Chapter 1: Confusion

Disclaimer: I do not own Rockman. Therefore I do not own any characters in the story. The theories that tie the X series to this series later in the Fic are my own however, and, if asked nicely, I may let you borrow them without complaint. But for now, I suggest you just read and enjoy the story Now let the Fanfiction begin!

*Thud!*

Zero's fist slammed into the rock. The strength behind it fueled by the pain and sorrow and anguish he forced himself to keep bottled up. But this was much more heavily based on the things he couldn't have helped.

*Thud!*

Why? He snarled silently.

He's gone now.. GONE! He won't come back, he can't!

*Thud!*

"Because of that madman," logic told him, "because of Weil."

He was so sacrificial, so stubborn… why do I get to live, someone who isn't even sure who he is, and he die? A Savior to reploids and humanity alike!

*Thud!*

"Why won't he just die?"

Why did he do it!? For ME!? I might not even be Zero.. My heart is the same he said, but a person's memories make them who they are…. I don't have those memories! How can I be Zero without Zero's memories!?

*Thud!*

"He's not a human anymore. It's your job to kill him."

If I where truly Zero, I wouldn't have let him die. It's my fault, and only a person like him could forgive me for it.

*Thud!*

"Why is everything my job now?"

Even he shouldn't forgive me.. I let him die… I just laid there, not thinking about what it would mean for him to protect me and his children, I'm not the Zero who was his friend…

*Thud!*

"Because you are Zero."

I COULDN'T BE!

*THUD!*

Zero's fist drove deep into the abused stone, finally shattering it into a group of smaller stones… the same size as the fist that broke them away from their brethren. A Long low howl resounded throughout the area, it took a moment for Zero to realize it was his own. Whether it was in mourning or frustration was anyone's guess, even his own..

He stood there… breathed hard for a moment, and just let the bright sun - so uncharacteristic for his mood— warm his pained features. There was a small shuffling sound behind him, as though someone had kicked a pebble.

"Zero?" A small timid voice spoke up.

"Now's not really a good time, Ciel," He responded without looking, still absorbed in his world of regret.

"I'm not Ciel," the voice said.

"Either way Alouette," It looked like he had something he needed to take care of, Zero sighed, composed his features, and finally turned around, "…it's still not a good time."

"It's never a good time with you. Anyway, are you done beating up inanimate objects yet?" Well, she sure seemed in high spirits, which made one of them.

"No."

"Oh, too bad. Fefnir wants a sparring session. He wanted me to find you." Alouette giggled, her cute face scrunching up in an endearing way. Zero realized he should act a little more social. It wouldn't do any good for the rest of the Resistance's morale for him to be melancholy.

"Already? He only got out of maintenance a day ago."

Alouette shrugged, "You know how Fefnir is."

Zero smirked ruefully; it couldn't hurt to smile a little, could it? "Never stays down, but fights till he's immobile."

"Yep."

Zero sighed and started to walk towards the resistance base, his mourning would have to wait until later. Anyone but the little reploid girl who would have been watching would be highly unnerved after such a long disappearance. "Well, I wouldn't want to deprive Fefnir of a sound and embarrassing defeat."

"Again," Alouette giggled trotting alongside him.

"Again," Zero nodded, there he was back in character again… now to keep it up, "let's just hope I don't put him back into the Maintenance Room."

"Not with what happened last time."

"Mm-hmm."

"He does have a trick up his sleeve this time."

Zero raised an eyebrow at the reploid girl questioningly; maybe his afternoon wouldn't be so difficult. He had only seen an arduous day of keeping up the charade that he was fine.

Alouette caught his look and shook her head, still smiling. "Sorry Zero, I promised not to tell."

Shortly following in the maintenance room…

"Dang it Zero, Why'd you have to put me back in here?" Whined the red former guardian.

"You started it." Zero looked sharply at Fefnir from his position where he was leaning against the wall.

"He's right you know," commented the emerald green reploid by the door, "Besides, you don't know when to quit."

"You did ask for it," said Ciel from beside the status monitor.

"You know I hate being in here!" grumbled Fefnir.

"Fefnir," Zero sighed, "If you want to stay out of the maintenance room, stop trying to pick a fight with me."

"You'd pick a fight with yourself if I wasn't here to spar with." Retorted the former guardian, grasping at straws for a quick, witty comeback… "Heck, technically you already did that." … and failing miserably.

"What are you talking about?" This was a bad path to go down.. Zero could EASILY see that, so Zero decided tohave fun turning it around. He decided to tease him."Wait, you're just babbling to yourself again, aren't you?"

"Hey," snorted Fefnir indignantly, "I do not 'babble.'"

Zero raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Seems as thought that's what you were doing just now."

"I was not! I was thinking out loud about when you killed Omega." Fefnir seemed to be having a tough time hiding his verbal blunder….

"Why were you thinking about that?" asked Harpuia.

Fefnir glanced in his sibling's direction, then turned back to Zero. He wasn't going to be made the butt of a joke like this again, "I didn't say anything about it then because I—we were asked not to, but now I do believe I will ask. What was wrong with Master X? Why the hell was he a cyber elf?"

Zero gazed levelly at Fefnir and replied, "If you did not already know why, then I will not tell you now because you will have neither the mental, nor the physical strength to deal with it."

"But I am strong enough to deal with it!"

"You had to use subtanks during the spar. I'd think that the fact you needed to use them was rather sad," Zero said calmly, maybe he could still keep things under control...

"I can't believe you have the nerve to call me weak to my face and still have the audacity to—"

"Fefnir! Shut up!" snarled Harpuia, "Do you ever think before you speak?"

"You're one to talk Sage!" Fefnir glared at the former guardian of wind, "I seem to recall you wanting to ask what I just did."

"Don't push it."

"I believe you were, pardon me, are just too chicken to talk about it."

Harpuia's eyes glinted, the emerald color taking on a dark sheen, "I said. Don't. Push. It." He heavily emphasized the last of his words.

"Yeah?" continued Fefnir, oblivious to Harpuia's growing irritation. "Well it's true."

Thunder rolled outside. It was a sign of Harpuia's effort to keep his feelings in check. However, a thunderstorm could only work so long before something snapped.

In the far back area of his mind, Sage almost wondered why he was getting so upset for something so small and insignificant.

"Ooh! Harpy is getting mad! Just listen to that storm outside!" Fefnir laughed.

"Never call me 'Harpy,' Fefnir," Harpuia clenched a fist and the slightest amount of electricity flared off from it. It was his trademark light pink.

"What, are you gonna hurt a downed soldier?" asked Fefnir, finally noticing the reaction he was getting from Harpuia, "That's low birdie. Heh, but I guess that's how all you girls fight now isn't it?"

Harpuia growled and Zero looked up with an irritated glare.

If looks could kill…Thought Ciel as she stared at the trio of reploids. She turned her attention back to the monitor. Well, as long as it doesn't get violent…

Fefnir snorted, "What's wrong ladies? Am I bothering you?"

"Fighting Fefnir," began Sage in a menacing tone, "do you have a death wish?"

"No Miss, But who's this cute little girl that's asking?"

Harpuia snarled and a much larger and more visible electric current flared off his body.

"Good grief Harpuia, calm down," Zero said sparing the former guardian a glance, "He's always like this after losing a fight. I thought you knew that. It's best just to leave him alone."

"Well, at least I'm not some screechy little pigeon who thinks he's all that and a bag of chips."

Harpuia's body flared in to an impressive light show with little pink lightning bolts flashing all over his arms, torso, and legs. That was the last straw.

Screeching a battle cry, Harpuia lunged at Fefnir, electricity flaring from the hand that was stretched out to tear at the former guardian of flames. Fefnir, who had predicted what would happen, reached out and grabbed Sage's outstretched arm.

Without missing a beat, Fefnir whirled Sage over his head and sent him hurtling at the wall. Unfortunately the place in the wall that Fefnir had sent Harpuia flying was right at the monitoring equipment. Ciel cried out when she saw the hyper-electrically charged Reploid flying right at her.

"Ciel!" Zero gasped in horror. He let things go too far without his intervention! No, he couldn't lose someone in such a trivial manner! In desperation, the crimson warrior dove at Ciel, roughly shoving her out of harm's way less than a split second before Harpuia reached her.

*Crash*

Harpuia slammed into Zero. Immediately, Sage's internal systems fiercely unloaded massive amounts of electricity into Zero in an attempt to shut down the threat's systems.

Even being as strong as he was, Zero was unable to completely hold back the screech of agony at the massive surges of electricity coursing through his body. It would take much less than a tenth of this to electrocute a human. But it was much better him than Ciel… but….

Harpuia realized what was going on almost instantly. At this, he immediately deactivated the reflex, and stood up in a horrified denial at his previous act.

Yet even after the flow of electricity was stopped, Zero did not rise. Instead, the crimson warrior writhed on the floor with his hands clench so hard on the sides of his helmet that, had it not been crafted of an extremely resilient alloy, would have surely shattered under the stress. Words came flying from Zero's mouth that sounded suspiciously like he was talking with someone, raging at them, and begging them to forgive him, but they came too fast and too numerous to dwell on any one for an extended period of time.

"What the hell is he babbling on about?" Said Fefnir with a trace of panic in his voice, but no one answered.

"Harpuia! Stand aside!" Cerveau cried out rushing to Zero and slipping syringe between his armor and helmet.

The reploids convulsions lessened and the screaming died down. "X…..?" he murmured with a sigh.

Unnoticed by everyone Harpuia shuddered and silently left the Maintenance room, feeling the crushing weight of guilt settle on his shoulders.

"Oh, Zero. I'm so sorry…

Author's Notes:

Phew, It's finally done. Okay not quite, I still have to do the author's note… and the next chapters… but those will eventually be finished, so I'm still pleased

Firstly I want to thank SubZeroChimera for beta reading, especially since she claimed she was tired and still did a magnificent job. Also for encouraging me through losing my notebook with this story, taking at least three months to write it… well you get the idea. Without her it would still be just some scribbles on paper. Many thanks for cooperating with my guidelines for editing too.

Next I would like to thank my older sister, whom you may know as ImaginationInterpreter. For without her I would have never heard of (or at least not known them as well as I do now) these; , Rockman Zero, and many of my favorite stories.

Okay, now some of you may be like, "How did Fefnir grab Harpuia without electrocuting himself?"

That's for me to know, and you to find out. *Grin*

This story takes place post-RMZ3, but pre-RMZ4. I think that my story (later on) ties up several loose ends in the Rockman Zero series, Like "Where did Omega come from and why does he look nothing like the original Zero from the X series?" and "What happened to X's armors?"

Stuff like that. A certain red-head may also make an appearance. I think that's all, so until next time!

[EDIT-8/7/12] Phew.. Well.. that's a LITTLE better.. but still room for improvement… ah well… maybe another time.