And…I'm back! It's been over five months, but I've finally got the next chapter up. I really apologize for the wait everyone, I've been busy with a lot of things. College is consuming a lot of my time now, but still, I found time to get this chapter done.

Harpuia's Flight had won by a landslide, so, here's your reminiscence chapter! I apologize if what happens isn't necessarily what you're expecting (Particularly post-Omega's death), especially on the means of scientific basis. This was based on some old thing I read, but even I admit that it sounds really shady. However, it seems to work for the story, so…yeah. It's been implemented anyway.

Alright guys, enjoy this chapter! The next chapter, we will return to where we last left off!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Megaman characters in this fic nor do I own the franchise. They are copyright of Capcom and I am not writing this to gain any monetary profit.



Reminiscence Chapter: Harpuia's Flight

(Present Day…)

Harpuia's body quivered with an exhale, sharp pain zapping through him. The brief sharpness had only dulled his senses even more, the guardian's damaged body resting over a cold pool of his artificial blood. The horrible wound on his abdomen had emptied out all of the precious fluids that maintained his well-being, and now, Harpuia could feel the chilling cold slowly claim him. What wracking pain he felt earlier was now dull and numb, slowly spreading through him as numerous warnings flashed by his eyes. His autorepair systems had shut down, his internal core suffered critical damage, his primary system was malfunctioning and losing power. All of it led to one simple conclusion: Sage Harpuia was dying.

A quiet groan escaped his lips. The feeling in his fingers was gone, and in the darkness of the cavern, Harpuia could barely make out his own body. His light green armor appeared to be mere specks in the consuming shadow, and even worse, he could barely make it out due to his failing vision. Objects were blurring, almost as if the darkness itself was dancing before him. Static broke through occasionally, but it was slowly becoming routine. More and more warnings flashed before his fading eyes, but he could barely make them out. Something about…critical…dangerous…unrepairable…he couldn't even read them.

WARNING: Memory System Malfunctioning…

All of a sudden, various images faded into existence before his eyes. So many of them in the span of seconds, some blurry, others clear. Images of picturesque Neo Arcadia prior to war, demolished cities in the middle of conflict, powerful mavericks who dared threaten peace, and of course…Zero. The brief moment of grudging respect disappeared when another image faded in by static. There…There were five people. In the middle was a blue reploid wearing royal garments, and standing to his left and right were his four children, the wind and shadow to his right, and the fire and ice one were to his left. For a moment, Harpuia thought he felt a teardrop on the side of his cheek. It was his family, everyone…Master X, Fairy Leviathan, Fighting Fefnir, Phantom, and himself.

"E…E-Everyone…" He struggled to say, his eyes closing briefly as he suddenly realized the numbness had gotten stronger. The image didn't leave his eyes, but as he gazed at the face of the fire and ice siblings…A burning sting, one which he had thought healed years ago, began to return.


(20 years ago…)

"Unggh!" Fefnir shielded his eyes with his arms, digging his feet into the ground.

"Aaah!" Leviathan crouched and looked away, using one arm to cover her eyes while the other remained tightly grasped on her halberd.

"Uggh!" Harpuia immediately closed his eyes and grounded himself, coming to a kneel as he kept his blades tightly grasped. The bright orb consumed the cavern as Omega's body exploded, illuminating even the darkest reaches with bright white light. Its light was harsh, as if the guardians were directly in front of the sun. It stung their eyes and burned their skins, but just as quickly as they felt it, the explosion slowly died away, leaving the cavern in dim darkness. The wind guardian remained in his kneel as he slowly opened his eyes, reorienting his vision. He looked at the side to see his brother Fefnir and sister Leviathan recover from the ordeal, both unharmed and unscathed. "Everyone alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Fefnir stated with a huff.

"Same here." Leviathan stated, slowly pulling up. The three silently breathed as they stared at the emptiness before them. There was no body, no parts, nothing at all.

"It's over…" Harpuia breathed. "It's finally over…" His blades deactivated and he sheathed them on his waist. There was no need for them anymore…Omega was finally gone.

"…Hey, where's Zero? And the Dark Elf, and Master X?" Leviathan asked, looking around.

Fefnir glanced about for a moment. "Yeah, where are they? They were here just a moment ago."

Harpuia looked about the cavern, and indeed, they were correct. The warm glow of Master X, the black orb of the Dark Elf, and the red figure of Zero were nowhere to be found. "They must have transferred out right before Omega was neutralized."

The red guardian huffed. "…Leave us behind huh?" He grunted and stretched his arms. "Ah well, least we got to see the bastard die." Fefnir sighed as he let his arms hang slack, cracking his neck while doing so. "Hey, let's get out of here."

"If you're thinking about transferring Fefnir, then that's not possible." Leviathan quickly stated.

"What? But we just transferred he~" the guardian stopped himself. "Oh yeah…Master X." After that bastard Weil took power, he removed the guardians from service and revoked their security clearance and transerver privileges. By doing so, Harpuia, Fefnir, and Leviathan could no longer transfer across the world or around Neo Arcadia. A portable transerver would've worked as a substitute, but they didn't possess the high security clearance to allow them in all areas of Neo Arcadia, and besides, those things were way too fragile. At the time, the only reason why they had managed to transfer into the cavern was because Master X had managed to temporarily reinstate their security clearance. The time window was only twenty seconds…and unfortunately, that time was up. Fefnir sighed and looked to his brother and sister. "So what do we do now?"

*Skitter*

Leviathan jumped upon seeing Harpuia suddenly turn his head and activating his blades. "H-Hey! What~?"

"Did you hear that?"

*Skitter skitter*

*Clatter clatter*

Fefnir quickly engaged his weaponry and aimed his cannons toward the sound. Next to him, Leviathan had taken her halberd and readied herself, scanning through the darkness for any sign of movement. The skittering and clattering was beginning to echo throughout the entire cavern, almost as if there were numerous footsteps moving around them. The red guardian's eyes looked about carefully through the dim darkness, but he spotted nothing out of the ordinary. "You guys see anything?" He asked, still looking about cautiously.

*Skitter skitter*

*Clatter clatter*

"Nothing…but where's that coming from?" Leviathan suddenly felt her feet slip, but quickly regained her footing. That's strange…It was as if some kind of magnet was pulling her. Harpuia felt it too, and quickly bent his knees to stabilize his footing. The pull wasn't strong, not at all, but it was enough to cause him to step involuntarily.

"Hey…Do you guys feel that?" Fefnir asked. "Feels like a magnetic pull." His gun arms constantly tilted toward the side, forcing the guardian to revert one arm back to his hand and use it to steady one cannon. All the while, Harpuia continued looking about. The sounds were getting louder, and that pull was slowly growing stronger. Then, for some unknown reason, he looked down at his feet.

"What the…?" Pebbles, stones, and debris were rolling past him, all as if on their own. They continued to skitter and roll in one direction, almost as if they were going down a funnel.

"Harpuia, what's wro~" Leviathan immediately noticed that her brother was looking at the ground, and instinctively, she did as well. Her eyes caught the debris rolling past her, moving in one unified direction toward the middle of the cavern. By now, Fefnir had caught the sight as well, all the while, noticing that they were slowly rolling faster. "What's going on? What's pulling them?" Leviathan again took a step back due to the force of the pull, digging her heels into the ground.

Harpuia looked toward where the debris' final destination, and to his surprise, there appeared to be some kind of…distortion. The stones and debris were rolling directly into it, and strangely, he didn't see them after they had entered it. "Ungh…" Harpuia felt himself slide, kneeling even more to keep himself from moving toward that distortion. Is that thing what's causing the anomaly here? Is that what's causing the pull?

"Hey Harp, what is that?" Fefnir asked, kneeling to keep himself from being pulled as well.

"I…I'm not sure…" He stated, nearly losing his balance as he involuntarily leaned forward. "All I know is that I think that's causing the pull."

Leviathan dug her halberd into the ground, struggling to keep her own feet from slipping. The pull was getting stronger…It felt as if she let go, she would trip and roll toward that distortion. "Whoa…" She pulled her feet back a step only to feel it slip again.

"Hey, what was that?" Fefnir shouted. "Look! There it is again!"

Harpuia stared at the distortion, and for a moment, he saw what looked like a black lighting bolt fly out of the distortion. Slowly, more and more bolts appeared, though they quickly dissipated into nothingness. However, to the sage's horror, he noticed the distortion slowly begin to swirl. The debris that had been tumbling across the ground were now starting to fly through the air as they closed in on the swirling vortex, and the distortion was slowly materializing what appeared to be lines of data. No…It…It can't be…

"Is that…cyberspace? Whoa!" Leviathan caught herself before she tripped once more, holding onto her spear with tight fists. "H-How is this possible?!" The blue guardian quickly ducked as a large rock flew by her head. It swiftly flew into the swirling vortex and before entering the twisting nether, appeared to be broken down into 'data' particles. No…No way…

"Everyone! Get to cover!" Harpuia shouted. "Find something sturdy and get behind it!" The pull had gotten significantly stronger for the green guardian as he stood up. He took a moment to maintain his balance before he took several uneasy steps behind a large rock formation, kneeling behind it as the pull continued to draw in more and more debris. Damn it…How was this possible? How could Omega's own death have opened a rip between reality and cyberspace?! It was known to the guardians and Zero that Omega was somehow connected to those strange doorways into cyberspace, the purgatory of data and final resting place of reploid software…but how…How is it that Omega's own death…could've done this? Harpuia looked to the side to see Leviathan having taken cover behind a bolted metal structure, while Fefnir took cover behind a smaller rock formation, but dug his arms into the ground. More and more debris was beginning to fly by them into the twisting vortex, threatening to consume and destroy all within the cavern.

"Damn it, we have to get out of here!" Fefnir shouted, letting out a quiet grunt as a rock passed by his helmet. "Master X! Where are you?! Get us out of here!" The guardian noticed hairline cracks begin to appear on the formation, as well what sounded like crumbling debris. "Oh Sigma…" The formation quickly fell apart, and as the broken debris flew into the growing vortex, Fefnir gritted his teeth and struggled to keep his arms on the ground. Unfortunately, it was to no avail. "Geeeeeehhh-AAAAAAAAH!" Fefnir gave one last scream before he felt his arms pulled out from the ground. His body instantly took to the air alongside the debris toward the vortex.

"Fefnir!" Harpuia struggled to grab him but instantly felt the pull of the vortex. He was forced to retreat, and quickly ducked back behind the formation.

*CRASH!*

"Huh?" The sage's eyes opened and looked to the side, spotting red legs flying toward the vortex.

"You didn't think I was going to die that easy, did you?!" Fefnir shouted. His entire body, save for his right arm, was flying toward the wormhole into cyberspace. He had managed to dig his right arm into the rock formation just before flying in, his gunhand embedded within the rock. "Uggh…Harp!"

"Hold on, I got you!" Harpuia inched over the top and reached out with his right hand. "Swing your left hand!"

Fefnir struggled to pull his free arm, but as soon as he reached, it would always swing back toward the hole. "I can't! The pull's too strong!"

"Come on! GIVE ME YOUR HAND!" The sage shouted.

Just as Fefnir prepared for another attempt, his eyes widened. "DUCK!"

*BANG!*

The metallic box slammed hard into the rock formation just shy of Fefnir's gunarm. Seconds later, it broke into miniature particles and was swallowed into the swirling cyber distortion.

"Aaaah!"

*CLUNK!*

"Unnngh!" Leviathan's hair and legs stretched toward the twisting vortex as she desperately clutched her halberd. After that bolted structure gave way, she went flying with it. However, at the last moment, she managed to dig her halberd into the same rock formation, providing one last attempt to prevent her from being swallowed into cyberspace.

"Leviathan!" Harpuia saw her hands slip down the pole of her staff. Despite her iron grip, her hands were still slowly slipping down the handle. "Ugh!" Harpuia felt his head suddenly lean forward as a large rock chunk hit the back of his head. He recovered but was quickly hit by another large piece of debris, both of which went flying into cyberspace. The guardian shook his head and looked at his two siblings. There was no way he could save both of them without losing his own life…but he couldn't just abandon one of them! Damn it…Omega…!

"Sigma…My fingers are slipping…" Leviathan stated as she held on desperately to her halberd.

"This rock isn't going to hold out for too long either!" Fefnir shouted as his gunarm slowly came lose.

Harpuia was not one to shirk away reality, but at this moment, with his remaining siblings so close to death, he wished that there was some way, some, miraculous way to save them both. "Just hold on you two…I'll get you both…" Please Master X…Please Dr. Cain…Help me save them, he silently prayed.

Fefnir tried once more to reach for his brother's hand, but he had barely raised it before he felt it forcefully point back at the vortex. "Damn it…" He hissed under his teeth. He looked at the rock formation, feeling his gun arm slip out another inch. At this rate, he was going to end up being sucked into cyberspace anyway.

Leviathan struggled to climb up the staff of her halberd but her hands wouldn't even budge against the force of the pull. Debris continued to rain against her as her fingers slipped further and further down the haft while the sharp point was slowly pulling out of the rock. "F-Fefnir…" She called. The red guardian turned his gaze, spotting the sadness behind her expression. Leviathan understood. The situation was hopeless for both of them. Even if Harpuia tried, he would end up being sucked in too. Fefnir's own sorrow was masked by his anger. Even after death, Omega had ended up winning over him…again! He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, knowing the reality of his doom is at hand. However, as he opened his eyes, he noticed his sister gazing upward for some strange reason.

That's when he saw it. A way out…

"Come on! GIVE ME YOUR HANDS!" Harpuia shouted. "I'm not going to let you die! COME ON!" Despite the strong pull, the sage struggled to reach downward. He could just barely touch the tip of Leviathan's spear, and his other hand was running over Fefnir's gun.

"Harp…"

"I almost got you, hold on…"

"Harpuia…"

"Hang on, almost there…Whoa…" The guardian quickly found his footing and reached for them carefully, struggling to perhaps, just perhaps, fight against the odds.

"HARPUIA!" The two siblings shouted at the same time, catching his attention.

"Forget about us! Just get out of here!" Fefnir shouted.

"If you keep this up, you'll end up dying too!" Leviathan yelled.

"No, I'm not going to~"

"WE'RE NOT GOING TO LET YOU DIE FOR US, HARP!" Fefnir retorted.

"Well, I'm not going to let you die like this!" Harpuia grunted with exasperation. "Come on, give me your hand!"

"Harp, look up!" Leviathan stated. Her expression quickly turned to anger when she saw his eyes remain on her. "LOOK UP, DAMN IT! She winced upon feeling the sting of debris against her cheek, but quickly continued upon seeing her brother's eyes remain looking upward. "That hole is the only way out of here! You're the only one who can reach it, Harp!"

Harpuia gritted his teeth. It's true that large hole in the ceiling led into Dr. Weil's laboratory…but, even so… "Are you an idiot?! Even with my jets, I can't reach that! There would have to be some kind of explosive force to propel me to~" He stopped himself. No…She…She couldn't possibly…!

"Yeah, that's what we're thinking!" Fefnir shouted. "If we engage our self-destruct systems, we might be able to give you the force you need to reach the top!"

"No, Fefnir! That's not going to happen! I ref~UNGH!" Another impact against his back nearly caused him to fall over. If it hadn't been for his footing and the strangely sturdy formation, Harpuia would've been flung into the void.

"Hey!" The blue guardian shouted. "Weil's still alive right? We can't leave him to run Neo Arcadia like this!"

That name…The name of that monster caused Harpuia's mind to falter.

"Yeah! He's still ruling Neo Arcadia, Harpuia! We can't let him push around everybody!" Leviathan shouted. As much as it pained her to know that she and Fefnir were going to die, her duty as a guardian was shining through. Weil…He was still calling the shots in Neo Arcadia. As guardians, as protectors of peace and security, he had to be stopped. However, only one of them could do that…The wind guardian, Harpuia.

He closed his eyes to gather his thoughts. The mention of Weil had clouded his mind with great anger and hatred, almost making him forget the current situation. He knew his duty, he knew what he had to do. Weil had to be neutralized by any means possible. At the same time…Harpuia knew that if he did pursue Weil, he would lose Fefnir and Leviathan, leaving him the sole member of the guardians, and sole heir of Master X's legacy.

"…You know we're not going to change our minds, Harpuia." Fefnir stated with a smile.

"Yeah…We're done for anyway, so at least let us help you before we go." Leviathan followed.

The sage was silent, his eyes downcast. "…Alright." He stared at his siblings. "I promise… I will kill Weil…For everything he's done to us and Neo Arcadia." He stopped. "A-And…I-I…I'll restore Neo Arcadia to what it once was! I promise!"

"We'll keep you to it!" Fefnir stated in his usual demeanor. He chuckled. "If this is happening to us, then Omega's probably waiting for us!"

"Yeah, leave him to us, Harpuia! Just show Weil what it means to mess with us!" Leviathan watched as her brother pulled back behind the rock. Over the loud clattering of the debris, she could hear the sound of his jets beginning to activate. She could feel a single tear begin to come to her eye, but she quickly choked it back. "Fefnir…" She stated, looking at her brother, her hands slipping once more until they were holding onto the very edge of the staff.

"Mmm…" Fefnir's arm slipped out once more. "Yeah, Leviathan?"

"…See you on the other side." Leviathan's body began to glow, growing whiter and hotter as she forced her systems to overload.

"…Yeah, I'll be waiting for ya." Fefnir's own systems began to manually overload, causing his body to glow brightly and grow hotter with instability.

*FWOOOOM!*

At that moment, just before the whiteness could claim them, the two saw a green figure shoot two feet into the air, but slowly faltering in their direction. Both of them lost their hold and quickly fell toward the vortex, but just before they could be consumed, their systems reached critical status.

*BRING BRING BRING…SHEEEEEEEEEW!*

*BRING BRING BRING…SHEEEEEEEEEW!*

"Unngh!" Harpuia felt himself suddenly accelerating toward the hole in the ceiling. His jets were pushing him with all their might and his right hand reached desperately for the wall. The heat of the fire and the sound of the explosion was all he needed to know that his brother and sister were no more. However, the time for grief could wait…He had to get out of here first. "Ugh." As his hand dug into the side of the ceiling, Harpuia quickly propelled himself up. The pulling force was notably weaker in comparison to when he was on the ground, and once his feet became aligned with the hole's side, the guardian swiftly wall-jumped against the crumbling rocks. He grunted and panted with each small jump up toward the top, all the while, feeling himself gaining speed as the pull had no effect. It was strange. That pull only affected what was in the cavern, not anything else.

"Ha!" The sage grunted once his feet finally touched ground. He was back. He was in Weil's lab, and on the surface above that cavern. He…He made it.

ALERT! SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED! REPEAT! SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED…TIME TO DESTRUCTION, FIVE MINUTES!

Harpuia gritted his teeth. Are you trying to hide evidence Weil? Hide evidence that you were involved in any of this?! He quickly got back on his feet and broke into a sprint. If there was only five minutes left, he had to find a way out. All around him, persistent guard mechs attempted to stop his retreat, but he ignored the pain. The bullets embedded into his body, slowly whittling away his stamina, but the guardian paid no mind. He had to leave…He had to leave before it was too late...He had to survive, not just for his father, not just for his siblings, not just for himself, but for Neo Arcadia. Sage Harpuia was a guardian. He had to restore peace and order…


The memory was still very clear to him, just like that sting. He had managed to find a ride chaser in the laboratory hangar, and with a good two minutes to spare, he managed to activate it, ride a good distance away from the base's blast radius. The ground shook, the sky roared, and all the while, he continued to ride into the unknown. That time, he could clearly remember, he had to recover first. If he was to take down Weil, he had to be at his full potential. So he rode on, on to an unknown destination, however far the ride chaser could take him. He just needed a place to recover his strength, a place to return to his full potential.

The image was burned in his mind, the picture of Harpuia and his family after the founding of Neo Arcadia, the day when true peace was declared. Shortly after he had made that promise, Weil was killed by Zero, and he had taken the role of the Second Master of Neo Arcadia. He struggled to maintain his father's legacy, keep it alive and live to the dream that he had envisioned and in the end…he succeeded. Peace had returned to Neo Arcadia, humans and reploids coexisted with open arms. There was nothing more for him. That is…except for one person…The one person who Sage had grown to love and cherish.

"P-Prairie…" He stated as his vision grew distorted and dim. For a brief moment, he saw her smiling face, her beautiful, angelic, smiling face. "For…For…" He gasped.

"Forgive me…"

*BWEEEEEEeeeeeeww…*


We're inside! Come on boys, move it!

Here, I found him! Master Harpuia, can you hear me?! Sir!

Damn it, he's deactivated already…We don't have much time, come on! Get that sub-tank stat!

Operator, we've located Master Harpuia. (Easy does it, get him onto the stretcher. 1…2…) Request for transfer back to Guardian HQ.

Request granted. Prepare for transfer in 3…2…


Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. Like I said, next time, we're going back to the main plotline. There's still quite a lot to go, and progress will be slow, but I have no intentions of abandoning this anytime soon!

Please leave comments! Thank you for reading!