Eternal Shadows

A Megaman Zero fanfic
by
Kia Purity

Note: By popular demand, I'm writing this fanfic... but also because I've already played Rockman Zero and thought about what my characters would be like in that timeline.  So out of boredom, I drew RMZ version of Damaru and liked it.  I'm very motivated to write this fic...
Once again, please remember that Capcom owns everyone except for my standard screwy characters...! (If I find out that Capcom announces a sequel to RMZero by the time I finish this fic, I'm going to tear my hair out and apply it to my legs!)
Note 2: ...they announced it and I didn't finish this. *sighs and rips her hair out and applies it to her legs*

    A long time ago...
    There was a young girl and her two cousins who were playing outside... unaware of their destiny.  Their destiny was greater than anyone could ever have imagined.
    Only through their deaths at the hands of a maverick... the wheel of destiny began to move.
    As the wheel moved, the three were revived by a powerful goddess of water.  She felt that children's lives should be treasured, not destroyed.  She was motivated by this because she also had saved her nephew from the world of death and wished to do the same for them.
    In a body that was more machine than human, the young girl underwent a rapid age process which brought up to around seventeen years old.  Unfortunately... she chose to hide her emotions again as she did as a child.  She feared her emotions most because it had caused her problems as a child.
    The woman chose to be a machine while her two cousins chose to be closer to human.
    Until that day... when the virus that was lying dormant woke up and accelerated, taking advantage of her blocked up emotions.
    Everything was released at once... including the darkest emotions which overtook her in an instant, creating a split personality who could only feel anger, sadness, and lust.
    The cousins fought to save her with the help of the two original robots from which the reploids were based off of.
    The young woman was sealed up because of the personality was such a danger to everyone with the dark emotions.
    Only that the seal barely lasted more than a year... it is believed that the dark side freed the young woman.
    She took it upon herself to go on a mission to find the missing hero who had saved her from the darkness.
    What she didn't expect was that the hero had reverted to his original state...
    The wheel of destiny was still moving as she found herself allied with the dark side to save the hero from his own dark side too.
     All of sudden, the wheel stopped.
    The woman had become a human at last and found peace within herself.
    Even if the wheel came to a rest for a moment, it will pick up the pace and turn.
    Damaru Yuuwaku cannot escape the wheel of destiny.

    The year is now 22xx.
    A bright light shone in the room of darkness.  A person walked up to the coffin and looked at the inscription on the wall behind the coffin.
    Here lies Kristis Collins.
    She fought for everyone and only wanted peace.
    The dates for birth and death could confuse anyone who read it.  The first set of the birth date was for when she was born as a human while the second one meant that she was reborn as a machine.  Same went for the death date... only the last set of the death date was inaccurate.
    "You're not dead. The computer's only asleep..."
    The red-head woman scoffed as she keyed in the code to release the locks on the coffin lid.  The locks hissed and were released on the activation as her hands pushed the lid off.
    A sight to behold!
    ...a skeleton made out of metal wearing a long flowing lavender dress.
    Zex shook her head. She hadn't expected the flesh to decompose so quickly. At least everything else was intact.
    "I'm amazed that no one touched this place... I would have thought Omega would've found it by now." The red-head closed her eyes as she held onto the cold metallic hand. "You will be activated again. The world needs you."
    Then she teleported out of the room with the skeleton.

    "Zex! What are you doing!?" Seth howled with anger. "She asked us to deactivate her and let her lie in the coffin!"
    "I couldn't leave her there. She's not even dead to begin with. The world has changed..." Her face was riddled with sadness and Seth knew he couldn't argue with her.
    The world had changed so quickly after Damaru decided to "die" in human terms.  It was only few months after she died that Omega X had emerged and taken over.
    "She'll be angry..."
    "Not if I explain. She'll understand." Zexandra whispered quietly as she looked at the skeleton on the table. "I was shocked when she rejected the formula that I created to cease the decomposition of flesh."
    "...you do remember that she wanted to stop fighting? That she wanted peace? She found peace... with her two children."
    "Of course! I remember! I'm not a old fart!" She snapped. "I'll deal with it when she wakes up! Now, regenerate the muscle tissues for me, please!"
    Seth sighed, nodding as he went back to the machine which was growing a sample of tissue from Damaru's original body... the body of Kris.  Guilt was gnawing away at him... he knew Zex was right, but he wanted to honor Damaru's wishes.  She was just like a daughter to him. 
    The process to rebuild the flesh, muscles, and the organs would have been done with time in the past, but right now... the two were working on speeding up the growing process.
    Judging by what was going on, everything needed to be done at once so the machine would be able to regain her human appearance... but was the soul still there?
    Zex frowned as she pulled out the plans to stack the flesh, tissue, and muscles.  She idly noted that the machines that simulated the organs were still in place. The organs would grow over the machine later. It was the other three vital parts that she had to worry about. Now, if she could just get a bit of everything put in... they'd grow on their own. No problem.
    "I'm done with the patches!" Seth announced.
    "Put them on her arm."
    He gently placed the three layers of everything on the arm.  Upon on contact, the patches rumbled and with amazing speed, the whole body was covered in muscles and tissue first.  The flesh came later.
    "Ok...what about the organs?" Zex inquired, hoping that Seth remembered to inject the formula in the patches.
    "Yeah. The formula's in place."
    "Good."
    Zex glanced over at the body. It looked like it was returning to what it looked like before as the hair was growing in place.  Just looking at the body made her feel happiness and sorrow... happiness because the life was going to return... sorrow because... to return from peace to the turbulent chaos of life would be disruptive.
    "Zex, I think we should take a break."
    "Oh, yes, of course." She waved limply. "I'm going to get a sandwich."
    After the two Peppers left the room, the eyelids fluttered open as the eyeballs popped in.  The irises turned purple as the pupils dilated.
    The lips were trying to form words... but she felt like she couldn't speak.  Suddenly, the computer in her head activated as the words finally came out.
    "...I'm alive?"
    Damaru looked at her hands and the memories instantly flowed back... everything that had happened to her.  The joys... the sorrows... the emotions.  Her children.
    Suddenly she realized that she was not meant to be alive again and tried to scream but she just couldn't get it out.  She rushed over to the mirror on the wall with the sink undernearth it.
    Her hair... so short.  Damaru reached to touch her almost-jaw length purple hair and sighed.  "Why am I alive? Why?"  She slammed her hands on the wall. "I should have been dead..."
    Realization hit her in a very bad way.  Of course, she couldn't die... as long as her soul was bound to the machine-body.  She would always be alive... even in deep sleep.
    "You're awake." Zex sighed, crossing her arms. "How was your rest?"
    "Not long enough." Damaru turned to face her. "Why?"
    "Peace did not happen. Humanity screwed up... wars started. Even worse, reploids. Innocent reploids are being targeted. This was started by Omega X who wanted to wipe out the Maverick Virus."
    "The virus?"
    "Yes. It's totally wiped out... but it only still exists within you, Zero, and Ankoku."
    "Zero? Ankoku? They're still alive? ...Akarui too?"
    "Everyone's still alive."
    "I thought Zero went to sleep."
    "He had to be waken up to stop Omega X. Omega X has been defeated, but his generals still threaten the peace."
    "Oh..." Damaru sank to the floor, trying to breathe. "So, Ankoku and I are at risk if they knew?"
    "Ankoku almost got killed, but he was able to escape. The generals are pretty strong... much more stronger than any mavericks that you went up against... maybe stronger than you are."
    "..."
    "Hey. Don't worry, they're scattered. But for now, you have to get to the resistance and offer help. I'll send Pine and Fruit with you as well. Dochuu, Akarui, and Ankoku are going to stay behind in America to ensure that everything's alright."
    "Well... I see." She stood up. "Might as well get my old armor."
    "Your armor is going to be very useful."
    "..."
    "Besides, the wide leg-look went out of style. The sleek armor is in, but fortunately, the sleek armor are strong too!"
    Damaru looked at Zexandra. "Sleek armor?"
    "And thongs." Seth pointed out, entering the room.
    "Thongs? THONGS? THONGS!?"
    "Yeah."
    "Who started the thong fetish."