In Previous Works;
A few months after being activated and getting Giro Express off its feet, Girouette, the Red Mega Man, rescues a young girl from a deadly Maverick attack. After finding that she does not have any family left, Giro adopts her and she helps him around the warehouse. In the few months of this new arrangement, the girl, named Juno, is silent from trauma for months, nearly going on a year. As the years grow on, Giro and Juno's relationship strengthens, against Model Z's suggestions, believing that Giro was replicating an old relationship left behind half a century ago.
When Juno was sixteen, she left Giro Express to study in photography, ending up with meeting Prometheus, Pandora, and -ultimately- Master Albert before the Reploids were infused with Model W. During her five year stay with the Sage Trinity, Master Albert secured Juno's place as a Biomatch for a rather secret Biometal. Upon returning to Giro Express, Juno takes place where she left off- only once ever asking for vacation and ending up taking care of a runaway Vent.
This story takes place very close to the beginning of ZX, where the world is starting to see a shift in their years of peace into something much darker...
-. . .-
It was late at night, Juno didn't even bother to check to see who had come in. She found out soon enough, an uncertain voice waking her up from an already troubled sleep.
"Juno, where's Giro?"
The human rolled over to look at a fourteen year old Vent. She couldn't make out his features too well in the dim light, but he looked as if he wasn't sleeping well.
"Isn't he in his room?" she slurred inquisitively.
"Giro's room is locked, I don't think he's in there."
"He's probably gone somewhere real quick. He'll be back."
"June, it's one in the freaking morning. Where would he go?"
"Do you trust me?"
Defiantly, and mumbling something under his breath, Vent nodded. When he recoiled, he seemed a bit lost.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Juno asked him.
"Can I sleep with you," Vent asked. "You know, like when we ran away together?"
"You mean when you ran away and I was on vacation." Juno smirked. "Besides, aren't you a little old to be in bed with me?" she then asked as Vent got into bed with her regardless. "Or too young now, I should say."
"What can I say?" shrugged the teen, "I like how you spoon."
"I see Giro hasn't found soap you dislike yet." Juno snickered.
"After dealing with the last catastrophe over soap, I don't think he'll be cleansing my mouth any time soon." Vent laughed, embracing Juno's arms wrapping around him. The teen was comfortable enough with this arrangement that he let out a long yawn.
"Why are your feet always so cold Vent?" Juno questioned, squirming her body a bit away from his. "I could keep ice cream cold on your feet alone!"
Vent didn't answer, instead he had fallen back asleep almost instantly. Juno smiled, nuzzling the back of his head as she found sleep once more again too.
. . .
The next morning, the duo woke up in unison and stared at each other. Juno gave a sleepy smile at Vent, who didn't give away any emotion.
"Remember when you were little and you used to say stuff about your mother and an apparent sister?" she asked him as she started to play with his messy hair. "Every nightmare you had involved some kind of scenario about one of the two. I should have written it down. The stuff you came up with was pretty creative… in a creepy way."
The fourteen year old didn't respond to this, instead looking Juno in the eye as if he were searching for something. His surrogate mother frowned at his state. It wasn't like Vent to be this quiet- was he even awake at the moment?
"Vent…?" Juno asked quietly, running her hand slowly through his hair now, "Are you alright? You seem so… out of it. Would you like me to make some breakfast or something for you?"
"I'm not hungry." Vent said to her tonelessly. At least she had gotten him to talk, that was a good start.
"Toast it is then." she decided, giving him a playful pat on the shoulder before she got up. Vent sat up as well, watching the woman as she hoisted herself out of her bed and turned around to expect him to do the same. Acting as if he had been placed in slow motion, Vent got out of Juno's bed then turned to face her.
"Come on slowpoke," Juno teased as she walked around the bed to take his hand. "Let's go see if Giro's in the kitchen."
Leading him out of the dorms and into the kitchen, Juno barely noticed that Girouette had returned and was sitting at the breakfast bar. Vent did though, and immediately called out his boss's name before taking a seat next to the Reploid. Giro just barely looked up but gave Vent a small smile at seeing him.
Juno smiled as the two had a small conversation while she prepared something to eat.
"So when are you gonna take me out on a one-on-one delivery?" Vent enthusiastically asked his boss.
"When you develop some manners toward the customers." Giro replied before taking a sip of his coffee. "Last time I let you go with me, we nearly lost a client."
"Oh come on Giro!" the boy plead. "I was so young then- give me another chance!"
"Vent honey," Juno interrupted, "Wasn't that just last month?"
"And I've learned a lot since then! Like…. like how Giro will always be there to get me out of trouble!"
"Right, that's the lesson you should have learned from that."
"It's true! Isn't it Giro?!"
The Reploid did not reply and seemed to be far off. It was another moment before he realized that Vent and Juno were giving him weird looks. Thoughtfully, Juno bit her lower lip before turning to Vent.
"Vent, go help Sho set up shop for the day." Juno requested. "It's getting close to opening time. I'm sure Sho needs the help."
Now confused about the change of subject, Vent looked from her to Giro, then back again feeling rather unsure. But he went any way. Juno waited a moment to make sure he had left before taking Vent's seat next to Girouette.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "You left pretty late last night."
"You were looking for me?" Giro asked, raising an eyebrow as he took another sip of coffee.
"Vent was, for some reason. He didn't tell me though. We ended up sleeping in bed together. Last time that happened he had a nightmare, and that was years ago."
"Wonderful." Giro groaned. Juno tilted her head curiously.
"What's going on? Please tell me."
Giro turned to look at Juno and shook his head while letting out deep, pained sigh.
"Cyber Elves are going missing."
"Cyber Elves?" the human questioned, now a bit confused. "Aren't they all supposed to be in Data..."
"Cyberspace? Yes. Most of them are. But, as long as a Reploid dies, there's a Cyber Elf that follows- and there's been plenty of that recently, that's for sure."
"Where are they going?"
Girouette gave a sullen shrug. "We don't know. Fleuve is working on it as we speak… but...
"But there's something else… isn't there?"
Girouette paused for a moment, lulling over the idea of telling her or not. "I… I've been having nightmares."
"Reploids can't have nightmares Giro." Juno started to remark before seeing how serious he was. "But you have..."
"If it isn't about Vent or the Cyber Elves, they're about you."
"Me?"
The Reploid nodded as he ran a hand through his hair. "I think you're all in danger. I can't tell what, but I believe it involves the Biometals. I just don't know how..."
"You'll figure it out." Juno assured him. Girouette looked up at her looking grave. His thumb slowly rubbed against her knuckles as if he was trying to calm himself from the inevitable signs around him.
"I hope so Juno." Girouette eventually said, his voice sounding far off. The human woman tilted her head before moving closer to the Reploid. Gently, reassuringly, Juno placed a soft kiss on Giro's lips. It proved to calm him, but it did not ease his fears.
"Don't leave me." Girouette whispered. "I can't stand to lose Vent- I know that-, I don't know what would happen if I lost both of you. Something… something so bad is going to happen to you two that I don't know if I… if I could..."
"Oh Giro, my sweet over thinking Giro." Juno teased, planting little butterfly kisses along his jaw line. "I can't keep up when you're so worried. Just relax, you have a job to do."
"And it involves keeping Vent safe."
Juno gave him a glance from above. "I meant Giro Express." she told him. "You have a job there too."
"It's not the job I should be doing..." Girouette muttered defiantly.
"It is." Juno affirmed. "Now get out there before Sho comes up and makes some joke about us making out."
"I'd rather do that instead." the Reploid told her, giving her a rather playful, but weary, glance. Juno shook her head before starting to get up. She held her hands out to him, expecting him to take them so she could get him out of the chair.
"Come on," she coaxed, "I'll help you do inventory, just like old times."
He looked at her for a few minutes before giving in. "Thank you," he smiled gratefully.