Zero braced himself carefully as he warped into the planetarium, keeping his eyes peeled for any danger. Iris quickly contacted him.
"Are you alright, Zero?" she asked worriedly. "You...had an odd reaction to the viral energy, and from the looks of the scans there's a great deal of it here. You might encounter more clouds..."
"I'll be alright, Iris," Zero replied. "I promise."
"...alright," Iris answered, though her voice remained worried. "Keep an eye out for unexpected dangers. That planetarium is also a space laboratory, after all."
"Right," Zero confirmed, heading in towards the storage depot. There were a couple of mechanaloids in his way at first, but as they were stationary Zero easily maneuvered around them. Against the domed ceiling, the star patterns shifted and swirled.
"Watch out, Zero!" Iris warned. "I'm picking up-" The signal cut off without warning.
"Iris?" Zero called out worriedly. "Iris?" As he spoke, he saw what she was picking up. The constellation images glowed brightly as he came within sight, and viral clouds poured out of them. Without even thinking, Zero leapt into the clouds, absorbing the energy as he cut his way through some bat shaped mechanaloids.
As he continued, he found himself...somewhat disconnected from the environment. He was still completely aware of everything around him as he carved his way through rogue mechanaloids and deliberately absorbed Viral Clouds...but it seemed so distant. Even when he had to rely on a somewhat faulty platform to cross a wide pit, he couldn't quite connect.
Beyond the pit, Zero encountered a new area where a large energy barrier covered the path, with arrows pointing up and down. Leaping into it, he found gravity reversed itself, forcing him to walk on the ceiling. At some level, he found this incredibly interesting, and he wanted to send a message about it to be passed on to Octavia, since he knew she'd love that...but he had trouble caring. And each time he absorbed another Viral Cloud, it became harder to focus.
When he reached the end of the gravity reversal path, he tried to just keep going, but found himself drawn to a path leading downward. Unable to stop himself, he leapt downward. A strange security wall blocked his path, but it parted before him as he approached another Light Capsule. It opened before him.
"Zero..." the Light hologram began, only to stop. "What? Why are you...?" The voice trailed off for a time as data seemed to transfer between the capsule and somewhere else. "Ah...I see how it is. Step into the capsule, Zero."
Zero stepped into the capsule, and energy flowed into him as the armor program was downloaded, along with another signal that interacted with his systems.
D-Type Reserves normalized. Stand by for Control System Reboot...Rebooting.
Zero blinked, swaying as he once more felt himself reconnecting with his own body and the world around him. "W...what happened?" he asked, confused.
"Your systems are incomplete," the Light hologram explained. "One of your subsystems is designed to compel you to seek out what you need to restore your original functionality if it exists in your environment. In this case, it's the Viral Clouds."
"What?" Zero demanded. "Why would the Sigma Virus complete me?"
"Because he got it from you," the Light hologram replied. "The original form of the virus was part of your systems. I...don't know what function it served for you, but your activation was flawed, and something in your system was lost. The Virus, and the energy it is a part of, was part of your system, and bonded to Sigma to preserve itself...until it could return to you and complete your restoration."
Zero stared ahead in silence. "But...but what will happen to me when I'm...restored? Will...will I still be me? Or...will I be something else?"
Light was silent as Zero stepped out of the capsule. "I can't answer that," he replied at long last. "Your build data is not available to my computer system. Only a few command keys left to me to help you. However, I do have data regarding both those that built you, although I can't share it. What I can say about them...is that neither ever saw you as a tool. They wanted great things for you."
"But do I want those things?" Zero countered. When the hologram didn't respond, he turned and went back up, seeking out Dark Dizzy and the fuel tank.
Thankfully, he didn't have to search far, as the door to the storage depot was just on the other side of the gap that had led him to Light's capsule. Once inside, a cloud of mechanaloid bats flew down, parting to reveal Dark Dizzy, the bat like Reploid floating in midair.
"Squeak!" Dark Dizzy proclaimed happily. "I know that smell..."
Zero paused, sniffing himself. "Umm...okay, I guess I could use a shower-"
"We are allies!" Dark Dizzy squeaked out, fluttering about.
"...in that case, can you give me the fuel tank?" Zero asked hopefully.
"Squeak!" Dark Dizzy proclaimed happily, fluttering off to grab the fuel tank, dragging it back to Zero. "Yes! We shall retire all the Mavericks together!"
Zero scratched his head, trying to make sense of what was going on. Then his sensors revealed something surprising.
Alert: Subject Dark Dizzy contains high quantities of D-Type. However, incomplete positronic brain has resulted in twisted perceptions. Virus does not control Dark Dizzy, but subject perceives unit as Commander, due to higher D-Type levels and viral control.
Zero decided to test out what his sensors were telling him. "...atten-hut!"
"Squeak!" Dark Dizzy proclaimed, rapidly settling down on the ground and standing at attention, practically vibrating in excitement.
"You are to return peacefully to HQ with me, and report to Lifesaver for service and decontamination!" Zero barked out.
"Squeak!" Dark Dizzy confirmed, saluting.
I can't believe that worked, Zero thought silently. I wonder why Iris hasn't said anything... Checking his systems, he found that his communications systems had been disabled by an internal command. "Oh." Focusing, he reactivated them.
"-ro! Zero, do you read?" Iris pleaded, her voice breaking. "Please, respond!"
"Iris, I'm here!" Zero replied.
"ZERO!" Iris wailed, her voice cracking. "What happened to you? I lost contact just before-"
"Signal interference," Zero replied readily, not wanting to worry Iris unduly. "I'm ready for beam out. I've retrieved the Fuel Tank...and I'm bringing Dark Dizzy in for decontamination."
"Are you sure he can control himself?" Iris asked cautiously.
"He doesn't need to," Zero replied. "The virus doesn't have control of him...and for some reason, he sees me as his commander." He managed a smirk. "Guess he recognized my natural charisma?"
Iris managed a chuckle. "Just get back here, Zero. You are in so much trouble for worrying me like that."
"I know, Iris," Zero agreed. He stared out at nothing as he prepared to return to base. He just hoped that when everything was over...he would still be him, to tell Iris and the others what was really going on.