MegaMan Zero fanfic, Chapter 2: First Love

Zero pressed the 'Open' button the briefing room door. As the door slid up, the briefing room came into view. A circular room, with seats all around the outside, the room was large and somewhat dreary. A large holo-projector stood in the center, used for mission information. Next to the projector stood Ciel, holding a clipboard. 'That's unusual,' Zero thought to himself. Normally a mindless drone from administration showed up to help with the mission briefings. It was almost unheard of for Ciel to do it herself. On the other side of the projector stood Bass.1

The last member to join the team, there was only one thing known about him: he was incredibly strong in combat. He had an ion cannon on his left arm that could pulverize an enemy before they could scream. He down even download attack data from defeated Reploids and use it with his own weapon. This ability made him even more deadly. His armor was jet-black, with yellow fin-like protrusions from his helmet. He had purple streaks underneath his amber eyes, giving him a frightening appearance. He usually took charge of the briefings, seeing as he'd rather kill the administration drones than listen to them for even five minutes. No one knew why he had joined the team. He had just shown up one day and been assigned to Zero's team, after showing outstanding skills in the combat simulator. No one really knew where his allegiance lie. But he was an invaluable addition in combat, so no one really questioned it.2

'We'll wait for X to arrive, then we can begin,' Ciel stated, in a calm tone of voice.3

As if on cue, the door slid open, and a blue Reploid about Zero's height strode in. His armor was a solid shade of royal blue, with a buster similar to Bass' on his right arm. He was often known within the team as the Blue Bomber, but in battle he was just X. He had been broken down into a data form hundreds of years ago, after a terrible war. Apparently Zero had been part of this war, though he could not remember it. It was one of the things that Zero troubled over. He'd had an incredible past as a Hunger; all the older Reploids were always talking about the Sigma Wars, which X and Zero had stopped. Afterwards, Zero went into hibernation, and X was broken into streams of data. When Ciel had woken up Zero, he lost all his memory. Now all he knew was what he heard about himself. Zero often woke up in the middle of the night, having relived one of his many nightmares: Zero was wandering through a large black void. He can see fuzzy images of himself swinging his Z-Saber against strange enemies. All the time there is a voice harassing him.4

'Zero, who are you? You don't know, do you? What good is it to be a hero if you don't even know who you are. A man's past is what defines him, gives him purpose. You have no past, Zero. You have no purpose. You have nothing. You are no one!' the voice would say. And Zero could not argue back. He couldn't even speak. He couldn't so much as cry out in rage and terror.5

He always woke up in a cold sweat after that dream. It rattled him every time. He found solace in X, however. X, too, had only part of his full memory. He had very little knowledge of what happened before Neo Arcadia. He'd spoke with X many times about this dream. He was the only one who would understand. The only one who could understand. The others had no idea what it was like to have no past.6

Ciel stood up next to the projector and prepared to brief the team on the mission. Bass stood up on the other side of the machine.7

'Thank you for coming. As you've probably already guessed, you've been assigned a new mission. It will be a standard infiltration mission. Get in, disable the productions, get out. Bass will have mo-'8

'Wait,' X cut in, 'Productions? You mean they've started producing things? What are they making?'9

'We believe they're producing more weapons,' Bass answered, 'Along with developing new weapons technology.'10

'An awful bold move,' Protoman observed, 'They must be confident in their defenses,' he said suggestively.11

'We're not sure what has prompted them to do this. We believe it may be the layout of the factory. It's a very intricate system of hallways and chambers. The most powerful production and research equipment is located within the vast central lab. They must believe that between security controls and this beneficial layout, they can destroy any intruders before they reach the inner lab,' Bass responded. His voice had a deep, almost frightening tone to it.12

'Roll? If you please, the factory maps?' Ciel said to Roll. She walked up to the projector and inserted one of the discs. A large 3-D map of the factory popped up.13

'Well, as Bass was saying,' Roll began, 'The factory layout is much like a maze. Many intersecting corridor, most of which end in a dead-end room. The hardest part of the mission will be finding the main chamber without being detected.'14

'How do you propose we enter?' Zero asked.15

Roll pointed to a small opening on the roof. 'There's a skylight over one of the hallways that leads to the central chamber. That or the air duct would be our best bet.'16

'Air vent would make too much noise,' Zero said, partially to himself, 'so we'll try the skylight. What's the plan for infiltration after entrance?'17

Roll glanced uneasily at Ciel. 'We're leaving that up to you, Zero,' Ciel said, still in the same calm tone. Zero thought it over for a moment.18

'I'll have to see the factory in person. We'll develop a strategy on-site.'19

There were nods around the room. Ciel declared the briefing complete, and Zero dismissed the team, sending them to their various pre-mission tasks. Zero stood in front of the holographic map a moment longer before turning to leave.20

'Zero?' came Ciel's voice, now small and unsure. Zero turned around and looked at her. Her calm, collected composure had completely vanished. She now stood uneasily near the edge of the room. 'Can I talk to you for a moment?'21

'Sure, Ciel,' Zero said, smiling reassuringly, 'Something up?'22

'Zero . . . there's been a lot of talk about you lately. From the S.A.D.S. board of directors. They've been talking about a mission for your team. I heard they're giving you the mission I just briefed you on as a test to see if you can handle the other mission.'23

'I . . . don't follow you, Ciel.'24

'This mission isn't what it seems,' Ciel reached up and put a hand on Zero's face, 'Promise me you'll be careful.'25

'I will.'26

'Promise me!'27

'I promise, Ciel.'28

'Zero . . .' Ciel said quietly. Tears welled up in her eyes. It wasn't like Ciel to get like this. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. Zero gently put a hand on Ciel's cheek. The other he used to caress Ciel's arm, her hand still on his face. Ciel took a step closer to him. As she did, Zero took his hand off Ciel's cheek and ran it through her silky, blonde hair. Ciel wrapped her arms around Zero's shoulders.29

'Ciel, I . . .' Zero said quietly, not knowing quite what to say. Ciel put a hand over his lips, and moved her head up to his. Zero matched her movements, their lips meeting in a quiet, passionate kiss. Tears began to stream down Ciel's face. She burst into tears and broke away from him. Zero could do nothing but take her in his arms and comfort her.30

'Ciel, I don't know what those board members told you, but I'm telling you this: It's gonna be okay. My team'll pull through this, and anything else they assign us. I promise you I will always come back alive. It's okay . . .'31