Breaking Down
When the room was empty, the Dark Elf and Elpizo gone, Zero collapsed to his knees. He let out the breath he was holding, the ragged sound echoing in the ruins of the vault. By some grace of otherworldly luck, he defeated Elpizo twice…
And yet, as Zero crawled to the shattered pieces of blue, his entire world felt as if it were going to explode.
The details were blurry yet still, but Zero still felt like screaming in agony as he slowly reached out and pulled the nearest piece of blue armor to him. A white gloved hand greeted him when he lifted it, and a brief memory of that hand being offered to him, helping him, encouraging him, flickered in Zero's mind. It made him drag his body closer to other pieces, solemnly gathering them.
He found a forearm, a boot, a piece of a hip and the left side of a torso badly cracked. A leg was under some rubble, and Zero had to fight the dirt for the prize of a ruby helmet jewel. Even as he ignored Ciel's calling to him, even as he knew Neo Arcadian troops will be on him any second, Zero scoured the area. Yet he found no more.
The few pieces he piled in his lap and Zero stared at the ruby gem. Memories, blurry and out of order, flit through his mind and he could not comprehend him. All Zero knew was his heart, his resolve, was shattered at the physical death of Original X. X, who Zero was just getting to know again, who he promised to take care of the world so he could come back… He couldn't now.
Zero knew it was only a matter of time now, even as he cradled those gruesome pieces close, until even X's Cyber Elf form would dissipate. And then he won't have anything of X left; the realization dragged a soft cry of despair out of the usually stoic Reploid. No X? Nothing?
"Zero."
Zero shook his head, even as Cyber Elf X materialized before him and shimmered. "I'm sorry," Zero whispered.
"It's okay," X replied. He knelt next to Zero, putting a hand on his shoulder. Zero felt nothing—soon X would truly be nothing—and he could only shudder. "You have to go, before they find you."
"I know."
"I'll teleport you out."
"No." Zero looked at him, the blank look he usually had replaced with agony. "No, don't waste your energy."
"What does it matter, Zero?" X asked, even as he looked at his old friend with sympathy. "You've done this much, gone this far, without me."
"No…" Zero scooted closer to him, to familiarity, to memories. "No, I was never without you."
X smiled, and he wrapped his shimmering arms around Zero's neck. The blond felt nothing, and yet that smile brought warmth to his breaking soul. "And you still won't be, Zero. I'll always be with you, with or without a body…"
He let Zero go and stood. "You have to go."
"I'll take these to Ciel," Zero said suddenly. "She copied you! She can rebuild you, she can—"
"Copying with a tracer is different than building from scratch," X cut in. "Safety first, Zero. I will meet you in your room at the base." His eyes softened at Zero's look. "I promise."
Zero swallowed, but he stood. When a piece of X's body fell to the ground, he bent to pick it up. X sighed, saying, "Leave it, Zero, it's only going to hurt you to take those…"
"If I can't rebuild you," Zero muttered, tears finally now stinging his eyes. "I'll give you the proper respects you deserve."
X smiled again. "I could never talk you out of anything…"
Zero flipped on his comm-link, muttering to Ciel he was ready. His body began to light up, began to break down in preparation for teleportation. X's own Cyber Elf body began to waver out of existence.
"X..."
"It's fine, Zero... I'll be okay." he smiled, but Zero didn't smile back.
X groaned in pain as Zero disappeared, and he felt as if his body was slowly, painfully, growing numb. Already he was running low on energy to exist in this world…
I'm sorry, too, Zero…