Here we are, the Aqua Preserve! One dude guessed what Chillguin did, but unfortunately for him, he was wrong. At any rate, enjoy!

MMZX3: Mega Man ZX Enforcers

Thetis Isn't Alone

Before the group left the camp, Thetis transported himself to the Aqua Preserve, filled with worry and hate. Upon arriving, however, he became absolutely appalled by the scene. The Preserve was covered in massive patches of ice, both above and under the water. Walking around, he saw various forms of aquatic wildlife encased in frozen tombs. The Ice Mega Man's face gained a look of pure hate.

"Those blasted humans!" He yelled. "Are they trying to kill these fish? I have to save them!" Summoning his halberd, Thetis dove under the waves and began hacking away at the ice.

Not long after, the other four Mega Men had warped in, only they were outside the Preserve.

"Why aren't we inside?" Grey asked in disbelief.

"There must've been teleporter complications." Taylor said. "Let's not worry about that now." Everyone nodded, and they headed to the entrance door. Oddly, it was frozen.

"This is not a good sign." Ashe commented. Atlas punched the frozen door a few times with her Knuckle Busters, but nothing happened. She fired off a few fire bullets, but again, nothing. Even her Ground Crawler and Bombs couldn't break it.

"This isn't normal ice." She stated. "It's too strong for that. The Pseudoroid must've done this."

"Yo, Atlas!" Model F called to her. "Try using OIS!"

"What's OIS?" The girl asked.

"*sighs* I normally hate being a teacher, but you've gotta know this." The Flame Biometal said. "OIS, short for Overdrive Invoke System, is a special power that we Biometals can use. To use it, yell 'Model F Overdrive!' It'll give you a power boost and a new attack!"

"Sweet!" Grey exclaimed. "Try it out!"

"All right, here goes!" Atlas said. She took a stance to prepare herself. "Model F, OVERDRIVE!" Out of nowhere, a flame-like aura surrounded her body. "Whoa! Awesome!"

"All right, it worked!" Model F cried. Atlas was confused at that. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention! If a Chosen One's heart and the Biometal's soul are not in sync, OIS can't be used. We weren't linked when you were brainwashed, since you had such whack goals. Now that we're out to do the same thing, OIS has been awakened!"

"Rock on, Atlas!" Taylor congratulated, causing her to blush.

"Hey, can Grey and I do that?" Ashe asked.

"Sorry, Ashe, you two are unable to do that." Model O spoke up. "Only Models F, H, L, and P are able to use OIS. However, my Omega Aura and your A-Trans make up for that."

"He's totally right." Model F said. "Now then, before I forget, while in OIS, you've got a new move, Knuckle Dasher! Charge your energy to Level 2, and then unleash it while dashing! Your cannon will be engulfed by fire, and you'll charge forward with a powerful dash attack! Should be perfect for that door!"

"Got it!" Atlas chirped. With the flame aura covering her, she faced the door and charged energy until the energy turned yellow. "Let's go! Knuckle Dasher!" She grabbed one of her cannons, dashed toward the door, and unleashed the gathered energy. Sure enough, her cannon became flame-covered. It slammed against the frozen door, busting it to pieces like it was nothing. "D… did I do that?"

"I always knew I chose a hottie." Taylor remarked, chuckling.

"With that door gone, we can continue." Grey said. "Let's move!" The group started to enter, but Atlas pulled Taylor in close.

"Here's a heads-up: leave me, and you'll end up like that door." She playfully whispered in where his ear would be. (A/N: Remember, the helmets cover their ears.) Taylor faced her and smirked.

"Don't worry, I know better." He whispered back, pecking her lips.

Once inside, everyone gasped at the sight of the frozen Preserve. They heard chinking sounds from nearby. Diving underwater to find the source, they noticed a group of Preserve workers trying to hack away the ice, but they were having no luck. One of them noticed the four Mega Men.

"You there, please help us!" He called out. All four of them nodded and rushed over.

"Let me try something this time." Taylor said to Atlas. "Omega Aura!" Donning his white aura, the Model O Mega Man dashed toward the glacier with his saber drawn. He positioned it as if he was going for an uppercut slash. "Ryuuenjin!" His saber blade turned orange, and he swung it up for an uppercut slash. Flames cloaked the blade as it struck the ice. The fire saber carved through like the glacier was butter, melting it and freeing the fish trapped inside. The aquatic creatures quickly swam away. Nearby, Atlas busted open another ice prison with her new Knuckle Dasher, and Grey and Ashe freed more of the wildlife by transforming into Bombat. It took some time, but the area around them was soon clear.

"Thank you all for your help." The workers said.

"Our pleasure." Atlas told them. Out of nowhere, a thought came to mind. "Hey, I have a question. Did you happen to see someone wearing armor like mine, only blue and with a ponytail-shaped helmet?"

"Hmmm… actually, I did." The lead worker stated. "He was trying to crack another set of ice. We offered to help, but he snapped at us, blaming us for this. We've been trying to break this ice all day!"

"Wait, you what?" A voice asked. Everyone turned and saw Thetis nearby. His halberd had been put away, and he looked confused.

"Just as I said, we've been trying to break this ice, but we've had no luck!" The worker continued. "This ice is just too strong! Not only that, some of the workers have been frozen as well!"

"Thetis, humans do care about the ocean." Atlas explained. "I've heard about this place. Humans are the only ones who work here; there's not a single Reploid on the staff." Thetis turned to face the workers. Their faces could be seen through their helmets, and none of them had the Reploid triangle mark.

"So, you didn't cause this?" The Ice Mega Man asked uneasily.

"We would never think of defiling this place." The lead worker answered. "Our ultimate goal is to make all the world's oceans as clean as this place used to be."

A peaceful smile came over Thetis's face. "So… I'm not alone in my beliefs…" He peacefully closed his red eyes, but then something odd happened. A red light began glowing behind his eyelids, which then changed to a dark blue color. When the glow faded, Thetis let out a breath and opened his eyes, revealing that they were no longer red, but an ocean blue color. The Mega Men smiled; Thetis was free. He swam over to the workers. "I'm sorry for snapping at you all. The seas are so polluted nowadays, and it was always humans that were the cause. It made me think humans didn't care about the ocean."

"No worries, kid." The leader said.

"So, if you didn't do this, who or what did?" Thetis asked.

"It was a Pseudoroid." Grey told him, causing Thetis to turn to him. "Model D targeted this place."

"It promised it would help me…" The blue-haired Reploid breathed, lowering his head. "But if it came after this place with a Pseudoroid…" He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. "I've been used! Model D tricked me! No one gets away with duping me and attacking the Preserve!" He brandished his halberd and looked back at the group. "Guys, I'm fighting with you from here on out! That Pseudoroid's going down! Model D's going down!"

"Good to have you, Thetis!" Ashe exclaimed. Thetis turned back to the workers.

"Do you know where the Pseudoroid is?" He asked.

"Head deeper into the Preserve." The leader said. "The more ice you see, the closer you are."

"Thanks. Let's go, everyone!" Thetis exclaimed.

A unanimous "Right!" came from the group as the group rushed off, led by the Ice Mega Man.

However, a small drone was watching them. In an area completely covered in ice, a penguin-shaped silhouette saw Thetis join the other Mega Men.

"So, Thetis is after me now?" The silhouette said in a young female voice. "Lord Model D said not to hesitate to kill him if he came after me… Heh, I would've killed him just for the heck of it! Heeheeheehee!"

A new ally for the team and a new power for Atlas! I'd be scared if I was Chillguin, but she seems pretty confident. Stay tuned to see how far it gets her!

Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.