Abridged Application for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
destinystrings
Apr. 8th, 2013 10:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
toujoursalarecherche[Abridged form of application; details omitted due to lack of submission]
Out Of Character Information
Name: Pierrot
Age: 28
Time zone: -5 GMT, Eastern.
Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
PierrotEurasia
Anything we should know?:
"Back to Zero" by Aoi Eir - [Lyrics]
If Rockman Ciel was A Thing, this'd totally be an OP or ED for an anime.
In Character Information
Name: Ciel
Series: Mega Man Zero
Canon Standing: Post-MMZ4
Age: Around 17-18 years old. (MMZ1: 14; MMZ2-3: 15; MMZ4: ~16; Post-MMZ4: ~16-17; Hinoto-Ri: +1)
Birthday & Astrology Sign: Probably some sort of Taurus or Sagittarius sign date(I could be evil and say "December 16th, Sagittarius" though)
Arcana: Heirophant
Backstory:
Sources: Ciel, Zero, and other articles from MMKB, along with the RTRZ drama tracks and gameplay of the series.
Pre-MMZ1
Suggested BGM: In Mother's Light (Remastered Ver.)
In an era of vastly improved technology and knowledge of science, Ciel herself was a human but a product of the times in the form of altered DNA, specifically bred to help further the study of Reploid design — machines that had free will and emotions but were still under the management of humans — and was known to be a prodigy from a very early age. Coincidentally, fate came looking for her early when she was merely six years old: The leader of Neo Arcadia, a legendary Reploid known for his beliefs of co-existence between humans and Reploids in peace and contributions to maintaining that ideal, went missing mysteriously and a replacement was needed in order to maintain the order and integrity of his ideals in the city, as humans feared the resulting chaos that would occur if such news were published. The government secretly contacted Ciel and tasked her with the highly-classified request to recreate X. Using only his appearance as a guide, as well as data from the DNA of the Four Guardians and their architecture, as they were made from the DNA of X himself, she was able to fully construct a copy of the original X, at least in body. The A.I. was a much more complicated matter, relying only on hearsay from histories and the government's suggestions. This proved to become one of her greatest regrets after a few years, and remains so to this day.
The supplies of energy crystals over the years began to exhaust and deteriorate as a rapidly-expanding rate. The Reploid side of Neo Arcadia's administration, The Eight Gentle Judges, mulled over what to do about the impending crisis due to increasing pressure from the human side of the administration, but Ciel's creation as head of that administration came to his own decision. Even though his intended will was to believe in a continued co-existence he eventually decided, as the ultimate goal of Reploids were to serve humans in all their capacity, that Reploids were expendable for the sake of humans to avert the crisis. In one sweeping motion, many innocent Reploids were marked as Mavericks and warrants were sought to "quarantine" them to concentration camps to await termination. Initial protests and resistance ended only in swift — but not merciless — deaths in order to make an example of Maverick behavior, both to demonstrate the Reploids' supposed malice to the population and to cow the Reploids themselves into surrendering and placing themselves under the whim of Neo Arcadia's judgement. By the time Ciel was nine, she was caught up in this new conflict between man and machine.
Ordered not to interfere in the politics of the government, she continued to look on in sorrow and pain as she believed in the humanity of both humans and Reploids, her heart not understanding at the time why such prejudice had to be placed. Fueled by her own conviction in creating the situation in the first place, she began to dig into the records of the serial numbers of Reploids marked as Mavericks and sought them out with support from other Reploids, offering them shelter and protection. One of them in particular was TK-31, a Reploid whose significance would only come to light much later in time.
At some point a reploid girl she named Alouette came under her wing, a lonely being that didn't know any kindness from Neo Arcadia until Ciel came into her life. Alouette took to her like a sister, and she inspired Ciel from motivation into taking a more public stand for the sake of peace. Finally, Ciel was found out to be collaborating with the "Mavericks" and a warrant was sent for her arrest for treason and conspiracy against Neo Arcadia. Without support from any other public figure, she chose to leave the city with the Reploids she attempted to protect from the unrelenting eyes and hands of the government. They fled to the outer desert wasteland, and thus the foundations of the Resistance was formed, headed at the time by Ciel herself. This movement would continue for 5 years with them on the run, rescuing Reploids from concentration camps and hiding them from capture. A Resistance Base became necessary to organize and house the growing Reploid population, a calculated risk as this would make them much easier to pin down by Neo Arcadia.
During their time of need against oppression, Ciel recalled tales from an ancestor in her family of her time as a scientist working with a crimson Reploid, one who fought alongside X for that same peace Ciel now sought. If anyone could help, it would be Zero, who after his time in service was deactivated and researched on for the betterment of mankind. Despite initial objection to such fantasies, she organized a search effort to locate the laboratory that housed Zero, hoping to find him before Neo Arcadia found him or them instead. One fateful night, they recieved anonymous information of the coordinates that pointed to an old laboratory. Not knowing who sent it, members of the Resistance were skeptical and thought it would be a trap, but Ciel ultimately decided it was worth looking into, and the search party departed, with Ciel herself along with some fighters of the Resistance, including Milan, towards that place under the cover of night. It was a very dangerous task, all things considered, but her experience and intelligence was needed on the field if they were to operate archaic technology, and it would be one of their last operations, their own supplies of energy crystals draining by the day to nearly empty and themselves fatigued with the effort to stand up against Neo Arcadia. If this would be her last act of defiance, Ciel walked into the jaws of possible ambush willingly, feeling it right to do what she's done. This would have ended in complete and utter tragedy, if not for one particular detail as to the outcome of that mission, the one light of hope that shone before then and continued to shine for her in everything else to come.
MMZ1
(Reference: Ciel's Memory ~ Prologue)
Whether it was indeed a trap or not, Neo Arcadia located the search party that same night and had a death squad intercept and capture Ciel, with orders to eliminate any Reploids in the way. This death squad, consisting of mass-produced mockeries of X and deadly Golems, took out everyone except for Ciel, Milan, and Passy, a living being made entirely of digital code and able to exist in the real world. Chased inside, they find the door to Zero's room. Ciel hears a voice urging her not to go in, asking what she plans to do by waking them. Milan, paying more attention to guarding the way out than the voice itself, asks if something is wrong. She snaps out of her curiosity and opens the door to find what remained of Zero inside, limbs fallen off from disrepair and the body itself hooked up to a broken machine. Milan sacrificed himself to protect Ciel while she attempted to figure out how to release him, and her mind went blank from seeing everyone dead. Passy consoled her and then offered to sacrifice herself to break the seal holding Zero and regenerate his body, despite Ciel's wishes to keep Passy alive. Passy pressed her, knowing that she had to return to the Resistance, and so Ciel used her abilities to revive Zero.
(Reference: Ciel's Memory ~ Rebirth From Zero)
With barely only a plea for help, the Reploid in red immediately dispatched the Pantheons. He pushed through the entire squad, with Ciel following close by, her not concerned at all about getting caught in the middle of it. It was a feeling of security that she never felt before, seeing the real thing in action and trusting in him not to bring her to harm. He proved this in short order, saving her from a deep fall as well as taking down a Golem that ambushed them and took Ciel hostage, though a mysterious being (the same one that provided the coordinates) assisted in the fight by giving him his Z-Saber and telling him to protect her. Even as the Golem exploded, he shielded her with his body to minimize her injuries. Unfortunately, Zero couldn't even remember his own name; almost all of his memories were either corrupted or otherwise hidden from him. He questioned her on whether he really was the legendary Reploid, but there was never any doubt in her; she knew in her heart that he was the one and only Zero.
(References: Ciel's Memories ~ The Big Four & Truth of Hero)
That light of hope began to grow stronger and stronger for her with each successive mission Zero undertook, the needs of the Resistance being many. She had hoped that Zero would become liked within the Resistance, and indeed that happened: He might not have incorporated himself into the daily life, but he got to know many of the members and they respected him highly for his efforts. Alouette in particular took a liking to him, and Cerveau, a reploid researcher, took to maintaining and updating Zero and his weapons with interest. Ciel's worry was baseless, and reinforced her hope that humans and reploids could co-exist in peace if such a thing could happen.
However, Neo Arcadia wouldn't let the Resistance live to do as they pleased for long. They sent the Four Guardians out to retailiate against the Resistance's efforts, many times sending direct assaults to their points of operation. Their continued presence and the conflict that occurred wore Ciel down to the point of being depressed, unhappy with the current state of things and how she made this conflict happen between the Resistance — along with Zero himself — and Neo Arcadia. She tried her best not to show it, but a critical point in time left her feeling vulnerable. Zero noticed this and decided that if that being from before, who identified himself as the original X, asked him to help her and she wanted things to change, he would make that happen. He reassured her that she only ever did what she thought was right, and decided to siege Neo Arcadia himself to bring about that change for her sake.
(Reference: Ciel's Memory ~ Epilogue)
After Zero assaulted the government complex of Neo Arcadia, no sign of him could be found despite Ciel's pleas for him to stay safe and come back. Meanwhile, Resistance intelligence observed a massive amount of Neo Arcadian forces were mobilized. On top of the damage that was done to the base already they were no longer safe, and it was suggested by TK-31, now referring to himself as Elpizo, to relocate. Ciel had no choice but to leave the Base and search through the wastelands for a new home for everyone, as much as she wanted to wait for Zero to return. It was soon noticed however that the Neo Arcadians weren't very interested in them anymore, even with their forces being mobilized throughout the entire region. It could only mean one thing to her, and she knew that Reploid was still out there, somewhere.
MMZ2
Through the course of a year, a new Resistance Base was founded in an elevated area nearby a body of water. The general area around was more accomodating, with pieces of preserved nature still existant. During this time, Elpizo presented her at some point with a Baby Elf he found somewhere, its energy readings off the charts despite their size. With having to defend themselves being much less of a priority, Ciel began researching in full about utilizing alternative energy sources with the intent to create a new energy source based on the Baby Elf. In her place, Elpizo took command of the Resistance to lessen her load. Her naivety in trusting the Reploid would come at a dire cost.
(Reference: Diary ~ Alouette's Good Day)
One day, the news broke out everywhere as Ciel and Elpizo were having a discussion: Zero was found on the landing area of the Base, collapsed and severely damaged, no one knowing how he managed to get there save a hint of green in the wind. Her attention focused immediately on him and so the discussion ended without another word. This would put Elpizo off and make him look down upon Zero, tasking him with difficult and long missions which upset Ciel. After Zero recovered, Ciel set him up with up-to-date communication to avoid losing contact again. Zero eventually found another Baby Elf, and Alouette named the two Crea & Prea with Ciel's help.
Having both Baby Elves were at the time seen as a boon: Ciel believed that if she could solve the energy crisis, there would no longer be a need to fight. In reality, Elpizo used her by distracting with the Baby Elf he found to gain control of the Resistance in order to commit Operation Righteous Strike, a direct assault against Neo Arcadia to topple its administration completely, but it failed miserably in the face of the remaining Three Guardians. The casualties were steep and a bomb was sent flying to the base in a counterattack. Ciel's intelligence was needed along with Zero's protection to defuse the bomb, but initially Zero felt it was too dangerous and wanted to deal with the matter on his own. Ciel appealed to the fact that the bomb had to be neutralized by her or else it would be meaningless to try, and so Zero agreed. The potential damage was averted after boarding the bomber, even with Neo Arcadian forces' intent to send the carrier crashing down on the base when their initial plan failed.
(Reference: L'oiseau du bonheur [Lyrics])
While Ciel and Zero were busy defusing the bomb, Elpizo left the Base and sought the power of the Dark Elf, a being whose power would be devastating to the world. Zero set off in search of him, leaving Ciel to continue working on her energy source. Even before then she was running herself ragged, barely paying attention to anyone, even to the point of ignoring Alouette unintentionally. Seeing Zero around again over time allowed her to feel she could slow down and focus more on the members of the Resistance. Other thoughts began to cloud her head, revealing to her the beginnings of new feelings: She crafted a French song originally meant to refer to the many Resistance members she named — most of them after different birds — but decided to focus more on her research again soon after doing so, unwilling to admit to herself that she in fact wrote the song only for one being in particular.
In time, Elpizo was found, but not without tragedy. It was discovered that X went missing sealed himself away years ago to prevent a disaster from occurring, but Elpizo destroyed X's body that protected the world from the Dark Elf, and he took its power for his own. The two fought, and Zero defeated him. Although Elpizo acted irregularly and sought to use that power for destruction, wanting to kill all of Neo Arcadia so that Reploids could be free, Ciel mourned his passing just as she did any other Reploid's death. This event however, along with the escape of the Dark Elf, would bring about something even more terrifying than even Ciel's own supposed past mistake could portend: The return of Dr. Weil.
MMZ3
Two months later, an energy reading similar to the Dark Elf was found in a frozen tundra. Zero strongly disagreed with inspecting it, but Ciel insisted on finding the source of the reading, especially since it was staying in place. There they would find a crashed spaceship, but Neo Arcadians pushed them away without causing them harm. Zero forced his way in on his own and discovered Omega and Dr. Weil, beings that were exiled and banished many years ago for their sinful acts during the Elf Wars, a four-year-long catastrophy that took the lives of most Reploids and humans in the world, but most people forgot about how Dr. Weil was involved. A new version of Copy X appeared, apparently under Dr. Weil's control, forcing both Zero and Harpuia of the Three Guardians to cease fighting against Omega.
Neo Arcadia then put Zero into a forced race for the Dark Elf, while it pressured Ciel into delivering the results of her new energy source, which she titled the CIEL System (Convergent Ignition by Energen Linkage System). The tension escalated as the Baby Elves and then the Dark Elf herself were captured by Neo Arcadia, destroying a human residential area known as Z-3079 along the way. Copy X and Dr. Weil then demanded directly to hand over the CIEL System, threatening Ciel with her life in the process. She wouldn't have anything to do with Neo Arcadia however after seeing the destruction, not being able to trust them with the System meant to be used for peace.
Zero fights Copy X to stop them from using Omega, but are set up by Dr. Weil. Copy X blows up from a trick program when attempting to turn into his Seraph Form, framing Zero in public as his killer. All eyes of Neo Arcadia were then on the Resistance, tricked by the new ruler Dr. Weil's plans for world domination. Further, Dr. Weil perfects the Dark Elf's Reploid-controlling technology with the use of Omega, rendering all Reploids in the world under his power. Ciel and Zero become trapped by the controlled Resistance members, but X arrives in time to neutralize the Resistance Base from Omega's effect. Together, the two proto-Reploids fought to end Omega's threat to humanity once and for all.
In the end, Zero won, but in doing so he learned that he was not the real "Zero" in a sense after all — Omega was in fact in control of Zero's original body the entire time, as he had been for an entire century. However, this doesn't faze Ciel at all when she hears this from X's last message. He always had the mind and heart of that legendary Reploid in her eyes, no matter what form he took.
MMZ4 - Ragnarok
Suggested BGM: Return to Zero (Remastered Ver.)
It was half a year later, during December, that Gjallarhorn was signaled: The end of an era at the hands of Dr. Weil. During that time, Neo Arcadia was ruled so extremely that even humans were oppressed by his rule, exiling themselves towards Area Zero, a land which was thriving in new life of nature thanks to artificial weather control systems. A new squad of Reploid fighters, the Einherjar Eight Warriors, sought to disrupt Area Zero and the human settlement there by manipulating the different weather systems and environments. Zero defeated them, with the unfortunate consequence of allowing Ragnarok to complete.
During this time, Ciel tried to make peace with the human settlement, but was thwarted by the humans' distrust for all Reploids, as the machines were the ones making things miserable for them. However, through Zero's efforts and his rescue of Neige, a human journalist that led the exodus, the humans began to accept the Resistance and Zero. It in turn reinforced Ciel's beliefs that co-existance could certainly work out between humans and Reploids.
It was a belief that would soon be put to the test. Dr. Weil was planning to have Ragnarok, a giant satellite cannon, fire at Area Zero, voiding it of life. Craft, leader of the Einherjar, instead directed it at Neo Arcadia, not wanting Dr. Weil or Neo Arcadia to cause any more destruction of life. This hypocrisy was noted by Ciel, and she immediately sent the Resistance to Neo Arcadia to evacuate it before the cannon could be fired. Zero stopped the usage of the Ragnarok, but not without it firing once and taking out a good portion of Neo Arcadia. Thankfully, most of the population was evacuated in time.
Recommended BGM/Gameplay: Ragnarok Record -Final Battle- Ragnarok Part 2 & Falling Down
In a worst-case scenario come to life, the Ragnarok began to descend. It had to be stopped, somehow. It was a race against time like almost never before, with one exception in history: An older space colony known as Eurasia once fell down in the exact area where Area Zero was over a century ago, and history threatened to repeat itself once again.
Zero's only chance was to destroy the Ragnarok's Core, which fused with Dr. Weil. Only then would the satellite break apart. Ciel hysterically pleaded for him to come back, as it was his last chance to be teleported back to Earth, but Zero knew that this was something he had to do, for the people he believed in... for the people that his old friend believed in. For the first time, Zero asked for Ciel to believe in him, when before this Ciel believed in him unquestioningly. It was all she could do, as she watched in horror that the one she believed in, the one that risked his life for her cause all this time, sacrificed himself for his own beliefs to take Dr. Weil down one last time, the video and audio feed cutting off from the speed of descent and break-up in communications.
Two minutes later, on the night of December 16th at 3:31 in the morning, shooting stars could be seen falling over Area Zero. Everyone knew what happened, for better and worse. They were saved, at the cost of someone important to their lives. Ciel denied this, saying she believed he was still out there and that he'd return to them someday, running off from them.
Recommended BGM: Promise - Next New World (Japanese Beginning)
She reached a clearing nearby, stopped and collapsed. She then sang the beginning of a love song she wrote some time ago but couldn't bring herself to say before:
This love for you is always overflowing in my heart
There's no such thing as eternity
So I want you to stay with me for now...
And then she cried, filled up with sadness and sorrow. She cried like that for a very long time. When she collected herself, she swore to the sky that she would make the world a place where Zero's beliefs wouldn't be in vain, where true peace could exist. All she asked for was that the one who made it all possible would come back to them, to her, one day.
She would have another opportunity to cry when she would find her discovery later on, in the remains of the fallout from Ragnarok.
Personality:
[Redacted - See Writing Samples for Examples; Will Establish Later]
Canon Powers:
Human, so no powers of her own.
Canon Weapons|Items:
Again, no weapons of her own aside from maybe Cyber-Elves. As a future inventor of the ZX-era Biometals however, she may decide to take her prototypes out for a test in secret...
[Details redacted; refer to Zero's abilities for further information on Biometal abilities]
Canon Allies:
[Redacted; possibility that Cyber-Elves and prototype Biometals would be included exists]
Canon Baggage:
+1 oversized red and black helmet of some sort with a blue/green crystal on it
[Other Details Redacted]
Persona
Dr. Thomas Light [Details Redacted]
Writing Samples
[Video, April 3rd]
[The feed turns on to what looks like a laboratory, filled with strange devices and terminals. In view stood one girl wearing pink clothes, a pink skirt and vest, her blonde hair done up in a ponytail due to her headwear. She addresses the feed with a warm smile and gentle blue eyes.]
Good afternoon, citizens of Hinoto-Ri. As you should be well-aware, April brings the beginning of a new school year, so I want you all to do your best to make the most of it! Education is important for people to understand things like what they want to do in the world or how to maintain our peace.
It's been a busy month, hasn't it? We've been working to bring new things to your apartments, you should already have seen the results there. I hope you'll try some of the edibles, there's a lot to go around. [She makes a concerned face.] Don't be scared, it's fine, really! I'd also like to ask all Persona users who have the ability to to care for the plants, it helps go a long way to preserving our resources.
There is a festival this weekend in the Scorpio Ward, it will be a very beautiful time at night when the fireflies come out to play! I hear it's a very romantic thing, but it's also a nice time for anyone, so please enjoy it while it lasts.
[She stands there a moment, thinking of what else to say. Realization snaps her out of that quickly with some excitement.]
Ah, Golden Week begins at the end of this month, doesn't it? It'll be a series of holidays when the cherry blossoms will be in bloom, so if you don't get a chance to enjoy the Flower and Firefly Festival, don't worry, you'll have another chance to relax!
[Her eyes shift from side to side briefly for a few seconds, her head tilting as if lost in thought before refocusing on the screen in front of her.]
Well, that's all I can think of to say for this month. [She closed her eyes. It's hard to tell if it's a genuine or a forced smile.] Please stay safe, especially during the 13th Hour, everyone!
[Sagittarius Ward, Locked Entry]
The girl clicked off the feed on the monitor in her room and settled in her chair, slowly yet not very gracefully with an audible impact. She would have remained still if not for call from the COMP Network sprung her to attention. "Yes? ... Ah... ah. Yes, that's fine. Please do so." and clicked the communicator off. She reclined back in the chair, eyes closed. She hummed a low note, noticeable discomfort on her face.
"... It's not like he used the room. I don't think he'd mind."
It was about the greenhouse project in the apartment complexes: They needed more room to store the vegetation, and some rooms were empty. Making use of the barren room for such a cause was a perfect example of their shared beliefs, so of course he wouldn't mind, would he?
Ciel straightened up and pushed a specific button on her headwear, allowing a visor to drop down from it and shutter her eyes from view. A weary smile formed on her lips when she saw the result. "Sagacharité, you still can't find his COMP signal? ..." It was a portmanteau of two words in French, wisdom and love, her own personal nickname for the admin of the network. Her face depressed a slight touch further from seeing the reply written in on the visor screen, but it turned into a nervous expression after a moment. "N-no no, I'm fine, really. Thanks. ..."
It was like chasing a ghost, she told herself. No one told her that he came to Hinoto-Ri, not until she went to the other labs and heard mention of a red robot of some sort from the technicians. She raced over to Leo Ward that day he was released from repair, but he was already discharged by the time she got to Town Hall. And from what *Hyun-ae told her before and what she could find out herself, he didn't seem fully like himself. Or at least, the one she used to know; he was at least a year behind her in their history. And he was so distant from interacting with the city... was this how he would have been if he didn't fit in with the Resistance back then?
A blue glow from the inside of the visor takes her away from her drifting thoughts. "Oh! Um. Yes. Please keep looking, if you can. ... Of course, I'll let you know if there's anything else I need." Her hand goes to switch the visor off, a bit huriedly, but stops right on the button. "... What will I do if he comes back? ..."
A lone red and black helmet sits in a small cabinet under her desk, one of the last things she possessed from her world, from another person.
"..." A sigh escapes her. Je ne sais plus quoi faire - I don't know what to do.
Out Of Character Information
Name: Pierrot
Age: 28
Time zone: -5 GMT, Eastern.
Contact:
Anything we should know?:
"Back to Zero" by Aoi Eir - [Lyrics]
If Rockman Ciel was A Thing, this'd totally be an OP or ED for an anime.
In Character Information
Name: Ciel
Series: Mega Man Zero
Canon Standing: Post-MMZ4
Age: Around 17-18 years old. (MMZ1: 14; MMZ2-3: 15; MMZ4: ~16; Post-MMZ4: ~16-17; Hinoto-Ri: +1)
Birthday & Astrology Sign: Probably some sort of Taurus or Sagittarius sign date
Arcana: Heirophant
Backstory:
Sources: Ciel, Zero, and other articles from MMKB, along with the RTRZ drama tracks and gameplay of the series.
Pre-MMZ1
Suggested BGM: In Mother's Light (Remastered Ver.)
In an era of vastly improved technology and knowledge of science, Ciel herself was a human but a product of the times in the form of altered DNA, specifically bred to help further the study of Reploid design — machines that had free will and emotions but were still under the management of humans — and was known to be a prodigy from a very early age. Coincidentally, fate came looking for her early when she was merely six years old: The leader of Neo Arcadia, a legendary Reploid known for his beliefs of co-existence between humans and Reploids in peace and contributions to maintaining that ideal, went missing mysteriously and a replacement was needed in order to maintain the order and integrity of his ideals in the city, as humans feared the resulting chaos that would occur if such news were published. The government secretly contacted Ciel and tasked her with the highly-classified request to recreate X. Using only his appearance as a guide, as well as data from the DNA of the Four Guardians and their architecture, as they were made from the DNA of X himself, she was able to fully construct a copy of the original X, at least in body. The A.I. was a much more complicated matter, relying only on hearsay from histories and the government's suggestions. This proved to become one of her greatest regrets after a few years, and remains so to this day.
The supplies of energy crystals over the years began to exhaust and deteriorate as a rapidly-expanding rate. The Reploid side of Neo Arcadia's administration, The Eight Gentle Judges, mulled over what to do about the impending crisis due to increasing pressure from the human side of the administration, but Ciel's creation as head of that administration came to his own decision. Even though his intended will was to believe in a continued co-existence he eventually decided, as the ultimate goal of Reploids were to serve humans in all their capacity, that Reploids were expendable for the sake of humans to avert the crisis. In one sweeping motion, many innocent Reploids were marked as Mavericks and warrants were sought to "quarantine" them to concentration camps to await termination. Initial protests and resistance ended only in swift — but not merciless — deaths in order to make an example of Maverick behavior, both to demonstrate the Reploids' supposed malice to the population and to cow the Reploids themselves into surrendering and placing themselves under the whim of Neo Arcadia's judgement. By the time Ciel was nine, she was caught up in this new conflict between man and machine.
Ordered not to interfere in the politics of the government, she continued to look on in sorrow and pain as she believed in the humanity of both humans and Reploids, her heart not understanding at the time why such prejudice had to be placed. Fueled by her own conviction in creating the situation in the first place, she began to dig into the records of the serial numbers of Reploids marked as Mavericks and sought them out with support from other Reploids, offering them shelter and protection. One of them in particular was TK-31, a Reploid whose significance would only come to light much later in time.
At some point a reploid girl she named Alouette came under her wing, a lonely being that didn't know any kindness from Neo Arcadia until Ciel came into her life. Alouette took to her like a sister, and she inspired Ciel from motivation into taking a more public stand for the sake of peace. Finally, Ciel was found out to be collaborating with the "Mavericks" and a warrant was sent for her arrest for treason and conspiracy against Neo Arcadia. Without support from any other public figure, she chose to leave the city with the Reploids she attempted to protect from the unrelenting eyes and hands of the government. They fled to the outer desert wasteland, and thus the foundations of the Resistance was formed, headed at the time by Ciel herself. This movement would continue for 5 years with them on the run, rescuing Reploids from concentration camps and hiding them from capture. A Resistance Base became necessary to organize and house the growing Reploid population, a calculated risk as this would make them much easier to pin down by Neo Arcadia.
During their time of need against oppression, Ciel recalled tales from an ancestor in her family of her time as a scientist working with a crimson Reploid, one who fought alongside X for that same peace Ciel now sought. If anyone could help, it would be Zero, who after his time in service was deactivated and researched on for the betterment of mankind. Despite initial objection to such fantasies, she organized a search effort to locate the laboratory that housed Zero, hoping to find him before Neo Arcadia found him or them instead. One fateful night, they recieved anonymous information of the coordinates that pointed to an old laboratory. Not knowing who sent it, members of the Resistance were skeptical and thought it would be a trap, but Ciel ultimately decided it was worth looking into, and the search party departed, with Ciel herself along with some fighters of the Resistance, including Milan, towards that place under the cover of night. It was a very dangerous task, all things considered, but her experience and intelligence was needed on the field if they were to operate archaic technology, and it would be one of their last operations, their own supplies of energy crystals draining by the day to nearly empty and themselves fatigued with the effort to stand up against Neo Arcadia. If this would be her last act of defiance, Ciel walked into the jaws of possible ambush willingly, feeling it right to do what she's done. This would have ended in complete and utter tragedy, if not for one particular detail as to the outcome of that mission, the one light of hope that shone before then and continued to shine for her in everything else to come.
MMZ1
(Reference: Ciel's Memory ~ Prologue)
Whether it was indeed a trap or not, Neo Arcadia located the search party that same night and had a death squad intercept and capture Ciel, with orders to eliminate any Reploids in the way. This death squad, consisting of mass-produced mockeries of X and deadly Golems, took out everyone except for Ciel, Milan, and Passy, a living being made entirely of digital code and able to exist in the real world. Chased inside, they find the door to Zero's room. Ciel hears a voice urging her not to go in, asking what she plans to do by waking them. Milan, paying more attention to guarding the way out than the voice itself, asks if something is wrong. She snaps out of her curiosity and opens the door to find what remained of Zero inside, limbs fallen off from disrepair and the body itself hooked up to a broken machine. Milan sacrificed himself to protect Ciel while she attempted to figure out how to release him, and her mind went blank from seeing everyone dead. Passy consoled her and then offered to sacrifice herself to break the seal holding Zero and regenerate his body, despite Ciel's wishes to keep Passy alive. Passy pressed her, knowing that she had to return to the Resistance, and so Ciel used her abilities to revive Zero.
(Reference: Ciel's Memory ~ Rebirth From Zero)
With barely only a plea for help, the Reploid in red immediately dispatched the Pantheons. He pushed through the entire squad, with Ciel following close by, her not concerned at all about getting caught in the middle of it. It was a feeling of security that she never felt before, seeing the real thing in action and trusting in him not to bring her to harm. He proved this in short order, saving her from a deep fall as well as taking down a Golem that ambushed them and took Ciel hostage, though a mysterious being (the same one that provided the coordinates) assisted in the fight by giving him his Z-Saber and telling him to protect her. Even as the Golem exploded, he shielded her with his body to minimize her injuries. Unfortunately, Zero couldn't even remember his own name; almost all of his memories were either corrupted or otherwise hidden from him. He questioned her on whether he really was the legendary Reploid, but there was never any doubt in her; she knew in her heart that he was the one and only Zero.
(References: Ciel's Memories ~ The Big Four & Truth of Hero)
That light of hope began to grow stronger and stronger for her with each successive mission Zero undertook, the needs of the Resistance being many. She had hoped that Zero would become liked within the Resistance, and indeed that happened: He might not have incorporated himself into the daily life, but he got to know many of the members and they respected him highly for his efforts. Alouette in particular took a liking to him, and Cerveau, a reploid researcher, took to maintaining and updating Zero and his weapons with interest. Ciel's worry was baseless, and reinforced her hope that humans and reploids could co-exist in peace if such a thing could happen.
However, Neo Arcadia wouldn't let the Resistance live to do as they pleased for long. They sent the Four Guardians out to retailiate against the Resistance's efforts, many times sending direct assaults to their points of operation. Their continued presence and the conflict that occurred wore Ciel down to the point of being depressed, unhappy with the current state of things and how she made this conflict happen between the Resistance — along with Zero himself — and Neo Arcadia. She tried her best not to show it, but a critical point in time left her feeling vulnerable. Zero noticed this and decided that if that being from before, who identified himself as the original X, asked him to help her and she wanted things to change, he would make that happen. He reassured her that she only ever did what she thought was right, and decided to siege Neo Arcadia himself to bring about that change for her sake.
(Reference: Ciel's Memory ~ Epilogue)
After Zero assaulted the government complex of Neo Arcadia, no sign of him could be found despite Ciel's pleas for him to stay safe and come back. Meanwhile, Resistance intelligence observed a massive amount of Neo Arcadian forces were mobilized. On top of the damage that was done to the base already they were no longer safe, and it was suggested by TK-31, now referring to himself as Elpizo, to relocate. Ciel had no choice but to leave the Base and search through the wastelands for a new home for everyone, as much as she wanted to wait for Zero to return. It was soon noticed however that the Neo Arcadians weren't very interested in them anymore, even with their forces being mobilized throughout the entire region. It could only mean one thing to her, and she knew that Reploid was still out there, somewhere.
MMZ2
Through the course of a year, a new Resistance Base was founded in an elevated area nearby a body of water. The general area around was more accomodating, with pieces of preserved nature still existant. During this time, Elpizo presented her at some point with a Baby Elf he found somewhere, its energy readings off the charts despite their size. With having to defend themselves being much less of a priority, Ciel began researching in full about utilizing alternative energy sources with the intent to create a new energy source based on the Baby Elf. In her place, Elpizo took command of the Resistance to lessen her load. Her naivety in trusting the Reploid would come at a dire cost.
(Reference: Diary ~ Alouette's Good Day)
One day, the news broke out everywhere as Ciel and Elpizo were having a discussion: Zero was found on the landing area of the Base, collapsed and severely damaged, no one knowing how he managed to get there save a hint of green in the wind. Her attention focused immediately on him and so the discussion ended without another word. This would put Elpizo off and make him look down upon Zero, tasking him with difficult and long missions which upset Ciel. After Zero recovered, Ciel set him up with up-to-date communication to avoid losing contact again. Zero eventually found another Baby Elf, and Alouette named the two Crea & Prea with Ciel's help.
Having both Baby Elves were at the time seen as a boon: Ciel believed that if she could solve the energy crisis, there would no longer be a need to fight. In reality, Elpizo used her by distracting with the Baby Elf he found to gain control of the Resistance in order to commit Operation Righteous Strike, a direct assault against Neo Arcadia to topple its administration completely, but it failed miserably in the face of the remaining Three Guardians. The casualties were steep and a bomb was sent flying to the base in a counterattack. Ciel's intelligence was needed along with Zero's protection to defuse the bomb, but initially Zero felt it was too dangerous and wanted to deal with the matter on his own. Ciel appealed to the fact that the bomb had to be neutralized by her or else it would be meaningless to try, and so Zero agreed. The potential damage was averted after boarding the bomber, even with Neo Arcadian forces' intent to send the carrier crashing down on the base when their initial plan failed.
(Reference: L'oiseau du bonheur [Lyrics])
While Ciel and Zero were busy defusing the bomb, Elpizo left the Base and sought the power of the Dark Elf, a being whose power would be devastating to the world. Zero set off in search of him, leaving Ciel to continue working on her energy source. Even before then she was running herself ragged, barely paying attention to anyone, even to the point of ignoring Alouette unintentionally. Seeing Zero around again over time allowed her to feel she could slow down and focus more on the members of the Resistance. Other thoughts began to cloud her head, revealing to her the beginnings of new feelings: She crafted a French song originally meant to refer to the many Resistance members she named — most of them after different birds — but decided to focus more on her research again soon after doing so, unwilling to admit to herself that she in fact wrote the song only for one being in particular.
In time, Elpizo was found, but not without tragedy. It was discovered that X went missing sealed himself away years ago to prevent a disaster from occurring, but Elpizo destroyed X's body that protected the world from the Dark Elf, and he took its power for his own. The two fought, and Zero defeated him. Although Elpizo acted irregularly and sought to use that power for destruction, wanting to kill all of Neo Arcadia so that Reploids could be free, Ciel mourned his passing just as she did any other Reploid's death. This event however, along with the escape of the Dark Elf, would bring about something even more terrifying than even Ciel's own supposed past mistake could portend: The return of Dr. Weil.
MMZ3
Two months later, an energy reading similar to the Dark Elf was found in a frozen tundra. Zero strongly disagreed with inspecting it, but Ciel insisted on finding the source of the reading, especially since it was staying in place. There they would find a crashed spaceship, but Neo Arcadians pushed them away without causing them harm. Zero forced his way in on his own and discovered Omega and Dr. Weil, beings that were exiled and banished many years ago for their sinful acts during the Elf Wars, a four-year-long catastrophy that took the lives of most Reploids and humans in the world, but most people forgot about how Dr. Weil was involved. A new version of Copy X appeared, apparently under Dr. Weil's control, forcing both Zero and Harpuia of the Three Guardians to cease fighting against Omega.
Neo Arcadia then put Zero into a forced race for the Dark Elf, while it pressured Ciel into delivering the results of her new energy source, which she titled the CIEL System (Convergent Ignition by Energen Linkage System). The tension escalated as the Baby Elves and then the Dark Elf herself were captured by Neo Arcadia, destroying a human residential area known as Z-3079 along the way. Copy X and Dr. Weil then demanded directly to hand over the CIEL System, threatening Ciel with her life in the process. She wouldn't have anything to do with Neo Arcadia however after seeing the destruction, not being able to trust them with the System meant to be used for peace.
Zero fights Copy X to stop them from using Omega, but are set up by Dr. Weil. Copy X blows up from a trick program when attempting to turn into his Seraph Form, framing Zero in public as his killer. All eyes of Neo Arcadia were then on the Resistance, tricked by the new ruler Dr. Weil's plans for world domination. Further, Dr. Weil perfects the Dark Elf's Reploid-controlling technology with the use of Omega, rendering all Reploids in the world under his power. Ciel and Zero become trapped by the controlled Resistance members, but X arrives in time to neutralize the Resistance Base from Omega's effect. Together, the two proto-Reploids fought to end Omega's threat to humanity once and for all.
In the end, Zero won, but in doing so he learned that he was not the real "Zero" in a sense after all — Omega was in fact in control of Zero's original body the entire time, as he had been for an entire century. However, this doesn't faze Ciel at all when she hears this from X's last message. He always had the mind and heart of that legendary Reploid in her eyes, no matter what form he took.
MMZ4 - Ragnarok
Suggested BGM: Return to Zero (Remastered Ver.)
It was half a year later, during December, that Gjallarhorn was signaled: The end of an era at the hands of Dr. Weil. During that time, Neo Arcadia was ruled so extremely that even humans were oppressed by his rule, exiling themselves towards Area Zero, a land which was thriving in new life of nature thanks to artificial weather control systems. A new squad of Reploid fighters, the Einherjar Eight Warriors, sought to disrupt Area Zero and the human settlement there by manipulating the different weather systems and environments. Zero defeated them, with the unfortunate consequence of allowing Ragnarok to complete.
During this time, Ciel tried to make peace with the human settlement, but was thwarted by the humans' distrust for all Reploids, as the machines were the ones making things miserable for them. However, through Zero's efforts and his rescue of Neige, a human journalist that led the exodus, the humans began to accept the Resistance and Zero. It in turn reinforced Ciel's beliefs that co-existance could certainly work out between humans and Reploids.
It was a belief that would soon be put to the test. Dr. Weil was planning to have Ragnarok, a giant satellite cannon, fire at Area Zero, voiding it of life. Craft, leader of the Einherjar, instead directed it at Neo Arcadia, not wanting Dr. Weil or Neo Arcadia to cause any more destruction of life. This hypocrisy was noted by Ciel, and she immediately sent the Resistance to Neo Arcadia to evacuate it before the cannon could be fired. Zero stopped the usage of the Ragnarok, but not without it firing once and taking out a good portion of Neo Arcadia. Thankfully, most of the population was evacuated in time.
Recommended BGM/Gameplay: Ragnarok Record -Final Battle- Ragnarok Part 2 & Falling Down
In a worst-case scenario come to life, the Ragnarok began to descend. It had to be stopped, somehow. It was a race against time like almost never before, with one exception in history: An older space colony known as Eurasia once fell down in the exact area where Area Zero was over a century ago, and history threatened to repeat itself once again.
Zero's only chance was to destroy the Ragnarok's Core, which fused with Dr. Weil. Only then would the satellite break apart. Ciel hysterically pleaded for him to come back, as it was his last chance to be teleported back to Earth, but Zero knew that this was something he had to do, for the people he believed in... for the people that his old friend believed in. For the first time, Zero asked for Ciel to believe in him, when before this Ciel believed in him unquestioningly. It was all she could do, as she watched in horror that the one she believed in, the one that risked his life for her cause all this time, sacrificed himself for his own beliefs to take Dr. Weil down one last time, the video and audio feed cutting off from the speed of descent and break-up in communications.
Two minutes later, on the night of December 16th at 3:31 in the morning, shooting stars could be seen falling over Area Zero. Everyone knew what happened, for better and worse. They were saved, at the cost of someone important to their lives. Ciel denied this, saying she believed he was still out there and that he'd return to them someday, running off from them.
Recommended BGM: Promise - Next New World (Japanese Beginning)
She reached a clearing nearby, stopped and collapsed. She then sang the beginning of a love song she wrote some time ago but couldn't bring herself to say before:
This love for you is always overflowing in my heart
There's no such thing as eternity
So I want you to stay with me for now...
And then she cried, filled up with sadness and sorrow. She cried like that for a very long time. When she collected herself, she swore to the sky that she would make the world a place where Zero's beliefs wouldn't be in vain, where true peace could exist. All she asked for was that the one who made it all possible would come back to them, to her, one day.
She would have another opportunity to cry when she would find her discovery later on, in the remains of the fallout from Ragnarok.
Personality:
[Redacted - See Writing Samples for Examples; Will Establish Later]
Canon Powers:
Human, so no powers of her own.
Canon Weapons|Items:
Again, no weapons of her own aside from maybe Cyber-Elves. As a future inventor of the ZX-era Biometals however, she may decide to take her prototypes out for a test in secret...
[Details redacted; refer to Zero's abilities for further information on Biometal abilities]
Canon Allies:
[Redacted; possibility that Cyber-Elves and prototype Biometals would be included exists]
Canon Baggage:
+1 oversized red and black helmet of some sort with a blue/green crystal on it
[Other Details Redacted]
Persona
Dr. Thomas Light [Details Redacted]
Writing Samples
[Video, April 3rd]
[The feed turns on to what looks like a laboratory, filled with strange devices and terminals. In view stood one girl wearing pink clothes, a pink skirt and vest, her blonde hair done up in a ponytail due to her headwear. She addresses the feed with a warm smile and gentle blue eyes.]
Good afternoon, citizens of Hinoto-Ri. As you should be well-aware, April brings the beginning of a new school year, so I want you all to do your best to make the most of it! Education is important for people to understand things like what they want to do in the world or how to maintain our peace.
It's been a busy month, hasn't it? We've been working to bring new things to your apartments, you should already have seen the results there. I hope you'll try some of the edibles, there's a lot to go around. [She makes a concerned face.] Don't be scared, it's fine, really! I'd also like to ask all Persona users who have the ability to to care for the plants, it helps go a long way to preserving our resources.
There is a festival this weekend in the Scorpio Ward, it will be a very beautiful time at night when the fireflies come out to play! I hear it's a very romantic thing, but it's also a nice time for anyone, so please enjoy it while it lasts.
[She stands there a moment, thinking of what else to say. Realization snaps her out of that quickly with some excitement.]
Ah, Golden Week begins at the end of this month, doesn't it? It'll be a series of holidays when the cherry blossoms will be in bloom, so if you don't get a chance to enjoy the Flower and Firefly Festival, don't worry, you'll have another chance to relax!
[Her eyes shift from side to side briefly for a few seconds, her head tilting as if lost in thought before refocusing on the screen in front of her.]
Well, that's all I can think of to say for this month. [She closed her eyes. It's hard to tell if it's a genuine or a forced smile.] Please stay safe, especially during the 13th Hour, everyone!
[Sagittarius Ward, Locked Entry]
The girl clicked off the feed on the monitor in her room and settled in her chair, slowly yet not very gracefully with an audible impact. She would have remained still if not for call from the COMP Network sprung her to attention. "Yes? ... Ah... ah. Yes, that's fine. Please do so." and clicked the communicator off. She reclined back in the chair, eyes closed. She hummed a low note, noticeable discomfort on her face.
"... It's not like he used the room. I don't think he'd mind."
It was about the greenhouse project in the apartment complexes: They needed more room to store the vegetation, and some rooms were empty. Making use of the barren room for such a cause was a perfect example of their shared beliefs, so of course he wouldn't mind, would he?
Ciel straightened up and pushed a specific button on her headwear, allowing a visor to drop down from it and shutter her eyes from view. A weary smile formed on her lips when she saw the result. "Sagacharité, you still can't find his COMP signal? ..." It was a portmanteau of two words in French, wisdom and love, her own personal nickname for the admin of the network. Her face depressed a slight touch further from seeing the reply written in on the visor screen, but it turned into a nervous expression after a moment. "N-no no, I'm fine, really. Thanks. ..."
It was like chasing a ghost, she told herself. No one told her that he came to Hinoto-Ri, not until she went to the other labs and heard mention of a red robot of some sort from the technicians. She raced over to Leo Ward that day he was released from repair, but he was already discharged by the time she got to Town Hall. And from what *Hyun-ae told her before and what she could find out herself, he didn't seem fully like himself. Or at least, the one she used to know; he was at least a year behind her in their history. And he was so distant from interacting with the city... was this how he would have been if he didn't fit in with the Resistance back then?
A blue glow from the inside of the visor takes her away from her drifting thoughts. "Oh! Um. Yes. Please keep looking, if you can. ... Of course, I'll let you know if there's anything else I need." Her hand goes to switch the visor off, a bit huriedly, but stops right on the button. "... What will I do if he comes back? ..."
A lone red and black helmet sits in a small cabinet under her desk, one of the last things she possessed from her world, from another person.
"..." A sigh escapes her. Je ne sais plus quoi faire - I don't know what to do.
