"Gemini," I say, "I think it's time to go to Earth."
Now? Crown is already suspicious of you, Thalia, and if you go to Earth it'll confirm everything we did was for Aquarius...
"I don't care." I say simply.
Your loss.
"Whose side are you on?" I ask as I walk to the green EM Wave Road that would take me to Earth.
Any side that keeps me alive.
"If we learned how to go Primal, it'd at least keep us alive a little longer," I point out.
I know that, but we don't know exactly how to go Primal.
I jump onto the green EM Wave Road and begin the journey.
"We can ask Aquarius or Layla," I say.
You're crazy!
"I'm only what my creator made me to be," I say.
Aquarius is quirky, you're just plain crazy!
"I think this is what Aquarius meant by 'Thalia might give you something you're missing'," I quip.
Bad joke. I think he was talking about women, but not human women.
"I think FM-ian women are the same as humans," I say, "but we'll just ask Layla."
Layla this, Layla that.
I notice a figure coming towards us and point it out to Gemini.
Must be Libra or Wolf.
"Aries mentioned that Wolf was on our side," I say, "and maybe Libra. I think Libra's on our side, along with Taurus."
Five of us versus the entire FM kingdom.
"Eight," I say, "including humans."
You're right. Forgive me for not considering your mortality, Thalia.
"It's okay," I say, "but you got deleted once, didn't you?"
Twice, really. Both by MegaMan.
"Hush," I whisper as we near the figure.
"Thalia?" the figure says.
I know this figure from the decision "party".
"Michael!" I say, "Have you found a human for Aries?"
Michael shakes his head and says, "No. Not yet. I'm trying to go for someone who's not obvious. What about you, Thal?"
"Made a casual joke about Saggitarius and got lectured by Crown," I say with a pout, "A long lecture, too."
Michael shivers and says, "Someone's here. We should get moving."
"Do you have a place on Earth where I can hide?" I ask.
"Follow me," Michael says, turning back towards Earth.
"I thought you were heading to FM?" I say as we begin moving.
"No," Michael says, "Libra- the FM-ian- told me that I should see if anyone was on the EM Wave Road between Earth and FM, in case there were allies. Looks like he's right."
"What do you know of Layla?" I ask.
"She's my 'sibling'," Michael says, "and she's partnered with Omega-Xis, the AM-ian survivor. Well...one of them."
"Other than the Three Sages?" I say, "I know those three."
"You fought them once, if Libra's memory serves me right," Michael says.
"Gemini did," I say, "and yes, but he lost...and lived. He would've commited suicide right there and then, if not for Cepheus."
"Hmph. Cepheus is always involved somewhere," Michael grunts.
"Yeah," I say, "but so is Gemini. Thanks to him, we're wallowing in a giant web...at least, that's what I like to think. Crown nearly got taken over by a second FM-ian shortly after she first came to FM."
"A second FM-ian?" Michael says, "But...is she still alive?"
"Yes," I spit, "Fine and dandy, last time I heard. She mentioned the name Drago in her sleep, though..."
"That's who's following us," Michael says, "I sense someone...with ancient power."
"Aren't you that old?" I tease.
"Libra's not, no," Michael says, "I think Drago was, like, twenty thousand when I came along."
"Wow," I say, "but why would you sense him?"
"Crown Lily has an aura different from other FM-ians," Michael says, "I thought at first that it was merely because she was an EM wave human of this age."
"But Taurus would've had the same energy," I say.
"Exactly," Michael says, his expression darkening, "when he didn't mention any sort of strange energy, I grew suspicious. Rather, Libra did, but you get what I mean."
I nod. FM-ians can choose to share memories with their hosts, and we both knew that.
"Which is why I'm convinced that Drago has returned," Michael says, "and I think I know why. Have you ever considered an FM-ian's life span?"
I shake my head this time.
"They are practically immortal," Michael says, "You can't kill an FM-ian; the least you can do is delete them and wait around two hundred years until they return. Saggitarius was put to sleep with his own human, and I'll bet Drago wants to do the same, except awake."
"Live forever?" I say, "That's impossible."
"Saggitarius succeeded," Michael says, "and I think Cygnus wants to do the same to all FM-ian hosts."
"Crazy!" I say, noticing how close we were to Earth.
"Not to Aquarius, Drago, or Cygnus," Michael says, "Aquarius had three generations of human 'alchemists', back in the 180x times. Or was it 160x?"
"And so he stole the recipe for whatever can make humans immortal?" I say.
"That's what some say," Michael says, "but I think he memorized it and developed his own. I don't know what happened, though."
"Oh," I say.
Michael turns around and looks towards FM.
"What is it?" I ask.
"I think Crown Lily's lost her mind," Michael says quietly, "I feel a second ancient aura, and one I know, too...Saggitarius' chambers are open."