Proto-Zero struggled weakly against his bonds upon regaining consciousness.

"Ah my friend, I see you're awake. Don't worry, you'll be let go soon once we undo that horrible programming you've been given to destroy your own kind. I can't believe there was a Roidmude that none of us knew about. Freeze! Brain! He's awake!"

Three Roidmudes with the numbers 001, 002, and 003, each representing the three different types he had information on, appeared in Proto-Zero's line of vision. Although their forms didn't allow for expression, Proto-Zero could feel the maliciousness emanating from the three.

The Bat Roidmude with 003 across his chest turned to the Spider with 002 on his chest. "Heart, do you really want this animal to join us?"

"It will be fine. He may even help us achieve the Ultimate Evolution."

The Cobra with 001 leaned in closer to him, before turning to look at the other two. "Then let us begin the modifications."

The three transformed into human appearances, and with smiles on their faces, held up medical instruments and leaned in. Proto-Zero struggled again, trying to break his bonds, before any of the tools touched him.

The older man, 001, grabbed the plate on Proto-Zero's chest that had 000 emblazoned across it with the pliers he was holding and yanked up, forcing the Roidmude to scream.

"Alright Freeze, hold it there. Heart, shine the light on his chest." 003 stuck the sharp scissors at the top of the area where the plate had covered and began to cut down quickly across Proto-Zero's chest. Each cut sent jolts of pain through the Roidmude's body and he quickly grew hoarse from his screaming. His breathing became heavy and ragged, the grunts and moans he still made doing more damage to his already ruined throat.

003 pulled the two halves of Proto-Zero's chest apart with the forceps he had once he was done cutting and closely examined the Core Driviar before setting his attention to the 000 Core nestled in the Roidmude's chest.

"Ugh… his Core is so…different from ours. I was right to call him an animal. It's going to be difficult to reprogram him Heart."

"But you can do it, right? His Core may be different, but he's still a Roidmude. He's one of us. He can't go back to being tainted by human filth."

"Don't worry Heart. I can do it. I'm not called Brain for nothing. Unfortunately…I'm going to have to completely turn him into a blank slate. Erase everything and start from scratch. It's like his Core is a…chain or something… You two should go and assess the situation with everyone else. I can finish this by myself."

—–

Gou didn't want to leave his bed. It had been far too long since he had slept so comfortably and his body still felt sore from everything that had transpired in the past few days. Still, he needed to take care of his growling stomach and figure out what Professor Harley was up to.

The professor had ordered pizza and Gou all but devoured the extra large hamburger and black olive plus some of Harley's slices of pepperoni before retiring to bed, Chase having to take control of Gou's body and having Harley help since Gou was moments from collapsing. The professor promised that they would have an in-depth talk once the two woke up…if that was what his intentions were.

Gou glanced at his bedside clock in confusion. He distinctly remembered going to bed sometime around 11pm. The clock was showing 9pm however. That couldn't be right unless… The teen's eyes grew wide and he shot out of bed. He had slept the entire day, nearly twenty-four hours. That was enough time for Professor Harley to…

The teen frantically ran down the stairs to the lab, alerting Chase to be on standby should they have to run if they saw anyone suspicious in the house or lab.

"….honestly thought this would be where they would come…haven't seen anything on the radar…can remotely check the other labs…"

Gou slowed down his descent as he heard Harley talking to someone and stood beside the doorway, trying to listen in.

"I'm sorry Krim. I'll contact you again if I have any new information for you. They're probably running scared and while they will be cautious, Gou's still part human. He'll make a mistake eventually."

"It's imperative that I get them both back! They're risking my research into falling into the wrong hands! I should have never agreed to let Gou out by himself. And to also have Proto-Zero LIE to me… I'll let you get back to your work Harley. And remember to delete all the data about the Mach System from your computers there if you leave. Thank you."

The communication was cut off and Harley sighed before turning and looking at the door. "Alright boys, it's safe now. Why don't you go eat first and come back down? I made a giant pot of stew. Eat as much as you want. I know you need it."

—–

After eating two large bowls of stew, complete with five slices of homemade bread, Gou came back down to the lab. Harley smiled at him and motioned for him to sit down next to him.

"Before I start explaining, is there a way both of you can be present? This concerns both of you."

Gou nodded. "As long as it doesn't freak you out that both of our voices will come from my mouth, but yes, we can both control my body at the same time for a bit."

Harley sighed before looking at Gou and Chase in the eyes. "A few hours after the two of you were supposed to return to the Pit, Krim contacted me at my lab in New York, telling me everything. The final battle, what Banno had done to you, and his intentions for you two. Then he told me that you had run away and that every available cop was scouring the city for you. They tracked Gou's phone back to the apartment and Ride Chaser to the outskirts of the city. They even were going through security footage and records of every bus and train station and the airports, but found nothing."

"Gou used a false identity and I used our Roidmude mimicry to change Gou's appearance so we wouldn't be recognized."

Harley chuckled. "Krim finally realized that was probably what you had done, so that's when he contacted me to be on the lookout for you. I told him that since the Arizona lab was the one that you were most familiar with, that IF you came to America, that's where you would go. Krim immediately bought me a ticket out here and I got here as fast as I could to be on the lookout."

The professor paused, taking in the hurt look on Gou's face and reached over to squeeze the boy's hand. "Gou…Chase… I had absolutely NO intention on turning you in to Krim if you came here. Gou, I think of you as part of my family, like a son I never had. That's why I brought you here when we started testing the Mach System, so you could still have a normal teenage life during your free time."

"Professor…I…" Tears stung the corners of Gou's eyes.

"There's a dampening field around the house and lab, should anyone with Roidmude detecting equipment gets near the house. I'll need to apply that field to something you two can wear if you go outside, especially once we figure out a way to separate you into separate bodies. I also have no intention of deleting any of the Mach System's work or what I have about the Roidmudes. I'm sure we'll be able to use the information to find a way."

Harley stood up and pulled Gou into a hug, which the boy eagerly returned, sobbing into the older man's chest. "Th…thank you Professor."

"I told you, you're my boy…well boys now. I won't let anything happen to you while I'm around. Chase, I look forward to finally meeting you in person."

"I look forward to it too, Professor Hendrickson."

"Just call me Professor or Harley. Now…since you're up, I'd like to run a few tests. See how your body now compares the the data I have on file. The sooner we get started, the sooner we figure out your situation."