Author's Note: Happy fourth of July, readers! I know there's usually a longer break between chapters than this, but I decided to update the story a bit earlier than planned. Just a little something to enjoy after the festivities (for all my American readers, anyway) :D.

On another note, the first chapter of my Earthbound adaptation is getting uploaded right after this, like I promised last time! If you're interested in reading it, go look for Wisdom, Courage, Friendship.

And one last question: how would you say I've handled Malco in this adaptation? Expanding on him- especially to the extent that he's now the tertiary main character- is hands down the biggest change I've made to Cave Story's plot. I'd just like to know what you readers think of him, what I did well, and what I didn't. Feedback is always welcome, positive or negative.

But enough talk for now! On we go!

Chapter 36: Ascent

The two humans were standing beside the hatched dragon. It was at least twice Quote's height and measured about sixteen feet in length from its rounded snout to its ridged tail. The green-scaled beast gave him a sideways look with its piercing black eyes, but otherwise didn't acknowledge him in the slightest. It was sitting with its enormous wings folded against its back, leaning on its strong hind legs while its comparatively scrawny forelegs were curled inwards.

"If you're going to confront the Doctor," Kazuma called to him over the wind, "the fastest way to sneak into his Plantation is at the top of this wall. We'll wait here if you manage to beat him, but in case things get too dangerous we have no choice but to fly away without you."

Quote nodded and looked up the ledge. It was littered with small platforms and rocky outcroppings which would make the climb easier, and at the very top he was just able to discern a small alcove leading into another part of the island. Getting up there would be treacherous even without the strong winds, as the slightest misstep could send him tumbling off the island, never to be seen again. With the wind taken into account, his chances weren't much better.

He turned to face Malco, who was still limp on the floor. Quote wasn't sure what to do about him, and the decision couldn't be taken lightly. While he welcomed any help he could get in fighting the Doctor, he also considered leaving his friend behind in the care of Kazuma and Professor Booster, where he would be safe. They could get him away from the island should his mission fail, and then at least one friend would have escaped. Then again, Quote thought about what Malco himself most likely would have said if he were online.

"I've stuck with you this far, and I'll continue to support you as best as I can!"

That seemed about right. The main issue, then, was how he would be able to get the pair of them all the way up to the Plantation. Malco didn't have a jetpack of his own even if he did wake up, and the spaces between each ledge looked too wide for either of them to jump. Quote himself would have trouble even using the Booster pack, since his first attempts with it had been problematic due to his weight shifting him forwards while in flight. He vividly recalled slamming face-first into the cave walls several times while trying to return Polar Star.

"Wait a minute…"

Remembering that embarrassing experience gave him an idea. He still had the tow rope with him from when he'd used it to save Curly. Placing Malco in a similar position to how she had been, resting on his back, he tied himself to the robot by the waist. Immediately he realized that this would be far less comfortable than before. Malco was at least twenty-five percent heavier than the other soldier, and the sharp edges of his body annoyingly poked into him. It would have to do, though. Quote confirmed which of the ledges he would try to reach first and settled himself into a half-squat in preparation for takeoff.

Upon being given the wireless signal from his receptors (which still felt rather strange to consider), the Booster hummed to life and launched him into the air. Just as he'd hoped, having Malco tied to his back balanced out the weight, and as such they were carried straight up without unintentionally veering to the side. Quote was able to safely land on the first ledge, then the second, then the third. As he got higher and higher, though, a flaw in his plan to carry his friend reared its ugly head. The weight balance allowed them to fly comfortably, but walking across the rocky platforms became a frustrating and clumsy ordeal. Having to haul another person on his back in addition to the jetpack caused Quote to stumble and nearly fall from the cliff more than once. Every time his passenger shifted even slightly, the soldier would panic and scramble to readjust the tow rope. He didn't want to think about what could happen to either of them if they fell.

-Systems restarting

-ID: RT9_Malco-Class_2

-Password: XXXXXXX

-Shutdown Synopsis: Overloaded processor (resolved), uncontrollable destructive tendencies (resolved), self-deactivation necessary

-Damage Sustained: Negligible

-Current Objective: Location unknown. Assess surroundings.

Malco's internal systems booted up at last after a long period of cooldown. He was currently feeling the closest thing a robot of his design could to a splitting headache, and his vision was blurry due to the confusion. His eyes flickered on in their natural red light, and he tried to comprehend where he was. The last thing he remembered was shutting himself down in the Egg Corridor while viciously attacking something.

He didn't recognize his location. The cool temperature and brutal winds were a far cry from what he'd been used to while assisting his two friends. Had he been brought outside somehow? Why were his feet not on solid ground at the moment? Why was he apparently being propelled through the air by an unseen source? And why was he tied to something human-shaped by his waist?

"Where am I…?"

"What the-"

Upon speaking, a startled voice replied and he felt himself shake roughly as whatever he was attached to wavered in its flight. As he tried to shift himself for a better view, it careened to the side and just barely managed to avoid slamming into a hard surface of some kind before collapsing onto a rocky platform.

"You could have given me a warning that you were awake," the voice grumbled. Malco was about to apologize before it occurred to him that the speaker sounded familiar- delightfully so.

"Quote?! You're okay!"

He acted on impulse, which was rare for him to do, and hugged his friend tightly around the neck from behind. The soldier only struggled harder.

"Let go of me! I'm glad to see you again too, but we're not in the best place for that right now. If mess up, we might fall."

Malco did as requested, but his joy didn't fade. He was so convinced he'd lost his friends that the mere sound of Quote's voice made him ecstatic and eager to continue helping.

"Where are we? Where'd you and Curly go after I went in the teleporter ahead of you? Wait, where is Curly?"

"Hold still, I'll explain while we're going up."

Quote filled him in on everything that had happened since they separated: falling into the waterway, washing up at Mimiga Village, upgrading the Polar Star, and traversing the destroyed Egg Corridor. Malco was mostly silent during the discussion, but when told about his rampage he let out a horrified gasp. Not helping was the fact that he still held Napalm, the very weapon he'd used for it.

"I… I couldn't have attacked you… I'd never-"

"You did," Quote said shortly. "But you shut down soon after. Did you know what you were doing?"

"Partially. I knew that if I didn't calm down I would ultimately put myself in unnecessary danger. Even so, I had no idea… I can't stress enough how sorry I am. I'll do my best to make it up to you."

He could hear the soldier chuckling softly.

"You haven't changed, Malco."

"W-well, you have. If my records are accurate, it wasn't until we first met Curly that you began to express yourself with more emotion."

Quote went silent for a few seconds, making him consider that he may have accidentally struck a nerve by mentioning her. She was still missing, and the separation had clearly hit him harder than he was letting on. It wasn't until the end of their climb up the outer wall was in sight that he spoke up again.

"Can you try and find her? Connect to her receptors like you've been doing for us…"

"Certainly. One moment."

Malco broadcasted his wireless signal as far as it could reach in an attempt to seek out their missing friend. Ordinarily a response would come in the form of a "Loud and Clear" code, at which point he would establish his connection. This time, however, he didn't receive a response of any kind. He retried no less than five times.

"I am unable to locate Curly… she may be somewhere out of my range, such as the Labyrinth, or… regrettably, it's possible that she-"

Quote rocked without warning as they approached one of the final ledges, causing Malco to grip the tow rope binding them together. The disturbance hadn't been intentional, but more likely as a result of his displeasure in considering the possibilities. Neither of them said another word, not wanting to acknowledge the fact that their friend could still have been in the waterway, her drowned corpse endlessly cycling through different pipelines.

It had taken almost half an hour by his estimate, but Quote ultimately reached the top of the wall without injury. He landed on another metal strip and untied the tow rope, letting Malco stand up for himself. There was an indent in the rock wall to their left, in the middle of which was a simple wooden door. His legs and arms were incredibly fatigued from the stress of gripping to different surfaces on the way up- even with help from the Booster- but they were on solid ground at last.

"Well done! Thank you for carrying me with you, as well."

Looking up at Malco, he gave him a short thumbs-up and continued to gasp for breath in the high altitude.

"No problem. Thank you for being such a good counterbalance while we were flying."

The other robot gave a squawk of phony offense.

"Ah, so is that all I'm good for to you?"

"Absolutely," he joked, hopping to his feet. "Come on, it's time to see what this Plantation has in store for us."