"So, what's the verdict Prof? Not really liking what I'm seeing on the screen here." The sentence came out muffled since Gou was consuming his fourth bowl of stew of the night.

Professor Harley rubbed at his eyes and glanced at Gou before turning back to the data on Gou that was up on the computer. "I'm sure you've probably realized you've been consuming a lot more food than you normally eat plus the fact that you've taken about three short naps since we began examining your body four hours ago. Was there anything Banno said to you about anything you two needed to do once you woke up? Or anything about restrictions at first?"

"Not that I remember. I was more focused trying to stay in character so he thought his brainwashing worked. Chase? You probably were paying more attention. Do you remember anything?"

"Hmm… I was still trying to integrate myself without causing Gou harm, partially accessing my Roidmude parts so he would have an easier time making his body work. I… Wait! Right before we transformed, Banno said that he modified Signal Machaser so that we wouldn't have to de-transform at all. Our Rider form would give us perpetual energy."

Harley looked up at the images of Gou's body again. "Ah, that would explain it. Without being in Rider form, the energy needs to come from somewhere."

The professor saw the confused look the boys were giving him. "Basically…your body is still healing from your injuries you got in your battles and what Banno did. Your Roidmude and human parts are trying to find a balance with each other. Being in your Rider form would have given you the energy and rest to heal, but since you can't access it, food and sleep are trying to compensate. Your metabolism is basically in overdrive to convert anything you consume into energy to heal your body."

"Before Medic was revived, the way Heart, Brain, and I were able to heal from our lesser injuries was to go into a deep sleep so that the body's only task to perform was heal. Sleeping is just our Roidmude parts doing what they do naturally when we're hurt. With the amount of work Banno did, I imagine that our body is shutting down to use the energy efficiently."

Gou looked down at his empty bowl, pain in his eyes. "So…basically…all I'm gonna really be able to do is eat and sleep…what a life… Maybe Chase and I should have…"

Harley put his hand on Gou's shoulder. "It won't be forever, just until you heal fully and your human parts are able to keep up with your Roidmude parts. But I have faith that it won't be too long for you. After all, you were able to master the Mach System faster than I thought."

Harley got up and returned to Gou a moment later with a notepad and pen. "We'll need to go shopping for high calorie foods, maybe some vitamin supplements and protein shakes to give you an extra boost, and although I really don't want you to fill up on them…yes the junk foods you like so much. The fat and sugar they would add to your body would actually help in your case."

Gou and Chase looked at the list the professor was making. "It would probably be easy to fall into a routine depending on how my sleep schedule would affect me. Two or three big healthy meals a day and when I start feeling hungry, I'll drink a protein shake and very rarely some chips or something. I can give up most of the junk food but I'm NOT giving up my soda. I live off caffeine."

"I'll come up with a sleep schedule for our body. A regular Roidmude sleep cycle wouldn't work for us, but I think we can break up the cycle in segments. As long as one segment is a full eight hours, we'll be able to work with small hour naps throughout the day. It would prevent our body from shutting down like it's been doing. Of course, once this body is fully healed, we'll be able to reduce the hours."

—-

Although they had woken up just a short time ago and had taken a few naps since then, Gou was feeling his body start to shut down again, probably due to the last bowl of stew he ate. It was also late into the night and he knew Harley needed sleep as well, so after the three came up with a meal and sleep plan for the next few weeks, they decided to retire for the night and start their plan when they woke up.

Gou situated himself in bed after turning off his bedside lamp. "Hey Chase? Can I ask you about something that's been troubling me?"

"Hmm? What is it Gou?"

"It didn't happen when I took those short naps…but when I've been asleep longer than that…I've been…seeing into your memories. Like…seeing these through your eyes. I… Chase?"

Gou had felt the Roidmude consciousness grow faint like he did when he shut down his mind for sleep. Gou was about to close his eyes to do the same when he could feel Chase again.

"I…had hoped that you were not being plagued with my memories. They are ones that I had locked away due to their nature. I do not understand why they are seeping out now after I made sure to keep them out of my mind. Perhaps my sleep procedures are faulty and causing them. They…"

"I guess even Roidmudes get nightmares…or at least you."

"Night…mares?"

"Nightmares are unpleasant dreams that cause the sufferer to be scared, confused, distressed. They emit a strong emotional fear, both in your body and mind. They can be anything, like something you're scared of or even unpleasant memories from your past and because it's your mind doing this, sometimes they are way exaggerated."

"What causes them and how do you stop them?"

Gou sighed and turned to his side. "It can be a number of reasons…sleeping in an uncomfortable position, eating or drinking something before bed that disagrees with you, sometimes they just happen for no reason. There's not really any way to get rid of them, I mean there are pills and therapy, but that only stops them temporarily. It's best to sometimes let them play out."

"…I still don't understand why they've started to seep into our thoughts when we are asleep though. Even with me into a sleep cycle, they shouldn't."

"Maybe it's me then Chase. Maybe I'm causing it. I've been suffering from nightmares for several years now. I mean, you were able to accidentally access my memories. Maybe I'm starting to be able to do the same. All the more reason to figure out how to recreate a body for you as fast as we can. I'm…worried…"

"I intruded on your memories, so wouldn't it be right for you to do the same? Plus, we need to be on the same wavelength in case our position is compromised."

"It's…not that. I've been wondering why Banno did this to us? Wouldn't it have been better for him to have built you a new body he could control and use the spare Roidmude parts he had on me and then reprogram both of us? He would have had two Riders instead of one. And considering Banno was in that tablet of Brain's while you were still on their side and even when I pretended to join them, he SHOULD have known that brainwashing and reprogramming wouldn't have worked on either of us, ESPECIALLY when we're in the same body."

"He called us his biggest failures. Perhaps this was his way of punishing us? I have been thinking about something you said during our conversation on the plane; that you had become the thing you hated. Banno knew of your hatred of Roidmudes…and me…from the times we interacted while you were still in possession of the tablet he was contained in. He was probably also aware of my attempts of understanding humanity also because of that fact. I believe in his mind, he saw a perfect opportunity to punish both of us by doing what he did. You would be trapped in a body you hated with someone you hated and I would be trapped in an almost human body with someone that could teach me the ways of humanity, but wouldn't just to spite me. He was unaware of your true feelings about me however."

"Heh, guess we disappointed dad one last time then. Almost makes me wish he were alive again, JUST to hear that his punishment to us was a bust."

"That…does sound amusing. Anyway, we should sleep. We have a long day tomorrow for as much as our body will allow."

"You're right. Goodnight Chase."

"Goodnight Gou. And thank you. For teaching me about nightmares. I hope we have more talks like this. It was…nice."

"Anytime Chase."