Chase woke up when he felt himself being picked up. Although he didn't currently have a body, therefore eyes, he was still able to sense and see everything. The orb he was in made everything muted, but he could still see he was in some kind of makeshift lab. Banno was carrying him to a table in the middle of the room.

As they got closer to the table, Chase realized in horror on WHO was on the table. He was heavily bandaged and shackled, with a dozen or so IVs in him, but Chase would recognize Gou anywhere. Realization struck the Roidmude Core hard. He had failed. He had failed to protect Gou from harm. Whatever Banno had done to Gou was his fault.

Chase was still weak from his Core almost exploding, but he still tried to ram the orb, trying to break it. If he could break free, he could find help. He knew Banno wasn't done with Gou, but if he could find Shinnosuke or even Heart, maybe they could save Gou from whatever else the scientist had planned.

A shock pulsated through the orb that popped it, sapping Chase's bit of energy and he shuddered in Banno's hand. He felt himself be lowered down and Banno began to attach him to what he finally realized was Gou's heart and a Core Driviar. Trying one last attempt to get free proved futile as he began to be overloaded with all of Gou's thoughts and memories with each bit of his Core that the scientist attached to the teen.

Chase didn't want to pry into Gou's life, but bits of the last few months kept bringing themselves forward to him as he was integrated into the teen's body. The last memory that came to him threw him into the last moments before his body exploded and through Gou's eyes, he saw everything that had happened, as well as knowing Gou's thoughts while it happened.

His essence tingled and Chase was suddenly able to actually see through his right eye, although it was a dull light since it was heavily bandaged. As the Roidmude became aware of his new surroundings in Gou's body, he realized that parts of the teen's body had been replaced with Roidmude parts…HIS parts.

Chase sensed a change in Gou. The teen was trying to not breathe the gas coming from the mask on his face. He concentrated and felt himself connect to Gou's consciousness.

"Let it happen Gou. We need rest. Don't worry…we'll beat him. Together."

The tension Gou had began to fall and Chase felt him starting to relax. "Okay…Chase. I trust you."

—–

Gou yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Since the flight to Arizona was about twelve hours, the teen had decided to get some much needed sleep that wasn't induced by chemicals or falling into unconsciousness due to overworking his body. He checked his watch and saw they only had about two hours left before their flight touched down in Phoenix.

He closed his eyes again and nudged Chase's consciousness to wake up, since they had decided they both needed to be rested up once they landed.

"Hey Chase, we have two hours before we land. The professor's lab is about twenty minutes away from the airport if we use a taxi…or we could walk there. That would be one less person to see us clearly. Of course…it will be night by the time we land…"

"I'd suggest walking then. We'd be able to run in short bursts without triggering… Gou, are you okay?"

"Hmm? I'm fine. Just thinking about supplies we might need once we land."

"No…I don't mean… Gou, I know of your hatred of Roidmudes due to my own experiences and unfortunately getting access to your memories. Now that you are partially one… are you okay?"

"Chase… I… I'm okay. I wish things had turned out differently but… I've accepted the fact that this is what I am now, what WE are now. It's fitting…that I've become the thing I hated…"

"Gou…"

"Although…in the long run, I guess this was a good thing to happen. I don't think either of us would have been able to survive that situation, had Banno decided to kill me instead of doing this. We're both alive because of it. And the fact that he decided to mainly use your parts instead of Roidmude parts he had access to proved to be his downfall since he couldn't easily modify and reprogram you like he could with the others. It proves that you were able to grow beyond any expectations that both he and Krim were able to predict about you."

"Do not count yourself out of that equation. You have proved your own worth and evolution throughout the time I have known you. You are responsible for being able to resist Banno's reprogramming just as much as me. We… make a good team."

"We always made a good team. I just wish I had realized it sooner. Maybe then…we could have…"

"It is in the past now and you are not the person you once were Gou. I do not mean that in reference to our current position, I mean it in seeing the personal mental growth you have gone through. The fact you see me as a friend now is proof of that."

"…Thanks Chase. I'm still going to properly apologize to you when we figure out a way to get you a new body. I owe you that."

—

Once the plane landed and the two made sure there were no cops looking for them, Gou set off in the direction of the lab Professor Hendrickson had in the city. The teen hadn't had much chance to properly test out his modified body, so the journey there left his human parts a bit sore from overuse.

Gou started walking up to a regular looking house, pulling out a key from his bag. "The lab's underneath the house. The professor and I spent the most time here since he wanted me to at least have a few normal teenage experiences while I was training and testing the Mach system. It's going to be great sleeping in a normal bed again."

Gou threw his bag on the kitchen table and grabbed a soda from the fridge, thankful they were still in date since the house hadn't been used since he ran off to Japan. Taking a sip, he began walking toward the basement door where the lab was.

"Gou, wouldn't turning on the systems in the lab cause Professor Hendrickson to know that this lab is operational? He would immediately know where we are and contact Krim."

"Fortunately, the professor is very cautious about his work and keeps all his labs systems separate from each other in case one gets compromised. That way, none of his other lab locations or research would be able to be accessed. It was a bit of a pain hauling about twenty or so external hard drives with new data when we moved labs, but his methods proved to be to an advantage to us."

Gou flipped on the light switch to the lab and froze when he saw one of the rolling chairs turn and a man stand up. His eyes widened. "P…Professor Harley?!"

"Ah Gou my boy and Chase too! I was wondering when the two of you would finally get down here. I've been watching you on the outside monitors. I know you must be starving and tired. Why don't we order some pizzas and then get you to bed. We can start on whatever you had planned down here tomorrow when you're rested."

The man walked toward Gou and pulled the teen into a tight hug. "You're safe here. We can talk tomorrow, but for now, just trust me that you're safe."

Gou's body flinched as Chase, who had taken over the body in case they needed to run, relinquished control to Gou in order for the boy to make the choice. Gou shakily returned the hug. "Okay Professor. I…trust you."

He hoped he made the right decision.