OFF: I've been a fan of the Megaman serie for years and followed its rather troubled development as multiple teams tried their best at expanding its story. And although I respect the original team (IntiCreates) and its vision, I have found myself wondering about certain points and considering theories that they seem to dislike. And with the confusion in the serie timeline that arose recently, a serie of retcons that I don't approve, and various other points, I now feel that I can safely solidify my opinion on the serie.

Thus, I preseny my own alternate take on the serie. Although I will strive to keep the characters and atmosphere close to canon, this fanfic is based upon a few of my theories and one very important split in the timeline compared to the original.

Namely, what if a certain event had happened during Megaman Zero 4, influencing Zero's final course of action?

This is the final result of my theories about the serie.

Enjoy!

EDIT: Gah! I had to re-submit the chapter because that deleted every instance of the word "Dr Weil" in the fic the way I first worded it! So apologies if it seemed like words were missing ; words were effectively missing. This new version shouldn't have words missing.

MEGAMAN ZERO 4

Ragnarok ~ The Final Battle

He was troubled.

Although he had always been quiet, she had never seen him like this. He always had a sense of strength, of determination to him before but now, it was gone. When she looked at him, she could see the weariness, the resignation... He kept telling her that it was alright, that his faith was still strong but deep down, she was worried sick. It was dead obvious that all was not okay, that he doubted the cause just as she now did.

A year had passed since his awakening and nothing had changed. All of her research, all of the sacrifices, all of his battles... it had changed nothing. When Copy-X died, everyone expected things to calm down but the X Guardians had resumed the crusade as if nothing had happened, taking things into their hands. Then when Omega had been defeated and the Dark Elf neutralized, Dr Weil was to become nothing but a bad memory, an impotent madman reduced to curse the world with his tongue. But he had slithered his way back into Neo Arcadia as if he still owned the place. And now, with the X Guardians defeated as well, Dr Weil took command and everything returned to the same situation they were at before she had awakened Zero in the first place.

Had it been worth it? And now, they were fighting again to prevent Dr Weil from yet again ruining everything he could touch and yet again, sacrifices had been made, sacrifices that weighted heavily on everyone. Craft... he had wished to protect those he lived, to change the world and put an end to an era of misery. In the end, he had been an instrument of misery himself.

And now, Ragnarok was coming crashing down. Zero's words echoed inside of her mind, filling her heart with a nameless fear.

He had told Craft he had failed because weapons of war could not change the world, that only humans such as herself could change the world.

She had heard him and she knew that in a way, it had been meant to calm her down... yet, as the full significance of the words sunk in, her entire body found itself chilled by the implications. Things were definitely not okay. They had ceased to be a long while ago. And now, Zero was about to go on what was amounting to be another suicide mission.

She tried to reassure herself. After all, this was not the first suicide mission. To dive into an oceanic abyss without protection, to wander into gamma ray-soaked wastelands, to fearlessly plunge into enemy territory cutting his way through security systems as if they weren't there... Zero had faced countless impossible odds and she knew from the history logs that he had been doing this since forever. But this time... this one time was different.

Something had changed and it deeply terrified her. With the war seemingly lasting forever, she was forced to rethink why she fought it in the first place. So many had been killed and with Neo Arcadia gone, most of the humanity and reploids were now gone... and without Neo Arcadia's environmental stabilization systems, Area Zero's reborn nature was the only hospitable environment left on Earth. Not that there remained many people who needed it.

But to go into Ragnarok like this? The self-destruction mechanism had been damaged and all of the controls jammed. What would Zero be able to do to stop Ragnarok?

...in truth, she knew perfectly what the answer was.

He wouldn't do it, would he? He couldn't do it, could he?

She looked at him, sitting on the doorframe of the trailer. It was not an unfamiliar pose but before he had always looked to the horizon dutifully, as if guarding the area, his gaze sharp and clear. But now, his eyes were firmly locked downward, his gaze on his feet, his stare dull, unfocused. For the first time, he looked like one of the lower Resistance members, unsure of what to do, a vague expression of despair and resignation all over his face. For the first time in months, the Legendary Reploid was crumbling before her very eyes, the confused, sensitive amnesiac that she had awakened revealed in all of his shameful weakness.

It was strange to call someone who could slice and dice his way through dozens of Reploids weak but she could understand the feeling. She will go down in history as one of the greatest geniuses in history, her discoveries and talents in robotics and sciences securing her alongside the legendary Dr Light himself. Yet, what good had her so-called genius brought her? Her masterpiece, Copy-X, had brought only pain and all of her research on Cyber-elves had barely slowed down the war for a mere few weeks before being forgotten altogether. And now, with Area Zero, her research was to become irrelevant completely.

She could relate in a way to how he felt. He was the Legendary Reploid, the last of his kind, a being who could bring down any army, any power down... except not. No matter how many Pantheons he cut down, no matter the face of the ruler he destroy, a new enemy always rise to take its place, always, without fail, endlessly. Both of their efforts had seemed utterly futile.

And she now wondered why she fought if her efforts were futile. If she couldn't convince anyone from stopping fighting, if her research would do no good, why should she continue to lead the Resistance? She had asked herself this question many times and Zero had told her that it hadn't been in vain. But now that she thought about it... she realized that he had told her not to worry because that if she broke then the last pillar that kept up his facade would crumble.

...and at this exact moment, she realized why she kept trying.

Because she had to. Because someone had to do it. Because she cared for the lives of those around her and didn't care if the fight was futile. This is why she had left Neo Arcadia, why she had opposed the very Reploid she had created. Each and every soul here had done everything in its power so that they would survive this long despite the odds, despite how hopeless everything had seemed. And in that, there was a victory. Neo Arcadia had never managed to stamp out their hope and they had ultimately outlived it. It was a horrible thought, one that she was ashamed of for Neo Arcadia's death had been in fire, causing the deaths of millions. But the cold fact remained that in the end, she and all those she cared for had succeeded, they had remained standing when the dust had settled.

And now, the very pillar that had held the Resistance up for so long, the beacon of hope that had kept them going in the darkest of moments was itself crumbling underneath the pressure. Zero could not bear the pressure. He tried to but he couldn't. No single soul, not even a living legend, could bear this weight. No soul should bear this weight alone. If she let him crumble then she would have truly failed for she would have failed in performing the one thing she had set out to do in the first place...

...protect those she loved.

"You have done a very good job disabling that security circuit..."

He seemed to come alive, glancing behind him as he heard her voice. She had been acting quite strangely ever since he had returned from Ragnarok. He could see the worry in her eyes and for the first time in months, it got through his emotional shell and into him. She knew. With all of its systems jammed and with so little time left, the chances that he would return from Ragnarok were slim.

He nodded. What was there to say to that? He had done as he had always done, destroying the enemy that stood in front of him. That's what he does, what he's good for. He is the Legendary Reploid after all. What is a tiny ball of protective data compared to him?

"Everything will be ready for the transfer to Ragnarok?"

"Yes, of course."

An awkward pause. She did not know what to say, how to bring it. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear it. It made him think of all those twisted bodies, of all those horrified faces that used to belong to those who fought alongside him before they died. As long as no one asked questions and that he acted alone, everything turned out alright.

...yeah, everything turned out alright.

The all too recent visage of Craft as he died in resignation tried to creep out of his memory chip in protest but he used all of his mental strength to repress it. He couldn't start doubting, not now, not when everyone depended on him to stop Ragnarok. They couldn't evacuate Area Zero. Even if they could, where would they go? There was nowhere else to go. He had to stop Ragnarok no matter the cost...

And then... and then...

"I... don't think there will be anything threatening Area Zero for a long time after this mission."

Why did he say that? He cursed himself, wondering why his nerves had failed him now of all times. He had not snapped staring at the horrifying, intimidating shape of Copy-X's seraphim form, he had not snapped when Elpizo had murdered his one true friend in cold blood before his very eyes, he had not snapped when Dr Weil had tried to convince him that his life had been a lie and as Omega had laughed at his face, pointing at him before charging at him with the same weapons he wielded... so why was he snapping now, of all time? All Ciel did was remind him that everything was ready for the transfer!

"With both Neo Arcadia and Weil gone, I think so. Why did you ask, Zero?"

That was a very good question indeed. One he wasn't sure anymore what the answer might be. And unfortunately, it seemed that Ciel saw right through him.

"I'm starting to become very worried. You've been growing distant, uneasy. It's almost as if you stopped believing..."

He sprung up, turning to her. "I don't want to hear any of that. You will change this world for the better, Ciel. I am convinced of it."

"I know Zero. But what about you? Do you still believe you can make a difference?"

The silence that followed was very awkward. This... was not how he had expected the conversation to turn out. And it made an unpleasant memory return to him. He had spent six months in that blasted desert killing Pantheons and Neo Arcadian troops, six long months alone. Copy-X was dead and he had expected that they'd give up soon now that they had been beheaded only it had not happened. Six months doing nothing but swinging his Z-saber, killing enemy after enemy after enemy after enemy... endlessly, without end. A battle that never ended but for what?

...it was his promise to his friend, the promise he made to X.

But as he stared at Ciel and milled the question inside of his mind, he realized it wasn't true. If all that mattered was destroying Mavericks, why did he stop caring? Most importantly, why had the Resistance somehow finding him made him feel alive again? He had spent the remainder of the year killing Mavericks all the same and yet, somehow, having others at his side had given the deed a different feel. Knowing that Ciel, Cerveau, and all the others would wait for him back at the trailer made it feel so very different. It wasn't the same at all.

Some called him a hero. He was the Legendary Reploid after all. But for some reason, this irritated him. And now looking back on his interactions with the people of Area Zero, he realized that their attitudes had surprisingly irritated him just as badly. He didn't care for being called a hero and yet, he didn't like being dismissed either? Was this a logical course of action?

He thought of his promise...

When he thought about it, it made no sense. The promise felt incredibly important and yet, he realized that fulfilling it made him feel empty. He was missing something here...

... and as he saw Ciel's worry grow by the second at his failure to answer her question, he couldn't help but have the answers creep back into his mind.

He hated to see her or any of the others suffer. They had fought and died just because Neo Arcadia had been paranoid. It was all meaningless so why did he care about this stupid war, considering all the suffering it caused?

He still remembered Operation Righteous Strike. Neither he nor Ciel should have ever approved it. It had been complete madness, suicidal overconfidence of the worst kind. He still remembered the piles of mangled bodies, full of faces that he had once associated with friends. The deformed visages of the dead filled his mind and for a second, he felt violently ill but managed to suppress it. It had been then that he had begun to fight harder, to become more daring, to always push further. He was the Legendary Reploid, he could make a difference, he-...

...he was the Legendary Reploid, he could make a difference...

He had fought for those who could not fight, used his power to protect those he cared about from those who wished to deny them freedom, happiness, and life.

"Yes, I think I will."

It calmed him slightly. He would go to Ragnarok because that he had the power to stop it. That was what he did. He believed in Ciel just as she believed in him.

...yet, her gaze had barely gotten better at all. Most of the worry was still on her face. She was very bad at hiding her emotions and this bothered him deeply.

Was he missing something?

His gaze left Ciel and he realized that the operator and a few of the other Reploids manning the command center's computers were staring at him now. Much to his dismay, their worry mimicked Ciel's. What was he missing? Wasn't that what they had wanted to hear? That he would do his job and would put all of his power and concentration into it? That he would protect them from those who would harm them, allowing them to build a better future?

The human woman turned to the Reploids and gestured to them. They nervously turned back to their consoles, resuming their work while Ciel turned to him.

"Please let's go outside. I want to talk."

It was only a few steps out of the trailer, really nothing that took too long. Zero couldn't help but wonder what she had in mind that required them to go outside. Yet, as she began to look all over the place except toward him, he felt strangely embarrassed and wished she had brought it up inside instead. He wasn't an idiot and for a moment, he wished he had been one. After a moment, she turned toward the sole direction where the horizon was green instead of red, the robot following her gaze.

"I hope we will succeed in protecting Area Zero. It is truly a miraculous find. I think that we may have found a place where we can finally begin anew for real."

She looked at him for a moment, not saying anything...

"You think that the new world will be beautiful?"

"Yes." To him, it was a very silly question and for the first time since the last few days, he smiled. Of course the new world would be beautiful. Together, everyone would create a new world, one where peace would most probably reign.

"When this is all over, what do you plan to do?"

He turned to her and opened his mouth... but no words came out. His entire mind frozen as he wondered if his systems had glitched. Why hadn't he answered the question? It was a very easy one to answer. It was then that he realized that he had absolutely no idea.

"I don't know."

"Zero... don't tell me that you... never thought about it?"

That was the last thing he had expected. She had asked him this many times and every time, he had told her the truth and she had smiled and told him he'd get an idea sometime. But now, her reaction was one of dismay, sadness, disbelief. It made his heart sink.

"The war will not last forever Zero. Neo Arcadia is gone, Weil is gone, and I know you will stop Ragnarok. At long last, Reploids and humans will come together to build a new world. We will finally be able to stop fighting and to realize our dreams. Don't tell me that in all of those months, you never thought of anything you wanted to do?"

"I..." he scrambled through his memory chip, trying to piece together an answer but not to avail. The first thought was to contest Ciel. He had been killing enemies for months and more always came to replace those he killed. It literally never ended.

...except it just had. With Neo Arcadia destroyed, what was left of the Maverick Hunters had openly thrown down their arms and had helped the Resistance move the survivors of the Ragnarok strike to Area Zero. Copy-X, the X Guardians, and Weil were all bad memories. Once the Ragnarok is gone, who will be left as an enemy? He realized that he had finally run out of targets.

But would he succeed? Ciel had absolute confidence she could... and why wouldn't she? In fact, why wouldn't he? Whatever was directing Ragnarok to the ground wouldn't survive much longer. Once he gets in the Ragnarok Core, that someone, whoever that is, will have an appointment with his Z-saber and everything will be over.

And then... what? "Ciel, I am a Reploid built for war. It will be you who will make the new world. I believe in you."

"That is not what I asked you!"

She sure startled and surprised him a lot today. Unfortunately, it was all in unpleasant ways and he found himself unable to eliminate that worry and sadness from her eyes. This made him feel increasingly distressed, a feeling he hated.

"Zero, I... I care about you. Everyone around here and back at the base cares about you. What are your plans for the future? To sacrifice yourself heroically and die in a blaze of glory?"

"No! Why should I? I didn't intend to die before and I'm certainly not planning on sacrificing myself now! Why are you even implying this?"

"Because I'm worried about you..."

He stared at her and for a moment, he had the feeling like she had shrunk. Then he realized that it was because his entire body had tensed and that the emotional stress he was experiencing was the greatest he had felt since he had fought Omega two months ago. He also realized that he had yelled at her and that the shame that was growing inside of him was voiding all of his thoughts, making his entire body feel like it was draining of its energy.

What had he been thinking? This wasn't like him at all. Why was everyone so worried about him? Why was Ciel so worried about him?

He stared at her, saw her worry and sadness grow enough to make her eyes begin to water. The feeling of failure was total in his heart. He was supposed to be helping everyone and once more, he was failing at the task. He couldn't bear to see her cry, to see despair over the faces of others.

Then, in a flash of hindsight, he realized why she was crying... or rather, he remembered. Why was everyone so worried about him? Why is she so worried about him? How can she care bout him like this? He... he... he is a weapon, a murderer. What will he do when this is all over? Remember who he used to be, remember even more friends he failed to protect, even more people he killed, even more dreams that didn't come true?

"I'm... I'm a weapon, Ciel..."

He had finally snapped.

She had never seen it coming, never thought it could happen but it had happened and at the last moment she had expected it to happen. Suddenly, for the first time, his emotional shell failed him completely and she heard the confused, ashamed amnesiac within admit how powerless he was.

Whatever his past life was, it was something he didn't want to return to. She knew from the history logs and so did he. Omega had seen to that. All he had ever done was fighting. All that they had ever called for was for the hero to protect them. He never had a chance to decide. The second he had awakened he had begun fighting and had repressed his feelings, driven by a promise to an old friend and the desire to protect. But this determination could not last forever.

How ironic... for his determination to fail at the very apex of his triumph just as he is to depart to the final confrontation.

"No."

"All I know is fighting. If there is an enemy, if you need me to protect you, I will do it. I will do it if it is the last thing I must do. But it will be you who will change the wo-"

She did not let him finish. "You are Zero."

She had stopped crying, he could see that. Yet, he felt slightly dizzy and weakened.

"You're not a weapon. You are Zero. Everyone will want to see you return."

"I... I understand. I promise I will return."

"No." she smiled? As she said no? Why-"You will return. I know it. And once you do... I'll give you a tour around Area Zero. I want to take a look a few of the environmental systems."

"Then why don't you take one of the science officers with you? I don't think that dealing with such systems is part of my specialties."

"Just promise me you'll accompany me when you return."

He had already told her that he wasn't any good with that kind of thing and still, she insisted. Yet... for some reason, it was somehow good enough for him. The way all of the emotions had flowed... he couldn't believe it. He had kept it all in for so long and now that he thought about it, it had almost destroyed him. What had he been thinking? She was right, he had never intended on sacrificing his life needlessly and no matter how suicidal this new mission was, he'd return from it. He wasn't sure what he'd do with those systems when he returned but she would be happy...

...and well... that will make him happy too, perhaps.

The trailer's door suddenly opened. The two turned to see one of the Resistance members, eyes obviously widened behind his visor. He looked at the two for a moment before calming down.

"Miss Ciel, mister Zero, what were you doing? We heard you shouting from inside!"

"It was nothing, just some unfinished business we had to take care of. Everything is alright now." the crimson Reploid turned to the scientist. She nodded in agreement before turning to the Resistance member.

"Prepare the Transerver. We need to stop that satellite from colliding with Area Zero."

As the two entered the trailer again, each of the Resistance members within took a good look at the hero of legend. His steps were deliberate, fast, precise, his gaze focused and determined. It occurred to them that they had not seen Zero this determined for more than a month. This was the brave, no non-sense Zero they knew, not that fatalist who proclaimed to be a weapon powerless to change the world. Whoever was now controlling Ragnarok was in for a rough time indeed. Sure, time was critically short and the odds were impossibly stacked but then, it had been so thrice in the past.

Zero cursed loudly to himself. Too slow, he was just too darn slow! Who had the bright idea of creating copies of Craft's men and then placing a DNA-coded security door with their signatures in its databank? It was as if someone had been trying to deliberately waste his time. He ran, ran, ran as fast as he could and yet glances outside shown the hull of the satellite red hot as the friction increased. He could see his options for stopping Ragnarok shrinking by the second and it did not please him at all.

Almost kicking the last security shutter open, Zero leaped on the ladder and made his way as fast as he could toward the hatch that separated the Ragnarok Core's room from him. He slammed his Z-Knuckle weapon into it, not even bothering to open it correctly before leaping into the chamber. He frantically scanned the gigantic room, half-expecting to be ambushed but strangely enough, there was nothing. Nothing but the soft light from the strange sword-shaped machinery floating in the middle of the room and the constant, never-ending rumbling as the station's outer hull shook violently from the stress it was experiencing.

How amusing. The one who designed this station had a very poor sense of humor or a very acute sense of irony, Zero figured as he walked around the outer edges of the room, noticing all of the cables and machinery that kept the station's core, shaped like a sword of all things, floating and functioning correctly. Knowing his luck, he could bet that the thing was probably protected by a bajillion of security systems that would waste even more of his already dwindling time.

Oh well, he got Ciel on the line, monitoring his progress and this time, the transmission's pretty clear. If he needs to cut any wires or re-arrange any systems, she'll help him carry out the task.

"GyheeeheehahahahaahHA!"

The red Reploid flinched visibly as a mix of disbelief, horror, and annoyance filled his mind. That was one particular laugh he had not expected to hear ever again and frankly, one he could have done without. He hoped with all of his heart that it was a pre-recorded message as he spun to face the source of the noise.

... and unfortunately, his worst fears were confirmed as he laid his eyes upon a most hideous sight, one that made him very glad that he had not eaten biological food before going into Ragnarok. Floating down from the shadows and into the soft light of the core was the figure of Dr Weil... or at least, he guessed it was Dr Weil.

But wasn't Dr Weil human?

"What are-? Why is-? How?"

He was obviously pained, the cone that once covered his head shattered into a myriad of pieces. But what was underneath was positively horrifying. He could see the human skin, the muscles underneath as large parts of Weil's face had been consumed to the bone. Yet, where biological bone should be there was mechanical parts, already pumping disgusting-looking sickly orange fluids all over the face, the flesh regenerating even as he stared.

"Welcome! You should be glad, I have reserved you a front seat to witness the end of the world!"

"Dr Weil! B-but how? Your tower was at the center of the Ragnarok's blast!"

The sheer disgust that was building up inside of him was making him recoil against his will. His face was deformed beyond all hope but there was also other feelings warring within him. His expression... he realized that Weil's expression was horrifying him. The sheer scale of Weil's madness and insanity was clear as day all over his half-consumed face, his gaze boring into Zero like a high-penetration beam. Whatever facade of sanity Weil had maintained before was gone as the... thing, whatever it was, that called itself Weil revealed itself to him in all of its horrific glory.

"Oh? That? As if that could have had a chance of destroying me. You cannot kill which can't die!"

"What are you, truly?"

"Oh? This?" Dr Weil uncrossed his arms revealed bony, decayed fingers where gloves had once been. Already, like the face, the dead, rotting flesh was forcibly being rebuilt by the machine parts. "Did my mechanical body startle you?"

Zero stared at Weil, his horror slowly leaving, his confidence returning as the reality of what he was seeing sunk in. Confidently, he stepped forward.

"So you are... no! You are..."

"What?" replied the horrible figure, crossing his arms again as he stared down at the robot in amusement. "Did you really think for a second that I was a Reploid? That you could fight me? Sorry to disappoint you but I am a pure human..."

"Neither human or Reploid... an abomination!" spat Zero.

"Even with a body like this!" interrupted Weil, his left, exposed eyeball bulging and twitching from the slight. "-I am still human. You see... when the Dark Elf took control of the Reploids and destroyed the Mavericks in the Elf Wars, the humans of the time modified me. They transferred all of my memories into data and then trapped my body into this armor with the power to rejuvenate me."

At this moment, Weil's gaze grew more intense, his entire body tensing as his rage built up. For all that he knew, Zero found that most Mavericks he had witnessed going utterly berserk looked more sane than him right now.

"Do... do you have any idea what that means? Even as time passes, my wounds never remain and my entire body keeps aging forever, never to die. They... they cursed me! Cursed me to wander the wastelands outside of civilization, cursed me to live in a world without light or nature! They banished me from Neo Arcadia, exiled me to suffer, my data memories forcing me to remember my so-called crimes every waking moment as the wasteland burnt my body without end!"

Weil's voice raised to an unpreceded intensity, the half-machine man almost shrieking as his rage boiled in a way that easily matched the late Omega's.

"Justice? Freedom? WORTHLESS! IDEALS!" he pointed at Zero, his bony, malformed arm shaking. "You! Reploids, you mere machines began a war a long time ago in the name of 'freedom'! And humans! Look... LOOK what they did to me! Driving me away while spouting the word 'justice' like idiotic half-brained parrots! And now... YOU would insist on saving them?"

"If you think I'm going to let you conqu-" Zero began his reply only to have Weil's voice increasing in volume again, covering most of it.

"PAH! Controlling the Reploids is nothing! The destruction of all mankind is only fleeting!"

At this moment, the demented former human's voice died down to a whisper yet for some reason, it sent a chill through the crimson Reploid's spine.

"Not quite alive... not quite dead... forever and ever, by my side. I will make you suffer a fate far greater than anything ever experienced before."

That was it. He had heard enough. Managing to gather his composure again, Zero began to march forward, his hand gripping the handle of his trusty Z-saber. "Oh pl-"

He was about to shut Weil up when the entire room began to shake much more violently than before. For a second, worry brushed in his mind. Had he wasted all of his time, letting Weil distract him long enough for the station to reach the point of no return?

...it was then, as the shockwaves grew more intense and threatened to throw him to the ground that he realized that the shaking was coming from inside the room and that Weil had began to glow an eerie white light. Zero shifted his hand to the holster of his Buster pistol instead, grabbing into it and aiming at Weil's chest. But the shaking was such that he couldn't get a good shot and as he pulled the trigger, the yellow beams slammed into the wall, well off of their mark. Why is the entire room shaking? Is that some kind of attack?

As the white light engulfed the Ragnarok core, Zero's eyes widened.

"You son of a-...!" he cursed under his breath, gathering his energy into his Buster. He had to stop Weil before he could-

SCRRRRREEEEEEEEEEAAAANK!

The noise was deafening as Dr Weil managed to tear the Ragnarok Core right out of the magnetic field that kept it afloat, overloading the machinery underneath and tearing the core into various pieces. The pieces spun all around Weil's frame before extending cables, connecting to his suit and slowly covering him. Before Zero's eyes, the deranged man absorbed the core, his damaged body disappearing as he repaired himself, taking on a new form. And just he might have guessed, the station slowed down for about a few seconds, the time the core had been disassembled, and resumed its furious fall toward the Earth as Weil became one with the core, using his own mechanical suit to keep it functional.

He should have seen a move like this coming! As if whoever had sent the Ragnarok tumbling down would rely on simply security systems knowing that the Legendary Reploid would be coming to disable its core.

"Now, Zero!" proclaimed Weil, his smirk clearly indicated that he knew he had just foiled Zero's plan. "I will teach you that there is nowhere for fools to run or hide. Fools must live under my rule and under my rule alone! And this, thanks to Ragnarok!"

"Zero! Dr Weil... he... he..." the communicator came to life. Ciel's shocked voice helped bring him back to reality. He was here to stop Ragnarok and he had wasted time letting Weil talk big.

"You saw everything?"

"Yes."

"How much time until the point of no return?"

"About ten minutes. But if he could survive a direct hit from Ragnarok..."

"So he can. But I doubt he can survive the pummeling I'm about to inflict on him. Just get ready to transfer me back. This will be a close one."

He ended the transmission and turned to Weil as he continued to float in front of him, gloating like an idiot. And well, that's what he is, just floating there making himself a giant target for him. He pointed the Buster at Weil's face, noticing that the merge had restored that silly glass cone that usually covered his head. Well, it wouldn't do so for long. He pulled the trigger, feeling the recoil as the pistol's nozzle flashed, a bright yellow beam thundering straight toward Weil. He never noticed that Zero had stopped listening. Well, until the yellow beam impacted violently against the orange glass that protected his forehead. Thrown backward by the hit, Weil's eyes bulged in shock as anger took hold of his body.

"Why you-!"

Zero smirked defiantly.

That was more than the elderly man could take. His expression melted into a malformed, enraged frown, his entire body shaking for a second. But quickly enough, his confidence returned as he returned the Reploid's smirk.

"So you spit upon me? Then so be it!"

Zero answered by shooting him again. But this time, when the beam was about to slam into Weil's head again, his entire frame blurred as he split into two and faded quickly before reappearing to the left, the beam continuing its trajectory and slamming harmlessly into the wall. Great, just what he needed. Weil can teleport.

Well, no matter, Elpizo could teleport too and he beat him. He aimed at Weil again, this time going for the chest. No use in targetting the smaller, harder to hit target and risk hitting air; time is of the essence in this case. He fired again. Again, Weil's figure split in two as he teleported out of the way. Zero swore under his breath.

As Weil reappeared, the crimson Reploid could see the smirk on the doctor's face. Well, it wouldn't be there for long! But then, the evil former human rose one of his arms, as if saluting. The movement was awkward and strangely stiff.

Then, suddenly, the teleportation effect appeared around the ceiling as Weil teleported in large rocks. The rocks hovered for a moment before Weil sent them flying toward Zero, somehow. His speed boosters in his boots activated as he dashed out of the way of the boulders. It was no great effort, really as the rocks were flying far more slowly than most of the projectiles that Zero were used to dodging usually.

The second that Zero avoided the rocks, Weil rose an eyebrow and held his hand in place, teleporting in more rocks. Once again, he sent them flying toward Zero who avoided them with the same ease. Doctor Weil further held the pose, this time teleporting much smaller rocks at a far faster rate and throwing them at a far higher speed.

Surprised, Zero was caught in the sudden attack and had one of the rocks slam straight into his chest. As he recoiled in relative pain, his systems assessed the damage... which turned out to be minor. To his surprise, those were mundane rocks, nothing actually properly weaponized. Compared to the kind of attack his body armor could shrug off, this was nothing and he could doubtlessly take this kind of attack all day with only minor stress upon his systems.

Why was Weil wasting his time teleporting in and throwing rocks at him? Still, this was convenient as he noticed that Weil was standing completely still, concentrating while he threw the rocks. He figured that the rocks must have a very high level of magnetic metals in them and that Weil was using his ability to manipulate machinery, the same he used on the Ragnarok Core, to throw the rocks. Well, this was for the best.

As Weil teleported in yet more rocks, Zero put back his Buster pistol in its holster and activated the Z-Knuckle enhancement for his arms. This time, when Weil sent the rocks hurtling toward the Reploid, Zero dashed toward Weil instead of away from him. And just as the last rock missed Zero, he leaped into the air and grabbed the long, blade-shaped armor plate that formed the front of Weil's suit. As Zero clung to him, Weil began to shake, the systems that allowed him to float obviously struggling; they were already taxed heavily from having the Ragnarok Core merged to the suit but with Zero's weight added on top, it was obviously too much for the systems.

"Why you LITTLE-! LET GO!" yelled Weil, waving his arms in a vain attempt at catching Zero, his suit's comically short legs kicking almost comically as he tried to throw him off. But none of Weil's limbs were long enough to catch him and gravity did its work, dragging both down.

As Zero's feet touched the floor, he put all of his strength into his arms and then slammed Weil back-first into the floor with one mighty swing. Stuck on the floor, Weil began waggling his limbs frantically, trying to get up and failing miserably. Zero's suspicions were confirmed; as big and powerful as his suit looked, it was not designed for combat and once grounded, he was essentially defenseless. Well, too bad for him.

Zero leapt into the air, unsheathing the Z-Saber. Then, he pointed the sword straight down and collapsed onto Weil's frame, landing right on his chest, the blade slamming straight into the doctor's face. As the green energy blade slammed into the glass cone, it cracked dangerously. Zero sheathed the Z-Saber with his right hand while he powered up the Z-Knuckle, Weil's eyes widening as he understood what Zero was about to do.

Zero slammed his fist, the speed and strength of the punch enhanced exponentially by the Z-Knuckle, squarely in the middle of Weil's face, on the spot where the Z-Saber had cracked the glass cone. Weil's entire frame shook as the crimson Reploid punched him straight on the nose. The second the punch impacted, Zero brought his other hand off the Z-Saber's handle and gave him a second punch, then a third, then a fourth. Weil looked almost like a turtle on its back as he twitched and struggled as Zero repeatedly punched him in the face, trying to make the glass cone cave in.

After a while of being pummelled humiliatingly by Zero, Weil's panic was finally overwhelmed by the rage that his predicament brought him, ironically allowing him to regain enough clarity to remember that he could teleport. As Zero wound up for yet another punch, Weil's expression turned back to a smirk and Zero ended up punching the floor as Weil teleported out of the way. Getting back up, he saw Weil floating back in position, confidently smiling despite the obvious damage to the glass cone protecting his head.

Once more, Weil held his hand forward, teleporting and hurling rocks toward Zero. Once more, the crimson Reploid effortlessly avoided the slow-moving boulders. As frustration began to creep up inside of the evil doctor, he decided to repeat his little trick with the smaller rocks but this time, Zero was ready for it. As the flurry of smaller projectiles flew toward him, Zero backed away and leaped through a gap in the barrage of rocks, the attack missing entirely.

"WHY WON'T YOU STOP MOVING?" yelled Weil, his frustration turning into berserk rage.

Zero did not bother answering. He dashed toward Weil and leaped again. However, Weil had learnt from the previous mishap as well and teleported away, Zero's hands grasping only thin air. The second he teleported back, he thrown another flurry of smaller rocks hoping for a quick hit but the red Reploid sidestepped the attack just as easily as last time, having expected the possibility of such a move.

Weil could not hurt him but Zero knew of a way to stop this stalemate before it wasted too much time. He deactivated the Z-Knuckle and took out the Buster pistol again, charging up one of the EX Skills that he had obtained. The viral data was gathered into the pistol and as Weil thrown yet another serie of rocks at Zero, he dashed underneath, aiming at Weil's chest and firing a single bullet at him.

The bullet was of a pale blue color as opposed to the usual yellow ones and although it didn't look that impressive, its blue light held an evil promise. As the bullet slammed into Weil's chest, the virus contained within the Time Stopper-type projectile got into action, jamming systems all over within Weil's armor and overloading the circuits, preventing him from moving.

Finding himself unable to move again, Weil was defenseless as Zero unsheathed the Z-Saber and leaped into the air, the energy blade glowing bright yellow, almost white, the fire-charged blade cutting through Weil's armor, causing major damage and setting fire to his black cape. Weil stared in shock as his precious, classy black cape was set on fire and as, once more, his suit's hovering systems failed miserably. The evil doctor swore loudly as he frantically used his teleportation ability to teleport water from elsewhere on the station, putting out the fire although unfortunately not before half of his cape became dust.

"M-my outfit! You worthl-"

Zero didn't care if Weil was upset that his gaudy, stupid-looking black cape had been damaged. He charged the Z-Saber with the opposite element and swung in front of him, sending a shockwave of intense cold air flying toward Weil. The strength of the impact sent Weil skidding backward, freezing the water he had used to put out the fire and preventing him from moving his arms. He struggled for a few seconds to keep his balance but much to his dismay, the very tiny, spike-shaped feet of his suit was more than insufficient to support the immense weight of his armor and once more, the evil doctor lost his balance and fell straight on his back.

Once again, Zero leaped on top of Weil, charging his Z-Knuckle. As he landed on top of the evil doctor, the red Reploid began to punch him repeatedly again, this time going for the articulations that connected the Ragnarok Core's upper hilt to Weil's shoulders. With the near-simultaneous impacts of extreme heat followed by extreme cold, the metal making up the armor was weakened and the armor began to crack under Zero's onslaught. Again, Weil prepared to teleport but this time, just as Weil got a hold of himself, Zero leaped off him and spun around before giving Weil a mighty kick straight to the head just as he teleported away.

Weil reappeared, eyes bulging as the impact resonated inside of the glass dome, instinctively trying to bring his hands to his ears to stop the ringing but finding that his bulky armor did not allow his arms to reach his head. And with the Ragnarok Core's handle covering most of the sides and back of his head, it wouldn't have done much good anyway.

As Weil shook his head and recovered, he began to feel nervous. Zero was making a total fool of him! It was obvious by now why Weil had never fought Zero by himself and had always kept hiding behind Omega and Craft; Weil's armor suit was designed as a fancy life-support system, not a battle-oriented battle suit. It lacked the mobility required to take on a serious opponent and it was now obvious that Weil had no built-in weapons on his suit at all. For one who had caused so much terror, he was turning out to be the most pathetic opponent Zero had faced since he had awakened.

It seemed like he had no choice.

Zero saw Weil try to teleport again but this time, he seemed to divide himself into four images instead of two. The images remained for a long time and it seemed like three of the four had their arms pointed toward the ceiling, as if doing something. The red Reploid quickly figured out that Weil was preparing a new trick of sorts and guessed that since the fourth image was not doing anything then whatever was going to happen, the spot where it was would be a safe spot.

Zero dashed toward it and it was a good thing as Weil solidified on the spot where the fourth image had appeared, a serie of giant knives falling from the ceiling on the spots where the other images had been. Zero smiled to himself, having defeated the attack but due to his position, never saw Weil take out a remote. He did hear Weil push the button on it, which made him realize he might have gotten overconfident.

The knives all sent a shockwave of electricity through the floor and although Zero jumped frantically and with precision to avoid each shockwave, he could not possibly avoid all of them and found himself shocked. His systems registered damage once again and his movement slowed down for a moment but as his systems finished analyzing the shock, he realized that the damage was once again minor and that the shockwave he had felt was just the correct intensity when fighting against humans. Against a robotic being like him, the shock he had felt was damaging but easily survivable.

This confirmed to him that Weil had no built-in weapons in his suit. Those must be the assassination knives he used to deal with people who bothered him back at Neo Arcadia. The fact that he had resorted to use them against him, despite the fact that they were not designed for use against a battle-worthy Reploid, served to boost Zero's confidence. Weil was running out of dirty tricks and had to be growing desesperate to use these.

And well, he knew exactly how to prevent Weil from using them to make a comeback. As Weil prepared to teleport the knives away to repeat the attack, Zero dashed through the field of blades, unsheathing the Z-Saber and charging electricity into it. He unleashed yet another EX Skill, passing straight through the blades, overloading them with electricity and destroying each one.

As he finished, he spun to face Weil.

"You will not win, you fool! I am almighty! I am unstoppable! I AM THE DEVIL! I AM-"

"You are a joke." interrupted Zero. "Really, that's all you got? Rocks and a bunch of fragile knives?"

Zero didn't even wait for an answer. He sheathed the Z-Saber again and took out the Buster pistol once again, charging it with energy from the ice element chip. Then, the front of the Buster pistol erupted in blue energy as it thrown a large javelin made of solid ice straight toward Weil. The javelin impacted straight into Weil's right shoulder, sending splinters of his armor flying as part of the armor broke down.

Weil's frustration and rage reached its breaking point. Not only was Zero openly taunting him but he was losing this fight! He couldn't lose it, he couldn't allow Zero to stop Ragnarok! His will shall be done no matter the cost!

"You have asked for it, you fool! Now witness my true power AND DESPAIR!"

Weil unleashed all of his power all at once, forming a large sphere of energy in front of him, gathering materials as he used his teleportation technique for the one attack that would bring down that bothersome red insect down once and for all.

Zero's confidence instantly disappeared as he saw the sphere and felt the shockwaves coming from it. He had the feeling that what Weil would throw at him next wouldn't be nearly as pathetic as his last attacks.

At this moment, a small dot of light left the sphere and placed in front of Zero before exploding. Zero thought that the attack had missed its mark but quickly realized that the dot had been, in truth, a beacon for a teleportation as he saw something take shape in front of him.

"What the-"

He couldn't keep it in. Before him was the shape of Blazing Flizzard, one of the Weil Numbers. He could recognize the flower-shaped head. But how could it be? He had killed him months ago!

It was then that he realized what that attack had been. Zero swore under his breath as he quickly dashed out of the way as the resurrected Reploid pointed his arm cannon at Zero, the cannon spewing a long line of flames toward him. Zero took out his Buster pistol and fired a shot at the red reptile-shaped Reploid...

...and was surprised when the Reploid collapsed into dust instantly upon impact.

Of course! Resurrecting a Reploid isn't that easy. The copy that Weil created was extremely unstable and upon being hit, collapsed instantly.

The fact that the sphere was so big did give him the feeling that this was only the beginning and much to his displeasure, was proven right as the sphere shrunk a bit, a second copy materializing, this time being one of Childre Inarabitta, that weird blue rabbit-like Reploid. He came down, ears covered in long blades of ice, spinning like a drill.

The copy exploded instantly upon impacting upon the ground but the impact caused a shower of ice shrapnel all over the place. Zero dashed out of the way, leaping over the debris as they bounced around the room. There was no time to rest though as the sphere shrunk further, the shape of Hellbat Schilt forming in front of him. The bat-like Reploid deployed his wings and began to fire small spheres of energy at him.

Zero quickly ducked underneath the barrage. He aimed his Buster and fired another shot, the bat-like apparition collapsing just as easily as the reptile-like one had.

It didn't end there as the second he finished destroying the copy, yet another one was spawned, this one appearing behind him. He spun to find him face-to-face with Deathtanz Mantisk, the gigantic praying mantis Reploid winding up for his own attack. Zero unsheathed his Z-Saber and just as the praying mantis Reploid swung with his scythe-like arms, the red Reploid side-stepped quickly and thrust his blade into the chest of the green Reploid. Like the others, all it took was one hit for him to vanish.

With the fourth apparition gone, the sphere collapsed and Weil reappeared once more. Weil stared in disbelief, panting as Zero stood before him in defiance. From the look on his face, it seemed that Weil had used up all of his energy in this last attack. Well, too bad for him.

Weil attempted to summon the energy to repeat the attack but Zero took out the Buster pistol and called upon his Tractor Shot EX Skill, sucking the energy that was destined for the attack into his pistol. Weil, noticing that the energy meant for his attack was going toward Zero's pistol, stopped smirking, his face turning to a color not unlike Zero's armor.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Zero could not defeat his final attack so easily! He couldn't possibly do this! Despite the growing exhaustion that was beginning to claim his entire body, Weil concentrated as hard as he could, unleashing all of his power to drag the energy toward the sphere that would cripple Zero. Yet, to his growing frustration, Zero simply clenched the trigger of his pistol harder, the Tractor Shot sucking in the energy harder.

With growing horror, Weil realized that what he was experiencing was no longer frustration but rather panic and fear. As panic gripped his entire body, human survival instincts kicked in, allowing Weil to draw upon energy reserves that neither his ego or his mechanical suit's sensors knew he ever had. For a moment, the small balls of energy destined to build up either of the two's attacks shook as both tried to absorb them.

"N... N...! N-NO... NOOO!" Weil couldn't believe it! Zero cannot do this to him! He just cannot! "N-N-N... Wha-NO!"

Weil's eyes bulged as he felt a blank shockwave through his body. This strange feeling that he was experiencing was merely the feeling as his mechanical suit, already overtaxed trying to keep his decayed body alive and the damaged Ragnarok Core running, finally ran out of energy and failed. As Weil's grip slipped over the spheres, all of the energy was sucked into Zero's Buster pistol, forming a large, fat green sphere.

"Yo-you can't do this to me!" protested Weil, panting, in complete denial of the inevitable.

Well, denial or not, the inevitable did come and did so in the form of a large, destructive green energy sphere as Zero fired, aiming straight at the frontal armor plate on Weil's suit. This did it and the blade-shaped frontal armor cracked under the strength of the impact, Weil's hovering systems failing for the last time as he fell to the floor.

Zero switched to the fire element and gathered energy for the finishing hit before unleashing the Burning Shot EX Skill, sending a large fiery ball toward the doctor.

The large, white sphere slammed straight in the middle of the blade-like armor plate and exploded violently. The extreme heat finally finished off the weakened armor, causing the armor plate to bend under the extreme heat, circuitry breaking apart and melting into a dysfunctional mess within. The large, burning shrapnel from the shot splashed all over Weil's armor, cutting it like butter, slamming into the sensitive circuits within and even reaching Weil's flesh, setting it on fire. The glass cone protecting Weil's face, splashed with more shrapnel and pieces of his breaking armor, finally caved in, the glass pieces falling off and the life-support liquid in which his head was contained streaming down his chest as the fiery shrapnel set his head on fire.

As his entire body was set on fire, his armor beginning to explode from the countless system failures that it was suffering, Zero couldn't help but recoil as Weil cried out in pure, demented agony, his flesh being literally barbecued inside of his own armor, the stench of burning flesh filling the air. Trashing frantically in a desesperate attempt to put out the fire that was killing him, Weil lost his footing for the final time and fell down on a weakened part of the floor. He broke straight through the floor and disappeared from sight.

As Weil's figure finally vanished, the entire room began to shake as the walls began to crack. All around him, Zero saw the station beginning to break apart. As the ceiling was torn off along with the walls, the communicator came to life.

"Zero! Come in please!"

"Ciel! What's the status down there?"

"With the Ragnarok Core damaged beyond repair, the entire station is breaking apart. You did it, Zero!"

The walls all around Zero came apart in a deafening noise, flames rising everywhere. Zero could see the Earth from here and he concluded that the sooner he's off this thing, the better.

"Alright, prepare to transfer me back! Do it n-"

Despite the sheer noise that was hammering him due to the room now being opened to space, the explosion was still so deafening that it covered his voice and threw him to the floor. Zero pushed into the floor, getting back to his feet as the spot through which Weil had fallen had exploded. What that had been about?

Zero wished from the depths of his heart that this was merely Dr Weil's suit finally exploding upon impacting the lower deck of the Ragnarok. But he guessed that wishing for this was in vain as he saw Weil's figure rise from the hole, mangled almost beyond recognition. Villains never, ever went down upon being killed once. Somehow, having delusions of owning or conquering the world always gave one the ability to somehow survive exploding and to come back under the form of an oversized mechanical monstrosity and much to Zero's displeasure, it seemed that this was the case with Weil as well. The big problem here is that unlike when he faced Copy-X, Elpizo, and Omega, he did not have time to waste fighting a second form.

"GyaRG YARGH AAARG AAARG HA! F-F-FOOL! I... I told you! I can't die! I! CANNOT! DIE!"

Yeah, it was a tendency of bad guys to do this but still, Zero could barely believe it. Weil's suit was pretty much just a collection of half-molten, warped metal plates that somewhat mimicked a mix between a humanoid figure and a sword. Big parts of the plating were gone, revealing the rotten, burnt bones underneath and if Weil's face had been hideous before, almost none of his traits were recognizable anymore. His throat was basically cut wide open, preventing him from even talking correctly.

"Zero! The station has reached critical speed! If it goes any faster, we won't be able to get a lock on you with the transporter! Hurry!"

Zero glared at Weil, a mix of frustration and exasperation rising inside him.

"What do you think you're going to do? Transform into some ridiculous misshapen giant mechaniloid? Your precious Ragnarok is falling apart. You've lost Weil."

"You... you'rgl think... SO? Weeell... weee shallgl see about THAAAT!"

The explosion that ensued was much less impressive as the back of Weil's armor was sent flying, exposing two giant cables but it was still noticeable enough to catch Zero's attention. What was Weil playing at? What did he hope to achieve by trying to keep fighting? The Ragnarok Core is scrap, he lost. The red Reploid had Ciel and all of the others awaiting for him back home. If Weil wants to transform, that it's his decision but he got no intention of fighting it. Weil will burn up on re-entry anyway unless he teleport away and when he does, there will be no one left to protect him. He'll be lucky if the Resistance gets their hands on him first.

So he was not impressed when the cables slammed into the deck nearby. What did upset him was when the floor began to rumble even more violently, if that was possible. He became even more upset when the floor erupted into a flurry of cables. Cables, giant ones, almost everywhere, Weil glowing in the same eerie white light as when he merged with the Ragnarok Core. It was then that Zero realized what Weil was doing it.

Weil's body disappeared in a flurry of cables that engulfed him and dragged him down and then, merely a few seconds later, he emerged again... or something to that effect.

Weil had somehow connected himself to the station's deck, seemingly thousands of cables now molten and crossing together to form what seemed to be a solid mass of metal with Weil's head stuck in a small mouth. Pieces of his cape, now enlarged and forming giant blades, stuck from every side. Zero wasn't sure how to describe it besides using the word 'ugly'. And as if it couldn't become more grotesque, some of the cables emerged in the form of giant tentacle-like blades and a gigantic horn erupted from the top, hundred of red eyes forming and staring at him while Weil's head disappeared underneath a new orange barrier, forming a large eye of sorts.

"Hmph! Another villain who wastes time transforming into giant mechaniloids. Well, Weil can have his fun all by himself with his new form. Ciel, you can still achieve a lock with the transporter?"

"Zero... the station! It stopped breaking apart!"

And that was the last thing Zero wanted to hear. He glared at the... thing... that used to be Weil, the thing glaring at him with all of its bajillion eyes. He had the feeling that Weil was smirking knowingly underneath that new fancy orange glass barrier of his.

"Hehehe! HAHAHA! How do you like this, you worthless piece of scrap? Now, nobody can stop Ragnarok!"

"That's fine, Ciel." he said, ignoring Weil. "If I can destroy Weil's core, the Ragnarok Core will break down again and the whole station will fall to pieces."

"But... what about you?" Ciel was pointing out a very important point. He was basically out of time here.

"Bwahahaha! Are you even capable of it!" Zero glared into the Weil Core's orange eye, wishing that it hadn't restored Weil's ability to talk coherently. "The Reploid hero... Protecting justice and humanity! I am one of those humans you were sworn to protect! Do you have it in you to defeat me! How will the people see the sacrifice of their hero? To sacrifice himself to kill a human! For your final act to be one of hypocrisy!"

"I don't ever remember calling myself a hero. I always only fought for those I believed in. If an enemy appears, I will not hesitate. I will destroy it. And if you think I'm going to give you the honor of taking me down with you, you are gravely mistaken. You are just another enemy. Nothing less and definitely nothing more!"

Weil screamed something but Zero didn't pay attention, instead listening to his communicator.

"Zero! The point of no return will be reached in thirty seconds! There is no time left!"

Zero stared deep into Weil's eye. He knew that he wanted him to stay, wanted him to fight and give his life for him. And well, he needed to save Area Zero. But everyone was waiting for him. He remembered the conversation he had with Ciel, the promise he made to her. They were waiting for him to return... if he didn't, he would be letting them down just as badly as if he failed to stop Weil.

It was then that all those thoughts made a latent memory of his stir. An idea flashed into his mind. There was a very specific reason why the station had stopped falling apart, why the Ragnarok Core was so important that Weil would be so desesperate to save it in such a manner.

"Ciel! The core! Will it burn up in the atmosphere?"

"What? Zer-"

"Will it burn up in the atmosphere!"

"N-no! Unless you destroy it-"

"Don't transport me. I'll come back on my own."

"B-but-! Only ten seconds-"

"I won't give my life up for that nutcase. Believe in me, Ciel."

There was a long pause and as Zero calculated the time, the critical point was finally reached.

"I... I will."

"Thank you. Zero, out."

He ended the transmission and looked up Weil's sole orange eye. He was screaming at him, ranting about stuff he didn't care. It ends now.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING? I am sublime, I am magnificent, I am-"

Zero leaped and swung his Z-Saber with all of his strength. Although the large claw that was in front of the eye was not damaged by the strike, protecting Weil's weak point successfully, it did manage to get the villain's attention. Realizing that indeed Zero had not listened to even a single word, Weil screamed in pure rage, the claw lowering as he gathered energy inside of the central eye.

That turned out to be a mistake as Zero jumped and struck again, this time slamming the blade straight into the monstrosity's eye, causing the liquid surrounding Weil's head to stir.

"I will annihilate you! YOU! YOU AND ALL OF THE WORMS WHO WRONGED ME!" the scream was so loud that the sound wave pushed Zero back slightly. It was an inconvenience and the few energy balls and sparks that the eye shot out were quickly evaded.

"Look at yourself, 'hero'! You thrown away your chance at saving yourself and then told me you don't care about sacrificing yourself? HYPOCRITE! YOU ARE THE SAME AS THEM! THE SAME!"

As his rantings continued, Weil pointed the claw at Zero, as if pointing. The claw somehow grew spikes and flew toward the red Reploid. Zero side-stepped and pointed his Buster pistol at the orange eye, putting bullet after bullet straight into its center.

As the claw returned to its position, Weil decided to change strategy. His eyes began to glow and he lowered his entire frame, gathering more power.

"I gave you a chance Zero! I gave you a chance to give yourself up, to join me, to accept your fate! But you, and all of the others, you blew your chance! Then your second chance! Then the one after that! Evil, selfish? You call me selfish? I have been merciful upon you, the ruler that you needed! If you will not have me as your god, then so be it! I AM WHAT YOU MAKE ME TO BE! I AM THE DEVIL!"

Zero jumped just as Weil fired, a giant stream of energy erupting from the core's central eye. Logically, Zero should have no been able to dodge it but the red Reploid had activated the Z-Knuckle and then grabbed into the horn.

"Wha-? What are you doing? Let go!"

The gigantic figure rose itself and tried to shake off the Reploid but just as Zero had predicted, Weil was barely mobile in this form. Zero used his other hand and slammed his fist straight into one eye, shattering it. Weil let out a screeching scream of pain as one of his eyes were taken out but he had barely let it out that Zero climbed forward on the horn, destroying each eye as he made his way toward the central eye.

"GYAAARG!-AAAARG!-NO! STOP THA-AAAAARRRG! MY-MY EYESEAAAARK!" the figure twitched uncontrollably as Zero continued the systematic destruction of Weil's ocular systems, seemingly not even hearing him.

Yet, this gave the villain an opportunity. As Zero approached the central eye, he found himself straight at the correct height for a second blast to hit him. Falling silent for a second as he attempted to ignore the pain from his other eyes' destruction, Weil charged a second blast and then, as Zero jumped on the central eye and gripped it, he unleashed the full fury of the blast.

Zero's entire frame glowed as the energy surged through his body, Weil mercilessly shocking him.

"HA! WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? Those who oppose me will only face the worse of all f-"

Zero should have been in pain, begging for mercy or at least acknowledging the damage. But instead, Zero simply took his sword and stabbed it into the central eye, obviously trying to reach Weil's head underneath the barrier. Rage surged inside of Weil as he stared at Zero. His hatred grew, mixed with confusion as he saw Zero's expression. His face was cold, focused, determined. It was not anything special, the same expression he had when cutting down any other enemy...

...the same expression he had when cutting down any other mundane enemy...

BUT HE'S NOT A MUNDANE ENEMY! He is Dr Weil, the ruler of the world, the sublime, almighty one who destroyed all before him!

"WHY? WHY! WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME! I AM !" Despair began to fill his mind as Weil realized that Zero would not stop and that he couldn't stop him. He had discharged enough energy into Zero to kill almost any Reploid and the crimson Reploid had shrugged it off as if it was raindrops.

Zero leaped away from Weil, panting as he ducked for a moment, tinkering with his own systems and absorbing the content of a sub-tank. Once the life-giving energy surged through his body, Zero got back on his feet, preparing to resume his relentless assault. The villain screamed at the top of his lungs, firing green sparks uncontrollably all over the place. Even after transforming, Weil was still the most pathetic opponent Zero had faced. Weil had obviously no idea of how to manage his energy and despite his new form's size and raw power, he had absolutely no idea how to use it and wasted all of his power on screaming and shooting small projectiles that barely fazed the red Reploid. Even that last blast had been nothing that soaking up the content of a sub-tank couldn't undo.

Zero didn't even slow down as Weil directed the giant, scary-looking sparks toward him. He simply took out the Z-Saber and sliced them in two, not even bothering to stop his dash to do so. Despite pumping out all of the power he could draw out of the Ragnarok station into this body and his attacks, Weil's mind was still filling with the echoes of alarms as his body broke apart, the systems of his new form failing one by one.

Zero leaped and grabbed into the central eye again, finding himself face-to-face with the former human once more. Disbelief was all over the doctor's face as he stared into his nemesis's eyes.

"To... to perish under the blade of a worthless metallic puppet mistaking itself for a man!" his traits hardened as he glared at the red Reploid. "Perish! Perish forever!"

"Dream on, Weil." Zero's reply chilled the villain to the core. And for some reason, Zero sheathed his sword, drawing his face closer to the cracked glass.

"You know, Weil... you told me you always wanted to 'survey all that lies before you'. I didn't forget. Well, I think I'll grant your wish."

Weil stared back. This made no sense. But at this moment, as Zero's arm glowed in the characteristic light that shown that he had activated the Z-Knuckle, Weil understood.

"N-NO! DON'T DO THIS! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

Zero slammed his fist through the central eye causing it to burst like a melon being tested by an old lady at a supermarket, the life-support liquid splattering all over the place as shards of glass were sent flying. Zero plunged his hand deep within and gripped the malformed head of the villain while he plunged the other arm deep inside the warped circuits, grabbing into the human's shoulder. Then, with one mighty effort, Zero pulled with all of his strength.

Zero torn Weil right out of the Ragnarok Core, hurling his frame off of the platform. Weil's face deformed into an agonized scream as the mechanical suit that had kept him apart for so long disintegrated all around his frame, his pathetic, skeleton-like frame coming free. As the floor just underneath him gave away, Weil's wish to 'survey all that lies before him' came true as he stared at the Earth from orbit for about 0.0512 second before the friction from the atmospheric re-entry vaporized his eyes and boiled his skin. Barely a second later, his horrifying visage as well as all of his flesh, turned to a fine mix of carbon dust and detached from his skeleton. A further second later, his bones were thoroughly carbonized and scattered into the atmosphere.

With Weil gone, the various cables that had connected the Ragnarok Core to the station began to come apart, the station beginning to explode all around Zero. He was way past the point of no return and he knew that Ciel could no longer save him... not that she would need to.

A latent memory had entered his mind. He had remembered that this had not been the first time he had been in such a situation and in a flash of foresight, had figured why Weil had merged with the Ragnarok Core.

With Weil gone, Zero pulled himself inside of the cavity where his frame once was. Even using this trick and despite finishing off Weil so quickly, he knew that his time left to save himself could be counted in seconds. It was going to be a close one. As he crawled into the Ragnarok Core, Zero unsheathed his Z-Saber and slammed it into the ceiling of the cavity where the central eye used to be, collapsing the cavity and sealing it. He then sheathed his sword and took out his pistol, switching to the fire element. He quickly used the extreme heat from the pistol's fire element, sealing up the cavity as fast as he could.

Once he was sure he had done everything he could, he placed the pistol back in the holster and held into the cables surrounded him as tightly as he could, preparing for the impact. The Ragnarok Core would survive atmospheric re-entry but even from within it, his chances of survival weren't good. Still, he had made a promise to Ciel and he intended to fulfill it.

Zero closed his eyes, bracing for the impact.

Then, after what seemed to be forever, he heard a deafening sound. The nature of the sound didn't really register because the impact causing him to recoil and hit his head against the ceiling of the cavity, knocking him unconscious.

"Ragnarok... is... breaking apart... Ragnarok has entered the atmosphere. Most of it will burn up on entry... Impact with Area Zero has been averted. Mission... successful..."

"Zero! Come in Zero! Zero... please... Come in..."

"There's no response from the receiver... The connection has been lost..."

Ciel stared at the screen. Zero had asked her if the Ragnarok Core would burn up upon re-entry and they had lost contact with him just as he had thrown Weil out of it only to crawl into it and seal himself inside.

"It is possible that the connection is jammed by the Ragnarok Core..."

"Miss Ciel. The chances of survival..."

She wouldn't hear this! Not now! Especially not now!

"At which coordinates will the Ragnarok Core land?"

The operator sighed and fell silent for a moment. Ciel stared silently as in the trailer, the various Resistance members got to work determining where it would land. Before long, the estimated location was displayed on the primary screen.

He had risked everything for them. He couldn't die, not now. Especially not now...

"Dispatch a team to search the area once it has landed."

"Zero..."

Zero slowly opened his eyes. All around him was light. He couldn't see, couldn't move. Yet before him was a figure. A strange one. It was human and the voice... it reminded him of Dr Weil. But... no. The way he had been called. It was too... confident, determined...

"My masterpiece..."

Masterpiece? But who... could he...

"After him! He is my nemesis. Our rivalry is what gives me motivation in life. Now go! Destroy him! That's an order."

The light slowly began to dim down and he recovered his senses. All around him, he could feel the touch of metal, the feel of cables and the smell of burnt materials. He couldn't move, his entire body hurting. Before him, the strange human figure began to change and before long, he saw what seemed to be a Reploid.

The Reploid was vaguely familiar. The shape... it reminded him of... a friend... one not unlike X.

"That... was what I said, back then." the voice was youthful and yet, the feeling was the exact same. He could see nothing from him, nothing but...

The eyes and the crystal on the forehead. There was a purple energy within, swirling endlessly, burning like a flame...

"I didn't expect you to survive. You are more resourceful than I had predicted. Still, your efforts are meaningless, futile."

"Who... are you?"

The figure seemed to smile. He couldn't see it proper but he could decipher it on his face. But the smile it was... cold, cruel. It reminded him somehow of Weil and yet, it woke up a nameless fear within him. This was an enemy... ancient and terrible, maybe even more than Weil had been.

"Maybe you will know someday... should you live. You are a disappointment. To think I called you my masterpiece once... still, you served your purpose."

The figure approached him and stopped near him, kneeling as he observed the machinery within which Zero was stuck.

"What are you doing?"

The figure merely smirked. "Someday... you will see. The data gathered here will change the world."

The strange Reploid got up and stared down at him. "Good bye... old friend."

"Wait! Who are you?"

The figure ignored the crimson Reploid, turning and walking away. As the mysterious figure grew smaller and disappeared in the horizon, Zero's view began to blur and his thoughts faded, unconsciousness claiming him once again. Yet, the sleep that came did not erase the feeling of dread that filled his entire being. Zero suddenly had the feeling that he had witnessed something incredibly important, a piece of the larger, hidden picture. Yet, somehow, he had the feeling that once more, whenever the first time had happened, he was once again missing the details...

(TO BE CONTINUED)