She twirled a finger in her hair, thinking very carefully about what she wanted to ask it, what she wanted to say to Zero. “Zero… I… I take back what I said. About it being a favor, j-just… hear me out, alright?”
“When I woke you up that day… I forced you into awakening, w… with Passy,” she said the name quietly. “I… I just, I was wondering, maybe when this is all over, you could let me try to restore your memories?”
She stared at the ceiling for a moment, before turning back to Zero.
“You are more than a legend, Zero. A legend didn’t save me from a Golem that day. A legend didn’t save this Resistance from the brink of destruction. Defeat my wayward creation… a legend is something you read about, unsure if it exists, to inspire hope. You are hope, and you deserve to be able to live within it.
“Everyone has a place in the world, that’s what I belief. If something like me can have a place in the world, so can you,” she didn’t even catch what she referred to herself as. “You are Zero. Not some nameless legend. You’re our greatest ally, one of the most wonderful Reploids I’ve ever met. You’re not a tool, you’re not something that doesn’t deserve peace, you’re… you’re Zero. And that’s why… I want to know you better, you know? I can’t really say I’ve had many friends… and… I want to know more about you. And… I wish you could remember yourself. Even if you were exactly the same as you are right now, I’d like to know that for a fact, but…”
“… You are you, and I can’t do anything to change that. Forget everything I said about a favor, it’s just… something I would like to do with you. Not as your commander, not as a scientist, but somebody who cares about you: I’d like to properly recover your old memories. And let you do as you will. Maybe you’ll feel different if your old memories will return to you, maybe not, but… it’s all up to you. Unless you’re on the battlefield, I’ll never force you to do anything, Zero… maybe not even,” she gave a bitter chuckle. “I’m really not that great of a commander, huh? You could fail every mission, and I think I’d still forgive you every time…”
“… Do as you will, Zero. But, I’d like to help you remember what you were once like. But even if you don’t, you are still Zero, and you are still precious. And if you want to disappear into history once more like a legend…”
“… Then go in peace, and do as you will, Zero.”