A/N: Here's the next chapter of Megaman ZXC and most people wanted the next chapter instead of a past story and so I bring you the next chapter and remember to review please. Enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: a bit late but oh well. I don't own the Megaman franchise. If I did, well, this might have been official.

The Guardian Base had just touched down in the Guardian Training Base or North Base as it was easily called, located in the forest of Inner Peace at a much undisclosed part of the forest. From below the base a hatch opened up and some Guardians took jeeps out while others walked out. Prairie had been one of the first ones out and behind her were Zero and Ciel who were both handcuffed and behind them were Vent on their left and Aile on their right and right next to them were Carrelet to Zero's right and Hareng to Ciel's left. As they moved towards the base there were whispers among the Guardians. Zero was able to get some of them but they were all mostly if he was Giro; it irked him.

At the base commander's office

"Ah, Commander it is nice to see you" smiled the commander

"It's nice to see you again too Captain Wolf"

Wolf, a white haired reploid who's the leader of the Stealth Team. He's a tall reploid, the same height as Zero, with brown eyes, short white hair that covers his right eye and reaches his shoulder and a black version of the normal Guardian Uniform. He also has the same badge that Vent and Aile wear on their jackets and he always carries his black colored sniper.

"Are those the prisoners?" he asked as he looked upon Zero and Ciel

"Yes they are. Rezon" she gestured to Zero "And Elice" she gestured to Ciel

"I see" he looked upon Rezon and frowned "I'll make sure to make them talk, one way or the other"

"Appreciated; we'll be staying here for one month to see the new recruits and then we're leaving. If they talk by then, they'll come with us, if they don't, well, I'll leave that up to you"

"Of course Commander" he bowed to her "Could you take them to the holding cells?" he asked Carrelet and Hareng

"Of course sir!" they saluted and left with Zero and Ciel

4 days later

It's been four days since Zero and Ciel had been sent to the base and so far, the Guardians have gotten nothing out of them. Nothing worked and they've tried as much as they could those 4 days and yet nothing. If they didn't know any better, they'd think they didn't know anything, but the Guardians aren't easily fooled. Ciel had been thinking how to get their trust without revealing who they were and so far, she's come up with squat. Zero, she didn't know what he was thinking. Right now, Ciel and Zero were sleeping in their separate cells, right across from each other, when Ciel sensed something, a familiar feeling.

"Zero" she whispered "Zero wake up!"

"I am up" he answered while still laying down on the bed with his eyes closed

"Oh" she forgot, Zero was a light sleeper "Well anyway, I sense something"

Zero opened one eye and he got out of bed "What do you sense?"

"A biometal" she answered seriously

Guardian Base, Prairie's room

Prairie was soundly asleep in her bed, completely oblivious of the danger that was coming. Her door opened and in walked a normal guardian troop. The trooper saw Prairie and walked inside. When he was halfway into the room, the Guardian then seemed to disappear in the darkness and from it appeared

"Come on Zero, it's this way!" called out Ciel as she ran towards the Guardian base

"Where's it coming from!" he asked

"From Prairie's room"

Zero nodded and he grabbed his necklace and transformed. Ciel was about to ask why but she understood why. She also transformed and they ran much faster towards the base.

The man in Prairie's room took out a kunai as he walked over to Prairie's sleeping figure. He raised his kunai and before he struck he was kicked into the wall.

Prairie jolted up and saw Ciel firing both of her guns at the wall were the man was. The man jumped away and threw kunai at Zero and Ciel whom dodged them with ease.

The man dashed for the door and Zero gave chase.

"Prairie, are you alright?" asked a concerned Ciel

"That was Siarnaq!" he looked towards Ciel "And how did you get out?"

Ciel sighed "Ill tell you later"

Ciel then dashed out the room. Ciel was able to locate Zero and saw two energy signatures, one she knew was Zero and the other she now knew belonged to Siarnaq, and it looked like they were both fighting, with Zero being the clear winner.

Ciel, as she ran down the hall, saw the alarm, and even though she knew it was going to bite back, she punched it and the alarm sounded waking up both bases.

The soldiers that were already outside saw Ciel and opened fire. Ciel dodged all the shots with ease and ran towards the clearing where she knew Zero was fighting Siarnaq. She made it just in time to see Siarnaq ducking to avoid Zero's blade and jumped away taking out Model P in the process.

"MEGAMERGE!" Siarnaq was swallowed up in darkness and reappeared wearing his Mega Man armor.

"So he's one of the ones using my biometal, but then, who's he working for? Or is he doing this on his own?" Ciel decided to worry later and she took both of her buster shots out and charged them and aimed them at Siarnaq who dodged.

Siarnaq threw 4 kunais at Ciel and he ducked back to avoid another of Zero's slashes. Ciel dodged all 4 kunais and fired two shots from her guns. Siarnaq dodged the shots and summoned a big shuriken and blocked Zero's slash. Siarnaq jumped back and avoided another one of Ciel's shots and he kept blocking Zero's slashes as he kept trying to dodge Ciel's shots.

The Guardians then arrived at the site and they all aimed their guns at the three of them. Zero and Ciel looked around them and Siarnaq disappeared into the ground.

Zero tried to get him but one Guardian shot his arm, luckily he dodged.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" ordered Prairie

The Guardians still aimed at them

"LOWER YOUR WEAPONS, NOW!" she yelled

They did as told

"You saved my life, why?" called out Prairie

Zero and Ciel didn't answer

"Answer me! Why did you save the life of someone you don't know?"

"We can't" said Ciel quietly

"You can't what? Can't tell me? Why? Why can't you tell me huh? We saved your lives and you can't tell us anything?"

"WE JUST CAN'T, ALOUETTE!" yelled Ciel but immediately she clasped a hand over her mouth as her eyes widened

Zero's also as he stared at Prairie

Prairie was shocked that anyone knew that name, her old name. The name she discarded the day the research team died, the day her sister supposedly died.

The guardians started whispering, some wondering who this Alouette was? And also wondering why she said that to their Commander, who they knew her name was Prairie…that was her name…wasn't it?

Prairie started seeing the whispering and the gazes of the Guardians

"You will both come with me" she ordered "NOW!"

Zero and Ciel put away their weapons and de-transformed. Everyone was surprised, but Zero and Ciel walked over to Prairie

"Everyone will forget what you just heard, do I make myself clear?" it wasn't a question, it was an order

The Guardians saluted and Prairie walked back to the base with Zero and Ciel behind her

Prairie's room

Prairie made sure to lock the door, and turn off the cameras. She had also ordered Fleuve to join them.

Right now Prairie was standing in the middle of the room, Ciel right in front of her, while Zero and Fleuve stood to the side.

Prairie took a step towards Ciel and…hugged her. Ciel was surprised, while Fleuve smiled and Zero had a faint smile

Prairie was crying "Ciel, you came back"

Ciel stiffened but loosened up and hugged Prairie back "Yes, I came back Alouette" she was also crying

"*sniff* how…how are you back? Everyone died…the base was destroyed…how are you alive Sis?"

"I…I'm sorry…I can't say yet…the memories are too painful…

"Do they involve…him?"

Ciel sobbed harder "yes" she cried out and started crying much harder

Prairie hugged Ciel tenderly and started rubbing her back, just like how Ciel did for her when she was sad, this time, it was her turn.

Fleuve looked towards Zero and saw a scowl when Prairie mentioned 'him'.

"Zero, it's good that you're back"

Zero looked at him for a moment before he knew who it was, the small stature and the glasses were a dead give-away "I'm not so sure I'm happy about it Perroquiet"

Fleuve smiled "Well, I know I'm happy you're back, and seeing how Allouette is, I'm sure she is too"

Zero nodded and looked back towards Prairie and Ciel.

"Zero, what exactly happened that day?" asked a concerned Fleuve

Zero looked down "It's…I won't let it happen again, no matter what…"

Fleuve nodded, knowing that was as much as he was going to get out of him right now

2 days later

Zero and Ciel were in North Base's cafeteria until Wolf and another member came up to them.

"Rezon, Elice, come with me" ordered Wolf

Zero and Ciel obeyed and followed after Wolf

20 minutes later

They found themselves in a training lab on one of the five corners of North Base.

"Alright, I know you have questions as to why I brought you here, and I'll answer with this" he gave a signal to the scientists to start "Commander Prairie wants you both to join the Guardians, but I want to know if either of you can fight. I brought you here because of this virtual training program" he pointed to the hexagonal shaped room which the scientists were starting up "You'll enter that room and show us your skills" he saw that Ciel was about to talk "And no, you will take it, no matter your reasons"

Zero and Ciel nodded

"Good, now who's first?"

Zero was going to speak but Ciel beat him to it

"I'll go"

Zero looked at her "You sure?"

Ciel looked at Zero and she saw how worried he was but she still nodded

Zero sighed "Alright"

Wolf told Ciel to go inside the room and she did. The door closed and she walked to the middle of the room.

"Start" said Wolf

The program started and three Galleons appeared.

"On my mark"

"Go!"

Ciel summoned her guns which surprised the Guardians and shot the galleons in the head before they could do anything.

They increased the difficulty and 2 Assault Galleons appeared and like before they were shot in the heads before they could do anything.

They kept increasing the difficulty, and Ciel kept defeating them no matter what.

Wolf saw that she was much more than ready, she was a match for Vent and Aile, and he wanted to see how strong she was.

"Use the 4 Hunters program" ordered Wolf

The director nodded and activated the 4 Hunters program

"Type L, Start."

In front of Ciel appeared the Mega Man of Ice, Thetis.

Ciel readied her guns. Thetis took out his lance and took his stance. Thetis charged at Ciel, while she remained still. He summoned a spike of ice and shot it at her. She simply dodged and ducked to evade his slash at her head. She then pressed both guns at his chest and released both charged shots. They went right through his body, leaving one big gaping hole where his chest should have been.

"Follow up with type F"

Then the Mega Man of Fire appeared, Atlas. Atlas took out one of her guns and shot at Ciel who dodged the attack. Ciel shot back and Atlas took the hit without it doing anything to her. Atlas took out her other gun and started shooting at Ciel with both guns. Ciel weaved through each shot on her way to Atlas. When she reached Atlas, she aimed a fist to Atlas's head. Atlas blocked but Ciel sweep kicked her feet. Atlas fell to the floor and Ciel pressed her other gun to her chest and fired. Atlas slightly survived but Ciel took her other gun and fired it again. Another hole through another Mega Man's chest and Atlas was beaten.

"Next, Type P"

Siarnaq appeared next, the Mega Man of Shadow's. Siarnaq threw a shuriken at Ciel, who dodged and swepped kicked back, tripping Siarnaq who had appeared behind her. She then heel dropped him but he rolled out of the way and she fired charge shot at him. He jumped up to evade the attack but did not see the second charge shot coming and was hit. As he fell Ciel ran to where he was going to land and slammed one of her guns on his back, and pressed the trigger, firing another charge shot through him.

"Last hunter AI, Type H, start!"

The last of the 4 hunters appeared. Aeolus, the Mega Man of Wind. Aeolus took out his blades and charged at Ciel. Ciel charged at him too, putting away her guns. Aeolus slashed at her and Ciel dodged. Ciel threw a fist to his face which he evaded. Aeolus then did a spin slash and Ciel jumped back to avoid the attack, but then Aeolus charged at her with her jetpack activated. Ciel then raised her hand and when Aeolus got close to slice her; she grabbed his blades and stopped his charged. The Guardians were stunned as Ciel stopped his charge. Ciel then kneed him in the stomach and took one of his blades, spinning in place and slicing him in half.

The Guardians were surprised and Wolf was impressed. But he decided to step it up a notch.

"Initiate 'that' program" he said

The scientists looked at him "Are you sure sir?" asked the director

Wolf nodded; the director sighed and reluctantly ordered everyone to activate the program.

Floating in front of Ciel appeared Albert with his Model W armor as his bits circled around him.

Ciel took out her guns and got ready to fight but

"Why can't my hands stop shaking?" she looked at Albert with a careful look "Why does it feel familiar?" Ciel shook her head and tried to calm down

Zero didn't show anything but inside he was worried "There's something…familiar about him, but what?"

Ciel shot two bullets at Albert, which were deflected by his bit shield. Ciel then dodged a sword he made of his bits. Ciel shot again and the same effect happened.

Ciel kept dodging his attacks as she tried to hit him but all her shots were blocked by his shield. She shot again and noticed something; the bits glowed for a second before going back to normal. To test her theory she shot again but this time at one of the bits surrounding him and his shield dropped a bit. She was correct. She then jumped to evade another of his bit attacks. When she landed, she took a deep breath and put away her gun. She then raised her left hand and there appeared a handle. She took hold of it and slashed with it, a saber, the same as Zero only light blue, appeared. She then dashed at Albert. Albert sent his bits at Ciel. Ciel jumped over the bits and used them to get closer to Albert. Albert summoned a ball of energy in his right hand and lasers shot out from it towards Ciel. She dodged the lasers with ease, seeming to leave afterimages and she dashed directly at Albert. When she was close enough she swung in an arc, destroying the bits around Albert that made up his shield and sliced vertically, cutting Albert in half from the waist below. Ciel then landed and when she saw the program ending she breathed a sigh of relief. She put away her sword and started walking to the door until she felt a presence behind her. Turning around and taking her guns out, she faced her opponent only for her eyes to widen in fear as she sees who it is.

"S-S-Serp-p-pent...!" Ciel started shaking and she dropped her guns as she stared at Serpent's mega merged form in terror

Zero was initially surprised but then was slowly being filled with hatred. His left arm started to tremble, but Zero grabbed it with his right arm to calm himself in time.

"Stop the program" spoke Zero, straining his voice slightly

The director was about to, since not even he wanted to use it, but Wolf stopped him and he turned to Zero.

"Why?" asked Wolf

"Just do it"

"I need a reason for it" wolf retorted skeptically.

Ciel took a few steps back, shaking her head as Serpent aimed his finger bullets at her. He shot and Ciel didn't even try to dodge, she was too terrified. The bullets hit and she was sent back. Serpent then charged at her and kicked her into the wall. He then grabbed her by her neck and hurled her at the other side of the room. Ciel hit the wall and slid down. She then saw Serpent closing in and she backed away into a corner and grabbed her head with her hands as she stared at the floor with wide eyes.

"Please, don't kill me!" she yelled as her vision was getting blurry from tears.

Everyone was shocked at seeing Ciel's sudden change of attitude from a determined fighter to a scared little girl.

Zero on the other hand, turned to wolf and grabbed him by the collar

"Turn that thing off, NOW!" Zero yelled to the commander

Wolf didn't need much convincing by that point,though " Everyone, Deactivate Training Program Type W!" the scientists got to work , but the program would not power down.

"The controls are not responding sir! It's out of our control!" The main Scientist informed, eliciting a grunt of disapproval from Wolf and a frustrated growl from Zero.

"Hey, I'm picking up a strange energy reading from the training area!"

Everyone looked at the area and saw a strange light slowly radiating from Ciel, who was in one of the corners sobbing and trembling as the Serpent hologram was menacingly approaching her, ready to attack.

The team was alarmed at this "The energy reading just sky-rocketed! It's off the charts!" said a distressed analyst.

"Get away from me! I-I don't want to die!" Ciel screamed while at the same time the radiant light spiked. Sending waves of enormous pressure and almost blinding everyone in the room.

"Everyone, get down!" Zero said as he took both Wolf and the director to the floor with him.

A second later, the light shined even brighter as it unleashed an explosion enveloping everything around it.