Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Picturesque.

The proper way to describe the soft purples, bleeding seamlessly to violet and a subsequent indigo in the sky, contrasted against the stunning gold of the sun reflected off the sand and water just off the road.

Picturesque. Truly.

But not what Sagio was here for.

Further up the road, further up the beach, stranded in a reef just barely off the coast, stood a dead ocean rig.

Not there by design of course, man-made structures of its kind wouldn't be caught this close to shore if the manufacturer had anything to say about it.
But then, not like their words held any sway over the effects of a raging storm and a snapped tow cable.

The appropriate measures for moving the rig to a dock where it could be disassembled with the proper tools and respect would be around eventually, but for now it just basked in the sunset rays, lulled to sleep by the pull and comparatively weak undertow of the reef.

No sane mortal would dare trespass on something so large, so rare, or something so clearly not meant to be there.

But sane mortals weren’t the only thing to ever exist, nor were they what Sagio sought here. So a dead rig would be the perfect place to hide if someone was crazy enough to board it.

She signaled to the transports behind her that she was going to be pulling off and drove down to the beach access. The tires of her vehicle fought with the suspension on the uneven rocks, bouncing her about but she remained in control, pulling to a spot where she wouldn’t be hindered and set the car in park.

She turned off the engine and set the keys into her pouch before grabbing her axe and getting out.

Her feet stopped sinking into the sand as she drew closer to the water, which she took as her hint to seal her helmet and affix her grappling apparatus.

Part of her sincerely dreaded what would come next.

Her ears popped at the pressure changes inside her suit, one of two tells that she was as isolated as can be within. The second was how her visor subtly fogged up with her breath as she looked down, pulling the spring-loaded hook and wire from another pouch and attaching it to her vambrace.

When she was satisfied it wouldn't come off with a firm pull, much less a gentle one, Sagio took a breath, and walked into the water.

One foot. The other. Left. Right. Left. Right.

She put her focus on keeping her stride as the water met her knees, waist, ribs, then her shoulders.
Where she caught herself hesitating.

Fear was such a childish thing.

She couldn't even recall whatever had happened to put her at such odds with the water.

She was fine with dirt and grime.
With the stink of copper and GSR on a battlefield.
The smoke of a city on fire.
The pitch blackness of a cave, beckoning her into its mouth.
The sweat off her back in the blazing sun.
The claustrophobic isolation of her armor.
Blood and bone, hers and not.

But not water.

It gently licked her shoulders and almost playfully bounced against the glass of her visor, but her stomach flipped and she tasted bile in the back of her throat at its embrace.

Her legs trembled.
Instinctively, she felt like pushing onto her toes and waving her arms to stay afloat.

Right here where it was still shallow, the weight of her armor wouldn't make it completely impossible to remain above the waves, and she had every reason to believe she had the stamina to tread so the shore stayed within reach.

She bit down against it though.

Staying above the waves would mean fighting them when it was time to leave. And such was not a foe she intended to challenge.
Evidently she had tried to in her past, and evidently she had lost.
Why else would she loathe the ocean so?

So instead, with murmurs of bravery in her mother tongue she forced herself to drop below the foam.

Dusty fog met her there.
Churned by the tide, the sand polluted her already darkening view.

The sun would be past the horizon soon. She couldn't delay more.

Right. Left. Right. Left.

Brittle stones and clusters of coral eventually met her stride, and a towering shadow loomed above.

There it was.

Looking up, the waves rippled above her head, crests breaking into bubbles like clouds, swirling in the undertow.

She blinked rapidly with an unsteady breath as she reached up, clenched a fist and fired. The grappling hook rocketed up past the walls of sand and foam, pulling the braided cord with a shrill whine as the spool spun.
Tense seconds passed before the line went limp, and Sagio briefly worried she had missed her mark in the fog. Or worse, that her gear had failed to reach its height.

Dashed when she reversed the spool and the line jolted; taut.

She relaxed her fist, pulled out some extra line, and began her ascent.

The ocean hesitated to let her go, clinging to her in weighty arms, long fingers running down the expanse of her armor unable to find purchase. Soaked to the weave of her skirt as long as it was able before dropping back to the bubbles below in a salty shower.

She shuddered as she left it, closing her eyes.

The grapple took her to a low deck and she pulled herself aboard.
Allowing a singular sigh of relief, she readied her axe and swept for signs of life.

Lower decks and crew quarters were empty, any equipment or object not battened down displaced in the storm.
Though one would be forgiven for suspecting the place had been ransacked.

She strode through the halls meticulously as she could, enabling night vision when the sun disappeared.
Not even ghosts greeted her as she tore through, merely the occasional groan of the rig being shifted by the waves below, as if the thing was snoring.

Until she crept up towards the higher deck.

Something else was here.

She paused, holding her breath as she listened; catching the persistent chuff of a machine. Some restless engine, rumbling impatiently.

Not what she was expecting.

Sagio briefly switched her axe to her other hand, clenching a fist and rolling the wrist to ready her shield before stalking up the steps and kicking an already askew door wide open.

Two weapons trained on her; A pistol and a shoulder-mounted launcher hidden behind a massive shield.

She recognized the latter.

And the owner recognized her.

“There you are!” boomed the familiar bass of a man in armor, the microphone of his helmet giving his voice a slightly grainy echo.

“That’s her?” queried the man wielding the pistol to his left, voice unaltered; not armored.

He was wearing a cowboy hat.

“Isn’t that what I said?” chided Sagio’s former partner with a look at him before enabling his weapon’s safety and moving the launcher to its neutral position before waving for her to approach.

Her blood was on fire with the sight of him.

“Utipau, qué demonios estás haciendo?!” snapped Sagio as she very nearly threw her axe down and stomped forward.

He startled at her tone and hasty approach, looking between her and his companion incredulously before throwing a hand up.
“Uh hello? You're A.W.O.L.! You really need me to explain how that ain't like you?”

“Was it not you who once said it wasn’t possible for any of us to BE A.W.O.L.?” She tossed back. “Were you following me?!”

“You really have to ask?” Utipau held his arms out with a bob of his head. “Everyone and their ma’s wonderin’ where their favorite librarian went an’ asked ME to figure it out. And since you’re the prim an’ proper one, maybe I thought it was mighty Odd for you to get gone without a word.”

Sagio squinted at the explanation, tying it to the thought of a shrewd man with a watch in his hand.

She hissed with a glance down before canting her chin up with a scoff.
“What does he want this time, hm? The most recent copy of how to torture prisoners for dummies?”

“Did I not just-?!”

“Or no, wait.” she mockingly gave her helmet a smack as if she’d made a realization. “Of course! Dietary recommendations for sin eaters?!”

Utipau reeled.
“What the hell’s-?!” his shield clanged loudly when he hammered his arm down. “Why you actin’ like this?!”

“Woah, Settle down, both o’ ya!” interrupted the young man in the hat with his hands up. “We ain't here for a fight.”

Sagio regarded him narrowly, trying in her head to translate a colorful reprimand about interrupting his elders to something he’d be inclined to understand, but Utipau’s frustrated sigh interrupted the thought, grating through the helm as he shook his head.

“I know, I know.” he took another step towards his old partner and nodded with a wide shrug. “Yeah, You-know-who sent us, but this ain't a special occasion. He’s just concerned. We All are.” he dropped his arms and shifted his feet.
“The vault ain't exactly a safe place; half the guys there were worried it ATE you.”

Ate her?
Good grief. They needed to stop being superstitious about their peer.

“Well, it did not.” Sagio holstered her weapon and planted a hand on her hip. “Nor would it ever do such a thing. I might be the vault’s preferred occupant, but it is not savage and derelict in my absence.”

“It ain't quiet about it though. Shelves were shaking and rumblin like a kid mad that miss teacher weren't there” mused Utipau, offering a hand up and exaggerating a frightened motion before stopping and bobbing his head at her. “Almost like you left in a rush and didn’t explain where you was heading.”

She could practically see the sarcastic frown beneath the faceplate.

“I did not need to explain.” she took a step back and circled past him. “It knew I was leaving.”

“You avoiding the question.”

“YOU are not only wasting my time," she snapped back, whirling around and jamming a finger at him. “but you probably chased off anyone who was here!”

He sputtered at that and Sagio pointedly turned her back, stomping across the grates and patting for her pouch.
Where was it now?

“Woah now,” cooed the cowboy with his hands up, blocking her path with a placating wave. “take it easy, uh, Ma’am.” He turned his hands to offer the palms up.
“Who ya lookin’ for? Iffin it’s so important you’d leave yer post on such’a short notice, then it’d be in our best interest to help ya out.”

There was a sincerity to his tone that gave her pause.
She gave him a cursory once-over, trying to place if she’d seen him before and what title would have been connected to his visage.

Frowning when she didn’t seem to have a name to tie to the face.

“…And you are?”

“Well...” his hands dropped a few inches, his face pinching sheepishly as he shifted his footing. “See uh…The name's –”

“Taking too long.” she noted sternly.
If he didn’t have a title or a name ready to state then he must have been new.

Very new.

“… didn't think our kingsman was in the market for Pets.”

He frowned at the insinuation and raised his head higher as he hooked his thumbs into his belt loops, narrowing his eyes through the dark.

“ …ya mean Lance? Yeah. I know him.” he said matter of factly before popping a lip. “So, All due respect, ma'am, if yer in the market of Intimidatin’ me, yer gonna have to try Harder ta be nasty wit yer words.”

…yes. If he was one of His, then being referred to as a ‘pet’ was a Light insult by comparison.

Suppose she walked into that, and it was on her.
Though it was reassuring, in a way, that her peer hadn’t been losing his nerve, even around new recruits.

Reassuring as it was disheartening.

And she’d already been in a sour mood.

“Toldja she weren't good at it.” snorted her former partner as he looped around to her side.

He tilted his head to invade her vision but she turned away, patting her pocket again and marching past the cowboy.
She didn’t have to deal with them. They found her. Mission accomplished. They could leave now to report back to Lance and let her continue her work.

She’d like them to anyway.
But, because Utipau knew her well enough to guess that, he didn’t let her get far.

His mitt grabbed her by the elbow, pulling her to a stop and refusing to let go even when she planted a boot to his leg and yanked back.
In fact, his response to the motion was to pull her into his space and clamp his shield arm around her back, holding her flush to his chestplate despite the protesting fist she slammed into the metal and the wriggling motions she made to find an escape.

The material of her armor screeched and groaned against his, her helmet speaker struggling to keep up with her mouth as she demanded he let her go and called him names in her mother tongue when he didn’t respond.

She could have aimed for his neck or a critical spot in the crevasses of his armor only she knew were there, but she didn’t.
It wasn’t her aim to hurt him, and even barring that, it would do her no favors.

And he knew it too.

As the sky darkened further and the stars crawled above, Sagio’s motions slowed. Her fists were sore and her visor was fogged up, eyes blurry and moisture clinging to her forehead.

She knocked against his chest plate half heartedly and clenched her fingers there. Shaking. Panting.
Furious.
But more than that, simply tired.

Her empty hands stealing the vigor from her body.

A sigh sounded from his helmet after a moment and his arms moved to her shoulders.

“Four months.”

Two words, and she felt her brows bunch together as a sigh escaped her as well.

“Sagio,” he backed away enough to look her in the eye. “Four months at least you’ve been runnin around, not a word to anyone or anyTHING about where, or why and you expect that to just fly? Then when we find ya–” he threw a hand up. “--you’re snappin’ like a cornered animal and Yours Truly’s gotta be the voice of reason?”

When put like that he made it sound worse than how she pictured it.
As if it was his worst nightmare come to fruition.

As if. After every horror they’d seen?

Surely he was just saying that. Was a thing he did.
Maybe trying to make her laugh.

“Talk to me,” he hissed, giving her shoulders a shake, releasing one side to tuck his hand under her chin when she stopped meeting his visor.
“… I was worried.”

Sagio felt her eyes widen at the softness of his tone and at the familiarly tender presence under her jaw.

“Yeah, he Was too…” added the cowboy from beside them, stoking her shock and she had to take a step back.

Which her former partner allowed, but he did keep a hand on her arm–catching her wrist as she shook her head and looked from him, to the cowboy, and back incredulously.

Surely it wasn’t actually that bad?
Four months wasn’t a long time to be gone at all. In fact walkers regularly went on decade-long excursions; the two of THEM would go whole ages without reconnoitering with the corps.
And her old partner certainly never had a problem being gone for longer with nary an expectation of anyone caring, or worrying he’s been hurt.

Came with the name after all.

“Unbreakable Utipau, worried?” she said with a breathless, disbelieving chuckle.

His head reeled back a moment, either an indignant scowl or an amused smirk on the other side of the face plate before he stuck his chin out and gave his head a swaggle.
“Smiling Sagio, howlin’ and hollerin’ like an angry moose?”

…Few across the entire multiverse could insinuate she was being a Cow and make it halfway endearing.

And it was Not fair.

“…if you must know,” she began with a sigh, pulling her hand from his grip. “I'm tracking a rogue band of walkers.”

“I figured that.” he clenched a fist and rolled his shoulders with a quizzical tilt of the head as she paced out of his space, pawing again at her pouches and shimming a hand inside to see where she’d stuffed it. “What’d they do to get on your bad side?”

“Vandalism, and assault.” she replied over her shoulder. “And possibly piracy of records, but more importantly vandalism and assault.” she pulled out an oil flask and shook her head, offering it in the cowboy’s direction so she wouldn’t grab it again and when he took it she dove her hand back into the pouch with a grumble, adding; “They breached the vault’s lower levels, damaged three corridors and destroyed one of its eyes.”

She had it this morning, where in the hell’s-?

“So that Wasn't you that did that.” Utipau put together with an upwards cant of his chin and a low bump of his fist. “I knew it.”

Which gave the librarian pause.
They thought SHE caused the damage?

Who was jumping to that conclusion, really?

“How does someone go about doing that though?” asked the cowboy next with a rub to his brow. “I didn’t even know Eyes is what it had, much less some’un could break em.”

Question of the millennium.

“I'm not sure exactly,” she admitted, pulling a grenade out next and offering it for him to hold as she continued looking. “but it involved spreading some kind of sickness to the walls of the main library.”
Oh, where Was it?
“The entire vault was ill as a result. The only reason I know they had something to do with it is because I caught them trying to leave when it happened.”

“You caught them, but they still got away?”

She paused and shot the cowboy an incredulous look the same time a thunk telling of Utipau planting a mitt to the faceplate sounded behind her

A good question followed immediately by a stupid one.
Definitely new blood.

“I am only One warrior!” Sagio hissed with a finger up as she stood more upright and planted a foot into his space before throwing her hand aside and stomping a couple feet away. “There were at least Three walkers there! They covered each other’s exit and I had to see to the vault’s wounds before it vanished in its pain!” a groan as she turned back to them with a gesture to her chest plate. “Then I had to do inventory by myself because no one else was there!”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he held up his occupied hands with a clench of his teeth and puppy eyes as he took a step back. “Why, I'm only trying to get this straight. You’re sayin’ a bad batch a’ walkers came through an’ Hurt yer vault, so you went and tried trackin’ them down by yourself? Leavin’ it unprotected by it’s lonesome in doin so?”

A couple of things were inaccurate there, but one stood out.
“...mine?”

She’d heard assumptions that she belonged To the vault, or that the vault was her time machine and her armor was just for show, but was he insinuating that the place was her Pet?

“It’s a haunted bubble dimension,” groused Utipau, setting the shield down and weighing his hands as he shifted on his feet. “Try to keep up.”

“That's not-” she snapped back to him with a correction on her tongue but bit it with an irritated sigh.
She needed to make some kind of sign or something for the vault so the other travellers stopped making assumptions about it.

Taking a breath, the librarian squared her feet and held her hands up, making a circular motion with a wrist.
“Its true nature cannot be unlocked by anyone not looking for it. And the only ones who have the knowledge to find it are those of us connected to the corps.”

The cowboy blinked and dropped his hands with a nod and a pop of his lip.
“Oh.”

“Si.” she nodded back, then felt her shoulders drop. “Of course, that means the only reason those Matones got in in the first place is because someone…maybe ME, was there to LET them in at some point.”

“Which is why you mad,” Guessed Utipau as he grabbed his shield and clanked around Sagio’s other side.

She balled a fist and snorted at him.
“Feel free to laugh. I know you want to.”

To which he paused and reeled back some
“Laughin?” he held his arms out in a wide shrug, shaking his head. “I ain’t laughin. You see me laughin’, kid?”

“Naw,” he nodded, then shook his head. “not even a giggle.” then a frown and a snap of teeth at his armored companion. “And don’t call me kid! Kid’s the one who got shot!”

Something in his eye sparked brightly as he snarled and Sagio gave pause at it.

Was he not human?

Meanwhile, Utipau, either not seeing the glow or not minding it, tutted a lip and canted his head with a hand waved incredulously at him.
“You know That, but not who shot ‘im?”

“It’ll come ta me!”

The ire radiating off him registered as a spike in temperature on Sagio’s HUD.
Which she raised a brow at, but a little bump from inside her pouch caught her attention too, and it was more pressing.

She reached inside to grab the source, closing her fingers around something glassy and pulling it out with a victorious squeal.

One which stopped her company’s argument in its tracks; both men dropping weight, reaching for weapons and staring at her akin to priests witnessing an exorcism.

At least the new one was quick to fight instead of fly, and quicker to look before he shot.

“So.” She cleared her throat, standing straight, “That's why I left. And you found me.” she threw her arms out and let them clack back to her sides. “Here I am. What will you do?”

Protocol generally said to either bring their charge back to their post for investigation and possible disciplinary action, if not reassignment, or to simply report back on her status and assign someone else to tend to the vault until her return.
The latter was easy to jump for, but since her targets weren’t here, returning to the vault to breathe and gather her thoughts could be of merit.

Whichever would be fitting was for her old partner to decide though.

Utipau and his companion shared a look as they stood back up, contemplating their options before the armored man rolled his shoulders and looked at the rig around them.

“…this the last place you tracked them?”

She pursed a lip, but followed his gaze and shifted her feet.
“The closest I could manage.”

What was he thinking in that head of his?

“What’re ya usin to sniff em out?” asked the cowboy next, regarding her from under the brim of his hat as he pinched it.
A curious knot between his brows formed and interest rooted his posture upright with a neutral frown.

One of Lance’s indeed.

She gave him a top-to-bottom look, shooting her old partner a glance before planting her feet and holding the orb aloft for them to see.

In normal light, it had a lilac hue with a subtle pearly shine. Was also weighty and could easily have been mistaken for a witch’s tchotchke or a child’s toy.

“It trapped my leg when I was trying to cut off their exit.” she explained as both men took a step closer to inspect it.

“A ball?” muttered the cowboy with a glance to meet her eye and a hand half-extending to touch it before she held the device out of reach.

“At first glance.” she nodded, tightening her grip and turning it in her hold before giving it a shake. “But make no mistake. It bites.”

True, the spherical shape it took outside its wielder's whims was a far cry from the weapon it could dissolve into.

The swelling in her foot had taken days to go down, and walking around hadn't been properly safe to do for weeks afterwards.

His lack of armor would ensure a far longer recovery time should the same happen to him. And there was no need to risk as much here.

Especially not since the orb nudged into her palm as she kneaded it.

A tiny little pressure like something inside was tapping the surface; trying to push the orb towards a desired location.

Sagio’s eyes widened and she held it closer under her chin, staring intently at the confounding thing to make sure her mind wasn’t playing with her.
After another moment, another couple of nudges pulled her hand off to the right.

The same as when the device brought her to this area.

“They Were here. Recently,” she breathed, following the pull as the orb nudged again.

“How can you tell?” asked Utipau hesitantly, clanking behind her as the device led away from the center platform.

“The others like it returned to their caster with a command,” she offered over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off the thing as it pulled harder. “This one is trying to catch up.”

She could have dropped it with how hard it was pulling against her fingers.

Was its creator close?

She hastened her stride, looking up and to the side for any sign of the walkers in red, green and black but seeing nothing but the void dotted with stars and thin clouds.

Wouldn’t be implausible for a walker to hide themselves there, but-

“ey-!”

“Careful!”

The cowboy darted into her personal space and clamped around her arm with a jolt as they both halted.

She snapped eyes and her free hand to his with a hiss, gritting her teeth as he peered up at her under his hat with a serious set to his brow before a beat passed, he glanced to the corner of his eye, and returned contact to her with a small nod.

“… ’s a long way down.”

She blinked and briefly followed where he’d been looking–and a tense jolt ran through her limbs at the lack of railing between her foot and the ledge mere inches away.

She hadn’t thought the platform was so small.
Or that she was moving that fast.

The waves swept firmly past the rock below. Clawing foamy trails in their wake…

“...I can see that.” She nodded by way of thanks, backing up a pace to ease his and Utipau’s thoughts and giving her arm a wiggle so he would let go.

When he did, Sagio gave another glance to the orb; shaking it again to feel for its motions.

But it was still.

Once again.

“… Where did they run to…?” she sighed, looking ahead at the horizon framed by the expanse of sea and coastline.

Every time she felt to be getting close, they would slip away. Haunting the corners of this sector like they belonged.

They didn’t.
They Knew they didn’t.
Yet the shadows still concealed their forms as though it was true.

Why?
And how?

Even the Meddler and all his tricks couldn’t remain aloof for so long.

“Y’know, it might help ta’ know what files they took.”

Sagio blinked, regarding the cowboy as he shifted on his feet with his hands jammed into pockets and a white breath puffed between his lips as the evening temperature dipped and the sea air brushed his uncovered arms.

Curious Lance didn’t make sure he was suited up for any sort of weather before sending him out with Utipau.

…though thermal wasn’t detecting much change in his body temp; what percentages were getting lower only touched the very edges of his skin.

…curious indeed.

“...I did not say they took any files.” she responded eventually, sparing a glance at Utipau in the corner of her eye as he circled to their side.

“Naw, you said they poked an eye in the vault and might’a pirated a record.” replied the cowboy with a glance at his companion as well, dipping his chin and kicking a foot out a bit as he worked his jaw. “Maybe it means somethin’ different to y’all, but when I hear ‘piracy’, I think of some charlatan makin a cheap copy o’ someone else’s work and then sellin the copy for a real Bloated penny just to prove he could.”

Sagio felt her brows rise a little.
Pretty specific thought process there.
“…that was really your first guess?”

“When you’re born landlocked, you don’t see many boats, much less any flyin’ a flag,” he said with a shrug, canting his chin up to the side at the comm tower on the other side of the platform. “Ya know, with skulls an’ crossbones.”

She followed his eye to the barren flag pole atop the tower and chewed a lip.
Suppose he had a bit of a point.
Not like there was an emblem or the sort to identify this band of walkers either.

Only their coordination hinted at their bond.

“Am I wrong?”

“Is he?” asked Utipau as well with a glance to where she was looking before shifting his footing and moving his shield to the other hand.

“…not entirely.” answered the librarian, looking down and stashing the orb back into a pouch before rolling a shoulder. “At the very least, they have not sold it. Yet…”
Her eye wandered back to the comm center and she pursed her lip.
“...perhaps their equipment made something power up before they left?”

“So…” Utipau grunted as she marched off towards the tower, the clang of armor against the grate belying his hurry to follow. “I'm tryin’ to square this, what’s the problem exactly?”

“Yeah,” called the cowboy, huffing and puffing as they both formed up on her side. “batterin ya up, I get, but iffin they ain't spreadin’ forbidden knowledge-”

Sagio jolted to a halt and turned to them incredulously, making both jump back with hands on their weapons and wide eyes echoing a familiar terror.

“Oh, we’s on thin ice now,” remarked the taller man, brandishing his shield as Sagio gave a stomp and jammed a finger at the cowboy.

“The Pro-blem–” she annunciated sternly with a flick of the digit between them and another foot slamming into their space. “--is that you visit the library because you want to Learn something. If you wish to take your learning on the go, then you Are very much allowed to.” a firm nod. “In time travel, knowledge is priceless, therefore there is no point in putting a price On it!”
She spread her arms out and gestured to the air around them with a motion of her head. “Whatever you do with the knowledge is up to you and the consequences of those actions are yours to face, but the learning itself–it Is free! There is No point in kicking up trouble over it! No need to hurt the vault! Certainly no need to Blind it! What could it have done to warrant that?! It’s a Building! There’s nothing it could do Wrong!”
She flicked both arms higher and her voice turned somewhat frantic as her mind supplied the fresh taste of defeat; her friend writhing around embedded objects like broken glass splitting cracks up walls into ceilings.

The wretched sense of nausea that followed.

The cowboy raised his hand away from his weapon as she spoke, perhaps moving to offer arms placatingly and gently curling fingers into his palms as she finished.

When her heaving lungs were all she could voice on the matter without raving what she was going to do to the matones when she found them, the cowboy bit, then popped his lip with an abashed glance away.
“Oh.”

A hard breath fogged Sagio’s visor, obscuring her view of him and she shuddered on the next inhale. Fatigue creeping back in as she reached up to unseal the ports and vent fresh air back in.

The chill of the sea made her eyes water and something hiccupped up her throat as she clenched her hands, bringing them just under her chin to compose herself with a forcibly even inhale.

…she was so close…where did they go..?!

Utipau came out from behind his shield with a tense set to his shoulders as he regarded her, watching for a moment while her vision returned, then turning to blow out a sigh of his own as a low note touched his voice.

“And why do either of those things if you was lookin into somethin with pure intent, or was up to somethin’ where nobody’d try and stop you?” he asked rhetorically, making her perk up as he squared his footing and tilted his head with a nod for her to elaborate. “What record Did they get?”

A sniffle stung her nose and she cleared her throat with a shake of her head, shifting her footing and thinking back.
“…It’s hard to tell. Though the vault did think it had a clue.”
Her voice was wet so she cleared her throat again with a palm offered up. “One…one record that was displaced too f-far from its home for it to be a result of the skirmish between them and I had files regarding a certain historical figure in This stream.” She thought back with a glance over her shoulder. “A scientist. By the name of–”

—

The crisp breeze ghosted through the wood with feathery wisps; keeping the air pleasantly cool despite the sun blaring down through the now cloudless atmosphere.

Much of the moisture still dampened most surfaces, and the squish of dash boots and rubber soles kept the silence broken.
Unable for the lull to hold a true peace.

Not that they wanted it to.
Not with the data still fresh in mind.
Staying still while it was integrating was torture. Even if rest was Advised after the method of obtaining it.

“The thing…” Aki's voice eventually piped back up after some long laps around the clearing perimeter, heavy and perhaps nauseous after needing to reboot all systems.
“The thing that’s wigging me out…right now, is… I mean. It Moved just like the Sand did in Toullis. remember?”

“No it didn’t,” disagreed Bass in a similarly tired sigh.

“Yes it did.” his shoes squelched into the mud as his stride halted. “The marshal was using spin attacks and working the area Itself to use in battle as a weapon Just like Sword man when he got got. You got hit by it more than I did, did that scramble your brainpan or something?”

“No,” he scoffed. “...I remember.”

‘Long pause there.’

“Then…?”

“It wasn’t the Same, though.”

Aki gave a groan.
“Yeah, I Know, Sword man had fire and this guy had water. DUH. but it Was similar everywhere else.”

“Even if you’re right, Schwert doesn’t have a Monopoly on spin attacks. And using a polearm to keep an enemy at a distance isn’t anything new; that’s what they’re For. I would’ve done the Same thing.”

“…hey Red! Red!” called the Mega man next, waving his arms over his head as Zero’s eyes slid open with an inhale and he sat up from his spot laying on the garage roof.

His arms strained a little as he propped himself on his elbows, squinting at the kid as he took a step back and held his arms out widely.
“What do you think? Can’t just be a coincidence, right?”

The breeze pushed some fringe into his eye and he spat a snort to get it out, drawing an annoyed rumble from Treble on his lap as the dog glanced up at him.

“…suspicious, but circumstantial.” called the hunter back before narrowing his eye at the wolf. “Do I look like I'm going anywhere?”

Treble’s response was a huff. A short one cut off with the perk up of his ears as Aki groaned loudly and threw up his arms.

“Oh come on!” he paced off to the side with his hands chopping down to waist height before turning incredulously to Bass. “Why would the Sand take a form similar to an alien it had never seen before, huh?” he made a gesture at his midsection before miming a speedbag motion. “It even had the big cavity on the torso! It couldn’t just take the same shape, Unless it Had seen it before. Right?”

“Except the Sand didn’t come from anywhere aliens like the Star Marshals were commonplace.” pointed out the war machine with a scrub of a hand down his face before offering the palm out. “How could it have seen him at all?”

“No, it might’ve!” Aki held a finger in his space. “You don’t know that-”

“Uh-yeah, I do, actually.” Bass cut in with a slightly exaggerated nod, some of his trademark gusto coming back over the fatigue as he planted a hand on his hip and hooked his other thumb to the side with a shake of his head. “You weren’t there but the reploids were callin’ bs when they first met Duo here just like you were. Meaning him, and guys Like him aren’t just hanging around where the Sand was built.” he then glanced up with a narrow look from the corner of his eye. “Stimmt das?”

Zero met the look neutrally, flicking his eye over to where Duo stood with a stack of branches under his arm.

He’d since stopped inspecting the trees and undergrowth for signs of life(thanks in part to Bass almost Actually biting his head off about flaring his powers while Zero was trying to get a solar charge) and had busied himself with gathering chopped up and broken pieces of either roots or branches from the casualties of the battle. Carefully picking the sturdiest of the bunch and arranging them in lines tracing the imprinted foundation of the missing structure beside the garage.
Why?

‘It is difficult to express in a way you will comprehend,’ he said, refusing to elaborate.

If he was sulking, that would be plausible.
But be it because of Bass’ blunt insistence to cut it the fuck out, or the troubling implications of another star marshal that he not only didn’t know about, but was also in the company of time travellers; hard to say.

Probably both.

And not the norm of behavior for units akin to him–even custom models– back home.

Not to imply any reploid or mechaniloid came close.

“...’fraid so.” breathed the hunter with a slight shake of his head, stretching his neck back as the breeze let up and the sun warmed his skin.

“That’s Right.” huffed Bass, marching somewhere with a splash. “And you know, even if there Were more of them hanging out, I think it would be hard for a guy like the one we saw to fit inside a research facility like where the Sand was kept before Number one poofed it here. Most commercial doors don’t accommodate bots of that stature and if this particular research hall Did, we would've had a suspect behind the madness the same day we had Sword man trapped on the bridge.”

‘Wow, we really Should hire these kids.’

‘That would very much be a YOU move; Scoping out the defective and the traitorous to bring under your wing.’

Frowning to himself, Zero eased back to a flat position and folded his hands on his chest.

The kids weren’t Wrong though. Either of them.

“Then Why’d it take that form?” posited the mega man after a beat. “There were more similarities than there Should be if two designers happened to have had the same idea. Somebody copied someone.”

Case and point; suspicious.

The details were sparse, but this marshal’s silhouette was distinctive. As was the way he moved.
If the Sand was only mimicking a physical profile Or the combat techniques, then it wouldn’t mean anything; maybe it was assuming an intimidating, load-bearing form because it was coded to– well– Intimidate the hunters upon crossing their paths again, Or utilize wide and longer ranged attacks to keep all combatants in this new environment at a distance so it could recalibrate and construct a game plan to continue its objective.
But it had Both.

Thinking back to the boys’ debrief, Zero couldn’t argue that it Wasn’t similar. But it couldn’t be the same.
With what Duo mentioned about himself and why he couldn’t recognize his former ally, it was completely possible the marshal had assumed his current form after years away from his fallen fellows after seeing something of a similar shape and deciding to update his appearance based on it.
But at the same time, at least part of that sounded like a stretch of the imagination.

If it Was the same, How?
Could ‘kalio’ have designed it that way?
If so, when did he have eyes on this mystery marshal or whatever the marshal based his appearance on and how did the hunters never have a mech like this in logs where Zero would know about it?
Time travel, maybe.
They knew these ‘four kings’ had it out for Number one, but…

…could it mean..?

“…maybe it was the Sword.”

The sword?

“Really?” asked Aki with an unamused cross of the arms when Zero squinted his eyes open and craned his neck to look.

“That thing’s not a Normal sword you know.” huffed the war machine over his shoulder as he marched to where their resident alien was stacking wood. “Right Duo?”

The marshal perked up at the attention, standing up to full height and pivoting to address Bass with what seemed to be pride.
“Correct. I am surprised you know of it.”

“I know about everybody’s equipment. It’s my Job.” he said with a roll of the eye Zero could just about feel before hooking a thumb at Aki. “Tell him what’s special about Sword man’s sword.”

“The ‘edge of ages’ would be the translation of the name inscribed upon its surface,” began the alien with a short glance up at Zero before dropping his armload and beckoning Aki closer with his off-hand. “And if I am not mistaken, it was constructed around the time the marshal order was at the height of our power and the climax of our war against the Asteroids.”

Zero raised a brow while Aki was approaching and asking how long this history lesson was gonna take, and looked off to the side as he thought back to the sword in question.

Big, heavy and cumbersome as it was, he hadn’t gotten any inkling there would be a relation between it and Duo at all.
Not like it gave him a headache to be near it…or at least one that wasn’t as big as what he got from the marshal himself.
…no energy radiating off it that would suggest a deeper use than its shape implied.

Though…no. It was a little big for Duo as well.
And what use would he have for it when his Hand seemed to serve all the purpose he needed?
Unless to use it as a conduit for that blue light?

If so, Duo didn’t commit to the notion.

The conversation below droned about the weapon’s functions and Bass started arguing with the marshal before long about what the blade was originally intended for and why the old man took it for his campaign.
All the while Aki and Mini seemed to be having a hushed discussion on where they might’ve heard of something similar in their own world…occasionally shooting the hunter some concerned glances and averting contact as quickly as it was made.

If he was Worried for Zero’s health after everything today, well… that was flattering.

…one more thing he’d have in common with X.

Laying back against the shingles, Zero blew out a sigh, shielding his eyes with an arm from the bright glare of the sun as it moved through the sky.

An error of connection or some causality of the ‘thinner veil’ here, but they hadn't received word of how things were going at the lab.
How X’s operation was going.

He didn't want to think there had been an issue or that the Sand had done something to his friend or the doctor in the effort to remove it but…
It was possible.
Not likely; the doctor had aid, had been conducting preparations for the procedure that would make lifesaver look incompetent, and was single handedly the best choice for any such action to save X’s life possibly ever.

But it was still possible.

And Because it was possible, there was a component or two in Zero’s chassis fretting about what the party out here would return to find; part of him preparing to be welcomed by a grisly outcome.

He told himself not to invest much thought in it. To not work himself into knots that Axl hadn’t reached out. The kid had other things he was up to too.
It was fine.
They were Fine.
And in the event there Was a complication, it couldn't Possibly be as bad as the initial infection.

…the infection Tailor Made for Them.

If it wasn’t Sigma, then who Was it that wanted them dead?
And why?

Cause whoever it was had made quite the enemy.
And not just in the hunters.

He considered the obituary file in the since locked communicator from Number One before a brief shadow darted across his eyelids and he inhaled with a narrow look as Treble perked up too.

To their relief, it was Crystal man; having jumped up and done a flip before landing gracefully on the shingles a few paces away.

Him and Turbo had offered to go and retrieve a stash of supplies when the rain had started letting up so Bass could do some more work with Search man.
…And Zero too. But that part went unsaid.

Either to save the hunter a smidgen of his remaining dignity after being cradled for warmth and energy conservation by the transformer, the wolf and the sniper like he was a shivering fucking Kitten, or for Bass to save face when it seemed like he was worried for their ‘baby brother’s‘ well being.

...Erugh…!

Search man was lucky Zero’s hands were pinned when he said that, else he’d have been reduced to THREE eyes.

Or so he’d like to think.
Even Now his fingers felt weak.
Fragile.

Drained.

‘Useless.’

Two of the three subordinates went out, the rain stopped, and now it seemed they were back; Crystal holding a canister in each hand, and Turbo trudging into the garage below to wake the sniper from his nap.

“Alles gut?” asked the blue robot master with a patient approach that didn’t breach Zero’s personal bubble.

He didn’t miss the wary set to Crystal’s brows despite the casual lilt of his voice.
Been like that since first contact. No surprise to see it back.
Nor much wonder for why. Even if Search Had a more subdued nature, Quint had given him all the context he needed for what people here thought.

Not something he expected this field trip to make him re-live though; the suspicion.

…but he’d been through this before, and the solution was to stay calm, and Not make them think his every thought was some variation of their murder.

‘Even if they deserve it?’

‘Shut up.’

“...besser. Aber nicht Fantastisch,.” he breathed pending a tilt of Crystal’s head that reflected some light Directly into the hunter’s eye.

He squinted and sat up some, offering a pat of Treble’s head when the wolf rumbled for him to stay put and scrubbing the gunk from his eyes as Crystal took a tentative step closer, offering the E-tank.

He accepted the canister, feeling a brow quirk at the fact it was pleasantly cold to the touch and combing the hair from his face as he shifted and moved to open it.

The boys followed Turbo into the garage while the hunter took a swig, swishing the fluid between his teeth.
The cool temperature was a relief to his still swollen jaw, nursing the side with a slow exhale before feeling eyes on him again.
Looking down beheld the culprit; being the marshal. Same as it had been since they found him out here, and with the scrutiny Duo elected to spare him the longevity of the feeling before going back to his wood stacking.
Was almost thrice around the hypothetical building’s perimeter now.

“So tell.” ventured Crystal man as he took a knee at Zero’s side, holding the can loosely from the top rim and nodding down at the alien. “Was it your First time doing a system link like that?”

Swallowing the fluid, he gave the robot master a cursory scan before following his eye and giving a half hearted shrug.
“... like that.”

“Ah…” hummed Crystal as he sat back on his haunches and shook his head.
“Mine too.”

Which Zero raised a brow at, and maybe with it he was making a face that warranted a chuckle.

“….surprised?”

“Just that you seem good natured about it.” he gave Crystal another once-over and felt the same brow furrow.

Different time, different cybernetic brain, sure. But he’d have thought the side effects would be far more debilitating the first time through for Anyone.
Bass being back up and at ‘em quickly enough made sense since clearly he and the alien had history.
Search man too.
Meanwhile Aki was still waiting on a full reboot of his combat systems and Zero was…pinned down by the dog and ostensibly on house arrest until his core charge passed 45%.

But to interface with that tech and its energy for the First time and be raring and ready to go just after boot up?
Bull. Shit.

There had to be a work around…maybe they were already acquainted?

“You know him that well?”

“Not really.”

‘Fuck.’

“No?”

“No.”
Crystal hummed mildly as he shifted to sit cross legged and set aside the E-tank, fixing Duo a curious look.
“The alien invasion happened After my time. Only got caught up on that story from Astro man when we were paired during roboenza.”
He regarded the hunter with another shrug.
“Certainly not the interaction I expected come the moment I crossed his path. But in the pursuit of knowledge I try not to complain.”

The orb on his helmet shined in Zero’s eye again and he winked it shut as he tried to shift his seat to avoid it.
“... don't tell me that's what it looks like I'm doing?”

Treble rumbled and planted a paw on his chest to make him stop, earning another narrow look before he forwarded the wolf an update on his internal status with a roll of the eye.

“...Maybe not per say but…” answered Crystal with a tilted chin as he observed the pair, sitting tall and upright when Treble was satisfied and not keeping the hunter absolutely prone to the tattered roof.
The blue robot master’s gaze narrowed when he met Zero’s eye and he nodded in Duo’s direction as his voice dipped.
“Your hardware reacted differently. It's bothering you.”

“Bothering.” repeated the hunter with a huff.

“It’s bothering him too.” he made a gesture at Treble before grabbing his canister, giving it a shake and popping the top. “I’ve only seen herr Commandant fuss like that twice before. And both times it was dire.”

The dog regarded the scrutiny with a neutral huff, settling his head comfortably and innocently across Zero’s legs, feigning the same nap as before while the comm channel pinged Bass and posted the update of his stats.

Crystal wasn’t Incorrect in his assessment. Not completely.
Zero had a hint why the mere presence of Duo caused him pain and discomfort more than the others.
...didn’t mean that understanding dulled the sensation. Or that he knew an avenue to mitigate it.

…not a Safe one.
Or an Accessible one.
Even if there was, frankly, he’d prefer it not be a priority.
Not with everything else going on.

“Of the things that are Bothering me, a little reaction to Duo is fairly low on the list.”

“What else troubles you then?” asked Crystal as Zero took another swig from his can, scrunching his face and swirling his own drink uncomfortably. “...if...if I can.... assist…”

Something between a grunt, a growl and a pitch of static like a dial tone followed that threatened to make the hunter choke on the fluid.

‘What?’

‘What the hell?’

Feeling his brows go up, Zero kept the can at his lips for a long beat before drawing them down and wiping a dribble from his chin.
“‘If I can assist’, he says, like he's never said that before in his life.”

Frowning, Crystal man gave a sigh and pulled his face shield off with a huff.
“Support Really isn't my function. And having the rest of my unit die... Did not encourage... Iterations towards that sort of goal.” he brought the can to his mouth and sipped gingerly, staring at the contents as he wet his lips a moment before glancing down at the grass below them. “But... Given our dwindling numbers…”

Bass yapped out a string of curses the instant after they heard the snap of something that sounded spring-loaded, and the blue robot gave a low groan before throwing back a larger swig and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“…Trying to look out for the ones you have left?” guessed Zero with a grimace as Aki hit the war bot with the ‘language’ chide and proceeded to get wrestled by the sound of it.
“Don’t make me come down there!” he called next with a wince as Treble pawed his middle but the noise ceased the moment it left his mouth.

“...unter kontrolle, kleine Z,” called Turbo back after another beat followed by some cackling from Search man.

Feeling his nose scrunch, Zero pushed Treble back down off his waist and blew the hair from his vision when it creeped back in, changing the can between his hands and combing the fly-aways behind his ears.

Needed to re-tie the scarf again.
Or, better yet, do something with this rat’s nest before it tangles even more.

“As you can see, they're terrible.” continued Crystal man with a bitter glance to the side. “Really. They all are. But, so am I.” he gave a shrug and brought the can back to his lips. “When you multiply negatives together…”

“…It can make something positive.” conceded the hunter with a twist of his mouth as he set the can down, pulled the yellow tie from its spot and cast an eye away himself.

“Or something to that effect.”

Giving a huff, Zero wrapped the scarf around his wrist and combed his fingers through his scalp to tame the unruly mess, watching the trees with no particular focus.

‘Kleine Z’.

‘Baby brother.’
Ugh. no.

Not the right fit.

He’d found out some names and details in his private research when Sigma did his hinting around the new ‘benefactor’ behind him and the relationship said benefactor had to his past.
An influx of data spooling into his mind with the virus at zero space…
Enlightening.
In terrible ways.
Terrible implications.

Nothing said about the bizarre familial dynamic between these units though.

…almost begged the question of how solo of a unit he was conceived to be.

‘You’re not.’

‘Are you going to elaborate on that, or are you just expecting me to know the extent?’

‘You Should know.’

“...I really am fine, to answer the question.” he said with a short sigh, flicking a hank to catch the wind so it would finish drying out and glancing at the robot master from the corner of his eye as he grabbed his can and swirled the contents. “I’m not designed to go down that easy.”

Crystal gave him a long, contemplative look as he drained the remainder of it before clicking his mouthguard back into place and humming mildly.
“I should expect nothing less.” a hesitant nod. “All the same…if you think you need advice, I am the oldest here. Pick a subject and I'll find some insight.”

A remark that had Zero blinking and giving him another scan, both by visual and pinging his transponder in the open network.

DWN-040.

A glance down proved the claim; Turbo being marked as 056 and Search 061.
Bass didn’t seem to have a numerical assignment; flickering between DWN-x and SWN-001 for some reason.
Maybe a glitch with the ID.
Or his transerver harness.
…Something to look into.

Nothing that put him in sequence here, but given the hardware he was using compared to someone like Protoman, his was definitely a more recent construction.
…meaning yeah. Crystal was technically older.
Not the oldEST by any metric, but…older.

…And offering advice.
Same way Zero used to for…

…never had That before.
Closest thing was Sigma and maybe Eagle.

…and no, still not a good fit.
None of this was.

‘I thought you weren’t complaining.’

‘I thought you were being quiet.’

He inhaled with a bit of a shiver as the energy circulated his system and fed his core, the wind flicking his hair about his ears and he set his can aside where Treble was interested before pulling a length from his temple and twisting a braid.

Crystal watched him as he did for a beat before closing his eyes with a long exhale, folding his hands in his lap as he assumed a meditative position.

The boys continued tinkering with Search man below, inspecting any issues with his power core by the sound of it, and making it as weird as possible for Aki to participate by the sound of it too.

It hadn’t been lost on him that the kid wasn’t keen on the sight of blood–went pale as a rabbit in a snowstorm when the disembodied arm came up last night and if X hadn’t grabbed him, it looked like he would have fainted. Everyone saw.
Clearly not the doctor’s assistant that Rock was. There was basic knowledge of construction and frame types that he chimed into conversation for, but it seemed he left most of the nitty gritty to his secondary admin.

…one more thing of many that Mini took care of.
Had to wonder why. On both fronts.

Not being useful in an assistant’s position, Zero could get, but what combat unit wouldn’t at least know how to suck it up in the face of a fluid discharge?
Or even just a leak?
Even X had learned the doctor’s stiff upper lip by the time he was prospective for hunter ranks. So what was the kid’s malfunction?

…something else to do with the scars in his scalp?

‘Squeamish about the sight of your own blood is different from squeamish about someone else’s.’

‘Where did Number one get these kids?’

‘…No, really, how Would he find someone like Aki?’

Something he worried his lip at as he finished one twist and began another on the opposite side.

Time, interdimensional travel, obviously, but the kid wasn’t from here, the future, or the same dimension as his more loyal boys either.
He was in his own category entirely. How did that world and its Mega man get on his radar?
What insight did he have that this kid would be reliable to his goal?

…insight.

He felt his eyes narrow as he glanced back over Crystal’s form, lingering on the circular edges lining his arms and reflecting the sun’s rays.

Bulbs that housed the power to glimpse the future.

‘...he did say he had a source.’

“…If you want to be helpful…” trailed off the hunter as he ran a hand down his braid’s length and tipped it back over his shoulder to sit behind him, stretching what he could of his legs and meeting the curiously raised brow with a cant of his chin. “How Does your foresight work? Just... Crystal balls?”

“Not just Any crystal.” he pointed out sternly and with a haughty huff. “Nor the circus-act mystical mumbo-jumbo I'm sure the image brings to mind...fun as that performance may be.” he pressed his fingers together at chest height and fed energy from the dome on his head into his arms again to conjure an orb to turn in his palms.

Same light.
Same gold dust.

Zero squinted, part of him picturing if the robot master was fond of white armor by chance but dismissing the image as it occurred.
The eyes and the voice were wrong.
Height too.

It was All wrong.

“How are your tactile sensors?” asked Crystal with a mischievous glint to his eye as he weighed the new orb in his hands and offered it into Zero’s space.

“Fantastic. I'm told.” he replied with a shrug, patting Treble’s frill when he made to scoot a bit closer and accept the orb. “Never exactly had a different frame of reference…”
When the smooth surface of the ball rested in his palm, a tingle fanned out through his skin; prickling and stippling into his fingertips and making his wrist shake a bit.
“that's....”

“You feel it?” he asked with interest as Zero drew his brows down at it.

“It's almost painful.”

“When charged, that little tingle gets Very painful.” Crystal gave a low chuckle and offered to take it back just as the tremor in his arm spread to the elbow, threatening to poke into the nerves and make him drop it. “It's effective at exhausting an opponent with a mere few hits. And they tend not to be any wiser of it.”

The haughty chuckle came back as Zero nursed the wrist, offering for Treble to sniff and inspect when the dog pushed up from his spot and padded between them for a look.
Post contact, his fingers felt numb and cold.

Almost similar to contact with Duo’s energy.

The ‘almost’ being key, as it wasn’t nearly so strong…or at least not so directly offensive.
He did say the purpose was to wear an opponent down.
…but from what he said before, it Wasn’t the same tech as the Star marshal.

“How? How does that work?”

Crustal hummed thoughtfully with a look away before offering a shrug.
“... No singular explanation for it. Draws out a bit of their energy into itself like a siphon…” he offered his other hand and made a circle with the wrist. “It's hard and it hurts to get hit with... Maybe they get little glimpses of their future and their body wastes fuel reserves trying to subconsciously comprehend it?”

Zero frowned as he met his eye again and Crystal’s shoulders dipped.

He shifted his legs and bent his knees, watching the orb wistfully.
“... Though it never held Mega Man down for long.”

His face twisted ruefully and he shook his head, which Zero pressed his mouth into a line at.

So he only Intuitively understood his power.

…suppose he wouldn’t be the first in that case; Zero’s functions eluded him for the longest time before Anyone could label them.

…or maybe technically Crystal man Was the first to have that issue.
Sequentially.

‘Or he’s just defective.’

‘Or he never had reason To explain it before.’

‘Or he’s Old, and Defective.’

‘He’s also Your Ally right now. And one who got closer to the ‘objective’ than you ever did.’

‘Which he failed to complete. Just like you, and your Promise.’

Furrowing his brows, Zero inhaled stiffly and worked his neck as his mind clawed around his skull with flickers of the night, or, day(?){whatever fucking time it was} when they landed.

His friend’s hollow laugh.
The fingers crushing his windpipe.
The wall.
The Noise.

The boy, Staring at him through the chaos…

…who lifted the arms he couldn’t.

“...He Is tough. Determined.” offered with a solemn nod as Treble gave a whine and pushed his nose into the hunter’s hand.

“You've fought him?” asked Crystal man with a bit of a start while Zero stoked a finger between the dog’s ears.

“I've seen him fight.” he gave a side-to-side bob of the head. “Here and there. And talked with him as well.”

“Civilly?” said with venom and a narrow look.

He felt his teeth click together and resisted the urge to hiss guiltily through his teeth.

…wrong thing to say to the bot that Couldn’t overwrite his objectives without a command unit present.

Scheiße.

Crystal man’s eyes glowed with hostility and Zero worked his jaw as he met them with a shrug, feigning nonchalance, if not boredom.

“…For the situation. Combat wasn’t wise.”

Crystal was not assuaged; squinting intently and making the orb glitter some with energy like he was feeding it a charge.
Probably doing Exactly that.

Treble rumbled in warning as he regarded the other robot master, pawing down to a lungeing position should his quarry come under fire.

Kind of begged the question how common the infighting was.

But, that would be one for Bass, in the confidence of a sealed room.

For now… more convincing…

“... If it's any reassurance,” offered the hunter with one hand on Treble’s frill and the other reaching for the pistol by his leg. “He's... jittery. Around me at least.” he glanced to the side to feed the facade. “And…I guess a bit of a goober.” he huffed a low laugh, showing his teeth as he grinned. “And that's not a word I use often.”

‘And I want to barf saying it. Where’d you even get that from?’

‘Stop, I think he’s buying it.’

The hint of such being the dulling of his optics’ glow and the sigh breathed as his shoulders slumped.

“...I Lost to that ‘jittery goober’. Twice.” he shook his head and leaned over Treble to tick a finger at the hunter’s nose. “It is No consolation!”

‘And I want to barf hearing it.’

‘On your own there.’

Zero pursed his lips as Crystal gave another frustrated sigh, scanning him with all the incredulity of a disappointed mother as he planted the orb in his lap and gestured his hands forward quite sternly.

“I know he's nothing impressive to Look at, but you must take the Light bot’s strength Seriously. Now that he knows your appearance, and perhaps your Temperament, he will be considering ways to confuse and subdue you in battle.” he drew a line in front of him and nodded firmly with a flick of his finger at Zero’s chest. “You cannot give him any more inches than you take in your own analysis. Do you understand?”

He clenched his teeth against the snort hiding in the back of his throat, Feeling against his better judgment how bad he wanted to laugh more than anything.
Pretty sure he had given someone–maybe X– the Exact same lecture when they were encountering trouble with one of their sparring partners.

To be on the receiving end?

Damn, had he never actually gotten a talk like this?
Disciplinary meetings maybe, but the rookie scolds?

…not a good fit.

“…I won't make you tell me twice.” he managed, keeping his voice and face as neutral as possible while Crystal found his own personal bubble to slide back into.

“If I have to, you will be hearing from This.” he said with a grab of his orb and a warning glare. “Not from me.”

‘Trembling in fear, brüder.’

‘Even better that Axl's not here. He’d have blown it just to see this.’

‘Hell no.’

He offered a hand up to affirm he got the message, letting the blue robot master harrumph and shift to observe–then rub a smudge out of the weapon’s glittery surface.
The yellow sparkle remained a while, vibrating within and the hunter forced himself to sober, wondering if holding a charge for too long would make it explode like an overworked buster.
And if that explosion would leave behind a cloud of gold dust in its wake, or simply disappear like it was never there to begin with?

“… Did you see that you were Going to lose?” he asked instead, mulling a bit on the time traveller’s words and exits from last night as he furrowed a brow at the robot master.

“No.” he shook his head, then tilted his chin with a thoughtful glance aside. “Not specifically….”

His eye narrowed at the middle distance and Zero felt a scrunch to his nose as the silence dragged.
“... elaborate then. You can't tell me you didn't try to cheat and see what Mega man would try.”

“I did.” Crystal nodded in response before squinting sternly at him and drawing another line in the air. “And no- it’s not Cheating if you’re using what you have. No more cheating than his copy ability or Your superior height is…” then he looked down with a grimace. “Trouble is, when I looked into the future leading up to our duel...it was strange.”

“How so?”

“It was a long time ago, let me think.” said as he shifted his legs and tapped the chin guard with a finger. “It was.... The image distorted. One moment I saw him running through my stage and then…” he fanned a circle with his hand. “He would distort.”

“Distort?” repeated the hunter with a raised brow and cant of his chin as he pulled his knees up and rested his hands on them.

“Nicht.” Crystal shook his head and kept tapping his chin. “Es ist falsch...eh... change–Shift?" he paused and gave a firm nod. “His appearance would Shift. He'd be using different tools. Different weapons.”

“Did he have some unique equipment on hand as he was making his way to you? In reality.”

“He did. And I accounted for the probability that I was seeing different potentials for what he would have in his VWS.” he stretched out one leg and glanced over his shoulder a moment before regarding Zero with a furrowed brow. “However, the vision would sometimes repeat an equipment set he did Not have. Abilities from robot masters unaffiliated with the situation.”

Zero’s brows knit and lips parted as the blue robot sat straighter and mimed a finger gun before flattening his hand.
“Sometimes he would run through with his normal buster, no charge. Or without armor entirely and kicking around a fußball as a makeshift weapon. Other times his armor was a darker blue and his helmet had this gaudy decorative Chevron on the top. Sword buster in one hand and a ridiculous pneumatic weapon on the other.” he turned a wry eye to the hunter and held his hand up with a conspiratorial whisper.
“Once I saw him perform the exact same motions in that suit with those weapons, except he was Green.”

All things that sounded like ridiculous armor and weapon combos dreamed from the mind of a Giga City recruit…save the last one.

“Green.” repeated the hunter with a quick look to the side as he filtered the description before his eyes widened and he held a thumb and finger up on his crown to mimic said ‘chevron’.
“With a-?”

“Absurd isn't it?” nodded Crystal man with a hum of a chuckle as he shrugged his shoulders. “I thought my system and the crystals were getting overheated or something and elected not to base my strategy on the visions. Go with my gut for once.”

Noise in his ears considering he just described Quint.
Zero thought back to the former Wily number’s equipment, comparing the specs he’d seen to the likes of Crystal man’s armaments and…
...it was close, but wouldn’t have Crystal predated Quint?

Considering he didn’t seem to have anything to say about the ‘traitor’ in the vision, probably.
Unless he didn’t know of the green bot’s desertion…except…no. No, if this was a vision of the mega man’s future…

“...What did he actually come at you with?”

“A gyro attack.” he said, his shoulders slumping as he hung his head and glanced aside bitterly. “Quite determined to get past me too. …did my best, but I wouldn't call it my finest moment. And the ‘foresight’ didn’t ultimately help.”

“Nobody in the green suit entered the battle at all?”

“Of course not.”

“As part of Your army either?”

“...Like a variation of a sniper joe?” He chuckled with a wry look. “The creator has more bombastic taste for our ranks than that. Don’t be silly.”

Then he May have accidentally foreseen the green bot’s creation.
And been defeated before he could warn his creator on the matter of his escape.

‘Ironic.’

‘Or maybe not, considering he Did say the foresight wasn’t that helpful to his own ends.’

‘Oracle’s dilemma I guess; can only make useful predictions in the lives of others, but not themselves.’

…though, by that logic…

“... what…” Zero wet his lips with a look down as Crystal regarded him, garnering a questioning rumble from Treble before he canted his head aside and caught a glance from Duo as he gathered more wood.

Would it be any use to them with the current situation?
He was able to see their approach while waiting in the garage, if not their purpose or the marshall’s, so…

“Considering how you were helping Search man I probably shouldn't have to ask, but do you use this to look into yours and your brothers future recreationally?” Zero asked at last with a furrowed brow.

“...not as often as I used to.” he replied with a sour grimace at the orb in hand, tossing the contents with a flick of the wrist. “Though it was a good tool during the battle of Roboenza when we all were reactivated. I knew our Dear Herr Commandant would stop at nothing to see as many of us freed of our binds as he could.” He lowered his arm and fixed an eye on the shingles below as if he could see through them, lowering his voice to an almost condescending sweetness. “...to his own detriment and despite his ailing health.”

Something Zero blinked at, half following his eye as he strained his ears to listen to the war machine’s troubleshooting murmurs as he and Mini touched base.

“Has he told you he got sick?” whispered the blue robot next, eyeing the hunter with interest.

Zero met the look neutrally, thinking back a moment to what he knew of the dreaded ‘Roboenza’.

After dealing with Sigma and the variants of the maverick virus, it seemed tame in comparison.
Though, not like he ever contracted it himself.
…maybe he wouldn’t be compatible with it. If it infected other numbers by his…creator’s. design, maybe it would actually make him sick.
Be the first virus to have That effect.

“…I had a hunch.” he said with a stiff inhale, glancing back between Crystal and his crystal. “You..? You saw it then?”

“I saw him crumble from the effects, cursing a fight to save Us.”

Zero felt his brows shoot up.

“Like I said, dire.” he continued with a nod. “But I knew he'd make it out alive. Far too stubborn not to. And the Light bot Protoman far too sentimental.”

That part he did Not know.
…and considering either Bass or the older prototype’s demeanors, especially towards each other, not something they’d have Told anyone.

“..so-”

“After the battle ended though...I scarcely saw anything at all.” his face fell and he gave his chestplate a press with his free hand. “Thought I was broken for a stretch there.”

The hunter clicked his teeth shut but offered a grimace at that.
“...Must have been rough.”

“It was. And a guffed shoulder didn't help.” he spat with a roll of maybe the offending arm in question before hooking a thumb at his ear. “Ask Bass how much fun That was to contend with.”

“Yeah…”
The closest comparison he could draw in his own experience would be when he woke up to the nightmare without either his sword or his buster.
Which, wasn’t much to compare; he still had his hands and could adapt.
So could other hunters who lost limbs or wings or combat functions in their work.
Hectic at best.

But probably not the same as losing something like ‘foresight.’

It’d be like X completely losing that well of tears he drew from…

His fist clenched with a glance away.

If it was something hit or miss, if it Worked at all, what would be the point of using it here?

‘What would it hurt to try?’

His lips pursed and his brows drew down a moment before Crystal man hummed something of a scoff and reoriented his legs with a keen eye on the hunter.

“I'm rambling. You want me to see what Your future holds.”

Which Zero blinked and inhaled at, before offering a bob of his head to the side.
“And here I thought I was being subtle in thinking how to ask.”

The blue robot master rolled his eyes and tutted a lip as he sat seiza and stirred a finger over the orb.
“Brother, in this fucked up family, we don't Do subtle. You should learn that first thing.”

“So long as you’re willing.” he breathed with a grunt as he moved to mirror the seiza and offered a hand for Treble when he gave him a chuff and padded around to his back.
When the dog was pressing his ears back and hiding his nose from the scene before him, Zero turned back to find the orb glowing brilliantly and Crystal man’s optics shining with the same yellow light as he looked at him.
…or, maybe looked Through him

“... How do you read it then?” Zero asked with a clear of his throat and a curious scan over the orb’s surface, offering a hand into its space hesitantly.
It was Warm now.
“Do I..?”

“Just stay still.” Crystal man said with a shake of his head, scooching forward some and holding the orb at level just below Zero’s chin as he sat upright.
“And stay calm. Close your eyes.” he waved his off hand to the trees around them. “Listen to the sound of the air. The sky. Process it. And… let me have a look....”

All things the hunter knit his brows at, seeing as it sounded Exactly like a carnival prophet’s method to scam someone out of the contents of their back pocket by way of an accomplice.

But, not like he had anything in the back there anyone here would take a shine to.
Nor any accomplice nearby he wouldn’t detect and be able to beat into submission(won’t be laughing at 50%, eh Bass?)
So…
If this worked, then…well, they’d know it worked and something to expect.
If not, then they’d know.

He curled his fingers into his hands and Zero shut his eyes with a deep breath.
Not like he had much to do besides that, right?

‘Can’t Believe you’re actually exploring this.’

‘Call it eliminating a possibility.’

‘Possibility that you’re grasping for fucking straws?’

‘Possibility that Number One’s tech may have some sort of relation to one of these guys as opposed to what they use at Chronos.’

‘And also the possibility to see what he’s up to from here, right? Give the stalker a taste of his own fucking medicine?’

‘If there’s a way to keep an eye on his activity, why are you complaining about it?’

‘Mystic bullshit that you are Falling for.’

‘I’m not falling for anything!’

“It makes it Harder to see if your mind is not at Ease, brother.”

He grit his teeth with a stiff inhale as he opened his eyes to find Crystal staring quite unamusedly at him; chin dipped and brows down like a once again disappointed mother.

…how did he know?
Blinking, Zero scanned over the robot Masters features before fixing his eye down at the still blowing crystal ball in hand. There, he saw naught but his own battered reflection
His…

“…I thought you were looking at my Future, not the present state of my Mind.” he pointed out with a furrowed brow.

‘Like either of those are possible?’

‘Shut up.’

“The present can muddy the view,” answered Crystal matter of factly, giving a slight shake of his head with a quick glance down at the orb. “If all you focus on is what happens Now, then you can never picture what Not now looks like.”

Zero's nose wrinkled.

Also pretty sure he had a lecture for X on the same matter, if arguing the inverse.

Crystal gave a sigh, lowering the ball and reaching forward to touch Zero's balled up fist on his knee; giving it a gentle tap.

“…you are Safe, kleine.” His voice lowered softly, giving a slight shake of his head as Zero observed the reassuring grip assumed on his wrist.
“Duo will not harm you where you are. Nor will the Light bots. Nor us. We’re…past that.”

He didn't miss the hesitation for that point.

“For now at least?” he guessed with a brow raised.

Crystal voiced a chuckle somewhere between amused and abashed, trying to break tension as he gave the hunter a nod.
“For now. And you need not spend Now fretting about it. Just breathe.”
His brows pinched and he tilted his chin the way X sometimes did.
“It’s hard, I know, but let your mind go blank if you must.” He released his hand and turned his wrist with a finger extended, drawing a line upwards. “The things that ail you, let them fade. For just a moment. Find something in you that...has no fear. Has no worries.”

Zero bit his inner lip to stifle a snort.
“You think I'm scared?”

“A time like this with monsters like the marshals running amok, with foes you seek, but cannot catch?” He asked, voice sarcastically returning to volume before raising a once again unamused brow. “I think you would be a fool Not to be at least a little.”

…Suppose he couldn’t argue Against that point.
But given the situation and the Details, and the aforementioned Straws he was reaching for…no.
He couldn’t just relax.
Maybe this wouldn’t work.

He glanced down and to the side bitterly, maybe searching for something in the shingle texture that would supply a change of subject…frowning when it didn’t present itself.

“…a different tac then.” hummed Crystal man after a beat, holding a finger up and stirring around the orb once again. “Think of that which has you Most troubled. Don’t tell me about it–” said with a shake of the head before pointing at his temple with a nod. “--but Hold an image of it in your mind. Do it. And let me know when you have it.”

Zero’s lips parted some as he furrowed a brow, watching the dust within the orb swirl and splash to different shapes before pressing his mouth to a line.

Bothering him the Most?
What to choose?

What Number One knew of the nightmare incident.
The implications of the scars around Aki's head.
Duo and the mystery Star marshal that destroyed this place.
Bass’ attitude and evasive behavior regarding the relationship with Roll.
The missing girl herself and where she could possibly be.

The mystery shroud in the lab that almost broke Axl's arm.
Geo stelar and the creature on his arm.
Quint’s story and Number one’s involvement.
His INTENT.
The intent of the mystery creator behind the Sand.
The Equipment they used to train it for its purpose.

…X.

The substance snaking through his limbs and crushing him from the inside.

The noise as it touched him.
Enveloped him.
Hid away the parts he recognized.

Twisting him into something he wasn’t.

Trapping him in his own body and poking around his nerves to make him Say things he wouldn’t, Move in a way unlike him.
Divorce the form in front of them from the young face he remembered;

Bright and tender; easy to bruise but impossible to break.

Out of the box thinker who was willing to stand against his fellows when they were playing with people’s lives.

All the while Begging for change.

For a world where they didn’t have to resign themselves to Killing each other over fucking nothing.

…it would've forced Zero to kill him while he was still IN there..!

‘And you couldn’t even do THAT-!’

“Do you have it?” asked Crystal man quietly.

Zero inhaled sharply as his fists clenched, meeting the other robot’s eye narrowly and working his jaw.
The gaze was neutral; maybe a little curious, but non-judgemental.
Not blatantly at least.

He swallowed, feeling a slight tickle on the back of his neck when the wind danced around them; a tingling chill breathing through his muscles and making them tense.

Looking down, the hunter wet his lips and took a breath.

The thing that started it. The thing that drew them all in…

“…I think so.”

“Alright.” Crystal man gave a nod and offered his palm out. “If you have it, now… picture it…getting scrubbed away.” said dashing his hand through the air.
It made Zero furrow a brow–scrunch his nose in fact– so he made another motion with his wrist.
“Like…drop a bucket of soapy water on it in your mind and imagine it suddenly disappearing with the foam.”

“Like a little Mud stain?”
Zero’s mouth twitched a little and he shook his head.
“It's not that simple.”

“It doesn’t Have to be.” chided the robot master with a serious cant of his chin. “Not really. We’re speaking in Hypothetical Simulations.” his eye rolled bitterly and he took a stiff breath in before holding his finger back up. “If you Could simply wipe it away; Purge the source of your fears and erase it from existence…picture That.” his fist clenched and he nodded firmly.
“Picture being able to Do something about it.”

Do something about it?

“‘Do something about it,’” Zero repeated under his breath with a bitter glance down.

If there was something he could DO he…
What would he do?
Go back to the night of, hear the Sand coming from the walls, see the mass closing in behind him and…
Maybe he could’ve been more careful with his footwork.
Correct the damn alignment on his blade.
Not get caught in the fucking trap that X felt he had to take his spot for.

Or just shove him back as soon as he got close.

His breath shuddered as he closed his eyes, venturing back to when it happened.
The horrible sounds rumbling and gnashing through the tight area.

The snags of his hair as thin tendrils grabbed hold.
Acrid smell of buster fire behind him.
Subtle GSR from the kid in front of him as his bullets whizzed by.

So close to safety and then the compound caught his boot.
If he’d known X would move to get him out…

He grit his teeth.

Not much wiggle room with that little spot there; he’d been stuck and was actively losing balance when X came in.
How could he stop him from getting between him and the mass?
How?
HOW?!
Try to pull him along with?
Take out his legs so it wouldn’t clamp on?

‘And put X on the low ground while it infested You instead?’

‘Better me than him.’

‘Because you’d be so much easier to put down? Shielded by a buster-proof compound and getting puppeted by a billion micro machines housing the virus right next to your head?’

‘It’s not like I'd get infected.’

‘It wasn’t supposed to Infect you, genius. Just to Look like you were infected.’

‘Meaning I'd still be me and I could fight to get it off.’

‘He says, like X wasn’t doing the same? It KNOCKED him out so he Couldn't fight against it.’

The terrible gasp and pained look of his friend’s face as the compound crushed into his leg came to mind in tandem with the report of Quint’s infection.

‘Right into the nerve cluster at the ankle mechanism.’

‘You think you’d do better with that?’

‘I could stay awake. I’ve kept it together through a torso separation-’

‘Like it wouldn’t find another spot to jab you? Maybe in your Ears. Or between your Toes?’

‘I…’

‘Or cut the bullshit and cram all its might into piercing your neck and severing your head from your fucking shoulders.’

‘Now you sound like Number One.’

‘You think it’d use your head like a flail to hit the guys with if that happened?’

A knot swam up his throat thinking about it.

Couldn’t just Let it get X though. His saber could only shear off so much. It didn’t work!

“Picture if it Could.”

Crystal man’s voice was low and clearly stressed through his teeth, but when the hunter glared through the peek he spared to give a retort, the blue robot master’s eye was impassively closed, the dust of the orb in hand swirling torrentially behind the hunter’s reflection.

He wanted to snarl at the warped lines in his jaw and the plummish stain to his bruised skin. To swipe away the offending ball and smash it to pieces.
Tear apart the shingles below their feet and splinter the wood holding it up.
Crush the broken machine below.

All of these Useless things.

It would be something to do.
Give him back the rest of the strength Duo stole.

…but then what?

His fists tightened and head bowed.

What would he do?
What good would that be?

A fit like that wouldn’t hurt Number one, or Kalio, or the Sand, and it wouldn’t help X or find Roll.

Just a waste of effort.

And a waste of energy fantasizing about it.

No point.

‘Y.. .an do whate.er .ou wan-

-t’s .ot stop.ing Me fro-

–on't see much point in indulging tha-’

Zero inhaled stiffly and flicked an eye over his shoulder with a hand on Axl's pistol.

The forest stood on its dead roots the same as it had been for the past few minutes and Treble chuffed curiously when he looked down to see if he’d heard anything.

The single lifted ear and ping for status indicated that he hadn’t.
That whatever that was had been in the hunter’s head, and Zero blew out a sigh as his shoulders slumped.

‘Again?’

The tingle of deja vu from last night danced on the back of his neck with a cursory scan of the clearing around them before returning his eye to the still glowing crystal ball and its wielder; still static in seemingly another trance of data like the resonance before.

Maybe that was a clue to him being on his feet before the others.

Enlightening, but Zero felt his lips parting, tempted to call off the seance or whatever this was. However, before he could voice the sentiment, his reflection Distorted on the surface of the ball and it caught his eye.

The mirror-esque surface had gone cloudy, a silhouette like the pointed edges of his helm subtly crowning his head as the blemishes faded amidst the yellow dust.

THAT was not normal.

He drew his brows down and glanced up like he’d find the blue robot’s eye, but his gaze remained shielded–twitching occasionally like he was experiencing REM.

But the robot masters of this era Weren’t capable of dreams.
So…he was seeing Something there.

…right?

‘...You seriously want to continue this?’

‘If there’s something worth seeing…then at least we’ll know.’

Inhaling again, Zero sat upright and let his eyes fall closed, balling his fists and setting his shoulders as he retrieved the memory from the cortex once again and observed the moment this began.

If he could do it differently…if he could go back into that night knowing what he did now…
If he could go back…maybe he’d go further back. And…

…He’d equip an ice chip for his saber before heading onto his shift.
Yeti’s Hyouryuushou was still in the lab for research. He could ask Pallette to lend it for the night.
Make sure Rico was prepared to call for Actual backup in the event of a loss of contact with her assigned partner.
Reduce the need to call for X and Axl first thing; have her be certain to prioritize equipment to contain all potential threats within, versus expedience of arrival.

‘That wouldn’t have stopped them from answering the call before anyone else.’

‘Maybe not, but she could send them one of X’s armors. Maybe the shadow armor.’

‘Because at this point, Number one doesn’t have it?’

‘Shut up.’

Whoever was there in that scenario, Zero would have something on hand the Sand was weak to. And with it, he could use it to ward the compound away.
Strike that body as it was closing in on him and never give X or anyone else a bullet to jump in front of.
Or if it got one of them anyway, he could freeze the armor prison off in sections and peel them out.

They’d be okay.

Chilled and shivering and probably hurting from the invasion, but they’d be Okay.

They could say they’d been through worse and walk away just fine…

If the guys showed up anyway, maybe Zero would remark on the fact they were out and about together and wonder aloud what brought them to the neighborhood.
And maybe they’d give each other a look, debating between themselves, before breaking the good news; that their red-headed rookie was going to start school and do something great with his genius mind.

And it didn’t have to be a bad thing.
He wasn’t going far. And he’d be available on weekends.
And there would always be a place for him with them if the books and bureaucracy were too much for little reward.

And X would beam about properly being able to help someone for once. Invite them over for drinks and dumb classic cinemas to celebrate an early night done and help Zero with the paperwork in the morning.

Bemoan the details of a fucked up monster reaching for people in the dark like the nightmare virus did and speculate if there was a connection.
Find out about the equipment in the wall, the oddities regarding Kalio's death and pursue the lead to uncover the true culprit.

Reminisce on the amount of time they don’t really spend together anymore.
Not yelling about it.
Making plans to spar or coordinate some more sometime.
Relieved smiles and mundane remarks as they went on through their lives.

arms wrapped around him and held his head to the crook of someone’s neck as his throat ached with a scream.

Gentle touches followed to lay him down in his exhaustion.

He heard Music playing nearby.

Bristles gliding through a tress of his hair and softly removing the snags.

Thunder rumbles outside.

The hands stop.

A face he can’t see perks up at the sound.

Glances back.

A noise between a groan and a frustrated sigh shattered what repose he’d fallen into, and Zero inhaled with a start as he blinked his eyes back open to find Crystal man free of his trance; glaring bitterly at the orb in his hand and at the dull, dusty dark blue hue it had changed to.

“Not again.” the older robot grumbled.

Blowing out a hair as it snagged his mouth with the wind, Zero gave a slight shake of his head and combed away the fringe with a raised brow.
“What’s wrong?”

Crystal looked up to meet his eye, before his shoulders slumped and his head hung with an apologetic sigh as he glanced away.
“Sorry little brother. I'm afraid it's a blank.”

“Blank?” repeated the hunter, drawing his brows down and regarding the orb with a tilt of the chin. “What exactly is a blank?”

The lack of light or movement from any particles within seemed like a hint, as was the lack of reflection like previously noted on its glassy surface.

…it looked dead.

“It... happens.” groused the blue robot master, shifting on his haunches and pinching his scrunched nose for a moment before holding the free hand up and attempting a tone of reassurance “Quite often actually. You...You did nothing wrong.”

The lack of warmth belied his frustration.

Sitting straight, then wincing at a slight cramp in his knee, Zero moved to stretch out a little and drew a circle at the orb with a finger and questioning nod.
“You didn't see Anything?”

“No.” Crystal confirmed with a sigh, shaking his head as he regarded the ball in question. “Es tut mir leid. It's all... Dark. A black void. Nothing to see, nothing to hear.”

Which lined up with the orb’s appearance, and Zero scrunched his nose at the fact of all that being a waste of time after all.

‘And on top of that, turns out you’re a complete sap,’

‘It was a hypothetical simulation. It wasn’t supposed to be realistic.’

‘Just wishful thinking?’

‘If it was WISHFUL, I would've had the Sand’s creator show up, confess, and beg for mercy on their knees.’

‘Number one too?’

‘Do you Ever shut up?’

Crystal man scanned over his face and shifted to kick his legs out forward and rest his arms on his knees again, offering a nonchalant huff as he lightened his tone and pointed some amusement at the orb.
“It Means nothing though. This happens all the time. It even happened when I was trying to strategize for my duel with Mega Man. I saw this then too.” he flicked his fingers to the side dismissively.
“Probably a sign that your future is wide open and anything could happen.”

“....I thought you said it Wasn't that carnival bullshit.” Zero remarked with a narrow look.

Which the blue robot mirrored, tilting his chin down sternly.
“It's Not.”

Zero felt his face fall to something deadpan, something akin to a snort puffing from his nose that made Crystal squirm just a little.

When the skeptical air threatened to drag though, his demeanor deflated and he turned his body away, something mournful crossing his features and he held the orb up with a pinch to his brow.

“…it could also be a sign that your... big brother here... Is getting old." His eyes turned down and he lobbed the thing over his shoulder half-heartedly before leaning forward on his arms with a defeated whisper.
“... Not working the way he should.”

The crystal made a sound like frozen rubber in an aluminum echo chamber upon impact with the shingles behind him, rolling up the slant towards the roof apex, but stopping just short of it before lazily coming back down the incline and sidling past them.

It didn’t even make it to the end of the line before a crack abruptly split the orb down the middle and the halves it produced wobbled to a halt that saw the pieces vibrate, and then implode into piles of charcoal-like dust.

Zero felt his brows shoot up when it happened, shooting the robot master a glance and perhaps a request for elaboration on his tongue before Treble perked up with a curious whine.

Checking found the wolf staring at the same spot and standing up to investigate with a sniff that was cut short as another gust of wind swept the particles away.

His ears pinned back in annoyance and he shot Crystal a perturbed look he despondently didn’t respond to; eyes fixed down at his feet.

Biting any words that would make it worse, Zero crossed his legs with a sigh, offering a pat between Treble’s ears when he came back to nuzzle under his arm and lay down.

His eye wandered back to where the split occurred, figuring based on the dog’s reaction that no, that Wasn’t normal for the robot master’s equipment… and there might’ve been a ping sent to Bass privately informing him of the change.

The sudden silence from the war bot’s tinkering below seemed to imply as much.

…frustrating really.
Had Zero going for a minute there with the altered reflection.

And the sage-like stillness of the blue ‘psychic’ holding it.

All that buildup to a great black nothing.
Not even evidence of the orb itself left behind.

Gone in an…instant.

‘…wait.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Just wait.’

Zero threw a hand up and snapped his fingers, no doubt drawing the attention of bots on either side of him but he paid their scrutiny no mind.

Another snap followed, him focusing on the sound with another look at where the orb self-destructed.

‘Dark,’ he’d said.
‘A black void with nothing to see or hear,’ he said….as if light couldn’t reach inside it anymore?

As if it had stopped travelling from the sun…

It did sound positively absurd, all of it did.

‘And yet.’

“...or that there's No future for you to find.”

Crystal man sat up with wide eyes as Zero regarded him.

A stretch, probably.
Definitely.
Not like they could prove any relation whatsoever.
Couldn’t Prove anything Number One had said of the world he came from was true by any measure.

But…
A reploid from the future.
And a robot that could See the future.

It could be a coincidence.
Probably was…

…or, both parties saw the same thing.

And knew not entirely what to make of it.

“...so he's forsaken you too…”

Zero blinked and hummed questioningly as Crystal man balled a fist and hammered it to the shingles with a spit of the word
“Bastard.”
He looked up at the hunter incredulously and snarled lowly.
“The doctor even abandoned You?”

“…I didn't say that,” he replied with a narrow shake of his head, realizing what he was saying.

Of course the blue robot here hadn’t heard that oh-so Moving speech last night or the argument this morning.
So his mind had gone somewhere else entirely.

…though, with the context of Bass’ situation, it wasn’t any less bleak.
He wasn’t even technically wrong, and the dropped snarl replaced with a familiarly skeptical deadpan look implied he’d already worked as much out.

“Not what I Meant either.” stressed the hunter with a defensive shift in his seat and a firmer shake of the head.

“Where is he then?” asked icily as Crystal’s gaze narrowed and he turned his torso to lean closer with an up and down scan of his person as he scoffed. “Do you even know?”

…no, no he did not.

Either HIM, or the time traveller, or the bastard who engineered the compound that started it all.

And all the theorizing had gotten him nowhere closer either.

His teeth clicked together, brows furrowing and a huff escaped his nose as he tried to reach for something else, but Crystal took it as answer enough.

“So our fate lies in the hands of the elusive Number one.” he spat, turning back to glare at the trees around them. “The only mechanic with No real ethical bias... And he's a Time walker.” he threw a hand up with almost a laugh before hanging his head. “Capable of being any-where any-when. Fantastisch.”

Zero curled his fingers into a fist and inhaled slowly, reaching for his patience.
“I feel your pain, but it’s not… If all goes well for our objectives at Chronos, he’ll be in our custody before you know it.”

“Chronos?” he repeated incredulously with a snap to stare at the hunter.

“I hear they have a scanner. Long range.” he sat up straight and glanced aside as if he knew where the facility stood off into the horizon. “Wherever Light’s lost girl has disappeared to, their equipment will be able to tell us. And when we find HER, he’ll come to Us.”

“Oh,” his voice dipped with a condescending coo as he shook his head, grabbing his chin with a mocking lilt that had Zero drawing his brows down.
“Except of course for the little caveat that Chronos and her staff cannot be trusted to reliably work with Each OTHER, nevermind the likes of US.” He hammered his hand to a knee and scoffed with a bob of his head and gestured his other hand in a circle off to the side. “I know you’re still new to all this but Our creator’s antics are half the reason the institute won’t be operational in another year.” he slammed it down and leaned over it. “What makes you think they would dare to allow us the use of their equipment?”

“Only One year?”
Zero’s eyes widened.
The doctor’s solemn frustration last night already didn’t inspire hope but it was That bad?
“That soon?”

“Even if we have the word of Mega man–Wahr oder falsch—” he said with a glare over at the entrance to the garage below before sitting back and crossing his arms. “--und seemingly the backing of doctor Light, at best those arschgeigen would exploit us for their experiments and at Worst they’d have the B.O.R. on speed dial to take us away for scrap the moment any of us looked at them funny. You don’t need my foresight to guess what happens next.”

“Great,” Zero looked away bitterly.
Suppose that’s what he got for being optimistic.

Granted, if they played this smart, maybe kept Bass’ involvement along with his subordinate’s at a safe distance away from the institute’s eye, and therefore their ire, the people there would show some more enthusiasm to aid the search.

They were on good terms with Light. They didn’t need to think he’d gone and made some deals with some devils.

…suppose that could also mean Zero himself would need to give them space.
Seemed like too many people knew what he was.

He blew a huff that displaced his bangs, bringing up his knees to rest his arms.

Where were they all when he was new and the hunters found that foundry he’d been hidden in? And how did none of them write down what they were so afraid of?

At least, not specifically.

“The creator did them that bad then?” he asked with a squint from the corner of his eye.

“Ja. Pheh.” spat Crystal man. “Though, I must stress he was only responsible for Half their situation.” he gave a shrug and turned his gaze skyward. “Everything else about them is just falling apart at the seams from their own hubris…” a hum followed and he mused with a sarcastic side-to-side rock in his seat.
“Perhaps they would be willing to join forces in our trying to hunt down Number One. Make him grab his magic wrench set and restore us Both to functionality. Imagine that.”

He trailed off in a low huff before resuming his glare at the stack of wood Duo had been working on all the while.

Given all that, suddenly running back and forth to pile lumber seemed like a good time.

Something to do at least while they waited for word from the lab or were avoiding prying eyes from Chronos.

Hell, if they had a scanner and an interest in all things related to the wonky study of time and space, Number one had to be evading their attention somehow.

‘You think he turns off his tech and moonlights as a lumberjack too?’

‘Dancer, artilleryman, wizard, kidnapper, mech…anic…’

‘Wait.’

‘Wait a minute-’

“Back up.” perked up Zero with a finger up and spinning to the left, canting his head at Crystal man. “You called Number one a Mechanic? Who said anything about that?”

Blinking, the blue robot master flicked his gaze from the hunter to the side and back before sitting upright with a pinch to his brow.
“...is that not what he is?”

“It is.” he nodded, squinting. “But how did You know? You…”
The light caught on the forehead orb and reflected into his eye again, making Zero wink and wrinkle his nose as he scanned over his features.

As far as he’d been listening, nobody had specified That as one of the time traveller’s abilities.
Not to these guys.

Wasn’t too much of a stretch given the ramshackle transmitter in the garage, but it just as easily could’ve been stolen from someone else’s shop and plopped down here.

Mechanic or engineer hadn’t been Zero’s First guess when his place in this debacle became apparent. Why would it be his?

Unless…

“...did Bass tell you?”

It garnered a furrow of the older robot’s brow and he gave a slight shake of his head.
“I figured he told You.”

His eyes widened.
“...implying-”

“Herr Commandant?” called Crystal pending a blink and a sideways glance, pushing quickly to his feet, marching towards the edge and leaping down.

Zero clicked his mouth shut and shot Treble a questioning look before rocking to the balls of his feet and following suit.

“It appears you may have neglected to brief die junge on a bit of information regarding the time walker.” began the blue robot when Zero was at the edge and gauging the fall.
“Given the state of his armaments and your own I would have thought such information was not strictly need-to-know.”

Dropping down to the precipice, he landed on a knee with a wince but looked up at the scrutiny pointed his way as Crystal hooked a thumb at him.

“What are you talking about?” asked the war machine with a frown as he spun an allen wrench into a part of Search’s buster mechanism, tightening the outer shell.

“Castle five.” replied the blue robot with a fold of his arms and a cant of his chin as the hunter pushed back to his feet. “Almost a year ago now. He's not been informed.”

Which gave Bass pause, and he narrowed his eye at Zero before hissing through his teeth.
“He knows.”

“Evidently you did not say enough. Just now he was colored quite surprised to hear of the walker's abilities with a welding torch and socket wrench.” continued the blue robot master with another sideways glance.

The hunter wobbled with a wince at his leg that had Aki a bit concerned in his peripheral, but he waved him and Treble off when the wolf came down to inspect.

Which Bass raised a brow at and shot the hunter a questioning blink as he secured the fasten on the buster and let his patient take the weight.
“ …That's not a secret.”

“Not amongst us,” agreed the hunter when his knee wasn’t threatening to give out, pacing into Crystal’s space and gesturing a hand at him while nodding pointedly at the war machine. “But how does HE know? I've scarcely mentioned it– if I've Said it at all.”

“Is he not?” asked Turbo as he pushed off from his position guarding the supplies.

“Of course he is, idiot.” snapped his partner coldly.

…as if the transformer had been filled in on it too.
…OR-!

“Call me that one more time -!”

“WHO told you?” Zero cut in with a curled lip and a hand clapped to Crystal's shoulder. “Is THAT a secret?!”

The older robot batted his arm away and back-stepped from his space, squaring his feet the same time Zero did with Turbo man planting a foot down and holding a hand up like he wasn’t entirely sure who to defend from who.

Blows were not thrown though. Instead, eyes turned questioningly to Bass, who was watching the exchange with a thoughtful knot between his brows.
Gears in his head spinning.

In Aki’s too, as the Mega man perked up on the precipice with Treble and held a finger up with a realizing drawl of
“…Hey-!”

Bass’ mind clicked to realize much the same and his nose scrunched at his subordinates with a keen eye.

“….answer him.” said with a nod towards Zero that had him raising an assured chin.

‘Got him.’

“Herr Commandant?” sputtered the Blue robot master, holding his hands up as the war bot rounded Search man’s personal bubble and beelined towards him.

“Do I look like I'm fucking joking sparkles?!” he stomped into his and Turbo’s space with fists at his sides and Treble jumping to cut off any escape.
“Talk! Who the fuck told you?!”

Both robot masters regarded him in shock, scanning him up and down with clear incredulity as Search and Aki stood square and ready to jump in to demand the same answer.

As it dawned on them the severity of the question, the pair shared a look before Crystal held his hands up to chest height and gestured almost helplessly.

“…YOU did, Herr Commandant. And Number one himself confirmed it at gunpoint.”

…what?

“What?” asked Zero slowly as he turned his eye to a now thoroughly confused Bass.

His mouth opened and he spied the look with a double take and a hand up to either dismiss the statement or throw down his defense.

Neither happening when Turbo man chimed in with a nod.

“Ja. He fixed an issue with my fuel tank I didn't even know was there.” he twisted his torso like he was flexing a muscle, rolling a wrist. “And snagged some wax to ward off the rust for the summer.” a beat passed as Bass and Aki’s jaws hit the floor before the transformer resumed a rest position and sheepishly looked away.
“Need a new application though.”

‘Hence MECHANIC.’

‘They knew he was around-!”

“So…so Hold on.” chimed in Aki with his hands up and a curious look at Bass. ”You actually met him before?”

“That…” he shook his head with a step back. “it…”

“Sheiße.” hissed the transformer with a tilt of his head and a pinched look. “Was the injury that bad?”

“Injury,” Zero repeated under his breath.

And… Crystal man had mentioned the castle.

…was it the same one as when-?

“What the fuck are you talking about?!”
The war bot’s demeanor sharpened, flicking his eyes furiously between his subordinates and reeling an arm like he was about to arm his buster.

Zero clenched a fist and dipped his weight to counter while Aki was waving arms and stepping forward to diffuse the situation, Mini calling for the same from his spot on Search man’s shoulder.

“Hold on, hold on! Just calm down for a second.”

“And… start over.” Aki canted his head at the transformer and his partner with a fist miming a shot to his skull. “Are you talking about that nasty knock to his head?”

“Ja.” nodded Turbo good naturedly. “You know it as well?”

“Just learned about it last night.”

Meanwhile Zero was scanning Bass up and down, skulking closer and half reaching to see if he could inspect the war machine’s damaged optics–before Bass reeled and pointed a warning finger at him with a harsh glare.

“Paws off, Z.” hissed through his teeth.

‘Why so defensive?’

‘Maybe because he knows what I'm looking for.’

“They were there when it happened?” Zero asked with a clench of his fist and a nod at the others. “And so was Number one?”

“No?” he shook his head incredulously and threw a hand up. “How would he have been there?!”

“Is this supposed to be a joke?” called Turbo man hesitantly. “You had him on his knees answerin’ your beck and call better than Treble.” a quick glance as the dog in question sat down. “No offense.”

Zero’s eyes opened wider.

“What?!” sputtered Aki with palpable excitement as he processed the remark and planted his palms to his temples.

“No I didn't -!” Bass reeled with his hands up and a step back as the Mega man trotted over to his space.

“Why didn’t you mention that?!”

“Why Didn’t you mention that?” asked Search man, both heads looking up at the others with befuddled expressions that got worse as Turbo and Crystal turned to their superior with much the same confusion.
A familiar stinging ring also hit Zero’s ears and he looked up to find Duo looming just outside the garage with Interest written all over his face as the robot masters talked over each other.

“Is this how we’re keeping data classified now?--”

“If we’re investigatin’ the fucker–”

“– Or are you trying to be modest?”

“–wouldn’t all history be important to bring up?”

“When have I ever been modest?!” snapped Bass back.

“That’s why I ask.”

“Did he wipe your memory?”

The ring made the hunter wince and he winked an eye shut with a hand on his temple before sucking in a steep breath and barking into the noise.
“EVERYONE SHUT UP!”

The collective lot of them jumped in place and met Zero with abject terror on their faces.
Bass’ expression skewing to an irate snarl after a beat that had the hunter sharing the sentiment.
“You don't -!”

Zero allowed not another syllable before he lunged into the war machine’s space and clapped one hand to his mouth and prevented escape by planting a foot behind his leg, leaning down into his space in a threat to hook a knee and tip their balance that had Bass’ eyes wide as saucers, but short on options to get him away–save for a buster to the gut, and Zero’s other hand was braced on the usual elbow facilitating it.

He could switch hands. Would be easy.

But right here, right now, the hunter was thinking he didn’t quite have the gall.

Their noses were just shy of touching and given a beat where it was clear nobody was interested in actually harming the other, Zero nodded firmly with a narrow look.
“You especially.”

“He’s Fast,” whispered Search man as Bass glared himself with a partial muffle into the hunter’s palm, but Zero only held tighter as he craned his neck to address the rest of the room.

“Now. From the top. What happened at Castle five?”

He was met with another long moment of staring before Turbo and Crystal shared a look and grimaced between themselves.

“…you see…” trailed off the transformer with an uncomfortable shift of his feet.

“We were in trouble.” continued his partner, folding his arms and ducking his chin. “With each other.”

“Trouble?” asked Aki as Bass grabbed his hand and Licked Zero’s fingers.

‘Little brat’

“Got into a fight.” elaborated the blue robot in his peripheral while he Tried to ignore the pool of drool in his palm.

tried.

“Tried to kill each other. Herr commandant intervened.”

“Stopped us via a code. Like with Search man earlier.” continued Turbo man. “Don’t ask. It wasn’t pretty.”

“I wasn't going to.” murmured the sniper as he observed the exchange between hunter and commander as Zero frowned at Bass, and quickly released his arm to pull the helmet from his head to stick a since slimed finger in his ear.

Maybe biting down both jaws to not laugh in the face of Bass’ snarl and indignant flails.

Zero spun out of his space, keeping the helmet at his hip and flicking the saliva from his palm with a sigh.

“Is that true?” he asked with a nod at the bots when the war bot was clearing the canal and wiping his face.

“Arguments HAPPEN and they were fuckin around like they’d find something out.” he glared up and gave a huff with a hand out to beckon the helmet back. "Gibt. Und stop doing the same!”

‘He says, like he didn't just?’

“Herr Commandant then brought us to the castle while we were unconscious,” continued Crystal while Zero relented. Observing the motion with something not quite readable in his eye before focusing on Bass himself with a nod.
“When we woke up, you had company.”

“Specifically another robot.” elaborated the transformer with a squint and a finger raised toward the hunter. “Bout your height, apparently wandering around where he shouldn't have.”
He threw up a shrug with a step back.
“You never told us Who he was, just that he was gonna fix us up. ‘specially if he wanted to ‘keep his pretty head attached to his pretty spine.’”
A statement emphasised with finger quotes before he blinked and ticked a finger forward with a look at Crystal. “…y’know, him being a dancer, he did have good posture.”

“Anyway,” he hissed with a stern look before softening to address his commander again. “You were Also injured. Your then-prisoner was quite concerned about it. But you refused treatment until Turbo and I were in better condition than you found us.”

Zero raised a brow and crossed his arms with a turn to pace around Bass’ back.

‘Concerned,’ he said…if Bass was hurt when they were brought back online, did that mean he’d already-?

“I…” the war bot in question squeezed his temple with a step back, blinking something between confused and distressed, genuinely, when Zero looped around to see.
“ I-I…”

His teeth clicked together and frustrated hisses whistled through as he shook his head, eyes flicking about frantically.

Thinking back to what he said last night, the war machine Did admit his data had been corrupted.

…And part of that data could very well have been the face of the man who dug him out.

“You don’t remember. That’s when you got-”

“Shut-the fuck. Up. Z.” snarled the war bot with a snap of his body around and a finger jammed in his direction.

Which Zero halted his pace at and turned a scowl down at him.
“Bass.”

His subordinates had information that all but confirmed the time traveller’s presence, and it made sense.
Why was he being difficult Now?

“It’s not true I…” he shook his head again with a harsh breath, taking a step back and grabbing his brow guard tightly, bowing his back. “Treble was with me. He…no. No, I… I got Myself out. I got-”

There was a creak like he was bending the metal and Zero’s eye widened with a chill as the boy’s discomfort with the notion niggled at the same part of him that grit his teeth with the implications of Quint’s relationship with the guy.

If he touched Bass too-!

“Dude, wind it down, you’re okay.” called Aki as he rushed in and took a tender hold of the war bot’s arms, peeling them from the volatile ball he threatened to curl into and holding firm even as he snarled in his hold.
“It’s okay,” he stressed stubbornly, and with a warning look up and down Bass’ features before turning back to the dynamic duo of Crystal and Turbo.
“So…hypothetically, what else do you remember about the guy? You said Bass Maybe took him prisoner?”

‘…prisoner?’

‘Okay, hold on.’

‘What?’

“Had him at gunpoint the whole while Crystal’s arm was out its socket.” confirmed the transformer, fighting against the standby position of his feet as he shifted his weight and cleared his throat. “Treble helped with parts too. Nicht wahr, Junge?”

With a look back at the precipice, Treble tilted his head curiously before pressing his ears back and dropping his head with a low whine.

Which Zero clenched a fist at.

“…What? You don’t know?” queried Turbo when he saw too, looking quickly between the other occupants and the wolf before offering an arm like he’d pick him up. “Did you get hurt too?”

‘That’s really not helping the time traveller’s case here.’

‘Or ours. We knew the data from that day was “jumbled”’

‘And how do you think that happened?’

‘...I’m thinking the Others are in pretty good shape…and weren’t the ones who woke up at Light labs.’

“How long was the operation for your arm?” asked the hunter next with a step and a nod towards Crystal man.

“About four hours.” he replied, blinking at Aki as the Mega man released Bass and trotted over to Search man to retrieve his partner. “If we’re including polish, assembly of the new component and testing. Then I was good as new.”

“Another four for full diagnostics on my end.” added the transformer with another twist like he was flexing proudly. “Gave me a tune up.”

“Lucky.” hummed the sniper as Aki held his little helper close and brought him over for a closer look at the pair in question.

“So he Might’ve been in your custody for around eight hours?” queried Mini, hand on his chin and squinting intently at Crystal when Aki moved into range.

“…closer to sixteen.” replied the blue robot with an uncomfortable hiss and a questioning look at Zero before regarding the Mega man again. “As I said, and as you know, Herr Commandant also suffered damage. Though, being an advanced number, even amongst ours, his repairs required resources that were not so easy to find.”

“Can you describe the injuries?” asked Zero next with a glance at Bass as he crossed his arms and grumbled to himself.

Turbo answered with a shrug.
“His armor was kinda fucked.”

“Specifically, the helmet and cuirass.” elaborated Crystal with a nod and a look from the corner of his eye. “Though your left hand buster was also in disrepair. You tried your best to hide it. Es tut mir leid.”

Zero combed a hank behind his ear and fixed the war bot a quizzical look, watching the wheels in his head turn and Bass unfurled his arms to press a thumb into his left palm, working the wrist with a look off to the space at his feet.
“...I remember that.”

“But not Number one naggin’ you?”

Bass and Zero snapped up at the same time, regarding Turbo man with double takes.

“Nagging?”

“Nagging?” scoffed the war machine, throwing his head back with a baneful grin. “Ha! What would he possibly Nag me about?”

A question the transformer blinked at, giving his partner and Aki a look for a beat before canting his head back up and offering his hands with an up-down gesture of Bass’ person.

“You were cold. ‘Shakin like a leaf.’” emphasised with a clutch of his arms and a quiver that rattled his whole chassis before he dropped hands and looked aside thoughtfully. “He kept mentioning that you seemed to be having trouble regulating in and external temps but you wouldn’t let him touch ya till We were done.”

“And I observed issues with balance as well.” Crystal's brow pinched as he glanced aside in his own thoughts. “If you were not posted on a wall, you were leaning on Treble. Thought the stranger would break something with how fast he would turn to check on you.”

Zero raised a brow and turned on his foot to pace back around Bass’ side, holding his hair away from his face as he thought back.

The walker Had taken a pretty stern tone with Geo about seeing the doctor.
And gone out of his way to make sure the boys were secure in having food, shelter, medicine, and a well informed chaperone.
…and if he was remembering debrief from Toullis, the time traveller had made remark on Quint’s status as well.

And on the safety of those in the drain system.

So nagging might track.
Especially if the patient in question was in dire straits and being stubborn.

And especially if perhaps the war machine had something he might want…

…but what exactly would that be?
And why was he meandering around a derelict death trap of a building trying to find it?

…unless he’d been tracking them?

“I don’t see that problem now,” noted Search man with a crank to lean and inspect his commander’s posture, one head tilting thoughtfully while the other turned to raise a brow at the others. “… this was a year ago? How does he do that?”

“And …yeah,” nodded Aki as he touched his chin and turned with a pinched brow at Bass. “Was Number One injured too or something? He’s good at fighting, so no offense, dude, but I don't see you having an upper hand on him if you were That done in.”

Privately, Zero agreed.
And further begged the question of what he was doing and why he would be willing to Let an injured Wily bot push him around.

“…He didn’t Seem hurt.” muttered Turbo man, trailing off as he stared thoughtfully into the middle distance.

“Not in a way that was visible at least.” concurred his partner.

“I just figured you roughed him up a bit but were careful not to break his hands.” the transformer gave a nod and shrugged his arms. “Obviously we needed them.”

“You in particular needed them.” said Crystal man with a look at the war machine, who had taken up a fitful pace up and down the distance between Aki and the transmitter in the back.
“We gathered what parts we could, reorganized storage and I even was set to prepare a table for your own operation…until your condition worsened and inventory came back wanting for the necessary components to conduct your repairs.”
His features pinched and he canted his head to the side with a hint of a snort towards their resident Mega man. “I don’t think the Language Number One used would be appropriate for that one.”

To which he made a double take and opened his mouth to protest with a ‘Hey!’ before he cut himself off and his eyes widened with an “...oh…Ohh.”

“Focus.” murmured the hunter as he rounded up to the kid's side, raising a brow at the blue robot next.
“ …then?”

Crystal met his eye for a moment before looking up at his partner and offering up his hands with a breathy resignation in the shake of his head.

“Then… Herr Commandant dismissed us. Told us to stick together and watch each other’s backs.” he folded his arms behind his back and shot said commander another glance as he approached.
“...We weren’t allowed to say no.”

Which sounded familiar.

“Last we saw, you were makin’ a makeshift raincoat outta a burlap sack and hoofin’ it out outta there.” elaborated the transformer as he took a step out of his partner’s space to regard the war machine as well. “Think the guy might’ve mentioned a place that could have supplies and you were gonna head there ASAP.”

Bass took in the information with a stressed glance to the side, crossing his arms and shifting his footing with a slow inhale.
“It…”

By the look on his face, it didn’t necessarily seem to be Rejecting the notion of it anymore, not outright, but digesting it was proving somewhat troublesome.

Given what he said of how the injury occurred, Zero was sympathetic, but only just.

With all this, the hunter took a step back himself and ran through the data again;

Infighting.
As the acting command unit, Bass would have responsibility to break that up and administer discipline.
…and first aid, since their support units were in dwindling numbers –if they had existed in the first place.
Popped them to the castle to have that done…and probably ran afoul of the damaged structure when he was hunting for supplies inside.
That store room with the mettools seemed pretty sparse.

Got stuck…then at some point Number one waltzes in.
Maybe he was already there.
Maybe he was loitering on the outside and heard a commotion.

‘Maybe he Caused it.’

‘… it’d be stupid to ignore the possibility.’

‘You actually agree now?’

‘BUT. it could just as easily have been an accident. It would be dumb to ignore That possibility too.’

Either way, either because of the collapse or directly after Bass pulled himself out, the time traveller has an interaction with the war bot and at some point, they come to the arrangement to have Number one conduct the other bots’ repairs, else someone was getting shot.
Which the prick humors, and it goes smoothly until Bass starts to keel over from his wounds and nothing in the crumbling facility is adequate for the repairs he needs. So they all leave…in search of a facility that could offer the help and supply they needed.

A facility like Light Labs

“…then, while you were trying to find that help, you lost power.”

Bass perked up in horror before clenching his teeth and shaking his head with a snarl.
“No-”

“But that’s how he would know about You, and you-know-Who, and you-know-What.” affirmed the hunter with a stomp forward and narrow look as Bass reeled to try silencing him. “There was a Picture, remember? How would he know what he was pointing the camera at?”

Something Bass visibly considered a counterargument for, but aborted the attempt with a harried look to the side like he could feel eyes on him.

…in fact, that would also explain why the time traveller had centered his autumn fair operation around the castle as well.
Not Only was it close enough to work for the hunters’ purpose, but he had a History with the building; he’d know the layout, defense network, And who exactly would Also know the area and how to potentially navigate it with a modicum of safety–thus ensuring that regardless of whatever happened with Protoman, there would be forces en route to find the hunters and give them grounding to plead their case.

Mother Fucker.

…though…if he was Alone in his snooping around the place, maybe scoping it for his op, and Alone in his endeavors to ‘help’ Bass and his subordinates…
…then …where was Quint in all this?

Was he Not there?
Maybe he ordered him to stay back?

It was possible, maybe he didn’t want his partner to get double teamed by his former teammates, if they could even be called that, and especially not the command unit with the handy dandy tricks to shut him down where he stood…or..

…Or Zero was thinking about this backwards.

Oh.
And Had been for a while.

Quint had been MIA for who knows how long, and the fact he was the boy who used to be Mega man wasn’t common knowledge.

Only people who knew were those with direct involvement; being the Light family, the madman, and what few individuals They told.

And given his status as second in command, and with it the responsibility of keeping record of all subordinate units– dead, alive, deserted, or otherwise–and note of their equipment, Bass would qualify.

“…and That’s how he knew about Quint.”

All their eyes widened as Zero turned and paced to consider it.

Bass would have had every reason to think Quint was dead, but a time traveller could very easily hear nothing but the name and see some accompanying data, wonder what happened, and jump back to find out.

And while he was at it, offer the missing Mega man a way out of the hell of his new existence…for a price.

“…you fuckin think he opened me up?!” snarled Bass with a stomp after the hunter, drawing his eye, and garnering a knot between Zero’s brows at the hand clutched on his chest.

There was a period where obviously they were alone, and the prick had to find out the countercodes for Quint’s WAR protocols somehow. Poking into Bass’ brain wouldn't be out of the question. Especially if the war machine had a damaged buster.

‘Gross.’

“...Or maybe you were hurt and not all yourself and you Told him.” he offered with a shake of his head, planting a fist on his hip. “You know how he can talk circles around someone. Unless you can think of Another way he found out?”

Why waste the time and risk the shock of a data resonance with a volatile and wounded piece of software when he could simply coax the data out verbally under the guise of talkesthsia?

Such was what he was telling Himself as much as Bass.

Partly because it WAS possible, and offering Number one the benefit of the doubt wasn’t going to Kill them (you’re an Idiot if you believe that), partly because as much as he would love to take it as fuel for righteousness, he Meant it when he said that approach had Not netted them any results.

Especially since they didn't actually know if it was true.

But, because Zero could only convince himself of so much of that, the possibility was still skewed in the Wily numbers’ eyes.

“If That’s what he did-!” hissed Crystal man with a furious glow of his orbs and a ramrod straight stance mirrored by his companion with a revv of the engine and click of his heels together.

“Say the word and he’s fuckin toast.”

“Woah, Appreciate the support, guys.” chimed Aki with a ‘time out’ motion of his arms, glancing tensely between them and giving a slight shake of his head. “But we’re not toasting anybody.”

Search man painted a laser pointer on his shoulder with a squint of all four eyes, which had Zero reaching for his pistol and the Mega man inhaling and frowning back.

“Not Yet. We still kinda need him.”

“...He’s right,” called the war machine with a growl, clenching his fists when the sniper turned to see and drawing a flat hand through the air. “Stand down.”

A sigh followed and Zero breathed an assenting one as Bass dragged a hand down his face, pausing with a distressed look down.

“….interesting.”

The thrum of Duo’s voice rippled through the air and Zero’s blood dropped a few degrees as he turned to find the alien knelt in the mud with a keen eye on Treble; the dog laying with his ears down and breathing a despondent huff.

…which also looked a touch familiar.

“What is?” asked Aki when he turned to see himself.

The star marshal stood up as attention turned his way and both Bass and Zero moved to see what the dog’s issue was.

“Your friend supports your claim of missing data.” began the alien, politely giving the war machine room to kneel and pat his companion’s frill. “And I concede the injury you sustained would be cause to forget.
However.”

His eyes narrowed as he regarded Zero but his tone didn’t change.

“Recall when I said the time corps would secure witnesses and swear them to secrecy regarding their activities?”

“You said he wasn’t part of them,” replied the hunter, crossing his arms and leaning on his back foot.

“I also said nothing of the corps having a ‘monopoly’, as you say, on the methods they employed to do so.” he turned his eye back to Bass and Treble.
“I doubt any self-respecting walker would inhabit this world without the knowledge of your or your troops’ identities. If this one perhaps thought you would try to use him again for your or worse, your creator’s ends, eliminating your recollection of him would be a painless way to ensure you didn’t.”

Zero blinked, feeling his lips part.

…that would certainly add to the troubling notion of poking through his data.

Possibly via a Resonance.

“…uh oh.” hummed Aki as the implication occurred to him as well.

However.

“That would imply he had an apprehension about Bass coming after him later.” pointed out the hunter next.

“And he didn’t come after us to erase Our memory of him.” agreed Turbo man as he formed up next to him, gesturing at Crystal behind him. “And I doubt We would’a had him scared if he’s okay with fighting one of You guys one-on-one.”

“I never received the impression fear was Not a factor in that battle,” said Duo matter-of-factly, offering his off hand with a step back. “But if you are correct in your assertions, Perhaps the answer is that he is simply Less willing to initiate a Two-on-one. Be it with the likes of my kind, or yours.”

Zero felt a frown …though, with how eager he was to split from any situation that might involve multiple opponents, that point might track.

He’d locked himself in with X after taking Pains to be alone with him.

And the encounter with Bass would have been a long while before he got the bubble shield.
THAT had been the only major linchpin to even the odds against the boys.

“He Would have known we were on guard and not allowed to venture far from one another.” pointed out Crystal as he came outside, offering a shrug as he met Turbo’s eye. “And who would we tell? Our numbers are scattered.”

“And…” mused Aki, a finger on his temple and giving Mini on his shoulder a short look before regarding Bass. “What would there be To tell if he knew you wouldn’t find him again? Not by chance.”

‘What?’

Zero blinked and gave a double take, raising a brow at the war machine as he curled a fist and pushed to his feet with a growl.

“Dweeb.”

“No, I'm thinking about it.” nodded the Mega man as Bass crossed his arms at him before flicking a wrist up and down at him. “Did you even See him at all between when this shebang started and last night?”

“What’re you talking about?” asked the hunter with his brows knitting together.

‘Implying… That he was Avoiding Bass?’

‘Why would he need to do that if he already wiped his mind of the event?’

“Doesn’t matter!” snapped Bass with a stomp and a shake of his head. “You’re all speaking in theories! It doesn’t Prove shit!” a scoff and a hand thrown up dismissively. “And he wasn’t even there when I woke up. So who says there was anything he Did besides leave me to die when he knew I couldn't cap his ass?”

A point that had Zero’s brows shooting back up to concede it…except for the fact that Bass wasn’t really ALONE where he woke up, was he?

He turned a bit on his heel, leaning forward towards the war machine’s space and lowering his voice an octave when he had his attention.

“…did She say anything?”

Treble’s ears perked up at the question and Bass went rigid, hissing through a snarl slowly manifesting on his face.
“…shut up.”

“She?” repeated Search man as he lumbered his way to the entrance himself.

Which had the war bot’s hackle’s sky high and he snapped harshly to silence him, as well as the others when their curious hums came to voice, but a flicker of movement at his side caught the hunter’s eye.

Treble was wagging his tail.

Zero pinged the network for his status and received a green reply as the dog stood up and gave a snort, craning his neck to paw and whine at his master‘s side.

“Was-?”

Zero eyed the position of the war bot, the wall, and where the others were standing before he rolled to the balls of his feet, pulled Axl’s pistol, and flipped it to grab the slide before he lunged.

Bass spied him from the corner of his eye and snapped his buster up, Clearly not interested in losing his helmet again.

Lucky for him, that wasn’t the goal.

“Z!” called Turbo man as the hunter batted the buster away, planted a foot, put what he had into it, and jumped over the war bot to get behind him.

His hair trailed and snagged on both their mouths but Zero didn’t give either of them a breath, dashing in and clamping his arms around his middle and shoulder and crushing him to his chest.

Bass fired his dash boots to take them into the wall behind them. Which did have the hunter reopening the split in his lip with how hard he bit down on it to keep his breath, but wasn’t successful in dissuading him.

He readjusted his grip so he was holding his own elbows and pulled to break the alignment of Bass’ posture, dipping his weight for good measure so he couldn’t properly get his feet back on the ground.

The others all startled of course, but given no opening between the hunter and the wall, and their commander squirming with an active buster on hand, peeling them apart would take a moment.
And that was what he needed.

“Du suchst den Tod?!” sneered the war machine as he tried to throw an elbow back or feed heat into his buster. “Ich bringe euch alle um!”

“Bass.” he hissed in kind, wrapping his legs around to hook his knees and forcing his breathing to be even as he pressed his chin into the top of his helmet. “Beruhigen Sie sich bitte.”

“Die wissen, was du sagst, du Trottel.”

Couldn't argue that. Wasn’t intent to either.

“Wusste sie von ihm?” he asked next, lowering his voice and considering what they’d been told. “Hat sie nach ihm gefragt?”

Just because Bass himself had no recollection of the time traveller dropping him off for whoever was at the lab, didn’t mean there was no interaction whatsoever.

And obviously Roll was willing to keep quiet about the war machine’s comings and goings, who says that was a courtesy she only extended to him?

‘..damn it.’

Something Zero didn’t like, not by a long shot, and clearly neither did Bass, even as his motions slowed and the flaps on his helmet threatened to bap the hunter’s face as he shook his head.

“…nein…I was alone.” he sucked in a breath and writhed some more. “I was Alone! Sie hat das auch gesagt!”

The claim had the other numbers taken aback and eyeing each other uncomfortably, even as Treble pinged the network again and planted himself to his spot with a green status, watching them with interest.

Zero pressed his mouth into a line, guessing some insubordinate seeds having just been sown into their minds at the idea of their command unit having something to do with Roll besides taking her hostage or some other scheme, and doubtless Bass had something in mind for the hunter for all but outing him like this.
Which he would have to deal with at Some point. But for now, Bass’ motions slowed and he muttered the same claim under his breath.

The boy had been alone.
So said the girl.

Meaning That was how he came to be at Light labs.

“..Then she Didn’t see anything…” frowned the hunter, resting his head back with a sigh that was about to release his quarry…until he caught a thoughtful hum from Duo in the corner of his eye.
The alien was scanning over Bass and turning an eye to Treble before fixing the hunter a stare that was …nothing short of skeptical.

And…Given his assertion that a memory wipe could be a factor, it was possible the same could have been done to her.

…but then again,Treble did seem to think they had something in bringing her up…

Either because she was his person’s special person…or..

“…unless she Did see something, and simply didn’t Say.”

And if she didn’t Say, what would any time traveller think she could know?

Therefore, what would they need to wipe?

…and if Roll was as crafty and clever as her secret relationship would imply, and as crafty and clever as doctor Light would have made All his children, she would make sure nothing could Make her forget.

“Do you know if she kept a log of your treatment?” asked the hunter next, finally letting the war machine go and giving him a push so they could have their own space but resting a hand on his shoulder as hair curtained over his face. “Apart from a mental one?”

Bass looked down like he’d had to watch someone die, wetting his lips and reaching to nurse his shoulder before his eyes sharpened and he gave a swallow.

“…she did. A notepad.” he nodded and regarded Zero hoarsely. “Brought it to all the checkups.”

“Do you know where she kept it?” asked Aki with a step forward to draw their eyes.

‘...and doesn’t He seem unsurprised in asking.’

A thought occuring to Bass as well, as a frown served as his first answer, but given a beat to work his neck and nurse his back, he offered a shrug and a sigh.

“…I know where to Look.”

Chapter Text

Personally Baryl wasn’t terribly sure if it was a stroke of genius or stupidity how Mega man’s closest friends and supporters were operating out of WBG studios for their side of the investigations around the missing ulti.pro and their hero’s safety.

To their credit, the place was large, labyrinthian to anyone who didn’t have a map, and with enough security detail that it would take a special breed of smarmy to gain uninvited entry and try to dismantle their operation.
The type of which the Hikaris most likely wouldn’t directly employ.

Keyword ‘directly’, of course, but by that point it wasn’t their responsibility, and if the smarmy individual in question were caught, odds were Kensho and Isla would happily leave them to their fate.

Added to it, Sonia Strumm had resources beyond just her brotherband with the Mega man, the online searches for his activity, and a wave change to bypass physical barriers impeding her progress.
Between her adoring peers and fans, she could ostensibly assemble a full task force and legitimately employ them to counter anyone sent by Satella or the Hikaris, infiltrate REFRACTOR’s offices to gather data, or even storm the Hikari house in the event something unseemly happened to their Mega Man.

The downside?

Apart from the fact she’d be using her influence to potentially put civilians in danger of harm–legitimate harm, given Juno’s battle mode and the armaments Colonel detected in his arsenal– while it was nestled out of the way on private property, WBG studios wasn’t Hard to find like the Hikari house was.
If Satella had probable cause–like perhaps reason to think Kazuma had hidden the program in the pop star’s private systems for ransom– they could ditto swarm the facility and incarcerate everyone inside for their involvement. Direct or otherwise.

Which would halt production of any programs being filmed at the place, tarnishing its reputation along with miss Strumm’s; dominoing into anyone close with her as well.

And where would their Mega man be without them in that situation?

‘Apart from blaming himself?’

Baryl tried hard to not verbalize the shudder coming with the murmur from Duo in his throat; clenching his jaw and working his neck.
Though, the old cat was still intent to torture him while Kelvin Stelar was negotiating the guest policy with the guard wizard, picking at his senses and forcing flitting memories of the boy’s cries behind those icy walls from years ago to the forefront of his thoughts.

‘There is no Need for that.’ Colonel groused back while his operator was biting his tongue.

All the same, Duo brought the sound of his screams to their attention as the AMian was pulling the boy away from the slumped corpse of their medic, leaving bloody trails behind him in the lunar dirt.

‘I didn’t want this!’ he’d sobbed when they could bypass the barrier and pull him into their sore arms. ‘It’s not fair! It’s not Fair!’

“You okay there?”

Duo let him go abruptly as he’d taken hold and Baryl hummed, rubbing his eyes to ward away the moisture coming involuntarily with the memory and shaking his head at Kelvin as the astronaut looked keenly over his features.

“It’s what I get for ruining my circadian rhythm.” he assured him with a hand up before pocketing both of them and holding his jacket open in something of a shrug. “I take it my welcome is a bit more conditional than usual?”

Kelvin watched him another moment before rolling onto the balls of his feet and down again with a glance at the security wizard coming out from the parking lot guard box.

“He did a scan as we were walking up and Apparently that ‘stick’ you have comes with a charge like the wizard weapons.” he said with a pinch to his expression like he was coming to terms with the possibility of being hit with it before shrugging and granting the old soldier his full attention. “You would have to part with it before you came inside.”

“Is that all?” he asked in response with a brow quirking up, regarding the wizard “Gladly then…” he paused halfway through gripping the baton and wrinkled his forehead “Unless I wouldn't be able to get it back come time to leave?”

Not that it particularly mattered, Duo could generate another for him to defend himself with even after entry was achieved. But a normal human would be more perturbed to have their toys confiscated.
And they didn’t need to give mister Stelar more reason to think he might not be.

The security wizard buzzed about standard procedure and making sure the employees were safe before assuring him he could retrieve it afterwards by coming back to this station and giving them his name and the item description.

All of which he provided and gave a fingerprint for extra measure before parting with the baton and letting Kelvin lead him inside.

As they walked through, Duo interfaced with the local datastreams and hummed with interest at the various strips of film and sound bits he was finding; probably intrigued by the process–if not combing for spoilers to some of those shows they’d passively been following whenever a broadcast was available on a public television.

A notion he could feel Colonel rolling his eyes at before they shivered at another distinct sensation in the cyberspace.

Baryl looked over his shoulder, keeping his hand squarely in his pocket where the brand burned quietly and scanned the area at ground level as well as above eye level just in case someone in the wave world was dropping some eaves.

He could guess who if there was, though she hadn’t made herself visible.

…Just watching.

“...suit yourself,” he muttered under his breath before turning back to follow Kelvin, who had also briefly paused like he could sense it too.

Offered a bit of credence to their theory about his interest in them.

Still, nobody was giving up their ghosts yet, and that was fine by Baryl.
Waste of time anyway.

Kelvin took him to a conference room sort of area where he would think directors, editors, and writers would be pouring over storyboards and scripts behind closed doors, commandeered instead by the sounds of high schoolers arguing about, by the sound of it, overdue projects and maintaining their statuses as ‘model student council members’.

Meaning they were definitely in the right spot to be discussing the matter of the missing Mega man and where he might have disappeared to, but Baryl was hoping to not have too many people just Seeing him.

…especially since it wasn’t until Kelvin Stelar was cracking the door open that the time traveller was struck with a Pungent aura of Indi darkness.

Duo and Colonel snapped to attention as the discussion inside continued without noticing them; a girl with long blond curls barking up the trees of multiple boys with the ferocity of a small, but loud dog and icily pointing out where everyone could stand to improve their image and reputation in this tumultuous time.
One of the boys in question, telling her to leave him out of it, noticed the mens’ entrance before the others did, and Baryl bit inside his cheek when they made eye contact and the kid’s red eyes widened before narrowing dangerously and his earrings jingled when he pushed off the wall with squared feet and sky high hackles.

If he didn’t know better, he might have thought Solo Recognized him.

But, fat chance of that seeing as Mu had no history with the cult of Duo and his asteroids. No. And This specific Rogue wasn’t the one who’d suffered the whims of Apollo flame.

Too much light and Life in his eye for that.

No, more likely, the boy had just sniffed out the immortal’s aura the same as they had to him and, upon realizing he wasn’t the only not-exactly-human being in the room, showed his guard.

Baryl kept his face neutral as Kelvin invited him in, pointedly blinking past the boy in perhaps hopes he wouldn’t think they were all there for a fight, and letting Kelvin draw the room as the others quieted down.

Besides Solo and the girl in blonde, there were three other boys and a young woman

The lattermost of which seemed calm, if slightly tired from ostensibly having to babysit the legion of teenagers around her. But if the boy sat at the table with the most abject boredom written across his face in the face of their ringleader’s ranting, and the resemblance he seemed to share with the woman in terms of ethnicity, textile preference, shape of the eye and curve of the frown was an indication, she wasn’t here for her own ends.

The other two boys were opposites in nearly every sense of the word; one tall, broad and heavy-set, the other thin, lanky, and a tad short for his age.
Big boy was clearly athletic, something of a wrestler's stance to his posture, and the little one was academic; even wearing thick rimmed glasses like he wouldn’t see an inch in front of him without them.

One also clearly was in the unseen company of an FMian wizard while the other’s equipment exuded the feel of a man-made construct.

All of them somewhat paled and faded into the background though when the blonde girl turned and greeted Kelvin with a long and quite dramatic sigh of relief.

“Oh, Finally!” she threw her arms out so widely she only missed the Murian in her turn to greet the newcomers when he ducked underneath. ”We could use some good news mister Stelar!” her hands found her hips in another quick motion and she puffed out her chest with gusto as she searched the astronaut’s face. “What did Mrs. Hikari say? Is she willing to reconsider and help us find them?”

Both questions being cause for the man to grab and rub the back of his neck with a grimace and Baryl met his eye for only a moment before stepping back to give him the floor.

“…afraid it’s not good news.” came the reply as Kelvin turned back to the children, causing the girl and her duo of opposites to deflate royally.

“…what?” she asked in a voice threatening to either break or explode.

“Oh boy.” chuckled the third kid at the table as he learned forward in his chair and gave a small grin telling of some schadenfreude with the predicament. “Deets Stelar. What happened?”

An attitude that had Kelvin frowning plainly from where Baryl stood, but a paternal patience engulfed his demeanor and he spoke honestly, but without the indulgence to the boy’s amusement.

“We were right that the incident when Kazuma was young is definitely a sensitive spot for the parents,” he began with crossed arms as he paced over to the blonde girl’s side and she gave him space to speak. “but it didn’t get the reaction we were hoping for. And, Solo–” he canted his head up to nod in his direction. “--you have permission to say ‘I told you so.’”

Ah, so the man had been Warned about his pursuit. But, in Stelar fashion, had gone in alone anyway.

Lined up with the son’s behavior and the immortal’s recollection of the man clutching the heart of the crimson dragon alright.
However, post meteor G’s fall and the dissipation of the noise’s power across the lithosphere, THAT Kelvin made it a point to take backup wherever possible danger would lay.

Half because it was the Sensible thing to do in the scarred world that he was responsible for rebuilding, half because…

…he’d since learned there was someone else there.

Someone who Happened to fit the now Gaping hole in the man’s life.

Baryl followed Kelvin’s eye to the Murian; Solo having since crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, but kept a firm eye on where the immortal stood.

Suppose he shouldn’t be shocked to find him not following Kelvin around like a despondent baby duck in this world; and with not a trace of the guilt to facilitate the behavior in the first place.
No. This Solo stood with the confidence of a warrior with nothing to atone for.

And the Attitude of one too; given the frown on his face and the subtle upward cant of his chin when Baryl regarded him; like he was looking down his nose at him

Duo returned the glare and Colonel tensed behind his operator’s ear in case the little punk was looking for a challenge but neither party made any moves save for Baryl feigning surprise in the top-to-bottom scan of his person.

“…what kind of name is Solo?” he muttered Just loud enough to hear and in a tone conveying curiosity to the normal humans, and a warning to step off for the little spitfire lest he try biting more than he could chew.

A message Mu’s Rogue received with a blink and a clench of the jaw before the mortals in the room took notice of his silence and perhaps thought him to not be paying attention.

“It’s Rude to stare, you know,” murmured the young woman with a step into the boy’s peripheral.

Both him and Baryl regarded her neutrally and shifted their weight to disengage that conversation for the time being, Solo canting his head over at Kelvin to indicate yes, he Had been listening, but No, he was not amused with being right.

“I assumed you would return with a hospital bill, or otherwise empty handed if you returned at all,” he pointed out with a lap around the young woman before offering a hand to gesture towards the immortal. “Going to introduce us to your new…friend?”

“…I was getting to that.” replied Kelvin through his teeth as he perhaps cautiously scanned the immortal again.

Man might’ve detected the translated version.

Or just the tension between them.

Which the old soldier rolled a shoulder to pretend ignorance of and addressed the room as its attention followed Solo's gesture.

“My name is Baryl Caskett,” he began with a nod and a knee bending to prop himself on the wall beside the door. “and I've known the Hikaris for a long time. They’ve reached out to me as a line of support in this situation and I came hoping to help ease their minds in some capacity. Get the full story at least.” added with a hand removed from his pocket and offered to the air as an olive branch.

“One of their bounty hunters?” growled big boy from his spot squaring up behind his blonde ringleader

“Did he Say ‘bounty hunter’, Bud?” scoffed the boy at the table while Baryl curled his fingers into his palm and crossed his arms.
‘Bud’ softened a little at the jab and found some sense under Baryl’s scrutiny when he dragged his eye up his person and remained unmoved by the threat underneath the question.

“Well…” the kid squirmed some and threaded his fingers together as he took a step back to reassess the situation–in fact venturing one more when blondie turned a scowl over her shoulder at him and he cleared his throat with a determinedly less hostile voice. “Are you?”

A question assented by his glasses-wearing partner and blondie herself as she turned back to Baryl with a keen eye and a pursed lip, leaning on one foot to perhaps give the other room to tap.

Valid question of course, one he even expected come the mention of history with the Hikaris, and one with a simple answer.

“I’m not in it for the Reward money,” he said with a shrug, glancing off to the side at nothing in particular as Duo perked up behind his other ear and tensed the nerves around his hairline like he was closing fingers around his ponytail, threatening to tug his attention to something behind them.
He frowned at the feel and clenched his fists before raising his voice exactly one octave and leaning his head back a little so there was no chance of whatever it was not hearing him. “So, if there’s concern that I may be here hoping to Sabotage Your Operations… rest assured, it has no appeal.”

The room tensed some, eyes darting around a little before Kelvin stepped forward and planted his hands on the table with a clear of the throat and a look at the ceiling.

“You may want to come out, Sonia.” he inclined his head in Baryl’s direction. “I already tried that and he has a trick for countering it.”

Duo hummed in this throat and Baryl coughed into his fist a beat after Kelvin's voice left the room in an otherwise awkward quiet.
Another beat later, the cyberworld deity tugged on his scalp again and all but pivoted the immortal’s eye off to the right like he was trying to aim a turret.

They settled on a chair twice down from the boy already sitting there and another beat passed before Baryl blinked–and suddenly the chair was occupied by a girl.

“…real curious company the Hikaris keep.”

She looked to be pushing seventeen, in pastel pop-punk fashion, with red hair that touched her shoulders and a guitar slung over her back as she studied him with a nonchalance that Almost looked genuine.

A career in acting for television and performing live on the stage had trained her well.

“Miss Stumm.” Baryl greeted with a nod and a smile, pushing off from the wall and shifting to fold his arms behind him for good measure. “It’s an honor.”

“That’s my line.” she smiled back, rising gracefully from her seat and striding over to him to offer a handshake. “I appreciate that you don’t seem to be Lying in saying it either. Still,” her features pinched a little as he grasped her palm and let her lead the motion.
Good grip.
Confident, despite the sheepish look in her eye.
“forgive us if we seem cautious. The past few run-ins we’ve had with people on their payroll have been…”

“Horrible?” sighed blondie with a harrumph that had Kelvin looking away with a pained expression.

“Fun?” countered the boy still in his chair, folding arms behind his head while ‘Bud’ nodded with a scratch to his hairline.

“Brutal.” groaned the boy with the glasses as he cleared his throat and adjusted them on his head.

“Meh.”

The muttered huff was met with the room collectively turning their interest to Solo, and the boy’s eyes widened a moment before shutting with a creep of embarrassment in his next inhale.

“He chimed in!” cheered the blonde girl with an excited bump of her fists, once again almost taking out the kids on her flanks in the motion of it before she rapidly pointed one finger at him and dashed to grab Kelvin’s shoulder with the other, giving him a shake.
“Did you see that?!”

The astronaut did seem to have an interest in the apparent change, and Baryl himself also felt his brows shoot up a little at how the kid wasn’t digging to deny the fact of his participation.
The other one would have probably blitzed into the Un-dimension by this point to escape the scrutiny.

But no, this one simply glared with a disgusted grunt at the wall and let the others think what they may before steering his attention back to Sonia upon her clearing of the throat.

“…anyway.”

Baryl gave her another patient look the same as he had for Isla before folding his hands back and working his neck.
“You don’t seem to be working from absolute disadvantage at least.” he tipped his chin at the Murian and the astronaut. “Crew like this?”

“Maybe not until recently.” she replied with a step back to allow him some space and to fold her arms across her front, some frustration in the pouted lip that followed. “You probably heard about Mega man up and disappearing the other day.”

Pretty sure every walker from here to the bottom of the vault had

“Kazuma’s parents have their concerns, but that’s not news.”

“Got that right.” huffed blondie, shifting weight back upright and planting her hands on her hips with a glance to the side as if the wall had slighted her. “Communication has been scarce for three weeks and all, but now they’ve gone totally radio silent! Just like–” she flapped her hands up and mimed a firework motion by her ears before shaking her head. “--poof! Gone. No note, no nothing!”

…Further backing his suspicion.
Although, time walkers weren't the only kind of otherworldly entity that would be interested.

“Omega-xis has never had good bedside manner, but it’s different this time,” agreed a voice from Sonia's person, the immortal’s eye finding a wizard displayed in a small circular screen on her guitar head that was watching him intently.

One certainly not constructed by human hands.

And when they made eye contact, him and Colonel immediately shuddered as a probe vibrated through their collective skull.

Baryl winked an eye shut to show his discomfort and voiced a hiss as he planted a finger to his temple.
“I’ll take your word for it.” he narrowed his still open eye. “...if you stop trying to ping my implants.”

“Is That what you have?” hummed the wizard with interest before Sonia frowned and reached to give the screen a rude tap.

“Lyra. Good faith. Cut it out.”

Which the FMian whined at, but acquiesced, letting go of the link she’d been trying to establish with the immortal’s cross fusion and he inhaled steeply as he nursed the resulting headache.

“Sorry.” Sonia clasped her hands together and bent her knees for a moment with clenched teeth. “She can be curious sometimes.”

“She wouldn’t be the first,” groused Baryl with a series of blinks as his vision briefly discolored and Duo thrummed around his spine to aid in maintaining balance so he could get his head back in the game.

“To the topic at hand though,” he breathed deeply and held his head up with a glance over at Kelvin before redirecting to Sonia. “Considering the Hikaris only have a couple of notes as to their theories regarding what happened to them, what would be your perspective on the matter?”

She blinked at the question before narrowing her gaze at the door for a moment, refolding her arms and putting weight on her back foot.

“The initial thought was that some hunter was trying to catch them and got overzealous.” she began, rolling her eyes a little and hooking a thumb behind her back as the boy at the table put his feet down and slammed his hands on the surface.
“Except–”

“Except!” He bared his teeth and stood up. “Not just ‘Some Hunter’ coulda killed the power station. That would have to be someone with a wave change.” one of his fists clenched and he knocked it to the vinyl bitterly as he leveled a look at Baryl and Sonia. “And I mean an ACTUAL one, not the measly little shortcuts people have been cooking up between themselves and their wizards recently.”

“They’re too weak even with battle cards,” concurred the boy with glasses, dashing over to his side with his star carrier on and a display of wizard profile statistics in one holo-tab while another displayed the type of surge required to overload and short circuit the transformers at the powerstation in question. “We can count the Real suspects capable of such on one hand.”

...Impressive, but How did he get the data about that hardware?

Baryl felt his forehead wrinkle again at it but left it to Duo to sniff out while the conversation continued.

“And YET!” The blonde girl dashed and slammed her hands on the head of the table, leaning over them with a stern expression. “All of them with MOs that Do match what the news was saying had alibis. YES even the ones with battle cards that match the crime scene!” stressed with a finger punching into the vinyl repeatedly. “Pat, Rey, Crown thunder, Plesio Surf, NONE of them were around! It has to be someone New.”

She pushed off with a huff that had the boys frowning, despite what was clearly agreement as they averted their eyes and glared at the data in the display.

“…but ‘who’ is the question, isn’t it?” piped up the older sister as she paced over to Kelvin’s side, regarding the data disdainfully a moment before flicking an eye to the astronaut as he pushed up to standing himself.

“And one we haven’t quite been able to square.” he popped his hands into his pockets and furrowed his brows in his turn to regard Baryl. “Not with our current resources. But we suspected the Hikaris would have details that could serve a hint we maybe hadn’t seen.” he gave a shrug. “Different perspective at least.”

A fair guess given what they had so far. And if they could open proper communication with the other search party in this tug-of-war, therein could open avenues to calling off the bounty and allowing the boys to come out of hiding.

“But Kensho Hikari is unreachable,” guessed the immortal next, feeling Duo hum his approval as he connected the dots as well. “So you thought you could try to appeal to his Mrs.”

“…essentially.” nodded Kelvin.

“Essentially,” repeated the young woman at his side with a disapproving stare as she canted her chin down at him. “….while she, a married woman, was alone. In her house. By herself. Oh, and have I mentioned she’s a normal Human woman?”

Baryl felt a brow quirk and Sonia perked up as Kelvin's expression shifted and skewed defensively.

“Hey now-!”

“Wait…” the idol took another step out of Baryl’s personal space and turned with her mouth hanging open before she witnessed the guilty expression on the astronaut’s face and she gasped with her hands on her head. “Oh my G-O-S-H. I thought Solo had been joking!”

“Sonia,” sighed blondie, closing her eyes placidly while Bud looked abashed and the other two boys tried to stifle snickers between themselves, the girl hooking a thumb in the Murian’s general direction. “Sorry, but When does he ever?”

…maybe it hadn’t been a Warning per say then.

“Tell me you didn’t try to confront her like that?” Sonia groaned next with a quick march into the astronaut’s space.

“I didn’t!” he assured with his hands up and all the same demeanor of trying to get Isla not to shoot him.

Was this just a common conundrum for him these days?

“He… didn’t.” confirmed Baryl with a cough to the side and a turn to pace around the back of the room away from the table.
Why did they never have windows in these spaces?

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to! She wasn’t alone.” explained Kelvin from Baryl’s peripheral before he sucked in a steep breath.

The air thickened as the girls’ ire started to propagate.

“Another way– NOT that I would have it Any Other way.”

Duo all but snorted in Baryl’s nose, making him stifle a sneeze through his own agreement and he coughed into his fist to recover, smoothing out his beard with a sigh afterwards.

“…you should call your wife, mister Stelar.” said the young woman icily

To which Kelvin sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face.
“I Intend to, Tia.”

Another hum that felt suspiciously like a chuckle burned in Baryl’s throat and Duo hooked into his brain again with a searing bite that had him gritting his teeth and nearly stumbling on his feet

He pulled another memory of the hours post battling Apollo Flame to review; of the trek through the cool summer air in the early hours of the morning before sunrise when the immortal had argued to carry the mega man on His back so the medic wouldn’t strain his wounded ribcage or that nasty leg he’d been trying to ignore. (or get any more attached to the boy and in turn be tempted to come back and check on him later)
And upon arrival to the Stelar residence they had caught the mother in an all-night fretting session on the front porch.

Millimeters away from dialing for police.

“Think she would recognize you?”

Baryl slammed his teeth together around the whisper of Duo’s voice and covered his mouth for good measure.

He wrinkled his forehead and felt his lips curling in a snarl under his fingers as he glared at his boots.

There were EASIER ways of asking that!

But, because the old horror was feeling extra catty right now, he gave Baryl another poke regarding the conversation with the medic upon their departure from the Stelar home.

The details were a bit hazy and the lilt of the other walker’s voice wasn’t quite coming back to them in the correct pitch, but his headspace in the moment returned with clarity so potent it was Colonel who butted in to halt the deity's musings.

“SIR. That is NOT relevant.”

He could almost feel his navi’s sharp glare and the buzz of his sword all but against Duo’s throat as if it was right there.

Something the greater navi regarded with a hair of amusement before withdrawing like he was about to pout like a child defending their curiosity.

A child who had clearly been overindulged for the day.

“...knew that ice cream was a bad idea.”

“Uh are you okay there?” came Sonia’s voice from his peripheral and Baryl was biting a groan as he smoothed his beard again and nursed a new, worse headache.

Regarding her approach suggested Duo’s influence was edging into visibility in his flesh but he waved her off when she glanced at a chair like she’d offer for him to sit down.

He wasn’t here to be comfortable after all.

“Anyway,” he began with a sniff and another scrub of his eyes before squinting at the room again. “No real theories you haven't already debunked then?”

Everyone seemed concerned in some way, if not curious, lending credence to the suspicion, but that he wasn’t losing lucidity, collapsing to the floor, or foaming at the mouth, meant they didn’t really have cause to Not answer the question.

Such being part of why Kelvin brought him here of course.

They all shared looks between each other, the boys–sans Solo–muttering to each other about the immortal’s odd behavior and the girls all making uneasy faces at each other before Kelvin planted his hands on his hips and gave Baryl a nod with a pinched brow.

“…that would depend on what the Hikaris told You.”

His cranium rattled like it was filled to bursting with marbles and the old soldier closed his eyes as the light stung.
Interesting as the Mega man’s rag-tag brotherband was and how delightful it was to see them working tirelessly to find out what happened to their hero, the fact they didn’t seem to know anything concrete about the mystery bodies after the boys save for confirmation of who it definitely was Not would almost be enough to call this venture a waste of time.

Almost; there was something else he was hoping to get from the senior Stelar and his team.

“…and I think if you want to hear it, you’re All going to have to start again from the beginning.”

He said it in a low growl, letting his annoyance with Duo fuel the apparent ire and turned his eyes up to watch them perform indignant double takes.

“Seriously!?” screeched blondie with another slam of the table, making Kelvin jump.

“You’re kidding!” sputtered Bud and the glasses kid in stereo.

Good, he had their undivided attention.

“As far as the Hikaris are concerned, their son, in a petulant fit, tricked the world’s hero into serving his ends after pulling the theft of the century. The fact of their disappearance is just another act towards avoiding accountability.”
He popped his hands back into his pockets and showed a tooth as he dismissed the idol’s attempt to stomp into his space and argue otherwise. “They would Love to believe it isn’t so, but they’ll need a better case to prove it besides an empty cell and an Emptier server.” he turned his eye narrowly to the other participants of the discussion as they rammed some spines upright with the fact of the still missing software.
“Are any of You capable of providing it? If not–”

He turned and put a boot towards the door- and took exactly one step before a warble sounded from the floor, an undulating purple hole opened where he was about to put the next foot.
His hair stood up as Colonel leaned their balance back and they jumped almost to the far wall to avoid falling in.

An instant after his feet were squared, the buzz of Indi darkness pronounced itself again and Baryl tipped his chin back to avoid the abrupt appearance of a blade poised to cut his throat.

Solo stood diagonal from his new position, banishing the hole to the Un-dimension with a roll of the shoulder before he tipped the blade so the flat rested against the immortal’s Adam's apple.

A curious thrum humming through the sword’s surface at the change.

A thrum like it was Alive.

Something that actually had Baryl caught off guard; eyes widening, torso turning, and his branded hand snapping to bat it away as his weight dropped.

Solo reoriented his footing and hopped to cut off the path to the door, brows set sternly as he maintained stance with his weapon aloft.

Baryl returned the stare before they both flicked eyes to the startled jumps from Kelvin and the younger girls.

“Hey, nobody’s calling for that, kiddo!” chided the astronaut first with his own legs arranged like he would try to pounce, mirrored by Sonia and the blonde girl.
Meanwhile Bud was ducked down in a more blatant threat to tackle, though, looking at him, it wasn't clear which of them was his target.

“I’m not your ‘kiddo’,” Solo replied icily in the meantime, meeting Baryl’s eye again with a narrow challenge glinting in his irises. “And really, don’t talk like you were seriously going to Let Him Go. With that thing he has on him, and now knowing where your operations are?”

So much for not giving him indication.

The immortal narrowed his gaze in return, sizing the boy up in his human form and gritting his teeth as Duo’s brand glowed visibly where his hand was raised.
He clenched his fingers around it and frowned as Kelvin Stelar maintained the disapproving air for the Murian before returning a familiarly sharp look to Baryl.

The man took in a steep breath, gathering himself, and marched to Solo’s side.

“You’re right,” he ventured a hand towards his shoulder but thought better of it and instead tapped the extended forearm to encourage the boy to lower the guard. “I wasn’t about to let him go…cause he wasn’t actually about to leave.”
His eye turned back up to him and Kelvin ventured to breach the invisible line drawn for Baryl’s defense, nodding firmly up his person.
“Were you?”

Colonel’s hackles remained raised and ready to protect his operator as Baryl rose back upright and hid the brand behind his back.

“…I might've been curious to see if, and who, would give chase.” he worked his neck and put on a face like he’d been caught. Half because it was true, half because he needed them to think so. “Or if your approach was to yell at my back. Seems I was mistaken on both fronts.”

“Ha!” chortled Bud with a bump of his fists and a finger jammed in his direction. “That'll show you not to jump to conclusions!”

“Yeah!” concurred his glasses-wearing friend and the girl in blonde with a nod and harrumph.

Sonia seemed unconvinced though, as did Solo and ‘Tia’, along with her brother; all of them regarding Baryl warily.
But, politely, none of them called him on any lies or asked for what the ‘thing’ Solo was referring to really was.

Not for lack of curiosity, he seriously doubted that, but possibly wondering if the information would come voluntarily.

Too bad.

“…your case then.” he breathed with a nod at Kelvin Stelar, shifting his weight and pacing along the back wall of the room until he was just behind one of the chairs at the table like he’d be willing to sit and listen, pausing and pointedly raising his brows in a non-hostile display, glancing from face to face as he gave them the jumping off point. “From the beginning. How did the boys even meet?”

The question was met with blinks and shared looks between the kids before Bud raised a questioning hand.
“…didn’t the news-?”

“I trust the News about as far as I can throw them.” he interrupted with a shrug as he held his hands in his pockets. “Their perspectives are skewed and twisted to paint Mega man as a traitor to his own virtues. Is That what you want me to assume?”

“Of course not!” scowled the blonde as she planted her hands on the table and glowered at him.

“Trouble BEING…” hissed Kelvin through his teeth as he mirrored where Baryl stood at the opposite end of the table, crossing his arms and glancing aside with a tense set to his jaw. “The exact specifics of it are a little lost to us. You see–”
He regarded him with a slow breath.
“--my son has been interning with Satella for a couple years now, and as such, he gets called to ride along with units sometimes and to shadow officers in their shifts so he can get a feel for daily life as a member of Satella.”

“That’s a more recent part of his activities.” clarified the blonde girl as she stood upright and planted her hands on her hips. “He has to make up classwork for the days that he’s out. We help him out with it.”

“Speak for yourself.” muttered Tia’s little brother with a scoff under his breath as he sat back down.

Bud stepped forward next to supply his two-zens.

“Geo used to be part of a task force with them back in the day, same with me and Sonia.” he gave a respectful wave in her direction as she marched over to Kelvin’s side before offering both of his hands up. “but it was a special case back then, and when it was over we were all given civvi status back.”

“Geo’s the only one of us who was actually interested in maybe starting a career in their rank and file.” confirmed the idol with a keen eye for Baryl’s reaction.

Not that he was sure what precisely she was expecting from him.
Maybe judgement?

Not his objective.
Least of all since this wasn’t anything surprising to learn.

The valor Geo exhibited for every campaign he participated in grew as he did. Especially after he was healed and returned to this world to greet the incoming meteor G alongside Satella’s Star Force proper.
Doubtless the personality of then-leader Arthur “Ace” Eos contributed to his perception of their methods and activity; the man embodied all the best aspects of the force and it was a sorry day when the world lost him.

If perhaps the young Mega man thought him a worthy figure to live up to and emulate as he got older, that wasn’t anything shocking.

And if Satella’s slowly clenching iron fist was something Ace would disapprove of, Geo would be interested in the cause and want to position himself to counteract it at the source.

Know intimately the face of a possible enemy and exactly how they operated.

That part might have been more the AMian’s influence, but it was still a smart move if he disapproved himself of the way Satella had begun utilising their wizards and the evolution of their technology.

“And he met Kazuma on one of these ride-alongs, or shadow sessions?” Baryl asked next with a thoughtful scratch of his beard.

“Seems so.” nodded Kelvin, shifting weight on his feet with another musing glance to the side. “And by the sound of it, it had been a bit of a rough day at the office.”

“Of course,” chimed in glasses kid again as he grabbed his carrier and tabbed through the data. “It happened when none of Us were there, but according to Geo and some digging I did with Pedia, Kazuma had been brought in for interrogation regarding the missing ultimate program.” he pulled news clippings from the day to display and arranged them poster-board style alongside frames of what looked like bodycam and security footage from Satella’s containment ward.
“Now, Geo wasn’t Supposed to be part of the interrogation, but he did hear about it in the office, and apparently was able to talk to mister Hikari’s wizard.”

“He said his name was Tigger.” added the blonde with a nod as the boy pulled up the wizard’s profile.

Bud cleared his throat though. “Trigger. There’s an R.”

“That’s what I said!” she reeled with a hiss like she was intent to bite him.

Which made their friend sigh irritably and crane his neck at them with a sharp yap of-
“In Any Case!”

Which served to make them jump and regard him with surprise and apology before the boy turned sheepish himself, clearing his throat and regarding Baryl’s slightly more awake expression with a pinched brow.

“Sorry.”

“No,” the immortal gave him a nod. “Keep going.”

“Yeah, you got this, Zack.” agreed Kelvin with a hand outstretched towards the display, smiling as he gave it his attention.

Colonel scanned the clippings too, noting that none of the frames seemed to be illegally obtained since a quick cross reference found online sources describing what had occurred when the Hikari heir was brought into custody.

…looked like some conflicting information too.

“Ahem. In any case,” Zack composed himself and pushed the data forward some so Baryl could have an opportunity to skim the specifics of the points present. “That's by-and-large all that there was supposed to be to it; Kazuma would be questioned to prove the potential whereabouts of the program and he was to be kept in custody until the data was discovered.”
He clenched his teeth with a glance to the side and a scrunched shrug as the old soldier looked a bit closer at the data regarding Trigger.
“Not Great circumstances by a long shot, but it wasn’t like they were gonna torture him or actually send him to prison. In fact, Satella officers had specific instructions ‘not to lay a finger on him’, and the family wizard was there to make sure nobody tried to break that agreement while processing the case.”

And also probably to watch him in case he tried to bribe or hack his way out.

Baryl wet his lips at a little nostalgic bud as he inhaled, processing the info alongside Colonel and Duo’s verifications.
Though they all felt the tension in his brow when he wrinkled his forehead at a blurb in Trigger’s profile.

Status: Unavailable.

If there wasn’t text to confirm something like that, it either meant the Wizard had gone rogue, or been destroyed.
Not an easy feat these days.

“Did someone in Satella Try to attack him?” he asked when he looked up from the window.

Tension wrought Zack’s posture and he suddenly didn’t want to meet the immortal’s eye, shuffling on his feet and adjusting his glasses.
To his rescue came the blonde girl with a reassuring hand on the shoulder and she regarded Baryl easily, if also a little tense.

“…Geo wasn’t entirely sure of the details when he told us, but apparently the Satella wizards started acting up.”

“Like they were suffering ill-effects from a buildup of noise.” confirmed Zack quietly.

The time traveller clenched his fingers as his blood chilled.

Another scan of the data from Colonel confirmed it and Duo mused back to what was noted about the missing arm from Copper’s evidence locker.

Once is chance. Twice is coincidence…

Though Copper’s forces didn’t report losing wizards to any buildups.

“It seems Detective Copper makes it a point not to employ a reliance on Wizards in his pursuits, Sir.” pointed out his navi and Duo hummed his agreement.

That would explain that then.

“One wizard suffering a buildup and needing maintenance, that wouldn't mean anything.” continued the girl with a stern cross of her arms. “But almost the whole department was infected. To the point where crimson was basically manifesting.” she threw her chin back and stomped, leaning down incredulously as if she was interrogating Baryl on the matter. ”Like again?! What year is it?”

He hummed himself with a nod and a narrow look at the bodycam frames as Zack brought them up; letting Colonel analyze the frequency of the depicted wizard’s infection and compare to the data from Isla’s printouts.

If it was the same source, maybe the disappearance was attempt number 2 of whatever was invading the precinct.

Which might actually go Against the Corps’ suspicions.

Unless someone was jumpstarting the event and steering the stream to an unnatural direction.

Not a good thought.

“The Hikaris mention anything about that?” asked Kelvin as the immortal’s musings dragged the subsequent quiet out.

He raised a brow at him, bringing a hand up to comb through his beard thoughtfully and redirecting his attention to the blue Hikari construct.

…the Other missing blue Hikari construct.

“If Trigger was among the infected, it would make sense they didn’t want to think about it.” he dropped his hand back into his pocket where Isla's packet was and turned to Kelvin with a step back. “Was he?”

“Not sure actually.” he replied with a shrug as Tia stepped back to his side and brought out her own device.

“From our own research into the precinct,” she began, pulling up some footage that looked Actually illegally obtained like she wasn’t worried Baryl would call her on it.
…Good intuition in that case.

“It seemed like he was fending off the incoming wizards as they were getting closer to Kazuma's holding cell.” She brought up more clips from body cams as well as angles from hallway surveillance, the wizard in question cutting down the incoming assailants with precision befitting a Far higher-end combat unit than what his modest frame would imply.

…like someone Baryl used to know in fact…

Another coincidence…the second of them.

Three would be a pattern.

Four; a deliberate move.

“Of course, he was protecting his charge. And from what Solo ended up finding on communications, it seemed like Trigger ended up calling on the other Hikari wizards for backup.”
Tia nodded in the Murian’s direction where he was posted on the door(barring the exit still) and beckoned him to confirm.

Which he did, with a nod, before turning his attention to the data in question.
A little tense pinch to his expression.

“But something happened to the security feeds at the time and the cameras all crapped out.” added Tia’s younger brother from where he sat, turning in his chair and eying the immortal from his peripheral. “No idea if they actually got there.”

Juno’s status at the house didn’t answer the question either as he could have simply been repaired in the time since this happened.

“Geo never saw him go down,” chimed in Kelvin with a shift of his arms to his pockets and another roll of the feet. “but given how nobody else has seen any trace of him and how the Hikaris have really doubled down on putting Kazuma in the slammer after he and Geo escaped…” he frowned and tilted his head back bitterly. “Crimson, no crimson, either way, it doesn't look like Trigger made it out.”

“But the fact that Kazuma Did looked really bad from the right angle,” added Bud with a bitter fold of his arms. “and THEN the human officers started getting nasty.”

Sonia nodded with a sigh as she took the seat in front of Kelvin and steepled her fingers.

“They were honestly just scared and ticked off at the state of their station and Kazuma being a suspect in an ongoing investigation, and seemingly the target of the rogue wizards, there was no better scapegoat.” she met Baryl’s eye and offered her palms matter-of-factly. “Not believing what happened was his fault, Geo got him out of there and brought him to the school for somewhere to hide.”

“He was distrustful of course,” confirmed Blondie(data says her name is Luna Platz, sir), sauntering to the head and taking a seat on the table itself, twisting her torso around with a hand on her chest. “But with some expert prodding from yours truly, and a retrieval of his wizard, Bon bonne, Kazuma started to open up about what was going on. And how to prove he wasn’t responsible for the theft or the berserk wizards.”
Her bravado lasted another second before she sobered, fingers curling into the fabric of her uniform.
“We volunteered to give him sanctuary, but once he had his wizard, he simply Refused to stay in one place.”

“All things considered, he was right about that being a bad idea.” said Bud with a thoughtful cant of his head and a wrist raised to draw circles in the air. “Satella elites were knocking on our classrooms to find him only a couple Hours after he got there. The only reason they didn’t catch him right out was because he snuck away when we weren’t looking and almost killed himself on the fire escape.”

‘Sounds familiar,’ thought Baryl with a steep inhale as he shifted his weight and turned to pace around the table towards Kelvin.

“Geo tracked him down and brought him home, but when Kazuma decided not to stay again, Geo made the call to go with him for protection.” elaborated the man with a turn to address the immortal as he looped in his approach. “And tasked Me and Sonia here with holding down the fort on this end and keeping an eye on Satella’s movements. As well as figuring out what else might’ve been afoot with this stolen data fiasco.”
He offered his hand and pointed up and down Baryl’s person as he paused outside his personal bubble. “That pursuit eventually led to wanting to talk with Kazuma’s mother, and that’s where I found You.”

“I see,” he hummed with a scan of his person as well before glancing aside.

Bit of interesting insight, and the headache was starting to abate…though, couldn’t help but notice they didn’t seem to have anything to say regarding the parties that were present when the boys vanished.

“…but surely you all weren’t the Only ones they were in contact with, were you?” he asked next with a frown towards Kelvin.
Given the man’s interest in Baryl from moment 1, why would he not have any potential assets in his son’s general vicinity on speed dial?
Former WAZA personnel, old classmates in the other city, nobody?

Love thy neighbor, sure, and Mega man’s reputation would precede him, but with the bounty on his and Kazuma’s heads, how much faith could the father be putting in the people his son was interacting with?
Obviously one of them had dragged him a bit far away for comfort.

And it showed.

Kelvin clenched his jaw and crossed his arms again before making a face Baryl recognized from his military days: Face a sergeant would make when BS from the Lt was incoming.

“There were a couple of places they rested at briefly and someone online following the officer’s movements, but other than that–”

Oh yeah, bullshit.

“You don’t have Specifics as to who else was helping them?”

The former astronaut bit down at the interruption, regarding him narrowly, and maybe that was on Baryl for not being so sympathetic in asking.

But if he couldn’t justify the time spent here, then they were only letting the boys and whatever or Whoever spirited them away get farther and farther.
And be it the case, then Baryl had other places he needed to look, and he needed Kelvin Stelar not to follow.

“Number one.”

The remark came from the door, and Baryl–plus the rest of the room– perked up as Solo pushed off from his spot and paced towards them.

“I overheard Hikari mentioning a message from them once when Mega man was in a bind and I intervened.” The Murian elaborated with a stern set to his shoulders as he paused and squared his feet. “That was how I got involved. Their contact’s handle was Number One.”

“He chimed in again!” Luna whisper-shouted with a leap to grab and shake the astronaut again.

Though, Baryl only regarded it in his peripheral when the Murian huffed another disgusted scoff.

“Number one?” he repeated, stroking his beard again.

Solo gave him full attention and nodded.
“Some keyboard warrior who’d been watching police activity for a while. Apparently decided to chip in and message the pair of them when the posters started going up. Let them know which officers were nearby and when it was safe to move out.”

He paused his ministrations and wrinkled his forehead.
That would have been fairly soon after they were on the road.
Would have to be.

And if they had access to police scanners and location data…they could also have access to the networks Satella Wizards exchanged data with.
And therefore might have been able to slip a noise program into their systems to propagate like a time bomb.

Then swoop in when it was go time and options for fugitives were few and far between.

…though, that was conjecture.
Couldn’t prove any relations yet.

“Did any of you exchange messages with this number one?” he asked next with a pivot on his heel to regard the others.

Some of them perked up at the question, but said nothing upon Kelvin holding his arm out defensively.

“Are they a suspect?” he asked with a serious set to his brow.

“A curiosity.” Baryl lied, offering his fingers out with a flick at the ceiling and floor. “If they were tracking the police in their pursuit, they might know where the boys went in their last great escape. Or at least point in a direction they Could have gone.”

Given that, Luna pulled Kelvin’s arm down to answer–with a perturbed look at the Murian.
“Unfortunately no. Solo was the only one who heard the name and he never asked how it was spelled. So we can’t really look them up.”

“There was no Use asking for it,” hissed Solo in response, curling his lip at her before regarding Baryl narrowly. “And Kazuma wanted to keep as many people anonymous as possible so his family didn’t have any names or addresses to target.”

“Besides us of course.” added Luna next as she ventured out from behind the astronaut, planting a hand on her chest again when she was perhaps a couple paces too close for Solo's comfort. “And with my parents’ money, we’re not scared.”

“Was already not scared.” he grumbled through his teeth, looking away.

“Just say thank you!”

“For being an Embarrassment?”

The delivery of it being cause to bite a snort while Luna’s classmates gasped their indignation.

“You don’t talk to her like that!” barked Bud with a stomp, definitely ready to charge–until she held her hand up placatingly and inhaled a dainty breath.

“Please, I can speak for myself.” she said with a calm glance over her shoulder before curling a fist and throwing it down with a furious “you do not TALK TO ME LIKE THAT.”

To her credit, Solo actually flinched at the volume.

Grated a little on Colonel and Baryl too.
Duo was Delighted to see it.

The strength and stubborn will of youth.

Kelvin and Sonia moved to restrain her from attempting a physical assault on the Murian that doubtlessly would have backfired while Solo himself, in a noble display of restraint, backed away slowly while maintaining menacing eye contact.

…given her spirit, and the apparent influence on other teens her age, she must have been leading the students harassing Isla’s flower shop then.
Dangerous play…though, if That was the point masquerading as more data collection for their vigilante investigation…huh.
If the Hikari’s ire was settled squarely on their shoulders, if not specifically HERS and whatever trouble her parents and their ‘money’ could bail her out of, it meant fewer eyes on the Mega man and his quarry.
And even fewer on pseudonym-slinging helpers right there in the public.

…smart girl.

Up until it gets her friend kidnapped or killed.
Though, how would she know?

Any of them?

Baryl held a hand to cover his ear as Solo’s sword began screeching old Murish back at her and considered the addition of the otherwise unnamed ‘Number one.”

…if they had an ear on Satella’s movements, that would coincide with Isla’s suspicion of a mole in their ranks.
Or it was a matter of another hacker having the entire force bugged.
Or both.
Which might have been more likely.
Mega man would have sympathizers in Satella’s offices, and if they slipped they would be vetted out and excluded from the operations to capture him.
If that had already happened, but perhaps someone was still wanting and willing to help, they could bug the uniform department and hack comm networks to feed data to the fugitive hero.

…or none of the above.

And to determine that…
Well… if this Number one was an officer in Satella, or a Network warrior, Colonel could possibly trace their ip address back through whatever devices they were using for their spy ops.

If there were bugs, then he needed to get his hands on the hardware. And to find that, he would need to speak with Copper.

He inhaled with a squint at the room’s attempts to either calm the girl or tune her out, debating if it would be rude to simply excuse himself, or let them know he had a thought but probably couldn’t take any of them along on account of their association with the Mega man, and therefore their presence might compromise the investigation.

Both would have follow-up questions…and Kelvin and Solo would have methods to track him if they thought he might try to report their activity.

Meaning in either case, he would have to convince them not to follow.

Duo opted for the latter, more civil option; see what his operator could come up with…until he tensed a harsh grip to Baryl’s brain again and Hissed to interface.

‘I T ’S B A C K.’

Baryl took a quiet step back and squeezed his temples to allow the invasion, trying to keep only one eye winked shut.

As the cyberworld deity said, the thing that pooled into the fabric of this world with not a pulse to its feel had returned.

…and it was definitely closer than before.

In fact… it was one floor up.

He cleared his throat and mimed a buzz to his dummy carrier as he took it out of the pocket, making a face at the sane people in the room like he needed to take a call and marched to the door.
Solo’s eyes were definitely on him as he went, but once the door was closed behind him, he put it out of mind.

“Area Steel.”

Two words and a chosen direction saw the immortal fly through the halls in a rainbow bar of light, landing in a dead sprint towards the nearest stairwell. Elevator was too slow.
In fact running might’ve been too slow, as whatever it was, it started moving.

Colonel’s armor appeared around his body in a swish with the slamming of the stairwell door open, bending his knees on the landing and firing inhuman strength through his legs to cross the distance to the next one, and the next.

The door opened to what appeared to be administrative offices and perhaps old prop storage delegated to be maintained by Wizards instead of the normal human staff members.
And even then, it was probably more like Wizard; singular.

Good place to hide.

Kind of place a squatter would think to.

…place a Walker would think to.

Another Area steel closed some distance between the immortal and whatever it was, but whatever it was was in just as much of a rush.

Almost like it knew it’d been caught.

Like there was something to catch it Doing.

Like it was Snooping.

He implored Duo to reach further and see what it was but there seemed to be a wall in the way with every door opened and corner rounded.

All he could really discern was that it wasn’t human–didn’t have a human’s pulse, didn’t have a human’s heat signature, didn’t have a human’s EM signature–and it also wasn’t a wizard or otherwise sort of EM body, or otherwise any kind of cyber-entity.

There was a physicality to it, they could in fact Hear it moving somewhere ahead of them as they got closer, but that was the Only thing there was to it.

There was no data trail.
No moisture of a human’s exhaustion.

No EM signature.

It couldn’t be-!

A dead-end office became the end of the line and Baryl grit his teeth as the door slammed shut when he rounded upon it.
A click signaling the turning of the lock.

Pulling Colonel’s sword, he sliced the whole knob and part of the real-wave vinyl to pieces and prepped his cannon in the same breath as wrenching the thing open.

Nothing was inside…save a hastily opened window.

The void of its existence was gone again and Duo’s interface abated, leaving the old soldier crumbling to his knees and panting heavily as the adrenaline went with the deity’s influence.

His bones weighed him down and right about now, a dirt nap on the grubby floor looked like the best thing in the universe.

Especially how it would leave him wide open and vulnerable to the swirl of Indi darkness manifesting in the hall behind.

He forced a foot under him and pointed the cannon in Rogue’s direction the same time he appeared, giving the boy something of a shock at first but his footing squared and he stared the old soldier down.

Baryl’s pulse hammered painfully in his throat and, for once unbidden by his otherworldly partner, his vision swapped the image of the boy in front of him with the young Murian amidst his now scorched world.

Someone who was to be hailed as either a hero, or as a monster.

Either way…

“Sir?”

Baryl Squeezed his eyes shut and sucked a haggard inhale.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Exhale.

Again.

When he opened his eyes, Solo had relaxed some, albeit with a dawning, and Bitter understanding crossing his features as if the immortal had up and told him something.

Wouldn’t know what.
Not like he’d asked where the fancy coat and boots came from and why it didn't look like the usual Wave change.
Even if he had, Cross fusion was before his awakening. And what would he care if Vega tried to teach him about it?
Not that she would. No.
She wanted him to have as little information of this new world he’d awakened to as possible so her word would be the only thing he could rely on.
The thing that saved him from it was his aggressively independent mind and the thinking process Beaten into him when he was young.

One that knew better than to inquire about something he couldn’t stomach the answer for.

Disengaging his weapon, Baryl pushed slowly to his feet and ventured a glance towards the damn window.

If it had simply jumped, he could at least follow it, but no. No, it probably didn’t even Look at the window. It just disappeared again when it knew it had no line of sight.

…just like a fucking time walker.

However… Time walkers also brought with them a signature.
At least something residual that indicated the nature of their time machine.
The only kind that didn’t…

“You sensed it too.”

He looked back to Solo narrowly, watching him shoulder his weapon and march forward with a crane of his neck to see inside.
The boy was zeroing in on the window as well before drawing his brows down back at the old soldier, bidding a response.

…at least he had an inkling what the bigger problem was.

“...seems so,” he groused hoarsely, still panting heavily and bracing a hand to his chest to keep himself steady before venturing into the office. “What did it seem like to you?”

“Like it wasn’t supposed to be here,” came the terse reply, Rogue shouldering in after him and boring into his back. “And like it knew that.”

Then they were in agreement there.
And somewhat begged how many other times the boy Solo had accidentally come across another walker meandering through this world and had to rationalise what he was seeing.

…he was probably fine.

“Did you See it?” asked the immortal next, pacing to the window and peering down a moment like he’d see evidence of something landing in the bushes.
No such trace.

“It had human feet,” muttered the Murian after a beat, raising a brow when Baryl turned and offered a shrug. “Wearing socks.”

If he wasn’t reasonably sure Rogue’s sense of humor wasn’t quite That dry, he might’ve interpreted that as a joke.

Though…

“Did you get an EM reading?”

The question had Rogue blinking and frowning like someone had tried to tell Him the joke, so in a play of normalcy, Baryl offered his hand and a little lie with it.

“I think I might’ve been experiencing some interference. If you did as well, then it might’ve had some sort of jammer.”

An addendum that smoothed the hostility to the expression, and the boy glanced aside thoughtfully.

“…you may be right.” he mused eventually, letting Baryl catch more of his breath before pulling the sword from his shoulder and planting the tip to the floor, leaning both hands onto it with a shake of his head. “I didn’t get an EM signature at all. Was like it wasn’t there. Or more like something Was there, but it’s painfully obvious that it was gone…” his eyes narrowed as he met the immortal’s gaze again. “Except it clearly wasn’t.”

“...Until it was.” he extrapolated after another beat, glancing again through the window at the shadows dancing off the edges of the facility’s architecture.

…the last time he could think of a walker who matched the description was once again the campaign against Apollo Flame.

Though, the creature he spoke to identified himself by the presence of steel plate; chainmail rattling against it as he moved.

And distinctive Shoes.

Not socks. And soft patters of his feet in his harried bid to escape.

…he also had a Pulse. So did the one accompanying the king of FM and his personal guard on the moon.
This one didn’t.

“...I think I need to make a phone call.”

—

“We met with the middle man in the dead of night. Can’t quite recall his name, but he was wearing a mask and kept invading my personal space. Prodding and touching me in particular, whispering in this scratchy, unpleasant voice.
Creep.

He relayed to us that the picture was taken in Sweden. In a humble little town called Oxeldant. Supposedly, the patron had found the camera abandoned in the countryside with the digital files still intact.
And the name on the camera was Bill Trevor.

We expressed some gratitude and made to get the hell out of there before this middleman could start fondling us.

‘If you aren’t satisfied with the answers you get, you weren’t asking the right questions’

He said it as we were leaving.
Laughing with this loud, obnoxious laugh.

Skye was kind of shaken up after, and we didn’t talk much for a few weeks.

Time I spent sobering up.”

…

Bon bonne’s translation was looking cleaner the more he worked on the document.

Sniffling, Kazuma scrubbed his face and considered reading further despite his aching eyes but sighed with the decision to look at the photographs in previous entries instead.
The woman’s hand, a painting, the deer and red forest.

If the author published the blog intending to show off their photography skills, they easily could have gotten away with it.
He thought so at least.

Glancing forwards at the pictures that would follow, he felt a brow quirk up before the dryness of his eyeballs won and he set the transer down and laid back on the pillow, crossing his arms over his face.

Krantz left a little while ago, or at least he Thought it was a little while ago, might’ve been an actual While ago by now.
Either way, she left, not before making sure he ate and drank and took his medicine and checked his fever and made sure he was propped up and not laying flat on the bed and offered some balm to rub on his chest and under his nose and drew the blinds so the light wasn’t overwhelming and all the same Mom crap she said she wasn’t here for.

…the tea was nice though.

He huffed a stuffy sigh before reaching for a tissue and blowing his nose

The snot was a vile brownish color and he scrunched his face with a ‘gross’ muttered as he dropped it into the waste bin.

The skin above his lip felt raw afterwards; hurting and scrubbing it made his nose run more.
Tried using balm there, but when he used a tissue, the stupid paper would either absorb it or rub it off when he was trying to clear his nostrils.
Then he’d reapply the balm.
It would make his nose itch and run.
And it hurt.
So he’d grab a tissue.
And it would remove the balm.
Which itched.
And Hurt.
So he reapplied the balm.
And it made his nose Run.
So he’d grab a Tissue.
And it would wipe the balm Off.
And it Hurt.
So he’d Re-Apply.

“Just Stop!” he growled into the next tissue, feeling an impact like it was a stone that came out and he spat a grunt as he lobbed the stupid thing into the bin among the mountain of crumpled and stained paper trying to climb out onto the floor.

Trying to breathe using his mouth produced a cough and he wanted to scream as his lungs shuddered like they were full of broken plastic.

Any movies or books coming out EVER were going to get squinted at if they went to different worlds and the protagonists didn’t keel over with the super-cold Immediately after touchdown. That’s it.
Cause this was Bullshit.

Another tissue in the bin and Kazuma flopped back on the pillow with a groan, clenching his teeth as he tried to breathe through the one mucus-free nostril he had, staring weakly at Miller's dumb popcorn ceiling like it was the source of his illness.

…might’ve been a contributor. Considering inhaling dust was probably adding to his ailment.
But he wasn’t about to start hopping up a step ladder and waving a dust brush around.
Last time he tried to move around too quickly he almost fell on his face.

…did Miller even have a dust wand?

“Ugh.”
He rolled onto his side some and traced the outline of the lamp on the side table for want of anything more colorful to look at.
Looked like something stolen from some vintage pizza place. As if someone like Miller would be that kind of fun.
Probably just thrifted. Or maybe a gift.
It didn’t match anything else in the room or the rest of the apartment.
Maybe that’s why the fed liked it.
If he liked it.

…Kazuma didn’t hate it.
Suppose not.
Not HATE.
It was just a lamp. Wasn’t it’s fault who it belonged to.
And admittedly, the red, stain-glass looking trim was cool.
And the blue parts. The way they were shaped kinda looked like swimming, or riding goggles sat on an abstract face.
The tassels along the bottom were dumb though.

He exhaled and shut his eyes, sucking up a wet blob in his nose and swallowing it down….right before there was a click like the locks to the door outside getting undone one by one and Bon Bonne chirped his excitement about Geo and Mega being back.

He didn’t think he’d been napping that much. Felt like they just left.

Swallowing despite his aching throat, he sat up and blew his nose again before hesitantly shifting to stand and greet them as they came in.
Shivering under the thin sheet wrapped around his shoulders, he braced a hand to the wall to maintain balance as he padded into the doorway and squinted as Miller pushed the door open and led Geo inside.

Despite the new brace around his neck and dark circles under his eyes, the Mega man looked to be positively Beaming.

SO not fair.

“Welcome back-bon!” Greeted his wizard from the bundle between his operator's arms, buzzing as the transer connected with Geo’s system.

“Hey guys.” offered the mega man with a smile and an attempted nod hampered by the cushion around his neck.

Bit goofy looking on him.

There was a brush of static that made Kazuma’s hair stand up and he hummed under his breath with a flinch as his nerves tensed with the tickle of the FMian’s touch.
He cleared his throat, offering a nod and a non-committal ‘Hey.’ over his shoulder where he suspected Mega to be hovering.

Was he concerned now or looking for a new perch while Geo’s neck was occupied?

Miller closing the door and thus blocking the afternoon light from view should have been more of a relief than it was, but be it because his eyes were adjusting or what-actual-ever, his head decided to throb behind his temples and Geo’s approach was met with a heavy sigh.

“You feeling better?” he asked with a concerned clench of his teeth and a shift of things like paperwork in his arms, freeing a hand he ventured to Kazuma’s forehead.

“…sometimes.” he managed to croak out, leaning away from his touch as a tickle worked its way around his vocal chords and threatened another coughing fit.

A frown followed, Geo pursing a lip as he withdrew but perked up at the sigh from Miller as he set down a backpack and what looked like another bag of groceries by the door and ran a hand through his hair.

“…does he have alien powers too?” asked the agent with a nod at Kazuma’s person and some form of Wonder like the hacker was suddenly made of something shiny.

His head swayed as he squinted at the question, not quite registering it as another wet tickle hit his nose.
No, do not sneeze.

“No, he’s normal.” replied Geo with a pinch of a grimace, flinching out of the way as Kazuma inhaled and pinched his nose to block the next snot rocket looking to leave the hangar, gritting his teeth before the pressure in his ears spiked like a needle to the bone and he looked away to sneeze it into his arm.
Once. twice. Three times.
Friggin FOUR.

“Ugh!” he rubbed his face at the fifth one and gasped to get something besides mucus in his lungs–leading to another bout of coughing into his palm and he reeled backwards so his spit wouldn’t flick onto his compatriot.

“Case and point,” rumbled Omega-xis from Geo’s person, the mega man looping into the hacker’s space, setting the papers down and standing at his side to offer a pat to his back so he wouldn’t choke.

His chest was hurting and head light by the time it was over, his teeth chattering in the shudder as he tried to inhale without swallowing more crap worth hacking back up.
Just gross.

Geo pulled him over to the bed to sit down and Miller grabbed another box of tissues to help him clean up, watching him with a face Kazuma interpreted as a contemplation of his belief system before raising his brows and walking back to pull his phone out of a pocket and tapping something out on either a notepad application or firing a message to miss Rosie.

“Definitely normal,” he nodded.

Which warranted a frown on the hacker’s part, until the initial question actually hit him and he sputtered with a double take at Geo.
“Wh-? You actually told him?”

“No… well yes and no,” he said with a grimace and a head-shake inhibited by the brace as he pulled up on the sheet so it sat more securely on the hacker’s shoulders. “he found out.”

“Yeah, and you know he took the news pretty well. Like he somehow knew aliens were already a thing,” added the FMian on his wrist with a mock ‘Oooooooh’ like a conspiratorial ghost.

Another blink and double take followed that threatened to teeter the hacker off the bed and Miller regarded the attention pointed at him with a frown of his own.
“Ask the CIA and the BoR. I know Nothing.”

“Sure you do,” huffed Mega like he was crossing his arms

That would be quite a story to tell if it the implication was true this world had already made its peace with some aliens, but the whiplash of the thought registering in his mind and then getting interrupted by the agent holstering his phone and lighting up with a somewhat dramatic sigh of “Oh thank god, boss lady brought a kettle.” upon looking at the kitchenette didn’t feel good for his brain.

It might’ve shown on his face when he scrunched it up and induced another sneezing fit haphazardly drowned in his elbow.
Hard to say why else Geo would make the sad face like he was nursing a wounded animal as he gave the hacker another tissue.

“Sorry we were gone so long.” he said with a pinch to his features as he worked around in the brace and tapped the plastic support. “We kinda hit it off with the doctor and got to chatting. “ The corners of his mouth ticked up and he offered his palm out. “She's cool though, you would've liked her.”

Kazuma breathed another sniffle as he reached for the balm again to give his skin a chance to stay on his bones and gently rubbed a thin layer around his mouth too.

“Sorry I missed it.” he muttered in the meanwhile, pausing a moment to click his mouth closed and shot the Mega man a knowing look. “Though, only YOU would think conversation with good company is worth apologizing for.”
His face fell as the balm tingled and he opened his mouth to fight the coming itch.
If there wasn’t air moving past it, it could dry down.
He cleared his throat and waved off the concerned look he received before reaching for his transer and pulling up the data from what’s-her-arm for review.
His brows furrowed and a coarse huff sounded as he offered the screen for Geo to see.
“ …At least you got something done. This is still nada.”

Bon bonne’s ciphers were having trouble cracking the encryption or translating the text into any of their known coding formats.
They thought Geo might be onto something when he remarked on the similarity to old texts from Whazzap, but they didn’t have anything on hand from the place Bon bonne could extrapolate a rosetto stone from and combing through this world’s networks made it seem like ‘Whazzap’ not only wasn’t called that here, the people who lived there also evolved with different writing and therefore coding systems. A couple of areas surrounding the country seemed plausible but Bon Bonne had all but ordered the hacker to nap off the headache plaguing him as they were looking before it made him go blind.

Not sure if there was any correlation he was extracting that possibility from, but being dizzy after throwing up, Kazuma had been too weak to actually rebuke his wizard and bundled up to comply. Rosie, her tea, and the not-your-mom-isms showed up some time after that.

Given how Bon Bonne hadn’t made much more progress on it in the time between dozing and talking with her, the other potential leads for Not-Whazzap’s neighboring countries being key to decoding the language didn’t work out. So she, whoever she really was, was still basically an alien for all intent and purposes.

And an alien with writing that their Resident alien couldn’t read either.

Geo squinted at what little progress they’d come up with before shooting the hacker a look that was both impressed and like he wanted to bean him in the back of the head with the pillow.

“Only YOU would try to decipher code like that with a potential infection like this.” he said, handing the device back and crossing his arms.

Though Kazuma wasn’t sure why he felt so high and mighty about it.

“Says the guy who was squaring up to Zero yesterday?” he fired back with a scoff, recalling the stomps to get in his face like Geo was aiming for the big android’s feet and missed. Or more likely, missed On Purpose. Like doing that when the guy was in a bad mood after getting dunked on by Over wasn’t batting at a hornet nest.

“He's not that big Or that bad.” scoffed Omega-xis from Geo’s transer, holding his chin up with a harrumph when they turned to see. “I dunno what you mean.”

And maybe not. Over Had gotten the drop on him in both combat and verbal debate. Ex talked to him like he had him by the nads too.

...still…

Bunking with agent Miller wasn’t ideal, but between inhabiting His boring empty apartment and having to share the house with the temperamental, if not accusatory robots…he supposed he could live. Being mostly combat models, the lot of them probably weren’t formatted to help with a condition like this anyway. And this way he wouldn’t get woken up by some of them getting into it. He thought back to the way Zero and Quint argued and rubbed his nose as the balm stung with another threat to sneeze, biting his lip some before Geo perked up like he had a thought.

“Guess what?” he asked with a quick pat through his pockets, pulling out a small square-ish slip and offering it out. “Look.”

There was a laminated sheen to it with the slight glare from the open door, but Kazuma felt himself doing a dizzy double take as he took in the image in his hand. “…is this?”

There, plain as day, was Over. The picture was clearly taken before they all met, as his face wasn’t halved by that nasty gash and his armor was clean; undamaged.

There was a slight discoloration to the image like its printer was low on toner or something but really that only made the picture have a warmer feel; the time traveller’s features almost flushed with a lively pink that also tinged the shadows of his armor with a pearly undertone.

Smiling like he hadn’t seen them in a while.

“He did work as the doctor’s assistant for a while last year,” elaborated Geo with a shift to prop a knee on the bed. “She took pictures.”

“Huh.” His shoulders relaxed as he flipped the picture over to inspect the back, squinting at a tiny scratch of cursive that looked like it might read ‘job well done’ before his throat tickled and Kazuma flinched to cough into his shoulder.

His throat was already raw but it was like it didn’t care. Each breath burned rings between his mouth and chest, making him shudder in his attempts to inhale. Worse, some mucus loosened in his sinuses and stuck in the back of his mouth; thick, warm and glooby.

He almost wasn’t fast enough to put down the photo and grab the tissue box from Geo to spit it out, chills rocking up his back as he pinched and pulled at the viscous strands away from his tongue. The texture of the tissue almost made him gag trying to scrub the rest out and he spat a groan at how his nose ran again and the skin where the balm was was once again dry and raw.

Friggin damn it!

“Was about to say you looked like you were doing better,” remarked Omega-xis as the hacker was blowing his nose and spitefully digging in with a finger to try and clear the blockage up there. “You think we might need to burn all that so it doesn’t make a biohazard?”

“That is So not funny,” chided his partner with a stern look from his peripheral.

“Good, cause I'm being serious.”

“I could go for burning,” rasped Kazuma with a slam of the tissue to the bin, sucking up the snot to try and clear his airway. Made his ear hurt for some reason and he winced at it, cupping a palm to it with a hiss.

“Boss mentioned you liked this one.” hummed Miller as he toed inside, the smell of peppermint wafitng in after him as he cradled a mug, eying it as the stream drifted around his face before raising a brow at the hacker. “Think it helps?”

Kazuma frowned with the question, clearing his throat as Geo fixed him a look saying they were all still on the same side and huffing a sigh as he offered to take the cup with a half-hearted mumble. “It’s my mom’s go-to.”

“She give you soup too?” asked the agent next.

“Veggie noodle,” he nodded as he palmed the hot sides of the mug, inhaling the minty smell.

The fed made a face and stepped back with his hands on his pockets, tilting his head. “Ever had bean and barley?”

Kazuma furrowed a brow. “I’ve Heard of barley miso.”

“Number one advised against too much fiber,” pointed out Geo as he turned in his seat.

“I was there.” He raised a brow back. “And he also said not too much protein or iron. Meaning probably not a whole lot of Food in general. I don’t disagree on account of the bacteria problem doc Bell brought up, but while I'd rather not have my throat torn out cause one of you busted a gut–” he took a step back with a hand up. “-- nobody here would be happy to let you Starve either. That won’t get you any better any faster.”

Unhelpfully, Kazuma's stomach rumbled a churning little growl and his frown deepened as he raised the tea to his mouth, blowing gently.

“Oh-one-bon would mount Miller-bon on a stick if bon was starved.”

He almost choked on the first sip.

Geo’s mouth gaped at the orange transer while Miller shut his eyes with a face like he could Feel the ‘stick’ in question already, exhaling his agreement with a sigh.

“Your words,” chuckled Mega from his screen while Bon bonne was folding his arms with a nod, then a pointed look Kazuma’s way.

“Bon would also be in trouble if didn’t eat Anything-bon.” he made his angry face and jumped up and down the screen. “Makes bon upset!”

Kazuma breathed a huff and lowered the mug to rest on his leg with a clear of his throat. “Does Bean and Barley sound good to you then?”

Buzzing, the wizard pulled an old recipe mom had used from famed grandma Yui and juxtaposed it against a recipe online for Miller’s proposed ‘bean and barley’, humming contemplatively.

“...bon does tick oh-one’s no-no boxes,” he said with a look up at miller, shaking his head.

“So does veggie noodle.” countered the agent, inhaling as Bon bonne meeped at that fact. “And so does the type of fried rice I'm still finding in weird places–”said with a glance at Geo before he shifted his weight with a shake of his head. “--And most actual Meals for when you're sick.”

“...what kind of stick do you think he’ll use?” asked Kazuma with as he fought a sniffle, smirking into his tea as the fed breathed out languidly in clear effort to keep a straight face while Geo groaned into a palm as he planted it to his brow.

“Why’re you like this?”

“Pfft. You Know why he’s like this,” hummed Omega-xis.

“Look,” Miller dropped his hands and turned to make his way back out to the apartment. “I’ll make it light, watery and boring. That should be satisfactory to your pal and your stomach. Sound good?”

“It sounds Great,” replied Geo before either Kazuma or Bon bonne could open their mouths, holding his neck brace as he bowed a nod after the agent on his way. “Thank you very much.”

Miller gave the Mega man a nod and a good natured face before heading over to the kitchen to get that started.

A frown crossed the hacker’s features next and he furrowed a brow at his companion.

Geo had his history with being on the ‘good’ side of Satella’s force, they all knew that going in, so him being professional and even cordial in the face of the agents here would be fine. But the way he acted with some of them seemed far too peachy for Kazuma’s liking.

Building rapport, maybe. Trying to make a good impression so they didn’t have more enemies than they knew what to do with….but…

…sometimes his friendliness didn’t seem forced. Not with people like Miller, or this world’s Mega man. Not nearly to the degree it should have been.

Geo met his eye and winced a little as he tried to tilt his head questioningly, holding the brace as he gave Kazuma a shrug. “What? I’m hungry too.”

A skeptical brow climbed the hacker’s forehead but he elected to nurse his runny nose before he started another argument. Last night’s didn’t really go in his favor and it still stung.

The friggin arm. The friggin cameras. The friggin Quint thing. The friggin NOSE-!

He fired another snot rocket into a tissue and groaned as its aftertrail lingered in his nostril and had to be pulled out by hand again.

...it smelled like salty gummies.

“Ew.” agreed Geo with a scrunched face as he watched the ordeal, glancing at the waste bin like he was rethinking Mega’s suggestion to burn the biohazard away. Might be the only safe disposal method.

Bon bonne hummed with concern the way he did but folded his arms with a pout at the lack of ability to offer help. Unlike Omega-xis, he couldn’t touch this physical world. Good thing he wasn’t programmed to feel claustrophobic.

Still…

He deposited the tissue in the bin and took a sip of the tea, sighing as he set it aside to cool down some more before leaning back to try and get comfortable again.

His eye caught the photo of Over as Geo reached for it and gave it a look, turning it to check the inscription on the back himself with a hum.

Kazuma squinted a bit at the sheen to the photo, but noticed something there that had him cracking a small grin. “I Knew they were green.”

Geo looked up at the remark with a raised brow and his mouth popped open like he was confused before it clicked and he turned the picture back to face him.

“They were either that or yellow,” added the hacker as the mega man nodded his agreement.

“Yeah, you were right they weren't blue.” he gave a thoughtful glance to the side and sat up, gathering his thoughts by the look of it.

“So apparently, according to the doctor, it's actually normal for memory to be kind of shoddy when you're Thinking about a time traveller but not Looking at them.”

“Huh?” Kazuma drew his brows down and squinted at him. He’d just figured the wounds from all that running around Over had been up to distracted from his features enough that nobody was able to mentally composite his face. It was what made sense to him when Rock asked about it last night.

That wasn’t the case?

“Something about the universe trying to Cope with their existence.” elaborated Mega with a nod as he crossed his arms.

“I guess using a time machine does things to the fabric of reality that it doesn't like,” added Geo, shrugging. “And in trying to fix itself, it blurs out the identity of the perpetrator. Which is also why the cameras in the lab weren't working last night.” he gestured offhandedly with a thumb. “A Time traveler's image doesn't archive digitally.”

Kazuma felt his brows shoot up. “Huh.” If he wasn’t in a complete other dimension, he might’ve called that implausible. But added to the fact of where and when he was right then, something about the universe covering up its seams might have been mentioned in the data logs and stories he’d looked into back at the Hikari archive. Was it in the clauses about how the global network would receive repairs in the wake of Pharohman’s rampage? Maybe. Similar principle at least.

…though…

“…so, how did this happen?” he asked, clearing his throat and pointing to the photo.

If the universe went out of its way to censor time travel, what loophole made a picture like this possible?

“The doctor wasn't sure.” frowned Geo as he fixed it another look. “She suspected it had something to do with the mirror in her camera, but couldn't say more than that.”

Implying the camera used was old enough to have a mirror inside?

Wow.

Wait. … if it had a mirror, then…?

“…Like a true image?” he guessed with a raised brow that had his company doing double takes.

“A what?” chuffed the FMian from his screen.

“A true-” his voice cut off as another glob of mucus cut off his airway and Kazuma bent forward to choke it out. His middle seized and his eyes squeezed shut as his throat burned wretchedly, sputters of goo splattering on his hand and his middle scrunched like his lungs were trying to wring themselves out.

Wheezes followed as he tried to get some air back, and he pawed around the side table for another tissue to deep clean his mouth.

His eyes were watering as his neck kind of lurched with a gag, the stuff coming out of him tasting a bit more like bile than before and the smell stained his nose as he tried to swallow.

“Did you take the decongestants?” Geo asked with a crease on his brow as he held up the waste bin for him, leaning forward when Kazuma's mouth was dry as Whazzap and feeling his forehead again.

“Bon.” chimed the wizard from his transer. “With Rosie-bon before she left.”

“That sounded bad.” remarked Miller as he moved back into the doorway with a knot on his brow too.

Much as the hacker was loathed to admit it,

“It Felt bad too…”

He rested a hand on his chest as his throat hitched, rough breaths burning where he couldn’t reach and his stomach ached as his lungs deflated and tried to fill back up.

Geo and Miller stayed there for a tense couple of moments, wherein another brush of Mega’s static made the hacker wince and pull his legs up onto the bed.

Might’ve been the point, since Geo wasted no time shucking him back under all the blankets and fluffing the pillows behind him so the hacker would still be mostly upright.

“…might need to swing by for antibiotics Today,” murmured the fed in the meanwhile, pulling his phone out again and tapping away at it before holding it to his ear and turning towards the main room. “I'll call the pharmacy and Bell’s colleague, make sure that’s full.”

Geo breathed his thanks without looking up from the determined motions of tucking the comforter under Kazuma’s legs, smoothing out the top before laying the transers where the wizards could still take part of the conversation.

“A true image though?” asked Omega-xis when he vanished from the hacker’s arms and popped up on his screen with a tilt of the head. “As opposed to a fake image?”

“It’s a reflection of a reflection.” groused Kazuma with a frown as Geo handed him his tea again, shrugging a shoulder. “You know, when you hold up two mirrors to face each other and it looks like there’s a tunnel?” he took a tender sip as the FMian hummed thoughtfully with the explanation. “And if you stand between them like that it looks like there’s another You right behind you. I think it was mentioned in the year-walk document.”

He drew his brows down with a glance to the side as he tried to remember what the book specifically mentioned about the mirror illusion but a questioning look over to Bon bonne had the Wizard shaking his head.

“Bon. Translation not on that page yet.”

Kazuma blew out a weak raspberry and took another sip of the peppermint, grimacing at the tension in his middle and trying to be gentle with how he breathed.

His head throbbed a bit more and he tried to drown it with the tea before setting the mug aside and grabbing another tissue. Ugh. so raw.

Geo had a bit of a tense look on his face when the hacker looked up at him again, kinda working his jaw like he wanted to say something but he cleared his throat with a halfhearted shrug and a look off to the side.

“…maybe. Wait.” His eyes widened a bit before narrowing at Kazuma with another knowing, low-key scolding look. “Are you still working on that new translation?"

Kazuma raised a brow but shrugged innocently into the next tissue.

“It's something to do.”

“You’re supposed to be resting.”

“This Is me resting.” he folded the little paper square and blew into it hard, going through the same motion again of cleaning up and applying balm. “You got stuff and the guys at the house didn’t give us his PET so I had to fill the time a different way after Rosie left.” His throat tickled some and he reached for the mug to have another minty sip, swirling it with his tongue some before swallowing.

…considering that ‘chatting’ was just with the doctor…

“ …I take it he never snuck in to hang out then?”

“Nah.” Omega-xis shook his head at the brow raised with the question. “Only bot there was a little sanitation unit with a squeaky wheel.”

“…figures.”

Given what he said last night and how he had made the point to not be an IRL contact back when he was just text in an inbox, Kazuma was well enough aware that Over probably wasn’t going to be making too many visits while he was running around trying to get his ducks back in line for his mission, but… After showing up in person to battle their pursuer, and escorting them to this world to ensure their safety…

It seemed like that was how it was gonna go. And… that might’ve been fun to have him there. Solving their mysteries on the road. Jumping back and forth to where trouble might lie and not lie.

“I’m sure he’s fine.” assured Geo after the hacker breathed a sigh, offering a shrug and a palm up as he made himself comfortable on the edge of the bed. “Just busy, and maybe he didn’t want to risk Miller sicking a Raid on the clinic.”

The notion sounded exactly like the raid from Copper on the warehouse that brought them here, making Kazuma raise his brows again to concede the thought.

“Probably,” he hummed, sniffling with another sip of the mug before drawing his brows down at the waste bin when Geo eyed it with another grimace.

“….you should probably keep some distance. I don't wanna get you sick too.”

He’d essentially gotten the Mega man fired, blacklisted, hunted, kicked out of school, estranged from his family, assaulted by an interdimensional BITCH, then arrested when they tried to touch base with Over when he was taking too long.

Geo had been taking everything in stride but there had to be a line Kazuma couldn’t make him cross.

Wouldn’t. Shouldn’t.

Whatever.

He couldn’t let this happen to him too.

“It’s probably already gestating.” pointed out Omega-xis, making both of them deflate with a nonchalant shrug. “It’ll hit him sooner or later.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Mega.” huffed his partner with a wry look from the corner of his eye, pawing at the brace some before shooting Kazuma an apologetic look.

Like he had something in that regard to be sorry for.

He met the look with a frown and cleared his throat with a slight glower into his mug, feeling the heat of the tea fading while his reflection glared back.

Was THIS the way it was just gonna be for their tenure in this world?

“Let me get you a compress,” murmured the mega man gently after another beat while Kazuma was swallowing a lukewarm gulp

“...Sure.”

He had made the remark when they were first hitting it off that the world’s blue hero was ‘the best pet bodyguard he could hope for’, but that had half been meant as a joke to lighten the mood since their partnership was of course going to be a rough road on the run.

He hadn’t genuinely meant to Use him; not have Geo shine his shoes, lay himself out on a puddle so the hacker wouldn’t get wet, and least of all have him pamper and wait upon his needs like a Nursemaid.

It was bad enough when dad cut off his accounts and put up the stupid posters to make them feel powerless. And added an irresistible reward to anyone who could get their hands on them.

And forced them to move erratically with inconsistent sleep schedules.

And LEFT him to–

Another sneeze snuck up on him and it was probably only luck that the tea was around halfway gone and didn’t splash anywhere besides up and back into itself as Kazuma’s nerves all flinched from the action.

A little glob dripped from his nose and he nearly missed the side table in the movement to replace the mug with another tissue.

He would need to reapply the Friggin balm again-!

Pressure in his head and his chest made him feel like a squished beanie-plush as he cleared his nose again, making him blink some blearyness up at Geo’s approach and he tried not to groan his misery as he wiped his hands and accepted the wet rag.

It was a bit warm.

He laid back onto the pillows and exhaled slowly, resting the cloth on his crown while Bon bonne buzzed in approval.

Geo breathed easier with it too, but made a face and fussed some with his brace like it wasn’t sitting right.

It might not have specifically been Kazuma's fault that happened, but…

“…so what’s the plan for that?”

“All goes well, I only keep it on for two weeks.” replied the mega man with an inhibited nod; almost chipper as if the optimism wasn't stringent on the notion of things ‘going well’.

Like it wasn’t THEM in the situation here.

“If not?”

“Three weeks.”

“And if it gets worse because of the sneeze reflex when this takes you out?” Kazuma asked with a thumb hooked at himself–then pinched at his nose when a sneeze nearly came up on cue.

“It won’t.” chuffed the FMian by his leg. “I won’t let it.”

“And Hopefully we’re not here that long,” added Geo with a roll of a shoulder before gesturing at the door. “Hard to look for your ultimate program when they still use tires and petrol.”

“It’s not… That analogue.”

Kazuma’s eye was watering from the tickled nerves in his sinuses as the sneeze aborted, breathing through his nose with an irritated growl as he sat back up and scrubbed his nostril to rid the feeling.

“There’s still wireless networks, digital interfaces and channels to comb through.”

“Yeah, but most places use Paper for data storage.” pointed out Mega next, ruffling his fluff as he scratched under his jaw. “And not just as backups in case of a server crash. That’s their primary!”

So did mom.

His teeth clenched around the remark and he discarded another tissue with a huff, grabbing the balm again and trying a thinner layer on his upper lip while something a bit more liberal went on his chest.

“…doctor Bell said you probably need a remedy or a chaser from Our world,” mused Geo as the hacker was laying back down and replacing the compress, folding his arms and standing up to call into the main apartment. “Did he get anything for us like that when he was shopping?”

“If he did, it was before he jumped me.” replied Miller amidst the sound of boiling water and the occasional knife to the cutting board. “Probably means it’s in that stash he left for you while he was at the lab.”

“And we’ve been taking those.” The Mega man fidgeted with his brace again with a glance off to the side, pursing a lip thoughtfully before blinking at a hum from the transers.

“Bon don’t recognize the brands though.”

“Does Kazuma get sick enough for you to be familiar with that kinda stuff?” asked Omega-xis with a cross of his arms as he invaded the screen.

“Bon is prepared.” He made his angry face again and tried to push him out. “Mom and dad make sure of it!”

Another sneeze crept up on him but didn’t quite make its finale as they spoke, leaving Kazuma open mouthed and struggling to either see or breathe and he clenched his teeth with a growl.

“Look, Who cares?!” he hissed with a toss of his hands at the ceiling. “I’m sti-ill sick, and we’re still Stuck, so…Whatever! …whatever.”

His hands flopped back to the comforter and he sniffed harshly to alleviate the terrible tickle in his nose, biting a groan as he curled his fingers and used a palm to wipe his eyes.

This was so stupid.

They weren't in jail and yet Kazuma was ostensibly under house arrest.

And he couldn’t argue with anyone about it either!

He already wasn’t the peak example of physical ability like Geo was, but now his body was Actively betraying him!

The medicine did hardly anything, the Sleep did hardly anything, he seemed to have an endless amount of snot and phlegm to hack up and his stomach could hardly keep anything in it without making him spit it back out at some point!

Trying to move around led to bouts of dizziness and the sun was jamming into his brain trying to lobotomize him any time he caught a bit of light too!

The only thing that seemed to make it bearable was the shower, but even that had left him cold, shaky and off balance when it was over.

Nothing worked!

If he knew it was gonna be like this he wouldn’t have-!

His mouth trembled and he clenched his teeth tightly, pressing a knuckle to his brow.

When they were caught Kazuma figured Over would eventually move to extract them.

Just teleport them out of whatever van or cell or whatever. When that didn’t happen, he took it upon himself to gather as much information as he could about this new world and leverage any gives he could find to make sure these people couldn’t keep him or Geo prisoner while they waited for their time traveller to catch up.

Then when Over reached out, they had direction!

Something to do, Somewhere to go!

A rendezvous!

Where they could share data and make strides to the next thing!

And they would have all been a Team!

…but he didn’t show up.

Not until way later…and he couldn’t take them with him where he was going.

Maybe that was Technically the right call given how badly Kazuma was bedridden right now but…

Maybe the fresh air would have been better for him.

All of them.

And…

Another brush of Mega’s static preceded the soft touch of Geo offering a hand on his arm, another apologetic pinch to his features when the hacker could blearily find his eye.

“…It won’t be forever.” he said, offering a smile as he glanced to Over’s photo poking out from under bon bonne’s transer. “And He’ll be back.”

Kazuma swallowed thickly and looked away towards the lamp again.

Though not really focusing on it.

“...I know…” he sniffed with a sigh, closing his eyes as the light bothered him again.

Of course it wasn’t forever.

Of course this would pass.

Of course it would stop hurting.

But right now?

“...it’s just real quiet, you know? And…” He squinted beyond the lamp at the wall, swallowing another hard lump.

His fingers curled tighter.

Though not like there was any strength to it.

“…what’s wrong?” whispered the Mega man in his peripheral, concern plain in his voice.

“Everything.”

“Specifically?”

“…I'm just tired.” he breathed another wet sigh, flicking his wrist up with a flippant look at the ceiling before letting it fall to the pillow behind him. “And…we’re not Moving so…”

A weak cough puffed past his teeth and his eyes again fell closed.

“...I'm tired.”

His chest heaved and hitched with a…shudder.

It was a shudder. It was Not a sob.

And the wateryness of his eyes was from another tickle in his nose.

Probably needed some more balm.

Some more Stupid balm!

He sat up a bit, holding the compress to his head as he reached for the little jar AGAIN, sniffling as Geo gnawed on his lip and he eased out of his space.

“…sorry.” managed the hacker in response to the pinched look he was giving him but he didn’t maintain eye contact.

Maybe the Mega man had a story or some other word of encouragement he was reaching for in that head of his, but whatever was making him hesitate on the matter, Kazuma didn’t rightly know or care.

Another sneeze and captured snot rocket followed in the silence before Miller poked his head back in with a nod at Geo.

“Hey. maybe let him rest, okay?”

There was another beat where Geo was clearly hesitant, but he muttered a “Sure.” As Kazuma was laying back and getting comfortable, approaching one more time with a good natured tap to the shoulder and a smile to go with it.

“We’re here if you need.”

His thanks was mumbled through heavy lips and Kazuma was closing his eyes to focus on breathing while everyone else left.

Maybe they were just hoping to themselves that this wouldn’t get any worse.

He was too, all things considered.

If his airways actually closed or the dehydration spelled a trip to the hospital, they would all be in trouble. Not the least of which since they didn’t have any of Kazuma’s medical documents on hand or on file.

And…even if Over was Around to go get them, it would probably take him a while to pull the files.

Every doctor visit was like that; an hour at least to gain access to his documents.

And even then, the physicians were only allowed to view like…a page, MAYBE two just so they had info relevant to that specific visit.

Mom and dad…mostly dad actually, made it difficult for someone to obtain his personal files and Kazuma did much the same work to reinforce the family server so his parents (and auntie, but she was on-and-off Married to a doctor, so there wasn’t too much call to look at her stuff) would be all but invisible and neither ID thieves nor data brokers could do their thing and make a pretty zenny off their info.

There were physical copies of course, but those were in a safe requiring a twelve digit code and a physical key.

Mom and dad had the combo. And only one of the three house wizards were allowed to have the key at any given time.

Bon bonne liked to hide it. Usually in mom’s flower pots in the back, but sometimes in dad’s office.

Trigger would Pretend to hide it behind someone’s ear or under Dad’s nose, but he probably kept it on his tool belt or in a compartment on his arm.

Juno didn’t bother when it was his turn to have it. Often wearing the lanyard around his neck and making a point to never go wizard off so he wouldn’t lose it.

Mom said it was because he wasn’t programmed to be as creative as the other two, but Kazuma always figured it was because Juno liked the way it looked; it made him feel important to wear it; to guard it.

…was probably Trigger who had it last…

Kazuma curled up a little and breathed another shudder, wiping his face as his eyes watered again before shimmying to lay on his side, blinking blearily at his transer and the photo underneath.

…would he leave again when he came back?

…IF he came back?

Or would he just scoop him up, cradle him into that collar and hand him off to someone else?

Dad left him to Satella.

Trigger left him with Geo.

…guess Over already Had left him with Miller.

And HE left him with Krantz today.

Why’d they keep doing that?

Was Krantz going to too?

Just strap him into something comfortable, drive him to Another secondary location and pass him off like a baton race?!

He clutched the fabric of the cushion and bowed his head. Heart thumping as he…shuddered.

Shuddered.

SHUDDERED.

He was Not crying!

He was better than that!

Had to be BETTER!

Braver!

And he was!

He wasn’t scared!

Not even as the world blurred around him and hot liquid poured from the stinging gash on his face.

He was Not screaming!

If anything, he was having fun!

The wind whipped around him and he held on tight. Both to the jacket and his cut.

It didn’t even hurt.

He was FINE!

Noise rumbled around him like thunder, the awful woman’s voice howling in the distance.

Was she trying to take him?

Uh uh.

UH-UH!

He squeezed closer and felt a big secure arm wrap around him as they slowed down.

A beat passed and Kazuma felt himself hefted up.

Everything was shaky. Off balance.

He was pried off the nice man with the red hair and handed off to someone else.

He didn’t want to go!

Come back!

The nice man fell and his arm bent the wrong way.

He yelled for him to get up but he never did.

He was taken somewhere else.

He slapped the arms grabbing him. Why were they so big?! And tight!

Let go! Let GO!

His handprints were tiny and red against the weirdo with the glass on his eye.

He smelled bad.

Really bad!

He stank like a burning snot rocket!

If he stank like that he was gonna make Kazuma stink like that! Go away!

GO AWAY!

‘Shhh.’

He looked up with another slap.

It was white now.

And there was less noise.

Tufts of fur between his fingers as someone rubbed his back.

A low tune he didn’t know the words to hummed into the silence.

He looked like snow.

…felt like it too.

It was cold.

Cold.

Cold!

He woke up to the sound of his own teeth chattering.

His body twitched as the chills went to his toes and poked into his bones.

His hair was wet again. Almost slimy and he shivered through a low groan.

What was this Now?

“Bon?”

Breath hissing between his teeth, Kazuma looked up and winced at the screen of his transer lighting up, clenching his eyes shut and curling into a ball under the covers.

A harsh cough followed him down.

Geo brought hot towels and some soup when Bon bonne called for some help.

Kazuma didn’t remember enough of the nightmare to tell him when he asked.

Chapter Text

According to Nube, one of the first things Curse terror inflicted on reploids brought into this hellscape was to appraise them for transerver harness and have them stripped as necessary.
Terrible as it was, she couldn’t argue the logic of ensuring there was no possible escape for the ‘merchandise’, and Oro imagined such was supposed to be her treatment when the hangerter had attempted to ferry her to them. Among other potential interests.
The fact it wasn’t an immediate priority to do so in the selection and extraction phase was a question up until Tsuno pointed out how some reploids would specifically be chosen for their purchases and uses of private harnesses since it could be an avenue to avoid a mule on the ground possibly being spotted in the act of kidnapping someone; Curse Terror could hack the frequency and forward them to a receiver here or at one of the other facilities they managed and not a soul would know they had been spirited away until it was much too late.
And once the victim was here and ‘liberated’ of any means to escape, then the newly acquired harness could be either re-sold or put to use by their mules so they could make a quick getaway in the event of a compromised operation.

Caveat of course being hunter operators could occasionally track the frequencies even after the harness was renamed and reconfigured, which may have explained a hunter unit that had been deployed to demolish another operation nearby and how they had been able to find the facility and its transports.

The only reason the siege hadn’t brought them here as well had been a hastily executed severance of all communication: Curse Terror effectively threw every operative in the compromised facility to the wolves and scorched the metaphorical earth between them so as not to lose more assets.
Sacrificing the few to save the many, so to say.

Of course, it meant work here had to double efforts to make up for lost product–including doubling down on the theft of harnesses to lay out on the market.

Harnesses which were still intact in inventory.

It was a bit of a trial to outfit as many reploids as possible with a functional harness, partly due to the volume of reploids here who simply didn’t Know how to operate one.
Oro privately rolled many an eye at it.

Because of the inflated and cramped number of hostages, they were required to triple up on harness targets, which would strain the power cells and because of the radiation in the area, potentially put them at risk of missing their target.
It was their only option of exit that didn’t risk interception by another facility around here, and the fastest to actual salvation and treatment, so the gold monarch was grinding her teeth in trying to keep the people as calm as was possible while she linked them up with Fehram’s receiver.

And connecting to her communications in giga city was a grating trial as well.

Nube was surprisingly instrumental when it came to logging the names and statuses of the reploids here, and absolutely refused to leave Oro’s side until they had established all links and were ready to actually get these people somewhere safe.

Because of that, Oro elected to send the girl, as well as Virta and Eunice–the other two who had bore witness to Curse Terror’s demise– first so as to confirm the good news, as well as deliver Epsilon’s cadre the comprehensive list of all prisoners and afflictions so the rebellion medics knew what to expect flooding their stations.

Nube was hesitant of course, but with some encouragement to her abilities, she agreed to serve as the gold monarch’s emissary.

Though, for good measure,

“If there is a single male medical officer or guard unit there with the attributes of a vulture, carrion, or bat, they need to make themselves scarce or ELSE-!”

“Understood,” crooned the rebel commander, sounding completely oblivious to the sneer on Oro’s face as she’d hissed into the comm. “This isn’t our first rodeo. You have my word, their comfort is our number one priority.”

She imagined Ferham should have been more perturbed with the description, considering it technically fitted her as well, but perhaps the other whip user had realized the comparison and bore a disdainful look of her own the gold monarch simply wasn’t privy to with the audio-only transmission.

Keeping herself demure, she directed Nube and the others to the marked transfer point she’d placed in the observation room towards the entrance.
They were leaving the same way they would have come.

The giga city operators made their confirmations and, in a flash of digital light, they were gone.

When Ferham called to let her know the girls had been received and were being processed, Oro directed Futats and Tsuno to begin filing the other reploids and preparing them for transfer.

Every so often Ferham had to send a soldier from her own squads to serve as a conduit to extract the prisoners, but their stoicism and professional approach kept things mostly efficient.

Mostly; there were a few who stopped through not there to transport anyone as much as they were there to secure the facility and begin noting the terrain outside.
The work wasn't completely over and done with, as there were two other facilities in the area that would be sending someone to investigate why their main coordinator had suddenly gone silent, but with their locations in Oro’s database, Giga city would be able to advance and extract in no time.

The Austrian trafficking circles were about to crumble, and the Giga city rebellion was about to be flush with grateful recruits.

All things Oro would be glad to partake in, but, perhaps a bath and a call to her brothers to see who else had time to bask in her victory was in order first.

But one thing at a time.

Herself and the tails brothers were last to leave, trading their posts and information with a trio of rebellion preons plus their handler before beaming off to Giga city proper.

On landing, Oro barely had a moment to parse the bright, beachy light of the new location before she was immediately jumped on by Nube; the girl nearly lifting her in her embrace as she wrapped her arms around her.

Blinking, partly to verify this wasn’t an attack and partly to determine an appropriate response, the gold monarch offered a reassuring pat to the girl’s back and helped comb the long blue strands away from her face as her optics threatened more tears.
Be it relief or exhaustion, Oro wouldn’t blame her.

“You’ve done well,” she murmured as Nube choked down a hiccup of a sigh, clasping her fingers around Oro’s remaining hand and bowing into her knuckles for a moment.

“I can’t thank you enough.” she sniffled deeply and cast a look aside at the window where the offending daylight was streaming in from. “I was starting to think I would never get a full solar charge again.”

“Take it as an apology for not finding you sooner, hija.”

The gold monarch looked up and blinked a double take as they were approached by Ferham, flanked on either end by a taller reploid in yellow, and a preon with a medical symbol stamped to its main chassis.

Scarface was easy enough to recognize with his spikes and orange accents on his shoulders, as well as the plume of blue hair trailing out of the high ponytail on the back of his head, though Oro was a tad surprised to find him here.
She’d heard tell of his presence being very much elsewhere on the island; somewhere around Melda mine. Meaning he must have either fed someone the wrong information, which was cycled to the four kings and hadn’t been rectified, or had made haste to be here on somewhat short notice.

Perhaps he would be leading the coming operations to storm the other trafficking sites?

Regardless, he was unmistakable.
Ferham on the other hand took a moment extra of looking the gold monarch hadn’t anticipated needing.

It seemed after receiving Oro’s description of how many of their captors were avian or otherwise aerial themed, she'd pointedly tucked her wings behind her back where they would trigger no potential association and removed her helmet to let her long red hair flow down and decorate her shoulders.
Part of the gold monarch was taken aback to see it; particularly how the ends had clearly been dyed purple.
Given her position in Epsilon's ranks, a mark of intense individualism like that could give troops the impression of a commander who wasn't exactly taking the situation seriously.

And it was a change far more permanent than if a human were doing so.

Though, in a case like this, it could be considered a practical decision; the best way to not appear as though the prisoners were trading one warden for another was to look Nothing like the previous warden.
Curse terror certainly didn’t have a feature like her hair, and certainly not such a feature with a striking addition.
The way it framed her face also lent to the comparison of…Perhaps an angel.
With her clear, soft skin and impeccable features that hadn’t had the duel with a flamethrower or the stupid lead shower-!

Nice. She looked Nice. very Nice in fact.
And that was the point.

She would never be the most Holy angel–not with That uniform–but she also didn’t immediately scream ‘monster’ the way those mongrel bats and birds did.

…the Purple ends though.

Oro took the moment of their approach to ponder if she approved of it before offering a curtsey, finding Nube doing the same in her peripheral.

“Salutations, cadres.”

They paused a respectable distance away, meeting Oro’s gaze with some solemn respect, along with some shock that flickered across their features.
Ferham’s in particular; prominent since her helmet could not disguise her face where it was.

“My, oh my,” the lady commander said by way of greeting, sharing a look with her compatriot before nodding with a pinched look towards Oro’s bad side. “With how fast you made contact we would’ve hoped that snake den hadn’t had the chance to get you that badly.”

The concern was perhaps appreciated; more so if it wasn’t administered in the patronising coo that seemed to flow through every syllable in Ferham’s voice.

Electing to tamp down any snide remarks, Oro simply gave a flick of her hair and bowed her chin a bit, some modesty she didn’t Entirely have to force threaded in the motion of reaching to hold her stump.
“Don’t you worry, They didn’t. Believe it or not, this happened a while ago.”

Ferham’s brows knit together with interest the same as Nube’s did while Scarface was pacing a pinch to the flank like he wished to inspect it further.
Maybe he recognized the handiwork of another swordsman.

“You agreed to run an operation with an active handicap?” He asked in the interim, a wary pinch to his eye as he regarded her.

“It’s opened up my schedule,” she replied, some resentment touching her tone as she looked down at it. “Mine more so than my kin’s. If he weren’t a proper mongrel, I might instruct you to Thank the perpetrator. I doubt the vultures in that dreadful place would have had the spine try their luck on me otherwise.”

Nube was biting her lip and holding her arms with some clear rage shaking through her posture but Oro fixed her an assuring smile.
“He’ll get his soon enough.”

“See?” chuckled Ferham, moving to offer a good natured tap to Scarface’s arm and giving him a toothy grin. “She’s got mettle. And knows how to use it. Your recruit could take notes.”

Oro could feel some disturbance from the tails brothers behind her; uncomfortable and doubtlessly pondering who she could be referring to, and for his part, Scarface seemed a bit troubled as well by the apparent nonchalance of her description. But he didn’t let it show for long and the taller reploid worked his shoulders to ward it off, addressing the monarch with squared footing and a fold of his arms across his chest.

“If your injuries are not that severe then this unit will be escorting you three to the medical wing.” he said with a tip of the head towards the medical preon as it shuffled back to Ferham’s side.

Nube’s hair jumped as she did a double take.
“Which three?”

Oro nearly flinched with the apprehension suddenly radiating off the girl but bit down on it and turned to regard her.
“You and the twins, of course. You were there longer than I was and you haven’t had a proper chance to receive repairs. Or a proper night’s rest.”

Her pupils constricted at the notion and she shook her head with a clasp of her hands at chest level. “But–”

“She’ll be right along behind you, hija,” interjected Ferham with a step closer, making the girl’s hackles raise higher, “we just need to have a little talk with her about that nasty boss of the facility.”

Oro frowned a bit as Nube turned to regard the lady commander.
Being out of shackle had emboldened her, to be sure, and enabled her to step up to aid the others, but obviously being separated from her monarch was a point of discomfort.
Oro had saved her life, and the girl was intent to repay her. Surely Ferham could use better phrasing to convince her to depart than talking down to her like a child?

…though, then again, Ferham spoke to Everyone like that.

“…how long?” Nube asked warily.

“It’s a debrief,” answered Scarface, bobbing his head a bit as he kept his voice delicate. “so…could be anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours. And You two–” he dropped an arm to point between the tails brothers. ”--will need to report to Nine as well. I believe he plans to meet you in the ward to hear your story.”

Tsuno flinched at being put on the spot and Futats pinned his ears back, the pair of them sharing a glance before Nube gave an indignant turn to face the Cadres and actually stomped to grab their attention.

“That’s too long though! What…” she cast a harried glance to Oro as the monarch was breathing a sigh and planting her hand on her hip. “what if-”

“It won’t be forever, you’ll be fine.” Oro pressed, stepping forward and nodding reassuringly.

“And in good company.” added Ferham, flicking a hair out of her face and offering a hand out with, admittedly, an earnest expression as she beckoned Nube to stop being clingy. “Promise you that.”

However, a spark through the wave spectrum painting the girl in an undulating aura like fire suggested the cadre had made the wrong move.

“… el bastardo de cerebro de murciélago said the same thing before locking me in a basement with an electrified floor because they wanted to hear me Scream!” snapped Nube with another stomp and a half lunging position like she was raring to take arms against the winged warrior, hair flaring about as she shook her head defiantly. “I am not-”

All the while Oro was biting down a groan.
Right when the girl starts getting better-!

“Nube!”
The girl flinched a bit and Oro grabbed her arm a bit forcefully to turn her around, frowning sternly as she moved her remaining hand to Nube's shaking wrist next and holding it up between them where she reoriented to grasp her palm.
It gave the girl pause, and Oro took it as an opportunity to take a deep breath, simmering the annoyance in her circuits and put on a more gentle face.

“You have been brave.” she whispered, holding her eye as she gave a firm nod. “You are safe. And you have been a great help. Don’t start snapping at people’s hands now. Let them help you back. They are my allies. On my honor, you can trust them.”

Her blue hair fell over her face as she bit her lip and bowed her head in shame, quivering as she clasped Oro’s hand between both of hers like before in Curse Terror’s domain.
It was absolutely beneath her, but Nube seemed to consider it a significant gesture. So-
Oh, she was about to cry again.
Oro didn’t have time for more! Why was she like this?

“Come now,” cooed the gold monarch, clenching the back of her teeth as she blew out a flippant huff, trying to add some levity by gesturing with her stump to the cadre behind her. “Do they even look like they would have a room with an electric floor?”

“For CRYING out LOUD, Amigas!”

Nube perked up at the screech as it sounded from around the corner behind the Cadres, her tears shrinking as her mouth gaped open.
Meanwhile Oro was snapping her jaw shut and tightening her grip as sparks shot up her spine.

…She knew that voice.
It…oh no. it couldn’t be-!

She inhaled slowly and blinked to the EM spectrum to be sure her audio sensors were not glitched, but to her dismay, they were not.

The form marching out from around the bend was that of another female reploid in a large, belled skirt in familiarly ostentatious colors that a honeybee might gravitate to, wielding a staff with a childish rendition of the sun serving as the conduit for her abilities.
A staff which she stamped the pommel end of into the ground with such force she could have pierced the metal, puffing her chest out at Ferham and Scarface before waving a chiding finger at them.
“First off, you two need to stop going off ahead of people before the music cue! And secondly–” she paused for a moment while Nube was slowly turning to face her and Oro was biting down a storm of dread swirling in her stomach.
“--Wait. I was gone for Two minutes. Did you do something new with your hair?”

“Depends,” drawled Ferham with a shift and a sway of her hip like she was pointing at Scarface with it, batting her eyes. "Which one of us you mean?”

His frown was visible through the seams of his mask.
“Don’t try to pawn her off on me.”

“That’s Miss Rafflesian!” whispered Nube with a jump in place and a silent squeal of excitement that Oro did NOT share.
What was SHE doing here?!

Wait. hold a damn-?

“You Know her..?” asked the gold monarch in a low voice, grimacing to avoid scowling in the face of Nube’s elation.
Because HOW could she know her?!

“Never mind, never mind!” Rafflesian shook her head dismissively, stomping in place like her bratty self had literally not changed in the span of fifteen years before bringing her finger back up to reiterate. “Secondly-!”
Her eye BARELY flicked in the direction of the transerver pad but it was apparently window enough to see those gathered upon it and drop whatever her point was and gasp like she was trying to suck all the air from the troposphere.
Big gulp she got might’ve actually had her levitating for a moment.

“Oh-my-word! Nube!” in a blink, the obnoxious would-be idol had dashed to the pad and scooped up Nube in a tight embrace just in time for the girl to release the monarch's grip, drawing a startled squeak from her lips.
And Rafflesian was squealing like a whistling kettle at the sound.
“I thought you had Quit! No show, no call– I was so broken-hearted!”

“Pensé que nunca volvería a verte!” replied Nube with a strained voice while Oro was regaining her footing, shooting Ferham a scowl and waving a hand at Rafflesian bidding for an explanation.

The winged cadre offered no such thing, damn her, and actually Laughed at the monarch’s expression as if she’d made a joke!
A Joke?!

“At least someone’s happy.” smiled Ferham once she’d determined she had her fun.

Oro’s mouth gaped for a moment before her shoulders slumped and she rolled her eyes with a low groan, spying the idol squeeze one more deflated noise out of Nube before setting her back on her feet and invading her space to attempt to straighten out her…hair.

Which was blue, like Rafflesian’s.
And caught on her skirt…that was bright pink.
Like it was supposed to complement Rafflesian’s.
And the cloud details on her shoulders–as opposed to the sun on the staff.

…NOW it made sense.
The loudmouth siren had gone on and on about starting a dance school, if she had scraped up the resources to do so over the past decade–ugh!
No wonder Nube was so clingy! Her teacher didn’t know the definition of personal space!

“I’m so glad to see you!” declared the annoying orange idol with another gasp like her internal ventilation was struggling.
Unfortunately, Oro suspected it was just fine.

“I’m…glad to be home,” blubbered Nube with a nod while Oro was biting a frown, debating how to phrase a suggestion to Ferham and scarface that she would return after escorting the girl and their boys to the medical ward and how to snatch up Nube without breathing too much of Rafflesian’s air–because she could NOT stay here with HER.

Unfortunately, dear, dear Nube turned and waved a well-meaning gesture at her and Oro was officially the center of attention.
“ …wouldn’t have made it without her help.”

The ONE time she was not intent on it!
Maybe she could-?

A hum sounded from Raffelsian's person as she observed the monarch, features subdued and thoughtful for perhaps a half second (her record) before the idol jumped again with another grating gasp.

“...OH-MY-WORD! You!” she shuffled closer and Oro backpedaled with her hand up and her shield on standby, Rafflesian snapping her fingers frustratedly for no apparent reason. “You’re…!”

Oro put on a placating smile and did a quick scan of her surroundings so she could bounce the brothers and Nube into bubble shields and whisk them away as soon as she made her point to the cadres.
“Oh, no one in particular. Merely an ally looking to-”

“No!” interrupted Rafflesian with another shuffle to invade Oro’s space, her sickly, fermented perfume wafting into the air around her as she shook her head and hammered a finger under Oro’s chin. “No-no-no! I Know you! You’re…” clarity sparked in her eyes the moment confusion crossed the monarch’s and the idol threw her arms up with a gleeful shout. “Oro! Oro S! I KNEW it!”

“You…” Oro blinked to parse the sound of her own name and found her mouth hanging open. “What?”

“What?” repeated Rafflesian with a blink herself, tilting her head and shooting the cadres a glance before taking a single merciful step back and holding her arms out. “What-Hello? It’s ME! Ra-ful-shun–with-an-N! Remember?!” she bent her knees to make her skirt jump as she straightened back up, giving her chestplate a pat. “I was stationed under Captain Nox during the nightmare epidemic!”

“…I remember.” managed Oro as her circuits were sputtering and her mouth was performing the drowning fish maneuver trying to comprehend what was happening. “I’m-yeep!”

Proving still she hadn’t changed at all in fifteen years, the idol dashed back into her space and locked her arms around her with a heft clearly meant to take the monarch off her feet, but mostly succeeded in making Oro’s spine kiss her power cell.

She would have shocked the hell out of her if the idol didn’t put her back down with a subject changing gasp and a lunge to grab and cradle Oro’s stump.
“You POOR thing!” her features sharpened and voice dipped a bit to hiss through her teeth. “What Matone did this to you?!”

“It was...” Oro mouthed his name before considering if she would even remember Over and blanking on the possibility before actually truly parsing the reality holding her arm. “You remember me?!”

“What kind of question is that?” asked Rafflesian back like it was the most obvious thing in the world, hopping in place so her skirt would jump again and grabbing her staff with a flourish before planting it like a flag and nodding firmly with her free hand on her collar area. “I Never forget a voice! Especially not one of THE divas of the Rusalka!”

Oro’s mouth dropped back open the same time Rafflesian’s did and they both voiced gasps.
One obviously louder than the other and the idol leaned back into Oro’s space with an excited shuffle.
“How's your family?” her smile turned just a little wicked and she held her staff under her arm as she made a curling gesture and bumped a fist. “Is that big blue hunk still Killing it on the ocean stage?”

She remembered Blu too?
And…hunk?
Had she been canoodling with him at some point during that debacle?!
WHEN?!

No. Wait. No panicking.
It was Rafflesian talking.
And about Blu.
BLU.
Who had not a bolt in him able to comprehend if someone happened to fancy him.

Even if she had tried to, odds were it was a simple, One-sided pining she was doing; borne of admiration of his voice and abilities thereof.
That’s all it could be.

…but she remembered enough of him to recall the affection and wonder after his career. And Oro herself–as a ‘diva’.
As in she remembered the chorus night before the ship met its fate! Meaning she probably remembered her brothers too!

And Over-01.

So…pehraps she could…

...one thing at a time.

“…times have been a bit hard but…Blu’s planning another great debut,” Oro managed to choke out with another smile and a nod she assumed was friendly.
Not a lie either. Not really.

He just needed to deal with their mutual little pest first.

The idol picked up on the important part, as she jumped with another gasp and marched in place with a little spin.
“I'm. So. HAPPY!”

Grating as the squeal was, Oro could find no conscious or unconscious deception in it.
Her posture and EM signature spoke of warm glee and relief.
GENUINE glee and relief.

Rafflesian, in very Her fashion, lunged and pulled Oro into another embrace with a repeated murmur of the same declaration again and again…and Oro was still taken aback by it.

If she was keen on Blu, it would make sense to be happy to see him.
Same for Nero–everyone was glad whenever he came around– and perhaps Rosso as well since they worked together quite frequently.
But Oro?

They had their interactions on that vessel but it was not as if they were friendly or even cordial.

And Oro seemed to recall their last interaction to be quite cold and matter of fact.

But she was Genuinely happy to see her here.

…she…

“Um. Miss Rafflesian?” said Nube with a meek clear of her throat as she came up behind the idol, making a face when she and Oro could make eye contact and turning a tentative expression to the back of her dress. “Maybe you should..?”

“Not crush her?” said Tsuno with a clear of his throat too, him and Futats, inching off the transerver pad towards the cadre’s flanks.
Ferham and Scarface observing the interaction here with interest; both tepid and intent.

“Oh shushthehush!” snapped Rafflesian as she let Oro go and moved to arm’s length with a harrumph towards the fox brothers. “If I was Trying to crush her, you would know… Nine is So mad at you by the way.”

Her lips pursed with the addition and the boys both pinned their ears back with ashamed grunts and shuffles as they held their hands behind their backs.

“…we know.” huffed Futats with a glance away as Ferham chose to step back into conversation.

“Impeccable timing as ever though, sugarbean,” she gave the idol a smile and waved at Nube. “Yours and Nine’s dear students here are needing someone we can all trust to escort them and offer support while the medics give everyone a once-over. Would you mind so terribly-?”

“It would be my Pleasure!” nodded the idol with a snap to give her a salute and another immediate snap around to grab Nube’s hands in the familiar gesture.
…a moment wherein Oro had to bite down a spark of annoyance that she was getting so close to her.
Just like back then-!

“You’re coming too right?” asked the idol with a glowing smile as she regarded the monarch over her shoulder.

“Right?” added Nube with a shift to lean into view too, eyes absolutely glittering with tears, anxious for the answer.

…oh, and who in their right mind could lie to that face?

“The Moment I am finished with my report, I shall find you.” she offered with a smile and a firm nod as she planted her hand on her hip. “And when repairs are done…how about we find somewhere to refuel and relax? Hm?”

The girl beamed and nodded avid enthusiasm the same time Rafflesian voiced a squeal.

“I know Just the place!” declared the idol with another jump in her skirt. “We can go together!”

“Si!” Nube nodded again, not resisting as Rafflesian looped around her and started hauling her towards the direction of the hospital with a wave for the tails disciples to follow. “Muchas gracias!”

The girl cast a look at the gold monarch as they and the medic departed and Oro replied with a wave until they all disappeared around the bend where the idol had sprung from.

A spark popped between her fingers as she considered having Rafflesian lead the tour and not being allowed to recuperate in blessed silence. Goodness knew Nube might need it.

…though, she supposed a familiar face leading the conversation wouldn’t be the worst thing in the girl’s recovery.
…but why did it Have to be RAFFLESIAN?!

…and why was it she remembered?

“That was Draining just to witness.” sighed Scarface, shoulders slumping when Oro frowned to see.

Ferham seemed to share the relief, given the way her posture also heaved with her absence, but it seemed she didn’t approve of the attitude come time to voice it; swatting her compadre’s arm before flicking her hair back over a shoulder.
“Oh, be nice. She knows how to work a crowd.”

True enough…but…
“I think he has a point.” Oro’s frown deepened and she regarded her with a cock of the hip. “All due respect, I would have thought I would receive word ahead of time that SHE of all reploids had joined the rebellion, Fehram.”

Their alliances hadn’t quite been solidified, so Oro knew better than to expect a comprehensive list of the rebellion’s key players until they’d had a chance to collaborate on more missions, but how in the world was a reploid as loud and obnoxious as her being part of the cadres information that had remained unannounced?
In fact, how was it not blatant public knowledge? The would-be idol had always dreamed of making noise that would turn the world’s head.

“We had no indication that You have history.” pointed out Ferham with a raised brow as she marched out towards a hallway leading to an atrium opposite to the direction of the hospital wing, beckoning for Oro and Scarface to follow. “Not that we would’ve expected you to provide it, but…”

“If that history is going to be a problem, it would help to know.” finished Scarface, marching in stride with the frowning monarch and regarding her intently. “You served on the Rusalka?”

Oh of all times for that Damned ship to become relevant.

She glanced down with a sour twist of her mouth and nodded solemnly.
“ ...briefly. Yes. small world…” she sighed and reached to grasp her stump. “though I wouldn’t call it a problem. Merely a sore spot. If I must cooperate with Rafflesian in the future, I shall make due. Who knows…” she blinked up, partly to bat her eyes at him and partly because she was a bit surprised to say it.
“It could be fun to catch up on what she’s been up to.”

Her internals felt light as she spoke as well.
…like she meant it…

Scarface's features betrayed nothing as he gave a hum, looking ahead and continuing after Ferham until she led them to another atrium with a view of the beach and a couple of doors that appeared sealed.

One of them warbled with an EM signature suggesting a reploid was on the other side but she figured it was a repair unit working on the mechanism there.
Seemed dead.

Ferham stopping here suggested this was where they would be interviewing her about the happenings of the Austrian facility.
Someplace more private would be ideal, but given the subject matter, they must not have wanted her to garner the impression of them trying to trap her in another sterile cage wherein an outsider would be none the wiser to whatever they could be doing to her there.

Smart.
And the furniture was a good touch. If a bit simple.

And Cheap.

She was a bit more appreciative of the view. Though the glass being whipped would have been preferable since it meant someone below with a pair of binoculars wouldn’t be able to behold her marred finish.

Ugh. She could not wait to go home and get all this buffed and polished.
Or could she see what Giga city’s armories had in store?
She could take the girls.

One thing at a time.

She turned to scarface as he and Ferham took form across from the couch pointed towards the window and pinged his comm, forwarding him a folder of data.

He blinked upon receiving it and puzzled his visible brow at the numbers before tilting his head at her.
“What’s this?”

“My report.” replied the gold monarch with a kick of her heels in place and a reach of her arm across her back, nodding matter-of-factly. “I have Had time to compile all the interesting details for your convenience. Including the coordinates, floor plans, and emergency protocols of the remaining two facilities you’re looking to liberate.” She pursed a lip as she forwarded the same data to Ferham and closed her eyes to let the cadre’s compare and read it over. “And the sooner we all get to it, the better.”

She waited for them to skim the major points within, considering opening a comm line to Verde to deliver the good news and perhaps invite Nero to aid in the coming raids.

He’d been patient, saint-like in fact, but she could tell before she left how he was beginning to grow tired of being idle while the last of his injuries faded from his form.
Once Over-01 was dealt with and the hunters recaptured and properly disposed of, the swordsman would need something to do with his blade.
A cause to rescue the innocent would be just the thing he’d love.

The cadres hummed between themselves and shared a look before Ferham pursed her lips with a chuckle, glancing past the monarch with a perhaps Embarrassed shake of the head.

“…olly-olly-oxenfree.” she gave a shrug and marched away from Scarface with a ping of the EM spectrum that went towards the signature at the broken door. “I hate to spoil the surprise, but you are going to want to see this.”

Oro pursed a lip herself, squinting at the signature in question before the door hiding it clanked to life and groaned to reveal its ‘surprise.’

…and she didn’t know what Ferham was meaning with saying this would be spoiling it, as the gold monarch was quite thoroughly shocked and awed by the towering figure thumping into the atrium.

Much of his form was obscured by a billowing and intimidating cloak, but his height and mass literally put him Above the cadres by a significant margin.
The shrouded pillars of fabric on his back were evocative of angel wings–like Ferham– and the conductor rods around the back of his helmet framed his face like a crown of tightly bound hair arranged in a fan–like a complement to Scarface.

Or perhaps it was more they had tailored their appearances to complement Him; their noble leader.

“Epsilon.” breathed the monarch with a wide eye, drinking in his presence as he approached.

“Oro S.” he greeted once close enough, his features stern and to the point. “King of lightning, so they say… Seems they didn’t lie.”
A minute smile ticked at his mouth and he nodded slowly and pointedly at her, his voice turning warm. “It’s an honor.”

Given his presence, Oro was a bit at a loss for words and had to briefly run diagnostics to be sure her senses had not betrayed her for an illusion.

When it seemed clear they hadn't, she offered a curtsey back, bowing her head almost to proper depth.
“The Honor is mine, Epsilon.” she managed, swallowing briefly at her luck and giving a well meaning smile as she stood back upright and held her hand behind her. “I must give you credit, I wasn't anticipating an audience…” and saying it had her realizing perhaps the ‘surprise’ was supposed to wait until her report was processed and her own repairs sought to before he would make their official acquaintance in private.
It would certainly be a better first impression than her marred finish and doubtless wretched smell.
“Forgive me if I seem a little underdressed for the occasion.”

His chin tilted a little at the grimace her mouth pulled into, something in his eye twinkling a bit before he gave a huff that sounded fond, like Nero’s.

“No need for formalities.” he said, as if justifying her state of dress for her and standing to fold his arms behind him respectfully. “And no need for shame. You’re a sight for sore eyes in these times. …as is your intel.” he regarded Ferham as she placed her helmet back where it belonged and pinged him the data she’d received.

The moment he read through it had the monarch almost worried about the format.
She Always made it legible!
Didn’t know how not to.

No point in worrying!
She had Not made a mistake!

And his interest confirmed as much as he turned back to her and pulled a neutral frown.
“This is everything?”

To business.

“Curse terror was meticulous.” Oro confirmed, clicking her heels together and mirroring his expression seriously. “Their paranoia helped them evade capture many times.”

“Curse terror?” he repeated, the sound of it clearly foreign to him.

Something the gold monarch raised a brow at before reasoning to herself how she had not been familiar with the name either; the creature had been quite the recluse.
“…as meticulous as they were mysterious. I would regale you with tales of their misdeeds but I think it would be more apropos to have them die as a statistic.” She glanced away with a frown and a cant up of her head, looking down at nothing as if the collective within were cowering beside her boot. “I would rather not Glorify them with proper remembrance. Considering their chosen career.”

Epsilon scanned her over, considering, before offering a solemn nod.
“You have my apologies for what it appears we’ve had to put you through.”

“You’re very gracious.” she said with a turn to regard him again, offering a shrug of her shoulders. “But I have no regrets. In the name of a better tomorrow for our people, I would happily do it again.”

Or, perhaps not happily; not the playing bait and allowing grubby little vermin lay hands on her part.
...but stomping the light out of a filthy brute with delusions of grandeur; that part was far more enticing.

Shred him from the inside out too.
Doubtlessly she would have her chance if this discussion went well.

Oh, Over-01 could not die fast enough.

She swallowed with a slight shake of her head, inhaling to find her focus and returning it to the rebellion leader.
The look in his eye suggested interest, though not awe or immediate acceptance of the declaration.
A bit discouraging, though not for thinking she was anything but sane. She didn’t get the impression of such at least.
Perhaps he wondered what might be going through her head; what post mortem scars might she be trying to hide after such an ordeal and how much he might need to worry if it haunted her.

Oh his concern was adorable.

Oro cleared her throat as the look lingered another moment, Epsilon not voicing any questions on the matter.
Perhaps he was uncomfortable?
It might not be the most appropriate to ask after her feelings. Especially since she didn’t answer to him and nor was he the type of reploid equipped to contend with whatever traumas might have been inflicted.
Not to suggest there were.
And she much preferred not to linger on the matter.

“I should take it that your presence here would denote intent to... Discuss further arrangements towards our combined efforts?” she asked, steering the conversation back to the point of the four kings offering aid to the rebellion to begin with.

Verde needed access to force metal resources, particularly the mythical Suprah-force metal, in order to continue the upcoming steps in his research.
They had all been debating how to approach the federation for access to the equipment capable of synthesizing it at the very least when unrest on the island cranked up and the human authorities had begun operations to quell the overworked and disgruntled reploid populace.

Nero decided on a whim to intervene on behalf of the reploids when one such quelling attempt had included a raid on a public vendor that sparked a violent rebuttal from rebellion sympathizers in the area.
He made sure casualties of the clash were as low as possible and offered discipline to the rebels before they could get too caught up in the fantasy of a war for independence.
Where Nero went, so did the four kings, and they offered aid and support to the wounded as well.

Afterwards they bid farewell to the afflicted masses in favor of continuing pursuit of the maverick hunters, figuring they could secure their force metal objectives once they were out of the picture, but were approached after a time by a proper member of the rebellion requesting an audience.

At the time Oro had thought it strange the timing of when it happened…but then again, Nero did always make it a point to make a move in Public.

Exploration of the needs of the rebel soldier led to audience with their commanders, and some back and forth of venting and listening to each other's stories and problems and triumphs and failures until Ferham had essentially declared them ‘Friends’.
The implication of course being about how ‘Friends’ should remain in contact.
How ‘Friends’ should watch each other’s backs

How ‘Friends’ need not ask for an excuse to meet up and be social, but if there's something the other needs help with, what better excuse could anyone ask for?

And it was always a good time for friends to introduce each other to other friends in the area.
Hopefully to foster something more akin to a community.
A network.

A…brotherband, of sorts.

…though, there tended to be more discussion, with WORDS, at such meetings and greetings.

The rebel commander hadn’t even so much as blinked at her question.

“…all due respect,” breathed Oro with another clear of her throat as his expression remained static and his voice silent.
She’d heard rumors of the mysterious leader of the rebellion and his stoic facade but nothing in word of mouth suggested his demeanor was of the socially awkward variety.
Or, was he experiencing a glitch?
Lagging to process the data in the folder?
“…Epsilon?”

She received no response to the prod and she tried not to frown, clenching the back of her teeth for another beat while her circuits hissed privately.

…it had been over a minute. Was this a test?
It couldn’t be normal behavior. Could it?

“Is he…?” she raised a brow quietly to his winged cadre, finding her posture relaxed and her eyes nonchalantly closed.
…almost like she had pretended to fall asleep.
“Ferham?”

No reply.

“Scar face?”

She turned to find him staring at the window behind him as if something had caught his attention outside, though he did not react to the prompt of his name.

Could have mistaken him for a statue.
Were they all experiencing the glitch?

…had something just hit their systems to cause a crash?
She didn't detect any EMPs or pulses in the EM spectrum that would suggest an attack.
And blinking to focus on it gave no indication of irregular activity.
No viruses in the air either.
Nothing seemed to be wrong.

What was...?
…was this supposed to be some sort of prank?

Honestly?!

She inhaled steeply and tentatively moved over to the lady commander, putting on her best smile as she tried to ping her comm.
“Pardon me for not getting the Joke but…”
Still no response.
In fact, her prod didn’t connect either…nor did it bounce off or be rejected.
“…Ferham?” her smile fell. “Hello?”

No answer.
Sparks popped off her hair panels.

First the waiting for some mongrel to test their luck, their grubby mitts, their wretched facility, their staff and the rancid guards and how they dared to lay a finger on her and spew lead and corroded acid and fire and debris and blades and curse terror’s stupid minds in the comp space–and Giga city responds by playing a JOKE On Her?!

Her brows drew down and she reached out to grab her and force a connection to Ferham’s system…and touched nothing.

Her hand ghosted Through Ferham’s arm and the cadre’s form shuddered like it was a damaged file displayed on a CRT screen.

Oro paused when it happened, blinking as the phenomena almost Worsened; Ferham’s image almost jumping to disparate segments as if she were caught between frames on a reel of film.
It did not stop.

Oro tried to reach out again, perhaps stabilize her, but she could not make contact.

It was like she was using her missing arm.
…could?

She tried using the stump to see if there would be a reaction, ‘ghost to ghost’ so to say, but, predictably, perhaps stupidly in fact, there was no difference.

…not to Ferham at least.

Epsilon’s form began taking on a staticky, almost translucent quality akin to a hologram projection; the outline of his body fizzling and bars of perhaps pixels sliding in and out of place around the details.
Scarface was no better. In fact, his might have been the most bizarre as it seemed as if light couldn’t properly map over his form; all shadows and reflections from the sun outside vanishing and his color had become matte and plain.

Neither of them responded to prods of the comm either.

Oro broke stance and took a step back, looking between all of them one by one and opening up her scanner to see what was going on.
This couldn’t be an attack.
How would…
Or.

She ran internal diagnostics, finding all the expected blurbs around her energy level, core stability, the question marks around her nerves in the severed part of her arm, fatigue and a bit of discomfort in her legs for having been standing over an extended period, but no sign of an invasion of her CPU.
Not even the blemishes inflicted by curse terror on her defense appeared to have worsened or disguised an intrusion that would alter her perception.

Though, to be safe…

She took another step back and blinked to the normal visible spectrum to look around, inhaling carefully to settle her nerves as her core cycled to a higher frequency.

She could See the window, the texture of the fabric upholstered to the couch; dingy tartan it was, a scrape in the floor from where someone had clearly rearranged the furnishings over time, and a potted plant on the corner of a desk nearby.
Probably cheap and fake.

As for feel, there was the slight extra weight of the grime and the remaining lead droplets almost welded to her armor. Ugh.
The texture of the dingy tartan in the upholstery. Someone needed to vacuum it.
And…the pressure of the metal floor under her boots. She supposed.

Hearing.
She could hear herself breathe… but not the sound of her boot when she tapped it to the floor.

She looked down, making sure she was not on a rug or anything that could dampen the noise, and found sure enough, she was still quite firmly on the metal panels lining the facility’s foundations.
But her weight did not make a sound when contacting it.

That…couldn’t be right.

She ran diagnostics on her cochlear sensors, not finding anything debilitating, then ran them again.

…nothing.

Nothing was wrong.
So..?

She took another step back that she couldn’t hear and considered the commanders before her.
…was this a localized phenomena?
Or…

Or was it not?

Oh no.
What if it wasn’t?!

What if-?

“…Nube.” she whispered to herself before jumping to fire an impulse to the spectrum and dashed away. “Nube!”

The grip wasn’t as smooth as it should have been, her form catching on implausible hitches in the waves around her and she stumbled to soundless heels as she hurried to where the wounded were being treated.
Rafflesian was with them. She’d be able to hear her a mile away.
It would be fine.
She could tell her what had happened and if this was an attack then-!

She barely parsed the forms of Tsuno and Futats before she went right through them, tripping over her legs and crumbling as she tried to halt inertia.

No…

She breathed a somewhat harried breath as her joints creaked and her system churned, static crawling up her back as she pushed to sitting and found the tails disciples in much the same state as the cadres and their commander; Tsuno broken up and pixelated where she would have touched him and Futats jumping from the image of being on one foot or the other as they stood waiting for the medic to venture ahead into the hospital to assess them.

Rafflesian mid jump as she held the door open; her head thrown back and mouth wide as if she was belting an off-key aria.

It was silent.

Dread clawed around Oro’s ribs and she pushed to her feet with a slow inhale, padding to Tsuno’s side and peering within to find Nube mid-step on her way to sit on a chair with flowers and colorful splashes printed in the fabric covering the cushion.

Her hair frozen in the motion of flicking it out of her face.

“Nube?” Oro called quietly, feeling her face fall to something undignified; lips trembling as something cold interrupted her circuits.

The girl did not answer.

A blink to the EM spectrum told of apprehension radiating off her but the waves were frozen as well. Snapshot esque.
But she couldn’t save someone if they were trapped in a picture.

Despite herself, Oro ventured back to Rafflesian and tried to touch her shoulder, only for it to go right through and distort her image.

That horrible voice was vacant.

She gave a slight shake of her head and rushed to the other wards of the hospital.

How far did this go?
What was happening?!

Her body was heavy as she sprinted through the halls, her levitations hindered by an unresponsive wave spectrum full of bumps and dips.
Silent.
Still.
Silent.
Unmoving.

After some time she couldn’t quite hear her harried breaths anymore, and the storm inside her raced.

Every reploid in the area was afflicted with the same distortions; some less recognizable than others and Oro wanted to scream at how no one could answer what was going on.
Wanted to, but didn’t.
There had to be an explanation.
Somewhere.
someHow.

Even the damned Birds were frozen in mid-air!

What was happening?!

Another trip over a stray, unresponsive wave had her stumbling with grit teeth.
Pain receptors were still sharp.
Though…her feet felt heavy.

And looking down to orient herself had the gold monarch gasping with a double take.

She had seen Murians be deleted before.
Knew her makeup and how the programs supporting her true form would stack and tie together to support the desired shape.

But she was also keenly aware how her rebirth into this world meant a new body with a different Material being used; one that would not simply unravel and vanish into noise and air in the event her consciousness expired.

So it should not have been possible for her legs to be splitting into bars and translucent pixels like she were constructed from a matter wave.

The image akin to being caught between frames of film.

It couldn’t be.

She held her breath, bidding herself not to panic.
Perhaps her optics were malfunctioning.

Things seemed to be getting dark now, so it could be possible…

…

Diagnostics said she was fine.

Obviously diagnostics was on the damn Fritz!

She smacked her hand to her forehead, dragging it down her face and exhaled haggardly before standing back upright. She forced her breath to be calm, making her way to the beach as things continued to grow dim.
Her feet kept trying to drag her down and she forced herself not to look.

There had to be something…

She couldn't feel the wind.
Or the confounded grains of sand beneath her.
Or smell the salt of the ocean.

Or taste the rancid, metallic bile in her throat.

She couldn’t hear her pulse.

Her teeth were chattering as she gazed out towards the horizon; color bleeding away to inky tones of gray and splashes of shadowy black.

This couldn’t be happening.
Why was this happening?!

What even was this?!

Why was..?!

She tried to burn some energy so the lamps on her body would allow her to see better but her shoulders were feeling heavy too.
Her fingers numb as she pawed around her storage unit and fumbled a hold as something thrummed.

Her mouth motioned the words ‘I’m sorry’ but she heard nothing as she squeezed as tight as she believed herself capable around the broken shard of a blade.

Something akin to rage nipped at her senses as she connected it to her transfer harness but she held firm against the way it breathed on her, pouring her energy into the device and initiating the function with a special place in mind.

If it was affecting home too-!

In a blink, the blade vanished.

Shadows warped around a stone tower and she careened past it with a jump in her chest.
Her vestibular shocked a reaction in her limbs and she gasped out–

–and HEARD her own voice!

She could have sang a stupid aria of her own at the sound of it if not for the fact of the splash and rude shroud of her senses as she landed in a familiar pool of water.

…warm.
Blessedly Warm Water!

She blew out an air bubble as her armor weighed her down–sank her– watching the little pocket warble and rise to the foam of the disturbed surface and choking on a chuckle before there came a hum behind her.

She looked back for a moment and kicked her feet to try and—her feet!

Curling her legs up, she inspected their outlines and reached to trace a finger along the bands protecting her ankles.

…a little rough from the running around and the lead blobs, but she could feel it!
She was solid!

An undignified squeal bubbled out of her mouth as she brought her knees up and wrapped her arm around her shins, pressing her forehead to the divot between her kneecaps and shuddering at the sensation of the metal against her lamps.
She was solid.
She could feel her pulse!
She could feel!

A squeal not her own sounded along with a curious series of clicks from below before she was brushed with a current of water, the particles swirling around her and Oro blinked with a glance up as she was herded up to a familiar face.

“Sissi?” Blu clicked with a tilt of his false head before his real face lit up. “Sissi!”

Her mouth broke into an ear to ear smile and she felt her eyes squeeze closed painfully as her back bowed and her arm reached out for him.
“Blu…! Oh Blu!”

“You back!” he squealed, bidding the water to bring her closer and holding out his palm so she could sit upon it.
Never thought she would weep at the curvature of his giant sausage fingers! Yet she collapsed into his hold and hugged his thumb tightly as he swam up and breached the surface.

The pressure difference hurt her ears quite a bit but she didn’t care.
Nor how cold the air was as her wet hide made contact and the liquid vacated her form slowly.

She smelled steam amidst his usual clammy, squiddish aroma and Oro’s system budded, absolutely elated with its abundance; she pressed her face into his joints and whimpered quietly, water leaking from her eyes and mouth as she leaned closer to the marshal’s metal.

“You back!” Blu clicked again, bouncing a bit in the water and making waves crash against the unseen edges.
Wonderful sounds.
All of it.

…it should have sounded like that on the beach!

“You back back!” repeated the big cuddly oaf whale Oro was shuddering and biting a sob against his thumb, giving him pause.
“ …Something wrong?”

Oro didn’t mean to make such a wretched noise but it pushed up her pipes like a squawk and dragged out for a long measure, breaking into little hiccupy notes and she clenched her eyes tightly shut.

Blu rumbled something of his concern but took to humming lowly; something that would hide her sounds from unwelcome ears and he gently held her a bit closer to his face, closing his eyes solemnly.
The song was soothing as well; a gesture he’d made before whenever matters perhaps a bit untoward were being discussed, and normally it would be welcome, but as soon as Oro could breathe in a moment of air and parse what he was doing, her faculties all returned with crystal cold clarity.

She sucked in something wet and spat it out with a growl, jamming the stump of her arm painfully into his palm so she could push herself to her knees.
The mission had not been a failure but THIS.
This would not do.

“…where’s Nero?” she asked with a scrub of her face and a glare up as Blu blinked back at her and clicked with a frown.

“What happen? You hurt?”

“No more than expected,” she ground out, gasping wetly and shaking her head. “But there is something Very wrong and I don't want to have to repeat myself!” she clenched her fingers tighter and slammed it to his thumb with a snarl. “Where are they?!”

—

Whatever dirt or mud hadn’t been removed by Duo shed from their clothes and armor in plumes upon jumping off Treble and touched down in the driveway to Light labs.
Aki’s landing was a bit of a stumble and he privately jumped a bit at the crunch of the wet gravel under his weight, but shook it off in favor of dashing up to the front door. The telling screech of Turbo’s brakes and Bass barking for his guys to hang back with ‘the freak’ sounded behind him as he wrenched the thing open, glancing back to find his company’s approach and holding it for the Wily bots to enter.

“The first place to start would be her room, right?” guessed the Mega man as he entered the foyer after Zero and halted to remove his shoes.

“If she’s trying to be discreet, where else would she put it?” replied the hunter rhetorically with a look from his peripheral before looking ahead towards the hall leading to it.

Bass eyed the direction of it as well, bit of a pensive edge to his face.
“That’s actually a good question,” he said by way of a sigh, snapping his fingers for Treble to sit by his side and crossing his arms. “The room Would be the safest place, But, her being the housekeeper around here–”

“She could have stashed it somewhere else,” concluded Aki with a step forward and a hammer of one hand to another, turning his eye to the corners where the ceiling met the walls and the floor bumpered from the tile of the entryway to the hard wood of the rest of the house. “Any nook, any cranny Rock wouldn’t think to look, she would know.”

“This place have an attic?” asked Zero, drawing Bass’ frown.

“If you’re volunteering to check it; denied. I want you and Treble in the kitchen first and then the shed out back.”
The hunter’s brows drew down a bit at that, and Bass curled a lip at him.
“I can’t watch the idiots outside if I'm going through laundry, dipshit. THINK.”

Rude, but he had a point.
And by the lack of argument, Zero didn’t seem to disagree.

“Understood,” he replied with a bit of a hiss, and an unenthused look ahead towards his objective, before nodding at Treble. “Kommt.”

Aki felt a lip purse a bit while they went and shot the war bot a look from the corner of his eye, tempted to ask if he was really okay doing this.
If it was him… well, if it was Aki, he might be okay, might be Fine…but maybe not ‘go through missing girlfriend’s stuff’ fine.
The little gulp as Bass turned back to give him the ‘you with me’ gesture suggested maybe he really wasn’t, but the purpose in his stride argued otherwise.

…he could understand if Bass was just needing to be in person for this part. So he ultimately decided not to ask.
though…

“You sure you don’t want to hose off?” asked the Mega man when they were halfway there, holding a hand up placatingly upon the pause Bass took to regard him. “I know, we’re in a rush.” he inclined his head pointedly. “But Rock might notice if you track dirt in there.”

Aaaand it would also give him an extra minute to think about what they may or may not find in her notes and maybe prepare for how it’d make him Feel. Just in case he was currently worried what it would imply about her perspective.

A minute the war machine considered taking, giving himself a once over, but a snort served as the answer as he turned back…and armored down mid-step.

Short blond curls twisting behind his ears as his helmet disappeared in a flash of red digital dust and he ran a hand through the clean fringe.

“Eh,” shrugged Mini. “Problem solved I guess.”

“I guess,” agreed Aki under his breath, biting his lip at the difference in silhouette he struck.

Trying not to focus on what it brought to mind.

Or what it implied in the event she really did know something they didn’t.

Enter; Roll’s room

Otherwise known as; the Pink.

Or maybe that was being a bit dramatic, seeing as the color was localized to the bed and only really reappeared in a couple choice stickers on the dresser and in a couple of the shirts and shoes arranged around said dresser. But the magenta canopy hanging above her recharge pod was a pretty big statement piece too, so the title was warranted.

Looked way less apparent in the dark, but with the bright, sunny shine coming in from the window, NO optics were on Rock’s end of the room.
In fact it was weirder in the daytime how plain the other Mega man’s space was when compared to his twin. Even Bass was dumbstruck for a second.

“Or maybe that’s just Casanova realizin’ he was in her Room,” leered Mini with a hand by his mouth, winking at the interface while Aki was rolling his eyes.

The effect wore off, and Bass commanded him search the closet first while he himself took to the storage bins under her pod and dresser.

And Aki did what he could to not swallow an awkward gulp about it.

Or let the absence of his own sister sting too much.

Though, worth noting how Roll’s wardrobe wasn’t anything like Suna’s. Not that he was expecting otherwise, but…
It was a fact.
Sure, Roll had a couple casual knits and exactly one formal dress that looked familiar, but her style was definitely more...girly.
And with Red being the dominant theme across the hangars.
Exceptions: he spied a little black dress sandwiched between a blue ruffle number and a snow jacket, but, safe to assume red was Roll’s favorite.
Same story for the bins on the shelf above; red swimsuit, red dance shoes, red cardigans, between this and the pink bed, he might’ve thought Rock’s twin sister had walked out of a valentines day card. And if that was the case, what did it say about the other blue bomber?

…would Roll and Suna even get along if they were this different?

“I’m sure they’d be fine,” hummed Mini with a fold of his hands under his chin as he watched the progress. “I mean you get along with Rock, don’tcha?”

Which was a good point, since he did, and it wasn’t like Suna was jerkish or dismissive to the more girly girls at school so…maybe they would.
Be cordial at least.
Friendly.

…not appreciative of him going through their stuff.

He bit his lip and stared at the ceiling with a sigh out his nose while Bass was harrumphing behind him.
Sounded like he wasn’t having luck.

Mouth skewing a bit to the side, he shot a glance at the notebook on Rock’s pod before trying the last bin on the upper shelf.

…nope.
Not one like it or unlike it either.

“Maybe the bookshelf?” suggested Mini.

“The one by the back door or by doctor Light’s room?”

“Huh?” hummed Bass while Aki was glancing back.

“Eh, either would be a bold spot.” hummed his helper in response.

And that was true enough. Not where Aki would have stashed something like a journal. Maybe not Suna's choice either.
But Roll wasn’t like Suna.
So…

He refolded a cardigan and deposited it back in its home with a glance at Bass. “If she was dating You on the sly, maybe she'd be bold enough.”

The war bot sputtered and hissed as he stood up with an armful of pink blankets.
“It wasn’t like that!”

Which Aki felt a bit of a frown at and gave him a sideways look with a cross of the arms.
“Seriously dude? You’re blushing.”

“Nicht var!” he snapped back, getting redder by the second.

“Whose he think he’s foolin? Guy looks like a bowl of strawberry ice cream.”

Albeit with some swollen blueberry toppers.
Aki bit a snort, shaking his head before padding back out to the hall.
“Yeah, sure, nicht.”

“Shut the fuck up, twerp.” he gave a growl and a thump came as he dropped his armful and followed after him. “And where are you going?”

“It’s a book,” he shrugged with a look over his shoulder. “So maybe the best place to hide it is where All the books go. No one would bat an eye at one more, right?”

“Is that where You’d put it?” Bass gave a scoff. “Protoman’s a bookworm, she wouldn’t put it where he might happen upon it.”

Which had the Mega man pausing in step and giving the quaint shelf a frown before turning it to the war bot.
“Seriously?”

“What,” he folded his arms and jutted his chin out at him. “You don’t have an obnoxious older brother that waxes Kafka flavored Philosophy at you?”

…the philosophy part it sounded maybe a bit like dad, but…
“…no?” he replied with a pinched expression, slowly shaking his head.

Something Bass raised a skeptical brow at and stared for another beat before Aki held his arms out with an ‘I dunno’ noise and turned back to go and kneel before the shelf in question.

“…wait, seriously?” asked the war bot after another beat, apparently not getting the picture Aki Was being serious and following to kneel in his peripheral with a thoughtful scan of his face.

To which he gave another insistent shrug before running a finger along the spines of the books.
“It’s just me, dad, and Suna, yeah. I don’t have a Protoman.”

Bass’ face scrunched as he parsed that, then tilted his chin.
“…you sure?”

“Pretty sure.” replied the mega man with a frown, pulling one of the thicker books out and checking the space in the back to see if maybe anything had been stashed behind it before flipping open the pages.
People hiding really pertinent things in the Noirtron movies would gut a book to do so…which might not be a series in this world and Roll might not watch if it was.
Dang it.

…though…looking at it.

'But there are several other handsome, rich young men in the world: handsomer, possibly, and richer than he is. What should hinder you from loving them?'
'If there be any, they are out of my way: I've seen none like–’
Was this a romance novel?

He flipped back to the cover and sure enough, depicted there was a couple in a field, standing nose to nose, rendered in old-timey black and white newspaper lines.
Ew.

Aki did a double take and checked the back, thinking back to the bot downstairs and…yeah. Nope.
He wasn’t reconciling that.

“Protoman reads these books?” he asked with an incredulous look at the war bot, pushing it between them and inclining his chin at it for emphasis. “THESE ones?”

“Yeah.” he answered flatly, glancing to some of the others with a scrunched nose while Aki was reeling.

“Seriously?!”

“Are you callin’ me a liar?”

“We’re not callin’ ya fer dinner,” replied Mini while he too was reviewing the data on hand about Protoman.
Nothing wrong with enjoying something sappy or dramatic, but for such a tough guy with the sort of loner persona they were getting from him, Romance would certainly be an unorthodox interest of his.

“You’re SURE this isn’t Roll’s?” asked the Mega man next with a wave at the cover–before flinching back as Bass snatched it from his grip.

“As sure as I'm sure she would have used a Bookmark instead of doggy-earing the page to keep her spot.” he pointed out, flipping to a further page and tapping at a crease in one of the corners. “That habit doesn’t develop in a cushy space like this where the reader would have access to at least scratch paper to make one. Versus someone living on the Road, who can’t afford to have a bunch of bits and trinkets taking up space in their pockets, but still got lucky to find something worth reading.” He shut it with a clap and raised a brow pointedly. “Number one’s book had folds too if you remember.”

Aki blinked with that, looking down as he recalled the beat-up poetry compilation and skewing his mouth to the side.
That one had stickers too to mark pages but maybe that was besides the point.

…but then again. On the subject of guys who took their reading on the go.

“Doesn’t Protoman Not live here though?” he posited, slapping his leg and leaning on it with a lip pursed at the rest of the shelf “What if she–”

“Her plan was to have him in Attendance for the fireworks,” interrupted Bass as he replaced the novel in its spot, standing up with a glower and a hand in a pocket while the other hooked over his shoulder. “So even if she Did have it there while he was out and the others were giving his stuff its space, she would have Moved it in anticipation of him staying the night…” his mouth clicked shut and he looked away with a slow exhale. “if not in anticipation of checking in on me.”

Aki shut his mouth too.
“Oh.”

Bass stormed back into the room and Aki spared the bookshelf one more glance before following suit.

Having determined it wasn’t in the closet, he checked around some of the other mega man’s articles in the name of being thorough. Even giving the notepad on the pillow a quick scan to note the blue bomber’s handwriting for future differentiation.

…looked like Rock had a bit of a tremor on the older pages.
The text was wobbly and had strokes here and there like he couldn’t keep a grip on the pencil.
And unlike Number one’s handwriting, a clear effort with some of the eraser marks to keep it legible.
Maybe he was recovering from an injury at the time?

“Probably.” agreed Mini, noting how excerpts from the first few pages seemed to be a list of symptoms and concerns for a few patients before the helper was raising a brow at the ribbon towards the halfway point of the paper marking the latest entry. “...I don’t mean ta snoop, but you think he mighta suspected what was goin’ on between his sister and Bass? He hasn’t said anythin’ to suggest it, and if I remembah, Protoman definitely hasn’t made the connection, but… it took Rock a bit to say who Quint was too, so..? Whaddaya think?”

Aki squinted with a hum, considering it before shaking his head.
They had Other things they were looking for. And if they really wanted to know, they could just ask him.

Rock wasn’t the Mega man with things to hide.

He replaced the notebook where he’d found it, and traced the furniture with his eye before settling on the window…where he felt a frown come on.

It might’ve been a bit smaller than the one in the kitchen, but it could still serve as an entry point.
Either for Roll’s gentleman caller who hated using the front door, or…

…someone else who might have been interested.
And clearly needed a basis with which to track her to Toullis.

He sucked in a breath through his teeth as the chill occurred to him.
“…you don’t suppose Number one might've took it? He’s snuck in a couple times.”

“I wouldn’t know what he’d be trying to find.” replied Bass with a narrow look when he turned to see. “It’s not like it was her Diary or anything.”

“Isn’t it?”

“It’s a treatment log.” he said with a scoff, pawing through the picture frames around her side table. “Not the place to dump gooey feelings and shit.”

“It’s a Secret log though.” countered Mini with a pop out of the door in Aki’s scalp. “A diary where she’d make notes that weren’t the business o’ her other family members would remain innocuous.”

“Sure,” conceded Bass with a sarcastic crane of his neck before he turned and folded his arms. “until you consider a fear of breach of privacy is why Protodweeb is always striking out on his own.” His brow raised pointedly again when Aki blinked with a double take and he padded over to check Rock’s side table too. “Maybe Your creator didn’t care if you ran off with your thoughts as much but as I was telling Z; Light didn’t Design her to lie; to keep her thoughts secret and scheme in her own time. Doubt she would even know what to do with a diary if the doc let her have one.”

“You sure?” called Zero as he came by and poked his head in, brow puzzled over something in hand. “This…looks like a diary to Me.”

Aki perked up as the hunter held up a leatherbound spiral notebook with a lock dangling off the edge of the cover.
A telling pink puffball capping the end of a pen tucked into the metal coil.

“Ey!” crooned Mini in the same breath that Aki’s eyes were widening and he extended his arms at it with an expectant look at the war machine; Bass since having dropped his hands and fixed the book with a long stare and a hanging jaw.

“…okay. I didn’t know about that.” he said after a long beat before his expression soured and he held a finger up to tick it to the side. “But! Don’t get excited, cause that’s definitely not the same notebook she used with me.”

Aki’s shoulders deflated.
“It’s not?”

“Trust me. No.”

And Mini was dropping his head into the hairline with a defeated sigh.

“She would want to keep it close though, right?” asked Zero with a frown as he turned the book to give it another once-over.

“Duh.” scoffed the war bot with a shake of his head…before pausing to look at it another beat and marched toward the hunter. "Where'd you even find that?”

“By the cook books.” he replied with a glance up, offering it for a closer look before combing the hair behind his ear. “No key though. One in here?”

Aki padded closer himself as Bass was inspecting the lock, both of them squinting at the size of the keyhole and one of them wondering if maybe Mini’s arm would be sufficient to pick it if need be.

‘Depends how deep it is in there.’

However, need might not be, as the war machine blinked to his peripheral and wandered over to the dresser to paw through the picture frames and do-dads sitting atop it.

“…I think.”

Zero ventured a step over the precipice and Aki stood up a bit straighter as Bass located a little key ring with Several possible candidates for the lock.
Handy.
…though, not that they weren’t already poking into where they weren’t invited, but-

“Hey, I thought we agreed that wasn’t the book we’re looking for?” posited the mega man with a march back into Bass’ personal space.

“I’m not gonna read it, I'm just eliminating a possibility.” he said without meeting Aki’s eye, and thus missing the twist of his mouth and disapproving cross of the arms.

“Yeah, Y’know, you Say that, and I'm not sold.”

“The notepad she used with me was a paperback.” he frowned with a glance up after an unsuccessful test of a fit. “Had a scare with the dog accessing her phone so she shifted media.” He held up a pinky and tapped his temple with it before gesturing the jingling ring at the book. “And I’m WONDERING if maybe she had another scare and tore the pages out to hide them somewhere else.”

…like scratchpaper getting used as a bookmark.

Aki’s eyes widened and he glanced up as Zero put another foot inside with interest written all over his face.

“When ya put it like that,” shrugged Mini, sliding from his scalp to his shoulder and nodding for Aki to get a closer look.

The next attempt with the next key bore them some fruit and Bass must have been taking pains to keep a neutral face as he tentatively unhooked the lock and started flipping through the pages.

As he said, he didn’t linger to actually read any of Roll’s writing, only stopping whenever a tab or a page marker jumped out at him to make sure it was or wasn’t the writing associated to his treatment.

Aki meanwhile was taking note of the little swirls to her handwriting and the ways she dotted her ‘I’s and dashed the ‘T’s or ‘F’s.
What few instances he could actually tell that was on the page.

Didn’t seem out of the ordinary for the way a girl would fill one of these out, though he did notice just before the midpoint how several pages seemed entirely written from an angle.

Zero might have too, as he gave a hum as he hovered above their shoulders.

Him and Aki fixed the war bot some narrow glances when Bass didn’t share their curiosity but it became a non-issue when the pages started showing up completely blank and the end of the book had no scratch paper to hide either.

Bass flipped back through towards the start of the entries to be sure before pressing the diary back closed and blowing out a slow breath.
“…okay.” he turned to regard them and put on a sharper face with a glance around the room. “Okay, so she ein-hundert percent didn’t put it vhere I vould.”

They backed out of his space while he was replacing the lock and Zero fixed the room a curious glance himself, blowing the bangs out of his eye.

“…check the drawers?” he asked with a brow raised at Aki and a nod to the dresser.

Like he’d been over there at all!
And besides.

“I ain’t comfortable with that.” said Mini while Aki was holding his hands up and shaking his head with a grimace.

Which the hunter frowned skeptically at and crossed his arms.
“…don’t you Live in his head?”

Mini frowned and mirrored the gesture.
“Whaddaya tryin’ to say?”

“I’m not comfortable with it either.” clarified the Mega man, fixing a pinched look at the drawers in question and offering his palms. “Just saying. It’d leave a mess anyway.”

Apart from it being hello? Invasive to paw through her socks and whatnot, clearly Roll had a particular way to keep her side of the room tidy and if they weren’t just as thorough in putting it away as they were in tearing the place apart, then the invasion would actually be subject to getting noticed.
And they didn’t need to have THAT conversation with Rock.

…which reminded him, and Aki sucked in a short breath with wide eyes as he curled his fingers and glanced past the hunter towards the hall.
Where a Certain door was still hanging open.

“…did Axl clean up the doc’s room after we left?” he asked stressfully.

Zero and Bass collectively straightened up and the hunter stalked out into the hall to check.

The frown in his voice just about audible with the uttered
“…nope.”

“Shit.” hissed Bass while Aki was flinching to himself.

Great. They made a mess and…

“…Why would he not?” wondered the Mega man with a blink and a pad out to inspect the damage himself.

It wasn’t terrible what they–mostly Bass–did, and from here he could safely say it looked better than Aki’s room back home by a blooming mile, but while nobody had given requests one way or another as to who was gonna put all Wily’s old clothes back, leaving a mess like that was just rude.
They weren’t interested in their outing being a Secret to the guys in the lab, but it also didn’t have to be Obvious where they’d made a pitstop before heading out.
Wouldn’t Axl know that?

“That’s what I'm wondering.” growled the hunter with a scowl as he brushed the hair behind his ear and started prodding the comm.
The other hand gripping the rope since tied around his waist.

Uh oh.

“…I mean,” Aki fumbled his fingers, debating if he wanted to really risk redirecting Zero’s ire since he was clearly feeling better.
It wasn’t like anyone had called them to gripe about turning the closet upside down so it wasn’t like the pinata treatment was warranted here!
“I could go clean that up.” he offered with a show of his hands. “He’s down an arm-!”

“That’s sweet of you, but no.” Zero regarded him from the corner of his eye. “He Knows better.”

Aki bit his lip and gave the room another glance before perking up at the slight screech of wood against wood, turning back to the twins’ room to find Bass staring under one of the upper drawers.

Which had him reeling a bit and jumping back into the room.
“Dude-!”

Bass shut the drawer as quickly as he’d opened it and gave the mega man a scowl before pulling out the next one and making a show of how he wasn’t looking At the clothes or putting his hand anywhere there wasn’t a barrier of processed tree or painted vinyl between it and Roll’s delicate threads.

“...not that one either.” he muttered, pushing it closed.

Aki blinked at it and made an ‘o’ with his mouth as it occurred to him how the underside of the shelf would be a more subtle way to hide something than just having it buried under the cottons.

Sure, it could still fall into one of the lower drawers, but with a little tape or a modification to the wood, not a problem.

Kinda wished he thought of it sooner…not that he’d be right about it being the case here…unless maybe she put it in the drawers to the Guest room?
Who would think to look in an empty dresser?

He dashed over to check, nearly clipping Zero on the way out, and started pulling on the drawers to have a peek at the wood inside, underneath, as well as Behind the drawers.
They seemed old enough that it wouldn’t be questioned if one or two didn’t close all the way ...

not that he was right in thinking it might be there.

He and Mini divided and conquered to check the sparse closet in here too before a mutual shrug at coming up short preceded a sigh and scrub of Aki’s face.
Maybe they were thinking about it too hard, but it wasn’t like it was showing up in the obvious places.
They could pop downstairs and check the lab…or that would be Too obvious.
And subject to the possibility of Someone Else already having found it.

“So,” his face pinched as he collected Mini, bringing him over to the window to inspect its dimensions before padding out and leaning his head into the hallway. “…so again. Not saying he did…” his mouth twisted a grimace. “But how would we eliminate the possibility of Number One taking it?”

“Apart from askin him next time he drops in?” asked Mini with a shrug and non-committal sigh.

He frowned. “Yeah, Apart from that.”

“We don’t know that he knew it even existed.” pointed out Bass, hands in his pockets as he strode out, looking at the floor thoughtfully before turning to the laundry room, pausing and nodding up at the hunter. “Z, did that picture you saw give any indication that we were doing anything…” his mouth pinched down like a frog dissection was happening in front of him before throwing his hands up and hissing through his teeth. “Anything?”

“I didn’t see a book in it.” replied the hunter while Aki was pursing a lip, meeting his eye before Zero looked to the war machine past him and offered a shrug as he shifted his weight and started prodding the comm in his other ear. “That doesn’t really prove anything though. Even if she never took it out in his line of sight, he Knew you were in a bad way, so he could surmise what you were up to.”

“Exactly.” nodded the Mega man, holding a hand up as he swiveled back to follow Bass into the laundry room. “And if he was trying not to interact with you because he was worried you might recognize him-”

“You’re still On about that?” he growled over his shoulder.

He frowned at getting cut off but inhaled to keep his head and met his eye pointedly with a nod.
“It occurred to me that it might not have been Me he was talking to when he made the remark last night about having ‘found a friend’.”

Was easy to think so; was what he figured the guy meant when it happened; figured it was a Threat and he was trying to bait a reaction from him while his guns weren’t available so he could…take a hostage or Something of the like.
That was what made sense–WITHOUT the context that he had a history with Bass; who had been standing Next to the unarmored Mega man in cutting Dimitri off.

Suddenly that ‘threat’ might not have necessarily been a threat.

Maybe it was stretching in thinking so, considering what was going on and what pitch his voice had delivered the remark with, but looking back at it now knowing how Number one had once been acquainted with the war machine and his subordinates, and specifically how Number one had worked to repair them and was reportedly not just ticked, but PISSED at the premise of possibly losing a patient even if the jerk had been waving a buster at him the whole time, then the whole exchange might have just been that; a Remark.

A cornered, exasperated, and darkly uttered Remark towards someone that he knew–in a coincidental mirror of their previous meeting; getting hounded by a wily bot without a functional buster about something he was trying to repair.

Except not in the presence of family this time around.
…not Bass’ at least.

The war bot turned on his heel, his hair swinging from its preferred spot to hang over his eyes as they narrowed in another possibly ironic mirror of the subject of their discussion.
He jammed a warning finger at Aki's chest and shook his head.
“…first of all, we’re not friends.”

Which had him frowning and throwing a hand up.
“That’s besides the point!”

“Second of all, Will you be quiet?!” hissed Bass next with the hand rising to clamp over Aki’s mouth. “We’re not exactly supposed to be in here. You let weirdos You barely know into your washroom where you’re from?”

Aki felt his eyes narrow himself and his face scrunched under Bass’ fingers before pulling him off.
“Are you not Getting or actively Avoiding my point?”

“Point that he’s being a coy sonovabitch?” he raised a brow and widened his eyes sarcastically as he threw his arms up. “WOW. Riveting deduction there Sherlock! You’ve done it again! What would we Do without you?”

“Dude,” frowned the Mega man with a glare and a stomp into his personal bubble. “Seriously!”

“Easy there chief,” interjected Mini with a tug to Aki’s earlobe and a fan of his hand at Bass’ sharp look for them both to cool it. “Let’s not bring the house down and give the otha’s reason to come knockin’.”

Bass responded by way of a snort and quickly stooped to grab a laundry basket for Aki to hold while he checked behind the washers and around the nooks surrounding the hot water heater.
Which the mega man put up with for about ten seconds before he growled to himself and set it down behind him where it wouldn’t be in the way while he gave the place his own once-over.

Maybe making a case that Number one knowing stuff before the rest of them did was old news. Maybe pointing out that he would Hide and avoid people was like saying water was wet. Sure.
And Maybe Bass being obstinate was just his way of saying he wasn’t comfortable confronting a ghost from the incident that caused him to start going blind, but Seriously. JERK. FACE!

How did Rock have so much patience with him?
Maybe he didn’t…

…in which case, he wouldn’t have the patience to Not bring up the relationship if he knew the true identity of his sister’s ‘secret someone’.

That he hadn’t said Anything had to mean he really didn’t know. None of them did.
Maybe even Quint didn’t know.
Or, he might’ve…then why wouldn't HE mention it?

He paused in sorting between detergents and hummed at the thought, Mini sharing in it a bit from the connection on his ear.

Could they just be indulging the war bot? Try to encourage him to come clean on his own?
That might make sense.
But not something Quint would bother with since he was also in jerk mode and wasn't part of the family business anymore…unless in the future he came from, they’d already made their peace with the Wily bot?

…like they hadn’t already done so in This time?

“…Y’know,” Mini mused with an agreeing look at his partner before hiking over to the other shoulder to wave the war bot’s attention. “I know I probably shouldn't go gettin on a pedestal or nothin, but why’re you going through all this trouble to keep the thing with you an’ Roll under the rug?” He crossed his arms as Bass paused a moment but continued looking like he was ignoring them.
“I didn't get the impression Rock was all that bitter ‘bout yer history and who yer pops is. I’m sure if ya explained what happened he’d be willin to understand. And if it’s really not something you yerself can put inta’ words, would it really be the end’a the world if We just told the family what’s up?”

At which point Bass actually stopped and curled a lip in glaring in their direction.
“You wanna control your cricket?”

“You wanna fix your Attitude?” snapped Aki back as he pushed a jug of softener back where he found it, making a thump that Zero apparently heard and took issue with.

“Boys.” he called in warning.

Aki frowned deeper with a glance in the direction of his voice but stayed focused on the problem by the dryer.

“He’s the one being unreasonable!”

“Ey, no need fer that.” chided Mini with another ‘cool it’ gesture that Aki was holding his arms out exasperatedly at.

“I’m just saying,” he nodded up and down at the war bot. “Didn't Protoman say Roll was gonna introduce you anyway? That’s Why you were in town! Mini’s right; If we acted as a buffer on your behalf–”

“LOOK.” growled Bass though his teeth, eyes narrow and dangerous before he actually closed them and took a deep breath, clenching his fingers stressfully and working his neck before standing up and holding his hands out in front of him, regarding Aki more prudently and tilting his head.
“…you have someone kinda like ME where you’re from, right?”

He blinked, lowering his arms a bit and shooting Mini a quick look before pressing his mouth into a line.
“Why’s-?”

“Answer the question dweeb,” he said with a cross of his arms, giving him a narrow once-over. “You have someone back home who you think’s a jerk, don'tcha? You don’t get along? You’re not really friends? Some days you try to rip each other’s arms off?”

…Oh.
Well…

“…no.”

Bass raised an eyebrow and scrunched his nose.
“No?”

“I mean…Yeah, we're not…” Aki breathed a huff and crossed his arms.
“I don't Like him. No.”

It wasn’t a clean comparison, and Aki was reasonably sure that it wasn’t built-by-Wily Bass who was following Obsidian around and making life in Silicon dangerous, but sure, he had a jerk face all his own back home.

“Yeah,” nodded the war bot, dropping his hands to his pockets and jutting his chin out with a lean forward. “So him knocking on your door asking for your sister would be a bit of a no-no, no matter the context, or whatever Bozo he has as a go-between, eh?”

Aki’s mouth squeezed into a Very thin line and Mini was standing stiffly.

As if the guy would be so polite to just knock on the door all gentlemanly for Any reason, much less…

Ooh, part of him painted the picture of the jerkwaffle showing up to the lighthouse in a bowtie with an armful of flowers and a corsage for Suna like there was a dance or something.
And…oh, Super wrong.
Put that way…or..well…

He sucked in a breath, holding it in his cheeks before holding his chin up and down in some facsimile of a cheerie nod.
“…if he changed his…ways…”

“Yeah, no.” Bass shook his head and leaned on his back foot, raising both brows. “not that easy is it?”

No, but he didn’t need to be so smug.
And… sure, it wouldn’t be Easy to believe, but…at the very least Dad would have faith that it wasn’t impossible. He could too; he’d tried to give Drill man and Chauncy their clean start.
Second chances for everyone. And if that do-over came in the form of…his…sister’s…INTEREST….

“…I would support and respect my sister’s choices.”

The resemblance to Number one pronounced itself again when Bass puffed a breath into his cheeks himself like he was about to bust out laughing again.
He didn’t, but it was close, and he was grinning like a cat with a cornered mouse as he worked his neck and gave a long hum that crescendoed into a firm blurt of “Bullshit.”

…and no, Aki couldn’t deny it.

“Okay- but that’s me!” he said with a tap to his chest, moving back into Bass’ personal space as the war bot grabbed a step stool to check a higher shelf. “And real talk, Rock doesn’t seem to have that issue with you. He lets you inside– and heck– he literally drags you in so you can be a guest in his house. Doctor light doesn’t seem to have an issue with you either.”

“Actually,” chirped Mini with a finger raised and a grimace for his partner. “That matta’ might be more o’a Bass problem since he’s got them war codes an’ all.”

“Yeah,” he confirmed with a scoff before turning to regard them with a sharp nod. “AND what if I told you the doc and his Blue boy scout weren't the only men of the house I’d have to impress?”

Which warranted a blink.

“He says, like he’s scared of Protoman?” called Zero as he padded over into the doorway to check on them.

“I’m not Scared, stupid.”

“So what’s the problem then?” asked the mega man with a cross of his arms.

If it was knucklehead-kenezer back home, he would have to do some serious bending backwards to get Aki’s approval. After what he’d done? That would only be step one.
And he was only the one brother; if there were two of them in the Light house, sure, he could understand a suitor having the fear of pound-town put upon them when presented with the opportunity of asking for a sister’s hand.

But Bass Wasn’t scared?

“Two Light bots not that big’a threat to ya?” asked Mini with a hand on his chin. “The numbah o’ guys yer creator pumped out might beg ta differ.”

“Beat me by like a second.”

To which Bass gave another scoff before turning to face them fully and started counting on his fingers.
“Mega man, Proto man, Guts man, Ice man, Elec man, Time man, Oil man, Bomb man, Fire man, and fuckin CUT man, Plus Concrete, Magma, Tornado, Galaxy, Hornet, Plug man And Splash woman. I could take 'em all in a fight, but getting the Total Approval of her Whole family?”

Aki’s eyes widened as Bass raked fingers though his hair and hissed stressfully at the dryer. “AND that of her friends? Fuckin odds of that? The Cossack brat would never let her hear the end of it.”

Him and Mini only recognized a Few of those names…and he didn’t think there was a grand connection between all of them; least of all a shared manufacturer; least of all that manufacturer being the same as his own!
…suppose that explained some of the photos in the living room.
Oh, but that meant Rock was Related to Cutman!
What the heck?!

“They’re ALL Light bots in this world?” he said with a shared look at Mini, who was holding his temples now.

“I think I'm seein’ why he ain’t made a move yet.”

“And that’s not counting how your own family would react to Her, is it?” pointed out Zero with a shift of his weight in the door and a glance back towards the living room.

“Don’t get me started Z.” sighed the war bot, hanging his head.

Right, since they’d basically been at war with the Light family since their conceptions. And with how they were worried Bass had been consorting with their creator’s enemy already, there might be heck to pay.

…though,

“…The guys outside didn’t seem too shocked or Appalled to hear about it.” he offered with a shrug as Bass dismounted the step stool and moved it back to its spot.

“You think they're not out there talkin shit right now?” he asked rhetorically with a frown and a narrow look before he flicked it up at their present company. “And Z, if you’re done in the kitchen I think I want you checking the damn shed. What are you doing?”

“I’m wondering if the doctor is still in surgery or Duo actually shorted out my comm.” he replied with another prod of the hardware when Aki turned to look, his features pinched and voice clipped as he met his eye. “Axl is Not answering.”

…THAAT would be a problem.
…if it wasn’t a secret Third thing; one possibly explaining why the house was so Quiet right now.
Had something happened?!

“Uh. Let me try…” offered Aki with a step back, nodding for Mini to jump back to his console and check their frequencies.

“Let’s see,” he hummed once he was in the chair with a dash of fingers across his interface; picking a previously used comm line and prodding it. “Test, test, one-two-one-two, Axl?”

Silence greeted them…for a beat before a click made Aki flinch and the younger hunter’s voice buzzed into his skull.

“Ya’llo? Ten-four, I read you? What’s up?”

Okay, false alarm.

He breathed a short sigh of relief and nodded up at Zero with a sympathetic grimace.
“Yours is shorted out.”

The hunter’s eyes went wide with rage and he inhaled sharply as Aki broke eye contact, holding a finger behind his ear to signal Mini for use of the mic.
“Yeah, we’re back,” he said by way of greeting before squinting at the floor like he was trying to see through it. “has Nobody been upstairs since we left?”

“Uh…we’ve been busy, yeah.” came Axl’s reply, something squeaking like metal on metal in the background before he gave a sigh. “Why?”

“Oh, y'know just checkin.” shrugged the mega man, looking up to find Bass crossing his arms and whispering stern German to his big little brother who’d since grabbed a handful of his hair in one hand and was itching his side with the other like he wanted to strangle someone.
“And hoping to let you know, Zero might kill you for not cleaning up a room up here.”

“Oh Shit. Is he there?”

Aki pursed a lip and waved for the hunter’s attention, pointing at his ear.
“Can I ‘language’ Him?”

Which made him drop the scary face for a moment before he breathed a huff and released his hair to comb through it.
“... I’ll allow it.”

He tuned back into the mic with a nod and a frown.
“Watch your mouth.”

“Sorry! Sorry.” hissed Axl before a gurble of noise sounded from his end like someone was trying to talk to him. “Uh…so yeah, you’re back?”

…oh crap.

“…how much time you guys wanna have to search the rest of this place?” asked the Mega man with a harried glance up at the Wily bots.

“Shisse.” hissed Bass with a look outside before turning back to the Mega man. “Can he do thirty minutes?”

“Keep everyone downstairs for another thirty so Zero doesn’t have to hog tie you?” Aki echoed to him.

“Thirty-? Minutes? What’re you…? oh. Is Traffic that bad?” asked the gunner with a linger on the syllables in ’traffic’.

“Uh yeah…” offered Mini with a scratch to the back of his head as he opened up his scanner and checked for movement below them. “Y’see, Turbo’s spoiler is illegal, so we’re taking the Scenic route.”

“Oooh. That would make sense.” and they could just about hear the wink the gunner was giving them. “Well, let us know.”

“You got it.”
With that established, Aki clapped his hands together before pointing finger guns at the Wily brothers. “Okay. thirty! So! So...?” he looked down and scrunched his face. “What were we saying?”

“Dumb shit.” replied Bass without missing a beat, breathing a sigh before hissing up at Zero again. “Geh yetzt nach drausen.”

“Vo ist der Auserirdeesh?” he replied sarcastically. “Ich könnte in töten.”

“They’re not talking about me, right?”

“I don’t speak weinershnitzel.” replied Mini as they went back and forth and Aki's hands were drooping before he jumped back out onto his shoulder and gave a little whistle for their attention. “If we can be civil? And, ya know, get to it?” He held his arms up. “It’s not in her room, it's not in here, and probably not in the kitchen, that leaves in the lab or in the garden shed, right? Unless you have a thought for where else it could be?”

Bass bit his lip and looked away, thinking, and Zero did too before the hunter perked up and gave his shoulder a tap.

“You were planning on meeting up with her at the fair, right?” his finger made a circle off to the side. “And before then too, when my team landed? Any chance it would have been on her person?”

His teeth grit and he fixed Aki a glance before shrugging at the hunter.
“…That would be worst-case for our purposes.”

As in; it might actually Still be on their person and they were chasing a ghost up here.
Not great.
…though.
“Though…” Aki took a step back and crossed an arm over his chest while the other held out and rolled a wrist. “you guys landed, and she and Rock came back to the lab with the Sand. So it would make sense if she took it Out of her pocket, right?”

His jaw was clenched tightly and he only barely met Aki's eye.
“…Don’t make me say hope.”

…okay, actively interpreting that as a ‘yeah it would make sense but I don't know how to prove it.’
So…how TO prove it?

Aki inhaled and leaned his head back, thinking of her room and how it was almost pointedly different from his own sister’s.
All cute red dresses instead of sleek t-shirts and pants with ‘never enough pockets’...

Pockets. Did those dresses even have any?

Or for that matter
“…what Was she wearing?”

“Dweeb?”

“I mean did she have a jacket?” he reiterated, inclining his head at the hall past them where they’d just been and feeling his mouth twist thoughtfully. “Something practical that she could throw on to go out on the town but wouldn’t wear casually around the house?”

“Suna always puts Hers in the hall closet.” supplied Mini with a finger up in realization and a nod.

Which Bass blinked at, mouth falling open a bit before he breathed a hum and turned back, tilting his head in consideration.

Zero hummed much of the same, combing the fringe out of his face and raising a brow before shifting his weight and flicking an expectant look between the war bot and the mega man.

“…Z to the shed, I'm hittin the garage,” Bass decided, rolling his shoulders and pointing a finger at Aki as they started filing out of the laundry room. “You check the hall closet and have a quick sweep of the doctor’s room.” He raised a knowing brow before turning on his heel and marching off. “Just in case she was ‘bold enough’.”

At least he didn’t seem to be trying to hide the fondness from his voice at the prospect.

Zero was quick in his dashing out, maybe trying not to get Duo’s attention in the exit, and Bass was bounding back to the foyer to wrench the garage open. Leaving the mega man with his partner, his thoughts, and a new objective.

Step one; hall closet.

He’d had a peek through it before they left when Bass was looking for Zero’s vest but hadn’t done the deep dive himself.
Made it a bit of a nostalgic little treat upon pawing through and recognizing a familiar wardrobe of winter coats in Dad’s size and fishing vests that had clearly seen some use and some dirt.

They might not have been exactly the same person, but it was nice to have a bit of home in this place, and he allowed a fond smile at some stains he could picture the equivalent history of.
Sandwiched between the larger coats and one of the walls inside seemed to be Rock and Roll’s cooler weather numbers; color coordinated to suit each twin.
Which should have made it easy, but any enthusiasm in the notion came and went when it appeared Roll was indeed the type to empty her pockets when she was returning garments to the closet.
Promising for the thought that she didn’t have the log in her pocket right now. But still.

Aki pursed a lip at a box of winter accessories on the upper shelf and reached to pull it down, feeling a grimace at how the scarfs and hats seemed desperate to escape the meager lid squeezed on the top.
And escape they did; basically exploding out all over the Mega man as soon as the lid was removed for inspection. Would’ve taken Mini off his shoulder if his helper hadn’t thought to duck. Thus leaving him instead buried under a chunky scarf and mitten combo.

“Why does this feel familiar too?” posited his helper, muffled as the Mega man was pulling a string of gloves off his head and spitting out a ball of lint.

“Now I'm thinking we might have to do some sorting and donations when we get home,” remarked Aki with a blink and a brush of his shoulder before he removed the scarf and worked Mini out of the yarn loops making it up.

“Or help Rock out with his if we invariably get… adopted?” pointed out the little helper with admittedly an apologetic look from the corner of his eye where he sat in his palm.

To which Aki blew out a long sigh.
“Don’t remind me.”

Not that a brother like Rock wouldn’t be awesome, but this wasn’t how he would hope to get one.

A short rumble sounded from his right and Treble padded closer from the kitchen, observing the new mess strewn about the hall and tilting his head at the Mega man curiously.
Almost judgmentally in fact.

“What?” Aki asked in response, setting aside the scarf and letting Mini back to his spot as he searched through the rest of the box. “It’s called fashion. And I Would make it look good...if it had what we needed.”
His face pinched as none of the knitted bundles hid or revealed anything beyond cardstock paper tags and the occasional snap buttons holding mittens together.
“Not here, not there. C'mon Roll. Where?”

Treble padded up to sniff at the box as Aki planted his hands inside and blew out a despondent huff, the dog offering a lick to his knuckle and maybe a sympathetic look up before he pinned his ears back and turned to regard the kitchen with a whine.

He followed his eye and pressed his mouth to a line. “…nothin boy?”

Treble turned a sad face to him and Aki offered a rub between his ears.
“Yeah we’re not having great luck either.”
The dog leaned into the touch until he’d had his fill and took an attentive seat next to him as Aki began balling things up to shove back into the box.

“No way Suna would have devised any spot This hard to find, would she?”

“Woulda thought she’d keep it in ‘er room,” mused Mini, frustratedly tapping his chin with a look towards the hall again. “Course, then again, it ain’t like Suna has ta share.”

“True.” he hummed with a rub to his chin to banish more fuzz before pushing the lid back onto the top, barely containing the hats, scarves and glove pile and heaving the thing back to its spot in the closet. “Course, then Again, it’s not like her Or Roll have siblings or a doctor Light that’re That nosy, so…” he turned a thoughtful glance around the hall and living room.

If it was him…well, Aki’s method of keeping his secrets as such was mostly to Not write them down in the first place.
But, Roll wasn’t like him, she had it in common with Suna where she was dutiful in taking notes.

As an assistant to her dad and brother’s work, that would be helpful…and….

He gave a hum and took another step back.

Bass mentioned keeping the gooey feelings out of the workspace so there wasn’t cross contamination, meaning if she had some thoughts and Feelings about finding Bass either alone or in the company of a threatening stranger, then she Wouldn’t put it in the logs of his injuries.
She’d put it somewhere Else.

“So…maybe…” he worked his jaw and made his way back to the twins’ room, poking his head in to scan for where the war bot had deposited it.

“The diary again?” realized Mini quietly, giving his face a tap. “We already checked.”

“We did,” agreed the Mega man before spotting it under the pillow on the pod. “And I’m eliminating another possibility.”

“This really how ya wanna do it?”

“It’s not like I'm gonna read it cover to cover.”

The keys weren’t far, so opening it wasn’t an issue. And because Mini was still humming in disapproval, Aki flipped over to find one of the pages he’d noticed written at the hypotenuse angle.

‘04/12’ written at the top.

‘Dad’s been working downstairs overnight fairly frequently.
I had to bring breakfast to the office in the hangar four times this week alone.
Much as I'm glad he has a bit more spark back for personal projects and not just idling in hopes a commission will come though, I wish he wouldn’t try to sleep down there. It’s not good for his back.
Or his knees.

He doesn’t listen.

Said ‘I'm making a spine right now, I think I know well what’s good or bad for it.’

Whatever you say, dad.’

‘04/14’ in the middle.

‘Kalinka called to complain about Dr. Cossack apparently doing the same thing as Doctor Light these days.
She laughed when I told her. Called them ‘mole men’.
Apparently Mikhail has been really adamant about her not interacting with his new pet project either. That it’s ‘top secret.’

Maybe he’s got a commission for a new robot master?

He better. He’s not allowed to make more for himself.
Or her, sadly.

She’s been curious about it with how long his hours spent on it are apparently stretching to.
Given the description of his schedule, I am too.
It’s uncannily similar to what dad has been doing.

Though, if I’m right and it’s for a client, she probably would be introduced to them later for social testing.

Can’t give a customer a socially anxious robot after all.
I told her to wait and see.

…knowing her, she’ll probably call Tempo to have a third opinion before she sneaks in anyway.’

… okay, maybe not as Juicy with details as he was expecting.
Both a bit of a relief and disappointment.

He looked at the tops of the pages again before flipping to the most recent entry.

‘09/03

He said yes!
He has a pit stop to make in Mega city, but he’ll be able to come!

No more secrets!
I have to call Blues! If he can make it too, then everything will be good.’

“Wonder who ‘he’ is,” mumbled Aki, working his jaw with a flip to sort of the midpoint between those entries before biting his lip and padding out into the hall. “Say Bass?”

“Chief,” interjected Mini with a T motion of his hands. “You sure ya want him ta know whatcha doin? He wasn’t trying ta Breach ‘er privacy in any way she wouldn't volunteer.”

He clicked his mouth shut and waited a tense moment before a curious look from Treble by the bathroom suggested Bass hadn’t heard him.
Whew…but a hint would still help.

“Gimme the comm?” he asked with a pleading look to his helper’s unamused cross of the arms. “I can’t just Guess the night she picked him up.”

Mini squinted at the prospect, maybe trying to make him squirm for a moment before relenting and climbing up his ear to slip back inside.

“...should be on,” he said with a nod after another dance of the keyboard. “Unless his is off. Which… I don’t think so.”

“Bass?” tried Aki, frowning at the lack of response after a beat.
He looked out at the hall where Treble was now looming in the doorway and offered the dog a smile before trying again. “Yo? Hellooo? Bass man? Boss man?”

“What?” came the sharp response, making him wince and Mini jump a bit at the console.

Least it worked.

“QUICK question,” began the Mega man with a pace to the side and a finger on his ear. “What month was it when the incident with Turbo and Crystal happened and you got bonked at the castle?”

A short growl and he imagined a roll of the eye followed.
“November. Last year. Why?”

His eyes widened and he felt a grin despite himself.
“Juuust wondering!”

“Did you find something?”

“Nope! Not a clue!“

“We’ll let you know though.” supplied Mini before they cut the line and tentatively flipped around for the right date.

May, may, may, June.
June. June. June. June.
…
Lotta stuff happened in June.

July.
Not so much in July.
Not that she wrote.
August. August. September.
September.
September.
Wake me up when September ends cause apparently she had a LOT to say about September.
September.
September.
October.
Oct.
Oct.
October.

“C’mon.”

Mini had propped up his chin on an elbow but perked up at something with a glance behind his shoulder.
Had that been..?

“…uh, boss?” he said with a blink Aki shook his head at.

“Hold on.”
Did he flip past it? No wait.
11! November!
Finally!

‘11/01

Kalinka lost another couch.
Apparently ‘the bozo’ tore through his muzzle.

Mixed feelings at how apparently the working solution to the teething problem is a MUZZLE-’?

Okay, they definitely missed some drama.
Did ‘kalinka’ get a dog?
NO!
Not what they were looking for.

‘11/03

Kalinka-’

No.

‘11/05

Tempo-’

Not there, they needed Bass.

‘11/07

Dad got a call to-’
No.

‘11/08

It’s getting cold, I should winterize the shed–’
Why would she not have already done that?

‘11/10

Will miss dad and Rock while theyre gone-’

Missed an apostrophe and noooot what they’re looking for.

‘11/12
Treble-’

That means BASS!
Finally!

Aki brought the page almost to his nose.

‘11/12

Treble came to the fence asking for help.
Scared at first. Thought Wily was mobilizing an attack.
Wouldn’t be the first time.
Nothing happened though. I realized he was asking for help and it turns out Bass was hurt.
Badly.

The armor was almost trash. Trauma to skull, fingers, diaphragm, cooling system. Power core. I have more notes but he was a mess. I almost thought he wouldn’t survive the transfer to the lab.
He’s stable-ish now, thinking about putting him into the emergency pod for good measure.

I should.

I tried to call dad but he didn’t answer. It’s after 1 so he’s probably asleep.
At least Dr Kouin isn’t keeping him awake at all hours.
I can try again after sunrise.
Treble won’t stop shaking.
He’s so scared.
I don’t know how to comfort him though. He’s not like Rush where he does hugs.
He won’t answer any of my prods to distract him though.
Not even about who it was they were with.’

Who they were with?!

‘I might try treats.’

“..oh come on!” hissed Aki as he turned the page. “You end it there?”

‘11/12 pt 2.

Bass is awake. And “grateful’ for my help. From what he seems to remember about what happened it was probably another of the missing robot masters who was with him in the old stable before Treble and I got to him. Though I don’t know anyone who would howl in response to Treble.’

“Howl?” repeated Aki with a squint. “So…she heard a howl?”

“That sounds familiar.” hummed Mini with another glance back.
Was that Treble moving around back there?
Probably.
Aki re-read the remark and moved further down the page.

‘I didn't see any tracks around the one he pointed out that would suggest a Friender unit was with them.
Pretty sure all intact frienders are in the museum anyway.
I don’t understand it and Bass doesn’t seem to want to discuss it much.
Granted, he hasn’t wanted to do a whole lot except leave.
Sure, with a non-functional hand, smashed helmet, vestibular in need of recalibration, and a spinal column with supports that aren’t meant to strain past 40 pounds,
While I’m sure the FBI and the BoR would be happy to have him fall apart in the driveway, I would rather dad and Rock not come home to that.
Or have the BoR anywhere near my house.

Bass isn’t making it easy.
He’s not the worst patient the lab has ever had but he’s competing for the title of my personal worst.’

Thus how it began.
But they KNEW it wasn’t Turbo or Crystal, so did she go and find out anything about who it WAS?

Mini hummed, glancing back through the window at a thump in the hall…and his eyes widened with a sputter and a finger raised.
“Uh, BOSS?!”

Aki blinked at the haired panic in his voice.
What was-?

“Hey.”

…crap.
That was neither Bass, nor Zero’s voice.

Aki inhaled sharply, back as straight as a rod and slowly turned to find none other than Protoman in all his frumpy glory stood in the doorway.

…WHEN did he come upstairs?!

“What are you Doing?” asked Rock’s brother, the apparent shock of finding the Mega man here morphing to a stern, and very serious stare like he just caught Bass in the cookie jar.

…or, just caught some Dweeb rummaging through his sibling’s stuff.

“Ya think he’ll back off if we say it’s ours?” suggested Mini through his teeth, not even slightly thinking a plan like that would work.

Aw, but they had to do something that would make him back off!

Aki clapped the book closed and offered his best not-at-all-guilty smile.
“…I promise, it’s not-”

“Put that down.” interrupted Protoman, eyes drawing down and pupils shrinking like it was Quint looking at him and OH that was not a good sign!

Nodding quickly, Aki replaced the diary where he’d found it and offered his hands up placatingly.
“Can I explain?”

“Get. Out.” came the response, and the guy was rolling up the sleeves of his dull gray hoodie as he said it.
Also not moving to make room for the Mega man to Make his exit.

…he considered the window.