DISCLAIMER: This fanfiction is a crossover between the series Megaman / Rockman X and [Shin Megami Tensei:] Persona 3 [and MAYBE 4, as it is the sequel]. This franchises are copyrighted by CAPCOM and ATLUS respectively, meaning the only rights to this story is the originality of the plot; however, virtually all characters are already existent, and NOT under my personal ownership. However, there will be a third party of characters that are my creation, which I will reveal as the story goes on to prevent spoilers, most likely at the end. You'll know what I mean.
Also, I wanted to apologize for the long wait; school, family vacation to Israel with no computer, finals, work, such and so forth. Oh, and writer's block; can't forget that.
Anywho, happy reading!
'Knox's 8th Law: 'It is forbidden for the case to be solved with clues that are not presented or not made into common knowledge to all parties of the mystery.'' – Dlanor A. Knox, Umineko no Naku Koro Ni / Ronald Knox's Decalouge of Mystery Fiction.
Chapter 2: CHEESBOARD CHASTITY (PLAYER'S OPEING MOVES)
A light, strange piano tune could be heard. It was faint, but carried an air of serenity to it.
'Wait a minute… this atmosphere…'
A pair of metallic blue eyes slowly opened, and the first thing he saw has a large, spacious room, devoured by various shades of blue. The back of the room facing the eyes was a window-like wall panning downward, as if one was witnessing the ascension of an elevator. Only this elevator seemed to go on for eternity.
"Ah. Welcome back.", came a mysterious, male voice. Searching for the source, the eyes fell on a middle-aged looking dwarf of a man with an eccentrically long, pointed nose and spherical bloodshot eyes with black rings layering their edges. We wore a black dress suit from what he could see; his lower half was blocked by the desk he sat in.
To his left stood a rather gorgeous young woman, about short of 6 feet tall, wearing a bluish gown-like torso piece with black hips and five large yellow buttons ringed by a 'dartboard' design of a black ring surrounding the button, surrounded by a blue ring surrounded by a second black one. The five patterns assumed the form of a row of buttons. She black socks past the visible level of the skirt of her dress and long azure boots that reach just past her shins. She wore her platinum-blond hair in a 'expanded-looking bowl cut', with fringes licking at her forehead and cheeks. In her crossed gloves hands, he held a rather thick, brown-covered tome titled 'PERSONA COMPENDIUM'. Her thin, yet warm smile completed her glistening topaz eyes, like a pair of full moon dancing just above the horizon.
"Welcome back… Minato; we missed you."
The figure, Minato blinked twice. He was a young boy of about 17, with semi-long dark blue hair that seemed to drape over the top-right corner of his face, covering his right eye. He wore a white dress shirt, along with a black suit and pants combo, secured by a black string tie. There was a circular patch on his left breast pocket that looked like a black-and-white variant of the BMW automobile insignia. Around his neck was a USB-like trinket dangling from a silver lanyard, reaching just below his sternum. There was a red arm sash secured over his left upper arm by a pair of pins. It read 'S.E.E.S' in black, rimmed by two black lines.
Minato blinked. "…It…can't be…"
Elizabeth blinked. "Minato?"
"If I'm here… then the Great Seal is…", Minato trailed, maintaining his calm, somewhat aloof demeanor.
"Not to worry my boy!", Igor chirped, being somewhat more charismatic than when he usually visited the Velvet Room. Minato cocked a brow at the thought. "You see, after a series of events in which mankind has evolved, human life had begun to prosper; humans did experience miniature, yet somewhat devastating trifles with mechanical creations of theirs – known to the current day as 'Reploids' – but to my personal relief, things finally patched up thanks to the valiant efforts of Reploids who stop the berserk actions of rogue Reploids dubbed 'Maviericks'. The Maverick Hunters, the affiliation sworn to protect the human race from said Mavericks, have strived to achieve that goal to the bitter end. Although I do not identify with how their processes are akin to the human soul – the souls capable of Persona – I nonetheless am truly impressed by its likeness. Especially the one who almost single-handedly averted eight wars; the one named 'X', the metaphoric 'father' of all Reploids, save for a finite few."
"…Uh huh… Anything else I should know…?", Minato asked cautiously. This caught Igor's attention; Igor knew that Minato, given his abilities as the Wild Card, had sharpened senses and keen intelligence, but to see through Igor's poker face – a nearly-arduous task for even Elizabeth – was quite astounding to Philemon's right hand man (NOTE: In the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona universe, Philemon is a omnipotent, yet benevolent god who sides with the main cast of Persona 1 and 2, but does not directly assist them; Igor helps them in his stead.).
He smiled. "Nothing gets by you anymore, doesn't it? Very well; Elizabeth? If you would?"
"Why don't you let them tell you?", Elizabeth said, gesturing to behind Minato. Turning around, Minato's eyes glimmered with both shock and joy.
The entire group of S.E.E.S. was standing behind him, full of smiles.
Junpei Iori, Fuuka Yamagishi, Mitsuru Kirijo, Akihiko Sanada, Ken Amada, Aigis, Koromaru and…
"Minato… you're really here…", came a rather emotional Yukari Takeba. Another thing Minato silently noted was that they were wearing the same clothing from when they fought Nyx.
"I guess I am, but… what are you doing here…?", Minato asked. 'How did they learn of the Velvet Room? Was it when Aigis…?'
Akihiko, the intelligent boxer with the bandage on the left side of his left eye, chuckled. "I think Elizabeth-san's the most appropriate one to answer that; she did bring us here."
"…", came Minato's dead stare, a slight sweatdrop on his cheek. "You're all not seriously gonna play tag with this are, you…?"
"No, Minato-san.", came Ken, the youngest member of the group. "We came because Elizabeth-san told us something you… well…"
"Well…?", Minato asked, tilting his head slightly. 'I got a bad feeling about this…'
"Minato, I'll be frank. In the future… about 200 years from our time… Nyx will be released. The Great Seal you created using your soul was destroyed; there was nothing even Elizabeth or Igor-san could do.", Mitsuru said flatly, not an ounce of deception in her voice of any kind – she was quite firm on this statement.
Minato's eyes – or visible eye – shrunk considerably. "…What did you say…?"
Akihiko, the short-silver-haired boxer with his signature red vest, black gloves and bandage over his left eye, stepped forward. "I'm afraid it's no joke. Would Mitsuru of all people lie about something this serious?"
"…Point noted.", Minato replied, feeling defeated. After all, he died to forever seal away Nyx. And even though Nyx itself was considered a benevolent deity, she could answer man's call for extinction at any point after release.
"…So what happened, dare I ask?" "Well, Minato-kun… about that…", came Fuuka Yamagishi, the sea green-haired support specialist. "Not even Igor-san knows."
"Which brings me to my next question. How exactly did you learn of the Velvet Room, the area we're standing in?"
"We first did… through me.", Aegis replied. "Shortly after you died, the time and space around the dorm was distorted by our strong desire to see you again, which eventually awakened my ability to use the Wild Card, and all of your Personas; the first was Orpheus."
Minato was surprised. 'Other people can use a second person's Persona? I know it's Aegis, but is that even possible…?' Meanwhile, Ken looked down at his feet, remembering how Metis, Aegis's other half nearly killed him in a misunderstanding before Aegis magically summoned Orpheus. Koromaru, the Shiba Inu, whined.
"It's true.", came Elizabeth. "But that's besides the point. Why don't I show you why you're all really here…?"
Igor nodded as he materialized a deck of cards, rectangular (about 3 x 9 inches), and shades of blue in color. The cards shuffled on their own, and with a flick of the elderly, creepy-looking divine aid of the blue-haired Wild Card, the top seven cards panned out in a hexagonal shaped, and then its center. Igor snapped his fingers and the card left of the center.
The image revealed a pale lemon crescent moon facing the left, with the points of the crescent touching and the inside of the crescent showing a Renaissance painting like expression facing left, sporting a large triangular nose. It was layered on top pf a navy blue circle, surrounding 4 curved panes of lime sea green and cyan stained glass. The top border sported a shadow picture of a scorpion between two small black pillars, their shadows leering to the right.
"Hmmm… Arcana XVIII… The Moon. This represents mystery, or a strange turn of events guided by unknown forces… Interesting; that's exactly how I predicted it would turn out, given the nature of what's going on…"
"You mean you actually know what's going on?", asked Akihiko, a slight tone of impatience in his voice. "Then why the hell haven't you said it outright?"
"Patience, Akihiko Sanada, my boy. In honesty, I know just as much as you do. And given that I am a man who prides on properly guiding my guests to the Velvet Room…", he trialed, eying Minato. "…I firmly believe in not leaving my client or his allies to venture blindly; as I say… 'Knowledge is the seed of all achievements. And understanding is the soil to let it grow. Thus, the tree of enlightenment is birthed, baring the fruit to nourish the land that is life itself.' And in this case, it's all the more important."
"You mean to say that you are capable of understanding all events in the human realm through Tarot readings, but for whatever reason, your… - 'inability' for argument's sake – of being able to fully grasp the situation is troubling enough to take such drastic measures as to invite more than one person into the… 'Velvet Room', was it? Or am I off key in my understandably rude boast?", asked Mitsuru, a hint of authority in her voice.
Igor chuckled, seemingly delighted in her seemingly elegant spunk. "Not at all, my dear. Quite frankly, you've hit it on the mark. I don't usually allow the allies of a Wild Card such as Master Minato into the Velvet Room unless there were… shall we say 'extreme' circumstances?"
Koromaru barked four times. "Koromoaru says 'Otherwise you wouldn't have brought us here?'.", Aigis roughly translated. Although not perfect, being a sentient cyborg capable of understanding the Shiba Inu pup's speech pattern had some advantages; enhanced durability aside.
"…How did you guys get in here, anyway?", asked Minato point blank.
Truth be told, everyone in the room silently knew it was a fair question to the newly resuscitated blunette.
"I don't remember… I'm sorry.", came Fuuka. "Me neither, dude. It's a bit of a blur…", replied Junpei, who placed a hand on his forehead.
"I… vaguely remember the clock struck midnight… and we all fell asleep at the same time…", Yukari trialed out loud. "And then… there was… uh…"
"A flash of dark blue light? I remember that.", Ken piped. And I could have sworn I saw a figure who looked a lot like Elizabeth-san."
Elizabeth nodded. "Mr. Amada is correct." Ken's ears perked; that was the first time a grown person – if you could even call a demigod like Elizabeth such a thing – a formality with such respect; the preteen blushed slightly.
"My apologies for having to do so, but you've never been to the Velvet Room before, and your bodies could not have handled the subconscious transfer into this realm between reality and thought, so I had to invite you all while sleeping in the real world; because Minato has done it countless times – and has a power plant's worth of mental power and magic to support numerous Persona, I guess you could say he's used to it; however, accessing the Velvet Room still makes him fall asleep on his feet while using out entrance at the Paulownia Mall…"
"So that's why you always go near there! I always thought you were scouting for chicks, you little rascal, you!", Junpei laughed, messing Minato's hair playfully with one hand as the blunette sat in his harp-shaped chair.
"Ugh… boys…", Yukari muttered, darting her gaze away from the baseball-capped Magician Arcana Persona user. Then something occurred to the Lovers Arcana user in pink.
"So that means… our bodies are still in the old dorm where we met up?", Yukari inquired.
"Formerly speaking, yes.", Igor replied, flipping over the middle card.
"Hmm… how strange…", came Igor, a perplexed look on his face. His rubbed the butt of his gloved right palm against his cheek, leaning on his elbow in a mystified expression.
Elizabeth cocked a brow and walked to Igor's table, and turned to the SEES members.
"The Wheel of Fortune, right side up. This symbolizes great influence of fate and destiny, and can also be interpreted as a sign of great fortune, prosperity, riches of some kind… even the end of strife, suffering and war. But at the same time, it conflicts with the meaning of the Moon."
"How'd ya figure that, Liza-tan?", Junpei asked. Elizabeth blinked twice before she realized that she was given one of Junpei Iori's famed nicknames. She reacted with a miniscule blush and turned her head towards the cards.
"Y-you see, the Moon represents a form of spirituality – usually involving intellect, epiphany, understanding or involvement of mystery, etc. However, the Wheel of Fortune is more concerned about fate – the exact opposite of mortal ability to understand oneself; in other words-"
"This fortune has conflicting meanings…?", Aegis piped up.
"Precisely!", Igor cheered, truly joyful that everyone was on the same page. "It's just that this kind of reading thrills me in a sense, as it never really happens. But as I see it, without the last card – the future – I cannot fully discern the meaning of this phenomenon."
And so, he flipped the last card. His already shrunken eyes dilated in shock. "This… can't be right…"
Elizabeth peeked at the card, a hand cupping her mouth in shock. "Arcana XX – Judgment, right side up…!"
"I take it that's bad…?", Fuuka asked nervously. Akihiko gulped.
"When Judgment is concerned, it involves trial and tribulation, a state of when one is at a crossroads, or even things like accountability, making actions – essentially being as if judged by God himself. But in conjunction with the Moon and Wheel of Fortune – all right side up… your fortune, in short, is… 'A great ordeal, mysterious and strange, shall befall the future ahead, plagued with clashes of rivalries and alliances alike. As the light of miracles shines upon the metal land, the shadow of the dark moon slowly threatens to arise again. Only by sealing the lust for the end once more shall all of time be spared a fate worse than extinction.'
"…That was in short? I'd hate to hear the longer version…", Junpei gaped. Yukari facepalmed. "Idiot."
"So… you're saying… Nyx broke out in the future, and I'm back from the dead to stop it again…?", Minato asked, cocking his head.
"…You're taking this surprisingly well.", Igor commented.
"Meh.", Minato shrgged. "I've seen and heard weirder."
"Then you'll love this.", Elizabeth replied. "Your collective destination will be Iwatodai 200 years from now, which became a burrow of a larger settlement dubbed 'Abel City' where Reploids – sentient cyborgs with human-like qualities, of which look both humanoid and animalistic – and humans were once at war due to a computer-based viral outbreak. It was because of three brave human-protecting Reploids – X, Zero and Axl – that the greatest threats to the world, such as the Mavericks – Reploids who reject the programming forbidding harm to humans or surrender to their darkest desires and go berserk – and their leader, Sigma – a former general of the Maverick Hunters, the organization whose role in society is to keep the balance between humans and Reploids, along with the disposal of Mavericks. Many, many lives were lost."
Everyone became quite solemn.
"However, in recent months, the viruses and their variants have been cured, and all victimized Reploids were revived, and now have formed a symbiotic bond with humans again, as a way to atone for their berserk actions."
Elizabeth smiled. "In a way, the Hunters parallel you all a lot."
The details took a minute to sink in. Then Ken raised his hand, as if he were in a classroom; then a again, he was in 6th Grade.
"Um, question: What exactly are we to do? If the Maverick outbreaks were finally put to an end and everything's become all peachy, why do you need us exactly?"
Igor nodded sagely, a closed-eyed grin on the long-nosed man's face. "Mr. Amada, you raise a rather good point. You see, my boy, while it is true that the bloodshed and battles have at last ceased, the scars of the past can never be healed. Too much animosity between the rampaging Mavericks and victimized humans have weakened Nyx's seal during that time. Due to the state of flux in the seal, I was able to free you from the Great Seal 200 years from now, while Nyx is still trapped behind the Seal, unable to be set free."
"…'Kay… But if Nyx is still trapped while Minato-kun is here… isn't that a good thing? Now Minato can be alive again and Nyx can't break free. Isn't that the case…?", came Fuuka.
Igor hummed for a second before responding "Well, yes and no… While what you say is sound – not mention nothing short of a miracle – there still lies a great risk."
"That being?", Mitsuru inquired.
"In the future, there are a scattered group of humans whose lives were so devastated by the Maverick wars that it unlocked special powers. Persona powers."
A collective wave of shock washed over SEES like a a tidal wave.
"What the hell?", blurted Junpei. "Is that true?", screeched Yukari.
"I'm afraid so. And even with the Maverick Hunters keeping the peace around the world, and all sentient is mostly absolved of the hatred from the wars, there are some whose lust for vengeance is so great they keep the wound to the Great Seal fresh. What worse is that their mastery of Persona and Persona techniques are so advanced that no Reploid – or a human without a Persona – could stand a chance.", Elizabeth said as if saddened.
"Which means were the ones right for the job.", Minato said flatly.
"Unfortunately, yes.", Elizabeth concluded. "However, it's not like you're going there alone, and without any assistance."
"We're going to the future…? Doesn't that seem a bit… what's the word… 'cliché'?", asked Aegis.
"Fear not. I've arranged everything for your arrival. Including special ID's registering you as residents of the present day, proper currency deposits, a supply of weapons and items such as Revival Beads and Snuff Souls to keep you prepared for the Dark Hour returning-"
"WHAT?", roared Mitsuru and Akihiko.
"You gotta be kidding! How are you so sure?", Junpei asked loudly.
Minato stood from his lyre-shaped chair. "They already alluded to it, actually. Remember what they were talking about?"
"You mean in reference to racial hatred and those with Personas?", Junpei asked meekly. "Come to think of it, it actually makes a lot more sense if the Dark Hour was involved…"
"As much as I hate to say it, I agree with Fuuka.", Yukari replied. "What he said, anyway."
It surprised Minato for a second that Yukari of all people agreed with Junpei, but at desperate times like this, who actually cared?
"I also forgot to mention that there is proper lodging for you all at a rather nice apartment suite complex. A four-bedroom apartment with full-fledged kitchen and living room, patio on the top floor… oh, and it allows pets, so don't worry about Koromaru-kun.", Elizabeth smiled. Koromaru barked happily.
"So, what exactly do we do…?", asked Akihiko.
"Simply put, enlist the help of the Maverick Hunters and find the ones responsible for bringing back the Dark Hour.", replied Igor. "Especially since now they've been affected by it."
"You mean since they're mechanical?", asked Ken.
"Yes, but that's not what I refer to.", Igor replied. "I believe it's something you will have to experience for yourself. And worry not about your mortal bodies and your education in the present time; Elizabeth took care of that for you." Elizabeth gave off a sheepish grin.
"Well… let's go.", Minato spoke. Everyone nodded.
The internal clock in X's systems registered as 12:01 AM. He had the feeling like he's been asleep for days. Then it hit him.
'Where's that guy from a minute ago…?' Then something else occurred to him. 'The others!'
He raced to Storm Eagle and Armored Armadillo's location. X wasn't prepared for what happened next.
Eagle and Armadillo were unconscious, but that wasn't the problem.
Both of them had compressed to human size, about 6 feet tall, Armadillo's body became skinnier, Eagle's talons shrunk to the size of human feet…
And were human from the neck up. Armadillo had purple hair that crowned like a widened V over his forehead via twin strands of hair and a hairline at his forehead; his hair had many split ends that serrated from a part on his right and headed left, in which his follicles . He sported armadillo-like ears atop his scalp. Eagle had rather shaggy, yet silky and pretty-by-like purple hair with split ends sleeking back, in which the fringe of hair above and around his eyes were dyed yellow, and retained the red marks on the outside of his eyes, plus a sleek yellow horizontal strip across his nose. (Think of Eagle's facial design.) a large ivory bird feather poked from the center of the hair around his forehead. Both had peach skin.
Other than that, they retained the physical features of their Reploid selves; including Armadillo's tail and Eagles wings and feet.
"What the hell…?", X gaped.
'The hell is going on…? –gasp- The others!'
Running to where Sting Chameleon fell over the roof of the building he perched on, X looked in astonishment. His body experienced the same phenomenon as Armadillo and Eagle, but Chamelon's change was slightly different.
Normally, Chameleon had two-toed hands with large gauntlets, and his lower body's groin and leg area was at an inhuman angle, like he was constantly arching his legs like a staple-shape. However, his legs were position as if his legs stood erect, and his forearms were green cylindrical gauntlets with a slab of armor with two pronging toes similar to his original form for forearms, with white hands; it reminded X of Armadillo's design, which retained his shields. In addition, his hair was a neon green similar in shade to his armor, the crown of his head sprouting 5 thick prongs, and a long trail of hair draping diagonally over the left side of his face; when X looked carefully, he spotted the strings of a medical eye patch over Chameleon's left eye.
Sting retained everything about his original form, including his sleek armoring, the spikes on his spine and tail – which was proportional to his body's size -, the blue plating over his chest and stomach, and the black spandex-like armoring over his forearms and legs. He was curled slightly into a ball, lying on his right side.
Looking over his shoulder, he ran to where Blizzard Wolfang and Slash Beast were laying.
These two went under similar humanistic changes. However, Wolfang had wild – yet fluffy – cyan hair with purple lupine ears (the inner ears were yellow), while Slash Beast's orange hair was shaped similarly to his original self's mane, with a fringe of white locks along the crown of his hairline, giving off a muzzle-like touch to his hear, and had golden-brown lion ears poking out of his hair; he also sported a blue eye patch over his left eye.
"Th-this is X!", the Blue Bomber spoke into his transceiver. "I repeat! This is X? Hunter HQ, do you copy?"
"Alia reading you loud and clear, X! What's going on?"
"Get a team of Hunters and Lifesavers down here; you guys are NOT gonna believe what just happened.", X said silently.
"Like what?", came Palette.
"…Let's just say a picture's worth a thousand words…"
30 minutes later, 12:31 AM – Hunter Base
"I still don't see why this is really necessary…", a rough, rebellious-sounding teenage male voice grumbled. What was visible of the source was a pair of flickering rounded feline-like ears.
"I don't let this any more that you do, but you don't see me complaining.", replied a sagely, mid-20's-like voice replied, the only thing seen being a bird-like left foot, tapping lightlty.
"I agree. For all we know, this state could have detrimental consequences on our state of being; it's best to walk before you run, as they say.", can a slightly brutish – reserved - sounding voice interjected, the only thing that can be seen in a purple forearm gauntlet with a small lilac-colored steel shield mounted on it, with a white gloved hand massaging its pointer finger on the source's chin, revealing mount-like armor of the same lilac steel around his neck, with black cloth material veiling his neck. There was a small shot of purple bangs at the nape of his neck.
Meanwhile, a shot of the left side of a face whose left eye was shielded by neon-green hair that shone brightly in the room, along with seeing two strings tied past the ear; the owner's tongue then stuck out playfully. "Yeah, Slash; or would you prefer we'd be zombies or something?"
"…Zombies…?", came a fifth voice, the source showing to have lilac lupine ears atop his wildly plentiful ice-blue hair which jutting in large fat locks in many directions; the inner ears were a lemony yellow. The ears twitched lightly as he had just spoke. "Please tell me you're not actually serious, you childish lizard boy."
"Hey! I don't need lip from a mutt who's always at that kooky labcoat's beck-and-call, ice boy!", the green-haired male rudely lashed back.
"What was that, you tongue-lashing pervert?", the lupine-eared male seethed, raising an ice blue- clawed fist, the forearm held by a lilac gauntlet.
"Need I spell it out for you? You're like a stupid puppy, always following your master for a doggie treat. Ya gonna do tricks for us, now? Well?", came the green-armored one with the immature attitude.
"You sonnuva-!", roared the wolf-like young man before a pair of hands – one at a time, grabbed both of the bickering boneheads and lightly crashed them into each other, a look of pain gracing their faces, revealing them to be Sting Chameleon and Blizzard Wolfang's partially humanized forms. Having human skulls connect has got to hurt more than metallic shelling.
As both Reploids turned half-human furiously rubbed the red spots atop the bridges of their noses, the one responsible for their bruise-cruising – Armored Armadillo, whose human face showed his purple hair being partially covered and his eyeline shadowed, giving his dark raspberry eyes an even more malevolent feeling to his stare; his left eye was twitching lightly in a '1, 1-2' pattern as he was cracking his gloved knuckles.
"Can you two please shut up? It's bad enough that we don't know what happened to us and that the suspense is killing us, but when you two are bickering like children over candy, I'm staring to lose my patience. So kindly sit down and shut up before I get really mad.", came the armadillo-eared purple-headed Reploid-turned-human… with animal ears. The way his hair was shaped gave off the impression of a silky purple fireball whose tail is whizzing out to Armadillo's left, and which left a small, triangular mullet at the nape of his neck, thick locks blocking sight of his human ears. This gave his threat the felling like he was a dark comet about to crash into the two irritants in the shield-plating teenage-like male's eyes.
Blizzard Wolfang, who was wearing a headband and sported a haircut similar to his original form's forehead and icicles for a mane (ears included), gulped lightly, whilst Sting Chameleon, whose neon green hair resembled a chameleon's head-crown (in seven thick spikes) and was wearing a medical eye patch under the hair masking the left side of his face, was sweating bullets.
Armadillo sighed, followed by a Lifesaver entering the room, accompanied by Zero, Iris (the two were holding hands walking in) and The Skiver (The Pegasus Reploid decided that he would accompany them – particularly Iris, to ease Colonel's troubled mind over Iris's safety aka Zero's possible 'advancements', in addition to making sure nothing happened to her, with Zero's help, in case something went down in Abel City during her visit; her purpose in Abel was to see Slash Beast and ascertain his condition, as Colonel was tied up with work near the ocean spread between the American States Hawaii and California, accompanied by part of the Sea Force and Jet Stingray, whom were investigating strange tectonic plate movement to make perfectly sure if an earthquake was coming or not. That, and General was far too big to move about the Hunter Base without sufficient collateral damage.).
"Slash Beast! Are you alright?", asked Iris sweetly, the same doting way she addressed Colonel.
Slash Beast, whose fleshly lion ears drooped, sighed, placing a clawed palm to his cheek. "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine, Iris. So what brings you guys here…?"
Clearly, Slash Beast felt embarrassed, something a Reploid modeled after the King of Beasts would not exactly like, fearing them looking rather like shy cubs. Iris, however, giggled into her left hand. "Aw, that's so cute~! It's like he's a little kitte—Oh!", Iris gasped as she picked up on the lion-like half-human… entity looking totally flustered, his nose line a revealing rose from blushing in embarrassment. Sting Chameleon snickered into his gloved hands, while Armdillo, Wolfang, who grimaced and Eagle, whom had facepalmed, sighed.
Fearing Slash Beast about to spiral into a depression, Iris instinctively jumped onto Skiver's back, the Pegasus Reploid almost falling over in recoil. "What th-"
Iris quickly placed her lips to the flying horse's ears and whispered 'Follow my lead; I have a plan.'
To avoid suspicion, Skiver winked back as Zero stood there, incredulous. The Lifesaver merely stared, no emotion registered on his face.
"HI HO SKIVER! AWAAAAAYY~~~!", Iris called out as Skiver held onto Iris' legs as he ran around the room's open space in circles, with Skiver neighing gracefully every few ceconds for the next half a minute.
Slash Beast just stood there, shocked by such buffoonery from two members of the Repliforce. Sure, Iris and Skiver were considered young, but they weren't Vanishing Gungaroo and Axl young, were they? At least, mentally, he hoped.
Still, Slash Beast humored them with a small chuckle, prompting Skiver to lightly place the Repliforce princess on the ground.
"That was… an original way for cheering up…", Zero commented out loud. "So, Eagle. How's the human-esque body doin' you?"
The purple-and-blonde-haired recipient of the comment (whose hair had many split ends slicked back to allude the image of an eagle's plumage) shrugged. "So far, can't complain. Nothing bad seems to be coming out of this as of yet… plus, having a human frame has an advantage for most animal-based Reploids don't; they're far less bulky, and less heavy. Y'know… takes up less space."
"In a way, I agree.", Armadillo chimed in. "I feel far lighter that I normally and my armor feels far more flexible. But the ears are an issue…", he sighed, pointed at the twin purple armadillo ears atop his scalp.
"And since I have hands, holding things are a lot easier now.", Chameleon beamed.
"…And that didn't sound perverted…?", muttered Wolfang, cocking a brow.
"Yes. That leaves the diagnosis.", the Lifesaver said as his eyes scanned the electromagnetic clipboard in his hand.
"According to this, there is, by human and Reploid means, absolutely nothing physically wrong with you, other that somehow attuning to a more… shall we say 'standard' anatomy?"
"You mean like a human's frame? But why so specific…?"", asked Chameleon, twirling his left pointer finger in his locks blocking his eye.
"Would you prefer a body the size of Flame Mammoth?", asked Lifesaver emotionlessly.
Everyone else in the room winced and/or shuddered.
"Don't even joke about that.", Skiver chided, eyes half-open from wincing.
"Yes. Well…", Lifesaver continued. "…There appears to be actual side effects… but it seems we all are suffering some sort of memory loss from about midnight till now; no one seems to recall anything pertaining the mission at the Moonlight Bridge near Iwatodai."
Then it hit Armadillo, Eagle, Beast, Wolfang and Chameleon lit a ton of bricks. 'That cloaked human!'
"Wasn't X the one to see that guy's face?", Wolfang asked aloud.
"'That guy?'", asked Zero before realizing they were talking about whom Signas and Cain had dubbed 'Suspect 0'. 'According to X's report, he stood before X until precisely midnight, and found himself waking from unconsciousness at about 12:01 AM. But that doesn't make a lick of sense! How is someone knocked out for exactly 1 minute that deeply? More importantly, how did that human suddenly vanish off the map and the Hunter Base's systems – and these five's line of sight in mere moments? Something isn't adding up…'
Suddenly, Zero's communicator went off; he placed his right hand to his ear. "This is Zero."
"Ah, Zero. This is Red." "Red, huh? What's up? Isn't Axl visiting?" "Yes, I asked him to come and brief me on the events in Abel, but more importantly, I should let you know that a powerful electromagnetic cluster appeared on Red Alert's sensors; it looks like a small meteorite crashed near the Moonlight Bridge, on Iwatodai's side – not on Abel City's. You're not gonna believe what we found."
"…Well don't keep me in suspense.", the original Maverick replied.
"…I'd tell you… but I'd rather show you. You're in the med bay, right? There should be a television; turn to channel 4."
Zero looked at Iris, who was the closest to the TV, who nodded. Turning to channel four, she gasped.
The cover story's text read 'Teenagers Found In Crater Site'.
"What the…", Eagle gawked. "Turn it up.", said Chameleon.
"This is Sanosuke Shidou reporting for ABCity News ('Abel City News), Channel 4. A small meteorite with an uncanny bluish tail has crashed into the beach of Iwatodai's eastern side, about 1 mile west of the Moonlight Bridge and away from the beach shopping district. Member's of the subsection of Maverick Hunters named 'Red Alert' were the first to respond, having found an incredible discovery. It appears that 6 teenagers – 3 male and 3 female -, a young boy, a dog – possibly a Shiba Inu by breed, and what appears to be a highly sophisticated female android. However, Red Alert officials have requested that we do not approach the area in case of anything that may go down."
True to the reporter's word, there was Solder Stonekong, arms folded, while Ride Boarski and Snipe Anteator were gently keeping a female tabloid from completely getting around them. Stonekong lightly facepalmed.
Meanwhile, on the shore down the wooden stairs from the mainland, Splash Warfly stood in the water, facing the ocean to stand guard from the waterside in case some reporters got any ideas, in which Wind Crowrang and Tornado Tonion took to the air, albeit the latter dancing like a dork as he usually does. Red oversaw Axl, Flame Hyenard and Vanishing Gungaroo examining the eight individuals in the crater.
"It seems only one of these guys are machine; the blonde girl. But she's very convincing; enough to have my nose fooled.", commented Hyenard.
"And two of 'em are a puppy and a little kid. This is kinda getting weird, boss.", added Gungaroo, in his child-like voice as he gently flipped over the young boy and the girl with sea-blue hair, while carefully listening for a heartbeat. Thankfully, all of them were alive.
The only one Gungaroo had yet to check was the boy with dark blue hair covering the right side of his face and was wearing headphones and a suit-like school uniform.
But instead of Gungaroo about to check if he was alive, Red Alert was given… a different kind of confirmation.
The boy immediately started groaning and slowly but surely rose his upper body and cupped his face with his left hand.
It was at that point that Axl noticed the silver handgun inside of the blunette's inner left coat pocket, the handle barely jutting out.
"…Agh, my back. Is this what coming back from the dead is like…?", the boy mumbled.
Flame Hyenard blinked. "Uh… are you okay there, kid?"
The boy slowly turned his head and his visible eye shrunk, almost instinctively reaching for the handgun, but stopped. Then Axl realized something.
Blue hair covering the right side… a red armband that read 'S.E.E.S.'… that MP3 Player and headphones around his neck… and that academy insignia on the left breast… could this guy be…?
"…Minato…Arisato…?", Axl asked himself out loud. Red, Hyenard and Gungaroo looked at Axl, then back at the blunette.
The teenager was not amused. "…How do you know my name?"
Aaaaaaaaand CLIFFHANGER!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please, read and review.
Also, feel free to check out my deviantART gallery (YamiNetto) for artwork based on this story, either titled with "Human Reploid Project" to see the animalistic Reploid's humanlike-designs for this fanfic, or scenes from upcoming chapters under "CES" in the title.
'Till then, I bid you all adieu.