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“You have made a grave mistake,” Harpuia declares icily. On the main screen in the Command Center, the green cladded android looks larger than life and his condemning visage is all the more intimidating for it.
“Congratulations, you’re officially more annoying than radiated roaches,” Fefnir quips from the side, arms crossed. “The Resistance is now number one on Neo Arcadia’s scraplist.” His smile is all ceratanium teeth, carrying the vicious promise of ruthless bloodshed. “I’m going to have fun incinerating all of you.”
Anxious murmurs rise among the Resistance members who are politely – or more accurately, fearfully - keeping themselves in the background. Zero ignores them.
Only Ciel is facing up the screen, back straight and chin high. Her hands are clenched by her sides, likely sweating within her gloves, but when she speaks it’s loud and clear. Zero is proud of the young human.
“What’s done is done,” the Resistance Commander replies calmly. “I’m sorry that it has turned out this way, but I’m not sorry for taking whatever means necessary to survive. I am, however, more than happy to negotiate.”
“We don’t negotiate with terrorists,” Harpuia retorts swiftly.
“Let alone with idiots,” sing songs Leviathan from behind him. Spear resting lazily across her shoulders, she seems unconcerned except for the way her fingers drum across the shaft, revealing that she is, indeed, extremely concerned. “You can’t possibly think we’re ever going to let you go for this. You thought getting by was hard before? Hah! Last chance little girl: come back home. Bring everyone with you or else we’ll be really angry.”
What a waste of time.
Stalking out from their obscure spot in the corner, Zero blatantly drags the golem in the room with him towards the center. The reploids jump out of the way as the Crimson Hero marches up to the screen.
The Guardians in the screen freeze. Aghast, Ciel sputters. “Zero, no.“
But Zero strides in front of her. He makes a show of roughly twisting X - the Azure Angel, the Master of All, the Mega Man – and draws out the Z-Saber close to the shorter robot’s throat. The room is holding its breath. Someone lets out a high-pitch keen of pure denial.
X on the other hand, looks at the weapon, looks at Zero, and exvents as if minorly inconvenienced. It’s as if he doesn’t care if Zero’s saber goes through his neck.
Chances are he doesn’t.
Not that it’ll take even that much to retire him anyway. The empire made such an uproar as soon as Zero escaped with X in tow that the Resistance didn’t have enough time to really put X back together again. So here is Neo Arcadia’s great emperor, his body a mish mash product of his default armor and hastily soldered leftover Pantheon parts - rendered and salvaged for limb loss, precisely for this kind of situation.
He’s in obvious disrepair.
Zero lightly jostles his apathetic hostage and gestures at Harpuia with his helmet.
Tonelessly, X says, “Watching over Neo Arcadia takes priority. You are the Guardians; you have a people to protect. Do not act recklessly.”
“Neo Arcadia is in no position to make threats,” Zero adds.
Mouth slightly agape, Harpuia could be carved out from a mountain from how still he is.
Fefnir, looking like he’s seconds away from imploding, shoves his green brethren aside. “YOU FRAGGING MALFUNCTION, YOU MADE MASTER X SAY THAT!”
Leviathan forces her way forward. “You absolute madman,” she says awed, voice edged with an incredulous laugh over Fefnir’s frothing curses and Harpuia’s demands for order. “You actually want to die.”
Pushing his siblings to the sides, Harpuia steps back in front and seizes back control, composure gone with Fefnir and Leviathan squeezed by his sides. In the very back there’s a shadowy form approaching closer to the camera, radiating pure malice. Phantom glares at Zero menacingly, fingering a large shuriken in the silent vow that he’s going to make Zero suffer. And enjoy it.
Glowering from beneath the angle of his helmet, the Commander of the Strong Air Battalion hisses,” You. Wouldn’t. Dare.”
“Are you certain about that?”
“Even without Master X, Neo Arcadia stands,” Harpuia continues quietly, shoulders tight like a drawn bow. “But this is an unforgivable insult. A crime not against Neo Arcadia, but against humanity itself. By the time we’re done with you, there won’t be a stripped wire left.”
“Aaaaand I think that’s enough for today!” Ciel cuts in hastily. “Lots of things have happened and none of us are in the ideal conditions for diplomacy. I’m going to send our terms and I’d appreciate if you take a look at them and consider them by the next call, thank you!”
Ignoring Harpuia’s protest, the teenager basically pounds the end call button. Then she drops down, gripping the console for stability as she processes what just happened.
“Zero. What the hell,” she cries weakly.
At the rare moment of their Commander cursing, the metaphorical dam broke. The base devolves into collective hysteria.
“I never saw Harpuia like that! He’s not rubbed acid – he’s dunked in it!”
“Who cares about Harpuia! Fritzing Phantom is going to murder all of us in our recharge!”
“We got X, but who gives a smelting slag?! Neo Arcadia’s still got the Guardians and an entire army!”
“This is it. We’re dead. We are so, so dead. Zero – why!?”
“Because he knows they won’t do anything.”
All eyes snap back to X. Zero has taken away his sword but he’s still clutching X close to him as if the other robot will disappear.
“Harpuia tends to make unbecoming threats when he’s scared,” continues X nonchalantly. He clicks his tongue. “I taught him better than that.”
Everyone stares because what?
Harpuia. Being scared. Who puts Harpuia and scared in the same fragging sentence.
Of course, only X can. X who everyone regards his presence like having a large bomb in the house. They know the bomb, they now own the bomb, and it’s not ticking so it’s technically fine. As long as it’s being carefully handled and everyone follows the safety procedures, the bomb isn’t going to do anything.
But it’s still dangerous having a bomb in the living room and no one knows which idiot is going to trigger it and blast the entire fort into smithereens.
And no one is sure whether Zero is a mad genius or the processor-broken idiot who’s going to doom them all. For bringing the bomb to the living room in the first place.
Everyone sans Zero looks at each other, reminded once more that wow, X is really here, isn’t he.
The red warbot surveys around the room neutrally.
“I’m going to refuel,” he says simply and walks away as if he didn’t just do what he did, hauling X along with him once more.
It’s when they’re in Zero’s quarters away from prying gazes that X starts,” I’m not going to escape. You don’t need to keep doing that.”
“Do what?”
“Touching me.”
Because ever since Zero brought him to the Resistance Base, X has been manhandled that’s not quite different from how Alouette treats her doll: tugging X close with him in the halls of the Resistance Base like now. Eyeing the other members suspiciously as if to silently declare that Neo Arcadia’s former ruler is under his personal protection. Keeps sitting next to X while he’s alone on the sidelines, watching quietly of the various going-ons in the base without any bindings. Theoretically free to do whatever he wants.
Zero stops. “It makes you uncomfortable?”
“I don’t care.” Like he does towards nearly everything.
A scoff. “Liar. You wouldn’t bring it up if you did.”
Not wrong. But not for the reason Zero thinks.
X sighs. He gently shakes off Zero’s grasp on his wrist to knit their fingers together meaningfully. Zero blinks down at it.
“No one touches me like you do, Zero,” X whispers. “You’re very familiar with me.”
Recently X has learned that apparently his emotions haven’t been wholly killed off in the past two centuries of unrelenting war, tragedy, and despair. Since then he rediscovered this gentle pleasure of casual touch. His reputation has placed him on a pedestal so high that no one dares to touch him.
But Zero has been touching X to make sure X doesn’t escape or to make him cooperate.
X secretly relished every moment.
“It feels indulgent to take advantage of the circumstances for this,” X admits. “I’m speaking up now before it becomes perverse.” His face twists, pained. “You don’t know what you do to me, Zero.”
As soon as the words leave him, X feels his back pressed against the nearest wall. Viridian eyes bulging, X’s vents stop as the combatdroid leans in close, their noses almost touching.
“I can say the same,” says Zero.
Suddenly there’s a hand cupping the side of X’s helmet, thumbing his cheek. There’s a knee slotting between his legs in an attempt to be closer. Zero’s other hand is on X’s chest, right above his core, and X shudders. He’s been so barely touched his tactile sensors are ringing.
“Your condition is fragile,” Zero states matter-of-factly. “Pantheon make isn’t effective for long-term functioning.” A frustrated noise escapes him. “I can tear your arm off again with minimal effort.”
“...You’ve been holding yourself back,” X realizes dazedly. Both of them did.
Zero nods.
“But now that I think about it, because I have you with me…” Zero whispers, diving in closer. His hands slide down to X’s waist. “If you break, you can be put back together again. I’ll see to it.”
Swallowing, X trembles in anticipation.