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Area-X(3): Command Center

"Salvo, does your unit have a status report?"

'Yes Commander, the number of invading Mavericks in Area D are dwindling. We should have the area secure within the hour.'

Prairie nodded as she leaned back in her seat, that was good news. If the Guardians did manage to secure the area quickly, then it would mean there was less of a chance of civilian casualties. Looking to the map of the area, Prairie's brow furrowed as she examined all of the readings once more. Something was off, but she couldn't seem to place it.

If I may interject; you have heard reports from your Guardian units. But have you heard from the girl or Giro?

At the voice's words Prairie's eyes went wide, jumping out of her seat she turned to the nearest Navigator in a near panic.

"Have you received any reports from either Aile or Giro?!"

"No Ma'am," the Navigator stated as she shook her head; "it would seem there is a lot of interference with their communication systems, it is difficult to try and pinpoint their locations because of it."

"Then lock onto any signal you can and contact them immediately!"

The Navigator nodded as she quickly began typing. Prairie looked back to the display as two icons representing the missing combatants materialized. A speaker icon then appeared next to the symbols as the Navigator turned around. When she nodded Prairie looked to icons with a worried expression.

"Aile, Giro if you can hear me, respond immediately!"


Area-D(3): Slither Inc. Head Office

'Aile...you...respond..imm...ely!'

Aile wheezed as she dropped out of the crater she had made in the side of the building. She fell to her knees as her hands went to her chest, desperately trying to breathe. O grimaced as he turned away from his gasping sister, to the person who had done this to her.

Standing only a few feet away from the two was Giro. The man's red eyes glowed from behind his visor, adding to his already imposing aura. He had attacked Aile quickly and relentlessly, quickly overpowering the girl. And Aile, not wanting to hurt her friend, didn't fight back. This allowed Giro to easily break through her guard, he then kicked her into the side of the tower.

O's eyes narrowed as Giro began walking towards them. There was such a difference in their skill level, he was honestly doubting if he could actually get his sister through this unscathed. As the man neared he ignited his saber, bathing the area in a cold cyan light.

Giro then stood over Aile, and slowly began raising his weapon, there was a quiet whimper from Aile as her body tensed. O turned to his sister with wide eyes, he could feel how scared the girl was, and that caused his anger to rise. O then returned his attention to Giro and gritted his teeth.

If he didn't do something, Aile would die. And at that thought, an idea came to him. Quickly offering a silent apology to his sister, he forced his control over her.

As Giro began to bring the saber down, a shockwave knocked him off balance. A white aura flared to life around Aile as the girl suddenly jumped forward. She tackled Giro to the ground with a roar, and landing on top of him she glared at the man with glowing eyes.

"I will not let you harm her!"

Aile then raised her hands and brought them down onto Giro's visor. There was a sickening crack as Aile pulled her hands back. Blood dripped from cuts along the sides of her fists, shards of Giro's visor sticking out of the skin. When she was about to bring her fists down once more, Giro's arm shot towards her throat. She gagged as the man's grip tightened, and with a quick movement, she was thrown off of him.

Giro quickly jumped to his feet and reignited his saber. Aile coughed as the man proceeded to jump into the air, his blade aimed downward. Realizing what Giro was attempting, Aile quickly rolled to the side, just as Giro's weapon impaled the ground where she had been.

Flipping to her knees Aile growled, watching Giro's every movement carefully. The man pulled his weapon out of the ground and turned towards the crimson armored girl. The broken part of his visor revealing one of his emotionless red eyes.

Clenching her fists Aile jumped up, igniting her dash thrusters as she began rushing towards Giro. The armor on her hands split open, revealing two glowing ohms. The red warrior simply watched as Aile quickly closed the distance between them. Lifting a fist, she aimed at the man's throat, ready to get even.

Her fist went forward, but Giro avoided the attack by turning his body away from her. When the confused girl went past him, the man responded by quickly spinning and aimed a slash at her back. The blade cut into the armor, but due to Aile's momentum, it wasn't deep enough for the strike to be fatal.

Falling to the ground Aile attempted to turn back towards Giro. However, when she did, her vision was filled with green.


The mysterious girl nervously watched the conflict unfolding below her. She bit her lip as the red warrior landed one blow after another on Aile and Model O. Tired of what was happening she clenched her fists and hastily decided what she needed to do.

"I don't care if it exposes my existence, I am not letting losing her again!"

However, just as she was about to go and do the unthinkable to the red warrior, a sound stopped her. Her eyes went wide as she looked down to the battlefield, slowly realizing what that sound was.

Model O had screamed in pain.


Aile was shaking as she placed her hand to her now bleeding forehead. She had barely managed to avoid the swing from Giro's saber, but she didn't escape unscathed. Laying on the ground between the two combatants, were two smoldering pieces of crimson armor.

Giro had cut Aile's helmet in half, and while the girl didn't feel any pain, Model O certainly did. While he was still in control, Aile wouldn't experience any pain until she regained control, and to him that was a good thing. However, while her body couldn't feel anything, her armor did.

And Giro had just landed a significant blow to the Livemetal with just taking out the helmet.

O's aura flickered as Aile got to her feet, she attempted to ignore the shaking of her limbs as she tried to remain in control. Looking to Giro, Aile smiled as she pointed at the man.

"Ha...I won't deny that you landed a decent hit, but I won't let you get away with it..."

When there was no response from Giro, Aile shifted the hand she was pointing with. The O-Buster materialized and was immediately aimed directly at the man in red. Aile ignored the shaking of her hand as she chuckled.

"It seems, I need to start taking this seriously."

As she finished speaking she knew, even with him currently being a mindless drone, Giro didn't believe her bluff, and neither did she. It was almost taking everything she had not to lose control, and unintentionally force the actual Aile into an unwinable situation.

Her expression becoming stern, Aile pulled the trigger of the O-Buster. Several meteorites of plasma flew through the air. Giro easily avoided them by jumping to the side, but Aile had predicted that. As he landed Aile corrected her aim and fired a charged shot at him. The shot impacted Giro's chest and sent the man backwards. His chest armor was smoking as parts of it fell to the ground.

Aile smiled as she reveled in the fact she managed to land a sizable hit on Giro. However, this enjoyment didn't last as Giro rocketed forward, Aile began firing rapidly as she began attempting to move away from him.

Several more shots connected with Giro, blowing more holes in his armor, but he didn't stop. The man quickly caught up to Aile and swung his sword in a horizontal arc. The blade cut across Aile's chest, leaving a white hot line across her armor. Aile, ignoring the searing pain, quickly punched Giro in the face. The red warrior was thrown back, his visor breaking off and flying into the distance.

Aile hopped back and began charging her weapon as Giro quickly regained his stance. The man lifted his saber so the tip of the blade was aimed directly at the cut on Aile's chest. Gritting her teeth when she realized what the man was attempting to do, her grip tightened on her weapon.

However, she allowed herself a smile as she thought of a way to take advantage of the attack.

Without a sound Giro launched forward, quickly closing the distance between the two combatants. Aile's eyes narrowed as she shifted her body away from the weapon. However, she wasn't fast enough to completely dodge the attack. The blade tore into her shoulder as pieces of armor and body suit flew into the air. Ignoring the pain, and the smell of burning flesh, Aile then proceeded to plant the hand holding the O-Buster into Giro's stomach.

With a smile she pulled the trigger and the resulting explosion sent Giro flying through the air. The red warrior landed with a heavy thud and skidded across the ground. When he didn't get up Aile proceeded to grab the blade of the still ignited plasma saber, she quickly yanked it out of her shoulder and tossed it aside.

"I win."

Looking down to her weapon Aile grimaced at the sight of the mangled barrel. Shaking her head she proceeded to move towards the downed warrior, hoping that whatever was controlling him was gone. But, just as she was about to get to Giro, the air started to spark and hum. Her eyes widening, Aile jumped back as two massive bolts of lighting struck the ground.

One bolt struck where she had been standing, while the other hit Giro, whose body reacted violently to the bolt. Laughter filled the air, causing Aile to turn around. Standing behind her was the large Repliroid from before, and next to him was Pandora. The large man continued to laugh as he lowered his hand, which crackled with purple energy.

"Ah, still the quick learner, you impress me even today X-32."

Aile's eyes narrowed as she felt something inside of her stir. Taking a step back she prepared herself for another fight, despite knowing she couldn't win in her condition. However, the man made no move to attack the girl, instead he turned to Pandora with a stern expression.

"Pandora, extract the codes from him. I want to have a discussion with our little friend."

Pandora silently complied with the order as her helmet split apart. Two small cone shaped drones flew towards Giro as the man returned his attention to Aile.

"You have caused me a lot of problems my little friend."

"Good, anyone who harms my sister and her friends deserves worse."

Aile had attempted to put as much malice as she could into her words, but the man didn't seem phased in the slightest. The man instead gave the girl a smile as he held out his hand. Aile responded by aiming her weapon at the man.

"Ah, so it would seem the Livemetal is speaking for its master, how touching. And here I thought X-32 would be brave enough to speak to me."

"What makes you think I would let you say anything to her?"

Aile growled as the aura flickered dangerously, the man seemed to have noticed this as he lowered his hand. She felt her rage begin to build as the man's expression became a mocking one.

"Simple, just as a dog to its master, I expected our Crimson Maiden to speak with her Creator."

Aile glared at the man, her rage was coating her vision red as she continued staring at the man. He was the reason that they had spent all of those years in the facility? He was the reason Aile had been hurt constantly?

Something snapped within the girl as her gun instantly charged a shot, the weapon shaking under the strain.

"You! I will kill you for what you did to her!"

Aile then unleashed her shot, the gun detonating as the meteor soared towards its target. However, the man didn't seem bothered by it. Just as the shot was about to make contact, Prometheus seemingly materialized from the shadows, easily knocking the blast away with a spin of his scythe. The small Repliroid gave Aile a murderous smile as the man behind him outstretched his arms.

"So, this is all you can do? I am somewhat disappointed X-32."

"Her name is Aile!"

The man smiled at her response, but he didn't say anything as Pandora's drones returned to her helmet.

"Data extraction complete."

The man nodded as he once again lifted his hand into the air. His face split into a sinister smile as energy began swirling around his hand. Aile's eyes narrowed as she felt the air around her begin to pop.

"Remember this well day well Livemetal! This is the day that I, Serpent, proved how worthless you truly are!"

Aile was about to respond with some vile retort, but the words died on her lips. Several massive bolts of lighting struck the armored girl, causing her to scream in pain. Sparks danced along her armor as Serpent turned towards Prometheus and Pandora.

"Come, we'll leave them to the Mavericks."

Aile fell to her knees as the electricity faded, her armor smoking and her eyes devoid of consciousness. There was a cracking sound as the armor vanished, Model O no longer able to maintain the form. And with nothing to hold her up any longer, Aile collapsed onto the ground.


Giro grunted as he slowly pushed himself off of the ground. Pain lanced through every muscle of his body, but he ignored it. Model Z made a sound of annoyance as he too woke up.

I can't believe I let him get the better of me. I'm sorry Giro.

"It's fine Z, just as long as we didn't do anything too bad."

Giro could tell Model Z was about to challenge that, but a wave of his hand silenced the Livemetal. Pushing himself into standing Giro looked around the battlefield, wincing at the destruction that had been caused by him fighting Aile. Wincing Giro spotted the unconscious girl and started making his way towards her.

"Z, do you think she's okay?"

I can't be sure, but I don't sense a heartbeat.

Gritting his teeth Giro quickened his pace towards the girl, despite his muscles' complaints. When he got next to Aile, he dropped to his knees. Gently he picked the girl up and pulled her towards him. Shifting himself into a better position, Giro placed his ear to Aile's chest. His heart then sank as he indeed didn't hear a heartbeat.

"Aile...wake up. Please don't be the second person to die because of me."

Giro then gently shook the girl, hoping that Model Z and himself were wrong.

I don't think there is anything you can do. She's too far gone.

"NO! I'm not going to let her life end like this!"

But what can you do? As much as I hate to say it, you're not in any kind of condition to treat her. And I am not a defibrillator.

Giro gritted his teeth as he glared at the Livemetal. He wanted to deny Model Z's statement, but he knew it was true. However, because of the two's conversation, neither noticed a red light begin to glow in the center of Aile's chest. The light slowly faded and life returned to the girl's eyes.

Blinking she shifted her gaze to the person holding her.

"Mr. Giro?"

As soon as she spoke Giro and Model Z's attention instantly snapped to her. Giro gave a sigh of relief while Model Z simply chuckled.

You scared us kid, please don't do that again.

"I'm sorry, what did I do?"

Giro shook his head, attempting to calm his thoughts he gave the girl a smile.

"Can you stand?"

"Maybe."

Giro then stood and helped Aile to her feet, wobbling slightly but still managing to stay on her feet. Smiling Giro reached out and began patting Aile's head. The girl smiled, showing that she was enjoying it. And despite the moment Model Z floated towards Aile while clearing his throat.

So, Aile, how did you manage to beat us? No offense, but I don't think you're quite on our level.

Aile shook her head as she turned to the Livemetal, her smile was beaming as she began speaking.

"I didn't beat you, I can't hurt friends. So Big Brother fought you."

"If I may interject Aile, you keep speaking about this brother of yours. Who and where is he?"

"Silly Mr. Giro," Aile giggled; "Big Brother is my...my..."

Giro watched as Aile's smile was replaced by a look of pain. He watched as the girl grabbed her head and doubled over. The thing that began concerning him the most however, was when a white aura began emanating from her. Giro then reached out to Aile when the girl began groaning in pain, but Model Z quickly placed himself between the two.

Don't touch her, I can sense that something is wrong with her Livemetal. Touching her now would potentially only agitate it.

Giro ignored his partner and grabbed Aile's shoulders. Lifting the girl up he was about to ask what was wrong, but he was stopped by a unnerving detail. Aile's red eyes now were glowing a sickly yellow.


Area-Aile(?): Conjoined Mindscape

Model O grunted as he tried to pull himself free from the grasp of the beast looming over him. The task was made much harder by his weakened state. The beast's distorted form was covered in shadows, the only details O could make out were its glowing yellow eyes. Gritting his teeth he attempted to call forth the O-Buster, but it didn't respond. The beast pulled Model O closer to it as a sinister voice invaded his mind.

Her fear...Your hatred...Which called out to me?

O's head began to hurt as the beast continued to speak, but he managed to keep his expression mostly calm. He was about to say something witty, but he was cut off by a whimper. Both Model O and the beast turned to see Aile cowering on the ground. There was a sound from the beast as it began reaching towards the girl.

"AILE! Quick, get out of here! This thing will consume you!"

Aile gave no response as the beast's hand neared her. O could only watch as the beast's hand enveloped Aile, followed by her screaming in pain. Model O yelled in a rage, oblivious to the fact that his chest was beginning to glow red.

"Aile, don't worry, I will save you from this!"


Area-D(3): Slither Inc. Head Office

"Gyaaaaaaagh!"

Giro was flung backwards as energy erupted from Aile's body. Catching himself his eyes narrowed as Aile continued to scream in pain, Model Z floated next to him as he cursed under his breath.

"What's happening to her Z?"

I don't know. But what I can say is that whatever is causing this is letting out too much energy. If not stopped, she could go critical.

"Any suggestions then?"

When there was no response, Giro attempted to moved towards Aile, but a shockwave knocked him back. Gritting his teeth he watched as the energy formed into a pillar of light, Aile's silhouette was the only thing visible besides her yellow eyes. The winds then became incredibly violent, causing Giro to put his arms up to shield himself.


Area-X(3): Commad Center

"Commander, a large energy signature has been detected in Area D."

Prairie jumped as she was pulled from her thoughts by the worried Navigator. She looked to the map and felt her eyes grow wide. There was a large red circle that was taking up a large portion of the map, and it was increasing in size. Prairie's grip on the arms of her chair tightened as she turned to the Navigator that relayed the information.

"Tell all units to fall back to Area C! As much as I would want them to evacuate, we need to protect the civilians if whatever this is reaches the city."

The Navigator nodded as she began sending the orders to the active Guardians. While that was being done, another of the Navigators turned to face Prairie, her expression troubled.

"Commander, it seems that whatever is causing this has also disabled what ever interference there was. We now have information on Giro and Aile's location."

"Put it on the map!"

The Navigator flinched slightly at Prairie's frantic command, but she quickly complied. Prairie turned to the display as the Navigator completed her work. And when two blips appeared in the reading of the increasing energy reading, her heart sank.

Especially when she noticed that Aile's icon was in the center of it.


Area-D(3): Slither Inc. Head Office

Giro, we need to leave now!

"Z, you know I won't leave her like this!"

The Livemetal sighed as he turned back to Aile. The energy that had been exploding out of the girl now was replaced by several rings of red energy. Giro stood, ignoring the winds swirling around him, and began moving towards Aile. Model Z watched his partner with both worry and annoyance.

What do you think you can do? There is a possibility that whatever you try will only make things worse for her.

"Look at her Z! See those tears? She is in pain!"

Model Z turned his attention to Aile, his eyes narrowing as he concentrated on Aile's face. Giro had been correct, there were tears sliding down the girl's cheeks. The girl continued to scream as she gripped her head, Model Z began wondering if the girl would even survive what was happening.

He understood that he had to help Giro think of a way to stop this, but he also had to make sure Giro was safe. And he really couldn't find a way to do both at the moment. Seconds passed before Z sighed, turning back to Giro with a half-hearted glare.

Fine, but don't blame me if anything happens to you.

Giro nodded as Model Z vanished, his armor materializing soon after. Ignoring the damage the armor sported Giro slowly began making his way towards the girl. A pulse of energy ripped through the area as the rings began closing in on the girl. Giro forced himself to remain standing as he began reaching out towards the girl.

"Come on Aile! Stay with me!"

As his hand reached past the rings, another pulse erupted from Aile, pushing him back. Correcting himself Giro began noticing armor forming in the air around Aile. Each piece was emanating a red aura as they floated closer to the girl.

"What is that?!"

It would seem that her Livemetal is trying to forcibly summon her armor. But, whether it is in response, or it is because of what's happening, I don't know. I can however guess considering the armor looks corrupted.

Giro cursed as he again began walking towards the girl. He had to reach her, because he had an idea, one that he knew Z wouldn't be happy with. He was going to force the Z armor onto Aile, in hopes that it would prevent the corrupted parts from attaching.

However in a brief flash, more parts materialized, knocking away the corrupted ones. The white parts then slammed onto Aile's body. The energy around the girl let out one last pulse before it slowly began fading.

The Z armor vanished as Giro lowered his arm, and his eyes widened. Aile stood, clad in white armor. Her face was hidden by a black visor that resembled a knight's helmet. A violet crest of hair spiked out from the top of the helmet, resembling a feathered ponytail as it rested along her back. Her arms were covered in thick white armor, her hands now encased in large clawed gauntlets. Her legs were also covered in similar armor.

Her bodysuit was now white with black stripes running down her front. Thin red lines pulsated underneath the visor. Giro took a step towards the girl, ignoring the unease he felt from Model Z. He reached out a hand and placed it on the girl's shoulders. And, as if someone had seemingly flipped a switch, Aile inhaled deeply as she fell to her knees.

Giro felt relief flood through his body as he dropped down to catch the girl before she hit the ground.

"Hey, Aile, you doing alright?"

"That...hurt..."

Before Giro could respond to Aile's comment, he was silenced by the roar of airship engines. Quickly looking up, the man watched as an airship bearing the Slither Inc. insignia began moving overhead. Giro quickly shielded Aile from the winds created by the massive ship.

When the airship finally passed, and when the ringing in his ears faded, Giro gave the girl in his arms a smile. Aile had seemingly fallen asleep during the entire takeoff.

"You know, you remind me a little of Vent. I guess that means you're going to be a handful."

"Giro, sir! Are you alright?"

Lifting his head to watch the incoming group of Guardians, Giro's expression became serious.

"Yes, I'm fine. But we need to get this girl out of here."

Without another word the Guardians assisted in moving Giro, and the unconscious Aile to the nearest Transerver.


The mysterious girl sighed in relief as she leaned against the roof. She had been frozen in fear when she saw the black and red armor form. But when it vanished, she felt like she could breathe again.

"That was too close."

"And yet you weren't going to do anything about it."

The girl turned towards another person that appeared beside her. The new girl had long silvery blonde hair with red eyes, she wore a white sundress with a rapier tied to her hip. The girl glared at the mysterious girl as she lowered a device she was holding.

"Yuki, I was going to go down there!"

"I doubt it, if it meant revealing yourself, you weren't going to do anything but stand there and watch."

"I'm not going to lose her again!"

"Yeah, whatever you say, Mère. You just better be glad that the failsafe I put into Model O worked, or else you would have had to go down there."

And with that Yuki turned and walked away from Mère, leaving the girl to ponder her words.


Updated: 10-8-17

Did a lot of stuff to improve this chapter, like actually giving a proper fight between Aile and Giro.

Also updated how Aile's White Armor looks, she now has an Omega style helmet instead of just a visor.

I hope you enjoyed.

Have a nice day!