The entire Resistance Base heard the fight between them—Elpizo insisted on initiation of his Operation Righteous Strike, Ciel demanding more time. But the entire Base heard her give in, relent to the mere fact Elpizo was correct in the biggest regard: Neo Arcadia attacked them and killed several Resistance soldiers without provocation. Retribution was the only answer at this point, and after Zero dealt a heavy blow to them during the rescue mission, Elpizo wanted to drive the point home that they were not cattle to be slaughtered.

Everyone heard Ciel give in and they knew the two had a private moment. Everyone could guess what happened during that moment, and whatever it was Elpizo was going to say before he was transferred with his troops was lost. Zero was the only real combat unit left behind in case of an attack, and he stood next to Ciel as she waited anxiously for word of how the Operation went.

When the news of the Operation's slaughter came through, everyone heard Ciel beg Zero to find Elpizo. Everyone heard her heels rapidly tapping the catwalk of the commander's room as she paced worriedly. Ciel was beside herself with guilt and worry, constantly checking for any word from Zero, any report of what happened to Elpizo, if there were any survivors at all.

When Zero finally returned with the broken Elpizo, everyone heard Ciel cry out in alarm. She was nearly hysterical at the state Elpizo was in—it was a rumor that Zero had to restrain her so that Cerveau could immediately begin to repair him and salvage him. The only thing that calmed her was the fact Neo Arcadia had a bomb heading toward them, and she demanded to go with Zero.

The mission to divert the bomb was a success, and with that immediate threat passed, it was said Ciel spent hours in the repair unit to watch and help with Elpizo. She was found passed out from stress on a bench.

When it was revealed Elpizo had left, Ciel was rendered silent. No one saw her for several hours following her viewing of his message. The only thing anyone knew was Zero began to hunt Elpizo down to bring him back—both to stop whatever it was he was planning and for Ciel's sake.

When that failed and he contacted the Base, deranged and under the influence of the baby elves, Ciel fell to the ground and refused to speak.

She holed herself up in her room when Zero left for the final mission of stopping Elpizo. She didn't care what the Resistance Base thought or what they heard, the only thought on her mind was the prayer Zero could redeem Elpizo. That somehow he'd be free of the corruption he had undergone, and when he came back she could beat him until he was crying with her and then they'd make up and everything would be okay.

Ciel never prayed as hard in her whole life as she did during those fateful hours waiting. Worry, anger and guilt were emotions she thought she'd never feel in such a magnitude since her screw up with Copy X, but here she was in that cycle again. Worried for Zero, for Elpizo, even for X; anger at herself and Elpizo for this whole situation occurring… guilt, because she should have been calm and made sure Elpizo knew even if his Operation failed, she still cared for him. Even if he had a moment of weakness, she still loved him! Here she was, a human, knowing of how easy it was for faith to break… and she ignored Elpizo's broken soul.

This was why Zero never fell for her. This is why she may lose Elpizo.

This is why wishing on stars is childish, naïve and idiotic!

Ciel's eyes went to the glass vase, at the now-dried freesias he had gotten her. They weren't nearly as lovely or fragrant when they were alive, but they preserved. Weathered, but still pretty. She always figured she and Elpizo would be like that.

She reached out and, not even thinking, pinched one of the freesias between her thumb and forefinger. It crumbled with no resistance—fragile, weak.

She had a terrible feeling that freesia was exactly the representation of her and Elpizo, no matter how deep their unvoiced love.

Zero wasn't sorry when he reported Elpizo's death to Ciel.

He was sorry when she screamed in grief and denial, yes; he was sorry when she fell to the ground in a heap of tears and a broken heart, yes. He didn't show it, but Zero was happy to strike the bastard down. He had betrayed the Resistance, their faith and hope. He had broken Ciel. He had destroyed X.

Zero wasn't sorry Elpizo was dead. And because he wasn't, he turned and let Ciel grieve on her own, because he wasn't going to even pretend to grieve for her sake. Zero's grief was only for X and the shaken faith of the Resistance. He wasn't going to spare a byte of sympathy for the weak bastard that caused all of this.

It seemed the only person who really grieved was Ciel. She disappeared in her room and the silence that settled over the Base further devastated the Reploids' faith. All she could do was sit in her chair, stare at her monitor of research and cry.

She only felt worse when she realized she had finished her Ciel System. The very thing she was making to save everyone, to save Elpizo. He died for no reason; he died in vain.

Ciel looked at the remaining freesias and felt the urge to destroy them all, vase included. But she could only stare now.

"War…" she whispered. "War takes away everything…"

The war had to stop. That's why Elpizo fought. She had to stop this stupid war or else she'll lose more than just her heart. If there was really anything else left to lose…

But even if she resolved to stop the war, to somehow validate Elpizo's sacrifice… irony at its best, for the creator of the greatest energy system to date, just didn't have the energy to do anything anymore. All she wanted to do was cry and wish Elpizo was with her again.

But wishing did nothing. Wishing never accounted for anything, it seems.