on with their lives.”

“Wishful thinking,” Fefnir yawned. “I highly doubt that she’ll see things your way.”

I allowed my shoulders to slump. “You’re probably right- for once. But if I have any chance at all to keep casualties down to a minimum, it would seem foolish not to take it.”

“Oh, have it your way.” Fefnir stomped off, mumbling something about his general being a “bloody pacifist.” I looked at Leviathan.

“Do you, at least, understand what I’m getting at?”

She looked away. “I know how you feel, but I-” She paused, searching for the correct words. “I just don’t know if your trust is well-placed. What if she decides to stay with them once she gets there?”

“Then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” I sat down on the edge of my cot. “Can you just trust me?”

“I don’t know, Sage.” She turned to leave and then looked back at me with sadness in her large, blue eyes. “I’m not even sure anymore if I really know you.” With that, she was gone.

I tried to tell myself that the best decisions were not always agreed upon, but deep down, I wondered it I were truly fit to lead Neo Arcadian armies in a war in which I was not even sure I believed in anymore.

You believe in it, I chastised myself. You’re just not sure if the humans believe in you.

* * *

I wished that I could curse my own stupidity, but it would have served little purpose. I had searched everywhere between the base and the city, and every unoccupied building in the factory district, but the fact remained that I had no idea where to find Mayu. In the past, she had always found me, although whether or not that was accidental, I was not sure. So much for that idea. Now Fefnir and Leviathan are going to be really displeased.

I did not bother to explore the city. It was an unlikely place to find a reploid, especially one so obviously meant for combat. Instead, I progressed slowly and dejectedly back in the general direction of the base. The thought of simply not returning entered my mind. I felt that they did not need me to guide them.

“Sage, we can’t do this without you.” Well, at least Leviathan still believed that my presence was necessary. Still, I did not want to return only to inform her that my “plan” had fallen through simply because the individual in question was nowhere to be found.

I ended up going past the base, to the place of battle from the other day. We had taken our dead off the field, but I did not think the Resistance had had a chance to do so. I expected to see the metal scavengers picking the place clean of the dead soldiers but to my surprise, I found a series of freshly dug graves. There were no markers, but someone had taken the time to bury the dead right on the battle site. I thought that the Resistance would have taken the bodies of their men away and had them cremated or slagged. Reploids were not normally buried, since there bodies would not decompose as a human’s. But who had the chance-?

I spotted a familiar orange clad figure kneeling with her back to me. A mound of sand had partially blocked my view of her, and I had not noticed her immediately.

“Mayu.”

She gave a little gasp and turned around quickly. She relaxed when she saw that it was me.

“Sage... why are you here?” Her eyes looked baleful.

“I should ask you the same.” I looked around at the fresh graves. “Is this your handiwork?”

She nodded solemnly. “They deserve to rest in peace. It was... all I could do.” The sorrow in her voice was evident.

“You may not believe me, but I am sorry that it comes to this.” For some reason, I felt relieved that someone had saw fit to pay their respects to the dead.

“You lost many men as well,” she said suddenly. “I’m sorry there’s nothing I can do to help your cause.”

I mulled over her comment for a moment. “How did you know?”

“I could see the places where bodies once lay, where the blood stained the sand.” She shook her head slowly. “Will this ever end? Reploids fighting reploids for the sake of humans who want them all destroyed... It doesn’t seem fair.”

My heart ached. I knew exactly how she felt. “Help me put an end to it.”

She looked up at me suspiciously. I realized that she was rather small of stature. “How?”

I took a deep breath. This was going to be a long shot- “I need you to go into the Resistance base and find out who their new general is and what he’s planning so that I can take proper evasive maneuvers to avoid more lives being lost.”

She simply looked at me with an expressionless face, her cold eyes searching mine for some wordless answer to an unknown question. Slowly, the anger crept into her visage, turning quickly into something akin to rage. “I’m not a tool for you to use in you espionage,” She spat, livid. “You can take you plans and shove ‘em.” She stormed away angrily.

“I only want to save the lives of my men,” I called with equal venom.

“And you chose me- why? Because since I’m not one of your men, my life doesn’t matter?” She snickered coldly. “I suppose I should be used to people assuming that my life is useless. Heck, I’m even starting to believe it myself.”

I tried to hold my anger in check. “I chose you because of your lack of affiliation with either group.”

“So then, you want me to sink to your level and pretend to join them, and then report it to you. Then, of course, since I was only a spy, I would be forced to join Neo-Arcadia or be hunted down by the Resistance for my betrayal.” She snorted in obvious disgust for me and my “plan.” “Clever, Sage, real clever.”

Great, in five minutes, she has the whole thing thought out better than I ever did. She had a rather good point. She would almost be forced to join Neo-Arcadia if she where caught. If she were caught.

“All right,” I said, swallowing my pride back so hard that I could have choked on it. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t well thought out on my part, and I shouldn’t be asking you to risk your life like that.” I bit my tongue so forcefully that I thought it would bleed. Trying to smooth things over was not a fun task when all I really wanted to do was backhand the stubborn reploid across the face.

“Don’t waste your good manners on me, Sage Harpuia,” she said darkly. “I can see it in your eyes that you want to fight me again. Go on then! You have no disadvantages this time.”

Great. We’re back to the fighting again. “You beat me,” I answered out loud. “I’m not fighting you again, despite the fact that you’re acting like a spoiled child.”

“Who’s the childish one here?” she fired back vehemently. “You play with your ‘toys’ until they’re broken, and then you expect a shiny new one each time.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “All I want to do is take care of what’s mine.”

“You accomplish nothing alone,” I ground through gritted teeth. “You can’t end this war yourself, especially not when you’re a pacifist.”

“Who said I was a pacifist?” She raised an eyebrow, making her expression appear comical, despite the situation. “I don’t have any problems killing reploids or humans if I have a reason.” She stared at me. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

“So, you’d kill humans.” My lower jaw was trembling in rage. “You’re no better than the Resistance scum!”

“If you can kill one, why can’t you kill the other?” she yelled. “We’re all the same, you know. Humans, reploids- how is destroying one any more wrong than destroying the other?”

“The humans are defenseless, and they’re lives. It’s our duty to defend them. We’re only cheap representations of-”

“Enough!” she screamed. “What defines humanity? What makes them more human than us? We think, we feel, we love, we hate- tell me, why are we so different than them?” Her hot rage had cooled to something of a pleading sadness.

“I am sorry for you, Sage,” she said softly. “You go on leading your armies, fighting your glorious ‘holy war,’ and you have no idea what you’re fighting for.”

I stood a moment and waited until she had walked past me. With my back to her, I said in a low voice, “You said you should have killed me. Why didn’t you?”

I heard her stop behind me. “I thought I saw a touch of humanity in you.” I could almost hear the empty smile in her voice. “I guess I was wrong.”

I sighed. Yet again, our encounter had ended in a stalemate. “What can I do to convince you?”

“Hm,” she laughed humorlessly. “Nothing.”

I let her walk away and disappear over a mound of sand before I turned around. Wonderful. And to think, I actually had the impression that we were on speaking terms. I again remembered her tendency to decapitate individuals that she did not like, as well as her claim to have no problem killing both reploids and humans. I decided to stay on my guard.

Is she right, though? I wondered. Is destroying a human no greater a sin than retiring a reploid? I looked down at my hands, hands that had ended so many lives without remorse... I can’t keep questioning myself. What’s done is done. But I could not stop myself from speculating. What if these hands had taken so many human lives? Would it be any different?

I phased out my helmet and raked a hand through my disheveled hair. My head felt hot. She’s only a reploid herself, I decided. Just because she believes what she says doesn’t mean she’s right.

I decided to fly back to base and break the bad news to Leviathan and Fefnir. I would have teleported, but as usual, I had not had the foresight to grab a com before I left, and unlike many of my soldiers, I did not have a built-in wrist-com. Without someone to give coordinates to so they could set up the transfer, I was stuck wasting time again. First, however, I decided that I would pay my own dues to the dead enemy troops.

There was not much that I could do, really. I simply stood respectfully for a time, pensive. They had died the same way my men had died; fighting for what they felt was most important. I could only have respect for them, even if I did not believe in their cause. I could not say if Mayu was right and both humans and reploids were the same, but I could believe that Neo Arcadian and Resistance reploids were. They had simply ended up on opposite sides of the coin.

Even Zero and I were similar. The reason that I was Neo Arcadian was because I had been loyal to Megaman X. When he left and his copy arrived, I knew things were different, but my loyalties were not about the change. Zero, I knew, was Resistance because the first thing he saw when he awoke from his hundred year’s sleep was that scientist, Ciel, begging for protection. I could picture her wide, watery blue eyes pleading with him and supposed that I could understand why he made that choice. It was probably the same way I had chosen to rescue Fairy Leviathan from a maverick when I was first appointed a Guardian of the original X. And I received quite a handful in exchange for that decision, I thought with a wan smile, although I did not regret it in the least. She was like a little sister.

My mind wandered back to Ciel, a human scientist on the side of the Resistance. Sometimes I had trouble understanding, although I believed that her intentions were good. She thought that if she could create an alternate power source, everything would be okay again. It was wishful thinking, however. Sins and atrocities committed in war are not so easily forgotten. There will be hard feelings between the two groups for a long time.

I realized that I had been standing for some time and turned to go, knowing that it may be the last time anyone visited this grave site. I took off, and from the air spotted signs of a battle a short distance away. I swooped in closer.

There were five reploids scurrying along the ground, and they were in hot pursuit of Mayu. I noticed another soldier down farther back. What are they after Mayu for? I landed between the girl and her attackers, using my flight momentum for a solid punch in the stomach directed at the lead reploid. He doubled over my fist and fell to his knees, causing another soldier to topple over him.

“I told you she’s in league with Neo Arcadia,” the other soldier cried, skidding to a halt. “It’s General Harpuia!”

I grit my teeth. I had been about to ask why they were after Mayu, but I was pretty sure I understood. Someone must have escaped that last battle and informed them about Mayu convincing them not to destroy me. She would be easy enough to recognize, since her armor is such a unique design. I pulled out my sabers and ignited them. The soldiers back-peddled a bit, unafraid of chasing down a lone reploid woman, but not too keen on facing a Guardian.

“I don’t want your help,” Mayu hissed.

“They’ll kill you,” I said evenly. The soldiers were still hesitating.

She shook her head. “I don’t care. I don’t want to owe you anything.”

“You won’t owe me anything.” I noticed one of the Resistance troops going for his blaster. “Could we talk later? Now really isn’t the time...”

The reploid fired a shot at Mayu, and I deflected it with one sword. It would have hit her in the forehead.

Mayu charged into the group with her blades held backward, parallel with her forearms. She flashed one saber out in a lighting-fast strike, slicing half-way through one reploid’s throat. He gurgled liquidly and fell, spraying crimson blood over her bright armor. The others began firing their weapons, but she was already diving to the ground. I quickly dispatched another soldier as she delivered a sweep kick that brought one down flat on his back. She moved to slice his neck as well, but the other unarmed troop pulled her away, throwing a weak punch to the face. She struck him back and he pinned her arms roughly to the ground. His fellow propped himself on one elbow and tried to get a clear shot at the struggling Mayu beneath his companion. I moved to stop him, but the soldier who I had punched sprinted toward me, firing a low energy pistol wildly. I deflected what I could with my sabers, although a few shots pinged off my armor, doing little damage but not exactly feeling very pleasant either. I jumped forward and to my left, augmenting my hop with a spurt from my boosters. I landed next to him and swiped my right-hand blade from his shoulder to his hip, cutting a little more than halfway through him. His upper body flopped back grotesquely, exposing sparking wires and sufficiently covering me with blood.

The other soldier was still looking for an opening, and I stabbed him in the gut with a blade. He gasped and clutched his abdomen, and I forearmed him in the chin, sending him flying. I turned my attention back to Mayu’s struggle and locked my arms around the reploid’s neck, pulling his head back. Mayu slashed his chest with both sabers in opposite directions. Flecks of blood smattered her face.

The other soldier- the one I had stabbed- aimed his gun shakily and fired, missing my head by mere inches. I threw one blade end over end and it stuck up to the hilt in his forehead. He died with a look of shock frozen on his face.

Mayu stood, breathing hard, fear, anger, and sadness all imprinted on her face at once. Slowly, she sank to her knees.

“Are you hurt?” I asked, masking my mild concern with an emotionless voice.

She crossed her arms over her chest, one hand on either shoulder, and ignored my question. “This may come as a shock to you, but I’ve never killed a sentient being before.” I could not tell, but I thought she was shaking.

You mean for all that talk about killing reploids and humans alike, you’ve never taken the life of either? I thought it best to keep the reply in my thoughts, instead saying, “It’s something that one gets used to eventually.”

She speared me with a sharp glance. “I don’t want to get used to it.” She rose slowly, unsteadily. “I know. I’ll have to if I’m going to fight. But I don’t have to like it.”

We stood in silence for a moment. “Why did you come to my aid?” she questioned softly.

“I’m not letting you get killed just because you saved me. That would seem pretty ungrateful if you ask me.”

“Makes sense, I guess.” She stared off at nothing in the distance. “I killed three Resistance soldiers today. Guess that means that I can’t remain neutral any longer.” She looked at me from the visored side of her helmet. “I suppose I’ll join you, if your offer still stands.”

Now it was my turn to balk at the request. “You openly admitted that you would take the life of a human as easily as a reploid. How can I trust you in my forces?”

“I said if I needed to. It should be obvious to you by now that I don’t kill for the fun of it.”

“Swear you’ll never harm a human being,” I told her. “Swear on your life.”

“I swear it... unless it endangers more lives.”

I supposed that was as good as I was going to get from her. “Pray you don’t,” I said with deadly calm. “It’ll be the last thing you do.”

“Don’t threaten me, Sage. I get your point.” She turned her back on me. “So... when should I get started?”

I blinked. “Started?” She nodded. “Started on what?”

“On your little ‘espionage,’ of course.” She smiled a cruel smile.

“You can’t now,” I said incredulously. “They would recognize you.”

She shook her head. “No, they wouldn’t.” She nodded to the dead soldiers. “The only one who would know my face was one of that group. I would venture a guess that he won’t be talking.”

I sighed. “Shouldn’t you come back to the base first?”

She began walking away. “It’s best if I don’t have anything to do with you. Unless you want me to get caught.”

“How do you expect to get there?” I said dryly. “Walk?”

“Pretty much.” She turned and started walking again.

“You’re crazy,” I muttered. “Why don’t you just let us teleport you?”

“They’ll detect that.” She paused, looking at the broad wasteland spreading from horizon to horizon. “What’ve I gotten myself into?” She said softly.

“I’ll fly you within four miles of it,” I offered.

She blinked. “I dunno... maybe...” she thought for a moment, then, “-Aah!”

Her mild exclamation was in protest to my picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder.

“Ow... put me down! This is really uncomfortable...” She started to struggle.

“Stop complaining,” I growled. “You should be glad I’m giving you a ride in the first place. And I’m not carrying you the other way. You’d be a dead-weight.”

She kicked me one more time. “Are you saying I’m heavy?”

I ignored her and jumped into the air. She quit struggling- probably because she did not want to fall. I ran through the coordinates of the base in my head, tweaking my course minisculey to fly the best route. My flight speed, although a bit slower than usual because of my “passenger,” was still fast enough to get us there within twenty minutes.

I landed and dumped her unceremoniously on the ground. My right arm was stiff. “This is as close as I’m gonna get you.”

She picked herself up from the dirt and rubbed her exposed mid-section. “Your shoulder was digging into my stomach,” she complained.

“Yeah, well don’t expect anymore free rides from me. And if you actually had armor over your midriff, that wouldn’t happen.”

She glared icily. “I don’t want any free rides, thank you. And as for my armor, there wasn’t-” She paused, as if correcting herself. “How am I supposed to help something like that? Some of us can’t just make our armor appear and disappear at will.” She looked at me suspiciously. “You’re not a normal reploid, are you?”

I crossed my arms and realized that I was chewing my lower lip again. I made a conscious effort to stop. “It doesn’t matter what I am. What about you? How did you lock Leviathan in your own cell?”

Mayu guffawed. “That one’s a ditz, I’ll say.” She reached into a small, barely visible pocket on her right arm and pulled out a familiar looking disk. “My late creator was working on these handy little things before he died. He never perfected them; they melt down after about an hour or so and fizzle out. But, since they work for my purposes, I use his blue-prints to make up a batch every now and then.” She paused with a wan smile. “If you can’t tell, I’m not physically strong, so I have to rely on ulterior means to win some battles.”

I grunted. “Leviathan’s examining the one you left.”

“She won’t find anything,” Mayu said with a smirk. “Those things fry themselves way too thoroughly.”

I shrugged. “Oh, well. I just wanted to keep her busy anyway.”

“You could keep her busy with one of those cards that say ‘How do you keep a stupid person busy? Turn over’ on both sides.”

I chuckled, having to agree. “Well, how did you get her stuck in there?”

The corner of her mouth twitched. “She came in ranting, and I just tossed the field generator on the floor and slipped past her. She yelled some pretty interesting things while I walked away.”

“Well,” I sighed. “I can’t say I’m particularly surprised.”

Mayu turned away. “Can’t say it’s been fun. I’ve had enough of this question-and-answer session.”

“Wait, what about he demons?” I called.

“Ah, you mean the demi-dragons?” she said coolly, looking over her shoulder. “It’s simple. I see one, I kill it.” She began walking again. “I’ll contact you on my own time.” She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t hold your breath too long.”

I stared after her for a moment and then launched myself into the air yet again. Well, I can inform Fefnir and Fairy that the plan is underway, I thought. But why do I have such a bad feeling about it?