dear_mun | *notices the mun staring at the April app end date for Strings*

... Sounds like you've been busy.

[Oh hey, it's another him. And of course, Zero's curious about what this other him has been up to...aside from obvious mun-related things.]

...

[This Zero regards the other him with a discerning gaze. This one seems just a tad moody.]

We always are in our story, aren't we? You would know, getting bored with Pantheons after an entire year of learning how to methodically destroy each one Neo Arcadia sent without rest. But I don't know if I like it less than having nothing to do... or fight.

[Or would the better term be restless? It's turning him into a sort of chatterbox.]

[...Ah, so this version of him is from that time. ~~Yes, for better or for worse, this Zero has been hanging around this place long enough to regard meeting other versions of familiar faces as completely normal...~~

In any case, he nods his head with understanding.]

Better to be useful than to sit around doing nothing. Though the mundanes often have twisted views of 'useful', don't they...

[In his experience, anyway. Doesn't stop him from frowning about it either way.]

[His stare breaks, looking off to a different direction.]

It would appear so. It'd be little better being in that city than being here, but at least then I would be able to fight an hour each night. Yet it feels too much like Neo Arcadia, humans everywhere. The only reason I have any involvement with the city to begin with is... somehow Ciel is there.

[Zero listens carefully to his other's explanation, though he doesn't know exactly what 'that city' is referring to...and then his expression darkens instantly the moment he hears Ciel's name.]

Ciel's where? Where are you talking about?

[He doesn't notice the change until Zero turns back to address himself. He pauses before speaking, knowing this is something he should explain in full.]

Hinoto-Ri. It's in a world not very different from what we know, except...there aren't any Reploids. Most of the population that's left is of humans and, from what I've been told by my mun, other creatures.

Ciel was one of the first people to arrive there. I don't think it coincidence. She doesn't need my power anymore, though. There are many humans with powers that allow them to defend themselves and fight, herself included.

It isn't the world X wanted us to defend. I have no place there, so I sit and watch when I am there and not fighting. I don't know what my mun was thinking to have me there, but I trust they had their reasons. Those three are the only reason I care more than necessary.

Edited 2013-04-10 12:12 (UTC)

[A world without Reploids, where humans have strange powers...Ciel included? And his other self fights there for an hour each night... The darkness in Zero's expression goes away somewhat, but not completely.]

... Who do you fight there?

[His eyes close, focusing his thoughts on what he was doing there. The days blended into each other easy with the monotonous passage of time.]

... Ghosts of my past, it seemed. My first night on duty, I was assaulted by a horde of Pantheons and Golems just like before. The mun mentioned that monsters from Visitors' worlds could appear for an hour each night, a "13th Hour". The numbers lowered after that night, but it's still the same.

[He opens them again, resolve showing on his face.]

It makes me out to be the reason they've appeared; it never happened for the entire year Ciel was there. I made it a point to send each one back to Neo Arcadia as scrap, and I'll do it again if I go back there. The city doesn't need more trouble than it already has.

Hmm. [A place infested with monsters... Sounds like the Institute, only with Pantheons instead of demonic eagles. And Ciel's really been stuck in a place like that...for over a year? Zero crosses his arms, his frowning expression unchanging.]

Who's running such a dangerous place... [Is it anyone like Landel, he wonders?]

It appears controlled on the surface by the government for the most part. Ciel along with some of the veteran Visitors work in coordination with the law to help contain the threat of the 13th Hour and make the city safer for others, as well as create other conveniences through technology. I've heard of an underground organization seeking to disrupt the city into anarchy, but they don't seem involved with the 13th Hour directly.

[As for who was really setting the stage...]

... Even so, there's a conversation I've yet to finish with someone there, but the mun filled me in: There are two— ... [The closest thing Reploids had to spiritual or divine entities were the Cyber-Elves. This was beyond anyone's creation.] "beings" that are toying with the city outside of our control. They have no physical form in the city unless they choose to. We're under their strings like marionettes, to help decide between Order and Chaos. I'm told their representations are named Philemon and Nyarlathotep.

[A sideways deadpanned glance away, briefly.] ...Not even my mun can say that last name right without looking it up. [Being able to store and instantly check references in memory banks ~~when they work properly~~ is a convenience.]

Apparently I met with the first one before I arrived to the city in a dream, but I can't remember too well, except for blue butterflies and being told I was able to control the very power the humans there could wield, Persona. Representative figures of our selves or the concepts we adhere to.

[Between the two of them, there are few things they truly idealize in context to their world, so it should be fairly obvious to the other Zero what choices of form his Persona could take.

Suddenly however his eyes blink a few times in recognition of something.]

... met with ... in a dream ...

[With a shake of his head and then, perhaps too abruptly:]

You're asking a lot about where I was. Is something similar happening where your mun has you?

[Once more, Zero listens to his other self's explanation carefully, fitting every little fact he's being told about this Hinoto-Ri place into a sort of mental folder of information. Of the many worlds he's heard of in this nexus, he's never heard of Hinoto-Ri. He's especially never heard of Ciel being there, or 'Personas', or any beings with names that his own mundane would certainly have trouble pronouncing. (Thank goodness for memory banks indeed ~~even if they are highly susceptible to hibernation sickness~~.)]

Persona... [The power of that world...'representative figures'?

...Before he can ask anything else, however, his other self suddenly turns the questions around to him - understandably, at least. Zero's not normally the type to throw a million questions at someone...but in this case, when it involves Ciel and his other self, and a place that's clearly dangerous, curiosity and concern are hard to help.

He'll take the change in subject anyway, though. Just as Zero would like to be informed of Hinoto-Ri, it would be best to warn his other self of the Institute.]

... Similar, but not exactly. It's a mental institute, not a city. [Now it's this Zero's turn to glance away for a moment. What's the best way to explain this...]

For one, we don't have powers where I am, nor is anyone allowed to be anything but human. [The frown he makes when he says that should make it clear how he feels about that.] It's also dangerous, with monsters that attack at night, but no Pantheons. They're all organic.

...Ciel...might also be there, too. She's been brainwashed, if it's really her. I don't know for sure yet...

[As the other him did before, Zero listens to the details he's presented. Maybe it'll help him get his mind off of some things he was shown in another dream back in Hinoto-Ri, things that, while at first he wanted to pursue the truth of, now he isn't so sure he wants to know.

... It was one thing to be made to mimick humans, but to actually be one is something Zero can't wrap his mind around. He reads the other him's face with a slight squint in an eye. What was it like to be human, his curiosity piqued at that strange development, but instead he continued to listen. Maybe another opportunity will come up if he still felt like asking by then.

There were also organics to deal with back in Hinoto-Ri, or so he was told by the mun, but so far he hasn't really experienced that yet, so the topic of having to kill an organic is still something he's yet to address. He isn't above killing if he has to, but he's well aware of the idea that doing so is an easy way to get labeled as a Maverick. If everyone there is also an organic, that's problematic, but at the same time that means the Zero he's talking with isn't necessarily a Reploid anymore, whether physically or socially.

But now it's his own turn for the expression to shift even more serious than usual. The mention of Ciel and her supposed state makes him realize a good deal of why he was so concerned before. He attempts to speak, but realizes better of it before the words finish form. There's a reason Zero thinks she's being brainwashed, and to cast doubt on that would only question her true character, something neither of them needs to think about. Even so... can that really happen for a human? Reploids are understandable, but...]

... You say that like brainwashing is something that happens often, there.

[His curiosity gets the better of him. At least it's phrased away from Ciel this time.]

[And Zero's expression darkens once more, as the memory of that particular time unavoidably surfaces. Yes...that night, when the doctors had dragged him out of his room and...

...He stares seriously at his other self.]

... It does. It happened to me once. [...He'd even been put back into his Reploid body somehow when it had happened, his weapons returned to him and everything. The end result...hadn't been the most pleasant.

...But at least he hadn't actually succeeded in killing anyone.]

Thankfully, it was only temporary for me. But I don't know about Ciel. I've only gotten to see her once, after she wrote me a letter...

[...And Zero stops there, once more glancing away. He can't help it... Sometimes it's hard not to assume the worst in those situations. And Zero is certainly no wide-eyed idealist. When he hasn't heard from her since that meeting, and both her coat and Alouette's stuffed cat inexplicably appeared in his room...what is he supposed to think?]

[His eyes trail the other's that turned away from his own. There was clearly more he wasn't telling, brainwashing or otherwise. A silence hangs over them for some time before he speaks again.

Even he was taken control of in that hell of a place. That must do wonders for keeping it all in. He himself was still grappling with some issues of his own that, while they now feel eclipsed by what this other Zero is going through, are still valid problems that only get worse the more he thinks about them. That's what ultimately makes his life a tortured existance; the wish to know — what all happened back then, the reason why he hibernated to begin with and left his friend for dead — and the fear that, with how he's dealing with things now, there must have been a good reason for it.

Regardless, he's still his own person. He hasn't experienced what it's like to have that taken away from him, not like that. He can still at least try to fight on his own terms.

... The other Zero didn't talk about what he did, even if he didn't kill anyone. What did he do? Did he remember anything of it? ... Even if he didn't kill, he was likely forced to attempt doing so. That must have traumatized at least some of the people there. A twinge of worry crept into his mind then. He isn't infallible, his last days in the desert being a reminder. What would it take to break Zero? ... What would it take to break those around him? It's easily a place where a cycle of suffering can thrive, he notices.

... And what if Ciel is being toyed with as well? What if they're waiting for a crucial moment to pull the strings and cause more problems? ... Did Ciel see him turn against them, even if he didn't see her? There were so many problems here. It really is no wonder why his other self is so concerned.

Even after that silence, there yet remains the one question lingering in the air to ask.]

... What was on the letter?

Edited 2013-04-15 16:39 (UTC)

[The letter... It had been over a week in that place since he'd gotten it, and so much had happened between now and then that he'd often forgotten about it, admittedly. Really thinking about it now, though...he can recall the words more accurately than he might have guessed he'd be able to. (Perhaps that has something to do with being in a Reploid body here, though? Hmm...)

He closes his eyes briefly as he starts to explain again.]

It was mostly a simple 'get better soon' message...

[...And then it occurs to him that he's forgotten to explain one other important detail about the Institute, and his eyes open again.]

They want outsiders to think we're really mentally ill, probably so they won't trust our words, so the nurses tell us we have different names and pasts. Ciel believes it, too...she really thought I was just a crazy human, and she wouldn't listen to me when I was able to talk to her...

[And all Zero has wondered since is... Why bother? Why go to the trouble of taunting him with a brainwashed friend when he knows what Landel's up to anyway? And, most importantly, where is Ciel now? Is she safe?

(...Stupid thought. No one is safe with Landel.)]

[So the letter wasn't as important as the pretext with which it was given, then. That's not much of a relief, with the new meaning of the letter given from what was said.]

So they really have her thinking you're out of your mind. And you haven't seen her since then...

[Whatever was going on at Landel's Institute, it was a deplorable situation. He contemplates on what Ciel has been in the past and present, the features of his face unsharpening. It's probable that this Zero knows more about her than he himself did, but he knows enough. Rebuilding X for the sake of others' peace even if it was a copy, forming the Resistance on her own at a young age to help persecuted Reploids...]

For both of your sakes, she needs to be freed if she remains there...

[He leaves out the remainder of that: "... even if she doesn't trust you anymore." Surely the other Zero doesn't need to think about that. Her initial, unwavering and complete trust when they met was what reassured him in the first place, something he's become acutely aware of in his period of isolation.]

She deserves better for what she's done before she ended up there.

Yeah... [No doubt about any of that, especially the last part. Trust him, he knows. He knows how strong the mutual trust between him and Ciel became since that year he was isolated in the desert...he knows what she's capable of, too, CIEL System and Resistance leadership included. He's seen her stand her ground against Copy X, and board an enemy airship to disarm a bomb... To say this Zero respects her after all this time is a gross understatement. And even if this other self hasn't had a chance to see any of that yet, he at least understands she's worth trusting; that says something, too.

So seeing her in that Institute, and hearing of her possibly being in danger elsewhere, too? Of course this Zero is going to feel concern. Of course he feels she deserves better. Of course he's going to want to help her.

His expression hardens again.]

Don't worry. I'm not gonna give up on her. I'll fight for her and for everyone else who's trapped there. [...Including himself, of course.

.....] I trust you'll look after Ciel where you are, too. [She, too, is important, even if she may or may not be in a 'better' situation.]

[And suddenly out of seemingly nowhere AN INCOMING TRANSMISSION:]

Zero! Can you hear me?

[Well, that's a voice he ~~hasn't heard in forever~~ didn't hear before.]

What? Who is this?

[It might be a slightly different voice than you'd expect, Alia. Kind of happens with seiyuu changes.]

[Zero... What a soothing voice he has. OH RIGHT. Get a hold of yourself.]

It's me! Alia. Yours and X's Navigator, remember? It sounds like you're in a bit of a bind here.

[~~How did you get this number anyway, this is a different body ID than a century ago~~

X...? ... Well if they both knew her from before, he'll humor this Navigator for now.]

Maybe. What would you suggest?

[~~She has dabbled into the dark arts before joing the Mav- OH LOOK AT THE TIME~~

No Zero, don't. There's an ignore function! Really it's not too late to save yourself-]

If your Mun (that's mundane for short, by the way!) is clearly in a bind some voice testing doesn't hurt! To voice test, your Mun would have to make a "post" and [blahblahblah most obvious statement ever. Thank you Alia! So helpful.]

Edited 2013-04-10 06:03 (UTC)

[And he sits and listens to the entire damn thing. Really though, he has nothing else to do for now.]

... I see. I'll pass that along at some point. [Maybe.]

[Aw Zero! Such a good listener like X! Except... gee, when did you become such a sack of potatoes?]

I'm glad I could be of some help, Zero! Now--how are you doing?

[Trust him, he doesn't want to be inactive. Though the alternative — to have to keep fighting mindless robots mindlessly away from any other meaningful forms of life — isn't much better.]

I'm fine.

[The delivery itself is blunt, but the tone has a slight edge to it.]

[Well, sadly as a Hunter retiring Reploids, or rather Mavericks was always in their job description. Not that it made it enjoyable, of course.

There's a notable look of concern on Alia's expression. She knew Zero could be blunt at times but not like this. Although was it a good idea to pry? She knew Zero wasn't the touchy-feely, sit down and talk about his emotions over a cup of coffee type of guy.]

That's good. I know things can become a handful at times, and I understand you probably don't need to hear it but... stay strong okay, Zero?

[It takes a moment for the words to sink in, culminating in a sigh. Or at least, as much a sigh that could be mimicked by a Reploid. His voice draws back to his usual monotone.]

... Yeah. As you said, the mun can be a handful at times. I'll be fine.

[Her frown deepens at that simple statement. "I'll be fine". She knows she's no X, but that didn't mean she lacked concern for Zero.]

I know you will. Both you and X are capable of doing amazing things but... no, never mind.

[It wouldn't do any good to motherhen over him, right? Zero was a Big Reploid who knew how to take good care of himself.]

I just hope things work out for you, and your mun.

[He takes those first words with indifference, not saying anything. He couldn't question how this person thought of him; if that's what he was like back then, that's what he was like. How he felt about himself now couldn't change how he used to be... and, more importantly, how he used to be can't easily change how he feels about himself now.]

They will. The mun usually has a good head on their shoulders. I would hope most do.

[And, frankly, it's generally better for Zero to have his mun to ~~care~~ think about rather than other things, such as himself.]

[If Alia knew how to decipher brick body language like X, she would have to agree with his philosophy. She was no idealist, like X was. She liked thinking and approaching things a pragmatic manner, but she wasn't a fighter like Zero and X were. There was only so much she could do for them.]

Well, like people and reploids all muns aren't the same. Not that anything is wrong with that, of course.

[Code word for BE VERY CAREFUL ZERO. Seriously. Be sure to jump over pits, especially pits with spikes!!! Those are dangerous!]

[As long as you're fighting the endless fight for everlasting peace, you're a fighter. You fight for what you believe in, no matter how you do it. Something that makes him keep X close to his ideals, something that makes him trust Ciel. Two people that in turn remain the only moral compass he has left, if he isn't counting his mun.]

Of course. I'm not naive to think they are.

[It amounts to the same thing, doesn't it? ... Well, he can't use Bird-like Cyber-Elves to get out of spike traps, true. ~~Great, now we're discussing game mechanics in action brackets. Thanks, Alia.~~]

Edited (preview is a wondeful feature that should be used more often) 2013-04-14 03:36 (UTC)

[At Zero's comment Alia couldn't help but give a soft chuckle.]

You're right. That's more up X's alley, isn't it?

[Or rather, he'd give anyone (short of Sigma) the benefit of the doubt. A second chance. She's seen it with her own two eyes before, and had even read records before joining their side as their Navigator. A quality within X, Alia admired and didn't want him changing anytime soon.

...too bad she was from the past, and had no idea what was in store for them.

~~P.S. You're welcome Player. Aliamom is always looking out for everyone!!!~~]

Muns always seem to stress themselves out over things like this, don't they?

[Not that X can't relate. The amount of times his own mun spends worrying and going over constant canon review...

Though hey, another Zero; and it looks to be one from the later timeline. He'd never get used to how different their armor looks, though outside of this...nexus, of sorts, he only got to see it in passing during his first night at Landel's, but...]

[Zero would look to address the new person immediately, but the voice catches him off guard. Instead, he stays frozen for a second or two more before slowly glancing over, fairly sure of what he would look at, except...]

... Apparently. Like I tried telling my mun, it's not making sense, but if it helps the both of us in the end I can't object.

[He says nothing for another moment before speaking again:]

So that's how you are with a real body. Better than that copy in both fighting and appearance. It's been a long time, X.

With a real bo--

[Oh. Oh. X scratched his head and let out a sheepish laugh. Still, there was a hint of sadness in it.

Right, he was used to his older self...or his Copy. And neither of them exactly had a good lot in life, did they?]

--Oh. Right. You...don't really remember the old days, do you? But yeah...it's been a while.

["It's been a while." It sounds like when he met the other Zero, the one he knew in Landel's. Only of course, that time was met with a lot more confusion, when he was blind to the future that was apparently in store for him.

...Though his mun never did stop with the John Connor jokes at X's expense.]

Not easily, no. Remnants here and there. Something tells me I'm better off that way, if I had to choose.

[Internalizing his emotions and how he deals with things happening around him is something he's gotten used to having to do. In that sense, letting damaged or locked sectors of memory do the job for you is a bittersweet blessing.

Being left alone to do nothing does a great job at unraveling the process, though. It shows in his body language, uncertain of his current fate, shifting his body from time to time and having a particularly sour expression, looking away from X.]

Forgive me if I say I don't wish to "catch up", having said that. I know and remember enough to believe what we had as friends back then was... special. [He turns his head back to face his friend from nearly two centuries ago.] Seeing you as you are only convinces me moreso.

[His eyes glance off, his mouth uttering something inaudible: ...whether I'm really Zero anymore or not...

Hey, being isolated from all life for a year, doing nothing but slashing and shooting scrap for an eternal purpose, does wonders for undermining self-confidence. The mun can relate, and later on X will too.]

["Something tells me I'm better off that way, if I had to choose."

"Forgive me if I say I don't wish to 'catch up', having said that....What we had as friends back then was...special."

X wasn't sure. There were a lot of things about Zero that he didn't know, mostly from his own point in time. Of course, Zero had been honest with him in Landel's, but there was so much that he didn't know...

Not just about Zero, but himself.

That was the side effect of being the One from the Past, caught up amongst those from an uncertain, bleak, and even terrifying future: it was like you were an outsider looking in, and everything felt almost like it was a hazy, waking dream.

Would his future really end up like this?

He didn't know. It was hard to think about sometimes, this time being no exception.

X nodded.]

Yeah. What we had was special. ...Is, still.

[A pause. Should he ask about those lip movements? No, possibly not. If he mumbled them, then he probably wanted to keep them to himself, anyway, but...

Instead, his brow creased, and X crossed his arms as he watched Zero with obvious worry.

"Is everything all right?"]

[Whether this X knew what his future would be like, Zero knew too well. The crimson warrior tried, in a year, to match up to his old comrade. Doing something that X did for years. Something X did against actual Reploids. Things that had consciousness and meaning to life. They could be recreated, sure, but it was still as much of an ethical issue as it was with humans.

After only a year of taking up the cause in his stead, Zero was beginning to feel a lot of things. A sullen dullness even beyond his own attempts to minimize emotions. A worrisome wonder on if he could continue, let alone finish, what his friend continued to do without him for so long.

And, perhaps most dreadfully, a creeping boredom that questioned if he was really fighting for a cause, or just fighting to fight. The Pantheons were no challenge at a point, and something within him wanted more. X would never feel that sort of way, the blue peacekeeper caring for everything as he did.

If Zero was like him before, then that's one thing. Maybe the hibernation changed him, and he's not used to it, his memory loss changing his character, having lost pieces of integrity along the way. On the other hand, if he was always like this, possessing a lust for fighting... or for something deadlier than that...

His mouth clamps tight, and his eyes close. Can he really be trusted with what he was tasked to do?]

... You really are on a completely different level than me. I didn't lie when I told that copy back then, that you were a true hero, truer than he could ever be. And I still firmly believe in that assertion, after all this time. Nothing short of my own death will take that away from you, X.

notices the mun staring at the April app end date for Strings

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(Sorry for the wait!)

(Oh, ffff, it's okay! c: )

(\o/)

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