Call this a Family Day special from yours truly. See I just finished playing Megaman Zero/ZX Legacy Collection (Yeah, I'm kinda late I know) and had a blast going thought Megaman ZX again. I played it on the DS and I loved it again on my Switch. My second favorite Megaman game next to X8. And I do love the characters in this game, and it made me want to write something about them. And so, here we are. All characters belong to Capcom, I own nothing.

A boy with brown hair wearing blue and white was lying down on the deck of the Guardian Base staring at the clouds. "A week… it's already been a whole week…"

The door to the deck opened and a girl his age came out. "There you are Vent!"

The boy sat up and turned to her. "Oh, hey Aile. What's up?"

"Prairie's calling! She said she needs us!"

"Alright, coming."

Vent and Aile. Two Chosen ones. The wielders of the Biometals. A mere week ago, these young Guardians had defeated Serpent, and put an end to his schemes of ruling the world with the power of Model W. They had faced many trials before that. Fighting Mavericks and Pseudoroids. Saving civilians. Recruiting more Biometals. But two events stood out the most to them. One was meeting Prairie and the Guardians and using Model X to Megamerge for the first time. The other was losing their friend and mentor Girouette. On that day they inherited Model Z from him and Double Megamerged for the first time. The ZX Mega Men have accomplished a lot together. But it seems there was more yet to do.

The two went to the command center where the blond Reploid in pink commanding the Guardians was waiting. She turned around from her seat, stood up and looked at the two. "Vent, Aile, thank you both for coming. I have a new mission for you two."

"About time!" Vent said. "Things have been getting kinda dull since we took Serpent down!"

"The peace was nice while it lasted." Aile sighed. "Still… the public took us exposing Slither Inc better then I thought they would. I mean, they were shocked for a bit but…"

Vent turned to her. "Don't tell me you feel sorry for those snakes."

"Heck no! They were frauds to begin with! I'm just didn't expect the people to be so… strong without their "hero". now they seem to be going on with their daily lives in peace."

"People are always stronger than they think they are." Model X said. "You two are living proof of that."

Aile smiled. "You're right. Thanks Model X."

Prairie nodded. "It's thanks to you two bringing that data from the recon unit. That evidence was key. And it helped that people were suspicious after that fire that Slither Inc did nothing about. But it seems our problems in this country aren't over just yet."

"Did something happen?" Vent asked.

"Fleuve just told me he found something interesting. Do you remember Area M where Model W was buried?"

"Of course." Aile nodded. "Did you detect something there?"

"Deeper inside that cave is a sector named Area N. And we believe we picked up traces of something…that appears to be a Biometal."

"What?!" Vent gasped. "That's impossible! I thought your sister only created six of them!"

"And we have all six with us…" Aile said. "The only other Biometal I can think of is Model W, but we destroyed it!"

"I don't understand it either." Prairie replied. "We're not certain if it is a Biometal or not. But whatever it is, it should be investigated. That's why I would like you two to go to Area N and take a look."

"Leave it to us!" Vent grinned.

Prairie smiled. "Thank you both. Be careful. We don't know anything about that area and it's unlikely that our signal will reach you down there."

"Don't worry, we'll be right back with the Biometal, or whatever it is before you know it." Aile replied.

"We're heading to Area M! Let's go!" Ven said before they ran off.

Prairie laughed at their usual enthusiasm. "Vent… Aile… it almost feels like they were part of the Guardians forever." She looked at the sky through the window. "Giro… I wish you could see how much they have grown…"

After teleporting to Area M, Vent and Aile went through the door leading to Area N. "So, this is Area N, huh?" Vent said.

"100 Energy Crystals says there are Mavericks here." Aile replied.

"I bet you're right. Better transform." Vent took out a blue Biometal. "Model X!"

Aile took out a red Biometal. "Model Z!"

The two stood side by side and held the two Biometals up. "Double Megamerge!"

Both Model X and Model Z's eyes glowed. "Biolink established! M.E.G.A. System online!" In a flash the duo's attire transformed, giving them red and white armor. Green light flashed from their helmets and golden hair flowed from the back. They both transformed into Mega Man ZX.

"Alright, let's do this!" Vent declared.

The two Mega Men made their way into the strange ruins. There were indeed enemies that stood in their path, but it was nothing Vent and Aile couldn't handle. They stepped into a room with two doors. "What do you think is in there?" Vent asked.

"At this point, who knows?" Aile shrugged. "Both these doors could lead deeper into this cave." The two heard a murmuring sound in their heads. "Model Z? What's wrong?"

"I feel something…" Model Z said. "Something… familiar…"

"Familiar? Do you think it might be the Biometal or whatever it is Prairie found here?" Vent asked.

"I don't know…"

"I guess we're on the right track then." Aile replied. "So, we better see what's in these doors."

"Aw man… searching both of them is probably going to be a serious pain…" Vent groaned.

"Well… why don't we split up then? You look through one, I'll check out the other."

"Sounds good to me." Vent replied. He walked towards the first door. "We'll meet back here once we're done."

"Be careful Vent."

"You too." Vent waved and went inside. He found himself in a strange room with four objects in each corner. "What are these? Some kind of teleporters?" Vent walked over to one of them was teleported away. He found himself in a strange room face to face with a large green grasshopper-like Maverick. "What is that? A Pseudoroid?!"

"Chikachikachika!" It formed a purple sphere around itself, and it faded as it got into a fighting stance. "I'll chop you up!" It shot one of its arms at Vent who ducked under it.

"Whoa! Okay, this one doesn't monologue, he goes straight to the point!" Vent was hit in the back of the head when the arm came back, and he fell over. He looked up to see the Maverick ready to stab both its arms down on him and rolled out of the way. Vent drew his ZX Saber and slashed it three times while it was open. The enemy shot a pink laser into the air and a rock came down nearly crushing Vent. But then the Maverick sliced it up and sent the shards at the Mega Man. Vent jumped over two but was tripped by the third. He staggered to get up as the enemy rushed at him and he blocked its bladed arms with his saber.

Aile found herself in a raining room with three platforms. In front of her was a Pegasus-like Maverick. "Where am I? What is that? I've never seen a Maverick like that before…"

"Stay away, filthy creature!" Green energy lances came out of its arms as it floated into the air. It shot green projectiles at Aile who dodged them. They formed energy blades where they landed.

Aile thought she was safe standing between them until electricity ran between both of them zapping her. "Kya! Okay, you wanna play rough?!" Aile whipped out her ZX Buster and started shooting at the Maverick. It swooped down to kick her, but she jumped back to another platform and continued to fire. Then the Maverick shot two beams of electricity at Aile while descending. One of them hit her. She grunted and started firing slightly charged shots at it while evading attacks. As it started to rush towards her with its lances out she started charging and when it was right in front of her she fired at point blank. The fully charged shot tore a hole in the Reploid's torso and as it started exploding, she teleported back to the room she was in previously. "Back here again… I guess I better take down the enemies through these other teleporters too."

Vent fought a purple and black bat-like Maverick, and a small blue, rabbit-like Maverick, and was now facing a red salamander-like Maverick. Vent jumped over a stream of fire it shot from its hand and sliced through it with his charged ZX Saber cleaving it perfectly in two. It started exploding as Vent was teleported back to the room with the teleporting pads. "Well, that's done. …Huh. Nothing's happening. Oh well. Better go check up on Aile." He walked out of the room and ironically came out at the same time as Aile exited her room.

"Hey, Vent!" Aile cheerly ran over to him waving. "Did you find anything?"

"Not much." Vent shrugged. "I was in some room that teleported me to some strange Mavericks."

"Huh. Same here." Aile replied. "I fought some electrical pegasus, a fiery butterfly, a blue ice wolf, and a green…plant thing…with drills for legs."

"They sort of seemed like they had personalities but weren't aware of what was happening around them. Just what were those things?"

"I don't know, but they were about as tough as the Pseudoroids. I wounder if they were what Prairie detected… Then again, none of them seemed like they were powered by a Biometal."

"I guess whatever we're looking for is deeper in." Vent said. "We just have to keep digging."

"Digging…" Aile muttered. She then gasped. "Wait a minute…"

"What's up?"

"Remember that Pseudoroid that we fought when we went to Area K?"

"The one who had Model F's power?" Vent asked.

"Yeah. Flammole or something. When we fought him, he said he felt something buried deep underground. Before he blew up, he said it might have been Model W or… something else entirely."

"You think this is what he was talking about?"

"I'm not sure… but given that this is near where Serpent dug up Model W, I just thought about it." Aile replied. "If it is, whatever we're looking for must be insanely powerful… and dangerous."

"Warriors…"

"Gah!" Both Vent and Aile shivered as they heard a voice.

"W-what was that?" Aile asked.

"I don't know…" Vent murmured. "But I don't think we both just imagined it!"

"Both of you… are worthy…"

Vent noticed a door in the back. "I think it's coming from over there…" The two slowly aproached the door clutching their weapons tightly as they got closer. Vent and Aile stood at both sides of the door and nodded to each other before they opened it.

The room was empty… except for a bronze rock floating in the air. It had green eyes and a green stone on the forehead. "Is that… a Biometal?" Aile asked. "I guess this is what the Guardians found…"

"Hold on you two…" Model X's voice echoed. "Something isn't right."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Vent asked.

"Something feels… familiar about this presence." Model Z replied.

"I feel it too." Model H said. "It's like an ill wind is blowing…"

"Yeah, just looking at that rock makes me feel uneasy." Model F added.

"That aura around it…" Model L murmured. "It's full of rage."

"It's like a pitch-black shadow hanging over us." Model P said.

"That… doesn't sound good." Aile said. "Should we just destroy it here on the spot?"

"Aile, shouldn't we first figure out what this is?" Vent asked. "Let's bring it back to HQ and see what Fleuve has to say."

"Uh, Vent? I seriously don't think we should be going anywhere near that thing!"

Vent scoffed. "Come on Aile, don't be such a scaredy cat." He walked towards the object.

The mysterious rock turned to them. "Chosen… ones…"

There was a flash of light and the six Biometals with Vent and Aile dropped to the floor and both of their transformations disappeared. "AAAH!" Both of them were lifted off the floor as bands of purple light squeezed their wrists and ankles.

"What… what's happening?!" Vent panicked.

Aile struggled but whatever was holding her had her limbs rendered immobile. "I…can't…move…!"

The rock floated towards them. "At long last…" It shifted its gaze between the two. "Which one…?"

"What's this thing doing…?" Vent shivered.

"I get this isn't the best time for a "I told you so"…" Aile whispered. "But just for the record I did tell to stay away from this thing."

The ominous object looked back and forth between the two of them then stopped. "You."

"Huh?" Vent noticed the rock slowly drifting towards him. "G-get away!" Vent leaned his head away from it.

"Leave him alone!" Aile struggled with all her might, but she remained suspended in the air.

"Ah… ah…!" Vent's eyes trembled with fear. The object came in contact with his chest. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

"VENT!" Aile screamed as she watched her friend's face twist with pain while he yelled in agony. Red aura flowed around Vent's body as the object melded into him before he teleported away. "NO!" Aile pulled harder against her restraints to the point of tiering herself. "Come on! Let me go already!"

"Aile!" The six Biometals floated around her. There was a bright flash and her bonds vanished and she dropped to the floor on her hands and knees. "Are you alright?" Model X asked.

"Forget about me! We gotta go after Vent!"

Model Z focused. "I can sense that being's energy… he's still in Area N, just in a deeper part of it."

"Then let's hurry!" Aile said before running out of the room.

In her ZX form, Aile walked into a green area with a dark blue background. "What is this place? Something about this area feels… weird."

"Something is happening to this space." Model X said. "Proceed carefully Aile."

"I got it." the girl nodded before proceeding. "Model Z, we're still going the right way, yeah?"

"Yes. I feel that energy getting closer."

"Okay. Hold on Vent. I'm coming!"

She made her way across vanishing blocks. Even beyond a bed of spikes. And soon she found a door. "I can feel it just ahead Aile." Model Z said. "I don't know what that thing was or what it plans to do with Vent. Be ready for anything."

"I will." Aile opened the door. As she walked into a large empty room, she spotted someone standing there alone. "Vent!" She ran towards him. "Vent, are you okay?!" She stood in front of him and gripped his shoulders. "What happened, are you alright?!"

Vent made a low growl as red aura flowed out of him. "Aile, get back!" Model X yelled.

"What?!"

Vent pushed her off him. "Guh…! Agh!" He clutched his head as he stumbled. "RAAAAAAAAAH!" He burst with light and transformed.

"This is… Megamerge…?" Aile muttered. Vent stood there panting. His new transformation looked a lot like Model ZX, but the helmet was slightly different, he was a darker shade of red, there were fewer white plates, and the golden hair was a brighter shade. He looked up at Aile with aggravated red eyes and a scowl. "Vent…?"

Vent brandished a purple saber. "Aile, watch out!" Model Z yelled.

Vent roared and jumped at Aile who leapt back before the blade came down. "V-Vent, what are you doing?!" Vent dashed at Aile again who barely had time to bring up her own ZX Saber and block it. "Stop it Vent! It's me! Aile!"

Vent only growled before pushing Aile back. He swung wildly and Aile barley kept her balance as each swing she blocked pushed her back. "Aile, Vent's not in his right mind!" Model X said. "You have to fight back!"

Aile backflipped away from another swing and turned her ZX Saber into a buster and aimed at Vent. She then saw him growling in pain. That and the red eyes, the red and black armor, the saber, it reminded her of… Aile gasped when for a split-second Vent was gone and in his place, she saw Giro. "N…no…"

"What are you doing?!" Model L asked. "Shot him!"

"I…I can't!" Aile's eyes watered as her hands shook. "I can't hurt Vent! What if this ends just like it did with Giro?!"

"Aile, get a hold of yourself!" Model Z said.

Vent ran at Aile and started swinging again. She dodged each hit and jumped over him but then Vent took out a buster and shot her in the back when she landed. She yelped and fell over. "Kid, if you don't fight back, you're dead meat!" Model F said.

"We do not need to strike him down!" Model P added. "We only need to stop him!"

Aile pushed herself to her hands and knees. "But…"

"If you don't do something Vent will destroy you against his will!" Model L said.

"You would let the boy live with that on his hands forever?!" Model H asked. "Think about how he must feel!"

Aile balled up her hands into fists. "Vent…!"

Vent dashed towards her again. "Here he comes!" Model X said.

Aile pointed her ZX Buster at him and fired. Vent stopped in his tracks and blocked the first two with his saber, then two hit him in the shoulder making him yell in pain. Aile got back to her feet and turned the buster into a saber. "Don't make me do this Vent!" Her response was Vent roaring like a demon and rushing at her again. She blocked multiple sword swipes. "I don't want to fight you!" She jumped over him again and shot him repeatedly from above with the ZX Buster.

Vent pulled out his buster and fired back. Aile dodged as many shots as she could before getting hit by a massive charge shot. "He's too strong to take head on like this!" Model X said. "We need to change our tactics!"

"Model P!" Aile transformed into the Model PX form. She then put up a barrier to protect herself from the buster shots then threw a storm of kunai at Vent. When they hit his arm, he winced and lowered his buster. "Vent, you've got to fight it! I know you're stronger than it!"

Vent snarled and took out his saber again. "It's no use." Model P said. "Your words aren't reaching him."

"That can't be! Vent!" Aile jumped back as Vent swung his saber and threw a ninja star. Vent sliced it in half before Aile dashed and tackled him. They rolled across the floor before Aile had Vent on the ground pinning his wrists to the floor. "Vent, remember who you are! Remember who Giro, your mom, Prairie and the others made you!"

"M-mom… Prai…rie… B…boss…" Vent murmured.

Aile gasped. "Vent! Can you hear me?!"

Vent's glare suddenly deepened, and he planted his feet on Aile's torso before kicking her off him. She rolled backwards and looked up. "RAAAAAAH!" Crimson aura glowed around Vent.

"Is he using some kind of Overdrive?!" Aile asked.

"I suggest you do the same!" Model P replied.

"R-right!" Aile glowed with purple aura. Vent fired much larger blasts from the buster. It surprised Aile but she reacted fast enough to jump over them. When she landed, she saw Vent dash with his saber, but she Shadow Dashed to phase through him. She threw another giant shuriken at him from behind. She started throwing more kunai, but Vent blocked it with his saber then sent an electrical wave at her with his saber zapping her. Then he punched the ground sending rocks flying. Aile backed away and threw another shuriken. Vent jumped over it and spun sending small waves out with his saber. Aile tried to dodge but one was coming right for her. She held her hands up to guard, but it encased her hands and firearms in ice. "Wha?!" She heard Vent rush at her and took three swipes of his saber before she Shadow Dashed away. She tried to pry her hands apart, but they were stuck. "I can't break it!"

"If you cannot shatter the ice, you must become ice!" Model L said.

Aile looked up. "Oh, yeah! Model L!" Aile shifted to the Model LX form. She closed her eyes and held up her frozen hands. The ice glowed and turned into blue dust as she spread her arms freeing them of her freezing shackles. Vent ran towards her again and she held her hands forward summoning a halberd to block the attack. She pushed Vent back and spun her weapon in her hands. "Come on Vent, get ahold of yourself already!" Vent gritted his teeth as he leered at her. "Fine then we'll do this the hard way!" Aile activated her Overdrive. Vent shot at her with the buster. Aile deflected the attack then blocked his saber. He held up the buster to shoot her point-blank but Aile kicked it out of his hand then hit his left arm with it freezing it in ice before kicking him in the gut to make him back up. "Ha! Ready to chill out yet you jerk?"

Model L sighed. "*Really*? The ice puns weren't funny the first twenty times you and Vent made them while using my power."

Aile giggled. "Oh, come on, it's not our fault it's so easy!"

Vent roared and punched his left hand into the ground, breaking the ice. "I don't think Vent finds them so funny anymore."

Vent dashed and swiped at Aile repeatedly. She dodged and blocked the saber swings. As Vent charged up, she jumped back before he slammed the saber onto the ground. "Go!" Aile swung her weapon, and an ice dragon flew towards Vent. He took the saber in both hands and slashed down the middle.

Aile jumped at him for an overhead swing with her halberd, but Vent jumped swinging his saber upward and striking her out of the air with a fiery attack. Aile rolled across the floor. When she got up, she sent another dragon, but Vent punched the floor and blue lasers came up and down in a wave destroying Aile's attack and made her scream in pain as she was hit and collapsed while dropping her weapon. "Aile!" Model X shouted.

Aile groaned as she tried to push herself up only to find Ven standing in front of her looming over her. She gasped as Vent's hand grabbed her and held her up by the neck. "Vent... no...!" Aile gasped and put her hands over his arm. "You don't... want to do this..." She started to choke. "Vent! Please! Wake up!" She was lifted high over Vent who held back his saber in his other hand. Aile squeezed her eyes shut. "Come back Vent... I beg of you! Brother!"

Something wet landed on Vent's face. His eyes became slightly clearer. He saw the tears pour from Aile's eyes. "A...ile...?"

Aile opened her eyes as the pressure around her throat slackened and she heard her name. Suddenly she was let go and dropped to her knees gasping for air as she put her hands over her neck. She looked up. "V...Vent?"

The purple saber clanked onto the floor as he groaned clutching his head. "Ngh... Agh...!"

"Is your voice finally reaching him?" Model Z asked. "It looks like he's fighting back!"

Aile stood up. "Vent you have to break free! You need to be strong! Didn't we both promise Giro we would make our own future and protect those we care about?!"

"AAAAHHH!" Vent hunched over as the aura around him started to subside. "Hurts...! Make it... stop!"

"VENT!"

"GAAAAAAAH! Purple light glowed around Vent's body as he dropped to his knees. "Get…out…!" He lifted his head up and screamed as his body glowed. The mysterious rock slowly came out of his back and clunked into the floor behind him.

Much to Aile's relief Vent returned to his Humanoid form. He slowly started to tip over. "Vent!" Aile ran over and caught him. They kneeled in front of each other with Vent collapsed in Aile's arms. "Vent, are you alright?!

Vent weakly opened his eyes. "Ah… A-Aile…?"

Aile smiled with tears starting to form in her eyes again. She embraced Vent. "Welcome back stupid brother. And now that it's an appropriate time: I told you so."

"I…I'm sorry…" Vent whimpered returning the hug. "I… I almost… I can't believe I attacked you!" He choked back a sob.

"Hey, don't get all mopey on me now." Aile replied. "It wasn't really you. Just next time listen to me when I saw stay away from the freaky talking rock, okay?"

Vent sniffled and smiled slightly. "Yeah…"

The rock in question was lying there discarded on the floor. That is until its eyes glowed again. "Vent! Aile!" Model X shouted. "The Biometal!"

The two gasped and parted away as the mysterious object started floating while glowing red. "That thing's still active?!" Aile gapped.

"At last…"

"Now what?" Vent gulped as Aile stood up pulling him to his feet as well.

"I may have been separated from my host… but through your rage, sorrow and anguish… my power… has been restored…!"

The area started shaking. Vent and Aile could see their surroundings flash repeatedly taking the form of the ruins of a lab of some sort with the floor covered in water. "W-what's going on…?" Aile asked.

"I will now show you… my true form…!" The object burst with a white light. Vent and Aile were temporarily blinded before they could see in front of them again. And then before them stood someone wearing the same armor Vent had on when he was possessed. The blue gem on his forehead glowed along with his eyes.

"Is that… a Reploid…?" Vent asked.

"This is…"

Aile grew uneasy after hearing one of the Biometals speak in an uneasy tone. "M-Model Z? What's wrong…?"

"I feel like… I've seen this guy before… What is he?"

"I am the Messiah!" The Reploid laughed wickedly as he got into a fighting stance. A purple Z Saber appeared in his hand, and he dashed towards the duo.

"Vent!" Aile wrapped her arms around Vent and turned her back at the enemy. She shrieked as she was slashed in the back and knocked away with the force of the strike.

Vent landed on the ground first with Aile on top of him as she reverted to her Humanoid form. "AILE!" Vent sat up with the injured girl in his arms. "Aile, say something!"

"Ahh…" the girl weakly groaned.

Vent gritted his teeth. "Are you stupid?! Why did you do that?!" The Reploid's footsteps brought Vent's attention back to the approaching menace. He glared at him as he gently set Aile on the floor. "You…! I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to her! To both of us!" Vent stood up and transformed into the Model ZX form.

The Reploid stopped and looked at Vent's form. "Ze…ro…"

Vent took out his ZX Saber and looked at Aile. "Hang on sis. Once I beat this monster, we'll get you some help."

The Reploid roared. "ZEROOOOOOO!" He charged at Vent and their sabers clashed. They swung at each other repeatedly making sparks fly as they dueled. Vent rolled behind the Reploid and made a spinning slash, but the opponent blocked it from behind and hit Vent with a jumping rising slash. Vent backed up and fired his ZX Buster at him, but the Reploid shot his own Buster that produced much larger shots overpowering Vent's.

"Whoa!" Vent jumped over the attacks but when he landed the enemy hit him with a wave from his saber. "Gah!" He looked up to see the Reploid holding his saber overhead.

Vent backed away from a charged saber swing that shook the room. "Vent look out!" Model Z warned.

Vent looked up as rocks started to come down. "Model F!" He transformed into Model FX and punched the rocks to pieces. "Ha! Now let's show this creep who the hotshots around here are!"

"Oh, that was a good one!" Model F said. "Really gets you fired up!"

Model L groaned as Vent snickered. "You are a bad influence on these kids you know that?"

"Can we FOCUS!?" Model H shouted.

Vent roared and fired red orbs out of his Knuckle Busters. The Reploid jumped over the first volley. Vent fired another and he tried to jump over them as well, but they curved upward hitting him out of the air. He shot his buster at Vent who punched the ground leaving a wall of fire that blocked the attack and continued towards the Reploid who jumped over it and descended with his saber pointed down towards Vent who dashed out of the way. When his target came down, he turned around and fired but the Reploid blocked the attack with his saber and hit Vent with another saber wave. "Man, he's tough!"

"Then it's time to turn up the heat!" Model F said.

"Okay!" Vent activated FX Overdrive. He then ran up and threw two charged punches at the Reploid sending it flying backwards. Vent fired at him and the Reploid dashed to the side evading the fireballs before taking out his buster and shooting at Vent.

Once Vent stopped firing to block it dashed towards him. Vent threw a punch, but the Reploid jumped over it and grabbed Vent by one of the horns on his helmet and threw him across the room. He then dashed up to him again. "Be destroyed!" He punched the ground sending a spread shot of five orbs damaging Vent. Once he recovered Vent shot at the Reploid who laughed as he dodged.

"He's too fast!" Model X said. "Switch to a form with more speed!"

"Got it! Model H!" Vent transformed into Model HX and brandished two purple sabers. As the Reploid jumped and sent waves everywhere with a spinning slash, Vent dashed towards the Reploid evading them and struck with a dual dashing slash. Vent then swung with the right blade then the left. The Reploid blocked both but then Vent swung both swords in a cross that damaged the enemy with a x of light. The Reploid sneered as crimson aura glowed around him. Vent activated his Overdrive and they charged at each other. Their sabers collided repeatedly with loud clashes with each of their moves. The Reploid caught Vent off guard with a punch to the jaw knocking him back then he shot his buster. Vent jumped over the shots then dashed up over a blade beam. The Reploid took out his buster, but Vent swung his sabers, and an orb of wind and electricity knocked his weapon out of his hand. "This is for what you did to Aile!" Vent closed in the gap between them and summoned a hurricane engulfing the foe.

"He got him!" Aile smiled.

"Disappear!" The Reploid punched the floor summoning a pillar of light blowing the hurricane away. He then dashed at Vent and stepped on his foot keeping him where he was. He started swinging wildly at Vent who tried his best to block the rush but soon one of his sabers was knocked out of his hand. Her tried to continue blocking with the other one but soon that was knocked out of his grasp too leaving him to get ruthlessly hacked away at by multiple saber swings from the evil Reploid until he swung upward knocking Vent backwards. He dropped to his knees. "Ugh..."

"Vent, no!" Aile screamed. "Stand up!"

The Reploid slowly marched towards Vent. He stood in front of the boy. "Ngh…" Vent tried to stand but fell back to his knees. "No…"

Aile watched the Reploid hold his saber overhead and screamed. "Vent, don't give up!"

"Never… give up…" Vent gritted his teeth as he heard Giro's words in his head.

"You still have something… you must protect…"

Just as the saber came down Vent transformed to Model ZX blocking the attack with his own saber. He slowly pushed himself back up. Slowly he started to push the enemy back. "I won't…"

"Vent… Aile… be strong…"

"Let you win!" Vent pushed the enemy away with one swing. He ran up to the Reploid and they clashed their weapons again.

Aile could feel a jolt with each collision their sabers made. "Vent…" She then noticed something on the floor. "That's…!" It was the buster Vent made the Reploid drop. She slowly crawled her way towards it. "Can't… give up…"

"Bring the world the future you think it deserves."

Vent jumped and spun towards the Reploid spinning with his saber. With one charged swing the Reploid knocked him away. Vent leapt backwards to evade the rocks. He dashed at the Reploid while shooting the ZX Buster. The Reploid blocked the shots, then Vent brought out the ZX Saber and their dual continued. The Reploid swung overhead with both hands. The force of the swing pushed Vent down. He was brought to one knee struggling to hold his foe back. The Reploid grinned at him.

"Take this world into the tomorrow you desire."

"TAKE THIS!" A giant blast hit the Reploid in the left shoulder making it's left arm go limp. He cried out before glancing at Aile on the floor with his buster in her hand. "Payback you freak… GET HIM VENT!"

"RAAAAAAH!" Vent got back to his feet and pushed the Reploid back. He then used a three-hit combo. With only one arm the Reploid could only block two of them. The third one destroyed his saber. He slid back on his feet breathing heavily.

"That's my last job request for you, transporters."

"THIS ENDS NOW!" Vent charged up and slashed through the Reploid with an overhead swing. He roared in pain and froze before he started shinning. Light flowed out on multiple spots.

"Vent, he's going to explode!" Model X warned.

Vent gasped and dashed towards Aile, picking her up in his arms and moving away as a huge explosion came out of the red Reploid. He got himself and Aile a safe distance, but the shockwave of the explosion blew him off his feet. He held Aile close as they rolled across the floor. They both groaned as they pulled themselves to their feet. "Please tell me it's over for real this time…" Aile mumbled.

"I can't feel his presence anymore." Model P replied.

"Me neither." Model X added. "It's over."

"Good." Vent sighed. "That was the hardest fight in my life. Thanks for the assist there, Aile."

The girl smiled at him. "Like I was about to let you hog all the fun!"

"But who was that?" Model Z replied. "The more I looked at him the more uneasy I felt… like there was something I should know…"

"As long as we never have to see him again, I'm good with not knowing." Aile sighed. "Well… I guess we found what we were looking for…" She stepped forward and looked around. "I don't see that weird Biometal. Hopefully that explosion took it out." She staggered a bit then straightened herself up. "Ugh… I'm confused, tired and hurt all over. We should head back now." She heard a thud and turned around. Vent was on the ground back in Humanoid form. "Vent?!" She ran over and kneeled in front of him. "Vent! Vent, wake up!" She shook his shoulder. "VENT!"

Back at Guardian HQ, Carrelet folded his arms and tapped his foot. "Calm down. A bit, will ya?" Scombréoce asked.

"It's been a while since Vent and Aile set off for Area N… and we still haven't heard back from them."

"That's only 'cause communications can't reach that deep underground."

Nearby a Guardian was shaking like a leaf. "B-but without communications we can't know for sure… we don't even know what's down there! What if they were kidnapped?! Or killed! Or worse!"

Scombréoce facepalmed. "Not helping Congre… In case you dolts forgot, these are the Chosen Ones who took down Serpent we're talkin' about here. You two just need to chill out."

Carrelt unfolded his arms. "Even those two have their limits. You know what? I'm going to ask the Commander for permission to go look for them."

Scombréoce rolled his eyes. "Do what you want, just don't drag me into it."

Carrelt didn't get far before the sound of the transerver in the nearby room running caught their attention. "Is it them?"

"See?" Scombréoce smirked. "What'd I tell ya?"

Carrelt opened the door marked "Data". "Thank goodness, you're back! I was just about to- When Aile teleported in Carrelt saw she was injured and panting and had one of Vent's arms over her shoulders. And the boy was out cold. "Aile?! What's wrong with Vent?! What happened to you?!"

Aile looked up as Scombréoce and Congre rushed into the room. "We're home…" Aile smiled faintly before dropping to her knees.

Congre's scream echoed thought the HQ. And the first to run in was the youngest Guardian. "What's scaring Congre this time?" The seriousness of the situation hit the boy when he saw the Transporters. One of which was unconscious in Carrelt's arms, while Scombréoce was supporting a kneeling Aile. "Vent! Aile! What happened to them?!"

"Sardine, get Muguet and Rose!" Carrelt ordered. "Tell them we need two stretchers!"

"On it!" The boy hurried out of the room.

Scombréoce cringed at Aile's injuries. "Man, whatever was down there really roughened these two up. Commander Prairie's not gonna be happy about this…"

A 4-year-old Aile was sitting outside of a park. Sirens, could be heard from Slither Inc's security force who rushed in to battle Mavericks. Next to her was a crouching 4-year-old Vent who was sobbing and hugging his knees. After Giro found the girl and brought her to the exit with the boy, she found out Vent just watched his mother get killed by the Mavericks right in front of him before the man rescued him. Aile was separated from her own mother during the panic. All she could do was sit and worry. The battle had ended, but she still heard no news of her mother. Giro told the two to wait for him to check it out.

When the man returned Aile ran up to him. "Mister, did you find mama?!"

Giro's face was saddened. "Aile… your mother was found…"

"Really?! Is she okay?!"

Giro knelled to the girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "…I'm sorry Aile. By the time they found her…she was already gone."

The girl was hit with the biggest shock of her life. "…No… No! That can't be! I…I…Mamaaaaaaaa!"

Giro hugged the girl. "I'm so sorry Aile." He rubbed her back as she started to cry uncontrollably on his shoulder. "I wish there was something I could have done."

"It's their fault…" Vent murmured glaring at the ground through his tears. "If the Security Force just showed up a bit sooner… Both our moms would still be alive!"

"Vent…"

One of the park employees walked up. "Oh, Giro… these children…are they?"

Giro stood up. "They both lost their parents in that Maverick attack."

"That's awful! And they're both so young… I…! guess I better call an orphanage…"

Giro looked at the two and shook his head. "That won't be necessary."

"Huh?"

Giro looked at the man. "I'll take care of these two myself."

"Giro!"

The man took Aile's hand and waked her over to Vent. He kneeled in front of them both. "Hey, you two. I'm sorry you both lost your mothers. I can't even imagine how much it must hurt. Especially at a young age. But you two must press on. You're young you still have a lot to look forward to in your future." He put a hand on each of their shoulders. "And... I want you two to live to see it. If you both have nowhere else to go, you can stay with me."

Aile sniffled and looked up at Giro. "With... you?"Giro smiled gently. "That's right. I know I can never replace what you just lost. But if you'll have me at least you two won't have to be alone. You both deserve to live. Find happiness. Something to live up to. I know your mothers would want that."Aile looked up at him. "...Okay..."Vent stood up. "Yeah... okay."Giro smiled. "It's settled then. You two will come live with me. My name is Girouette. But you can just call me Giro."

"...le...? Aile, can you hear me?"

The 14-year-old mumbled as she started to stir. Her eyes slowly opened, and she could see the bright room she was in. The first person she saw was a blond girl in pink. "Prair...ie...?"

"Aile!" A smile of relief came to her face when she saw Aile was awake. She gently hugged the girl. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

Aile blinked. "Where...where am I? What happened?"

Prairie let Aile lie gently down on the bed before sitting back in her chair. "You're in the infirmary. You were rushed in here after you came back with Vent and passed out."

Aile stared at the ceiling "Oh... right...Wait!" The moment Aile came to her senses she sat up with a gasp and winced at her sudden movement. No wonder she had bandages all over her. "Ow…"

"Aile, stay still!" Prairie said standing up and holding her. "You're still injured!"

"Vent! Where's Vent!?"

"Calm down!" Prairie said before pointing to the bed next to Aile. "Vent's right over there."

Aile looked to her left onto the other bed in the room. Vent was still lying there with even more bandages than Aile. His right arm was in a cast. "Vent..." Aile looked at Prairie. "Is he going to be okay?"

"We believe so. His injuries while worse than yours have been treated. We think he must have exhausted himself though. He hasn't woken up..."

"Oh Vent..." Aile sighed.

"Don't worry Aile. We both know Vent is strong. I know he will pull through."

"Yeah..."

"In the meantime you should rest. As much as I would like to know what happened to you two on your mission it can wait until you're feeling better."

Aile shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm well enough to talk."

"Aile..."

"You need to know what happened. Don't worry I can rest after I tell you."

Prairie nodded. "Very well. Report."

"When we got to Area N..."

"...and after it exploded Vent fainted. I was able to carry him to the transiever... the last thing I can remember was being put on a stretcher by some of the Guardians then blacking out."

"I... see. Then the Biometal you found was destroyed then. Probably for the best. Still... there's no way Sis would make a Biometal that dangerous..."

"I didn't think so. But if not her then who did?"

Prarrie looked at her lap. "A red Reploid with blond hair... but there's no way that could be him... Wait... if it looked like Zero but acted like a bloodthirsty Maverick could it be..." Prairie shook her head. "No. That's impossible. Omega was destroyed centuries ago."

Aile tilted her head as she looked at Prairie's concerned expression. "Prairie? What's wrong?"

"Ah!" Prairie looked back at her and smiled. "Sorry, I just lost myself in my thoughts there. In any case I'm glad you both came back to us."

Aile grinned. "You're not getting rid of me and Vent that easy!"

Prairie laughed. "That being said you should take some time off to recover."

"What? And just do nothing while you and the Guardians continue to fight?!"

"You won't be able to fight with those injuries holding you back."

"But I can't sit back on the sidelines while there's work to be done! Vent and I promised we would continue the fight where Giro left off!"

Prairie looked at her sadly. "Aile... please don't make me say it."

"Say what?"

The Reploid sighed but gave Aile a serious expression as she spoke. "You know what Giro would tell you if he were here."

Aile's stern expression was traded for a sad one. "That's… just not fair."

"I'm sorry. That was below the belt, I agree." Prairie admitted with a sad look of her own. "But you know I'm right."

Aile sighed. "…I know. Fine. I'll stay here until Muguet gives me the green light."

Prairie smiled. "Good. Don't worry, we can hold the line on our own for a while. Until then you and Vent get some well-earned rest." She gently pushed Aile back into resting her head on the pillow and covered her with the comforter. "If you'll excuse me, I should go write your report. I'll drop by to visit you both later. Take it easy Aile."

Aile smiled faintly. "Thank you, Prairie." After watching the Commander leave Aile turned her head back to the unconscious boy. "Vent… I hope you'll wake up soon." She then closed her eyes and eventually drifted back into sleep.

The next day Vent had still not awoken. Aile was still in the infirmary with him. One by one the other Guardians came in to visit the duo. Aile appreciated it. They all had their unique quirks but to her that made them stand out. But the most memorable visit was the one right now. With Prairie. At first the girls just exchanged gossip, but the moment the topic of Giro came up there were trading stories. Of his time as a Guardian and head of Giro Express. They enjoyed learning more of the man from each other.

Right now, Prairie was laughing the hardest she had in a long time. "Ha, ha, ha, ha! I guess Giro was in for more than one surprise when he got home!"

Aile sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, Vent and I were super nervous about how he'd react to the disaster we left in the kitchen…"

"I'm sure Giro was just happy to see you both made him a birthday cake."

Aile smiled. "Yeah. He mostly laughed off the mess saying it was his fault for leaving us alone in the house for so long. He even helped us clean up."

"I bet when he saw it, he realized how hard you and Vent worked on your surprise for him."

Aile nodded looking back on the memory. "We did. Vent and I did make a lot of mistakes because we kept bickering on what to do, but in the end, we got it done. Looking back that was the first time we really worked together on something. If you though he and I argue a lot know, you should have met us when we were younger."

"But you two make a perfect team when you both set your minds on a goal." Prairie said before giggling.

"What's so funny?"

"The way you two argue, the concern you show each other, your teamwork when you face a challenge together… You and Vent really are just like siblings."

Aile smiled at the sleeping Vent.

Now five years old, Vent was carrying Aile inside on his back. The girl was sobbing. "Girooooo!"

The man was working at his desk when he was startled by the shouting. "Indoor voice Vent!" He turned around. "Wait, what happened to Aile?"

"She tripped and hurt her knee!"

Giro stood up. "Put her on the stool over there, I'll go get some bandages."

Vent walked over to the stool and set Aile down. Vent started to panic not knowing what to do as Aile continued to cry. "Aile, hold on! Giro will be back soon! Please don't die on me!"

Giro sighed as he walked in with a first aid kit. "Calm down Vent, Aile's not going to die from this." He walked over and looked at the girl's knee. "It doesn't look too bad. Just a scrape." He opened the kit. "Watch Vent, I'm going to show you what to do when this happens. First you need to clean the wound." He took out a small pad. "This might sting a bit Aile, but try to keep still." As he gently patted it onto Aile's knee the girl whimpered. "There. Then you take some bandages and wrap them firmly around it…" Vent watched carefully as Giro bandaged Aile's knee. "There, all done! Just try not to move your leg around too much and it will heal in a couple of days."

Aile nodded and wiped her tears. "Thank you…"

Giro closed the first aid kit and turned to Vent. "You were watching, right? If I'm not around and something happens, it'll be your job to take care of Aile. Be a good brother to her."

"Huh?" Vent blinked as Giro smiled taking the box back. "But I'm not…" He looked at Aile. "I've never been a brother before… this feels so weird…"

Aile sat on the chair swinging her legs. "It's not that hard, it just means you have to take care of me!" she smiled.

"Ugh, do I gotta? Fiiiiiine." Vent groaned. They could hear Giro laughing nearby.

Aile returned to the present from her memory. "…Yeah. Vent really is the snobby annoying brother I never knew. He drives me up a wall sometimes but… I'm happy I have him."

The next day Aile was finally well enough to leave the infirmary, even though she couldn't go back on missions yet. Though the freedom felt hallow with Vent still unconscious. At this point everyone was worried. Especially Aile and Prairie. Everyone would take turns talking to the unconscious boy hoping he would finally return to them. But nothing indicated he would wake up any time soon. Aile couldn't get herself to sleep that night. She was on the deck right now staring at the moon. "I remember looking at the moon like this many times. Both before and after that Maverick Raid ten years ago. But is feels so much closer looking at it from up here. Mom… Giro… I miss you both… so very much…" She looked at the clouds below the ship. "Vent… why won't you wake up? If I lose you too because I was weak, I…" She shook her head holding back the tears. "No… I can't let myself mope. Vent… Giro… mom… they'd hate to see me like this." She looked at the stars and sighed. "I guess I should try again to get some sleep."

Aile went inside and down the elevator. She made her way towards her room when… "I know your tender gaze isn't just for me…"

Aile stopped in place. "What the…?"

"But my heart is racing…"

She could hear words in slow, genlte melody and looked around. "Is someone singing? This late at night?"

"My heart is now aware of my feelings towards you…" Aile tracked the voice to the door to the infirmary. She opened it and found a familiar Reploid sitting next to Vent's bed holding his hand in one of her own while the other slowly went through his hair then gently stroked his cheek. She looked at his sleeping face with watering eyes as she sung. "There's no such thing as eternity, so I need you to be there for me for a little while."

"Prairie?"

The commander yelped and turned around. Her cheeks turned slightly pink. "A-Aile?! I didn't think you would still be up!"

"I was about to say the same thing to you." Aile's eyes sadden. "I guess neither of us could sleep, huh?"

"You um… you didn't hear that just now, did you?"

"Um… well…"

Prairie covered her face in embarrassment. "You did, didn't you?"

"Sorry. Just a little bit." Aile scratched the back of her head. "That song you were singing…" Aile closed the door behind her as she aproached. "I could feel powerful emotions flowing through me uncontrollably just listening to it." When she reached Vent's bedside, she noticed he was smiling in his sleep and giggled. "I think Vent liked it too." Prairie blushed deeper. "I don't think I've ever heard it before though. Did you write it yourself?"

Prairie shook her head and stood up. "No. It was Sis. She used to sing it to me after what happened with Ragnarok hundreds of years ago."

"Ragnarok? That space station you mentioned that became Model W?"

"That's right. As I told you and Vent, the man who built it tried to take over the world but was stopped by a hero. But… in order to stop Ragnarok from crashing into us, he destroyed that man's core taking Ragnarok out with the explosion, reducing it to harmless debris that mostly burned up in the atmosphere."

Aile looked at Prairie's sad expression. "Did he… did the hero survive?"

"He was never seen again."

"Oh…"

"Sis often sang that song whenever she thought of him… she took losing him the hardest. But she also encouraged us to keep working towards a brighter future. As the ones that hero believed in, we would make a world where humans and Reploids walk hand in hand."

Aile smiled at her. "Then I'd say she did a good job. All of you did a good job. These days it's hard to tell Humanoids and Reploids apart."

Prairie nodded. "We have Legion HQ to thank for that. They were the ones who established the equity laws for our kind." Her face saddened. "I only wish they could be here to see it… Sis… the hero… the Resistance… Giro… I've lost so many I care about…" Prairie looked at Vent. "And now Vent is… I… I don't know how much more loss I can take Aile…"

"Prairie…" Aile's heart sank when she heard Prairie sniffle. "It must be hard for her. She's fought for far longer than us… suffered more than any of us… yet she still has to act strong. Not just for herself but for all of the Guardians…" Aile thought for a moment. "Prairie… do you remember what you told me and Vent when we went back to the park where our mothers were killed? You told us not to try to carry the whole world on our shoulders. Me… Vent… the other Guardians… We're all here for you…"

"Aile…" When Prairie felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked at her friend showing her tears and then hugged her. Aile rubbed Prairie's back. "If something were to happen to you or Vent I… I don't know if I…"

"We're not going anywhere." Aile soothed. "I promise." Aile could feel her own tears coming up as she looked at Vent. "Vent… come home to us. Prairie and I can't take any more heartache… We miss you."

The next morning Muguet and Rose were checking Vent's condition. "His vitals are still fine." Rose said. "I don't understand why he's still unconscious. Do you think it has something to do with that odd Biometal that possessed him?"

"It could be." Muguet replied. "There's still so much we don't know about Biometal. Still, Vent's in good health and if I learned one thing during my time as a doctor, it's that the young bounce back quickly. I'm sure he'll be back on his feet soon."

Rose looked down sadly. "Yeah… hopefully…"

Muguet put a hand on Rose's shoulder. "I'm sure he will be fine Rose. Let's believe in him. Why don't you go take a small break. I should report his condition to the Commander."

"Okay…" The two of them left the room. Vent was left alone, sound asleep. Nobody was there to notice a red orb of light floating into the room and towards him.

"Vent… Vent…"

Vent mumbled as he heard a voice. He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. He was in his room back home. Where he lived with Aile and Giro. His head was heavy. He was tired. He closed his eyes again. "Five more minutes…"

A hand rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, no. Aile's up and about already, so it's past time for you to get up!" Vent groaned and sat up in his bed. He yawned before looking to see Giro to his left sitting in a chair. "Finally! There's a lot to be done out there and you're sleeping the day away!

"Huh? What time is it?" Vent asked rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Do we have another job?"

"It's almost the afternoon, and yes you have a job to do!" Giro sighed. "Honestly, Vent I don't know what to do with you sometimes."

"Alright, alright…" Vent groaned. "You don't need to chew me out Boss, I'm awake now, aren't I?"

Giro held a straight face. "No Vent. You're not awake."

Vent blinked at him with a confused look on his face. "…Huh?"

"You're still sleeping back in the infirmary at Guardian HQ."

"Guardian… HQ?"

Giro put a hand on Vent's shoulder. "Try to think back Vent. What's the last thing you can remember?"

Vent stared at him as he gathered his thoughts. Then everything came back striking him like lightning. "Ah!" He gasped. "Wait, where am I?! What's happening?! Where's Aile?! How are you here?! Where is here?! Is this heaven?! Am I dead?!"

Giro shook his head chuckling faintly. "One question at a time Vent."

"I… I remember fighting that weird Reploid… then… then…!" Vent clutched his head. "Argh! I can't remember anything after that!"

"Not surprising. After the fight you passed out. Aile carried you back to HQ before blacking our herself."

Vent turned to Giro. "Is she okay?!"

Giro held up his hand. "Relax, I told you she's already awake. And no, you're not dead, just in a coma."

"Oh…huh…" Vent tried to calm himself down. "So…how do I wake up then?"

"Do you want to?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It seems to me like you don't want to wake up. You're hesitating because you're afraid deep down."

"Me? Afraid? Of what?"

"Everything. You know more battles lie ahead. You know more people are going to get hurt. What you don't know is what will happen or when. A small part of you is scared of the future and what it holds. And that's not all… you're afraid of yourself. You're worried about getting those you care about hurt."

Vent looked down. "…Maybe you're right…after seeing Aile get hurt…by me…Maybe it's better if I stay here…"

"Vent… that was NOT your fault. I know you didn't want to hurt Aile."

Vent squeezed his eyes shut and looked away. "But I did! It's just like what happened to you! If I didn't rush ahead without thinking you wouldn't have…!"

Giro put a hand on his shoulder. "Vent, look at me." The boy turned to him. "I'll admit, maybe you and Aile not running ahead would have kept us away from Serpent's trap. But it would have also meant leaving innocent people to die. Isn't that what you and Aile wanted to prevent?"

"But I…"

"You only did what you thought was right. That's why you went. It's not your fault we didn't see that coming." Giro looked at his lap. "Listen Vent… when I first joined the Guardians, I also like you wanted to save every innocent in this world. But I quickly came to lean that isn't entirely realistic."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"There are millions of people in the world that deserve being protected. But I'm only one person. As are you. Try as you might, you cannot save every living being. People will continue to get hurt no matter how hard you try. And when that happens… it hurts. Not a day goes by when I wish I could have saved more people. Like your mother. Like Aile's."

"Boss…"

"But while I couldn't save everyone, I'm grateful for those I could save. Like you two. The future is full of unknowns, you can't help that. But like I told you and Aile, you can make your own future. Even if things don't always go the way you want them to, you can still decide the course of your life. Think about what you believe is right. Shape this world into what you think will help as many people as you can help."

"Our own future…"

Giro smiled and ruffled Vent's hair. "Vent… as long as you're alive you can set things right. If you stay locked in here, you won't change anything. Besides, didn't you promise you'd take care of Aile? Didn't you promise you would protect the people you care about? You're not going to break those promises, are you?"

Vent took a deep breath. "No. I can never do that. There are people counting on me. So, I… I want to go back! To Aile! To Prairie! To the Guardians! Even if what's waiting for me is full of pain… even if I can't protect everyone in this world… I have to at least fight to make a better world for the people I care about! One where nobody suffers the way Aile and I have!"

"Atta boy." The area around them started to fade. "Looks like you're finally ready to wake up… Go Vent. There are people waiting for you. Take care of them. And try not to break their hearts."

"Wait, Bo- Giro!" Vent reached out to him. "There's something I need to tell you. I've been wanting to say it for a long time now…"

"Oh? And what would that be?"

Vent looked down. "…There were times I thought you were strict… and I know I've been a pain to you at times…" He then looked back up at Giro and smiled. "But I'm happy it was you who found me and took me in that day. I cherish all the time I spent with you and my sister Aile. All the good, all the bad… it made me who I am now. And I'll never forget you…"

Giro smiled and patted Vent's head. "I'm glad it was me who found you both too. You kids drove me crazy, made me happy, gave me something to protect… The Commander may have ordered me to look after survivors of the Maverick raids, but I didn't look after you just because of orders. I looked after you because it made me happy to see you grow, live, succeed, fail, and learn. You and Aile… you were like the son and daughter I never knew. And I'm proud of you both."

Vent hugged Giro as everything faded faster. Tears came out of his eyes. "I'll miss you Giro… Thank you for everything…"

Giro rubbed Vent's back. "Don't worry Vent. You are never alone. You have Aile, Commander Prairie, and many others looking out for you. And remember, I'll be watching over you two. Always."

Vent nodded as everything went white.

Vent's body felt incredibly stiff as his consciousness returned to him. His eyes slowly opened. He was in the infirmary. Pain soared though him the moment he tried to move. Then he noticed his right arm was in a cast and he had bandages all over him. He looked around. He was alone in the room. Then he saw a red light phase though the window and fly away. He smiled. "Goodbye Boss…" The door suddenly opened. Vent looked to see someone came in. "Rose?"

The Reploid gasped when she saw him and hurried over. "Vent! You're finally awake! Thank heavens… We were all so worried!"

"Yeah… but my body hurts so much and feels so stiff… how long was I…?"

"Three days…"

Vent was slightly shaken. "…That explains a lot."

The door opened again and Muguet came in. She noticed Vent was conscious and came over. "Vent! You've come back to us!"

"Hi Muguet."

"How are you feeling lad?"

"I've been better… but I'm alive, and that's what matters. Is Aile alright?"

"Yes, her injuries weren't as bad as yours. She was released the other day."

"We should tell the others!" Rose said. "Everyone was worried about you!"

"Hold on a moment Rose." Muguet said. "Vent just woke up. It might be best not to crowd him with all the Guardians right now."

"O-oh… right."

"That being said I do think it would be best to tell the Commander and Aile. Those two worried about him the most."

Rose smiled. "Of course! I'll go tell them right away!" She hurried out of the room.

Aile sighed in the command center. "Vent… just how long is it going to take for him to wake up…" Prairie didn't answer. She just looked down sadly.

Then there was a knock on the door. "Commander, may I come in?"

"Rose? You may enter."

The girl came inside. "Perfect, Aile is here too!"

"Why?" Aile asked. "Did something happen?"

Rose smiled at them. "Vent just woke up." The girls' eyes widened.

Muguet was doing a quick examination of Vent's condition. "It will take some time for you to fully mend. Don't exert yourself or it will take more time to recover."

"Alright." The boy nodded.

"VENT!" The door opened and Prairie and Aile ran inside.

Vent smiled at the sight of their faces. "Prairie! Aile!"

The Commander rushed to Vent's side and hugged him with tears in her eyes. "You're back! You're okay! I'm…I'm so glad!"

Vent blushed at the warm embrace. "Uh… yeah… I'm fine… Hi?" he muttered awkwardly. After a moment Prairie slowly let him go and he sat up. He then noticed Aile still had a couple bandages around her body. "What about you Aile, are you alright?" The girl hung her head low avoiding his gaze. "Aile? What's wrong?"

"Vent…" Aile walked to Vent's bedside. Then one hand gripped his shoulder. "YOU MORON!"

Aile's other hand slammed down atop Vent's head. Hard. "OW!" The boy grimaced.

Prairie gasped. "A-Aile?!"

Vent groaned rubbing his aching noggin before glaring at Aile. "What the heck was that for?! I'm in enough pain right now as is thank you very much!"

When Vent could finally see Aile's eyes, he saw she was glaring right back through tears that streamed down her cheeks. "Don't you EVER scare me like that again!"

Vent was thrown off when he saw her eyes. "…Aile…?"

"I already lost my mom AND Giro!" the girl sobbed. "What am I supposed to do if I lost my brother too?! My heart can't take any more of this pain!" Aile lugged and hugged her adoptive brother crying on his shoulder. "You idiot… you stupid idiot!"

Vent was not sure how to take all this at first. But he put his unbandaged arm onto her back. "Aile… It's okay. I'm not going to leave you. I won't leave my sister behind. I made a promise I intend to keep no matter what. I want to honor Boss's memory by fighting for what I believe in. And I want to fight alongside you Prairie, the Guardians and the people I care about."

Aile sniffled. "I'm so glad you're finally awake…"

Prairie smiled gently at them wiping her own tears. "It's good to have you back Vent."

Vent smiled back. "It's good to be back. Wait, what happened to the weird Reploid we fought?"

"Gone." Aile said as they parted, and she wiped her tears. "Same with that Biometal. After they were destroyed you passed out. Thankfully I was able to carry you back here. But you were out cold for three days…"

"Yeah, I heard…" Vent gasped. "Wait! Three days have passed… that means tomorrow is…!"

"I know." Aile nodded. "…But we can hold that off until another day when you're better. You need to stay in here and recover."

"What?! No way!" Vent objected immediately. "We all promised we were going to go together that day no matter what!"

"Vent… I know how you feel." Prairie said. "But Giro wouldn't want you to overexert yourself."

"But I'm not going to make us miss something so important to all of us!"

"Vent!" Aile scolded.

"Nothing either of you say is going to change my mind. We're all going together tomorrow and that's final!"

Aile gritted her teeth. "You stubborn jerk. Fine, we'll go tomorrow, but after that you're going straight back to that bed! No excuses! You hear me?!"

"Alright, alright!" Vent groaned.

Prairie giggled. "You two really are brother and sister. Family is about more than DNA. Believe me, I know."

Aile's face softened. "Yeah… Blood is just blood after all."

Vent nodded. "Definitely."

Just then the door opened and one by one the Guardians came rushing in. "Well look who's back in the land of the living!" Cédre smirked.

"Vent, you're up and about at last!" Fleuve said.

"Vent, good to see you're awake little guy!" Thon waved.

"Phew! I was so worried!" Congre said. "If we lost you, I don't know what we'd do!"

"Vent!" Sardine ran over to him. "I'm so happy to see you're up!"

"Good to have you back." Hareng smiled.

"Heh. I was wounderin' how long you were gonna stretch out your nap kid." Scombréoce grinned.

Vent smiled. "Hey everyone!"

"Er, Rose, I thought we weren't going to tell the others just yet." Muguet said.

"Sorry… they all heard Aile shouting and came rushing in, I couldn't stop them."

"Of course, you couldn't!" Anguille grinned. "Nothing was gonna stop us from welcoming our buddy home!"

"Indeed." Carrelt smiled. "We were all worried for you Vent. And it puts us all at ease to see you've come back to us."

Vent chuckled and gave them a smile. "Thanks guys. I couldn't ask for a warmer welcome."

"A hero deserves a grand welcome upon his return!" Bar smiled.

Prairie smiled and turned to him. "Vent… Aile… you two may have only been with us for a short time… but both of you are one of us. We value both of you highly. Not just because you are the Chosen Ones of the Biometal. But because you two are a part of us. So please… please make sure you don't die on us."

"Like I told you, we're not going anywhere." Aile smiled. "Vent and I will work with all of you to make a better future. One where the incident with Serpent will never happen again. No matter what happens we'll combine our strength and face our destiny together! For my mom! For Vent's! For Giro! For the first Commander! And for this world they all-

A loud grumbling gurgle cut Aile's speech off. Everyone awkwardly froze before turning to Vent. "Um…" The boy's cheeks became pink.

"Vent?" Prairie asked.

Aile playfully grinned at her brother and poked him in the belly with her finger. "Okay bro, wanna explain to your little friend here that I was talking and that his grumbling was VERY rude?"

"Sh-shut up!" Vent stammered blushing harder as the room filled with everyone else's laughter. "It's not like I can control it!"

"Hey, to be fair, the guy hasn't eaten anything in a while, I'd be famished too." Truite said.

"Exactly! It's been three days, what do you want from me?!"

Aile laughed. "Okay, okay, you sit tight, and I'll go get your belly something before it starts complaining again!"

The Guardians left the room one by one Prairie looked at Vent once they were alone. "Vent… get some rest. And welcome home." She smiled before leaving the room.

Vent smiled once the door closed and laid back down before looking out the window. "You're right Boss. There are too many people here counting on me. And I'm going to stay where I belong. With them. So please… watch us make the future this world deserves…"

Prairie was passing by the infirmary when she decided to check up on Vent again. When she walked in, she saw Aile sitting at his bedside spoon feeding him. "Aile, slow down!" Vent said through a mouthful before the spoon was shoved into his mouth again. "I can't eat that fast!" he complained in muffled words.

"Yeah right, I've seen you eat before. Besides, if that noise, your stomach was making is anything to go by you need food if you're going to get your strength back so eat faster!" Aile replied playfully.

"I can feed myself Aile, I still have one arm that can move!"

"Yeah, but it's not your dominant arm so I'm not letting you spill food on the bed! Now come on, open up! Here comes the choo-choo train!"

"Do I look like I'm five or something to you?!" Vent asked before looking at Aile's cheeky grin. "On second thought, don't answer that."

"Careful Aile, you might cause him to choke." Prairie said.

Aile turned her head. "Oh, hey Prairie." Vent took the moment to chew and swallow. He took a deep breath before Aile held a cup of water to his mouth to drink.

"How are you feeling Vent?" the Commander asked.

"Better." Vent replied. "Although I swear my crazy sister is taking advantage of my situation to torment me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Aile smiled innocently. "You're welcome by the way. I'd say I'm a pretty darn good sister looking after you!"

"I thought I was the one who's supposed to look after you."

"Dosen't mean I'm not allowed to look after you."

"You mean like the time Vent caught a cold after you two were playing out in the snow for too long and you and Giro had to take care of him?" Prairie asked.

Vent blushed looking at Aile. "You told her about that?!"

"Yeah, we were trading Giro stories while you were unconscious." Aile replied. "Shame you missed out, there were a lot of funny things about Giro too! Like this one time he woke up shooting his alarm clock thinking he was being attacked by a Maverick."

Vent snickered as Prairie giggled. "Wow… I didn't think Boss would make a mistake like that…"

"It was during his days as a new recruit." Prairie replied. "I'd be more than happy to tell you what I shared with Aile."

"Sure." Vent smiled. "I want to know more about what he did as a Guardian. I bet it was very different from being a transporter."

Prairie smiled and pulled up a seat. "Very well. Where to begin…"

"Oh! Oh! Tell him about his certification trail!" Aile smiled.

"That's a good place to start. Giro's trail to enter the Guardians was…"

The next day, Vent, Aile, and Prairie gathered in a grassy field. A number of Guardians stood behind them. Vent still had his cast and other bandages on, but that didn't stop him from coming to this important day. One by one the Guardians were placing flowers in front of a stone. Once it was Vent's turn, he put a blue bouquet down and kneeled. "Boss… I will always cherish every memory I have of you. All the joy, anger, sadness… it means everything to me. You're the reason why I have what I have today. And I'll fight on for the beliefs you gave me." He then stood up and walked back to Prairie's side as Aile aproached.

The girl put a red bouquet down in front of the grave. "Giro… thank you for everything. You gave me the strength to face my destiny. I won't fear this blood in my veins or what my future holds. I will protect this world you loved. Always."

As Aile walked back to Vent Prairie walked over with a bouquet of white flowers. She knelt down and put them in front of the gravestone. "Giro… I'm sorry for all the danger I exposed you Vent and Aile too. I know how much they both meant to you. I promise I will look after the two of them for you and that we will keep fighting for a peaceful world. So please… rest in peace. Goodbye my friend. And thank you."

The Biometals were floating close by. Model X looked at Model Z. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine… I just wish I could have protected him…"

"Hey man, you did what you could." Model F said. "In the end he told you to join those two and you honored his will."

"I wish I could have met him." Model L said. "Your original Chosen One. He must have been an interesting man."

"And an honorable warrior." Model H said. "It is always sad when a good man's life is cut short."

"But he is not truly gone." Model P said. "His spirit still shines. And his will lives on with them."

Model Z looked at Vent and Aile. "Yeah…"

Prairie aproached the others. "…Will all of you wait at the ship? I would like to speak to Vent and Aile for a moment."

"Of course, Commander." Oeillet replied before she and the other Guardians left leaving just Prairie, Vent, Aile, and the Biometals.

Prairie looked at the two. "Thank you both for agreeing to this. I know it must have been hard."

"Yeah… it was." Vent said. "But we needed to do it."

"Giro deserved this." Aile said. "No. He deserved a lot more. He deserved to be a part of the future we will make… but… all we can do now is make it happen." She sniffled as Vent looked away.

"Vent… Aile… I know you two are hurting even more then me right now. That's why… that's why I want to help you find closer regarding Giro." Prairie said. "I have something I want you to listen to. A song."

"A song?" Vent asked.

"Wait…" Aile looked at Prairie. "You mean the one you were singing to-

"Yes, the one Sis wrote." Prairie quickly replied before Aile could even mention Vent's name. "I think it will help you two cope with your grief. It's how she and I coped with heartache like this… I want to ease my pain, Giro's pain, and your pain… so… will you listen to it?"

"Of course." Vent said.

"Please, sing it." Aile added.

"Okay…" Prairie breathed deep and clasped her hands closing her eyes. "My heart is always filled with feelings for you…"

Vent and Aile listened to Prairie as she continued to sing. It wasn't long before they both started crying. The more beautiful lyrics they heard the tighter their chests felt. Even Prairie couldn't stop her tears. But she didn't stop singing either. Not until the song was over.

"…So I need you to be there for me for a little while."

Vent sniffled as Aile rubbed her eyes. "Prairie… thank you." Aile whimpered.

"I think…" Vent chocked back a sob. "I think Boss can rest in peace now…"

Praire brushed her tears aside. "Yes… I think so too…" She looked up at the sky. "Sis… she made that song after the hero disappeared."

"Hero?"

Aile finished composing herself and looked at Vent. "Remember what that data we got from the lab said about Model W? And how Prairie told us it was really part of a space station destroyed by a hero? Prairie said nobody ever saw him again after he destroyed the space station…"

"In doing so he save the last of this planet's nature." Prairie explained. "A symbol of hope for the world. And he destroyed the man what tried to rule it. We wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for him…"

"The hero that saved this world…" Vent said. "I wish I could have met him."

Prairie smiled. "I wish you could too…"

"What was he like?" Aile asked.

"He was a brave Reploid who was hailed as a legend a hundred years before I met him. Long ago there was an organization named Neo Arcadia that deemed all Reploids outside of their group as Mavericks and hunted us down. Sis led a resistance against them."

"Oh yeah." Vent said. "You mentioned she stood up for Reploids when nobody else would."

"That's right. But we were powerless against the forces that hunted for us… that is until she found the legendary hero sealed in a lab. After awakening him, we had hope against Neo Arcadia. I was little when I met him. He was rather silent… He rarely showed emotion."

"A cool headed, composed sort, huh?" Aile asked.

"I guess. I'll admit… he kind of scared me at first. But when I got to know him better, I felt a sense of warmth from him. He truly cared about all of us. You could learn to tell just by how hard he fought. He believed in me, Sis, and everyone to the very end." Prairie looked up and sighed. "In a way he was like Giro. Their personalities may be different, but both cared for others and would do anything to protect them. When I saw Giro use Model Z to transform, I couldn't stop thinking about him… Giro was a hero in his own right too."

Vent smiled. "Yeah. He was amazing. Even after he was gone, he was looking out for us…"

Prairie looked at the grass sadly. "He was family to you two, wasn't he? I'm so sorry… I know how much loosing that hurts…"

"Prairie…" Vent murmured sadly.

"Vent… Aile… can I trust you two with a secret?"

"Sure." Aile smiled.

"You know how Reploids like me… "grow up" right?"

"I think their minds get transferred to new bodies." Aile replied. "At least that's what I heard…"

"Yeah. Sometime after my Sis disappeared, I got this body. With it I decided to take up a new name. Back then when she was with us… I was called Alouette. Sis gave me that name."

"Alouette, huh?" Vent asked. "That has a nice ring to it."

"Yeah, it's cute." Aile smiled. "I mean Prairie is a nice name too, but I think you should have stuck to the one your sister gave you."

Prairie smiled faintly. "Maybe… but I knew that if I were to lead the Guardians in Sis's stead I couldn't be the weak little girl who only watched from the sidelines anymore. I had to reinvent myself. And so, I became Prairie."

"I see… but why are you okay with telling us this all the sudden?"

"I guess… it's because you remind me of him."

"Who? Giro?"

"Him too. But I mean the hero." Prairie smiled. "You two fight so hard for what you believe in. And you never give up. No matter how hard the challenge before you is. You two… are both heroes in my eyes."

Vent and Aile blushed a bit as the boy sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Us? Heroes?" Vent stammered. "I duuno, but… thanks."

"Wait…" Aile had a thought. "I thought Reploids were given lifespans! If you're from hundreds of years ago, how much longer do you…Never mind. Maybe I shouldn't bring that up."

Prairie shook her head. "It's fine Aile. The lifespan isn't part of our bodies, it's programed into the minds of new Reploids. Since I was built hundreds of years ago, I don't have that in my programing. To be honest though… having a longer lifespan then humans and other Reploids isn't that great."

"Why?"

"The people I care about age and pass on one by one. And I can do nothing but watch them pass by me one by one. I honestly don't know how much longer I will continue to live. Or how many more people will pass before me. Both those thoughts horrify me… Sometimes, I wonder… what am I living for? And is it worth it?"

"What?!" Vent gasped. "Prairie, don't say that!"

"Vent?"

"Your sister, Boss, the hero, all of them fought so people like, us, like you could live!"

"Vent's right!" Aile added. "You shouldn't think so little of your life! Life is a beautiful thing! And you should make the most out of it! You deserve to live!"

"Good things and sad things will continue to happen." Vent said. "But even if you're sad, even if you're in pain, you have to live on! For Boss, your sister, the hero, everyone who fought so we can live! And besides…" Vent put a hand on Prairie's shoulder. "I need you."

Prairie gasped as her face warmed up. "What…?"

"Not just me! Aile and the others need you too! Because you… you're family to us too!"

"And we don't want to lose any more family!" Aile replied. "You and the Guardians all mean so much to us!"

"And that's why…" Vent looked at Prairie in the eye. "We will protect you! Always! So, treasure the time you have with us! Believe in us!"

For a split moment Prairie saw two other people where Vent and Aile stood. She could see a Reploid in black and red with long golden hair and a girl in pink and black with headgear that let her ponytail flow out of it. Prairie sniffled a bit before she ran over and embraced Vent and Aile. "Vent… Aile… thank you…" she cried.

"Prairie…" Vent and Aile hugged back.

"Please… don't leave me too…"

"We won't." Aile smiled. "Never ever." They stood for a moment comforting each other before parting. "We should head back." Aile said. "We'll worry the others at this rate." She then looked at Vent. "And when we get back you-

"I know, I know." Vent groaned. "I'll go straight back to the infirmary, so relax."

"Good!"

Praire wiped her tears again. "Right… Time to go." She looked back at the gravestone. "We'll come visit you again Giro. Goodbye for now."

"See you later Giro." Aile smiled.

"Latter days Boss!" Vent waved.

The Biometals followed the three as they left. Except for one. He floated towards the grave. "Girouette… You gave your life to save Vent and Aile. I promise you I will do everything in my power to keep your family safe just as you did. Even if I must…"

"HEY MODEL Z!" Vent hollered. "Time to go!"

The Biometal turned around. "Coming." He floated away but stopped to look at the gravestone one last time. "See you around… partner." He then flew back to his friends.

Once he was gone a red light descended in front of the gravestone and materialized into a familiar blond man. He looked at all the flowers left for him then smiled watching those who left them walk further away. "Vent… Aile… Commander… Model Z… Thank you. You guys are the best. I can't wait to see what kind of future you'll make together."

Good grief, this is the single largest file I uploaded onto this site. But anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Maybe I'll go back to ZX again someday. Until then have a happy Family Day with your loved ones everybody.