The Truth About Iris
A/N: Hey, my writer's block has gone away... temporarily... It comes and goes. It's much better when it goes, because then I can give you all my work, and make all you fans happy. The fans are the best part of this business, after all.
Disclaimer: I know, it hurts, but I don't own Zero, or any other MegaMan character... Sad, isn't it?
The Truth About Iris...
It was a year after Lumine’s defeat… Axl was making a full recovery, thankfully… The day was one I would remember for the rest of my life… Or, at least, that life…
It was the anniversary of Iris’ death…
As usual, I wasn’t very sociable on that day… When I had originally told everyone the lie that I did, Alia started crying right away… She never knew what really happened…
X and Alia had finally realized certain things about themselves, and, finally, had become the most widely known couple in the Hunter Base. I was happy for them, I really was…
Layer had finally worked up some courage as well…
“Zero?” she started. “Are you all right?”
I turned back to my new support unit and smiled weakly. “I’m fine…” I lied. I always lied about stuff like that… Ever since the Eurasia incident, I always had some doomsday situation involving me fighting my best friend going through my head.
“Uh… I know what day this is…” Layer told me. “You know, you don’t have to worry about me like you worried about Iris.”
My eyes went wide.
“I know, but… Everyone I get close to aside from X dies…” I replied. It was true, too. I had become extremely good friends with the Colonel, and Iris was on a whole other level… And I destroyed both of their lives… “I… I just need to be alone for a while…”
Layer merely nodded. I started to walk away as I heard her footsteps down the corridor.
Three hours later, there was a knock at my door…
I sighed… “Come in…” I said. Alia came in through the door, sitting down next to me.
“Hey, Zero, are you all right?” she asked.
“Everyone seems worried about me today…” I told her. “I’m fine…”
“I’m not.” She stated. She and Iris had been best friends for a number of years before the Repliforce War. “This day always weighed heavy on me ever since you got back from Final Weapon… How can you be fine with what happened?”
“I just am…” I said, blankly.
Alia started to tear up. “How is that possible?! Iris cared about you more than anyone else ever did! She even told me that she loved you! Did you just not care?!”
That struck my last nerve…
I stood up, stepped forward, and turned around all in the period of a half-second.
“NEVER SAY THAT I DIDN’T CARE ABOUT IRIS!” I shouted. “I loved her! I would have died for her!”
“Then why are you like this every year?!” Alia retorted.
“Do you want to know why?! EVERYONE I HAVE EVER LOVED IS DEAD! THAT’S WHY!” I screamed. “Do you want to know what happened? What really happened all those years ago?”
“Yes…”
“She. Died. At. My. Hand.” I told her, as sternly as I could.
“Zero…?” Alia covered her mouth, tears flowing out more than ever.
“She had gone insane with grief for Colonel! She had a part of him with her! And she tried to KILL ME!” I continued. “I had no choice but to defend myself! I thought that maybe if I destroyed the armor that was controlling her that she would be safe! That… Was the battle I never wanted to win…” I, myself, was tearing up by then. “I thought, that if I destroyed the power core for the armor, then it would just dissapear… But it didn’t… It exploded… Both the power core, and the armor itself exploded… I tried to save her… I really did… But I couldn’t… I couldn’t save her…”
“Zero…” Alia started again.
“She died in my arms… by my horrible, bloodstained hands!” I finished, starting into incoherent sobs…
Alia finally understood where I was coming from… The next thing I knew, she was holding onto me… “I’m so sorry, Zero… I’m so sorry…”
