"Gou…"

Gou grumbled, eyes firmly on the road as he drove Ride Chaser to his apartment. "Not now Chase. I'm busy concentrating on the road and I'm not used to driving Chaser at all. …Couldn't even ride my own bike one last time… Wait til we're at my apartment. We're almost there."

Gou checked the clock on his phone to see ten minutes had passed as soon as he got into his apartment. He selected some clean clothes and got changed and grabbed a soda from his fridge. He sat at the counter, drinking and savoring each sip since he didn't know when he'd have one again.

"Gou…can we talk now?"

Gou closed his eyes and sighed, letting Chase's presence have easier access over his body so they could talk without having to relinquish control each time. The two had realized they could do this when they woke up in Banno's makeshift lab after the scientist was done with all of the modifications done to Gou's body. It had come in handy when they had to give the illusion they were under Banno's control.

"What is there to talk about Chase? That we've basically had everything stripped away from us today? That we're going to be locked up against our will…YOU even more than me? Is that how you see yourself Chase?! Just some machine that can be turned off and on again when it suits someone's needs? Just…damn it Chase! What about your dream? To learn about humanity? You can't DO that when you're locked up down there! And I wouldn't be able to…to tell you…that…I'm so…"

"What you are about to say is something you wish to do when we are face to face, to give it a more meaningful significance. I suggest that once we have our own separate bodies, you can properly say what I know you want to say to me. Since…I've seen your memories and your thoughts…I know. I know. …I also know that you wish to find a way out of this…as do I. Do you know anywhere we can go that they won't find us?"

"What? But…what you said back in the Pit…"

"I have learned that telling little white lies to make people feel better about a situation is sometimes the only way to push a bad situation in your favor. Krim…does not know the fact that I can lie to him now. He has not talked to me about any of my experiences with understanding humans and still believes I will tell him the entire truth like I was originally programmed to do. We have forty minutes…fifty if we count Krim's extra ten to get back. Is that enough time to find a place?"

"You're seriously on board with running away? I…didn't think you had it in you Chase. I guess you have grown a lot."

Gou felt Chase grow silent, a habit he knew the Roidmude did when he was thinking.

"I…do not wish to be put in stasis nor do I want to remain a tool to be used whenever I am needed. I have enjoyed the opportunities you have all given me to understand humanity and wish to experience even more that this world has to give. I felt so proud to be given a chance to get a driver's license and that first time that Shinnosuke let me drive to the crime scene…I cherish that memory. I was so happy that you agreed to have a drink with me in the cafeteria without any provocation. And now that the fighting is over…I'd like to have more moments like that."

Gou smiled. "Don't worry Chase. I'll make sure you have plenty of memories. Now…as for a place… It can't be here in Japan. Krim would get Shin-nii-san to get every Police Department in Japan to hunt us down. The only place else that I know is America, but Professor Hendrickson is there. We'd have to avoid him…but he can't be in every lab of his at once. I know his one in Arizona is vacant right now. He's in the New York one at this time of year. We can stay there for a bit before moving on to a more permanent place and figuring out a way to separate us and get you a new body. There HAS to be a way."

"I have confidence that you will Gou. In the meantime, gather what you need and then let me take control. I'll have to tweak Ride Chaser's tracking device to show the wrong information. I can remotely set it to drive to a false location once we get to the airport. That is why I insisted we take my bike since I can access its systems. You might want to leave your phone in case they can track it. …I am worried they will be able to track us since you will be using your real name for your plane ticket."

Gou stopped packing for a second and smirked. "Actually…I already have that covered. I didn't exactly come back into this country as Gou Shijima…for reasons. Um…with me being partially Roidmude…can I do that changing my appearance and clothes thing? We won't have time to do it manually…"

Gou could feel Chase's presence search for something. "Yes…but it's…a bit difficult if you've never done it before. You'll have to let me be in control so I can do it. I'll teach you later on, once we are safe."

—–

"Here's your ticket Mr. Inaba. I hope you had a wonderful time on your visit. Have a nice flight!"

Gou breathed a sigh of relief as he ran a hand through his slicked down hair, a result of Chase changing Gou's appearance to look like a preppier version of himself to throw off anyone trying to find them. He looked down at his watch Chase had created, noting that they had twenty minutes before him and Chase were to be due back.

Since the two had got to the airport just in the nick of time, having bought their ticket online to save time, Gou didn't have long to wait for his carry-on bag to be checked or him going through the metal detector. He had been worried about that, only for Chase to tell him that he could fix the detector to not detect Gou's metal parts. He barely made it to his flight before they closed the door, being the last to board.

As the clock struck the time they were supposed to be back at the Pit, the plane took off, carrying the two to where they hoped they could have their freedom.