He's watching that fucking video again. He does this every night, without fail - slips out of futon-bed-thing, sits down in the hallway, and then turns on the holographic screen and watches the video again and again until someone makes him stop. Usually one of the humans.
But none of the humans are coming out tonight, because they're all deep in sleep-mode. Even Mimic, who'd normally be woken up by this kinda shit, is still in sleep-mode.
The cat doesn't have the courage to stop his human from watching that damn video, and the owl won't do anything if his brother won't. So Bass decides he has to do something this time, because he doesn't want to wake Mimic up, or any of the other humans in the house.
"-saw video footage of this abuse, which bordered on torture, from two NetNavi witnesses. Esteemed Dr. Yuichiro Hikari, the head of SciLab, attested that the memory data of two NetNavi witnesses was not-"
Bass shuts off the video, forcibly banishing the holographic screen, and makes himself appear on top of Chaud's PET. ProtoMan's huddled against Chaud's neck, looking startled at Bass's sudden appearance, while his human just has that same mostly-blank look on his face that he's had since he went to see that bastard he's supposed to call a creator. Or is it father? Whatever, same fucking difference.
"Stop watching that," Bass says bluntly. "Go to bed, already. You might be half-nocturnal, but you still need your fucking sleep."
Chaud blinks at him slowly. Unlike most of the humans, Bass isn't unnerved by Chaud's eyes flashing bright in the darkness, reflecting whatever light there is. NetNavis are all too different despite being the same species as a whole for Bass to give a shit, though humans are . . . well, they kinda look the same, no matter where you go. Skin, eyes, mouth, hands, feet, the whole thing. Some NetNavis don't even have limbs, for fuck's sake, so why would glowing eyes freak Bass out?
"Go to bed," Bass repeats, softening his tone a little.
The blank look on Chaud's face wavers a little. There's just the barest hint of shame in that expression, what little expression there is, which isn't what Bass was going for - but if it makes Chaud go the fuck to sleep, then whatever.
He cares about three humans. No, five. Maybe six. He's not gonna let one of them self-delete from lack of sleep or something. He'd rather shove a Dark Arm Blade through his own fucking face.
Chaud stands up slowly. Bass heads back into the bedroom before he does, making his hologram vanish and then reappear on the twins' desk in their room, and a few moments later, Chaud comes in.
ProtoMan vanishes from his shoulder and appears next to Bass, crouching with a look of such sadness that Bass is forced to look away, otherwise he'd probably reach out and pet him to try and make him feel better. He's fine with the cat initiating physical contact - shit like hugs, or that weird thing cats do when they rub against you and purr - but he's not gonna be the one to do it himself. He's not . . . there, just yet.
They watch Chaud crawl into the futon with Mimic, who wakes up just barely enough to welcome Chaud back. That giant black cat of hers - or theirs, Bass has no idea - starts purring from somewhere inside the covers, but only for a few moments before he goes silent again, back into sleep-mode.
Arcadia appears on ProtoMan's other side, watching the twin humans (and their real world cat). After a short pause, he glances at ProtoMan, still crouching between them, and holds out his clawed hand in an obvious silent invitation.
ProtoMan looks up at him, then over at the twin humans. He's shivering a little, but it can't be because of the cold. Bass is pretty sure the bedroom is warm enough for even the cat to be fine.
Instead of going back into Chaud's PET with his brother like Bass expects him to, like he always does, ProtoMan takes a hesitant step toward the twins. That's surprising - normally, as soon as Chaud's back in bed and actually in sleep-mode like he's supposed to be, ProtoMan will go to sleep himself. Looks like he's not doing that this time.
The cat's shadows drift around him. Bass isn't really fluent in shadows, much less demonic cyberworld shadows, but he can tell they're trying to gently encourage their host.
ProtoMan takes a few more uncertain, nervous steps across the desk, heading toward the twins, and Bass realises what he's doing just as Arcadia does. They exchange a quick glance, just as surprised as each other, and they watch ProtoMan shadow-teleport over to the futon and huddle on the pillow just above Mimic and Chaud's heads.
The cat reaches out carefully and paws at his humans' hair until they open their eyes and look at him. They seem surprised, just like Bass and Arcadia are, but then Chaud's expression softens and Mimic grins, and they shuffle apart a little to let ProtoMan crawl in between them and curl up.
Bass isn't entirely sure why, but this moment . . . feels kind of important, somehow. Maybe it's how they're all reacting to the cat's decision to sleep outside the PET instead of inside it, or maybe it's the fact that he's decided to sleep outside in the first place.
He glances at Arcadia and sees the owl's almost tearful smile. That's all he gets to see, because a moment later, Arcadia vanishes from the desk and reappears with the twins, settling down with his brother to sleep like they normally do - just outside of the PET, this time.
Only when Bass is absolutely sure that no one else is awake and thus no one can see does he allow himself to smile. He may not entirely understand the true significance of this moment, but he knows something important when he sees it.
He heads into the storage device - his bedroom, that is - and goes into sleep-mode himself, with a warm kind of feeling deep in his core.
Sleeping with his operators, along with his brother, for the first time in what feels like forever was . . . well, it was nerve-wracking, to be honest. It took him a long time to settle down enough to sleep, so he's not entirely at one-hundred percent energy this morning, but he did it.
ProtoMan slept outside of Chaud's PET, for the first time since . . . well, since the first time he tried it. And he hadn't even technically slept outside of Chaud's PET back then anyway, because he hadn't even gotten to go into sleep-mode before Proxy showed up, and when Proxy was done with him, he spent the rest of the night inside Chaud's PET, too scared to come out even when his operator woke up.
So . . . so this was the first time he's managed to sleep outside of Chaud's PET. With his operators, and his brother, and Ragdoll.
He's still kind of on edge and can't stop himself from trembling, but he still did it, and that- that's all that matters. Or that's what he's telling himself, anyway.
Arcadia's proud of him. He said so, when they woke up in the morning. Chaud and Mimic did too, and Ragdoll was purring, so that was probably his way of saying 'well done'. Bass didn't really say anything, but he keeps looking at ProtoMan with an odd little smile whenever he thinks no one's looking. MegaMan, when he hears what happened, says the same thing Arcadia did, and apparently so does Dark MegaMan, because the core in the heart container pulses rapidly and MegaMan says that's what it said, so . . .
The point is, ProtoMan slept outside Chaud's PET, and his family are proud of him for doing it. If he can find the courage to do something like that, maybe . . . maybe he can finally find the courage to delete the recording, too.
Small steps, though. He couldn't do that last night, and sleeping outside of his primary operator's PET is completely different to deleting that news recording.
But maybe there's something else he can do. Something he hasn't been able to do - him or Arcadia, really - since they were called on to fight Duo's Asteroid Navis.
He brings it up to Arcadia after the humans have their breakfast.
"The Secret Village?" Arcadia repeats, eyes wide. "You . . . you really think . . . you think you're ready for that?"
"I-it's-" ProtoMan's voice cracks a little, so he stops and swallows his nerves (of which there's a considerable amount) before trying again. "It's not the same as the V-Virus Wilds. I think . . . well, I mean, we do kinda need to go back, w-we did promise, so . . ."
"I know, but . . ." His little brother is less enthusiastic about this than ProtoMan had hoped he'd be. "Promises or not, I'm not sure if you're ready to go that far just yet. The Navis there are friendly, yes, but . . . the Secret Area is a lot further than the Virus Wilds."
ProtoMan can't help but shudder at the reminder of the distance. Honestly, distance isn't really that big of a deal in the cyberworld, since most Navis can get around easily - but he'll still be a long way away from Chaud's PET. That's not a pleasant thought.
"You don't need to rush this, ProtoMan," Arcadia gently tells him, obviously sensing his thoughts. "You managed to sleep outside Chaud's PET last night, and that's amazing. Just do one thing at a time, okay?"
"But-" ProtoMan speaks too quick for his mind to catch up with his mouth. He cuts himself off, biting his lip and wringing his hands together for a few moments, trying to gather his thoughts from that abyss known as fear. "But I . . . I want to see them again. They're our friends, and I . . . I m-miss them . . ."
Plus, if he can manage a trip to the Secret Village, maybe he'll be able to work his way up to going back to Internet City.
The Secret Village is small, and quiet, and definitely full of Navis who've been nothing but kind to him and his brother - a stark contrast to the massive, loud, confusing mess that is Internet City. Plus, there's no guarantee that every Navi he'll meet in Internet City, even in the Japan site, will be friendly. But if he can get comfortable going to a place populated by more than just a few NetNavis, he'll be able to eventually go back to Internet City, and all he really wants is for life to go back to normal.
Or as normal as things can get, anyway. A lot of things have changed, for better or for worse, and there's no way they can go back to the way things used to be, not really. But he wants to at least try and get some of his lost courage back, and going to the Secret Village will help with that.
He hopes, anyway.
"I miss them too."
ProtoMan blinks under his visor and looks up. His little brother's watching him with a sad smile, and after a moment or two, Arcadia sighs.
"You've made your mind up about this," he says. "Even if it's not a good idea, I can sense you're not gonna be talked out of it. You'll go with or without me. I . . . I'd rather be with you, honestly. It doesn't sit well with me, letting you go anywhere on your own while you're still so nervous."
"I thought I was the big brother," ProtoMan jokes weakly.
Arcadia huffs out a quiet laugh. "You looked after me when I needed it. Let me return the favour."
"Okay," ProtoMan whispers, pulling his little brother into a hug.
They stay like that for a few moments, with ProtoMan's shadows drifting around them, and then break apart and go tell their operators where they're going. Mimic looks delighted, and while Chaud's expression doesn't change much, there's a proud kind of glint in his eyes that makes ProtoMan's systems warm inside.
With their operators' blessing, they take out their teleport tokens, and use them for the first time since before they were called away to take on Duo.
He can feel Arcadia's watchful gaze on him when they arrive in the antechamber. The panelled floor is still the same as it always is - ProtoMan doesn't think it's ever changed since the day Serenade created it, really - but the waves lapping at the edges of the platform set his already-fragile nerves on edge in a way they never used to before.
Arcadia brings up a wing and wraps it around ProtoMan's shoulders, and he takes some comfort from that. He doesn't like water even at the best of times, and it seems that he's even worse with it than he was before. It's odd, though, because he's always been fine with the water in the Secret Area, though maybe that's just because he knew he didn't need to worry about it.
But his confidence was beaten out of him, and even if it's slowly returning, it's still not what it once was. It probably won't ever be the same again, really. So, yeah. He's nervous around this cyberworld ocean now. It's not really a nice development.
They're about to head over to the warp hole leading into the Secret Village when a bright light from above makes them pause. The light is in the form of a ball, and it floats down gently, breaking apart when the bottom of it brushes against the platform, revealing the graceful form of Serenade within.
Serenade's eyes widen when they spot ProtoMan and Arcadia, and their face breaks out into a welcoming smile. "Little ones!" they say warmly, drifting forward. "You return!"
ProtoMan knows Serenade is safe. He knows they're a friend, and he knows Serenade would never intentionally hurt anyone they consider a friend. And yet he still can't stop a ragged, nervous noise from escaping his lips, nor can he stop himself from taking a step back. The only reason he doesn't bail out immediately and go straight back to Chaud's PET is because Arcadia still has his wing around his shoulders, a comforting and warm weight that just barely manages to keep his fragile nerves together.
Serenade stops, looking puzzled, and more than a little worried. "Are you alright, little one? You . . . you seem as fearful as you were when we first met."
"S-sorry," ProtoMan whispers, unable to make himself talk any louder than that. "I'm, um . . ."
He feels Arcadia brushing a hand against his arm, and turns and buries his face in his brother's shoulder, taking in a shuddering breath.
Dammit. He thought he was ready for this. If he can't even talk to Serenade without having a breakdown, how is he supposed to handle actually going into the Secret Village? It's probably a good thing these teleport tokens take them to the antechamber rather than the Village itself, otherwise he might've gone berserk or something. And then he'd never be able to go back, because the Village Navis wouldn't want him around anymore if he ended up destroying their home.
"Shh," Arcadia whispers, putting a hand on the back of ProtoMan's neck. "It's okay, calm down. They wouldn't do that, you know they wouldn't. If they did, do you think they'd let Mythic stay, after all the times she's nearly frozen over the entire Village by accident?"
ProtoMan shakes his head against his brother's shoulder.
"Exactly," Arcadia says. He makes it sound so simple that ProtoMan actually believes him. "So they wouldn't kick you out, either. You're fine."
"I'm . . . f-fine," ProtoMan repeats, so quietly that he can barely hear himself, even with his powerful hearing.
"You're fine," Arcadia confirms. He draws back a little, so they can look at each other. "Alright? You good now?"
Not entirely, but he's not five seconds away from bolting anymore, so at least there's that.
Arcadia quirks his lips into a small smile, amused by ProtoMan's half-sarcastic thoughts. He carefully lets go, but keeps his wing around ProtoMan's shoulders, which he's grateful for because it feels better like this than it would if he was just on his own. His shadows help too, drifting between and around them, but not enough to obscure their vision.
Serenade has been watching this with a quiet air of concern. When the two of them break apart, they cautiously drift a little closer, and then comes close enough to touch when they see that ProtoMan isn't trying to back away anymore.
"If you do not mind my asking," Serenade begins softly, reaching out to brush a gentle hand against ProtoMan's cheek, "what happened, dear friends?"
"Do you want to tell them?" Arcadia asks ProtoMan. "We don't have to if you don't want to."
"Indeed," Serenade agrees immediately. "Regardless of my own curiosity, if you have no desire to recount your experiences, I will not pry. Of that, you have my word."
"I . . ." He doesn't know why, but he does want to tell Serenade what happened to him. Maybe it's something about their calm presence, that concern they're radiating like an aura, that makes him want to tell them. "Just, um . . . c-could we . . . i-is- do you have- do you have anywhere we could . . . talk? Like, um . . . privately?"
"My home," Serenade says, and ProtoMan blinks, surprised. Serenade smiles, looking faintly amused. "Did you think I created this place without creating a home for myself? It is not much, but it is as private as the other homes in the Village. Company of others if I wish, but the privacy of my own self if not." They drift back a couple of feet. "Come, little ones. I will go through the warp hole first and inform the others of your return - and, if you wish, I will tell them to give you space."
"Thank you," ProtoMan whispers. He feels half-ashamed of himself for being unable to greet the friends he's made in the Secret Village properly, but . . . "U-um, not . . . not Crescendo, or Thirteen. They're- I want . . . I wanna see them again. Pl-please."
"Of course, little one," Serenade says, inclining their head. "Whatever you need to feel comfortable with your return."
It's hardly the triumphant return that he or Arcadia had hoped for, really. When they'd had to leave that one final time before they had to commit themselves fully to the fight against Duo, they'd expected to go back to the Secret Village fairly soon afterwards. But everything after they passed Duo's test happened so quickly that they didn't have much time to go back, and then Master Blaze was arrested, and . . .
Well. They're here now, so . . . so that's all that matters. Or that's what ProtoMan is telling himself, anyway. He's not sure if he believes it.
True to Serenade's word, the other Village Navis stay back and give ProtoMan the space he needs when he and his brother finally come back. They step off the stone platform the Village's warp hole entrance is on, and while ProtoMan's nerves start to come apart upon seeing how many Navis are here, it does make him feel a little better when he sees only smiles and happiness and relief, with some concern mixed in, instead of the disdain or anger he'd been expecting.
It's . . . well, he can hardly be blamed for expecting the Village Navis to be angry with them for staying away for so long. Especially since they'd promised to come back much, much sooner than this. And no one could've expected the broken shell that ProtoMan has become.
But no one's angry, and there's even a few calls of 'welcome back!' from some of the Virus Navis gathered in the square. In the Village, everyone knows everyone, and ProtoMan and Arcadia are no exceptions despite not actually living here. It's a nice feeling, coming back to such a friendly atmosphere like this, especially when he'd been expecting a bad reception.
Just up ahead of them, standing by Serenade's floating form, is Crescendo. The black-armoured human-Navi who has to wear special gloves to keep his Curse virus under control. And clinging to his leg is the little girl-Navi Thirteen, eyes blank and white due to the Blinder virus that left her completely blind.
The two NetNavis - the two Virus Navis - that ProtoMan has gotten closest to out of everyone in the entire Village. Seeing them makes him stop short, and he finds himself trembling where he stands.
"Welcome back," Crescendo says. His voice is nearly choked by the emotional smile on his face.
"Hi," Thirteen adds softly, looking in ProtoMan's direction - and almost directly at him, for all that she can't see him.
Before he even realises what he's doing, ProtoMan is running. He nearly trips over his own feet, too excited or too emotional or too something, and then he crashes into Crescendo and pulls both him and Thirteen into a tight embrace, letting out a delighted laugh that sounds more like a sob.
"I'm back," ProtoMan whispers, pressing his forehead against Crescendo's chest, putting a hand on Thirteen's head as she switches from clutching Crescendo's leg to ProtoMan's.
Crescendo returns the embrace, letting out a shuddering breath that tells ProtoMan he's definitely holding back tears. Thirteen doesn't even bother trying - she just breaks down crying, and ProtoMan picks her up, lets her wrap her arms around his neck, and lets both of them hug him in return.
It turns out Serenade really does have a home in the Village. ProtoMan had been expecting a big house, something like a mansion maybe, but it honestly doesn't look too different from the other homes in the Village. A small, unassuming house at the end of a street full of other similar houses, single-floored and only with three rooms from what he can tell.
The front room, a kitchen (because even if Navis don't need to eat, they still can, thanks to the invention of cyberfood), and a bedroom. It's cosy and warm inside, with a fireplace that has an actual real fire burning in it, which Serenade says was a gift from Splinter and Cell, the split-personality Virus Navi who runs the mine. It's not really clear whether the gift was the fireplace or the fire itself, and Serenade doesn't elaborate.
Like the rest of the Village - and pretty much the entire Area - the interior of Serenade's home is so similar to the kind of stuff you'd find in the real world that ProtoMan nearly forgets he's in the cyberworld. No matter how many times he or Arcadia come to visit, they can never really get over how similar the Secret Area is to the real world, and they never stop marvelling at Serenade's craftsmanship skills.
He sits in the middle of Serenade's sofa with Arcadia on one side and Crescendo on the other, and Thirteen sitting on his lap. Dark Shadow lies in front of the fireplace, shadowy body rippling like the flames. Apparently it enjoys warmth just as much as ProtoMan, despite being made of cold shadows.
Serenade sits on an armchair that was apparently a gift from another of the Village Navis - not one of the Virus Navis, just a normal NetNavi who was disconnected after the furniture shop she ran with her operator was forced to close down (and the human unfairly blamed her for it). A lot of the things in Serenade's home are apparently gifts from other Village Navis, and it really shows how much the Village Navis love Serenade, because there's a lot of stuff.
"A cruel trial," Serenade murmurs, when Arcadia is finished telling them what happened. "One that none should go through, no matter how wicked."
"That meanie Proxy should've gone through it," Thirteen huffs, snuggling up to ProtoMan. "Bullying isn't nice! It's mean and hurtful! And that Proxy Navi is mean!"
"Was mean," Crescendo corrects her gently. "Arcadia said he's gone now. Good for him, I suppose, because if any of the Village Navis had heard of what he's done before he was deleted, well . . ." He holds up one of his gloves hands and inspects it with almost cold indifference. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that we would not be held responsible for our actions."
"Indeed," Serenade agrees. They look at ProtoMan and Arcadia. "Please, thank your friend Bass for me when you get the chance. He seems a noble character."
"I'm not really sure 'noble' is the word I'd use to describe Bass." Arcadia laughs nervously. "He's, ah . . . he's an acquired taste."
"He would be welcome here if he chooses to come, as would your other friends," Serenade says. They pause for a moment, looking between the two brothers, and there's an almost sad expression on their face now. "When you did not return after the defeat of the one called Duo, we all worried for your safety. We thought perhaps the worst had happened. I and all of those who reside in this Village are full of joy to know that you both still live, that all of your teammates still live, and yet . . . we are saddened, too, to learn that you were forced to endure such horrors. Both you and your operators."
"Sorry we didn't come back sooner," ProtoMan murmurs, lowering his head.
"There is no need for an apology, little one," Serenade assures him gently. "You need time to recover, and that is something we in this Village understand the most."
"You're back now anyway," Thirteen says, twisting around on ProtoMan's lap and feeling around until she can put her arms around his neck and hug him again. "It doesn't matter. I really missed you, ProtoMan."
ProtoMan blinks and lets out a slightly startled laugh. "What- what happened to calling me Mr. Kitty?"
"I wanna sound more grown-up, so . . . so I'm gonna call everyone by their names," Thirteen replies decisively.
Physically, she can't grow up, but if that's what she wants, then it's not like ProtoMan can tell her not to. He'd by hypocritical if he tried - he's a teenager-model Navi and he acts like a child-Navi half the time, at least according to his family anyway. So if Thirteen's decided she wants to 'sound more grown-up' by calling everyone by their names instead of giving them cute kid-like nicknames, then he has no objections.
"She's right, you know," Crescendo says. He reaches out and puts an arm around ProtoMan's shoulders, giving him a one-armed hug. "We all missed you." He looks at Arcadia over the top of ProtoMan's head. "The two of you may not live here like the rest of us, but we still consider you to be Village Navis. So . . . welcome home."
"It really is good to be back," Arcadia says, and ProtoMan doesn't need to look at him to see the smile on his face, because he can hear it in his little brother's voice.
He purrs and snuggles into Crescendo's side, hugging Thirteen a little closer.
The field is absolutely covered in snow. The trees, too, are thick with it, looking like something on the internet rather than something from the real world.
For SearchMan and Raika, who have seen snowstorms far worse than this, it's quite a startling sight. In Sharo, the snow would likely have buried half a town by now, and the roads would need to be dug out as soon as physically possible. But in Japan, while the snow is quite thick, it's nowhere near as dangerous as it could be. And . . . it looks oddly beautiful.
"Ninth time lucky, do you think?" Raika asks, distracting SearchMan from the view.
"Maybe," SearchMan replies. He looks out across the snowy field again. " . . . Do you think nine is an unlucky number in some culture or other?"
Raika gives him an odd look. "What?"
"Well . . ." Now that he's said it out loud, it seems a bit silly. "I mean, four is known to be an unlucky number in Japan, and I know thirteen is considered unlucky in some cultures. I was just wondering if nine would be considered unlucky to some people, too."
"There's a superstition for everything, I think," Raika says, shrugging. "That applies to numbers, too, maybe."
"Hm," SearchMan says thoughtfully. "I wonder if that's why some parts of the internet seem to have an obsession with the numbers thirty-four and sixty-nine?"
Raika chokes.
Concerned, SearchMan glances at him, only to discover that his operator is staring at him with comically-wide eyes. That's a look of total shock rather than anything SearchMan had feared.
"What?" SearchMan asks.
"N-nothing, I just . . ." Raika swallows and looks to be trying to control himself. "How much do you know about human reproduction?"
"Very little," SearchMan admits. He never saw any reason to bother looking into it, since he and Raika are almost always too busy with Net Saver work.
Raika coughs. "Good. Good. Let's, uh . . . let's keep it that way."
Now completely mystified, SearchMan stares at his operator, but Raika turns away from him and refuses to elaborate.
It seems almost a shame to spoil the pristine snow covering the field, but in order to fully explore this mansion and its surrounding grounds, they need to. The snow makes it difficult to see the ground properly - if there are any cemeteries here, they'd be covered by snow and wouldn't be visible from the roof of the mansion behind them, but on the ground, they're easier to spot.
This isn't the first mansion-exploration SearchMan and Raika have done in the snow. It's the third, actually, and this one is considerably preferable to the other two, since they had to explore them in the middle of minor snowstorms, which made visibility very low. It also made using the Navi-hologram difficult for SearchMan, since he had snowflakes constantly falling on and through him, and the image kept fizzling to the point where Raika told him to just go back into the PET.
There's no snowstorm now, though. The aftermath of one - a very beautiful aftermath - but definitely no snowstorm. SearchMan feels the cold, but like most Navis (notwithstanding Virus Navis like ProtoMan), he isn't affected by it, so he can enjoy the view better than humans can. And Raika? Well, he's used to much colder temperatures than this, so he isn't bothered by the cold either.
Part of SearchMan wonders how long this weather will last, and whether or not they'll be able to get Chaud out here if they find his mother's grave before the snow clears up. Chaud may not be a literal cat, but he and his twin sister are just as affected by temperatures like this as ProtoMan or any other cats are.
"What do you think that is?" Raika suddenly asks, breaking SearchMan out of his thoughts.
"What do I-" SearchMan cuts himself off when he follows his operator's gaze and sees what's caught his attention. " . . . I'm not sure. Some sort of storehouse, maybe?"
Even as he says the words, he doubts he's right. The building looks nothing like any kind of storehouse either he or Raika have seen - it's made of grey-brown stone, a small structure compared to the massive mansion nearby, but big enough that it caught Raika's attention. A crumbling ruin, with thick pillars just barely holding up the roof, and an empty entrance, a plank of rotting wood on the ground nearby being the only sign that there was ever a door there.
"It . . . kind of looks like one of those temples," Raika says slowly, peering at the crumbling ruin. "Or maybe a church of some kind."
SearchMan exchanges a glance with his operator.
"I don't know if Chaud said there was a church or a temple anywhere," SearchMan remarks hesitantly.
"This place definitely ticks all the boxes we have, though." Raika gestures around, at the mansion nearby and the snow-covered field and the thick forest bordering the hilly land.
"So have the last several mansions we've checked," SearchMan points out.
"Just because Chaud didn't say there was one doesn't mean there wasn't," Raika retorts. "We were focused on the mansion and the cemetery, not any-" He hesitates for a moment. "-extra features."
Calling this crumbling ruin of a temple or church an 'extra feature' seems almost like an insult to such a location, but to be honest, SearchMan can't find a fault in his operator's description. This place looks like it was built as an afterthought, as if whoever used to own this mansion and the surrounding grounds decided to add it in at the last minute.
"Temples and churches often have a cemetery or graveyard very close to their locations," SearchMan says, looking around. "Perhaps there's a cemetery here."
Raika starts looking around nearby, or as close to that as he can get. The cemetery Chaud told them about was in the field of his memory, well away from the forest border, so they have to stay far away from that as well, which isn't easy since the crumbling ruin is close to the forest.
It's mildly confusing, and they end up straying further and further away from the crumbling ruin, until it's far enough away in the distance that they can only just about make out the features.
SearchMan is keeping an eye on the ground as Raika keeps walking, but even so, he's not quick enough to warn his operator when he suddenly detects stone just below the thick layer of snow. Raika practically trips over it, yelping, and only manages to save himself from falling flat on his face thanks to years of practise in Sharo.
"Ow," Raika mutters, shuffling back with a wince. "Dammit . . ."
"I can detect the shape," SearchMan reports, looking through the scanners programmed into his Scope Gun. "It . . . seems to be a gravestone. There's multiple others, too, scattered around nearby."
He sees a hopeful light in his operator's eyes, and can't help but feel the same flare of hope within his own systems. Is this finally the one? The cemetery that's buried under this thick layer of snow could very well be the one they've been looking for.
Raika gets to work quickly, digging away at the snow. SearchMan wishes he could help, but the Navi-hologram would never hold up under such conditions, so he settles for scanning the area more with his Scope Gun, trying to match the layout of this snow-buried cemetery with the one in Chaud's drawing.
It seems to match, though he can detect that one or two of the gravestones have crumbled or fallen over. The passing of time, and all that - but he can tell where those fallen gravestones were supposed to be. It's difficult to push down the hope now; they've found other cemeteries, yes, but none that actually matched the layout of the drawing Chaud gave them. None that were this close, at least.
Raika finally manages to dig out the gravestone he almost tripped over, and when he does, he draws in a sharp breath, sitting back on his haunches.
"Blaze," Raika says, in a hushed voice.
"The first name is different, though," SearchMan points out, gesturing to the full name on the gravestone.
"Maybe, but this is the first gravestone we've come across that has Chaud's former last name on it."
Raika pushes himself to his feet and steps back, glancing at SearchMan.
"Scan the area," he orders. "Figure out where Keiko Blaze's grave would be in relation to my current position."
SearchMan nods and does as ordered. Since he's already matched the general layout of this snow-buried cemetery, it's an easy task to figure out where Keiko Blaze's grave should be if this is indeed the correct cemetery.
"There." SearchMan points ahead and left of Raika's position. "Right on the edge, just like Chaud said."
There's no point in trying to push down his hope, now. It's too strong for that - and he knows Raika feels the same, because he can feel his operator's body trembling from where he stands on his shoulder, and there's a nervous, excited shudder to Raika's breathing now.
This is the closest they've come so far. Maybe it will be ninth time lucky.
Raika hunkers down and digs where SearchMan tells him to. His hands are nearly trembling too much to actually dig - from excitement rather than the cold - but he manages, and SearchMan's breath quickens when he sees a flash of grey through the snow.
It doesn't take long to dig out the grave, though it feels almost like an eternity. And when Raika finally does manage to dig it out, he freezes in place, breath misting out, eyes wide. SearchMan steps forward, onto thin air, reappearing on the disturbed snowy ground just in front of the gravestone.
"We did it," Raika whispers. He lets out a delighted laugh made breathless by shock and excitement. "We did it!"
"We found it," SearchMan breathes, feeling a grin spreading on his lips, one he doesn't bother to suppress. He's too busy staring at the name on the gravestone.
Keiko Blaze.