A/N: Before anyone says it, yes, Solo is an independent person and he would never make friends blah, blah, blah. I agree, I can't see him making friends for a while either, moreover admitting to himself he needs a companion, but maybe deep in his mind he desires someone, perhaps, giving it time, he will eventually want a friend. To put it short, it's a fanfic, and I like to think about characters and how they feel and/or what they can become. Okay, that out of the way, I wanna make a small warning, StarForce is quite light hearted, this story will not be. It's going to have darker themes including, but not limited to, abuse and self-harm, it might also get a tad perverse at times. If any of these things offend you/trigger anything you may wanna leave, if not, proceed. Please though, no flames, I know Mega Man isn't known for darkfics, but I want to give it a try, hopefully someone will like it. ANYWAY, sorry for all this, let's get started!
The air is cold, so, so cold, much colder than usual, and it wasn't even winter yet. The sun is high in the air, and despite no clouds to block its rays, it does little to help with this freezing temperature. On a day like this people would normally stay inside, schools would get cancelled, snow would pile up in the streets, heaters would be running. The key phrase from all that is that no one would step outside, and that holds true for all but one. There was one lonesome figure treading snowy grounds, he was dressed heavily, sure, but he still felt cold, not cold enough to make him lose focus, however.
The lonesome figure watches intently, his gaze falling upon a single white rabbit. He dares not to move from his position from behind a bush, one wrong misstep and his hungry belly would continue its fast, and it's already been two days, the figure is hungry, starving even.
The rabbit's ears prick up as it picks up a sound, it looks around, scanning the large, heavily snowed-in forest. In less than a second, the rabbit jolts off, leaving its predator to stand up and growl in frustration.
"What the hell!" he shouts. "Laplace, did you scare it off?!"
Alongside the figure emerges the one called Laplace, he looks down at his fellow Murian and releases some buzzing sounds, which is his way of defending himself, claiming that he hadn't made a single sound since the two left their home. At this, the Murian tosses his bow and arrow to the ground, cursing out of anger and frustration. In response to this, Laplace places an arm around its master, attempting to comfort him, this action only causes the Murian to snap.
"For the last damn time Laplace, I don't need you comforting me! I don't need anyone! You stupid- to think you're Mu technology! What a joke! What can you even do besides turn into a blade? You most certainly can't help me catch any prey that's for sure!"
Laplace felt pained as Master insulted him. Lately, it seems that Master's been getting angrier and angrier, the past week it has been snowing really badly, causing the weather to get down to freezing temperatures. Laplace knows how hungry Master is, sure the two had salvaged many zenny from numerous virus battles, but it meant nothing if stores weren't open. Indeed, the snow has been so bad that stores were closed in towns and cities, meaning that Solo is forced to find animals to cook and eat, which is what he prefers anyway, but usually on bad days he heads toward a town and gets something. Today, however, is another day where bad fortune smiles and grabs at him harshly, digging its sharp nails into the boy's side, causing his body to feel numb…or maybe that's just the cold.
"We're heading home," Solo sighs, turning around and heading out of the forest.
Laplace follows, wishing he could say something encouraging to Master, but sadly, the Wizard simply isn't smart enough with human emotions to know exactly what to say.
Solo walks along the snowy trail, following his own footsteps, he sees Laplace suddenly fly before him, Solo is in no mood to put up with the Wizard's stupid attempts to cheer him up, he has stopped being happy long ago. Laplace begins to dance, spreading his arms and moving them up and down, his hands balled up into fists. His attempts go unnoticed, as Solo was looking down at the snow below. Laplace give up, silently following his human companion until the two reach a giant rock formation far out in the middle of a field. Solo uses his strength to move a bolder to the side, revealing a small hole down below to crawl into. He gets down on all fours and enters, a few feet inside the rocks was a wooden door, which Solo opens, the door moving toward him. Once inside, he shuts the door and the small crawlspace gets larger, large enough for him to stand up on his knees, and within a good four feet, a small set of stairs let down to a large room.
Upon reaching the room, Laplace heads for the couch and lies upon it, it isn't the comfiest thing in the world, but it is comfy enough. Solo takes off his heavy winter clothes, revealing his normal outfit underneath, he tosses the clothes to the side and heads toward the heater, which he flicks on. Despite living inside of a rock formation, the place does indeed have electricity and access to heat, it's made by someone Solo came into contact with many years ago, the two aren't friends by any means, but the two do meet up once every month, mostly cause the artist who built this demands payment from Solo, it is an expensive place, mostly due to the heat and electricity Solo uses, which needs to be replaced every month, hence the man coming over. But it isn't just zenny the man wants in turn, oh no, to keep Solo's house private the boy is forced to talk to the man when he comes too. That was the only downside to this place, the fact that in order to keep his privacy, he doesn't want cops knocking at his door and taking him to away to an orphanage, he has to sit down and have dinner with the man on payment night. Luckily, the man isn't a creeper, in fact, he always seems interested in Solo's bloodline; the ancient Mu folk. Honestly, it felt good hearing praise from someone for being the last of Mu, he doesn't get that often, usually all he gets are weird looks, which he's sadly gotten used to over the years.
The Murian takes a seat on his makeshift table made out of a large tree stump that he crafted long ago, the seat he sits upon is also a tree stump, but smaller. On the other side of the table is another chair, however, no one ever sits there. Well, Laplace floats above it sometimes, but he usually prefers to stay on the floor. The extra chair on the other side only pained the boy, causing his heart to feel weak, and his mind getting depressed. He stares forward, his eyes narrowing down to that of a sad expression, his mouth knit into a frown, a frown that has been stuck on his face for as long as he could remember.
He can't explain exactly why he's been feeling this way recently, but he knows that pesky Geo Stelar is to blame, he hasn't seen his rival in a while, but last time he did one of Geo's friends got hurt, a small one with glasses, the boy nearly died, and Solo stood not too far away, watching from a hill as the group of friends all cried their eyes out. What happened to the kid is unknown to the Murian, he guessed some viruses got loose or something, but just watching the friends all gathered around one crying gave Solo mixed feelings. For as long as he could reminiscent he hated friendship, he never had anyone stood up for him, never had a single friend, sure they were all strong together but alone, his bullies were easy targets. He pledged he would always be alone and stay alone, never let anyone into his life, but slowly, he began to feel lonely, and that day when he saw MegaMan cry, something struck, it was almost a sudden shock. He had no remorse for the dying kid, yet, he yearned to help him, to ease the pain of the others. Ever since Solo met his rival he would every now and again ask himself: is being alone all the time worth it though? He could then curse at himself for denying his own principle, after all, the Murians were independent warriors as well, it's simply in his blood…
So why is he beginning to feel more and more depressed, more and more needy of another body beside his own? Why is it that suddenly being alone is a bad thing?
'Damn you, Geo Stelar,' he swears in his mind. 'I fight you again and again, yet you have more wins than me! Am I wrong? I can't be! But…my ancestors died, and they were loners. No, I can't be thinking such thoughts!' The Murian sits up feels his head swim, his mind is confused, he feels conflicted. Perhaps…he is wrong after all. The main source of MegaMan's power comes from others, and as powerful as Solo is, he falls at his rival's feet again and again. His thoughts get interrupted once he hears Laplace come floating in from the other room.
"Someone's at the door?" Solo asks. "It's probably Riki, though he's here early." Solo goes back up the stairs, through the door, and reaches the outside, he sees the very artist who built his house stand before him, a heavy coat practically swallowing the young man's thin frame.
"Why so early? And why on such a terrible day?" Solo asks.
Riki's voice is shaking, "I need to speak with you. May I come inside?"
Solo is hesitant, he hadn't bothered cleaning up the place in a while, and some clothes and dirt littered his floor, but this is the man that could very well get the orphanage people on Solo's ass, so the Murian leads Riki inside.
"Ok," Solo begins. "Why are you here?"
Riki removes the hood of his winter coat, "Well, I'm getting married!"
Solo crosses his arms, "Okay, care to tell me something important?"
Riki frowns, "Well, I will be on vacation soon, I'm going away, and I wanted to know if you could give me the money early, I have your electric and heat power in my jeep. Please? I need the cash for the vacay, the wife, well, future wife, and I are getting married during our vacation. Come on, lend a hand."
Solo sighs, "Alright."
"Hey, are you alright? You seem kind sad."
"Sad? I'm only annoyed, you know I hate visitors, especially visitors who show up out of the blue."
"Look, it's for a good cause, you're not gonna be lonely without me are ya?"
"Don't make me laugh," Solo makes the transaction quick, transferring his zenny over to Riki, in seconds the thin man thanks Solo for his business, and turns to leave. Solo feels relieved though, looks like no talking tonight, he never liked Riki's company.
'You know deep down you do,' a voice says.
Solo grits his teeth angrily, ignoring that random thought that popped in his conscious. He turns around and sits on his couch, reaching over the ledge for his pipe. Laplace buzzes, asking Solo if he wanted to play video games, but Solo declines, claiming he rather smoke instead. Laplace begins to float aimlessly around the room as Solo releases puffs of white smoke. He tries to focus on clearing his thoughts, but he finds Laplace's constant moving in his vision to be irritating. He takes a deep breath and puffs out more smoke from the long pipe, at this point, Laplace is buzzing again, he's singing, it's the same song Laplace always sings when he is bored, Solo has pestered him time and time again to knock it off, but the Wizard never listens, almost as if he forgets every time. Considering how dimwitted Laplace is, Solo wouldn't be surprised if Laplace really did forget every time.
At this point, Solo loses his temper, "Dammit Laplace, find something to do!"
Laplace flinches at the sudden booming voice, sure Master can be loud, but he's never this loud, nor does he ever sound this angry. Laplace retorts, saying that Solo needs to smoke something more than just tobacco. This only causes the Murian to get even angrier.
"You have got to be the dumbest Wizard out there! It's as if you were created by morons!" He felt terrible after he said that, as his own people, whom he is so fascinated with, created Laplace, and again, Solo feels conflicted. "Honestly, my life was a lot better before you, you and your stupid words, I only ever put up with you simply because you are Mu technology, I admit, we are connected, but only because of our heritage." Solo turns his gaze away from Laplace, "What the hell is wrong with me…now I'm starting to not care for Mu so much, I'm just so depress-" he refused to finish the last word, he places his pipe down and curls up on the couch. "I need help, don't I?"
Laplace flies over to Solo, he pats the boy on his head and rubs his fingers through his hair.
"Don't even bother, I'm not who I used to be, it's all Geo's fault, I just can't stop thinking about our battles, I even have nightmares of the days when I lived on the streets, the day my parents just left me. They left me, and they didn't even say why! It was only years later did I know why…"
Solo remembers back to a few months ago, he was exploring a ruin, which took a good week to travel to, followed by a week trip back home, while there he found a pile of books, the books looked new, and they belonged to someone, but Solo was curious, as the first book he had never seen before.
The book was called 'The Last of Mu'.
Solo had to look into it, he picked it right up and was greeted with the first page, a thank you sort of page. The words were a thanks to Solo's mother, and father, who had apparently given their lives in an attempt to stop Le Mu from being awakened, they were killed by Hollow.
That day, that very moment, Solo felt as though he had committed a crime; he had tried to help Dr. Vega and Hollow resurrect Le Mu, as they all wanted Mu's technology back.
"That's why they left," Solo says as Laplace begins to rub his back. "They left me to go and prevent Le Mu from being awoken, I only wanted our current world to see the great that was Mu technology…but Le Mu, it just wanted to destroy us all! They died in vain, Laplace! They wanted to protect everyone, and I tried to awaken it! They didn't want me to get hurt. To think I worked with Vega and Hollow! How could I have not known?! Why did someone only recently get a hold of that information?! They died in vain, Laplace!" With the rant over, the boy puts his head back into his arms. "I miss you Mother, Father, and I'm so sorry I failed!"
Solo sobs silently, all Laplace can do is gently rub the boy's back, in hopes it'll do something, he too feels deep sorrow, he also misses the Murian people, but mostly, he feels bad for Solo. The kid has his issues, sure he's a little too independent, and a bit of a stubborn grouch, but he had good intentions when he told Laplace about the time he helped reawaken Le Mu. Solo didn't want to rule the world, he didn't want to kill mass amounts of people, he just wanted to bring their culture back, have it so the people of today could see what the Murian people were like.
"I'm sorry," Laplace nearly jumped, Master never apologizes. "I'm better now, things are just getting hard for me. I try to understand my problems, but I can't. I think one way my whole life, and suddenly I'm hit with "oh no you're wrong" again and again. It's not easy." Solo sighs, "I know the death of my parents isn't my fault, and I know our people weren't as independent as I am, I am not blind, but I just…I don't know, it's hard to look at things differently when you've been stuck inside this single bubble for so long. I'm not normal by the average person's standards, I'm starting to see what they see now. I am a freak."
Laplace denies Solo's claims, telling him that he may be different, but he's still no freak.
Solo looks down at his lap, "Maybe I should go somewhere, head out for a walk, I know it's freezing, but I think better when I'm outside," he stands up. "You should stay here, I have a lot I need to think about…"
Laplace was about to retort, but he figures it would be better if he gave Master some space, especially because every time he attempts to cheer Master up he fails, sometimes only making it worse.
Solo throws his warm coat back on and heads for the outside, he notices that Riki is gone, and he feels relieved, he really doesn't want to see that man's stupid smiling face. Or maybe he does…he isn't sure anymore. He begins his tread, heading towards Echo Ridge, he likes it there, it has many unique shops that Solo likes to visit late at night on some days, not to mention the library is open 24/7, and all the nice food places had organic things. Of course, Solo figures everything is closed tonight, but he thinks he'll go check, just in case.
As he draws closer and closer he can feel the night's snow begin to freeze his nose, he ignores it to the best of his ability, but finds the air much too cold to ignore. He debates on going back, but sees a small carriage before Echo Ridge's entrance. Curious, as he had never seen it before, Solo walked up to the carriage. It has no horses at front, yet had reigns attached, there was a small poster on the side. Solo looks closely and reads: "Come and see the lady who sees all, for 200 zenny, you can know everything and so much more!"
Solo rolls his eyes, sounds like a scam, a traveling con artist, bah. He was about to turn right back around when his mind felt as though he needed to go in, just to see, after all, Solo has read stories of psychics accurately predicting futures, even Mu had psychics of sorts. For amusement and nothing more, or so he tells himself, he decides to head in, opening a small door.
Once inside, the room was filled with a lilac smell, the floor had a wolf's skin rug, the head baring its teeth right at him. There is a small, round desk, all around the walls are dream catchers and animal heads. A middle aged woman sits before the desk, she is smiling, and her clothing of choice was a single dress, it appears to be animal fur, her hat looks like some kind of beret, but it has many feathers sticking out. She wears a necklace with a giant pendant, and her face is decorated with makeup.
"Hi," Solo greets, kind of digging the woman's style of decorations, he always did have a thing with traditional handmade stuff.
"You know it's polite to knock," the woman motions at a small stool before her table. "Come, have a seat."
Solo takes off his hood and has a seat, he notices the woman's eyes widening with amusement, "So, you read things about people that they don't know?"
She grins, it appears to be a friendly grin, but her eyes scan Solo up and down, making him a little uncomfortable, "Yes, oh, do you mind if I smoke my pipe while I do this?"
Solo shakes his head, "Not at all…"
"Thanks, the name's Fantasey, that's 'fantasy' but with a soft 'ch' sound instead of an 's', I come from an old tribe that was killed long ago, they passed down their psychic abilities to me," Fantasey reaches below her and reveals a long pipe, she begins to smoke it.
"A tribe?" Solo's interests piques, "What tribe is that?"
"We were a small tribe, mostly made up of Atlantians who had run away, we were called 'Little Salvage'."
"I've heard of them, when Atlantis was at war with Mu many of the people from Atlantis ran away and sought out their own lives."
Fantasey puffs out a hue of white smoke, leaning her head into her hand, "Yup, but one of Mu's tribes found us, it was Zerker if I recall, they traded things with us, and let us go, but years later as we grew, Netopia became a different country, and we were forced to be like everyone. Our land was taken, and we lived in cities."
"But you don't mind all that, so you outcast yourself, and you continue living your people's traditions?"
Fantasey shrugs, "Kind of, I know you do just that though, you're the last of Mu after all."
"Did my looks give it away?"
"Not necessarily, sure white hair and red eyes are uncommon, but I've seen a few others like that, I know all about you thanks to the whispers from my ancestors."
"Sounds like crazy talk."
Fantasey sits up, "It does, doesn't it, perhaps I shall prove my legitimacy by giving you some answers."
Solo furrows his brows, "To what?"
Fantasey places her pipe down and reaches forward, "Give me your hand." Solo reaches out and places his right hand into Fantasey's hands. The woman closes her eyes for a few seconds, then she opens them, "You are very lonely, you used to enjoy it, but now you find yourself desiring someone at your side."
Solo pulls away, "That's…not true."
"Even your voice can no longer mask your lies, and you were always good with voice control. You want to give friendship a chance, but you are unsure on how to do it, your mind also screams for you to not leave your bubble, to keep the thin walls up, but that's just it, the bubble will eventually pop. Humans are social creatures by heart, Solo, even you know this."
Solo looks down, perhaps the whispers she claimed she hears are real after all, she even knows his name, "So what do I do?" he asks, almost afraid of the answer she may give.
"I can easily help you, but you'll need to give me a night to prepare the ingredients."
"Ingredients?"
"Come back tomorrow, I am very tired."
"But wait, what did you mean-"
"You will see, now leave, I must prepare something important before I head to bed."
Solo stands up, puts his hood back on, and heads back out. His mind goes back to what she said about what she told him earlier, what with her tribe and all. He feels a little happy that he met someone who at least has some sort of connection with Mu, in a way anyhow. He looks beyond at Echo Ridge, he sees some lights, but overall it was very dark.
'Why would she need ingredients?' he asks as he heads back home.
Red eyes slowly open and the Murian is hit with a reminder about last night. Slowly, Solo sits up from his makeshift bed, pushing his furry blanket off him. Upon standing, he feels almost excited to go back and see what Fantasey has for him, maybe it'll end all of his problems. He doubts it, but at least maybe it'll help.
As he leaves his bed to go get dressed his stomach growls madly, reminding him he still hasn't eaten in days. He blushes, knowing Laplace is awake and probably heard it, and changes his lounging clothes in for his regular outfit. He prays that the snow will let off for today, he really wants to catch some breakfast, and he really doesn't like the idea of freezeng to death while attempting to do so.
Laplace appears and floats over, he claims that it's still cold, but it isn't snowing, the lake where Solo catches his fish is, however, still frozen, so catching fish is out of the question.
"I think I should go see Fantasey first anyway, I hope she's awake. I just want to know what she needs ingredients for. Do you think she's making me a potion?"
Laplace shrugs.
Solo grabs his coat and heads outside, Laplace comes with this time, going inside of Solo's Hunter-VG. The air outside isn't nearly as cold as yesterday, but it's still heavy-coat cold, that's for sure. It taks a few minutes, but Fantasey's little area is reached, and Solo makes sure to knock this time.
"Come on in!" a voice calls from inside.
With no hesitation, Solo opens the door and steps inside, "Fantasey."
Fantasey is seen putting away books onto small bookshelves, she left one book out, however, "Ah, greetings, any bad dreams last night?"
"No," Solo denies, but he sees her give him a knowing look. He scowls, "So, you're aware of my dreams as well?"
Fantasey heads toward her table and picks up a rather large bottle, it has a big base with a small neck, inside is a white, almost cream colored liquid. "This is what I made you," she declares.
Solo steps forward and examines the bottle, "What is it?"
"You want a friend, do you not?"
Solo frowns, "Well…"
"Then take this, and here are the instructions," Fantasey attaches a yellow sticky note onto the bottle, she then hands the bottle to Solo. "If you follow the instructions then you shall have the best possible match-up friend you can ask for."
Solo takes a small look at the liquid inside, "Thought you said all my problems will be solved."
Fantasey grins, "Oh but they will be, for my boy, you see, all you need is a friend who is much like you, someone who knows everything about you, someone who is you."
Solo looks back at the liquid again, he shakes the glass bottle back and forth, judging by how slowly it moves, he guesses it is rather thick and paste-like.
Fantasey then stands before Solo, her hand out, "Now then, 200 zenny."
Solo looks away, "Don't you do transactions via Transers, Star Carriers, or Hunter-VGs?"
Fantasey sighs, "I do indeed have my Star Carrier here." She reaches back to her desk and picks up the small device. A quick transaction and Solo pays up.
"Ok, thanks, I guess." Solo said, turning around for the door.
Fantasey turns her back to Solo, "Oh no problem." She appears to be looking for something on another shelf.
Solo looks over at the book she left on the counter, it is a potion book, he looks at Fantasey, then back at the book, "Goodbye," he says, taking the book and hiding it in his coat.
"Remember, follow the instructions carefully," Fantasey warns.
"I will," with that, Solo is back outside, glass bottle and book in hand. At this point, Laplace is floating besides Solo. "I should go see to this potion quickly, and maybe check out this book," the Murian only took a few steps before his stomach voices its demand, the Murian gets a look of irritation on his face and Laplace laughs. "Shut up!"
Later that day, the clouds began to clear up, showing a rather blue sky and bright sun. It is a little warmer thanks to the UV rays, but the air still feels bitter. Solo has decided to order some food rather than attempt to hunt his own that day, he is in a rush, he wants to head back home and try out this new potion given to him. Upon coming inside, Solo takes off his coat, throws it to the floor, and looks at the sticky-note. He places the book down on his couch, deciding to look at that later.
"Okay, it says I am to drink half of this for one problem solved, I am to not drink the whole bottle in one sitting unless I want one more problem. Simple enough I suppose."
Laplace voices his concern, asking if this is really such a good idea.
Solo smells the liquid, it has no odor, he then shakes the liquid around again, watching the sides of the bottle as the liquid slowly slides down the thick glass. "Here goes nothing, I guess," he lifts the bottle up to his lips, taking a small sip. He stops, looking at the concerned Wizard before him. "It has a creamy taste, kind of like raw milk, it's pretty good," he takes another sip, drinking the thick liquid slowly. After a small amount of time, he removes the tip from his lips and glances at the bottle; he drank about half, a little less than.
He places the drink down on his table, "Okay, so now I get a friend?"
Laplace shrugs, looking carefully at the glass bottle on the table. He stares at it closely, Solo almost wondered if Laplace was expecting the liquid to explode or change color.
"Well, I'm not sure exactly how this is going to work, what do you say we go do some training?"
Laplace nods, almost excited to begin another training session.
"I'm in the mood to fight viruses today," the Murian stands still and puts his hands out, focusing his mind. "EM Wave Change, Solo On The Air!" with that, Solo has turned into a being of pure wave lengths, he's known as the devastating fighter, Rogue. "Let's go, I hope I see MegaMan, I really feel like taking all my frustration out on him"
A/N: So nothing too bad yet. Solo is very ooc, believe me I had a hard time writing this chapter, the whole time all I want to do is make him less, I dunno, angsty? But I also don't want this to be too long, I was originally gonna make this longer and way more detailed, but I rather not. Anyway, if you don't like it tell me why not, and don't say it's because Solo is acting a bit (ok maybe a lot) different, the boy is confused, teens are strange, Solo is strange. As for Laplace, I kind of want to make actual dialogue for him, but I feel like it's better if I explain what he says, since he makes sounds to communicate, I feel like just summarizing what he says suits the situation better.