A/N: Oh dear. It's been a while since I last wrote a fic. Like… years. Wow. Well, to be honest the only reason I haven't posted this sooner was because I thought someone else had probably already done it… much to my infinite surprise, apparently not.

Am I the only one who felt pretty gypped when they found out the guardians had apparently died at the end of MMZ 3 without so much as it being mentioned?

Well, this is my little fan girl version of what it might have been like if they'd survived Omega… Obviously meaning this is an AU, where I'll be taking a few liberties with the plot. However, I'll try my best to keep everyone IC and not stray too far from the original storyline :)

… Here goes… whew

For your safety, do not forget to unplug Disclaimer after use:I do not own any of the characters, events, or locations mentioned in this work, they are the legal property of Capcom and whoever else holds a patent or whatever entitling it to them… lucky stiffs…

Procession

1:

In Which the Guardians Have a Decidedly Bad Day…

The first thing Harpuia knew was pain.

Green eyes snapped open, the flickering image of blurred grey barely registering as his mind struggled to process the screaming wave of agony, errors and warnings that his central processing system had been damaged, his autorepair system data hadbeen corrupted, his auto repairsystemswere working at45percent efficiency his centralenergysupplywasnearing critical his emergencyenergysupply hadbeendamagedandoperatingat62percentefficiency-

A violent shudder ran up the former Guardians abused body before the world turned black again.

Consciousness came slowly the second time. He felt his brows furrow as he made a vain effort to sort out the dozens of messages and damage reports exploding into his mind. After a short period he just gave up and allowed those piercing green eyes to flutter open once more. The world was ash. A canvas of scorched cement and blacked steal, crumbling and misshapen, it took a real stretch of the imagination to say the devastated space was once an ancient lab. The condition of the room was a mild surprise to the winged former Guardian, but was the least of his concerns as he slowly turned his head, earning a spike of renewed pain for his effort.

Where… where were the others…?

Fefnir… Leviathan…

Zero…

The ancient red reploids shoulders heaved as he readjusted his grip on his glowing saber, his face a blank slate despite the desperate cry from the computer above.

"Zero, don't do it! That's your original body! Don't you feel any attachment? Are you really prepared to spend the rest of your life in that cheap fake?!"

… Omega…

"You can do it."

Harpuia perked up at the calm, familiar voice as he allowed himself to quickly glance away from the dark, twisted form of Original Zero, Omega, to the soft glowing light floating at the copy Zeros side. Master X… He felt his grip tighten on his twin beam sabers.

"You know what's truly important. Go on, Zero!"

Something flickered across the damaged Zeros face but disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, returning to the usual emotionless mask he hid behind. All but his eyes… The deep blue burning with cold resolve and something… something the green reploid couldn't name as Zero shifted his weight, his entire posture instantly changing. He seemed suspended for a moment as time stood still, those passionate dark eyes burning into Harpuias memory, then Zero was gone, blasting across the short distance between himself and the warped mockery of his original form, the green of his saber blurring with speed as it grazed the ground behind him.

And Sage Harpuia could do nothing but watch.

No… Omega… Zero… was…

Then there was nothing but white…

Was he the only one that…

He narrowed his eyes, banishing the dreadful thought from his mind. No… If he had managed to survive the others probably had as well… They had to have…

He twisted his neck to look down at the room spread out behind him, his eyes squeezing shut at the sight that greeted him. He turned away again briefly, his jaw clenching as he struggled to detach himself from the image of fraying, exposed wire and partially melted tendons of steal, splaying twisted and broken amidst a sticky pool of red. Another violent spasm ran up his body, eliciting a strained hiss from the exiled Guardian when a single thought rang clear in the muddled confusion of his mind.

He was dying.

His eyes snapped open and he felt his face twist into a scowl as something that remained unbroken inside of him screamed out in denial, howled at the injustice, the unfairness, cried at him to get up get up get up… He braced himself for the worst as he forced his gaze down once again, focusing past his ruined body to survey the remains of the lab. His eyes swept quickly over the carnage before he whipped his gaze around to glare at the sudden movement that he caught from the corner of his eye. A chunk of rubble shifted to slide agonizingly slowly to reveal the taut, ashen face of the former Guardian of fire. Their eyes met briefly, bitter green to wild, unfocused red, and Fefnirs mouth moved, but Harpuia couldn't hear him. It was about this point he first became aware of the muted static that hummed incessantly in his ears. He simply nodded slightly, at least satisfied that one other had survived the blast, before twisting his body to lie on his stomach. A shuddering gasp escaped his lips, his head bowing to rest against the cool ground at the fresh wave of overwhelming agony that wracked his torn body with the movement. Something warm and wet seeped from beneath his cracked helmet to trickle down his face as he clenched his teeth, his pride not allowing him to cry out. He looked up, blinking past the pain to examine the room that lay before him. Much to his surprise the third and last remaining member of the Guardians lay not too far from where he had fallen, her delicate limbs tattered and useless as she lay facedown before him. His lips pursed, the familiar name awkward and clumsy upon his lips.

"Lev… than…" The hoarse whisper cut through the stillness of the destroyed lab, making the prolonged silence that followed feel like a tangible thing, oppressive and heavy as the green Guardian watched helplessly, his companion unnaturally still. Something like panic began to claw its way up the back of his throat, the brutal reality of their fate chewing at the fraying edges of his mind, yet still he tried to push it back, swallow the fear, he was a warrior… a proud warrior of Neo Arcadia…

He tried to reach out to her when suddenly the ground lurched beneath him, his teeth clamped down on his lower lip as his head flopped forward to click audibly on the ground, the sharp pain hitting with such force he had to wait a few moments before the world stopped spinning. He glanced back at where the former fire Guardian lay, Fefnirs eyes were shut now, his face set in a grimace. He narrowed his eyes as his gaze drifted back over to the only female of their group. He reached out slowly with his other arm, the pain pricking but bearable, until his fingertips brushed against her blackened heel…

There was no response.

So this was how it ended…

His head lowered slowly, the weight of bitter acceptance forcing him to look away from her abused form in shame. His head rested gently against the scorched floor, where some ironic part of him knew it would stay forever more. There were no options, there was no way out. It wasn't supposed to be like this, he was… no, they all were the Guardians of Neo Arcadia, for the protection of humanity, always for the humans… Yet, in the end… he had ultimately failed… Something between a choke and a sob wracked his body. He… hadn't been able to save anybody… It had taken everything he'd had… everything they'd all had to stop Omega, leaving Weil to run unchecked… His eyes snapped back into focus.

Weil…

His fingers twitched but the green reploid didn't notice.

Weil…

Burning hate spilled over into his mind, his face twisting with revulsion at the thought of that disgusting, grinning, manipulative madman. For the indignities he and his fellow Guardians endured for the sick maniac's entertainment, for the degradation and perversion of his beloved Master X, for the needless, utterly unforgivable slaughter of countless innocent humans in the name of his selfish ends…

No… he couldn't die here… not while that monster still ran loose…

The thunder reploids cool green eyes opened slowly, his breathing deep and calm as he quickly scanned through any available possibility… there had to be a way out… He gripped onto this new found determination, this anchor of revenge the core he clung to so desperately to keep from loosing himself once more.

His eyes widened, his lips becoming a taut line as suddenly it hit him. He glanced quickly at Leviathan, deeming she should be fine as long as they were physically touching, then quickly twisting his neck to stare at Fefnir, lying unconscious out of reach. He did some quick calculations to determine the fire reploids exact coordinates. He closed his eyes, exhaling softly as he overrode the warning message that what he was about to attempt would drain his power core fully and punched in the trans server number he'd used only once in the past… It was a long shot, but it was the only option left to them.

He tensed, felt the power draining from his body as the world exploded into white, a peculiar feeling of numb weightlessness wrapping around him.

And then there was solid ground beneath him once more, though not the razed, silent ground of the destroyed lab. He landed on his torn knees, his body lurching forward to be caught by his trembling hands. He stared down at them, panting desperately as he tried to force his vision to stop flickering erratically. Wave after wave of warnings and errors washed over his fumbling mind, too many and too quickly for him to process. He was drained… He thought he heard what might have been his name from one of his other two passengers when suddenly the steel doors burst open to reveal several armed guards…

Resistance members…

He saw them gasp, hesitating and gaping openly at what lay before them. Harpuia leaned forward, his lips parting to implore them to please… please save the others… they could do whatever they wanted with him as long as they saved Fefnir… Leviathan…

His eyes widened when no sound escaped his throat.

His vision flickered as though he was blinking rapidly, even though he knew he wasn't before he lost sight entirely in his right eye. He could only watch, his energy long since spent, as the soldiers rushed into the trans server room, guns held at the ready, their colors distorting in Harpuias view… when suddenly the world bent unnaturally, and then there was the sensation of falling, falling, falling into nothingness.

-.-.-

A/N: That's a pretty jerky place to end off… especially for a first chapter…

I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I decided to split what was supposed to be the first chapter into two, seeing as this is such a great place to leave off (as much as I despise reading cliff-hangers, they're undeniably fun to write). This chapter was pretty dark, huh? Well, the next one will actually include some of the promised humour…

Thank you for reading, and please don't hesitate to leave any questions or comments:)

-Yuki