"So," Arcadia says, looking at ProtoMan, "you're able to stay materialised because you're a Virus Navi."
"Mimic thinks I can stay materialised because I'm a Virus Navi," ProtoMan corrects him.
"Right, yeah, sorry." His little brother nods and then looks at Bass. "And you're able to stay materialised because, like Trill, you're an independent NetNavi."
"That's something even a low-AI program could work out," Bass scoffs.
Arcadia hums, frowning, and his clawed fingers go to his chin. " . . . So why am I able to stay materialised . . . ?"
ProtoMan watches him think and wishes, not for the first time, that he could have the ability to read Arcadia's thoughts the same way he can kinda read Chaud and Mimic's thoughts. He's not stupid - he hopes he's not, anyway - but Arcadia's pretty damn smart, and being able to hear how his brother thinks about these kinda problems would be super cool.
But Arcadia's the one who's got the Empath Program, and the only thing ProtoMan has of that is Arcadia's ability to hear Chaud and Mimic's direct thoughts like they're saying them out loud. Kinda. Though that's just a result of the exchange of data that occurred when Chaud and Mimic first started using Switch Fusion, and some of ProtoMan's data got mixed up with Arcadia's. Or their data crossed over and then got mixed up, whichever one it was.
That's also what made ProtoMan and Arcadia actual brothers rather than adoptive brothers. ProtoMan's systems aren't compatible with the Empath Program - no Navi's systems aside from Arcadia's are - so the only ability he got was the aforementioned 'hear Chaud and Mimic's direct thoughts' thing. Though they never actually figured out what Arcadia got out of that . . .
ProtoMan stops, and blinks under his visor.
"What is it?" Arcadia asks. "It feels like you've just realised something."
"I think you can stay materialised because of me," ProtoMan replies.
Arcadia and Bass stare at him.
" . . . You're gonna have to explain, cat," Bass eventually says, after several moments of silence.
"Oh, right. Uh . . ." ProtoMan feels coldness against his side and glances down briefly to see Dark Shadow pressing up against him, curious. He turns back to Arcadia and Bass, who're still waiting for an explanation. "Okay, so, you know how I can hear Chaud and Mimic's direct thoughts 'cus mine and Arcadia's data kinda crossed over and made us brothers for real?"
Arcadia's eyes widen, understanding immediately, but Bass still looks confused.
"The fuck?" he asks, staring at ProtoMan like he's suddenly announced that he's going for a swim. "I understood fucking none of that, someone explain it to me in plain Japanese, please."
ProtoMan has no idea how to word it in a way that'll make sense. He's pretty sure what he said did make sense, anyway, so he's not entirely sure why Bass doesn't get it. Arcadia opens his mouth, probably about to try and explain it himself - he's better with words than ProtoMan is, honestly - but their conversation is interrupted by Chaud and Mimic, who slip out of the undergrowth as easily as the cats they are.
"Pat's almost done cooking, she says-" Chaud pauses and blinks at them. " . . . Did we miss something?"
"The cat said some shit that doesn't make sense," Bass informs the twins.
"He always says shit that don't make sense," Mimic says.
"Not always." ProtoMan frowns at her, offended.
His secondary operator gives him a look, and he purses his lips. After a very brief pause, he concedes the point with a shrug.
"Alright, I say a lotta bullshit," he admits.
"We were talking about why I can stay materialised even though I'm not a Virus Navi or an independent Navi," Arcadia explains. "And ProtoMan thought maybe it has something to do with how we became brothers for real."
Mimic perks up at that, and Chaud looks very interested.
"Is someone gonna explain what the fuck we're on about?" Bass demands.
"You know ProtoMan can hear our direct thoughts, right?" Chaud checks. Bass nods. "And you also know why that happened?"
"Something about that Switch Fusion thing. Right?"
"Right," Chaud confirms, with a nod of his own. "Well, their data got crossed over when Mimic and I used Switch Fusion for the first time, and now they have some of each others' data inside themselves - and that's how they became actual brothers-"
"-same way me an' Chaud're twins," Mimic interjects.
"We only ever figured out what abilities - or ability - ProtoMan got from that exchange of data," Chaud continues. "As far as we know, Arcadia never got anything from it, aside from enough of ProtoMan's data to become his actual little brother."
"An' from what ProtoMan's sayin'-"
"-it sounds like we may have finally figured out what ability Arcadia got from that."
Bass's eyes widen in sudden comprehension. "Oh. Well . . . shit."
Arcadia is frowning, though. "I . . . I know this is gonna sound extremely ungrateful and childish, but I can't help feeling like I got the worst data file out of a random package."
"Worst what outta what?" Mimic looks completely bewildered.
"I think the human equivalent is 'short end of the stick'," ProtoMan explains, and her expression clears.
"Not that I'm not enjoying being able to stay out here for as long as I please," Arcadia begins, "but this is . . . this is an extremely specific ability. It's literally only useful in a reality that's not even ours. And I don't get anything else? That's it?"
"Gotta admit, that's a good point," ProtoMan says, frowning. "And on that note, my ability to stay materialised is stupidly-specific, too. We can't do this in our own reality."
"Well, it's been useful so far, even if it's only just for the duration of this . . . trip," Chaud says, pausing for a brief moment before the last word. Seems like he couldn't decide what the hell this insane adventure should be called.
"Oh, I'm not complaining about it, I'm just . . ." ProtoMan shrugs helplessly. "Well, I'd rather be able to materialise in our reality as well, instead of just this one."
"CopyBot," Mimic reminds him.
"But I can't use it all the time!" ProtoMan whines. "I gotta wait my turn and wait for the battery to re-charge and that takes forever!"
Arcadia presses his lips together, but ProtoMan sees the little amused smile anyway.
"Quit laughing at me," he grumbles. "I thought cats were supposed to be assholes, not owls."
"I read a thing on the internet that said owls are the avian equivalent of cats," Mimic says.
ProtoMan pauses. "That . . . explains a lot, actually," he admits.
Chaud raises an eyebrow at Mimic. "Do you even know what 'avian' means?"
"'Course I do," she replies, offended. "Means birbs."
" . . . Don't you mean 'birds'?"
"No."
"Maybe we should head back to camp before this conversation gets any more out of hand," Arcadia says, most likely out of pity for the bewildered Chaud.
"Never heard a better idea in my entire fucking life," Bass mutters, and he takes the lead as they head back.
Ms. Fahran now insists on being called Pat, but Raika still calls her Ms. Fahran because that's polite. Also because Ms. Fahran is what he knew her as first, so that's what he, personally, prefers to call her.
Whatever she insists on being called, she is definitely a godsend on their quest. Raika only knows how to cook basic meals because he, like all other Sharoan Net Savers, was given survival training. The only thing Dingo can cook with any competence is curry, and the same goes for Lan. Maylu, as far as Raika is aware, has no idea how to cook at all. As for the twins, well, if what Lan says about their habit of almost burning down their friend's kitchen every so often is true, it's probably best that neither of them are allowed to cook. Then there's Baryl, who, like Raika, only knows the basics in order to survive in the wild.
But Ms. Fahran is a literal gourmet chef, and she has the astonishing ability to turn even horrible-looking food into something that anyone would be willing to eat. Even better now that they have a steady supply of meat thanks to ProtoMan apparently taking it upon himself to be their hunter, plus most of them have gathered a good collection of canned food and such from various towns, and both Ms. Fahran and Baryl have decent knowledge of edible plants and berries, so they get to eat pretty good food whenever they stop to make camp.
It also helps that some of them ended up getting cooking supplies somewhere along the way. Raika and Dingo didn't, because it was slightly pointless seeing as neither of them could really make use of those types of supplies, and Lan never really got the chance to since the only town he came across was the fishing village. On the other hand, Chaud and Maylu were given an actual cookbook after helping to save a town from a Zoanoroid attack, and Mimic managed to trick an entire town into giving up a relatively decent set of cooking supplies despite not knowing how to use them properly.
"Dinnertime!" Ms. Fahran calls. Everyone but the twins and their Navis are here, so she's likely calling out like that to get their attention.
"Woohoo!" Lan cheers, practically bouncing forward to eagerly take a plate from Ms. Fahran.
Raika gets to his feet in a much calmer manner, but he can't deny that he feels just as eager as Lan. Literally anything that Ms. Fahran cooks is guaranteed to be amazing, even the simple stuff.
Ms. Fahran has handed out plates to everyone in camp when the twins and their Navis finally show up. Mimic and Chaud spot the food and immediately make a beeline for it, making Ms. Fahran laugh, and then ProtoMan bounds over and begs for some of the leftover meat.
Raika isn't entirely sure if it counts as 'leftovers' since Ms. Fahran has actually said that she purposefully cooks a bit extra specifically for ProtoMan's sake, but if ProtoMan knew she was actually cooking it for him, he'd probably think he was depriving one of the humans of food and would refuse to eat - so naturally, the best way to make sure he actually does eat the meat is to pretend it's just leftovers that would otherwise go to waste if he didn't eat it.
The only other Navis who eat are Trill and Iris. Trill because he enjoys doing the same thing as everyone else, and everyone else is currently eating - and Iris because Ms. Fahran admitted to feeling guilty about leaving her out since she looks like a human and it's difficult to remember that she's actually a NetNavi. It's not like it matters anyway, since they have a steady supply of food (mostly in the form of whatever animal ProtoMan hunts down next, and whatever plants and berries Baryl brings back).
"Amazing as always, Ms. Fahran," Raika says, when he's finished. "Thank you!"
"Ah, I told you, just call me Pat," the woman laughs.
Raika shrugs and starts collecting the plates. They're simple plastic, so they don't need to worry about accidentally breaking any, and once they've been washed up in the nearby stream (they use MegaMan's Aqua Cross if there isn't a convenient source of water nearby), he hands them to ProtoMan, who feeds them into Dark Shadow's seemingly-infinite storage space along with the rest of the cooking supplies. Very handy, Raika has to admit.
It's getting late, so rather than continuing on, the group just settles down. They agreed that they should travel during the day and rest during the night, which is what they did even when they were separated, though they'll travel through the night if it becomes necessary. Raika doesn't see it becoming necessary, since it's far more dangerous to travel at night, when the only ones who have any hope of seeing incoming threats are the twins and ProtoMan.
"Hey, guys," Arcadia suddenly says, after almost half an hour of comfortable quiet. He waits until everyone is paying attention before continuing. "Guess what? ProtoMan figured out why I'm able to stay materialised!"
"S'just a theory," ProtoMan mumbles around a piece of raw sabre-cat meat. Yes, he hunted and killed a sabre-cat. Raika is not ashamed to admit that he was thoroughly impressed when ProtoMan dragged its corpse back to camp.
"A very good theory," Arcadia retorts, and ProtoMan concedes the point with a shrug, likely because he just wants to focus on eating.
"So what is this theory, then?" Lan asks.
"You remember how we became actual brothers?" Arcadia gestures to himself and ProtoMan. "When Mimic and Chaud accidentally discovered Switch Fusion?"
"Yeah, and your data kinda got crossed over," Lan says, but he looks a little puzzled. "What's that gotta do with why you can stay materialised?"
"I'm getting to that. ProtoMan got my ability to hear Mimic and Chaud's direct thoughts out of that exchange of data, remember?"
They all nod at that. All of them except Ms. Fahran and Baryl, who look completely lost. They'll probably have to explain this to them later.
"But we never really figured out what I got out of that," Arcadia goes on, and Raika's eyes widen as sudden comprehension dawns on him. "ProtoMan is able to stay materialised in this reality because he's a Virus Navi - there's enough virus data in him that he can ignore the ten-minute time limit, basically. And apparently I got that same ability from him."
"That would certainly explain your ability to stay materialised," Raika says. "Do you think maybe some of ProtoMan's virus data crossed over to you?"
"Either that or I just got the ability directly," Arcadia agrees, nodding. "If I do have some of ProtoMan's virus data in me, it's not enough to make me a Virus Navi, but it's enough to let me stay out here."
"How much virus data does a NetNavi need to have in order to stay materialised, I wonder?" MegaMan speaks up thoughtfully. "I mean, technically speaking, Proto Cross makes me a Virus Navi as well, so would I be able to stay materialised if I used it? Would the same also apply for Arcadia Cross?"
"That's . . . an interesting question," Arcadia muses, with a curious frown.
"If we test it, can we use Arcadia Cross?" Lan asks.
"What's wrong with my Cross?" ProtoMan demands, giving him an offended look. The image is kind of ruined by the fact that he's still chewing on his meat, though.
"Nothing!" Lan quickly says, holding his hands up in a placating manner. Then he winces. "It's just . . . your Cross makes MegaMan go nuts. Kinda. I . . . don't wanna deal with a crazy MegaMan."
ProtoMan gapes at him for a moment, and then closes his mouth with an audible snap and puffs his cheeks out indignantly before turning away with a huff. Chaud gives his primary Navi an amused look and then reaches out to pat his head sarcastically, which only makes ProtoMan even more indignant.
"I kinda wanna see MegaMan go nuts," Dingo says, raising his hand. "Use Proto Cross!"
"No!" Lan exclaims, horrified.
"Would Proto Cross make MegaMan a cannibal?" Maylu speaks up, exchanging a worried glance with Roll.
ProtoMan glances over his shoulder at them, looking faintly upset. "Why have you always gotta say it like that? Seriously, you two are literally the only ones here who don't like it."
"You're eating Zoanoroids! Of course we don't like it!" Roll cries, in a shrill voice. "What's next, actual NetNavis?"
"I personally don't see any issue with the cannibalism," SearchMan says, appearing on Raika's shoulder to offer his own opinion. "As long as he doesn't eat anyone we know or anyone important, that is." Then he looks thoughtful. "Actually, perhaps we could feed criminals to him . . ."
"Oooh, yeah!" ProtoMan whirls around excitedly. "Then the other criminals would be super-scared and they wouldn't commit any more crimes, right?"
"Something along those lines."
"Why does it seem like this group can never stay on a single topic of conversation for more than half a minute?" Baryl wonders. "I thought it was just Mimic and her Navis, but apparently it's all of them . . ."
"You get used to it," Ms. Fahran replies, with a shrug.
"Though they do bring up a good point," MegaMan says, putting a thoughtful hand on his chin. "Maylu and Roll, that is. Would using Proto Cross make me a cannibal, too? I got it before ProtoMan started eating Zoanoroids, but it's still his Cross, and he was already a carnivore before that."
"Maybe we can find a Zoanoroid, beat it into submission, and then you can go Proto Cross and see if you wanna eat it," TomahawkMan suggests.
"But Arcadia said I could eat the next Zoanoroid we come across!" ProtoMan protests.
"You could share, you know," Bass points out.
"I'm not sharing my food with anyone!"
"What about me and Mimic?" Chaud asks curiously.
ProtoMan pauses, tilting his head. " . . . I'll share with you two," he eventually decides.
"And me?" Arcadia looks at him.
"You too. But no one else! Not even MegaMan!"
"Oh, c'mon, just one little bite for a test!" MegaMan tries to persuade him.
ProtoMan scowls. "No," he snaps. "Not even one bite! It's my food, not yours!"
"Stop being so selfish!"
"No!"
Trill glances up from where he's gently tossing one of his virus cubes from one hand to the other. "MegaMan always tells me that sharing with your family and friends is a good thing," he says, like a wise little monk. "And that being selfish is mean."
"I'm not being mean, I just don't wanna share my food," ProtoMan grumbles, crossing his arms.
"But that's still selfish," Trill points out, blinking.
ProtoMan glares at MegaMan. "You turned your little brother against me," he complains.
MegaMan just looks decidedly smug. "Good boy, Trill."
Trill beams, and ProtoMan grumbles something else before he turns and buries his face in one of Arcadia's wings, evidently deciding he doesn't want to deal with this anymore. Arcadia, for his part, doesn't even blink and just reaches over to pat his big brother as sarcastically as Chaud did.
"These kids are insane," Baryl mutters.
"You get used to it," Ms. Fahran repeats.
The next morning, the group wakes up, eats a damn good meal courtesy of Pat, and gets moving once again. Iris is acting as their sole navigator now, since she's the one with the map to the Wily Research Facility.
Two hundred kilometres to the northwest, Chaud remembers. It's going to take a good few days for them to actually get there, especially since they're walking on foot. There's also the fact that they currently have no less than eight humans and eleven NetNavis - five of which stay materialised all the time - in their group. Yeah, this is definitely going to take a while.
Raika estimated their travel-time to be something like ten days, maybe. Chaud thinks he was overestimating - with this many people, even if some of them are NetNavis, it's going to take far longer than ten days.
They did consider using a vehicle to travel, but the dimensional area research lab only had one car, and no matter how much they searched, they couldn't find any more. They certainly couldn't find any carts to attach to that single car, and the car itself would only fit five or six of them, maybe seven at a stretch. So, they're walking.
Chaud and Mimic have no objections. Neither do any of the materialised Navis. Baryl is apparently used to travelling on foot like this, and Raika, being Raika, has no complaints to make either. Lan seems okay, but he'll probably start getting tired soon enough, and already Maylu and Dingo are getting worn out. Pat is a completely different case - she voices no complaints, and Chaud suspects she wouldn't even if she had any, but Arcadia says she's fine for now.
"An anime," Baryl says, eyes narrow in incredulity. "She knows the future . . . because of an anime."
"Yep," Lan agrees, nodding. Chaud and Mimic gave him permission to tell Iris, Pat, and Baryl about Mimic's origins (such as they are), and he's already told Iris and Pat, so now it's just Baryl.
Who seems to be fairly confused. "I'm not sure I understand," he confesses. "What . . . what exactly is an 'anime', if it's not dreams, and why would it give your sister knowledge of the future?"
"Uhh . . ." Lan purses his lips, clearly trying to work out how to word it. "An anime is . . . okay, do you know what a cartoon is?"
"Yes. I used to watch them when I was a small child. Obviously TV isn't a thing anymore, but I still remember what a cartoon is."
"Right, that's a start, at least. Well, an anime is kinda like a cartoon. It's . . . What country is this?"
The sudden change in topic doesn't appear to startle Baryl. "It's not a country, it's a region. And it doesn't have a name. None of them do - there's no point, not when the Zoanoroids have torn apart most of the planet."
Lan looks fairly disconcerted at that. "Ah . . . right." He clears his throat awkwardly. "Well, where we're all from, there's a country called Japan - and the Japanese version of cartoons is anime. Mimic loves anime, like, a lot."
Not as much as I love games, Mimic thinks, sending a pulse of amusement to Chaud.
Hush, I'm trying to listen, he replies, and she falls silent, though her amusement doesn't fade.
"And this anime, this Japanese cartoon thing, is what gives Mimic her knowledge of the future?" Baryl asks. Lan nods, and he frowns. "That doesn't make sense. From what I remember, cartoons were completely fictional, and if they referenced any actual events, it was mostly accidental. How could this 'anime' thing have been so accurate that your ten-year-old sister is able to predict the future of both your reality and mine?"
Chaud doesn't stop walking, but he does mentally pause upon hearing that. He also feels Mimic's incredulous flash of confusion.
" . . . Ten-year-old sister?" Lan repeats, looking just as confused as Chaud and Mimic feel.
"She's ten, isn't she?" Baryl asks. "She certainly looks like a ten-year-old."
"She's twelve," Lan tells him, and Baryl actually stops walking for a second before forcing himself to continue.
"Thirteen," MegaMan corrects his operator, appearing on his shoulder.
" . . . What?"
"The twins' birthday was last week," MegaMan clarifies. "They're thirteen, now."
Lan makes a noise like air escaping from a balloon.
"It's okay," Chaud calls out, because the look on his brother's face is almost heart-breaking. "We don't mind."
"Yes we do," Mimic says.
"We don't mind that much," Chaud corrects himself.
"Yes we do."
I'm trying to make him feel better, Chaud hisses, sending a flash of mild annoyance to Mimic.
Why? That look on his face is hilarious.
Chaud sighs mentally. You are a terrible example of a human being, you know that?
You say that like you're any better.
Chaud glares at her, but refrains from commenting any further. He's not going to encourage his asshole of a twin sister.
"They're thirteen?" Baryl looks completely shocked for a different reason to poor Lan. "But they look like ten-year-olds!"
"They're small for their age," Lan manages to say, though he still looks gutted. "Um, a-anyway, Mimic's anime . . ."
Chaud presses his lips together and drops back a little, dragging Mimic with him. They've already made their poor brother miserable enough, he'd rather not risk Mimic making it any worse-
Fucking excuse me. Mimic cuts into his thoughts, giving him an offended look. I felt your amusement too, you know! Quit acting like you're so righteous!
ProtoMan, Chaud calls, rather than replying to Mimic.
She looks puzzled for a second, before her expression abruptly becomes outrageously indignant when ProtoMan reaches down and picks her up like a doll.
You're in time-out for the next two hours, Chaud tells her. ProtoMan, don't let her down.
"You gotcha!" ProtoMan agrees brightly, completely ignoring Mimic's attempts to struggle.
Put me down, you asshole! she snaps.
"Nope, sorry, you can't order me around," ProtoMan cheerfully tells her.
Traitor!
"I'm obeying my operator, and right now that's Chaud, not you. Therefore, I'm not a traitor."
"He's right, you know," Arcadia speaks up from behind them.
Mimic's almost comical feeling of betrayal flashes through their connection, and it takes everything Chaud has not to burst out laughing. He doesn't want to delay this journey . . . trip . . . quest . . . whatever it is, just because he's too busy laughing at his twin sister to walk properly.
He can't believe it. He doesn't want to believe it.
But MegaMan shows him the date - or the date as it is back home, anyway - and Lan can't deny it anymore.
He missed his siblings' birthday. Their first actual birthday together, the first one they would've had with their new family, the first one where Lan would've gotten to say 'happy birthday' to both of them instead of just Chaud (or Mimic pretending to be Chaud, but same difference).
That's . . . that's just not fair.
As soon as we get back to our own reality, Lan vows, we're celebrating their birthday.
Who cares if it's a few days out of date? They've all been trapped in an alternate reality for the past couple of weeks, for god's sake. There's gotta be some kind of leniency. Mom and Dad'll probably be happy to celebrate the twins' birthday, too.
Thinking of Mom and Dad suddenly fills Lan with an intense kind of longing. He misses his parents, and he knows Mimic and Chaud miss them, too. Everyone in their group - well, everyone in their group who isn't from Beyondard, anyway - probably misses their families.
"Hey, Mimic?" Lan glances over at his little sister, who's still pouting from being put into a time-out earlier.
She grunts, not even bothering to look up from the ruined city path they're walking on.
Lan drops back so he's walking beside her. "I was wondering . . . how did we get back home, in your anime?"
That makes her look up. "Y'wanna go home?"
"Well, of course." He's a little surprised by the question. "Don't you?"
"Yeah," Mimic says, with a slight incline of her head. "Miss Mom an' Dad. An' Ragdoll. Chaud misses 'em too. Don't worry about gettin' home, though. This goes the way it did in the anime, we ain't gonna have to worry."
"How come?"
"You guys got sent back as soon as the Beast Factor was gone," she explains. "Just kinda . . . vanished. Y'know in Arceus and the Jewel of Life, how Ash an' them nearly get erased from history? Kinda like that."
Lan stares at her, horror slowly creeping up his throat.
" . . . Visually," Mimic says, evidently realising what she just said. "I meant visually, that's what it's like. You just got sent back into the Fossa Ambience and went home, you didn't get erased or anythin'."
"Mimic," Lan says slowly and carefully, "I know you like scaring the hell outta people, but seriously, you gotta stop that sometimes . . ."
"Wasn't intentional this time." She looks almost offended.
Lan's not entirely sure if he can believe her.
"Hurry up, you two!" Raika calls from ahead, making them glance up. "Iris wants to get to the ferry before the viruses in this city find us!"
"Ferry?" Mimic blinks.
"Oh, right, I forgot you guys were off trying to . . . hunt or whatever," Lan says. "We've gotta cross the strait. Iris said there used to be a ferry that runs from one side to the other, though it's obviously not in use anymore since-"
"Can't use the ferry," Mimic interrupts, speeding up to a sort of power-walk. Lan, puzzled, picks up the pace as well. "We gotta go a different route."
"A different route?" Lan frowns. "Is this 'cus you don't like water, or is it from your-"
"Call Iris, tell her to stop."
She's obviously not going to explain why she's getting so worked out about this, but Mimic never really freaks out without good reason - well, she doesn't freak out like this without good reason, at least. So rather than questioning his sister, he does as she tells him to.
"Guys!" he calls, getting the attention of the rest of the group ahead of them. "Mimic wants us to stop!"
Most of the group - those who're from Lan's own reality, that is - immediately do as he says. Everyone from Lan's reality is used to Mimic doing things like this, so they know to listen when she tells them stuff. Those who're from this reality, however, only stop because they're confused and clearly want to know why Mimic wants them to stop.
"The Beast viruses could find us at any moment," Iris says, with an expression somewhere between anxious worry and complete confusion. "Why do you want us to stop?"
"We can't use the ferry," Mimic says.
"Ferry?" Chaud looks surprised. "What ferry? I don't . . ." He pauses, and then his eyes widen. "Oh. Yeah, okay, we're not using the ferry."
Some of the others look faintly bewildered at that, but Lan understands what just happened - Mimic must have told Chaud about the ferry and probably why they can't use the ferry, too. Thoughts are a lot faster than verbal speech, a fact which is constantly proven by how quickly Mimic and Chaud can have mental conversations. Lan sometimes wonders how ProtoMan and Arcadia are able to keep up with those conversations, but maybe it's just down to practise.
"Is someone gonna explain what's going on any time this century?" Dingo asks, looking between Mimic and Chaud.
"Mimic said we're supposed to go through an undersea tunnel," Chaud explains, and Iris's eyes widen.
"But the undersea tunnel is-" she begins worriedly.
"We're usin' the tunnel," Mimic interrupts.
"There's a fort-"
"We're usin' the tunnel," Mimic repeats.
"It would be safer to-"
"We are using," Mimic says slowly and clearly, "the tunnel."
Iris purses her lips, looking faintly disgruntled.
"I've learnt it's best not to argue with Mimic about things like this," Raika speaks up. "If she says to use the undersea tunnel, then we should use the undersea tunnel. Where is it, exactly?"
Iris continues to look disgruntled for a moment, before she sighs and starts walking back the way they came, gesturing for the group to follow her. "This way. I'll explain more once we're out of the city."
Which means they walked all this way for basically no reason, but maybe they should've mentioned where they were going before. Mimic might've told them about the undersea tunnel before they even got into the city - though she isn't really explaining why they can't use the ferry.
In Lan's opinion, an undersea tunnel actually sounds much easier than using a ferry. For one thing, they won't need to worry about random Beast virus attacks - either from any viruses hiding inside the ferry itself, or from the air or the water. It also sounds much more direct and easier to navigate than a ferry. And on top of that, he wasn't entirely sure whether Pat could handle something like a ferry.
After all, the last time she was on a ship like that, it got sank by a Zoanoroid and she, SlashMan, and Fuzzball were literally the only survivors. Lan would rather avoid any potential triggers for Pat and her Navi, no matter how much they insisted they were fine with using the ferry.
So, he's actually kinda relieved that they're not gonna be using the ferry now.
They make it back out of the ruined city with no incidents, though SearchMan warns them that they came very close to crossing paths with a small horde of Beast viruses heading in the direction of the ferry on the other side of the city. It's a good thing they didn't go that way after all, because even if they have nine battle-capable NetNavis ready and willing to fight at any given moment, they can't really afford to fight too much. Ten minutes isn't that long, and only three of those nine Navis are able to stay materialised however long they please, though even those three will tire out eventually.
Iris leads them to a forest that's a few hours away from the city. After the desert wasteland, it seems that forests are the most common type of terrain in this reality, because they spent the whole of yesterday making their way through another forest that was bordering on a jungle. At least ProtoMan was happy about it.
The group settles down in a wide clearing, and Iris takes out her PET and brings up a map of the region. She zooms in on the strait, showing them the route they would've taken with the ferry, and then another route underneath it, which she explains is the undersea tunnel.
"The tunnel is a more direct route across the strait," Iris tells them. "It's sturdy and has excellent anti-virus systems, so Beast viruses won't be able to enter."
"Wait, if that's the case, why not just go straight to the tunnel?" Dingo speaks up, blinking. "Why'd we go for the ferry, first?"
"Yeah," Maylu says, frowning. "If there was a better route to begin with . . ."
"I've heard of this tunnel," Baryl says, making everyone glance at him. "Commander Mask told me about it once. The CM Forces used to use it to take supplies across the strait. It was easier than using boats."
"Used to?" Lan repeats.
"We can't use it anymore, because the Falzar army built a fortress in front of the entrance, to stop the Gregar army from moving across the ocean," Baryl replies. He glances at Iris. "That's why you wanted to use the ferry, right?"
She nods. "That's right. I didn't want to risk running into any Zoanoroids - Beast viruses are bad enough, but they're easily-defeated, and there's no chance of them sending our location back to whichever Cybeast they're aligned with. But the undersea tunnel will guarantee that we run into Zoanoroids."
"There's no way Falzar would leave such an important place unguarded," Baryl agrees grimly.
"So . . . the ferry would have been easier, then," Raika says.
"Yes," Iris replies softly.
"I'm not the biggest fan of ships," Pat begins, "but even I can see the sense in using one." She glances at Mimic, raising an eyebrow. "So why'd you want us to take the tunnel, when it's obviously so much more dangerous?"
"'Cus that's where Kirisaki's goin'," Mimic replies.
Lan draws a blank on that, not recognising the name at all. But Baryl obviously recognises it, as do ProtoMan and Bass.
"Kirisaki?" Baryl repeats, sitting up straight and looking at her in surprise. "You're sure about that?"
"As sure as I was when I told you not to go to Gregar's camp," she says, and Baryl's eyes widen.
"I wanna see KillerMan again, I didn't get to say 'hi' last time," ProtoMan says eagerly. "He seemed like a fun guy."
"Are they gonna join this group, too?" Bass wonders, frowning. "There's way too many people right now as it is."
"Hold on, did you just say KillerMan?" Lan sits up and gapes at ProtoMan. "As in the KillerMan me and MegaMan have a Cross of?"
"Yep, that's him! He's Kirisaki's NetNavi."
Lan blinks. "Huh. Go figure."
"They've got a mission to destroy the fortress in front'a the tunnel," Mimic explains, getting everyone back on track. "We help 'em, we can use the tunnel no problem." She glances at ProtoMan. "An' there's gonna be five Zoano CutMen guardin' the place."
ProtoMan squeaks quietly, practically vibrating where he's sitting. It's honestly a little unsettling, how excited he's getting over this. Arcadia just looks extremely amused at his brother's excitement.
"If you know about the fortress," Iris says, looking at Mimic, "then you also know what's in this forest, don't you?"
"'Course I do."
"What's in this forest?" Maylu asks, nervously looking around.
"Falzar's mobile base," Iris explains. "I'm not sure which Zoanoroid is in charge of it-"
"Another CutMan," Mimic interrupts.
Iris's pause only lasts for a heartbeat. "-but I know which area the base operates in, and it's this one. We need to tread carefully, there are sensors everywhere and tripping even a small alarm will bring the base up-"
"Food!" ProtoMan cheers, and he immediately runs off.
"Wait!" Arcadia yelps, eyes widening as he jumps to his feet, but it's too late.
ProtoMan makes a beeline straight for the other side of the clearing. Lan spots a very faint red line going across the middle just before ProtoMan deliberately runs through it, and then a sharp alarm rings out and a loud rumbling sound, almost like an earthquake, drowns it out.
The ground shakes and breaks apart, and a huge metallic dome rises up. Lan watches it with wide eyes, torn between shock and a mild curiosity to find out how it works, and ProtoMan practically bounces in excitement when the top of the dome opens up and a Zoanoroid standing on a platform rises up out of it.
"I thought he was supposed to be good at stealth," Raika grumbles, getting to his feet and taking out his PET.
"You try telling him to stop when there's food up for grabs," Chaud retorts.
"I think ProtoMan's gotten a bit too obsessed with eating Zoanoroids lately," Lan comments.
"Halt, in the name of Lord Falzar!" the Zoanoroid, who is indeed another version of CutMan, shouts. "Humans are not allowed to-" Zoano CutMan pauses, catching sight of the eager ProtoMan. " . . . Wait, aren't you the demon-Navi that Lord Falzar wants?"
"Food!" ProtoMan cries again, and Zoano CutMan blinks.
"Uh-"
The Zoanoroid interrupts himself with a sharp, startled yelp when ProtoMan suddenly launches himself at the dome, digging his claws in and climbing his way up easily. ProtoMan's shadows eagerly whip after their host, and Lan can only imagine how terrified Zoano CutMan must be when ProtoMan and his shadows climb over the top.
"V-viruses!" Zoano CutMan yelps, gesturing wildly. "Attack!"
Flying Beast viruses materialise from nowhere, and Lan decides this is probably a good time to step in.
"MegaMan, go!" he snaps, quickly materialising his Navi.
MegaMan appears, already shooting, and he manages to take down two Beast viruses even before anyone else materialises their own Navis. It seems kinda like overkill, given how many Navis they have on their side (and how few viruses Zoano CutMan materialised), and Lan feels something strangely like guilt as he watches the Navis tear through the Beast viruses.
It's . . . kinda sad, honestly. Poor Zoano CutMan - yeah, he's a bad guy, but he had the misfortune of popping up in front of them, and he's just one Zoanoroid against nine NetNavis, one of whom is actively trying to eat him.
Lan glances up at the top of the dome, and discovers that ProtoMan is no longer trying to eat Zoano CutMan - because he's actually eating him, now. Maybe Zoano CutMan would've been a formidable opponent against literally anyone else, but ProtoMan has a habit of completely ignoring stuff like that in favour of doing whatever the heck he pleases, especially when it comes to food.
The battle is over just as quickly as it began, and ProtoMan looks incredibly disappointed as he slides back down to the ground.
"He was way too small, and too skinny," he complains, trudging over to Mimic and Chaud. He flops down in front of them. "I want more, dammit!"
Mimic has a small but very unsettling smirk on her lips as she crouches down to pet her secondary Navi. "Don't worry, one'a the CutMen at the fortress is fat."
ProtoMan perks up immediately. "Yay, more food!"
Maylu looks like she's about to say something, but Arcadia gives her a narrow-eyed look and she wisely keeps quiet.
" . . . Looks like you don't need our help, after all."
Lan's not the only one who jumps at the sudden voice, though his younger siblings - and their Navis - don't, for obvious reasons. He turns around and sees a boy about their age, maybe a little older, watching them from the treeline. He seems largely impassive, unbothered by the shocked stares he's getting from almost everyone in their group, and also apparently unbothered by the fact that he just witnessed ProtoMan eating a Zoanoroid alive.
And standing beside the boy is a NetNavi twice his size, with odd ghost-like energy-limbs, a wicked-looking scythe, and a wicked-looking grin. The Navi looks familiar somehow, and it takes Lan a moment to place it - he recognises this Navi because MegaMan looked almost exactly like it when he used Killer Cross.
So that Navi must be KillerMan, he realises, and that makes the boy Kirisaki!
Well, Mimic did say that Kirisaki was heading for the fortress too. At least they found him - or he found them, as it happens.
"Colonel Baryl," Kirisaki says, nodding to Baryl. "I wasn't expecting to see you out here. Not so soon, anyway." He glances at Mimic, who offers him a cheerful little wave. "Wasn't expecting to see you again, either."
"Again?" Lan repeats, blinking. He glances at Mimic too. "You've met him before?"
She gives him a flat look. "I gave you Killer Cross, dumbass."
" . . . Ah. Right." Now he feels like an idiot.
"Mind if I ask why you triggered the base on purpose?" Kirisaki asks ProtoMan.
"I wanted to eat him," ProtoMan replies, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.
Kirisaki looks vaguely disturbed for a moment before his expression settles back into impassiveness. "Fair enough, I suppose."
"You could've left something for me, y'know!" KillerMan complains, though he's laughing. "I would've had a damn good time killing all those viruses!"
Lan blinks. Oh. Well . . . that explains why MegaMan was so eager to 'kill' stuff when he was in Killer Cross. MegaMan gets the personality of the Navis he has Crosses of, and it's obvious that the actual KillerMan is where the 'kill' thing comes from. Lan's not really sure how to feel about that.
It's easy work, dismantling the mobile base. Zoano CutMan didn't have enough time to send any kind of message to Falzar before ProtoMan started eating him, but they discover that some kind of signal - a video transmission - was being sent to a nearby location, which Baryl confirms to be the fortress at the undersea tunnel. That's slightly worrying.
And then Mimic tells them that the CutMan brothers at the fortress saw everything, which is even more worrying. Lan sometimes wonders if she does this on purpose, just to watch their reactions to the horrifying news she drops on them frequently.
Once they're done with the mobile base, they move on, and Kirisaki comes with them. Which makes sense - Mimic said his mission is to destroy the undersea tunnel, so of course he's gonna be heading in the same direction they are. He seems like the kinda guy who'd only let people travel with him very reluctantly, but that doesn't actually seem to be the case, though Lan wonders if that has anything to do with the fact that Mimic and Baryl are here, and Kirisaki already knows them.
Or maybe he would've been happy to let the group tag along regardless of whether or not he already knew some of them. At the very least, his quiet personality is somewhat similar to Mimic, though only in terms of volume. Mimic is the type of person whose quiet personality hides how mischievous she is, while Kirisaki seems to be genuinely quiet.
The one thing they definitely have in common is the fact that they both have a crazy NetNavi with a vaguely-unsettling obsession. For ProtoMan, it's eating Zoanoroids. For KillerMan, it's 'killing' stuff.
"Have you ever considered that maybe eating Zoanoroids isn't a healthy thing to do?" Kirisaki asks in that quiet, half-mumbled tone that Lan's mostly used to from Mimic.
They've stopped for a rest, and there's a fire crackling in the middle of their very temporary camp, courtesy of Baryl. ProtoMan, Arcadia, and Bass dragged over some fallen tree trunks for the group to sit on. Lan's not entirely sure, but he thinks the one he's sitting on is freshly-fallen.
"Isn't healthy?" ProtoMan tilts his head from where he's curled up next to the fire, Dark Shadow crouching with its limbs tucked under its body behind him. "What do you mean?"
"The Zoanoroids have the Beast Factor inside them," Kirisaki explains. "It's part of their data to the point where separating the Beast Factor would delete them immediately. Something so deeply-ingrained would be impossible to eat around, so you've likely consumed the Beast Factor of every single Zoanoroid you've eaten so far."
" . . . I didn't think of that," ProtoMan confesses, looking faintly worried. "Is . . . do you think it'll be a problem?"
"Didn't do much when you ate Zoano NumberMan, an' that was ages ago," Mimic points out, though she too looks a little worried now. Chaud, sitting beside her, seems to share her concerns.
"He's eaten quite a few Zoanoroids since then, too," Raika muses. "If there were any ill effects from consuming the Beast Factor, surely he would've displayed some signs by now?"
Kirisaki frowns thoughtfully. "Perhaps . . ."
"Maybe you should stop eating Zoanoroids for now," Baryl tells ProtoMan, who immediately jerks upright and gapes at him with such comical horror that Lan almost laughs despite the semi-serious topic.
"But they taste really good!" ProtoMan protests. "I don't wanna stop eating 'em . . ."
"Maybe that's the problem," Maylu speaks up. Before anyone can warn her to stop, she continues. "You've gotten more and more obsessed with eating Zoanoroids lately, to the point where you literally made one show up just so you could eat it. Maybe it's like . . . maybe you're addicted to eating Zoanoroids or something."
"I don't . . ." ProtoMan lowers himself down into a crouch, looking upset now. Dark Shadow rises up from its crouch and drapes itself over him comfortingly, but even that doesn't seem to help. "I'm not . . . I'm not addicted, I just . . . I just like eating them . . ."
"Maybe a little bit too much?" Roll suggests dryly, and ProtoMan very nearly flinches.
"It's not like they're Dark Chips," Chaud says sharply, glaring at Maylu and Roll.
Lan almost feels his insides freezing. He hadn't even thought of that - hadn't considered the parallels to ProtoMan steadily becoming more and more obsessed with eating Zoanoroids to the addiction to Dark Chips that Darkloids and other Navis used to have back when the horrible things were circulating the cyberworld.
"I didn't say that," Roll says, in a careful tone like she's trying to keep everyone calm. "I just meant-"
"You just don't like the fact that he's eating Zoanoroids," Chaud interrupts, narrowing his eyes. "What, are you scared he'll eat you, next?"
"I don't eat friends," ProtoMan mumbles dejectedly.
"Maybe you can make an exception for her," Bass says harshly, scowling at Roll. "She seems to be taking offence to every fucking thing you do lately!"
"I'm not-" Roll begins, frowning.
"Guys, guys, cool it!" Lan shouts, springing to his feet. He's alarmed at how quickly this conversation turned into an argument. "Look, Maylu, Roll, I get that you guys don't like ProtoMan doing cannibal stuff, okay? You're allowed to have an opinion and that's fine. But you're forcing it on everyone else and expecting us to go along with it, and that's not fine."
"But-" Maylu tries to protest, but Lan holds up a hand and she goes quiet.
He turns to Chaud and Bass, next. "You're not helping either, you know. You're basically egging this whole thing on."
"You heard what that damn Navi said!" Bass snaps, glaring at him.
"Yeah, I did, and like I just said, she's allowed to have an opinion - as long as she doesn't force it on other people," Lan retorts. Chaud is watching him with a calm but wary expression, and Bass looks like he wants to protest, so Lan continues before he can even open his mouth. "You guys are doing the exact same thing by trying to force Maylu and Roll to be okay with ProtoMan's cannibalism. You've gotta remember that what you guys think is okay isn't necessarily what everyone else thinks is okay." He glances at Mimic, who blinks at him slowly. "Like, say . . . tricking towns into giving you free food."
Mimic tilts her head a little, but doesn't offer an opinion of her own.
"Guys, we're basically stuck with each other until we get back home," Lan says, now talking to the group as a whole - even those who're from this reality. "I know it's impossible for us to get along all the time, but arguing like this definitely isn't gonna help. The least we could do is just agree to disagree, or come up with some kinda compromise, maybe. Whatever, as long we're not arguing every step of the way, or making each other upset over conflicting opinions."
He pauses and waits for someone to respond. After a few moments of silence, he becomes aware that everyone in the group is looking at him with varying degrees of quiet awe, even the newcomer Kirisaki. It's kinda impossible to ignore the looks once he becomes aware of them.
Lan shifts uncomfortably and continues to wait for someone to speak.
"That was quite a speech," Kirisaki eventually says, much to his relief. "You're a very honest person, Lan Hikari. And impressive - remaining impartial like that isn't an easy thing to do."
"Impartial?" Lan blinks at him. "But . . . I don't think I'm impartial, I mean . . . I care about everyone in this group, so . . ."
"Being impartial simply means not favouring one thing over another," Kirisaki explains. "You just did that. And you managed to cool down an argument that could have easily gotten out of hand. An argument which I accidentally started, so I apologise for that, but my point still stands."
"Oh . . . well . . . thanks, I guess?"
Kirisaki acknowledges his thanks with a nod.
"Y'know," Pat speaks up, making everyone glance at her, "what you just said, about compromises . . . that gave me an idea."
Lan perks up. "Yeah?"
"ProtoMan's a carnivore," Pat says. "I mean, obviously, right? He's a cat-Navi, and as far as I know, the only thing he's eaten so far has been meat and Zoanoroids."
"I've eaten other stuff, too," ProtoMan interjects. "But, yeah, it's mostly meat. And-" He glances at Maylu and Roll briefly. "-Zoanoroids, as well."
"Right, so . . . since you like eating Zoanoroids so much, but it's kinda freaking out those two," Pat says, gesturing to Maylu and Roll, "how about eating something else? Like, say, raw meat? You've eaten that before, right? Maybe the raw meat of actual flesh and blood creatures won't be the exact same, but it might be similar enough that you could still enjoy it."
"Fish!" Mimic exclaims, suddenly brightening up. "He can eat fish!"
"Fish, fish, fish!" ProtoMan immediately jumps on that excitedly.
"One problem with that," Raika speaks up, holding up a finger. "We're near the ocean, sure, but we don't have the equipment to catch fish."
ProtoMan deflates with a faint whimper.
"I know how to make a fishing rod outta sticks and string!" Dingo offers. "And I can always use my tomahawk, if it comes down to it. I know all kinds of ways to fish! I can get you all the fish you want!"
ProtoMan perks up again. If he were a dog-Navi instead of a cat-Navi, he'd probably be wagging his tail or something.
"We'll have to sort this all out once we get across the strait," Baryl announces. "Let's focus on getting to the undersea tunnel, first."
No one has any objections, so they all agree to that.
Lan is relieved that the argument was dissolved that easily, honestly. He was absolutely terrified that it would spiral out of control, and maybe someone would storm off and get hurt or something. They're in Beyondard - they can't afford to have something like that happening. And more to the point, he just plain doesn't want his friends to argue with each other like this.
Oh, it's impossible for everyone to get along all the time, he knows that. He even said so himself. But still, he'd rather not have everyone constantly at each others' throats.
The humans get moving again after their brief rest - well, their brief rest plus an argument that almost got way out of hand. MegaMan's extremely proud of Lan for stopping the argument from getting any worse, and like Kirisaki, he's also impressed with his operator for remaining impartial.
It would've been very easy for Lan to take Chaud and Bass's side, after all. Chaud is his little brother, and Bass is technically his cousin. But he didn't - he remained impartial, pointed out the flaws in both sides of the argument, and got everyone to calm down as well.
He's really matured, hasn't he? the core murmurs, and MegaMan picks up a faint sense of pride from it, too.
Yeah, he replies, unable to contain his smile. He started off as a hyper-impulsive kid who sometimes got way in over his head-
What do you mean, 'sometimes'?
Okay, MegaMan laughs, a lot of the time. He got way in over his head a lot of the time. But like you said, he's matured. I know for a fact that it's because he's a big brother, now. I bet if he were still an only child, he'd still be as impulsive and reckless as he was the day I first met him.
He still kind of is.
True, MegaMan admits. But he does think about things, now. That's definitely something.
Your parents will be proud of him, the core notes.
Our parents, MegaMan corrects it.
The core pulses with a faint sense of shock, and then something like hesitant gratitude and warmth.
"Hey, MegaMan?"
He nearly drops the heart container out of surprise, but manages to keep his grip on it. The core pulses rapidly inside the glass, mildly alarmed, and MegaMan turns around.
Roll bites her lip, looking faintly awkward. "S-sorry," she mumbles. "I didn't . . . mean to startle you . . ."
"No, it's okay," MegaMan quickly says. "I should've noticed you coming into Lan's PET. I was just talking to Dark MegaMan."
Roll glances at the core, which is still pulsing a little. "Ah . . . that thing, right . . ."
Thing? The core pulses with mock indignation. How dare she! I'm an it at best.
'It' counts as 'thing', MegaMan reminds it, and it concedes the point with a faint pulse of pale purple light, its own version of a shrug.
"Listen, I just . . . I-I just wanted to ask you something," Roll says, shuffling her feet.
"Go ahead," MegaMan invites.
Roll clasps her hands together behind her back, swinging back and forth idly. "I, um . . . I just wanted to ask . . ." She lets out a faint sigh and evidently decides to just come out with it. "What's your opinion on ProtoMan being a cannibal?"
MegaMan blinks, surprised at the sudden question. The core is similarly surprised - though maybe they shouldn't be, given the topic of the argument that Lan managed to subdue.
"Well . . . I mean, I wouldn't do it myself, if that's what you're asking," he eventually says. "But I can't tell ProtoMan what he can or can't do. Only his operators can do that. And besides, if it makes him happy and it isn't actually hurting him, then . . ."
"What about Trill?"
"I remember he said that he was a little bit scared of ProtoMan when he ate Zoano NumberMan," MegaMan replies. "He's not scared of him now, otherwise he wouldn't be okay to walk with him."
Well, Trill was walking with ProtoMan last time MegaMan checked on the world outside of Lan's PET, at least. Apparently Trill wanted to try and climb into ProtoMan's hair like he used to when he was a baby-Navi, though MegaMan's pretty sure that Trill's too big to do that anymore . . .
"You mentioned trying a bite yourself, in Proto Cross," Roll prompts. "Did you mean it?"
"Me, personally, as I am right now, no," MegaMan says. "But in Proto Cross, I'm pretty sure my opinion would change - I basically get ProtoMan's personality as well as his abilities, remember. So if I did end up eating Zoanoroids, I'd probably only be doing it in Proto Cross."
Not that Lan'll ever let you use it again, the core says, snickering faintly. He's terrified of your energy in that Cross.
That he is, MegaMan agrees, smiling in amusement.
Roll catches sight of it and looks vaguely unsettled. "Why're you smiling?"
"Oh, Dark MegaMan was just talking about how terrified Lan is of Proto Cross's energy," MegaMan explains.
"Ah . . . r-right . . ."
"Roll . . ."
She blinks at him. "Hm?"
MegaMan hesitates for a moment, but forces himself to come out with it, because this needs to be asked. "Do you . . . hate ProtoMan?"
"Hate ProtoMan?" Roll repeats, looking shocked at the question.
"He wasn't exactly nice about it, but Bass does have a point," MegaMan reluctantly says. "You . . . you kinda seem like you're taking offence to everything ProtoMan does, lately. Or everything regarding his eating habits, at least."
Roll looks uncomfortable, now. "Look, I . . . it's not that I hate him or anything. I still consider him a friend. I still want to be his friend. But eating is still kind of a new concept for NetNavis, and ProtoMan . . . he's kinda taking it a bit too far, don't you think?"
"You're doing it again," MegaMan gently warns her. "Remember what Lan said."
"R-right, sorry," Roll says, wincing. "But still. ProtoMan kinda has a habit of going a bit too far with a lot of stuff, doesn't- I mean, I think he does, anyway. And lately, with the food thing, and the cannibalism . . . Look, ProtoMan's my friend, too. I think everyone seems to forget that, for some reason. I just . . ." She sighs. "I don't have to approve of everything he does, you know?"
That's . . . understandable. There's a lot of stuff about ProtoMan that MegaMan himself doesn't exactly approve of - how reckless he is, for one thing, and his habit of self-depreciation, though that one's more along the lines of something that ProtoMan needs to overcome rather than something to be disapproved of.
"I . . . kinda get where you're coming from," MegaMan admits, and Roll perks up a little. She deflates a bit when he continues, though. "But I think you're being kind of . . . mean about it. You're trying to force ProtoMan to stop doing something he likes because you, personally, don't like him doing it. I'm not saying you're wrong or anything, it's just . . ."
" . . . I'm being mean about it," she finishes quietly, and he nods reluctantly. She sighs. "I-I know he's been bullied a lot in the past. I don't like upsetting him, not just because of that but also because he's my friend. I think . . . I think Maylu and I just kinda forgot that he doesn't react well to people . . . being mean about the stuff he does."
"He really doesn't," MegaMan agrees sadly. "And neither do his operators, or his brother. Or Bass, for that matter. I think maybe they're too used to defending ProtoMan from actual bullies."
"Yeah . . ." Roll murmurs. She sighs again. "I'll . . . try and dial it back, and get Maylu to do the same."
"Alright," MegaMan says. He's not going to ask her to ignore ProtoMan's cannibalism, or to try and get over her disapproval. Like Lan said, that's her opinion and she's allowed to have it - but if she starts trying to force her opinion on other people, that's when the issues arise.
Besides, things might get a bit better, now. Pat's idea could help to dial back ProtoMan's obsession with eating Zoanoroids - maybe eating raw meat or raw fish will help to curb that urge. Even MegaMan has to admit that ProtoMan does seem to be getting a bit too obsessed with eating Zoanoroids, after all. He's eaten pretty much every Zoanoroid he's come across so far, or most of them at least.
Roll streams back into Maylu's PET after saying a quick goodbye - to both MegaMan and the core - and MegaMan stands there for a moment. He stares at the far wall of the PET, lost in thought.
Do you think the cannibalism might actually become an issue? the core suddenly asks, startling him. I mean . . . that Kirisaki human has a point. ProtoMan consumed the Beast Factor of every single Zoanoroid he's eaten so far. We don't know what effect that might have on him.
That's true, MegaMan admits, frowning worriedly. But . . . he hasn't turned into a Zoanoroid or anything. And he's only been as crazy as he normally is.
We've only been here for a couple of weeks at best, the core points out. And he hasn't been eating Zoanoroids for that long, either. If there really are any ill effects, they might not show themselves until later.
MegaMan's worry grows, and the core pulses with frantic energy.
Sorry! it exclaims. I didn't mean to . . .
No, it's okay, MegaMan tells it truthfully. He can't lie to it, so there's no point. But now I'm really worried about ProtoMan . . .
. . . Me too, the core quietly admits.
"So you do this kinda thing on your own a lot?" Lan asks, looking over at Kirisaki.
"Sometimes," Kirisaki replies, staring up at the night sky. "Most of the time, actually. I'm . . . what you'd call a loner, I think. Like Colonel Baryl over there, I work better on my own, but I'm willing to work with others if the need arises."
Lan glances over at Baryl, who isn't paying attention to the conversation - rather, he's listening to something that Mimic and ProtoMan are telling him, about the Baryl they knew in their own reality. He seems pretty interested in what they're saying, so he doesn't notice Lan looking at him.
"He's a good man," Lan says quietly. "I bet you're a good guy too, huh, Kirisaki?"
"That depends on your definition of 'good'."
Lan leans back on his hands, feeling the cold rocks of the mountain path digging into his palms. "I define 'good' as people who help others. For any reason."
"Even money?"
"Any reason," Lan repeats. "I mean, there's people like doctors or firefighters or soldiers or whatever who get paid to help people. And me and my siblings get paid for the work we do, too. I'd still do it even if I didn't get paid, but still. Any reason to help people is a good reason, in my opinion. Even if it's selfish."
"True," Kirisaki muses. " . . . I used to only help people if there was good money in it."
Lan glances down at him, but he can tell that Kirisaki wants to talk on his own, so he lets him.
"I was a mercenary," Kirisaki explains. "I suppose I still am, but my outlook on life was changed when I met Commander Mask. He hired me for money at first - a lot of money, actually. Each job he hired me for usually went for something like ten thousand marks at the minimum. I was happy with that, because money was all I cared about at the time. But then one day, I failed a mission."
"What happened?" Lan asks softly.
"I . . . don't want to get into detail, if that's okay with you," Kirisaki says, and Lan nods, accepting that. "Long story short, though . . . I failed my mission, and a lot of people got hurt as a result - people were actually killed. Up until that point, I had a reputation; I never failed a mission. Maybe things went wrong, maybe things didn't work out the way I planned, but I'd never outright failed before. That . . . hurt. Not just failing my mission, but failing all of those people, too.
"I was badly injured during that mission, as well. Commander Mask found me afterwards, and I told him to forget the payment - I shouldn't be entitled to my pay or anything else, because I failed. That's what I thought at the time, anyway. He didn't care about that, though. The only thing he cared about was the fact that I was injured. You want to know what he said to me?"
Lan nods slightly.
Kirisaki doesn't take his eyes off the stars. "He said 'I'll give you a new mission, then. Go and get your injury treated. The reward is five million.' I still remember it, clear as day. I couldn't believe it - he cared more about my well-being than me failing a mission. And that day, he taught me something very important." He blinks slowly, and finally looks at Lan properly. "What's more important than money is the heart. Without it, we're just as bad as the enemies we fight."
"Commander Mask sounds like a really good man," Lan murmurs, smiling.
Surprisingly, Kirisaki actually smiles back at him. "He is. He'd like you, I think."
"Y-you think so?" Lan blinks.
"Mm." Kirisaki goes back to looking at the stars. "Maybe you'll get to meet him soon. You know I'm acting as the forerunner for his unit, right?"
"You said your job is to destroy the fortress so Commander Mask's unit can use it to get across the strait," Lan remembers.
"That's it," Kirisaki agrees, nodding. "Your little sister - Mimic, isn't it? - she gave us a warning about the Zoanoroids in that fortress. Apparently the five Zoano CutMen are going to try and kidnap my 'weak point'. I assume that meant they're going to try and use Commander Mask and his unit against me, as hostages maybe."
Lan keeps quiet. He's not sure what Mimic told Kirisaki about her knowledge of the future - given that Baryl thought she had dreams about the future, it's likely that she fell back on the old 'prophet' lie from the Nebula incident.
"We've done what we can to prevent the CutMan brothers from finding the supporting unit," Kirisaki goes on. "We have everything from sonar disrupters to cloaking systems. If the Zoanoroids don't take Commander Mask's unit hostage, we'll have an easier time destroying the fortress. We might even be able to give you guys a lift to the other side, actually."
"Really?" Lan perks up at that. "That'd be great!"
"It's the least I can do. The least we can do. We humans have to help each other where we can, after all."
Mimic has a plan. Granted, it's not much of a plan - and it relies entirely on whether or not ProtoMan is willing to terrorise the incompetent loons guarding the Falzar fortress in front of the undersea tunnel.
Which he is. He loves terrorising people almost as much as she does - especially since their Zoanoroid scam worked on so many towns. Doesn't matter how much Baryl disapproves, their scam worked and it was fucking awesome. And Mimic's plan is basically the same thing, except they're not pretending that ProtoMan is a Zoanoroid, or even that Bass is a Zoanoroid.
Chaud's ProtoMan's operator at the moment, so he's the one who keeps an eye on ProtoMan's progress. Mimic doesn't do much aside from occasionally check in, because this is her plan but she's not the one who's executing it.
Well, it's better than what Kirisaki tried to get them to do, anyway. His plan was literally just 'run up to the fortress and attack it', and Mimic would rather not die thank you very much, so she promptly informed everyone of the defences the fortress has (and happily included a horrifyingly-detailed description of the guns the Zoanoroids have installed in the walls). That got them to agree to her own plan real quick.
How's it going? she asks, glancing over at Chaud.
He's reached the dungeons now, he replies, keeping his eyes on his PET. The cells are empty, and there aren't any human life signs in the entire fortress, as far as I can tell.
Well, that's awesome. Means her warning wasn't totally useless, after all. She'd had to be so damn vague about it that she wasn't entirely sure if Kirisaki and Commander Mask would even listen, but apparently being 'the girl who sees the future in her dreams' makes people listen to her. Being 'the girl who knows the future because of an anime she watched' doesn't sound nearly as cool, even if it's the truth.
Footsteps, Chaud suddenly says, getting her attention. She perks up. I can see a small CutMan. He's . . . really small, actually, wow. He doesn't seem very strong. That guy's a threat to us?
There's five of them, and they control a fortress with giant guns, Mimic reminds him.
It's a CutMan.
Guns. Big guns. Very big guns.
ProtoMan's following the tiny CutMan now, Chaud says. He did that deliberately, the fucker. They're heading to a control room. Wow, that's a fat CutMan. That's . . . a skinny one. Does that one have hair? And what's up with that one's eyebrows?
You do remember that we fought these guys before, right? Mimic checks. The ones back in our reality, at least.
How does that make this any less weird?
Mimic can't argue with that.
Violent screeching suddenly erupts from Chaud's PET, startling just about everyone aside from Mimic and Chaud himself. ProtoMan's doing his thing, evidently - and just under his screeching, Mimic can hear the panicked screaming of the five Zoano CutMen as they run away.
Yeah, ProtoMan is one of Falzar's targets, but that doesn't mean these guys aren't gonna be fucking terrified when a known cannibal who can turn into a literal demon randomly appears in their fortress and screeches at them. Even better? They saw ProtoMan eating their brother, so they obviously won't want to risk him eating them, too. So they're gonna run, and ProtoMan's gonna chase them until they go exactly where Mimic wants them to go.
Which is outside.
And right on cue, the five Zoano CutMen come running out of their fortress, terrified of the demonic cat-Navi chasing after them, and they run straight into the other nine NetNavis waiting for them.
The Zoano CutMen skid to a stop, caught like deers in headlights, and the Navis unleash their attacks.
MegaMan shoots a Charged Shot, SearchMan shoots a Zero Charge Shot, and TomahawkMan hurls his tomahawk at them. Arcadia and Roll shoot their respective Arrows, Bass calls down a hail of Shooting Stars, Colonel blasts out a Screen Divide, and SlashMan throws his Triple Edge into the mix. KillerMan, being KillerMan, lets out a very exuberant cry and slashes out a wave of energy from his Hell's Sickle.
The five Zoano CutMen somehow survive that barrage of attacks, so ProtoMan sharpens every single one of his shadows and flicks his wrist, and they all stab into the Zoanoroid brothers repeatedly, and eagerly. By the time ProtoMan's shadows are done, the CutMen are more holes than Zoanoroids, and they slump and disintegrate into deletion.
All in all, a very successful plan, if Mimic is allowed to toot her own horn. And she doesn't even know how to play an instrument.
"Hah!" ProtoMan shouts triumphantly, springing to his feet with a sharp-toothed grin. "See, Roll, Maylu? I'm not addicted to eating Zoanoroids, I didn't eat those guys at all!"
Roll presses her lips together, looking faintly uncomfortable, but she glances at MegaMan and keeps quiet. Mimic has no idea what that's about and she's not gonna ask - she doesn't wanna risk Roll making any more derogatory comments about ProtoMan's cannibalism.
"That was a good plan," Kirisaki says, distracting everyone from ProtoMan for the moment. He gives Mimic an appreciative nod. "Well done. I can see why you were able to scam so many towns, now."
Mimic straightens up, decidedly smug, and Chaud gives her an amused look.
"Alright, now all that's left is to destroy the fortress itself," Kirisaki goes on, turning to look at the huge metal eyesore blocking the entrance to the undersea tunnel. "With the amount of Navis we have, it should be easy." He gestures sharply. "Go!"
And he's right. With no less than ten powerful NetNavis, they're able to make short work of the fortress.
It seems like the Navis are enjoying this chance to cut loose, even the calmer ones like MegaMan or SearchMan. ProtoMan and Bass get into a very spirited competition to see who can rip off the biggest chunk of metal, though they end up just blasting holes in the fortress when they inevitably get bored of stripping it down. Arcadia's Holy Fire isn't much good for destroying metal, just melting it, so Mimic gives him a Moon Blade to let him help, and then when they're done tearing the metal down and uncovering the entrance, he unleashes his Holy Fire on the huge pile of metal and melts it down to scrap.
He even shows off a new attack he came up with a few days ago, though everyone has to stand well back or risk getting melted. Mimic brings up the holographic screen on her PET to let everyone see, and is extremely impressed when Arcadia crafts a Bound Sword that looks far more solid and way more detailed than normal - he calls it Magma Blade, and the reason why becomes pretty obvious very quickly, because it seems to be turning the rocky ground itself into mush (or magma, whatever) just by existing.
Arcadia, Mimic thinks, is a fucking genius. A fucking awesome genius. God, she loves him.
Commander Mask and his unit show up an hour after the group tears down the fortress, using a train to carry supplies and people. A lot of those people get out to help clear the tracks, and more than a few of them clearly recognise Mimic - and ProtoMan, for that matter.
There's a few unsettled looks, and quite a lot of double-takes. From those who remember ProtoMan going Poltergeist and eating Zoano ShadeMan, and those who think that ProtoMan is Zoano ProtoMan even though he isn't. Mimic is starting to get a bit sick of the people of this reality mistaking her secondary Navi for some psychopath of a Zoanoroid. She'd much rather people be unnerved by ProtoMan for his own actions, instead of the actions of the Sunset fucking Warrior.
She heard Kirisaki offering them a lift earlier, and he makes good on that offer now. Once the tracks are clear, Mimic and the rest of the group climb into the train with Commander Mask, Kirisaki, and the other members of the unit. This is a much better way to travel than on a fucking boat, rocking and swaying on that horrible water . . .
"I never thought there would be a way to end this war at the Wily Research Facility," Commander Mask muses, leaning back in his seat. "You're absolutely certain about this?"
"Yep," Lan agrees, nodding.
Trill, content and happy on his lap, looks up from his virus cube long enough to blink at Commander Mask curiously. "Um . . . Mister Mask?"
"Commander Mask," the man corrects him, with an amused smile.
"Commander Mask," Trill begins again, "is it okay if I ask why you're wearing that scarf? I was just kinda curious, is all . . ."
"I wear it because I want to," Commander Mask replies.
"Oh, okay!" Trill gives him a beaming smile and goes back to his virus cube.
Mimic blinks at him, then exchanges an amused glance with Chaud. Well, that happened.
"If the Wily Research Facility really does hold the key to ending this war," Commander Mask says, looking back at Mimic and her brothers, "then we'll join you there."
"Really?" Lan's expression lights up.
Commander Mask nods. "We'll have to gather our forces, first. From what I know of the Wily Research Facility, it won't be easy to get in. Its defences are almost legendary."
"Even though, as far as we know, there aren't any people there," Kirisaki adds, frowning slightly. "We've gotten reports from agents who tried to infiltrate, and all of them say that no life signs have ever been detected from that place. Yet it's still running. We always thought the Zoanoroids were just using it as an outpost or something, though we've never seen any Zoanoroids there."
"Ain't no Zoanoroids," Mimic speaks up. "Just Dr. Wily. And them two, that pirate dude and the clown girl."
"Pirate dude and the clown girl?" Commander Mask's face is mostly obscured by his scarf and sunglasses, but he still manages to convey his bemusement.
"Wait, do you mean Blackbeard and Yuika?" Lan asks, blinking.
"Them two, yeah. Recently hired, so . . . I dunno if your guys would've known about 'em," Mimic says.
"The most recent report we had on that place was from several weeks ago, before any of your group appeared," Commander Mask says. "So . . . no, we weren't aware of those two. But if Dr. Wily is still there, why haven't our agents picked up any life signs from him?"
"He's a hologram," Chaud says, before Mimic can come out with a very blunt 'he's fucking dead'. "Are you aware of the dimensional area research lab?"
"Yes, we've been there a few times to get Dr. Hikari's assistance in creating new weapons or devices to fight the Zoanoroids."
"Dr. Wily is like Dr. Hikari," Chaud explains, casually not mentioning the fact that Beyondard Grandpa is now officially dead again. "The memories and intelligence of the real thing, copied onto an electronic brain and functioning independently. Except Dr. Wily is trying to 'resurrect' himself."
"That's . . . worrying," Commander Mask says, frowning. "In that case, it's even more imperative that we end this war. We'll gather up our forces and meet you at the Wily Research Facility, then."
"Why not just travel together?" Lan asks, looking puzzled. "I mean, it'd be simpler, right?"
"They're going to be travelling all over the place," Chaud says, before Commander Mask can speak. "We need to head straight to the Research Facility. Besides, the Cybeasts are after both ProtoMan and MegaMan, so if we hang around the CM Forces, we risk leading the Zoanoroids straight to them."
"Which ain't helpful 'cus they're tryin' to not get attacked every other hour," Mimic adds, nodding.
"Ah." Lan blinks. "Right, yeah, that . . . that makes sense."
"I'm glad you understand," Commander Mask says. "But rest assured, the CM Forces will help you. Ending this war has been our goal since the day we formed."
"The day when we finally achieve that goal is fast-approaching," Kirisaki mumbles.
That's a very dramatic statement, and Mimic is tempted to make a sarcastic comment just for the hell of it, but Chaud sends her a quick mental 'do not' and makes her shut up before she even opens her mouth.
Then the train comes through the other end of the undersea tunnel, and light floods in through the windows. It's almost blinding, a fact that isn't helped by the snow everywhere, and Mimic involuntarily shudders just looking at it. Chaud's no better - she can feel his horror at the sight of so much snow as easily as she sees his lips curling, baring his teeth distastefully. Above them, ProtoMan digs his claws into the material of the seat and lets out a faint hiss.
They have to walk through that. Good fucking god, they have to walk through all that snow. It's gonna be cold, and it's gonna be wet, and Mimic, Chaud, and ProtoMan are gonna hate every single goddamn second of it.
It's almost enough to make Mimic miss the damn desert wasteland. She prefers the forests, but she'd take the damn wasteland over a snowy mountain. She'd take anything over a snowy mountain - anything aside from water, anyway.
This adventure can't end fast enough.
